Oh well ,I do like the game ,even tho i really don't see it as a part two, from the origin. only one race and only one ending ,,, they did not think like the first part that you wanted to play over and over to try the different races and endings. this one, one play thru and its about it.But it does leave you at your mansion,, maybe for future expansion or DLC to be able to continue your adventure. Something to check and see.. I found the interaction in romance very lame and cold. hope they improve in that ,,, would like to see the option of different races as i the first. Like i mention before, its a like able game but i feel they could have done a lot better. Many many areas they can in prove on.
Your Dragon Age II Review *NO SPOILERS PLEASE*
Débuté par
javierabegazo
, mars 08 2011 04:02
Retour en haut
#1877
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:00
Mariquis
-
- Members
- 201 messages
Overall, I have to say I enjoyed the game about on par with origins. I feel like some things were fixed, and other broken in the process though.
I imagine you're probably looking for constructive criticism, so I'll start by mentioning the things I think needed to be fixed.
1) Reuse of maps. I know this has been said so many times but it really did detract from the game. I think if there was anything hindering my enjoyment of the game this would be it, walking into another cave and knowing I will not be seeing anything new. There was even one cave which I know was rendered but not used barely at all (with the crypts and iron maidens) I remember walking through and thinking it was gorgeous, especially that odd little side room with constellation like patterns on the ceilings, but I only ever saw that other cave over and over (I think we saw one room of it in two other quests though, the one with the idol). Also if/when blocking the doors off the mini map should really be altered, that just seems haphazard. Another example being the mansion. We see that same mansion five (I think?) times, when in lore it's five unique mansions.
2) Restriction of maps. We spent a ton of time in kirkwall and the wounded coast, and quite frankly by the end of the game I was kind of sighing when I had to go and do another quest on the opposite side of the map from my entrance point. Kirkwall/Wounded coast was gorgeous, but when you spend the vast majority of your time (35 hours for me) in it, it gets a bit dull. I was so excited when I thought I was going to go into the gallows, so I'd see a change of location, but then (in a moment of excellent character development) it was called off. The places you guys did make were beautiful. My jaw dropped in the deep roads and some other locations - they were gorgeous. The first time (and subsequent times) I entered I was struck by just how much of an improvement the locations were over origins, they didn't even compare. But then there was no variety in setting. It drew upon the one of the cons I had for origins - spending too long in one place (for origins, spending too much time in a visually samey place).
3) Respawns. This had it's pros and cons, but ultimately I thought it was overused. some spawn points were okay - people rappeling down side walls, or corpses bursting up from the ground, but sometimes they would just appear out of thin air right in front of you which was quite incongruous. There were also too many. I can't imagine every gang in kirkwall keeps 15 odd backup troops up on the walls to rappel down if need be. Spawn points would have been okay in some places (like shades.. which can appear out of thin air), but some points it just seemed completely odd. There were also too many, I found. I would much rather have fewer harder hitting and harder to kill enemies, than more easy to kill enemies. Also a ton of random gangs that didn't seem to have much story relevance... it felt a bit overdone after a while.
4) Glitches. I had some recurring gliches in my game especially with cutscenes. I'll be lowering the graphics on my next playthrough to see if that's the issue, but it's still an issue regardless. I experienced a good handful of cutscenes in the game which the image would freeze while the audio continued in the background (or both cut). When it unfroze the cutscene (or audio AND cutscene) would be over. I missed some dialogue this way at a few points. There was also a quest far later in the game where the cutscenes glitched so badly I don't actually know what happened during the fight. There was partial cutscene then suddenly I was fighting, then another partial cutscene (with two people's voices that I couldn't even identify/realize what they were talking about before they cut) then fighting again, then another partial cutscene, then a repeat of the fight section I just did before it finally ended. That seemed like it would be one of the most impactful cutscenes of the game but I ... missed it all. There were also some side quest glitches (not activating and such) which weren't as prevalent but still problematic.
Those were the main issues I had. Next up, minor gripes:
6) Lack of exposition. I mainly saw this at the very beginning. I think the game would have been well served by having a very.. ordinary starting cutscene. Maybe the family sitting down for dinner. Then all of a sudden screams in the distance, and you and your siblings go out to investigate, only to find lothering under attack. THEN cue the dramatic escape and fleeing through the wastelands. The beginning felt kind of lackluster to me. This could have also been used for the first time jump (when getting into kirkwall). Even if it was just one longer quest, perhaps with some intrigue to make it interesting and could have made you aware of some of the characters you meet later on (that your character 'recognized'). After that first quest cassandra could have burst in and been like "ffff get to the point, I don't care about this." I also refer to those fetch quests where you didn't know there was a quest until you loot the item. I just thought it was a bizarre from a lore perspective you grab random object A, then just happen to know that person C in location X needs it right now, so you go drop it off. These would have been something well suited for the chanter's board.
7) Lack of closeness with companions. I consider this a minor gripe because I think the characters and character development in the game is phenomenal, but I simply didn't feel as close to the characters in this game as I did the last. While it was awesome that each person had their own little area to retreat to, and you could see them interacting there, it just didn't have that intimate/relaxing feel that the campfire had from the first game. I didn't actively dislike it, but I think I preferred origins. In origins you could mess with your entire parties equipment, enchant things, sell/buy things, and chat with everyone in the same little area. In DA2, you had to travel to each individual area to see them. You had to actually add them to your party temporarily to switch their equipment, and in the case of Anders you could quick travel right to him, but then you'd have to walk all the way back around to the area exit (unless there's something I'm missing... please tell me if there is. I'd save myself a ton of time). Aveline was a decidedly lengthy walk there and back. Shops were in a completely different section altogether. It became something of a chore honestly, and I found my companion quests backing up, until I'd go do them all rapid fire making for very jaunty conversations.
Pros:
8) Dark Fantasy. This was actually dark fantasy, and I loved it. Start from the middle of act 2 continuing through the last act and ending just had me biting my nails (and occasionally swearing in consternation) the whole time. Certain parts left me feeling completely unsettled and nervous, and other still took me completely by surprise (when I though I had it all figured out, nontheless). Seriously well done. Just.. wow. This is the kind of tale I was expecting from Origins. I don't think I've had the this kind of emotional reaction to a video game ever, and while it necessarily cheerful, it was still awesome.
9) Characters and character development. Once again, just brilliant. All of the characters felt very individual and earnest in their interactions with each other and the world. I really appreciated how the party dialogue was not always 'banter' as it were, but often reflected their mindset (for better or worse). Watching some of the character spiral downwards into madness or strengthening their resolve was something sorely lacking from origins which.. while it had really likeable characters, they tended to all be fairly agreeable/easily appeaseable and had malleable views(particularly due to the gift system). The characters in this game felt far more distinct and real than the characters in origins ever did for me. Sometimes they might betray you, or snark at you or in one case even snitch on you. I can't say I liked all the characters, but the ones I disliked were not poor characters. They simply disagreed with my views and were set in their ways, as real people are wont to do. Their quests were sometimes endearing and other times completely heartwrenching. I cannot commend you enough for the characters in this game.
10) Visuals. The non-interactable NPCs (some of them) are rather poorly rendered, but quite frankly since they were completely unrelated to anything going on ever I never looked at them closely (or even distantly). The detailed character models were improved (as well as the character creator), and the environments were fantastic. I mentioned this before up when I was discussing the reuse/restriction of environments, so I won't repeat myself again, but they were so much better than origins. Characters also appeared so much more distinct. This was in part due to the individual outfits and the detailing on them. I definitely preferred this to having all my rogues/mages wear carbon copy garb in a slightly different hue.
11) Morally difficult choices. I think this is the first game I've ever played where a good amount of the choices are actually.. grey areas. I can only think of one from origins, but in DA2 there were a some smattered throughout the game in both the main plot and side quests, and while it made the game 'difficult' , it was definitely appreciated. It's awesome to have actual difficult choices rather than "save the kittens" versus "doom orphans to eternal suffering." I finished the game some time ago and my mind is still reeling over some of the later decisions I made. I unfortunately can't rave about how much I enjoyed them because this is a spoiler free thread, but they were excellent.
12) Choices having an impact. Your friendship scores affected who would stand with you during critical moments. People you helped/hindered would often return in different capacities a number of times across the game. Who you took with you on certain missions mattered at points (sometimes life or death). It actually made me feel like I was doing something. I can't discuss this much more without spoilers though, either.
Overall, I found the story and characters to be far more engaging than origins, and for the most part the gameplay as well. There were just a couple areas where it seemed like shortcuts were taken (reused environments) or where, while I felt the idea was sound, in practice it wasn't as awesome as I thought (aka: restricted environments, waves of enemies).
I imagine you're probably looking for constructive criticism, so I'll start by mentioning the things I think needed to be fixed.
1) Reuse of maps. I know this has been said so many times but it really did detract from the game. I think if there was anything hindering my enjoyment of the game this would be it, walking into another cave and knowing I will not be seeing anything new. There was even one cave which I know was rendered but not used barely at all (with the crypts and iron maidens) I remember walking through and thinking it was gorgeous, especially that odd little side room with constellation like patterns on the ceilings, but I only ever saw that other cave over and over (I think we saw one room of it in two other quests though, the one with the idol). Also if/when blocking the doors off the mini map should really be altered, that just seems haphazard. Another example being the mansion. We see that same mansion five (I think?) times, when in lore it's five unique mansions.
