No valid reason? Okay then, let's make a list: Copypasta dungeons; nearly all of them are reused. There is only one unique dungeon I can think of in the entire game, and you're only there for one quest and then you can never revisit it again. The battle camera, especially as a mage, is excruciatingly limiting. I often find myself unable to cast spells properly because of one; auto locking, and two; no top-down view. This makes aim spellings, especially AoE spells, almost impossible to do without invoking friendly fire (nightmare mode). Speaking of battles; the wave mechanic has no business being in this game. In DA:O I was also able to see what was on the battlefield and what was approaching it, and was able to adjust my actions accordingly. Now, when I defeat a certain group of enemies, another (and sometimes COMPLETELY DIFFERENT) group spawns. How am I supposed to be able to prepare for a fight if I can't see what's coming? This isn't a real battlefield, this is a video game. So do give me any of that 'it adds to the immersion crap'. SPEAKING OF IMMERSION, lets examine the story. DA:O had multiple endings as well as multiple branches of stories, and while all were a bit similar, they were there. Not so in DAII: you get one ending and only one way of getting there. Further more, once you reach the final area, the game autosaves and even after beating the final boss, that is where the save stays. In DA:O I was able to play through the DLC as it became available on my characters that has completed the story; that is not the case here. A future patch/update may address this, but for now it looks like it's going to be a problem. End game content is a huge part of the game industry now and I don't appreciate that there is none. As a final note; consoles were also promised a way to turn on/off auto attack; there is no such function. SO IN CONCLUSION: Bioware clearly bit off more than they could chew and pushed it out the door far too early. This game is not a finished product and I will argue that point with anyone willing.
I assume you mean "unique after the first time you visit". Because all dungeons are unique to this game, yes they are reused quite a few times afterward but the first time you see them, they are "unique". I won't argue the fact that they are reused, but for me Dragon Age has never been about fighting, it's about the story and characters. I guess reused dungeons doesn't affect me as much because of this. Also it fits the story telling, each Act is a few years into the future and revisiting the old areas and see what changed was what they were going for. I assume this is on console, because I had no such issues on the PC. I hardly ever pause as a mage and have no problem targeting, yes even at nightmare. With max zoom out I get a top down view as well. I don't see a problem with the wave mechanic and how else could I disagree without mentioning immersion? I am sorry the guards don't stand in a straight line with numbers over their heads telling you how many guards will attack and when they will. The wave mechanic is the best they could do to keep a certain element of surprise to fighting in general. "Do I blow all my cooldowns early because I expect a short fight, or make them last because they will have reinforcements". This is an opinion, some prefer this way and some don't. Hardly something anyone can consider when deciding to get the game or not, unless they tried the Demo. I have 2 games up to Act 2 and one finished, and there are a LOT of choices you can make that changes how the story is told. I don't wanna go into details, but especially stuff related to your family and companions. I disagree with "one way of getting there". Then it could be argued there is one way to get to the end of DA:O, as the end result is the same every time. It could have been more polished with more dungeons, but overall it's still an awesome game. Even if combat was terrible and there was a single dungeon being reused the whole game... I would still play it for the story and the companion stories. I guess it depends on your priorities. But combat is fast paced, still uses a decent amount of tactical decisions and is challenging. The story is stellar, the characters are way more fleshed out than the ones in DA:O. And the different decisions adds plenty of re-playability. I recommend it to any fans of the first one.
I never played the First One but I'm really enjoying the second one, I needed a good single player RPG to play, been missing one. Speaking of, time to go boot up my game again.
One thing I am glad they have in DA 2 that was in Origins is the enchanter boy, Sandal. I always crack up when his dad tells him to say hello.
For now, i am on the middle of Chaper 2. I had not much time to play. the story, is more down to earth, for example chapter 1 felt a lot like Chapter 1 of Baldurs Gate 2. Combat is fun enogh, i had not had any problems with the camera in the PC nor i have ever auto targeted any AoE. The storry, is cool and it looks like all the shit will hit the Fan! My bigger bif that you notice at the middle of chapter 1 is that most of the dugeons are esacly the same, even they could have spended some time on doing more dungeons. Still, looks like the time was spend in the combat, story, and relationships, and how the story was told. Still far from a masterpiece nor has the punch of PRG that was DA:O. And specialy in a year with other big RPGs on the way like The Witcher 2, TES V. and even ME3 looks it will come this year.
I'm about to beat my first playthrough... I think. Last chapter. I've found 2 quests that are completely bugged, won't complete in quest log even though I got the XP / item after talking to questgiver. I love the combat, although by Chapter 3 its gotten a little repetitive (although that would be in most games), AOE EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. The "boss" fights are a lot of fun. Next playthrough will be a rogue class. Lovin' mage though, not sure if Rogue will be as fun, to me.
Finished my first playthrough yesterday. Overall, I liked the game. Not as much as DA:O, but it's still a decent game. Hopefully DA3 gets more time in the oven, so to speak.
I just finished mine tonight! Exactly 1 week from when I started playing. And I played A LOT. So that's really good. I really enjoyed it, and I really see the Bioware-ness of it, there's so many different "endings" in a since - again I never played the first one, but I can see making different choices (I won't say anything here to spoil) and it being a different game. I do kind of dislike how the entire game was in ONE city the whole time (in a sense..) it didn't get repetitive though surprisingly. It probably will on my second runthrough though. Difficulty set to: Hard, and playing a Rogue this time!
Rogue is fun I always thinks it's funny when an enemy goes to pound me and I teleport behind him for a backstab, so much win.
Nothing beats my Warrior 2H Reaver Berzerker! Buffing going into the middle of a group of enemies and Blasting them all in one swing is Full of win!
so i just completed my first play thru as a rouge kinda disappointed right now not gonna lie ... t he story was goin pretty well and well yeah when u guys finish you will know I cant even run around and kill stuff with my guy anymore i guess ill roll a evil mage now isntead of super good rouge
To me this game felt alot like playing dungeons and dragons just without the other people. Maybe its just me but I feel like the game reusing dungeon tiles is exactly the same as your DM being lazy and not feeling like drawing up a whole new map every time you go into a cave. Maybe that's just me justifying the shortfalls of a game I immensely enjoyed.