1012 réponses à ce sujet

[Josielyn]

I really liked the "instant combat" and effects when I played the first time through as a mage. Definitely superior to DAO. I also loved the scenery, so beautiful! I enjoyed the introduction of the new monsters in the deep roads- very creative! One thing that bothered me was that you could not start a conversation any time with your allies except for when the plot helper says so in your journal. Regarding the romance, I actually prefer the clothed kissing scenes over the bikini sex in DAO, but they were too short and you only get 2 chances in the whole game to kiss your "beau". I also thought the boss fights were tiresome- extremely long, rather than enjoying the challenge it kept asking "will it ever end"? I would like more beasties besides spiders in the wilds, how about some wolves and bears and werehallas? ;-) Please bring back the "Children" from Awakening. I did get tired of being smothered in shades after a while, and there were not any puzzles in DA2 that I found when I was playing. The puzzles were clever and part of the fun, I thought. Overall, great game, I am glad I bought it, and I wasn't bothered so much by the fact that the only person who could change their outfit was me. The mirror of transformation was a great idea and I am glad you incorporated it. Please write in a spot to "Play with Dog" or "Pet Dog" so we can see him roll around on his back.

[ElvaliaRavenHart]

Ok, I finished my second playthrough this past weekend. I think if areas of the game had been developed in a similar manner as we were introduced to Ferelden the game would have been better. I think we should have seen Hawke and family actually in Lothering and then their escape on the road, why were they delayed in leaving? Stop raising questions and not giving me any answers in this series. Then Kirkwall opened up little by little as we saw in Origins. The way areas were opened up in Origins a player had the feeling of exploration, DA2 totally lacks exploration. I always enjoyed how say exploring the Breciallian Forest as an example. We are first introduced to the Dalish camp, then we are given the quest to find Witherfang, which takes us to the actual forest, then we get another quest from the tree or the crazy mage then the forest opens up further, and then to elven ruin itself. I don't mind a few areas being reused but in DA2 it was used to the max and took away from the exloration of the game. DA2 is flat out boring because it's the same over and over. Lack of quest to open up new areas, instead we got the same areas over and over. At least change the maps for each area.

I think we should have had more quest leading up to the fight with Orsino before you fight Meredith. Should have been more quest before starting the deep roads, more quest to prepare for idol and lack of information on what the idol actual was? Story and quest should have been fleshed out more. Could have had a possible quest and found a tunnel that ran under the ocean to lead us to clues on the Harveter and back to Amgarrack. The map of Ferelden does sort of show tunnels under the water between Ferelden and the Free Marches. Was disappointed that we didn't explore more of the Free Marches as we were told when DA2 was first announced. Why was this decision changed to Kirkwall itself.

I miss the detail information or I missed finding the information in the journal on what my heroic deeds are at the end of the game. Did I find all of the journal entries that I need too? This sort of thing. I don't understand why you removed this from the journal?

Why was the camera view changed for the PC, yet given to console players? I own two titles, one on the pc and one on PS3. I flat out don't understand this decision at all. I was also disappointed in the lack of quest for Sebastian. I thought once the game was over we'd head to Starkhaven and help him fight his way to his holding. Once again, your marketing and development teams are not in sync with each other.

I really like the new combat system.  So it wasn't a total loss I guess. 

Modifié par ElvaliaRavenHart, 29 mars 2011 - 03:04 .

[LelianaNeverLovedMe]

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier review was how much I loved the music in the game! There were several variations in some pieces that brought back themes of Origins, further tying the games together, as well as newer ones that made Hawke and Kirkwall stand out in their own right. So, very well done in setting the right musical atomsphere for the game, in my opinion. "Rogue heart" stands out as one of my favorites on the soundtrack (makes me think of Leliana back in Origins oddly enough) as well as the Hawke family theme.

[SheilaD67]

Dragon Age: 2 falls far short of what we were promised with Origins.  In Origins, we had true character development, not just for the PC but for our companions as well.  We had 'down time' that allowed for us to talk, get to know each, develop friendships, romances, or even distrust or hatred with one another.  Each action had a reaction; each discussion brought us closer or further away.  As it does whenever you are tossed into a situation as experienced during the ordeal of fighting a Blight.  In Kirkwall, there's nothing holding this mismatched band together, not really.  A promise of riches?  Really?  Folks just pledging their assistance left and right to someone they just met?  With no true goal?  Nothing at all that would, say, compel Anders to offer his assistance beyond the maps?  Or a freedom seeking Fenris to give up some of his hard won freedom?  I got no true feeling that there was a reason for these people to be in my PC's party other than that I could put them there.

The dialogue wheel was a wonderful aspect of the game, as it gave your PC true personality depending upon the conversation choices.  Even the tone of voice changed depending upon how your PC 'spoke'. And, yes, having an actual speaking PC was marvelous.  Nothing in game bugged me more in Origins then when 'I'd' be having a conversation with someone, and all we saw was the back of my head.  Hearing Hawk's voice, watching as expressions crossed the face, fully and truly emphasing how the PC was feeling was remarkable.  It gave the PC more life with each hitch of the voice, more personality as an eyebrow would twitch or a hand would raise in consternation.

I find myself needing to ask: Why, if I'm playing a mage, do I walk around Kirkwall wearing mage robes?  I love that we actually got to use the staff as a weapon, the fighting moves were awesome.  But, I'm a mage...I'm wearing robes...I'm casting spells.  And Cullen - who is probably as paranoid about mages as Meredith - never brings it to my attention that he notices?  Nor that he knows Anders?  Huh?  None of the many templars I have to speak with even bats an eye, raises an eyebrow, or scowls.  I almost hoped Anders would have said something when the Templar recruit says, "You're obviously not a templar."  Nothing.  Bah!

Tying Origins in was a stroke of genius, one that I had hoped would be seen more fully in 2.  However, I've only played through once, started a few times, so I'm certain that I missed a great deal of any real examples of what happened in Fereldan during the Blight and the Hero.  I know that there are mentions of the Hero among the Amells if he/she was a mage; I know Merrill asks Anders about Mahariel; I hope to find other goodies as I play through from the castless dwarf origin, and then with one where Alistair goes with his love to continue in the Wardens.

The combat was fairly well done, although there were times when I felt more like being in a Hack 'n Slash rather than roleplay game (ah, more puzzles - I mean, any puzzles - would have been welcome).  The spells for the mages were wonderfully done, quicker to cast, and easier to use.  The new Rogue battle tactics and skills were clever and entertaining to watch - I find that an archer rogue is my favorite compared to duel wield.  The warrior class was well done, and I found both sword and shield and two-handed each had their 'awesome' moments.
The music...ah, the music!  The 'Hero Combat' track is, by far, my favorite.  It is heroic!  And the rest...wonderful.  I especially enjoyed how Fenris had his own music, each 'place' on the map had it's own, and we were not stuck listening to the same track over and over again.  Origins had a wonderful track for the Battle of Ostagar, but that was the only music that stood out from the rest. This game has several and the tracks helped to set the mood for each encounter and area.

The redesigned darkspawn were well done, although it took a little getting use to.  I had always envisioned their faces as more of death masks.  Making the emissaries more Architect-like was a nice improvement to the rather barbaric features from Origins.  And, may I say, Flemeth was hot!  Far more interesting than from Origins. 

I am, however, greatly disappointed by the revisioned elves.  They are far more graceful appearing than the smaller, almost pointed-earred humans of Origins.  But, I felt as though I was looking at Bajorans (from Star Trek: Deep Space 9) rather than elves with their flat bridged and wrinkled noses. The noses were not at all what I would equate to elves, and their lanky bodies and oversized heads were a big disappointment.  I saw none of the ethereal beauty that elves were known for, none of that ageless grace often commented upon.  Fenris was the only attractive elf in the whole of Kirkwall and the Dalish camp.  And, trust me, I was looking!

