3274 réponses à ce sujet

[Yusarian]

Since DAO, the mage origin was the one I most identified with and my sympathy for the plight of mages was staunch and genuine. DA2 opened my eyes and introduced more shades of color to my perceptions of their and the templar's struggles. As the game played out, the way some quests ended left me feeling stunned and sick at heart; one or two required me to take a break from playing. Some choices made me feel so dirty I wanted to take a shower. I was bored with the tedious monotony of some quests and moved to anger and sadness by others. I pitied, hated, was disgusted by, and adored my companions. I approved of and supported characters who ended up letting me down, while I had a strong urge to strangle other characters who surprised me and won my approval in the end. In one play through, I adamantly hated a rival character and in the next, by playing the devil's advocate, I found a grudging respect and admiration for their values despite myself. I liked that there was no neat and tidy (and sickeningly sweet) ending with a crowd of citizens screaming their approval as you pass in a triumphant procession of guards in gleaming armor... Real life isn't like that. Sometimes, regardless of how hard you try or how good your intentions were, things go ****** up and no one wins. While DA2 isn't the perfect game, I was won over by the story and the characters and for me it was a solid sequel despite it's relatively short length, repetitive gameplay and environments, and it's abundant glitches.

What I love about DA2
 --- Much more reactive game play
 --- Rivalry. I LOVE the new character approval system. You can have disagreements with your followers and not fear that they're going to run out on you or break a romance.
--- Your companions interact with one another.
--- The party banter is hilarious, as always. Merril, Varric, and Isabella especially are a barrel of giggles, while Fenris is always good for some tactless insult and Anders for a pissing contest.
--- New looks for the Qunari and Elves. At first I was unimpressed with the new look for elves (my first impression was that they look like those spindly aliens from South Park), but then along came Fenris and I was won over ; now I like it.
--- Equipment is rated. It's simpler but I feel it has actually made me think more strategically about what pieces of equipment I want to use, rather than my older method of "well, that gives me +attributes, so..." or "ugh, this armor is so ugly, I would rather put a campfire out with my face than equip it!"
--- Fully voiced PC. I was indifferent to this when it was announced that it would be in DA2, but it was very well-done and I got more than a few laughs off of sarcastic Hawke. I find myself still listening to most of the conversations four play throughs on, rather than just skipping over them like I did in DAO.
--- Interesting characters. As always, Bioware doesn't disappoint when creating followers and NPCs. Meredith and Orsino were both brilliant. My new favorite character in DA is easily Fenris and I sincerely hope he makes at least a cameo in DA3.
--- Codex entries pop up when you find them.
--- Bisexual romances.
--- Cameos.
--- Better lighting and features in the character creation screen. I can actually see what I'm doing now and the new hair options make me want to simultaneously cry and make out with someone on the development team.
--- The face changing mirror in the Black Emporium. I can't tell you how many times I scrapped a character in DAO halfway through their origin story because I screwed up their face somehow and they looked like a deformed gorilla with small pox. It's full of win, so please --PLEASE--I'm begging you here-- carry this into DA3.

What I hate about DA2
--- No spontaneous conversations. I cannot speak to my followers when I want, wherever I want and that's disappointing. This was one of the things I hated about Awakenings most, but I wasn't terribly fussed about because it was just an expansion. I never imagined this system would make its way into the full sequel and was unpleasantly surprised to find it indeed had. In fact, it's worse, because at least in Awakenings there were things in the environment that you could click and get an additional conversation; we have no such luck with DA2. The only good thing that can be said for having companion conversations in a set location like this, is that they're more cinematic than was previously possible (for instance, you can drink with Fenris at his table or sit around his fire). If Bioware could implement a mixture of we-can-have-this-conversation-any-time dialogues, with some cinematic fixed location conversations (like the ones in companion's houses), and a selection of spontaneous hey-you-know-what-that-thing-over-there-makes-me-think-of conversations, I would be happy.
--- Not enough gifts. Although I do appreciate that there are less of them (my inventory was often cluttered with around a dozen gifts at any given time in Origins), this would have been an easy way to add some more follower dialogues and I'm disappointed they didn't take advantage of that. <_<
--- The abysmally tiny font size. Seriously Bioware, did you test this game on anything smaller than a 70" plasma? I can BARELY make out the codex entries or quests in my journal. What is with the font sizes becoming tinier and tinier in all of the new Bioware games? It really feels like they're just pissing on those of us who can't afford a huge TV or have eye sight problems...
--- Very little to no character development for your followers. Isabela starts off selfish and greedy and never varies from that path; Fenris hates mages from the beginning to the end regardless of what a mage Hawke does to help him out. The only characters who seem to learn anything at all are Anders and Merril, but it's to a limited extent, far into the game and it changes nothing about their personal quests. It's disappointing that after spending 10 years with a group of people, none of them seem to really learn anything.
--- The plethora of glitches and bugs. It's been said a million times already; this game feels rushed and there clearly was not enough testing done to make sure game breaking bugs and glitches were fixed prior to release. It's sad to see in a supposedly finished product costing $60 a pop.
--- Reused maps and environments. There's really no variety to the environments. Play Act 1 and you've seen it all. When I do tire of this game, this will be the reason I never pick it up again.
--- You can't change your companion's armor. I read somewhere that this was meant to give the characters personality. It doesn't.
--- WTH is with the way Fem Hawke runs? She looks like she has a severe case of Scoliosis.
--- The game isn't long enough.
--- Why -- WHY-- Can't females get some dark make up colors? All of the eye shadow and most of the lip colors
are punch-you-in-the-face-on-cut-scenes-bright.
Edited for my attrociously bad formatting

Modifié par Yusarian, 06 mai 2011 - 02:10 .

[NinjaCoopa]

Just finished this piece of **** game on the PC. took me so long because i kept loosing interest and it was just making me want to play origins. Gotta say I'm very dissapointed because i'd actually become a diehard fan of the franchise and even loved reading the books. I wish this game hadn't been called Dragon Age II. i'll probably be passing on DA 3. Bioware, another diehard fan of yours has been lost.

[D. destryr]

likes :
better graphics my system could handle da2 better than dao , suprising anin't it.
fatigue concept was **** gud that it no longer there.
dislikes :
the game is dumbed down too much.
crafting potions and traps was gud.
your inventory space is too much .
u play only one city but in dao u could play in different cities i liked that.
also the companions armour is not changable , i really hate this.
also the story seems to be not on the epic scale initially,

[nanasu]

Jaedong was able to deny all of Baby’s attempts at harassment. Truly masterful play from the Tyrant.
Microsoft Office 2007 includes

[TheDA_Legend]

I think Dragon Age II is a very good game, here are my likes and dislikes;
Likes;
*I love the graphics, I think they're good
*I like how your character speaks in this game, instead of selecting from text.
*I think the combat animations are good, gives a better feel to the game when in combat.
*The other characters dialouge is good, and very funny, especially their discussions when exploring.
*The rivalry between all characters is good and realistic.
*The storyline gives you many options, according to your own personality, giving a in-game feeling.
*I liked having a home and rising to power, especially the letters you receive.
I wont say too much, it'd be too long!
Dislikes;
*The romance and friendship could be improved, it takes too long, and sometimes it's too hard to get a realtionship with a certain character, they definately need a companion house or something too.
*The bosses are too easy, and they DEFINATELY need ingame 'finishers' like in DA:O maybe some dialouge could be included with the bosses too.
*You should be able to romance with characters more often, to stop the relationships going flat (like when you have sex with a character, it's most likely the only time, then a few kisses)
*I found the customization a bit boring, there wasn't very much you could do to change your character, including your voice, that should be changed, but consoles should have the weird hair like you do on modded computers too.
*The armour was a bit strange, some sets looked the same as others? 
I wont say too many things, but I would also like to add my ideas for Dragon Age 3;
*It would be amazing if the game had online, like you and your friends, in parties of 4.
*instead of just having the bosses drop certain things, make them so they respawn, I think this would be good because: e.g There might be a rare drop, that might have a drop rate in maybe 1 in 40 or something, stop this game getting boring, more fun to the game.
*Definately have a tradfing system, trade loot with other players, even if this can't be online, do it so you can message other DA players, and they can offer you something for money, or the other way round, etc.
If these things were in DA3, it would definately be a brilliant game, and probably my favourite, I would love to have to earn things, with lots of time and effort.
Also a big thanks to anyone who helped create DA2, I'm only on my 2nd playthrough, but it's definately a great game, keep it up bioware!

