Was Dragon Age II really that bad?

[woodaba]

Dragon Age 2 is widely regarded as the biggest dissapointment in faming for quite a while, with many fans heavily criticising the game.

But: was it really that awful?

I will admit that it is a disapointing sequel to one of the best RPGs of the generation, but I found that it was pretty damn good. I thought the combat was improved, and I really liked the story. I didnt even mind Kirkwall being the hub. The only major thing I did not like was the reusing of dungeon environments, which sucked but it was more to due with EA trying to get the game out on time.

I was just wondering if any of my fellow Escapists felt the same way, and those who do not, I would like to hear your perspective on the game

 

[AndrewF022]

No, I didn't think so.. I thought it was a solid game that has the unfortunate handicap of being compared to Origins, and thats a hard act to follow, especially with such a short development cycle.

I did think the story lacked a whole lot of choice, I didn't feel as if my choices were making much of a difference to how it all played out. That and the recycling of environments, nobody can argue against that really, but thats not a game breaker.

Beyond that the rest of the game was fine for me, the combat was really engaging, it felt much faster and slicker than Origins. Opting for the fast paced action over tactical was well, not what I was expecting, but it was still a lot of fun to play regardless, it just means you had to flip the difficulty right up to get the same experience as Origins.

Anyway, thats my two cents, anymore would to review it haha.

 

[Simple Bluff]

Being able to talk to your party ONLY in scripted events really grinded my gears. I didn't even forgive that in Awakenings, and that was just an expansion pack. Also, something that is even appereant on your first playthrough, your decisions aren't relevant whatsoever to the story.

And, depending on how Awekinings turned out for you...

Spoiler

They retconned Ander's death. That's just poor.

However, despite it all... I still enjoyed it. I had fun, and I tried really hard not to. I hate my opinion.

 

[Woodsey]

It was average; I shouldn't be paying £30 for average. I paid the same for The Witcher 2, which only just stopped short of giving me a blowjob. By comparison, DA2 wouldn't even let me fondle its tits.

So yeah, basically... DA2 is fucking frigid.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

NO . Sure it has flaws. But it wasn't terrible. You can go to any forum anywhere and people will find something to complain about.

 

[MisterShine]

If it was made by any other game developer by any other name, it would be considered a decent to good RPG that tried a little too hard to be Dragon Age on Red Bull.

Whether it's fair to judge it as how it differed from the first game and because it was Bioware who made it, I suppose that is up to the individual. I can see why a lot about the game people would dislike, but I thought despite many niggling flaws it was still quite good and more importantly an important stepping stone for Bioware. They've been sitting pretty in their safe-zone for a long time, its time to branch out, even if it's scary and doesn't work out perfectly every time. In an industry such as ours that is plagued with a follow-the-leader mentality and only the tiniest steps forward in sequels, we sorely need that bold action. Even if it means we occasionally fall flat on our faces

edit: It should be noted for the record that I am also a big fan of Obsidian entertainment, a studio (in)famous for its buggy releases and often wonky gameplay. I have a lot of experience putting up with flaws to get to the gooey center of a game, which could be why DA2 doesn't bother me nearly as much as it does most people.

 

[jim1398]

Awful? No, I don't think so. I found it to be pretty average.

A lot of fans claim people only hate it because they were expecting more due to it being a Bioware game or because it's a sequel to Origins, which I disagree with entirely. That might be what led to the complaints being more widespread and vocal, but it's not the reason for the complaints. The game feels lazy and rushed and had some pretty terrible design choices. That stuff is going to lead to complaints with any game, no matter who made it.

 

[Woodsey]

Being able to talk to your party ONLY in scripted events really grinded my gears. I didn't even forgive that in Awakenings, and that was just an expansion pack. Also, something that is even appereant on your first playthrough, your decisions aren't relevant whatsoever to the story.

And, depending on how Awekinings turned out for you...

Spoiler

They retconned Ander's death. That's just poor.

However, despite it all... I still enjoyed it. I had fun, and I tried really hard not to. I hate my opinion.

They also:

Spoiler

Retconned Leliana's death for some, and they tried to imply a connection between Hawke going missing and my Warden dying. This is two completely unrelated people, one of whom Leliana was shagging, and she describes him as missing. When he had died.

It was some pretty spectacularly lazy writing.

