Dragon Age 2: Legacy Review

[Frankster]

The worst part about these "i love/i hate da2" arguments is they serve only to crystalise the participants opinions in the face of a strong opposite reaction.

And then there's the fact numbers seem to mean very different things for different people, since when is "good game but flawed" a 9/10-10? Da2 is neither a horrible game nor a masterpiece, the truth lies in between, it's a decent game with the bioware golden cage effect (notice how certain peeps keep comparing the game to an interactive movie or using cinema analogies? that's the bioware golden cage effect, the effectiveness of its illusion varies depending on game though, and I strongly feel da2 was the least shiny and smallest cage bioware has made yet), extremely fun if you can ignore the gripes, but it is really easy to find criticism in the game.

Reused environments? Respawning enemies? Ha! Didn't bat an eyelid at that, what really drove me crazy was the moronic actions of characters, the paper thin illusion of choice (one of the factors that saw me break the golden cage effect relatively early alas...), the plot and game structure (this is my biggest problem with da2) and finally, an abysmal 3rd act with what was for me, one of the worst endings to a game of recent time, I simply could not believe I was fighting the final boss and that the game was over, with a big fat "to be continued..." being the final insult.

That's my opinion for whatever it's worth, and were I reviewing, i'd give it a 7/10, maybe going up to 8/10 being extremely generous but don't feel it deserves it, anythigh higher would be doing a disservice to the gaming industry since they are far more deserving titles out there.

Oh hang on...Topic was about Da2 legacy
Might play it one day, but don't feel it would be a wise purchase, if anything with the dlc packs it's usually best to get them in a bundle or when they are on sale.

Da2 is no longer on steam? Eugh....

 

[bootz]

Looking at this, it feels like Susan should have reviewed DA2. It's obvious she would have given it a much more sensible score, rather than one based entirely on blinding Bioware fanboyism.

A bit too short and a bit too easy.

Both complaints which could have been levied against the base game as well.

Then again, she's quickly become my favorite reviewer on this site regardless.

Give it up, man ...

Why should he? The DA2 review from here gives the game a 5/5 if I recall. Saying it deserves a 5/5 is total and utter rubbish. Whoever reviewed it either chose to ignore the glaring faults with the game or didn't bother playing it any great deal and just ran off a review. No unbiased critic can look at that game's total package and think "Gee there's a game that deserves a PERFECT score". I can see people making an argument for possibly a 4/5 despite the obvious faults but to give it a perfect score and make no mention of almost any of the biggest faults is laughable.

I've paid good money on games based solely off reviews done by The Escapist. I've yet to be terribly let down. However, had I done the same for Dragon Age 2 I would have been properly pissed.

There is no such thing as a PERFECT score, just as there is no such thing as a PERFECT game. DA2 got what that particular reviewer felt like it deserved getting, a grade that I as a gamer agree with - the game fulfilled what I wanted it to fulfill and was entirely worth the price I paid for it, a 5/5 in short.

So you want Recycled Dungeons and Repetitve wave spawns of enemy's? You want to have a loading screen every 20 feet of the city? (Wierd theres a game that takes place in rome and has no loading) Even in the gsme my Hawke kept saying "Oh no not the same thing again" Even the Game knew it was bad.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

I would say its a matter of lets never forget what happened those few months ago. The pain felt by fans of the Escapist and fans of the original Dragon Age is something that should never be forgotten. Time heals all wounds but for many it will always be etched in their minds.

I'd just like to ask you one question. Which is your pain more comparable to: a) the victims of the Japanese Tsunami, b) the citizens of Egypt under the former Mubarak regime, or c) those afflicted with either cancer or AIDS? There is of course, alternatively, d), ie, none of the above, and you should count your blessings if the worst pain you've ever endured was a bloke on a gaming site giving a game you didn't like a five star review, rather than lamenting it with annual commemorations and bronze memorials.

To be fair, the whole "Someone else is suffering worse" argument is really, really stupid.