I was also greatly disappointed by the redesigning of Alistair, Zevran and Teagan.  Alistair had a doughy, washed out appearance to his handsome features; I didn't recall Teagan's nose being quite so hawkish; and when did Zev become such a pinched mouth, cheek biting old man?  When I saw my favorite elven assassin, I wanted to shut the game off right then and there, walk away, and never return.

The worst part of the game for me had to be the lack of immersion.  As mentioned above, I was disappointed by the lack of companion interaction, with the only interactions allowed by 'quests' being given at certain time.  I had to wonder: how did my PC develop a relationship with any of the companions since we only spoke maybe two or three times an Act?  Why did three years go by and PC and Fenris never spoke of 'that night'?  Why can I click on someone but they remain standing, silent? Where was the spontanaity? The really trying to win someone over, or trying your hardest to tick them off royally?  It certainly did not come from any personal time spent with them, that is for certain.

All in all, I felt as though the game was rushed, as though there was an idea but it never got fully developed the way it should have been.  We met the most interesting characters - Cassandra, Varric, Fenris, Anders, Cullen...but never really got to know them.  It's almost as though all the effort went into the voice acting and animations, with little thought of what actually makes a Champion, or what wins over anyone's respect, or even what would keep the attention of the player.  I've played through Origins many, many times, and still plan to do so (after all this time, I'm excited to do so).  I'm not certain if DA:2 has the same longevity.  In some ways, I'm already bored with it, with only one play through.

There were many aspects of the game that I greatly enjoyed - mostly the banter between the companions while on the road - and I do not feel as though I wasted my money nor time in the game.  But, compared to Origins...well, I almost feel badly comparing it to its predeceasor.  Origins' detail and immersion coupled with 2's animations and combat tactics is what this game should have been.  I hope that Dragon Age: 3 will prove more fulfilling. 

Modifié par Eva Galana, 29 mars 2011 - 06:13 .

[Papa Lente]

ElvaliaRavenHart wrote...

Ok, I finished my second playthrough this past weekend. I think if areas of the game had been developed in a similar manner as we were introduced to Ferelden the game would have been better. I think we should have seen Hawke and family actually in Lothering and then their escape on the road, why were they delayed in leaving? Stop raising questions and not giving me any answers in this series. Then Kirkwall opened up little by little as we saw in Origins. The way areas were opened up in Origins a player had the feeling of exploration, DA2 totally lacks exploration. I always enjoyed how say exploring the Breciallian Forest as an example. We are first introduced to the Dalish camp, then we are given the quest to find Witherfang, which takes us to the actual forest, then we get another quest from the tree or the crazy mage then the forest opens up further, and then to elven ruin itself. I don't mind a few areas being reused but in DA2 it was used to the max and took away from the exloration of the game. DA2 is flat out boring because it's the same over and over. Lack of quest to open up new areas, instead we got the same areas over and over. At least change the maps for each area.

I think we should have had more quest leading up to the fight with Orsino before you fight Meredith. Should have been more quest before starting the deep roads, more quest to prepare for idol and lack of information on what the idol actual was? Story and quest should have been fleshed out more. Could have had a possible quest and found a tunnel that ran under the ocean to lead us to clues on the Harveter and back to Amgarrack. The map of Ferelden does sort of show tunnels under the water between Ferelden and the Free Marches. Was disappointed that we didn't explore more of the Free Marches as we were told when DA2 was first announced. Why was this decision changed to Kirkwall itself.

I miss the detail information or I missed finding the information in the journal on what my heroic deeds are at the end of the game. Did I find all of the journal entries that I need too? This sort of thing. I don't understand why you removed this from the journal?


EXCELLENT POINTS. LAIDLAW AND CO PLEASE READ THIS ONE!

[Papa Lente]

Eva also makes excellent points. My other half is doing his first playthrough now. And he is not best pleased.

[Tyradra]

Dislikes:

1. Companion interaction: Bioware, you guys had the camp deal perfect. I loved having the central ground where I could interact with all of my party members one-on-one. Also, I just didn't really get an opportunity to appreciate all of the characters like I did in Origins. For example, even though I thought Morrigan was rude and annoying, I loved her sidequests and what she contributed to the overall story. I especially loved how Alistair could affect the outcome of Origins in so many ways, whether it was via romancing him and becoming his Queen, or letting him remain within the Wardens. In DA2, I feel like the only characters who make any kind of impact on the world are Varric (obviously, because he's the one telling the story of Hawke) and Anders (considering he, you know, blew up a Chantry and began the Mage uprising with my Hawke). Also, the romances left... something to be desired.

1a. Speaking of Anders, the ending with him... I saw it coming, and yet I didn't. I'd of loved to have known more about his plan before it happened... or, you know, who thought of it - him or Justice/Vengance? How did the joining with Justice even happen? Justice always kind of lamented becoming Kristoff, and yet here he and Anders are as one. Anders had probably the most potential as an amazing, lovable character (goodness knows he was in Awakenings; nevermind the fact that his personality is nearly a complete 180 from that), especially because of his own personal situation. But, here we are at the end.... Chantry = a'sploded, and he helped me fight some mages. "Oh we all went our separate ways from the Champion, except for Anders).. what'd they go do? Why is my Hawke so impossible to find?

2. Epilogue, or lack thereof: The ending to Origins was executed perfectly. I found out where all of my people went, what became of them, etc. There was nothing like that for 2 - just a hasty "well, it's the brink of the most crazy war ever, and we can't find anyone and we don't know what they're doing".... k.

3. Import has only superficial impact on 2: Perfect example... the Origin import I used was my female Hero slaying the dragon and marrying Alistair. Alistair, in 2, comments on his "ball and chain", and having to return to her. That's all well and good... but at the end of 2, apparently the Hero of Fereldan is impossible to locate? How can you not find a Queen?

I could go on, but these were my three major gripes. The game felt rushed.

[Cembrye]

 Having read some more of the player reviews, I would like to second some complaints I have read:

-  I agree the new Elves look too-Alien like.  In DAO, the Elves were different but subtly so.  Now we have space aliens with Anime ears and doll eyes.  Too much...rollback plz

- the ending did feel quite rushed.  No storyboards filling in some blanks, nothing but more mysteries.  It made it less than satisfying.  The only thing I can compare it too is the ending of Star War The Old Republic: The Sith Lords RPG game, which was rushed out the door by Lucasarts 90 percent finished

- I also concur completely with how yucky it was to discover that so many of the warehouse and cavern layouts were exact replicas.  This made me think of those Mass Effect warehouses.  But in the far future, one can imagine mass-produced warehouses having exactly the same layout.  But high fantasy towns and caverns?  Plz...this did seem very lazy.  I am glad you cut down on the cheese wheels, but maybe too much...I had to really search and recall seeing only a few, heh, ...jk

- I would have preferred being able to outfit the companion characters.  Having them wear the same thing over ten years was strange.  Also, it really cuts down on the fun of speccing them differently, since aside from the jewelry you really can't change them all that much through different equipment.

- there were some real immersion breakers.  My PC slaughters a whole Dalish clan on Merrill's behalf, then when giving her a gift later she doesn't even mention it.  The whole thing should have been much more traumatic and remarked-upon.  

- I agree with the comments that the relationship of the companions to the champion, aside from Varric and Avelline, seems rather forced.  There doesn't seem to be much rationale for them staying with her as a team, except for perhaps loyalty at being rescued.  But their motivations beyond that don't really square up with the Champion.  Unlike DAO, there is no common cause like the Blight to bring together this band of misfits.

Thanks again for listening.  I hope these comments are taking constructively from a fan of Bioware.

[Tyradra]

PresidentCowboy wrote...

Tyradra wrote...

"Oh we all went our separate ways from the Champion, except for Anders).. what'd they go do? Why is my Hawke so impossible to find?

Wait really? I romanced Anders but it said everyone seperated from my Hawke except for Isabela. When she asked me to join her crew I was like "what about Anders?", so I didn't exactly agree, and I did tell Anders at the end that I'd run away with him...

Yup, even beat it again just now to confirm. Perhaps yours bugged?

