Why do people hate DA2?

[Semihage]

I actually thought the game was a lot of fun! (seriously!)

I played it on console and the mix between dynasty warrior type of gameplay + pause and issue order and switching character is very refreshing

[Zonas]

I never understood it either. Most people I've seen seem to bitch about how combat and things were changed.

Though I don't get it, when compared to Origins the combat is essentially the same, you just have more controll over what your character does rather then the stiff automatics they have. Hell I enjoy combat alot more, they actually made mages fun to play as in this game.

Story was just as great, it didn't have a major badie to be fighting but I was fine with that especially since I enjoyed the last two bosses so much.

There were some flaws though, but it's understandable. DA2 seemed WAY too intent on telling us that there will be a sequel, leaving way too much out in the open that we don't see. Quest plots started and ended so abruptly that I had to do a double-take half the time to realize that the current plot was over. And the cameos got a little overdone half the time, (yay we see Zevran again... okay bye Zevran... that was quick)

(Though it is more of a personal gripe) I didn't like how they changed companion interaction. How they had camps so you can have little conversations to see what they thought, and it made it easier to follow how you were doing with them. With their locations all scattered, it wasn't as fun, and seeing as how you couldn't even talk to them unless it was a specific quest for them.

[Eorayn]

I hate the whole genre.

[Kisho]

Haha, you read my mind OP. I was wondering the same thing after reading the dissapointment thread.

I loved DA2. Thought the story was brilliant and interesting. Sure, it became more action-y compared to the first game, but tbh I prefer it. DA:O was so slow: pausing the game all the time is not immersive in the slightest. By its very definition, it breaks immersion, and how can that be a good thing?

I mean, I still enjoyed DA:O, but DA2 is way better for me. Better relationship choices too, though Leliana is hawt. I have a thing for accents, it seems...

[Wynnyelle]

Because Bioware made it. I don't think they make good games.

[OrcsRLame]

I'll repost what I posted in the disappointing games thread. Though this was more about the ending than anything else.

DA2 wasn't a proper cliffhanger. The end, as has been said, felt abrupt. Not all cliffhangers leave you feeling like, "meh, that was it?" God of War 2 has one of the best cliffhangers I've ever seen. The key to making a good cliffhanger ending is making the rest of the story still feel significant, and making the ending feel like it's not a waste of time.

I still don't get what the fucking point of the Champion's story was. The whole game was more about Anders, and probably would have done better if it was simply a third person action game staring him. DA2 gives the illusion of choice. None of your dialogue options matters. All points in the story are basically the same, no matter what you do. Your actions rarely do anything, it's all about Anders.

That's why the end of the game feels shallow, not because it was a cliffhanger. You never did anything. DA2 feels like it's designed for the player to be a female mage that does the romance subplot with Anders. That makes the story actually seem kind of important. Even then though, you're still just along for Anders' ride, it just makes slightly more sense.

Going back to my earlier example of God of War 2, that ending felt good because what you did actually mattered. You kill the Fates, you go back in time to change your destiny, you have your big battle with Zeus, then Zeus escapes and you kill Athena. A few minutes later the game ends with Kratos on the back of a Titan, climbing up Mount Olympus. "Zeus! Your son has returned. I bring the destruction, of Olympus!" Then it cuts it off, right at the most crucial moment in the battle that's been building up for so long. You see the diff? God of War 2 left you wanting more, and in my case both cursing Sony and jumping up and down out of excitement. DA2 left me bored and confused, and not really caring about DA3. Which is a shame, because I loved DA:O.

Okay, that's the end of what I posted in the other thread. Now for my real complaints. By far my biggest complaint is the length of the main quest. After the intro for the game, which can be done in about 5 minutes, the game can basically be broken down like this. You are told about upcoming events. In order for this event to pass, you must do side quests. Let's take the first act as an example. You're told about the expedition to the deep roads. You're then told that you need money to come. You are now gated by a 100 gold requirement. Reaching this 100 gold takes about 9 hours of sidequesting, of the 12 or so hours of sidequests in the first act. After that, you go on the expedition.

