2797 réponses à ce sujet

[ImmaturityRules]

There's a lot of tl;dr's on here so if the following has already been posted, sorry.

There have been quite a few times where I'll find some random bit of junk while doing a quest and I get a message saying "Quest updated: Jethro's knickers" or whatever, then when I find Jethro, Hawke says "I think I have something that belongs to you." every damn time. Really obvious cut-and-paste going on!

PS: To anyone who don't speak the Queen's English like what I do, knickers are panties.

Modifié par ImmaturityRules, 16 mars 2011 - 04:40 .

[bluecapsule6]

thesilverlinedviking wrote...

bluecapsule6 wrote...

Another negative:

Day 1 DLC that isn't free: $7 for a day 1 companion when the game only ships with 5 companions (none of whom can use bows)? At least ME2 and DAO had the decency to make the DLC characters free with new game purchases. This kind of greed alienates fans and is one of the reason why DA2 getting a lot of hate.

They gave it out for free with the signature. The only thing to blame is your own lack of foresight/attentiveness, not BioWare/EA.

You're kidding right? Most people don't bother reading through the forums of games that are months away from release, and not everyone wants to preorder a game months in advance before reviews are out (especially understandable in this case since DA2 has been getting much worse reviews).

Most people don't even know that it was free with a two month advance pre-order. They just see EA/Bioware charging $7 on top of a $60 PC game out of greed. I think DA2's 4.2 Metacritic user scores says a lot about how much goodwill Bioware has lost lately. 

Modifié par bluecapsule6, 16 mars 2011 - 04:47 .

[Thalorin1919]

Alrighty, here it goes.

Critcisms.



Over-used dungeons - Yes, I'm sure you guys get the point. But might as well put it on here. For one side of this, I think the dungeon designs are great, and I like the way they look. Problem is that you guys used to many of them, and you would force quests into certain dungeons that wouldn't make sense. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but for a vague example - There is a quest where you have to get something and you end up going to a dungeon filled with grass, leaves, ponds or whatever when it's taking place under Kirkwall or something like that. For the next game, if you guys can, try to put more dungeons in.



Face-morphs of Cameos - Zevran looks fine, in my opinion. Since I also actually like the new elf designs. But I don't think characters like Alistair weren't done justice. Being a guy and as Alistair was my bro in DA:O, when I saw him in DA2, I couldn't help but think - Man, either the years were hard on you, or something happened. So I guess...if there are more cameos in the next game or whatever, work on them?



Side-quests abundance - I'm all for sidequests, but Act 1 took me forever as I was doing all that were given to me. I know some of them have an overarcing story over the years, but some of them could've been distributed throughout the years I think so it's not as much of a handful at once.



NPC Interaction - I felt that with the story taking place in a vast city for most of the time, more NPC's could've been added to the game. I liked that in Origins you could talk to NPC's that weren't always quest-related, but were just there that you could talk to them. I felt that with DA2, there could've been alot of that since this took place in a city.



Kirkwall not changing so much - I guess when I popped the disc in, I was expecting actual physical change to come to Kirkwall over the years. But throughout the game there was a few minor changes, most I didn't catch at first. I felt that with a decade story, you guys could've really captured this potential and show change to Kirkwall to reflect decisions we make. Praise.





Graphics/Art Design - If there is one thing I definitely don't want you guys to change, it's the graphics/art design of DA3. I LOVED the way the game looked. It was distinct, and I though everything looked pretty solid and unique. I mean, you can improve on graphics for DA3 obviously, and work is needed on the textures. But I felt you guys took a solid step in this direction. I also liked the new design of the darkspawn.



Story/Characters - I really liked what you guys did with the story. It was original, and good, and I felt as though I really did change the world by the end. The flow could've been done better, but I thought it was a solid story. Definitely had more emotional moments that really moved me then Origins did. Also the characters were once again great this time around. I feel like the romances could've been added on a bit more, but other then that, I really liked the banter and the conversations.



Combat - I honestly don't get the big fuss about the combat. I think it looks awesome, it's bloody, it's Dragon Age. I like that it's faster, that there is no shuffling, that archery is good, but yet it all still retains the same tactical value like Origins had. Also, I liked the respawning mobs after the originals, it makes the fights more challenging and fun. And the boss fights were good to, I liked how you guys mixed in the enviroment and stuff into them, to force you to strategize more. I definitely think that if you guys improve on the combat, tweak it here and more, and I guess make it more viable on the PC since those thugs say it isn't so grand - I think something really good can come out of the combat.

