Game News Let's All Play Dragon Age 2

[Jason]

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age 2

<p>EA &amp; BioWare desperately <a href="http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/" target="_blank">need your help</a> and are prepared to offer <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">worthless crap</span> untold riches to get it.</p>
<blockquote>February 22, 2011 marks the launch of the Dragon Age II Demo and a Call to Arms for all BioWare fans. We are actively recruiting an army of Champions, and if we get over 1 million demo downloads and logins on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 combined before March 1st, we will unlock two in-game items for the entire community to use in Dragon Age II. Demo download progress will be tracked on this page, so check back often!<br /><br />To get your download counted, you will need to log into your EA account while playing the demo.</blockquote>
<p><br />This brings up the intriguing question of what kind of douchebag would have an EA account. Other than Volourn, of course.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

 

[Spectacle]

Ooh, clever trick to get people to sign up for an EA account. Remember kids, it's not spam if you voluntarily give up your mail address.

 

[Antihero]

I made a point to download it from the GamersHell bittorrent mirror and dismiss the game's log in prompt. I did my part.

Some might say I shouldn't have downloaded it at all, and to them all I can say is that they're right. If it helps, I didn't seed longer than it took me to remember I was downloading it in the first place.

Late edit: don't forget to uncheck in the in-game options to phone home.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Mike Laidlaw was right. Awesome shit is happening all the time, enemies exploding in a red cloud, massive AoE spell effects all over the screen, it all happens so fast I hardly realized what was going on. The good news is, it doesn't matter. You don't have to know what's going on, that's how badass Hawke is. You don't even have to press a button. Awesome stuff happens anyway and then your party has won all of a sudden. As I predicted.

Remember how the encounter design, the endless trash mobs were criticized in DAO? Well, Mike Laidlaws answer is: even more shitty trashmobs, spawning in waves, appearing out of thin air. Even better, remember the finishing moves (like jumping an ogre) in DAO, those are now cutscenes apparently, wouldn't want to miss one of those?

Dunno how indicative the demo is of the actual game, but it certainly doesn't bode well.

 

[Black]

What's funny is that enemies don't spawn behind a hill or some shit like they would in normal games. They just appear, from thin air, they don't even bother pretending they come from anywhere.

Can't blame them, if bioware can't be assed to try, why should mobs.

 

[Crooked Bee]

The game looks like shit, the design decisions are poor, no thought has been put into it at all. As racofer said earlier, it definitely feels like a godawful rushed job. The next-gen Bioware at their best.

 

[attackfighter]

are they going to use the demo to get user feedback on what to fix, or is this literally just a plan to trick people into getting EA accounts? wikipedia says the game's being released soon, so I'm guessing it's the latter...

 

[Black]

Bioware doesn't fix, bioware removes.
Shitty inventory? Remove!
Shitty "tactical' view? Remove!
Shitty gameplay in all of our games? Remove gameplay!

 

[Mrowak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O066PDpCNUw

Can you get even more repetetive?

All the guy playing it does is spamming 3 fire spells, in exactly the same order, the very same fashion.

And he wins!

And those spell-casting animations...

 

[attackfighter]

I like how his staff is a laser gun

oh, and the top ranked comment:

I'll try and sum it up for all you mindless robots out there.

Graphics mean squat in comparison with depth of narrative and gameplay.

dragon age and the witcher are both equaly amazing games, for very different reasons.

But I can tell you that when I'm 20 hours into a well made RPG, the very last thing on my mind is how realistic the textures and lighting are.

looks like witcher fanboys got served

 

[Globbi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O066PDpCNUw

Oh shit it's so funny when after a boss fight a few dead guys wake and a girl (hit once, during a cutscene, when everyone else was watching) is dead for good.

 

[Karmapowered]

Tried the demo and uninstalled it after 10 minutes.

I just couldn't bear the constant interruptions by cutscenes + enemies spawning right, left, above and below every second + Hentai XXL boobs on every female character + Aveline's face + fuck-ugly console port graphics/interface on my PC.

At this point, I just hope the theory of Evolution helps Bioware to go Westwood Studios.

 

[Black]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O066PDpCNUw

Oh shit it's so funny when after a boss fight a few dead guys wake and a girl (hit once, during a cutscene, when everyone else was watching) is dead for good.

