Early Dragon Age 2 player reviews are pretty bad...

[Deleted]

They dumbed down the combat system to make it console friendly and turned it into mass effect with swords....

[moaradin]

The combat is pretty much the same, and harder in a lot of cases. So, no.

[Deleted]

The combat is pretty much the same, and harder in a lot of cases. So, no.

Btw did you try tuning the difficulty up from normal to hard? massive leap that was.

[moaradin]

Btw did you try tuning the difficulty up from normal to hard? massive leap that was.

Rofl I tried. I have no tank in my group so its damn near impossible. My next playthrough will probably be as a warrior tank, so I'll definitely be going for Hard and Nightmare for that.

[LeBron]

I have completed the game in 22hrs and it's a big disappointment. The story is really flat and 95% or the game take place in kirkwall. The caves and dungeons were cloned 50times and you see them over and over again.

Overall I would rate DA2 with 7.0/10

[Deleted]

They dumbed down the combat system to make it console friendly and turned it into mass effect with swords....

Mass effect 2's inventory was dumbed down, this combat isn't. Just read the tooltips on skills lol, the different effects you get from class combos.

Adding more than one swing animation, having an optional "hacknslash spam to attack" and combining abilities from DA1 that did the same thing into one attack just makes it easier/more enjoyable to play for some at least (going to be playing it on console, still going to turn off spam-attack if I can).

[Rhey]

i've been trying to get a feel for it since i'm very reluctant to buy it even tho i buy almost all new, big rpg's, i wasn't a big fan of Origins so i've been holding off. The official reviews aren't credible imo with these huge mass marketed games by big companies feeding them money for good advertising, so i was focusing on player reviews and there seems to be a big difference between the official reviews and reader. Gamespots reader reviews are at about 7.5 right now which is unusually low. IGN reader scores are giving it a 6.0 so far. I could've sworn PC gamer used to have reader scores but i can't find them. Biggest criticisms i'm reading is about the combat, no expllring/adventure or open world play, and it feeling rushed with supposedly stripped down customizing/inventory?

Anyone thats played it care to give their impressions so far agreeing or disagreeing? i'm curious where the truth lies...

If you enjoyed Origins, you will hate this one.
The biggest loss is that you cannot have a conversation with your fellows, you can increase approval but there aren't new dialogues, there aren't gifts to get a special speech.
This DA2 is shallow, flat, boring, senseless.

[moaradin]

If you enjoyed Origins, you will hate this one.
The biggest loss is that you cannot have a conversation with your fellows, you can increase approval but there aren't new dialogues, there aren't gifts to get a special speech.
This DA2 is shallow, flat, boring, senseless.

I enjoyed origins, I enjoy dragon age 2 even more. There isn't any cliche "save the world" plot yea, but the story is much more personal and that I like.

And there is also more unique dialogue between your companions than origins. They will invite you to their house from time to time, and discuss recent events. Its much more than the same dialogue you can do in origins at all times in the game.

[Fahrenheit]

IDA:O was better on a PC (control-wise) it seemed. DA2 is better on a console (control-wise). PLayed both, both are awesome.

[Deleted]

Sorry it's 5:30am, I'm just finishing a download to go to bed.
I really don't feel like arguing much about how dumb the "there are not facts" sounds. It's like saying that Avatar is not a good movie because its only a matter of opinion, when the movie actually was the most profitable movie ever, the third most seen and so on so on... get the point?

you are enforcing his point actually. Do you like Justin Bieber. His CDs are selling pretty pretty well so he must be awesome, right? One of the true artists of our times. No, he sucks you say? Yeah well, you know, thats just, like, your opinion, man.

OT: Matter of fact, Avatar was not a good movie. But a good looking one.

[Coous]

You can shoot me for saying the,but even though I haven't completed the game yet(I'm on the 3rd act) and so I'm close, and I have to say I've enjoyed this better than DA:O. Overall I liked the new combat system, I didn't mind the way they handle the companions and dialogue which I seem to think is in the right direction it just needs a little more oomph,and finally I've loved the story so far a lot more and can't wait to see how it ends. Although I'm prepared for a DA:O Awakening type deal,but meh I'll just need to wait for the expansion.

