Dragon Age II

 PC
User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5052 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,397 out of 5052
  2. Mixed: 1,198 out of 5052
  3. Negative: 2,457 out of 5052
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  1. JenniferGoo
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    The crticial reception of Dragon Age II is one of the most glaring examples of just how terrified the enthusiast video game press is afraid of upsetting publishers. They wouldn't dare tell you at what point this is a focus-driven rushed-to-market insult to video game consumers everywhere. I never played the original Dragon Age so I'm not an irate fan of the original... there is just notThe crticial reception of Dragon Age II is one of the most glaring examples of just how terrified the enthusiast video game press is afraid of upsetting publishers. They wouldn't dare tell you at what point this is a focus-driven rushed-to-market insult to video game consumers everywhere. I never played the original Dragon Age so I'm not an irate fan of the original... there is just not much to defend here. There isn't a single battle in the game (including bosses) that doesn't involve waves and waves of enemies spawning out of thin air waiting for you to mow them down. Sometimes, even when you give them a gentle whack, they explode into a dozen pieces... which I guess is suppose to make me feel like a bad ass. The entire game takes place in one city made up of a few small disconnected areas and the same two or three dungeons that are reused for the entire game. They even try to trick you into thinking this is a new area by blocking off doors you were previously able to go through and opening other ones. Why can't you go through that door you see this time around? Who knows! You just can't click on it! Look, when asked about this problem in an interview, the developers claim they had two choices: give us all original content and cut the game length down to a couple hours or reuse the same areas over and over until the game lasted twenty-five hours. If that doesn't give you an idea of how rushed this product is, I don't know what will. There is not 60 dollars worth of content here and yet so many people have already bought this game because the video game press is looking out more for themselves and not for us. The sad part of this is that underneath it all, the character interaction is great even if the overally story arc, like the rest of the game, is not well thought out at all. It's clear there were talented people working on Dragon Age II, but they weren't given the liberty or time to make this into a good product. Buyer beware.… Expand
  2. ZenToad
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    A game so totally devoid of all the depths and charm that made the first in the series interesting that it is a wonder to me how Bioware could shove this out the door. It is so dumbed down in quests, background and especially combat that its just a travesty. I feel combat is in such a state of disrepair with teleporting waves of enemies that all tactics and thought is effectivelyA game so totally devoid of all the depths and charm that made the first in the series interesting that it is a wonder to me how Bioware could shove this out the door. It is so dumbed down in quests, background and especially combat that its just a travesty. I feel combat is in such a state of disrepair with teleporting waves of enemies that all tactics and thought is effectively eliminated from the game, all there is left is a "press whatever cooldown is ready" retardations that its worthy of a bungled flashgame… Expand
  3. Ariolander
    Apr 15, 2011
    2
    In what feels like an EA money grab the story is uninspired, the design is repetative, and the 'dungeons' have been reduced to a grind of defeating wave after wave of the same enemies. I think this is probably the worst game I have played from Bioware and will remain a dark stain on their otherwise impeccable record. Is this what EA does to their studios? Makes them creat BAD games? BADIn what feels like an EA money grab the story is uninspired, the design is repetative, and the 'dungeons' have been reduced to a grind of defeating wave after wave of the same enemies. I think this is probably the worst game I have played from Bioware and will remain a dark stain on their otherwise impeccable record. Is this what EA does to their studios? Makes them creat BAD games? BAD might be an exagguration but it is definately not worth the 80~ critic average it recieved.… Expand
  4. 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
  5. Nereitha
    Apr 24, 2011
    2
    Me siento estafada. Origins lo terminé cuatro veces y de este no voy a terminar ni la primera partida. Si el 3 va a seguir este camino, Dragon Age ha muerto para mí.
  6. tembel
    Apr 27, 2011
    2
    Horrible, horrible game. The recycled maps is completely disrespectful to all people who played the original Dragon Age and Origins. I cannot believe that they did such a poor and sloppy job on this game it even hurts to make a review for it. I for one am glad that a friend let me borrow it to try it and before I WASTED money on such a pile of crap. Dragon Age 3 better not be anythingHorrible, horrible game. The recycled maps is completely disrespectful to all people who played the original Dragon Age and Origins. I cannot believe that they did such a poor and sloppy job on this game it even hurts to make a review for it. I for one am glad that a friend let me borrow it to try it and before I WASTED money on such a pile of crap. Dragon Age 3 better not be anything close to this or else I will most likely never, ever purchase a game from them again.… Expand
  7. wkbag
    May 3, 2011
    2
    Totally disappointing
    Bioware should be very a shame of this cheap console port whereas, the predecessor (origin) was very good game in many ways; i.e., it was deep, complex, multiple endings and nice story.
    this sequel is very shallow and unsatisfactory in many ways; i.e., no character development, no real attachment to story, shallow and speedy combat, very poor camera, silly dialogue    Totally disappointing
    Bioware should be very a shame of this cheap console port whereas, the predecessor (origin) was very good game in many ways; i.e., it was deep, complex, multiple endings and nice story.
    this sequel is very shallow and unsatisfactory in many ways; i.e., no character development, no real attachment to story, shallow and speedy combat, very poor camera, silly dialogue option.
    it is only achievement is brighter and shiner graphics, flashy and speedy combat system which is a shame as i was expecting a great sequel to a great game but these days the greed and rush for release date became primary objective of game publishers which resulted in these kind of games which can satisfy only young ages and new gamers (didn't play great RPG titles like Oblivion, Fallout 3, The Witcher and Dragon Age: Origin)
    Few hours of play convince me that this game does not deserve the space on my HD and should be uninstalled immediately.
    If anyone want to play an RPG game should avoid this title and look elsewhere.    … Expand
  8. bear77
    May 5, 2011
    2
    this is one of the hardest reviews I think I will ever write. I am a long term fan of Bioware. I fondly remember reveling in Baldur's Gate all the way through mass effect and DA1. They are, in my opinion one of the best AAA developers when it comes to story line and polish. So the best description of my play experience with DA2 was a crushing sense of loss. I can only guess at whatthis is one of the hardest reviews I think I will ever write. I am a long term fan of Bioware. I fondly remember reveling in Baldur's Gate all the way through mass effect and DA1. They are, in my opinion one of the best AAA developers when it comes to story line and polish. So the best description of my play experience with DA2 was a crushing sense of loss. I can only guess at what brought about the changes in the level of quality. The monster spawning out of thin air, the feeling of a corridor like linear progression, wooden dialog that leaves the player feeling let down are just some of the elements that, sadly,make this the last game I will buy from Bioware purely based it being crafted by them! if your reading this Bioware earn me back!! one bad title doesn't break you, but it does cause future games to be scrutinized before purchase. as to the critic score....integrity is important...don't you think?… Expand
  9. Zerael
    Oct 2, 2011
    2
    Take everything that made Origins great and strip it out from its grandness; congratulations: you have acquired the new installment on "new" and "modern" crpg, Dragon Age 2.

    The sequel to the new hope for classic western rpgs is nothing more than a mediocre, repetitive and brutally simplified action oriented game with childish plot and almost nothing from the rich, mature and intriguing    Take everything that made Origins great and strip it out from its grandness; congratulations: you have acquired the new installment on "new" and "modern" crpg, Dragon Age 2.

    The sequel to the new hope for classic western rpgs is nothing more than a mediocre, repetitive and brutally simplified action oriented game with childish plot and almost nothing from the rich, mature and intriguing lore from its predecessor. But, if this change in direction was not enough, the dev team was urged to finish the game in record time... the risks taken in the change end up in a whole bunch of cloned maps, absurd situations with npcs, and literally tons of useless items and accessories. Why a talented team of developers conclude that such a change is needed in a franchise as popular and successful as Dragon Age, is something that i fail to understand.

