1012 réponses à ce sujet

[roberttonkiss]

Just finished my first run through of the game and overall liked everything. The gameplay felt better than DAO and the graphics were excellent. I did however feel a bit restricted in the weponds selection, I was playing as rogue and found the inability to use some of the other weponds a downside and the inability to use someof the unlockable content/items. These items should perhaps should have been transferable across classes by morphing into an item usable by each character class but keeping the power ups.

What I did find frustrating is that from the DAO add-ons I was expecting more of a continuation of the origins story involving perhaps Flameth or Morrigan and the elder gods but in the wider world, this feels more like a off shoot parallel story as it covers much of the same time period as the DAO content. Although there were hints of a much bigger story to come and yay if this is true as at the end it left the game feeling more of a prelude to a much bigger game.

[Thandawave]

 What I liked:

• The new combat system felt much more fluent and responsive than in DA:O
• The possibility to play the character more different than in DA:O, with its many different skill trees It was also neccessary to use much more tactical components on hard and nightmare difficulty
• Hawke talks, ever found the silent DA:O Warden a bit wonky
  

What i disliked:

• Reuse of the same maps everytime. I found it very boring to explore the world because every cave, dungeon and manson looked all the same. Even the unique areas were boring without any secrets to be found and thanks to the new map, exploration is simply not there.
• No real change over the years in which the story takes place. Kirkwall is the cleanest place in the world and simple notifications in dialogues are not enough to say that it is a dirty place.
• Disappointing story. It felt much like a big pre-quel for another, but the plot was too confusing to be interrested in. In the first two acts threre is no real goal in the game, only the third shows what it is all about but this part felt rushed and the missing immerson doesn't let me want to know what will happen next.
• Never felt a connection to any companion or the world. The work looks rushed and shallow.
• Stupid MMO like Quests like "fetch generic item, kill generic enemy, go to generic dungeon" which filled most of act and 2.
• Arena like fights in which tons of enemies spawn in waves
• No Isometric View. Sometimes, in very close environments, fighting was difficult because I could not see anything. Placing a Fireball right was also difficult since the focus was set automatically if placed near an enemy.
• Disappointing Companion Quests. No Eluvian revelation, no Morrigan, no real involvement of Flemeth. The old connections to DA:O I cared about were simply not there and the new Compansions did not have much depth
• Hawkes voice felt inappropriate in some situations which were dramatic like the death of his mother or sister/brother
• Same outcome, no matter what. In every dialogue with a conflicting party, they find a reason to fight against you, no matter what you do or say. Fighting against them is the only option to solve the issue which made encounter predicable and boring. \\
• Choices made in DA:O had no real influence on the story except for meaningless encounter.

In fact, I did not like Dragon Age 2. I am a fan of games like Neverwinter Nights and I liked Dragon Age Origins. I also liked Mass Effect 1 and 2. I think DA2 wanted to be a Mass Effect with spells and swords which did not work in my opinion. It felt solid, but nothing more. I also felt that the game was rushed. First because it was released only ca. 1 1/2 year after DA:O, secondly because it felt soulless and empty.

[ReluctantlyHuman]

So having just completed it, and knowing there’s been a fair
bit of backlash against it, I wanted to drop in to say how much I have
thoroughly enjoyed Dragon Age 2. I know the whole backlash thing is like that
old adage about determining the health of a nation by looking into a hospital
(I don’t remember how it goes, but the point is that of course that’s where
most of the sick ones will be), but I still enjoyed the game enough to want to
get some thoughts out.

Before I go on any further, it sure did have some faults; I
completely embraced the iconic look each companion had, while being very
letdown that Aveline’s the only character that bothered to change her clothes
in six years. In fairness Fenris did pick up a ribbon somewhere (if I hadn’t
seen a mod that forced the relationship characters to adopt that outfit all the
time, I wouldn’t have even known it was because we had taken part in some hatesex),
and Anders decided to dye his fur cloak right after beginning his inevitable
Face Heel Turn (no that can’t be it, it’s another trope I am sure), but why
make me find SO much armor if I’m the only one who can wear it? I was doubly
disappointed since I wanted to see what the robe Orsino gave me at the end
looked like, but I didn’t wanna cheat just to get high enough stats to wear it
(since I was a rogue).

Surely a compromise could have been found? If nothing else,
they couldn’t put on any of the helmets I found? And heck, the best reason I
can think of to make none of the NPCs ever wear a helmet is to include an NPC
who couldn’t wear a helmet, like a qunari with super awesome horns, or a
werewolf. Or something. I’m just saying.

I do agree with the sentiment that Mike Laidlaw expressed
about everyone’s party looking identical in Origins, and I even noticed how one
of Morrigan’s more powerful robes simply copied her initial robes look to bring
her full circle. I get that. I just hoped at some point Fenris would put on
some damn shoes, or lose the skinny jeans.

Secondly, and while definitely a bigger issue, it’s one that
I pretty much ignored with most parts of my brain, and that was the recycling
of environments.  If come down to it, I might have even been ok with more recycling for more content, but this is
perhaps the most egregious recycling of environments that I can think of in a
game. Even Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s upside castle is optional and
doesn’t occur until halfway through the game. I wouldn’t have minded the reused
tile set (since I thought they were all quite nice, especially the natural cave
one with its ever present streaming sunlight, regardless of time of day), if
the layout wasn’t always the same. But I bet this has been complained about to
death, so now to the good stuff!

Everything! Well maybe not everything. But in nearly every
regard, I consider this a step above the original game.

I’m not sure anyone can ever win me over like Alistair won me over (thank you to whoever made the
Equal Love mod, by the way), but if anyone was capable, it might have been
Aveline and Varric. I’ll admit I took Fenris with me so often mostly cause we
had the sexual tension and his bangs reminded me of season 1 Peter Petrelli,
and Sebastian cause I wanted to bed another royal (and he’s Muad’Dib!), but
Aveline and Varric make up for any of that. I also really enjoyed Isabela, even
if her breasts are way too large and I had little use for her in my group
(being a dual-wielding rogue with some morals). In fact the only character I
didn’t care for was Merrill. I could sort of take her or leave her in fact. I’d
say she was sort of the Sten of this game (for me), but Sten at least gave a
glimpse into an alien race and had some nice philosophical discussions. Merrill
was just a weird cross between ditzy and unaware of his dangerous she was. If I
had a chance to skewer her like poor Anders, I might have. Poor Marethari.

I’m unsure how I feel about the Anders thing. I could actually do with a DLC or a short story explaining why Anders took Justice upon himself (though I didn’t pursue the romance for very long, so it might be in
game in depth somewhere). I remember thinking in Awakenings] that Anders was like a poor man’s Alistair, as a mage, but he really redeemed himself (as a character ) in 2. Then of course he killed poor Elthina (among others. And as an aside, poor Elthina for not getting  amore unique character model by the way) anddidn’t show remorse about it.

This actually brings me to one of the few other complaints I
have about the game, though they were design decisions that I didn’t agree with
more than anything else, I think, and that’s a few elements of storytelling. The
first, is that while I completely approve of Flemeth’s new design, it was
really jarring since I recalled her very mundane appearance in Origins]. In that game her appearance
left it somewhat doubtful if the stories of Flemeth were true or not. Perhaps
she was just a crazy old lady that the Chasind were scared of. Maybe even the
latest in a long line of old ladies. I never actually did the quest where she
turned into a dragon, so it could have all been rumor as far as I’m concerned
(though I am still dying to know what promise she got out of Maric all those
years ago). So I think the scene where she first shows up would have worked
better if you actually saw her transform into that be-horned beauty in Varric’s
version, but she looked like the old farmer lady in the real version. And THEN,
when she’s ‘resurrected/summoned’ at Sundermount, she could show up in that new
apparel. It’d create much less of a disconnect from the two games, since aside
from the elves new look, there wasn’t too much difference in the models I don’t
think.

Second story gripe, is Orsino’s inevitable turning to the
darkside at the end. I suppose it reinforces the idea that mages ARE dangerous,
Meredith’s paranoia or not, but at that point I sort of wanted to throw down my
daggers and tell Meredith she won and let them sort it out. Have you developers
not played Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines]? If you side with one of the two factions, you shouldn’t have to
kill their leaders too! Well maybe if you sided with the templars since
Meredith went nuts too (more on that next), but Orsino’s seemed so unnecessary
since I sided with him. Perhaps if the scene was done differently to show
children being slaughtered, and perhaps Orsino himself nearly killed, but as it
was, it made me question whether he’d been fit to lead the Circle at all that
he not only gave in, but gave in hardcore.

