dragon age 2 whats with all the hate?

[LittleBlondeGoth]

I'm enjoying it so far. It's different to DA:O, and if I was expecting the sequel to be just like the first game then I might be a bit peeved. But I wasn't so I'm not.

If I had to grumble, I'd say I'm not as attached to the characters as I was in DA:O, though that might come with time. And I miss being able to talk to them whenever I want - having to wait until they decide to talk to me can be a little frustrating. I also kind of miss the equipment management of the first game, where I could chop and change everyone's gear at will. My biggest gripe would be that the Hold command doesn't always make people stay where they're meant to be - Varric in particular has a nasty habit of deciding to ignore me and go charging off into eleventy million enemies.

The boss fights and waves of enemies that cater to the 'consoles'? Actually, they remind me more of my time raiding in EverQuest than any of my console games. I was a bit surprised at first, and sometimes the relentless waves of bad guys spawning behind my defences grates my nerves a bit, but once I realised that was the direction the game was heading in, it was easy enough to adjust.

It's not my favourite RPG of all time, but neither is it a load of old bobbins. There is joy to be found there, if it's given a chance.

 

[ZiggyE]

They dumbed it down for consoles and they reused the same maps over and over again.

But other than that, it was great. I loved the setting, the characters (especially Merrill) and way the story was told. They tried to be innovative in these areas instead of repeating what they did in DA: O and anyone who complains about them are just disappointment they didn't get a repeat of DA: O (and would you really have wanted that?)

Combat got a bit repetitive at times but not annoyingly so and I would have liked to see more of the Fade but those aren't major issues. It was a great game. Innovation is something that should be praised in this industry. Especially when done well as it was in Dragon Age. I swear, the gaming industry fanbase is nearly impossible please. When developers spew out brown CoD replicas you scream "Stop doing the same thing" but when they do something innovative you throw a tantrum.

 

[darkonnis]

The combats pretty boring. Having enemies pop up behind your archers and mages constantly removes any tactical thought because they die so quickly its not worth moving them, better to leave them and have them deal with the threat themselves.
The endless vanish system didn't help either, be better if cunning was a score like it was last time to see things in stealth, after all, its uses are pretty low as is.

The characters well... weak, did i care that such and such left? not in the slightest. Does it matter i cant use XYZ any more? no. Do i feel like i betrayed any of my characters when i chose to do something? not really...
Not when putting alistair to death in DA:O made you atleast think it was a harsh choice. I didnt even like him, yet i still cared that one of my team was being taken from me. the characters this time are just meh, nothing really outstanding or particularly amazing about any of them. The arishok was a stronger character than about half the party. And he's in it for what? 20mins screen time max? thats how bad it is.

 

[Prince Regent]

First I do think DA2 was a good game, I do however also agree with almost all cons that people have against it. (Or those that liked origins anyway)

I think DA2 missed a lot of the RPG feeling that Origns had going. Though I liked my male quirky Hawke, I would rather have had him as a companion and the main character a blank sheet and pref one without a voice. The reused maps where somewhat annoying and I do feel that the combat was dumbed down.

 

[Netrigan]

im done trying to reason with you here pc man meet console man

no, you are trying to pick a fight, fanboy style over which system is better. Were as i'm saying if you are going to make a PC game, make a fucking PC game. Do not make a console game, for the PC. Its no different then if Sony started making playstation FPS games, that not only required the use of a keyboard & mouse, but the entire game was based on there use.

I only just recently got back into the RPG thing after about a 20 year absence. And while I play them on a console, I can easily see why there's a lot of anger about the switch-over from PCs.

With FPS, it mostly came down to less precise aiming and a different weapon switching mechanic (the other changes happened for other reasons, not that it was on a console). Far Cry & Crysis are both PC exclusives that utilize a lot of the so-called changes brought about by the consoles, including recharging shields; and it's embraced by PC fans.

