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[Gervaise]

The main difference between the two games is that in DAO you could initiate dialogue. Some conversations could only take place in camp. Others you could have anywhere. Whilst you had to reach a certain level of approval to get some conversations, you could explore a character through dialogue up to a certain point without this and in fact, depending on your dialogue choices, this could advance you to a level where the next portion kicked in.

In DA2 you had to wait for the prompt before you could do this and for me this made it seem rather artificial. You couldn't just pop round to see Fenris because you feel like a break in the action.

The other problem for me is that for some of the romances you needed to be claivoyant (or have checked forums in advance) to know that you should or shouldn't do or say something to keep the romance alive. Some romances automatically "killed" other romances, whilst others didn't. Fenris was the most frustrating of these. I have yet to sleep with Isabella without it stopping the Fenris romance, even if I choose "it was only a bit of fun" (which he and Isbella indulge in if Hawke doesn't romance either of them) or opt for it being a one night stand (broken heart). Apparently this is because Fenris has low self esteme and if he thinks Hawke has someone else, he gives up because he thinks Hawke is better off without him. But he never tells you this and heart icons still turn up on some conversations so you think everything is okay until the point when he refuses to stay and says it is better that way. Hawke is not allowed to express an opinion on this and in fact never finds out why.

On the other hand, in one run through, I flirted with Merrill once at the beginning of Act 2 and then because it took so long to get to the trigger point on rivalry, she suddenly turns up near the end of Act 3 intimating she wants to take things further when I had already made up with Fenris and assumed that would be an end of things with regard to other romances.

In DAO the Warden could keep their options open until someone challenges this and you are forced to make a choice. So you know where everyone stands. And that need not be an end of it either. If you subsequently decided you had made a mistake, it was possible to break off with that character and resume your previous relationship.

DA2 romances are not so forgiving. Make a mistake and you are stuck with it. Your partner can lie to you, walk out on you, use you or simply ignore you for 3 years and you must forgiven them or be left alone but you can never, ever change your mind about them and expect to receive forgiveness. It's hard being Hawke.