Voiced PC - Whether it was a budget decision or an actual decision by the writers, I loved the voiced PC. You guys did a great job at casting for both the male and female hawke. They are both distinct, and both pretty solid. It adds to the immersion to the game, and I just like Hawke in general. If you guys don't bring back Hawke for DA3, I would highly suggest to have the next PC the character plays as to be voiced as well.

Family - I thought you guys did good with the family aspect of the game. It definitely made the story alot more personal then Bioware games usually are when the PC is so random guy who kicks ass. The dialogue was great between the siblings, whether they were fighting and showing affection, and though I'm white - I felt that if a person makes a black PC, then the rest of their family will be black, which is a great addition that is commonly overlooked by man developers. Oh, and the familys appearance changing based on how you look is great also.
Overall, I enjoyed DA2. I'm glad I spent my money on it, I'll buy DLC for it, and DA3 for it. If you guys do end up making a DA3 - I think the most important things are to hold on to the art design for the game. Don't revamp the whole look of the game, because I feel that the universe now has it's own look.

Thanks Bioware, for this awesome-o game. Hopefully this all helps!

Modifié par Thalorin1919, 16 mars 2011 - 04:52 .

[Eldragon]

A lot of the criticisms have been discussed in depth here, and I generally agree with them.

So let me say I love Bioware RPGs. I've played through all of them multiple times. So with a heavy heart I must say Dragon Age 2 is the first game I won't play a second time.

I enjoy it,  but there isn't anything to entice me for a second playthough.  I need room to be creative my why character. I want to take the game system in interesting ways. All of these things were possible in DA:O, so these elements missing in DA2 was a huge letdown. 

Restricted Weapons
This is the #1 thing that kills replayability for me. Mages restricted to staves, Warriors 2h or 1h weapons, rogues Daggers and Bows.  It would be far more interesting to have a Warrior with dual daggers, or a rogue with a 2 handed sword. Let the classes have their own skill trees that are independent of what weapon is equipped (aside from "ranged" vs "melee"). If a player invests in the right skills, let them use it. The current system forces every class to be played one of two ways. No room for creativity.

Restricted Armor
This is the #2 reason thats killing replayability. Having static costumes for companions is nice, but picking up random armor that only the PC can equip is a huge letdown. "hey look, super rare plate armor for my warrior! oh, yeah, right Im a mage. Guess I'll sell it. Combined with requiring 2 stats to use anything? Its just a pain.

No skills to train.
This is such a staple of RPGs I was shocked it was not included in DA2. Lockpicking, Herbalism, Speech, etc, should all be skills that you need to train in. Make having a character with Maxed Out herbalism interesting! or talk your way out of problems with Speech!. DA:O did it, why not DA2? Ideally classes could invest skill points in various weapon groups e.g. A mage can invest points in "Swords" or a warrior in "Crossbows".

No Hybrid classes build.
I really miss the arcane warrior.  I've been a huge fan of this class archetype since BG2. Granted in DA:O you could cheese with it, but its a single player game, you're only hurting yourself. And its possible to make this kind of thing balanced. It can be fun an interesting to play a character that mixes class paradigms. Rangers are effectively a "Warrior-rogue" and "Arcane Tricksters" are a Rogue/Mage.

These four factors destroy any chance for creativity the player has with leveling their character. No intersting build paths, you play a class once, you've pretty much played through everything that can be done with it.

Modifié par Eldragon, 16 mars 2011 - 04:59 .

[Odess81]

I'm very happy to see this thread. I had thought about making one earlier. I will post my likes/dislikes on the game, though most of them have probably been covered. Let me say first that I enjoyed this game as much as any other Bioware game. It was very good, just suffered from some design flaws. Still a solid 8.5/10. I must also say thank you for giving me a good game to play. And taking the time to read our comments.

Things I liked about DA2 (playing on the PC here)

- Combat was way more fun and can still be tactical. Just next time add a few more combat abilities in the trees for more variation.

- Graphics while not jaw dropping were pretty good. I like the new style. Qunari are totally bad ass. I wish I was able to play as one!

- Storytelling was done in a completely enjoyable way. Having the tale "unfold" was a nice touch. 

- Talking protaganist & dialog wheel. I don't know why people make such a fuss over the silent protaganist. I definitely felt more involved with the story this time around. Dialog wheel is basically the same thing as 6/7 choices of text. 3 answers, 1 good, 1 sarcastic, 1 negative.. 3-4 exploratory dialog options. I prefer to not know they are going to say.