After the insane buildup, I was expecting quite an epic quest. The problem, is that it was over literally in 20 minutes. It was basically the same length as a single sidequest, maybe slightly longer. 9 Hours of sidequesting, followed by 20 minutes of main quest. Repeat twice, and the game is over.

My next big complaint is the gameplay. It may seem kind of similar to DA:O, but there's a few huge differences. The biggest difference, is enemy spawning. Most enemies simply appear a few dozen feet away from you, and join in the brawl. It's rare that enemies can be seen before they're engaged. DA:O is exactly the opposite of that. Enemies can basically always be seen before they're engaged, and new enemies don't really join the fight from nowhere, uness they were actually stealth enemies. And even then, they're really standing there stealthed, and if you know where they're at you can reveal them with an AoE before they open up on you. That killed the strategy element of the game, which was pretty fun on nightmare mode in the original.

Next, story choices! This was a big one for me, and one that I already explained slightly, but I wish to go over it in more detail. You don't really have any control over the main story. Right at the start of the game, you're shown escaping with your family. Before you've even had a chance to get to know them, one of them, (your same role family member) dies. Now your mother and opposite role sibling will spend the rest of act one depressed over a dead character that you as the player haven't been given a single good fucking reason to care about.

Then at the end of act 1, it's time for the expedition. At this point your remaining sibling will ask to come with you. No matter what you do, they're now gone forever. If you take them with you, they get infected by the darkspawn, and killed. This happens behind the scenes btw. Even if your party member is never within 30 feet of a darkspawn or their blood. There's a scene change, they say they don't feel well, there's another scene change, and you're informed he/she is dead.

If you don't take them with you, something almost as bad happens. If Bethany is alive, she's taken by the templars to go live at the circle. If Carver is alive, he goes and joins the templars because he's a dick and doesn't like you. You are then informed of this when you get back to Kirkwall.

There is a third resolution to this. If you bring Anders and your remaining sibling with you, then Anders will perform the joining ritual on them, saving their life from the darkspawn. They still leave your party though, because pandas. So it seems, you have no choices, but fucking Anders does!

To sum up the rest of the story. Your mother dies, you kill some Qunari, and then Anders decides to start world war 5. None of this changes no matter what you do.

If you want a more cynical, and comical view on the subject, just read Dragon Strange. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to...ndex/6927245/1

[Stir]

Well; I'm enjoying the game immensely. However, I do not enjoy the romance options as much, as it doesn't feel like our characters are actually getting closer. This is mainly due to the fact that, indeed, you can't as easily chat up with your companions, and the romance options seem to be bound to specific instances of companion quests rather than just being dialogue choices... Which makes it feel far more mechanical.

That, and it has no Alistair. I did so much like that character.

DA2's characters also feel a bit more... Shallow. The only character who seems to have some depth is Varric.
Another problem is the fact that it's so much smaller in scale. Yes; I love the city of Kirkwall in all its areas and such, but I did really enjoy travelling the lands of Ferelden in DA:O. To visit Dalish, Dwarves, the Circle and more, and each one having their own immersing backgrounds and stories. I feel that that's kind of lacking in DA2. Another thing is character customization. Oh, how I loved the versatility of Origins. The different backgrounds for classes and races, the different fields of specialization. I loved being able to play my mage, who always had the option to sacrifice certain things in order to gain melee or utility ability to fit any kind of situation. Something I feel is somewhat lacking in DA2, but to be fair, I've only played a mage as of yet. Warrior (Blade and Board) will be my next character.

So yes; the game is smaller. Content such as caves and tunnels are usually rehashed (with closed off pathways in order to make a distinction... Cheap design, if you ask me, but there was quite a lot of pressure into releasing the game as soon as possible... Thanks, EA -_-). It isn't as good as Origins if you ask me, even if the combat system is more fluid (it's also more bland). But it's still really good, and I am not at all disappointed. You can't expect every game a developer makes to be the absolute best; that kind of thing would become absolutely ridiculous after the third release. :P

[HungryHippo]

People don't enjoy it because they feel that linear games are bad, and that you the player should impact the game directly through either presence or in-game choices.

In some cases I can understand this but in others I can't, I felt that DA2 was telling a story unlike DA in which the game made you feel like you were the story.

