Dragon Age 2 Thoughts

I would like to say that I've played Dragon Age 2 until my retinas started to bleed and my fingers grew so worn from the analog stick I couldn't play anymore. But alas, I have not been able to spend as much quality time with the game as I would have liked. However, from what I have played, it has been.... different.

I get how people have complained that DA2 is a dumbed down version of Dragon Age: Origins -- as it is in some regards. The game play is a lot easier and the new abilities for your Hawke and party members are more powerful which makes gameplay simpler and quicker.

A big gripe of mine in DA2 is all the reused environments. In DA:O the world was expansive and the environments were rich with culture and history. But in DA2, you're stuck in Kirkwall with environments/dungeons that are the same EVERY time. I mean, even if you enter one area from a totally different section in the game, you find yourself back at a location you were just in 10 minutes ago. I understand that BioWare was strapped for time, but that is lazy game development. In DA:3 they better shape-up and make the world immersive once again.

Although the world of DA:2 is lackluster, I like the characters that live inside of Kirkwall. I enjoy all the new companions, but at times they seem 100x more emo then the last cast of characters. Even the happy go-lucky companions have a past fraught with sadness and despair. However, I like the romance options in DA2. Right now, I've only had the chance to get to 3rd base with Anders, but I like how Anders and Hawke's relationship has progressed over time.

Quests have been interesting so far, but the game seems a lot shorter than the 50+ hours I put in DA:O (some which I just spent running around doing nothing of consequence). I want more game! (And paying for DL content doesn't count.)

In all I like DA2, but it feels like a completely different game than DA:O. It's not a true sequel. Its a branch in the DA universe, but that's it. Which is a bit of a shame, as I would have liked to played DA:O2.

Dragon Age 2 Demo - First Impressions

You know you're a true badass when you're flanked by a dragon

My blog is full of BioWare love. I can't deny it. I love Dragon Age: Origins and the Mass Effect series. But what happens when two beloved series combine into a mesh called Dragon Effect? Well, there are good and bad aspects.

Let's start with good and work our way down.

Good:

• Aveline looks incredibly kick ass.
• The rogue and mage abilities seem refined; spells seem more robust and rogue abilities feel more, well, roguish. Not just a hack off the swordsman's abilities.
• For the most part, I like the voice actors picked. I like the choice for male Hawke, but female Hawke's voice is a little soft for me and sounds familiar to Bethany's VO. However I love the picks for Fenris and Sebastian (sure they weren't in the demo, but hot damn. Sebastian's VO alone made me glad I pre-ordered.) Isabella's voice actor is still strong and I like Aveline's VO as well (I kinda wish it had been Hawke's...)

Limbo:

• The new Final Fantasy looking experience/attributes/skills system. I realize that the old system didn't give much room to pick different abilities and traits, but I feel like I'm playing FFXII every time I look at it.
• Female Hawke's swaying ass when she runs as a mage. It was... distracting.
• Varric narrating the story. I like Varric as a character, but it's off putting to be pulled out of the storyline at a moments whim. I can only hope it's in better integrated into the actual game. And what's up with Varric having the ability to lie about events? Am I playing the real story of Hawke, or am I just being fed shit?

Bad:

• The font. It looks like ants have creeped onto my television set. I have to be in make-out position before the text is readable. There was a similar problem for people in ME2 that consumers complained about, which BioWare said they'd fix in ME3. And yet we get even smaller print in DA2. Fix it.
• Funny graphic rate. I'll say that it's the demo's fault for now, but on my Xbox, the frame rate seemed sluggish at times and white lines kept appearing out of knowhere. It even froze once while I was playing mage Hawke and kicked me out.

The rest of bad is under cut for SPOILERS.

Mass Effect - My Obsession Grows

Small spoilers for ME1 & ME2 below.

I think I should just call this blog “Mass Effect Discovered,” as my post once again is about this glorious game.

Yesterday I didn’t do much on ME2, but I bought trinkets. I got obsessed with buying model ships (I had to buy the model Normandy. I’m on a reconstructed Normandy with a reconstructed Normandy model ship – amazing). For some reason seeing model ships in Shepard’s quarters makes me happy.

