DA2: Worth buying?

So I'm about 2/3 through DAO, and so far I've found it to be incredibly enjoyable. I find the story very engrossing and the characters very relatable. The only real complaint I have is with the combat, which I understand is supposed to have a pause function like KOTOR, but for some reason (I'm playing on 360) it has no such function. I don't know if that's due to porting or what, but I'm playing more for the total experience than the combat challenge anyway, so I just turned the difficulty down to avoid the worst tactical issues in combat.

Anyway, my question is, should I continue with DA2? I understand it was a pretty big failure for many fans. I would be buying it used, most likely for less than $20, and I personally don't consider this too be a wasted investment even for a game that's not so great. What kind of issues should I be prepared for, in terms of story, characters, and gameplay mechanics? What makes it so inferior to DAO? Would it be better to just not bother playing at all?

Any input/opinions are greatly appreciated

I wouldn't touch DA2 with a ten foot pole. It is nothing like DA:O

I guess so. For me, that was a HUGE minus.

Well, let me put it this way. DA2 being different would have been okay. However, the ways it is different are full of Epic Fail....

Weak story, somewhat weak characters, no way to affect the ending at all though they offer many illusions of choice, recycled environments, goofy combat with no tactics involved, not the greatest setting (Kirkwall).

Everything they changed in DA2 was for the worse, IMO....

My feelings are pretty much exactly opposite Noelemahc's. I thought the characters were all extremely melodramatic, whiny, and impossible to please. The romances are disappointing to say the least, and not because everyone is unrealistically bisexual, but because after wading through multiple dialogues whining about life and everyone in it, you never get a healthy, functional relationship to reward your efforts. You get more whining and angst. Hawke isn't a compelling lead either, no matter how you play the character. There just isn't that connection that it was so easy to form with the Warden, probably because of the simplified dialogue system and the lack of choice regarding your background and identity.

The plot pretty well mirrors the characters; every last NPC involved in the finale is completely unsympathetic, and there just isn't a good way to resolve everything; anything you do is going to screw someone over for no good reason. The whole plot is just depressing and unrewarding. I tried to play through a second time thinking that maybe my first playthrough had been colored by the fact that I was in labor at the time, but no. It's just as painful as I remembered.

And then there's the artistic decisions and technical hangups. The whole aesthetic is just so bleak and colorless that recycling environments becomes unforgivable. There is no visual variety to add to the experience; everything is some shade of gray or tan. It still has far more bugs than it should, and it's just obvious that the whole thing was rushed out the door a good year before it should have been.

Overall, I'd say that if the price of a used copy isn't a financial sacrifice, you may as well pick it up. There's enough people who like it in spite of its faults that I can't definitively say you'll hate it. I can't tell you though how much I wish that I hadn't wasted $60 on it.

I was never one of those people who bashed DA:O for not being exactly like BG2. So yeah, I forgot about that myself. I bashed DA:O because the console versions were horrible. The PC version was pure bliss....

Thanks for the input.

As it stands, based on what you guys have said, I'll probably give it a try (though I'll definitely check out the demo first). I'm pretty open-minded and accepting towards the kind of flaws that have been mentioned, and I'm generally not one to criticize a game for being too little like its predecessor. I loved Mass Effect 2 despite the huge changes to gameplay, and I also loved KOTOR2 despite it being clearly unfinished. The same thing tends to go for characters and story; if it's enough to make me think, I'll probably count it as a success even if I don't necessarily like the tone. I don't expect to love DA2, but I do think I'll get a satisfactory level of enjoyment that will be worth whatever price I pay for a cheap used copy.

I'd try it, if you can get it for a good price. As a stand-alone game it's decent. You're not going to get the same level of immersion that you do with DA:O but that can be good or bad, depending on your preferences. I will say that the demo is more a try-out of combat than something to get you involved in the story, so don't expect things to continue on in that vein plot-wise.

I would definitely try the demo first, for it is extremely representative of the full game. If you can't stand the relentlessly brown-coloured environments, the waves of generic enemies, and the jackrabbits-on-speed combat, you'll find yourself greeting each combat encounter with, "Oh no, not this again!" And there is a *lot* of combat in the game.

As for the story, well, it's a generic dark fantasy story (a genre that's everywhere these days): the world is a crapsack-y hellhole, nothing you do makes anything better, and the two sides you must choose between are both largely unlikeable.

About the only strength the game has is in its character interactions, some of which is rather amusing. I'm not sure that'd really be worth paying a lot of money for, though.

Honestly...No.

Not because of the story itself, the story is quite decent, I can get people's grievances with it but the fact is DA2 was setting the stage for the rest of the DA saga, which I do not think will be limited to a trilogy lets me forgive its railroading by a large margin.

Now the reason I say its not worth it is because most of the characters are utter crap that do not change evolve or otherwise make themselves interesting throughout the length of the story.

Primarilly Anders, (a Character which Hepler completely fucking destroyed) and Fenris.

