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Dragon Age II |OT| The Revenge of Shit Mountain
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
Well sure, that is the intent, but not the primary reason they exist. They exist because developers can't be bothered to properly plan, balance and test reward systems. They have to make sure you get enough gold to progress through the world but make it look that you are not only getting gold, but "stuff" as well. And they can't just replace that with usable items because it would expose the little variety there usually is to them.
I hate it as well, it would be like if Skyrim filled your pockets with cups, spoons and forks every time you opened a chest.
I hate it as well, it would be like if Skyrim filled your pockets with cups, spoons and forks every time you opened a chest.
I don't remember how DA2 does it, but DAO lets you convert items to junk so you can sell later from an easy menu, no? The items themselves can still be used for crating and such. DA2 just has...lots of junk. I think.
Fimbulvetr
Member
eusis said:
Actually XIIs loot system allowed you to buy bundles of items at a discount price, obtain weapons from later in the game before they normally appear, and create some of the games ultimate equipment by selling the right combinations of loot all at once.
Granted its not introduced to the player properly at all, but still.
Blue Ninja
Member
Well-deserved.
Mikey Jr.
Member
I cant find a DA2 review on their site. Did they just not review it?
Garcia el Gringo
Member
They didn't review the game. I remember that they were denied a review copy and it was one of the few times they had to go out and buy a copy on release day. They didn't seem too thrilled about that when they mentioned it on Twitter/Bombcasts.
They have a quicklook though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=redu2L7z6GU
bigdaddygamebot
Member
TemplaerDude
Member
Vinny was the only one who plodded through it, and every week he brought it up on the Bombcast you could HEAR Ryan shaking his head in disgust. Can't blame him, either, since after having recently got this game on the cheap, I can't even bring myself to finish it
it's a bad game
I beat the game last night and I'm mixed on it. Maybe it was because I got a cheap RPG fix but on the other hand, I wasn't really feeling the story, a good chunk of the characters I didn't like and the combat was bleh. It was pretty much a tank and spank and then I noticed I didn't even a tank, just DPS a Lieutenant down and go for the smaller enemies.
Keavy_Rain
Member
I bought the "Legacy" pack because it was on sale for $5. I don't know why, either. I only played through DA2 once and I had to force myself to beat it.
My question is this: Should I bother playing through the DLC, or should I just delete it and pretend a $5 bill fell into a sewer grate?
My question is this: Should I bother playing through the DLC, or should I just delete it and pretend a $5 bill fell into a sewer grate?
Why not, what problem are you having? (I mean specifically of course)
Keavy_Rain
Member
I think he was making a comment about how your "Character creation" is basically gender and class.
That or he's like me and, for some reason, every customized female Hawke looks like Olivia Munn. I mean, I'm not trying to make Olivia Munn, it just happens.
toastyToast
Member
Choose a preset other than boxart Hawke then you can customize
Arjen
Member
I thought the DLC was pretty good. Breaks away from kirkwal so new enviroments, decent story and a couple of cool bossfights.
i cant find the option to customize my character in the first place
i can only choose the default characters.
can someone take a screen shot please of where i can find the character customization.
Why not just look it up on youtube?i cant find the option to customize my character in the first place
i can only choose the default characters.
can someone take a screen shot please of where i can find the character customization.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
i cant find the option to customize my character in the first place
i can only choose the default characters.
can someone take a screen shot please of where i can find the character customization.
Are you finishing the prologue? After Varric's exaggerated version of events, the game lets you create your character.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
lol, i guess i have to finish prologue first then
I know, it's tricky with the character creation not showing up at the very start. I tend to think that, in this unique case (or not so unique, who knows), it works.
Personally think they should abandon this practice. Skyrim does this too, and it seems weird.
It's more immersive in theory, but it's jarring when the game suddenly grinds to a halt and asks you to change the way you look. In DA2 it's kind of okay because of the unreliable narrator thing explaining it, though it's annoying to play through the prologue as a character that's not 'yours'.
Skyrim was lolworthy here because you can change sex and race in the creation menu. It's amusing to think that you're standing in front of the Imperials and changing your sex and race in front of them. By default you're this big strapping Nord guy who then transforms into a Dunmer girl.
Blue Ninja
Member
Personally think they should abandon this practice. Skyrim does this too, and it seems weird.
It's more immersive in theory, but it's jarring when the game suddenly grinds to a halt and asks you to change the way you look. In DA2 it's kind of okay because of the unreliable narrator thing explaining it, though it's annoying to play through the prologue as a character that's not 'yours'.
Skyrim was lolworthy here because you can change sex and race in the creation menu. It's amusing to think that you're standing in front of the Imperials and changing your sex and race in front of them. By default you're this big strapping Nord guy who then transforms into a Dunmer girl.
They don't remark on your sex or race until you've actually chosen them, though. Basically, you're a blank slate.
