Dragon Age 2

[C2B]

Wow lightning fast combat.

 

Thats totally what rpgs should strife for and doesn't sound like Hack n' slash/ARPG at all.

 

Edit: Reading about it on the internet there are several interesting and encouraing points apart from combat mentioned. Gets me hyped.

Edited February 11, 2011 by C2B

[Azure79]

Is there a reason RPGs can't have action-oriented combat while still delivering a satisfactory experience?

 

I'm looking forward to faster, more responsive combat built on top of DAO's system in DA2.

[Tale]

They can be satisfactory. They just struggle to be tactical.

[entrerix]

I LIKE action rpgs, hopefully this is actually fun and not just a boring slog through 40 million orc-a-likes

[Maria Caliban]

From the BioBoards

 

kingjezza wrote...

 

Just read the PG gamer UK review. Firstly let me say they give it a glowing review...

 

Verdict  94

The best RPG combat ever. Not gaming's best story, but maybe it's best storytelling. Darker, sexier, better

 

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:

Dragon age 2 does it right, It's still an RPG epic, it still takes upwards of 50 hours to finish, it's still got a deep complex combat system and it's still got a well-defined supporting cast

 

- 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

 

Dragon age 2's story is driven by these moments of tension and forced choice. They always feel organic and truly contextual

 

- 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.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Maria Caliban

[Tale]

I like what I hear. But I still have to be skeptical on a few points, namely the dialogue wheel and voiced character. And decisions. Would be surprised to see Bioware truly change their approach.

[Azure79]

Cool, thanks for the info Maria.

 

If the combat is more intricate yet faster than DAO, I'll be satisfied overall. I enjoyed most of the DAO combat except for the slow animations and sometimes ponderous movement.

[sorophx]

jeez, this reviewer sounds like a 12-year old kid, last time I read such a review by an actual journalist it was about Planescape Torment.

 

EDIT: I am seriously doubting his abilities because of this line

Most impressive attempt he has seen at making player choices in a game mean something.

somehow it doesn't seem as if he'd played a lot of games in his life

Edited February 11, 2011 by sorophx

[Maria Caliban]

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.

 

 

jeez, this reviewer sounds like a 12-year old kid, last time I read such a review by an actual journalist it was about Planescape Torment.

 

I thought it was a bit odd that he talked about boning his companions.

 

EDIT: I am seriously doubting his abilities because of this line

Most impressive attempt he has seen at making player choices in a game mean something.

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.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Maria Caliban

[Tale]

EDIT: I am seriously doubting his abilities because of this line

Most impressive attempt he has seen at making player choices in a game mean something.

somehow it doesn't seem as if he'd played a lot of games in his life

It could be true. It could be second best and he just missed the first. But skepticism does seem tempting, doesn't it?

[HoonDing]

Verdict  94

So it's better than Planescape: Torment (93), but worse than Oblivion (95) and NWN (95).

Edited February 11, 2011 by virumor

[Tale]

I know you're just trolling, but I see that thing come up often enough that I cannot let it pass without comment.

 

Reviews are meaningless outside of relative contemporary contexts. Maybe worse for the time it was published, but not necessarily worse for direct comparison. However, NWN got a 95? All of my RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Tale

[Gromnir]

Verdict  94

So it's better than Planescape: Torment (93), but worse than Oblivion (95) and NWN (95).

 

am gonna assume that different journalists were assigned the task o' reviewing each respective game. is best not to get too focused on raw number scores as they do not mean much w/o proper context.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps we still got a wait-and-see approach regarding da2... but the demo will makes a big difference. rather than listen to mr. boner and other reviewers, we will try our self and then makes a decision on whether to wait until this becomes a bargain bin offering.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Gromnir

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Wow, this live chat... it's disturbing. Bioware fanboys are starting to scare me.

 

Voice acting for FemHawke sounds a bit off. It's like a bad english accent.

 

Combat looks weird. It's not clear what he's controlling and what's automatic. Not to mention 4 guys grouping around an enemy and just autoattacking isn't exactly exciting gameplay.

 

Soundtrack's just plain generic. Nothing noteworthy about it, which means it's about the same quality as DA1's soundtrack. Too bad.

Edited February 11, 2011 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[Hurlshort]

Let's also just realize that a score in the 90's is simply a high score and means it is a very good game. Getting caught up with which games got 93, 94, and 95 is silly.

[Tale]

Wow, this live chat... it's disturbing. Bioware fanboys are starting to scare me.

They're talking about dwarf sex, I bet.

[sorophx]

Or it could be that the ten year time span + narrative skipping means your choices have an impact on the city itself.

I'd like to believe that, but it sounds too good for Bio

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Wow, this live chat... it's disturbing. Bioware fanboys are starting to scare me.

