The Dream Is Dead (At Least For Now)
Word of warning: This is gonna be one of those introspective self deprecating kind of blog posts. If you don’t like those, just skip onward to the next blog. If you want to stick around, maybe you’ll better understand where I’m coming from.
So, Hi there, I’m Zach Walton. I’m a writer by trade. In fact, I write for a tech blog. I focus on issues ranging from where the Internet and law meet, and when they cross into dangerous territory. I’m a tireless fighter for open access and freedom to information. I don’t think Google is evil, but I do think they fuck up from time to time. I think Microsoft needs to just focus on making Bing a great product instead of pushing for antitrust investigations of Google as part of the FairSearch movement. Lastly, I care too much about these issues to give them up.
With that being said, let’s jump back into the past. I’m 10. What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to make games! Hell yeah, I love playing video games. Making them must be even better. For about five years after that, I had it in my head that I was going to make video games. That all changed when I read a piece in some gaming magazine. I think it was Game Informer, but that’s not important. The article had a list of skills necessary to make games. For most positions, it required that one know a lot of math. Little did I know then that computer engineering and computer science were basically require to make games. I don’t remember what I thought back then, but I must have thought that games just kind of happened.
Anyway, I was really disappointed. Like, my entire world had just crumbled around me. It was like a kid finding out that Santa Claus wasn’t real, except in this case, Santa Claus was what I wanted to do with my life, and the sad realization was that I was not prepared for it in the least. I tried to get into math courses, and I tried to learn what I could. Unfortunately, I just can’t seem to comprehend the stuff. It was even worse when it came to programming – my mind literally goes blank when I see a page of code. The best I can do is some basic HTML for formatting.
So there was my life’s dream – going down the fuckin drain. But wait, what light through yonder figurative window breaks? Why it was the realization that I could go into writing! YEAH! I can totally do that! My teachers all told me that I was a great writer, and always praised my creativity. Granted, most of that creativity came from a series of poems I wrote that followed the adventures of Lobster Boy, a character shamelessly ripped off of Tim Burton’s Oyster Boy. Putting my own lack of creativity aside, I totally though I could get into games writing. Games had awesome stories, and I was pretty sure I could tell some pretty awesome stories of my own. I worked for a few months on a few ideas, and I was super stoked about it. Unfortunately, reality hit me in the face with a wooden paddle again when I realized that I can’t write stories at all. My characters lacked depth, my worlds lacked any real detail, and frankly, my prose was just shitty.
After wallowing in self despair yet again, I had another brilliant idea. GAMES JOURNALISM! At the time, I just wanted to be one of the guys who wrote for a magazine like Nintendo Power, or a Web site like IGN. From that point on, I had it in my mind that I would be a journalist. I went to the University of Kentucky, and enrolled in the journalism program. The first year was a breeze – just a bunch of tests on concepts and a few simple writing pieces. Second year was a bit tougher, and I realized that feature stories are not my strong point. In my third year, I was completely demoralized after the first story I wrote was sent back to me with a “Scrap everything and rewrite it.” I was going to give up, but that little guy in my head kept saying this was my last chance. Games journalism was how I was going to make it, and dammit, I wasn’t going to let that happen. I eventually got better, and I was soon acing every assignment in my news writing class. My editorial class was not so successful, but hey, editorials are really hard to write!
After all of this, I graduated. Of course, I was looking for a job before that. I knew that I wanted to get into freelancing somehow, but there was really no positions available. I then found an employment opportunity on Craigslist for a writing job in the area. I interviewed for the job a week before graduation, and got the job offer on the day of my graduation. From that point on, I was an employee of the tech blog I now write for.
It’s a good hourly wage job, and I get to write a lot about things I care about. Hell, I learned that I actually care a whole lot about law – something I never really cared for in college even after taking two semesters of it. I learned that perhaps my true calling is as a tech writer, but there was a little guy in my head still yearning for a games writer job.