Third is Meredith’s acquiring of the idol. I knew when the
idol showed up and then disappeared that it was gonna be a Chekov’s gun, and I
figured that the ‘she’ that Bartrand lost it too was gonna be Meredith, but I
was somewhat hoping Meredith was going to be allowed to just be a nice morally
questionable villain. She thought she was doing the right thing, and it was
shown that she was still more temperate in her actions than some templars, and
so for her to become all ‘evil’ at the end cheapened the story a little, I
believe. That being said, since I hadn’t expected the idol to affect her the
way it did (by the way, why didn’t Cullen get freaked out when she started
carrying around Soul Calibur?), her as a final boss would have made the battle
against the Archdemon seem somewhat tame in comparison, but I thought it was
worth a shot. My favorite Disney villain (well maybe one of two, since
Maleficient is so neat) is Judge Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame] since he’s so human in his villainy.
Guilt ridden over his lust, and firmly convinced of his being in the right, it’s
exactly the kind of story and villain that I love. The kind where I feel a
little bad having to turn around and stab them with both of my daggers
simultaneously.

… man I ramble.

So I think those’re the only things I think I’d have changed
to make DA2 an necessary classic for me (instead of just a recommended classic
as it is), though I do have a few minor nitpicks, I suppose. First of all, the
blood. I get it, it’s a bloody series, there’s blood magic, its one of your
motifs, but I can’t be the only one who finds it all a bit much. And you guys
can tell such a compelling and dark story without it. The whole Hespith/broodmother
part from the first game (the whole Deep Roads in general actually) truly
creeped me out. As it is now however,  Sebastian
would shoot a dude from twenty paces and the target would literally explode
into his constituent parts! That’s gotta make a priest confess a lot to his
Grand Cleric.  As such I do truly
appreciate being able to turn off the persistent blood. Don’t ever change.

I kind of dislike that mages have to use their pewpew staves
instead of getting other weapon choices. Rogues get bows or daggers, warriors
get one or two handed weapons, but all of my mages have to use staves. I
understand they also get skills that are flashier in some ways, but if this
could be adjusted somehow I’d only be too thrilled. I haven’t played a mage
Hawke yet, so it’s possible there’s an Arcane Warrior build available for me
yet, but that won’t really help Anders or Merrill. Or poor lost Bethany.

I’ve seen complaints about Kirkwall, but for the most part I
loved it. It was a visually appealing city (surely they hire someone to sweep
up all that ash constantly falling down on the lower districts), and I liked
having to do so much adventuring in it. I’d be running through parts of
Hightown and stop and think, “Oh hey, there’s Fenris’ place. I bet he hasn’t
cleaned up those dead bodies in six years. Or there are new ones.” I also liked
how many of the NPCs showed up throughout the years, their stories not simply
complete after the first quest is done. That being said, it is possible that
was relied on a little too much. It is very convenient that some of the NPCs I
dealt with in earlier chapters just happened to show up in the later, but I
never once begrudged them their presence, I am simply stating how I can see
someone thinking that wasn’t handled well. We could probably have used more
outside of city limit locations however. How many times can bandits infest the
Wounded Coast trails before I ask someone to just set them on fire to prevent
future thievery?

Combat! Thanks for making combat look exciting. I didn’t dislike
combat in Origins but man was it
boring looking. I was a little upset with how high Meredith jumps at the end
when activating her henchstatues, but I shouldn’t have found it that weird
considering how far and how often my rogue Hawke would shoot between enemies
like a pinball. NIghtcrawler’s one of my favorite X-MEN so all this teleporting
about was rad.

The only thing that I am pretty sincerely hoping for in DA3,
is to not play Hawke again. I don’t mind the Commander Shepard route for Mass
Effect, and I think it works there, but I’d be really disappointed to see that
happen with the next Dragon Age. Which you guys have probably already started,
and it’s too late now. Damn. I loved the shift in location for DA2, and I’d
like to see more of that, and I know it’ll be stretching some bounds of
probability for a new hero (in say, Orlais, or the Tevinter Imperium) to run
across Morrigan and maybe Varric in a completely new setting, but I’d still
prefer that I think. Also, I miss the origins. They made the beginning acts
more tolerable, but I might be saying that since I’m dreading Escaping from
Lothering yet again.

I understand this is a long, messy ramble, where I maybe
complained more than I intended to, but I wanted to get this written down while
the experience was still emblazoned across my memory, and I also worry there
are too many people out there complaining, and not enough saying thank you, for
a thoroughly enjoyable game. So thank you.

 

-ReluctantlyHuman

EDIT: Er, sorry about the formatting. Here I thought writing this in Word first would be a good ide.

Modifié par ReluctantlyHuman, 20 mars 2011 - 07:52 .

[Twistedmask]

Alright, so I just finished my first play through.  I figured I might as well write down my
thoughts before I started reading everyone else's impressions.  I'm not a game developer, so obviously these
can only be my opinions, but I will try to offer as many details as I can about what affected me positively or negatively. 

Combat
I actually enjoyed combat more in this game.  I felt more in control of my character.  Combat was faster paced and slicker.  However, this certainly felt as though the more action packed, erm... action... came at the cost of tactical engagements.  Sort of tricky really.
 I hated the waves of spawned enemies.  I don't mind that occasionally, but it felt unrealistic and sort of forced.  I would have been happy with any sort of compromise really.  I don't think I needed to feel as though Hawke and company have to mow their way through the Kirkwall streets to be particularly epic.  The other, minor, thing that irked me was the disproportionately powerful enemy rogues and mages. 

Graphics
I'm sort of undecided about the graphics.  In some ways, it seemed to be an improvement.  In others, it looked
strange. I tend not to be very favorable towards stylized art, so perhaps I'm biased.  But the stylized art in this
game didn't really do it for me.  Characters could look good with a lot of work, specifically the npcs,
but many of them looked horrifying.  I don't think the world is ready for elves with massive cheekbones jutting from
their faces.  In fact, perhaps its best if we took those particular elves and stuffed them back in their little wooden
closets for just a few years more.  Make sure to lock them as you wouldn't want any sort of escape to take place.  One can only hope that we only sustained minimal scarring from the sight of such massive and powerful cheekbones. Err... back on course now.
I realize that Dragon Age can't really compete with the modern graphic giants of video games, but their are ways to make lower graphics looks beautiful.  Even if I'm not in the minority for this version of stylized art, I'm sure that there is a balance there that could be quite awesome.

Lore/World
So the lore in DA is awesome.  Even Kirkwall was really fleshed out.  It certainly felt different than Fereldan which was the most important part. 
The problem I had was that Kirkwall was essentially all we had.  The same areas got tiring.  More importantly, we
never got a sense of the world.  We got to read about it which was great, but the environment changed so little it was boring.  When you first play red dead redemption, there is a moment when you leave the ranch near the start of the game and come up to a cliff where you can view the plains below.  It was such an amazing beautiful moment.  Being able to explore the world and see interesting sights, or maybe colorful forest, etc can really make the game aesthetically pleasing.  Kirkwall was amazing in places, but it got tiring.  Even if the scenery and color would change that would have been nice, or perhaps even some painted clouds in the sky.

Characters
The cast was great in this game.  I was probably most disappointed with Anders, but that's because I missed his funny side.  Every character had a niche they filled.  I found each character interesting enough that I wanted to use them all.  I don't know if I'm alone there, but I thought each character had some sort of interesting hook and/or
dialogue.  Even Anders succeeded in his role.  I felt bad for, and later angry at him. 
I missed having Alistair in the party, as he really made the first game great for me (Zevran also rocked for that matter).  But the new companions were worthyreplacements.  I think nostalgia wins out in the end though.  I wish I had more control or opportunity to control conversations and possibilities to get to know characters.  I've already seen threads discussing that, so I won't go into that further.    Romances were also spot on.  Or at least the one I tried out. 
 
Overall, I'm very pleased with DA2.  For some reason negatives seem to stand out in my mind, so they were what popped up in my review, but I really did, truly enjoy the game.  Especially for something that was popped out in only a year's time.  While I'd be hard pressed to say either DA game is my favorite rpg of all time, it is my favorite rpg series. I hope that counts for something.  

Update:  Just a few notes I felt like adding.  I was annoyed with every mage and his mother becoming blood mages.  It was tedious.  I realize that mages needed to display that they were dangerous to make the ending choice morally gray.   But it got a little over the top. 
      While the speech icons do a world of wonders to the game, there was one part of it that bugged me.  One of the fun parts of origins for me was trying to figure out how to talk to my companions and get to know them.  Its nice to struggle a little, maybe even be forced to make a decision.  For example, when following a romance, instead of always clicking on the heart speeches, there could be periods where the player is called to take a stance on something that the companion may or may not agree with.  That's a rather unpolished example, but you get the point.  Some struggle, a little guessing, taking a chance, these things can be fun and make the romances even more rewarding.  Otherwise it feels like autopilot. 
   


  

Modifié par Twistedmask, 21 mars 2011 - 08:20 .

[Zannana]

What I liked:
The framed narrative, though I think there should have been a little more of it.

The npc's were excellent.

The combat, though at first I was hesitant about the changes I ended up very pleased with it.

The graphics were a  great improvement.

Flemeth, she is epic and it is a pity we didn't see more of her.

The voiced protagonist, really brought to life the entire game.

The friendship/rivalry system.

The family aspect.

Overall I
liked the story though it had some problems at times.

The cameos.

What I disliked:

Duration of the game. It was short.

The fact that there wasn't significant visual change on Kirkwall as the years went by.

