226 réponses à ce sujet

[thewatcheruatu]

I love all three for different reasons. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. I appreciate DA2's smaller character-driven story, and I think it's 100% more fun to replay than Origins. Replaying DAO always begins to feel like a chore when I get ~60-70% through it (and that's before Awakening).

 

I'm not going to pretend--I never, actually, beat DA:O for that very reason. I got pretty far in it--twice! But after a while, it starts to feel a little burdensome. Though not to the extent that Inquisition does, because I never felt DA:O was intentionally trying to throw up road blocks to my progression. More like the difficulty made it time consuming (for me). And the storyline was just a little too expansive. I don't have my whole life to devote to a single game!

 

That said, I just ordered the Ultimate edition, and I'm going to finally do the whole thing if it kills me.

[thewatcheruatu]

A prime example of this is Orsino's fate if you side with the mages. He turned into a harvester bexause..... he's really stupid? No, he died because both Meredith and Orsino had to be dead by the end of the game. If Orsino's fate had been written in a way that worked with his character, then the illusion could have at least partially been maintained. However, without proper explainations, it simply comes across as the game disregarding your choice to side with the mages. It isn't so much the railroading, as it is the game's inability to hide it.

 

Okay, I'm going to concede that point. That was--I think--the only part of the game about which I felt disappointed. I distinctly remember thinking that it was kind of BS that I had to fight Orsino despite siding with the mages. I'll grant you, it lessened the extent to which I felt my decision mattered. With that said, having made the decision at all still mattered for my Hawke's character development, so at least it had that going for it.

[Aesa]

I'm not going to pretend--I never, actually, beat DA:O for that very reason. I got pretty far in it--twice! But after a while, it starts to feel a little burdensome. Though not to the extent that Inquisition does, because I never felt DA:O was intentionally trying to throw up road blocks to my progression. More like the difficulty made it time consuming (for me). And the storyline was just a little too expansive. I don't have my whole life to devote to a single game!

 

That said, I just ordered the Ultimate edition, and I'm going to finally do the whole thing if it kills me.

 

Hmm I've played through Inquisition twice and didn't find it too burdensome. Then again, I have zero compulsion to complete the pointless fetch quests and just skip them unless I need the points. What road blocks do you mean?

 

I have two issues with Origins: 1.) It feels endless! 2.) The difficulty plummets around level 14, at which point combat becomes tedious and boring. 

[Aesa]

That used to be a problem with every Bioware game. You always became godlike around that level.

 

I'm not sure it's improved though. It's easy now in a different way - from the start. DAI doesn't feel challenging to me. Haven is tough, and grabbing multiple bears in those early levels, but it dissipates soon enough.

 

Yes, true. DAI is too easy from the very start, which was disappointing because the devs had promised challenging tactical combat before release. As for DA2, well, I remember one particular playthrough in which I dueled the Arishok as a spirit healer with crazy regen, and simply stood there and tanked him because he couldn't damage me fast enough to take me down. Of course you can do that vs every late game boss in Origins as an arcane warrior regardless of the difficulty setting. 

[Tidus]

If I had to choose between DA:O or DA:2 it would be a hard choice. I've have beaten both games several times just like I have my other favorite games. I keep playing them simply because they're still enjoyable.

 

To answer the question for me DA:O would be my choice.

 

I recently purchase DA:I and so far I have enjoyed the game but, due to the small print I seriously doubt it will become one of my favorites. 

[Vlada47]

It's all matter of preference... as for me, I prefer Origins without much thinking about it. I've actually got into DA universe only very recently... just before this summer, starting with DA:O obviously and played both games in relatively quick succession.

 

I wasn't really fan of how things were done in DA2. At first glance it seemed as an interesting idea to make the story set in one place, perhaps being even more personal. But... 70% of the game seemed to me like doing bunch of chores for random people I couldn't care less about. Having the game divided into separate chapters with whole story being actually told by one of the companions seemed like an interesting idea on paper, but it kinda failed for me... you suddenly skipped 3 years without much explanation of what has happened in between (I really don't consider few codes paragraphs as sufficient explanation). It felt like being disconnected from a lot of things that were happening there, I just didn't have that much motivation to get into the story from the POV of my character.