[darklight_tr]

I really enjoyed DA:O and I enjoyed DA2 as well. Neither are perfect games, but for me each was filled with great and enjoyable moments. I played as a 2 handed male warrior on the PC.

Good:

-Loved the VO main character. When I played DA:O after Mass Effect it just felt weird to have a non-talking statue. While it limits the character options I feel the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
-Updated combat. It is more fluid and easy to manage, with no more sloth like warriors. Plus the two handed warriors are awesome!  The battle animations are great as well.
-Skill trees. I thought they were well designed and allowed you to create a balanced character without having to take a ton of skills you don't want.
-Attributes are easy to understand and the leveling system is designed so you can easily see the immediate changes when you allocate points.
-Companion tactics seem to work even better than in DA:O and I appreciate you don't have to pump a skill to get additional slots.
-Dialog wheel. I loved it in Mass Effect and am glad they brought it into DA2.
-Cinematic dialog sequences.
-Gay friendly romance options. A controversial thing, but I enjoyed the addition of it. I was satisfied with the Anders romance and like how it turned on its head in Act 3.
-I feel that Act 2 was the best put together but I also did like Act 3.
-Improved graphics with the high res texture pack.
-Story. I know many will disagree with me but I liked how this game was put together very differently than DA:O. They did a good job of bringing aspects of previous Acts into later ones.
-Companions Quests. There were quite a few good ones and I didn't think they felt forced.
-More weapon/armor upgrades. While they fixed this issue in DA:O with Awakening and the DLC in DA:O you didn't have very many weapon and armor upgrades in DA:O. We like loot and there was enough in DA2. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the Amulets/Belts/Rings.
-Simplified Health/Stamina/Lyrium potions, which are now assigned their own hotkeys so you don't have to burn quickslots for them.  Yay!
-Epic Battles. They had some cool ones, including the last few.
-Excellent voice acting and music.

Bad:
-Act 1 was a bit haphazard and not as well put together as the other two. They just threw a bit too much at you all at once and the game got a bit lost for me.
-Elves. I don't get why they had to change the look of them so much. I know they did look very human like in DA:O but I think they went too far.
-Bugged quests. BioWare always seems to have one quest that doesn't flag correctly as complete (Sketchy on the Details) but this is the first game in a while from them where one is completely busted (Who Needs Rescuing?). Luckily my Act 3 Merrill quest didn't get bugged.
-Enemy variety. So, we aren't fighting Darkspawn all the time like in DA:O, instead we get to fight Shades!
-DA:O import is basically worthless. Unlike the very worthwhile ME1 to ME2 import option, the DA:O import does very little to influence anything in DA2. It affects a few conversations and codex entries, but not much else.
-Amulets/Belts/Rings don't keep up with increasing character level. They really don't add much by the end of the game as they give you pretty horrid bonuses. Also, the 5 star system really doesn't make much sense for these items. I saw 5 star rated Amulets/Belts/Rings that were obviously worse than what I was already wearing.
-No indicator for armor set bonus or what they are.
-Lack of Epilogue. After the very well done one in DA:O it was a bit disappointing to get basically nothing in DA2.
-Poor graphics engine performance even on high end systems.  Can BioWare please make the next DA game on the U3 engine like Mass Effect and abandon the in house engines?

Ugly:
Recycled areas. This is BY FAR the most annoying thing about DA2 for me. The amount of map/area recycling in DA2 is ridiculous. Having us go though something backwards or putting in objects to block the path doesn't make going through the same area for the 8th time any less annoying. Plus, the WHOLE dungeon is shown on the map even though much of it is inaccessible to create different "layouts"!  GAH!  I thought BioWare learned their lesson about this after being railroaded for doing it in ME1 (and they did fix it for ME2) but they regressed to a level that is even WORSE than ME1 in DA2. I guess that is what you get for the shorter development time.  This issue needs to be addressed in the next DA game.

Overall I would still give this game a 87/100. It was a blast to play and I look forward to future BioWare releases.

Modifié par darklight_tr, 30 mars 2011 - 05:44 .

[erynnar]

DA2 is a console port hack and slash with the tiniest bits of RPG thrown in. Too much trying to appeal to console players, hack and slash fans, and too many other audiences to name.

-Grinding the same dungeons, stuck in the same small world--which could have been bigger. CUT AND PASTE DUNGEONS =BOREDOM and no replayability.

-The city of Kirwall, which after certain events happen, leave Hawke with no real motivation to stay but she has to because she made it her home? Yeah well if my mother had been cut up and stiched to a corpse of other pieces parts, I would have bad memories of "home" and leave to make a new one elsewhere. Done it once can do it again, this time without slavery or grinding for 50 gold like a MMO). A more plausbile reason to stay would have been nice then a few mere mentions in convos.

-Companions whom you really can't get to know because your interaction with them is severely limited, but who will follow you around fighting endless zergs of bad guys for no apparent reason than your Hawke's charm. And, unlike in DAO, if you ****** them off enough wont' leave (with few exceptions) and never come back.

-Or the mega story that  I missed the subtle hints to in the previous acts because I was too busy running around doing errands in the same places over and over (it was like one long deep road), so that the story blew up in my face at the end. And I am am mystery story freak, so I tend not to miss subtle hints and clues, but boy I must have just been blind (yes I did catch vaugue references to the mage/templar thing, but those seemed to be overshadowed by side quests and other titilating stories that went no where, like that unusual thaig in the Deep Roads).

-Being Stuck in a city that was supposed to be full to bursting with people, yet remained eerily empty until the endless waves of bad guys dropped from the rooftops to attack you (I swear my Hawke cleaned out half of the population of Kirkwall).  Where was the atmosphere?

-Badly drawn NPCs who stood around in identical drab clothing and resembled nothing so much as furniture, and might as well have been for all their interaction with you.  Denerim felt more populated and even had kids running around playing and more interaction with said random NPCs. Boy do I miss the Chantry Sister..."She will be the bacon and the shield." Or Dog trying to adopt the little boy.

-There were not as many surprise little moments like that, and not many easter eggs.

-Loot was a farce, since armor went to Hawke ( mage robe for my rogue, srly?). And it cluttered up my bags until I sold it.

- I like having a voice for my character, but not at the expense of a wheel like ME and having limited hand held convos. I would like convo tree with real responses that I know what my Hawke is going to say. Half the time I picked one and it was not what I expected it to be. This is a big minus for me but I loved having a voice. I wish there was a middle ground. But I despise the wheel enough that I would rather have my mute back.

-No overview camera angle, no strategic fighting, and people who explode like jars of strawberry jam hit with a bat. Sorry, people do not explode when you stick them with a dagger ( can't see the next enemy for all the over-the- top blood and chunks). Cutting a darkspawn in half or beheading an enemy is cool, this crap was not, it was just more and ridiculous.

-Drop the oversized ridiculous Anime swords that are fat, and stupid looking, and bigger than my companions or warrior. Fenris would have fallen over on his back, never to walk, let alone swing some of the swords. I love Anime, but DA is not Anime. Again felt like a grab for yet another crowd....geeze. BioWare's grab for every possible audience makes this game more crowded then Kirkwall.

-Oh and the darkspawn (granted there weren't that many in the game except for the zergs in the beginning and then the deep roads) I laughed when I saw them. White pasty marshmallow men with pointy teeth and chain mail coifs. Really? Think cut away scene at Ostagar and then look at the new "light-spawn." The armor on these LS are way too advanced for creatures that are supposed to be basically mindless unless messed with by the Architect, or lead by an archdemon. So are they the Architects? They don't talk, so I am guessing no.  These all looked like the talking spawn from Awakenings. Yet these all look like human knights made of white playdoh. And apparently there are no genlocks or Shrieks anymore, just ogres and hurlocks. The Emissarys float now and look like a rip off of "The Gentlemen" from the Buffy episode "Hush," and the Chenobites from "Hellraiser," and thus become a parody that only makes me sad for the old or want to laugh at the new. And makes me think this is another audience grab which only waters down the game further.