Well, starting today, I’m officially telling that little guy to shut the hell up. I’ve seen the games writing environment today, and I simply can’t compete. Everybody who writes today is super talented, and I used to be overcome with jealously. Now it’s just acceptance that I’m the Dean Koontz to games journalism’s Steven Kings. I’m not good enough, and I never will be. I can’t write critically about games because I’m too passionate and overzealous when it comes to defending things. As a friend pointed out on Twitter yesterday, I spend too much time saying why people hate games instead of spending time praising them. I also just see my own lack of raw talent when I read anything by pretty much any established writer in the industry. Stephen Totilo, Jim Sterling, Alex Navarro, Britton Peele – all of these guys are wonderful writers and you should read their stuff. I pale in comparison, and it’s just not worth trying for something that’s destined to fail.
That being said, I’m sticking with my current job. I care too much about issues in tech to quit it, especially when so much is on the line. People may not read my stuff, but I feel that it’s worth if it my words reach at least one person. If I can convince just one person that giving a damn about the future of the Internet or illegal spying, I’ll have done my job.
So yeah, I’m giving up on being a games writer. I lack the skills necessary, and honestly, I just wouldn’t fit in. I’m far too prone to depression, not to mention my speech impediment would make it all but impossible to actually report on anything worth a damn.
I still have a few ideas of what I want to do besides writing up tech news. I do still want to work on a game, but it won’t be anything fancy. I just want to write something, and hope to God that RPG Maker can make it happen. For now, however, I’ll remain your humble tech writer that nobody gives a damn about (and that’s ok).
Where’s the King’s Speech of video games?
I have a speech impediment. More specifically, I stutter. I’ve suffered from this particular affliction since I was a small child. I’m now 23. Answering the phone at my job is a little slice of hell that even the most socially inept will never fully understand. My kind is mocked incessantly in fiction – namely film, and we just have to roll with it. Because honestly, do you know personally know anyone who stutters?
It’s this public perception that all stutterers are mentally retarded or something that drove me into the dark recesses of my room growing up. Sure, I had friends, but my closest friends were Mario, Link and Samus. These characters, with the exception of Mario in some cases, were silent. They showed me that I could be strong without having to rely on a voice that betrayed me more often than not.
I grew up, and I traded my Nintendo 64 for a PlayStation. I traded Zelda (though I’m still a huge fan of the series) for Final Fantasy. These characters spoke, and I could put myself in their shoes. These characters didn’t stutter, and for the first time in my life, I felt powerful.
This all came to a head with Legend of Dragoon. This was the first time I ever heard voice acting in a game, and it blew my mind. I could put myself in the shoes of a character who could talk to his friends, enemies and everybody else around him with confidence. I was ecstatic for a while, but the harsh reality fell soon after. This is just a video game. As soon as the game turns off, I’m Zach again and I stutter. People are going to laugh at me, and I’m going to retreat further back into video games to find what little solace is there.
I survived on that little solace for the longest time until I actually found friends who never looked down on me, never laughed, and treated me like I was normal. It was exhilarating, and I quickly forget all about the healing power of games thanks to the healing powers of human empathy.
That being said, I still play a lot of games. I think I have something like 458 games on Steam, and my console library numbers in the hundreds. All of these games feature characters that never stutter. Sure, they may have insecurities, but I can’t think of a single character, that I as a fellow stutterer, can relate to.
Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem, but I think it deserves some attention now that games are starting to be more inclusive to other groups of people. I love that games are starting to feature more women, more races and more ideologies. I just ask that games not forget about us – those with speech impediments and other disabilities that are so often overlooked.
Despite my plea, I doubt that we’ll get anywhere fast. I mean, it took film over 100 years to make something that didn’t make fun of us. (Which, by the way, you should watch The King’s Speech. It’s super fantastic). Games will get there, though, and it will get there faster than film.
