Dragon Age 2: Redeux (My Second Playthrough)

My overall opinion of Dragon Age 2 shifted dramatically once I started my second playthrough, when I realized just how little was changing, how little effect I had on what was going on. I went from "passive approval" to "passively aggressive" concerning this game BioWare delivered, and I found no shortage of people who ended up hearing my rants about the game. (Even if they had no idea what Dragon Age was!) But, you know, I pressed on. I continued with my second playthrough, if only because I wondered just what might happen if I played fast and loose with my mage in Kirkwall. Would the templars eventually be forced to haul me off to the Circle or something to that effect? Would it make me a target in some other way?

In short, just how much really changed my second time through? (Possible spoilers ahead.)

The first obvious change was that Bethany bit it instead of Carver. The reason for this being that if you play as a mage, the majority of your companions would end up being mages if Bethany survived, and vice versa with the two melee classes. It's a shame that I only had as much attachment to the ill-fated sibling as I usually do with Jenkins at the beginning of Mass Effect 1. Maybe less; he really wanted to show the Alliance brass what he could do... and I admired him for that...

R.I.P.

Anyway, this provides most of the changes for the first act, since now we're going down into the Deep Roads for Hawke's sake, rather than Bethany's, even though that really wasn't something I'd choose to do. Ever. But I played a long for a while, did the fifty or so quests that pad Act One and got through without much changing, aside from Carver's banter about... things. He always seemed to be frustrated at everything I did, but I never could quite grasp why. Even after he disappears at the end of Act One, none of it really made much sense.

Act Two was a little different. There are some quests in Act One that come back to bite you in Act Two, so I went out of my way to make sure that I responded differently to each one. But on the whole, everything pretty much ended up back where it was before, and I got the same quests under different contexts. For instance, there was one quest that made you decide whether or not to send this mage to the Circle or to the Dalish. Last time, I chose the Dalish, this time I chose the Circle. To my surprise, you're stuck with the same quest to bring him back from the Fade in Act Two, with only one line changed to tell you that he's with the Circle. It didn't make much sense to me. I know there's the illusion of choice, but why layer on a bunch of choices that ultimately amount to nothing?

And I also noticed something else that was a little interesting. Dragon Age 2 really, really wants you to be thrown into moral dilemmas, to the point where it manufactures them based on how you respond to things. Like with Varric's brother, you get to a point where you can either spare him or take revenge on him. The first time I faced him, I wanted revenge, so I chose any response that made Hawke gung-ho to kill the bastard. That certain party member's response was something like, "No, Hawke, I can't do this! I thought I could, but now that I'm here... I just can't kill him." The second time I hit that part of the game, I was feeling a little more generous and voted to let the guy live, and, likewise, that certain party member changed his tone. "I can't let him live, Hawke. After all he's done, I'm not gonna let him walk away!"

Interesting.

The one thing that undoubtedly changed in Act Two was the romance, but that was a given. My Male-Hawke-Rogue romanced Isabela during my first playthrough - which might not work out to well for me in the long run - while my Fem-Hawke-Mage decided she had a thing for elves, and ended up romancing Fenris. Now, my reasons for doing this were twofold. 1) I think Fenris is the best thing to come out of Dragon Age 2, followed closely by Varric, followed closely by nothing. 2) Fenris really doesn't hide his hate for mages during his companion quests and regular banter throughout the game. I thought it would be interesting to see if he would actually fall in love with an apostate without a word for it. To my surprise, he does have something to say about it.

But only once.

For the most part, Fenris, whose whole reason for existing is to seek revenge on all things magic, just ends up not giving a flip that Hawke is a mage. It's just so funny to watch him dive into these tirades about the evils of magic, of mages, of the abominations they collectively create, while my mage just kinda stands there in the background, possibly pretending like she hadn't just heard what she thought she heard. "What does magic touch that it doesn't spoil?" he says, looking Hawke straight in the eyes. If only there'd been a *cough* option.

Act Three has been something to behold. Lest we forget (or haven't played yet), this is where everything comes to a head. The mages and templars are finally having it out in small ways: a slow build to the inevitable final battle between the two. The slap fight before the battle royale. A mage, an apostate even (possibly even a blood mage depending on your spec), has just become the Champion of Kirkwall after having saved the troubled city-state from the qunari threat. This merited such renown that a statue was built in Hawke's honor, and Kirkwall has become a place where everybody knows her name. They have all felt Hawke's influence because they're alive, and they're alive to feel that influence because of Hawke. She is Paul Revere, George Washington, and Keanu Reeves all wrapped into one.

But that's just not enough to put any part of the mage/templar debate to rest, apparently. Meredith and Orsino both talk to me like I've never casted anything in my life. Scratch that, Meredith did say one thing about my mage-hood (as a threat) and then went about lecturing me about the dangers of magic. Even Anders (during that certain collect quest) talks to me like I'd never known the plight of the mages firsthand. That I just couldn't understand. Ugh.

To summarize, I've made the discovery that Dragon Age 2 just doesn't change much (to state the obvious, after this long post). The decisions that the game poses aren't really decisions because, in the end, most players will end up at Square One, plus or minus their romance option. I can think of very few decisions (aside from the kill or not to kill missions) where your choices actually have a lingering effect. In fact, thinking about what will import over to DA3, I can't really figure out what they'd do!

Best case scenario here: BioWare learned that they can't pull something like this on the fans who have supported them for so long. The unfortunate thing is: we know just a little too well what they're capable of, and when they turn in a product that isn't up to snuff. Dragon Age 2 isn't up to snuff, and I hopefully won't be saying the same thing about Dragon Age 3.

KotOR Replay: Part Two: "Maybe next time, shlummie!"

I find it flattering that Carth Onasi decided to wait for me, even though I was the last crewman on board. He tells me that he's been keeping an eye on me through the ship's sensor, which he uses to help me defeat a contingent of Sith troopers. Why he didn't think to use those sensors to warn Trask of the Dark Jedi behind that door, I'll probably never know. But he did the same thing I would have done in his position.

Let's face it, Trask belongs in that Special Hell that Shepherd Book talked about.

We make it to the surface of Taris and Carth starts to lay out the situation. I start to remember why I love this man so much. It's clear that Raphael Sbarge took this role very seriously, and I've yet to hear any video game voice actor come even remotely close to matching what he did here with Carth. He has such a broad range here, it's amazing.

I also have to point out the music that plays in the abandoned apartment. This song conjures so many emotions it would be difficult to list them all. The apartment is where I first discovered how in depth the dialogue options can be, and it awestruck me. Have that song downloaded on my computer and I play it way more often than I should.

Anyway, I start making my way through Taris with Carth in tow. This city could have benefited from a few landmarks, because even now on my fifth or sixth playthrough I still get turned around here. Way too much blue, and all the doors and buildings look alike. But, to be honest, this wasn't a habit that Bioware shook off until Mass Effect 2.

I talk to the doctor, pick up the rakghoul serum quest, and immediately go to the next apartment complex to get me some Sith uniforms. The soldier guarding the Lower City elevator doesn't seem to notice that even though I'm disguised as one of them, Carth, however, is not. He more or less waves as we pass him by.

At the bottom of the lift, I clear out all the baddies in the next apartment complex to get my level up again. At the Lower City Cantina, I witness the stout awesomeness of Calo Nord. As Mister Buch has pointed out, he's the perfect killing machine: able to lure his victims in with humor before he guns them down. I always have to push my luck, and keep talking to him until he counts down to "Two." When he gets there, I back off.

"Smart."

Meet up with Mission Vao and Zaalbar for the first time. I still think it odd that Bioware decided to pair me and Carth up with an underaged member of a race universally seen as purveyors of sex.



I go about my business, take out a few more Black Vulkars, then return to the Upper City once I remember that I haven't bought that pazaak deck from that old guy. I loves me some pazaak. It's like a cool man's version of blackjack.

After visiting the Hidden Bek base and getting chewed out by Gadon's bodyguard, I head down to the Undercity to look for Mission, who I had just parted ways with. Jeeze.

