Dragon Age 2

[Malcador]

I'm so pumped about this.

[Meshugger]

Doesn't appear that way.

 

Great

[Orogun01]

Dragon Age would be a better game if the GW become extinct.

[Azure79]

I prefer no VO for the PC. I like imagining different voices for different characters I create, even though admittedly they say the same thing and the reactions are the same. Easy solution will be to have the option to turn on or off according to player preference.

 

Just reading the the basic information reminded me of Fable, which I tried did didn't much like. I hope that they keep the party based combat but with a revamped combat system with better animations. Like, 2H warriors engaging multiple enemies at once. I don't mind if its has a more actiony feel.

 

Anyways, I'm glad a sequel is coming relatively soon. I really enjoyed Dragon Age.

[Purkake]

@Orogun01: Yeah, super awesome elite organizations seem to be Bioware's crutch. Just like energy sucking and/or extraordinary manipulation skills are Obsidian's.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Purkake

[Tel Aviv]

Hmm. Well, hopefully 360 and PS3 users won't receive as bastardized a port as the original. Still, I'm interested so long as they tone down the "maturity".

[Purkake]

I'm sure this time around everyone will get the bastardized version

[Oblarg]

I never finished DA:O. I just completely lost interest after reaching the final level, never bothered to kill the archdemon.

 

Part of the problem was the atrocious level design (groups of enemies around every corner, etc.), and the other part was the completely unmoving dialogue. I felt no emotional attachment to any of the characters, at all. The influence system didn't help this, as handing out gifts in order to unlock the bland character sidequests felt uninspired and boring. The plot wasn't too spectacular, either. The atmosphere was good, but not developed enough - there certainly was enough lore, but there wasn't enough to remind you of it during the gameplay. I just felt like I was going through the motions by the end of the game, and I wasn't enjoying it all that much.

[Syraxis]

"Dragon Age 2 thrusts players into the role of Hawke, a penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age"

 

Damn, now there's an original storyline - with a vengeance. A beggar who'll become "THE CHOSEN ONE", who must choose (the weapon of choice) !

 

What groups will we have to unite now in our desperate struggle against the evil one?

[Purkake]

I don't think someone who rises to power is necessarily a chosen one, not that the rags to riches thing hasn't been done a million times either.

 

Speaking of chosen ones, The Longest Journey had a nice twist on that trope.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Purkake

[Gorgon]

Hmm. Well, hopefully 360 and PS3 users won't receive as bastardized a port as the original. Still, I'm interested so long as they tone down the "maturity".

Or just don't use the engine for ****ing.

[Deraldin]

Mike Hawke, Official Hero of Bioware Social for DA2

[Monte Carlo]

My pet hate is pre-determined characters, so that's another tick in the Not Impressed column.

 

This sounds to me like a cross between an ARPG and Fable. It will have a veneer of emo BS in the shape of rambling fakespeare cutscenes and RoManCEs FoR DArk HERoic FanTASy!

 

I liked DA1 because it was old-skool enough to still feel like a CRPG, this is obviously a design decision away from that. I can't get excited about it, the childish concept art is unimpressive and the general premise (refugee from the Blight becomes supreme overlord) is just one cliche away from Farmboy Saves The World.

 

Of course, like last time, the hype and puerile marketing will obfuscare anything genuinely cool about the game but this gamer can't get excited about it and I won't be following it.

[HoonDing]

Mike Hawke, Official Hero of Bioware Social for DA2

Mike Hawke requires a same-sex romance.

[Oner]

Mike Hawke, Official Hero of Bioware Social for DA2

I don't get it.

Ungh..

Edited July 9, 2010 by Oner

[GhostofAnakin]

Mike Hawke, Official Hero of Bioware Social for DA2

 

I feel like I've just watched an Austin Powers movie after reading through that thread.

[Nepenthe]

Hell is Leliana singing nonstop with vuvuzelas in the background.

 

+ red football button.

 

Too bad I can't figure out in the time alotted (15 seconds) how to automatically force the vuvus on.

[Purkake]

That's where I got the diabolical idea, actually.

[Orogun01]

Naming the PC Mike Hawke= the biggest tragedy since the first blight.

[funcroc]

Five Facts About Hawke In Dragon Age II (Game Infomer)

[WorstUsernameEver]

A Biowarian noted that on Play.com Dragon Age II page appear a couple of very early screenshots.

 

.. They're very lo-res, so it's difficult to judge but...

