2797 réponses à ce sujet

[blush]

Thomas9321 wrote...

I dislike the dialogue wheel. Whilst it works pretty well in Mass Effect, here it doesn't really fit with the tradtional RPG feel. I also dislike how I have to guess what I'm going to say, honestly I don't mind having Hawke's response in full at the bottom of my screen: it worked just fine in every other RPG prior to Mass Effect.

I am a convert to the voice acting however, I think it's excellently done and adds to the game. Playing a deadpan snarker is much more satisfying when you can hear the delivering and see facial expressions. However, I do not feel it's worth the trade off to be stuck playing a human. Whilst I get that this was mostly a story thing I think being able to play as a dwarf or an elf adds a lot of replay value to the game.

I think we need to switch back to a DA:O style party dialogue system in every single way. I feel like I could talk to my campions a lot more in the original, and feel I could get to know them better. However, the inidividual story arcs branching over the whole game is a massive, massive, MASSIVE improvement. Also I miss having a central hub for all my party member's. To talk to them all in this you have to go across the entire city multiple times and all the loading makes it a chore.

Also, please don't rush DA3. If we have to wait three years, so be it.

If we have to wait TEN years, so be it.  I'll buy every expansion pack and version if its a brilliant game.

[David018]

I really dislike the american pronunciation of some words, such as lieutenant, they were pronounced the British way in dragon age origins so i don't know why they did this. I also think the 21st century slang seems out of place.

[Sylvianus]

If Bioware wants to continue to attract console, it will have most certainly stands out from other RPG games.

Why  ?

-Because the customization of weapons, armor
-the choice of weapons and his companions

Well, not enough to make a rpg, it is becoming more and more into video games, adventure , even FPS. For now DA2 does not offer much more choice than Assassin 's Screed which is twice as good in terms of action and interactivity with NPC.

You can do business, you can evolve your city, help the NPC, call your companions for help, you can become rich by successful business, beautify your home. etc..

It is normal that we can do more things in Assassin's Screed ?

Even in the coming games like CoD, we will have a team that will manage, customize, etc, games that are eagerly awaited.

That believes it can offer Bioware deal with that ? What Bioware would have to offer ? If it was the same as what they did with DA2, it goes straight to the disaster.

Nothing can be done in DA2, no choice has an impact, it is an illusion, the story is as impersonal and linear as assassin's Screed. DA2 has only one purpose, only one conduct. Yet in terms of set and action, Assassin's Screed I'd much rather play.

If bioware wants to continue to score points, it will have to remember what are the strengths of its success and thus shrink.

In other words, history, the number of opportunity, choice and management. Yes to more action for a change, not for a reduction and simplification.

Bioware might try the action, it will always be less than a game of action. But that's not why we are interested in their games. precisely because it offers something different, which enriches and enables us to experience something else.

Replace the rpg elements that have both failed to DA2.

Modifié par Sylvianus, 22 mars 2011 - 08:53 .

[aox_general]

I'd like to say a few things about the quality of the story itself. Why do some of us think it was a weak story? First I thought it was because there's no real purpose to it, survive and rise to power for the sake of surviving and rising to power - not very epic.


But there's also another problem. None of the "big villains" in this story who performed any morally questionable acts were actually fully responsible for their actions. None of them!! They were all victims of spirits (Anders), demons (all the blood mages), ancient evil relics (Knight commander Meredith, Varric's brother Bartrand).


So, in essence, the hero ends up slaughtering a bunch of victims. None of them ever took responsibility for what they had done, because none of them ever had the opportunity to - they were "under the influence".



In contrast, DAO had characters like Loghain and the blood mage who poisoned the Arl of Redcliff. They always took responsibility for any decisions they had made. So when I had to choose what to do with them my personal conflict was real and engaging. I had to choose whether to kill a man who made a mistake but either did it because he was sure he was doing the right thing (Loghain), or is now truly sorry (the blood mage). That's INFINITELY more engaging than pondering whether to kill an evil demon who has possessed somebody - there's not really much to think about, demon must die.

