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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. 223kazin
    Dec 9, 2012
    1
    I've been a long time fan of Bioware games, I was frothing at the mouth while I played DA:O. I bought all the DLC, played it three or more times, I had a blast. I could barely trug along in DA2. The combat was fairly brainless and easy, which made much of the game dull and exhausting to play. The graphics were underwhelming, with a sly attempt to hide it under copious amounts of gore. TheI've been a long time fan of Bioware games, I was frothing at the mouth while I played DA:O. I bought all the DLC, played it three or more times, I had a blast. I could barely trug along in DA2. The combat was fairly brainless and easy, which made much of the game dull and exhausting to play. The graphics were underwhelming, with a sly attempt to hide it under copious amounts of gore. The dialogue wheel was an unwelcome change. I thought Dragon Age was supposed to be the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate? Baldur's Gate didn't have a **** dialogue wheel. It's well and good to cater to the console crowd, but it's not like you need precision or masterful reflexes during dialogue. Since when were dialogue wheels a staple for console games? Is it really that difficult to use the D-pad to navigate detailed dialogue choices in a drop down format? Also, despite what all these 10 ratings like to spout, the story was boring, and the characters were immemorable. I can remember the likes of Allister, Morrigan, Leliana, Shale, Oghren. I can't, however, remember a single god damn character from DA2, besides "Hawke". I'm not entirely sure what Bioware was thinking, but I couldn't even finish this game. I got 12 hours into it. 8 of those hours I was being incredibly stubborn thinking "I'm going to finish this **** game even if it kills me, it's got to get better at some point." ...It didn't. In the end what really killed this game was how unintuitive the combat was. A game with barely any difficulty to it is doomed to fail in the eyes of any self-respecting player. This is likely a great entry-RPG for your kids, but I'd just as readily suggest Kingdom Hearts, instead.… Expand
  2. Lulgrim
    May 24, 2012
    2
    I borrowed an account to play this after Origins and Awakening made me skeptical about buying any more BioWare games. Wow I'm glad I didn't pay for this. Ugly graphics, bad voice acting, terrible writing, uninteresting story, crappy gameplay, recycled locations... I just have nothing positive to say.
  3. MacrosTheBlack
    May 30, 2012
    3
    Of late game designers seem to have gone the route of making sequels less intricate instead of more intricate. Dragon age II suffers from this exact same problem and ruins the experience. Dragon age 1 was a game for the ages, an old school CRPG in the baldur's gate tradition which met with much enthousiasm from gamers everywhere. I remember thinking to myself "this is going to be AWESOMEOf late game designers seem to have gone the route of making sequels less intricate instead of more intricate. Dragon age II suffers from this exact same problem and ruins the experience. Dragon age 1 was a game for the ages, an old school CRPG in the baldur's gate tradition which met with much enthousiasm from gamers everywhere. I remember thinking to myself "this is going to be AWESOME if they get an expansion going, with a follow up story and more classes!" Imagine my dissapointment when I ordered DA2 and found out that DA2 really has nothing in common with DA1. The story is completely unrelated to the DA1 story, the combat system is incredibly dumbed down to the point of just relentlessly button bashing and seeing pretty colours and the origins system, which was very promising, was axed alltogether. Can't give this one more then a 3, and I'll be holding off on any bioware purchases untill they prove they can get it right again.… Expand
  4. foil
    Jun 17, 2012
    0
    this game was pretty hardcore, but I think it could have been hardcorer. needed more weapons and death animations because they make games better always.
  5. faceless-1
    Aug 13, 2013
    3
    This is the game is one of the worst RPGs i ever played. After brilliant DA:O i had high expectations from DA II. Half of the dungeons in this game are just copy paste. You run same dungeon at least 20 times if you go all side quests. RPG system is garbage in compare to DA:O. At first i liked that story is not trying to be some ultra epic RPG, until i noticed how poorly written it is. AndThis is the game is one of the worst RPGs i ever played. After brilliant DA:O i had high expectations from DA II. Half of the dungeons in this game are just copy paste. You run same dungeon at least 20 times if you go all side quests. RPG system is garbage in compare to DA:O. At first i liked that story is not trying to be some ultra epic RPG, until i noticed how poorly written it is. And the ending is trash too. I give it 3 because of some good NPCs.… Expand
  6. Qis
    Oct 13, 2012
    1
    This game will get boring to re-play, it is because we can't customize our companions so we will see the very same thing. Each companions have their own designed and theme that we can't change it. There is no actual plot for the entire game, it is just about the survivor of the recent war make a living in a new city and then happen to be involve in numerous conflicts either by his/herThis game will get boring to re-play, it is because we can't customize our companions so we will see the very same thing. Each companions have their own designed and theme that we can't change it. There is no actual plot for the entire game, it is just about the survivor of the recent war make a living in a new city and then happen to be involve in numerous conflicts either by his/her companions or the city he/she live. Those conflicts are actually none of his/her problem, he/she doesn't even have to involve in anything either. The ending of the story is the same with a little different no matter what choices we make. Combat is anime-like, with no tactic, because of enemies can pop up from thin air, re-spawn randomly, so it will be hack and slash all the time. The maps are just copy and paste, recycled everywhere. The graphic is okay, but the rest is just dull. This game can be played just for fun and nothing serious about it. This game destroy it's predecessor Dragon Age : Origin.… Expand
  7. suneater
    Dec 17, 2012
    3
    Everything about this game is dumbed down from the original. The plot is terribly written with jumpy pacing, resulting in it feeling like multiple games mashed together but somehow still has significantly less content than the original. It felt like the devs couldn't decide when to finish the game so they just ruined everything they could in it. Your choices have very little if any impactEverything about this game is dumbed down from the original. The plot is terribly written with jumpy pacing, resulting in it feeling like multiple games mashed together but somehow still has significantly less content than the original. It felt like the devs couldn't decide when to finish the game so they just ruined everything they could in it. Your choices have very little if any impact on the game with key characters dying no matter what. Conversations have been dumbed down even by Bioware standards into a Good, Bad, or Silly response, with occasional inquiry options. Replacing the tactical gameplay from the original is a consolified "press X to awesome" anime-style system where by the end of the game you are literally making enemies explode with your sword. Crashes to desktop, worse graphics than the original, uneven voice acting with fake accents, an unlikable cast, the list could go on for a while. This game feels unfinished, unedited, and quickly thrown together unlike the polished original.… Expand
  8. cossayos
    Nov 2, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A cheap ripoff of something that once was great. Fights degenerate to a button fest, complete with exploding enemies. You feel like a monkey on speed. This in itself is something that turned me off so completely that I hardly could muster the strength to get going. Enemy hordes dropping from the sky do additional damage when it comes to immersion. Add to this repeating environments that reek of cheapness and a story that's very ambitious but contradicts itself, and you quickly reach the bottom of what an RPG should offer in my opinion. Sprites and the unnecessary revamping of the races substract another bit of the atmosphere. Give that game a wide bearth unless you're simply into mashing one button. There's nothing else to it. Bearable only after consuming a sixpack of beer.… Expand
  9. ShinoRagnar
    Apr 29, 2013
    2
    If you liked Dragon Age 1 youre probably not gonna like Dragon Age 2.

    Everything good about DA1 has been replaced:

    Combat System: Replaced with a worthless action oriented -no brainer system
    Skill System: Dumbed down to no choices at all
    Maps: THERE IS ONLY 1 MAP! All theyve done is make you enter from different doors. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
  10. Rockodss
    Apr 5, 2013
    1
    Dragon Age 1 was one of those games you buy because it looked cool. I had no idea what I was about to live. So since the 1st one was amazing I thought DA2 would be similar.... don't be fooled... Gameplay 0 everything that made DA1 is dropped on DA2... you better get a controller for your PC version because you simply get a bad port from console to PC....

    DA1 had 2 differents type of    Dragon Age 1 was one of those games you buy because it looked cool. I had no idea what I was about to live. So since the 1st one was amazing I thought DA2 would be similar.... don't be fooled... Gameplay 0 everything that made DA1 is dropped on DA2... you better get a controller for your PC version because you simply get a bad port from console to PC....

    DA1 had 2 differents type of gameplay, console and PC. in DA2 they just said F*** PC lets go easy way.
    Story as nothing near DA1...

    Everything seem wrong with this version.... Wonder what Bioware had in mind...    … Expand
  11. Broyax
    Nov 18, 2021
    3
    Déjà fini sur 360, je lui avais accordé la moyenne, sans doute en raison de la dissonance cognitive que cette suite ratée ne manquait pas de provoquer : comment une suite pouvait-elle être aussi médiocre, aussi énervante, aussi répétitive après un Dragon Age Origins aussi exceptionnel ?!… division par zéro, plantage, redémarrage du cerveau en cours… veuillez patienter.

    Je l’ai    Déjà fini sur 360, je lui avais accordé la moyenne, sans doute en raison de la dissonance cognitive que cette suite ratée ne manquait pas de provoquer : comment une suite pouvait-elle être aussi médiocre, aussi énervante, aussi répétitive après un Dragon Age Origins aussi exceptionnel ?!… division par zéro, plantage, redémarrage du cerveau en cours… veuillez patienter.

    Je l’ai recommencé sur PC avec les DLC (qui sont bons ou du reste, moins mauvais, aussi étonnant que cela puisse paraître, car ils sont plus cohérents). J’ai pu alors apprécier les graphismes certainement un poil plus beaux mais surtout les 60 im/s facilement accessibles (sur une 6870) si on limite le jeu au DX9 (le DX11 n’en vaut pas la peine). D’ailleurs, la patte graphique est bien agréable et c’est évidemment (techniquement) plus beau que Dragon Age Origins… et pourtant le « vieux » ne démérite toujours pas.

    Effets sonores fort convaincants, de même pour la musique assurément inspirée tout comme dans le premier, pareil pour la très bonne VF : Dragon Age II ne peut pas être mauvais partout !

    Mais venons-en au fait : à cette belle ville en vérité, dans laquelle on va passer les trois quarts du jeu (!) et le quart restant dans quelques grottes et une vague cambrousse copiées-collées (!). Ce foutage de gueule ! Ensuite, l’interface parfaite de Dragon Age Origins a été mise à la trappe et simplifiée à outrance et la vitesse des combats a été tellement accélérée qu’on se croirait dans un « hack & slash » de merde (pléonasme). La vue tactique (aérienne) a été supprimée (mais pourquoi….!?) et les ennemis ne cessent de ré-apparaître par vagues entières (comme dans un jeu d’arcade de merde).

    L’histoire, pour sa part, est incroyablement décevante, maladroite et tarabiscotée avec les Qunari en porte-à-faux (qui ne servent ici à rien à dire vrai) ; de trop nombreux choix qui n’en sont absolument pas (Meredith mon dieu !) et un environnement familial du héros dont on n’a que faire. Heureusement il reste des personnages comme seul Bioware sait les faire (ah Merrill…) : on les aime ou on les déteste, pas de demi-mesure. Certains sont drôles, d’autres idiots, prétentieux ou emmerdants… ils ont de vraies personnalités !