[Maccyds]

First off, let me say that I am one of those die-hard fans of Dragon Age: Origins and, like the rest, I expected the second game to be on the same level, even if the producers decided not to continue the story of the original character, which was a letdown for many.

The first Dragon Age was one of those experiences you never forget, like a fantastic movie, but with much more personal involvement, since you get to model the fictional world according to your preferences. That game could hold you "trapped" in its magical world for hours on end, keeping you anxiously waiting for what will happen next. You would live through your character, laugh or cry with him/her and the rest of the companions.

That being said, Dragon Age II is nothing like its predecessor. At times, I felt sure I was playing a not so good DLC rather than a sequel. The general feeling I got from the game is that it was done in a BIG hurry. Which was to be expected, since the time of production was worryingly short for a Bioware game. But it's not just the short production time... I feel that this game has EA written all over it. It was made for fast profit, despite letting down so many fans. There are people out there who have been playing Bioware games since they first appeared. For them, this game is a very low blow.

In my opinion, Dragon Age II brings very few improvements upon the original. Since Origins was one of the biggest hits in RPG history, maybe the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principle should have been applied for the sequel. In terms of story, which is Bioware's strong point, the game mostly feels like a chore, like a rush through tedious obstacles in order to get to the "good part". For me, that part never really came.

The environment is perhaps the worst part of the game. The entire action takes place in one city (which feels smaller and smaller after running on errands for a couple of hours) and the surrounding area (also very limited). But that's not the worst part. You get to run around in the same caves and mansions over and over and not because you revisit old places, but because the "new" places are actually old ones copied and pasted. Yes, recycled maps, what JOY!

The characters are... interesting. The voice acting is amazing, but their personalities are very unilateral. X is totally against this, Y is totally for that, Z is completely obsessed with that... It gets boring and frustrating. Plus, you can't communicate with them whenever you want, like in Origins, but only at specific times, when the game tells you that you can. I love Mass Effect, but the dialogue wheel had no place in the Dragon Age world. And the fact that the main character is voiced doesn't make up for that.

I can't say much about the graphics, because I don't really care about that in a game, I much prefer a deep and engaging story. Some say it looks better than Origins, I say that the redesigning of certain races is not only bad looking, but also a bit of a disappointment. You can't create a universe that everyone knows and loves and completely change it in the sequel, because you think it looks cooler. What's up with that? Apples look like oranges now?

The combat is interesting, but I think they went from one extreme to the other. In Origins, combat was slow-paced and very tactical, in Dragon Age II it's ninja-style. You literally glide towards your chosen target and whack it with lightning speed. Also, you never really know how many guys you're fighting, since, when you think you've killed them all, a new batch falls LITERALLY from the sky (or, at times, magically appears behind you).

The inventory and leveling were completely redone and simplified. Well, simpler is not necessarily better. While the leveling feels somewhat better, since you don't have to go through numerous abilities you don't want in order to get to the ones you do, the inventory is awful. You get a new category of "junk" which is literally that, JUNK. You can only sell it (for very little coin, as well). The rings, belts and amulets have generic names, except for very few. You can't dress your companions, which is kinda cool, because their clothes are part of who they are, but that means that every single piece of armor you find that is outside of your class is useless.

To sum up this very long and incoherent review, I have to say that Dragon Age II is kind of bleah. It's an ok game with some interesting parts, but for Bioware's standards it's a joke. It's boring at times, repetitive, linear and you often feel like you have no idea what you are doing there, why you became a champion, what your ultimate goal actually is. You can't really relate to the other characters, since you get scheduled times with them, the NPCs are pretty bland, the quests all feel the same and nothing ever seems to change until the very end. It sometimes reminds me of MMOs where your goal is to do some identical missions in order to level up.

I was and still am very disappointed and I doubt I'll give it another go (I replayed Origins until my fingers bled). Some may like it, some do like it, but it's not my cup of tea. I had high hopes for this game and now I'm terribly worried about Mass Effect 3 and the future of this company in general.

[SmilodonBravo]

The gameplay was fantastic; I loved just about everything about the game mechanics. The game as a whole was a lot of fun to play. I just don't see how you can go from such an epic storyline as DA:O to such a garbage "storyline" as DA2 (if you can call it that). Like someone else said, just when I thought I was getting to the (beginning of the) setup of the main conflict, the game ended, and I was left blueballed.

I think the only thing that could possibly make the "story" of DA2 right is if it turned out to be just a big setup for DA3, so you know and love the main character that much more (since you went through all the petty trials and tribulations with him/her).

[The Flying Dutchman 10]

I guess I'll leave my review here as well. So here it goes. Keep in mind I played it on the 360. Also, this is after my second playthrough on normal difficulty.

Likes
-The combat was greatly improved from Origins, indeed when you press a button something awesome happens. Though not literally the case, it comes quite close the describing it.
-The Qunari. I find them to be greatly interesting plus the remodeling was pretty damn good too.
-Improved graphics. The enviroment and characters looked better than in DA:O.
-Varric, awesome character, definently want to see him back.
-Narrative, could've been more scenes of Varric and Cassandra talking, but it's a cool idea nonetheless.
-Writing. Well written characters and witty dialogue are BioWare trademarks, you didn't fail to deliver on this department.

Dislikes
-Repeating locations, there were about a dozen of them in total, got very boring after a while.
-No overarching plot. I spent most of my time wondering what the plot was. If I wasn't told in the trailers that it was about Hawke's rise to power, I wouldn't have known.
-Spamming enemies.
-Anders, I didn't like what you did with his character at all, completely ruined for me.
-Choices don't matter. Whether you are tolerable of Qunari or not, supporting mages or not, it didn't make a difference, it was advertised that the world would shape around Hawke, but it didn't at all. Not helping Anders didn't make a difference, I get that he won't let anything stop him from doing his goal, but it felt kind of lame. (I'm not a native English speaking guy, so I don't know how to properly word it)
-Flemeth, a heavily advertised character, but we see her three times, then she's gone in Arc 1 for crying out loud.
-Kirkwall doesn't change over the years, we don't see anything of the destruction that the Qunari wrought, their Gaat-Lok (or something) is supposed to be as destructive as Dworkin's bombs, yet you don't see anything of it.
-Beginning, we see the Hawke family running away, and after ten minutes something terrible happens, but I don't care, because I don't know that character at all. And don't say, that's what metagaming is for, NO, in one playthrough I should be moved enough to at least care a little.

Mixed:
Companion armor. Buying upgrades is a pretty good idea, except for the fact that it isn't necessary at all, I sometimes find upgrades, but I don't go to stores to buy stuff. Maybe this is because I played it on normal, maybe when I play on hardened it will be different. Anyway because of this the whole armor thing was ruined and made me wish I could buy armor for them.

