Review: Dragon Age II (Warning Spoliers)

NOTE: The author owns none of the pictures.

Being the Bioware freak that I am, it's no surprise that I've already played and beaten this game three times since it's release. This means either I'm an awesome gamer or I have no life...or both. Anyway, let's talk about Dragon Age and it's universe. Like most RPG worlds it's got the usual Tolken references like Magic, Elves, Dwarves, a great evil that corrupts the universe etc. However, Dragon Age calls itself a "Dark Fantasy" which is sort of an true and yet not true. There is a lot of dark like themes in the game and there is plenty of signs of blood, evil, demonic creatures and mysterious plots. However I like to call it the "Reversal Fantasy" instead, mostly because it takes the common tropes of all normal fantasy's and twists them around.

For instance, Magic is kind of viewed as the plaque to the common view where mages are forced to live in isolation or else they fear the wraith of the Templers and the Chantry (A Christian like religion that pretty much is the major power in Thedas). Elves are treated like second class citizen (and sometimes worse) and there great lore is all but lost. And while in most RPG's the religion is a good holy like sort, in the game you known that the religion is corrupted and there is a lot of problems.

Dragon Age Origins provided a great story with a unique character creation that effected the game, a fun combat system, interesting mechanics, and well designed world. Now that Dragon Age II is out, only a year and a half  later, does it match well to it's predecessor? Let's see.

1. Graphics

This is one of the more improved aspects of the game. Sometimes the graphics in Dragon age II seemed to be a little off and choppy when I played it, but they have improved a lot here in the squeal. The lighting is much better and the character's textures are much similar to the style of Mass Effect's character which bring out the more realistic approach to the character's looks and likeness. Most of the game takes place in the city Kirkwall and while it's not like it's LOTR's Minas Tirith it;s a somewhat impressive piece of work. Hightown, for the nobles, is all fancy and rich looking while the lower you get the more poorer it it is the atmosphere and setting so points for that. A few times you will look at the background and skybox's and see that it's bland, but not so much. I have to say this is one of the really good improvements for the game.

2. Controls

This is by far my favorite improvement. In the original Dragon Age, the combat system was much like KOTOR's and this I praised because it was a system that most of us knew a lot of and it was easier to understand. A few new features were added such as the Quick Potion option, the ability to lock certain skills or spells in to be used automatically, and the ability to pause the game and plan out your next attack. Dragon Age II follows a more direct approach. While some of the original control schemes still exist, main combat is done by hacking and slashing. If your a melee user you just point in a direction, press A over and over, and your attacking with combo like moves, this is a much more action orianted combat style and I fully welcome it as it allowed me to get inside the fight more and dash from place to place with my giant sword knocking down three to two armed men instead of one by one like the previous one.

The system is also unique for long range users and magic users as well. If you use a crossbow or longbow, the system does an auto lock for you on the nearest opponent and you just press I as fast as possible to fire arrow after arrow. Sometimes you will move your joystick (or mouse) and you will aim at a different target instead. But here is the unique thing, if your aiming at an opponent right next to you, you will physically attack your opponent instead of firing your weapon. Finally, some realism! Seriously, if I'm a bow guy and I see a guy about to attack me with a sword I would kick the guy in the face. Finally, Mages have the honor of having both the long and short range. If you aim at an opponent far range, your character will do a fancy kata of moves with their staffs that send out magical energy while any enemy that gets hit by the staff will also receive damage. You soon see that Mages are going to be the powerhouse in this game very quickly.

Other then these changes, most of the game is the same as the original which is a perfect blend of my opinion of Originality and Orthodoxy.

