To expand a bit:
1) The Story
I thought the story was alright, if a bit weak, right up until the massive plot point that launches the final gauntlet. Everything from that point onward is nonsense. To expand much further would require spoilers, but the game has no closure whatsoever. It almost feels like deadline constraints just forced them to suddenly halt the story, and bring everything to a hasty conclusion.
2) Re-used environments
Again, this goes without saying. Seeing the same warehouse or cave for the 10th time, really bludgeoned the excitement out of me, and made me feel like I was playing a budget title - not the sequel to my favourite game of 2009, and one of the most geographically expansive games in a long while. Running through the same handful of areas in Kirkwall also got repetitive, for that matter. 60% of your time is spent in Hightown, Lowtown, Darktown, and the Viscount's Keep. 35% is spent in the cookie cutter caves and alleys. The remaining 5% is spent in the bar, the brothel, or someone's house. Denerim alone in DA:O, had more unique environemtns than the whole of Dragon Age 2. Or at least, it really starts to feel that way.
3) Waves of enemies
Having enemies materialize out of thin air and attack in waves, essentially throws management of potions and skills out the window. You are simply reduced to button mashing, and waiting for talent cooldowns to expire. And having waves of enemies falling out of the sky really wrecks any sense of immersion.
4) Simplistic conversation wheel.
Another disappointing change from DA:O. Nine times out of ten, your responses are limited to Paragon, Snarky, or Jerk. And responses to push the relationship mechanics forward have a big heart next to them!
5) Meaningless quests
Over and over you'll pick up random little items that you can't exame more closely, yet will somehow activate Hawke's internal GPS, and direct you to a seemingly random citizen to return what was apparently their property. They will respond with one sentence, usually along the lines of "Oh, thanks!" and give you a sovereign. This might have been a nice addition if they added anything to the overall lore, but they don't.
6) Only being able to talk to your party members in certain specific areas of the city.
I was told I needed to talk to Aveline/Varric/Whoever, but they wouldn't talk to me until I walked into their office/room/house, when suddenly an arrow appeared above their head and they acted as though they hadn't seen me in ages.
Most of the gameplay flaws could have been forgotten, if the story was satisfying - but it isn't. It doesn't become clear until the credits roll, and you realize that the story doesn't really conclude - it just abruptly stops. There is no resolution of any sort to the conflict the Seeker references at the beginning of the game, and even the future of your hero and party is quickly scuttled away in a resolution-free sentence or two. Even the final boss battle is against an enemy you're given no particularly strong, overarching reason to despise throughout the game - indeed, you even spend time completing quests for them. And as I said earlier, the plot turn that sets up the finale of the game, comes completely out of nowhere, and begs a ton of questions.
I pre-ordered this game, despite the widespread pre-release "dumbing down" concerns, based purely on Bioware's reputation and my own reverence for their games. However, I will definitely be looking before I leap when it comes to the next game in the series. Dragon Age 2 is a decent game, but I was expecting much more than that from such a rich established universe, and such a good developer.
- Scott
Modifié par Shakes McQueen, 16 mars 2011 - 12:05 .





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