- Potion/crafting system - This version is way better. Not having to worry about 30 different kinds of potions and 20+ ingredients. You find a source, you get it, done. One kind of each potion and you're set. Some people might gripe, but that item management was a timesink in DA:O

Dislikes

- Inventory system. For the most part was a mess. I tossed/sold so much stuff in this game because there is literally no use for it. Why even make it drop? Just give me the gold instead. Hoping someone comes out with a mod to change this.

- No customizable characters. I get what you were doing here. A distinct look for each character. If you're doing that it is fine, I have no problem with it. Just keep that same style for the character. There is no reason you can't change armor without changing the style. I like playing dress up with my characters, as funny as it sounds!

- Items weren't really made distinct. Should have made more icons for what certain items were. Rings all had the same picture, etc. Hard to decipher which items were which.

- A bit too streamlined. As I said, I know it's aiming to a broader audience, but they could have kept a few more of the elements from the original. If you're aiming to more casual players, add that in the casual difficulty. In anything above that, put in all the features.

- Sequel bait. Give me more closure on the ending. The story ends VERY abruptly, almost jarringly so. This is probably set for future DLC/expnasion, but a given those are months away, you can end something with a twist, but still have closure. 

- Lack of locations. I liked seeing all the events in Kirkwall over time, but the game definitely needed some other varied locations. Every cave/underground/house is essentially the same exact thing. You can do better than that, BW.

Modifié par Odess81, 16 mars 2011 - 04:59 .

[Rutaan]

I've softened my stance somewhat now that I've played it for a while. The story and voice acting are good, and that is a big deal for an RPG. I do think Bioware and/or EA tried to have it both ways by marketing it as Dragon Age 2, and I think that is at the bottom of a lot of the backlash against the game. You can call it what you want, but it isn't the DA2 anyone would have expected after playing DA:O for a year and a half..

It is a console oriented Frankenstein of DA and ME which blatantly panders to the youngest segment of its audience. It reminds me of those ageing heavy metal bands that put out videos with cartoon kids running around when their popularity started evaporating. The heavy metal cartoon kids were tacky and out of place, and so is the hyper, manga influenced combat in DA2. It isn't just the silly leaps and summersaults at the speed of light, but pointless booming, crashing and yelping that goes with it. I'm not saying that the combat system in DA:O or any other RPG was ideal, but I don't see why it had to become another ninja game.

Someone may complain the above is not constructive, but I can't think of any other way to say it. Some may say they tolerate or even enjoy the silliness, but that's what it is. Did it strike anyone else as odd that we have Ninja Turtles combat in a 17+ rated game? If that doesn't close the book on the schizophrenic approach to this game's design, then nothing will. I just don't understand who is the target audience.

On a less metaphysical note, class balance has turned 180°. Two handed warriors now rule while mages drool. Mages are also gimped by the enemies which spawn right on top of them. You won't get to use a lot of the best items if you stray from the orthodoxy of putting all your points into the two primary attributes for your class. One thing that didn't change from the original was that most of the challenge is in the first half of the game.

Last but not least is the conversation wheel. That must be a console inspired mechanism, because I don't understand why every choice needs to be cleverly paraphrased. I'll admit it is interesting to see how the writers take your simple three word choice in new directions, but it sure leaves me wondering how I'm supposed to make my character do what I intended.

[PSRdirector]

I miss ability to have conversations with my companions when I liked, I thought with each living seperate this really could of been interesting. also would been cool is your companions maybe hooking up with each other love triangles where your not the center.

Not sure how easy the latter is, but the former is more importent anyways.

Something i just thought of. Item Descriptions, I really really miss them, when a weapon has an interesting name, im mroe interested in the story of how it got that name then what its abilities are actually. A weapon with plus 30 attack is bland, a weapon that was wielded by an ancient templar who brought down a powerful blood mage who was ravaging the lands of orlais, that gives you plus 30 attack Is AWSOME!!! some weapons scream cool story with what they are called, and nothing... I really really miss the item stories. Not all weapons need them, not all had big stories in origins, some are jsut This is a standerd sword of the Templars, but a few with a paragraph or two story is amazing and really fleshs out the world for those, like me, who absolutly love the Dragon Age verse. 

Modifié par PSRdirector, 16 mars 2011 - 05:11 .

[TEWR]

another problem I had was how certain exits apparently led to more than one place.

Example: During the break-in to the Amell mansion you climb a ladder in Darktown. Alright cool.

Later on though....

you climb the same ladder to face a powerful pride demon. In a dwarven thaig area. and the ladder was only able to go up.


