I have yet to finish the game yet, but I have sunk about twenty-two very enjoyable hours into it, just passing Act I earlier today, and I have a few thoughts.
Regarding the companion conversation structure, I love it. I realise that many people are frustrated by their inability to hoard gift items up and go from do-I-know-you to best-friends-forever in fifteen minutes of keymashing. I, however, love the fact that you get to watch the relationships you build with your team play out over the years. Of course people aren't going to have an instant connection with someone in year one, even if you brought them enough flowers/boots/booze-- they haven't known you that long. It makes sense to have the slower build up to something more meaningful. I enjoy seeing them in their own homes, and I enjoy seeing them banter with each other somewhere else than a random spot in front of the chantry/lowtown entrance/wherever. I don’t find it any more difficult to talk to them spread out, either. When I want to, I just ditch the party and bounce between all their homes via the map. Not hard. It's a subtle and graceful touch to ground these characters as people with some depth beyond just what your character says/does, which, it seems, has gone by unappreciated.
I'm really liking the story so far. I love the whole playing through the rise to power with the best dwarf ever as your storyteller scheme they've got going on. I haven't finished it all yet, but it makes me wonder/hope that there's an expansion on the horizon where you take all this massive buildup and import it into something that REALLY ties in to the over-arching Flemeth/Morrigan story. Even if there aren't any plans for something like that, I still would enjoy watching the hero story play out the way I want. I doubt they’ll just leave it at “so yeah, that was the Champion. Cool, huh?”
I've seen a lot of people complaining about the import feature not really doing anything. Again, I have to disagree. It's just, as I said before, a far more subtle and graceful implementation. Just because our Warden isn't walking up to us and yelling, "FLEMETH SHOULD BE DEAD AND I AM THE KING OF FERELDEN AND I SAVED THE WEREWOLVES AND LOGHAIN IS DEAD I CHANGED THE WORLD" doesn't mean the world hasn't been affected. On the contrary, I find fellow Ferelden refugees saying “Long live King Alistair!” I’m finding surface dwarves talking about their booming business thanks to King Bhelen’s reforms. I’m finding a vengeful elf confronting a regretful former werewolf. It’s touches like that which make me feel far more immersed in the game. Most of that stuff with the Warden happened in the boonies of Thedas anyway, not Kirkwall, so yeah, it's not going to be a huge deal to Hawke. It’s more satisfying and more realistic to see the ripple effect my actions had as opposed to having everyone from DA:O back for a reunion extravaganza.
The combat is far more fun, and no less tactical. Those who think otherwise perplex me-- what’s changed, exactly? It’s just faster, really. You don’t have to waddle your way around like a dweeb when combat starts. You can get where you need to far quicker and more efficiently. The cross-class stuff makes me use my other team members far more than I ever did in DA:O. I seriously don’t understand the hatred for the refined combat system. The old one is clunky and disappointing in comparison.
I do have a few issues with the game, but it’s nothing world-ending-apocalyptic-refund-my-money worthy like some people seem to think. I didn’t play a mage in the first one, so I didn’t use the tactical birds-eye zoom much, but this time I am playing a mage, and it’d be nice to have that option. It’s nothing I can’t get around with some creative camera rotation, but still. It’d be nice to have the minimap have tooltips again. I also hit a bug with Merrill where, upon finishing Act I, her quest “Mourning” auto-completed without me getting the chance to talk to her. It’s something I’m sure will be fixed later, though, and I’m sure I’m going to replay the game, so I’m not too concerned.
My last one is more funny than a complaint. I handed in the remains of a dwarf to another dwarf and said, “I believe you lost this,” which made me chuckle, but then the dwarf said, “Oh, yes, I can’t believe I lost that, I never thought I’d see it again! Thank you!” which had me laughing aloud. Probably not the right exchange to have in regard to handing over a corpse to someone.
Overall, I’m confused by the sheer amounts of vitriol and rage going on in the forums. It seems like people who don’t like change are having a knee-jerk reaction to something different in terms of combat or perceived lack of tactics, or they feel like their Warden, the Grey Wardens, and Ferelden should be the be all end all of Thedas. They don’t see the games as different components to an overarching lore-epic spanning multiple countries. This game isn’t meant to be rushed through, wondering when your Warden will make a cameo. This game is meant to be drawn out and enjoyed slowly, much like a fine scotch. The story is a bit more sophisticated and complex, taking it’s time to build toward a climax. I guess people just want instant satisfaction, or at least a clear goal they feel they can be working toward. I dunno. But I’m enjoying the hell out of my time with this game.
TLDR-- This game is dope and I thank you for it, Bioware. Please don’t let the tin-hats and self-righteous-internet-anons harsh your vibe. It’s a sweet game and world you guys have made here and I look forward to further installments in it.
Your Dragon Age II Review *NO SPOILERS PLEASE*
Débuté par
javierabegazo
, mars 08 2011 04:02
Retour en haut
#1152
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 06:59
Bak Tanus
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- Members
- 14 messages
thebatmanreborn wrote...
...And the lack of care given to the story disappoints me. I can overlook so many glowing flaws in light of an epic tale. I love stories. But if the story is weak, then everything else looks so much worse. The game isn't terrible. It's not bad. It's also not great nor is it 'game of the year' worthy. It's not Terminator 2 to Terminator or The Empire Strikes Back. And I guess that's why i'm so disappointed. I expect so much for you guys over there at Bioware. Heck, I thought about working for you at one time. I feel like I'm playing through the rough draft and I'm wondering who fired the editor? ...
And I was hoping the story would redeem it.
Maybe the story isn't finished yet... maybe the rest of the story will be on the DLC. Probably will not buy this game until all the DLC's are complete.
#1153
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:10
glumzamber
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- 11 messages
Bak Tanus wrote...
thebatmanreborn wrote...
