Tags:
BioWare;
Dragon Age 2;
Vault Dweller
<p>Resident Ubersturmfuhrer Vault Dweller, mostly known for his involvement in making this <a href="
http://www.irontowerstudio.com/" target="_blank">indie vaporware cRPG</a> and his love for <a href="
http://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=195" target="_blank">Dragon Age: Origins</a>, fearlessly approached BioWare's latest masterpiece <strong>Dragon Age II</strong>, despite all the dark foreboding.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Back to the story, mages draw power from a “metaphysical” realm, the Warp, I mean the Fade, which exposes them to the dangerous emo spirits populating it. These emo spirits, called demons in the game, try to possess mages and wreak havoc in the real world. So, if a mage isn’t strong enough to resist, Bad Things Happen.<br /><br />Since relying on mages to be strong enough to resist is kind of like relying on EA to resist the temptation to shut down studios, the Circle of Magi was created to train mages properly in the arts of self control and meek obedience. When a mage in training completes the program, he or she takes a test where they attempt to fight that demonic possession in a “controlled environment”. Meaning that the Templars hack anyone who fails the test to abomination-bits.<br /><br />So, while in Kirkwall, you’ll constantly run into Templars, Circle mages, apostates (renegade mages), and new mages who are just discovering their powers and trying to work out what to do about them. The conflict is fairly well presented – it’s one of the few strengths of the game - and many characters you’ll meet will help you look at the situation from different points of view. <br /><br />As you’d expect, some Templars are just doing their jobs in a difficult situation, convinced that they are protecting the public. Other Templars sympathize and are willing to help mages, while still other Templar are convinced that mages are dangerous abominations who should be killed or neutered (a mage’s connection to the Fade can be forcefully cut via a lobotomy-like procedure which turns them into vegetables) outright. <br /><br />Similarly, there are mages who are “normal people” like your sister and other party members (probably because you keep them on a tighter leash than the Circle), mages who truly need help controlling their powers, and mages who are angry and willing to fight back, rightfully seeing the templars, the Circle, and the Chantry as their enemies. <br /><br />I’d say it’s one of the more interesting settings for an RPG and it does manage to raise interesting questions, questions without an easy answer. The potential is there, but it’s wasted on an action RPG where you kill bad guys and monsters instead of exploring the ethics of the society Bioware created.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="
http://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=224" target="_blank">Read the full review here.</a></p>
Prestigious Magazine" as well as Gaming Forum.
devoid of Screenshots.
strange.
