2816 réponses à ce sujet

[LPPrince]

Kavatica wrote...

LPPrince wrote...

I also like the option of giving your character flaws or NOT giving them flaws.

Agreed. I liked that you could make your character "evil" or "good" (or something in between) in DAO and other characters reacted accordingly to the choices that you made. And the characters were written so well that I actually felt incredibly guilty doing anything that was "evil". Because they were awesome, and I wanted them to like me. Strong character development makes you so much more emotionally invested in the game and its outcome.

Yeah, exactly. I was so happy with my canon playthrough of DAO.

My character was the good guy with no real flaws, he kept everyone happy, and he romanced Morrigan for christ's sake.

The epilogue, with Morrigan's ring. GAAAAAAH.

Gimme MOAR.

[Wonderllama4]

It's because of sales. It's always because of sales.

P.S. Please don't rush Dragon Age 3. If you rush it and it appears rushed like DA2, it will kill the franchise

Modifié par Wonderllama4, 19 mars 2012 - 08:05 .

[Ollys]

1. If you cant drop dialog wheel just take it from Deus Ex 3, where i can see what my PC will say.
Dialogs in Mass Effect & Dragon Age 2 was terrible, because I choose something, and then Shepard & Hawke speaks and does random stuff.

2. Im ok with dramatic bad ends. My Warden has died, from Mass Effect 1 I knew that my Shepard will die. But I want to know, for sake of what I die. Consequence of my actions.
If I have seen a wall of text like in DAO of Fallout or "any random RPG" with destiny of Ash, Garrus, quarians and krogans then my opinion about terrible ending of ME3 would be absolute another. Same for DA2.

Modifié par Ollys, 19 mars 2012 - 08:05 .

[Wikkr]

Having seen what you did to close another of your series of games recently i think ill be holding off on risking DA3 till i can be reasured the ending will not be butchered.

[FieryDove]

Mark Darrah wrote...

To make sure I get your concerns:
1. More customization (Let's me change follower armor. More equipment upgrades)
2. More traditional fantasy story (Epic enemy, clear villain)
3. More areas and areas variety
4. More control over my story.

Does that capture it?

I am a bit more greedy than that.

#1
I also want to equip/spec what weapons I wish on my companions and my character. Make an Archer Warrior, DW Warrior etc. It just felt give then take away. (DAO Give) DA2 Takes away.

I know BW doesn't like this anymore...or rather wants everyone (new and old fans) to see it all in one shot. But I feel real choices/consequences, different branching story paths/endings depending on those choices make for great replay-ability and roleplaying in a game. I really REALLY do.

If Ebil wheel must stay then allow option to see full line before selecting please with sprinkles!

Better crafting. I liked the variety awakening had. DA2's home shopping network was easy yes but also not very much selection.

Dao style camera? Please x10000! Aoeing was not much fun in da2 when any elevations with mobs were encountered.

I know this won't change but I just have to say it, I prefer human with pointed ears rather than da2 style elves. I really do. If nothing else fix the bodies and stance to look more natural. I think fenris must live at the chiropractor's after slouching with that huge weapon for 10 years. Not to mention all that broken glass and no shoes!

Oh and thx again for patch! Wonderful. And legacy fixes...woot!

[JemmaProphet]

I still look forward to what's coming in the DA universe -- but I have to admit, I'm kind of okay with no further official DLC.

Of course, at the moment, I'm having an instinctive "slap the writers fingers away from the games before they ruin them more" reaction. Hopefully it'll pass as the sting of Certain Other Games wears off.

DA3 will not, however, be a Day 1 purchase or pre-order for me. I plan to wait a while and see what the reviews say, and yes, how the ending goes, before I pick it up. It's a bummer. :/ It'll be the first BioWare game that I haven't picked up day-of-release since I finished KOTOR back in the day.

[Tourmaline]

Mark Darrah wrote...

We will try to bring some closure to Hawke's story but likely not in a playable form. Originally we had planned to do an expansion pack but had to stop to focus on what we are working on now.

