3274 réponses à ce sujet

[Sir Drocanon]

Overall I think DA2 is excellent. The Story Line is engrossing, graphics are better, and combat is faster (Though I don't like how simple it has become).

I also feel Romance is a little simple. In DA:O you had to actually work for the affections of your companions and that also had a plus side via the stat increases based on their feelings. In DA2 Romance is as simple as Combat and has no advantages to it, other than the lone achievement.

Even with the all the over simplification, I only have one real problem with DA2: I don't like having to play as a human. The only thing you can customize now is class. In DA:O You could chose Race and class and had to deal with adversities because of those choices. Even choosing a Mage in DA2 was less intense than playing a Mage in DA:O.

I also am a bit frustrated that my DLC Achievements are not working properly, but that will hopefully be fixed with the first patch.

Modifié par Sir Drocanon, 14 mars 2011 - 10:44 .

[Siegdrifa]

Just started the game a few hour ago.
I found the begining desapointing.
The place is empty, this was a bad idea to start it in a desert place with no object, no trees, no grass, just nearly flat dusty ground.

The first visual aspect should have been top, and not flop.


I wasn't convinced at all by the "flee" of lothering, we don't sens much danger... we go through tones of dark spawn, we cut 3 in one slash... seriously, are they really a menace to begin with, they look so weak, and they look like dumb japanese sentai generic trash mob....

As was really getting worry if all the game would be like this.

Fortunatly, i found some place with good graphic, not so detailled, but hey seem more misterious, magical than DAO. I like it, really (it suit my personnal, so i'm lucky).

As for the game play, i find it to much action oriented (may be 30% too much), but i prefer it to be more speedy than slowy (2 hand weapon in DAO.... nightmare !).
But i will need a lot of experience with all class to fully master every thing i want to do (can't be helped).

As for the dialogue, they seem fine enough, for now i like.and i'm intrested about every dialogue i have. I just still don't understand the copy/past of ME dialog wheel, it bring nothing at all for DA2.


For now, exept for the inequal graphic, i realy like the game so far.
It's sure not a DAO2, but it's still a good game. i hope it will stay at this level until the end.

Cheer Bioware !


oh by the way, i love the voice of female Hawke, she have a sweet voice and it's a realy pleasure to have this kind of voicing for once in a game.
She haven't done some voice in DAO? i took the "sweet voice" for my female character and it sound like hers.

Modifié par Siegdrifa, 14 mars 2011 - 10:50 .

[VoradorPT]

 Summarizing what I think in one sentence: I like your vision, but I have some issues with the scope.

And now, going into specifics:

I liked:
- Most of it.
-The combat itself is good.
-The story starts slowly, but gets a lot better through the game. I ended up loving it
-I like the art.
-I liked romancing Merril.
-I liked most of the VA.
-I like that Hawke has a voice.
-The music.
-Most of it.

I disliked:
-Recycling caves, houses, etc.
-The story starts slow, and disconnected. It doesn't seem that you're doing anything concrete.
-Most of the choices do not matter. A lot of times you can choose 3 or 4 options and the result is the same. I don't even need crazy important world changing choices that would make it impossible to make a consistent story for the world. Just small things that can make me say in future games: "yeah, I remember doing that".
- Related to the last point... the game is too linear. In choices, in environment and in most things. DAO had some zones that were a bit like this, but at least you tried to mask it. In DA2 it stands out how linear they are. Not a good thing.
-I want friendly fire in lower difficulties. If you don't want to make it default, at least add a separated checkbox that can turn it on/off in every difficulty.
-Bugs. For example, Merril's quest (Act 3) bug is a giant spoiler and a big story related bug. And a lot of people are having it. How could that go unnoticed?

I think that's it. If you look at it, my review seems a bit negative, but only because I wanted to detail the things that bother me so it's clear what the problems are for me. And maybe that can help you for DA 3... which I'm eagerly waiting for because I loved DA 2. It has problems. But it's still a great game.

Last thing, please take your time to make DA3. For me, it seems most of the problems of DA2 would be gone if it had been another year in development. Maybe EA pushed you guys, but I'd think with your status and the high positions you have inside EA you would have some influence and would be able to get them of your neck for a little more time.

I think most people would be ok with having a longer development cycle for DA. The question is, is EA?

I hope I didn't seem too negative and that I was clear in my intent. Because I do love DA2.

Thanks.

Modifié par VoradorPT, 15 mars 2011 - 01:30 .

[rwar]

half way through the game and so far it's ok, can't compare to origins. i think that the game is too simple and lacking of customization (especially your party's gear). i didn't mind it too much when they did it for me2 since it was more of an action game. i look at dragon age as more of a real rpg where you can customize things and use tactics. it's kinda weird that you get to buy all kinds of armor but 2/3 of it you can't use at all.
the sound of time skip to see how things changes was a fun idea but i didn't like how it was done in the beginning. i wanted to experience it. also, lack of maps. kinda getting tired of looking at the same places. i like the idea of being the champion of kirkwall but it be great to maybe add other cities/villages/farms and try to integrate politics or war so he has to create allies and enemies to help him or just something to gives us a break from kirkwall.

[lv427]

Just beat the game. Loved it. Took about 30 hours, but I purposely skipped some side quests and companion quests so I'd have some new stuff to do on my next play through.

The story, companions and voice acting were all fantastic. The story felt tighter, more personal this time around and that made a big impact. Even the side quests felt like they mattered more.

I enjoyed the changes to character creation, combat and art style. The faster combat is going to increase replay value for me. Though I still found myself pausing a lot on tougher fights. In those instances, the combat was pretty similar to DA:O.

In the beginning of the game the reused maps tended to stick out a lot, but I stopped noticing them so much as the game went on. Boss fights were a bit of a grind. Other than that, great game and I look forward to DA3.

[Rann]

I'm just finishing off the first chapter and here are my thoughts after about 12 hours of play on the PC version.

GOOD:
The artwork is very nice. I particularly like the texture pack, and how good everything looks in DX11.

Only 1 game crash (actually a lock-up) in about 12 hours of play (fortunately I had just saved).

Good NPCs -- they seem to have enough depth, I like the voices, and I don't mind that they deal with their own armor issues (something that concerned me before because I was always wondering when they'd walk away with my best set of plate armor).

The side quests are interesting and there are certainly plenty of them.

I like the new talent trees (the sole case in DA2 where it feels like I have some control as to how things work out).

I like my character having a voice, and I like the new dialog chooser (mostly; see below).

Server connection seems much faster and more reliable (after the first day, anyway :-)).

I *love* the new mini-map -- much more useful.

THE BAD:
Combat-wise, this feels like "Lego™ Dragon Age." I tried really, really hard to get into it -- really, I did! -- but I just can't. Combat is just silly. I can barely tell what's going on ("Wait, I didn't die, how did I get injured?"), my rogue looks silly when he leaps towards a foe (particularly if the foe is running past him or, worse, if there's an impediment in the way so that he simply leaps up and down continuously), and dead badguys fall apart like store manniquins destroyed by a raspberry bomb rather that simply falling down decently or else losing just a head in a finishing move. I mean, really -- a backstab causes someone to *explode*? C'mon. That sort of thing takes me right out of the game, mentally.

