3274 réponses à ce sujet

[Duke Mathias]

I have just completed DA2, so here are my thoughts.
Likes:
The new crafting system. It's so much better than in DAO.
Hawke has a voice. It was about time the main character was able to speak.
The story. I like that it's more dark than in DAO. There weren't that many tough choices in DAO, but there are in DA2.
I liked the new combat and spell system.

Dislikes:
The game is way too short!!!! It only took me about 30 hours to beat it.The only quests I didn't complete were the ones that required me to run around Kirkwall searching for items. It took me twice as long (60 hours) to complete DAO.
The ending. In DAO there were no loose ends. There are still lots of loose ends in DA2. It feels like it's there to set up events for DA3.
Map recycling. There was a lot of map recycling. That's not good enough Bioware.
The way you talk to companions. I liked to go to the camp and talk to your compaions. I felt I knew the companions in DAO a lot better than those in DA2.
You only stayed in Kirkwall. I had hoped I would be able to explore the world; go to Orlais or Tevinter.
The Darkspawn's new design. Why did you change it Bioware?
The Qunari now have horns? Why? In DAO I met lots of Qunari and NONE of them had horns.
No resolution to Morrigan vs. Flemeth.
The events in Awakening didn't matter in DA2.

I really liked DA2, I just wish it would have been longer (30 hours is what an expansion should be) and I don't see why Bioware had to make so many radical changes to the game. I give the game a 7/10.

[saeid]

Lets me say something I hope people at Bioware read it,
First of all sorry for my bad english,
I'm from IRAN! yep, in my country no one buying any original game unless getting carzy, because we haven't access to any Games Market also the prices are tooooo high for us.

But Actually for the first time in my life I did it! because DAO was the best RPG game I ever played and ididn't want to simply pirate the game so I preordered the game via one of my abroad friend (WOW!).
But now what can I say?! the game is nothing but disappointment for me, specially when you compare it to DAO. this isn't the same RPG game, this isn't the game that I waited for, Really what is this?

And I must say this: EA, Bioware I HATE BOTH of YOU for ruined this franchise I hope you are enjoying my money <_<.

[Matroska]

It arrived earlier this morning (seriously, my fellow UKers should all pre-order from GAME - every time I have, I've got it at lesat one day early) and so far I've only got as far as arriving at Kirkwall. I love pretty much everything that's been changed, much of it actually remedying things I thought were pretty big problems with the first one. A lot of the claims of "dumbing down" seem really stupid - I mean, people were saying that the skills being chosen from a skill tree is more dumbed down than in Origins - but in Origins you simply choose them from linear paths. That's surely as dumbed down as it gets? Furthermore, doing away with skills like Lockpicking does make sense since it served as nothing more than a "+10 cunning for the purposes of calculating lockpicking", same goes for intimidate/persuade.

However, there are some things that do seem incredibly questionable and I really don't know why they were done. Some of them are fairly superficial but are still annoying, like how if you unequip a weapon, you still have like a default weapon in place. You can have no shield in your inventory at all and yet you'll still actually have a shield equipped if you also equip a one-handed weapon. Taking away armour penetration does actually seem like dumbing down, I really can't really defend that. That, along with the fact you always have these mysterious default weapons, just damage the reality and "verisimilitude" of the game, since all weapons (even no weapons) tend to blur into each other rather than feeling like distinct, separate items.

Some of the old problems of DA:O do still linger. Some of the dramatic points are magnificently mishandled (like how Hawke seems far more distraught at Avelline's lover's suffering than she does at her own sibling being brutally murdered in front of him/her) and some of the dialogue really is cringe-worthy. It honestly feels like some of it was written by one person, in total isolation, with no one else to say "You know, that really isn't very funny/witty/profound" (delete as applicable). As such, some of the dialogue feels rather like reading a teenager's diary, with embarrassing thoughts and fumbled attempts to be intelligent or insightful.

