Dragon Age 2

[sorophx]

Except, he didn't say it was 'horrible'. He said it could be better. HUGE difference.

uhuh, he said he would completely restructure it if he got the chance one of the two things he would change. "could be better", the whole game could be better, that's not the point.

[Meshugger]

I woke up this morning by a loud "FUUUUUUU". The girlfriend wasn't very happy, apparantly the ending is like KoTOR 2.

 

Lets not hope for a Dragon Age 3: Wardens of the Old Thedas: The MMO.

Edited March 20, 2011 by Meshugger

[Monte Carlo]

To be fair, if there's an epic iconic evil overlord type ending folks shrug and say it's old. So they go for something different then it's lame.

 

I dunno what the way to split the difference is but I can see Laidlaw's dilemma. As for the rest of the design decisions, well they can carry on kicking over sandcastles until EA kicks their sandcastle.

[Volourn]

Well.. there is an 'end boss'. Though I wouldn't say it's 'epcily evilly iconic'm ala the archdemon.

 

And, at least in DA2 the entire game isn't spoiled before playing 9well. not counting actual spoilers, lol). It was obviously from the get go that in DA1 the final boss would be the archdemon and no matter what decision that was the entire point of the story. While the final boss is unavoidable in DA2 it's not clear from the start. heck, the entirety of ch3 is the PC trying futiley to avoid conflict.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I didn't mind the ending. It was just a bit underwhelming (and some things made very little sense, like Orsino

turning to blood magic

), otherwise it wasn't nearly as frustrating as KotOR 2's butchered ending.

[Volourn]

Considering he did SPOILER and SPOILER it's not exactly far fetched he'd turn to SPOILER.

[TheHarlequin]

"Why was the Prince DLC? DLC should be stuff finished AFTER the game, not something that comes out day one to nickel and dime. Would be more forgivable if the game wasn't so rushed... which leads to the biggest problem of all imho..."

 

This has been explained. Day One DLC like this is to reward those who buy the game new since it's 100% free for those who buy it new. It's to combat used copies.

 

 

"Can you debate my points rather then toss hyperbole comments around like it is going out of style?"

 

Truth hurts? I debate with those who disucss maturely. Your 'article' is not written by an adult but some young kiddie who has been repeating the same things for years. We get it. You hate BIO, and have felt they were dying since NWN. getn over it. This is the same stuff you spouted after NWN, JE, KOTOR, ME, DA, and ME2 yet you try to make it sound like DA2 is somehow 'unique'. *shrug*

 

That's why it can't be taken seriously.

 

You need to reread my article. Anyone who reads it will walk away that I had respect for many of their efforts. Just because I do not ass kiss them blindly like you does not mean I hate them. I back all my comments up with facts or justified opinions. Unlike you.

 

Please show me how I 'hate' them by quoting my article. Stop talking the talk and walk the walk if you are going to toss unfounded accusations.

[HoonDing]

Considering he did SPOILER and SPOILER it's not exactly far fetched he'd turn to SPOILER.

You win.

[Serrano]

I woke up this morning by a loud "FUUUUUUU". The girlfriend wasn't very happy, apparantly the ending is like KoTOR 2.

 

Lets not hope for a Dragon Age 3: Wardens of the Old Thedas: The MMO.

 

Don't even joke about that. It could happen some day

[Volourn]

"Please show me how I 'hate' them by quoting my article. Stop talking the talk and walk the walk if you are going to toss unfounded accusations."

 

You cna't hide behind your article when i've read tons of your posts and other articles as well. Things don't exist in a vaccum. Perhaps, you should reread the multitude of your anti DA1 posts. Yeha, you soemtimes claimed you 'liked' it but 99% of what you wrote about it was bashing. L0L I've been more critical of DA2 than you were positve of other BIO games. L0LZ

 

 

"Just because I do not ass kiss them blindly like you does not mean I hate them."

 

This. This never gets old.

 

 

"You win."

 

 

Don't blame me. Obsidian boards frown on spoilers and I hate tags as it's for wussies.

