My one and only major criticism of DA2 is the way the family is treated. I was very excited to get a chance to have a family in a game that doesn’t get brutally murdered 5 minutes in… and while it did do some good things it still had to fall victim to that same old cliché.
First of all, what class you choose should have no effect on whether Beth are Carver dies, that’s a superficial limitation there… I think I remember a dev saying that was put in because the story wouldn‘t make sense otherwise but I never saw that. Apart from changing up some dialogue here and there it wouldn’t of made that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Second, neither Beth nor Carver should die so early into the game because the player hasn’t gotten a chance to know them, they don’t mean anything to the player at this point and their death doesn’t have the emotional effect the devs were going for.
Third, I believe at the end of Act 1 you should have been presented with a Ashley/Kaiden sort of choice where you had to take either Carver or Beth into the Deep Roads and whoever you brought would ultimately die or be turned over to the Grey Wardens. This would of given the player a chance to get to know both siblings, see their interactions with each other, and so forth… and it would of made either of their deaths more meaningful and heart felt than just randomly being squished by an Ogre 5 minutes in.
Fourth, the other surviving sibling should of stayed in the party and not joined the Templars or the Circle… or at least not until the end of Act 2 or early Act 3 after Leandra‘s death. I approve of Leandra’s death because that was the most emotionally heart wrenching moment in the entire game and it would have been great to get to talk to and try to console your sibling but for some reason they never allowed us to do that. After what happened to Leandra I could understand Carver wanting to join the Templars because of what a mage did to his mother, and Beth could just be caught again and taken away… or they could of just not taken away the other sibling and let us keep them until the end.
Gamlen and Charade suffer from the same problems. It’s great that I have a troubled uncle who slowly starts to open up to Hawke towards the end and it’s great that Hawke has a cousin he/she didn’t know about. But where is the interaction? You know Gamlen for nearly the entire story and only interact with him a handful of times and Charade is just sort of thrown in there at the last minute and you only get one conversation with her. If I were Hawke and I had lost most of my known family and just found out I had a cousin I would have taken steps to get to know her better. Invite her to the estate, talk about Gamlen, something.
While DA2 exceeded my expectation in terms of the general story and all the companions, it failed to meet my expectations for Hawke’s family I had going in… which was probably the one feature I was most excited about. They did a decent job with the family… but man was there a lot of wasted potential there.
Just my two cents. Still a fantastic game I'd give a 9/10.
Constructive Criticism
Débuté par
HawXV2
, mars 15 2011 06:50
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#727
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 07:23
RPGamer13
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I am having more fun with the game than I did Origins, it feels like less of a slog and more like a game I can play more than once without getting too terribly bored.
There is one issue though:
I don't feel there was enough armor variety for what appears to me as less effort than what maybe there should have been.
I understand the stance behind fewer armor choices, but with so few armor choices shouldn't more time have spent on how they look and making each one more distinct in appearance from from one to another?
Plus, I don't feel the armor was designed for female hawke as much as it might have been for male Hawke.
Then there's the overall look of female Hawke's arms, hers are smaller than even Isabela's, They improved the arms of all the other female characters, except for Hawke which still look a bit anorexic and I don't feel fits with the way the rest of her character model looks.
My mind is baffled by that. And I am glad that Bioware makes games where you can play a male or female character, but there doesn't seem to be as much effort put into the female PC as there is for the male counterpart or even the other important female characters in the game. After a while, it's beginning to feel like they put in a female main character option just for the hell of it.
To me, it seems more time was put into the voice acting for Shepard and Marian Hawke than their overall appearance.
There is one issue though:
I don't feel there was enough armor variety for what appears to me as less effort than what maybe there should have been.
I understand the stance behind fewer armor choices, but with so few armor choices shouldn't more time have spent on how they look and making each one more distinct in appearance from from one to another?
Plus, I don't feel the armor was designed for female hawke as much as it might have been for male Hawke.
Then there's the overall look of female Hawke's arms, hers are smaller than even Isabela's, They improved the arms of all the other female characters, except for Hawke which still look a bit anorexic and I don't feel fits with the way the rest of her character model looks.
My mind is baffled by that. And I am glad that Bioware makes games where you can play a male or female character, but there doesn't seem to be as much effort put into the female PC as there is for the male counterpart or even the other important female characters in the game. After a while, it's beginning to feel like they put in a female main character option just for the hell of it.
To me, it seems more time was put into the voice acting for Shepard and Marian Hawke than their overall appearance.
#728
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 07:25
graavigala85
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Story
dont skip so much, the first year in Kirkwall is important, that lets you forge your character decide what kind of person you want to be, now there are people who are all happy to see you, even the merc boss who you "left with bad rep" according to a letter I got. Let us players make the choices.
Ending
This is the big one, as much as I would love to have another one of great games I dont want to see one end in a huge ****tease. It seems like its a trend with you these days, ME2 had samekind of end and it felt like a huge trollface saying "U mad?" was on the screen. Finish the games with a proper ending, hell kill all if that is what it takes but dont make it just one huge question mark.
Armors
Not much to say about these except that they looked helluva lot better than in DAO, but just make more of them avaible, have somekind of custom tailor/blacksmith where you can make your own armor of the excisting armor pieces.. okay maybe thats too much to ask but if you have made the models, why not use them? Why just recycle 1 or 2 armor styles over and over.
Animations
This is still baffling me... I still cant believe how hard is it to make characters stand like normal humans instead of stiff puppets, characters like Fenris look good when they stand but your own character... Just horrible, make the characters stand little more loosely, and if you are questioning what I mean, go infront of mirror and see how you stand and compare it to the games character.
Enviroments and dungeons
Same as armors, you made only few different dungeons and then just spliced them to smaller pieces to make the illusion of having more dungeons, thats not good. Take the time and create unique dungeons that feel right to the places you are. It really breaks the illusion when you enter sewer and are teleported to a well lit dungeon that has mining carts or wooden floors in it, or that just dont look anything like sewers.
Take your time
DA2 is a good game, its not perfect and the reason for that seems to be that its rushed. Take your time and finish the game! You are friggin Bioware! If you feel that the game isnt finished or that the game needs some more developement then just raise your hands and say "Well its not gonna finish on the X-day, we just have to push it to Y-date! But thats good cause then we will have a game that is 100% ready!"
I know making games is business, and that means money, and if you slip on the dates you will lose money, but think how much more money you will lose if you keep releasing unfinished and rushed games that receive bad reputation.
dont skip so much, the first year in Kirkwall is important, that lets you forge your character decide what kind of person you want to be, now there are people who are all happy to see you, even the merc boss who you "left with bad rep" according to a letter I got. Let us players make the choices.
Ending
This is the big one, as much as I would love to have another one of great games I dont want to see one end in a huge ****tease. It seems like its a trend with you these days, ME2 had samekind of end and it felt like a huge trollface saying "U mad?" was on the screen. Finish the games with a proper ending, hell kill all if that is what it takes but dont make it just one huge question mark.
Armors
Not much to say about these except that they looked helluva lot better than in DAO, but just make more of them avaible, have somekind of custom tailor/blacksmith where you can make your own armor of the excisting armor pieces.. okay maybe thats too much to ask but if you have made the models, why not use them? Why just recycle 1 or 2 armor styles over and over.
