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[SunTzuz]

Generally a good game, not the typical "save the world" themes.
I miss the 1d20 rolls.
One thing to truly make this Dragon Effect...
RENEGADE INTERRUPT

[LegionLG]

I'll try to lay this out so it is easy to get the main points of what I liked/didn't like/etc. I also want to mention that I'm a massive Bioware zealot; I've been a fan of pretty much every game since Baldur's Gate. I'm also realistic; I don't expect Heaven on a platter with every game release like some video gamers do, but of all Bioware games, there are some reasons why DA2 is probably my least favorite:

(Points are listed in no particular order, save for the very last point in the categories, which I feel most strongly about)

Things That I Liked

• The Mass Effect dialogue wheel was a feature I was hugely excited about. Having this system simply makes for a far more compelling and interesting protagonist. I always thought that Origins would have been much more interesting if the Warden actually had voiced lines.
  
• Combat is way more exciting and less tedious than in Origins; I was also hugely optimistic about the new combat animations and how mages sort of dance around with their staves rather than just hunching over and sending little colorful wisps.
  
• The graphics are definitely more aesthetically pleasing, and Flemeth looks incredible, though there are a few graphical things that I will mention later.
  
• Aveline was surprisingly my favorite companion, which I did not initially expect. There aren't that many games with companions that are so dedicated to a friendly, cordial, almost motherly, and caring friendship with the protagonist (even if she might betray you at the end). Her awkward personal quest was probably the cutest companion quest I have ever done, and it was also believable; it makes sense that a ~30-something year old widow is having a difficult time running back into the dating scene.
  
• Merrill is the cutest thing without being an annoying Jar Jar-esque source of comic relief. Her social awkwardness is believable and not over-the-top. The only thing worth complaining about her is that she is totally different from how she was in Origins, but that's not necessarily a bad thing—just a consistency issue.
  
• The game had a few nice, memorable scenes, such as the sex scene with Isabela which was probably the most hilarious sex scene in a Bioware game. Another being Isabela flirting with Fenris and winking at Hawke as she passes by. The first kiss with Anders was also an overload of cuteness. But the most shocking scene was when the Chantry was blown up; it was literally jawdropping.
  
• Cameos from Origins characters. Flemeth definitely kicks ass in this game, and it's nice to know with absolute certainty that she's still alive as she was one of my favorite characters in Origins. It was also nice seeing the other characters.
  
• All the romance options are bisexual. I always say that this is a good idea, but I honestly was not expecting this to actually happen. I think that this is a great initiative; instead of messing around with having dedicated same-sex romance options, why not just have everybody open to everybody? It's simply more satisfying that way; e.g., I'm glad that Anders is an alternative to Fenris for a male/male romance pursuit, because I'm not entirely fond of Fenris and my male/male character would have only pursued him because he's the only male/male romance option. Similarly, Alistair would have been a much more pleasing male/male option than Zevran. I also want to add that this kind of support of same-sex relationships transcends merely video gaming; it has a social appeal to it as well.

Things That Need Improvement

• It falls short of being emotionally engaging. There are definitely great moments (the Chantry being blown up, some cute companion interactions, and the "I will never forget you, Carver/Bethany" scene just made me want to cry). However, there is not enough establishment, build-up, interaction, etc. for any truly epic or heart-wrangling moments like in Mass Effect 2.
  
• The new gameplay is nice, but there is too much unnecessary combat. I thought that this was a bit of an issue in Origins (it could have had a bit less fighting and it would have been all good), but this is surprisingly even more of an issue in DA2. There were three separate occasions that I actually became frustrated about the copious amounts of needless combat. One of them was having to yet again deal with an entire district of nighttime thugs attacking me when I simply wanted to leave the area. Another instance was at the endgame with dealing with a bunch of mages and random demons which did not make sense at all (especially considering I sided with the mages).
  
  I got the most frustrated when I was asked to investigate the mages and templars conspiring against Meredith. I totally supported that mage/templar movement, and I just had to mow them all down because they kept getting thrown at me without an opportunity to explain that I support them.
  
• In addition to my previous point, it's not necessary to have additional waves with nearly every battle. I understand that it helps make an area last for a longer amount of time, but it ultimately became annoying and unfun.
  
• Graphically, some people have been de-gorgeoused. I am totally on-board with making all the races look even more unique, but the concept art that I've seen for the elves is much better than how they actually look in-game. The elves almost all look like Penny Arcade characters (which may have been the point?) and look disproportionately cartoony compared to the other characters in the game. Sometimes, characters also look a lot less detailed than they appeared in Origins. In my opinion, Zevran looks better than he did in Origins, but Alistair looks far less handsome than he was before. While Leliana looks better than she did in Origins, I still imagine her prettiness to be on par with her Sacred Ashes Trailer appearance. However, none of this is entirely earth-shattering, as the graphics generally look better to me across the board.
  
• A "friendship meter" seems a bit out-of-place when you cannot explicitly tell exactly what Hawke is going to say. It was a bit easier to keep Approval ratings up in Origins when you knew exactly what the Warden was going to say, and you could make a good guess about whether or not it would please a certain companion. Oftentimes in DA2, the dialogue options can be too vague and the icons do not help that much. This isn't as much of a problem in Mass Effect, however, because there is no approval/friendship meter.
  
• The "You must fight Orsino and Meredith no matter what side you choose" issue. I sided with the mages, and when Orsino was having his depressing little monologue, I sort of spaced out with all his throwing about of "hopeless," etc. I was just waiting for the next wave of templars. But then all of the sudden, he turned into boss. When this occurred, I literally asked the game, "Why did that happen?" It's just one of numerous pointless battles in the game which cannot be rationally justified from a storyline perspective.
  
• The fight with Meredith really stretches what can be believed. A good point about the Dragon Age and Mass Effect settings is that everything that occurs is generally justified with well-established lore. There is no explanation beyond "naughty lyrium" as for why Meredith can suddenly jump 60 feet in the air, how the statues are attacking the party, and why Meredith is as invincible as an MMO raid boss.
  
• Sequel-buildup from Origins was either briefly mentioned or not addressed at all. Origins and its add-ons introduce many plot threads that would be very appropriate issues in a sequel. It can be understandable that the god-child issue would not be a main storyline as not everyone who plays Origins chooses to perform the dark ritual. However, no matter what storyline choices, Morrigan says that Flemeth is up to no good at the end of Witch Hunt, and she was "so very wrong" about what Flemeth wants, followed by a warning that change is coming. The only problem is that Flemeth only briefly appears in two scenes in DA2, and then is not seen at all for the rest of the game. This is an issue when Flemeth's involvement is the only storyline buildup that DA2 has for an idea of what the game is about. This leads to the main point of criticism:
  
• There is a profound lack of purpose, build-up, goal, or destination. In Baldur's Gate it was clear from the get-go that Sarevok was your enemy, and Irenicus in BG2, Malak in KOTOR, Saren in Mass Effect, the darkspawn/Archdemon in Origins, and the Collectors in Mass Effect 2. These well-established enemies lead to a satisfying and expected finale, with enough of an opinion about these enemies that you care that they are defeated. In DA2, you secretly know by the mentions of the crazy Meredith that you're probably going to face her in the end, but in truth, she's just a character that is suddenly and awkwardly thrust on the player at the very last second. It's not clear that it is she, and not something Flemeth-related, that is the final boss until she pulls out her sword.
  
  The problem is that the tension between the mages and the templars seems like only background information throughout most of the game. As a suggestion, the player would be far more emotionally invested in the ordeal if it was reinforced way earlier on that you will be personally involved
  in the heat between the mages and templars. Perhaps it would have been better to have
  Bethany/mage Hawke have some horribly violent incident with Meredith and the templars (or something to that effect). This would perhaps be akin to the Collectors destroying the Normandy at the beginning of ME2, at which point the player is immediately determined to kick Collector butt.

So I hope that someome from Bioware will read this and consider it. Every point here being said, I love every other Bioware game, and I hope that
this game's reception will just ultimately serve as a lesson so that every other future product is that much better.

Modifié par Antinate, 14 mars 2011 - 04:06 .

[The T1p]

Im a level 19 Rogue right now, Ive put in about 40 hours or so, Ive done probably 85% of the side quests and am finishing the rest off before I finish the main plot line. Ive played on normal most of the way through, switching to casual about 2 or 3 times in certain fights. I guess I'll be around level 23-25 when Im done with the game completely.

The Good

---Combat system ,still love the Left trigger pause/equip/attack option and the ability to control 4 characters at once. The attack system is 100 times better and reminds me of a dynasty warriors/god of war type experience hack an slash.

---Gold is easy to come by! If you save up to about 80 Sovereigns it's almost impossible to run out of gold. Im down to about 35 now and I was around 100-120 the whole game having access to all but a couple items Ive encountered. I find the ability to not equip your other characters with armor is a good one because you end up selling off equipment and gain decent coinage to compensate, and the upgrades on ur characters set armor are good enough.
---Another plus was the storyline, a little more scattered than Origins, but it was interesting enough. voice acting was very solid, not the greatest but I dont mind the fact you have to run with Hawke instead of ur own name u can still change his first name!

---Quests! Some of the battles are quite fun, I saw complaints about the loot, but in my opinion it was good enough, could have been better though. I think you should get loot rewards that change depending on casual, normal hard, etc.

---Music and Map. I thought the music was pretty good, reminded me of Final Fantasy 10, and looking down @ the map reminded me of FF10's as well, gave it a majestic feel.

---Voice Acting and speech interactment, Id give 8/10 I thought it was pretty spot on. cant complain much with it compared to most games! I like the option to give the character full responses though, Mass effect style response system was cool too.

The Bad:

---Glitches, I can't complain too much at all to be honest, it didn't have that many glitchy spots or bugs, I'd like the next one to offer more free roaming ability in environments like walking through archways, and possibly finding loot with deeper exploration. The one problem I did find however which was a tiny bit annoying was the screen or characters would shake a bit during cut scenes, it happened about 12 times through the game during the longer cut scenes but didnt distort the picture just annoyed me more than anything.

---Not quite enough customization, on a scale of 10 I'd give it a 6.5 with this game. I thought it was enough to satisfy, but didn't go over the top. I felt the enchantment aspect of the game is almost non existant with the exception of a few decent rune upgrades Ive encountered so far. Also some of the best weapons, armor, and equipment in the game require very high stat requirements and based on the experience and leveling system, you basically don't get to use some of the best items until the very end of the game, I find myself hanging onto 2-3 even 4 sets of armor I cant use until I get 36 dexterity @ level 19 I still can't wear it just yet. I'd like more equipment, or better runes for lesser equipment!

---NOT A Prequel or Sequel to Origins, atleast it didn't feel like it to me, which was a let down at first, but the more I played it the more I got into it just like Origins. I appreciated the cameos from Origins and wish you could interact with some of them to be honest, maybe even pick up one or two as companions. Whats that golem doing in the Black Emporium? maybe future DLC?! Plus I also havent finished the game fully yet, I have about 5-6 more hours left at most I'd say so I could be in for some big suprises. Ive prevented myself from looking at any spoilers so idk what happens yet.

---Graphics. On a scale from 1-10 I'd say a 7. I liked the addition of the gothic art style cutscenes, it drew me into the story. I felt the overall world, like mountains, tree's, and terrain could have been more detailed, I thought interior stuff was awesome though, houses, Items, equipment, weapons (although a little more variety would be awesome!). I particularly liked the Staffs, made being a mage probably my next playthrough just because of it.
---NO ARCANE WARRIOR, the addition of blades to a staff is kind of pointless without a this class!

Overall, this game is much better than Origins, the combat system is far superior, the voice acting is well done, the story is just as gripping, but not really related to anything you did in Origins minus very limited cameo's, but for what it's worth they are pretty decent ones. I feel like it is it's own game with a hint of the past thrown in. I can't wait for another title in this series hopefully and I havent even finished my first play through yet!

[Jaws_Victim]

I am posting on here to state that I have re-edited my final review, way back on page 1.

[Statulos]

First of all, I will write a disclaimer with several topics. What is going to follow is a massive wall of text, so I´ll try to put stuff in paragraphs for easier reading.

The second caveat is making sure that English is my second language, so expect typos and weird grammar. If you guys (Gaider, Priestly...) need further clarification, feel free to send me a pm and tell me what the hell did I mean with whatever.

