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Dragon Age II |OT| The Revenge of Shit Mountain

C

CushVA

Member
8 from Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/unnameddragonageprojectworkingtitle/review.html

Good:
* Player choice manifests itself in interesting ways
* Spectacular writing and voice acting bring each character to life
* Fascinating world characterized by moral ambiguity
* Combat is fun, fast-paced, and colorful
* Great symphonic soundtrack.
Bad:
* Main story lacks focus and drive
* Multiple elements have been inexplicably simplified over the original
* Combat is much less tactical.
 
P

Pooya

Member
Eurogamer
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-08-dragon-age-ii-review?page=3
8/10
For those who stick around, able to forgive the moments when the game spins its wheels, there's a substantial and muscular experience to be had. This game builds steadily to one of the more interesting climaxes in recent memory.

It's never quite as great as it could be. Nor is it as successful as Mass Effect 2 at pitching itself across genres. Nevertheless, Dragon Age II presents an absorbing, sprawling story encased in blood-stained action RPG armour.

For all the ideas that don't quite take flight, for all the design decisions that feel restrictive rather than liberating, when the credits rolled I was already itching to devote another 40-odd hours to reliving it all again.
Click to expand...


Joystiq
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/08/dragon-age-2-review/

4/5
I'm assuming the slightly stunted world is a result of the accelerated development schedule, which I also imagine is the culprit behind the lackluster gear system. All equipment is given a star rating for your level, which makes choosing between two pieces of gear basically compulsory. Worse, the majority of the equipment is just called "Ring" or "Amulet", so the illusion that you're actually accumulating worthwhile treasure is fairly tattered.

By the time the last sword was swung in Dragon Age 2, I had enjoyed some great conversations, participated in some thrilling battles and even been at the center of an interesting story. I just never could shake the feeling that it was a story I was telling myself.
Click to expand...
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
80/100 from RPG Site (which is me, by the way)

For me the highs are higher than those in Dragon Age: Origins, but the lows are far, far lower. It never quite manages to reach the high bar that it sets for itself and that its predecessor set, and as a game that makes compromises to appeal to a bigger audience it sits uncomfortably between Dragon Age: Origins which sold a ton despite being as hardcore as they come and Mass Effect 2 which makes similar compromises but makes them better.

In spite of all that and after the particularly bad taste it left me with for the first couple of hours I'm happy to say after some 45 hours on PC and around 10 hours on Xbox 360 I really enjoyed Dragon Age II. If you use the systems the game offers to you fully and crank the difficulty up you've got some of the most addictive, tactically taxing RPG combat around.

Part of the problem is that the game lets you be lazy if you want - on normal you can absolutely cheese the system and ignore much of the depth - but I can't emphasize enough that if you want it there is still a massive amount of depth in Dragon Age II's streamlined gameplay, and it's incredibly fun when you use that depth and those options to the fullest.

Dragon Age II is without a doubt a really good game with a few small but glaring flaws - but the discussion about Dragon Age II doesn't need to be "is it good?" - It is - but needs to be "is this what fans wanted from a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins?" It's going to take a while for the answer to that question to become clear.
Click to expand...

http://www.rpgsite.net/reviews/247/267/dragon-age-ii-review.html

Also, as posted earlier, someone else interviewed Hawke's male voice actor.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
De4th Strike said:
Starting out the game, players are tasked to select from three builds to carry over from the first game if they don’t have a save to upload. The three builds are as follows:[9]

"Hero of Ferelden" (Default): Ended Fifth Blight by killing Archdemon and survived. Placed Alistair on the throne.
"The Martyr": Young Dalish Elf who died to kill the Archdemon. She left the kingdom ruled by Alistair and Anora.
"No Compromise": Dwarven noble took command of Grey Wardens. Exiled Alistair, sent Loghain to his death against Archdemon, and left Anora as Ferelden’s ruler.
Dialogue Edit

Taken from the dragon age 2 wikia

Kind of sucks, if my saves went, none of them would be anywhere near what my outcome was
Click to expand...

Decided to grab this one on PC instead of 360. None of those are even close to my choice. How much do decisions from the previous game effect this story? Will I really care in the end?
 
J

JoeBoy101

Member
8/10 seems like a fair rating. 9/10 is inflated. 10/10 is fucking ridiculous.

How is 'striking and confident' a reasonable upper? How exactly was that positive garnered? Stupid.
 
Woo-Fu

Woo-Fu

Banned
bjh5iu.jpg
 
J

Jerk

Banned
I am very much impressed with the reviews.

Not because they are good, but because they are not all straight 9s.

I actually feel more inclined to play the game now.

markatisu said:
Did they not play the 1st, not sure what they expected lol
Click to expand...

They most likely expected the writers to address one of the biggest problems with the first game.
 
S

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
My friend whose opinion I usually trust says that the game is good and the story is good.

I don't know what to think. I'm not buying the game mostly because the plot and dialogues seem to be trashy. The demo was ok in that regard, but some lines on livestream were not good, not good at all.
 
