3274 réponses à ce sujet

[IrishSpectre257]

I'll be brief.

The Good:

-Great gameplay. Manages to be both action-packed and tactical.
-Great story. Was told extremely well and very cinematic.
-Great main cast. I think I may even like my new companions more than the Origins cast.
-Prefer the new art style.

The Bad:

-Recycled environments. Pure laziness.
-Kirkwall seemed too empty. Mostly because of the lack of ambient noise and the way everyone echoed during banter.
-Import gltiches. Some inconsistencies bothered me, and I hope Bioware patches it soon.


Despite those flaws, I still loved this game. 9/10

Modifié par IrishSpectre257, 13 mars 2011 - 11:54 .

[Vengal345]

Edited: Somehow i ended up making two posts in the wrong forum I apologize. 

Modifié par Vengal345, 14 mars 2011 - 12:29 .

[Realmjumper]

You tell John Riccitello if you see him that Realmjumper says Dragon Age 2 needed a solid 6-12 more months for it to be a quality Bioware title. Simply put it's one step forward, and two steps back. You tell him the fans know, because we are smart and educated. You tell him I said so, and if he wants he can give me a call anytime.

[SPIDERMAN360]

Drgaon age 2 wasent as good a the first becaouse you dont get to chose you race your origins

[sgreco1970]

My review of DA2 is a mixed bag, Im afraid. I'll begin with the things I liked.

I was extremely impressed with the graphics. Smooth, fluid, vivid -very well done. The people and faces, especially eyes and teeth were quite nicely crafted and I particularly liked even seeing them use their tongues when they spoke. The combat animations were excellent. In almost all regards (except as noted later on) I found them to be excellent.

I truly enjoyed hearing my character's voice and feel it added much to the experience. Having new options like a comical or charming response was also very nice and gave us a broader range of responses.

Some of the storylines were very interesting and posed some very challenging decisions. Some of the moral dilemmas were vexing and not so simple to unravel.

All in all it was a good sequel.

However... it did not feel as worthy a successor to DAO as I had hoped. In very many regards I felt it was more like a tribute to DAO than its own fully fledged title.

Firstly, the areas I didn't like the rgaphics had to do mainly with environments. In some areas, the places did not feel as deeply detailed as the people. In others, it was obvious that the same environments were being reused again and again and gave the game an overly generic feel.

The pacing and flow of the game was abysmal, Im sad to say. Tons of quests got thrown at you all at once and some you picked up along the way seemed extremely trivial and confusing. ("Oh, here is your bottle of wine you lost" ...why did I pick that up and how did I known to whom to return it?) Very few deep and engrossing dungeon crawls. Most quests were "go here and talk to X then hurry there and talk to Y." You might have an encounter or 2 along the way but there, 3 areas away, was your mark. Having to go to a companion's home area to talk to them for a 1 conversation side-quest, when they're standing beside in your party, seemed very strange and clunky.

Having the entire game ostensibly take place in one city was an extreme disappointment. The city grew dull and repetitive and made the world, which had seemed so expansive and engrossing in DAO, suddenly seem very small.

While having the option to give the cute remark instead of the noble or confrontational one meant the game could take on whatever tenor you desired was interesting, I think many people feared for always giving the amusing remark, lest the quest take a sour turn. Lost was Alistair's or Morrigan's uproarious remarks, made behind you just after you'd said something noble and thus lost was the game's incredible humor that made DAO such a joy.
 
Items had some issues. For one, I can understand the one-item clothing for the companions. I didnt like it but if for your own reasons you feel it simply had to be simplified then so be it. But if so, then why all the drops, hawke only, that were for classes you did not choose? those should have been coded not to appear for other classes. Also, the generic icons were a mistake. I don't care if its just "junk" items, using the trash pail sillhouette icon makes things seem unreal and generic, detracting significantly from immersion. I was frankly shocked to see you do it.

Overall, the pacing of the quests was poor and 90% of them were horrendously short, courrier missions that grew quickly tiresome and made the game feel a jumble. I honestly began to wonder if the brilliant staff at Bioware wasn't being shoved aside by the cold corporate hands of EA. If that is the case, I mourn for the genius that has been lost. If not, I do hope you take a step back and have a long look at both games. I think many of us feel that while we're excited to see enhancements to graphics and combat, the core of the Dragon Age series, and all Bioware games, is a well paced, engrossing story and in many ways this game simply did not live up to those standards ...or our expectations. Its not a bad game, in fact its enjoyable but it is definitely not the scond chapter installment of Dragon Age we had hoped to see. I do hope we see a return to the sharp witted, inventive and immersive storytelling in future titles.

Modifié par sgreco1970, 14 mars 2011 - 12:21 .

[SkittlesKat96]

It's a great/fairly good game but it could have been better, the combat eventually halfway through the game gets a bit repetitive, and you realize the environments are pretty recycled, Kirkwall didn't feel like it had enough life and there just didn't seem to be enough big locations outside of Kirkwall, or at least they could have made Kirkwall bigger or make Sundermount lots bigger.