2) Restriction of maps. We spent a ton of time in kirkwall and the wounded coast, and quite frankly by the end of the game I was kind of sighing when I had to go and do another quest on the opposite side of the map from my entrance point. Kirkwall/Wounded coast was gorgeous, but when you spend the vast majority of your time (35 hours for me) in it, it gets a bit dull. I was so excited when I thought I was going to go into the gallows, so I'd see a change of location, but then (in a moment of excellent character development) it was called off. The places you guys did make were beautiful. My jaw dropped in the deep roads and some other locations - they were gorgeous. The first time (and subsequent times) I entered I was struck by just how much of an improvement the locations were over origins, they didn't even compare. But then there was no variety in setting. It drew upon the one of the cons I had for origins - spending too long in one place (for origins, spending too much time in a visually samey place).
3) Respawns. This had it's pros and cons, but ultimately I thought it was overused. some spawn points were okay - people rappeling down side walls, or corpses bursting up from the ground, but sometimes they would just appear out of thin air right in front of you which was quite incongruous. There were also too many. I can't imagine every gang in kirkwall keeps 15 odd backup troops up on the walls to rappel down if need be. Spawn points would have been okay in some places (like shades.. which can appear out of thin air), but some points it just seemed completely odd. There were also too many, I found. I would much rather have fewer harder hitting and harder to kill enemies, than more easy to kill enemies. Also a ton of random gangs that didn't seem to have much story relevance... it felt a bit overdone after a while.
4) Glitches. I had some recurring gliches in my game especially with cutscenes. I'll be lowering the graphics on my next playthrough to see if that's the issue, but it's still an issue regardless. I experienced a good handful of cutscenes in the game which the image would freeze while the audio continued in the background (or both cut). When it unfroze the cutscene (or audio AND cutscene) would be over. I missed some dialogue this way at a few points. There was also a quest far later in the game where the cutscenes glitched so badly I don't actually know what happened during the fight. There was partial cutscene then suddenly I was fighting, then another partial cutscene (with two people's voices that I couldn't even identify/realize what they were talking about before they cut) then fighting again, then another partial cutscene, then a repeat of the fight section I just did before it finally ended. That seemed like it would be one of the most impactful cutscenes of the game but I ... missed it all. There were also some side quest glitches (not activating and such) which weren't as prevalent but still problematic.
Those were the main issues I had. Next up, minor gripes:
6) Lack of exposition. I mainly saw this at the very beginning. I think the game would have been well served by having a very.. ordinary starting cutscene. Maybe the family sitting down for dinner. Then all of a sudden screams in the distance, and you and your siblings go out to investigate, only to find lothering under attack. THEN cue the dramatic escape and fleeing through the wastelands. The beginning felt kind of lackluster to me. This could have also been used for the first time jump (when getting into kirkwall). Even if it was just one longer quest, perhaps with some intrigue to make it interesting and could have made you aware of some of the characters you meet later on (that your character 'recognized'). After that first quest cassandra could have burst in and been like "ffff get to the point, I don't care about this." I also refer to those fetch quests where you didn't know there was a quest until you loot the item. I just thought it was a bizarre from a lore perspective you grab random object A, then just happen to know that person C in location X needs it right now, so you go drop it off. These would have been something well suited for the chanter's board.
7) Lack of closeness with companions. I consider this a minor gripe because I think the characters and character development in the game is phenomenal, but I simply didn't feel as close to the characters in this game as I did the last. While it was awesome that each person had their own little area to retreat to, and you could see them interacting there, it just didn't have that intimate/relaxing feel that the campfire had from the first game. I didn't actively dislike it, but I think I preferred origins. In origins you could mess with your entire parties equipment, enchant things, sell/buy things, and chat with everyone in the same little area. In DA2, you had to travel to each individual area to see them. You had to actually add them to your party temporarily to switch their equipment, and in the case of Anders you could quick travel right to him, but then you'd have to walk all the way back around to the area exit (unless there's something I'm missing... please tell me if there is. I'd save myself a ton of time). Aveline was a decidedly lengthy walk there and back. Shops were in a completely different section altogether. It became something of a chore honestly, and I found my companion quests backing up, until I'd go do them all rapid fire making for very jaunty conversations.
Pros:
8) Dark Fantasy. This was actually dark fantasy, and I loved it. Start from the middle of act 2 continuing through the last act and ending just had me biting my nails (and occasionally swearing in consternation) the whole time. Certain parts left me feeling completely unsettled and nervous, and other still took me completely by surprise (when I though I had it all figured out, nontheless). Seriously well done. Just.. wow. This is the kind of tale I was expecting from Origins. I don't think I've had the this kind of emotional reaction to a video game ever, and while it necessarily cheerful, it was still awesome.
9) Characters and character development. Once again, just brilliant. All of the characters felt very individual and earnest in their interactions with each other and the world. I really appreciated how the party dialogue was not always 'banter' as it were, but often reflected their mindset (for better or worse). Watching some of the character spiral downwards into madness or strengthening their resolve was something sorely lacking from origins which.. while it had really likeable characters, they tended to all be fairly agreeable/easily appeaseable and had malleable views(particularly due to the gift system). The characters in this game felt far more distinct and real than the characters in origins ever did for me. Sometimes they might betray you, or snark at you or in one case even snitch on you. I can't say I liked all the characters, but the ones I disliked were not poor characters. They simply disagreed with my views and were set in their ways, as real people are wont to do. Their quests were sometimes endearing and other times completely heartwrenching. I cannot commend you enough for the characters in this game.
10) Visuals. The non-interactable NPCs (some of them) are rather poorly rendered, but quite frankly since they were completely unrelated to anything going on ever I never looked at them closely (or even distantly). The detailed character models were improved (as well as the character creator), and the environments were fantastic. I mentioned this before up when I was discussing the reuse/restriction of environments, so I won't repeat myself again, but they were so much better than origins. Characters also appeared so much more distinct. This was in part due to the individual outfits and the detailing on them. I definitely preferred this to having all my rogues/mages wear carbon copy garb in a slightly different hue.
11) Morally difficult choices. I think this is the first game I've ever played where a good amount of the choices are actually.. grey areas. I can only think of one from origins, but in DA2 there were a some smattered throughout the game in both the main plot and side quests, and while it made the game 'difficult' , it was definitely appreciated. It's awesome to have actual difficult choices rather than "save the kittens" versus "doom orphans to eternal suffering." I finished the game some time ago and my mind is still reeling over some of the later decisions I made. I unfortunately can't rave about how much I enjoyed them because this is a spoiler free thread, but they were excellent.
12) Choices having an impact. Your friendship scores affected who would stand with you during critical moments. People you helped/hindered would often return in different capacities a number of times across the game. Who you took with you on certain missions mattered at points (sometimes life or death). It actually made me feel like I was doing something. I can't discuss this much more without spoilers though, either.
Overall, I found the story and characters to be far more engaging than origins, and for the most part the gameplay as well. There were just a couple areas where it seemed like shortcuts were taken (reused environments) or where, while I felt the idea was sound, in practice it wasn't as awesome as I thought (aka: restricted environments, waves of enemies).
#1878
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:04
smjones23
-
- Members
- 42 messages
I am loving the game so far. Cool story and I like the new art style and improved graphics. I also thoroughly enjoy the redesigned combat system. Love the anitmations for attack and I like how mages are way more badass. I don't know what people are complaining for. Mages in the first game would point their staffs and shoot. It looked pretty lame in comparison.The gore level is perfect, perhaps a bit over the top but no more than Fallout 3 for example. Love the moves and the skill trees. You can definitely see how much you guys decided to model this game more after Mass Effect II. Which is good and bad. Oh, and another beautiful soundtrack.
Some things that I don't like.
Combat seems unbalanced. It's fun, but there is no challenge most of the time. Hawke's voice is alright. Not a big fan at first, but now I'm used to it. I don't like how you guys reuse areas for quests. I understand that from the point of view of the story that it needed to be more focused location wise but I would like to have seem some other locales. I have ran into many tough moral choices. I have had a couple tough ones, but most are not quite as difficult choices as I was faced with in DA:O. I always thought it was impressive how much difficulty there was in making the right choice, more than any other game Bioware has done. I do wish you could have conversations with your party members more often. It's not like in the other games were you can talk to them at any time.
That's about all I have so far. It is a really good game. It's just a different experience from the first. In time people will see this is an awesome game. If you read anything about DA:2 before it was released you knew it was going to be different, but when you play it you will be surprised how much has stayed the same as well. Keep up the great work guys!
Some things that I don't like.
Combat seems unbalanced. It's fun, but there is no challenge most of the time. Hawke's voice is alright. Not a big fan at first, but now I'm used to it. I don't like how you guys reuse areas for quests. I understand that from the point of view of the story that it needed to be more focused location wise but I would like to have seem some other locales. I have ran into many tough moral choices. I have had a couple tough ones, but most are not quite as difficult choices as I was faced with in DA:O. I always thought it was impressive how much difficulty there was in making the right choice, more than any other game Bioware has done. I do wish you could have conversations with your party members more often. It's not like in the other games were you can talk to them at any time.
