Dragon Age 2 review

BACKSTORY

Dragon Age: Origins (herein abbreviated to DA:O) was an amazing PC role playing game that perfectly captured the pen and paper roots of the role playing genre while also providing a powerful cinematic experience. The Game was ported to the consoles and while it was well received there as well, it did lose a lot of the PC versions charm in translations. The team at Bioware has developed a sequel in Dragon Age 2 (herein abbreviated to DA2) that for the most part lives up to the first game’s insurmountable pedigree of excellence.

THE STORY

Dragon Age 2‘s story is massive and sprawling or at least it tries very hard to come across this way. The game takes place over the course of a half-decade of the protagonist, Hawke’s life. Living under the shadow of the coming blight (from DA:O) Hawke and his family flee the war-torn country of Ferelden for the relatively Darkspawn free city of Kirkwall where the game’s meat and potatoes take place. Hawke travels with his mother, brother and sister and based on your choices one of Hawke’s siblings may not be making the journey. Once in Kirkwall, Hawke sets out to find himself or herself (Hawke may be male or female) a place in this new world. From here in the story is broken into three segments or acts that follow Hawke through his/her arrival at Kirkwall, events that take place throughout his/her third year and finally the epic sixth year of Hawke’s time in Kirkwall.

Dragon Age 2 features a very different story than DA:O, the latter featured a constant goal and ultimate foe; an antagonist that the game hinged on and while the story in DA:O was compelling and well told it was also very familiar and “safe”. DA2 focuses on a more personal and political story, one that follows the fate of a community rather than an entire nation. The plot may feel unfocused and loose throughout the first half of the game – I often found myself completing the quests in a shopping list manner not realizing how the small plot threads tie together (and they do tie together eventually) into something great. The first half of the game’s story won’t pull you in as much as DA:O might have because there is no clear goal or antagonist that Hawke faces. The game’s initial chapters fall on the strength of the characters, Hawke and his/her troupe of companions whom are interesting and as loveable as ever. Many people are going to compare these companions to the ones in DA:O and draw the conclusion that the ones featured in this installment come up short; the companions in the original were amazing, they actually came across as real people and everyone loved that. If you find yourself hating the companions in DA2 you need to take you fan boy hat off, the companions in DA2 are just as real, loveable and hilarious as the ones featured in DA:O though I will admit I missed Moriggan; my all-time favorite Dragon Age character.