Dragon Age 2 Review (PC)

Dragon Age 2 Review: Many players will recall Dragon Age: Origins with fond memories. Combined with a good story and characters, it was a great start to the franchise. Unlike in Origins, players in DA2 will no longer select from a series of characters each with their own background story. This time, players must take on the role of Hawk, a refugee who fled the nation of Ferelden during the events of Dragon Age: Origins. From there, Hawk is thrown into various political and military situations, with player choices once again affecting the outcome of the story.

Dragon Age 2

There are some new conversation options if playing as a mage, but that�s about it. Dragon Age 2 doesn�t necessarily suffer from a lack of races and backgrounds to play as, but it�s a noticeable omission from the previous game. Clocking in at under 20 hours with most of the side quests complete, the game�s significantly shorter than Origins, around just half the time taken.

The whole game takes place in the city and small surrounding area, which only adds to the sense of claustrophobia and relatively tiny size compared to Origins � but more on this later. Like other BioWare games, there is the option to import a savegame or pick one of the three presets. This doesn�t affect the experience much, and will only affect minor dialogue and which characters from the original game will make an appearance.

At the core, DA2 is still a classic quest-based RPG that lets players adventure through the game world and complete various tasks. The quests are broken up into main story, companion quests, and side quests. Meanwhile, the companion quests range from a simple conversation to a whole quest � the game using the fast-forwarded timeline to reset all companion quests. This means that, after time passes, players can re-visit their companions and speak to them about current events. Completing companion quests nets you a deeper branching story, as well as increasing the relationship level.

The battles are now fast and furious, but can get a little hectic so pausing the game is still recommended. The difficulty of the game is noticeably easier compared to Origins, likely as the result of the combat changes.

There will be players who appreciate the change in combat (console players in particular), but when it comes to PC users there�s likely to be some frustrations. For example, the Tactics are still an important part of the game. Skill trees have also been revamped into a much nicer layout so it�s easy to track your character�s abilities and upgrade weaker areas.

While the original game was an expansive epic tale that concerned the whole kingdom, Dragon Age 2 focuses on just a single city and the surrounding areas. Thus, the game feels rather small and restrictive. The game offers the players to explore the city either during the day or at night � with only differences being lighting and lack of NPCs. It�s really an artificial way to present the players with an alternative game world to explore, but it�s the same exact city so the effort falls flat. Dungeons, found outside the city, play a fairly significant role in the game as they are oft visited during the main story as well as side quests. Players will get to explore this one short dungeon multiple times; with the only things being different are the enemies and the start/exit points. Comparing DA2 to Origins at this point is simply embarrassing.

Running on a further improved engine, the game looks quite good for most of the time. By downloading the high resolution textures patch and cranking the game�s settings into DirectX 11, Dragon Age 2 becomes a very good looking game with some impressive texture work and sharp character models. There�s a very notable trend with BioWare these days. Mass Effect quickly springs to mind � a game whose sequel went through a number of significant changes but still ended up on top. From a short campaign to simplified inventory and dialogue, Dragon Age 2 has taken radical cuts at every step. You play as Hawke, a.k.a. the legendary Champion of Kirkwall. First up, the game looks great. Dragon Age 2 pulls off a neat bit of styling, managing to look modern but still impart a medieval sensibility to its virtual world. Another part of DA2's success comes from reining in the amount of world-hopping that you do in the game. Players could choose from a variety of races in DA:O and, when it was announced that Hawke would be a human hero, people worried that DA2 would be a Mass Effect title re-skinned in tunics and jerkins. Your protagonist from DA:O was silent but Hawke can speak and the conversation wheel from the Mass Effect games shows up. And, where the human-centric direction of the new Dragon Age game might trouble fans, there's a bit of RPG orthodoxy that makes a welcome return. If you love tweaking your party's equipment and abilities to your own unique desires, DA2 offers a lot to play around with.

DA2 addresses that by providing a mix of real-time combat and squad control. Also, the character classes feel much more differentiated than they did in the last game.

The cross-class combos mark a forward leap for RPG battle mechanics. Like many BioWare games, you're creating a skein of memories in Dragon Age 2. Dragon Age 2, through improved gameplay, offers a grand adventure that lets players learn a little bit about themselves, too.

Dragon Age 2 does it right. DA2�s combat is spring-loaded. I played a rogue. My favourite skill was called �Annihilation.� For every class, every combat skill kills something in a new and exciting way.

Hawke�s ties to the first game are explicit. He or she (your choice) starts Dragon Age 2 as a refugee from Lothering. The game�s developers have nicked Mass Effect�s conversation wheel and split most interactions into a threetiered system: saintly, aggressive, and � most fun � cheeky.

I�ve typically approached BioWare games as the reincarnation of some major saint, waiving rewards and helping puppies save their lost kittens. Rub up against one of the game�s Serious Moral Choices� and your once-neat conversation wheel goes all muddled. It�s a rare feat when a game encourages walking, yet Dragon Age 2 does it all the time.

The ten-year-long story arc adds to the burden of your choices. Dragon Age 2�s story is driven by these moments of tension and forced choice. Small world

Make your allegiances clear and you�ll change the course of the whole game.

So many games promise real choice but fail to deliver. Dragon Age 2 is the most impressive attempt I�ve seen to make the decisions players make in a game mean something. DA2�s romantic options are near-unconstrained. Male, female, amalgamation of human and spiritual manifestation of justice: all are fair game. Most of DA2�s companions are excellent; the only dud is Hawke�s sibling (sister in my male playthrough), who lacks in personality. Dragon Age 2�s combat system is rapid and satisfying, but it�s also more intricate than Origins�. Party people

Dragon Age 2 is not what you expect. Dragon Age 2 frames its story as a tale-within-a-tale � a novel narrative device in gaming. Instead of playing through hero Hawke's entire quest � including all the boring goblin-slaying, getting lost and other general slow-time � you're playing the edited highlights, as told by an associate of Hawke's under duress to a mysterious captor. The combat isn't the only thing that has changed since the first Dragon Age game, with many features from the level-up menus to the crafting system being transformed. Dragon Age is, believe it or not, quite a political game � right from the very start, where Hawke arrives in a foreign city as, essentially, an asylum seeker and meets a less than warm welcome, the game lays out its sociopolitical and cultural intent.

Dragon Age 2 Review (Video)

Verdict: Dragon Age 2
The best RPG combat ever. Not gaming�s best story, but maybe its best storytelling. Darker, sexier, better.