3274 réponses à ce sujet

[Red_Jezzabelle]

To start with the positives, in no particular order:

1. VPC - I must admit that it wasn’t until I played ME2 that I realised how engaging having a VPC can be.
 
2. RIVALRY/FRIENDSHIP – I found this much better than the Approval/Disapproval system of DAO where if you weren’t a good guy all the time people would disapprove and you’d have to buy their approval with gifts. In DA2 it allowed you to handle a situation how you saw fit and not be motivated by how your companions would respond.

3. IMPROVED COMBAT MOVEMENT – I did enjoy playing as a mage and still having melee attacks with the staff when enemies got to close, if anything it made me want to get in the action more and not be such a long range damager. I’m also enjoying the fast paced attack style of the rogue and I can see a difference between the rogue and the warrior in their fighting style rather than just the weapons that they can use.  ETA: I do miss the "kill" annimations that where in DAO and I just finished a warrior play through and found it a bit boring combat wise, so I think I'll stick to a mage next time.

These are the things that didn’t quiet do it for me:

1. ROMANCES – I was really disappointed in the lack of a strong male character to romance as a female, both Anders (Friendship Romance) & Fenris (Rivalry Romance) had their issues that they continued to whinge about it at every opportunity, neither really stood up to the plate and swept Hawke off her feet. Even Alistair in DAO, for all his inexperience, found the guts to tell the Warden how he felt and do something about it. Part of this is most likely due to the fact that there wasn’t much build up or banter to actually form a relationship from, I really missed just having a chat (and maybe a kiss or a night together) with the companions and getting to know their back story that wasn’t necessarily part of their main story. Plus I wasn’t a fan of the PG romance scenes!

2. MAPS/AREAS - As stated many times on this thread, but I feel it is still worth mentioning, the reuse of maps, the lack of expanding area to explore and the lack of detail in the levels was something I wasn’t expecting from DA and something I was very disappointed in.

3. NARRATIVE – I felt that having DA2 as a narrative it lost a lot of the RPG aspects and felt more like a “choose your own adventure” book where the ending is already set in stone you just decide how you get there. I didn’t see how any of the decisions that where made throughout the game actually impacted the ending, which was very disappointing.

4. STORY – it wasn’t anywhere near as epic as I was expecting and the final act left me a bit cold. I didn’t really want to side with either party as neither had really proven themselves worthy of having Hawke as their ally. While there were hints of what the story was leading to it all came about very suddenly, like we missed something that happened between Act 2 and Act 3. There is potential of having a story span over 10 years but I wasn’t expecting the big jump in years and I think this meant there where holes in the story and some of the tensions where lost. Plus no epilogue? What’s the point of playing if you don’t see where your choices take you? Fair enough you want a cliff hanger ending but at least tell us what happened to the people we helped along the way.

Things that I would like to see in the future:
1. Some sexy armour options for the females!
2. More realistic kills.
3. More cut scenes during fights, like the one triggered for the rogue at the end of the Wayward Son quest.
4. More loving!

All in all I did really enjoy this game, was it as good as I was expecting … probably not, but that won’t stop me from having a few different play throughs.

Modifié par Red_Jezzabelle, 21 juin 2011 - 07:07 .

[Tommy6860]

Red_Jezzabelle wrote...

To start with the positives, in no particular order:

1. VPC - I must admit that it wasn’t until I played ME2 that I realised how engaging having a VPC can be.
2. RIVALRY/FRIENDSHIP – I found this much better than the Approval/Disapproval system of DAO where if you weren’t a good guy all the time people would disapprove and you’d have to buy their approval with gifts. In DA2 it allowed you to handle a situation how you saw fit and not be motivated by how your companions would respond.

3. IMPROVED COMBAT MOVEMENT – I did enjoy playing as a mage and still having melee attacks with the staff when enemies got to close, if anything it made me want to get in the action more and not be such a long range damager. I’m also enjoying the fast paced attack style of the rogue and I can see a difference between the rogue and the warrior in their fighting style rather than just the weapons that they can use.

