First Dragon Age 2 details hit

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 8 July, 2010

Updated with even more detail.

Update: The Dragon Age 2 website has been updated with an exciting bullet point list of new features. We've copied them.

  • Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.
  • Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.
  • Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
  • Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.
  • Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.

The site tells us the first trailer will hit on 17th August, which coincides with German gameshow gamescom.

Original story: In BioWare's role-playing sequel Dragon Age 2 players will assume the role of "a new hero", US mag Game Informer has revealed.

It's set in a different part of the huge fantasy world Dragon Age calls home. Whether that means a different part of Ferelden or a new continent, we're not sure.

"Last year, BioWare and EA introduced gamers to a vast new fantasy world with Dragon Age: Origins," says the magazine's site.

1

"Now, after an expansion and plenty of DLC, the renowned RPG developer is ready to unveil the next chapter in the Dragon Age saga. Dragon Age II is a full-fledged sequel, featuring a new hero, a different part of the world, and a ton of surprising improvements that will shed even more light on the lore of the Dragon Age universe."

Does "a new hero" mean you won't be able to import your Dragon Age 1 character into the game?

Release date and platform information is yet to be revealed, but back in March BioWare singled out 1st February 2011 as a significant date for the Dragon Age series. The numbers "02.01.2011" were printed on a leaflet inside the US Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening retail box, above a familiar blood-red dragon.

Dragon Age: Origins was a dark and bloody fantasy RPG in which you could have sex with almost everybody. The dragons, though, were off limits. Our game page has more on the original.

I wonder if you can have sex with her.
I wonder if you can have sex with her.

1/3 I wonder if you can have sex with her.

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Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • gamerBOB #1 2 years ago

    "back in March BioWare singled out 2nd February 2011 as a significant date for the Dragon Age series. The numbers "02.01.2011" were printed on a leaflet inside the US Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening retail box, above a familiar blood-red dragon."

    Doesn't it mean 2nd January or 1st February if it's in US format?

  • wyp100 #2 2 years ago

    Yes!

  • tolanri #3 2 years ago

    "Dragon Age: Origins was a dark and bloody fantasy RPG in which you could have sex with almost everybody."

    Perfect description you got there... :-/ I mean seriously, is that first thought that comes to your mind when you hear Dragon Age Origins? And in fact this is wrong, you could only have sex with some of your companions...

  • Centrifugal #4 2 years ago

    I hope you can't import your character. This current fad really needs to go away. If you want a continuous character, play an MMO

    Continuous fad? The only game I've seen do it is Mass Effect, and Bioware pulls that off perfectly. If anything, I think more games developers should start doing it.

  • rojjer #5 2 years ago

    @plusmlook

    imo it needs to stay. If someone puts a large amount of time into building their character, only to have to do it again when the next iteration comes out (admittedly, you still had to level up from *near* scratch in Mass Effect 2) it can be quite annoying. As long as you don't get a huge boost like keeping all your EXP and weapons etc. then its fine. As said above, Bioware handled it brilliantly for ME: 2

  • Eraysor #6 2 years ago

    Do want. I might give the original another run through and try not to do so badly!

    EDIT: I do hope they improve the environments a bit and make them a little less bland; they should look to some of the prettier WoW instances for inspiration.
    Edited by Eraysor at 08/07/10 @ 13:57

  • deadmonkeyuk #7 2 years ago

    I am not attached to my hero in Dragon Age as I was in Mass Effect. But I think it would be great for your hero in DA1 to be a party member in Dragon Age 2.

  • Diogo_Ribeiro #8 2 years ago

    Can't say I wasn't expecting it, although I personally don't have much curiosity. The first seemed like the best and worst of Bioware, wherein they finally showed they understood criticism at their past games (when said criticism was made, of course; certainly not from the majority of the press). On one hand the combat was a pleasant surprise, with many more tactical layers than their previous games; and the world seemed to have some genuine thought put into it across some areas; and finally, choice and consequence that wasn't utter tosh. On the other, it's still pumping out the same carbon copy characters, the same "special one" storyline, the same excessive dialogue which bores before it appeals.

    I remember being critical of japanese RPGs in the past because of their overwrought dialogue and inane characterization, but most western developers aren't getting much better. I'm sure it works for their "audience", whatever it may have become over the years, but I certainly don't see myself investing in another Bioware RPG where I'm somehow supposed to feel emotion for characters with poor acting, forced relationships and hours of meandering dialogue that could have been condensed into much clearer and poignant banter.

    I suppose the days where short and sweet combat taunts were enough to "get" the personalities of our party are over, but this goddamn isn't the holodeck from Star Trek. It's that reality show from Fahrenheit 451 taken to its boring, boorish extreme.

  • Boomerang #9 2 years ago

    The "previous saves" thing has been used for ages. Gran Turismo 2 on the PS1 used it effectively, which meant that people who had done all the licence tests in the first game didn't have to do the whole bloody lot again.

    As has been said, if it adds something that rewards you for your hard work (and loyalty in buying a previous game), then why not?

  • NewbieZilla #10 2 years ago

    "It's set in a different part of Ferelden, the huge fantasy world Dragon Age calls home."

    Is it definitely a different part of Ferelden, or a different part of Thedas? I've seen enough of Ferelden that I don't need a new game set there. Thought Awakening was ace, if they have more to show there, they ought to do it as DLC. So, again, is it Ferelden or somewhere else in Thedas?

