After dabbling with sci-fi in the form of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, BioWare returned to their swords and sandals roots with Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. A “dark fantasy” that explored the more maturer of themes, Dragon Age: Origins became renowned for its graphic nature, immense replayability and truck-load of (sometimes pricey) downloadable content. As a gaming experience it sat well with critics and consumers alike, many reviewers extolling the game’s mechanics with respect to how players could control NPCs in real time while still being able to pause the action in order to queue up spells and other more spectacular attacks.
Dragon Age II was officially announced in July of this year after much hullabaloo around leaked floor plans and other tomfoolery.
The sequel stars Hawke, a plucky human and survivor of the Blight, and is set in a different location than the first Dragon Age title. As main protagonist Hawke is charged with rising to power and becoming the “Champion of Free Marches,” a location north of Ferelden (where the first game took place) on the continent of Thedas, it’s safe to assume this aforementioned marshy area is where the majority of Dragon Age II’s action occurs. Check out our handy map below for a geography lesson.
Unlike in Dragon Age: Origins, Hawke can not have his race changed, though you can alter his (or her) gender and class, however. The plot spans a decade, with choices players made in the first game capable of being imported into the sequel to help fashion the world into what we assume will resemble something a little more familiar to those who sank dozens of hours into Origins.
Races such as elves and dwarves will be redesigned, though we’re not exactly sure how BioWare are going to explain the genetic revamp, perhaps relying on something like how Klingons didn’t look like normal Klingons when Worf travelled back in time to the original Enterprise. The less said about the matter the better, in other words. The combat system is also getting a complete overhaul, while the follow-up is said to be more “cinematic” than its predecessor.
The first Dragon Age was a game that delivered on many fronts. A deep, vivid story with oodles to do and some quality voice acting along the way, it’s one of those rare games that, upon completion, not only do you want to keep playing, you literally can because there’s likely still so much more to discover. The second Dragon Age, despite already alienating some of the first’s fans due to its impromptu redesign, looks primed to do the same, undoubtedly keeping our poor ColossalBlue up all night, shunning sleep and sanity once again.
Dragon Age II will be relesed on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in March.
Charmed_Fanatic
Only 62 … pityful, expected higher