[SmilodonBravo]

Yusarian wrote...

... I liked that there was no neat and tidy (and sickeningly sweet) ending with a crowd of citizens screaming their approval as you pass in a triumphant procession of guards in gleaming armor... Real life isn't like that. Sometimes, regardless of how hard you try or how good your intentions were, things go ****** up and no one wins. ...

Realism in many games can be a good thing, but if I wanted realistic tedium, I wouldn't be playing video games, I'd go outside and do real-world stuff.

[joltmajor]

When I started out the game, I was surprised that the game was getting such a bad rap.

I felt like Act 1 and Act 2 (up until the concluding events) were very strong, and I was finding the game quite immersive (save for niggling issues like enemies spawning out of the ceiling, and minor things like that)

But by the time I finished the game I felt like it was way too unfocused. The game introduced a whole lot of very interesting plot points, and by the end, either trivialized most of them, making them red herrings, or just left points unresolved. I also felt like the results of all of my decisions were superficial at best. The final moments of the game were really anti-climactic, and the motivations/actions of some of the characters in the game seemed really... out of character... considering the decisions I had made earlier on. (Also, several plot points got resolved way too easily, adding to the superficiality-vibe that I was getting for much of the game)

Since this is a non-spoilers section I cant talk about specifics too much.

Graphically I thought the game looked absolutely fantastic (I ran the game on a PC with the High-Res pack, and all settings maxed, with AA), in fact I think it looks better than any other game I've played... (although, I haven't played crysis). The game does look a bit cartoony but it is an artistic choice that I don't take much issue with--reminds me of Star Wars: Clone Wars.

People complaining about poor graphics need to play on a better system.

Even so, by the 3rd act, the lack of variety in the environments really got to me (ok, sure they are in the same places), considering I did all of the side/secondary quests, it got ridiculous to have every room in ever building look identical, and have the decoration, and layout in every house you visit look exactly the same.

But in short, the primary weakness of the game is that it starts strong, and peters out by the end... As if it was rushed out.

(Did the final boss remind anyone of Mass Effect 1...?)

Edit: Party banter was great.

Modifié par joltmajor, 09 mai 2011 - 12:05 .

[OHM_LO]

I did enjoy DA2, though compared to other Bioware titles its really bad.. Looking back at the plot and events that took place, DA2 is without a doubt a steeping stone for DA3.

From my point of view it is as the developers needed a game that expanded the scope of the Thedas. With DAO finishing of very nicely and not really anything more to add to that story, they created DA1½. Hopefully this means the plot of DA3 will be much more focused and "epic".

.. Hopefully

[DeadLetterBox]

The Flying Dutchman 10 wrote...

...
-Anders, I didn't like what you did with his character at all, completely ruined for me.
-Choices don't matter. Whether you are tolerable of Qunari or not, supporting mages or not, it didn't make a difference, it was advertised that the world would shape around Hawke, but it didn't at all. Not helping Anders didn't make a difference, I get that he won't let anything stop him from doing his goal, but it felt kind of lame.

Yes!  The thing where it felt like your choices didn't matter; that's why I felt like I couldn't win.  And Anders... that was why I quit playing before I finished.  You articulated this much better than I did.

Like I was trying to say (badly) earlier, I don't need it all sweetness and bunnies and roses, but to feel like something I did made a difference would have made the game feel more rewarding.

[LinearCinematicRubbish]

This game is painfull, I got an hour into and had to turn it off, It's
like they took the fight engine from Bayonetta, dumbed it down, and then
drowned it in the most mind numbingly boring, coma inducing, cinematic
waterboarding I've ever seen.  If I go to hell, and I'm pretty sure that
I will, and the Devil's good at his job, which I assume he is, this
game will most likely be featured prominently in my own personalized
circle of eternal torment.

[Raven_26]

joltmajor wrote...

(Did the final boss remind anyone of Mass Effect 1...?)

Edit: Party banter was great.

More like ME2 - LotSB - with that asari specter jumping around with biotic's - that was ok.
But why did meredith?no mage or abomination can do that, so I don't buy that lirum will do all that to a templar, demom or no. And if you tell me the maker helped her, I'll join Anders and blow up all the chantry's lol

[Flamewielder]

Some info about myself, so you can put my comments in perspective:

I'm over 40, male, former pen & paper role-player, gamer when time allows. I've played computer RPG's since Baldur's Gate came out. I've enjoyed FPS and TPS too (since DOOM first came out), but not to the same degree as RPG's. I love immersion and great stories & characters. I'm an avid reader and enjoy a vast collection of both Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels. I'm mostly a PC player but own a XBox360. I'm also a ME1 and ME2 fan.

What I like about DA2:

1) My character has a voice, and is still customizable to a degree (I own the Black Emporium). No more 1-sided conversations.
2) Graphics look sleeker in DA2, loved what they did to the Kunari even if I liked Sten's look in DA:O.
3) Great story, poignant moments, decisions have both good and bad consequences. I like the direction the writers are taking the IP in, storywise.
4) Key background elements from my DA:O story did have a minor impact.
5) Loved the companions, each flawed in their own way but always likeable. Great party banter.
6) I like the convo wheel, been using it since ME1 came out.

What I miss in DA2:

1) No more tactical view/free cam. The constant change in point of view (Rogues using Backstab, for instance) becomes disorienting and actually a strain on the eyes, especially if you spam it.
2) Because of 1), it becomes difficult to keep track of combo opportunities on the battlefield. I'm all for "battlefield chaos" and all that, but there are supposed to be 4 brains in the battlefield watching for openings, not just yours.
3) Having only Hawke use armor was a dissappointment. I know the designers wanted a more "unique" look for companions and it made party banter easier to write (Varric's comments on Ander's attire, etc...) but it still was a bummer not to be able to deck the companions out in whatever spiffy new armor you stumbled upon.
4) Unique levels/dungeons. The repetitive use of the same levels was as glaring and annoying as in ME1. Cheap money/time-saving ploy. Save it on models/skins instead.
5) Avatar elves... come on... DA:O elves were better.


Changes that left me indifferent:

1) No more skills. I honestly have no preference on having them in or not.
2) Mechant/location crafting. I was never a big fan of crafting in DA:O but being able to mix up healing potions on the road was useful.

[NoAngel89]

skills are dumbed down specially for mages, some polish on gameplay. Like fighting animations for warriors and rogues, but from how the animation is done, it makes the game look like a simply hack and slash. Even when the mage does it auto attack animation, it looks like a hack and slash, when it shouldnt be.

Weakest part of the game,
Story structure and its Motivation
WE NEED IT!!!
    Its should that you can have the most polish game play in the world, but if it doesnt have sense motivation to go through the game (especially for an RPG) People are not going to give a crap to play it. In the Dragon Age Origins, not only did it give players motivation, but a sense of purpose in the game. And by this, I mean player's main character (player's hero).
    They were'nt just given just some random task meaningless task to do, like the characters in DA2. From the get go, player's main hero from DA Origins, (depending on your origin story) had legit reasons to become grey wardens, survival, starting out a new live, or plain out revenge. There was a sense of purpose for them to live.
    On top of that, they had motivation for wanting the players to move on in the game. I cant give more info on that, since I cant put spoilers. But that what keeps the game going, and going well. In DA2, you're much left to your own devices, especially in the beginning, it feels like a grind to get to the good stuff or next act, and nobody wants to feel that, espeically for too long. In DAOrigins we can feel like nobody for alittle while in our own origin story, but then we want to get to the good stuff.

