Last year, BioWare and EA introduced gamers to a vast new fantasy world with Dragon Age: Origins. Now, after an expansion and plenty of DLC, the renowned RPG developer is ready to unveil the next chapter in the Dragon Age saga. Dragon Age II is a full-fledged sequel, featuring a new hero, a different part of the world, and a ton of surprising improvements that will shed even more light on the lore of the Dragon Age universe. You can learn all the details in our exclusive 10-page cover story in issue 208.
Hands on 3DS impressions :hyper
PC EXCLUSIVE YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PC EXCLUSIVE YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Err where does it say it? I highly doubt it BTW.
BioWare has confirmed that Dragon Age 2’s story will last a decade in game time and will release in March 2011.The sequel charts the rise to power of Hawke, a survivor of the Blight. Platforms are now confirmed as 360, PS3 and PC.BioWare boss Ray Muzyka said today that the original Dragon Age “was one of the most successful in BioWare’s 15-year history and one of the most successful new IP launches in the 28 year history of EA.”Executive producer Mark Darrah added that the developer is “amplifying the things that made Dragon Age: Origins such a huge success while introducing a more dynamic combat system, improving the graphics, and telling the most important story in our world.”Dragon Age 2’s story will last ten years of game time, and set that player as Hawke, “a penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age.”BioWare promised today that “the way you play will write the story of how the world is changed forever.”Epic revealIt’s been a good day for BioWare fans indeed: GI earlier showed Dragon Age 2 as the cover for its next issue, to which EA confirmed that the RPG sequel’s first trailer will be shown during its gamescom press conference next month.First concept art has been released, as you can see below.GI mentioned that the game takes place in “a different part of the world” of Ferelden, and includes “a ton of surprising improvements that will shed even more light on the lore of the Dragon Age universe.”The details were backed up by the following from the game’s official site, giving first bits on plot and confirming a new visual style:Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins now.Key Features:
Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.
Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.
Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.
Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.
Sounds like they're making it a different and smaller game. I guess the idea of origins is gone and it is more about action.
If it is an action game with rpg mechanics like how ME2 was as a shooter, I'll be excited for that too.
All they need to do is tweak DAO combat and add some more depth to the classes. They don't need to make it some kind of third-person action-rpg.
PC EXCLUSIVE YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All they need to do is tweak DAO combat and add some more depth to the classes. They don't need to make it some kind of third-person action-rpg.
Developers are catering to Xbros yet again. :'(
I don't really see the point of that. They said themselves that it was one of their most successful games and one of the most successful launches of a new IP in EA's history, why mess with that and take it in a completely different direction?
Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
Which probably consists mostly of nude Morrigan mods.
Which probably consists mostly of nude Morrigan mods.
I was hoping DA would stay the "Old timey role play" franchise and ME2 would be like ACTION RPG franchise, but now it looks like they're both just gonna be ACTIONY
Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
QuoteThink like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
I have a feeling that hardcore PC fans won't like this.
DA outsold ME2 though. ???
The Elite Elite wrote...
Alright, just finished reading the DA2 article in my GI mag. WARNING! I am going to be posting some of the things that really stand out. (To me anyway) So if you don't want to know, skip my post.
1) We will be able to import our DA:O games into DA2.
2) We will see Flemeth at some point.
3) Pissing off party members won't always be a bad thing. "They won't necessarily leave. They may still join you, but they're going to try to show you up, and that may influence battle in a different way."
4) We're getting the ME2 conversation wheel, but this time instead of having some dialogue be a particular color the center of the wheel will show a symbol to show what kind of reply it is. (The article uses the examples of them being something like aggressive or sarcastic)
5) The way the story unfolds will be very different compared to the past Bioware games. "Dragon Age II has a framed narrative structure, which means that the exploits of Hawke occured in the past, but are being retold in the present." "Narrators with unique insights into the events in question tell the tale of his past adventures."
6) We may get to see some of the DA:O events at the start from a different perspective. "Dragon Age II begins as the events of Origins are still taking place, so you may see some familiar events from a different angle."
7) Because of the game spanning a decade, we get to see the consequences of our actions sooner, rather than in a little text at the end of the game.