    Definitely, not only one of the major disappointments in the recent game industry, also a clear case of a big company "buying" good reviews from specialized press.    … Expand
  10. Daymond
    May 13, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I should have known better. I saw some early signals like a mage in a melee fight in the trailer, but I decided to ignore that fact. What can I add? 17 sets of armor that no one can use, a painful experience as a mage, several characters deserving to die in the first chapter because they are flat out intolerable (starting with Carver), weak plot, recycled graphics, ruined tactics system, boring boss battles... don´t keep shielding yourself behind "critic" scores and famous people tweeting about the game, Bioware. Dragon Age 2 is a failure. And you should protect your reputation by admitting this.… Expand
  11. 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
  12. azure12
    May 17, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age 2 has seen some big changes in gameplay since the first game, Origins. Long gone is the tactical combat system reminescent of Baldur's Gate. Instead, now it's "button = awesome", according to EA marketers. Combat tactics revolve around spamming special abilities at enemies as soon as the cooldowns wears off, making any kind of strategizing redundant. Micromanagement is put onDragon Age 2 has seen some big changes in gameplay since the first game, Origins. Long gone is the tactical combat system reminescent of Baldur's Gate. Instead, now it's "button = awesome", according to EA marketers. Combat tactics revolve around spamming special abilities at enemies as soon as the cooldowns wears off, making any kind of strategizing redundant. Micromanagement is put on the back seat in this "bold" sequel, rather, now your party members are completely automated and act on their own, and the classic party-based gameplay is nowhere to be experienced, unless the player happens play the game on the hardest difficulty. Party members act as AI-controlled side-kicks now instead of full-fledged player characters. Furthermore, friendly-fire has been removed from all difficulty levels except the hardest one, which takes another elements away from micromanagement. Obviously whoever made these design changes most likely thought a "thinking-man's" game isn't going to sell well in today's video game market, which is why the combat has been extremely streamlined and reduced (read: dumbed down) into mere hack'n'slash. The fans of the old Bioware games are surely not happy about this. Dragon Age 2 reeks of consolization. Unlike the first game, which was developed for PC for years, and then ported to consoles, DA2 is a straight multi-platform game from the get-go. This hurts the PC version the most. It is evident by changes in graphics, camera control, and the general streamlining of the game.

    Bioware has made DA2 far more linear than the first DA game. The levels in this game are what you would describe as "corridor". It is a game that is supposed to be a "role-playing game". computer RPGs have generally had the pleasure of having an element of exploration to them -- a living, dynamic, open world. However, Dragon Age 2 has no exploration. Even the little things you can do, are mostly the same areas used many times over in different places, cheaply just copypasted. A big emphasis has been put on "romances" in this game, even more-so than in the previous game. Strange how a mini-game is given more thought than the actual overall game. Dragon Age 2 is a short game (much shorter than DA:O). The typical character interaction and a Biowarean type of story (which I don't even bother going into in this review) simply cannot elevate Dragon Age 2 past how weak the game is in almost every way. It is a horrible sequel after the decent Dragon Age: Origins. Bioware is truly in decline after being acquired by the Electronic Arts.    … Expand
  13. wrotos
    May 17, 2011
    2
    I,m really disappointed Abut this game. I expect good cRPG and i get game with bad history, graphics and terrible game play, Boring game, made for console,
  14. Joha
    Sep 5, 2011
    2
    While I absolutely loved Dragon Age Origins, I had too big expectations for this game. TO me it does not feel like Origins where strikes were realistic and strategy was a must. Endless spawns of enemies and anime-like combat and weapons (bigger better!) are the things that kill the game. Graphics are cartoonish and I am ok with that. As for locations, you practically see 3 or 4 differentWhile I absolutely loved Dragon Age Origins, I had too big expectations for this game. TO me it does not feel like Origins where strikes were realistic and strategy was a must. Endless spawns of enemies and anime-like combat and weapons (bigger better!) are the things that kill the game. Graphics are cartoonish and I am ok with that. As for locations, you practically see 3 or 4 different ones, since all the dungeons are the same... just with different doors open. BUt the thing I absolutely dislike about this game is the dialogue wheel where it even shows you what kind of approach is that. Where are the multiple options where you had to think to not piss some people off? Guess most of today's games are made for fast selling and 12-14 year old public.… Expand
  15. Mjolnir
    May 18, 2011
    2
    Please... please don't waste your money on this steaming pile of rushed garbage. The one-dimensional characters, weak story, lacklustre level designs, recycled meshes (and not to mention copy / pasted levels such as cave instances and dungeon instances) provide us with a concise orchestra of formulated **** It's a waste of everyone's time to discuss it further.
  16. Slumlord722
    May 18, 2011
    2
    My question is this: are the journalistic reviewers playing the same game we are? And if so, why is there such a discrepancy?

    Now, I'm not gonna lie to you, I started off liking DA:2. Graphics aren't a huge deal to me, and I thought the voice acting was pretty good. Then...then I realized I was running into the same places I had been, doing re-skinned quests for dull reasons, and I just    My question is this: are the journalistic reviewers playing the same game we are? And if so, why is there such a discrepancy?

    Now, I'm not gonna lie to you, I started off liking DA:2. Graphics aren't a huge deal to me, and I thought the voice acting was pretty good. Then...then I realized I was running into the same places I had been, doing re-skinned quests for dull reasons, and I just put the game down. It just gets boring. And that's terrible.    … Expand
  17. camoe
    May 18, 2011
    2
    This game is the biggest turd i have had the displeasure of playing lets start with the graphics they are like a game from about ten years ago when you hit someone with a sword they explode.They have used the same locations over and over again i think there is about four in the whole game.God the side quest are so boring go to that place and fetch that object go to this place and kill thatThis game is the biggest turd i have had the displeasure of playing lets start with the graphics they are like a game from about ten years ago when you hit someone with a sword they explode.They have used the same locations over and over again i think there is about four in the whole game.God the side quest are so boring go to that place and fetch that object go to this place and kill that person after about two hours of this repetitiveness you fill like slashing your own wrists.And this company has turned into greedy bastards they just bought out some DLC that they charge for some sort of clothes pack need i say more after about three hours i uninstalled it from my pc and good riddance to it… Expand
  18. IrishK
    May 18, 2011
    2
    After Dragon Age: Origins I was very excited at the prospect of a sequel. One of the best RPGs of our time could only get bigger and better, and improve in areas where the original fell short. Yes, you would think that would be the logical progression. While Dragon Age 2 does make some improvements - chiefly to the combat - it completely misses the mark in almost every other area. It'sAfter Dragon Age: Origins I was very excited at the prospect of a sequel. One of the best RPGs of our time could only get bigger and better, and improve in areas where the original fell short. Yes, you would think that would be the logical progression. While Dragon Age 2 does make some improvements - chiefly to the combat - it completely misses the mark in almost every other area. It's like the developers removed everything that made Origins... so magical.
    Gone are the dialogue choices that had risqué implications. Where before there was a grey area when it came to certain actions and their outcomes, everything in Dragon Age 2 is in black and white and signposted so the game's dialogue choices (denoted by icons) serve as a sort of moral compass, which removes much - perhaps all - of the spontaneity.
    Gone is the world where you could explore and suspend belief. I often found myself experiencing moments of déjà vu when I entered a "new" location in Dragon Age 2, and that is because many of the game's locations are reused. This completely breaks the immersion and makes the game's stages feel like a low budget panto.
    As for the game's difficulty level, you will be hard pressed to find a challenge at "Normal" level, which is the equivalent of Origins' "Hard" setting. While this may seem like a nitpick, I feel that it's important to point out because Dragon Age 2 seems to make a concentrated effort throughout to distance itself from Origins, right down to the nitty gritty little details.
    While Dragon Age 2 attempts to tread new ground, it is mired by its many bad defaults. In summary:

    The Good
    -Bethany Hawke
    -Some of the music
    -The new Qunari
    -Character art and detail
    -New combat mechanics

    The Bad
    -The new Avatar styled elves, with their strange Grecian noses
    -The new Skeletor styled Darkspawn
    -Repetitive environments
    -The game's time lapse, which breaks immersion when you meet characters that seem to know you, yet whom you've never met before
    -NPCs can only wear armour prescribed to them by the game
    -The new dialogue system
    -Brazen romantic dialogue that is contrived/forced on the player
    -Weak writing