-And that brings me to the retcon. Sure DAO stuff could have been polished up and been improved. But to out and out redo them? The old darkspwan looked diseased and creepy, I wouldn't have touched them with my hands. The new ones look like they need to be stuck between two squares of graham ****** and a square of chocolate (maybe two squares of chocolate...mmm chocolate). Qunari...have horns...things that make you go, WHAH? I know the Ogres do, and yes they look more like the Ogres now, but unecessary. The Taint would alter their genetics too. Now they look like the Devil in the movie "Legend." And the elves? Look like a mutated cross between Bajoran (with the ridiculous nose bump) and a Na'avi. You could paint them blue or add ridges to there bump and stick a multi-chained earring in one ear. And it ruined Zevran who looked like he suffered from Down's Syndrome ( I have an aunt with it who died on my birthday and whom I loved dearly, so no I am not hating on people with that condition, just comparing a facial structure) and was not recognizable to Zevran in DAO at all. As my friend said, they looked "fugely as hell, and were rejects from a space elf cookie factory." Only Fenris and Merrill looked exotic without the Avatar look ( I kept wondering if you made elves look like Na'vi, would golems be redesigned to look like Transformers? Please don't sink that low for another possible audience).

-And what about what you did in DAO, or Awakenings? It doesn't translate to DA2 the "sequel" really at all (at least not for my husband who has down three playthroughs). I hadn't imported mine, so maybe mine will make a difference.

-A real sense that things have changed in the city over time after the "fade to black." I mean what was my Hawke doing, shopping and painting her nails waiting for the next scene? And the city doesn't change in appearance, nor the furniture, excuse me, NPCS. I need a sense of time, even Varric who is narrating this tale would tell of changes.

-Oh, I know you're going for darker, edgier, and sexy. But dial back the angst will ya? I had to set the game aside (for boring same-o dungeons) and getting one too many hits with the angst glove in the face. Seriously, nothing in real life is ANGST all the damn time. There are some fun moments. Let there be more chances to unwind. We had that back at camp or with funny moments in DAO. I know this one is building up, but let's be real. There are still going to be some moments that aren't all depressing things one after the other. And convos between my companions did not fit the bill. Really my brother dies, while fleeing our home. I save my sister from being a ghoul and later she disses me. My mother becomes "Franken Mom" because of a serial killer, and I have to watch her die. My house is pretty much empty and really lonely, my lover (if it's Anders) is going nuts and lying to me.  I am surprised Hawke doesn't throw herself screaming from the cliffs before she even gets to the whole blow up at the end. The only lightness was getting Aveline laid.

-Anders? Seriously? Okay I would have been fine with the link to DAO with Isabela, Merrill, and the cameos by the DAO crowd. You gave Anders a lobotomy, a Vengence/Justice Lobotmy which I found hard to believe. So basically good Fade spirits, like Wynne's can become demons by inhabiting people? I mean let's face it, we all have our dark sides, even Wynne, so her spirit never felt her own hates and changed? Justice is supposed to be a stronger version of a Fade Spirit, yet he gets corrupted by Anders all too human emotions so easily without seeing the good emotions too? I am left wondering how this spirit/host thing works really.  And I neve got such a seething rage from Anders in Awakenings. He didnt't even kill the templars who had captured him, he let them die by darkspawn by not helping them, but I didn't his seething rage. And he sides with Wynne in Awakenings. Karl being made tranquil didnt' strike me as a real catalyst for the BOOM.  Quite frankly, I wish you had left Anders and Justice back in Awakenings and made a mage we meet who has fled the Circle in Kirkwall and has more of a personal connection to Meredith's heavy thumb, the Grand Cleric's lack of backbone, and Osino's possible character flaws. It would have made the siding with the mages, or templars more of a real emotional pull, and I would have felt more connected to the BOOM and the war.

- I am all for funny comments (asschabs!), but "I like big boats and I cannot lie?"  Really?  What am I 12? 

- And enough with the scripts for romance out of "Twilight."  Just one more thing that leaves the impression of  BioWare, trying to stick it's fingers in one too many pies to get just one more target audience, thus muddying the game so no audience can really enjoy it to its full potential.  Seriously, you're going for Transformer golems next time aren't you...fess.

NITPICKS~ (though still serious)

-This is nitpicky, but you asked for an honest review. Cullen was a minor character we met briefly in DAO. Anders was a main character companion in Awakenings. It would have made more sense, to have the VA who did both voice Anders and not Cullen, IF YOU MUST (though I don't see why the same actor couldn't have done both anyway even if they do interact), and let the other actor voice Cullen. He just wasn't Anders for a lot of reasons (the Vengence Lobotomy being one) but he would have been more believable with his voice...and his earring dammit! LOL! No really I liked the earring but I could live without it...I guess. : D

-And Alistair? What did he get a nose job and remove the Theirin nose and have a stroke while on the operating table? Make him look older sure, but geeze. And was that supposed to be Teagan?

PROS~ (I believe in ending on a positive note)

-There are things I like about DA2, and it really isn't a sequel but a stand alone game in the DA universe. I could like it very much if it had been made as a stand alone.

-I love the characters (that is why I am peeved I can't interact with them more, or more often).

-I do like their looks, but it is annoying to get armor I can't give them. So maybe armor sets that are designed to keep their look, but different sets restricted to them, would be nice.

-I think the voice acting was very well done. Although I miss Claudia Black and Steve Valentine's voices, I loved the new voices.

-I liked the battle animation for my rogue (I will shamelessly admit it is how I described my rogue fighting in my fanfic) and I like the mage's animation too (I haven't played the others yet, too hard to watch Fenris and Aveline with the zerg fighting).

-I love the music in the brothel, and other places in the world.

-Aveline's quest is one of my absolute favorites and was very fun.

-LOVED Flemeth, glad you had Kate Mulgrew back to voice her.  "I thought I would find myself in a Merchant's bin somewhere."  Hawke, "I tried to sell it but no one wanted it with a witch inside."

-Lighting was much better, especially indoors.

I don't hate the game, it just isn't a DAO sequel it is a good stand alone, which could be improved and shine on it's own.

Modifié par erynnar, 31 mars 2011 - 06:03 .

[Ticondurus]

(360 Version)

LIKED:

---Animations much smoother.

---VO work - terrific!

---Characters varied and mostly interesting.

---Combat trees for various classes

---M/M Romance Options

---Kate Mulgrew as Flemeth!

---Gameplay mostly satisfying.

DISLIKED:

---Story was WEAK (just like in ME2)!  I never really cared for Hawke.  With the epicness of DA:O and the threat of the darkspawn and imminent destruction, this felt like an underwhelming story of city politics and faction-power grabbing.  Instead of the whole land being affected, it was only Kirkwall.  Yawn.  DA:O: Epic in scope. DA2: Narrow in scope.

---Experiment staying in one location over 10 years - FAILED. The joy of DA:O was the EXPLORATION.  Discovering new areas, exploring different terrain, towns or dungeons and feeling like the land is quite large. It felt like being in prison being only restricted to Kirkwall and the immediate vicinity.  At least in Star Trek: DS:9 they added a ship they could use to explore in season 3! Thank God!

---Re-Use of areas already explored (caves, Kirkwall, the SAME Mansion I've walked through 5 times already, Deep Roads, ..., the list goes on and on.) Felt like a programming cop-out.  Oh, and dropping heavy stones to block passages to vary the SAME cave we've explored before stood out like a bloodied-band-aid fix.  The re-use of the Wounded Coast and Sundermount was also quite annoying.  Bioware got a little too crazy with the cookie cutter for this game.

TO SUM UP: The story was a bore and being restricted to Kirkwall was painful.  Gameplay, VO and animation satisfying.  I actually had to PUSH myself to play this though since the story was so uninteresting, but I put in a solid 45 hours before I beat it on HARD.  I won't be playing it again.  I still believe in Bioware, however, and have high hopes for Mass Effect 3.  DA3, well....

