Dragons, Darkspawn and DD cups!

I finally got the chance to experience the Dragon Age II demo and it has not failed to impress me. My excitement level has sky-rocketed now! Bioware have delivered another fantastic, fantasy RPG. Am I counting my dragon ages before they hatch? Maybe, but I doubt it. I was bowled over by the first game, Dragon Age Origins, back in 2009, whilst many people I know played and slated it. I myself was even slated for enjoying  such “rubbish”! I was shocked by their opinions. Yes I know we are all entitled to them, but I couldn’t understand why it was hated so. It received multiple awards and had positive reviews across all three platforms. So why all the hate?

Some told me “there was too much dialogue.” My answer: it’s an RPG. Of course there’s a lot of dialogue, you need to talk to people in order to advance in the game. It can be too much if you ask each person you encounter everything available to you. “Takes too long designing a character”. Then just randomise it or use the one already provided. Customisation appeals to some more than others. You don’t have to do it, it just makes the game more personal for you. And the cherry on top was, “It’s not Lord of The Rings!”. Facepalm moment. Where on the box does it say it’s like Lord of The Rings? Where is the RPG rulebook saying it has to be like Lord of The Rings?? There are dragons (clue’s in the name), elves, warriors, orcs, what more do you want? Just because Frodo doesn’t put in an appearance doesn’t make it a bad RPG.

So far, I’m impressed with the game. You get the choice of choosing your champion’s class, which is once again warrior, mage or rogue. And if you wish to be a male or female Hawke. Races have been removed quickly. So it will be interesting to see how gamers react to this. I’m not overly upset because I have to be human, but some may not like the idea because being a fantasy RPG, elves and dwarfs are fantasy creatures. Not everyone wants to be human. Sadly, three of the features were locked for the demo, the character customisation, saving the game and access to the inventory. Which was a shame because I wanted to get a look at what was available when creating my own character. Hopefully the previous face designs won’t be imported over. The text was easier to read and wasn’t all squashed together. And also talent trees are used for your talents and skills. Again these are all spread out and not close together making it easier for the gamer to read and understand. During battles, characters now have small icons on the bottom left hand side of the screen with an HP bar and a stamina or mana bar underneath. This looks a lot better than the previous circle icons and circle HP bars.

And one thing Bioware hasn’t forgotten is the breasts. Oh yes, they can’t forget them and I bet you were wondering when I was going to mention them! What on Earth is Bioware’s fascination with big breasts? Miranda in Mass Effect 2 was in a tight space suit, Morrigan with her revealing and impractical outfit and the latest edition Isabela looks like she has a battle keeping hers under control! In the era of Dragon Age breasts are so large that it’s hard not to notice. Be it your sister Bethany Hawke or a certain lady who is returning to our gaming screens. I wont mention names here, but for a woman of myth and legend she has a bust that would make Jordan jealous! I’m sure I don’t hear a lot of gamers complaining over the boob sizes of possible pixel love interests, but I just find it amusing. Many female characters, like Lara Croft or Ivy from Soul Calibur are all well “presented” and of course this trend will continue. But being big busted can make an adventure just as difficult, be it in outer space or battling darkspawn. But leave it to Bioware to make it look glamorous and downright sexy!

Back to reality now. The demo has been out since 22nd February for all platforms and I hope people have been able to download it and found out for themselves if its something they should be excited about. The game is being released in the States on the 8th March and 11th March in Europe. I hope many readers managed to order their special edition copy with us because I have a feeling it will be worth the wait!