I agree with most of your crits especially the lousy interface and inventory(I thought W1 was much better)....BUT your gonna get slack from these FANBOYS because of the tone of your post!! Its different i liked it at first and was all google eyed I left it before even starting ch 3. Just waiting for the Director's cut myself. The devs were over ambitious and greedy to make this into a console dumbdown RPG and I hope theylearn their lesson!!

I don't blame DA2 players(fanboys) for becoming dumb by playing a inheritable dumb game, I blame the dumb fuckers who released the dumb game.

-Edit-

(More fun! ;) )

Can you explain us a fight in Dragon Age 2 which you liked, which character class you played and your companions!. Lets say..a fight in the deep roads against the The Ancient Rock Wraith (boss)!.

How do you compare this combat in nightmare mode, against your best or similar combat in Witcher 2. (which part rocked in Dragon Age 2, which part you felt was comparatively bad Witcher 2 and how do you propose Witcher 2 should be).

You call a company that spent over 2 million dollars of it's own money to release the Enhanced Edition for free, and that doesn't charge for DLC or new features "greedy"?

I can understand some people not liking the game, everyone is different, but to call a company like CD Projekt greedy doesn't give you much credibility.

-Warning I already posted this in some other location..but posting it again-

Players who are accustomed to a longer linear game play experience, won't understand the game. Their mis-conceptualized view which didn't exist while playing the game (in prologue, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) is being brought up immediately after the screen closes; against the length of Chapter 3.

Did you feel that the game was short, while playing in the prologue!
Did you feel that the game was short, while playing in Chapter 1!
Did you feel that the game was short, while playing in Chapter 2!

This is something on the lines of an article which I read recently (I specify and stress the word "Something on the lines")

Source ->
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/rage/b/pc/archive/2011/08/18/rage-s-amazing-ai-is-no-accident.aspx

Quote from that article which caught my eye and its pretty long
"Willits says that when id was focus testing the game, they brought in players who didn’t know what they’d be playing in advance. After checking out the game, id asked for feedback. One player cited experience with another AAA shooter, which shall remain nameless, and offered feedback. According to Willits, this player said that he was used to games where when you shot the bad guys, they died instantly. While playing Rage, he noticed a few enemies fell to the ground, supposedly dead, only to take a few last shots. Was id going to fix this bug? Willits shakes his head and laughs while he’s telling the story. It’s clear that he’s proud of the work id has done – even if some less-informed players confuse smart, dynamic AI with a broken game – and he has every right to be."

It's not about fanboy or tone, it just most of his review consist of negative points. There are almost no good or positive thing written by him. And that greedy part i think that was a bit silly.

I have 3 playthroughs of DA2, all classes, I've tried all combinations of companions. I insist on nightmare because of the friendly fire which makes everything a lot more challenging - you can't just spam AOEs and charge in guns blazing. For instance I've read a lot of criticisms of the fact that enemies come out of nowhere wave after wave - I love it. Take the thugs in Kirkwall at night - you can wipe out the first wave with AOEs, but then the next one spawns all around you and if you don't micromanage effectively you will get swarmed. On my first playthrough as a rogue (before the patches which made things a lot easier) I had to replay almost every fight and for the Rock Wraith - extremely fun and challenging battle - I had to go down to hard because I came in with no potions.

As for TW2, well it's a different style of combat altogether and I don't know why everyone seems to compare the two. Best experience? Well none, since I like my Geralt to actually respond to my controls and not just stand there getting pummeled - see my "wall of text".

As I said, only got to the Letho fight and I'm heading off to university tomorrow so I can't really comment on the length.

Both the games are sold as roleplaying genre games and in the span of this current year they have been only FEW* games as AAA titles, hence the games are compared citing that genre and category.

The ones who didn't like DA2 (like myself) after playing it, tend to compare this game to something which we liked (Witcher 2). It may be many reasons..but to me I am just looking for quality end product experience.

