Dragon Age II

[TheForgetfulBrain]

The game is steadily approaching and I think it's going to be great - I've got faith in Bioware.

Now that the deadline for the free upgrade to the Bioware Signature Edition is past, I guess they're allowed to put it out on Steam.

See the store page here.

Apparently there's more pre-order content, that the Steam version gets as well - I'm guessing this is in addition to the Signature Edition?

As well as two in-game items, there's this place called 'the Black Emporium.'

The Black Emporium features:
- A magic item store that has some of the best equipment you’ll find in the game. It’s restocked with better items as you progress through the story.
- A loyal mabari hound that fights at your side in battle.
- The “Mirror of Transformation”. Gaze into it and you can change your very appearance. Hair, eyes, tattoos, and more can be changed with the click of a button.
- A crafting store which sells powerful unique recipes.
- Explore the Black Emporium and uncover its strange secrets and lore. Be sure to see its strange proprietor. It should prove most… memorable.

It sounds a bit like the Cerberus Network, but with physical interaction in game.

This image pops up when you go to the Dragon Age site, clarifying a bit more:



Anyway, I know many people aren't too stoked on DAII as compared to DA, so rage away.

[BrainHurtBoy...2]

Uhhh... hmmm. Have you seen gameplay footage? Kind of disappointing. I hope to god that this will be good, but things aren't looking great so far.

[TheForgetfulBrain]

Yeah. I'm down with the gameplay footage they showed in the latest dev diary.

 

Looked like DA but a little shinier and faster paced.

 

I'm fine with that. There's still pause (for the PC version), so the faster pace shouldn't be an issue if you don't want it to be.

[Mercurial]

Honestly I am just gonna wait a year. I don't wanna spend that much money just on DLC.

[Mr. GOH!]

I am wary about DA2. I dislike the new art style as much as I disliked the old art style and I think the forcing everyone to have a player character named "Hawke" just cheapens everything. I mean, give me a fucking break, Bioware, but Hawke? Really? That's the best you could do? Because if it is, fuck you, sirs and madams, fuck you right in your ears!

 

Also not a fan of streamlining RPG's by taking away character customization options. ME2 was a good game, but it feels like a good chunk of customization options are simply missing. I don't want DA2 to feel the same way.

[Mercurial]

You're just forced to be human and I think Hawke is just his last name.

[deanb]

Yeah with how ME2 came out I'm wary of DA2 as well. Seems like it's getting stripped down for pretty much no reason at all (It's one of their best selling games, so I can't see why they'd need to aim for even more of a 'broader audience'.) I dislike that it's limited to only Shepard Hawke. It feels like they're turning DA into ME. And if I wanted ME, I'd fucking play ME. Which I do.

Who the hell in marketing or whatever is telling them foks want things more 'action packed and streamlined'? "Oh it's totally what the market wants", "Jerry, the sales figures indicate that the market wants Dragon Age: Origins"

Still got DA:O n DA:A to finish anyway. And there's plenty of other WRPGs coming out this year that I'm looking forward to that it's pretty safe to skip on DA2.

[Mr. GOH!]

You're just forced to be human and I think Hawke is just his last name.

 

Hawke is just his or her last name, true. But it's still a colossally stupid name, like the name a 12 year old would give his first DnD character. Plus female Hawke becomes ladyHawke, which is un-fucking-acceptable.

[Akuam4n]

I like the new look of DA, I like the style. I never paused the game in the first one I think, so the faster pace won't bother me.

 

Hawke is.... eh. It sort of fits, and sort of doesn't in my mind. I would have thought they could have come up with something better, but I can be satisfied with Hawke.

 

The one thing I don't like, is "Hawke's" armor. It reminds me of Lost Odyssey, and god that shit was awful.

[staySICK]

I'm sorely tempted to just say "fuck this game. fuck it right in the ear."

 

but I'm going to at least say I'm not buying it, at least for a good while. I may find a way to try it out, and if I like it, wait for this years holiday steam sale and pick it up then, possibly.

 

Like Dean said, there's a fair amount of actual WRPGS coming down the pipe I won't feel like I'm missing out if I skip DA2

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

i feel like i can wait it out until the witcher 2.

[TheForgetfulBrain]

I am literally the only person I know humping myself with excitement for this game.

 

It's incredible.

[staySICK]

I really enjoy Dragon Age Origins.

 

The changes to DA2 are huge deal breakers to me.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Would you mind explaining why you are so amped up?

[Zuzela]

I am literally the only person I know humping myself with excitement for this game.

 

It's incredible.

 

Don't worry, you're not alone.

[TheForgetfulBrain]

Would you mind explaining why you are so amped up?

 

Dunno. I like that they're making changes.

 

I enjoy change, and none of the changes seem like deal breakers to me.

 

I really think the game will turn out to be great and the naysayers will change their mind upon release, but I suppose only time will tell.