Animations
This is still baffling me... I still cant believe how hard is it to make characters stand like normal humans instead of stiff puppets, characters like Fenris look good when they stand but your own character... Just horrible, make the characters stand little more loosely, and if you are questioning what I mean, go infront of mirror and see how you stand and compare it to the games character.
Enviroments and dungeons
Same as armors, you made only few different dungeons and then just spliced them to smaller pieces to make the illusion of having more dungeons, thats not good. Take the time and create unique dungeons that feel right to the places you are. It really breaks the illusion when you enter sewer and are teleported to a well lit dungeon that has mining carts or wooden floors in it, or that just dont look anything like sewers.
Take your time
DA2 is a good game, its not perfect and the reason for that seems to be that its rushed. Take your time and finish the game! You are friggin Bioware! If you feel that the game isnt finished or that the game needs some more developement then just raise your hands and say "Well its not gonna finish on the X-day, we just have to push it to Y-date! But thats good cause then we will have a game that is 100% ready!"
I know making games is business, and that means money, and if you slip on the dates you will lose money, but think how much more money you will lose if you keep releasing unfinished and rushed games that receive bad reputation.
#729
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 07:39
Mad-Max90
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I for one love this game the characters are what sold me though, combat was improved story was improved, storytelling was improved, dlc though, hmm when I purchased dead space 2 I was hoping the armor was going to be up there with the good ones but it was useless to me after the first act, it was really disappointing for me how all dlc items were like that. I also have a minor irk that Sebastien isn't available till act 2, although it makes sense storywise, it doesn't make sense money wise, to have some people pay for an extra character that can only be used during half the game and he can leave you at the end if you choose to save another companion, not good, although I will say everything else was excellent about his character and here's hoping the next dlc character (if any) is more like him than the mass effect dlc characters
#730
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 07:45
LeonBrass
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First the positives I see (copy and paste from a previous post of mine)
Specific likes:
1. the revised character creator. Much better than
DAO, Awakening, ME or ME2. My characters in game look as good as they
did in the creator. Male and female models are much improved, and the
icing on this cake is the "family resemblence" system.
2. the abilities nodes that let you take various paths, add upgrades or more abilities etc.
This really opened up the "role" in rpg for me.
3.
The balance between the 2 Rogue types, the 2 warrior types and the
mage. I can play all of them with reasonable success -- not so (at
least for me) with DAO/Awakening, where the only viable one for me was a
rogue DW
4.The overall role play - which is so different from the
traditional grind xp and loot,loot loot in order to create "hero to save
the world from Great Evil" into a more psychological and interpersonal
relationship role play. This is the reason I really love this game (and
many hate it!)... it matters what and how you speak to your mates, what
role you play, and the attitudes you have.toward Mages, the Chantry,
Templars, gypsys tramps 'n thieves... I find this much more interesting
- guess I was burned out on tradition. (applauds Bioware for their
nerve to try this)
Added thoughts:
Problems:
1. Re-use of area's... and limited areas due to being in Kirkwall and local environs.
Some suggestions for the future. Kirkwall area really cries out for a "sandbox" type of design similar to Oblivion and Red Dead Redemption... The city itself is one sandbox, the coast and mountains another. This might have given a better feel for the size and community.
2. Too few "crowds". The citizens in the background needed to react to the actions happening around them too.
Pet Peeves:
1. Zero reaction to Bethany or Mage Hawke as apostates by anyone. Including Templars! This is a glaring over-sight in my mind. The whole story revolves around Hawke "making it" and impacting the Mages vs. Templars struggle. Bethany or Mage Hawke being chased or arrested by Templars immediately upon landing at the Gallows> why not? And all mages packing huge staves and wearing mage robes and nobody notices. hmmm.
Can't fix this now, but please carefully think through the plot in the future and have sensible "in world" reactions to all lead character types. Speeches about "being hunted by the Templars" doesn't cut it unless our characters actually have "quest: escape Templars" and hide behind swords and armor or street clothes, etc.
2. Romance, sex, and nudity... totally ridiculous "love scenes" in full armor/clothing! You guys took a lot of inspiration from the Mass Effect team, surely you could have looked at the beautiful love scene in ME 1 - it can be done tastefully and not pander to the internet porn crowd. Nudity is not required nor are romances etc. but if you include them... make them appear sensible.
Specific likes:
1. the revised character creator. Much better than
DAO, Awakening, ME or ME2. My characters in game look as good as they
did in the creator. Male and female models are much improved, and the
icing on this cake is the "family resemblence" system.
2. the abilities nodes that let you take various paths, add upgrades or more abilities etc.
This really opened up the "role" in rpg for me.
3.
The balance between the 2 Rogue types, the 2 warrior types and the
mage. I can play all of them with reasonable success -- not so (at
least for me) with DAO/Awakening, where the only viable one for me was a
rogue DW
4.The overall role play - which is so different from the
traditional grind xp and loot,loot loot in order to create "hero to save
the world from Great Evil" into a more psychological and interpersonal
relationship role play. This is the reason I really love this game (and
many hate it!)... it matters what and how you speak to your mates, what
role you play, and the attitudes you have.toward Mages, the Chantry,
Templars, gypsys tramps 'n thieves... I find this much more interesting
- guess I was burned out on tradition. (applauds Bioware for their
nerve to try this)
Added thoughts:
Problems:
1. Re-use of area's... and limited areas due to being in Kirkwall and local environs.
Some suggestions for the future. Kirkwall area really cries out for a "sandbox" type of design similar to Oblivion and Red Dead Redemption... The city itself is one sandbox, the coast and mountains another. This might have given a better feel for the size and community.
2. Too few "crowds". The citizens in the background needed to react to the actions happening around them too.
Pet Peeves:
1. Zero reaction to Bethany or Mage Hawke as apostates by anyone. Including Templars! This is a glaring over-sight in my mind. The whole story revolves around Hawke "making it" and impacting the Mages vs. Templars struggle. Bethany or Mage Hawke being chased or arrested by Templars immediately upon landing at the Gallows> why not? And all mages packing huge staves and wearing mage robes and nobody notices. hmmm.
Can't fix this now, but please carefully think through the plot in the future and have sensible "in world" reactions to all lead character types. Speeches about "being hunted by the Templars" doesn't cut it unless our characters actually have "quest: escape Templars" and hide behind swords and armor or street clothes, etc.
2. Romance, sex, and nudity... totally ridiculous "love scenes" in full armor/clothing! You guys took a lot of inspiration from the Mass Effect team, surely you could have looked at the beautiful love scene in ME 1 - it can be done tastefully and not pander to the internet porn crowd. Nudity is not required nor are romances etc. but if you include them... make them appear sensible.
#731
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 07:53
PAS Alexandre
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Ok, something is wrong with friend/rival system. In the Night Terror quest, Keeper Marethari(sp) said we need to chose carefully the companions we bring with us to the fade, then the cinematics switch to Merrill saying she wants to come, ok, so I bring her with me, but when we enter the fade I get Merrill +10 rivalry, WHAT? Somebody else having similar issues?
