Alright need to vent some stuff mainly.
Pros:
-Combat system is far more fluid and fun for the most part
-Graphics are no longer painful to look at
-Most graphical glitches are gone, like characters walking through objects during conversations
-The characters are awesome, just good job on them
-Voice acting for Hawke was a big plus, no longer will I have to fill in the blanks judging the awkward facial expressions of the Warden
-Giving Hawke his name like Shepard also made conversations less awkward for the most part
-Character interactions are more frequent and believable
-Game has made various improvements from the first
-Enemies are more believable not the straight evil kind, they seem like humans with logic behind their decisions.
Cons:
-classes seem broken, Warriors are now ONLY tanks where Mages command the field with ridiculous damage outputs, Rogues are fairly versatile though
-New combat system, although fun to play and watch, has killed any strategy in the game
-Story seemed to lack that epic quality the first one had, Hawke's "rise to power" seemed more like his stroll through random events that ended with him in a slightly better role than before.
-The re-skin of Mass Effect was a bit annoying, when I first picked up the game and hit certain buttons I was like "wtf Bioware..."
-Companions seem impossible to please in situations (cough Fenris cough)
-Lack of companion customization bugs me a lot
-Weapons also lacked that epic quality, hunting down the Legendary items in Origins was my favorite part of the game.
Well I think the game is good but after the first playthrough I lost my drive to go through again. Just like Mass Effect 2. You cut a little too much from the story to increase the action. I never felt immersed in the game I was totally aware of the game and its recycled environments at all times.
Where as with Origins and Mass Effect 1 I had like 6-7 Playthroughs each trying out different things and had fun every single time. The Epic quality has died, the Warden's quest felt much more intertwined with the fate of the world than Hawke's rise to power. I'm hoping DA III changes this.
Oh and something I would like to see very much is some class crosses. Like the Arcane Warrior and the Spirit Warrior in Origins and Awakening. Why can't a mage bust out a sword and start slashing when the fireballs aren't cutting it? And why can't a warrior or rogue use magic to augment their abilities? The game trailer gave me hope, Hawke fighting with the Arishok using magic and a bladed staff but to no avail. The strict class systems in DA 2 were annoying and left no room for real customization.
I wouldn't say the game is ruining the series like some have claimed, but it certainly is not as interactive as the first. The best thing about Origins was the customization and the interactive story that kept the player involved and making decisions, I would often find myself dying to play a certain part in Origins again so I would start a new file and play through and be satisfied.
With DA 3 stick more to Origins than with DA 2
Your Dragon Age II Review *NO SPOILERS PLEASE*
Débuté par
javierabegazo
, mars 08 2011 04:02
Retour en haut
#1677
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 03:37
sergyuboss82b
-
- Members
- 9 messages
well let me tell u that this is not a real sequel it is a good game but in my opinion DA 2 is boring at least the first one made me whant to play it again and again! Sure the first one was not perfect but it had a good story a decent gameplay and u all are right that it is annoying that in DA 2 the map is small and the same I mean the caves alleys are the same verry stupid thing to do and excuse me but I faild to notice the soundtrack and the story the dwarf was a bad idee ogren was better
I am enjoing the game but it's a epic fail
I am enjoing the game but it's a epic fail
#1678
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:10
SpectreVerner
-
- Members
- 115 messages
To the argument of abandoning the old story for a new one, just remember this: the last game was solely centered around the blight, which is. though important, a very sparse event in the world. They happen between hundreds of years, and if they tried to add other elements to the Darkspawn like Mother in DA:A, then Darkspawn itself will become overused.
The truth is that there is much more to the DA universe then Ferelden and the Darkspawn. The first game only scratched the surfaces of the uneasy parties we experience in this game. If they wanted have the game centered around another Blight, then our decisions wouldn't really matter since it would be a few hundred years in the future and (dare I say it) more modernized. '
I am really enjoying the game so far, and I like it more than the first. The story of the first was even more disjointed, with some big plot events having nothing to do with the invasion. At least this game doesn't try to have a huge, prominent focus like the Darkspawn and then have me enter the Fade to save some magi or plunder the tomb of Jesus/Jeanne D'arc.
I also feel that the pacing is alright. In DA:O, sometimes the game would come to a complete halt, and it's moments like those that make me not want to replay the game.
The combat is much better for the console. I actually feel more in control of the battlefield, while the last game seemed to be very indecisive of what it wanted to be: an action rpg or a full-on rts?
Everything is more streamlined and it is great/
I do have to complain about the reused environments. Seemed pretty lazy. You'd couldn't just rearrange some of the locales and change some color and lighting at least?
Anyways, I love the game and will play through it multiple times. I hope we will receive a steady content updates like Mass Effect 2 or a big one like Awakening
The truth is that there is much more to the DA universe then Ferelden and the Darkspawn. The first game only scratched the surfaces of the uneasy parties we experience in this game. If they wanted have the game centered around another Blight, then our decisions wouldn't really matter since it would be a few hundred years in the future and (dare I say it) more modernized. '
I am really enjoying the game so far, and I like it more than the first. The story of the first was even more disjointed, with some big plot events having nothing to do with the invasion. At least this game doesn't try to have a huge, prominent focus like the Darkspawn and then have me enter the Fade to save some magi or plunder the tomb of Jesus/Jeanne D'arc.
I also feel that the pacing is alright. In DA:O, sometimes the game would come to a complete halt, and it's moments like those that make me not want to replay the game.
The combat is much better for the console. I actually feel more in control of the battlefield, while the last game seemed to be very indecisive of what it wanted to be: an action rpg or a full-on rts?
Everything is more streamlined and it is great/
I do have to complain about the reused environments. Seemed pretty lazy. You'd couldn't just rearrange some of the locales and change some color and lighting at least?
Anyways, I love the game and will play through it multiple times. I hope we will receive a steady content updates like Mass Effect 2 or a big one like Awakening
#1679
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:11
Malakar1
-
- Members
- 227 messages
Awwww... I'm done 
Awesome ending
full review coming after a good night of sleep
Awesome ending
full review coming after a good night of sleep
#1680
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:12
ReD BaKen9
-
- Members
- 206 messages
9.5/10
Modifié par ReD BaKen9, 14 mars 2011 - 04:13 .
#1681
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:14
BrianRB
-
- Members
- 113 messages
sevalaricgirl wrote...
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,
Note how I wrote the words "for the most part".
So, I guess you don't fall into that "most part". Good for you. Glad you liked it.
I didn't.
#1682
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:21
neppakyo
-
- Members
- 3 074 messages
Just to add my 2 cents in (after my short 7/10 rated review 
)
DA2 felt like diablo type game (hack and slash) with an ok story.
Tomaren and them really summed it all up for me.
)DA2 felt like diablo type game (hack and slash) with an ok story.
Tomaren and them really summed it all up for me.
#1683
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:33
Telley AbhorzU
-
- Members
- 1 messages
I set my alarm and was at the store by the time it opened at 7am, I rode my motorcycle in the rain to pick it up. She hadnt even stocked them yet. I should have stayed in bed.
It's like a generic form of a game. "Oh were going to make a game that makes no since at all, throw in about 20 darkspawn, show a few faces from a past game, take away all options, and call it part 2 so that it will sell better because everyone loved Dragon Age."
