Yeah, everyone who cares will have played this by now, but still here's my two cents on the demo for Dragon Age 2.
First thing I noticed were the fight mechanics (being that the very first bit is a big fight with a feckload of Darkspawn): they're so much faster and streamlined. The issue one can have with turn-based fight mechanics, such as those used by every Bioware game except for Mass Effect, is that it can slow down the action with taht pause between attacks. However, what DA2 does is keep the interval between the damage infliction (you can see a character's DPS rating in the pause menu), but there is almost no space between animations, meaning you have a proper-looking battle going on, which is far more dynamic and exciting.
The interface is a lot more strealined, with the icons made msaller (though still clear) and the character portraits and life bars sitting neatly in the bottom left corner. Everything is easy to find without being in the way.
The demo gives you a taste of the levelling system. Most of the stats are handled by 6 core attributes, which affect all other stats on a one-to-one basis, meaning that every point you put in will make a difference. Powers and abilities come from a set of talent trees which correspond to different specialties within your class. You can pick powers from any of these trees to mix-and-match, making for a nice level of customisation.
A word on gore: lots. Where in the first game you would cut a baddie up, now you're likely you chop him in half at the waist, which is quite satisfying. Oddly, the blood splash on PCs is toned down from childishly over the top to, well, not so much. There's a bit, but no longer so much splatter that it's distracting during conversations. Basically, the blood is in the fights, not out of it.
So, Dragon Age 2: it looks to be an improvement over an already great game. Obviously it'll take the a play of the full thing to show us how good it is, but that's what the 11th of March is for .
Think I'm wrong in here? Tell me why!
Dragon Age 2 is the property of EA and Bioware.
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