Author Topic: Dragon Age 2 announced (Read 14621 times)

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #300 on:** February 22, 2011, 05:47:25 PM »

Quote from: InfectedGib on February 22, 2011, 05:38:02 PM

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.

It's hard to explain unless you've played it on the console side but there is still some element of strategy there. You can even set up the rest of your team to use the AI tactics. It's just that naturally when you add an action element to a game like this, the tendency is to compare it to the action in an action game. I mean in that sense its always going to fail that test. Because action games are 100% based around action design and such. But for a deep rpg, the combat is about on par for what you would expect. I mean its like Oblivion or something. The combat in that isn't good but its (relatively speaking I guess) tolerable because its a first person game and you are doing everything in real time. It's kinda neat because you are in the action in Oblivion. It's kinda neat here for the same reason although like I said, i totally get why the majority of people will play it like it was in the original Dragon Age. Let's put it this way. The combat is a lot better and more enjoyable than all the action combat in those janky euro-rpgs that people seem to tolerate for some reason.

Anyway I've downloaded the PC version and will give that a try now.

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #301 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:02:36 PM »

Well I can't compare DA2 to an action game because it doesn't play like one, not in the PC version at least. It looks and animates like one, however.

Whereas, barring VATS, the mechanics and controls in Fallout are identical to modern fps's. It's just a very clunky one, but no one plays Fallout for its combat mechanics, whereas many do with DA.

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #302 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:17:26 PM »

Heh, I didn't notice it at first but, this is really cool.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26085166&postcount=508

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #303 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:30:47 PM »

Quote from: InfectedGib on February 22, 2011, 06:17:26 PM

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?

demi · « **Reply #304 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:39:33 PM »

Why are you feeling frosty Patel? DAO2 is just doing everything right. Good gameplay, good story, good graphics, good tits

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #305 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:40:07 PM »

Quote from: Howard Alan Treesong on February 22, 2011, 06:30:47 PM

Quote from: InfectedGib on February 22, 2011, 06:17:26 PM
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?

Varric, the dwarf, is an untrustworthy narrator. It is clear he embellishes the story with personal affectations in the initial impartation. When pressed for the "true" story however, things can change, even in the physical depiction of the world, like above.

It's just cool that nice little visual clues are given, not just narrative, so it makes me wonder what other differences we could have missed.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #306 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:55:38 PM »

Quote from: demi on February 22, 2011, 06:39:33 PM

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?

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #307 on:** February 22, 2011, 07:40:32 PM »

Finished up the Demo on the PC.

It was also pretty easy but then its normal difficulty.

All that wailing and gnashing of teeth from certain people for a game that feels mostly like Dragon Age albeit sped up.

All the complaining about animation and character style is simply preference. People would have you believe the game is aesthetically Final Fantasy all of a sudden instead of it being a rather minor change on that front. Another reason never to listen to the hardcore crowd.

It feels like Dragon Age. I played it exactly like I played Dragon Age. You fire off abilities a bit faster than before but otherwise its Dragon Age. The rogue is a lot more bad ass now. I think I may end up playing that although the archer was kinda fun also.

My only real fear with the combat pace being sped up is having to manage hp more carefully. Also you blow through enemies quicker now so hopefully every tough battle in the game doesn't just turn into flood the area with easy enemies.

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #308 on:** February 22, 2011, 08:37:52 PM »

wait archer != rouge in this one?

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #309 on:** February 22, 2011, 10:01:10 PM »

Quote from: TheInfelicitousDandy on February 22, 2011, 08:37:52 PM

wait archer != rouge in this one?

Nah it is. I just meant I tend to like to specialize in one or the other instead of being a hybrid.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #310 on:** February 22, 2011, 10:22:22 PM »

If you want to see what the combat looks like on consoles and pc here are some videos.