I am very disappointed in this game. No matter what you reply with it seems you don't change anything in the game like in DA. You have little/no options. No matter how many times you play through you either side with the mages or templars. No crafting even.
I am annoyed with bioware, its like they ran mass effect 2 and DA2 out the door without any thought to game play. I doubt I'll buy a game new from them again, I lost tust in them and will go used from now on.
If they would have eliminated the handful of darkspawn, brought in diffrent named character and didnt mention the blights it would be a video game with another name all together. It had very very little to do with the original.
Every underground looks the same, every cave, sewer area, halls. All the same.
I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone, especially if they have played the original.
If I had bought it used at Game Stop I'd return it as soon as I relized what type of game play it was turning out to be.
I game on xbox360
Bioware, what do you guys think you're doing over there!!!
It's like a generic form of a game. "Oh were going to make a game that makes no since at all, throw in about 20 darkspawn, show a few faces from a past game, take away all options, and call it part 2 so that it will sell better because everyone loved Dragon Age."
I am very disappointed in this game. No matter what you reply with it seems you don't change anything in the game like in DA. You have little/no options. No matter how many times you play through you either side with the mages or templars. No crafting even.
I am annoyed with bioware, its like they ran mass effect 2 and DA2 out the door without any thought to game play. I doubt I'll buy a game new from them again, I lost tust in them and will go used from now on.
If they would have eliminated the handful of darkspawn, brought in diffrent named character and didnt mention the blights it would be a video game with another name all together. It had very very little to do with the original.
Every underground looks the same, every cave, sewer area, halls. All the same.
I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone, especially if they have played the original.
If I had bought it used at Game Stop I'd return it as soon as I relized what type of game play it was turning out to be.
I game on xbox360
Bioware, what do you guys think you're doing over there!!!
Modifié par Telley AbhorzU, 14 mars 2011 - 04:35 .
#1684
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:41
4Aces
-
- Members
- 134 messages
While I am not the wordsmith Adam Sessler is (G4/TechTV) we both gave it a 6 / 10 (though mine is a 6.2). I cannot post a link to it since it has a few spoilers, but if you google my screen name you can find it. There are no real spoilers (except at the bottom and they are marked with a lot of white space), but a few things are mentioned to justify the rating of each category that I broke the game down into. What is really amusing is the fact that certain high scores seem to have missed all the bugs that everyone else experiences (cut-scene crashes, and others).
Basically DA2 is powerful, pointless, and painful.
The combat feels powerful, though they are mutant super-powers you are using (so they should feel powerful). I mean my rouge dealing 800 points of damage is just lame for this type of game, and the fact that a lieutennat had more HP than that (on Normal mode) is even more so. Now I understand that many like this so I am not saying it is bad, just lame. The only real downside, is that this has taken over the game, so this is much more of a mindless hack and slash where you learn the secret incantation: Attack, Area of Attack nuke, pull back, Area of Attack Nuke #2, finish off the remainder of the third wave. At least that worked 95% of the time. Once you have it down, everything except the random strange glitch (enemies spawning in the ground, or getting stuck in walls - mainly in stairwells) means only the super bosses can challenge you. The waves do suck though, especially when the devs could not be bothered to set the spawn points just off the map (and around a corner) so that the enemy comes teleporting in on-top of you. Why do spiders fall from the sky, and how can those in town jump 30 m without breaking their legs (look up, waaay up - those are tall rooftops to be jumping from).
The story is pointless and meanders about like a toy ship in a duck pond (with ducks paddling about). The main quest seems to be to make money (and that is bloody hard to do). The whole game is a series of side quests which might seem fine until you get to Chapter 2 and notice that most are just the same thing over and over. This cookie-cutter approach is cheap and easy (saves the devs money and time) but is too apparent when compared to DAO's quality. This is supposed to be a sequel which means it is supposed to be as good, if not better than the previous version. It is not suppoed to have less production values in what it being sold as a Cinematic RPG. Story driven gameplay should be the highlight of this kind of game, and sadly it was not (by far).
Then the lack of any emotional invlovement in the game (especially companions) is quite painful. There will not be any rants about how Morrian screwed you over with DA2. No one cares when major events take place that should shock you (the player) or your companions. The game is too disjointed for that and often does not offer the choice to kill someone that desparately deserves it (though there are a few cases where this is possbile - but not nearly enough given the storylines that are used). There is also the fact that inventory and apparel is advertised as having been streamlined, but in fact is actually just as hard as before (if not harder). When you have to scour every map endless times looking for unique items sitting around in containers or on skeletons (no not the ones you make), you really start to lose any respect for the game. Junk seems to have had a purpose at one time in the game development cycle, but was partially cut but left in to endlessly clutter your inventory. When you finally notice the message on the loading screen that says, 'nope, it is all junk - just sell it - it has no purpose' you will be furious. Then you will realize that will all the time wasted on it, you could have had companion armor again.
There is some good, like the voice acting and some of the dialgoue wheel though it would be nice if the 80% correlation between what you choose and what you actually say was increased to say, 100%.
The the 20 hours of cut-scenes really destroys replayability in all but the most fanatical of players since it means they will be skipping most of them as they will still be fresh. They were mostly useless anyweay unless talking to a companion. I experimented and most resulted in the same outcome. So what do you have? A half-game, half-middliing quality CG movie, with little exploration and few innovations from DAO.
I know people have already covered the map re-use, the super-bosses, and the lack of actual game so I will not belabour thiat any further. I just add my torch to those particular pyres. Bascially, I consider this a failed re-making of the DA franchise that has a few good elements, but is overwhelmed by too many poor ones. Many aspects were better in DAO though not necessarily Awakenings as it was introducing the super-powers and god weapons, so hopefully there will be a more carefully planned and well executed plan for DA3. Less of a economical title, and more of a major block-buster that is going to earn $300+ Million (again). I know pre-orders are going to be much, much lower next time around...
6.2 out of 10 (and only because of the modding potential or else it would be lower). I was glad for it to be over and am not looking forward to seeing those maps again when I start testing my mods but I am comitted to making this better.
Cheers,
4Aces
Basically DA2 is powerful, pointless, and painful.
The combat feels powerful, though they are mutant super-powers you are using (so they should feel powerful). I mean my rouge dealing 800 points of damage is just lame for this type of game, and the fact that a lieutennat had more HP than that (on Normal mode) is even more so. Now I understand that many like this so I am not saying it is bad, just lame. The only real downside, is that this has taken over the game, so this is much more of a mindless hack and slash where you learn the secret incantation: Attack, Area of Attack nuke, pull back, Area of Attack Nuke #2, finish off the remainder of the third wave. At least that worked 95% of the time. Once you have it down, everything except the random strange glitch (enemies spawning in the ground, or getting stuck in walls - mainly in stairwells) means only the super bosses can challenge you. The waves do suck though, especially when the devs could not be bothered to set the spawn points just off the map (and around a corner) so that the enemy comes teleporting in on-top of you. Why do spiders fall from the sky, and how can those in town jump 30 m without breaking their legs (look up, waaay up - those are tall rooftops to be jumping from).