[DungeonLord]

The way enemies scale to match your level destroys the feeling of becoming a powerful hero. When street thugs at level 5 are your equal and still offer the same challenge at level 20, something is very wrong. If everyone is so powerful, there's little use for yourself. You're no more heroic than a common thug, apparently.
The answer is not only to make level specific areas, like a high level dungeon. Instead try and incorporate the level mechanic in such a way that the game responds appropriately. The thugs you were fighting at level 5 could suddenly gang up in revenge at level 15. They're still as strong/weak as they were at level 5, but suddenly there are a lot more of them. Or they go about making a clever ambush. Something that doesn't involve tedious scaling and robbing the player of feeling true progress.

Btw, when I mention ambush, I do not mean the spawning of enemies out of thin air (or jumping from rooftops). What makes an RPG feel immersive is a solid world. Whatever is coming should be observable somehow in advance, by using the right skills - such as scrying, stealth or invisibility and scouting out an area. Perhaps you get tipped off by traps and decide to proceed carefully. Instead of suddenly being involved in combat, it's far better to have the game offer several ways to approach a situation. From charging in to planning a meticulous tactical strategy.

The way loot scales is awful. In old school RPGs a Sword +3 was just as useful at level 1 as at level 20. That was because the character leveled up, not the equipment. It's annoying having a named item turn into a trash item simply because you out level it.
Try to make the level of the character more relevant than whatever item they may be wielding. When items are static, it's possible to have pet items you're very fond of and that you keep around because they're highly prized. Like a vorpal blade or holy avenger, for example. These weapons, in Dragon Age universe, would quickly become useless once you progress a few levels. Not cool.

[EddySpeddy]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

I just found another thing I don't like. I just completed the Qunari sword quest in Act 3, and I wanted to follow the Qunari just because I could.

He walks forward, up the steps to the viscount's keep but on the far right steps, turns into the little alcove area, and turns again and walks into a wall and vanishes.

Yea...... um...... hmmm...... well....... ok......


WHAT?!

hahah, this post made me giggle 0_o

Considering people spawn on top of you in waves from the sky, I think you'd complain about that more ^.^

Anyway made my day thanks xD

[Moirnelithe]

ToJKa1 wrote...

And the exploding enemies are stupid (already modded them away), Origins' special finishers were far better. I suppose they're required for the faster combat, but i still say they're stupid.

How did you do that? I thought there was no toolset for this game? Could you please put your mod somewhere on the internet for download, I'd love to use it 

[EddySpeddy]

Evainelithe wrote...

ToJKa1 wrote...

And the exploding enemies are stupid (already modded them away), Origins' special finishers were far better. I suppose they're required for the faster combat, but i still say they're stupid.

How did you do that? I thought there was no toolset for this game? Could you please put your mod somewhere on the internet for download, I'd love to use it 

What they need is faster finishing blows, not exploding enemies, they all explode into the viscount ^.^ well at least a bald person. And yes, please link to this mod!!!

[freyafolk]

First forum post ever for me.

First of all, I'm glad to see a thread that discussings the game's faults in a sane way. I was disappointed with DA2 compared to Origins but it is by no means a bad game and, I think, with further development could become a great game. Like many, I get the sense it was rushed and, while a game should never be dependent on DLC to bring out its best, I'm glad that the opportunity for improvement does exist.

So many thoughts...will try my best to keep it as brief as I can.

Things I liked...

HAWKE - Thought he/she was an sympathetic character and well-voiced by both actors. I also give great credit for the way your character changes based upon your dialogue choices over time. By the time my male mage finished his default position of weary irony seemed perfectly apt considering the madness going on around him.

VARRIC/ISABELA - Varric made a convincing friend to Hawke and was one of the few characters who could be relied upon for a balanced view. Isabela, like Varric, was able to make me laugh out loud from nowhere with their reactions to situations and the other characters.