[Maria Caliban]

I didn't mind the ending. It was just a bit underwhelming (and some things made very little sense, like Orsino

turning to blood magic

), otherwise it wasn't nearly as frustrating as KotOR 2's butchered ending.

 

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

twisted by spirits or evil magical idols

or

just snap and turn themselves into abominations.

 

 

But it's not as bad as Knight of the Old Republic 2's ending.

[entrerix]

the orsino decision was very very strange to me.

 

Really though, both orsino and that templar queen overlord lady should have been introduced much earlier in the story. The way the build up with the arishok was handled was great, the act 3 finale, not so much.

 

still it was a good game, i essentially am of the same mind as greasydogmeat's review from a few pages back. There are a handful of annoyances that REALLY drag down the game (just like origins...) but overall its pretty good, and very fun to play.

 

if they can combine the best elements of this and origins for part 3, we might actually get a Great Game. If we get the worst elements of both we will get a piece of trash so bad that even IGN and gamespot will be forced to give bad reviews to a bioware game.

 

edit: for the record, the archdemon was one of the worst, most uninteresting and uninspired bosses I've seen since the genesis days. the dragon fights in dragon age (both of them) are universally bad and boring, having one as the end fight was a huge mistake. villains with ZERO personality are usually really bad villain choices. DA2 was better in this regard, but still not as good a villain as either BG villains were.

Edited March 21, 2011 by entrerix

[HoonDing]

Call me when it's 4.99

[Volourn]

"Really though, both orsino and that templar queen overlord lady should have been introduced much earlier in the story."

 

100% agree with this.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

"Really though, both orsino and that templar queen overlord lady should have been introduced much earlier in the story."

 

100% agree with this.

They talk a lot about Meredith pretty early in the game, they just don't show her properly or make her presence felt.

[Raithe]

I think what threw me partly was the amount of time in each act..

 

It felt like I spent half the game in act 1.. and act 3 was barely felt..

 

And sure, I became the "Champion of Kirkwall" but I never really felt as if I was some central power role within the city. Just more the annoying wildcard that kept causing the people who were in power positions to do stuff.

 

I enjoyed a lot of the game, but a chunk of it did disapoint me. The way Bio had made so much fuss about showing your character becoming this prominent character and effecting the city over the 10 years... Maybe that caused me to expect something that could never be, but .. yeah, wasn't expecting what we actually got.

[Tale]

The first glimpse of Meredith you get is when she walks past the thief in the intro cutscene after year one. Then you get a glimpse of Orsino in Act 2 during Feynriel's dream. Pretty much it until the end of Act 2. I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone who thought they were given significant enough roles and character development.

 

The question, to me, is what Bioware will take away from that criticism. Will they scrap relateable villains who aren't always villains, instead go back to monsters that are ever threatening? Will they just do cutscenes that expand on what the antagonists are doing between segments (like Loghain)? Or will they actually integrate them in the developing plot better and give them character development?

[newc0253]

The first glimpse of Meredith you get is when she walks past the thief in the intro cutscene after year one. Then you get a glimpse of Orsino in Act 2 during Feynriel's dream. Pretty much it until the end of Act 2. I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone who thought they were given significant enough roles and character development.

actually i thought it was clever the way Bio held them back until Act 3, although Meredith had a much more substantial lead-in than Orsino.

 

what failed was the execution in Act 3. it isn't that they weren't introduced soon enough. after all, Bio could have constructed Act 3 with a series of quests around getting to know both characters.

 

instead, both characters were ciphers for their respective factions, and boring ones too. Meredith, in particular, could have been really interesting. instead, she was shrill and one-note.

[Tale]

They could have had a series of quests around getting to know both characters. If you consider adding content from nothing to be reasonable. But, as it stands, with the amount of content that exists in the game, they should have started being involved in earlier quests.

 

Especially since the Arishok had better lead, being involved in both Act 1 and Act 2. They should have been more present in the game than the midboss.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Tale

[Volourn]

"They talk a lot about Meredith pretty early in the game, they just don't show her properly or make her presence felt."