The story is pointless and meanders about like a toy ship in a duck pond (with ducks paddling about). The main quest seems to be to make money (and that is bloody hard to do). The whole game is a series of side quests which might seem fine until you get to Chapter 2 and notice that most are just the same thing over and over. This cookie-cutter approach is cheap and easy (saves the devs money and time) but is too apparent when compared to DAO's quality. This is supposed to be a sequel which means it is supposed to be as good, if not better than the previous version. It is not suppoed to have less production values in what it being sold as a Cinematic RPG. Story driven gameplay should be the highlight of this kind of game, and sadly it was not (by far).
Then the lack of any emotional invlovement in the game (especially companions) is quite painful. There will not be any rants about how Morrian screwed you over with DA2. No one cares when major events take place that should shock you (the player) or your companions. The game is too disjointed for that and often does not offer the choice to kill someone that desparately deserves it (though there are a few cases where this is possbile - but not nearly enough given the storylines that are used). There is also the fact that inventory and apparel is advertised as having been streamlined, but in fact is actually just as hard as before (if not harder). When you have to scour every map endless times looking for unique items sitting around in containers or on skeletons (no not the ones you make), you really start to lose any respect for the game. Junk seems to have had a purpose at one time in the game development cycle, but was partially cut but left in to endlessly clutter your inventory. When you finally notice the message on the loading screen that says, 'nope, it is all junk - just sell it - it has no purpose' you will be furious. Then you will realize that will all the time wasted on it, you could have had companion armor again.
There is some good, like the voice acting and some of the dialgoue wheel though it would be nice if the 80% correlation between what you choose and what you actually say was increased to say, 100%.
The the 20 hours of cut-scenes really destroys replayability in all but the most fanatical of players since it means they will be skipping most of them as they will still be fresh. They were mostly useless anyweay unless talking to a companion. I experimented and most resulted in the same outcome. So what do you have? A half-game, half-middliing quality CG movie, with little exploration and few innovations from DAO.
I know people have already covered the map re-use, the super-bosses, and the lack of actual game so I will not belabour thiat any further. I just add my torch to those particular pyres. Bascially, I consider this a failed re-making of the DA franchise that has a few good elements, but is overwhelmed by too many poor ones. Many aspects were better in DAO though not necessarily Awakenings as it was introducing the super-powers and god weapons, so hopefully there will be a more carefully planned and well executed plan for DA3. Less of a economical title, and more of a major block-buster that is going to earn $300+ Million (again). I know pre-orders are going to be much, much lower next time around...
6.2 out of 10 (and only because of the modding potential or else it would be lower). I was glad for it to be over and am not looking forward to seeing those maps again when I start testing my mods but I am comitted to making this better.
Cheers,
4Aces
#1685
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 04:43
ItsBarryAwesome
-
- Members
- 1 messages
Story: 10/10
The story for this game is superb. Like always, Bioware delivers in this section. This isn’t like any other Bioware story however; it is more akin to what Mass Effect 2 did to 1 in terms of story. This installment is more character driven and plot driven unlike its predecessor – Dragon Age : Origins. What this game does right is that it balances out the overarching plot, characters, and themes equally and nicely. There are 4 major plot points to this game; Rise to Power, becoming the champion, Templars vs Mages, and the overall plot. Each plot point gets its own “Act” and within those acts the plot point is presented as its main focus. Each of these acts gives each character progression and development, more so than any other Bioware game I’ve played. As always Bioware has some hilarious dialog in this game and expect even funnier ambient conversations than in DA1. The ending is both excellent and leaves you wanting to know what happens next. It really sets the stage for Dragon Age 3 perfectly.
Gameplay: 7/10
This section splits the audience in my opinion. The game takes place in primarily in Kirkwall and outside areas in the Free Marches. With Kirkwall being the only city, the game lacks diversity in the town department. To further amplify the lack of diversity, there is basically one of each sort of landscape (cave, warehouse, etc.) This goes into both graphics and gameplay because you are going to each area over and over again and makes the gameplay repetitive. The score would be even lower if the combat wasn’t amazing. Like DA: O there is 3 classes: Mage, Rogue, and Warrior and within those classes are specializations. This allows for a wide array of parties and combinations of ways you can play the game, and unlike Dragon Age 1, they all feel different. I actually feel like an assassin when I play a rogue or stealthy if need be, and I can feel all the power a mage has while being one. The tactical aspect is still there, just not so much on normal. If you want tactical gameplay, go to hard otherwise you have an action RPG. The combat isn’t perfect however, towards the end of the game you can be hacking and slashing if you don’t have a good combination of a party and can’t pull off cross-class combinations. To me, this is only a minor complaint and only started happening towards end-game and doesn’t happen to everyone.
Graphics: 8/10 (8.5 on PC with high res pack )
The graphics for Dragon Age 2 are actually really good, quite a lot better than the previous installment. The textures themselves aren’t very high quality and the graphics look sort of “meh” on consoles. On PC, it ships with higher resolution textures by default and has a high resolution pack that makes it look A LOT better. Facial expressions are better than the first and the animation is far better than Dragon Age 1 and has more variety. The art style is also really good and I like it more than the first. The art style isn’t as dark as the first, but it still can be considered “dark fantasy.” What really hinders the game’s graphics is the reuse of areas. It wouldn’t be so bad considering all other Bioware games did this, but this game does it a lot more than any other. There isn’t any variety to caves and such and really gets boring after a while. If it wasn’t for this, it would get close to 9.5.
Final: 8.3/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Luckily for me, I looked past all of these flaws and I was able to enjoy the game more so than I think a lot of people can. I loved the gameplay because it was varied, fun, and cool to watch and later on in the game you need to pull off combos and use tactics to get rid of enemies like you did at the beginning. While it got rid of the tactical aspect on normal mode, it is still there on hard and nightmare (It feels the most like Origins on Hard mode in my opinion.) I loved the story. Bioware did something different than usual while using previous formulas for stories in smaller quantities. The excellent ambient dialog was perfect for the story and had some hilarious conversations that I loved. In my opinion, if you can look past all the flaws you find an excellent game that you can enjoy a lot.
The story for this game is superb. Like always, Bioware delivers in this section. This isn’t like any other Bioware story however; it is more akin to what Mass Effect 2 did to 1 in terms of story. This installment is more character driven and plot driven unlike its predecessor – Dragon Age : Origins. What this game does right is that it balances out the overarching plot, characters, and themes equally and nicely. There are 4 major plot points to this game; Rise to Power, becoming the champion, Templars vs Mages, and the overall plot. Each plot point gets its own “Act” and within those acts the plot point is presented as its main focus. Each of these acts gives each character progression and development, more so than any other Bioware game I’ve played. As always Bioware has some hilarious dialog in this game and expect even funnier ambient conversations than in DA1. The ending is both excellent and leaves you wanting to know what happens next. It really sets the stage for Dragon Age 3 perfectly.
