Maria Caliban

There's a tactical pause. Nope. You mean press J for Journal, I for inventory, C for character sheet? I believe that's still in. I have no idea what you're talking about. It's early PC gameplay, which means auto-attack 80% of the time. Abilities are bound to the number keys (or you just click them on your toolbar). DW has CC with the poison/gas flacks, but its damage is single target.

As I understand it, the story spans ten years and the discussion with Cassandra is right after the end of that period. Edit: Actually, scratch that.

EVE Online. My 14-day trial account just ran out and I'm contemplating hitting someone up for a 21 say one.

Like Leliana and her fake French accent? I'd like to believe that, but it sounds too good for Bio If you side with the Templars, there will be Templars in Kirkwall. If you side with the mages, there will be a few less Templars in Kirkwall and you'll get mail from an ex-Templar about his new job in Ameranthine. CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCES BIOWARE STYLE. The tactics thing was a wonderful inclusion. In fact, assuming the tactics actually work, then the game devs DID handle it. Unless you're implying that the characters should always behave in some other predefined way with no influence over how it works is somehow a positive :S I liked the tactic maker in the original DA:O. I'm glad it's returned. Bloody hell, can RPGs stop moving towards "every battle is a new world" design? This isn't just DA2 obviously, but imagine rebuffing everyone every time in the DAO Deep Roads. The visual FX fades, not the actual buff.

BioWare starts a Live Chat with gameplay in 30 minutes. It runs from 11:30 - 2:00. You don't have to pre-register to ask questions. I thought it was a bit odd that he talked about boning his companions. somehow it doesn't seem as if he'd played a lot of games in his life Or it could be that the ten year time span + narrative skipping means your choices have an impact on the city itself.

From the BioBoards kingjezza wrote... Just read the PG gamer UK review. Firstly let me say they give it a glowing review... Verdict 94 But even after such a positive review I can't help but feel dissapointed, for the reason that the review basically confims one of my concerns i've had about this game, it says apart from a few trips to the deeproads and one trip to a Dalish camp the rest of your time is spent in Kirkwell, some probably wont mind this but for a person like me who likes exploring lots of new, diverse and interesting areas in games the fact that we will spend 90% (not an accurate percentage) of our time in the same city is a bit dissapointing. Who knows maybe with future expansions/DLC they'll expand this part of the World a little more and give us more places to visit. Anyway like I say there were plenty of positives in the review and for those that have a love for cities and don't mind that you'll spend the majority of your time in the same one this wont be a problem. While game time is always a subjective thing they say the game is up to 50 hours long for those that like knowing these sort of things. Anyway my views aside here's the summary of the article reposted from page 4: OK looking over the review and trying to pick out some points. I said up to 50 hours, it actually says upwards of 50 hours: - He praises the frame narrative and mentions this is part of the reason the game hangs together so well. - Praises the Hawke Character (played as a male), says he comes across as awesome most of the time. - Mentions the wheel, only very occasionally did he feel neutered by his choice, on the whole he praises it. - He has a lot of praise for the game and the serious moral choices you have to make and how having the 10 year arc means your actions might have some very real consequences down the line, this adds to the burden of the choices you make, decisions might come back to bite you on the ass. Mentions wronged people might not even target you but your family etc - Felt a little let down at first by lack of escape from the city but in the end found benefits to knowing the city backwards, allowed him to get a complete grasp on the games "complicated political system" - Most impressive attempt he has seen at making player choices in a game mean something. - Romantic options unconstrained, you meet a party member chances are you can "bone" them. his words not mine. Your siblings being the obvious exceptions. - Incidental conversations are splendid, ruder, funnier and just plain better than Origins. - Most of the companions are excellent, Bethany being the only dud as she lacks in personality - Combat is rapid and satisfying but more intricate than Origins. - Party members abilities a lot of fun, found himself rotating his party a lot. - Basically says the game is not what you expect, didn't expect it to be as much of a traditional sequel as it is but by having Bioware lock down the context (the world and the politics) they were free to fill their creation with more character and vitality than any title in recent memory. That's basically the jist of it, doesn't mention graphics at all or importing your save. He does at one point mention equipping Aveline with the best armour, I figured he meant rings and whatnot. Hopefully that was OK to post.

Gamereactor UK. He says that Sten was the most boring Origins companion, so I don't think much of his opinion.

Sadly, I don't care. This probably makes me a bad consumer. If you took Shale out of the game, it was still 60-80 hours long. Whether is was developed before, after, or during, you didn't need the Stone Prisoner to get a good game. The same with Mass Effect 2. I went on Zaeed's loyalty mission and thought it was well done, but the rest of the time I never used him. If he wasn't in the game, it would have been just as good. So here we have Sabastion in Dragon Age. He's fully voiced and has multiple quests. He's not part of project $10, which means there will be at least two day one DLCs for BioWare. He's a rogue, however, and there are already two rogues in the main game. Functionally, he's only necessary if you want a four rogue party. I can't really evaluate what he adds to the game storywise at this point.