C

chris-013

Member
I think the plot is good. Like they say in the eurogamer reviews :

Dragon Age II is, at its heart, a political game. It places greater stock in the way you approach questions of society and culture than the binary quest choices of the previous game.

Choosing to save or destroy some sacred ashes feels like small beans next to some of the decisions you have to make here. Things still have a natural tendency to eventually boil down to either-or choices, but the path to get there at least takes you through a lot of grey areas. Often, the best you can hope for is to pick the lesser of two evils.
Click to expand...
 
P

Pooya

Member
Gameinformer 8.25/10
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/d...improvements-bioware-leaves-story-behind.aspx
PS3 and 360
Concept:Create a more action-packed, accessible Dragon Age
Graphics:Looks better than last time, but the environments still seem bland in spite of a new art style
Sound:Quality voice work and a suitable fantasy soundtrack
Playability:Responsive controls and a streamlined interface work well on consoles
Entertainment:The story and battle system are less satisfying than the original, but they still provide plenty of fun
Replay:Moderately High
Click to expand...

PC review
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/d...ii-pc-review-a-port-caught-in-the-middle.aspx

7.75/10

With its third-person camera and button-mashing attacks, the combat system in Dragon Age II is designed with a controller in mind, but BioWare doesn’t offer native gamepad support, restricting you to mouse-and-keyboard controls on PC. This approach may have worked well in Origins, but it doesn’t transition well to the new system. Movement feels clumsy, and pausing to readjust the camera and select targets for your abilities just muddles the flow of combat.

Maybe this decision was made to retain a shred of the tactical combat that distinguished Origins, but if that’s the case, the attempt is meager and insufficient. You have no zoomed out isometric view, and the waves and waves of filler enemies that pad out encounters make strategy futile. Yes, you can pause and issue commands, but this maneuvering is pointless when you never know how many more bad guys will jump from the rooftops, rise from the ground, or simply materialize out of nowhere. Even with more foes, the fights are considerably easier (unless you really crank up the difficulty), so planning is a waste of time. You can win most fights without worrying about strategy, so why invest unnecessary time and effort in the tactical approach? This conundrum creates a combat system that does not convey the thrill of controlling an unstoppable hero, but also doesn’t accommodate the strategy that is supposed to serve as an alternative.

While Dragon Age II on PC fares poorly in most comparisons, it isn’t all bad. It has a leg up on the console versions in the graphical department, with noticeably better textures and support for DirectX 11. The performance is also better, including a better framerate, shorter load times, and less pop-up objects in the distance.

Apart from combat issues, the highlights from the console version make a seamless transition. The cool quests, solid writing, and interesting characters are enough to make Dragon Age II worth checking out as long as you keep your expectations in check.

On all platforms, Dragon Age II caters to an audience that didn’t connect with Origins, while alienating those who did. This may result in a better console experience, but considering that Dragon Age: Origins was a love letter to old-school PC RPGs, BioWare’s neglect of the sequel’s PC release is tragic. I appreciate the technical refinements, but improving the polish doesn’t do much good when the basics still need work.
Click to expand...

Concept:Let down the PC gamers who supported Dragon Age: Origins
Graphics:It looks better than the PS3 and 360 versions. But does that matter when it plays worse?
Sound:The music and voice acting do their jobs particularly well
Playability:Tries to provide action and strategy gameplay options without excelling at either
Entertainment:As much as it surprises me to say it, you should stick to the console versions
Replay:Moderately High
Click to expand...
 
D

Deus Ex Machina

Member
miladesn said:
PC review
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/d...ii-pc-review-a-port-caught-in-the-middle.aspx
Concept:Let down the PC gamers who supported Dragon Age: Origins
Graphics:It looks better than the PS3 and 360 versions. But does that matter when it plays worse?
Sound:The music and voice acting do their jobs particularly well
Playability:Tries to provide action and strategy gameplay options without excelling at either
Entertainment:As much as it surprises me to say it, you should stick to the console versions
Replay:Moderately High
Click to expand...
7.75/10
Click to expand...
ouch
 
P

piratepwnsninja

Member
Concept:Let down the PC gamers who supported Dragon Age: Origins
Click to expand...

Really? Not that game journalism is great anyway, but that's just stupid to put in your review. Yes, I am sure they sat down at the table and decided that was what they wanted to do.

BTW, slightly unrelated, but I do love how most on GAF are "LOL, game journalism" most of the time, but so many here lean on reviews when it comes to propping up/proving their point for or against certain games.
 
J

JoeBoy101

Member
I'm generally impressed. I expected reviews to all gush with 90's, but a good portion of these are quite fair so far. Consider me surprised.
 
K

Kinspiracy

Banned
Well yeah, you can imagine what the staff meeting was like - "We sold how many copies of our shitty Origins console port? Butttaguhwuhhhhhhhhhh? Imagine how many we'll sell if we put even a tiny bit of effort into it this time!"
 
D

Deleted member 10571

Unconfirmed Member
Archie said:
Isabella romance

Merrill romance

Anders romance

Glad to see Bioware romances are still awkward as hell.
Click to expand...