Gameplay: 7/10
This section splits the audience in my opinion. The game takes place in primarily in Kirkwall and outside areas in the Free Marches. With Kirkwall being the only city, the game lacks diversity in the town department. To further amplify the lack of diversity, there is basically one of each sort of landscape (cave, warehouse, etc.) This goes into both graphics and gameplay because you are going to each area over and over again and makes the gameplay repetitive. The score would be even lower if the combat wasn’t amazing. Like DA: O there is 3 classes: Mage, Rogue, and Warrior and within those classes are specializations. This allows for a wide array of parties and combinations of ways you can play the game, and unlike Dragon Age 1, they all feel different. I actually feel like an assassin when I play a rogue or stealthy if need be, and I can feel all the power a mage has while being one. The tactical aspect is still there, just not so much on normal. If you want tactical gameplay, go to hard otherwise you have an action RPG. The combat isn’t perfect however, towards the end of the game you can be hacking and slashing if you don’t have a good combination of a party and can’t pull off cross-class combinations. To me, this is only a minor complaint and only started happening towards end-game and doesn’t happen to everyone.
Graphics: 8/10 (8.5 on PC with high res pack )
The graphics for Dragon Age 2 are actually really good, quite a lot better than the previous installment. The textures themselves aren’t very high quality and the graphics look sort of “meh” on consoles. On PC, it ships with higher resolution textures by default and has a high resolution pack that makes it look A LOT better. Facial expressions are better than the first and the animation is far better than Dragon Age 1 and has more variety. The art style is also really good and I like it more than the first. The art style isn’t as dark as the first, but it still can be considered “dark fantasy.” What really hinders the game’s graphics is the reuse of areas. It wouldn’t be so bad considering all other Bioware games did this, but this game does it a lot more than any other. There isn’t any variety to caves and such and really gets boring after a while. If it wasn’t for this, it would get close to 9.5.
Final: 8.3/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Luckily for me, I looked past all of these flaws and I was able to enjoy the game more so than I think a lot of people can. I loved the gameplay because it was varied, fun, and cool to watch and later on in the game you need to pull off combos and use tactics to get rid of enemies like you did at the beginning. While it got rid of the tactical aspect on normal mode, it is still there on hard and nightmare (It feels the most like Origins on Hard mode in my opinion.) I loved the story. Bioware did something different than usual while using previous formulas for stories in smaller quantities. The excellent ambient dialog was perfect for the story and had some hilarious conversations that I loved. In my opinion, if you can look past all the flaws you find an excellent game that you can enjoy a lot.
#1687
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 05:38
wiskeylab
-
- Members
- 41 messages
i think da3 is gonna be about the qunari, i know #2 has only just come out but. from what i've read so far many people prefer #1 to #2 for the depth of the character creation, the non-repetitive caves and dungeons and such and also for the fact that in #1 at least you had a lot of different locations to visit. anyway back to what i was saying. if you did sten's personal quest in origins got his sword and then spoke to him at length afterwards, he hints at the fact that his people will eventually attack ferelden. maybe bioware could do a prequel as well. not like leliana's song. but a full length game maybe around the orlesian occupation or the complete story of how the tevinter mages came to attempt to steal the golden city. in fact i think we should go to work in bioware and show em how a proper cRPG should be made lol. don't mind me i'm a bit drunk
#1688
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 05:55
CussingPrince
-
- Members
- 3 messages
Dragon Age : Origin + Awakening :
-100% Like it maybe because alot of races with different backgrounds and stories.
-Can simply chat one on one with other party members to know or find out what behinds them.
-Able to "GIFT" items from stores/ monster's drops to your party members.
-I can deeply understad most of the plots or story in this Dragon Age : origin and Awakening.
-Darkspawns look more agressive and brutal from their looks.
-What's coming out or happening cant be pridictable in this game.
-I can imagine or feel when i got betrayed or something else.
Dragon Age 2 :
- Not really satisfied + 10 % of dissapointment compared to the Dragon Age : origin.
-Maybe cant choose other races like drwaf or elf...
-My character's destiny being fixed...
-The Trailer showned much of the spoiler regarding this game...
-Cant "GIFT" items to party members like Dragon Age : Origin whenever i wished to... it is fixed to the story =.=
-Not much contact with the Grey Wardens except that healer...
-I don't know what creature is that when the game start, Dissapointment from darkspawn 5%...
-Still i do like it some how compared to other RPG games except Final Fantasy...
-Battle system changed into a better version.
-Character can finally speak.
-Better Environment and graphic ...
8.5/10 Thats all for my review on this game ~ i hope there will be another DLC or Dragon Age 3 which i can beable to play as elf or drwaf or quanari (Better)
EDIT : In Dragon Age 2 no finishing moves !!
-100% Like it maybe because alot of races with different backgrounds and stories.
-Can simply chat one on one with other party members to know or find out what behinds them.
-Able to "GIFT" items from stores/ monster's drops to your party members.
-I can deeply understad most of the plots or story in this Dragon Age : origin and Awakening.
-Darkspawns look more agressive and brutal from their looks.
-What's coming out or happening cant be pridictable in this game.
-I can imagine or feel when i got betrayed or something else.
Dragon Age 2 :
- Not really satisfied + 10 % of dissapointment compared to the Dragon Age : origin.
-Maybe cant choose other races like drwaf or elf...
-My character's destiny being fixed...
-The Trailer showned much of the spoiler regarding this game...
-Cant "GIFT" items to party members like Dragon Age : Origin whenever i wished to... it is fixed to the story =.=
-Not much contact with the Grey Wardens except that healer...
-I don't know what creature is that when the game start, Dissapointment from darkspawn 5%...
-Still i do like it some how compared to other RPG games except Final Fantasy...
-Battle system changed into a better version.
-Character can finally speak.
-Better Environment and graphic ...
8.5/10 Thats all for my review on this game ~ i hope there will be another DLC or Dragon Age 3 which i can beable to play as elf or drwaf or quanari (Better)
EDIT : In Dragon Age 2 no finishing moves !!
Modifié par CussingPrince, 14 mars 2011 - 06:01 .
#1689
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 05:59
wiskeylab
-
- Members
- 41 messages
ambient conversations? i actually loved listening to them in origins. especially with morrigan and sten tearing alistair a new one ( i disliked alistair the most, he was far too whiny and childish for my liking ) and sometimes during battle when shale used to shout out stuff like " death to all pigeons " she was by far my favourite character. from what i've read on the numerous reviews ( i'm still debating whether i should sacrifice my beer money to get da2 lol ) #2 doesn't seem to have that. but however. maybe they will bring out some redeeming dlc for it. so what do you all say, shall i sacrifice beer money to get it?
#1690
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:11
CussingPrince
-
- Members
- 3 messages
wiskeylab wrote...
ambient conversations? i actually loved listening to them in origins. especially with morrigan and sten tearing alistair a new one ( i disliked alistair the most, he was far too whiny and childish for my liking ) and sometimes during battle when shale used to shout out stuff like " death to all pigeons " she was by far my favourite character. from what i've read on the numerous reviews ( i'm still debating whether i should sacrifice my beer money to get da2 lol ) #2 doesn't seem to have that. but however. maybe they will bring out some redeeming dlc for it. so what do you all say, shall i sacrifice beer money to get it?
i like their conversations too ! sounds funny most of the times! compared to DA 2 , not really funny although Varric keeps making some jokes... unlike the Ogren in Dragon Age : Origin & Awakening
#1691
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:17
warpelle
-
- Members
- 18 messages
al4mir wrote...