 

I also didn't create much of a link to other characters there, like I did in Origins (or Mass Effect trilogy, but there is an advantage of developing that link across 3 games). I was kinda rooting for Hawke having his family there, but the game was doing pretty much everything it could to get them killed sooner or later. I liked Varric and maybe Isabela well enough and had kinda OK approach to Aveline and Merrill, but those other guys... especially Anders. Not much really compelled me as a player to be interested in them or to be curious about their future after the game. I was ignoring the feature, where everybody romance-able is now bisexual, for the best of my abilities, so I'd rather not comment that... 

 

Now... the game had some improvements over DA:O... I liked UI style (apart from codex stuff, I prefer having it like a book from Origins) and they made the combat generally more... let's say thrilling, but they overdid it for some parts... half the time I just didn't know what was really happening... I was mashing some buttons, enemies were exploding, everybody was yelling... it was like watching Transformer battles up close.  I also liked sarcastic Hawke dialogue and his quotes. But that's about it... the lack of some RPG features, repetitive locations with next to zero details in them, enemies spawning everywhere making combat rather mindless process of mashing the "attack closest enemy" button (not that I consider DA:O combat something amazing mind you)... it all made the game fall into the line of "above average but still pretty mundane" RPG's I've played. It just lacked the proper heart and soul for me that DA:O had...

[Toxicity]

I just recently became involved in the Dragon Age fandom since winter of 2014, I have all three games, but I didn't really go in order of game since I got them all separately. Dragon Age: Inquisition I played that first, then purchased Dragon Age: Origins and I got Dragon Age: 2 last, but Dragon Age: 2 is the game of the Dragon Age series that actually clicked for me.

I don't know, I've completed Inquisition once and have other characters whom I haven't played far with, and I haven't found myself motivated enough to go past curing Arl Eamon in Dragon Age: Origins since it seems so bloody endless, but I love Dragon Age:2, can't say why because I don't know. I found joy in playing all three games, though. Already looking forward to a fourth Dragon Age.   

 

[NWN-Ming-Ming]

It's interesting...  I've noticed as an Asian-American with a wide range of gamer friends, those of us that have a family origins in Confucian/Taoist/Buddhist cultures had an easier time bonding with DA2's storyline, if not outright loving the 'fated' aspect of Hawke as a protagonist.  Our more Euro-American culture friends hated the idea of struggling against fate/karma as being painful and futile, they really wanted to believe that struggle = victory/good ending. 

 

We also noticed this when watching the classic film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.  Most of us that were Asian, found the female protagonist to be self-centered and the root cause of pain for everyone around her.  All of our more Americanized friends hated the ending because despite her struggles, she ended up tragically...

Spoiler

...throwing herself off a cliff at the end

.

 

I think there's obviously philosophical and cultural biases that work against people's understandings of any given stories.  DA2 was for a much richer and nuanced game than Origins.  It had more personal touches.  Origins was a classic Western Fantasy about fighting the Big Evil.  I like them both.  For me it's like Origins is Vanilla Ice Cream, good in a variety of permutations, toppings, and with all sorts of sodas.  DA2 was like a chunky dark chocolate ice cream, rough and crunchy in spots, but oh-so-satisfying, and dark as heck. 

 

I also want to add that, playing either game without mods is boring and far less satisfying that many might have fond memories for.  I went back and played them both heavily modded.  By and large DAO was mostly cosmetically modded, but DA2 with the small quality-of-life mods (like the ones that affect companion gear and armor) make for a HUGE difference in play.

[GoldenGail3]

HAHAHA NO! I don't! And I've played and beaten the game 2 times! And I don't understand 'DAO took forever part' , I think DA2 takes way longer than DAO, and then DAI..... UGHHHHHHHHH TAKES SO SO LONG I COULD DIE BEFORE I FINISH THAT GAME!

[Miss Golightly]

I..... do not. But this can come down to personal preference and opinion.

I didn't play DA2 when it came out, I only played it for the first time this past year. But I can see how and why people would have a chip on their shoulder about it. There are just times when you sit there and say 'Really? They were this lazy? They didn't think we'd notice that this is the same damn building we were in an hour ago, just backwards?"

DA2 has sarcastic femHawke (which is the only way to play the game as far as I'm concerned) and it had some moments where I was sincerely surprised.

When Hawke's mother goes missing, I got really into that and the final result just shattered me. Or when Isabela came back, I had the stupidest grin on my face because I just knew she wouldn't leave. So it did have those moments where I felt invested.

Is it a bad game? No. It's a deeply flawed game. There are far worse games out there, believe me.