8.) The PC version's combat system remains mostly the same. "The PC version implements the same strategic approach afforded by a mouse-and-keyboard control scheme." "Rather than try to mimic the PC experience on consoles, Dragon Age II has a battle system more tailored to the strengths of the PS3 and 360."
Well, one of the exact quotes is "You may be controlling a different character in Dragon Age II, but the choices your Grey Warden made in Origins are still imported from your save and reflected in the world."
From reading that section of the article they seem to say that the PC version is pretty much the same, while the console versions have been upgraded to have the action feel faster and more responsive than Origins did.
PC combat is going to remain pretty much the way it currently is. It's the console versions that are being upgraded.
It doesn't talk about the conversation system in great detail. Just says "Dragon Age II uses a conversation system similar to Mass Effect's, where players select paraphrased versions of the dialogue from a wheel. An icon in the middle of the wheel even illustrates the line's basic intent (like aggressive or sarcastic), so you can focus more on the interaction rather than reading and analyzing your dialogue choices."
It made no mention of the dialogue system with party members.
All it really said was that the PC version will have the same ability to "examine the battlefield closely, make decisions from a top-down view, and direct your party like a general." They say they got to play the Xbox 360 version and they can "confirm that it is faster, more responsive, and more fluid than before. As soon as you press a button, something happens. As a warrior, Hawke threw down special strikes and used a new dash move to slash through darkspawn with ease. It isn't on the Dynasty Warriors side of the spectrum, but with obvious improvements to the targeting system and animations, playing Dragon Age II with a controller finally feels natural."
8.) The PC version's combat system remains mostly the same. "The PC version implements the same strategic approach afforded by a mouse-and-keyboard control scheme.":elephant
"Rather than try to mimic the PC experience on consoles, Dragon Age II has a battle system more tailored to the strengths of the PS3 and 360.":irrelevant
What was gimped about DAO console? Aside from NERFING AN ENTIRE CLASS
Have there been any screenshots released yet? I'm curious about the "new visual style."(http://i28.tinypic.com/3142s07.jpg)
just release mass effect 3 already AKA the only good bioware game.
super hot console textures there :teehee
Another change - and this might be the biggest - is that only the PC version will retain Origins' "strategic combat". The console versions will feature a new combat system, one BioWare says plays to the strength of the control pad. "Rather than try to mimic the PC experience on consoles", the GI report states, "Dragon Age II has a battle system more tailored to the strengths of the PS3 and 360."
Sounds like your Dragon Age combat just got Oblivioned.
it looks like any bad pc rpg.
Still haven't bothered with the first game... not a fan of ren-faire Tolkien settings too much, would much rather see Bioware hurry up and put out ME3.
Dragon Age :piss2
Two Worlds II :bow2
Still haven't bothered with the first game... not a fan of ren-faire Tolkien settings too much, would much rather see Bioware hurry up and put out ME3.
For me the most common aspect is simply Jedi's. Ever since Kotor Bioware has been intent on doing Jedi's everywhere. Jedi's in space. Jedi's in medieval times. etc.
Still haven't bothered with the first game... not a fan of ren-faire Tolkien settings too much, would much rather see Bioware hurry up and put out ME3.
For me the most common aspect is simply Jedi's. Ever since Kotor Bioware has been intent on doing Jedi's everywhere. Jedi's in space. Jedi's in medieval times. etc.
If by "Jedi" you mean "the chosen one(s) with the powers to stop evil," then this is every fucking turn-based RPG character. How's it any different from your typical Square spiky-haired 15 year old super-saiyajin type with big sword?
Still haven't bothered with the first game... not a fan of ren-faire Tolkien settings too much, would much rather see Bioware hurry up and put out ME3.
New pics:
(http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4222/original1jr7t.jpg)
(http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4075/dragonage2.jpg)
Looks like a GeForce 2 tech demo :lol
Terribad, what happened BioWare?
Terribad, what happened BioWare?
They're Mass Effect-ing Dragon Age.
SDCC 10: Dragon Age 2 Combat Preview
Did BioWare dumb down Dragon Age? Let's find out.