These are the things that didn’t quiet do it for me:

1. ROMANCES – I was really disappointed in the lack of a strong male character to romance as a female, both Anders (Friendship Romance) & Fenris (Rivalry Romance) had their issues that they continued to whinge about it at every opportunity, neither really stood up to the plate and swept Hawke off her feet. Even Alistair in DAO, for all his inexperience, found the guts to tell the Warden how he felt and do something about it. Part of this is most likely due to the fact that there wasn’t much build up or banter to actually form a relationship from, I really missed just having a chat (and maybe a kiss or a night together) with the companions and getting to know their back story that wasn’t necessarily part of their main story. Plus I wasn’t a fan of the PG romance scenes!

2. MAPS/AREAS - As stated many times on this thread, but I feel it is still worth mentioning, the reuse of maps, the lack of expanding area to explore and the lack of detail in the levels was something I wasn’t expecting from DA and something I was very disappointed in.

3. NARRATIVE – I felt that having DA2 as a narrative it lost a lot of the RPG aspects and felt more like a “choose your own adventure” book where the ending is already set in stone you just decide how you get there. I didn’t see how any of the decisions that where made throughout the game actually impacted the ending, which was very disappointing.

4. STORY – it wasn’t anywhere near as epic as I was expecting and the final act left me a bit cold. I didn’t really want to side with either party as neither had really proven themselves worthy of having Hawke as their ally. While there were hints of what the story was leading to it all came about very suddenly, like we missed something that happened between Act 2 and Act 3. There is potential of having a story span over 10 years but I wasn’t expecting the big jump in years and I think this meant there where holes in the story and some of the tensions where lost. Plus no epilogue? What’s the point of playing if you don’t see where your choices take you? Fair enough you want a cliff hanger ending but at least tell us what happened to the people we helped along the way.

Things that I would like to see in the future:
1. Some sexy armour options for the females!
2. More realistic kills.
3. More cut scenes during fights, like the one triggered for the rogue at the end of the Wayward Son quest.
4. More loving!

All in all I did really enjoy this game, was it as good as I was expecting … probably not, but that won’t stop me from having a few different play throughs.

Nice review, I disagree a bit with the rival/friend system and alot with the combat, though I agree about the mage combat, but I really think your opinions on the game are well thought out. I particularly agree with the romance part.

[Aesieru]

Was excited... then disappointed... didn't finish game... Oh look "Griffins".

More like "couldn't".

At first, I stopped at about the half mark, the wave enemies were just too much for me, too unrealistic, too stupid, too much health, and just too detracting from the story and the idea of the game... I was not enjoying myself.

So I took a week or so off (this was a few months or so ago) and I read the strategy guide... (not really it wasn't all that interesting even if pretty because the game was unfortunately utter garbage (yes and I mean that, and yes I'm a BioWare supporter... or am I? After all, SWTOR is looking very cheesy and less KOTOR and more WoW, while I'm afraid of what else BioWare has going on...) and then I came back...

I of course went through the second half and got pretty far decided on what way I was going to go, thinking it had any significance, then realized that both choices for either mage or templar were bad since both pretty much had no saving graces or redeeming factors apart from "maybe less die", but probably not.

So I was upset at the lack of signifiance in choice after it was touted and while DA:O didn't have much choice really or much significance in it... well at least it was better.

Cue a lot more waves until I respeced to a fire mage and then things were easier (which is stupid) and I fought through more waves and got to the second to final boss... and unfortunately it was about as annoying or perhaps more annoying than when I faced it in DA:O... while the dragon was about as annoying and more unrealistic (in terms of enemies and what was happening) and less enjoyable...

Things continued (forgive my sentence structure... not fully awake) and I got stuck on that boss... I nearly beat it several times but I either didn't have enough revives (hate it when games are based on the the assurance characters will die no matter what and you must revive someone (like that dumb rock fall on the Strider or whatever it was called) or enough damage wasn't being done... or whatever... and so I stopped there.

This was about a while ago... after all I played Portal 2 (enjoyed that) Crysis 2 (didn't enjoy that), the Witcher 2 (was actually good as the first game crashed every 20 minutes on a new-gen computer, and the story and gameplay sucked on that) and Just Cause 2 (which was horrible)... Killzone 3 (and I hate KZ but GameFly gave it, but the controller died from touching a drop of water (stupid) and so I had to return that... and other things..