    I rate this game a generous 2 out of 10.    … Expand
  19. Vortigos
    May 20, 2011
    2
    Feckless. Uninspired. Redundant. The development and marketing of this game is an affront to RPG aficionados, the PC gaming community and Dragon Age I loyalists. This game isn't bad because it didn't faithfully follow in its predecessor's footsteps or because it borrows elements from Mass Effect 2 -- it's bad on its own merits by any sane standards. Don't believe the positive magazineFeckless. Uninspired. Redundant. The development and marketing of this game is an affront to RPG aficionados, the PC gaming community and Dragon Age I loyalists. This game isn't bad because it didn't faithfully follow in its predecessor's footsteps or because it borrows elements from Mass Effect 2 -- it's bad on its own merits by any sane standards. Don't believe the positive magazine reviews for a minute; they are written by a bunch unlettered sychophants (PCGamer I am apalled) without the gumption to really put this shoddy RPG in its place. EA-Bioware set the bar so high with a truly careless and gaudy marketing campaign only to deliver so precious little. The story and setting are unprecedentedly fragmented, insipid and provincial. It's a sandbox game in the sense that the game-world is about the size of an actual sandbox (broken into narrow fragmented chunks) and the game's main and basically only setting (the tiny city of Kirkwall) is about as interesting and varied as sand. If the mildly amusing dialog in this game impresses you -- with its incessant and jarring close-up head-shots of your character "voice acting" -- you need to quit playing video games and start watching daytime soap operas. It has good combat mechanics that quickly grow tiring as you fight the same type of battles against the same type of enemies endlessly. DA2 has some good action elements but that's not nearly enough to redeem this game. After all, if we are judging it solely on the basis of being an "Action RPG" it is tiers below Diablo or even Torchlight in terms of combat and fun. This game deserves the ridicule. EA-Bioware deserve our scorn. I beg of you not to buy this game. If you unfortunately already have, at least do not buy any of its meager and pathetic DLC. Tell your friends to avoid this game. Write on internet forums. I'll tell you why -- I had a nightmarish epiphany. A talented and capable game developer had an idea for a grand and inspiring RPG only to be turned down by a publisher who offered the following advice: "can't you make it more like Dragon Age 2? That did well." We can't let that happen. Bioware needs to suffer for this sham. If they suffer they might actually risk doing what they and their customers really love… Expand
  20. Mystril
    Nov 29, 2011
    2
    The first, and hopefully last, miss-step from Bioware. After about 10 hours play time I couldn't play the game anymore, I have before noticed copy paste dungeons/tiles/textures, but NOTHING to this degree. This game is one big copy paste and, it seems, the developers have been doing ALOT of sitting around, staring into the wall, not knowing what to do. I am sorry but the combat does notThe first, and hopefully last, miss-step from Bioware. After about 10 hours play time I couldn't play the game anymore, I have before noticed copy paste dungeons/tiles/textures, but NOTHING to this degree. This game is one big copy paste and, it seems, the developers have been doing ALOT of sitting around, staring into the wall, not knowing what to do. I am sorry but the combat does not make up for it, the "improved" graphics does not make up for it, the added voice acting to the protagonist does not make up for it. Because none of these improvements actually work in any meaningful way. I was hoping for a Dragon Age II, that was worthy of the title coming from the really well made Dragon Age: Origins, but I was seriously let down here. I wish I could get my money back, but alas, I am on the pc, so I can't. I did manage to drag myself through the game and complete it, and forget it. This game is not worth your money or your time, stay well clear.… Expand
  21. MachShot
    May 30, 2011
    2
    If "Requiem for a Dream" could be made into an adaptation for a corporation instead of individuals, the main actor would be BioWare. This is a company that was legendary years ago, and somehow in the span of time following their purchase by EA it has eroded into a cesspit of bad ideas, bad production, and just plain bad employees. I'll be honest, I didn't finish the game. I couldn't. ButIf "Requiem for a Dream" could be made into an adaptation for a corporation instead of individuals, the main actor would be BioWare. This is a company that was legendary years ago, and somehow in the span of time following their purchase by EA it has eroded into a cesspit of bad ideas, bad production, and just plain bad employees. I'll be honest, I didn't finish the game. I couldn't. But let this review start off with the few good things about this heap of a game.

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

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

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

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

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

    One point for good music and one point because I still remember when BioWare made great games.    … Expand
  22. merl
    Jun 7, 2011
    2
    Epic fail. It is boring, simple and unfinished (I mean gameplay), and, yes, I'm fan of the DA:O. May be (if the name of the game does not contain words "dragon age") I'll give another score, little better...
  23. cy3
    Jun 18, 2011
    2
    It's easy to forget this game is supposed to an RPG. Most of the time spent is running around with no sense of purpose killing repetitive enemies by repetitive means in repetitive locales. An RPG is supposed to be richer than a straight action game, but this "RPG" feels too hollow to bother with playing at all, much less compare to other RPGs. The dialogue is not engaging. The visualsIt's easy to forget this game is supposed to an RPG. Most of the time spent is running around with no sense of purpose killing repetitive enemies by repetitive means in repetitive locales. An RPG is supposed to be richer than a straight action game, but this "RPG" feels too hollow to bother with playing at all, much less compare to other RPGs. The dialogue is not engaging. The visuals offer no excitement. The rest of the game makes the experience feel more like work than play, and not in the good, rewarding way that RPGs are supposed to. Time and money spent in this game can generally be considered wasted.… Expand
  24. Frottle
    Jun 26, 2011
    2
    This game is probably one of the least entertaining games I have ever played in my gaming career, and that's saying something considering the large library of games I have completed. But, even with sheer force of will, I couldn't stand to continue past Act 1 in this game. The game had no reason to urge you to continue playing. Combat was sub-par, and was boring and consisted of rightThis game is probably one of the least entertaining games I have ever played in my gaming career, and that's saying something considering the large library of games I have completed. But, even with sheer force of will, I couldn't stand to continue past Act 1 in this game. The game had no reason to urge you to continue playing. Combat was sub-par, and was boring and consisted of right clicking on an enemy and sitting while your character attacked. The story was too bare bones to even be considered worth using, and wrapped itself up nicely, 1/3 of the way into the game. There was simply no lasting conflicts, the game could have ended at the end of Act 1 and nothing would have changed. And then dialog is another problem in this large list of "Why Dragon Age 2 is terrible". Hawke simply shows little to no emotion when speaking, even if you chose a dialog option from the limited "Nice, Funny, Mean, Details" dialog wheel that seemed like it would provoke some emotion in this solid concrete wall.
    Overall, Dragon Age 2 is a bad game that should not have made it to the floor at all, due to many many flaws and very little points of redemption.    … Expand
  25. ShtKck
    Jul 7, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age Origins was years in the making. Truly the spiritual successor to Bioware's claim to fame, the Baldurs Gate Series. Dragon Age II however, was made in considerably less time, with considerably less foresight. This is a wonderful example of two steps forward, one step backwards.

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

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

    They swore up and down that they didn't forget where they came from while making the first Dragon Age, and for the glimpse of time, maybe they didn't. But.. Alas the memory is gone again.    … Expand
  26. Daematune
    Aug 26, 2011
    2
    It's extremely unworthy, so unworthy it should not possess the "Dragon Age" title. Mostly everything about the game is either extremely underdone or just extremely bad, seriously. Bioware tried way too hard on attempting to make this game successful. If I were to explain what went wrong with this game I'd be writing this for hours, don't buy it, stick to Origins if you must. Bioware hasIt's extremely unworthy, so unworthy it should not possess the "Dragon Age" title. Mostly everything about the game is either extremely underdone or just extremely bad, seriously. Bioware tried way too hard on attempting to make this game successful. If I were to explain what went wrong with this game I'd be writing this for hours, don't buy it, stick to Origins if you must. Bioware has always been a developer that you could trust with the uniqueness and success of their content, their trust has most definitely been shaken.… Expand
  27. Emblis
    Jul 23, 2011
    2
    Dragon age 2 is not a bad game, it is just an all around complete let-down from DA:O. Had the title not been Dragon Age it would have been a decent game but as a sequel to one of the history's best RPG is just do not hold up at all. The combat system has been simplified to and the story is uninteresting and frankly a bit hard to follow at times since there are no clear plot to follow.Dragon age 2 is not a bad game, it is just an all around complete let-down from DA:O. Had the title not been Dragon Age it would have been a decent game but as a sequel to one of the history's best RPG is just do not hold up at all. The combat system has been simplified to and the story is uninteresting and frankly a bit hard to follow at times since there are no clear plot to follow.

