i-Rix Review: Dragon Age II

This was originally posted on my GiantBomb.com profile. You can find that HERE.

Sequels will never be judged on their own merits. It's an almost sad fate that all are resigned to. When the original game is bad, middling, or only good, that leaves plenty of room for its successor to impress and improve. However, when the predecessor is a game that is so revered and praised as Dragon Age: Origins, where does that leave its sequel?

On its own merits, Dragon Age II is a great game with a darkly pessimistic narrative, smart tweaks to the formula in favor of accessibility, and tons of content for RPG buffs to sink their teeth into. It isn't (and shouldn't be) its differentiation from Origins that DAII should be condemned for. No, what makes DAII a great game, but disappointingly so, is the inherent lack of polish and immersion-shattering shortcuts throughout. They're surmountable, but they're things that shouldn't have to be surmounted.

STORY

Dragon Age II follows the rise of power of one Hawke. A refugee from Lothering on the continent of Ferelden, Hawke and his family flee the Blight for the city of Kirkwall in the Free Marches. Starting off in the slums, Hawke must rise out of the muck and corruption of the city in the prevailing years following the Warden's triumph from Origins. The player will form a rag-tag posse of his or her fellow down-trodden, and elevate them through a misguided trip to the Deep Roads, a foreign invasion, and a city-wide civil war.

On the whole, Dragon Age II plays with the idea that nobody is "perfect" more than its predecessor ever did. Every single one of your party members could be said to be nothing less than a scumbag, but it's that feeling that drives the narrative. Hawke is a desperate person driven to desperate measures, and throughout the various choices in the plot of DAII's central plot threads and secondary story lines, the player will find out just what they're willing to compromise in order to reach their desired ends. It isn't the sweeping call to arms that Origins was, and it even takes place primarily in a single city, but it's a far more personal story that plays on the more "real" elements in Dragon Age lore.

CONTENT

Being the single player RPG that it is, the campaign (and inevitable DLC release) is all you're getting with Dragon Age II. As such, I can only explain the content of DAII as it compares to another Bioware game, Mass Effect 2. If one takes the straight line approach, Dragon Age II takes an almost disturbingly short time to finish. However, if played that way, you're not really getting the narrative tapestry of the game. There are oodles upon oodles of side-quests and companion activities in the game, and they all play into your relationship with your party and the city itself. As such, depending on what you do and do not, you're going to get content that's either open or closed to you. Regardless, my personal playthrough which involved tons of side-questing and exploration of relationships led to a play time of just under 40 hours. That puts the content available in DAII at just about the standard for your average RPG.

GAMEPLAY

Having tons of content makes little different if you don't have a good time playing the game. Personally, as a console player, I hated playing Dragon Age: Origins. As a game, it's tough to "hate" playing it and still have a positive feel about the whole thing. That was because the experience and immersion quality was overwhelming in that game, and I'd say it is even more-so with Dragon Age II. This is partly because your character actually has a voice now, so rather than be a mute marionette for the story to happen around, you're actively taking part in it. This also goes for the fact that, spending the entire time in a single city, you become attached and integrated into its identity.

But that is also one of DAII's biggest problems. Where Bioware could have used this fact to design a city that was genuinely interesting and fun to romp around in, Kirkwall is fairly bland. You'll become acquainted with the same city centers that, by the time hour 10 rolls around, you're going to know Kirkwall like the back of your hand. That doesn't exactly scream ADVENTURE!

It also doesn't help that when your questing leads you out of the city, you'll encounter one of the more egregious errors Bioware commits here. Instead of constructing wholly unique locales, Dragon Age II relies almost exclusively on recycled dungeons, mansions, and warehouses. One has to simply inquire as to why this is. The game takes place in a single city with limited environments, was it truly a difficult task for the developers to come up with unique areas for the player to explore? It's true that the game is far less about an adventure than it is about presenting a more character-driven experience, but that doesn't excuse sending the player into the same environments being sold as being distinct from one another.

And although DAII does take a step backwards in that sense, I feel like it takes a greater step forward in terms of actual controls and gameplay. Again, I'm a console player, and Origins was primarily a PC gamer's game. With II, the gameplay is faster and more forgiving. Depth still exists in character building and setting up tactics, but things like character-position in battle and other micro-managing aspects are far less important. Personally, I found these additions make the game far more fun to play, but also one that doesn't have quite the satisfying or rewarding experience for strategy buffs. It's also worth noting that the player only has control over the armor that Hawke wears in-game, making a more stream-lined experience (again, like in Mass Effect 2), but one that doesn't necessarily have a positive or negative effect on the game.