BOSSES CAN SOMETIMES BE WAY OVERPOWERED TO THE POINT IT MAKES THE HERO SEEM INFERIOR, INSTEAD OF BEING AN EPIC BATTLE
When boss battles come, instead of feeling epic showdown, it turns out to be more of a game of survival. Nobody likes that, I like a challenge, but I dont want to feel like a mouse at the same time. Look at your finial battle in Dragon Age Origin, and see how it balances the diffculty.

The Wheel Cycle Chat[smilie]../../../images/forum/emoticons/sick.png[/smilie]
WE WANT THE DIALOG TREE BACK!!!
    Seriously.... this isnt mass effect. What works for one game, does not always work well for others. Especially when people arent asking for it. And in this day and age, when games are starting to look the same. And people are getting tired of that. Is it really wise to make DA2 conversion just like Mass Effect.
   I probably wouldnt mind, if it wasnt done too terribly. The dialog wheel is probably the worst set up Ive ever seen. 1 its too options are too simply and dumb down and
2 the set up, Paragon option, Renegade Option, and Funny option?
The funny dialog can be really awkward and out of place. What really frustrates me with this is that theres no neutral option. Espeically when I dont agree with neither the good or bad option. It needs to be there, because players dont always feel the extremes of super polite or super rude, sometimes there in the middle. And sometimes I find neutral options to be the best dialog option to choose from.
  The funny options can not only be awkward, but may come off as very insenstive or plain out right evil. Basicly it does not carry itself, by itself in this game. And thats what angers me, its with this simplifed good or evil response, or the awkward comedy...... awkward.
If it the Comedy option must be there, it has to be at the side, along with the paragon, renegade, and neutral dialog options. WE NEED NEUTRAL DIALOOOG OPTIONS!!!!!!!

For it toooo WORK!

And Companions
Not every body wants their main hero to be a comedian. Sometimes they want to be the epic serious hero. Which I think is wise they would have another companion to be the really funny character to off set the darkness and seriousness of the game. David Gaider does this geniusly when he writes Alistair and Oghren. In settings of extreme brutal darkness, you need extremely funny characters. I just dont really see much of that in dragon age 2. You only really need one extreme funny character lighten the mood. Some of them just seems too serious. Or are have done as funny.
A Balance between funny and serious characters in the game. In awakening I jumped the gun, I was surprised to have seen a nice balance of serious and funny characters. It was a nice cast of people I thought of done well. But in DA2 sadly there seemed to be too many serious characters. I often find my self too depressed by the mood of the game at times, if the story dialog wheel didnt do that already lol.

And finially
TAKE YOUR TIME TO MAKE YOUR GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cant stress this enough. Bioware at this point you have very loyal fans, since you do, well like the things you're doing now. Sitting up a a social site to get closer to fans, and setting up forums to talk to us. Not many studios goes through these efforts and make it work, some rarly respond, or make a well designed forum. BUt you guys do. From this, you gain respect from your audience, if you didnt have it already. WHen I played mass effect 1, I couldnt wait for ME2. But since Ive played games like this before, I realize a good if not a great game takes years to make. Just just make another totally new game in less then a year, espically from scrap. But I wont get into that. Anyway I apericate you guys making this forum. Gives a clear way to give my opinon, If you ever come across it. Thank you again

Modifié par NoAngel89, 10 mai 2011 - 08:46 .

[lionalio87]

I'm in a second playthrough of Dragon Age 2, and this is the opinions for the first time play (many people may have already posted the same things that i'm going to do, but if it happen, it must be the coincidence):
###Things that I approve:

•  Good story, at least I can feel the depth of the story and enjoy it, although it is not much outcome.
•  Nice graphics, this is the improvement compare with DA:O.
•  Good characters, the NPCs provide their own ways and lifes, which I prefer the most in the game.
•  Good combat mechanics, maybe there is something that not so enjoyable and flaw, but for me, it's good enough.
•  Tough bosses, the bosses in the game are the real challenge. If you are going to make the next sequence of DA saga, please provide me some tougher boss like Ancient Rock Wraith, that's the boss I prefer to fight the most.
• Good dialogue, although this is the copy version of Mass Effect series, but it is still good and I enjoy the fact that my character can speak.
•  Overall challenging: Each time I faced the enemies I was almost heavily outnumbered, so I have to plan the tactics over time, even play back to reduce the casualties. (I played it in the "traditional" way, I didn't use any cheat or tricks to achieve my goal, and of course, in nightmare mode). This is always true, even if I'm very high level character

***Things that I don't approve:

• The re-used maps or areas in the game, which I tend to feel
  asleep each time I return to them, also the lack of the notable area,
  which give me strong impression when enter it.
• The
  inventorys, equipments, items are so simple and not much improved. Most
  of the armors are almost useless due to the fact that only my character
  can use them, and many of them didn't suit me, even though some of them
  are quite good.
• The appearance of the Darkspawn in this game is unacceptable. even lack of type of Darkspawn. Why they are so terrible like that? Please recreate them to be more lively and good-looking in the next sequence or next DLC.
• The
  world is not so wide, it's more local and somehow make me feel I'm
  going around a garden than traveling throughout a huge area.
• Some
  simplification of the gameplay makes me not so impress, for example,
  the talent of unlock the key or disable the trap, the ability of
  stealth....

So far those are the feedbacks that I send to you. Hope you can give me and the other gamers more enjoyable times, we praise your effort but please don't make us feel down so much with the unnecessary controversies.

Modifié par lionalio87, 10 mai 2011 - 03:02 .

[Keth Balderk]

Feedback for Bioware (and those who are considering buying the game).

Short synopsis. I like it, and consider it worth the money.

Note: I don't consider anything to be a spoiler in this post - minor spoiler at worst. If a Moderator disagrees, I would rather him strike the offending sentence rather than the post.

I played the game on hard difficulty the first 2 Acts, and restarted on nightmare difficulty without friendly fire (used a mod). Nightmare difficulty with friendly fire is undeniably more challenging; however, there are more aspects than challenge to my enjoyment of the game.

I think that there should be an option for turning off/on friendly fire. Some people like friendly fire while other people don’t. I would hope that the game designers could please everyone in this regards. As is, nightmare-mode means to me that many of my companion’s cool abilities are not useable without a great degree of micromanagement. It also means that I can inadvertently cut my ally in two when the AI chooses to move him into the wrong spot. I like more of a challenge, but not more micromanagement responsibilities. Soloing is the answer to an elite few, but I like the banter (wish there was more, particularly more comedy) and the team oriented approach that makes the hero better than he could ever be alone. Some people say that the harder levels of difficulty are all about micromanagement, but I disagree from my experience (just learn to set up your AI tactics properly).

I also like things being harder by making smarter monsters are giving them tactical advantages and not simply drastically increasing their HP. For instance, I thought the fight against the high dragon was boring. It took forever to kill that dragon. Its death was a great relief rather than a time for cheering at success.

The game designers did a good job with the game difficulty scale. There are difficulty levels that should be easy enough for everyone. If not, these forums can provide you with the tactical advice to succeed. There are many people on the forums who whine that the game is too easy. I think many of these people are just stroking their own egos. Once you know the monsters and the game intimately and use this knowledge when your character would not be aware, then the game will be much easier. If you are finding the game too easy, here are some things you can do to make it more challenging: (1) don’t cheat – that should go without saying but I think many people have used the console to give themselves gold, (2) don’t use knowledge that your character could not know for the selection of his equipment, order of quests, or tactics used, (3) don’t use over-powered equipment (these people know the items that make the game easier), (4) limit your use of consumables (potions, grenades, etc.), (5) limit your tactics to what would work vs a human dungeon master – could you really *lure* intelligent soldiers away 2 at a time?; could you really kite (run and shoot and run) a dragon that flies and could just strafe you from the air?, (6) limit your selection of comrades – you don’t have to pick the most powerful NPCs; you don’t have to use a full complement of 3 buddies on your team; you don’t have to use the Mabari dog, and (7) other things, but you get the idea. There are some great players (several have written character handbooks to help other people out, thanks!), and they may indeed find this game to be easy. However, as you limit yourself, the game will become more challenging.