Modifié par Ticondurus, 30 mars 2011 - 07:09 .

[Kulyok]

First of all, I loved the game very much, and I'm very thankful that I had the chance to get it as early as possible. I pre-ordered through Ozon.ru(Moscow, Russia) in December, and got my copy in English language right after the official release. Since then, Marian Hawke became one of my favourite game characters ever.

I very much liked the story. Quests like "Shepherding Wolves", "All That Remains", "Night Terrors" and the final scene at the steps of the Chantry were completely amazing. I really wanted mages to be free, and I was very glad to see the final result. (Not that I enjoy war, but after a thousand years of slavery the templars kind of had it coming). Act 1 was full of wonderful small quests, and I really enjoyed character interaction and various interjections, especially the insights from Fenris in the Qunary Compound - those were both unexpected and added a lot to the story.

Though Acts 2 and 3 flew by faster than Act 1(and some quests, like "Sketchy on the details", "Finding Nathaniel" and "Who Needs Rescuing", had technical issues), I enjoyed them, too. I wish Act 3 had at least two more quests from Orsino or Meredith, even small ones - it kind of ended too unexpectedly, and I was very upset and somewhat confused by Orsino's sudden transformation as my character sided with the mages. But the finale was good, and the scenes with the statues were amazing!

Combat was great - my male friends in particular were impressed by it. I wish there was an ability for mages to protect themselves, though - +20% to defence or armor isn't much, so my mages got constantly killed by dragons and things. But I liked the spells, and my warriors and rogues got enough "killing" abilities. Healing was very strict, though: I wish healing (potion) cooldowns were smaller.

I was truly impressed by Anders - my favourite character in DA2 by far. I liked him a lot in Awakening, and I loved the direction you took with him in DA2. He was a tragic, deep, and a totally amazing character. His quest, "Dissent", is one of the best companion quests in the game, as is "Tranquility" and his participation in "The Last Straw". I loved the voice and the romance scenes, including the sad scene right after Leandra's passing. It may sound shallow, but I also loved the fact his romance was given a happy conclusion, given the circumstances. I may be old-fashioned, but it's important to me to have a happy ending(or at least a semi-happy one), if two characters are of a like mind, and DA2 gave my character that.

I saw some scenes from Fenris romance(as I played his rivalry and his friendship paths), and loved them, too. I do not know about the female companions, as I didn't play with them much, except for Aveline, whom I loved, but it seems we Dragon Age girls got a very good side of the deal. Not to mention such handsome men and deep, intriguing characters as Cullen and Orsino. And Varric, of course! A rogue in the party is almost mandatory in DA2, and I was happy to see we got such a wonderful character to fill the role.

Friendship/rivalry system was interesting, too - I never saw anything like that before. I got full friendships and full rivalries easily enough, and I really enjoyed the conversations that followed. It was also good to see that companions had their own lives: Aveline got married! (Possibly the best companion quest ever). I was a little jealous that my companions seemed to leave Hawke out of their lives, though - everyone seemed to hang out at the Hanged Man and Marian Hawke wasn't invited! But little touches that Hawke's companions left around her estate made up for it: they were wonderful, especially with Mabari dog installed.

I only wish there were some more "cheap and easy" ways to get fast friendship or fast rivalry, because as it was, I had to "leave characters at home", if I knew they wouldn't like the quest(or would like the quest, for would-be rivals), and that required quite a lot of micromanagement.

Items. There were quite a few items and tomes and Fade puzzles(yay, a *short* Fade trip!), and that was good. But I missed colored item icons and pretty pictures: without them, treasure didn't quite feel like treasure. I don't agree with the star system, either: for me the best belts/rings/amulets were with "+2 mana/stamina regeneration rate", and I got confused when the game tried to tell me otherwise. On the plus side, the toggle ability to highlight chests and things was good! I wish the names ("pile of bones", "chest") would show from over a greater distance, but it worked the way it was, too.

I liked Kirkwall scenery, especially with the night/day toggle, and I was simply amazed by the Deep Roads. But like some other players, I didn't enjoy the recycled caverns/warehouses/openings too much. Still, the basic areas, like the Gallows or the Wounded Coast, worked just fine, especially with some help from the scenery characters. I still remember how I shuddered when one of the templars said that Meredith sent for the Rite of Annulment.

Last but not the least, I played DA:O, and though it's been a while, I kept the save, loaded it and enjoyed seeing cameos from the first game in DA2. Again, I am amazed at what you did with Cullen and Anders, and having seen Nathaniel on youtube, I love him, too. It is great to see the game remembers that Loghain is alive and that Andraste's ashes have been found. Although I got confused by Alistair's: "The Hero of Ferelden should be in Denerim by now", when the Hero went through the mirror with Morrigan, Teagan's "I'm actually Teagan. I'm only sort of his uncle", more than made for any possible inconsistencies.

I didn't want to see the voiced main character at first, but Marian Hawke's sarcastic personality won me over. It was brilliant! One suggestion, if I may: allow the player to choose the character's personality(nice, sarcastic, direct) in Game Options. Because I wanted Hawke to be sarcastic by default, but I also wanted friendship/rivalry bonuses from my companions, and those were impossible to receive without choosing numerous "blue" or "red" dialogue options(with the exception of Varric). Hence, my count of "sarcastic" replies didn't get increased, and I couldn't see some "very sarcastic" lines from Magistrate's Orders, or couldn't tell Merrill "I'd visit you, but only because you made those puppy eyes". And I missed that.

As for DA3, I'd buy it. I'd hope for as much character interaction as in DA2, I'd hope for a great story, and I'd (predictably) hope to see Morrigan again. Best of luck with it!

[Faivon]

I haven't finished DA 2 but at least I already experience most of the gameplay DA 2 has to offer.

Battle : I think DA 2 is better, it has more variety animation and cooler with fast paced and almost no miss for every attack. So just pick fast weapon with high damage and you'll be a killing machine in the battlefield. That's pros and cons for DA 2 battle but for DAO, you have so many things to reconsider when picking a right weapon for your character. It's slower pace and attack may miss, sometimes it is annoying but that's the element of classic D&D, I think but I still like it. DA 2 battle is more like an action-RPG battle.

Graphic : With just a short glance, I can already notice the difference between DA 2 and DAO, DAO got a better graphic overall. Hands down. Good to know DA 2 still retains DAO's style of graphic. How should I say this? One look and you'll know it's Dragon Age. It's like that.

Leveling : DA 2 got more straight forward leveling, better interface but less informative than DAO. The attributes system is pretty much the same with DAO but I really miss DAO's talent system where you got to choose whether you want to specialize in Poison Making or Coercion or anything at all. DA 2 got no such system. Now it lets you craft your stuffs in city or your home. Not so handy if you are in the middle of quest and run out of potions or bombs. DA 2 now implements skill tree. I have to admit I like this one better but then again, most skills/upgrades feels like I'm playing action game.

Story : LOTS of distraction at the start of the game. Not cool. So many sidequests / rumours / secondary at the start of the game makes me distracted a lot while doing main quest. So anyway, it got me confuses how the story progress and I really hope as the story goes, it's all relatively connected.

Voice / Music : Impressive. Love the voice actors and the background music. It blends in perfectly. Thumbs up! As expected from Bioware. Merill's voice is so cute~

class : Not much to say, it's pretty much the same as DAO. With some changes with the skill tree, it's still cool but where's Ranger? *sigh* I hope they release new class when the expansion come out.

Overall, it's a great game one way or another but still DAO owns DA 2! I'm going to finish DA 2 and going back to DAO
I have high hope for DA3! I hope the developer reads our reviews and change what needs to be change in DA3! Best wishes from me!

[TypoWolf]

I'm not a Mass Effect or Bioware follower, unless you count NWN from way back in the day. I bought Dragon Age II expecting Dragon Age and because I liked Origins.

Likes

Beautiful graphics. The backgrounds, the water, the buildings inside and out, overall areas were very attractive even on Medium setting. I don't have a new vid card with DirectX 11 yet, but I thought it was gorgeous.

