| Dragon age 2: A Warning | |
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SaZ - Student  |
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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Monteeeeeee - Nugget 
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Nostalgia don't hold up, stop living in the past _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are 
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SaZ - Student 
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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 |
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solitude - Jedi Council 
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I wonder if a Bioware dev touched Saz in the wrong place. You seem really bitter about DA2. _______________ 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  Brother To Roan Belouve, Nomad, Majno, Silkmonkey, Kensei and Jarhok Belouve
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Augusta_Mintaka - Student 
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I didn't think you would take it seriously, Saz. It's a great game that honors DA:O, but Skyrim and ME3 will ultimately be the games to compete for the title. _______________ "Deos fortioribus adesse." |
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Monteeeeeee - Nugget
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Of course its realistic, Mass Effect 2 won so many awards its ridiculous, and mainly due to amazing DLC, the shadow broker was epic. So if DA2 bring the DLC then it will be a massive contender for GOTY, its not naive to so say it already. It's march, the it isnt a great summer line up most other good games are coming in the fall. We'll see but i bet you its a very good contender already. _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are
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SaZ - Student
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since dragon age 2 is average rpg at best im certain skyrim and witcher 2 should be make it a good competition... if they are atleast average as well lol.
and thats only if we look at rpg genre. last time i checked diablo 3 wont come out this year. a month or so ago blizzard said they wont release any new game this year which means they may only release sc2 expansion. unless its some kind of blizzards attempt of misderiction after the infamous leaked list of release dates. what else could be worth mentioning? dead space 2. shogun 2 will come out soon. portal 2. deus ex 3 swtor and guild wars 2 dota 2 .... ETC. declaring da2 as game of the year when such ammount of promising games are going to be released... so no its not realistic... i wont say stupid, but... naive might be a fitting word. _______________ 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 15 2011 06:24pm. |
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Monteeeeeee - Nugget
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In all honesty it Is realistic to say goty, this year is all sequels and such. If diablO 3 makes an appearance before next yeah it should easily win goty, the only other game but is console only is uncharted 3, crysis 2 to me looks like another gpu showcase nothing else.
Portal 2 has a chance tho but with dlc throughout the year I think dragon age 2 has a good chance of goty, it has great reviews from most media so we'll see _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are
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SaZ - Student
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Quote: GOTY
its only march. get realistic. _______________ 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 |
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Augusta_Mintaka - Student 
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GOTY _______________ "Deos fortioribus adesse." |
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SaZ - Student
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ofcourse its game of the decade... but if you havent noticed... the new decade have just started! HA! thus there isnt really much competition there is it? xD
kain... glad to see someone is also being realistic about the game they play ;p Quote: Sadface II at the lack of a Qunari for your party. I thought for a moment I may be able to recruit the Saarebas... but the wisdom of the Qun was a big no. Would have been awesome to have a character like that in the game.
indeed. compare the old guard hag or the mega annoying boring sister bethany with pretty much any companions from mass effect 1-2, jade empire, kotor 1-2, neverwinter nights 2 and dragon age 1. garrus, tali, bastilla, sand, hk-47, morrigan, shale, kang the mad or even wild flower. etc. i cant believe ill say this but mass effect 2 character... JACOB had more depth. _______________ 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 15 2011 01:46am. |
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solitude - Jedi Council
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This game is probably Game of the Decade tbh. _______________ 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 Brother To Roan Belouve, Nomad, Majno, Silkmonkey, Kensei and Jarhok Belouve
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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Kainz00r - Jedi Knight 
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One thing truly great about this game however, has to be Varric. What a hero.
