Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga for Xbox 360 is jammed packed with sword and sorcery adventure. With tweaks to the game and a remastering of Ego Draconis and the conclusion to the pulse-pounding saga Flames of Vengeance, player can enjoy the awesomeness that is the Dragon Knight Saga. Chock full of all the previous Downloadable content, plus the sound track CD, and a super-cool concept art book from the game.

Forget about those games that offer a few hours of game play, this grand adventure, will make any role player grin from ear to ear. With over 100 plus hours of adventure to be had, it is the whole Divinity II adventure from start to finish. There is an incredible amount of gaming adventure here and I cannot help but gush about it. As the game title implies the player spends some of the game as of course a human warrior, then sometime during the game the player character gets the ability to morph into a dragon form and take to the skies to reign down fiery destruction on their enemies.

With a main story that has underlying back story, the whole adventure comes off deep in meanings, as most character have some kind of motivation. Other than primary missions across the land of Rivellon, there are well over 180 missions that the player character can experience. There is plenty to explore and most times exploring actually is rewarded with new areas and treasures. Depending on the path choices and skills of the player-character, the story line may well change in some ways as the adventure advances.

Back when Divinity II: Ego Draconis first came out in 2010, it was one of those games that not many paid much mind too. There was not much written about it to hail it as the hidden gem it actually is. Jump ahead and see the whole saga put together masterfully by Larian Studios. Starting out like any standard RPG with character creation and simple learn the controls and what you can do with the character missions, it soon after became apparent that Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga was and is a instant classic RPG style of game ripe with adventure and daring do. It is a classic tale of good versus evil, where the actual lines of good and evil at first become a little blurred. Our hero soon finds that not everything is as straight forward as one may think.

Moving through the game there is a huge world out there to explore, and discovery is not always as easy as just walking from A to B. The quests and adventures along the way spice things up, and the game does a spectacular job of mixing it up a bit to keep it interesting. The classic go fetch this to get this result is there of course, only Larian Studios changes it up enough that it feels so much more open and you are not locked into one task only. Several tasks and quests are manageable at once and finished almost in any order.

Playing as the newest member of the divine dragon slayers, the player character soon finds that not everything is as simple as it sounds, and there are always two sides to everything. The Slayers path in life is to protect the world from Dragon’s, Dragon Knights and their kind. After some introduction training and character creation the player character and the team of Slayers set forth to destroy a Dragon Knight that was seen in the area of Broken Valley.

The reason there is so much gaming goodness to go around with this product is that it is two games in one; it includes Ego Draconis the remastered Version, and Flames of Vengeance Expansion. With all the tweaks, that the designers have done it is difficult to praise any one thing really. The entire graphics engine seems to have been improved; Weapons and armor have more detail and if I may be so bold, looks badass.

The replay value her is just off the gaming charts. With every good thing there can of course have something that are not so great. The load times still seem a bit long. However, with all the environment details the game is loading this is understandable. Occasionally there is still some graphic tearing. Again, for the over, all package and what the game offers this can be forgiven.

Even with some of the small technical game glitches that may crop up, Divinity II the Dragon Knight Saga is one spectacular RPG that should not be missed.

Larian studios have done something right off the bat with this game. They have created an immersive gaming world that a player can get lost in and feel as if they are overcoming the odds as they are stacked against them. There are so many things to discover, weapons to use, magic to perform and powerful foes to vanquish.

Little odd details in the game set it apart from many others of the sword and sorcery ilk. One interesting thing is a necromancer can create a monster for you from creature parts. The monster minion is only as powerful as the quality of the parts. If they are sub standard body parts then you will not get much of a creature. Further in the game players get the chance to take over a battle tower and higher underlings from different disciplines that work for them. Some will go out, get items for you, and aid you in creating potions and magical items. Word to the wise, make sure you provide your followers with top grade armor and weapons; this will ensure their success for you when you send them out on errands.

Leveling up and acquiring new weapons and armor, is only part of what will get your through the game. Enchanting equipment and using either potions or food items is essential to the player characters survival. Like all good things, it can take some time and some work, to level up and enchant and customize the player character. However, when you find yourself advancing in levels, accumulating items, and succeeding in quests, it feels so much more rewarding because you feel you have earned it. The achievements are not just handed to you.

Peaking of which, the game does no hand holding, as a result there are times when things are not always clear as to what to do next. When in doubt explore and talk to other characters, things will get moving again.

Divinity II: The Dragon Knights Saga is a truly epic adventure with a huge open world to explore. Learning the ways of a Mage, Warrior, or Ranger each with their own skill sets, which surprisingly enough the player is not stuck with the one choice through the whole game. During game play the player can mix it up a bit and become just as skilled with a blade or even double blades, as they are with spells. Customization is the name of the game here. Any role player will be pleased with what the game has to offer.

Have fun, play games.
Edwin Millheim
United States Editor
Impulse Gamer