Dragon Age II is simply a better game than Origins. PC players are going to call this blasphemous but console owners will probably unanimously agree. Everything from the combat, character roster, graphics, inventory system, and more are improved and make for an altogether better experience than its predecessor.
Dragon Age II stars Hawke, a character who played no part in Origins. The game technically takes place just before the ending of Origins, with Hawke and his family fleeing the Darkspawn that the hero of the first game was currently conquering. From that point the player takes over Hawkes life in the new city of Kirkwall. Since Hawke isn’t a citizen, he is forced to take up the life of a mercenary in order to grant access for him and his family.
Hawkes family consists of his mother and his sister Bethany (or brother Carver if you played as a female. Which doesn’t really make any sense, because even if you’re female, it’d still be your sister…). Bethany (or Carver) is a mage, and is also a party member that you will rely upon in the early going.
If you choose to be a mage class yourself, your sibling will be a warrior instead. The reason it is important that one of you is a mage is because the overall storyline of the game comes down to a growing war between mages and templar’s. If this sounds like a weak plot, it is. While DA2 sports the excellent writing that all BioWare games are known for, its plot simply is not very good. You’ll spend the first part of the game doing side missions in order to raise enough money to pay off your mercenary debt, and you’ll spend the second half of the game doing more side missions that will continue to develop the plot.
That's not to say the story has no compelling or memorable moments because it does. There are a few scenes that will haunt gamers for quite some time as DA2 deals a lot in betrayal, death, love and just about everything in between. The problem is just that the overall plot of the game, Hawke's goal if you will, is almost non-existent.
If you choose to be a mage class yourself, your sibling will be a warrior instead. The reason it is important that one of you is a mage is because the overall storyline of the game comes down to a growing war between mages and templar’s. If this sounds like a weak plot, it is. While DA2 sports the excellent writing that all BioWare games are known for, its plot simply is not very good. You’ll spend the first part of the game doing side missions in order to raise enough money to pay off your mercenary debt, and you’ll spend the second half of the game doing more side missions that will continue to develop the plot.
That's not to say the story has no compelling or memorable moments because it does. There are a few scenes that will haunt gamers for quite some time as DA2 deals a lot in betrayal, death, love and just about everything in between. The problem is just that the overall plot of the game, Hawke's goal if you will, is almost non-existent.
This may all sound bad, but not when you realize how much fun side questing is.
The battle system has been completely redone for this game. The pause and strategize tactics of the first game are gone (you can still do it, but there’s no need to.) Some will consider this a tragedy as Origins was a great setup for PC players, but BioWare decided to make this game fun for the console players this time around. The combat is real-time in DA2.
As the characters level up, they’re awarded abilities that can be mapped to the X, Y, and B buttons (as well as a second set of attacks for holding RT) just like in Origins but the action is so much faster this time around that you don’t find yourself waiting for the chance to use the same attacks again. This makes for more intense battles that were sorely missing from Origins.
As the characters level up, they’re awarded abilities that can be mapped to the X, Y, and B buttons (as well as a second set of attacks for holding RT) just like in Origins but the action is so much faster this time around that you don’t find yourself waiting for the chance to use the same attacks again. This makes for more intense battles that were sorely missing from Origins.
As far as graphics, Dragon Age finally looks like it belongs in this console generation. Origins was an ugly mess, a fact BioWare even jokes about in this game. About an hour or so into the game Hawke is asked if he misses the constant brown of Fereldan, an obvious slight at its predecessor’s lack of environments. DA2 has forests, caves, dungeons, sunlit valleys, and even beach like areas which are much needed upgrades over the constant dark caves of the first game.
The only issue with the environments is the fact that BioWare was clearly forced to reuse them all, over and over again. Every environment has at least four or five different entrances/exits. For instance, in one mission you’ll be sent to a dungeon and you’ll enter from the south entrance and fight your way to the north exit. Then, later on in the game, in a different mission, you’ll be sent back to the same dungeon but this time you’ll enter from the north and work your way south.
It’s a very clever solution to the time and budget constraints EA was probably putting on them, but it is unfortunately a sign that EA was pushing them develop this game quickly. Thankfully, since the environments look good this time around, it’s not a game killer and as long as EA doesn’t mess with BioWares flagship franchise Mass Effect, it’s forgivable.
Your party members this time around are far more memorable. None of them seem to whine and complain about having to be a king (Alistair was such a pansy!) or hate everything you do like Morrigan. Their back stories are not nearly as rich or long but it makes for a better experience that way. Hawkes the guy, everyone else is just following him.
As for Hawke, it’s been thrown around that he’s a better character than Shepard from Mass Effect. Time will tell on that front but the nod still has to go to Shepard for now. Hawke provides humor that Shepard lacks, but Shepards motivations and determination still make him a better character in this reviewers opinion.
In conclusion, Dragon Age II is a great game. It’s a 30+ hour adventure that could be infinitely longer depending on the type of gamer you are. It’s worth your money, your time, and your fanhood. For all you PC players out there, quit your bitchin. There’s already tons of dungeon crawler-based games in the fantasy genre, there are virtually no solid action based games.
1 comment:
Nice review Bobby!
Just a few comments from me on this game:
From a PC perspective the only thing I miss is the max camera distance from origins. I actually ended up playing this game nearly identical to Origins, constantly pausing and changing characters to maximize my play style. The only real difference is the speed of combat, which is almost negated by pausing anyway.
I have one major and one minor issue with this game. My minor issue is the "out of nowhere" enemies that hop off roofs or come through doors to give you a wave of enemies. Often times being tactical in your approach to a group of enemies can be negated by another wave of more difficult spawns.
My major issue is glitches. I encountered a completely game breaking glitch, which left me 10 hours into the game and unable to move forward. After looking around the interwebs, it turns out there are several of these glitches. The worst part is that they can break a main plot quest and you can keep playing until that quest is the last thing to do in the act. At that point you can pray that you saved the game before the glitch, or you are starting from scratch.
(Lucky for PC users, you can "hack" the game and open the command console to skip quests/acts)
Another (confirmed) glitch changed my love interest in the final moments of the game.
Anywho, I have to say I disagree on the plot here. It was refreshing to have a story that didn't follow a good vs evil archetype. I felt involved in an actual environment as a instrument of decisiveness for Kirkwall's future.
Last thing... you clearly didnt play too much with Fenris/Carver/Anders! Those guys complain so much!
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