1012 réponses à ce sujet

[crudusum]

I have finished the game, and i think it is an average rgp. Not bad game, yet a bad for a Bioware game! In the end the games feels rushed and dumbed down ( choices, combat, areas).

Liked:

• the Graphics were pleasant enough ( not a big deal for me)
• Merril! ( the accent and dialogue)
• Varric ( and most of other the hencmen)
• The City (the feel of it)
• Main characters advancement in games society.( but even this was left bare, why not give player some minigames related to this, invest to some merchants/mines -> upgrade mansion/afford some of the equipment in game)
• The idea behind the story ( not tthe implementation)
• Better ui than in ME2 ( for a pc)

Hated:

• There is still too short limit on how far the party members can be from the main character. In combat this becomes frustrating when you are trying to keep them separated and their ai suddenly hits a limit and comes running to close to you while you are getting hit by an aoe. When i was not micromanaging the combat. ( Give option other option than just "hold position" for combat, something along the lines "keep separation") Also the "I am ranged, but because one mob got closeto  me i will run in the middle of that new monster pack that just spawned" -problem.
•  I try to play a "pro mage-faction" and in the end i will end up killin more mages than the templars... it started to feel that my choises did not matter no matter what i do. Specially i hated the way how the first rebels of maged just had to die through my hand: suddenly i was the enemy even though i had supported and helped mages through out the game... Immersion breaking.
• Bloodmages... suddenly everyone and their dogs were bloodmages. Why it is that i had these incredible mages in my party who could do wonders without the bloodmagic, but everytime a circle mage got in the tuff position they had no other tools than to use the forbidden magic. PLUS I THOUGH IT WAS SOMETHING YOU NEEDED TO ACTUALLY STUDY.
• Enemies spawning from thin air
• Lack of puzzles, no hidden rooms to be found, no liches in coffins( BG2 )
• REPEATING DUNGEONS, you see there is more of it on the map, but you have no way to access the rest of it.
• Lack of ways to make money! 
• unexpected rivalry points -> no way to determine from the conversation option that it would cause offence, when you are trying to be polite.
• The whole "here is your strait tunnel, have fun exploring and adventuring in it." -feel of the game.
• IF you used anders as the healer, there was no REAL option to kick him from the party... sure i am heading towards the end battle, should i make a choice that removes my ONLY HEALER. oh comon!
• Why would i pick any other class than the warrior at the beginning.
• The boring starting area, the whiny companions.
• That you call it Dragon age 2, while it is more suited to be an expansion to origins.
• The UI design on pc is limited by the consoles.
• Mages in group ignored by the templars. Templars fighting alongside with bloodmages.
• The demo of starting the attack to the Gallows. Once again melee rannge templar means bad things for mage, yet they wait for templars at square where the templars can easily reach them. Not a one smart mage in the whole Gallows, a one who actually would think about tactics and trategy. Immersion breaking.
• the half way the equiping your henchmen was done. Oh great a sweet mage armor... wait i have no one to give it to.
• Orsinos choice to turn himself in to bloodmagic in the middle of his only allies... again immersion breaking. It is like the mages do not know how to be sneaky and have only two ways to solve an problem, bloodmagic or silent accept everything attitude.

Modifié par crudusum, 05 avril 2011 - 12:33 .

[Papa Lente]

See Below

Modifié par Papa Lente, 05 avril 2011 - 04:59 .

[nealj85]

I thought the last two boss battles were pretty epic. Meredith was a shock having not read any spoilers.

Anders'/Justice's destruction of the Chantry actually left me torn between who to side with, not since Jade Empire and ME1 have I felt conflicted by a video game.

The biggest negative for me was the inability to retroactively max out your sqaud's gear.

I have more to say, but I'm headed to a meeting.

[Papa Lente]

                                                      
                                                          This is the view from Papa Lente's other half.....

 If Dragon Age Origins turned me on to Console Gaming, Dragon Age II has turned me right off. Bioware Went from Hero to Zero in One Fell swoop. How can the second instalment of the Dragon Age saga turn out to be such a Farce? BIOWARE you missed a grand opportunity to produce something spectacular and build on a truly awe-inspiring first Game.

Now admittedly, I am not the greatest of gamers, I grew up in the Arcade Era. But DA:O did have an epic impact on me. It truly brought home all the work, hours and hours of it that my classmates spent in Games Lab while I
went to the business lab to develop Business Solutions. I have every respect for the games developers, being a business software developer myself. 

But when a passion is overtaken by business profitability, deadlines, sustainability, and scales of economies, you get DA:II. Having said that I hope the guys at EA and BIOWARE take heed of what their customers are saying because for me, and I am sure many other like me, I happened upon DA:O because my partner who is in love with the ME crew and their abilities thought he should get DA:O and see what it was all about. After a few hours of playing DA:O he was disappointed with eth character feel and the look of the game etc. He went out and I took it up and started playing and was instantly attuned to what BIOWARE was trying to do so I encouraged him to play a bit more.

After a combined effort of 210 Hrs for both our games, I played as a human male mage and he as a human female warrior, We both concluded  that DA:O was the best game every. Sadly 100 or so hours after DA:II (our combined effort) We have both concluded that this game is the embodiment of missed opportunities
and or disappointment personified.