QUNARI - Was initially horrified when I saw the new design as I hate inconsistency in a series.  In this case though I have been won round and can believe that if DAO were to be redone Sten would match them. Speaking of Sten, seems I had him all wrong. Compared to his brethren he's positively cheerful and open-minded. More generally, I think the parts of the plot around the Qunari were the strongest. (Trying to avoid spolier) The quest where you are given an insight into how they treat certain members of their society was particularly powerful and left me with a residual anger towards them.

GREATER MOVEMENT SPEED - I think Bioware went too far but it did need doing. When I replayed DOA again it was the thing I missed most from DA2. Try editing a save game (DAO) and changing the base attack speed to .6 or .7 and that's pretty well perfect. Would also retain the sense of charging towards a selected enemy from DA2.

NPCs AIDING YOU - Can't really describe the parts I mean without spoilers but I liked it.

CROSS-class COMBOS - Good feature.

AREA ATTACKS FOR ALL classES - The only other thing I miss when replaying Origins.

SHARP ENVIRONS - With the high-texture pack the environment is really sharp and feels very 3-D.

EMOTION- A number of very funny moments and one or two that make you seethe or despair.

Things I didn't like...

LOCATIONS- And the lack thereof. Been said by many others and I agree. Where I differ slightly is that I don't object per se with Kirkwall being the main focus but if that's the case Kirkwall itself needs to be much bigger and more varied. The alienage is a classic example. It's a tiny square with one house you can regularly enter - Merril's. 12 years or something down the line I've still yet to see a major city done as well as in Summoner/Summoner 2 and Dragon Age is a superior franchise to that.

ARMOUR - I can sympathise with Bioware's desire to give each companion a distinct look but the way it was done doesn't work. Changing your companion's armour is fun not just for variety but for a sense of continuing progress. I would prefer something more like variations upon a theme with quests to gain improved materials a la Herren. For example, Aveline must wear her uniform on duty but you could do a quest to liberate a silverite mine then donate the material to the guard in general so she and her comrades have nice, bright, shiny, armour with better stats. Also, another thing that could be done to maintain your companion's iconic appearance would be for them to have battle-gear but wear casual clothes when they visit you or are in their homes like how Hawke's smoking jacket was done.

DISJOINTED PLOT - The lack of a focal point to the plot means it does not always gel together seamlessly. I've no problem with the idea of Varric's narrative but I do have a problem with skipping huge chunks of time that could be used to better tie the various strands together.

ROMANCE & CHARACTER INTERACTION - Compared to Origins the romances are paper-thin. I could believe that my Warden really, genuinley falls in love with Leliana or Alistair, there is no sense with that in DA2, which is all the stranger because they've had 7 years to get beyond the dating stage. Partly, this is due to a fault with the game in general, which is the sense of passivity. Example, in Origins your Warden can meet Leliana and feeling the mutual attraction can immediately start flirting with her, as you would in real life when both parties are single. Yet in DA2 you have to wait for moments that could be months or years apart to let them know you're interested. It doesn't seem likely to me that it takes Isabela 4 years from her initial attraction to you to pluck up the courage to sleep with you and then a further 3 years to realise she has feelings. And all the while, despite your own feelings, you never take the initiative. Most of this is because you have lost the option to talk with your companions at will and the same problems apply to your platonic relationships as well. Strong suggestion for DLC -more buddy time to bring out the fullness of their character especially as...

COMPANIONS - Your friends are idiots. Hawke seems fairly normal but he hangs around with a Magist extremist who you'd struggle to find much common ground with even as a mage (Anders), a racist (Fenris) who is particularly difficult to abide when he hates what you/your sister is and a zealot (Sebastian) who blindly supports the people who oppress you/your sister's kind. I know this criticism can be levelled at most RPGs but what is frustrating here is your inability to meaningfully influence your friends/colleagues in the way you could in DAO. There's no hardening moments like with Alistair/Leliana where you can persuade them to take a different path there's only 'agree with me or be my rival'.