Because it can be applied ad nauseum to anything really. Because there is only one person who can suffer the most at one time. I could argue that you've no right to be upset at him being upset for the same reasons, making debating this utterly pointless. So really, try a better argument next time. Thanks!

As for me, I enjoyed DA:II. I didn't think it was worth 5/5, but I can understand why someone would. It's a dead horse by this point.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

I would say its a matter of lets never forget what happened those few months ago. The pain felt by fans of the Escapist and fans of the original Dragon Age is something that should never be forgotten. Time heals all wounds but for many it will always be etched in their minds.

I'd just like to ask you one question. Which is your pain more comparable to: a) the victims of the Japanese Tsunami, b) the citizens of Egypt under the former Mubarak regime, or c) those afflicted with either cancer or AIDS? There is of course, alternatively, d), ie, none of the above, and you should count your blessings if the worst pain you've ever endured was a bloke on a gaming site giving a game you didn't like a five star review, rather than lamenting it with annual commemorations and bronze memorials.

To be fair, the whole "Someone else is suffering worse" argument is really, really stupid.

Because it can be applied ad nauseum to anything really. Because there is only one person who can suffer the most at one time. I could argue that you've no right to be upset at him being upset for the same reasons, making debating this utterly pointless. So really, try a better argument next time. Thanks!

As for me, I enjoyed DA:II. I didn't think it was worth 5/5, but I can understand why someone would. It's a dead horse by this point.

I'm sorry? The word 'pain' is defined in numerous dictionaries as physical or mental feelings of extreme distress or illness. This isn't even about quantifying different levels of pain: if our friend above us actually felt anything even vaguely approaching 'pain' about Greg's review, I wonder how difficult it is for him to go through life dealing every day with the fact that people have different subjective opinions to his own. If he's not, then he's simply being pointlessly melodramatic.

Hint: it's probably not the former.

 

[Greg Tito]

I would say its a matter of lets never forget what happened those few months ago. The pain felt by fans of the Escapist and fans of the original Dragon Age is something that should never be forgotten. Time heals all wounds but for many it will always be etched in their minds.

I'd just like to ask you one question. Which is your pain more comparable to: a) the victims of the Japanese Tsunami, b) the citizens of Egypt under the former Mubarak regime, or c) those afflicted with either cancer or AIDS? There is of course, alternatively, d), ie, none of the above, and you should count your blessings if the worst pain you've ever endured was a bloke on a gaming site giving a game you didn't like a five star review, rather than lamenting it with annual commemorations and bronze memorials.

To be fair, the whole "Someone else is suffering worse" argument is really, really stupid.

Because it can be applied ad nauseum to anything really. Because there is only one person who can suffer the most at one time. I could argue that you've no right to be upset at him being upset for the same reasons, making debating this utterly pointless. So really, try a better argument next time. Thanks!

As for me, I enjoyed DA:II. I didn't think it was worth 5/5, but I can understand why someone would. It's a dead horse by this point.

I'm sorry? The word 'pain' is defined in numerous dictionaries as physical or mental feelings of extreme distress or illness. This isn't even about quantifying different levels of pain: if our friend above us actually felt anything even vaguely approaching 'pain' about Greg's review, I wonder how difficult it is for him to go through life dealing every day with the fact that people have different subjective opinions to his own. If he's not, then he's simply being pointlessly melodramatic.

Hint: it's probably not the former.

This.

To all the people still complaining about my review: My opinion of DA2 differs from yours. The negatives that many people have brought up (reused environments, more active combat) just didn't at all outweigh for me the strength of the story and the fun I had building my party and kitting them out. I got lost in the overall experience of Kirkwall and I meant everything I wrote in the review, but I realize that many people may not agree.

That doesn't mean that you are right and I am wrong, or vice versa. I respect that many fans of the first DA have an opinion and that it doesn't necessarily match mine. Please respect that I have a right to my critical opinion as well.

Now, I should stop ninjaing Susan's thread. Has anyone played Legacy?