I love the voice acting for Hawk and the NPCs, and I love the NPCs. Although none of them can be as good as a hero made for the class (warrior, rogue, or mage), they can be quite good due to their NPC-specific special abilities. But the special abilities of some NPCs (like Merril) aren’t so good on Nightmare, where AoE hurts friendlies. Aveline makes a great tank and can help a squishy hero live with her special abilities such as body guard. Fenris can be a fairly tough, damage dealer with his special abilities. His special abilities are so good that they compete with 2 Weapon and Vanguard choices. Merril’s special abilities allow great nature damage and can heal her too. Anders special abilities are a mix of benefits and penalties. Panacea by itself is not so great, but it is required for later abilities that allow you to heal the entire party or raise dead. Vengeance and Martyr allow him to Heal and do other spells very quickly, but at a considerable cost to his own health when he is squishy already. I wish every NPC was available in Act 2 and 3. They have expanded the tactics capability of the game and it progresses with level – that’s very nice. Once you understand how to use tactics, you won’t have to micromanage very much for success.

When I make my role playing choices, it’s hard to make friends or rivals with some of the NPCs. Aveline seems to be an ambitious, bossy, idealistic woman with a man’s jaw. She’s ok, but I admit that I don’t particularly like her. I wish that they had made the tank a dwarf! I like Fenris, and think that his character concept was very imaginative. However, he walks like he has a corn cob up his butt – what’s up with that? Merril is way cool – great job on that NPC, Bioware! Anders remains a whiny butt. I wish there was an alternative healer! I really don’t like him, but he plays a crucial part to the story. Bethany is the prettiest NPC hands down. Like other people, I could do without the piercing on Isabella that looks like a huge wart on her face! More banter would be appreciated, and more comedy too.

The romances and sex-scenes seem to be very distinctly PG-17 – maybe just PG. No nudity and very little romance are apparent. This is counter to the extreme violence that is constant in this game. I point this out because sex AND violence are big sellers at the theater. So, I am somewhat surprised. Was it because someone thought that parents may not want nudity but are ok with the hero being an assassin, mercenary (i.e. hired killer), hireling of corrupt political officials, and vigilante (typical of these sort of games)? Personally, I don’t need cartoon-sex, but if you are going to tout romance as part of the game, then have some romance! Specifically, I wish there was more interaction with your romance partner; so, that you knew more about their character and had more evidence of a *developing* relationship. This part of the game felt a little shallow to me. There should be an option to turn off the ******/bi-sexuality options in this game. Many people don’t want it, and most parents would not approve. I’m thinking that this may have been a calculated ploy to garner a few more purchases from the gay community.

Money is very tight in this game without stocking up on certain equipment and Runes of Fortune that will enhance the quality of the loot. Even then, funds are limited. You don’t need the funds to do well in the game, but it would sure be nice to have most of the best equipment by the end of the game – without having to use equipment and Runes of Fortune to obtain the coin. EA has solved this problem for those who are willing to pay them an extra $5. You will get some very nice equipment for free in the game (as with the blood iron armor). This definitely makes the game easier if that’s what you are looking for. These items are definitely at the edge of too powerful, and I feel some of the weapons are too powerful. However, I have an easy solution for that – I don’t use what I consider to be too powerful. Some of the item models were very nicely done. For instance, one of the suits of rogue’s armor looks very nice. I often found the NPCs looking much better than the Hawk, because the original equipment didn’t always look nice and looked even worse when mismatched for functionality. The $5 item pack really was worth it to me; still, I would have rather the game just give a little more gold, rather than pick up freebies.

This PC game has beautiful eye candy, but is heavy on the hardware requirements. I have 4 GHz i7 (quad-core), solid-state hard drive, and a MSI GeForce GTX 560-Ti Twin Frozr II/OC 1GB video card with a 22” monitor. I have four 120 mm case fans (silent, 49 cfm each), the video card has 2 fans on its special heat pipe cooler, the CPU has 2 big fans on its special heat sink cooler (Noctura NH-U12P SE2), and the power supply has its own big fan (ANTEC CP-850). I can play with video settings on high (not very high) with the improved textures mod and typical heat is <65 degrees Celsius on the video card and <60 degrees on the CPU. It has got as high as 85 degrees on the video card. The software apparently does not communicate properly with ATI cards. I began using an Asus EAH5850 video card, which could heat up too much – over 90 degrees Celsius! When I first noticed that, I began quitting the game each hour and manually running the fans at 90% max to cool down the card. This game should have been made to play well with ATI too. Unfortunately, I get the blue screen of death rather frequently with this game. I don’t recall ever crashing with the ATI card, but I’m not sure what is causing the system crashes. I haven’t noticed a consistent pattern. Needless to say, I save frequently.

The story was pretty good, and the finale was excellent! Overall, I liked this game. I think it represents a clear advancement in technology over its predecessor.

Edit: Like other people, I would have apprciated more unique terrain and buildings (not repeats).  Was the disk full?  Could we have had two disks then? As far as sales of DA2 go, I only care about my enjoyment, and  I enjoyed the game.  I think the sales of many items has been down in recent years as the recession drags on and on.

Modifié par Keth Balderk, 10 mai 2011 - 06:42 .

[napushenko]

 Likes ; 

The story, i loved it, it was different, well played out and multidimensional, even if you dont have much impact on it. Main character motivation; i immensely prefer personal motivation over generic save the world crap. You are nobody at begining, your family depends on you, you are a refugee, and you are capable to change all that. The rest comes along the way.
Graphics; Very much fluid and more alive then DAO. 
Combat ; I cant even say how much i enjoyed it more then Origins one. Tactical goals changed, but in a good way. Combats last longer. Heroes feel more heroic. Spells and abilities work better. I mean, i can pick at least 30% of abilities that didnt work as intented in DAO because of combat system. In here, not so much. 
Crafting system ; I apreciate it`s city context rather then mix on the road context that worked in DAO because of diferent storys - locations. 
Companions ;  I liked them all, some i found more interesting then any in DAO, some i didnt. But they were a brightpoint.  Maybe a litlle cliqued, but thats not neceserily the bad thing. 
Spell / Talent tree - Much more varied and logical than the DAO one. Good job. 

Likes - Dislikes

City life : I loved it, and concept of years gone by. It worked good for me. But, quarters should be made more discernible with years. Some new things beeing build, some things gone. Some people gone. More graphical variety.
Graphical model changes ; I liked the Qunari ones, i disliked the Elven ones. I liked over the top weaponry and spell / ability effects, it kinda made combat livelier, altough without good physical explanation for it. Some suspension of disbelief and it works fine (backstab - we dont see rogue sneaking up, we only see it hit).
As for extremely physicaly realistic weapon models. I dont really care, nor do anyone else. 
 
Dislikes; 

Area repeating - no explanation needed. 
Less is not more - I could go by with more quests, more influence on general storyline, more locations, more variety. 
Companion armor; Altough it works good in some cases, and it does save quite a few numbercrunching hours, i think i would like to see it in DA3 more then i would not. 

Thats it for now, if i remember something else, il add it, but il surely be in Likes sections cause i liked this game very, very much. Good job BW ! 