Sorry for this about-to-burst, enormous post, but some of the standout things I love are: the far sharper graphics, improved facial animations and body animations in dialogue. The fact Hawke is voiced in dialogue now rather than just unfunny little battle cries, like in Origins. The skill tree with the little upgrade nodes. The rivalry/friendship scale rather than the "I will now hate you because you have a different opinion - unless you buy me brandy" system of Origins. The character-specific skills are such a great touch, and I love how each character has one for if you're great friends and one for if you're strong rivals.

Modifié par Teclo, 10 mars 2011 - 05:31 .

[Skaw X]

this is a good solid rgp, but its missing alot of the componints that made the frist one the national hit it was, the muti story line, race option, i found a revew on line the my exact thoughts. "i did not right this"
  http://www.kotaku.co...w-dragon-age-2/    its a good game no dought. but in comparison to the origans is crap. very lacking. i rate it a 4

[Nocturnius89]

Console Player here. This review is based off the 14 hours of playing i got so far.

The Good
-Combat: Really like the new animations and overall flow of battles.
-Companions: Great so far. Doing Companion quests are fun and gives more info on said companion's personal background.
-Kirkwall: God I love this place! So big and so much going on. I'm only in year 3 and got 14 hours in and yet to feel old.
-Family: The addition to having a family with you is a welcomed one in my book
-Skill Tree: Love the choices and how the tree is set up, I still preferred the Tree from the demo.

Not Good
-Repetitive locations outside of Kirkwall. Does not bother me much but i'm only in year 3 and already have 14 hours in and is sort of sad that I still have to visit those places AGAIN.
-Limited Skill Bars. In DA:O it didn't seem like a problem but in this game it sucks I can only pick 6 on the fly. I don't mind pausing and picking spells/skills but having a way to get more than 6 on the fly would be GREAT.

That being said I'm only just got to the third year of kirkwall and got almost 15 hours in so far. So my thoughts could change the more I play.

Edit: Did not mention the story since It would be unfair to judge the story this early in the game. 

Modifié par Nocturnius89, 10 mars 2011 - 05:55 .

[VettoRyouzou]

So far.

Pro: I enjoy the new combat system, as many people like to go "LULZ
button masher!" I greatly enjoy the feel of actually swinging the blade
and watching the enemy fall.

Pro: Rogue/Archer now has a stat
based armor which was nice instead of having to up strength all the time
((which did archers little good)).

Pro: Blades on the end of staves I know it nothing major but it just seems allot more realistic to me that way =p.

Pro: Love
the new animations specially on mages no more waving staves around like
some old man guarding a bridge you twist that sucker!.

Pro: Like
my dialogue wheel back from mass effect was all way annoyed DA:O had a
lot different option just to get the exact same reply.

Pro: No longer needing to spec into item making stats that alone a blessing.

Now a few cons.

Con:
Warrior armor needing both Strength and Constitution to wear. Now this
may be a person complaint but I rather enjoyed being a DPS warrior in
DA:O ((Two hander at that)) and would normally spend 2 point in strength
1 in will power every level randomly at times tossing some into
Constitution or dexterity. But seeing how it is now it a lot harder to
be a dps warrior when I need Constitution just as much as I need
strength again that may be a personal gripe.

Con: Wish my
companion had a bit more to wear not to upset over the lost of being
able to arm them.. but allot more way to change there whole look would
have been nice.

Con: What the hell happened to elves!? There like
twigs now.. and there noses are attached to there forehead ((lacking a
bridge)) O.o;

Pro/con?: Romance system a tad to... sensitive.. I mean I'm happy there an equal romance for both sides of one taste.. But I wish there was a gentle way to tell the men your not gay with out them flipping out..

I bet ill run into a few more pro and cons as I get
deeper in but so far pro are out weighing the cons even if there really
is one HUGE con for me.