That’s the exciting thing about games. Developers are tackling subjects that were unheard of in the early days of film. Granted, there’s an argument that values and censorship were more of the problem in the formative days of film, but I think games have matured far more quickly than any other medium on the planet. Hell, the fact that game like Cart Life won the prized Seumas McNally Award at GDC says a lot.
In short, I love games, and I love where they’re going. I want to see more female representation. I want to see more ideas beyond shallow representations of patriotism and guns in mainstream games. But most of all, I just want games to help other stutterers like they helped me, but with a character that they can finally relate to.
Allow me to make you question your love for Skyrim…
Skyrim is an amazing game. I think we can all agree on that. What can we not agree on though? Is Skyrim the greatest RPG ever made? More specifically, is it the greatest WRPG ever made? Well, that’s a tricky question dear reader. You’re getting into subjective territory here and in gamer land, we are always objective. Oh who am I kidding? Everybody is subjective as fuck in gamer land. In the immortal words of /v/, “Uh oh, looks like somebody has an opinion” and indeed, I do! So without further ado, here are some games that need some love for they were overlooked. They are amazing alternatives to Skyrim if you need something different or just something new after the 100 hours you put into that game.
1. Gothic 3
The game that I think is better than Skyrim or any other RPG ever made. Gothic 3 made me realize how horribly linear and controlled RPGs are. How NPCs are set to flag certain events or how the game makes you feel like you’re in a game. Gothic 3? It doesn’t tolerate that shit. You’re in a world with a set number of people and a set number of events. It’s not as infinite as Skyrim, but it sure feels more real. You run into a cave and kill a bunch of bears. Guess what? That was a quest that you wouldn’t get until four hours later. Guess what? It still counts towards that quest because those bears don’t just randomly spawn in after you get the quest. They were always there and are not there anymore.
Also, need I mention that the story is better than most RPGs because it does not put you, the player, into any specific role. You are thrust into the middle of a conflict of humans and orcs. You can side with either group and help them towards their aims. You can not join both groups. Another reason the game is better than Skyrim. There are consequences to everything you do. Did you just hit up that orc village and slaughter all of them? Word travels friend and the orcs now know what you look like. Show up at another orc village and they’re going to kick your ass.
Need I also say that the music is simply amazing. It’s not as epic as Skyrim’s, but it’s oh so good and good to listen to beyond the main them unlike the Elder Scrolls games.
2. Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
Do you want a funny game? Do you want a game that will challenge you? Do you want a game where you can turn into a motherfuckin’ dragon? Divinity II is the game for you then.
It’s your typical third person action RPG until it throws a curveball at you at about two hours in. The game becomes more and more amazing with a metric shit ton of side quests, all voice acted and most hilarious. What game has a boss where you can just utter his master’s name which causes him such frustration and anger that he just starts saying, “Shut up or I’ll… I’ll… I’ll kill you!” It’s absolute genius writing from beginning to end with a fantastic story that really sets the bar for fantasy RPGs to follow.
3. Torchlight
Do you like Diablo? I wouldn’t know since I have never played it. I hear it plays a lot like Torchlight and if it does, hot damn, it must be good. Torchlight is a good ol’ isometric top down RPG click-a-thon where the player loots everything for better equipment with a trusty dog companion. It truly is something amazing with a great art style and combat system.
It is the most different RPG here, but it’s nonetheless amazing.
While there are more games that offer great RPG experiences, I feel that these three games offer the true alternative to Skyrim by offering things that Skyrim can not offer. They are also better than Skyrim in their own special ways except for Gothic 3 which is just better than anything ever made. It is the pinnacle of technically broken RPGs. They give Bethesda a run for their money in terms of games being broken upon release. But seriously, play Gothic 3. It is the best game ever made. Just sayin…
Some new stuff
Hey all,
I’ll be doing some aesthetic improvements on the site soon. I have applied a new theme as you can tell and I will be adding some new things to the site as well.
