Divinity: Dragon Commander

That's really the jist of it. This is not a game for people looking for any one exact genre, because it's a well made mix of some many. RPG (you make choices ala Mass Effect and the like that have some effects on various stats, though not so much on the story really), Risk type strategy (moving unit pieces all around a combat map), traditional RTS format, and a little bit of I guess the proper type would be 3rd person flight shooter, as you are able to become a dragon during battles which you directly control like a plane (though just to be clear, you hover when not moving while in dragon form), yet are still able to give orders to your units! This let's you fight along side your armies in ways never imagined, and you can go in and out of it more or less at will, which lets you do some damage, go out of it, build some units or give more precise commands, then go back in an lead the charge yourself. That's not counting dragon skills that help your units, or hurt the enemy. It's a great game so long as you don't mind the mix of styles. However, they tried too hard to incorporate too many modern topics into the choices you have to make as emperor. Government health care, Gay Marriage, embryonic testing, too many topics that are too polarized, not to mention too much in my face in the real world as it is, are there. I love the basis, and I hope to see more games like it in the future. Just please, cut down on the controversial topics next time.

I like the war game aspect of the game. And, how the dragon isn't an unstoppable killing machine. AI does well in making it a challenge. But, can be used to turn the tide of battle. What I don't like is the character interaction. Not going to give too much away. But, I felt like I was running for the modern day US Senate. What I feel is a poor choice in game design ( or perhaps it was intentional so you the player have to make hard decisions ) is no matter what or how you think/feel on these issues in real life, losing the support of a faction can cost you the campaign. Or, make fighting the war harder. Personally I preferred the how this aspect of the game was handled in Neverwinter Nights 2. My decisions were based on who least pleased with me and how can I keep them happy. Four stars for the game and minus one for the character interaction.

This game had so much going for it - at least in the game description. It has real time strategic combat, 3rd person shooter (of sorts) and turn-based economy building. Yet with all these amazing aspects, it fails to do the one thing it should have had - to be fun to play for more than 2 hours. I am particularily disappointed with the strategic combat system, where you can only really win if you spam small units from the get-go, and chew up the whole population (it is shared between all players) before your enemy. The satisfaction of building up to the powerful units and watch the great battles they create is simply not there. Using different units to wage war in different tactical combinations is simply impractical and feels utterly lacking in enjoyment and variety. I want to like this game, hell, I forked out quite a bit of $ for it, but the graphics alone simply cannot compensate for the lack of enjoyment. Or maybe I expect too much?

Turn based strategy, real time strategy aka. RTS, government and political simulator, and a touch of tactical combat. Divinity: Dragon Commander is something what Rise & Fall and Maelstrom (less known TPS) should be. At its very core it is a fantasy kingdom simulator where you are the king, and more importantly you are a dragon. The gameplay really can't be simplified to a single word. You start at the largest scale and will end up at the possible smallest (mostly unexisting) scale of strategy: directly controlling a single unit while commanding the others. First here is the turn based part. A large table to capture the regions and put your most basic structures up and build the most basic units. Enough control to menage your empire and the diplomacy with others. This is the phase where you get the special ability card you can use later for defensive, offensive or dragon boost. While you can do everything at once in a single turn, every group of units are limited to move only between neighboring regions. For a second aspect here is the real time strategy that occurs when you encounter something hostile in the same region where your units stands. Before starting it you're able to macro manage your start by adding cards and distributing the units. As you hopp in, it plays like a normal RTS. You can build structures on the different spots, build and upgrade units. There isn't a large selection, but every unit has a role and every one of them are usable at end game also. There is only one type of resource which is generated by a building which has the rarest spot to build on. Yes, the basic play here is about capturing control points. Finally here is THE dragon, you. Any time you can turn yourself into a dragon to actively participate the fight. Dodging fire, using special abilities and precise execution which is impossible just by clicking. As dragon you lose some control but you're still able to command your force. It even has multiplayer with direct connection.

A lackluster and repetitive RTS element, a simplistic turn based board and a political satire from the point of view of a 15 year old 4chan poster. Somethings are best not mixed. This was probably one of them.