PASSENGER NOT A DRIVER - (SPOILER ALERT) Hawke is caught up in events and rarely seems able to change what's happening around him. This would be fine if you were just someone trying to stay alive through a cataclysm but you're told continuously that as the champion you have great power. Yet time and again your decisions regarding the main plot have no meaning, even the final decision. This may come in part from having a fixed ending but it is also a result of some heavy-handed story-telling. You never meet a mage who would rather die than use blood magic even when they know it's going going to make them an abomination. Where are the Wynnes and Irvings? This was done much better in DAO. Yes, you had to fight the Archdemon in the end but how you got there and with which allies was down to you.

POOR AESTHETIC CHANGES - While I praise the background design the character textures (hair, armour) are worse than in Origins, if you have a powerful PC. Honestly, when I go back to Origins it looks like better graphics as a result. Improving these textures should have been a much higher priority than the high texture backgrounds. Other changes are likewise for the worse. The Darkspawn look ridiculous. Please go back to Origins for DA3. Elves are the flipside to the Qunari. In trying to make them look distinct they look childish and for the most part ugly, made galling by the fact we told all the time how beautiful they are supposed to be. Worst of all though is the reuse of the same male face for so many NPCs . Nuncio, Castillon and his right-hand man, the Antivan merchant, Danarius' messenger etc, etc and (how could they?) Alistair have the same face!! I was excited to see my DAO companions make a cameo only to have my heart sink when they bore less than a passing resemblence to the person I had got to know. I'm sure I can't have been alone in this and Bioware had to know we would feel this way.
COMBAT - Apart from being over-the-top (somewhere between this and DAO would be perfect) my only problem with combat was the enemies. Fighting wave after wave of identical enemies who spawn from nowhere is not fun. It was done well in DAO with enemies falling into recognisable classes and appearing logically. I would plead with Bioware to return to this. It was not broken and shouldn't have been 'fixed'.

SHORT - DA2 feels shorter than it should be. A lack of variety of quests is part of the reason, as is the lack of exploration. Even considering that, my most plodding run through of DA2 was 25% shorter than my most streamlined run through of DAO (trying to do all quests in both).

I hope Bioware takes notice of this thread rather than the daft extremes of praise and abuse elsewhere. As a fan of the series I really want it to prosper and continue and I accept that this means continuing to evolve. My hope is that future DLC and DA3 acknowledge that there were many things from Origins that should not have been lost while continuing to improve the things that are better in DA2 and could be better still.

[freyafolk]

Sorry

That came out much longer than it looked on the screen when I was writing it. Rookie error.

[EddySpeddy]

freyafolk wrote...

Sorry

That came out much longer than it looked on the screen when I was writing it. Rookie error.

Could do with more paragraphing, but a long post like your previous one proves you care and want to help Bioware improve on things.

Modifié par EddySpeddy, 22 mars 2011 - 11:37 .

[Moirnelithe]

DungeonLord wrote...

The way enemies scale to match your level destroys the feeling of becoming a powerful hero. When street thugs at level 5 are your equal and still offer the same challenge at level 20, something is very wrong. If everyone is so powerful, there's little use for yourself. You're no more heroic than a common thug, apparently.
The answer is not only to make level specific areas, like a high level dungeon. Instead try and incorporate the level mechanic in such a way that the game responds appropriately. The thugs you were fighting at level 5 could suddenly gang up in revenge at level 15. They're still as strong/weak as they were at level 5, but suddenly there are a lot more of them. Or they go about making a clever ambush. Something that doesn't involve tedious scaling and robbing the player of feeling true progress.

I kept expecting the thugs later on in the game to turn around and run away in terror when they realised they were about to attack the Champion. For some reason they're all acting like crazy kamikaze's though. It's silly.