#732
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 07:58
BloodyCampr
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I feel DA2 has less balance party wise, it drives me crazy that the only decent tank is Aveline and the ONLY healer is Anders. I liked that you had almost complete customization of your party members in DA:O. Also the repetitiveness of the areas in DA2 is kind of annoying, the entire game I was hoping for a new city to explore or even a dungeon that wasn't an exact copy of the previous ones. Don't get me wrong I love the game I'm already half way through my second play through I'm just voicing my personal disappointments.
#733
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 08:21
Mr.Tacito
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-The Ending wasn't that fulfilling, Origin's Epilogue worked well.
-The Dialogue System is an improvement, but it didn't feel like there was a connection between the characters like during the quest "Best Served Cold".
-More Armour Sets.
-Importing a save didn't feel like it had much effect during the game, I heard very little about the Warden from the returning characters.
-The combat is smooth, but constant waves of enemies isn't always good.
-The companion "social call" quests, why can't Hawke engage in a three-way conversation, companions always seem to flee the scene just when Hawke arrives.
-The Dialogue System is an improvement, but it didn't feel like there was a connection between the characters like during the quest "Best Served Cold".
-More Armour Sets.
-Importing a save didn't feel like it had much effect during the game, I heard very little about the Warden from the returning characters.
-The combat is smooth, but constant waves of enemies isn't always good.
-The companion "social call" quests, why can't Hawke engage in a three-way conversation, companions always seem to flee the scene just when Hawke arrives.
#734
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 08:28
contextual_entity
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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.
Pretty much every other critism I have has been done to death already, but I felt this needed to be highlighted again.
I have no real issue with romances as such, but I'd happily lose them all for some good philosophical, political and genuinely interesting dialogues.
See: Planescape Torment, KoTOR2:TSL and New Vegas for games that put their themes much higher than their romances and do so very well (irregardless of the rest of the game content.)
#735
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 08:32
Beerfish
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Romances have become a part of the hallmark of BioWare games, you would hear just as much screaming about lack of romances than them being in the game. They will have to make a very different type of game to get away from romances.
#736
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 08:43
Veinslay
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LeonBrass wrote...
...
4.The overall role play - which is so different from the
traditional grind xp and loot,loot loot in order to create "hero to save
the world from Great Evil" into a more psychological and interpersonal
relationship role play. This is the reason I really love this game (and
many hate it!)... it matters what and how you speak to your mates, what
role you play, and the attitudes you have.toward Mages, the Chantry,
Templars, gypsys tramps 'n thieves... I find this much more interesting
- guess I was burned out on tradition. (applauds Bioware for their
nerve to try this)
...
Actually I don`t see where your decisions really make an impact in DA2:
I keep saving mages/ killing templars in every possible quest but there are no consequences ala` "you are not welcome here" (Casting spells was punished by the council in BD2`s city of Amn).
Furthermore I would have liked to somehow talk to all these different gangs you meet in the streets to side with them or something.
Lastly your decisions don`t change the way your companions act: Sure they may become friend or rival but you gain boni either way.
Why not design this more realistic? There is no good reason why a companion you constantly talk down would stay with you for about 10 years, don`t you think?
Same issue with the unchanging attitute of some companions (e.g. Fenris` disgust towards mages): Even after saving mages and seeing that magic can help people for 10 years, his comments do not change. Not that traveling with two blood-mages (Hawke + Meryl) seems pretty strange for him.
Therefore I believe not only the way you behave but even the way companions interact should have much more impact on your party (leaving the party temporally or permanently should be a possible consequence like in BD2).
#737
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 08:48
Beerfish
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Veinslay wrote...
Same issue with the unchanging attitute of some companions (e.g. Fenris` disgust towards mages):
Some of them do though. I was using the smat alec, funny lines for most of the game and companions mentioned that fact later in the game, scolding me at one point for joking around too much. It may not come through in all situations but it does to some extent. I guess the only way to truly test these things is to go the nice vs rival route as bioware said that some things can be changed if your nice meter is high and some if you get a high rivalry meter.
#738
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:04
Mad-Max90
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I already had a little constructive criticism of the dlc but did I happen to mention that "different areas" need to be ummm... different, I mean I can get past the whole backtrack to same area as the whole game takes place in a confined area, but for the love of god a different cave in this game is the same damned cave except you start at the back and work your way to the front. I have no problem with the romances yet it would be nice but for some reason Anders hit on me at one point and I never hit aflirt line before then, but when I told him I didn't feel the same way I got plus 10 rivalry, I was like what, and please don't completely change characters like Anders again he went from a cheerful coward to a completely brooding bastard, he has the spirit of justice in him not the spirit of self wallow and pity, and it doesn't help that you changed the voice actor too, I love what you did with Merrill though you kept up with how she was in origins oh and I played through a couple times already and I can't seem to get the achievements for doing the exiled prince quests and I do the quests every time I do a playthrough
#739
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:11
Gr8pillock
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SPOILER Start!!!
Totally agree with everything you said below, especially on the romance angle and the plot as approaching mages. Literally, was there even ONE good mage in the game beside Hawke (if you played as a mage)? No! And it was almost impossible to side with Mages as a result of Anders' choices as well. Why weren't there more good mages. Hell, even GRACE and ALAIN who claim to be just hanging out with a blood mage even turn to it. There were serious story layers missing in that department.
Spoiler End
- The romances were but a shadow of Origins. They were much, much weaker this time round- it felt like there was maybe 2 flirt options before they visited your house for sexy time? No good, there wasn’t enough build up. Leliana’s romance was excellent imo, you got to learn about her background, the people she met in her past and her thoughts about you and anything else on her mind. These LI’s? Not so much. Example, Merrill speaks of Tamlen from Origins but she never really explains who he is, what he was to her, how she knows him etc unless you played the Dalish origin (I don’t recall him during my Dwarf origin story at all).
- I miss having a base camp where all the companions would reside. I understand why they would all live in their own homes in DA2 but to visit them and find they only have one or two lines to say to you, or just loop one saying over and over wasn’t great. I didn’t fully connect with these people as I did in Origins and that’s a shame.
SPOILER START
- I didn’t like how the game ended, nor did I like being forced to make such decisions only to have something utterly stupid happen regardless of the choice. For example, Orsino persists and persists for the freedom of mages and how they’re treated shouldn’t be because of how an extreme few blood mages are portraying them. Yet when the final battle happens, he ‘loses his cool’ and turns to THE VERY THING HE WAS AGAINST and turns into an abomination because of it, causing you to fight off both the Templars and the Orsino in the process. What the hell just happened Bioware…?! It makes no freakin’ sense after everything he argued against at all, and I feel like the ball was dropped for sake of causing needless drama.
SPOILER END
[/quote]
Totally agree with everything you said below, especially on the romance angle and the plot as approaching mages. Literally, was there even ONE good mage in the game beside Hawke (if you played as a mage)? No! And it was almost impossible to side with Mages as a result of Anders' choices as well. Why weren't there more good mages. Hell, even GRACE and ALAIN who claim to be just hanging out with a blood mage even turn to it. There were serious story layers missing in that department.
