Dragon Age 2... WTF???

[Gralian]

You know, i'm one of the few people who didn't hail DAO as the be-all-and-end-all of gaming. The DND combat mechanic is unfriendly and seems to be shockingly based on luck (Most DND games i played such as NWN ended up like this: *Parry* *Parry* *Miss* *Fail* *Parry* *Rat hits you for 10 damage, you die* .... )and i hope it gets the same treatment the ME franchise did. I loved ME1's story and lore and universe but hated the combat, with a vengeance. Not a shooter, not an RPG, just an ugly blend of the two. ME2 kept the amazing story and universe but made up its mind to be a shooter. Great. Some sort of overhaul like that would be super for the combat mechanics, particularly for the console port which as i gather seemed to be 'part DND part hack n' slash' because they couldn't implement isometric view or pause the action. Hmm.

As for the character backstory aspect, i like my character to have a fleshed out backstory. I just cannot get behind the wheel of a faceless nothing that you have to assume has some sort of very brief backstory shovelled down your neck in a 30 minute intro. It feels weak. I felt no real reason to join the reason or any reason to fight the darkspawn in DAO. I was just going about my business and this douchebag goes YOU! JOIN US! FIGHT THESE! GOGOGO! Why would i care about any of that? Darkspawn hadn't bothered me or my character and now i'm being forced to fight them. That irritated me to no end. In fact, lack of any real motivation for pressing on is what made me not actually finish DAO. I just didn't care. The "archdemon" (sorry, dragon?) made for a pretty poor Big Bad. It's not like some supervillain taunting you that you have a real specific grudge against. Not like Saren in ME1, for example. I wanted to take him down because i - and my character - had a personal vendetta. You get a brief snippet of the Arch-Demon in a dream and that's it. Big fucking woop.

 

[DustyDrB]

(Don't mention ME2, the people that hated ME liked ME2 which means it failed as a sequel, but succeeded as a game, which isn't the same thing)

Eh? A lot of people who liked Mass Effect 2 liked Mass Effect. A lot of people who didn't like the first didn't like the second. All your point means is that they are two different games.

 

[Meggiepants]

Well, I liked Mass Effect 1 & 2. A whole bunch. So the fact that you compare the possibility that DA2 will be as crappy as those games doesn't bother me a whole lot.

And while I do appreciate being able to fill in my background and play whatever race I want, I also understand that playing an elf pretty much did what Yahtzee said it did. Yes, I am saying Yahtzee was right. If you were an elf, other than the Origin which was a pre-laid out story for you to follow and only took up the first 5-10% of the game, the only times you ever really knew you were an Elf, was when people said, "Oh, you're an elf. Can't stand your kind"

I think I would bemoan the loss more if it actually meant anything significant, to be honest. But the limitations of video game RPGs has long meant there is little variation no matter what class/race/gender you choose to be at the beginning of a game.

 

[Baby Tea]

(Don't mention ME2, the people that hated ME liked ME2 which means it failed as a sequel, but succeeded as a game, which isn't the same thing)

Pardon me?
I loved ME when it came out. Still do.
I love ME2 even more!

It was a tremendous success as a sequel.

As for DA2, I do agree that not being able to choose your race kind of stinks. I really enjoyed that about DA.
However, the full voice acting for my character, and the fact that I can still be any class, really helps ease that frustration. Will I miss the origin story side of things? Yup, I will. But the full voice acting is huge, since I'm not shoe-horned into a class means I can still play the way I want, sans race.

I'm excited for it, even with the ridiculously small amount of info we have.
Bioware hasn't let me down yet, and I doubt they'll start now.

 

[Knight Templar]

I see you enjoy judging things before you've even seen them, fan of the L4D2 boycott as well? I'm not overjoyed by the direction that its taking but I'll play the game before condemning it.
Oh and ME2 was a great improvement on ME1, story and atmosphere were not as well done, but still a wonderful game and sequel.
Back on topic: You might be right, but we know fuck all about the game, so there's not much to support your damnations.

