Dragon Age 2 - Demo impressions

[aelf]

The plot of Dragon Age: Origins was just as generic as DA2's, but the difference is that the characters and good dialogue drove the former. The latter is just... bleh.

The characters in DAO, while I like them better, were a little boring at times too.

Yep. By the end of the game, my favourite character in DA:O was Bodahn Feddic. That's gotta say something about how effectively the main characters managed to hold my interest.

 

[Maniacal]

Enchantment! I was so glad they had them show up for DA2 again

 

[Disgustipated]

Its okay, but has a tendancy to be just as annoying as the first one(in characters being bland and repative but you NEED certain characters for specific fights even though you HATE them)

Having to use certain characters for certain fights was an annoyance I had with DA:O as well. And KOTOR. Argh. It didn't used to be this way back in the BG days.

So far my companion NPC's suck in terms of personality. I can't even remember their names, and I get them confused. Right now I have my sister Bethany (some kind of mage), Aveline who has about as much personality as a box of rocks, and Varric. Varric is my main annoyance with the game. He's a terrible voice actor, what's even worse he's the narrator. Argh.

For some reason I get Bethany and Aveline confused (I had to open my game just to figure out what their names were to put in this thread). I find myself continually pressing C to figure out which one is my mage, and which one is my tank as I can't tell from their portrait alone.

edit: so does anyone know how to transfer inventory items to the other people in your party? I still haven't figured that out, and it's not in the manual. Also, how do you talk to people in your party? I want to find out their background etc. Can you only do it when they aren't in your party, and at their "home"?

 

[Disgustipated]

Okay I think I got the inventory thing. It's all shared inventory. I think it was that way before.

This game is just amateur. I just now quicksaved while a NPC was talking (not in the conversation wheel), and it broke their talking. Pathetic.

A huge town of NPC's you can't interact with. the town is bare. I guess I've been spoiled by the Witcher series where the towns felt alive and NPC's actually had names, and talked (even if it was only one or two lines). And the towns were filled with items. Not these bare streets. This is just lazy artwork. I'm supposedly in the slums and the streets are bare. Not any trash, or refuse. Just bare streets. It's like they never bothered to finish the artwork on this game.

And these sidequests ridiculous. I find an item while exploring the chantry, I then later find the person who wants that item in lowtown, and they don't even really say anything. I don't even get a conversation wheel for this? Lazy.

 

[aelf]

Well, then you are certainly not one of those Bioware fanbois in the DA2 vs. Witcher 2 flame wars. Some people can be sold anything and be happy with what they get.

 

[DirtyFinger]

If you liked Dragon Age 1 because of it's in depth lore, balanced combat system, dramatic epic storyline, varied locations, complex characters or the different origins and role playing in general ... then dragon age 2 is not for you.

* DA2 breaks the lore (e.g. teleporting enemies),
* DA2 completely ruined the combat balance (your party is 3 times as fast as the enemy, while they have 10 times as much hit points),
* the storyline is rather dull and full of holes and unbelievable events (e.g. you chatting friendly with mage hunting templars while being an apostate with a wand, robe and a fireball)
* there are barely any different locations and dungeons get recycled over and over
* your NPCs come over very bland and, while occasionally quite amusing, are utterly forgettable
* there are no origins. one background story fits all, with 'all' being a human male/female warrior/rogue/mage

And if you thought, "Dragon Age is a worthy successor to Baldurs Gate" then DA2 will make you weep, because it plays closer to a bad clone of "God of War" or "Double Dragon" than Dragon Age 1.

 

[PhroX]

And if you thought, "Dragon Age is a worthy successor to Baldurs Gate" then DA2 will make you weep

I guess that might be why I like DA2 then - DA:O was nowhere near being a worthy successor to BG. Don't get me wrong, it was a good game, but not a patch on Bioware's early stuff. And that's not just nostalgia speaking, as I played through both BGs recently, and they're so much better - better storytelling, far more interesting and well developed characters, better world building etc. I'd say there was more "dumbing down" from BG2 to DA:O, then there was from the latter to DA2...

 

[Maniacal]

If you liked Dragon Age 1 because of it's in depth lore, balanced combat system, dramatic epic storyline, varied locations, complex characters or the different origins and role playing in general ... then dragon age 2 is not for you.

The lore was fine, typical but fine. Combat balance? Eh, the combat system is pretty mediocre tbh. The characters were good but I don't know how complex they really were.

* DA2 breaks the lore (e.g. teleporting enemies),

That was lore?

* DA2 completely ruined the combat balance (your party is 3 times as fast as the enemy, while they have 10 times as much hit points),

Combat was about the same imo, both systems are bad.

* the storyline is rather dull and full of holes and unbelievable events (e.g. you chatting friendly with mage hunting templars while being an apostate with a wand, robe and a fireball)

Yeah some aprts were good but it had many oddities. Although Origins had some pretty generic story too.

* your NPCs come over very bland and, while occasionally quite amusing, are utterly forgettable

Just like most of the NPCs in Origins.

* there are no origins. one background story fits all, with 'all' being a human male/female warrior/rogue/mage

Not really a game breaker, but that definitely was a cool aspect of origins.

And if you thought, "Dragon Age is a worthy successor to Baldurs Gate"

Its a nice try, but I don't think it improved upon much.

 

[Disgustipated]

you are forgetting the NPC's in origins actually talked. Lelianna had a rich backstory. And Ogren had many things to say. I can't even talk to my NPC's in DA2. they just give me 1 liners. I can talk to them in their "home" but they still don't have much to say.

This game is pathetic. Yet for some reason I want to finish it. The action is good in a Diablo type way. I guess that's what's keeping me going.