    Enfin et globalement, on est confronté dans ce DA2 à énormément de remplissage et trop de combats partout à n’en plus finir malgré quelques uns parfois épiques, certes. Beaucoup trop de recyclage en tout cas : Dragon Age II est un gros DLC qui s’est fait passer pour un jeu complet… en l’occurrence étonnamment mauvais.    … Expand
  12. kentMOsabe
    Apr 14, 2011
    0
    I don't care what any Bioware employee posting on here says, if you want to capitalize and maximize your profit, then this does a good job of that. It does not do a good job at being the game everyone was expecting, it just doesn't. But whose fault is it anyway? YOURS, not the consumers, because the consumers didn't make the game. They buy, and they choose weather they want to buy it andI don't care what any Bioware employee posting on here says, if you want to capitalize and maximize your profit, then this does a good job of that. It does not do a good job at being the game everyone was expecting, it just doesn't. But whose fault is it anyway? YOURS, not the consumers, because the consumers didn't make the game. They buy, and they choose weather they want to buy it and play it or not. And if you think its "individual opinion" then take a look at all the negative reviews on here, I don't think it's individual anymore buddy. I thank those who lost their money to this game for warning others about it, it's consumer rights, and the consumer should be able to protect themselves form these kinds of scams, because it is their hard earned money. With that said, this game is bad. The graphics are terrible, low resolution, no color whatsoever. These graphics are like the kind you would find in Warcraft III (2002-03) and DX11 doesn't make a difference. Story is bad, no development, no character intros, doesn't make any sense, hard to follow, too many cut scenes with more of the same. Hack and slash...rinse, repeat. game ends. bad.Don't buy. And if you do you just wasted 40 bucks, and I am sorry, sucks for you.… Expand
  13. StumpBeefknob
    Apr 18, 2011
    4
    Yet another example of EA destroying a gaming studio. Bioware started dying when they hooked up with EA. DA2 is a dumbed down extremely linear corridor-style RPG for ADHD meatheads who can't stand being challenged a little. Why are there so many nonsensical interactions happening? Templars witness tons of mages using magic, yet they only react if scripted.... And worst of all, continuouslyYet another example of EA destroying a gaming studio. Bioware started dying when they hooked up with EA. DA2 is a dumbed down extremely linear corridor-style RPG for ADHD meatheads who can't stand being challenged a little. Why are there so many nonsensical interactions happening? Templars witness tons of mages using magic, yet they only react if scripted.... And worst of all, continuously recycling maps in an RPG...!? Epic fail of a money grab. Studio execs are catering to the mindless spend-happy platform gamers and we end up with all these overly simplified and utterly easy games that feel like you're running down endless hallways. RIP Bioware.… Expand
  14. Anya
    Apr 21, 2011
    0
    It's a rushed game and console port. It's not a roleplaying game either, it's an action game where with too much dialogue, and it's also a terrible action game. It lacks tactics, especially because enemies appear from thin air (from nowhere) in wave after wave after boring wave. The story is absolutely lineal and makes your choices pretty much pointless. Forced character deaths are also aIt's a rushed game and console port. It's not a roleplaying game either, it's an action game where with too much dialogue, and it's also a terrible action game. It lacks tactics, especially because enemies appear from thin air (from nowhere) in wave after wave after boring wave. The story is absolutely lineal and makes your choices pretty much pointless. Forced character deaths are also a big design flaw, proof that the story desperately needed faked intensity in order to appear well made (which is not, in fact it is predictable, slow and unimaginative). The classes have been dumbed down, with very little choice. The boss fights often end up on absurd "benny hill" scenes where your character runs around so the timers for healing potions comes up, proof that the gameplay was poorly designed and barely tested. Overall it's a extremely dissapointing game, especially if you compare it to the first, although it's not a big surprise considering the tiny developing cycle that they went for.… Expand
  15. Cicatrix
    Nov 13, 2013
    2
    While it is nice to have fully voiced responses, this game is annoying and boring. You basically run the same dungeons over and over again, except sometimes its "1 year later" which doesn't mean anything in the great scheme of things. The city you start in, while impressive at first, is the only place you ever really go, you will spend your entire gaming experience in this city, meaningWhile it is nice to have fully voiced responses, this game is annoying and boring. You basically run the same dungeons over and over again, except sometimes its "1 year later" which doesn't mean anything in the great scheme of things. The city you start in, while impressive at first, is the only place you ever really go, you will spend your entire gaming experience in this city, meaning about 40 hours in the exact same crappy place. Gone is the wonder of going new places and meeting new people from Dragon Age Origins, now your basically restricted to 2 dungeons and a city over and over and over again...… Expand
  16. Cthalion85
    May 9, 2011
    3
    The shamelessly hyped and massively inflated "professional" reviews of this guy are absolutely pathetic. The combat is terrible, it feels like diablo except it isn't the mid 1990s anymore. The combat system becomes tedious and boring very early on. I do not consider this to be a true rpg. It is action or hack and slash style "adventure" with very little in the way of environmental andThe shamelessly hyped and massively inflated "professional" reviews of this guy are absolutely pathetic. The combat is terrible, it feels like diablo except it isn't the mid 1990s anymore. The combat system becomes tedious and boring very early on. I do not consider this to be a true rpg. It is action or hack and slash style "adventure" with very little in the way of environmental and item variety. A massive dissappointment to anyone who played Dragon Age: Origins, or anyone actually expecting a full fledged Bioware RPG.… Expand
  17. Ghostrider
    May 11, 2011
    3
    Bottom line: mostly disappointed.

    My main complaint about DA2 is extremely weak story line. For entire game you are completely in the dark waiting for something epic to happen only to have your hopes dashed in the end. Store is nowhere near what is was in DA:O or even DA:A Secondly, did Bioware try to cut development costs? Graphics wise the game was pretty much unchanged compared to    Bottom line: mostly disappointed.

    My main complaint about DA2 is extremely weak story line. For entire game you are completely in the dark waiting for something epic to happen only to have your hopes dashed in the end. Store is nowhere near what is was in DA:O or even DA:A

    Secondly, did Bioware try to cut development costs? Graphics wise the game was pretty much unchanged compared to DA:O. You would assume that they would put a lot of effort in level design. Not so - the game brutally reuses same locations over and over again. There are less unique locations than in DA:A which is an expansion.

    Thirdly, while it is nice that they have voiced the main character, overall dialog system has taken a turn for the worse. You pretty much have no control over your own character. Hawke's replies are completely unpredictable (so why even give player a choice). The same system works fine in ME and ME2 but is completely screwed up in DA2. And in the end dialog choices have very little effect on the direction of the game.

    There isn't that much equipment available for main character to chose from and even less so for companions.

    To be fair there is one improvement I can name - like simplified rune system (that got unwieldy in DA:A

    Conclusion: If you liked DA:O and aren't desperate to play this game - don't. Wait for DA3 if it ever comes around (and not in the form of MMORPG as it very well may) and see if Bioware would do better then.    … Expand
  18. six30two
    May 11, 2011
    0
    I'm writing this review only to parrot what's already been said.

    Bioware has completely ruined themselves with this game in my eyes, and because of it I will likely not buy in to their future games. They pandered to the rest of EA's Madden-style crowd by severely dumbing the game down and taking shortcuts in EVERYTHING to rush release. My main complaints: 1. Shallow, bisexual characters    I'm writing this review only to parrot what's already been said.

    Bioware has completely ruined themselves with this game in my eyes, and because of it I will likely not buy in to their future games. They pandered to the rest of EA's Madden-style crowd by severely dumbing the game down and taking shortcuts in EVERYTHING to rush release.

    My main complaints:

    1. Shallow, bisexual characters - there was no art to seduction with these characters, unlike in other Bioware/EA games. A great example that comes to mind was Jack in Mass Effect. You had to WORK to get that relationship to have a happy ending. Not in this one. With 2 male and 2 female relationship options who react the exact one of two ways to your character regardless of your gender, class, or storyline actions, the relationships were a disappointment. 2 of the characters were annoying, needy, and obnoxious to listen to, and 2 of them were brusque, rude, and overly tough. Boring and very formulaic.

    2. Exactly three to four "dungeon" rooms. The developers used the EXACT SAME tilesets/rooms for EVERY DUNGEON and EVERY MISSION you went on. Sometimes they started you in different places in these zones, sometimes they only used half of the zones, but the rooms were always identical. You kept revisiting the same places. Unlike Dragon Age Origins, where everyplace you went was different and unique.

    3. Class Skills were incredibly simplistic, dumbed down, and not unique. They also didn't mesh well. I remember in Origins how you could build a really powerful character by selecting the correct classes and skills and how perfectly they meshed. In DAII everything was really dumbed down, straightforward, and... like I said, didn't mesh well.

    4. Useless armor - the gear you find in DAII is, essentially, useless. There are about three sets that are useful, and all the rest is just filler crap. I liked not having to maintain 8 sets of armor for each one of my companions, but the way they simplified the gear for MY character made it boring.

    5. Boring, lackluster, shallow story. It had so much potential, but fell so flat. I liked the idea of the Mages vs. Templars, and seeing some of my old characters come back for cameos, but ultimately I felt like the story would never really affect anything outside of the city that it was set in. I did like the redesign of elves and qunari, however, making them feel more unique, and how certain characters in your party yielded different results in key dialogue events. But other than that, it was boring.

    6. Flashiness - the game tried to be a lot flashier and faster paced. This was obtained by dumbing all the old, fun combat from DA:O. The combat was either stupidly easy, or absurdly difficult - I remember kiting an ogre for about an hour after all my similarly geared and skilled allies had been killed off. There's no art or class to this game, it's all just dumb hack and slash.

    Where did my delightful Dragon Age; Origins gameplay go?!    … Expand
  19. ThulsaDooom
    May 17, 2011
    0
    A joke of an rpg. The story is rushed, there's little to no character development and it's filled with technical bugs. They touted it as having "super hot graphics" and it barely looks like a modern game. The voice acting is weak, the characters all suffer from the usual Bioware daddy syndrome. It's a game that is built for the lowest common denominator, not that there's anything wrongA joke of an rpg. The story is rushed, there's little to no character development and it's filled with technical bugs. They touted it as having "super hot graphics" and it barely looks like a modern game. The voice acting is weak, the characters all suffer from the usual Bioware daddy syndrome. It's a game that is built for the lowest common denominator, not that there's anything wrong with that. But when a company touts it's game as mature and different than the usual rpgs, it makes me laugh. The framed narrative is nothing new in games no matter what the hacks at Bioware want to tell you. A lack of mod tools, which the previous game had and kept it alive for quite some time, were never released but oh boy, there's DLC appearance packs! Do not buy this game unless it's for your worst enemy. There are many other rpgs out there that are well worth your time. Bioware has hit a new low.

    Dragon Age 2 can be summed up in one phrase, "Go go Blood Magic powers!"    … Expand
  20. Shiki
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Mass Effect in fantasy-land, rather than a sequel to the more decent RPG Dragon Age Origins. A protagonist set in stone, Hawk, dumbed down, actiony combat, press button for awesome, ugly console graphics with some "decorative npc" in the city that are extremely low poly and use low ress texture, dungeons that were all cloned from a single map, story that makes no sense and gives you noMass Effect in fantasy-land, rather than a sequel to the more decent RPG Dragon Age Origins. A protagonist set in stone, Hawk, dumbed down, actiony combat, press button for awesome, ugly console graphics with some "decorative npc" in the city that are extremely low poly and use low ress texture, dungeons that were all cloned from a single map, story that makes no sense and gives you no choice nor conséquences to your actions, emo party NPCs which outfits that would have made more sense in anime than in a western RPG. A complete cash grab that has **** all of the fans of the original DAO which was an oddity in itself, an anomaly, an UFO that was primarily made for PCs in a sea of dumbed down games targeting the consoles.… Expand
  21. SIckTired72
    Mar 10, 2012
    0
    Worst game by Bioware!

    Dumbed down RPG action for the massess with little resemblence from the original Dragon Age Origins. Forget about character customisation, in depth story and epic feel. This is a rushed out game best described as a half baked, half designed banana of a product. It's not even worth shelling out $5 in the bargin bin.
  22. misscityhunter
    Feb 11, 2013
    0
    mauvais...très mauvais même. Après avoir joué un chef d'oeuvre comme dao ça fait un peu l'effet de se prendre une bonne baffe dans la figure (incredibly bad)
  23. AmongstYou
    Jul 29, 2013
    0
    I never thought that a series could be more bastardized, more streamlined, more simplified, than when I had so unfortunately played Final Fantasy XIII. With Final Fantasy XIII however, it was clear that Square Enix was already going down a dangerous path and something as insulting to role playing game fans as Final Fantasy XIII was to be an expected outcome.
    The difference between Square    I never thought that a series could be more bastardized, more streamlined, more simplified, than when I had so unfortunately played Final Fantasy XIII. With Final Fantasy XIII however, it was clear that Square Enix was already going down a dangerous path and something as insulting to role playing game fans as Final Fantasy XIII was to be an expected outcome.
    The difference between Square Enix and Bioware is that Bioware should have known better. Considering that these people brought us Baldur's Gate, the best video game sequel of all time Baldur's Gate II, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, and of course, Dragon Age: Origins, you would think that Dragon Age II would have been decent, if not better than the already spectacular Dragon Age: Origins. I could not have been farther from the true result.

