509 Antworten in diesem Thema

[Pateu]

I've recently started playing DA2 ( didn't play it sooner because of the massive fan-flak it got - and I swear this is the last time I believe random people ranting ).

It's no DA:O, but it's far from being an atrocity, as most people described it to be.

I mean sure, the apocalypse being at the door and the need to gather the armies of old ( cough cough mass effect 3's plot cough cough ) may be interesting to some, but I personally find the story of a nobody becoming a legend is much more interesting.

I mean, the plot of DA:O isn't all that great. It's the companions that make it so ( and I'll be the first to admit that I'd trade Anders, Fenris and Merril for Alistair/Leliana any day of the week ).

Some said the combat was dumbed down, though I'd point them towards the direction of the Nightmare difficulty. I know I'm having difficulties even on Hard.

The Rivalry/Friendship system is a good addition, because in DA:O unless you had a ''Paragon'' or ''Renegade'' full party, you wouldn't be able to maintain a strong relationship with every companion.

DA2 not only makes that possible, but also provides interesting bonuses for it ( I personally like Aveline's friendship bonus the most ).

I miss the party camp, but on the other hand it's interesting to see where companions live. The camp got stale after a while ( except for the Shriek attack. That was awesome ).

Bearbeitet von Pateu, 20 Februar 2014 - 07:29 .

[Iceband181]

Da2 is Awful...!!!!... Next to DAO and all there mods and the Awakening expansion, Don't wast your money on the mods.. that's IMO.Bioware messed up really bad -imo. and I bought DA 2 when it first came out waited a few years to see if they would fix the game by now.. but nope. All I did was wast more money on there awful mods for DA 2 recently. IMO- DA 2 is nothing moe then a mod. hey do as you want. have fun.
Lexie

Bearbeitet von Iceband181, 22 Februar 2014 - 07:31 .

[DrZann]

I don't know. Except for the painfully overused environments I found DA 2 to be a more pleasurable experience. And by Clangeddin, they added a dwarf who is actually interesting.

[cJohnOne]

While I really liked DA2, I think DAO is better. If you think of DA2 as a side story I don't see what the big deal is.
Yeah, I don't understand why it gets the hate it does. I really enjoyed the combat in DA2. Also liked the combat in DAO but it was a little different.

[Stag]

Most of what AWT42 said, personally.

 

From a story point of view it was as well-written as BioWare's other titles, but it was a huge thematic jump from Dragon Age: Origins. DA:O was a massive, sweeping epic tale that was founded on grey and gray morality. It had a clear, overarching plot for the player to follow a grand scheme you were always working towards: stop Loghain from ripping Ferelden apart and put an end to the Blight. Dragon Age II, on the other hand, retains a lot of the morality of DA:O but puts its focus on telling a character story- it's about Hawke, who Hawke was and the things they did while just trying to live their life. Each Act had the "feeling" of a looming plot or antagonist (Act 2 and 3 moreso than 1), but no clear overaching opposing force- something I know several DA:O fans didn't like.

 

Varric actually alludes to the difference in tone from what's expected of Hawke's story and what it really is when he's talking to Cassandra between acts- it's clear that while even in-universe DAII is expected to be this several year tale of how Hawke went to Kirkwall to weaken the Chantry's grasp and launch a civil war, Hawke's story is anything but that. It isn't a bad story by any means, but it went strongly against most fan expectations, which caused some upset.

 

There's also the lack of isometric-style play in DAII, coupled with its incredibly reused environment design. You start to lose it after you've entered all 4 dungeons from a different starting point oh, 80 times. It wasn't as bad of a game as some people like to say it was, but it definitely wasn't the same as (or even very similar to) Dragon Age: Origins, which was a very big letdown for a lot of fans- myself included at the time. Going back I do love its story and Hawke as a character, but I was livid about the change in direction at the time.

