Zero Punctuation: Dragon Age II

[cerebus23]

Mainly because your boring. If you enjoy your office job good for you, some people like reaching for the stars.

Please tell me what office job involves tracking down a serial killer necromancer, quelling an uprising of foreign monsters, blowing up gigantic statues representing the oppression of a race animated by a demented power hungry knight commander hellbent over a magical amulet using the statues to physically accomplish what they metaphorically represent whilst a bunch of robed monks blast fireballs at it to-
Okay, you get the point. Hawke's life was exciting but not as lamely cliché. Plus it suits Dragon Age a lot better since the game is more or less built around the "pissing around" mechanic. Think about it: The majority of Epic RPGs like this consist of side quests that have about as much to do with the main storyline as wit does with the screen writing of Two and a Half Men and yes that was forced but who cares, I hate the show :/ My point is, when you are the last Grey Warden and thus the only one capable of saving the World there's an over hanging guilt whenever I'm chasing around a thief who took a rich dwarf's pocket change, and a sense that there should perhaps be something more important to do.
In Dragon Age II however, the side quests are what make up Hawke's day-to-day lives and are weaved seamlessly into the character development (see the aforementioned necromancer serial killer quest) not to mention building up a reputation in the city of Kirkwall. The Main Quests come to you instead of vice versa and even though I have a feeling that all of this came about due to rushed dev time and hastened writing, it worked very well. If Bioware actually tried to accomplish this in a new game, they'd be dangerous. A concentrated story following the fate of Kirkwall, instead of a huge nation is much more focussed and thus, affective.
Plus, you get to live in a Mansion and have everyone call you "Champion". How is that Not aiming for the stars?

I agree, and I liked most of the companions and especially their banter. But I have to agree with the people who say it needed another 6-12 months dev time to make it great. I'm sad the brilliant storytelling potential is being overshadowed by lazy gameplay choices, and the plot kind of falls apart at the end. I found this review [http://www.richardcobbett.com/journal/dragon-mage-ii/] to be the fairest I've read.

I also enjoyed the characters more than any other non-gameplay element, as usual with Bioware. I can't deny that it could have used another year or so very well, however. The plot did seem sloppily finished, and the ending was not nearly as satisfying as one would have hoped.

Pretty much this.

Bioware and their games have sufffered what i liken to the stargate series problems, each arc in stargate was the same rehashed plot over and over change the names and events some and you got stargate sg1, stargate atlantis, for bioware you got bg, bg2, kotr, me1, me2, dao, the same plots and plot devices tweaked a bit for each game with names and places and events changed up a bit but the exact same basic story structure. not to say that they were not expertly crafted for the most part.

Then you get stargate universe and dragon age 2, sgu i think is the best stargate since the early sg1 seasons, and is a hell of a lot more interesting with better characters than i can recall in awhile. but the old sg fanbois hated it, not enough stargates where is the big god wannabe baddies? this is not stargate! and the show suffered because of all the hate they heaped upon it.

dragon age 2 has the unending nerve to break the typical bioware story mold, and try something new, and omg the haters will hate. yes the game is far form perfect the lack of levels is inexcuasable especially in the second game in a engine they have worked with. but the story works it works better than DAO by far, it works better than ME1 and ME2 in that i never was far less taken out of the story by the thought that why am i rescuing kittens and old ladies purses while the entire universe is going to be obliterated like in a few hours? why am i having to solve the problems of the dwarves and the elves and the entire city of denerim while the entire nation is supposedly going to wiped off the face of the earth, why the hell is everyone asking me to run around and solve their personal problems? and why was the hole darkspawn showdown so anticlimatic?

the lack of that impending and overarching doom in da2 was refreshing and more natural and more immersive. you are simply helping your friends doing the occasional odd job, while events unfold around you and you get caught up in them. even if you are aware of the problems what are you going to to do lead an army on the templars or mages? you can offer to become king but your are an immigrant and have a tad too shadey past to really make a serious run, nm al the factions you utterly pissed off on your journey along the road of fame and fortune.

And at the end of da2 your actions and the events that have unfolded arguably are more world changing, then all the events in DAO.

 

[[Gavo]]

Really liked the point about the plot, that's what really bugged me about the game. I assume Yahtzee was playing on a console, though, the PC controls were fine. Also, the graphics are much better.

 

[Chronologist]

Wow. I reviewed this game recently, it's scary how close his opinion is to mine.

Seriously, the #1 reason not to buy this game is the lack of plot. The three acts of the game are only tangentially connected with each other, and your choices in the first two mean nothing in the end. The last act comes right out of nowhere, and is the only actual IMPORTANT part of the game. It's 30 hours of meaningless combat leading up to 3 hours of actual story.

And you thought FF13 was bad.

More importantly, there is no antagonist in the entire game. Mass Effect had Saren, ME2 has the Collectors, Dragon Age has the Blight. This game has... being poor, and even that goes away after the first act. Act 2, you're only doing quests because shut up. Act 3, you get roped into a power struggle of sorts, and both sides are horrible, horrible choices, with no real reason for you to be involved.

Here's something else that annoyed me. During the time skips, Hawke does not get more actual in-game wealth. She does does not get experience. She does not age. I can only assume that during the time-skips she is cryogenically frozen for years. The time skips could have been filled with gameplay, even generic dungeons, or even just giving levels and gold. Instead, we get... nothing. Great.

Dragon Age 2 is a wonderful game to play if you want to see first-hand the worst of what modern RPGs are like. Foul gameplay, no plot, and bland visuals. Perhaps you disagree, and if you enjoyed this game, then good for you. I simply did not enjoy Dragon Age 2 at all.