------------------------

mentioning the Pride Demon fight made me remember that I loved how you guys put more optional boss battles in.

[PSRdirector]

Oh, on the end romance cinimatics, when your embracing your LI, eather go for a fable style black screen or at least back to origins. Fully clothed is just silly and looks wierd.

And no im not saying porn, notice I said fable style Black Screen was better then fully clothed, and that is even less erotic. hahah.

[osmiumskin]

captain.subtle wrote...

Also QUIT WITH THE OVERDONE ROMANCES! Its an action RPG for chirst's sake. We want more mature themed philosophical dialogues (like in Deus Ex, Planescape) than twilight rehashes.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the romances. If you don't like it then go and replay Deus Ex or Planescape, or is God Of War more up your ally? The romances were very present in Origins and noone I know of complained about that. The problem was the lack of story meat to space out the what may seem like excess romance. I think a lot of people wanted more of that in the first and.. it just ended up a bit lop sided this time around. I would have less interest in the game if it had no romance or deeper friendship options with the companions, because it's such a huge part of the role playing and it's your main tool for learning more about the characters.

[Seekirus]

The thing that bothered me was the save file content. I didn't really feel it connected DA2 to DA:O's world, hence felt like a different series. The amount of impact my save made was next to none and took out some of the choices I made or changed them to suit what they wanted them to be.
I mean I don't think my Witch Hunt playthrough had any impact at all.

[TokerMate]

This is not on the list and I cant read through all of the responses but..

Bodies explode in Dragon Age II they explode a lot, but something that annoyed me playing as a Warrior using a two-handed weapon was that when they exploded they would "always" turn into a bold guy wearing all the same armour (Not including darkspawn) Even the woman warriors would turn into some bold dude, I think if you are going to make bodies explode as much as they do you should try to make the gore pieces resemble the body, I think all you would really need to do to make it less noticeable would be to just make it so instead of a bold head the helmet the person was wearing would replace that. That way if you kill a bunch of people at once they all have different helms.

I think its the boldness that gets to me the most, because its so noticeable that they are always the same person woman or man.

[TEWR]

Seekirus wrote...

The thing that bothered me was the save file content. I didn't really feel it connected DA2 to DA:O's world, hence felt like a different series. The amount of impact my save made was next to none and took out some of the choices I made or changed them to suit what they wanted them to be.
I mean I don't think my Witch Hunt playthrough had any impact at all.

one of the devs said that Witch Hunt has no plot flags (meaning anything impacting DA2) yet. Key word being yet. and we still have 3 out of Hawke's 10 year story to explore. We were told Hawke's story takes place over 10 years. Now I'm not trying to breed false hope that some DLC will definitely do that, but it seems to be the case.

[Gilmadel]

LocutusX wrote...

One other thing I have to praise Bioware for is release day versions for Mac as well as PC. I was pleasantly surprised not to have to boot into Bootcamp since my Signature Edition was a hybrid PC/Mac disc. And Mac performance has been significantly enhanced since DA:O. So, thanks for that! Please keep it up for future releases/DLC/expansions.

Yes I agree, this was pretty cool.

A question though... right now, i have only a PC and so i installed DA2 for PC onto it.

I'm thinking of getting a rather high-spec Macbook Pro for some other reasons. But like my PC, it'll be my property and situated in my own house.

Can I install DA2 twice - leaving the PC install alone, but an additional time on the MBP?

If the answer is "no", is it due to legal reasons only or legal reasons + the DRM will block me, erase my EA/Bioware account, redact my citizenship, trash my credit rating, and so on and so forth?

Just curious, at this point.

And of course, there's nothing legally stopping me from uninstalling the PC copy and reinstalling a copy on the second computer (mac)?

From an official sticky thread in the General Discussion Forum:

Dragon Age 2 Physical & Digital PC/Mac DRM are as follows:
No disc check, you do not need the disc in drive to play.
No limit on the total number of PCs you can install the game on.
There is a limit to the number of unique/different PCs that can play the game within a time window (if online) [5 PCs in 24hrs].
After each new install there is a 1-time online check needed the next time you play, requiring a log in to your EA account to verify game ownership.  If you are a member of these forums, you already have an EA account – just use the same email/password.
You can play offline thereafter - the game will NOT require any subsequent login checks.  If online, a game ownership check happens each time you play.[/list]
Edit to add this: I have done this exact thing and have it running on both a PC and a Mac. Works great!

Modifié par Gilmadel, 16 mars 2011 - 05:44 .

[Thibbledorf26]

This took me a while, I hope it is read like the others.


