14 DAY TRIAL // BioWare has brought a playable demo of Dragon Age 2 at Gamescom and the limited time I had with it seems to confirm the fact that no real tactical view will be available on any platform but that the core gameplay of the series remains unaffected.
To a direct question about the possibility of pulling back the camera in order to get a better look at the battlefield one of the developers from BioWare specifically said that it will no longer represent an options, regardless of the version of the game a player had.
Apparently BioWare is working on a new system which will allow tactical evaluation of the battlefield without zoom out but the company is not ready to show it off yet.
As a fan of BioWare as a developer and of the old school effort that Dragon Age: Origins represented I am a bit disappointed by the lack of a zoom out feature for any of the versions of the sequel, because it removes one of the links that the genre has to the good old days of Baldur's Gate.
Otherwise the demo was pretty impressive. Out new hero Hawke has three companions that can be controlled following him and two other characters that just tag along as he clears a mountainous area of Hurlocks.
The enemies have been given more character and more ferocity, making them leave behind their orc like characteristics and exude more ruthlessness.
The characters themselves seem to have much more detailed armor and better facial animations but BioWare seems to have also stuck with the idea of painting everyone head to toe in blood as soon as combat is joined, with the effect lasting well into the cinematics.
The last fight involved one of the companions sacrificing themselves for the greater good and there were a few options for dialog, although the occasion did not offer many possible answers.
Dragon Age 2 now has a firm launch date of March 8, 2011.