July 22, 2010
by Daemon Hatfield
Here at Comic-Con, BioWare is giving people the first look at Dragon Age 2, the sequel to the (not even a year old) Dragon Age: Origins. This will be another epic fantasy role-playing game, but some key changes are being made to the design.
1. BioWare wants to improve the graphics.
During our play session, BioWare candidly admitted that Dragon Age Origins wasn't the best-looking game around, on console or PC. For the sequel the developer is refining the graphics engine and adjusting the art style with the goal of creating something instantly recognizable as Dragon Age. You should be able to look at a screenshot and tell what it is without any caption, BioWare says. The engine is also being improved to allow for more characters and creatures onscreen, which should allow for more epic battles. While there was some initial skepticism in the gaming community when the first Dragon Age 2 screenshots were released, what we saw today looked just fine. The character models have a subtle comic book look to them, which we liked.
2. The combat is being refined.
The combat in Dragon Age Origins was very tactical, allowing you to issue orders to the folks in your party. For the sequel, BioWare is aiming to keep that tactical aspect but also make it more action packed, if players wish it to be. Today we got a taste of the new combat system with a mountaintop battle against an army of orcs. They might have been imps or goblins or demons, actually. We're not nerdy enough to know the difference.
Different attacks are mapped to the X, Y, and B buttons of your controller (we were playing on an Xbox 360). Hawk, the hero of the game, had a typical sword swipe mapped to X, a thrust mapped to Y, and a twirl that would take down all the enemies around him mapped to B. By holding the right trigger you can access a second set of attacks, so it seems you'll have six moves available to you at a time. Each move has a recharge time, so you can't just keep mashing the X button to chop through enemies.
Speaking of chopping through enemies, you literally do that. The violence is quite visceral, as a sword swipe might leave just an enemy's torso or even their feet standing before you.
With the bumpers you can switch between characters in your party. Anyone you're not controlling will be handled by the AI. If the action is getting a little too hectic you can still stop it and issue commands to your party by holding the left trigger. This ability seems to work much like the squad commands in Mass Effect. You can also pause the action to carefully set spell target areas. Alongside our hero Hawk we had a female mage fighting with us in this battle. Her fire spells deal damage in a radius, and we were able to pause the fight and move the circle of death around the battlefield before casting.
We also got to see the new conversation system. Dialogue has been simplified so that you only have up to three choices. Each choice is represented by an icon that indicates whether or it's a "good," "nasty," or "badass" choice. Good choices are represented by an olive branch, nasty by a Greek comedy mask, and badass by a red fist. This is an easy way to gauge what response your dialogue choices will produce.
At key points in conversation you'll have the opportunity to let your companions handle a situation. When a fresh group of orcs approach, for instance, you can decide whether or not you want Hawk or his female companion to take care of them. Whomever you choose will dispatch them all in one shot during the cut scene.
We only got a small glimpse at what Dragon Age 2 has to offer, but it was enough to whet our appetite. The combat was satisfying and seems to offer something for action fans and more thoughtful gamers.
A couple other things we noticed:
- The intro cut scene recaps the story of Dragon Age Origins, so newcomers should be able to jump right in.
- The title screen already has a "Downloadable Content" option.
Everything about this sounds like it's being dumbed down.
Everything about this sounds like it's being dumbed down.
Dragon Age didn't really have any parts that were shoehorned in
Everything about this sounds like it's being dumbed down.