ASPECTS OF DA2 THAT ARE BETTER THAN DA1

-Better pacing. DAO went on for too long with filler content, some dungeons were labyrinths that featured dozens of similar rooms with the same groups of enemies. DA2 levels are long enough to be substantial, but short enough to not drag on.

-Combat system improvements. I actually like the new combat system, it is faster, more responsive, and still tactical. Keep The Space To Pause And Issue Orders option in DA3 please.

-Graphics. The graphics are better, and are vibrant and more stylistic than DAO.

-New Talent structure. The new talent system is better, there are less talents, but you can upgrade multiple talents, it is less unwieldy than DAO where there were a gazillion talents that were hard to manage. Talents are balanced and just cool.

-Better balancing of ability scores. It was possible to build more viable builds. Cunning is useful for a warrior,allowing me to better roleplay a witty warrior.

-Simplification of crafting is Partly good, in the way that you don't have to carry around scraps like a pack rat to build items.

-Friendship/Rivalry system. This was a great idea. I hated having to suck up and adjust my character’s beliefs ridiculously to gain influence in DAO. If you are saving companion’s lives, fighting alongside them, solving their personal quests, they shouldn’t still hate you because you didn’t agree with them and baby them. Good stuff.


ASPECTS OF DA2 THAT ARE WORSE THAN DAO

-Camera. Lack of camera over the top view, this reduced the tactical element of combat for pc players who like to zoom out. Bring back the highest tactical view, it increases the enjoyment of many people.

-Ripping out non-combat skills. This is the part that frustrated me the most! Noncombat skills add a lot to character development, and RPing. Crafting skills can work in tandem with the new crafting system, enable PCs with crafting skill to be able to craft more potions, to craft more powerful potions, or to enhance potions you buy. Coercion should be brought back, intimidate and persuade were a great feature. You could invest in the skill and make some encounters easier or more profitable, or you could not invest in it and experience a different path, and invest in other skills. Wilderness, lore skills, these skills would be great to give extra options in combat or advantages.

Having noncombat skills should not be seen as taking away the power of players to roleplay if they don’t have the right number invested in a skill. Players can still roleplay and affect the world based on their decisions, knowledge and personality, but just adding some extra avenues or options based on skills adds a lot of individuality to characters. Please consider adding back noncombat skills.

-Too many invisible Swarms/Waves of enemies. In DAO there were a few incidents where enemies would magically appear in waves, but it was with spiders or corpses, which made sense. In DA2 waves of enemies appear too often, and is a bit ridiculous when it is heavily armoured humans or dwarves jumping off walls all of a sudden or appearing behind you. It is hard to plan for battles or be tactical like this.
-Lack of NPC item customization. There is still a decent amount of item customization, but letting us choose npc’s armour and boots etc. adds to the enjoyment.

-Dialogue wheel. I prefer long, quality dialogue using a list instead of a short phrase on the wheel. This looks like a decision you deliberately chose, and it has been mentioned before, so I will just say I am in the camp of being able to read a quality response which guides me better as to what my pc says.

PARTS THAT WERE EXCELLENT IN BOTH GAMES

-Companion dialogue and interaction. Both games had excellent ones, but I prefer being able to talk to companions any time outside combat, not just in their ‘area’

-Story. The traditional approach or framed narrative approach are both OK, if they are done well, which they were in both games.

-Lack of major bugs. I haven’t experienced major bugs in DA2, nor did I in DAO. Just don’t release a bug-riddled product like Awakenings

[Seekirus]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

Seekirus wrote...

The thing that bothered me was the save file content. I didn't really feel it connected DA2 to DA:O's world, hence felt like a different series. The amount of impact my save made was next to none and took out some of the choices I made or changed them to suit what they wanted them to be.
I mean I don't think my Witch Hunt playthrough had any impact at all.

one of the devs said that Witch Hunt has no plot flags (meaning anything impacting DA2) yet. Key word being yet. and we still have 3 out of Hawke's 10 year story to explore. We were told Hawke's story takes place over 10 years. Now I'm not trying to breed false hope that some DLC will definitely do that, but it seems to be the case.

Oh, I didn't know that. Well hopefully they do something for it later on.

[The Razman]

The most frustrating thing was that even though years have gone past in-between acts, there's really no sense of time moving forward. Characters still look the same, dress the same, in most cases act the same. And the city itself seems resolutely determined to stay exactly as it always was as well. Even the merchants stay in exactly the same place, six or seven years after you first arrive in the city.