Also, I now have my own custom domain. You can now reach my blog at theallgamer.com. It’s easier than ever! Also, if anybody has any talent in image creation/editing, hit me up. I’m not the best when it comes to photoshop and GIMP. I would love to have a more professional looking blog than my usual thing. Please bear with me while I and hopefully others can improve these things!
Thanks,
Zach “TheAllGamer” Walton
PC Gaming was never dead.
NOTE: This column was meant to appear in the Kentucky Kernel two weeks ago, but due to my own stupidity and other factors it did not run. It is now here for you to enjoy.
I love being nostalgic for the good ol’ days. You may remember a time when consoles were all the rage and people were claiming the end of days for PC gaming. I loved those times because I was a console gamer. I felt like I was on top of the world and everybody was catering to me. Oh, how wrong I was.
Not content to be a one-trick pony as far as gaming coverage goes, I built a gaming PC last year. After a year with it, I wonder how anybody can be a hardcore gamer and ignore what PC gaming has to offer.
This isn’t about me and my infatuation with PC gaming though. This is about what people perceive as the death of PC gaming as we know it. The truth is that PC gaming never died, was never close to death and never will die. Of course, there are those who want to believe otherwise.
Razer, known for their PC gaming accessories, announced a new gaming laptop aimed squarely at those who want to play games at their max settings. They claimed this new laptop, the “Razer Blade”, would be the savior of PC gaming. There are other companies like Dell who offer gaming laptops, but the Razer Blade is unique in that they are like a Mac. They all have the same specs and will have support like a Mac or console does.
The cost of that convenience though is similar to Macs. The laptop will cost $2,800. The price can be justified for those who want all the hardware of a powerful gaming rig in the small shell of a laptop.
One does not have to shell out for these specialty systems though and people are already proving it. The statistics are even showing that PC hardware is in the lead compared to all other hardware. The PC Gaming Alliance, a group dedicated to the expansion of PC gaming, claims that PC gaming hardware sold twice as much as all other gaming devices combined in the same period in 2009. Those numbers are expected to rise even higher by 2014.
What this all means is that PC gaming is on the rise again. Sure, there was a moment when one could possibly say that PC gaming was hurting due to piracy and expensive costs of entry, but those complaints are largely moot now.
Steam is a key factor in all of this. Valve’s digital content delivery service serves smart DRM that isn’t intrusive and doesn’t treat customers like they are thieves.
One of the major reasons for piracy in the past was that games were not built with PC gamers in mind and the gamers in turn didn’t support those games with their dollars. Developers and publishers are becoming more mindful of the PC audience and making their games more in tune to their tastes instead of porting the console version over. PC gamers in turn buy the games which influence more developers and publishers to do the same.
PC gaming has changed over the years. It has seen a lot of ups and downs, but one thing remains consistent: it is full of life. Chances are you’re probably playing a game on a PC whether it’s “Battlefield: Bad Company 2“ or “The Sims 3.” That’s the beauty of PC gaming, it encapsulates all genres and play styles under one unified banner.
Emo Dante isn’t Emo
I’ve had it up to here with all you people of the internets! You all need a lesson in cultures and sub-cultures.
Ever since the first trailer to the new Devil May Cry game was revealed, fans called the new Dante out for being emo, even being an Edward Cullen-like character. You guys are open to your opinions, but make your opinions educated!
First, here is the new Dante. 
He has black hair, a messy outfit and just looking generally disheveled.
Here is a lovely emo couple. Besides both of their hair being black, there’s not much else emo about the new Dante. So why is it then that the new Dante is thrashed for being emo?
You know who the new Dante looks like?
Those who are calling the new Dante emo are probably younger folks who have never heard of the Sex Pistols. This is Sid Vicious’ mugshot when he was arrested in NYC for being a punk rocker. Yes, back in the 70s, being a punk rocker would get you arrested.