[SarevokLivesOn]

I have just started what is act III after around 12 hours I think and until now, here are my thoughts:
What I like:
-NPCs.  As in pretty much every other Bioware game, the crew character designs are
very good, more so than in any other game in fact (Except maybe ME2 and BG). And by
design, I mean personalities, Varric, Fenris and Isabela make up most of my
entertainment and make this world feel alive.
-Sidequests (except for those where you only find objects that you bring back to people saying 'you lost this').  Why? Because they end up showing more of the NPC's personality through dialogue, because they imply choices, let you discover more on the fleshed out world they have created whether in the interaction between mages and templars, demonic possessions people in positions of power protecting their siblings.  These are all very mature and thoguht out themes that I enjoy playing through, making decisions according to how I want the events to unfold.
-Main quest/setting.  The idea of knowing where the tale will end and fleshing out the in-between is a good one from my point of view, I would have taken even more interruptions from Cassandra and Varric through the tale as I think they add a layer not often seen in the narrative. Also Kudos for the Qunari redesign and the Qunari philosphy concept as a whole as well as the quests involving them.  The moral debates community vs individuality as opposed to the classic good vs evil is very interesting so far. 
-Skill trees: I positively enjoyed DA:O but the character skill customization wasn't extraordinary. The way its now handled will allow for more diversity through multiple play-throughs I think.
-Crafting system: had no problem with the previous one, but I like this one better. Fits with the whole building you power thing since you gradually gather more and more harvesting points which enable you to produce better things with money rather than hunting for the merchant with enough base ressources left.
What I don't like:
-Like in Mass effect 1 where the same map is reused over and over again.  And again, in ME1, this was pretty much limited to side quests, wheras it does not seem to be the case here.  This being said, I have no issue with Kirkwall being the stage and it not changing, I have issues with the same mini-map being reused for zounds of different dungeons. I don't know if the whining about changing disks in the DA:O or ME2 caused this choice or simply the lack of development time but part of the fun I got from BGI, II, Jade empire and so on was exploring but by doing this, it kinds of kills it.
-The conversation wheel does not seem as finely done as in ME, what I mean there is that there have been more occurences where I was just taken aback by what one of Hawke's answer was when I chose a stance.
-The combat speed. I loved BG, KOTOR but I also loved JE and ME.  Speeding up the combat from DA:O might have been a good Idea but I think it was slightly overdone. As for button mashing critics, I am currently palying on normal but I presume that the harder you set the game, the less true it is but I definitely think that there should have been an auto-basic attack (I think they are working on this for PC but should have been there on console as well, I haven't owned a gaming PC since I played BGII...).
Darkspawn new design.  Like the ogres, don't like the hurlocks and genlocks this is purely a matter of taste though so I won't waste more words on it.

What I don't really care about:
-The inventory.  I really couldn't care less about loot or whatever in an RPG, I'm not playing diablo, I'm playing something in which I want story and substance.  Planescape: Torment was one of the best games I ever played and had very limited inventory (no armor, you didn't find that many different weapons for main character throughout the whole game and you couldn't customize any of your NPC's armor either).  Jade Empire and ME2 were much the same in the sense that inventory is limited to non-existent and I liked them both also.  Of course it's fun to try on a new armor and see what graphical design the developpers have come up with but for me it's not a necessity.  I am aware that I might be a minority though.
I truly hope there will have some subtle foreshadowing of either the big closeup on sovereign to sinister music 5 minutes into the game or like 'you shall meet enemies three but none more powerful than yourself in your full glory'' s caliber but the only hint of what is to come so far has not been very subtle... We'll see I suppose. 

Pretty much rounds it up for now.

[inzombiak]

I dont think it was all that bad, i had a lot of fun. It wasnt as rpg like as DA: O but i still loved it, the story was amazing, combat was fun, talents tree were much better, crafting system wasnt bad either but n the other hand the companions werent as memorable and the chat wheel thingy was annoying cause Hawke kept saying ENTIRELY different things than what i picked.
Overall i enjoyed it, maybe not as much strategy involved but the story line is very good

8/10

[distractedyogi]

Really enjoying the game on PC so far. Some changes, like combat, to get use to. The characters are great. The depth of companion +/- on choices is really interesting, not reacting as black and white as companions in DOA. The only real negative I have is the camera angle. It is real pain to navigate around some of the enclosed spaces with mouse and no over head view. Yes, the ceilings look fantastic, but the feeling for me on PC is really claustrophobic, tight and I have to pause, rotate camera, click to walk 3 steps, pause, rotate camera, click... far more than I would with an overhead view.