There was a really good opportunity, what with the generally very good narrative, to use the time jumps to build character relationships. Show and imply how your relationships with your companions has deepened through the years. But instead, it might as well be a week or two between acts, for all the characters seem to acknowledge.

Spoiler

Also, this might be just me, but the way Merhill says "I love you!" when you're lying in bed after sleeping together makes me cringe. Was Eve Myles really told to read the line like that ...?

[TEWR]

another thing I'd like to see, though I just know this will get me flamed at and people will get pissed off, is the Warden having a voice if he/she appears again. NOW LET ME EXPLAIN:

We were given a set of different voices to choose from in Origins, however this was limited to battle quotes (which I'll admit, I randomly had my dwarf noble pull out his swords just so I could hear him say in the rough, deep, gravel-like voice "Perhaps we should take the time to review what we've learned" and "I swear when this is over...").

I'd like for something similar to be used, where we have various voice sets for the Warden characters, maybe 3 each, and we can choose how we wanted our Warden to sound. Since you've already played as him, the silent protagonist, it shouldn't cause too much trouble.

If this does happen, Dwarf Noble must have deep, rough, gravel-like voice as one of the options

[Subv3rsi0n]

Gameplay
    
Combat

• Waves of enemies materializing out of thin air feels out of place and breaks immersion. Experiment with enemies spawning from doors or other logical places; complimented with unique animations it would allow for an even better experience.  Alternatively, go back to the style used in Origins – once a wave was eliminated, doors opened and a new wave of enemies would take its place.
• While the increase in combat speed allows for a more visceral and immersive experience than Origins, it seems almost too fast, and would benefit from an attack rate reduction.  In-combat movement speed and animations (such as the rogue jumping to a distant enemy) were excellent, and a huge improvement from Origins.

Non-Combat

• Traps played a very unimportant, if not entirely unimportant role.  The game would benefit from a more complex and game-changing trap mechanic, perhaps using something akin to Oblivion’s lock-picking system for inspiration.  Adding more complexity and fun to unlocking chests would be worthwhile as well.
• It was much easier and less time-consuming to loot than it was in Origins, but it feels like I am simply running around holding down the tab key and spamming R to ensure I do not miss anything, making it feel like looting is a chore rather than a reward system.
• It was disappointing to see that the profession system was almost entirely erased, as it felt like professions introduced in Origins had a lot of potential and needed only a bit of refinement and intricacy.  Again, it would be amazing to see a fully fleshed-out crafting system in which user interaction is the key to creating.  BioWare has done similar things in Mass Effect (resource gathering, albeit never really fun in either of the games), why not build upon this mechanic and add it to Dragon Age?  Make it into a mini-game.
• Add some puzzles!

Art

• The art direction was, as always, excellent.  The changes to the character models, clothing, and the style of the environments were all very well done.  Whoever designed the loading screen art and story cut-scenes deserves a raise – seriously gorgeous work there.  The darkspawn, save the new ogre design, looked far more sinister (and, in my opinion, better) in Origins.  The inclusion of an official high-resolution texture pack was an excellent addition, though even higher-resolution textures and better-looking hair would add significantly to the experience.  The elf redesign was great – they now look exotic and alien, a welcome change from the Tolkien-esque “skinny humans with long ears” elves used in almost every other fantasy game.

Story
       
Overall

• The story was well-crafted and immersive, introducing the player to politics and the difficulties of good, evil, and the grey area that lies between. 

Dialogue

• The introduction of a voiced main character added a lot to the game, and should definitely be carried over into future works.
• The voice acting was perfection in all aspects and was a huge contributor to my enjoyment of the game.
• The dialogue wheel was a great addition as well, but limiting the dialogue options to kind, snarky, and stern was a bit of a disappointment (though an understandable one considering the amount of voice acting that would be required otherwise).  Still, having more options available is always better.

Choices

• I loved the difficult choices that the game forces you to make, and the unknown outcomes of each choice.  However, the reflection of one’s choices in the world is severely lacking.  I would love to see choices play a more active role in shaping the environment and NPC reactions.  I want to see more choices influence the world in some form.

Relationships

• As a gay man, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank BioWare for allowing same-sex relationships in its games.  While it may seem like a small addition, this kind of open-mindedness speaks volumes about your company’s dedication to its fans, and I assure you that it means a lot to many, many people.  You guys continue to set an excellent example for the rest of the video game industry, and I hope you continue to embrace the diversity of your community in the future.
• Having said that, I feel that while the option to romance whomever you wish is a great addition, the romances themselves were not fleshed out and felt empty overall.  There were only about 3 points in the game in which one is able to even talk to a love interest, leading to a lack of relationship development.  In Act III, your companion is said to have moved in with you, but s/he simply stands there with no dialogue options whatsoever.  Origins, on the other hand, handled relationships very well.  Take Origins relationships, polish them up, add the freedom to choose your love interests freely, and you would have a winning combination.        

