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Dragon age 2: A Warning
Mar 10 2011 11:45am

SaZ
 - Student
SaZ
as you can see there is a 'disastrous games 2010' thread not so far away'.... here is the the sequel to that thread.

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME
Lets get this straight. Dragon age 1 was:
-dumbed down rpg
-fun companions
-no story development (the player knows the ending at the beginning of the game and there is no actual twist)
-good storytelling
-advertised as having more choices than any other game, yet being the same like games before
overall: nothing new, but a good game none the less.

So after playing 14 hours of Dragon Age 2.
what can i tell about it?
-COMBAT: lets be honest here, almost every combat in every game becomes repetitive. combat in this game isnt that bad. it has the same flaws of the first game: disables+aoe=imba ownage. its much more chaotic than the first game. i had a thought to turn up the difficulty, but i quickly went back to normal. why? the companion AI is really stupid. i set up tactics, behavior and everything, but that didnt prevent my healer to go far away from the party to attack the boss at pointblank range with his staff.
the monsters move unrealistically fast between the targets. its like they move normally when fighting, all the animations smooth and stuff, but when they move they are like 10x sped up. what?
there are teleportations spells, cool huh? not so cool when you cant even teleport over the ledge or cliff.
i can only name the flaws of combat - everything else is dull and not special.
-INVENTORY simplified lol. you can only equip rings, belts amulets and weapons on your companions. armor levels up. for one guy even weapon is leveling.
-CHAR DEVELOPMENT if you are rogue or mage you dont need to put a single point in strength anymore. every class has its own main stat and thats it. the abilities have similar trees like dragon age 1. overally id say char development has as much depth as lets say... dark messiah. and this was was advertised as rpg somehow lol.
-GRAPHICS thats probably the best point of the game. yes the graphics are dull and more grayish, but the general style from what ive seen its quite ok. the loading screens ae really great. if the whole game was more like loading screens it would be a thousand times better. game runs pretty well, even though demo runs about 2x shittier than the release. also BLOOD! thats pretty much the only good thing in this game.
-QUESTS AND DIALOGS the 'fun' begins here.
you get into the city and you pretty much have about... 100 quests to do.
none of them are connected. you kill magistrates son? he whines a single line and thats it. never saw him again.
they dont really have any consequences or choices. the usual dialogs are like this:

templar 1: thanks for bringing these apostates so they can be brought to the circle.
templar 2: i think they should be brough to justice right now!
me: yes! kill them now!
templar 1: thanks for your help.
exp gained
gold gained
O_o
o_O
what.

simillar stuff like this happened in most quests, you are given choices that... mean absolutely nothing.
also the game is less brutal. id imagine the increased ammount of blood would indicate the opposite, but even when you are threatening like 100th person in the district your character gets pushed away like 'pfft dont care'. conversation immediately ends. without a choice to cut his throat.

every quest involves killing no matter what. realistically your main character is a complete thug with no brain. the only way to earn gold is to kill someone. one way or another... or kill 100 others.

every dialog is about 2-3x shorter than dragon age 1. no depth to be found.
you are also shown which choice is forceful and which is peaceful. would be quite understandable if the choices actually meant something.

overall: questing and dialogs are about the depth of your average mmo in the same quest area.

oh by the way you can important a character info from the first game. met this lord harrowmond relative. killed him. 'thanks from king bhelen'
exp gained
gold gained.
DEEP SHIT YO.
COMPANIONShaving met most of them id say they are pretty weak. there are these good, lawful ones who are completely boring. nothing compared to even alistar, leliana and wynne.
all companions: look normal, they sound normal, they act normal. two companions are shown a bit more 'fucked up' than the rest, but i guess they would impress only someone who lived in the cave their whole lives.
there is also this friendship rivalry system. basically you can say something nice or something they agree with and you gain friendship points. if you tell them to gtfo the whole game... they wont quit. they will just be 'rivals' and continue to annoy you no matter what you say unless you switch to another companion.
STORYdid 100 boring quests. zero story.
considering how many quests involved killing bloodmages, dealing with apostates and templars im pretty sure it will be about them.
or this 'tevinter imperium' folk gonna involve itself somehow.
probably a dragon too, because everyone likes dragons and every game has them.