360

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

PC
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

Human Snorenado · « **Reply #311 on:** February 22, 2011, 10:36:35 PM »

Played the demo and am happy to report that the integrity of the combat is still there on the pc. Don't know about console version; don't care since I won't be playing the game on one. Do wish you could pan back further with the camera but I'm sure that will be "fixed" soon after release.

Seems like another quality entry for BioWare this gen. They're really kicking ass.

MyNameIsMethodis · « **Reply #312 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:17:04 PM »

Quote from: Methodis

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.

(Image removed from quote.)

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.

MyNameIsMethodis · « **Reply #313 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:17:15 PM »

woops meant to remove quotations

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #314 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:46:12 PM »

Fair enough. That stuff is mostly subjective opinion stuff but what is wrong with the UI?

The only bit I don't care for is the ability screen where its a bit confusing to me which ones I can't pick initially compared to the prior game.

MyNameIsMethodis · « **Reply #315 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:47:17 PM »

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?

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #316 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:50:12 PM »

Quote from: The Worst Poster Ever on February 22, 2011, 11:47:17 PM

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?

What do you mean? What is not available that was available in the original?

MyNameIsMethodis · « **Reply #317 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:52:09 PM »

erm I meant the proper pause screen not the action one. Like it has that weird radial menu, and also upgrading your characters involves like 5 different menus instead of the one it used to.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #318 on:** February 22, 2011, 11:59:42 PM »

I don't know. I haven't played the original since I beat Awakenings so I can't really comment on specifics other than to say I never especially thought the menus or navigation of the original were incredibly elegant or anything. I remember it having a terrible inventory system. And having to enter that book to upgrade skills wasn't great either. Just like I never thought the graphics were very good or particularly stylized in the first. I never really gravitated to a lot of the reasons seemingly hardcore types liked the original. Because it wasn't about the graphics, the animation, or the menu system in it. Those things were all either poor or just adequate at best.

Bocsius · « **Reply #319 on:** February 23, 2011, 12:13:49 AM »

I didn't realize the demo was available on consoles, sort of thought it was PC only.

Downloaded, played. Graphics are noticeably improved, not that I care. Gameplay is faster, but not entirely different. So ready for March 8 now.

Dragon Age II. Best game of 2011, everything else is fighting for second.

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #320 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:01:30 AM »

Human Snorenado · « **Reply #321 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:12:52 AM »

Quote from: Van Cruncheon on February 23, 2011, 01:01:30 AM

meh

YOU WILL HAVE ME ON AND I WILL CONVINCE YOU THAT THIS GAME IS BETTER THAN ANY ITERATION OF PROFESSOR PROLE'S PANTY PATROL

THAT WILL HAPPPEN

ALSO I MAY HAVE BEEN DRINKING COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RUM TONIGHT

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #322 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:13:58 AM »

drakensang: river of time is $20 and lightyears better than this demo, LIGHTYEARS

triumph, lemme consult with our producers, although i stipulate that you must ALSO be (very) drunk when guesting

Human Snorenado · « **Reply #323 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:25:27 AM »

I have considerable amounts of rum stockpiled, not an issue.

Also, ask frag if he wants to do a boardgame nerdtalk segment. I could be down for that. I could aslo be down for flipping my shit re: nerds. Man I'm probably gonna end up in jail soon due to strangling a nerd at the store i work at...

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #324 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:33:11 AM »

boardgame chat would be ace. we shall be in contact!

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #325 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:58:09 AM »

Quote from: Van Cruncheon on February 23, 2011, 01:13:58 AM

drakensang: river of time is $20 and lightyears better than this demo, LIGHTYEARS

For Tom Chicks or "normal" gamers?

pilonv1 · « **Reply #326 on:** February 23, 2011, 02:03:53 AM »

Tom Chicks have superior taste. Qt3 is a great forum for neckbeards and spreadsheet gamers.

