-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Dragon Age II |OT| The Revenge of Shit Mountain
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
Drunkenthumbmaster
Banned
Deadly Cyclone said:
I like it the gameplay is very similar to the first. You still need stategy and tactics. I'm rolling with two mages a tank and rogue. Despite all the nonsense hate in this thread (really killing guys to press A?) the game is really fun. It seems to take a long time to build up though. 8 and a half hours in I still don't know what the real threat of the game is. Minutes into Dragon Age Origins (right aftetr the origin quest) you knew what the main threat was. There are darkspawn but it doesn't seem to be a blight. There are a bunch of cool subplots and Biowares world building is as good as ever.
Finally leaving the main area so hoping the game opens up more. If you liked DA:O on the 360 I'm confident in recommending it.
This is my first pre release game I've played and yes it's legit retail game. Can I put my dlc codes in and get the content before tuesday????
Really, really disappointed how they handled the dungeons this time around. I'll stick it in spoilers, just to be on the safe side.
Other than that, the High-Res textures should help the appearance of the game but I'm still undecided if I'm going to pick it up Day 1 or wait for a sale on Steam or some other place.
There are only a handful of different dungeons, judging from what I've seen in a few streams. The way they mix them up for the different quests is that scattered throughout the dungeons are solid 'doors'. Depending on the quest you're doing for that particular dungeon, some doors can be opened while the rest can't. They don't even register as being locked doors, they're just scenery but if you've got the mini-map up it is easy to see there's a path beyond the door.
Also, are there melee resistant enemies this time around? In one of the streams a bunch of enemies had what looked like an icon of crossed swords next to their health bar and they were barely taking any damage from the tank & rogue.
Also, are there melee resistant enemies this time around? In one of the streams a bunch of enemies had what looked like an icon of crossed swords next to their health bar and they were barely taking any damage from the tank & rogue.
Other than that, the High-Res textures should help the appearance of the game but I'm still undecided if I'm going to pick it up Day 1 or wait for a sale on Steam or some other place.
Riposte said:
The game tracks the choices you make in dialog and the tone they carry and keep track of later dialog to make sure it's in keeping with that.
Example: If you're always nice to people in ten conversations and then compelled to choose to the dialog labeled mean/stern in the next conversation, you actually won't be to mean because you've set the precedent that you're a generally nice person. Someone who always play sarcastically will never be too serious even when they pick that dialogue option, etc. etc.
BoboBrazil
Member
Drunkenthumbmaster said:
Is it the one where you find the sister's bones and take it to the brother? That is the one I tried it on, but it did not work. Will it work on other quests?
BlazingDarkness
Member
Are there any live streams running at the moment?
firehawk12
Subete no aware
At least you can't play a schizophrenic, if it works out right.
TheExodu5 said:
In DA2 talents have synergy with others as well, it's just BioWare has classified these are "Cross Class Combo's" now.
Here is someone on the BioWare Social forums that did a quick analysis of how classes can set up combos that can be used with other classes:
Cross Class Combo - Quick Analysis
I'm sure you're not judging the demo with it's opening sequence of Hawke being unrealistically powerful or the opening of "real" Hawke having very limited talents unlocked -- but from what I see of the CCC's things could get pretty fun between classes.
GillianSeed79
Member
Fredescu said:
The funny thing is even though there is a an embargo, the official DA2 site states that OXM and OPM have both given it a 9/10.
BoboBrazil
Member
This game is so addictive. I just got to the part where
and it is pretty hard to stop playing. I keep thinking that I will just finish one more quest and I keep going and going and going. Anyone know how much longer I have to go?
Hawk gets the mansion
Drunkenthumbmaster
Banned
BoboBrazil said:
yeah that's the exact one it worked on for me yeah it works on other sidequiest where u get a monetary reward and there is no cutscene
BoboBrazil
Member
Drunkenthumbmaster said:
I'm wondering why it did not work. I kept pressing x pretty fast. When you press x to talk to the person you just keep pressing it right?
Drunkenthumbmaster
Banned
BoboBrazil said:
360 only? That's where I'm playing at.
Diatribe1974
Member
Only 2 more days before I can finally play the full game (already pre-loaded via Steam). I wonder how long it'll take before all the mods start coming out? Oh, I know there's going to be all sorts coming out immediately, but what I'm talking about are the ones that have us sitting back going "Hey, that's not all that bad.....". Yeah, I know the really good ones will take awhile before they see the light of day, so I'm patient on them.
McNerdBurger
Neo Member
I'm always a bit surprised when I see people having issues with the combat being too straight forward (attack, attack, ability, attack, repeat). When I play the game I'm constantly jumping between characters and assessing their situations. Playing on the harder difficulties makes this almost necessary unless you get heavily into the tactics system. I love it because you'll often have multiple, constantly evolving mini-scenarios playing out within one battle field, and since you're controlling 4 characters you have access to many different weapons/abilities.
