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Dragon Age 2 dialogue choice simplified

Three icons: good, nasty, "badass".

BioWare has whittled Dragon Age 2 conversation choices down to three.

"Good" responses will be earmarked with an olive branch, "nasty" answers by a Greek comedy mask and "badass" by a red fist, according to IGN.

Also, at key points during dialogue there will sometimes appear an option to allow a companion to handle a situation in a cinematic way. An example given was a group of orcs being literally sliced to pieces during a cut-scene by either Hawke or the female companion - whoever you opted for.

Real-time combat will also apparently catch the eye, as limbs fly and torsos are severed. And looks are a large part of what BioWare wanted to address with Dragon Age 2, particularly the console versions. IGN - seeing the game at Comic-Con - described a "subtle, comic-book look" that made the game stand out.

BioWare announced a March 2011 date for Dragon Age 2 earlier this month. With it came the promise of "introducing a more dynamic combat system, improving the graphics and telling the most important story in a world".

Game Informer has the only two screenshots released so far.