And the third: I will draw a bit on my own professional experience as researcher on humanities. I am not packing the text with references to authors and theories and I don´t want to sound pretentious,

When I first red that Bioware was doing a second Dragon Age game after I played Awakening I had a bittersweet taste. Great, more stories from Thedas! I will be able to see more of it and the actual impact of my actions! The part I didn´t like that much was the time frame. Less than year and half? Well, that sounds too short for a game whose initial chapter took arround five to develop but hey, it´s Bioware, let´s see what they will do.

-The narration itself.

RPG can be boiled down to a word that weights like lead and means many things at the same time: narration.
Dragon Age 2 tells us the story of Hawke, a regular guy who rises up to become an important person in the city of Kirkwall and who was a draving force in the events that lead to Thedas to the brink of war between mages and templars/Chantry.

Kuddos for the framed narrative! You took risks and tried innovation for once. What we play is not a first person narrative like Origins, but in fact, the tale Varric tells to Cassandra, making the whole game a third person narrative about a decade. However, this is a game so you cannot simply observe as in a film, novel or theatre; so you have to engage the player in the narrative by putting him/her into charge of this story.

I also applaud the fact that you departed from the traditional "save the world, you´re the only one capable of doing it" typical from RPG´s. This is close and personal, an epic of everyday life of some sorts. However, the narration and the plot do not feel consistent enough in this sense turning schizophrenic at times. Cassandra states that the Champion is someone big and important but do you really grant the player an immerision on that importance?

We start in a frenetic run from the Blight in Ferelden and our destination is Kirkwall because that´s where our mother originaly come from. Once we arrive there, we´re just another Fereldan refugee among the crowd who gets to an unknown place, we have a possibility to enter and our only word is going to be who you´re selling yorself to pay the price of the ticked. I see a failure here. If the prologue was intended to give a bit background about the place we are going to become familiar with, Dragon Age 2 does not really give us that background straight. Better than using codex entries about Kirkwall.

It would be much more effective to give us something to do, not too big that involved visiting the city itself. We could learn about the class divide and social dynamics by a simple conversation of Leandra and Gamlen in front of their old home in Hightown. It seems that nobility in Kirkwall is made out of money and lots when it´s gone. That turns the place into something that reminds us a lot from places like the Republic of Venice and other Italian Reinassance cities. In the next chapter we happen to know some residents from the year we have spent. Great! Use those encounters to help us go arround the city and use the crafters as "tour guides" to an extent.

And of course, where there is insane wealth, there is also insane misery. The refugees are an excelent vantage point to tell us about the subalterns and the poor, but also about the middle class (humble Kirkwallians) that see their social position threatened by the wave of immigrants.

And then we get to the rest of the acts and we start seing Hawke growing in power, wealth and social recognition. Once again, do not only tell us about it by means of NPC´s; make us play it. Simple things such as adding extras to your house (like the customization of the Vigil) tells us loud and clear that you can get interest not in just having food in the pantry or even an extra role to redeem (or sink) your inmature uncle will help on that. Why not this? Because the mechanics of the game are way too combat-oriented. Whith the skills gone, persuassion is too and there is no point on telling about this part of the game.

Why nothing has really seemed to change in 3 years? Because visually everything is still the same. Areas of the city are the same, the place of our companions is the same and even the city seems to be the same. This could have been adressed easily. Help Varric become the owener of the Hangman by probably not very legal (or maybe legal, why not?) means, place Isabella in the docks doing shady bussines and missing her beloved sea (and perhaps, use the sea as a metaphore of her desires and frustrations; don´t be too Freudian on that, since Isabella is overtly sexual in the way she acts and that gives her personality and, help Fenris find a new meaning in his life. Material possessions are not just functional objects, they tell a lot about the values of a person; what they appreciate, how they live, what they think should remain the same and what should change. Him being a permanent squatter of a mansion does not make sense. Help him get rid of the Tevinter-like decoration and make the mansion feel his.

Even the location speaks a lot. While in Origins we saw an alienage separated from the rest of Denerim, here Merrill lives in what feels as Lowtown. There is a strong connection between urban elves and jews from the middle ages: they are marginalized, criminalized, segregated and deal with the loss of an ancient homeland and culture that they struggle to preserve (not always successfully, that´s the core difference with Jews)  to make meaningful to the further generations. Merrill can be a great tool to mark that divide. She´s a deviant on the "genuine" elvish culture, yet she chooses to go away from it and live among the "mixed" people. Reinforce this and herself by showing us the compromises she had to take to cover that she´s a blood mage and a stranger among her kind.

Then we deal with the qunari issue and jump to act 3, when **** hits the fan between templars and mages. Things now start becoming really weird. You are forced to take a side once Anders blows up the chantry and suddenly, if you have tried to mediate between both parts goes to hell. I understand that Anders and Sebastian are great plot elements to portray the extreme views pro and against the chantry but you as player should be able to refuse to take part in such conflict and mediate or on the other hand, embrace a side and go for it.
This part also shows a big problem with character development; companions get too inflexible (for some it is right, but not for everyone). You should be able to convince Sebastian that if he dares to threaten you, you´re gonna smash his brain on the pavement or maybe that his views are not totally justified. Same for Anders.

Meredith is an oppositional character that does not feel completely organic in a way similar to the thaig you discover by the end of the first chapter. You know Meredith is quite paranoid but she goes nuts because of the idol you found. You know that something in that thaig was wrong but you do not even have a clue what that is. In the quest for the sacred ashes in Origins you were left with a lot of unsolved questions, basically if the ashes were trully Andraste´s or some weird place that made things even more weird do the the abundance of lyrium. I would have liked an unclear answer of that kind. Varric states that he´s seing stuff of legend in the thaig but what kind of legendary things does he exactly mean? Do not give us clear answers, but at least give us a completely lay and secular answer (like the lyrium) and a more mythological one (like the Maker and Andraste) that do not fully explain what is going on.

And we have the end. We do not really see the consequences and Hawke is basically gone. This works fine for a follow-up and in the meantime, you have created a lot of gaps that could be filled with DLC´s. That is fine, but be nice and tell us that yes, we will have answers and we will play them just to calm fans down.

-New and old mechanics.

Narration is important in RPG´s like I stated, but that narration is necessarily an active one. The more active a player can be and the more that player can do, the better. Of course to a limit, taking five hours of travel just for the sake of doing so is not fun if the events in the travel do not help the naration to go ahead.

This is the main issue, the most crucial I would say, Dragon Age 2 shows: a lot of possible actions have been stripped from us. The easy fingerpointing would be at crafting. Crafting is still an active process, different, sure, but no less active. You have to find ingredients and people to refine them. It´s not the same as doing it yourself but it works and empowers the player. You took the risk and I think it worked this time. In fact, it would be cool to have a couple "special assingments" for your artisans in order to deepen the relationship with them.

Talents look like simplified but they´re not. Combos are still there, but in Origins you have to find them out (especially with spells). Why removing spell synergies? It was a great feature of Origins and it should have not gone away, but broathened like it has been with non-spells.

The problem of simplification is striking on the part of character builds. It is nice that the personality of the characters is also reflected on their talents (unique talent trees, yes; well done!) but I think it is way too streamlined. And it is stramlined because it is also reflective of the monolithic approach to characters (I´ll elaborate on that afterwards). The final result is that you cannot create strenght based rogues (you could do that with Zevran) or warriors that are brutally offensive-leaning. This is a mistake, a huge mistake. There is something wrong when Isabella at high levels deals more damage on a regular basis that my two handed warrior Hawke or stands not much less than Avelline. Somehow, you´re forcing the players to play crunchy style (go for the stats at all costs) instead of narratively (adopt an attitude and personality and keep it... or not).

I have mixed feelings about combat. It is fast paced in a medieval world and that feels ackward, especially in an environment that is inspired by European history (not just Western, though mainly). Somehow, manga-style action feels a bit out of place. Fast action is not against less over the top depiction of it. However, I think you did it right in making it a faster, easier to control mechanic. What I am not that well convinced is about the finishers (enemies exploding is nice for spells, not for blades. I liked the DA:O finishers more since they felt more credible and coherent).

What I think is not supportive of immersion at all is the interface. Getting rid of item description and its little icons and a very simplistic interface in menus and text looks nice for Mass Effect series, but not for Dragon Age. I appreciate clarity, though, but just changing the style of text and decorating ir a little bit, it would feel far more organic; same for the party selection screen: a background and little voice and animation takes more life to the game. Another issue attached to inventory simplification is the fact that most of the loot I find arround is simply useless. Most of the armour is simply useless and from the weapons, it´s hard to find something that impoves what you are currently using.

Still, I think combat feels aesthetically alien while technically, not that different. I would have kept the aesthetics and change the actual mechanic.

The worst part is clearly the repetitive environments. It´s not a bad idea to put everything in Kirkwall and sorroundigs (even though seing more of the Free Marches would have been much appreciated), the problem is that it becomes repetitive and not just because of level copy-pasting. The problem is that you don´t really see change at all. The Gallows in the beggining are basically the same that at the end. So is Hightown and Lowtown or even the Bone Pit. Just as the only sign that Hawke is doing better is changing the Lowtown little house for the mansion in Hightown, the only sign for time passing by is that you will be talking again to the same people you already did.

-Companion interaction.

In the beggining I thought that there is a lot less companion interaction. After a second though I realized it is not true at all; it is simply spread arround the plot instead of concentrated like in Origins drawing from what was made in Awakening. Good choice, because now you talk to companions for a resons. However, I also think that starting random conversation with your companions could have been incorporated to a lesser extent. Party banter back after walking arround areas is an old feature that is back with even bigger succes; in fact, I would have made Hake a potential candidate to join them without necessarily having consequences, just for the fun of it.

Companions are once again outstanding, I would even say that they´re improved over Origins because they have a better defined personality and uniqueness. Point for you on that! They can be fun, disturbing, serious, ackward, lovely or agressive, and I appreciate the effort you have done on giving them life and personality.

What I didn´t like is the actual capacity to impact their characters. Yes, I do not expect to change their lives and personalities completely in every case (not every character should be influenced like Leliana or Alistair), but not being able to change attitudes in some of them even a little bit feels bad. Even Sten could be shown why you deserve respect, even Shale could softly tell you thanks for being nice to her or even Zevran could be made to talk seriously at some point. I missed that on people like Anders or Sebastian, who no matter what you do, their fanatism is unshaken or Fenris, that you´re never able to help see that mages are not always uncontrolable and dangerous (and 10 years is a lot of time to show them that they´re not completely right).

The wheel method for conversations just felt simplistic. As choice metod is not bad per se, the problem is that it offers way too limited options. And among those options, too often times you do not see that they make a real difference, even when choice is given. Narration can be streamlined and that is not a problem, what is a problem is the fact that you cannot clearly feel and see that you´re making a difference on what you do and say.

This impact issue also reflects on the savegame transfer. I simply see that my choices in Origins, big choices often times, have a real impact in Dragon Age 2. In Mass Effect 2 I saw that saving the council or killing Wrex changed a lot and other stuff had minor consequences (like cameos). Here I only see little eye-candy and not continuation of events; even simple things as could Anora conceive a child? How´s Connor (especially relevant since he´s a mage) doing?

-What could have been done?

I see a lot of potential in DA2. I have seen a lot of plot elements, art, mechanics and in general gaming experience that has not been implemented or extended due to lack of time. I think I was right when I thought than less than year and half of development would not allow you to produce a bigger, longer and better Dragon Age game.

What I would do? Well, DLC´s to expand the actual action already present are a good start. A final DLC that tell us more about Hawke´s destiny is also welcom (kind of like Witch Hunt) but what this game really, really needs is, I think, is an expansion. Not an Awakening like expansion, but a total overhaul of the main game, a Dragon Age 2 Narrator´s Cut edition (like the Expanded Edition of The Witcher, if you may) that can adress all the complaints that many players are voicing.

Modifié par Statulos, 14 mars 2011 - 03:15 .

[Blansten]

Overall it's a fun game, and I am starting another playthrough an hour after finishing the first so I must like it.