Anyway, long story short... I didn't really enjoy the game... it was a chore to work through it much like the original Witcher which crashed all day (a real chore, but I'm persistent) and other games I've played... I don't think a single moment of enjoyment was found, even with the nice special cutscenes because honestly... I always knew the chore was coming back and nothing I did was really important, as it all was rehearsed and laid out for me.

So...

I had pretty much written off all BioWare games after that, and while I'll restart DA2 again and perhaps beat it finally... it will just be to finish the game, and I'll never replay it because of the horrible presence and essence it has plagued me mind with.

But of course there is SWTOR and that's only because I've read 100+ Star Wars books and love the series... but from what I've seen... I may not buy it and it looks pretty poor... and there are juvenile idiots (I don't mean to insult so perhaps "children" is a better term) who just praise anything that SWTOR adds to it... even though everything looks pretty generic... or at least ridiculous.

Anyway... to wrap it all up...

I saw the "apology" letter on another site and so I popped in, but from what I can see, we were duped in by a letter that seemed sincere, and then redirected to DLC or DA-3 content that will be years off (hopefully, but perhaps not... which means another rush) and focused on the idea that "Griffins" something that is EXTINCT (how does something extinct become alive again?) are coming back (kind of like the "look at the shiny light while I steal from you scenario). In fact, it seemed so ridiculous I had to re-read it a second time.

I'm... not very optimistic... and I don't see how anyone A: liked DA:2, though I'm willing to believe and acknowledge SOME did... and B: how anyone can not see the hundreds of flaws and the ridiculous of the game... and be so willing to forgive a company that is supposed to be for the people who buy their games... when no one but someone drunk off their rear could make such decisions and NOT realize that MAYBE THIS IS GENERIC AND BAD.

After all, they aren't idiots... or is that what they're admitting? If so, then what about the fact that they made the first game and other games... that WEREN'T idiocy?

I don't have any cause to forgive a company or developers for something that intentionally did, and now just don't want to lose the other part of their consumer base, and so have decided to throw out the shiny lights and balls of yarn so that the hatred is distracted... after all, they make games we don't... therefore they know what's stupid and what's not, and yet... apparently they decided to ignore everything and it hit them in the face and so now they're trying to crawl back... but not even mature enough to admit that that's what they're doing.

I've no personal threats or anything, but I have no confidence in this development group anymore.

[Skilled Seeker]

To sum up Aesieru's post:

Blah blah blah, cry some more.

Modifié par Skilled Seeker, 30 mai 2011 - 07:22 .

[Aesieru]

Skilled Seeker wrote...

To sum up Aesieru's post:

Blah blah blah, cry some more.

Adequate response requires intelligence meter rating of 100 or higher, not 20.

[Skilled Seeker]

Well, turns out embedding youtube vids has been disabled. I guess a link will have to do.

[Youtube Link Removed]

Modifié par JohnEpler, 30 mai 2011 - 07:49 .

[uLu_MuLu]

I have finished Dragon Age II only a few minutes ago, and just wanted to say: Bioware, thank you...

I must say that - despite all the bad stuff that players write about the game on the internet - the game is really really good:
9,2 out of 10...

• I love the storyline (especially the fact that you divided it into three parts, with completely different goals and main incidents for each act)
• I love the characters (although some sidekick-stories have been better in your other games, like Mass Effect)
• I love the skill-system and it's diversity (you can try a lot of different builds)
• I love that the time for the first playthrough could be very long, not like in many other games that are released today (it took be about 67 1/2 hours on "hard"-mode)
• I love the game's ending (and that i can go for another - completely different - playthrough)
• I love that the decisions within conversations in a Bioware Game have such an huge impact on the story...
• I love the graphics and art-style (and also the fact that you dont need a high-end machine to run DA2 smoothly)

I have to say that the game is not as good as DA:O (9,4 out of 10) but it is a worthy successor...