The combat was really fun and very tactical and I think one of the good things going for this game is the story and dialog and interactions, some of the plot twists have actually been really good.
Some bugs but only as much as any game has when it's launched, no massive issues yet with bugs or glitches.

The characters are good but don't have that echo that characters like Morrigan, Alistair and Leliana had on me, maybe it's because of the length of the game and not getting to hear them as much. Soundtrack is good.

Not sure I like this new art design, even though it's supposed to help make the game unique (and it actually does) that doesn't mean I have to like it or get use to it straight away, I think I might just be use to the feeling and art design that Dragon Age Origins had.

Overall I really like the game and it's really improved on some of the things Dragon Age Origins lacked, but it's still not as good as DAO in my opinion,

[SPIDERMAN360]

yous toke out the character creation zone that was 1 of the bests parts in the dragon age
origins if you wont to make it better make a DLC were origins character mets your DA2 character & dont ton The Game Down for Consoles thay Have no Sole Thay Play the Game Than Take it Back After 7 Days DA2 is more like you play town hereo & the character not as Grate as Origins Next DA Game no Mass effect style DAO style was the best

[sgreco1970]

Teclo wrote...

captain.subtle wrote...

Its simplified to the level of dumbing down. There are no longer skills, crafting (you have to go to vendors to craft stuff). The combat is repetitive and needs no tactical thinking whatsoever. All you need to do is spam attacks/spells. There is a clear copy pasting of maps. For a game with this large a budget you should expect cleat detailed maps. But NO.

I am heavily disappointed. What is the use of wasting so much money into a rushed game? i hope other games from Bioware do better.

Have you even played it? Of course there are skills, unless we mean different things by that word. There is no crafting... but there is? Good point, well made. It's a matter of opinion, and not one that I really care about either way, but only being able to craft at merchants or pre-set places makes more sense. How is it that these people are making potions and traps with their bear hands, with no actual equipment? The combat is the same as DA:O - for the most part in that game, you just let your party auto-attack, maybe threw in the odd spell for good measure, and it was incredibly straight forward. There was a very obvious copy-pasting of areas in DA:O too; the back alleys in Denerim were all the same, the mages tower was used about 5 times for separate and significant areas.

Honestly, if the best criticisms are (a) things that don't make sense and ( things that better apply to DA:O, I'd say Bioware are onto a winner here.

Im sorry Teclo, but this forum is for people posting their reviews of the game. I know its not how you would write your review, but to confront everyone who has a different opinion just defeats the purpose of the thread. You are free to disagree with everyone if you wish, but there's no need to offer a rebuttal to them all. You wont be convincing anyone to have your opinion instead.

[reqent]

Good
-The inventory system is more managable
-The combat is faster and flashier
-I like the narrative style it does build up dramatic effect 
-The music is compelling

Bad
-Loading times are too long
-Can't customize teammembers appearance which I knew that it would be that way I just wish they changed more.  Maybe DLC??? 
-I wish you could talk to the companions as often as you wanted. 
-Not a lot of variety in terms of settings
-Junk is well junk its more variety but I wish I could use it.

score: 7/10 which is a high score for me it was worth the money.  I just didn't like the cast as much as I thought I would some of it is that they don't talk enough.  The dialouge tree is nice but it sometimes feels limiting.  

[dynamicdandito]

I'm at year 7 now, so I'll give my 20ish hour review thus far.

The good:
Graphics: The art style is simplified making the game run smoother, and for the most part the models look better for it. The only exception are the Ogres, which look silly. Sorry art team, but thems the breaks.
Game play: Combat is a lot more fun and faster paced. I don't feel like I'm waiting on the battle to resolve itself with only minimal input on my part. I feel more involved and it gos faster.
Characters: Better flashed out, less cliched and more involved with Hawke and each other. I love the little touches like the brief cutscenes where they're interacting with each other without Hawke (Anders telling Varric stories, Isabella cheating Merrille at cards, ect.) You can feel more comraderie between as opposed to the last game where they didn't have anything to do with each other in Origins besides out of battle conversations.
Story: It's a Bioware game, so it's ace.
Merrille: cutest Bioware character EVER!! wished there were more scenes with her, but no matter how many she gets it'd never be enough, so whatevs.
Revamped Elves: now they don't look like humans with pointy ears, they look like an actual race that's still attractive.
Talking MC:  feels like an actual person and not derpy.  Not that the Warden from Origins was derpy as in Derpy Hooves (which would have been awesome) but derpy as in looked more challanged than Sandel with less personality.

