Everwarden wrote...
I wanted to call this thread "Worst. Ending. Ever.", but then I remembered Fallout 3 and the first Fable, so I'd be lying if I said that. Still, the end of Dragon Age 2 is just awful, and it's a real shame that Bioware capped off the game on such a sour note.
The entire third act was awful, and following the great second act only highlighted the problems for me. I had been a mage supporter (to the limited extent that the game allowed me to be) throughout the entire game thusfar, and publically denounced Meredith when given the chance. So what is the next logical step for The Plot Express(TM. Choo-choo) to railroad me to? Running down apostates for Meredith, of course.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So I'm force-fed the notion that these mages are bad and that the templars aren't just a bunch of mean poopy-heads when it turns out the apostates are in turn an ebil blood mage, an abomination, and a drunkard (who I let go).
Alright, is that all the mage ebilness you're going to force me to witness to manipulate me, Mr. Plot Express? I mean, I saw my mother die and all, wasn't that enough force-fed emotion prodding? Nope. Of course not. Then The Plot Express choo-choos me over to Orsino, a man I support, and leads me to a secret meeting of anti-Meredith mages and templars.
So what's the natural next stop for The Plot Express railroad? Is it that I can choose to join in on the meeting, unveil it, or ignore it and report back? Is that what I can do, Mr. Plot Express? Of course not. They think (...for SOME reason) that I, the known apostate who hates Meredith, am plotting against them. So instead of merely sounding suspicious and threatening me in dialogue they attack. Brilliant stuff.
Oh, and then it happens again.. and again. And then the mage I rescued in the first act turns on me because she's so super ebil. Thanks for making it clear that mages are dangerous, Mr. Plot Express, I hadn't gathered that the first few times you slapped me in the face with it. I got it now, promise.
Then Anders blows the Chantry up. Easily the best moment of the third act, and enough to redeem that giant stick Anders got lodged up his ass in this sequel. I enjoyed this one, scenic vista on The Plot Express. So at this point I actually got to make a choice on the plot railroad, and I chose to help the mages. Yay mages!
Then the plot railroad leads me to a heartwarming speech where First Enchanter Orsino laments the plight of mages, and wonders why the templars don't just kill the mages as children if mages are going to have such painful lives. It's an extremely well-written, stirring scene, and is one of the only times in the game that had the intended emotional reaction from me, my heart ached at his pai-
Orsino, what the hell are you doing? Blood magic? Fine. I can see that. But why exactly are you hitting me? Did you need a boss fight here so badly that you needed to mangle one of the best moments in the game, Mr. Plot Express? Really? REALLY?
Then you kill Meredith. I found it to be extremely underwhelming, and the attempt to M Night Shyamalan me ("What a twist!") didn't work. No shock and awe, just an eyeroll. At this point you cut to Varric again, learn that all of the Circles in Thedas have since broken free. And then The Plot Express rams into a brick wall at 120mph when the credits start rolling. No custom epilogue? No more information on what happened to Kirkwall? No final scene where you get to shape what happens next like in Origins? Nothing like that? ANSWER ME CREDITS!
I assume this is meant to be a 'cliffhanger'. I see it more as a wrecked choo-choo train because the plot ran out of tracks. A really, really sad way to end a sequel to one of the best RPGs ever made.
Actually, I agree with every point. I've been a mage and, well, pretty much same frustrations in my experience. When I've been accused of siding with Meredith at the secret meeting it occurred to me that all people there were imbeciles.
It just ruins the mood. Just how realistic it is to have every mage and templar being and imbecile, unable to grasp that Hawke is an apostate, who hates templars and chantry?
And it worse than Fallout 3. In Fallout 3 it was all about you, so naturally some very specific choices had been offered. The modified virus goes to water purifier, I laugh maniacally.
In Dragon Age 2 it was Hawke running away from Kirkwall, muttering "idiots, idiots everywhere I look!".
And about blowing up the Chantry... This moment has been severely crippled for me due to Anders, my Hawke's LI. He starts apologizing and says he's ready to die... To a woman, who happens to be a blood mage apostate. Also, he basically confessed that he didn't trust her - and they lived together for years already.
Biggest disappointment? No "kick him in the nuts" option.
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