Dragon Age II a 'disappointment'?

[Triangulon]

I've read a few reviews complaining about the game being dumbed down too much and being a poor PC port. For those who are playing the game, what are your thoughts on it? Is it really that bad?

I'm 8 hours in, on the PC version.

Everyone who said the game is now a button masher or 'dumbed-down' is either:

A. Is playing on Casual
B. Hasn't played it
C. Is a moron

Or possibly some combination of the above.

Ah ha, a PC player. I hope you don't mind me questioning a few points? Only I disliked the demo immensley and I could do with an honest opinion before I give up on this.

1) What is the inventory system like? I have heard there is no armour management on NPCs.
2) What is the stat management like? Can you calculate damage, attack speed, accuracy etc? It was possible in DA:O with some digging!
3) Was the regenerating health in the demo due to low difficulty level?
4) Does the PC version look better than the demo?
5) I know there is no isometric view, but is there a decent zoomed out view for party-scale combat?
6) Are the level of gore and kill/death animations as over-the-top as the demo?

Apologies for the wall and thanks in advance for your help!

OT. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and is entitled to games matching their expectations. Just because some of us like our RPGs with plenty of maths doesn't mean that we are wrong. I for one would have been happy with more of the same (but with combat zones so enemies cant just run staight past my warriors!).

 

[NickCaligo42]

It's exactly the same as Origins, but with a better interface, better advancement system, and a better dialogue system. *shrug* Really. I know there's a lot of buzz about the "action-RPG" controls they put in for consoles, but honestly? They just... suck. It's really clear that this was an afterthought more than anything and that the developers meant for players to use the more traditional Bioware-esque "pause-and-play" method. The only real change is that combat moves at a slightly more immediate, fluid pace than before, and I put a lot of stress on slightly.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I personally like it more than origins so far, though I've spent most of the little I've played of it in one city. I'd like to do more adventuring but that's my only gripe as of now. I'm assuming there's more variety later on.

 

[MrGalactus]

I haven't played the full game either but the demo was bloody awful. I'm not surprised.

 

[Imre Csete]

Well, it obviously could have used a bit more developing time.

All the "It's rushed!" complains were stomped into the ground by the rabid fanboys, but it's the sad truth.

 

[drummond13]

Um, these are User reviews. In other words, they're meaningless. These are the same people that gave Starcraft 2 bad "reviews" even before release because it only contained the Terran campaign. These are the same people who gave Modern Warfare 2 bad "reviews" because of the dedicated server fiasco. There are few things less indicative of a game's actual quality than user reviews.

 

[Duffeknol]

Dumbing down RPGs is the best thing you can do to them. I hate it when they cater to the WoW playing masses that (as Yahtzee once brilliantly put it) only care about numbers, numbers and higher numbers. I just want a good story and some actual FUN gameplay in between the story segments.

 

[JeanLuc761]

Ah ha, a PC player. I hope you don't mind me questioning a few points? Only I disliked the demo immensley and I could do with an honest opinion before I give up on this.

1) What is the inventory system like? I have heard there is no armour management on NPCs.
2) What is the stat management like? Can you calculate damage, attack speed, accuracy etc? It was possible in DA:O with some digging!
3) Was the regenerating health in the demo due to low difficulty level?
4) Does the PC version look better than the demo?
5) I know there is no isometric view, but is there a decent zoomed out view for party-scale combat?
6) Are the level of gore and kill/death animations as over-the-top as the demo?

Apologies for the wall and thanks in advance for your help!

OT. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and is entitled to games matching their expectations. Just because some of us like our RPGs with plenty of maths doesn't mean that we are wrong. I for one would have been happy with more of the same (but with combat zones so enemies cant just run staight past my warriors!).

I can answer those for you! Bear in mind I'm only about 2 1/2 hours in.

1) Inventory has been streamlined, but nowhere near the amount that Mass Effect 2 was. Squadmate armor is static, but you can still alter just about everything else.
2) The stat system is fantastic. Every time you level up your character, it gives you detailed information as to what you're improving (critical chance, damage, attack probability, etc)
3) Yes, that was a demo thing. Play on hard and you'll start losing health pretty fast.
4) The PC version looks friggin fantastic, especially with the high res texture pack Bioware released.
5) You can zoom out pretty far.
6) Yeah, they are. I enjoy it, but that's just up to personal preference.

I'm enjoying the game so far. Here's a few screens for ya:

 

[Dragonborne88]

Played it for about 5 hours yesterday. It's pretty fun, and most of those reviews are people 0-bombing the game.

The writing is pretty good, especially on the quests. I like how a few of them I attempted to take the morally high road, and they ended up turning out NOWHERE near how I predicted. I like that feeling, makes me feel personally betrayed by the NPCs.

Combat is pretty much the same as Dragon Age: Orgins, just faster looking. The tactics are also set up a lot better by default, it seems, so I haven't tweaked them too much from the default(thanks for setting the healers to heal at 50%, Bioware!). Had to keep a close eye on everybody's health due to things going so quickly. Pausing (on the console) seems better for some reason, makes it easier to switch to guys to give them quick orders.

I like the new art style, makes everything look more distinct. The character models and textures are REALLY nice, especially compared with the demo. Like damn. You can see the muscles on the tank lady's arms (can't remember her name, too focused on Varric!)

 

[DaJoW]

Metacritic has 130+ reviews of Dragon Age 2 with score 1 or less (out of 255). I don't fully trust it to be honest.

Though DA2 has a score about equal to Assassins Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2 at least.