That's about all I have so far. It is a really good game. It's just a different experience from the first. In time people will see this is an awesome game. If you read anything about DA:2 before it was released you knew it was going to be different, but when you play it you will be surprised how much has stayed the same as well. Keep up the great work guys!
#1879
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:21
slipknotts
-
- Members
- 37 messages
Good Points...I don't know, I can't find *ANY* as this PoS is ***BROKEN*** as in never should have been released in this state.
Forget that Tactics are broken and completely do not work, as in useless. You can NOT even directly control a character, any character, and have them do what you want.
For instance if I send the warrior to attack a specific target they will *immediately* go attack someone else. If I set one character to stay put (as in do not move), that character will start moving -- especially into an area I don't want them in. How can battles be won if your army doesn't follow orders?
The only mode that offers *ANY* challenge is Nightmare and it is damn near impossible....not because it is too difficult -- but because the characters will not act out the orders given, which makes this game completely ***WORTHLESS***
I am thoroughly disappointed and November can not get here quickly enough....
11.11.11
Forget that Tactics are broken and completely do not work, as in useless. You can NOT even directly control a character, any character, and have them do what you want.
For instance if I send the warrior to attack a specific target they will *immediately* go attack someone else. If I set one character to stay put (as in do not move), that character will start moving -- especially into an area I don't want them in. How can battles be won if your army doesn't follow orders?
The only mode that offers *ANY* challenge is Nightmare and it is damn near impossible....not because it is too difficult -- but because the characters will not act out the orders given, which makes this game completely ***WORTHLESS***
I am thoroughly disappointed and November can not get here quickly enough....
11.11.11
Modifié par slipknotts, 15 mars 2011 - 09:24 .
#1880
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:22
Blippoman
-
- Members
- 8 messages
Finished my first play through as a 2H Warrior (Xbox 360),
started on my second.
Armor and Upgrade System:
I quite enjoyed that I didn't have to keep track of my whole groups equipment. Weapons, Rings, Belts and Necklaces was enough, sometimes even that was hard to keep up with and I tended to forget to replace old equipment for my companions. The only negative thing I found was that your companions tended to look the same through out the game, with a few exceptions. I would have liked if the upgrades found along the way changed the apperance as well. On second thought maybe they did? if they did change the appearance in any way it didn't change enough for me to notice any change. I would have liked to see changes to all companions outfits after every arc. Because, who wears the same outfit for three years? let alone for a complete ten year time.
When you could only equip your main character with armor, it did feel like a bit of a waste when you found a lot of armor for other classes then your own. But it also felt good that you instantly knew if you were keeping or selling armor, because if your main can't use it there is no reason to hold on to it. I would also have iked to see a couple of more armors and sets.
Map Re-Usage:
This I found really evident, it felt like there were only 4-5 different "dungeon" maps that you kept going back to and just starting at different points, or doing them backwards. It made a lot of missions feel like a grind because you were running through the same korridors, you knew where the loot would be and where mobs would spawn.
Combat:
I really enjoyed the combat, it felt more fluid and I liked the idea of the cross class combos. I only found it hard to figure out how to trigger the different states like STAGGERD, BRITTLE, DISSORIENTED. Brittle was probably the easiest one to figure out, but I would have liked to see more of the mage skill trees being able to make enemies brittle. I had the most difficulty with causing DISSORIENTED enemies, I don't think I managed to get a single enemy into that state yet. Looking at the Rogue skill tree I couldn't really figure out which skills caused it either.
It sometimes felt a little silly when enemies kept exploding in little blood clouds all the time. I would have liked to see some more dismemberments and maybe final moves against elites and bosses.
Save-Imports from DA:O:
I would have liked to see a little more effects from the decisions my DA:O character made. I imported my character from the auto-save after I finished the Witch Hunt, that character had played through Awakening and the original story previous to that game. Something I would have liked to see from the import save game screen would be some of the mayor decisions made by that character. Just to get feedback that my decisions have been properly acknowledged during the import, and also as a bit of a reminder of what you had done previously.
There were only two-three times that I got reference to what my Hero of Ferelden had done. One was a reference to the Architect, but as I don't remember what my decision was there I felt mostly confused. The second I think might have been refering to some of the actions during Vigils keep. The third I didn't even notice during my own playthough but heard from a friend who also play DA2. He met a character from DA:O in the Hanged Man that I didn't, during my playthrough. Which is probably because I decided to do "something else" with that character. But maybe instead of completly missing out on that interaction I would like to have seen like a reference to the way my DA:O character choose to handle that situation.
Other:
I liked the time aspect, how you got to follow your character over a longer period of time. But to reflect that I would have liked to se a bit more change in your companions.
I would have liked to be able to change equipment for all your companions while you're in Hawk's house. Because thats where you have acess to your "stash" as well. I ended up going to hawks house and retrieving a lot of equipment from the chest. Then going to one of my companions houses to equip my companions, because they are quicker to load and have access to the group change function.
Voice acting and cinematics where really good, and really helped with the immersion. There was only one time I reacted over the voice acting and that was when I met two children in Darktown, where there voices felt a little more grown up then their appearance. The younger out of the two's voice even felt older, which made for a bit of a comic moment that I don't think was ment to be funny.
On the whole, I did really enjoy the game. Would also like to see some more DLC adventures in the near future.
started on my second.
Armor and Upgrade System:
I quite enjoyed that I didn't have to keep track of my whole groups equipment. Weapons, Rings, Belts and Necklaces was enough, sometimes even that was hard to keep up with and I tended to forget to replace old equipment for my companions. The only negative thing I found was that your companions tended to look the same through out the game, with a few exceptions. I would have liked if the upgrades found along the way changed the apperance as well. On second thought maybe they did? if they did change the appearance in any way it didn't change enough for me to notice any change. I would have liked to see changes to all companions outfits after every arc. Because, who wears the same outfit for three years? let alone for a complete ten year time.
When you could only equip your main character with armor, it did feel like a bit of a waste when you found a lot of armor for other classes then your own. But it also felt good that you instantly knew if you were keeping or selling armor, because if your main can't use it there is no reason to hold on to it. I would also have iked to see a couple of more armors and sets.
Map Re-Usage:
This I found really evident, it felt like there were only 4-5 different "dungeon" maps that you kept going back to and just starting at different points, or doing them backwards. It made a lot of missions feel like a grind because you were running through the same korridors, you knew where the loot would be and where mobs would spawn.
Combat:
I really enjoyed the combat, it felt more fluid and I liked the idea of the cross class combos. I only found it hard to figure out how to trigger the different states like STAGGERD, BRITTLE, DISSORIENTED. Brittle was probably the easiest one to figure out, but I would have liked to see more of the mage skill trees being able to make enemies brittle. I had the most difficulty with causing DISSORIENTED enemies, I don't think I managed to get a single enemy into that state yet. Looking at the Rogue skill tree I couldn't really figure out which skills caused it either.
It sometimes felt a little silly when enemies kept exploding in little blood clouds all the time. I would have liked to see some more dismemberments and maybe final moves against elites and bosses.
Save-Imports from DA:O:
I would have liked to see a little more effects from the decisions my DA:O character made. I imported my character from the auto-save after I finished the Witch Hunt, that character had played through Awakening and the original story previous to that game. Something I would have liked to see from the import save game screen would be some of the mayor decisions made by that character. Just to get feedback that my decisions have been properly acknowledged during the import, and also as a bit of a reminder of what you had done previously.
There were only two-three times that I got reference to what my Hero of Ferelden had done. One was a reference to the Architect, but as I don't remember what my decision was there I felt mostly confused. The second I think might have been refering to some of the actions during Vigils keep. The third I didn't even notice during my own playthough but heard from a friend who also play DA2. He met a character from DA:O in the Hanged Man that I didn't, during my playthrough. Which is probably because I decided to do "something else" with that character. But maybe instead of completly missing out on that interaction I would like to have seen like a reference to the way my DA:O character choose to handle that situation.
Other:
I liked the time aspect, how you got to follow your character over a longer period of time. But to reflect that I would have liked to se a bit more change in your companions.
I would have liked to be able to change equipment for all your companions while you're in Hawk's house. Because thats where you have acess to your "stash" as well. I ended up going to hawks house and retrieving a lot of equipment from the chest. Then going to one of my companions houses to equip my companions, because they are quicker to load and have access to the group change function.
Voice acting and cinematics where really good, and really helped with the immersion. There was only one time I reacted over the voice acting and that was when I met two children in Darktown, where there voices felt a little more grown up then their appearance. The younger out of the two's voice even felt older, which made for a bit of a comic moment that I don't think was ment to be funny.
On the whole, I did really enjoy the game. Would also like to see some more DLC adventures in the near future.
#1881
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:30
ArchAngel1337
-
- Members
- 3 messages
DA2 is a complete failure for Bioware on a fanbase level. The game is great visually, but jesus the story is so jumpy and NOTHING you do feels like you make a difference at all.
The dialogue is all smartass except for maybe sometimes if you pick the "good" option.
I have no connection to my character at all in the begining of the game. No reason to give a crap about whats going on, or even feel sorry for my brother dying.
