1012 réponses à ce sujet

[IainCD]

Well, I've just finished my first playthrough so here is my quick (not very professional) review! I haven't read any of the other reviews yet so apologies for duplications. First off, I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed playing DA2 very much. There has been a lot of negative stuff on the boards lately but I found the game fun, compelling with a good mix of characters and a strong overall story. Its not perfect - but more on that later!

I really liked the combat. I play on Xbox 360, largely because my PC is now too old to cope with the newest games. As a result, I suppose I'm guilty of being a 'button-masher' but that said, I got far more out of the combat this time around than in Origins and I used all my special moves so much more than in the previous game. It was great to watch and fun to play - so no problems there!

Surprisingly, I really liked the voiced protagonist - and I didn't expect to! Kudos then to the writers and Nicholas Boulton for making me care just as much for MY laid-back, easy going Hawke as I did for MY Warden. Whether that will work so well in subsequent playthroughs, I'm not sure but as my next Hawke will be female, I expect it will be OK.

On the whole I liked the companions. They were a good, mixed bag. As in Origins, I liked some more than others but I did feel that none of them were as strong or as memorable as Alistair and Morrigan from the first game. Whilst I had no problems with the dialogue wheel and I appreciated having companion conversations spread out through the game, I did miss not being able to talk to them at any time I wanted to. I have mixed feelings about the lack of companion customisation. I liked the individual looks but it was highly unbelievable that some of them would not change their clothes at all throughout the time span of the game!

Graphically I thought it looked great. Kirkwall was a beautiful city but the recycled areas were a real issue for me. I appreciate the reasons for doing it but there was just too much of it this time and much of it made no sense. Why would the city sewers look exactly the same as that hidden alleyway or a random Sundermount cave like a section of the Deep Roads? It seemed lazy and cheap and did nothing to help combat the cries of 'rushed game'! The unique areas were splendid however. Some of the new character models were weird (Zevran, Alistair, Teagan) whereas others were great (Leliana, Cullen).

I really enjoyed the story. I loved the political machinations and the growing sense of doom. At times, there were too many different things going on and some of the more mundane sidequests got old very quickly but the central antagonists were well done. I can't decide whether it was a good thing or not to hold Meredith and Orsino back for the final act. I worked well dramatically but it did make it trickier to know who to side with as there was so little time to get to know them. Having decided to back the mages (largely because I was romancing Anders) I had a moment of doubt just before the destruction of the chantry because Meredith suddenly seemed quite sympathetic! I suppose that's good storytelling! I did think the ending was quite messy however (by which I mean the final battles - it seemed a bit style over substance but I did like the end teaser with the Seekers).

So, on the whole, I enjoyed the DA2 experience and will certainly replay. Its a pity that its quite a bit shorter than Origins and, frankly, its not as good as the first game but I will stick with the franchise and look forward to DA3. We really must have Cassandra as a companion next time though...and Cullen would be good too!

[jacilynt]

well i just completed my playthrough and ive got to admit... i really dont understand what the story gripes are all about.  the story, while somewhat linear in that it would always ultimately lead to a decision between mages and templars, was to me the highlight.  it felt much deeper than origins.  the "passing of time" effect was awesome and really set aside what i thought would be my biggest frustration of the game... the fact that you cant really go anywhere but kirkwall.  plus this was much more of a true sequel than any of us thought it would be.  i played on ps3, and dont know if it changes between platforms, but my import of origins got me interactions with several major party contributors from origins.  all of whose personalities and responses seemed to be shaped by how they were shaped in origins.  i agree that in the end anders comes off as a crybaby biotch that ultimately ruins everything, and if justice is THE justice from awakenings i kind of hate what they did with what was possibly awakenings best personality.  but the bottom line is that if youre complaining about the story before you have finished the story this game SCREAMS that both your characters from origins and 2 will be huge playable parts of 3.  heres hoping that its a war between the imperium and the qunari that you are forced to choose between.  yeah bethany is an awesome character, and it sucks that you essentially lose her one way or another, but at the end of the day as annoying and preachy as he is (really wished i could leave him behind for all things involving merrill), he is by far the THE healer of 2.  his player specific talent tree screams this as he and a grenade are the only things that can revive downed party members.  lord knows i had just about had a "what the hell am i going to do" nervous breakdown moment in the 2 mins between losing anders and getting bethany back from the wardens in the final cut scene based on my choices since i essentially put his fate up to a vote.  but i was also pleasantly suprised that the game took this into account as far as difficulty is concerned.  the final boss in the deep roads for example was by far the most difficult boss in the game to me and i think it was made so because the developers knew that you may have both anders and bethany with you, and that there was a possibilty that the the following two boss sequences would leave you without one or both of them. 

as far as gameplay is concerned, im sorry pc people but it just had to be done.  first and foremost because they had to make it more fluid for console gamers.  its not about dumbing it down its about streamlining it so you dont have to spend 60% of each encounter in the damn radial menu.  by far the largest portion of gamers in the market are console gamers.  this is the market you live in.  you wil always have a couple of pc games that can only be played on the pc because of design, but the fact of the matter is when origins got ported as a pc title to console gamers the results were awful.  it was glitchy as hell, and an absolute headache to control.  i think just about every person who played origins on a console would tell you that hands down the gameplay in this iteration was way way better.  besides the biggest problem with gameplay from either platform from the first was that you could play as a mage and damn near solo everything on any difficulty.  the classes were way balanced in 2 to the point where there really is no "best" class in my opinion.  what i dont understand the most from pc gamer gripes is that while there is no auto attack feature (meaning you have to pound x over and over if you want to keep attacking), this game has a remarkably similar feel to WoW.  talent trees, party build, mob encounters, everything really.  even the constand adds (hear lots of people calling them spawns) from enemy encounters is a WoW boss fight staple.  everything is crowd control.  i had a tank on WoW and i used a tank in 2 and i think that greatly aided my learning curve.  every mob was aggroed and dragged to a different location from whence i grabbed them as a habit.  so i didnt have the add problem lots of others had.  by the time i had whittled away the original mob the adds didnt engage yet so they were just another mob.    certain boss encounters like those with dragons and the knight-commander were absolute cake cuz the warrior would maintain aggro with repeated taunts whether he attacked or not so i could just kite everything in a big circle and let ranged dps whittle everything down.  which is funny because tying back into story complaints the game would get harder if you based your player selection on who you like more.  everyone almost unanimously loves isabella.  but to me the best act 2 and 3 groups by far were anders, merrill, and either varric or the prince.  you could just pound away with your tank inside without worrying about accidently killing isabella who had a remarkable talent for using backstab to suddenly appear beside you while you had just hit the assault button and fenris who with out fail would kill at least one melee party member every time an encounter started if you didnt manually hold individuals back.  lol. 

but i digress from my point.  i thought the gameplay was a HUGE improvement, and personally i thought origins at the end of the day could come down to one mage running circles and shooting periodically.  you dont have that option in 2.  at the end of the day keeping everyone alive is much more important, and therefor much more difficult in 2.  there is nothing "dumbed down" about the gameplay.  play on nightmare and this game is still an absolute beast to get through. 

the only thing i agree has been "dumbed down" is inventory.  i like that its not as completely thrown out as mass effect 2 did, but at the same time i would have liked to put some of that awesome rogue and mage gear on my party members.  but there are some advantages to this.  one of the biggest obstacels in both origins and the first mass effect is that you would constantly run out of space to carry your loot.  it slowed everything down cuz you couldnt do back to back missions or quests, and you would often have to spend hours in the case of mass effect staring at your damn inventory.  not a probelm with this.  you still have to clear junk from your inventory from time to time, but you can do a sweep of quests outside kirkwall without having to find a vendor.  still i kind of hate that just about every item you pick up is meaningless, and i hate that the game cant be smart enough to realize that unless npc's are sending you class specific gear its worthless.  you almost have to side with the templars if you want to get anything decent as a reward for your warrior in the way of armor.  so its one step forward as far as inventory clutter, and two steps back as far as inventory value in my opinion.  i honestly got to the point where i could care less about looting, which should be the reward of the encounter, other than the gold.  so they still have a ways to go in this regard imo. 

but my biggest gripe is by far graphics and environments.  looking vastly better than origins is just not good enough.  for anyone who has played oblivion you know how amazing the environment can look if you put some money and effort into it.  kirkwall should look better than a game created nearly 6 years ago, and im sorry but it just flat doesnt.  and the player models, while improved from orgins, still pale in comparison to mass effect.  the qunari look fairly bad ass, but the elves..... dear lord.... with the exception of key npc's and party members all look like a bunch of midgets with ridiculously large ears.  whoever approved that art direction was a straight up retard.  and detail?  i find it hard to believe that the same devoleper responsible for the level of detail in every mass effect character is responsible for the complete lack of detail in just about every dragon age character.  it is way to obvious that they spent a great deal of time with the appearance of flemeth and varric and isabella, and next to no time with the appearance of your family and repeats like anders.  this was a huge minus in origins, and in my mind is still a huge minus in 2.  its almost like dargon age gets bioware's graphic design b team and mass effect gets the a team.  cmon people.  youre the ones that set the bar... how about meeting it?

and last the whole generic environment thing in both mass effect and dragon age is extremely old.  the same cave over the span of 6 years can look the same.  two different caves that sit in opposite directions of kirkwall cannot.  this is just ridiculous.  with as many corners as the design team cut to begin with in the level of detail in the environments you would think they could take a month or so out of their time to make.... i dont know.... 5 more cave maps...  seriously.   just tell yourselves the constant truth of development.  easier for the developers never equals better for the gamers.  step your game up people. 

but the bottom line to me is always going to be gameplay and storytelling.  the game has to feel tight, and you have to want to see what happens next.  they get a solid A in both categories in my mind and a B- in environment detail and a C in character detail.  so in the end i give this iteration and an 8/10.  i loved it, but thats mostly cuz it fits nicely into my niche'.  i can see a lot of casual gamers seeing it as bland, and its far from an industry topper.  that being said its pretty clear to me based on how the story ends that they already know what direction they are going for 3, and that the stories will converge in some way.  so with that down i hope they have more time to focus on the things i believe are still glaring shortcomings.  im sure i will still have some complaints.  you cant please every gamer, and lord knows they shouldnt have to.  but all in all i think 2 was a pretty sweet game. 

