The game begins with a cinematic of dark room, a Seeker named Cassandra and one of Hawke’s companions, the dwarf Varric. Cassandra seeks knowledge about Hawke and we’re taken upon a hill where Hawke is with his sibling (gender dependent on Hawke’s class), and you’re given the basic points of combat through higher level abilities (which you must unlock by leveling up). A dragon appears and the game flashes forward to Varric again. Cassandra demands the truth and all that Varric knows, and the dwarf starts his story anew from the start – the true behind the Champion.
Hawke and his family eventually end up in Kirkwall where Hawke’s mother says they have family and an estate. Unfortunately, things aren’t as pleasant as they’d hope. The city is in chaos, and refugees are coming in from all over the place, and no one is able to get in. With the help of Hawke’s uncle and some shady business, they’re able to get in. However, the cost is servitude to either a mercenary or a smuggler for a year. And that’s when you start making your own fortune.
Like most RPGs, you can either play as male or female.
Perhaps one of the finer points of the game is its dialogue system. It’s similar to what Mass Effect had, a wheel, with 6 options on each; with investigate typically on the centerleft one and devoted to the right side from top down are kindly responses, humorous responses or aggressive responses. There isn’t any alignment system involved, so you’re free to choose whatever dialogue option you wish. Sometimes, you DO want to scream at that idiot who got someone killed, and to be able to do so knowing it won’t affect your avatar’s connection to the good/evil side is liberating.
Combat is much, much more fast paced than before which is a really good improvement. Whether you’re a rogue or a mage, you won’t find yourself standing around waiting for your turn to attack. There’s always the choice of pausing the game to issue orders, or you can take part in it actively, moving from one enemy to next, slicing, dicing and fireballing your way to victory. Warriors are adept at doing devastating damage to his enemies, while rogues are great at taking down individual opponents and though they have weaker damages their attack speed makes up for it. Mages are good at disabling and destroying enemies, buffing and healing allies, or there’s always the choice of mix and match.
Each class are presented with five or more talent trees, with 9 for Hawk (three of them being specialization class, a point each at level 7 and level 14). Each tree has a number of abilities with possible upgrades to some of them. How you build your character is up to you, and remember to choose your abilities wisely as you don’t want to mess up your character and start from the beginning all over again. Focus on one or two trees (perhaps one of the usual trees and a specialization?), though it is possible to start on a third tree if you were going for more than a casual gameplay doing almost as many quests as possible.
Hawke will meet a variety of companions along the way, and an interesting move from Bioware, it’s possible for a romance to kindle between almost all of them (barring Varric and Hawke’s sibling). A good move, in my opinion, catering to all audiences. Companions engage in chatter with each other while roaming revealing a little more about the characters each time. Conversations between Hawke and his friends can only be initiated at that particular character’s ‘homebase’ – for example, Varric will hang around the Hanged Man (no pun intended), and Merril, her home at the Elven Alienage. Check your journal for notifications for when one of your companions wish to talk.
A mildly annoying bossfight against a rock monster.
Most of the game happens in the city of Kirkwall and Sundermount mountain, aside from a trip or two outside, like in the Deep Roads. One would think you’d feel a trifle stifled having to be in the same place. In fact, you DO, a little. But not of the city. The city itself is interesting enough, with plenty of groups at play. There’s the mages, there are the Chantry and its Templar Order, there’s the Qunari, the Elves, the guardsmen, the nobles, the thieves and what have you not. The political friction between most of these group are rough, specially between the Qunari and pretty much every one else. Stranded in Kirkwall for years, waiting for a ship to get them home, the denizens of Kirkwall are, needless to say, at unease, knowing little to nothing about these giant humanoids with horns. Fear is a terrible thing, and so is zealotry. Neither of which, including the combination of both, are a good sign. And thrown into all of this are Hawke and his friends.
Where you DO feel stifled are the dungeons where a lot of your quests take place. It’ll almost always take place in the same (looking?) dungeon, whether it is a cave or a hideout, and this can make you think twice about where you are. Do all the different villains hang out at the same place? But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise flawless and polished game.
The graphics are simply brilliant, facial expressions, environment, spell effects and all. The city is beautifully designed broken down into many districts such as Lowtown, Hightown, Darktown, Docks and so on. Each of them exhibit the proper atmosphere. Darktown, where all the beggars and those stuck in poverty live, looks like what it should look. Dark, dingy and a place where you’re sure you’d get mugged walking alone. Hightown looks the exact opposite – bright, shining and rich, home to the merchants, the brothel, the estates and viscount’s place. Even with the great graphics, DA2 is optimized well enough that it wouldn’t take a powerhouse of a video card to run on more than decent settings.
Can't have Dragon Age without them dragons.
Voice acting in the game is one of its strongpoints. Merril is adorable in her cute rambling way, Fenris is fierce and a cynic, Varric is witty and fun – Bioware chose some of the better talents out there, that’s for sure. The soundtrack doesn’t leave as much of an impact as you’d like, but it does the job. Sound effects, though, are really neat. When your rogue lacerates enemies with vicious quick strikes, the sound of slicing and dicing will be sure to satisfy. The same goes for the Warrior’s powerful strikes and the Mage’s laying of devastation.
The game takes place during the course of ten years, with whatever decisions you make early in the game having some form of consequences later on. Rescuing a fledgling mage in the beginning will find you having to decide whether to make him tranquil later on. Compassionate or aggressive, whatever choice you make, you’ll often find yourself face to face with the actions of your past.
Dragon Age 2 is a deep, enthralling game worthy of being called an RPG. Like all of Bioware’s games, despite a kink or two, DA2 is still a polished diamond – a thoroughly enjoyable game with proper depth, a proper story and script, great character customization and intuitive fun gameplay. This is definitely one of the games of this year.