 

Origins has a better cast, in my opinion. And it has Morrigan and Alistair's banter which reminds me so much of a couple of bickering siblings sitting in the backseat of a car during a long family road trip.

And even though the story was fairly standard western fantasy RPG stuff, I found the story to be more interesting than DA2's. DA2's was just like being a glorified errand boy/girl. I also feel like Origins had more mystery to it. DA2 fleshed out some of the lore, but I kind of liked that air of mystery in Origins.

 

 

Origins can be clunky and repetitive, but I still like it more than 2.

[NWN-Ming-Ming]

When Hawke's mother goes missing, I got really into that and the final result just shattered me. Or when Isabela came back, I had the stupidest grin on my face because I just knew she wouldn't leave. So it did have those moments where I felt invested.

I know what you mean.  I really felt the crush of Hawke's family plots.  Maybe it's cause family has always been important to me in RL, and when I played DA2 I was still in grief over losing my mother to cancer; but I felt like I was right there with my FemHawke as she tried to hold onto everyone in her family, even Gamlen.  The realization while playing that sometimes, despite your best efforts, Fate has other plans for you was like a catharsis of sorts.

 

Isabella and Aveline were my two best friends, always bickering but really close, and Act II really solidified that little triangle.  I too had that big #$%-eating grin when Isabella came back, because I *knew* she always had that good person in her.

 

Origins has a better cast, in my opinion. And it has Morrigan and Alistair's banter which reminds me so much of a couple of bickering siblings sitting in the backseat of a car during a long family road trip.

OMG- did you ever give Morrigan the little Voodoo Doll of Alistair?  I can't count the number of times I would have her activate it and giggled madly as Alistair reacted!

[thewatcheruatu]

So I'm about midway through a new playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins. I'm determined to finish it this time, though as I work on this, I'm reminded of why I tried and failed twice. It takes a long friggin' time. I mean, slogging through something like the temple and caverns that lead to the Urn of Sacred Ashes feels absolutely epic, but at the same time, I'm kind of like, "When do I get to do the next thing?" I feel like I've been playing the game forever already and I haven't even done A Paragon of Her Kind or Nature of the Beast.

 

I think Dragon Age: Origins is the game that had to be the first in the series, because it does such an amazing job of world building as your Warden travels all throughout Ferelden, to cities, villages, forests, strongholds, Deep Roads, the Circle tower, etc. The scope is insanely impressive, and it's clear why the game is so beloved.

 

Now, with that said, the sheer epicness of it all is exactly the reason I think Hawke's story had to follow it up. Origins was the story of an entire nation, but Dragon Age II was the story of the people who have to live there told through a single family. Where Origins is a bit overwhelming to me, DA2 is just flat-out compelling from start to finish, because it feels far more personal.

 

Anyway, on a different topic, it's funny that people complain about the enemy waves so much, because as I've been playing Origins again, I've been reminded of how that game, too, would spawn enemies right on top of you all the time! You'd think you'd cleared the path behind you, and then you'd advance into the next room only to have enemies appear both in front of and behind you, keeping you enclosed. The game didn't have waves, of course, but it certainly did a lot of things to prevent you from being able to predict your next fight. I've lost count of the times I've reloaded the game just because I didn't like the way a fight was going.

[Miss Golightly]

I know what you mean.  I really felt the crush of Hawke's family plots.  Maybe it's cause family has always been important to me in RL, and when I played DA2 I was still in grief over losing my mother to cancer; but I felt like I was right there with my FemHawke as she tried to hold onto everyone in her family, even Gamlen.  The realization while playing that sometimes, despite your best efforts, Fate has other plans for you was like a catharsis of sorts.

 

I remember playing that quest late at night and it freaked me out big time. I like that the game took an otherwise trivial plot and a character that the player would always assume to be safe or and then threw her into a dire situation that is unavoidable. But the player still feels so guilty (especially when you think your choices had something to do with it). My family as a whole isn't very close. There's a lot of bad blood between cousins and grandparents and uncles and aunts etc. I always kind of hope other people have better families than I do, and people who are close to their families make happy in some regards. So when Hawke's family is ripped apart by forces beyond her control, it was actually difficult for me to watch. When you return to the estate alone and you just stand there, you realize that Hawke really doesn't have anybody from her old life anymore. That was a sad moment for me.