[Weltenschlange]

Here is my personal review of Dragon Age II: Kirkwall Boogaloo:
Please keep in mind that, it's just, like, my opinion, man. ;-)


Some things I liked / loved:

- improved graphics engine/performance; for me the improvement lies not so much in the way the the game looks but in how much more smooth and stable it runs on my PC compared to Origins, great job!

- the armor is fantastic this time around; I especially loved that the female light armor was no "stupid armor" with sexy weak-points like in Origins, the different armor sets for the 3 acts were a great idea, I would have liked something similar in the weapons department for each act

- helmet toggle; thank you! :-)

- the companion armor system was much better than I thought (in contrast to Mass effect 2 the companion's armor actually fits the setting); I also really would have liked companion specific improving weapons like "Bianca" for all of them, Isabella's initial dagger set for example looks better than anything you can get for her later on

- Aveline and her quest "The Long Road"; Best. Companion Quest. Ever. :-D
 
- Varric's quest "Family Matter"; in particular the initial "creative" part, I only wish we could have had more of these situations where Varric starts bending the truth and Cassandra has to intervene

- the Qunari; great antagonists, I love to hate them, I only wish I could have kept Isabella AND the book
BTW: Dragon Age team, how about a female, gray-skinned, horned, tal'vashoth warrior companion for DA3? You know you want to! ;-)

- Anders character development; the fact that you can even notice his downward spiral in the party banter dialog is just brilliant, I told him to get out of my sight at the end although I would have liked to be able to tell him that I would not do him the favor to make him a martyr

- the overall writing; the writers are after my tears and I love it, Origins' ending made me feel happy and content, DAII on the other hand left me angry and frustrated for all the right reasons, in DAO success was inevitable - in DAII tragedy was inevitable, it's nice to have the latter in an RPG for a change

- Meredith; total KCILF ;-)


Some things I didn't like / that could've been better:

- the bugs; I know it's unavoidable and most of them will get fixed sooner or later but two were especially annoying for me - the bug that destroys Merrill's personal quest line in act 3 and the bug that makes Hawke's mom think that you brought back a slave from "A Bitter Pill" when you are actually paying the elven girl to work for you (Leandra mentioned that every time I talked to her)

- the save game import mechanic; this kind of system is very complicated and therefore it's understandable that it doesn't work as it should (also see the Mass Effect trilogy), but why oh why then not give us an option to review all the imported flags and let us alter them as needed? - now that would eliminate a lot of unwanted frustration for me

- related to that, I think it's a poor design choice to to have the availability of two companion armor upgrades depend on the save game import flags; i need those upgrades! ;_;

- weapon appearance in general; I like swords and daggers that have sharp and elegant blades - not blades that look like over-sized crowbars, I like kite shields with beautiful heraldry - not shields that look like metal doors, my problem is not so much that I don't find equipment that I like visually but that I have to use equipment that I perceive as ugly because it has the better stats, I acknowledge that almost every RPG suffers from this, so let me just say that it would be great if the next Dragon Age game could include a solution for that, maybe a weapon crafting system that makes weapon appearance customizable

- uneven companion specialization trees; I felt that some companions had specializations where everything was worth getting while with others I was not sure why I would want any of their spec abilities, for example Fenris has lots of nice passive and other abilities in his personal spec tree that help turn him into a killing machine, Merrill on the other hand has two paths in her tree - one for blood magic (which means that I'm forced to micro-manage her) and the other for "Wrath of the Elvhen" an ability that functions best when she is surrounded by enemies (which is quite the opposite of what I want to happen to my mage), I also didn't like that Merrill had no access to creation magic (and Anders likewise to entropy)

- way too many blood mages; I still chose the mage's side at the end but it would have been nice to have seen approximately even numbers of corrupt templars and mages over the course of the game, also: how in Andraste's name did Orsino turn himself into a Dwarven flesh golem?

- finally, a third option at he end would have been nice; now I know that the global outcome has to be always the same but it would have been great to have an option to just pick the side of friends and family in the end and try to get the hell out of Dodge, that could then have resulted in the same boss fights with the same ending but at least with the option to give both sides the finger (like in VtM-Bloodlines)


My overall rating: 7.7 out of 9 cute nugs

[Nuke1967]

Weltenschlange wrote...


- the save game import mechanic; this kind of system is very complicated and therefore it's understandable that it doesn't work as it should (also see the Mass Effect trilogy), but why oh why then not give us an option to review all the imported flags and let us alter them as needed? - now that would eliminate a lot of unwanted frustration for me

I really like this idea. It would let you change some things also without having to play DAO over again to get certain flags set. (Unless you want to). That would would be a great thing to have on Mass Effect as well.

[steve3194]

loved the game would have liked more character relationship building not just "meet isabela at the hanged man" once every ten hours.The ability to talk to companions at all times would be cool.There was barely anything i disliked to be honest. don't really see why the game is not getting more love.

loved the new combat bioware please don't ever switch back to the slow stuff

loved story

loved voiced hawke

Bioware please make an expansion set AFTER the ending.I really dont want to have to wait another two or three years for more dragon age.Pretty much every other games fails in comparison:unsure:

Modifié par steve3194, 24 mars 2011 - 02:16 .

[Magus_42]

I'll do this by sections:

Story

Overall, I found the storyline enjoyable, but not really satisfying. While I applaud Bioware for trying something new with the framing of the story, I don't feel that this is the best approach for an RPG where the player is both audience and actor for the story. Too much of Hawke's journey happened off screen. I felt that the bits were all pretty good, but that I was always a bit detached from them. As just an example, I think it would have done wonders for the game to start things a bit earlier at the Hawke farmstead with a chance to meet the family and establish Hawke before the real action starts, but that's lost to Varrics narrative and the prologue suffers as a result.

The fact that the Awakenings epilogue was thrown out was annoying, particularly because there seemed little point in bringing Anders back if he's completely changed personality (again, offscreen) and lost his cat. A new mage would have served the story just as well without the need to retcon. Combined with the numerous import bugs I've been reading about makes bothering to import a game seem a bit futile. I like the above poster's suggestion of letting us review all the import settings when creating a character.

I also found the final sequences a bit unsatisfying. I sided with the mages, insisting that not all mages become abominations, but, well, every mage I tried to save became an abominiation and tried to kill me. Are the templars right? Should all mages be killed on sight? Is that the message this game is trying to get across?

Characters

I found the characters to be universally well written and well acted. The relationships that the NPCs develop with each other over the course of the game are, by far, the best part of the storytelling. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost any ability for the player to talk to his companions outside of a few key events, which is a shame, as Hawke seemed less a part of the group and more an object around which these characters orbitted.

It also bothered me that no effort was made to show the passing of time. Leliana looks younger in her DLC than she does in Origins, but not an hour older in the DA2 epilogue. The same goes for everyone else. It's not just physical appearance, either. Isabella spending every night at the Hanged Man is quirky in Act 1, but 10 years later it starts to seem a bit sad. Varric and Aveline got a hint of an arc worthy of an extended time period, but for everyone else it felt like the arc from a Origins-length adventure was stretched across a larger framework.

Graphics & Sound

I'm not going to talk about graphics tech. From an art design perspective, sside from the first area and the new hurlocks, the game looks great. It took me a while to realize this, though. Through about half of Act 2 I had this sense that the game world was rather boring, but then I realized that because the camera was more locked down, I wasn't moving it around constantly to look at the world as I had done in Origins, and so mostly ended up staring at my character's feet. The feet were dull, but I was missing quite a lot elsewhere.

Mage armor isn't a complete disaster horrible. Thank you so much for that. I could do without the drool catacher on the champion armor, however.

I think the new look for the elves really works, but I still think that the horns on the Qunari are needless, even detracting. The work on the Qunari faces, though, especially the Arishok, were really impressive. Bulked up and chiseled like they were, these guys could have been impressive without breaking from the Origins style.

Oh, and the same dungeons are re-used over and over, which feels cheap. Has anyone mentioned that?

As mentioned above, the voice acting is excellent, as is the overall sound a music experience.

Gameplay

Frankly, I found the combat in this game to be tedious. I had no problems with the new mechanics, and I can always adjust difficulty, but it seems like no effort at all went into encounter design. Aside from a few bosses, it's like the same fight over and over, with the only difference being the number of waves I have to hack through. Within a few broad classes (melee, range, rogue, mage) everybody fights the same. If there are unique abilities, I couldn't tell what they were. Origins wasn't like this. Mass Effect isn't like this, and it's an action game. This makes levels a chore to play through, and reduces the impact of big fights. The statues at the end would have been really impressive if every stree thug in the game hadn't called in three waves of reinforcments when trying to pick my pocket. Oh, and the fact that most enemies just drop from the sky on top of me really doesn't help.