 

I love that Meredith was disucssed a lot in act 1 including you being able to ask about her. I think she should have been more active in act 2 trying to deal with obvious tainted mages while Orsino could have been introcuded easily in ch2 maybe through Bethany if she gets sent to the Circle (or Ferynheil if you sent hi there). The fact your first direct intro to them is the end game of act (where, of course, they both miss the actual main encounter) is a little late. Heh. A sneaky thing for BIo to have done was have them both potnetially join your party in the delaing with the arishok part. That would have fbalbbergasted players when later they have to find out they may have to deal with them.

 

I also have some idea on how to deal with these two later on to make it more cooler. The end game (even though I haven't experienced it myself yet but spoilers are evil and ruin everything) seems to be Perfectly Acceptable End Bosses Type of Ending but could have been truly epic if BIo didn't take the easy cookie cutter way.

[entrerix]

The question, to me, is what Bioware will take away from that criticism. Will they scrap relateable villains who aren't always villains, instead go back to monsters that are ever threatening? Will they just do cutscenes that expand on what the antagonists are doing between segments (like Loghain)? Or will they actually integrate them in the developing plot better and give them character development?

 

i share this question and am pretty scared that they will go back to the archdemon crap. which is partly why i ranted against it in my post. random all-powerful monsters as villains is soooooo lame.

 

great villains, like SHODAN, or even Sephiroth, are often (not always) great because you are given the opportunity to interact, or react, with/to them throughout the game, giving you time to get to know them, or grow to hate/fear them legitimately and not because the designer told you "this is the last boss".

 

A great villain needs to have their presence felt throughout the game, maybe not overtly (example of presence felt, but not actually showing up overtly: the master in Fallout, you know something is wrong fairly early on, but only get hints of the supermutants for the first half of the game), but still present.

 

The villain at the end of mass effect was pretty decent, but other than him, bioware has had a REALLY bad run of villains. I haven't been enthused for any of them since Irenicus and Sarevok. (i'd give both of them say an 8 out of 10 on the cool villain scale, that dude from mass effect gets a 7, the archdemon gets a 2, the peeps at the end of DA2 get 6's, mass effect 2 gets a 2 (was there a villain in that game?), Kotor =? i cant remember the villain except he was bald and missing part of his face, I'd give Kreia a 9, i'm rambling but you get the point)

[Volourn]

JE's main villainw as one of their better ones. HOTU's Meph was realla wesome. SOU medusa sucked really bad.

 

I'd rather BIO bosses:

 

Sarevok (BG): 8

 

Irenicus (BG2): 9

 

Morhaig (NWN OC): 6.5

 

Malek (KOTOR): 6

 

Medusa (SOU): 3

 

TOB Bitch (TOB): 5

 

Saren (ME): 8

 

ASSuming CONtrol (ME2): 5.5

 

Archdemon (DA1): 6.5

 

 

 

 

I'd give Kreia...... an 8.

[sorophx]

Kreia would crash any chart with her awesomeness. 11 out of 10 at the very least

[GhostofAnakin]

Two things bothered me most about Dragon Age 2:

1- The often mentioned re-used maps. This one doesn't really need further explanation.

2- The Awakenings-style companion interaction, rather than how interaction with your companions worked in Origins. I didn't like the fact you could only really initiate conversations with your companions in their "home base", and only when they wanted you to. In Origins, it was nice to be able to interact with them whenever you wanted, and could learn stuff about them at any time.

 

I also thought that some of the major players could have been fleshed out a bit more through more quests associated with them. Meridith, Orsino, the Arishok, all of them could have done with a couple more personal quests where maybe you learn a bit more about their backgrounds or just quests that expand on them or their "factions" leading up to the end of each act.

 

Finally, I preferred the "epicness" of Origins. Even if it was just the optics of the thing, and there wasn't much more "areas" to visit, but the fact they had multiple cities/towns in Origins made the game just feel so much bigger. I was hoping we'd get to visit Starkhaven for a bit, since it got mentioned a lot. Or even some other outlying town/settlement outside Kirkwall's gates. But all we got for a city was Kirkwall, with a handful of tiny "areas" just outside of the place.

[Maria Caliban]

"Really though, both orsino and that templar queen overlord lady should have been introduced much earlier in the story."

 

100% agree with this.

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

joins the Circle

, 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.