The recycled environments.

The absence of choice. That was a critical blow. I play RPG's because of the choices and
here a lot of it was taken from you. I don't mind much if you can't affect the
main storyline as much as you would have liked but in lesser aspects you should
be able to act with more freedom. Example:  I played a mage that really was against blood
mages and I wanted to kill Grace when I met her but I couldn't. It was like no
matter what you chose, the conclusion was the same because the writers had
decided on it and you didn't matter.

The plot
holes. Example: the idol. I mean, there should have been some follow-up quests
as you try to find it's trail but there weren't and it seems that even after
you have seen what it has caused, you simply forget about it.

The fact
that the entire game didn't have an end. I loved the end of Origins and
Awakening but this seemed like the entire game was a prologue for the next
game. I would have liked to have seen some closure. I am hoping for DLCs to accomplish
that.

Overall

I don't regret buying the game and in general I liked it. I am currently on my 3rd playthrough
and I am enjoying myself. I am hoping however that there will be improvements
on the next one and that in some way both this story and the Warden's will
reach an end. More mysteries were generated in this game than answers.

After my 1st play-through as a mage that sided with the mages I was convinced that all
mages should die. I mean...what was up with Orsino? I can see the templars have
a point.

Also, I would like to note that the interactivity with the characters was something I
always liked and I missed it a little in this game. But only a little since
there were frequent occasions to meet and speak with them. And I just  loved the fact that the npcs 
interacted with each other.

Modifié par Zannana, 20 mars 2011 - 11:12 .

[Rob Sabbaggio]

Ok, finished Dragon Age 2 last night. My thoughts are:

- In story terms, this was excellent. It felt a bit like the Empire Strikes Back in the darkness stakes. The three stage main plot was complemented brilliantly with some of the best companion/sidequests I have seen. Especially the serial killer and fade quests. I liked the way decisions mattered yet you were still being buffeted around, I felt like I was trying to do the right thing yet there was no right thing to do. Overall, an amazing job here.
- In gameplay mechanics, I felt the new mechanics worked well for some things, not as well for others. I liked the new skill trees, faster combat, but I didnt like the fact that I couldnt customise the characters appearance at all. I understand the desire to give them distinctive appearances, and that is a good goal, but as it stood the shops were full of gear I couldnt buy for them and they rarely changed appearance. It would have been nice to have them change more, especially to reflect plot events.
- The graphics were excellent. I didnt mind the re-use of assets as much as some, but I still felt it could have had a bit more variety, or at least changed a little cosmetically over time. Overall, Kirkwall was brilliant, I didnt mind the focus on it.
- Framed narrative worked well, as did the longer story arc. The only thing I would have done differently is there being more change over time. For example, it could have been possible for you and your LI to have a kid and watch them grow up between the second and third acts! One of the benefits of the long timeline is to show people changing, their lives changing, and there would be scope to do more of this.
- The characters (those I met) were all well done and had distinctive goals and plot lines that were great. I really liked them having homes and lives outside, and this feeling was helped by some good plots - Aveline and Dorric was excellent! The only thing I would do is have a bit more of this, especially for any love interests that are completed - not being able to interact with Merrill at all after she moved in was sad.
- The party banter was excellent, great job here. But some more variety on the activated conversations would be nice. I romanced Merrill, and every time I talked to her it was either "by the dread wolf" and "Sandal is staring at me"
- I dont agree it was a buggy game at all, but there were some bugs which impacted on the experience like the script plot errors for Merrill (last conversation happening before last quest). I had Varric say I went off with Isabella, which shouldnt have happened as I ended up with Merrill. Such bugs are worse for me as they break the immersion a bit. It didnt happen often, but it was jarring when it did.
- I liked the ending, even though it left a lot open, I think it sets things up so well. Seems people are seeking out the Warden and Hawke to save the world, maybe Dragon Age 3 will have both. Could you have a game that reads your save for both DA2 and DAO and allows you to play both Hawke and Warden in the same game??

Overall, an excellent game, I loved it to bits.

Hopefully we will get a patch for the plots, I will replay the moment it comes out. And I will buy any DLC that adds plot lines to the main characters. My one criticism of the majority of Biowares DLC is that it tends to stand alone, so either you have entirely new characters, or you have old characters that done talk. In DA2, such a good job was done on the characters that I really want to spend more time with them.

Modifié par Rob Sabbaggio, 20 mars 2011 - 11:19 .

[thebratterz]

Here is my video review:



Not a bad game, but not the game I was hoping for.

[mopotter]

As stated in the topic header, it's my personal review. [smilie]http://social.bioware.com/images/forum/emoticons/smile.png[/smilie]   I've finally finished one of the games I've got started.  Female rogue, romanced Anders, sister joined the mages and I supported them.  

I play BW games for story, companion relationships (friend and LI) and anything else is not the most important aspect for me.  BW has always been a definite pre-order becuase of the history I've had with past games.
I liked all the characters in DA2.  As usual, they did a very good job with making them individuals and had interesting back stories.  And the banter between them was often funny and usually interesting, but I missed the conversation options that were in DA:O.  Being able to stop in town and talk to a companion was a nice addition and I was sorry to see it missing.

I enjoy being a mage but miss the open lock spell from years ago, just a minor thing that goes with bashing a locked chest for the warrior.  I don't always want to take a "balanced" team but if I want a lock open I have to take a rogue with me.  It's not a disaster, just an irritation.  I also enjoy being a rogue.  Both classes are a lot of fun. 

ACT 1 and 2 were great.  Later on there were things in the game that I found irritating.  I supported the mages and yet on one of the quest they yell that I'm helping the templers and attack.  Then at the end, mages are doing exactly what the templers are worried about.  They are all doing blood magic and taking in deamons, including Orsino which should not have happened unless you supported the templers. 

I've only done the one romance so far and it was a disapointment.  I like Anders and I like Fenris, but  from the first - I'll hurt you, it's rather depressing and after he moved in, he just stands on my balcony and I can't talk to him. DA:O spoiled me with their more personal romance option.   I don't need a "let's have sex", though that's nice, but I do need an option where you can say "give me a hug"  "it's good to have you here", "I love you" with a kiss, or some other recognition that the LI is serious, not ust a roommate.  I don't even care that it would be the same conversation every time, at least it would be a face to face one.  

What the romances in DA:2  has done, is made me realize my expectations of BW have gotten too high.  I loved both of the romances in KOTOR, JE and ME1.  Even ME2 had some nice LI options.  DA:O added a lot to the romances and while I didn't like anything about Alistair's endings the romance was great and Zev was also good so you can have a satisfactory feel good relationship with him.   But from what I've seen with Anders and read about Fenris this is not going to happen in DA:2.    For me, and it's just for me, what this means is I won't be pre-ordering any of their games after ME3 (which is the last of the 3 part series).  

I am not saying I won't ever buy their games again, I just won't pre order them and I'll check with people I trust, or web sites that give details befor I put my heart and soul in a future game.  They broke my heart in DA:O with Alistair and DA2 has just pushed the knife in a bit deeper.  So they will no longer be the first game I purchase if there are other games I'm interested in being released at the same time.  

I've always preordered a BW game becuause of their character relationships and their story.  They are the only company who does this with the style and depth but right now they seem to be going into a dark, moody place and I'll just wait till they decide to do a game that can be dark with a light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm a Princess Bride fan, not a Rode to Perdition fan, though it's a great movie.   

The game is fun.  But iI don't think it's a game I'll be playing once a year which is reserved for games like KOTOR and JE and ME (at least ME1 and 2.  I'll have to see what ME3 is like before I say I'll replay the whole series).  

[dbt-kenny]

It is not as good as DAO the best bit of the game they removed.
Yes the game looks a lot better, combat is not so much more smother. Not so much order and pause. But you have to keep an eye on them as the do seem to just stand there at times. I like that you can stop them from use spells and abilities. But that is all I like in the game.

There is only one heal spell! One range ice spell the spell and abilities suck a bit. You cannot do much custom items on your party members. Most the stuff you pick is junk, or only for you. The game is full of scripting bugs. The story is odd. And just does not fit in with the DAO Anders stayed at high reach and kept the cat in my imported game. They made a big deal about the import from DAO but then ignored it. Sorry but if you going to sell a game on that then it should do what you say it will be doing. Most of the boss fights could of been better only the high dragon was a good fight. The rest was just running about to your abilities had reigned ie. The Arashock.

Over all the game is just disappointing in every area but the look of the game.

[Loltus]

Played the PC version. Played through it once. So, here we go:

1. The Combat
When it comes to playing a warrior, it's an immense improvement over origins. it's faster, and your abilities feel like they have much more impact. Haven't tried mages or rogues, only experience I have of them is from directing my companions.

2.The Qunari Questline
Act 2, and the quests interacting with the Qunari, was, for me, the best parts of the game. Mostly, I think, because of the fact that the Qunari's ideology and society, which is akin to fascism, would be an improvement for many of the lives in Kirkwall, or in Thedas in general(Like the elves, for example). Overall, great stuff. Except the ending. After Act 2 ends, the fact that the Arishok was defeated seems like it had no importance. A very unsatisfactory ending, really.

