As a result, the team decided to make the narrative more "personal", focusing on one character over the course of several years with a framed structure that allows the story to skip periods that do not interest players. [30], Gaider and five other writers penned the game's narrative. 9. [31] The team hoped to move away from Origins' narrative formula. A year later, a prosperous opportunity presents itself to Hawke; Varric and his brother Bartrand are planning a treasure hunting expedition into the perilous region of the Deep Roads. See here and click "Dragon Age II" for more information. 6. The game's development was completed on February 11, 2011, with BioWare confirming it had been declared gold, indicating it was being prepared for duplication and release. User Info: CidV630. Hey guys :). Hawke's sex and appearance can be customized,[1] and players need to select their class at the beginning of the game. Depending on players' decisions and dialogue choices, a companion will either recognize Hawke as a friend or a rival. [16] To improve the relationship with a companion, certain items can be gifted to them. [64] Juba agreed with VanOrd on the story's shortcomings, saying that there was little tension or consequences in the main story, and it felt like several side-quests stitched together. [21], The works of Pieter Bruegel, Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa, as well as movies including Yojimbo and Conan inspired the game. In the game, players control a human named Hawke, a refugee during the Fifth Blight, who eventually becomes the Champion of Kirkwall. [5] Though players can directly control these companions and switch between them freely,[6] they are usually controlled by artificial intelligence,[7] which can be modified by players using the "Tactic" menu. After another three years, Kirkwall is turned into a police state under the tyrannical rule of the Templars. [65] Neigher added that the backtracking featured in the game gave the impression it was more linear than its predecessor. [35] Though players can import saves from Origins into the game, the narrative was not changed significantly because the team wanted to acknowledge players' choices and pay homage to certain characters,[37] without having to create "obligatory cameos" of characters. [60], Critics praised the companions featured in the game. [78], Dragon Age II was the best-selling retail game in the UK in its week of release according to Chart-Track, outselling competitors including Pokemon Black and White. The game features a total of six downloadable content packs that were released from November 2009 to September 2010 on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and BioWare's website. In Dragon Age II, his personality is warped even further than that of Anders, and gets progressively worse during the game as he becomes the very thing he feared the most. A companion who consistently agrees with Hawke's views considers them a friend, while a companion who consistently disagrees with Hawke forms a tense but respectful rivalry with them. Varric complies and tells her how the war started. ↑ Dragon Age II DRM. The game's controls, including the Tactic menu and commands, as well as its story are identical across all the versions, though there are differences in their user interfaces. The team also used a wiki to store the game's lore to keep it consistent. 37. [27][28] Neil Thompson, BioWare's art and animation director, revealed in 2013 the team was disappointed by the game's visuals as the Eclipse Engine had become outdated by the time the game was released, leading to mediocre visuals. [23] While it became more action-orientated, the team did not completely remove the tactical aspect of Origins as they felt that would alienate its fan base. Players must micro-manage the inventory system. Fandoms: Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age (Video Games) Mature; Graphic Depictions Of Violence; F/F; Work in Progress; 18 Apr 2021 [26] Laidlaw described porting Origins to the PlayStation 3 as a terrible experience. They end up in a foreign city where racial, religious and political tensions threaten to tear it apart. On PC, promotional items … However, he praised the scenarios for being creative and inventive. Dragon Age II thrusts players into the role of Hawke, a penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age. New tools for sky editing and water rendering were introduced to further enhance the game's visuals. Note: At present, the majority of promotional items for Dragon Age II can be unlocked for free by anyone through Dragon Age Keep. Bartrand Tethras. [82] The villain from the Legacy DLC, Corypheus, returns as the primary antagonist in Inquisition,[83] and Hawke appears as a non-playable support character. [41], Electronic Arts announced Dragon Age II in July 2010. There is no ceremony, and the only way to know you are … [66] Joseph Leray of Destructoid commented on the game's pacing, saying that "Act I is too long, Act III is too short, and Act II feels like the climax of the game but is largely tangential to the main plot". Zur collaborated with Aubrey Ashburn, who sang the main title and several songs in the game, an Israeli songwriter, and Florence and The Machine, whose song "I’m Not Calling You a Liar" was reimagined for the game. Dragon Age 2 does it right. [66] Sharkey liked the three-act structure, comparing it to "historical fiction reads" that explores a "tumultuous period in a fully realized fantasy world". - The BioWare Forum According to Laidlaw, the team evaluated Origins different gameplay components, especially its overly complex mechanics, and studied players' feedback. Alistair. [56], The game received generally positive reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. [26] Laidlaw added that unlike Mass Effect, Dragon Age is more about the place and the setting than the characters. Although the story remains unaltered until the two endings, it is greatly influenced by the player's decisions. Dragon Age II is the second full-fledged installment in BioWare's acclaimed fantasy role-playing series where players are thrust into the role of Hawke, … A dialogue tree offers several dialogue options for players to select. It is the second major game in the Dragon Age series and was released worldwide in March 2011. Constant violence between the two sides forces Hawke to intervene, during which a group of anti-Meredith rebels kidnap his surviving sibling/closest friend. 10. As well, one of Hawke's two siblings serves as a companion for the story's first act: their sister Bethany (Rebekah Staton), a kind though timid mage who loves Hawke; or their brother Carver (Nico Lennon), a prideful and abrasive warrior who cares for Hawke but feels overshadowed by them. [24] According to Robyn Theberge, the game's development manager, the team hoped players could "think like a general" using Tactic, and "fight like a spartan" with the game's faster combat. Learning from it, the team redesigned all of their art assets to make the game look better graphically. Full list of all 65 Dragon Age II achievements worth 1,370 gamerscore. Dragon Age II is a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins.One of the key events early in the first game was the destruction of the village Lothering by the Darkspawn. [10] Defeated companions are automatically revived after all enemies are eliminated, but they will suffer from injuries. Every dialogue and battle decision affects your standing with party members. ea account, registration with enclosed serial code, internet connection and acceptance of end user license agreement required to play and to access online features and/or services. An EA representative responded after much online controversy saying it is normal for people who work on a game to like and support it, though it is unclear if Hoban acted on his own or at the behest of the company. Answering the SecuROM question - The BioWare Forum (retrieved) ↑ Verified by User:Andytizer on November 23, 2013 ↑ Dragon Age II - WSGF - last accessed on February 17, 2019 ↑ New 120Hz Games Report ↑ DA:O Ultimate for Mac installs fine, but no video - any ideas? 4. [67] Sharkey and Whitehead liked the choices presented, and felt they were impactful and often morally ambiguous. [23] The game was powered by an improved version of the Eclipse Engine. Aveline Vallen. [20], One of BioWare's core goals when creating the game was to improve the formula established in Origins. Varric, Hawke's companion, relates the Champion's "true story" to his interrogator Cassandra Pentaghast (Miranda Raison), mainly based on the protagonist's choices. For their actions, Hawke is declared the Champion of Kirkwall. 3. As a result, the team looked at gameplay of action games and sped up its combat so it would be more responsive and give more immediate responses without latency. The protagonist is Hawke (voiced by either Nicholas Boulton or Jo Wyatt), whose sex, first name, appearance, and class type is player-determined. Unlocked talents can be upgraded further to enhance their effectiveness. The content ranges from minor in-game item packs to more significant plot-driven campaign modules. There, nestled deep under Kirkwall, you'll find a curious collection of items—some for sale, some for free, and ranging from the mundane to the mysterious! Guide contains: 252 pages, 2714 images.. Use the comments below to submit your updates and corrections to this guide. Dragon Age II is a single player role-playing game (RPG) for play on the PlayStation 3. [66] McCormick felt the small world helped players become more thoroughly engaged in it, able to understand its culture and politics due to its small scale. Not in the usual sense of lengthy playing times and sprawling maps (though it's no slouch in