[darkgriever26]

Since I've finished DA2 2 times already [using a warrior and a mage class] and I'm currently playing the rogue class  so here's my review:

To make it more organized, this is what I like about DA2:
- I like how they made the main character fully voiced. I mean finally! My character can finally voice his opinions.
- Love the improved looks of the characters. Though I know some would disagree but I don't see anything wrong with the new looks of old characters. More so with the new characters there.
- I love the story. You can really feel the intensity of every decision the main character has to make. It also manages to connect some of the decisions you made in DA:O and DA:O Awakening.
- I just love the companions. They each have their own personality and I like how you can make them a friend or a rival. Also by sticking to one side has some effects in the gameplay and impression to your character.
- I like the improved gameplay. The animation for each ability is great.
- I like the idea of the coversation wheel. Fits perfectly since the main character is already voicing out his own opinion.
- I also like the new look of the abilities tree it more user-friendly in my opinion

Now this is what I don't like much about DA2:
- The reused maps. I don't like the idea of having to go through the same maps again and again and again. [I think my mind can remember what each map looks like :lol:] But still...I won't mind getting lost as long as it is unique in other areas.
- I find it hard to control a rogue due to the sudden change in camera angle [using the backstab ability]. Overall I don't mind the camera angle but this somewhat hurts my eyes so I prefer to play a mage character/companion instead to get a good view of the field.
- There are still so many bugs that it somewhat makes me frustrated. But I know this it would gone once the new patches arrive.

Other opinion/s:
- It's a bit disappointing that you cannot talk to your companions the way you can talk to them in DA:O but I guess I've gotten used to it already. so I don't mind
- At first I was disappointed that your companions cannot be equipped with an armor because they have their own. But now I don't mind since I can focus more on my character when it comes to armors plus their prefered armor looks good eitherway.

Now overall, I still love the game despite the flaws. It made me play more than once compared to DA:O and DA:O Awakening plus it made me want to play DA:O and DA:O Awakening again to see the other things that would further develop my DA2 playthrough

Rating: 4/5

[AussieBee]

Overall I was quite disappointed, in the game as a successor to DA:O *and* as a game in and of itself.
Since I'm sure you're sick of hearing people bemoan it not living up to DA:O, I'll try and focus on it by itself.

I found combat boring, quite frankly. There was no need to get things done, to make sure my party was doing the right thing; all I had to make sure happened was healing, and taunting for bosses.

The story was interesting and engaging, I did definitely enjoy seeing it play out. But I feel like it would have been better suited for a book or a movie (or a game that did not claim to be a roleplaying game), seeing as my decisions did not have all that much effect.

I quite liked the companion characters; as a whole they felt diverse and interesting, and each character really felt like they had lived their backstory rather than just having it tacked on. The cast as a whole was good, and I can't think of any of the named cast that did not feel like they were without depth. However, none of the characters felt like they had any real progression, which is especially disappointing considering the story is supposed to happen over most of a decade.

Writing as a whole was quite good, however many of Hawke's lines felt awkward, and the voice acting (male and female) did not quite work for me.

Overall, I think it's the execution of the game that really let it all down... Broken into dot points for easier reading.

What I liked:-A much more enjoyable experience playing as a mage (for me)
-Interesting companion characters
-A continuation of the Dragon Age universe
-Secondary quests (and hidden quests) that made the world feel more complete with real history
-Having a base of operations-Bodahn and Sandal!
-Great companions' voice acting.

Major dislikes:
-Hawke's decisions/attitudes not having that much effect... Sure I can save this mage or kill that thief, but in the end the story did not feel like an RPG, it felt like a shooter following set rails. This is also the reason why the story does not make it onto the list of things I liked; it was an interesting story, but it felt like I was watching a movie play out rather than be an actual character in it.
-Combat. Ranged companions constantly ran away from the group. Endless waves of magically appearing enemies falling out of the sky. No point to attempt tactics on the battlefield - the only tactical decision to have any real affect is to have everyone stand in a close group so that enemies all stand in AoE range. Camera that often shows nothing if you're a melee character. Not able to zoom the camera out enough or to show a top-down angle.
-Boss fights. Fights of attrition rather than anything interesting or engaging. Here's a bad guy, he'll take five minutes to kill, manage your healing cooldowns so nobody dies: that's it. I had more difficulty and interest in fights with some regular mobs simply because of the sheer numbers of them and having to manage aggro/healing cooldowns/aoe cooldowns/etc.
-SO MANY RE-USED LOCATIONS. Caves. Goddamn caves. Seriously? CAVES. AND every single house.
-Not finding out what happens to my own character at the end.
-So little interaction with companions. I felt like Hawke barely even knew most of them, I got to have so little conversation with them.
-Little to no character development for...well... everyone.
-Friendship/Rivalry. A cool concept I think, but didn't work out so well, at least in this case. I remember reading that the intent is that your relationship ends up defined by your attitudes; that this system was supposed to encourage/reward consistent attitudes. Well, my very consistent anti-oppression attitude left me with a Fenris who was stuck right near the middle of the bar. If I play through again I'm going to have to literally look up the wiki and plan out exactly what to take him with me on so that I can get only Friendship or Rivalry points.
-Horrifyingly ugly mage robes. (I wore my smuggler's "robes" until I got my champion armour, it was that bad.)
-Anders. I don't want to break the no spoilers rule, so I'll just say, I hate what you did to him.
-Major retconning of elves (and Qunari, though we never knew much about them to start with so I guess you can justify it).
-Lots of intriguing things introduced and then just left hanging.

Other dislikes and annoyances:
-I found the inventory to be even more of a pain than DA:O. The stars system also did not help at all (especially since you couldn't see the stars rating of what you're already wearing), since something with 5 stars was not necessarily better for a character/build than something with only 2 stars.
-The conversation wheel. While I am a huuuge fan of the ME series, and I feel like it works there, it doesn't feel like it worked here, at least not this time. Maybe the dialogue was just... bad >.> Also, "Good/Nice" "Bad/Mean" and "Funny"? Seeing as most of the time I tried "Funny" it chose sides, I really don't like it as a replacement of the Neutral option.
-The music was nice but I heard the same stuff so many times (like seeing the same caves so many times) that I ended up turning it off completely.
-Enemy mages using Barrier on themselves (I assume that's what it was) and leaving us all standing around waiting with noone to fight while it wears off.
-Controlling party tactics for some spells did not work well... no matter what I tried I could not get my mages to use Glyph of Repulsion on themselves when they were being meleed.

And to end on a happy note! Things I found interesting and/or think have potential:
-Friendship/Rivalry. Yes, it's on my dislikes. But I do think a different kind of approval bar such as this is an interesting idea, and has potential.
-Companion armour. I did like that they were real people and not just dolls that would let me dress them in anything I felt like. I also liked the upgrades system for them.
-I would still love to see where this story goes.

[foehammer447]

i wish the character development in the game would be better....although it has better graphics,user interface and battle systems but it seems the story line with the 10 year time line is a bit weird and ridiculous not to mention the conversation wheel make Hawke sounds like a total weeny.....

[Eowien Thiele]

Opinion after 4 play-throughs

-The storyline
-The graphic art
-Living a life
-Subtle impact of choices
-Companions and their interactions with each other
-Companion dialogs

Dislikes
-Bugs! Not the spiders, but the major and minor bugs that kept me running around needlessly
-Dismembered corpse piles (though they can be unintentionally hilarious)
-Avoidable congruency errors
-Dialog wheel. Really.
-Merrill's undergarments. Again, really?

