It almost feels really pointless reviewing this game right now. For one thing, I'm pretty sure everybody and their brother in law have probably already bought it and beat it. So, I guess it kind of feels like I'm just throwing out another opinion that not too many people are going to look into. But, oh well, I guess.
So, when I first played the demo, I felt a little.....well.....I'm disappointed I guess. It felt like a completely different game from the first one, and since I loved the first one, this one felt like a rough change. The combat was a lot faster paced, and it felt a little bit easier too, there was the conversation wheel, which is also from Mass Effect, and just telling from the demo, it didn't seem like the game was going to be as huge as the first game. My friend and I felt like that this game was going to be complete shit. Neither of us had high expectations of the game after wards. But, with that said, the game was actually a really enjoyable experience.
So, what happened? Well, I guess even with all the changes that we thought that would make the game suck, it really didn't detract from the experience that much. But, one of the things that I still hate is that there is no tactical view, and it really would have come in handy at a lot of times. There were a lot of times where I didn't know what the hell was going on. Oh yea, that's another thing too, the combat can be a total cluster fuck at time, but it is helped with a pause button where you can see what's going and make better decisions. I definitely used the pause button a lot. I guess another thing that I really didn't like the game is that it's so small compared to the first game. The first game felt like this really big world with all of these different areas. Here, it's just two areas through out the entire game. There's Kirkwall and there's this mountainous area. Sure, there are small areas in each part, but they really are just so little. Especially compared to the first game.
With all that said though, there's still a lot to enjoy in this game. Sure, I nagged on the combat a little bit, but it's still a lot of fun. It's faster paced and the special attacks you get through out the game are really cool too. I played as a warrior when I went through the game, so I was having fun slaughtering people in just a couple of strikes, as the warrior can produce strong attacks that can take out a whole bunch of enemies in one go. The Rogue is really fun as well. They can take out enemies really quickly and they also have the backstabbing technique. It's no like the first game though where you positioned yourself behind the enemy to perform this attack, it's more of a special move where you can appear behind your enemy and strike a powerful blow. The Mages are really good as support characters. That's all I really know about them, I don't really specialize in those kind of roles, but they are fun to use.
If it's one thing I have to nag on the combat is that the boss fights can be pretty ridiculous at times. I know this sounds cheap, but the first time I was fighting a dragon, it was really kicking my ass, so when I had two people left, I had the dragon chase one guy around while the other guy keeps on hitting him with projectiles. I was really boring and cheap, but I guess it got the job done. Though, I feel like people shouldn't have to resort to stuff like that.
There's also the dialogue wheel, like in Mass Effect. I think it's a cool idea, and it does give your character a voice, which is kind of cool, but it's starting to feel limiting. Well, it is for me. Sure, there's the positive and negative response. The neutral response has been replaced with a smart ass response, which is actually pretty cool. But the thing is, I feel like they need to add a bit more. And also, there are some things where my character seems to say something completely unfitting of what I wanted him to say. For instance, one of my party members was mad that I was having a relation with this other person. My two choices were "We're Happy" and "I don't want to talk about". I chose the "We're happy" option, and my character says "But I love her!" Jesus Christ, I wanted to punch him after saying that. Oh well, it's not as limiting as I make it out to be, but I guess it's starting to feel a little weird now though, especially when my character says stuff like that.
Oh yea, and there's a story to go along with this game as well. Well, there's definitely a lot of cool stuff that happens in this game. You get to meet a lot of cool characters, as they are all well developed and well rounded. I definitely had a couple of favorite characters. Like, well, Isabela, but I think everyone likes her. For one thing, she's this sexy pirate. A decent combination. I do have to give some sort of mention about Merrill though. She's such an interesting character, I can't really point out why I like her so much. Oh, there's also this one **** you get on your team named Anders, and nothing I did ever seemed to please him. I helped him get one he wanted and in the end, he his rivalry went up with me. After talking to him, I did gain friendship, but one has to wonder why he disapproved in the first place.
There's interesting conflicts that you have to resolve, and pick a side between people on what you want to do. It's actually really cool. I don't want to get too in depth of the story in fear of spoiling, but I do need to mention the cliff hanger. I mean, it really caught me off guard. It's not bad, it just caught me off guard though, but I guess we can expect another sequel, and I can't really say that's a bad thing.
So, this game is really good. I can honestly say that even with my low expectations. I mean, there has to be a reason why this was all I wanted to play during my spring break, and the thing is, this game is well designed. The question is, though, with some people, "how does it compare to the first game?" Well, it's really hard to compare the two, they almost feel like different games. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. This is a damn good adventure game with cool action and a cool story, and I'd say it's worth checking out, if you're one of the few people that hasn't so far.