I am incredibly upset to hear this. I loved DA2, even more than Origins- and seriously, 'not in a playable form'? Hasn't anybody learned from experience that messing with what happens in the end to somebody's customized character is a BAD idea?

The fact that people who actually did enjoy DA2 are being shoved off here is just... honestly, DA is my favorite video game series, and this makes me almost not care about DA3, if THAT is how you're going to conclude Hawke's story. \\:

[abstractsavant]

Hmm. I actually feel really OK with this on just about every level. The truth of the matter is that I never cared about my Hawke in the way I cared about my Warden. I went into DA:O assuming that the Warden would be equivalent to a Shepard experience, spanning the entire story arc of the games. I put a lot of love and care into that character only to be severely disappointed when I found out that there would be a new PC for DA2. However, since I've already survived that disappointment once, the news that we are saying goodbye to Hawke in order to move on to something new is OK for me.

I'm ready to see what's next, although the very careful phrasing the blues are using is worrying me. No one is saying "Working on Dragon Age 3." They're all saying "Working on something new." That's more than slightly ominous.

I've always worried that they'd try to turn Dragon Age into an MMO. Not because I worry they'd ruin it or that it'd be bad, but because I know how I get with MMO's and it would be no time before I was back in the habit of sitting in my small clothes chugging Mountain Dew while running dungeons all night. I quit that one famous fantasy MMO that shall not be named for the explicit reason that I liked the idea of going back to classic RPGs that contain a finite amount of quests and a rich storyline.

Modifié par abstractsavant, 19 mars 2012 - 08:12 .

[WhiteKnyght]

Here's a good way to conclude Hawke's story.

If Hawke romanced a character, have his/her LI have a cameo in DA3 and say that Hawke died of the same disease that killed Malcolm.

If Hawke didn't romance a character, give Varric a cameo and have him break the news.

Modifié par The Grey Nayr, 19 mars 2012 - 08:12 .

[Birdhive]

I'm incredibly sad about this news.  I adored DA2 and Origins, both--but I've played and completed more DA 2 (7 or 8 Hawkes, 3 Wardens).  I only stopped playing DA2 when SWtOR came out, actually, and probably would have dropped SWtOR like a hot potato for a DA 2 Expansion.

I have to confess to not being excited by a DA3 at the moment--mainly because it seems like it was the death knell for Hawke and DA2.  I probably will be angry at DA3 (or whatever it is) until the release day, at which point, I'll happily play it, I'm sure, but until then I want whoever needs to hear it to know that I think it was the wrong decision to cancel the expansion (and/or more DA2 dlc--which I own all of).

In case this other thing turns out to be an MMO version of DA, you should be aware that there can be only one--that is, I won't subscribe to both SWtOR and a DAmmo.  I'm not that jazzed about the MMOness of SWtOR, though I like the RP (as in, I can't be bothered to do the flashpoints; I RP and do the story quests with occasional grouping).  

In case this other thing turns out to be some social media hooha, well: ick.  If it's comics: meh/bleh.  If it's anime: don't care.

I've recently given DA2 as a gift to a couple of people, and was planning on gifting them dlc too.  I'm extra bummed because there's no sense of completion or continuity in the dlc, so it will feel like a dumb gift--like, 'oh, they gave up; this is all there is'.

Above, I said I adored DA2.  I really mean it.  The game was incredibly meaningful to me in a way that Origins was not (though I really did also adore Origins!).  A lot of it had to do with the deaths throughout the game, the way the story was told, the type of story that was told, the betrayals inherent in the narrative, and the inter-party banter.

I really believe the next DA implementation needs MORE companion/PC interaction.  A mixture of Origins and DA2, would be good--as well as more integration of the PC in the companions lives as experienced by the player, rather than alluded to.  Mind you, though I say this, I'm not simultaneously arguing for less action/gameplay; I play the game on Hard (haven't tried Nightmare yet, was going to after completing my latest Hawke . . . ), I read the technical gameplay posts on the forum (thanks number crunching forumites!), and love finessing my battle tactics. 