I have to admit that it makes me cringe a bit to see people just controlling one character. The combat really opens up when you use your whole party.
I have to admit that it makes me cringe a bit to see people just controlling one character. The combat really opens up when you use your whole party.
Diatribe1974
Member
nubbe said:
I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong) the PC demo had the option for my 360 controller. I wonder how different the game plays?
Xilium
Member
McNerdBurger said:
If you're on normal difficulty or lower, it simply isn't necessary to switch between party members.
I'm personally more of a tactics person myself and prefer to spend time manually setting up the parties AI so I don't have to do as much micromanaging during combat. That was really hard to do in the first game until the Advanced Tactics mod came out and mods that gave a more practical tactics slot progression. That said, the best combos still had to be done manually and in boss fights I would usually go fully manual as well.
Boss fight, end of act I :
In Hard mode, the boss at the end of act 1, feel like a boss in Heroic dungeon in a popular mmo.
Someone killed the high golem in Hard Mode ? If yes, what was your party setup ? My problem is when he transform in many little golems, he snipe one character very hard.
In Hard mode, the boss at the end of act 1, feel like a boss in Heroic dungeon in a popular mmo.
McNerdBurger
Neo Member
Xilium said:
I like the tactics as well, and use them quite a bit. I guess I like to switch party members simply because it adds so much variety to the combat.
Example scenario: I'll control rogue Hawke while he's taking out an enemy mage, then when I feel like he's got things under control, I'll switch to Merill and find that an assassin has snuck behind her, so I'll take over and deal with that situation until I feel she's safe. It's not micro-managing, more just dealing with the most interesting/dangerous situation that exists at any one time.
APZonerunner
Member
The Good:
This game is a bit of a grower. I was really down on it for like the first 3 hours and then, suddenly, something clicked for me. I like it. It's quirky in many ways, and certainly not as polished as Mass Effect 2, but it feels good. The loot bug, the gear upgrade bug, has bitten and bitten hard on me now.
There's tons of sidequests, and I've just been ploughing through them and discovering new ones at a fairly constant rate now, not even touching the main story missions at all. I like having an indicator of what party members think of you, and quests have had fairly satisfying outcomes as far as morality goes.
The skill trees offer a pretty large degree of choice for all characters in terms of skills. It's not as massive as some RPGs out there, but it's definitely not simplified to the level of Mass Effect. There's a lot of breadth to all the character development, even those who are set in stone down certain class paths. The skill trees look really cool and everything is really clear.
It has that great 'one more quest' feel, and I love that. Combat can be really exciting in the right situations, but there's caveats to that - see the next section.
I think it's a game you could easily 'get lost' in and suddenly realize you've lost a ton of time to, which is nice. Graphics-wise I think the game looks a ton better in motion than it does in stills, and it has some nice environments and such. It feels like it utilizes the Dragon Age universe pretty well.
The Bad:
Don't like the complete inability to change armor for teammates. Like Mass Effect 2, I understand why for aesthetic reasons you'd do this (also the way the story is structured lends itself to it) but it's still quite basic. The ability to equip some basic editing factors like rings and belts and necklaces on your party makes up for that a little, mind.
The combat doesn't feel particularly exciting. Sometimes there's a lot going on and it can certainly be a challenge on higher difficulties, and you'll be frantically pausing the combat to issue orders and switch character and stuff even on the console version, but other times you'll find yourself hammering on a button watching your character flail on an enemy with tons of health for literally a minute and it just isn't very exciting. Sometimes the combat is exhilirating but when it's poor my god it is a total bore.
Of course, everything is based on dice rolls still under the hood but I just don't find it very interesting to look at a dude swinging a sword with no real visible consequences to it. The sword slides through the enemy and ehhhhh. I've found I prefer to switch to one of my mages and unless I'm needed stand back and sling spells. It looks cool and is far more satisfying for me. I know that's just a fact about games like this, but I look forward to the day when someone can make dice-roll based combat look actually... interesting to watch as well as play.
The Ugly:
Moon bases from Mass Effect are back! Specifically, what I mean is recurring 'dungeons' for sidequests. I've seen the same dungeon three or four times now and played through it several times on several quests. Often they're located in a different place but the internal layout is the same - even loot appears in similar places.
They try to remedy this by making you travel through the dungeon in different ways - arriving from different doors with your objectives in different directions, and they also close off certain paths to you. It just seems dumb, though - it is clearly the same dungeon to anyone not totally stupid... and the second part, well - if you're going to block off doors at least make them look like walls and not doors filled with fucking cement or concrete or something.
Similar rooms are used for bosses and big battles each time with minor changes - it all feels a bit rushed and a bit Mass Effect 1. Boo hiss and all that.