[meganbytes]

yeah the story and characters were wonderful. 

well actually i have to say the story was short and confusing to me if you went thro it quickly and didn't get to understand what exactly was happening in kirkwall with the qunari and how all these things connected. but if you play all the side quest and other quest then it is a lot better. and i think the more times you play DA2 the more things you find that you maybe didnt connect with before. after multiple playthros it is an excellent story that revolves around well kirkwall but also the characters. 

biggest issue for me was defiantly the repeating environments, especially the cave. and the fact that you couldn't leave kirkwall besides a bit outside the city. i was expecting to go to another city at some point but never happened. pretty sad. but the DLCs helped. i figure if they would of made DA2's settings more like in the DLCs might of been better. 

i personally loved the change in pace of the combat. I'm a bit of a button masher and get as much damage as quick as possible kinda combat player. oh man the art style da2 went with i think is beautiful. i love the cut scenes with like the paintings and how it goes along with the story varric is telling. i liked that about da2 also, how you were playing as hawke but the story was being told by varric to cassandra. 

another thing that i think really saved da2 was that it could be freaking hilarious. you could give hawke so much character. even if you just play diplomatic/agressive. but also choosing the sarcastic option often is hella funny dialogue. 

i think being in a fandom like on this site or another also added to my experience with DA2. people brought up things that i might not of noticed or thought of otherwise that change my perspective on some things and made me love a character even more. 

so yeah i loveeee DA2 so much. but i could see if you don't like the new combat, maybe being in kirkwall the whole time hurt the story and other things then i understand. but i think there is something really special about DA2 that makes me feel so happy. so beautiful. but i think you have to connect with it. i didnt at first and was kinda meh, but then something clicked and now its really awesome to me. 

i think DAI is looking like a perfect combo of DAO and DA2 so thinking its gnna be great. 

[Mes]

Well I'm replaying it right now and am thoroughly enjoying it. It really is a great extra chapter or bonus type thing to DAO. It's not the epic experience of the first, but there are tons of things I like about it.

 

What's this about paying for mods... I thought mods were free?

[Monoten]

I liked DA2, but there were a couple of things that could be better. I think mostly everyone agrees the repetitive areas were the worst part. You can't expect people to believe every house looks the same from the inside with the only difference a door or two closed or open.

But I have to say with the DLC they made up for the repeatedly same looking environments. I especially enjoyed Mark of the Assassin: more talking, sneaking around and a boss to fight.

 

Combat was good, I especially enjoyed the skills you could acquire. A disappointment were the huge waves of enemies. You thought you were finally done, and suddenly another wave of enemies comes after you.

 

Varric's storytelling was a different approach to telling the story but I liked it. It was only too bad that they were the real facts. Only in the beginning of the game, and with Varric's sidequest you get to play a fantasy version of events. Was hoping there would be more of such things. I really liked Varric's sidequest where you got to play as him alone.

 

Story was great. The focus was on Hawke and not so on the world of Thedas, which is an interesting approach to telling a story. Also enjoyed how you could influence some of your companions. Agree with AWT42 on the fetch quests, a lot of work for so little. Especially with the Dragon Age Keep, I always thought to play those quests just in case they would be referenced in the next game. Seems that was all for nothing.

[Wires_From_The_Wall]

50% of my mislike of DA 2 has to do with overall bad taste present. Everything looks and feels cheap, poorly done, childishly grimdarkcool and wrong. It does not respect anything DA:O did or achieved.

50% of it is me being angry at myself. I misliked every single screenshot pre-release. I misliked every single word anybody doing DA 2 PR said about the game. I misliked every video released pre-release. I specially misliked the demo. Yet, some crazed fanboy within me wanted to buy the damn game. Why???

 

 

It is a game that makes me feel video games are too childish for me. Such thought in and of itself is of course pretty silly and childish in itself. As a knee jerk reaction, i hate every game able to put such thought in me. (these include and are currently  limited to DA 2 and Gears of wars franchise)

 

If we get boring and objective, it isn't BAD game, only extremely disappointing one. Disappointing games are without exception more misliked than honest-to-god bad games,

[Heimdall]

I liked DA2, but there were a couple of things that could be better. I think mostly everyone agrees the repetitive areas were the worst part. You can't expect people to believe every house looks the same from the inside with the only difference a door or two closed or open.
But I have to say with the DLC they made up for the repeatedly same looking environments. I especially enjoyed Mark of the Assassin: more talking, sneaking around and a boss to fight.