I found DA2 a good game indeed (bought it yesterday and except for food/bath/sleep i ain't stopped playing so.. :V) but there are a few things i "must" i disagree with:
• Our party members are now less desiderable than in Origins. They were a part of our soul in the game. I can still say "wow wonderful was speaking with Leliana" or "I really enjoyed when Alastair talk to me". Nothing of that is happening here, and this make me so sad
• Friendly/Rival system could be good, but not in DA. We went from "i can kick you from my party - oh**** i made him angry and now he leaves" to this. Too much casual-player friendly, imo
• Travel to their "home" in order to talk to em? what the.... is this The sims or..
• Dialogue Wheel is good. So good (ME2 is my favourite game), but now i ask: why don't use also the renegade/paragon active action while speaking? Pc or console, noob or pro everyone could enjoy it. It's a trademark from your mass effect, damn!
• No real inventory for the party member is just supporting what i said: companions are here only to smash things and few more... so sad
The dialog wheel is the most hated things in ME even more so then the really fast elevators.
I also find it disturbing that ppl want things from ME in DA.
ME is a sci-fi game guns blasting explosions stuff like that, even a kid can fire a gun or use a granade.
DA is supposed to be in the time of heros when training and skill actully matters. Having someone else decide what you wanna say takes away the part where i feel like the hero.
Sure you dont have to be the hero in a RPG sometime you can be a peasant, servent or whatever but unless you feel like you can be your role you probably should be playing.
I thought im supposed to be the player not just the viewer.
Gothic 1,2 and 3 did a much better job handling dialogs with a voiced protagonist.
If you cant do it right dont do it.
Thats what my boss keeps telling me as a chef i lose customers if i dont perform EVERY singel time just a small misstake will cost the company money in and in the end me. So how come Bio is satisfied with this halfdone psudo RPG i cant understand i thought you guys liked PnP rpgs and wanted to give that feeling on a computer aswell not just wanna have a competion with blizzard who can make the best arpg if you wanna make Diablo clones why not call it something else? DA: legency or whatever. Just dont call it a sequel.
Lastly all kind of DRM just hurts payin custumers and feeds the pirates.
#1692
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:23
wiskeylab
-
- Members
- 41 messages
ah yes oghren he was pretty funny as well, but his most hilarious moment was in awakenings though. he starts to talk to you about money and whether or not he's gonna get paid. and just out of the blue he asks " can i have a pony? " more hilarious than even when he talks to you about schleets or something, when you catch him raiding the ale cask in vigils keep hahaha. but yeah it's true, oghren would have been a much better choice than verric as the dwarf in #2.
#1693
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:30
Septic Brand
-
- Members
- 4 messages
The most intolerable part about Dragon Age 2:
I count 25 total maps, that includes peoples homes, taverns and shops. That sucks, but worse you'll do almost all your fight in 3 maps: The Cave, The Mansion, and The Warehouse. The game is not all bad, but I would still ask for my money back if I could.
I count 25 total maps, that includes peoples homes, taverns and shops. That sucks, but worse you'll do almost all your fight in 3 maps: The Cave, The Mansion, and The Warehouse. The game is not all bad, but I would still ask for my money back if I could.
#1694
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:43
1031982
-
- Members
- 28 messages
Here is my review after finishing one
play-through on the XBox 360 installed on the HDD.
I will have a
summery at the end of my pros and cons.
First thing, I am
disappointed in the length of the game. In Dragon Age Origins, I had
at least 60 hours from one play-through, allowing everything to
play-through without skipping. This is only including the Stone
Prisoner DLC, as it was included with the game. If I include all the
DLC, then I have well over 100 hours for on game.
In Dragon Age 2,
I got a measly 40 hours with the content from the signature edition.
For an action adventure game, that's great. For a RPG game, it's
BAD.
I tend to do a lot of exploring, and reading the information
in the "Codex". So, I almost feel cheated.
In Origins to do one thing, you ended
up having to do 5 things. Things that actually made since to be
there, and in all reality added a lot more to the game play and story
development.
Now, the DLC was handled differently, and that
was nice because there was no need to download a bunch of things,
just 2 in the case of the Signature edition. I ended up getting a lot
of the promo DLC, including but not limited to the Blood Armor, Sir
Issac armor, and promo items from the facebook game.
In terms
of the inventory and equipment system, I got a little mixed. The
overall view was nice, but it seemed to have some delays, and
sometimes it didn't pick up when I pressed the bumper buttons.
The
graphics were overhauled, and it was nicely done. Unfortunately, at
this point I wounder if that was a trade off for what I found to be
faults.
The maps and general areas were re-used with walls in
place.
IE : There is a cave, you go in, it has
slavers. Later on, you go into another cave being filled with
spiders. It has the same map use, the same door locations, etc. The
only difference is that they change what doors are allowed to be
opened.
This applies to all sections where they
have the slightest smiler idea. They didn't even change the
“decoration” on the walls.
There was a loss of customization in
terms of your party customizations. You can change weapons and
accessories, but nothing else.
The rune usage now prevents runes from
being removed, they are simply destroyed if you want to change them.
Personally, I liked this because it makes people want to think about
what runes they want to use.
The map system was changed, and I found
it mixed. For the most part I liked it, but the fact that there is no
“trail” causing random encounters to be triggers by quests ONLY.
There is no real randomness.
There is nothing defining the story
until you are close to the end. It's just enough to keep you going,
but trying to get anyone not into RPG's with this will be worthless.
The fighting system was improved
because it is quicker, but forcing the player to keep pressing a
button to keep attacking an enemy seems an odd choice given that was
not needed in Origins.
Some side quests were interesting, but
unfortunately most were extremely short and rather “direct”.
I did like how things from Dragon Age
Origins were imported in Dragon Age 2. Given the time difference, and
aspect of story it was handled well.
The loss of a “Camp” or central
area is a shame because it was a great area to manage equipment.
Relationship’s seemed more of
something that added in a the last minute. I say this because there
is no real priority for pursuing them, and there is no status meter.
It really just seemed like it was forgotten until the end of
development
There is no race selection.
SUMMERY
Cons :
Short main story
Re-used area maps
Party customizations
Weak story
Short side-quests
No camp
Relationship
Unknown story
Race choice
Mixed :
World map
Inventory
Fighting system
Pros :
Graphics
Rune usage
Dragon Age Origins Import
play-through on the XBox 360 installed on the HDD.
I will have a
summery at the end of my pros and cons.
First thing, I am
disappointed in the length of the game. In Dragon Age Origins, I had
at least 60 hours from one play-through, allowing everything to
play-through without skipping. This is only including the Stone
Prisoner DLC, as it was included with the game. If I include all the
DLC, then I have well over 100 hours for on game.
In Dragon Age 2,
I got a measly 40 hours with the content from the signature edition.
For an action adventure game, that's great. For a RPG game, it's
BAD.
I tend to do a lot of exploring, and reading the information
in the "Codex". So, I almost feel cheated.
In Origins to do one thing, you ended
up having to do 5 things. Things that actually made since to be
there, and in all reality added a lot more to the game play and story
development.
Now, the DLC was handled differently, and that
was nice because there was no need to download a bunch of things,
just 2 in the case of the Signature edition. I ended up getting a lot
of the promo DLC, including but not limited to the Blood Armor, Sir
Issac armor, and promo items from the facebook game.