Where there are advantages there are disadvantages:

• It would be nice, if you could again, implement the strategic overview from DA:O in DA3...
• If you recycle the maps for evolving your story please add more diversity to them. I understand that the main parts of Kirkwall must stay the same, but maps for random encounters - outside and in houses - should be handmade and not duplicated.
• Reduce the fact that there are so many creep waves coming out of nowhere. That was one annoying problem in DA2. You could never plan your strategy in whole, because minions just appear out of nothing...
• Some quests have just been about running from A to B and deliver goods/items without a - even a small - story whatsoever. You can do better than that...

I hope that you will continue with your great work in the future. Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate and especially Mass Effect are great brands with awesome games. Please take your time in production and dont listen too much to EA so that we can yet again delve deep into other adventures...

THANK YOU

PS:
I am from germany and I hope that my english is not too bad...

Modifié par uLu_MuLu, 30 mai 2011 - 07:49 .

[John Epler]

Youtube videos are not adequate replacement for a real discussion.

If you don't agree with someone's review, disagree civilly. But don't attack their opinions in a review thread.

[Skilled Seeker]

JohnEpler wrote...

Youtube videos are not adequate replacement for a real discussion.

If you don't agree with someone's review, disagree civilly. But don't attack their opinions in a review thread.

Ah but that vid perfectly represents what I want to express.

[Aesieru]

You've already been called out for your misinterpretation of the word "conducive" which I proved you wrong on in the other post, you've also been told several times to stop inciting disruption and hostility, wherein I'm just stating my very... disappointed criticism.

Only you seem to react this way, and therefore you've been pretty much ignored... your insistence, including attempting to message me privately, (which failed btw) just shows a lack of ability to disagree and move on... and you instead want the "last word".

That is unfortunate.

I am... surprised by the positive review of a 9.2 above me... immensely, but not everyone has played some of the best games, and a lot of younger or more casual gamers are playing this... so they may not have much to compare to... or the other options.

[Skilled Seeker]

Again you discredit those who have different opinions than yourself. I will cease to communicate with you further as I do not wish Epler's wrath to descend upon me, but I will leave you with some helpful life advice:

1. People that disagree with you are not idiots.
2. Criticism is useless if you just moan without providing anything constructive that the developers can work with as you have done.
3. Get a dictionary.

Modifié par Skilled Seeker, 30 mai 2011 - 08:19 .

[Aesieru]

I have already proved you wrong with a dictionary... do not lie to me or act ignorant of your lack of information, merely because you don't want to admit you're wrong.

And your life advice is a good lesson for yourself, as previous posts from you today have contradicted or acted hypocritical in terms of comparison to your "advice".

I have not called someone an idiot, I have used the word idiocy, and indicated that people are not idiots... but you have misinterpreted and construed things, and of course you have not been conducive to proper intelligent conversation.

http://dictionary.re...rowse/conducive

[FiachSidhe]

Aesieru wrote...
Only you seem to react this way,

No I also think you're an obnoxious elitist, who thinks way too highly of his awesome gaming experience.

It's true, not all of us can be as "uberleet" as you (I actually wake up and thank my maker for such a blessing), and play all the great games that only you've played (even if we have), and thus make you an authority on something really not important.

but we also don't spend the sheer amount of time you do, haunting the message board, of a game you clearly don't like. You know what I do, when I don't like a game? Same as most adults. I don't buy it. I don't go on to the game's forums, and I certainly don't stay there and post constantly. Done! Move on.

Oh, and how old are you? Just asking, as you seem to be using your own age, as a point of superiority. How old are you exactly?

Modifié par FiachSidhe, 31 mai 2011 - 09:09 .

[Ottemis]

Aesieru wrote...
I am... surprised by the positive review of a 9.2 above me... immensely, but not everyone has played some of the best games, and a lot of younger or more casual gamers are playing this... so they may not have much to compare to... or the other options.

That's a dangerous statement heh, people prioritise differently in games, doesn't mean their opinion is worth less then yours. Assuming they must be younger or are less 'hardened' in gaming experience is unfair I'd say.
Aside from that I don't think experience necessarily factors into judging a game. It CAN matter, but it doesn't necessarily do. It doesn't make their opinion less valid because it's theirs for a reason, their reasons. The experience was what it was for them. If you ended up 'tainted' by previous experience with other games, that's your problem, not theirs.