And worse yet, my character has a voice, which unlike in ME, is done with a british accent so I cant really feel the connection, and also because the voice is not generic enough, you feel like now when he talks, its not you saying the words. RPGs, the good ones bioware has done, always speak through the mind of the reader or listener in every fashion. This game was not just rushed, but whomever was the project director, and whomever switched the fighting and mapping mode out need to be fired and never allowed back. The game feels like a slowpaced Ninja Gaiden in combat, not a stark medieval battle of evil vs good.
I am highly disappointed in this outcome. I hope Bioward AND EA both feel a sharp hurt in their pockets and I hope the game does FAR less than expected so they can do a complete review and 180, and go back to their roots.
The dialogue is all smartass except for maybe sometimes if you pick the "good" option.
I have no connection to my character at all in the begining of the game. No reason to give a crap about whats going on, or even feel sorry for my brother dying.
And worse yet, my character has a voice, which unlike in ME, is done with a british accent so I cant really feel the connection, and also because the voice is not generic enough, you feel like now when he talks, its not you saying the words. RPGs, the good ones bioware has done, always speak through the mind of the reader or listener in every fashion. This game was not just rushed, but whomever was the project director, and whomever switched the fighting and mapping mode out need to be fired and never allowed back. The game feels like a slowpaced Ninja Gaiden in combat, not a stark medieval battle of evil vs good.
I am highly disappointed in this outcome. I hope Bioward AND EA both feel a sharp hurt in their pockets and I hope the game does FAR less than expected so they can do a complete review and 180, and go back to their roots.
#1882
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:34
nl37tgt
-
- Members
- 1 messages
Just finished a blind playthrough (no help from wikis and the like) on console (figured I'd rent it first) without any of the DLC. I come away disappointed. Keep in mind, I'm 30 years old and have been playing videogames for at least 25 of them, I'm tough to impress.
I own Dragon Age: Origins and all of the DLC on PC, love it though some of the DLC was a bit lacking. Also own Mass Effect 1 and 2, liked those too. This one I won't be buying unless it's on sale for 5 bucks a few years down the road with all the DLC. Here's why:
1.) The repeated use of the same maps. Really lazy. A main staple of RPG's is exploration. Without new scenery at nearly every turn it becomes boring. The gameworld doesn't have an epic feel and cheapens the whole experience.
2.) Combat, although it's faster, typically boils down to button mashing which gets dull and repetitive quick. Also, the wave upon wave of enemies appearing from thin air is evidence of poor design. Boss fights are 15 minute mashfest while occassionally keeping your companions alive. How people are saying this in an improvement is beyond me.
3.) Companions don't have the same impact or level of personality. They all kind of fall flat.
4.) The story doesn't have the epic feel it should have. It's decent, but half way in it's easy to figure out what is gonna happen in the end and the rest feels like unneeded filler. Sure it's somewhat convoluted, but predictable.
5.) I don't feel compelled to play through it again to mess with the other classes or tinker with different outcomes from responses. I pretty much slogged through the game looking for redeeming qualities that would warrant an immediate purchase.
Now on to some other things that irk me.
Darkspawn design, they really have changed. They seem less imposing and menacing now, even though they play a smaller part. Actually, they look almost generic. And where did the Genlocks go? And the Shrieks?
Creature recycling. I saw a critter from an Origins DLC folded into the main plot. Couldn't think of something original? Not to mention the overuse of the standard fare dragons, spiders, undead, and the list of humanoids. there's not a lot of variety. You'd think they'd have different critters in different parts of the DA world.
Cameos from DA: O that have little to no bearing in this game other than to vaguely tie the two games together. What for?
Junk. A poor design idea. Seriously, it seems like a fast way to try to balance an ingame "economy" and clog up an inventory at the same time.
Crafting. Decent idea. Not executed well. Crafted items are more of a novelty than a necessity now. And having to retrace and search every map for new resources every act even when you don't have a reason to go there is again, evidence of poor design or a rush job.
Releasing DLC on the day of launch. That really annoys me. It just screams corporate greed in my ears. I think publishers and developers are getting a little carried away with pumping out DLC.
It's no secret this game was designed for consoles from the start. It shows in everything. Very dumbed down. Taking an instant PC classic and spitting out a decent made for console sequel might make business sense, but it's a good way to possibly kill a franchise. I'm not totally sure it's worthy of the scores it's getting from the various websites and publications. If it were me doing the reviews you tout on the game's website, you'd be looking at 7 out of 10 just based off this singular game, with no weight added or subtracted from the existence DA: O.
DA: O was a nice juicy steak for gamers in general, a glance of what games can be when done extremely well. Worth paying for and playing over and over again.
DA2 is a lukewarm hotdog with no bun....or ketchup. Cranked out fast to feed the masses who either have never seen a steak, are still looking for a steak, or think a steak and a hotdog taste the same. What most good original IP's turn into when the suits in the big office decide they want a sequel these days. A fast cash grab worth forgetting.
Bioware, your original games are usually great, the sequels seem to stumble. Your mission should be to improve on the core of the original in the first sequel, not try to reinvent everything and turn it into something else. Basically, you're trying too hard.
If you make another DA, take your time if EA lets you. I don't care if it takes 10 years. Same goes for Mass Effect.
Actually, I think I'll blame EA for this one. They're good at cranking out inferior sequels till they milk a franchise to it's death.
I own Dragon Age: Origins and all of the DLC on PC, love it though some of the DLC was a bit lacking. Also own Mass Effect 1 and 2, liked those too. This one I won't be buying unless it's on sale for 5 bucks a few years down the road with all the DLC. Here's why:
1.) The repeated use of the same maps. Really lazy. A main staple of RPG's is exploration. Without new scenery at nearly every turn it becomes boring. The gameworld doesn't have an epic feel and cheapens the whole experience.
2.) Combat, although it's faster, typically boils down to button mashing which gets dull and repetitive quick. Also, the wave upon wave of enemies appearing from thin air is evidence of poor design. Boss fights are 15 minute mashfest while occassionally keeping your companions alive. How people are saying this in an improvement is beyond me.
3.) Companions don't have the same impact or level of personality. They all kind of fall flat.
4.) The story doesn't have the epic feel it should have. It's decent, but half way in it's easy to figure out what is gonna happen in the end and the rest feels like unneeded filler. Sure it's somewhat convoluted, but predictable.
5.) I don't feel compelled to play through it again to mess with the other classes or tinker with different outcomes from responses. I pretty much slogged through the game looking for redeeming qualities that would warrant an immediate purchase.
Now on to some other things that irk me.
Darkspawn design, they really have changed. They seem less imposing and menacing now, even though they play a smaller part. Actually, they look almost generic. And where did the Genlocks go? And the Shrieks?
Creature recycling. I saw a critter from an Origins DLC folded into the main plot. Couldn't think of something original? Not to mention the overuse of the standard fare dragons, spiders, undead, and the list of humanoids. there's not a lot of variety. You'd think they'd have different critters in different parts of the DA world.
Cameos from DA: O that have little to no bearing in this game other than to vaguely tie the two games together. What for?
Junk. A poor design idea. Seriously, it seems like a fast way to try to balance an ingame "economy" and clog up an inventory at the same time.
Crafting. Decent idea. Not executed well. Crafted items are more of a novelty than a necessity now. And having to retrace and search every map for new resources every act even when you don't have a reason to go there is again, evidence of poor design or a rush job.
Releasing DLC on the day of launch. That really annoys me. It just screams corporate greed in my ears. I think publishers and developers are getting a little carried away with pumping out DLC.
It's no secret this game was designed for consoles from the start. It shows in everything. Very dumbed down. Taking an instant PC classic and spitting out a decent made for console sequel might make business sense, but it's a good way to possibly kill a franchise. I'm not totally sure it's worthy of the scores it's getting from the various websites and publications. If it were me doing the reviews you tout on the game's website, you'd be looking at 7 out of 10 just based off this singular game, with no weight added or subtracted from the existence DA: O.
DA: O was a nice juicy steak for gamers in general, a glance of what games can be when done extremely well. Worth paying for and playing over and over again.
DA2 is a lukewarm hotdog with no bun....or ketchup. Cranked out fast to feed the masses who either have never seen a steak, are still looking for a steak, or think a steak and a hotdog taste the same. What most good original IP's turn into when the suits in the big office decide they want a sequel these days. A fast cash grab worth forgetting.
Bioware, your original games are usually great, the sequels seem to stumble. Your mission should be to improve on the core of the original in the first sequel, not try to reinvent everything and turn it into something else. Basically, you're trying too hard.
If you make another DA, take your time if EA lets you. I don't care if it takes 10 years. Same goes for Mass Effect.
Actually, I think I'll blame EA for this one. They're good at cranking out inferior sequels till they milk a franchise to it's death.
Modifié par nl37tgt, 15 mars 2011 - 09:39 .
#1883
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:34
Orbytel
-
- Members
- 38 messages
Xbox 360 Version
I loved the original Dragon Age, and most of the DLC (downloadable content) that followed, investing over 126 hours into the series. Being a long time Role Playing Gamer (going back to the days of the old text based RPG), there are certain features that I look for in a game, whether it be a new IP or the next installment in a series.
There have been a fair few negative reviews of Dragon Age 2, which I feel is due to the comparison with Dragon Age: Origins. I honestly believe that if DA:2 had been released as the first, the general feedback and scores would be a lot more positive. But, Dragon Age: Origins was released first and set a standard, so it is completely reasonable for the community to compare the two titles.