Spoiler End
- The romances were but a shadow of Origins. They were much, much weaker this time round- it felt like there was maybe 2 flirt options before they visited your house for sexy time? No good, there wasn’t enough build up. Leliana’s romance was excellent imo, you got to learn about her background, the people she met in her past and her thoughts about you and anything else on her mind. These LI’s? Not so much. Example, Merrill speaks of Tamlen from Origins but she never really explains who he is, what he was to her, how she knows him etc unless you played the Dalish origin (I don’t recall him during my Dwarf origin story at all).
- I miss having a base camp where all the companions would reside. I understand why they would all live in their own homes in DA2 but to visit them and find they only have one or two lines to say to you, or just loop one saying over and over wasn’t great. I didn’t fully connect with these people as I did in Origins and that’s a shame.
SPOILER START
- I didn’t like how the game ended, nor did I like being forced to make such decisions only to have something utterly stupid happen regardless of the choice. For example, Orsino persists and persists for the freedom of mages and how they’re treated shouldn’t be because of how an extreme few blood mages are portraying them. Yet when the final battle happens, he ‘loses his cool’ and turns to THE VERY THING HE WAS AGAINST and turns into an abomination because of it, causing you to fight off both the Templars and the Orsino in the process. What the hell just happened Bioware…?! It makes no freakin’ sense after everything he argued against at all, and I feel like the ball was dropped for sake of causing needless drama.
SPOILER END
[/quote]
#740
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:15
koshiee
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Big boss battles - boring and repetitive. Fighting one guy where you basically run away and attack over and over again was terrible
Companion driven stories - having a companion(s) be the driving force behind an important event in the story is all well and good if you like that companion but if you ignore that companion and barely interact with them the story really falls flat.
More cohesive story - things need to tie together more cohesively in the end. Some of the storylines started in act1 feel kind of tacked on by act 3.
Keep moving from bland pc to more defined pc with more personal connections to the main story- a "hero" story is fine but for the story to be really epic the main character needs to have personal connection to the overarching plot that drive them and the gamer forward. I think this was the biggest improvement from DAO but by act 3 it kind of fell backward into more generic less personally driven storytelling (unless you cared about certain companions).
Companion driven stories - having a companion(s) be the driving force behind an important event in the story is all well and good if you like that companion but if you ignore that companion and barely interact with them the story really falls flat.
More cohesive story - things need to tie together more cohesively in the end. Some of the storylines started in act1 feel kind of tacked on by act 3.
Keep moving from bland pc to more defined pc with more personal connections to the main story- a "hero" story is fine but for the story to be really epic the main character needs to have personal connection to the overarching plot that drive them and the gamer forward. I think this was the biggest improvement from DAO but by act 3 it kind of fell backward into more generic less personally driven storytelling (unless you cared about certain companions).
Modifié par koshiee, 18 mars 2011 - 09:20 .
#741
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:32
Gr8pillock
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a****ters wrote...
I agree with every point you posted. The biggest blow for me was without a doubt the lack of character dialog with your NPC companions though. I pushed myself through this game, even though I didn't really enjoy the repetitive wave based combat and environments, simply for the characters and story. However, as I kept going I started realizing how much less character interaction there was in this game compared to other Bioware games and found myself very disappointed. The story was still enjoyable even though I really didn't feel like my decisions ever mattered outside of a few minor choices which didn't impact the end game all that much.
As a side note though I am grateful to see Bioware employees reading and responding to this thread. Dragon Age 2 was overall a let down and I am glad that the fan criticism isn't being written off anymore as being posted by cry-babies who haven't really played the game or were just too in love with Origins. I would have loved this game despite the changes to the RPG elements if it still felt like a complete Bioware game. As it is it just feels like a rushed and failed experiment to me that should have been marketed as an expansion or several pieces of DLC rather than a sequel.
Perfectly stated my friend. After my first play through I felt the absolute same way. Liked it much better the second time JUST for the Fenris romance character development.
Spot on.
#742
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:34
Nerevar-as
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Amitar wrote...
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.
Pretty much every other critism I have has been done to death already, but I felt this needed to be highlighted again.
I have no real issue with romances as such, but I'd happily lose them all for some good philosophical, political and genuinely interesting dialogues.
See: Planescape Torment, KoTOR2:TSL and New Vegas for games that put their themes much higher than their romances and do so very well (irregardless of the rest of the game content.)
No one forces you to do a romance.
I´m really missing the first talk we could have with the companions on Origins. It really gave me a good early feel of how they were. DA2 feels more like Awakening, but there all happened in about 15 hours. Here I´ve have 2-3 talks in 40 hours so far. It´s hard to me to feel much empathy towards most of them.
#743
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:37
Moirnelithe
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Here are some of the things I really liked or would like to see changed in future Dragon Age games. Some background: I'm on my third playthrough now as a female Hawke. The first time I played as a mage (neutral/mage side, Anders romance, diplomatic stance), the second time as an archer rogue (neutral/templar side, Fenris romance, diplomatic stance) and now I'm playing for the third time as a mage again (neutral/templar side, Fenris romance, aggressive/sarcastic stance). I don't enjoy playing a male character or a warrior so I won't be doing that. Next (and most likely final time) I'll play a dual-wielding rogue to see what the skills are like.
Edit: I tried the dual wielding rogue, but hated the combat flea jumping around. Even though dual wielding rogue was my favorite class in DA:O I stopped playing it in DA2 after about half of part 1. I will shelve the game now, totally bored with the side quests and the lack of meaningful choices. Refusing quests just forces you to take them anyway, wtf? Replayability of DA2: 0%.
p.s. I did manage to get trough the game about three times because I skipped some of the (skippable) quests the first time around, if I had been completionist the first playthrough I'd never had managed to play it a second time, let alone a third.
Story and companion dialogue, replayability and plot:
Personally I play RPG's for the stories and the NPC interaction. I do not care much for a gazillion random fights with thugs, darkspawn or spiders or tons of random loot. I'd rather have more dialogue. If Diablo is your thing, well then DA2 is your thing too. Personal background and romance dialogues are few and far between. Quest dialogues with NPC's are well done though, which makes the difference with the companion dialogues all the more jarring. I'd think companions and especially LI's would have a lot more to say than some random quest giver.
- For a game with a story that stretches across 10 years and skips three years at a time there is very little companion interaction. Most of the information is written in the codex. Why not let the companions respond to questions of what they've been up to all those years? Perhaps there is a voice-over budget problem? Or are you saving most of it for a couple of DLC's?
- Edit: there is a lack of change in the city of Kirkwall over the years, it's too static.
- Edit: No repercussions for using magic in public if you're an apostate mage or if you bring mages along with you and fight in front of templars or even random npc's. Is everyone blind?
- There are far too few romance talks with Fenris and Anders when playing a female Hawke. (I haven't played as male Hawke, nor do I intend to, so I don't know if Merril/Isabela are different). It makes the romances nothing more than a side quest to complete. This I found really disappointing. Perhaps this was a voice-over budget problem again or simply not enough attention to female Hawke players?