  • GamesConnoisseur #11 2 years ago

    Importing character made more sense in Mass Effect due to trilogy story arc, and would made less sense to start afresh in each episode. But yes pulled off well as to how your level ups/ stats are reset from first episode.

    The best rationale I had seen yet!!

    Though with Dragon Age, I rather they ended the Warden main character storyline, and only becomes a part of the background. Fine if import only so you could see the character as talking head NPC.

    Starts the sequel afresh with new character, new storyline and get fun again of levelling up from nothing in a new setting.

  • TeaFiend #12 2 years ago

    Importing characters is nothing new. I remember doing it when I was like 13.

    I can see reasons why your character could not be imported. Different place and all that. No doubt the original character is off doing something heroic, rather than suddenly appearing on some farm/slum/village devoid of their powers and equipment. How would they explain that beyond "A wizard did it."

  • Quint2020 #13 2 years ago

    As long as the Xbox version isn't as technically neutered as it was in the first game I may actually buy this.

  • ignatiusjreilly #14 2 years ago

    If I carry on with the same character, I hope DA:o2 brings some improvement to my clearly stuck-on cardboard beard.

    I'm sure all the other NPCs were laughing at me behind my back :(

  • davisorle #15 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 20:44:35 16-04-2012

  • ChthonicEcho #16 2 years ago

    @NewbieZilla

    I'm fairly certain Wesley just confused Thedas with Ferelden. He refers to it as a world, whereas it was not even a full continent.

  • Farzlepot #17 2 years ago

    Dragon Age: Origins.

    A fantastic game. But the first things that come to mind when somebody mentions it, as demonstrated by this very article, are blood and sex.

    I had no idea Bioware were into fetishes like that.

  • Turrican #18 2 years ago

    My thinking on the sequel is that they will import your DA1 character's decisions into the lore of the game, so you will hear references to his acts even if he has long since passed away. For instance, Dwarf rule choices, leadership, who lived and died, all the things you see in the epilogue at the end of the game.

    As for who you will play? Well presuming they don't split the start into origins again, I am confident that you will be the child of Morrigan who in the canon ending disappeared pregnant with your special seed. Seemed at the time a direct path to the sequel, and if you don't play that character then it will probably be the main villain.

  • icematt12 #19 2 years ago

    Shepard's just as bad though. Whilst investigating Saren and a Reaper threat, aboard the Normandy he spent a lot of time trying to charm an Asari virgin. I didn't realise sex was such a popular stress relief for heroes (whlst typing this sentence I suddenly remembered Fable 2 which encourages you to commit adultery, have a threesome and become a bigamist).

  • NewbieZilla #20 2 years ago

    I find it funny people commenting on how good or bad the characters they are roleplaying about. Er, it is ye who bring that stuff to the game. Projection much?

  • metalangel #21 2 years ago

    Proper dark elves in this one please!

  • Paperghost #22 2 years ago

    i like the way the elf woman is drawn - it also reminds me a lot of some of the art from the older final fantasy games.

  • Alivada #23 2 years ago

    I don't care if you play as a sheep, if it has more morrigan then I'm sold.

  • CaoSlayer #24 2 years ago

    Let me guess, the main character is someone son that you would know if you had beaten the first game..

  • Acrid #25 2 years ago

    "shapes itself around every decision you make."

    We've heard this before many, many times and we're still waiting to see it actually happen in a game.
    I'm interested to see what BW actually do with this touted feature.

  • Jonathan_Fakenham #26 2 years ago

    Funny how the original has a subtitle, but the sequel has not.
    It's like going from Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy to Jak II all over again.

  • Paperghost #27 2 years ago

    ""shapes itself around every decision you make."

    We've heard this before many, many times and we're still waiting to see it actually happen in a game.
    I'm interested to see what BW actually do with this touted feature."

    Alpha Protocol did actually manage this better than most games I've ever seen claim to do it.

    edit - oh, and chris priestly has confirmed on the bioware forums that the new game is single player only.

    http://bit.ly/cKTrin
    Edited by Paperghost at 08/07/10 @ 16:18

  • coomber #28 2 years ago

    Hope you're right, Turrican. Also I didn't know that the ending you mentioned was the 'canon' one. Nice to hear that as it was the one I went for. (Couldn't finish the final fight without a certain NPC being in my squad!)

  • NewbieZilla #29 2 years ago

    Paperghost

    Good. No stupid multiplayer

    coomber

    "Nice to hear that as it was the one I went for."

    The one? You only cleared it once?

  • albinac #30 2 years ago

    i loved the first dragons age:origins and finished it 100% before the exspansion pack came out. didnt buy the ex pack out of principal(didnt agree on the price for what they were offerring,it wasnt worth it) and wouldnt mind buy a full fledged sequall for 70€. i expect it to last as long as the first game and the same amount of dept to the characters as well. the battle mechanics definitely need to be improved and i would like to port over my character from the first game if at all possible considerring the amount of work i put into the character.

  • NewbieZilla #31 2 years ago

    albinac, you can get Awakening on a disc. And you'll surely find it for a good price at this stage. Its worth owning.

  • chrisola #32 2 years ago

    i - pause and micro manage 'AI' - hope - pause and micro manage 'AI' - they - pause and micro manage 'AI' - improve - pause and micro manage 'AI' - the - pause and micro manage 'AI' - combat - pause and micro manage 'AI' - and - pause and micro manage 'AI' - the - pause and micro manage 'AI' - rubbish - pause and micro manage 'AI' - party - pause and micro manage 'AI' - AI - pause and micro manage 'AI' - .