Combat was good, I especially enjoyed the skills you could acquire. A disappointment were the huge waves of enemies. You thought you were finally done, and suddenly another wave of enemies comes after you.

Varric's storytelling was a different approach to telling the story but I liked it. It was only too bad that they were the real facts. Only in the beginning of the game, and with Varric's sidequest you get to play a fantasy version of events. Was hoping there would be more of such things. I really liked Varric's sidequest where you got to play as him alone.

Story was great. The focus was on Hawke and not so on the world of Thedas, which is an interesting approach to telling a story. Also enjoyed how you could influence some of your companions. Agree with AWT42 on the fetch quests, a lot of work for so little. Especially with the Dragon Age Keep, I always thought to play those quests just in case they would be referenced in the next game. Seems that was all for nothing.

I agree with this, with the sole addition that the very end of the story was grievously mishandled, especially when it came to Orsino and Meredith and a general lack of divergence.

[superdeathdealer14]

I think DA2 was a pretty good game albeit not as good as its predecessor and I haven't had any real problems with it aside from reused environments and combat.

[Alodar]

Good and Bad are entirely subjective things.

 

In DAO BioWare made choices that meshed with my preferred playing style so I enjoyed it immensely.

In DA2 many of the design choices did not align with my preferred playing style, so I did not enjoy the game.

 

I am very much looking forward to Dragon Age Inquisiton and hope that more of BioWares choices line up with the way I like to play.

[Dolores Vespers]

The reused environments wz annoying & all bt @ least it was entertaining, and lacked any parts that made me want to give up (the fade pt of DAO). Combat was a lot btr 2, I dont get whats with all the hate, bt then again I'm easy to please. DA2 also gets props fr not having a 'the fate of the worlds depends on u' plot. 

[dragonflight288]

Probably because it's kind of obvious it was a rushed job, which is unusual for Bioware.

 

I wouldn't call it a bad game, it holds its own compared to other RPG's. But because it was made by Bioware, a game that is 7/10 compared to their usual 9/10's or 10/10's, it feels a lot worse because expectations of Bioware are higher. 

[luna1124]

I liked the armors in DA2, but hated the faces of the people and the Elves. The people looked so much alike, I kept getting them mixed up, seriously I thought Hawkes mother was another woman, they looked exactly the same. So confusing sometimes. The combat got boring after a while, and the unnatural movements (Rogues flipping through the air fifteen times) made it feel silly. The story was good, but the lack of interaction with companions was boring to say the least. Like, hey I can't talk to you unless we go back to my house. Also I did not like the slide bars in character creator (no control) or the fact you are forced to play a human. I think we got spoiled by Origins and wanted at least the same quality.

[Jorina Leto]

Reused caves, reused mansions, reused warehouses, reuses alleys (DLC were better).
Wave combat everywhere (DLC were better).
Game was too short and ended without a resolution of the main conflict.

[happy_daiz]

I liked the armors in DA2, but hated the faces of the people and the Elves. The people looked so much alike, I kept getting them mixed up, seriously I thought Hawkes mother was another woman, they looked exactly the same. So confusing sometimes. The combat got boring after a while, and the unnatural movements (Rogues flipping through the air fifteen times) made it feel silly. The story was good, but the lack of interaction with companions was boring to say the least. Like, hey I can't talk to you unless we go back to my house. Also I did not like the slide bars in character creator (no control) or the fact you are forced to play a human. I think we got spoiled by Origins and wanted at least the same quality.

Agreed. The last time I played, my hubs and I were laughing when I got to the Arishok fight in the Viscount's Keep. I had pointed out that the same Nobleman was used more than once, in the same room. We counted at least four of the same guy that got his neck snapped by a qunari. I'm sure it was the same with any of the other few body models they used. It summed up the general experience of the game: a whole lot of copy/paste.