3. Hawke
I did like the fact that the main protagonist  has a  voice, even if some dialogue-options made me facepalm. Good sounded too naïve sometimes, Comedic answer sounded like a complete ass most of the time, and Hardass-option sounded like Hawke fancies the idea of eating razor blades.
4. The Ending
Why would you make it a cliffhanger ending?There's no real conclusion to anything. Not even the question of why the Chantry is falling apart feels answered.

5. Did my save import even work?
I imported a save from Dragon age Origins, and the save importer told me it was successful. I believed that(most things seemed to be in order), until I was told to find a elven assassin. That elven assassin is apparently Zevran. Now I'm pretty sure... *checks DA:O save*. I'm very sure I killed him upon defeating him the first time I ever saw him. 

So Zevran lives.. for some reason. You know, having cameos from previous games are alright by me, but at least try to make them make sense(Or matter to the plot in any significant way, King Alistair.)

And then there's the ending. So, after completion, Leliana says something about the Warden being missing. Now, the Warden is dead. He died. He killed the Archdemon, no rituals included. So.. being missing is not really his fault now, is it? I mean, if he is missing, I think someone ought to be arrested for grave-robbing.

So yeah, I know that every decision made in DA:O didn't transfer over to DA2, but I think the major ones should work, at least?

6. Characters
Most of the Characters are alright, although none of them really stand out. Something that seems like it's very prevalent is that every character has one thing that they're defined by. In some cases, like Isabela, this changes somewhat later on, but not very much. Isabela herself goes from talking non-stop about sex and ships to being more sympathetic later on, after Act 2. But sticking to the same formula is Anders, who's all about Templars vs Mages, Fenris, who's all about revenge, Bethany, who feels like her mage powers are a burden to her family and Merril, who's all about the Eluvian. It becomes rather uninteresting, and perplexing, to occasionally hear them interact in party banter as if they were friends, and as if they had lives, when all you get is this one side of them.

Also, in the finale, having both the leaders of Templars and Mages go bananas isn't really the way I expected it to happen. Also, it's not really the most engaging thing ever.

7. Graphics
Sometimes, the game looks alright. Pretty much on the same level as origins, for the most part. Some areas, like the Deep Roads, are more unique, and feel more alien than they did in Origins(Older Thaig, though, so I guess that's the point.)

But then, you take a good look at some of the character models that you're not really supposed to look at. The ones in corners and on the streets, who fill no purpose other than being there so the streets aren't deserted. And those character models look like utter crap. It ruins immersion a great deal. Also, the recycling of the same house/cavern/cellar is something you've got so much flak over, Bioware, you don't need me to tell you that it sucks.

[b]8.Final thoughts
Really, I feel like it's a shame. I like enough of the game to think that, if it had been improved and more polished, it could've been my favorite Bioware game as of yet. But for reasons I've stated in this post, it isn't.

Modifié par Loltus, 20 mars 2011 - 03:42 .

[Tom Jolly]

The EPIC has survived for centuries as story-telling device. But now, Mike Laidlaw is here to tell us that it's going to cause the death of the RPG!!! This story is a joke compared to Origins. The experiment FAILED, Mike. I certainly didn't upgrade my gaming rig, buy a new monitor, and cough up $60 on release day for this... DRIVEL.


-Map re-use, combined with limited in-game geography = boring, not epic.
-Lack of meaningful RP choices: The main plot offers menial variances compared to Origins. (ie. who's king, who kills the archdemon, spare your mortal enemy? Give Morrigan a god-child? Kill Flemeth? go with Morrigan through the eluvian, etc etc.)

-Lack of cohesion in the main plot; Hawke's goals. Get rich, Be the Viscount's errand boy,  choose mages or templars, kill both leaders. Garner MAD PROPS with whoever you choose, then,  disappear for dramatic cliffhanger ending & Start saving $ for DLC and Dragon age 3.

Lastly, Leandra's death-by-frankenstein is the epitome of what is wrong with this story. It is just one of several WTF moments in the game that alienated me from the story.   

Modifié par Tom Jolly, 20 mars 2011 - 04:51 .

[ZombiePowered]

First off, allow me to say that DA2 is not only the best Bioware game I've ever played, but is in fact the greatest game I've ever played in my life. Kudos, friends, you've really outdone yourselves. Again. Overachievers.

Story
The story was absolutely superb. I loved that it did something few (if any) games have done before, which is told a story not driven by some artificial plot imposed upon us at the start of the game, but instead merely followed one man through seven (eventful) years of his life. At the end, Varric pointed out that if Hawke hadn't been there, things might never have gone that far. Which is entirely true, and it wows me. Without Hawke, the idol likely wouldn't have been found, Aveline might not have become Captain (and Jeven probably wouldn't have pushed the issue with the Qunari), and Meredith wouldn't have gone mad and the mage issue wouldn't have escalated so much. It is genius, really.
I especially liked how much darker the world was. Origins created this dark world, but then had The Warden just kind of... win. Any bad things happened in the origin story and/or Ostagar. There were some bad things happening in the world around you, but nothing that really got you. There is none of this feeling in DA2. Right from the start one of your siblings is murdered, and then you are forced to either kill Wesley or convince Aveline to do it herself. Things continue to go wrong, even as other things go right, and you are left in a position of great power in Kirkwall, but god damn you payed a hefty price for it. After my mother was not only murdered, but had her body hacked up and desecrated, I wasn't even sure whether being Champion was worth it anymore. And that doesn't even touch on the tragedy companions such as Merrill face. Her story is terrible. Just awful (Terrible and awful in the good way). Blood magic got her exactly what I'd told her it would, but I felt no desire to say "I told you so". But yes, the events that happen to Hawke and that he is involved in finally match the darkness of the world. I finally feel that yes, most mages are too weak of mind or power-hungry to the point of madness to let run rampant. I actually felt like Hawke was unique, not just another poor, misunderstood mage. Hell, the only reason I sided against the Templars at the end is because I really despised Meredith's lyrium-addled hypocrisy.
I also liked the entire tale taking place in Kirkwall. Many complain they want to see other areas of the world, and who doesn't? But this story is about Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall. It should take place entirely in Kirkwall. It's a large city, with lots of stuff to occupy its Champion. Batman takes place entirely in Gotham city, and that has been going on for decades and no one complains. Besides, Kirkwall is awesome, and I really enjoyed that over the course of the game I felt more and more at home in the city. By the end of Act II I'd actually go out alone in the city when I was just going to buy/sell things. Because seriously, who takes their friends to go sell a bunch of raven feathers and darkspawn blood?
I could go on for hours, but the conclusion is that, contrary to what I've read here, the story is your best yet. Honestly, I keep reading complaints like "Meredith wasn't completely evil like the Archdemon, I'm not sure whether she was right or not", and thinking "Yes, that's called good characters and even better story."

Companions and Characters
The companions were also great. The dialogue between them was hilarious. Varric is probably my favorite character in any game, and Isabela is a close second. Actually, that's a lie, she's third behind Bianca. You guys really know how to write, and how to make characters interesting. I really liked Merrill (how could you not get along with someone so Welsh?), but constantly railed against her because of blood magic. And I loved that the game rewarded me for it: I looked out for her best interests, and in return she actually admitted she was wrong by the end, and became somewhat of a friend. Though, none of this happened before she gave me lots of yelling and scolding about betraying trust. Brilliant. All of the companions have this level of interesting. Anders what a particular favorite of mine. I went from getting along well with him to hating his guts when he destroyed the Chantry. I actually felt betrayed. In fact, is was only then that I finally realized he was not the same Anders and Justice from Awakening. It was only then that I realized he was an abomination of the very worst kind.

The only complaint about companions is that I don't get enough dialogue with them. In Origins, I got to explore much of their past. I wish I could do that here. In fact, I wish it would go a step further, and allow me to talk to them about various things going on in the world. Also, it is implied that I'm having lots of sex with Isabela, but I only get to see one scene. Show me more. I'm not asking for porn (contrary to what Fox News would say, I'm sure), but I see no reason that a game with movie-quality plot and characters can't have movie-quality romance scenes. I yearn for the sex scene of Mass Effect, where it actually felt like Shepard was having real, human sex, and I yearn for scenes like that to happen more often, so I actually feel like I'm in a relationship, not having a one-night stand once every seven years. Romance is one of the most powerful parts of the story, and I wish there was more to make me feel involved with the relationship. I felt involved in every other part of Hawke's life, hell, I honestly felt like I was Hawke, more than I've ever identified with any character ever (Give Nicholas Boulton a parade of pat on the backs for me, and buy whomever wrote Hawke a box of cookies), but when I came to romance I suddenly was outside of his life, and only allowed to see certain parts of it. I'd just like to feel as involved there as I do everywhere else.

Combat, Dialogue Wheel, and other Gameplay Changes
DA2 plays smoother than Suzhou silk (which is extremely smooth, let me assure you). I loved every gameplay change you made. The dialoge wheel was fantastic, and I actually used the full range of options on it (though I picked the sarcastic option 80% of the time. Sarcastic Hawke is so hilarious).