The loss of the skill system hurts, especially for rogues, who are now just other fighters. Traps and locks seem rather pointless, and no rewards outside of combat.

The dialogue wheel bothered me less than expected. I think the icons are more distraction than help in choosing a response. I made no effort to choose the same sort of resposne all the time, deciding to play the character instead, and didn't notice any affect on my character's behavior, which was fine by me. I would appreciate the option to see the subtilte for a response before I choose it, as the summaries are often misleading, which forced me to re-load a few times when my character said something I didn't want.

Oh, and the game is buggy. Quests are broken, half of Act 3 gets spoiled by NPC conversation before it happens, and the game seemed to hang about every other game session. This included at the very end of the fight for the Excorcist achievement, and right as the final cutscene started playing. The game was obviously not quite ready when it shipped, and I can't imagine that Bioware didn't know this.

Overall

I enjoyed the game. I look forward to a sequel, if given proper development time. However, I completed Origins with 4 warders, and played pieces with another half dozen or so. It took me a while to burn out on that game. I was burnt out on the gameplay here before the end of Act 1, and just stuck around for the story. With no origins and a single race, there's not much draw to replay the story, and, as I mentioned, poor encounters and constant bugs make any replay a chore. Any DLC would have to be really unique to draw me in. There's the potential for an enduring classic buried in here, but it feels like only a B- effort was made, and that's a bit of a shame.

[GeorgeZip]

Overall this game did much to improve upon DAO. There were some technical glitches upon release which still haven’t been resolved which is a major black mark. That said once I got it working it was a really good game. 

Itemization
- good – The loot in DAO was really boring in looks and properties. You made huge improvements here. The random prefix/suffix items are nice, cool looks, more great loot drops in the field instead of being in stores. Companions armor is not customizable (chest, boots, helm), but the rest is. It’s an improvement as far as I’m concerned. There’s plenty of items still to tweak you companions. In addition companions keep their intended look and the companion armor upgrades are cool.
-bad – either I played poorly or I was real bad at gathering money. I actually was flat broke before the qunari battle. It would be nice to be able to make potions for free in your estate. Potions and runes really drain your money.

Combat
-good – the skill trees are really cool. I love the companion skill trees.  The early game is a little rough with the fast pace, long cool downs and lack of skills. I’d consider starting players with like 4 skills at the start to make it more fun.
-bad – enemies spawning from all angles. I don’t mind the waves of enemies coming, but having them come from all angles can be irritating. Your mage often goes from being in a safe position to being surrounded in stun lock while you try to rush over to help. And that’s without them doing something totally stupid on their own which also happens. Enemy stuns seem kind of long, especially since they can repeatedly put a character in stun lock. Often these enemies are immune to stuns themselves so whoever is targeted is often dead until you get to high levels.

Adult Content
-bad – Did the Parents Teacher Counsel get hold of you? I paid for a hooker and all I get is a 2 second scene of zipping up my pants and walking out. It’s ok to decapitate hundreds of foes but not a little skin?
 
Companions
-good- I like most of them. They have good back stories.
-bad- the conversation system changed too much. While DAO often seemed like interrogation sessions, DA2 went a little too far to where you wish you could occasionally click on someone and find out what they’re thinking. A blend of these 2 systems would probably work better. Maybe you could join in on some of the banter between your companions, but keep the important dialogues for back at their homes. There’s a few minor bugs too, like Anders keeps thanking me as wanting to talk in private after I refused to help him in his crazy scheme.
 
Monsters and Enemies
-good – DA2 did a lot to improve the variety of things you face. DAO was too much groups of 10 darkspawn or 20 town guards with scattershot! The bosses were done very well, very interesting battles.
 
-bad – I could be wrong but some encounters seem out of balance.  The dragon in the deeproads seemed excessively difficult for a novice player. I had to set it too easy for that one and played the rest of the game in hard. My companion skill allocation was terrible at that point in the game so could be just me. The mass army of templars in Ander’s quest also was rough. It’s ok if you don’t change this, I don’t mind the challenge of difficult fights.
 
Graphics and environments
-good- huge improvement in the level of detail in the surrounding environments.   The environmental sounds are much better giving more of a realistic feel. You even added some creepy caves reminiscent of the creepy tombs in BG2 where kangaxx lived.
-bad- the character model mechanics are still kind of primitive.   The faces are better  but hand gestures and walking around are still robotic. The camera can be kind of annoying if you backstab and get trapped against a wall. There is a lot of reuse of dungeon maps, but this is hardly unique to this game. At least the dungeons they reuse are interesting areas. The Witcher which I loved re-used caves quite a bit and the caves were much more boring. It would be nice if each area was custom designed but its not game breaking.
 
Size of Game
-good - The game is a healthy size. Lesser games would end after the quanari battle, but you guys added another ¼ of a game. The amount of choices in skills makes replaying multiple times highly likely.
-bad- They could do with more quests outside the city. BG2 did a nice job of this. When you got overwhelmed with the city you could head out and investigate some old temple. 
 
Story
I thought the story was great. It paralleled DAO at the beginning and continued on with a new one. I’ve only played it once so I’m not sure how much my choices affected the outcome.   The tale did come to a conclusion while leaving the future open for more tales with this hero if needed.  I did like the ending, call me crazy.  I didn't like the Star Wars ending to DAO and the final battle in DA2 was awesome in comparison.

Summary
Overall the game was great. The story was compelling, the combat fun, and the character progression was satisfying in gear and skills. I didn’t get as attached to my companions as in DAO. Merrill moved in with me and we never spoke or anything after we slept together once. Isabella ran off with a qunari relic. My sister got arrested. Then I killed Anders for being crazy. Kind of funny when it’s listed and I don’t mind consequences for choices. The way it worked out I just didn’t feel that connected to the companions. I think you needed more conversations and moments with the companions.

[Brunzo]

You're not all that civil to Hawke.

He has wealth and fame after Act 1, but he has already lost his younger brother. He has already lost his father.

By the end of Act 2 he has additionally lost both his mother and his sister. I'm surprised he doesn't go insane. Maybe he does in a later expansion?

I feel there is too much loss. He didn't need to lose most of his family.

Bethany is one of the best mages in the game. After Act 1 she's lost to the player, as well as Hawke.

That's my opinion of how Hawke's family fares.

Act 3 feels a bit rushed. I have made a not in another post, which I won't repeat here. Suffice to say, the Side Quests are important. All quests and parts of the story are important.

Please don't feel it is acceptable to rush through some parts, so the player comes to the end. This is a story, as mush as it is a game. Stories need to be told with the right amount of pace. They are never rushed.

Last point; tough battles are fine. Sometimes they break the monotony. Unwinable battles are not fine. The Forbidden Knowledge Quest had a at least two of these; one in the Sundermount cavern, which was winable after about seven tries. The second, and far more infamous, is the battle in the Darktown cavern. I think I fought this wonderful losing battle ten times before conceding defeat. I don't like losing battles. No one does. Maybe one of your team feels they are challenging. They're not; they're annoying and stupid. The entire battle felt as if the player, regardless who was in their party, was going to fail. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not acceptable. Kindly give the player the abiltiy to win such a battle.

I think that's all for now. Hopefully I haven't been too harsh on you.

[LelianaNeverLovedMe]

I really liked the gameplay a lot more this time around as far as combat. I actually have to pay attention whereas in Origins I could get away with slacking off a bit more, I thought. The game looked beautiful I thought. I actually really love playing a mage in this game. I was really bored with in in Origins, this time I'm having a blast! A mage actually using a staff and whacking things in combat? Awesome. The reused levels didn't bother me that much,  and while I did notice the repitition, I enjoyed exploring Kirkwall and the surrounding areas quite a bit!

Story: I am partial to a bit of good political intrigue! So I really enjoyed the story and its pacing, it felt more like reading a novel in that respect.  It didn’t really connect back to Origins other than referencing
past events, characters, and long-standing politics, which was fine for starting over with a new hero. And, for me, seeing the mage/templar conflict simmer for a couple years and reach a boiling point by the conclusion? That worked for me. I was entertained by the side quests. I liked that companion quests were spread out through all three acts of the game. In Origins I hit the wall with party members as far as talking with them well before the end. The structure of this game teased it out better, I thought. The ending did seem abrupt, but given this is, I assume, part of a continuing story I guess we, the player, need to be left hanging. Mind you, at least we know Shepard will be back to kick ass in ME3, I'm not sure who will be the protagonist in the next DA installment. I'll shamelessly put in my vote for Hawke! Not that I didn't love my Warden, but the series is moving away from that and I don't think there would be any way to reasonably account for the numerous variations that could have occured for everyones Wardens between backgrounds/love interests/choices, etc. So, more Hawke please!

Characters. Speaking of overhauling graphics, Flemeth looked *AMAZING.* Definitely a bit of an upgrade for the old woman who had been slumming it in the Wilds.

Hawke. Hawke is a pretty damn cool protagonist, I think. The voice actress for female Hawke, Jo Wyatt, is no Jennifer Hale (my beloved Cmdr. Shepard), but she does really well at least as the “nice” Hawke and the few "humerous/charming" dialogue options I've picked have been excellent as well. I’ll make more  detailed evaluation as I play through again and try different options. I liked the family featuring so prominently in his/her story and how it shaped the character and story as the game went on.