    Dragon Age II elects to take the winning formula of Dragon Age: Origins and tries to do something new. My first problem is why do so? Dragon Age: Origins was absolutely fine and needed not revamping. The best way to make a sequel is to add some new original content, expand the world and story, and also improve and fine tune the few problems of Dragon Age: Origins. Instead, Dragon Age II tries to reinvent the wheel and does so poorly.

    To sum it up shortly, they simplify anything that required strategy the first game's combat into button mashing garbage that makes it feel like Mass Effect with swords and magic. The globe trotting and exploration is now walking through one linear corridor that will give you flashbacks to Final Fantasy XIII. Interaction is non existent. You have more luck talking to a wall in this game than your own god damn party! When the companions don't have their own story arcs and interesting backgrounds, the player ceases to care about them emotionally, making the experience feel incredibly detached.
    "Hand holding" is an understatement when it comes to how the game presents things to you. It practically pushes you to success with you not doing hardly anything. The game is so easy it's boring and feels like a chore to get through. The worst part? The lackluster, no surprises, plot line that feels like a really bad fan fiction and the unbelievably basic dialogue wheel.

    So, final words? It's the worst thing BioWare has produced followed shortly by the god awful and overrated Mass Effect games. BioWare, what the hell happened? Baldur's Gate is the reason I got into role playing games. Dragon Age: Origins was one of the first masterful RPGs in the last five years. To see you put little to no effort in it's follow up is sad. Hopefully Dragon Age: Inquisition is better, but I'm not getting more hopes. Neither am I getting my wallet out. I'll spend my money else where, preferably on CD Projekt Red's next title.    … Expand
  24. Dogtanian81
    Nov 9, 2013
    3
    Terrible. No scope. Recycled dungeons. Dragon age origens was a far superior game in many ways. I really hope inquiistion improves on this tripe.
  25. EmperorZorn
    Mar 26, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age 2, sequel to the successful predecessor Dragon Age: Origins does almost everything wrong what made the series great. I could write a long review pointing out all the negative aspects, but I figure I should just sum up the positive ones and spare you the time: well-written companions, good music, stylistic loading screens.

    If you need to buy it, I recommend the console version    Dragon Age 2, sequel to the successful predecessor Dragon Age: Origins does almost everything wrong what made the series great. I could write a long review pointing out all the negative aspects, but I figure I should just sum up the positive ones and spare you the time: well-written companions, good music, stylistic loading screens.

    If you need to buy it, I recommend the console version as it is clearly designed with consoles in mind.    … Expand
  26. Takedzo
    Mar 17, 2011
    1
    Ð
  27. rrunboy12
    Mar 27, 2011
    0
    enemies appear out of nowhere, item names have no back story - you can't even attack enemies that you SEE until you get close enough that they turn red
  28. FaisedOut
    Mar 25, 2011
    0
    This is NOT an RPG, folks. I should've listened to the negative reviews posted here but my excitement for a new console RPG took over and I purchased it anyway. Think of this game as a "Dynasty Warriors" or the related "Samurai Warriors" game. Now if mindless hack-and-slash doesn't appeal to you, this game won't either. Funny thing is, I love hack-and-slash as well as a good RPG butThis is NOT an RPG, folks. I should've listened to the negative reviews posted here but my excitement for a new console RPG took over and I purchased it anyway. Think of this game as a "Dynasty Warriors" or the related "Samurai Warriors" game. Now if mindless hack-and-slash doesn't appeal to you, this game won't either. Funny thing is, I love hack-and-slash as well as a good RPG but this game is neither! Download the demo and you will see what I mean. DO NOT HEED ANY OF THE GOOD REVIEWS ON THIS SITE! Did they even PLAY the game???… Expand
  29. mortendynamo
    Mar 30, 2011
    1
    Horrible! I hated it the instant I started playing it. It felt like an everlasting pain playing it, and I gave up halfway and deleted it from my hd. Not worth the time or the money.
  30. MusAddict
    Jul 12, 2011
    4
    I was skeptical when I heard Bioware had "made a lot of changes, but did not stray too far from the feel of the first game" (paraphrased from a Bioware dev video). Before I share my thoughts of how the parts of the game should be rated know this; I did not finish the game. "Why are you rating it then?" you might ask, well I'm here to tell you that I stopped playing the game because theI was skeptical when I heard Bioware had "made a lot of changes, but did not stray too far from the feel of the first game" (paraphrased from a Bioware dev video). Before I share my thoughts of how the parts of the game should be rated know this; I did not finish the game. "Why are you rating it then?" you might ask, well I'm here to tell you that I stopped playing the game because the ratings I'm about to share are how I felt when I decided I should stop. Here's how I rate the individual parts of the game:

    Story: 6, The game is tedious, and never feels like you're getting anything done. The game just feels like a bunch of side quests that you're forced to do (whereas other games like DA:O had a main quest line, and separate side quests that you could do IF you wanted)

    Combat: 5, although the combat looks nice and has some fun abilities, over all it becomes very repetitive and makes it so you don't feel any real satisfaction when completing any type of battle.

    Speech: 7, the speech mechanics that they imported from the Mass Effect series was a good addition to the enjoyability to the game (instead of needing to read and choose long responses like in DA:O) however I wasn't quite satisfied with the male voice acting. It seemed too foreign for the context of the conversations. For example, in the Mass Effect series, the voice of Shepard makes you feel like you're asking the questions and accusing enemies, but the DA2 character seems too banter-like making it hard to relate to.

    Customization: 1, There's is little to no customization in the game. Bioware is known for detailed character creation (including looks and abilities) so I'm disregarding that in this section of the review. Everything else doesn't come anywhere close to par with Bioware's history.

    Exploration: 0, What exploration? If by exploration you mean walking around 1 city, then I give it a 10. If by exploration you mean exploring wonderful landscapes, multiple cities, beautiful mountains and beaches and more, (like in DA:O) then 0, or even -1... Basically you spend the whole game in one boring city... If you played the first one, basically think of Denerim, except 4 times bigger, and you cant go anywhere else except a patch of land for elves, and eventually a non-explorable Deep Roads map.

    Mechanics: 9, Probably the only thing that Bioware actually improved upon is the UI, including menus and hotbars. Easier to use, and smoother to respond. This section includes graphics. The characters look more like Mass Effect rather than Elder Scrolls 4 (even though Bioware didn't make that :P but still)

    Overall, this game is a complete disappointment as a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins. If Bioware can combine the mechanics of DA2 and the playability of DA:O, then Dragon Age 3 will probably be Bioware's console gem (That is if you don't include Mass Effect 3 and SWtOR)    … Expand
  31. MethosTR
    Aug 16, 2014
    0
    Given that Dragon Age 3 is nearly upon us, I feel that this is the appropriate time to post my long-overdue review of Dragon Age 2.

    First some history... From the time I beat Dragon Age: Origins, I eagerly anticipated its sequel. Then Bioware revealed the game itself, and eventually released a demo. I had a PS3 at the time, so I tried the demo on that. After my first time    Given that Dragon Age 3 is nearly upon us, I feel that this is the appropriate time to post my long-overdue review of Dragon Age 2.

    First some history...

    From the time I beat Dragon Age: Origins, I eagerly anticipated its sequel. Then Bioware revealed the game itself, and eventually released a demo. I had a PS3 at the time, so I tried the demo on that.

    After my first time finishing the demo, I was hooked. As I had been in the process of building a monster PC, with arguably the best hardware of 2011 (Intel i7 2600k, Nvidia Geforce GTX 580, etc) I wanted great games for it. And I considered Dragon Age 2 as one of them.

    I immediately went to my local Gamestop and placed a pre-order for the game, approximately 3 weeks prior to its release date...

    Four days before the game was released, I received the parts for my PC and set it up... and I was impatiently awaiting the release of DA2.

    On the morning of its release, I rushed to Gamestop and picked the game up, installed it as soon as I got home, and began playing. I was oblivious to the experience I would soon be subjected to...

    Needless to say, Dragon Age 2 is a vastly INFERIOR game to its predecessor. While its story is passable at best, the things that made Dragon Age: Origins great were completely missing from this game.

    Gone was the well-crafted tactical RPG combat. Gone was any kind of real character customization for your Hawke (Yes, you don't really even have a choice for your own character). Gone was any real diversity in the game's environments and quests.

    Instead the product I had paid $60 for was a disappointing experience that is a shadow of the great game whose name it bore. A game that seemed to have been designed with the intention to appeal to the current "CoD Instant Gratification" generation of gamers (Yes I did just say that), with its shallow and "flashy" combat system and shallow characters who serve only to provide more means to unrealistically dismember and eviscerate enemies for the intended "wow" effect to satisfy the aforementioned gamers.

    However, I was determined not to let this become a total loss of my money, so I soldiered on and completed the game's campaign. I did not even bother to get any of the DLC either. I simply completed the game, cried a little, and uninstalled it from my hard drive. I then proceeded to hide the disc away in an effort to put the experience out of my mind.

    In summary, I was among many who bought into the hype and then got burned. This experience has taught me to forevermore take anything that EA promises with some skepticism, and to never again preorder a game from them.

    Compared to Bioware's previous opus, this title can be viewed as the equivalent to a fecal smear on a public restroom toilet seat.

    I hath spoken.    … Expand
  32. haberman13
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    I hate 'simplification' and 'dumbing down' - this game is the epitome of that.

    If you loved DA:O you will HATE this game. If you loved ME2 you will probably love this game. Made for unintelligent morons, like most games, unfortunately there are dramatically more morons than intelligent people - so Bioware is going to make a lot of money, and smart people no longer can trust Bioware. If    I hate 'simplification' and 'dumbing down' - this game is the epitome of that.

    If you loved DA:O you will HATE this game. If you loved ME2 you will probably love this game.

    Made for unintelligent morons, like most games, unfortunately there are dramatically more morons than intelligent people - so Bioware is going to make a lot of money, and smart people no longer can trust Bioware.