The bad:
Pacing: The 4 acts both work for and against this game. On the one hand it allows a personal tale told over a longer period of time, but at the same time I don't feel each act was fleshed out. The first Act was 10 hours of side quests and the second wasn't much better.
Romance: Admittadly I've only romanced Merrille so I can't comment on all of them, but Merrille's felt rushed. It wasn't until half-way through Act II that I could start her romance tree and then after 1 conversation we got commited. With Origins there was a LOT more build up with all the romances and it felt more earnest. I felt that with a character like Merrille who was as naive and unsure of herself she'd need more time to digest. Maybe it'll flesh out over time, I still have 2 more acts to go. Still, rushed.
Inventory: So I pick up this new sword for Aveline, but she's not in my party. I can't equip her unless she's with me, even back at base. It's really inconvienient to equip my characters 3 at a time. Step back from Origins.
Sense of scale: The game feels like a dungeon crawler. I dare say it borders on JRPG territory in that matter, and the recycled dungeons don't help. I swear I've been in the same cave 30 times. I'd prefer less side quests with more environments.
Kirkwall is just as bad, with only a dozen or so areas to explore and all of them get retreaded dozens of times per act. I understand the game only takes place in Kirkwall and the surrounding areas, but I can't help feeling the game suffers for it overall. Maybe if there were more and varried areas it wouldn't feel like such a small world.
femHawke looks and sounds like Morrigan: it's distracting.

The ugly: Darkspawn rework (especially the Ogre) makes them feel sillier and less threatening than in Origins.
Not letting me use the default Hawke head with a different haircut: well, there you go.

Final assessment: 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

Love the game so far, but feels like it could have been more.

Modifié par dynamicdandito, 14 mars 2011 - 12:41 .

[Tomeran]

My own personal review of the game, on PC, will be surprisingly
optimistic. I read many comments and reviews prior to the game and my
expectations lowered as many(mostly players and not proffessional game
testers) said that DA:2 was a big dissapointment.

Having tried the game properly, I can safely say this isnt the case. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was not a waste of money after all. Dragon Age 2 is after all fundamentally different from origins, and it was something important to keep in mind. I dont think anyone would blame Bioware if they stuck to the origins recipie over again, it would probably have worked as well. Instead they went boldly ahead and tried to create a political drama-rpg that was so different from its predecessor. It takes a new approach to character development, narration and story, and it works great. Almost.

There had to be that "almost" there. The
game is unfortunetly riddled with flaws that annihilates its chance of
being perfect. Weighted on the scale it still favours the game, but by
Bioware standards, its a step backwards.

To specify:

Great:

- Voice acting.
Your hero is finally given a "soul", rather then the mute husk that was the
Ferelden warden. The voice acting of both female and male hawke arent
flawless, but it works well enough, as does the facial animations and
expressions that comes with it. This also applies to all the other voice
acting in the game. I found no big dissapointment and it was quite the
improvement from origins.
The "conversation wheel" imported from Mass Effect also works great, especielly with the symbols.

- Narration and character development.
The new perspective of your story being told over a decade rather then the standard approach is quite unique. I myself
havent come across other games that experiments as boldly as this, and
it really works. Its enough to make Hawke a compelling character which
you evolve over time. In comparison, you only play the warden for a
year. It doesnt give the same attachment.
It also helps make the companions more likable, and makes you more attached to them. You
feel like you get rooted down, and that's a good thing. A place to call
your home, and friends in that home. With that behind you, there's a
bigger cause to fight.

- Skill and inventory system

The new DA:2 skill system is not complicated to get into, and it offers a wide variety of useful spells and abilities. It also offers upgrades to skills, which is new, nifty and allows you to fully specialize in the field you wish your character to focus in, while in Origins you had to drop points in secondary talent trees at the end levels as you had filled up all your main ones. Good for "off-speccing" perhaps, but the ability to do the same exists just as well with the new system.
The new inventory system is also great, with its new "star-rated" itemization and trash loot section.

Quite good:

- Combat
The combat system works flawlessly and is alot smoother then origins. There are many new nifty features and overall its better then origins. Combat is more streamlined and "easy", which some players may not like,
but depending on your difficulity level, it can easily be challenging
enough, and it works.
But its definetly not perfect. For some reason kill moves, one of the more unique and nifty features from origins, has been removed. Combat is more streamlined and "easy", which some players may not like, but depending on your difficulity level, it can easily be challenging enough, and it works. There is also an overuse of blood and gore. I know its suppose to be a dark fantasy game with alot of blood, but opponents exploding to tiny bits when I shield slam them doesnt make sense. It may be fun, but its a bit extreme. Having dismembered limbs or the like would be a nice replacement.
Combat is also, belive it or not, overused at the expense of story and content. This may seem like a huge downside, but its not BADLY overused. I dont mind a bit of extra action, but sometimes it seems developers just added mobs as arcade-style fill-in where there easily could have been less repetative content in its place.


- Graphics

Not much to note on graphics. The game on DX9 looks a little better then origins, and there are improvements, if not really huge ones, if you have a good computer.(I havent tested that extensivly but just watched from a friends computer). Some textures are dreadful, however, and there are signs of a lack of graphic polishing even with max graphics. This part is never truly important for me in games like these. As


Quite bad

- Story

DA2's story is not as cliche or epic as origins. Fortunetly DA2's unique narrating and storytelling mode saves the weak story and the game from being a total failure. It works in this frame, while it would work very poorly in any other frame. Its enough to peak interest and keep you there, and the side quests are actually made alot more interesting and bigger. The thing is, I think this way of narrating and storytelling would have worked just as well with a truly epic story, and with it would have created a 10/10-game. This relativly weak story doesnt fully exploit the game's good sides and lowers the grades, and the ending is rather weak. It was not what I expected and hoped for and could have been made alot more interesting.

