Maria Caliban

They talk a lot about Meredith pretty early in the game, they just don't show her properly or make her presence felt. I thought the lead up to Meredith was quite good. Prior to meeting her, you constantly hear about the harsh and powerful Knight-Commander, but most of the really bad stuff is rumor and speculation. If Bethany , you get a more balanced perspective. And I thought it was unrealistic enough that my apostate Hawke and her blood mage Dalish buddy can perform magic in front of Knight-Captain Cullen and he's chill with it. It's what they did once they got her on stage I dislike.

Yeah, it came out months prior to the game launching and is basically Hitler complaining that he won't get to bag Alistair with the Warden again.

I'd say Act 2 is BioWare's best writing. 1. Jennifer is not Sheryl. Jennifer is the woman in your image while Sheryl is the one who talks about squeeing at characters. 2. I'd like to know the source of that quote as the BioWare devs have said repeatedly they based Dragon Age off the works of an "old, white guy" named George RR Martain.

The end of Act 3 is weaker than that of Act 2. In Act 2, all the problems are the result of religious intolerance and unbending principles. Extremist murder those who take a moderate path. Act 3 is remarkably similar save the extremists are or But it's not as bad as Knight of the Old Republic 2's ending.

It was a hard decision, especially as I played an apostate. 1. Even if the Templars didn't call for a Rite of Annulment, the populous might just march on the Circle. 2. That damn Circle was crawling with blood mages and malificar. While I personally believe it's better to spare the innocent than punish the guilty, my PC does not. 3. The Exalted March the Divine was considering calling on the city. If the Circle wasn't Annulled, they'd probably send an army to Kirkwall. My PC's hope was to kill the mages in the Circle and figure out how to put Cullen in charge. In my current playthrough, my PC will side with the mages as Hawke's sister is part of the Circle. However, I find Act 3 something of a letdown after Act 2. They can do better. They did do better in this very game with the Arishok.

I thought the 'middle school romance' questline was entertaining. Yes, it was more comedic than serious, but given that the majority of companion side quests are serious and often end badly, it was a nice change of pace. As for the number of sex jokes, I only noticed that with Isabela. If you need a rogue, you can skip her and bring Varric or Sebastion.

I finished the game. My Hawke sided with the Templars and became Viscount without ever wanting it or trying. I killed though given that the Divine was already planning an Exalted March on Kirkwall, he simply forced the matter earlier than it would have been. I found Act 2 with the qunari to be the best one. The ending decision was a tough one and I like that BioWare pushed the PC against the wall. It might have been a bit heavy handed, but I think this is the first BioWare game I've played that hasn't given the PC an easy out or simply made them the big hero who always does the right thing. It's very obviously a lead up to DA III. I worry that with all the negative feedback, BioWare will return to the 'save the world against an ancient evil' plots.

It fits the character. Everything in Ander's life is about Anders. He's a petulant man-child who gets pissy whenever someone disagrees with him or suggests he's wrong. What horrifies me are the fangirls who play the game to the end and still think he's a sweet and adorable victim. Seen a post NWN, BW game without one? Often love interests are the most important NPCs (Aribeth, Bastila, Alistair, and Morrigan), but you never have to romance them. Yes, you can have sex with them as rivals. You can also have the full romance as rivals for everyone but Isabela.

The problem is that /v/ raided the site. If you notice, DA II has 1355 reviews while ME 2 has 710 reviews despite being a year older.

Fun might not be the only factor but it's still an important one. Even games made to educate attempt to be fun. It might be that you consider fun to refer only to frivolous qualities while I don't. Perhaps intellectually and emotionally engaging might be a better term. I'd suggest those other things are valuable because they make the game more fun. A lack of bugs is good because bugs, crashes, and other oddities take you out of the experience of the game. They can be frustrating. Art and sound quality enhance the tone and lead to a more immersive experience. The fog in the Silent Hill games obscure vision and increases the player's feelings of vulnerability. But being scared is fun. Encounter design tests the skills of a player in a number of ways and beating a challenge leads to a sense of accomplishment, both of which are fun. I have trouble imagining someone sinking 20-60 hours into a game if they're not enjoying themselves.

This boggles my mind. Then again, I never liked BG and didn't finished it. If it weren't for the ubiquitous re-use of maps, I'd say it's BioWare's best game. I am hearing bits and pieces of how C&C might be beetter in DA2, but I guess we won't be sure until most people finish the game.... though you finished it, right? I guess you have to play more than once if you want to make different choices and see different consequences? It has more C&C than any BioWare game unless you want to count ME 1 and ME 2 as a single game. Even then, the consequences are more interesting than what you see in ME 2. BioWare games aren't exactly known for their reactivity. Wouldn't it be better to contrast it to the Fallout games, the Witcher, or Alpha Protocol?