Combat (again): Too easy (despite having no idea what's going on); I get absolutely no sense of achievement when the battle is over. On Normal, my 5th-level rogue took down a Revenant *by himself*. I couldn't even do that on "Easy" on DA:O without all four characters slugging it out reasonably hard. And even Hard is too easy (though I've switched back to "normal" to get it over with sooner, since I dislike the combat so much regardless of the setting). I've never had even one enemy mage manage to get any meaningful spell off, for instance -- my characters are just too fast and have too many ways to interrupt a badguy. Combat is now just the annoying stuff that takes place between the story. I miss setting up an ambush for Darkspawn and luring them out (my favorite tactic in the Deep Roads in DA:O), or easier shifting between ranged and melee weapons! It took time and thought, and I felt I'd achieved something at the end. All-in-all, in DA2, I've had just three individual deaths (and no full-party deaths) in countless combats, and that's just weird.

Conversation is a chore -- not only won't companions talk to me on the road (which was already intensely annoying in Awakening), but now I can't even talk to them all at once -- I've got to run over *here* to talk to Varric, and then run over *there* to talk to Fenris, etc... even though they are with me all the time and we are presumably camping at night, etc. It's too bad, too, because the conversations themselves are fun.

Runes: Ugh -- disposable runes. The rune system from DA:A was bad, but this is infinitely worse. Even the process of adding runes, which used to be on one screen, now takes two screens -- definitely a regression.

There's just a general dumbing down of everything -- for example, traps, potions, and skills (such as they are). I *liked* the old detail (except for runecrafting in DA:A) and really miss all of that -- I felt more involved back then. I feel like I can't make any decisions even about what's useful -- loot is "helpfully" marked as junk for me (why not just go all the way and drop money, then? At least it'd save me a trip to the merchant, and speed is what this game seems to be about, yes?) nor about where conversations would lead (the "heart" on conversation choices is particularly brute force).

Hope this helps -- I'd be interested in a patch or expansion that fixed some of this.

(Edit:  removed a mini-spoiler, sorry about that...)

Modifié par Rann, 15 mars 2011 - 12:31 .

[ImmortalArbiter]

ProTip - Releasing a game later with little to no bugs and an experience that gamers can walk away saying "Wow, that was really good" outweighs rushing a game out for a quick buck ANY day. Dragon Age 2 is the perfect example of how to kill a brand quickly.

Remember Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk? Remember how Activision started pumping sequel after sequel out? Where are those franchises now? Oh, that's right - dead.

[Toleraen]

I'm around 15 or so hours into the game, have done everything I have found prior to the Deep Roads expedition. I'll leave my thoughts now because I doubt I'll be putting the disk back in to finish it.

Likes:
-Improved dialogue (Hawke speaking, the icons in the chat wheel describing your intentions)
-Less cluttered inventory (junk items actually go to junk, not having to worry about companions full armor set)
-Load and save times seem to be improved
-Revamped ability trees
-Companions actually fight what you tell them to fight now

Dislikes:
-The storyline*
-Kirkwall seems to be the only city (no variety)
-Combat in general**
-Dalish are suddenly Scottish/Irish?
-The "I found a random scarf in some dungeon and knew exactly who to bring it to and I'll get a generic thank you response in return" quests
-Reuse of dungeons/houses

*Storyline. This is pretty much why I'm stopping now. In DAO you know right from the begining that things are going to get epic. You quickly become a Grey Warden, and you know there's a blight coming that you need to stop. First though you need to build an army to take it on. Fighting off an army of demonic forces? That's something I can put some hours toward.

DA2...I'm 15 hours in, and I have no idea what the point is. I have a guess, but only from a small dialogue in game but mainly from the trailer. The plot points that I can find online are just boring. This is not a story that makes me want to pick up the game and play. Even the box doesn't sell this thing.

DAO Ultimate Edition: "As the last of the legendary Grey Wardens you must restore balance to a kingdom shattered by treachery. Unite the lands and slay the archdemon, then rebult the Grey Warden order to overcome a far more insidious threat..." Sweet, that sounds pretty awesome. Unite the lands and slay an archdemon? Sold.

DA2 Signature Edition: "Rise from warrior to legend. Embark on an all-new adventure in the DA saga. You are Hawke, one of the few to survive the destruction of your homeland. Now, forced to fight for survival, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history." I have yet to find any purpose in the last line. After the first year task it seems like you're pretty well situated. There's no need for fighting, for gathering deadly allies, or amassing fame and fortune that I can find. I'm as much of a loot wench as the next guy but in most games I know why I need that loot. Not here.

**Combat. It almost feels like Diaboesque fast hack and slash. One thing I loved about DAO was the tactics required to win tough fights. So far (as a Rogue on hardcore) I haven't had any trouble blindly running into a room and mashing A until everything was dead. I have yet to find a use for the synergized abilities (mage makes something brittle, rogue/warrior uses ability that is increased by it) because mobs are dead before you get a chance to coordinate it.

Longish rant, but as someone who just got into DAO a couple months ago I was really looking forward to DA2. Guess I'll load up ME2 and hope for the best on ME3.

Modifié par Toleraen, 15 mars 2011 - 01:03 .

[Sylvianus]

Well, dragon age 2 is not the best rpg, but it can meet expectations, he is very good. But it could have been much better if Bioware had taken his time.

I'll quickly summarized. Xbox 360

Very very negative :  

-  Bioware, there are too many technical flaws on console. Cinematics, everything must be corrected. A product sold on console, is a finished product, it is essential to understand this. There shall be no fault to the output of the game console, unlike the PC, can not be indefinitely patch to solve problems.

Players pay 70 euros for your games, they have confidence in the technical quality of your games, do not forget. The graphics were poor in dao, but I never overview of visual flaws in the game cinematics and cut-out characters. I think that can you know how it feels to pay dearly for a game that has significant gaps in technical matters.

Never again.

Negative

1 - Romance scenes are too light, not intense enough. Follow the example of mass effect 1. Romantic, erotic, without going too far. It must encourage action, leading to imagination, then let the imagination. But it requires a minimum of credibility, namely, the characters undress. It may very well take that camera angles do not show everything.

2- Lack of customisation. I spoke a lot on that, I think the whole world knows my opinion on it. Give more personality, should not lead to the process of impoverishment and simplification, however. Between freedom to choose, the joy of managing his team according to his thought, his taste, his views and his thoughts will always be preferred to the imposition of a single garment. It comes to choosing what priority, the pleasure of the player or a bit of realism binding. Sounds can be only a detail but it matters a lot, and helps make the game more enjoyable. It should not be underestimated.

3 - The story. It lacks spice, intensity, too long to start,not epic at all, too fast, not deep enough. Very clearly, this story is far below Mass Effect and Dragon Age.  The main plot is nonexistent at the beginning, no guidelines, just side quests. It is a mistake, you can start slowly, subtly put things in place, but only the frame to begin the second act, after a lot of quests, no it's too far.

For DA3, be absolutely count on history to give some punch to the series. He will have profound worked, complex, surprising, rhythmic, and especially epic. From the outset, it must hook the player, make him want to never let go of the handle when he needs to go to school. It is the intrigue, the push to be curious.