My reason for hating DA2 apart from the cock and bull storyline, is mainly the combat.
1. Super fast flashy animations(like swinging two handed sword like a light saber)
2. Unrealistic and unconvincing attack animations
3. Repeated style (mainly because combat is too fast and it play's through all the existing attack animation set)
4. Skills which doesn't fit the ambiance (how would a lightning storm or a firestorm_fireball shooting from above gather inside a house!)
5. Skills which doesn't make sense; AKA cross-class combos...why can't a mage freeze (brittle) an enemy and get extreme bonus/kill the same with a powerful stone fist!. Why is mandatory that only a figher or rogue can see the **brittle part advantage!.
6. Why is that the only difference between difficulty is not how you use the skill but how many times you use the skill (even with normal attacks, a rogue has to hit 10x or 20x times more to kill a powerful monster. Its like someone hitting a rock!),
7. Why is backstab replaced by a blinkstab!, but the name still mentions backstab.
8. Why is there no blood spitting forth when an enemy is taking damage!, but they grib/explode to neatly cut body pieces!. (extremely irritating when a rogue does blinkstab*, one touch of the knife/dagger and BOOM body parts)

The game has so many elements, I can very well write up 100+ points just against combat...overally its just dumbed*** pretty much to how a toddler plays with its toys(consolised_streamlined combat), but with added* gore + cheap mature content to get the game going hardcore/mature tag.

The game is very unconvincing!...that is not something I expect from a game which is AAA title, coming from bio ware, with RPG elements (where I cannot even change gear of my companions, no descriptions for items/lore broken roleplay!), etc etc etc...

Game is just below par_average. But the way the game had been portrayed by the developers, publishers, review sites..I got the game, played it and was extremely disappointed. It has no replay value what so ever in terms of roleplaying, nor combat which was in the appreciating region.

-Edit-

I typed from something to somewhere, shit.. (blame it on DA2_I hate that bloody game)

-Edited (spelling mistakes)-

I apologize for that overstatement perhaps change greedy to "capitalistic opportunists" would be more appropiate. I think understanding the "tone" of a posts and throwing it out it as liken it to throwing out the baby with the bath water.

For all the glory heaped unto CDP for its true to the art of PC RPG and its offering of all the freebies is really a ploy to cover their butts and soothe the outrage of dumbing down the game for an Xbox player!! so greedy maybe NO, SLY maybe yes!!

And as far as another poster here has replied that the review is all negative does not negate the points he takes and his "frustration" with the game and his expectations of it are explicit. Does he have to give you the medicine "with a spoonful of sugar" so you can swallow it?

So you put forth a review, just until this progression!. (saint) ..double confirmed it.

-Edited (spelling mistakes)-

It makes me wonder what planet do you live on. Every time I come across one of you post my mind boggles. How could someone be so wrong and so vicious about it at the same time... and then defend himself with saying that anyone saying anything different is a fan boy.

Well then if I am a fanboy then you are a troll and a hater and I must admit your avatar suits you well in that matter.

I mean I know I am wasting my time even making this comment, but if the developers are greedy then I would not attempt to name what you are on a risk of being banned from this forum...
+1 right there my friend...

Especially the part about the developers, on a principle I dislike to extreme people who piss on me and tell me it's raining (and this is what BioWare did with the way they presented and marketed DA2)

Very well said, but I suppose BioDrones will be BioDrones.

1-3 So you don't like the fast combat. Idk, I like better than the Origins fights - added speed increases the feeling that you're in a fight - you tell your chars to attack and by god do they attack!
4 Umm the storm is inside the house? It's a small storm :)
5 True, but there are so many combos - almost every skill is paired with an effect to augment it, that you can't really complain
6 Not sure what you mean. Are you saying that skills in TW2 (not that I've encountered any) do different things depending on the difficulty? I did my mage playthrough on hard because it allowed me to blitz through almost every fight with one character - a nice counterbalance to the micromanagement of nightmare.
7 What? This is just nitpicking - he still backstabs the guy!
8 This was fixed in a patch.