1.Mangling Your Character
[*]I did some simple customization for my Hawke (again I was a mage) and his look turned out OK. But I suspect that was due to the improved graphics more than anything else.[*] I could not care less about how the character was drawn so I did not explore that entire shindig about hair and eyes and lips etc.[*]Because you denied us the ability to choose our hero's own race/class and story line. You may just as well given us your own version of Hawke. I DID NOT CARE

2. Here is a bunch of people I could not care less about:- lntroduction of the Hero and his family
[*] I ended up with Carver surviving and Bethany dying in that initial battle. Ho Hum... As a Mage I would have preferred to have Bethany along as I thought that she would be the equivalent of Morrigan in this game. Well thanks for nothing there.[*]Carver seemed to always be an angry sour git. And I suspect because he was born without magic, his inferiority complex was larger than life. Unsurprisingly, this introduction of a family (that I did not care about) made me feel like I needed to care about someone. And so as the game progressed, I chose Carver as the one I would care about. [*]Flemmeth :- What can I say, Promises, promises, promises.... All smoke and definitely no magic here EA/BIOWARE. In my DA:O Flemmeth was too formidable a foe to take on so after being handed my hide over and
over, I chose to discuss a way forward with her.  I assumed that in this instalment, she would seek to get her own back. It never materialised.


3. The DA: II world (Talk about your storm in a tea cup)
[*]The problem that this presented for me was that I could not keep up with what quest I was doing because the minute I entered the Docks there are three golden triangle plot points vying for one’s attention. And if there was a fight in between you ultimately forgot what you were doing.
[*] I never once read the journal in DA:O and that is credit to the game, I was so engrossed with what I was doing,I always knew where I was. in DA:II
[*]I couldn't care whether I was going to the Qunari compound or trying to sex Anders. Which could well have been the same thing, For in the end I killed them both.
[*]No sense of space and even less sense of time.Although they bragged about it taking place over 10 years... If all your quests are right around a corner then there is no sense of time having passed. 


4. Companions Woeful
[*]Morrigan oh Morrigan where art thou my Fair, Dark Haired Witch? 
[*]My partner played at home during the day while I was at work. And then I played in the evening and without seeing his game play, I guessed that Leliana would be making a return. Something in the mechanics of this game seemed predictable. Having figured out that Leliana had returned I surmised that so would Zevran. And believe me when I say this was MY ONLY reason for continuing to give up my evenings to this waste of time.
[*]In my DA:O I chose to have a relationship with Zevran over Morrigan even though, I did get to unlock her Witch Gone Wild achievement, chose to do the ritual with her before the final battle, and Snare the Antivan Crow. 
[*]DA:II seems like i was lumbered with my companions without having any real choice. Fenris was about the
only character that I went on a quest with before he became a member of party. I played about 10 hours of ME2 and IT WAS WAY MORE ENJOYABLE THAN the 55 HRS I put out for DA:II[*]Oh how I prayed that I would be able to keep Zevran in my party.[*] There were no HITS and all MISS with the companions in DA:II Dialogue between my hero and them was poor.
Everything was either leading to sex or fight. No flirting anywhere. Morrigan seemed to have more intellect in her robe hem than all my companions and allays and adversaries in DA:II combined. The quick wit and dry humour that I so loved in DA:O went AWOL here.
[*]Being a gay man, I get the  feeling that most of the dialogue was written by and very angry short queen, who had a world of issues, going on about touching Bianca's cocking ring and calling the Pirate a Slattern. Please spare me. If I want that kind of caustic language, I'll go for a pint with my friends. 
[*]And why is it that after you bed someone, you only have the option of falling in love with them or kicking them out. Dumb dumb dumb.
[*]No one decides that they are in love with someone after one night of kissing. 
[*]Again not wanting a porno scene, the Hotness of the cut scene of Zevran and Aleem (my mage) in DA:O and the follow up of Morriogan and Aleem in Witch Gone Wild, alone was worth more than anything I came across in my 55Hrs or DA:II 
[*]And for Chrissake, why put all that armour and weaponry about if I cannot allocate it to my companions. Wasted Opportunity

5. Lost The Plot? What’s going on in DA:II Lost The Plot? What’s going on in DA:II [*]This story is odd to say the least downright silly to say a bit more.
[*]Nothing in the plot made sense after I killed the Arishok. And was EA did you trailer the game with Hawke fighting the Arishok only to then slap on another 10 hours of pointlessness in an attempt to showcase the battle between mages and Templars?
[*]Some things that were irrelevant :- Alastair returning, The Qunari blades quest, Being lumbered with Merrill even after I forced a permanent rivalry with her. I did not want her for my main squeeze yet after a tryst when she came to my house (where I was only meantto be stashing some loot) there we had it. Hawke and Merrill and no getting out of it. Ugh..... 
[*]So the Arishok is dead by Hawke's hand why did he not get promoted to Viscount. After all he proved himself worthy. 
[*]Why did both Orsino and Meredith turn on Hawke even after he tried to remain neutral. MAKES NO SENSE, VERY POOR PLOT DEVELOPMENT. Missed opportunity again.