It was not the case for Act 1. Unfortunately, many players had to stop at this point, convinced it would still be too slow, so it's not the case.

A fabulous story, unforgettable, that's the trademark of Bioware.

4 - Cartoon design. Stop, look no further, you must either go back or try something else. Dragon Age is not a manga, is not walt Dysney. We must stop these fantasies near ridiculous comparisons.

Return to realism, would be for the better, especially for environments. They are much better personality visceral, dark, complex and Dragon Age. Thedas world is simultaneously harsh and beautiful, this is not the cartoon that will best blend these two aspects.

5 - too many similar places.

6 - Make companions completely silent during the adventure, does not help the immersion, it would reconcile what you did, with a better connection with our teammates.

Postive :

1 - Interaction between characters. It was really alive.

2 -The effort to make Dragon Age more intense with the voice, the wheel, etc.. This is the way forward for future rpgs. It will just give more choice, more tones, more expressions, a real acting.

Very very postive.

1 - Fight : I L-O-V-E. Able to run throughout the city while fighting other enemies, it's just a fantastic rpg. The best innovation for me in what you decided. Bold, brilliant, and I continue to believe that many would agree.

That said, the system is not perfect. We must reduce the speed, the fighting must be dynamic, but the player needs to understand, but especially enjoy the fight. I love seeing my heroes fight, if it goes too fast, I do not have time to see and that's unfortunate.

2 - The number and variety of side quests. Impressive. Mostly they are all interesting. Undoubtedly, the side quests have become useless in dao, brilliant in DA2. However, all quests must not lead them into battle, we must allow more surprises, turnaround situations, negotiation, priority decisions, players like to choose, feel that they choose. If only the main storyline was epic from the beginning, it was almost perfect.

3 - The link with family Hawk, the hero's personal history, absolutely continue. A real cool, a real novelty, a real contribution to history.

4  - Characters are wonderful BUT, not enough conversation to know them, we must return to the basics of dao, for length

5 -  Total difference between the classes, especially go. Each class brings a unique experience.

In summary, Da is a very good game, but to me, the story is what matters most in an RPG. Therefore, it will not be memorable, like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

I hope this is the point at which you will work more for the DA. You already have the battle mode, improved gameplay to make it better, now we must return to basics to your success, your stories.

I'm with you for the next episode. But first appointment with M3.

Modifié par Sylvianus, 15 mars 2011 - 01:12 .

[Divize]

This is my honest review and my own opinion:

Firstly I would like to say DAO was one of my all time favourite games in every shape and form, from start to finish. I also admit that perhaps, for me, because I was expecting so much from this sequel it would have taken something well out of the ordinary for DAII to come even close to being 'up there' with DAO.

For me DAII was a real dissapointment.
I am a firm believer in the rule 'If it isn't broken don't try to fix it' - But they certainly broke this rule in almost all areas. Its looks to me like they tried to simplify things far too much and took a lot of fun out of the game in doing so.

Cons:
:The biggest dissapointment for me was a very very weak story that moved away from DAO so vastly it could have almost been launched as a totally different game. It just didn't immerse me at all. At times it honestly felt like I was playing a section of a sub-storyline that should have been one of many that would lead to another and another before it all linked up...sadly it was the single main story!
:One major city and a few outlaying small locations for the entirety of the game. What happened to the vast maps, locations and very different areas like that in the original?
:Not being able to change your colleagues armor was a complete let down. I love to be able to customize the other characters in attire that was shaped to how you had set their roles up (Healer, Tank etc.). The upgrade replacement for this was rubbish.
: Collecting and Creating professions is almost all gone. Smallest amount of collection I.E Herbs then order them to be made was not my idea of a good change.
: At times I felt like I was drowning in conversation choices and sometimes when I made a decsion regarding certain things I felt like I had not made a choice at all as It still ended up happening regardless of what I had chosen.
: No sense of major satisfaction at completion of game. I felt like I had failed regardless of whatever had happened.
: Major issue - The finale sequence needs to be epic and can make an 'average' game a 'Great game'. I did't get that in this game. Not sure how much influence EA games have had in this but Bioware normally nail their endings where as I have notcied in past EA titles they are poor at it so it does make me wonder if they had any influence or were involved.
: Played it on Normal level and only used 3 armor sets throughout whole game without any need to change more than this. (I will be trying harder mode to see if it makes a difference).
: Way too short.

Middle Ground:
: Talent trees almost good - but they could have used more depth to shape characters in your own unique ways.
: Enjoyed the combat system but I would have liked to see alot more strategy within complex fights.
: What they did do in terms of Graphics I.E Sceneary, armor, characters etc was very good. Not nearly enough different locations or sets to make it something special.

Pros:
: Good to see certain characters appearing again.
: Attribute points system works well.
: Finding non-crafting items and recipes throughout was good to see, everyone likes a treasure hunt.
: Conversations and background character banter was very good again.
: Voice acting very good again.
:Good Boss fights.


I think I have summarised what I thought in a fair and honest manner. My major advice to Bioware for future productions would be:

:Go back to the attitude of 'Do it right or not at all'.
: Always try all out for that 'One' brilliant immersive and creative storyline that makes your gamers sit back thinking 'Holy crap that was awesome'!!!
:Continue to push the boundries of the standard RPG.
: Most of all - Take your time because we all know when you do it's worth the wait!

Thanks
Divi

[carrawayz]

Dragon Age II Is Better Than You Think It Is

Modern roleplaying games best resemble the two arms of a manic, foaming-at-the-mouth bipolar autistic mutant. The left arm, represented by Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3 and Oblivion, as well as a menagerie of European games, presents an open-world framework. The narrative often suffers for the freedoms given to the player, and depending on the quality of the world-building, there may not be enough incentives in the sandbox to trigger the same kind of insane instincts that led Charles Darwin to explore the Galapagos Islands cataloging flora and fauna. The right arm has its roots in the fantasy novels and worlds that bore the fruit of Dungeons & Dragons adventures. These games give the player a limited amount of choices in favor of a tighter narrative. Often, the less choice given to the player, the tighter the narrative. Mass Effect 2 demonstrates this in spades, but before Mass Effect 2, there was Planescape: Torment and the Baldur's Gate series.

At the inception of the Dragon Age series, BioWare set out to create a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate. Combat was to be strategic, tactical, thoughtful; the narrative should follow a strong central story, but allow player choices to dictate the context; both gameplay and story should feature an engaging supporting cast that the player can love or loathe. The first game, Dragon Age: Origins, seemed to accomplish this within the first hour or two. Already, the player had actively participated in his or her own origin story, which determines the tone of the world's inhabitants' first impressions and responses, and learned a handful of significant truths that form the backbone of the rest of the story. Unfortunately, the bulk of the rest of the story is composed of rote fantasy tropes, leavened only by the strength of a few companions, chiefly the witch, Morrigan, and the reluctant Grey Warden, Alistair. Gameplay remained fairly consistent: at first, a joy to progress through, unlocking additional tactic slots in a fashion similar to Final Fantasy XII; then, a grind through uninteresting enemies and lackluster boss fights. The difficulty curve autodefenstrated when the player gains access to enough crowd-control options, even on the hardest mode, Nightmare. At the end of the game, unless the player chose to portray a warrior, wearing heavy armor, her character either resembled a homeless person with no understanding of color coordination (or color at all, really) or a monochromatic peacock, or, if she were lucky, a homeless monochromatic peacock, who had perhaps been a bit too drunk the previous night, and was now wearing someone else's pants, with that someone else also being homeless, and retarded.