- There seems to be less party banter than in Origins and some of it is easy to miss since they're cut off when some random NPC happens to walk by and talk as well. Also, having random banter while you're fighting or about to change map locations is easy to miss when they're walking behind you.
- The dialogue wheel: I'm of two minds about this. I like how it shows the intent of what you're about to say, however, it often shows text that makes me expect something completely different than what Hawke is about to say. All in all, I don't think I like it much. Showing the exact lines with an 'intent' graphic would have been nicer in my opinion.
Edit: Dialogue options seem to be missing from the wheel, e.g. duPuis quest you get to choose between a diplomatic "I believe you, I'll let you go" and an aggressive (fight option) "I don't believe you, you're dead". What happened to "I believe you, but you're a bloodmage and fixated on vengeance and not justice so I can't let you go"? Or a persuasion option to sway him from continuing his current path? You mostly get to choose between diplomatic, being an insensitive ass or a bloodthirsty idiot. This needs work.
- The plot: absolutely loving it. Nothing more I can say about it. I think it's brilliant the way the mage-templar issue was portrayed with just a hint of Qunari thrown in the mix for added chaos.
- Getting to take different sides and choosing different classes adds to replayability. Nevertheless, I do miss the different origins. I understand they wouldn't fit too well into the plot of DA2 as it is written now. Still, choosing to start out as a apostate mage, templar or a chantry layperson could have circumvented that. Perhaps it has something to do with tying into coming DA games or DLC's?
- DA2 is too short. Shortening the development cycle for this game was a bad idea in my opinion. Although the game is good (edit: strike that, it's 'okay'), it could have been so much better if it were fleshed out more. Fewer fights/side quests, more companion interaction and main plot lines and it would have been brilliant.
- Sebastian: stuck-up stick-in-the-mud. Nuff said. Bland at best, annoying at worst. Does he really have to keep spewing about the chantry? That stuff is bo-ring. Damn the chantry for getting his claws on him, he would have been more fun before that. I also hate his accent.
Location:
I really like city based locations. I missed that in Origins, Denerim seemed far too small to me. Thanks for not making us crawl through skeleton/rat filled sewers though. I hate those. With the Sebastian DLC I would have expected to see a bit more of Starkhaven though.
However, stop recycling maps. And if you -really- have to recycle them, make the mini-map reflect which passages are accessible. Still...stop recycling maps. Really.
Combat:
I won't say much about combat since I don't care much for it aside from the boss fights. I really like the way talents in combat have an instant effect instead of the shuffling around my rogue did in origins. Still:
- Too many unimportant fights with thugs and the like. They're not very interesting and even annoying at times when a random opponent is harder to kill than main opponents at the beginning of the game and you're trying to get on with the main quests.
- Exploding opponents: bad idea. I can imagine it when playing a mage but how is a rogue or warrior going to cause that much destruction without the use of a bomb? It looks immature.
- Lack of a top-down view is something I really missed as a mage, it's annoying to just guess which parts of the battlefield your aoe-spells are going to affect. Sometimes you can't target an opponent because something is in the way.
- Sometimes queued spells or potions don't trigger. Edit: perhaps this is because I get interrupted?
- Edit: oddly enough I forgot to mention this before: waves. I hate waves. Especially waves that paraglide in or crawl out of the ground (skeletons are fine) or just defy all laws of nature and pop out of nothing. They ruin both your tactics and your immersion. Please don't do this again.
Gear:
- Most of the items seem randomly generated (I feel like I'm playing Diablo whenever I look at the gear that drops). There is a distinct lack of item lore and the stats are virtually the same. In my opinion having fewer items but items that feel unique and not generated with a random diablo-style generator would have been a much better option RPG-wise. Looting 6 mage staffs within 5 minutes with nearly the same stats and no lore is not particular exciting to me. When I looked at "cold-blooded" though I really thought that was nice, overpowered though that thing was when I got it.
- The bow that the high dragon boss drops (Bow of the Jackal?) was the best bow I found. It didn't have a rune slot however, which made it only so-so compared to other high-end weapons. I would have liked to put one of Sandal's special runes on it.
- Items with the same stats have different names. Worse yet, they're worth different amounts and the number of "stars" they get are different as well. Why a belt with +2 stamina/mana regeneration would get 2 stars and another belt that also has +2 stamina/mana regeneration has 3 or 4 stars...I don't get it.
- Don't give out overpowered items for pre-order bonuses. It makes many of the in-game items redundant and that takes away from the fun. Perhaps you could give out unique looking character skins instead that stay no matter what gear you put on if that's what you want. A toggle maybe. I really liked the look of the raider mage robes for example, but no more than 2 minutes later I got better ones with the generic green robe recycled textures, ugh. Aestetic bonuses wouldn't make in-game items redundant, but would still be worth a pre-order in my opinion.
- Stats like +4% fire damage, +2% critical chance on items are confusing to me. Do mages get crits, do warriors get any additional fire damage if their weapons only have physical damage normally? Is this damage percentage included in the dps stat? Would +4 cold damage benefit a rogue more than say +2% critical chance? Is +2 mana regeneration better than a +10 mana bonus? I don't know, I'm no good with numbers and I refuse to use a calculator to play a game. I would have liked more clear stats like +2 cunning, +10 to lockpicking, things like that.
Graphics:
- I like the graphics in DA2 a lot better than the ones in Origins. I really didn't care much for the colors and blurriness (is that a word?) in Origins. They're also a lot crisper and more detailed in DA2.
- The mage animations are awesome. The way female characters look and move is also so much better. Whoever made the female characters and animations in Origins...shoot them.
- I don't mind the new graphics for the darkspawn as so many apparantly do. However, what you've done to the elves is scandalous. They look like aliens! Poor Zevran...he was my LI in Origins you know.
- Alistair...well, was that really necessary?
- Why isn't Fenris wearing any boots? I can understand Merril not wearing any as a mage and a Dalish and generally odd person, but an ex-bodyguard from Tevinter who is also a two-handed warrior? That's just weird.
- I could make a pretty looking female Hawke in DA2. I'm a happy camper. Yes, I'm that shallow.
Conclusion:
In my opinion the plot , gameplay and graphics (not the elves!) are far better than Origins, the amount of dialogues, party banter and replayability are far worse... I'll be looking forward to any news of what you'll be doing with DA3.
Edit: my original opinion of DA2 was 7.5/10, but now I can't bring myself to play it anymore after only 6 days. Comparison: I've played DA:O for 530+ hours! New score: 6/10 and that's a very struggling 6...
Edit: I tried the dual wielding rogue, but hated the combat flea jumping around. Even though dual wielding rogue was my favorite class in DA:O I stopped playing it in DA2 after about half of part 1. I will shelve the game now, totally bored with the side quests and the lack of meaningful choices. Refusing quests just forces you to take them anyway, wtf? Replayability of DA2: 0%.
p.s. I did manage to get trough the game about three times because I skipped some of the (skippable) quests the first time around, if I had been completionist the first playthrough I'd never had managed to play it a second time, let alone a third.
