Faiblesse Des Sens Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 There's a few radio transmissions and crap like that... eh. It was still too tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I just looked up on the Mass Effect Wiki which planets had interesting stuff and only scanned those (on subsequent playthroughs, my first time I did it blind). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirandello Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hey, you know, about that one part in Mass Effect-- Wait a minute, this isn't the Mass Effect thread. Nice try. I'll be picking up DA2 this weekend when I have to go home to do laundry (the Best Buy is across the street). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheForgetfulBrain Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hey, you know, about that one part in Mass Effect-- Wait a minute, this isn't the Mass Effect thread. Nice try. I'll be picking up DA2 this weekend when I have to go home to do laundry (the Best Buy is across the street). And Pir, with the rebound! I'm getting it in the mail tomorrow - anticipation is high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I wish I were excited for it. I really really do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheForgetfulBrain Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) Whaa- http://kotaku.com/#!5779150/how-to-make-dragon-age-ii-look-a-lot-better-on-pc They've released a patch for high-res textures? Weird... That seems like something that would just be an option on disc. Anyhoo - downloading for tomorrow! P.S. - Golems and Witch Hunt blew. Edited March 8, 2011 by TheForgetfulBrain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staySICK Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I wish I were excited for it. I really really do. agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 They've released a patch for high-res textures? Weird... That seems like something that would just be an option on disc. Yeah, I thought that was weird too, why didn't they just include those textures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I've played a couple hours of DA2 and I like it so far. Very minor spoilers. High Points: 1. Performance - I'm playing DA2 on my m11x and it runs on high settings like a charm. DA:O runs fairly well on High as well, but there could be problematic lag if I don't restart DA:O every hour or so. I'm guessing DA:O had a fairly severe unplugged memory leak while DA2 doesn't. I'm using the hi-res texture pack (which, ironically, I cannot use on my much beastier desktop because my desktop GPU only has 512 megs of VRAM and doesn't support DX11). 2. Graphics/art design - Characters look much better than they did in DA:O and the level art is much more interesting, at least in Kirkwall. 3. Voice Acting - It seems, I dunno, less stuffy than the acting in DA:O. The incidental characters are well-voiced, too. Flemeth even seems better acted by Katie Mulgrew. Just, well, points: 1. Combat - It's different. I'm playing a mage femHawke, and her basic staff attacks seem heftier than the mage's attacks in DA:O. She also attacks *much* faster; at my best count she attacks 3 times every two seconds. DA2 seems to throw more enemies at you per fight, but the lowliest mooks die a lot faster than in DA:O. Then again, most fights have included waves of enemies, so it's tough to tell when a particular fight is close to an end. 2. Difficulty - The jump between normal and hard and hard and nightmare seems much more significant. On nightmare my mage gets regularly destroyed by single hits from mid-tier mooks while on normal I never need to chug potions (which are not called poultices this time around), thank heavens. So far I've played on Hard and find that fights are tough, but winnable if I pay attention. 3. Mages - My mage doesn't seem nearly as overpowered as a DA:O mage of equivalent level (around level 5 right now). I think this is because the classes have been re-balanced; my mage still does a good bit of damage. Despite the generally faster battle flow, spell cooldown timers seem to have been substantially increased from DA:O. 4. Hawke - Hawke seems okay so far. I'm using mostly "good" conversation options and Hawke's responses generally fit with what I expect. She does have that Commander Shepard patronizing tone thing going on, though. 5. Time leaps - There's a lot of potential here. So far I've experienced one significant time leap. It's annoying that Hawke greets random NPC's as old friends while only referring to why Hawke and the NPC know each other in the vaguest of terms. It's stupid and jarring. I just may have strong personal aversion to references to off-screen events that sound important; it just seems like lazy writing. Low Points: 1. Art Design - When it's good, it's good. When it's bad, it's ugly as shit. The beginning Lothering location feels unfinished and unconnected to the world. The one location I've been to outside Kirkwall was bland. 2. Who am us, anyway? - After the first time jump, Hawke and sib are randomly given a quest that becomes the main quest. I found this jarring. It really made me wonder who Hawke my player character, is. I hope the rest of the game hangs together better. 