Likes:

• Combat system improvement. Even mashing buttons on the PS3 I can appreciate the faster combat
• Fem Hawk is badass
• good characters and I like the party banter when walking around, I wish they did this for ME
• Story from the second act on was good. I liked that there was no clear good/bad but that all characters had a healthy dose of both

Dislikes:

• The game took way too long to get going for me. I kept putting it down which I have never done with a Bioware game before. I'm glad I kept at it but it was painful
• I wish the world had been a bit bigger and that there was more to explore
• Missed being able to dress companions
• Too linear

All I could think as I was playing was that if Bioware and Square Enix had a love child it would be this game

[DCoacci]

It may not be a popular opinion from what I've read on these boards, but I enjoyed DA2 more than I did DAO (and I
played well over 200 hours of DAO). It was a vast improvement overall IMO.

Visuals
From a technical point of view, the graphics aren't anything to write home about, and even had me cringe now and then from the inconsistency of their quality (even with the hi-res texture pack). However, from an artistic point of view, I feel the art direction was some of the best I've seen of any fantasy title. I loved the stylized, borderline cartoony/comic book visuals; the look and feel of  environments, especially Kirkwall; the character designs; fluid animations... I could go on. All of it was brilliant. Big props to Goldman and his team.

Story
Loved it. One of the best narrative experiences I've had in a game. Even though I really enjoyed DAO's story, I was definitely hoping DA2 was going to be something more complex than just your typical "gather allies and save the world" type of storyline. And I got way more than I was hoping for. Very few games attempt to tell a mature story that deals with politics and human nature, rather than one about fighting bad things that need to die specifically because they are bad things that need to die. Even fewer actually do it well. Honestly, the only other game I've played that did it so well was The Witcher. Though I feel DA2 tops The Witcher due to its characters and how involved they were with the hero. The fact it was told (and commented on) by a third party elevated it to something even more memorable.

One of the few faults I saw with the storyline was the introduction. While I certainly felt the impact of what happened to your family over the course of the game, the beginning of the game felt very uninspired by comparison. I really didn't care what happened to Carver, or Hawke's prior life in Lothering. I think it would've added much more impact to Hawke's rise to power if you had been able to experience Lothering's destruction (maybe even have a segment where Hawke flees the battle at Ostagar). Starting the game immediatly after the most important event of Hawke's life, the spark that began his/her ascent, made the whole intro sequence feel very flat.

Another disapointment was the ending. It was handled well from a narrative standpoint: seeing Lelianna at the end and her conversation with Cassandra was intriguing. But I was really hoping it would be more conclusive than what we got. A lot of things were teased in the beginning, and in Origins, that I wish had gotten covered (or at least touched on) by the end of the game. I get that this is just one story within a larger saga, but simply jumping ahead 2-3 years, telling us Hawke disapeared and ending it there, only served to remind me that EA is running the show and we'll have to shell out more dough in the future to see what happens next. ME2's ending worked much better for a middle chapter. It was a cliffhanger and hinted at what was to come, but at least you felt like that chapter had ended, and you could prepare for the next one. DA2's finale might as well have ended with a link to a Dragon Age 3 pre-order page.

Gameplay
Huge improvement over DAO. Not that DAO wasn't fun, but the combat felt very sluggish. Not to mention the repetitiveness of the classes which made multiple playthroughs a bit painful. I loved the distinction between DA2's classes and ability trees, and the stylisticly exagerated animations and gore. It was totally over-the-top, but in a good way. I know a lot of people dislike the fact it played more like an action game, but I actually prefer it.

I was a bit indifferent about the conversation wheel, at first, since I really had no problem with the Warden not having a voice in DAO. Though I'll admit it was much more fun to actually hear Hawke's threats, rather than having to imagine a voice in my head. I also rather enjoyed how the game could predict Hawke's reactions based on your previous choices. Conversations and cutscenes felt very fluid and completely on-point with who I wanted Hawke to be, making for an even more satisfying narrative experience than Mass Effect. I was playing a tough-as-nails Female Warrior wielding a Greatsword, and actually felt Hawke was (and played like) a complete and utter bad-ass throughout the whole game.

The huge downside, as has been mentioned by many others, was the repetitive environments. I think I ran through the Wounded Coast and that one generic cave/tunnel/sewer/mansion a dozen times and was getting pretty fed up by the end. I think I remember an interview with a dev or designer stating this was intentional, since these minor areas aren't supposed to be memorable, and it fits in with the narrative style, etc... Gimme a break. Making the player run through the same 4-5 areas over and over isn't clever storytelling. It's just lazy.

Sound
As is usual for Bioware, voice-acting was great. Though it didn't quite live up to Origins', mainly because the script was so much more serious. Everyone sounded good, but very... dry. DA2 wasn't without its humour, but I kinda missed the goofyness of Origins' dialogues and party banters (Oghren and Shale come to mind). Still, hearing the slight quiver in Hawke's voice while she was following the trail of blood, looking for her mother, was a great example of the quality voice-work throughout the game. The soundtrack, while far from the best I've heard, was much better overall than in Origins.

All in all, I had a lot of fun, and plan to replay through Origins and DA2 in one sitting in the near future. Even though I hate to have to say this: I'm eagerly awaiting the inevitable DLCs and Dragon Age 3.

Modifié par DCoacci, 14 mars 2011 - 03:48 .

[SonvarTheMighty]

Finished my first playthrough and here are my thoughts on it.

Primarily, I was happy with the story it had a good sense of escalation. We went from what I felt was small such as getting money to find a better stake in life with Act 1. Then Act 2 brings us a little bit more into the politics of Kirkwall and how uneasy things are with the end of that bringing a hint of what was to come in Act 3. Then finally the big conflict we've been slightly dealing with all along with the templars versus mages coming to a head. The only part I wish had been added story wise was more as to what happened after fighting Meredith. I doubt the Champion just immediately leaves.

With side quests I just wish Act 2 and 3 felt it had as much as Act 1 did. Along with talking about quests some of them didn't feel like they had completed or closure. Primarily with Merrill's quest in Act 3 there felt like there should be more follow up

Environments were looked very good but like a lot of folks have already said multiple times cave 1 matched cave 17 just with different section being inaccessible.

Having Sebastian forces a choice that I don't think is there if it wasn't installed. With deciding what to do with Anders you have three choices. One is let him come with you, the second is to let him go, and the third being to kill him. Choosing to let him go results in Sebastian forcing to kill Anders and keep Sebastian or keep Anders and lose Sebastian. While I like that a DLC character has that impact it makes it seem even moreso he should have just been in the game from the beginning or given free.

There did seem to minor issues that came up now and then while playing.

1. Sometimes after talking with Varric in the Hanged Man I end up in the middle of the bar with Varric there.
2. The ending had it said that Isabela travelled with my character when it would make more sense for it to be Merrill since I romanced her character and got the romantic achievement with that character.
3. The signature edition version disc(xbox) I received did not load properly and caused me a few headaches as I would get "disc is unreadable" error messages when at various loading screens (that includes the loading screen when the game first launched). Had to buy another copy so I could actually play through it.

[bluedemon1289]

My only problem in dragon age 2 is the fact that what you guys did very well in the first dragon age, you seemed to have gotten wrong in the second game.

Combat: I think you did a great job as far as the actual combat goes. Also making the talent trees added alot to the game as well when leveling up. I did however find that once in a while my character started spinning his weapon around during a fight instead of actually attacking, really inconvenient during the tougher boss battles.

Story Line: The story line was probably the most dissapointing thing about this actual game. In the first dragon age all the small quests you are doing add up  to serve a greater purpose ( Slaying the arch demon). The quests in the second dragon age seem to be much more mediocre and dont seem to have any particularly, for lack of a better word "epic" and emotionally moving purpose. This game made me feel almost like less of a fantastic hero and more of a regular civilian in this game, which is what most people want to escape from when they play a game like this.  I feel almost like an errand boy for most of the game. Two last things about the storyline that i was concerned with was the fact that the entire game takes place in the one city and the fact that i couldnt choose my own race and backround to go along with my character.

Characters: I think the characters were pretty well done, you added some very funny dialogue between the main character and his allies as well as between the non player characters. i Dont like the fact that you cant talk to your party members at the camp anymore as well. I prefered when you could talk to them in dragon age 1 because it made you feel like you had a real personal conection with your team. This also allowed you to see why certain characters act the way that they do during the game.

Dungeons:Normally this wouldnt take a full section but this seemed like it was the most either rushed or lazy part of the design, and so i wanted to make sure this section was noticed in particular. Nearly every cave in the entire game was exactly the same. it was almost as if  you just copied and pasted the same coding again and again through the game for nearly every dungeon in dragon age 2. this was a huge dissapointment for 2 reasons. One of which being, you did such an incredible job making every place in dragon age 1 different from every other place which shows that you are more than capable of making this game as great and memorable as it should be. The second reason being that there were no puzzles or mazes in the caves that i didnt know how to get through or even have to think about how to get through even if i was just getting there for the first time which made the dungeons very repetative and boring to explore. Sorry if you take insult but you can do much better for the dungeons.

Summary: So bassically the things that you got right in the first dragon age was the storyline, the ability to interact with your team, the ability to customize your own characters backround and race, and the fact that you made every place in the game unique and fun to explore. These same things are what in my opinion made the second game very dissappointing after having waited so long for it. One last thing is the fact that the grey wardens and darkspawn, which were two of the most important things in the first dragon age played nearly no part in the second game. After seeing what you guys have done with the mass effect series so far and the first dragon age i know that your team can do much better and i hope you take what ive said into account on the third game.

[Brahmg]

I found the game play to be some what sloppy. I'm playing as a warrior and the initial dash attack cause my character to get stuck half the time. I can't attack up or down stairs, get blocked by halls, and random objects including my own party mates. I've found more then a few times my characters to find them selves stuck in a corner and having to click 100 times to get them to back out. The lack of ability to hold ranged units while letting melee roam causes all sorts of issues (but that was a problem in DA:O) as well. The delay is healing is nothing more then a hassle there is 0 consequence for death once the battle is over. So what's the point? The trash loot is just pointless, why not just give me more gold. Last but not least, some of the feats are not only useless but very counter-productive. I wanted to build a tank and the stonewall feature causes my NPCs to just stand like a statue and be ignored leaving me w/one less npc fighting.. even if casted taunt first.

eh, still an "OK" game.. going to play it threw, but hoped for a lot more.

Modifié par Brahmg, 14 mars 2011 - 05:03 .

[Scous3]

my overall opinion is that this game was playable, but always felt lacking and shallow. I wasn't drawn into the story unlike origins, and companions where more like sidekicks than actual companions. I loved all of there personalites they just lacked depth not enough time to really bring there stories into it. Anders didn't have enough about justice for my liking either i was hoping he would be the ultimate companion story when i first read the two had merged big disappointment for me.

This game was an improvement in a lot of areas, liked the new combat, and the idea of having it based around a vocal point (kirkwall) but really feel like it wasn't utilised. Never really had the feeling of an important choice until the mage/templar, miss the profile screen that captured screenshots and told your story, i hope you bring that back in the future its a small concept but great none the less. Game just felt like it needed more time explaining the story and giving the player an understanding of the choices the main characters make. The arishok was done best imo and hes in the 2nd act.

Edit: also liked the idea of companion based armor, but some variety would of been helpful for multiple playthroughs, even if its just new equipment for each act.

Modifié par Scous3, 14 mars 2011 - 06:04 .

[Helen0rz]

Phew, just got done with the game. Gonna go for a 2nd run through of course, but here's what I think:

Greatness:

• the graphics are amazing compare to DA:O. everything runs smoother and much more fast paced. I like the "you have to hit A for each hit" kinda deal since I do that already with DA:O (knowing fully well it doesn't change anything). I enjoy the hack and slash vibe of it, where it's not a very boring "hit" or "cast a spell" and it stops there.
• I like knowing what I did previously made an impact to DA2.
• I absolutely enjoy the new system with the talent tree, armor system and etc. I thought it was going to be a mess but as it turns out it wasn't. I like the convenience of only having to worry about my companions equipments. Crafting was much easier to do now.
• the quests system and the map, very nicely done. The toggle and introducing day and night was great as well. Also, load time is done too. I still like the bloodtrail on DA:O where I didn't feel as though the game was loading but I was travelling, however load time did cut down so that was great.
• armor and weapon design looks A LOT better now. Warrior gears are not stealing the show anymore. Mages and Rogues has better looking things to wear and is not limited. oh god...Rogues. SO MUCH Better, I can't emphasize that enough. SO MUCH!
• the diversity of my companions; I like that I have a warrior that's not "strictly" a warrior since he's covered with lyrium
• the idea of time changes. It's nice to know my character did this throughout the span of several years and not everything magically just...happen all at once.
• choices are much harder. Things are inevitable. I can't make everyone happy. Love that!
• loyalty quests are much better!!! It's actually more of a story now!