Story and companion dialogue, replayability and plot:
Personally I play RPG's for the stories and the NPC interaction. I do not care much for a gazillion random fights with thugs, darkspawn or spiders or tons of random loot. I'd rather have more dialogue. If Diablo is your thing, well then DA2 is your thing too. Personal background and romance dialogues are few and far between. Quest dialogues with NPC's are well done though, which makes the difference with the companion dialogues all the more jarring. I'd think companions and especially LI's would have a lot more to say than some random quest giver.
- For a game with a story that stretches across 10 years and skips three years at a time there is very little companion interaction. Most of the information is written in the codex. Why not let the companions respond to questions of what they've been up to all those years? Perhaps there is a voice-over budget problem? Or are you saving most of it for a couple of DLC's?
- Edit: there is a lack of change in the city of Kirkwall over the years, it's too static.
- Edit: No repercussions for using magic in public if you're an apostate mage or if you bring mages along with you and fight in front of templars or even random npc's. Is everyone blind?
- There are far too few romance talks with Fenris and Anders when playing a female Hawke. (I haven't played as male Hawke, nor do I intend to, so I don't know if Merril/Isabela are different). It makes the romances nothing more than a side quest to complete. This I found really disappointing. Perhaps this was a voice-over budget problem again or simply not enough attention to female Hawke players?
- There seems to be less party banter than in Origins and some of it is easy to miss since they're cut off when some random NPC happens to walk by and talk as well. Also, having random banter while you're fighting or about to change map locations is easy to miss when they're walking behind you.
- The dialogue wheel: I'm of two minds about this. I like how it shows the intent of what you're about to say, however, it often shows text that makes me expect something completely different than what Hawke is about to say. All in all, I don't think I like it much. Showing the exact lines with an 'intent' graphic would have been nicer in my opinion.
Edit: Dialogue options seem to be missing from the wheel, e.g. duPuis quest you get to choose between a diplomatic "I believe you, I'll let you go" and an aggressive (fight option) "I don't believe you, you're dead". What happened to "I believe you, but you're a bloodmage and fixated on vengeance and not justice so I can't let you go"? Or a persuasion option to sway him from continuing his current path? You mostly get to choose between diplomatic, being an insensitive ass or a bloodthirsty idiot. This needs work.
- The plot: absolutely loving it. Nothing more I can say about it. I think it's brilliant the way the mage-templar issue was portrayed with just a hint of Qunari thrown in the mix for added chaos.
- Getting to take different sides and choosing different classes adds to replayability. Nevertheless, I do miss the different origins. I understand they wouldn't fit too well into the plot of DA2 as it is written now. Still, choosing to start out as a apostate mage, templar or a chantry layperson could have circumvented that. Perhaps it has something to do with tying into coming DA games or DLC's?
- DA2 is too short. Shortening the development cycle for this game was a bad idea in my opinion. Although the game is good (edit: strike that, it's 'okay'), it could have been so much better if it were fleshed out more. Fewer fights/side quests, more companion interaction and main plot lines and it would have been brilliant.
- Sebastian: stuck-up stick-in-the-mud. Nuff said. Bland at best, annoying at worst. Does he really have to keep spewing about the chantry? That stuff is bo-ring. Damn the chantry for getting his claws on him, he would have been more fun before that. I also hate his accent.
Location:
I really like city based locations. I missed that in Origins, Denerim seemed far too small to me. Thanks for not making us crawl through skeleton/rat filled sewers though. I hate those. With the Sebastian DLC I would have expected to see a bit more of Starkhaven though.
However, stop recycling maps. And if you -really- have to recycle them, make the mini-map reflect which passages are accessible. Still...stop recycling maps. Really.
Combat:
I won't say much about combat since I don't care much for it aside from the boss fights. I really like the way talents in combat have an instant effect instead of the shuffling around my rogue did in origins. Still:
- Too many unimportant fights with thugs and the like. They're not very interesting and even annoying at times when a random opponent is harder to kill than main opponents at the beginning of the game and you're trying to get on with the main quests.
- Exploding opponents: bad idea. I can imagine it when playing a mage but how is a rogue or warrior going to cause that much destruction without the use of a bomb? It looks immature.
- Lack of a top-down view is something I really missed as a mage, it's annoying to just guess which parts of the battlefield your aoe-spells are going to affect. Sometimes you can't target an opponent because something is in the way.
- Sometimes queued spells or potions don't trigger. Edit: perhaps this is because I get interrupted?
- Edit: oddly enough I forgot to mention this before: waves. I hate waves. Especially waves that paraglide in or crawl out of the ground (skeletons are fine) or just defy all laws of nature and pop out of nothing. They ruin both your tactics and your immersion. Please don't do this again.
Gear:
- Most of the items seem randomly generated (I feel like I'm playing Diablo whenever I look at the gear that drops). There is a distinct lack of item lore and the stats are virtually the same. In my opinion having fewer items but items that feel unique and not generated with a random diablo-style generator would have been a much better option RPG-wise. Looting 6 mage staffs within 5 minutes with nearly the same stats and no lore is not particular exciting to me. When I looked at "cold-blooded" though I really thought that was nice, overpowered though that thing was when I got it.
- The bow that the high dragon boss drops (Bow of the Jackal?) was the best bow I found. It didn't have a rune slot however, which made it only so-so compared to other high-end weapons. I would have liked to put one of Sandal's special runes on it.
- Items with the same stats have different names. Worse yet, they're worth different amounts and the number of "stars" they get are different as well. Why a belt with +2 stamina/mana regeneration would get 2 stars and another belt that also has +2 stamina/mana regeneration has 3 or 4 stars...I don't get it.
- Don't give out overpowered items for pre-order bonuses. It makes many of the in-game items redundant and that takes away from the fun. Perhaps you could give out unique looking character skins instead that stay no matter what gear you put on if that's what you want. A toggle maybe. I really liked the look of the raider mage robes for example, but no more than 2 minutes later I got better ones with the generic green robe recycled textures, ugh. Aestetic bonuses wouldn't make in-game items redundant, but would still be worth a pre-order in my opinion.
- Stats like +4% fire damage, +2% critical chance on items are confusing to me. Do mages get crits, do warriors get any additional fire damage if their weapons only have physical damage normally? Is this damage percentage included in the dps stat? Would +4 cold damage benefit a rogue more than say +2% critical chance? Is +2 mana regeneration better than a +10 mana bonus? I don't know, I'm no good with numbers and I refuse to use a calculator to play a game. I would have liked more clear stats like +2 cunning, +10 to lockpicking, things like that.
Graphics:
- I like the graphics in DA2 a lot better than the ones in Origins. I really didn't care much for the colors and blurriness (is that a word?) in Origins. They're also a lot crisper and more detailed in DA2.
- The mage animations are awesome. The way female characters look and move is also so much better. Whoever made the female characters and animations in Origins...shoot them.
- I don't mind the new graphics for the darkspawn as so many apparantly do. However, what you've done to the elves is scandalous. They look like aliens! Poor Zevran...he was my LI in Origins you know.
- Alistair...well, was that really necessary?
- Why isn't Fenris wearing any boots? I can understand Merril not wearing any as a mage and a Dalish and generally odd person, but an ex-bodyguard from Tevinter who is also a two-handed warrior? That's just weird.