 

 

Isabella and Aveline were my two best friends, always bickering but really close, and Act II really solidified that little triangle.  I too had that big #$%-eating grin when Isabella came back, because I *knew* she always had that good person in her.

 

That's exactly who i always brought with me as well, plus Bethany (Merrill, when Bethany isn't around). It was like a group of people who had nothing in common and they were from different walks of life and at times they drove each other bananas, but by act two they became this little clique lol.

My femHawke didn't romance anybody, but she made some good friendships with her lady friends. I saw Isabela as Hawke's unlikely best friend. And I remember when she returned I just imagine my Hawke elbowing Aveline and saying "I told ya so."

 

I have a mental image from Mean Girls of Hawke, Isabela and Aveline sitting in a car together, and then Hawke starts honking the horn at Bethany and says

"Get in loser, we're going to run errands!"

 

 

OMG- did you ever give Morrigan the little Voodoo Doll of Alistair?  I can't count the number of times I would have her activate it and giggled madly as Alistair reacted!

LOL. Yes! That's one of the many reasons I see them as a couple of siblings terrorizing each other. And even though they claim they can't stand one another, by the time we get to DAI, I think there's a level of respect there.

[JeCy108]

there are things i like more about DAII, and things i like more about DAO..   The scope of the DAO story, i think is better, but the NPC's are kind of static in many ways..  the loot and customization is better in DAO..   

 

 

DAII, i like that it's shorter, and in some ways just having to swap loot on the main character, outside of jewlery and weapons simplifies it and makes the characters feel a bit more like they are their own person.  I also like the way the NPC's work in DAII better. They feel to have more personality and more going on outside of your quest. Isabella is a fine example of this, how she leaves and returns and such. 

 

 

 

the DAII quest turn in is pretty bland, and the junk loot is kinda boring, and the waves get old..   But then again, so does fighting 1000's of darkspawn in the endless deep roads.. To me DAO would of been much better if you just fought less monsters in every section. Often i felt the game turned into a hack and slash, verse an RPG.  But i guess that is a personal thing, verse a complaint, i am sure others love that aspect. But to each their own right?

 

 

I guess i am saying, i like um both for different reasons, DAII does have it's short comings, But then so does DAO..  If i could only play one, it would probably be origins, but seeing i don't have to choose, it is more all about my mood..   that said, DAII could use some modding and really bring the game up to another level...

 

 

(PS, the icons under peoples names, can anyone tell me what that little green spiral looking thing is, and what looks like a white tower on a red background,  I know they are games, i just was curious what ones, thanks!)

[thewatcheruatu]

 

(PS, the icons under peoples names, can anyone tell me what that little green spiral looking thing is, and what looks like a white tower on a red background,  I know they are games, i just was curious what ones, thanks!)

 

The tower has something to do with Dragon Age Keep. The other one is for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

[thewatcheruatu]

DAII, i like that it's shorter, and in some ways just having to swap loot on the main character, outside of jewlery and weapons simplifies it and makes the characters feel a bit more like they are their own person.  

 

Oh, and I forgot about this, but it's also something I enjoy. I know a lot of people enjoy micromanaging gear stats, but I actually hate it for the most part. I find it so tedious and I feel like it delays me from doing what I really want to be doing. I mean, I like improving my gear, of course, because it's one of the many ways that you get to measure your progress, but I like it best when it's just kept simple. 

 

I wouldn't have minded if DA2 had provided a few different outfits for your companions to make it feel a bit more personal, but worrying about their gear? That's something I didn't miss at all. Not to mention all of the inventory headaches to which it leads owing to the fact you only ever have three of your companions around at any given time.

[JeCy108]

The tower has something to do with Dragon Age Keep. The other one is for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

 

thanks

 

 

DAO easily the best.



The only issues I had with DAO was each section was extremely long and also needing basically max out before picking up the warden keep loot or whatnot so it levels to highest.

 

 

You realize, you can Do the wardens keep, or Ostagar first..  then later on in the game you can place the warden armor, and the kings armor in the storage chest at the wardens keep, and presto when you remove it it levels up..  aka.. you can get it early, use it the entire game, and level it up as you go by using the storage chest.  I think there are some weapons that do that as well..   FYI, it is only the gear from those two DLC's that it works on.   

 

Though by this point i have played the game a bunch of times, and now i just play it on lower levels and use the gear that i like the looks of, verse trying to power game on insane and min/max everything.  Feels like a better experience IMO. Besides lil looks so cute in her dalish garb!