Not so greatness:

• I was very disappointed to see how much the DA:O-characters-turned-companions' personalities has changed. They were almost recognizable. Isabella is now very petty and gross; Anders is no longer optimistic and sarcastic; and Merrill...GOD Merrill, now she's just annoying. Merrill was very stable, assertive and now she's just...on drugs or something. It's all explained, I'm aware of that, but I think the change is WAY too drastic. They don't even look...the same. Merrill looked like she's straight out of the Sims 3 game when you enlarge a person's eye. and Sandal? is that really him? because it sure does not look like him.
• the ending just seemed so...well Act 3 primarily was just so...short and quick. It was like, do this, and that and...there, Act 3 is done. That's it. Nothing else. the epilogue obviously is to usher in DA3, and tying our champion and warden together during the time of crisis but...really? DA:O was a complete story. Very complete. Start to finish, no fuss and not halfassed. DA2: well...the story is just not rich enough. everything is pretty much plagued by side missions that does not add to the story, no matter how many you include. in DA:O I had this sense that the Blight was coming, and everything I was during had a cause; in DA2, I'm not sure what I was there for. Making a name for a myself? from a nobody to somebody and that's it?? you can do better than that. DA:O is known for it's rich world and story, do not destroy/sacrifice that for something else
• in some parts, it seems as though side quests like the companion ones are more developed than the main missions

In fact, this REALLY rubbed me the wrong way:

• Seriously, WHAT THE HELL happened to Alistair's face? did someone accidentally dragged his nose down or something? he's barely recognizable, especially when he's talking...the way the face moved...ugh. Oh and while we're on Alistair, towards the end of DA:O, he became a man. Not just a "ha-ha-ha i'm going to be mr. sarcasm" but he became king. HIs attitude and demeanor changed a bit...and here we are in DA2, he's a bit...inappropriate. I got really excited when I saw the letter of his arrival and it totally kicked me in the face in the end
• What was the point of Zevran doing in the game? Dont' get me wrong, I really enjoyed seeing him and his way of flirting, but...why was he there again? just to say hi? um, ok?
• I felt like the return of the above said characters, and Leiliana, made me feel as though you're trying too hard to connect to two games. Almost felt as though you want me to warm up to DA2 the same way I did was DA:O
• my game froze 3 times. encountered several bugs. well, you've heard that before I'm sure. Oh and non of my the Exiled Prince achievements triggered.
• the ending, you know, I'm going to buy DA3 either way, but to cut off the way you did, to say "you won't know how this story ends until you get DA3" is not right.
• and speaking of that, Flemmeth, what was her purpose except for recuing us from darkspawn? After the delivery of the amulet, that was it. ????? did I miss something?
• the over marketing of the game. I did what I could to get all bonus items, but I also felt a bit cheapen by all that. and the final DA:L bonus...release on somebody's birthday? LOL

  
In Conclusion:

Well, it's not bad. Made some good changes that was really really great to the game overall and they were delivered well. I hate bugs and for some reason no games can be released without loads of bugs these days. I enjoyed knowing the world inside DA all ties in together,  and that the world really is changing with all the rebellions and the darkspawns and the etc etc...but I also feel as though a part of the core of DA was stripped away from DA2. Perhaps to differenciate itself from DA:O? If so, why introduce the amount of old characters? I mean the game is good, but I do think...it could be better in a lot of ways.

[Helen0rz]

oh and to add to my post

I am VERY sick of the recycled dungeons and caves map. closing off an area does NOT make it a whole new place to explore. It just feels laziness to me. There was this one place outside of Ander's Clinic where I went in the beginning for Birthright, and in Act 3 that same entrance became that Awiergan Scrolls quest's final hiding place. that's just a bit ridiculous.

[Kattack]

It seems like the good parts of the game are mingled with the bad. At least in my mind.

I'm going to start with my biggest problem with the game. The ending of the game was incredibly anticlimactic and I absolutely hated how incomplete I felt at the end. I was left wanting more in a bad way, not a good way. It just seemed like there was no real resolution. The three parts seemed loosely connected at best and I was expecting a fourth part that would tie them all together somehow. I was thinking, "hey maybe my character will storm in and rescue Varric and there'll be some mess related to what she's done that needs cleaning up." Yeah, anticlimactic.
However, I did enjoy all the side quests I had the opportunity to do. It was a lot of fun to see all the various things that were going on in the city and I felt like I was able to make a lot more decisions than in the previous game, which was fun.

The graphics were much better, with one notable exception. About halfway through the game I noticed that the frames started to jump around while I was having conversations. For example, I'd be talking to Isabella and she'd suddenly be an inch higher on the screen. It happened often enough that it started to get irritating.
Also, that one bugged quest really bothered me too, but I'm a little bit OCD like that.

I liked the leveling up system. Having all the different trees made finding the sort of abilities I wanted easy. Though I did have an issue as a Rogue. Having to pile all my point into Cunning or be unable to open chests was so irritating. Only a really unbalanced Rogue would ever be able to open a master chest.
The battle system too was much improved. I appreciated how quickly it responded compared to the last game and that my character was no longer dying because it took her too long to actually use the Health Poultice.

The rivalry system was pretty interesting though. It saved me from having to kiss up to Sebastian (who got on my nerves).

I would have liked to be able to randomly kiss whoever I happened to be dating. I missed that from the first game. Kissing Alistair and making Morrigan sick was incredibly amusing. Not being able to kiss whoever I was dating made me feel like, "why bother?" Actually, I think there was much less dialogue with party members in general in this game. I think that might be why people are complaining that they don't feel like any of the characters are "notable".
I LOVED the background conversations all the characters had though. I'd put people in my party that I never used while I was running around shopping just to hear their dialogues.

Also, on a similar note, I REALLY REALLY appreciated the dialogue wheel. You have no idea how confused I was in the first game when I somehow magically ended up dating all three characters in the end.
I also liked that I could flirt with characters without starting a romance. It'll be useful for when I play through as a flirt.

At the end of the game, I also wanted more options with Anders. Perhaps a, "You idiot! You should have bombed Meredith instead! I would have helped with THAT" option. (Because seriously, she seemed like the only one who needed to be eliminated in the game.) As well as the option to tell Sebastian to shut up. Seriously, he interrupted the conversation way too many times.

I think that's about it for my impressions.

Modifié par Kattack, 14 mars 2011 - 06:38 .

[ANarissal]

I did not enjoy this game very much. I was surprised, because I had reserved a week off my studies to play DA2, and expected I would spend most of it at the computer. It was a basic, nice game, but I'm not sure if I'm going to play it again. I played through Origins for 11 times.

* Story. It was nice, but it lacked a pull. I could play for 15 minutes, get bored, and play a bit on the next day. It felt like my character was running around doing sidequests and nothing else for part 1. After Part 1, it got better, but I miss the immersion from DA:O. In Origins, powerful scenes like city elf's abduction helped me to relate to character from the beginning, and big changes relating directly to my character happened frequently after that.
I understood that you wanted to make a smaller story this time, but rpg is about making choices which have effect. I did not feel like I had the ability to choose in this story. Killing Archdemon was the goal in DA:O, but I had the chance to choose who will do it, will that character die, and what will happen afterwards. Did not have the same option with templars/mages.
* Lack of build-up. Since the story started during family's escape from Lothering, I didn't have a chance to build relationship with Bethany, and the death scene felt like nothing. Carver's death in Deep Roads was touching. Lack of build-up was evident in romances as well. I did not have the change to get know characters before flirt options appeared, and to progress the romance I had to pick them. I would have expected that timespan of ten years would have added more depth to relationships instead of losing it.
*Different conversation choices were just picking the tone, in important scences the outcome was basically the same no matter how the character said it. And I found some parts of romance dialogue just akward. Basically jumping on poor Anders just after his friend has died... Yuck.
* Family. Pre-launch interviews and previews mentioned that Hawke's relationship with his family were important topic. Then his whole family died / went away before act 2 was completed.

I have enjoyed Bioware games since Baldur's gate, and bought every single game after that because other game houses do not have story-based rpgs. I don't play anything else. DA 2 was somehow disappointing, and I think I will get the next installment but not the ones after that if the storytelling continues like this.

[1031982]

Here is my review after finishing one
play-through on the XBox 360 installed on the HDD.
I will have a summery at the end of my pros and cons.

First thing, I am disappointed in the length of the game. In Dragon Age Origins, I had at least 60 hours from one play-through, allowing everything to play-through without skipping. This is only including the Stone Prisoner DLC, as it was included with the game. If I include all the DLC, then I have well over 100 hours for on game.
In Dragon Age 2, I got a measly 40 hours with the content from the signature edition. For an action adventure game, that's great. For a RPG game, it's BAD.
I tend to do a lot of exploring, and reading the information in the "Codex". So, I almost feel cheated. In Origins to do one thing, you ended up having to do 5 things. Things that actually made since to be there, and in all reality added a lot more to the game play and story development.

Now, the DLC was handled differently, and that was nice because there was no need to download a bunch of things, just 2 in the case of the Signature edition. I ended up getting a lot of the promo DLC, including but not limited to the Blood Armor, Sir Issac armor, and promo items from the facebook game.

In terms of the inventory and equipment system, I got a little mixed. The overall view was nice, but it seemed to have some delays, and sometimes it didn't pick up when I pressed the bumper buttons.

The graphics were overhauled, and it was nicely done. Unfortunately, at this point I wounder if that was a trade off for what I found to be faults.

The maps and general areas were re-used with walls in place.

IE : There is a cave, you go in, it has slavers. Later on, you go into another cave being filled with spiders. It has the same map use, the same door locations, etc. The only difference is that they change what doors are allowed to be opened.
This applies to all sections where they have the slightest smiler idea. They didn't even change the “decoration” on the walls. There was a loss of customization in terms of your party customizations. You can change weapons and accessories, but nothing else.

The rune usage now prevents runes from being removed, they are simply destroyed if you want to change them. Personally, I liked this because it makes people want to think about what runes they want to use.

The map system was changed, and I found it mixed. For the most part I liked it, but the fact that there is no “trail” causing random encounters to be triggers by quests ONLY. There is no real randomness.

There is nothing defining the story until you are close to the end. It's just enough to keep you going, but trying to get anyone not into RPG's with this will be worthless.

The fighting system was improved because it is quicker, but forcing the player to keep pressing a button to keep attacking an enemy seems an odd choice given that was not needed in Origins.

Some side quests were interesting, but unfortunately most were extremely short and rather “direct”.

I did like how things from Dragon Age Origins were imported in Dragon Age 2. Given the time difference, and aspect of story it was handled well.

The loss of a “Camp” or central area is a shame because it was a great area to manage equipment.

Relationship’s seemed more of
something that added in a the last minute. I say this because there is no real priority for pursuing them, and there is no status meter. It really just seemed like it was forgotten until the end of development

There is no race selection.

SUMMERY

Cons :


Short main story
Re-used area maps
Party customizations
Weak story
Short side-quests
No camp
Relationship
Unknown story
Race choice

Mixed :
World map
Inventory
Fighting system

Pros :
Graphics
Rune usage
Dragon Age Origins Import

[ineverfailz]

I think I will take a little different tack with this reviews then my fellow players have taken.  I do not have any real reason for doing so, but just in case someone else reads it, they might get a kick.

I am going to start with the demo and lead up information where I learned 3 distinct things about DA:II and how it was going to be much different than DA:O:

1: This was definitely going to be a console game ported to the PC, not the other way around.

2: There was a decision made that this game would involve much more dialog and cut scenes to help the story progress.

3:  The story itself was going to be much more life like in that so much of what happens in the real world stems from more immediate needs, like eating and a job, than being faced with the "epic quest" so central to DA:O.

I don't begrudge Bioware for making any of these decisions.  I am sure the accounting department was very aware of the market of console games compared to the PC market and that decision was made.  If you played DA:O on a PC first, then tried it on a console, well it sucked.  It wasn't nearly as engaging, so the decision came to pass.  Is it something I like?  No.  Is it something I better get used to? Yes.

