Some voice actors are great which is why I am placing this here but others are atrocious for the setting. Everything seems to be voice acted which is nice, except the voices were inappropriate for the game. Graphics are decent but areas are very small and it feels static. I settled on a monk/wizard using staffs which makes sense and actually did fairly well in the time I played the game. I actually enjoy creating unique characters and trying different combinations. There are a lot of class options for player customization. Its not like the RPG elements have not been done before in every infinity engine game. The story is not interesting and the writing is just horribly boring.
Update 1: I just tried playing it again and again, 10 hours in and I couldnt stay awake. Dialog however never improved and remains terribly boring. The writing does not improve, though quest quality did improve. If you do boat battles, you get rich so fast, that you can buy all the unique stuff in shops by 15 hours in. I also realized there is no economic balance to the game. Initially I though the boat battles were fun, now I find them a complete waste of time. The writing does not Update 2: I finally got passed the 10 hour mark and unfortunately, the game actually got worse about 25 hours in. Update 2: I finally got passed the 10 hour mark and unfortunately, the game actually got worse about 25 hours in. This game has surpassed the first PoE just as BGII surpassed the original Baldur's Gate. Most importantly of all, it's an extremely engaging and entertaining game to play, with a lot of depth to it. and, in many respects, it is clearly superior to BGII, as well! The graphics are a thing of beauty, the game engine has been thoroughly optimized so that load times are much faster than they were in the first PoE, the combat (on hard difficulty) is appealingly complex and strategic, the storytelling is very well done, the game is very well-balanced across multiple dimensions, and the overall "open seas exploration" theme is handled admirably. It's not just the best role playing game of the past few years - which isn't really saying much - it may be the best game since Baldur's Gate II. and, in many respects, it is clearly superior to BGII, as well! The graphics are a thing of beauty, the game engine has been thoroughly optimized so that load times are much faster than they were in the This is a once-in-a-generation RPG. People who don't like RPGs will likely just say its boring because they're talking and not shooting but w/e. I could keep going on positives but here are the negatives I can think of: I heard there are bugs (haven't encountered any), the difficulty could be turned up a few notches - it works for a first time, but replays are going to need it to be the first games PoD difficulty, and loading screens (saw a review give it a 2 strictly on loading screens - its inconvenient sure, but really not THAT bad jesus.) Anyways, I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes RPGs - especially anyone who likes isometric RPGs. The characters have much more personality, the companion system is vastly improved, and dialogue choice feels even more weighty. The story is great, the dialogue is so much better (way less pretentious and far more human - More 'pulp fiction' less 'lesbian film festival' ), and the story is engaging. The graphics look amazing for an isometric (not that it matters), the character models are improved, and the animations are MUCH more fluid. The music is better, the sound is better, the voice acting is better. Damn near everything is voice acted, the writing is vastly improved & the combat is much better.
It improved on many areas, and from what I've noticed hasn't worsened in any aspect that was in PoE 1. The graphics look amazing for an In my opinion, PoE2 is a huge step up from PoE1 (which was also a great game). In my opinion, PoE2 is a huge step up from PoE1 (which was also a great game).