I loved the party composition this tme around overall, though there were a couple of characters who didn't appeal to me personally, but I thought overall everyone was interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them for the sake of fleshing out the story. Yes, it wasn't quite the depth of some of the conversations that could have been had in Origins. The game was more like Mass Effect in that regard, but that was fine with me. Isabela was fantastic! Just a very lively character who kept things interesting. I thought Aveline was also a great, well-rounded character. It was refreshing to see such a strong female character play such a prominent role in not only Hawke's story, but but be in a position to shape the city of Kirkwall as well. I'm a huge fan of Isabela/Aveline squabbles! The writers played them off each other so wonderfully! And seriously, The Long Road? One of the most fun quests I've done! Varric was also a lot of fun to take around, as well as Merrill. Merrill was a great conflicted character and she had some amusing commentary as well. Fenic, Sebastian,  and Anders were well-written, they just weren't personal favorites for me.

Relationship sub plots! There were lots of options this time, for everyone! No matter which sex Hawke was, with the exception of one, you had options  for same-sex party members. While it’s not true to life, it works nicely in that it doesn’t box the player in to an unappealing love interest  that could have been an issue in Origins, or even Mass Effect. Games aren’t real life and options in games are good!

I know DA2 has caught some flack for not being Origins in many ways, but I think the changes were positive overall and are pushing the series forward in potentially more interesting ways. This installment certainly came off as the "Empire Strikes Back," very much like ME2 did, you don't know if you'll get a happy ending (BTW, even after multiple playthoughs of ME2 I still get chills when I see the Reaper fleet looming at the edge of space at the end!). That said, Empire was my favorite of the original Star Wars trilogy, we'll see if DA2 hits that mark in a couple of years once everything has unfolded storywise. Hats off to the writers and developers who worked on DA2! Great job!

Modifié par darthtater10, 24 mars 2011 - 05:03 .

[zahra]

 
Story

I enjoyed it. I didn't feel like it was epic, though. For example, the events leading up to the big battle seemed very lacklustre in comparison to the Landsmeet and gathering at Redcliffe before the final confrontation with the Archdemon. It was more like "Oh, Qunari going crazy. Fight fight fight. Meet mages and templars. They bicker. Kill Arishok." and Act III "Get called to Gallows. Templars and mages fighting again. Anders blows up Chantry wtf. Fight." Orgins had a lot of "dun dun dunnn" moments leading up to the final battle, that made it feel like a true epic fantasy. I guess the pacing didn't do much in giving a sense of excitement. The final words with the companions were poor in comparison to the last words at the gates in Denerim with the Origins companions. (The latter made me tear up a bit the first time around.) I guess as a standalone story, it was good enough, but it really doesn't compare to its predecessor.


Gameplay

I loved it. I've even begun to enjoy the ninja enemies coming in waves. Would appreciate it if you made less tedious boss battles though. Running around and kiting loses its appeal after a few minutes. I don't mind really hard boss battles, but it would be good if there were different stages to it, or something happening in between to change the pace.

Companions

The pacing was awful. I loved them, but only one or two conversations per Act made it harder to really relate to them. Act I in particular was long and only allowed you one convo with the companion, maybe two. It would be good if you could click on them sometimes and receive some sort of reaction. I guess it just felt sucky in comparison to being able to talk to your companions at any time at all, even if the conversation tree was empty, in Origins. In DA2 they only wanted to talk to Hawke when they needed something done. What about Hawke!! He/She wants to chat/annoy/kiss someone randomly sometimes. The Warden definitely got the better deal interaction-wise.

Background Story

I felt a bit annoyed that Hawke's brother/sister would be taken away in Act II. Its hard to bond with them unless they are constantly in your party, and the first time I played it I didn't really care much when Carver joined the templars. There should have been more exposition regarding the dynamics of the relationship within the family. The Cousland Origin for example really did a good job in establishing the "family feeling", and the scene where the Cousland Warden had to leave them is especially heartbreaking.


Conclusion: It was good. Not Origins good, but good. I have tons of Origins characters, and in the first few months I played it obsessively, and took up most of my free time. After playing every possible Origins I continued to play it every weekend or so, right up to a few weeks before the release of DA 2. 

I'm just up to my third playthrough for DA2, and its a bit of struggle. I don't see myself playing this in the months to come, and will probably be moving back to Origins as my go to game. 

DA 2 : 2.5/5

DA:O: 4.5/5

I hope that DA 3 will be better. I really do. Thanks for your work, Bioware.

[Cinnabar6]

There is no Catharsis.

The central, over-arching conflict of the story does not involve the player character intimately or directly and so does not involve the player.

It boils down to a struggle of politics and power within a city and its environs; from my point of view, a more parsimonious approach to a story both socially and geographically.

Catharis requires sacrifice in a cause that matters. I cannot get all that worked up over bickering politicians, even if one is a First Enchanter and the other a Knight Commander. I am with Varric. 

 In DAO an emerging evil has placed the whole world in jeopardy, and by extension, the Warden (player)and everything he/she holds dear. As the story progresses, the Warden works with his/her companions to stave off The End. And at the end the world is saved, either by dubious contract struck or dreadful sacrifice made by the Warden character (and by extension the player, drawing him/her into the story) or by a character that one has gotten to know and, perhaps, feel some empathy for.

In  DAO the stakes are higher and the price is greater and consequently events happened that took my breath away. (Seeing The Body pinned up at Ostegar hurt.) DA2 lacks the same engagement.

The party characters of DA2 were all brilliant; brilliantly written, brilliantly acted, brilliantly individual, brilliantly themselves. And felt genuine.

I enjoyed the variety of missions to complete.

I enjoyed the Hawke character being voiced and appreciate the subtleties in the voice work and how it shifts with Hawke's personality.

On gameplay the only comment I have is I really missed the alternate weapon set and the ability to map the swap (I play on a console). And I missed playing dress-up with the party characters.

[Mindr]

Hello Chris, here's my review of DA II after having completed the game once.

First off, the graphics: While I appreciate the fact that the game no longer slows down when more than a few toons are on screen ( Denerim's market area in DA:O was quite annoying), I felt that Kirkwall wasn't polished as much as the areas in DA:O were, despite me having the video settings on high on both games. 

Also, I'm sure that it has been mentioned many times before, the companions' hands needed a lot more work; Those without gloves looked plain ugly, especially Isabela's.

Overall, the graphics were good, despite the aforementioned shortcomings, but I'm afraid that is one of the few parts of the game that met my expectations.
Moving on to gameplay- related features. I will try to list and explain to the best of my ability what I found lacking, going from most displeasing to less displeasing. 

The Waves Mechanic: One of the things most of the community agree was not pleasant, and I'm not in the minority. I disliked the wave mechanic because it made it that much harder to position the characters when there is no way to evaluate what I will be facing at all. It also promoted metagaming too much in my opinion, introducing a " spawnpoint memorising" attitude ( Which, admittedly, wasn't that hard, given that most of the places we visit many times, too many times if you ask me.)

The Small Availability of Healers: I was displeased by the fact that in the case of a rogue or warrior Hawke, only Bethany and Anders could access the Healing tree. Due to not taking Bethany along in the Deep Roads Expedition, I ended up seeing her get escorted to the Circle by the Templars, leaving me with a character that I could only compare to those extreme feminists that see Everything around them as an injustice to the entire Female gender and never forget to remind you of it in every single conversation you have with them ( You know who they are...), only with mages instead of women. I'm glad I got to stab him in the back and hope he stays dead.


The junk system: Probably the thing that I literally couldn't believe my eyes the first time I laid eyes on it. I get that Hawke is supposed to be a refugee with no money at the game's start so he would have no qualms about doing anything to get by, but an up-and-coming noble with a mansion in the most expensive part of Kirkwall going around town and gathering garbage he/she finds, only for them to sell them to a vendor for a few silver pieces each?


Also, it was frustrating to say the least, to be rewarded items besides money, get excited about what they could be, only to find out that it's junk... literally. One specific example I vividly remember is right after finishing the quests with the Human- Elf mage, Keeper Marethari coming up to me, congratulating me for saving the poor boy and offering an ancient tome of magic to me, saying that it holds a great deal of secrets, many of which have been long lost to most mages of today ( or something to that extent). Not sure what to expect, I was really looking forward to what the boon was. Stats and/or attributes for Hawke, perhaps an ability point? I'm sure you can imagine my dissapointment when I saw it first on the list of my junk items....




Companion Armor : I understand what you were trying to say with the notion that each companion has the final word on what he/she should be wearing, but at the same time I think it's quite illogical for them to refuse to wear protective helmets, vests or whatever else would protect them. Also, the fact that the upgrades to their armor aren't reflected on their appearence at all is quite disappointing, especially when they don't even change clothes over the course of ten years ( with one or two exceptions).

 
Armor Stat Requirements: Many times I aquired a new weapon for the Warrior Hawke I played that I simply could not equip because of the overly high str requirements. I can understand that some gear should require that you focus a bit on the strength stat, but I realised I was unable to equip any weapon from the middle half of Act 2 when I started out with alternating between +1 str, +1 willpower, +1 constitution and +2 str +1 constitution/willpower whenever I leveled. Only with leveling and spending all the available points on str was I "ready" to use them, which practically removes the choice factor, or rather, the punishment for leaving the beaten path is too harsh.

