Yes, it's this bloody.
BioWare’s latest and greatest hit the Xbox Live Marketplace today (the PS3 gets it tomorrow) in demo form and it’s got some heft: 1.98 GB! Fans of the original may already be aware that BioWare was going for more action-based gameplay, and it definitely shows. Regardless of which of the three classes you choose, you will be doing a lot of button mashing, er, they’re employing reactive combat.
What else might you find in the Dragon Age II demo? For starters, an absolutely gorgeous environment. This gamer is currently playing through DAO and there is no comparison. Characters have a tremendous amount more detail and the scenery, albeit dark, is much more visually engaging. Additionally, the demo plays more like a story than an adventure, as you’re playing the prologue to the game. You have just narrowly escaped the destruction of your home and, as you’re fleeing from the Darkspawn, you are saved by a familiar face from the original. The demo has other crossover characters, so if you enjoyed the story from Origins, you’re going to get to play through the assault on Ferelden from someone else’s perspective.
Snagging up the demo has a few other benefits as well. If there are 1,000,000 downloads between now and March 1, everyone who participated will receive two books; one will give money and the other a bonus to XP. We’ve already passed 250,000, so it looks like we’ll do it in no time! Also, if you play through the short hack-’n-slash adventure, you’ll receive a dagger to use in the full game.
After a couple playthroughs of the demo, I shall echo a friend’s words: “If the whole idea of the demo was to get me to buy the game, well, they succeeded.”
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