...And the lack of care given to the story disappoints me. I can overlook so many glowing flaws in light of an epic tale. I love stories. But if the story is weak, then everything else looks so much worse. The game isn't terrible. It's not bad. It's also not great nor is it 'game of the year' worthy. It's not Terminator 2 to Terminator or The Empire Strikes Back. And I guess that's why i'm so disappointed. I expect so much for you guys over there at Bioware. Heck, I thought about working for you at one time. I feel like I'm playing through the rough draft and I'm wondering who fired the editor? ...
And I was hoping the story would redeem it.
It's sad that the game has to have DLC to be complete. Damn shame.
#1154
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:18
BrotherCorvid
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- 154 messages
As an addendum to my previous comments, I'd like to talk about the re-use of maps. People are raging about this, and it's kind of a thing, sure. But I can't even count how many times I got stopped by spiders/bandits/darkspawn in Origins on various "Forest Paths" of the same model. I think it just seems worse because we're mostly sequestered in a single city. A varied city, but a single city nonetheless.
And speaking of the city, I have to say that I kind of wish that Darktown was like, dark. Especially at night.
Apart from that, though, I dig this game.
And speaking of the city, I have to say that I kind of wish that Darktown was like, dark. Especially at night.
Apart from that, though, I dig this game.
#1155
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:29
Barrackade
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- 1 messages
My review (hoping it may gain the attention of Bioware)
Though i've not yet completed the game this is the review so far. Mostly from an asthetic standpoint
PROS:
-vastly improved graphics over the original
- Similar feel to the Conan mythos with the city of kirkwall
-Qunari now have a distinct recognizable design, in Origins I simply thought sten was a messed up version of a human
-Voiced character, At the cost of only being able to pick a human, BUT it doesnt really bother me too much
-More uniquely designed companions
- the companions only having 1 piece of equipment as far as armor .I admit i wish there were different clothes unlocked through quests, But it saves the tedious and constant micromanaging
-structure is the same as Origins and Mass effect, which is a tested and proven formula.
CONS
- Graphical quality. Though it is leaps ahead of origins (at least by console standards) it still does not compare to the quality of Mass Effect 2. As a console gamer, I would rather have a 2 or 3 disk game that requires changing and still have the stunning visuals of mass effect.
- The custom character function. As a part of the story youre forced into being the brother/sister of a family of dark haired family. This encourages the player to follow suit as it would break continuity to be bleach blonde or ginger. As well as if you wanted to be an older character. You can pick complexions to make you look older, but when you stand next to the siblings which are presumably only a few years younger it again doesnt fit.
> In addition to this, making the preset faces options in accessible/ un-editable is frustrating. I originally wanted the beard of the default male face, but in combination with different hair and facial structure to create a charachter similar to the main in Deus Ex: Human revolution (i love the character design) But it wasnt an option nor was something similar.
>the armor set up. I wish it were the same as mass effect 2. Like most players if not all, I like my character to look cool. But when i play a darker, bad-ass mage character, its hard to take the weights of his threats seriously in feathered pastel robes. Or for a rogue character, I want to be able to create anything from swashbuckler to ninja-esque or something inbetween Not saying they should have plate available to them but at least make 4-5 options for body, arms, legs and head for each class with the modifiable color schemes as well. It would eliminate the constant swapping of boots and gloves for ones slightly better.
In addition to this i feel that the characters relations seem almost forced. if you end up with the mage sister, the background the game seemingly supplies for you is that youre the loving, protective brother/sister. It makes you feel like you have to follow the pattern of treating magic characters well, or pissing off your sister. It goes hand in hand with Fenris, while having the sister character in your party, you feel obligated to keep her happy as a script provided by the game, this in turn pisses the fenris character off, you cannot seem to find a happy balance outside of leaving useful/likable characters outside of your party.
In addition the characters sometimes feel very stock. The rogues healer with a chip on his shoulder, the woe is me freed slave whos angry at everyone, not just his captors, the guard who never bends the rules. It is a part of the choice consequence system which is great dont get me wrong, but it discourages you from building a strong party for fear of losing a characters approval and not gettin associated bonuses. Mass effect had the right idea with the loyalty system where if you didnt want a characters bonus/ didnt care for them, you simply didnt have to do their loyalty mission.
And the main character does feel somewhat unremarkable. In Origins i played a human warrior whos family is killed, and i decided from the get go that my characters main goal was vengeance at any cost, while still trying to be upright. in this game, it seems that the motivation-much like the relations to the sibling and the appearance- are supplied for you.
I feel it was a step in a good direction overall for the game, But the events of Origins seemed much more epic and fantasy worthy, The narrative feels a little less player based and a litte more linear, and while that helps streamline the game it takes away some of the fun. If DA3 is in the works i would essntially like to see something similar to Mass Effect 2, which was a vast improvement on Mass Effect. Dragon Age feels like the first Mass Effect, which while it isnt a bad thing, it doesnt show a lot of innovation when what Bioware should be capable of making a game today, that isnt simply on par with one made years ago. I want them to be more ambitious
I give it a solid 7.5/10 dont get me wrong its enjoyable, and at some times addictive, but it seems they were more focused with getting it out a year after origins instead of making a sequel to knock it out of the park.
Though i've not yet completed the game this is the review so far. Mostly from an asthetic standpoint
PROS:
-vastly improved graphics over the original
- Similar feel to the Conan mythos with the city of kirkwall
-Qunari now have a distinct recognizable design, in Origins I simply thought sten was a messed up version of a human
-Voiced character, At the cost of only being able to pick a human, BUT it doesnt really bother me too much
-More uniquely designed companions
- the companions only having 1 piece of equipment as far as armor .I admit i wish there were different clothes unlocked through quests, But it saves the tedious and constant micromanaging
-structure is the same as Origins and Mass effect, which is a tested and proven formula.