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #327 on:** February 23, 2011, 02:29:23 AM »

for folks that like their rpgs tactical and ruminant, and with better-than-ps2 graphics

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #328 on:** February 23, 2011, 03:18:49 AM »

Why would I want a game to be 'ruminant'

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #329 on:** February 23, 2011, 07:08:37 AM »

Quote from: Howard Alan Treesong on February 22, 2011, 06:55:38 PM

Quote from: demi on February 22, 2011, 06:39:33 PM
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?

afaik, the whole game is set within a framed narrative structure, which is imparted solely by Varric the dwarf, who was once a companion of yours in the game.

the intro sets it up
[youtube=560,345]1YAnaITJgts[/youtube]

pilonv1 · « **Reply #330 on:** February 23, 2011, 07:36:11 AM »

Quote from: Cormacaroni on February 23, 2011, 03:18:49 AM

Why would I want a game to be 'ruminant'

Why wouldn't you?

MyNameIsMethodis · « **Reply #331 on:** February 23, 2011, 08:19:36 PM »

consoles ruining real men games :'(

pilonv1 · « **Reply #332 on:** February 23, 2011, 10:04:34 PM »

So thanks to the wonders of regional locks in a digital world, who's gifting me a copy of the original Drakensang so I don't have to play this garbage?

Will send you a copy of Demolition Company (and Cricket Revolution) in return

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #333 on:** February 24, 2011, 02:00:15 PM »

Interesting to hear your take since you played the original on the 360.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #334 on:** February 24, 2011, 02:04:02 PM »

Quote from: Kosma on February 24, 2011, 02:03:15 PM

I didn't, I played it on PC.

Oh... I guess I misunderstood. I thought you said you did. My bad.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #335 on:** February 25, 2011, 12:25:17 AM »

This game is so ridiculously gory. Graphics look worse than DA1, imo, although the demo doesn't allow for highest settings yet. It runs decent enough (~60 fps w/high settings, ambient occlusion, 8xAA, 1920x1200) but performance could be better for this level of graphics. Also, the demo is quite buggy. My framerate was only 10fps on the first run. I think it didn't like me changing the settings within the game. If this demo is any indication of what the retail version will be like, I'm probably going to wait for the inevitable huge patch 6 months after release.

cool breeze · « **Reply #336 on:** February 25, 2011, 01:40:35 AM »

I played the demo for a bit (up till second big ogre fight) then it crashed when I minimized it. What I played seemed fun and I'll probably keep my order.

Someone really needs to mod in a top down view. The increased speed, spam of weak enemies and closer camera makes it feel weird. The changes aren't bad per se, just feels like an odd middle ground where I want to play it like a hack and slash but the controls are for a tactical game. An option to have DCUO controls, then you press a button and becomes like DA1 when it isn't spamming scrub enemies, would be nice. Though, this seems like the beginning. Only the boss fight seemed like you need to do something other than hit 'R' and wait.

The visuals are, like, whatever. More personality than the blah first game, but it's blocky and messy looking.. And the hud and general interface is kinda bad. It's really clinical; there is no design or character in any of it.

I don't mean to seem negative. I liked Dragon Age 1, this seems similar and I like the faster pace, but it's really inconsistent. Actually, I might hold off on it for now. Will play the demo as other characters tomorrow and see for sure. Dragon Age 3 will probably be really cool once they develop the ideas more.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #337 on:** March 07, 2011, 02:11:11 PM »

http://social.bioware.com/page/da2-patches

Great Rumbler · « **Reply #338 on:** March 07, 2011, 02:38:29 PM »

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #339 on:** March 07, 2011, 03:24:46 PM »

At least you don't have to pay for this day zero download.

Thunk you very much.

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #340 on:** March 07, 2011, 05:27:42 PM »

my sig edition ships 3 days after the regular edition on amazon.ca wtf?

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #341 on:** March 08, 2011, 11:41:08 AM »

Played about two hours so far. Seems okay although it starts off really slow.

demi · « **Reply #342 on:** March 08, 2011, 11:45:18 AM »

hey dweebs there is an OT now. impressions there plz.

News:

Author Topic: Dragon Age 2 announced (Read 14621 times)