Dragon Age 2 - Catch All

A part of me can't wait and another part of me is wondering if it eventually ties in with what my character did through Origins and Awakening. Hmmm.

I'd say there will be some in there, but like Mass Effect it will be minor effects on the world in the background. DA2 also seems to be in a new region of the world as well. They need to let people start each game with no existing save from Origins, and it would suck a bit if you crippled yourself from the start or locked yourself into a section of story with your imported save. Bioware have their own idea of what the story is, and you're acting that out, in a way it's a bit of a let down from the potential of continuing he save through the series, but there has to be a limit on the complexity they can handle.

To be honest, I more and more potential in a DA2 story where my Warden is an important factor, rather than the focus. It gives them a more open canvas to work with, and keeps the story of DA:O significant. I won't lie, I'd greedily play something that continued my Warden's tale, had him dealing with the repercussions of what he did, and I do hope to see him find Morrigan again, but I'm coming around to thinking this will be cool.

Scratched wrote:
stevenmack wrote:
MeatMan wrote:

Regarding the reaction to the gameplay changes, a writer for the game politely tells critics to STFU.

To which I would reply - if they didn't want that kind of feedback and reaction then they shouldn't be releasing cryptic , controversial snippets of non-info and half-finished screenshots in advance of a proper reveal of the game.

Sums up my feelings on it. EA/Bioware need to take their current marketing team out behind the shed, so to speak. If this game is such a big deal, the marketing and materials released for it should be brilliant and make people salivate at the mention of DA2, currently it's a big WTF.

Do you not remember the massive thread here Female Doggoing about the marketing for the first game? How did that end up selling?

Scratched wrote:

I'd say there will be some in there, but like Mass Effect it will be minor effects on the world in the background. DA2 also seems to be in a new region of the world as well. They need to let people start each game with no existing save from Origins, and it would suck a bit if you crippled yourself from the start or locked yourself into a section of story with your imported save. Bioware have their own idea of what the story is, and you're acting that out, in a way it's a bit of a let down from the potential of continuing he save through the series, but there has to be a limit on the complexity they can handle.

This and...

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

To be honest, I more and more potential in a DA2 story where my Warden is an important factor, rather than the focus. It gives them a more open canvas to work with, and keeps the story of DA:O significant. I won't lie, I'd greedily play something that continued my Warden's tale, had him dealing with the repercussions of what he did, and I do hope to see him find Morrigan again, but I'm coming around to thinking this will be cool.

this!

Maybe in the third game there will be some cohesion with both the first and the second? One can hope... It would certainly be very cool if one could integrate the saves from the first and the second into the third in some epic culmination where, say, the parties of both meet and join? All speculation, but it would rock my socks off if something even remotely similar was implemented somewhere down the line.

TheGameguru wrote:

Do you not remember the massive thread here Female Doggoing about the marketing for the first game? How did that end up selling?

Yeah, that's why I'm not letting myself get too wound up. I'm working on the assumption that this is the new new sh*t.

Apparently the new new sh*t means that releasing screenshots that look like ass is a good idea.

Honestly, a hype blackout is probably for the best.

MrDeVil909 wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

Do you not remember the massive thread here Female Doggoing about the marketing for the first game? How did that end up selling?

Yeah, that's why I'm not letting myself get too wound up. I'm working on the assumption that this is the new new sh*t.

Apparently the new new sh*t means that releasing screenshots that look like ass is a good idea.

My guess is the marketing campaign is not directed at people like us. It's marketed towards the people who don't hang around internet forums to discuss ancient PC games in threads about something that won't come out for months, and just buy stuff that looks fun when they see an ad for it two weeks before release that remind them "oh yeah--that's the dragon game that I heard about a while ago that I thought might be cool"

MrDeVil909 wrote:

Yeah, that's why I'm not letting myself get too wound up. I'm working on the assumption that this is the new new sh*t.

Apparently the new new sh*t means that releasing screenshots that look like ass is a good idea.

One wonders whether Bioware was ever itself ready for the new sh*t.

CheezePavilion wrote:
MrDeVil909 wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

Do you not remember the massive thread here Female Doggoing about the marketing for the first game? How did that end up selling?

