Dragon Age 2 is underrated as f***

[Pink Ranger]

I played all three Dragon Age games for the first time, back to back, during quarantine, but I almost skipped the second one because all I heard online was "OMG IT'S SO BAD OMG TRASH GAME!!!".

Thank God I didn't listen to all the whining, because I absolutely loved it. Here I will admit that being aware up front about the repetitive dungeons and the fact that it's set in just one city probably helped manage my expectations, but once I suspended my disbelief about the locations looking the same, it was a really satisfying game.

The really punchy combat was like a shot in the arm after the zero-feedback sluggishness of DA:O, especially when playing with the cross-class combos, but that's not even what I love about it the most.
The key factor for me was that the entire thing was almost non-stop character or plot driven.
I realised this while playing Inquisition, which was a massive game where hours and hours went by with almost zero dialogue, save for the occasional line of party banter. I had 3 entirely untouched zones before the final mission, because the game didn't even bother to provide a reason/requirement for me to go there, other than to farm xp or motherf*cking elfroot.

DA2, maybe even BECAUSE of its narrow scope, had close to zero downtime. I never went anywhere without a clear purpose, and it was almost always driven by some narrative, which either progressed the main plot or built the world. The companions weren't just set dressing as in DA:O and and DA:I (with a few exceptions), their presence and character arcs were woven throughout the entire game. Hardly any of them were cookie cutter, a lot of them had some sordid backstories which were great to uncover, with a lot of morally murky decisions to make in the process.
Another thing about the story is that while initially meandering, there is a genuine sense of escalating slowburn tension that the others just didn't have. DA:O and DA:I plopped down an end goal in front of you to kill some Big Bad, and you slowly chipped away at the game until you finally did. In DA2, you just felt things reach breaking point. I remember how genuinely afraid I was to enter the Arishok's camp in the end of Act 2. Great stuff.

And even the game's biggest weakness, i.e. the identical looking dungeons didn't ruin it too much, because all those excursions were brief, hit and run affairs. DA:O had really drawn out, endless dungeon crawls that I thought would never end - I thought I'll never get out of Orzammar.

Anyway, I hope that the initial uproar of the disappointment that DA2 caused on release has died down enough for people to get over themselves and enjoy the good stuff about the game, because there is a lot to love.

[GamingWithSilvertail]

I always thought DAI was the bad one o.o

[Včelí medvídek]

İlk olarak BlueBeak tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Včelí medvídek tarafından gönderildi:

DA2 is jsut meh and I am seriuously thinking about refund - looking away from EA Origin (aka another not wanted software paltform] so far I reached the city and about hour in game, but the experience is terrible for me. Combat is like some action anime rpg with terrible camera angle and locked focus and characters lacks both complexity and something I can identify with them..

I looked forward this title but I am so much dissapointed of it so far... is story really so good to jsutify terrible gameplay experience it offer?

The characters do get better overtime but the combat doesn't.

Thank you. I was in doubt but decided to refund and spend my time on better games.

Can watch story on YT.

[asd]

Most of the quests are unique, and the plot was great, but I disagree it was the party of companion characters which has yet to be surpassed that made it good. Also funny hawke is best hawke.

[Quacksalber]

DA2 is my favourite of them. OFC it's true that the dungeons are all the same yadda yadda, but like you said, they are over fast, and in spite of DAO's replayability, if I consider replaying them all, I find I cannot face DAO again (I have played it about 5 times though). I love Hawke, and the rivalry-friendship system is much better then the usual "suck up to everyone" system where companions hate you and leave or even attack you unless you are not a good leader, but a person who goes behind everyone's back to avoid making them mad. I also actually like that you aren't this amazing hero that fixes everything.

[Sir Fed Dump]

The camera angle killed the combat. It was annoying to click on an enemy to attack, & wind up moving instead.

[jack_of_tears]

DA2 is actually my favorite game in the series, aside from 'Awakenings'. For once the story isn't about the 'chosen one' who is destined to save the world, it's just about Hawke, who happens to be the coolest person in Kirkwall. The characters are the best in the trilogy, Hawke is fun and interesting, the combat is a definite step up from the first game, and the DLCs are mostly all good.