 

[Nimzabaat]

Let me clarify on a couples of points. I didn't hate ME2. ME was a 10/10, ME2 was an 8/10 (I would almost go 7 for all the glitches but i won't be that picky). So ME2 was a very good game... as a sequel to a great game. I am just afraid that Bioware is going to pull that same stunt again. DAO as a 10/10, DA2 as an 8/10. It's disheartening that that is what they are aiming for.

Those of you who have said i'm wrong to prejudge on little information... so far i've been 100% on my guy feelings and i'd personally love to be proven wrong when the game comes out. It just hasn't happened yet.

Also a side note... ME2 DLC? You get a new helmet... microsoft points. You get a new rifle... microsoft points. Okay there were a couple of actual gameplay additions. However in DAO each DLC added to the game and added an item for the campaign. What's up with that?

 

[Latinidiot]

while pessimism pays, misinformed statements just make you look a bit silly. We know barely anything about this game, so you're judging a book by the covers concept art.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

This is bad news.

One of my favorite things in Dragon Age was the fact that my character was totally mine.

 

[cronos2546]

Frankly while the origins idea was fun, it was fundamentally flawed. I would point to the Elf Mage storyline, probably the weakest of any of the stories (which I created an account on the Escapist to complain about). The Elf Mage storyline was obviously included because Elves had been the first magic users and Arcane Warriors, so it would not make any sense for them to magic illiterate. At the same time, it would be unfair to have the PC start as a tree-mage Elf, while giving every other magic user access to any of the three schools.

The result was that the Elves were moved into the Circle Tower, and you were allowed to craft some basic backstory that was never really detailed- (you could say that you were a City Elf or a Dalish Elf, but it really made no difference to the story.) As time went on, the game would sometimes include snippets either intended for mages or Elves, but there was really no sense of tying anything in at all.

As time went on, I figured my Elf hero would grow more and more disgusted with his fellow mages and humans, and so he decided to slaughter the Tower (so that when he attacked Ferelden, he would not have any competition) and free the Dalish.

The ending was also horrible, as I was only the choice about "whether or not you want to free the Mage Tower." I KILLED the Mage Tower. There was no tower to speak of! I wanted the Dalish and the City Elves to be free! Who cares about the tower?!?

SO, with this in mind, if they can create a good story where can make MEANINGFUL choices about one's character within a certain context (a war, a crisis, a time period) I would like it much more.

I

 

[DustyDrB]

This is bad news.

One of my favorite things in Dragon Age was the fact that my character was totally mine.

Yea, but they'll improve the graphics. That should take care of twig arms, right?

 

[Mutie]

You'll probably still be able to pick some backstory elements and customize your version of Hawke. Personally, I think it's sounds mint and these changes are the only things making me interested in the Game.

I enjoyed Dragon Age origins but, in all honest, I though it was a terrible game. The writting was excellent and the game world was well formed and extremely impressive, I even thought it put Tokein's over-hyped Middle Earth in to perspective. But as far as games go... it was horrible to play. There was minimal exploration and, despite the level of character customization, you always felt like you were playing the same person. And the combat was just God awful. Seriously, I have never played a game in which I detested fighting more than Dragon Age.

So, if Bioware are planning on making an RPG in which you play a pre-formed hero (who already conforms to Sword and Sorcery archetypes by being called "Hawke") with a moderate degree of customization set in an already deeply developed world, then I'm interested. Now, when they say "Dynamic new combat system" I'm assuming the mean... you know, A COMBAT SYSTEM! And with a nice new art style to make up for the abhorent mess that was the first game (even on my SD TV) this makes me happy.

It sounds like they are drastically improving upon a game which was seriously lacking in several major areas. And, for the record, I appreciate games for story, narrative and content, but I think graphics are a pretty major thing... esspecially when the game's mechanics are so horrible.

 

[Grey_Focks]

But but but I want this game to be made specifically for me an nobody else!

waaaaaaaaaaah!