 

[valleyshrew]

Some good jokes and clever insight, but not much depth. I suppose I didn't get a feel for the game because there's no footage and it doesn't go into the game mechanics at all.

 

[Roxor]

Well, I guess this explains all the whining on the forums over the last couple of weeks.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

I think Yahtzee just became one of my best friends right now! plus it is truth there's some resemblance between the ME2 and DA2 main characters...

 

[NeoShinGundam]

HAHAHAHA!!!!! Aw man, I almost fell put of my chair with that bit at the very end in the dinner. That was pure awesome!! ^_^

 

[jackpipsam]

I really felt this game was a let down from the last one

 

[KaWaiiTSuKI]

I still think this is way better than the first one.

 

[Canadish]

Oh look, Yahtzee is recycling the same dull, easily countered points that every Dragon Age 2 hater has been spouting for the past month without fail. CRITICISM, you has it!

Seriously though, no plot? I guess you could see it that way if you spent all the time in game thinking of lame, slightly offending gay jokes to be edgy instead of, oh I don't know, listening in on the characters or following the story. Shocking, I know.

The camera didn't follow your direction in DA:O either, nor did the party members automatically heal themselves in any way - but that was OK to the Origins elitists, because it was all about micromanaging! Now, even though it's exactly the same, it's suddenly dumbed down and herpderp.

Luckily the drooling masses are happy to move on with their hate faster than the Big Brother crowd, so I'm guessing by the time the first DLC for Dragon Age 2 comes out the only people who'll care are the fans of the game - which is about 95% of the gaming populace.

Honestly...? Your getting very defensive of the game. Why so serious?
The use of the word "Hate" is getting thrown around way to much. I doubt many "hate" the game, but I think the majority are let down by Bioware, to different extents.
I've yet to hear a reasoned argument that puts the game in a good light. Only justifications for why it turned out as it did (A big let down).

 

[Dumb_Joe]

This game is so much worse that Origins that i don't know where to begin from. Yahtzee is dead right on this one.

 

[Vayce]

I liked DA2, but I gotta admit that Yahtzee is pretty much right. In retrospect, the story of Thedas as a whole didn't really advance all that much.

 

[1337mokro]

I never thought a single video could sum up every single problem I had with this game whilst playing through it.

Even the fact that your mom apparently has tits the size of volleyballs was addressed.

Well done Sir. Well done.

 

[Tomdoodle]

I really enjoyed DA2 but found it hard to disagree with a lot of that, apart from the bit about combat - I had several irritating moments where I would be aiming the camera at someone's chest rather than their health bar so it thought I wasn't targeting anything, but none of the other problems.

I know the first two-thirds of the game's story were almost totally inconsequential and the final third was just setting up for a third, but I was so hooked on the companions and their stories I didn't really mind.

 

[Rocketboy13]

Actually I don't think they limited the character selection so you would be addressed by name, it was so they could give the character a voice, something you have said made characters more identifiable than they otherwise would be, I think you cited Saints Row or its sequel as livening up your experience with the presence of a voice. And I like the wheel dialogue option method, "Origins" died out of the gate with me because my guy didn't talk, and the characters that did were so whiny and derivative that I couldn't stand them... Maybe it was best he didn't speak... and the gameplay was like a busier Warcraft layout (waste of 50 bucks).

 

[Tenchan]

Pretty much agreed with Yahtzee. The dialogue (and its speakers) is brilliant and what keeps me coming back to the game. The rest is McDonalds... tasty the first time, repetitive and uninspired the remaining 100 times.
I didn't find the story itself bad, it's a perfectly good story. It's just really badly told. (As opposed to Dragon Age 1 (aka Origins and expansions), which had a pathetically trashy cliche story, but was well told). The time skips may have looked like a good idea on paper, but they ruined the build up.

I just hope it really was Dragon Age: Intermission, because half of the quests certainly felt like nothing but a set up for another game.

 

[drunken_munki]

Bravo. I would have rather paid 40 quid for this review rather than that fucking awful game.

 

[pepitko]

Too bad he didn't like it, I was sort of expecting him to say he loves it, just to piss of the constantly complaining fanboys. That being said, I'm still getting the game and Mass Effect 3 as well.

 

[Revolutionary]

You know...I really love DA2, I didn't really like the 1st game cos'It just was so frustrating sometimes. An yet I aint even mad at Yahtzee bashing DA2. Everything he said is true, Yes he focuses on the negative aspects but this is ZP not Some "Cinematic Compelling review" you can get from any site. I still love DA2, to be honest, although everything he says is true, The game is still good. That shows character (In a game).
P.S The flak people are giving Bioware for the conversation system is only partially deserved. There are so few games which do conversation systems definitvely better (I can only think of Alpha Protocol, which wasn't great overall anyway.)

-End Rant

 

[Fredvdp]

]Really liked the point about the plot, that's what really bugged me about the game. I assume Yahtzee was playing on a console, though, the PC controls were fine. Also, the graphics are much better.

He also complained about loading while load times were only three seconds compared to one minute in Origins.

But I actually liked the structure of the plot. I liked how it wasn't epic, just a guy trying to make a name for himself who gets involved in a bunch of political conflicts. The ending definitely was sequel bait but they rounded up the conflict in Kirkwall to introduce more adventures to come.

My biggest complaints are the recycled levels and the fact that characters don't age. I expected Isabela to have back problems by the time the last act starts.