Silly Dismemberments: Nothing to add here, what it says.


On the Good Side:


Mage Animations: Even though I  selected  the Warrior version of Hawke , I found myself often using Merrill in long or big battles and to say I enjoyed the combat anymations would be a gross understatement. Finally, I really thought that the normal staff attacks were utilising magic and not some miniscule light bulb of varying colour based on the staff I wore. In fact, I started a new game with a mage Hawke just to see those animations on my main protagonist. Truly well done, congratulations on delivering such a satisfying sight to watch.


The Ability System: While I said that the lack of healers was a major issue for me, overall I found that the new system is a step above the one used in DA:O, mainly because of the not so linear progression, the improvements that were right next to the skill they upgraded and generally more choices.


Moving on to the story-related issues, from the point of view of a pro mage Warrior.


Overall Impression: I think the major difference between DA:O and DAII is the background for the story. The coming of the Blight was something inevitable and beyond the Hero's reach to influence in any way, whereas in DAII in the end I couldn't help but feel that all that happened was my fault and I was cleaning up my own mess all those years, killing hundreds if not thousands in the process. In the end, I felt that DAII's story was based on three people's Greed while in comparisson DA:O's was based on Survival against all the odds, a much stronger emotion in my opinion.


The Illusion of Choice: It's just a hunch, but I get the feeling that whoever I decide to side with in Act 3, I will still end up killing both Meredith and Orsino in the same places and with the same overall script. As I said, it's just a hunch, so if I'm wrong, feel free to disregard this point. If I'm right though, I can't help but be dissapointed again that my choices in a game made by a company that prides itself as one of the few companies that makes games where the players' choices really do make a difference.


The Inability have detailed Conversations with the Companions Outside the Quests: One of the things that I most enjoyed in DA:O was at the camp, having the ability to talk to each member extensively, learning more about them, where they came from, how they made a living before the Blight, and so on. The thing I liked the most about it was that it felt that it was up to you to get to know them not part of some quest that you did just because you wanted to get the quest list empty. The different approach of DAII made me care much less about my companions when all they said after the quest was done was a single line over and over again..." I think I need a bath...Do you think I need a bath?"

Overall, I think this is a pretty decent game that wouldn't have gotten such a negative backlash form the community had it not the title "Dragon Age II". The truth is that, in my opinion, it does not have the qualifications to call itself the continuation of the franchise and I think that's what the whole fuss is about. Personally, I'm waiting for the installment of the series( Which, unlike this one, I will not pre-order) in the hopes of finally seeing a game that rightfully gets the name on merit alone.


 

Modifié par Mindr, 24 mars 2011 - 03:58 .

[Zeolones]

Some story parts just won´t fit here. My rouge Hawke was kind of a mage supporter and i enjoyed the game fimly. No w i tryed a mage and it seems even with Anders saying on one point "You have to look a deamon in the eyes to become a blood mage" everyone from just-born-nearly-in-the -circle-child to the first enchanter (even Hawke herself) can just go berserk and summon deamons all over the world. Oo
I think i killed about 40 Rage, 20 Desire and 15 Pride Deamons plus one dwarven flesh golem thingy in a playtrough without seeing to many abominations at first. Now a day a spirit seems just to enter through to void by will or some blood mages will without taking a body. But at other points i see rituals to sommun deamons that take so long that i can break them :/

Another thing is the quest from the first Enchanter. After the first encouter it is clear i have to deal with mage-friendly Templars who want to kick Meridath in her from-evil-lyrium-magic-grown-balls and i can´t side with those guys! AAAARRRRGG Yeah sure my dear sister (a grey warden Oo) is captured by those guys but where comes the dialoge? Why can´t i chose not to fight or just tell the first enchanter?

[-Skorpious-]

I finally finished DA2 (about time) and I left with a very...mixed reception to say the least. 


Also, I would like to point out that I typically play as a male character, so I feel it unnecessary to constantly write his/her or he/she. No offense fem-hawke players.

Story/Plot

Liked

• The Qunari presence in Kirkwall. The Arishok's fierce loyalty to the Qun, offset by his increasing disgust in human culture, was a fascinating story. 
• Anders destroying the Chantry. Very unexpected and interesting twist in the story.
  
  Disliked: 

• Awkward transition between the timeline. At the end of each act Hawke randomly stumbles into the next chapter with little to no explanation of how he got there or what his current plans and goals are. What was Hawke doing between Act 2 and 3? Getting drunk? Mourning his mother? Which leads me to -
• Leandra's death was poorly implemented. Initially I thought Leandra's death was added purely for the shock factor, assuming that her death would be touched upon in future acts - it wasn't. Sure, you could tell Meredith to shove off when she brings up the topic of your mother in a conversation, but thats really about the extent to which this particular event can impact a game. Perhaps if the serial killer escaped in act 2 and was confronted once again in act 3 Leandra's passing would've made more sense (thus allowing Hawke to stew in anger for years, and giving him a personal reason to keep tabs on the activities of Kirkwall's blood mages).
• Why should I side with the mages when they all dabble in blood magic? Seriously, like every mage (Merrill, Orsino, Grace, the apostitute, Alain, Du Puis, ect) all willingly practice blood magic and then wonder why the Templars are constantly breathing down their backs. I dunno, maybe if you stop practicing forbidden magic they would ease up a bit? Did Kirkwall's tower even consider this? 
• The Deep Roads Expedition lacked motivation. Why was the expedition so important that Hawke had to immediately stop everyting he was doing and divert his sole attention on rasing funds? I believe Hawke
  mentioned something about Templars, but couldn't Hawke continue to work for the smuggler's/mercenaries if money was so important? I feel like a more believable scenario could have been offered if the idea have been expanded upon. 
• Illusion of choice. No matter how I RP my Hawke, or whose side I choose, the outcome is the same. You end up fighting both mages and templars, the Qunari cannot be reasoned with, both endings have essentially the same outcome, ect. If this is a personal story Hawke's actions should have had dramtic consequences on Kirkwall.
• The plot (and entire game really) cater to those with a short attention span. While Origins frequently took non-gameplay related breaks between and during quests to advance the plot and further refine the story, DA2 tried nothing of the sort. For the most part, if quests couldn't be resolved with a sword through the chest in less than 5
  minutes, then it apparently isn't worth Hawke's time. 
• Flemeth. Why was she even in the game to begin with? All she does is kill a few Darkspawn and tells Hawke to grow wings and fly. 
• The ending. Not only is it a cliffhanger, but it doesn't even try to hide the fact that you need to purchase DA3 to see all your hard work in DA2 pay off.
  
• The intro. Why should we, the players, care about Hawke and his family in the intro? For all we know, its just a bunch of strangers running from some pale-skinned monsters. The intro should have shown Hawke and Carver reuniting with the rest of the family, some basic dialogue and interaction, and then their fighting with/fleeing from the Darkspawn. Your fanbase doesn't need to leap immediately into combat to enjoy games you know (I'm looking at you ME2).
  
• Retcon abound! Why is Zevran alive? I though I slit his throat? I'm also pretty sure I decapitated Leliana as well and - wait! it all makes sense! They are possessed by spirits like Anders. <_<

Presentation

Liked:

• Loading screens. Very, very, very beautiful loading screens. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they are the best I've seen in a videogame. 
• Nice cinematics. Since I liked the loading screens, its only natural that I would like cinematics that look familiar.

Disliked:

• The UI. While I see the appeal, I prefer Origins "bookish" throwback to older RPG's.
• The dialogue wheel. While I don't necessarily hate it, I do dislike the fact that it is only limited to three options. Thoughout the game I was continually wishing the game had added the "firm" dialogue response as a permanent addition to the wheel. In short, more options than the typical good, funny, jerk options please.
• Bugs. Apparently Merrill is a psychic, as she was absolutely positive that the Keeper was dead, even though I am looking right at her. Did you imported an Awakening file specifically meet Nathaniel? Too bad! Also, don't revive companions, otherwise they will be stuck in a slow-mo infinite health glitch! The amount of bugs in this game is astounding, and leaves me wondering if DA2 was ever properly QA tested (this is Karma getting back at me for making fun of FA:NV, I just know it). 

Atmosphere


Liked: 

• 
  Decent score. I noticed that several Origin songs were getting replayed quite a bit, but it didn't bother me too much. Plus, Rogue Heart is absolutely amazing, very well done. 
  
• Voiced protagonist. Having Hawke fully voiced ensured that the pc would nor remain "passive" in key events as the Warden did (The Warden should have given the speech at the final battle, not Anora/Alistair)

Disliked:

• Kirkwall is a ghost town. For all the guards bluster about the lack of room for refugees in the city, Kirkwall sure is empty. A pity too, as the majority of the game takes place in Kirkwall, making this flaw painfully obvious.
• Excessive use of recycled environments. This issue is so bad in DA2 that it almost made me quit playing. There are only two outdoor environments in the game (with the exception of Kirkwall's "open"
  streets) a handful of houses, and a bunch of caves, caves, sewers, tunnels, the occasional recycled cave, ect. For shame, Bioware, for shame.
  
   Graphics
  
  Liked: 

• Neat additional visual effects for D11x users. Some of the new bloom, lighting, shadowing effects ect. look nice on a high end machine.

Dislike:

• No matter how good your pc is, it still cannot make this game look "current gen". Objects up close could definitely use work (especially Ander's pauldrons) and many in game items/textures look like they were ripped from a PS2 game.