CONCLUSION if you want a rather generic singleplayer mmo-style grindfest, but cant pay monthly fee for the western ones and you dont like the asian style. this is for you!

http://img37.imageshack.us/i/da2mm.jpg

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5338/1299706617810.jpg
these two pics shows what this game is about.
_______________
playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana

This post was edited by SaZ on Mar 10 2011 11:48am.

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Comments
Mar 20 2011 12:05am

Augusta_Mintaka
 - Student
 Augusta_Mintaka

Maybe Saz didn't complete his sentence

Don't buy this game................unless you're an RPG fan
_______________
"Deos fortioribus adesse."

Mar 19 2011 02:54pm

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

[quote the verdict doesnt really differ from mine tbh.


You state at the top of this very thread DO NOT BUY THIS GAME Go check if you don't believe me, he points out the flaws of the game but still appreciates that its a good game, not biowares best, but a good game.
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Mar 19 2011 10:54am

SaZ
 - Student
 SaZ

Quote:
Here saz he agrees with you but listen to the verdict ;)

Dragon Age 2 Review


the verdict doesnt really differ from mine tbh.
i mentioned more than once that i only wrote the bad things. if i wasnt so disappointed by them i might have actually written a more balanced review of good and bad things. still a result would be - average game at best. (still that would make the first average bioware game).
so does it really differ?
apart from him being polite we both look at the game realistically.
Quote:
Taking things from DA2 and putting it on DA:0 would make an excellent game.

yep.
Quote:
Saz, you should make your own series like the Angry Video Game Nerd!

yea i guess i have enough rage to fuel many reviews. maybe some day... lol..
_______________
playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana

This comment was edited by SaZ on Mar 19 2011 10:58am.

Mar 18 2011 09:19pm

Augusta_Mintaka
 - Student
 Augusta_Mintaka

Taking things from DA2 and putting it on DA:0 would make an excellent game. Although they should spend about 3 years on development if there is a another addition coming up.
_______________
"Deos fortioribus adesse."

This comment was edited by Augusta_Mintaka on Mar 18 2011 09:19pm.

Mar 18 2011 02:56pm

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

Here saz he agrees with you but listen to the verdict ;)

Dragon Age 2 Review
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If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are :P

Best Movie Character EVER!!


Mar 18 2011 08:44am

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

Funny you should say that hehe me and my Nate are doing a YouTube series about how bad pugs are in wow hehe
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If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are :P

Best Movie Character EVER!!


Mar 18 2011 02:14am

Augusta_Mintaka
 - Student
 Augusta_Mintaka

Okay, so Saz didn't like DA2. He isn't the only one, a number of people didn't like it because it's so different than the first. Although, many more do enjoy the game.

Saz, you should make your own series like the Angry Video Game Nerd!
_______________
"Deos fortioribus adesse."

Mar 18 2011 01:46am

JP
 - Academy Pimp
 JP

Quote:
Quote:
You seem like the kind of guy, who when offered a girl, asks why it isn't a threesome.

no im the kind of guy who drinks the same brand of beer for years and notices if they change the recipe.


Get out of ur bubble, quit your bitching and enjoy something different
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Come on now, every Generation X boy wanted to be Luke Skywalker. Is it because he was a whiney farm boy from some backwater hack planet? No, it's because he was a FREAKING JEDI. He could block lasers with his lightsaber. He could levitate droids & rocks & crap with his mind. Come on, he choked two pig dudes with just a simple gesture. He cut off Darth Vader's hand and kicked him down a flight of stairs. He got his @$$ zapped by lightning from the geezer Emperor, stood up and said "s'at all you got b!tc#??"

Mar 17 2011 10:47pm

solitude
 - Jedi Council
 solitude

Quote:
Saz, the only way you'll get something that matches up with your fantasies is to take LSD. A lot of LSD.


Quote:
Saz, the only way you'll get something that matches up with your fantasies is to take LSD. A lot of LSD.


Quote:
Saz, the only way you'll get something that matches up with your fantasies is to take LSD. A lot of LSD.