6. GLITCHES AND BUGS:- Felt like being trapped in "It's A Bugs Life"  
[*]Bosses forever getting suck in the battlefield. I fought the Arishok three different time on three
different levels and in every instance he got stuck on the platform and seemed unable to move thus
rendering the fight very unsatisfying.
[*]Same for Orsino, Meredith, Stone Golem Ghost at Bartrand's house, That Templar conspirator cannot remember his name, Merrill’s emon. Bosses should not get stuck on the battle field.
[*]And I did not specifically seek out a point on the field to lure them to, the game just seemed to randomly stick the bosses in places that they cannot move from. That may have something to do with my  Gravitic Ring followed by my 'Edge of the Abyss' spell. But I sincerely doubt it.
[*]Why in the middle of a fight my Companions, Aveline and Merril are sauntering away from the battle and leaving me to fend for myself?
[*]Why can I not get another party member to throw a bottle of Mythals Flavorium or whatever the potion was named. Two men dead including Hawke and no one is able to revive him.
[*]Why at the dalish camp, after my Hawke and Merrill are dead does Fenris and Avaline seem to be indestructible?
[*]I played that section on Hard and for every hit they took, they generated twice as much Mana and Stamina. A whole hour after starting that battle and with very sore finer from bashing the A button repeatedly, I killed an inordinately large amount of elves that simply did not want to die.
BORING.... AND BUG INFESTED

 Generally I did not enjoy this game. There were no Ogres to slay. No Finishing Moves, Bugs all during the Big Boss encounters, silly side and companion quests and a whole heap of running around the hamster wheel that was Kirkwall. No wonder Hawke simply vanished after this last battle. I just wished that the entire game would have done the same and vanished after I killed the Arishok.  


BIOWARE/EA Come on YOU CAN AND MUST DO Better. YOu made a believe out of me then stole my faith. Like an Alien Ship landing in Time's Square.

Modifié par Papa Lente, 05 avril 2011 - 05:24 .

[Stradar87]

Is it just me or are alot of people really hateing Dragon age 2??? Becuase im seeing what is happening here with DA games they have dumbed it down for consoles Im really upset it was released at the same time as consoles. It has become to much of a arcade game then an RPG game.

Bioware has never made a RPG I did not love soooo much with all my heart till DA2 what happend??????? If they keep this up It will be another company I will refuse to buy games from sadly ((((((

[Papa Lente]

Papa Lente
Oh, and I keep forgetting to say, I just picked up our 3rd copy of 'dragon age origins' this weekend. The first one got scratched, the second one went 'missing', and having finished da2, I had to go back and see if I was looking through rose tinted glasses. I wasn't, it is amazing!

I hope the folks at Bioware appreciate how much people actually care about the world of Dragon Age and are taking this feedback on the chin. It's only being said, because you really did give us something so special with Origins, you owe it to us and yourselves to push harder to keep that standard of gaming experience consistent.

Modifié par Papa Lente, 05 avril 2011 - 05:32 .

[Gongsun Zan]

Rather than a traditional review, I've decided to start a Let's Play, mostly so I can provide scene-by-scene analysis and commentary as I play through the game for the first time.

Here's the LINK. Any dicussion about the points I bring up are much welcomed.

[Inquisitor Zobeda]

I loved the character interaction. The ability to deputize a party member in a given situation was inspired. If anything I'd enhance this feature in the DLCs and games to come.

I liked that the story wasn't a race against time. It was almost like the backstory of a character we were playing, the things that forged the hero. I liked the political intrigue and the themes of religion and power and class. They were treated a bit shallowly but it's a video game so I understood.

I liked the response wheel and how you knew exactly how your remark was going to come off and how some characters didn't like sassy/funny (Avaline) and some responded overwhelmingly well to it (Isabell).

I LOVED how your family members resemble your characer. (Provided you didn't change them too much when you tweaked their faces.)

I liked the assortment of peope in your party and I LOVED the open romantic choices.

I didn't like the repetitiveness of environments. I didn't like how useless most of the stuff you find is. It didn't take long for me to be totally over opening chests or going to see merchants (I still opened chests because I'm compuslive like that. lol)

I didn't like that it was an incomplete game even though I'm sure you all are setting us up for a trilogy. I know it's 2 different teams but ME2 did a better job of creating an entire game that could stand on ti's own. DA2 almost - but not quite - got it right. In other words what he heck was that "ending?"

I love this game tho.

[El Eh Kay]

What I liked was the graphics and the inter play between characters. 8/10

What I disliked was that the game was much shorter ten DAI. 6/10

[Otter Pack]

8/10

My only major complaints are:

1.It wasn't long enough.
2.Some environments got used so many times it became nonsensical,
3.I couldn't customize the main character as much as I would like.
4.We're still stuck with cultures,which in similiar fashion to what happened to europe towards the end of the Roman empire with christianity and the medaeval world Thedas resembles, are so utterly consumed by the boring old chantry. It's implied (at least as I see it) in a manner akin to the real world that most magical traditions are tied to religion in some fashion,but this is never truly explained.Just what is so different about the circle from other groups of magi?There are other traditions apparently,I'd love to know a little more about them.

Modifié par Otter Pack, 08 avril 2011 - 02:24 .

[Stradar87]

El Eh Kay wrote...

What I liked was the graphics and the inter play between characters. 8/10

What I disliked was that the game was much shorter ten DAI. 6/10

Yea wouldnt you think 10 years in a charactors life that the game would be longer then Dao???? I mean Dao was a spand of only 1 year sooo im confused about that. I know the truth though they were limited by time becuase crappy companys like EA!!! god wish a gameing company would just stick to them selves and not a company to push them around with deadlines UGGGGG!!!

I havnt the doubt DA3 will be just as bad or a little bit better then Da2. But then again games like Shogun 2 Total war turned out just as bad as Empire total war becuase of sega!!!

Modifié par Stradar87, 06 avril 2011 - 12:30 .

[Alex1939]

Loved the game overall. I am a definite pre-order for special edition of dragon age 3.


Did not like so much reuse on zones. This seems to be the most common complaint.

Did not like the retcons (retroactive continuity). The choices we make need to have lasting consequences or the choice shouldn't be presented.

