As the title of this blog post suggests the game that I am talking about is Dragon Age II, Bioware's sequel to their immensely popular and brilliant game Dragon Age: Origins. I have played the game almost non-stop since I bought it, while that may be both a good and a bad thing it just goes to show that it is awesome - I remember doing the same thing when the first one was released back in 2009. The game takes place in the same world as the first but an entirely different country meaning entirely new places to explore and an entirely new story to follow.
The Dragon Age series is an RPG series that took the world by storm and the sequel was set to make it better, this led to many expectations of it - particularly for PC gamers as Bioware's desire was the improve the console versions of the game (as they lagged behind in Origins), potentially at the expense of the PC version. A lot of time in recent years, particularly in the 7th generation of games consoles, great expectations have been made of games and they haven't delivered as much as expected BECAUSE of the hype (Final Fabtasy XIII, Gran Turismo 5 & most Call of Duty games I'm looking at you). I can say though that Dragon Age II is one of the few games where the hype hasn't hindered the game at all... on consoles (I haven't played the PC version but the almost unanimous consensus is that it has been dumbed down from the first).
The game is a great improvement on the first. The game was made with more of a focus in the story of the game and the characters as opposed to the focus on the story of the world that was set with the first - this led to much more personal and invoking quests and a story that makes you go 'What the heck!?' and 'OMG!'. The main drive of this was having a set protagonist as opposed to a customisable one as in Origins - their story was set, their history established and the vents that unfold are related to them. From a narrative point of view the game definitely met its mark, the only downsides are that the story is shorter than the first and the ending is so much of a cliff-hanger it makes you think 'So why did I just do that?' - still, it means there's a reason to make a 3rd game.
From a gameplay perspective the game is so much better its laughable, it is mostly because of this that the game is so much better. Combat, exploration, companions and romances are all excellent, with combat being the key improvement, they are all similar to their previous incarnation, but with pretty much all the flaws that they once had being removed.
With combat, the gameplay is much faster, acting more like an action-RPG than console-style (which is why it is odd as I normally prefer console-style, but I think Dragon Age suits an action-RPG), the attacks you do actually feel more like they are happening in real-time and when you swing you sword YOU are doing it with the press of a button - it is much more fluid and makes it more immersive.
Exploration is much the same as it ever was - it just feels better as it is interlinked with combat... actually, it is one of the few areas of the game with which I have minor criticism. Traps are much harder to disarm in Dragon Age II than the first game, rogues (the only class that can disarm them) have to be much closer to notice them than the first game which means that unless you are playing as a rogue you will often trip them just as you notice them. Also, the dungeons of the game are almost all re-hashes of one another with different section sealed off and opened in each variation of it - this isn't a major flaw, it just seems lazy from a design stand-point.
The Companions of the game are fun, they all have a more prominent and fleshed out story, both in their personal pasts and their interaction with the story itself - a lot of the characters from the first game had story when you first met them but after that it just seemed like they were with you for the heck of it. They also interact with each other much in the same way as before which is good, even more so as they talk more in story related events - the only real minor issue here is the conversations don't seem as fun or interesting, again though this really doesn't effect anything. The character approval system has been revamped, changing from a Love/Hate system to a Friendship/Rival system - this is a great change, in Origins there was no reason to get a character to hate you as it often resulted in them leaving or fighting you but with the new system the character stays with you out of admiring you despite your personal opinions, this in turn creates a dynamic story contrast.
Romance is always a prominent point of Bioware games and Dragon Age II doesn't disappoint in this regard. There are 4 romance-able characters (5 for female characters if you get the Exiled Prince DLC) that can be entered into a relationship with regardless of gender - this is both good and bad as it means you don't have to worry if there's someone in particular you want to romance but it is bad from the point of view that certain characters don't seem like they would romance a certain gender... Romance is also mostly unrelated to the approval system unlike the first game which is good - if you don't take a character you want to romance with you or want to make them your Rival, it ultimately doesn't affect your romance with them - bonus!
Now, onto my final point which is the ONLY true negative I have with the game and that is the equipment. Many of you may think I am refering to the fact that you can no longer change your companions armour but must instead upgrade it, but no, I actually quite like that - the issue i have is that no equipment seems unique or special anymore. In the previous game you got standard equipment, some with slight effects on them such as stat boosts, but ultimately it was very distinguishable what was good, rare, equipment and what was common and standard - it made it an achievement to get them and you used them because they looked good and made you immensely powerful... In Dragon Age II however most of the equipment in the game has 'some' effect on them and it is almost impossible to see what equipment is rare and why it is worth using it more than any other equipment - you can see that stat-wise they are better, but even so, as nearly everything has some boost on it this merely seems like it is an upgrade...
So there we have it, my thoughts on what has to be my favourite game on the PS3 and I've only had it 4 days - you may think my opinion will change but i doubt it, Dragon Age: Origins was my old favourite game and this clearly beats it... So if you haven't got it go and get it, you need too!
So, anyways, 'til next time - that's all folks!
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