Dragon Age II

 PC
User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5052 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,397 out of 5052
  2. Mixed: 1,198 out of 5052
  3. Negative: 2,457 out of 5052
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  1. metalguru
    Mar 25, 2011
    4
    I would like to just say first and foremost that this is not a terrible game, just not a particularly good one either. so I shall start with the positives, the new combat system I feel is a great success, it feels fluid and powerful, the graphics with the high resolution texture pack are impressive, and the companions are generally likeable (except Fenris).

    So now sadly onto the bad. It    I would like to just say first and foremost that this is not a terrible game, just not a particularly good one either. so I shall start with the positives, the new combat system I feel is a great success, it feels fluid and powerful, the graphics with the high resolution texture pack are impressive, and the companions are generally likeable (except Fenris).

    So now sadly onto the bad. It is tiny, and by that I mean miniscule, every quest occuring in the same place, or the same cave, which is somehow in ten different places but identical. I mean this game spans what, a decade, and nothing changes in that time, whatsoever. This also means that for a Bioware RPG the completion time is just not up to scratch.

    Now my major pain with this game is the simplification of everything that made Origins great, and makes RPG's as a genre great, in an attempt to what, appeal to a greater market, there seems to be this idea in the world of games development that simple easy games sell in mass. I don't entirely disagree with that sentiment, but I work in a DIY store, so the employees couldn't be considered gaming nerds, they are ordinary people with consoles (and they all loved Origins by the way) and they all say Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is one of their favourite games, and do you know how many of them like Dragon Age 2. Not a single one. So the very market this game was dumbed down for hates you for it, and as a result you have very nearly alienated a strong Bioware fan, luckily I have faith Mass Effect 3 will be great.

    So in conclusion, play this if you like small, simplistic RPG's with not enough character development, environments, or soul. All in all I'm pretty peeved I paid £28.98 for a game that seems lesser to Origins expansion pack. So Bioware if EA tells you what people want in games again, tell them they don't know anything about making games and to leave that to the professionals.    … Expand
  2. LinkeWimpie
    Mar 28, 2011
    3
    This is actually the first time after completing a game that i felt compelled to register at this website just to state my opinion about this game and warn people who are thinking of buying this game not to make the same mistake as I did. In my opinion, the only thing that's close to being decent in DA 2 compared to DA:O is the combat system (for the Xbox 360 anyway). Any professionalThis is actually the first time after completing a game that i felt compelled to register at this website just to state my opinion about this game and warn people who are thinking of buying this game not to make the same mistake as I did. In my opinion, the only thing that's close to being decent in DA 2 compared to DA:O is the combat system (for the Xbox 360 anyway). Any professional reviewers who gave this game more than a 3 should be ashamed of themselves. The entire game consists of repeating areas and a weak storyline not to mention the horrible graphics. The whole time I was playing this game I just felt like I was on a one-way track to the end. At least in the first Dragon Age there was a sense of adventure where you were travelling from town to town meeting new people etc. I think I spent roughly 80% of my playtime in DA 2 in one stinking city... and even when I got a new sidequest it just involved visiting an area I ran through 10 mins earlier. I must say I am very disappointed with Bioware for releasing the game as it is now and I'm even more disappointed with the so-called critics who actually give the game more than 3.… Expand
  3. Slay247
    Mar 28, 2011
    2
    I've been prompted to create this account specifically to create a review for this game, only because of how terribly, terribly wrong all the 'official' reviews seem to have got it. I still cannot believe this slipshod piece of garbage is a Bioware game. I don't know where to begin listing it's faults. The combat is probably a good place to start as it is in my opinion the most obviouslyI've been prompted to create this account specifically to create a review for this game, only because of how terribly, terribly wrong all the 'official' reviews seem to have got it. I still cannot believe this slipshod piece of garbage is a Bioware game. I don't know where to begin listing it's faults. The combat is probably a good place to start as it is in my opinion the most obviously abysmal aspect of the entire game. Enemies spawning out of nowhere in waves? Final Fantasy style attack animations? People exploding into fountains of gore when you hit them? This just looks every bit the action adventure, button masher that it is, putting Dragon Age on the box was an insult to the majesty of Origins. Friendly fire now only functions on nightmare, which is has been rendered un-fun and generally terrible by the previously mentioned enemy wave spawning, so basically, lose each fight once so you'll know what's coming and what to save your abilities for next time. Everything about the inventory has been simplified and dumbed down, you can't even equip your party members fully now, there is only one kind of healing/mana potion and injury, everything is just less and worse than the original.

    Locations, particularly dungeons are used over and over and over again, hardly any of the mainstream reviews mention this though it is an OBVIOUS and MASSIVE flaw with the game, adding immensely to the general feeling of shoddiness about the game. It was obviously rushed, not surprising given the barely 18 month development cycle. Also, some of the quests are just SO unbelievably dull and meaningless, I cannot imagine what was going through the heads of the developers as they created them. Find a random book in a chest, give it to a random person in Kirkwall who until now has been mere scenery, get some xp and gold and one line of dialogue, what purpose could that possibly have solved?

    The dialogue I would say is a mixed bag, though more bad than good. Firstly, for a change I actually used all of the different options, instead of just sticking with the good/funny/evil thing the entire way through the game, so that was good. However, a lot of control over what your character says is gone, almost all interactions boil down to the 3 options i listed above and it usually has no real effect upon anything, also, your character now frequently speaks with no input from you, something which never happened in Origins, and really makes you feel more like a spectator than a player. When combined with the generally uninteresting story (you'll be constantly asking yourself 'why am i doing this again?' throughout the game) with no central objective or goal and no personal investment, this makes a lot of the dialogue a sad chore to be suffered through.

    I didn't play the demo or read any reviews before buying this game, when I saw it in the shops I took one look at the title and happily parted with my 35 pounds while fondly remembering the original. This is one of the worst disappointments I have ever suffered as a gamer. A terrible, TERRIBLE game.    … Expand
  4. Switch296
    Apr 30, 2011
    1
    Ah Dragon age 2.. By far the biggest letdown so far of 2011 in my eyes. The graphics are worse than the original, the city which you spend almost the entire game in is so incredibly lifeless, stale and repetitive that you would think this game has been made in 2005 by amateur developers, but sadly this game is made by Bioware who in the past has brought us many great games.

    I for one    Ah Dragon age 2.. By far the biggest letdown so far of 2011 in my eyes. The graphics are worse than the original, the city which you spend almost the entire game in is so incredibly lifeless, stale and repetitive that you would think this game has been made in 2005 by amateur developers, but sadly this game is made by Bioware who in the past has brought us many great games.

    I for one really hope this isn't a sign for things to come as Dragon Age 2 should have never been released in the state it is in, poor gameplay, poor graphics and artistic direction, poor RPG elements and immersion factor.

    Extremely poor game. 1/10    … Expand
  5. ecronishe
    Apr 29, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Where the exciting story? Where is the charm for which all were so fond of Dragon Age origins? The game is completely disappointed me. Why do we unnecessary flips and jumps? If you're happy with sales, you know, everyone was expecting to see a good continuation, not a game for children up to age 11. one location you placed throughout the game. Players are not interested to solve the problems of one citysave a whole lot more interesting korolestvo. What have you done with satellites player? They are horrible to them can not speak normally, do not give the gift, there is no charm. How can we produce a good game for a year, besides making many more other projects? It is better to wait for 3 years, but a really good game. The Witcher 2 will destroy you. It's as if you are good lesson, dear developers.… Expand
  6. Ravenshield
    May 2, 2011
    1
    Une arnaque TOTALE
    Jeu bénéficiant de la licence officielle de DAO, sans ne serait ce qu'en contenir un brin de son essence spirituelle. Une très grosse déception. Je n'ai même pas terminé le jeu tellement je suis dépité par la médiocre réalisation, la    Une arnaque TOTALE
    Jeu bénéficiant de la licence officielle de DAO, sans ne serait ce qu'en contenir un brin de son essence spirituelle. Une très grosse déception. Je n'ai même pas terminé le jeu tellement je suis dépité par la médiocre réalisation, la pauvreté générale du jeu, l'histoire creuse, les textures pauvres, les Pnj inutiles et sans relief, A éviter à tout prix... ne mériterait même pas d'exister.    … Expand
  7. kizza
    May 9, 2011
    1
    Why such a low score for Dragon Age II? there are a few reasons;

    1. Why would I buy a fantasy game like this to only play a human? 2. The combat of the first installment was well thought out, on the other hand in this game it simply has been dumbed right down for console users, as it would seem they used DA 2 as a cash flow and not much else. As is seems every game that goes from purely    Why such a low score for Dragon Age II? there are a few reasons;

    1. Why would I buy a fantasy game like this to only play a human?

    2. The combat of the first installment was well thought out, on the other hand in this game it simply has been dumbed right down for console users, as it would seem they used DA 2 as a cash flow and not much else. As is seems every game that goes from purely pc to pc & console it always seems to go straight down the toilet. This is no exception, but at least they kept the pause tactical menu for pc users

    3. The storyline grabbed me no where near as much as the first, I played the first for hours on end. I didn't even bother finishing DA2 for its sheer lack of interesting things

    4. While the graphics looked good there was simply no amount shine that could fix all of the bugs with this. What could have fixed this however was for bioware to spend some more time on the game, rather than simply trying to push it out asap.

    Overall.

    The game while a great title has no real playability for me. Dirty, boring, rushed and dumbed down are NOT the way I like my games to be.    … Expand
  8. LordOFlibertY
    Jun 1, 2011
    4
    The sequel to the decade's best RPG game created. Now the question everybody has asked; Does it live up to the sequel?
    Unfortunatly that is a BIG F NO. Dragon Age 2 fails in every single way and is not a worthy sequel. The 'enhanced graphics' was an utter sham. The health bars looks like something from Mass Effect and the dark, grim graphics approach in Origins was imported terribly in    The sequel to the decade's best RPG game created. Now the question everybody has asked; Does it live up to the sequel?
    Unfortunatly that is a BIG F NO. Dragon Age 2 fails in every single way and is not a worthy sequel. The 'enhanced graphics' was an utter sham. The health bars looks like something from Mass Effect and the dark, grim graphics approach in Origins was imported terribly in Dragon Age 2 and felt like they over done it in some areas. I would say that the only good aspect in this game is the many design concepts that they have developed and succeed.
    Overall for players that played through Dragon Age Origins casually like any ol' game, Dragon Age 2 but be as enjoyable. If you're a die hard Origin lover like me Dragon Age 2 may make you cry from such failures it made. If you simply want to know the story and explore more of the worlds, I suggest renting it .    … Expand
  9. Aiden_Cora
    Oct 9, 2011
    0
    What a horrible, horrible sequel. Boring story, boring quests, recycled locations, boring and shallow dialogue and insulting ending. This game should have been called "Flashy Hack & Slash OMG!" And to all that said to judge DA II on it's own and not as a sequel, well it IS a sequel. It's called Dragon Age II, that's like saying not to treat Spider Man 3 like a Spider Man movie...
  10. icarusorigin
    Oct 25, 2011
    0
    Worst game I have ever played. I have nothing much to say about it but man I am disappointed with it..after dragon age 1 being such a great game this was a huge let down
  11. MathewRD
    May 27, 2011
    2
    With Bioware rigging the user reviews, you can't help but think they're rigging the critic reviews as well. Bioware was already caught rigging DA II's user scores on Metacritic by having employees give it good scores. Bioware's response was that it was the same thing as Barrack Obama voting for himself.