Edited January 13, 2011 by TheForgetfulBrain

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

What about the story, the characters, art design, UI design, etc? Gameplay changes aren't really what I'm worried about for the most part.

[TheForgetfulBrain]

The art design:

 

When DA came out, people let and right were complaining about how ugly the characters and visuals were. I agreed on the characters, but playing the game on max settings for PC, I thought everything else looked stunning. There were some truly gorgeous environments in that game. In this one, they seem to have fixed the uggo syndrome, and while the first screens of the game were hideous and very unappealing, and I don't like how the Darkspawn look now, I get the feeling that with settings on max, the game will look just dandy and I'll become fond of the new style. I'm glad they overhauled the visuals, even if they took it in a different direction than I would have preferred.

 

UI:

 

I need to see more, the developer video with the first UI gameplay didn't really give me enough of a chance to decide, but I don't think I'll mind too much.

 

The Story:

 

I love the idea that it takes place over a course of ten years. The first game felt truly (and the overused word is deserved here) epic, once you reached the end of the game and saw the impact of all your decisions, it really felt like you had changed the world, moreso than any other game I can recall, and that was only over a short period of time. That feeling seems only magnified with this concept, and I think it's thrilling and brilliant.

 

The Characters:

 

I don't know enough to judge yet, but I have no doubt Bioware will craft excellent characters - they always do. Why would they stop now? Interested to see how Lilith (was that her name?) works in the story as a party member. Now, to the primary controversy - the 'Mass-Effectization' of your character. Yes, it blows that you don't have control over your character's race or origins, really making it feel like 'you.' But on the other hand, I'm open to it. I liken this to fiction: I've noticed that I don't prefer first person stories. In first person stories (this is the way I feel, not a statement), the narrator is never the true protagonist, but a lens with which to view the world in the story and the real protagonist, which the narrator is typically observing and affected by. Because of this though, I often find the first person to be a bit boring. It isn't quite you, but it isn't quite another character. Similarly, when I'm playing as 'me' in a game, there's always that disconnect - sure I'm doing these things in this world, but it's not me - I can't bridge that disconnect. I'm more interested to step into the shoes of this different character and guide their actions. It's more like a JRPG than a WRPG in this sense, this change in character perspective, and if Bioware says it's going to help them tell an involving story, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I see no reason to be wary, with their track record.

 

Also, I don't really mind the name Hawke.

Edited January 13, 2011 by TheForgetfulBrain

[Pirandello]

I think the UI for DA2 looks something horrid.

[TheForgetfulBrain]

I don't remember what it looks like, but I don't remember being horribly offended.

 

I thought it looked similar, but I guess I wasn't really paying attention.

 

Anyone have screen caps?

[SixTwoSixFour]

Wow, so much hate in such a small place. I'm excited for DA2, and I think nearly (if not all) of the changes are quite welcome. Haters, please name ONE bad Bioware game. Oh, you can't? Then maybe you should give them a little credit, and wait til the game is actually OUT to write it off.

[deanb]

They got a lot of credit with DA:O, it was a pretty damn good game. And we're not saying it won't be bad, just it won't be as good as the original. When there's plenty of other good WRPGs vying for out 40 quid it pays to be cautious of a game that seems to be changing itself to suit the publishers pen pushers.

[Mr. GOH!]

Wow, so much hate in such a small place. I'm excited for DA2, and I think nearly (if not all) of the changes are quite welcome. Haters, please name ONE bad Bioware game. Oh, you can't? Then maybe you should give them a little credit, and wait til the game is actually OUT to write it off.

 

It's not that Bioware doesn't make good games, it's that they have a recent history of making the wrong type of changes when "improving" a series in its sequel. Case in point is ME2. ME2 is a better game than ME. But that was achieved by ripping out the RPG soul of ME1 and minimizing character customization options. ME2, in many ways, was a very different game than ME1. My fear is that DA2 will represent a removal of character customization options and become a clickfest punctuated by the standard Bioware dialogue options sections.

[TheForgetfulBrain]

I suppose it's possible.

 

The most worrisome rumor I've heard is that equipment has been severely nerfed, so there are no armor pieces besides belts (belts are confirmed, due to the Penny-Arcade item).

 

That would be extreme balls, as I love managing armor pieces.

 

Still, even if that turns out to be true, I'm optimistic for the game in general.

Edited January 17, 2011 by TheForgetfulBrain

[Mr. GOH!]

I suppose it's possible.

 

The most worrisome rumor I've heard is that equipment has been severely nerfed, so there are no armor pieces besides belts (belts are confirmed, due to the Penny-Arcade item).

 

That would be extreme balls, as I love managing armor pieces.

 

Still, even if that turns out to be true, I'm optimistic for the game in general.

 

Companion armor is nerfed heavily. Companions can only wear rings and belts. I think Hawke still has a few different sets s/he can get. But I wouldn't expect many different pieces of armor at all.