those departments), but in terms of its ambition and storytelling. Dragon Age II You are Hawke, a refugee seeking to escape the darkspawn-plagued land of Felderen and become Champion of Kirkwall. I always make a make for RPG games, so really know in which direction you'd … The Qunari, shipwrecked in Kirkwall three years earlier, neither obey Kirkwall's laws nor seem willing to leave, escalating tension between them and the inhabitants of Kirkwall. [67][66] Joe Juba of Game Informer praised it for being "responsive" and believed the new system suited the game. Players can also move the camera freely in the PC version. [38] The game had 103 minutes of cutscenes, and nearly half a million lines of dialogue. She captures and interrogates Varric, demanding to know how Hawke started a war between the mages and Templars. [48], Dragon Age II went on sale in North America and Europe on March 8 and 11, 2011, respectively. [5] In the game, players will make many decisions that lead to different consequences for both Hawke's party and the game's world. Laidlaw added that with choices having more impact, Dragon Age II would be BioWare's "most reactive game". For instance, the Qunari now have a pair of horns, as opposed to their hornless counterparts in Origins. 0%. Dragon Age II is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. Dragon Age II Bioware Signature Edition content — Contains premium weapons and armor including the Adder of Antiva, Seeker’s Bulwark, and more. [62] Both VanOrd and Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead noted the game drew inspiration from real-life events when the writing team created the setting and its cultural and political conflicts. [12], Outside combat, players engage in dialogue, asking or answering questions. [64][63], The game's storytelling attracted mixed responses. [40] Like its predecessor, the game's music is a cross between "heroic" and "demonic". Laidlaw admitted the team never expected the game to perform as well as Origins, but he thought the title would score higher. This forms the background story of Dragon Age II. Requirements: female, any race. However, he lamented the game did not offer enough opportunities to interact with its cast of companions. Privacy & Cookie Policy (Your Privacy Rights). Translator: Jakub "Cilgan" Lasota & Maciej "Elrond" Myrcha. Lordanubis12 8 years ago #1. [12] Weapons can be enchanted using runes which introduce new properties to the weapon on which they are inscribed. McCormick felt the lack of a morality system enabled players to pick different dialogue stances depending on different circumstances, as opposed to being funneled to role-play a certain personality. McCormick called this "impressive". Hawke and his family are saved by a powerful mysterious witch Flemeth. ", "Dragon Age 2: "A lot of other choices" make up for single player race, says Dr Ray", "The old school: Dragon Age II and its influences", "Dragon Age II may be "our most reactive game to date", says BioWare", "The Writing Of BioWare's Dragon Age II: David Gaider Speaks", "Good Choice: Morality and Dragon Age II", "Combining content from Origins and Awakening into Dragon Age II was "harder than one might think," says Gaider", "BioWare's Gaider On Dragon Age II's Flaws, Dragon Age III", "Dragon Age II soundtrack to feature Florence + The Machine", "Sound Byte: Inon Zur on the music of Dragon Age II", "Dragon Age 2 announced: improved combat, graphics, epic story", "BioWare announces extra pre-order bonuses for Dragon Age II", "BioWare Rewards Eager Fans With Free Upgrade To The Dragon Age II's Signature Edition", "Razer and BioWare Prepare You for Battle in Dragon Age™ II", "Dragon Age II Pulled From Steam, EA Responds", "Love it or hate it, Dragon Age II is backward compatible on Xbox One", "Dragon Age 2 Legacy DLC gets release date, trailer, ancient evil", "Years later, BioWare reveals why Dragon Age 2 expansion Exalted March was canned", "Dragon Age II Console Review: Amids Improvement", "Dragon Age II PC Review: A Port Caught In the Middle", "Don't panic on Dragon Age II changes, says BioWare", "Dragon Age 2 response surprised BioWare", "EA Admits It 'Lost Some Fans' Over Dragon Age 2", "Not Everyone Hates Dragon Age II, You Know", "EA: we lost some fans with Dragon Age 2", "BioWare man caught reviewing Dragon Age 2", "EA, BioWare Under Fire for Dragon Age II DRM", "Dragon Age 2 Lead Writer Blasts Homophobic Fan", "Dragon Age II Usurps Pokemon On UK Sales Charts", "EA closes gap on year-end losses, sees substantial growth in Q4 FY11", "Dragon Age: Inquisition Release Date Revealed", "The Witcher 3 Vs. Dragon Age: Inquisition: The Comparison We Had To Make", "Dragon Age Inquisition - Crestwood, Flooded Caves, Western Approach, Forgotten Mine", Maker's Breath: Religion, Magic, and the 'Godless' World of