I don't the the combat game play as much as DOA, but the design, the talent trees, the depth of character/companion personalities, the moral ambiguity, etc.. are all fantastic. Lot's of great "eggs" for us DOA fans too and good feeling of a continuing story (even if its not continuing "my" warden).

Thanks for the game!

[Chaed13]

 The game has great graphics. 

- It is a little bit too FAST compared to the first game. 

- I do NOT like that you have to click each swing.

That is what took the strategic ,"life," out of the game. Since you get caught up in making the character you are playing swing each time you sometimes forget about the other members of your party.

- The game is too easy this time around. 

Although I enjoy one giant swing taking out a cluster of bad guys, I feel as though I lost part of what made you feel like a TITAN among noobs in the first game. If it is too easy to win there is no point. I have set my play level to HARD and I am about to switch it to NIGHTMARE.

-Story is good.

-Losing the ability to deck out your party members was horrible.

These personal touches are what the player adds to the game scenario that makes it his/her own story. It should not have been taken out.

All in all 7.0 out of 10 to me.

[Killjoy Cutter]

- I do NOT like that you have to click each swing.

That is what took the strategic ,"life," out of the game. Since you get caught up in making the character you are playing swing each time you sometimes forget about the other members of your party.

What platform are you on? 

The characters automatically repeat their basic attack on the PC version. 

I recall reading that this is an optional setting on the console versions.

[Chaed13]

**************** SIDE NOTE***************

If Bio Ware the the ability to make these changes in a patch free of charge they should. It would show a respect and appreciation for their fan base.

[Chaed13]

 Really?  I could not find that control.  I will look again.  That is part of what makes the player feel like a button masher.

[Voods07]

 After playing the game for a good  20 or so hours (still not done); my general consensus is this: What am I doing right now?

Positives:
- Combat is much better that Origins (am I the only one who hated origins?).
- Voicing a main character is MUCH better.
- GuildWwars-esq map travel
- Music
- No "love boat" feeling, having the 2 romance options was just enough.

Negatives:
- ***The story is way too weak, I literally forgot Hawke's purpose 30 mins into the game.***
- Technical nightmare; implementation of DX11 is embarrassing, should have at most went to DX10.
- Textures are STILL inexcusable, c'mon Bioware...learn your lesson already (HD textures were enabled)
- "Pivitol" diologue options are a mess, I hate them. I understand the thinking that its a choice, but too often I find those choices are NOT what I want to make. It almost gives the opposite feeling of the games choices being black or white/ good or bad/ youe either with me or agianst me.
- Wheres my Medi-gel(Ressurects)? Seriously, everyone but you gets wiped its pretty much game over.
- Armor options for teamates are a step backward. No additional armor art could have been added to the companions...really?
- I'm still god-awfully confused on tactics.

My personal score: 8.0/10

I feel the DA team took way too much from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. While some portions worked out in its (DA2) favor, the Majority did not. I feel the DA team needs to not look at ME from now on and re-innovate from WITHIN the Dragon Age universe.

Modifié par Voods07, 10 mars 2011 - 06:41 .

[Chaed13]

Hey Voods07, doesn't it make you leery of purchasing items now because you are not sure if they are Hawk only enabled or not? Is it only the armor that is unable to be transfered?

[Killjoy Cutter]

Chaed13 wrote...

Hey Voods07, doesn't it make you leery of purchasing items now because you are not sure if they are Hawk only enabled or not? Is it only the armor that is unable to be transfered?

In my experience it's mainly the items under the armor tab that are "Hawke Only".

[sjeremy7777]

This is the same as ME1 to ME2, Bioware dumbed it down for the masses. I think I'm done with Bioware.

