BioWare announces Dragon Age 2. ETR March 2011

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by llama64

I hope they fix the combat system to make it more engaging. It reminded me of Dungeon Siege (but slower) in that you select an enemy, hit a button and auto attack it to death for 2 minutes. Playing a melee character was the only way to feel even remotely in the action. Mages and Archers were boring as heck.

A better interface for the console version would be nice too. It's obvious the game was designed for the PC. I'd like to be able to actually setup tactics rather then relying on scripts to control my party members.

The console version is almost completely different. The attacking system and strategy element is implemented differently. The whole combat system is a different thing on the PC. I think they were torn on what to do with the console crowd. Do they dumb it down and make it more of a hack&slash with auto attacking? It's difficult without mouse support.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

The console version is almost completely different. The attacking system and strategy element is implemented differently. The whole combat system is a different thing on the PC. I think they were torn on what to do with the console crowd. Do they dumb it down and make it more of a hack&slash with auto attacking? It's difficult without mouse support.

It was good on the console, it was very interactive. Did people not realize you could hit RB or LB (R1 and L1) to switch between characters during combat, made combat way better/engaging and funner. You could a mage, soldier, and rouge all at the same time.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

It was good on the console, it was very interactive. Did people not realize you could hit RB or LB (R1 and L1) to switch between characters during combat, made combat way better/engaging and funner. You could a mage, soldier, and rouge all at the same time.

It's "rogue". That's twice now

Yes, I abused the L1/R1 feature a lot. But my point is that they did the combat better in Mass Effect because it was actually designed for the console. The point of DA was to develop a hero that you connect with. If you make a mage and then spend the entire game bouncing between the other characters in your party, that gets diminished. In Mass Effect, you control one person while also using your squad mates in a very tactical manner. It was simply better. I hope DA 2 follows this pattern.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by llama64

It's "rogue". That's twice now

Yes, I abused the L1/R1 feature a lot. But my point is that they did the combat better in Mass Effect because it was actually designed for the console. The point of DA was to develop a hero that you connect with. If you make a mage and then spend the entire game bouncing between the other characters in your party, that gets diminished. In Mass Effect, you control one person while also using your squad mates in a very tactical manner. It was simply better. I hope DA 2 follows this pattern.

[HeartsOfFire]

Originally Posted by Henry Fool

The only problem is that Claudia Black was used in the first one and Jennifer Hale probably can't be in the second either because of Mass Effect.

I don't see why not. The talent BioWare hired to do voicework for both Mass Effect and Dragon Age can be heard in both games, with the exceptions of the Superstars like Martin Sheen and Kate Mulgrew.

Off the top of my head, I know of 4 voice actors that lended their voices to both Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Mark Meer, the male Shepard, also had 'various' minor roles in Dragon Age. Miscellaneous voices.

Claudia Black, Simon Templeman, and Martin Jarvis all had roles in Dragon Age, and also played minor roles in Mass Effect 2 as members of the Quarian Admiralty. (Black was Morrigan, Templemann was Loghain, and Jarvis was Archmage Avernus in the Warden's Keep DLC)

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by HeartsOfFire

I don't see why not. The talent BioWare hired to do voicework for both Mass Effect and Dragon Age can be heard in both games, with the exceptions of the Superstars like Martin Sheen and Kate Mulgrew.

Off the top of my head, I know of 4 voice actors that lended their voices to both Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Mark Meer, the male Shepard, also had 'various' minor roles in Dragon Age. Miscellaneous voices.

Claudia Black, Simon Templeman, and Martin Jarvis all had roles in Dragon Age, and also played minor roles in Mass Effect 2 as members of the Quarian Admiralty. (Black was Morrigan, Templemann was Loghain, and Jarvis was Archmage Avernus in the Warden's Keep DLC)

all minor roles though. i think it would be too difficult for Mark Meer or Jennifer Hale to do the main character voices for DA2 given how much work they're going to have to do for ME3. plus Jennifer Hale is also doing a bunch of work in The Old Republic

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

all minor roles though. i think it would be too difficult for Mark Meer or Jennifer Hale to do the main character voices for DA2 given how much work they're going to have to do for ME3. plus Jennifer Hale is also doing a bunch of work in The Old Republic

Yeah I meant the main role. There's no way we're going to hear Morrigan as the protagonist. Black has a very distinctive voice.