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Mar 17 2011 10:40pm

SaZ
 - Student
 SaZ

Quote:
No offence Saz, but someone who has such a strong opinion about anything is usually not a credible source of information about it. We both know how our judgement can lead to us overemphasize the good things and underemphasize or even ignore the bad things of anything (or vice versa), and that itself can lead us to, for example, take things out of context to suit our purposes.


in that case any discussion about any game is pointless then?

anyway if person is not a zombie of the 'throw an old bone to a hungry dog, he will eat anything anyway' idea of... anything that you one can sell really.... then he will know im not overemphasizing things.
im just not very good at putting things to a sentence especially when english is not my native language.
maybe some day Kain will come back to this thread and care to help me since he seems to have a realistic mindset.
Quote:
You seem like the kind of guy, who when offered a girl, asks why it isn't a threesome.

no im the kind of guy who drinks the same brand of beer for years and notices if they change the recipe.
_______________
playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana

This comment was edited by SaZ on Mar 17 2011 10:42pm.

Mar 17 2011 10:40pm

solitude
 - Jedi Council
 solitude

Saz, the only way you'll get something that matches up with your fantasies is to take LSD. A lot of LSD.

You seem like the kind of guy, who when offered a girl, asks why it isn't a threesome.
_______________
Joined 16 October 2004 | Retired 10 April 2005 | Returned 05 June 2008 | Made Staff 27 June 2008 | Made Council 18 January 2009
Padawan To Odan-Wei Belouve | Adopted into the Belouve family | Twin to xAnAtOs | Owner of the 4th Quesi sexy badge :D Brother To Roan Belouve, Nomad, Majno, Silkmonkey, Kensei and Jarhok Belouve
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Mar 17 2011 09:58pm

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

No offence Saz, but someone who has such a strong opinion about anything is usually not a credible source of information about it. We both know how our judgement can lead to us overemphasize the good things and underemphasize or even ignore the bad things of anything (or vice versa), and that itself can lead us to, for example, take things out of context to suit our purposes.
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Married to Kain.


This comment was edited by Masta on Mar 17 2011 09:59pm.

Mar 17 2011 08:16pm

SaZ
 - Student
 SaZ

Quote:
That's a problem, Saz. Your standards are static while the gaming industry is dynamic. I liked classic RPG games a lot, but I grew to embrace the new more streamlined model the games are following now.


lol you got this completely wrong.
the high quality standarts not standarts how something should be.
embrace new streamlined model? hmmm for example i dont see how things like identical quest caves can be good in any way. it just sign that developers didnt have time to make more. connect all the dots and you get... a game that is not finished.
and that is low quality.
i dont see how is this matter of taste when one game is made with lets say all levels completely unique or randomized and other games make a lot of levels completely the same. since when less is better? the same could be said about dumbed down dialogs and character development.
Quote:
That's another thing they put out a game with 30hrs of gameplay, not many games come with that sort of content.

throw the insignificant boring quests away and you have like 10 hours left.
Quote:
(professional - not the Saz'ian type)

oh cmon, for the most part i just mentioned some elements of this game. whether i expressed them through whiny talk doesnt change the facts how they are.
the same cloned cave system that i like to use as an example. it doesnt matter if i call them shit or somebody else says that im too serious about it.
they are still cloned cave system and you can do nothing about it.
if you cant see through my whine just because 'oh its saz, he whines all the time and his opinion is bullshit anyway'.
even if its like that... does that change the fact that caves are cloned lol?
Quote:
I think Saz is crossing his fingers for Witcher 2 to be an example of a good RPG.

when i saw a recently uploaded gameplay video... im not so sure. geralt rolled like over nine thousand times during a short gameplay video. then again its only combat.
Quote:
Saz, I challenge you to make a game that matches up to your own fantasies.

now that is completely wrong way to think about pretty much anything.
im not a game developer.
just because we arent politicians, painters or musicians it doesnt mean we cant criticize them.
lets put it this way:
-JUSTIN BIEBER SUCKS!
-OH?! THEN SING BETTER!
this is exactly the same.
_______________
playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana

This comment was edited by SaZ on Mar 17 2011 08:36pm.

Mar 17 2011 08:05pm

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

Putting the question of whether or not I enjoyed a particular game aside, there are a lot of objective criteria to determine of whether or not a game succeeds in a variety of aspects. Otherwise, all forms of (professional - not the Saz'ian type) game criticism is nothing but an expression of taste. 2000 word reviews that contain nothing of substance except for 'I liked that, but didn't really like that', which I'm sure everyone agrees is not the case.
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Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
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Mar 17 2011 05:41pm

Maher
 - Jedi Knight
 Maher

Quote:
Quote:

Best game what I have played is MBII without time limit... and It wasn't made by main stream of game industry...
You haven't been around much, have you :p


:D well yeah... But I have played games in the shadows...