[EddySpeddy]

Evainelithe wrote...

DungeonLord wrote...

The way enemies scale to match your level destroys the feeling of becoming a powerful hero. When street thugs at level 5 are your equal and still offer the same challenge at level 20, something is very wrong. If everyone is so powerful, there's little use for yourself. You're no more heroic than a common thug, apparently.
The answer is not only to make level specific areas, like a high level dungeon. Instead try and incorporate the level mechanic in such a way that the game responds appropriately. The thugs you were fighting at level 5 could suddenly gang up in revenge at level 15. They're still as strong/weak as they were at level 5, but suddenly there are a lot more of them. Or they go about making a clever ambush. Something that doesn't involve tedious scaling and robbing the player of feeling true progress.

I kept expecting the thugs later on in the game to turn around and run away in terror when they realised they were about to attack the Champion. For some reason they're all acting like crazy kamikaze's though. It's silly.

I wanted my Blood Mage to take control of peoples minds in cutscenes and make them commit suicide simultaneously, but now I'm just being picky.

[Moirnelithe]

EddySpeddy wrote...

Evainelithe wrote...

DungeonLord wrote...

The way enemies scale to match your level destroys the feeling of becoming a powerful hero. When street thugs at level 5 are your equal and still offer the same challenge at level 20, something is very wrong. If everyone is so powerful, there's little use for yourself. You're no more heroic than a common thug, apparently.
The answer is not only to make level specific areas, like a high level dungeon. Instead try and incorporate the level mechanic in such a way that the game responds appropriately. The thugs you were fighting at level 5 could suddenly gang up in revenge at level 15. They're still as strong/weak as they were at level 5, but suddenly there are a lot more of them. Or they go about making a clever ambush. Something that doesn't involve tedious scaling and robbing the player of feeling true progress.

I kept expecting the thugs later on in the game to turn around and run away in terror when they realised they were about to attack the Champion. For some reason they're all acting like crazy kamikaze's though. It's silly.

I wanted my Blood Mage to take control of peoples minds in cutscenes and make them commit suicide simultaneously, but now I'm just being picky.

Interesting option, the game would have been over pretty quickly that way though 

[Dzikv]

I agree with OPs criticism. This game is seriously far far better then the failure Mass effect 2 was but still it does have allot of flaws.

I played it through twice now and the thing that really annoys me is the linearity. Except some side quest details you really can't change anything in the main plot. Don't get me wrong i love the main plot. Its surprisingly engaging and i expect its because of the new storytelling concept that lets you feel like a hero pretty fast. Actually except the last choice none seem to rally matter to the overall story.
The second thing i really don't like is the "new" game design. Rogues fight like ninjas, the darkspawn look far worse then in the first game.. Flemeth... Why give her that suit and make her look like that? It was far better when she was an old hag... Looked less intimidating and that was a contrast to her amazing powers.
The third thing is companion relations... It seems only one of them have any meaning to the game overall. The whole system is nice but really inconsequential. It actually makes it so the companions don't matter at all.
There are some minor ones like no dual weapon for warrior, repeating maps, only 3 sets of armor etc.

There is more of it. Thats just out the top of my head. As i said the game is great... Best one Bioware made in a while and a good apology for ME2 blunder. Nice music, some breathtaking scenes and overall an engaging and entertaining story. Hope that this trend continues and the third game will be even better.

[EddySpeddy]

Evainelithe wrote...

EddySpeddy wrote...

Evainelithe wrote...

DungeonLord wrote...

The way enemies scale to match your level destroys the feeling of becoming a powerful hero. When street thugs at level 5 are your equal and still offer the same challenge at level 20, something is very wrong. If everyone is so powerful, there's little use for yourself. You're no more heroic than a common thug, apparently.
The answer is not only to make level specific areas, like a high level dungeon. Instead try and incorporate the level mechanic in such a way that the game responds appropriately. The thugs you were fighting at level 5 could suddenly gang up in revenge at level 15. They're still as strong/weak as they were at level 5, but suddenly there are a lot more of them. Or they go about making a clever ambush. Something that doesn't involve tedious scaling and robbing the player of feeling true progress.

