Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom flew out to visit BioWare's Edmonton studio, where he got tons of hands-on time with this upcoming epic sequel to BioWare's renowned Dragon Age: Origins.

Combat Upgraded

I really can't stress just how happy I am with BioWare's new combat system. I absolutely adore tactical combat games, but I've always felt that stopping the combat to make a decision defeats the purpose of tactical combat. Maybe this is the competitive player in me, but part of playing tactically is making decisions on the fly and sticking with plans you formulate. The problem with playing Dragon Age: Origins without pausing was that combat was slightly clunky if you didn't pause. Fighting the mechanics of the game while also fighting hordes of Darkspawn was not exactly something I want to do again.

This time around, however, combat seems to have been given a huge visceral upgrade, both with regard to the speed of combat itself and with the reaction times of your character. Now, when you cast a spell or use an ability, you will immediately perform that action. I recall many times in Dragon Age: Origins where you would try to use a stunning attack on an enemy who was going for your Mages but, by the time you caught up to the enemy and got into position to stun him, your Mage was already taking a few hits. Now, especially with the upgraded A.I. of Dragon Age 2, players will need to pay close attention to their mages and archers, as enemy rogues will go straight for them in combat. Nothing feels better than throwing out a blind spell behind your Mage, only to hit an enemy out of stealth, freezing him on the spot.

This isn't to say that you can't play DA2 with pausing and tactical decisions. While the balance was not yet complete on the build we were playing, there were plenty of moments where, after dying a few times, I would need to pause to formulate a better plan. There is plenty of tactical choice in DA2, it's just altogether more polished and more refined.

Fighting as a Team

One big problem with Dragon Age: Origins was that, outside of your Mages teaming up to cast Grease + Fireball or Cone of Cold + Stonefist, there was very little tactical cohesion in your group. You essentially picked up as much damage as possible, got a tank to hold the enemy attention, and then you went to town. In Dragon Age 2, Rogues have received a much more "rogue-like" play style change, as they now have access to more mobility-related abilities that allow them to pop around the battlefield, disabling and taking out priority targets.

Mages have also received a neat spell upgrade in the form of the "Brittle" debuff, which allows them to freeze an enemy, allowing your melee teammates to smash them for extra damage. This ultimately translates to your team becoming more cohesive as a whole. In my adventures through the game, I played with a mage, an archer, a warrior and a rogue, and with proper team A.I. setups, it's fun to watch your rogue disappear from the main combat group because she was popping back to help your mages.

Looking forward to March

All in all, Dragon Age 2 is shaping up to be one of the best sequels I've seen in a long time. BioWare has reacted beautifully to the criticisms of DA:O, and they've been unflinching in creating a brand new game that builds on the foundation of the Dragon Age series. This is the sign of a real veteran development team; when, instead of resting on their laurels for creating Dragon Age: Origins, they chose to forge a new path towards a better game. I can't wait for March!