Ride the lift down and I am accosted by a couple of beggars. I make threats I was perfectly willing to act on, and they go running.

"RUN, BROTHER! FLEEEE THIS ONE'S WRATH!"

KotOR Replay: Part One: "Damn, we could have used her help!"

After finishing up my KotOR fanfic, and talking to Mister Buch about all the great memories we created back on the Ebon Hawk, I decided I was going to do play Knights of the Old Republic for the first time in yeaaars.

I first tried to play the game on my Xbox 360, but the emulation for it was FUBAR. The frame rate skipped around incessantly. The sound cut out. The menus wouldn't react sometimes. It was terrible, and I didn't want it to put a damper on the experience. So, I pulled down my little "Box of Forgotten Dreams" from my closet. It was caked in dust and got me sneezing immediately. Inside I found my:

-Seeega Dreamcaaaast. Bought it brand new at the tail-end of Sega's bankruptcy period for just over $60. Was only able to get a few games for it. Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, NFL Blitz, and Tomb Raider. Wish I had been able to get more. One of my few regrets.

-Sony Playstation. No, not the PS-One; the giant one that looks like a weight scale. I still have the only games I ever played on it up on my shelf: Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Dragoon, Mega Man Legends, and Mega Man X4. Used to own a mod kit for it so I could play the Japanese version of Dragonball GT: Final Bout and DBZ: Ultimate Battle 22, back when getting the American versions required either a lot of money or a lot of misplaced hope.

-Nintendo Gamecube. The decline of Nintendo, in my mind, began with this console and it still hasn't ended. Not even with the Wii. The high-points in its many years on the market were few. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, TimeSplitters 2, and Resident Evil 4 were the only games that really defined that console to me.

At this point, you're probably wondering why I'm talking about these consoles and not KotOR. Well, that's because I played it just before bed and couldn't even make it to the escape pod before I fell asleep. Short Answer: Shut up, that's why. (jk! xD)

Finally pulled out the old Xbox, get it all hooked up, pressed the power button and it roared to life (quite literally, actually. I had forgotten how loud this beast could get). Pop in my old KotOR disc and boot up the game. It runs perfectly. Having my old controller back in my hands, hearing the Xbox whine and the main menu theme play...it was magical.

Checked my old saves and remembered that the goddamned Yavin DLC corrupted my first few playthroughs. All that remained was a file where I got as far as Taris, and my ex-girlfriend's file...harumph.

The game begins. I'm standing in my quarters on the Endar Spire after a rude awakening. Trask Ulgo bursts in and speaks in the lamest tone of voice I've ever heard in a game since the original Resident Evil. (Jill sandwich, anyone?) He tells me to get dressed, watches me as I do so, and starts ordering me to do practically everything.

"Save Bastila!"

"Unlock that door!"

"Now tell me to unlock that door! But say it in a sexy baritone...No! No time for that, man. But seriously--baritone..."

We unlock our way into the middle of a group of Sith. There are some Republic solders fighting them off, but Trask waits until our allies are dead before shouting "FOR THE REPUBLIC" like an idiot. He risks his life to save me, but won't help his own buddies when the odds are in his favor. Bastard. Anyway, I beat the Sith down with my little vibroblade and we move on.

Trask and I fight off a couple more Sith before we find ourselves in another crossfire. Once again, Trask opts to watch his fellow soldiers die before leading the charge. Bastard.

Next room over, we find a Jedi and a dark Jedi fighting it out. Once...again...Trask decided that we should watch them kill each other off. At this point, I'm beginning to wonder about Mister Ulgo. Oh, and then he has the nerve to say, "That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila. Damn, we could have used her help!" LIKE HE'S BLAMING ME! Bastard.

We continue on, clearing out the corridors and the ship's bridge. I level up, and that little jingle gives me a warm feeling inside.

Down the next corridor, Trask decides he wants to fight the Sith Lord instead of locking the door. The door slides shut, and you can hear two beginning to have at each other. I silently wish I could watch him die, just to get back at him for being the worst Samaritan I've ever seen.

To Be Continued...