[aries101]

Coming from adventure games (remember those, all the Lucas Arts games like The Monkey Series, the Syberias and the bewer ones like the Sherlock Holmes games), I don't quite understand the reason behind (or the opposition) to having a voiced main character. Nearly every adventure game (the modern ones at least) have a voiced main character; granted adventure games are also a bit shorter as rpgs traditionally is (were). In Blackwell Legacy Games, you choose the dialogue much like in the Mass Effect games, it works rather well in those games, I find. The only problem with this is when you get a line that seems to imply you're saying something and then you're something completey different as what you were expexcting.... say the line say's 'hallo' and then the mian character are saying 'goodbye'. Really weird this is then...

 

As for playing a fixed character, The Witcher did it, The Gothic games do it, Risen does it - and a bunch of other games do it.

 

The problem with this is of course that a lot of other games do it, Dragon Age: Origins is a true gem, a unique game - much like The Witcher is. And this is really how to make a game stand out in the crowd - make it unique.

 

Interesting as this is, The Witcher seems to be moving into Bioware's direction with party rpgs and tactical combat while Bioware is moving into The Witcher's direction.

 

Although DA:Origins probably outsold Mass Effect 2, the production costs must have been enormous. Mass Effect 2 probably cost around half as much? as DA:O to develop. Therefore the cost/profit ratio is higher for games like ME2 than DA:O - and that is onky one of the things that we need to take into the equation of why Bioware (and EA) decided to make DA2 more like Mass Effect 1 and 2 (if indeed this it what they're doing).

 

I myself am worried for the combat, though. I like my real time with pause, although having played the DA2 demo, I didn't mind it one bit that the realtime with combat was gone. However, for a tactical combat game like the DA series (?), I just hope that they keep the tactical combat i.e. the real timw with pause.

[WorstUsernameEver]

As for playing a fixed character, The Witcher did it, The Gothic games do it, Risen does it - and a bunch of other games do it.

 

Different types of games though. They're all action RPGs.

 

The problem with this is of course that a lot of other games do it, Dragon Age: Origins is a true gem, a unique game - much like The Witcher is. And this is really how to make a game stand out in the crowd - make it unique.

 

Exactly.

 

Interesting as this is, The Witcher seems to be moving into Bioware's direction with party rpgs and tactical combat while Bioware is moving into The Witcher's direction.

 

Not really.. there will be companions who will fight by your side, but they will be controlled by the AI, and if anything, the combat looks more action-y than the first. Not that I think it was a bad move, but that's for The Witcher thread.

 

Although DA:Origins probably outsold Mass Effect 2, the production costs must have been enormous. Mass Effect 2 probably cost around half as much? as DA:O to develop. Therefore the cost/profit ratio is higher for games like ME2 than DA:O - and that is onky one of the things that we need to take into the equation of why Bioware (and EA) decided to make DA2 more like Mass Effect 1 and 2 (if indeed this it what they're doing).

 

Probably the costs for Dragon Age were really high, but it has been developed for a very long time, has changed its artstyle and setting at least once (originally it had quite the Conan-y vibe) and was developed on a new engine.

Now that they have the engine they can just focus on tweaking graphics, fixing the balance issues and adding depth to the combat system and building new content.. instead it looks like they're revamping the franchise for.. some reason.

 

I myself am worried for the combat, though. I like my real time with pause, although having played the DA2 demo, I didn't mind it one bit that the realtime with combat was gone. However, for a tactical combat game like the DA series (?), I just hope that they keep the tactical combat i.e. the real timw with pause.

 

I really really hope it's still real time with pause. It's a compromise, but since no one wants to do turn-based it's still better for me than every game being an action rpg.

What do you mean by 'DA2 demo' ? You're a member of the press and were invited to see the game?

 

P.S. : Yeah, I know about Planescape : Torment, but that was a sort of 'one of a kind' experience, and I doubt BioWare is trying to replicate it. Not to mention that as Mask of the Betrayer showed, you could still tell a powerful with dark themes story without a premade character.

Edited July 9, 2010 by WorstUsernameEver

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

A Biowarian noted that on Play.com Dragon Age II page appear a couple of very early screenshots.

 

.. They're very lo-res, so it's difficult to judge but...

Those might as well be alpha screenshots, with placeholders and models from the previous game.

[Purkake]

Alpha Protocol, Planescape: Torment, Deus Ex all had fixed characters as well.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Purkake