Dragon Age II : Updated Impressions

After spending some quality time on it ( 18 hours ) I would like to share my updated impressions about the game.

I would like to start by indicating the pure fact that Dragon Age Origins is better than Dragon Age II. Better in story telling, better in animations ( some might argue combat is faster and etc and it looks better, i disagree - my personal idea - ), better in voice acting and better in stage design ( didn`t you notice, the places are identical in Dragon Age II ? Outdoors look the same, indoors look the same, caves look the same, dungeons look the same. Even the quests are quite identical, there are only a few who make us remember later on.

As updated impressions :

* I must say exploration is none in this game, it doesn`t exist. It was quite limited in Dragon Age Origins, you were not able to roam freely,we got used to it even though I didn`t prefer it. However, in Dragon Age II, the zones are divided into small parts, so there are only few places you can visit and stop by in a specific zone. For example: You go to lowtown for a quest, complete it, leave area, open the map, go to hightown , complete the quest, leave area, here comes the map again, now go to docks and etc etc... This is a story killer act !

I feel like I am playing infinite number of little episodes in this game. 1- Click on to map, go to a zone 2- Walk a little bit 3- Action - mostly combat - 4- Done, leave area 5- Go back to 1st step and do it again. It`s more practical in terms of progressing fast, okay, but this game is supposed to be a RPG , not an action game with tons of missions that include combat most of the time !?

* The game is as difficult as Dragon Age Origins ( not like the awakening which was quite a joke as nightmare difficulty was like easy in DA origins ). I try to play the game on hard difficulty and switch to normal if I repeatedly die in a fight. I appreciate that fact, I like that it`s challenging gamers to use tactics, switch characters and etc..

* Some items are not available for other characters other than Hawke. I hate it, I simply hate it !!! What am I going to do with a two-handed weapon , a shield or a staff If I`m a rogue ? Why I can not share it with the party members ? Stupid... Great items become junk because of it.

* Combat is simplified, not many buttons to push, not many things to do. I mean in DA origins i was setting my traps, throwing several bombs etc and making several tactics to win the battles in different ways. In DA II you are stuck with limited number of options thus the combat is not as fun as it was in DA Origins.

* After a few negative impressions, one positive coming up; I love that the characters that join our party have a different talent tree and abilities. It`s fun and adds flexibility to the combat.

Bottom line :

I will finish the game soon and probably will purchase the DLCs and finish them all. I may come up with the final impressions after I complete the game but the lasting appeal for now is DA II is a good bioware game, a solid action rpg game which I would not prefer it to Mass Effect games, DA Origins, Awakening nor Witcher and Oblivion, however we have to go with what we have and get the most of it.

Die Spider, Die !

No exploration allowed, just click on the place that you want to go

Dragon battles are always challenging