CONS
- Graphical quality. Though it is leaps ahead of origins (at least by console standards) it still does not compare to the quality of Mass Effect 2. As a console gamer, I would rather have a 2 or 3 disk game that requires changing and still have the stunning visuals of mass effect.
- The custom character function. As a part of the story youre forced into being the brother/sister of a family of dark haired family. This encourages the player to follow suit as it would break continuity to be bleach blonde or ginger. As well as if you wanted to be an older character. You can pick complexions to make you look older, but when you stand next to the siblings which are presumably only a few years younger it again doesnt fit.
> In addition to this, making the preset faces options in accessible/ un-editable is frustrating. I originally wanted the beard of the default male face, but in combination with different hair and facial structure to create a charachter similar to the main in Deus Ex: Human revolution (i love the character design) But it wasnt an option nor was something similar.
>the armor set up. I wish it were the same as mass effect 2. Like most players if not all, I like my character to look cool. But when i play a darker, bad-ass mage character, its hard to take the weights of his threats seriously in feathered pastel robes. Or for a rogue character, I want to be able to create anything from swashbuckler to ninja-esque or something inbetween Not saying they should have plate available to them but at least make 4-5 options for body, arms, legs and head for each class with the modifiable color schemes as well. It would eliminate the constant swapping of boots and gloves for ones slightly better.
In addition to this i feel that the characters relations seem almost forced. if you end up with the mage sister, the background the game seemingly supplies for you is that youre the loving, protective brother/sister. It makes you feel like you have to follow the pattern of treating magic characters well, or pissing off your sister. It goes hand in hand with Fenris, while having the sister character in your party, you feel obligated to keep her happy as a script provided by the game, this in turn pisses the fenris character off, you cannot seem to find a happy balance outside of leaving useful/likable characters outside of your party.
In addition the characters sometimes feel very stock. The rogues healer with a chip on his shoulder, the woe is me freed slave whos angry at everyone, not just his captors, the guard who never bends the rules. It is a part of the choice consequence system which is great dont get me wrong, but it discourages you from building a strong party for fear of losing a characters approval and not gettin associated bonuses. Mass effect had the right idea with the loyalty system where if you didnt want a characters bonus/ didnt care for them, you simply didnt have to do their loyalty mission.
And the main character does feel somewhat unremarkable. In Origins i played a human warrior whos family is killed, and i decided from the get go that my characters main goal was vengeance at any cost, while still trying to be upright. in this game, it seems that the motivation-much like the relations to the sibling and the appearance- are supplied for you.
I feel it was a step in a good direction overall for the game, But the events of Origins seemed much more epic and fantasy worthy, The narrative feels a little less player based and a litte more linear, and while that helps streamline the game it takes away some of the fun. If DA3 is in the works i would essntially like to see something similar to Mass Effect 2, which was a vast improvement on Mass Effect. Dragon Age feels like the first Mass Effect, which while it isnt a bad thing, it doesnt show a lot of innovation when what Bioware should be capable of making a game today, that isnt simply on par with one made years ago. I want them to be more ambitious
I give it a solid 7.5/10 dont get me wrong its enjoyable, and at some times addictive, but it seems they were more focused with getting it out a year after origins instead of making a sequel to knock it out of the park.
Modifié par Barrackade, 11 mars 2011 - 07:38 .
#1156
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:30
Ocedic
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- Members
- 7 messages
To add further comments, some people have complained about the lack of companion customization. While I wish it was a bit more, I liked that they actually gave character-specific bonuses / design. In DA:O, in combat the characters lacked any unique personality because they were all carbon copies of class archetypes. Here, Varric is different from Sebastian even though they are both archers.
Now, they could incorporate that some way to allow more customization (for example, would be nice if Varric could be a dw rogue instead of archer, but have different character specific bonuses for that.) However, at the end of the day it's a step in the right direction, and DA:O was so unbalanced in that mages were overpowered that you were pidgeonholed into optimal setups regardless.
Now, they could incorporate that some way to allow more customization (for example, would be nice if Varric could be a dw rogue instead of archer, but have different character specific bonuses for that.) However, at the end of the day it's a step in the right direction, and DA:O was so unbalanced in that mages were overpowered that you were pidgeonholed into optimal setups regardless.
#1157
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:31
hangmans tree
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- 2 207 messages
You've got to be tactical, son...
The whole concept was to make game more responsive and action packed without loosing its tactical aspect. It didnt work in my opinion. Watching the encounters unfold I've seen a struggle to force the tactics approach through chaos onscreen. Wave after wave the enemies come, spawning from walls or thin air (best case being the door ina corridor). No matter how much thought you put into your party positions and well thought out plan - its useless, enemies spawn behind your line causing chaos of tacticless slaughter. Beam me up, Scotty!
Another thing are artificially extended encounters and battles. The whole formula is a succesive progress through a map with waves of enemies for you to dispatch. Too many waves. Its boring. The fact that you cant talk
yourself out of the fights doesnt help. Only bosses are required to use your more elaborate thinking and usage of powers, that is the time when you can test most of them, cross class abilities too.
You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters!
Oh, the maps. Recycled ad infinitum during most sidequests. They only differ in the blocked passages. Lost for words.
Maps in the city are filled with life...or unlife? Dunno, there are some mechanical zombies that struggle to look casual no the street, little upgrade from Denirim I guess.
Le textures...le sigh. Might be better in 2011.. I think? The lighting is nice though.
I will take the Ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way
I thught that finding and returning some items will unfold a nice sidequest, as cliche as it may be but still. But that was that. You return said quest item and all you get is some short comment a little gold and XP - goodbye. Unnecessary fillers that distract/detract from really good dialogues/missions/decisions from other/main quests. It
might be a better idea to work on them, lenghten them, tie with the main quest and ditch the fetch item ones entirely.