Dragon Age didn't really have any parts that were shoehorned in
The entire FADE segment
Small video
http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/26/dragon-age-ii-an-epic-in-progress.aspx (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/07/26/dragon-age-ii-an-epic-in-progress.aspx)
Looks like some wires got crossed during IGN’s preview of Dragon Age 2 last week, when it was reported the game would only have three dialogue choices – good, nasty and badass.According to a forum post by the game’s lead designer Mike Laidlaw, there are a lot more options than just three.“I’m not really sure where the ‘there are only three options for dialogue’ impression they got came from,” wrote Laidlaw. “Perhaps it was when I showed one half of the dialogue wheel with three options which, you know, leaves another half open for, you know, other options.“Also probably worth noting that we’re not locked into specific icons per place in the wheel. Oh no. We have much more flexibility than that. We’re like gymnasts.”Developer Craig Graff piped in, and said there are five different “choice” options and five “investigate” options “per dialogue node”, providing the player with different choices between making decision and trying to convey opinion or expression.“I imagine that’s the only dialogue he saw?” added lead writer David Gaider. “The demo is pretty action-packed and there’s only the one conversation which, yes, has three options in it. As has been said elsewhere in this thread, however, that’s not all we’re limited to.“The personality options (which the article mis-characterizes, I’m afraid – they may have been more his impression of the lines he saw rather than our explanation of them) have a bit more complexity as to what they affect. That’s probably part of a larger conversation, however, so we’ll talk about it at length later.”
Looks just like DAO.
Looks just like DAO.
:rock
[Mag] Why did you leave/forsake the "a la Baldur's gate" view on PC of the first Dragon Age?
[Mike Laidlaw]For budgetary reasons, we focused our work on a 3rd person view, that asks for very detailed and nice textures so that the player can admire the game with a close-up view. With an aerial view [isometric] we should cover much more ground and so create other textures. Now, the game mainly sold on console, so we're going the way of the audience"
He does not say though if it is because the game engine could not handle all the zoom out with highly detailed textures. Isometric view means more informations on screen after all.
[Mag] Will you release a toolset for DAO 2?
[Mike Laidlaw] To be short, DAO 2 will not have a toolset. I think that DAO I toolset is very powerful but very complicated" [Then they speak of the fan made campaigns possibility for DAO 1 (too little time since last November to create full campaigns, it usually takes years (so only "simple" mods have been produced so far, but this is about DAO I and not DAO II). Once again, Mike Laidlaw does not give any detail on the reasons of this decision.]
Quote[Mag] Why did you leave/forsake the "a la Baldur's gate" view on PC of the first Dragon Age?
[Mike Laidlaw]For budgetary reasons, we focused our work on a 3rd person view, that asks for very detailed and nice textures so that the player can admire the game with a close-up view. With an aerial view [isometric] we should cover much more ground and so create other textures. Now, the game mainly sold on console, so we're going the way of the audience"
He does not say though if it is because the game engine could not handle all the zoom out with highly detailed textures. Isometric view means more informations on screen after all.
[Mag] Will you release a toolset for DAO 2?
[Mike Laidlaw] To be short, DAO 2 will not have a toolset. I think that DAO I toolset is very powerful but very complicated" [Then they speak of the fan made campaigns possibility for DAO 1 (too little time since last November to create full campaigns, it usually takes years (so only "simple" mods have been produced so far, but this is about DAO I and not DAO II). Once again, Mike Laidlaw does not give any detail on the reasons of this decision.]
Thanks again, consoles. :(
Now, the game mainly sold on console
Consoles once again funding great games since no one actually buys them on PC until they are 99 cents.
:bow2
Attention:
This was just posted by Mike Laidlaw on the DA forums:
Hey folks,
Victor managed to hunt me down, and I wanted to clear up a few things with regards to what I'm seeing as the two major concerns on this thread.
First off, let's talk about the toolset issue. Obviously in this community there's going to be some concern that we wouldn't release a toolset, so let me clear the air a little: The tools we're using to make Dragon Age 2 are very, very close to the tools you guys have used to make your mods for DA:O. They're not identical, as we've made a few in-house improvements, but they're almost identical. As such, there isn't a new toolset to release, per se.
While we won't be releasing a toolset update in tandem with Dragon Age 2, we ARE investigating what it would take to update the community toolset to match ours, along with providing DA2 content in the future.
As to the subject of tactical view, I can confirm that we will not be doing a tactical view on consoles, though we are looking into some expanded party control that I think will make console players quite happy.
On the PC, however, we are still working with the camera to keep the key elements of the tactical experience there. I was actually playtesting some new camera code when Victor found me, in fact, so I can give you the latest news on that front.
