Difference between revisions of "Dragon Age 2"

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Latest revision as of 11:22, 11 January 2016

Dragon Age: Origins follows Hawke, a refugee from the Blight-stricken Ferelden, following the events of Dragon Age: Origins. With the help of a motley crew of companions, they must help the city of Kirkwall deal with a slew of threats, everything from rebel mages and power-hungry templars to angry Qunari invaders.

General Comments[edit]

This review is currently incomplete and does not contain all warnings for the DLCs.

Alcohol[edit]

Background dialogue in the Blooming Rose brothel and Hanged Man tavern involves drunks or shouted drink orders.

Isabella and Fenris are depicted binge drinking out of stress or frustration.

A few of the random find-and-deliver-type quests involve finding a bottle of alcohol and delivering it to someone who either lost it or was looking for it. The dialogue for these quests generally just implies that the person had lost the item.

Avians[edit]

Birds of various kinds appear throughout the game. While walking around in outdoors areas, bird calls occasionally play. Birds are also depicted in some cutscenes.

The design aesthetic of Kirkwall frequently utilizes stylized wing designs on crests as well as bird sculptures. Notably, the Viscount's Keep features sculpted bird heads as well as large 2-story-tall eagle statues in the throne room.

Bigoted Language[edit]

‘Knife-ears’ is an in-universe slur for elves.

Blood[edit]

Common, usually as a result of combat. The party will become splattered in blood during battles and the blood will remain for some time. This blood spattering is reduced by unchecking "Enable persistent gore" under the Gameplay section of the settings menu.

Body Horror[edit]

When a mage turns into a demon-possessed abomination, their bodies become grotesquely distorted and the process seems painful.

During the climax of the game, a mage transforms into a large monster and attacks Hawke.

Bones[edit]

Lootable Piles of Bones can be found throughout the world and carry minor loot.

Brainwashing[edit]

Mages in the Circle are mandated to learn the Chantry’s religion and are often outright told that they should not exist.

Canines[edit]

In certain areas, such as the Wounded Coast, Raider enemies will attack Hawke and their friends with the help of hostile mabari warhounds which Hawke's team can kill.

The Black Emporium DLC adds a pet mabari, which is a large muscular dog which can be kept as a pet and brought along as part of the party.

Claustrophobia[edit]

Several of the default maps for caves and dwarven ruins feature enclosed spaces and small tunnels.

Darkness[edit]

Several of the default maps for caves and dwarven ruins feature dark spaces.

Dead Bodies[edit]

Bodies appear after combat, though they generally disappear once looted. Some other corpses are placed in the world as containers for loot.

Death of Family/Friends[edit]

Hawke loses at least two of their family members over the course of the game. When the family is fleeing the Darkspawn at the opening of the game, Hawke's brother, Carver dies if Hawke is either a rogue or a warrior; if Hawke is a mage, their sister, Bethany dies instead. During the conclusion of Act 1, if Hawke's sibling comes along on the expedition to the Deep Roads, they will contract a disease and die, unless the character Anders is also brought along. Hawke's sibling can simply be left behind during this quest, but will be unavailable as a party member after the quest regardless.

During the Act 2 main quest "All That Remains" (spoiler warning), another of Hawke's relatives will be killed.

Dehumanization[edit]

Elves are heavily discriminated against and forced to live in slums called alienages.

Slavers are recurring enemies in Kirkwall. and several quests involve rescuing kidnapped people from being sold into slavery. The companion Fenris is a former slave who was subjected to painful magical experiments.

Dwarves discriminate against any dwarf who is casteless, including surface dwarves. Varric will often reference this when interacting with dwarves.

Mages are discriminated against nearly everywhere, and this discrimination is especially bad in Kirkwall. If mages are deemed too dangerous they are turned ‘Tranquil’, which removes humanity, namely their personality and ability to feel emotion.

Depiction of Disaster[edit]

The game opens with Hawke and their family fleeing from the town of Lothering which has been wiped off of the map by a horde of darkspawn.

During the Act 3 main plot quest "The Last Straw" (spoiler warning), an major building in Kirkwall is destroyed in a terrorist attack. The game shows the explosion but does not get close enough to the site to depict any of the aftermath.

