Here's where the "opinion" logic is fatally flawed: If everything is only an opinion, then why have any discussion about anything at all? Should we just dump standards entirely? Should we just make games that push the tech, but subsequently have no substance whatsoever? You can take the GECK and make a mod that consists SOLELY of oiled babes with big jiggly boobs running around, engaging in various random sex acts, and then shooting each other with weapons so powerful that the victims explode into a cloud of gore. According to the "opinion" argument, if someone likes that, then my claim that such a mod or game is shit is "only my opinion," and holds no weight whatsoever, regardless of the amount of time, thought, or objectivity that goes into my argument. The "opinion" argument is the cheap and lazy way out for people who can't be bothered to think.
PC Gamer, Gamespot, and the like give some pretty weighted scores, and the amount of praise that they heap on games should immediately clue you in that they're probably more of a marketing apparatus than a serious place to find critiques. Phrases like, "the best cRPG of the last decade," get cheaper and cheaper every time they're used, and should really only be used in retrospect, considering the number of RPGs that are coming out this year. What if The Witcher 2 or Deus Ex succeed in so many ways that they're actually much much better than DA2? PC Gamer, at least, has just compromised whatever journalistic integrity it may have had.
Think critically, people. By that, I don't mean: Drink a big glass of Haterade. It means: Don't just accept what you're told. Do some digging and formulate your OWN thoughts on something, and if you still like it, that's fine, but at least if someone asks you why you like it, you'll be able to answer them in your own words.
From the demo, DA2 is going to be VERY pretty. Regardless of what kind of art style you like, it's going to look great. The female models are a little ridiculous in that just about any one of those women should have chronic back issues, but that's fairly minor. I really wish one of the things they would have streamlined was the blood spatters - dismemberment and blood sprays = fine. I get that the game is supposed to be gritty, but no-one gets covered that much, unless they're splashing in a kiddie pool filled with blood.
The combat animations are pretty good, but they're so fast that I can totally see where people feel uncomfortable with them. The chaos is strangely appealing to me, but at that speed, I wonder how the game can be MORE tactical than DA:O without hitting the spacebar every 3 seconds, if not more.
With the amount of VO and number of cutscenes in this game, I'm really hoping for rock solid performances and really tight writing. This is the biggest sticking point for me, because at least in DA:O, I could say the phrases in my head and make them fit the conversation. The only thing that's worse than playing a badly written game is playing a badly written movie. I'm somewhat apprehensive, because I thought Varric wasn't half bad, but what I've heard of Hawke wasn't nearly as good, and that sucks, because I'm playing Hawke, and I don't want to sound like a douchebag.