    If you liked this game your intelligence is in question.    … Expand
  33. TheUnknownX
    Mar 16, 2011
    3
    Game is full of bugs, story is stupid and you can't affect anything, graphics are sometimes ok, often ugly, quests are usually stupid and blablabla. Game is worth 10â
  34. marcosespada
    Apr 15, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The worst Bioware game I have played. Cost cutting decisions, more than any other decision Bioware made, is what ruined this game. Let me be clear - game publishers need to manage costs - but they still need to deliver a first rate gaming experience. Bioware needs to deliver quality story telling, rather than rush a second rate experience out the door. I've listed what I think the most glaring cost cutting flaws in the game are: 1) My choices don't matter. I am constantly forced back into the same story loop. While I understand that there are limits on story divergence, my choices need to be about more than the flavor of the game I am playing. Not every choice I make needs to alter the story line. But some do. And at least a few need to fundamentally alter the course of the game. 2) Characters should be memorable, and not flat. If characters can just sort of fit whatever I want to do, then ultimately it's obvious that I'm playing a video game and not interacting with soulful representations. The game ruins the veil of "suspended disbelief" so critical to fantasy on so many occasions by just allowing characters to go along with whatever I want. Fenris, for example, HATES mages, and refuses to join my fight with the mages. Good for him even though it would have made my end fight more difficult. Then, because I manage a pithy one liner about slavery, he joins my party. IF he hated slavery and mages all along, the game should have built up this conflict more within his character, so that we could see the final crisis and denoument, not have him flippantly choose one side because it's what the player feels like doing. 3) Repetitive use of scenery. Origins got annoying after a while with the same monsters, but the scenery constantly changed. Dragon Age II made this worse by having me fight the same monster models and in the same settings three times in a row. 4) Every male model looks like they are on roids - how about some varied body types? What about the sinewy rogue? The willowy mage? Why as a mage are my muscles still exploding from my robes? 5) Sexuality should be more than a lifestyle choice for my romantic options. In Dragon Age, some characters were bisexual and others were not. Some got offended by homosexuality. This added an extra appreciated wrinkle to the game. Cost containment I could accept: 1) Focusing on fewer origin stories. Valuable development time could be saved if only a few major storylines are played. So, if I only get three origin stories instead of 15 possibilities I am OK with that. However, these three should be divergent not as close together as possible. E.g. female elven mage, male human warrior, male rogue dwarf. 2) Reuse of monster models. Every game has to do it, I get it. 3) Limitations on the number of big decisions that alter a story arc. Understood that these cannot pop up all over the place, but there need to be some and a few need to be big ones. Mass Effect 2 demonstrated that if you have enough divergent story arcs, origin stories are less important. 4) Simpler combat systems. I get it that there are more console games to be sold than PC games. If due to economies of scale I have to have a simpler combat system, I can handle that to if it is still fun and challenging like in Mass Effect 2. I accept the above cost containment, and it's because I expect the game designer to spend extra time making sure that what it DOES do is exceptional. No one has infinite resources. Rather than wisely spending its gaming investment dollars on the areas of most return for its gamers, Bioware was solely focused on their financial returns. They have made it clear that all I am to them is a dollar sign and they plan to cash out on the Dragon Age franchise. Very well, Bioware, your gaming audience understands, and I for one will sit out the next Dragon Age unless user reviews are 8.0+. You can buy off publications but not your user base.… Expand
  35. SlyDragons
    Apr 20, 2011
    1
    I've played and liked quite a few Bioware games. I thought DA:O had a good story and the gameplay was engaging. DA:A was essentially the same gameplay and a slightly less compelling story, but hey, it can't always be The Blight. I even bought a few DLC missions, which usually seemed worth extending my stay in the game world for a few bucks. Dragon Age:II is absolutely horrible. I feelI've played and liked quite a few Bioware games. I thought DA:O had a good story and the gameplay was engaging. DA:A was essentially the same gameplay and a slightly less compelling story, but hey, it can't always be The Blight. I even bought a few DLC missions, which usually seemed worth extending my stay in the game world for a few bucks. Dragon Age:II is absolutely horrible. I feel like a complete sucker for buying it. I even pre-ordered the Signature Edition based on my experience with their previous titles. The story drags along slowly and seems irrelevant. The gameplay and combat system just hack-n-slashing until so that maybe you can use a special ability during a fight. And the fights are no longer strategic. It's just hacking and slashing waves of baddies until the next waves jumps in from all sides like ninjas. The skill tree revamp was interesting and I kinda liked that, but not being able to customize your companions' gear seemed to dumb it down. I will probably still buy Mass Effect 3 on release day (or pre-order) because I think they've prioritized that as their marquis product and won't stray too far from the Mass Effect formula. But as for other Bioware games, especially future Dragon Age games, it will take much more than underhandedly gaming metacritic in order for me to buy it.… Expand
  36. Lyriq
    Apr 21, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Alone, Dragon Age 2 is a decent game. It's not good, and it's certainly not great, but it's decent. As part of a franchise, however, it is a complete and utter failure. The decision to not include (for the most part) any of the characters and location that made the original shine, makes Dragon Age 2 a bland and mostly unintelligible mess. There's no clear enemy, the party members are bland at best, and combat has become so simplistic that it adds almost nothing to the game. Dungeons are repeated endlessly, characters that you don't care about are dragged on screen repeatedly, while the ones you do care about, Zevran, Alistair, Leiliana, get almost no screen time. The "decisions" you make have almost no impact on the actual game. No matter what you do, Anders will become a terrorist. And those are just the failings of the game. As a member of a franchise, there is nothing in this game that is a marked improvement from the first game. Yes, it's a little prettier and runs a little faster, but that was never the draw of the original. What Bioware failed to do in this game was continue with what made Origins great: Characters and story. Dragon Age 2 has neither. Dragons Age 2 features a save game transfer like Mass Effect 2. Unfortunately, the save game transfer has almost zero effect on the game. Mass Effect 2 could be radically different depending on your Mass Effect 1 playthrough, with characters that would otherwise be present for major events of the game being absent, or your status as a galactic agent. The save game transfer in Dragon Age 2 affects who you talk to a few times. Nothing is gained from transferring an old save. Sure, you can hear snippets of dialogue about your old adventures here and there, but they add absolutely nothing. Why Bioware chose to make Dragon Age into a franchise more akin to Mass Effect baffles me. They are radically different games, both in execution and in writing. Mass Effect was designed around one character, Shepard. Forcing one character into the spotlight of Thedas is awkward and does not fit. I can hope and pray that Bioware drops Hawke for the next game, but of course they won't. In short, do not go into this game expecting an experience akin to Dragon Age: Origins. Doing so will just set you up for disappointment. Be prepared for a mediocre experience that is untrue to the original.… Expand
  37. HypeUsNotThem
    Apr 21, 2011
    3
    Pros:
    + The clear abilities points distribution system is a improvement
    + Voiced protagonist dialogs
    + "Sell All Junk" button (Only a requirement when you have junk)

    Cons:
    - Cheap dungeon design
    - Excessive gore and unnatural moves in combat animations
    - Spiders drop gold (What?)
    - Shallow characters and dialogues
  38. Jormundgard
    Apr 22, 2011
    4
    Disappointing, a watered-down version of the first.

    The game engine and UI has been improved. I prefer the newer talent trees. And the characters are quite engaging and held my interest. But the story is very watered down and it takes place in the exact same stages over and over. The repetition in stages, as well as combat, almost make the game intolerable. Aside from a (very) few key    Disappointing, a watered-down version of the first.

    The game engine and UI has been improved. I prefer the newer talent trees. And the characters are quite engaging and held my interest. But the story is very watered down and it takes place in the exact same stages over and over. The repetition in stages, as well as combat, almost make the game intolerable. Aside from a (very) few key events, player choices seem largely irrelevant. For some utterly baffling reason, only Anders (and the player) can learn to heal. I felt as if I was forced to use Anders and Aveline (the tank) if I was to adopt any strategy. Characters that are unused might as well be dead to you.

    It is a decent enough game (and the final battle is actually quite epic), but I felt like the media critics got this absolutely wrong. It has its charms, but it is largely an unworthy sequel and I regret spending $70 on this product. Wait for the price to drop before purchasing this one, you won't be missing much.    … Expand
  39. Mandroid
    Apr 16, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II is terrible when compared to Origins -- which is a one of my favorite games in recent times! It's a rushed cash-in and not a sequel at all. It's not worth its asking cost and should have been nothing more than an offshoot expansion pack.
  40. nurofen
    Apr 17, 2011
    1
    For fans of Dragon Age Origins and Awakenings, DA2 is a Epic Fail, which pales in comparison to the original. DA2 will only bring you disappointment. Its a tiny world with recycled maps, recycled music, shallow characters. It is a tedium to play.... and unlike the original you wont want to play it through again.
  41. qqmanchu
    Apr 19, 2011
    0
    Bioware once a great company that produced fabled RPGs has shown an ugly side with Dragon Age 2. The first Dragon Age was excellent but this has been streamlined to become a horrible game, EA has destroyed Bioware.
  42. Dracongo
    Mar 24, 2011
    0
    What a disastrous disappointment. The first Dragon Age definitely ranked among the top 100 games of all time, a story that you controlled - going where you want when you want, chatting with your allies for hours to boost to earn their love and respect, starting off in different areas depending on your race and class... what Dragon Age II leaves us with is a replica made of dookie. Never,What a disastrous disappointment. The first Dragon Age definitely ranked among the top 100 games of all time, a story that you controlled - going where you want when you want, chatting with your allies for hours to boost to earn their love and respect, starting off in different areas depending on your race and class... what Dragon Age II leaves us with is a replica made of dookie. Never, ever give Bioware your money, it only encourages this inane garbage

    This game reminds me of that movie Idiocracy, in which society becomes so stupid and uncouth that potty humor becomes high society and a man with the middle name Mountain Dew becomes president. That's exactly what this game is - the very worst of society hoisted up and mislabeled - as if Gigli were marketed as Citizen Kane 2.

    Only contempt and revile live in my heart for this abomination.    … Expand
  43. lolcats
    Apr 22, 2011
    3
    its a working game with 3d graphics, a story, and characters(not compelling, interesting, deep, or smart in any way, no sign of intelligence from the ones responsible for character design)
    this can be said about almost any game, and thats why we look for what makes the games unique, and that is what DA:O was, this looks like DA:O got robed of its limbs and head, whats left is a bloody    its a working game with 3d graphics, a story, and characters(not compelling, interesting, deep, or smart in any way, no sign of intelligence from the ones responsible for character design)
    this can be said about almost any game, and thats why we look for what makes the games unique, and that is what DA:O was, this looks like DA:O got robed of its limbs and head, whats left is a bloody gory torso with no depth or the "true" rpg feel that, some people may argue that DA2 should not be compared to its predecessor, because its a different game, but it should, it realy should, they sat the standard with DA:O and if they expect the game to be received well, they need to make a game of equal or better quality, not a dumbed down thing meant for the larger demographic.    … Expand
  44. RhysDoubleU
    Apr 22, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The whole game feels rushed and incomplete, more like a doodle than a landscape. Even the main questline reuses areas that are both geographically and conceptually different, there is a Cave environment, a Warehouse environment and an Undercity environment. Get used to these because you will see them, often. The game takes many of the elements of the first game and discards them on the basis that it's easier to throw away concepts than fix them, discarding the Crafting system in favour of purchasing the crafted items after finding permanent resources in the game.

    Most of the characters are completely unlikable, Anders springs to mind almost immediately. The handling of the games "Romances" for lack of a better term is almost unforgivable, the writing is blunter and less interesting than a cheap fanfiction. The game's fans urge that the Romances are completely voluntary and are a side aspect to the game, this is at odds with the game it self, the Romances are aggressively forced upon the player, with heavy skill benefits for players who partake, as well as some characters actively disliking you if don't show interest in romancing them.

    The ending is just appalling, every faction in the game ends up betraying you, regardless of your choices, just so you have to fight them all. This is unforgivable in an RPG that promotes the value of a choice.

    This game is much, much less enjoyable than the first game in the series, which offers both more features, better writing and more choice.    … Expand
  45. MamaMidnight
    Mar 27, 2011
    2
    This game is a HUGE disappointment for fans of DA:O. It's pretty much pointless considering how goal orientated the last game was. It really does not feel like you have a purpose in this game at all. It's a such a rude difference and it's hard to get into this game has an RPG player. Again... waste of time, disappointment, SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!
  46. ActusReus
    May 4, 2011
    0
    I only singed up to metacritic to give this pile of dung the worst possible score I could. I never liked the 1st one, although I loved BG, BGII, IWD & IWD II.

    DOA2 picks up almost exactly where DAO left off... No, not as in story, but in its ham handed bludgeoning and blundering approach to the high fantasy genre. DAO and DA2 are both heavily (sorry I mean entirely) aimed at the teen    I only singed up to metacritic to give this pile of dung the worst possible score I could. I never liked the 1st one, although I loved BG, BGII, IWD & IWD II.

    DOA2 picks up almost exactly where DAO left off... No, not as in story, but in its ham handed bludgeoning and blundering approach to the high fantasy genre.

    DAO and DA2 are both heavily (sorry I mean entirely) aimed at the teen market, which I guess means the most moronic market available. Instead of Bioware evolving and maturing along side there (previously) faithful fanboy, i.e. me they seem to have undergone some kind of unbelievable retardation process where upon they have de-evolved into a dribbling, giggling, illiterate fool of a teenage boy with all the same sensibilities and philosophical approach that would come with that.

    Both games absolutely smacked of immaturity and both have sunk my hopes on a titanic scale.

    But... this is meant to be a review of DA2 and as such I would like to state that...

    Everything that I absoluetely hated with a fiery, burning passion about DAO is worse by the power of 10 in DA2 and the few things I did enjoy about DAO (like the tactical return to BG for combat) has been ripped out and replaced with the most mindless, mundane and repetative 3rd person shooter style combat system.