Polish
This is the only area I had issues; 95% of the game was polished to a shine, really, but there were a few places where I felt that something was missing. First, death animations. I loved them in Origins, and I'd love for them to keep popping up in Origins. Cutscene executions are nice for some situations, but I really like when I brutally execute some poor guy in the middle of combat. I also really want to tear an ogre apart with my bare hands like I did in the intro. That was awesome. Give me more awesome. Furthermore, the cinematic executions at the end (for Orsino and Meredith) were lacking polish. I loved that I jumped on Orsino's fat, bloated fleshiness and tore his head out with my bare hands, but I wanted to see me tear it out. I wanted to hear the crack of bone and gristle and the disgusting tearing of flesh as I ripped that thing from his body, and I then I wanted to stomp on that thing repeatedly until I was paste. I'm talking Dead Space Stomping, where I smash that thing so hard that items come out. And with Meredith, I want to see here turn into a statue. It just shows her screaming, and then she's a statue all of a sudden. Show it happen, even if its just by making her glow brightly and then have a statue left when the light fades. I just didn't feel like a transformation really happened.
There were also some slight 'reading' errors elsewhere; I could never get Merrill's end quest resolution in her house to trigger right. Either it happened the first time I waltzed on over in Act III, or it never happened at all. It is a truly tragic quest, and I want that conclusion right where it belongs! Also, my Origins save didn't import right, but that didn't happen until my fourth play through. Still, just a little thing that I think should be taken care of by the time the game ships.

Overall
Fantastic game. I loved every second of it, even after three playthroughs. I can't wait for the DLC and expansion packs, and I eagerly await DA3 (though I'll be patient. I won't allow my expectations to be raised by the 15 month gap between DAO and DA2). I hope you find my critique helpful, and that you continue to give the world a reason to consider video games a new form of art.

Thank you fellas,
-Zombie

P.S. I think this might have been answered somewhere, but I have to know: What's a Mekel?

Modifié par ZombiePowered, 20 mars 2011 - 05:21 .

[Thrennion]

Demographically, I'm a college-educated married female in my mid-twenties, if that helps you see where I'm coming from a little.

The story. I LOVED that DA2 wasn't just another cookie-cutter Epic Adventure. By the end of the game, I cared about Kirkwall as a city. I think it's great that the plot was somewhat predetermined, in that there were certain destinies from which Hawke couldn't escape (death of one/both siblings, death of mother, being named Champion, etc.). Besides helping to keep the lore of Thedas and my personal Hawke cohesive, this is really what life is like. Hawke could either choose to be, and fill her role, or die. The Arishok wasn't all wrong. Sometimes things happen that are out of any one person's control, and recognizing that fact made for a more immersive world for me.

Obviously, how you choose to be is completely under your control, and you do have some influence over people and events by choosing to be diplomatic, friendly, unfriendly, snarky, or angry.

I loved the conversation wheel and the simplified, faster, easier flow of the combat system.

I really liked the artistic World Map, and I don't actually think setting the whole story in Kirkwall and surrounding countryside was a bad idea at all. I think it had great potential to really feel like a sprawling, extremely varied environment that I could have delighted in exploring. It was unfortunately made to feel small and cramped because of the reuse of the same 3 or 4 maps over and over again. A whole continent with scenery that limited would have felt small and cramped to us players.

The voice acting, and especially the voiced protagonist, was superb.

Leandra's death was something I actually liked about the game. I think it would have been a better scene if she hadn't said a word after Hawke caught her, and I think showing Hawke actually crying and raging afterward would have been even better. But it was dark and disturbing and unexpected, which is part of the reason why I play DA games.

I enjoyed the romance scenes (I pretty much stick to playing a straight female protagonist, though I was sorely tempted to flirt with Aveline) with Fenris and Anders. I'm probably in the female minority, but I really wished for shirtlessness and longer scenes. Not porno, just something romantic-movie-quality. I want to feel like I AM Hawke all the time, not just when she's filleting baddies left and right.

The companion characters were wonderful. I liked that their personalities were more in the gray areas than black-and-white. Fenris was a masterful brooder; very appealing. I would have suggested to the writers to not allow Anders and Meredith the "a demon made me do it!" excuse. It would have been just as believable, and even more realistic, if they'd done those things of their own free, warped wills. I understand why they did things that way, though, and I really don't have a problem with the ending as it was.

Character design was a thousand times better, along with beautiful graphics. I liked stopping along the Wounded Coast to look out at the sea.

My major gripe with this game is the lack of in-depth companion interaction. I really want to be able to strike up a conversation with my companions more than once every three years. I want my love interest to kiss me, hug me, or even drag me off to bed the night before an important battle. I don't care if it's the same canned scene every time, as long as there's some kind of way to initiate it. I hope modders or future DLC will be able to address the lack of companion interaction.

Like a previous reviewer, I didn't like the way the game did death animations. It's not realistic to kick a guy in the face and suddenly his body explodes into twelve different sections. And I wanted more cut-scene finisher moves for killing bosses.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this game and it rates higher on my list than DAO.

ETA: I actually liked the companions having distinct armor looks that were exclusive to them. I suppose you could have added an extra companion-specific outfit or two, for people who wanted to switch it up a bit. But overall, I liked the companion outfits. A LOT. I don't really feel the need to play dress-up with them or stick helmets on their heads. Each companion obviously had individual taste in clothing, and it's silly to come along and make them all dress in the same boring Studded Leather Armor.

Modifié par Thrennion, 20 mars 2011 - 08:53 .

[Costello_Anasazi]

 Great idea for a thread and I hope that you can take it on board what is said.

 The Good.

 The Quest length. This is a 100% improvment over Dragon Age and even ME2 (to some respect) you kept the quests short but full of action. It ment that it felt like you were really achieving something every 15 to 30 mins and made the experience a lot more enjoyable than say 4 hours spent down the deep road. Really happy about this and it made for a much better gaming experience.

 The Combat. Perhaps a little too fast paced but I really liked how it was possible to play without having a mage in your party. DA:O some spells were just must haves while still useful this was removed from DA2 which is a very good thing. Two handed was also more of an option I hated Ogren cause he was dead more often than not if he went into a fight now the combat makes all builds more viable.

 The Graphics. The overhaul really does make a difference and makes for an enjoyable playing experience. The world looked amazing and it was very enjoyable to explore it. 

  The companion Banter. This was a real move up from DA:O and a lot lot better than Awakening. It did give an enjoyable feel to the walking about and exploring. Its always nice when the game makes it feel more like a real living world and this went a long way to it. Also how they could be used in quests.

  The Bad.

   Is this a Sequel? I hate to say this but after playing through this feels like Dragon Age lite. I would have much prefered to have played my Warden and now having completed DA2 I still prefere my Warden. The Champion felt like a worse version of the Warden with a story that may have spanned seven years felt very ineffectual and despte what is said more an observer to events than a catalyst. Where as the Warden stoped the Blight the Champion had little direct control over the events and Anders was more instrumental than he was. There seemed to be very little cross over form orgins to DA2 and could have been a completely different game in a completely different setting. I'd rather have seen a continuation of the Wardens story rather than one running parellel and mostly independent of Origins.
 
When a game has a 2 after it I hope it will carry on the story like Baldurs gate 1 and 2 and Throne of Bhaal. Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 rather than Neverwinter or Kotor that were made by different companies. The Cameo were nice but far too little to make it a viable sequel ultimately bring back my Warden and let me see how the world has progressed rather than needing a DLC to get a throw away line of his a good king but that was a long time ago.

  Talking to Companions. Why was this removed, I liked the Camp or even the Normandy to now have this removed where you get to talk to them at the start and end of a quest and thats it. The DA:O companions felt like they had a lot more personality and added a lot more to the game. 

  The Dumbing Down. A junk loot section, really? Might as well have removed that from the game and just had silver instead and you would cut out the middle man. Companion armour being changed to upgrades. The loss of skills so no more pick pocketing or surival or you get the idea. It feels like despite having an 18 cert the game has been dumbed down for people that can't be bothered with anything but combat.

 The Ugly

   The Choice of weapons and armour seemed a little strange. Many of the good swords were ugly and horrible looking. Where as Origins had a few bizzare looking items most where good looking. In DA2 most looked horrible and detracted from the wonderful work done by the art team on every other aspect of the game.

  What happened to Duel Wielding Swords! As a duel wielder in Origins I missed this skill a lot and while there were a lot of improvements to the combat system it was a shame to see this one go.

   The Ending. Now I'm not as invested in the story as I was for my Warden and the tale of the champion wasn't as interesting to me. It was all round one city and little else but honestly all those quests all the side missions or the choices and it appears to have made no difference to the end of the game. Do I find what the Wardens wanted? No. Do I find what my companions get up to? No. Do I find what my Champion Did? No (if you side with the mages). Do I know whats up with Flemeth? In all honesty it feels like a con I come away with more questions than answers and as to the events in Dragon Age Origins whats happened with my Child, what was left at the end of Witch Hunt? How is Ferelden or the Wardens or Wardens Keep?
 