Dragon Age Origins wasn't perfect, it had a few flaws which needed attention, but it had a formula that attracted many and kept them playing for months. Many, including myself, expected Dragon Age 2 to address those issues, and result in a product that would shadow it's predecessor. Unfortunately, the most common feedback that I receive from others who have played the game is that Dragon Age 2 feels "dumbed down". While I don't necessarily agree with that statement, I do feel that some crucial features have been either removed or 'streamlined', resulting in an experience that feels slightly empty.
Your story starts as Hawke, a member of a family who has fled their home after being invaded by Darkspawn. You end up in Kirkwall, as a refugee, befriending locals and undertaking quests. Unfortunately, the colour (not a typo, I'm an Aussie) scheme is fairly drab. Kirkwall is supposed to come across as a bland and boring city, but within a few hours you begin to cherish the brief moments you spend on the coast and mountains as a change of scenery.
The first few visits to these coastal and mountain areas are exciting, but it changes when you realise that the same areas are reused on several occasions. This isn't restricted to quests, many of which take place in the exact same dungeon/mine/sewer, but random instances always seem to occur in the exact same location. It also appears that the architect of Kirkwall decided on one design for the entire city, as many of the building interiors (from pubs, brothels, enemy hideouts and party members' houses) are identical in layout. This is made worse by the fact that treasure chests and other lootable items are
always found in the same locations.
The world also feels rather empty, as both citizens and vendors are relatively sparse. This ultimately results in a very empty feeling experience, leaving you wondering if you smell bad or perhaps missed an invitation to another party.
One of the great features in Dragon Age: Origins (any many other RPGs to date) has been the ability to equip your party with new gear, changing their look and statistics for strategic and tactical purposes. For example, if I were about to fight a gigantic electric dragon, I should be able to equip each of my team with armor or clothing that has electrical resistance etc. I don't like being restricted to equip only the main character, or only being able to use enchantment as a means of applying bonus statistics to other party members. Chances are, I wont have an enchanter with me in the depths of a dungeon, being cornered by a fire-breathing dragon.
Speaking of combat, for console gamers, the introduction of manual attacks has given a new spin on fighting. Personally I found this to be an excellent means of improving an already great combat system, as it increases combat speed and makes you feel a little more in control. For those who preferred the old style combat, there was supposidly an option to re-enable auto-attack, although this feature is currently absent.
In DA:O, I often found myself being able to use the quick slots to deal with many combat situations, only resorting to pause, strategise and plot moves on occasion. This has improved in DA:2, now requiring constant revision of your strategies on the battlefield, with new enemies joining the fight mid-combat, dropping in from roof tops or piling in through closed doorways.
There is no shortage of enemies and they come hard and fast in great hordes. This is a slight change of pace although you feel slightly overpowered, even on hard mode, as most foes fall like lambs to the slaughter. This was apparantly intentional, and the reason for the absence of ability stacking, as enemies hit the dirt long before you could execute your next move. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I prefer the new style of hording, as I often get the feeling that the Darkspawn are weaklings, and that the hero of Ferelden could of been a grandma swinging a broom.
Another change is the introduction of the Mass Effect style Conversation Wheel. There is a varied response to this, as many people claim that the descriptions on the wheel don't give enough information regarding your converstation responses. Although it doesn't happen often, I have found myself on occasion selecting what I though was "thanks!" not, "Give me all your money or i'll slit your throat!". On a personal note, I do prefer the converstation wheel iconography to the lengthy text.
As with most new release titles, there have been a few issues regarding bugs with Dragon Age 2, many which you can find on the bioware forums. Many of these have been addressed fairly quickly, although some glitches (such as playing on a non-hd tv) have left people unable to play at all. At present, I am just over 20 hours into the game, beginning the second act. I have come across only two bugs, one which resulted in all my party members constantly regenerating health and not using any stamina, and the other where the ability wheel was working in reverse (combat continued while it was on screen, and paused while it was offscreen). Both of these issues were fixed by a reload of my last save.
Dragon Age 2 feels rushed and unfinished. Perhaps an additional 12 months in development would have resulted in a game that was as rich with content and felt as engrossing as most other Bioware titles. Although the claim has been denied, if the aim of this title was to appeal to a wider audience, surely options could have been implemented to allow for character equipping as well as features such as auto attack. Hopefully, many of these issues can be resolved with an update, although the response to many of these issues has been that the game has been "designed that way".
As it stands in its current state, i'd give DA:2 a 7/10.
Cheers
I loved the original Dragon Age, and most of the DLC (downloadable content) that followed, investing over 126 hours into the series. Being a long time Role Playing Gamer (going back to the days of the old text based RPG), there are certain features that I look for in a game, whether it be a new IP or the next installment in a series.
There have been a fair few negative reviews of Dragon Age 2, which I feel is due to the comparison with Dragon Age: Origins. I honestly believe that if DA:2 had been released as the first, the general feedback and scores would be a lot more positive. But, Dragon Age: Origins was released first and set a standard, so it is completely reasonable for the community to compare the two titles.
Dragon Age Origins wasn't perfect, it had a few flaws which needed attention, but it had a formula that attracted many and kept them playing for months. Many, including myself, expected Dragon Age 2 to address those issues, and result in a product that would shadow it's predecessor. Unfortunately, the most common feedback that I receive from others who have played the game is that Dragon Age 2 feels "dumbed down". While I don't necessarily agree with that statement, I do feel that some crucial features have been either removed or 'streamlined', resulting in an experience that feels slightly empty.
Your story starts as Hawke, a member of a family who has fled their home after being invaded by Darkspawn. You end up in Kirkwall, as a refugee, befriending locals and undertaking quests. Unfortunately, the colour (not a typo, I'm an Aussie) scheme is fairly drab. Kirkwall is supposed to come across as a bland and boring city, but within a few hours you begin to cherish the brief moments you spend on the coast and mountains as a change of scenery.
The first few visits to these coastal and mountain areas are exciting, but it changes when you realise that the same areas are reused on several occasions. This isn't restricted to quests, many of which take place in the exact same dungeon/mine/sewer, but random instances always seem to occur in the exact same location. It also appears that the architect of Kirkwall decided on one design for the entire city, as many of the building interiors (from pubs, brothels, enemy hideouts and party members' houses) are identical in layout. This is made worse by the fact that treasure chests and other lootable items are
always found in the same locations.
The world also feels rather empty, as both citizens and vendors are relatively sparse. This ultimately results in a very empty feeling experience, leaving you wondering if you smell bad or perhaps missed an invitation to another party.
One of the great features in Dragon Age: Origins (any many other RPGs to date) has been the ability to equip your party with new gear, changing their look and statistics for strategic and tactical purposes. For example, if I were about to fight a gigantic electric dragon, I should be able to equip each of my team with armor or clothing that has electrical resistance etc. I don't like being restricted to equip only the main character, or only being able to use enchantment as a means of applying bonus statistics to other party members. Chances are, I wont have an enchanter with me in the depths of a dungeon, being cornered by a fire-breathing dragon.
Speaking of combat, for console gamers, the introduction of manual attacks has given a new spin on fighting. Personally I found this to be an excellent means of improving an already great combat system, as it increases combat speed and makes you feel a little more in control. For those who preferred the old style combat, there was supposidly an option to re-enable auto-attack, although this feature is currently absent.
In DA:O, I often found myself being able to use the quick slots to deal with many combat situations, only resorting to pause, strategise and plot moves on occasion. This has improved in DA:2, now requiring constant revision of your strategies on the battlefield, with new enemies joining the fight mid-combat, dropping in from roof tops or piling in through closed doorways.
There is no shortage of enemies and they come hard and fast in great hordes. This is a slight change of pace although you feel slightly overpowered, even on hard mode, as most foes fall like lambs to the slaughter. This was apparantly intentional, and the reason for the absence of ability stacking, as enemies hit the dirt long before you could execute your next move. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I prefer the new style of hording, as I often get the feeling that the Darkspawn are weaklings, and that the hero of Ferelden could of been a grandma swinging a broom.
Another change is the introduction of the Mass Effect style Conversation Wheel. There is a varied response to this, as many people claim that the descriptions on the wheel don't give enough information regarding your converstation responses. Although it doesn't happen often, I have found myself on occasion selecting what I though was "thanks!" not, "Give me all your money or i'll slit your throat!". On a personal note, I do prefer the converstation wheel iconography to the lengthy text.
As with most new release titles, there have been a few issues regarding bugs with Dragon Age 2, many which you can find on the bioware forums. Many of these have been addressed fairly quickly, although some glitches (such as playing on a non-hd tv) have left people unable to play at all. At present, I am just over 20 hours into the game, beginning the second act. I have come across only two bugs, one which resulted in all my party members constantly regenerating health and not using any stamina, and the other where the ability wheel was working in reverse (combat continued while it was on screen, and paused while it was offscreen). Both of these issues were fixed by a reload of my last save.
Dragon Age 2 feels rushed and unfinished. Perhaps an additional 12 months in development would have resulted in a game that was as rich with content and felt as engrossing as most other Bioware titles. Although the claim has been denied, if the aim of this title was to appeal to a wider audience, surely options could have been implemented to allow for character equipping as well as features such as auto attack. Hopefully, many of these issues can be resolved with an update, although the response to many of these issues has been that the game has been "designed that way".