While we likely won't pull as far up as we did in DA:O, I have always felt that the key to tactical play was actually freeing your camera from the character you're controlling to issue precise orders, which is what we're tuning now. So, this means you can still maneuver the camera around the battlefield and issue orders from a remote location, just as you could in Origins.
As you can probably tell from my phrasing, all of this is a bit in-flux right now, so things may change between now and ship, but I wanted to update you guys on the current direction of things.
Mike..
It's not like console gamers even care, since the console version will be exactly the same as DAO1.
The PC version looks exactly like the console version. The controls are simply different.
The exaggerated element you're seeing at the beginning is going to relate to the fact that the darkspawn are literally exploding left and right, and that Hawke has access to high-level abilities she normally wouldn't have (but which certainly exist in the game). It is over the top-- which is why Cassandra calls Varric on it a moment later.
Would we choose to show only the exaggerated portion and not the "real" combat portion? No-- but we didn't choose to put this out there, did we? Even so, as you say, you're free to comment on it as you wish.
If your comment is that you find it too cartoonish and over the top even so, that's fine. It's definitely a style change, and it's possible that once we put out our own (and more complete) gameplay video that some of you will still not like it. C'est la vie. I think we've been pretty clear about where we're going with this.
QuoteThink like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
I have a feeling that hardcore PC fans won't like this.
How awesome were Alistair and Leilana and all the other characters? They were memorable, had fantastic voice acting and dialogue, had real personalities... I've never experienced this in a game, or at least not as effectively as it was done in Dragon Age. It's seriously a masterpiece... pretty much the pinnacle of the genre.
Sorry, I just don't agree with that. Planescape: Torment is still my top RPG, I could easily see myself playing it again a few years from now and still enjoying it just as much as I did the first time I played it. Characters, story, sidequests, writing, and world won't suddenly stop being interesting to me.
To me, that's like saying that because a modern scifi movie has more realistic looking special effects that 2001: A Space Odyssey or Blade Runner will stop being great scifi movies. If you want to disagree with that, fine, but that's how I feel about the whole thing.
[youtube=560,345]7zg478Ui-jc[youtube]
:'(
Just saw some screens and videos for DA2. I haven't finished 1 yet - but I'm already looking forward to the sequel.
I hear Bioware is slowly trying to progress from the generic fantasy setting. At first, I was concerned since moving from the traditional fantasy template helped to facilitate my growing disinterest in SE's Final Fantasy games. But while DA is awesome in terms of storyline, pace, and characters, it's also outrageously generic in its setting and races. It's essentially more of a mature Lord of the Rings as opposed to A Song of Ice and Fire, by which the game is supposedly inspired.
If they could break DA2 away from certain antiquated fantasy stereotypes that has saturated the first game, while maintaining all the aforementioned good things from the original, I'd be looking at a personal GOTY.
Sorry, I just don't agree with that. Planescape: Torment is still my top RPG, I could easily see myself playing it again a few years from now and still enjoying it just as much as I did the first time I played it. Characters, story, sidequests, writing, and world won't suddenly stop being interesting to me.
To me, that's like saying that because a modern scifi movie has more realistic looking special effects that 2001: A Space Odyssey or Blade Runner will stop being great scifi movies. If you want to disagree with that, fine, but that's how I feel about the whole thing.
the gfx suck
blade runner doesn't hold up either btw.. so many better sci-fi movies came out
district 9
avatar
the island
chronicles of riddick
[youtube=560,345]1ojefQlGTzE[/youtube]
I don't think it looks bad.
I mean, it looks bad. Ugly ui, uglier than DA1, and bad camera; but the combat looks fine.
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 verbatim[DA Origins ending SPOLIERS]:spoiler (click to show/hide)“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 Alisair and Anora.
“No Compromise”
Dwarven noble took command of Grey Wardens. Exalted Alistair, sent Loghain to his death against Archdemon, and left Anora as Ferelden’s ruler.[close]
DA2 is next week? Oh mayne.
edit: Nvm March...
again, 'tis appropriate
again, 'tis appropriate
Pretty much although its never going back to the way it was. Nickel and diming you for first day DLC I guess is an effective way to make a few bucks but it often screws regular customers. While pirates get all of it for free. So in my mind you (devs) are kind of encouraging people to pirate your game by being really obnoxious about it. But its probably worth it for them on the money front.