3. Gameplay

Gameplay has a lot of familiar features while adding a few new ones, but besides the new control system there is not much that actually makes the game feel better then Dragon Age Origins. In all actuality it feels more like Mass Effect. The narration dialog now has the famous Mass Effect wheel where you move your joystick to the correct response and then press A for your character to say it. Believe it or not, I don't like this. The wheel was more of a Mass Effect thing and by bringing it over the game loses it's feel as a Dragon Age game. As usual of Bioware's game the choices you make will effect the overall story and the way your characters react. Except unlike in the original Dragon Age, you don't have the friendly meter and instead now have a "Friendship & Rivalry" meter. With this meter you have the option of having a friendly relationship with a companion or a competitive like one via disagreements or opposite views. It's okay to have either one with any character as they will grow stronger if all the way left or right and you can still have a romance with a character of either character. In fact it's worse to have a companion that's middle because most crisis moments need your character to be mostly one friendly or rival in order for them to still stay in your party.

In terms of level building, it's gotten a lot better. All characters have their own set of "Stat Trees" by which you can choose which paths to follow for each character to your liking. You can have Merill be an Elemental Mage while Bethany follows on Healing or switch them around if you want, the choice is yours. This makes each character's fighting style more unique then the skill building in the first game where all characters of the same class had the same skill list. However, all characters except yours can only have one type of weapon specialization that's already default for them. As for you, you are limited as well. Warriors only get Sword and Shield as well as Two-Handed Weapons. Rouges get Duel Weapons and Archery. And Mages only get staffs. However, this won't be major problem as each style is suited well to their respective class. And don't worry about exp share, the game has gotten rid of it and now you gain exp for all the enemies you kill after each battle for all companions. And if you want to gain a little extra, the game world has a "Night Mode" where by traveling in the city you can grind extra exp by facing down thugs and night gangs as the excuse. Genius.

The crafting feature s not as good as people think. It's nice that you can now make your own potions, grenade, poisons, and enchantments by finding recipes and materials to make them, but they still cost money which I find a bit stupid. Should the point of crafting being less materials then wealth while doing the opposite is reverse? As such I just stop wasting time find craft materials half way in my second game and just sold the stuff to by potions and first aids. Enchantments are back, as is Satchel who is awesome, and they still have their cool abilities.

 But the most worked on is the Side Quests. Side Quests play a much more active role in this game then in the predecessors as the Side Quests grow upon each arc with more details that effect your character and some companions (Fenrir, Isabella, Sebastian) can only be found by achieve side quests. There are also your companion's side quests which will not only help you grow into a more deeper relationship with them, but are vital to do because if you don't do these there maybe a few characters who will leave your party for good. This is good on one hand because it forces the player to do more interaction with the characters and story, but on the other hand some players may not want to be forced to do something they don't want to do and have huge consequences for doing so. It's a risky move, but again it might work or not depending on the player.

So overall much of the mechanics are done right but what about the story?

4. Story

Normally I would stay here and call the story of any Bioware game to be that as if it was written by muses, but this time it's not going to be as much of that. First the good parts of the story, the entire game is told by the narration of the character Varric who tells the ten year story of the rise of the champion, Hawke,to a Chantry Seeker who believes that by understanding the journey of Hawke she might be able to stop a great world war that is happening. Expect to see some the actions you have done in DA:O and Awakening, but not as much as Mass Effect as this story takes place in the Free Marshes, a land outside of Ferelden which is kind of a dissapointment.

But there is one major thing that I have to say about this game's story that I can't find anything more then annoying....there is no main villain. Unlike in the first Dragon Age game where the villains were Loghain and the Blight, a constant enemy through out the game, in this game there role of "villain" is very much changed throughout the story. The final boss is not really a villain as she's only first scene at the end of the third arc. Sure we hear about her sometimes, but not as much and it kind of frustrates me that their is no real antagonistic force behind this game. Some might say the Qunari are one, but they only really are  threat in the last of the third act. So yeah we have  our hero, but we have no consistent antagonistic force through the story and that bugs me.