As it stands in its current state, i'd give DA:2 a 7/10.
Cheers
Modifié par Orbytel, 15 mars 2011 - 09:51 .
#1884
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:48
SexBomb
-
- Members
- 101 messages
The biggest let-down about DAII isn't even the unfortunately terrible game itself, but the fact that with all the good reviews it's getting, Bioware might not even learn from this experience.
#1885
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:53
Balerion84
-
- Members
- 388 messages
I'll make this brief and I'm going to be critical so that I can dream and hope that the DA team will wake up.
Warning: I did not finish the game yet (I'm somewhere after Deep Roads, lvl 15)
1. Story is all over the place. I'm running around doing side quests just to get XP and I honestly have no idea what the main story actually is and why the hell I'm actually doing all that stuff.
2. Isometric camera. I want it back. Badly. And I don't buy the reasons that designers could make nice ceilings or whatever when they didn't have to worry about isometric camera.
3. Copy/Paste dungeons. This just reeks of rushed & lazy.
4. Armors. Either stick to ME2 formula or DA:O and classic rpg. What's the point of having all those armors in the game when as a mage I can't use them and their only purpose is for me to sell them and get money. I didn't complain about this in ME2, it worked there just fine (hint: class restrictions) but in DA2 it. Does. Not. Work.
These are the main issues for me.
Overall, the game feels rushed, lacks focus (and I'm not talking about linearity of the story, but it's like the development team couldn't agree on what they wanted in the game).
It's not a bad game mind you, but also not good enough for pre-order. If I knew what I was getting into, I'd wait for some bargain deal.
I'm a faithful BioWare fanboy since Baldur's Gate and for the first time I'm disappointed, even with my rose tinted fanboy glasses on. Pull yourself together guys, this is NOT BioWare quality game.
Warning: I did not finish the game yet (I'm somewhere after Deep Roads, lvl 15)
1. Story is all over the place. I'm running around doing side quests just to get XP and I honestly have no idea what the main story actually is and why the hell I'm actually doing all that stuff.
2. Isometric camera. I want it back. Badly. And I don't buy the reasons that designers could make nice ceilings or whatever when they didn't have to worry about isometric camera.
3. Copy/Paste dungeons. This just reeks of rushed & lazy.
4. Armors. Either stick to ME2 formula or DA:O and classic rpg. What's the point of having all those armors in the game when as a mage I can't use them and their only purpose is for me to sell them and get money. I didn't complain about this in ME2, it worked there just fine (hint: class restrictions) but in DA2 it. Does. Not. Work.
These are the main issues for me.
Overall, the game feels rushed, lacks focus (and I'm not talking about linearity of the story, but it's like the development team couldn't agree on what they wanted in the game).
It's not a bad game mind you, but also not good enough for pre-order. If I knew what I was getting into, I'd wait for some bargain deal.
I'm a faithful BioWare fanboy since Baldur's Gate and for the first time I'm disappointed, even with my rose tinted fanboy glasses on. Pull yourself together guys, this is NOT BioWare quality game.
#1886
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:57
StrikeThrex
-
- Members
- 9 messages
Overall 7.0
I thought it was a step down and over simplization on many
fronts, but overall it was a ok game, just not the level Ive come to expect
from bioware. I was doing pro's and cons but i was kinda lumping them together
so i'll just put my thoughts in here in categories.
Gameplay
Combat feels alot more fluid, would like the
pase slowed a little though, seems little to action oriented
The recycled enviourments are just downright
lazy in my view, take another year and flesh out the game if we are going to
shell out full price for it, or dont release it seriously ~
The quests could use some variely go here kill
stuff that spawns at the arrow and go back, yawn. Atleast the side quests had
some good story in them.
The outrageous jump across the screen and kill
20 enemies in one blow needs to go, well i know its not that much but you get
my point, could me wrong here, but it seems like your cateoring to the action
audiance here. Feeling powerful is good,
but this went a little to far.
Smaller amounts of stronger smarter enimies,
seems like i was fighting zerg at times.
Talent tree's, yes they where pretty pointless
in origins, but you know we can improve? Create more interesting builds, not
just "oh the sucked axe them" imo.
The inventory system i liked better overall,
since i rarly do crafting, i dont like not being able to equip armor on my
companions though, thought that was lazy also.
What did mages every do to you? Seriously poor
guys got the nerf bat hard. Not as bad, but tanks seem a lot weaker, feel
almost like starting over cause i choce to make a tank, my favorite play
through in origins.
Story
SSLLLOWWWW starting story, think it should pick
up faster. Also dont like the wheel and xyz choices, need a bit more non clear
cut choices. Not to mention they all seem to lead to the same place, i know
going through origins i heard a lot of new things making different choices.
I obsolioutly loved the characters, like usal,
other then Anders he was just annoying. But they needed more lines, i mean i
cant talk to them at all really? Really liked the fact the main character is
voiced now, yay!
Romance's options seemed simple, and not
everyone swings both ways you know
Some chars only hetro etc, also can we
not put the romance options so blatently obvious? So i atleast have to be
paying attention.
I want the templar's to all die in the fire slow
and painfully...maybe this was designed, but i did like a few of the templar
characters in origins, or atleast didnt want to kill every one i saw.
Same with the chantry i want to burn most
everything in Da2
Graphics
Middle on alot of this, really liked some new
models like the Quari, which was very bland in origins, but the darkspawn
looked like zombies to me, i kill zombies in enough games already k?
Like most bioware games i have issues running
there game, mostly just the game will pause for a couple seconds, almost
thought it will freeze then will pick up, crashes are about the same as when i
played origings, pretty rare.
Facial expressions, um ya fix them or the lack
of them, not to mention the "love" scenes heh.
Looking back on this it does seem im a little negative on a
lot of parts, but honestly i feel disapointed in the game, a little in the
company for this. Ive bought ever single bioware game that has come out since
neverwinter nights and i feel almost abanded, like you gave up on us and are
moving on to other pastures. Thats not to say it was horrible, it had some good
parts, and Im not saying origins was perfect but i thought it was pretty good
and played through it 3 complete times so far one and a half times before i
touched any other games, this i stopped at around 20 hours in and dont feel
like touching it for awhile...
I do appriate that you are asking for our thoughts and
hopefully someone will read these, just a little dissapointed that one more
name is gone from my list of buying what games they make automattiacly. I do
hope you take the time to read through these and adjust as nessessary to bring
back the RPG in your future games, seems like a action game with a story now.
I thought it was a step down and over simplization on many
fronts, but overall it was a ok game, just not the level Ive come to expect
from bioware. I was doing pro's and cons but i was kinda lumping them together
so i'll just put my thoughts in here in categories.
Gameplay
Combat feels alot more fluid, would like the
pase slowed a little though, seems little to action oriented
The recycled enviourments are just downright
lazy in my view, take another year and flesh out the game if we are going to
shell out full price for it, or dont release it seriously ~
The quests could use some variely go here kill
stuff that spawns at the arrow and go back, yawn. Atleast the side quests had
some good story in them.
The outrageous jump across the screen and kill
20 enemies in one blow needs to go, well i know its not that much but you get
my point, could me wrong here, but it seems like your cateoring to the action
audiance here. Feeling powerful is good,
but this went a little to far.
Smaller amounts of stronger smarter enimies,
seems like i was fighting zerg at times.
Talent tree's, yes they where pretty pointless
in origins, but you know we can improve? Create more interesting builds, not
just "oh the sucked axe them" imo.
The inventory system i liked better overall,
since i rarly do crafting, i dont like not being able to equip armor on my
companions though, thought that was lazy also.
What did mages every do to you? Seriously poor
guys got the nerf bat hard. Not as bad, but tanks seem a lot weaker, feel
almost like starting over cause i choce to make a tank, my favorite play
through in origins.
Story
SSLLLOWWWW starting story, think it should pick
up faster. Also dont like the wheel and xyz choices, need a bit more non clear
cut choices. Not to mention they all seem to lead to the same place, i know
going through origins i heard a lot of new things making different choices.
I obsolioutly loved the characters, like usal,
other then Anders he was just annoying. But they needed more lines, i mean i
cant talk to them at all really? Really liked the fact the main character is
voiced now, yay!
Romance's options seemed simple, and not
everyone swings both ways you know
Some chars only hetro etc, also can wenot put the romance options so blatently obvious? So i atleast have to be
paying attention.
I want the templar's to all die in the fire slow
and painfully...maybe this was designed, but i did like a few of the templar
characters in origins, or atleast didnt want to kill every one i saw.
Same with the chantry i want to burn most
everything in Da2
Graphics
Middle on alot of this, really liked some new
models like the Quari, which was very bland in origins, but the darkspawn
looked like zombies to me, i kill zombies in enough games already k?
Like most bioware games i have issues running
there game, mostly just the game will pause for a couple seconds, almost
thought it will freeze then will pick up, crashes are about the same as when i
played origings, pretty rare.
Facial expressions, um ya fix them or the lack
of them, not to mention the "love" scenes heh.
Looking back on this it does seem im a little negative on a
lot of parts, but honestly i feel disapointed in the game, a little in the
company for this. Ive bought ever single bioware game that has come out since
neverwinter nights and i feel almost abanded, like you gave up on us and are
moving on to other pastures. Thats not to say it was horrible, it had some good
parts, and Im not saying origins was perfect but i thought it was pretty good
and played through it 3 complete times so far one and a half times before i
touched any other games, this i stopped at around 20 hours in and dont feel
like touching it for awhile...
