Dragon Age 2 - Retrospective Review

Couchpotato

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Continue Play's Joe Yang has posted a new retrospective review of Dragon Age: II. The writer found the game enjoyable, and says it was the right direction for the series.

At the end of the day, it’s hard for me to hate Dragon Age 2. Sure, the gameplay is only improved somewhat superfluously, the characters are hit-and-miss, the plotting is a bit off-focus, and the environments are reused; but it’s still a fun game. It has that same enrapturing feel of Thedas, even if it focuses on too many things at once to cleanly hone in on something that’s thought-provoking or profound. In an attempt to tell so many stories at once it sort of forgets their purpose, meandering between the tales of the citizens of Kirkwall, stopping short and somewhat abruptly on the champion they call Hawke. It’s quick and eager to please, but spouts so many ideas in so many directions that it can seem overwhelming and make the pay-off underwhelming.

So, to answer the questions I posed earlier, is Dragon Age 2 a move in the right direction or should familiarity be a hallmark of the Dragon Age series? I think it is a move in the right direction. Dragon Age: Origins is hardly a game that’s perfect, and there’s been no changes in Dragon Age 2 that make it so radical that we can consider it to be Fable levels of different. Likewise, the Dragon Age series should be able to adapt: the change in the narrative in Dragon Age 2 is properly followed by a change in gameplay. Staying conservative does a disservice to Bioware’s ability to write, so experimentation is hugely beneficial. However, what Dragon Age 2 lacks at the moment is polish. As it stands, Dragon Age 2 is a big bag of ideas, thrown like darts onto a dartboard, hoping something hits a bullseye.
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I think it is a move in the right direction. Dragon Age: Origins is hardly a game that’s perfect, and there’s been no changes in Dragon Age 2 that make it so radical that we can consider it to be Fable levels of different.

I can't imagine that this person actually played both games and still made this statement... Thankfully the opinion that DA2 was better than DA1 is held by an extremely small minority.
 
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DA2 went into a right direction? For god's sakes…

Ask me if I remember anything from DA2 and all I'll number are things I was utterly annoyed with. Can't remember anything else, sorry.
Ask me about DA:O and I'll start annoying you with how excited I was with this and that. It'll last as there were so many good things in it.

Since when making a game sequel as annoying as possible is the right direction?
 
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I somewhat enjoyed DA2, unlike other Bioware single-player games almost all of which I enjoyed a whole lot. I figured that maybe the DA style was not that great, missing something.

But then several months ago I replayed DA1 and enjoyed it a whole lot (as I had originally) and I saw the huge contrast in how poorly done were many aspects of DA2. It wasn't just one or two issues, it was the game as a whole, as if a very different team created DA2 and made many poor decisions.
 
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Well, it's part of what looks like some sort of effort to 'rehabilitate' DA2. There've been a few more retrospectives like this one.
Thing is, following a different path than usual is one thing, and potentially it could have had a major payoff - but it's wise to have a good idea of where you're going, and make sure your car is alright and has enough fuel to get there.

Otherwise you end up like this…

815202_ec.jpg


…and your passengers are not going to be happy…:-/
 
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He gives the game a 7 out of 10 which, personally, I would agree with. It's a heck of a drop from Dragon Age: Origins but it was still fun enough for me to finish.

When he said it was going in the right direction, he didn't cite what was in the game. He was pointing to the fact that they were trying to break from the mold they created in the first game. That I don't agree with. I don't think they were trying new things in order to break the mold and keep the series fresh, I think they were forced into new things because EA told them they wanted a new game RIGHT NOW before the first game's hype wore off.

DA 3 breaks the mold, too, by going open world. This time they aren't under the gun, though. I'll be very interested to see how it goes.
 
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I don't think they were trying new things in order to break the mold and keep the series fresh, I think they were forced into new things because EA told them they wanted a new game RIGHT NOW before the first game's hype wore off.

h0ViVo3.jpg


Guy is a moron. His review isn't worth 7 replays he got here.
 
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I stand by my opinion that DA2 doesn't deserve the strong negative response it has received. It was not a great game, but it was decent and I found it entertaining to play. I know I'm not the only one...
 
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I stand by my opinion that DA2 doesn't deserve the strong negative response it has received. It was not a great game, but it was decent and I found it entertaining to play. I know I'm not the only one…

You are not the only one.

Unfortunately, the Watch is full of EA/BioWare haters who can't move on, so we will have to deal with it.
 
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You are not the only one.

Unfortunately, the Watch is full of EA/BioWare haters who can't move on, so we will have to deal with it.

Yes, this does seem to happen every time the subject of DA2 comes up.
 
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I think a more accurate statement would be that The Watch is full of DA1 fans who were legitimately disappointed by DA2. Face it, the game doesn't look or feel anything like its predecessor.
 
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JDR is completely right.
The only EA/Bioware hater on this forum is me. And I'm just one person so… The forum is not full of… Something.
And I will not move on. You can sue me.

On the other hand, being EA/Bioware hater because of their business scam models is not the reason I dislike some of their games. When I say DA2 sux, I don't really care who developer/pubisher was, I'd say it even if DA2 was someone else's game.

Azarhal, if you've read any of my posts, you could see I adore(d) DA:O. Maybe I'm just crazy to love a game from EA/Bioware since I hate them? Great logic you have there. It's like thinking a child is a lowlife because his parents were criminals.
 
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I think a more accurate statement would be that The Watch is full of DA1 fans who were legitimately disappointed by DA2. Face it, the game doesn't look or feel anything like its predecessor.


QFT homey :)

Yeah, just look at the hype around DA:Origins. We were talking w/ Gaider here, on our forums, and when it hit and it was pretty great I personally was fanboy #1.

To have that suddenly changed so dramatically, I dont see how there could be any other response. The equipment limitations, the environments, the paratrooper waves. The Mabari War Hound *facepalm**

It was an occasionally fun game in it's own right, but as the successor to one of my favorite games ever, it was an absolute letdown and a half. I'll never forgive them for what they did to the Mabari war hound!
 
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I think a more accurate statement would be that The Watch is full of DA1 fans who were legitimately disappointed by DA2. Face it, the game doesn't look or feel anything like its predecessor.
Could not put it any better myself.
 
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I think a more accurate statement would be that The Watch is full of DA1 fans who were legitimately disappointed by DA2. Face it, the game doesn't look or feel anything like its predecessor.

We get it, BioWare did not make the clone of DAO that you wanted, nothing is going to change that. Learn to move on.

I had a really good idea of what DA2 was going to be when I bought it and I wasn't disappointed. I even think they improved on the mechanics and the setting as a whole (and that despite the flaws which bother me less than going through the Deep Roads in DAO.) I replayed both game recently, so the feeling is still fresh in my mind.
 
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DA:O is one of my favorite RPGS of all time. There were actually a few things that I felt that DA2 did better, but as a whole I definitely didn't enjoy it as much.

But I also agree that there is a lot of unfair hatred for DA2. Taken on it's own it's a good game. It's just nowhere near DA:O good.
 
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We get it, BioWare did not make the clone of DAO that you wanted, nothing is going to change that. Learn to move on.

I had a really good idea of what DA2 was going to be when I bought it and I wasn't disappointed. I even think they improved on the mechanics and the setting as a whole (and that despite the flaws which bother me less than going through the Deep Roads in DAO.) I replayed both game recently, so the feeling is still fresh in my mind.

How about you learn to accept some people simply didn't like DA2 and that's that? ^^

I will move on if DA:I turns out to be a decent game.
 
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