They'll probably get some flack and offer the pre-order thing for steam anyway.
Can't wait to get this and all the DLC for $20 during the 2012 Steam holiday sale. :bow2
I've seen a lot of people voice concerns about the combat being "dumbed down" to be more like an action game. In truth, combat works largely the same – actions are mapped to the face buttons and by pulling on the right trigger or R2 you can switch to a different set of moves. There have been some modifications to the action wheel that you can pull up with the left trigger or L2, but for the most part it's similar too.
Yes, the command wheel still exists.
We haven't seen much of the PC version, but I was told that you will still be able to pause with the space bar and issue commands via the action bar. The biggest change is that the attack animations are sped up and much flashier than before, making battle scenes more visually interesting and visceral. So if you like instant gratification don't want to bother with babysitting your squad, that's an option. On the other hand, if you want to take a little more control over the situation you can do that as well.
**
The more I play Dragon Age II the more I realize that this is still very much a Dragon Age game. Unlike the Mass Effect series, no major RPG features like loot or inventory have been pulled for the sequel and instead everything has been refined. I don't know about you, but for me, March 8 can't come soon enough.
(http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/114/1143565/dragon-age-2-20110112092744071_640w.jpg)
(http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/114/1143565/dragon-age-2-20110112105203881_640w.jpg)
I love how this looks like a Mass Effect 2 MOD. The bitter people out there, omg.
Dorf
I love how this looks like a Mass Effect 2 MOD. The bitter people out there, omg.
I'm not a particular fan of the UI but I would think Dragon "fans" would have learned from trying to prejudge the first game and instead wait to judge the actual game.
I don't know. Even on the internet I tend to not like saying dumb things that completely come back to show what an idiot I am time after time but hey that could just be me.
I still haven't played Awakening either
The first one is a pretty ugly PC game especially the intro. :-\
The animation in DA2 looks so janky, especially compared to the prequel.
The animation in DA2 looks so janky, especially compared to the prequel.
I don't know what you mean. The original was quite janky animation wise outside of death blows.
This is the thing that sort of always strikes me as odd. The people forgot how buggy or janky combat was in the orignal game. Especially in the pathfinding sense.
We'll see which way the combat goes when it comes out but having more responsive combat and the character actually doing what I tell it to do when I click somewhere or get an ability going will be more than welcome.
Hope that they retained the deeper combat for PC, but glad that its dragon effect for consoles :)
The animation in DA2 looks so janky, especially compared to the prequel.
I don't know what you mean. The original was quite janky animation wise outside of death blows.
This is the thing that sort of always strikes me as odd. The people forgot how buggy or janky combat was in the orignal game. Especially in the pathfinding sense.
We'll see which way the combat goes when it comes out but having more responsive combat and the character actually doing what I tell it to do when I click somewhere or get an ability going will be more than welcome.
Dragon Age 1's combat animations had a fluidity with them, even though they were slow and drawn out. The animation in DA2 looks mechanical and robotic.
Also, I prefer my RPG combat to be a cornucopia of numbers and dice rolls, not a poor man's action game. But to each his own.
BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk uses the following example: "In Dragon Age, if a golem threw a rock at you and the die-roll says he hits, that boulder hits you no matter what. You can run into a different room, but it can clip through walls to hit you. Now, you can actually retreat or even get behind something."
The best RPG combat ever. Not gaming's best story, but maybe it's best storytelling. Darker, sexier, better
Dragon age 2 does it right, It's still an RPG epic, it still takes upwards of 50 hours to finish, it's still got a deep complex combat system and it's still got a well-defined supporting cast
- He praises the frame narrative and mentions this is part of the reason the game hangs together so well.http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6006344/1
- Praises the Hawke Character (played as a male), says he comes across as awesome most of the time.
- Mentions the wheel, only very occasionally did he feel neutered by his choice, on the whole he praises it.