Modifié par Ottemis, 31 mai 2011 - 08:21 .

[Aesieru]

Lol, it's humorous that Fiache thinks this after all the arguments and immaturity she spouted yesterday.

Opinion noted, but I disagree.

[uLu_MuLu]

I am... surprised by the positive review of a 9.2 above me... immensely, but not everyone has played some of the best games, and a lot of younger or more casual gamers are playing this... so they may not have much to compare to... or the other options.

I am 25 and have played *hell* a lot of games so far...

Dragon Age 2 has some minor issues, but overall it's a great game. I think that most players are on some sort of crusade because they expected something totally different. DA2 ist not as good as DA:O but still, an awesome game...

[Zazarok]

I'm very disappointed in Dragon Age 2. I played Dragon Age origins on my Xbox 3 times over, because each time I played I could have a totally different character, and the story was fantastic. The game play was above average for me, but I still enjoyed it.

Then Dragon Age 2 came out, because of reviews I did not purchase it for a few months. It went down to roughly £25, and I watched some Dragon Age 2 videos on youtube and I thought "Hey maybe I should give this game a shot!"

Looks at Xbox games on demand. Not on there, even after a few months of release. After hitting my head on the ceiling I remember I had a pretty powerful gaming laptop and I'll buy Dragon age 2 on steam. After the 6 hours download I began playing.

2 hours later, I turn the game off and I have never had the willpower to turn it back on, even 2 weeks after I got it.

The story has no cohesion.
Kirkwall is boring.
There is no adventure.
The dwarf is annoying.
The Combat sucks.

[Aesieru]

Sorry, but the game just wasn't good...

It wasn't "awesome" in any way... and I honestly enjoyed not a single moment of it.

Perhaps a year from now after some DLC I'll perhaps try again but... DA 2 is dead to me, and it's making me think negatively of BioWare in general.

Oh well...

[night_hawke]

I'm still somewhat new to RPGs and didn't fall in love with DA:O (as hard as I tried) so I have a hunch most of the hardcore fans will disagree with my reasons for loving Dragon Age 2... but here we go, just my two cents (no flaming please, this is still a free-for-all).

I'm a 28 year old female gamer... I was, and still am, a big Metal Gear fan. That's my kind of game. Gritty, rough characters, a little stealth, thoughtful tacters or a little hack 'n slash depending on my mood that day, damn good graphics and character design, a mature storyline... hell... a bit of everything tossed into the pot... and those are just some elements of a phenomonal game for me. I'm not a super picky person... if a game crashes or hangs on me, I trust that the development team is working on a fix. I don't expect miracles and continue on enjoying it anyway. So when people talk about polygons/blockiness/etc. I really can't relate... if the general gameplay is good and the storyline pulls you in, is it really worth nit-picking about? It shouldn't be noted and that's that... don't ****** all over a sincerely well-done game... I don't think you can dock it 5 points here and 5 points there because of such aforementioned reasonings. As someone just noted in another forum... when the last Oblivion was out it sure had its fair share of glitches... but we all remember it as a stellar game now and are stoked for the next one!

So why do I consider DA2 a 9.5/10 game? Because Bioware made a game that met all needs for me as a gamer. I confess, I don't have a lengthy background in RPGs... the last true RPG I played was Oblivion... and before that, hell I can't remember. Like I said, I've been busy playing all the Meta Gear titles, Demons Souls, Street Fighter 4, etc - so I play a bit of everything. But no game has really "grabbed me" since Metal Gear 4 and Oblivion until I tried DA2 as a demo on Xbox (was hooked after that). Honestly, I had no idea that RPGs had progressed to this stage... gripping storylines, strong character builds, emotional elements (i.e. our protagonist is more than a bad-ass mage/warrior/rogue/you name it. - there is real character depth here) - frankly, this is a big part that has missing from games...oh and character voice acting and animation (lovely lovely blue eyes) - brilliantly done. Flemeth still blows me away. Oh and I love my three expression choices in which to express my character (diplomatic, witty, or crass) I love it!! Neat game... that's all I can say. Like a beautiful, interactive movie in which you craft the storyline. But still... hardcore DA:O fans are somehow disapointed... I'm sincerely still trying to figure this one out. It appears to be very much the same game, just improved upon greatly. Back to the forums for me... I have some learning to do (hey, I am empathetic... I wanna understand their side of the story). But yah, this game gets a stellar review from me.