I kept expecting the thugs later on in the game to turn around and run away in terror when they realised they were about to attack the Champion. For some reason they're all acting like crazy kamikaze's though. It's silly.

I wanted my Blood Mage to take control of peoples minds in cutscenes and make them commit suicide simultaneously, but now I'm just being picky.

Interesting option, the game would have been over pretty quickly that way though 

No way, if they made it so that option was only available when you had all slots in Blood Mage taken, also Templars are supposed to be very resistant to magic, so there's no way it would of worked on powerful Templars like Merideth and Cullen. Also as Hawke proved, as long as you have a strong enough willpower you can resist a Blood mages control.

[Moirnelithe]

EddySpeddy wrote...

No way, if they made it so that option was only available when you had all slots in Blood Mage taken, also Templars are supposed to be very resistant to magic, so there's no way it would of worked on powerful Templars like Merideth and Cullen. Also as Hawke proved, as long as you have a strong enough willpower you can resist a Blood mages control.

An option like would definitely make me try playing a bloodmage. Something which I haven't had any interest in doing in either DA1 or 2 yet. It would make sense in the DA setting as an evil minded person.

[EddySpeddy]

Evainelithe wrote...

EddySpeddy wrote...

No way, if they made it so that option was only available when you had all slots in Blood Mage taken, also Templars are supposed to be very resistant to magic, so there's no way it would of worked on powerful Templars like Merideth and Cullen. Also as Hawke proved, as long as you have a strong enough willpower you can resist a Blood mages control.

An option like would definitely make me try playing a bloodmage. Something which I haven't had any interest in doing in either DA1 or 2 yet. It would make sense in the DA setting as an evil minded person.

haha I am also a Merrill hater 0_o she keeps ruining my hilarious plans, I generally go comedian/evil comments.

Just earlier, I told a bunch of guards there was a fire and it was burning the stuff they were meant to be guarding. Then as they were going to leave, Merril's like "There isn't really a fire is there?" Hawke *facepalm* "No there isn't Merril... it was a trick" Yeah they attacked me because of that :/

Modifié par EddySpeddy, 22 mars 2011 - 12:34 .

[TEWR]

EddySpeddy wrote...

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

I just found another thing I don't like. I just completed the Qunari sword quest in Act 3, and I wanted to follow the Qunari just because I could.

He walks forward, up the steps to the viscount's keep but on the far right steps, turns into the little alcove area, and turns again and walks into a wall and vanishes.

Yea...... um...... hmmm...... well....... ok......


WHAT?!

hahah, this post made me giggle 0_o

Considering people spawn on top of you in waves from the sky, I think you'd complain about that more ^.^

Anyway made my day thanks xD

meh people magically appearing, I don't really care. They're going to die. But a Qunari vanishing into a wall? I didn't realize this was f****** Harry Potter.




glad I could make your day though

[thegrimfandango]

My comments would be much the same as many here

-Too much reusing of maps, I understand the thinking behind it, but if you're going to recycle maps over a 10-year game span, things should change. NPCs should move, stallholders should change, buildings might get a coat of paint or graffiti. SOMETHING.

-I really appreciated that there was more contextual party banter, but some more private conversations are needed. More character/party interaction is my biggest thing with this game. You really only get a couple of conversations at 'camp' with most except Aveline, and again with the time span it would be nice to get to know some chars more, really feel like you're building up a relationship over the years, especially with the romances. As it is, you pretty much have a few lines in privtae with them before you're having to decide if you want to go down a relationship path or not. Clearly romances are not the focus of the game but interesting things can be done with them - I really liked that you could flirt your heart out to Aveline and it just bounced right off. Little details like that.