    Anyways, about the game. It targets a larger audience by dumbing things down but loses    With Bioware rigging the user reviews, you can't help but think they're rigging the critic reviews as well. Bioware was already caught rigging DA II's user scores on Metacritic by having employees give it good scores. Bioware's response was that it was the same thing as Barrack Obama voting for himself.

    Anyways, about the game. It targets a larger audience by dumbing things down but loses its original audience it once had. You stay in the same area for most of the game, the dialogue wheel is incredibly limited, and the voice acting isn't very good. Dragon Age II went from being a strategic form of game to more of a Devil May Cry clone without the fun that DmC had.

    You'll be better of with the Witcher 2.    … Expand
  12. Ender008
    Mar 23, 2011
    4
    Ender008
    Mar 23, 2011
    4 I honestly cannot justify going into very much depth on the mechanics of DA2--all I can say is that I feel horribly betrayed. It's nothing short of a tragedy to see the squandered potential of the title of sequel to DA:O. Dragon Age 2 is a step back for the series, and after playing a few hours of it, I found myself starting a new character in Origins. DA2 is    Ender008
    Mar 23, 2011
    4
    I honestly cannot justify going into very much depth on the mechanics of DA2--all I can say is that I feel horribly betrayed. It's nothing short of a tragedy to see the squandered potential of the title of sequel to DA:O. Dragon Age 2 is a step back for the series, and after playing a few hours of it, I found myself starting a new character in Origins. DA2 is unsatisfying, and barely tries to even present the illusion of choice. I felt no attachment to Hawke; the fact that he's fully voiced actually managed to push me away even further. This game doesn't even deserve the title of RPG, nor does it deserve the lore of Dragon Age. I pray to the developers that they'll rectify this disaster of a game by returning to RPG style gaming for the next Dragon Age. I honestly felt my IQ drop as a played the unfortunate mess that is Dragon Age 2. The only thing positive to come of this is that I will be joining the modding community of DA:O to help extend its lifespan for those of us who appreciate what a work of art it is. Please stay away from DA2 if you have any sense.

    [EDIT TO MY FIRST REVIEW:] I started to read through other reviews to see what others thought of the game to see if I could find any redeeming qualities and I stumbled on something that I absolutely needed to share, because it sums up what's so horrible about DA2. Someone posed this as a positive point, yet where's the roleplaying aspect in this? Here is the quote: "There's also the thing where no matter what speech option you pick, Hawke comes off sounding completely badass and awesome."    … Expand
  13. pcFanMan
    May 17, 2011
    0
    game sucks compared to the first end of!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I want It gone from my steam account now!!!!!

    & watch out for bioware employees giving this Sh!t game 10s...
  14. Lorderan
    May 7, 2011
    1
    I really don't understand the almost universal positive scores the official reviewers are giving this game. I loved the first game, but this game is absolutely terrible. Painful even. Its a disgrace that the official reviewers gave it the scores they did. Totally underminds their objectivity, I'm not going to believe their reviews into the future. Damn I'm disappointed. Bioware we are finished!!!!
  15. Elitist_Magi
    May 14, 2011
    0
    I loved the First DA and Awakening but god damn does this game suck or what. Well its quite obvious why. PC was the lead platform for DA and Awakening, but thats not the case for DA2. Anyway I pre-ordered this game thinking it was like its predecessor but it was all but anything like it sadly. Stay away from this game, spend your money on better RPGs like Witcher 2.

    Bioware, you've f'ed    I loved the First DA and Awakening but god damn does this game suck or what. Well its quite obvious why. PC was the lead platform for DA and Awakening, but thats not the case for DA2. Anyway I pre-ordered this game thinking it was like its predecessor but it was all but anything like it sadly. Stay away from this game, spend your money on better RPGs like Witcher 2.

    Bioware, you've f'ed the PC community for the last time you ain't ganna get a cent of my money anymore.    … Expand
  16. Subsidence
    May 15, 2011
    0
    After all that has been said about Dragon Age 2 one thing stands; the game is not even a shadow of Dragon Age Origins. Many criticize others that it is the sentiment after playing DA1 that makes people disapprove of DA2. Even so, DA2 remains a flat story. It is like watching a second rate tv series. Yawn.
    What kind of audience had Bioware in mind with DA2? Certainly not the ones that loved DA1.
  17. speedyzia
    May 17, 2011
    1
    Biggest disappointment I ever experienced. Repeated locations, dull combat system, 1 big city instead of many places. It just doens't feel right. Graphics are very poor, AI is moronic, plot is linear as much as it can be, hell, whole game is linnear to the pain. (1.0)
  18. azure12
    May 17, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age 2 has seen some big changes in gameplay since the first game, Origins. Long gone is the tactical combat system reminescent of Baldur's Gate. Instead, now it's "button = awesome", according to EA marketers. Combat tactics revolve around spamming special abilities at enemies as soon as the cooldowns wears off, making any kind of strategizing redundant. Micromanagement is put onDragon Age 2 has seen some big changes in gameplay since the first game, Origins. Long gone is the tactical combat system reminescent of Baldur's Gate. Instead, now it's "button = awesome", according to EA marketers. Combat tactics revolve around spamming special abilities at enemies as soon as the cooldowns wears off, making any kind of strategizing redundant. Micromanagement is put on the back seat in this "bold" sequel, rather, now your party members are completely automated and act on their own, and the classic party-based gameplay is nowhere to be experienced, unless the player happens play the game on the hardest difficulty. Party members act as AI-controlled side-kicks now instead of full-fledged player characters. Furthermore, friendly-fire has been removed from all difficulty levels except the hardest one, which takes another elements away from micromanagement. Obviously whoever made these design changes most likely thought a "thinking-man's" game isn't going to sell well in today's video game market, which is why the combat has been extremely streamlined and reduced (read: dumbed down) into mere hack'n'slash. The fans of the old Bioware games are surely not happy about this. Dragon Age 2 reeks of consolization. Unlike the first game, which was developed for PC for years, and then ported to consoles, DA2 is a straight multi-platform game from the get-go. This hurts the PC version the most. It is evident by changes in graphics, camera control, and the general streamlining of the game.

    Bioware has made DA2 far more linear than the first DA game. The levels in this game are what you would describe as "corridor". It is a game that is supposed to be a "role-playing game". computer RPGs have generally had the pleasure of having an element of exploration to them -- a living, dynamic, open world. However, Dragon Age 2 has no exploration. Even the little things you can do, are mostly the same areas used many times over in different places, cheaply just copypasted. A big emphasis has been put on "romances" in this game, even more-so than in the previous game. Strange how a mini-game is given more thought than the actual overall game. Dragon Age 2 is a short game (much shorter than DA:O). The typical character interaction and a Biowarean type of story (which I don't even bother going into in this review) simply cannot elevate Dragon Age 2 past how weak the game is in almost every way. It is a horrible sequel after the decent Dragon Age: Origins. Bioware is truly in decline after being acquired by the Electronic Arts.    … Expand
  19. Wikary
    May 17, 2011
    0
    Probably the worst RPG I've played and one of the worst games ever. Terrible graphics, Idiotic story for 10 year olds and paid DLC Hahahahah. i Can't stop Laughting.
  20. wrotos
    May 17, 2011
    2
    I,m really disappointed Abut this game. I expect good cRPG and i get game with bad history, graphics and terrible game play, Boring game, made for console,
  21. InternetowyHejt
    May 19, 2011
    0
    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    !!!!pozdrowiena dla bioware !!!!!
    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  22. Dariune
    May 17, 2011
    3
    This game, in almost every way is poor. Lets forget for a moment that it is the sequel of what was heralded as the spiritual succesor to one of the greatest roleplayng games of all time and try to judge the game on its own merits. The problem being, that the game has very few merits. It is Biowares obvious step into stripping out the crpg aspects and going for the more action orientatedThis game, in almost every way is poor. Lets forget for a moment that it is the sequel of what was heralded as the spiritual succesor to one of the greatest roleplayng games of all time and try to judge the game on its own merits. The problem being, that the game has very few merits. It is Biowares obvious step into stripping out the crpg aspects and going for the more action orientated market. The game however totally fails in both areas. As an action game it is boring. Compared to a game like God of War (the game i think it is most akin to) it lacks finesse, momentum and ends up playing like a chore instead of an immersive entertainment medium. The combat is laughable. You press attack and your character does a silly anime styled move. The skills are over the top and too quick and the tactics are almost non existant. The enemies just appear from the sky and the battles are so numerous that once your half way through this very shoprt game you will be dying for it to end. The characters (Normally one of Biowares strong points) are actually pretty boring and 2d i this game. Some are fun and make you want to learn more about them but for he most part they are straight out of a kids cartoon, trying to be cool to the point of cliche. Im afraid this isnt just a poor game for Bioware (who have been steadily getting worse for a number of years now). This is just a poor game and i wouldnt reccomend it even it is in the bargain bucket. Leave well alone.… Expand
  23. Mjolnir
    May 18, 2011
    2
    Please... please don't waste your money on this steaming pile of rushed garbage. The one-dimensional characters, weak story, lacklustre level designs, recycled meshes (and not to mention copy / pasted levels such as cave instances and dungeon instances) provide us with a concise orchestra of formulated **** It's a waste of everyone's time to discuss it further.
  24. dasiu
    May 18, 2011
    3
    I liked this game, seriously. Finally they voiced the main character, some original approach to story, but if I can only give a Witcher 2 a 10/10, then 3/10 is the most I'm giving this game. Don't get me wrong, it's not all that bad, It's just like rating an Suzuki Swift after driving a Ferrari. The first one is not bad, just the other is so much better it spoils all the fun
  25. tobas1
    May 27, 2011
    3
    I have only one thing to say - don't fix things that are not broken-this will never work. Instead of fixing working ideas when you have clearly not enough time given to you by investors than just focus at content. Coz if you have not enough time and still trying to change not only scenario and environment but also game-play, mechanics and graphics and doing it for few platforms at the sameI have only one thing to say - don't fix things that are not broken-this will never work. Instead of fixing working ideas when you have clearly not enough time given to you by investors than just focus at content. Coz if you have not enough time and still trying to change not only scenario and environment but also game-play, mechanics and graphics and doing it for few platforms at the same time you just can't win. If this game would have unchanged gameplay and only little more polshed graphics it would be also bashed for not being creative but wouldn't get REAL avarage rating less than 7-8, but with focusing at scenario and as a sequel of good game i would expect at least 8,5-9,5. now it has 4 and in my opinion still too much… Expand
  26. shadowsreaver
    May 24, 2011
    4
    The discrepancy between user and critic opinions says it all about bioware. This game is a travesty. I still rate it 4 and not 2 is because of respect towards other bioware game series and sometimes the mindless action is enjoyable. This game is far worse than origins which itself was only an okay game. Everything in this game is done wrong. EVERY character is cliche (except Varric thoughThe discrepancy between user and critic opinions says it all about bioware. This game is a travesty. I still rate it 4 and not 2 is because of respect towards other bioware game series and sometimes the mindless action is enjoyable. This game is far worse than origins which itself was only an okay game. Everything in this game is done wrong. EVERY character is cliche (except Varric though the only one i liked was Fenris), the story is almost nonexistent, caves and even ROOMS are recycled a thousand times, graphics are terrible, enemies explode into a shower of blood when poked with a knife.....it goes on and on. A complete and utter failure. Shame on you bioware. And screw you EA for i feel you had a big hand in this abomination.… Expand
  27. UWHusky
    May 25, 2011
    3
    I found this to be a very difficult game ot review. I was extremely excited about getting this game as I am a long-time fan of bioware's products: Knights of the Old Republic, KOTOR II, DA:O, Mass Effect, and Mass Effect II were all games that I greatly enjoyed, and as such I had rather high expectations from Dragon Age II. I guess I should say that my first hint at my concerns showed upI found this to be a very difficult game ot review. I was extremely excited about getting this game as I am a long-time fan of bioware's products: Knights of the Old Republic, KOTOR II, DA:O, Mass Effect, and Mass Effect II were all games that I greatly enjoyed, and as such I had rather high expectations from Dragon Age II. I guess I should say that my first hint at my concerns showed up with the initial watching of the trailer where the main character summons something to rip the arms off of his enemy. The trailer itself didn't make any sense, and I was wondering to myself why he just didn't do that in the first place.