Party

• I greatly missed the ability to talk to party members at any time.  While the idea of companion bases, in theory, sounds wonderful, it did not meet expectations.  Origins’s camp was far better.

Environments   

• This issue has been beaten to death, but really, the lack of environmental diversity was a huge issue.  In Origins, I felt like I was exploring a world, all the while experiencing different places and cultures.  While Kirkwall was great looking, it was too small and did not at all feel like a city.
• The Cave™, whose layout I now have memorized, was a disappointment and ruined immersion.  Caves can and should look similar, but should not be the exact same cave with various sections closed off based on where one is supposed to be at the time. 

NPCs

•  Far too few NPCs, most of which were non-interactive.  Kirkwall was supposed to be a bustling, crowded city; however, each area only had a few groups of 2-3 people standing around doing nothing.

NPC Relationships

• Instead of restricting romance to companions, allow relationships with NPCs.  These do not have to be as fleshed-out as the companion ones, but more options would be fun. 

Items

Variety

• Origins had fantastic item variety and customizability.  The items in this game feel uninspired.  Bring back item and weapon names, lore, and specialization.
• "Trash" is similarly uninspired.  It feels like there was a lack of time to create items, so trash was created for filler.  An inventory almost felt unnecessary, as most of it was filled with trash and unusable items.  

Modifié par Subv3rsi0n, 16 mars 2011 - 06:27 .

[TEWR]

The Razman wrote...

The most frustrating thing was that even though years have gone past in-between acts, there's really no sense of time moving forward. Characters still look the same, dress the same, in most cases act the same. And the city itself seems resolutely determined to stay exactly as it always was as well. Even the merchants stay in exactly the same place, six or seven years after you first arrive in the city.

There was a really good opportunity, what with the generally very good narrative, to use the time jumps to build character relationships. Show and imply how your relationships with your companions has deepened through the years. But instead, it might as well be a week or two between acts, for all the characters seem to acknowledge.

Spoiler

Also, this might be just me, but the way Merhill says "I love you!" when you're lying in bed after sleeping together makes me cringe. Was Eve Myles really told to read the line like that ...?

1: The merchants must have picked some damn good spots to stay there for 8 years straight. I do agree though with most of what you said.

2: It's just you haha. I thought the way she said it really captured the whole "secluded, lonely, no friends, innocent, naive, whatever other adjective works," love interest type. Plus my Hawke was TOTALLY gonna say it first, but she beat him by less than a second.

[TEWR]

Subv3rsi0n I think they should just speed up the enemy attack speed to be on par with the characters. That's what I've been saying anyhow.

[Veovim]

I'll skip going into detail on obvious complaints like reused levels, the lack of an iso camera, and endless waves of pointless mooks.  I agree that combat needed to be sped up a bit compared to Origins, but it was taken way too far.  Enemies move around so quickly that targeting AoE spells is troublesome at best, and the exaggerated casting animations often mean your attacks are delayed.  Instead of carefully positioning spells for maximum effectiveness and minimum friendly fire, magic (and combat in general) has taken on a "spray and pray" feeling with much less tactical value (and consequently less enjoyment).  Also, threat management seems to be more or less missing from the game--you can try taunting, but it doesn't work very well (seriously, I've taunted enemies right next to me with no effect) and it won't last long anyways since enemy commanders can just undo your work.  You're often better off just going for extreme offense.  The combat is ok, but it isn't anywhere near as memorable as many of the encounters in Origins.

I haven't finished yet, but based on what I've seen of the the story part way through act 2, it feels like there's a little too much tell and not quite enough show.  I'm enjoying what's there--it has decent potential--but I want things to be fleshed out more.  Act 1 was basically a sudden burst of story at the end of year 1, with no real indication of what happened between arriving at the city and that point--except that something of import must have happened because Varric took notice of Hawke and was impressed enough to help him get in on the deep roads expedition.  If there could have been a few interesting missions with the mercs or smugglers, it would have helped build legitimacy for Hawke's reputation with the player.  Yes, the writers would have needed to be careful to not overdo it lest the missions become repetitive, but they could have added some important elements to the story.  For example, there could have added a prior encounter with Varric that explains exactly why he's impressed with Hawke and adds to his motivation for helping with the expedition, as opposed to just "hey, I've heard about you, and you sound like you'd be useful to have along."  Once you get to the beginning of act 2, people again want Hawke's service based on his reputation, but you have a very limited perspective.  You did some interesting things in act 1, but that was three years ago in game time; what was Hawke up to in the time gap besides moving into a new house?  Has he done anything else that made the Arishok decide he would be a good candidate to solve the problem du jour?  Again, what's there is nice, but I want more details and think that a while longer in development could have been well spent.