- Choices and replay value

This judgement is done mostly in comparison to Origins. Dragon Age: Origins offered many different perspectives as you could start from many races and backgrounds. Dragon Age 2 simply does not offer the same choices and fail to offer the same amount of replay value. Granted, there are choices and consequenses that can vary from playthrough to playthrough, and it also varies on your class and gender, but overral its a bit too linear. Some things are unavoidable and you are pushed mercilessly in that certain direction everytime. Perhaps that is unavoidable in any story-driven RPG, but somehow the options felt more open in origins.


Terrible:

- Reusing terrain and house interiors.

This was to me one of the biggest let downs of Dragon Age 2. Judging from other reviews, its also a common cause of complaint.
Kirkwall as a city is a great place, full of interesting people, streets, shops and stories. It works well to stay in it and its countryside. For a while. But when the entire game takes place here and surrounding areas, it quickly drains the content and the fun of the place. Sure, I can see the value in growing attached to that home city. I said earlier that it was a good and strange feeling of being rooted down. But I meant that more as a "home base". Not that it would be the only thing you'd ever experience. I wish Hawke could visit more of the Free Marshes. Maybe some of the surrounding city states. See some other things then the same stuff over and over and over, just in a different time.
Dragon Age Origins take us around a kingdom, DA:2 is just a city. There is a limited amount of fun to a limited scenery, even with the chronological advancement.
The real problem is that everything from houses, roads, caverns and sewers are repeated. Over and over and over and over. That is really not okay. It just looks sloppy and the sheer lazyness at the lack of models drags down the grade of the game alot, as it makes it twice as repetative then it should be.


- Impact of Origins save

When I heard your choices in Origins could be imported to Dragon Age 2 I was overjoyed. I remember myself being quite satisfied with how Mass Effect 2 had used the same function and had expected something like that in DA2. That was not to happen.
I prepared what I would call a "perfect" Origins playthrough, something I would feel comfortable could bear the weight of Hawke's adventure in the sequel. Instead, I am greeted with enough details that I could count on one hand. 99% of the story that transfers from origins does not seem save-related, and with precious few exceptions, I feel as if my previous actions in the previous game doesnt matter at all. Granted, some of those examples(which I cant explain in detail due to this qualifing as spoilers) were quite great, but its nowhere what Mass Effect 2 offered in comparison.
I know DA2 was meant to be Hawke's story, that he was suppose to be a "commander Shepherd" of the DA series, but I get the feeling sometimes like they want to forget the past and just start over. Which just plain sucks.


Summary:

Dragon Age 2 offers a good overall gaming experience. Bioware is on to something with the way they have presented the game and its hero, and adapting ME elements into the game prooved mostly a success.
Combat, inventory and skills are refined and works great, and the graphics are not notably aweful or awesome.
More content is however needed. More cave and house models, less reusing old content and building up a stronger sense of "adventure" with the quests is essential.
The story is weak, but survives in the unique way its narrated, as does its main character. This story could easily be replaced by a more epic one and work great.

I'll grade the game 7 out of 10, which is enjoyable, but far from perfection.

Perfection is impossible to achieve, but I hope the lessons from both games will be enough to make Dragon Age 3 the best RPG yet.

Modifié par Tomeran, 14 mars 2011 - 01:10 .

[Talonius]

I am extremely disappointed with Dragon Age 2.  As a long time Bioware fan I have always enjoyed their stories, art, game play, and general atmosphere. 

* What is there, 30 unique maps in the game?  You can cut the cavern maps in half with doors all you want, but it doesn't hide the fact that they are, in fact, the same map.  I normally explore every nook and cranny in a role playing game but I grew so tired of re-exploring the Wounded Coast or the same cave I gave up - and stopped.  I can't stress this enough - if you thought the players of this game wouldn't notice the same warehouse floor plan in every interior, the same cave floor plan every time you enter a cavern, and the same mansion floor plan every time... well, we did - and will.

* Linearity.  Far fewer choices with consequences in the game, in regards to your companions and the main quest. 

* Reuse of models.  As a really bad example that really irritated me, it seemed that every Coterie female was the same blonde model with shoulder length hair (the hawker in Darktown).

* No origin story that you could choose from. 

* No race choice at character creation.  

* The quests where you pick up something and then deliver it were... disappointing fluff.

* The romances felt stiff and stilted.

* The removal of the sex scenes was disappointing as well.  No, I don't "get off" on it but it was an interesting part of the game and it gave the game something unique that other games didn't have - a somewhat tasteful treatment of sex.

* Length.  My son started playing Dragon Age a few weeks before DA2 was released.  He's still playing it -- yet I purchased DA2 and finished it, while he's still engaged.