Would like more companions to choose from. That would really add to replay value especially if you have to work more for their companion quests.

I also hope Dragon Age 3 will go back to Origins style and allow the player to be other races besides human.

[stmon99]

I liked the story. I also thought the characters were great. The added family tension and tragedy with the Hawke family added a lot of emotional impact. As others have mentioned, I disliked the repetitive maps--ruins the immersion in the story. I also prefer equipping my party members with armor.

My first playthrough on Normal as a male warrior was pretty bug free. My second playthrough on Hard as a female mage was buggy as hell.

The real disappointment though was that two plays was enough for me. It felt like that was it. Unlike Dragon Age: Origins, where I wanted to play as a warrior, mage, and rogue, and also as both male and female, and also as a human, dwarf and elf. But with DA2, male warrior, female mage--and I felt that covered just about everything I wanted to see.

[AzureAether]

Positives
-The graphics are beautiful, the cut scenes wonderful.
-It is nice that Hawke gets his/her own voice, and actually reflects some sort of reaction during exchanges with other characters; in DA:O It was a little annoying that your warden never spoke or really... did anything during dialog exchanges.
-The music was well done (the Hanged Man and the Wounded Coast music were my favorites). The inclusion of some of the old characters really made my day; I loved it when I ran across Zevran, and was very happy to see a return of Bohdan and Sandel. The new battle system made it a lot easier to work through.
- Party chatter as well as many dialog options leading to humorous responses.



Negitiaves
-The quests, for starters. I got very bored very quickly with all the seemingly meaningless sidequests, but worst than the running around feeling like a delivery woman, I hated how every house or cave I went in to was exactly like every other house or cave. Sure, a door may be locked here, or a passage closed off there, but it was horrible wandering through areas that were exactly the same in design over and over again. It made the questing worse.
-The lack of a solid plot. In DA:O you knew from the moment you became a Warden what your goal was. In DA:2, I knew about the end of act 2 as well as what the final battle at the end of act 3 was going in (it isn't that hard to figure out). But even still I didn't feel like there was a point to it. There was nothing about it that grabbed my attention.
- Plot holes! While I was playing through there seemed like there was a million just glaring me in the face. The story didn't complete itself well at all; it seemed like there were all these very loose threads that just stayed frayed. 
- The ending. The final battle is epic; I enjoyed it and finally got really in to the game in those last twenty minutes. And then I wanted to beat myself in the head with my controller. It just ends. No epilog, no wrap up, nothing. I found myself more angry than content; I had just beaten a game I had been longing to get my hands on and yet I was annoyed because there was no real clouser.
- The obvious fact that this game is a giant opening act for what could be DA3. 
- The changed character models. Zevran bothered me the most; something was just not right about how he looked. Alistair also didn't seem right.
- The fact that every party member was bi. The fact that they were so does not bother me, I'm open minded, but it took some of the fun out of it. In DA:2 it doesn't matter what gender you play, you still have a chance with everyone. In DA:O that was half of the fun in replay value; if I wanted to romance Alistair, I had to be a female Warden. But if I wanted to romance Morrigan, I had to play through a second time.
- Lack of races/Origin stories. I realize that Hawke is the Champion, but why couldn't an Elf have been? Or a dwarf? We see a starting point for a human family fleeing Lothering, but couldn't we see an elven family fleeing the Wilds? Or a surface Dwarf caravan caught up and fleeing? DA:2 lost a lot of its customization there.
- The fact that every single party member you pick up can be romanced save for Varrick.
- Time. Doing every quest available and my completion time fell at just over 35hrs. For me, DA:O took about 50hrs or so and it also held more of a reason to go back and replay it multiple times. DA2 does not stir in me a need to go back and play it again, even once.
- Being unable to equip my party members with any armor I chose to give them.
-The lack of gifts. Having one or two just wasn't as fun as having a lot to give out. Plus they would have really offered some help to have along when trying to max out friendship with people.
-Annoying dialog options. Every time I thought that I was saying something that would make someone happy in my party, it ended up increasing the rival side of the bar instead.

I understand Bioware, I do. The gaming industry is getting hit hard and is not stable. You struck gold with the first Dragon Age, and you tried to strike while the iron was hot, as they say, with DA2. However, in my case, the iron just got broke. I own a copy of Dragon Age: Origins for the PS3 and even went out to buy a second copy for the PC. I played through each of the origin stories, which made for i think six full play throughs. Hours of work went in to DA:O on my part, which really reflected all of the pure amazingness you as a company was able to put in to it. DA2 does not leave this same feeling. As I said, I beat the entire game in 35hrs and it left me annoyed and frustrated. I was very much glad to be done with it, to be honest. I do not plan on playing through it again, and I don't see a need to buy a second copy for the PC.

The formula you had for DA:O was perfect. The positives you added to DA2 would have improved that formula, but you messed with a little too much and tipped the scale. The game isn't horrible; if it was I would have simply stopped playing it, but it isn't as great as I was expecting. It may have done better on its own, without the Dragon Age title. But as it is now, its just another sub-par game.

I would like to appologize; I realize that everyone at Bioware worked hard on it, and I'm glad to see the Dragon Age line continue. Even though I didn't really enjoy DA2 I am still a huge fan of Origins and am looking forward to, hopefully, DA3 (though I do hope to leave the Champion of Kirkwall and that entire story far behind me).
     

Modifié par AzureAether, 06 avril 2011 - 05:42 .