Walking around town is more realistic because the people react to you, your party members, and each other. It was a jump forward on the way the guards were in Castle Cousland except much less annoying. One does get tired of hearing "Good evening milord / milady!" after awhile.

Flemeth's new look as witch and as dragon.  The animations and changes in the way the dragons looked were something I enjoyed.

The Qunari look - the horns and skin tones may not do it for some people, but I give it a thumbs up. You can see why ogres look like ogres now.

Speaking of ogres, I liked the ogres. They reminded me of the Sacred Ashes trailer.

Dog being back. I love the mutt and found him useful, plus he was a summoned pet functioning a little like the Extra Dog Slot mod which is popular with PC users.

Thank you for getting rid of the rooster feather hats on mages. I kiss your feet for nice hoods and cowls.

Hide helmets option (again much in the fashion of a popular mod, now built in and I assume for console gamers too, finally.)

The new animations on the people. Some were kind of silly as they flew through the air like circus acrobats, but they were fun to watch. I thought mages were much less boring to watch casting spells. Up close their tongues moved, they had different types of teeth (which weren't brown this time. Kudos for passing out some toothpaste.) The textures on the faces were very nice, and they had new expressions.

Combat itself was faster and much more fluid.

I played a mage. Things like the arch of Cone of Cold rather than the triangle out in front was a nice plus.

Spells not obscuring the entire screen. Area of Effect in Origins could make it impossible to see, particularly if you had one throw Death Cloud and one throw Tempest or some other combo. It was nice not to lose all your targets and party members alike visually. Thank you!

The final battle with the statues coming to life with Meredith. Again, very cinematic and interesting to watch as well as to fight.

Characters were fine. I thought they were pretty much on the same level of depth as Origins, although harder to get to know. Those who my Hawke got along with were people I felt were fairly 3D. Those who Hawke didn't... I guess there's always next time.

Dislikes

Voiced Hawke - I know a lot of people like that, but I like a novel over a movie. Origins felt like a novel, sparking my imagination. DA2 felt more like a movie, and I never really connected with Hawke. Contrary to what was said that the dialog wheel would clear up, she still had things popping out of her mouth which looked nothing like the text. I didn't see an improvement there except for more cut scene material.

On the plus side, the cut scenes were fun to watch, but I have to mark that as a huge dislike.

The new elves. They remind me of Gumby or the Grey Aliens :alien:who are supposed to abduct people, only with a nose and ridiculous Anime ears. Anime ears on cute, cartoon elves with heart shaped faces and over sized eyes? Works for me. In DA2 not so much.

Did not like the Darkspawn, either. They looked like undead to me.

Lack of a story. I was fine teaming up with Anders and wading out on a river of blood with the city burning down behind my back. Let's keep in mind I play the GOOD guy 95% of the time and my Wardens often die for Ferelden.

In real life, I wake up every morning, I go to work, I earn my pay and I try and get ahead in the world. One day, I'll have to bury my parents. If I had siblings, I'd fight with them. I feed and pet my dog. This is my life, so why in the Maker's name do I want to play that in a video game? Granted, I don't expect my mother to be abducted by a lunatic mage and meet a grisly fate nor do I drop fireballs on top of people flying out of the air. However, I'm a fan of the epic story. I prefer to save the world or the city, or do something to earn the name "Champion." Killing the Arishock was fine, I suppose, but the whole lack of a villain needs work. I thought Petrice had some real potential, but she was killed just when she started getting warmed up. The whole thing in Kirkwall largely struck me as being pointless. It shook up mages, templars, killed a bunch of people, and I played some politics. Yawn.

In the end, everyone was insane and had to be killed with wave after wave of combat. Double yawn.

Too much repetition of areas. Yes, I know you go back to places in Origins and Awakenings but you generally cleared an area then went on to a place which looked completely new once you finished your Blight Quest.

The fact DA2 is shorter. I may have missed a couple of Qunari blades and one or 2 side quests but I did the vast majority. Hawke ended in about 38 hours. My average playing time on Origins is 40-50 hours with all side quests, but that's also knowing the game by heart and exactly what to do and where.

Replay value is low unless I'm in the mood to slash and hash.

Very, very minor gripe, but the Achievements look horrible compared to the previous ones. They're now just 2 colors and look like something created in 5 minutes with MS Paint. Origins, Awakenings, and the DLCs were all a beautiful piece of digital art and exciting to look at.

The Friend / Rival thing. At least in Origins it meant something. They'd leave you at any time if you annoyed them enough. In that setting it even made sense they'd stick with the Warden if they hated him/her just to stop the ultimate evil of the Blight. In DA2 your companions have lives of their own so if they hate Hawke why stick around until possibly the very end.  Some of them hated her and still stuck around to risk their lives at the end of the game.   Thumbs down.

Not being able to equip the characters the way we could previously. It was fun playing "who do I hand down the armor to?"

Not having a home base with all your people in one spot. Running around and changing the party annoyed me.

The fact one of the last big fights was almost recycled from the DLC Golems of Amgarrak. I hate to say it, but that just came across as being lazy.  Yes, I know it wasn't exactly like the DLC (for which I'm thankful because I cussed that last Achievement to kill the Harvester) but the corpses that came to call, the fact he broke down into big monster, little monster repeatedly, etc. was all old news.

Flemeth's return.  It was so... Harry Potter.  Rowling was hardly the first person to come up with the general idea, but I expected something a little more original from Flemeth after all the build up in Witch Hunt and in the beginning of the game.  

Bugs

For some reason on "boss fights" my party members couldn't use healing potions. I'm not sure why but if I started the game again, the glitch went away.

No others that I noticed.

Neutral:

I didn't craft anything, but I don't do that much in the Origins, either, unless it's a side quest. I usually make some runes in Awakening, but I've always had points to burn on my Wardens. That never bothered me, but I can't be the judge of that.

Final Verdict

I won't preorder DA3, if there is one, or buy the DLCs for DA2 until I've heard some reviews. I'm not so arrogant that I think that's going to threaten sales because hey, I'm one person. However, I'm a person who has to watch my spending, and I didn't think DA2 was worth the cover price. I should have waited for the price to drop before making the purchase.

Modifié par TypoWolf, 30 mars 2011 - 11:28 .

[Jarlof Seoul]

Xin Rong wrote...

I didn't know about Bioware before i came to know Dragon Age. I was thinking of a RPG game and i did a search on GameSpot and DA:O caught my attention with such high rating.

I played DA:O and that time was really really awesome. Memorable characters, memorable choices and moments, clear goal directed and a world to explore. A very very good game indeed. I finished every Origin Story and completed the game twice (more if my schedule allows).

When it comes to DA II, i had great expectation, i don't care about the graphic/lack of customization, i want another great and memorable story.

But DA II's story failed me. I expected an epic story, but Hawke is simply "not that important". Anders, Lyrium, Varic, Meredith (especially Meredith) outshines Hawke.

I can endure "reused dungeon"(since it just lowers my replay interest), i can endure "what? i can only equip Hawke?", i can endure the "Kirkwall again???"...but i couldn't accept the poor story.

In the game, I need motivation to move on, to know what's going to happen, something that related to my destiny. At the beginning of the game, i thought my goal is clear, protect my family and make them happy by pursuing riches or other means.

Ok, my brother is gone, that's fine. What??? You take away my sister?? And...later.... what? My mother too? What have they done to deserve that? The game simply kills the clear cut goal of the game from the start. In DA:O, you have clear cut goal even your family got killed (human origin), kill the archdemon. But in DA II, who cares being a champion? My family isn't getting happier!

Then, Bethany character development is good until Act I. In Act II, her response to seeing Hawke again is so disappointing. (i was expecting a hug or emotional encounter).... Then the final Act, still so emotionless!


