Dragon Age 2 - Anyone here going to give it a spin?

[Ryanrocker 200]

Well hello there everybody! It's been awhile since I've been posting anything really big on the forum but I plan to change that With the release of Dragon Age 2 in just 15 days, and the demo being released tomorrow, I was very curious as to how many other Dark Matters users will be joining me for the download session tomorrow. I've been researching this game for the past 2 months as I was obsessed with the original Dragon Age:Origins and all the expansions and DLC that were part of that series. It comes up as a solid 2nd in my most hours logged list for a video game with Sacred 2 being 1st. So as you can probably imagine, I am bubbling with excitement for tomorrow's demo

 

Number two in the Dragon Age realm has some interesting additions and some things I feel that will make the game great and others that will detract a little from the experience. Those who have played the first game will remember linear talent and spell trees, which meant that you were forced to pick spells and abilities you didn't need in order to get to the higher level powers. This has been eliminated with branching talent and spell trees, which eliminate this type of linear progression and allows you to branch out and makes the game experience even more customizable than the first. You can see some of the warrior talent trees in the screenshots on this link. The other major addition to the game is the fully voiced over main character that you play. The original game consisted of silent dialogue from your character that was chosen from a list of choices. DA2 brings the conversation wheel back from the Mass Effect series, where a generic sense of what you want to say is shown, then after making a choice the main character speaks. The only difference in this game is that the center of the wheel displays an emotion that hints at what the current dialogue option will sound like. For example, a happy face in the center will indicate that the current choice will come across as happy to the person you are speaking to.

Clearly graphics and sound updates will accompany the new game engine and many other small updates to the original will be present, but for the sake of time let me bring you to what I feel will bring the game down a bit.

 

Instantaneous auto-attack. In Dragon Age 2 it is very similar to Sacred 2, where the left mouse click will send out an attack every time you click it, making the game into more of a hack and slash than the RPG that was the original. This is precisely the problem I and many others have with this addition. Will the game end up becoming a pure hack and slash, where you can blow through level after level by just clicking left mouse over and over and over again? I don't think so, but it stills takes away some of the flavor from the original where your character would go up and auto-attack like a classical RPG. The other gripe I have with the game is the new way you equip your followers. In the original, every party member could be equipped with every single item that you could equip. So basically you got to accessorize all 4 characters in the party. In DA2, they are removing the choice of equipping boots, armor, and gloves and instead replacing it as just one big armor slot called a set. I feel that this takes away some of the customization from the game but I suppose it is the developers choice and we can only see where it takes us.

 

I hope that some of you will be trying out the demo so we can discuss what we like and don't like and it adds to that 1,000,000 download count they're trying to get to on that demo page Alright, thanks for reading my thoughts on the game and hopefully I got some interest buzzing here on the forums

[Barristan 14]

Heya,

 

threw in a 'maybe' vote. I did like the first one, but am no fan of paid DLC's.

 

Oh, and wb to FDM!

 

Greetz

Edited February 21, 2011 by Barristan

[Spunky 16]

Welcome back!

 

Already pre-ordered it, there was no doubt if I should get it or not, since I enjoyed the original very much, so hopefully this one will be as good or even better than the first one.

[Schot 407]

Hey hey ryan dudey! Demo you say? That's all you needed to say, haha. Certainly got me curious. ^^

[Dragon Brother 619]

Hmm...I don't know...probably won't get into it with uni starting next week and having more than a game to distract me won;t be particularly conducive towards studying. Having said that while I voted not interested, I did so before reading your post...and having done so I am a little interested...meh

 

Anyway, welcome back!

[Ryanrocker 200]

Given the fact that the demo has been out for 2 to 3 days I was curious as to what other people's reactions were I was playing the PC version as my console is being repaired at the moment, so if anyone had a console take on it I'd be most curious.

 

Pros

• Graphics are really good. Even on a slightly lower end system running medium graphics, I was surprised at how detailed everything was. Unlike the original, which involved slightly dull and brown graphics, DA2 increases the color contrasts with the landscapes, and attempts to stay away from a constantly brown tinted view of the world.
  