That said, I'd still recommend this game right now based off my experience. If you're into RPGs and loot and Bioware's fairly unique style of story-driven game, this is more of what you'd want than a disappointment, I think. Just give it some time to grow.
This game is a bit of a grower. I was really down on it for like the first 3 hours and then, suddenly, something clicked for me. I like it. It's quirky in many ways, and certainly not as polished as Mass Effect 2, but it feels good. The loot bug, the gear upgrade bug, has bitten and bitten hard on me now.
There's tons of sidequests, and I've just been ploughing through them and discovering new ones at a fairly constant rate now, not even touching the main story missions at all. I like having an indicator of what party members think of you, and quests have had fairly satisfying outcomes as far as morality goes.
The skill trees offer a pretty large degree of choice for all characters in terms of skills. It's not as massive as some RPGs out there, but it's definitely not simplified to the level of Mass Effect. There's a lot of breadth to all the character development, even those who are set in stone down certain class paths. The skill trees look really cool and everything is really clear.
It has that great 'one more quest' feel, and I love that. Combat can be really exciting in the right situations, but there's caveats to that - see the next section.
I think it's a game you could easily 'get lost' in and suddenly realize you've lost a ton of time to, which is nice. Graphics-wise I think the game looks a ton better in motion than it does in stills, and it has some nice environments and such. It feels like it utilizes the Dragon Age universe pretty well.
The Bad:
Don't like the complete inability to change armor for teammates. Like Mass Effect 2, I understand why for aesthetic reasons you'd do this (also the way the story is structured lends itself to it) but it's still quite basic. The ability to equip some basic editing factors like rings and belts and necklaces on your party makes up for that a little, mind.
The combat doesn't feel particularly exciting. Sometimes there's a lot going on and it can certainly be a challenge on higher difficulties, and you'll be frantically pausing the combat to issue orders and switch character and stuff even on the console version, but other times you'll find yourself hammering on a button watching your character flail on an enemy with tons of health for literally a minute and it just isn't very exciting. Sometimes the combat is exhilirating but when it's poor my god it is a total bore.
Of course, everything is based on dice rolls still under the hood but I just don't find it very interesting to look at a dude swinging a sword with no real visible consequences to it. The sword slides through the enemy and ehhhhh. I've found I prefer to switch to one of my mages and unless I'm needed stand back and sling spells. It looks cool and is far more satisfying for me. I know that's just a fact about games like this, but I look forward to the day when someone can make dice-roll based combat look actually... interesting to watch as well as play.
The Ugly:
Moon bases from Mass Effect are back! Specifically, what I mean is recurring 'dungeons' for sidequests. I've seen the same dungeon three or four times now and played through it several times on several quests. Often they're located in a different place but the internal layout is the same - even loot appears in similar places.
They try to remedy this by making you travel through the dungeon in different ways - arriving from different doors with your objectives in different directions, and they also close off certain paths to you. It just seems dumb, though - it is clearly the same dungeon to anyone not totally stupid... and the second part, well - if you're going to block off doors at least make them look like walls and not doors filled with fucking cement or concrete or something.
Similar rooms are used for bosses and big battles each time with minor changes - it all feels a bit rushed and a bit Mass Effect 1. Boo hiss and all that.
That said, I'd still recommend this game right now based off my experience. If you're into RPGs and loot and Bioware's fairly unique style of story-driven game, this is more of what you'd want than a disappointment, I think. Just give it some time to grow.
Xilium
Member
McNerdBurger said:
I understand.
I think my problem in these types of RPGs is that I simply don't find the melee classes all that necessary to play. I much prefer playing a mage (debilitator) or archer and act as crowd control. The AI is usually pretty good at dealing with the holy trinity roles (Tank, DD, Healer) so I feel that I'm contributing something that the AI would otherwise be pretty bad at.
After getting a quick glace at the skill trees in DA2 though, the simplification and reduction of skills makes it seem like the AI would have to just be absolutely horrid in order to f-up the crowd control role. I may play a melee class for once, just to try something different.
TheChewyWaffles
Member
Do I need to play Dragon Age to enjoy Dragon Age 2?
TheChewyWaffles
Member
Wow - changed that much eh? I was mainly worried about spoilers, but I'll heed the advice and play the 2nd first.
Basileus777
Member
APZonerunner said:
Ugh, that sounds pretty awful. As alarming as some of the changes to the game have been at times, my biggest concern was always that this was a rushed, lower-budget sequel, and it looks like that's probably the case.
ProtoCents
Banned
zoner said:
:lol
Too true.
BigBlackGamer
Member
ColonelColon
Member
If anyone wants the Ultimate Edition of Dragon Age, the digital download version is on sale for $20 at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004APAEHA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004APAEHA/?tag=neogaf0e-20