    Another shameful change to the format would be the all round sense of adventure. I played most of the game wondering what the plot is? I was often left wondering "What the hell is meant to be going on?" and "Why the hell do I care about menial task A, B, C, or D?".

    Finally (and I mean finally from me as I need to go and make my self a comforting hot drink and calm down before thinking about how awful this game is gives me another panic attack), you are almost entirely stuck in ONE city.... This could have been done very well, look what Rockstar mange to do with their console games located within one area, why not a high fantasy version of a GTA game, maybe? Please don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting to introduce police chases and Ho's into DA2 world. I am merely saying with some time, money and a little hard work on the development side Bioware could have made a intricately designed city full of explorable wonder. Instead they gave us endless brown corridors.

    And brown corridor brings me nicely to the end of my review (well more a rant I guess), as DA2 feels as though Bioware have brought us this game directly from one.    … Expand
  47. vanhaver
    Nov 29, 2013
    4
    Why the hell Bioware strayed from the success of Dragon Age: Origins' gameplay mechanics so much I'll never know. I was terribly disappointed by the camera and extremely linear gameplay of DA II. Stay w/ what works Bioware....PLEASE.
  48. Orlon
    Aug 24, 2013
    0
    Horrible game. Nothing more to tell.
    The story is mediocre at best, the combat is simply awful and the recycling of areas is downright disgusting. Not to speak of the sub-par graphics and (some) annoying companions and "antagonists".
  49. Antart
    Nov 24, 2014
    0
    The name suggest a sequel of Origins, instead is a dumbed-for-consoles Action-RPG in which combos are more effective than skills, when sheath a weapon appears a FAKE one and, of course, all of this casual crap mapped entirely in invisible corridors, no isometric view, no customizable party, no toolkit to create mods, but it has enemies... LOTS OF ENEMIES! Sorry, I have not been able toThe name suggest a sequel of Origins, instead is a dumbed-for-consoles Action-RPG in which combos are more effective than skills, when sheath a weapon appears a FAKE one and, of course, all of this casual crap mapped entirely in invisible corridors, no isometric view, no customizable party, no toolkit to create mods, but it has enemies... LOTS OF ENEMIES! Sorry, I have not been able to finish this "Street Fighter Medieval" crap, I can't even pass the first map and I ended up returning to Dragon Age Origins well modded. This game worth zero to anyone who expect a Dragon Age game, shame of you Bioware!… Expand
  50. DanielCorfour
    May 8, 2014
    1
    The most accurate description of this game that I can think of is: you explore a poorly made, small city(which reuses environments), full of degenerate people.... to find sequel-hooks and non-descript loot. That's it.

    There is nothing this game does better than it's predecessor. Absolutely nothing, While Origins had it's fair share of flaws, when this game tries to fix those, it jumps    The most accurate description of this game that I can think of is: you explore a poorly made, small city(which reuses environments), full of degenerate people.... to find sequel-hooks and non-descript loot. That's it.

    There is nothing this game does better than it's predecessor. Absolutely nothing, While Origins had it's fair share of flaws, when this game tries to fix those, it jumps the horse and ends up doing something even worse. And that's when it tries to address issues. Sometimes it takes the good parts of Origins and completely ruins them. So here's the jist, starting with the most important things in an RPG for me:

    The story: considerably worse than Origins. While the first game had a pretty generic setting(save the world from the armies of Mord.. I mean Darkspawn), it was made unique and good by what was built atop that. Dragon Age 2 doesn't have a generic plot, but the way that it unfolds, with absolutist mentalities flying all over the place is what degrades it. Dialogue and plot logic is also worse than in it's predecessor. And what's worse, it doesn't even have a plot to speak of. All it does, at every turn, in all three acts, is set up the plot of the next game.

    Characters are either forgettable or downright annoying. There was one good character in the entire game, and that was Varric.

    The choices you get are between coke and coke zero. You don't get to say Pepsi, or none of the above. At the end of the day, you'll always end up in the same place. And it's terribly balanced as well. There are no complex choices that makes you think. You're going to choose simple coke over coke zero every time, since it is the better choice. There is no balance there.

    The game adds nothing to the lore, and does nothing to offer any answers to the questions raised in previous games. The only thing it does, is raise more questions, with a big sign plastered on it: BUY THE NEXT GAME TO FIND OUT. I have no problem with unanswered questions, they're fun, but when done so blatantly, and for such shady reasons... it insults my intelligence.

    Combat in Origins was too slow. But it was good, strategic combat. Dragon Age 2 addressed my concerns by jumping the horse, making it way too fast and cartoonish, and throwing away every strategic aspect to it. It even changed the laws of gravity and velocity from the first one... wtf?

    Customization is almost nonexistent. Nuff said.

    The environment is one tiny city. And it reuses maps over and over. You basically visit the same place over and over again. It becomes so annoying after a time.. and for one tiny city... it looks ugly as hell, the texture quality is terrible.

    Graphics haven't been improved much, they merely changed the aesthetics of the game...

    The aesthetics of the game are weird, cartoonish and look nothing like the dark, mature Origins. That's the most insulting part of it. That I wouldn't recognize this game as a Dragon Age game, because they changed so much from the previous. From the way characters dress, to the tone of the game, they even changed characters entirely, given them a "cool" look, with ridiculous armor that makes no sense. instead of the believable world of Origins, we're thrown into the world of Inuyasha...

    Overall, it's a 5/10, painfully average game, but I'm gonna give it a 1/10 because it insults the memory of Origins and then **** all over it.    … Expand
  51. DAOuser
    Sep 24, 2013
    0
    Patético. Como juego es pésimo: la historia no es mala, pero está muy mal llevada, repetición de áreas ad infinitum (y más allá), detalles muy poco cuidados. Aburrido y repetitivo hasta la saciedad, con un combate simplificado a más no poder y un inventario de risa. Llamarlo rpg es insultar al género del rol. Ignoro cómo pudo alguien pensar que después de empezar una saga con algo tanPatético. Como juego es pésimo: la historia no es mala, pero está muy mal llevada, repetición de áreas ad infinitum (y más allá), detalles muy poco cuidados. Aburrido y repetitivo hasta la saciedad, con un combate simplificado a más no poder y un inventario de risa. Llamarlo rpg es insultar al género del rol. Ignoro cómo pudo alguien pensar que después de empezar una saga con algo tan bueno como DA:O y luego cambiar el formato hasta convertirlo en algo como ésto, iba a ser una buena idea.… Expand
  52. RunicDragons
    Jan 20, 2014
    2
    A huge letdown for fans of Dragon Age: Origins. I'm not gonna spend my time reviewing this game.
    They took everything that made Dragon Age: Origins so great and shat on it.

    Shame on you, Bioware. Now go make it up to us with Dragon Age: Inquisition and don't make the same goofy mistakes again.
  53. Skyrar
    Sep 21, 2014
    4
    First let me say: I quite liked this game. So why am I giving it only a 4? Because I don't think it's a good rpg. I enyoyed the combat and like the dragon age lore, so that really helped me to enjoy the game. But lokking at it more objective- it has a lot of problems. Level recycling, a lifeless and static world (the npcs in kirkwall are just standing there and doing nothing), bad graphicsFirst let me say: I quite liked this game. So why am I giving it only a 4? Because I don't think it's a good rpg. I enyoyed the combat and like the dragon age lore, so that really helped me to enjoy the game. But lokking at it more objective- it has a lot of problems. Level recycling, a lifeless and static world (the npcs in kirkwall are just standing there and doing nothing), bad graphics (the comic look doesn't help in a "mature" rpg). Choices don't really matter. The story execution is bad, while the idea behind it was good. Excessive violence, while the sex scenes are "censored" (characters in full clothes). And again, choices don't matter.… Expand
  54. Memebrane
    Nov 2, 2018
    0
    Отвратительное говно. Я просто не понимаю как можно такое выпускать. Боевка отвратительная, ваша "дура" будет делать просто ВСЁ, но только не то, чего вы хотите. Хотите заюзать перк? ХАХАХАХХАХАХА. Я лучше палкой махать буду, ыыыыыыы. Дизайн уровней вообще атас, я точно хожу в древнем тевинтерском городе, а не в районе Омска? Про смап мобов отдельная история. Мобы спамяться во ВРЕМЯ БОЯ.Отвратительное говно. Я просто не понимаю как можно такое выпускать. Боевка отвратительная, ваша "дура" будет делать просто ВСЁ, но только не то, чего вы хотите. Хотите заюзать перк? ХАХАХАХХАХАХА. Я лучше палкой махать буду, ыыыыыыы. Дизайн уровней вообще атас, я точно хожу в древнем тевинтерском городе, а не в районе Омска? Про смап мобов отдельная история. Мобы спамяться во ВРЕМЯ БОЯ. Это точно рпг, а не слешер? Я просто сижу и аболдеваю от того, как в "это" раньше играл. Это просто помои, а не игра.… Expand
  55. Scalec
    Mar 27, 2011
    1
    Such a disappointment. Dumbed down and SAD. I have to say that PC Gamer has now LOST my respect. How can this be rated at 94? They did the same this for Crysis 2 (89) when critical opinion of the players has revealed that it is also a bitter disappointment. I had such high hopes for DA2, like Crysis 2, and they both have one thing in common don't they? .......Always trust the PLAYERS notSuch a disappointment. Dumbed down and SAD. I have to say that PC Gamer has now LOST my respect. How can this be rated at 94? They did the same this for Crysis 2 (89) when critical opinion of the players has revealed that it is also a bitter disappointment. I had such high hopes for DA2, like Crysis 2, and they both have one thing in common don't they? .......Always trust the PLAYERS not the media to give a true assessment and review of a product.… Expand
  56. xavifu
    Jul 11, 2011
    1
    The game is very boring, cost me a lot to finish. Only finished because I was told that the end is good enough. I don't know what is thinking Bioware when they do this game.
  57. Zoso
    Jun 15, 2012
    0
    After over a year now, I still can't forget the disappointment when I first played the game. After playing Dragon Age: Origins, I'd been looking forward to the sequel in anticipation, but was even more taken aback than when Neverwinter Nights was released.
    It's truly terrible in every respect, it's basically a hack-n'-slash action RPG badly ported from an outdated console (like PS2 ore    After over a year now, I still can't forget the disappointment when I first played the game. After playing Dragon Age: Origins, I'd been looking forward to the sequel in anticipation, but was even more taken aback than when Neverwinter Nights was released.
    It's truly terrible in every respect, it's basically a hack-n'-slash action RPG badly ported from an outdated console (like PS2 ore something). I was so paralyzed I actually played about 10 hours, waiting for the story to kick in, or anything to kick in, really, but it didn't.
    And it would have been so easy to make a great sequel to a great game - just leave mot of what made the game intact, improve upon the more technical stuff (graphics, interface responsiveness), and you're good to go. But no, they had to waste that chance and s**** it up (like what 4E did to D&D).