They're talking about dwarf sex, I bet.

Well they're wondering if Isabella is into lesbianism and anal. Also there was a wave of "I NEED MORE MORRIGAN PLEASE".

 

Ugh, this combat just looks bad. He runs around with ranged characters while the others just whack at the enemies or perform some basic AI routines. Pausing the game honestly breaks the flow of combat and the whole thing is just one big cluster****.

 

Either stay with classic BG gameplay or go entirely action, Bioware. There is no good middle ground.

 

EDIT: Blood still sprays everywhere and stays in cutscenes. Looks retarded as usual. How can someone possibly have light conversations like this when covered head to toe in blood?

 

EDIT: Tactics are back. Guess we still have to make the AI ourselves instead of, you know, the game dev handling it. Control is nice, but having us finish your game is annoying.

Edited February 11, 2011 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[Tale]

Wow, this live chat... it's disturbing. Bioware fanboys are starting to scare me.

They're talking about dwarf sex, I bet.

Well they're wondering if Isabella is into lesbianism and anal.

Stay classy, internet.

 

Edit: Bioboards just reminded me of DAO's original plan for 2 years of DLC. We might gotten a second expansion instead of Witch Hunt. That's almost depressing.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Tale

[Thorton_AP]

Tactics are back. Guess we still have to make the AI ourselves instead of, you know, the game dev handling it. Control is nice, but having us finish your game is annoying.

 

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

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Tactics are back. Guess we still have to make the AI ourselves instead of, you know, the game dev handling it. Control is nice, but having us finish your game is annoying.

 

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'm just saying the basic AI was awful, unlike say, ME2 where Squad Power Usage was actually okay. I liked that tactics too, but creating your own AI shouldn't be necessary while playing on difficulties other than the hardest one (difficulty was another problem DA1 had, it was far from constant).

[Gromnir]

Tactics are back. Guess we still have to make the AI ourselves instead of, you know, the game dev handling it. Control is nice, but having us finish your game is annoying.

 

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'm just saying the basic AI was awful, unlike say, ME2 where Squad Power Usage was actually okay. I liked that tactics too, but creating your own AI shouldn't be necessary while playing on difficulties other than the hardest one (difficulty was another problem DA1 had, it was far from constant).

 

that reminds us. does anybody know if combat tactics is still a freaking skill? of all the dumb things from da:o, making customizable party member ai linked to a purchased skill were the single most moronic bit o' game design we can recall from ANY game we has played in a decade.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Tale]

I'll agree with Gromnir on that one. I remember prior to DAO's release hoping that Combat Tactics would double as a social or problem solving skill because it was stupid as just what it ended up being. I could have considered it justified if the characters ended up going around giving tactical advice to solve quests additionally.

[Bendu]

So it got the same score like DA:O. Still waiting for the Ultimate Edition.

[Tale]

From the LiveChat via Bioboards

Biotic Sage wrote...

 

-Cross class combos

-Staggered target (warriors do it)

- Team work, vital at higher difficulty levels

-Fist of the Maker (top first force mage)

-Toggled helmets

- Buffs fade outside of combats

- How long for playthrough? Longer than ME2, shorter than DAO (about 50 hrs estimate)

- Mages will be able to wear armor (armor based on strength and con, not class)

-Wide variety of weapons; each class has own sets of weapons, able to equip to followers or Hawke.

-Party member fixed armors; upgrades found during quests or purchased;

enchantable with runes; over time companions will sometimes change their

outfits

-Enemies do level based on character level, but some are on a case by case basis

- Hard designed for whole party building

-Archers have more force to their attacks than dual wielders

- Big political elements from DAO and DAOA will impact Kirkwall

-Fatigue is gone from DA2; if you meet requirements you can wear armor without penalty

- Reserved stamina/mana is in percentages; operates much like fatigue

- classes are more balanced; warriors and rogues up to mages’ standard now

- Mike’s favorite character: Isabella

- Companion’s interact with each other; extensive banter in certain areas; followers visit other followers at each others’ homes

-Dog acts as 5th (weak) party member

- Cameos from Origins may make appearances

- Romances in Dragon Age 2: vary based on friend/rival status; Love/Hate romance scenes

- Mike’s favorite class: Rogue/Archer

- Interface is main difference between console/pc

- Crafting exists: able to create runes, poisons bombs, etc.; find

individual resources and reporting to crafters, not individual elfroots

- Caves, dungeons, deep roads, abandoned highways, craggy coasts; mainly a hub location

- Hawke does have a core location, like the map; changes over time; crafting, store equipment

-Carver naturally more of a rival figure than Bethany

-More dynamic enemies like the Harvester (phasing out physical damage)

 

Glad to see combos of any sort appear again.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Tale