So, E3 (at last!). I was irrevocably obsessed with the event ever since I learned that Bioware would be there with Dragon Age III – and I was not disappointed. We were finally offered a trailer which divulged that the two fan-favourite companions Morrigan and Varric are returning, amongst other things. However, as I was sitting there with the drool running down my chin and forming a gooey lagoon on my crotch, I noticed the comments section of this particular page. It was dominated by comments along the lines of “I hope it’s not the disaster DAII was” and “I lost faith in Bioware after DAII” – is it that gamers are cynical by nature, is it that they love jumping on the hate train, or is it simply because it’s the internet that positive feedback and genuine anticipation are so unfashionable?
Bioware made a game that had its fair share of flaws, and suddenly they’re a company that can’t do anything right? In fact, it wasn’t even that Dragon Age II was bad, it just wasn’t as good as Origins (depending on whom you ask). Similarly, a great deal of features that were practically crucified (e.g. the new party members), were actually very well executed/written/designed, BUT – they were not identical to what we’d seen in Origins, and therefore they were worthless. Essentially, when Bioware attempts to try something new with their game in order to make it more immersive and entertaining, they are automatically shot down by scores of raging “fans”.
Granted, there were numerous changes that were sloppy, poorly executed and lowered the quality of the game, but I feel that amidst those errors there were several wonderful improvements that made those missteps bearable at the very least. I also found that the negative changes were quite a bit smaller in scope than the positive ones were, and yet, the game is branded as a disgrace because of those negative changes, while the positive ones are left seemingly unnoticed. Since I’m quite certain we’ve all heard the reasons for DAII being a total suck-fest more times than we’ve heard Sandal say “Enchantment!”, I feel I want to highlight the things that were as good in DAII as they were in Origins, as well as what was even better. If my opinions don’t interest you, you’re allowed to skip this part and read my final point after the picture of Sandal.
First of all, combat in DAII was an improvement over Origins. Though the animations were a bit too shounen manga for my taste at times, the fast paced fluidity of it all sure beat the stale robotic hacking (or in some cases, staff-tilting) that was DA:O. Don’t get me wrong – I liked combat in Origins as well, but after playing a dagger-wielding rogue with the ‘momentum’ ability, all my other characters felt like they were moving in slow motion. In my opinion, the immersion suffered from this, as the game was very good at creating anticipation for a particular battle which unfortunately tended to result in something of an anticlimax when that battle was actually joined, e.g. the march on Denerim. What made the new combat system even better was the fact that the speed didn’t come at the price of tactical depth. In fact, they made a rather neat addition with the various effects caused by a certain class’s abilities which could only be exploited for increased damage by another class, but only if they had a power with the corresponding effect. This resulted in a lot more planning when building the characters of your preferred party, as you’d naturally want them to be as effective and cohesive as possible.
Another positive aspect of DAII I think is worth mentioning is the voice acting. Though, generally speaking, it was on par with that of Origins (that is to say, wonderful), DAII deserves credit for the addition of a voiced player character. I think it was a great atmospheric tool to have Hawke’s voice (and the facial expressions that went with them) colour the plot development. Female Hawke’s voice in particular is very well done – she makes me want to hit the gym so that if I ever meet her, I can impress her. While we’re still on the topic of audio, I should also mention that the soundtrack was just as good as in Origins, albeit a bit different – I’m still not quite sure which theme I like more, though I will say that the wonderful end theme of DAII, performed by Florence + The Machine, provided an incredibly heartfelt post-game sensation. Very pleased with the way they handled that.
Now for a very sensitive issue, namely the story. Criticism of DAII’s story is rather commonplace on the webz, which is something I don’t quite understand, as DA:O’s story, which I think is rather cliché in comparison, is often lauded with praise. NO, that does not mean I didn’t like the Origins story – it’s the classic fantasy plot, with an antagonist wielding god-like power and an army of grotesque humanoids bent on destroying the world, and a select group of heroes struggling to stop them. Much like vanilla ice-cream, you never get tired of it. However, it also means that the story in DAII was undeniably more creative, and also brought the concept of ambiguous morality (qunari, mages vs. templars etc.) into the spotlight, whereas absoloute evil (darkspawn) took on a secondary role. That was refreshing. I also enjoyed how they linked the two stories together, the idea that the macrocosm of DA:O was the cause of the conflicts in the microcosm of DAII. The concept of Origins being the thrown rock and DAII being the ripples in the pond provided an interesting contrast that added depth to the universe as a whole.
I could go on, but I’ve probably mentioned most of the things I’d say previously on this blog, so if you’re terribly curious, have a butcher’s at related posts.
Anyway, my point is that: MORRIGAN’S BACK BITCHIZZZZZ!!!!
A. DAII wasn’t as bad as everyone wants to make it out to be, and:
B. Bioware is the company that rewrote the ending of Mass Effect 3 as a direct result of fan feedback, AND decided on the appearance of the female version of their main character based on a fan vote. When a company is so obviously dedicated to their fans, why would your first reaction to DAIII be negative based on the fact that you didn’t like DAII? Maybe I’m just too much of an optimist to traverse the dark void that is the internet.
Oh and, on a completely unrelated note – THE WITCHER 3 is at E3 asdnkaösknaölskdjaösdnhaosdhaspcjcbpsdifcpidsfbisdbfipgbsib (excited sounds)!
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