But there are issues with console games that do come into play that are not problems with PC games.  While the PS3 and the XBox are capable machines, they are getting older when we are talking in the speed of tech.  Storage is huge issue on console games.  Compression of the game on the media device and the resulting room for expansion on conole is a huge factor.  So if you want a more dialog, cut scene based story with more modern graphics, you will have to make sacrifices somewhere else along the line, like maps.  I get that.  (Just for a note, I can handle the room - there's 4 TB sitting without an arm reach right now.)

So very early on, I had resigned myself that this was going to all about the story and the game play was going to be only a means to an end.  It's not worth it to talk about the combat systems and tactics, or inventory controls, or any of that.  It was way too timid for my taste and just not worth it.  I mean, I played the whole game without developing a true tank, more often that not with three rogues and mage in the group.

But I did like the story, once I got about 5 hours into it.  It did (eventually) get the feel that you were just a person trying to make their way in the world in troubling times.  The worst thing I could say about it was the journal separating out quests into catagories.  If you want a real-life story, that's not how thing happen.  While tasks may be sorted, life can progress from any task, not just "main line" tasks.  That is the beauty of life - just when you least expect it, something jumps right up and bites you right in the tuckus. 

Okay, the journal and the fact that I killed all the mages, all the templars, ultimately destroyed the circle of magi across all of thedas, and totally descimated a dalish clan.  Did I mention starting a war with the Qunari?  Yeah, that too.  The only thing that could have made me feel worse about my character is if I could have fixed Merrills mirror so that Morrigan could appeared out of it with her ancient god offspring.  (Wait, maybe that's why Allistar is is in town that we will find out in DA:IV.)

(Yes, that would mean that I left DA:III, but we do have 8 years of game time to make up from where we last saw our warden.) 

So, I feel like a tool.  Yes, it's true  that could be life like as well (see my exwife, I'm sure that she will agree about me being a tool), but that doesn't mean I want feel that way about a game.  The Qunari thing actually felt okay, but the rest was horrible.   

Will I purchase the next one?  A definite yes.  And you can thank Leliana for that when you see her. 

Now where is Shepard...

[ashwind]

Just completed the game. (PC)

I clocked 58 hrs, 38 minutes. Ended level 24 close to 25.

This is a very refreshing game, it is a game that will grow on you. It grew on me at least.

Likes
Story
The background story or the plot is not as epic as DAO but there is nothing wrong with it. It is still an amazing story. I like stories that has no absolute evil. Conflict of interest and ideas is enough to set the world ablaze. Many find that the ending is a bit rushed but I love it - I was drawn into the final conflict unknowingly - didnt even have time to dress up so to speak but that is what makes it more appealing. Things can go bad any instance and it can end as abruptly. 

Quality
The only glitch I found was the quest in ACT 3 - Who needs Rescuing. Just one... wow! Given my experience with DAO and Awakenings - WOW!!

Also, some reported that Verric's account of Hawke's romance with Isabela is inaccurate but the account was accurate for me. I notice that sleeping with her, 3some with Zev, giving her the ship and all does not complete the romance; I got the achievement much later.

Dislikes

Reusing of maps. Not saying every map must be unique but a couple more would have made a world of difference.

How did I get -18% damage resistent? Because I leveled to level 24?? <_< Game actually gets more challenging because your level is high because even the armors you are wearing cant keep up with it... Well, still very enjoyable and easy but are we being punished for being too high a level?

[artsangel]

I'm not a combat person. I play Bioware games on casual so that I don't have to think tactically or die often. So, I won't make any comments on the combat. I play entirely for story and characters (why yes, I did like those Choose Your Own Adventure books so that's what I'll discuss.

I loved having character interaction in their homes. It would have been nice to also have some conversation outside, but perhaps save all personal quest conversation for their home (with the character saying they want to talk privately about something and to meet them there). Even though I could tell there was as much conversation with them (except Morrigan and Alistair who had a tonne of convo) as DAO, somehow it felt like less - probably because of the 10 year thing. It felt like a lot was missing from the relationship; I didn't get to know the characters quite as well as I should for such a long association, time-wise.

A lot of the quests - side and secondary - felt unnecessary to the story, with the main plot quests taking a back seat to them. I'm obsessive about completing side quests, but they did feel like filler to make the game longer. We need a story that has enough content to fill the game on its own.

That being said, I did enjoy the story as it was. I've seen a lot of complaints about there not being a story, but it was a story about PEOPLE. A story about how somebody changed their fortunes, a rise to power. I didn't mind not having an obvious boss or goal; I liked living my life, romancing people, helping others, becoming famous. I'll probably be disagreed with, but it was enjoyable to me.

The ending was great, if flawed. It was a shame that things roughly turn out the same no matter what, but at the same time I do like that my companions can do stuff without me being able to stop them (I mean, in real life you don't have 100% influence over your friends after all). So, with my female mage in a romance with Anders, the ending really hit me hard. In a great way. I felt disgusted and betrayed (ran off to be a fugitive with him anyway, love trumps all!). I don't think anything in DAO got to me like that. I disliked Morrigan, and loved Alistair (and am still embarrassed about being in love with a fictional character, lol) but nothing they did quite evoked the response Anders did. Terrorism / revolution is an interesting area to touch upon; I hope DA3 finds some similar difficult situations. Despite Meredith being an obvious loony, I also really liked how grey the situation is with the mages vs the templars. Much like The Witcher (I swear you guys took notes from that game!) there really isn't a clear 'side' to take in the fight.

Like others, I'd also like to see a bigger gaming area; there may have been many locations in and around Kirkwall, but there's something cool about exploring an entire country and visiting other cities. It helps with that epic feel. Orlais and Antiva next please?

Finally, selfish request: if Hawke is still the lead in DA3, then can his/her romance be around at least for a while at the start of the game? Sure, he/she can leave them behind when adventure calls, but I'd prefer that to a random quick cameo in the middle.

[Fraq Hound]

I just finished my first playthrough on DA2 (xbox 360) earlier today and I'll start this off by saying that it wasn't a bad game by any means. However it just wasn't of the quality that I have come to expect from Bioware after their last few releases.

Combat and Abilities:

As a console player the combat was alot more satisfying here then in DA:O. It moved alot smoother and was alot more fun to watch.

I think the talents and specializations need to be reworked for the next game. Especially for the Warrior and Rogue classes. There are alot of talents that just are not useful on the console version and thank goodness that Aveline seems to tank just fine without any player input because tanking is unbearably boring in DA2. I started out as a sword and shield warrior (so I could be more flexible about which characters I wanted to bring with me) but I had to respec into two-handed at level 9. After that I found the fighting much more enjoyable.

There are alot of talents that just seem "useless" to me. As a two-handed warrior all of my points were put into the Two-handed and Vanguard tree's. The Defender and Warmonger tree's were geared more towards tanks and as such I will skip them here. Battlemaster and Berseker tree's are too identical to each other but what's worse is that my warrior almost never ran out of stamina. Even when he did run out, all I had to do was pop a potion and I was good to go, thus making both these tree's useless.

The Reaver tree offered up only one activated offensive ability and the damage on it was relatively low. The sustained abilities were very identical to and in my opinion inferior to those found in the Vanguard tree.

The Templar tree was the only one I found useful but at the same time it felt out of place in my playthrough where I had an apostate sister stuck in the circle and ended up siding with the mages.

Characters and Romance:

The characters in DA2 work well for the most part. I really enjoyed some of them and hated others which I believe is what Bioware writers generally want to hear. It seems like there was alot more banter this time around which was cool but I would rather there had been more conversations. Once again I feel like the interaction with the companion character's is the strongest part of the game and I wish there was more. Seriously, in both the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, the companion conversations and interactions are vastly superior to everything else in the game combined.

Varric, Bethany, and Aveline were awesome!

I was so upset that Bethany died in the deep roads that I reloaded an earlier save and left her behind. When I later found out (via a thorough internet search) that there was no way to keep her as an active party member I was pissed. I wish she had been available for more of the game, it made the story seem alot more personal when I was looking out for my younger sibling.

Aveline's strong woman warrior character is something I've wanted to see in your games for a long time (Ashley from ME came close but Aveline hit the nail on the head!). She was very well written and I was bummed when I found out I couldn't romance her. At the same time the Quest involving Donnic and her clumsy attempts at courting him was great!

Isabela was a successful character in the sense that I just didn't like her. She had a few endearing quotes throughout the game but her lack of loyalty during the scene in the Fade and then her inability to apologize in convincing manner afterward really rubbed me the wrong way. The scene where my Hawke gave her the boat in a bottle was interesting because I'm anxious to see if it can play out differently based on your rivalry/friendship. She came off as a promiscuous, self-serving, low life and My Hawke had no problem telling her to shove it when she came to him asking for help with the idle. I was actually bummed that I didn't get to see or hear what happened to her after that. I'm also very interested in seeing how her romance plays out in my next playthrough.

I'll throw Fenris and Sebastion in the same boat here because I spent very little time with either of them. They both seem like pretty cool dudes and I'm interested in seeing what they are all about. Assuming I can stomach more then two playthroughs.

Anders didn't seem as funny here as he did in Awakenings, which I guess is reflective of all the hardship he's had to endure. He kinda struck me as a wet blanket as i played through the game but looking back now I think he's very well done. To see such a huge change in him from the last game was very cool.

Merrill really worked as a character but her romance was awful. It just didn't make sense to me. I don't understand why my Hawke was interested in her (Other then her "daaw, cute!" factor) and I don't understand why she was interested in Hawke. It all sorta felt hollow to me but at the same time it's hard for me to lock down exactly why. They also never really resolved the issue she was having living with Hawke in hightown. She seemed so unhappy and I kept waiting for that moment when Hawke would get a clue and ask what the heck was going on but it never came. Then her final companion quest seemed like it such a huge, life altering, emotionally impactful event that was never addressed. Maybe my game hit a bug or something but the keeper sacrificed herself to save Merrill from a demon and then the entire clan banished her and I never learned how that made her feel or if it changed her at all. It was just left unaddressed and it sucks!

I've stated my opinion on Bioware romances numerous times and it hasn't changed really. Seems like every game see's them toning it down further and further. It really seemed like they were moving in the right direction up until Mass Effect 1 had all it's drama with fox news. Since then they've hit the brakes and thrown it in reverse, I'm not sure why they are even included in the games anymore. I thought that maybe a story spanning a decade would offer up something new and interesting in the romance department. Shame on me for getting my hopes up.

Story, Main quests, Side quests:

The Story itself is a good one except for the obvious flaw of living in a city full of mage hunters/haters where you and half your party are walking around casting spells from giant mage staffs that you aren't even trying to conceal. Also the ending seemed very abrupt and unfulfilling.

The main story mission's are excellent. The opening, the deep roads, the Qunari invasion, the Mage vs. Templar finale, all very strong offerings. I perked up during each part and couldn't put the controller down. If there was more of this and less of the terrible side quests this game would have been much more enjoyable.

The side missions were predominately awful with a few exceptions. Lots of recycled environments, lots of stupid fetch quests, lots of battles I felt I had no personal stake in. People with little to no identity attacking me for no reason.

Inventory, Loot, and Armor:

I really hated the inventory in this game. I literally changed my character's armor three times the entire game. Blood Dragon -> Armor of the Fallen -> Stonehammer -> Champion. That sucks. Most of the time when i went to inventory management it was to clear out all the useless accessories that were piling up in my inventory. The companion's armor not ever changing sucks. I enjoy trying to find the best equipment statistically and visually for the characters. Also you only give us one or two outfits for each character. It's not enough, we need more variety.

Staring at a character that never changes for 40 hours is not fun. It's also kinda stupid that they wear the exact same clothes for a decade.

This game just doesn't have enough useful loot.

Junk items were ridiculous. I just stopped opening chests and looking in rubble and crates after a certan point. I mean that's all i ever found was more junk items. It was everywhere! This entire game is just Junk items with the occasional underpowered weapon/armor piece sprinkled in for flavor (and that flavor is terrible).

Why is everyone so worried about Mages and Qunari when obviously the more pressing matter is who is the madman running around town tearing everyones trousers?! I honestly wish I hadn't sold all that junk so I could count how many pairs of torn trousers I picked up during the game. I'm sure the number would have been obscene.

Overall DA2 was just a bummer. There are alot of really interesting things I'd like to try out involving the companion characters but I don't know if I can slog through the hours of boring/bland side quests it takes to get there and see it.