RPGs seem to be much more menu driven, so switching from PC to console is a much more fundamental shift. With the console market being more potentially lucrative (unless your game is a MMO) means that a lot of simplification is going to happen... and people used to a much more complex and rich system are going to find console-oriented offerings to be lacking.

Just as we make a distinction between Western and Japanese RPGs, I think we'll probably see a distinction arise between console and PC RPGs. I think taken on their own terms, a console RPG is a good experience, but as they refine the system for console play, it's going to drift further and further away from its PC roots.

 

[ZiggyE]

The characters well... weak, did i care that such and such left? not in the slightest. Does it matter i cant use XYZ any more? no. Do i feel like i betrayed any of my characters when i chose to do something? not really...

It really comes down to invested emotions in the characters. The way I saw it, the characters were no better or worse than in Dragon Age Origins. When I think about it, Origins only had a few characters that had any real story behind them, (Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana... forgive me if I don't remember them all I haven't played in awhile, compared to say Oghren, who just liked to get drunk and swing his sword around). Dragon Age II tried to give all the characters their own extensive(ish) backstories and companion quests. I suppose whether you like the characters or not comes entirely down to what you like in a character and the amount of emotion you are willing to put into them.

I, for one, didn't particularly care for Fenris or Isabella, but I sure as hell felt sad with the situation with Fenris' sister or when Isabella pulled a runner. And I absolutely adored Merrill and Varric.

 

[ZenMonkey47]

It's an ok game. Though the only way that I could enjoy it is to keep repeating to myself that it's not "Dragon Age 2" it's "Dragon Age Gaiden". Although if anyone still claims that Dragon Age is the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate they will be fed alive to a horde of miniature giant space hamsters.

 

[Casual Shinji]

For an RPG, the game offers very little choice in terms of how the story progresses. The only choice you really have is in how much a companion likes or dislikes you. The ending is a prime example of this; No matter which side you choose, you're going to have to kill fucking everyone. And don't even get me started on that serial killer quest.

The difficulty of the battles is also highly uneven. There's a side quest where you can kill a high dragon, and I was giving it my all chipping away at his health and keeping my party alive. Eventually though, I was the only one left standing and I basically thought I was fucking dead, but for some reason it was easier for me to defeat this enormous dragon by myself than it was with a party of four. All I needed to do was dodge his fire balls and shoot magic at 'm. Had this scenario happend in DA:O I would've been fucking killed in like two seconds.

There's no doubt that DA2 has more graphical power, but it makes everyone look very plasic and overly shiny. Every character's hair looks like chocolate or liquorice, and there skin looks like marzipan; I was getting a toothache just by staring them in the face. And the visual design on a whole was just terrible.

The only thing I feel was improved was that being a mage felt very gratifying compared to DA:O. That and the walking animations.

Either Bioware is really pushing the limits with this streamlining bullshit, or they simply put all their time and talent into Mass Effect 3 and their Star Wars MMO... Probably both.

 

[Victoriaa]

The combat was just like any other fantasy rpg game out there, too flashy and "dumbed down" from DA:O. Also they did the terrible mistake of not letting you talk to your companions everywhere and at all times. Medieval Mass Effect, no thanks. (ME was awesome, but its a different game than DA >.>)

Edit: Forgot to mention, I really hated Hawkes voices. Give me back my silent Warden!

 

[Traun]

yes im sad that i got to play a great game and you got a bad port and ill admit they kinda slacked off in that regarde but dont dam us, bioware, or the game because it doesnt cater to your minority.

Yes people should? Either you make a good game/port or you don't? Why shouldn't someone trash the game if the game in question is badly ported? Why shouldn't some dam a company if the company has done a bad job?

In your post you said everything that needed to be said - DA2 is a good console game, but it falls short on the PC, isn't that reason good enough for people to bash it?

 

[StormShaun]

Loved it

Exept no Dual Weilding

But it was awesome, but I prefer Dragon Age Origins, its got a better story and main character...

