Zero Punctuation: Dragon Age II
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
Dragon Age: Gobbing off? Nah......that's too British. This game isn't based in Ferelden, AKA NOT England.
OT: The one word to describe Dragon Age 2, it seems, is "unnecessary". Bioware have their hands full now with ME3 and Old Republic, and they shouldn't have BOTHERED.
It's not like we would've committed mass suicide without Dragon Age for another year. Why not just release a fucking DLC to bridge gaps, like ME2 is doing?
OT: The one word to describe Dragon Age 2, it seems, is "unnecessary". Bioware have their hands full now with ME3 and Old Republic, and they shouldn't have BOTHERED.
It's not like we would've committed mass suicide without Dragon Age for another year. Why not just release a fucking DLC to bridge gaps, like ME2 is doing?
Play Dragon Age 2 on the PC. Even with the weird console-friendly changes you still have better control over your characters. Perhaps you even wouldn't be confused about controlling a character with *GASP* a different skillset! Is this honestly a complaint? Have you never played party-based RPGs before?
To be honest: He does point out the several flaws in Dragon Age 2 that make the game look like a hastily made cash-in. Still... Yahtzee always manages it to include statements that seriously irritate me.
To be honest: He does point out the several flaws in Dragon Age 2 that make the game look like a hastily made cash-in. Still... Yahtzee always manages it to include statements that seriously irritate me.
Yahtzee. Once again proving you can constructively criticize a game and still have some class about it. Angry rant posters take note. Great video once again.
My only gripe with the game is the recycled environments for the different quests. The enemy spawning takes a little getting used to, but I don't mind. People really over-exaggerated the problems with the game. It's actually really decent and the combat is a lot more enjoyable than in Origins. And, as Yahtzee mentioned, the party banter is really top-notch.
Exactly. I never had any of the control problems he mentioned while playing on PC. I miss the big top-down view from Origins, but the need for precise positioning isn't as important in this one.poiumty said:
Dragon Age: Gobbing off? Nah......that's too British. This game isn't based in Ferelden, AKA NOT England.
OT: The one word to describe Dragon Age 2, it seems, is "unnecessary". Bioware have their hands full now with ME3 and Old Republic, and they shouldn't have BOTHERED.
It's not like we would've committed mass suicide without Dragon Age for another year. Why not just release a fucking DLC to bridge gaps, like ME2 is doing?
OT: The one word to describe Dragon Age 2, it seems, is "unnecessary". Bioware have their hands full now with ME3 and Old Republic, and they shouldn't have BOTHERED.
It's not like we would've committed mass suicide without Dragon Age for another year. Why not just release a fucking DLC to bridge gaps, like ME2 is doing?
So true. This has to be the worst Bioware game I played to date, it's pretty sad 
I thought, well it's only a half decent RPG but I'm sure Bioware will make an awesome story like they always do.
Ohh the disappointed. Half way through Act1 I just stopped playing. It's ok not to do a fight against evil whatever, the idea here is fine as people said, but I simply had zero motivation in the game. Felt like there was no plot at all, and the combat was so stupid and repetitive.
And when you get the will for your estate and noble status, why the fuck would you want to go on a dangerous deep roads trip anyway? or why not go rebuild Lothering? There's no sense in this plot.
I thought, well it's only a half decent RPG but I'm sure Bioware will make an awesome story like they always do.
Ohh the disappointed. Half way through Act1 I just stopped playing. It's ok not to do a fight against evil whatever, the idea here is fine as people said, but I simply had zero motivation in the game. Felt like there was no plot at all, and the combat was so stupid and repetitive.
And when you get the will for your estate and noble status, why the fuck would you want to go on a dangerous deep roads trip anyway? or why not go rebuild Lothering? There's no sense in this plot.
In defense of the word dragon in the title, it takes place during THE Dragon Age and it's a little hard to complain about it because the name for each age is chosen the year before the next Age on the 99th year. The Codex explains the story behind the name. It was actually kinda interesting, more so than this game and everyone's free to look it up if they care enough.
This. Despite some flaws (another six months of dev. would've helped)I think the game is pretty awesome - not better or worse than origins, just different.
I'd have to agree with people on the controls on the PC. I haven't played the console versions, but the controls on the PC are actually reasonably designed, and I didn't seem to have much problems with the way the camera works as you describe.
Of course, I'm rightfully pissed off at Bioware for competely removing the tactical overview layer wich was present in DA:O. On nightmare, it feels like all you do is switch between characters to get a feeling of how the battlefield should look like, instead of an unified overview. The AI looks slightly improved, however, for what good it does.
Also, the design of the game reminded me of Day of the Tentacle.
Of course, I'm rightfully pissed off at Bioware for competely removing the tactical overview layer wich was present in DA:O. On nightmare, it feels like all you do is switch between characters to get a feeling of how the battlefield should look like, instead of an unified overview. The AI looks slightly improved, however, for what good it does.
Also, the design of the game reminded me of Day of the Tentacle.
Disregarding the technical flaws (of which there are many, I'll concede that) I think DA2 was a very good thing to happen to the medium. Especially BioWare's catalogue.
In direct contrast with Mass Effect 2 which, in as good as everything but its technical achievements (save the characters, which is the one thing you can trust BioWare with getting right most of the time), was a complacent and uninspired affair, Dragon Age 2 took risks and dabbled with the formula, delivering a diametrically different experience from what could've been a really cheap cash-in.
Origins 2.
Personally, that would've felt like a short-handed approach.
Furthermore, it's probably the most socio-politically charged game I've played since Far Cry 2.
Origins, regardless of how finely written it was, never really went further in its thematic contents than the proverbial "beat evil over the head with a big stick". Like I said, an interesting and finely crafted big stick, but a big stick all the same. The most challenging narrative devices and ideas were found outside of the main storyline, and more often than not ended up reducing what dilemma there was to a simple binary choice.
Dragon Age 2 is heavy-handed at times, certainly. But there is a specific decision in the midst of act 3 which caused my mind to enter the morally relative equivalent of "Enter the Dragon".
That moment alone would cause me to dub Dragon Age 2 BioWare's greatest achievement in storytelling yet.
Good thing is, there is a plethora of multi-faceted characaters to boot. Isabela, for example, is easily the best written romance ever portrayed in a BioWare game.
In direct contrast with Mass Effect 2 which, in as good as everything but its technical achievements (save the characters, which is the one thing you can trust BioWare with getting right most of the time), was a complacent and uninspired affair, Dragon Age 2 took risks and dabbled with the formula, delivering a diametrically different experience from what could've been a really cheap cash-in.
Origins 2.
Personally, that would've felt like a short-handed approach.
Furthermore, it's probably the most socio-politically charged game I've played since Far Cry 2.
Origins, regardless of how finely written it was, never really went further in its thematic contents than the proverbial "beat evil over the head with a big stick". Like I said, an interesting and finely crafted big stick, but a big stick all the same. The most challenging narrative devices and ideas were found outside of the main storyline, and more often than not ended up reducing what dilemma there was to a simple binary choice.
Dragon Age 2 is heavy-handed at times, certainly. But there is a specific decision in the midst of act 3 which caused my mind to enter the morally relative equivalent of "Enter the Dragon".
That moment alone would cause me to dub Dragon Age 2 BioWare's greatest achievement in storytelling yet.
Good thing is, there is a plethora of multi-faceted characaters to boot. Isabela, for example, is easily the best written romance ever portrayed in a BioWare game.