Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

I think that Dragon Age 2 is a nice game - though it is for certain not a Dragon Age 2. I think that many games today are made with the intention of being something new - but few dares to rely on their ideas so they try to sell it to an already worked up crowd and simply mashes a 2 or 3 behind a common name and then changes too much for people to sit well with.

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

Im not sure that im a fan of the new plotline for the second dragon age. A continuation of the first one would have been better, like rebuilding the Grey Wardens and hunting down morgan and your child (if you took that road).

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

I pre-ordered from Steam, the game was released here midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning, and because I'd downloaded it in advance I was playing it shortly after that (although it conflicted with my 3D drivers and not being able to start the game confused me for a while until I worked it out!)

I'm now just starting Act II, and although I had misgivings based on bits of info I heard before playing, I have to say that it is actually a great game. There are some signs (IMO) that Bioware were rushed to produce another game in a short space of time - such as various interiors/caves/exteriors being duplicated in different locations - but the story (at least as much as I've played so far, I've avoided spoilers so don't know what lies ahead) makes up for that, and the companions are really well written. It is not without flaws, but it is still an interesting and fun game overall, and combat is fast and fun.

So far I'd give it 8.5 out of 10 - it's not going to usurp my favourite games from the top few places of my list, but it's well worth playing and certainly not the dud that some reviews have suggested.

Edit: AAARGH Since when has my age been visible right there under my avatar? It is rude to ask a woman her age, it's even more rude to display it like that! :eek:

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

I find the game worth playing - and the combat has been immensely improved. I have not found any other games with such a vibrant and detailed combat - I just love taking my rogue in for a backstab and then do a backflip out of harms way while vanishing mid-air to gut the next enemy with a twin stab of my daggers.
However I find the game storyline weak, the characters miss something ( I can't put a finger on it - but especially Hawke seems to be talking a bit like Dolph Lundgren as if reading from a script and not playing the role that is ).


Btw. a possible spoilerish question is included below...













Does anyone know when Isabella is availabe as a companion - I am utterly dissatisfied with Varrick as a rogue as he cannot melee - so I want her instead but I am still in chapter 1 and havent seen her in the hangman yet.

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

Personally I love the story and the characters. I love your family and everything. It's refreshing to play a hero who has one for once.

To get Isabella you must visit the tavern at night after having completed the tranquility quest. You must do this in act 1.

Don't forget to do the bait and switch quest too.

About age. I think there's an option in your profile to hide it.

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

Oi thanx Luvian - I will keep that in mind.


Damn I will soon have my 10th anniversary on Ironworks *wauw*

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

Having completed Dragon Age 2 twice so far, with a 3rd play-through in progress, I must remark that overall, it has been a VERY engaging experience.

The neat thing is... not in a rainbows and robot unicorns way. I actually lost my temper multiple times and wrangled with internal frustration at the machinations going on in the game. Most of the recruit-able NPCs made me want to punt them off a cliff instead of saving them from their self-induced misery and conflict.

For all my anger though... it made me think, "Wow... this game really pushed my buttons." Most games choose to give you the option to save the world, get the girl, and pat the puppy along the way.

Not Dragon Age 2. I would elaborate more, but won't due to spoilers.

Needless to say, it has been very riveting; and now that I have gushed enough over the story element, I want to state that I want to face-punch the team in charge of the combat system.

Make up your damn minds. Don't mash styles haphazardly and hope it works out for the best. It's totally inane that if an enemy gets pushed back, your controlled character stops attacking entirely until you re-target the target. It also irks me every time a right-click cancels my current action.

I really miss the days when I could script the whole party to fight for themselves. I so want the option to let my selected character self-utilise his/her own tactics during combat.

Cheers.

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

It's a pretty good game! I got to act 3 with my goody two shoes warrior romancing Merril and siding with the mages.

But there's some pretty bad bugs in this game. I couldn't finish the raiders on the cliff quest because the guard's dialogue would loop every time I talked to them. And some quest just never started or cleared.

Worse of all is the bug in the Merril romance quest line that spoils you the ending dialogue before you even start her chapter 3 quests. That plus the bug that slowly nerf your character if you are using a full item set or have a companion friendship buff.

So I pretty much put the game on hold until they fix the most glaring bugs. But I'm already thinking about my next two games. I think I'll have my warrior have a change of heart and side with the Templars, so that my rogue and mage can side with the mages. Although it would be interesting to see the mage side with the templars.

The only problem is that I'm playing the warrior as diplomatic, the rogue as charming and the mage as aggressive. I don't see how an aggressive mages could fit with them.

You guys tried the DLC with the archer elf? Is it long/good or does it just basically give you the character without adding new content? Is the character worth it?

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

Twice already, my god.

I can barely play an hour or so before it frustrates me. It seems I just can't get into these DA games. Evidently they're not for me. Part one was the same for me, only I progressed a little further, but that was probably because I was waiting for the whole "Spiritual successor to BG" part to kick in. It never did.

The NPC's never shut up - I despise being interrupted every few mins. I also hate cutscenes filled with badly rendered avatars who are scripted to convey emotions they just can't. Wooden puppets come to mind. While the combat is alot more fun than part one, I eventually realize that I amn't terribly necessary, as my team takes care of most of the mobs before I get off a solid attack. Either that, or I'm dead before I get an attack off. One extreme or another most of the time. Take this with a grain of salt, as I don't know anything about later battles as I have not gotten far into it at all so I dunno if this all changes. I would like to think it gets a bit more challenging/interesting. Also, the cliche factor in dialogue and acting is still there - although I will say it is not as cheesy as DA 1.

I dunno. I remember being interrupted in BG 1 and 2 yet it didn't annoy me at all. I was actually interested in what the character was saying. And there were no technical pre-scripted cutscenes either - just a dialogue box with a picture of a partymember/NPC along with a voiceover. Yet it worked fabulously. I said it before, maybe it's just the lack of D&D factor for me. Holding out for this new Neverwinter game in the future.

Re: Dragon Age 2 (Rant included, PG)
 

So I've been playing for a couple of days now, I have done quite a few quests and stuff. I'm enjoying many things about it, although I dislike the fact that you have to wait until your companions feel like it to talk to them about themselves and such, I preferred origins when you could talk to them whenever. And having to go back to their home base is really irritating too. I like the new system for abilities, but don't like the fact that there isn't an overhead viewpoint for combat - I find it difficult to control everyone when you have to zoom back to where the character is to select their actions.

However, I think the thing I am finding most dissatisfying is the plot, or lack of at this stage. There are quests listed as "main plot" but I don't know why they are main plot as opposed to other subquests. With Origins the main point of the game was always clear and you could do side quests but there was an overarching objective. I have no idea what is going on and what the point of the game is. I have hopes that it will be interesting and enjoyable, but it is frustrating to have no idea after hours of playing.