BioWare's, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dragon_Age_II&oldid=1017676306, Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters, Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images, Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 April 2021, at 02:09. It's still an RPG epic, it still takes upwards of 50 hours to finish. Maximizing your friendship opens up even more options. Your actions carry greater weight than ever, and you'll need to think long-term because you have an entire decade to reach your goal. Despite this, the bird's-eye view from Origins was removed as the team wanted to create more varied scenery for players without needing to "slice off" the top of a room. He noted that Hawke's decade in Kirkwall is primarily an exploration of these relationships and concluded that "BioWare has not created a narrative with this much nuance since, nor so many clever moments...". [39], As the game focuses on Hawke's family and their adventures in the world, Zur used a string quartet to play the solo, while the orchestra had a supporting role. The game was removed from the digital Steam storefront by the Valve in July 2011. Epic sequel to the BioWare developed 2009 Game of the Year, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II continues the adventure with a new hero, Hawke, and utilizes the choices made by the player to affect a story that spans ten years worth of time in-game. The most chosen option becomes Hawke's core personality type. [51], Six downloadable content packs for Dragon Age II were released between March 2011 and October 2011. He introduced Middle-eastern sounds for the city of Kirkwall, since it was foreign to the Hawke family. The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay, companions and writing; although changes to the storytelling structure and the combat system had a more mixed reception. A sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition was released in November 2014. [68], Reused assets and the game being set entirely in Kirkwall were criticized. In the game, players explore and engage in combat fro… 8. Full friendship unlocks bonuses which generally benefit Hawke or the party, while full rivalry boosts combat ability for companions to help them outdo Hawke in competition. [29] The game's lighting was largely improved by the introduction of global illumination in the game's engine. 64. [67] VanOrd appreciated its flexibility, though he thought it was streamlined, alongside the inventory management system. [9] Skills can be used to supplement each other to create combos, which further enhance combat efficiency. There are several types of items: weapons and armors, crafting recipes, runes, plot items and consumables. [13], As players complete quests and kill enemies, players earn experience points. [62] Leray criticized the assets for being "bland", saying that reusing them made the issue even worse. [2] Players can incorporate choices they made in Origins to the game by importing their saved game, or choosing a background at the starter menu, which bring modifications to the game's narrative. [74] The game was criticized for allegedly using SecuROM digital rights management software,[75] though BioWare refuted the allegations and added they merely used a release date checker (made by the company that produced SecuROM) that deletes itself after the game is released. Dragon Age II; Recommended mage build? [65] GamesRadar's Eric Neigher was disappointed by the "cumbersome" strategy system, which made the combat excessively straightforward. 1. Head writer David Gaider assured fans of Origins this was not the case. [13][64], Critics had varied opinions on the game's dialogue system. Companions' armors cannot be changed, but players can collect armor upgrades for them, and customize them with rings, amulets, and belts. Three years later, the Viscount of Kirkwall summons Hawke to help resolve a political situation caused by the foreign military forces of the Qunari. [76] In early 2011, shortly after the release of Dragon Age II, one player made a forum post on Bioware's then-active social forums expressing their distaste for unwanted homosexual advances, and asked for a much bigger focus on straight male gamers as well as an option to remove homosexual content. They decided to streamline some of the game's mechanics, while retaining many conventional elements of a role-playing game. NOTE: The Dragon Age II Games on Demand edition includes “The Black Emporium” DLC. However, Anders orchestrates an explosion that levels the Chantry and kills Grand Cleric Elthina. All story content was reviewed twice. The team also felt that new players would be alienated if Origins' story arc continued in the sequel. The sequel to BioWare's acclaimed Dragon Age: Origins.Occurring over the course of a decade, beginning with the destruction of Lothering--an event that took place at the start of Origins--Dragon Age II follows in the footsteps of a new human hero, Hawke.