hehe... either he collected all that from other places, or he has too much time on his hands.

First release day in the US, 220 user scores for the PC version, average score 3.0.

Either Derf's jade has exploded into the maintstream or the PC version is really the console port sack of shit we feared it could be from the demo. I'm inclinded to go with the latter.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/drago ... er-reviews

But wow, just wow. Never seen an AAA title get received THIS badly.

No doubt EA will conclude from this debacle that pc gaming is dead and announce subsequent DA titles will only be released for consoles.

I'm interested to see how the console sales go. It'd be quite telling if they tank as well.

Watched the game trailer review of it. Did the usual "sound like it's crap then give it over 8". We'll see anyway, both me and the bf are getting it tomorrow. I'm basically going to pretend it's not DA and just another rpg, coz it was a fun game in the demo, just not DA

Are you getting it on PC or console?

Either way, I'm interested to hear your take on it.

PC for me of course, PS3 for bf. I'll certainly post my own little review and let you know how it goes

It's, days later, still getting trashed on all platforms on metacritic (although less so). PC version at 3.9, PS3 at 3.7 and Xbox360 at 4.1. Yikes.

Critic reviews range around the 85 mark.

I think the conclusion is that it's a step down from DA:O, and while it's not necessarily a bad game in itself, it's getting roasted because EA and Bioware took it into completely the opposite direction that anyone who liked DA:O would like to have seen. Everyone I know who liked DA:O went 'mmm' at the first announcements of DA2 and 'meh' after playing the demo. The fanbase was always against what they did to the formula and they went ahead with it anyway. That's probably what they are getting roasted for. And deservedly so.

Fucking moneygrabbing BS. Well, on the bright side, the money I saved on not buying this can go in part to a new gfx card for the Witcher 2, the last hope of RPG gaming (kinda, anyway).

Oh and EA is (temporarily) banning people from their EA accounts for saying bad things about EA and Bioware on their forums. Y'know, the accounts that are linked to all your DLC and shit, and your DLC is linked to your savegames so you can't open old savegames and what not. So basically, banning you from the games you paid for for saying things like 'sold your soul to the EA devil'. Yeeeep, that's the EA of old we know and hate again.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03 ... /#comments

In line of recent comments:

http://www.destructoid.com/ea-sneaks-se ... 6185.phtml?

Well I would agree with the general conclusions. I'm doing well in ignoring that it's Dragon Age and therefore actually enjoying it, but when I consider it's part of that series it does make me cringe a little. I've only played for about 3 hours so far and encountered only one glitch. A rather major one. I got to my house in Kirkwall just a few minutes ago, picked up all my preorder items etc from the chest... and suddenly I can't click anything. People, doors, items, nothing. I tried saving/loading, loading an old save and now trying exiting the entire program and entering back into the save. Fingers crossed. (Just logged back into it, exiting completely and reloading worked. Better not do that again). PS3 version froze within an hour of my bf starting it up but has been fine since.

The stuttering entry into videos has been cleaned up (I'm running it on max settings too) but there's not much for me to comment on. I have basically played the demo up to the point when you agree to help Flemeth, then maybe an hours worth of extra story after that involving getting into Kirkwall itself. It basically plays very much like the demo. I'm still pausing constantly out of habit and the fights are not too easy, which is good, but then I am only playing on normal as well so nothing yet has really stretched me. I'm only level 5 though and had no real bosses yet. Enemy groups generally seem geared towards larger numbers (probably to make the combat more fast paced and fun by constantly using AoE or something).

Slightly miffed to find you don't actually use armour on your companions either. It's a freaking rpg! Basically they're like heroes in Guild Wars. For those who don't know how they work, they basically have their own armour that they always wear, then you can upgrade it at different points (I think by buying certain items from shops? Or doing certain quests perhaps?). You can change their weapons around to whatever you like though. Each companion has it's own unique skill tree to invest in, along with the standard Warrior/Rogue/Mage choices and also has in one of the trees a friend/rival power which is of course different based on whether you're 100% friendly or rivalry with them. I believe from a very quick flick through the guide (trying to avoid spoilers of course) that it does still have the chance for people to leave the party at specific points if you haven't done certain things or haven't got full friend/rivalry by that point. There are of course still romances and chances to just chat and find out more about them as well.

The codex is huge once again, as you'd expect from Bioware. Apparently the gameworld will seem much more linear though and takes place in far fewer areas. Still only being on the first chapter however I can't really comment on that yet. The conversation wheel isn't as bad as I thought but still isn't as good as BG style lists. I prefer not to know what is what; if I say this, I may *think* it sounds like the 'right' thing to do, but maybe one of my party will disagree. However with this although it's not as bad as Mass Effects "This is good, this is bad" only options it is still more obvious than I'd like. You basically get choices that can be "nice", "agreeable", "witty", "charming", "agressive", "rude", Hawke will strike/kill as a result, Hawke will ask a companion, "flirt", "disagree", "extort", "lie" or a couple of other ones to do with how much extra conversation you look at.

