Late Gamed: Dragon Age II

 As you'll find, I'm a bit of a late gamer. I rarely play anything upon its release, and usually have a stack of games I have yet to get into (not so different from the stacks of books I have about.) So I'm not so interested in giving any game a well-rounded review; there's plenty of wonderful sites and youtube channels that already do that for us. What I'm interested in is the "literary" merits of games. How well was the plot? the characters? etc.
And being a video game, there are certain aspects to it that make it a different animal rather than a book or a film, especially these titles Bioware churns out for us. (**and yeah, there'll be SPOILERS**)

And so it was, on a glorious late night last week, that I eked out the final moments of Bioware's latest Dragon Age installment. (Playing a game only a year late is something of a record for myself too... I'm catching up!)

I liked it. But I didn't love it. Or did I? I don't know.
Probably the best improvement from its predecessor, and something that ironically makes the game seem more enthralling, is having a voiced protagonist. No longer are we privy to dialogue that sounds like someone is on the phone; we hear instead of imagine complete conversations between characters. I say this is ironically more enthralling because, while the silent protagonist of DA: Origins let the player imagine what his or her character would sound like (a good thing), something about hearing your hero talk just feels so much better. Am I wrong? And I don't know who it was at Bioware that decided the visual dialogue choices shouldn't be the verbatim lines of the hero, but bravo. I wouldn't think it's an obvious thing while you'd be developing the game, but I imagine the alternative must have been a highly distasteful way of presenting the story (i.e. rehearing the protagonist say what we just read.)
 I suppose what merits could be said about this game would have to be gleaned from contrasting it to its predecessor. Bioware has a real solid IP with their Dragon Age universe, the political currents, racial tensions, and basic mythos work together to make the world feel enthralling, like it's much bigger than the narrative we see between the four corners of our screens. I feel like the developers covered all their bases in the first game, tried to make the story as broad, sweeping, and satisfactorily standalone as possible. But, in their sequel, we get a decidedly less epic tale, that focuses more on the personal, familial choices Hawke must make. Granted yes, much of those affect the world, but not in the way the Grey Warden did in Origins. Not necessarily worse. I found that with my Hawke for instance, most of my/his decisions were based around the protection of his mage sister, Bethany. So it was more personal in that way, but not quite as epic as the decisions I was faced with as a Warden in Origins.
But, having said that, I think the writer's might have made a few missteps in making the story that much more deep and burning to the player. In no way do the creator's fail at making interesting characters. Everyone that they introduce is placed upon you to take or leave with all the accompanying baggage (Try keeping Fenris and Anders happy simultaneously). But it seems that due to the nature of the beast (i.e. the tale of many paths and choices) that many characters, whom we expect and hope to see much of by the game's end, just fizzle out. Granted, I know it also depends upon which characters you invest in, and choose to side with, but who I feel the writers let down the most was this guy:

In DA:Origins, we had Loghain to hate, and for two-thirds of DAII it seemed we were really going hate the Arishok by the end. Not just hate him, but really see interesting twists and turns in the plot around him; I mean this guy was really intriguing after all his badassery. Every conversation with him hinged delightfully between a wary respect and fearful anticipation. But what the hell? Just as soon as he takes over Kirkwall we kill him? Damn. At least allow there to be a choice of whether or not his threat continues. And why wasn't Hawke's mother's death in any way related to this guy? That would have intensified the story that much more around a figure who, in so much of the promotional material, seemed as though he was shaping up to be the antagonist in which the final battle would revolve. I really think they missed out on some great opportunities with this character.
Having said that, I don't discount the mage-templar conflict we get by the tale's end, and the characters who embodied that conflict were certainly interesting in their own right. It was certainly a perplexing pickle to find yourself in, and the torture of finally choosing a side was enjoyable. This is where all these games shine (Mass effect, Dragon Age), when your pitted against opposing shades of gray, and you rarely ever feel completely comfortable with the side you choose. I felt my Hawke must side with the mages to protect his sister. But the consequences of the decision were tangible, even though I was more than happy to dispose of that asshole Fenris, whom I'm pretty sure I never fully accepted on a subconscious level because he was masquerading as our beloved Balthier.
So while I did enjoy it, and I cannot complain that I was not compelled to find out the characters' fates, I cannot say that by the time the credits began to role I felt as satisfied or intrigued as I had when I finished DA:Origins. Is it because, somewhere in the back of my mind I know there's a different ending out there? That there is alternative paths? Or was the plot just not focused enough? Or was it because I was no longer a stranger to Thedas? The problems of choice are certainly the nature of the beast with these games. We are in essence tasked along with the writers to write a part of the game ourselves, albeit perhaps small. I think that's amazing though! It's awesome to think that you, an audience member, can affect the play's outcome, but I think for my part I get too wrapped up in thinking about what might have been. I have come to the conclusion that with these games you should make just one save file and stick to it, pretend there is only one path to take in the game, yours.