    Just about everything that DA2 do, DA:O did much better. Origins got a better combat system, more interesting story, deeper characters and dialogues. The only thing I can say was better with DA:2 was the idea that times moves forward so you can see the results and outcomes from all your chooses.

    Dragon Age 2 is a major disappointment, I recommend staying away from it. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to play some Dragon Age:Origins.    … Expand
  28. krkbomb
    Jul 26, 2011
    2
    When compared broadly to other video games, DA2 is far above average. But when you compare it to other Bioware games, or to Dragon Age: Origins, one of Bioware's best, this game is far below anything else in the lineup.

    The combat is rendered meaningless by long cooldowns on essential spells, poor mana-efficiency, and ridiculously high respawn rates, making hack-and-slash builds the only    When compared broadly to other video games, DA2 is far above average. But when you compare it to other Bioware games, or to Dragon Age: Origins, one of Bioware's best, this game is far below anything else in the lineup.

    The combat is rendered meaningless by long cooldowns on essential spells, poor mana-efficiency, and ridiculously high respawn rates, making hack-and-slash builds the only real option (and you can forget about healing). The respawn rates are the breaking point here, because it ruins virtually every other aspect of the gameplay, because why put any effort into killing things if a million more are going to spawn when they die?

    The RPG elements are equally meaningless. The decision to automatically move items to the "vendor trash" bin in your inventory only highlights that you really aren't making any decisions, you're just playing a game on rails. Throughout the game it is painfully obvious that some items are intended for you while others are useless. About the only thing you have to recognize is whether or not an item fits your class, and usually this is done for you by making it impossible to equip another class's gear.

    The look of the game is pretty, but too cartoonish to be taken seriously, and the texture resolution is appalling. The environments are boring and repetitive (MOST areas in the game were literally recycled assets). The general aesthetic is just ridiculous: a blend of "DARKER AND EDGIER ZOMG" and japanophilic anime-envy.

    The worst problem with this game is that, unlike previous BioWare games, the player is provided with no real choice and is instead placed on rails through a storyline that really is not all that compelling. Cutscenes continually interrupt the story, only to force you to watch two people sitting in a room and talking about nothing in particular, while the main story meanders around with no real goal or purpose for your character. The "light/dark" or "paragon/renegade" system or whatever is meaningless to the story as well. Instead, your dialogue choices determine what tone of voice you will use to say EXACTLY THE SAME THING and take EXACTLY THE SAME ACTION. Your choices range from sarcastic to dry to caustic. And that's a bit of a stretch since all your choices are basically the same blend of these three.

    Without spoiling anything, the ending is actually a pretty good piece of story-telling, but the problem is, since you have absolutely no control over you character's speech or actions, this ending will either be:

    completely satisfactory (yay, FINALLY something interesting happened)

    or

    UTTERLY TERRIBLE (why did I even bother playing this?)...

    depending upon what you were trying to do. They would have been better served to simply discard the dialogue and alignment systems altogether and let the player experience the story in the way BioWare clearly intended.

    Overall, the game was generally playable but usually unpleasant throughout, and while the ending was somewhat interesting, it also left complete disappointment at the game's overall shortcomings, and guaranteed that I would never play this game or any other Dragon Age game again. I would write off BioWare entirely after this, but instead I think the ideas they were working with in DA2 were promising, just poorly executed and a bad fit for the Dragon Age franchise. Mass Effect 2 is a good example of similar ideas with better execution in a franchise better suited to those concepts. Here's hoping that they find their way again for ME3 and their Star Wars MMO.    … Expand
  29. Gjefflin
    Aug 2, 2011
    2
    I've been playing RPG's for over 22 years starting with Legend of Zelda and my first PC game in 1992 "Ultima Underworld". I've played games before that were bad because the developers didn't know what they were doing. In this case however, it was sheer corporate greed that turned what could've been a great Bioware game series into something unrecognizable and not up to snuff with ANY ofI've been playing RPG's for over 22 years starting with Legend of Zelda and my first PC game in 1992 "Ultima Underworld". I've played games before that were bad because the developers didn't know what they were doing. In this case however, it was sheer corporate greed that turned what could've been a great Bioware game series into something unrecognizable and not up to snuff with ANY of Bioware's past games. Had they not packaged this as "Dragon Age 2" and instead called it perhaps...."Dragon Age: Kirkwall" and charged half the price I wouldn't have been as upset as I was due to the fact that I wouldn't have been "expecting" a game that was to be if not as good as DA:O...hopefully better. I have no patience with gaming companies that put out rushed, sub-quality games and expect their fans to shell out full price for it because they're expecting the same quality of the game that they played previously. "Turd" sums up my feeling of being "taken" for my money. Here's my "constructive criticism".

    "DA2 was not the worse game I've ever played. But it was certainty among the most disappointing. The more cartoony graphics, repetitive use of maps, dwellings and dungeons, the extremely poor character development, the confusing ending, the frustratingly restrictive character inventory (Not being able to use any weapon, armor or ability to outfit any of your party members) the ridiculous spawning of mass enemies out of thing air to create the illusion of difficulty was in my opinion a complete and utter embarrassment and a rip-off to fans of the original Dragon Age game. On the positive side, I did like the fact that vendor trash was easily recognizable and you could sell it all in one shot. There was also one story (The serial killer) that was very well written. Outside of that, this was definitely one of Biowares (Actually the only one I can think of in their history as a gaming company) failures. I am trying to keep faith in Bioware games going forward as everyone makes mistakes. Time will tell. I will NOT be buying any DLC until i see lots of critic and player reviews.    … Expand
  30. Pitelk
    Aug 19, 2011
    2
    I feel very generous today so I will give a 3 to the game. If you have played DA:O don't bother to play this. It is far below expectations and it does not match DA:O in any point... If you have never played DA:O then DA II can be considered an average game with nice graphs, which you can use to kill some spare time... As an RPG sucks.. you done even have control of your parties armor!!!I feel very generous today so I will give a 3 to the game. If you have played DA:O don't bother to play this. It is far below expectations and it does not match DA:O in any point... If you have never played DA:O then DA II can be considered an average game with nice graphs, which you can use to kill some spare time... As an RPG sucks.. you done even have control of your parties armor!!! Dialogs... suck if you are over age 12..story.. the same...… Expand
  31. evilhippo
    Aug 26, 2011
    2
    Huge disappointment. Combat was speeded up absurdly so it it felt like a cheesy arcade fighter game. Animations were corny, characters were uninteresting and contrived. DA:O was not a perfect game but DA2 failed everywhere that DA:O succeeded.

    Bioware said they made Dragon Age 2 more 'accessible" and that is true... is worth remembering that "accessible" is an industry code word for    Huge disappointment. Combat was speeded up absurdly so it it felt like a cheesy arcade fighter game. Animations were corny, characters were uninteresting and contrived. DA:O was not a perfect game but DA2 failed everywhere that DA:O succeeded.