    I guess you could say that this about sums up the game.... It doesn't make any sense. I played the game for hours, continually expecting some sort of solidified story to show up, and after what seemed like an eternity, I realized that I was no longer interested in the game whatsoever. The story line never materialized, the combat, while initially was intriguing, rapidly became frustrating as I realized my NPC healer, Anders, couldn't heal anything, my tank couldn't hold aggro, and generally, as a rogue all I did was mash buttons. My biggest letdown though was something many people have already brought up: Bioware apparently ran out of ideas in creating their areas as they decided to create one area and make it work for multiple areas by opening and closing doors. The first time I saw it I didn't think much of it, but later I realized that it was the norm rather than the exception, I quickly started losing interest in the game.

    So.... breakdown:
    Pros:
    -Improved combat in that you no longer just point and click, but this does get old when you realize all you ever do is button mash.
    -Characters: this has historically been bioware's strong suit, and Dragon age II doesn't disappoint. I was generally intrigued with the characters, with the exception of Anders who simply came across as a big crybaby.

    Cons:
    -No longer can choose multiple races, like in DA:O. This offered a slightly different option for multiple playthroughs.
    -Lame, boring storyline. I have to be honest and say that I gave up on the game before Act III, so maybe a storyline does eventually appear, but I don't think a game should take 6 hours of gameplay to create the rudiments of a storyline that is intriguing.
    -Lame, boring side-quests.
    -Poor combat balancing. Initially I enjoyed the multiple waves of enemies that appear which makes combat sequences last longer, but later in the game I came to realize that this was a huge pain because your tank's taunt ability doesn't keep up with these waves, your healer can't heal anything because his heal skill takes what seems like 10 minutes to recharge, and everybody ends up dying unless you continually use healing items, which cost money. Frustrating.
    -DLC content abuse? Don't know how else to put it. I was rather shocked when I checked the DLC content and found about 100 things to download on the first day I played the game. This tells me that I paid 60 bucks for an incomplete game. I don't mind buying DLCs down the road, but it makes me wonder when such a huge amount of DLC content is not included with the game on day one. It screams of Bioware attempting (and succeeding) in extorting more money from their fan base.

    Overall... Very disapointed. Was very excited about this game, which is why I think I put up with the game for as long as I did. This game reeks of mass-produced money raking. Shame on bioware. I traded it back in to Amazon today with a tear in my eye. Here's hoping they don't mess up Mass Effect 3.    … Expand
  28. jim008
    May 26, 2011
    3
    This is a prime example of don't trust the critics to be objective. This game tried to reinvent the wheel and instead completely alienated those who enjoyed the first Dragon Age. Problem is that they designed this game to be a cheap action thrill. After awhile you completely lose interest in the story and might as well skip every scene. Seriously, how can anybody be interested in aThis is a prime example of don't trust the critics to be objective. This game tried to reinvent the wheel and instead completely alienated those who enjoyed the first Dragon Age. Problem is that they designed this game to be a cheap action thrill. After awhile you completely lose interest in the story and might as well skip every scene. Seriously, how can anybody be interested in a story so thin as you are now the badass so keep on questing because that's what badasses do. The combat is good and that's basically it because cheap action games only focuses on game play. The graphics are so good that the developers decided that you must run through the same areas over and over again until you want to poke your eyes out. I'm sorry but if DA origins was anything like this game, it would have flopped and nobody would have purchased this sequel. I think they purposely made this game horrible so that DA3 would be like a legend among the Dragon Age series. This game tried to be an RPG but the story sucked and there is absolutely no real feel in the world as monster just randomly spawn when you're running through the same area for the 12th time. This game tried to also be an action game but it's not really fun since it only has pretty good combat. Basically it tried to be good at multiple things but failed at being good with anything.… Expand
  29. magsix
    May 26, 2011
    1
    I have played pretty much every major pc title released since i was 10 years old , now im 23 and I've played alot of games. RPG's are my favourite games by far and I absolutely loved the original Dragon Age , having put over 200 hours into it on steam.

    Now they release this hoax and dare call it a sequal.. it is really quite a shame believe me. Loving different RPG's from the Gothic    I have played pretty much every major pc title released since i was 10 years old , now im 23 and I've played alot of games. RPG's are my favourite games by far and I absolutely loved the original Dragon Age , having put over 200 hours into it on steam.

    Now they release this hoax and dare call it a sequal.. it is really quite a shame believe me. Loving different RPG's from the Gothic series to the elder scrolls and the classics icewind dale and baldurs gate. I can honestly say I quit this game before even getting halfway , it's that bad... It says its an rpg but its really just a bad fighting game with overexaggerated blood effects to appeal to god knows who! i wouldnt even think kids found that cool... dont support bad sequals guys... for your own good.    … Expand
  30. google_calasade
    May 27, 2011
    3
    In a word, this game is atrocious. The NPCs are shallow. The graphics are cartoonish. The storyline is, well, boring. This is not its predecessor. Indeed, I am not sure what it is, or what it tries to be. It attempts action, hack n slash and RPG and succeeds at NONE of those. In my life, I've never rated a game below a 5...until now. Being an optimist, I start at 10 and deductIn a word, this game is atrocious. The NPCs are shallow. The graphics are cartoonish. The storyline is, well, boring. This is not its predecessor. Indeed, I am not sure what it is, or what it tries to be. It attempts action, hack n slash and RPG and succeeds at NONE of those. In my life, I've never rated a game below a 5...until now. Being an optimist, I start at 10 and deduct points (normally decimals) for those areas where I believe a game is lacking. If it lacks enough, I will subtract a whole point.

    Immersiveness = -2

    Repeated Areas = -2

    Wow, we're already down to 5. There is no immersiveness here. Kirkwall is a blank slate. The people within it stay the same and have no life cycle during the game's timeline (10 years). They do not react to you nor what happens around them. Fun, huh?

    The repeated areas? No game prior to this has offended by repetition quite so badly. It is AWFUL.

    Storyline = -1
    Graphics = -1
    Gameplay = -1

    And voilla, we're well below a 5, which is average.

    Do not waste your time or money with this rushed hack job.    … Expand
  31. MachShot
    May 30, 2011
    2
    If "Requiem for a Dream" could be made into an adaptation for a corporation instead of individuals, the main actor would be BioWare. This is a company that was legendary years ago, and somehow in the span of time following their purchase by EA it has eroded into a cesspit of bad ideas, bad production, and just plain bad employees. I'll be honest, I didn't finish the game. I couldn't. ButIf "Requiem for a Dream" could be made into an adaptation for a corporation instead of individuals, the main actor would be BioWare. This is a company that was legendary years ago, and somehow in the span of time following their purchase by EA it has eroded into a cesspit of bad ideas, bad production, and just plain bad employees. I'll be honest, I didn't finish the game. I couldn't. But let this review start off with the few good things about this heap of a game.

    Sound track is pretty good, some would say its generic medieval lore stuff but that main theme almost makes you think that your about to play a great game.

    Combat for rouge classes has improved in some ways, now an entirely useful class.

    Now for the things this game is horrible at. The games idea of difficulty is just more enemies that spawn behind you. The game's idea of a plot was lead by a woman who the internet has widely renamed as "Hamburger Helper" who's past works make Sonic the Hedgehog/Twilight crossover fan-fiction look like Pulitzer prize winning literature. The main plot has no real presence until the end of the game if the summaries I'm reading are true. To save processing power the game's non-vital NPC's in the ONE city available have facial graphics comparable to that of Morrowind (on lowest graphical settings). Again I'll say that this game has ONE town, so don't expect exploring anything to be a part of the game. It recycles dungeons and textures to the point where you think Greenpeace would give them a happy face sticker. it's "art design" is just a graphics reduction. It's dialog is focused on either being respectful, a jokester, or a prick with no actual effect on dialog results. It's romance is focused purely on being respectful to the homosexual community, but to the extent that would disturb even a San Francisco pride marcher with the realization that in BioWareLand it's biologically normal for the majority of people to be bisexual. And to top it off, the lack of correlation between professional and user reviews demonstrates "incentive" offered by EA for better reviews, and virtually all 10 ratings of this game can be traced directly to staff members on the BioWare forums if you just Google their username.

    This game tried to appeal to all demographics. The result was pissing of all but the most stupid of people. An RPG that tries to get "Call of Duty's audience" according to their chief employees is about as stupid as a radical communist trying to get the libertarian vote. And to think I was a fan of Mass Effect in the past, it's obvious now that the final installment of that trilogy however won't even be worth a pirate. BioWare is but a shell of the business they once were, its sad really.

    Note that if you forget every RPG you ever played in your life, and if you devote weeks of your life to bioware forum indoctrination and END OF LINE banter (head over there if you want to understand that), you can brainwash yourself to thinking its a decent game if you already made the unfortunate mistake of purchasing it.