I assume you're talking about the white lilies quest. I let the guy go, later found another body, and told a templar in the area that he was a blood mage and apostate. At the brothel? I just did the Tranquil Solution quest last night before I headed to bed. Prior to that one, I did the quest where I journeyed into the Fade to help the elf-blooded dreamer. I also read all the notes in the white lilies quest. What I like isn't so much that Otto Alark is wrong but that I can sympathize with his viewpoint. I seriously considered making the kid a tranquil just because he was dangerous. And right after you kill Otto, Anders loses it and might have killed another mage simply because of the spirit inside of him. Anders was a nice guy and passed his harrowing. Justice was a good spirit. Together they're a monster. Act 2 feels a bit like stepping into a bear trap. I liked it when Aveline points out that well-meaning mercenaries do more damage than good. The further along the story I go, the more I understand that while Hawke is attempting to help (while rising to power) she's igniting the city's various powder kegs.

BioWare's persuasion system in DA II is

I noticed that no one in the other thread was talking about the game but instead BioWare, BioWare's forum, EA, SecuROM, etc. These are all excellent subjects, but I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts and experiences with the game itself. Right now, I'm 38 hours into the game playing a mage Hawke. In general, I've found the combat, story, and characters superior to Origins. The game has far more reactivity to the PC's decisions than any other BioWare game I've played, and it feels as though BioWare has borrowed liberally from The Witcher and Alpha Protocol when it comes to C&C. I noticed the decisions in the game pack more of a punch. My fairly good-natured PC has watched her attempts to be just, merciful, and nice backfire horribly at times. I find myself stopping to think out the repercussions of my actions quite often. I've have both of the female romances betray me. They're still in my group, but it's very that the companions have goals and desires that reach far beyond the PC. This is a stark contrast from DA:O where the Warden was in charge and the companions basically along for the ride, save for Alistar's sudden outburst at the end. As the plot goes along, Hawke rises in the world. While you get the benefits of being an Important Person, Hawke is treated less as a hero but more a means to an end. Both the companions and the three main power blocs in the city want to use Hawke, and getting ahead is only done by furthering someone else's agenda. My problems with the game are mostly technical. The recycled areas. Oh my goodness, the recycled areas. When I started Act 2, I explored an unmarked cave structure and was shocked to see it was a map I hadn't seen before. The maps themselves are tunnels. Lovely tunnels. I think this is a very pretty game but I wouldn't mind a few wide open spaces. I have to wonder how much of this is because it's meant to run on consoles. The companion AI is either my best friend or my worst enemy. I understand why Verric runs away when a group of enemies rush him, but a few times he's managed to trigger another group of hostiles. By the time I notice his health is rapidly dropping, he's usually made it half-way across the map. Aveline starts each combat by posing dramatically and doing nothing while Isabela tosses herself at the highest ranked opponent. Combat is can be wonderfully fun, but a number of the fights are almost sadistic. Do I really need to fight a desire demon, revenant, arcane horror, and rage demon *all at once* while small waves of abominations, shades, and corpse archers continue to spawn? And this is for simple sidequest where I pick up books! The boss battles are much more involved than in Origins. The Rock Wrath was multi-stage and it had about six different abilities. I haven't fought a high dragon but dragons and mature dragons are very simple fights. Blood mages and the scarabas (qunari mages) are probably the scariest thing to see on the battlefield in regular encounters. Anyways, thoughts?

ME was planned to be a trilogy. DA was planned to be an ongoing series. I wouldn't be surprised if ME also becomes an ongoing, but there you are.

Yeah, but they've been telling us for weeks after the game went gold that there was an auto-attack on consoles.

There is no auto-attack for consoles. 0 - zip - none. I'm going to fanrage for a bit and I'm a PC user.

Alice was a blonde. Why are they making her a filthy brunette? Her hair is even darker than the original American McGee's Alice.

EB Games <- PC

I agree that the lack of proper iso view is difficult. I disagree that this means 'bye-bye tactical combat.' It's an excellent question. As much as I'd like to find the answer for you, that would be going onto the BioWare forums, and someone is posting thread titles with spoilers in it. I hope it's a general option. I was lead to believe it was a general option. It would be stupid of BioWare to link it to the radial menu, but I fear that's the case.

