Dragon Age II Impressions

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 16 March 2011 15:18

Opinion and Analysis

Battling through the latest Bioware RPG offering, Dragon Age II, is proving to be a double edged halberd.

The first game, Dragon Age: Origins was a fully-fledged yet typical RPG title from BioWare, modern masters of the RPG art. 

It was not as accessible, in my opinion as a game such as stable-mate Mass Effect, but for D&D RPG fans, it was a chance to play through a contemporary high quality game with all the trappings of beloved titles from the past, such as Baldars Gate, or Icewind Dale.

The original game brought high acclaim from both critics and the public, and so it is unsurprising that both EA and BioWare were keen to get out the downloadable content, as well as the expansion pack (Awakenings) and now, the sequel quick smart.

Dragon Age II has been further consolefied, BioWare deaf to the bemoaning hoards of PC playing folks, but for me, playing on the Xbox 360, the experience has been streamlined enough to enable the full enjoyment of the writing and action.  Having said that, there are obvious flaws in the game, most likely due to time to market factors.

At this point I am approximately 12 hours into the game, spreading my questing love between main plot and side quests.  Players get the initial choice of playing one of three human roles in either female or male form.   

Even though during play you can opt to take control of any of your team members, playing as Hawke, your chosen character, will be the most tempting.  It is therefore difficult to not recommend playing as a Rogue, leading the party into trap laden areas is the job of the man or women out front, with their abilities to detect and disarm traps, Rogues are the obvious choice.

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