Gare plays the Dragon Age 2 demo (Or: A brief tale of gore, cleavage and fireballs)*

[Gare]

So yeah, as you might or might not know, the demo for Dragon Age 2 came out yesterday. I played through it once, then decided to do it again and record it. The demo is pretty okay, though I was expecting a bit more. But remember, this is just a demo.

Also, decided to split the video up to three 20-minute parts. Didn't feel like uploading one huge hour-long LP.

Oh, and this is the PC version, by the way. If you're interested in how the PS3 version works, go and check out Ray's LP, in which he plays through the demo with a female warrior.

[Milady]

The mage's high level abilities look lovely. I also failed to mention earlier that I rather like Flemeth's new character design. I wasn't too impressed when I first saw the concept art for her, but she's a lot more impressive in this particular version of a human form, than the haggard old woman we meet in DA:O. The enemy redesigns are nice, too. Dragon Age still doesn't have the highest quality graphics by a long shot, but gray-tan ogres are a bit more realistic than the big purple ones.

It was interesting to see how the game seems to change its tactics when it comes to balancing your party for you, choosing which sibling to kill off according to your class. I was also expecting Carver to be the one crushed, but I also noticed that in the initial scene (the "legend" version of the dwarf's story) you're fighting alongside your brother, whereas I was fighting first with Bethany when I played with the rogue and didn't meet Carver until the second version of the story. I'm guessing your family doesn't play a particularly huge role later in the game, if your siblings are so interchangeable. Kind of like how the origin story you chose in DA:O was rather inconsequential after the first hour.

It seems the beginning of the demo takes place during the events of the first game. The Blight is still going on, but you're fleeing from Lothering, which is mostly intact when your party reaches it in DA:O. At first I assumed that the appointment Flemeth needs to keep involved Alistair and the first PC, but that wouldn't be the case if Lothering is already destroyed. I'm interested to see how far the story reaches into the future. If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere that most of the game's events occur a few months to a year after the Grey Wardens take out the Archdemon.

In any case, I'm finding my anticipation increasing with time, and it's only been about twelve hours since I first played the demo myself. I think I'll definitely pick it up when I get a chance, and postpone an ME2 purchase for the time being.

[Gare]

I'm gonna spam that Firestorm like a champ. Although I might play as a Warrior in the full game, that also looked pretty cool. But yeah, I'm quite looking forward to it myself. As I've predicted, it's starting to grow on me.

Also, if a portion of the story will take place before the Archdemon's death, I'm looking forward to some juicy references or even familiar faces.

[Milady]

I'm gonna spam that Firestorm like a champ. Although I might play as a Warrior in the full game, that also looked pretty cool. But yeah, I'm quite looking forward to it myself. As I've predicted, it's starting to grow on me.

Also, if a portion of the story will take place before the Archdemon's death, I'm looking forward to some juicy references or even familiar faces.

My first character in DA:O was a warrior, but she ended up with pretty much the same move set as Alistair and became somewhat redundant. My second character was a rogue, and I loved her. Plus, I wasn't terribly fond of either of the NPC rogue options.

Did you play Awakening? The mage Anders is supposed to make an appearance. And of course, we've already met Isabella.

[Gare]

Yeah, I played a rogue as well in DA:O. A dual-wielding one specializing in all those nasty assassin/backstab skills. 'Twas pretty awesome.

Nah, never played Awakening. I heard it was somewhat disappointing and not even that long.

[Milady]

Yeah, I played a rogue as well in DA:O. A dual-wielding one specializing in all those nasty assassin/backstab skills. 'Twas pretty awesome.

Nah, never played Awakening. I heard it was somewhat disappointing and not even that long.

I liked it, but I would also say there's definitely truth in that assessment. Then again, it's sort of hard to make an expansion quest that tops killing an Archdemon and almost single-handedly quelling a Blight.

[Gare]

Well, you could make an expansion where you battle the Maker himself in the heart of a tornado of flames caused by the explosion of a million suns, but I'm not sure how the fanbase would react to it.

[Milady]

Well, you could make an expansion where you battle the Maker himself in the heart of a tornado of flames caused by the explosion of a million suns, but I'm not sure how the fanbase would react to it.

That might also negate the possibility of a sequel. Or playing a "good" character for that matter.