And here you see the finest in romantic storytelling, presented by the Gaming company previously known as "It's Bioware, they are making game storys which are better than most movies".

This is fucking pathetic.
Or pathetic fucking!
 
C

chris-013

Member
PC review
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/dr...he-middle.aspx

With its third-person camera and button-mashing attacks, the combat system in Dragon Age II is designed with a controller in mind, but BioWare doesn’t offer native gamepad support, restricting you to mouse-and-keyboard controls on PC. This approach may have worked well in Origins, but it doesn’t transition well to the new system. Movement feels clumsy, and pausing to readjust the camera and select targets for your abilities just muddles the flow of combat.

Maybe this decision was made to retain a shred of the tactical combat that distinguished Origins, but if that’s the case, the attempt is meager and insufficient. You have no zoomed out isometric view, and the waves and waves of filler enemies that pad out encounters make strategy futile. Yes, you can pause and issue commands, but this maneuvering is pointless when you never know how many more bad guys will jump from the rooftops, rise from the ground, or simply materialize out of nowhere. Even with more foes, the fights are considerably easier (unless you really crank up the difficulty), so planning is a waste of time. You can win most fights without worrying about strategy, so why invest unnecessary time and effort in the tactical approach? This conundrum creates a combat system that does not convey the thrill of controlling an unstoppable hero, but also doesn’t accommodate the strategy that is supposed to serve as an alternative.

While Dragon Age II on PC fares poorly in most comparisons, it isn’t all bad. It has a leg up on the console versions in the graphical department, with noticeably better textures and support for DirectX 11. The performance is also better, including a better framerate, shorter load times, and less pop-up objects in the distance.

Apart from combat issues, the highlights from the console version make a seamless transition. The cool quests, solid writing, and interesting characters are enough to make Dragon Age II worth checking out as long as you keep your expectations in check.

On all platforms, Dragon Age II caters to an audience that didn’t connect with Origins, while alienating those who did. This may result in a better console experience, but considering that Dragon Age: Origins was a love letter to old-school PC RPGs, BioWare’s neglect of the sequel’s PC release is tragic. I appreciate the technical refinements, but improving the polish doesn’t do much good when the basics still need work.


7.75/10
Click to expand...

Seriously ? He needs to review the game in hard. Why the fuck do you need tactical approach in normal ?
 
V

Vamphuntr

Member
These "8.0" reviews are far less flattering than the 10/10 RPG OF THE DECADE!!!! Review.

Can't wait to receive my copy but I think those reviews reflect the opinion I had on the game. It's going to be fun to play but it's pretty clear they cut corners to release it quickly. Recycled dungeons is quite shameful to be honest. Especially after they were attacked on that point for ME 1. I'm also not a fan of streamlining and dumbing down.

8.0 is good but so much games get 8.0 easily that the score is not the best indicator.
 
Z

Zeliard

Member
Any PC gamers play DA2 for a relatively extended period yet on higher difficulties (at least as much as can be played since last night)?

I never messed with tweaking the demo difficulties so I'm wondering how it plays on Hard/Nightmare. Does it at least offer a suitable challenge? I'm curious if any pause-heavy players are finding themselves pausing about the same, or noticeably less.

Won't be digging into this myself till after work today.
 
J

Jerk

Banned
chris-013 said:
Seriously ? He needs to review the game in hard. Why the fuck do you need tactical approach in normal ?
Click to expand...

Why the fuck would a reviewer play a game on hard? Normal is the the level most will play it on. Especially on consoles.
 
C

chris-013

Member
Zeliard said:
Any PC gamers play DA2 for a relatively extended period yet on higher difficulties (at least as much as can be played since last night)?

I never messed with tweaking the demo difficulties so I'm wondering how it plays on Hard/Nightmare. Does it at least offer a suitable challenge? I'm curious if any pause-heavy players are finding themselves pausing about the same, or noticeably less.

Won't be digging into this myself till after work today.
Click to expand...

Play in hard.
 
S

Salaadin

Member
chris-013 said:
Seriously ? He needs to review the game in hard. Why the fuck do you need tactical approach in normal ?
Click to expand...
In da:eek:, you did. Theres a lot of games that need tactics even on regular difficulty.
 
diffusionx

diffusionx

Gold Member
These sound like "gentleman's 8" scores. If this game was from some random no-name Eastern European company it would probably be getting 5's and 6's.
 
Haunted

Haunted

Member
The scores are laughable, some of these reviews read like 4 or 5 at best, then I scroll down and am greeted with an 8.5.

Ridiculous.

DM3DE.png



diffusionx said:
These sound like "gentleman's 8" scores. If this game was from some random no-name Eastern European company it would probably be getting 5's and 6's.
Click to expand...
.

If they'd be getting a review at all.
 
S

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
diffusionx said:
These sound like "gentleman's 8" scores. If this game was from some random no-name Eastern European company it would probably be getting 5's and 6's.
Click to expand...

QFT.

That's why I'm not in a rush to buy it.
 
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