By the time Dragon Age 2 was announced and we all saw the first early-stage development screenshots I was still 'high' from playing Origins. I'm guessing 99% of the people on these forums loved Dragon Age: Origins when it came out, I was one of them. "Finally, a game that is the spiritual successor of Baldur's Gate I and II!", "Party based combat and a great long epic story!", "Choices that matter, and the ability to change the world!" Those were just one of the things I would read and hear people say, and I agreed 100%. I loved Origins, I really did, I loved it back in 2009, and I still think it's a great game. However, things do evolve and change.
I've played pretty much all Bioware games except for Jade Empire and Sonic (just to get the 'go play game X and you'll change your opinion to my opinion' - thing out of the way). So I think i have a fairly solid place to start out from when looking at the direction Bioware is taking the Dragon Age franchise.
As a starting point I think the various problems people have with Dragon Age 2 can be boiled down to either visual or gameplay-related.
About the visuals: I'm one among those who were very worried about the change in visuals from Origins to the sequel, especially after only having seen the first plain ugly screenshots when the game was first announced. Sure, I knew the finished game would look much better, but when the only thing you have to to by are screenshots, you tend to base your sole stance on said screenshots. However, much as I had anticipated, now that the game is almost out, the visuals look great, and while some might not agree, I believe the general consensus is that DA2 is shaping up to be e better looking game than Origins. And I was one of those who actually thought Origins looked really great visually. The art style has obviously changed from game 1 to game 2, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Fans have a tendency to want things to always stay the same, but if you don't allow games to evolve, you'll be stuck with the same thing forever, which in my mind isn't a good thing. While I do have a few issues about the new elves design, it's in no way a deal-breaker for me. I think alot of people are like me when it comes to Dragon Age 2 and its visuals and art-style, it looked kind of odd at first, and since it was different it was also scary, but now we are warming up to it. Overall, I get a feeling that people either like or dislike the new art-style, but very few feel that it's a deal breaker.
Also, are we really sure companions will only have one set of outfits? I'm fairly certain I've seen Aveline in both leather and in full plat mail. Either way, I think it will add to companions that they have a distinct look to them. In Origins I was kind of sad that I couldn't keep Alistair in the armor you first encounter him in. It just suited him so well. I'm looking forward to a system where my companions have a distinct look and won't just use my hand-me-downs.
About the gameplay: The biggest fear people had in the beginning seems to have been that the gameplay was 'dumbed down'. I'm not very fond of the term, as it implies that people who don't like the tactical combat would be inferior or not as smart as those who do. Some enjoy playing their games like a chess game, other's like a faster approach to battle. It has been said and shown more than once that both styles are supported, and that you can switch back and forth in any combination you like. Personally, that was how I did it in Origins. Easier battles I just let the game play out, with me only controlling my main character, while I played it more tactical in the bigger boss battles. I think it is great that they are giving people an option to choose how to play. Bioware isn't making you play either way, it's completely up to you. That they have made the items easier to identify and helped label them as junk or with stars or whatever can only be a good thing right? You had tiers in Origins, and you quickly learned what to keep/pick up, and what not to keep. What's wrong with helping people get a grasp of this easier/quicker? Also, I get that some people like friendly fire, but as they have said, it's still in, but on the highest difficulty level. So if you want to feel good about yourself and brag about playing the game with friendly fire, I'm guessing you're doing it for the challenge. Well, then step up to the plate and try it on Nightmare/Hard (whatever they are calling it now).
Another common complaint seems to be the 'over the top' animations. Personally, I agree that I would have liked more mundane and realistic animations, but then again that was because I played mostly warriors in Origins, and warriors were treated very well in the animations department in Origins. Rogues and Mages however, were not. Mages got very few animations since their staff was their main weapon, and nothing really differentiated Rogues from warriors, hence that they only looked like lighter armored warriors. I believe the animations were also a side-effect of the story being a framed narrative told by Varric. He is going to exaggerate alot, and that includes the fighting. However, while the animations are a bit flashy, they also made sure to make the combat feel faster and more responsive, something that Origins in all fairness needed a fix off. The combat in Origins, while fun the first time around, felt very repetitive after a short while.
The whole 'only one race' and 'voiced main character' feels like it has been covered time and time again, so I'll just leave it at this. They decided to tell a more personal story, that requires you to narrow down who and what the main character is. I know some will agree, but both from a game-developing view and a story-telling view, I believe Bioware made the right choice here.
The conversation wheel is actually something I don't think will have much impact on the game whatsoever. I could ALWAYS tell what my responses would be like in Mass Effect, just as easily as I could in Dragon Age: Origins, and I'm guessing DA2 will be even easier (if possible), because of the icons indicating the tone of your answer.
I don't believe that alot of fans are worried that we will in any way get a worse, or less engaging story than in Origins. After all, Bioware is all about story. Likewise, music and voice-acting seems to be covered. Locations in game, quests and progression all seem to work similarly to Origins, although the skills and talents have been changed somewhat (for the better I believe).
Also, i don't think it's fair to talk about Bioware fixing Origins when talking about Dragon Age 2. Maybe there will be future patches for Origins, you have no way of knowing this, but bashing a game that isn't even out because the predecessor had some bugs doesn't feel right. When games are linear, bugs are easier to spot and correct, but with games like Dragon Age, where the possibilities are near endless, some bugs are bound to happen.
I'm not sure I've touched on everything that some of the forum goers dislike about the game, but all in all, I believe that not much has changed from Origins that would merit such an outburst from some fans. My advice is to play the game first, I'm pretty sure you'll still enjoy it. If you still don't like it, make yourselves heard so that Dragon Age 3 can be the game you want. Who knows, maybe Dragon Age 2 is the game you want, you just don't know it yet.
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the developers should listen to them, at the peril of their bottom line