3. Inventory - I still loathe not being able to customize my companions' armor. I hate that I get so much armor loot that my mage will never be able to use. I feel like it's all a waste. I mean, I have this set of Blood Dragon armor just taking up space because it's worthless to sell and my companions refuse to wear it. I guess I just like to play dress-up. I think I would mind this limitation a lot less if you were able to equip your sibling, at least. Bottom Line: This is more Dragon Age, sure. But rather than being the bastard child of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, I'm beginning to feel like it's the bastard child of Dragon Age and Planescape: Torment (another game with very limited armor options, I'll admit). That is, DA2 is strongly focused on an overarching personal narrative rather than the accomplishment of a concrete goal from the get-go (such as: Destroy the archdemon; rescue Imoen and destroy Irenicus; get a waterchip for your Vault). Kirkwall has far less character than Sigil and so far the companions aren't as colorful. But I can clearly see that DA2 aspires to Torment's level of storytelling, and I admire it for that. It's a consolized and streamlined iteration of the DA franchise, true; but it also seems, so far, to be trying to weave a more ambitious and personal tale. I hope it succeeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Bottom Line: This is more Dragon Age, sure. But rather than being the bastard child of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, I'm beginning to feel like it's the bastard child of Dragon Age and Planescape: Torment (another game with very limited armor options, I'll admit). That is, DA2 is strongly focused on an overarching personal narrative rather than the accomplishment of a concrete goal from the get-go (such as: Destroy the archdemon; rescue Imoen and destroy Irenicus; get a waterchip for your Vault). Kirkwall has far less character than Sigil and so far the companions aren't as colorful. But I can clearly see that DA2 aspires to Torment's level of storytelling, and I admire it for that. It's a consolized and streamlined iteration of the DA franchise, true; but it also seems, so far, to be trying to weave a more ambitious and personal tale. I hope it succeeds. See, and that's an interesting thing to do. My issue with it is that if they're going to experiment with trying to change things up so much, do it with a new franchise. I can't speak for everyone, but I liked DA:O for what it was, and I wanted more of that. I'm not saying that franchises need to stagnate, but I think that if you're going to make such fundamental changes then you need to either pick a new franchise, or at the very least do a reboot rather than a sequel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Bottom Line: This is more Dragon Age, sure. But rather than being the bastard child of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, I'm beginning to feel like it's the bastard child of Dragon Age and Planescape: Torment (another game with very limited armor options, I'll admit). That is, DA2 is strongly focused on an overarching personal narrative rather than the accomplishment of a concrete goal from the get-go (such as: Destroy the archdemon; rescue Imoen and destroy Irenicus; get a waterchip for your Vault). Kirkwall has far less character than Sigil and so far the companions aren't as colorful. But I can clearly see that DA2 aspires to Torment's level of storytelling, and I admire it for that. It's a consolized and streamlined iteration of the DA franchise, true; but it also seems, so far, to be trying to weave a more ambitious and personal tale. I hope it succeeds. See, and that's an interesting thing to do. My issue with it is that if they're going to experiment with trying to change things up so much, do it with a new franchise. I can't speak for everyone, but I liked DA:O for what it was, and I wanted more of that. I'm not saying that franchises need to stagnate, but I think that if you're going to make such fundamental changes then you need to either pick a new franchise, or at the very least do a reboot rather than a sequel. I dunno. DA:O's storytelling wasn't the strongest. It wasn't what I liekd most about DA:O by a loooooooooooooooooong shot. I'm much more miffed at Bioware for borking companion outfits than by the change in narrative style. I think it's wonderful and appropriate to experiment within the same series. I mean, it still feels like a Dragon Age game, just with a different approach to storytelling. In fact, I feel that this style has a lot of promise. If it lives up to even half of its promise, it'll be a far better narrative than DA:O's sort of generic "Save the Realm!" narrative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheForgetfulBrain Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Bottom Line: This is more Dragon Age, sure. But rather than being the bastard child of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, I'm beginning to feel like it's the bastard child of Dragon Age and Planescape: Torment (another game with very limited armor options, I'll admit). That is, DA2 is strongly focused on an overarching personal narrative rather than the accomplishment of a concrete goal from the get-go (such as: Destroy the archdemon; rescue Imoen and destroy Irenicus; get a waterchip for your Vault). Kirkwall has far less character than Sigil and so far the companions aren't as colorful. But I can clearly see that DA2 aspires to Torment's level of storytelling, and I admire it for that. It's a consolized and streamlined iteration of the DA franchise, true; but it also seems, so far, to be trying to weave a more ambitious and personal tale. I hope it succeeds. See, and that's an interesting thing to do. My issue with it is that if they're going to experiment with trying to change things up so much, do it with a new franchise. I can't speak for everyone, but I liked DA:O for what it was, and I wanted more of that. I'm not saying that franchises need to stagnate, but I think that if you're going to make such fundamental changes then you need to either pick a new franchise, or at the very least do a reboot rather than a sequel. I dunno. DA:O's storytelling wasn't the strongest. It wasn't what I liekd most about DA:O by a loooooooooooooooooong shot. I'm much more miffed at Bioware for borking companion outfits than by the change in narrative style. I think it's wonderful and appropriate to experiment within the same series. I mean, it still feels like a Dragon Age game, just with a different approach to storytelling. In fact, I feel that this style has a lot of promise. If it lives up to even half of its promise, it'll be a far better narrative than DA:O's sort of generic "Save the Realm!" narrative. I haven't had a chance to play it yet (UPS, hurry up, damn it!), but I can echo a lot of the things being said. From playing the demo, I can say I was immediately a little concerned about the color of the companions, who were just outstanding in both Origins and Awakenings, but I'm gong to give the game more time on that front. Gameplay wise, I'm disappointed in two things: 1) The nerfing of companion equipment, 2) There's no dual-wielding for warriors anymore (my favorite gameplay style in Fantasy RPGs). That said, after playing through Awakenings this weekend (and the crappy DLC), I can say that while I ended up LOVING Awakenings, it made me realize what I want is not just more of the same. As I have been from the beginning, I've been excited for the level of change they're bringing to DAII. I know everyone says, "If it ain't broke..." which DA:O certainly was not, but at the same time, I get disappointed by the fact that sequels so often don't feel like sequels these days - they often feel like expansion packs, with just a few changes and tweaks, new setting, new story. And we already got that - with Awakening. Sure, I think they should have done one more expansion before DAII, but at least we got that. I think radical change in gaming is far more interesting, and though I'm going to miss the 'fantasy' tone of the UI in DA:O, as well as some of the visuals and gameplay styles, I'm far more excited for something that is both radically new, but also carries the spirit of DA:O. But I guess this is nothing new - you all know I'm super excited for DAII and have been since the get-go. I'm just saying that after playing Awakening, I loved it, but I would rather have something that feels new, and I'm excited to have that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Bottom Line: This is more Dragon Age, sure. But rather than being the bastard child of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, I'm beginning to feel like it's the bastard child of Dragon Age and Planescape: Torment (another game with very limited armor options, I'll admit). That is, DA2 is strongly focused on an overarching personal narrative rather than the accomplishment of a concrete goal from the get-go (such as: Destroy the archdemon; rescue Imoen and destroy Irenicus; get a waterchip for your Vault). Kirkwall has far less character than Sigil and so far the companions aren't as colorful. But I can clearly see that DA2 aspires to Torment's level of storytelling, and I admire it for that. It's a consolized and streamlined iteration of the DA franchise, true; but it also seems, so far, to be trying to weave a more ambitious and personal tale. I hope it succeeds. See, and that's an interesting thing to do. My issue with it is that if they're going to experiment with trying to change things up so much, do it with a new franchise. I can't speak for everyone, but I liked DA:O for what it was, and I wanted more of that. I'm not saying that franchises need to stagnate, but I think that if you're going to make such fundamental changes then you need to either pick a new franchise, or at the very least do a reboot rather than a sequel. I dunno. DA:O's storytelling wasn't the strongest. It wasn't what I liekd most about DA:O by a loooooooooooooooooong shot. I'm much more miffed at Bioware for borking companion outfits than by the change in narrative style. I think it's wonderful and appropriate to experiment within the same series. I mean, it still feels like a Dragon Age game, just with a different approach to storytelling. In fact, I feel that this style has a lot of promise. If it lives up to even half of its promise, it'll be a far better narrative than DA:O's sort of generic "Save the Realm!" narrative. Actually, the companion outfits and stuff is what I was talking about. I would be fine with the way they changed the narrative structure if they had just left everything else alone (or tweaked it, not canned it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheForgetfulBrain Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) Reviews are starting to pop up (I really don't get why reviews rarely come out BEFORE games anymore, it's stupid) - rave reviews from PC Gamer and the Escapist. http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/08/dragon-age-2-review/ http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/8701-Dragon-Age-II-Review.2 The most disappointing thing I gleaned is that you spend most of your time in Kirkwall - which sounds constrained. However, they say it actually ends up being a kind of good thing. Hrmmm... UPS truck! Arrive! EDIT I'm playing now. Took a while to get it working and all the DLC etc transferred over properly. First thing to note - ugh. Hawk's voice does NOT fit the character I made at alllll. EDIT FFFFFUUUU That first fucking ogre fight is not easy playing on Hard as a Rogue - and it crashed on me TWICE when I'd almost beat the fucker. FUCK. EDIT So I've been playing a little and I quite like a lot of things about it. There's things I miss, but I think I'll enjoy it just fine. EDIT DAII kind of reminds me of Final Fantasy XII somehow. With exploding bodies. Anyone else? Edited March 9, 2011 by TheForgetfulBrain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirandello Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Crashing? That doesn't sound good. Did you pick up the high-res texture pack yet, Brain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 I know I said I lost my save and was not going to play DA:O and it turns out that some kind soul's actually decided I don't have to I've not got the game yet to say if it works or not. But here's a link to a save file generator to use in DA2. http://social.bioware.com/project/4242/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirandello Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 I know I said I lost my save and was not going to play DA:O and it turns out that some kind soul's actually decided I don't have to I've not got the game yet to say if it works or not. But here's a link to a save file generator to