Woot, my first post! It’s not a Steam game though, unfortunately, but it is part of my backlog and something I’ve been wanting to do since I got my new computer.
I finally finished Dragon Age 2 after a month (started around December 30th, I believe), and wow, am I happy to finally be done with it! After hearing how bad it was for various reasons, I was worried I was going to dislike it or be unable to stand it, but I enjoyed it a lot and I’m glad I got to finish. While it still doesn’t hold a candle to Dragon Age Origins, it was an enjoyable experience. The only thing I couldn’t stand was the same locations being used over and over again. Ugh. And some situations of course, but that would be spoiler territory. ;) I also would have been done sooner with the game, but had a lot of interruptions the past week that kept me from completing it, including a day of being ill. :(
Anyways, with that done I have now started another game in my backlog, Dragon Age Inquisition! I got this game forever ago, about a year after it launched, and couldn’t play it because my laptop couldn’t handle it and would crash straight after character creation. I nearly cried when this happened because I had been looking forward to the game since it was announced, and it was the main reason I wanted a new computer so badly. Now it is like a dream come true, especially in ultra settings! I already started my playthrough as an elf mage, but I’m struggling on who to romance, Solas or Cullen. I’m aware of the spoilers already, but its still a hard choice!
I’m glad to finally be able to play DAI, but a bit disappointed I’ve been neglecting my Steam backlog. I hope to play and finish a few mini-games in-between my playthroughs though, so I’ll hopefully be posting about those soon.
Thank you for reading, and have a great day!
Hey, welcome aboard. :)
Really, DA2’s biggest problem is precisely that re-use of locations and wave based combat which essentially invalidates any positioning you do because, guess what, those enemy rogues can just appear behind your mages and screw them over on higher difficulty. Other than that you have your subjective story and characters which is really up to everyone’s personal taste. I will agree in that it was still a game similar to Origins in how it played and generally worked, albeit with more attention put to actual art style and designs. Check out DLC if you haven’t because it’s generally a cut above the main game’s quality level with only downside being it’s really short AND one also sets up Inquisition.
Speaking of which how far into Inquisition are you? I find it to be a pretty big departure from the previous two games with its own problems and Bioware clearly had issues filling those new, much larger areas with actual content. You will get your playtime out of it, though.
No worries about non-Steam games. Half the stuff I cover isn’t on Steam… hell, half the stuff I cover aren’t even games.
Sorry for the late reply.
I did try the DLC and really loved the way they played. I especially loved the puzzles in both DLC and the stealth option in Mark of the Assassin! I wish they had more of those in the main game. I’m not sure if Inquisition has any, but hopefully they do!
I’m still in Haven and just now poking at the Hinterlands. I unfortunately had to restart because I was using the wrong World State without realizing it! Thankfully I had just arrived in Haven, but having to replay the prologue and make my character again was annoying. I think she turned out better this round though. And yes, so far its been a pretty big difference! I actually had to switch to a controller because the new controls were bothering me, I was constantly hitting space bar to pause and instead I’m jumping. Not sure if I’m going to switch back or not, but we’ll see soon. The other differences are strange as well, especially the open world. I usually explore everything, but with the way its been made I may have to force myself not to explore too much, otherwise I’ll get bored.
Ah, good! Glad I’m not alone in that then. xD Thank you for the reply and info!
No worries, it’s why we have notifications. :)
Yeah, I also switched to gamepad controls for Inquisition because the game was clearly built for them and even if you use M&K you still get a limited action bar to maintain parity with the number of skills you get to assign with the gamepad. Shame tactical mode got lobotomized into whatever the hell it became and is positively unwieldy for anything but trying it out couple of times and completely forgetting it exists.
Don’t get too hung up on Hinterlands as the first real zone because it is designed to be re-visited as you can’t complete it 100% when you start out. It lead me to serious fatigue, especially when you notice zones largely play out the same with a tiny sprinkling of area-specific story. Do you have any of the story DLC?
Oof, forgot to check back! Yeah, I heard about the tactics system being ruined, and looking at the menu and trying the mode made me realize that the tactical age for DA is pretty much gone. Its sad! I may play casually, but I still liked using the system. Made it much more challenging than just running around in circles like most games I play, lol.
I also heard about not staying in the Hinterlands for too long. Do you have a recommended spot to stop at before moving on? I arrived in my last playthrough but stopped and haven’t played since then. I might get on in a few minutes as I want to continue.
Yes, I do! Are any of them playable during the main game? I think Tresspasser is after the main game, if that’s the correct DLC I’m thinking of. I’m not sure about the others though.
You’ll know when it’s time to go. People mainly say you shouldn’t overstay because many have tried to 100% the zone which is something you can’t do until you’ve leveled up a bit. Both of the other two story DLC can be played during the game and I think they’ll scale to your average level or so. Trespasser is the only one distinctly available after the main story.
Thank you for the info!
I’ve never played any DA games so I don’t have a lot to write, but congratulations on your first kill here :3
Thank you! :D
Wow, some big games you are finishing! I only started DA2 for some hours and never finished it, but I agree with you, it’s not as bad as a lot of people make it sound. Of course it can’t hold up to Dragon Age Origins, but it’s still a decent RPG.
I had a look at your SG Wins, you could for example play “Maize”. It’s only about 3 hours, quite relaxing and most people seemed to enjoy it :)
Sorry for the late reply!
Thank you for the suggestion! I didn’t know it was so short, but that sounds like an easy game to play when I don’t have time for DAI.