The finale of the game nearly redeemed the many hours' worth of slogging through battles that were only entertaining if the player chose to micromanage every action, which was wholly unnecessary (yes, even on Nightmare). Interesting things happened in service of the story, and the player was left hopeful that his or her choices had had an influence. In the end, Dragon Age: Origins was a competently made game, albeit bland. Very little of the game felt refreshing or new.

Conversely, Dragon Age II is a tetanus shot to the arm of computer roleplaying games. At first glance, it may seem or feel very, very unpleasant, especially to those who loved Dragon Age: Origins. Gone is the bird's-eye isometric view, and the voiceless cipher protagonist. Combat animations are drastically smoother and more action-oriented; the UI is streamlined, and the controls are friendlier to console players. The most drastic change, though, is to the narrative framework. Though the idea of a frame story is familiar to any college student who has done a bit of English literature coursework, it might be wholly unfamiliar to most players, and this was the facet of the game most hyped prior to release. Live the life of the Champion of Kirkwall before he or she became Champion, said the press releases and preview materials. BioWare was correct to trumpet the frame narrative, as it is the major saving grace of Dragon Age II. The underlying writing remains somewhat uneven, with bright spots of wit and emotional resonance proving the exception, not the rule. This was a glaring problem with the first game, and less of a problem in the second due entirely to the structure of the narrative. Contrary to popular outcry, the changes to how the player chooses dialogue options do not simplify; they further ground the player's choices in context. The player's dominant tone flavors a great deal of interstitial speech, whether it is goodly, sarcastic, or callous, as the three choices tend toward. Decision-making remains a facet of gameplay because actual decisions are not determined by the player's tone, but by neutrally designated dialogue options. The options that are available or unavailable can be influenced by both tone and prior choice, allowing a layering of narrative freedom and structure that was not present in Dragon Age: Origins' outlay of fully written-out dialogue options. Conversations in Dragon Age: Origins often resembled something out of a bizarre procedural drama that would have better fit on CBS's Friday night television schedule than in a fantasy roleplaying game. Conversations in Dragon Age II are slightly more organic, and the breadth of investigative dialogue remains similar despite not being thrown in the face of the player.

The combat system has undergone a superficial overhaul, and feels faster despite not actually being faster. The tactics system remains unchanged, though tactics slots are given more freely in Dragon Age II, allowing greater flexibility at an earlier point in the game. Nightmare difficulty in Dragon Age II is more unforgiving than Nightmare was in Dragon Age: Origins, due in part to the fact that most encounters consist of waves of enemies, rather than static spawns, as well as more dangerous friendly fire. Boss encounters are more varied, with greater thought put into design; the game takes cues from the scripted bosses of MMORPGs and includes distinct phases, additional monster spawns during the fight, and dangerous special abilities that are often preceded by visual cues. There are more dragons to fight in Dragon Age II than in Dragon Age: Origins, and when the inevitable hyperbolic victory cutscene plays, with its 1980s horror movie blood spatter and overdramatic slow motion, it feels much more of an accomplishment to the player than it ever did in the first game. Character progression is improved as well: the game better rewards the player for developmental choices, providing a surfeit of specializations, skills, and modifiers to existing skills. Party synergy and micromanagement are thoroughly encouraged through powerful cross-class effects. There is something very visceral about freezing an enemy assassin (who, if left alone, might hide in the shadows, then pop out at an unexpected time and assassinate your favorite mage companion), layering a few extra debuffs on said assassin, then shattering the hapless foe with tens of thousands of damage through your own rogue character's most powerful ability. Reload the last quick save and try that encounter again, but this time, stagger the opponent with a shield bash from your warrior, build up a devastating combo with your rogue, then shuffle your characters out of the way so that your mage can throw a fireball in the enemy's face. The combat does not suffer for being optimized for consoles.

Where Dragon Age II suffers most, paradoxically, is in its narrative structure and setting, the two components of the game that seem to have received the most attention in some ways, and in other ways, oddly neglected. About halfway through the game, it becomes readily apparent that the player is incredibly constricted in choice of locations. Sidequests travel through the same interior areas, with recycled maps and assets; on one occasion, a particular tunnel is inaccessible, then a completely different quest sends the player to a completely different location which looks eerily similar, and lo and behold, that previously inaccessible tunnel is now traversible, but hey, that other room off to the side is now blocked off. Sometimes the player might feel less like the protagonist of a fantasy roleplaying game and more the unwitting participant in a Kafka story. Thankfully, due to improved itemization, both graphically and mechanically, the Champion of Kirkwall never looks like a giant cockroach, or a homeless drunk retarded peacock. The player is unable, as well, to dress his or her companions like homeless drunk retarded peacocks, but numerous upgrades are scattered through various shops and as quest rewards, and a visual outfit upgrade for each companion can be earned by progressing through that companion's personal quest line. The supporting cast best represents the changes that take place over the course of fifteen years, condensed into three specific years covered by the game's three acts. They have their own lives, and they go about their business when they're not otherwise engaged killing dragons or finding lost blood mages with the Champion of Kirkwall, and they are not altogether shy about presenting the problems that sprout up in their lives. These companion quests are one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game, and it is rewarding to follow the trajectories of these various characters.

The central story remains hobbled by mediocre writing. Though buffeted by the taut frame narrative, what passes for political intrigue in Dragon Age II is more reminiscent of the struggle between Rufio and Peter Pan (RU-FI-O, RU-FI-O, RU-FI-O) than that of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. A great deal of time passes as the game progresses, but there is little visual context to better bear the player through the years. Instead, dialogue carries that burden. Tremendous events occur in each of the game's acts, but the emotional resonance of these events, which directly affect the player character, is thoroughly lacking because the writing cannot perform the heavy lifting required to bring impact through. Despite improved camera angles during cutscenes, face-to-face encounters during important moments rarely have the intended gut-punch effect. That being said, the story does do a very good job of lending weight to the player's choices, even if the consequences are not so immediately consequential. As the game slides its way toward the end, it does feel a bit like the creep up the beginning of the rollercoaster.

Here, too, as with Dragon Age: Origins, the finale represents a high mark in the game's narrative. As events come to a close, and the player's choices lead to a given climax, the player is left wondering: what happens next? If BioWare continues on the path of improvements made in Dragon Age II, then we can only be optimistic about the next game. It may have a lot of cute girls with French accents in it.

Modifié par carrawayz, 15 mars 2011 - 01:18 .

[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

I've not bought DA1 or DA2 yet and even with the Steam 50% off last year still did not buy the DA series.

I however own almost every other Bioware game every made.

My review of DA2 - Up to the city only.

