So Dragon Age 2

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I loved Dragon Age 2. Sure it was a little rushed, and they overused the same environment, but it was heads and shoulders better than Origins. The only thing Dragon Age: Origins has going for it is an engaging story, game-play is dull and tedious, and most of the characters are forgettable archetypes with no real depth in personality. Dragon Age 2 improves on those faults but at the same time it does it while following a more personal story, though one whose pacing becomes a little rushed at the end, instead of Origin's grand scale hero save the world from the emerging hoard of Darkspawns story. So I would say give it a shot, you might like it.

I thought actual story of Origins was it's weakest aspect, the things that kept me playing were the characters and the setting. The characters weren't on the level of say, Planescape: Torment's characters but they were likable with interesting backstories and the world was believable and enjoyable. The actual *story* was as generic and predictable as RPG stories get, in my opinion, and there wasn't a single plot twist I didn't see coming.

I also thought the combat in Origins was fantastic but, as I alluded to earlier, that depends on the format you played it on. The PC version harkens back to the days of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, feeling a little bit like a small scale RTS. The game's balance was a little bit off, but God-damn it is so fun playing as a blatantly OP mage. This, however, is not true of the console version which I played first. Combat was an absolute chore there, to the point where I just couldn't be bothered playing in combat heavy sections.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

It isn't worth the 60$ I payed at release, but it is worth 15-20$ if you can get it for that.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

If you don't mind endlessly repeated boring environments, the worst batch of characters Bioware has ever come up with, a plot written by 5 fanfic writers hastily glued together with spit, ADD combat, and the fucking dialog wheel shoehorned in for no fucking reason, sure go ahead.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Yes you should, it is still one of the best games you can buy, and i paid like 15 dollars for it, which i would have done twice
I really do not understand why people whine so much, sure it is a quite a bit less than DAO was

Do not go into the dwarf thaig cave near sundermount when it first gets available or you will get squished like a bug even on the easiest difficulty

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

No, 5 bucks maybe tops and only to learn how not to follow up a game. It is weaker than DA:O in every single category. The only time I could say I enjoyed the game was when your partners had their chit-chats.

 

[Rastien]

I know I'm behind the curve here but never mind.

I was curious: I only just brought and finished Dragon Age (Currently going trough Awakening) and I was wondering I should buy DA2 despite the shit storm caused. I rally couldent care less about the combat, its the weakest part of the series, what I can aout is the characters and the story and I was just wondering if the complaints are about that. If its only the gameplay then I can probably over look it.

If it is the story at fault then can someone give me a synopsis so I'm ready for DA3?

Well i'm one of the few people who actually preffered it over dragon age 1, for me the combat was alot more fun and i kinda like the central hub of the city. DA1 combat felt to much like cluster fuck aoe through for the win, although im sure people disagree x).

Anyway played both they are good £12 whats that 3 beers if your lucky? 25g of bacci? yeah i would pay £12 for it

 

[Attercap]

I think the biggest issue is that Dragon Age:Origins (and Awakening) were spiritual successors to Baldur's Gate, but DA2 went on its own path and felt like it was rushed out the door. DA2 certainly isn't a bad game, but it's not a great game, either. While it has some flaws (the two biggest being: cut-and-paste dungeons ad nauseum and additional troops spawning from seemingly nowhere) I found the game enjoyable enough to finish twice. ...Which is the same amount of times I did a complete play-through of DA:O.

 

[LiquidGrape]

Bar only Jade Empire, it is BioWare's bravest and least conventional game to date.

I love it.

Also, a great many of its core characters were a lot more substantial than the Origins archetypes. Fenris and Carver would be the only exceptions I can call to mind. The others are fantastically characterised, subverting the player's expectations several times as the story plays out.

 

[Fredvdp]

Despite the fact that this game was released before it was completed, I like it more than DAO. The biggest problem is that the game recycles areas for different missions, and not just for sidequests like in Mass Effect.

 

[StBishop]

I liked it. The game had serious flaws and if you want to find them you can just type "Escapist forums March 2011" or "Escapist Forums April 2011" into google. Every thread was about its flaws, they are numerous, the greatest of which was that it was nothing like DA:O.

I recommend getting it but realise that the game play is more Dynasty Warriors than Dragon Age, and play a melee rogue, it's the most fun.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I would say beyond the shadow of a doubt that Dragon Age 2 is worth playing and despite some folks griping I found that Dragon Age 2 had some of Bioware's BEST characters whom I really grew to like over the course of the game.