  In finishing

   I said early it felt like Dragon Age Origins lite and this is the biggest problem. After crafting a wonderful story in Origins it was always going to be hard to follow and technicaly DA2 is amazing but from a story point of view it doesn't deliever. The Champion isn't as interesting, the setting is more narrow and despite being a sequel little is answered from Dragon Age Origins and it doesn't feel as Epic. Some how ME2 managed to up the stakes this was missed in DA2 and while as a stand alone it is an impresive game as a sequel it has lost some of the magic that the original had.

[bigbade]

Just finished, going to make this short (kinda) , sweet and to the point:


Hawke:
Male, Sword & Shield Warrior.
All companions recruited, Fenris dead for turning on me at the end, Bethany grey warden'd

So, the GOOD/GREAT

--Companions: I went in thinking I wouldn't like the DA2 companions as much but I was surprised. Merill's blood magic made her an interesting creepy-yet-cute character and Ander's revolutionary character was out of this world. The sudden hate for Ander's terrorism is a reflection of what people fear today but he fit extremely well into the story. However, Bethany was my favorite character throughout the whole thing (Throughout both games in fact, despite the small role she played..call me crazy) , the little sister role she played was very powerful (not to mention she kicks ass) and it's a shame that you guys decided to write a sibling out after Act 1...after all that talk about family I felt a bit underwhelmed considering the pressure in Act 1 between Bethany and templars was great and then she just leaves. I hope future DLC includes a strong Bethany / Carver presence. (coughcoughConsiderThisHeavilycoughcoughMustHaveMoreBethanycoughcough)

--Story: Oh dear, I have my flame-retardant (and retard-retardant) shield up and will say that the story was WAY better than DA:O's. Now don't get me wrong, DA:O was an epic adventure (too similar to LOTR at times but LOTR is great so that's not necesarilly bad) with ancient relics, powers and a massive threat but this personal story is much more believable and the fact that it's on a smaller scale makes it easier to swallow. I'm all for 2 Grey Wardens being able to assemble an army, since that is their job and they are extremely talented warriors due to their taint, but if this refugee from Lothering had pulled the same shenanigans I would still be on my ass. The lack of an over arching plot complaints are , frankly, plain false...the only suggestion would be to have made the rising pressure between templars and mages more obvious somewhere along each Act, since Act 3 tends to simply throw it at you. The multitudes of main plots can make it confusing to follow at times, but in the end it all comes together regardless, and it becomes clear that the story is about Hawke first and everything around him second, rather than vice versa.  

--Voice: Although I wasn't a fan of how childishly obvious the conversation options became due to the icons, I liked the idea. Unfortunately, role playing wise, I feel like I never really chose the options that I would have chosen had their "intent" not been in broad daylight so this kind of limits my choices in a way. It's definitely a good idea for romances, but should have been left out for anything else. I was also heavily impressed by how your choices actually start shaping the way your Hawke responds to everything, whether it be random banter, battle cries, or dialogue you had no control over. A+  (I'll also count Music/Sound in here too, those were good as well)

The MEDIOCRE/ MEH

--Combat: For a game that leaned heavily on its "fast paced combat", that's about the last thing this game delivered. The flow of combat itself is, indeed, pretty well paced and keeps people moving and running, but it's flaws outweigh it's good points. The waves are, for starters, a terrible idea, if the first wave couldn't kill me, then the 5 that follow don't have much chance of faring any better, the fact they drop from rooftops that aren't there or just plain fade in ("sup guys, just doin mah job") makes it more frustating than anything. Also, this isn't final fantasy last time I checked, I have never, and never want to, grind for long periods of time at one opponent who has an absurd amount of health(Even lieutenant charactersin mobs simply have way too much health or we don't do enough damage.. When a party of 4 is attacking a templar lieutenant he should go down relatively quickly..he does not)  It's barely possible to even kill someone using regular attacks anymore, abilities have become a drug every character has to rely on if they plan on getting a kill. In DA:O as you upgraded and got better weapons, that actually SHOWED in the good ol' regular attacks and taking down an enemy in a couple swings was completely feasible, you guys wanted to make combat so much faster that it's apparently gotten sucked into a time warp and gone thrice as slowly and become twice as tedious. 

--Re-used textures: This isn't really a game-breaker for me. I went in thinking I could forgive the rehashing of textures because it would be logical that we visit the same mines and caves since we live in the same spot for a decade. However, it was pretty damn lazy to simply have EVERY mine and cave be the exact same (with the same map that just has sealed off doors according to whatever mine/cave you were in). Honestly, there were so few mines and caves that at least reshaping them could have done this game alot of good.

And,THE BAD

--"Random" Encounters:DA:O's random encounters actually made sense, whether it be story/companion related or just a clever trap set by ONE group of bandits (not an army that apparently have "fading in" magic spells) In DA2, it is anything but. The mobs are spotted from miles away in a small group waiting to apparently ambush you and only you despite the others wandering those streets (great thugs). It might have actually made it more tolerable to fight these random gangs if they were preying on people, as they should. Also the notion of "random" has absolutely dissapeared. Walking into any part of Kirkwall at night means that I expect at LEAST 2 mobs to attack me for no reason, that's not random. I once faced 5 mobs in Lowtown just trying to get to the Hanged Man from the stairs with a large ramp next to it. WHY!?

--Inventory:Getting rid of all the categories wasn't my main problem. The actual interface was nice, and the loot was fine. But the "junk" was a terrible idea. It sells for almost nothing, DA:O's "junk" actually ran for a good price in the markets and it wasn't absolutely everywhere. Throwing all this crap around makes our already tiny (again, why?) inventory fill up at great speeds. It could be recommended to just "not pick it up", but most of the time there is junk thrown in the mix with good loot, in which case anyone will just press "take all". As soon as it fills up, we just destroy the stuff because we need the room for something useful, like a piece of armor that we won't use but still runs for a higher price at the nearest merchant. If an item has no use or valor, it may as well not be in there, or the inventory should be brought back to a limit that isn't ridiculous restraining. If the inventory downgrade was to aim for "reality" (he can't possibly carry 15 armor sets in his backpack!))) well reality went out the window when gangs attacked me in groups of 40's and I came out unscatched after blowing them into bits.

--Lack of deathblows: This is just a personal gripe, but the combat is far less entertaining when its the same old "hack at him a thousand times till he drops dead (great death animations though, much better than the DA:O's "fall over like a log" style) or blow him into tiny bits with my longsword (?). It's obvious deathblows are animated and in the game, we see them with scripted events like the ogre and the dragon so why not put them in the regular combat? It would add plenty of variety (assuming there's plenty of deathblows) and make it not so repetitive. This would go exceptionally well hand-in-hand with reduced enemy health points as stated in the "Combat" point above. I already know that a developer has stated that they didn't implement deathblows because it didn't "flow" well but there could just simply be an option to turn them on or off, or make the character dealing a deathblow be invulnerable for the duration, I doubt many people would find that upsetting.


Basically:


Combat was an improvement fluidity wise, but the waves and ridiculous amounts of health makes it tedious hack and slashing, and the lack of deathblows makes the whole thing repetitive to watch.

[b]Voice, story, and characters were all extremely well done, but companions didn't have enough depth to them. I miss being able to just question your companion at camp (their home, whatever) rather than have to figure out via banter.
[/b]
Random encounters are not random but stupid. I just want to get from point A to point B without having to kill 120 men on the way, Hawke could have a higher kill toll than the warden in one night strolling through Kirkwall.

Bethany is the best, bring her back in every way possible.

And my final thought:
For one year (give or take) of development...this is pretty impressive. The voice acting and plethora of characters and personalities is insane, but the shortcomings can be game-breaking if you don't the have patience (which not all of us do).

There goes the "short" in "short sweet and to the point" but hey, I hope this gets read and I did enjoy DA2 despite its flaws. I went in thinking it was a different game and not a direct sequel, and that kept whatever "DAO veteran rage" alot of people seem to have at bay. Oh and more Bethany, thanks. 

Modifié par bigbade, 20 mars 2011 - 08:43 .

[GunMoth]

 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTS, ATMOSPHERE, AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS.
Before I experienced the game, the concept that you explore Kirkwall over the course of several years was a compelling concept. After playing the game, it didn't feel like it truly expanded over the course of 10 years. Yes, I was told by the narrative that three years passed between acts, but the city itself remained the same. In interviews prior to the games release, many of Bioware's employees stated that the new relationship system would add depth to your time in Kirkwall. Relationships could be explored over the course of several years, however, I felt that my relationships in Origins had more depth than the ones in Kirkwall. Many of the environments were recycled, which I didn't have an issue with initially, however it discouraged exploration. I wasn't one of the people who found every single ingedient in the game, but I burnt myself out trying. I can only imagine how painful it must be for most players to actually aquire that achievement without looking at a walkthrough. 