The Good
1. Fighting is interesting compared to the pausefest that was DA1. Combat is quite fun, once you guys decide whether you're making a hack and slash fest or a pause tactical stratfest. I supposed the former.
2. I enjoyed the new Conversations wheel and is probably the one thing that Bioware got right for this game. (IMHO)
3. Storyline was not engaging, I got bored once we got to Kirkwall? My buddy and I loaded up Magicka right after. (though I gotta say, my buddy is a big fan of DA2 and not DA1..go figure...lol)
4. That first wave and ogre was fun, (ohhh yeah hawt mage at my side..oh what? she's my sister...zzz)

The Bad
1. A tutorial/legend onscreen would have been nice to indicate what all the different icons in the conversation wheel represented.
2. Neither a button masher nor a tactical stratfest.  Feels like a middling compromise which satisfies nobody.

The Fugly
1. In the tradition of DA1, everybody is Fugly in the game, except your Sister (unless you tweaked character customization too much).

The Meh
1. DA 2 overall feels, well meh. Been here, done that. Everybody is ugly, waves of enemies were meh.
2. Is it just me of the background and environments seem to be missing something? 
3. From a large variety of starting backgrounds and races in DA1, DA2 single-minded focus seems well, less for what was paid for previously. DA 2 sounds more like a spin off story rather than the main storyline which was DA1. DA2 is deceptively named.
4. Cliche Start. You just knew who was gonna buy the farm.

My overall rating -> 2.5 Stars outta 5 Stars (As generic as generic gets)

[panamakira]

I have finished the game once and I'm 11 hours into my second playthrough.

I like the game or more like I'm very attached to the characters and the story but I have more complaints about the execution of it. Everything besides the story and characters felt very simplified. I feel like by the end of the game, I didn't accomplish much. I just didn't feel like a "Champion", so I wanted NPCs to stop calling me that. Yet I enjoyed it overall. Made me very curious to know what else is in store for the series. At the end of DA:O I felt like a hero, by the end of DA2 I felt I was just unlucky to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time and made everything worse.

Pros:
-Combat (faster, more efficent and entertaining)
-Characters (Just like DA:O we get a lot of interesting characters I wanted to get to know)
-Story (a great story centered around a character making it more personal with a family, long relationships, etc)
-Romance scenes (they don't make you feel awkward anymore)
-Replay value (you can play your Hawke in different ways and choose different options)
-Romance/Rivalry system (much more realistic and convenient)
-Side quests (there were some interesting side quests, that were more entertaining than the first game)
-Family ( I liked having a family)

Cons
-NPC interaction (very limited dialogue with party companions. I wasn't a fan of Awakening because of this and I was unhappy it was treated the same in this game)
-Dialogue wheel (I didn't like saying things I didn't mean. I read something and Hawke would say sometimes things I felt weren't appropiate to the situation. I just wasn't sure what she was going to say)
-Family (there were a few plot related scenes that were executed poorly and I felt very detached to the situations)
-Crafting/recipes (much more simplified, takes the fun out of gathering material for crafting and potions)
-Recycled caves/environments (when I first heard about it I thought it wouldn't bother me but I can't remember how many times I went to the same cave and same "coast" and they didn't feel or look any different throughout the game)
-Ending (I won't spoil anything but I just didn't feel like I was a "Champion")

I like both games a lot but I can't put my finger on what I think could make DA2 a much better game. It's a good game. I think it has a better story than DA:O and combat but when I finished it I felt there was something missing, something that at the end of the day makes DA:O much better than its sequel. 

Although I loved the characters I felt the game put so much limitations to how you could interact with them. The story was brilliant but I think it failed to give us the freedom to get to know our companions, unlike DA:O. I was very disappointed on how limited things were in that aspect. .

DA:O is my first RPG of its kind. It offered so many options to build up your character. So this complaint is not coming from an old school RPG fan. I'm new to the genre. Yet I felt DA2 stripped a lot of elements I enyojed from the first one or made them simpler, and for me it took some fun out of it.

If I gave DA:O a 5/5, DA2 gets a 4/5. 

[DOYOURLABS]

I just finished the game, and I am in too much emotional distress to write a full review. I loved this game. It had many shortcomings, but the awesomeness of the rest of the game distracted from it. At times it felt unfinished, and it was definitely too short. But with the cliffhanger ending, more most be coming soon.

The armor system I am unsure how I feel about it. It was a lot cleaner and easier, but I felt like it took away choice. It didn't bother me much, since I needed to sell as much items as I could, because money is harder to come by than in origins.

The characters were phenomenal, they were extremely well written and had plenty of dialogue. You couldn't talk to them as much as in origins, but I felt like I got more out of the conversations in DA2 than I did in the original.

The mage class felt more hack-and-slash than it did in the original, but it's a vast improvement. There were less abilities however, and that is on my cons list. A lack of an auto-attack with mage made it feel hack-and-slash, but that's it. You should have no worries about this being a dumbed down game.

The main story is undeniably too short. The game makes up for it in side quests, which took up most of my time. Getting Isabela and Fenris were too hidden in my opinion, because I chose to skip what I thought were unimportant side quests. Those side quests ended up being their recruitment missions, and I missed out on two companions.

There are a lot of cameos from old characters. This made the game a lot more fun, because I got to see what became of my companions from origins and awakening. However, one companion I did not recruit in origins showed up in DA2 and claimed to have helped the hero of ferelden.

[gatorboy128]

Feels like Dragon Age: 1/2. Unfortunately, it seems much less effort went into this game than the first, with the hammed-together story that feels unimportant and the inability to equip armor on your allies. Also, I am finding several glitches on the 360, and I am just beginning Act 3. Recycled dungeons, by the way, are a horrible idea. I love the graphics and combat, but it seems like one step forward, two steps back. Better luck with 3?

[GammaSniper]

My very first post into a bioware forum.

All in all i am incredibly disappointed in Bioware and the game they have published. There are some good aspects but i just cant get rid of that nautious feeling for having paid 60 bucks for this game.

The good things.
1.) I love that they have made the classes more balanced. a 2H warrior definitly packs more oomph then it did in Origins. I do however miss the dualwield option for warriors. Mages are a little more powerfull but not nearly enough yet. Crossclasscombos work well in this system and add a little debth into strategical thinking. Rogues are still very powerfull classes but i do miss my ranger specialization, i miss my bear.

2.) I enjoyed Act 1 quite a lot and act 2 mostly. I still think that the game should have ended with the 2nd act boss fight. Yes the game was building up the tension between 2 factions already present in the city but it did not even come close to the tension that the 2nd act bossfight created. The story in Act 1 and 2 i could live with, however there are also a lot of cons.

3.) The talent trees are awesome. I found myself multiple times franticely trying to get more xp just to get another skill or upgrade. All of them made sense. Mages however miss one spell that i enjoyed from origins : summon Skeleton.

4.) The Crafting system makes sense and is easy to understand. The further you progress the more resources you find which in turn unlocks better crafting recipes. I like it.

5.) I do like the fact that you dont need to shop for armorpieces for companions for one reason only and that is because you can spend most of your hard earned money on Hawke. But then again there are also cons to this.

6.) The Characters have their own problems and beliefs and DA2 delivers a good story to integrate them into the plotline.

7.) The Graphics are stunning in certain areas. (at least on the PC)

The Cons:

1.) Reusing the same areamaps over and over take the exploration feeling out of the game which in my oppinion is a must for every good Roleplaying game. Yes it makes it more easy to develop but is it really necessary to place a Dragon into a room where the doorway is barely big enough to let Hawke through? Seriously Bioware cmon....