To summarize:

Pros:
Dialogue wheel is good
Some good but could be better characters (Varic Isabela Bethany etc)
Improved combat
Some challenging boss
Several memorable and unexpected moments (death of Mother, Anders' stupidity)

Cons
Boring dungeon
Linear and unattractive story (overall)
Bugged quest
Lack of focus on Champion
Bad item/codex interface (compared to DA:O)

You reminded me of something I wanted to throw out to this forum before I finish writing my final review:

The gruesome demise of Hawke's mother was just too much! Gratuitous. Having him be informed that his mother was senslessly murdered by a blood mage would have made the point. The animation when she is revealed in the killer's lairis something I will skip in any future replay.   I admit the build-up was excellent.

[RolandX9]

I wrote a full review on my LJ , but the short version is: while there was a lot of good stuff in DA II, especially in the companions, it was way, way too rushed. It needed another year. The narrative lost the thread too many times, too many of the NPCs just didn't make sense (and in a "no cohesive self" way, not the intended "well-meaning but self-destructive" one), there was too much continuity fail, decisions made little to no difference in the big picture (inexcusable in a Bioware game), and worst of all, bugged to Void and gone. Without bugs: still a solid 75 out of 100, disappointing but nevertheless enjoyable. With bugs: 60. Unprofessional, underwhelming and unfinished.

[vigna]

There have already been a great many reviews that share many of my opinion so I'll keep this short.  I am not  a PC gamer--I don't like it except for Sim/Civilization type games so my review is aimed at the 360 game. I also waited until I had finished a second, complete play through so any of my bile was tempered.

Initially I game the game 7.5 out of 10, and I still find that accurate. The shame is that I've never scored a Bioware game below 9 out of 10.

Minor points first. I can take or leave the changed combat, the leveling system, and the dialogue wheel. I like the changes as much as any fondeness I had for the previous incarnation. Little quips being exploding enemies vs finishing moves--I prefer finishing moves. The dialogue wheel also seemed to lead to conversation outcomes from my PC I hadn't intended as if they were mislabeled. The targeting system for combat is a bit spastic and the camera didn't always work right (but those are common issues with any game).

Less minor points: The companion armor system is annoying. I like being able to change the look of my companions. If you don't want to give us the ability to change armor/uniform styles then at least give us the ability to change their primary and secondary colors somehow....please.

Serious issues: Junk? Really--get rid of it, because Id rather treasure be rare and not have it than getting junk. Hell, it even says it's junk. 
Copy/paste dungeons/houses/caves....It gets tiring exploring the same areas...over and over. Maddening really. I could have handled half as many, because I can understand developing time and budget, but they were way too frequent.

Major issues: I know that games have glitches, but these were immersion breaking and game breaking--The Merrill one specifically. This issue alone probably ruined the replayability of the game for me in the long run. I never got any dialogue about the Dalish in my first play, and I overtalked to merrill as she was  my Hawke's LI--it didn't come early either it just never came at all.I also had many combat issues which may have come from my console rather than the game so I'll let them go. Nathaniel Howe never worked on any import, and I never killed him and he never died in any Awakening play I did. The rest you surely already know about.

Pros: As always I liked all the companions. The conversations and quests were rewarding. Bridging with Leliana, Zevren, Flemeth, and Allistair was great. I like the new spell animations, and most of the new animations and graphics, some quips with the elves, but otherwise a great improvement. I also liked the specialization system. The free stuff available with purchase was also a nice touch.

Awesome: A talking PC--keep this it was great. Act 2 --it was probably my favorite DA related stroyline/quest. It was simply amazing and fulfilling. Maybe I should put the NPCs here, because you did an outstaning job with them.



My Biggest complaint--the Plot: Heavy handed. Everyone keeps saying people that didn't like it didn't get it, or something to that effect. I thought the plot hit me over the head repeatedly over and over.....Templars are bad, Templars are good, Mages are bad, Mages are good.....thump, thump.  I get that it is a no win situation, and that it was rotting kirkwall from the inside out. Anders got results and at least stood for something, and forced action out of inept  and inactive political dimwits. OK. It doesn't matter whether you agree with anders or not, orsino or not, or Meredith or not you are there to facilitate action or change---or be the unwitting arbiter of it-either way., Hawke being the cause of the death, or inable to help those around him--his family. Carver..check, Bethany..check, Mom...check, Important person that gets kidnapped..check......come on! It wasover the top, and that's all I can say about it... plus Leandra ended up looking like Lady Grey--which is bad.

That said, I played it twice and will surely play it again. My picking apart your game is a sign of my care and love for Bioware., and their products.   It almost feels like you should have stretched out Act 1 and Act 2, and saved the rest of the story for an expansion or the next installment....Act 3 was very disappointing., and not just because Hawke didn't get to be the hero that saves the day for Kirkwall in the end. I know some battles are lost before they begin.

Modifié par vigna, 30 mars 2011 - 07:12 .

[jkd1975]

I was thoroughly disappointed in this game. Pretty much for the same reasons everyone else seems to be mentioning. Repetitive environments, bad dialog, etc. I started a second playthrough and found that the choices I made have no real impact one way or the other. Perhaps what people have said about EA affecting Bioware game quality is true. I just hope they manage to make Mass Effect 3 a satisfying and high quality conclusion. After that I may be moving away from Bioware games. Or at least no more automatic purchase of a Bioware game. Wait and see what the fan consensus is after a week or two regarding the game.

[Sleeper Service]

 I didn't read all 25 pages before me, so I'm probably saying things that have already been said.

As a game, I really enjoyed Dragon Age II. The reason I play Bioware games is for the characters, and the stories/characters were in fine form again. 

It just didn't feel like Dragon Age II. It felt like another game set in the Dragon Age universe. 

Pros:
I really loved the changes made to the elves and the qunari (kossith?). Made them actually feel foreign. 
I liked the idea of the spirit of Justice turning into the demon Vengeance.
I thought the flashback storytelling was well done. Nice to see something so common in books and movies make it into videogames. 
The whole "six years later" thing was awesome. It was fun to watch characters develop over time, instead of just magically transforming in one week. Or worse, having the timeline of the story left ambiguous. 
The streamlined loot system was helpful, and the little icons next to the dialogue choices. I didn't flirt with anyone by accident this time around!

Cons:
Compared to DA:O, this is half a game. If that.  I understand there were time/budget constraints, but this was much less than expected.
I totally didn't care about the dead sibling in the intro, or empathize with Aveline's pain regarding Wesley's death. I understand the intro was trying to set the tone for the series (didn't Flemeth say something about this being only the beginning?) but it somehow missed the mark for me. 
I miss the four-or-five dialogue options present in DA:O. Having everything streamlined down to three made the game feel... less polished? Simpler? 
Random: After seeing the awesome animations in ME2 (an entire team of eye animators?) everything else looks kinda hackneyed.

In short, I enjoyed the game, but I totally expected more from Bioware. Because I know you guys can give us more! 

[Papa Lente]

Watching my other halfs game during the Aveline trying to get in Donnic's pants quest. Isabela and Aveline's back and forth - very funny and well written. This kind of punchy banter should get more attention in future games.

[Dreamliss]

DA:O vs DA:II

Combat and Functionality: Much, much better. Very smooth and more fun. The ability to smash buttons makes me a happy little gamer. Glad you've kept the radial menu.

Graphics and Environment: I thought the graphics were nicely rendered... better than DA:O. Felt that some of the gear could have been more varied in appearance. Since Hawke is the only person we're gearing up, I don't think that'd be too much to ask for.

Backbone Plot and Storylines: DA:O's story blows this one out of the water. I just didn't feel like an overall threat was present in this game. Honestly, it felt like filler for the backdrop of a third game; a sort of bridge between the status of the world in DA:O and whatever comes next. Did not care for the ending. I felt it stunted and anticlimactic, especially when compared to its predecessor.

Companions: I really liked the companions in DA:II! They grew on me. I loved all of their individual stories and personalities, but I felt like there was a lot left unfinished. Merril's mirror, Varric's shard, as some examples. The lack of finality made those quests feel pointless.

