Dragon Age 2 official announcement

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

two years

March 2011

[Le Communard]

March 2011

Well, that's a pleasant surprise. It must have been in development for a while now.

[Rhom]

Didn't BioWare say earlier this year that they had plots for sequels and expansion for the next 5 years or so?

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Well, that's a pleasant surprise. It must have been in development for a while now.

The PC version was done late 2008, but was delayed for simultaneous release across all platforms.

Which doesn't seem like that much time, but ME2 had a pretty compressed schedule as well. I just hope it's not as rushed as the expansion was.

[Le Communard]

The PC version was done late 2008, but was delayed for simultaneous release across all platforms.

Which doesn't seem like that much time, but ME2 had a pretty compressed schedule as well. I just hope it's not as rushed as the expansion was.

I take it Awakenings isn't worth a look, then?

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Not for full price, but I got my $20 out of it.

[Merentha]

So, the sequel to a game that emphasized creating a character's origins, and trying to keep the value of that early choice pertinent throughout the game, forces you to play a (voiced?) character with a fairly defined past and personality. Don't get me wrong, I loved Mass Effect and think Shepard is badass, but really, I liked taking my racist chantry-hating elf mage through Ferelden, thanks. There are a lot of action-RPGs these days, but the sprawling, isometric RPG really isn't that common. I liked it when DA:O seemed to be bringing that back.

Oh well, I'm sure DA2 will probably be good, just not...what I liked about Origins.

[Serious Callers Only]

*failing to give a damn*

[Ser Vlad]

Now, what's making me nervous are the comments in a few articles about a newer, more reactive combat system and more action. These concerns are exacerbated by the news that--apparently--your hero's last name is fixed. I don't need Mass Effect in my Dragon Age, thanks.

On other hand, I want Mass Effect shoved in pretty hard into my Dragon age. Don't get me wrong - I understand why those who like RPGs like Baldur's Gate love the blank canvass protagonist because of what they're relationship is to the game, and what they see role playing like. But the cost of the silent, blank canvass protagonist is that you remove him from the story, and make side characters active actors, because the PC always has to be fully controlled by the player.

In Dragon Age, you can lead the dramatic charge; the ruler of Ferelden gives the speech before fighting the darkspawn during the endgame, not you; even if you are a Cousland and marry into the crown, you are a bit player. This is the cost of the lack of VO. I get that to most fans of older RPGs, this is absolutely worth it. To me, it's absolutely worth giving up to have moments like Shepard's speech during suicide mission in ME2.

Not that I don't have a problem with more RPGs giving you few options for character creation - it worked amazingly well for Planescape Torment, which gave virtually no options in fact. But after the bland anonymity of Commander Shepard, I'm not sure I trust Bioware with this particular route. I'd love to be proved wrong though.

Shepard has no choice but to be an angry or polite open-ended question machine. Anything else means players don't get to do all any kind of projecting, which is what all role-playing boils down to: making stuff up to fill in blanks in the character. The ME design means less opportunities to fill stuff in because of more definitive character traits, but the payoff is the ability to see the character actively interact with the world in a more realistic sense.

Bioware won't produce more traditional RPGs, because they're just not going to be as commercially viable as ME2 style action RPGs. It's a shame, I know. Despite how much I hate how role-playing works in that design, I love the to-down isometric strategic party control. It's super fun! So the action part, I hate. But changing the character interface? Very much like.

[Odie]

I could froth at the mouth (more) about this game, but it won't do any good.

All I can think of is King's Quest 8, Conner, and the destruction of a series I held dear throughout my childhood. To me, this feels like a similar turn of events...

Sword!Shepard: Do Not Want

[GrimTuesday]

That makes me sad that I wont be able to customize my character. I wanted to be able to play as an orc.

Sten disapproves(-70)

[Jurus]

There aren't any orcs in DAO.

[HP Loveshaft]

Not being able to customize your character sucks. This is a stupid move. They already have Mass Effect to appeal to that type of fan, let the rest of us have silent, ridiculously ugly scumbag dwarves.