NPC's/Companions
Liked: 

• Companions with unshakable beliefs. loved how DA2's companions held strong, personal views about certain ideals and events and stood by them throughout the game. I was shocked when Isabella left my party permanently after obtaining the relic (I assumed she would come back), surprised when Fenris was willing to kill me for supporting the mages, and disapproved of ( but appreciated) Merrill's strong conviction towards blood magic.
• Anders. I felt Awakening Anders was added purely for comedic relief, his character nothing more than a run-on joke. However, I was quite pleased with how Anders turned out in DA2. His dedication and loyalty to the ideal of mage freedom moved me - his willingness to kill innocents genuinely shocked me. Anders was very well written and executed as a character, so kudos to his writer.
• Merrill. I hate admitting it, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't find Merrill to be adorable as hell.
• Companions visting each other without Hawke. It was a very nice touch that I appreciated about the cast of DA2. 

Disliked:

• Lack of interaction. Origins had twice as much dialogue between the pc and his/her companions, thus making the lack of conversations between Hawke and his followers quite evident. Also, I never brought Fenris with me much, so I missed out on his personal quests (even if I didn't bring Morrigan with me in Origins, I could still unlock her sidequest(s).
• Hawke's lack of personality. Hard to express really, but I felt that Hawke's writting was generic. I know others have stated similar comments, so perhaps they can provide a better answer than I. All I know is that I never "bonded" with Hawke as I did with my Warden or Shepard.
• Meredith. I didn't care for Meredith's decline from power, as she was bat****crazy from the start. Perhaps if Meredith was portrayed as a tragic character from the start (i.e she is truly saddened by the plight of the mages, but slowly becomes corrupt throughout the story), I would've cared more. As it is, I find it hard to sympathize with her.
• Orsino. "I hate blood magic! It is a crime against nature, and only the foolish dabble in - ooh, I'm specced as a blood mage!" Jokes aside, Orsino condemned Anders' decision to blow up the Chantry as it would "paint all mages in a bad light", yet, does the same thing himself by absorbing the life essence of his students and becoming a freaking monster. Way to go Orsino.
• "Don't get Dead". Nitpicking I know, by this line bothereed me so much that I had to include it. 

Gameplay
Liked:

• Phenomenal combat. I found the combat to be immensely more satisfying than Origins clunky combat (without mods). Excellent job.
• Cross-class-combo's. I hated bringing rogues along in Origins, but Varric's Archer's Lance against brittle enemies is absolutely essential in nightmare runs. I consider this addition a success for the reason mention above (it made me diversiify my party more than typically would in rpg's, and I was rewarded for doing so).
• Animations. LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than Origins horrid run animations, pitiful sword strikes, and bizarre 2H'ed thrashing. 

Disliked: 

• A bit too fast. I think you guys made the attack speed just a little bit too fast.
• Randomly spawning waves. They couldn't have at least spawned through a door? Teleporting through the CEALING is a bit rediculous.
• Elite rogues. When I see the word "Assassin, rogue, or Hunter I **** myself in fear. Enemy rogues have the health of warriors, the deadly dps of a mage, and the invincibility of stealth. Very, very overpowered to say the least. If Warrior elites trade dps for health, then its only fair the enemy rogues trade high dps for paper-thin health (like enemy mages).
• Unbalanced boss fights. Goddamn Rock Wraith. Seriously.
• Re-enactment of the final battle - Ok, maybe that example is taking it a tad bit to far[i], but I found the sudden transition to anime quality battles strange. To be fair, it was quite a fun fight, but Meredith's exaggerated attacks and summons felt cheesy to me. However, in my mind Varric purposely exaggerated that scene, so its all ok (in "reality" it was a small skirmish between her and her Templars and not a giant anime battle). Varric is likely to not be narrating DA3, so please tone down the humans jumping 50 feet in the air for the next DA game please.

Final Thoughts:

If DA3 had the storytelling of Origins and the gameplay of DA2 my squees will overshadow those of fangirls. In all seriousness, DA2 wasn't a terrible game, but it did have a significant number of flaws. However, if you guys follow a guideline similar to the one I briefly mentioned above, then this will be my immediate reaction. 

Also, It may not mean much to you or EA, but DA3 may not be a day one purchase for me. I love you Bioware, but I have been less than impressed with your work recently. I may be pointing fingers here, but this drop came immediately after EA purchased your company. To back up my claims, I have evidence of EA's negative influence on the DA series here. Here is the quote in question -

"Unlike other titles from Bioware, this [score] was kind of a rush job", he tells IGN. "EA really wanted to capitalize on the success of Origins, so the game was really being pushed hard to be released now."

Please don't let EA force you guys rush DA3. Please. Show them the foul and obscene comments we make here regarding "their" games on this site; they'll come around sooner and later and realize how fed up we are with their meddling. 

PS - I am being slightly sarcastic here.

PPS - Don't ban me! 

[/list]

Modifié par -Skorpious-, 24 mars 2011 - 06:24 .

[Nighteye2]

Alright, time for my review, having finished my first playthrough:

The positives:

The characters were great, very well-written. Also the cameos were great, especially Leliana's.

The story was good, with the tension between the factions clearly sensible.

The combat still mostly resembles origins.

The ending was good, better than I expected based on some reviews, although I would've liked more of an epilogue.

The graphics: DX11 makes everything look really good

The negatives:

The dialogue wheel: I disliked the idea from the start, but I gave it a fair chance. Unfortunately, it proved to be everything I feared - it disconnects me from my PC, the difference between watching the character and being the character. Not only that, but I frequently wasn't able to make a good choice between conversation options because I had too little information to compare them with. And when I finally did pick an option, Hawke said something I neither expected nor wanted him to say. The icons actually managed to make it worse, contrary to my expectations. Often I found the option I wanted to pick as a good, peace-loving guy (based on the paraphrase) to have a violent icon besides it.

The camera: it's horrible, I constantly have to fight against it and even then I constantly had party members being attacked off-screen by newly spawned enemies. The lack of isometric is very noticeable and very annoying.

The waves: the idea is good, but the execution could've been done a lot better. In many fights, the waves didn't make sense. There has to be some sort of story-reason for a fight to have waves, to make them believable and to allow the player to anticipate and plan for them. In the current implementation, the waves make a tactical battle almost impossible because new enemies could spawn anywhere.

The lack of choice was very annoying in some instances, like the act 3 quests where mages attack you almost on sight even if you're on their side, with no way for you to tell them.

The tactics menu is too big, forcing me to scroll if I want to use more than 7 slots - which is rather inconvenient.

The repeat of areas: it is far too noticeable when areas look identical, with even the mini-map being copied 1on1. Is it that much effort to create at least some slight variations for each map and to make accurate mini-maps?

The marketing: all the dlc-actions and the mess with people missing out on the signature edition make the game look very cheap, and not in a good way. All that junk dlc gives an over-commercialised impression.

The combat animations, which looked too far over the top. More realistic, believeable combat animations would have been better.

The quest bugs, I don't understand how they could have been missed, being as obvious as they are.

The inability of companions to use normal armour - coupled with the item sets, this makes regular armour almost useless and therefore meaningless. In addition to that, it has the weakness of armour upgrades for companions being permanently missable.

Companions specialisations: while I did like each companion having a custom skill tree, they should have gotten specialisation points on levels 7 and 14, just like hawke. It would make party compositions much more versatile on the higher difficulty levels.

Some of the boss fights, like the rock wraith, take too long to complete - without really being all that hard. The repetition makes the fight become boring rather quickly.


Overall, DA2 is still a good game, even though on many points it's a step down from DA:O. I know Bioware can do a lot better than this. I sincerely hope DA3 will be more like DA:O again, with greater player agency and an isometric camera.

[Mezinger]

So here’s my review after completing the game I will try to flag and keep all spoilers together. I give the game a 7/10 overall... which is similar to how I’d rate ME2 but a big dip from DA:O and ME1... let me explain..,


The graphics are good, the voice acting is good, the conversation wheel is fine... my pervious reservations about the new art style and the hyperbole combat still stand and the truly boring, gruelling and over done boss fights are truly terribly tedious... but really in my opinion the only catastrophic defect with this game, withstanding technical issues on the PS3 and the lack of auto attack, is that the player is railroaded down a linear, albeit decent story, that has a facade of depth but due to an atrocious lack of choice is a completely shallow story.


I felt there was an atrocious lack of role playing choice I constantly find myself saying my character would do "this", but that's not an option... worse still later in the game “this” seemingly obvious choice that was not an option would have had game shaping ramifications... which just adds insult to injury. 


************************* Spoilers****************************
One of the core issues in the story is the acceptance or rejection of blood magic. Your forced to take blood mages into your party (Merrill), Anders comes unhinged and your not able to do anything about it until far too late, Bethany is railroaded to the side of the story... There isn’t a sincere ability to become Viscount and put a stop to the Knight Captain’s tyranny, you can’t even challenge her to a dual or attack her until way too late. You have no ability to stand against the tyranny of the templars and the threat of blood magic it’s either one or the other not both. You go to investigate a supposedly peaceful group of templars and mages who are standing against the tyranny and even though you want to support them they attack you on sight. The overreaching plot is well done, but the limited player choice is cruelly obvious... I think it’s best illustrated this way: “What would Wynne say?” Well Wynne would say you play with Blood Magic you sign your own death warranty. Merrill, Anders (not due to blood magic but due to possession and dementia), that sad little man that is left standing after the battle with the rogue templars and blood mages in the wounded coast... Wynne and me would put all these folks to the sword... innocent until proven guilty, but once you dabbled with blood magic, for whatever reason, you die (sorry dear friend Jowan). It’s an obvious story line / character choice in the world of Thedas and in Dragon Age 2 it’s completely unplayable... and that is my biggest disappointment with this shallow sequel. 
******************Close Spoilers*******************************************

Don’t reply with “Well play an PNP RPG then, that’s how CRPGs are”... if that’s your reply your missing the point... this isn’t some vague / random choice of play that goes against the story line and plot like “I don’t want to be a hero or the centre of attention”.. Quite contrary it’s seems a complete sensical choice given what we know about Thedas and Bioware completely neglected it... and it shows and severely damages the potential of DA2.