[Nameless one7]

Gameplay:  9/10

This was what I thought was one of Dragon age 2's strong points.  The combat is fast paced and fun overall.  That being said their are some flaws to decison making and combat.  In combat I often found myself to have never run out of mana, it seemed like I put points into willpower just to make my character wear the higher armors.  I can't seem to use my spells often enough with the long cooldowns, especially on the heal spells.  Their needs to be an isometric camera for pc, it's to hard to cast area of effect spells without it.

Story:  9/10

I liked the story but the parts where the mages in the cave betray you was against what should of happened as I catered to mages my whole playthrough and was an apostate myself.  The red light in the sky forced you into making drastic decisions was not really fun as you had to choose between to crazy groups.  The way the story was told was perfect though, I couldn't of asked for a better story though the ending is to much of a cliffhanger and I'd like to hear a date on the expansion or sequel soon since we don't know anything.  Also Merrill's clan going crazy was not good considering I tried to explain rationally that the keeper was possessed.  What I did like was your companions, each was great in every aspect and I loved all my companions until the end (Keyword the end).

Graphics:  10/10 -  My pc is top notch and the graphics were better then what I've seen on any other game to date.
I was using the high resolution textures.

Sound: 10/10 -  The voice acting is top notch and the musical score DEMANDS Inon Zur be back for any sequels or expansions.

Import Save Affect on the World:  2/10  -  It really felt like my imported save had no affect on the game whatsoever.  Leliana didn't remember romancing my warden or talk about it as she followed my warden around after the last game but forgot that.  

Overall: 9/10  Great game but with some bugs.

[Caladors]

 
I read through a lot of this and I have to say I am surprised.
The first significant amount of feed back given was from Laughing Dragon and it was almost all negative which made me a little angry.
But you got some more even feedback after which is much better.
The only reason I bring it up is because I played Mass Effect one and loved it and there was a lot of changes to Mass Effect 2 that I was ehhh.
Once I found out that a lot of it was changed due to fan feed back I was just about pulling my hair out.
It is BioWares greatest boons and it's weakness.
I ask please, just remember these two terms.
Silent Majority.
Vocal Minority.
They are in the popular lexicon for a reason.
Anyway enough of that.

Anyway I thought I would give a bit more depth to what I liked and disliked.
The reason is not because I am in love with myself or it needs to be said but I see all of these plus and minus here and I think.
You spent a great deal of your life making this game, I should at least show some respect for that.
So this review is long, most properly too long.
But I feel I should give as honest and complete feed back.
I hope it does not diminish what I have to say (or type...)
(Also sorry for the poor grammar and spelling and the amount of times I say I, I know that's the worst way to keep people interested your meant to say more your/you/yourself than I's/Myself/Me, I can't help it.
Also I wish there was some sort of spoiler box function because I know I am jabbering but I think it would have been polite if I could have lessened this glut of text.)

I loved the game I have some stuff I don't love about it but I am so glad I got a new roller coaster ride to be on.

Well first I am going to talk about what I loved.

1. My companions.
2. The Layout.
3. Gear
4. Hawke.
5.Graphics and Art design.

Then the things I had trouble with.

1. Combat.
2. The Story.

1. My companions.
I like that Isabella was there because she is infamous for the randiness from the first one and she doesn't disappoint but she isn't too shallow.
True enough she is not exactly well of inspiration but if she was she wouldn't be Isabella.
One small thing, I pursued a romance with her at first and then she said 'Oh your not trying to bring feelings into this are you?' and when I said no I loved how heart broken he seemed but at the end....
Despite the fact that I had a full romance with Merril it said I was with her...
This is one bug that I hope you fix with the patching and such cause I thought I had done something wrong but everything was cream and peaches with Merril but the game says I am with Isabella cause I started with her...

My brother.
Now I don't care what anyone else says you got it spot on.
I have a close relationship with my brother and you got that level of antagonism and friendship right.
I won't say that is how me and my brother are now but I can remember a time when we were.
Since I wanted my brother onside and I wasn't big on editing my decisions I took him on the expedition with me.
I felt great when I did cause it stirred the emotions of “I have your back bro”
And when I lost him.
Well I was pretty crushed and pissed off.
But that is good.
Much better than feeling nothing.

Varric.
Ohh good lord I never thought I could love a mouthy dwarven rouge as much as I do this man.
He was just the mirror to my character that made me feel like we were in a world.
He was what made it feel real from start to finish.
People like to exaggerated (at least my generation does) and the part where the seeker stops him and says “Why lie now?” and he tells the real story after.
How he meets you and his not your friend but he know as deal when he sees one.
The whole package I don't know what it is exactly but it made me love him.

Merril.
She was almost the awkward girl, the constant of Japanese story telling and JRPGs.
But what stopped that was the fact that she was no push over.
She had power, real power that was dangerous and everyone was afraid of her but she was just intrigued.
She looked harmless and mostly act it but underneath all of that there was these deep desires and intense person.
She reminded me the first time I heard the saying still waters run deep.
She just wanted to know what was going on and talked rather plainly but deep down she has a lot of troubles.
Still waters runs deep.

Oh and someone else mentioned this and I think it worth bring up.
The moment where Aveline talks to her about Hawke and she says “I love him” and how she explains it makes thing clear after repeating herself.
Well it's obvious that someone in BioWare has had that intense love where you hurt to be away from them and it just leaped of the screen for me.

Aveline.
I really did hate her the start not when I very first met her but when I started getting to know her.
She seemed like a chantry puppet.
And I was quite annoyed by her comments and how hard it was to get her on side it seemed that everything I did pissed her off.
But when I was in year three I started to take a liking to her she became more three dimensional.
As time went on I came to respect her.
The fact that despite all her strength she had trouble talking to Donic really made me shake my head.
But it didn't take me out of the game it feel like I was dealing with a real person rather than just 'the female tank'

Anders and Sebastian.
I put these two together because they are more or less the same sort of person on opposite sides.
Anders is a Chantry hating Andraste-phobe who can see no good in any of what they do.
Not that I really like how the magi are tied up with a gilded cage but the way he whines about it makes me feel sick.
The only reason I had any interest in him was the whole deal with vengeance.
Sebastian has that whole trouble past thing as well.
But he whines too much also, it's like he never considered being a great ruler as an example for the church's up bring.
No instead he will whine about choice between that and the chantry.
I believe in Andraste and her teachings how could I ever be a great ruler *face-palm*
I am glad that Alistair was not anything like him.
It's almost like how to do Alistair wrong.

Not that I hated there part in the story these people exist. (*sigh* yes they do and if you get them on their pet subject they will never stop)
But they didn't seem like the people that Hawke would hang out with.
It seems much more like people that would seek Hawke out and then he would work his magic PC moving the plot along power with them.
Maybe not with Anders I didn't like him as person but he does seem like NPC material more than Sebastian.

I know there is an elf character I missed but I missed in game so I can not comment but from what I saw from my brothers game he was cool.

Banter.
Quite possibility one of the best parts of dragon age.
It reminds me of Baldur's Gate 2 where you just take people out in hopes that they will talk to each other but in this people talked all the time which is cool.
This is where I felt character development the most.

But on companions two things I must ask.
Is there plans for DLC Qunari character or at least someone with strong convictions to the Qun.
It would make a lot of sense in the story that your character would meet someone with such beliefs but not be with the Arishock.
By law of numbers seems reasonable.
The second I will leave as a wrap up at the end.

2. The Layout.

The way everything was put out it seemed very...
World of Warcraft...
But that wasn't hugely bad I don't like that game but it is good at making it's talent trees clear and that's what almost everything in this was.
Clear.
And that made it very easy to play and plan what you wanted.

I love that you had a toggle so that your helmet could leave but you could leave it.
Very small but I really enjoyed it.

There is only one thing that I think you should have done.
Pressing back or something like that should have brought up a legend in dialog to show what the symbols meant.
I got them down pat fairly quickly but I can see a lot of people just going so top is good, bottom is bad and middle is neutral... why do the symbols change all the time?

Like I said a small thing.

But I really did enjoy the wheel however I wish he could have gotten it sooner so that I could respond more quickly making it a more flowing conversation rather than one second pause style of conversations reminiscent bad 80's cartoons.

The wheel everything was clear bar one time...
The Res' Bomb was in the bomb/poisons section and once when I was trying to look for it in the healing section...
Just I thought it would have been in the heal your party section not the other area but it is an area affect thing so I guess I just stuffed up there.

Oh and one last thing.
The journal.
The man who made this needs a medal, a life time supply of beer, a crazy night with two women and a plaque made out in his memory.
And if it's a woman, she needs a crazy night with...
Anyway.
Just that I could continue with the main quest without helping billy with the kitten, getting 66 moggle heads for vender Y and the sword of damocles for that other chick.
I know there weren't quests like that which I am very thankful for but just I hate how you look at your quests in other games and you simply breath deeply and say “well, were going to be here for awhile.”

3. Gear

Gear was cool but not being able to equip anyone with anything better was a little frustrating.
I know I will hate myself after but have you considered doing what you did for mass effect two?
I know you can not have a tech lab but you could have a smithy...
It was simply that I got so much armour I couldn't use and it was frustrating as hell because I couldn't equip it to myself.
I couldn't give it to my party.
I couldn't do anything with it, it was just more junk.

But damn did I love my champion outfit.
I mean hot damn.
You really know how to make a guy look bad ass.

Also I loved the new looks for the other team members.
I am little ashamed to admit it but I am not quite sure how I got some of them.
I know I got Merril's when I completed a romance but one day it just seemed out of blue the Anders decided to take a level in bad ass, why not?
I thought it would have been cool if there was one more costume though like what they wore once they were settled.
Also would have been cool if there was a causal cloths thing.
I mean for Varric and Isabella it wouldn't have been any different but when people come to visit you at your home or if you went to there place of work not having them with you...
I know a lot of people there job was there life but still just would be cool but that's more me dreaming out loud.

Maybe because I saw Hawke just cruising round in his pimp suit.
I fully expected him to just be sitting there with a pipe at some point in time I mean you look at the iconic him in that jacket and your saying “Hey Hef' need a light old chap?”
Ether that or he has to grade those papers other wise Harvard's board will be on him for tardiness.
I really liked the out fit.

4. Hawke.

Now I know I said I would talk about stuff I loved but.
There is a mixed bag here so I will just give it all to you.

When I was making Hawke there was one thing I really wanted to do which was make him mine.
But I couldn't.
I love the iconic guy but I can't change him I wonder is he a special face could I make his face if I tried hard enough on the presets and just add a tattoo or change his hair style or eye colour just one thing to make him my Hawke but I couldn't.
I could give him some blood on his face...
It was just frustrating is all.

I know it is hard but I hate that douche bag Logan even more.
They are fleeing because of what he did.
But here's a question...
How come I couldn't do his origin thing?
That's one of the things I loved about Dragon Age:Origins.
You play as a noble and there was the funny comment about how there is always rats in the start of every RPG game it was little nod that just didn't quite break the forth wall.
The mage story made me feel so much for these people.
Gilded cages yes sir, look but don't touch, touch but don't taste, taste but don't swallow.

But what was life like for Hawke?
Why does my brother hate me is cause I am a mage and so was my sister did he just feel left out?
Was it hard to live as an apostate, I think so but they seem to remember Lothering as happy place.
So whats the deal?
Did dad run off to buy time for the family?
Did he die of the wasting?
I know the rule is in fiction, on screen, on the page or otherwise that what is not seen is imagined much more vividly but I just can't grasp onto anything with his past.

Iconic's
Yes sir.
Sure make your guy look however you want however that face and voice.
Pure manliness, from athoritative anti hero to snarky wise cracking vigilante to understanding and compassionate good guy.
I felt it all with his look and voice.
I was Hawke.
I felt that I was him so much more than in origins.
I am fairly sure I spent less time with him than I did in origins but he felt more alive.
His defiance, visceral.
His heart break, touching.
His compassion, heart felt.
His struggle, real.

I am sure there will come a day when your simply your character on the screen.
You speak your mind.
But that's far off in the future.
This voice and his appearance make him come to life.

5.Graphics and Art design.

It looks amazing.
I don't care what anyone says.
Haters are going to hate.
Kirkwall reeks of quite desperation.
The art in the loading screens brings forth images of foreboding and horror.
The slave art makes me feel the dark history more than any block of text could.