    Bioware said they made Dragon Age 2 more 'accessible" and that is true... is worth remembering that "accessible" is an industry code word for two things: "aimed at a younger, less thoughtful demographic" and "not a role playing game". If you are looking for an RPG and a dev says their game is "accessible", keep your credit card in your pocket and look elsewhere.    … Expand
  32. mwak
    Aug 30, 2011
    2
    +2 for the artistic effort. But even if you look at it like a hack and slash, it's not fun and repetitive. If you look at it like a sequel to Dragon Age , it's ... not that ... it's just a name + II on a box. The scenario is no so bad ... realization is so very bad. It's not a bioware game at all ... just a bad-o-ware game. Too Human was really more interresting in the same game style.+2 for the artistic effort. But even if you look at it like a hack and slash, it's not fun and repetitive. If you look at it like a sequel to Dragon Age , it's ... not that ... it's just a name + II on a box. The scenario is no so bad ... realization is so very bad. It's not a bioware game at all ... just a bad-o-ware game. Too Human was really more interresting in the same game style. (how is it even possible :( )… Expand
  33. chargerboy
    Sep 19, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A very poor game, especially considering that BioWare didn't have to fix very much that was wrong with Origins anyway. The premise of Dragon Age 2 is fine, and at first glance seems to set the scene really well for any future sequel, and indeed would have made for a fine game if they hadn't completely dumbed it down for console players, er I mean, tried to 'capture a larger audience'. They took what was essentially a very decent RPG that had a few flaws, and turned it into a consolized corridor slashfest with wave based combat that fails nearly everywhere Origins succeeded.

    Basically, I imagine it appeals more to teenage gamers (you know, the Call of Duty and Gears crowd) than to anyone looking for a mature and involving RPG. Speaking fairly, Act 2 of this game is the most interesting one because we get a good look at the Qunari, and their way of life. The skill tree is also much better in this game, although cross class abilities need to be implemented better I think.

    Varric's Scarface scene in Act II is a high point, and sadly doesn't last long enough either.

    The biggest areas where Dragon Age 2 completely and utterly fails however, is the much talked about (and for good reason) shameless use of copy/pasted dungeons (there are basically 5 generic dungeons in the whole game that you keep revisiting over, and over, and over, and over...), running around a lot of corridors that are cleverly disguised as a city called Kirkwall that never changes over the ten years that the story depicts, limited interaction with companions who are on the whole shallow and uninteresting, and their quests consist mainly of 'solve my problem, then choose the dialogue with the heart option, do that enough times and we can f**k', every quest, no matter how trivial includes a quest marker that guides you to exactly where you need to go. This may be a good thing for some people but for me I just felt like it demeaned the experience...go here to plot marker, take out a few waves of enemy mooks, go here, more mooks, go back to quest giver, done.

    Halfway through the first Act it got to the point where every quest, basically ran together in a big nightmarish mess of 'go here, do that, follow the markers, get paid, do it all again' format. Every RPG has it, but how the hell Dragon Age 2 manages to make it so unsatisfying I don't know.

    The combat is a shocker, and deserves its own paragraph to emphasize this. Seems some people thought the combat in Origins was too slow, so here they have sped the pace of combat up to the level where your party resembles a crazed troop of crack addicted monkeys flailing about with greatswords, daggers and staffs, and waves of weak enemies who literally spawn in midair around your party and explode into bloody gibs as soon as they get hit. To compensate for weak enemies, the bosses get a million hitpoints and thus boss fights consist of whittling down the boss's healthbar over 20-30 minutes, pausing every now and then to fight a mob of weak minions while the boss typically goes somewhere you can't follow to launch ranged attacks on your party. Healing has been nerfed, with very long cooldown times which is really annoying and difficult to manage at times.

    But by far, the worst offender of all is the story, which tries to take you confusingly through each act, then just as you're making sense of things, cuts to a fade-to-black screen followed by '3 years later' and wham the confusion starts all over again. Your choices are largely irrelevant as you get railroaded into a certain direction by the story, and it quickly becomes clear that this story is not going to continue anything that happened in Origins.

    Also, as this is a point that infuriated me, the ability to import a save from Origins affects nothing save for a few cameos from about three of the Origins companions, which doesn't impact on the story at all.

    There's a lot more wrong with DA2 but I don't have the time or inclination to yap on about them, not after wasting about 40 hours of my life hoping the game would get better. I played to the bitter end and have no intention of ever playing it again.

    Final word. If you're expecting a sequel to Origins, this ain't it. DA2 had so much promise, I was actually expecting it to expand on Flemeth's plans that were alluded to in Origins, and thereby set the scene for an awesome Dragon Age 3, but no...it was ruined by a developer trying to appeal to as many people as possible, and also stinks of a big rush job to capitalize on the success of Origins. By itself the game barely rates a 5/10, but because it has a big fat 2 in its title and wasn't the sequel I wanted despite being marketed as such, I'm giving it 2/10.    … Expand
  34. Adoramei
    Oct 30, 2011
    2
    This was a TERRIBLE game. Especially following Dragon Age: Origins. DA:O was one of my favourite games of all time. Yes, there is a graphics upgrade, but no, it doesn't look great. Whomever decided that the tribal cardboard cutout idea was a great idea.. really should have been reevaluated. It feels lazy to me. In fact, many things about this game feels lazy to me. (Including theThis was a TERRIBLE game. Especially following Dragon Age: Origins. DA:O was one of my favourite games of all time. Yes, there is a graphics upgrade, but no, it doesn't look great. Whomever decided that the tribal cardboard cutout idea was a great idea.. really should have been reevaluated. It feels lazy to me. In fact, many things about this game feels lazy to me. (Including the copy-paste maps. I mean.. come on!) I feel like they put everything into paint and then enlarged it and saved it that way. There are these missing pixels that show up as random white dots in the middle of black/dark spaces.
    And as a female player, I'd have to say.. we've gone back to the big-boobs-sell-all thing now? Ugh. Have some class. At least the women are more shapely than in DA:O.. but then again, just barely. Speaking of character designs.. what the heck were they smoking when they remade EVERYONE? I mean, I think that Elves have the worst of it. Qunari probably had the best. I mean, first off, who decided that every single Dalish had to suddenly have Irish accents? (Save for Merril, who has a Welsh accent.) I LOVE Irish accents, but I feel like the whole thing is forced in this case. I mean, yeah, we get it.. they're different. We really don't have to have our hand held like we're slow. That's a minor thing though. But their new designs.. Oh my god. Okay, don't get me wrong. I grew up as a huge anime fan. I was one of those kids that dreamed of becoming a manga-ka one day. But.. Holy gods. Did some 12 year old Asianophile girl that just started drawing.. design the elves? Seriously. I drew better than this at that age. Basically, elves are now emaciated anorexics with beach balls for heads and giant anime eyes, which wouldn't be complete without their generous amounts of sparkles! It just.. doesn't fit. It looks terrible. It looks like elves have to chase their heads around pretty often because if they lean too far one way, it might snap right off of their neck. Oh, and in case we weren't smart enough to tell that they were elves with that, they made sure that the ears are big enough to be noticed. Because, y'know, we all lack the power of observation.
    I'd run out of room if I put all of my complaints here, by the way, so I'll try to keep it short.
    The characters are awful. I mean, at first, I was freaking out that Anders would be in DAII. Now, I wish they hadn't touched him. He.. is.. ruined. Now, the characters all have their vital flaws. I really don't feel like they took into account the fact that we can think for ourselves. They really, really shove the flaws into your face constantly in the game. I seriously think that the voice actors must have been very confused about why they had to repeat the same lines over and over and over again. Let's just say that I think Fenris said the word "mage" more times in the game than I ever have in my lifetime.
    But wow. Vital flaws. Let's just say that all in all, your character means nothing. Your character is a "Champion", yes, but it really doesn't mean anything. No matter how many times you play through the game, it will end the same way. The same things will happen. The same people will do fool-arsed things, and no matter what you say or do.. your decisions only affect a very, very small part of the game. This is really obvious too since there is no recognition for your hard-fought decisions. So.. do whatever you want. It won't matter.
    I love the pat on the back for making the right decisions. Having the credits tell me, "You united ___ with ____ and despite their hardships, they ended up making the world better by not returning in Dragon Age II to be ruined!" True story. I was there. And being a chick gamer, character development is what I really focus on. ALL of the characters are predictable in their "development". They are all dufuses in their own right. Varric, although pretty amusing, is pretty bland. I almost never remember to mention him. Fenris is my chosen romance for any playthrough, despite his massive flaws. (By the way, if you're a total romantic, his is probably the worst romance. Almost akin to.. Carth Onasi's, which was in a game where I really don't think that they catered to female players.) I figure that it's still better than any other romance option. Merril makes me homicidal. They first make her an absolute idiot. THEN, they tried to really push the "cute" factor with her. Have they FORGOTTEN the whole.. forbidden magic thing? I could write on for DAYS about her. Isabela is hilarious, but she's a whore, and I'm a bit of a purist in that sense. So.. I'm stuck with a character with Gideon Emery's voice. I think that makes him > all. Anyhow, I'm out of room. Let me just say that.. The game is an overall downgrade. The critics who recanted and now say that the story is incredible.. well.. we know EA has deep pockets. This game is more for WoW kiddies vs. real gamers. Easy analogy.    … Expand
  35. Jensen2023
    Nov 20, 2011
    2
    Oh DA II, let me count the ways in which you are a terrible game.