    Sad. I'm never going to pre-order anything Bioware again.    … Expand
  58. scorched595
    Aug 22, 2012
    1
    What a piece of **** this game was. The story is written like a 10 year old's crossover fanfic, the characters are so cliche and poorly made, that I'm surprised that they aren't made of cardboard, and the graphics are just awful to look at. Not only that, but there are issues such as the dialogue options are too vague and don't show what your character is actually going to say. The worstWhat a piece of **** this game was. The story is written like a 10 year old's crossover fanfic, the characters are so cliche and poorly made, that I'm surprised that they aren't made of cardboard, and the graphics are just awful to look at. Not only that, but there are issues such as the dialogue options are too vague and don't show what your character is actually going to say. The worst issue though, by far, is the layout of dungeons and the setting. It's set in one **** city and the outlying countryside around it, but that's not the worst part, the worst part is the constant recycling of dungeons for every quest, meaning if you actually pay attention, you will notice you've been going through the same cave systems for the 30th **** time. The combat is the only thing good about this game, it's fast paced and keeps you on your toes, but everything else just sucks. Dragon age 2, suck my **** dick… Expand
  59. insanity82007
    Aug 29, 2013
    3
    The game looks nice, the cinematics are ok, the story line and cut scenes are disjointed and all of this could be forgiven if the controls/camera weren't so abysmally, horribly awful. I'm not sure if they were making an FPS RPG, an RPG or an RTS. IT doesn't really matter which one because they screwed it up pretty badly either way.
    I tried the demo ages ago and couldn't remember why I    The game looks nice, the cinematics are ok, the story line and cut scenes are disjointed and all of this could be forgiven if the controls/camera weren't so abysmally, horribly awful. I'm not sure if they were making an FPS RPG, an RPG or an RTS. IT doesn't really matter which one because they screwed it up pretty badly either way.
    I tried the demo ages ago and couldn't remember why I stopped playing after 10 minutes. Now that I've given it a second go, I can remember why.    … Expand
  60. Whiskerbro
    Jul 3, 2013
    2
    I never played Dragon Age 1, and after playing this game, I think I never will. The combat is so dull. The voice acting is bad, and the story is stupid. I care about none of the characters. NONE OF THEM! They are all shallow and could be described with one word. I was never surprised about how characters acted. This game was very little fun.
  61. Psychanthropos
    Aug 28, 2013
    4
    It's not awful but it isn't really fun. Take what you will from the combat and the graphics. They're not terrible but they're nothing to marvel at. In my opinion what killed this game is the combo of the repetitive environments and the lame story. The story is heavily cliched and fragmented. The narrative is constantly beating you over the head with the struggles of traditionalism andIt's not awful but it isn't really fun. Take what you will from the combat and the graphics. They're not terrible but they're nothing to marvel at. In my opinion what killed this game is the combo of the repetitive environments and the lame story. The story is heavily cliched and fragmented. The narrative is constantly beating you over the head with the struggles of traditionalism and tolerance and it gets really old. I wish they would have diversified the narrative a little bit because the story and the environments felt like they were stuck on repeat for hour after hour. Even the characters didn't seem to change their outlooks very much over the course of the game, the hallmark of a frustrating and unfulfilled story.… Expand
  62. southpaw317
    Feb 21, 2014
    1
    The obvious reasons: A puréed combat system, dialog that, too often, doesn't say anything close to what option you pick (and often has unforeseen consequences), reused locations (they seriously thought closing off one passageway in the same map I've been through 20 times was going to make me think I'm in a new map?).. storyline was atrocious... mostly for the weak tie-ins to the great gameThe obvious reasons: A puréed combat system, dialog that, too often, doesn't say anything close to what option you pick (and often has unforeseen consequences), reused locations (they seriously thought closing off one passageway in the same map I've been through 20 times was going to make me think I'm in a new map?).. storyline was atrocious... mostly for the weak tie-ins to the great game that preceded it, changing the art style, the look of the Qunari, the feel of your companions, and so forth and so on... etc. etc. I feel like a jilted love. "Let me count the ways in which I hate thee..."

    I say the positive too, of course. The graphics were pretty good, albeit really weak for fighting and magic animations.

    It is obvious this was nothing more than a quick money grab. And, it is hilarious how games studios never consider gamer backlash. Goodwill is a small line on a company's balance sheet, and execs overlook it and its significance constantly. And no, it is not where they donate used clothes. It's how they keep track of things like how loyal their customer base is.

    Anyways, there's almost twenty-two hundred bad reviews on here. I doubt anybody other than myself will get around to even reading this one. Just my middle finger to Bioware. But I bought this garbage game around release day... and if I want to attempt playing it ever again to see if there was anything redeemable in there I can't because Origin sucks and says I never bought it. So, they still got the last laugh.    … Expand
  63. MarcMrine
    Dec 5, 2014
    0
    Let's be clear: those who defend Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition because of its fast-action gameplay and/or story are in the common mistake of forgetting that this is not an Action-RPG saga. In Origins characters fight (automatically), without any help from the player (you), so the combat is focused entirely on the character development (choose wisely your skills or you will end up withLet's be clear: those who defend Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition because of its fast-action gameplay and/or story are in the common mistake of forgetting that this is not an Action-RPG saga. In Origins characters fight (automatically), without any help from the player (you), so the combat is focused entirely on the character development (choose wisely your skills or you will end up with useless characters), while in Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition the combat is focused on the player's reflexes (choose whatever you want because you win by dodging attacks), in which the character development is there to delude yourself thinking that you are playing RPG...… Expand
  64. Jake74218
    Nov 25, 2014
    0
    Bioware turned their back for some of their loyal fans of Dragon Age and decided to drop dual core wielders out of their trilogy and configure the game for the xboxes etc.. In a past you could hang on in a game if you reduced the graphics etc, but not anymore.. It's obvious that Bioware thinks that If you can't or don't buy the proper iron or a playing console, we don't need your money atBioware turned their back for some of their loyal fans of Dragon Age and decided to drop dual core wielders out of their trilogy and configure the game for the xboxes etc.. In a past you could hang on in a game if you reduced the graphics etc, but not anymore.. It's obvious that Bioware thinks that If you can't or don't buy the proper iron or a playing console, we don't need your money at all. So Bioware: keep your Dragon Age, I don't want or need it even if my iron upgrades in a future. Luckily the Pillars of Eternity is coming.… Expand
  65. Carda1972
    Jun 16, 2015
    3
    Even an 4.4 is too high user score for this game. This truely shows the 'critics' with their 8.2 average have no clue anymore what games are about these days. They only look at graphics? (While graphics are disappointing too actually). Story is blend, I have absolutely no bonding with my partymembers like I had with DA:Origins for example. I have to complete this game cause I wanne playEven an 4.4 is too high user score for this game. This truely shows the 'critics' with their 8.2 average have no clue anymore what games are about these days. They only look at graphics? (While graphics are disappointing too actually). Story is blend, I have absolutely no bonding with my partymembers like I had with DA:Origins for example. I have to complete this game cause I wanne play Inquisition and wanne know the story from two. It's a BIG BORE to play through this game, but I'll manage (I think)… Expand
  66. freejack
    Nov 25, 2012
    1
    Let me start by saying DA:O is my second favorite RPG of all time with Planescape Torment holding the top spot. Now I'll make this short. DA2 was the biggest disappointment in all my years of gaming. Bioware turned a deep, tactical, thought-provoking game into a contrived, mind-numbing clickfest. Who's retarded idea was it to make opponents essentially blow up? Nowhere did it mentionLet me start by saying DA:O is my second favorite RPG of all time with Planescape Torment holding the top spot. Now I'll make this short. DA2 was the biggest disappointment in all my years of gaming. Bioware turned a deep, tactical, thought-provoking game into a contrived, mind-numbing clickfest. Who's retarded idea was it to make opponents essentially blow up? Nowhere did it mention that our players swords were laced with impact-triggered C4. Then there's all the pointless side quests that some 10 year old must have conceived. Click here on the map, fight group one, fight group two, retrieve item, repeat ad nauseam. Although I understand why there are gay characters in the game, the fact that there are so many is baffling to me. Not only is this unrealistic, it feels like Bioware is pushing some kind of agenda on the player. I really liked how it was handled in the earlier Mass Effects and DA:O. In DA2 you couldn't swing your sword without hitting a homosexual (unintended sexual innuendo). You'd think this game was made specifically for gay 12 year old gore junkies with ADHD. I will definitely not be buying DA3 until reviews from regular folk like myself and not the big gaming sites come out praising the game.… Expand
  67. deathbringer
    Jun 13, 2017
    2
    This game isn't bad, it's a disaster. I had high hopes that Dragon Age II would be good since Origins was phenomenal. But i was vastly disappointed. So much was changed for the worse, for example many RPG elements was taken away, the story and dialogue was really weak, and i couldn't enjoy the combat either. The combat itself was okay but all you do is spam buttons, it was no fun. And alsoThis game isn't bad, it's a disaster. I had high hopes that Dragon Age II would be good since Origins was phenomenal. But i was vastly disappointed. So much was changed for the worse, for example many RPG elements was taken away, the story and dialogue was really weak, and i couldn't enjoy the combat either. The combat itself was okay but all you do is spam buttons, it was no fun. And also it was designed for console, which is sad...… Expand
  68. JackDanielz79
    Nov 16, 2015
    3
    So sad that we got this after DA:O. Feel like Kingdom of Amalur to me, but cheapest. No emotion out of it, no tactic in combat, story was boring and same maps again and again. As much I wanted to play again DAO with others characters and make other choice, I don't want ever to play this one again. Very disapointing. Sounds is ok, load fast and no crash however, I must give it that atSo sad that we got this after DA:O. Feel like Kingdom of Amalur to me, but cheapest. No emotion out of it, no tactic in combat, story was boring and same maps again and again. As much I wanted to play again DAO with others characters and make other choice, I don't want ever to play this one again. Very disapointing. Sounds is ok, load fast and no crash however, I must give it that at least. Get it on sale at 5$, no more.… Expand
  69. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    4
    I hate EA for what they have done to BioWare. This is a money grabbing shell of the first game.
  70. OrcBEOR
    Apr 3, 2021
    0
    Любимая игра серии. Хоук лучший главный герой. А Кирквол... То что игра потерла в масштабах и проходит в одном городе мне нравится больше чем беготня по здоровенному материку.
  71. Gor1945
    Apr 8, 2017
    1
    Данный шлак делали исключительно из желания срубить бабла по легкому, иначе как объяснить что во всей игре (а это РПГ) буквально две локации и все квесты выполняешь на них, только враги меняются, ну и уже традиционное для скатывающийся в бездну Биовар - засилье голубизны, абсолютно детский сюжет, диалоги и персонажи, ах да еще упрощенная донельзя боевка - просто не тратьте на это время.Данный шлак делали исключительно из желания срубить бабла по легкому, иначе как объяснить что во всей игре (а это РПГ) буквально две локации и все квесты выполняешь на них, только враги меняются, ну и уже традиционное для скатывающийся в бездну Биовар - засилье голубизны, абсолютно детский сюжет, диалоги и персонажи, ах да еще упрощенная донельзя боевка - просто не тратьте на это время.
  72. Dylanmc12
    Apr 22, 2011
    4
    A dumbed down collection of kicks in the balls version of ORIGINS. Don't bother. But probally the biggest kick in the balls, is at the very start: You can only pick one race. What a rip-off! That's part of what made Origins so fun! Another kick in the balls, is that they dumped the whole "Go from place to Place" aspect (Another feature that makes Origins so fun) and instead you're stuck inA dumbed down collection of kicks in the balls version of ORIGINS. Don't bother. But probally the biggest kick in the balls, is at the very start: You can only pick one race. What a rip-off! That's part of what made Origins so fun! Another kick in the balls, is that they dumped the whole "Go from place to Place" aspect (Another feature that makes Origins so fun) and instead you're stuck in this boring, lifeless, dumb town with NPCs who keep spouting the words "Hello. Hawke, is it?" every time you get within a 5-feet radious of them. GAAH!!… Expand
  73. Tweete
    Apr 18, 2011
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is very weak compared to the first game. The story was not as good and didnt flow well at all. The game seemed to want to push the player towards a gay romance was a real negative for me. (No I dont care about your politically correct ideas about it....I played the game and thats how I feel) This is the first bioware game I will not play a second time. I would tell my friends not to buy this game.… Expand
  74. brisbanesimon
    May 17, 2011
    0
    this is such a bad game,absolutely pathetic attempt at creating an rpg,shame on you bioware,i will be never ever ever again purchasing any of your products after this abomination of a game
  75. frostb
    Mar 28, 2011
    3
    Ð
  76. glam
    Dec 1, 2013
    0
    HORRIBLE HORRIBLE this is has absolutely nothing to do with DA:Origins except for the name title!
    dumbing down the game for 5 year olds and brain damaged monkeys, Not for my intelligence, thanks for ruining a great game idiots.
  77. orctown-troll
    Jul 18, 2014
    4
    How the mighty have fallen. Dragon Age II marked the end of Bioware as a serious RPG developer. This is a long winded dating simulation game. Huge amounts of resources have been wasted in cut scenes and NEVER-ENDING blather about the sexual politics of the NPCs. Everything else in the game has been totally neglected. There is not even a city to explore. Only one dungeon, re-used for allHow the mighty have fallen. Dragon Age II marked the end of Bioware as a serious RPG developer. This is a long winded dating simulation game. Huge amounts of resources have been wasted in cut scenes and NEVER-ENDING blather about the sexual politics of the NPCs. Everything else in the game has been totally neglected. There is not even a city to explore. Only one dungeon, re-used for all encounters. Limited and impaired loot. Limited and impaired encounters. A 'new' art style so much worse than the old one. And a story that railroads the player into a single (horrible) 'Hawke' character. Dragon Age Origins was good but flawed. This game is WORSE in ALL areas. One can conclude that if fan wrath about this game contributed to new management in Bioware that MAY be a good thing. Cross your fingers for Inquisition. 2014 will allow us to see if Bioware still has what it takes as they go into direct contest with Larian (Divinity Original Sin) and Obsidian (Pillars of Eternity).

