Dragon Age II is the follow-up to Dragon Age: Origins.
The devastation of the settlement Lothering by the Darkspawn was a pivotal occurrence in the first game. We weren’t told, though, that at least one person survived the onslaught: a human named Hawke. Having become a refugee, Hawke journeys to the Free Marches, specifically the city of Kirkwall. Hawke’s family is in the same boat as many other Ferelden exiles; Kirkwall’s authorities are wary of the newcomers, and the road to financial stability is challenging. Meanwhile, the appearance of the enigmatic race of Qunari and the developing friction between the Templars and the wizards bring more hardship to the people of Kirkwall. Hawke is caught in the crossfire of these political and social upheavals; what will be the hero’s path?…
Dragon Age II employs a “framed narrative” approach in which the story is presented by one of Hawke’s companions over a decade later. Like Alpha Protocol, the plot is somewhat fluid; motivations and events change depending on the player’s moral decisions during the game. The game also uses the “wheel-based” dialogue system from the Mass Effect games, which allows the player to select several tones and moods for Hawke. Similarly to Mass Effect, the race and name of the main character cannot be changed; however, everything else (look, gender, and class) can be freely personalized.
The combat system is very similar to that of the last Dragon Age game (which, in turn, is based on the combat technique employed in Baldur’s Gate) but has been substantially sped up. Hawke can only be human, but the player can alter their physical appearance and the character class (warrior, wizard, or rogue). The user controls Hawke and up to three active party members, either “programming” their actions (for example, healing a party member if his HP dips below 20%) or manually issuing commands to each character. The ability tree is similar, with the player gaining new abilities as the characters level up. Many skills from the original game are back, while some are missing or replaced by new ones. The talents are grouped into numerous disciplines that match the character’s combat style.