 

[Maniacal]

They say more after you take them on quests and stuff, similar to Mass Effect.

 

[Disgustipated]

I don't know... They haven't said **** yet. I'm hoping to find a romantic interest in the game. This weird looking elf with lyrium tattoos isn't my thing (I'm playing a female toon). I said a "heart" thing to him, so hopefully that doesn't screw things up. The guy is freaky looking. In fact, all the elves in this game are weird looking. I don't care for them. I hear you can do many different combinations. The female tank fighter I don't find attractive, so I won't go for her. I can't do my sister, but I keep hearing about Isabella. I haven't found her yet.

edit: I keep turning down music and sound in this game, but still can't hear people's voices. Terrible sound mixing in this game.

 

[Maniacal]

Ignore the heart things with him, he was my least favourite character. You can't romance Aveline (though male Hawke can try,but she is oblivious to it, its kind of funny, and sad).

And yeah if you haven't even gotten Isabella yet than don't complain about not enough to talk about with your companions because you've barely gotten into the first Act.

 

[LightSpectra]

 

[Mad Man]

It's funny because it's true.

 

[Disgustipated]

I think I'm near the end of act 1 actually. I put off the main quests until the end. I've explored a lot and did many, many sidequests. The only interesting sidequest so far as been wayward son.

The cartoon is funny. I don't give a crap about rivalry points too much. Playing on normal is easy mode. So far, I haven't spent a dime on any equipment. I'm seeing how much gold I can accumulate.

 

[Dachs]

I certainly hope the game gets more interesting as you go along. It's kind of boring so far. I guess because there's no clear, immediate threat or objective. I guess I'll just explore this city.

I liked not having some Big Overarching Threat of Doom. You're writing yourself into the history of Thedas. The basic idea behind the game is actually a really interesting one - execution wasn't great, but that's something else entirely.

Yep. By the end of the game, my favourite character in DA:O was Bodahn Feddic. That's gotta say something about how effectively the main characters managed to hold my interest.

Screw Bodahn. His voice acting was terrible. For all his alleged ability to keep his ear to the ground, he seemed to love shoving it in your face that he thought Loghain was awesome. And oy, his lines never friggin changed...

The two Sisters at the Denerim Chantry arguing in the front were my favorites, along with maybe "Father" Kolgrim for sheer hamminess (STOP! YOU WILL GO NO FURTHER!...TO ARMS, MY BRETHREN! ANDRASTE WILL GRANT US...VICTORYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!)

If you liked Dragon Age 1 because of it's in depth lore, balanced combat system, dramatic epic storyline, varied locations, complex characters or the different origins and role playing in general ... then dragon age 2 is not for you.

Incidentally, the whole "epic storyline" thing is annoying and trite, and it's one of my chief complaints with the genre. DA2 seemed comparatively real to me - but a character like the Warden(-Commander), who slaughters something like fifteen hundred people and darkspawn personally and kills a friggin god, breaks reality to the extent that you have a hard time believing that anybody in the entire world has the balls to screw with her. And you can only lampshade this so much.

It's funny because it's true.

No, it's not funny because it's Ctrl-Alt-Del.

 

[LightSpectra]

Do I detect bitterness from you, Dachs?

 

[Dachs]

What do you mean?

 

[aelf]

Screw Bodahn. His voice acting was terrible. For all his alleged ability to keep his ear to the ground, he seemed to love shoving it in your face that he thought Loghain was awesome. And oy, his lines never friggin changed...

Well, how interesting a character is doesn't depend entirely on voice acting. In any case, Bodahn has better voice acting than almost all the other dwarves in the game, many of whom have ridiculously obvious American accents that simply kills their believability (although the elves are even worse in this respect).

What makes Bodahn interesting to me is the fact that I can't decide if he's to be sympathised with or despised. Clearly he took Sandal in for more than altruistic reasons and follows you around so he can profit from it, but he also hints at how Sandal is like a son to him since his wife is unable to bear him a child (which to me seems to hint at her not being dwarven). He has an intriguing backstory, and I guess the two of them traveling together trying to eke out a living/profit from the chaos under the circumstances in the game rather reminds me of Mother Courage, which is really more than can be said about the other characters in the game.

 

[Dachs]

Well, how interesting a character is doesn't depend entirely on voice acting. In any case, Bodahn has better voice acting than almost all the other dwarves in the game, many of whom have ridiculously obvious American accents that simply kills their believability (although the elves are even worse in this respect).

What makes Bodahn interesting to me is the fact that I can't decide if he's to be sympathised with or despised. Clearly he took Sandal in for more than altruistic reasons and follows you around so he can profit from it, but he also hints at how Sandal is like a son to him since his wife is unable to bear him a child (which to me seems to hint at her not being dwarven). He has an intriguing backstory, and I guess the two of them traveling together trying to eke out a living/profit from the chaos under the circumstances in the game rather reminds me of Mother Courage, which is really more than can be said about the other characters in the game.

I liked the fact that most dwarves didn't have any sort of English accent; I assumed it was some sort of commentary, and was sick and tired of britfaggery anyway. Besides, if Ferelden is supposed to be Scotland-in-Thedas, and the Fereldans tend to have Scottish names (Fergus Cousland? Cailan mac Theirin?), why the hell are they speaking with an English accent? (Because it's a stupid fantasy trope that everybody has to have a frigging English accent apparently. I hate most fantasy tropes. And most English accents. I also want Peter Capaldi to voice a major video game character BUT THAT IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE.)

As for Bodahn's backstory, I think you're reading a bit more into it than I did, but I suppose he is moderately interesting - just like most tertiary characters in a BioWare game.