    Well I can't, because mathematics has not progressed to the level necessary to quantify why DA II is the antonym of "good game" Imagine taking a good game, then making every single aspect of that game worse, then selling it again at the same price. Well Bioware seem to think that's a great business model. I would    Oh DA II, let me count the ways in which you are a terrible game.

    Well I can't, because mathematics has not progressed to the level necessary to quantify why DA II is the antonym of "good game"

    Imagine taking a good game, then making every single aspect of that game worse, then selling it again at the same price. Well Bioware seem to think that's a great business model.

    I would imagine most people think otherwise.    … Expand
  36. Lady_Chloe
    Nov 23, 2011
    2
    What is this? Oh yes, it is the latest greatest RPG - Dragon Age 2! WOW! That must be amazing, DX11 graphics, a successor to DA: Origins... what else can you hope for? I do not know if you can "hope" for this but you start a new game, are given a choice between a warrior, a mage and a rogue (OMG you can EVEN choose your sex!) and you are hurled into the game. Well, "game"... you are shownWhat is this? Oh yes, it is the latest greatest RPG - Dragon Age 2! WOW! That must be amazing, DX11 graphics, a successor to DA: Origins... what else can you hope for? I do not know if you can "hope" for this but you start a new game, are given a choice between a warrior, a mage and a rogue (OMG you can EVEN choose your sex!) and you are hurled into the game. Well, "game"... you are shown some weird videos and then an in-game scene with interrogration. Wha... INTERROGATION? AGAIN? Nooooooooo! No no no, this is a joke, right? Unfortunately, not. The guy in that chair is again reminiscing, talking in the same way like the guy in Battlefield - "yeah, I'm cool". Then you get bumped into the game.

    I will spare you lengthy descriptions of what can actually be ruined in an RPG. I will just sum it up - from a great RPG with a unique atmosphere, storytelling, dialogues... they just whipped up a terrible modern "action" RPG for consoles - for the masses. Characters talk like they are the "coolest guys" - yes, like the smart-ass you can run into everywhere these days. I do not even like my own character! Even her way of talking is irritating and the movement animations! OMG WHAT is that? I thought I would create a great elven sorceress (well elven, you cannot choose to be an elf in DA2 - and thank the Maker for that! Elves look disgusting in DA2!) but I am playing as a smart-ass modern city girl who is cosplaying as a mage. There goes the immersive experience... oh yes, just add some combo moves in DA3, will you? That will be PERFECT for the target audience.

    I forgot to say one thing. One more thing... the gorgeous DX11 graphics. The latest technology, it must look... in some places worse than Origins? Yes, I mean that. And the game is stuttering weirdly even though I am playing at "30 FPS". I guess there are 30 frames per second but nobody cares that two or three of them take 100ms to render (each)? Even the facial generation system was apparently rewritten because I am not able to create such a beauty like in Origins. Basically - beauty is nowhere to be found in DA2 and you are lucky when you manage to create an acceptable face (as long as you do not look at your character's head from the side).