I do appriate that you are asking for our thoughts and
hopefully someone will read these, just a little dissapointed that one more
name is gone from my list of buying what games they make automattiacly. I do
hope you take the time to read through these and adjust as nessessary to bring
back the RPG in your future games, seems like a action game with a story now.
Modifié par StrikeThrex, 15 mars 2011 - 10:04 .
#1887
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 09:59
Orbytel
-
- Members
- 38 messages
Balerion84 wrote...
I'm a faithful BioWare fanboy since Baldur's Gate and for the first time I'm disappointed, even with my rose tinted fanboy glasses on. Pull yourself together guys, this is NOT BioWare quality game.
This statement reflects what I think so many of us feel.
Most of us are dedicated fans who have been with you since your early days, and this is really disappointing.
#1888
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 10:05
StrikeThrex
-
- Members
- 9 messages
Orbytel wrote...
Balerion84 wrote...
I'm a faithful BioWare fanboy since Baldur's Gate and for the first time I'm disappointed, even with my rose tinted fanboy glasses on. Pull yourself together guys, this is NOT BioWare quality game.
This statement reflects what I think so many of us feel.
Most of us are dedicated fans who have been with you since your early days, and this is really disappointing.
This ~
#1889
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 10:22
wormworm
-
- Members
- 5 messages
I am only about 1 hour+ into the game and here are my initial thoughts and might changed if I progress further into the game.
Pros
-------
1. Graphics is a smooth and fast on the same hardware as my DAO.
2. I do like the changes in some aspect such as you no longer have to maneuver the character to the back of the enemy to back stab. With a click of a button, the character will automatically move to the back and backstab. Granted, I am not so much of a tactical combat person even though I enjoyed BG1, BG2, and DAO greatly, so tactical combat lovers might find all these toning down a turn off.
3. I have no problem with the dialogue wheel, it is not as bad as initially thought.
Cons
-------
1. Even with improved graphics, PC voice over, emotion selection in dialogues, I somehow do not find the game immersive. Strange huh? Maybe the story was progressing too fast? The biggest minus point is the story is based on narratives. You move from one scene to another scene via Varric's narration, without experiencing the journey yourself. Example, Varric would say 1 year has passed, what? What have I done in the past year? I don't feel connected at all.
Something is really amiss in DA2. In DAO as the Human Noble Origin, I got connected with the family members immediately, and I was almost in tears towards the last part when leaving the senior Couslands to die. My heart was heavy and filled with hatred towards Arl Howe when I reached Ostagar. On contrary, I have no feelings towards any of the Hawke family members...
2. Bad Environment. DAO set the stage and environment very nicely towards the Battle of Ostagar. The general atmosphere in Ostagar is gloomy, and there is a sense of end of world is coming, and darkspawns are really something to fear. A wrong move in Kocari Wild and Battle of Ostagar, your party would get wiped. I would thread very carefully, prepare myself, and constantly saving the game; whereas in DA2, I would just rush towards the the horde and blasted them into pieces... Gee, if Duncan had picked the Hawkes as Grey Wardens, the blight would probably have ended in Ostagar. I do not feel the fear, desperation, and uncertainty of the Hawkes at all. Perhaps they should start the story from Lothering, giving a brief introduction of the family, and experience the desperation when darkspawns descend upon the village.
3. Too much cutscenes. I do not know about other players, but I think the cutscenes are overdone-- every few steps you make, a cutscene, take another few steps, another cutscene. It is like watching a movie rather than playing a game. BG1 & BG2 both have very limited cutscenes, but it does not make the 2 games any less enjoyable.
That's all for now and hopefully things will improve as I progress further.
Pros
-------
1. Graphics is a smooth and fast on the same hardware as my DAO.
2. I do like the changes in some aspect such as you no longer have to maneuver the character to the back of the enemy to back stab. With a click of a button, the character will automatically move to the back and backstab. Granted, I am not so much of a tactical combat person even though I enjoyed BG1, BG2, and DAO greatly, so tactical combat lovers might find all these toning down a turn off.
3. I have no problem with the dialogue wheel, it is not as bad as initially thought.
Cons
-------
1. Even with improved graphics, PC voice over, emotion selection in dialogues, I somehow do not find the game immersive. Strange huh? Maybe the story was progressing too fast? The biggest minus point is the story is based on narratives. You move from one scene to another scene via Varric's narration, without experiencing the journey yourself. Example, Varric would say 1 year has passed, what? What have I done in the past year? I don't feel connected at all.
Something is really amiss in DA2. In DAO as the Human Noble Origin, I got connected with the family members immediately, and I was almost in tears towards the last part when leaving the senior Couslands to die. My heart was heavy and filled with hatred towards Arl Howe when I reached Ostagar. On contrary, I have no feelings towards any of the Hawke family members...
2. Bad Environment. DAO set the stage and environment very nicely towards the Battle of Ostagar. The general atmosphere in Ostagar is gloomy, and there is a sense of end of world is coming, and darkspawns are really something to fear. A wrong move in Kocari Wild and Battle of Ostagar, your party would get wiped. I would thread very carefully, prepare myself, and constantly saving the game; whereas in DA2, I would just rush towards the the horde and blasted them into pieces... Gee, if Duncan had picked the Hawkes as Grey Wardens, the blight would probably have ended in Ostagar. I do not feel the fear, desperation, and uncertainty of the Hawkes at all. Perhaps they should start the story from Lothering, giving a brief introduction of the family, and experience the desperation when darkspawns descend upon the village.
3. Too much cutscenes. I do not know about other players, but I think the cutscenes are overdone-- every few steps you make, a cutscene, take another few steps, another cutscene. It is like watching a movie rather than playing a game. BG1 & BG2 both have very limited cutscenes, but it does not make the 2 games any less enjoyable.
That's all for now and hopefully things will improve as I progress further.
#1890
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 10:31
Orbytel
-
- Members
- 38 messages
Just out of curiosity, I know we have been asked to provide feedback which you now have over 75 pages worth, but are any of these suggestions going to be taken on board for current fixes- or are these all suggestions that may be looked over and any recurring suggestions or complaints filed away for future development reference?
Modifié par Orbytel, 15 mars 2011 - 10:31 .
#1891
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 10:39
Vasiliii
-
- Members
- 30 messages
THE BAD:
-Conversation wheel sucks.
-Hate having to go to a companions "home" just to talk to them, it breaks the immersion in the story.
-The quests are boring and repetitive.. You get a quest, go to the same area you have always been.. Get into a fight, kill 1 wave of enemies, another wave comes. You win. Cutscene, conversation wheel.
-->THE GAME IS CONFINED TO PRETTY MUCH AREA, WTF?!<--
-HATE the way weapons and armour are locked to Hawke, botched job on that...
-no tacatical camera (don't understand why)
-The game is insanely dumbed down
-Character relationship development didn't seem as in depth as DA:O because you were limited to developing a relationship in a linear fashion (i.e. After this act, go see this character; after this gift go to this character)
THE GOOD:
-I'm enjoying the smooth graphics
-LOVE the smooth combat feel
-Varric is a very well developed character throughout the game, has great voice acting too
OVERALL:
-game feels rushed, although combat is a lot more smooth theres NO depth. Its very repetitive; the Dragon Age series preaches 'choices' yet it's insanely bound up in a constrained manner (for example, companion interaction)
-Conversation wheel sucks.
-Hate having to go to a companions "home" just to talk to them, it breaks the immersion in the story.
-The quests are boring and repetitive.. You get a quest, go to the same area you have always been.. Get into a fight, kill 1 wave of enemies, another wave comes. You win. Cutscene, conversation wheel.
-->THE GAME IS CONFINED TO PRETTY MUCH AREA, WTF?!<--
-HATE the way weapons and armour are locked to Hawke, botched job on that...
-no tacatical camera (don't understand why)
-The game is insanely dumbed down
-Character relationship development didn't seem as in depth as DA:O because you were limited to developing a relationship in a linear fashion (i.e. After this act, go see this character; after this gift go to this character)
THE GOOD:
-I'm enjoying the smooth graphics
-LOVE the smooth combat feel
-Varric is a very well developed character throughout the game, has great voice acting too
OVERALL:
-game feels rushed, although combat is a lot more smooth theres NO depth. Its very repetitive; the Dragon Age series preaches 'choices' yet it's insanely bound up in a constrained manner (for example, companion interaction)
#1892
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 10:41
Ibanez2009
-
- Members
- 92 messages
PC Gamer here
I do not think DA 2 is a disappointment or so, AND NO, I DO NOT blame BioWare for that, because they are just puppets. If anyone to blame, then it would be the publisher. They are the puppeteers pulling the strings.
BioWare is one of the greatest Game Companies in the whole damn world, but the publishers always try to ruin them. The game is a good one, no doubt, but like every game DA 2 has it's good things and it's bad things.
I haven't encountered any bugs and such. The only thing I missed was the deep interactions with the companions. That would be all.
And PLEASE DO NOT BLAME BioWare for that.... blame the publisher... because THEY ARE the evil force here.
