14 DAY TRIAL // Dragon Age 2 has been out for a week and already we've talked about how the Mage class is actually fun to play with, as opposed to its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins.
Now, we'll address another new feature the game has over its predecessor: the dialog wheel.
Dragon Age: Origins featured a silent protagonist, meaning you were presented with the complete phrases he could say and you needed to choose what your response would be from a list. This proved to be a bit confusing, because you could never actually tell how other characters would interpret your answers.
Will they take it seriously or think the player made a joke? You could never really know where your answers would lead.
With Dragon Age 2, its developer, BioWare, added a voice to the main character, as well as a dialog wheel, similar to the one seen in the company's other franchise, Mass Effect. On top of that, special icons are also present in order to really show how their character will voice their responses.
The dialog wheel makes it more simple to select answers, and the special icons are something that should really be added to the upcoming Mass Effect 3, as they make it that much more simple to select your answers depending on what attitude you want your character to have.
Will you act as righteous pariah who wants to do what's right, a joker that is always ready with a witty remark or a mindless fighter that wants to let his weapons do the talking?
While these are improvements, the dialog wheel is still a bit confusing, largely because it can't fit in the complete answers your characters will give.
The brief sentence and the icon portrayed by the wheel is enough in some cases, but, in others, perhaps it would've been best to display the full sentence or phrase, in order to prevent any sort of misunderstanding.
You'll find yourself clicking options to resolve conflicts not knowing if you're going to actually prevent a fight or start an even bigger one.
Still, considering the old list of phrases uttered by a silent protagonist, this dialog wheel, which may be confusing in some cases, is a big step forward.