The combat in DA2, I felt, like many, was much better than in Origins, and the area-re-use became very annoying by Act 3 (before that, I was allowing for liberties in the framed narrative, but then it just got on my nerves).  I didn't mind the enemy waves or exploding bodies (I thought they were funny).  The re-balancing patch was amazing!    More loot would have been nice, but not as much as Origins.  I thought that the 'junk' was very amusing, but that it would be better if there was some new option for it--like selling it to a junkseller and racking up a different type of credits which could be redeemed on a totally different set of things.

Act 3 had many flaws, some relating to the experience of player choice, some relating to pacing, some relating to the companions.  At a certain point during Act 3, Anders only says one thing anymore.  I found myself (in playthroughs after the first) putting off quests to avoid that inevitability.

The moddable outfits in SWtOR would be pretty nice to have in DA, but I like and understand the iconic armor for companions and yet would also like to be able to outfit them as I like; I'm sure there's a middle ground that's workable.  I also like quests unlocking titles in SWtOR and would like that to make an appearance in DA in some NPC recognizable form.  Similarly, in SWtOR, one of my characters had the Esseles jacket on and an NPC referred to him as the Hero of the Esseles (though he'd done other stuff since . . . I assume that the jacket was flagged for NPC recognition)--that type of recognition would also be nice.

Legacy was okay, though I found it kind of boring once we were in the tower section of the prison.  MotA was very enjoyable; I really liked it, though I despise Tallis and didn't care much for the sneaking.  [Oh!  I also despise Leliana, and hope to never see her again.  Cullen on the other hand . . . please, MORE!]  I enjoyed the design of the dlc armors a lot, by the way.

In all games where I have the option, I never play as a human until I've tried the other races, so I really, really missed the origin stories/species options.  The same-sex relationships between the PC and LI are a very important part of the game to me too--whether or not I exercise that option I want it to be available--and I didn't mind it being obvious (I didn't think it was forward, just normal, like hetero visibility).  I also value the racial inclusivity of the game, and hope to see a greater diverisity among the NPCs overall.

I could say so much more, but I think these are the main, non-nitpicky points.

DAYthe ELF made points that I wholeheartedly agree with, and would like to echo their importance here.

Thanks for all your work; I want more!  [Still sad!]

DAYtheELF wrote...

I would like to say one more thing:

You all seem so focused on what people are telling you to "fix" in regards to DAII. Many of these things people say need "fixed" are things that me and many people I know enjoyed. Please don't take away all of the aspects of DAII that made it rock so hardcore.

To be slightly more specific.

I loved both DA:O and DAII. Even more, I love how they work together to tell parts of a larger story, but it very different ways. I think the contrast is beautiful. To me, it seemed that DA:O told a story in a bit more of the "standard" format of huge epic storyline quest to save the world. It was event driven; the plot was propelled and told by way of epic events. It was telling a story on a macro-scale.

DA2, on the other hand, told the story on a micro-scale. The plot was driven less by action and more by inter-character interactions. What was important was the ways characters (Hawke, companions, important NPCs, and minor NPCs) worked together and grew together (or, didn't work/ grow together depending..). The story of Kirkwall let us see intimately what was happening all throughout Thedas in a way and with an emotional connection that would have been impossible to convey in a grander DA:O type setting. I love that in many ways Hawke wasn't the main protagonist of the game. I love that we couldn't fix and save everything. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, things still fall apart. I think that is an important lesson for virtual and real-life people.

I play D&D, have for many years, and I have met a lot of different "types" of gamers. Some people are hack'n'slashers and just want to kill things. Some are tacticians and are interested in the mechanics. Some people are mostly interested in the story itself. Others are driven by the characters we create and give life to. I obviously fall into the last camp. I am more than happy to never pick up a die during an entire session. I think DAII spoke to gamers like me in ways that DA:O couldn't. I understand that many gamers do not feel this way, but please don't let the hack'n'slashers force unneeded change.
.

Modifié par Birdhive, 19 mars 2012 - 08:49 .

