Maria Caliban

Pretty, moody elf boy with dark and tragic past.

Warriors and mages have the exact same body model. The console has autoattack.

Demo unlocker: http://mod.gib.me/dragonage2/demo/chargen.7z Sadly, I just deleted my copy of the demo.

It's not clear, actually. Mods extend the life of the program on a PC and the game's mindshare. The longer someone plays with a game and the fresher it is in their minds, the more likely they are to buy DLC or expansion packs.

All PS3s blocked from entering Europe

The biggest flaw of 4th edition is that the skill system is boring and the 'skill challenge' system wonky. Other than that, it's much better than 3.x. For PnP, I'd say ADnD is much better for role-playing while 4th ed is better for combat. If you're a new DM, 4th is easier to get into because setting up encounters is easier and the item power level is explicit. I'd say that ADnD has much better 'flavor' to the classes.

It depends on how you want to define blockbuster. Assuming the narrowest definition possible: Toy Story 3. One of the highest grossing movies of all time, one of only three animated movies to be nominated for Best Picture, and wildly praised by critics as an excellent film.

Do you accept that stupid(-er) people prefer simpler entertainment formulas? No. 1. Complexity is not sophistication. 2. Intelligence has nothing to do with taste. 3. Good entertainment, whether simple or complex, will tend to appeal to a wide range of people. Sure. Except Dragon Age 2 is not 'defined' by DA:O's datamining. It's influenced by it along with a host of other things. Moreover, you can't claim that every statistical minority is governed by intelligence. We know that 5% of people played dwarves. Am I to assume that only the really smart people did so? Maybe it's actually only the really stupid ones. Or, more likely, whether playing a dwarf appeals to you or not has nothing to do with your IQ. We know that most people didn't finish the game and that the majority of those that did only played once. Why assume that it's the smart people who finished? Maybe it's the dumb ones that spend 80+ hours in a game with generic environments, simplistic plots and characters, and some painfully tedious combat. Alternatively, it's possible that the answer to 'how enjoyable do I find this game?' is the product of a host of factors, of which intelligence is merely one. BioWare has always attempted to get the video game equivalent of a summer blockbuster. They have never been interested in being a 'niche' publisher. They have always attempted to create good games. Is a summer blockbuster always mindless garbage with no redeeming value? No. A summer blockbuster can be an excellent film. As for your analogy, if a filet mignon was the same price as a Whopper (or visa versa), I'd argue that more people would go for the filet mignon. A Whopper (and all fast food) is not popular because the average person has poor taste; it's popular because it's cheap and easily accessible.

I've never read or watched Twilight, but I've heard it described as abstinence porn. Both of the main characters are virgins and the only sex they have is to impregnate the female lead. It's 9:41 pm PST so I expect they're home for the night. They'll probably post it tomorrow.

Pretty sure there were no bisexual foursomes in Twilight. I'm posting this too late for those who are interested. It's 1UPs live playthrough of DA II that starts where the demo ends. Link It's recorded though if you want to watch it afterwards. I'm avoiding it because I'd rather be spoiler free.

On the THEY'RE ALL BI! - BETTING POOL thread, David said he has that as his wallpaper.

It's not a complaint, merely an observation. DA2 is the perfect storm of everything I hate in CRPGs: pre-determined characters, linear plots, actiony-combat with a fixed camera, freaking romances, fixed NPCs... It's fine that you don't like those things. You can do so without suggesting that the people who look forward to DA II and like the changes are the 'lowest common denominator.' The world is not divided into 'Things I like' and 'Things only stupid people like.' If you mean facial customization, I'd think it would be worse. As you have to do the fighting segment first and then the face. There is a mirror of transformation within the game, though. If you mean talents/attributes, yeah, that's all in game and you can respec as well in the game. Why not try the demo? In the first, exaggerated part, darkspawn explode on contact. Later on, it plays like a sped up Origins to me except the cooldowns on healing and potions are longer and enemies arrive in waves. They got rid of the ogre's signature move and it's obvious that Aveline (the sword and board companion) was buffed up for the fight.

Yes. And? I'm not sure how looking at actual player data is a bad thing. While I'm at it, it doesn't have anything to do whether you log in to an account or not. The only data Gorth is giving them by logging on is telling them that his account played the demo.

I laughed.