My one major complaint with this game: The recycling of scenery and lack of exploration. But from what I read around the Internet, the development team understands this shortcoming and plans on improving upon this big time. Seeing as it is in their best interest to just keep getting better, I have a feeling that they will not disappoint. Thus, I am extremely stoked for new DA2 DLC and of course, DA3. PLEASE, just don't axe my Fenris ;-p

Modifié par night_hawke, 01 juin 2011 - 03:06 .

[Zeevico]

Night_hawke:
If you want to understand why some of the fan base doesn't like DA2, I recommend you buy one game. Baldur's Gate II.
For some of the fan base--myself included--every RPG game is measured according to the BG 2 yardstick.
For some of the fan base, DA2 doesn't compare to that game.

I'd still be playing it today if I didn't know it so well. Its replayability and value exceeds anything on the market today.

While I can't speak for the entire fan base, I would point out that this holds true for a lot of people. DAO, for example, was explicitly and repeatedly marketed as the spiritual successor to BG2.

So my advice? Buy BG2, play it, love it. You can get it online at GOG.Com for $10.

That's my two cents.

(For my part, I disliked DA2 because the gameplay came to bore me. On Normal/casual the game plays itself. On Nightmare it's initially a challenge but later becomes a bother. How many times do we have to face the same enemies over and over again? To me it's boring. But I've already raised this earlier)

[Tommy6860]

Zeevico wrote...

Night_hawke:
If you want to understand why some of the fan base doesn't like DA2, I recommend you buy one game. Baldur's Gate II.
For some of the fan base--myself included--every RPG game is measured according to the BG 2 yardstick.
For some of the fan base, DA2 doesn't compare to that game.

I'd still be playing it today if I didn't know it so well. Its replayability and value exceeds anything on the market today.

While I can't speak for the entire fan base, I would point out that this holds true for a lot of people. DAO, for example, was explicitly and repeatedly marketed as the spiritual successor to BG2.

So my advice? Buy BG2, play it, love it. You can get it online at GOG.Com for $10.

That's my two cents.

(For my part, I disliked DA2 because the gameplay came to bore me. On Normal/casual the game plays itself. On Nightmare it's initially a challenge but later becomes a bother. How many times do we have to face the same enemies over and over again? To me it's boring. But I've already raised this earlier)

I suspect Night would dislike BG2 even moreso to be honest. She stated what her ttype of game is and her using MGS as the example, a stealth/action/shooter/fighter near all in one game is indicative that someone lured by that style of game, is going to have a hard time liking DA:O, let alone a BG2. DA2 is much more action than RPG, so that kept her interest going. BG2 and DA2 do have soemthing in common though, those exploding blood blobs, but I don't think that would sate here action taste buds.

[Aesieru]

I compare things... to KoTOR and Neverwinter Nights and... newer more crisper RPG's...

I've never done Baldurs and I can't... I like graphics too much, BUT... I don't like DA 2... I wouldn't say there's only 2 ways to compare.

[Tommy6860]

Aesieru wrote...

I compare things... to KoTOR and Neverwinter Nights and... newer more crisper RPG's...

I've never done Baldurs and I can't... I like graphics too much, BUT... I don't like DA 2... I wouldn't say there's only 2 ways to compare.

But in the aspect of role playing, BG can be compared. I wouldn't say KOTOR or NWN are more crisper RPGS, they may have better graphics. But back when BG, PS:T and Fallouts 1 & 2 came along, the graphics were great for that period. But if I were to go along your thinking,, I would say Origins is a more crisper RPG than KOTOR or NWN, in spite of my love for the latter two games.

Modifié par Tommy6860, 01 juin 2011 - 10:50 .

[Aesieru]

Tommy6860 wrote...

Aesieru wrote...

I compare things... to KoTOR and Neverwinter Nights and... newer more crisper RPG's...

I've never done Baldurs and I can't... I like graphics too much, BUT... I don't like DA 2... I wouldn't say there's only 2 ways to compare.

