Sometimes, all you really need from life is a dragon with a rocket pack strapped to its back.
Divinity: Dragon Commander, for those who missed the announcement last summer, is an RTS/RPG hybrid set in the distant past of Larian’s Divinity universe, when the famed Dragon Knights were at the height of their power. Players will step into the role of a young Dragon Knight who must unite the nations of Rivellon and lead them to war against the evil Empress Aurora.
It sounds like a fairly straightforward setup, but bear in mind that this isn’t a game about run-of-the-mill dragons – it’s about dragons with frikkin’ jet engines strapped to their backs. Players will deploy and command their units in battle, but can also jump in to the thick of the action and use their “dragon powers” to personally lead the troops to victory. Research and kingdom management will figure prominently, as you’d expect from an RTS, but some interesting political decisions on topics ranging from the regulation of magic and fishing rights for the undead to euthanasia and same-sex relationships will also have to be made, each of which will have an impact on your empire and its relations with other races.
Dragon Commander will offer both a story-based single-player campaign as well as co-op and PvP multiplayer for up to four players, and the music, like all good Divinity games, is being made by the inestimable Kirill Pokrovsky.
It’s an oddball game, no question, and the odds of overreach look high, but I love the setting and the neo-Victorian steampunk visual style. Even if it winds up “flawed” in that charming, uniquely European style, it could be one of the most interesting strategy games to come along in years. Divinity: Dragon Commander is currently scheduled to come out in early 2013 for the PC and Mac.