THE STORYLINE, NARRATIVE AND CHARACTERS
I give kudos to Bioware for trying something original. However the narrative that was used destroyed immersion. I didn't feel like I was making decisions that defined Varric's story. Varric and Cassandra's dialog made it feel like my actions were already predetermined and written in history. The Champion didn't feel like ME. The Champion felt like some character I assumed the role as to entertain the curiosity of Cassandra and the Chantry. I did enjoy the relationships you have with your family members. The death of Leandra definitely touched me in a very morbid and disturbing way. The companions were amazing, and the unique situations your sibling can be in is interesting. Warden Bethany made me a bit foggy eyed during our final conversation. Especially since I sided with the templars. 

The "ACT" system made the overall plot feel disjointed, but I think I may understand why. It's just my assumption as a fan, but I'm hoping the reason why we experienced several different conflicts is because there was a stage being set for the next instalment of the series. Regardless, it isn't an excuse to make a game's delivery feel somewhat sloppy or inconclusive. Yes, Dragon Age 2 left on an interesting cliff hanger. Instead of uniting Thedas, you destroyed it, possibly starting a massive civil war not limited to one specific country. You alone unintentionally destroyed the world. The game did a great job in making me think twice about the mages plight. I played as a mage who was extremely against the circle in Origins, however, I sided with the templars in order to attempt to restore order. 

GAMEPLAY
It felt exhausting. I can't quite explain why. I played on hard and am planning on playing through on nightmare on my next character. I think the spontaneous "spawning from the ceiling" definitely put a strain on me.

OVERALL
Good game on its own, but as a Dragon Age installment, it had big shoes to fill, and it failed. O: But it left the developers with a huge amount of potential story wise to work with. 

[Alydara]

I have to agree with those like XGAMER. I'm fairly disappointed in this game so far. I was well into Act3 and decided to ditch my char and start again, hoping that if I took more time it would add to the game in making sure I did all the side quests. It hasn't so far. I don't like my partners. What did you do to poor Anders? He was such a loverboy, and now he wont give me the time of day! Or hardly. Where's the romance? I CARED about Allistair! I LIKED Morrigan. I want to know what happened with the baby storyline. I really am unhappy about that.
I beta'd DAOC from Alpha, so I could add a lot, but most has been covered by others and there's no reason to kill what is, in all actuallity, a rushed to market game, as was DAOC. Hopefully, future patches will fix and add and reshape the game into something more interesting.

Best of luck.

[Alydara]

Ooops. Double post. Sorry.

Modifié par Alydara, 20 mars 2011 - 08:26 .

[Camenae]

I played through this game twice, taking about 50-60 hours each time, so it's safe to say I enjoyed it.  I don't think it's better or worse than Origins.  I think it's just a different game.

Good things:

- I saw many complain about the Friendship/Rivalry system, but personally I liked it.  It was fun figuring out the personalities of each character, and gradually learning that you should choose the "nice" choice with Sebastian and the joking choice with Isabela for approval.  It's not, "pick the top dialogue-wheel choice to kiss @ss and everyone will LOVE you!". I liked how not everyone got along.  In DA:O and most other games, it feels like your whole party is just one big happy family, except for people like Morrigan who hated everyone just because.

- I liked that quest lines continue through the Acts, and depending on what you did with that quest, the quests in the subsequent Act will reflect that choice.  This is actually one of the few instances in which I felt like the choices I made had an impact.

- Romance cut scenes. Much, MUCH better than DA: O.  I'm glad it was more like the ME series and each character had a different scene.  Whereas the generic consummation scenes in DA: O just made me uncomfortable, the scenes in DA2 had raw PASSION.  Daring and refreshing.

- Costume design.  I wish there were a greater variety, because there are only 2 robe models and maybe 3 staff models.  But what is there is very well done.  As a girl I pay attention to the clothes I'm wearing, and I will often forego good stats if another item looks a lot better.  I thought the armor was very detailed, and it showed off my characters' body without being too revealing.  That said, I wish more risqué outfits were available.  Why did every outfit have to cover me up to my throat?  Still, kudoes to the costume designers.  I never thought a girl could look good in a boyish outfit with puff sleeves and a variety of fanny packs (the Enasalin armor for rogues) but you guys made it work!

- Cameos.  Only wish there were more of them.  In ME2 you'd be talking to someone who was just a bystander in the Citadel, but now he gives you quests.  And you can chat a little about what happened in the first game.  Wouldn't it be cool if Sten from Origins came back and now he's the Arishok?  I would have DIED of excitement if that were the case and he said something like, "I've only considered one person beyond Par Vollen as basha lit'an before and that was the warden.  You're the second, Hawke."

The Cons:

- the writing was generally superb, as is the style of Bioware.  However, some things just didn't jibe with common sense, even as I realize that they were necessary to push the plot along.  For example, why do you still fight Orsino first, even if you sided with the mages? It's one thing for mages to say, we were backed up into a corner and had to resort to blood magic, but the Champion of Kirkwall is there with all his battle-hardened allies to help him!  Champion: "I'm the most powerful person in Kirkwall and my friends and I are going to fight to the death for you." Orsino: "Oh ok, blood magic!"  Makes no sense,  Shouldn't you at least wait a few moments to see how the fight is going first? I understand why i have to fight him anyway--to show that this is not an easy choice, and mages ARE as dangerous as the Templars say and the Templars ARE just as tyrannical.  But I don't see why those who chose the mages couldn't have, say, fought Meredith first while those who sided with the Templars fought Orsino first.

- the World.  I get that Hawke is the Champion of Kirkwall, so obviously she has to prove herself in, you know, Kirkwall.  But here's the thing: 10 years after I first emigrated to the U.S., I went back to China and guess what, I was totally lost in my hometown! The city was completely unrecognizable after 10 years.  Likewise, Kirkwall should have changed over the years.  Maybe Darktown was demolished and now it's a new zone.  Maybe new alleyways in Lowtown have opened up.  As it is, I am constantly surprised by characters telling me it's been however many years.  

Isabela: "Hawke I haven't seen you in 3 years."
Me: "Uh, what? You're still there in the same spot in the same bar, wearing the same outfit even.  What kind of girl goes three years without going to the mall?"

- Lack of interaction with companions.  Companion banter amongst themselves were well done, but as Hawke I felt like I did in 7th grade, when I was trying to break into a clique of girlfriends and feeling very left out.  Yes it was annoying when I'm trying to talk to a quest giver and end up right clicking on Alistair instead, and he wants to break up with me because I've been dallying with Zevran.  But as things stand now, the characters are well-written but still feels one-dimensional.  Everybody just can't wait to tell you alllllll about their tragic pasts 5 minutes after you meet them.  Fenris has been on the run from a dangerous dangerous man and learned that no one can be trusted, but first time he meets me, he tells me everything?  Why would any fugitive trust a complete stranger, especially if you're playing a mage?

It's great that each character has an agenda, but it seems as if that is ALL there is to each of them.  
Anders: mages are oppressed.  
Fenris: I hate mages.
Merrill: blood magic is AWESOME!
Etc....after you find this out there is essentially nothing more you need to know.

- Voice acting is good, but why do they all talk so slowly??  I was seething with impatience a lot of times.  I wanted to choke Keeper Marethari because she talked so slow as it is, and when she was possessed by the demon she talked even more slowly!!! I miss Zevran.  He spoke at a pretty good pace.  The actress who did the Comtesse de Launcet in Act III needs to be fired.  Worst...acting...ever...Just painful.  My baby sister did better in her grade-school play as Extra #4.

- Romance system too unforgiving.  Forgot to give them THE Act II gift? You're screwed forever.  Or actually, NOT screwed, as the case may be...I would also have liked to see more of the romance scenes.  At least you should have some extra scenes for the characters that move in with you.

And what is up with Sebastian's "romance?". The lines were painful to listen to, and again did not fit common sense. 
You: "I'm just talking about two people, one night" (read: just sex, no commitment)
Sebastian immediately follows that up with: "let's have a chaste marriage in the chantry!" (read: just commitment, no sex)
That's just a "um, what?" moment.

- Hurried development.  Don't get me wrong, as am avid fan of DA: O, I really appreciate that there's a sequel this soon (I loved DA:O so much that I couldn't stop gushing about it and ended up talking a friend of mine into buying a PS3 just so he can try the game too).  But I was annoyed by all the items in the game being the generic "Ring" "Belt" "Amulet.". Made inventory management that much harder.  

That said I didn't mind that I can't change the companion armor.  There's few enough unique-looking gear as it is in the game, why would I want to make those who actually do have a unique look look generic by taking off their unique armor and putting on generic gear on them?  Plus I'm lazy.

[bigbade]

well hopefully the messed up coloring scheme is only because of my browser. ..

[Dasha Dreyson]

While I thoroughly enjoyed DA2, it was very short for an rpg. It also did the very thing I was afraid of when I heard it would span 10 years; which was the time skips. The city didn't really change over the years and the time skips made the romances feel strained. It made a little sense with Anders because he was desperate to hold back (which shows in that kiss!) but with Fenris it felt like he got nowhere during the game. There were dialogue options telling him to start his life, but he never did. I also missed DA:O Merrill. I don't know why she and Fenarel made such an impression, but they did. I also thought Anders and Fenris were too much alike. If it had been Tevinter, Fenris may have done the same thing. Also, since it focused so much on the mage/templar issue, replay got a bit old quickly. I have to agree with Varric there.