The original release had a few problems - mostly reused assets and the last act was rushed, but the DLC fix those problems. I have played the game at least 8 times and the only reason I don't still play it is because I have the story memorized. The game feels a lot different if you play as good, cruel, or snarky - and even as a combination of the three. My favorite playthrough was one where I chose not to stick to one personality but simply answer the way I felt was most appropriate.

I really wish they had stayed with their original intention and kept Hawke as the protagonist of 'Inquisition', not only would it have made narrative sense but it would have given you a much cooler protagonist than the Inquisitor we were stuck with.

[Bluebeak]

İlk olarak jack_of_tears tarafından gönderildi:

DA2 is actually my favorite game in the series, aside from 'Awakenings'. For once the story isn't about the 'chosen one' who is destined to save the world, it's just about Hawke, who happens to be the coolest person in Kirkwall. The characters are the best in the trilogy, Hawke is fun and interesting, the combat is a definite step up from the first game, and the DLCs are mostly all good.

The original release had a few problems - mostly reused assets and the last act was rushed, but the DLC fix those problems. I have played the game at least 8 times and the only reason I don't still play it is because I have the story memorized. The game feels a lot different if you play as good, cruel, or snarky - and even as a combination of the three. My favorite playthrough was one where I chose not to stick to one personality but simply answer the way I felt was most appropriate.

I really wish they had stayed with their original intention and kept Hawke as the protagonist of 'Inquisition', not only would it have made narrative sense but it would have given you a much cooler protagonist than the Inquisitor we were stuck with.

I don't really agree the Warden in DAO was a "chosen one" character, he wasn't even supposed to stop the blight by himself initially.

[jack_of_tears]

İlk olarak BlueBeak tarafından gönderildi:

I don't really agree the Warden in DAO was a "chosen one" character, he wasn't even supposed to stop the blight by himself initially.

It does have the whole 'you're the only one who can save the world!' narrative, however, which has become a boring and repetitive trademark of Bioware by this point.

[Mattsworth]

Very good animations and graphics but deffo a drop in quailty in story telling when compared to Dragon age orgins.

[LukanGamer]

İlk olarak jack_of_tears tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak BlueBeak tarafından gönderildi:

I don't really agree the Warden in DAO was a "chosen one" character, he wasn't even supposed to stop the blight by himself initially.

It does have the whole 'you're the only one who can save the world!' narrative, however, which has become a boring and repetitive trademark of Bioware by this point.

"by this point" -->
so you saying game is not at fault as it was not back then.

"have the whole 'you're the only one who can save the world" -->
I mean not exactly at all really;
warden alone will lose . I mean whole point of game is getting everyone and without spoilers there is many ways it can end.
Not to mention if you fail as many expect the world would not suffer just Fereldan the others would win when it came to them with vastly more capable fighters and wardens.
->
Though it is nice of the game to show a possible what if scenario with darkspawn dlc if you did not exist (aka how Feralden would fall).

[vior wolfkin]

The best way to play 2 is to press start , then go and watch telly ! choices do not matter , this game i also tried to play in Quarantine ,,,, but found myself growing bored silly and re playing Origins and awakenings again or even watching the ads on the telly ! .... rotten game

[Daemoc]

I liked DA2 as well. It was more like Mass Effect than Dragon Age though. I am a far bigger Mass Effect fan than DA, but I can see how the DA fans would not like the change.

DAI was by far the worst IMO. It really was not a bad game though. In fact there was a great 40 hour game in there, it was just wrapped in 400 hours of BS. I can not get myself to play it again. I have tried on multiple occasions. I have double digit playthroughs of 1 and 2.

[Sotj]

Only problem of DA2 is that savage map re-use, making every map the same + too much filler stuff. Still it's pretty good, combat interface is getting better than DA1 because now you can target enemies without manually clicking them with mouse, and looting have been made much better / easier.

[Sotj]

İlk olarak vior wolfkin tarafından gönderildi:

The best way to play 2 is to press start , then go and watch telly ! choices do not matter , this game i also tried to play in Quarantine ,,,, but found myself growing bored silly and re playing Origins and awakenings again or even watching the ads on the telly ! .... rotten game

True about choices, I think only conversation where choices matter is with elves, you can make them all attack you, well that + romance choices obviously.

[vior wolfkin]

Comparing DA" to origins is like is like chess compared to noughts and crosses ! 2 is cheap and tacky , boring and under developed ! ... Shame as even had they left the leveling mechanics exactly as origins they could of spent the time saved making this game better