- He has a lot of praise for the game and the serious moral choices you have to make and how having the 10 year arc means your actions might have some very real consequences down the line, this adds to the burden of the choices you make, decisions might come back to bite you on the ass. Mentions wronged people might not even target you but your family etc
- Felt a little let down at first by lack of escape from the city but in the end found benefits to knowing the city backwards, allowed him to get a complete grasp on the games "complicated political system"
- Most impressive attempt he has seen at making player choices in a game mean something.
- Romantic options unconstrained, you meet a party member chances are you can "bone" them. his words not mine. Your siblings being the obvious exceptions.
- Incidental conversations are splendid, ruder, funnier and just plain better than Origins.
- Most of the companions are excellent, Bethany being the only dud as she lacks in personality
- Combat is rapid and satisfying but more intricate than Origins.
- Party members abilities a lot of fun, found himself rotating his party a lot.
- Basically says the game is not what you expect, didn't expect it to be as much of a traditional sequel as it is but by having Bioware lock down the context (the world and the politics) they were free to fill their creation with more character and vitality than any title in recent memory.
The best RPG combat ever.
QuoteThe best RPG combat ever.
Not buying this.
ok, now I'm hyped. I guess I'll have to buy Awakenings and slog through that now. I assume things from the first game and a half carry over to this one?
Should I play the first one before this? Sounds right up my alley
Should I play the first one before this? Sounds right up my alley
ugh nvm
The snore-worthy stereotypical setting and artwork really turn me off from this series.
www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26007104&postcount=387
:bow sticking it to the haters and hypocrites.
seriously most people in that thread sound is if they'd be more than happy with another expansion pack. always whining about something or other - "boo hoo there's to many aoe spells" or "look at these N64 textures on some random geometry I had to zoom in 600% on to show".
look at those screens I posted previously and tell me they don't look better than DAO, and even then that's the game running on medium settings without dx11.
/rant
I wonder if it will be possible to mod the old camera back in?
Played the demo. I uploaded a batch of pictures onto Steam here (http://steamcommunity.com/id/archie4208/screenshots/).
PC Games 88, pros and cons:
+ very well told hero story
+ varied followers, each with their own stories
+ great dialogs with moral decisions
+ exciting boss battles
+ martial-arts-fans should have great fun with possibly the fastest (or fast paced) battles in a fantasy game
- ...but old-school RPG players might have their problems with the flurry of activities in battles
- limited class progression with fixed skilltrees
- poor level design with one-to-one copy-pasting of whole quest areas
- unsatisfying ending
Gamestar 87, pros and cons:
+ thrilling storyline
+ great dialogs and quests
+ coherent / consistent game world
- some fiddly battles
- less epic than DAO
- ...but old-school RPG players might have their problems with the flurry of activities in battles
- limited class progression with fixed skilltrees
- poor level design with one-to-one copy-pasting of whole quest areas
- unsatisfying ending
Quote- ...but old-school RPG players might have their problems with the flurry of activities in battles
- limited class progression with fixed skilltrees
- poor level design with one-to-one copy-pasting of whole quest areas
- unsatisfying ending
Sounds disgusting :yuck :poop
unsatisfying ending = TROO ENDING FOR SALE IN SIX MONTHS, 1600 MS BUX
Dragon Age's ending was bad too. YOU ARE THE HERO OF FERELDEN HERE ARE SOME STILLS WITH TEXT
Dragon Age's ending was bad too. YOU ARE THE HERO OF FERELDEN HERE ARE SOME STILLS WITH TEXT
by the time u get to Dragon Age's ending it's spoiled if u go the.spoiler (click to show/hide)kill flemeth the dragon route[close]
Quote- ...but old-school RPG players might have their problems with the flurry of activities in battles
- limited class progression with fixed skilltrees
- poor level design with one-to-one copy-pasting of whole quest areas
- unsatisfying ending
Sounds disgusting :yuck :poop
Play Drakensang instead.
Look at NeoFEG thread, everyone is almost in unison that they love it. Archie and losers eviscerated. Cant wait to play real DAO.
Quote- ...but old-school RPG players might have their problems with the flurry of activities in battles
- limited class progression with fixed skilltrees
- poor level design with one-to-one copy-pasting of whole quest areas
- unsatisfying ending
Sounds disgusting :yuck :poop
Play Drakensang instead.
