So Dragon Age 2 is really bad on the PC and consolized?

[Dumac]

Well duh, that's the downside to having a high health character that does lots of damage up close, range. Fighters aren't supposed to be great at everything. I don't remember any fight where the enemies ran away from me either. Sometimes they'd run to my archer or mage, but the fighter could either threaten or taunt to draw them back to himself. It worked very well in DA:O, just like you expect in a good, party based RPG where each class has its role. The fighters in DA2 come straight out of an action game.

I never played awakening so I have no opinion to give on it, but I use charge in DA2 and sometimes the enemies literally just explode as my fighter teleports to the target location. It looks incredibly stupid and it completely breaks any semblance of immersion.

The animations in DA2 are not impressive at all. They are way over the top. It's like they want every single swing, kill, flip, dodge, etc. to be something highlight worthy, when that's not the way to go. DA:O had it best with the finishing moves that you would sometimes see when killing enemies (and thanks to mods you could mess the frequency of seeing it). The fighting animations were much better, way more realistic. The game pace was more suited to a party based RPG as well, while DA2 definitely does combat at a running pace that makes you think action game.

They could release the perfect game and there would still be complaints, there's enough people out there to supply all sides with opinions. But the point is that true PC RPGs are a very rare breed nowadays, and to see Dragon Age go from that to being lumped in with the countless action games you see today is very disheartening. It's still a good game, but it's obviously a step down from the first. I would have high hopes for the 3rd but then I remember that EA owns them now.

Honestly, changing animations doesn't make DA2 an action game. Sure, there may be gap closers, but that is just another skill. The actual mechanics behind the fighting is very much the same, albeit a bit sped up.

 

[Dumac]

I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say that I'd rather have a Fable clone than a Baldur's Gate clone.

Ugh...

I liked Fable (the first one only, the other two sucked), but I'd prefer Baldur's Gate.

But to each their own

 

[zinfamous]

It depends on the game in question,DA2 is not the worst game I have played(far from it),to get a true idea of the game you have to buy it then complete the game before you can truly say its worth your money or not ,a lot of game companies like to change things ,sometimes for the better and other times for the worst,I still do my bit to support PC gaming but also voice my opinion at their official forums on the game in question about its good and bad points and the direction the developers have taken.

We are lucky PC games are a little cheaper compared to consoles etc.... I stand by what I stated earlier,lets say so far " its just within not waste of money level" however that does not mean I cannot be concerned about a few things in the game etc or be concerned in the direction they are going,only the buyer/gamer in question can judge if a game is worth his/her money or not.


I also feel giving the game developers constructive feedback at their forums is better then not buying the game,how can anybody judge a game by a review if they have not played it themselves?

FOr me, personally, aside from the declining appearance of "traditional" style genre games, the biggest problem with PC games is they're being released long before they are ready, and only half complete.

For this reason--and this reason only--I simply do not buy anything new. It's gotten to the point where they are asking you to pay $50-60 for content that, 5-10 years ago, would have cost about $20-30.

Sure there are huge improvements with game engines and eye candy and shit like that--but is that really part of the cost?

I will pick up DA2 when teh complete game is available for ~$30 on Steam, because I will simply not pay 10 more for ~1 hour of "extra content." I don't really lament the loss of things like crafting and thievery, as others have mentioned: those skills were always just distracting and mostly useless in the games that had them.

I would hope, though, that the companion armor thing can be rectified in a future mod...if those will be allowed. :\

 

[Red Storm]

Honestly, changing animations doesn't make DA2 an action game. Sure, there may be gap closers, but that is just another skill. The actual mechanics behind the fighting is very much the same, albeit a bit sped up.

I didn't say the animations did, they just make it look like it. It's the game pace, which you yourself admit has increased. Gap closers also increase that pace even more. It makes it play more like an action game.

 

[Dumac]

To be honest, I see a lot of apologizing in the thread. I don't even think people realize they do it.

I agree.

I preored DA2 a long time ago. I will play it. I will enjoy it to some extent, as there just aren't many WRPGs out there and I cant afford to cross another off my list.

But are all these unnecessary changes Bioware made excusable? No, not at all.

They detract from the overall experience of the game, and cause DA2 to be an underwhelming sequel to DAO.

I'll play it, but I won't be completely satisfied by it.

 

[gorcorps]

I loled when I read that the warrior animations didn't look realistic. Apparently people will pick apart anything these days. I mean really... crying about realism in a game about dwarves, magic, and witches? The things mentioned made me a tad worried about it, but honestly if these are the types of complaints people have I think I'll still like it.