PRESENTATION

Dragon Age II is a far better looking game than its predecessor, and yet it doesn't breach the ceiling of mediocrity. Although player models look and animate much better, everything still contains a very generic, blocky, and un-detailed look to it. The newly designed aesthetics give the game a better identity, but there is enough of the generic holdings on from the previous game that it's never wholly interesting to look at. Also, in the 360 version, there are some RIDICULOUS graphical glitches that permeate about 60% of the game's cutscenes. When models are shrinking and twitching during serious happenings, even if for a few seconds, it really jars one out of the experience.

Luckily, Bioware once again nails it on the sound front. A sweeping orchestral soundtrack backlights some fantastic voice-acting. Each character really feels human (or... Dwarven, Elven, or Qunari as the case may be), and it really helps with the feelings of attachment or resentment you'll feel for each. Hawke him or herself also is backed by a solid voice-actor, although they can occasionally skew a bit too far into the campy direction.

FINAL VERDICT

I don't think that sticking closer to Origins would have made Dragon Age II a better game, far from it. I think the distinctions and departures from the original are what make it a great game, and one that can stand on its own two feet. However, what I can fault DAII for are its genuine feeling of unpolished incompleteness. That doesn't mean it cannot be enjoyed, but when a game wishes you to drive double digit hours into its world, the experience best feel wholly immersive. You can, and I believe, should immerse yourself in Dragon Age II, but you may need to turn a blind eye to some of the uglier elements of the package.

Because of that, Dragon Age II slays a difficult 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5.

You Damn Blight: Dragon Age II Demo Impressions

Being EXCLUSIVELY a console and handheld gamer since I was but a wee lad, I'm just a novice when it comes to the idea of a strategic, real-time RPG. If you were to mention Baldur's Gate to me, I'd automatically assume you were talking about Dark Alliance, the top down hack and slasher (if that gives you any sort of perspective). As such, when Bioware brought the much lauded Dragon Age to consoles and I actually played, I experienced conflicting emotions as I trudged through a playthrough. Although I really loved the world Bioware had created, loved the character depth and interaction, and the myriad options for building a Darkspawn slaying crew, I continually got the sneaking suspicion that this game was not made for me.

But not only did I feel it was not made for me, but I felt as if it was not made for console gamers as a whole.

So when I heard Dragon Age II was going to take a more action-oriented, more console friendly approach, I was one of the few who was way more excited for the game because of it. If Bioware wanted to make the game more like Mass Effect, more power to them. Luckily, Bioware ALSO had the good sense to release a demo to show just how all that actionin' up and refinin' was supposed to work. And ya know what? It's good.

From a combat standpoint, the game just feels a lot crisper. Instead of pointing in the direction of a baddie, and hitting A to engage in a disconnected battle of attrition, now every push of the A button executes an attack. This works in the console's favor in two ways; by making combat much more engaging, and avoiding the "trapped" feeling one would almost always feel like whilst in combat. With this combat system, you can freely flank, retreat, and crowd control because you can easily engage multiple targets.

I played as a mage during the demo, and after taking control of my front line fighters and directing them to intercept and stop the approaching hordes, I easily stood back and blasted away at them from a safe distance. Never did I feel like I couldn't get away, or that I was locked into combat with a specific target whilst my help was needed elsewhere. This may mean that the game is a tad more forgiving, but I certainly felt that strategy was needed in many of the tougher battles. It's just now much more accessible to a console gamer like me.

The other major improvement is the game's graphical style. Notice I didn't say graphics as a whole, because this honestly doesn't look much better than Origins. Now, however, conversations and cutscenes have a much less stiff take to them, and are far more interesting to watch unfold. It also doesn't hurt that faces look much better and animate in a more realistic fashion. Still, textures don't look all that great, and in my opinion, the redesigns for the Darkspawn character models actually look WORSE, but as a whole, this new art style is definitely working in the game's favor (at least on consoles).