As well if you're playing it on Console DA2 has the superior Combat System, but if you're playing it on PC well... expect something VERY different from DA:O. But the PC version of DA:O was a very different (and vastly superior) experience and having played it on both I can appreciate Bioware's work in making DA2 a better console experience, I'm just sad it came at the expense of the PC versions great retro-modern systems.

I guess at the end of the day DA2 is a "poor successor" to what DA:O offered but it also feels like a MUCH more modern Fantasy RPG and would have really brought the series forward if it weren't for the poor ending (It's only REALLY bad on the second go around) and the copy pasted dungeons.

 

[Saviordd1]

It was a fun game. It was even a good game, but it is a horrible Bioware game and a terrible Dragon Age game.

This. It was certainly bearable and I managed to play through it about twice. But its not nearly DAO good. Though in my opinion the companions are better.

 

[darlarosa]

I would say beyond the shadow of a doubt that Dragon Age 2 is worth playing and despite some folks griping I found that Dragon Age 2 had some of Bioware's BEST characters whom I really grew to like over the course of the game.

As well if you're playing it on Console DA2 has the superior Combat System, but if you're playing it on PC well... expect something VERY different from DA:O. But the PC version of DA:O was a very different (and vastly superior) experience and having played it on both I can appreciate Bioware's work in making DA2 a better console experience, I'm just sad it came at the expense of the PC versions great retro-modern systems.

I guess at the end of the day DA2 is a "poor successor" to what DA:O offered but it also feels like a MUCH more modern Fantasy RPG and would have really brought the series forward if it weren't for the poor ending (It's only REALLY bad on the second go around) and the copy pasted dungeons.

This^

I would add that even on xbox the gameplay feels lacking in comparison to DA:O. It's far less tactical than...almost any Bioware game I have played actually.
The main reason to play it, for me, is the narrative and actually the rogue feels a bit more like a rogue to me, and the Mage is no longer regulated to just ranged attacks. The characters are the most redeeming part of this game. That said each characters story can vary in terms of being good or logical. Truthfully some things are just so overblown in the game and have such glaring logic/narrative errors that it can be painful after you actually think about it.

I am going to just say that ultimately Mages and Templars come off as being unsympathetic by the end of the game. The narrative does not provide any sort of balance to how the conflict is presented and that is the MAJOR narrative downfall

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I am going to just say that ultimately Mages and Templars come off as being unsympathetic by the end of the game. The narrative does not provide any sort of balance to how the conflict is presented and that is the MAJOR narrative downfall

I think part of the problem is that it all sorta "comes out of nowhere" in a lot of ways. They should have let us (the players) spend more time with Merideth and Orsino and really driven the Mage vs. Templar conflict home. The problem is that they should have presented that as the Main Conflict from the get go rather than having it take a serious sideline to the Sidequesting of Act 1 and the (in my opinion brilliant) Quinari storyline of Act 2. A big problem is that Act 2 presents so many high points and has such a fantastic climax and Act 3 really does nothing to top it, especially since Act 2 is presented the way the entire Merideth/Orisno plotline should have been. You interact with the key players throughout Act 1 and Act 2 and eventually it all comes to a head for the climax of Act 2 and it matters more since you know all of the characters involved, have spoken to them, done missions for them and either produced friendships or rivalries with them. It makes the closing of that act so much stronger, and something similar was reeeeaaalllyyyy needed for the Orsino/Merideth conflict in Act 3, you really don't do much more than hear about them throughout Acts 1 and 2 and don't meet them until Act 3, which is way to short for you to care about either of them as either an Ally OR a villain.

 

[darlarosa]

I am going to just say that ultimately Mages and Templars come off as being unsympathetic by the end of the game. The narrative does not provide any sort of balance to how the conflict is presented and that is the MAJOR narrative downfall

I think part of the problem is that it all sorta "comes out of nowhere" in a lot of ways. They should have let us (the players) spend more time with Merideth and Orsino and really driven the Mage vs. Templar conflict home. The problem is that they should have presented that as the Main Conflict from the get go rather than having it take a serious sideline to the Sidequesting of Act 1 and the (in my opinion brilliant) Quinari storyline of Act 2. A big problem is that Act 2 presents so many high points and has such a fantastic climax and Act 3 really does nothing to top it, especially since Act 2 is presented the way the entire Merideth/Orisno plotline should have been. You interact with the key players throughout Act 1 and Act 2 and eventually it all comes to a head for the climax of Act 2 and it matters more since you know all of the characters involved, have spoken to them, done missions for them and either produced friendships or rivalries with them. It makes the closing of that act so much stronger, and something similar was reeeeaaalllyyyy needed for the Orsino/Merideth conflict in Act 3, you really don't do much more than hear about them throughout Acts 1 and 2 and don't meet them until Act 3, which is way to short for you to care about either of them as either an Ally OR a villain.

