[Kurisu]

From looking through the "what are you playing" thread it seems that Dragon Age Origins is quite a popular title among some of you! So how about some Dragon Age II details, courtesy of Game Informer? (via Gaming Everything

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“Dragon Age II has a framed narrative structure, which means that the exploits of Hawke occured in the past, but are being retold in the present.” “Narrators with unique insights into the events in question tell the tale of his past adventures.”

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“Dragon Age II begins as the events of Origins are still taking place, so you may see some familiar events from a different angle.”

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Consequences of our actions sooner instead of a little text at the end of the game

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“The PC version implements the same strategic approach afforded by a mouse-and-keyboard control scheme. Rather than try to mimic the PC experience on consoles, Dragon Age II has a battle system more tailored to the strengths of the PS3 and 360.”

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“You may be controlling a different character in Dragon Age II, but the choices your Grey Warden made in Origins are still imported from your save and reflected in the world.”

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“Dragon Age II uses a conversation system similar to Mass Effect’s, where players select paraphrased versions of the dialogue from a wheel. An icon in the middle of the wheel even illustrates the line’s basic intent (like aggressive or sarcastic), so you can focus more on the interaction rather than reading and analyzing your dialogue choices.”

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“[Game Informer] can confirm that it is faster, more responsive, and more fluid than before. As soon as you press a button, something happens. As a warrior, Hawke threw down special strikes and used a new dash move to slash through darkspawn with ease. It isn’t on the Dynasty Warriors side of the spectrum, but with obvious improvements to the targeting system and animations, playing Dragon Age II with a controller finally feels natural.”

I never played the first game, but the second game seems like it's going to be pretty good! I like how it's going to take a different perspective on the first game, and how the game will be shaped by the way you played in the first game! This will mean that everyone's game will be unique.

[Wanderlustfully]

Ooh! Gonna have to buy this (and beat it to smithereens) before FFXIV comes out!

[Siali]

Yes I'll be playing Dragon Effect too probably.... *snicker*

It's good they adjusted the combat because I hear it was very crummy on consoles. Don't expect people's games to be vastly different from each other, I can probably think of only one decision you make in DA that has a few different possibilities and a wide effect on the world. But it's nice they let us carry that one over, I refuse to play Awakening on it's own because it changes that decision...

It's good there's actual consequences to your actions this time too, that's going to be fun. The voice overs better be good for our characters! I vote for Jennifer Hale since she did fem Shepard. Doesn't have to be the same voice though, Hale has a very wide range of voices she can do.

[Cataclysm]

I have to say, Dragon Age: Origins probably was one of the best RPG's to be released in its year. Normally I greatly prefer JRPG's, but since the general structure of DA was similar to that of Mass Effect/ME2 (which I greatly enjoyed), albeit with completely different storylines and combat, I found it to be very enjoyable. Since I played it on the Xbox 360, however, the combat wasn't too fluid, so it's nice to hear that they'll be tailoring the game to try and tackle that particular issue.

While I like games where your choices and actions influence later events, I did feel that Dragon Age: Origins was somewhat lacking the replayability that I was expecting, as most of the choices that were made had little real effect on the way the game turned out. Hopefully, though, Dragon Age II will be on the same dark, epic scale as the original, with these issues finally being dealt with! Definitely one that I'll be getting upon release, I'd imagine.

I've always liked BioWare's RPG's, come to think of it - Mass Effect, Dragon Age, even Neverwinter Nights back in the day. It's good to see their games still going strong.

This post has been edited by Cataclysm: Jul 20, 2010 - 1:09 PM

[Gloon]

This post has been edited by Gloon: Sep 14, 2010 - 7:46 PM

[Eorzea]

I was looking over the official site yesterday and am really starting to look forward to this game. I didn't realize the release was so close; I think I may play through Origins once more.

I'm debating whether or not to transfer my character or start anew. It's a difficult choice, heh.

I like that Dragon Age II will unfold over the course of a decade:

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Dragon Age 2 takes place sometime after the Blight of Ferelden, as the Darkspawn and other threats emerge to endanger the world again. The story unfolds over the course of a decade as you rise to power and change the world.

[Saeryne]

I beleive I read somewhere that the character you play is related to your character from Origins. I beleive the differences by loading a saved game maybe the state of the world. Ie, are there still werewolves in the Forrest? Is the circle free or still repressed by the knights?

[Eorzea]

Is that true? That would be cool, though part of me would like to start fresh as well.

Anyway, who has played this game and what are your thoughts on it in comparison to Origins? I have read a lot about things being oversimplified (such as character progression, inventory, etc.) and the plot lacking focus. Characters apparently aren't nearly as memorable this time, either.

I still want to play it, but I'm in no rush. I still need to finish my newest character on Origins.

[Myst]

Yes it's true Eorza and is a tad on the shorter side including getting all the side quests done. Simpler in a way yes, getting armor for your companions is merely "upgrading" it but the thing is it is pretty much hide in seek in terms of finding said upgrades. Character progression I would say is kind of I suppose? Not to the point where it's completely casual though [especially if playing on Hard or Nightmare difficulty].

There are several characters that are memorable maybe because of their voices or appearance [Isabella], but overall not really. I mean one of the characters I really liked though it may be because I have a high fascination with elves and she had a interesting personality to boot. Story is kind of scattered at first as well I won't even get into that. Though if I had to say I had hatred for some part of it is the way weapon choices for the various paths. automatically doing duel-wielding for Rogue just seems wrong for me.