Why aren't people talking about this game: Dragon Age II

[kiwi_2005]

Hey are there Armor sets you can grind, the review I read states there isn't the only armor is the one your character starts with. But reading on another forum they say that's wrong their is armor sets just not like DAO but they are there. If there is armor sets to grind I will get this game.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

Hey are there Armor sets you can grind, the review I read states there isn't the only armor is the one your character starts with. But reading on another forum they say that's wrong their is armor sets just not like DAO but they are there. If there is armor sets to grind I will get this game.

Yes, there are armors and armor sets for Hawke. He's the only one you can outfit though. Your companions have set pieces of armor that you can find upgrades for.

[TteFAboB]

PC Gamer said this was the best RPG of the decade! LOL!

What trolls!

I'd be selling this for $20 right now if it weren't for the tied-to-Bioware/EA account bull****...

TL;DR at the bottom.

It's an OK game in its own right for the first 8 hours you put into it, because you still believe the show is about to start at any moment, expecting the many things that will happen in this bustling and conflicted huge city. From then on, you realize there's no show, there's nothing else to see and it's just about recycling the same map 30 times over.

DA2 is an educational game about saving the environment: why waste resources creating when you can recycle? Spare mother nature by working less - as the builders of this game sure did!

Importing a DA:O save is pointless and irrelevant, aside for a few lines of text (text, not even dialogue) and one or two unimportant flash cameos.

Kirkwall is empty, hollow, there's nothing to do and nothing going on. Amazing. It's a complete ghost city. Nobility? Gangs? Merchant's Guild? All illusions. You don't deal with any of them. A long time will pass, but not a single speck of dust will change its place in Kirkwall: the immovable city. By the end game the city will be in the exact same state that it was in the beginning, no matter what goes through. An NPC that was in one place in day one will be in that same place forever, as will every rock, pole and barrel!

I was wondering when my character would wake up to discover all along he was just dreaming in the Fade of this impossibly fake ghost city. Never has a rise-to-the-top story been so boring and uneventful.

The daily routine of any country mail man is far more interesting and eventful than the story of Hawke in Kirk-boring-wall. When grass grows it has to strive through more quests, dilemmas and dealings with its grass society than Hawke will ever do in this game, that is, watching grass grow is more exciting.

The problem isn't that this isn't about saving the world, but that there's nothing to do, nothing happens, Kirkwall is a lie, the city of missed opportunity. If Hawke was charged with delivering pizzas that would be more fun than nothing or going through the same dungeon for the 50th time, even though delivering pizzas has nothing to do with saving the world either. This is about resolving a drawn-out conflict you learn about in day one, after being distracted by 500 boring, repetitive and irrelevant side-quests and doing nothing else.

The game fooled quite a few times. When you first arrive, it tricks you into an alternative, making you believe the rest of the game will go that way, splitting roads all the way up. Nope. Then it offered me a business opportunity. Wow! That'll be fun! A business in Kirkwall! But... nothing happens! The business is a lie! Then you may be able to ascend in your social status. Wow, that'll open up a bunch of doors, close others, change how I'm viewed and such, but nope. All is just the same. All is always the same. Nothing ever changes. Welcome to Kirkwall, the city where all is stone, ever immovable, ever standing, ever dull, ever boring.

TL;DR: 3/10 is my review. Should've been no more than an Origins DLC.

/rant over.

[Dowly]

Yogscast part 2:

[kiwi_2005]

Originally Posted by TteFAboB

PC Gamer said this was the best RPG of the decade! LOL!

What trolls!

I'd be selling this for $20 right now if it weren't for the tied-to-Bioware/EA account bull****...

TL;DR at the bottom.

It's an OK game in its own right for the first 8 hours you put into it, because you still believe the show is about to start at any moment, expecting the many things that will happen in this bustling and conflicted huge city. From then on, you realize there's no show, there's nothing else to see and it's just about recycling the same map 30 times over.

DA2 is an educational game about saving the environment: why waste resources creating when you can recycle? Spare mother nature by working less - as the builders of this game sure did!

Importing a DA:O save is pointless and irrelevant, aside for a few lines of text (text, not even dialogue) and one or two unimportant flash cameos.

Kirkwall is empty, hollow, there's nothing to do and nothing going on. Amazing. It's a complete ghost city. Nobility? Gangs? Merchant's Guild? All illusions. You don't deal with any of them. A long time will pass, but not a single speck of dust will change its place in Kirkwall: the immovable city. By the end game the city will be in the exact same state that it was in the beginning, no matter what goes through. An NPC that was in one place in day one will be in that same place forever, as will every rock, pole and barrel!

I was wondering when my character would wake up to discover all along he was just dreaming in the Fade of this impossibly fake ghost city. Never has a rise-to-the-top story been so boring and uneventful.

