I want to post an updated version of my thoughts of the demo, after my first impression.
First of all: a demo is not the whole game. This is quite obvious, but it seems that many comments forget it. We cannot infer that the whole game will be just a "here another wave" hack'n'slash. This is to say, from the demo we cannot judge the DA2 plot, neither how the interaction between the characters will evolve.
We can, however, say something about: the graphics, the audio, the style of combat, some impressions about the interaction wheel, the first characters one meets, the classes and skills, and the overall feeling, that "hmm I'm intrigued" sensation a good demo should give.
So here they are:
- even if several people complained about the graphics, I'm quite happy about it. It's not the most innovative or the most beautiful I've ever seen (even in RPG), but it works, and it has a recognizable style. I quite like the characters (and frankly I find all this discussion about boobs a tad ridiculous), and I'm not disturbed at all by the new look of Flemeth (which is, besides, a shapeshifter) or the darkspawn (different but not worse with respect to DAO).
- on the contrary, I was quite disappointed by the voices: cold and uncommitted, they did not help me at all to enter into the atmosphere of the game (especially in the first part, where they should convey the feeling of urgency, loss and agitation - they are fleeing from their village followed by a horde of monsters, after all - something I do not feel at all). Besides, I had an annoying problem with the volume, which was way too soft in the dialogues and too loud in the music of the scenes in between. It disturbed me.
- much has been already said about the combat, I don't want to discuss it too much. In general, I don't like it. Even if I appreciate the faster pace, I think they pushed it too much, with the results that it resembles now the combat of those games like Mortal Kombat that you played in game halls. No feeling of weight.
- somehow connected to this there's my disappointment for the mage class. I want the three classes to be inherently different, not just in the skills you use to kill enemies and in the related special animations. Allow me this comparison just this time, but in games like Baldur's Gate you could feel -and play- very well the differences between the classes; here, not.
Perhaps this impression is connected to the fact that the demo is mainly combat, so we didn't have the time to see the other facets. But the skill trees do not comfort me. This was, by the way, one of the things I didn't like also in DAO; I have the feeling it's going to be worse in DA2.
- The first impression of the character that come with you is mixed. I didn't feel much connection with them. The dialogues also with your family members are not particularly brilliant, and struggle to convey that "family feeling". I cannot say I was particularly touched when one of Hawke's siblings dies, and I must say From one side, I tell myself that's because the demo is short, but some of the Origins of DAO were as short and yet managed to develop a real feeling of connection between the character and the others (I'm thinking of the human noble origin, or also the city elf).
- I still suspend my judgement about the interaction wheel. From one side, it's nice to see the feeling you want to convey instead of the words, from the other side I feel that it will lead people to just "click on the color" without reading. I'm not really sure it's an improvement. Personally I wanted more meaningful conversations compared to DAO, and this change doesn't go in this direction. Still, perhaps it has its merits and I'll decide after seeing it in action in the game.
- overall, I feel that the demo did not give justice to the game. It was badly balanced: very few character interactions, no example of side quests: basically it was just to try the new combat system, that had the side effect of showing the game as a console-style action game more than a rpg, and this is not I'm looking for in a game. I like the idea of the narration but it's difficult to get an impression by the few screens you see (of course, the change between the first and the second version of Varric's narration was a nice touch, but it cannot be just that). I played the demo with a mage and there was nothing that pushed me to try it with the other two classes.
I suspend the judgement of the game, but I'd give a 6 out of 10 for the demo, not more.
Retour en haut
.I retract my statement.