Very JRPGy, ask The Horse if you do not believe me.

 

[Victor Dosev]

Help Dragon Age reach One Million Downloads of The Dragon Age 2 Demo and we will unlock two new in-game items.

The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall - The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall - Written by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this book of poems describes her dreams of a new start in Kirkwall, the city across the sea. Readers will surely be enriched by her insights. (Gives money when read.)

Gives money when read

money when read

money

 

[Storyfag]

A Pouch of Coins - A Pouch of Coins - Stored away by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this small sack contains her savings for the trip to Kirkwall, the city across the sea. It's new owners will surely be enriched by the money within. (Gives money when examined.)

Really, Bioware, was the above *that* difficult to come up with?

 

[Freelance Henchman]

A Whore's Pouch of Coins - A Pouch of Coins - Stored away by a Fereldan refugee whore as she fled the Blight, this small sack contains her earnings for spreading her legs for pauper and lord alike. It's new owners will surely be enriched by the money within. (Gives money when examined.)

GRIMDARKified.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O066PDpCNUw

Oh shit it's so funny when after a boss fight a few dead guys wake and a girl (hit once, during a cutscene, when everyone else was watching) is dead for good.

Very JRPGy, ask The Horse if you do not believe me.

What? Go away. Horsey needs his sleepy time.

 

[Gord]

Oh shit it's so funny when after a boss fight a few dead guys wake and a girl (hit once, during a cutscene, when everyone else was watching) is dead for good.

Yeah, isn't it? During game you are practically immortal, but once it's cutscene time it's insta-permadeath.

Also, if the demo is even remotely meant to depict actual, typical gameplay this game is going to be nothing more than a hack'n'slash with some (probably whimsical) ambitions at telling a (probably crappy) story.

 

[Mrowak]

Oh shit it's so funny when after a boss fight a few dead guys wake and a girl (hit once, during a cutscene, when everyone else was watching) is dead for good.

Yeah, isn't it? During game you are practically immortal, but once it's cutscene time it's insta-permadeath.

Fucking jRPGs. And they kept telling me its not their fault we are going through the age of

Also, if the demo is even remotely meant to depict actual, typical gameplay this game is going to be nothing more than a hack'n'slash with some (probably whimsical) ambitions at telling a (probably crappy) story.

I wish it was hack and slash. I mean a good old hack'n'slash, the sort of you have actual fun from whacking your opponents in dozens of ways. What I saw was mind-numbing boring. The guy uses same stuff over and over again, with no variation whatsoever. The player's only input seems to be pressing 'forward' and hitting 'x' when anything appears on screen. Gawd!

And '(probably) crappy story?' Basing my opinion on everything I saw in the vids the story in DA2 is bound to be crappy beyond redemption.

 

[Elzair]

What a piece of shit!

 

[catfood]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O066PDpCNUw

Can you get even more repetetive?

All the guy playing it does is spamming 3 fire spells, in exactly the same order, the very same fashion.

And he wins!

And those spell-casting animations...

Looks and plays exactly like Dungeon Siege.

 

[Befuddled Halfling]

Looks and plays exactly like Dungeon Siege.

No way. Dungeon Siege had a TACTICAL view, allowing more thought to go into combat.

 

[Seolas]

They will struggle to make 1,000,000 downloads at this rate. Still hasn't hit 400k and has lingered in the 300-400k range for 16 or so hours now. And you have to think most downloads would come in the first 48 hours with all the hype.

Of course they will bump it up if they don't make 1,000,000 downloads to save face and then we all get the epic, uh... books.

I already have three weapons unlocked in my registered game promotions, they risk unbalancing the game handing out all these l33t DLC items.

 

[Konjad]

DARK & GRITTY


BEST GAME EVER 11/10
OH GOD GOD OH I FEEL I JUST SHIT MYSELF


























































Shit. Turd. Crap. More than I have predicted. While DAO was okay this game is not.

 

[Pegultagol]

DX11 graphics comparison - in German

Just thought it worth mentioning whether they in fact implemented to put lipstick on a pig.

 

[Excidium]

DX11 graphics comparison - in German

Just thought it worth mentioning whether they in fact implemented to put lipstick on a pig.

Oh my god DA2 is so beatiful!