[coldwetn0se]

I am very disheartened by this annoucement.  Especially so soon after my crushed hopes for ME3 (Thane and Shepard character assassinations....just my opinion.)  I have loved both DA games.  There is always things in games that can be improved; both games had their high points and low points (as many have already highlighted in their posts.)

I actually have numerous Hawkes and Wardens that I am still playing, and I actually prefer the idea of new PC's, new settings, and new storyline, for each DA game, but I was really hoping for a bit more content with Hawke and Co.  Wish you would have stuck with the Expansion idea.    I will miss them.

[onefood]

Bring back the campsite and nighttime conversations! I loved its intimate feel, and I think it's part of the reason people had such an emotional reaction to the world of Origins.

[mirotheking]

I have spent thousands of hours in this universe replaying both games over and over again i wont to know so much more about both my lovely Warden and my Hawke i am open for the next expansion installment of the game and will wait to see it happen

[Addai]

Thanks for the forthrightness.  I'm sure that much is appreciated even by those who are disappointed by the news.

I've mostly moved on from Dragon Age and Bioware games in general but that is not so much a reflection of any particular disappointment with DA2 so much as the sour taste left from the current EA/ Origin business model.  I hope that on the suits level of the company there is some discussion of the fact that maybe the same sort of marketing that works with shooters, sports and casual games does not fit well with story-driven RPGs.  By this I mean things like nickel and diming content and rushed release schedules.  RPGs ask more of their players in terms of emotional and intellectual commitment.  I would hope the company can take some cues from CDPR and Bethesda, who, while not producing perfect games by any means, released RPGs this past year which mostly left the fanbase satisfied and hungering for more rather than feeling cheated and cynical.  This is what I'll be mostly looking for as I decide whether or not to buy future content.

Mark Darrah wrote...

To make sure I get your concerns:
1. More customization (Let's me change follower armor. More equipment upgrades)
2. More traditional fantasy story (Epic enemy, clear villain)
3. More areas and areas variety
4. More control over my story.

Does that capture it?

I can only speak for myself but I hope you would not conclude from the DA2 post mortem that people need an epic enemy or clear villain to enjoy a story.  To me a good antagonist does help a story, but I would rather see one whose motives are understandable and even sympathetic to a degree, such that you have to second guess your choices.  Mostly I think what people want to see is that their choices really matter, even if there's no epic struggle of good vs. evil.

Gameplay isn't a big deal to me, I just ask that it doesn't get in the way, but the overall aesthetic of the franchise became too JRPG- anime- cartoonish and that is my biggest problem with the combat as well.  I would hope for a bit less "arty," a bit grittier, and for more fluid combat animations.  Maybe something with motion capture.  And please, please, please- give the elves back their shoes.  lol

Modifié par Addai67, 19 mars 2012 - 08:28 .

[S3RV0]

Bioware will always hold a special place in my heart for the wondrous Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, KotOR, Mass Effect 1, and Dragon Age: Origins.Even though, I was ultimately a little disappointed with the whole Bhaalspawn storyline, I still love BG to this day. 

Mass Effect 1 was a breath of fresh air for me. When it released, I was sick of high fantasy and craved more sci-fi. Even though it had a talking protagonist, I still enjoyed it so much. I played through it 3 times on 360 and then 3 more times when it came out on PC.

When DA:O was releasing, my first reaction was "not more high fantasy!", but my internal voice kept saying "...but it's Bioware!". Every argument I could make was ended with a reply of "but it's Bioware! TRUST". So I did and needless to say, I loved it. Per Steam, I have 278.7 hours recorded playtime. I was so happy to have a strategic combat focused isometric RPG, I didn't even care if it was high fantasy.

I played DA:O more than any recent game and loved every minute of it. I do wish the game was more challenging, but even on Nightmare, it was still a great experience. It almost felt like the old BG days. Took me right back to IWD1/2, FO1/2 and Torment. Not the setting, but the experience. Going into battle, pausing the game to plan out my fight and not being spoon fed content like most modern games.