[TerraMantis]

"Dragon Age 2 the ACTION RPG version. A thorough look into the spars ups and plentiful disappointments."

This is my non-spoiler review that i posted on Gamespot and have 28/30 people that agree with my assessment. I gave DA2 a 7/10.

First of all, we'll get this out of the way, if you absolutely loved the first game, its mechanics, and everything in between about Dragon Age: Origins, there may be changes here that disappoint. But if you're the other breed that thought the game's fighting and mechanics were too stale then there could be elements that change your perspective on Dragon Age. I fall into the prior category. That being said my review will be a bit bias because i have played DA:O and loved it. With Dragon Age II Bioware has tried something new with the IP, and I commend them for that, but it falls short on delivery and is not what should be expected.

The main story is still fairly good, but is obscured by very very many pointless side-quests that barely peak any interest because of their extremely repetitive nature, lack in sense of meaning and focus, and the quest's dull series of events that are executed during their completion. On the other hand, the companion's quests start off slow and a bit dry in the beginning acts of the game, but become very interesting toward the end. The story is still thrown into the amazingly realized Dragon Age universe with the complexities of conversation choices and out-comes making a return, but this time around are more reminiscent of something you have seen if you have played Mass Effect. These conversation choices have had a small icon attached to each answer to indicate the attitude and or emotion of the answer you are picking. In some ways this is good and it isn't at the same time. The reason for this is, it is good because before you were not 100% if your guy was being a sarcastic jerk or not, but at the same time, now in DA II, it also takes out any wonderment of the reaction each choice's answer might invoke on the recipient.
Another game mechanic taken from Mass Effect is the ability to ONLY be able to choose your character's first name, and not the last name, the last name is a prefix...Hawke. This is ingenious, because it allows the player to create their own character and also gives all NPCs a scripted dialogue to refer to them as. Furthermore, it is a very nice change to have your main character have a voiced opinion about what is happening. In turn, I believe this is why people say the cast from 2 is not as good as Origins. For example, whereas before you would choose your dialogue answer and the dialogue's actions would mostly be carried out, in some manner, by the other members of you party. Like, when you pick your conversation choices, before your accent into the final battle on the way to the Archdemon, and Alistair rallies the armies in a "Braveheart-esque" fashion. Thus creating what appears to be a much more lively and believable party that the player can draw a connection to. So it is a bit of a "catch-22" sacrifice one for the other or vice-versa. Either a beloved created character or cronies. I am sure they'll deliver both eventually.

As far as character creation goes, aesthetics are just as good, if not better than the DA:O, but there is no longer different races or racial abilities that came with them. Most likely, people wouldn't have been as upset by this feature if they would have incorporated a different region where your character was born thus creating different racial abilities and adding another level of character customization. But, talking about hypotheticals and speaking in hindsight is both pointless and stupid. I'm sure I'll do it again though. As far as equipment customization goes it is pretty much on par with DA:O, only for your created character though, the other members of your group can have their equipment up-graded but not in the same manner as DA:O. Your companion's armor is upgraded through buying upgrades from merchants or randomly finding upgrades on quests. Besides upgrading their armor you can change out their accessories and weapons. The equipment user-interface has been mainstreamed. The UI is very easy to use and understand, which is fine, but is completely and utterly ugly. Every item archetype have the exact same icon, every ring has the same "ring" icon and every amulet icon is the same, and their names are just as generic as well with names like "ring" and "dagger".

Dragon Age II almost feels as though it should not be considered a different Dragon Age tale worthy of being called part two. It feels as though it should be something like Dragon Age: Rise of a Champion, or something like that, the action RPG. In the same fashion and comparison to how Baldur's Gate had I&II yet they also had the action RPG versions Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1n2. The story follows in... "meanwhile", if that makes sense, with the first game. In other words, they're going on simultaneously. MEANWHILE back at Dragon Age: Rise of the Champion (that was my 60's Batman announcer's voice). On the other hand, the game could feel like a different game, though, through fighting and combat mechanics.
Dragon Age II almost feels like it should now have a multi-player function. I believe this feature would bring the game's score and fun factor up. I would have never said these things before, because it would be defeating the whole purpose of the micromanaging in a "team group-control-style" RPG, but it feels as though they have already defeated that purpose.
For example, I have tried the demo on the PC and now own the Xbox version and i have to say that i am disappointed with the PC version. Whereas, before i absolutely preferred the PC version and loved the game on PC. Maybe i just needed to remap the "weak attack" button, from the left-click of the mouse and place it somewhere better, but i really dislike the need to continuously click on my target to do my..."auto-attack" skill. It just seemed monotonous and by the end of the game it feels extremely tedious. I hope they add an option in the radial menu, or something, to make it so one click will make the character you're controlling continuously attack their target. This function, of continuously mashing your weak attack, feels trivial and shallow for a game like this.
Dragon Age is supposed to be about micromanaging an entire team and i feel as though I am missing things or not giving my other team mates the acute attention they deserve because i am mindlessly smashing the A button, or left click, as filler or my guy will just stand there while actual skills are on cooldown. Although this function is much less noticeable and or just more enjoyable on the Xbox, it is still bland in either case. Besides the "nonauto-attack" issue I like most of the combat changes for the better. The actual fighting and combination of team members to enemy buffs and debuffs make for a much more solid experience with cross class effects. These cross class effects are when one of the game's three classes adds a hindering effect to the enemy. For example, the rogue disorients, the warrior staggers, and the mage brittles the enemy. Whenever one effect is applied to an enemy the other two classes can have their talent tree skills enhanced for extra damage or effects. So, when the warrior applies stagger either the mage or rogue can have possible enhanced skill effects added to that enemy and if a mage makes an enemy brittle either the warrior or rogue can have extra effects and so on. These effects make your talent tree skills feel important and encourage their use in association with your teammate's abilities. The talent tree skills are very smooth and bloodily satisfying.

The battles, on the other hand, situationally have been regurgitated. Almost every battle situation is exactly the same and becomes very repetitive. There are almost always many archers, melee guys, and enemies always "pop out", not teleporting or stealthing in, from nowhere. It feels as though no one sat down and really tried to think of any awesome or unique battles scenarios for the encounters in the game. Roughly every single major battle has the exact same mechanic to every fight which is more "adds" popping up at intervals in certain enemies' hit point percentages. An ambush is only an ambush if it is unexpected...it happens 90% of every fight in this game.

Besides the nice new animations for the talent tree skills the actual trees themselves have been dumbed down and or had versatility taken away. For example, the trees are now "webbed", but they only give the illusion of choice and flexibility. An exact example of this can be found in the rogue's subterfuge tree. So say you choose the skill "stealth" and then you're wanting to go to either "ambush" or "lingering". You may think "okay i can either wait out the tree in levels and just not put more points into the tree and wait til i get to the required level to obtain "ambush"(lvl 4) or "lingering"(lvl 6)", but then you realize that they also have more stipulations attached to be able to obtain the skill. Such as, also requiring other skills, so many points distributed in that tree, and or still the level requirements. Then you realize it is impossible to get to the top right portion of the Subterfuge tree without getting "Evade" even though it is not connected to anything in that part of the "webbing". In addition, these multiple requirements defeat the whole purpose of a "web system". With the "web system" you would assume you could go down one direction then take a completely different direction, totally bypassing some unwanted skills to reach what you want, but you can't because every single skill in the game requires every connecting skill "branch" that touches a skill you want to be chosen to be able to obtain it. So in reality these skill "trees" are more linear than the ones in DA:O...which were straight lines. This is because the trees have been slimmed down and the actual amount of different functioning skills are not there. The bulk of points go into little itty-bitty side skills that enhance your already existing skills that have a function.

