[ALL] Dragon Age 2 USE SPOILER TAGS

[JayDizzle]

I'm cynical on the podcast. You think I'm going to spend money on a dog, mirror, and extra gear?

I didn't buy the extra gear in ME2, either. Missions and characters only. And you better believe I'll catch them on sale down the road.

DAII: Ultimate Edition comes out next Christmas... :shifty:



If anybody would have waited, they could get the game at $40, paid the $7 to get the Character DLC and still would have paid less.

 

[BrntO4Life]

DAII: Ultimate Edition comes out next Christmas... :shifty:



If anybody would have waited, they could get the game at $40, paid the $7 to get the Character DLC and still would have paid less.

I can wait until then. I have DA:O to beat (probably multiple times), AC2 and Brotherhood (including DLC for both), both Liberty City episodes, and the DLC for RDR.

I'll be good until then.

 

[j.hen]

Lots of load screens....

 

[Maynard]

black emporium FTW!

this game is sweet. no idea why its being called dumbed down really. its more user friendly sure, but its not that its dumbed down. They just made things that didnt make sense in origins, make sense in DA2. stupid stuff like the comparing your selected weapon stats to another weapon. instead of cycling thru each menu and clicking the new weapon, it will automatically show you the stats for each item, in each section of the inventory if u want it to. Just makes things more user friendly.....nothing wrong with that

with ME1 to ME2, they stripped down the leveling skills and inventory options. They didnt do that in this game. its all still here and some things are different

only thing i still havnt seen is the skills section where u had things like coercion and herb skills. but it looks like they got rid of that screen in favor of another way of doing it

my rogue has no lock pick abilities yet...i need that shit

 

[Diivox]

I dont feel like its dumbed down at all, the game is much more streamlined if anything. i was a huge DAO guy, 3 finished games, and I have been a pretty hardcore RPG guy all my life.

the actual combat interface is much slicker and easier to manage. the inventory system is much less cluttered. the way you can customize your character is subtly simple, but extremely liberal with giving you the ability to be whatever you want.

but fuck all the technical details here: combat is AWESOME. that's why im loving DA2 so much. in DA:O playing with a two handed weapon was extremely slow, the animations didnt really match with what was going on (in other words, you didnt really swing AT somebody, you just swung, and the bad guy died. there were no actual interactions between your sword and the bad guy unless it was a finisher.)

in DA2, your guy looks like a fucking badass with whatever weapon he is using (Mages in particular have entered the new millenium ; this isnt the same stiff staff animations and glorified turn based spellcasting ; this is ACTION). the combat is much faster paced but you can pause repeatedly and play it very similarly to DA1 (and on harder difficulties you will have to).

Like, the bottom line, the most important thing for me in any game is, does it feel cool to kill a bad guy every single time i do it. DAO wasnt necessarilly bad about this, but DAO's combat was still the same shit i did in NWN/Baldurs Gate/etc. it was still Bioware's adapted D&D systems with different attributes. DA2, the combat hasnt been simplified, it's evolved, and it's a goddamn blast.

The second most important thing to me is the storyline, in an RPG, and DA2 delivers on that too. the plotlines are darker, and casting the main character with his own voice leads to a far more cinematic experience than clicking "what happened next?" and exhausting a million chat options while your guy silently nodded. DA2 makes you feel like you are watching a movie.

I was not a fan of mass effect, and i, like everyone else, thought this was going to be mass effect with swords. i did not expect it to be nearly this cool but I am really really happy with the game

 

[j.hen]

Finally put the controller down for some sleep. This game is pretty sick. My mage has been tearing shit up. Has anyone done the expedition quest yet? I have enough coin saved up but want to keep doing other side missions first.

 

[wingsfan77]

I'm still wandering around Kirkwall doing everything I can before the expedition.

 

I definitely was NOT expecting Flemeth to pop out of that amulet haha

 

[j.hen]

What level is right to start the expedition quest? It's getting hyped up in the game like some fantastical journey so I dont want to go in too soon. I already have the coin saved. Currently level 9.

 

[JayDizzle]

What level is right to start the expedition quest? It's getting hyped up in the game like some fantastical journey so I dont want to go in too soon. I already have the coin saved. Currently level 9.

If there's still side missions or anything else you'd like to do before you go on the Expedition, do it beforehand...

 

[j.hen]

If there's still side missions or anything else you'd like to do before you go on the Expedition, do it beforehand...

Alright. Got to level 10 and went ahead and payed for everything for the expedition. Just have to go talk to the dude whenever I'm ready. Gonna run around and try and find some good side quests cause right now I have none.

 

[JayDizzle]

So my save for this game goes as so:

 

Connor was freed from the demon
Mages recruited
Dalish recruited
Bhelen is King
Anvil destroyed
Loghain is dead
Alistair is King
Warden didn't die when he killed the Archdemon
Amaranthine was saved
Architect is alive
Warden's Keep was reclaimed
Shale was discovered
Cailan was burned

Aside from how I ended Awakening, I think I pretty much got the "Good" ending for Origins.

Now for Kirkwall.

 

[j.hen]

Beat the expedition. Lots more quests afterwards.

 

[Maynard]

is there a way to look at your attributes and see what bonus you are getting. Like if im wearing a robe that gives me +20 mana....in origins it was automatically added to your attributes....doesnt seem to be there in this game

 

[killgod]

so i'm about 13 hours in, middle of the expedition (which i might need to restart cause my party isn't tough enough to defeat a boss in there...)

anyways, my opinion on the game has changed drastically now that i'm well into the game.

I'm completely UNDERwhelmed.


I would have put Bioware up near the top of the best developers on the planet, they were like Blizzard, they'd put out top polished quality when it was ready. This however is not Bioware quality, it's the fuckin EA machine cashing in by pissing on it's fans.