-I'm not sure about the UI look. When I started playing it seemed too slick & icon-driven and shiny for a medieval-tech fantasy RPG. The likes of Mass Effect can get away with that kinda stuff because it's the future, and we accept slick, modern-looking shiny stuff. Then again everything is really clean, not confusing, and I have become accustomed to it, so maybe it's just something new. It can be jarring though - it makes the game look 'arcadey'.

-I fully understand why junk loot was brought in, part of the trouble is that it makes looting and objects lose a lot of their flavour (and by extension the game world too) - it's kinda depressing to be in the same alley for the 4th time in an hour and pick up only crap stuff that doesn't even have a wee story behind it.. I could never get used to the fact that I might pick up some awesome looking armour with a cool name and there's be no info about it. I really missed that, the little pieces of text telling you a story about this dagger or that grimoire, or stealing too much in DAO and winding up with the bad luck charm. I know some items have codex entries, but it's just not the same. It really hits home that the inventory is just about better numbers when you have an identical icon for every item and no description. Also, why have I found nothing that looks as cool as the Coterie Shiv?

-Enemy waves. Some more running from an alleyway forcing you to plough back and save your mage = good fun if used at times. Enemies popping up from the ground in 3 spawn waves = repetetive & dull

Modifié par thegrimfandango, 22 mars 2011 - 12:59 .

[thegrimfandango]

I agree with most of what freyafolk says about companion interactions.

Also, I'm very disappointed that playing as a mage is handwaved a bit and doesn't have any huge impact. I normally NEVER play mage, but after getting to Act 3 I was thinking to myelf 'wow I bet all this tension is really interesting if Hawke herself is mage'.

[ToJKa1]

Evainelithe wrote...

ToJKa1 wrote...

And the exploding enemies are stupid (already modded them away), Origins' special finishers were far better. I suppose they're required for the faster combat, but i still say they're stupid.

How did you do that? I thought there was no toolset for this game? Could you please put your mod somewhere on the internet for download, I'd love to use it 

Here you go: http://www.dragonage...ile.php?id=2363

[thebatmanreborn]

My final thoughts after two playthroughs as both a male and female hawke:

COMBAT:   Definitely an improvement over Origins.  It's more exciting and much more engaged.  However, the little details are missing.  And it lacks polish.  NPC's should run in free.  My companion AI is terrible.  The constant waves of enemies is annoying.  The speed should be lowered just a tad.  Less explosions, more hacking off of limbs and clanging of weapons. It certainly could use some more polish and thought.

GRAPHICS:  For the most part, an improvement on Origins.  I love the new look of the Qunari.  But what happened to the elves?  Yuck.  And the stiff, clunky animation needs work.  Like the combat, the graphics are on the right track but seriously could use some polish and refinement.  

IMMERSION:  Really, the lack thereof.  It's the lack of NPC dialogue that makes the sidequests more of a grind then story.  Its the lack of life in the city of Kirkwall that makes it come across as being so dead.  It's why people are claiming DA2 was a rush job and that Bioware was being lazy.  The city feels dead.  People don't react to you.  If you're a mage, templars and common folk are oblivious to it.  Nothing changes over a 10 year period.  People don't change clothes nor spots to stand.  All the movement for the NPC's is identical.  It's here that Origins is vastly superior to DA2.  The attention to the details.  The atmosphere itself should have been treated as a main character would.  Badly lacking in DA2.  

QUESTS:  Speaking of quests, the reusing of the same dungeons over and over again, grew very old and boring.  It makes a second playthrough a tad tedious.  And seriously brings down the replayability factor.  

CUSTOMIZATION:  I really wanted more options when it came to customizing the look of my companions.  I get that their look speaks of their character.  But no person wears the same exact clothes for 10 years.  And why can't I customize my mansion?  What about my weapons?  My armor?  This further ties into the immersion.

