Divinity II: Ego Draconis Preview

The folks at Game Central let us know that they’ve kicked up a PAX-based preview of Larian Studios’ Divinity II: Ego Draconis.

Story-wise, Divinity 2 takes place 90 years after the events of the first game. Damian, the prime antagonist to the hero from Divine Divinity, has managed to escape his hellish shackles and hijack the Dragon Knights (stupid-powerful dragon-morphing badasses who wear comically gigantic shoulder pads in human form). By controlling these hybrid warriors, he succeeds in curb-stomping the hero that once banished him. Rivellon’s dragons, once so benevolent, peaceful, and generally lovely smelling, are now the hated enemy. The population is pissed. The more motivated of the masses have decided to dust of the armor, grab some nasty weapons, double up on the cod-pieces, and enlist in the dragon-bashing business. This is where you come in.

To get it out of the way, this is not an MMO. It’s not even multiplayer. And frankly, all the better; Larian has focused 100% of their efforts on making the single player element polished and vibrant. There’s been some serious control redesign as well. No longer do you manipulate your character through a top-down point-and-click perspective. It’s WASD and mouse to move and interact, viewed from a standard 3rd person camera angle. While the new scheme does function well, I was a bit disappointed to see the old Fallout-esque POV get the executioner’s axe. The benefit of the new controls, however, is that physical combat doesn’t grow stale and repetitive. You can roll, jump, and unleash devastating spell and melee combos on wayward foes. You can even pause the fracas and commotion to issue commands. Plus, now you won’t have to amputate an index finger or toss your mouse in the trash after a hectic battle.