Maker’s Breath…

Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Genre: RPG
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PS3, Xbox 360, Mac OS x
Released: March 2011-February 2012
Genre: Action-Adventure RPG
Modes: Single-Player
Rating(s): PEGI: 18, ESRB: M
Content Warning: Blood and Gore, Adult Language, Sexual Content, Violence

I suppose I’ve put this off for as long as I could. I knew, once I started going forward with this review, this wasn’t going to be pretty. Normally I would start off a piece with some sort of witty soliloquy, a rhyme or simple tale to set the mood, to accompany the usual game info. Something that initially jump-starts the imagination and fires my engine of creativity. Needless to say I…. really can’t with this game. My creativity has been outweighed by my disappointment. This, ladies and gentlemen, is no sequel to Dragon Age: Origins. This feels more like a very large DLC expansion with the Dragon Age logo attached to it.

The first of many red flags to come up was the game’s exclusion of races in favor of simply playing as a human. Yes, you can still play as a thief, warrior, or mage. But you had to play as a human. Why? Because it cut down on development time. That’s the only reason I could come up with. It’s a fleeting, weak excuse, but that’s the best I can come up with.

Anyway, I’ve tried to give myself time to find as much of the good out of the bad as I could. I did. I wanted to give myself time to digest and let settle the various new aspects found in DA II and then compare them to the grandiose feast that was Dragon Age: Origins. And though there were times during the game that I felt were worthwhile entries to the series, as a whole I felt DA II lacking the heart, the will, and the epic weight of its fore-bearer.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some positive aspects that go along with DA II. And I think it’s important to note them in this review before going forward with anything else.

– A Voice for the People – Finally having a protagonist that talks is always welcomed. I didn’t care for the silence of the original Grey Warden, mainly because BioWare stated that due to all the different races, backgrounds and accents it would have been impossible to have it done. Really, BioWare? You couldn’t have simply hired Generic Male and Generic Female voice actor to fill in both roles? Really? REALLY?! Anyway, going from silence to voice is a plus. It, for me at least, gives my character weight. It makes him (or her) more integral to the story now.

– (Wo)Man Around Town – BioWare still manages to make fairly engaging and interesting companions here who seem believable and, at times, offer up a wisdom to the current situation that makes more sense to how it would or should play out. As with Origins, the random character banter is back, and I often found myself pausing while traveling around the city of Kirkwall just to sit there and listen to them talk. Some of it mean-spirited, some of it insightful, some of it honestly hilarious.

– Combat part 1 – Combat feels better. It’s faster, more readier, more now; as opposed to the slower, command-and-pause-before-action approach in the original. This is both a plus and a negative, as I’ll get into more detail on this later on.

– A (Not Quite) Fresh Coat of Paint – Graphically, DA II looks better than the stilted, drab-colored Thedas we got to experience in the first game. The textures are smoother, more defined and colorful, giving the overall aesthetics of the game a facelift of sorts. But again, both a plus and a negative.

This game seems to have a lot of these positive/negative changes. There’s a reason for that as you keep reading.

– Companion Apathy – Though for the most part my companions are an interesting lot, there is not one “stand out” secondary. What I mean by this is that there is no one character that stands out in my mind like, say, HK-47, or Tali, or Urdnot Wrex, or like Sten of the Beresaad, or even like the cool and calculating assassin Thane from Mass Effect 2. I felt no close connection to any of them in the way I have for the previously listed. There was no memorable moment where I said to myself “This is an awesome character.” While all are equally worth their weight due to a stellar voice cast, not one made me care about them. And that is ultimately a shame.

BioWare has always managed to make memorable characters in their universe. And to be denied the ability to be given the chance to explore, understand and ultimately care about the fates of my friends, in DA II they’re simply bygone companions who I feel nothing for as it stands, nor do I think I’ll be remembering their names within a year or two. And ultimately I think that is a travesty. To have gone from Urdnot-and-Thane-epic quality character narratives, to simply being nothing more than side quest footnotes and checklist items in my “quests completed” book is, at its core, a heartbreaking experience.

– From Epic to Linear – I understand how the change of venue, from the open expanse of Ferelden, to the tighter confines of the city-state of Kirkwall and its outlying environments can be quite dramatic, but to be forced to recycle each and every environment over and over and over again, becomes nothing more than a grind and drag. I mean, after random side quest #43 into a cave on the Wounded Cost which, I might add, is set in the same recycled cavern that I saw in random side quest #20 (and looks surprisingly like random f#@king sidequest #10 from a previous plot point) with the only noted change is that some doors in the cave are either literally sealed off or opened up just absolutely smacks of designer laze. And the excuses made to dismiss these faults were hilariously sad to read.