...then the year was 2010 and ME2 released. Pardon me, I meant Mass of Gears, but with worse combat than Gears. I won't get into why ME2 was such a disappointment, the community already knows, but it was sign of what was to come. I did at least finish ME2, but only once.

I should have known better the next year when DA2 released, but I was loyal and pre-ordered like normal and was severely punished for it. DA2 is the complete anti-thesis of DA:O. Talking protagonist I have zero connection with, wonky "overly fast looking" animations, little to no itemization, mindless combat, no isometric view, very small actual game world, and simply more "action RPGesque" focused.

I learned my lesson and am sad to say I have chosen not to play ME3 after it was made clear it was no longer an RPG. Hell, Call of Duty multiplayer has more player customization. I am still interested in how the story ends, but will wait for a sale.

My plea would be please do not continue to cater to mainstream. I know it makes more money, but you will continue to lose your loyal fans. Personally, I don't need a huge, AAA big budget title. I don't need voice acting, and massive cinematics. Give me a rich story, full character/party customization, zoomable isometric camera, deep strategic combat and choices that actually matter and I would be the happiest gamer.

tl;dr Go back to your roots! Go for great storytelling and not big budget bloat. Please please please stop catering Michael Bay/CoD fans!

Modifié par S3RV0, 19 mars 2012 - 08:18 .

[WardenWade]

Mr. Darrah,

Please return racial options, and origins, to the series. It's one of the things I personally love about Origins that I missed terribly in DA2. It helped, in my opinion, to tell Thedas' story by having the chance to witness events from different perspectives.  I enjoyed being recognized as one race or another, as it added to the setting/lore of the world, and to replay value.

Additionally, I can only speak for myself but I would be satisfied--if a single voice actor rather than multiple as there were in Origins is what is feasible for DA3, and a silent PC is truly not possible--with one decent voice for male elves/dwarves/humans/qunari and one for female elves/dwarves/humans/qunari.  Something that could make sense for all them would work for me, personally, if that is what it took for races to return.

Thank you!

Modifié par WardenWade, 19 mars 2012 - 08:36 .

[Sylvianus]

Meh. I hope Hawk won't be too present in the new story... He could waste its potential. I just wish he vanishes from my game forever.. And also, let alone dao and da2's npcs if they are meaningless, if they are just there for puppy eyes with one sentence. No, it isn't interesting. No, it isn't good for their characters.

Modifié par Sylvianus, 19 mars 2012 - 08:29 .

[hunterxx1xx]

If DA3 comes out with a day 1 dlc I will not be buying it.

[aries1001]

Mark Darrah wrote...

We will try to bring some closure to Hawke's story but likely not in a playable form. Originally we had planned to do an expansion pack but had to stop to focus on what we are working on now.

I'm sorry to hear this, Mark. I really liked DA2 and thought it was welcomed break from the save the world fantasy plot. My only gripes with it was not the re-used areas (hardly noticed them), but the constant waves and waves of enemies. This got fixed in Legacy, which was brilliant, I think.

However, I do hope that the content you're working on now isn't a game which has a 10 hour main campaign and 30-40 hours of multi-player campaign, basically an MMO of sorts?  I know that you can't say anything about this yet - but maybe just a hint of something?

However, I think it is brilliant that both the Warden and now Hawke are gone, vanished, and no-one has seen them for years?
This lets you, the devs. at Bioware free to tell any story you want in the Dragon Age setting. I can't wait to see what happens next, especially after the end of DA2 were it seems something really really changing to the world has come.

Didn't David Gaider, Lead Writer say something about us visiting Orlais? in DA3? Or was his idea scrapped as well? The idea of going to Orlais and a few other places, not DA3, I mean...

[JakePT]

While it's sad that DA2 is over and we won't be getting an expansion, I'm cautiously optimistic about DA3. I just want to jot down some key feedback items:

Feedback

• Style. I'd like to see a dialling back of the 'style'. Dragon Age Origins and the writing evoke a much more realistic gritty grounded setting, in a similar vein to Game of Thrones. I feel like I can't take a nuanced story seriously when magic, movement and violence is so over the top.