In terms
of the inventory and equipment system, I got a little mixed. The
overall view was nice, but it seemed to have some delays, and
sometimes it didn't pick up when I pressed the bumper buttons.
The
graphics were overhauled, and it was nicely done. Unfortunately, at
this point I wounder if that was a trade off for what I found to be
faults.
The maps and general areas were re-used with walls in
place.
IE : There is a cave, you go in, it has
slavers. Later on, you go into another cave being filled with
spiders. It has the same map use, the same door locations, etc. The
only difference is that they change what doors are allowed to be
opened.
This applies to all sections where they
have the slightest smiler idea. They didn't even change the
“decoration” on the walls.
There was a loss of customization in
terms of your party customizations. You can change weapons and
accessories, but nothing else.
The rune usage now prevents runes from
being removed, they are simply destroyed if you want to change them.
Personally, I liked this because it makes people want to think about
what runes they want to use.
The map system was changed, and I found
it mixed. For the most part I liked it, but the fact that there is no
“trail” causing random encounters to be triggers by quests ONLY.
There is no real randomness.
There is nothing defining the story
until you are close to the end. It's just enough to keep you going,
but trying to get anyone not into RPG's with this will be worthless.
The fighting system was improved
because it is quicker, but forcing the player to keep pressing a
button to keep attacking an enemy seems an odd choice given that was
not needed in Origins.
Some side quests were interesting, but
unfortunately most were extremely short and rather “direct”.
I did like how things from Dragon Age
Origins were imported in Dragon Age 2. Given the time difference, and
aspect of story it was handled well.
The loss of a “Camp” or central
area is a shame because it was a great area to manage equipment.
Relationship’s seemed more of
something that added in a the last minute. I say this because there
is no real priority for pursuing them, and there is no status meter.
It really just seemed like it was forgotten until the end of
development
There is no race selection.
SUMMERY
Cons :
Short main story
Re-used area maps
Party customizations
Weak story
Short side-quests
No camp
Relationship
Unknown story
Race choice
Mixed :
World map
Inventory
Fighting system
Pros :
Graphics
Rune usage
Dragon Age Origins Import
Modifié par 1031982, 14 mars 2011 - 06:51 .
#1695
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:45
ejoslin
-
- Members
- 11 745 messages
I am a converted doomsayer :/ I really expected to dislike DA2. But I love it. There are some things that I think need to be improved, but overall, it's an amazing game. It reminds me, really, of DAO meets FF7 Crisis Core. But it works well.
I loved the story, though there was an awful lot of filler. I liked the small tie ins to Origins. I loved the ending. It's extremely replayable, especially since Hawke has different personalities (and that's a lot of fun).
The romances... I've only seen Fenris' and Anders' and I really found them both to be compelling, though a couple of more dialogs to build up the relationships would have been nice. We get the major squee moments, and those are wonderful, but a little more building up to those moments would have been welcome. Both of those romances I think suffer because of the time jump between Act 2 and Act 3. The relationships seemed to have been on complete hold for 3 years. It would have been better, IMO, to see the relationships actually mature and change rather than just keep going as if 3 years didn't happen. I also would have liked to have had an option when visiting your romance partner to get a hug or a kiss or whatever (depending on what was going on in the relationship). That was a wonderful part of Alistair's and Morrigan's romances in Origins -- being able to kiss them when out and about. But I loved the two romances I've seen anyway. Very well done.
The banters are great. They actually make up for the inability to talk to your people whenever you want. I like that Hawke joins in on the banters as well. You learn so much about your companions from the banters. What they're obsessed with, what they consider important -- I think it actually gives you a better feel for the characters than the private conversations you had in Origins.
The approval system is such a huge improvement. I like that you can disagree with someone, and while they may end up not liking what you say, they still respect you.
The dialog wheel. I was prepared to hate it. While I think I prefer a silent protagonist, I'm actually not sure that I do any more. While I have had a few facepalm moments where my character has said something completely unexpected, those are rare. In fact, it seems like the paraphrase is more like the beginning of a sentence with Hawke completing it. The icons are clear as well -- you KNOW when you're flirting, and I love it that the companions don't all respond to it.
The game length. The first time I played I completed it in 27 hours, skipping over no dialog and exploring a lot. So it's a bit short, but really, I prefer it to the 90+ hours it took me to complete Origins for the first time. There aren't many slow, draggy moments.
The combat. This I was not so crazy about. I don't like not being able to zoom the camera out. Mage sticks remind me of "kill them with lasers, pew pew!" The combat maneuvers are a bit overdone. And waves and waves of mobs gets a bit old (I like that in boss fights, but not in small fights). The AI is very good, however.
The UI. I'm also not crazy about this. Too modern. I do like the way the health/stamina/mana bars work, though, with the varying length.
The maps are reused a lot, but I don't see this as an issue. I would rather have lots of character development and all mansions looking the same. It's just not that big a deal.
Game pacing is far better than Origins. Dungeons and quests are short so you're not stuck in the deeproads (or whatever) for a few days of playing and then in camp for the next few days.
Overall, I give DA2 a 9/10, and this surprises me. It has a lot of re-playability as well. I'm looking forward to DLCs and to DA3.
I loved the story, though there was an awful lot of filler. I liked the small tie ins to Origins. I loved the ending. It's extremely replayable, especially since Hawke has different personalities (and that's a lot of fun).
The romances... I've only seen Fenris' and Anders' and I really found them both to be compelling, though a couple of more dialogs to build up the relationships would have been nice. We get the major squee moments, and those are wonderful, but a little more building up to those moments would have been welcome. Both of those romances I think suffer because of the time jump between Act 2 and Act 3. The relationships seemed to have been on complete hold for 3 years. It would have been better, IMO, to see the relationships actually mature and change rather than just keep going as if 3 years didn't happen. I also would have liked to have had an option when visiting your romance partner to get a hug or a kiss or whatever (depending on what was going on in the relationship). That was a wonderful part of Alistair's and Morrigan's romances in Origins -- being able to kiss them when out and about. But I loved the two romances I've seen anyway. Very well done.
The banters are great. They actually make up for the inability to talk to your people whenever you want. I like that Hawke joins in on the banters as well. You learn so much about your companions from the banters. What they're obsessed with, what they consider important -- I think it actually gives you a better feel for the characters than the private conversations you had in Origins.
The approval system is such a huge improvement. I like that you can disagree with someone, and while they may end up not liking what you say, they still respect you.
The dialog wheel. I was prepared to hate it. While I think I prefer a silent protagonist, I'm actually not sure that I do any more. While I have had a few facepalm moments where my character has said something completely unexpected, those are rare. In fact, it seems like the paraphrase is more like the beginning of a sentence with Hawke completing it. The icons are clear as well -- you KNOW when you're flirting, and I love it that the companions don't all respond to it.
The game length. The first time I played I completed it in 27 hours, skipping over no dialog and exploring a lot. So it's a bit short, but really, I prefer it to the 90+ hours it took me to complete Origins for the first time. There aren't many slow, draggy moments.
