Preview: What's New in Dragon Age II

[Randomvirus]

The aim is to not only make players "excited about what they're seeing," says Laidlaw, but also to "make sure that the story being told is about the character, and that the scenery is drawing focus to the people."

First of all, this seems like a fancy way to say "linear"

Second, as a fantasy rpg fan, this statement bothers me. To me one of the best parts of a fantasy is the scenery. This sounds like they're putting artistic background design behind "interesting characters".

 

[dancinginfernal]

Ah, yes 'Darkspawn'.

I demand this be in game.

 

[badgersprite]

I have to say, I really do like the sound of all these changes. Even though I love DA:O and rank it as one of my favourite games ever, I think playing through a sequel without these sorts of changes to combat and conversation would have made the experience pretty underwhelming. At the very least, the changes will help keep it new and exciting.

And I'll go on the record as saying that I didn't like the silent protagonist at all. Having a silent protagonist made it impossible for me to roleplay, especially with the 'affection' system. The main character just seemed to serve the purpose of saying whatever would get the party to like me more. Playing as Hawke/Lady Hawke will, at least for someone like me, make it a lot more natural, and help give the feeling of a real personality rather than an empty shell with no real characteristics.

 

[MasterChief892039]

To be honest, and I know this is shallow and sort of creepy, but I don't give two craps about plot, gameplay, or graphics... so long as there's another heterosexual male romance option as fantastic and flawlessly executed as Alistair was in DA:O.

 

[starkiller212]

Ah, yes 'Darkspawn'.

We have dismissed that claim


OT, I absolutely loved DA:O, I read every Codex entry and talked to every character I found. I didn't mind the graphics or the combat (on Xbox 360), but it's probably for the best that Bioware's reworking them. I really dislike everything else they've revealed about the game so far, though. Hawke seems like a poor man's Shepard, and so far his story sounds extremely linear and uninteresting ("this is how some dude got famous" vs Origins' "ZOMG Blight"). *sigh* I'll still play it, because I've enjoyed every Bioware game since Jade Empire, but between DA 2 and the unprecedented The Old Republic MMO I wonder if they're straying too far from what they do best.

 

[Paularius]

That story, told in flashback by the dwarf Varric as he's interrogated by the determined Cassandra, is what will play out during your adventures.


I HATE flashbacks in games. I just lose imersion whien its flashbacks.

 

[SouthpawFencer]

That story, told in flashback by the dwarf Varric as he's interrogated by the determined Cassandra, is what will play out during your adventures.

I HATE flashbacks in games. I just lose imersion whien its flashbacks.

Combine this with the limited character choices, it's starting to sound like Bioware is collecting a list of "What the hell were they thinking?!" moments.

Still the three Bioware games that I've played (Mass Effect 1 & 2, and Dragon Age: Origins), I've enjoyed a great deal.

I enjoyed all of the character classes and the variety of abilities in ME, I enjoyed narrative and characterizations of ME2, and DA:O combined my favorite aspects of both ME games. I've given Bioware the benefit of the doubt and pre-ordered DA2.

This is not to say that the games were without fault. The powers in ME2 felt underwhelming, thermal clips were annoying (and the logic behind them felt contrived, since I sent FAR more rounds downrange in ME1 than in ME2), and the Paragon/Renegade system meant that you had to be a goody-two-shoes or a complete jerk at all times (I exploited bugs in ME1 to build up my Paragon/Renegade ratings, and then made decisions based on my own wishes rather than based on what would give me more points).

However, if the game is a letdown, I'll let Bioware know that I'm disappointed, and detail WHY. I suggest that people disappointed by recent Bioware game design choices express their disappointment, citing specific instances. If Bioware gets an overwhelming number of messages saying "Thermal clips SUCK!", "Who POSSIBLY thought that the mineral collection minigame was a good idea?", "If you're going to have upgrades blueprints lying around to be collected during missions, let us revisit those areas if we miss it the first time around!" or "the individual approval system in Dragon Age is superior/inferior to the Paragon/Renegade system in Mass Effect", they'll take note. If they just get a bunch of notes saying "You suck!", that gives them nothing to work with.

Unfortunately, I failed to make my dissatisfaction with some ME2 design choices known, so it's probably too late for any complaints to alter ME3 design choices at this stage. I don't intend to repeat that mistake if DA2 disappoints me.

 

[Blindrooster]

The more I see about this game the more worried I am. The combat doesn't look too fun, to me. I personally HATE hack and slash games. sure, you can still stack moves for yourself and party mmbers but the fighting just looked like hack and slash. And I actually enjoyed the dialogue system....and the character creation.....UHG! Why not just make it another MMORPG bioware? I'm going to go play the elder scrolls and fallout now..... /whining

 

[chainguns]

The more I see about this game the more worried I am. The combat doesn't look too fun, to me. I personally HATE hack and slash games. sure, you can still stack moves for yourself and party mmbers but the fighting just looked like hack and slash.

It may not be so bad on the PC - pause and play is still "optional". Although, if it is optional, that means that the combat can be done just by running in and button mashing, which is worrying. That would not work on the PC version of Origins.

For Electronic Arts, retarding the franchise down is a very logical business move - all the people who want a thoughtful, tactical RPG will STILL buy DA2 because simply put, there is nothing better on the market (FA:NV excepted), no matter how much they whine on forums. AND THEN, all the Diablo, Sacred, Dungeon Siege, and Mass Effect customers will rush out to buy a title that was previously too hardcore for their tastes.

That said, even as a hack and slash, the story should be good enough to make this a good buy, although only when they release the 'ultimate edition' (Dragon Age DLCs are notorious rip offs, and DA2 as a popamole is now no longer so tempting as to make me want it exactly at 8am on 1 March).

 

[chainguns]

-snip- double post (sorry)

 

[remmus]

Nice to see DA could change, I came into the first game hoping it be good, but frankly after playing more action filled RPG like Elder Scrolls Oblivion, DA:O felt like I went from a speedy mustang back to the Volkswagen Golf I had back when I player rpg in the 90

So as nice as being a god hovering over a distant hero like in the old days, it´s hard beating the feeling of stepping into the shoes of the hero and swing there sword (ok DA 2 isn´t exactly that, but much closer then the first game)

 

[the_green_dragon]

Why not make Dragon Age 3 instead of redoing Dragon Age 2?