• Isometric camera. Bring it back. Not for some ideological reason about RPGs and Dragon Age's heritage, but because a team-based action-RPG game simply doesn't work as well when you can't pull the camera back to survey the battlefield. We've all figured out the "level design" reason was not true, and the rushed development cycle was to blame, so hopefully you take the time to get it back in this time.

• Consistency. While Mass Effect level adherence to choices is no doubt much more difficult without having an end-game in sight, the road currently being taken is by far the WORST possible way you could handle this. Importing choices but just ignoring them on a whim when you feel like it? I am nowhere near as invested in the Dragon Age universe as I am the Mass Effect universe because my actions keep getting overwritten by the writers. Either honour my choices, or don't let me import my saves. This middle-ground is just awful. If you don't want player choices to impact future stories, don't let us make them!

Requests

• More realistically proportioned armor. Such a nitpick but I really didn't like the armor in DA2. It was all enormous. Upon starting the game I had my hopes up, as warrior-Hawke's starting armor looked fantastic. Not fancy, but realistically sized and practical. Then all the armor you get in game just looked ridiculous. The Champion's armor was a great middle ground. It was properly proportioned and didn't make Hawke look like the Hulk, but it still had a lot of style. I'd like to see more armor in that vein.

• More non-combat quests. One of the things that annoyed me about DA2 is that every questline would end in bloodshed, whether it made sense or not. It seems like not a single event could occur in the story without some crappy excuse for a hoard enemies to show up. Not everything has to end in combat. At times it really felt like the writers were constrained by this as stories had to take odd turns so that the player could fight someone. I'd like to see the return of a speech skill, so that some fights can be avoided by players who choose to invest in diplomacy/intimidation over raw combat skills.

• Dual-sword Warrior. Pretty self explanatory.

• Aesthetics not tied to stats. To my knowledge not a single RPG has done this, so this is just wishful thinking, but I'd like it if I had control over my character's appearance independent of stats. While there would obviously still need to be some correlation i.e. no massive armor bonus from cloth, I'd like it if, for example: I could collect armor 'designs' which govern appearance, and maybe include a small unique bonus of some kind, but stats were influenced more by enchantment/skills/materials. I could customise things like colour/patterns. Rather than getting better gear by looting it, you would instead loot more powerful raw materials to build the armor with. Again, no one else seems interested in doing something like this, but I'd certainly love it.

That ended up longer than I'd expected, but there you go.

[jettom]

And get us Sandal!

[Relshar]

Sorry Mark you lost my vote of confidence with DA2. That game killed the franchise for me.

In DA:O you had it nearly perfect. With Dragon Age 2 it was so broken and awful that I wont comment on it.

[LPPrince]

Ahh yes, please give us Origins back.

I know its pretty much impossible to do with a voiced protag, but I'm willing to sacrifice a voiced protag if it means I have the option to craft my character even more.

[StormAsura]

 Hey, since everyone is here and I actually managed to catch the thread as it was happening, I thought I would put in my two cents.First and foremost, it should be known that I am of the camp that enjoyed DA:O more than DA2.  After a great deal of debate and discussion amongst my friends who are involved in various aspects of design relevant to game making, and a years time to make my peace with it, I think I can finally put out a well formed and fair opinion of what I real feel worked and what didn't about DA2.
Hawke: the choice to have a PC that had more personality was a great one.  Hawke kept an excellent balance of player influence and his/her own vibrant character.

Story telling: DA2 is well known for really taking a step up in terms of artistic presentation of a narrative.  This, I would agree with.  The choices of what to tell and when, the framing of the story through a biased and untrustworthy (to his credit) narrator really sets the style of DA2 in a new level.