According to Fernando Melo, they weren't finished with the high rez textures when the game went gold.

If you're getting the PC or Mac version of DA II, there will be a high resolution texture pack available as a separate download on the BioWare site on Monday. If you have a DirectX 11 card, Nvidia and ATI are scheduled to release new device drivers on Monday or Tuesday that will increase stability and performance for DA II.

3.X blows. My favorite PnP RPG is currently Exalted. However, it has one of the most broken combat systems you could ever want.

OXM review from BioBoards Aesieru wrote... The tiny snippet at the end says: "Crazy-hefty 40-plus hour RPG experience with loads of choices and branching paths to tackle. Great characters and fan-service nods for attentive Origins nerds. Recycled dungeons aplenty make for annoying deja vu; slow start; tweaks may irk series purists. Why are nearly all humans English, dwarves American, and elves Irish?" 9.0 Rating *Page 3 near top has a collection of snipets from review* Romance explanation: "Dragon Age: Origins got a lot of ink for its fearlessness in stripping its characters down to their skivvies for some rather awkward campfire flesh-pressing to depict "romance." Call us immature, but what was supposed to be poignant instead just gave us a case of red-faced grade-school giggles. Thankfully, DA II ditches the oddball uncanny-balley sex scenes for much more subtle, tasteful pairings. The result keeps its intended story-path purpose without all that goofy YouTube fodder. Thank the Maker, seriously." Review paraphrasing posted for ease: Dragon Age II's sprawling, rags-to-riches tale of the Champion of a politically busted little burg called Kirkwall is seamlessly split into multi-year chunks of in-game time. The clever narrative framing device feels natural and it reinforces that the mystery outcome of the main story has ramifications that won't piece together until it's all said and done. Kirkwall has a dense web of conflicting city factions and political interests. Your path to DAII's conclusion is defined by your sympathies and disagreements with specific groups and their causes; neutrality won't get you anywhere. As the game opens, you're a nobody and for the first chunk of years you'll be trying to get out of the slums your mom is rotting in, but you'll eventually move up into nobility (and beyond). Through the entire story, you're asked to choose sides, between mages, templars, governments, shipwrecked Qunari warriors, and other frictions between lesser groups. These groups are important and while tracking all their loyalties that constantly shift can be tricky, amid all the politics, you'll have a group of companions that can alternatively help or hinder you in your plight. Companions are the bulk of the game's emotional heft, and has a higher emphasis on relations. Your companions are influenced by your affiliation with certain or different factions and this can cause rifts, rivalry, friendship, and numerous other aspects throughout the game which are noticeable. Having certain or opposing companions in your party will cause friction, especially during a crucial decision point or quest, which you may feel for the sake of relations to go with one of your companions thoughts, ESPECIALLY in a romantic situation, less the chance of more friction. The qunari Arishok is an imposing figure; haunting your rise as Champion in the middle part of the game. Bodahn and Sandal return, and aren't the only folks from Origins you'll meet. Relationships can make life unpleasant and awkward depending on your status with certain people, and if you decide to initiate romance it will be muddled even more, as you juke and dodge complicated decisions less your partner hate you. Choices come fast and furious, so you'll have to commit to your stance or settle for your mates being strictly platonic. Companions are crucial to your emotional investment in the crafty plotline and thus you'll feel all the above is worth the effort, as their interactions have become the lifeblood of the entirety of the game and what makes it so irresistible. Purists might chafe at changes in the sequel as rather than letting you wander Ferelden's wide world and kingdoms, the game's scope and storyline take a tighter and smaller focus, limiting your travels to Kirkwall and a handful of locations in the Free Marches. Dragon Age 2 does not replicate the last game's more epic feel of exploration. The game will send you on a robust number of side quests, many of the dungeon journeys being set in recycled layouts such as prettier versions of the planet-based side-quests in Mass Effect, which can elicit yawns after Hour 35 of being directed to "random spider-packed cave dungeon #17", but the tradeoff is acceptable for the good looks and colorful palette that is significantly improved. Inventory has undergone a drastic facelift, as you can only outfit Hawke completely, resorting to mere weapon changes for your part, and "upgrading" their armor with rune slots. The game has a slow start and may leave RPG fans impatient for a quicker pace, but the game is worth not giving up on it. Final statement: "Most worthwhile 40 to 60 hours you'll ever love losing sleep over." I hate that review.

Inventory unlocker for the demo.