I miss Morrigan a lot though. Beautiful, witty Morrigan... sadface. I also wish the cooldowns weren't so high... 40 seconds on heal? 10 seconds on a 'low cooldown nuke'? By level 13, my warrior on this second playthrough only has 4 damage skills, an active small duration buff and two stances. Andraste's balls that is far too long a wait - it's something they got right in the transition between ME1 and ME2, but dissapointingly got wrong in DA2. I don't find it very strategic being left to autoattack a lot of the time. I like the mages aren't the gods they were in DAO, but there are three spells no one should leave home without if attempting hard or nightmare; Vulnerability Hex (ideally upgraded), Haste and Heroic Aura. Toss in some crushing prison and the hex which also stuns them and you have a window to actually dent that high dragon. The lack of a party hub for continual chats is dissapointing too, I really liked that. After playing the game 1.5 times so far (halfway through the 2nd play), progress dialogue updates with party members are really lacking compared to DAO. In fact, most of the personality of the characters is shown in their passing comments as you adventure through the world, often based on your party composition. I like that, but still lament the loss of the hub. Sadface II at the lack of a Qunari for your party. I thought for a moment I may be able to recruit the Saarebas... but the wisdom of the Qun was a big no. Would have been awesome to have a character like that in the game. Overall, the experience was enjoyable but they need to tone done the "REINFORCEMENTS!" and having 6+ more guys join the fray... 2-3 times in some cases. It's crazy, don't leave home without AoE. Many AoE spells since you'll get sucked into a 25+ sec cooldown after using one. And gods below, the copypaste environments are a big problem. DAO didn't suffer from it nor did ME2 really, I expected a lot more. I saw the same caves 4 times each, and the wounded coast haunts me still. 'Go to the wounded coast for..' no, no I won't. Never again, I have exterminated all life from this gods damned part of town four times already. And the mages! I played as a mage in playthrough #1, pretty neutral guy but always helping out the suffering mages when possible. Their thanks? Every single one of them, with pretty much no exception turns to blood magic and tries to kick my ass on behalf of their demon masters. What whores of honor and integrity, no wonder the templars are so on edge around them! Bah. Anyway good RPG, recommended. Superspoiler: Why Anders, why? I trusted you. We could've been together. You inconceivable fool, what have you done? I can only tolerate your vengeance so far due to your amusing wit, but by the thunder of Zeus, what have you done? Broken heart... _______________ Fervent supporter of duelling - leave a message if you would like to battle! Married to Masta. |
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Augusta_Mintaka - Student
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When you play an MMO solo you're usually grinding, I think. There doesn't seem to be much grind for DA2, at least for me. I haven't cleared out the same area multiple times to get XP.
The game has gotten even more fun for me as I progressed a little more. So far it has given me a pretty consistent level of enjoyment. Maybe you just rushed through the game too quickly to enjoy it, Saz. DA2 is really a kind of game you play slowly so you can catch all the jokes, lore (codex) and banter. _______________ "Deos fortioribus adesse." |
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Monteeeeeee - Nugget 
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Sigh... _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are
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SaZ - Student 
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Quote: so get some friends and play MMO's... i dont play wow without my friends, i never solo stuff, i just instance or pvp with them
ofcourse. thats what i do in mmos. i just compared dragon age 2 to solo mmo experience and the boringdom that comes with it. dunno whats hard to get here tbh. _______________ 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 |
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Monteeeeeee - Nugget
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so get some friends and play MMO's... i dont play wow without my friends, i never solo stuff, i just instance or pvp with them _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are
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SaZ - Student
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Quote: So I still dont get what your getting at. MMO rely on end game to engage people not so much the grind getting there. Single player rpg has to entertain all the way as it has nothing at end game to keep you interested for long periods of time. basically im saying that dragon age 2 is as interesting as playing mmo solo. imagine if you go to a new quest hub and realise that... its deserted and all your friends are online... but you play anyway. fun? what are the real aims of one or other mmo is not really the point here, but the usual generic solo gameplay which just.... kinda makes you want to play with real people, because it would be totally boring otherwise.. _______________ 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 |
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Monteeeeeee - Nugget
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Yogscast have a unique way I guess not everyone likes it, if you listened to it all you will find out he actually likes it dispite the bad start.
You can say that about any MMO , FF, ultima online, guild wars, everquest, conan, eve. So I still dont get what your getting at. MMO rely on end game to engage people not so much the grind getting there. Single player rpg has to entertain all the way as it has nothing at end game to keep you interested for long periods of time. _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are
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Mic Den Octela - Student 
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Meh.