- I could make a pretty looking female Hawke in DA2. I'm a happy camper. Yes, I'm that shallow.
Conclusion:
In my opinion the plot , gameplay and graphics (not the elves!) are far better than Origins, the amount of dialogues, party banter and replayability are far worse... I'll be looking forward to any news of what you'll be doing with DA3.
Edit: my original opinion of DA2 was 7.5/10, but now I can't bring myself to play it anymore after only 6 days. Comparison: I've played DA:O for 530+ hours! New score: 6/10 and that's a very struggling 6...
Modifié par Evainelithe, 29 mars 2011 - 02:07 .
#744
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 09:53
TEWR
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here's an idea for how the beginning should have been.
You are Hawke, a simple Lothering villager doing what comes naturally. Walking around the village, helping your neighbors with a few simple tasks. Then you receive a notice that the army is heading out to Ostagar, and your brother (and you if you're a warrior or rogue) heads off to the forgotten fortress to meet the Darkspawn. Upon arriving at the fortress, you converse with Carver and a female soldier. Her hair is a fiery ginger, but she is no simple woman. She is a woman you do not want to make angry. However, she is called away by her commanding officer and introductions are cut short. You then turn to see a man standing tall and proud in his silver cuirass. He's sporting a beard to be proud of and conversing with four other men. After they leave, he walks up to you and starts talking to you, because... well let's be honest, he has to pass the time until they get back. He introduces himself as Duncan of the Grey Wardens. You converse with him and respect him for what he says. Afterwards, he bids you farewell and awaits for his recruits to return.
The battle begins not long after they return....
As a warrior or rogue, it jumps ahead to the moment of truth when the battle starts. You and your brother lead a full squad of Lothering soldiers against the Darkspawn, awaiting the moment when the Tower Beacon is lit. Cutting down Hurlock after Hurlock, you look up to see if the beacon has been lit. The flames have shot up into the sky, but no reinforcements are coming. Your men are being savagely cut down in front of your eyes, and it's all you can do to keep from sharing their fate. You tell your brother that you have to get out because all is lost, but Carver refuses saying that he would rather die a soldier than desert the others.
Then you remind him that if you both die, so too will Bethany and your Mother. He knows you are right, and while disliking the idea of desertion, he knows that the family takes precedence. Before you turn away from the field however, you see Cailan killed gruesomely by the Ogre, Duncan avenging Cailan's death, but see Duncan fall to his knees. Duncan knows he won't survive, and you want to help him. Why you want to help him above everyone else on the field you don't know, but it may be due to the respect you feel the Wardens deserve. But there is nothing you can do, as Carver holds you back to keep you from rushing headlong to your death.
And so you run away to Lothering to get your parents out of the impending danger....
--------------------------------------------
*If you're a Mage*
(everything up until Carver leaves is the same.)
You tell Bethany not to fret about Carver, as he's not going to let some tainted creature kill him. He'd never forgive himself if he did. She says you're right and you go about your business. Then, overhearing two Templars, they say their scouts have reported some Darkspawn stragglers breaking away from the main body of the horde. Their destination? En route to Lothering. The two Templars prepare to move out to take on the Darkspawn.
You and your sister however, know that your magic will prove far better to dealing with them. So off you go to meet the horde. Upon arriving at a suitable destination, you hear both the Templars and the Darkspawn moving closer in. You know if the Templars find you you'll be taken to the Circle, so you head up to the nearest cliffside hill for a better vantage point. It provides great cover from the line of sight of the Templars and will help greatly in eliminating the stragglers.
As your last fireball scorches the final Hurlock, the Templars shout out "A mage?! Show yourself, by order of the Templars! The Order Dictates!"
You both stay hidden. Maybe the Templars should've been left to their fate, as you both hate the Templars and the Circle with a passion. But if they had died, the Darkspawn would've been left unchecked. It doesn't matter. What's done is done, and you sneak away into the bushes to return home.
As you return home however, you see Carver out of breath and your mother trembling. All is not well....
You are Hawke, a simple Lothering villager doing what comes naturally. Walking around the village, helping your neighbors with a few simple tasks. Then you receive a notice that the army is heading out to Ostagar, and your brother (and you if you're a warrior or rogue) heads off to the forgotten fortress to meet the Darkspawn. Upon arriving at the fortress, you converse with Carver and a female soldier. Her hair is a fiery ginger, but she is no simple woman. She is a woman you do not want to make angry. However, she is called away by her commanding officer and introductions are cut short. You then turn to see a man standing tall and proud in his silver cuirass. He's sporting a beard to be proud of and conversing with four other men. After they leave, he walks up to you and starts talking to you, because... well let's be honest, he has to pass the time until they get back. He introduces himself as Duncan of the Grey Wardens. You converse with him and respect him for what he says. Afterwards, he bids you farewell and awaits for his recruits to return.
The battle begins not long after they return....
As a warrior or rogue, it jumps ahead to the moment of truth when the battle starts. You and your brother lead a full squad of Lothering soldiers against the Darkspawn, awaiting the moment when the Tower Beacon is lit. Cutting down Hurlock after Hurlock, you look up to see if the beacon has been lit. The flames have shot up into the sky, but no reinforcements are coming. Your men are being savagely cut down in front of your eyes, and it's all you can do to keep from sharing their fate. You tell your brother that you have to get out because all is lost, but Carver refuses saying that he would rather die a soldier than desert the others.
Then you remind him that if you both die, so too will Bethany and your Mother. He knows you are right, and while disliking the idea of desertion, he knows that the family takes precedence. Before you turn away from the field however, you see Cailan killed gruesomely by the Ogre, Duncan avenging Cailan's death, but see Duncan fall to his knees. Duncan knows he won't survive, and you want to help him. Why you want to help him above everyone else on the field you don't know, but it may be due to the respect you feel the Wardens deserve. But there is nothing you can do, as Carver holds you back to keep you from rushing headlong to your death.
And so you run away to Lothering to get your parents out of the impending danger....
--------------------------------------------
*If you're a Mage*
(everything up until Carver leaves is the same.)
You tell Bethany not to fret about Carver, as he's not going to let some tainted creature kill him. He'd never forgive himself if he did. She says you're right and you go about your business. Then, overhearing two Templars, they say their scouts have reported some Darkspawn stragglers breaking away from the main body of the horde. Their destination? En route to Lothering. The two Templars prepare to move out to take on the Darkspawn.
You and your sister however, know that your magic will prove far better to dealing with them. So off you go to meet the horde. Upon arriving at a suitable destination, you hear both the Templars and the Darkspawn moving closer in. You know if the Templars find you you'll be taken to the Circle, so you head up to the nearest cliffside hill for a better vantage point. It provides great cover from the line of sight of the Templars and will help greatly in eliminating the stragglers.
As your last fireball scorches the final Hurlock, the Templars shout out "A mage?! Show yourself, by order of the Templars! The Order Dictates!"
You both stay hidden. Maybe the Templars should've been left to their fate, as you both hate the Templars and the Circle with a passion. But if they had died, the Darkspawn would've been left unchecked. It doesn't matter. What's done is done, and you sneak away into the bushes to return home.