[Otter Pack]

The one thing (besides seeing how the player's decisions effect the world,and taht which I already mentioned)a I would honestly like to be able to do in the sequel if they plan on making one,and honestly a little let down that I didn't have a chance in DA2,is to play as a Qunari,Yeah they're pushy authoritarians,but so very badass at the same time.Who knows maybe you could play a rebel Qunari. Though I imagine that playing a Qunari mage would not likely be an option.Which would be a little dissapointing.

[Icy Magebane]

The voice acting is fantastic.

[Stradar87]

AzureAether wrote...

Positives
-The graphics are beautiful, the cut scenes wonderful.
-It is nice that Hawke gets his/her own voice, and actually reflects some sort of reaction during exchanges with other characters; in DA:O It was a little annoying that your warden never spoke or really... did anything during dialog exchanges.
-The music was well done (the Hanged Man and the Wounded Coast music were my favorites). The inclusion of some of the old characters really made my day; I loved it when I ran across Zevran, and was very happy to see a return of Bohdan and Sandel. The new battle system made it a lot easier to work through.
- Party chatter as well as many dialog options leading to humorous responses.



Negitiaves
-The quests, for starters. I got very bored very quickly with all the seemingly meaningless sidequests, but worst than the running around feeling like a delivery woman, I hated how every house or cave I went in to was exactly like every other house or cave. Sure, a door may be locked here, or a passage closed off there, but it was horrible wandering through areas that were exactly the same in design over and over again. It made the questing worse.
-The lack of a solid plot. In DA:O you knew from the moment you became a Warden what your goal was. In DA:2, I knew about the end of act 2 as well as what the final battle at the end of act 3 was going in (it isn't that hard to figure out). But even still I didn't feel like there was a point to it. There was nothing about it that grabbed my attention.
- Plot holes! While I was playing through there seemed like there was a million just glaring me in the face. The story didn't complete itself well at all; it seemed like there were all these very loose threads that just stayed frayed. 
- The ending. The final battle is epic; I enjoyed it and finally got really in to the game in those last twenty minutes. And then I wanted to beat myself in the head with my controller. It just ends. No epilog, no wrap up, nothing. I found myself more angry than content; I had just beaten a game I had been longing to get my hands on and yet I was annoyed because there was no real clouser.
- The obvious fact that this game is a giant opening act for what could be DA3. 
- The changed character models. Zevran bothered me the most; something was just not right about how he looked. Alistair also didn't seem right.
- The fact that every party member was bi. The fact that they were so does not bother me, I'm open minded, but it took some of the fun out of it. In DA:2 it doesn't matter what gender you play, you still have a chance with everyone. In DA:O that was half of the fun in replay value; if I wanted to romance Alistair, I had to be a female Warden. But if I wanted to romance Morrigan, I had to play through a second time.
- Lack of races/Origin stories. I realize that Hawke is the Champion, but why couldn't an Elf have been? Or a dwarf? We see a starting point for a human family fleeing Lothering, but couldn't we see an elven family fleeing the Wilds? Or a surface Dwarf caravan caught up and fleeing? DA:2 lost a lot of its customization there.
- The fact that every single party member you pick up can be romanced save for Varrick.
- Time. Doing every quest available and my completion time fell at just over 35hrs. For me, DA:O took about 50hrs or so and it also held more of a reason to go back and replay it multiple times. DA2 does not stir in me a need to go back and play it again, even once.
- Being unable to equip my party members with any armor I chose to give them.
-The lack of gifts. Having one or two just wasn't as fun as having a lot to give out. Plus they would have really offered some help to have along when trying to max out friendship with people.
-Annoying dialog options. Every time I thought that I was saying something that would make someone happy in my party, it ended up increasing the rival side of the bar instead.

I understand Bioware, I do. The gaming industry is getting hit hard and is not stable. You struck gold with the first Dragon Age, and you tried to strike while the iron was hot, as they say, with DA2. However, in my case, the iron just got broke. I own a copy of Dragon Age: Origins for the PS3 and even went out to buy a second copy for the PC. I played through each of the origin stories, which made for i think six full play throughs. Hours of work went in to DA:O on my part, which really reflected all of the pure amazingness you as a company was able to put in to it. DA2 does not leave this same feeling. As I said, I beat the entire game in 35hrs and it left me annoyed and frustrated. I was very much glad to be done with it, to be honest. I do not plan on playing through it again, and I don't see a need to buy a second copy for the PC.

The formula you had for DA:O was perfect. The positives you added to DA2 would have improved that formula, but you messed with a little too much and tipped the scale. The game isn't horrible; if it was I would have simply stopped playing it, but it isn't as great as I was expecting. It may have done better on its own, without the Dragon Age title. But as it is now, its just another sub-par game.

I would like to appologize; I realize that everyone at Bioware worked hard on it, and I'm glad to see the Dragon Age line continue. Even though I didn't really enjoy DA2 I am still a huge fan of Origins and am looking forward to, hopefully, DA3 (though I do hope to leave the Champion of Kirkwall and that entire story far behind me).
     

Truely though the storie of the Champion of Kirkwall Has only just begun so im sure you wont be able to leave it behind just yet. BUT!!! I do hope the next chapter of the Champion will be solid this time!! please dont disapoint Bioware!!

Modifié par Stradar87, 06 avril 2011 - 08:31 .

[raymonddhj]

I think people are making the mistake of considering DA2 a full game. IMO DA2 is the world's longest introduction. I give the DA2: Hawke's Awesome Introduction 5/5.