Modifié par Mezinger, 24 mars 2011 - 06:41 .

[-Skorpious-]

 *continuing from my previous post* 

Editing posts on this site is a headache, so I'll add a few things I missed -

• The new Darkspawn appearance. What was wrong with the old look? The new Darkspawn look more comedic than terrifying (especially the derp look of the Orge's).
• No credit music. Where did the credit music go? I love Bioware's choice in credit music. Besides, no form of media is complete without a muscial piece backing up the credits.
• No epilogues. Why were they absent? The epilogue could've been used to set the stage for DA3, or wrap up any loose ends in DA2.
• Cullen. I loved Cullen's growth as a character in DA2. Being scarred from the events at Ferelden's circle made him terrified of mages, but in the end he was more terrified of becoming an unfeeling zealot like Meredith than he was of the possible dangers of blood magic.
• More armor variation (for warriors at least). What is there, like, 5 armor sets overall in the game? 

Modifié par -Skorpious-, 24 mars 2011 - 07:16 .

[totertot]

Okay. I'm obsessive fan girl who played Origins through 5 times in a row. But my favorite part about it was the storyline. Right from the start you know what you're doing (sort of) and it pulls you in. It is, for lack of a better word, epic. And it wraps up nicely, for me anyway, playing a femCousland who married Alistair.
At the end of Dragon Age II, I felt little closure. I thought the storyline picked up toward the end of Act 2, which was good, and Act 3 was compelling. But the end? The Champion disappears into history? Viewing this from a standpoint that it is part of a trilogy helps, but it could have used a better conclusion.
Things I liked: the graphics and gameplay for the console versions were so much better. Thank you. I also liked the characters. I don't agree with the people who thought they were 2 dimensional. I thought their quests were fun and interesting. However, I expected more from the romances especially at the end of the game. But that's a very small dislike.
Overall I thought there were many good improvements to the mechanics of the game (mage staves). Bioware is amazing and I will continue to look forward to DLC.

[Dracotamer]

Please refer to my thread here...

http://social.biowar...4/index/6562832

Inside it layouts many of the players concerns, what you did wrong, and what you did right. A poll is also included.

[SexBomb]

-Skorpious- wrote...

[*]Companions with unshakable beliefs. loved how DA2's companions held
strong, personal views about certain ideals and events and stood by them
throughout the game. I was shocked when Isabella left my party
permanently after obtaining the relic (I assumed she would come back),
surprised when Fenris was willing to kill me for supporting the mages,
and disapproved of ( but appreciated) Merrill's strong conviction
towards blood magic.

Actually, Isabella came back for me, and Fenris didn't attack when I sided with the mages.  Sure, he wasn't what I would call happy about it, but he was willing to.  My point:  If you have a high enough approval, their beliefs are more than shakable.

Aside from this, your review just about covers my feelings.  Maybe a slight bit more disappointment in character development and interaction on my side.

Modifié par Thats-Your-Funeral, 25 mars 2011 - 05:31 .

[Stepp N Wolf]

Hello Chris,
                Thank you for giving us a place to give you some feedback. Doing so in a constructive manner is great for dev's and gamers alike, again thanks...
 
(1) Things I Miss:
I miss the sword enchantment effects. Having a flaming , lighting, or frost sword was just so cool!

I miss being able to start a conversation with a companion, even a looped one. The "don't talk to me, I'll talk to you"  system really kills the role playing aspect.

I miss being a dwarf or elf. I understood the need to do away with the "origins" part of DA to make the game longer overall. But there was both elf and dwarf in Lothering, and any of the three races would have had cause to flee. Losing the dwarf and elf races put a big hurting on replayablility.

(2) Things I disliked:
Lack of Epic, the story starts with the same beginning as DA:O ,and doesn't have much of an ending. What did your character do? Move into a mansion and put down 2 urban uprisings, not exactly the stuff of legends eh? The lack of epic stands out the most just before the big final battle, when 1/2 your crew says "naw I ain't fight'in". In DA:O did I need to ask if everyone in the party was "ok" with killing the archdemon? In ME2 did I need to ask my crew if stopping the collectors was the right thing to do?

If my so called "companions" want to like or dislike my actions thats just fine with me, But to directly insobordenate a direct order, or leaving the party on their own will, is taking things way too far...

I didn't mind the temporary companions in DA:O because they were there for 1 mission then gone. There was no leveling them, no need to get them the best weapons or jewelry, and no way to get attached to them. I greatly disliked losing a companion 1/3 the way through this game for no reason other then storyline. And to make matters worse you get to see them blacked~out on your party list the rest of the game!  Grrrrrrrrr!

I understand the need to reuse area's of the game to add more playable content. But please remember this is a game where you HAVE to "wall~rape" (for lack of a better term). If you don't look in every little knook and cranny you may very well miss something important. So if you reuse and area could you please black-out the parts of the mini-map that are unaccessable for that version of that area?  Thanks... 

Can we please move on and get past this Mage vs Chantry saga? I mean really, it was worn out in DA:O , continued and made even worse in DA2, and the ending suggest that this will be continued in DA3. You.ve made both side right and both sides wrong, and expect us to choose or even care about one side or the other? Did the mages really need to be made so helpless that every time the stump their toe they jab a dagger into their palms?  Did the templars and chantry need to be made so Neo-****? When the quest "tranquil solution" was being kicked around, did not one person at Bioware think this was maybe going "a bridge too far"?
 
(3) Things I liked:
I want to end this post on a happy note since I'm a huge Bioware fan   You guys Rock! 

Thank you so much for the storage chest, it sure comes in handy when your really not sure what alls what. What I would like to see in DA3 is the storage chest and the "gather party" in the same location to make companions easier to set up with the best stuff.

You know, I thought the females I was making in DA:O were pretty, I was almost afraid that in DA2 they may lose so sexyness. Gladly they absolutly did NOT!  I've played so many games over the years, made so many characters in both offline games and in MMO's, and none compare to the sexyness of the female characters I'm creating in this game, You made the female body's look like game goddesses, thank you ever so much for that. The walk/strut  they do is so exactly like a runway model, it's breathtaking. Man, if only my next female Shepard in ME3 could walk and look like that *nudge nudge,hint hint*   hehehe   Maybe in DA3 you could make the female mage's robes show-off a little more of that great body?  Think desire demon armor for playable characters.

I've seen alot of people complain about the reuse of areas, but to be honest I really did like the day/night city feature. It really added to the feeling of a live city in my opinion.

I liked the fact that now my character speaks. It seemed odd to pick a voice in DA:O and it was only used in battle.
The speaking wheel was a great improvement.

The graphics and music are candy for the eyes and ears. I play on a 52" LED HDTV and the game looks totally awesome. Great job!


Thanks again to Chris and all of Bioware for giving us a place to give you this feedback. May all our futures be brighter for it.    ~Peace~

[schryke]

Here's my two cents:

Positives:
- The revamped combat engine. I really like that you perform your move right after hitting the button, in most cases, instead of having to wait a couple seconds then have your character look like they're swinging their weapon through a jar of molasses. I also love the fact that your character isn't constantly saying something in response to orders, that nearly drove me insane in Origins.
- The improved graphics, only to be expected in a sequel but the brighter color scheme is a huge improvement.
- The conversation wheel, specifically the general tone icon found in the middle. I prefer that over the short response lists from the previous game
- The fact that your character actually speaks.
- The revamping of the skill tree, I had some issues with it, but overall I prefer the new system to the cluttered system Origins had in place.
- The leveling system as a whole seemed more user friendly than it did in Origins
- The armor add-ons you could find/buy for your companions, while I would prefer to be able to outfit them entirely as I saw fit, the bonuses granted by that was almost as good
- The set item bonuses being a lot more easily discernible
- The friendship/rivalry system granting bonuses to Hawke, also when you completely upgrade their armor



Negatives:
- The biggest annoyance I had with the game was the constant reuse of the same handful of environments, one time I'm going through a system of caves used as a base for lyrium smuggling the next it's a cave full of giant spiders with a branch of it closed off by a non-interactive door.
- The fact that you could only explore Kirkwall and a few surrounding locations, while it didn't have to be as expansive as Origins, it wouldn't have hurt to be able to explore at least one different city
- The storyline didn't feel as epic and it seemed that a lot of the major decisions were pre-determined. The final fight for instance, you go have to fight the leaders of both sides regardless of who you sided with.
- The removal of the weapon swap, I know that you could go into the inventory and switch between dual-wielded blades and a bow, since I was a rogue in my playthrough, but I missed being able to do the same with the press of a single button like the original.
- I realize it's a glitch, that will hopefully be rectified soon, but the fact that none of the achievements from the Exiled Prince DLC show up as completed even though I did them.