– Limited Character Dolling – The one thing I liked about Origins was the ability to make my characters look and feel different from my own. If, say, I wanted to make my Oghren character look like a Dwarven Deep Roads Warrior, I could deck him out in a full set of Armor of the Legion and send him into the thick of the fray, knowing that he could hold his own. In DA II I’m limited to simply finding armor “upgrades” at various merchant shops, or side quests, or junk trinkets like amulets, rings and belts.

…Sigh.

I’ll admit, the ridiculous nature of Origins where you could have the entire party almost look exactly the same was a genuine concern and should have been tweaked. I say tweaked, not thrown out entirely. Which they did here in Dragon Age II. And I hate to make this comparison, but they fit; this streamlining of character dress up smacks of what they did in Mass Effect 2. And though that might have worked in streamlining the clutter from Mass Effect 1, it just doesn’t work here in a medieval setting. The only one good thing, is that at least they allowed me to change out their default weapons for more potent swords, hammers, knives and two-handed greatswords when you find them. But honestly, I feel like I’m playing “Dragon Effect 2,” rather than a sequel to one of the most engrossing, story-driven RPGs of the last ten years.

– Malpractice Needs More Practice – Character design. While the main player and the NPCs all look fine, the final product that they did for both the Elves and Darkspawn need to go back to the drawing board. The plus: The Qunari. Now they look menacing, now they look threatening, now they stand out as a race defined rather than just looking like taller humans with deeper voices.

But the elves and the darkspawn? Wow, yeah. No. Absolutely no. The elves look like thinner, sicker-looking pale-faced Na’vi. I’m serious, it’s just too comical and “beta” feeling that, given time, this idea should’ve been cut for a more realistic design choice.

And the Darkspawn? Holy S&#@ who thought turning them into Cosplaying Skeletor-esque rejects was a good idea?!

These are nightmare creatures. These are Darkspawn.

These are… I don’t know what the hell these things are. Besides a joke.

On a graphical standpoint, this game still needed considerable work. Yes, it’s prettier, but what’s with all the spikes? They’re everywhere in this city. On armor, on enemies, on weapons. Everywhere. And despite the fresh coat of paint the game gives you in comparison to the first game, there are serious oversights on the secondary NPC characters across the city; muddled looking faces, blank, emotionless (and sometimes not even animated) looks on city characters as they walk through the alleyways talking and doing their thing.

What was also hilarious to watch was the general apathy that seemed to go through the city’s inhabitants while I was in the middle of a fight. Yes, this was a problem in Origins too, but at least I didn’t have someone WALKING straight through the middle of a melee encounter like NOTHING was going on. Or never even react in ANY way despite the fact that I just hacked someone to death right in front of someone. Someone who just stood there like, “Hey, what’s going on?” Ridiculous doesn’t even begin to scratch my befuddlement.

Audio-wise DA2 is decent, but not as memorable as the first game. I still had audio track and background riffs just cut out for no explanation. Much like what happened in Origins. But here, with a voiced protagonist whose audio suddenly stops for no apparent reason, it’s just bad. The voice-acting is good, for the most part. The Arishok’s menacing, almost rumbling voice sent shivers up my spine every time he spoke. That’s good stuff. Others, though, sounded amateurish and just….beta. Given more time, these kinks might have been ironed out, but given the limited time this game had to go through, I’m surprised it’s as decent as it is.

Combat part 2 – With the improvements come the flaws. First off, DA II doesn’t seem to want to support or acknowledge the fact that during combat it can dramatically change and alter its “flow” so to speak. Being able to adapt on the fly is what I liked about Origins. With a simple press of the button, I could go from melee Lord of the Sword to Ranged Assassin quickly, quietly, and with minimal fuss.

Apparently DA II seems to think this aspect of combat from the first game was broken. You’re either forced to be a melee-er or a bowman in the course of the battle; never both. Actually let me clarify that statement. DA II seems to want to make this aspect as broken as possible, to force you into one specific role during battle without the ability to change-up your tactics to adapt to the changing flow of combat.

For example, to switch from melee to bow, I need to pause, go into my weapons list, unequip my melee weapons, equip a bow, then exit back out and unpause the game. Now, during the course of the flow of combat, my enemies come fast and furious, closing into melee range. To switch BACK to my daggers, sword, whatever, I need to pause the game, go into my inventory menu, switch over to my weapons list, unequip my bow, then re-equip both my daggers, back out and unpause the game.

Yeah. Wow. Broken is an understatement here.

Speaking of “tactics,” they’re pushed aside for the simple attrition of hack and slash battles. For 99.99% of the combat in DA II, it’s simply your ability to spam the A button or the available special abilities mapped to your other button commands to whittle away your enemies’ life bar. For the most part, I found no practical use for tactics the way I did in Origins. There is no want to flank an enemy, or command your other less potent death-dealing comrades to rain down hurt from, say, the protective back yard of the fight while you command your tanks to carry the threat away from them with close ranged sword and hammer strikes.