 

[YawningAngel]

Objectively terrible? No. A decidedly poor show considering the prequel? Undoubtedly.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I liked it just fine, I also liked the first one. I guess I am the odd one out. I find I can enjoy a lot of games for a lot of different reasons. Perhaps Dragon Age fans are just anal.

 

[Dark Claw13]

You can enjoy Dragonn age 2 if you go in with the right mindset. I went in with the thought of just seeing what my decisions would make happen.

I've also heard people complaining because their decisions in the first game didn't make much of an appearance. But have you seen a map of Thedas? Fereldan and Kirkwall aren't that close together. So i reckon those people are being a bit picky.

 

[Shameless]

It's just surprisingly average for a Bioware game, Dragon Age : Origins deserved a better sequel.

 

[MisterShine]

They also:

Spoiler

Retconned Leliana's death for some, and they tried to imply a connection between Hawke going missing and my Warden dying. This is two completely unrelated people, one of whom Leliana was shagging, and she describes him as missing. When he had died.

It was some pretty spectacularly lazy writing.

As I've read on the forums, one that they deeply regret not specifying properly in-game:

Spoiler: DA2 spoilers

She means that your Warden's body has disappeared from his/her resting place.As for Leliana... do remember that you killed her right next to the Urn of Sacred Ashes

 

[Casual Shinji]

They turned Dragon Age into Mass Effect when it never needed to be.

They could've just let DA be its own thing, but apparently that wasn't good enough for EA.

 

[woodaba]

Being able to talk to your party ONLY in scripted events really grinded my gears. I didn't even forgive that in Awakenings, and that was just an expansion pack. Also, something that is even appereant on your first playthrough, your decisions aren't relevant whatsoever to the story.

And, depending on how Awekinings turned out for you...

Spoiler

They retconned Ander's death. That's just poor.

However, despite it all... I still enjoyed it. I had fun, and I tried really hard not to. I hate my opinion.

They also:

Spoiler

Retconned Leliana's death for some, and they tried to imply a connection between Hawke going missing and my Warden dying. This is two completely unrelated people, one of whom Leliana was shagging, and she describes him as missing. When he had died.

It was some pretty spectacularly lazy writing.

I think this comic sums it all up:http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/8775-Critical-Miss-Dragon-Age-Destiny

I always go for the "Sunshine and flowers happiness" ending in games, so that didnt affect me. However, I can see that being REALLY annoying to people who made those choices.

 

[The Big Boss]

It was average; I shouldn't be paying £30 for average. I paid the same for The Witcher 2, which only just stopped short of giving me a blowjob. By comparison, DA2 wouldn't even let me fondle its tits.

So yeah, basically... DA2 is fucking frigid.

This made me LOL bigtime!

 

[Woodsey]

They also:

Spoiler

Retconned Leliana's death for some, and they tried to imply a connection between Hawke going missing and my Warden dying. This is two completely unrelated people, one of whom Leliana was shagging, and she describes him as missing. When he had died.

It was some pretty spectacularly lazy writing.

As I've read on the forums, one that they deeply regret not specifying properly in-game:

Spoiler: DA2 spoilers

She means that your Warden's body has disappeared from his/her resting place.As for Leliana... do remember that you killed her right next to the Urn of Sacred Ashes

OK, so that's still spectacularly lazy writing, and yes, that is a somewhat plausible method of bringing her back. You can't do that though if you're just going to throw her in for 2 minutes right at the end and not address it in any way, shape or form. When you let people have choices, you need to make sure you maintain them.

If you just use some in-universe deus ex machina to retcon the shit out of everything to save yourself writing time. Especially when you've just played 30 hours of Dragon Age 2, which felt like I had no actual affect on anything, whereas Origins did that very well, and you're then fucking up that experience too.

 

[Jordi]

Basically BioWare made a different game than a lot of fans wanted, and they were justifiably disappointed over that. However, that does not say anything about the quality of the game they did decide to make (which was apparently fairly average).

So the disappointment in DA2 can (and should) be divided in two parts, only one of which has to do with the quality of the actual game:
1) disappointment that BioWare made the wrong game (for a lot of fans)
2) disappointment that that game was only average

 

[teebeeohh]

not as bad as some people make it out to be but still pretty bad.
no consequences to my actions, recycled environments, wave after wave of enemies.
No overhead camera which made aiming spells a *****. enemy rogues with more HP than a brick wall...