125 replies to this topic

[evilbeefjerky]

Yeah I know BioWare likes their mysteries but it doesn't sit well with me.

Actually, BioWare does not really mind inconsistencies. I remember that there was a timeline discrepancy between the electronic version of 'The Calling' and the printed book - supposedly the printed version contained the correct timeline so they may just retcon anything that does not fit in well with their vision for future DA games.

At least they are trying harder in the ME universe, this is more like the wild west, no respect for the law at all ~

I'm not that bothered by inconsistencies overall, but I do take exception when it treads on my personal choices.
I swear if they come out and say the Warden went with Morrigan through the magical mystery mirror no matter their background I will slap them silly.

[illtypehuman]

I think the problem with our new DA is that we feel kind of pushed to our decisions. there´s no real choice.

I remember saving and loading before every talk with morrigan back then. and I loved it. choosing one wrong line would´ve made that witch crazy! And you never knew how things would turn out.

Now we have the KLICK HEART option. Very Nice. "Hey, I don´t talk to girls in the real world. please guide me." unfortunately, this is what fails to connect hawke to myself as a player. and this is what I call the mass effect effect. No real choice. You don´t have to think by yourself. it´s all planned out. In DA:O you had to think. What are gamers in the mind of EA?

Perhaps I´m drunk, I played DA2 now like 10 hours in a row. It is fun, but I feel that I miss something. What is it?

[jim_uk]

I think the problem with our new DA is that we feel kind of pushed to our decisions. there´s no real choice.

I remember saving and loading before every talk with morrigan back then. and I loved it. choosing one wrong line would´ve made that witch crazy! And you never knew how things would turn out.

Now we have the KLICK HEART option. Very Nice. "Hey, I don´t talk to girls in the real world. please guide me." unfortunately, this is what fails to connect hawke to myself as a player. and this is what I call the mass effect effect. No real choice. You don´t have to think by yourself. it´s all planned out. In DA:O you had to think. What are gamers in the mind of EA?

Perhaps I´m drunk, I played DA2 now like 10 hours in a row. It is fun, but I feel that I miss something. What is it?

I went back and played for DA:O for several hours and this is what really jumped out at me. I had to think before speaking in DA:O, in this game it really doesn't matter too much what you say or how you treat people. I'm on my third DA2 playthrough (can't be that bad obviously), the first time I was a polite goody type character, the second a smart arse and this time nasty and violent, apart from the slightly altered replies everything has played out exactly the same. The game gives the illusion of choice rather than real choice. It's not as bad as Oblivion where the choices ended when you hit "done" on the character creator but Bioware are certainly heading that way.

[evilbeefjerky]

Yes, while the facial expressions and the voice actress really sell the character to me, the lack of having to think about what you say compared to DA:O is quite jarring.
"Oh I'm a jerk I'll take all the red choices!". In DA:O you read what you said, and a line that might sound perfectly reasonable would get different reactions depending on who you spoke to.
For example you could be too callous or sarcastic with Alistair, and with Sten you had to learn how he appreciates honesty and curtness rather than politeness or excessive curiosity.

[jim_uk]

I did actually care what companions thought in Origins which really helped, I did feel a connection to them. I honestly couldn't care less about this lot maybe with the exception of Varric, the rest feel horribly one dimensional. In origins I tended to put the people I liked in my party, in this game I think of the class and the make up of the party rather than the actual people in it.

[randName]

Yeah I know BioWare likes their mysteries but it doesn't sit well with me.

Actually, BioWare does not really mind inconsistencies. I remember that there was a timeline discrepancy between the electronic version of 'The Calling' and the printed book - supposedly the printed version contained the correct timeline so they may just retcon anything that does not fit in well with their vision for future DA games.

At least they are trying harder in the ME universe, this is more like the wild west, no respect for the law at all ~

I'm not that bothered by inconsistencies overall, but I do take exception when it treads on my personal choices.
I swear if they come out and say the Warden went with Morrigan through the magical mystery mirror no matter their background I will slap them silly.