The combat. This I was not so crazy about. I don't like not being able to zoom the camera out. Mage sticks remind me of "kill them with lasers, pew pew!" The combat maneuvers are a bit overdone. And waves and waves of mobs gets a bit old (I like that in boss fights, but not in small fights). The AI is very good, however.
The UI. I'm also not crazy about this. Too modern. I do like the way the health/stamina/mana bars work, though, with the varying length.
The maps are reused a lot, but I don't see this as an issue. I would rather have lots of character development and all mansions looking the same. It's just not that big a deal.
Game pacing is far better than Origins. Dungeons and quests are short so you're not stuck in the deeproads (or whatever) for a few days of playing and then in camp for the next few days.
Overall, I give DA2 a 9/10, and this surprises me. It has a lot of re-playability as well. I'm looking forward to DLCs and to DA3.
#1696
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:45
Jackal Inna Hat
-
- Members
- 5 messages
Simply put, Dragon Age 2 is everything it should be and more.
The voice acting is incredible, the story is solid, and the combat is far more enjoyable than its predecessor, thanks to smooth (and a little over-the-top) animations. Mind you, in a fantasy action RPG, over-the-top is not a bad thing.
My only complaint was that some things are a little too difficult to know. For instance, it is not entirely clear what every stat does, and gear could benefit from some minor details on stats (perhaps paranthetical additions to the tooltips.)
LIkewise, it is VERY easy to miss something and not get the story you would most enjoy. For instance, I had to restart my game after being very far in (no spoilers here!) because I missed an item. The dialogue concerning romance I wanted was dependant on that item, and on me making a very, very specific set of dialogue choices. I suppose, I feel it is a bit much to insist a player have *full* friendship/rival to get the entire story. (On my first save I had Fenris at 95% and would have missed a lot of stuff.)
That aside, however, DA2 was an incredible game, and worth every cent. Cannot wait for more DLC, and mayebe someday DA3.
The voice acting is incredible, the story is solid, and the combat is far more enjoyable than its predecessor, thanks to smooth (and a little over-the-top) animations. Mind you, in a fantasy action RPG, over-the-top is not a bad thing.
My only complaint was that some things are a little too difficult to know. For instance, it is not entirely clear what every stat does, and gear could benefit from some minor details on stats (perhaps paranthetical additions to the tooltips.)
LIkewise, it is VERY easy to miss something and not get the story you would most enjoy. For instance, I had to restart my game after being very far in (no spoilers here!) because I missed an item. The dialogue concerning romance I wanted was dependant on that item, and on me making a very, very specific set of dialogue choices. I suppose, I feel it is a bit much to insist a player have *full* friendship/rival to get the entire story. (On my first save I had Fenris at 95% and would have missed a lot of stuff.)
That aside, however, DA2 was an incredible game, and worth every cent. Cannot wait for more DLC, and mayebe someday DA3.
#1697
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 06:48
CussingPrince
-
- Members
- 3 messages
As for me i would prefer to repurchase the Origin and Awakening Original Version since my Origin and awakening is pirated version o.0!
#1698
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 07:05
Moristant
-
- Members
- 1 messages
I felt that DA2 really left out the PC crowd in hail of the console generation, I loved Origins because it pretty much was a PC game, it reminded me so much of NWN and Baldur's gate I loved it. I know DA2 is the story of how Hawke rised to power, but I love playing different races, when I am in a fantasy game, I want fantasy, I hate being confined as human I love playing as dwarf or elf (Though one thing I absolutely loved and won't stop loving them for this is that I am black, and make all my characters in games black, never has it affected anything. But right when I walked into DA2 my entire family was black also! I leaned back and just applauded, well done). Also I never see anyone else really mention this, cause I guess not a lot of people read the codex's, but if you read about magic, they state in both games that while powerful, it cannot do everything, there is no faster way from point A to point B. Yet why does every other mage in the game have the ability to teleport around like they've had this power for the longest time? In the end of DA2 I just really felt like playing Origins again, instead of DA2.
#1699
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 07:07
Genf1975
-
- Members
- 1 messages
DA2 satisfied ? not at all.
+ visual part of game is nice
+ sound part of game is nice
+ NPC voices
+ Lore
- hack&slash combat with teleporting enemies from nowhere
- low wariety of npc & monsters.
- low wariety of maps
- explosions of enemies ... fight looks like everyone are using use howitzer , not knifes or swords.
- dialogues .. i have often feeling that whatever you choose than the result is the same, often hard to decide what result wich option really have
- corridor maps
- very few really challenging fights
- some side quests are not possible to finish due bugs
+ visual part of game is nice
+ sound part of game is nice
+ NPC voices
+ Lore
- hack&slash combat with teleporting enemies from nowhere
- low wariety of npc & monsters.
- low wariety of maps
- explosions of enemies ... fight looks like everyone are using use howitzer , not knifes or swords.
- dialogues .. i have often feeling that whatever you choose than the result is the same, often hard to decide what result wich option really have
- corridor maps
- very few really challenging fights
- some side quests are not possible to finish due bugs
#1700
Posté 14 mars 2011 - 07:10
Moneth
-
- Members
- 5 messages
It seems almost every one has reached the same concensus. With all the small releases throughout development my outlook was a bit reserved. I was, and still am, a big fan of DA:O + Awakenings and expected a lot from DA2. The dissapointment however felt like a kick in the groin.
The story starts with the interrogation setting and hints to an event that could be very interesting. I was ready to go. But the first chapter was a huge dissapointment. You have to get 50 gold in order to participate in a Deep Roads Expedition. The first chapter is nothing is but side quests. Sure it gives you a good view of what can be found around Kirkwall, introductions to other npc's as well as the politics that play in the city. But there is no real story playing out just yet in which you participate. There is nothing that graps you into the story from the start like most other Bioware RPG's. When you finally get enough coins and start the expedition I expected to experience more of the Deep Roads. In DA:O it was my favorite place to be. Instead it was a short run through a few chambers straight into a fight with the end boss. That felt out of contrast when you look at the amount of time and effort put in to gather the gold needed. Later in the game it becomes clear that the Idol plays a role. And in retrospect I've gotten the impression that the makers had a story layout and didn't know how to pull it off. So added a haphazardly created Deep Roads " dungeon" to wade through. Just like beginning Dungeons and Dragon Dungeonmasters create their quests.
During Chapter 1 are hints to Qunari. In Chapter 2 they are the focus of it all. Here you immediately see how the rest of the game story works. You get a lot of story info about the situation. The tension in the city is reasonably clear between the zealous group and Qunari. But as usual you're not part of it. You're involvement is rather short and relatively shallow. You do a few measily quests and then get rushed to the end conflict with a big battle. In retrospect I expected to see a plot twist which would show some Templar/Mage involvement behind the scene. Something which would explain the Qunari's involvement in the bigger picture. But no... They were simply in Kirkwall, because someone had stolen a holy book from them. And it felt rather random and accidental that the leader of Kirkwall was killed.
Chapter 3 the Templar/Mage finally conflict rises to the foregrond, but it is to late. Yet again the involvement is rather simple and shallow. As a player I felt like an outsider playing kindergarten cop instead of being someone heavily invested in the situation. And just like the rest of the game none of my decisions would even have a drastic political/ethical influence.