 

[Kikyoo]

For me it boils down to a handful of things.
A: The combat is not changed enough. Sure it's better, but not much. Tapping the attack button didn't really do much for me, I don't FEEL like it really added anything. The combat still feels distant. I enjoy the story and the characters and kinda want to fiddle around with them more, but the combat just puts me to sleep. It's not fun, there are always too many enemies that just gang up on you, surround you, attack your healer and there is very little you can do about it. There are no tactics, no traps you can set, it just feels random chaotic and boring. The sad part is even with fights being such slogs, they are still too easy. It honestly takes a great deal of fun out of the game for me. Also the way they limit stamina Regen for warriors seems like a needless kick in the nuts. In fact nobody seems to have good regen at all for prolonged conflicts. That might be the point, but it seems a bit hollow when it ends up meaning everyone just starts sucking down potions. It's less about having good tactics and more about just paying attention.

I don't mind the dungeons, I like the story, but I don't really like most of the characters.
To be fair I didn't like the characters in dragon age origins either tho, so I can't really put it up as a serious mark against it. What I can is the Armor, weapons and the lack of customization. Dragon age origins allowed you to use weapons and armor that were not designed for your "Class" and that was fun. Taking that away pisses me off, and kills some of the characters I want to make. This game works really hard to shoehorn you into your armor and weapons, and makes it impossible to be a viable character while using weapons and armor outside of what it thinks you should. This just sucks. I can live with not changing my companions armor ever, but they should at least give us options, OR just do away with it, and use a mass effect style upgrade system, but either give us customization to freely change out armor pieces, or don't. I know you can use them if you try hard enough but the point is your character isn't going to be any good, as where in the previous game they could still be viable even if you did something odd.

The skill sets are Rigid and a lot of the upgrades don't feel like upgrades and you end up putting points into them just so you can get something else. This is not a good design, and needing upgrades to fully utilize your cross class combos is a terrible idea. All your upgrades should work for you, instead of increasing the damage caused by a cross class combo. Also some trees could stand to use a better description, I honestly don't know what some of them are trying to do, and then when I look at the tree and then at the description they don't always match up in my head. This is something that could easily be fixed, but wasn't. This is lazy design.

I did enjoy DA2 a bunch, but it's been nearly impossible for me to stay focused for multiple plays. The upgrade system just has no flex to it, and very little customization between general play styles. The combat just didn't do enough. I am very disappointed with DA2, but will admit I did enjoy it when it was completely fresh for me. It's just these flaws really hinder me from continuing to play after I've beaten it once, and will keep me from giving a crap about any DLC that might come out for it.

 

[Zhukov]

I enjoyed it despite its issues.

Hell, I liked it better than Origins.

 

[Fake Nicker]

To add to the list of things pros and cons ( despite some of it been mentioned ) here goes in no particular order:
1. Copy paste dungeons/houses. Paths and doors being blocked is the only deviate. For some this is not a major thing, but for me this is a massive problem. Im an old Baldurs gate fan (played them all) and the discovery of new places and have that "What the hell of all sinister things is going on here" feeling is so painly missing after the 3rd dungeon. Its the "ive been here before feeling" that jives me, and i just know that when i open this door stuff will happen, and most likely in the form of angry things wanting to hit me.

2. Everyone explodes upon death. Yesterday i found a dagger with the special ability to have "more messy kills" and i thought to my self "How is that even possible. Is the dagger it self going to spray blood or what?" I soorly miss the little finesse kills in DA:O. I remember my first dragon kill in DA:O and when it was just about to die and my warrior jumped up on its neck and stabbed it in slow motion. That was freaking awsome. Now everyone just whirls around in a massive bloodshow.