The people look amazing.
Qunari well they look fantastic, other than the whole twilight sparkle skin which I was a little confused about, the people seemed really cool.
I loved Sten the character from Dragon Age:Origins but these people seemed so much different from him.
Maybe because there ideals and everything had not been full fleshed out maybe because he was a stranger in a strange land.
But they just didn't feel like Sten.
The Arishock seemed reasonable at times however he seemed like a little bit of a jack ass.
Anyway moving on back to art.

Yes to elves.
Yes.
Don't listen to the haters.
There not human, they shouldn't look that way.
I felt these as being completely different people rather than anorexic humans with disfigured ears.
I am not sure if this was what you wanted in the first on but your graphics engine just didn't want to play with you or what the deal was but yes.
They feel like there own race now.

The art and graphics there nothing wrong with them at all.
They were great.



The things I had trouble with.

1. Combat.
I loved combat in this and in the first one.
Both reminded me of that old saying, no plan survives the battlefield.
I loved the increase pace and how panic set in quite quickly.
I loved the explosions and the new look for spells and hails of arrow and all of that.

But.
It happened far to often.
It seemed that being champion just meant you had more lunch money to steal...
Apparently?
If people fought me due to a grudge or many other things.
Well yeah I get that.
But everyone fought me at the drop of a hat.
I am looking behind him mostly so on the front of his costume has got written in bright neon letters 'come at me bro' perhaps?
I am sorry I don't mean to be snarky it is simply that I don't understand.
And after you kill a whole lot of guys people drop from the rafters after seeing there friends being slaughtered its a good idea to run in here and start fighting these guys.

I know the idea of lots of mooks makes you feel like a big damn hero because you swath through guys but it just didn't make me way.
It was for me more a case of fight don't let these guys get you I don't know when I saved last.
I would prefer intense battles where it's harder to say ok there is about what 50 guys I can take them.
Honestly I don't know why my guy didn't fight the Arishock at the start or Merdith at the start because I see no reason why they shouldn't have the way they fought.

I would prefer if people were capable, maybe not on your guys level but if there was say eight people you would be strongly considering not fighting because there is eight people.
For me to stand down at this point I would need to know that there at least four boss plus there support.
And I would still consider it.

Which does seem to fit the whole grim part of 'dark fantasy'.

2. The Story.

Now a lot of people are down on it as a whole I am not I liked almost all of it's parts.
But I know why many people feel the way they do.
Because it was the way I felt in the game.

Which is to say.
Useless.
I found myself hating myself because I couldn't do anything.
I couldn't save anyone for all of my struggle there was nothing I could do.
I simply had a series of tragedies I simply had to endure.

I do not mind if is 90% of what you do causes you fail fall flat on your head.
But it seemed nothing I did worked.
I really wished to save my sister at the start but I simply have to live with http://tvtropes.org/...ttleSister]Dead Sister[/url].
There was nothing I could do, as far as I know...
See if I knew turning up the hardness saved my sister I would do it in a heart beat.
And you would feel that you did something!

But that is a small thing.
If what I read here is true and it's a damned if you do damned if you don't with your sibling ether taking them or not taking them to the deep roads I am very unhappy.

I just don't feel like a hero or a vigilante or an anit hero.
I feel like someone who suffered through these experiences.
Please don't get me wrong, I loved the ideas behind it.
I loved two wrongs don't make a right of the circle vs Templar.

It just seemed like I can't do anything right.
And that's not good.
I am sure that is not what you want your players to be walking away with the feeling of defeat once they have finished the game.
I am hoping there is some sort of nice segway between this and the next.
Because at the moment I feel that I was merely caught up in the spokes of history and dragged through the mud.
In other words.
Useless.

Wile there where many many parts of the story I enjoyed.
All of my companions quests.
Many of the leading up quests.
The end and it's lead up left me feeling very frustrated.

For example.
Thrask.
I loved this man.
I thought this person embodies everything I believe, he knows the dangers of the magi but he also understands there plight within the circle being locked in gilded cages.
When he died.
I felt powerless.

I believe this is one of the few times I reloaded.
I reloaded perhaps five times just to check it out with dialog trees and taking as long as it does to load it was less than impressive.
And then an additional three times after combat.
I hope you understand how much time that is.
I tried to do everything I could.
But I simply failed every step of the way.
I felt.
Useless.

Here was a man that could have been a great stablizer to the city.
He would have given freedom to mage's but not so much as to allow for recklessness or blood magic to go unchecked.

Another example.
When trying to save the three magi.
The only one I had any chance to save was the drunken stupid one.
The only reason that I felt anything for the mages and didn't hate every last one of them is because I was a mage myself and I played a mage twice over in the first game and understood there plight all to well.
But if you took it just from this game you would say that every mage had a working knowledge of blood magic the only thing stopping them is the fear of the templar.

How come so many people in the circle know blood magic?
How is it so easily learned?
It simply baffles me.

But see this what is most annoying.
Most everything else is great.
I don't agree that having only one city is a fail as some others have said.
That's a load of claptrap.
It would have been good if there as a side quest or two to neighboring cities to get an idea of where Kirkwall is in the world.
Maybe helping Sebastian out with retaking his town or something like that.

The story hooked me in with it's connection to other characters.
The plight of the city, you saw people building the tinder box there was just nothing you could do.
It just made me feel.
Useless.

Does it matter what actions I take or ultimately will it always result in the same thing at the end?
See in Origins there is always was one end that we know is coming.
The arch demon dies.
But what about everything else.
See everything else happens to be rather important there.
You make or break a kings stewardship of the land.
You can choose a dark dwarven noble and keep there tradition and help the lands against the blight or break tradition and create a new ruler which may cause more chaos but for the better?
(BTW dwarf story is always the one that had me most conflicted.)
And so on and so on you know the drill.

With what I did in this will anything matter?
Will it matter if I was Viscount?
Will it matter if I killed Anders or will history remain unchanged?
Ultimately this didn't seem like a resolution to me, it seemed like your setting up for the next game.
But at least give us a taste of his return to grace rather than the bitterness you left in our mouth.
It is simply that I felt one thing at the end and I hope that's not what you wanted me to feel.
Useless.

[jacksonhc]

 I am still in the first act of the game but the thing that I general dislike about the game is that the communication with the other members in your party has been taken out.  .  If you had a relationship with them you could kiss or whatever with them anytime and anytime you were at camp. You can only talk to them if you are doing a sidquest or whatnot  I think alot of Origins was how you could interact with them.  I also do not like how a lot of the options for dialogue were shortened.  I did like how the main character talked however there were only 3 options to choose from. 

Another thing about DO that I like better was how the journal and the inventory could all be accessed by one button.  Now you have to press start than inventory, than back out to go to journal etc..

That said I do like the overall new gameplay and graphics are great.  I also like the new way to upgrade the character. 

[Layn]

done.

33 hours. half of what i needed for Origins

It was slightly better than what i expected but not by much. It was a great, amazing game, and i rate it better than most games that are out there, but as a sequel to Origins it's very disappointing and it never reached the immersion and involvement that i experienced with Origins. As i predicted: in Origins i felt like a Fereldan, in 2 i watched someone who sorta was a Fereldan.
It's a minor thing, but DA2 would have benefitted a LOT if it had ditched the 2 and adopted a subtitle, so different are the first and the second game. Heck, it doesn't even continue the story or anything really. The most it continues is Anders story and he's from Awakening. And really such a title sounds really classy compared to a 2 or a II. DA2 was a great spinoff after all.

lemme get my notes out now (yes i made notes...)

the story felt a lot more refined, but the pacing was incredibly bad. you shouldn't have put a money collecting quest at the start. Doing quests unrelated to the main one can only happen when it is with a very important goal in mind. oh and in act 3? that went too fast from strained relations to all out civil war.

ah, the story of act 1... what was your idea? i didn't get the point and i wasn't working toward any engaging goal. i hoped Flemeths quest would bring some interesting stuff, but it didn't (really, what was Flemeths cameo for anyway? that was so pointless). Okay, visiting the deep roads was going to be super duper important because of.... i didn't know. they said it was important, but all i was seeing was a dangerous expedition to get rich quick. But okay there i went doing quest after quest with no meaningful story in sight. You really shouldn't have made that part that long (also a bit of my fault, considering i wanted to do every single quest).
and then i got to the deep roads and all it told me was three things: "i still am not fond of the deep roads", "sandal is scary and somehow involved in everything", "glowy red thing is evil". first part was followed up on with a small quest where i got to meet an old friend, second part got followed up on with Sandal saying scary things and appearing later just as he did at the end of Origins, and the third part was followed up with a disappointing conclusion with Bartrand and then was suddenly picked up to explan why meredith is crazy and make her annoyingly superpowered. oh right and Carver got grey wardened. i was sorta worried he'd die, because i really didn't feel like having the mother yell at me "toldya so!"

It's with the middle of act 2 that i started caring. With the conclusion of the serial killer storyline i was finally in it. Bravo Bioware! i never imagined you'd do that, but you did, and it affected me emotionally. So much so that i naturally moved Hawkes disposition from usually lighthearted and good to serious and shorttempered for a while, because it felt right. And my god the tension when dealing with the arishok, trying everything to keep peace, treading "carefully" (choosing the good options, while avoiding choosing something that seemed like it was the very opposite of what Hawke would accept). and then BAM betrayal. And then we lost control of the Qunari situation, everything going to hell. and oh that epic duel. Not to mention that about when it started getting interesting, the tension of the templar/mage conflict started to rise. once again trying to play both sides, protecting the mages, but keeping templars happy, since Hawke's an apostate too.

and act 3 was just good. Everything falling apart. everyone was losing control. and I as an apostate mage had to pick a side. This was a great moment, since both choices were wrong, and any choice would bring down the downfall of kirkwall. and then another betrayal, this time of such epic proportions from a loved one. so very very unexpected and good. Companions turning on you, abandoning you, betraying you, this works immensely well (i still remember yoshimo in BG2). It all tugged at the right strings: betrayal, loss, disappointment, anger.
as great as act 3 was, i was disappointed that there was no aftermath for the qunari situation. you could say act 3 was it, but it sure did not feel like it. everything that happened in act 3 was going to happen anyway. a game like this needs an overarching story, but it ended up just being 3 separate stories glued together...
that said, i loved the in-story cliffhanger. the frame ending had some nice surprises, but dammit cliffhanger...

I really liked how with time more and more people in the city were people you know. you really got a feeling that you are living there and starting to know the city and the inhabitants better and better. both times big battles happened in the city i worried if some of the people died.
however... Bioware, you suck at showing passage of time. i know that the middle part is a bit open and whatnot, but you never manage to give the feeling that time passes. it happened in origins, and worst of all it happened in Dragon Age 2. Practically nothing changed from year to year. most companions were still wearing the same as when i got to know them! even after the big qunari battle, there were no signs of damage, repair, change. according to them, it was 6 years since we started having control of Hawke in Kirkwall, in that time things couldn't have stayed the same! Fenris mansion stayed a dump all the way through. sure he probably didn't want to clean up, but it was all the way through the exact same destroyed home as the other mansions. oh, a statue appeared on the docks. is that supposed to be me? i don't look like that! everyone knows me! how could they get the statue wrong?

theres one thing i absolutely HATE about the story (stories): everything's demons. every time someone does an unspeakably evil act... it's demons. most notable was when we went after the murderers of the Vael family. i identified somewhat with sebastian, since my main Warden was a human noble. Family friend kills your entire family. But Howe, being human, and having his reasons was so much more interesting then that woman who was goaded by a demon to do it. it got boring! Okay i understand, the whole mage vs. templar conflict, but really? you couldn't make more great human evils like Howe? or someone like Loghain? or so many others who had their selfish motivations! the serial killer was great... almost. he was insane... oh and there were demons too.

okay apart from story:
it was incredibly hard to aim spells. it desperately needs tactical view. kick whoever complained about tactical view and how places have to be built around that in the arse. gameplay goes over all that and it was a stupid sacrifice. Honestly i didn't really notice any meaningful improvements in level design and artistically because tactical view was gone. again: kick 'em in the arse. stupid change.

as for the paraphrased dialogue wheel and voiced character... i understand why people want the voiced character. i went back to origins and saw that jumping in the middle of a save it was weird, and took a bit to dive back into that role (it doesn't help that that character is a bit harder to roleplay for me) but Origins was the better way for me. As much as i loved my Hawke, i was just watching her. Voice was a part of it, but maybe not the defining part. that damn dialogue wheel is it. that thing is terrible. i understand why you have the need to paraphrase, but ...andraste's flaming knickers! Hawke (and Shepard) have that annoying tendency of taking what is there and interpreting it in exactly the wrong way. quite a few times i screamed at her "WHAT DID YOU SAY THAT FOR???". because of that detachment to the character, most of my decisions weren't based on the character, but actually what i wanted. Hawke would never have agreed with merril on the blood magic, but the hero of ferelden in me made the decisions and wanted no matter what fix that mirror and find more out about it.

the game was easier, but i won't complain about that exactly. i don't actually like fighting much, and the sooner we're done with it, the better. so i used normal all the way through (except once or twice when i came upon a very disagreeable Bossmonster and i stupidly forgot to buy potions and most importantly of all, get some healing spells apart from the simple heal). i then went back to Origins (one easy mode even, to be fair) to compare. DA2 is a lot easier, and coupled with the new animations and speed, it just felt like a massacre. I like my fights to be over quick, but it should need some thought for it to end quick. in DA:O i move everyone into the best positions, and fire my puny spells and skills just the right way. in DA2 as soon as i met an enemy everyone fired a hailstorm of swords and spells at the enemies who had no chance either way. Everything was over the top and everything exploded into bits and pieces and blood everywhere! how is that any fun? (well i guess a lot of people like it that way)

dialogue animations... i had hoped you would have fixed that. they are still incredibly stiff. and when you talk with the Arishok, moments which you obviously tried to make as cinematic and impressive as possible... get's ruined by having him done the same few hand movements over and over and over again.

