If you could buy just one of these, which one would it be?

Definately Original Sin. The original Divine Divinity is to this day one of my favourite RPGs of all time, while I never much liked Baldur's Gate and the other games Pillars are supposed to be successors to. I still would like to give it a shot eventually, but up against Original Sin it's no contest.

That's a tough question, both have their strengths and weaknesses. It would be helpful if you told us what kind of experience you're looking for.

Definitely a tough question. Both of them are regarded as two of the best cRPGs currently available on PC. What are your top 5 cRPGs?

I prefer 2D CRPG over 3D.

Played both, had more fun with Original Sin. + Original Sin has an optional coop mode. At the same time, Pillars are still a really good game worth the time and money.

I have played PoE (plus expansions) to the end and am about a quarter of the way through D:OS. Both are very good but I'll put my vote with PoE. To me it has a greater depth and has that certain something that made me want to carry on playing it to see what happens. D:OS on the other hand, whilst I am enjoying it, I'm beginning to get a bit fed up with it (never a good sign!) especially as I've still a long way to go to finish he game. But your mileage may vary :)

Anyway, my opinion on them is that in terms of plot, they're both rather average and sadly both much too chatty for their own good. There's too much longwinded talk and not enough substance behind it. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate wordy games like Planescape: Torment if they tell a fascinating story, but in these two all the reading / listening to voiceovers often led to boredom on my part. That's not to say that there aren't any enjoyable (side) story parts and dialogues in both of them, I just didn't think that highly of the overarching plots and how they were told, compared to other classic RPGs I've played before. Much of it didn't strike me as really original. Note that Pillars is darker and more serious in tone and graphics, while Original Sin is a bit more humorous, also not shying away from breaking the fourth wall occasionally, IIRC.

Both games allow for free exploration but also have certain more linear chokepoints that split their stories in chapters or parts. All in all, I believe Pillars is a bit less linear, because you can ignore the main story and do side quests and such for quite a long time (which is both its strength and weakness, as it makes the main story feel even less interesting and important). I think Pillars might also be the longer game (especially if you also intend to play the expansions, which should be played before finishing the main game).

Combat and skills are great in both titles. Original Sin is turn-based, Pillars is Real Time with Pause, but IMO both are fun in their own way. Pillars has many cool spells, and tactics in Original Sin are versatile and interesting because you can also use the environment to your advantage (and so can your opponents, although the AI isn't all that smart in D:OS most of the times). OS allows you to play 4 characters (or 2+2 if you play in co-op mode with a friend), 1-2 PCs and 1-2 companions. Pillars allows you to play up to 6 at the same time: one PC, 5 companions. There are 8 recruitable companions in the main game and 3 in the expansion, and once you've recruited them, you can always switch between them at your fortress. You can also create your own companions if you prefer that, but you'll miss out on some companion dialogue then.

In conclusion, I liked both games for their engine, graphics, soundtrack, exploration, combat, character building, but was a bit disappointed with their storytelling, their plots and their overly long dialogues, which often got in the way of my enjoyment instead of drawing me in (and I usually appreciate stories in games). In D:OS I also didn't like the camera that much; it's zoomed in a bit too much and you constantly have to steer it with the arrow or WASD keys in order to follow your party.

For even more insights you could check out my Pillars review from earlier this year, and some complaints I had about the first D:OS.

Thanks everyone for their opinions on these two games.....I prefer rpgs that have a party and not just a single character. Here are my favorites....

1. Divine Divinity
2. Neverwinter Nights
3. Baldurs Gate
4. Eye of the beholder
5. Pool of radiance
6. Inquisition
7. Sacred 2

while divinity has some really tight gameplay and really neat mechanics, i'd have to say i'm enjoying pillars of eternity more overall (playing it right now).

Then in my opinion, Pillars of Eternity is the best choice for you. As Leroux said, in Original Sin you control 2 characters while in PoE you control a whole party, similarly to Baldur's Gate for example. Plus the combat in PoE is more like BG or NWN, while in Original Sin is more like Fallout in that there are action points and you take turns with the opponent(s) during the fight. :)

Divine Divinity.

Because it doesn't have Paradix involved in anyway ;p

Oh, now I realize, I wasn't accurate in my comparison between PoE and D:OS, because I mentioned the companions in PoE, but in D:OS there are actually a few companions to choose from as well. You can only have 1-2 companions in your party, in addition to your 1-2 PCs, but there are at least four companions to choose from and switch between. Still fewer than in PoE, but the system is similar. And you can fully control your companions in D:OS as well, it's not like the henchmen in Neverwinter Nights, although if your companions try to talk to an NPC they'll always be told to shove off and let your PC do the talking.

Anyway, both are good party RPGs (unlike Neverwinter Nights and Divine Divinity ;) ). Btw, if you love Divine Divinity, you will recognize some characters and bits of lore in D:OS, and you already know what kind of humor to expect. PoE on the other hand plays a lot like the Baldur's Gate series, while some aspects of the campaign design structure ressemble Obsidian's Neverwinter Nights 2 and parts of the story are reminiscent of Mask of the Betrayer (although I liked MotB's setting and story better).

Based on your list, with Divine Divinity at its top, I'd say buy D:OS first, unless you're in the mood for a game that is much slower to build. It took a good ten hours for me to begin to feel immersed in PoE.