[dada618]

Keeping it Simple:
Thumbs Up:
Action - fighting - action;
One place to get runes & potions (Act 2 on)
Minimized wasting levels on worthless talents to get what you want
Auto-load of most tactics for companions
New art for characters
Voice acting for Hawke
Family matching
Cool new armour
Mages can fight melee with staffs (when pressed)
heavy hitting Rouges (as archers)
Easy to determine next move in the game flow
Options for dialogue with new rivalry system
Varric and his narration
Great graphics on PS 3.


Thumbs Down?
Limited character build at the beginning
Brother or Sister and Mother killed without any chance of rescue
Romance choices limited
"disney like" cut scenes for romantic interludes (dont expect porn but the game is rated M!
No options to "outfit" companions
Easter egg hunt to find their armour add ons...seriously?
Constant "Game Freezes"
Mabari just seems to wonder off without cause and leaves the scene
Combatants sometimes stand at guard and don't attack even when being assaulted
Lack of companion dialog choices
Some inventory items priced way above any reasonalble level to gain coin to attain 113 gold for some pieces when you're pulling 3 silvers or less from most fallen enemies and chests...YIKES
Can't OPT out with Hubert from Partnership with useless Bone Pit! "some people don't take no for an answer"

Overall - Combine the action and fighting with the rich dialogue and characters in DA:O drawn as richly as DA2 (loved the new Leliana); expand the well drawn city of Kirkwall into the vast adventures of Ferelden, bring back 'hotter' romance dialogues and exchanges, and you will have the game of the century...Just saying... DA Fan

[MEfanPC]

There are 28 or so pages so I will assume alot of this will be repeats but my 2 cents for this game.

overall I enjoy the game, not as much as origins, but excedes the play of awakenings by far.

Mages:
why are most of the mages in dragon age abomintations or blood mages? I am will not and have not ever spec'd a companion or MC into blood magic yet I have to deal with anders and merrill? This goes back to Origins as well since Wynne is technically an abomination.

I like the new mage trees although I was not totally impressed with the DPS specialties since it was force (which I never got the hang of) and blood which I will not use.

whats the deal with the mage armor. nothing screams hey I'm a appostate come kill me like a bright blue mu mu mage robe

Warriors
much easier to play than in Origins but too many goodies to spec into and not enough points. I would rather too many than too few or a bunch of filler abilities to get the good one.

rogues
Companions spotting of traps is way too late. you can't send them in as a scout because they agro the room.

Specailties play nice as both range and DW

Game play
where did the overhead combat view go?
why is there a massive feeling of deja vu in this game.... oh right all the caves, dungeons and houses have the same set up. Variety would be nice please bring that back.
Telling your companions to stay does not work. It is much like a curious child. stay here, ok, wait I can't see, inches up, no I said stay there not here.

Companions
I like the new rival/friend idea however talking to a person 6 or 7 times in 7 years is more like an aquaintance not a " I am willing to follow you even though it goes against all my personal beliefs" diehard brother/sister in arms buddy. Please allow us to converse with our companions like we could in origins.
like and hate points seem a bit willy nilly, example. Issy playing cards with merrill gives back the token merrill losses with some words of wisdom. this leads you to believe that they are friendly but if you do anything pro merrill in the beginning issy throws a hissy fit and hates on you? this does not match up.
inventory management in "Camp" is non exsistant. I spent way too much time in the tavern switching characters arround to level up and equip my buddies

Follow ups and imports.
if you wanted the architech alive for this game why did you allow us to kill him in awakenings. I think the only good darkspawn is a dead darkspawn (same as blood mages) yet while interviewing howe in his finding quest he says the Talking dude is still alive. I know this isn't true cause I killed him 3 days ago when I set this import up. Magically making the story match what you want seems a bit cheap. another example. in the end of the game the 2 seekers are discussing the champion saying he's just like the warden, however on my second playthough I used your matyr base import. Varric said champion was alive and I know your warden is dead and has been for 9 years. I'm also pretty sure that one of those seekers knows exactly how the warden died.

Like I said I enjoy the game. Origins is much better. The things I want back for the next game Camp inventory management, overhead combat view, conversations with my companions. Please find a mage that isn't someone my character would kill or turn over to the chantry within 5 minutes of knowing them for my next set of companions.

Modifié par MEfanPC, 07 avril 2011 - 03:22 .

[Night Dreams]

What I liked most:
- The companions
I was really intrigued by all of their stories and to be honest it was their side quests that kept me interested and excited to play more.
- Crafting
God, the new system is just so much better than the old.
- Combat
I can say I couldn't be happier with the faster new combat, when you ask them to go somewhere they actually RUN now instead of kinda wandering over there at their own pace. I love how they jump into action on their opponents and mages actually look pretty awesome attacking now.
- Ability trees
Love upgrades for abilities!
- Dialogue
HAWKE HAS A VOICE!! 'Nuff said.
- The cultures
Elves actually are distinguishable between humans now and not just short humans with pointy ears and dwarves look more muscular and less fat.