[Jaulen]

DISLIKES
-I've seen a few people comment on the whole 'Its great to have a family.' I just don't feel connected to them. Might have been done better if Hawke and the fam had actually started out in Lothering and had to do some sneaky stuff to get out in one piece.....but eh....the whole escpae from lothering, meh....Plus, you'd think that if they're family they'd have SOMETHING more to say to you at home. I just didn't really feel any dramatic pull for us running from the darkspawn and the destruction of the city....would have been better to actually SEE the darkspawn killing off the townsfolk and setting the place to the torch. 

-And so far, I just don't see compelling characters. There's just so much less interaction you have with them. I like the banter and some of the cut scenes....but I kind of feel like they're developing more of a relationship with each other than I can! They talk to each other more than they'll talk to me!!!! WTH? And I'm supposed to somehow care about these people and their plights, or have a potential romance with them? Not really..

-The story line, while kind of interesting, feels rushed for something that's supposed to happen over 10 years. Got to act 2 and I was like, whoa! 3 years have passed? I don't feel like any character growth has happened.

-Would have liked to see lore for named items...was expecting it...and to see nothing, it really left out a detail that makes the game interesting. Heck, in DA:O I held on to some items just becuase I liked the description.

-Do not like not being able to customise companion armor.

-Combat is too fast paced, I can barely keep up with what's happening onscreen. I liked the slower comabt movement so I could see the cool kill animations. And normal level is now WAY too easy.

-Dislike the camera controls for the PC. It pretty much sucks....

-Hate the elf redesign. Hallas cross bred with elves is all I can think. Some ancient elf got freaky with the halla. Or maybe it was Tevinter experiments?

-Agree with others that some of the areas are too 'clean' or nice looking. Deeproads, elf alienage.

-There are some pretty derpy animations for character extremeties, oh and necks, necks are pretty freaky in this game at times.....did no one pay attention to arm movements/proportions or clothing? I mean, a character sits down, and their skirt/armor/leggings instead of being under their legs are halfway through their legs. Or the whole floating 4 ft above the stairs when standing on them.

-Very hacky-slashy feeling. I don't play an RPG for hack and slash....if I wanted that I'd go play a FPS. Seems like storyline took a backseat to combat.

-Greatly dislike that I'm wandering around Kirkwall with mages and it's made a big deal about how badly mages are treated in Kirkwall...but no one ever calls me out (especially during the day) that I'm travelling with apostate mage(s)?



LIKE

-Like the graphics. Very pretty.....but I don't play a game just because it's pretty.

-Like some of the new combat animations and movements.

-Like the voiced Hawke (also dislike....harder to roleplay).

-Like that there is more interaction with NPCs.

-Like the music.

-Like the art direction. (except for above) I do think some of the darkspawn look more comical...which is a bad.

-LOVE the new look of the Qunari

-Like the party banter, and that a third person might have a comment to make.

-Like that the companions have more to say when I'm talking to an NPC, and that you can ask their input at times.

-Like that choices have some pretty uncomfy consequences.

-Like friendship/rivalry....but I'd also like to know what that number value was.

-LOVE that nods to DA:2 and Awakenings are included in the game. Would hope that choices from DA:2. Awakenings, and now DA:@ get continued to be carried forward.

-LOVE that archers are now actually useful.



Overall, the game is okay, enjoyable...but not as gripping as DA:O IMHO. But I do like that there are more choices that have some sort of larger effect. Game feels more linear than DA:O for some reason. And I can actually put it down and walk away from it, unlike the first time I played DA:O. I was planning on taking some time off from work to play this game all the way through and really take my time....but I cancelled my vacation request after starting the game.
 
I would have given DA:O a 9-9.5 out of 10, so far, DA:2 6 to 7 out of 10. It's almost like a A-Student's parents got divorced and now they are having problems in school.

Modifié par Jaulen, 10 mars 2011 - 07:04 .

[RiverLucky]

Like:

+ Graphics in general are better than DAO.

+ Combat is better than DAO.

+ Like the fact there is a junk category for Inventory items.

+ Like the fact that crafting items is simpler.

+ Companions have their own houses.

+ Kirkwall

+ Quests Markers on the map.

Dislike:

- Why can't I switch weapons on the fly like in DAO? Rogue should be able to choose between dagger and bow.