* DLC on release date.  Really?  The DLC has gone too far.  Way too fricking far.  (And fricking isn't the word I want to use.)  800 Bioware points on RELEASE day?  For a game that's too short, short on content, short on quality?  No.  I'm not buying it.  I bought the DA DLC because I loved the game and the story - and most of that was released later, at least.

Was it a decent game?  Yes.  Was it a Bioware game?  No.

Combine my disappointment with the treatment of the individual who was banned from installing the game because he violated the terms of service of these forums, the various statements by personnel on these forums when dealing with that situation, and I'm done.

I'm not purchasing any more games affiliated with EA.  They rushed this, what should've been a fantastic game.  They screwed up Dragon Age.  Bioware is just another game company that's gone.  I hate to see what Bioware's MMO will end up like; it will end up being another piece of roadkill on the MMO highway.

(I'm sure there will be those who mock me, "oh what a loss, wah."  Here's how much money I spend on games:  I have 271 Steam games, and 2,561 game CDs and DVDs.  That doesn't even begin to cover my 3.5" and 5.25" games, X-Box, X-Box 360, Wii, GB, GBA, DS and PS/2 games.  I've been a huge gaming consumer for years, and I'm very vocal about my choices and opinions.)

[Avidsle]

I generally like Dragon Age for its story as-well as gameplay, liked the game play in both DA:O DA:A and DA2.

DA2
Better Graphics, Better Effects, Nice Conversation System.

The major down side i found in two is places are cloned and the same places lead to different places e.g. the same entrance in dark town can lead to the smuggling templer tunnel or some room or some other place... not to mention all the caves among other areas seem to have the same base layout same cave though even if one way is blocked and another way is open it still makes you feel like you're in the same cave.

I wished it had more diversity in areas overall, i also wished it had a better tie with the original dragon age maybe hearing more about accomplishments you achieved from dragon age by people who met the hero among other stuff i know DA2 touches on this a little bit.

Hero vs Champion: I got attached to both stories and like to see continuation of both, me as both a powerful and influential commander warden and a champion.

Cant wait to see how it all ties in the end.. Hopefully here more on the Morrigans Story as-well, also be interested in other characters back stories for more depth especially in DA2, maybe Isabela liked that character

I also wished it was longer, i remember dragon age taking me longer to complete.

The two posts above me hit on a lot of points, i nearly fully agree with Tomeran post.

Despite some let down with repetitive like areas or spending too long with in an area I still like and class Dragon Age 2 as a good game unlike most games that come out, i still like and interested in the story

Modifié par Avidsle, 14 mars 2011 - 01:44 .

[sevalaricgirl]

BrianRB wrote...


Okay, I've read a lot of the comments on this thread, and I've also read the reviews of the product on Amazon.com. It seems to me that the people who like this game are those who are playing it on console; those who are PC RPG gamers don't, for the most part, like it.

Not true at all.  I play every game on PC.  I never use a console for anything,

[sepir]

I think I am about halfway through the second act, playing
as a sword and shield diplomatic fem-Hawke. Thought it was a good time to put
some impressions up.

The good:

- The female Hawke voice acting. I think it really lends
itself to the diplomatic role.

- Merril's voice acting. Such a lovely voice. I’m not even
using her in this play through either.

- Actually, nearly all the voice acting is great.

- The story so far. I know some people won't agree, but I
think it is refreshing to have a story that isn't "you must save the
world!" right from the beginning.

- Running very high with DX11, the game looks good. It could
look better though, and there have been a few moments that made me cringe.

- The new look for armour. It looks practical.

- The abilities tree is pretty easy to follow.

 

The bad

- Fenric's house. 3 years and there are still dead bodies?

- Having to summon the Mabari after every transition.

- The same maps used for every cave and building. Especially
the doors that stick out as not belonging and following the map to find it
blocked. A suggestion would be to get some maps of 100 real caves, and then model
in game caves after them.

- The portrait picture. You put a lot of effort into the
characters face and the portrait makes them look like somebody hit them with
the ugly shovel.

- NPC’s and the environment not reacting to each other. In
Lowtown there were several examples of people standing inside carts. Not
avoiding detected traps. I think the AI should take into account the trap has
been identified.

- Enemies appearing out of thin air/jumping down from roofs.
The first time the jumped down I though it looked neat, but it gets old very
fast. The appearing out of this air standing right next to your party, just no.

- The inability to equip/level the party from a central
location. It is annoying to have to swap characters around just to level them
and upgrade their equipment. Perhaps a delivery boy or something could be
implemented in your house that you go to and he “runs off and delivers” what
you want to put on them.

- Only being able to talk to characters at their “homes”. You
don’t need detailed discussions in The Deep Roads or cave 1, but something.

- Lack of being able to customise the default Hawke face,
besides the blood smear. What can I say, I like long hair on my female
characters.

- The new elf look. While I acknowledge the attempt to move
away from the elves just being smaller humans with pointy ears, they look like
bobble heads now.

