Divine Divinity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations. |
| Divine Divinity | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Larian Studios |
| Publisher(s) | CDV |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date | 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Role-Playing Game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Media | 3 CDs |
| System requirements | PII 450Mhz with 128Mb of RAM, 8MB of video memory,
a 4X speed CDROM drive, a 100% Directsound compatible soundcard, and 2.5 GB free HDD space. OS: Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP |
| Input methods | Mouse, Keyboard |
Divine Divinity is a single-player fantasy computer role-playing game created by Larian Studios, released in 2002. It has spawned a spin-off, Beyond Divinity, and an in-progress sequel, Divine Divinity 2.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
Divine Divinity is a computer role-playing game. There are 3 character classes—Fighter, Mage and Survivor (similar to the Thief class archetype common in many RPGs), each with a special move. Unlike most other RPGs, the player's gender affects his/her skills, giving a total of 6 character choices from which to choose.
Divine Divinity takes the player on a fantastic quest in a land torn apart by corruption and dark magic. Throughout his journeys the player will get the chance to develop his character as one of six character types, and meet a variety of people and fantastical beings. By combining the best features of the RPG genre, and introducing many new features, Divine Divinity aims to appeal to both hard-core and new RPG players[citation needed].
[edit] Synopsis
Many thousands of years ago, those who sat on Council of Seven in the magic land Rivellon sacrificed themselves in the fight against a group of treacherous magicians, who had passed over to the dark side of magic. To remember the Council of Seven, the "Divine Order" was founded to pass on the knowledge of the wise men to the next generations.
Two thousand years later, signs such as civil unrest, war, hatred and greed indicate that the dark side has become strong again and that they're preparing a new attack on Rivellon.
The prophecies of the wise men had mentioned a divine saviour of the Seven Races. This person shall be found and blessed in a secret ceremony before he or she falls into the enemy's hands, but it all happens in the Land of Divinity.
[edit] Key Features
There are four huge maps totalling over 20,000 screens, with a very wide range of environments. For instance there is an elven forest, a demon wasteland, farmlands, towns, fortifications and extensive sewer systems. The world is extremely extensive, and includes numerous small details such as epitaphs on tombstones.
For the player's choice of character, there are three classes and two genders, totaling six possible starters. Each has an individual appearance which can be altered by placing equipment on them, such as armour or helmets.
The three classes are Survivor (a rogue-like character), Warrior and Wizard. They have slightly different stat conversions; for example a warrior gains 6 health points per constitution point, whilst a survivor gains only five points. Each of the character classes also has a unique movement form, such as a sneak ability for the Survivor. But other than this it is a game does not use character classes—any class can use any of the other two skill paths, which each have 36 separate skills.
A random equipment generator allows an extremely wide variety of items, and in this sense it is similar to the Diablo 2 computer game. Items can be upgraded using objects called charms, as well as the enchant item skill, allowing further customization. There are also slightly more than 50 (relatively) fixed items, with varying powers.
There are more than 150 NPC characters, many with detailed background stories and depth, and a large number of varied villains.
A very extensive and adaptive soundtrack was written by Kirill Pokrovsky for the game. RPG vault gave Divine Divinity the award for Outstanding Achievement in Music. They said, "It very proficiently supports the changing moods and locations in the game, never becoming either overwhelming or repetitive[citation needed]."
