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Wills83
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- Review count2
- Helpfulness votes37
- First reviewMarch 31, 2010
- Last reviewFebruary 2, 2012
- Featured reviews1
- Average rating3.5
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- Last answerMarch 31, 2010
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Wills83's Reviews
Your homeland has been destroyed. You are a refugee with nothing to lose and everything to gain. With every turn, you face defeat from an onslaught of deadly enemies bent on putting an end to your burgeoning rise to power. Gather your allies with care and get ready to embark on an entire decade's worth of adventures that are totally formed around your decisions. Begin your legend in Dragon Age II.Enter the epic battle as a rogue, mage or warrior and conduct your plans with the precise strategy of a general. Battle with the ferocity of a Spartan, employing dynamic new combat mechanics to force enemies into defeat, earn your survival and seal your place in history. With stunning cinematic detail, a new visual style and updated graphics, this game just might make you a legend of the second Dragon Age.
Customer Rating
3
An interesting experiment
on February 2, 2012
Posted by: Wills83
from Southwest Michigan
I have heard rumors that Dragon Age II was meant to be an experiment of sorts for BioWare. They changed a few key elements in this series to make it similar to their Sci-Fi themed Mass Effect series. Well, it is a hit and a miss in most cases.
One of the biggest changes is that you now can only play as a human Male or Female. In Dragon Age: Origins, you could also play as an Elf or a Dwarf, but for the sake of the story, that has been changed. I don't really mind this change that much as whenever a story is more focused, the player will lose some of the flexibility along the way. Another change to this is that now the main character (who's surname is Hawke) speaks now. Rather then standing around with a blank expression while events are happening, you will now actually hear your character paraphrase your chosen response from the dialogue wheel. I like this because it just seems that my character is more engaged in what's going on.
Speaking of what's going on, the story itself is more or less a series of side quests that are stung together though out the characters ten year period in the main city. While it does stink that there is no central plot or even real antagonist for you to concern yourself with, the one saving feature of this is rather than waiting until another game is released to see the impact of your decisions, you just have to wait a few years (in game time) to see the results. It would have been cool if BioWare had implemented a main villain and goal, other than Hawke striving to go from rages to riches.
Now there are a good chunk of folks who hate the new battle system due to the fact that it is not as strategic as Origins. You still would be advised to micromanage your team for some of the more challenging battles, Because you can just mash on the cross button to do basic attacks, the action is now faster paced than in Origins. It is quite a sight to watch rogue Hawke flip and twirl around the battle field while dispatching foes and mage Hawke causing havok with a standard staff. In short, the animations are better and even after 40+ hours (across two different campaigns) I haven't gotten tired of watching them at all. There still is some strategy involved as it is critical to your battles to handle the most dangerous opponents first, than deal with the scrubs last. I did enjoy the faster battles over the sluggish system used in Origins.
My biggest problem with this game is that BioWare stripped away the ability to customize your companions. They wear what they want to wear and even though there are "upgrades" to be bought for their default look, I still am irritated that BioWare denied the player the choice of making their teammates look how they want them to. Other than the lack of choice, another problem this creates is, say you find a really powerful set of robes. However, your Hawke is a warrior. You are now carrying around useless equipment because you can't equip it to Hawke as he/she is not the right class and you can't equip it on your companions because only Hawke can change outfits. It was a really foolish and selfish move on BioWare's part and it just screams cash grab. They probably were going to sell different palette swaps - er, outfits for the companions as DLC later on. If I want my mage to travel in full body armor, I should be able to do so without having to play as warrior Hawke.
Another complaint I have is that you spend a lot (and I mean a LOT) of time in the same cave/beach/abandoned building/ city street setting for the duration of the game. Origins had more areas to explore and didn't copy and paste environments as much as this game does.
Overall, I have to give BioWare props for willing to take risks with one of their tent pole franchises. You will more than likely enjoy some stuff and loath the rest, depending on your preferences. If you are a fan of the series, it is worth checking out. As long as you don't expect it to be a good as Origins, you won't be disappointed.