    One point for good music and one point because I still remember when BioWare made great games.    … Expand
  32. tomasdee
    Jun 19, 2011
    0
    awful story / awfully repetitive --> very disapointing.
    It felt like they spent more time on the cut scenes than that actually did on the game content. I didn't mind the combat system so much but the whole effort to complete the game just felt pretty pointless. I"m still a little puzzled at the choice of plot line - in the end there was really no sense of 'satisfaction' at completing the    awful story / awfully repetitive --> very disapointing.
    It felt like they spent more time on the cut scenes than that actually did on the game content. I didn't mind the combat system so much but the whole effort to complete the game just felt pretty pointless. I"m still a little puzzled at the choice of plot line - in the end there was really no sense of 'satisfaction' at completing the game. Certainly not worth a replay IMO.    … Expand
  33. DanMan3395
    Jan 8, 2013
    0
    This game is an abortion. EA was pregnant with a beautiful baby Dragon Age but they took the drug called "Console" and aborted the sweet baby all over the floor. Everything about this game is inferior to DA:O. There is like 1 dungeon graphic, 1 world graphic, the classes all suck, the magic system sucks. 2 armor graphics and 2 weapon graphics. This is EA and what you should expect from EA.This game is an abortion. EA was pregnant with a beautiful baby Dragon Age but they took the drug called "Console" and aborted the sweet baby all over the floor. Everything about this game is inferior to DA:O. There is like 1 dungeon graphic, 1 world graphic, the classes all suck, the magic system sucks. 2 armor graphics and 2 weapon graphics. This is EA and what you should expect from EA. Pure Abortions.… Expand
  34. CRIPLEDPRIEST
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    absolute retardation i have not played a game so stupid in my life and i have played many stupid games
    i felt physically sick looking at the production quality and the content of this shambled together goblin stilbirth frankenstein
  35. Khaos25
    Apr 17, 2013
    0
    Dragon Age II marks the beginning of the downfall of BioWare and the ever-rising scourge which is EA. Make no mistake, DA2 would be a good game (decent) on its own. But when you're a sequel to what is probably one of the greatest medieval RPGs of all time, you have a lot to live up to. Sadly, DA2 doesn't. Not even a little bit. Repetitive dungeons, lousy gameplay, dull characters, plotDragon Age II marks the beginning of the downfall of BioWare and the ever-rising scourge which is EA. Make no mistake, DA2 would be a good game (decent) on its own. But when you're a sequel to what is probably one of the greatest medieval RPGs of all time, you have a lot to live up to. Sadly, DA2 doesn't. Not even a little bit. Repetitive dungeons, lousy gameplay, dull characters, plot holes and so many more. Its literally a blight on gaming. Origins was the first ever medieval style game I actually finished. I wanted to get off this game a few minutes into the actual gameplay. It WAS that bad. I could go on forever but I feel like I'm gonna waste my time doing so cause you all know the drill anyway. The worst part is IF DA3 turns out good, I would have to finish this sad, sad game in order to play through the whole series properly. But somehow, I fear EA has more nasty things up their sleeves.… Expand
  36. Legionator
    Apr 2, 2012
    0
    Maybe the greatest disappointment of the RPG history. Everything that makes Dragon Age: Origins is either watered down or removed. Dialogue system, skills&attributes, inventory, ui, camera, art style, graphics are terrible. Combat is boring, meaningless, mindless. The only good thing about this game is that it can use to understand which critics are honest and which critics are lapdogs of EA.
  37. kwopper
    Jan 11, 2013
    0
    I honestly didn't even play through this game halfway. Dragon age 2 has none of the strategy, customization, or gameplay the original dragon age, or any bioware rpg has. They dumbed down everything . This game might as well have been a fps except with fireballs and swords.
  38. RoboticDevice
    Jul 19, 2012
    2
    For those of you wondering whether or not Dragon Age 2's combat is different from Dragon Age Origins, it is. In Dragon age origins, the combat took timing, it took skill, thought and effort. You had to plan out everything you wanted to do, and it was great. Because if you didn't, you had a high chance of failure. you actually had to think, you had to work, and you had to comply with realFor those of you wondering whether or not Dragon Age 2's combat is different from Dragon Age Origins, it is. In Dragon age origins, the combat took timing, it took skill, thought and effort. You had to plan out everything you wanted to do, and it was great. Because if you didn't, you had a high chance of failure. you actually had to think, you had to work, and you had to comply with real terms of combat. In Dragon Age 2, it's completely different. If you want to win nearly ANY battle, including against dragons, all you have to do is spam the attack button and you will. I cannot tell you how many times I attempted to make it harder on myself just to make it feel like a real game. I attempted to limit my attacks per second, I changed the difficulties to harder, even so, I still won every single battle with ease because of the X button. I have an Xbox remote, during a few fights I just took it downstairs while spamming the X button, made myself a sandwich, came back up, stopped in the bathroom a few times, and came back to see not only me still alive, but everyone else dead because I had killed them. It was that simple. There is no justice in combat for this. However, I give it a 3, simply because of the fact that the campaign and story line do make some sense, they just barely follow Origins, but even so, I highly recommend you put it back on the shelf and run. This teaches kids that when they're in real world situations, all they have to do is spam the button. That's how I got my first girlfriend, ironically, but that's beside the point. Please don't buy this.… Expand
  39. Aeryx
    Jan 19, 2013
    4
    As a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins this game was a big disappointment. You can tell this game was rushed like crazy with the ridiculous number of recycled dungeons, enemies, and graphic tilesets. This should have been a great game but instead fell victim to EA's ongoing overhype-and-overrush-quality-be-damned business strategy at making new games. The fact that most critics gave this gameAs a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins this game was a big disappointment. You can tell this game was rushed like crazy with the ridiculous number of recycled dungeons, enemies, and graphic tilesets. This should have been a great game but instead fell victim to EA's ongoing overhype-and-overrush-quality-be-damned business strategy at making new games. The fact that most critics gave this game a 90+ score just shows how lacking in integrity game journalists are.… Expand
  40. iseeall
    Jul 26, 2013
    4
    Dropped it after reaching the first city. The plot is alwful. There is just nothing to do there. You take a pointless role of a bounty hunter and are told to go some place to grab some riches. Well, I don't find it motivating enough. There was no feeling of story at all.
  41. ActionBastard
    Jan 14, 2013
    3
    This game, despite being somewhere between resoundingly mediocre and offal, was foisted onto the gaming community by a clueless industry and corrupt, bribe-accepting "journalists." If you like RPGS, don't play this. If you believe in journalistic integrity, don't play this. If you like video games and want the industry to improve, don't play this. I'll give this game a 3, because it'sThis game, despite being somewhere between resoundingly mediocre and offal, was foisted onto the gaming community by a clueless industry and corrupt, bribe-accepting "journalists." If you like RPGS, don't play this. If you believe in journalistic integrity, don't play this. If you like video games and want the industry to improve, don't play this. I'll give this game a 3, because it's prequel was excellent and it held much (squandered) potential.… Expand
  42. Jaz
    Feb 23, 2013
    4
    For the original Dragon Age i wrote: Very immersing story, believable world, interesting NPCs, fun and demanding combat. Well, Dragon Age 2 has nothing of those.
  43. Razark9
    May 25, 2013
    3
    Oh.. My.. God... EA ruined this game. Battles were way too easy. The story was boring and I felt almost claustrophobic inside the city of Kirkwall. Every cave looked exactly the same..
  44. Vamrem
    Nov 22, 2014
    0
    I've just finished the review of Dragon Age Origins and this is the opposite in any possible way. While DA:O is the succession of the gameplay from Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, DA2 is more like a "social experiment" to test the players reaction at an "hybrid" of PC and Console gameplay, the result is that all console players love (when they hated DA:O isometric camera), and all PCI've just finished the review of Dragon Age Origins and this is the opposite in any possible way. While DA:O is the succession of the gameplay from Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, DA2 is more like a "social experiment" to test the players reaction at an "hybrid" of PC and Console gameplay, the result is that all console players love (when they hated DA:O isometric camera), and all PC players feels an empty gameplay totally focused to action and combos, it is the same what "build" you have because combos does more damage than skills. I will be clear: this IS a bad game, incomplete, invisible corridors, repetitive, recycle of scenarios, etc, but could be more close to be "digestible" as a "spin-off" in the saga, but that "2" ruined the saga irremediably, now we have to play Dragon Age: Inquisition with shame. And why? Because Bioware wanted to earn a handful of bills more...… Expand
  45. Jtpaldemar
    Jan 29, 2016
    0
    The first Dragon Age is one of the best RPG game made since Baldur's gate series, Dragon Age II is a very good game...for the first 20 minutes. I give to this game 0 because it is an insult to his predecessor: recycled areas everywhere, enemies spawn everywhere without any logic, the interface sucks and there is only one good fight in all the game. This game really disappointed me.
  46. Jabberwock
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Very disappointed in this game. While DAO was a real masterpiece for me, this game can offer nothing from what I liked in a firt part. Developers went to simplify everything. Skills, dialogues, spells, talents, inventory, everything! Game become more console-orientated. "Dynamic fighting" seems terrible for me. Plenty of monsters spawning all around. I could forgive part of these things,Very disappointed in this game. While DAO was a real masterpiece for me, this game can offer nothing from what I liked in a firt part. Developers went to simplify everything. Skills, dialogues, spells, talents, inventory, everything! Game become more console-orientated. "Dynamic fighting" seems terrible for me. Plenty of monsters spawning all around. I could forgive part of these things, but not for Bioware. This game is not worthy to stand along with previous company products.… Expand
  47. king_smeagol
    Mar 13, 2011
    2
    users - 3.67/10
    payed critics - 8.40/10
    TRUE SCORE 6.03/10 As you can see the pro's overate games. Pros 84% but we the gamers give it a real score of 38%. AVERAGE META SCORE 60%. Who do you trust? Based on the 'user reviews' the average score is 3.67 out of 10. This is based on 79 votes given 5 or 6, 427 given 7,8,9 or 10 and 822 votes given 0, 1 or 2. The meta critic meta score based    users - 3.67/10
    payed critics - 8.40/10
    TRUE SCORE 6.03/10

    As you can see the pro's overate games. Pros 84% but we the gamers give it a real score of 38%. AVERAGE META SCORE 60%. Who do you trust?

    Based on the 'user reviews' the average score is 3.67 out of 10. This is based on 79 votes given 5 or 6, 427 given 7,8,9 or 10 and 822 votes given 0, 1 or 2.

    The meta critic meta score based on 16 'critics' is 84 out of 100 out 8.4 out of 10.

    I have found over the years the so-called professional reviewers over rate games
    An average game should get 50% not 75% or 85%. We vary rarely see games getting below mid 80's these days even if they are bad.
    So I thought i'd find the average of the true gamers - us the buyer - and combine that score the the payed reviewers to see what the TRUE META SCORE is.    … Expand
  48. JenniferGoo
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    The crticial reception of Dragon Age II is one of the most glaring examples of just how terrified the enthusiast video game press is afraid of upsetting publishers. They wouldn't dare tell you at what point this is a focus-driven rushed-to-market insult to video game consumers everywhere. I never played the original Dragon Age so I'm not an irate fan of the original... there is just notThe crticial reception of Dragon Age II is one of the most glaring examples of just how terrified the enthusiast video game press is afraid of upsetting publishers. They wouldn't dare tell you at what point this is a focus-driven rushed-to-market insult to video game consumers everywhere. I never played the original Dragon Age so I'm not an irate fan of the original... there is just not much to defend here. There isn't a single battle in the game (including bosses) that doesn't involve waves and waves of enemies spawning out of thin air waiting for you to mow them down. Sometimes, even when you give them a gentle whack, they explode into a dozen pieces... which I guess is suppose to make me feel like a bad ass. The entire game takes place in one city made up of a few small disconnected areas and the same two or three dungeons that are reused for the entire game. They even try to trick you into thinking this is a new area by blocking off doors you were previously able to go through and opening other ones. Why can't you go through that door you see this time around? Who knows! You just can't click on it! Look, when asked about this problem in an interview, the developers claim they had two choices: give us all original content and cut the game length down to a couple hours or reuse the same areas over and over until the game lasted twenty-five hours. If that doesn't give you an idea of how rushed this product is, I don't know what will. There is not 60 dollars worth of content here and yet so many people have already bought this game because the video game press is looking out more for themselves and not for us. The sad part of this is that underneath it all, the character interaction is great even if the overally story arc, like the rest of the game, is not well thought out at all. It's clear there were talented people working on Dragon Age II, but they weren't given the liberty or time to make this into a good product. Buyer beware.… Expand
  49. Mat
    Apr 16, 2011
    3
    ...silent...still silent cover my mind. I buy this game before they come, and that is my mistake. But i believe, what bioware said...no more my "dear" bioware...I newer buy your game before they come, even if you give me half prize. I WANT MY MONEY BACK. This game is some joke.