Won't comment on the main story coz I havent seen through the whole game, and due to spoilers. It's good so far.
Invisible companions.
Companion quest without ... said companion. Dissapeard. He's there during convos but... not there really Couldnt be finished because of unlootable final character in the story - unresolved quest.
There are onther really annoying bugs here and there.
Look at this!
Boobs.
OMG, Kirkwall is a home to some scary, cheap surgeon. Every lady can afford implants. But non can match Isabellas I guess
I think she got hers overseas, Taiwan maybe? 
I'm not the kind to look for the T&A in a game, but in this case those things can knock an eye out! Heh. NPCS models are bad again, some so bad that I shook my head with dissapoinement. But maybe my expectations're too high? I dunno...
Faces. Too many ugly faces. Some of the random characters resemble "make the ugliest character using CC" winners. This is DA2 as well as DAO and ME2 problem.
Concept art ->3D models transition is ... well, lost in translation I'd say. And that is a shame.
Some stiff animations.
Basides that its all good.
Play it again Sam.
Acting is great, as always with Bioware. No need to comment as I dont have objective take on this one. My personal preferences and quirks colour my reception of the story, characters and the like. But its all good. I may not like it but its good. Sometimes I have a feeling the writers excell without even trying but not always - I find it uneven at times. Maybe its because of disjointed structure of the tale, a little lack of porpouse in the first 10-20 hours of gameplay, just a wisper in the back of my head, but the story holds just fine.
Flemeth is something of a driving force behind the scenes, I got the impression she will be pulling strings in other DA related projects, if any. Although I did not reached the end, so there might be a surprise for me yet. I really like that character.
I like having a voiced PC but the paraphrase system needs improvement. Its not paraprasing but misleading at times. If not for the icons which give at least a warning at which direction the convo might go I would be totally at a loss here and there (but still I was surprised what my Havke just said O_O). I would blame the person/s who wrote the shortened versions for not paying attention to what the full responses really mean.
On a side note I must say that I dont have any incentive to follow a romance/LI...its wierd, it happened first time for me (in BW game)...I feel...wierd...
Optimalization
Compared to ME2 it is really poor. I cant play it on my machine due to 'cant initialize physx' whichc is probably either sse2 (Athlon proc.) or agp vcard related - played Origins just fine, thank you. Playing on my friends machine, which is quite good so I do not understand the stuttering at times of particle orgy and a drop of framerates. Enabling dx11 have little effect on the overall presentation. Thats why I cant understand a drop in performance.
Which leads me to a thought it might inhereted DAO so called leaks gene. But that is me, and I'm no wizard.
Maybe if I'll come across other aspect that I feel like posting about I'll update.
Thanks for reading...if you did.
The whole concept was to make game more responsive and action packed without loosing its tactical aspect. It didnt work in my opinion. Watching the encounters unfold I've seen a struggle to force the tactics approach through chaos onscreen. Wave after wave the enemies come, spawning from walls or thin air (best case being the door ina corridor). No matter how much thought you put into your party positions and well thought out plan - its useless, enemies spawn behind your line causing chaos of tacticless slaughter. Beam me up, Scotty!
Another thing are artificially extended encounters and battles. The whole formula is a succesive progress through a map with waves of enemies for you to dispatch. Too many waves. Its boring. The fact that you cant talk
yourself out of the fights doesnt help. Only bosses are required to use your more elaborate thinking and usage of powers, that is the time when you can test most of them, cross class abilities too.
You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters!
Oh, the maps. Recycled ad infinitum during most sidequests. They only differ in the blocked passages. Lost for words.
Maps in the city are filled with life...or unlife? Dunno, there are some mechanical zombies that struggle to look casual no the street, little upgrade from Denirim I guess.
Le textures...le sigh. Might be better in 2011.. I think? The lighting is nice though.
I will take the Ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way
I thught that finding and returning some items will unfold a nice sidequest, as cliche as it may be but still. But that was that. You return said quest item and all you get is some short comment a little gold and XP - goodbye. Unnecessary fillers that distract/detract from really good dialogues/missions/decisions from other/main quests. It
might be a better idea to work on them, lenghten them, tie with the main quest and ditch the fetch item ones entirely.
Won't comment on the main story coz I havent seen through the whole game, and due to spoilers. It's good so far.
Invisible companions.
Companion quest without ... said companion. Dissapeard. He's there during convos but... not there really Couldnt be finished because of unlootable final character in the story - unresolved quest.There are onther really annoying bugs here and there.
Look at this!
Boobs.
OMG, Kirkwall is a home to some scary, cheap surgeon. Every lady can afford implants. But non can match Isabellas I guess
I think she got hers overseas, Taiwan maybe? I'm not the kind to look for the T&A in a game, but in this case those things can knock an eye out! Heh. NPCS models are bad again, some so bad that I shook my head with dissapoinement. But maybe my expectations're too high? I dunno...
Faces. Too many ugly faces. Some of the random characters resemble "make the ugliest character using CC" winners. This is DA2 as well as DAO and ME2 problem.
Concept art ->3D models transition is ... well, lost in translation I'd say. And that is a shame.
Some stiff animations.
Basides that its all good.
Play it again Sam.
Acting is great, as always with Bioware. No need to comment as I dont have objective take on this one. My personal preferences and quirks colour my reception of the story, characters and the like. But its all good. I may not like it but its good. Sometimes I have a feeling the writers excell without even trying
but not always - I find it uneven at times. Maybe its because of disjointed structure of the tale, a little lack of porpouse in the first 10-20 hours of gameplay, just a wisper in the back of my head, but the story holds just fine.Flemeth is something of a driving force behind the scenes, I got the impression she will be pulling strings in other DA related projects, if any. Although I did not reached the end, so there might be a surprise for me yet. I really like that character.