2.) You have to go to specific areas to talk to companions? Ok it does make sense to prevent misclicking but why else would you do that?  It makes it feel like you run from quest to quest and talk to your companions inbetween for a little variety. I guess i just miss the camp...

3.) The game world feels stale, you have the merchants littered all over the city and unless you check each merchant once in a while you can miss some decent items. The layout of the city feels not right for a city this big. But i can not pinpoint exactly what is wrong with it. DragonAge Origins made me feel like i was there but this is not the case here.

4.) The romancing or befriending feels also very stale. Does it really take 10 years to develop a romance? The Romance options in DaO felt more intriguing.

5.) One big thing that i did not like was Flemmeth's appearance. Yes she always intrigued me but we still dont get any insight on what she is? #@$@!#$#@!$@

6.) The story ending in itself are not very intriguing, after act 2 you lose interest really quickly. Reason for this is the 2nd Act boss. Nothing comes close to that boss or the tension building up to it.I do not think that bioware intended to center the story just on Hawke. I
agree that DaO's storyline was at points cliche' but at least you had a
sense of purpose in that game. In DA2 that is lost. And for those of
you that do not agree think back to Ostagar when the forces of good
charged the Darkspawn and tell me you did not have a shiver run down
your spine.

7.) The familymembers . Without spoiling anything it was rather disappointing how this was developed and where the familymembers end up. Allthough *Nothing Remains* added alot of grizzly moments which were nearly nonpresent in the rest of the game. Which is a shame because most of the Dragon Age saga is all about the gore,grizzly moments and giving it purpose.

8.) By giving companions only the option to upgrade armor you take out some of what makes RPG's what they are, RPG's. I am not nearly as interested in my companions as i was in Dragon age and i honestly think that is due to the lack of customization to them.

9.) Enemy waves : In some fights i could have lived with it but constantly in every fight you have more enemies appear out of nowhere. It does not feel right and makes me personally feel like they just did it to add difficulty. Now couldnt we achieve this with making some of the enemies stronger? Not one enemy gave me a Holy Crap moment aside from the Act 2 boss. or Act 1 Boss.

10.) I honestly miss the Fade. It added a different playing perspective in between and made sense. Yes you were mostly alone but dealing with Demons or spirits again adds a lot of grizzly moments. It also adds Moralty options as you have to choose to do the right thing or succumb to your darker desires. Most of this is of no consequence in DA2.


This is what i came up with for now , i could go on and on but i dont want to get mad again. I honestly miss being a warden. Being the Champion of Kirkwall feels unsignificant and honestly didnt even faze me compared to the feeling of pride i had for being a warden. I sure hope that Bioware gets back to their roots and develop DA3 with a storyline that is worth playing it for. Because Bioware is known for their great storytelling skills. However in this game i did not feel it.

Edit: I forgot to add, The facebook game Dragon Age Legends is almost more fun then this game, You got castle customization which i think should be in a good roleplaying game. Add a couple of Sieges against your castle and upgradeoptions and you got something to work for

Modifié par GammaSniper, 15 mars 2011 - 02:28 .

[Knuckles4Chuckles]

It seems like DAII has moved away from the gameplay that made DA:O so appealing. When I got this game, I thought it was going to be an immersive RPG with a complete battle-system, story, and a freedom to do less linear activities in-game. It seems like this game has taken a step back, however, because the battle system just seems to be "Wave-wave-wave-Boss-Repeat", interspersed with the occasional cutscene or "Check Point" in the game. The game doesn't really offer as much of a challenge as Origins, being quite easy to master, even on the highest difficulty settings. There seems to be a "perfect team" as you progress through the various stages of the game because the battling seems to be somewhat recycled, something that I thought would be an improvement, not a step down from the previous entry in the series. In addition to this, the maps and stage areas seem to be very bland, almost recycled in terms of lay-out and often are leaving me thinking "Oh, this looks similar to X stage", far more than should be happening in this type of game. I could see where the developers were coming from, obviously trying to appeal to a more "Diverse" audience, but the end result has been disappointing and somewhat hollow compared to DA:O, a game that itself seemed like it would be the framework and starting point for the rest of the series. This game isn't the WORST I have ever played, but by no means does it compare to games like Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, or the likes. Sincerely, a slightly disappointed fan. (I would give this a 5-6/10)

[ken88]

Great !!!!!

[Bl0dbathNBeyond]

Disclaimer - I am midway through the game, more or less. Maybe less than half, given what I know about the plotline. Only a busy day job and real life ™ have kept me from playing this more. I hope to finish it in the next week or so, but honestly, I have no real desire to see it end.

What I LOVE:

* The offbeat (for a fantasy RPG) plot, concept and narrative. I really and truly adored DA:O in a lot of ways. I've played Bioware games since BG/BG2 and I had that same sprawling, epic feeling in that game as I did back in the days where I was pal'ing around with Minsc and Boo realizing that I was a godchild. Dang. Traipsing ALL over Ferelden and fighting an epic, unimaginable horror as well as dealing with petty human stupidity kept me pretty busy. Quite frankly, I was elated by the end of DA:O just because it felt like I just did everything I could in this world. Hell, I beat DA:O three times. That being said, I didn't need a repeat of "huge" and "epic" because I still have that game and it's still generally fun. Now, in DA2, I'm dealing with a different, more personal plotline of one Urien Hawke and the surviving members of his family and new friends (and frenemies). It feels unique amongst fantasy RPGs and one of the reasons I'm hooked on seeing what comes next.

* Oh man, the characters. These characters feel nuanced. Their writing is solid, and I've wanted to laugh at things they've said and done (sometimes to each other), was saddened by, and sometimes frustrated/enraged by. Bioware, you guys are definitely at the top of your game on this one. Without spoiling anything I can say that in particular I was surprised by Aveline and way more fond of her than I ever expected to be given her previews/reveal. In this manner she reminds me a little bit of Ashley Williams from ME - A deceptively simple-seeming personality that just grew on me. In fact, I can't really mention a character who just annoys me (I could have tossed Morrigan under a bus in the first game, more often than not - for all I loved Alistair, Leliana and Wynne). The situational banters between party members are awesome, and a nice touch, too. Non-joinable NPCs are generally at this level as well. Most importantly, it feels like the characters, will still conforming to important tropes, feel deeper this time around.

* The art style - It finally feels like Thedas has an aesthetic all its own. Most of the changes made, both visual and audio just "fit." I don't mind that the elves are taller and slimmer in the first game or that the Dalish variety sound Welsh. The awesome look the loading screens, the architecture of Kirkwall and the clothing of a lot of the characters is generally neat and is instantly identifiable.

* The pacing - Probably the big one here. I praised the mission design of ME2 vs ME in the same way. Maybe as I get older, I have less time to spend hours mapping dungeons and fighting endless combat encounters while trying to get to story point A to story point B. That's not to say I don't like killing my share of horrific monsters and total bastard mercenaries, but I remember mapping out dungeons by hand while playing Ultima 3 as a kid on the C-64. Also - I never finished this game. It took years to play every sidequest in BG2 and found myself wishing there were mods to skip some sections of this game (surprise, surprise, people made them) just because they were so slow, time-consuming, and drawn-out. Now, as far as Origins went, which I finally played at age 31, I found myself wishing I could skip several sections of this game even on the FIRST playthrough. I have yet to encounter this in DA2. There are actually a few sections which I think are too "short" but I am never bored. If this makes me a casual fan who doesn't like RPGs anymore, well - call me what you will.