So all that said, I really enjoyed playing what there was. I enjoyed wanting to protect Bethany and I really enjoyed disliking Carver my first play through. I didn't dislike him so much on a third round because it was nice to see his reactions when you made him share the blame/feel like he was an important contribution. I loved the family aspect and watching the cutscenes where companions were becoming friends. I loved the date! Aveline was well written in that she had a life outside Hawke. She and Donnic were adorable. I love his slip about serving under her. (I would love to be able to be an Emma and give companions nudges towards each other in future games, btw.) In a way, I'm glad I couldn't completely change companions minds about certain things.

I'd love to see more teddy bear and teacup game play in the future (friendships, relationships, romance). It would have been cool if when Mother wanted to set up a marriage that there had been an option to follow through. I liked the easily dislikable characters; keep it coming! A romance option where it didn't feel like you were trying to mend the love interest. A non-brooding male interest (I'm too old for that ****). More David Gaider. Also I'd like the voice actors to stay steady across games (even if one poor actor has to do a Cullen/Anders argument by himself). With Isabela, it made sense since she was such a small role in the first one and such a huge rewrite, but I miss the consistency for some of the others.

Wow, it sounds like I didn't enjoy it as much as I did. I guess I'm being critical because I really like the Dragon Age series and want to see it continue for years to come. I do like the idea of each game being different from the previous games and I like that it builds on the game before. I really want there to be more games for years to come. Also, in that vein, can we in the future have a choice compiler for when saves become corrupt or degrade from imports through game after game? I know there is a fan made one now, but an official one would be great if we got to Dragon Age 5 or so.

Modifié par Dasha Dreyson, 20 mars 2011 - 09:37 .

[Illwillsam]

I have not read anyone else's reviews at this time, so my own is true to my experience.
The Good:
- I liked the graphics.

- Took a while to get used to the game play, but in the end I liked the combat system. More on this
later, but I like how you differentiated the classes more than you
did in DA1.

- Story was pretty good in my opinion, I did
not see many things coming. I liked the fact that many things did not
go your way, it added some depth and drama to the story. I romanced
Merrill (because she is just too damned awesome), and I found myself
worrying for her safety and that of Bethany.

- I wasn't too
sure about the characters, but they grew on me, even if some of them
were a tad too cliche (Isabella anyone?).

- Finished the game
as a rogue on hard and I liked some of the bosses, tougher than
anything I fought in DA1 on nightmare. Loved the final fight. Honestly nightware in DA1 was easymode after a while, although that will probably be true for this game after a few playthroughs.

- At first the waves
spawning in the pulls made the fights more dynamic and added much
needed justification for getting defensive talents on your non tank
characters, which people rarely got in DA1 unless they were soloing nightmare. More on this later.

- Every level I had a hard time choosing a new ability. Most if not all were good in some way, shape or form.

- Once I got the game to install (see below) I got it to crash only twice in over 40 hours of gameplay, not bad. Thumbs up to EA's customer service (phone) for helping me with my problems.

The Bad:
- Craptastic release. I was so excited for this game which made it that
much worse when I could not even install it. What makes it even worse is
as I was looking into my little problem in hopes that I could solve
it myself, I found many posts regarding the exact same
problems in DA1. So not only was your release crap, but you
made the same damned mistakes twice. That is pretty much the
definition of stupidity.

- Waves spawning on every pull became
tedious, by act 3 I was seriously considering putting the game on
casual just so I can get through the obnoxious trash pulls fast.

- Act three was too predictable and there was not enough going on to
warrant the length.

- Some bosses were nice, I enjoyed the
high dragon fight, but they took too damned long to kill. Ancient
Rock Wraith was amazingly annoying, tedious and long. I figured out
the strats in about the first 2 attempts which made the fight fairly one dimensional, but it took forever to actually kill the damned thing. And god
forbid you fail at 5% health, you have to go back and do 15+ minutes
of work. That is what it felt like ... work.

- While you succeeded in differentiating the classes, you also reduced replay
value.

- Some things were just annoying, like blood mages who
could kill half your party with one spell that they cast through a
couple of walls. I even took many defensive stats in put points into
constitution, it did not matter. Rogues vanishing and one shotting
characters not at full HP was also lame, and while AOE spells hit
them, it did not pull them out of stealth.

The Ugly: (things that could be either good or bad)

- After a while the combat system, at it's core,
was the same as that in DA1. Same tactics, same
everything.

Conclusions: I would probably give this game about an 80%. I did a lot of things right,
but those things were driven down by how tedious the game became. I
played and finished DA1 probably around 10 times. I will probably
only play this game 3 times. Terribly disappointed in the release, it
was so bad I am inclined to think they did no quality testing prior
to the release because that is the only way that these issues were not caught and
fixed before I got my hands on the disk. To their credit Bioware has
made so many good games now (many classics in my opinion) that it
will be hard for them to follow that. If this was DA1 people would
probably have loved it just as much, hard to say though.

Why is the site doing funny things with my formatting?

Modifié par Illwillsam, 20 mars 2011 - 10:08 .

[gozo1]

What I liked about:
Combat- Moves were much more responsive than Origins. Basic attacks, especially by mages, looked more fluid and action oriented (none of that little scoot and shoot move over and over again).

Kirkwall- Concept design was spectacular. I really enjoyed the history, architecture, and sculptures that littered the city.

Story- While some critics complained about a lack of central focus, I found it fit well with the refugee to hero theme BioWare strived for. The Qunari were hard to gauge, which made sense given their alien like nature. Several situations left you wondering who was good/evil for long streches of time. Character storyline progressions (Aveline and Bethany/Carver if they were Wardens) were well written.

Items-Armor and weapons looked much better than previous Dragon Age titles. No more stupid wizard dunce hats from Origins.

Other things-Cameos from previous games. Playful banter. Random battles reduced.

What I didn't like about:
Kirkwall- One of the most blatant rehashing of environments I've ever seen in a game. Several "different" areas were used upwards of 4 times. Very dissapointed, it showed that the game was rushed.

Story-It seemed the character's choices mattered little in the grand scheme of things. While I found this problem in Origins, in DA II it made less of an effort to conceal that fact. BioWare clearly knows where they want to take the story, whether the player wants to come along or not.

Items-Duplicate names were abound. A "belt" could mean a 5 or 1 star item. More discription is needed. Also, unique items seemed to be more rare and complete sets were few and far between. Stores were only good to buy upgrades for companions and occasional potions, little else.

Other things-Fetch quests with little reward. Random bugs. Waves of enemies constantly appearing. No "finishing moves" during combat.

[the_darkness]

The Combat- Much improved since Origins, loved the cross class combos and branching still trees, The exploding bodies were too over the top for melee and archery kills however, they would have been better reserved for magic kills. Also the roundhouse kicks for the flasks were also a bit too cartoony for my tast. Also cut back one the mobs that randomly drop from roofs, of all of the enemies who do that in the game the only ones that spawning trick works for is spiders. 4/5

The Characters- Some of the best characters from you guys yet. Them having their own lives and homes was a great touch, and banter was excellent. Liked the character specific outfits I like the rune upgrade system it felt like I was actually deciding what to protect them from instead of just swapping out tier3 armor for tier4 without a seconed thought. I also liked that you guys kept the whole chainmail bikini syndrome under control. Voice acting was great almost across the board one of the few exceptions being the actor who voiced Cricket on the On The Loose quest. As far as a voice Hawke I really did enjoy that aspect as well.  5/5

Art Direction- Liked it didn't love it is a step above Origins for sure but........ 4/5

The Story- Loved the slow boil that you guys did on the main Mage/Templar plot, and really like the Qunari plot in act2. I enjoyed that the sidequests had real plots themselves especally the serial killer one. I also enjoyed the ending. 5/5

The Enviroments- The thing that annoyed me the most about this game. They are prettier than they were in Origins for sure but all of the recycled layouts and not even changing the mini map to show the areas you closed off when making the area, shame shame Bioware. 3/5

The Items- While I like that all rings and belts and such had an effect it would be nice to better descriptions that Belt and Ring in the inventory screen and I also didn't like that you had to go to your journal to see the history of an epic item whereas in Origins you had that information right in the inventory screen. 4/5

Overall 4/5

I would also like to rant about Sebastian being a SE or pay DLC, now I'm one of the few who don't mind EA's project 10 dollar or whatever but you guys went overboard with this one. I could understand having himand the Black Emporium as DLC for every new copy on DA2 I could justify and even defend that. He add so much to the scene when Anders puts his endgame into action to make him a great addition to the game, but as a SE owner I won't be telling my friends to spend $8 for him and his missions. I will be recommening that they wait for a year for an ultimate edition because he doesn't add enough to the overall expirence to justify the purchase. I think that you guys shot yourselves in the foot in this regard.

Modifié par the_darkness, 21 mars 2011 - 12:35 .