STORY:  I liked the story overall, although it did feel as though my choices meant very little.  There is not a whole lot of change that happens on a second playthrough making different choices.  I also did not like being able to not have my sister/brother in my party throughout the game.  Ok, Carver, I can understand him not being in my party throughout Act 2.  But Bethany?  Where are my choices?  Why do my decisions not matter, on a whole?  And Act 1 was tedious.  It lacked a hook.  It felt more like a grind then an interactive story.  And that's why people play RPGS-they are meant to be interactive stories.  Still, I enjoyed many aspects of the story and there were several WOW parts.  

POLISH:  The bugs and glitches are frustrating.  The game lacks serious polish.  Was it not tested properly?  Was this title really rushed?  Where are the patches?  It does not have the quality of a standard Bioware title.  It has to be one of the most disappointing things I have found in Dragon Age 2.  Lack of polish.

COMPANIONS:  I liked the new characters.  I did not like not being able to talk to them whenever I wanted.  They lacked background.  Yes, they had some witty dialogue scenes.  Yes, the companion quests were fun.  But its the attention to the little details that made the companion interaction in Origins better.  It's knowing who they are, what they are about, what they like or dislike, and then learning what their motives are.  I loved the party banter in DA2.  The rivalivery system is very cool.  I also like being able to call in a companion to intervene in a discussion.  Although the Paragon/Renegade breaks in Mass Effect 2 are priceless and should be incorporated.  Also, camera work needs to be done during dialogue scenes.  Again, i like many of the things done in this area of the game, but more polish and refinement is needed.

MAGIC:  Just one gripe.  Why the lack of spells?  Where is Blizzard?  Shapeshifting?  The ability to summon?  I want to shapeshift into a dragon or a werewolf.  Or summon a dragon or (as a blood mage) a demon.  The spell trees were neat but they lacked some punch in some areas.  And did not take full advantage of their potential.
 
CONNECTION:  My choices in Origins did not matter much in DA2.  This irrritated me a little.  I felt like there are just more loose ends and question marks after the sequel then there were after Origins/Awakening/Witchhunt.  It is starting to feel like the writers do not really know where they are going with the overall story and instead are trying to be cute with how they end things.  Much like Lost.  Lost had a bunch of great seasons but had a terrible ending.  Why?  Because all along the writers had no sense of direction with the story.  They just thought, man this would be cool if we did this.  No thought was given to possible contradictions to the overall story arc.  I see this problem springing up in the Dragon Age series already.  And this is only DA2.  
 
FINAL THOUGHTS:  DA2 is a good game that fails to live up to its potential.  The main problems are a lack of polish and the attention to the small details.  Still, I love the lore thus far in the Dragon Age series.  The story continues to be good.  I enjoyed the combat and the banter between my new companions.  There are lots of areas for growth in the series and I hope that Bioware is as committed to improving as they used to be.  The story is affected by the immersion of the player to the game world.  And while I was only slightly disappointed that the majority of the game takes place in Kirkwall, Bioware missed a huge opportunity to make Kirkwall a far greater, living city then it turned out to be.  

Polish.  Missed opportunities.  Failure to live up to potential.  Attention to detail.    

Those are the 4 areas that DA2 tripped up on.  The story was good.  The new characters were great.  I liked the combat and some of the new graphic design.  DA2 is a good game, but not a great game.  And this is a problem because I play other games just to kill time between Bioware releases.  This title did not live up to the hype.  I expect more from my favorite game developer.  And I will certainly expect lots more from future installments.  

Modifié par thebatmanreborn, 22 mars 2011 - 01:38 .

[Moirnelithe]

ToJKa1 wrote...

Evainelithe wrote...

ToJKa1 wrote...

And the exploding enemies are stupid (already modded them away), Origins' special finishers were far better. I suppose they're required for the faster combat, but i still say they're stupid.

How did you do that? I thought there was no toolset for this game? Could you please put your mod somewhere on the internet for download, I'd love to use it 

Here you go: http://www.dragonage...ile.php?id=2363

Thank you <3