* The conversation wheel - 'nuff said. The days of the silent protagonist are pretty much over. Being the only unvoiced character when EVERY OTHER NPC has spoken dialogue all the time is immersion-breaking. It's also a bit more intuitive than it was in the Mass Effect games too.

What I'm lukewarm about:


* No toolset - I love mods. They expand the game and allow players to squeeze quite a bit of life out of a game long after it's been beaten several times. I found myself wishing for something like the Winter Forge from DA:O in this game to allow me to at least aesthetically customize weapons. It's a personal preference. If I had my way I would have the custom weapon textures created by that modder Adonnay whose models I've preferably installed for every CRPG in the past several years. Somebody needs to hire this guy. Seriously. At any rate, that is just a personal preference and I don't like big, spiky, "fantasy"-style weapons. That's always been a pet peeve of mine, particularly in a grittier "low magic" universe such as DA. I know this won't stop dedicated modders, it's merely a matter of time.

* The combat - it's give and take. I recognize that the in-game reason everything seems over-the-top is due to the fact that it's Varric's retelling of events, and sometimes it genuinely looks cool. Other times, it's distracting. I realize that DA:O was more tactical in some ways but everything moved at a glacial pace. Again, I don't play RPG's as RTS games, so my opinion probably doesn't line up with a lot of peoples'.


What I don't like:

* Recycled environments - Unfortunately, repetitive environments detract from the experience for me, even if they are small. In fact, this is the biggest pet peeve I have about the game.

* I'll be honest - the limited character customization in some ways feels like a step back. I don't aesthetically like 6 foot swords or limited weaponry to "sword and shield" combos in the case of mages, or bows and daggers being limited to rogues. And, uh, let's not get started on mages being limited to staves. It feels like we time travelled to the days of D & D First Edition. On the flip side, the classes are MAD balanced and there are way fewer redundant abilities in DA2 than there were in DA:O. It was possible to logically bork your character with an entire quick bar of abilities that all did essentially the same thing. Not so, here. Everything has a place.
Also - I really don't care about customizing companion clothing. It helps to realize here that I am role playing one character and I don't dress up my friends in real life (that would be...creepy). I really don't. Overall, though, I feel that there could and should be a happy medium between the sprawling clutter of options in DA:O and the too-restrictive paths in DA2. This is disappointing and could be a lot better (this is strange - I had no problems with the inventory streamlining in ME2 but I guess it's really a different game).


Overall:

Rather than pining for another 100 hour helping of "more of the same" I went ahead and installed DA2 last week and have positively been hooked by it. I'm a bit miffed about things mentioned above, but they don't ruin the game for me. I can't give it an objective, numerical score because you know what? Even with my complaints, I don't want to stop playing. At all. In the last year and a half I only experienced this a handful of other titles:
Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, and Dragon Age: Origins. And I had to take a break from all of those games except for RDR and ME2. This is all high praise from me. In short - give me a few more things -- more class/equipment options, adding things like spears, fleshing out individual maps, and you've got yourself a game I will defend to nearly anyone. As it stands, it's going to keep me entertained for weeks. I'm already anticipating my first (mage) replay. This doesn't happen very often.

[Skwervin]

I am still part way through Act 3 and two things in particular are annoying me - oneis the waste of all the gear I am picking up and having to trash. I used to love in DA:O how you could tweak peoples effectiveness with the gear/armour/weapons you gave them and how you could recycle and update runes easily rather than having to toss them away each time you upgrade. Not having two weapon sets also was a pain when the action got too close to your archer, they couldn;t whip out those great daggers I was carrying around to sell and put them to good use.

The second is the interaction with the group itself. I used to love being able to chat to them all as we walked along or in camp at night rather than having to go visit their houses just to give them a gift or to ask them something. The relationship/romance I have built with Anders feels cold and stale as there is no personal type interaction with him unlike my female Warrior and Alistair in DA:O.

I am getting bored with the constant reuse of certain areas (yawn) and wish we could go a little further afield than the docks and Sundermount.

WHile yes I have enjoyed this, I haven't loved it like I did DA:O - I only hope that number 3 and/or any patches or upgrades do something about this....and fast before I go looking for something else to play.

[medusa_hair]

I have played about six hours today and I have a few thoughts so far. I will start with the bad and move onto more positive things:

Cons -
- The combat is too fast. It was too slow in DAO but it has gone too far in the other direction. A happy medium would be better.
- No camp. I agree, I don't want to have to travel to a bunch of different places to talk to someone. I understand that this is supposed to represent "real" life of a person who would thus have to go visit someone to speak with them, but it's just a pain. And I have only garnered one party member (Merrill) outside my family and Aveline. I can imagine how it will go later on.
- Hordes of enemies like ants. A larger number of so-so enemies does not equal higher difficulty.
- It's a small thing, but when I raid a chest and it says "amulet" it is a huge letdown. I wish they had used a little bit more creativity and named some of this stuff so I could immediately get excited about finding something good, rather than having to look at it in my inventory to determine what the heck it might do.

Pros -
- Paradoxically, even though the combat is too fast and I am not always sure where I am, it is exhilarating to smash bad guys with a two-handed weapon (even if it looks like it is on steroids). I never liked the two-handed weapon style in DAO because it was so slow and unwieldy (I left that stuff to Sten).
- I like the voiced character. I put the subtitles on for conversations; now I can read what they are saying and choose my response before they are quite finished saying it, so my character replies right away - an actual conversation! Also, while I do like to play elves, I was able to customize the appearance of my character enough that I felt "ownership."
- I like the abilities trees. I never liked having to spend ability points on things that I would never use, just to get to the things I had my eye on. Now I can specialize more easily, and leave out facets of a specific track if I don't intend to use them.
- Crafting. I never did much of this because I didn't want to carry around a million elfroots,etc. Now I have already ordered some potions. It's much, much easier.
- I have never played with friendly fire-inclusive difficulty so I don't miss it. I am playing to relax after work/kids/husband, not get aggravated. That doesn't make me dumb or inferior. It's just a choice. I saw someone suggest making friendly fire an option to be checked off, which I think is a good idea. Then those who want it can have it, and the rest of us can proceed to fireball the heck out of everything without making crispy critters of our friends.

I had preordered this but once I played the demo I was a little worried because it was so different from DAO. Once the game was out I was even more concerned after reading a lot of the forums (live and learn, I guess). I think that many people were expecting DAO with a few tweaks and it isn't that...I would have liked to carry my Grey Warden into the next game and have my Alistair by my side, but I actually (somewhat to my surprise, I admit) like this game so far. I had just finished my second go-round with ME2, which may have helped my approach to DA2.

Anyway, I hope people approach it without preconceptions and decide whether they like it or not based on its own merits.

