Poll: Dragon Age II

[NorthernStar]

Yes, though I have to say that I found it less entertaining than Origins.

I prefer DA:2's battle system over that of DA:O. It's just more fluid and streamlined in DA:2, let alone that the difficulty curve is a lot less unfair than it used to be.

The characters and storyline are what made DA:O so interesting to me and this is where DA:2 sometimes falls flat. While I adore a lot of the characters in DA:2, somehow they failed to spark my interest like those in DA:O did. In addition, I didn't find the story in DA:2 as horrific as many others, yet it's true that there were some issues with pacing. In fact, just when the story is on a roll, you see the credits rolling by.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I say try it. I thought the combat was mostly better than Dragon Age: Origins. It wasn't nearly as bad as everyone says. The story isn't as epic but it isn't terrible.

 

[Athinira]

Just completed DA:O again, and lately I've been considering getting DA2. Now I know a lot of people on here despise that game but I'm not really sure if that's just fanboys hating it because it did something different, or if there was some glaring flaws in the game (that said, Origins isn't exactly perfect either). As long as the story is pretty good and the combat isn't a total chore, I'm happy.

So, should I get it?

Well, since i consider the combat a total chore, my answer would normally be "No".

However, there is a much better answer:
http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/ [http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/]

Enjoy.

 

[Whispering Cynic]

It isn't as bad as some people would have you believe. If you can get it for like $5 - $10 then get it, why not. It might entertain you for a while and if it fails, you won't feel bad about the investment.

 

[Jandau]

It's a game with some nice ideas, but it's painfully obvious that many corners were cut in almost every aspect of the game, that the budget was tight and that the game was rushed out by Bioware's B- or C-team. Recycled levels (as in you get the same cave to represent a dozen different locations), recycled locations (the game takes place in 2-3 main locations; the idea was to have a small number of locations but have them change as the years go by, but they stay exactly the same), a story that feels cobbled together (some cool characters and moments, but by and large it feels like the didn't know what the hell they wanted to do with it), etc.

It's not a terrible game, but it's worse than anything else Bioware has put out. If you can get it for cheap and want to scratch that RPG itch, go for it, but I wouldn't advocate paying full price for it.

 

[Littaly]

Give it a try, especially considering it should have dropped a fair bit in price by now.

Make no mistake, it deserved the scolding it got. But it was more insulting than it was bad, it felt like Bioware and EA just went "f*ck it, they'll enjoy everything with our brand name on it, let's just get it out there while the name Dragon Age still carries buzz". That said, it's not really broken or badly designed in any significant way. Unless you're a W-RPG purist, you'll probably be able to enjoy it. There's even a few really welcomed improvements to the "Bioware formula" in there.

 

[thahat]

Just completed DA:O again, and lately I've been considering getting DA2. Now I know a lot of people on here despise that game but I'm not really sure if that's just fanboys hating it because it did something different, or if there was some glaring flaws in the game (that said, Origins isn't exactly perfect either). As long as the story is pretty good and the combat isn't a total chore, I'm happy.

So, should I get it?

no. seriusly just NO. at least not unless its in the bargain bin for 5? and you want tot throw away 5 ?.

for the same money you could have the glorius jummyness that is an extremely large icecream, or a very large hamburger. all of which are at least 1000 time better then DA2.
the game starts shit, stays shit, and was a glorius waste of time with me hoping 'it will get good soon, right?' but it did not :/

 

[Athinira]

Generally, most of the hate does come from the fact that it isn't just DA:O 1.5

There are definite problems that can't (and shouldn't) be ignored like the constant re-use of quest zones and the lack of definite sense of passage of time even though you're in the same basic place for 10 years, but they aren't deal breakers.

As someone who (personally) didn't like DA:O very much, I'm going to disagree.

DA:O was, in my opinion, a just above average game (and an average RPG by general standards), so i bought Dragon Age 2 based on the talk from the developers about how they wanted to make the combat flow more. How they managed to make it flow less is beyond me. The combat systems aren't really comparable, and mechanicswise the DA2 combat system is a lot worse for it (especially on PC where you can't have a top-down view like you did in Dragon Age - Origins, which is one of the most stupid design decisions i have seen in recent times. I mean, if you actually HAVE to improve a game, don't remove the things that are actually good about it).

 

[Zhukov]

Story was a disjointed mess. Dungeon recycling was obnoxious.

Otherwise, I enjoyed it.

I don't recommend paying full price, but if you find it in a bargain bin or Steam sale then I'd say it's worth a look. At the very least you'll get to see first hand what all the rage was about.