Yes, I can see why you'd be confused about me calling it the Witcher. Sorry. Though I hope you didn't think I was saying DA II looks worse than the original Deus Ex. I tend to take game developers at their word/screenshot until I have reason to believe otherwise. The (original) Witcher screenshots I saw looked like the (original) Witcher game I played. I like the art direction I've seen for Dragon Age II. When I say that a game is pretty, which is what I've said about DAII, I'm talking about the asthetics of it. When I say 'graphics,' I typically mean textures and rendering and eye candy. I can see why you'd buy the marketing speak, it just doesn't work like that though. What marketing speak? I'd really doubt marketing would want them to talk about the limitations of the DA II engine. Sure, marketing might want them to talk about the problems they had with DA:O and how they fixed them for DA II, but that's not what I'm referring to. Moreover, it's not marketing speak that BioWare tends to change its engine every two games or so. Infinity -> BG I and BG II + expansions Auroa/ Odyssey -> NWN and Knights of the Old Republic + expansions JE engine -> Jade Empire DA/Lyceum engine -> DA:O and DA II and expansions Unreal -> ME 1-3 The problem here is that you're defining new as 'completely built from scratch' and then telling me I'm wrong because I'm not using your definition of new. You are not going to convince me that among game developers, the word 'new' is only used for programs that are not derived from other programs and that don't make use of pre-existing libraries. I'd say that a story-driven game benefits from clear obstacles to overcome and a strong personification of those obstacles. This doesn't have to be in the form of a villain.

Tidbits from Gamestar (German PC mag), taken from another site. - Sub-header: Dragon Age 2 is a first class RPG, but not quite as good as its superb predecessor. This has multiple reasons. -EA did not let them use their own screenshots for the article without explicit approval, even though they were given the final version. The reviewer calls this "inexplicable". Hence, the article uses a few stock screenshots and generally shows nothing even remotely new. - If you choose not to import and use one of the 3 predefined "lore backgrounds" instead, the backstory is explained in a short cutscene of the final moments (Landsmeet+Archdemon fight) of DA:O. - Cameos: Alistair is available for an "inconsequential" 1-2 minute long chat if you imported the right DA:O ending - the prologue is described the same way as the demo -quest samples: break into a house at night to retrieve the will of Hawke's father, save a woman from her abusive husband, hunt an Abomination, and decide whether to turn in a dude using blood magic to impress his girlfriend - Hawke has up to 9 companions, who generally feel alive and responsive. However, they have consistently less depth and weaker characterization than the cast in Origins. The only exception is Varric, whose frequent banter with Cassandra provides much of the game's tension and humour. He's described as "a d*mn cool sock" (don't ask) - Main Quest takes 12-15 hours, you can double that number "if you take your time and explore everything the game has to offer". -The game does not feel long or epic, and the central conflict (mages vs. chantry) is not as dramatic as the reviewer would have liked. But although it doesn't have anything comparable to the Battle of Ostagar or the final attack on Denerim, it still has some very tactical boss fights. - ugly ("texture mud") and low-polygon graphics, especially in the areas outside of Kirkwall. Generally feeling of emptiness/lack of NPCs. Constant encounters with "clonecellars" and "clonecaves", which can be a huge source of frustration. However, beautiful spell effects and good character models that can graphically compete with ME2. - combat is generally tactical, though frequently unbalanced. The lack of an iso-style camera was a huge problem for the reviewer. - The number of talents is huge. The game offers class specific weapons and some crafting options. However, overall you generally have a small selection. (they don't expand on this) - The ending is described as open ended and unresolved . - final rating is 87%. "Although the fans' fears have partially come true, this is still a magnificent RPG" Full score Graphic:7/10 + detailed characters +great animations+nice spell effects -surroundings have little polygons and details -textures often seem "muddy" Sound:9/10 +dynamic orchestra music +suiting fighting sounds +good English voice actors -not all parts are cast well in German Balance:9/10 +four difficulties +easy access +fight are always fair +talents and classes are well balanced -difficulty can change during the campaign Atmosphere:9/10 +fantastic cutscenes and dialogs +dark brutal fantasy world -recycled areas -often lifeless landscapes Controls:8/10 +free saving +easy to use UI -hard aiming due to no tactical view -needlessly complicated menu Content:8/10 +long campaign +high replayability +many main and side quests -few areas -restricted on being human Story/Quests:9/10 +very thrilling, varied quests +nice surprises +often different solutions -story lacks epicness -open ended Fighting system:10/10 +tactical but not to complex +many specialisations possible +interesting boss battles +many different talent trees Character development:9/10 +partly distinctive, multi layered NPC companions +fast and dynamic +many options during dialog -it is seldom necessary to use companions in dialog Items:9/10 +countless spells and talent +class specific weapons and armor +crafting -little choice overall

I think Crysis 2 looks very good as well and it's multiplatform. It seems to me that there are a number of other cRPGs coming out this year that look better than DA II. If others feel differently, that's fine. I also think that DA II has better graphics and is prettier than DA:O, which matters more to me. I think that's fair. Bioware, if they so choose, can hide responses in circles. You might have 3 different symbols, but only one answer. If texts were in lines, Bioware could still do that but players would most certainly notice the lack of optionsd. Personally I think it's cost cutting move and the fact that modern players don't finish the game at all or finish it only once, so why should Bioware care if all 3 symbols have same answer (maybe just slight variation in VO). I asked on the forum about this and a developer was kind enough to answer...

