Darkspawn be damned, we’re in

dragon country
Review: Dragon Age 2 (PC)

By Cody Klyne, Arts Editor

y gut reaction is to say that I
loved Dragon Age 2 (DA2).
From its dynamic combat

and engaging overarching narrative, to
its deeply customizable ability system,
the tweaks and changes in this sequel
to 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins (DAO)
combine to provide a less daunting and
ultimately more organic role-playing
experience.

Where things get muddy for me
critically is if these changes feel like the
right direction for a franchise that, until
recently, seemed more closely reminiscent
of classic games like Baldur's Gate 2 and
Planescape: Torment as opposed to more
modern fare. Is DA2 simply following the
Bioware signature recipe (a-la last year’s
Mass Effect 2) or is it truly a step forward?
The answer: a surprising combination of
the two.

Right off the bat, one of the most
talked about features from its predecessor,
the ability to play through a multitude
of interestingly varied character origin
stories, was cut. Instead, players are
shoehorned into the role of “insert name
here” Hawke. A runaway from the
blight-wrecked town of Loathering, the
adventures of the future “Champion” has
humble beginnings.

While I appreciated being referred
to by name over the course of what
could easily be a 40+ hour adventure
(particularly in cases where my
unfortunate enemies would curse my
intervention on whatever harebrained
scheme I was thwarting.) I couldn’t help
but miss the colourful back stories of
my dwarf nobleman and impoverished
elf from DAO. To make up for this
imposed lack of player direction, while
still very much a linear experience, the
story gains something from the fact that
your adventures are couched in a meta-
narrative; a story being told at a later day
and time by one of the party members
met early on. Besides acting as a reprieve
from the meat of the adventure, these
dialogue heavy cut scenes provide some
foreshadowing for what’s to come beyond
the end of the game proper and force
players to question the honesty of the
narrator for good or bad. This brings me
to my next point and one of Bioware’s
greatest strengths as a developer: dialogue
and characters.

Much like DAO, DA2 is chalked
full of interesting, complex, and
thoughtful characters. While certain
archetypes remain— sarcastic sidekick,
haughty nihilist, and the busty love

interest—there’s enough variety, humour
and sincerity at the core of character
attitudes and motivations that make this
sequel’s treatment of relationships, and
the significance of your party members,

a more satisfying experience. Unlike

in its predecessor where one could
potentially anger a companion to the point
of their leaving the group (essentially
removing themselves from the game,)
DA2 introduces the much more liberal
“friend or rival” system. Depending on
your responses, actions, and treatment of
non-critical characters through side quests,
companions will gain points towards
becoming your friend or rival.

What’s interesting here is that,
depending on which camp any given
character is in, characters receive a stat
boost reflecting their perspective of you.
Treat the naive Dalish mage Merrill like
an ignorant wide-eyed child? She receives
the “outcast” status and +10% to damage
resistance. While this sort of thing has little
bearing on whether or not they will support
you (they will always support you) the list
of bonuses derived from this alignment is
pretty impressive and can act as a deciding
factor, and perhaps even persuade players
to make decisions they might not have
otherwise considered, depending on who
they’re with at any given time. Tied-in as
part of the expansive skill tree, this change
in particular helps to make up for not being
able to customize and develop your party
in other ways (such as the inability to
change the majority of their equipment).

Much like DAO, combat in DA2
can be as fast or as plodding as desired.
Utilizing the same pause mechanic
to freeze combat in motion, enemy
encounters feel just as rewarding as ever...
if only a little less strategic. While I admit
to playing the game on normal difficulty,

I rarely found the need to spend minutes
agonizing over unit placement and instead
kept things quick and dirty. Besides,
considering the immense graphical

and stylistic improvements made over
DAO—don’t even get me started on

the overhauled animations and lighting
effects—sitting back and watching as your
party lays waste to a mob of nasties is
easier than ever to appreciate.

At its best, DA2 is a refinement
and step forward for one of the most
discussed and acclaimed franchises in
recent years. At its worst, it’s the reflection
of a dangerous trend towards streamlined
and simplified game play at long time
“hardcore” development studio, Bioware.

4f5

 

   
   

 

Oh! To be human!

By Julia Siedlanowska

hen I attended Wednesday
nights preview of Wild Honey
at the University of British

Columbia, I was impressed by the

work that up and coming director Brian
Cochrane had created. Cochrane is one of
two students accepted annually into the
MFA Directing program at UBC, and is
directing Michael Fayn’s adaptation of
Anton Chekov’s original work.

The story is of the irresistibly
irresponsible womanizer Mikhail
Platonov (played by Benjamin Whipple),
and all the people who fall under his
charm one summers night. The story is
as tragic as it is comedic. All the while
when this man is telling the women
around him that falling in love with him
will only ruin their lives, they flock to
him all the more. The men also fall under
his charms, passing his rudeness off as
jest and entertainment.

With all the people blindly in
love with Platonov, we see they’re
mistaken—it is blatantly obvious— and
yet the writing, acting and directing of
this piece so skilfully manages to make
it believable. The production does a
good job in uncovering the truths for
these farcical characters. After Platonov
has simultaneously managed to woo
three women to his beck and call (not
including his wife), one of them being
married, while he has fulfilled his
premonition of ruining their lives, he still
manages to pity himself, and complain
about his twisted arm. We are also

 

Wild Honey at UBC flowers into spring romance

3

stupefied by Marya Yefimovna Greckova
(played by Christine Quintana), who still
falls into Platonov’s arms after he has
spent their entire acquaintance calling
her “Beetlejuice” and making her cry.
Yet the actors (all students at UBC) have
managed to find the charm and humour
in each character, and the tragedy or
darkness of the play is veiled in a most
delightful atmosphere of comedy.

The set design and staging of the
play was beautiful. Great clumps of rope
hung down from the ceiling to the ground
and served as trees. The set also included
a cottage house that split in two. This was
an inventive way to maximize its use (as
it served as three cottage house settings).
A train was made by rolling tracks out
onto the stage, and a smoke machine with
a red light downstage. The sound effects
were also very well done—at one point
we had the illusion of the rain rolling
over us. The general atmosphere is that
of a warm summer night in the country
somewhere in Europe full of romance
and fireworks, with the occasional tonal
change of things not being so beautiful
for everyone. The mood left me saying
“Oh! To be human...”

The story was successfully told, and
I was pleased to see a young director,
and many young actors full of so much
innovation and capability to bring theatre
into the world.

Who: Theatre at UBC

What: Wild Honey

Where: Frederick Wood Theatre
When: March 17- 26