But in the aspect of role playing, BG can be compared. I wouldn't say KOTOR or NWN are more crisper RPGS, they may have better graphics. But back when BG, PS:T and Fallouts 1 & 2 came along, the graphics were great for that period. But if I were to go along your thinking,, I would say Origins is a more crisper RPG than KOTOR or NWN, in spite of my love for the latter two games.

I meant newer than that... crisper in terms of more... arty based stuff, so Lost Odyssey, Vesperia, stuff like that.

Origins is more gritty in its interface and colors and so isn't a "crispy happy" type of RPG.

Modifié par Aesieru, 02 juin 2011 - 04:14 .

[Unionhack]

Sometimes, you can play a game, or watch a movie, and be so far sucked
up into it that you never want to do another thing again for the rest of
your life. Dragon Age: Origins was one of those games. Playthrough to
playthrough, I never wanted to put the controller down for Origins, and
the only time I DID was to play Fallout 3, another one of those games.
Naturally, with the thrill ride that was Origins under my belt, I was
extremely excited for Dragon Age II. I checked in on interviews and
avoided all spoilers, and I prepped an extra $60, waiting for DA2
instead of Pokemon Black. The Pokemon series is a true juggernaut and is
always pretty much awesome, but I decided to forgo the sure thing and
grab DA2 when it came out.

Big mistake.

CONCEPT: Take
Dragon Age: Origins, remove all of the feel from Baldur's Gate from it,
and turn the story from more of a fantasy epic to a teenage fantasy
novel. Don't forget all of the open ends that were hinted at in DA:O
that were left out.

PROS: This is a very enjoyable game if you
didn't play Origins like I did. It really is. The combat is visceral and
keeps you engaged, and the world is nicely detailed graphics wise. The
writing for SOME (I SAID SOME) companions is good.

CONS: So. Many.
Let
me just say that if you raped your Origins disc with playthrough after
playthrough, you will be severely disappointed. The fact that so many
things promised by Bioware were not followed through on didn't help,
either.
The anime overtone with the fighting styles (Especially for
the mage class, but a bit welcome for the Rogue class) is pretty
outlandish for a game whose prequel was very down-to-earth. The combat
makes no sense some times as well. I can walk up to a church with a
woman leaning against a wall, and 20 nameless thugs come out of nowhere.
As you unleash holy hell onto the thugs, the woman just leans there,
and the thugs fall. No impact. Just a pack of EXP that the game throws
at you.
The game takes place over the course of 10 years, but has
absolutely no development. Characters standing in one spot will still be
there 3 years later. No changes. Many areas are recycled as well, and
you can experience every single area in the entire game halfway through
your playthrough.
The writing. Dear god, the writing. The main
character, Hawke, is written excellently well (Especially if you pick
the sarcastic dialogue choices), but otherwise, it's incredibly bland.
Everything is expected. No surprises at all.
The graphics. The
redesigns for the Qunari race was welcome, but the Elves look like they
just got in from Jak and Daxter. Not to mention the huge design flaws.


^ Those are HER hands.

Finally,
the BIGGEST flaw is the lack of completion. The game feels SO utterly
rushed. So many questions were raised after Origins was done; What is a
Varterral? Where is Flemeth? Will we see another Harvester? The answers
in the game are more like hints than answers. This makes the entire game
feel like a trailer for Dragon Age 3, rather than an actual game. After
Origins left off, you expected a continuation of the plot, but no, we
get no answers and a huge collection of sidequests with a lack-luster
main plot.

SUMMARY
This game was not ready to be released.
Worst of all, Bioware has disappointed me, something I had not thought
possible. This game is an insult to lovers of Dragon Age: Origins, and
if you are one of those lovers, just look up the major plot points on
the internet, and pass this one up. If you didn't play Origins, do
yourself a favor and pick that up instead of this. Let's just hope
Bioware doesn't completely ruin one of the best franchises it's created
in a very long time, because if this game is anything like the 3rd one
(and we know there will be a 3rd one), then the Dragon Age story will
only be truly great in Origins.

OVERALL
If you played Origins; 4/10
If you didn't play Origins; 6/10