The Companions: However, I also think this cost the game in some ways.  Even though Hawke will end up spending more time amongst her companions, I feel like, even with the deeper and more complex character flaws presented, that everything about DA2 was exagerated (possible varic yeah?).  The personalities were more complex and more clearly displayed, but felt sketched and loose.  The characterization of the Wardens companions was much quieter.  Their personalties were not visible upon an immediate inspection and took real effort to discover and enjoy, LIKE A REAL RELATIONSHIP.   To be perfectly honest, my first 3 playthroughs of DA:O I ignored oghren and zevran.  It wasnt till the fourth time that I took the effort out to get to know them, and low and behold, there were people under my initial interactions with them, more than the angry drunk and zevrani zevran.  The easiest points of comparison are to Anders and Isabella.  Ander's story and struggle may be more complexed and nuaced then say, Alistair, but it was thrown in your face.  Its kind of hard to miss his random psychotic episodes and subsequent moping.  If you dont talk to Alistair, then he is always just the slightly reluctant and sarcastic warden-prince-bastard.  Long story short; both as a submited argument and personal opinion, I strongly believe the style of characterization was more heartfelt and sincere in DA:O

GRAPHICS: they improved, its a real pretty game. nuff said

GRAPHICAL STYLE: here, I am of two minds.  On the one hand, after looking at released design notes, I can appreciate the stylstics changes from an academic perspective.  The color scheme, the slighlty more shaded and cartoonish look of DA2 served the overal narrative goal well.  On the other hand, it was really really dull.  DA:O graphical style might be critized as generic or boring, but it was diverse and lush, helped expand the game world (beyond the simple fact that you explore a country as opposed to a city).

LORE: This may be a simple victom of the sequel effect, but at best I feel that the lore introduced and given in DA2 was shallow or unispired and at worse just empty and devoid.  I fell in love with the vibrant and rich moving world of DA:O that had just recgonizable european nations set against traditional fantasy aspects, and the ways they made thing so very similar yet so very different was just the best.  DA2 in turn, focuses mainly on one city's worth of story, rich as it may be, and we just dont get the same volume of information about the world we did over the DA:O game and expansions.  CASE IN POINT: ever damn time i return glowing pantaloons or SOMEONE'S THUMB in as a quest and i get NO original diaglouge.  To paraphrase the nostalgia critic "EXPLAIN GAME! EXLPAIN!!"

MORE SPECIFIC LORE POINTS:On the subject of lacking lore, the narrow focus on the templar/mage issues was dissapointing.  While I am totally behind deep and nuaced looks at the world, I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the morality of the game by the end.  And to add insult to injury, as ive implied above, I feel like we missed out on the rest of the world while we were playing glue to kirkwall's shattered vase.CAVEATS:    -DA2 was an excellent reminder that the darkspawn, while kind of the selling point of the universe, aren't the totality of whats going down.  This is one area where the Lore/perspective benefited   -Hooray for Qunari! A truly outstanding acheivment of the DA world as a whole, they serve both as incredible companions and stalwart antagonists.  The second arc of DA:2 is a favorite for me just because we are given the chance to interact with them more.  I could wish for more, but I'll address why I won't later.     -Bonus Points! for NOT telling us about the qun.  right now, qunari morality is very much up in the air.  They can only be dragged down into Kirkwall's hypocritical mess if the rules are defined.     Qunari retcon.  I liked at first actually.  In fact, I still do to a large extent.  Specfics of nitpicking.  Physiological changes: AWESOME.  I had no idea that sten wasnt just a big angry guy (albiet a big angry guy who has become one of my favorite characters) till I was almost done with the game.  Distguinshing them from humans was a great move, as it was for all of the racial changes.  Horns: meh.  I think there cool, but I can see why people think that the horns are a little on the generic side.  HAIR: this was a big one, and its part of why my opinion has shifted from positive to nuetralish.  Sten and other qunari had their conrows, which got changed to wild flowing white locks.  I would argue that this was a bad choice.  The conrows were a unique factor that stood them out, and retrospectively said a great deal about the qunari character.  A (at least for the berasaad) war focused people who keep their hair long, but impecabbly clean and TIGHTLY AND FORCIBLY organized and styled says alot.  They are proud but not vain, capable of appreciating style and whim, yet always in control.  NOW, all that was written so far got (in my opinion) sensibly handwaved or explained. The one that still is in direct cannon violation (as far as im aware) is the shirtless qunari effect.  I have seen no retcon explaining why the qunari who are described in codexs as wearing shining armour suddenly decided shirtless was the new black.  what the hell?   -Elf faces: I hate them so bad, but I agree with the descion to do it.  not only is it refreshing to see elves made truly different (not just humans with pointy ears) it really shows them to be elves, one of many mortal races, not elves, immortal beings that are bored and trolling everyone for fun.   -Darkspawn.  I just dont understand.  Im sorry.  I mean, it's not terrible, but why? they (opinion) less scary and disturbing now then before.  I mean, ogres are now somewhere betweem sad/pudgy/pathetic without armor.  sure they can rip you apart, but you'll probablly giggle at it for a bit before your lungs part from your diaphram.