 

The other

- Combat. Even playing DA:O on casual I was constantly
controlling different characters and using their abilities. Now I hardly ever
do that except to click on hold and then disarm traps. I do like the faster
pace though, and the whacking on an enemy slowly whittling them down to have
them explode from Varric turning to focus on them. Although after 20 hours it
still makes me laugh every now and again, I think I prefer the DA:O finishing
moves better (decapitation, sword through the heart etc) as there was more
variety.

- Having the one city. Having to run through it again 3
years later and rediscover everything. With so many thugs around, I also would
have thought night time guard patrols would be a good idea. Something to
indicate at night the city doesn’t just shut themselves inside and hope morning
will come.

- Lack of companion customisation. I do enjoy gearing people
out. I can see why it wasn’t included though.

- Maybe I haven’t come across it yet (and trying how to
figure this out without a spoiler), but I think it would be good to earn an
income from business assets. Picked up at your house where it accumulated. I
still feel the need to pick up everything to sell, and there is still a large
amount of armour/weapons/trinkets that need to be sorted through.

- And on the equipment, so many rings and weapons, but
bugger all shields? Or is this just me?

 

I know it looks like I have put more bad and on-the-fence
things, but I truly am enjoying the game. I really wish I wasn’t at work at the
moment. I keep getting tempted to make my second character (aggressive default
mage male-Hawke) to see what differences there are. I will try and finish the
game first though.

Modifié par sepir, 14 mars 2011 - 01:52 .

[Pepipopa]

reqent wrote...


Good
-The inventory system is more managable
-The combat is faster and flashier
-I like the narrative style it does build up dramatic effect 
-The music is compelling

Bad
-Loading times are too long
-Can't customize teammembers appearance which I knew that it would be that way I just wish they changed more.  Maybe DLC??? 
-I wish you could talk to the companions as often as you wanted. 
-Not a lot of variety in terms of settings
-Junk is well junk its more variety but I wish I could use it.

score: 7/10 which is a high score for me it was worth the money.  I just didn't like the cast as much as I thought I would some of it is that they don't talk enough.  The dialouge tree is nice but it sometimes feels limiting.  

Were you playing on a console? Because my PC is 3 years old cost me 400$ and the average loading time for me is 5-10 seconds. Tops 20.

[googooguru]

 Just finished run thru with mage, here is my review

Loved:
*Fully voice acted (including Hawke ,even if he is a bit pompous and has the emotional range of a flounder)
*New combat system (fast and fun like all generic combat experiences should be )
* New combat animations were great really make you feel like battle tested bayonettes deploying your ordinence to the ground (sorry couldnt help myself)
*The framed narrative with Varric was grea.t i mean whats not to love about dwarfs, their short beer loving rogues with crosbows that always shoot at groin height, technically that could be a rogue dwarfs special ability: groin shot: knockback / 20X physical damage/ inflicts sterility buff

Liked:
*Overall the companions were interesting and had a good dialogue and banter with each other
*the revised ability trees (easy and straight forward, i like the upgrade options)
* Story while not as Epic as DA:O played out well overall

Disliked:

*Kirkwall is too empty ( judging by the reception at the gates i was expecting it to be full to the rafters with Hakers, Merchants , Citizens, Trade Caravans, Civilians and Refugees) finding an empty city really broke the immersion. The viscount really like his citizens to have a lot of personal space cleary he has never been on a public bus.

* The story didnt gel at several places (anders companion quest didnt seem to come to a conclusion, Several choices which i guessed would have had huge ramifications never panned out, kinda seemes unlikely that everyone just looks the other way at champion mages given the circumstances. must be my mind trick NPC's passive ability)

*Was there a sale of blood magic books in kirkwall seems like you cant swing a cat without hitting an apostate , the templar order in kirkwall is know for two things 1) its fantastic croquet team and  2)its knitting club. finding apostates or even noticing them is not there strong suit.

* I like being human as much as the next guy but not in an RPG, in a fantasy game i like to play as a fantasy character maby a Vaudevillian Quanari with a "to hell with the Qun" attitude and a love of fine whiskey and human bar maids 

 *Horny Quanari, this is a personal gripe, but by dehumanising the Qunaris Apperance it has  Psychologicall  seemed to reduces their values to a more simplistic or animalistic understanding of the world. Guess thats also why there were kept caged off in a seperate part of the city like good animals should be

* Too many Rogue companions , i mean honestly is everyone in this city a rogue, who in this city do i bribe to get another tank or could the gaurd do there damn job and arrest all these fracking rogues

* Crafting System: Apparenlty all crafting resources are homeopathic recipes and only contain one part per million so you only need 3 pieces of each for the entire game . whats next scanning the forrest from the tree tops  with a magic rod to find resources ..poke:P

* no Arcane Warrior / battlemage  why give us an awesome character build in the first game and remove it in the second? sigh

Hated:

*Repitition of Zones and Dungeons (15 hours in noticed  i was starting to get zone fatigue, looks like the whole world was built by a condo developer at discount price with a wide choice  of identical Dwarf Tuscan Style Mansions and with one generic dungeon (that will be run Forward, Backward and with Spooky lighting and fog included, al a scooby doo, as a matter of fact that could be shaggy in the arcane horror costume)... when you compare Kirkwall to other AAA title citys like Assains creed Brotherhoods Rome it looks dangerously shoddy , unpopulted and under developed) 

* Boss fights felt  like raids and instances in a MMORPG ie: Hack hack hack, step out of AOE , drink potion heal and hack hack hack. Tank and Spank all the way 

note: where were the clevery designed  encounters from DA:O ie: the  Puzzle challenge with the Demon Cat, Sloth demon who cycled through several forms which challenged your understanding of the game mechanics, ashes of andraste Puzzle etc...