Oh I totally agree with you, but thats not all
The problem is also...how can you create sympathic sides to a conflict when everything is not presented...in an odd way. Almost every mage you encounter is a blood mage then you know what happens at the end. Basically the mages cause is undermined, and there is nothing to counter act that. There are not enough "good" mages. If there were young children around the gallows or seen hiding toward the end of the game. If there was a cutscene of a father desperately trying to prevent his son from being taken, or some major encounter with a group of TRULY good innocent mages things would feel very differently. I understand they wanted to make things ambiguous, but it just comes across as kind of...oddly one sided and uneven. To be honest Hawke and Bethany are the only two "stable" mages in the game :/
That and some quest plots don't make sense when you have sided with the mages consistently. Truthfully I played the game as a mage on my first run through and the entire time I was waiting to encounter a group of mages who would respond to me secretly and kindly. The kidnapping quest made absolutely no sense for everything that happened. Sometimes the game feels like it happens in spite of you...and that is a weird feeling in an RPG like this.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Bad things i have noticed during the last day or two about the game:

OBVIOUS SPOILERS

Cheap, odd romance, for example Merrill suddenly just appeared in my hallway and snu snu'd me after a while of flirty pleasantries. Also, what is the point of the brothel if i do not even see anything remotely sexual during my visit.

The facial animations, ugh, they are blocky, pixelated and sometimes peoples eyebrows look like a LED display S

The combaaaaaaaaaat, damn it gets old fast, also, for a related example, there are three kinds of Qunari in game, soldiers, mages and the arishok which is just a big soldier
Which all look the damn same
Where were the Darkspawn shrieks and genlocks? Or even those large armoured ones, not the ogres
So little variation in enemies that you want to puke after the 26th time you are randomly assaulted by thugs in the street or kill that same hurlock

Also, i have found myself having a real difficult time keeping track of all the characters, for example down at the water i met some mage that i apparently rescued before and now wanted me dead for some reason. I could not even remember meeting her.

Copy pasted maps, a la Oblivion

Lack of voice actor emotion during supposedly stressful events

No item information on almost all items, what is the point of having named items if you do not elaborate on why they are not merely called ''thick belt''

I can not press number buttons in the dialogues

No way to equip clothes of any form to your companions

The multiple year jumps through time is rather... weird

Menu interface straight from Mass Effect

I am not sure if i am offended or not by the large number of characters that come into the story right from DA:O, for example Zevran just appears and offers you his wang

When i made my character, somehow i completely missed the face restructuring menu which i found later when i had to remake my character four times because the game would not save

Is there a way to have Isabella not run off with the damn book? That was really frustrating as i supported the Qunari

 

[octafish]

There is a Demo. Thank the gods for Bioware Demos, I saved significant money not buying DA2 and ME3.

 

[Tragedy's Rebellion]

The cons of DA2 outweigh the pros by a laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge margin, I can't even think of anything good to say about it to be honest. NOTHING actually happens in that game apart from the VERY VERY end which is already mentioned in this thread. Sooooo yeah you don't need to play it.

 

[WolfCross]

This topic is almost 2 weeks old, i think he's made up his mind whether he plays it or not sooooo...

can we leave what's left of this horse to rest? It's been sufficiently flogged.

 

[Cowabungaa]

What's good about DA2:

- Combat that's still tactical but less, well, plodding and slow than DA:O's.
- Good characters.
- A relatively tight, more personal story.
- Good examples of streamlining, like the way they handled crafting, the UI and the skill system.

What's bad about DA2:

- Copy-pasted environments.
- Too much unchallenging mook spam in combat.
- Some silliness, notably helping Aveline get a date.
- A pretty weak ending.

All in all I quite enjoyed DA2 even though I got a bit tedious at timed. It sure has legitimate issues but a lot of the hate basically boils down to "It's not a clone of DA:O, therefore it sucks!"