Greg

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

I would say its a matter of lets never forget what happened those few months ago. The pain felt by fans of the Escapist and fans of the original Dragon Age is something that should never be forgotten. Time heals all wounds but for many it will always be etched in their minds.

I'd just like to ask you one question. Which is your pain more comparable to: a) the victims of the Japanese Tsunami, b) the citizens of Egypt under the former Mubarak regime, or c) those afflicted with either cancer or AIDS? There is of course, alternatively, d), ie, none of the above, and you should count your blessings if the worst pain you've ever endured was a bloke on a gaming site giving a game you didn't like a five star review, rather than lamenting it with annual commemorations and bronze memorials.

To be fair, the whole "Someone else is suffering worse" argument is really, really stupid.

Because it can be applied ad nauseum to anything really. Because there is only one person who can suffer the most at one time. I could argue that you've no right to be upset at him being upset for the same reasons, making debating this utterly pointless. So really, try a better argument next time. Thanks!

As for me, I enjoyed DA:II. I didn't think it was worth 5/5, but I can understand why someone would. It's a dead horse by this point.

I'm sorry? The word 'pain' is defined in numerous dictionaries as physical or mental feelings of extreme distress or illness. This isn't even about quantifying different levels of pain: if our friend above us actually felt anything even vaguely approaching 'pain' about Greg's review, I wonder how difficult it is for him to go through life dealing every day with the fact that people have different subjective opinions to his own. If he's not, then he's simply being pointlessly melodramatic.

Hint: it's probably not the former.

My point is that your argument boils down to "X has it worse, therefore you, Y, have no right to be as upset". That's not really good because, as I said, it can be applied to a lot of things in ways normal people would find stupid. "Your upset about being fired from your job without cause? TOUGH! There are people born without limbs!". Other people's pain is a valid point in why they should be upset, not why person Y should not.

I agree. It's stupid to still be upset at it. But try and find a better way of saying that.

 

[Briney-]

Nice review, Susan. I'll likely wait a while before getting this one (too many other interesting games on my plate right now), but it's good to know that there are some interesting elements in the DLC package.

 

[StriderShinryu]

And this is why, though I understand the industry demands for it, giving a final score on a game review is a terrible idea.

Personally, I very much enjoyed DA2 and think that much of what it did was an improvement over DAO. I can't say I'll be buying this DLC as I generally don't buy DLC for games I've long finished playing, but it's good to hear that it's not a total waste like much of the DLC for DAO.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

Did I mention graphics once? Reading what you're quoting goes a long way. To reiterate, I mentioned gameplay improvements, particularly in the console versions of the game, making the menus easier to navigate, making it possible to manage the whole party, and generally handling the game much better. Those are VERY objective improvements. I did not once comment on graphics because it's almost a given that new games look better, and certainly not comment on artistic style (again, subjective tastes.)

Uhh.....fuck. I think I may have misquoted you sorry. I was talking with somebody else about the graphics.

And yeah the gameplay was better. I guess. I mean, it wasn't mind-blowing, but no complaints.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

To all the people still complaining about my review: My opinion of DA2 differs from yours. The negatives that many people have brought up (reused environments, more active combat) just didn't at all outweigh for me the strength of the story and the fun I had building my party and kitting them out. I got lost in the overall experience of Kirkwall and I meant everything I wrote in the review, but I realize that many people may not agree.

That doesn't mean that you are right and I am wrong, or vice versa. I respect that many fans of the first DA have an opinion and that it doesn't necessarily match mine. Please respect that I have a right to my critical opinion as well.

Now, I should stop ninjaing Susan's thread. Has anyone played Legacy?

Greg

Thanks Greg for being a stand up guy. It is amazing how people can't see the logic of what you have said here. You said it in far fewer words than I said several posts above.

As I said in one of the million DA2 explosive conflagration extravaganzas on this site, people are thinking about this whole thing too much in the area that the world is black and white. The problem is that the world isn't black and white, it is grey. There is only an unanimous decision about a game in one's own mind. Very rarely has there been a unified front of gamers that have come together and all praised a game or all panned it.