3. Enemies popping out of nowhere in the middle of a fight. If this was just sometimes it would be ok because you can imagine that thieves would have this kind of ambush set up. But when everyone and your grandmother with dinner ambushes you in this kind of manner it just gets old. I think its a way to cover for very stinking bad AI. Try this: Find one of those "gang" ambushes and agro them. Now run away and behind a corner. Now EVERY SINGLE ONE of them will come after you, turn the corner and just stand there. Be they melee, archer , mage or grandmother in a tight mob ready to be face melted!?...? What is this? Starcraft 1 AI? 10->spawn zerglings 20-> attack player 30-> goto 10 ??? It destroys any form of tactical thinking because EVERY SINGEL DAMN FIGHT is going to be the exact same. ->warrior/s charge first mob and everyone else stays close to them OR funnel everyone outside spawn if fight is to hard. Then proceed to AE everything that moves. Then X fingers that an assassin wont spawn his dagger in your mages ass unless you funneled your way through the fight. The fact that Bioware knows that the funnel tactic makes fools of the AI is evident in the way that when supposed "hard" fights are scripted, odd "magical" doors appears out of nowhere and stops your retreat and dissappers when the last mob/boss is dead.

I remember in baldurs gate 2 right when you exit your captors dungeon theres a tavern with an unfrendly adventure party on the first floor. If you choose to battle them you really had to think of what you did and what you cast. AND the funnel tactic did NOT work. They actually stayd back. And to note they were only 5 people.... not a bizillion swarm generics. I miss those times when less was more. And more distinct.

3. "Heres your whatsamathing you lost and i found it by dumbfound luck.... and i dont care because i didnt actually see that i picked it up and i thought you had a quest for me because of the thing over your head" types of "side" quests. The only way these sidequests could be more "side" are by having them trigger and dispense XP and gold just by walking over a coded trigger plate... What bioware? are sidequests not supposed to have compelling stories anymore?

4. Dragons.... dragons everywhere... I thought dragons were supposed to be the ulimate bad guys and not just random generic goldmine mobsters?

5. Kirkwall doesnt change very much even tho many years pass. As one wrote , for the love of god just rearrange npcs or something! For me its a chore just to think about having to traverse the same idiotic long way from high towns longest away exit to the merchants, who seem to be set in cement.

6. Everyone wades through raw lyrium and darkspawn blood.... i thought those were deadly to others other than dwarves and greywardens... but then again your non-grey companions from DA:O didnt seem to mind gallons of darkspawn blood sprayed directly in the face... so what the hey...

7. Why should i care for Kirkwall. The protagonist doesnt even want to be there in the first place let alone those who travel with him. If i went to the deaproads and came back wealthy, first thing id do were to go back to my homeland and tidy things up. Not to stay in a slavers made dungheap of a town. If any you are made to hate Kirkwall from the getgo as player. If the place exploded in a gory bloodfest it would count as community service and i couldnt care less.

8. Freaking dragons everywhere.!

9. Spells... Everything is mostly damage... wheres the support skills that "support" but not so drastical that it is all you do? Like the mages AE slow spell from the force mage line that last for ever and slows the more the enemy is in the spells center? Ever tried to smack one of those dead center on a pile of mobs? They just stand there and do nothing, because dead center seems to be -100% slow or so close it doesnt matter. Id like to have more like the sleep spell that is not to powerfull and have both advantages and disadvantages (like after you sleep the enemy you cant AE them to shit because then they wake up, but it makes the fight more in your favour) Not just one stop everything and then nuke them to bits choice. AND cross class comboes is ------NOT------ +100000% damage bacause you used a spell/skill you probably would have used anyway. Cross class comboes should be about thinking of what you are doing besides spamming your brittle/stagger spell/skill whenever two or more enemies stands together and hugs. More like this...(weak example but bare with me) mage shoots cone of frost. It not just freezes the enemies but also freezes the ground so it is icy. The warrior is blocking the way and when an enemy gets to close you can have the choice to have shieldbash make the enemy glide away on the ice after they are knocked silly. This takes focus away from damage over to positioning wich is a so much more flexible thing to work with. Maybe the thief had caltrops at the end of that ice so people take that damage and conditon twice.

