No amount of bullet point lists is ever going to convince me that I should like or dislike this or any other game. The best you can hope for is for the other side to understand *why* you like/dislike anything so that we can learn a bit from and about each other.
That said, about Dragon Age II I can say that I loved the characters, the storyline, the lore, the progression, the combat... But all of that sounds rather empty because it doesn't really convey my experience of the game. And that's the thing, really. There was a certain feel to Dragon Age II, a "je ne sais quoi" if you will
It might have something to do with the fact that I'm a guy who prefers tabletop RPGs over video games, and DA2 somehow feels a lot like a good ol' D&D campaign. Maybe it's that.
Or maybe it's just how strange and unique this game is among other video games. There are a lot of things about it that are really quite... Weird, when you think about it. How the first act is all about just trying to make some money to achieve a higher status in the world for yourself, just trying to provide for your family. That's just so... non-epic but it's one of the things that make me feel connected to Hawke in a much more personal way. Another unusual thing about this game's plot is how it's not one giant story culminating in the unlikely hero defeating the ultimate evil. I certainly enjoy stories like that, but here we have multiple different, rather unconventional stories loosely connected to each other, never really resolving the overarching problems of the world. It's more of a portrait of the world and Hawke's place in it than it is an epic quest. I don't know any other games that do this. It's weird because normally I'm all for epic quests and I don't enjoy too much political mumbo-jumbo in my storylines. But here it just feels so personal, so sincere, the way it is done. Like it's not really a game that tries to satisfy the player's ego but really just an interactive artistic expression. It's just so different and fascinating. I don't know. I really can't quite say what it is... But it beckons me to explore Kirkwall's streets again.
That's another thing. During my first playthrough of the game, I was a bit annoyed by the recurring environments, like everyone else. But when I look back afterwards... I find myself missing the familiar surroundings of Kirkwall somehow. The concept of playing a protagonist who inhabits a relatively limited environment, getting to know it extremely well over the hours and in-game years, is strangely compelling now. It starts to feel like home. It's easy to come up with cynical explanations for this choice but I choose not to do that, appreciating rather how this is one of the things that set Dragon Age II apart from other games, both from Bioware and other studios. And I have to say... Towards the end of the game... I was so caught up in the personal struggles of Hawke and his friends that the finale actually felt more epic to me than defeating the Archdemon... Because I had guided my friend Hawke through a difficult time and found myself at a crossroads in the history of Thedas. Maybe my Hawke didn't really change anything, but he did see himself and his friends through an incredibly chaotic time with his integrity intact. It's a tiny, hugely personal victory against the backdrop of a world that may be falling apart, but somehow, that makes it all the more special.
This may be a worthless post because it's not really saying anything substantial, but then again, what little it has to say at least hasn't been said a thousand times before on this forum.
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