 I also bought fish and a hamster in the Citadel. It’s cool that you can actually feed the fish and see them swim to the top to eat. Great touch. While I was trying to see if my hamster could come out of his cage, I also found out that Shepard has a washroom in her cabin. You can get her to go in and flush the toilet. Again and again.

The new Citadel has been improved as well since ME and advertisement holospheres are one of the newest and funny additions. Hearing an elcor recite Hamlet is something every one should hear at least once.

I also like the new way Shepard gets discounts from stores by giving her endorsement. It makes me laugh every time she goes into a store the words “My name is Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel,” ring through it. (You would think someone would catch onto her lies…)

After my shopping spree, I helped a few people and quarians on the Citadel then went off to seek the original Normandy. Completing that task, I called it a ME2 night and read Mortal Coils by Eric Nylund (some people might know him as the guy who wrote Halo novels). If anyone likes Zelazny, they should check Nylund’s work out.

Mass Effect 2 – Slight Spoilers May Surface Below

My name is Kalaya and I am suffering from Mass Effect addiction.

Yesterday, I played Mass Effect until my fingers cried out “no more!” having to play until I got the Professor and Archangel, and do a few side quests as well.

I also recruited downloadable squad member Zaeed, but find the fact that I can not have interview like questions with him strange (the dialogue wheel not coming up when prompted). It would be nice to be able to pick his brains.

In ME2 it also seems easier to woo your team mates. Jacob has already blushed and fumbled around my Shepard, the chance to seduce him available. Also Yeoman Kelly has already shown interest in femShep (which might be my fault since I said I would “embrace her” if she fell - I had too. The choice beckoned to me.)Unfortunately, there seems to be no gay romance options for male Shepard as in the previous Mass Effect game. But the HoYay factor for female Shepard and female crew mates is once again in abundance. Which is disappointing, since you think if BioWare had time to make female members bisexual/omnisexual, they could make a male characters bisexual/omnisexual as well.

My favourite scene in ME2 so far has been when Shepard gives Doctor Chakwas a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy. It is funny and sweet moment between the two, making Doctor Chakwas a fuller character as the two bond.

Joker also has a lot more dialogue and input when you ask about the missions. Which is great since Seth Green is hilarious.

The biggest selling point for me in ME2 right now, is that the Mako element has been removed. It has been replaced by a drop shuttle which is not user controlled. Huzzuah! Now the only problem with ME2 is that I am not at home playing it.

Mass Effect

Well, I have been busy procrastinating and playing Mass Effect so this site has suffered over the past weeks (*ashamed*).

I finished Mass Effect (hurrah!) and have imported my female Shepard into Mass Effect 2. It took me about 28 hours to finish Mass Effect (completing a majority of side quests as well) and I have to say I was blown away by the sheer awesomeness of the game.

Having played Dragon Age: Origins and completing it, I knew Mass Effect would be a good game, but I was still enthralled by the story in Mass Effect and how it all came together in the end. The only draw back I found to be in Mass Effect was the rover. The Mako controls were the least awesome aspect of the game. They could be cumbersome and the shooting aspect was not as fun as having my team shoot-up Geth with my own gun. But thankfully, I learned to run like a manic through enemies if I found myself in a precarious situation (that and the controls got a bit easier to manage the more times you found yourself scooting in the Mako – which is a lot).

Mako aside, Mass Effect was a glorious game filled with top-notch action and story telling. I was routinely moved and pulled into the plot and couldn’t wait for the showdown between my team and Saren (one of the big bads in Mass Effect). The romance aspect of Mass Effect was also equally enjoyable, my female Shepard badassing her way into Kaidan Alenko’s heart. However, I wish that female Shepard had had more romantic options, her only real choices being Kaidan and Liara.

Romantic options aside, Mass Effect is a great story driven game that should not be missed. I know that the second I get free time, I will be sucked right back into BioWare’s sci-fi opera.