The daily routine of any country mail man is far more interesting and eventful than the story of Hawke in Kirk-boring-wall. When grass grows it has to strive through more quests, dilemmas and dealings with its grass society than Hawke will ever do in this game, that is, watching grass grow is more exciting.

The problem isn't that this isn't about saving the world, but that there's nothing to do, nothing happens, Kirkwall is a lie, the city of missed opportunity. If Hawke was charged with delivering pizzas that would be more fun than nothing or going through the same dungeon for the 50th time, even though delivering pizzas has nothing to do with saving the world either. This is about resolving a drawn-out conflict you learn about in day one, after being distracted by 500 boring, repetitive and irrelevant side-quests and doing nothing else.

The game fooled quite a few times. When you first arrive, it tricks you into an alternative, making you believe the rest of the game will go that way, splitting roads all the way up. Nope. Then it offered me a business opportunity. Wow! That'll be fun! A business in Kirkwall! But... nothing happens! The business is a lie! Then you may be able to ascend in your social status. Wow, that'll open up a bunch of doors, close others, change how I'm viewed and such, but nope. All is just the same. All is always the same. Nothing ever changes. Welcome to Kirkwall, the city where all is stone, ever immovable, ever standing, ever dull, ever boring.

TL;DR: 3/10 is my review. Should've been no more than an Origins DLC.

/rant over.

You should write reviews for some gaming mag or site Good review sealed it for me man, I'll wait for the bargain bin.

[CaptainHaplo]

DA2 is a good game for what it is supposed to be - a story.

If you were expecting a branching campaign or a freeform world, I'd have to ask why? DA was not an open world. Sure there was freedom of movements (and there is in DA2) - but the story itself was linear. The gripe about the world seeming "smaller" is fair - but that is because the story your being told is smaller in scale as well. The strength of this game is the interaction, the story and the character relationships maturing. If you want to judge the game on its weaknesses, you can, but your doing yourself (and anyone who reads your views) a disservice - because this game is not supposed to be a sandbox, opened ended campaign.

Its good for what it is - bad for what it is not. Still, if you expected it to be what it is not, then I don't know what to say, because few who know Bioware would expect them to change the game drastically from its successful formula - why move from strength when you can produce a quality product. And DA2 is quality - if you go into it with the thought of what it is.

As for the "I like big boats" line - the situation was entirely appropriate for the statement. Context is everything. Its not like a person was yelling this in combat - it was specific to a circumstance. In no way was the line an immersion killer for most..... To leave out the context is trying to get others to fault something without sufficent knowledge.

[Dowly]

Or as one finnish review started: DA2's gotten a lot of bashing. Am I surpised? No, this is the internet, where every sequel which isn't exactly the same as it's predecessor is automatically labeled as sh*t.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

DA2 is a good game for what it is supposed to be - a story.

If you were expecting a branching campaign or a freeform world, I'd have to ask why? DA was not an open world. Sure there was freedom of movements (and there is in DA2) - but the story itself was linear. The gripe about the world seeming "smaller" is fair - but that is because the story your being told is smaller in scale as well. The strength of this game is the interaction, the story and the character relationships maturing. If you want to judge the game on its weaknesses, you can, but your doing yourself (and anyone who reads your views) a disservice - because this game is not supposed to be a sandbox, opened ended campaign.

Its good for what it is - bad for what it is not. Still, if you expected it to be what it is not, then I don't know what to say, because few who know Bioware would expect them to change the game drastically from its successful formula - why move from strength when you can produce a quality product. And DA2 is quality - if you go into it with the thought of what it is.

As for the "I like big boats" line - the situation was entirely appropriate for the statement. Context is everything. Its not like a person was yelling this in combat - it was specific to a circumstance. In no way was the line an immersion killer for most..... To leave out the context is trying to get others to fault something without sufficent knowledge.

RPG's are based around choice - you choose the storyline. You choose what happens to your character. You choose what happens to the world around you.

Let's compare Bioware RPG's - Mass Effect vs DA2 - (spoiler alert) Mass Effect - you can kill Wrex. You can kill the Council. Both of these actions have a pretty good effect on the story's outcome. Not the overall direction, but enough to make you feel like you took a divergent path. In DA2, the only influence you have is the dialogue someone reacts to you with. You still get the same quests, the same storyline, regardless of your choices. That's the illusion of choice. It stinks.

Context is everything. Its not like a person was yelling this in combat - it was specific to a circumstance. In no way was the line an immersion killer for most..... To leave out the context is trying to get others to fault something without sufficent knowledge.

Explain what context that Sir Mix A Lot is relevant to Thedas in. Was he a member of the Circle? The Chantry? Was he a Grey Warden? The Tevinter Imperium? Was an early 90's rap novelty song the basis of an Orleasian bard tune?

[Ducimus]

PC Gamer said this was the best RPG of the decade! LOL!

It's been my hunch that many big name review sites are somehow strong armed into giving positive reviews. If you want a good review on a big ticket game, you don't go to sites like PC gamer or Gamespot. Maybe back in the day, but in modern times, perhaps not so much.