[Deleted]

you are enforcing his point actually. Do you like Justin Bieber. His CDs are selling pretty pretty well so he must be awesome, right? One of the true artists of our times. No, he sucks you say? Yeah well, you know, thats just, like, your opinion, man.

OT: Matter of fact, Avatar was not a good movie. But a good looking one.

Avatar was an excellent movie.

[kronpas]

If you enjoyed Origins, you will hate this one.
The biggest loss is that you cannot have a conversation with your fellows, you can increase approval but there aren't new dialogues, there aren't gifts to get a special speech.
This DA2 is shallow, flat, boring, senseless.

Strange. I liked the first game, play through Awakening once, and like DA2 also. Unlike you, I dont expect another DA:O when getting the game, as long as it entertains me and DA2 does just that. It might not as great as DA:O, but a good game nonetheless.

Unrelated, but I guess it was the reason I never play past single player campaign in Starcraft 2. It was too much like SC:BW, where I sorta expected Blizz to be bolder with its biggest RTS of the next decade.

[Deleted]

I have to admit I felt more connected to the Character i had i DA:O where you played some background story and such. in DA2 they just toss you in to the action more or less. But DA2 is a good game and i like the new combat system a lot so.. Maybe it will grow on me.

[gotpriest]

I'm about 18 hours in now, have just finished the Deep Roads expedition.

I'm by no means a slow player, but I did *every* sidequest and rumor, which really enhanced my appreciation for the game. Finishing the Expedition was a huge loss though, without going into spoilers. I really, really, really didn't enjoy the plot device there. I feel it was just tossed in to punish me without really having any build up. If it had been a result of my actions, maybe, but after some research I realized it would happen no matter what I did. And now I just feel like a jackass to Hawke's mother.

I am a bit miffed by the reuse of that one cavern system now. I feel they could have at least done 2 zones.

Overall though, the game is still much better than DA:O, (Other than what I stated above, I stick by my assumptions in my first wall-o-text on an earlier page).

Apparently I wasn't paying attention to my conversation choices very early in the game, because I accidentally started the Anders Romance plot. Suffice it to say, I put the ixnay on that rather quickly before the expedition left. (My Male Hawke is Terminally Heterosexual. Maybe a Mage Hawke, but only because he wears dresses...)


Oh, and the most epic part of the entire game so far?

Hawke: "SANDAL! How did you do that?!!?"
Sandal: "Not Enchantment!"

[Deleted]

I finished the game yesterday and am starting a new play through as a mage. Overall, I think the game is decent. I was very negative towards it, and about some aspects of it I still am, but it is a good game.

Combat: It is still pretty much the same as Origins, with the addition of cross class combos which I find fun and interesting. The spells/talents (or whatever you wish to call them) have been streamlined and I find myself using all of them. They also got rid of the annoying auras in the original game. Also in Origins there were many spells that just sat on my action bar and which I did not bother casting even once through the main game and it's expansion and DLC. This could be the case just with me, but this entire post is just my opinion so I will stop saying that. I heard complaints about difficulty and I do not agree. I played the game on normal and it still had some pretty challenging battles. Some of them even forced me to go with the Casual difficulty just to beat them.

Animations on the other hand I find absolutely ridiculous. Especially the retarded dismemberment/blood explosions that happen. Someone in BioWare has some serious issues with a dismemberment fetish. But I can't change anything so there is no point in me ranting about it. I have accepted it and sometimes it is entertaining to watch.

Graphics: They are very good. I am running it on DX11 and with the HD texture pack and it looks awesome. The change in art style is another thing. For the most part I actually like it, but I detest the new look of the darkspawn. I have nothing to complain about here.

