Dragon Age II Has the Best Writing since PS:T

[Volourn]

DTU is the D7D game that Interplay tried to do ebfore giving up and begging BIo to save their D&D license. L0L It was trash. As much as I pick on AP, it's nowhwere enar as bad. DTU is one of the few games in existnce that is really worth a 2 out of 10 or lower.

[Wrath of Dagon]

The dwarf inheritance quest in DAO was terrible, because you weren't given enough information and couldn't find any to make a rational decision. Also the whole thing was idiotic to the extreme, that's the kind of thing that makes me want to skip any future Bio game. Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce, not the Odyssey by Homer. (disclaimer: I'm not pretending that I read Ulysses).

[Volourn]

"The dwarf inheritance quest in DAO was terrible, because you weren't given enough information and couldn't find any to make a rational decision."

 

pay better attention next time

[Wrath of Dagon]

I did, I couldn't find any more information. Perhaps you can explain.

[Volourn]

wHY?

Edited March 20, 2011 by Volourn

[Wrath of Dagon]

You claim what I said was wrong, at least you can explain why you're saying that.

[Jaesun]

You claim what I said was wrong, at least you can explain why you're saying that.

 

Maybe you are new here? It's Voloun. He is always right. Even when he is wrong.

[Volourn]

How about reading old threads about DA? About paying attention to the game? I'm not gonna babysit your quest for knowledge about a 2 year old game.

 

Besdies, anything Iw rite about it you will just poo poo away, anyways.

 

You said your opinion, i said mine. if you want more info do actual research.

[Wrath of Dagon]

If you're claiming I'm wrong, it's common courtesy to explain why. But since you won't trouble yourself, I'm just going to continue regarding your posts as unsubstantiated trolling. Sorry I tried to have a discussion with you in the first place.

[GreasyDogMeat]

DTU is the D7D game that Interplay tried to do ebfore giving up and begging BIo to save their D&D license. L0L It was trash. As much as I pick on AP, it's nowhwere enar as bad. DTU is one of the few games in existnce that is really worth a 2 out of 10 or lower.

I tried it, but I couldn't even get it to run past the first inn/dungeon.

 

When mentioning Descent to Undermountain you should really use it's full name as few people completed or remember it.

Edited March 20, 2011 by GreasyDogMeat

[Nick_i_am]

I agree

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcVZQI6ybw

[newc0253]

i liked DA2. a lot.

 

i don't think DA2 let down the legacy of DA1. i think the third act of DA2 let down the promise of DA2.

 

i didn't have a problem with many of the things that folks seem to hate about DA2, e.g. the move towards a single, named character with voiced dialogue; the streamlined inventory or the more action-heavy, less tactical style of combat. i was also happy in principle with the adoption of the dialogue wheel - it worked well in ME1 and 2, although i think its execution in DA2 was sometimes problematic in particular cases.

 

and i think the first two acts of DA2 made good on the concept. a focus on a single character in a single setting, building a real sense of place, strong writing, layered development, plenty of threads, a general lack of annoying characters. this was a Dragon Age story that showed real promise, one that i was happy to spend time in.

 

and i also didn't begrude some of the shortcuts that were adopted. it seems to be the universal consensus that DA2 was a rushed job, but i didn't mind so long as the main evidence of this was a reuse of the same maps, and an overabundance of swarming gangs.

 

but what i felt with the arrival of the Third Act was a certain degree of sadness that the most interesting part of the story seemed to have passed. Don't get me wrong, i like the overall theme of the Templars versus the Mages. it's one of the most interesting things about the DA setting, and the willingness of the writers to balance our sympathies. But sadly Meredith, once you finally got to meet her just before the end of the Second Act, is a let down. what would have been interesting if she had turned out to be a suprisingly sympathetic or complex character, but instead she's a shrill single-minded villain, a Javert in plate mail.

 

now i don't mind being forced to take a side, and i don't mind being presented with the unattractive consequences of doing so. i get that grey areas sometimes have to resolve into black or white, and that lines sometimes have to be drawn, no matter how messy the reality. i get what the writers were aiming at here: a situation where you have to chose, but that there are negative consequences on either side.

 

but Meredith is so shrill, it's impossible to believe that anyone would play the game on her side. and the way that the writers seek to balance our sympathies is to keep showing mage after mage becoming an abomination, so so much so that it's virtually a cliche by the end when Orsino turns to the dark side (what has to be the most pointless waste of a character in a Bioware game). but no matter how often its done, it never really convinces.