    Very angry, and unhappy player.
  50. Irishbrewed
    Apr 23, 2011
    0
    Terrible game on more levels then one. I do not recommend it at all, very linear unoriginal and unimagined game. It is an obvious cashcow and nothing more. The game morphs into and simple point A to point B fairly quick, with hours of back tracking and very dull fetch quest. The story starts strong but quickly turns into something you would find amongst the indie titles of the RPG world.Terrible game on more levels then one. I do not recommend it at all, very linear unoriginal and unimagined game. It is an obvious cashcow and nothing more. The game morphs into and simple point A to point B fairly quick, with hours of back tracking and very dull fetch quest. The story starts strong but quickly turns into something you would find amongst the indie titles of the RPG world. Its a mess and nothing about it warrants your time.… Expand
  51. Swader
    Apr 24, 2011
    1
    Unimmersive and disjointed story, boring characters, the exact same 4 locations over and over again, dumbed down combat to appeal to the masses of the consoles, respawning enemies right in the middle of a fight out of thin air, third person view exclusive, complete removal of strategy with a switch to storm-in-and-shoot-everything game type, no improvement in graphics, horribly inaccurateUnimmersive and disjointed story, boring characters, the exact same 4 locations over and over again, dumbed down combat to appeal to the masses of the consoles, respawning enemies right in the middle of a fight out of thin air, third person view exclusive, complete removal of strategy with a switch to storm-in-and-shoot-everything game type, no improvement in graphics, horribly inaccurate dialog wheel as in Mass Effect, repetitive questing which almost feels like grinding, inability to change the armor of party members, inability to play a race other than human, limitation of classes to warrior-rogue-mage, these are just some of the negative aspects that made me shelve this game indefinitely. When DA3 comes out, I'd rather read a quick story summary than play through this junk ever again.… Expand
  52. bear77
    May 5, 2011
    2
    this is one of the hardest reviews I think I will ever write. I am a long term fan of Bioware. I fondly remember reveling in Baldur's Gate all the way through mass effect and DA1. They are, in my opinion one of the best AAA developers when it comes to story line and polish. So the best description of my play experience with DA2 was a crushing sense of loss. I can only guess at whatthis is one of the hardest reviews I think I will ever write. I am a long term fan of Bioware. I fondly remember reveling in Baldur's Gate all the way through mass effect and DA1. They are, in my opinion one of the best AAA developers when it comes to story line and polish. So the best description of my play experience with DA2 was a crushing sense of loss. I can only guess at what brought about the changes in the level of quality. The monster spawning out of thin air, the feeling of a corridor like linear progression, wooden dialog that leaves the player feeling let down are just some of the elements that, sadly,make this the last game I will buy from Bioware purely based it being crafted by them! if your reading this Bioware earn me back!! one bad title doesn't break you, but it does cause future games to be scrutinized before purchase. as to the critic score....integrity is important...don't you think?… Expand
  53. Prantare
    Apr 10, 2011
    0
    This is the worst game BioWare ever made. I think we have reached a new milestone in history where BioWare lends the crown of RPG to CD Projekt and The Witcher. The game just has no soul... it's not a bad game, but it's a game that really says nothing. I hope BioWare listens to their fans and go back to their roots (Baldur's Gate and KotOR).
  54. Devil_Man_X
    Jul 5, 2011
    3
    The User ratings have this one almost dead on. No it's not the worst game out there but just because you can make a game look relatively pretty doesn't mean it's good. Dragon age suffers from one game breaking flaw, greed. EA and Bioware show their true colors here. They have changed everything that made Dragon Age Origins such an incredible game. Not in the name of improvement but to sellThe User ratings have this one almost dead on. No it's not the worst game out there but just because you can make a game look relatively pretty doesn't mean it's good. Dragon age suffers from one game breaking flaw, greed. EA and Bioware show their true colors here. They have changed everything that made Dragon Age Origins such an incredible game. Not in the name of improvement but to sell more copies. I do see how some of the changes could have been for the better if done properly yet others are just senseless. The battle system needed reworked if only for the console versions. However the changes they made left it feeling less like an RPG and more like a bad hack and slash. Gone are all the deep character customizations. You simply choose gender and class. No more custom backstory. If this was any other franchise it would have been better off. Calling it a sequel to Dragon Age simply ruined it. No one buys a sequel hoping it will be more simplistic with a simple story and fewer options. If you buy a sequel to a beloved franchise you expect it to improve on itself. The story is borderline garbage and the way it's delivered is even worse. Don't get excited for some upcoming exploration or engaging plotline as the game will simply skip ahead just as you're getting into it. Yes this dungeon looks exactly like the last one just make a left here instead of a right. Bioware has openly admitted to using the same dungeon layout multiple times. Here is the bottom line. I like many others was expecting a sequel. Hoping to continue my story or atleast flesh out the world of Dragon Age. Instead I was sold a crappy 5 yr old baldurs gate wannabe with modern graphics. I was not expecting Mass Effect Medieval Edition. Bioware is hands down the most overrated developer around. They consistantly make terrible games that have great stories. They really should just consider making movies instead of games. We would all be better off.… Expand
  55. 6xdandangp
    Dec 29, 2012
    0
    I expected MUCH more. Dragon Age: Origins had an excellent concept and was much more enjoyable overall. This game definitely does not deserve to be part of the main series. The fact that you're forced to be in one town for most of the game shows how lazy EA is getting.
  56. ravelli
    May 4, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. â… Expand
  57. Winterwolf
    Mar 27, 2011
    1
    I liked DA:O, so I wanted to try the DA2 Demo. I couldn't finish it. The game seems to have been reduced to a mindless click fest without much substance. I felt no desire to finish the demo and certainly none to buy the game.
  58. erynnar
    Mar 27, 2011
    3
    This is not a sequel, this is a stand alone game set in the DA universe. The combat leaves a lot to be desired. The supposed over all story arc really doesn't happen until Act 3.You spend most of your time being a n errand person running from once short story of a quest to another with no unifying thread. It is disjointed and repetitive. They reuse maps (which they admit is a problem) andThis is not a sequel, this is a stand alone game set in the DA universe. The combat leaves a lot to be desired. The supposed over all story arc really doesn't happen until Act 3.You spend most of your time being a n errand person running from once short story of a quest to another with no unifying thread. It is disjointed and repetitive. They reuse maps (which they admit is a problem) and you are pretty much stuck in the city of Kirkwall and places just outside it. So it is claustrophobic in a way. There is no real connection to the character you play who seems to make no impact on the world with their decisions, but rather has to go with the flow and gets pushed into one horrible situation after another. And overall the game is so depressing it is a wonder your Hawke doesn't run mad. There is no break from the angst. You can't talk to your companions when you want, only at their houses and when the game tells you. The convo wheel is horrible, you never know what your character is actually going to say, not that is seems to make any impact on what little story there is. I hate that they basically gave a lobotomy to one of my favorite characters from Awakenings which made me not like the game, and didn't really make me feel for the plot point at the end they were driving towards. Having a relationship with the companions proved difficult most of the time and did not have the connection of the companions in DAO. I hated the zerging battles, endless wave after wave of enemies, which requires no strategy just a lot of potions, mostly for stamina.

    I did love the companions, save the lobotomized one. All of them (despite being tricky in getting your relationship the way you want them) are well done, and fun. I like the new armor designs for my Hawke.

    Overall this game has a shallow feel compared to DAO. The little details, easter eggs, and side quests are missing. hidden items, hidden doorways and passages, small stories and loot missing. This was ready in a year and half, and it shows. It feels rushed and unfinished.    … Expand
  59. Stormcrow666
    May 3, 2011
    3
    The 1st DAO was 100% better than this piece of garbage. I have had it since release and I dont think that I will even bother to finish it. The rehashed areas are boring, the plot is terrible and for a dx11 game(patched..) the graphics are not that great. If you have DX11 running just take a look at your characters(or party members) feet sink into the floor..just shoddy. This game seemsThe 1st DAO was 100% better than this piece of garbage. I have had it since release and I dont think that I will even bother to finish it. The rehashed areas are boring, the plot is terrible and for a dx11 game(patched..) the graphics are not that great. If you have DX11 running just take a look at your characters(or party members) feet sink into the floor..just shoddy. This game seems rushed and has a terrible plot.… Expand
  60. Kenter
    Mar 29, 2011
    2
    i would not count this as a sequel but rather a standalone game. the combat system that was good in the origins was turned to garbage no doubt due to ea's habbit of killing any game they touch. the story could have been better as well as the choice of the diffrent races not been removed. removeing the other races is one of the things that made origins great. unfortunatly the "professionali would not count this as a sequel but rather a standalone game. the combat system that was good in the origins was turned to garbage no doubt due to ea's habbit of killing any game they touch. the story could have been better as well as the choice of the diffrent races not been removed. removeing the other races is one of the things that made origins great. unfortunatly the "professional critics" seem to be a bunch of worthless suckups.. what are you going to do. anyway ea screwed up on this one im one of the people that loved the first one and i was severly disapointed in this. the replayability of this game is zero… Expand
  61. Faith77
    Apr 11, 2011
    0
    Such a disappointment of a game that had so much potential. This game is nothing more than a single player version of Dungeons & Dragons Online. There's zero exploration, every mission takes place in the same 4-5 exact maps. The only positives were the voice acting and art direction. It's really sad to see BioWare fall so far in such a short period of time. It's sad to see all thisSuch a disappointment of a game that had so much potential. This game is nothing more than a single player version of Dungeons & Dragons Online. There's zero exploration, every mission takes place in the same 4-5 exact maps. The only positives were the voice acting and art direction. It's really sad to see BioWare fall so far in such a short period of time. It's sad to see all this new technology and years of game evolution get wasted on dumbed down developed games that are mindless. We're supposed to be moving forward, not backward. SNES games were more challenging then modern day games.