I like having a voiced PC but the paraphrase system needs improvement. Its not paraprasing but misleading at times. If not for the icons which give at least a warning at which direction the convo might go I would be totally at a loss here and there (but still I was surprised what my Havke just said O_O). I would blame the person/s who wrote the shortened versions for not paying attention to what the full responses really mean.
On a side note I must say that I dont have any incentive to follow a romance/LI...its wierd, it happened first time for me (in BW game)...I feel...wierd...
Optimalization
Compared to ME2 it is really poor. I cant play it on my machine due to 'cant initialize physx' whichc is probably either sse2 (Athlon proc.) or agp vcard related - played Origins just fine, thank you. Playing on my friends machine, which is quite good so I do not understand the stuttering at times of particle orgy and a drop of framerates. Enabling dx11 have little effect on the overall presentation. Thats why I cant understand a drop in performance.
Which leads me to a thought it might inhereted DAO so called leaks gene. But that is me, and I'm no wizard.
Maybe if I'll come across other aspect that I feel like posting about I'll update.
Thanks for reading...if you did.
#1158
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:36
Hexsun
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- Members
- 42 messages
I only played for an evening and had a hard time getting into the game at first, feeling it was too much arcade, and getting interrupted by the narrator cut scenes. Also had some problems with the skill tree and the general feel of the UI. But about an hour into the game I got hooked. It looks amazing and plays well too, sure the battles are too easy on normal and the linearity of maps is still underwhelming. But I stop to look around and I read the codex and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. Looking forward to playing tonight after work. Good job so far.
Modifié par Hexsun, 11 mars 2011 - 07:37 .
#1159
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:39
CubbieBlue66
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- Members
- 113 messages
I'll go ahead and preface this mini-review by telling the lot of you that I am not terribly far into the game.
Dragon Age 2 has fixed the most glaring problem from Dragon Age: Origins, the combat. It really doesn't matter how much one may enjoy tactical action, there is no bloody reason for combat to be that slow and dull. Who amongst us can honestly say we'd rather go back to watching our characters shuffle endlessly while trying to get into position? I sure wouldn't. I can see how people may feel the game is a bit too much of a button masher, but it's far better than being bored.
That said, I played Dragon Age: Origins in spite of the action... and I did so because I enjoyed the story. It may have been somewhat cliched, but it was quite epic, with almost everything you did feeling like it was contributing to the overall goal of facing down the Archdemon.
Unfortunately, it seems as though Bioware took its cues from Bethesda in regards to Dragon Age 2, and altered the composition of the game to the point that the sidequests are the story, much as you see in the likes of Fallout or The Elder Scrolls. There's nothing wrong with that approach in and of itself, but those of us looking for an epic struggle are going to feel left out in the cold a bit. Again, I'm not all that far into the game yet... just far enough to confirm some of the reviews I've read that are somewhat similar to mine. I hope upon having a chance to play this game a bit more I feel the need to come back here and edit this post to say something about the narrative becoming more focused... but I fear that isn't likely to be the case.
I will say this, and I hope some of the developers read this...
Bioware, thank you for taking a risk. Thank you for trying something new. It cant be easy reading mixed reviews on a game you worked so hard on. But I'm sure when taking a look at this game in preparation for the next one, you'll be able to point at some things that worked, and some things that didn't... and hopefully you'll be able to take the best from both games and give us an awesome Dragon Age 3.
Dragon Age 2 has fixed the most glaring problem from Dragon Age: Origins, the combat. It really doesn't matter how much one may enjoy tactical action, there is no bloody reason for combat to be that slow and dull. Who amongst us can honestly say we'd rather go back to watching our characters shuffle endlessly while trying to get into position? I sure wouldn't. I can see how people may feel the game is a bit too much of a button masher, but it's far better than being bored.
That said, I played Dragon Age: Origins in spite of the action... and I did so because I enjoyed the story. It may have been somewhat cliched, but it was quite epic, with almost everything you did feeling like it was contributing to the overall goal of facing down the Archdemon.
Unfortunately, it seems as though Bioware took its cues from Bethesda in regards to Dragon Age 2, and altered the composition of the game to the point that the sidequests are the story, much as you see in the likes of Fallout or The Elder Scrolls. There's nothing wrong with that approach in and of itself, but those of us looking for an epic struggle are going to feel left out in the cold a bit. Again, I'm not all that far into the game yet... just far enough to confirm some of the reviews I've read that are somewhat similar to mine. I hope upon having a chance to play this game a bit more I feel the need to come back here and edit this post to say something about the narrative becoming more focused... but I fear that isn't likely to be the case.
I will say this, and I hope some of the developers read this...
Bioware, thank you for taking a risk. Thank you for trying something new. It cant be easy reading mixed reviews on a game you worked so hard on. But I'm sure when taking a look at this game in preparation for the next one, you'll be able to point at some things that worked, and some things that didn't... and hopefully you'll be able to take the best from both games and give us an awesome Dragon Age 3.
#1160
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 07:58
LadyBri
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Ok, I am not finished yet, nearing the end of act 2 w/ about 32hrs of gameplay but...
no spoilers, I promise
But Bioware, why do you break my heart???!!
Anyone who thinks DAII has less emotion has not given this game a chance. Over 30+ hours and nearly 2/3 done, and you really get sucked into the lives of all your characters especially your family. Again, no spoilers, but there are some hilarious and absolutely gruesomely heartbreaking moments (I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about).
no spoilers, I promise
But Bioware, why do you break my heart???!!
Anyone who thinks DAII has less emotion has not given this game a chance. Over 30+ hours and nearly 2/3 done, and you really get sucked into the lives of all your characters especially your family. Again, no spoilers, but there are some hilarious and absolutely gruesomely heartbreaking moments (I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about).