    We pray for a Bioware redemption of course! All the best Edmonton!

    orctowngrot    … Expand
  78. GXant
    May 1, 2014
    0
    **** game for absolutelly ALL POINTS.

    -The graphics are like a **** anime, clean and no way like DA:O ones(realistic and that) the elfs looked like fuking goblins with no-sence phisic esrtructure. -The story is awful, and VERY DISAPOINTING. You can't chose the race of your character like DA:O, You use a human with no more that 4 answerds each decision time (and the desicion wont    **** game for absolutelly ALL POINTS.

    -The graphics are like a **** anime, clean and no way like DA:O ones(realistic and that) the elfs looked like fuking goblins with no-sence phisic esrtructure.

    -The story is awful, and VERY DISAPOINTING. You can't chose the race of your character like DA:O, You use a human with no more that 4 answerds each decision time (and the desicion wont change ANYTHING from the story of this ''game'')

    -Combat and weapons are the WORST THING OF THIS CREATION. The animation movements are like a super sayan with hyteria hyperactivity. And you leave the character doing movements and you win. No comments.

    My actual score i give is 0 'cose i cant give it a -9999 out of 10. A saga that will be forgoten and **** for the rest of the life. Thanks bioware (and ''thank you'' to for ME3)    … Expand
  79. GromphBaenre
    Oct 16, 2013
    4
    It was a huge disapointment. i bought it as soon as it came out on steam, after a couple days i realized the game sucked, at first i thought it might be a good game, then it starts. a lot of talking where they try to create the ilusion your choices matter pave the way to the opening fight of the game. the skill tree is pretty standard only 3 classes to choose from but the fighting systemIt was a huge disapointment. i bought it as soon as it came out on steam, after a couple days i realized the game sucked, at first i thought it might be a good game, then it starts. a lot of talking where they try to create the ilusion your choices matter pave the way to the opening fight of the game. the skill tree is pretty standard only 3 classes to choose from but the fighting system is one of the crappiest i´ve ever seen. you either pause a lot to control each char or let them fight on their own, either way it´s ridiculously easy. then a LOT more talking before another easy fight. it requires neither skill nor strategy. and it´s like this the whole way through. no real action, you have to do what the game wants and go where it sends you. no replayability whatsoever. not worth 10bucks… Expand
  80. velgolrad
    Mar 28, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is much worse than the first part, talents are bad, story is too short and quests are so simple so i didnt have to think to finish them, the game was made for stupid people who dont want do anything just watch the grafics.… Expand
  81. Magnethead
    Dec 13, 2013
    2
    Usually, I'm suspicious when everyone starts giving a game grades below 4 but this time it's fairly accurate. I assume that if you're looking at Dragon Age II, you've already played Dragon Age: Origins so that's my angle in this review. Two things characterized Origins and I'll compare those to DAII.

    Tactical gameplay: Almost doesn't exist anymore which is surprising because seemingly    Usually, I'm suspicious when everyone starts giving a game grades below 4 but this time it's fairly accurate. I assume that if you're looking at Dragon Age II, you've already played Dragon Age: Origins so that's my angle in this review. Two things characterized Origins and I'll compare those to DAII.

    Tactical gameplay:
    Almost doesn't exist anymore which is surprising because seemingly the skills are much the same for the different classes but the combat is so fast and damage based (and the removal of friendly fire on all difficulty setting except Nightmare) that the game doesn't feel tactical and complicated at all. Instead you just end up running your own character around right-clicking everything. Combat is a lot less interesting and much more repetitive. The great thing in Origins was building the party, preparing the tactic and executing it. Forget about all that here and just send the tank forward and start AOEing on him.

    Story and Character depth:
    Not even close to Origins. The story in Origins might have been slightly stereotypical but it had depth of character. Not here. Perhaps the idea behind the more fast paced combat was to focus more on the story-telling but it fails miserably. They're hurrying emotional moments, killing off characters you've just met with violins going crazy in the background. It feels like it was written by Stephany Meyer rather than anyone on the Bioware staff of old. Dialogue seems forced and trite and lines are overloaded with information they try to squeeze into way to few lines and too little time. People will literally say things like "Just because you make captain in the first year of service doesn't mean that you can bla bla bla". They want the silver tattooed elf (not actually tattoos but never mind) to blow your mind just by his cool stance leaning on a wall and sounding tough. You spend too much time talking to people who should have been a part of Vampire Diaries.

    All in all, this game fails on all levels except the immediate, graphical impression. Reused areas (to the extent where it gets embarrassing), weak story line and dialogue and shallow gameplay. If you liked Origins, you're likely to hate this.    … Expand
  82. jerod
    Jan 5, 2014
    4
    Let me just get my gripes out of the way first. I think this game should be compared to DAO in every way since it's called DA2. Having said that, it is a step backwards in almost every way if not no improvement whatsoever. The graphics are bland and uninspiring. That and I can detect no technological improvement in the graphics from DAO, and I have the settings all the way up with HDLet me just get my gripes out of the way first. I think this game should be compared to DAO in every way since it's called DA2. Having said that, it is a step backwards in almost every way if not no improvement whatsoever. The graphics are bland and uninspiring. That and I can detect no technological improvement in the graphics from DAO, and I have the settings all the way up with HD skins. The character faces seem like they have no expression, something I'd expect bioware to put alot of effort into. And the levels are just the same bland corridors over and over again most often blatantly reused from other parts of the game. The combat is imo no improvement on DAO despite the new character animations (conspicuously the only visible improvement from DAO) and somehow just feels more tedious. I mean, sending several waves of enemies for every battle? seriously? The story is just way below bioware standards too, it meanders from one random plot point to another seemingly unconnected and giving a frustrating feeling that you don't know what is going on or why things are happening and I'm 19 hours in. Having said all this, it might be worth it for die hard fans of DA to pick up the game on discount off origin if you're looking for more of the DA fantasy universe. For everyone else, it just feels like a waste of time and money.… Expand
  83. rolyatidok
    May 31, 2014
    4
    I've put so many hours into DA:O it's not even funny, and compared to that, DA2 was just disappointing.

    First the good: voice acting is top notch, characters are well thought out and portrayed, and the bioware storytelling shines through, though there's not much story to tell. I had no real complaints about the combat or skill systems, I actually thought it was a nice improvement.    I've put so many hours into DA:O it's not even funny, and compared to that, DA2 was just disappointing.

    First the good: voice acting is top notch, characters are well thought out and portrayed, and the bioware storytelling shines through, though there's not much story to tell. I had no real complaints about the combat or skill systems, I actually thought it was a nice improvement.

    The bad: Every single encounter is exactly the same: wail on the bad guys, SURPRISE more bad guys came out of NOWHERE! oh, it's a boss fight? do it 3 more times! The difficulty of battles fluctuates wildly, you'll go from mowing through the normal encounters to wiping instantly in another.
    The story is meh. Nothing really happens. It's confined to the city, and, aside from some token appearances of DA:O characters, has nothing to do with that story. It might as well be a completely different world.

