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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grydan" data-source="post: 5680788" data-attributes="member: 79401">I quite enjoyed DA2, and do look forward to DA3, whenever that happens. I'm also a fan, for similar reasons, of the companion armour, though I could see room for a system that combines it with the option to micromanage (for those who get a kick out of it). I tend to stick the rest of my party on auto-level, because I find it annoying to deal with. That said, for me, recycled maps were hardly the only flaw.SPOILERS AHEAD! Do NOT read if you haven't played the game.I'm not kidding here, folks. Spoilers ahead.Seriously. Spoilers.Anyways, my main issues with the game were these:1. False options. While I loved the dialogue system, with the icons to indicate the general thrust of the response, taking the romantic options with Aveline was an exercise in frustration. Okay, I understand the character is supposed to have a bit of a blind spot in that area, and it's amusing that when you flirt with her she completely misses it. Except the game keeps giving you the option, all the way through her plot-enforced romance. Even if you think your character and her are a perfect match, or at least a more interesting one than who she ends up with, you're out of luck. Once her romance is cemented, THEN she asks whether the two of you would ever have worked as a couple. You don't get the option of saying yes. Thanks for wasting my time, Bioware.Is it realistic to include the idea that not every character will respond positively to romantic overtures? Sure. But if it's not going to really be an option, shut it down sooner so you can move on.2. Lack of options. Knowing something's coming, yet your character remaining blissfully unaware, regardless of what options you take. Sorry folks, your mother is doomed. Regardless of what choices you make, she's dying. There's even a scene that feels like it should have been a choice (Wait until dark to try and track her down, or try and do it despite the crowds during the day... sure wish you'd tried a few hours earlier, right? Well too bad, that's not an option). It's not like the sibling death at the beginning, where it's over before they had a chance... they put you on the trail but never let you catch up. There's no path you can take where you catch the killer before he strikes. Frustrating the first time (where I thought I might have options that saved her), more frustrating if you plan on doing multiple playthroughs. 3. The story just falls apart in the final act. Regardless of what approach you've taken (pro-Templar, pro-Mage, balanced/neutral), everyone's actions are the same... even if they make no sense. You've been publicly outspoken against the Templars and in favour of the mages from the day you arrived in the city, frequently either secretly or openly aiding them? Too bad, the mages are going to kidnap your sister and force you to slaughter them by the dozen. All because they think you might side with the Templars. 4. Similar to the above two, Merrill's story is frustrating. Regardless of whether she's a casual friend, or hates your guts, or thinks you're the most wonderful person to ever exist, she's not going to change her mind. Her story only has one end point, and it's a tragedy that forces you to slaughter a bunch of innocents. Gee thanks, Bioware.5. Minor one. The teaser of high-level play at the start is a clever bit of storytelling. It's frustrating, however, that the weaponry used there (and in the character select screen) isn't what you're going to be using at the level you finally assemble the armour. The staff, if I recall correctly, is a very low level one. There aren't two daggers that look like that, only one (and another that's similar, but not the same). The sword... I can't recall, but I don't think it's anywhere near the best weapon you can have at that point.5. From the way they talked about the game beforehand, I really was expecting my choices to have a bigger impact throughout the game. There's an option to make a major donation to the refugees in one of the early acts. There's no repercussions to this act. Things aren't any better or any worse for them based on your action. For a company that specializes in making games where your choices impact your character and their companions, I was really expecting a better job of letting the character's choices affect the world. 7. I played the X-Box 360 version, and while I'm not sure if this applied to the PC and PS3 versions, it was rather buggy. Merrill's cutscenes played out of order (which was really confusing), you couldn't earn the Achievements for the DLC about the prince, and there was at least one mission that you couldn't do at all. You could take it, but going to where it was supposed to happen you'd find one NPC standing around who couldn't be interacted with, and nothing else. I understand that at least some of this was later fixed via patches, but it was rather frustrating on my original playthrough.I still love BioWare games, and will grab DA3... I just hope they learned a lot from their mistakes here, and make it a better game. The ending strongly hints at a storyline that will unite the Champion with (if they survived DA:O) the Hero. That could be fun (though I expect they'll be late additions to the party of a brand new lead character).I think for me, a lot of the problems come down to this: they've come closer than a lot of other companies to giving you the narrative depth of a good tabletop campaign, but the limitations of the medium (and their budget of time and money) mean you keep butting up against the walls of "you can't turn left here, despite it looking like you can" that are everywhere in a prescripted scenario.</blockquote>

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