• Combat. Wow, they really did make the combat animations flashy and fluid. The shuffling from the original has been completely done away with, meaning that when you hit a button, your character immediately casts the spell or does the talent instead of shuffling into place waiting to cast. And that constant clicking we thought would affect gameplay? Turns out it's not even available on the PC and is optional for console versions That got me very excited because autoattacking was something I really liked in the original.
  
• Conversation Wheel. It is indeed like the good old Mass Effect convo wheel. A one line paraphrase is shown and upon clicking, Hawke makes his/her statement or question. The way the voice is synced to the characters mouth movement is extremely well done, and it looks very realistic
  
• Battles seem to be hugeee. And not only are there quite a few enemies to face off against, it also appears that there are multiple waves of the enemies to keep you fighting along. The skirmishes in Origins were slightly on the smaller side, so this is definitely a nice direction for the game to be heading
  
• Storyline looks very promising. I'll keep it at that so you play the demo and find out
  

 

Cons

• Targeting? I might be the only person that this has happened to, but the targeting for all the mage and rogue Area of Effect spells and talents seems to be slightly broken. I'm sure this won't be an issue for the final release but whenever I select the area for a spell/talent my character stands there and does nothing. Very frustrating, which led me to basically enjoy only playing the warrior class.
  
• Very restricted demo? They locked character face customization, inventory, and talents available; which are three aspects I thought that Bioware really would have wanted to show off and let the players experience. Eh, I guess we'll find out in a few days then lol
  
• Umm...lore anyone? Since when did the area outside Lothering turn into a wasteland area with cliffs and ravines and not a single tree for miles around? I know they looked to up the constant in the landscape which was good, but players of the original game will wonder why some things don't match up to the original.
  

 

Already folks, that's about as much review as I have time for tonight so I hope you gave it a nice little read/skim Demo download count is at half a million so hopefully we can get those 2 in-game items even though they're just some extra starting cash and a little XP boost. Thanks for reading

[gogoblender 3,078]

Hecuva review Ryan. I just can't see myself getting this game soon as there's just so much on the plate here right now with Sacred 2, but I won't let my respect for the writing and time you put into this great game boil-down pass me by without a sincere thank you from me for the yum read.

 

 

 

gogo

 

p.s and it's just awesome seeing you post on the boards, I hope school's being good, we'll be looking for a new interim game soon with the community here, GW2 or Diablo 3 owns the siren call on that.

[Ryanrocker 200]

Haha thanks for the read gogo. I know Sacred 2 is still a big time sink for most players here on the boards so I'm not expecting too many to give this a go, just figure I'd bring it to the attention of the RPG gamers that hunt our boards. School has indeed been going well, and I've finally decided on a major I'd like to pursue (dual degree in computer programming and game design)and I'm waiting patiently for the better of the two GW2 or D3 (leaning towards GW2 with all the great stuff Max is showing off in that thread ) Feels good to be posting again

[Dragon Brother 619]

Well...I've downloaded the demo...now just got to get around to trying it out at some point...

[gogoblender 3,078]

Hey guys!

Schot's put together two buttons at the top of DarkMatters for anyone thinking of getting this game. He's made two buttons for different parts of the world:

 

Buy Dragon Age 2 - Europe and other countries

 

Buy Dragon Age 2 - North America

 

If anyone from this sites orders this or any other game from those portals, Darkmatters and SacredWiki will get to keep some of the purchase, and we can use it for hosting.

 

We are partnering with DLGamer for all other countries outside of North America, and GameStop for North America.

 

 

However...if you've got a better price from any other store on the net, all you have to do is post a link here in this topic or anywhere at DarkMatters, and then purchase through that link you post.

 

Our affiliate link status will be active as well for that transaction to any place you want to buy the game from.

 

Technology!

 

Cheers

 

 

gogo

[Stormwing 40]

And here was I, wondering why the heck those DA2 links appeared. Well, I'll be sure to get it at some point. But that'll be a lot later. In fact just getting the feel of the original DA. Got my Ultimate Edition about a week ago.

Still, that's some nifty system. How the affiliates and technology goes.

[stubbie 21]

Got the first Dragon Age game and loved it. Played through twice for well over 100 hours of fun.