The two images are very similar even down to the mugshot. It’s obvious that new Dante has been inspired by early punk. Even his jacket is similar to those worn by punk rockers in the 70s and 80s.
As for a history lesson, emo emerged from punk but instead of focusing on how much the government fucked them over, emo would focus on how much their loved ones fucked them over. Over the years, they have changed and evolved into many different things, but for some reason anything with black hair and a disheveled look is automatically emo.
I for one welcome the new Dante. Ninja Theory is making a game that is heavily inspired by early punk which guess what, Devil May Cry has always had a punk attitude even if Dante himself never looked punk.
Hey look, it’s old Dante! Oh wait, this is an actual emo! Don’t base your judgements on hair color, even Edward Cullen isn’t emo. He’s just a faggot.
Thoughts on cancellations and fans’ reactions
Today saw the news that Capcom canceled the much anticipated Mega Man Legends 3 project before even releasing the prototype demo.
Of course, the fans went ape shit and started demanding heads or claiming they would never buy a game from Capcom again.
I see the theory behind this and I am ok with it. Fans have a right to be disappointed and lash out. What I don’t understand is this backwards logic of not buying games from a company because the fans feel that the company owes them something.
First and foremost, Capcom has said numerous times that Mega Man Legends 3 was never greenlit. They were prototyping it to see if it would be good enough to sell. Of course, the announcement felt more like a regular game announcement and fans got lost in the hype. I understand their disappointment though. Capcom was treating it like a game that was on full steam ahead and ready for shipment. They even involved the fanbase to influence the development of the title. All these things were pointing to a return to a cult classic.
Capcom has their reasons for canceling games though. I was disappointed when they canceled Mega Man Universe. It had the most potential of any Mega Man game in recent memory. A game centered around the blue bomber’s career and his exploits with user designed levels. A game with such lofty heights needs a large budget and an even larger team, more so than what a downloadable game could afford. I understand why they canned it and I don’t begrudge them for that.
I’m sure they had their reasons for canceling Legends 3. As has been previously stated, the series never has performed that well. As far as the series goes, it’s one of the most underperforming of Capcom’s franchises. Unfortunate, but it is the truth. The money that went into the title far outweighed the potential return in Capcom’s eyes.
The main point of all this though is that it is alright to be mad at Capcom. I still don’t see the hate behind the new DmC and the new Dante because I really like it. I think it’s a grand experiment. Fans are unhappy with the change and refusing to buy it hoping that it will be a wake up call to Capcom to make old Devil May Cry games. Unfortunately, if the new DmC does not do well, then the franchise will probably be canned altogether. The same goes for Mega Man. I’m sure Capcom will make more Mega Man games, and refusing to buy them is not going to convince Capcom that going down a far less lucrative route is the answer. That’s not how it works.
So fans, please be angry. Share your concerns with Capcom, but don’t be so stupid to damn yourselves and your favorite franchises by refusing to buy games. In fact, buy the games, but tell Capcom what they can improve upon in the future. Refusing to buy games does not help anyone, but instead hurts everyone especially the fans.
EA to PopCap: “We’re not so different, you and I”
So Electronic Arts bought PopCap Games. Why is this big news? Well, the second largest third-party publisher now owns the most recognized and famous casual games maker. This could mean Plants vs. Zombies on every platform imaginable and that’s only a good thing!
Of course, such a move does have its questions. How is EA going to handle Popcap’s style of putting out games very slowly first on PC and then consoles later. It’s obvious that EA focuses more on the console market whereas PopCap has always been a PC first developer. Is this going to change? Probably not. EA has been very good lately at letting their acquired developers work at their own pace at the level they have been working at before. Of course, some may point to EA’s mishandling of BioWare and its franchises after the debacle that was Dragon Age 2.