The game looks great. Sure, i agree with some of the others, it doesn't look that much better, and some of it is probably because of the high-res textures, but still, it looks really good. quite a few effects were top notch and definite improvements, Apropos High-res pack. you really should have waited for that to be finished before going gold. imho it makes a world of difference and some of us don't have an easy time downloading 1GB. It should be on the disc standard.
however the ice looked terrible. what was up with that? it didn't look like ice at all, just some stained white texture overlay (which it was ). it could have been better. The electricity buff on weapons was terrible too. at first i thought something was broken. why wasn't the texture moving for example? it sorta is the hallmark of electricity.

what was with the rampant area reuse? How much the game was rushed really shined through there! there were points where it didn't even make sense! why were there built structures? why is light shining through? whenever i got a cave or "under undercity" quest i groaned "ugh not those two areas again". Kirkwall was nice and unique though. really liked it.

ah yeah! My congratulations to the people who made the loading screens. I loved them! they were so beautiful! and so many different ones! great job! oh and nice area map!
aaaand then we come to the UI and menus. what do i remember of it? dunno. black. too much glow. some dark red tinged areas. the design was bad, the looks were worse. gone was the beautiful fitting look from DA:O and in comes something that just looks terrible and wrong for the setting. You could have made some pretty nice things based on the loading screens. The map was just as terrible. I sometimes got confused, because i didn't understand what exactly i was seeing on the map! some details could have helped. Ah and the buttons on the right? i completely forgot about them. they were so tiny, might as well leave them out.

music was good but not amazing. why wasn't there any credits music? i liked both of those which appeared in Origins, and i was sorta looking forward to see what you cooked up this time.

i really missed Ferelden and everyone i met in ferelden and the companions. not DA2s fault, just a big credit to origins. DA2s companions were great. I didn't like some of them, but that's actually good, and how it should be. their arcs were great too. and while the romance (Anders) was disappointing (it started out weirdly as if they were already in love, when there was the usual courting and loving which went by in an instant, and then now understandably distant) what he did storywise at the end was incredible and unexpected and gave a whole new twist into the relationship. how could Hawke continue loving him after abusing her trust that way? and thankfully it didn't end there when i sent him away (knowing i had ruined the romance achievement and Hawke would be left loveless. but hey, i easily fixed that achievement thing. bwahahaha!) then you made him appear again, and this time i let him fight the battle but had to end the relationship and wouldn't let him fight as my companion.
excellent how you changed the like/dislike bar! it worked great and i managed to disagree with Fenris but still stay friends sortof. until i killed him. twice. in a dream and at the end. he's dead alright. made me sad having to kill him, since i liked him (even though most of the time he looked just like a final fantasy character to me, with feminine figure and the hair and the giant sword, you know. oh and he kept saying mages are evil even though hawke was a mage. jerk). but sometimes i really didn't understand why the hell someone disapproved. they didn't voice their opinions they didn't say anything on it, and heck i was sure i didn't say anything they'd dislike, but still they did. However not being able to bribe them since gifts do not give positive points for sure was great.
I really don't like that they have their special armor and thats it. most of them don't even change it! it's like they are screaming we are better than anyone else! come on you people, you aren't special, you just happen to follow a special person around! you still should heavily protect yourself when going into places like the deep roads. Sometimes i wonder why they even blindly follow Hawke around everywhere. guess since they decided to stick around they started to like Hawke and just do, but still...
why did you ditch the "talk whenever you want" AND the "talk at points of interest"? back during awakening i said both kinds together would be perfect, and now there's neither. At least let me talk with my love interest and discuss the crap that has happened. Isabella left, pleeease lets discuss that? or just a nice howdoyoudo? are they really that busy walking with Hawke aimlessly through the city that they can't talk with me? Maybe Varric has some nice stories? maybe how Bianca came to be? Maybe inquire about the Hero of Ferelden with Anders? Heck why doesn't anyone talk with anyone about the Warden? origins companions meet awakening companions and yet no one talks! Oh and Alistair HAS TO have recognized Anders!
on the old companions cameos: i generally liked them, but Zevran already felt forced and that was made worse by all of them appearing almost at once in Act 3. But yet i really liked it. Leli made me see how much changed, Zev how much stayed the same, and Ali and Teagan reminded me how much i loved them all. But why did Zev appear at the final battle? can't remember having done anything special in any game to warrant his assistance at the final battle in Kirkwall.
oh, right. good that you gave each character their own specialization. no more blood mage against their will! pretty important for this story even!

Couldn't you have shown a funeral for the mother and by extension all the other women? it could have been a good moment. Avelines Wedding could have been shown too (great that a companion found someone they loved). i really missed that!

i'd like to see a compromise of the mabari solution of origins and 2. a pet companion slot. the summon just appears out of nowhere and disappears every time we change area, i don't like that.
oh and enemies do that too! when you killed a wave, suddenly right beside you a few more enemies spawn. that didn't look good and frustrated me.

why weren't there any genlock? did you dislike them that much? it doesn't even make sense! genlocks come from dwarven broodmothers and i'm sure they've got more of those then human broodmothers. And i thought hornless Qunari were explained as a different cast or something, but all stens in DA2 had horns, everyone refers to them as oxmen! and there's no explanation to the difference! so did Sten in DA:O actually have horns or not?

there were quite a few bugs, all of which i was able to work around. like Samson thinking i still wanted to talk to him about a wayward son (wherever he went, there he had his quest arrow). oh and once when changing area i was somehow propelled to an earlier confrontation somewhere. i'm pretty sure i didn't load an autosave, so not sure what happened. some more things happened but i forgot.

There were quite a few moments i wondered why don't you allow me to dodge the attacks for a few moments to loudly tell my attackers that there is no point fighting? i mean, at one point they thought i was going to kill them for meredith so they preemptively attacked me. so what, i kill every one of them even though i don't disagree with them? that's stupid. As i've said before. fights aren't my favorite thing and id love to see an RPG that allows me to solve most problems by carefully choosing the right dialogue path (actually, i guess interactive novels like Hotel Dusk are exactly that... but those don't have things getting nasty either... i want both!). It gets so ridiculous that at one point one companion (urgh forgot who they were) said something like "i'm not a murderer" and the other "uh, you killed thousands of people, animals and monsters in the past year" and the first "uuuh that's different".

Maybe i didn't find the option, but i really would have liked to have Hawke rage a couple of times. When it became clear what happened to her mother, i'd imagine the most natural thing would have to be goodnatured Hawke going crazy and punch the killer until his face is just one pulpy bloody mess.


all in all an enjoyable experience. but i don't think i'm going to be as eager to have Bioware games at launch in the future (unless you make a totally awesome collectors edition *wink**wink*) and i was mostly right about all my complaints. (i admit, the story more to the end became enjoyable enough to make up for quite a few things that were worse in my opinion)

okay i did cry a bit after everything was done and i finally got to bed. dammit that ending was ****ed up for everyone involved.

Modifié par Crrash, 14 mars 2011 - 02:09 .

[SorrowAndJoy7]

So far i've really enjoyed Dragon Age 2. I wouldn't say it's better than Origin, but I also wouldn't say it's worse... they are kind of seperate entities at this point, and i really enjoyed them both and they both would compete for my favorite games of all time but I won't be a blind fan and deny that there are aspects that could be improved so let me get to what I liked and what I think could be better.

Combat: I enjoy the new movement and how easy you can get around, I think the combat is pretty similar and better balanced(nothing as overpowered as cone of cold was in Origins), just faster paced. Cross class combos was a great addition and definitely does give a more team oriented approach. I haven't found too many negatives in the combat really, it's different and similar all at the same time while still being very tactical on Nightmare, I would perhaps tune hard and normal up a bit more and keep casual where it is... but that's just me.

Nightmare is much more challenging and enjoyable this time around, it requires you to constantly have an understanding of an EVOLVING battlefield, the difficulty is on par with what a nightmare difficulty to challenge the hardcore gamers should be. My one complaint, is i think there should be some visual cues as to where the enemies will be spawning. Doorway/Alleyway/Cavehole/graveyard for undead/etc something not as totally random, this is not always the case in DA2 sometimes enemies just appear in pretty awkward areas... I don't mind it that much, but it could be improved.

Armor/Weapon System for Companions: I generally don't mind the allies having set upgradeable armor, though maybe this could be expanded even further to include more upgrades, story based upgrades, or maybe a sort of upgrade system where for companions every level(or every two levels) you get to choose an upgrade, +5 crit chance +2 stamina or +5% defense +2 constitution... something like that where you don't necessarily have to incorporate more armor models for every character, but do add a level of customization and consistent growth in the way your companions armor evolves.

I would much prefer a system where I could change the companions weapons such as giving a warrior a sword and shield or a two-hander. Not being able to do this really limits the possibility of being able to choose your party build and the companions you want to take even further than just normal classes would. I would still be okay with the occassional character such as Varric just being limited to a crossbow and his particular crossbow, but for the most part I think it would benefit everyone if we could just pick our companions/party build a little bit more to our liking.

Maps/Environments: I don't love the map reusage, though I do understand there are some prices to be paid for getting a game on a much shorter development cycle. So I take it with a grain of salt and still really enjoy the game/environment. Besides that the environments really look very nice this time around and I would say are an improvement even though i'd maybe enjoy some more variety at times.

Story: I'll edit this at a later date, right now i'm nearly done with act II and I would rather not give an incomplete opinion besides saying so far so good. Enjoy the number of interesting side quests with complex moral decisions to be made.

Companions/Communication: I like the new companions quite a bit, and i do enjoy going to their home locations to speak with them about certain things so they can interact with their environment... But i also miss just being able to talk to them abit while traveling like we could in Origins, I feel like we don't get to know them as in depth as we did in Origins... I wonder if we wouldn't all benefit if there was a middle ground. One where maybe there is less travel communication but it's still there. But we don't lose those moments where we talk to the companions in their home area where they can better interact with the environment for other dialogue/quests. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it can be a mix of both methods.

Loot/Equipment for Hawke: I'm ok with the token trash loot(people are lying to themselves if they don't think Origins had the same thing), the armor and weapons in the game are fine but I would be interested in maybe seeing more set bonus based items which would serve as a reward for those taking the time to explore every "nook and cranny". Even different types like a specific sword and shield that are meant to go together... stuff like that is always a fun added bonus to an rpg like DA.

Overall: A well done addition to the series, even if it was rushed and could have been improved by taking more time, I enjoyed it much more than many other games out there which end up taking much longer to develop. I'll take some reused maps and a few bugs which hopefully will be patched over a 5 year development cycle like we saw with Origins. I know it's not ideal to have these things but I still love the game and maybe in the future when the game mechanics aren't evolving as much as they did this time around those things like maps will have more time and focus to get a lot more variety.

Modifié par SorrowAndJoy7, 14 mars 2011 - 01:25 .