Why? Because of this ridiculous looking respawning enemy wave mechanic that literally, LITERALLY has them fall out of nowhere on the battlefield. And when I say from out of nowhere, that’s not an understatement or an inaccurate assumption. I mean they literally drop. From out of nowhere. And what’s hilarious about these encounters is that oddly enough, with the right equipment and strength scores, they’re one hit wonders. One hit and you wonder why they’re suddenly exploding (yes, EXPLODING)  in cartoonish-looking body parts and blood.

BioWare touted that during the course of the ten years you get to experience the world through Hawke’s eyes, his or her previous exploits would have a more profound effect on the characters and the world around him (her). That the decisions you made would be more immediately apparent as you progressed through the game. So I did the quests, the companion notes, the side quests, the secondary fetch quests (and GOD there were a lot of those), and finally the main quests themselves. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of impact I was going to have on the next Act, actively anticipating the changes and the outcomes of everything I had done previously.

Besides the occasional merchant, or one or two random NPC’s I ran into during Acts II and III, there was no ultimately positive or negative outcome to the world around me. There was no grand change I was hoping to see. It was as if whatever I had done in the previous acts were simply self-contained moments in Hawke’s life, with no further development or impact on the city of Kirkwall beyond the odd and offhand remark made by a companion or plot specific NPC. I felt no legitimate change beyond the ability to simply progress the storyline to its conclusion; a conclusion, I might add, that is stymied and aesthetically similar in its outcome no matter who you inevitably side with in the end.

I also feel these missing time periods in the story are also a detriment to the character of Hawke him/herself. Seriously, I am the Champion of Kirkwall, by the will of its people, I AM this city’s hero. So what the HELL do I do in the three-year gaps in the story that allow situations in the city to escalate to them boiling over to the point that blood is literally running down its streets?

Apparently doing nothing but sitting at home with a thumb both thumbs up my a$$.

I personally feel that, with the way Hawke is portrayed overall, he or she comes across as a more reactive rather than proactive individual and more responsible for the sad state of affairs in Kirkwall than the proverbial “bad guys” in the narrative. Seriously. Hawke wasn’t a hero. He/She was simply a well-financed mercenary. And honestly, that’s not something you want to impart to players when your main tagline is “Rise to Power.” It felt more like “Kinda Get Famous And Do Nothing To Help The City You’re A Hero For, You Lazy B#$%#$.”

Though limited, the DLC offerings for Dragon Age II have at least helped break the monotony of having to go through Caves #1-100 (which are all the same really) around Kirkwall. These include The Exiled Prince DLC (which includes new companion Sebastian Vael), The Black Emporium DLC (a new shop that even offers you a Mabari hound companion), Legacy DLC, and Mark of the Assassin DLC. There would have been one more DLC, titled The Exalted March, but was canceled, according to BioWare Executive Producer Mark Darrah, due to “other DA opportunities.” I’m assuming that since Dragon Age II wasn’t as commercially successful as its predecessor, that “other DA opportunity” probably boiled down to “Let’s just focus on Dragon Age Inquisition.”

At least that’s my opinion anyway.

Final Thoughts: Beyond all the gripes and the grumbles I have with DA II, you may be wondering if this is a horrible game. Well, yes and no. Yes, it has its moments of shine and polish, and there are moments within that keep the tradition of Dragon Age: Origins‘ original plan intact. Revisiting some familiar faces with a much-needed engine remodel is surprisingly welcomed. I just wish there was more of them.

But if you were to ask me if this was a Dragon Age sequel worthy of the name, a sequel worthy of the loft height set forth by its older brother, then I’d have to say without a doubt NO. Dragon Age II is a step down for the genre, for the name itself. When it should have set a new benchmark in the franchise, it simply stumbles and drags. The positive changes they made came with way too many negatives. Negatives that I can only point to one reason for existing at all: It’s extremely tight developmental time set, in my opinion, by EA. There wasn’t any time to add anything substantial to the story. There wasn’t any time to add anything substantial to the characters. There wasn’t any time. Why? Again, the 400 lb. gorilla in the room is wearing an EA approved suit. I will admit to admiring the boldness of trying something new, but ultimately BioWare took those steps in the wrong direction.

Thankfully, from what I’m seeing of Dragon Age Inquisition, many of these negative traits have been forgotten. Do I expect DAI to be this mind-blowing, all-encompassing return to form that harkens back to past BioWare games? No. Sadly, most of the people responsible for those moments are now gone. But do I think that Inquisition will be a step forward after this…. brief stumble back?

Yes. And honestly, that is a positive thing to look forward to.