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Even I have to admit: that was a close one. They even got me into the black van, too, it was terrifying. I mean seriously, whose idea was it to put up air fresheners that make the air smell like fresh haggis? Granted, as a bit of a cooking enthusiast myself, I can appreciate it to some degree. Still, whatever is wrong with a nice, old fashioned pine tree scent?
But that's enough of that, so after I escaped from the AliGaider strike-squad, you might think I would lie low for a while.
But you'd be wrong.
I was putting all that ninja practice to use –I had private lessons with the famous British Ninja--, infiltrating the depths of Bioware to bring you the next new, entirely reliable piece of Dragon Age 2 information.
Note; I'm not entirely sure how sipping a cup Earl Grey and girding my loins with Union Jack underpants beneath my ninja outfit helped me achieve this, but that is beside the point.
Most believe that the phrase “Fight like a spartan” was meant to be read as something in more of a symbolic light. The truth is that its true meaning is a lot more literal than most people were expecting.
Once more, people who followed my previous bit of entirely reliable insider information will recall that I said that beards and such would not be the full extent of the manliness meter. There is another appearance system that ties into that, except this one is more universal then the beard system.
When Bioware said “Fight like a spartan”, they meant it. You will be fighting. Like a spartan.
And that means leather thongs, ludicrously defined skin, giant shields and some mean swords. Amongst other things. But, as with the Manliness Meter, it is not so simple as you might think.
The truth is, reason for changing the art style of Dragon Age is not because what we had wasn't interesting to look at –that was part of the reason-- the real reason was to accommodate this revolutionary new idea of: Spartan Style!
Everyone knows that reverse psychology works extraordinarily well in a fantasy environment. So when thinking of armor, the idea of “the less is covered, the more is protected” can be brought to its full potential.
When a player begins their game of Dragon Age 2, not only will they be introduced to the Manliness Meter or the Period System to either their male or female Hawke, respectively, they will have to work to master Spartan Style.
Now, mastering Spartan Style requires more than stripping down to your skivvies and charging into battle. The sight of a pasty pale person pushing past perilous predicaments is not one enemies will take kindly too. Your near-nudity will enrage them, causing dramatically greater amounts of damage to your character when your Spartan Style is unrefined.
For the sake of not spoiling the story, I'll just say that Hawke receives some tutelage in the skill of Spartan Style not far into the game. Once that is accomplished, then the player may begin building their own personal version of Spartan Style.
The base is basic physique. No one I know really wants to be looking at those insane, over-'roided behemoths on the covers of a lot of muscle magazines. There is definitely musculature involved, but it remains respectful of the player's intelligence.
The three most crucial muscle groups that Spartan Style hinges on are the biceps, the thighs and calves, and possibly most importantly: the abs.
The biceps and arm muscles channel the sheer cosmic force of Spartan Style, striking grievous blows against the enemy as you level up and train them. Mages will be most proficient in this regard. Higher levels will decrease the need for a staff to focus your mana-based attacks and allow for faster spellcasting.
The leg muscles are the manifestation of the exact energy given by Spartan Style that allows your character to dance about the battlefield with the grace of a true fighter. Rogues will be able to make the most of this. These are more complex in that the Rogue will either be able to customize it so that it either grants them either greater dexterity or a greater critical/backstab damage.
And lastly we have the abs; these are the specialty of the Warrior. These increase the player's core energy of Spartan Style. A high level Warrior who has properly invested in the ab attribute of Spartan Style is a fortress of sheer battle prowess, a true fighter to be feared on the battlefield, who can smash through even the toughest and most resilient enemy's defenses. Leonidas would be proud.
One more thing to take note of is that specifically for a male Hawke, there's the Spartan Style attribute of the glutes. I kid you not. A finely shaped and muscular set of Christmas hams is part of what can help make you the Hawke of legend, the Champion Of Kirkwall.
On the flip side of the coin, female Hawkes will have, with no other way to put this; boobs of steel. Refining Female Hawke's shapely, but chaste, bosom into something that the bards shall remember for centuries to come shall be the answer to the gluts of the male Hawke. Plus, higher leveled players will unlock a move that will temporarily stun enemies on the battlefield. (Note; darkspawn and golem enemies are immune to this)
Now, in effort of ease of reading, I'll be breaking this into a couple posts. Next is the details of the attire and appearance aspects to Spartan Style.
Modifié par IndigoWolfe, 02 août 2010 - 05:47 .
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