The report about this game being rushed couldn't be more true and I understand why the Lead Designer from DA:O quit Bioware over this game. I find the game clunky, the inventory management/options crap and the depth a bit too shallow. Your companions are lame compared to DA:O, couldn't give a fuck about any of them so far. The reused environments is utterly fucking pathetic...,mobs spawning out of thin air? I mean WTF?

This is besides the game crashing on me repeatedly....

It's an OK game, I'm enjoying it enough to finish it I guess, but I expect nothing but GOTY contenders from Bioware because that's all they've ever given us.....but now they are EA, so no longer should we expect that. This game is a 7/10 at it's best moments....which is shit if you ask me. The game does have some positives over DA:O, but all I see is cut corners and rushed ideas which negate what ground this franchise made.

I'm trading in my Bioware homer card and my expectations for ME3 are down the drain.

Gutted.

Fuck you EA.

 

[SethMode]

so i'm about 13 hours in, middle of the expedition (which i might need to restart cause my party isn't tough enough to defeat a boss in there...)

anyways, my opinion on the game has changed drastically now that i'm well into the game.

I'm completely UNDERwhelmed.


I would have put Bioware up near the top of the best developers on the planet, they were like Blizzard, they'd put out top polished quality when it was ready. This however is not Bioware quality, it's the fuckin EA machine cashing in by pissing on it's fans.

The report about this game being rushed couldn't be more true and I understand why the Lead Designer from DA:O quit Bioware over this game. I find the game clunky, the inventory management/options crap and the depth a bit too shallow. Your companions are lame compared to DA:O, couldn't give a fuck about any of them so far. The reused environments is utterly fucking pathetic...,mobs spawning out of thin air? I mean WTF?

This is besides the game crashing on me repeatedly....

It's an OK game, I'm enjoying it enough to finish it I guess, but I expect nothing but GOTY contenders from Bioware because that's all they've ever given us.....but now they are EA, so no longer should we expect that. This game is a 7/10 at it's best moments....which is shit if you ask me. The game does have some positives over DA:O, but all I see is cut corners and rushed ideas which negate what ground this franchise made.

I'm trading in my Bioware homer card and my expectations for ME3 are down the drain.

Gutted.

Fuck you EA.

Wow...we could not have more opposite opinions about this game. I find it to be smoother and better overall (despite the recycled landscapes and the enemy drop in -- both of which I consider to be minor negatives) than DA:O (which had MASSIVE GLARING negatives). I have yet to have the game crash on me either (knock on wood).

To me, I think the characters are better, the story is better, and the overall presentation is better. I felt like this was a step forward rather than a step back (other than the landscape department). Just me though. Sucks that this game has shaken your faith in Bioware man. Remember, Bioware's best game since Planescape, (IMHO of course) ME2 came out under EA, so don't give up hope on ME3 yet.

 

[killgod]

Despite DA:O's issues, I was absorbed by it, couldn't put it down till I was done. Not feeling it here, feels like it lacks in soul or something.

I wouldnt miss ME3 for anything, but I'm not sure it's going to be what I expect...which is a contender for best game ever pretty much. EA is far too interested in rushing/DLC'n/monetizing their customers to allow this to be possible. DA 2 is an example of it.

People can have differing opinions on this game, no problem. However I don't think anyone can argue, that had EA not been involved here DA 2 would not have released until Xmas 2011 and would be a much better game. I think I'm mostly bothered that this game could/should be better and EA is the reason it isn't.

The level of "polish" is too obvious to be ignored.


I guess my expectations are just too high, although they (Bioware) usually meet them, which is why I've always loved their games.

 

[SethMode]

Despite DA:O's issues, I was absorbed by it, couldn't put it down till I was done. Not feeling it here, feels like it lacks in soul or something.

I wouldnt miss ME3 for anything, but I'm not sure it's going to be what I expect...which is a contender for best game ever pretty much. EA is far too interested in rushing/DLC'n/monetizing their customers to allow this to be possible. DA 2 is an example of it.

People can have differing opinions on this game, no problem. However I don't think anyone can argue, that had EA not been involved here DA 2 would not have released until Xmas 2011 and would be a much better game. I think I'm mostly bothered that this game could/should be better and EA is the reason it isn't.

The level of "polish" is too obvious to be ignored.


I guess my expectations are just too high, although they (Bioware) usually meet them, which is why I've always loved their games.

Can't really argue with any of that. I definitely see what you mean...I like the direction that DA2 went in, but I think that the fact that it is so recycled does scream "rushed". Despite not minding that fact.

I think that I'm also a biased person because I played DA:O so much I can't honestly remember if I was absorbed. This is the damage that 'cheevo's can do.

All of that said, I can appreciate your frustration with it. I personally am okay with the corners they cut, for whatever reason. It's bad development, definitely, but I can look the other way. Maybe I'm officially too much of a Bioware fanboy at this point, I don't know. I just love the game.

Just out of curiosity, 2 questions: 1) what is your gamertag on 360 (no homo); and 2) did you play DA:O on PC or 360/PS3?

 

[SethMode]

I should also say that I think a large percentage of my love for DA2 comes from the fact that I think that Varric is one of the greatest characters ever (just after Mordin from ME2, my absolute favorite, non-Planescape character). That's not entirely true, but I just wanted an opportunity to say how awesome Varric is.

 

[Diivox]

Found this on the gamefaqs boards, i tested it out and its legit

http://mod.gib.me/dragonage2/savegen-1.0.zip

this will let you create a little dummy file that DA2 treats as a save from DA1, and takes you step by step through ALL the DLC and storyline options.

 

[j.hen]

If you arent enjoyed this game just play as a mage.... Worked for me.