[h4]Pimpin Reviews: Dragon Age II[/h4]
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Its pretty damn good to be back
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Dragon Age II
Platform: Xbox 360/PC/PS3
Genre: Dark Fantasy Role-playing
Modes: Single Player
Developer: BioWare
If it were to be put in sports terms, Dragon Age II would be the baseball equivalent of an inside-the-park homerun. Undeniably a "good game," it?s merely deprived of the few extra feet required to break through the mold of good and into the threshold of the supreme and unforgettable. The follow up to BioWare's RPG classic Dragon Age: Origins, this sequel takes a variety of creative liberties on what a fantasy role-playing games are defined as. Yet despite these new additions to the franchise?s classic formula, which often both flatter and faultier, the game remains a worthy purchase to gamers seeking hours upon hours of adventure.
In Origins the player could choose every inch and detail of their future Hero of Ferelden. The game featured the ability to choose not only your own gender and class but also your character?s race and unique background story. Taking a hint from BioWare's other hit series, Mass Effect, this time around the game ditches the nameless protagonist for the half-nameless protagonist. Given the surname Hawke, the player can still choose gender and class, but by default you play the story of a human refugee from the Darkspawn infested town of Lothering, the same Lothering the Grey Warden?s passed by at the start of the original.
This is what I wanted my Hawke to look like
This is both the most dramatic difference from both the original and the RPG genre in general. The loss of the ability to choose your own race and background story may be a deal breaker for some, because it sure can deal a major blow to the replayability factor. The story may be interesting enough to keep you through a couple replays to see all the consequences of certain decision, but there are really only three types of Hawke based on the dialogue choices; a giant dick, a sarcastic dick, and a heroic dick. In addition, with plenty of other dicks to meet along the way, you?ve got yourself the makings of a 50 plus hour sausage fest.
While you?ll start in Lothering, there?s not a chance in hell you?ll be staying there for long. With the bulk of the Blight horde making its way to your doorstep, Hawke and his family are forced to flee to the refugee-infested city of Kirkwall. Starting on the same level as the subservient scum the city is overcrowded with, you?ll work your way to becoming a noble, a champion, and possibly even its political head. Unconventionally, the story is told through a frame narrative. You?ll start of in the near future, where one of Hawke?s closest allies -under interrogation- is recanting the hero?s enigmatic tale.
The plot spans a period of ten years, told through three acts. In this ?rags to riches? tale, there?s no princess to save, world ending event, or even an overt main antagonist present from the get-go. Dragon Age II instead focuses on the internal power struggles, vices, and odd jobs to be found in the city of Kirkwall -which is a good thing, since there are plenty to be found. Many of the games plot point focus on choosing between the games various fractions rather than defeating a clearly belligerent foe. But this may be a good thing, for those of us sick of hearing about how our Priestess is in another Chantry.
Personally, it wasn?t the lack of an all-encompassing main story arch that made the game slightly underwhelming, but rather the methods of which it was handled. Granted, the game did a good job of setting up all of the stories? intertwining plot arcs and sources of future conflict within the first couple of hours, but their execution is much sloppier. But as a good rule of thumb, a memorable story demands a powerful climax, a point where all conflicts and burdens of the character meet at one crucial and inevitable point. However, Dragon Age II prefers to resolve all outstanding conflicts within each act, dividing its three major stories amongst the game?s three acts. While this in no way makes them any less good, it does repossess some of the charm. For example, the second act (my favorite) revolves around a betrayal, a foreign attack, and citywide invasion. However, the sense of imminent doom is somewhat cut short when you realize there?s still a whole act and about four years worth of in-game story to tell.
We're going to need to get some bigger Marshmallows
As with most BioWare games, the many companions you?ll meet and recruit along your adventure play a significant role in both major story arcs and minor ones. The game features the usual rag-tag group of unintentional heroes. Varric, the one eventually recanting the story under interrogation, is the fun loving alcoholic dwarf bard with a passion for his crossbow Bianca. Merril, is a shy elven mage with a tendency for being naïve, hardheaded, and taking idiomatic expressions literally. Isabella is the ex-pirate rogue, as well as a bit of a slut. Together, they made up the group I personally was most loyal too and dragged around in most of my various adventures. Though, that?s not all. Anders, a fan favorite for his sarcastic nature, but his wit just didn?t cut it for me. Fenris is an ex-slave in debt to Hawk for his freedom, but was just a bit too emo for my tastes. Hawke?s sister Bethany would have been a good party member, but she was hot, which made things a bit weird. And lastly Aveline, the by-the-rules guardian, was a strong candidate until I discovered that I couldn?t get in her pants.
