Dragon Age II Reviews, Wave Three

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Written by Brother None on March 9th, 2011

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The layers are many, with a growing conflict between mages and the Chantry-controlled Templars at the story's core. BioWare throws numerous "WTF!?" twists into the game, heavily influenced by the hundreds of decisions you make. Just when you think you have a character, group, or issue pegged, it flips on you. That goes for Hawke's companion characters as well. From the saucy, shapely pirate Isabella (say, didn't I see you in the Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball series?), to the odd elven mage Merrill, to your trusty dwarven sidekick Varrick and his crossbow Bianca, BioWare has crafted some of its finest characters yet -- well-developed, outspoken souls who make themselves heard in nearly every choice you make.

And tough choices they are. I won't spoil anything, but your final, difficult decision builds from the very first act of the game -- more than 40 hours, countless quests, characters, and places in the past. By that time, I thought my mind would be made up about how to end things; it wasn't. No clear line between good and evil, no cardboard cutouts, no easy choices exist in DA2. Like Hawke himself, other characters make decisions based on circumstances, and those decisions often carry long-lasting and surprisingly far-reaching ramifications. Credit lead writer David Gaiter and his team for creating full, multifaceted story arcs for dozens of characters, and somehow managing to make them all work from the beginning to the end of Hawke's long, winding road.

The story is extremely bold as there's nothing as unoriginal as the first game's Archdemon to defeat. In fact there isn't really a central villain at all, which is a brave decision but also a millstone that makes much of the game's 25+ hours seem aimless and inconsequential. Especially as the game world is surprisingly small, comprising not much more than city of Kirkwall and a nearby mountain.

It's bad game design because it lies to you. It tells you that you need to save up money and find some maps in order to progress to the next major stage of the game, but the truth is that you have to do some other stuff as well. We don't know exactly what because it's never specified, and that's precisely the problem. You realise, when Bartrand finally gets a map marker and the next chapter of the game begins, that you've mostly just been doing stuff for no particular reason other than that it was there to be done.

If this doesn't sound much like the carefully crafted, intrigue-fuelled, meaningfully paced adventure you remember from Dragon Age: Origins and pretty much any other BioWare game, for that matter that's because Dragon Age II is far inferior to its stablemates in terms of quest design and overall structure. Given that it's in these departments that BioWare games traditionally excel, this is a major problem.

Picture the scene: you've settled down in the office to get cracking on BioWare's new RPG. You've already been playing a while and you've enjoyed it so far you find the experience to be rather tranquil (those familiar with the ins and outs of the series: forgive the pun) and thoroughly absorbing, and have been looking forward to playing again ever since the last time you turned the PS3 off.

There's some interesting socio-political allegories, but there's also a lot of really boring ones too. Even the most tedious are worth enduring though for the constant stream of difficult decisions your character has to make and the impact they have on the world - many of which revolve around a particular ethnic and social group being persecuted.

The fictional universe the game is set in is still a problem though. Much more a slave to high fantasy traditions than the gameplay, it does little to distinguish itself from the morass of Tolkien wannabes. Mass Effect can be similarly generic but its universe still feels much more distinctive by comparison.

The frustrating thing is we have a feeling Dragon Age II is going to be criticised most for its gameplay changes than its storytelling failings. You might not like the new direction but it works as BioWare intended. But the story you carve with your new combat skills doesn't always seem worthy of such risky innovation.

Origins excelled with choices in RPGs, because it did something most RPGs rarely have the courage to do make everything morally grey. Just like The Witcher, Origins would present you with a number of different tough situations, and never tell you what was (right) or (wrong). There were no visual cues as to what emotion you were invoking, and no (sliding meters) to tell you how benevolent you were. Unfortunately, Dragon Age II falls victim to a pretty familar trope found in most action RPGs like the Fable series: black and white morality. Every time you're given a choice, the conversation wheel has an icon in it whether it's a peace leaf for (good), a fist for (mean), or a comedy mask for (lighthearted), Dragon Age II will let you know what kind of person you are. But the simplicity doesn't end there.

Dragon Age 2 is a story driven RPG where your decision have a big impact on how the game plays, it's the exact opposite of the very linear games we see (like Call of Duty). In Dragon Age 2, your character moves through the world and through the story the way you want it, based on your decisions, meaning there's always a reason to go back and play it over again, choosing a different path and getting a different outcome. There are numerous quests throughout the game, where you'll do different jobs, meet different people, and so on, good ol RPG style. You can chose between three classes, Mage, Warrior and Rogue, which are pretty straightforward if you're an RPG fan.

Interactions have also changed, going the Mass Effect route with a dialogue wheel, where your responses to dialogue have consequences, although they seldom feel quite as far-reaching as some of the decisions you had to make in Origins, you can resolve conflicts peacefully or with violence as you see fit. Facial animations and lip syncing has also been improved, as has the voice-acting which now has a broader range of regional British dialects, which are little things that all add to the overall experience. In short, Dragon Age II is the most immersive RPG we've played since Origins, and given the fact that the hero now has a voice and distinct personality (like Shepard), you can chalk up an extra plus point for the sequel.

Then add yet another plus point for the user interface, which has received a nice lick of paint across the board, as well as a new analogue stick-based pause menu, which allows quick access to the map, inventory, journal and other options. It's far less clunky than Origins' fiddly inventory. Still, the in-game radial menu remains unchanged, save for a few new icons that are easier to read. The world map also acts more as a hub now too, enabling quick and easy fast travel between objectives, which are listed for you, so you can always easily decide where you need to go next without faffing about.

Yet, while certain compromises have been made, the game doesn't suffer for them. Locations are liberally reused and yes, combat has been streamlined for a faster, more Mass Effect-like experience. In fact the spectre of Mass Effect 2 haunts every aspect of the game from its inventory to its characters. But it's the scale of the story that counts here and the breadth of the issues it deals with.

Dragon Age 2 is a city adventure that eschews countryside travels and colourful locations to focus on the internal strife and politics of Kirkwall. It's never afraid to make you question your beliefs; it takes a morally ambigiuous viewpoint between the various warring factions, and when it makes you choose between them, your choice will never come easily.

"Dragon Age II" is somewhat of a creative gamble for BioWare; shifting the typically sprawling role-playing genre into a relatively confined urban milieu is bound to leave some fans grumbling. But while it's grittier and less grandiose, it's still an epic drama, and the journey is very rewarding.

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