What's great about it: Seeing results of your decisions without waiting for a brand new game, your main character speaks now, faster battles
What's not so great: No companion customization, areas reused alot, no central villian or plot
I would recommend this to a friend!
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
Embark on a journey through the cityworld of Cocoon and the outerworld of Pulse. Along the path to discovering your destiny, you will encounter diverse allies who will fight beside you. You will have to summon all of your expertise with weapons and magic, as well as all your courage, to determine your fate in the latest action-packed installment in the renowned Final Fantasy video game series.Face your destiny as you travel through the worlds of Cocoon and Pulse in Final Fantasy XIII. Discover diverse allies who will join you in your fight, and execute punishing attacks with powerful weapons and magic. Summon the enigmatic Eidolons with the evolved Active Time Battle system. With seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and in-game cinematics, Final Fantasy XIII draws you into the mystery and the magic of the series like never before.
Customer Rating
4
FFXIII - A twist on the traditional JRPG
on March 31, 2010
Posted by: Wills83
from Southwest Michigan
As of this review, I'm only a little over 8 hours into this game, but I feel I can submit a quality review based on what I've experienced so far.
I am pleased with this game. Even on my 720P tv, the game looks amazing. I also have to give Square Enix props for hiring competent voice actors. For the most part, the voice acting is good (especially main character Lightning's VA).
I am pleased with this game. Even on my 720P tv, the game looks amazing. I also have to give Square Enix props for hiring competent voice actors. For the most part, the voice acting is good (especially main character Lightning's VA).
The nitty gritty of any RPG is it's battle system and FFXIII has a twist on the typical JRPG. Yes, it still uses the classic active time battle system, but now there is an "auto battle" feature. You can only control the party leader during battle and they will automatically pick the best actions for battle, be it attacks or abilitys. Once all the availible gauges fill up, they will execute their selected actions. For the first few hours, it is like this, but once you learn magic, (paradigms) the battles becomes far more interesting. You eventually will learn rparadigms which grants roles to the characters and they vary. Not every character has access to the same role, so you have to switch paradigms according to your situation. Some will learn roles that are based on physical attacks, magic attacks, healing or buffing attributes. The cool part about this is that you can change paradigms on the fly which is critical for some of the more challenging enemies that await. You can't expect to win all the battles by sticking to the same paradigm and changing thiings up makes for varitey. You get graded (1 to 5 stars) on how quickly you win battles. For every won battle, you get crystal points which you can use to upgrade your stats and learn more powerful spells and attacks.
I really have nothing to complain about at this time, but I know some peole will hate the fact that it's so linear. You essientally go from point A to points B, C, D etc. There is little chance to explore because you go down a set pathway. Whenever the paths do break off, it usally leads to a dead end with an item orb and an enemy patrol. All the previous FF's have had huge worlds to explore, but this time they took that away. Personally, I don't really mind, but this is after i've played several rpg's over the years with massive worlds to explore. The whole game seems like Square Enix wanted to make it more mainstream by putting emphasis on quick battles and getting rid of the exploration aspects. Essentially, this FF feels a more action focused due to the changes. Like I said, some peole will hate this and others (like me) will not mind one bit.
Based on what I've seen so far, Final Fantasy XIII is a good game. Any JRPG fan owes it to him or herself to check it out. It looks wonderful, sounds good and has a solid battle system.
What's great about it: It's one of the best looking games this generation
What's not so great: Some people may not like the fact that it's pretty linear
I would recommend this to a friend!
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PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
Do you have to remove a game or movie before shutting down the PS3 for the night?
I never do. If you're concerned about it causing damage to the moive/game, I can honestly say I've never heard of that happening. It hasn't ever occured with me at least. If anyone else has witnessed this, please share your experience.
16 years, 2 months ago
by
Wills83
Southwest Michigan