The environments in Dragon Age II look great. Even though some of the environments have improved in aesthetics you can not help but feel as though the maps are "flat", narrow, and very linear. Also, you can tell Dragon Age II was made over the holiday months because BioWare definitely had out their cookie cutter. The exact same environments and maps are used and reused over and over and over. Ten years are supposed to be passing in your stay in Kirkwall, but roads still have the same over-turned or wheel-missing wagons on them and the city never expands with construction or renovations. Also, 95% of the game takes place in two major locations, Kirkwall and the coast by Kirkwall...that is it. When i am going into a fantasy world i want it to be just that...a world, not just a town and its beach.

Up where Gamespot lists the publisher/developer/and genre of the game, under the box art image, it should definitely be changed from Computer Role-playing to Action RPG. I know they only throw it in that genre because that is what Bioware has labeled it as, but it just isn't.

One of the stars of Dragon Age II is its music. I loved the music of DA:O because it was very tribal and almost, at times, evil sounding while also feeling primal and epic. In DA2 the music has returned to doing all these things and yet taking it to the "next level". They have taken it and exacerbated it. I know that exacerbate means to compound an already existing problem, but that works here.

All in all, Dragon Age II is a good ACTION RPG, with the ability to stop time and control multiple team members at once, but doesn't stand up to its predecessor's level of team/character development and intellect asked of the audience. As you have read what i have said you may have noticed that i have repeatedly said "less this...less that". Dragon Age II doesn't feel so much as they have "trimmed off the fat" but have only given you half of your steak. Don't get me wrong there is a lot of game here (roughly at least 50+ hours of Action RPG), but especially after playing DA:O I am expecting a certain level of a interactive, chess-like, strategy and tactics not just through gameplay and variety of battles and their mechanics, but also through deep character creation and developmental options...not an action RPG. Though both game genres have their merit, and I enjoy both, this game doesn't deliver exactly what was or should be expected only one installment after the launch of the franchise, but is still good...not great.

If you're wondering about buying Dragon Age II my answer is this. If you're really into action RPGs or basically non-tactically thought provoking combat you could really like this game. It is like a Dynasty Warriors game with much deeper RPG elements. If you were a big fan of DA:O, and really loved it, i would say play DA2 at your own risk...it could spoil the whole experience for you.

Modifié par TerraMantis, 13 mai 2011 - 03:02 .

[mchartz]

My take in simple hopefully non-spoiler terms (from a guy who loved DAO, by the way):

Likes:
New combat engine - I like the quicker response and not often running aimlessly toward an enemy like in DAO. It seems much crisper to me.
Graphics - This is to a degree, since I still can't understand why much of the armor and some weapons graphics look so, I dunno, two-dimensional (especially straps and buckles) or kind of blurry. The overall graphics are cleaner than DAO, however.
Better archery/mage staff power - I thought archers and mage staff attacks were way underpowered in DAO. Mage staff attacks look much cooler, too.
PC voice - Not a big plus, to me, but I do like it even if the response isn't always exactly what you might expect from the icon.
Runes for armor upgrades - Awakenings started it and I'm glad it continued but there aren't many pieces with slots.
Friend/Rivalry system - I guess it is better than risking desertion but I still find myself choosing who to bring based on whether they will like my pending decisions.
Sustained talents - I truly appreciate how they revamped the sustained skills to they set aside a portion of stamina/mana and leave the rest for use. It was frustrating to me in DAO when the sustained talents turned off in the middle of a fight because your stam/mana got too low. I would have much rathered it - like in DA2 - just run you out of stam/mana so you can use a potion or fight without using talents (giving you time now to recover).

Now to dislikes (most of which, like the likes, are compared in many ways to DAO):
Re-used and unbelievably repetetive environments. Re-used and unbelievably repetetive environments. Re-used and unbelievably repetetive environments. See how awful that is? Severely cuts down on the replayability and even the initial playthrough enjoyment. Did I mention re-used and unbelievably repetetive environments?
No race choices - One of the keys for my multiple replays in the original was choosing an entirely different background and adjusting my choices to make sense to that background. Here you can choose the class still, and gender, neither of which change your background. I understand it is a different story and accept that, but it truly does inhibit my desire to play it again and again.
Consequences of choices - Like many others, I didn't feel like my choices made all that big a difference in any major outcomes. I can't really give specifics without spoilers, but suffice it to say no matter how sympathetic or supportive you are (or the opposite), the outcome really won't change. All of the main NPC characters will do what they're going to do regardless, some of which will leave you thinking "why did I bother." That is really disappointing to me as an RPG fan. It makes this game far more of just an action/adventure game than an RPG.
Character development - You have such limited conversations that you feel like you really don't get to know the allies that well. In supposedly 10 years you know less about their deeper motivations than you did in one year in DAO.
Re-used armor and weapons graphics from DAO - One thing I didn't love about DAO was how ugly and repetetive much of the armor and weapons were. It is better in DA2 but still could be better, IMO.
BUGS - Wow, I expect some bugs, but this was pretty harsh, especially those like the Isabella/Sebastian friendship bug that truly impacts the gameplay severely.
Storyline in general - It just didn't have the depth of DAO for me. The three acts are truly seperate stories in a large sense, with no real continuity except the rise to power angle. While I get that, it didn't feel cohesive enough to me. There wasn't the depth. For example, (DOA spoiler), you hate Loghain throughout but at the end you realize he wasn't just pure evil, just committed to his cause to the point of zealotry. In this game, by the end, I didn't like or respect anyone, whether I sided with them or not.
New looks for elves and darkspawn - I liked the old versions better, especially with more variety of darkspawn. I do like the revamped Quanari, but I don't quite get how Sten in DOA looked nothing like his DA2 brothers. But that's nitpicking.
Money - Too hard to get enough without cheating to get the best equipment. I don't expect to be able to buy the best of everything in each act, but man, I could hardly afford any of it. I don't want to be forced to use runes and equipment just to get access to more cash.
Special armor sets - Truly bad. There is only one set in each level for your character and you cannot find the final piece until the end of the act (and in some cases the beginning of the next act). By this time, the sets are either outdated or nearly outdated. I find this extremely stupid.
No Arcane warrior - My favorite from DAO, hard to use early because the sustained talent ate so much mana but was (maybe too) powerful later.
Robes are still ugly - The best looking mage outfits are the DLC, Champion armor and Pirate robes - and that is simply because they don't look like robes. One of the reasons I liked Arcane Warrior. Most (not all) of the hats, helms and hoods are also ugly and strangely don't even match the armor they supposedly go with.
No special random killshots - Remember when your rogue or warrior randomly decapitated a foe? The leaping on an Ogre killshot? with a few, prescheduled cinamatics, those are gone. Each weapon class (except mages) had like three different ones that would randomly occur and I miss them.

I guess it seems like I hate this game based on the difference in likes to dislikes but I don't. I just don't love it. I loved DAO more than the Mass Effect games, despite it not being as polished. This game should have been at least my second favorite behind perhaps DAO, but it fell far short of that. There are even a few non-RPGs I liked better, and that feels like sacrilege to me. I hope the devs will go back to what made DAO so popular and try to encorporate more of that into DA3. I hope they keep the improved combat, somewhat improved graphics, and create a more diverse game with more real consequences and choices.

Overall, I guess I would give it a 7.75 out of 10, which isn't bad because I'm a fairly tough grader, but disappointing when I thought if they improved upon DAO the way they improved much of ME2 from ME1, it would be a 9-plus.

Modifié par mchartz, 14 mai 2011 - 02:37 .