My final thoughts from this demo is simply this; Dragon Age II has improved that which I disliked about the first one, and seemingly maintained that which worked. Only the final product will truly tell, but I'm in full support of the changes going on here. Some may scoff that the game is being "dumbed down", or that they're trying to draw in a larger audience by emulating Bioware's other major franchise. I can't attest to that one way or another. What I CAN say is that the game still fundamentally feels like Dragon Age... just funner. At the end of the day, that's really all I ever asked for.

I'm Champion Hawke, and this is my favorite shoppe in Lothering...

Impressions of Dragon Age 2 [The (not so) Short Version]

Seeing as I am probably the last person in the world that completed Dragon Age: Origins and that I probably have less than merited opinions on it, I figure I may as well add to the cacophony of conflicting opinions on where the series is headed and what the possible changes could be.

I suppose I should just begin by saying what my overall impression is of what's been announced about the game. Generally speaking, I'm truly excited for what the proposed changes will be. A general idea of my thoughts can be found in the Dragon Age 2 discussion of last week's TalkGames podcast, but here are the individual bullet points on what I'm hopeful about and what I'm NOT so hopeful about with Dragon Age 2's announcement

WHAT SOUNDS COOL, DUDE?!

• Improved graphics. I don't believe I'm the only one who believed Dragon Age: Origins looked BAD... and I mean REALLY BAD. I'm never one who gets super worked up over a few rough edges in a game, but considering how character-driven Dragon Age is, and how the lack of convincing character models and poor animations really ruined some heavy moments in the game for me, any improvements are really welcome. Also there are mentions of a new "visual style", hinting at a more stylized game. That's always a good way to go in my book.
• Combat seems to be moving more towards action. This is a point of contention with most who discuss this game, believing it as another sign that the game is becoming more like Mass Effect with swords rather than staying closer to its more archaic and hardcore roots. As someone who likes Mass Effect a lot more as a game, this probably excites me more than anything. I realize because I played the first game on Xbox 360, I may have a different experience than most, but I reiterate my feelings; It may have been EASIER to manage the game's various systems had I used a PC, but I doubt it would have made it more enjoyable.
• The idea of a voiced protagonist and more centralized plot seems like a step in the right direction. Dragon Age: Origins had a fantastic storyline with great characters, but little of that really had anything to do with YOUR character. Sure, you were recognized as the Grey Warden and the leader of the group or whatever, but not having a voice and kinda ineffectually standing to the side whilst all the discussion was standing by didn't really do much to make you feel like a super integral part to the plot. Hopefully that's remedied in the sequel.
• Darker edge? I know this is pretty tricky to pull off without seeming like you're trying too hard, but I thought Dragon Age was supposed to be about DARK Fantasy. Sure, Origins was pretty violent and there were some pretty messed up aspects, but it still felt very much like high fantasy, and therefore at times could be extremely comparable to other already existing franchises. The current screenshots are showing a much more haggard world and a darker overtone, so I hope that Dragon Age 2 actually takes it all the way into dark territory.

WHAT MIGHT BE LAME, BRO?!

• Improved graphics?! If you say so, dudes, because if these early screenshots are any indication, your definition of improved is certainly different from mine. The fist image looks pretty good, but nothing earth shattering. I hope the game looks a lot better in motion or starts looking better as we get closer to release.
• New territory to explore. I guess this is a good thing, but considering how much info. and care was put into Ferelden, placing our hero into a whole new territory could make the game feel considerably different in a way that may be hard to appreciate.
• Lack of variety with the protagonist. It seems that the ability to play as either a warrior, a rogue, or a mage is still intact, but as the protagonist has a set name and back-story, that eliminates one of the interesting things about your main character in DA: O, and that is the origin story. Sure you can make your individual "Hawke" unique through his/her actions, but there is definitely a lot of truth in people's concerns that Hawke is going to be the Commander Shepard of Dragon Age.

As you can see, my concerns are far outweighed by my hopes for this game. I wasn't a huge fan of the first Dragon Age, but I am a fan of Bioware's ability to tell a story and, if the promised changes all come together, this should shape up to be one of the best games of 2011. After all, it's not always bad to try new things.

Speaking of trying new things... that gives me an idea for my next blog. Anyway, if you have any comments on what you just read, or just liked what you saw, just go ahead and leave me a comment. And if you REALLY liked it, go ahead and give me a follow. Until next time...