Anyway I'm gonna play it a ton more later I'm sure, so I'll let you know how it goes. Oh, and the import thing isn't that amazing. There are 3 preset histories you can choose from or by importing your save it will change different outcomes. For example my save file is only at level 17, hasn't done landsmeet (or any story quests in Denerim), nothing from Awakening, Golems or Witch Hunt. Due to the previous decisions though (all going the 'good' way) it has already informed me indirectly that my character fought the Archdemon and died to save everyone else plus a few other things that I forget. I also got a codex entry about my characters early life, mainly that I'd spent it at the Tower of Magi at Lake Calenhad. So it'll be interesting to see if other stuff comes up, such as Harrowmont being in charge in Orzammar.

Overall I'm still of the same opinion I've had for the whole development - a good game in its own right but better done under a different name and merely passed off as being in the same world as opposed to a direct sequel.

edit: almost forgot, look who I ran into!

Lol, gotta love Sandal!

Thanks for the first write-up Pev, kinda confirms what we (and you) were expecting I suppose, that it's a good game in its own right but that it's a shame that it's Dragon Age 2 since it moved away so much from the original. I am pleasantly surprised you could import saves from DA:O to create a more personal backstory though. I'll probably get this in an ultimate edition sale much later then, when the initial rage has worn off.

Did you install the upgraded texture pack for the PC version?

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Dargon ... or=RSS-181

I hadn't but I'll download it now. Guess that's why I can't officially choose Very High then. Hopefully it'll still run smoothly, I've had no problems so far even against ~12 enemies with firestorm/tempest/fireball/cone of cold all on screen plus various melee activity going on.

The character banter is still great when out and about btw; I had a fun one between a dwarf (Varric) and an elf (Merrill) which ended up with the elf straightfacedly telling Varric that all elves frolic, that's what makes them elves, just not in the forest because it would upset the trees. Merrill is pretty awesome anyway to be honest; she's very naive and doesn't really know when to stop talking so she comes out with some real rubbish.

I've found the import tends to come into the codex mostly; I've had a few entries referring to how the Hero put House Harrowmont on the throne, and also another explaining how, because the Hero decimated the infrastructure of the Carta in Orzammar, that the Carta has moved above surface and evolved to suit that lifestyle instead.

Minor spoilers I guess:

I've started my first romance (hopefully) with Fenris; a male elf (I know, sorry Ox) who I've helped rescue somewhat and feel a little sorry for. He's had a rough life! I also got to fight a dragon at level 6 last night! Not a high dragon, *just* a mature one... it was a fun fight. No deaths for me luckily but it certainly wasn't easy still. Mages still pwn though so most fights consist of "oh ho, so you 12 guys wish to ambush me huh?" *firestorm, fireball, winters grasp* "Was all this blood here a second ago?"

It's tough getting Friendship up too! I keep getting Rivalry from Avaline (had a couple friend points but not many) and Carver (he's just a dick anyway) so hopefully Fenris and Merrill will give me some more Friendship. Varric tends to have little view on matters one way or another so he's easy to have along.

Oh, and update on the companion armour - while the armour itself is out you can still change the weapons, belts, rings and amulets they use. So there is some customisation in there still at least.

Thought I'd give you an update with some pictures, mainly coz I fought a High Dragon last night. Epic hour and a half battle and I won! First time as well, oh yeah, go me. Some of the pictures aren't great because I only found the 'hide interface' button halfway through the fight but deal with it There are some other random pictures in there too, mainly of a mature dragon (seems so small compared to the high dragon) and a couple of other cool paused moments.

I'm loving the game. So glad I got it on release. Trying to hold back a little so I don't overshoot my boyfriend on it (he tends to spend way longer deliberating over equipment and abilities than me) but we're both on Act 3 so getting near the end now. Definitely going to replay it to see how the other party combinations work out, both build and banter wise.

http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa16 ... 20Age%202/

And I just finished the game. Not really sure if I went the 'good' option or not... there are lots of really tough choices to be honest in this game. I loved it and will definitely replay it (tempted to start right now but want to get my Origins file finally finished). My end save is 64 hours; admittedly I read everything entered in the codex and left it paused a little but I'd still be close to 60 hours even without that I think.

Other replays will certainly be on harder modes though; although a couple of fights gave me a few problems, most of them weren't so bad. The final few bosses were all done first time, which considering Origins normal fights sometimes took 3 or 4 attempts if you weren't spot on with your tactics proves it's easier! No friendly fire helps with this though, so Nightmare mode should be more like Origins methinks.

Nice pics and write-up Pev! Loved the trophy pic.



Interesting that you loved it, and to hear that it appears to be slightly shorter/easier than Origins. I still think I'm gonna hold out on buying myself though, since a) The Witcher 2 is coming soon and b) I spent a lot of money this month already, among other things on a dentist bill. How's your bf doing in it? Did your endings differ a lot? I remember the ending of Origins could be pretty radically different depending on some factors.

Now fingers crossed for a good DA2 deal on steam in the future!