RPG's are based around choice - you choose the storyline. You choose what happens to your character. You choose what happens to the world around you.

Let's compare Bioware RPG's - Mass Effect vs DA2 - (spoiler alert) Mass Effect - you can kill Wrex. You can kill the Council. Both of these actions have a pretty good effect on the story's outcome. Not the overall direction, but enough to make you feel like you took a divergent path. In DA2, the only influence you have is the dialogue someone reacts to you with. You still get the same quests, the same storyline, regardless of your choices. That's the illusion of choice. It stinks.

That is so rotten, as to be unbelievable. If Bioware decided to go the Mass effect route, i would at least expect to see mass effect styled alternate outcomes based on your decisions in key areas of the game. Alternate text doesn't cut. This bit makes that 60 dollar ticket price for this interactive movie, an object of glaring contempt.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

It's been my hunch that many big name review sites are somehow strong armed into giving positive reviews. If you want a good review on a big ticket game, you don't go to sites like PC gamer or Gamespot. Maybe back in the day, but in modern times, perhaps not so much.



That is so rotten, as to be unbelievable. If Bioware decided to go the Mass effect route, i would at least expect to see mass effect styled alternate outcomes based on your decisions in key areas of the game. Alternate text doesn't cut. This bit makes that 60 dollar ticket price for this interactive movie, an object of glaring contempt.

I'm sorry, my friend. This game is the hated "RPG on rails." So much of this game is based around meaningless side quests that it doesn't matter. For instance, in one quest, I killed a Templar instead of letting him take an apostate mage prisoner. The only repercussion I've faced is that I had a random encounter pop up where a paltry amount of Templars tried to kill me. After dispatching them, I can still wander through the Chantry and Templar central without anyone saying s**to me. Any of the "real" choices that effect the "main" quest are pretty much made for you. Your only input is what kind of smartass remark you make when accepting them.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by TteFAboB

PC Gamer said this was the best RPG of the decade! LOL!

What trolls!

I'd be selling this for $20 right now if it weren't for the tied-to-Bioware/EA account bull****...

TL;DR at the bottom.

It's an OK game in its own right for the first 8 hours you put into it, because you still believe the show is about to start at any moment, expecting the many things that will happen in this bustling and conflicted huge city. From then on, you realize there's no show, there's nothing else to see and it's just about recycling the same map 30 times over.

DA2 is an educational game about saving the environment: why waste resources creating when you can recycle? Spare mother nature by working less - as the builders of this game sure did!

Importing a DA:O save is pointless and irrelevant, aside for a few lines of text (text, not even dialogue) and one or two unimportant flash cameos.

Kirkwall is empty, hollow, there's nothing to do and nothing going on. Amazing. It's a complete ghost city. Nobility? Gangs? Merchant's Guild? All illusions. You don't deal with any of them. A long time will pass, but not a single speck of dust will change its place in Kirkwall: the immovable city. By the end game the city will be in the exact same state that it was in the beginning, no matter what goes through. An NPC that was in one place in day one will be in that same place forever, as will every rock, pole and barrel!

I was wondering when my character would wake up to discover all along he was just dreaming in the Fade of this impossibly fake ghost city. Never has a rise-to-the-top story been so boring and uneventful.

The daily routine of any country mail man is far more interesting and eventful than the story of Hawke in Kirk-boring-wall. When grass grows it has to strive through more quests, dilemmas and dealings with its grass society than Hawke will ever do in this game, that is, watching grass grow is more exciting.

The problem isn't that this isn't about saving the world, but that there's nothing to do, nothing happens, Kirkwall is a lie, the city of missed opportunity. If Hawke was charged with delivering pizzas that would be more fun than nothing or going through the same dungeon for the 50th time, even though delivering pizzas has nothing to do with saving the world either. This is about resolving a drawn-out conflict you learn about in day one, after being distracted by 500 boring, repetitive and irrelevant side-quests and doing nothing else.

The game fooled quite a few times. When you first arrive, it tricks you into an alternative, making you believe the rest of the game will go that way, splitting roads all the way up. Nope. Then it offered me a business opportunity. Wow! That'll be fun! A business in Kirkwall! But... nothing happens! The business is a lie! Then you may be able to ascend in your social status. Wow, that'll open up a bunch of doors, close others, change how I'm viewed and such, but nope. All is just the same. All is always the same. Nothing ever changes. Welcome to Kirkwall, the city where all is stone, ever immovable, ever standing, ever dull, ever boring.

TL;DR: 3/10 is my review. Should've been no more than an Origins DLC.

/rant over.

Unfortunately, you've hit the nail on the head. The flashy new graphics are only window dressing on a shoddy quest line that's like a linear roller coaster ride - plenty of ups and down, but the scripted track will never change, no matter what illusion of "choice" they throw in your face. They've really screwed the pooch on this one.