Is basically all I got out of you post, OP. What you said about ME1 and 2 is just plain wrong (as several members have already pointed out) and you really are jumping to conclusions a bit early.

The game has JUST been announced and your already looking for excuses to bash it, so I'm just gonna take this for a troll thread and be on my way.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

This is bad news.

One of my favorite things in Dragon Age was the fact that my character was totally mine.

Yea, but they'll improve the graphics. That should take care of twig arms, right?

Hehe... I remember that conversation.

Stupid creepy Morrigan and her twig arm...

 

[Denamic]

In ye olde D&D, characters were randomly generated.
You didn't get to decide where he/she came from or what he/she stood for.
You got an adventure, your character's alignment and stats to make shit up as you go.
And it was a good system.

I see this as something similar.

 

[ZeroAE]

The best thing about Dragon Age was character costumization , and they are taking it away=(

 

[PapaJupe]

So if you've read any of my posts you'll know that i'm damn picky about my chosen form of entertainment. I like quality, value for money, all the good stuff.

Just a note as well, if you don't like games just because they're popular so you can be cool and individual... it just shows people that you have poor taste. Well done you.

Okay getting on topic. Dragon Age: Origins is a fantastic game. It allows you to play through an interesting back story for your main character, a quality that a lot of games lack (*cough* Mass Effect *cough*). It allowed for character customization, different races (not a huge selection but still something), different sexes, classes etc. Some people compained about the graphics on the console ports but graphics don't make a game good, they are simply icing.

Dragon Age 2 (judging only from the official announcement) is going away from the things that made the first one good. You get to play Nier, er Shepard er Hawke. A generic grizzled male human refugee (I suppose the name is generic enough that you may be allowed to play a grizzled generic female). Already I have little to no interest in this game. Honestly when all the ME2 ads said that Shepard was dead I was overjoyed at the prospect of rolling a Turian, Krogan, Asari, Quarian, anything other than these stupid generic humans. (I've played human for a long time, not well sometimes, but still human). It was the origin stories that started Dragon Age on the right track. What other changes can we expect? Are they going to be throwing in chest-high-walls everywhere? Are we losing the inventory system? It looks like the last sequel that Bioware did well was Baldur's Gate 2. (Don't mention ME2, the people that hated ME liked ME2 which means it failed as a sequel, but succeeded as a game, which isn't the same thing)

lol....way to get all moist drama queen. I have a feeling no matter how great DA2 is, you will find something to cry about.

Has there ever been a Bioware game that hasn't been of great quality and value? Bioware consistently makes the only games that are great enough for me to play through more than once.
And oh noes....they took out the origin stories....how will you ever fill that 45 minute void in your life that the exclusion of the origin stories will create?

 

[Nimzabaat]

In ye olde D&D character customization was king. You created as much of a back story as you wanted. Picked races, classes, abilities. Then again I may be thinking of oooollllddddd D&D (SSI)

 

[WINDOWCLEAN2]

It's way too early to be making presumptions about the games content, considering the amount of info we've been given. I'll need to see more before I decide what I think about it.

I trust Bioware enough that they aren't going to totally fuck it up.

Oh, and like everyone else said, I enjoyed ME2 and ME equally.

Are you reading my mind? I'm sure those were meant to be my thoughts...

So Yeahh i agree with Furburt. I trust Bioware based on the fact that they have yet to make a game I find dissappointing

 

[BirdBot]

I liked being able to choose my character in DA up until the very end where it's pretty clear that any choice other than male-romancing-Morrigan is thrown out the window. My character and game choices have all been essentially declared non-canon and are un-importable for all sequels and expansions.

I prefer the idea of limiting the player to a story they intend to tell properly. That's much better than giving a player choices only to change their mind at the end of the game and force the player awkwardly back into the one story they wanted to tell from the beginning. If they can't respect the choices their players make, better to not offer those choices in the first place.

 

[DSK-]

I was disapointed that the story wouldn't revolve around the original DAO character, and that the game visual design was being changed.

However I will have to judge it on it's own merits, when more info becomes available.