    The nits: in typical Bioware fashion, bugs abound. For instance, for the entire end of my game, Varric had no body. just a floating head.    … Expand
  84. PRoxy_oQ
    Dec 30, 2013
    3
    This sequel is pathetic, story line sucks, characters suck and gameplay is completely ruined no complexity only button mash and it is obvious it's just a console port... maybe it is not bad game but it is awful as an RPG. Force finished Costume Quest had more 'RPG-inges' to it than this... at least it did not have false moral choices.. am not even comparing it to Dragon Age Origins fromThis sequel is pathetic, story line sucks, characters suck and gameplay is completely ruined no complexity only button mash and it is obvious it's just a console port... maybe it is not bad game but it is awful as an RPG. Force finished Costume Quest had more 'RPG-inges' to it than this... at least it did not have false moral choices.. am not even comparing it to Dragon Age Origins from PC... Completely different league… Expand
  85. northernlad
    Apr 30, 2014
    3
    how do you take dao and turn it into this one of my biggest let downs in recent years utter rubbish press a button and something awesome happens yes i eject the game.
  86. tazz29
    Jun 15, 2015
    0
    This is one of the worst games I've played. Repeated dungeons/landscapes that made me question whether I'd already played the quest before, cliche characters, a story arc containing you to a predetermined outcome, weak, Twlight-ish dialogue that sounds like it's straight from Creative writing Beginners class, and you can't even customize characters' armour, other than for Hawke. I stoppedThis is one of the worst games I've played. Repeated dungeons/landscapes that made me question whether I'd already played the quest before, cliche characters, a story arc containing you to a predetermined outcome, weak, Twlight-ish dialogue that sounds like it's straight from Creative writing Beginners class, and you can't even customize characters' armour, other than for Hawke. I stopped half way and uninstalled it. Dragon Age Origins is superior in every way.… Expand
  87. Skulb
    Feb 13, 2014
    0
    Of all the rushed and terrible sequels to a successful game ever released Dragon Age II takes the flipping cake! It is so bad it has totally destroyed any confidence I had in Bioware, after its previous greats DA Origins and Mass Effect, all on its own. To even begin listing all the ways in which it sucks is a daunting task.
    A few points anyway in the interest of reviewing this filled    Of all the rushed and terrible sequels to a successful game ever released Dragon Age II takes the flipping cake! It is so bad it has totally destroyed any confidence I had in Bioware, after its previous greats DA Origins and Mass Effect, all on its own. To even begin listing all the ways in which it sucks is a daunting task.
    A few points anyway in the interest of reviewing this filled diaper of a computer game: Skydiving mobs ruining any sense of tactic. Reused locations outside the city you are trapped in the entire game. No inventory control. Poor characters and dialogue so you don`t care about anybody or what they might have to say. Horrible combat controls and exaggerated animations, presumably to appeal to action fans even though DA is supposedly a RPG. Zero exploration. Running around in the same location the entire game while time passes (cheapest gimmick ever to be able to rush it out). Linear gameplay.
    I could go on forever but this covers the worst of it. I played it altogether for 12 hours, the last 11 of them out of sheer stubbornness and a futile hope that something decent might be found eventually, while hating every second of it. The game is such unmitigated trash that it is hard to find the invectives one needs to review it fairly, and whatever you do don`t play it and above all don`t buy it. EA deserves to be taken out and shot for DA II and Bioware be forced to seriously reconsider their activities by losing all of their customers. But go to their site and you`ll see that they are instead selling sunglasses and other useless apparel to such an extent that you can barely locate information about their games. As a result of this failure to learn from the EA inspired disaster of DA II I will henceforth and forever boycott Bioware, even should they by some miracle manage to make another good game.
    As an aside the ridiculously high scores this turkey got from reviewers have also discredited the game reviewing racket completely, and I will never trust any site or magazine that gave Dragon Age II anything above a 3/10 again. That`s all differences in taste will allow for considering just how abysmal DA II is, and anything above that is corruption and lies. If there was ever a game to boycott for RPG fans it`s this one. It spits on the genre and its fans and lies in its marketing to suck them in. I can almost guarantee you that all the favorable reviews of DA II on this site are written on commission by "reviewers" taking bribes from EA or by interns working at either EA or Bioware being ordered to make up positive reviews all day long for the crud games being peddled by these vile companies.. I demand corruption hearings!    … Expand
  88. Paulystan
    Jun 3, 2014
    0
    Terrible, yucky filth and a script that inspires total and absolute celibacy with possible secondary effects of setting fire to my computer. This game is not so much a game more a money making, cheating piece of socio-political forcing liberalism. Even if there was any attempt at making a good game it would still be hamstrung by the plot and in game conversation options. Apart from one orTerrible, yucky filth and a script that inspires total and absolute celibacy with possible secondary effects of setting fire to my computer. This game is not so much a game more a money making, cheating piece of socio-political forcing liberalism. Even if there was any attempt at making a good game it would still be hamstrung by the plot and in game conversation options. Apart from one or two things here and there, this game makes me hope that EA and Bioware go under and a new dev can rise to power and start doing some really great games. I would rather be stuck in a lift with a man suffering terminal flatulence than play on DA2.… Expand
  89. Dimppa
    Apr 29, 2013
    2
    i'm giving it 2, because i had so high hopes for this thing, i didn't even want to find anything about it in advance at it turned to that crap. of-course there are several things i like but due to critics way too high reviews i can't give 6/7 as i first thought just above average. might have been worth 7/8 without DA Origins
  90. Annihilomancer
    Feb 8, 2014
    1
    If you loved Dragon Age: Origins, as I do, then DO NOT play Dragon Age II. It is in every way worse than its predecessor, and in fact the only reason I didn't quit in apathy and disgust was that the third installment might be good again and I want to know what happened. It in fact makes playing DA:O less enjoyable because it so trivializes enemies that were built up to be interesting,If you loved Dragon Age: Origins, as I do, then DO NOT play Dragon Age II. It is in every way worse than its predecessor, and in fact the only reason I didn't quit in apathy and disgust was that the third installment might be good again and I want to know what happened. It in fact makes playing DA:O less enjoyable because it so trivializes enemies that were built up to be interesting, difficult, and unique in the original. There's not plot to speak of, and what plot is there is so railroaded that despite all the dialogue options there aren't really any choices that matter other than your character can be happy about what happens or not. The dialogue 'choices' are pathetic and without nuance, and hardly ever react in a human way. The main character has no motivation or development, or any traits at all other than being a really effective mercenary. The main plot threads seem to almost try to keep you from choosing to follow them since they seem like just side quests at first and often go completely against the Hawke character's interests to the point that I would never have done them except that the game eventually made it clear I could not progress until they were complete. The visual backgrounds are reused so often that you'd think they would have put more time into them in the first place, and the game design is so insultingly lazy that they just throw a cart in front of a cave entrance and pretend it's a new location without a cave.To be fair, the companions are fairly interesting and their subplots have actual plots that are sometimes interesting, and their banter is probably the only element up to the Bioware standard. The Qunari are interesting, though once again you have no real choices in how to deal with them. They are probably the one visual redesign from DA:O that doesn't look worse than the original (the darkspawn, by contrast, are done so poorly that they can't be taken seriously). If you really want to know what happened during this shoddy prelude to DA3: Inquisition, I strongly suggest just watching the cut scenes on youtube since you'll get the same result without the drudgery of fighting yet hundreds more undeveloped enemies who want to kill you for no reason even though your only character trait is that everyone knows you can kill anyone.… Expand
  91. Biss
    Jul 2, 2011
    0
    Florence and the Machine Florence and the MachineFlorence and the MachineFlorence and the MachineFlorence and the MachineFlorence and the MachineFlorence and the MachineFlorence and the Machine
  92. Dandynamite2201
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    After the great game Origins, this game is rather poor in comparrison, the plot holes are everywhere, the ending was surely made for a laugh, and the combat system has no tactics and is built just to appeal to fans of Tekken or Fable, where button mashing is a must.
  93. Zbysiek1234
    Apr 20, 2016
    0
    the game is very disappointing. The graphics seem dated, the music is ok, the game-play is simplified and poses no challenge at all for experienced rpg gamers. LOTS of the recycled content. it is the same layout for all caverns, almost all houses, and almost everything has the same type of texture applied.
  94. PhilTT
    Mar 27, 2011
    0
    If you want to throw your money away, then buy this game. It is a disgrace! EA is a disgrace! Check out www.tomshardware.com for articles on just how bad things are with the game and with EA.
  95. FaceTheSlayer
    Mar 28, 2011
    2
    Obviously rushed game. Insults your intelligence at every step. Map recycling, characters saying wrong things, can't use half items, bad graphics, dumbed down gameplay... Did I said map recycling? Oh yes. This is one of the smallest games I've ever played if you consider map size. All negative reviews are true, this is one of the worst games ever.
  96. Bullfrog1983
    Apr 12, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After finishing this game, I can find very little good to say about it other than the character development is really well done for the party members. Dragon Age 2 is very inferior compared to Dragon Age: Origins, and the ending is absolutely terrible. The combat is really repetative, the environments all look exactly the same, and the plot is completely linear. I originally gave this a good rating before I finished it, but after going back to try and change the events concerning the main characters nothing happened. The ending is a non-ending that leaves you confused, angry, or both.… Expand
  97. Zhijn
    Mar 20, 2011
    4
    Without going into to many details. Great voice acting, love the way your character stay in voice character should you be angry, funny or serious. However that alone does not carry a hole game. DA2 is infact incredible repetitive with the method of reusing areas for pretty much everything throughout the hole game, while the environment is very well made and detailed it gets very and i meanWithout going into to many details. Great voice acting, love the way your character stay in voice character should you be angry, funny or serious. However that alone does not carry a hole game. DA2 is infact incredible repetitive with the method of reusing areas for pretty much everything throughout the hole game, while the environment is very well made and detailed it gets very and i mean very boring really fast. Everything from the city to the dungeons are reused over and over and over, very tireing and you are constantly sitting with a feeling that somethings gotta change soon, but it never does.

    Moving on to combat. I got abit of mixed feelings on this one, while i enjoy the faster combat and the class cross combos you can do i absolutely hate the exploding bodies and massive gore that spew all over the place. Fatalities is another thing i liked from DAO but were totally removed from DA2 with exploding enemies. No much strategy in combat either, while you still got the tactical setup for your party there is no strategy to be made on the go, you can still pause and issue orders but you can no longer zoom as you did in DAO. Planning a combat in DA2 isnt to great either anymore considering the game just throw hordes of weak enms at you from all direction making it a total mess for any type of planning. Its clear the combat was not designed for your typical RPG but more of a hack n' slash type.

    Story time. The Hawke start interesting with them fleeing Lothering. Its all a nice setup for well, nothing. After that you just go around picking up side-quests and do main quests with any real story behind you, without any real sens of a goal or any sens of having a villian to fight. They make it clear that its all about Mages and Templars, but your in for a huge suprise when you realize that everything you did getting to the end didnt matter one bit. Every choice you make have zero matter on the world around you.

    Your party. You got a emo elf which is clearly some homage to J-RPGs, a naive elf, a brute ginger female, a pirate whore and a dwarf. You can romance either of em except two. Sadly DA2 have also gone taken a step back here, the romance that had a nice touch in DAO is just blend and dull in DA2.

    Dialog wheel. While i dont mind it to much, its abit to simple. Gone is persuasion, now you get a clear picture of what is what. If a romance option is ready the wheel make it clear with a heart shaped icon. Very simple, maybe to simple (?).

    Bugs and glitchs. Way to many, and that baffles me. Since iv never played a bioware game where so many glitchs and game breaking bugs actually took out the fun.

    Closing. Being a bioware fan and a fan of Dragon Age Origins i say that BioWare did not come through this time around. DA2 is short, unfufilling, lack and sens of purpose with the characters and the hole game have been simplified beyond words, it dosnt feel much like an RPG anymore. I think might have tried to appeal to a to wide of an audience and came up with something that didnt quite work. In short, it feels very rushed like it had a deadline they just barely made.

    I will look forward to Mass Effect 3 and hopefully Dragon Age 3. And i hope BioWares once and for all start improving their sequels, and dont let a deadline or something else get in their way of making a great game.

    My first thought was a solid 7, but after completing DA2 and learning that nothing you do matters it has lost all appeal to me. So sadly, very sadly i give DA2 a 6. =(    … Expand
  98. Inkgazer
    Nov 18, 2014
    3
    Wow.
    I picked up Dragon Age 2 recently, having played and very much enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins. This game utterly fails as a sequel. Everything people played Origins for seems to have been skimped on, dumbed down, or just completely removed in DA2. The combat system, for example. On paper, it seems like an improvement (to DA:O's somewhat lacking system), but in practice it gets very    Wow.
    I picked up Dragon Age 2 recently, having played and very much enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins. This game utterly fails as a sequel. Everything people played Origins for seems to have been skimped on, dumbed down, or just completely removed in DA2. The combat system, for example. On paper, it seems like an improvement (to DA:O's somewhat lacking system), but in practice it gets very boring very fast. It's insultingly easy and repetitive, with little to no thought involved. That's the least of this game's problems, however. The plot is a mess; it's packed full of sub-plots which just fade out with no real resolution, and aren't really that interesting to begin with. Things just sort of happen, leaving the player with no feeling of agency or importance in the world. The characters as a whole weren't very engaging either, with many a stereotype and one-dimensional character. The characters are, in my opinion, the most important part of any Dragon: Age game. Without compelling characters, Dragon Age doesn't have much going for it. Had I not been such a huge fan of Origins, I wouldn't have played it through if I hadn't been such an avid fan of DA:O. A waste of my time, and certainly a waste of yours. Do not buy this game.    … Expand
  99. Athansor
    Nov 30, 2014
    3
    Frankly, I found this game boring. The intro promised an exciting story, but once I actually got going, things seemed to slow down. The entirety of the first "Act" is just trying to make money by doing random small quests. I don't mind a bit of build up in a game where we get to meet characters and find out what's going on, but in Dragon Age 2 you simply don't find anything out at all.Frankly, I found this game boring. The intro promised an exciting story, but once I actually got going, things seemed to slow down. The entirety of the first "Act" is just trying to make money by doing random small quests. I don't mind a bit of build up in a game where we get to meet characters and find out what's going on, but in Dragon Age 2 you simply don't find anything out at all. You meet some characters, but they're an odd bunch. They claim to have their own lives and goals, but they just stand around waiting for you. And even when you do come along, they only say the same one liners over and over again!
    The combat is fine, but that can be found in any given video game. It needs to be great in order for a game to be good, but it isn't enough to make a bad game good again. Even if it was perfect (which it isn't) it's impossible to carry a game this large all on its own. It got boring quickly because it was the only thing to really do in the game.
    The recycled locations that get used over and over again are painfully obvious. You can't help but notice and be disappointed.
    I figured it couldn't be as bad as everyone said it was, so I laid down my 20 bucks and wanted to set up my world state for Inquisition. I had more fun looking at the decisions in Dragon Age Keep than I did playing them in the game. Don't bother with this stinker.    … Expand
  100. Smilingcookie
    Mar 31, 2015
    4
    This is terrible. This is a completely different game to Dragon Age: Origins. What worked for Mass Effect does not for Dragon Age. In Mass Effect you are basically either shooting or talking at any given time. The shooting is fun and so that's ok. In Dragon Age it doesn't work like that. There is way too much focus on action, but the worst thing is the action is not even good. It's becomeThis is terrible. This is a completely different game to Dragon Age: Origins. What worked for Mass Effect does not for Dragon Age. In Mass Effect you are basically either shooting or talking at any given time. The shooting is fun and so that's ok. In Dragon Age it doesn't work like that. There is way too much focus on action, but the worst thing is the action is not even good. It's become a clickfest where you actually have an "awesome move" button. If BioWare had build in a combat system like in Dark Souls or even Risen, it could have worked out. In Dragon Age II it's just button mashing. On top of that, everything (from environment to NPC's) feels generic. I cannot play this.… Expand
Page:

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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »