From Refugee to Champion!


    I have increasingly filled my free time by playing video games over the past few months starting with Mass Effect 2 and then moving on to Dragon Age: Origins. Both RPG games are from the same company EA Games/Bioware. On March 8, 2011, the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins was released, and now Dragon Age 2 has consumed quite a bit of my attention.

    As in all things, there are online whiners bemoaning changes made in the sequel that differ from the original Dragon Age, but I actually appreciate most of what has been incorporated into Dragon Age 2. Everything is improved in my opinion, from the visual graphics, to vastly improved combat action and especially having a fully-voiced character to portray is much better.

    Each of these games are built upon richly realized storytelling concepts that flesh out fantasy worlds for the gamer to discover, and all are predicated on similar "morality" choices where each action that you take can have real bearing on how the game progresses and ultimately these choices even determine how the ending will play out. Fascinating stuff indeed!

    Dragon Age 2 is set primarily within the city of Kirkwall and its immediate environs, where as either a male or female character named Hawke, you rise to become the Champion of the city. Kirkwall is very polarized between diverse political factions and as you maneuver through the interworkings of the religious order known as the Chantry, the militant watchdogs of the Templar Order and their potentially dangerous charges in the Circle of Mages; you will be forced to decide where you stand in the mix. Adding additional tension to this minefield is an ideologically opposed race known as the Qunari, who are encamped in a section of the city, shipwrecked by a powerful storm and cast as convenient villains by rebellious elements surreptitiously pulling strings inside the Chantry itself. Of course, all of these factions build toward the explosive climax where even some of your friends may turn on you at the moment you least expect.

    Gamers have the option to customize their characters appearance, but its perhaps better to choose between the default male or female Hawke at the beginning, leaving only your chosen class up in the air. You are able to play as either a mage, a warrior or a rogue and each has its own unique combat style and attributes. I've played through the game as a male mage and a female warrior, and am currently about halfway through as a male rogue. I'm enjoying the whole process of acquiring the Champion Armor sets in order to see how the set varies for each class.

    The image (above) shows the companions that you recruit throughout the game. Top row (left-to-right): Aveline - a female warrior; Varric - a male dwarf archer; Isabela - a busty female pirate and Merrill - a female elf mage. Middle row (left-to-right): Fenris - a male elf warrior; Anders - a male mage & former Grey Warden; Sebastian - a male archer and Bethany (your characters sister) - who is an apostate mage. Bottom row (left-to-right): Carver (your characters brother) - a young warrior with a chip on his shoulder and the default female/male appearances of Hawke.

    These games are for anyone who likes high fantasy, big budget movie blockbusters and thrill-a-minute action at the press of a button. Recommended!
    Source URL: https://galgadots.blogspot.com/2011/03/from-refugee-to-champion.html
    Visit Gal Gadot for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Blog Archive