"A disappointing sequel to a great game"

Is it possible for a sequel to feel and play worse than a game made nearly 2 years ago? It definitely can...and Beyond Divinity is good example of it. There was so much hype a few months before the shipping date and I was sure this would be great game, but I was wrong...very wrong.

Graphics - 8
Unlike DD, Beyond Divinity uses a semi-3D graphical system. The backgrounds are still static 2D backgrounds, but all the characters and enemies are rendered with 3D models. This is a huge improvement over the 2D sprites, but it's also the cause of some major slowdowns in crowed scenes, especially in the temple area. It could be that my system is a bit outdated, but others have also experienced this problem. The 3D models does look very beautiful and there are also some great special effects in the mushroom forest. The spells have also been improved and they look very nice, even when you zoom in.

Sound and Music - 8
There is a lot of recycled music and sounds from DD. It's not a bad thing since I absolutely loved the music in DD. There are a few new tracks and they're great, but I wish there was more. I always want sequels to have something new and something old, but in this case, there was too much of the old stuff and not enough new stuff. The sound effects were pretty generic, like its predecessor, but it gets the job done.

Game-play - 5
This is where the game falls short. There was so much potential for this game, the execution was just plain bad. I had to restart this game 3 times because of game breaking bugs. First it was weight problem with some items. I just didn't understand how rings could weight 400 lbs. Luckily; a later patch fixed that problem. Then there was getting stuck in the battlefields in Act 3, which led to another restart. I started the game a 3rd time because all the items dropped by enemies started to lose all their stats and values. At the same time, the merchants' items were all screwed up. It seems Larian still hasn't fixed this corruption, but I figured out a way to solve the problem. The only way to fix it is to get to the next act. At that point, everything seems to refresh and things went back to normal.

As for the actual game-play itself, it was a mix bag. The addition of a new member(s) into game adds new game-play elements and new battle strategies. It also separates itself from the hack & slash games. This is probably the only improvement from DD, but the improvements ends there. Matter of fact, everything went downhill from there. The game has been split into 4 acts and made the game linear. The skill system is very overwhelming and some of the skills are completely USELESS. Why bother wasting skill points on repair when you can just enter the battlefields in the middle of a heated battle to fix an item? What's the point of wasting skill points on lock picking when there is nothing to pick? There's more, but I rather not get into it. I also missed the great spells from DD like Skeletal Wall and Energy Cage. The quests themselves have gotten pretty bland. There's a lot of ‘go there and do this' kind of quests, nothing really interesting or exciting.

There are also some useless features which Larian threw in just for the heck of it. Many of the neutral enemies serve no purpose other than wasting people's time and arrows. At least in DD, they drop meat or give experience. Reputation is pretty useless now. It won't get you better prices and people won't react to you any differently.

Game-play as a whole just doesn't offer the same excitement as DD or any other good RPG. The end came very sudden and left me unfulfilled. Thinking there was an act 5...which is nothing more than a bunch of portals; I saved all that cash and items for nothing.

Replayability - 4
Once you finish the game, you probably don't want to go through it again. I know I don't. The game takes place in a very bland environment and it doesn't wanna make you play it again.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/04