 

 

 

 

The other thing i liked better in DAII, well at least in some cases was the power system..  You could really build some interesting set ups, verse the first, if you were a shield warrior. you were basically the same every time..  in fact all classes outside of mages were pretty much set to the one skill box.   In DAII you had a lot more flexibility in powers, and the feel for how the played.   You could build a tanky Two handed weapon character,  Or a Hit and run high alpha rouge, or one that would stay in the thick of things and be side by side with your shield warrior.  You could do this to some degree in DAO, but it was more about stats and gear, in DAII, you had powers on top of stats and gear that really changed the feel of your character. 

 

I still haven't played the newest one.. waiting for the price to drop as i'm a bit short on cash..  But i must say i am really excited for the new expansion for Baldur's gate that is coming for the new enhanced edition. From what i hear it sounds very promising, besides gives me a reason to play through the classic yet again..

[Aesa]

The other thing i liked better in DAII, well at least in some cases was the power system..  You could really build some interesting set ups, verse the first, if you were a shield warrior. you were basically the same every time..  in fact all classes outside of mages were pretty much set to the one skill box.   In DAII you had a lot more flexibility in powers, and the feel for how the played.   You could build a tanky Two handed weapon character,  Or a Hit and run high alpha rouge, or one that would stay in the thick of things and be side by side with your shield warrior.  You could do this to some degree in DAO, but it was more about stats and gear, in DAII, you had powers on top of stats and gear that really changed the feel of your character. 

 

Agreed. There were several powerful mage builds in DAO, but the rogues and warriors felt very bland in comparison and far too similar to each other. I had a blast with DW rogue and 2-handed warrior in DA2.

[MerchantGOL]

Me too OP.

 

I think the characters are much better, and the combats better at its faster pace.

[Erstus]

Aside from the problems of DA2 that have already been adressed - It may be my favorite story of the series, still. And I absolutely loved Origins.

I mostly appreciated the idea and concept of Hawke's story. You were a nobody who slowly rose to a more prominent position in a city bloated with religious zealatry, racism, class systems and more. You were not the typical world-saving hero, which I wish to see less of in future games. The focus on his family and friends took priority over other matters.

That said, the story was delivered in a mediocre manner. They could have developed it much more.

[Chaos Imperius]

Such Heresy saying that miserable DA2 is better than Origins those who oppose the Origins shall die and burn 

[SmilesJA]

Such Heresy saying that miserable DA2 is better than Origins those who oppose the Origins shall die and burn 

 

Heresy? Or difference of opinion?

[DisturbedJim83]

I agree, even you said it best that Bioware went through this phase where they wanted to turn Dragon Age into a Mass Effect knockoff and "Hawke" was supposed to be the new Sheperd. Of course, Dragon Age 2 simply didn't sell well, certainly not as well as the Mass Effect series (not even close). Hawke was basically scrapped as a failure, as he should have been. And even still looking at the sales numbers it's a wonder that Inquisition didn't move MORE back towards Origins. I guess it's this idea that everything has to be Call of Duty to be successful?

Except for the ton of innacuracies in your statement Hawke wasn't "scrapped" he appears in DAI and Inquisition didn't move closer to DAO it moved in the opposite direction, giving players less choice,less agency'less tactics for companions and then take into account that it was a consolefied mess of a PC port marketed by Bioware as "made by PC Gamers for a PC Gamers".

 

As for you comment to Hawke being a "failure" your whole basis for this seems to be based on the fact that Hawke didn't provide the ego massaging wish fulfillment or being a all knowing demigod superhero that can't fail that you wanted.The reality is that something isn't bad just because it didn't give you what you wanted.   

[Kynare]

I couldn't get enough of DA:O. Each time I got the support of a faction, I knew I had progressed in the story and closer to the ending... which I didn't want to end. The storyline is a lot more linear, in my opinion (as in even from the very beginning, you already know the end result that you're working towards) and I feel like there's not as many side quests as DA2. But somehow, I think that simplicity helped me to immerse myself in the story and my character a lot more.

 

It took me a bit to get used to the DA2 questing system, and you're just sort of being strung along so that you can see Hawke's story, rather than having the impression that you're making it yourself. I like Hawke's story, but I still feel a lot more committed to my Warden. I feel like it has something to do with roleplaying. I think players who prefer to fill in the blanks and flesh out their own character may have enjoyed Origins more.