But alas, I find myself playing it again, in anticipation of DAI. What have they done to me?

[Hellion Rex]

Agreed. The last time I played, my hubs and I were laughing when I got to the Arishok fight in the Viscount's Keep. I had pointed out that the same Nobleman was used more than once, in the same room. We counted at least four of the same guy that got his neck snapped by a qunari. I'm sure it was the same with any of the other few body models they used. It summed up the general experience of the game: a whole lot of copy/paste.

But alas, I find myself playing it again, in anticipation of DAI. What have they done to me?

They must be doing something right then.

[EmissaryofLies]

Never had a problem with Dragon age II until I came to this forum   . 

 

The game itself is fine, but every single time Hawke stands there like a damned fool when he or she can act, I die a little inside. It's a night and day difference between the agency of the warden and Hawke. 

 

Though I primarily play mage characters. My one pro-templar playthrough of DAII felt really good. It's hard to explain. It's as if Kirkwall was much more accepting of this Hawke. Whereas playing as a mage feels like slogging through a river of filth and being rewarded by getting stabbed in the gut and left for dead. 

[jillabender]

My experience of the fan community and the debates about the merits of DA:O compared to DA2 is probably a bit different from some people's in that I was a relative latecomer to DA:O (I picked it up in 2010), and I didn't really become active on the forums until I picked up DA2 in 2012. I enjoyed both DA:O and DA2, but I found some things about DA2 a bit frustrating, and I went through a period where I was a bit disappointed to realize that some of the developers didn't necessarily like the same things about DA:O that I did.

 

When I look back at my criticisms of DA2, I feel that I've sometimes made the mistake of focusing on "it didn't make me feel the way that DA:O did" and judging it for what it wasn't, instead of on its own merits. And even though I've always tried to make my criticism polite, I feel awkward when I think back to the times when I said things like "I was a bit disappointed with DA2, but I'm keeping an open mind about the new direction they're taking with the series." It was well-meaning, but as I look back, I sometimes worry that I may have come across as a bit passive-aggressive ("It's fine that BioWare prefers different things about the games than I do. *sniff* Really, it's totally fine. *sniff* ") – even though I didn't intend it that way.

 

I've often been critical of DA2, but it's definitely not because I didn't enjoy it – I did. If it hadn't been the sequel to DA:O, I would probably have said about it "It was a good game – a bit inconsistent, but with a lot of really great moments," and not thought much more about it. But because it was the sequel to one of my all-time favourite games, and because I discovered the BSN around the time I picked it up, I found myself spending a lot of time pondering "Why is it that, even though it has so many great things going for it, it still leaves me feeling like something's missing?"

 

I still enjoy reading people's critiques of both games, and comparing my experiences with theirs, even though I do it more as an intellectual exercise than for the sake of giving feedback at this point, because I'm already stoked about the direction that BioWare seem to be going with DA:I, and I have the feeling that it will make most of what I could say about the previous games academic.

[Zered]

SPOILER  ALERT

 

In DA:O you get to Orzammar and choose a king, go to the circle and get either the templar on mage support, you go to the Dalish and get their army or betray them and get the werewolfs. You go to the Landsmeet and have buch of options how to play out the crown stuff. You have a choice(or at least an illusion)

 

In DA2 you get a quest, you can refuse to do it but in the end you still have to get it done to move the plot( eg. Blackpower Promise). Add to that reused everything and there you have it. A small disaster. 5/10 for me.

[themikefest]

I don't have a problem with DA2. Yes it has its flaws,  I just overlook them and  play the game. I will say the dlc I found better than the main game.

One disappointment for me was we couldn't have the same armor that Flemeth had. It looked really cool.

[Ribosome]

Sure, some things are aggravating, like the incredibly bland scenery and the overabundance of quest outcomes that just lead to mindless slaughter. But I found the companion interactions to be well-done and a treat to listen to (I don't really like silent protagonists). And the combat. I love it. It's one of the things that keeps me playing.