Wait for Witcher 2. Looks so much nicer than this game and the original Witcher was better than anything Bioware has put out in years.
I read that the combat in Witcher 2 was inspired by Demon's Souls ???
Bad combat mechanics are a staple of the western RPG genre, IMO. Rarely have I played a western RPG with combat that even comes close to the level of balance or strategy of some of the Japanese greats. The reason why The Witcher was heralded as such a great game wasn't because of the combat (it... got the job done, at least), but because of its gritty/detailed/original setting, and difficult choice/consequences... 2 things that Dragon Age doesn't really have going for it.
Eurogamer: The Witcher 2's combat reminds me of Batman: Arkham Asylum's.
Tomasz Gop: We have been inspired. I'm not hiding this. We have.
strategy in JRPGS :lol
strategy in JRPGS :lol
Oh not this argument again. Selecting "ice" against a fire monster is still more strategic than click-click-click-click. At least Witcher you had to time your clicks a bit :P
What are you saying Stoney, the 360 combat is broken?
The 360 is my only option for now or Ill have to skip it till further notice. Demo is so slow downloading...argh!
I havent been keeping track, is there any use of DAO savegames in the sequel? (like in ME)
That comparison to Fallout shines some light on the matter, for me shooting the gun was a last resort.
Combat (in the PC version at least) is a lot more fun and deep than shooting in Fallout 3/NV. Which is a good thing as you got no choice but to do a lot of it - those darkspawn folk are really a very disagreeable sort.
Heh, I didn't notice it at first but, this is really cool.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26085166&postcount=508
Heh, I didn't notice it at first but, this is really cool.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26085166&postcount=508
why is this "cool"? is there some story reason the character would have larger breasts?
Why are you feeling frosty Patel? DAO2 is just doing everything right. Good gameplay, good story, good graphics, good tits
wait archer != rouge in this one?
My impressions that no one will care about:
I just beat DA:O two days ago for the first time. So i'm going to compare it to what I thought of DA:O.
First of all the graphics. It's like someone saw Team Fortress 2 and decided to cartoonize DA:O up. This makes the game look a lot worse compared to DA:O, but it has it's own charm in that it animates a lot better (although a million times goofier) and it allows the characters to actually move around and interact with each other in cutscenes, instead of DA:O's stilted mannequins.
Gameplay wise, it feels like World of Warcraft. Dunno what else to say about it. It's like DA:O, just with a worse UI.
The UI though is the thing that will prob bug me. It just seems so convoluted compared to DA:O's.
In summary, it feels like the two games where made by two different teams. This one is like the saturday cartoon version of DA:O. Or the korean MMO knock off of the original game. Now, DA:O wasn't some deep fantasy fiction, but it had this look about it that shit was serious, wheres this game from the demo looks like a action movie. Think Lord of the Rings the movie compared to The Princess Bride.
I liked Flemeth's redesign, but it just points out how ridiculous the art direction on this game is. Here's Flemeth from DA:O. It really put over the whole point of "People say this about some crazy old lady in the forest" and when Flemeth turns into the Dragon in DA:O it gives it a greater shock. Compared to this DA2 Flemeth, it's not a big surprise. Plus she's sexualised up, which is fucking weird.
(http://i.imgur.com/UkIr5.jpg)
Overall I had fun, I don't regret my $60 PC pre-order (smh) but it just looks so ridiculous compared to the first one.
It's just because I came RIGHT from DA:O, i'm sure it's just because i'm not acquainted with it and have the old one on my mind. There is some weird fucking UI decisions though, like the pause screen. Why did it have to be Mass Effected?
meh
drakensang: river of time is $20 and lightyears better than this demo, LIGHTYEARS
Why are you feeling frosty Patel? DAO2 is just doing everything right. Good gameplay, good story, good graphics, good tits
I meant that question authentically ... I dunno who Varric is or anything about him narrating.
Does DAO2 do a lot of stuff like this with narrated frame stories? Is Varric the only one or are there multiple narrators?
Why would I want a game to be 'ruminant'
I didn't, I played it on PC.