Thoughts on Dragon Age 2 (Part #1) - General observations

Channel:

Demiath

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1,590

Published on March 14, 2011 6:59:49 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk7xwBgOgN4

Game:

Dragon Age II (2011)

Duration: 5:57

705 views

2

Now that the game has been out for a week, the majority opinion about Dragon Age 2 among reviewers and regulars players alike seems to be that the game's combat and character development have been greatly simplified compared to its predecessor, that neither the writing nor general pacing of the game lives up to DA:O's standards and that there's an overall repetitiveness and lack of polish which together suggests that the game was rushed by its publisher.

In terms of the facts alone I certainly find it hard to refute all, or even most, of these general criticisms about the game. At the same time, however, I can honestly say that so far none of these flaws have truly bothered me personally. Part of the explanation comes down to individual expectations and experiences with previous games from the developer. Unlike a lot of people I never saw Dragon Age: Origins as a successful and thoroughly convincing return to the design philosophy of Baldur's Gate. To put things mildly, a minimalist four character party system with automatically regenerating health/mana after every battle and humorless dark fantasy settings is *not* my idea of a "spiritual successor" to Bioware's D&D-based classics. Also, I've long since accepted the fact that the developer in question has simply moved on from its roots and become much more interested in things like storytelling, character interactions and building dramatic tension than adhering to strict genre conventions.

While it's true that the Dragon Age combat has lost a lot of its tactical edge in the transition to a more streamlined system, the fast-paced battles in DA2 do have an appropriately intense feel to them (on Hard difficulty, anyway) and there's a real sense that anything could go horribly wrong if you let your guard down for just a second. It's not as rewarding or fun as it could be, true, but it's also not as weirdly sterile and finicky as DA:O's combat could be at times. I would not mind it if DA3 moved back into more conventional RPG territory but for now DA2's semi-tactical combat experience provides a nice diversion.

From a narrative standpoint there's no clear villain at the outset and thus the game's story is not "about" anything in the traditional way one might expect from a fantasy RPG. As someone who couldn't care less about all the Archdemons, Darkspawns and Grey Wardens which made a lot of story exposition in DA:O so tedious to sit through, I thoroughly enjoy what DA2 does by focusing on a resourceful protagonist who sets out to make a living for him- or herself, provide for his/her family and slowly build a reputation as a key player in an interesting urban environment fraught with tension and political discord. And while it might be a matter of taste, I actually find the characters in DA2 to be a bit more interesting than most of DA:O's party members (of which I only liked Alistair and Leliana).

In short, after having spent my first 20 hours with the game (which was just enough to take me to the end of Act 1 and finish every single side quest along the way) my impressions of DA2 are mostly positive. It's certainly no great revolution in RPG design and its noticeable flaws ensure that it doesn't help establish a clear path forward for Bioware's future efforts, but in and of itself it's a damn fine little game.

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