Dragon Age 2

After the success of its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2 is the epic sequel and introduces us to a new hero; Hawke.

A new adventure is upon you and takes place over an entire decade - every decision you make will affect your game and change the outcome of the gameplay. Playing as Hawke, a destitute refugee, you are said to be one of the few who have survived during the destruction of your homeland. As you fight for survival with help from the deadliest of allies, you have the fate of your world in your hands and have the chance to turn from a peasant into a champion and become a legend in the making... But all legends are in the telling.

This is the story of how the world changed forever.

• Paul Martin April 21, 2011 360

  ****

  Dragon Age 2, the sequel to the highly recommended Dragon Age: Origins was released in March 2011. The next instalment has been again developed by the world renowned studio Bioware, allowing players to mantle the new role of Hawke.
  
  The game actually starts early on during the Dragon Age: Origins timeline. The Hawke family are fleeing the town of Lothering, a town which gets devoured and destroyed early on in first instalment. After fighting through waves of Darkspawn you character and his/her party decide they can no longer stay in Ferelden. This is because of the on-going blight; therefore venturing to a new location known as Kirkwall, the City of Chains. On a quest to become known and safeguard his/her family the name Hawke will be forever forged in the world of Dragon Age.
  
  Overall the story of Dragon Age 2 is the biggest negative about the game. Unlike most RPG games there is no predictable quest of you are the character that is destined to save/destroy the world with the final act of heroism or sheer brutality. The game is actually a lot smaller than its predecessor in terms of locations. There is pretty much one location in the game, with multiple small locations around it. You have the main city, Kirkwall where the entire main story happens and many side quests are given. The smaller outside locations such as Mines, Caves, and Wilderness are actually quite small, but allow a change of scenery from the main city while completing other quests. Unfortunately the change of scenery also gets old with the developers recycling locations such as caves or buildings many times over. The only difference being you enter at point A and exit at point B the roles then get reversed. Therefore you enter another building with the same layout only backwards so you enter at point B and exit at point A instead. It shows a lack of effort on Biowares part and speaks volumes when you begin to know where the loot is before even entering the room. Overall the game feels rushed, but this doesn't mean it's a bad game; it's a good game and has some great quests within it. The last chapter stands out by far as it has more emphasis around the main plot. It would also be worth mentioning that your party member quest's are some of the best I've played in any RPG series providing great backstories for those that join you throughout your play through. The other positive although won't be available for everyone would be the ability to transfer your Dragon Age: Origins save point, this means decisions made in the original will cross over into the second instalment much like the Mass Effect series. This only adds more backstory to a large and interesting game to start with making it more enjoyable when characters from Dragon Age: Origins appear. The game is large, fun and enjoyable. The decisions you make have major impacts especially towards the end but overall it's just a shame the locations don't vary or change making the game feel smaller than it actually is. The story lacks the punch other Bioware titles produce, but overall it is a good and important chapter in the Dragon Age series with a last act that will have you hooked.
  
  The controls in Dragon Age 2 feel more responsive, although they aren't that much different from the previous instalment. There is however several changes to the character development. In the original Dragon Age: Origins the character was to level up similar to the of Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic choosing from menu's and overall being quite complex. Bioware this time round have managed to water down the process, similar to that of Mass Effect 2 allowing players to choose their abilities from branches. Although the game menu feels like there is less to choose from overall, but there is still just as many abilities to choose from, especially for those that select the mage class. At the very beginning of the game like most standard current RPG games the player will be allowed to choose his class (Mage, Rouge, and Soldier) although admittedly the game has fewer options at this point compared to its predecessor. The game now only allows the player to choose a human character, as opposed to the Elf and Dwarves heritage's from the first instalment. Overall this didn't really bother me, but many people would prefer the option. As the process goes on there are again fewer options such as no customisation of the face allowing the player to choose from a menu of pre-designed models. I have to admit it did seem a little out dated, especially for those who play other RPG games such as the Mass Effect series or Elder Scrolls. Overall the early stages of the game where somewhat of a disappointment compared to previous standards in the RPG genre. I can however state if the options had of been there, they wouldn't have changed the overall game experience dramatically allowing for the small lack of options available to pass me by without much concern.
  