    If I take DA2 as a mindless waste of time then yes, it is usable for that purpose. But as a great role playing experience, it fails miserably.    … Expand
  37. amateurExpert
    Jan 4, 2012
    2
    This is a major let down and insult to the Dragon Age fans, solely made to make a quick buck by abusing fan base trust and expectations hold in a sequel to a great game.
    Usually a sequel builds on its predecessor making it better and bigger, DA2 does the exact opposite.
    Less races, less choices, less story, smaller world, less environment less depth, shorter production time etc. What can i    This is a major let down and insult to the Dragon Age fans, solely made to make a quick buck by abusing fan base trust and expectations hold in a sequel to a great game.
    Usually a sequel builds on its predecessor making it better and bigger, DA2 does the exact opposite.
    Less races, less choices, less story, smaller world, less environment less depth, shorter production time etc.
    What can i say, they did a sloppy short production sequel to milk money from trusting fans and used pre purchases to succeed in this SCAM.
    Never again will i buy anything from these crooks without testing it.
    Also they bought off the corrupted game reviewers who gave ridiculously high scores to this abomination.    … Expand
  38. Gakka
    Mar 1, 2012
    2
    Really disappointed with this game. I have been a fan of BioWare games since BG1 and this game along Jade Empire(if I remember the name correctly) are the biggest disappointments. This honestly just feels like a huge money grasp. Hopefully BioWare learned from this that they can't just put out anything and expect to people to be happy with it...
  39. IcoNat20
    May 15, 2012
    2
    This game has terrible story direction, bad graphics (compared to DA:O), unneeded reimagining of monsters, elves and mages alike. The dungeons are endless repeats, with waves of generic enemies coming at you at the same dungeon (but different name) that you were in an hour ago. The writing for the story feels like a weeaboo fanfic rather than a professional piece of work, and the combatThis game has terrible story direction, bad graphics (compared to DA:O), unneeded reimagining of monsters, elves and mages alike. The dungeons are endless repeats, with waves of generic enemies coming at you at the same dungeon (but different name) that you were in an hour ago. The writing for the story feels like a weeaboo fanfic rather than a professional piece of work, and the combat has been casualized click to win. Repeatedly my suspension of disbelief was taken away by quest's objectives just pulled out of air for me to complete without any mystery, especially with items found in caves. Not only that, but my control of my character was taken away from me repeatedly as well, going as far as to take years of my character's life away from me. I'd expect this from an action game, but not from an RPG. On top of this, my choices did not matter at all, and I was railroaded in the story line so no matter what I did, specific things always happened. The dialogue system was removed from DA:O, instead replacing it with a mass effect style system. Wouldn't be so bad if the dialogue was well written, instead whenever I picked the "Joke' dialogue option I felt like punching hawke in his smug **** mouth. This half finished game was not worth the 60 dollars I paid for it, and it wasn't worth 10. Buyer's remorse to the nth degree. That is all I want to say.… Expand
  40. madhad234
    May 15, 2012
    2
    This game isn't even worth my time to write a review about, avoid Dragonage 2 at all costs! Terrible game on all platforms. 2003 graphics, mediocre gameplay, underwhelming story. Just go replay Dragon Age: Origins or Neverwinter Nights 2 instead and avoid this disaster. Spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate.
  41. 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.
  42. McKinneyKEA
    Jul 16, 2012
    2
    Boring story that didn't pull me in, unlikable characters, reuse of dungeons, butchering of the rpg genre and the dragon age franchise. There are so many things I dislike one of the more important ones......the diolouge wheel. Your are not you, this is not a sequal this is a basterdized couzinof the origonal.
  43. RoboticDevice
    Jul 19, 2012
    2
    For those of you wondering whether or not Dragon Age 2's combat is different from Dragon Age Origins, it is. In Dragon age origins, the combat took timing, it took skill, thought and effort. You had to plan out everything you wanted to do, and it was great. Because if you didn't, you had a high chance of failure. you actually had to think, you had to work, and you had to comply with realFor those of you wondering whether or not Dragon Age 2's combat is different from Dragon Age Origins, it is. In Dragon age origins, the combat took timing, it took skill, thought and effort. You had to plan out everything you wanted to do, and it was great. Because if you didn't, you had a high chance of failure. you actually had to think, you had to work, and you had to comply with real terms of combat. In Dragon Age 2, it's completely different. If you want to win nearly ANY battle, including against dragons, all you have to do is spam the attack button and you will. I cannot tell you how many times I attempted to make it harder on myself just to make it feel like a real game. I attempted to limit my attacks per second, I changed the difficulties to harder, even so, I still won every single battle with ease because of the X button. I have an Xbox remote, during a few fights I just took it downstairs while spamming the X button, made myself a sandwich, came back up, stopped in the bathroom a few times, and came back to see not only me still alive, but everyone else dead because I had killed them. It was that simple. There is no justice in combat for this. However, I give it a 3, simply because of the fact that the campaign and story line do make some sense, they just barely follow Origins, but even so, I highly recommend you put it back on the shelf and run. This teaches kids that when they're in real world situations, all they have to do is spam the button. That's how I got my first girlfriend, ironically, but that's beside the point. Please don't buy this.… Expand
  44. Ocelot113
    Sep 5, 2012
    2
    For a game that really only had to improve on the fluidity of combat, they changed pretty much everything from the first game, for the worse I might add. Combat seems to be the only thing they got right, for the most part. ----- The story was linear not allowing for multiple outcomes to situations. Bringing a hero through tragedy is okay, but absolutely dropping the story after theFor a game that really only had to improve on the fluidity of combat, they changed pretty much everything from the first game, for the worse I might add. Combat seems to be the only thing they got right, for the most part. ----- The story was linear not allowing for multiple outcomes to situations. Bringing a hero through tragedy is okay, but absolutely dropping the story after the downfall is not. The point of a hero is the journey back from disaster and the choices that they make shortly after tragedy. Dragon Age 2 after every major event skips ahead in time missing all those pivotal choices. Immense tragedy with no option for justice is a good way to piss people off, not get them emotionally invested. because there was no proper response to events it made me realize that this is a game, and I don't want to play it anymore because my reaction was not expressed. Not even close. That's the opposite of immersion. ----- Speaking of immersion, the use of a main voice actor could have been an amazing addition, IF... the tone of the voice were more versatile. RPG's requires that you feel like you are the role you are playing and when you cannot be aggressiveness sharp-tongued or be righteously stern then voice acting obliterates immersion. Forcing voice acting into pansy good guy, cheery joker, and jack-off bad guy, means you do not get real characters but cliche stereotypes. And when you are choosing multiple reactions during a scene you get unrealistic multiple personality mood swings. ----- Party Character options got an axe to the face. No ability to equip characters with armor and no ability to choose any skill tree, killed this game for ever RPGer that played, and loved Dragon Age: Origins. One of the great things about DAO was that if you didn't like someone in the party, you could give that role to someone more interesting. The fact that I had to run 90% of the game with the soulless, emotionless, thought and humor inept Aveline because she was the only tank, was... well the dumbest character choice I've ever come across in a game. Lastly, I'll quickly touch on the combat. Really the only problem I had with the combat was the cooldown system. In DOA there was a dedicated tank and a dedicated healer, for the most part. This system works, use it. Healers were made extinct because of the over-powering cooldown system. I downloaded a mod to lower all cooldowns making this game faster paced and much more fun since the healer was viable again. ----- Needed mods to enjoy: http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/3194#content (Armor for Party Members) http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/2407#content (All Skill Trees for Party Members) http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/2186 (Reduce All Cooldowns)… Expand
  45. Palenoire
    Nov 2, 2012
    2
    This is not Dragon Age. This is some Mas Effect poseur! BioWare need to slow down and think about what they are doing. Critics? I have no doubt that critics are BOUGHT by EA. They are sold-out hypocrites and they are LYING straight to your face! Another example of EA being douchebags and more bad words.
    And don;t listen critics that review EA game - they are bought by EA (I have no doubt)
  46. 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?
  47. 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
  48. 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.
  49. 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.
  50. Zzzleppy
    Jun 11, 2015
    2
    This game is totally different from Origins, and not on a good way. The worst sequel ever, maybe because the first one left me with high expectations. The characters are all simple and kinda cliche now, and the choices you make don't impact the story much now. There are many repetitive locations and quite a few bugs, especially when it comes to one of the companions which is pretty bigThis game is totally different from Origins, and not on a good way. The worst sequel ever, maybe because the first one left me with high expectations. The characters are all simple and kinda cliche now, and the choices you make don't impact the story much now. There are many repetitive locations and quite a few bugs, especially when it comes to one of the companions which is pretty big since it's part of the main story so you would have fixed that but no. I think what I hate the most is that you are either this or that, it's no longer like origins where you could choose to be a mix of evil and nice, you gotta choose and the choices are not even that good for example you now gotta have a certain personality and sometimes the character says things that were not exactly what you chose so you end up having to guess which really means what you want to say! And so much drama why call it Dragon Age when it's more about Mages and Church people!? I didn't finished it because it was actually boring all the characters have just this one thing you know them for: The **** The clueless, The boring, The um sexually active, The jealous younger brother, etc so in the end none of them feel like they are more than that. And the ending was terrible and didn't made sense, oh I also forgot the combat system is like it's made for kids, it's just so simple that it became boring. In the end if you buy it good luck being able to finish it after having it for a while, I certainly couldn't!… Expand
  51. 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
  52. chumpwithnoname
    Feb 19, 2020
    2
    Complete piece of trash if you compare this game to DA:O.
    Story - mediocre at best.
    Characters - Varric is good, rest of them are unremarkable at all.
    Mobs are spawning during fight - DA FUGG? This is an RPG? RLY?
    Ending is stupid and anticlimax.
    No strategy and no tactics anymore.

    Wouldn't buy this crap if not the name on the box.
  53. mmort75
    Nov 6, 2015
    2
    Gee Bioware, thanks for taking one of my favourite games ever Dragon Age 1 and making a dumbed down sequel which is so bad it sullies the first game just through association. Why make a great RPG turn based tactical game and make it into some silly Playstation type arcade game? It is very sad.
  54. zbysiek123456
    Sep 14, 2019
    2
    I expect more from Bioware... Fighting system is very bad, game is linear, animations looks so synthetic. If you want good DA then turn first game.
  55. Crimson9
    Dec 13, 2022
    2
    Its amazing to think that despite how invested Dragon Age Origins got me into this world, I could barely stomach playing 2 hours of this game at first. I had to quit after that for a while but eventually forced myself to play a few more hours.

    Every element of Origins has been either simply done worse here, been removed, or made more casual and shallow.
  56. djnicey
    Mar 18, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age 1 was my favourite game of the last year, this sequel is my least favourite so far. The game mechanics and dialogue has been dumbed down to the point that its just too boring and monotonous to play.

    I played DA:1 for about 60+ hours without once getting bored. DA:2 gets very boring, very quickly. Like others have said, this is more like a Mass Effect action game than an RPG    Dragon Age 1 was my favourite game of the last year, this sequel is my least favourite so far. The game mechanics and dialogue has been dumbed down to the point that its just too boring and monotonous to play.

    I played DA:1 for about 60+ hours without once getting bored. DA:2 gets very boring, very quickly. Like others have said, this is more like a Mass Effect action game than an RPG with any depth. I've been a bit fan of Bioware games in the past, I hope they dont ruin the next Elder Scrolls game as much as Dragon Age has taken a step backwards.    … Expand
  57. Mikimax
    Mar 13, 2011
    1
    Compared to Origins, this game suck ass. I was expecting much more from Bioware, but they dumped down this game for American kids.

