BioWare loses magic touch with ‘Dragon Age II'

DA2 is inferior to 2009’s "Dragon Age: Origins" in most of the ways that matter, most notably in character creation and development, storytelling and environments. Combat, skills and inventory have been simplified which will appeal to some, alienate others.

Origins allowed a player to create a human, elf or dwarf character -- and each race had multiple beginning storylines. DA2, on the other hand, requires the player be a human. Thus, every DA2 character will begin with the same “origin,” which hurts replay value.

Compared to earlier tales, the protagonist's life seems like it's on rails, like a lot of big choices are made by the developers, not the player.

Origin’s story was truly epic. A dark scourge of evil creatures was sweeping the land. Massive armies were massing. Humanity was making its last stand and the player was the hero destined to save the day.

In DA2, the player, whose character is named Hawke, is on the run from the events of Origins. His hometown was burned to the ground and he and his family have to seek out a life in a new city.

Instead of selflessly saving humanity, Hawke’s goal is to help his mother reclaim her noble heritage, raise 50 gold to help finance a dungeon plundering expedition, and settle a political scrum in the city of Kirkwall.

Quests, the backbone of this sort of game, have been watered down to the point that many can be completed without entering into a single conversation. When shopping at a store, a player no longer speaks to a merchant, he simply clicks a nearby chest. It makes the game play more quickly, and prevents repetitive dialogue, but it makes the world a lot less vibrant.

The characters Hawke adds to his party are interesting -- the dwarf rogue Varric being the most memorable -- but there’s not much character development. Other than lively banter as the crew travels around, there’s precious little dialogue between Hawke and his friends.

And at times, Hawke's characterization is wildly inconsistent. After Hawke’s sister dies, he simply leaves her body behind without any show of remorse. Later, he strangely offers to bury the body of a person he does not know.

Conversation choices often feel limiting. Hawke meets with a prostitute who is behind the disappearance of several soldiers and has two but choices once he learns her secret -- kill her or turn her into authorities. Not much of a choice. Why not make her pay for his silence since he needs coin to finance an expedition?

Romances are too simplistic. Instead of having to woo a woman, Hawke can simply blurt out “Want to kiss” and score.

Perhaps the biggest slam on the game is the reuse of environments. A player will be asked to visit an area to complete a quest, and, a few quests later, will be asked to return to the same location. Almost everything will be the same except a new door in the oft-traveled expanse will be unlocked. Forcing players to visit the same area repeatedly seems cheap.

Dragon Age II only takes place in one city, which is decently rendered, but the joy of adventuring is seeing new places, not running through the same location over and over.

Outdoor scenes force the player to run down narrow canyons to the next encounter. The days of wandering across the landscape to see what is nestled in the hidden corner of the map are over it seems.

Combat is much faster, and easier. There's less a need to use tactics to decimate opponents.

Animations are greatly improved, though the cool “finishing moves” from Origins have been removed. Mages, in particular, have a variety of action poses that impress. Spell effects are better too. Cone of Cold looks wicked.

Fireball and Grease were a pryomaniac’s dream in Origins, but the ability to combine two spells for a third awsome effect are gone.

Also gone is the ability for fighters to use two weapons. Now, that’s just for rogues, which is a nice perk for a formerly underpowered class.

Skills, which confused casual RPG fans while delighting the hardcore, have disappeared. Now, all talents are based of ability scores. Lockpicking is based totally off the “Cunning” statistic, for example.

Also simplified is the inventory system. Hawke’s companions no longer carry items. In fact, they can’t use most things the player finds. In the past, it was fun to find the perfect armor and weapons for all companions, but now only Hawke can wear boots, gloves and headgear. Companions can change out their weapons, rings, amulets and belts. They can only wear the armor they are found in, which can be upgraded somewhat.

BioWare is a name synonymous with grand adventure. They created some of the finest roleplaying games of all time. But they also created the space shooter Mass Effect, a great game, but one that appeals more to shooter fans that prefer “light” roleplaying.

Dragon Age II is just that, a light adventure for those who enjoy quick combat more than a good story. It’s not bad, it’s just a lot less than what we've come to expect.