Interface: It screams of console catering. Badly. Whoever denies this needs to put some fucking glasses on. There was a rather big difference between the interface of DA:O on PC and DA:O on X-BOX. And I loved it. Here it seems more like they ported the interface from the consoles because they were too lazy to come up with one for the PC. Making me side-scroll through achievements instead of giving me a big menu that displays all of them at once like in Origins? Making the Tactics screen so packed that I have to scroll miles on end just to get to the end of it instead of making it like Origins where it was easy to see all tactics at once? Item icons that are so bland and horrible(that isn't console catering but I had to mention it)? The list goes on and on. It was designed with consoles in mind, not PC. It is blatantly obvious. Why treat us like second hand players is beyond me. Also it felt like Assassins Creed had a meeting with Dragon Age. Did Hawke steal the Animus and go back in time or something? It is very sci-fi looking and not at all fitting the game. This is supposedly a dark fantasy. The interface in Origins conveyed that feeling. This one fails miserably.

Story: This is where the game, at least in my opinion, shines with a few exceptions. I see people complaining that the story lacks focus. This is not the case however. In the first game and it's expansion you had a set goal: Defeat the Blight. It was urgent and could not be postponed. You had a clear target and you were going after it. Dragon Age 2 tells a different tale. You are a refugee who is trying to make a name for himself and slowly gets involved in the political struggles of Kirkwall. There is no monster that you are going after, no matter what. The story depicts your life in the Free Marches, not only your one glorious moment. This is why the first few chapters feel rather slow, but they are actually filled with pretty interesting side quests and tasks that did not get me bored even the slightest(unlike some of the side quests in Origins). After all you did not become the Champion overnight. The last chapter of course is action packed but that is to be expected. I almost expected the story telling to be done this way and I am very satisfied. The ending is also epic, in my opinion, and sets the stage very well for expansions and the next installment.

There is this one thing that was either badly explained though, or I just couldn't figure out.SPOILERS HERE: What the hell was that thaig that we found in the Deep Roads and what on earth was the idol? Also what was that red lyrium thing and why did it drive people mad?


What bugged me the most though was the lack of interaction with my companions. I was allowed to talk to them only at certain plot points and even then conversations were very short and shallow. They were interesting characters, but there was very little interaction with them for some reason. I wanted to know more about each of them, yet I couldn't waltz in their home and start talking and asking questions. I found that very odd.

There are other things that I did or did not like but they are not worth mentioning. This post is long enough already.

TL;DR - Dragon Age 2 is a good game. It caters a bit too much to consoles for my tastes and has been dumbed down in some areas for unexplainable reasons, but is worth playing if not for anything else, then for the story. Just my 2 cents.

[wolfpaq777]

Thats because people just want more of the same. If you go in expecting origins, you'll probably be disappointed. As a console game, its great.

FTFY.

/10chars

[moaradin]

FTFY.

/10chars

Origins was a console game too then. Whatever floats your boat.

And whats with the console hate? The best days in gaming came from consoles. You ever play a nintendo before?

[Ormen]

The fact is that it falls fully under the RPG cathegory under description. This is taken directly from the latest Oxford dictionary: "role-playing game

a game in which players take on the roles of imaginary characters who engage in adventures, typically in a particular fantasy setting overseen by a referee. "

And there is no authority greater than Oxford when it comes to the English language and hence the meaning of the word is exactly that. There is nothing about what you keep ranting about.

And also if you want to pervert the words and spin a bullshit tale how it's the "meaning today", nobody gives a shit what genre it is. It's an excellent game.

Using that logic Halo or Half Life are Rpg's since you take on the roll of Master Chief/Gordon Freeman respectively. The real defining point would be the development of a character through choices with meaningful consequences, seeing as DA2 is a railroaded game with a complete lack of meaningful moral choices and such it falls in the Hack and Slash category with Diablo, Titans Quest etc. Now if some people like hack and slash thats perfectly fine, however many people was expecting a proper RPG from this game and are obviously disappointed. Though I can't say that I am one of them since I haven't found a Bioware game enjoyable since Shadows of Amn which was an excellent game, how they have become so much worse through the years is beyond me.

[moaradin]

Until you can define what makes an RPG what it is, then nothing you say will matter.