What I didn't like:
- Initiating conversation with companions
Oh how I miss approaching my companion to have a chat... or a kiss. I had times where I would just really love to approach them, ask some questions, like we could in DAO. It kind of felt like no one cared what I had to say.
- Environments
I found myself in the same cave, same dock, same warehouse WAY too many times. What happened to the amazingly diverse environments in DAO? I don't want to feel like I'm having deja'vu in every quest I go on. I feel like this was just laziness on Bioware's part.
- Story
During my stay in Kirkwall I felt like I had no ongoing goal, I didn't know why I was doing what I was doing, it started off looking after my family, then everyone left/died and it was just me in my mansion fixing other people's problems, but why? Just because I'm a good samaritan and what to help other's out? Because I'm greedy and like shiny gold coins? I couldn't see beyond that.
The part I really did love and felt the entire game should have been based on this was the conflict with the qunari, they had to be the most interesting part of the game and it gave me a sense of purpose.
- Character Creation
Maybe I'm just really unskilled but I felt like in DAO I could make all these really beautiful characters who all looked really different but now everyone I make look like square-headed look-alikes. The hair was extremely disappointing and I find myself always disappointed with what I can make and so go back to the original Hawke preset. That brings up another problem. Why the hell can't we edit that particular preset?? WHY? All I want to do is make my Hawke blond. But no. No changing hair colours for me.
-And finally...
WHAT DID YOU DO TO POOR ALISTAIR??

Overall though, still a very enjoyable game, just didn't live up to DAO. I'd give it an 8.

[Inquisitor Zobeda]

Oh I forgot how in DA:O you could walk up to any party member and have a little chat on the road and especially at camp. (In DA2 it would be in their home bases) Bring that back and keep the deputizing during chats with mission NPCs. That would be perfect party dynamics imo.

Also since it was the day to day meanderings of a hero and their day job of adventuring you should probably have to pay your party members a sovereign for each mission since you're not out trying to save the world, you're all just trying to make a living.

[Esmerella]

Well I have played through a few times so here are my thoughts.

I liked the companions for the most part. I enjoy their banter. I like the idea of the home base and seeing other firends talking with them as I walk in.  It makes it feel more real, like they are not worried about me their every waking moment

I like the friendship/rivalry tool.  And seperating it from the romance was good. I like that there were only a few gifts for each companion and they were specific to them. That said I wish there were a few more instances to talk with them.  Maybe allow an additional dialogue in between 0 and 50 to just let you find out about them a little more.  Sure you are traveling around but just to sit in their base drinking a beverage and getting to know each other

I have mixed emotions about the combat.  I like that it feels more active expecially for mages but I don't like the mobs that drop out of walls.  If you needed additional mobs couldn't they come from around a corner or the next room.

I am okay with reusing maps for different areas and centering it around Kirkwall but I think you carried the reuse of maps a little too far. that said I do like wandering the wounded coast. it was a beautiful area and the Bone Pit was sufficiently scary.

I was surprised I liked the import save feature. I did not think it would matter much so I had deleted several saves to make some space.  I hope you fix the bugs with the imports soon as the intent was good the execution was poor

I think the story was interesting but it was hard for me to side with the templars.  I understand the argument but i cannot condone treating someone as a criminal just because of an accident of birth.  This is a minor annoyance but having to chose sometimes just feels wrong.

On a personal issue what did you do to Leliana,  when she walks I half expect her to spit and say "Well partner, its like this".  And I haven't seen one person riding a horse why is she so bowlegged?  It was just the first 5 seconds of that scene made me want to cry.

Summing up could it have been better? yes.  Am I sorry I bought it? no Would I recommend it to a friend? only if I thought the friend could look past the flaws which there are a few. Thanks for the game hope you will do better next time.

[G00N3R7883]

This is my review of Dragon Age 2. I played the PC version.

First of all, as I know the guys from Bioware are reading this thread, let me start by saying thank you. I have been a fan of your games since the 90’s and they have consistently been among my favourite games of all time. From the Baldur’s Gate series and the NeverWinter Nights series, to KOTOR and Jade Empire, and on to the Mass Effect series and the Dragon Age series.

I would score Dragon Age 2 as 7/10. It was very good, but also flawed. It was better than many games that other developers have released – including RPGs and non-RPGs. But at the same time, I feel it was the lowest quality Bioware game. I enjoyed DA2 for what it is, but it could have been so much more.

The Good

Hawke: When I read the first preview of DA2 and it mentioned forcing Hawke to be human, in order to get a Shepard style fully voice acted hero, I didn’t like the sound of it. I love Shepard, but I also love my Warden. This however turned out to be a very good choice. I actually responded very well to Hawke. I thought the male voice acting was awesome, and it made all the conversations seem more exciting, or you could say “cinematic” I guess.

Companions: I really liked the majority of the companions, their personal quests, and their random banter while wandering around town. And I also felt like there were the correct number of companions. I felt Mass Effect 2 had too many to really get to know them well enough. DA2 is a perfect example of “less is more” (although please don’t take that as a request to kill half the ME2 cast). Less companions, but each one given more depth. My Hawke had a strong friendship with Aveline based on duty and respect, a flirty romance with Isabella, and a friendship with Anders that grew because my Hawke was also a mage, but ended in tragedy because of Anders’ actions. I wasn’t too fond of Anders in Awakenings, but he’d grown on me so much by the end of DA2 that I really felt bad for the choice I had to make. It actually hit me harder emotionally than the loss of any of Hawke’s family members. Merrill was funny, especially in the random conversations with Isabella or Aveline while walking around town. Its strange, the voice actress for Merrill, I can’t stand her Welsh accent in Torchwood but she did a good job with Merrill.

Replayability: as always for a Bioware game, I see a lot of potential to start a new character, make different choices, and see how it plays out.

Bugs: I personally only experienced one crash, I was fighting an Elf mage outside Merril’s house, and it was something to do with me hitting pause at the exact moment that the Elf’s magic knocked Hawke back. Once I realised that I managed to progress. Other than that one thing, the game was really stable for me.