    Also, anything positive you'll see written about this game is an overreaction of personal preference from the bias developers who quickly developed this game in such a short period.    … Expand
  62. vacant
    May 3, 2011
    3
    The same location over and over and over. Utterly uninteresting story and awful, cliched cringe-worthy characters. Nowhere interesting to go, nobody interesting to talk to. Dull, dull, dull...
  63. chompchomp
    May 3, 2011
    1
    what happened between DA:O and this spazzed out sequel? someone left the steak out too long and it turned into garbagemeat. poor poor showing. overall gameplay is like a giant flaming bag on my doorstep - i know what's inside.
  64. Bludfur
    May 4, 2011
    3
    In spite of my love for Bioware's games, I have to further confirm the disappointment of Dragon Age 2. A massive chain of uninteresting one-off quests requiring constant, oversimplistic, repetitive combat, playing out with formulaic results over which you have relatively little control. Generic conversation responses tend to lead to the same outcomes, and with the exception of yourIn spite of my love for Bioware's games, I have to further confirm the disappointment of Dragon Age 2. A massive chain of uninteresting one-off quests requiring constant, oversimplistic, repetitive combat, playing out with formulaic results over which you have relatively little control. Generic conversation responses tend to lead to the same outcomes, and with the exception of your companions, none of the characters are interesting. Graphics look absolutely terrible, reuse of environments is questionable, retardedness of Templar who can't figure out that a mage MC is an apostate is inexcusable. Even despite being motivated to carry over event results to the next game, I ended up leaving this game abandoned, bloated and bleached in a field, uninterested in finishing, and swearing I would never Preorder a game again.… Expand
  65. Daymond
    May 13, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I should have known better. I saw some early signals like a mage in a melee fight in the trailer, but I decided to ignore that fact. What can I add? 17 sets of armor that no one can use, a painful experience as a mage, several characters deserving to die in the first chapter because they are flat out intolerable (starting with Carver), weak plot, recycled graphics, ruined tactics system, boring boss battles... don´t keep shielding yourself behind "critic" scores and famous people tweeting about the game, Bioware. Dragon Age 2 is a failure. And you should protect your reputation by admitting this.… Expand
  66. linksteri
    May 18, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Completely ruined the beautiful concept of DAO and legendary D&D game mechanics... Story does not work. The game does not work. Hollywood style is not right approach for dark and livable role-playing game.… Expand
  67. Kietharr
    Jul 7, 2011
    3
    People will look back at this game and see it as the beginning of the end for Bioware, and the sad part is it's not even their fault, it's EA Game's fault. They're doing to Bioware what they did to Westwood, forcing harsh timelines and production schedules on artists which leads to releases of unfinished **** games, doing this to drive the company and its franchises into the ground beforePeople will look back at this game and see it as the beginning of the end for Bioware, and the sad part is it's not even their fault, it's EA Game's fault. They're doing to Bioware what they did to Westwood, forcing harsh timelines and production schedules on artists which leads to releases of unfinished **** games, doing this to drive the company and its franchises into the ground before absorbing them and milking what little is left from the shriveled remnants of a once great product.

    That aside, I didn't really like the first game so I was not expecting to like this one. I played it through out of boredom while watching a friend's house. But all of the issues that plagued DA:O go double for this one. Intensely dumbed down and consolized to draw in call of duty players. Difficulty is a joke, even on the hardest difficulty I died six or seven times total. The story is a joke, skips around as if they scratched every CD coming off of the production lines by hand to cut out all of the linking things that made the brief episodes of story make sense.

    The game is intensely limited in its scope, but not only is it short, it is also shallow. Zones are reused so much even the characters joke about it. Guess what bioware? We don't think it's funny. I certainly wouldn't be amused if I had spent $60 on this game only to have Bioware designers make fun of me for being such a damned sucker through the game's characters. According to sales statistics I've seen DA2 has less than half of the sales DA:O had at this point. I didn't consider DA:O a gem, but it was certainly better than this, the market agrees. Trying to lure Call of Duty players into a fantasy RPG at the price of pissing off the rest of us nerds probably isn't a good idea.    … Expand
  68. ShtKck
    Jul 7, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age Origins was years in the making. Truly the spiritual successor to Bioware's claim to fame, the Baldurs Gate Series. Dragon Age II however, was made in considerably less time, with considerably less foresight. This is a wonderful example of two steps forward, one step backwards.

    Dragon Age II removes many of the classical RPG elements in order to streamline it into a Mass Effect    Dragon Age Origins was years in the making. Truly the spiritual successor to Bioware's claim to fame, the Baldurs Gate Series. Dragon Age II however, was made in considerably less time, with considerably less foresight. This is a wonderful example of two steps forward, one step backwards.

    Dragon Age II removes many of the classical RPG elements in order to streamline it into a Mass Effect type best seller. What fits one series doesn't work for everything. There are a inane amount of reused environments which are generic and sterile. Everything is rushed, between the lack of character interactions and the "when is it going to end type" story.

    They swore up and down that they didn't forget where they came from while making the first Dragon Age, and for the glimpse of time, maybe they didn't. But.. Alas the memory is gone again.    … Expand
  69. thenameless1
    Nov 17, 2011
    0
    I never even played this POS 'game'. I heard enough, Bioware has killed itself. CDP Red is the new Bioware, even better than the previous one. With the masterpiece of TW2, they have made PS: Torment to look like a joke in comparison. **** this game.
  70. Orthogon
    Sep 17, 2013
    1
    This is certainly one of the worst games I've ever played it reminds me of one disappointment of the 8 bit generation in that despite my wish to write a lengthy and balanced review, I really just want to draw a line under it and never think of it again.

    It shares some things in common with some of the other worst game hall of famers, actually, especially as a sequel. This game has    This is certainly one of the worst games I've ever played it reminds me of one disappointment of the 8 bit generation in that despite my wish to write a lengthy and balanced review, I really just want to draw a line under it and never think of it again.

    It shares some things in common with some of the other worst game hall of famers, actually, especially as a sequel.

    This game has poor animation, horrible graphics, lots of game-breaking camera issues, half of the most enjoyable things from the series were removed or never implemented, most, I really do mean *most* of the game is played in literally the same areas, repeated with different names.

    The writing is shocking think the very worst NanoWrimo entrant or fanfic writer going full they eschew character development they appear to mostly have replaced it with infantile ribaldry, and there is a single unfinished, incoherent story arc with great swathes unwritten, missions will leave you agog at their idiocy.

    The whole story feels like it has been smooshed together by a first year humanities undergrad who thinks they are very clever, and in their mission to avoid "cliche" and seem "edgy" they have written a pulpy fanfic with no cohesion, no FINISHED MAIN STORY ARC, little or no recognizable journey of any of the characters for the player to feel invested in and what there is, what approaches an interesting story just sort of tails off as you realise they obviously didn't have time to write lots of it. You're basically playing a draft.

    As for the combat, imagine if somebody who had no interest in computer games say a space alien, a very lazy space alien with only ten minutes to spare and no play-testers attempted to replicate the gameplay of Fable.

    That's what you've got they've tried to turn the game into pure dumb fun, and missed out the fun part.

    Art direction is a bit worse than the writing, but forgive me I'm going to tail off here because you get the picture and this all seems very negative.

    In short, this game is shocking and I'm sorry I played it.    … Expand
  71. Namutree
    Apr 8, 2014
    0
    This game sucks. It's in no way a faithful sequel. It's a bad mix of hack'n slash and RPG.

    If you like tactical combat: This game doesn't have it.
    If you like in depth RPG: This is not a game for you.
    If you like flashy hack'n slash: Try something else.
    If you like open world games: Don't play this game.
  72. sabaothkelly
    Jul 21, 2019
    0
    Definitely this THING is the worst RPG I've ever played!
    So in short it was a complete waste of time and money!!
  73. darwihn
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II sees a grand overhaul of the series' underlying systems, and the game benefits greatly as a result. The class system in particular is much improved. It revolves around the three roles you remember from the first game, but the level of distinction between variants within each class is much more defined. Your sword-and-shield warrior, for instance, will play quite differentlyDragon Age II sees a grand overhaul of the series' underlying systems, and the game benefits greatly as a result. The class system in particular is much improved. It revolves around the three roles you remember from the first game, but the level of distinction between variants within each class is much more defined. Your sword-and-shield warrior, for instance, will play quite differently from one wielding a burly two-hander. By the same token, Dragon Age II dives headlong into MMO conventions more avidly than its predecessor did, so if you've yet to internalize the concepts that drive those games, it might all be a little overwhelming. Though there's more than one way to skin a cat--sword-and-board warriors aren't the only viable tanks, for instance--the fact that the game is built around these notions puts some soft limits on your choices when it comes to party composition. You wouldn't dream of going into one of the key boss battles without a mage specced for healing.… Expand
  74. cmoyano
    Mar 16, 2011
    0
    the worse rpg ever made...no customization, cheap web design interface that looks like a student made it, no toggle helmet key, no toggle weapon key, lame story with choices that have absolutely no effect in story line and recycled dungeons over and over again. Origins seemed too complicated for console boys, so EAware decided it would be easy to butcher the game and appeal that consolethe worse rpg ever made...no customization, cheap web design interface that looks like a student made it, no toggle helmet key, no toggle weapon key, lame story with choices that have absolutely no effect in story line and recycled dungeons over and over again. Origins seemed too complicated for console boys, so EAware decided it would be easy to butcher the game and appeal that console crowd and rush the game...horrible graphics, that are way over demanding because they're badly coded...witcher 2 is middle ware, with an 8800gt maxing it out, and it looks 10 times better than this piece of crap...square shapes everywhere, lame environments, and coming form 150 hrs, to 30 (everything done, 15 hrs just story line) this game is the biggest piece of crap ive played in a while..i cant even finish it without cheating because its that **** you bioware… Expand
  75. Nereitha
    Apr 24, 2011
    2
    Me siento estafada. Origins lo terminé cuatro veces y de este no voy a terminar ni la primera partida. Si el 3 va a seguir este camino, Dragon Age ha muerto para mí.
  76. Higher_Standard
    Apr 8, 2011
    0
    A BioWare employee was caught posing as a consumer on the review site Metacritic. The employee, Chris Hoban, who posted under the name of Avanost gave a score of 10/10 saying "Anything negative you'll see about this game is an overreaction of personal preference." A representative for EA responded after much online controversy saying "Of course the people who make the game vote for theirA BioWare employee was caught posing as a consumer on the review site Metacritic. The employee, Chris Hoban, who posted under the name of Avanost gave a score of 10/10 saying "Anything negative you'll see about this game is an overreaction of personal preference." A representative for EA responded after much online controversy saying "Of course the people who make the game vote for their own game. That's how it works in the Oscars, that's how it works in the Grammys and why I'm betting that Barack Obama voted for himself in the last election", though it is unclear if Hoban acted on his own behest or on that of the company.… Expand
  77. ar1ur
    Apr 14, 2011
    1
    I can't describe the level of disappointment with this game. I've bought every Bioware game in the last ten years and thought they can go no wrong - how wrong was I. Dragon Age 2 is a bad game and a terrible sequel. The developers tried so hard to pull in the casual crowd that they changed and destroyed almost everything that was so beautiful about Origins. As a result we got explodingI can't describe the level of disappointment with this game. I've bought every Bioware game in the last ten years and thought they can go no wrong - how wrong was I. Dragon Age 2 is a bad game and a terrible sequel. The developers tried so hard to pull in the casual crowd that they changed and destroyed almost everything that was so beautiful about Origins. As a result we got exploding bodies, combat where you have to pause the game every 2 seconds in order to be tactical on higher difficulty levels, ridiculous waves of enemies, reused environments, bland companions, uninteresting and illogical story ..... i could go on and on.
    Stay away !!    … Expand
  78. rottencat
    Apr 2, 2011
    0
    I'd imagine that the main reason that people are paying to play this is because its main character on the poster looks like Gordon Freeman. The game looked very promising- but this was anything but fun. The fact that this game was allowed to advance past the "script writing" stage is beyond me.
  79. ZenToad
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    A game so totally devoid of all the depths and charm that made the first in the series interesting that it is a wonder to me how Bioware could shove this out the door. It is so dumbed down in quests, background and especially combat that its just a travesty. I feel combat is in such a state of disrepair with teleporting waves of enemies that all tactics and thought is effectivelyA game so totally devoid of all the depths and charm that made the first in the series interesting that it is a wonder to me how Bioware could shove this out the door. It is so dumbed down in quests, background and especially combat that its just a travesty. I feel combat is in such a state of disrepair with teleporting waves of enemies that all tactics and thought is effectively eliminated from the game, all there is left is a "press whatever cooldown is ready" retardations that its worthy of a bungled flashgame… Expand
  80. zentoo
    Apr 14, 2011
    3
    A game so totally devoid of all the depths and charm that made the first in the series interesting that it is a wonder to me how Bioware could shove this out the door. It is so dumbed down in quests, background and especially combat that its just a travesty. I feel combat is in such a state of disrepair with teleporting waves of enemies that all tactics and thought is effectivelyA game so totally devoid of all the depths and charm that made the first in the series interesting that it is a wonder to me how Bioware could shove this out the door. It is so dumbed down in quests, background and especially combat that its just a travesty. I feel combat is in such a state of disrepair with teleporting waves of enemies that all tactics and thought is effectively eliminated from the game, all there is left is a "press whatever cooldown is ready" retardations that its worthy of a bungled flashgame