10. Im a mage and everyone tells me to be carefull and whatnot but here i just conjured lightning, fire, brimstone and your dead grandmother out of thin air right in the middle of the stockades and the templars only response to that is "Hello guard commander Avelin" I suppose everything goes if you sport the right possé.

11. Why is normal difficulty made so i can blast my self and anyone friendly with fireballs and whatnot without them taking damage? If im not mistaking normal dif. in DA:O had your face melted for doing that. If thats not the definition of "dumbing down" i dont know what. Bioware must be thinking that the target audience cant be bothered about thinking before blasting away anymore.

12. Why is Kirkwall still full with refugees complaining and not doing anything even after it is announced that the blight is over? And why the F´ck is ferealden refugee center, where i donated a shitload of gold, suddenly an armor shop and noone seems to mind the total ripoff of their donations?

13. TOO MUUCH COOMBAT!!! This isnt an rpg! This is a textbook hack and slash with fancy voice acting!

14. Pointless loot.... why am i presented with so much loot without function? Why is that loot there at all and is not just gold? It has no weight, no backstory and absolutely no meaning. I mean besides the very very secret bloodmage books scattered around which also gets tossed in the junk pile and you just sell off like simple toilet paper, if you choose to pick them up and read them. I suppose knowledge SHOULD be for everyone.

I could go on but this is getting abit long...
Regards.....

 

[Eatbrainz]

There's one thing i hate about Dragon Age 2, and one thing only.

Anders.

I swear, i loved that guy in Awakening but they switched for a different writer and now his character has been totally castrated and is now a brooding, boring shadow of his former self. I can see what they were trying to do with the Justice/Vengeance thing but it just ended up coming across as really emo. Just compare these few quotes from each game and you'll know what i mean.

Awakening:

"All i want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools."
"Magic isn't for your amusement, why don't i make it into a little dance? Anders' Spicy Shimmy?"
"Oh, i know, i know. MOST people enjoy being kicked in the head to be woken up in the morning. Me? i'm just so picky."

Dragon Age 2:

Varric:"So, three templars walk into a bar..."
Anders:"Not now, Varric."
Varric:"You alright, blondie? you're always in the mood for templar jokes."

Varric:"So, the knight-commander... Boiling in oil? That one never gets old."
Anders:"This is past time for joking. "
Varric:"I'm helping you indulge in elaborate revenge fantasies. I think it's good for you."
Anders:"Meredith will die. Do not doubt that."
Varric:"Go away, Justice. Can Anders come out and play?"
Anders:"Stop."
Varric:"You're no fun anymore."

 

[Marowit]

well, I enjoyed the changes to combat, but the world felt so narrow to me. It had these epic set pieces, but you were stuck on a hallway the entire time - this was an issue I had in the last game too. It's a bit more believable in Mass Effect as hallways are part of the space station - not being able to turn off a path in a wood is pretty immersion breaking to me.

So, what I've taken away from this is that Bioware fantasy RPGs aren't for me. I'll still pick up their Sci-Fi games, but DA3 will be a used-purchase if I buy it at all.

 

[AlternatePFG]

My main complaint is that Act 3 plays out the same, no matter what choices you make in the game. Sided with the mages? Have fun fighting both the mages and templars. Sided with the templars? Same deal. Act 3 is where your choices should have the greatest impact on how the act plays out, but aside from some minor dialogue changes, it's the same thing.

Story was okay. Characters were pretty good (except for Anders, they ruined him after Awakening, and Sebastian, who I wanted to kill the first time I met him). The biggest probably is that the game is simply lazy. Kirkwall does not change at all depending on your choices, I thought the choices you made would affect the city, but nope. Reused dungeons, over and over again. For those who said that all of them took place in the same area, I say bullshit. Dungeon crawling got extremely repetitive because there was no surprises whatsoever.

So, in my opinion, some, not all of the hate is deserved. This is BioWare's weakest game yet, and although I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it, I don't think I'm going to give it another playthrough anytime soon.