- User Interface skin/icons are too simple. Looses the fantasy look.

- Hard to read the codex entries. Better font.


Overall I think the game has improved

[Cancermeat]

I would have given the developers an additional 18 months to work on it if this was brought to my desk and they probably would have come back with something at least a little bit better.

[KatzBlackblade]

I was a bit scared about this Dragon Age. The demo seemed too much fighting, then the day of the release, from work, I read a pretty bad review from my video game website. My first play session brought me through the prologue, so I didn't see much new from the demo. And I was disappointed.
Then last time I had time to play some more. And now, overall, I like it.
Here are a couple things I like and dislike about DA2, in the hope that Bioware will take those into account for their next game (please keep in mind I only have about 7h of gameplay in):

I didn't like:
- The modernized GUI. It looks very good, but I liked the medieval feel of the Origins GUI better.
- The dialogue wheel. To be honest, this might be the worst thing about htis game. Adding the icons in the center of the wheel is a nice touch, but it should be a plus. RIght now, I feel like it's impossible to know what I'm going to say next! I have to base my whole choice on the icon. It feels like I'm not controlling my character as much as I'm used to. I like the dialogue to be challenging by having to guess what is gonna please or displease the person I'm talking to, not by having to guess what I will say...
- No tactical view!!! Area spells are now much harder to cast. Plus,  if one companion is lagging behind, I have too keep an eye on him to see him arrive, then give him an action to do, as he can't target anyone when he's too far off.
- Speaking of dialogue: I haven't seen any persuasion/intimidation options. I understand people don't like having to put points in those skills, but it's the best solution, I think. I didn't like Mass Effect's version where those are based on your alignment either. At least give options based on attributes. Maybe they are in the game, but I haven't seen them so far...
- No quick weapon switch. Even if I don't specialize in archery, it's useful to be able to quickly switch to a bow if my enemy is behind a trap I don't have time to disarm, for example.
- The need to go all the way to a companion's home to talk with him. And sometimes they don't even have anything to tell me... Even if they don't, I'd like a little idle chatter, even if it's just for him to tell we have more important stuff to do at the moment ! It seems I never ran out of things to say with Leliana, Zevran or even Shale...
- No friendly fire save in Nightmare difficulty. I like to be careful about my spells without facing tough enemies... At least give it as an option in lower difficulties!
- Having to come here to download DLC, then having to install them... Origins in-game system was great. Maybe not the fact NPCs would ask you to download stuff, but at least the interface in the main menu.
- The companions specific armors. I understand it makes it possible to give those companions a certain style, and is  a lot easier than having to design armors to fit dwarves, humans and elves, but a little choice would be great. At least some visible change when upgrading the armors. Maybe there is one, but I didn't notice anything with the two upgrades I've done so far. Being able to buy one or two other armors and choose the style we like best would be a nice addition.

I liked:
- The ability to tag items as "junk" and sell them in one click
- The fights animations. Even a mage firing from their staff look like they're actually in a fight and not getting bored in the corner.
- The skill trees seem pretty  good, with ablity upgrades being a nice touch.
- The specific companions skill trees
- The friend/rival system, even if I haven't yet seen it in action
- The day/night maps. I wouldn't mind an actual cycle, but if you are to give quests that are day/night dependant, I like being able to choose where the sun is better than having to wait 15 minutes or press a button and have my character wait in the middle of a street for 16 imaginary hours...
- The new elf design. They really feel aliens, and not just blond pointy-eared humans.
- Numbers! Thank you for putting all them lovely numbers back in skill descriptions and character sheets.
- The classes interactions are a nice idea, but as far as I can tell, there are way too few skills that can trigger the required effects or make use of them.
- The leaps in time. I was amazed to realize that Origins and Awakening took in total less than a year... It's good to see time pass.
- Codex entries show on screen, you don't have to quickly click on the notification to read them.

That's all I can think of right now. I'll be back when I've finished the game!

Modifié par KatzBlackblade, 10 mars 2011 - 07:20 .

