Dragon Age 2 - Just finished

Well, at long last I have completed my initial play through of Dragon Age 2. It came out to be a little over 40 hours. On casual mode I wasn't too annoyed with the combat tedium which was my biggest complaint about the first game.

When I finally got to the final cinematic, I was ultimately left wondering if I missed something. Probably because I never bothered to finish the original game. The story of Dragon Age 2 is about the journey, and not the ending. Ultimately, both Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall (the player character in DA2) as well as the Hero of Ferelden (the player character of the first Dragon Age game) disappear, which has everybody worried about... something. Presumably to be explained in a later installment of the franchise.

Having just now typed that, I can't help but be reminded of the Knights of the Old Republic series, which Bioware started. That franchise also ends with its two protagonists missing, presumably lost in deep space fighting a greater evil. It would seem the Champion and the Warden are also presumed to be in some dangerous hnterland, fighting a greater evil. I guess that's a roundabout way of saying "it's all kind of been done before."

At the end of the day, Bioware is good at RPGs. It is what they do. Dragon Age 2 is a solid fantasy role playing game. That being said, I would rent it or pick it up pre-owned, especially if you did not play, or did not like, Dragon Age Origins