Dragon Age II Demo and Playability

{sidebar id=1}One of the rarest things for larger game companies to do is launch a demo of their upcoming smash hit.  The days of every new game for the PC having an accompanying demo are long gone. Fortunately, no one told Bioware that no one does demos anymore!

Later today, February 22, 2011, Bioware releases the demo of the highly anticipated Dragon Age II.  This game has been heavily discussed all throughout the gaming magazines but particularly on our site.  The first in the series, Dragon Age Origins, won our accessible game of the year award for 2009.  Everyone wants to know one thing: will it be just as accessible or will they revert to the low accessibility of Mass Effect 2.

Mike Laidlaw, lead designer of the Dragon Age series, had the following to say on the subject:

“One thing I'm very proud of is our award as Accessible Game of the Year for 2009. We will be taking the same approach for DA2, so on PC you should find that DA2 is quite easy to play. In fact, we've even added a "pause game" button (ala Baldur's Gate) on screen, so you'll theoretically never have to move your hand off your mouse.”

Quite an honor for us, not only does a lead designer remember who we are, he defends his game with our award that was selected by you!

Many people wondered if Dragon Age II would be more like Mass Effect II.  They added the same radial dialogue, removed the top-down camera from the PC and changed the storyline to be extremely linear by putting the game over a ten-year period.  Not to mention, nothing more than cameos for the original cast of DA: O, which is quite disappointing considering how much they try to get us invested in the characters.

I’ll admit, I had my doubts.  Early reports from Kotaku, Gamespot and others made it seem like there was no hope.  We were about to lose one of the most fascinating RPG intellectual properties in years over the greedy corporation wanting to be able to capitalize on porting to the console.

Could it really be, they were going to abandon what worked in favor of what worked on another game?

Yes, they definitely did.  Bioware changed DA from the way it was in Origins to what it will be in the sequel.  But surprisingly, they didn't forget the PC gamer. Story after story began to surface as small bits of the demo became available to the press.  DA II would lose mods and the camera angle we all loved but retain all of the things we need in order to call the game an accessibility success story.

Nine days ago, I sat and watched the live chat with Mr. Laidlaw playing the demo.  Although they didn't accept any accessibility questions, they did demonstrate several key things.

• The PC version can be controlled by only the mouse.
• The camera is still relatively high and above.
• The subtitles are still full including ambient.
• The fonts are new and improved, much bigger and clearer than the old text.
• There are difficulty settings ranging from easy, where you only have to manage your own character, to nightmare where you have to watch and control everybody in your party.
• The “strategic pause” now has a button you can click on-screen - meaning you truly can play the game with nothing but the mouse.

More importantly, they agreed to talk to us about the accessibility.  But that is for a different day.

Today, we concentrate on the demo and why it's important to play it through.  First, if you complete the demo while logged into your account you’ll unlock Hayder’s Razor, an ancient Dwarven blade that increases health, mana, and combat abilities, in the retail release of Dragon Age II.

Next, if 1 million people play the demo, EA will add The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall and Lothering's Lament to the retail release of the game, both items give small boosts to either XP or money.  In order to be counted towards the 1 million simply log on to the demo through your favor console or download the game and log into the website.  The Razor, however, only counts if you play all the way through the beginning tutorial through the one mission they gave us to try.

The 2GB download is available at noon EST from the download page, while PlayStation 3 gamers don't get the game until between 7 PM and 11 PM EST. Of course, if you're an Xbox 360 gamer, you lucky blankety-blanks already have access to the demo as of 2am!

Now that you have the run-down, stop reading and start playing!  But don't forget to check back for the AbleGamers interview with Mike Laidlaw in the coming days.

For the full FAQ about the demo read below:

DA2 Demo FAQ

How big is the Dragon Age 2 Demo?

• The demo is 2GB

What time will the demo be available?

• For PC – February 22 at 9am PST

• For Xbox 360 – February 22 between midnight and 2am PST

• For Playstation 3 users in North America – February 22 between 4pm and 8pm PST

• For Playstation 3 users outside North America -  February 23 between 4pm and 8pm GMT

Why different times for different platforms?

• Microsoft and Sony release their updates on a set schedule.

How do I get the demo for my Xbox 360 or my PS3?

• The xbox 360 demo will be available through Live. The PS3 demo will be available through Playstation Network.

I have a Silver Xbox Live account. Does that make a difference?

• Slightly. The demo is available for free through both Silver and Gold Xbox Live accounts. The Xbox Live Gold account will have teh demo on February 22. The Xbox Live Silver account will have it one week late.

Where do I get the PC version of the demo?

• We will have a link to the demo download on the Dragon Age 2 demo page.

Can we play Male and Female Hawke?

• Yes you can choose male or female Hawke.

How long is the demo?

• Playtime varies between players, but roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.

How much story is there in the demo?

• Players will experience the prologue to the game and the “Fools Rush In” plot from later in the game.

Is there a character creator with the demo or do we play default Hawke?

• No. While you can modify your character in the main game, this is disabled in the demo

Can I change difficulty level during the demo?

• The difficulty level for the demo is set as normal.

Does the demo allow you to just start the full version of DA2 from where the demo leaves off?

• No. The demo begins with the beginning of Dragon Age II and then shows you a glimpse of a mission that occurs later on in the game.

Can we import from Origins into this demo?

• The demo does not have a character or save game import feature.

Will it show off DX11 effects on the PC?

• DX11 features will only be available on the PC purchase copy of Dragon Age 2.

How do I get my Hayder’s Razor” item for finishing the demo?

• After you finish the demo if you have logged in with or created an EA account you will get an entitlement called Hayder’s Razor which is a Dwarfen Sword which they can use in the main game.

Is Hayder’s Razor available for all platforms?

• Yes.