But hey, that is just my 2 cents worth.

[Morgaith]

DA2 is mostly rehashed zones and very linear, DAo is also he first game of the series thus, people like it more.

[OrcsRLame]

People don't enjoy it because they feel that linear games are bad, and that you the player should impact the game directly through either presence or in-game choices.

In some cases I can understand this but in others I can't, I felt that DA2 was telling a story unlike DA in which the game made you feel like you were the story.

But hey, that is just my 2 cents worth.

I don't think linear games are bad, (my favorite game is God of War 3, and that's as linear as it gets) I just think linear Dragon Age is bad. DA:O wasn't a linear game, yet the sequel to it is linear. That just doesn't work.

[Saladbar]

It wasn't as good as DAO, so people like to hate on it. I didn't mind the linear nature of the game, my real problem was with the reused areas. Using the same cave or cellar setting repeatedly, with just a few minor differences each time was lame. I enjoyed the story for the most part and the npc conversations were fun. I did think the ending of the story was weak. The combat was fine; pretty much the same as DAO. Overall I found it to be an enjoyable game that was worth playing. I probably won't play it through again, like I did DAO, but I'm glad I ignored the haters and bought it.

[Santti]

I don't hate DA2, but reusing the dungeons really hurted the replay value for me. The combat is also a little repetitive.

I was also not a fan of the time skips when you reach the city.

[OrcsRLame]

DA2 is mostly rehashed zones and very linear, DAo is also he first game of the series thus, people like it more.

DA:O being the first game also has very little to do with it. Off the top of my head, here are a few series where the first game isn't considered the best. Elder Scrolls, many fans will argue that Morrowind or Skyrim is the best in the series, some will argue for Daggerfall. Very few will argue for Arena or Oblivion. Assassin's Creed, most people think AC:2 or AC:B is the best, while AC:1 is the worst, and AC:R is a little better than that. God of War 3 is generally considered to be the best of the series. Unless I'm quite mistaken, Fallout 2 is considered to be the best among fans of the series.

DA2 has legitimate problems, and being the second game isn't one of them.

[Gouky]

it was good.
Bioware tried new stuff, some liked it, some didn't.

game has it's problems, but nothing you can't improve upon.

I can't remember last time Blizzard tried anything new. cough cough
And one might say SC2 is a major Brood war rehash on new engine, not even mentioning every wow expansion.

[Deleted]

It was good but rushed. They reused some instances and places way too many times. I don't think people hated it though, it just live up to the expectations after DA:O because there was only like 2-3 dungeons and a few outside places and they were reused so many times it got irritating.

[Fencers]

The series for me as a whole, was super disappointing due to poor writing and really bad gameplay. For a series touted as a "return to form", it was kinda unacceptable to deliver a childish script and and thin gameplay system as Bioware did in Dragon Age. Reviews and critical thought of the series were characteristically laughable of "video game journalism".

The second game was even more of an affront; rushed, sloppy controls, split console/PC concessions, lose story, thinner gameplay- just a poorly made game carried by marketing mostly.

[Deleted]

it was short, no essential rpg elements, and only 1 ending regardless what your actions durning the game was

[Oerba Yun Fang]

Because it followed DAO.

I thought DA2 was a lot of fun, but it paled in comparison to DAO. There was only a small handful of small zones that were reused for the entire game, which got very old very quick after the large, unique areas in DAO. The storyline didn't feel as epic DAO. The combat was more fun in DA2 than DAO for me because I liked the more action game-y feel to it. Class skill choices were next to non-existent in DA2. As a whole, DA2 felt very rushed and more like half a game to me.

Ideally I'd like DA3 to have DA2's combat system, DAO's caliber of storyline (or better!), more character customization (both appearance and class) options than both games, and more unique zones than both games.

[ezmage]

After thinking a bit of when I played that game for the first I think I was tad bit over hyped to play the game. Though the rehash of 3-4 different dungeons the different was a real killer along with the linear game style. In my opinion RPGs should not be linear.
Liked the combat more in DA2 though.

[Smeeh]

they hated it because they thought it was gonna be a glorified DA:O expansion pack with better graphics