 

[m72_ar]

Sorry, I can't get into the second game if I can't continue my character from the first one. Oh, now I have to play as a character with an already defined name? I hated that about mass effect. Its one of my biggest issues with bioware games, you aren't your own character. You play 3 different versions of bioware's character. I don't consider that role playing.

I don't mind that i can't play as my character since he has a case of being dead.

The already defined surname is a gimmick to facilitate the fully voiced thing. So the NPC can call you without using generic term like Hero, or Warrior. Just like everybody called you Revan in Kotor.

Name wise, yeah they got name, but personality wise they're blank slate

 

[AngloDoom]

Let's see if we can solve this mystery. To the lab!

Here's the post. It's not detailed enough, zoom in! Enhance!

Dragon Age II's getting some scathing user reviews across all platforms on Metacritic. I haven't played the game yet so I can't comment on the standard of the game, but I did play the demo, and the only problem I had was regarding the game's user interface. I just dismissed it because it's a demo, but seeing it being played live on 4PP it was mostly unchanged, and I was quite put off by it. I've read a few reviews complaining about the game being dumbed down too much and being a poor PC port. For those who are playing the game, what are your thoughts on it? Is it really that bad?

Zoom in! Enhance!

Dragon Age II's getting some scathing user reviews across all platforms on Metacritic. I haven't played the game yet so I can't comment on the standard of the game, but I did play the demo, and the only problem I had was regarding the game's user interface.

More, damn it!

Dragon Age II's getting some scathing user reviews across all platforms on Metacritic.

We're getting something, but it's grainy. Enhance further!

user reviews

Oh I see.

I love everything you just did there.

I just choked on half an apple based on those two posts....

 

[m72_ar]

I have a few gripes with the demo, but nothing that would stop me playing the game. The only major thing is that from what I've seen so far, and correct me if I'm wrong, you only stay in Kirkwall which doesn't sound very appealing.

Yes, apparently you spend most of the game in Kirkwall.

You're the Champion of Kirkwall. You don't get called Champion of Kirkwall if you don't do a lot of stuff in Kirkwall.

I'll reserve judgement until I actually play the game and I'll see whether Kirkwall area alone are enough

 

[Triangulon]

1) What is the inventory system like? I have heard there is no armour management on NPCs.
2) What is the stat management like? Can you calculate damage, attack speed, accuracy etc? It was possible in DA:O with some digging!
3) Was the regenerating health in the demo due to low difficulty level?
4) Does the PC version look better than the demo?
5) I know there is no isometric view, but is there a decent zoomed out view for party-scale combat?
6) Are the level of gore and kill/death animations as over-the-top as the demo?

Apologies for the wall and thanks in advance for your help!

I can answer those for you! Bear in mind I'm only about 2 1/2 hours in.

1) Inventory has been streamlined, but nowhere near the amount that Mass Effect 2 was. Squadmate armor is static, but you can still alter just about everything else.
2) The stat system is fantastic. Every time you level up your character, it gives you detailed information as to what you're improving (critical chance, damage, attack probability, etc)
3) Yes, that was a demo thing. Play on hard and you'll start losing health pretty fast.
4) The PC version looks friggin fantastic, especially with the high res texture pack Bioware released.
5) You can zoom out pretty far.
6) Yeah, they are. I enjoy it, but that's just up to personal preference.

I'm enjoying the game so far. Here's a few screens for ya:

Brilliant. Thanks a lot! That certainly makes me feel a bit better about it. May have to give it a go after all.

 

[JeanLuc761]

Brilliant. Thanks a lot! That certainly makes me feel a bit better about it. May have to give it a go after all.

I would personally advise you wait about a week or so. By then, all of the rage will have died down (I hope) and opinions from the "average player," for lack of a better term, will start showing up.

It's certainly possible that I could end up hating this game by the end, but first impressions are good.

 

[chinangel]

Bleah, I put it in as the 'omg they changed it! I HATE IT!' mentality. People being contrary for the sake of it.

Dragon Age 2 is great, and it's what a sequel should be: an advancement of the game, while fixing stuff that didn't work the first time around, as well as offering us a new experience so the old one doesn't get stale.

I would have liked them to keep the number of skills you had in the first one, as well as many fun classes, but I can also see why they pulled them out. When the DLC comes around, you can probably imagine that there will be more classes and skills tossed in.

I'm also glad that 'dog' is now a summon and NOT a real party member, as he was a waste of space in teh last game.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

The keyword being "User Reviews". Give it a month and the ratings will skyrocket.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Dragon Age II's getting some scathing user reviews across all platforms on Metacritic. I haven't played the game yet so I can't comment on the standard of the game, but I did play the demo, and the only problem I had was regarding the game's user interface. I just dismissed it because it's a demo, but seeing it being played live on 4PP it was mostly unchanged, and I was quite put off by it. I've read a few reviews complaining about the game being dumbed down too much and being a poor PC port. For those who are playing the game, what are your thoughts on it? Is it really that bad?

It could be that some of them quit after a couple of hours. I'm 7 hours in and really enjoying it now, but the first 2 hours are terrible. They felt disjointed and rushed.

 

[Zaik]

Ya know, I am getting a little sick of "if you don't like the game you shouldn't be taken seriously".

I give the game a 7 or 8 but these criticisms are every bit as valid as the praise from those who love the game.

What kind of objective person says "I don't trust user reviews". Geez, you think people dropped $60 just to complain about the game? Isn't spending $60 on a game "giving it a chance"?

The professional reviewer not only doesn't have to buy the game but also gets paid to play and review it. The user has to buy the game. Which do you supposed is more trustworthy?

Nobody is talking about you, we're talking about the drudgery fetishist weirdos who are rating the game 1/10 because it actually improved on itself.