Depiction of War[edit]

When the Qunari attempt to take over Kirkwall at the end of Act 2, the setting

Disease[edit]

At the opening of the game, someone contracts the Blight disease, which is a painful and fatal side-effect of accidentally ingesting darkspawn blood.

Anders is a back-alley doctor who is depicted using magic to save people suffering from diseases.

Electrocution[edit]

Shock spells are available and can be used by enemy mages.

Emotional Abuse[edit]

The templars frequently emotionally abuse their mage charges by dehumanizing them.

Explosions[edit]

Certain traps, spells, and bombs have explosions. Some cutscenes feature explosions.

Felines[edit]

Anders laments the loss of his pet cat Sir Pounce-A-Lot, but no cats are directly depicted in the game.

Fire[edit]

Fire spells are commonplace.

Rage demons resemble lava and cast fire spells.

Forced Implantation[edit]

Ghosts[edit]

Gore[edit]

Combat in the game is very gory. Enemies can shatter into pieces and can leave blood spatter behind on the ground and on Hawke and their party. Some weapons are indicated as causing "Messy Kills" which are extra gory. Some of this can be avoided unchecking "Enable persistent gore" under the Gameplay section of the settings menu, though

Graphic Violence[edit]

Combat in the game is quite graphic and unavoidable.

Kidnapping[edit]

Hawke is frequently called upon to rescue kidnapped people. While they generally succeed, there is a questline which features a kidnapper whose victims Hawke is unable to save.

Murder[edit]

Offensive Language[edit]

Characters, including party members, often swear.

Physical Abuse[edit]

Psychological Trauma[edit]

Racism[edit]

Elves are discriminated against by humans. They are considered lesser and are forced to live in overcrowded slums called alienages. They struggle to get jobs, and the law often refuses to protect them.

Reptiles[edit]

As the game is loading, the depiction of the Bioware logo involves a reptilian dragon.

During the opening of the game, Hawke encounters a large reptilian dragon.

Hawke encounters several dragons in the area of The Bone Pit throughout the game.

Sex[edit]

The Blooming Rose brothel allows the player to solicit prostitutes. If in a relationship, Hawke may be depicted having sex with their partner. In both instances, this is handled by fading to black before anything too explicit happens.

Sex Shaming[edit]

At the Blooming Rose, Hawke can discover their uncle Gamlen who says "I won't tell Leandra [your mother] if you don't," implying that, though both are of a mature-enough age to be there, they shouldn't be.

If Hawke visits the Blooming Rose enough times, they may be offered the special dialogue option when speaking to the Madame to ask for "something special just for girls/boys who have been bad." The screen will fade to black, and when it returns, Hawke will be in front of a Chantry preacher giving a sermon about the forgiveness of sins.

Sex Slavery[edit]

Fenris's relationship with his former slave master is implied to have been intimate.

Sexualization/Objectification[edit]

Isabella's armor outfit is extremely revealing.

Desire demons are completely nude save for nipple tassels and regularly run their hands over their bodies.

Slavery[edit]

Slavery is legal in the nation of Tevinter and slavers are frequent enemies in the game, as they come to Kirkwall to prey upon the city's elves and Fereldan refugees.

Fenris, one of Hawke's companions, is an escaped slave, and his personal quests involve fighting with slavers who have come to reclaim him for his master.

Spiders[edit]

Spiders are common enemies and frequently drop from the ceiling. If playing on the PC, several mods are available

Stalking[edit]

Substance Abuse[edit]

Suicide[edit]

Supernatural Evil[edit]

Demons are common enemies. They are corrupted spirits from the realm of dreams who attempt to tempt mages into summoning them into the real world.

Torture[edit]

Undead/Zombies[edit]

Undead and zombies are recurring enemies, frequently encountered in ruins or while fighting mages.

Violence Against Children[edit]

During the quest "Wayward Son", Hawke must rescue a teenage mage named Fenyriel after he is sold into slavery.

During the quest "Magistrate's Orders", Hawke is hired to track down an escaped prisoner. It is later revealed that this prisoner murdered elven children, though this is not depicted, and he let his last victim escape.

Weapons[edit]

Hawke, their companions, and enemies can use daggers, swords/maces/axes and shields, greatswords/mauls/battleaxes, bows/crossbows, and magical staves,

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