Neverwinter Nights 1, KOTOR 1/2 and the Mass Effect series are far better than anything else Bioware has to offer at the moment. I thought Neverwinter Nights 2 was pale in comparison to its original, and Dragon Age just felt like an extension on that style of play. It isn't for me. RPGs just aren't as good as they were 10-15 years ago. Also Icewind Dale was awesome. _______________ -Padawan of Virtue -Brother of Menaxia, *|irael, Krynn Adept, Majno, Ris Win Juljul, DaMi3N, Beowulf, Dash Starlight, Carrock and Yuken Zalak Bartender at Munes bar. Sir Mic of Nippledom! Proudly beating Wang, since '07. (Crackdown) This comment was edited by Mic Den Octela on Mar 14 2011 01:36pm. |
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SaZ - Student
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Quote: and Saz was actually not exaggerating
youll realise that there wasnt a single thing that i exaggerated in this thread... ;p Quote: You've never played wow end game have you ? you can't compare mmo and rpg, i know its mmorpg.
Dragon age is a single player experience, you can't get the same joy out of leveling your character with friends when your doing it alone. OBVIOUSLY i meant the solo experience in mmos. Quote: Yogscast play dragon age
stopped watching after he complained about ammount of cutscenes which are actually dialogs. oh well... no wonder bioware is simplyfing their games. too many people just want to bash things pointlessly and mindlessly instead of getting immersed into well written story. _______________ 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 14 2011 08:58am. |
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Monteeeeeee - Nugget
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Yogscast play dragon age
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g59DShNtkqI&feature=youtube_gdata_player _______________ If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are
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Augusta_Mintaka - Student
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It seems you get the same amount of relationship and back story from your companions, though. It does feel strange to not be able to open a conversation at them any time you want. _______________ "Deos fortioribus adesse." |
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Masta - Jedi Council 
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I still find it a bit unfortunate, considering that you mostly interact with them when they're in your party. For me it feels a bit like I don't get to know the companions that I don't keep around in my party as that much. This was mitigated by that 'hub' area in DAO and the ME games, where you could interact with them independent of your questing. Not sure how it develops though, seeing as I'm not very far into the game yet. _______________ Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here! Married to Kain. |
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Augusta_Mintaka - Student
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I don't think they wanted to improve on DA:O, Saz, but take a different approach. I don't see that it regressed from the original, though.
Only issue I have that really bothered me is that you can't interact with your companion as often. Although, how your interact with them has a bigger impact. I suppose one was traded off for the other? _______________ "Deos fortioribus adesse." |
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Masta - Jedi Council
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I've encountered my first copy&paste environment, and Saz was actually not exaggerating: It's exactly the same cave/hideout that is used in a completely different location in a completely different context. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed and at the same time reminded of Mass Effect 1, which had sidequests that suffered from a similar problem.
Having said that, Bioware is no stranger to generic sidequests, as my previous example has shown, so one should not be in arms over something like that. Just recall the rather plentiful amount of pretty basic 'go-and-kill-or-collect-x' sidequests in DAO, especially when we talk about the various sub-guilds that hand out those quests and whatnot. However, in all three games so far (ME1, DAO, DA2) the sideuqests are completely optional and one can skip them without missing out on anything at all. The most unfortunate thing I've encountered so far was the lack of being able to interact with your companions at anytime you wish and the sometimes shallow dialogue options: you can woo certain companions very early on, independent of whether or not they actually like you. In fact, depending on how one interprets 'rivalry', they cannot not like you. This grinds my gears a bit, but I'm still at the very beginning, so have to wait and see. EDIT: I utterly love certain features though. 'Press R to loot everything' is something so simple but so wonderfully effective that I have no idea why no other RPG has implemented it yet. The same goes for 'sell all junk by clicking here'. Perfect! _______________ Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here! Married to Kain. This comment was edited by Masta on Mar 13 2011 08:28am. |
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