Just like in Dragon Age: Origins, this roster of makeshift heroes have interesting background stories and related quests, as well as the potential for romance. Getting your own virtual sweetheart into bed requires the old song and dance of picking their preferred outcomes in your endeavors and of course picking the appropriately flirty options in chats. And since you?re all dying to know, I hooked up with both Isabella and Merril back to back. Eventually marrying my elven mistress ?society be damned!
Faithful to their reputation, BioWare?s writing remains mostly superb. This is most evident in the humorous banter between your very own party members more than the events themselves. However the lamentable truth remains that part members just aren?t as unique this time around. In the first game, a war hound, a witch, and even a golem where potential party members, and their vibrant uniqueness shadows the human/elf dominated party you?ll surround yourself with this time around. Characters are overall pretty unique, but unless I was trying to sleep with them, I found little difference in the new friend or foe system?s effect on my less used members.
Kinky
The game is still dialogue heavy, most of the games consequences come directly from your choices in the games new and improved dialogue trees. Switching out the old list system for a Mass Effect inspired wheel. The three major tone choices ?diplomatic, aggressive, and sassy- are coupled with unique options for offering a bribe, asking a question, or letting a teammate handle the dilemma. What?s most impressive is that the more you choose certain tone (In my case sassy) the more your character behaves that way in general. Such as offering a ***** of sarcasm to complement his aggression or being regretful of a compromise. Proving once again, that the larynx is mightier than the sword.
Fundamentals clearly meant little to the team working on Dragon Age II, because along with the story and interaction changes, gameplay and combat have been drastically altered as well. For the most part, the game feels similar to the original, with most major transformations affecting combat. In an effort to streamline conflicts, the game cuts many tactical aspects that where key to the combat in the original, which may be a deal breaker for many. Additionally, the game has transformed into a bit of a button masher, trading the conventional RPG auto-attack for repeated taping. Despite probably being in the minority here, the change to a more immediately engaging combat system would have been personally much preferred.-that is, had the combat had been more gratifying. The brutal combat of the original seems to have diminished, and most blows have little aesthetic appeal. I could actually count how many heads I chopped off in the course of Hawke?s adventure, which compared to those of my Grey Warden, is simply shameful.
The leveling up and specialization systems have been upgraded, or downgraded, to be more realistic. For one, in the original in order to get access to specialized classes you had to accomplish missions in game. I can faintly recall lucking into one of my most memorable sequences in Dragon Age Origins, which involved me wandering into a random room in a Dungeon, and solving a puzzle that allowed me to specialize in Blood Magic. However, there was no such thing in the sequel, where you could unlock specialized builds from the onset. As a testament to my own stupidity, I didn?t realize this until there very end of my first play-through. Which wasn?t that big of a problem, considering upgrades do very little unless you?re playing at higher difficulties or using tactics. Most of them are simply temporary stat boost, as opposed to the cool weapon moves, at least for the warrior class, that. is. The player can also once again level up teammates alongside himself, allowing virtually full access to all classes and all moves, cutting down the incentive to replay as different classes for much more than just minor story changes.
I remember when armor used to only be Bronze! And you could by a sandwich for a nickle
The things that remain completely the same are the things that probably should have been improved upon. As with the original, there is little exploring to do outside of the main quest. Sure, there?s a bunch of side missions that take you back to interesting locations, but none of them are particularly new. In fact, all of them are completely identical. Every game dungeon is exactly identical, only changing enemies and rewards based on the plot you?re currently playing through. But believe it or not, this doesn?t get very tedious until the end, but I couldn?t imagine how much more tiresome it?d be a second time around.
Though the game does do its best to keep things exciting. Unfortunately however, it chooses to do so by throwing in as many possible random encounters. Taking a midnight stroll through Kirkwall, one shouldn?t expect to run into just one odd creature of the night, but rather an entire high school reunion of spooks. Every gang, thief, and blood mage from here to Azerbaijan has will inevitably choose to go out for a cigarette just as you?re crossing the city to your next objective. Needlessly delaying the next plot point, and leaving me to wonder how difficult it must be for a Free Marsh bachelor to take his lady out for a nightcap.
There?s something to be admired in the bold moves the creative team over at BioWare chose to make in creating Dragon Age II. There?s also something to be lauded. And even a couple of things to despise. In a period of gaming history where sequels often have fewer variations from their originals than Dolly the Sheep, a triple A developer taking a bold move with a relatively new IP isn?t something we?ll see much of in the next couple of years. It?s a shame, then, that most of the game?s attempts at improvements have been clearly hindered by time and budget constraints. But that doesn?t make it unworthy of your time. For your cash, there?s only a couple more promising RPG?s in 2011, and most of them aren?t even out yet. So take a stroll down to Kirkwall, as long as it?s daylight. And while you?re at it, get a pint at The Hanged Man, on me.