Some of the companions could use some more introduction and interaction as well.  You don't really get to interact with them meaningfully outside of their character quests (and I'm not counting the "come say hi to me" quests that are nothing but a few lines of dialogue, such as "Nice crime you have there").  It would really help if there were opportunities to learn about each character and their history and motivations in more detail than what is present.  One thing I do like about DA2 is that some of the character quests, while still relevant to the character, tie into the main story in a meaningful way (e.g. Anders and Varic in act 2).  Quests like looking for Sten's sword gave a bit of character development and explained how he got to where we met him, but did completing it have any real influence on the outcome of the blight?  Not really.  Anders's quest in particular is looking like it will have meaningful consequences later on.

Modifié par Veovim, 16 mars 2011 - 06:15 .

[jackiejac]

I agree with most of the main points people have been making here. On the whole, I really enjoyed DA2. I like the new graphics and the battle system is great, and I loved elements of the story. I think my biggest complaint is that the game felt a little bit... disconnected. The quests were too separate from each other and from the main story, and I felt estranged from the party characters because of the limited opportunities for dialogue. If there was a little more depth and flow to the story, and if there was more dialogue & backstory with party members, this game would be right up there with DA:O for me. In any case, DA2 was still a really enjoyable experience.

[Trohlsruhk]

I only had 3 issues with what I consider to be an A++ RPG.

1. Lack of exploration ouside of initially exploring Kirkwall ( falls into the Reused maps Catagory I guess) I did think At least I would get to see Sabastion's Home Town as part of his DLC, unfortunately he's just a few quest lines and an unremarkable companion for me. ( The Shale DLC for Origin's should be a bare minimum to shoot for in the future of Companion DLC)

2.Camera Control. This was a buzz kill for me in what I considered to be some pretty cool boss encounters. I need that Isometric view dudes!

3. More Character/empire building Quests, like "home improvements," Money generating business ownerships, more Quests to gian power and influence within Kirkwall. I mean, if i'm going to be stuck in this big City you've created for us, then let me build my Evil Empire!

[night0205]

FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
I just got the game in today, and I've read most of the criticism people have had. After playing about 6 hours of the game, I think I have a little bit of a taste...
The thing is... it's a really good game. It's strange because it is a lot like Origins, but more streamline, more console friendly, but it also feels so much different. The first thing that pops into my head that separates itself from Origins is a clear precise goal as to what your mission is and why you have to complete that mission. At the beginning of the game, it veers off from Bioware's typical storytelling which always presents the mission you must complete, and takes a hold of a sandbox mentality, without actually being a sand box game, and just tells you to go live life with no real strong focus.
It's funny that with all the things Bioware simplified in this game, the story is actually harder to follow, and you have a harder time keeping motivated. I mean, seriously, I want to go to the deep roads? That's my first goal? It's a little different then setting out to save the world from darkspawn.
But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just set out in a different direction.
Everyone has clarified the differences between Origins and this game, things that were cut, things that were changed, the fact that their is no reason to name this Dragon Age "2"... but I think this game is getting treated unfairly by people's fallen expectations to want more Origins. Trust me, Origins is my favorite game period. My most favorite, but I still think this game is getting trashed and blown out of proportion, in a similar fashion to Mass Effect 2, and in a similar fashion I believe that trash will disappear over time, and people will see Dragon Age 2 as a good RPG. Which is not what it seems to be on these forums. I know it is basically the spawn of Origins and Mass Effect 2 in many many ways, and I don't think it has as much replay value as Origins, but from all I can tell this is a good game.
Let me say one more thing. I think all the changes that have come in DA2 have been the majority of complaints that most people had with Origins. Many people wanted the main character voiced after Mass Effect, they expected it from Origins. Many people wanted better combat, better visual effects, etc. And Bioware has pushed for those things. No matter what you think, they didn't make this game to hurt the Bioware fans, I think quite the contrary... Bioware, so far, is still making the best story/character driven games out there. I don't think DA2 is flawless, not even close, and no where near the greatness of Origins, but it's a good game, and one that is superior to 99% of the video games you will find out there.