[ransompendragon]

I know I won't be adding much original and maybe no one but me will read this - but here goes

About 12 hours played

Dislike

• combat animations - the exploding enemies and the clipping between my characters. I don't hate the combat as much as I did in the demo but I don't take it as "seriously" as I did in DAO
• art style - especially the "WOW" weapon looks; environment graphics are meh
• change to crafting system - the old one was easy and useful. I don't get that people say it has been simplified
• the UI - all of it, I hate it - I like the look in DAO the onscreen bar held all the stuff I needed for quick use and wasn't in the way - the inventory was fun - I could "see" what my trinkets looked like - I really, really, really hate the new inventory - and the journal, etc.
• can't switch weapon sets - I think I could forgive locking a companion skills into dual weapon but still should be allowed to equip a bow. Part of tactical combat is using the ranged weapons then closing for the kill at times. At least with D&D rules there is generally some lore based reason a character can't wield certain weapons.
• lockpicking levels - if this existed in DAO I never noticed it. I hate the at each 10 points way because you feel all the points inbetween are just wasted. Not that there is anything but junk in those chests
• junk - at least in Oblivion you could actually "see" the junk. Here it is completely pointless
• seems harder to keep the camera "over the shoulder" when I am moving around

Like

• character models (as opposed to the rest of the graphics)
• having a "home" (still miss camp!)
• party based and third person view
• potential in the skill trees, some interesting things
• that I used "trade in" credit to pay for part of this game
• surely something else, but I can't think of it

Other thoughts -
I ended up liking to see what "acheivements" I had in DAO - the new achivement page is pointless. (sorry for my bad spelling tonight)
Circular dialogue - happened in DAO at times but I really notice it here, I can just keep having the same bit of conversation over and over again
"Summon dog" is closer to letting you have him all the time but he should just have a special slot. His animation was better in DAO.
Somewhere is the middle ground on dialogue options and on companion dialogue. But not here. Prefer the old way to this.

And yes, to those of you who say "do you like dressing up your companions like dolls?!?!" I love that part. So sue me. I need to have some ROLE in the roleplaying game and since I am playing Bioware's character I need something to do.

[bob 145]

So have been playing the game now for a few days and must say it is not as bad as I thought in would be, but far from as good as it should have been. Now when I started this game I did have a very negative view of it mainly as I was shoe horned into playing a human which I don't normally play, and even if I did I would like the choice.
But once I got over that and started playing the game it wasn't not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is certainly lacking in parts

First: Combat
I came to dread being involved in fighting people, while it was to fast and should be slowed down a touch, it was improvement over DA:O were it did seem to be a bit slow. Here it was so fast that it became ridiculous, with your guys apparently teleporting which according to the fluff you cant do. But the major issue was the exploding baddies. One thing I loved about DA:O was the executions, they were so good I would pause and look at what my guy was doing. To replace that with, what appears to be your enemies dismantle and return to IKEA seems a little insulting to every one who said we loved this, and then to take it away and replace it with this, I would have preferred they just fell over. The second issue was the endless waves of bad guys in nearly every fight. If you want reinforcements to come in then put them in the next room and if the fight moves within a certain radius of them they become active and attack. Having guys just jump at of the wood work after the first lot are nearly dead makes the fight annoying and means that using tactics and strategy pointless as the enemy seems to appear from all directions and it just becomes a matter of running around like a chicken.

Secondly appearances
If your going to have our companions never change their shirt even when we have far better in our inventory then at least have the skin change slightly when we upgrade their Armour I have upgraded a few now and nothing is different. Maybe have different armours that they pick up over time or after certain events, make it part of the story then we will be over joyed to have them stuck in the same out fits.

Thirdly When playing DA:O I felt like it was real story in a fantasy land. But in DA2 I it is like being in an arcade game. my warrior can only use swords and shields or two handers, as if he touch a bow or two swords he go into a nervous break down about his career choice. The old way of having the same weapon choices for both rogues and warriors made a lot of sense, as it really came down what the fighter had grow up use to rather then he went to a career fare and picked his job.

Now this just the main points I could go on for longer, but it is already long enough so as for the good points the graphics are lovely, really like the views of kirkwall and the the other little places, I actually like the way the images of all the creatures and characters has been done all but Hurlock thought the old ones looked better. The crafting system was good I like the idea of telling people where the ingredients are and them then going of to get themselves, but it was a little simple I think this should be expanded. Also the little pictures next to the conversation topics appeared a little childish.

By and large this game is saved by it's excellent story, which like most bioware games is excellent I particular like the way your characters now chime into conversation, but if I am to buy DA3 the combat system would have to change I would want my race choices back

[Moonfangz]

Here are my thoughts after playing through the Deep Roads Expedition a few days ago...

Positives

• Mirror of Transformation - enjoy being able to change my character's appearance after starting gameplay.
  
• Maker's Sigh - enjoy the practically limitless option to respec my character and companions at anytime.
  
• Art Style - like the appearance of the armor and environments as well as ability and spell effects.
  
• Combat - like how it is fast-paced and exciting; rogues can get behind enemies easier; no need to micro-manage my party with every fight.
  
• Animations - much, more fluid movements than DAO; mages actually know more than one way to cast spells from their staffs; rogues actually look "sneaky" when stealthed and can twirl their daggers.
  
• Music - atmospheric and appeals to your senses during gameplay.
  
• Protagonist's Voice - breathes life into the main character.
  
• Banter Among Companions - party members are even more life-like.
  

Negatives

• Recycled Dungeons - poor design choice, especially when choosing to block doorways with a random object.
  
• Lack of Customization - I can equip different weapons, belts, amulets, and rings for my companions.  Why not armor?
  
• Kirkwall - wish it was livelier with individuals and groups of people walking around, standing together, listening to someone preach whatever, and/or comment on you as you walk by (think Assassin's Creed).
  
• Vendor Trash - keep to a minimal as it only serves to take inventory space.
  
• Pre-order Bonus Items Are Too Good - hate to complain about an item, Staff of Parhalan, being too good, but I have yet to replace it throught 11 or 12 levels now.  It's taken some of the fun out of discovering new items to equip from looting the dead, picking locked chests, and checking out vendor items.  Just how I enjoy getting new abilities and/or spells, I too enjoy regulary upgrading my equipment.

Thank you for requesting players' input regarding DA2!!!!!

Modifié par Moonfangz, 15 mars 2011 - 03:21 .

[187 Lifeless]

Just finishing up DA2 now, I wanted to get to the end before giving any opinions. Keep in mind DA:O is pretty much my fave RPG ever. I am truly disappointed on how much was actually taken out of DA2, despite being a sequel. Where are the Ranger and Shapeshifter specs?? Or Battlemage for that matter? Even the rogue abilities seem less. He pretty much has the same 3 duel weapon manuevers, whereas origins had a bunch by Awakening. The romances did not intrest me at all (loved them in DA:O) because the all seemed shallow, and I didn;t really like any of the companions except Fanris and Isabella. The story line seemed bland and very boring and the fact that is was all confined to a small area started to bother me after awhile. All in all, it's not a bad game by any stretch...but it should not be Dragon Age 2. It's pretty much Fantasy Mass Effect. I didn't feel like I was role playing anything, just watching a interactive movie during story segments. Just didn't find Hawk very likeable no matter the stance I took. (Was not a fan of the voiced player either, but that's just me) The positive aspects were the boss battles, the faster combat (loved it!) and I really like the new graphics.