**Dialog and Interaction: I cannot stress this enough: DA:O's dialog and character interaction was a thousand times superior to DA:II. Please don't turn this series into Mass Effect! I liked those games too, don't get me wrong, but I liked DA:O better than ME because it was so much more immersive! Two things will give you that: fantastic story and depth of character interaction. I loved being able to talk to my companions on a regular basis in DA:O. I'd found it disappointing in ME that there just wasn't as much of that, and then was absolutely crushed when DA:II followed suit. 

Risque Business: You're already rated M for Mature... why take out all of those fun, optional make-out sessions (and other such things)? I loved the option to flirt, just about whenever I felt like it in DA:O. Made it more realistic.
The romances in DA:II felt like they were just... there. Three flirt lines sparcely dotted over a period of half the game and, "Yay! I just collected the Anders to keep in my house." It was like getting an item or something. It didn't feel convincing at all. There weren't even any emotional conversations at the end of the game when **** was hitting the fan... just, "Hey can I go with you if we live through this?" - "Oh, sure."   DA:O romances on the other hand... now that was great.

Overall: DA:O wins on epic story (even made me shed a tear at the end, the first time I played it!), on awesome character interaction, and general immersion. The ending left me going, "OMG! That was amazing! Wait a second, that sounds like 30 Seconds to Mars... This game just blew my mind!!" 
     DA:II was entertaining, better than most other games on the market, and had smoother gameplay than DA:O, but I'm waiting with baited breath for a third, that hopefully brings back some of that depth we so loved about the first one.

My Background: 
Until DA:O came out, my favorite RPG ever made was Baldur's Gate 2 (preffered it to 1). When DA:O was released, I was blown away. I thought, finally, something really immersive has come along. I've played all NWN, Baldur's, Mass Effect and DA games. I've worked in the gaming industry (on NWN no less), I understand how it functions. I play everything but RPGs are my favorite, as is BioWare (for many years). Oh, and I'm a girl.  If that helps catagorize my opinion as a statistic.

Thanks for listening/reading!

~Liss

[Torax]

Dragon Age 2 is an interesting game. I just can't figure out if I am comparing it to Origins or Mass Effect 2. Maybe both?

Plot and Story

The story is good. Just it feels more disjointed to me. To be fair it's not like there is an Arch Demon in the Wilds building an army. Instead we have various types of extremist npcs that the player sees but can do nothing about until it's too late. At least in my case it feels that way totally out of the player's hands. The only few things that rest with me is if the Sibling lives, if a companion leaves and maybe just exactly had Act 2 ends. No matter what I do the game ends out of my hands. Even the final result is still the same with both Orsino and Meredith dead.

What this means to me as a player? Well at first as I tried my 2nd and 3rd play throughs I found myself in the "Why Bother?" mind set. If I'm powerless beyond being the plot's sword then shouldn't I care about the story at least? If the story was constant and fluid maybe. Now the story is about your character's rise which is all well and good but should I even at the very least feel like I have control of it? In Origins the control was slight mind you, such as the choice made during Nature of the Beast. In Dragon Age 2 which is more like Mass Effect 2 instead I have to just leave the plot out of my hands but who am I fighting here? 

Now for the final thing about this story. There is no over bearing threat. At least from a perspective it's a lunatic of a Knight Commander and an most likely corrupt First Enchanter that will not compromise. This is a more just a problem for a single Tower and it's Templars isn't it? This isn't some threat like Reapers or Arch Demons. I know the game is scripted to end a certain way. Maybe it's building up to something greater so I'll see. I just wish I Hawke had more of a part in it than just hired muscle since there was about 0 decisions in the plot unlike Origins.

In the end I just had to decide to hate the fact that I have no control and instead just let it go. For example having no way to save the Mother that I could tell. Was this supposed to tell me as a player that Blood Magic is evil? I would have already known. Why couldn't I at least Interogate Orsino in regards the letter in the killer's lair? Why can't I kill Grace as an example when she basically threatens to turn on me or my friends cause I won't kill the Templars for her? Just because she has plot armor for her appearance in Act 3? The use of in game cinematics is great and welcome. I just eventually had to realize it just isn't Dragon Age Origins as much as it's now more Mass Effect 2 than an Origins game. Not a terrible thing just I expected more and had to let it go.

Dungeons and Areas

I'm not as bothered by the repeats as many others to be honest. Though at least one or 2 more different types may have been nice. They do look great though. The Wounded Coast is very beautiful. Sunder Mount is very Mountainous. I am actualy happy that at least unlike say Mass Effect 2 in Dragon Age 2 my character doesn't randomly get stuck on a wall or object in the map.

Combat and Abilities

I love the combat. The biggest thing I was excited for was the melee combat. In Origins it was kind of annoying compared to ranged. The closing in melee charges for warrior and rogue are great. A tank really needed that and they got it in Dragon Age 2. It's fast paced but I can still use pause plan tactics and command different companions to their tasks or positions. The attack aminations with the mage staff makes the auto attacking from ranged better. Rogue's being able to port to the back with up to 2 abilities if they're a duelist is great. I also love how now we get things like using pillars to avoid attacks. This wasn't as common in Origins. Overall no complaints on combat. I love it.

Even the Masteries work though a Mastery closer to ranged focus for rogue would have been good. Shadow, Duelist and Assassination all seem closer catered to melee than ranged. The warrior and mage masteries were great. Force Mage is a ton of fun.

Companions

The companions are great overall. They have depth and are definitely not perfect which works. Varric deserves to be the most loved. They all have their part to play and it's good to watch them at work. Not every player will like every single aspect of them. I'm not sure it's required to every character being sunshine and roses. I also don't think agreement is required for the player and their companions at all times. the Friendship/Rival is fine. It's still a blue and red sort of decision making but at least it also changes how the companion's story develops more than just keeping them happy or they leave.

The Armor for Companions is a mixed bag. They look different which is cool, but then why do I loot extra armor types not for my class that they can't wear? Just feels out of place to me. The armor upgrades are cool for them and the gifts are interesting and can kind of add more insight. I just don't need to loot a mage helm on my rogue. Would rather have just looted some silver or something.

Romance

The Frienship/Rival's strong point is the romances. Not all players may take part in them or even like the idea of a in game romance but it definitely can change the character's out look. It's also with the companions that some of the rare few choices can be made. It's also how we get more insight into how they tic. No complaint on it really, it's not even all that tricky to get them to stick with you once the player gets the hang of it. The players mad at say Anders hitting on them cause clicked on a heart on accident is priceless.

Conversation and Characters

The new conversation wheel that is closer to Mass Effect is fine. The symbols to help choose the outcome is needed. Especially for people new to having their character talking. The Voice Acting was great as usual. The Characters are great as well. Really no complaints in that regard. Having the Player's Character evolve based on their conversation selections is so awesome. All there was in Origins was what a voice type selection. Now it's based on how my character acts on top of it. + + + 

Cameos, Plot Imports and Easter Eggs

The camoes were great and were characters I recognized and liked seing. There were others I liked from Origins and I wouldn't expect them to all return of course. Many seem to love the return of Cullen and he is interesting to be sure. I'm just curious about any epilogues that mentioned him going crazy. The many references and hints about Fereldon were great and welcome. There are many scattered in the game and they just make me happy. I do wish the Plot Imports worked better but that could have been a flaw in Origins and not Dargon age 2. I was glad to see Leliana again although I would wonder if Hardened Leliana would have went back to the chantry or not? Either way the Easter Eggs are as great as the references to the original. Keep up the great work.

"Enchantment!"  "That's my boy."

Conclusion T.L.D.R.

Pros: Combat Great for Melee & Ranged, Great Graphics, Style, Cinematics, Voice Work, Player Character Talks, Great Companions, Romances, New Conversation wheel, Character Attitude Evolution, Champion Armor looked great.

Cons: No way to change my story, Can't save mother!, Can't stop Anders!, Could have been more dungeons, loot armor no one can use. Less Mass Effect and more Dragon Age for DA 3.


Maybe this will help. Oh and maybe throw in Sigrun some day please.