While I will readily agree that DA2 needed more development time to reach its full potential, I honestly cannot comprehend those who claim Origins was superiour in its storytelling and thematic contents.
The fundamental intrigue of Origins never added up to anything more than the proverbial "beat this reptilian manifestation of evil over the head with a big stick". A finely crafted big stick, and a big stick with the best of intentions, sure; but a big stick all the same. The more imaginative passages were consistently found outside of the main storyline.
Dragon Age 2, however, provided a truly subtextually dense experience. At times heavy-handed, I'll grant you that much, but with that level of ambition involved, I'm ready to ignore the occasional slip into rhetorics. The same applied to the more inspired moments of Origins and the Mass Effect series, after all.
Also, where Origins would present conflicts with seemingly only two possible solutions, often violent and diametrically opposed, it would more often than not gladly slap on a rather forced "everyone wins" scenario if you had accumulated an arbitrary amount of "persuasion points" or similar (read: Connor, Dalish, et al.).
DA2 grants you no such opportunity. The player's interaction with the conflicts portrayed are accounted for within the framework of what the developers thought was relevant for direct involvement. Origins story arc was just as linear, make no mistake, the difference here being that DA2 has the courtesy to tell a more focused and sequentially experimental story, with more emphasis on the personal and its struggle to adapt to a foreign place with a foreign political climate.
On the subject of personal, another point in DA2's favour: the characters exist outside the sphere of the player's bias and influence. Yes, you shape relationships with these people, friendly or otherwise, but at no point does their individuality give way for the benefit of fan wish fulfillment.
Isabela is likely the most complex romance in BioWare's catalogue. She doesn't fawn over Hawke, she doesn't fall head over heels in love simply because she recognises the player character upon first sight. Your relationship with her is built over a considerable timeline, and when/if you finally reach that point where she admits to having feelings she was previously unwilling to admit to herself, it feels like a real achievement, not only for Hawke, but for Isabela herself.
I've heard some people murmur about "pandering" in the light of the four love interests all being bisexual, but it's a non-calory problem and only an issue to those who are eager to find one. Had pandering being operative it would've been problematic, not to mention counter-productive, but the characters in question are so thoroughly developed that I never considered the notion.
I never had any reason to.
Now, I'm perfectly aware that several people are just waiting to dissect the bilge above in an attempt to prove me wrong through some absurdist empirical study of "good" and "bad".
But I couldn't care less.
I got my money's worth. And I got an experience I cherish.
If you cannot say the same, I'm very sorry. But please stop insinuating that your perceived insight into the matter is objective truth.
Modifié par LiquidGrape, 06 avril 2011 - 11:18 .
Retour en haut