But, I agree, it would've been better to create your character beforehand.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I know. Just that the way it's done - the 180-degree camera turn to see myself once Hadvar asks my name and the generic tag 'Prisoner' makes it weird - you're redefining yourself right there in the Imperial camp. Makes much more sense to ask me to define everything outside the game and have the whole intro be seamless.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Except you're not. That's just how the game works. You could be anything or anyone, we never see the protagonist until the camera turns to them.
You're not magically changing gender. You're creating your character. A character that, for all intents and purposes, was always there. Morrowind did this. Oblivion did this.
Castor Krieg
Banned
After watching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F19eoDYYSMA I finally decided to play this, got it for less than 5EUR. I need my does of "A for Awesome".
Castor Krieg
Banned
Keavy_Rain
Member
I don't have a capture card so you'll have to settle for a crappy iPhone photo of my TV, but I'll post it later.
Wish i knew what lvl he was. I feel I was doing more dmg 2h/reaver w/ some of the vanguard later on.
I just finished the game and felt I ought to post my feelings here rather than making a new thread.
Man, what a disappointing game. It was just so aggressively mediocre. I wouldn't say it was particularly terrible, but it's so far out of the realm of good. I almost wish I did think it was terrible because then I either wouldn't have forced myself to finish it, or I'd enjoy it for it's badness. Instead, it was one giant monotonous pile of mediocre bland flavorless mush.
The story, I thought at least, was mostly good though. It's what made me finish the game, because for all it's problems, especially at the beginning (all of which are pretty well detailed in RPS' article on the first several hours of the game), I really did like my Hawke and her interactions with her party mates. Varric was a motherfucking boss, and my fat-tittied lesbian lover Isabella was a sweetheart. That said, it did seem every character fell into some over-used mold that's existed as long as fantasy fiction has, and the oh-so-clever one liners became overbearing.
Total runtime after finishing the game, 90% of the sidequests, and all the DLC packs was just under fifty hours. It pains me a bit to know I spent that much time on it, but at least I didn't despise it the entire time. I actually felt the game started off strong (from a gameplay perspective) because that was before the wave-based combat really ruined every encounter, and before every environment was reused to death. I outright hated the Legacy DLC, but Mark of the Assassin was actually pretty good for how painfully linear it was.
All in all, with a few tweaks, this game could have been a good JRPG. As it stands, as a Dragon Age game, it's not terrible, but it's not good, and there is a badness to its mediocrity. If one good thing has come of it, it's that it made me reinstall Origins, which I haven't played since mid-2010, and experience all over again just how spectacular that game was.
Man, what a disappointing game. It was just so aggressively mediocre. I wouldn't say it was particularly terrible, but it's so far out of the realm of good. I almost wish I did think it was terrible because then I either wouldn't have forced myself to finish it, or I'd enjoy it for it's badness. Instead, it was one giant monotonous pile of mediocre bland flavorless mush.
The story, I thought at least, was mostly good though. It's what made me finish the game, because for all it's problems, especially at the beginning (all of which are pretty well detailed in RPS' article on the first several hours of the game), I really did like my Hawke and her interactions with her party mates. Varric was a motherfucking boss, and my fat-tittied lesbian lover Isabella was a sweetheart. That said, it did seem every character fell into some over-used mold that's existed as long as fantasy fiction has, and the oh-so-clever one liners became overbearing.
Total runtime after finishing the game, 90% of the sidequests, and all the DLC packs was just under fifty hours. It pains me a bit to know I spent that much time on it, but at least I didn't despise it the entire time. I actually felt the game started off strong (from a gameplay perspective) because that was before the wave-based combat really ruined every encounter, and before every environment was reused to death. I outright hated the Legacy DLC, but Mark of the Assassin was actually pretty good for how painfully linear it was.
All in all, with a few tweaks, this game could have been a good JRPG. As it stands, as a Dragon Age game, it's not terrible, but it's not good, and there is a badness to its mediocrity. If one good thing has come of it, it's that it made me reinstall Origins, which I haven't played since mid-2010, and experience all over again just how spectacular that game was.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
If you can get it for cheap, then yeah it's worth playing.
I didn't like the game as much as DAO, but there was something mesmerizing about it. I couldn't stop playing it for some reason.
If you want, I can give you the DA2 code I got from the Amazon pack for a tiny price.
If you can get it for cheap, play until the end of Act 2. You'll still have to deal with some real badness, but at that point you will have seen the best the game can offer.
This game is definitely more ME than DA:O. Same menu and some of the game UI too. I personally really enjoyed this game, one of the few that did I guess. It shits on DA:O from a great height. Loved the ending too.
Shame about the asset reuse. Its horrid.
I was looking for the cover to the first game, and stumbled onto Wiki. I read on the two books and about some other media that the game now has. Anyway, I was reminded about DA Redemption, which I think someone had mentioned in this thread earlier. I had seen the first episode because of it. Because of Wiki, I decided to go back and finish the rest of the web series.
It was decent, though the acting is quite terrible. I actually have little to no interest in the Talis character or the Quinary, especially as seen through an outsider. The series itself wasn't very enlightening, meaning it didn't shed any light on new areas or concepts. If Talis appears in the next game, I hope she's not a party member. After playing Mark of the Assassin, I the same outlook.