Overall I enjoyed the game, despite it's flaws. I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.

I'm sure I'm leaving things off both lists, but it's been a few days since I completed the game and it's rather late here at the moment, plus I'm a rather forgetful person by nature anyways. If I remember anything super important I'll add it in or add a new post later.

Modifié par schryke, 25 mars 2011 - 08:10 .

[Arnyhold]

Guys first of all thank you for this game it is really good. Big thumbs up.

What I liked:

1) Voice act of the maincharacter and the dialogue wheel felt really well implemented, I missed these from DAO.

2) The combat system looks, feels and works much better than before also (but it can be polished further see below)

3) The story (up to the beginning of act 3) is incredibly well written and engaging

4) The companion characters are mindblowingly good also nice voice acting there apart from one (also below)

5) The game itslef looks good and stylish, together with the animations and the new interface. I loved the new ability trees.

6) Really good bossfights.

7) Awesome music theme, I never felt I have to turn it off after playing for hours.

What I disliked:

1) The events controlled my character and it felt I have no influence in what happens. This dissapointed me only, because in and out of the game you promised it otherwise.

2) In the combat I did not like when ppl explode from a backstab. From a spell it is ok, but not from a sword, dagger or a bow.

3) In the combat also the random appearence of enemies could have been fun if it happens occasionally. I felt it owerdone and sometimes badly implemented.

4) Carver was well written I think, but I felt nothing about Bethany, she was shallow and had a poor voice actor.

5) The Act 3's story was very dissapointing, I think the bloodmage line was seriously overdone. The basic idea of it is awesome, but the way it worked out is not.

6) I could not talk with my companions like before, it would be cool if I could drink some beer with Varrick when I wish to for example.

7) The new romantic scenes (I refuse to call these anyhow related to sex  ) are not as awkward as they were in DAO, they are like nothing now. Please do something like you did in ME1 or even ME2 (tho I preferred the first). I do not think thats too much, do not show us anything too revealing, but this is not a good way to feature this. Just because they kiss very... wildly not makes the moment passionate (not to mention the sounds of these moments were freaky).

8) The reuse of the maps. I understand that you designed this few with great detail and they look good really, but... this is not the way. Felt repetative after a while and visiting the two same area in a short interval lead to confusion sometimes.

9) Your character can be a bloodmage but this never ever appears in any form storywise, also now you can just be a specialized someone whithout the need of collect the knowledge, in the previous one it was a good thing that for example I could learn it from a desire demon

10) The epilogue is just horrible, The Varric interrogation ends without any worthwhile scenario, if you side with the mages always and continue wreaking havok with your LI Anders the chantry seeker still finds you innocent. Also no matter what your character did the templars just send more templars to kirkwall and thats it.

11) The robes look MUCH better than they did in DAO thank you very much for it, but I still miss a great fantasy staple: THE CLOAKS! Please in DAO3 give us cloaks. Also it would be great if we could change their colours if we wish.

12) I loved the new inventory it was much clearer to handle, but seriously junk items? Why?  Remove the coindrops and increase their value and it is maybe a good feture, but like this it felt pointless.

Thank you for reading this I hope my feedback provides you guy useful information.

Modifié par Arnyhold, 25 mars 2011 - 08:59 .

[MageAdept353]

I loved this game!! I thought it was way better than the original. That is not an insult to the original, because the original has been one of my favorite game since it came out... I do not think I have ever played any other game 6 times~
This is gonna be long...

Pros:
-The story was amazing. Suspenseful, surprising, sad at a few points, and well executed. I know others have complained about the pacing, but I just looked at it from the perspective of Hawke. He is not trying to set out on a quest with an obvious end to "save the day". He is just trying to make a life after fleeing the blight and these things just seem to be happening and he is caught up in events beyond his control. So he does what he must to survive.


-More bisexual love interests. Some say it is not realistic, but I think it is great. With the new conversation wheel it is easy to avoid romantic options for those who are concerned about that sort of thing. It adds more replay value in my opinion, just because there are fewer restrictions. On a related note. The romances seemed more authentic to me. They progressed more slowly and throughout the game. Unlike in DA:O where you could have Zevran in the sack in 5 minutes. 

-It was way more difficult than DA:O. I played on hard and it actually felt hard, especially bosses and higher ranked normal enemies. The High Dragon took me 45 minutes to kill, it was an amazing fight. Probably would have gone faster if I had an archer, but oh well. Tanking in the beginning of the game was sketchy since I used Fenris, but by the 2nd act I had figured out how to make him a proper tank and he did fine through the rest of the game.

-Static armor for companions. In DA:O armor changed, but due to the limited number of styles most characters looked too similar to each other if they shared the same kind of armor and they barely looked different than NPCs. Unless you used mods, but I am not considering them in my opinion of the game. With the static armor they look unique which is important to me.

-The new art style. Some people hate it. Others try to justify it with lore. I just accept it and move on. It looks good and there were improvements made from DA:O. The races actually looked different. Elves aren't just short skinny humans and Qunari aren't just tall fat humans which is what they pretty much looked like in DA:O.


-The Game was massive. I read alot about this game being shorter than DA:O, but I completed DA:O the day before this game came out and the whole game (including awakenings and all DLC) took me about 110 hours. This game alone took me 84, that is not too shabby. i really enjoy long games, especially when they are as fun and the characters are as great as this game.

-The fighting  was paced much faster. It feels good not to have to sit there with auto attack on hurling 1 magic ball every few seconds.

-Items are actually useful. In DA:O, the only item I ever used was mana potions. All the others were not needed. Not that they were useless, but I just never felt the need to actually use one.  In this game, I made extensive use of debuffing toxins, damage resistance potions, auto healing potions, grenades, health potions, stamina potions, and there is even a revive potion for emergencies.

-Crafting... the entire system is so much better. It is streamlined and much less tedious than in the original.

Cons:

-Anders seems to be  your only healer option unless you play a healer yourself and I really liked  him, but he does not get an upgraded version of group heal like the spirit healer does. He also does not get a a range extension on his healing aura which makes it pretty useless for the tank since Anders should not be on top of the enemy. I managed with just him healing even without a shield tank, but I think he should have received those 2 upgrades.

-Enemy rogues... Their ability to basically 1-shot anyone other than the tank was bad, but that adds to the difficulty and means you have to control them, which is good. My issue with them is that they also have more HP than any other enemy. Rogues are typically frail in RPGs and for your companions this game is no exception, but the enemy rogues have massive amounts of health and hit harder than any other enemy. It seemed a bit out of balance to me.

-Qunari, This complaint is mostly in jest, but the qunari leader is probably the most annoying thing I have ever seen in a video game... After my first conversation with him i wanted to kill him right then, just to shut him up. I thought Sten was bad, but this guy was just maddening .


Over all I would give it a 10/10,  5 stars, 2 thumbs up, whatever highest rank you want to pick. Needless to say I wholeheartedly disagree with the negative complaints I have read about parts which I thought were fantastic, but to each their own.

I hope the things I liked will make a return in the next game. I anxiously await the expansion/Sequel. Based on the games so far I know it will be good.

Modifié par MageAdept353, 25 mars 2011 - 09:51 .

[Lulia]

Dislikes:
- Inferior character creation - i loved being able to choose race and social standing which would in effect change the introduction and how it impacted the rest of the story in significant ways... i mean i was miffed when i couldn't be queen in DA:O because i was an elf, but it was more realistic and a reason for a second playthough.
 - Inferior romance scenes depending on how popular a character would be and an inability to replay kiss scenes. There was much more intimacy in a tent!
 - Not much nudity even when it would be appropriate and too much random out of character swearing.
 - The development of relationships seemed forced into a timescale. I much preferred how in DA:O you didn't get some characters until much later but it didn't matter because you could romance them at your leisure.
 - Reused maps.
 - A lack of exploration to find secret characters or items or locations, everything just fell into your lap.
 - No motivation for Hawke except for gaining money/power.
 - Story was too political and insignificant. We want to be saving the world and trying to figure out who the bad guy is.
 - Plot twists didn't make any sense and we had no control over them. Why would Anders think it was a good idea to blow up the chantry? Why would he think he'd become a martyr? He just made the templars justified and the mages even more vulnerable... Why would he lie to us when in some cases we were romancing him and we'd help in so much - it just didn't make any sense. Shock value is only valid if it is because it makes sense! Being shocking because it makes no sense is stupid. When Morrigan blew us off in DA:O it was a shock because we thought she'd turned nice but understandable because she had hidden motives.
 - Graphics were too good. So good that they lost their charm and the characters lost their facial expressions.

Liked:
- Some characters were nicely written such as Varric and Aveline.
- The selection of voice actors were good, except for male Hawke.
- Combat was alright as far as i was concerned, although the boss fights should be "easy enough if you know how" and there was only the big stone boss in the deep roads that was fun like that.
 - The mother into Zombie quest was well delivered with the gradual progression of mother wanting to find a husband and there being a string of unsolved murders.
 - The Bones Pit quests were nice and progressive, although a moutain full of monsters should have been more of a national threat.
 - The inclusion of Flemeth to explain how she would have survived on even if we killed her in DA:O.

My must haves for DA3:
 - Grey warden/darkspawn/Flemeth story plot.
 - decent, intimate and naked romance scenes for ALL charcters.
 - No recycled maps unless it is a progressive questline for the same area.
 - More freedom and exploration.