#1161
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 08:13
Yamsandjams
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My review is as follows:
Excellent.
The end.
Excellent.
The end.
#1162
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 08:38
moonandserpent
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- 33 messages
Just finished Act 2 and started Act 3 with about 30 hours in.
I have played every Bioware release and while I have yet to see how the landing sticks, this is quite possibly my favourite BW game, ever. The level of the writing is stellar and the sheer complexity of interaction is great. Combat is tactical without being tedious and the occasional nods to the aftereffects of my DA:O playthrough are so far flawless.
I LOVE how the NPCs aren't just relationship bars to be gamed, but they feel like evolving independent characters.
The writing is funny, horrifying, and at times touching. I really just can't say enough good things. Some of the incidental voice acting is a bit weak (and I dislike the new voice for A____.)
If the ending holds together and some of the things I see happening are delivered on, this will probably be my favorite CRPG since PLANESCAPE: TORMENT.
I have played every Bioware release and while I have yet to see how the landing sticks, this is quite possibly my favourite BW game, ever. The level of the writing is stellar and the sheer complexity of interaction is great. Combat is tactical without being tedious and the occasional nods to the aftereffects of my DA:O playthrough are so far flawless.
I LOVE how the NPCs aren't just relationship bars to be gamed, but they feel like evolving independent characters.
The writing is funny, horrifying, and at times touching. I really just can't say enough good things. Some of the incidental voice acting is a bit weak (and I dislike the new voice for A____.)
If the ending holds together and some of the things I see happening are delivered on, this will probably be my favorite CRPG since PLANESCAPE: TORMENT.
#1163
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 08:49
bebZz
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Well there might be heartbreaking moments but still it was better in DAO. At the camp you could talk to characters a lot and here it's from time to time. Still not bad, but..
The level-up screen and the inventory are disappointing - I really miss the drawings, the whole book-like stuff and the font. The mood of the new screen is quite different from the one of the game itself. And all objects in the inventory with one and the same picture only 3-4 different backgrounds and that's all? Didn't expect that! Awful! Armor for the other characters - sad.. No more discussion on that one.. It makes me feel like someone has accidentally deleted some pictures and backgrounds.
The difference between houses is only in that who is inside. The difference between dungeons is in who is inside and where you enter. Same area again and again.
Otherwise, gameplay is a thousand times better. Abilities, the way characters fight, magic - awesome.
The level-up screen and the inventory are disappointing - I really miss the drawings, the whole book-like stuff and the font. The mood of the new screen is quite different from the one of the game itself. And all objects in the inventory with one and the same picture only 3-4 different backgrounds and that's all? Didn't expect that! Awful! Armor for the other characters - sad.. No more discussion on that one.. It makes me feel like someone has accidentally deleted some pictures and backgrounds.
The difference between houses is only in that who is inside. The difference between dungeons is in who is inside and where you enter. Same area again and again.
Otherwise, gameplay is a thousand times better. Abilities, the way characters fight, magic - awesome.
#1164
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:01
kaokaomi
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o Why do I have to work today??? Iurl=http://www.goodgoodschina.com/categories/jewelry/pearl-jewelry]wholesale pearl pendants[/url]
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[url=http://www.goodgoodschina.com/cate hate it when real life has to interfere with my gaming needs!!
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[url=http://www.goodgoodschina.com/cate hate it when real life has to interfere with my gaming needs!!
#1165
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:01
bluerazor36
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- 3 messages
CubbieBlue66 wrote...
...But I'm sure when taking a look at this game in preparation for the next one, you'll be able to point at some things that worked, and some things that didn't... and hopefully you'll be able to take the best from both games and give us an awesome Dragon Age 3.
Well said. I do hope EA listens......<_<
#1166
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:02
kaokaomi
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[Spam Removed]
Modifié par Selene Moonsong, 11 mars 2011 - 09:56 .
#1167
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:15
SkittlesKat96
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Played it at a friends house for just a little bit past five hours then stopped and decided I'd buy the game for myself (just waiting for it) so far I'm really impressed with the game and I really can't wait to play it, I don't think it's as great as Dragon Age even though it improves on so many of Dragon Ages flaws but I still think it will be nearly as great and I'll find myself enjoying it and having a unique experience, maybe it will turn out to be better than DAO but I'll wait till I finish it.
A little annoyed at some of the Rpg changes and the new Rpg movements and choices Bioware is making but if they keep working hard and doing what they do these new changes WILL pay off and they'll make some more master pieces and stuff.
I haven't encountered any bad glitches which is a plus and I'm addicted to the feel of the combat and want to keep trying the dialog system.
A little annoyed at some of the Rpg changes and the new Rpg movements and choices Bioware is making but if they keep working hard and doing what they do these new changes WILL pay off and they'll make some more master pieces and stuff.
I haven't encountered any bad glitches which is a plus and I'm addicted to the feel of the combat and want to keep trying the dialog system.
#1168
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:16
Withidread
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- 471 messages
I just finished my first playthrough.
I played a mage first, and was absolutely giddy at the wonton destruction I was capable of.
Visually, I'm very pleased. It took me a bit to resolve some video related technical difficulties, but I did eventually get the high-resolution pack running at very high @ 1920x1080 with a fairly good framerate. (haven't figured out how to get the game to display it exactly, and I don't feel like using an outside program to find out)
I'd buy the entire dev team a round of drinks, but I've more than enough cold here in the midwestern US, and you Canadians can sodding keep the rest.
Now, I think I'll end this post here, I'm out of root beer and need to restock before my second playthrough.
I played a mage first, and was absolutely giddy at the wonton destruction I was capable of.