ಠ_ಠ
It was decent, though the acting is quite terrible. I actually have little to no interest in the Talis character or the Quinary, especially as seen through an outsider. The series itself wasn't very enlightening, meaning it didn't shed any light on new areas or concepts. If Talis appears in the next game, I hope she's not a party member. After playing Mark of the Assassin, I the same outlook.
You need a psychological evaluation.
Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
Nah, I had some fun with the game too. I didn't regret the 39 hours I have between the main game and DLC. The game has issues, I won't deny it, but I had a good time overall. And there were something I preferred about it to DAO.
Sorry if it's been brought up in the thread or elsewhere already, but have any of the glowing reviews for the game been addressed yet? I'm willing to accept that some of them were legitimate, but others (like PC Gamer's) seem awfully suspect, especially in light of the events related in this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=495020
It'd be interesting if any of the gaming press' credibility has been called into question with regards to Dragon Age 2 specifically.
It'd be interesting if any of the gaming press' credibility has been called into question with regards to Dragon Age 2 specifically.
I don't think it even exists in the first place. Either way, it doesn't really matter, it's hard to figure out if the reviewer really liked the game or he got a really fat check in the mail. If you try to call him out on his score, he'll just say that he really like Isabella and the combat. It felt really visceral. It's kind of tricky to argue about something that's a bit subjective. Let's not even get started on a score, I just can't understand how anyone can make sense of a 100 points scale. What's the different between a 92 and a 90? A 78 and a 73? It's all really arbitrary.
I usually disregard launch reviews. They are mostly PR drivel that review outlets writes for exclusives later down the road. I wait for a piece from Rock Paper Shotgun or user comments on Neogaf.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
I don't understand the hate. The game is much more interesting than DA1.
I like the characters more, the music more, and 50% of the art design much more.
The act with the Qunari is AWESOME. They were great opponents.
It contained cool animation, satisfying moves and a combat system that felt satisfying. I loved hawke and decking him out and how he moved and attacked with a big broadsword. Kirkwall was a cool designed town, like something out of a Conan novel. Very nice.
The down sides hurt bad; The sewers, Act 2 with templars and mages, Anders, reused art assets, the redesigned darkspawn were somehow more stupid looking than in DA1, combat became to mashy and lacked skill... And the cliff hanger ending.
Its not that bad at all. Had this game been from a indie studio it would be praised, I am sure of it. There are lots of games with worse unredeeming flaws that get praised, but thats just because they are indie. Why let some shit slide for some games and not for others?
Take a step back and look at the entirety of this game, and you will see that the majority of it, its on the side of better compared to other more highly praised things.
This game is very poo in certain areas but the flack it gets is not justified at all. its pure hatin. no substance.
I like the characters more, the music more, and 50% of the art design much more.
The act with the Qunari is AWESOME. They were great opponents.
It contained cool animation, satisfying moves and a combat system that felt satisfying. I loved hawke and decking him out and how he moved and attacked with a big broadsword. Kirkwall was a cool designed town, like something out of a Conan novel. Very nice.
The down sides hurt bad; The sewers, Act 2 with templars and mages, Anders, reused art assets, the redesigned darkspawn were somehow more stupid looking than in DA1, combat became to mashy and lacked skill... And the cliff hanger ending.
Its not that bad at all. Had this game been from a indie studio it would be praised, I am sure of it. There are lots of games with worse unredeeming flaws that get praised, but thats just because they are indie. Why let some shit slide for some games and not for others?
Take a step back and look at the entirety of this game, and you will see that the majority of it, its on the side of better compared to other more highly praised things.
This game is very poo in certain areas but the flack it gets is not justified at all. its pure hatin. no substance.
I'm happy that you liked it. I, like many, have many issues. I respectfully disagree with you on pretty much everything. I'll grant that Varric is probably the best companion in the Dragon Age series, and some of the stuff surrounding on the Qunari was promising, but other than that I found everything else far poorer than Dragon Age Origins.
But there is definitely a group of fans who prefer DA2 over DA:O. And everything seems to be pointing to a fan of DA2 appreciating DA3 more than fans of DA:O, but we'll have to see.
I just want to disabuse you of the notion that people are hatin' for hatings sake: There is quite a lot to be displeased about when it comes to this game. It's the only Bioware game barring Sonic (which I never played) that I never bothered to finish. And even then, from what I've read, if I had my opinion would not have improved (in fact, it probably would have soured further).
Rei no Otaku
Member
I'm with you. While I was disappointed in the game, I didn't think it was bad. I've even replayed it twice.
Audioboxer
Member
Picked this up from Blockbuster for £5, it even came with an unused Online Pass (says it expires March 2012, but it worked fine).
Now to see if all the hate is deserved - Either way @ £5 I can hardly go wrong.
Now to see if all the hate is deserved - Either way @ £5 I can hardly go wrong.