So, when I first played the demo, I felt a little.....well.....I'm disappointed I guess. It felt like a completely different game from the first one, and since I loved the first one, this one felt like a rough change. The combat was a lot faster paced, and it felt a little bit easier too, there was the conversation wheel, which is also from Mass Effect, and just telling from the demo, it didn't seem like the game was going to be as huge as the first game. My friend and I felt like that this game was going to be complete shit. Neither of us had high expectations of the game after wards. But, with that said, the game was actually a really enjoyable experience.
So, what happened? Well, I guess even with all the changes that we thought that would make the game suck, it really didn't detract from the experience that much. But, one of the things that I still hate is that there is no tactical view, and it really would have come in handy at a lot of times. There were a lot of times where I didn't know what the hell was going on. Oh yea, that's another thing too, the combat can be a total cluster fuck at time, but it is helped with a pause button where you can see what's going and make better decisions. I definitely used the pause button a lot. I guess another thing that I really didn't like the game is that it's so small compared to the first game. The first game felt like this really big world with all of these different areas. Here, it's just two areas through out the entire game. There's Kirkwall and there's this mountainous area. Sure, there are small areas in each part, but they really are just so little. Especially compared to the first game.
With all that said though, there's still a lot to enjoy in this game. Sure, I nagged on the combat a little bit, but it's still a lot of fun. It's faster paced and the special attacks you get through out the game are really cool too. I played as a warrior when I went through the game, so I was having fun slaughtering people in just a couple of strikes, as the warrior can produce strong attacks that can take out a whole bunch of enemies in one go. The Rogue is really fun as well. They can take out enemies really quickly and they also have the backstabbing technique. It's no like the first game though where you positioned yourself behind the enemy to perform this attack, it's more of a special move where you can appear behind your enemy and strike a powerful blow. The Mages are really good as support characters. That's all I really know about them, I don't really specialize in those kind of roles, but they are fun to use.
If it's one thing I have to nag on the combat is that the boss fights can be pretty ridiculous at times. I know this sounds cheap, but the first time I was fighting a dragon, it was really kicking my ass, so when I had two people left, I had the dragon chase one guy around while the other guy keeps on hitting him with projectiles. I was really boring and cheap, but I guess it got the job done. Though, I feel like people shouldn't have to resort to stuff like that.
There's also the dialogue wheel, like in Mass Effect. I think it's a cool idea, and it does give your character a voice, which is kind of cool, but it's starting to feel limiting. Well, it is for me. Sure, there's the positive and negative response. The neutral response has been replaced with a smart ass response, which is actually pretty cool. But the thing is, I feel like they need to add a bit more. And also, there are some things where my character seems to say something completely unfitting of what I wanted him to say. For instance, one of my party members was mad that I was having a relation with this other person. My two choices were "We're Happy" and "I don't want to talk about". I chose the "We're happy" option, and my character says "But I love her!" Jesus Christ, I wanted to punch him after saying that. Oh well, it's not as limiting as I make it out to be, but I guess it's starting to feel a little weird now though, especially when my character says stuff like that.
Oh yea, and there's a story to go along with this game as well. Well, there's definitely a lot of cool stuff that happens in this game. You get to meet a lot of cool characters, as they are all well developed and well rounded. I definitely had a couple of favorite characters. Like, well, Isabela, but I think everyone likes her. For one thing, she's this sexy pirate. A decent combination. I do have to give some sort of mention about Merrill though. She's such an interesting character, I can't really point out why I like her so much. Oh, there's also this one **** you get on your team named Anders, and nothing I did ever seemed to please him. I helped him get one he wanted and in the end, he his rivalry went up with me. After talking to him, I did gain friendship, but one has to wonder why he disapproved in the first place.
There's interesting conflicts that you have to resolve, and pick a side between people on what you want to do. It's actually really cool. I don't want to get too in depth of the story in fear of spoiling, but I do need to mention the cliff hanger. I mean, it really caught me off guard. It's not bad, it just caught me off guard though, but I guess we can expect another sequel, and I can't really say that's a bad thing.
So, this game is really good. I can honestly say that even with my low expectations. I mean, there has to be a reason why this was all I wanted to play during my spring break, and the thing is, this game is well designed. The question is, though, with some people, "how does it compare to the first game?" Well, it's really hard to compare the two, they almost feel like different games. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. This is a damn good adventure game with cool action and a cool story, and I'd say it's worth checking out, if you're one of the few people that hasn't so far.