Well... that was underwhelming I have to say
My little rant.
WARNING this will probably have spoilers so dont read if you plan to play it.
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To my total dismay, half way through my 26 hour playtime, I realised that I wasn't going to leave this grey, boring city. Came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to expand out beyond the same single cave design and mountain road that I had trudged along, killing the same enemies over and over again since the beginning.
There would be no blight, no uniting of the races, no deep exploration through snowy mountains, scary forests or dungeons filled with demons and possessed mages. No story expansion filled with tails of dragons, heroes of old, Wiches of the Wilds and no epic battles. Nor would I meet any new fantastic characters beyond the same drab I'd already picked up on my way (except Varric the only character worth while.)
No, I was stuck, stuck inside the plot of a boring and quite stuck-up refugee who plans to go from poor to rich in a completely boring city of thieves, thugs and the general mentally infirm. From the Templars to the Blood Mages. Everyone in this horrible city, in which the entire game plays out, is either insane or so warped that I could never have given a rats *** about any of them. That includes my companions. Companions whose motivation and general blindness toward any sense of morality left me isolated and unable to care about any of them.
Varric was the only one I could see inside the original Dragon Age Origins. His writing was good, his dialog and motivations all seemed plausible and entertaining. The game built that special Bioware "player-npc relationship" which they're so good at.
And at first, I thought Isabella would join him in my observations. The hours pass, you listen to her go on and on about sex in some fashion or other, a little about being a pirate, again with mention of having numerous men beneath her. Goads my other female compansions into talking about sex, egging them on and on. Until you reach the end of the game and you realise that there isn't any deeper meaning behind her character, there is no better person beneath it and that infact her entire character is that of a thieving ****. Thats it. Nothing else is there. Does the game expect me to believe that she made the "right decision" in bringing back the Qunari item? Even after the Qunari went on a rampage and slaughtered countless innocents? Which she could have prevented and knew full well that she could. Knowing that not handing it over would kill innocents and put you and all your companions at risk. She turned away from it all simply for an item that she STOLE and had no right to, but in her twisted mind believes she does. But what makes this even more hysterical, is that the supposed "reasoning" behind her motivations- that being she is hunted by a powerful criminal, is completely shot out of the water near the end when she makes a deal with him under the weight of nothing but a "pirates handshake" or some other type crap.... come on now Bioware.
But hey!! All smiles and giggles when she did come back with the Qunari item though... hope you had no trouble stepping over the countless dead bodies on your way here Isabella.
Anders. Lets just say "No" to him. Horrible character, annoying, senseless and like most others completely insane. But yeah I suppose he has a reason for being so. Just a shame we cant get rid of him. He's shoved down our throats throughout the game... in more ways than one it seems. My word Bioware, take it easy on the sex thing. At least add some weight and built up story behind it, instead of throwing it in our faces no matter what dialog choice we make. Dont give Anders and an inch, because he'll take a ****** mile....
Merril. Sweet innocent little elf girl Merril... yeah right. The psychotic, blind and totally messed up elf. You start off with hope for her, you talk to her, try to find out about her past etc. Yet her story comes down to nothing but "i know better than everyone else" even when its as obvious as anything that its the wrong path. But oh hey, go ahead and get everyone killed because of a ****** mirror. It made me laugh that after she had killed everyone she had ever known and who cared for her growing up, that was it. No dialog option, no explanation or guilt. The world went on as if it never happened.
Ferris, never even bothered with him. He was the JPRG character of the game, brooding emo elf wtih the "cool effect" attitude and looks. Not worth the effort. infact killing him at the end was the only real joy the game had given me.
Aveline. I didn't actually mind her, infact she was the most real and level headed character of the lot. Her only problem, as with most of the game, was a lack of inspired design or importance. Even though technically she was more important than most characters considering her position. The game, as with the story, lacked any weight and drive behind her, making her story and character feel a bit... meh. Still though, She and Varric where about the most rounded characters.
Moving on. The combat felt like a combination of a hack'N'slash console game with a hint of World of Warcraft. There was simply no tactics in anything. After the first 30 minutes of the game, you know that every random fight from then on will spawn mobs behind the mages when you first engage. It felt repetative and after half way through the game, I really started to dislike it because it became more of a mindless grind spamming ability buttons and throwing the occasional heal. A far cry from having to continuously pause the combat in DA:O, working out what magic and abilities where best to use depending on the mobs and your location. None of that was in DA2.
I'm just disappointed. I loved Origins and knowing that Bioware was behind it, I believed that they would only ever improve the sequel to the first game. However after playing that farce, I'm saddened that this was released with the name Dragon Age. Too me they shouldn't have made this, it just had such a lack of vision and quality that its very unlike Bioware. It really does feel more like an expansion pack than a standalone game, especially when you compare it to the original.
If it wasn't called Dragon Age, then it would have been a decent game. An easily forgettable but somewhat decent game. However knowing that Bioware made it, it becomes nothing but disappointment. We've all grown to expect much more from them and this simply doesn't deliver and instead does a great disservice to the Dragon Age series.
DA2 took a wrong turn when it failed to follow the Flemeth on the mountain. That should have been a turning point in this game, but it was as if its feet got stuck on some rock on the mountain, and so was forced to watch Flemeth fly off along with all the potential and promise that that moment could have delivered.
/end rant