* inability to customize the armor of the companions made the loot system irrelevant and makes for some very smelly companions  (why bother with loot once you have the champion armor set you never needed to loot another corpse of open another chest)

*non customised  trinkets ie: everything seemed to be named Belt, Ring, Amulet it stripped the game of vital depth. When playing an RPG i want to find items with a sence of history ie: Wardens amulets of vigilance and even generic items like Amulet of the wolf or the blooming rose garter of chastity you know ....whatever..  it increases immmersion in the fantasy. i was incredibly disappointed in this aspect

*rehashed monsters . The developers had an amazing chance in Kirkwal to intoroduce new Monsters ,maby a bound old god or two out to recalim there past glory and much on some souls this is A Tiventer city seeping with ancient rogue magics from the old empire, but instead of exploiting this dragon age 2 lays on more of the same and in most cases less .if any one is looking for me i will be down at the Hanged man putting up missing posters for the Shrieks and Werewolves, drinks are on the golems

Overall : For every Step that Dragon age took forward it took two back with this lateset iteration, some solid Ideas get overshadowed by the recuring feeling that im not playing Dragon age at all and rather another title that was shoehorned into the dragon age mould. The Story,doesnt have the puch to deliver the final sating blow of satisfaction this title desperatly needed to convince the fans that these changes were in their best interests. While Mass effect 2 was in every way a superior game to Mass effect 1 . Dragon age 2 trips over its own grand designs and plays out more as a poor Mass effect 1 clone : with blind templars, sock puppet blood mages with as much magical range as my mum, saucy pirates, horny quanari and groin obsessed dwarfs.

5  / 10 in my books

[DragonAddict]

I felt DA2 was almost an experiment to see how gamers would like the new console based interface. I felt game play was quite limited when moving and looking around using the PC.

The graphics at very high, directx 11, high res textures were fantastic!!!

The sound fx and music were both really well done too.

You only need a GTX 480 or equivalent GPU to play DA2 at high settings and 12GB to 16GB system ram is also cheap, so very little hdd loading.

No bugs like the game crashing or freezing, we'll it did freeze always at a certain area but I just walked around it, problem solved.

DA2 was extremely short compared to DAO and the plot and storylines were okay but not DAO caliber. The romantic cut scenes, gifts and relationship developments were really well done in DAO (adult based cut scenes), but with DA2 almost non-existent and more for younger gamers. No gifts and gag gifts to buy and no percentage and stages to really know how the relationships are progressing.

For what you guys accomplished in a two year period?, creating DA2, amazing in such a short time frame.

When killing enemies in DA2, way too much everything exploding instead of realistic cutting off heads, limbs, blood squirting out, etc. When you hack and slash someone and shoot them with arrows, they don't explode and when running to enemies, you don't suddenly dash across the screen, etc.

I felt DA2 was simplified alot compared to DAO. I liked the complexity of DAO over DA2.

I give DAO with all the DLC and expansion pack(s) a 9.5 out of 10 and I would of given it a 10 out the 10 if you would of released that final 1.05 patch addressing known bugs.

DA2 I give 7 out of 10. Its not a bad game don't get me wrong.

DA3, I can't wait and maybe some spoilers.........hint hint.

Modifié par DragonAddict, 14 mars 2011 - 02:42 .

[Haristo]

 Pros
+ Design modifications in TheDAS are huge improvements.
+ The Story is amazing.
+ You are muh more in control of your character.
+ The romance conclusion is no longer having sex ! Great !
+ The new radial menu more interresting than the Back/Select menu from DA:O
+ The modifications on the combat system are indeed very cools for console players.
+ Those combat animations are very nice, and linked with the fact that we are much more in control of our character.
+ Healing strategy concept, no more Potion drinking fest. Makes the game harder and more tactical.
+ Choices matters much more. 
+ The game is long enough.
+ The final climax is a very enjoyable moment, the final boss a very formidable opponent.


Cons
- Okay, What have you done with Combat strategy ?
- Console players WANTED the Free camera, instead you destroyed it for everyone. very bad choice.
- Console players : Still only 6 hotkeys. that's a shame compared to Risen or New Vegas.
- Recycled environments. Not tolerable.
- Lack Origins related stuff... why have I imported my save ?
- No epilogue ?
- The new darkspawn design is Horrible 
   - The new ogre is insipid and unoriginal. the Purple Blue one from Origins was the best.
   - Where are the Genlocks ?!?
   - The new Hurlocks looks like wanabee Uruk-Ai who failed to be interresting, so Saruman fired them.
  + However, The new Darkspawn emisarry, **** YEAH !