That was surprisingly well written.

As I understand it, possible companions are: Companions are limited to their initial weapon tree. Isabela can only use daggers, not the crossbow or bow. Most of their talents are unassigned when they first join the party. They all have multiple quests. There are smear and non-smear versions of the default faces.

It's going to be available for Mac as well, if anyone here plays on one. It looks pretty. I believe the bottom three are the 'force mage, spirit mage, and blood mage' specializations. If so, they've done a bit of trimming. I do like the layout, however.

It's on Steam now. If you ordered the SE you get the bonus soundtrack and The Exiled Prince DLC. Preorder bonuses from any retailer: The Lion of Orlais - A mighty shield that comes with two rune slots as well as granting the player greater health and the ability to earn more XP. Fadeshear - A powerful sword that actually improves as the player gains levels. It also does extra damage versus demons and the undead. New copy bonus: The Black Emporium - Hidden below Kirkwall is the Black Emporium. This mysterious location contains many strange and powerful magics and items. By visiting the Black Emporium, players will be able to use the Mirror of Transformation and change their appearance. They'll be able to find exclusive magic and and crafting stores. And they'll find a whistle allowing them to summon a powerful Mabari Hound in battle. But in this case you are forced to preorder if you want all the NPC's, right? The Exiled Prince is $7 as DLC.

IGN PS3 Preview

We know Alistair will have a cameo, but none of them will return as companions.

She's a young woman. Not immortal.

I see the video has already been posted. The 'Merrill Appreciation Thread' is currently full of people complaining that her breasts are too large and she's too young looking to romance. I'm not sure why people feel they have to romance her. She reminds me of that one elf-girl in BG 2. The flying one.

That's a good point.

I was thinking the other day that Fenris is a great deal like Geralt. Both have white hair Both are brooding and stoic Both have amnesia Both have had magical experiments performed on them Both use two-handed swords Both have 'wolf' names My first thought was that David turned Geralt into a pretty elf dude to watch fangirls suddenly flock to him while Witcher fans scoff at such a lame character. I'm probably giving him too much credit. If Fenris is sterile and his former Tevineter master is a busty redhead, I'll be amused.

I wouldn't expect the wardens and the darkspawn to be a major part of the story. They haven't' been mentioned and the only time we know you encounter them is before you head to kirkwall. The invading qunari, and the conflict between the mages and the Chantry seem to be the largest concerns. That said, I'm sure we'll encounter darkspawn in the Deep Roads.

Looks like we know who the Signature Edition character is, and he'll be available to everyone else as DLC. So what does everyone think of him? http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/addon/

Nope. PC warriors get two-handed and sword and board while rogues get dual wield and archery. Moreover, companions get one weapon tree. Isabela dual wields. You can't give her a bow or crossbow.

The trailer cost untold millions? I disagree that combat in the original DE was 'tacked on' or that stealth wasn't viable. Still, good to see they're enthusiastic about the game.

I don't believe this is the case. I do believe BioWare/EA's marketing department is deliberately misleading people on this manner. If you look at what the Signature Edition offers, it is: '$20 of bonus content for free.' Bonus character and quests Game soundtrack Exclusive in-game armory featuring digital weapons Additional downloadable items Only one thing on that list is 'exclusive.' We know that like all EA games, DA 2 will have to have day one DLC that is free with a new copy of the game. My assumption is that, like Shale and Zaeed, it will be the bonus character. I can't believe anyone who played BG 2 would think that mages 'sucked.' You've answered your own question. In the Witcher and Two Worlds, you play a single character. There's no need for a class based system because it's fine for your character to be able to do everything. In DA 2, you play a party of 4. If you pick a warrior PC, then if you want the experience of playing a rogue or mage, you have to take along rogue or mage companions. Moreover, they don't want warriors and rogues to play the same, which is what happens when they share weapon trees.

As I understand it, it's the same as DA:O (Shale) or ME 2 (Zaeed).

Both Diablo 3 and Dungeon Seige 3 have questionable release dates. Q1 2011 Dead Space 2 (January) Crysis 2 (March) Dragon Age 2 (March) Q2 2011 Portal 2 (April) Witcher 2 (May) Torchlight II (TBA) Q3 2011 Batman: Arkham City (TBA) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (TBA) Q4 2011 Elder Scrolls V (November) Mass Effect 3 ("Holidays") Dungeon Siege 3 (TBA) Risen 2 (TBA) Guild Wars 2 (TBA) XCOM (TBA) Diablo 3 (TBA)