Yeah, that's why I'm not letting myself get too wound up. I'm working on the assumption that this is the new new sh*t.

Apparently the new new sh*t means that releasing screenshots that look like ass is a good idea.

My guess is the marketing campaign is not directed at people like us. It's marketed towards the people who don't hang around internet forums to discuss ancient PC games in threads about something that won't come out for months, and just buy stuff that looks fun when they see an ad for it two weeks before release that remind them "oh yeah--that's the dragon game that I heard about a while ago that I thought might be cool"

Yup, which I think was the case for the first one too. I suppose the calculation is that the marketing is less likely to lose a purchase from most of us than it is to gain a purchase from people who might not have bought it.

Sonicator wrote:

Yup, which I think was the case for the first one too. I suppose the calculation is that the marketing is less likely to lose a purchase from most of us than it is to gain a purchase from people who might not have bought it.

Which is why I never complained about the marketing for the first game. I never saw any of the videos, cap is expensive and using it to watch advertising isn't my idea of a good way to spend money.

But even fairly casual audiences would be able to see that those screens suck, especially compared to the bull shots most publishers release.

Compare these DA2 screen shots to the Enslaved ones. If you were an 'uneducated' gamer which would you buy?

TheGameguru wrote:

Do you not remember the massive thread here Female Doggoing about the marketing for the first game? How did that end up selling?

I was probably the first to bring it up in this thread: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/5...

Honestly, the gameplay and story are what's going to sell me on the game or not. I personally hope they retain the style of character development and combat from the first game with only minor tweaks, but even if it's vastly different, as long as it's fun one way or another I'll be happy.

IGN Combat preview: http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/1...

The combat in Dragon Age Origins was very tactical, allowing you to issue orders to the folks in your party. For the sequel, BioWare is aiming to keep that tactical aspect but also make it more action packed, if players wish it to be. Today we got a taste of the new combat system with a mountaintop battle against an army of orcs. They might have been imps or goblins or demons, actually. We're not nerdy enough to know the difference.

Different attacks are mapped to the X, Y, and B buttons of your controller (we were playing on an Xbox 360). Hawk, the hero of the game, had a typical sword swipe mapped to X, a thrust mapped to Y, and a twirl that would take down all the enemies around him mapped to B. By holding the right trigger you can access a second set of attacks, so it seems you'll have six moves available to you at a time. Each move has a recharge time, so you can't just keep mashing the X button to chop through enemies.

I'd note that it's from the 360 section of the site.

Scratched wrote:

IGN Combat preview: http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/1...

The combat in Dragon Age Origins was very tactical, allowing you to issue orders to the folks in your party. For the sequel, BioWare is aiming to keep that tactical aspect but also make it more action packed, if players wish it to be. Today we got a taste of the new combat system with a mountaintop battle against an army of orcs. They might have been imps or goblins or demons, actually. We're not nerdy enough to know the difference.

Different attacks are mapped to the X, Y, and B buttons of your controller (we were playing on an Xbox 360). Hawk, the hero of the game, had a typical sword swipe mapped to X, a thrust mapped to Y, and a twirl that would take down all the enemies around him mapped to B. By holding the right trigger you can access a second set of attacks, so it seems you'll have six moves available to you at a time. Each move has a recharge time, so you can't just keep mashing the X button to chop through enemies.

I'd note that it's from the 360 section of the site.

Then what the hell are you doing writing for a gaming website!?!?!

And they're called Darkspawn. I may attempt to punch that guy through my monitor.

We also got to see the new conversation system. Dialogue has been simplified so that you only have up to three choices. Each choice is represented by an icon that indicates whether or it's a "good," "nasty," or "badass" choice. Good choices are represented by an olive branch, nasty by a Greek comedy mask, and badass by a red fist. This is an easy way to gauge what response your dialogue choices will produce.

Dammit. They didn't play Alpha Protocol. That's still too cut and dry for me.

While there was some initial skepticism in the gaming community when the first Dragon Age 2 screenshots were released, what we saw today looked just fine. The character models have a subtle comic book look to them, which we liked.