[denstorebog]

Damn that video. Seems like the genius who wrote PS:T is a really unfuny dickwad.

[Renasko]

There aren't any orcs in DAO.

No trolls, either. Nope.

[GrimTuesday]

No trolls, either. Nope.

It makes me sad.

Sten Disapproves as well (-15)

[Jurus]

5 facts about DA2

1. Hawke will be a voiced character.

Unlike Dragon Age: Origins, the player's character in Dragon Age II will be fully voiced. This opens the door for a more cinematic approach to dialogue and creates an identity for the character outside of the text you see on-screen. It also eliminates those awkward scenarios where you feel like your character should be reacting, but instead just stares blankly without so much as a grunt.

2. Hawke is human.

Yes, that means that you won't be able to select Hawke's race. However, just because that one aspect of Hawke's backstory is set doesn't mean BioWare is eliminating character creation. You can still choose your class and customize your appearance. When we visited BioWare's studio, we only saw (and heard) the male Hawke in action, but the team promises that players can select either gender for the character.

3. Hawke didn't just survive the blight...he escaped it.

As the Grey Warden from Dragon Age: Origins was fighting darkspawn, Hawke was living in Lothering. Fans will remember that the small village was raided and destroyed (an event that occurred off-screen in Origins), and Hawke was one of the survivors. However, rather than stay and fight the darkspawn menace, Hawke flees Ferelden and heads north.

4. Hawke is the Champion of Kirkwall.

Kirkwall is a major population center in the Free Marches, a collection of city-states north of Ferelden. This means that at least some of the action in Dragon Age II will be set in Kirkwall itself, though Hawke will also spend time in other areas of the Free Marches. What exactly Hawke does to earn the honorary title of Champion, however, is up to you.

5. Hawke drives the story.

Dragon Age II is not about killing an ancient evil or about quelling another blight; Hawke is the driving force behind the narrative. Over the course of the game's 10-year timeline, players' actions and choices will determine Hawke's history, relationships, and regrets...all in service to answering the larger question: Who is the Champion of Kirkwall?

[Jurus]

Some more info from a guy who read the article in "Game Informer" magazine.

Alright, just finished reading the DA2 article in my GI mag. WARNING! I am going to be posting some of the things that really stand out. (To me anyway) So if you don't want to know, skip my post.

1) We will be able to import our DA:O games into DA2.

2) We will see Flemeth at some point.

3) Pissing off party members won't always be a bad thing. "They won't necessarily leave. They may still join you, but they're going to try to show you up, and that may influence battle in a different way."

4) We're getting the ME2 conversation wheel, but this time instead of having some dialogue be a particular color the center of the wheel will show a symbol to show what kind of reply it is. (The article uses the examples of them being something like aggressive or sarcastic)

5) The way the story unfolds will be very different compared to the past Bioware games. "Dragon Age II has a framed narrative structure, which means that the exploits of Hawke occured in the past, but are being retold in the present." "Narrators with unique insights into the events in question tell the tale of his past adventures."

6) We may get to see some of the DA:O events at the start from a different perspective. "Dragon Age II begins as the events of Origins are still taking place, so you may see some familiar events from a different angle."

7) Because of the game spanning a decade, we get to see the consequences of our actions sooner, rather than in a little text at the end of the game.

8) The PC version's combat system remains mostly the same. "The PC version implements the same strategic approach afforded by a mouse-and-keyboard control scheme." "Rather than try to mimic the PC experience on consoles, Dragon Age II has a battle system more tailored to the strengths of the PS3 and 360."

[Galactus]

Mostly good stuff, except the ME style conversation wheel. That sucks. (although a similar style worked well in Alpha Protocol, I don't really like it overall)

[Jurus]

I liked the ME2 wheel and the only thing I had a problem with they changed it. "The center of the wheel will show a symbol to show what kind of reply it is. (The article uses the examples of them being something like aggressive or sarcastic)". I remember one instance when I fought my comment was going to be somewhat sarcastic and I ended up yelling at the poor bastard.