Both of these characters are broken records that just go on and on and on and on about their narrow minded view of the world, each representing one side of the spectrum of the mage templar conflict, but by the end of the game you don't want to listen to either because of how hypocritical both of them are.

Then you havethree other characters which are tolerable but do not evolve as characters at all either.

Isabella, Merill, Sebastian. None of these three characters change at all throughout the story, and while like I said, they are interesting in their own right the fact that they remain firmly entrenched in their archtypes makes them loose their luster fairly quickly.

The only two Characters of any real note are Aveline and Varric outside of that the characters suck. The only other exception would be Hawkes sibling, but that character's gone for most of the game so they really don't count much.

DA2's most redeeming quality however is this guy:

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/3661/1731943-untitled_large.jpg

That's right, that bad ass mo-fo is the best thing to happen to DA2 and is the one reason that game has any replay value at all for me. His dialogue and Voice acting is just brilliant.

Regardless the game is DECENT. Not perfect by any extent of the imagination but decent.

I'm one of the few that actually enjoy DA2 DESPITE its many flaws. I play it quite alot actually.
The dialogue quips are just as good, if not more realistic - there is quite a bit of rivalry spoken, whereas in Origins everyone mostly gets along.
The DLCs are worthwhile, I adore the living hell out of them, although I would recommend Legacy over MOTA. Legacy gives you a customizable weapon and a Warden suit of armor. MOTA is nice in that you're in a running around a green mountainside and then infiltrating a manor. Plus....


As for the case of Sebastian, well...he definitely makes the ending more intense. Also downloading him is the only way you get to interact with Leliana...although you do get to say hi to her in MOTA, very briefly.
All in all, if you can accept the flaws mentioned, I would say go for it.

I really didn't like the characters in DA2 and found the story to be rather weak also. Those are very subjective complaints though, so take them with a grain of salt.

What you DO need to be aware of is that they reuse environments A LOT! You will run and re-run the same dungeon so many times that before the end you'll be doing it in your sleep. The side quests make ME3's "Eavesdropping" look like happy fun time and the game ends with a sizzle not a bang (Also in a cliffhanger -- which is lame.).

I did really like the combat however and artistically it's a very pretty game.

It's you're only going to spend 20 bucks, yes it's worth it. the price will go up around $30 after you get a few of the story DLC (I'd suggest Legacy since that actually has a story worth following).

Gameplay: Origins was slower and tactical, DA2 was fast paced yet repetitive. Hopefully they'll find a nice middle ground in DA3. By the end of the Act 1 you'll be doing about 90% of all the tricks you're going to learn in the game. Still the classes play differently enough that multiple playthroughs are rewarding enough even if the story fails.

Story: You can see what DA2 tried to do with it's story, however it ultimately fails. There are plenty of great moments however. Most happen at the end of Act 1 and into Act 2. Act 3 will leave you scratching your head. You're not only being asked to suspend your disbelief about magic and dragons, but also about just how dumb people can be. It gets annoying when every mage you come across is basically retarded or insane. However smaller moments, mor confined scenes, are well done and well voice acted.

Overall: For 20 dollars? Yeah why not. As much as folks complain about DA2 it still has more to its story than most other games out there, hell even more so than Skyrim. I know that's comparing apples to oranges but if you've played both you'll know what I mean. I have not played the Witcher series of games yet but I do understand that the Witcher 2 outshines DA2 in nearly every way.

It would depend on what you're looking for and your expectations, i pre-ordered it as i loved DA:O and was expecting more of the same, and so was disappointed. Its not a bad game just an ok 1, the characters are in the main, good and well VA'd, especially the 1 pointed out by Ld 1449 above, that guy kicks arse. The plot is reasonable but not spectacualar, but the biggest gripe i had was the total lack of consequences in your descions, none of them make a damn bit of difference to the plot other than the odd line of dialogue. On the whole if you don't go in expecting to much there is some fun to be had, just be prepared for it to be more of a standalone 3rd person action game than a true rpg sequel to DA:O

Honestly, It wasn't worth full price but for 20 Bucks I say give it a shot.

The storytelling, is not that great, the story ITSELF is fine, but Bioware obviously tried a new way of telling a story and it showed. It's not nearly as well told as their other stories, Instead of telling it through the eyes of the protagonist, they told it through possibly the best character in the game Varric.

However, this also becomes one of the game shortcomings. Because it is told from his perspective, you feel that You're just following the story, with no real effect on what is going on in the world around you. Thus the characters fit the View of the NARRARATOR, instead of the person that is playing the game. Which KILLS Immersion.

The combat, I liked, though it was repetitive and a bit TOO fast, certainly they can find a balance in the third game, but for a Sequel with a whole new fighting engine, was fine ESPECIALLY for the game being rushed out of the door as it was. (Another reason why the game didn't live up to expectations, The team ADMITS that they ran out of time a WEEK after release.)

But for 20 bucks, I say it wouldn't hurt.