 

[Bostur]

The story is not good, and the combat is a total chore. ;-)

I think your platform may influence how good you think it is. I'm a PC player myself and never tried the console version but it's the impression I have been getting from comments.

DA:O was consider by many to be a very poor console port, while it seems DA2 was a poor PC port. Some people like the action focus and 'button-mashing' focus in DA2, on PC that translates very poorly to a mouse point and click interface. It feels sluggish and disjointed with the pause and play feature of the DA games.

So in terms of the gameplay I'm guessing the console version is far better.


I personally don't think DA2 is worth it. Most of what I enjoyed in DA:O was treated in a lazy way in DA2, and I didn't particular enjoy the few new developments of DA2.

Other more concrete flaws has been adressed by other posters.

My perspective is that DA:O was the best thing that happened to RPGs since the old Black Isle games, and I don't particular like the modern development of other RPGs. Your mileage may vary.

But no matter what style of gaming people prefer, I'd say most good RPGs will be a better investment. Divinity II, Risen, the new Kingdoms of Amalur, Skyrim, Dungeon Siege III. All different styles but in most respects better than DA2.

 

[SadisticBrownie]

I'd say it's worth it, especially now that it's cheap. It has many issues, sure, but it's worth it for the story and some excellent and hilarious dialogue.

 

[tzimize]

Just completed DA:O again, and lately I've been considering getting DA2. Now I know a lot of people on here despise that game but I'm not really sure if that's just fanboys hating it because it did something different, or if there was some glaring flaws in the game (that said, Origins isn't exactly perfect either). As long as the story is pretty good and the combat isn't a total chore, I'm happy.

So, should I get it?

The combat is different. More arcady and less rpg-planning-baldurs gate-like. The problem is that the gameplay, while more actiony is nowhere near as good as for example god of war, so its lost something and gained nothing.

The story is uninteresting and an utter dissapointment compared to DA:O. The whole game feels like a short "meanwhile, in whatever that city was called" sequence before you get back to the ACTUAL DA game.

The npcs are mostly cliché and/or uninteresting, and the most interesting relationships are finished off by death.

There really is NOTHING about that game that is better than DA:O, and a whole lot of things that are worse. There is absolutely no reason to get it. Not even on sale. Endless sequels are bad enough. Sequels that are much worse than the original is just...a sin.

 

[Necroid_Neko]

It's pretty damn cheap on Amazon at the moment, and I imagine its plot will be important for the next Dragon Age, definately get it

 

[Forst1999]

The combat is similar to DA:O, just faster and better balanced (well, and easier, but you could always increase the difficulty setting). I honestly can't understand people who call DA:O a deep tactical reincarnation of Baldur's Gate and DAII a stupid hack-and-slash. It looks more flashy, but is about the same.
The story definitly is less epic than DA:O, but i found it more interesting. Some things could have used a bit more explaination, but i never found the "plot holes" some people seem to see. Every companion has an interesting story, and they participate much more in the main story than in DA:O. The "villians" also have more personality than in DA:O (where only Loghain was really interesting in my opinion).
So, i like combat and story much better than in DA:O. That's not to say the game doesn't have some problems: The level design is weak. And while DAII shares this trait with it's predecessor, there is also much recycling of dungeons. While the combat itself is better, enemy placement is often annoying. Kill a group of enemies, and a second wave appears, sometimes without a good explaination. Both problems are fixed in the DLC's, so Bioware at least has learned it's lesson.
So if you like DA:O, i'd say get DAII. Maybe you'll receive it like me and love it, maybe you'll see the alleged flaws that apparantly make it the worst thing since the blight. For a budget price, i think it's worth trying out.

 

[GoaThief]

I honestly can't understand people who call DA:O a deep tactical reincarnation of Baldur's Gate and DAII a stupid hack-and-slash

You do realise that on DA2's release there was no auto attack on consoles, despite Bioware promising it was in the game right up until 6 hours before release. I like to play rouges so you can imagine how mental it was having to spam the A button three times a second whenever in combat. Needless to say, couple this with other well reported problems like the reusing of assets and it's not hard to imagine how much of a steaming pile of excrement this was on release... and why myself and many others stopped playing. If I recall correctly it took Bioware almost two months to fix the lack of auto-attack, by which time I'd lost the disc and to this day I've yet to play it again.

Even if the game is on sale, I'd learn towards not purchasing anyway to send a clear message to Bioware/EA especially as you're a fan of the original. Without it DA3 could be even worse.

 

[kasperbbs]

Depends on how much you are paying for it, if it's cheap, get it. Not the best game ever, but good enough to kill some time, just prepare to see the same scenery over and over again and 99% of the city's population are bandits, be careful at night..