The story is slow, it doesn't grab or involve you and actually felt rushed in a lot of spots. I had the idea that combat is what the game was all about. That is a shame and ruins the game. If I wanted to play a game build around combat I'd go play Black Ops or another FPS. Sure a lot of options concerning combat are streamlined, but it also took a lot of fun away. There was no real challenge any more and on Hard mode it was a walk in the park. Close range Rogue's had only a small part in the game before, but in this game they had no place at all. It was all mages and warriors in the group. From lvl 17+ I had great gear, skills and the tactics set. The opponents could do relatively nothing to become a threat. Even the big end battle was a breeze compared to the Blight of DA:O. Except for the very last decision of the game. Since the developers said there would be 10 years of Hawke I expected the story to continue after the battle against Meredith. Mainly because at that moment the time jumps were +1 year, +3 years and +3 years which comes to a +7 years in my book instead of +10. I felt empty and unsatisfied knowing that the story ended so abruptly. I never had a feel of epic experience
As for the dumbed down part. I agree with it. You're led through the game by big yellow arrows telling you excactely where to go and what to do. It doesn't suprise me that a lot of people finish the game faster that way, because they automatically miss out on the handfull of quests recieved when traveling through other places of town. Quests recieved via rumors and such. Every button has a lengthy description of what its for and what it does. Not to mention the huge blocks of help that pop-up if you have that option turned on.
The re-use of maps got very annoying, very quickly. It felt like I was in a MMORPG Instance. Instead of focussing on the story of the side-qeust my mind changed to " must complete boring gind to proceed game". At times I felt like putting away the game and stop playing al together. It's almost as bad as the conversation wheel. Every option pretty much gives the same response. Only difference is that you're either diplomatic, joking or hatefull when saying it. But at the core you say excactely the same thing. Add the lack of meaningfull decisions that a player has to make and it isn't a pretty experience.
The lack of party member gear only bothered me on occasions and not all the time. Crafting isn't something I really don't do in singleplayer games. Can't say a thing about that. I'm not bothered by the lack of improvement in the graphics department. I still play older games with crappy graphics. As long as the game and story is a great experience it doesn't matter to me.
As for replay value...there is none. DA:O I played about 14 times. Different races, classes and the decisions made actually effected the game. There were new experiences almost every play through. In DA2 it pretty much comes down to choose 3 classes which effects whether you have Carver or Bethany at your side. And the only real difference is if you either support the Templars or Mages at the end of the game. With so little going on there is no real reason to play again. I tried...but when reaching Kirkwall as a refugee in a new game It feels like a drag already.
In my opinion this game lingers between a 7 and at times barely an 8 out of 10.
The story starts with the interrogation setting and hints to an event that could be very interesting. I was ready to go. But the first chapter was a huge dissapointment. You have to get 50 gold in order to participate in a Deep Roads Expedition. The first chapter is nothing is but side quests. Sure it gives you a good view of what can be found around Kirkwall, introductions to other npc's as well as the politics that play in the city. But there is no real story playing out just yet in which you participate. There is nothing that graps you into the story from the start like most other Bioware RPG's. When you finally get enough coins and start the expedition I expected to experience more of the Deep Roads. In DA:O it was my favorite place to be. Instead it was a short run through a few chambers straight into a fight with the end boss. That felt out of contrast when you look at the amount of time and effort put in to gather the gold needed. Later in the game it becomes clear that the Idol plays a role. And in retrospect I've gotten the impression that the makers had a story layout and didn't know how to pull it off. So added a haphazardly created Deep Roads " dungeon" to wade through. Just like beginning Dungeons and Dragon Dungeonmasters create their quests.
During Chapter 1 are hints to Qunari. In Chapter 2 they are the focus of it all. Here you immediately see how the rest of the game story works. You get a lot of story info about the situation. The tension in the city is reasonably clear between the zealous group and Qunari. But as usual you're not part of it. You're involvement is rather short and relatively shallow. You do a few measily quests and then get rushed to the end conflict with a big battle. In retrospect I expected to see a plot twist which would show some Templar/Mage involvement behind the scene. Something which would explain the Qunari's involvement in the bigger picture. But no... They were simply in Kirkwall, because someone had stolen a holy book from them. And it felt rather random and accidental that the leader of Kirkwall was killed.
Chapter 3 the Templar/Mage finally conflict rises to the foregrond, but it is to late. Yet again the involvement is rather simple and shallow. As a player I felt like an outsider playing kindergarten cop instead of being someone heavily invested in the situation. And just like the rest of the game none of my decisions would even have a drastic political/ethical influence.
The story is slow, it doesn't grab or involve you and actually felt rushed in a lot of spots. I had the idea that combat is what the game was all about. That is a shame and ruins the game. If I wanted to play a game build around combat I'd go play Black Ops or another FPS. Sure a lot of options concerning combat are streamlined, but it also took a lot of fun away. There was no real challenge any more and on Hard mode it was a walk in the park. Close range Rogue's had only a small part in the game before, but in this game they had no place at all. It was all mages and warriors in the group. From lvl 17+ I had great gear, skills and the tactics set. The opponents could do relatively nothing to become a threat. Even the big end battle was a breeze compared to the Blight of DA:O. Except for the very last decision of the game. Since the developers said there would be 10 years of Hawke I expected the story to continue after the battle against Meredith. Mainly because at that moment the time jumps were +1 year, +3 years and +3 years which comes to a +7 years in my book instead of +10. I felt empty and unsatisfied knowing that the story ended so abruptly. I never had a feel of epic experience
As for the dumbed down part. I agree with it. You're led through the game by big yellow arrows telling you excactely where to go and what to do. It doesn't suprise me that a lot of people finish the game faster that way, because they automatically miss out on the handfull of quests recieved when traveling through other places of town. Quests recieved via rumors and such. Every button has a lengthy description of what its for and what it does. Not to mention the huge blocks of help that pop-up if you have that option turned on.
The re-use of maps got very annoying, very quickly. It felt like I was in a MMORPG Instance. Instead of focussing on the story of the side-qeust my mind changed to " must complete boring gind to proceed game". At times I felt like putting away the game and stop playing al together. It's almost as bad as the conversation wheel. Every option pretty much gives the same response. Only difference is that you're either diplomatic, joking or hatefull when saying it. But at the core you say excactely the same thing. Add the lack of meaningfull decisions that a player has to make and it isn't a pretty experience.
The lack of party member gear only bothered me on occasions and not all the time. Crafting isn't something I really don't do in singleplayer games. Can't say a thing about that. I'm not bothered by the lack of improvement in the graphics department. I still play older games with crappy graphics. As long as the game and story is a great experience it doesn't matter to me.
As for replay value...there is none. DA:O I played about 14 times. Different races, classes and the decisions made actually effected the game. There were new experiences almost every play through. In DA2 it pretty much comes down to choose 3 classes which effects whether you have Carver or Bethany at your side. And the only real difference is if you either support the Templars or Mages at the end of the game. With so little going on there is no real reason to play again. I tried...but when reaching Kirkwall as a refugee in a new game It feels like a drag already.
In my opinion this game lingers between a 7 and at times barely an 8 out of 10.
Modifié par Moneth, 14 mars 2011 - 07:34 .