*snort* realism in a fantasy game... lol

 

[Dumac]

I didn't say the animations did, they just make it look like it. It's the game pace, which you yourself admit has increased. Gap closers also increase that pace even more. It makes it play more like an action game.

Pace doesn't make it an action game.

Rome total war has fast forward/slow down/etc buttons. Does it become an action game when you use these? No, it doesn't. Not when you can pause at any time.

If we took DA:O and slowed down the animations to one frame per second, does it suddenly become extremely tactical as it takes 3 days for you character to hobble over to a darkspawn? No. If we speed up DA:O so it takes only 9 seconds instead of 10 to swing you sword, is it an action game now? No.

The mechanics are the same. Speed is irrelevant as long as the user had control of how time flows (pausing). It isn't like you need quick reflexes or a high apm here.

 

[Dumac]

I loled when I read that the warrior animations didn't look realistic. Apparently people will pick apart anything these days. I mean really... crying about realism in a game about dwarves, magic, and witches? The things mentioned made me a tad worried about it, but honestly if these are the types of complaints people have I think I'll still like it.

*snort* realism in a fantasy game... lol

There can be realism in a fantasy game. You create a universe with certain rules, and you expect things to make sense in this universe.

The animations in DA2 may be a bit over the top; it is a stylistic choice. Of course some will dislike it, as it seems less grounded in reality than DA:O.

There are different levels of fantasy (high, realistic, etc).

 

[Red Storm]

I loled when I read that the warrior animations didn't look realistic. Apparently people will pick apart anything these days. I mean really... crying about realism in a game about dwarves, magic, and witches? The things mentioned made me a tad worried about it, but honestly if these are the types of complaints people have I think I'll still like it.

*snort* realism in a fantasy game... lol

By "realistic" I'm talking about a fighter literally teleporting to the other side of battle and having enemies explode into gibs. Or a rogue doing crazy sideways backflips or literally teleporting himself behind people to land backstabs. It looks ridiculous, and very "unrealistic" compared to the original game.

If you're really having that much trouble understanding the posts on this thread then there's nothing more I can say.

Pace doesn't make it an action game.

Rome total war has fast forward/slow down/etc buttons. Does it become an action game when you use these? No, it doesn't. Not when you can pause at any time.

If we took DA:O and slowed down the animations to one frame per second, does it suddenly become extremely tactical as it takes 3 days for you character to hobble over to a darkspawn? No. If we speed up DA:O so it takes only 9 seconds instead of 10 to swing you sword, is it an action game now? No.

The mechanics are the same. Speed is irrelevant as long as the user had control of how time flows (pausing). It isn't like you need quick reflexes or a high apm here.

*sigh* you too?

Action games are fast paced. Action movies are fast paced. Action books are fast paced. Pace alone doesn't make an action game, but an action game does indeed play fast paced. Everyone here knows what it means when you say the combat is faster pace making it feel more like an action game. DA:O's pace was more suited to a party based RPG, DA2's pace is more suited to an action game. That's all.

 

[Phokus]

Bioware forums are locking down threads critical of DA2, whether they are troll threads or threads that have constructive criticism, while keeping threads that praise DA2 open:

http://www.gamersnexus.net/news/520-bioware-locks-critical-posts-alleges-spam

 

[Mem]

Bioware forums are locking down threads critical of DA2, whether they are troll threads or threads that have constructive criticism, while keeping threads that praise DA2 open:

http://www.gamersnexus.net/news/520-bioware-locks-critical-posts-alleges-spam

I noticed that as well,you can't really say anything too bad before somebody starts calling you a troll or worst,criticism should always be allowed.

They are even arguing that the only people posting negative comments or criticism are ones that don't have the game,lol how stupid is that?

 

[Anteaus]

I noticed that as well,you can't really say anything too bad before somebody starts calling you a troll or worst,criticism should always be allowed.

They are even arguing that the only people posting negative comments or criticism are ones that don't have the game,lol how stupid is that?

I'm sure thats actually true to a point. If you look earlier in this thread you will see that some people were in fact judging the game prior to even playing it. Of course that happens for every game.

Maybe Bioware was having trouble with name calling and high emotions? I haven't read any of the removed threads so I'm speculating. I don't believe they removed it just because they were being negative. There has to be another component.

 

[nageov3t]

How did you get to the PC Gaming forum without knowing the answer to that?

hah.

I was planning on buying DA2 for my desktop... then everyone in this thread was like "omfg, consolization" so I figured I may as well just buy it for my xbox.

I've been playing it all day (no car till Friday night means lots of boredom) and really enjoying the game.

 

[Mem]

I'm sure thats actually true to a point. If you look earlier in this thread you will see that some people were in fact judging the game prior to even playing it. Of course that happens for every game.