 

what's worst of all, though, is how - having chosen to back the mages, very publicly and from a very early stage, the game forces me as Hawke to slaughter dozens of mages and templars who are on my side. as others have noticed, I'm the Champion of frakking Kirkwall, i slew the Arishok and a high dragon. and i've consistently and publicly and stated my support for mages, helped mages escape the templars time after time, and Thrask knows it. hell, the bloody nobles come to me in secret in an effort to depose Meredith. but i'm meant to believe that the dissident Templars and circle mages led by Thrask would rather attack me on sight and die in very large numbers than ask me if i'm interesting in helping their cause.

 

i mean, for frak's sake, Bio, this is an CRPG. i get that there's plenty of minor decisions that i'm not going to get to make, and i'm happy to accept a certain degree of railroading from time to time for the sake of the plot. but don't make a game which gives me at least a dozen opportunities to make clear my sympathies for mages and then resoundingly ignore those decisions when it comes to major plot developments. So a templar screams 'he's with Meredith!', and i'm like 'dude, which Champion of Kirkwall have you been watching?'

 

the shame of it is, this cack-handed series of developments comes at the expense of massive amount of promise and goodwill of Acts 1 and 2. the build-up of tension with the Qunari? Flemeth's apperances? the Dalish on Sundermount and Merrill's efforts to repair the mirror? the death of Bethany in the deep roads? Sandal's erie moment of prophecy? all that stuff was fantastic, and made me think this is all building to something.

 

but apparently what that was building towards was something ultimately outside the scope of this game. you'd expect something as major as Bethany's death would have major consequences in Hawke's story. but i'm pretty sure there was no mention of her in Act 3 that i can recall. not even a picture of her in the house. you can't help but think that they didn't just take shortcuts with reusing maps: they shortchanged the very story they wanted to tell, and that's the biggest shame of all.

 

if this sounds like a bad review, remember: i really liked DA2. i think it's two thirds of a nearly great game, and i think Bio will get a lot of hate for things that are ultimately quite silly, and so a lot of truly excellent stuff will be overlooked. but you gotta hope Bio learns its lesson from the negative reviews for the next installment...

 

p.s. okay, i messed up the romance with Isabella but i can't blame Bio for that.

[Purkake]

Well, if the Gamers With Jobs guy says it, it must be the absolute objective truth.

[sorophx]

i think it's two thirds of a nearly great game

too bad 2/3 of a nearly great game don't make a good game your review actually cemented my decision to not bother with this game. sounds like KOTOR 2 Bio style. only with bad writing and some weak characters

[Orogun01]

i think it's two thirds of a nearly great game

too bad 2/3 of a nearly great game don't make a good game your review actually cemented my decision to not bother with this game. sounds like KOTOR 2 Bio style. only with bad writing and some weak characters

I find the comparison unfair. KOTOR 2 was better.

[Tale]

Did I hear people talking about Myrkul? SQUEEEEE

 

Probably the most exciting conversation I've ever seen in gaming, period.

[Volourn]

Great post newc, don't listen to sorrow as his onyl reason to post in DA2 threads is to trioll everyone since post after post it's 'DA2 is a sucky sucky game worst game ever and i'll just spam this topic opver and over again'). Just to elt you know, btw, what happens with Bethany isn't set in stone...

 

 

P.S. KOTOR2 is merely an average game.It's overrated just like KOTOR1. Both 70-80ish games...

Edited March 21, 2011 by Volourn

[Maria Caliban]

I'd say Act 2 is BioWare's best writing.

 

I agree

 

1. Jennifer is not Sheryl. Jennifer is the woman in your image while Sheryl is the one who talks about squeeing at characters.

 

2. I'd like to know the source of that quote as the BioWare devs have said repeatedly they based Dragon Age off the works of an "old, white guy" named George RR Martain.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Maria Caliban

[Monte Carlo]

Lulz, DA2 has it's own Hitler / Downfall spoof too.

[Maria Caliban]

Yeah, it came out months prior to the game launching and is basically Hitler complaining that he won't get to bag Alistair with the Warden again.

[Monte Carlo]

I also, being middle-aged, had to look up 'Squee' on Urban Dictionary. It strikes me as an activity that fits the average Bio fan nowadays like a glove.

[Ice9]

The dwarf inheritance quest in DAO was terrible, because you weren't given enough information and couldn't find any to make a rational decision. Also the whole thing was idiotic to the extreme, that's the kind of thing that makes me want to skip any future Bio game. Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce, not the Odyssey by Homer. (disclaimer: I'm not pretending that I read Ulysses).

 

I don't know. I kind of got the impression that Behlen would have been an Ivan the Terrible-like figure.

[HoonDing]

Gaiman is an old white guy?

[MrBrown]

Gaiman is an old white guy?

 

He's 50?

[Monte Carlo]

Yeah but 50 is the new 30 or something.