PLOT POINTS:     -Now, I'm not you, and I'm also not anyone who has any relevance to the plot of DA3.  HOWEVER, I can say almsot without reserve, that if the team in charge of plot and characters are not setting up something VERY specific, then the game was just unessicarily sad.  Yes it takes place over ten years, but we dont feel that, and the repeated lowblows of systamic death of all of your family is just over the top.  Long story short, unless that was TOTALLY nessacary to develop Hawke's character somewhere, bad plot choice.   -Also, while I understand you were illustarting the true implacablity of the two sides, be it kirwall and qunari or mage and templar, I just cant shake the feeling that the games ENTIRE plot could have been solved with a 2 day communication skills attempt.   -WHAT THE HELL ORSINO? REALLY? WHAT THE HELL? (more later)Other odd, weird or just strange nitpicks ahead.    -Oh look, a dead horse.  blah blah blah anders blah blah.  anything i could whine about on him has already been said.     -Isabella, again, great work with her, but just like everything else, even good ideas (or boobs) in your face for too long causes suffocation.     -Forget Hawke, what about poor Merrill? same argument as Hawke.  side quests. see above (explain game.  please.)

MORALITY AND THEMES:  so i heard you like blood mages?  oh look this horse still has a shred of life in it, get them beatin sticks boys.  Also, the sheer futility of Hawke's actions was just infuriating.  Kill blood mages? YOUR AN EVIL TEMPLAR!  Save blood mages? OH LOOK IM COMING BACK TO WHERE I ALMOST DIED TO **** ON THE GIRL WHO SAVED ME!  really.  just arrrggghhhh.  The attempt towards nuance and unpredictability and invetiablity are laudable, they just come out, well, kinda not good.  in fact, bad.  The games theme seems to be mages should be free! blood magic is a dangerous art, not an inherently evil one.  and then cause and effect says, nope, templars are pretty much exactly in line with what they should be.

MECHANICS: I just dont know here.  I hated my first playthrough.  and then i hated the game.  and then i read forum posts making eloquent and well reasoned arguments for the mechanic's virtues.  so i tried again.  and i found they were right.   But, at the end of the game, while DA2 was mechanically enjoyable, the talents were more restrictive than DA:O, it had less options overall and the play style of DA2 wasnt to my liking as much as DA:O.  The Fusion of action and tactis was an interesting choice, i do fee like at the end of the day the game reaches for alot of goals only to slip on most of them.  ALSO, hard mode should not jsut consit of more enemies/more health/reduced damage.   while it does add a certain tactical challenge (oh yes it does), it was more an excersize in repition then anything else.  

[CBaker]

Disappointed sigh over the axed expansion for DA2:(.

Other posters have pretty much said it all in better detail and cohesiveness than I could have done. But, still, here I go:

In DA3, would love to see the same style of companion interaction/ ability to equip as in DA:O. If the PC hadn't killed Anders in their playthrough, please make him a companion LI again. For Rogues, the knife throwing ability and option for the skill tree that Tallis had would be pretty great.

It will take more than DA2 to put me off the Dragon Age franchise. Hope Springs Eternal, you know?