DA2 review 12/20

Mycrus Ironfist wrote...

hehehe, i'm happy i didn't pre-order...

i actually had a feeling that the game was not really good with all the pre-marketing tactics going on..

discount bin this is..

I pre ordered BioWare games from BG1 to NWN (with one of the worst OC campaigns I've played in some time).

& Then started playing BioWare games again after KOTOR2 (Obsidian title, but wanted to play KOTOR1 after), and with ME1, ME2, and DA:O thought that I would be able to trust BioWare to deliver again, and now this failure ~ ah I guess its for the best if I'd take an other break from BioWare ~ albeit I 'll probably play ME3 to finialize the sage ME1 started.

So good choice, I for one regret preordering DA2, or even playing it.

Modifié par randName, 03 avril 2011 - 09:01 .

www.jeuxvideo.com dragon-age-ii-test translated

Here's the translation of the french test.
Nice to know that everyone in every country thinks the same about Dragon Age 2: Turdcraft.
(Not counting bribed reviewers, buttonmashers, ea/bioware employees, fanboys)

Autotranslation is ghastly but you get the gist.

End of 2009, Dragon Age: Origins came enchant lovers of epic battles and tactics. Its success led to a series of DLC each more trivial than each other, and an extension, Awakening, solid but not memorable. All these additional content have emerged in 2010, so one wonders where Bioware has found time to develop this Dragon Age II.

Dragon Age II has aroused the distrust of fans from his official announcement during the summer. The trailers and information disseminated had been an omen RPG action-oriented and cut a good number of features that had made the success of the previous section, starting with the system of origins and the tactical aspect of combat. The reduced period of its development (a big year) has reinforced these fears. However, we did not want to believe it too: Baldur's Gate through Mass Effect Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic, Bioware is the path marked out for the securities of unquestionable quality. Suddenly, it was likely that the guidance given in this sequel does not please everyone, we expected to be once more amazed by the work of Canadian studio. That is why we fall from above: the problem of Dragon Age II is not a problem of bias, it's just a quality issue.

The story is narrated as a flashback, during a discussion between Varrica Tethra rather rough, a dwarf fighter and jeering, and Cassandra Pentaghast, a researcher of the Chantry. The latter would like to measure the involvement of a fellow Varrica - some Hawke - in the events that led to political instability Thedas. Hawke This is none other than your character, you can depart from the background. It is found Lothering fleeing his home town, firing and sword in the assault of Bane that you could live in Dragon Age: Origins. Hawke, who can be male or female, is accompanied by his mother, Leandra, brother Carver and his sister Bethany. To balance your small group, a first consequence will quickly rise from your original choice: if Hawke is a thief or a warrior, his brother died during the prologue, felled by an ogre (yes, again ...) but if unemployment is his sister who happen. Creating your avatar is unfortunately limited to this choice of class and determination of its physical appearance, being careful not to frighten the novice with elements of role playing! In fact, where the first part took the time to ask the context through various prologues, this suite immerses you immediately in action, just to show its new direction while you learn to play. Still take the time to import your final backup of Dragon Age: Origins if you want to find the world in the state where you left off, the impact is anecdotal, but they have the merit to exist.

This is not the kingdom of Ferelden that the story takes place, but further north, in the former mining town of Kirkwall, the slave past. We find our family a year later, trying like other refugees féreldiens to get a place in the city. The plot is divided into three acts. In the first, Hawke tries to raise enough money to go on an expedition in the Underdark Varrica with her brother and Bartrand, the promise of unexpected wealth. You get to do many side quests, which are able to meet your first companion: a mage apostate possessed by a demon, a dalatienne excluded who will join the lower cloister local elf, a runaway slave ... It is familiar ground. The background of Dragon Age II is still dark, but it was not against a bit of renewal in the topics discussed. The potential recruits are seven in number (excluding DLC). If you appreciate the role and behavior of some of them evolve over time (one thinks of such responsibilities Aveline), they generally lack personality. It is regrettable that Anders, born of Awakening is now free of its pride and arrogance customary (although this change is explained), or the buxom Isabela, for its part in Origins, is less sulphurous than expected. Dragon Age II is also an opportunity to meet other old friends (Flemeth, Leliana ...), even if all those who hoped to know the fate of Morrigan may be somewhat disappointed.

Overall, this suite is sorely lacking in the epic that was the first part. Issues, prior intimate, are certainly growing as and progresses, but the main plot, which suffers from a relatively simple staging, is struggling to take off and proves ultimately quite boring to follow. French localization is no stranger to this feeling. The problem is partly due to dubbing, too flat, but especially fraught textual translations of approximations, where the previous panel was beyond reproach. It is sometimes replicas consecutive unrelated logic, so that one has trouble understanding some quests. The concern is that this danger affects what should count among the highlights of the game: the dialogue system, borrowed from Mass Effect 2. He routinely offers several possible answers, each modeled on a given attitude (friendly, hostile, ironic or greedy). But the brief description of possible aftershocks is not quite illuminating, the choices are not well defined. This is even worse than if they never give rise to a jet as a success or a Fallout Drakensang New Vegas, behavior options sometimes have a big impact, not least that the assessment of your own companions. They do not always respond verbally to your actions, but at least it shows you the progress of their tonnage approval, knowing that back in romance or in conflict with one of them always has many consequences, including ability to unlock special talents (and it is again!).