  As the game begins the combat mechanics are very noticeable. Although the control is unchanged from the original the combat looks and feels a lot more promising. The pace and fluidity of the player movement on screen have been greatly improved. The basic attack now needs to be pressed on the control as opposed to the tap button and computer A.I run over automatically to the target and start hacking them down. This allows the player feel more integrated in games combat sequences; however the emphasis of 'button mashing' may be used by many people. I cannot stress that the controls, although now requiring the command for basic attacks still doesn't feel like a Star Wars Force Unleashed or Ninja Gaiden. There is no combo's within the game and the special abilities/attacks are still A.I related making the game stay true to its roots. The decision making mechanic in the game is key and holds grave or satisfying consequences as the game goes on. The response system has been re-designed. Instead of feeling more like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic it now has a similar system seen in Mass Effect. There are different responses to choose from that will make certain characters in the game like or dislike you. The more characters like you they will become a good ally, a friend that is trustworthy and loyal. The more the character begins to disagree and dislike your decisions they will begin to turn and possibly plot against you. The decision mechanic is vital in Dragon Age 2 and is key to making the games playthrough unique to each player, as the choices you make will forge the story before you. The emphasis on choices has more weight on consequences that may or may not happen throughout a play through compared to the previous Dragon Age. This is welcome improvement from Bioware whilst allowing for great replayability to see how events may change in a second play through. Overall the gameplay feels great, plays great and has one of best decision mechanics at its disposal.
  
  The graphics are a major improvement from Dragon Age: Origins. This doesn't mean there amazing or current generation standard, but this is overlooked due to the amount of information the game has stored within it. The saying graphics doesn't make a game is actually true, although they're good graphics they are short of eye popping standards you would see in Mass Effect 2. It's a slight shame, as there's no real excuse to why the graphics aren't improved more, other than the short period of time available to develop the game of its size during the release of Dragon Age: Origins and the release of this instalment.
  
  The audio of game is amazing; characters voices feel emotional when needed allowing the dialogue to breathe life into the games characters, especially those closest to Hawke. The newest addition to the series is the main character (Hawke) has a voice. Like other RPG's most notably Mass Effect the character has the ability to speak from the options you select. The voice whether it is a male or female becomes more believable and allows a stronger connection to develop with the main character of the game compared to the silent role with text response in the previous outing. This adds more depth and emotion to the game allowing what story there is to shine out. The most impressive voice work is that of Hawke's party he travels with throughout the game especially the characters Isabella, Fenris and Varric. It is important that characters around the main character have good voice actor/actress's to play them; it allows different characters to have the ability to forge a connection with the gamer, some more than others making each play though unique. This is where Bioware nail most if not all there RPG games. The ability to have strong voice actors keeps players tangled in the word play of the game, therefore keeping them interested. I believe Dragon Age 2 is up there with the best for voice acting, I have no complaints at all in regards to it. The soundtrack of the game is also to the standard of Biowares other titles. It packs the punch whether its action, romance again there can be no complaints.
  
  Overall the game is a good one, with its faults. The game clocks in around 25+hours on normal difficulty with harder variations for more challenge hungry players. The story is good, but not the best in Biowares archive of games, which may allow the gamer to turn the game off before completing it. If that be the case I urge the player to keep going as the final act is enthralling. The audio is top notch and what you would expect from Bioware, it's sad to admit the location being mainly in one city was very disappointing. Despite there being one main location however, it would be easy to clock up the hours in many side quests keeping gamers occupied although admittedly some are meaningless. The strong connection with the main characters friends/rival's and decision making really does affect the overall experience and makes up an interesting finale. The lack of character design was disappointing, but the graphics improvement was a major plus despite Bioware having the ability to improve them even more. The game is a good, long and fun adventure and needless to say an important chapter of the Dragon Age series. Recommended! 8.4/10
  

• Dragon Age 2: Destiny Cutdown 360PS3PC | 02:03 Play Trailer
• Dragon Age 2: Launch Trailer 360PS3PC | 01:42 Play Trailer