[spirit6th]

The first time i feel totaly ripped off. Finaly the game unlocks, i bought all of Dragon Age One expansions and then i get a hack and slash. A teleporting roque, horrible steering, no more character creation. Story? What? Its just horrible. I cant believe i pre-ordered this game.

[emyln]

I have no idea why there is so much hate on DA2.  Truly.  I've put about 9 hours into it so far.
Note: I am playing on PC on hard mode.  Anyone who has played DAO should be playing this on Hard mode if they like challenging combat.  This might be a good communication to players looking for a challenge.

Graphics:
Its several steps up from DAO.  So what's the issue?  If you are comparing it to Final Fantasy then no its not as good but its an huge improvement over DAO so I'm very happy.  You can also  custimize Hawke to look better then the preset without too much work.  If you don't like the art style then that's a preference choice.  But the graphics is good.

Gameplay (Combat):
- The starting few combats until you get access to your house in Kirkwall is going to be tough, especially on Hard and Nightmare mode.  But once you get access to the bonus items (there are at least 22 possible bonus items) some just for signing up for Bioware's news letter and such, it get's much easier. To give an example, the starting staff for a mage only does about 8 dmg(dps) but the STAFF OF PARTHALAN for signing up for the newsletter gives you 30 dmg(dps).  Huge upgrade. 

Plus if you start upgrading the skills you have like upgrading Mind Blast or getting Lighting spells, combat becomes much easier.  IMO if you've played DAO at all and liked it you need to set it to hard mode or higher.
Skills make more sense and you won't end up with 30+ skills like in DAO, most of which you won't use.  And special companion skills are a great touch. Oh and HUGE PLUS on Black Emporium - it allows you to modify your character's look and you can reset anyone's skills and attributes.

Gameplay (Items):
- OK, this is a step back. Weapons, Trinkets, Belts, are all usable by anyone who meets the requirements, but the armor... is bad.  Only Hawke can wear the armor you find.  The companions have a default armor that can be upgraded but it feels like a let down.  Especially when you get awesome plate/leather armor with some huge bonus and ... you're playing a mage where cloth armor is less seldom found.

Storywise:
- I'm still in year 1 of Kirkwall. And I will admit that compared to DAO it feels smaller because you are mostly in 1 city.  But that city is much larger and subdivided into many many areas.  

But I don't like that while there are many people in all the areas, you can really only talk to those who are related to quests.  That plus the map recycling makes the City feel a little ... blah.  The only persons the talk to are ... quest NPC's and merchants.  While the new merchant interaction system is great, many of the merchants don't even have any dialogue.   Somehow DAO seemed more "alive" than DA2, as though you were living/immersed in a real world as opposed to simply doing quests.

Companions:
A little on the fence over this.   Almost all the companions in DAO really stood out.  The companions in DA2 are more like Awakenings, at first they seem kind of blah. but towards the end I really connected to Anders and Nathanial.  In DA2, I'm only 9 hours in and again, no real connection to any of them yet except my brother who compared to the rest has gotten more of his story told.  So this is a wait and see for me, hoping for much more development in the companion department.  I will mention that Anders does not seem as ... fun as he was in awakenings though.

Dialogue Wheel:
Good and bad.  I like that Hawke's answer is voiced, and following Mass Effect 2's conversation, but I also miss the wealth of RP options that DAO had. At least it feels as though DAO's conversations were richer

Conclusion:
Overall, a plus on many areas over DAO, but some steps back on inventory. I appreciate that the story is less... "Epic" and earth shattering (least I think so) but it does concentrate on Hawke's story which is much more personal, love that he has a voice now. The ending and companion situation might shift my score a little but over all I am loving DA2.  But the perfect situation would be DA2's graphics and polish/UI in DAO's storytelling. 

DA2 gets a 4/5 from me.   4.5 if the companions play out like they did in DAO where they all became old friends I remember fondly.

Modifié par emyln, 10 mars 2011 - 07:32 .

[Cancermeat]

<-------------------- Should have known something was up when they didnt make one of those fancy animation comercials like they have been doing for their games.