Played the DA2 demo and loved it too. I really like the new graphics and the combat seems much more dynamic.

I have preordered my hardcopy from CDWOW for $50.

 

ps.

gogo. The first site you linked to doesn't show up for me as having DA2 (probably a region restriction), and the second link for Australia only has console versions.

[gogoblender 3,078]

Thanks Stubbie for this feedback!

 

I have spoken to DLGamer now. They are saying that they are not able to offer the downloads to Australia because of Region . We don't want anyone to be left out though, so, I've noted where you bought your game from and am checking with our affiliate status with them now to see if we can offer them as a link perhaps by tomorrow for anyone else from Australia.

 

As well, the button to the right of that is only for North America, but it is offering both download and game box...this is the page I see here form Canada:

 

 

 

 

gogo

 

p.,s. Storm, ayuh this link stuff is magical. Company we are partnered with now is pretty good and can help us with almost all of the major companies on the net

[Stormwing 40]

^ So it seems. ^^

Just wondering, the first link only offers couple of Origins stradegy guides, whileas Gamestop displays it correctly... I remember seeing dlgamer working with other guides. Dunno, some region jargon? Shoulda work if it's for Europeans.

Not really problem for me, as I can't afford it atm, just noting.

And I'm quite sure I'll get the dvd-version. Not exactly jumping for loading some 12+ gigs with wireless.

[Ryanrocker 200]

Gogo, the link on the right works fine and takes me to the Dragon Age 2 main page. The one on the left brings me to DLGamer, but it tells me that no search options are found. Might be a slight localization issue that the others have been talking about

[Graeystone 3]

Going to try the demo here in a few minutes via STEAM. Right now my 'wishlist' is Dungeon Siege III and Torchlight 2 though.

[gogoblender 3,078]

Gogo, the link on the right works fine and takes me to the Dragon Age 2 main page. The one on the left brings me to DLGamer, but it tells me that no search options are found. Might be a slight localization issue that the others have been talking about

 

hey Ryan

 

Yah, the one on the left, for this game link is only working for Europeans, we won't be able to process a purchase for anyone in North America for that button if trying to buy Dragon Age 2 because of regional issues.

 

This is what I get when I press that left link for example:

 

Your search did not match any product.

 

Graeystone, ahhh, steam...I'd forgotten about that, will look at it now as well. Though after the Fiasco with Sacred 2, I'm not really supportive of that method of game distribution

 

And I also like your choice in games... I loved Dungeon Siege, and, going out on a limb here saying this, is there anyone makes magic look more...magical?

 

 

gogo

[Rndm 1]

Love DA2, only 2 things disappoint me, no new game+ (when both Mass Effect & ME2 had it, DA2 is one game that should have it), and the mage ability (the one in the preview vid AND the first battle with the mage, the magic claws ripping enemies apart) isn't actually available as a usable ability. Hoping these things are fixed via DLC, other than that think it's awesome. Got dungeon siege: throne of agony for psp, want to try DS3 now, and anyone hear about a release date for Torchlight 2?

[podgie_bear 184]

OK peeps, I just got Dragon Age 2 and have had to uninstall my Scared 2 to make room for it. Has anyone got any advice for a 'tired out old hack' of a newbie to the game. Any "avoid this as....", or "you must do this" to help me get started?

[Rndm 1]

I'd play with the "don't display helmet" option turned on if you're a mage, they still have some funny looking headgear. Not much advice for you, other than to start on normal and don't spend gold on armor/weapons right at the beginning, as you'll find a good weapon/gear set as a drop/during different quests in each section of the game. And always keep a rogue in your party (and I'd level their cunning attribute up before dexterity so they can pick whatever locked chests you encounter). Chest ranks are simple-moderate-complex-master, requiring 10-20-30-40 cunning to unlock. Think the chests are Simple to moderate in section 1, moderate-complex in section 2, and complex-master in section 3. If you're playing a mage and are on Hard or Nightmare difficulty you might want to be the party healer as so far on hard I've found Anders' healing to be substandard.