    Score (3.1)    … Expand
  81. BLAHEMOTH
    Mar 25, 2011
    2
    I don't even know where to begin...Pathetic,repetitive gameplay,reused(and reused,and reused)locations,2004 graphics,confined experience(spending an entire game in one city is NOT my idea of epic gameplay)Absolutely inexcusable PC performance-i get twice the framerate of this game on metro 2033 maxed out..which is hilarious when you consider that metro 2033 is probably the mostI don't even know where to begin...Pathetic,repetitive gameplay,reused(and reused,and reused)locations,2004 graphics,confined experience(spending an entire game in one city is NOT my idea of epic gameplay)Absolutely inexcusable PC performance-i get twice the framerate of this game on metro 2033 maxed out..which is hilarious when you consider that metro 2033 is probably the most gpu-intensive game to date-and incredible-looking to boot,and this game looks well,awful.hey,bioware,it's called OPTIMIZATION..maybe you should try it sometime..A terrible,dumbed-down,boring,massive disappointment and in my top 3 worst sequels of all time..fire up knights of the old republic and shed a tear for the good old days of bioware,because judging from this game,those days are long gone....… Expand
  82. Ming120
    Apr 12, 2011
    4
    Disappointment is only part of the story. Not to go into the repeated argument that Dragon Age 2 isn't Dragon Age: Origins, for surely it is not, the game stands very short of what one might consider entertaining on its own merits. The way that this game was designed is often times very counter-intuitive that one has to wonder what the developers were thinking when they came up with theDisappointment is only part of the story. Not to go into the repeated argument that Dragon Age 2 isn't Dragon Age: Origins, for surely it is not, the game stands very short of what one might consider entertaining on its own merits. The way that this game was designed is often times very counter-intuitive that one has to wonder what the developers were thinking when they came up with the original conception. The presentation of the levels is perhaps at the top of the list. There seems little to justify reusing maps short of economic reasons. Yes, there are plenty of games out there that reuse maps, but in Dragon Age 2, this practice goes up into a totally new level where an exceedingly large percentage of the game takes place in the same levels, over and over again. You can have literally twenty or more quests in one single area, and thus you will find yourself revisiting the same areas continuously for the entire game. Even the main storyline (if one can consider it such), takes place in the same areas, and often requires you to do a circuit on the more prominent ones. Little more needs to be said on how annoying this can be.

    In terms of what you do in this game, the truth is, not a whole lot. Almost every quest, every mission, involves you either killing something, looting someplace, finding something someone lost, or simply returning a random item you pick up on the ground to someone you somehow, through the gift of clairvoyance, know who it belongs to. The graphics, while often claimed to be artistically rich, are a step down from Dragon Age: Origins. In fact, its almost a step down from Neverwinter Nights 2. If you wish to see the proof of this, then look up screenshots of Alistair or Leliana, and compare those with the same in the original Dragon Age: Origins and make an opinion for yourself. The main problem, however, is not so much in character modeling, but the overall atmosphere seems like a painting or a cartoon. I can admire paintings, but the Van Gogh depiction of the Dragon Age world probably will not seem as engaging to the average gamer, and does little justice to portray the dark fantasy setting that the original game tried to portray. The other issue with this game is the combat. The combat has been simplified slightly to make it more accessible to the console gamer. This is admirable. Some aspects of the system are in fact, easier to use. The primarily flaw, however, is not about the controls, or accessibility, but by the way combat was handled in the overall context of the game. Your encounters will almost always consist of fighting waves of enemies that spawn out of thin air when you least expect it. Actually, the more you fight these waves, the more that you will expect another wave coming every single time you encounter enemies. While this certainly makes the game more challenging, you will find that immersion will be brittler than ever before in a video game. The story is flat and unengaging. It is often argued that the story in Dragon Age II is a more personal one, without the cliche of always having some big bad boss at the end. I can certainly see the personal aspect of this, but that is also one of its crippling flaws. There is no clear cut antagonist in the game. Nothing that really motivates you to sit down and wonder why you do something in the game. All the "villains" in the game have almost nothing to do with you, and you will often find yourself doing quests for people out of philanthropic reasons (or greed, because they pay you) than for any great reasons. In essence, your character in the game is just another errand boy, or girl.

    The whole game takes about 30-50 hours to complete, but unfortunately, the main plot hardly makes even a fraction of that time. There isn't really a main plot, in fact, for the game is divided up into three acts with almost completely unrelated segments of storytelling. The rest, of course, is filled in with sidequests fitting for the errand running hero that you are. Most of the characters in the game are also forgettable. Almost all of the companions you meet in the game, allies if you wish, are so two-dimensional that you just have to wonder what happened to all the magic that was instilled into characters like Thane, or Jaheira, or Morrigan, or even the scaly lizard of a jukebox bard named Deekin. With the exception of maybe one or two, most of the characters have flat personalities whose depth never goes below the skin. Their motivations only go as far as their graphical portrayal, such as as the dutiful warrior, the stuck-up holyman, the ignorant mage, and a slutty rogue. They are either black, or white, with no grays in the middle. I had to take a point off for each of the points mentioned above. It is truly difficult to, in good faith, to recommend this title to anyone. Its not a broken game, but its so poorly designed that it can hardly hold up on its own.    … Expand
  83. KiSUAN
    Apr 9, 2011
    0
    This game plain sucks, I loved DAO but from the game play to the storyline this game is a freaking pain, I couldn't even finished, every time I started the game I fell like pucking, hated every moment of it, I wish I could get my money back, EA and Bioware really screw this up.
  84. Koalabear135
    Apr 12, 2011
    4
    Okay, did anyone else think the whole.. every mage popping into an A-bom immediately was a little much? its completely unpresidented from the last origins game, and makes the mages ACTUALLY seem evil, unlike in the other game when they seemed moreso like slaves, a brutal waste of time you have to take breaks to stare at your recipt for buying the game before pushing yourself through theOkay, did anyone else think the whole.. every mage popping into an A-bom immediately was a little much? its completely unpresidented from the last origins game, and makes the mages ACTUALLY seem evil, unlike in the other game when they seemed moreso like slaves, a brutal waste of time you have to take breaks to stare at your recipt for buying the game before pushing yourself through the bogus and repetetive side quests, followed by an underwhelming finish were NO ONE WINS, and on top of that, poor graphics, compaired to the games of this time, shugun total war 2 is beautiful in compairison, and also the storyline is too linear, whether im evit or not, the story comes out the same, whether i chose one side of the other i kill them both, its a terrible plot, terrible everything, terrible game, try again Bioware… Expand
  85. Augustus
    Apr 21, 2011
    4
    Could have worked as a stand alone title but did not feel like a sequel to DA:O. It was almost as if the developers were trying to fix what was broken in DA:O and improve upon it but the problem was there wasn't a lot wrong with the first title in the Dragon Age franchise. Loved DA:O did not care for Dragon Age II.
  86. Nashtor
    Apr 25, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Very bad game... It´s not Dragon Age it´s "Dragon Effect" (but worst). It no have the essence of the firts game... bad of work EA and Bioware... In the game, your decisions are useless...you cant change nothing in the world, all the facts happen without your help...your partners are lineal, they aren´t charming like in origins...is a step back in rol´s game... (sorry for my english...im spanish...)… Expand
  87. tembel
    Apr 27, 2011
    2
    Horrible, horrible game. The recycled maps is completely disrespectful to all people who played the original Dragon Age and Origins. I cannot believe that they did such a poor and sloppy job on this game it even hurts to make a review for it. I for one am glad that a friend let me borrow it to try it and before I WASTED money on such a pile of crap. Dragon Age 3 better not be anythingHorrible, horrible game. The recycled maps is completely disrespectful to all people who played the original Dragon Age and Origins. I cannot believe that they did such a poor and sloppy job on this game it even hurts to make a review for it. I for one am glad that a friend let me borrow it to try it and before I WASTED money on such a pile of crap. Dragon Age 3 better not be anything close to this or else I will most likely never, ever purchase a game from them again.… Expand
  88. AGB
    May 8, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A below mediocre game that doesn't know what it is. I like dumb button-mashers - like Heavenly Sword - and I like skilful button-mashers - like Tekken, or Fight Night - but the fighting in Dragon Age II isn't nearly half as fun and doesn't need skill - its one tactical trick of tag-team combos is permanently spelled out for you. Setting difficulty to hard just means a long boring slog. Besides I bought the game expecting it to be an RPG. It kind of is an RPG, if you think they are just about superficial levelling mechanics. The game world was also really restricted, no free-roaming and interactivity like you get in Fallout 3 for example - and famously you keep going back to the same locations all of the time, sometimes deliberately, sometimes because the makers were lazy.

    Some of the dialogue is funny - it's the only thing that scores any points with me. Unfortunately every 'funny' conversation option you choose as the main character is weak and pathetic. Your interaction with other characters is restricted and the story doesn't make sense, I was meant to be in a romance with Isabella for years, but you get just two scenes about that. I kept trying to avoid fighting and be diplomatic, but the game's story pushed me into killing everyone whatever I did, while giving an illusion that there were other choices.

    Graphics - a few textures are alright, some of the character designs are ok, but a lot of faces are worse than the original game. The city, countryside and sewers/cellars are quite drab and undetailed. The Qunari are ok, but they all look the same. The Elves have weird unappealing faces. Compared to the first game the voice actors didn't sound convincing, though some were good (but not your main character). In fact, apart from some better textures, there were no improvements.

