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Dragon Age II

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Dragon Age ][
Developer(s)BioWare
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
SeriesDragon Age
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360[1]
Genre(s)Computer role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Dragon Age II is the upcoming sequel to the Dragon Age series and is set to be released on March 8, 2011 in North America and March 11, 2011[1] in Europe. Unlike Dragon Age: Origins, the main character's race cannot be changed; however, the gender and class can be modified. Hawke, the main character, is a fully voiced Lothering refugee who rises to power. Dragon Age II is set in the same world as Dragon Age: Origins, but takes place in the Free Marches.[1]

Plot

Dragon Age II centers around the main character named Hawke,[1] known to be a survivor from the Blight and the Champion of Kirkwall, who rises to power throughout the story. In the format of a framed story [3], Hawke's tale spans over a decade throughout the game and the player writes the history that will change the world forever.[1]

Choices that the player made in Dragon Age: Origins can be imported and reflected in the world of Dragon Age II.[4] Choices from Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening will also be imported, if the player decides to take this action.[5]

Characters

Some characters that can be found in Dragon Age II are:[6][7][8]

  1. Hawke: The main protagonist who rises to power to become the champion of Free Marches.
  2. Bethany: Hawke's sister and a mage.
  3. Carver: Hawke's brother and a warrior.
  4. Cassandra: A Chantry Seeker who is interested in Hawke.
  5. Varric: A dwarf who acts as a narrator.
  6. Flemeth: The notorious Witch of the Wilds that can be found in Dragon Age: Origins. She is the mother of Morrigan, who is a mage and party member to the Grey Warden protagonist in Dragon Age: Origins.
  7. Wesley: An injured Templar that Hawke encounters while fleeing Lothering.
  8. Aveline: Wesley's wife.
  9. Isabela: A captain of a pirate ship. She played a small part in Dragon Age: Origins in The Pearl in Denerim.
  10. Fenris: An elf who lost his memory to lyrium being infused into his flesh, also giving him power. He escaped from a Tevinter magister whom he was slave to. His former master refuses to leave him alone.



System requirements
Minimum Recommended
Windows[9]
Operating system Windows XP 32-bit with SP3, Windows Vista 32-bit with SP2, Windows 7 64-bit
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo (or equivalent) running at 1.8 GHz or greater, AMD Athlon 64 X2 (or equivalent) running at 1.8 GHz or greaterIntel Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz Processor or equivalent, AMD Phenom II X3 Triple core 2.8 GHz or equivalent
Memory 1 GB (1.5 GB Vista and Windows 7)2GB (4 GB Vista and Windows 7)
Free space 7 GB of free space
Graphics hardware Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB, NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS 256 MB cardsATI 3850 512 MB or greater (To run Direct X 11 - ATI 5850 or greater), NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB or greater (To run Direct X 11 - NVidia 460 or greater)
Sound hardware Direct X 9.0c Compatible Sound Card Windows

Creatures

Striders[10]
Giant creatures that stand on four massive legs that are also capable of poisoning other organisms. They are ancient guardians also known as "Varterral" created by Elven gods to protect their people though they cannot be seen in Dragon Age: Origins and its expansion pack. They do however appear in the Witch Hunt DLC for Dragon Age: Origins, in the last location before the player encounters Morrigan.

Places

Kirkwall

A city within the Free Marches named after the wall-like cliffs which it is built upon.[11]

Gallows

A former courtyard for execution by hanging in Kirkwall. Slaves used to see statues of tortured slaves upon entering from the docks.[12]

Hightown

Where the wealthy live in Kirkwall. The surrounding walls are impenetrable. The stairs, however, are what would often let Hightown hold out for months after Lowtown would be taken during a war. Narrow stairs that connect to Lowtown are the only way in and out.[13]

Lowtown

The poor live in Lowtown in the shantytowns surrounded by a man-made harbor. Slaves once were quartered within the pit that is Lowtown. Darktown is the city's sewer system where the most unfortunate reside. [14]

Features

The protagonist of Dragon Age II is a human character named Hawke,[1] whose class and gender can be changed.[1] Dragon Age II boasts a new cinematic experience,[2] based on an updated engine and a non-linear framed narrative story, mainly based on main character's decisions.[1] [2] Romance is reportedly possible with party members or with non-player characters throughout the game.[1] New combat experiences and spells have been added.[1] Dragon Age II is set in a new area known as Free Marches, which is referenced in Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening but not shown.[1] Unlike Origins, Dragon Age II features a fully voiced main character.[1] A new city called Kirkwall [1] and a new dialogue wheel based on the dialogue system from the Mass Effect series have been added.[15] In addition, races such as the elves, dwarves and qunari are being redesigned.[2] The game takes place across a decade,[2] and saved information can be imported from Origins as well as Awakening. This data will reportedly affect the story of Dragon Age II.[2]

Development

Dragon Age II was announced in July 2010[16] and BioWare's Greg Zeschuk stated when interviewed by Joystiq that "I think one of the key things we're working on in Dragon Age II is the technology. I can confirm that we're doing a lot of work on the Dragon Age engine, and doing a lot of stuff to pump it -- to make it visually super hot."

File:Kicking-ass-in-dragon-age-2-20100817080847944 640w.jpg
A screenshot of combat with an ogre in Dragon Age II
File:Thedasmap wallpaper 1600x1200.jpg
The Dragon Age II Map - Free Marches[1]

A trailer for Dragon Age II was released on August 17, 2010,[1] showing some of the new characters and places that Dragon Age II will be based on.

Dragon Age II will be using an enhanced graphic engine and the controls are more responsive. The combat system will be same as the previous game for the PC version but different in console versions, tailored to the strengths of the control pad.[15]

A special feature of Dragon Age II is that whereas the story from Dragon Age: Origins ran its course over a period of two years, here the story will span a decade and as the main character moves on year by year, the choices that the player made in past will affect the present and the future.[17]

The previous dialogue system will be replaced by the "wheel" system seen in the Mass Effect series. Unlike its original version, however, the "wheel" will now clearly indicate what tone the main character's response will have(such as anger and flirting).[15]

BioWare expects to release Dragon Age II on March 8, 2011 in North America and March 11 in Europe.


References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Dragon Age 2, Game Info, Questions". BioWare. EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "IGN". IGN. IGN. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  3. ^ GamePro, Issue #286, January 2011. pg. 38-40
  4. ^ Kotaku: "Dragon Age 2 Following In Mass Effect’s Footsteps"
  5. ^ BioWare Forums
  6. ^ "dragon_age_2". Gamestar. gamestar. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  7. ^ http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/world/characters/isabela/
  8. ^ http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/world/characters/fenris/
  9. ^ "Dragon Age 2 System Requirements". Game-Debate. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  10. ^ "creatures". Bioware. EA Games. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  11. ^ http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/world/environments/kirkwall/
  12. ^ http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/world/environments/gallows/
  13. ^ http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/world/environments/hightown/
  14. ^ http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/world/environments/lowtown/
  15. ^ a b c "dragon-age-2-following-in-mass-effects-footsteps". Kotaku. Kotaku. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  16. ^ "Peek behind the scenes of Dragon Age II's development with a keen developer diary". BioWare. EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  17. ^ "hands-on-with-dragon-age-2". G4tv. g4tv. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
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