Theme wise the story is a bit shaky as well. It mostly focus on the relationships between the Circle of Magi and the Chantry, both of whom have had a rocky relationship and as time goes on it gets worse. Through 3/4ths of the story most of the side quests will feature either Templers or Mages as the enemy and it's clear from there that you will have to pick a side in the future. Oh look the Chantry was just blown up, there we go. After a certain not so funny anymore Grey Warden Mage blows up the  Chantry because he wants to start a revolution, the Templers issue the Right of Annulment which allows all the Templers to kill every Mage in their district (this case Kirkwall) even through none of the Circle of Magi was involve. And so you must choose to pick a side to deterimine the fate of Kirkwall, but the ending is just...lame. Either one you choose nothing really changes except the same thing, every Circle decides to revolt against the Templers and soon it becomes a Magic vs. Church war all over the world.

To be fair the game does take place in a smaller environment unlike the last game, but I feel that it kind of wares it down by where the story goes. I know it's suppose to be the rise of the champion, but as you progress further down the story it gets worse and worse. Also, the Idol of Lyrium is a really bad plot device Bioware, really bad.

5. Characters

Oh this is just were I get really bashing. The characters are some of the most forgettable characters ever. Dragon Age Origins had great characters, even though some were really annoying (Alister and Leliana) you still remember them and they had some redeeming qualities about them. In this game, nearly every character is forgettable. Let me list your companions.

1. Bethany: Your little sister who is a mage and pretty much has no personality what so ever other then trying to be...a little sister. Great for the party, very weak personality. So if you don't want her, just be a Mage and see an ogre smash her into pulp.

2. Carver: Your younger brother and Bethany's twin. Unlike Bethany who doesn't stick out, Carver tries to hard to stick out. He's always wining and complaining even worse then Alistair, something I find nearly impossible. He really had no huge storyline significue and can only be a full companion if your a mage. But how does he reward you by letting him live? He joins the Templers who hunt mages. WTF?

3. Aveline: She's basically has the personality of a  Lawful Good character. Other then her love for all things order and just, her only use is being your tank (Which I give points for not being a guy this time) and just killing things. She is very useful in certain side quests and only has one moment of funny in the plot.

4. Varric: This guy is fucking awesome! Screw any elf hero from any other RPG, I want me a fucking crossbow sarcastic dwarf! This guy not only is a great companion (And the only one who will be with you no matter what) but he's got a personality like gold. Every scene with him is just great and the way he lies and deals his way through the story's problems? You'll laugh every time. Pretty much my only favorite companion.

5. Merrill: If you like innocent moe like characters. Merrill is the closest you'll get in an WRPG. She's got an interesting personality and her innocence will get a chuckle out of you once and awhile. But what I really like about her is her story, it's very well tragically made and I that's why I give her more points in character development the others.

6. Anders: .....what have they done to you? How do you take one of the funniest characters in Dragon Age and turn him into a wreck? Anders is no longer funny or cool. All he whines about are "the injustice of Mages" and the "Evils of the Templers" every fucking time. He's like listening to a preacher that never shuts the hell up, only bisexual and depressing. Other then that, he's your main healer. Oh and he also causes the entire world to go to war. Dick.

7. Fenrir: Emo with white hair and a huge sword who use to be a slave and wants revenge against his master. JRPG much Bioware? Next.

8. Isabella: Only there to provide sex jokes, still,.. she fights well.

8. Sebastian: For a guy who was DLC, he's not worth it really. Varric is a much better long range guy and this guy has the personality of a church boy. The guy  has this big revenge plot, but it really doesn't go anywhere special. You won't miss much by losing him.

So yeah, your companions are mostly dull and chances are you'll even lose a few early on in your replays of the game. I'm starting to think Bioware focused to much on mechanics and forgot they had to make the game's narrative interesting.

6. Sound
The sound....is very not notaciable. Nothing special about sound because it's not changed since Dragon Age. Oh and the voices of characters? Need work.

OVERALL: 4/5
So While there are some ups to this game there are also some downs as well. I had fun, but not the same kind of fun I had when playing Dragon Age Origins which is like 5/5 in my book. I believe they were trying to make the game too much like Mass Effect and not enough Dragon Age. I still say you should buy it, but don't expect to play it as much as you did with the original.

Well that's my review. See you next week

We are Gamers and we are Legion.

Later


So you can see, almost every character is