Yes, I'm sure there are 4chan trolls and general trolls that register and post negative reviews because they are idiots, but there are honest critiques of DA2. And honest defenses of DA2.
So why is it so polarizing?
Dragon Age Origins appeals to the Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, and "General High Fantasy" fan, which is to say, the fast majority of fantasy lovers. I think it's fair to say, most fantasy lovers love the sweeping epic of the hero saving the world by gathering allies, and doing amazing things. Add on to the fact RPG wise, people are obsessed with personalizing their characters.
Dragon Age 2 does not focus on that. It isn't the hero that saves the world and gathers his allies and has a solid bonafied "Grrr EVIL" big bad to content with. It's set in a city that is very murky, clearly. It has political choices, and ramifcations. Not many fantasies are willing to go there. (I'm told a Song of Fire and Ice has political drama, but sadly.... I've never seen it
) Most fantasies love their mages and their battles, and their world saving. Sure, DA2 has combat, and lots of it. But considering the very different change of pace, it is a very polarizing change.
Is this a bad thing? No, I really don't think so. Honestly, I've been waiting for someone, whether author, game dev, or what have you, to come up with a fantasy world, detail it, add life to it, and explore EVERY aspect of it. In DAO we saw the sweeping epic save the world story. DA2 is more personal and intimate, and follows a specific character's journey. Sure, he's got some big destiny down the line, but so far, it's a very small scale story. Is that bad? No. So far, storyline wise, I can't say its better or worse then DA:O. It's different.
I can understand with the Mass Effect series why people complain. It's the same storyline. It follows the same Commander, and is building to a big finish. I still stand by ME2 being better then ME1, but its not hard to understand why some people have differing opinions on that series.
But with Dragon Age 2? Let's look at specifics outside of the storyline. Let's look at game mechanics and how they -relate- to the storyline.
- Combat. It's fast paced and crazy. A bit extreme even on the non exagurated parts. Keep in mind, a certain dwarf is telling us the story, we're just playing what he's telling to the stuck up Chantry woman. A true storyteller is going to make a story exciting. Therefore... combat crazy.
I like that. I also think it fits perfectly for DA2. I also hope that if DA3 isn't a framed narrative, that combat is not as exagurated, because it wouldn't fit if we're seeing it through real time "reality."
- Companion Armor. Another aspect. This isn't our Warden, or our hero. This is technically, a story through a certain dwarf's words. Everything that happens? Everything that will happen? It's because he says it happened. I'm not even done the first Act, so I don't know for sure what's next, BUT, for all we know, he could be lying/telling the truth.
And in this, he could be very well specifying that "Aveline wears this" or "Merill wears this." Hell, that could explain why all the females in the game have big racks. Varric is being a lude, lecherous dwarf in his tale. Hell, that could explain why he goes into Hawke romancing someone. Not because it's important to the story, but because he's just a lude and crude dwarf.
Right there, two major gripes explained by the story.
I think people need to stop directly comparing DAO and DA2 together. They are very different. Their stories are very different. Polarizing, surely. If anything, it feels like Bioware was appealing (intentionally or not) to a more niche crowd then the mass audiences, because I'm pretty sure the mass prefer a Lord of the Ringsesque style massive tale.
Not everyone will like DA2, just as sure as there were those who hated DAO. But for the love of god, for those who complain endlessly, think about how the story is being told. It's very easy to see.
My hope is that when DA3 comes around, it'll be another series of changes. Not based on game mechanics being favored or not, but which best tells the story.
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