Greetings from Europe
I do not think DA 2 is a disappointment or so, AND NO, I DO NOT blame BioWare for that, because they are just puppets. If anyone to blame, then it would be the publisher. They are the puppeteers pulling the strings.
BioWare is one of the greatest Game Companies in the whole damn world, but the publishers always try to ruin them. The game is a good one, no doubt, but like every game DA 2 has it's good things and it's bad things.
I haven't encountered any bugs and such. The only thing I missed was the deep interactions with the companions. That would be all.
And PLEASE DO NOT BLAME BioWare for that.... blame the publisher... because THEY ARE the evil force here.
Greetings from Europe
#1893
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 10:59
Alerus Aegus
-
- Members
- 6 messages
Well, DA:O and DA 2 suposed to be mature Baldur's gate like games for Adult gamers, But honestly IMHO first NWN is Epic in comparison to this.
DA:O was at least fun to play in a certain degree, but this sequel is just dumb, repetitive, boring, ugly.... I could not find the energy to play it through. Second coming out of Deep roads killed the last inch of curiosity, wish to explore, see the ending. It is just so pointless. Where is the imaginary beautifull interesting world, where gamer could get lost into? G III was broken, this one is.... i don't know. After ten years of playing same game in different skins (like NWN, KOTOR, Dark alliance, Mass Effect and now DA) I have enough. This is no longer a game, it is a lie. Too bad, because I always belived you could do better.
OK. Varric is cool. You made one thing right.
DA:O was at least fun to play in a certain degree, but this sequel is just dumb, repetitive, boring, ugly.... I could not find the energy to play it through. Second coming out of Deep roads killed the last inch of curiosity, wish to explore, see the ending. It is just so pointless. Where is the imaginary beautifull interesting world, where gamer could get lost into? G III was broken, this one is.... i don't know. After ten years of playing same game in different skins (like NWN, KOTOR, Dark alliance, Mass Effect and now DA) I have enough. This is no longer a game, it is a lie. Too bad, because I always belived you could do better.
OK. Varric is cool. You made one thing right.
#1894
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 11:25
Nerys
-
- Members
- 180 messages
I too have been a faithful fan since Baldur's Gate. However, I am REALLY enjoying DA2.
~I adore ALL the companions this time. (So much that I have a hard time leaving anyone behind. LOL) Great job on the characters themselves (artistically and story-wise), and props to the fantastic voice actors. Having interesting companions, and an interesting story are paramount to me. And It is this attention to detail that I really respect about BW.
~On the subject of voice acting, I was blown away by the actor doing Hawk's (Female) voice! I admit that before release I had serious doubts regarding a voiced protagonist. Thank you for proving me wrong.
~I love the fact that romanceable characters are all Bi. (From what I hear. I am on my first playthough) For me personally this means I get to have that many more playthroughs in a game I love! Thank you Thank you!
~The world graphics are great. I stop and admire the view often as I am out questing. There are limited maps, as others have said, but It doesn't detract much from my enjoyment.
~The new combat is great! It does take a little getting used to, But I really like it better. My rogue leaps into combat, daggers flying, I look behind me and Anders is rocking the spells. It just makes me smile.
~The new skill trees are very nice.
~I love the new artistic style. Elves are beautiful. The dwarves have cleaned up nicely and I would even call Varric handsome Humans look really good too. The new rigs help a lot I think.
(I do sort of have a hard time telling one Qunari from another though. Maybe different patterns of body paint might help this?)
~I do wish I could get access to my Companions inventories while i was in my home. It would be easier to equip everyone at once, and get back to the questing
~One thing I wish had been changed from DA:O is the volume controls. I still can't have the volume set for normal conversation with my companions, without it blasting my ears when an enemy comes into range. I am still playing with the controls, so forgive me if this is something that has been already addressed.
:DThank you for a great game! And thanks for your time
~I adore ALL the companions this time. (So much that I have a hard time leaving anyone behind. LOL) Great job on the characters themselves (artistically and story-wise), and props to the fantastic voice actors. Having interesting companions, and an interesting story are paramount to me. And It is this attention to detail that I really respect about BW.
~On the subject of voice acting, I was blown away by the actor doing Hawk's (Female) voice! I admit that before release I had serious doubts regarding a voiced protagonist. Thank you for proving me wrong.
~I love the fact that romanceable characters are all Bi. (From what I hear. I am on my first playthough) For me personally this means I get to have that many more playthroughs in a game I love! Thank you Thank you!
~The world graphics are great. I stop and admire the view often as I am out questing. There are limited maps, as others have said, but It doesn't detract much from my enjoyment.
~The new combat is great! It does take a little getting used to, But I really like it better. My rogue leaps into combat, daggers flying, I look behind me and Anders is rocking the spells. It just makes me smile.
~The new skill trees are very nice.
~I love the new artistic style. Elves are beautiful. The dwarves have cleaned up nicely and I would even call Varric handsome
Humans look really good too. The new rigs help a lot I think. (I do sort of have a hard time telling one Qunari from another though. Maybe different patterns of body paint might help this?)
~I do wish I could get access to my Companions inventories while i was in my home. It would be easier to equip everyone at once, and get back to the questing
~One thing I wish had been changed from DA:O is the volume controls. I still can't have the volume set for normal conversation with my companions, without it blasting my ears when an enemy comes into range. I am still playing with the controls, so forgive me if this is something that has been already addressed.
:DThank you for a great game! And thanks for your time
Modifié par Nerys, 15 mars 2011 - 11:55 .
#1895
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 11:53
Alerus Aegus
-
- Members
- 6 messages
LOL
Hmmm I thought Qunari came from mass effect, but than read in the Lore, they come from an Island with trees.
Thank you, Nerys, for the best DA2 experiance.
Hmmm I thought Qunari came from mass effect, but than read in the Lore, they come from an Island with trees.
Thank you, Nerys, for the best DA2 experiance.
#1896
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 11:57
Nerys
-
- Members
- 180 messages
Alerus, Your thinking of the "Quarians" Yeah, the similarity of the names is a bit odd.
Yeah, the similarity of the names is a bit odd.
#1897
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 12:02
Benkenobi32
-
- Members
- 4 messages
Isn't that the point of beeing an Qunari?
Shake of the idea of individuallity to the degree that they have no names for themself,
just for the role they play in their society.
Wouldn't call it a far fetch that they use the same bodypoint uniform
Shake of the idea of individuallity to the degree that they have no names for themself,
just for the role they play in their society.
Wouldn't call it a far fetch that they use the same bodypoint uniform
Modifié par Benkenobi32, 15 mars 2011 - 12:03 .
#1898
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 12:06
lastpawn
-
- Members
- 746 messages
Balerion84 wrote...
I'm a faithful BioWare fanboy since Baldur's Gate and for the first time I'm disappointed, even with my rose tinted fanboy glasses on. Pull yourself together guys, this is NOT BioWare quality game.
Instead of editing my post, I'll just say: this.
#1899
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 12:09
Eirny
-
- Members
- 1 messages
I am extremely disappointed with DA 2 for PC. It is completely lacking in interesting characters, Merrill is the only well drawn and enjoyable companion. Where's the humor? What is going on with the characters eyebrows? the wiggling around is just ridiculous. I cannot stand the voice of the Hawke female, grating and totally unlikeable. The gameplay is formulaic and lacking in challenge. The story line is humdrum and lacks any surprises. With DA origins, on normal difficulty, I would go into every battle with total apprehension, having to really think about my team and strategy, with this game I don't need to care, my team has only died once and that's because I left to answer the phone. I am at the end of Act 2 and ploughing through to the end just to finish it. It seems like the developers just phoned this game in. It's just such a shame.
#1900
Posté 15 mars 2011 - 12:17
BunnyisCthulhu
-
- Members
- 180 messages
I enjoy the game, I love the route taken for combat, it's so much more fun. I really enjoy playing all the classes now.
I miss being able to giggle with companions about silly little things and having small conversations rather than just a few big ones - I didn't get a real feel for the development of the characters.
Being presented with only a few conversations over the entire game and being forced to talk to them when they want to feels really disappointing. I like the characters and they surprised me in many ways, but I didn't feel as much for them as I did my gang from Origins.
What I found difficult to play with is the lack of freedom. It felt like there wasn't really much to do after a certain point, it's like everything suddenly dried up and became too focused on the main plot... I approve of the idea that somethings happen whether you want them to or not and you can't win everything, but there were a lot of points in the game where I just felt like I was being punished for not doing x in y when z was happening.
Still, I would love to see more of Hawke and their pals in more installments. Preferably a sequel than an awakening expansion *shudders*
I miss being able to giggle with companions about silly little things and having small conversations rather than just a few big ones - I didn't get a real feel for the development of the characters.
Being presented with only a few conversations over the entire game and being forced to talk to them when they want to feels really disappointing. I like the characters and they surprised me in many ways, but I didn't feel as much for them as I did my gang from Origins.
What I found difficult to play with is the lack of freedom. It felt like there wasn't really much to do after a certain point, it's like everything suddenly dried up and became too focused on the main plot... I approve of the idea that somethings happen whether you want them to or not and you can't win everything, but there were a lot of points in the game where I just felt like I was being punished for not doing x in y when z was happening.
Still, I would love to see more of Hawke and their pals in more installments. Preferably a sequel than an awakening expansion *shudders*