As for Legacy, I have played it and I thought it was awesome. I played it on casual and I was surprised on how in the final battle, I lost all my party members and and had to beat the guy by myself when he was still at half health. It still was a great boss battle though, very old school with the multiple layers in it.

The only thing she didn't mention was how it fits into the story? Does it go before the Qunari? Before I go into the Darkspawn tunnels?

Would someone care to enlighten me? ^^

If it in't an add on after the completed game, I'll just wait till all the DLC is out, then go through it all on 1 character.

Considering what the ending dialogue was like, and who it involved, when I played it as the last thing with my Mage Hawke, since I had already beat the game with him, I betting they changed up the ending dialogue depending on when you play it. I know that it is available to play not far from just starting the game. You will be able to play it as soon as you go to Gamlen. There will be a large griffon statue in whatever house you are calling home at the time.

I bought the DLC, played it, and beat it the day it came out. Susan said it was five hours on normal, I played it on casual and it took me four hours. But I definitely have to say it was solid and that it was worth the money. As of late with my attention span, there hasn't been a game that has held me long enough to keep me playing from start to finish, but as I said, I started and finished it in one sitting. In my eyes, something that holds me start to finish, for four hours, is nothing to sneeze at.

Having finished the vanilla game last week.....I would give Dragon Age 2....... Three and a half stars. It's not a bad RPG, but it's no 10. True, there was nothing glaringly broken about it other than the repeating environs.....but it was just so, average. Nothing (except for a few of the characters) pops out as noteworthy.

Character-wise, I loved them all, except for Fenris(just too moody, dark, and broody), Anders(had some good moments but, just wasn't all that fun to be around), and Sebastian(there were times I felt sorry for him, but he was way to "hail to the Chantry". There were some side splitting hilarious banter between him and Merrill while walking around.)

 

[Rawne1980]

I don't think I could possibly force myself to re-install DA2 just to try out this DLC.

I admit it was a half decent game (flaws aside) for 1 play through but thats about it.

I always keep the saves of games I uninstall "just in case" but DA2 is one of the ones I didn't bother with (that and Duke Nukem Forever ..... just don't get me started on that thrice cursed game).

If they release more DLC and slap them together in a bundle i'll have a dabble but until then i'll twiddle my thumbs and stare blankly at my monitor waiting for the 26th and Deus Ex to appear through my letterbox.

 

[JMeganSnow]

You played it on normal and are complaining that it was too easy? Normal in DA2 is designed so that you basically only have to play your main character--you don't have to mess with the others. They might as well have called it "solo" difficulty.

Try playing it on Hard or Nightmare next time.

 

[JMeganSnow]

You played it on normal and are complaining that it was too easy? Normal in DA2 is designed so that you basically only have to play your main character--you don't have to mess with the others. They might as well have called it "solo" difficulty.

Try playing it on Hard or Nightmare next time.

Except Nightmare is nothing but a twitchfest boring boom headshot affair, kiting and abuse is the only way to win compared to ORIGONS nightmare where you had to have good hero builds and such and tactics came into play it Dragon age 2's nightmare really was a nightmare... and not for the right reasons.

Don't post drunk.

 

[ciasteczkowyp]

Try doing it on lvl 28 and on nightmare, Then we can talk about difficulty. The fact is that the game scales badly, on lower levels it's very easy, on higher very hard. I mean the boss took me 7 minutes on normal and around 50 on nightmare, waaay more than the high dragon or orsino.

 

[Baresark]

I played every ounce of origins and read the book as well(not sure if there is more than one), though that was the epitome of cliche writing.

There are two (The Stolen Throne, The Calling) and there are rumors about a third in the works.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to look into it, maybe they are written by a better author. I was enthralled by the story of DA:O, then I went into The Calling hard, and was very disappointed.

 

[Samsont]

"Your father was instrumental in constructing the magical seals that hold the place together"
When I read that, for a second I actually thought she meant seals, as in the animals. XD