PopCap isn’t BioWare, nor are they trying to be. I think that PopCap is going to do just fine under their new overlords. PopCap is insanely popular with what they do. They wouldn’t still be doing well for themselves or being bought out by EA if they weren’t. So Peggle and Bejeweled fans, worry not! The acquisition only means good things for PopCap. They will be able to provide more games at a faster speed now with the resources that EA is pushing behind it.
A move like this is also beneficial to EA. They have the most varied portfolio of titles out of any third-party publisher right now. Even though Activision is now at the number one spot, their portfolio is woefully singular in scope. EA used to be top dog with their singular scope in regards to titles, but they began to experiment and take risks. They have lost a bit of money due to this, but have regained a mountain of respect back from their fans. In a day that has rumors of bad work conditions imposed by Rockstar and Activision sticking to its guns, it’s nice to see a publisher expand its portfolio and take risks.
PopCap fits into that risk taking category as well and they are profitable from it! They took a risk on Plants vs. Zombies and came out with several awards from even the most grizzled of hardcore game critics. They released Plants vs. Zombies Game of the Year Edition, a first for a casual title. PopCap is no stranger to new ideas and they make them work. EA has a similar philosophy now with their own studios developing new concepts like Dead Space. They also have their EA Partners label that brought us titles like Brutal Legend and Shadows of the Damned. While they may not always be the biggest blockbusters, EA ensures they ship to those gamers who want these titles. That’s more than what most other major third-party publishers these days who only care about their bottom line and cancel projects that are not meeting expectations.
So while some may be skeptical of the acquisition, I think both PopCap and EA have a bright future ahead of them. PopCap will continue to innovate casual gaming and EA will continue to innovate in third-party publishing.
Divinity II The Dragon Knight Saga Review (or How Awesome It Is To Be a Dragon)
Have you ever wanted a game where you could become a big-ass dragon and burn everything? Well, Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is the game for you. Before we get into the whole burning everything down with a holy fury that only dragons can provide; let me tell me what this wonderful game is about.
Divinity II is an action-RPG from Larian Studios. It’s a fantasy romp through the world of Rivellon, a land ravaged by a war between the dragon knights and the dragon slayers. Why would somebody want to kill the awesome dragons? Well, some dick decided to blame the death of their god on the dragons when it was really the Damned One’s fault. He’s kind of like Voldemort, you don’t say his name except you can and people don’t fall off their chair like you just said “cuntbungler.”
Anyway, now that we have a solid set-up for the world of Rivellon; let’s get into the meat of the game: the gameplay itself. It’s your typical action RPG that requires a continuous stream of mouse clicks to destroy your enemies with various swords, staves, knives and other magical shit.
The player levels up like in any RPG with the gain of experience. The player will then gain four stat points to put into five stats that will increase the player’s HP, MP, strength, dexterity and spirit. These are super important near the beginning, but as soon as I found armor sets and began to enchant/charm my armor/weapons the game became pretty easy. Some may be turned off by the relative easy difficulty but Larian did put in a Nightmare difficulty for you crazy bastards. I much prefer being a badass and killing everything in my wake. Why? Because I’m a dragon and I’m going to eat you!
About the dragon, at about the half-way point through the game the player gains the ability to transform into a dragon. This is awesome! Why is it awesome? Because you’re a goddamn dragon! If you can’t tell already, the number one reason I love this game is because I get to be a dragon. I love dragons with an unholy passion and Divinity II fulfills my lifelong dream.
In terms of the other aspects of gameplay, the player will have to accept various quests from the various inhabitants of Rivellon. This is where the game truly shines. The main quest is your usual fantasy fare albeit a very good one. The side quests are where it’s at though! For a few examples: one quest had me finding a chicken after a dark mage had soul linked a poor farmer with a chicken. If the chicken dies, he dies and vice versa. My solution was this: “Hey, I found the chicken! I think I killed it though! Are you alri…. oh.. my bad.” Another good one was an encounter with a thug who demanded your money or your life. You can enter into an advanced discussion about the philosophy behind money and life. This continues on until the thug just yells while hitting his head, “My head hurt. You shut up and die now!” Before I lose myself in retelling these wonderful side quests and there are many, there is one main quest that is of utmost importance. One of the major villains has a grudge against the god-like mage Maxos. During every conservation with him, you can just say the name “Maxos” as a dialog option and he gets so pissed off at you. It’s the funniest running gag in any game I have ever played.