It's too bad the article didn't come with any new screenshots, but I'm hopeful.

That combat sounds pretty cool for the console filth. :p But what about the platform intended by Cthulu?

I saw on Twitter Felicia Day said the graphics are great. I don't know how much that opinion is worth, but there you go.

I don't like that they simplified the responses but whatever. They're going for a different style from the first one. What matters is that everything fits together in a cohesive vision.

Scratched wrote:

IGN Combat preview: http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/1...

The combat in Dragon Age Origins was very tactical, allowing you to issue orders to the folks in your party. For the sequel, BioWare is aiming to keep that tactical aspect but also make it more action packed, if players wish it to be. Today we got a taste of the new combat system with a mountaintop battle against an army of orcs. They might have been imps or goblins or demons, actually. We're not nerdy enough to know the difference.

Different attacks are mapped to the X, Y, and B buttons of your controller (we were playing on an Xbox 360). Hawk, the hero of the game, had a typical sword swipe mapped to X, a thrust mapped to Y, and a twirl that would take down all the enemies around him mapped to B. By holding the right trigger you can access a second set of attacks, so it seems you'll have six moves available to you at a time. Each move has a recharge time, so you can't just keep mashing the X button to chop through enemies.

I'd note that it's from the 360 section of the site.

Aw, hell, that's what I was worried about. They're making Fable: Dragon Age Edition.

Granted, I loved Fable 2, and a Fable-ish game in the Dragon Age world could very well rock (seriously, I LOVED Fable 2), but I really wanted Dragon Age 2.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

That combat sounds pretty cool for the console filth. :p But what about the platform intended by Cthulu?

I saw on Twitter Felicia Day said the graphics are great. I don't know how much that opinion is worth, but there you go.

I think her opinion is worth a great deal and if I ever feel that you are slighting the honor of that fine lady again my second will be calling on you.

I was thinking of this earlier.

We only get bits and pieces of information during this stage. Often weeks or months apart. It's nearly impossible to conceive what the game will feel like. Besides, after reading that I've come to the conclusion that the IGN writer is an idiot.

NathanialG wrote:
MrDeVil909 wrote:

That combat sounds pretty cool for the console filth. :p But what about the platform intended by Cthulu?

I saw on Twitter Felicia Day said the graphics are great. I don't know how much that opinion is worth, but there you go.

I think her opinion is worth a great deal and if I ever feel that you are slighting the honor of that fine lady again my second will be calling on you.

Tell your second to start swimming. :p

NathanialG wrote:
MrDeVil909 wrote:

That combat sounds pretty cool for the console filth. :p But what about the platform intended by Cthulu?

I saw on Twitter Felicia Day said the graphics are great. I don't know how much that opinion is worth, but there you go.

I think her opinion is worth a great deal and if I ever feel that you are slighting the honor of that fine lady again my second will be calling on you.

And that's me!

I hope this IGN rep is getting this wrong, regarding the conversation system: Good, Nasty, or Bad Ass? Seriously? If that's the full range of emotional responses they're targeting from your player character (and I find that notion dubious at best), there's a real problem up in Edmonton. More likely, this isn't the best reporting from IGN UK.

The problem with Edmonton is that it's a hideous place to live.

Isn't DA done in Montreal?

Scratched wrote:

Isn't DA done in Montreal?

Yeah. Mass Effect is done in Edmonton.

Pretty sure it's Edmonton (or was for the original). When I went to a pre-release press junkett for the original DA last November we were brought into the Edmonton office and the place was lousy with DA guys.

Comic Con impressions: http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=...

Framed Narrative
The game's story will take place in the context of different people 'retelling' portions of the main character's life over a 10 year period. They are going to use this device as a way to skip forward in time at certain points to see the effects of previous choices. Also, one interesting thing is that the game seemed to match who was telling the story - so for example, in the demo the storyteller recounting the part of the game we were playing was an old warrior who tended to exaggerate his stories a lot, which meant the levels you played and some of the over the top things your character did matched this. It will be interesting to see how this plays out....

Trailer: http://kotaku.com/5614842/dragon-age...
More precise release date: March 8 2011 in US, March 11 in EU