Why is DD not...
... (at least) twice as famous as warcraft or doom. It's definately better than them.
I tried to find out such a topic, but there are so many topics here... My patience got the better of me. If it has been explored just post a link (without getting angry). <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
Well, PC Gaming is just starting to get its major European and oversea flow of PC games in the USA. Great PC games from overseas, outside of the USA, are finally getting some attention from gamers, game publishers, media outlets that covers game, and reviewers alike -- like Gothic series, Arx Fatalis, Far Cry, Syberia series, The Longest Journey, Max Payne series, Hitman series, etc etc. Companies like Digital Illusions (they made Battlefield 1942 + expansions & BF: Vietnam) and Io Interactive are just starting to become household names here in the USA.
Blizzard is so well known and been around for quite the while, so I don't even know where to begin. Their reputation stems back to the original Warcraft, which was quite the WHILE ago. Like Id Software, they've been around for -- well, it feels like forever. And what Blizzard does, they do well. Their gaming back catalogue: Warcraft, Warcraft 2, Diablo + expansion, Diablo 2 + expansion, Starcraft + expansion, & now you can add World of Warcraft to the list.
I will be honest with you: I am NOT a big fan of Blizzard games. I am not a big RTS fan, either. I did not like Warcraft 2 very much when I played it. I was NOT a big fan of their Warcraft 3 demo -- so, I never bought WC3. I was NOT impressed w/ Diablo 1's SP component, though I thought at that time that their MP was quite good. I am NOT a Blizzard fan, but their production values are quite awesome for their games when compared to most PC companies arround.
I don't think the USA has completely latched onto Larian yet. Divine Divinity was a great start, from what I've heard from most people I know that have played it over here in the USA (by word of mouth) and all the critical acclaim it received. BD didn't really get the critical acclaim and have the word of mouth that DD did -- which is kind of shocking to me, as BD came out in a year that was completely lacking w/ PC RPG's! I'm surprised BD didn't even, at the worst, get a runner-up award from IGN to IGN's PC RPG Winner from IGN, which was Vampire: Bloodlines. When IGN gave out their award winners and did even mention a runner-up for PC RPG, I was shaking my head. I knew it was a slow year for PC RPG's, but it seems like they forgot BD -- which they gave an 8.0. It should add that the reviewer did say he would've given BD a 90%, if the game was more balanced.
IGN Review:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/512/512079p1.html[i]From IGN's review on page 4 at:
]http://pc.ign.com/articles/512/512079p4.html[/i]Closing Comments
I gave warning that we'd wrack up coverage of an impressive series of flaws while reviewing Beyond Divinity; and so we have. But at the same time, most of them can be fixed or tweaked. Given Larian's record in this respect with Divine Divinity, I would expect the game to be pretty airtight in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, the results are certainly highly playable and extremely enjoyable with reservations noted. This is an entertaining and challenging RPG, with less of an emphasis on finger-twitching than thought. I'm willing to cut any developer some slack if they try to do more than clone than previous product. Larian has clearly gone a lot farther. If the game balance had matched the creativity and attention to overall design put into this title, I would probably have given it a 90%, because the detail of construction and depth of the environment are truly excellent. But with this many unresolved issues, Beyond Divinity gets an 80%. That's still a strong endorsement and hopefully a prod in the fundament to companies that think bugs are an insect gamers pay you to spray.
I think w/ us knowing already that the next Divinity game will have a fully 3D engine and that it likely will be titled the official sequel to DD, gamers might really look forward to DD2. I'm sure a lot of gamers, DD fans and non DD fans, will take notice to DD2 b/c the series is moving to a fully 3D universe.