Speaking of the dialog (see what I did there), the player is allowed to be either serious or just a jack-ass. My style of play tends to veer towards the latter but most RPGs prevent the player from being a jack-ass all the time because it doesn’t fit well with the story. The writers at Larian Studios are geniuses for writing the entire story around these jack-ass conversation responses. It’s by far one of the funniest games I have played in recent years while keeping the overarching story serious enough that it does not lose any of its drama. Before I move on, I should mention that the story did surprise me at one point so it gets points for throwing a curveball at the player.
Of course skills are the most important thing in any RPG and Divinity II has your back. The skills are split between mage, ranger, fighter and dragon knight. They range from the mundane to the absolutely necessary. I played a fighter with a bit of dabbling in the other class skills. That’s where Divinity II is truly fun. It does not keep the player tied to any one class. The player can mix and match their skills however they want to play. You want to play as a bad ass summoning mage who summons multiple creatures while using bad-ass finishing melee moves? You totally can! Do you want to play a ranger who uses the magic of fear while summoning your woodland friends to chase down those running away with their britches wet with piss? You totally can! It’s open and free as long as you have the skill points. While you may think you might not have that many skill points to invest a lot into this system. Worry not, alongside the one skill point gained per level, there are also skill books that add skill points to your character. It’s a fantastic system that is by far my favorite of any recent RPG.
Unfortunately my computer could not handle the game running at very high settings all the time as the open worlds made it slow to a crawl. I could turn it to very high in towns or caves though and the game looks fabulous. While it may not be the most gorgeous game out there, it won me over with its fantastic visual design and beautiful vistas. The waterfalls are especially stunning. Of course, I’m a sucker for water in games so I’m going to gush over water all the time.
The music is especially wonderful and it’s written to fit every scene perfectly. The score by Kirill Pokrovsky adds another layer of immersion to the world of Rivellon. The Broken Valley theme sounds like a peaceful village awakening to dawn’s first light while the battle music of the floating war fortresses of the Damned One evokes a sense of awe and fear.
There are a few annoyances that I will detail in the next paragraph. They are minor annoyances that only really annoy me and may not annoy any other players. Please do not let this sway your opinion about the game.
Why is every enemy in the game a goddamn ranger? Rangers are the most overpowered class in the entire game with stun and poison arrows. Why do their arrows have apparent heat seeking capabilities!!?? I’m jumping to do a powerful jump attack that would obliterate an entire militia and I’m brought to a complete stop by a fucking arrow! While on that same subject, why is the only spell that mages know fear??!! All it does is make you turn around and run until the spell wears off. This normally isn’t a problem unless you’re on a floating fortress in the fucking sky! You know how far off the ground they are??!! You won’t find out because you will be fucking dead before you hit the ground!
Beyond that, the only real actual gameplay annoyances is when the character is dual wielding swords. When I attempted an attack while running forward, the character would leap all by herself and usually miss the first strike. I would eventually kill the puny enemy, but it was annoying nonetheless.
All in all, Divinity II is a fantastic role playing game worth any player’s time. It’s a fantastic adventure with the funniest script I have seen in a long time. There’s plenty to explore and things to see. Just a friendly tip: talk to everybody. Everybody has a story and the writing for every character, no matter how small, is fantastic.
Divinity II comes highly recommended from me for any fans of action RPGs, RPGs or fantasy games in general. It may seem somewhat cliche at first with how it starts, but once I started doing quests and meeting all those fabulous characters I could not stop playing.