Not having equipment on other chars pissed me off to no end, so agree with you on that one.

And how do you expect Bioware to portray their game?? Hey look at our newest RPG, it sucks balls, buy it now!! wait..what? This also goes for you Ebon-hawk

What exactly are you trying to say here?

I expect them to maintain a hint of truth.
Tell me what it is BEFORE I buy it and not piss on me and tell me that's actually a rain.

The main difference between DA2 and TW2 is that DA2 (or DAO for that matter) is an high fantasy game set in a ripped off fantasy universe that is dark by name only. The Witcher (or the Witcher 2 by extend) actually are dark fantasy role playing game (though it is based on a previously created universe).

It's like with being a lady, if you need to keep reminding people you are... well you really aren't are you? Or better yet, some time ago (probably before the MW generation of fast gamers with no content was born) there used to be 100% orange juice that was 100% orange juice by actual name (yes that was it's name) and not by the content.

This is what BioWare games are turning into, a generic low quality wanna be RPGs that are called dark fantasy RPGs and say they respect your choices and decisions but that is actually the name of the game and the name of the advertising campaign and not the actual content.

I have been playing video games for 28+ years (I started when I was 7) I have seen a lot during my time and there is nothing legendary or revolutionary about what BioWare does, the modern generation that never played a better game (because they do not have the choice or the history available to them) say those are best game ever... they are not.

But hey, you are entitled to your opinion and people like different things... I acknowlege that, so feel free to go on and share love for AC2 or DAO/DA2 and let me stick to the Witcher, do not try to turn my hobby into yours because you want to play DA:Witcher and I will return the favour by not wanting to see a dark, serious, mature story in the crap that BioWare produces... (seriously... giant terminators harvesting human cells for some weird purpose or dark fantasy that is a rip off of Dune, Dark Ages history and few other well known books is neither original nor well thought out or written).

4. Immersion breaking.
5. Er...still is it so hard to logically explain that a frozen/brittle target should take more damage from a physical 'Stone Fist' attack!. (all the other forced* combo class skills are similar)
6. Thou this behavior is present in other RPG games, its less portrayed in less intensity and obviousness than in DA2...which its exaggerated like its the main purpose of the difficulty level.
7. I never knew rogue's or thiefs can instantly teleport behind enemies and do the act* of stabbing for more damage (honestly, this ain't nitpicking...this is the breaking the rules of the anything logical!) Is there any explanation how a rogue can do it and a mage can't (teleport behind their enemies). I have played lets say...games from quite some time, never I have seen a backstab(in a good game) which involves teleporting behind enemies in a flash and doing the act. (its really the most idiotic thing I have ever seen).
8. Fixed in patch, partly..but still body parts fly left and right...

More or less.

I made some spelling mistakes in my own post, hence edited my own post to change the spellings. Its something like a tag to mention "hey I edited it".

-Edit-

Hey don't take this up personally, but really DA2 is just bad overall. If they had released the game under a different name not riding on DA:O...or neither had references of DA:O in any fields (story, gameplay etc etc) I would have enjoyed the game*.

-Edited-

Alright - 5 No it's not hard, but I'm saying that you can't expect them to have put every combo possible in there, they already have a ton.
7 - Then what do you say to Vendetta - instant backstab from anywhere on the map and Back-to-back where a rogue can teleport to any party member at any time (I believe Merrill has that too, though I've never used it). Hey maybe it's because the Fade is weak in Kirkwall - anyone can enter it at one point and leave at another :)

"So you put forth a review, just until this progression!. (saint) ..double confirmed it."
I was referring to this part lol, I know what spelling mistakes are haha

I agree with you that DA2 is bad OVERALL - the good qualities hardly make up for the bad ones, I'm just saying it does have good qualities At the end of the day however, the fact that I managed 3 playthroughs of DA2 and can't even do 1/3 of TW2 is why I gave it a 3/10 (I'd give DA2 maybe a..7? though I'd need to think more about it)