Games are indeed subjective media... and by all means my intention isn't to crush anybody's opinion, if somebody likes some game, It is totally ok to me...

But aside of games being subjective media, there's one objective fact; Games can evolve.
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Still here | My Lightsaber

Mar 17 2011 03:11pm

Laziana
 - Jedi Instructor
 Laziana

Quote:
That's another thing they put out a game with 30hrs of gameplay, not many games come with that sort of content.

End of the day dragon age 2 is at the very sametime, the best game ever made, amazing, above average, ok, playable, terrible, don't waste your money.

Point being we all like things others don't, games are subjective media so accept it for how it felt for you.


I agree. Also accept it for how it felt for others. As you said: subjective media :)
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Mar 17 2011 02:49pm

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

That's another thing they put out a game with 30hrs of gameplay, not many games come with that sort of content.

End of the day dragon age 2 is at the very sametime, the best game ever made, amazing, above average, ok, playable, terrible, don't waste your money.

Point being we all like things others don't, games are subjective media so accept it for how it felt for you.
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Best Movie Character EVER!!


Mar 17 2011 09:11am

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

I hope he at least enjoyed DA2 to some degree, in whatever way he might have done that. I mean, we're talking about ~20-30 hours of gameplay here, which is a lot of time to waste on something you find no enjoyment in.

Quote:

Best game what I have played is MBII without time limit... and It wasn't made by main stream of game industry...
You haven't been around much, have you :p
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Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Mar 17 2011 03:57am

Augusta_Mintaka
 - Student
 Augusta_Mintaka

I think Saz is crossing his fingers for Witcher 2 to be an example of a good RPG.
_______________
"Deos fortioribus adesse."

Mar 17 2011 02:50am

solitude
 - Jedi Council
 solitude

Saz, I challenge you to make a game that matches up to your own fantasies.
_______________
Joined 16 October 2004 | Retired 10 April 2005 | Returned 05 June 2008 | Made Staff 27 June 2008 | Made Council 18 January 2009
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Owner Of Virtue's 1000th profile comment, Mr. Doobie's 1000th profile comment, Gradius' 2500th comment, xAnAtOs' 2500th comment, Rosered's 1500th comment, Laziana's 900th comment, Scythus' 500th comment and Echuu's 100th comment


Mar 17 2011 01:31am

Maher
 - Jedi Knight
 Maher

I have to say that I agree on everything what Saz is saying... About DA2, About game industry...

We are living on 2010, our computers are evolving, we need better games rather than accepting the standards for a good game so easily...

I understand that my standard for a good game is high? But hey this is just an opinion...

Best game what I have played is MBII without time limit... and It wasn't made by main stream of game industry...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation
This very thing is my god
_______________
Still here | My Lightsaber

Mar 16 2011 05:25pm

Augusta_Mintaka
 - Student
 Augusta_Mintaka

That's a problem, Saz. Your standards are static while the gaming industry is dynamic. I liked classic RPG games a lot, but I grew to embrace the new more streamlined model the games are following now.
_______________
"Deos fortioribus adesse."

Mar 16 2011 01:15pm

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

Nostalgia don't hold up, stop living in the past
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If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are :P

Best Movie Character EVER!!


Mar 16 2011 12:43pm

SaZ
 - Student
 SaZ

lol. its just my 'requirements' for quality do not change as the years pass by.
_______________
playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana

Mar 16 2011 11:39am

solitude
 - Jedi Council
 solitude

I wonder if a Bioware dev touched Saz in the wrong place. You seem really bitter about DA2.
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Joined 16 October 2004 | Retired 10 April 2005 | Returned 05 June 2008 | Made Staff 27 June 2008 | Made Council 18 January 2009
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Owner Of Virtue's 1000th profile comment, Mr. Doobie's 1000th profile comment, Gradius' 2500th comment, xAnAtOs' 2500th comment, Rosered's 1500th comment, Laziana's 900th comment, Scythus' 500th comment and Echuu's 100th comment


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