The Problem With Dragon Age 2

Well, besides the gratuitous recycling of the same maps over and over and over again, that is.

The narrative in Dragon Age 2 is a huge problem. Which is surprising - this is a Bioware game, after all.

For those that are not aware, Dragon Age 2 begins at around the same time Dragon Age: Origins begins. You are Hawke, a character that is escaping Ferelden with their family. You make the choice to escape Kirkwall - a city across the ocean. Once you arrive, you have to claw your way up into infamy over the course of 10 years. Game time, of course.

Whenever Bioware spoke about Dragon Age 2, the key word seemed to be 'personal'. That the story of Dragon Age 2 was a personal one, all about Hawke, being retold by his friend (or rival) the dwarf named Varric. The whole retelling is interesting - your choices in each act change the way the story is told. However, things take a turn for the worst as the game comes to a close. Literally.

All the way up to the end the story IS personal. It sees you going from street urchin doing somebody elses dirty work, to respected worker, to renowned noble, to the Champion of Kirkwall. But in the final 3 minutes of the game, everything is turned on its head. Your purpose in the narrative, it seemed, was only accidental. The entire story was being told because of two factions going to war, and you were at the center of it despite what you may have desired otherwise. The game is personal. The closing credits are anything but. And it is extremely, extremely disappointing.

Do not go in expecting any Dragon Age: Origins-esque prologue. The story ends with the story of what happens with these two factions, and Hawke simply disappears. Leaving behind nothing but loose ends and no answers for all those choices you made. Guess if you want to know what happens - the REAL ending - you'll have to buy the inevitable DLC or expansion, huh?

If there is anything I learned from Dragon Age 2, it's that if you are going to start with a narrative - end with that narrative. Do not make an entire game about a character and then end it talking about anything but. It's not satisfying.



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