Bugs report
*No Save corruption.
*2 freezes
*one optionnal quest is bugged : Who need rescuing?
*My Hawke ''fell'' under the map and was struck here until I rallied my party and went somewhere else.


What I expect for a ''Dragon Age III''
* Bring back combat strategy. even if that means to lose some control on my character.
* No more recycled environments.
   * The main quest MUST always be set on unique and new environments.
   * Optionnal quests can ''share'' some environments, but it must not be the same as the Main quest.
* More interraction with my companions. not only based on ''companion quest based''.
* No more ''thanks for playing buy our DLC'' crappy ending. I want to go whereever I want after the main boss killed.
* Setted in the Tevinter Imperium or Orlais.
* a new character, but it continue the actual story about the ''Spoilers'' agains't the ''Spoilers'' and the ''spoilers'' who want to ''Spoilers'' the ''Spoilers''.
*Console Players : more Hotkeys. 
(Hint : Use the Dpad, it give you 8 more hotkeys : Up, Right, Left, Down, Leftup, Rightup, Leftdown, Rightdown, plus you can press Rb for 8 more hotkeys. Any functions locked on the Dpad can be sent to the Radial menu.)



No need for a numbered mark. But here's my ''simplified opinion''
The game was very good and very enjoyable.

[Dajiaocookie]

javierabegazo wrote...

Evil Chris here. I am hijacking this thread to be more than just initial impressions.

We would like your DragonA ge II reviews here. The good and the bad. What you liked and what you disliked. We want to hear from you.

Please keep in mind that simply posting "BEST GAME EVAR!1!1" is not useful neitehr is "THIS GAME SUCKS!".

Also, please do not post spoilers here. There will be a thread in the Gameplay Discussion forum for detailed, "spoilerific" reviews

So please, post your SPOILER FREE reviews of Dragon Age II here.

Thanks

Was watching my buddy playing it since he absolutely loves the DA franchise. (i still think it's a very very fugly game and the only hawt toon in the game is your own sister)

1. Gameplay looks simple and easy to control unlike DA1 -> which is a good thing, DA1's controls were cumbersome and detracted from the game.

2. Conversations are great -> great idea to port over the ME style of conversing.

3. Storyline looks interesting -> I've seen up to the first city only.

Otherwise, DA is still a very fugly game.

[andy180084]

Haristo wrote...

* Setted in the Tevinter Imperium or Orlais.
* a new character, but it continue the actual story about the ''Spoilers'' agains't the ''Spoilers'' and the ''spoilers'' who want to ''Spoilers'' the ''Spoilers''.
*Console Players : more Hotkeys. 
(Hint : Use the Dpad, it give you 8 more hotkeys : Up, Right, Left, Down, Leftup, Rightup, Leftdown, Rightdown, plus you can press Rb for 8 more hotkeys. Any functions locked on the Dpad can be sent to the Radial menu.)

The game was very good and very enjoyable.

Totally agree on the dpad part, i played origins on pc, but when i went to play at a friends house to beat flemeth for him on his xbox, i couldn't stand the RT +xyb hotkeys. use that dpad bioware..... what was it used for in origins anyways? Then u can give the console players a good experience (give em the overhead view too) AND NOT RUIN IT FOR US PC PLAYERS!!!

[Malhavek]

Please!!!!!!! In the name of Loric Prince of Elves!!! FORGET THE UNHOLY WORD "STREAMLINING".IT IS KILLING THE GENRE SLOWLY.

[apollo81b]

sepir wrote...

The good:

- The female Hawke voice acting. I think it really lends
itself to the diplomatic role.

- Merril's voice acting. Such a lovely voice. I’m not even
using her in this play through either.

- Actually, nearly all the voice acting is great.

I also really liked the voice acting, specifically the female Hawke ( voiced by Jo Wyatt), who I've started my second playthrough with. Whether the lines are sarcastic, serious or emotional she makes them seem realistic. The male Hawke was good, not great, but good. I'm not sure I bought his sarcasm as much. He seemed a bit more, to steal a Mass Effect phrase, "paragon". A very straight-laced hero, which is typically how I play, but some comic relief is nice and of course if you want to be a rougher character for a playthrough. Speaking of Mass Effect, I never cared for the female Shepard voice acting at all, so I never completed a playthough with a female character.

DA:O had superb voice acting, which was one of its most endearing qualities. Alistair and Morrigan especially. So I would have been let down if the trend hadn't continued.

[wiskeylab]

so far i've only played the demo, i'll be having the game in the next couple of days. but my thoughts on the demo are :- don't get me wrong the combat was a lot faster than origins but other than that it was unimpressive. what made origins a great game was the origins stories, it was a nice change to be able to replay the game from start to finish with a new pov, when i heard that a lot of origins features were being left out of da 2, i was kinda gutted. however i'm gonna wait and play the game before i can give a proper opinion. but i'm not holding my breath.