I think this is the same for everyone; or I don't care much about Alistair since I rarely used him in my party,

Spoiler

and normally he would leave or be executed before the final stand; so when he showed up both as king and as a drunk in the same DA2 game I didn't really mind, nor would I care too much if the circle was always spared or if the Urn of the Sacred Ashes was always destroyed and so on, since these were my choices. I could also live with side characters being tossed around, but like you with Alistair, I don't want them to muck about with Leliana. A large part of DA:O was about me first hardening her, and then desecrating the ashes and then fulfilling the romance; the end stuff around this was largely fluff, since I cared little for the Dwarves and Elven story lines; and I always picked the easy option (for me anyway) in the circle tower.

That said I don't want them to give us options and then go back on it, and I'm annoyed that they would do this to any of the companions or key characters from DA:O to DA3, or from DA2 to DA3.

I'm even more annoyed over it being a big reveal, as in "Look here, now you really want to play DA3 right!?"; the ending of DA2 is probably the most I've been let down by a game since Eye of the Beholder, actually no, this is worse. (and I'm talking about the ending as a whole, not just this).

[tomomi1922]

I am still playing Origins. The graphic is a tad worse than DA2 but mainly just the DX11 features and textures. But ... its not like we would play Doom in 1995.

To be honest, I was drawn to DA2 mainly for having a "house" of my own, nice realistic graphic, and good combat animations. I played the demo of DA2, I saw the rogue chopping people left and right, it was amazing. The graphics in DA2, and interface, reminded me so much of Assassin Creed. The reason I did not like playing Warrior or Rogue in DA:O or in general RPG is that they are quite boring. Just face up a big NPC, auto attack and press some buttons. Casters made more versatile game play. DA2 combat animations made it look so fun.

Well, after playing DA2, I felt I am such a superficial person Yep DA2 has some nice looking armors (and the rendering on them) and nice mage's headgear (comparing to DA:O lousy headgear). Got a mansion, it's nice, but there is not much I can do with it. I can't even sit on a chair or take a nap in bed, let alone trying to add some decorations. The characters in DA2 are somewhat not as personable. I mean, they are there, but .... somehow DA:O characters are much more memorable. I did not know anything about DA universe until I started playing DA:O so this is my supposed gold standard. DA:O is a more traditional RPG like Baldur's Gate, NWN, or even older Ultima series type. It was fun, very personable, and has tons of little things to do and choices to make. DA2, hmmm, is leaning toward a linear story telling RPG type. To be fair, DA2 is meant to be told as a story, a quite risky approach for DA fans, so things follow a stricter time line than other RPGs.

And I think DA2 fails a few major things at customizations. I really hated it when I found out that we cannot customize companions' gear. Why? Afraid we would strip them naked running around town? If people want, the modding community will do it, no matter what. There is already a mod replacing gear with underwear. Soon it will be fully nude. It is our choice to play this $60 game as a great RPG or a lousy adult game. Although there may be more areas and more side quests than DA:O, I still feel "restricted" in DA2 for being stuck in that damn city all life. Sundermount is laughable. I went up there where we summoned Flemmeth.... it was supposed to be up very high in the mountain. But I looked down and saw the elf's camp not too far away at all. I mean I could repel down from there in RL or climb up from the camp, while the elves made it seem so far away. It would be nice if there is at least an area where we are actually .... on a ship, like one of NWN's expansion starting out right on a ship out at sea.

I am still playing DA:O very seriously. Although I am disappointed that there is still no good looking mage robes (beside the black Cultist Enchanter Robe), and DA modding community seems to stop working. At least, the Nightmare mode in DA:O does not have such "features" like "Knock-down lock" and "Clear action queue" hit.

[abaris]

DA2 combat animations made it look so fun.

And that's where personal tastes jump in with a vengeance. I was literally apalled by the new combar animations.

[illtypehuman]

"I did not know anything about DA universe until I started playing DA:O"

Did I miss something? I tought DAO was the very beginning?

[randName]

"I did not know anything about DA universe until I started playing DA:O"

Did I miss something? I tought DAO was the very beginning?

No, its the start, but maybe the poster meant that they didn't read anything about the game before they started playing it.