    I feel like I could go on and describe in more detail why this game sucks, but I want to forget about it and move onto something else.    … Expand
  89. Pitelk
    Aug 19, 2011
    2
    I feel very generous today so I will give a 3 to the game. If you have played DA:O don't bother to play this. It is far below expectations and it does not match DA:O in any point... If you have never played DA:O then DA II can be considered an average game with nice graphs, which you can use to kill some spare time... As an RPG sucks.. you done even have control of your parties armor!!!I feel very generous today so I will give a 3 to the game. If you have played DA:O don't bother to play this. It is far below expectations and it does not match DA:O in any point... If you have never played DA:O then DA II can be considered an average game with nice graphs, which you can use to kill some spare time... As an RPG sucks.. you done even have control of your parties armor!!! Dialogs... suck if you are over age 12..story.. the same...… Expand
  90. Theomniadept
    Mar 24, 2014
    0
    Classic example of EA paying reviewers for positive reviews. This game is pure trash. The same five maps are reused hundreds of times (and you are expected to not notice), the writers decided to scrap any and all writing (meaning no talking to party members, no talking to NPCs, no nothing) and this does not even merit the Dragon Age name.
    The game itself is essentially Final Fantasy 13; a    Classic example of EA paying reviewers for positive reviews. This game is pure trash. The same five maps are reused hundreds of times (and you are expected to not notice), the writers decided to scrap any and all writing (meaning no talking to party members, no talking to NPCs, no nothing) and this does not even merit the Dragon Age name.
    The game itself is essentially Final Fantasy 13; a linear game with no choice whatsoever moving you and your party members (who may as well not have names since talking to NPCs was scrapped in favor of flash animation cutscenes) from fight to cutscene until the end of the game. No difficulty, no exploration, all in the name of 'streamlining' (read: dumbing down) combat.
    I can't spoil the story because there is one. You get to pick which of the two factions you want to support, each without any decent in-depth story, then at the end of the game your choice lacks any substance at all because the same thing happens regardless and you get the same lousy cliffhanger ending that may as well be replaced with an add for Dragon Age Inquisition.
    Character creation is literally gone, you pick a class and your name is Hawke and you are a human. No origin stories, no tying in choices, you just ride the railroad tracks.
    Also, for those who did in fact play Origins and Awakening, congratulations, even if you saved everyone at the end of Awakening, because there is no post-game save some of the characters are made dead because this terrible rushed game has no clue what continuity is.
    Ignore all reviews that say this is a good game; this game is objectively too terrible to warrant EA pricing it even a quarter of Dragon Age Origin's price tag.
    Also, Qunari now have horns. Because character development is hard, let's just slap something on to say "hey look, we animated!".    … Expand
  91. lagendofdoom
    Mar 16, 2012
    0
    While Dragon Age Origins is in my opinion the perfect game and ive been waiting for it's sequel, i must say the disappointment was too great for me to even finish Dragon age 2. This game just ruined the franchise, it seems like Bioware wanted to make Dragon age 2 to be appealed by the most of the audience and because of that Dragon Age 2 doesn't have anything that might make him differentWhile Dragon Age Origins is in my opinion the perfect game and ive been waiting for it's sequel, i must say the disappointment was too great for me to even finish Dragon age 2. This game just ruined the franchise, it seems like Bioware wanted to make Dragon age 2 to be appealed by the most of the audience and because of that Dragon Age 2 doesn't have anything that might make him different from the others Rpgs games, the gameplay is faster paced but also plain, the story is boring, character also are boring, exploration ? there is nothing to explore... graphics might even be worse than its predecessor. In other words the game is a huge let down and might have just killed the franchise good name… Expand
  92. PsyCoil
    May 26, 2011
    0
    Developer: BioWare
    Genre(s): Role-Playing Those two lines are very inaccurate, This game doesn't look like any game BioWare made and It's certainly not a Role-playing game but an action game. If you have to call it RPG then call it Arcade-RPG.
    The game was clearly designed for little kids, Sexy? No, Nothing sexy about a bunch of companions hypocrites. Better graphics? No. There is no    Developer: BioWare
    Genre(s): Role-Playing Those two lines are very inaccurate, This game doesn't look like any game BioWare made and It's certainly not a Role-playing game but an action game. If you have to call it RPG then call it Arcade-RPG.
    The game was clearly designed for little kids, Sexy? No, Nothing sexy about a bunch of companions hypocrites. Better graphics? No. There is no variety in the graphics, everything is just BROWN, everywhere you look You'll see BROWN. Better Story? NO. Many plot holes from origins. Better gameplay? No. This game combat is so unrealistic, even the Matrix looks more realistic then this.

    I know some of you DA:O fans reading all those bad reviews here and think "It can't be that bad, there's no wayyy". I also know some of you think this is some of sequel to the original game, Well, If you don't listen to those bad reviews here You'll get a BIG FUUUU to your face when playing this game.    … Expand
  93. kosiarzksrz
    May 17, 2011
    1
    The worst game of the year . Don't buy it, it's better to spend money on something else. Everything is inferior to the first game. I don't know what to say about this thing.

    very poor game
  94. thaje
    May 29, 2011
    3
    I started Dragon Age II with eager expectation, but after an hour I found myself having to motivate myself just to keep playing... "It MUST get better soon"... but it didn't. Bioware has stripped out everything good about Origins and made what was bad even worse. The combat is even easier and more simplified; the plot is confusing and hollow at best; the environments are repetetive (c'monI started Dragon Age II with eager expectation, but after an hour I found myself having to motivate myself just to keep playing... "It MUST get better soon"... but it didn't. Bioware has stripped out everything good about Origins and made what was bad even worse. The combat is even easier and more simplified; the plot is confusing and hollow at best; the environments are repetetive (c'mon Bioware, like we wouldn't notice...); the characters are lame and undeveloped. In fact, everything about the game just feels poor. Worth a play for Bioware fans, but by no means get your hopes up.… Expand
  95. Wren
    May 30, 2011
    3
    The combat felt more engaging and exciting, but the interaction with companions was sacrificed, which made the game far less enjoyable. I wouldn't purchase another game in this series if this is the way things keep going.
  96. taupoke
    Jun 18, 2011
    0
    An incomprehensible mess of a cash in. Utterly lazily made with the same dungeon map used over and over, cringe worthy line delivery from the voice actors and a storyline that jumps constantly from theme to theme. This game also highlights what is very wrong with the gaming industry, as almost all "professional" reviewers give it 80+ despite the 4.2 user score. This is because EAAn incomprehensible mess of a cash in. Utterly lazily made with the same dungeon map used over and over, cringe worthy line delivery from the voice actors and a storyline that jumps constantly from theme to theme. This game also highlights what is very wrong with the gaming industry, as almost all "professional" reviewers give it 80+ despite the 4.2 user score. This is because EA blackmails reviewers into giving good reviews by threatening to blacklist them if they don't give positive reviews. In short, it's a pathetic game and anyone who likes it is either a rabid fanboy or a corporate sellout.… Expand
  97. sowiszcze
    Jul 11, 2011
    3
    Wow! This game is just sad. After DA:O, I expected a game at the same (or similar) level. My expectations were huge. Luckily for me, at the time of game release I had my exams so I waited with the purchase. So, when I was almost on my way to the store, I decided to try the game. And thanks to that I have saved 60$. Not to mention cost of DLC. The game is weak. Control is weird. I playedWow! This game is just sad. After DA:O, I expected a game at the same (or similar) level. My expectations were huge. Luckily for me, at the time of game release I had my exams so I waited with the purchase. So, when I was almost on my way to the store, I decided to try the game. And thanks to that I have saved 60$. Not to mention cost of DLC. The game is weak. Control is weird. I played it only for 4 hours, but it was enough to now, I don't want it. Grapics is poor. Gameplay is way too easy. It doesn't seem like RPG to ma at all. Hack'nSlash maybe. The main storyline seems interesting, but on the other hand dialogs are naive. And the fact it is DragoN Age??? It hurts. Because it has nothing common with DA:O… Expand
  98. Nichtswisser
    Apr 24, 2012
    4
    Behold one of the worst sequels in history: Dragon Age 2, the adventure of Hawk in copy&paste Land. If you ever wanted to see serious recycling this is the game for you.
  99. MarqsS
    Mar 11, 2012
    3
    Avoid like a plague if you played and enjoyed Origins. If not then you sure can get some fun from it, but as a sequel it fails terribly. Graphics are so-so but overall the game is lacking in every aspect. Characters are not entertaining at all, you just can't feel anything when you interact with them... Hell I don't even remember half of them. Fights are also terrible, just button mashingAvoid like a plague if you played and enjoyed Origins. If not then you sure can get some fun from it, but as a sequel it fails terribly. Graphics are so-so but overall the game is lacking in every aspect. Characters are not entertaining at all, you just can't feel anything when you interact with them... Hell I don't even remember half of them. Fights are also terrible, just button mashing and killing NPC-s who simply appear from nowhere. Oh, and your choices means nothing like in most recent RPG-s. You just kill everyone and only big decision is who will be killed first...… Expand
  100. Lordsmerff
    Apr 29, 2012
    4
    Dragon Age II was the most enjoyable game I will never play again. The companions were great, their side stories were interesting and their dialogue was hilarious. I loved how deep and rich the characters were, as I do in all Bioware games I have played to date. The game is completely different to DA:O with the choices you made having minimal impact in DA2, which is really disappointing asDragon Age II was the most enjoyable game I will never play again. The companions were great, their side stories were interesting and their dialogue was hilarious. I loved how deep and rich the characters were, as I do in all Bioware games I have played to date. The game is completely different to DA:O with the choices you made having minimal impact in DA2, which is really disappointing as this game is supposed to be a trilogy. The gameplay changes were interesting, they are not DA:O but they make for a different game rather than a worse one. I also enjoyed how the main character is more involved within the storyline, however, the gear system was very limiting and I found myself just getting the special "class" set of gear that is available in each act, it really felt like I was back in the day playing Diablo II again but with less customisation. The main plot was very interesting and kept me playing despite the problems of the game. Sadly, the plot within the final act just turns into an abysmal mess and this really damages the experience of the whole game, I absolutely loved the plot in this game but it had such a weak storyline by the end. I play RPG's for the rich immersion I get and despite its final act I still do feel Bioware delivered a wonderful experience overall in this area. By far the biggest disaster of the game, one the developers surely were aware of but decided customers are utterly stupid and won't notice, was the reusing of maps. Not only are maps reused over and over within the world, they are all repeated again every act. No attempt is even made to hide the reuse of maps, the mini map doesn't even show the changes and doorways just appear blocked. This made the game extremely repetitive and I found myself grinding through the same set of maps endless times trying to get my story fix and reach the ending. For this reason alone I will never play Dragon Age II again. This was a disgraceful result from a company that has such a strong reputation for creating worlds to explore and interact with. I really tried to be understanding of this game, I love the games Bioware make and have been a long time fan. Unfortunately, for me Dragon Age II Act by Act started great, stayed great (but annoying in regard to the maps), and then went uncontrollably downhill until the ending. Overall it fell very short of not only my expectations but also what I consider an industry minimum. DA:O was an enormous success and a much desired modern rehash of some classic fantasy RPG's (Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights), I have no idea why they just didn't improve on an already acclaimed format. I'm not saying DA:O was what I wanted in Dragon Age II, I like to mix things up, but Bioware has dropped its standard (except for characters) trying to be different and that is the problem that I have with DA2. I have the feeling that Bioware and EA will need to re-evaluate a lot of things before DA3 if they want to redeem the Dragon Age trilogy.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best PC Game of 2011
5
#5 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
19
#19 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Apr 18, 2011
    90
    Moving even further from the classic RPG, strong story and clever combat are nonetheless still found within Dragon Age II. [May 2011, p.52]
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Apr 12, 2011
    58
    Despite some advancement in storytelling approach and liberal borrowing from Bioware's Mass Effect approach to gameplay, Dragon Age 2 on the PC has a lot of bugs and is populated with re-used settings that make this feel like a play performed on a stage with two sets.
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  3. CPUGamer
    Apr 11, 2011
    85
    For a rushed product that is still battling bugs, the currently offered product still provides 40 hours of challenging and engaging gameplay. This combines to provide a good, but not great gaming experience.
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