[podgie_bear 184]

Thanks, I will definitely keep a rogue in party and bear in mind what you are saying about mages for later. I am playing as a 2H warrior type at the moment to find my way around and I must say that although it seems a very good game, I think Dragon Age Origins was marginally better. It may well pick up as I get further along, I am only half way through chapter 2 at the moment.

[Rndm 1]

yes, it gets better when you get more skills (I'm back and forth about skill upgrades, would rather have all the skill upgrades combined into an end-of-skill-tree skill so as to not spend half of my points to give my skills good range, group damage/control, etc.) though I'd say that it's slightly less tactical than origins, and (for me at least) there was a bigger jump in difficulty going from normal to hard difficulty (though I'm playing as a force/blood mage, which means I have anders healing, and no matter how much I micromanage it seems like the minute I switch characters he runs right into a group of enemies and gets himself killed *sigh*). Also, after playing a two hand warrior, I'd say get all skills in your 2 handed tree, and only get the upgrades that decrease skill cooldown for now, as well as deep breath (5% stamina regen, no cooldown other than waiting for the animation) and second wind with both upgrades (100% stamina regen that also shortens all of your other cooldowns, on a 45 sec cooldown if you have both upgrades). Also, I found that if you want to tear through groups quickly Berserker/Reaver is great, take the stamina penalty reducing upgrade for berserk, as well as assault w/upgrade (huge attack speed increase) with the last skill in the reaver tree (another big attack speed increase whenever your character kills an enemy) and cleave (extra damage for 10-15 seconds). At the end of the story I was tearing through small groups in seconds with this. Also, forgot to say, if you plan to pursue friendship with Isabela/Sebastian make sure they either never leave your group or are never in it, as there's a glitch that makes their friendship buffs actually -permanently- subtract from Hawke's attack speed/damage resistance whenever they leave the group.

[podgie_bear 184]

Thanks, I think I need all the help I can get on this game! The combat isn't much of a problem, I am managing quite well there and expect to do even better with later characters as I learn my way around the skills more. However the most frustrating thing is that as I am trying to pursue the romance options, none of the girls have any interest in me at all, but several of the boys keep expressing an an interest in me! (Runs screaming for the hills!)

 

These games are getting too complicated for me I think, it seems that mutilation and mayhem just aren't enough anymore (sigh)

[Rndm 1]

yep, kind of annoying that, mostly anders' conversations options where either you express interest or get 15+ rivalry with him. depending on what point you're at there are certain quests where you can find items that correspond to specific party members and start conversations that can let you choose to begin a romance/get more friendship points (ship in a bottle for isabela, halla carving for merill, and shield of the knight herself for aveline), if you haven't already I'd recommend taking whomever you want to romance with you and go explore the different areas, after certain fights/certain choices on none-story quests you can get a few points of friendship with them, though it might also be that you're not far enough in to see the effects of a romance yet (I think you start it in the first act [simply flatter a party member], then it progresses in the second act, 'til it's a fully realized romance in the third act). So if you're still in the first act or the beginning of the second I wouldn't worry. Also, if you go on the quest Forbidden Knowledge don't bring merill, as completing the objectives for the quest will gain rivalry for her. Although, I've read you can have a "rivalmance" with character's who've become rivals as opposed to friends, though I haven't tried it myself. Though for gaining friendship/rivalry I'd suggest keeping characters' likes/dislikes in mind when doing quests (ex: fenris with mages on a "save mages" quest will most likely result in gaining his rivalry, whereas taking anders or merill will gain their friendship etc.). What I do if I absolutely want to get friendship/rivalry is save and try a quest and reload if I don't get the outcome I want (cheating a bit but oh well).

[podgie_bear 184]

What I do if I absolutely want to get friendship/rivalry is save and try a quest and reload if I don't get the outcome I want (cheating a bit but oh well).

 

Shock, Horror! You openly use the "C" word? (LOL)

 

I play Hardcore even in this game, meaning if I die then I delete that character. I even considered not using NPCs that die in my party again, but that seemed a bit too complicated and I could see myself with a party of 1 before the end of the game!

 

I blame Sacred personally, I never even heard of Hardcore gaming before I played Sacred online.