use in DA2. http://social.bioware.com/project/4242/ Oh, wow, thank you so much. I was worried that I'll have to drag myself through the whole thing all over again, memory leaks and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maritan Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 oooooookay, my impressions: 1) MERRILL IS SO MOE! 2) Playing on "normal" is too easy(3 mages + tank destroy everything without player's involvement) 3) Playing on hard is... HARD, especially with this retarded console camera and especially with Rogue as main character. One Qunari mage destroyed my entire party with just ONE spell. I don't think I'll be playing this game on hard without proper overview camera. I know I said I lost my save and was not going to play DA:O and it turns out that some kind soul's actually decided I don't have to I've not got the game yet to say if it works or not. But here's a link to a save file generator to use in DA2. http://social.bioware.com/project/4242/ hmmmmmm, thanks a lot. Maybe I should start a new game with these generated saves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 I know I said I lost my save and was not going to play DA:O and it turns out that some kind soul's actually decided I don't have to I've not got the game yet to say if it works or not. But here's a link to a save file generator to use in DA2. http://social.bioware.com/project/4242/ That is so cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 2) Playing on "normal" is too easy(3 mages + tank destroy everything without player's involvement) I posted an article about a week back that mentioned as much. It was Biowares intention that Normal should be possible to complete with using just Hawke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgi Duke of Frisbee Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 I have no idea why, but I have absolutely no interest in Dragon Age II. I loved the first one, and I've adored every single BioWare game, but I played the demo and it's doing nothing for me. Maybe it's because due to unfortunate circumstances, I've never really finished the first one. I think I've gotten 20% through it about three times, then something catastrophic happens to my hard drive/Windows install and I have to start over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maritan Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 What pisses me off is how enemies appear in this game. First you see a bunch of mobs and you're thinking "great, I'll dispatch them in no time", then comes another wave... On "Hard" it's pretty frustrating, you try carefully plan your characters' positions, and after new wave appears you're surrounded, your mages are brutally raped and some "elite" monster already whispering "now your ass is mine" to your ear. Just great. Can't they just show all enemies at once like in the first game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 http://www.metacriti...3/dragon-age-ii http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/dragon-age-ii http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/dragon-age-ii lol. I assume something is up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Yikes. That's some user review skew. This is Bioware's lowest rated game in 10 years anyhow. I think the real problem is that Bioware should probably have called this a Dragon Age: Hawke than Dragon Age 2. That's the issue. Most people play a sequel expecting it to be a bit similar in terms of experience to the original and a refinement of the original game. But from what I've heard it really isn't. Not to mention everything that happened in DA1 is even less significant with a few exceptions in this game. There's also a lot of misinformation about this game going on. In other words FUD minus the F. The game feels rushed according to many people and there's an issue with Nvidia cards on the PC. The console versions are graphically better this time and technically except for those expecting this to be a true sequel it is pretty good for a console version. The PC version does have some issues. I've already been spoilered so here's a few You do not really leave Ferelden. The story tries to build up Hawke as some major guy but even at the end who Hawke really is, isn't answered. They want us to be too invested in Hawke but it's hard for some people to be invested in a new hero in a sequel. The loading between skill upgrades is an issue for some, the fact that most of the equipment and items are tailored for Hawke is an issue. Normal mode is solo mode, hard mode is for some ridiculously hard. conversation wheel issues. However the game opens up a bit later, but there are issues for those who finished it as to why is Hawke so damn important since none of his backstory is addressed properly. The demo was in fact the start which according to some could have used more exposition. Acting isn't bad though. and non-linearity does exist since Flemeth talks to people for a second time at different times (some 2hrs into the game, some 4, some 6) for different people. Side quests seem fleshed out but the gold requirement makes no sense. They've followed the diablo method of you cannot wear x equipment unless you reach x stat. These are some of the complaints I've come across so far. Seriously one of the main issue seems to be that everything is so centered around Hawke, who most people do not think is a bad character. They just don't know why we should care a lot about him/her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maritan Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) http://www.metacriti...3/dragon-age-ii http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/dragon-age-ii http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/dragon-age-ii lol. I assume something is up? yep. http://images.4chan.org/v/src/1299687993026.png Also, switched back to Hard. Noticed how difficult it is become to control each character individually. Edited March 9, 2011 by Maritan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.