Hale in DA isn't out of the question, since it's a Bioware game and they use her as much as they can (because she's awesome), but it's tough to imagine her as the main character. Maybe if she could find a way to do a natural voice that didn't resemble her Shepard - for minor roles they can do all kinds of weird stuff but the main role is different.

But who knows. I suppose it's no different than two films using the same actress.

It's fun to track the voice actors in rpgs. They don't get much credit though. I watch/read very few reviews but it seems to me that if the "gamers" really want their "artform" to be taken more seriously, they should first begin to take things like the actors and the art direction seriously.

Even when Bioware does the voice actor trailers, like the one for ME2, they only show the celebrities (many of whom basically just spent a single afternoon recording their lines) and not the actual voice actors who play most of the main roles.

[Komskies]

The demo will be available for download on Tuesday, February 22.

February 22, 2011 marks the launch of the Dragon Age II Demo and a Call to Arms for all BioWare fans. If they get over 1,000,000 demo downloads and logins on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 combined before March 1st, they will unlock two in-game items for the entire community to use in Dragon Age II.
To get your download counted, you will need to log into your EA account while playing the demo.
The items that will be unlocked are:

• The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall - Written by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this book of poems describes her dreams of a new start in Kirkwall, the city across the sea. Readers will surely be enriched by her insights. (Gives money when read.)

• Lothering's Lament - Written by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this book of poems contains touching reminiscences of all she had to leave behind. Readers will surely benefit from her experience. (Gives XP boost when read.)

[TylerSVT]

Didnt play DA 1 but if this looks good i might pick it up. Heard lots of good things about the first one.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

Didnt play DA 1 but if this looks good i might pick it up. Heard lots of good things about the first one.

Top 5 RPGs in the last 10 years, IMO.

[3 Justin 3]

Top 3 RPG in the last 10 years. It is a proper RPG, TONS of stuff to do. Different classes, etc.

Bought all the DLC when they were having their sale, haven't been able to play it all yet (played Awakening and it was awesome) but with Reading Week this upcoming week hopefully I can finish them all.

[Otto-matic]

I thought the final DLC for DA1 was rushed, not the best way to end it

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

I thought the final DLC for DA1 was rushed, not the best way to end it

I liked it but was expecting something on the "Throne of Bhaal" level which was unrealistic, so I was a bit let down. There's still plenty of great stuff in the main game and the earlier DLCs.

[HeartsOfFire]

I've only played one of the alternate endings for Witch Hunt;

Spoiler!

the ending where Morrigan and the Grey Warden go through the portal together to raise their child together. Ambiguous, to say the least.

Morrigan would never outright admit it, but she loves her Dalish Elf rogue. <3

[llama64]

Oi - I gotta go actually play through the final DLC for Dragon Age before this game comes out. How many hours is it give or take?

Played through the rest (except the lame french chick's stuff) - was fairly impressed with the quality.

[HeartsOfFire]

HEY! Leliana is awesome!

[Henry Fool]

Apart from Awakening, most of the DLC for DA for are pretty short - like 4 hours I think, depending on how you play. They also reuse many of the old settings. Played them at Christmas because I couldn't find anything else to play.

They're okay if you don't expect much. Not necessarily worth the money if you put it all together, though. Witch Hunt was a disappointment, story-wise. If you want to know what happens to Morrigan, you can just as well watch the YouTube videos. Still, it was fun to break out my comically overpowered amazon fighter from Awakening.

If you want a challenge for a high level character, then the Golems of Something DLC has the single toughest fight in the entire game, against the Harvester. If I recall correctly, if you get the achievement for killing it on Hard or Insanity level, you get this weapon in the main campaign that you can sell for a silly amount of gold. Like 300 or something. You can luck out in that fight if you swarm the main enemy in the right way, which was what happened to me in my nth try, but usually it's just ridiculous.

[TylerSVT]

Ill DL the demo. Have next week off so ill dick around with it and see if i enjoy it.

[WhiteTiger]

Looking forward to this release. It, amusingly, falls in the back half of my vacation, where I'd not planned much to do. Looks like I'll have something to do after all.

[llama64]

I played through Witch's Hunt.

Put my thoughts in a spoiler tag just in case someone doesn't want to know. But, I highly, highly don't recommend that DLC - freaking waste of money.

Spoiler!

I hope Bioware goes and dies in a fire... 400 points for less then an hour of game play and zero closure on the building story.