Demo is ~ 2 GBs. The game itself is 7 GB.

Torchlight. I apparently stopped on level 19.

I don't agree with you, being as two of the games you've mentioned haven't been released how can you make that statement. None of the games I mentioned have been released. I'm baising what I've said off the videos and screenshots I've ssen. What are you basing your disagreement off of? The demo is an old build and DirectX 11 isn't working properly in it. That said, I haven't seen anything that looked as good to me as this: It might be that I lack your appreciation for graphics, but I don't think DA II is as nice graphically. I know that the developers themselves have been critical of the engine and that BioWare has gone through an engine about every two games, not including the expansions. Okay. Okay. I assume you're not saying that these are all the same engine however, right? I have code from my grandmother but I'm not a dead woman named Betty.

Shandyr from the BioWare forums said... Hey guys, I've just got the brandnew PC Games and I want to share with you what they say about Dragon Age 2: 88% pro: + very good story + very well developed and balanced characters (followers) + great dialogues with epic choices concerning morality + thrilling boss-fights contra: - limited possibility of developing your class - very weak level design - and an absolute unsatisfying ending en detail about the leveldesign: As I said, very weak. It seems entire levels have just been copy-pasted and only the labels were changed. Besides the PC Games criticises that there's no open world, no open maps. Most of the Maps resemble the one from the demo-version, which means, narrow paths. Kirkwall, a city which should be full of live and chaos (because of the arrival of so many refugees), has a rather calm if not boring appearance. I think this is like Denerim - the capital city of Ferelden, you absolutely don't get the feeling of being in a metropolis when visiting Denerim Market District. extra notes: - The Game seems to have been mass-effected, in a positive and in a negative way. (For example you cannot equip your followers, they wear their own equipment, which can be improved once by solving their personal quest. Another example would be the ending: You've to choose which one of your followers has to do certain tasks - just like in Mass Effect 2) - So far the game only crashed once during the test. Furthermore PC Game hasn't made out any bugs related to quests yet. - They say, the game is only about 7 years, not 10 - and they counted each year carefully Conclusion: They say to fully enjoy Dragon Age 2, you have to accept that the time of old-fashioned RPGs is over. There's a screenshot showing Hawke fighting a...

There are choices in the game, just not in the demo. The only choice I remember in the human noble prologue was whether to take someone to my bed or not. We already know there's are mutually exclusive quests offered to you, various factions to choose from, and mages you can liberater or traquilize for the greater good. Given that we already have reviews of the full game, I think 'you can't make choices' would have been brought up already if it were the case.

I finally did an archer. Not normally a class that would interest me but someone suggested I try it. Fun, but it felt as though I'd lowered the difficulty. I didn't even need a potion to get through any of the fights.

Did you not like Mass Effect? I have a number of expectations for Dragon Age II. I expect the game will be shorter. I've heard 'up to 50 hours' but I'm going to guess that the average person will finish it in about 30 hours. I expect I'll enjoy the combat more. I understand why people might find the moves ridiculous and the speed unpleasant, but I've only managed one full play through of Origins. The combat in Origins just wasn't fun for me. The combat we had in the demo is. I've played as TH warrior, mage, and DW rogue and they were all satisfying in their way. I expect I'll enjoy the dialogue wheel. People have criticized the wheel for reducing the number of choices but I don't see it. When I play a BioWare game, this is what I expect from the dialogue. 1. Yes, I will save your kitten for you 2. Yes, I will save your kitten but give me gold 3. [slit his throat] 4. How did you lose your kitten? I expect the actual choices will remain the same. Now you just have three different ways of telling them 'Yes' or 'Yes, but give me gold' while [slit their throat] is now slit throat if rogue, decapitate if warrior, and fireball if mage. It's simply flavor, but it's better than paragon <-> diplomatic and renegade <-> aggressive. I know I'll enjoy the graphics of Dragon Age II more. It's just a prettier game to me. It's not as good looking as the Witcher, DX, or Skyrim. I doubt it will be as good looking as ME 3. The game engine they're using is at least 7 years old and it shows. I think they developed DA II in 15 months because they knew it was just going to get worse and worse looking in comparison to other games but they didn't want to create a new engine after using the DA:O for a single game. Dragon Age III will probably have a new engine and I wouldn't be surprised if they'd already begun working on it. I expect the story and storytelling will be better. It will be interesting to see BioWare's take on a 'political' story where you have various factions you can align with.

I haven't clicked the link, but I'm going to guess it's David Silverman. He's not well liked; there's a poster on the BSN named FireDavidSilverman.