As you return home however, you see Carver out of breath and your mother trembling. All is not well....
#745
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 10:05
Lord Gremlin
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In Dead Space 2 on PS3 PS store is integrated into the game, so you don't have to quit it to buy and download DLC or redeem a PSN code. It's a shame that DA2 uses old system - quit game, go to PS store, then back again. Ask people at Visceral for help next time.
#746
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 10:11
Gr8pillock
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- 73 messages
Sen4lifE wrote...
Gr8pillock wrote...
...
And I speak for 99% of all the girls that play your games.
...
I want statistics!Gr8pillock wrote...
I understand that Bioware was hoping to branch out to the less hardcore RPG lover's, but the first game was a blockbuster, you had a bestseller on your hands no matter what. There are enough button masher games out there to fill the great divide. Dragon Age stood apart from all of them. It isn't NEW DA gamers who were lining up to buy this or preordering it, it was the people who worshiped the first. We loved the first because it was fully immersive, the characters were a constant, and it was like literally writing your own fantastic novel as you cleaved your way through Thedas. Now, if button mashers want to play DA2, they can and just skip through the dialog with an easy click of a button. Sadly, the hardcore DA fans CAN'T just click a button and have those conversations back because they never existed to begin with. That's not fair. These were the people Bioware should have been reaching out to, not the people who may STILL never play DA in their lives.
I second this paragraph to it's entirety. Couldn't have typed it better myself.
You know, 74% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Including this one.
#747
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 10:29
scpulley
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I've said it in other threads, but I'll put it here. I liked the story overall better than the one in DAO because it didn't feel like another typical fantasy story where you just build up to a big fight with a dragon at the end. That being said, I felt the end of the game was far far too unexplained. Act 1 and Act 2 felt just right, Act 3 felt like i was just doing 1 final round of things, the game fades to black and.....that's it. It's like I played half a game. I'm all for cliff hanger ending, but DO NOT rush the next game like this one obviously was. Also, if you are going to keep us in one location, work REALLY hard to make that place as unique looking as possible. Show more change over time, this is supposed to take place over a decade. I understand the places are going to all look the same that way, but straight copy pasting environments and maps was an absolutely terrible idea. Last, speaking of Act 3, you guys must have forgot to fully test out the storylines or something, when there is a bug as huge of which romance gets acknowledged at the end, I wonder what happened to the testing on the game. I wanted to like this game, and I did to a point, but really Act 3 killed it for me. It was like a really nice meal that in the end gave me food poisoning so I threw up. But it tasted good!
#748
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 10:29
BobWalt
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It seems that those who have no complaint about the abilities are those who do not play magic users. That I can understand because the skill trees work very well for warriors or rogue player characters. The abilities in the skill tress are there to enhance melee characters' attacks. Spells are a mage's main attack. The new skill trees do not work well for Mages. See my earlier post for details.
Bob
Bob
Modifié par BobWalt, 18 mars 2011 - 10:30 .
#749
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 10:31
aox_general
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Amitar wrote...
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.
Pretty much every other critism I have has been done to death already, but I felt this needed to be highlighted again.
I have no real issue with romances as such, but I'd happily lose them all for some good philosophical, political and genuinely interesting dialogues.
See: Planescape Torment, KoTOR2:TSL and New Vegas for games that put their themes much higher than their romances and do so very well (irregardless of the rest of the game content.)
but why would you want to get rid of the romances, they're not obligatory for the plot or anything, it's not like you lose points if you don't get laid. (ok, there's a romance buff in DA2 but it turned out to be bugged anyway and it's not like you can't enjoy and play the game without a 5% bonus in defense. ) Since the romances are not forced on you as part of the main plot or anything, I don't get why they're such a bother. Don't want them? Then don't do them. And leaving everything else in the game just the way it is and only removing the romances would not have made this a better game. The things that need to be added to make it better do not contradict having romances.
It would be anti-immersion for an epic fantasy to feature a long 10 year adventure during which the main hero never develops any lustful feelings towards a companion. I mean... no sex for 10 years, are you kidding me?? No epic quest is worth that. That's like...not humanly possible. Poor Hawke
#750
Posté 18 mars 2011 - 10:50
Xaenn
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Very interesting to read through several of these last few threads to see posters posting complete opposite approval and disagreements. I do not wish to be Bioware in this case, because they would never be able to create a game.
No matter if you're a die hard fan of RPG, Action RPG or Action games in general. Dragon Age is suppose to be a RPG (D&D) Spin off? It's suppose to be a pure blood RPG game, a lot of people are saying they like it but pointing out clear cut Action elements. Perhaps they should of made it RPG then an action game with elements of rpg. Seems a lot of people also want it to become more of an action game then it is already (origins was lacking on elements of a true rpg as well). I'm not saying any points arn't valid, its already slid right out of the RPG spot, maybe petition they create a game like DA:2 just create a new franchise and call it something different. Then people who want an action oriented rpg can have what they want and RPG's can have their RPG.
Have to admit it's very frustrating to see so many action oriented lovers trying to sway the game to be more action oriented then it even is, I really don't mean any offense when I say this, instead of trying to get a game bent to your desires, if you perfer action oriented games, play them and leave the RPG's alone. Because of the larger action oriented market out right now, RPG's are an empty shell compared to what they were once. If this game was marketed (including origins) as action RPG, I wouldn't say a word, but it's supose to be an RPG. I would say if you have to make it exclusively for PC like Baldur's Gate 1&2 were and Icewind dale so be it, but stop killing RPGs :
:crying:
Anyone else not only like theorycrafting but planning out your whole story? I've even planned out my game from Origins (Which I just started again) from expansion, from each skill point, ability point, what I'm going to do in the story all the way to DA:2? :happy:
No matter if you're a die hard fan of RPG, Action RPG or Action games in general. Dragon Age is suppose to be a RPG (D&D) Spin off? It's suppose to be a pure blood RPG game, a lot of people are saying they like it but pointing out clear cut Action elements. Perhaps they should of made it RPG then an action game with elements of rpg. Seems a lot of people also want it to become more of an action game then it is already (origins was lacking on elements of a true rpg as well). I'm not saying any points arn't valid, its already slid right out of the RPG spot, maybe petition they create a game like DA:2 just create a new franchise and call it something different. Then people who want an action oriented rpg can have what they want and RPG's can have their RPG.
Have to admit it's very frustrating to see so many action oriented lovers trying to sway the game to be more action oriented then it even is, I really don't mean any offense when I say this, instead of trying to get a game bent to your desires, if you perfer action oriented games, play them and leave the RPG's alone. Because of the larger action oriented market out right now, RPG's are an empty shell compared to what they were once. If this game was marketed (including origins) as action RPG, I wouldn't say a word, but it's supose to be an RPG. I would say if you have to make it exclusively for PC like Baldur's Gate 1&2 were and Icewind dale so be it, but stop killing RPGs :
:crying:Anyone else not only like theorycrafting but planning out your whole story? I've even planned out my game from Origins (Which I just started again) from expansion, from each skill point, ability point, what I'm going to do in the story all the way to DA:2? :happy:
Modifié par Xaenn, 18 mars 2011 - 11:03 .
