This game is amazing feels like the new baldur's gate. Best game in 2011 easily. not sure where to start !
First of all if you have played dragon age one, you will notice some differences. Such as the graphics and combat system, and the way the hero is implemented. I find it absolutely remarkable that my hero actually talks, I love it. Most games you will never hear real in voice dialogue from the main character I find this one of the best features to have. Even dragon age 1 didn't have this. There is of course very good character detail, you can build him/her in many different ways. Facial expressions are all very dynamic and well done. You can see your character snort in indignation, lower his abilities in mistrust, shift his body in discomfort get angry sad happy.
Second, let me mention the graphics. They are nothing short of remarkable, there is also the option of downloading a custom high res texture pack (slightly over 1gb) which helps to boost up graphics even higher, which I had no complaint in the first place. I have a very beefy pc system, I run a quad core 3.6 ghz overclocked pc with a powerful gtx 460 GPU. For those that complain about needing a beefy system, well basically you get what you paid for. I will gladly pay top dollar for my own enjoyment. I work hard, so I want the best. Currently I can only play on high settings with some of the advanced options off, but Bioware is in the process of releasing a new patch which can fix this. It's not that my pc can't handle very high settings, but dx11 needs an update or something on that level, which Bioware is in the process of working on. Furthermore, you can really enjoy the detail of the city and of the landscapes. You can see sweeping battlements, with hundreds of slits, sweeping oceans, mountainsides and cliffs all with fantastic detail. This is not simply a game created it is a world. I've noticed you can even have a simple conversation with someone in the city and people will walk behind and continue to live their lives in the city.
Third, let me mention controls. They are fluid and quick you can jump from character to character and customize your own way of dealing with combat. I personally really enjoy nightmare, and hard, for the challenge. I feel the game is meant to be played on harder difficulties because this in turn results in the requirement of advanced tactics such as for example in a real fight. You cant just run in and hack and slash you can for example get knocked sprawling get destroyed with a huge block of ice, or get burned to a crisp. the Pc, is my choice, as the mouse and keyboard allows more fluid movement without interruption.
Fourth, the combat system. Now this is something entirely on its own and hard to describe for someone who has not played this game. For some who don't understand the new system there is a heavy learning curve involved. The dynamics are unique and on a scale of its own. Such as strength plays a heavy factor in your group composition. Higher strength scores result in a unique attribute called fortitude. Fortitude basically gives you a roll VS physical force, where all attacks contain a certain amount of force, where stronger attacks and heavy spells like stonefist where a huge rock gets hurled at you all cause physical force, if you don't have high strength this results in low fortitude rolls, meaning you will get knocked down or even get sent flying from an attack. This in turn causes an interruption. So you need someone to draw fire if you wanna sit there and hurl fireballs.This system requires characters such as warriors who can draw fire and protect your rogues and mages. I love this system because it requires strategy on your part as tanks and even strong 2h warriors can keep alot of heat off of your physically weaker members. of course, to scale mages and rogues can do insane amounts of burst damage if left uninterrupted. Warriors are rogues attacks can force others of their feet, and even cross class combos can be employed, like having a mage cause an enemy to become brittle then having a strong warrior come over and shatter this enemy having bonuses as high as 6x damage. Rogues can also redirect threat and refocus enemies in many different ways not to mention stealth and vanishes. Rogues can be squishy but is satisfying to appear behind your opponent and tear him to shreds with a couple swift strikes. Rogues can be difficult to play as they can get knocked down easily, so alot of movement and tactics need to be employed.
In turn there is really four ways to build ur hero, actually even five scratch that. A shield and sword tank, a massive 2h warrior who cleaves his opponents, a mage, a dual wield rogue and also a distance archer rogue. Including all the different ways you can customize your hero and his abilities and specializations so this leaves you several ways to play and want to replay the game. I have in turn already restarted four times because the combat is to much fun and so there is so much experimentation to do.
Fifth, the story. The story will throw right in to the world , with no prior knowledge of dragon age required to fully enjoy the world. It has a unique viewpoint of storytelling and will immediately plunge you right in to battle. There is no boring excessive dialogue, it can be easily skipped if you desire but I have too much fun trying other ways of advancing the plot and talking to others. Dialogue is unique as you can choose different ways to respond, such as sarcastic, aggressive , friendly , and agree. You can also earn favor from your comrades based on the choices you make . Earning favor can unlock different skills and storyline from your comrades which is traditional bioware.
All in all, i give this a 10. It is a great game and once again bioware has managed to create a sprawling interesting world that stands on its own with all the powerful new graphics of 2011. Fluid and innovative combat keeps the game flowing as well as with the interesting story that just keeps you (me) unable to turn this game off and go see my girlfriend (lol)
(will re edit once I complete this game and play it even more hope this helps)