Maybe Bioware was having trouble with name calling and high emotions? I haven't read any of the removed threads so I'm speculating. I don't believe they removed it just because they were being negative. There has to be another component.

Fact is there are people that have the game and should be allowed to give criticism in their forums ,some of the negative threads have gone,I had a good look just now ,maybe some were trolls but not all of those threads,one poor guy meantioned he misses the wardens and got jumped on virtually ,some people there are so sensitive and defensive,I don't think they have proper MOD control.

 

[Dumac]

By "realistic" I'm talking about a fighter literally teleporting to the other side of battle and having enemies explode into gibs. Or a rogue doing crazy sideways backflips or literally teleporting himself behind people to land backstabs. It looks ridiculous, and very "unrealistic" compared to the original game.

If you're really having that much trouble understanding the posts on this thread then there's nothing more I can say.



*sigh* you too?

Action games are fast paced. Action movies are fast paced. Action books are fast paced. Pace alone doesn't make an action game, but an action game does indeed play fast paced. Everyone here knows what it means when you say the combat is faster pace making it feel more like an action game. DA:O's pace was more suited to a party based RPG, DA2's pace is more suited to an action game. That's all.

There are slow pased action games. Demon's Souls, for example. I take things slow, methodical, and with caution. Yet is an action game.

Many action games are fast paced and many tactical games are slow paced, yet the pace doesn't define the game.

Whether a game is an action game depends on gameplay mechanics. In Demon's Souls, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, etc, you take direct control of your character, and each button is mapped to an action, like you are the puppet master and the character in your puppet.

DAO and DA2 are tactical in that you are in a higher view giving orders to little guys on a field. Tactics come into play, having a multiman party and various situations. The slight speed up in DA2 doesn't change this at all. Just because it is tactical doesn't mean your characters have to move at a snails pace. This is like arguing speed chess = action board game...which isn't even a good example since DA2 still lets you control the pace by pausing at any time to give orders.

 

[Mem]

Another thing I can't believe some people (if you check their forums)have finished the game already,they must of rushed through it unless they are talking about the demo lol.

I always take my time with RPGs.

 

[zerocool84]

Another thing I can't believe some people (if you check their forums)have finished the game already,they must of rushed through it unless they are talking about the demo lol.

I always take my time with RPGs.

Just so they can say they finished it first.

 

[Dumac]

Another thing I can't believe some people (if you check their forums)have finished the game already,they must of rushed through it unless they are talking about the demo lol.

I always take my time with RPGs.

I thought the game was only 25 hours or so.

 

[Mem]

Just so they can say they finished it first.

Pointless,you know there's a good chance there will be an expansion not to meantion DA3,besides more fun exploring every area and doing every possible quest,at least that way you get your money's worth and can say you have played the game throughly.


I normally play through twice ie as mage then as warrior.

 

[Nik]

so Bioware finally sold out. Oh well they had a pretty good run. Just don't mess up ME3 please. After ME3 I am done with Bioware.

I'm more shocked at BioWare's storyline failure.

This does not give me hope for ME3 or SW:ToR.

 

[Mem]

I thought the game was only 25 hours or so.

I have heard or should I say read too many different playing estimates.

Two Worlds 2 I played twice through and that averaged a good 40 hours,DA2 well too early to say.

 

[IcePickFreak]

I've been enjoying it enough so far, but it is a bit sad this is where the DAO franchise headed. I'm happy I have another rpg to play, but it's disappointing that there are no more "classic" style rpgs. DAO was as close as we've seen in quite awhile, and for that candle to blow out and become one of the many other rpg-lite titles, well... meh.

There's gotta be an indie dev team out there to make a traditional rpg. The graphics just need to be acceptable - ie. no cartoony stuff, but an rpg doesn't need to rely on graphics as much as say an fps. Just gameplay & story.

 

[Dumac]

I have heard or should I say read too many different playing estimates.

Two Worlds 2 I played twice through and that averaged a good 40 hours,DA2 well too early to say.

True. I have heard people say DA:O took them 30 hours, when it took me nearly 60, and that is without any DLC.

 

[ginfest]

All they have to do is remake BG/BGII and PS:T with the new engine. Maybe add or change some of the content to freshen it up? Anyway, those games would sell a ton!

 

[Mem]

They have Yay or Nay poll up now for both DA2 and DOA,I voted in DOA ,it has 89% Yay and 9% Nay.

I skipped DA2 voting until I have finished the game,however its at 47% Yay and 48% Nay.
Poll link below.
http://social.bioware.com/956165/polls/