The Mixed

Combat: I thought the skills/spells tree system was an improvement over Origins, in terms of choosing between many low powered spells or a few high powered upgraded spells. The AI tactics was also improved, and I was pleasantly surprised by how often my companions actually did what I’d set them up to do. The visual style changes didn’t really bother me one way or the other. However, the “waves” of enemies was a really bad idea. It completely killed any possibility of tactical positioning and in some cases based on the environment it didn’t really make sense for enemies to be appearing out of nowhere. This might have worked for a few fights here and there as a change of pace to give some variety, but not in every single fight.

The Not So Good

Story: I felt DA2 lacked a strong overall plot arc. For the whole of Origins we were fighting the Darkspawn, always knowing the clear end goal was to defeat the Archdemon. The whole of Ferelden always had a very real sense of imminent danger. For long periods of DA2 it felt like not much was happening. Tensions were building, but there was never a sense of any imminent threat – apart from the very end of each chapter. DA2 was more of a personal tale of Hawke, the tragedies his family suffered, the friendships he built. And along the way he saved the city from a couple of minor threats. I did enjoy it for what it was, but I just feel that ultimate evil stories are stronger and more epic. This is of course a personal preference based on my own opinion, rather than fact.

Antagonist: This is intertwined with the story point, but there was also the lack of a truly threatening enemy to carry the plot. I’ve already mentioned the Archdemon. But Loghain was also a constant thorn in the Warden’s, and Ferelden’s side, he committed many evil actions, was seen many times plotting and so on, and the voice acting was awesome as well. Consider as well the constant threat of the Reapers and Saren in Mass Effect. In DA2 the Arishok just kind of sat around in his compound for a few years, started one fight, and was defeated. Meredith was not a strong enough character to be the end boss. In fact I was sure there was going to be another chapter where the real end boss would show up. Flemeth’s story was left unresolved. She would have been a strong enough character to be an ultimate evil, definitely sinister and mysterious, but I guess she’s being saved for DA3.

Structure: The jumping around in the storytelling from a timeline point of view was not fantastic, and its something that annoys me in any medium, although I do have to admit it could have been worse. Two examples that were much worse, to help me make my point: Mission Impossible 3 starts in the middle, and so by the time Tom Cruise is frantically dashing across the city to save his wife, there is no sense of urgency for the viewer because you already know from the opening scene that he will not prevent her from being kidnapped. The constant flashbacks/flashforwards of the TV series Lost, just became a confusing mess.
In DA2, I lost Carver in the Deep Roads, but it did not have the emotional impact that it could have had – as losing Bethany and Mother did have – because Varric basically told me that Carver was going to die before that section started. “If he knew what was down there he wouldn’t have taken his brother”. The way Mother pleaded not to take him did feel significant, but I thought she might be the one to suffer with nobody to protect her. If the story hadn’t jumped back to Varric, I would have been shocked to lose Carver.
Also at the start of each new chapter I initially felt disconnected from Hawke, the other characters and the events of the world. There was a difference between my knowledge as the player, and the knowledge that “my” character possessed, and it took me time to “catch up” on what I had not been involved in. I was no longer in the head of my character, which is a bad crime for an RPG to make.

Waypoints: I did not like the huge waypoint markers that were constantly on the map, and floating above character’s heads. Any game that includes these make me feel like I’m being grabbed by the throat and dragged forward through the plot. It doesn’t feel like I’m allowed to progress at my own pace and explore. And it denies me the “eureka” moment when I work out what to do for myself. Some games let you turn them off but I couldn’t see a way to do so in DA2. I don’t recall ever being significantly stuck or confused about where to go in any Bioware game before, so this kind of thing isn’t necessary. And sometimes they just didn’t make sense anyway. Like “hey I’ve not been home for a while but somehow I just know I’ve got a letter waiting for me”. I would have gone home eventually anyway, let me discover it naturally.

Customisation: The companion equipment system wasn’t great. I found a couple of upgrades for their armour but why can’t I give them a completely new set of armour? Like in any other RPG, ever. I had to throw away some great stuff that Aveline in particular could have used, simply because it was restricted to Hawke. And occasionally in combat I wished I could have told Aveline or Isabella to switch to use a bow briefly, particularly when a boss was using an attack that hurt multiple melee users simultaneously.

Recycled maps: I don’t need to explain this, as this has probably been mentioned thousands of times by now. Its lazy and it hurts the atmosphere of the world you’ve created.

Length: I played through Origins twice, both times took me roughly 40 hours and I know I skipped a few of the more minor sidequests. DA2 took me 27 hours and I only had one or two unresolved sidequests at the end of each chapter. 27 hours is still longer than each of the Mass Effect games individually (roughly 20 hours each for me first time around), and MUCH longer than a lot of modern games though, so its good, but just not compared to DA1. This is another reason why I was sure another chapter was coming.

Camera: The camera control was horrible. Sometimes the camera would pan vertically and I’d have an almost top-down view with no way to move it back down to see far ahead, except to wait for it to correct itself.

Closing thoughts

Mass Effect 3 is currently my most anticipated game. I literally want to play it right now. However, some of the bad things about DA2 seem to be related to being rushed. It probably could have used another month or two of extra development to make it as good as it could be. Lets be honest, Mass Effect 3 will sell, a lot, whenever its released. Be honest with your fans and be honest with yourselves, and don’t release it until its really, truly ready. I don’t want to play the 7/10 version of ME3. I want to play the 10/10 version and I know you’re capable of it because I’ve seen it before.

[kimbabini]

K, the running was awkward, all right? Just when there's a cut scene to talk to someone and you're running up to them.. stick in my butt or something.
Uh besides that great game! lol I think everything else has been covered. over and over