Visually, I'm very pleased. It took me a bit to resolve some video related technical difficulties, but I did eventually get the high-resolution pack running at very high @ 1920x1080 with a fairly good framerate. (haven't figured out how to get the game to display it exactly, and I don't feel like using an outside program to find out)
I'd buy the entire dev team a round of drinks, but I've more than enough cold here in the midwestern US, and you Canadians can sodding keep the rest.
Now, I think I'll end this post here, I'm out of root beer and need to restock before my second playthrough.
#1170
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:42
Glaso
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- 557 messages
Ok, so here's my 2 cents after 8 hours of game,
what i like:
-Badass ninja mages, gimme a black robe and a matching hood and i'll Darth Vader my way through the game with pleasure (force mage FTW).
-Combat animations
-Flemmeth, nothing to add she's perfect.
-New graphics, the game looks really nice except outside the city.
what i like less:
-The story, it's not bad but, dunno, it feels kind of less epic than in DAO and i don't realy feel being part of it.
-The characters, i don't have any particular attachement to them compared to DAO (albeit i feel a HUGE murderous intent towards Carver...), i liked Allistair, Leliana, Morrigan but DA2? Well...
-The companions customisation is crappy, i hated it in Mass Effect 2, i hate it in DA2, lemme put a huge armor on my tank please.
what i dislike:
-The interface, find the guy who had the idea and fire him, he's an idiot. Also find the guy who approved this crap and fire him too. In this kind of game i expect to see book covers, old paper and wooden frames not supa lazor futuristic console like thingy not justified by the lore.
-Default male Hawke, he looks fantastic in CGI teasers but rendered ingame it's Justin Bieber with facial hair (not that it's going to happen to him anytime soon
)
-The faces, most of the companions look like ****, look atBoobs the pirate lady, she's plain ugly, even Leliana looked better than that.
-No real healer, 40 seconds of cooldown on the healing spell (and yes i got to that point, he's inferior to Wynne in many ways)? Come on...
-The ennemies pop from nowhere, also what's the point of having trap detection if you can't ieven get to the traps before there's 50 dudes lining up for a piece of your ass?
what i like:
-Badass ninja mages, gimme a black robe and a matching hood and i'll Darth Vader my way through the game with pleasure (force mage FTW).
-Combat animations
-Flemmeth, nothing to add she's perfect.
-New graphics, the game looks really nice except outside the city.
what i like less:
-The story, it's not bad but, dunno, it feels kind of less epic than in DAO and i don't realy feel being part of it.
-The characters, i don't have any particular attachement to them compared to DAO (albeit i feel a HUGE murderous intent towards Carver...), i liked Allistair, Leliana, Morrigan but DA2? Well...
-The companions customisation is crappy, i hated it in Mass Effect 2, i hate it in DA2, lemme put a huge armor on my tank please.
what i dislike:
-The interface, find the guy who had the idea and fire him, he's an idiot. Also find the guy who approved this crap and fire him too. In this kind of game i expect to see book covers, old paper and wooden frames not supa lazor futuristic console like thingy not justified by the lore.
-Default male Hawke, he looks fantastic in CGI teasers but rendered ingame it's Justin Bieber with facial hair (not that it's going to happen to him anytime soon
)-The faces, most of the companions look like ****, look at
-No real healer, 40 seconds of cooldown on the healing spell (and yes i got to that point, he's inferior to Wynne in many ways)? Come on...
-The ennemies pop from nowhere, also what's the point of having trap detection if you can't ieven get to the traps before there's 50 dudes lining up for a piece of your ass?
Modifié par Glaso, 11 mars 2011 - 11:08 .
#1171
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 09:49
Ari87
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- 54 messages
The combat in this game is fundamentally flawed. Story, pacing, "epicness" - Those are subjective. Combat however is crap no matter how you look at it. There is almost no feedback as to why certain things happen, control of the battlefield is nonexistent since every encounter comes down to your group being swarmed/ambushed, the AI is too stubborn to follow orders when deselected and so forth.
In a game that is very obviously ~80% combat that is a bad thing.
In a game that is very obviously ~80% combat that is a bad thing.
#1172
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 10:11
Cobhammar
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- 1 messages
i dont really understand some of the negative backlash the game has been getting here. im about 40 hours into the game (on the verge of beating it), and im loving it. the combat in origins on the consoles was pretty horrible, but in DA2, the combat is leaps and bounds better. the story is great, and the characters are just as good. the recycled levels are an issue but its nothing game breaking, and most of the time you dont even notice or care. i really enjoyed origins, but i feel DA2 is a definate improvement
#1173
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 10:27
contextual_entity
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- 345 messages
I got in about 4 hours of the actual game last night before sleep beckoned. So just a few initial impressions:
- The combat is faster and more fun on standard fights lacking origins slog and grind. The bosses from what little I've seen are a mixed bunch. Some are an interesting challenge, others are mobs with higher health and 2 points more damage that simply need to be CC'd out the way until you're ready to deal with them. (This may be due to starting on normal, may need to move up to hard.)
- Dialogue so far is fine. Nothing immensely stand out at this point but I seem to but drawn unwittingly to a blunt, sarcastic Hawke. Yet unsure if this is good or bad.
- The art style is excellent when it comes to Kirkwall and the Companions, not so much beyond that. Still the broader colour palette is nice.
- It's hard to say a great deal about the story after just 4 hours so far but it does feel rather ME2-ish with its primary interactions being around companion quests. Also either a slow burner or slow starter but I'm liking the illusion of
freedom, also the family quests are interesting and I'm cultivating a nice rivalry with Carver.
Modifié par Amitar, 11 mars 2011 - 10:29 .