Solving quests is another reason for disappointment. Whatever the nature of your mission, you can be sure it will lead to a succession of battles as it is extremely rare to get out of situation in subtle ways. Little persuasion, little thought, but many baston Such is the credo of Dragon Age II. Most quests take place in different parts of Kirkwall, which is not unproblematic. Indeed, they involve a lot of NPCs and often have consequences, which would be quite valuable if the book quest was not reduced to its simplest expression you sometimes find yourself wondering who is talking and what we do here, failing to remember the stakes of the mission. Others take you outside the city walls and it is scarcely more conclusive. Then you move into areas very generic aisle where the goal is to eliminate all opposition to get to your goal. Already behind in the first phase, exploration here is totally ignored. If one dared to quantify the components of the gameplay, you could say that Dragon Age II is approximately 80% of fighting, 15% and 5% of dialogues exploration. Engagements to report to the owner of the relics found here and there do not have the slightest interest and quests related to your companions are quite uneven, some are boiled down to conduct a simple dialogue. Moreover, the few lines of irreverent humor that characterized Dragon Age: Origins here have disappeared. Even a visit to a brothel turns deadly dull.

Obviously, immersion was not a priority. Where the first part allowed you to travel on a world map, random encounters with the key to creating the bond between the different areas of play, this sequel goes to the point by not offering a simple menu that appear possible destinations (markers quest required). And instead of providing his game a true day / night cycle (a request for fans), Bioware chose to let you trigger yourself the time of day desired. The whole is singularly lacking in uniformity: it seems to navigate between places disconnected from each other rather than a coherent world. In terms of ambience, Dragon Age II also inherits the shortcomings of the first component: the play areas are often empty and somewhat interactive (a few boxes and many codices, but that's all), while NPCs are present too static and limited to make up the numbers: out of the merchants, they are usually unable to talk to someone who has no mission entrusted to you or to enter a building that is not tied to a quest. It is sad to see such a lack of ambition, sometimes verging on I-me-care less when we are surprised to cross for the third time the same dungeon recycled to the environment. Little variety, scenery traversed are not particularly pretty: If urban areas and the interiors are not faring too badly, outdoor environments shamelessly display their angular polygons, textures and vegetation unsightly plastic.

But whatever the form when the background is there, particularly in terms of character development. In this regard, Dragon Age II blows hot and cold. It is first relieved to find there a progression system that has little changed: at each level up, you should always allocate attribute points and choosing oneself talents. As numerous and varied as in the first game, the powers have been carefully reorganized (the effect of some can now be maximized) and your character always has the opportunity to specialize at level 7. Each partner has even now a specific tree (Varrica, for example, has a tree dedicated to Bianca, his crossbow). However, everything else is gone, starting with the skills that allowed to refine the role of a character: larceny, rhetoric and survival are not, the defusing and picking are managed on the basis of characteristic cunning and craft now is to order supplies in the stands dedicated, provided you have the recipe and ingredients. Worse, the pieces of armor are now collected only for your character: your companions have a default place where they can not change, but can be improved. They are less customizable than before. Disappear as the transition: the Fatigue System that sounded the end of grosbill, the camp (which was the charm of the first component) and the possibility of giving gifts to his companions. In short, if the set is not too dull, you lose all those little details that made Dragon Age: Origins great RPG.

The objective of Bioware was clearly to focus on action and to ensure that the fighting are as spectacular as possible. From one point of view, it succeeded: the movements are more dynamic, more powerful shots and the actors are thrown or explode in showers of blood. Moreover, the interplay between the different members of the group was enhanced (some may weaken a target so that others can enjoy). But as long as you're playing on Easy or Normal, the fighting are of little interest as they seem to indulge in a simple hack and slash. Even if the principle of combat damage has been preserved, the game is too easy. To regain a sense of challenge, we must move in Nightmare, because even the hard mode does not include friendly fire (you can spray away with your fellow fireballs). Problem: if the clashes become more demanding with the need to place orders and use the active break, the wanderings of gameplay can not play tactically, which does not forgive a level where the slightest error is fatal. For starters, the aerial view, far too close, do not facilitate targeting. Moreover, it is technically possible to disable the predefined tactics of your characters to control each of their actions, it is not without problem, proof that the game was not designed for that: they attacked sight even though they should not, do not position or find themselves running on the battlefield, striking in a vacuum. Edifying!

And that's not all: the characters frequently lose the target you've assigned them, either because they are interrupted by an opponent's attack, either because they are victims of a bug that sometimes occurs during the use of a talent (it's horrifying when a sneak attack intended to complete the target). Clashes then turn into a nightmare for those who want to play in the eponymous fashion. To make matters worse, they suffer from repetitive arch-patterns: you enter a room, and once arrived at its center, spawnent creatures all around you, and when their number is reduced, a new wave of monsters appear, contempt all realism, preventing you to plan your actions. Fortunately, it is often possible to exploit the mistakes of the AI to win. In short, the fighting have lost all their salt. However, as stated above, they represent the vast majority of playing time Is it useful to add?

They rated it a 6/10, as did their readers.
(yes, i converted their rating scale to a 10-based one, using my awesome math skills)

#101
Eterna

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 08:32

#102
randName

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:00

#103
Alex Kershaw

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:26

#104
god_devil

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:37

#105
mr_nameless

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:54

#106
P_k_r

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:07

#107
Zanallen

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:18

#108
abaris

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:23

#109
MorrigansLove

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:32

#110
goering

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:39

#111
Siham

Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:53

DA2 review 12/20

#101 Eterna Posté 03 avril 2011 - 08:32

#102 randName Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:00

#103 Alex Kershaw Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:26

#104 god_devil Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:37

#105 mr_nameless Posté 03 avril 2011 - 09:54

#106 P_k_r Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:07

#107 Zanallen Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:18

#108 abaris Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:23

#109 MorrigansLove Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:32

#110 goering Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:39

#111 Siham Posté 03 avril 2011 - 10:53

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