Dragon age ii game informer review

These relationships paint a vivid picture of life and love, and that interconnection is experienced heavily during banter while on missions or during critical loyalty quests. Seeing the pirate queen's hidden heart of gold and Varric's battle against the norms of what it means to be a dwarf are experiences that I treasure, and they are what made Dragon Age 2 a hidden gem for many others as well.

As with any RPG, that allows me the chance to romance different people or to choose different paths, I dove in for a second playthrough of Dragon Age 2 to see what I may have missed and to see if a different romance option would allow me to feel differently.

After romancing Merrill as a female rogue Hawke that chose the diplomatic options blue , playing as a female mage Hawke that romanced Isabella with the choice of the more comedic purple options made this game feel like an entirely different adventure. From dialogue options to how the companions treated me through each chapter, the magic of Dragon Age 2 is its characters, and that magic makes each playthrough wildly different from any other.

Now, after 19 playthroughs as various Hawkes, I can honestly say there is a magic to Dragon Age 2 that is so unfairly buried due to circumstance. This is also why when the topic of "what do you want to see get a remaster next," Dragon Age 2 is often my go-to answer; it deserves a second chance. This story was incredible. The loss that Hawke felt, repeatedly, is in a league all of its own. Hawke was never meant to be a hero, and that's that true tragedy of it all.

But that nuance and that careful attention to detail with the narrative as a whole is bogged down by the more glaring issues and the absurd amount of spiders. If you've followed my work at all, you know this is a hill I'm likely going to die on, but as we celebrate 10 years of the game that gave me Fenris, I will never stop championing what a remarkable journey this game was despite its shortcomings.

And as for all the repeating cave environments, I have a head-canon theory that helped make those similar delves more bearable. Dragon Age 2 is a story told via a narration of Varric Tethras: rogue storyteller and "occasional unwelcome tagalong.

Something that helps me put the entire game's pacing a little more into perspective from a fantasy point of view, not a development one, it's easier when thinking that the repeating areas are due to one simple fact: Varric hates caves. He is the least dwarfy dwarf to have ever dwarfed, and he says this numerous times throughout the entire franchise.

He hates anything where he can't see the sky, so in my head? All of these areas bleed together because he'd rather them not exist in the first place. Is that the real reason? Nah, but it's fun to think so. What do you think about Dragon Age 2? Do you agree that, despite its flaws, the sequel offers something truly unique or do you think this is one fan's mad ravings meant to justify liking a controversial game?

Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below; Flemeth would want you to. Join Sign In. Post Tweet Email. Follow Us. Share Facebook Post. Twitter Tweet. Email Email. Comment Comment. Products In This Article. Dragon Age 2 Platform:. To explain too much about the course of events would spoil the story, and I don't want to do that, because the story is about all this DLC pack has going for it. The majority of the gameplay is the same as the core Dragon Age II experience.

Run around until you find something lost in the forest. Solve some simple puzzles. Touch an alter, then fight off a crazy cult because the exits all have forcefields around them. These tried-and-true activities aren't bad; I had a good time doing them in the base game. But here, they feel like they are being used to pad out the experience rather than add engaging moments. I will say that I didn't run into any recycled environments, and the pacing was handled well in terms of keeping the action moving forward.

Mark of the Assassin took me a little over 3 hours to beat, but most of that time was spent doing the same old song and dance rather than breaking any new ground. An exception to that statement is the stealth sequence, which is sloppy and dull On one hand, I'm glad BioWare tried to change things up a little bit.

On the other hand, different isn't always good, and in this case, the creeping around doesn't add any entertainment to the package. What do you get as a memento of your time with Tallis? Even though she doesn't stick around, I picked up a nice set of armor I was playing a warrior , some decent accessories, and an amulet with good attribute bonuses attached.

I also gained a bunch of levels, not to mention about 20 gold which goes a long way when you're trying to save up for the Deep Roads expedition. No part of Mark of the Assassin feels broken or awful. It does feels like a missed opportunity to try some new things with the formula, though. It's more Dragon Age II, and that's tough to complain about. If you think about that and your answer is still "But Felicia Day! Otherwise, take a pass.

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