#1174
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 11:11
Glaso
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- 557 messages
Cobhammar wrote...
i dont really understand some of the negative backlash the game has been getting here. im about 40 hours into the game (on the verge of beating it), and im loving it. the combat in origins on the consoles was pretty horrible, but in DA2, the combat is leaps and bounds better. the story is great, and the characters are just as good. the recycled levels are an issue but its nothing game breaking, and most of the time you dont even notice or care. i really enjoyed origins, but i feel DA2 is a definate improvement
Oh don't get it wrong i really like the game, but it could have been A LOT better with little effort, i guess EA folks had their word during the devellopement...
#1175
Posté 11 mars 2011 - 11:16
EddySpeddy
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- 176 messages
Alrighty, now that I've got a clear head and played a fair way into the game, I'm going to give my final opinion.
Bioware, as usual, you've made a great story, and to go with it great voice acting, especially love the female Hawke.
The combat is a good improvement, but needs work, the huge jump distance as I've stated before is a bit childish.
The Camera, while I understand people not liking the change, I never used the overhead view anyway, so don't really care too much. (I am a PC gamer, don't own any consoles except a PS2 lol)
The graphics are great(the characters look amazing), the sky seems a bit to gloomy and doomy when it doesn't need to be though. I am running the graphics on DX11 on High as when I try to run it on the highest the ground gets black squares all over it and my FPS dies.
I am running an Intel i7 930 Quad Core 2.8GHz, an EVGA GTX 560 1GB graphics card, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, 6GB 2000MHz RAM, and a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 Motherboard. So either the highest graphics are really good, or it's buggy.
I really don't like what you did with the armour, I must emphasize how much I dislike this. Everything else I can look past, as games are never perfect, but removing the ability to change your companions armour is really annoying. I have all this armour in the game that's better than their's. Also I'm playing a Mage atm, would of been nice if I could stick, say the Blood Dragon armour on my brother or Fenris, but I can't because of what you did. I like my characters wearing what I want. Anyway that's my armour rant.
I have trouble with the tactics for some reason, it only works sometimes... like I've set all these tactics up on Anders, e.g. heal ally when ally health below 50%, but sometimes he just doesn't do it, okay most of the time, so I pause when I'm about to die, click on him and it's not on cooldown, no idea what's going on there, sometimes it does work but meh.
The new art design. I love the Qunari, great work, the Darkspawn look boring. I sort of like what you did with the elves, at least in this they don't look like short humans with big ears. Everything else is good.
A lot of people don't like that friendly fire is only in Nightmare. I don't understand that, because if you want a good challenge you are gonna play Nightmare anyway...
This one is a bit of a personal like, I really love that Anders is in this, the only character I liked in Awakening. The only reason I could play through Awakening without killing myself was him, was so unhappy that I couldn't romance him with my female Warden in that one. Now you gave me the chance, thank you very much xD
Would of been cool if you could meet your Warden from Dragon Age: Origins in this, or Morrigan, although now I'm just being picky xD
Anyway, it's not a bad game, not one of your best. But I have enjoyed it despite being unhappy about quite a few things. If there's ever a Dragon Age III let me change my companions armour *wink* *wink* :]
P.S. I find the mage in this is a lot like the elf hero in origins, everyones like you're a mage, I hate you xD
P.P.S. I find playing female Hawke as a Mage using mostly comedic options and some evil ones, makes her seem a bit like Morrigan, I like this ^.^
Bioware, as usual, you've made a great story, and to go with it great voice acting, especially love the female Hawke.
The combat is a good improvement, but needs work, the huge jump distance as I've stated before is a bit childish.
The Camera, while I understand people not liking the change, I never used the overhead view anyway, so don't really care too much. (I am a PC gamer, don't own any consoles except a PS2 lol)
The graphics are great(the characters look amazing), the sky seems a bit to gloomy and doomy when it doesn't need to be though. I am running the graphics on DX11 on High as when I try to run it on the highest the ground gets black squares all over it and my FPS dies.
I am running an Intel i7 930 Quad Core 2.8GHz, an EVGA GTX 560 1GB graphics card, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, 6GB 2000MHz RAM, and a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 Motherboard. So either the highest graphics are really good, or it's buggy.
I really don't like what you did with the armour, I must emphasize how much I dislike this. Everything else I can look past, as games are never perfect, but removing the ability to change your companions armour is really annoying. I have all this armour in the game that's better than their's. Also I'm playing a Mage atm, would of been nice if I could stick, say the Blood Dragon armour on my brother or Fenris, but I can't because of what you did. I like my characters wearing what I want. Anyway that's my armour rant.
I have trouble with the tactics for some reason, it only works sometimes... like I've set all these tactics up on Anders, e.g. heal ally when ally health below 50%, but sometimes he just doesn't do it, okay most of the time, so I pause when I'm about to die, click on him and it's not on cooldown, no idea what's going on there, sometimes it does work but meh.
The new art design. I love the Qunari, great work, the Darkspawn look boring. I sort of like what you did with the elves, at least in this they don't look like short humans with big ears. Everything else is good.
A lot of people don't like that friendly fire is only in Nightmare. I don't understand that, because if you want a good challenge you are gonna play Nightmare anyway...
This one is a bit of a personal like, I really love that Anders is in this, the only character I liked in Awakening. The only reason I could play through Awakening without killing myself was him, was so unhappy that I couldn't romance him with my female Warden in that one. Now you gave me the chance, thank you very much xD
Would of been cool if you could meet your Warden from Dragon Age: Origins in this, or Morrigan, although now I'm just being picky xD
Anyway, it's not a bad game, not one of your best. But I have enjoyed it despite being unhappy about quite a few things. If there's ever a Dragon Age III let me change my companions armour *wink* *wink* :]
P.S. I find the mage in this is a lot like the elf hero in origins, everyones like you're a mage, I hate you xD
P.P.S. I find playing female Hawke as a Mage using mostly comedic options and some evil ones, makes her seem a bit like Morrigan, I like this ^.^
Modifié par EddySpeddy, 11 mars 2011 - 11:20 .
