GDN managed to get into one of the first sessions to see Dragon Age 2 in action and we have to say, it definitely is and is not Origins. They made some key improvements while remaining true to what it was that made Dragon Age so awesome. The best parts of the game have remained untouched like the epic story, the 4-character party control, the tactical camera (on the PC) and the combat.

Then they looked at all the things they wanted to be better and didn’t like so much about the first one. The most noticeable thing is the visual style. It’s now got a sort of grittier, unique look to it that will help set it apart from being ’just another fantasy game’ visually. Now the Dragon Age visuals are aimed more at being memorable.

Another major change is in the combat itself. In DA:Origins at times you would give orders and the AI characters would lethargically get around to it whenever they felt like doing so. Now it’s far more faster and brutal. The structure of the combat is still the same but it’s been improved from a speed perspective. As soon as you give orders and unpause the game, the other characters get to doing what you told them to.

Dragon Age was very story driven and Dragon Age 2 will not deviate from that. However, the scope of the story will be increased and instead of covering a small slice of the timeline you will play through a major portion of history so that you can see the affect that your actions and decisions have on the world. This is being done through a framed narrative where people are discussing the events and you then jump into key moments of the narrative and play through the scenes. This was used in films like Usual Suspects where you had people talking about past events and when something major was about to happen you would see the whole scene play out.

This time the game focuses on Hawk who is a legend in his own time. Through his actions he becomes a hero to many and has serious impact on the world around him. But that’s not to say that you can’t still choose to customize Hawk into whatever you want. You still have the same genders and classes available as in Dragon Age Origins.