    This is just a bad console port, period!
  58. BrutallyHonest
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Designed by focus group. By trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, Bioware has created game that never really develops it's own personality. Utterly forgettable, DA2 tries in vain to be darker, edgier and sexier, but only succeeds in trying too hard. The violence is bloody, the "sexiness" is a bit blatant and ham-handed, all the while giving the impression that behind theDesigned by focus group. By trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, Bioware has created game that never really develops it's own personality. Utterly forgettable, DA2 tries in vain to be darker, edgier and sexier, but only succeeds in trying too hard. The violence is bloody, the "sexiness" is a bit blatant and ham-handed, all the while giving the impression that behind the scenes is a 40-something game director saying "this is what the kids want, right?" Rather than focus on making a solid, entertaining game, Bioware tried to include all things for all gamers. They have created a game with something for everyone, but not enough for any one group to enjoy the experience.… Expand
  59. jadelith
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    mass effect with swords. the game is so horrid its not even worth my time to write a review about it.

    I don't believe anyone could give this game a good score. I'm thinking, the reviewing sites (gamespot etc) are scared bioware won't give them any more interviews, which is why they gave it an 8, instead of a deserved 3 or 4. the game is not dragon age 2, simple as that. if you want to    mass effect with swords. the game is so horrid its not even worth my time to write a review about it.

    I don't believe anyone could give this game a good score. I'm thinking, the reviewing sites (gamespot etc) are scared bioware won't give them any more interviews, which is why they gave it an 8, instead of a deserved 3 or 4.

    the game is not dragon age 2, simple as that. if you want to make another mass effect, use a different franchise name, instead of insulting dragon age fans.    … Expand
  60. MasterChef
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    The way Bioware changed this franchise from DA:O is devastating. I mean seriously, no isometric view? Are you serious? Plus the camera controls and overall camera is just horrible. The mediocre gameplay experience is nowhere satisfying and if I want to just concentrate on dating sims I'd play a game that's genuine dating sim. (Oh, and FYI the graphics were terrible too.)
  61. No1R
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    I'll just leave this here.

    http://www.gameinformer.com/games/dragon_age_ii/b/pc/archive/2011/03/08/dragon-age-ii-pc-review-a-port-caught-in-the-middle.aspx
  62. mikey42782
    Sep 7, 2012
    1
    bioware...we should give bioware a viking funeral after this abomination.
    If you are new to the Dragon Age series? maybe you'll enjoy it. If you are fan of the first one? well prepared to be disapointed-extremely. I still play the first one-to this day. Why do i say this? well let's go through some things...
    1) it has been completely and utterly dumbed down-yeah...it has. In the    bioware...we should give bioware a viking funeral after this abomination.
    If you are new to the Dragon Age series? maybe you'll enjoy it. If you are fan of the first one? well prepared to be disapointed-extremely. I still play the first one-to this day. Why do i say this? well let's go through some things...
    1) it has been completely and utterly dumbed down-yeah...it has. In the first one, you were completely in charge of what your companions wore, what weapons, etc. In this one? like in mass effect 2? no dice. You get what's called "armor upgrades" for your companions. I used to spend countless hours, just figuring out what armor worked and what didnt, what weapons worked and what didn't. this one? they just want you to keep going. sure you can change what you wear-to an extent. 2)the combat gets utterly repetitive and boring-combat is just that-it's repetitive and boring. don't get me wrong, some of the animations are pretty neat, but they opted the more realistic slow paced combat that was in the first one-which was still and is awesome-to a fast pace get it over with get it done battle, in which you just fight waves upon waves upon waves of enemies until they are dead. 3)copy and paste graphics-there are points after you go through your first dungeon or two you start to notice that things are starting to look the same. yes they do. because they just copied and pasted the effin textures.
    4)location-in dragon age one you had a bunch of places to visit, you could get ambushed on the road..this game goes between two phases-night and day..day time there are certain missions, night time there are certain missions..and get this? 3 areas..there's the city of kirkwall, theres outside the city and well i guess 2. the city and outside. the city doesnt even look like a city if you compare it to denerim in the first one.
    5)graphics-the darkspawn in the first one looked awesome and realistic-to me anyway. i remember several times in Dragon Age Orgins approaching a bridge and there in front of me stood several darkspawn waiting for my blade. the ones in this? it looks like its a really late ps2 game. 6)sounds-if you play nights of the old republic, not only is the graphics engine the same one from this game but it has the same sound effects minus the lasers..
    what's good about it?-i don't know anymore..i can't really think of anything..EA destroyed the dragon age franchise with this one. I still play the first dragon age but i have not been able to get myself to install this game since i beat it last year.

    so whats my conclusion-its nothing even compared to the first dragon age. it is dumbed down to try and make rpg games like this more mainstream. I think that bioware selling out to EA pretty much wrote their death certificate. I will never..ever purchase another ea game again.thank you    … Expand
  63. Ramaah
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    One of the most overrated games ever, second to Treyarch's works. You say graphics are good? In my opinion old Dungeon Siege looks better and juicier. Game looks like poor MMORPG. Dialogues are flat, boring, predictable, and trying so hard to be epic, that are actually parody of RPG genre. The whole history of hero's family is like "The Bold and the Beautiful" or "Dallas" with dragons. TheOne of the most overrated games ever, second to Treyarch's works. You say graphics are good? In my opinion old Dungeon Siege looks better and juicier. Game looks like poor MMORPG. Dialogues are flat, boring, predictable, and trying so hard to be epic, that are actually parody of RPG genre. The whole history of hero's family is like "The Bold and the Beautiful" or "Dallas" with dragons. The most funny thing is the masturbation mode for 12 y.o.: dragon-sized boobs everywhere. Hell yeah, I just drowned in epicness, singing the song of the old days. What is good? I really don't know, maybe music here and there? This game is not BAD, it deserves more than 3.0 (user score at the time I'm writing) - I'd say it's something between 5 and 6 (7 if you really love dragons). It still offers adventure and ugly creatures to kill and for sure it's better than Arcania.. But in order to balance these crazy optimistic rates I give it 1. Because I have enough of this stupid trend, that if BioWare made this, or Bethesda made that, or some part of the title says "Call of Duty", than we give 8 or 9 at the very beginning and then we play the game. No, folks, all the glitters is not gold! And Dragon Age 2 don't deserve to be called VERY good game (8/10), fantastic game (9/10) or masterpiece (10/10). This game has nothing more to offer, than dozens of similar RPG games. My score is my protest against such practice mentioned above. (Sorry for bad spelling).… Expand
  64. baruch88
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    This game is an embarrassment to the western RPG genre. Unpolished, choppy, and broken gameplay. Horrendous voice acting. And a soundtrack that makes me want to put on Justin Bieber just to drown it out. Oh lets not forget graphics. The Graphical presentation was just horrible. I strained my eyes on this game more than from playing Custard's Revenge on a 1080p flat panel monitor. The firstThis game is an embarrassment to the western RPG genre. Unpolished, choppy, and broken gameplay. Horrendous voice acting. And a soundtrack that makes me want to put on Justin Bieber just to drown it out. Oh lets not forget graphics. The Graphical presentation was just horrible. I strained my eyes on this game more than from playing Custard's Revenge on a 1080p flat panel monitor. The first Dragon Age was amazing, and I really had high hopes for this game, but in the end it turned into another over hyped, over advertised piece of crap. If you buy this game get ready to regret your purchase because I know I regret mine.… Expand
  65. crescent
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Somehow my previous review magically disappeared. I don't know how that can happen but i guess metacritic either deleted it or it got flagged? (based on the sincereity of my other reviews i don't think i was being a troll or a guy who ate too many sour grapes). Anyways...WNxWind pointed me out in his review that i have never played the game and am bashing it to the ground without anySomehow my previous review magically disappeared. I don't know how that can happen but i guess metacritic either deleted it or it got flagged? (based on the sincereity of my other reviews i don't think i was being a troll or a guy who ate too many sour grapes). Anyways...WNxWind pointed me out in his review that i have never played the game and am bashing it to the ground without any understanding of it. Although at the time of my previous review(early yesterday) i have only played the game for 4 hours, i felt that i have experienced enough to review DA:2. I won't be repeating what i have wrote again, i'll state that this game has been a real let down. Wake up bioware.… Expand
  66. Magnus
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Searching for anything that even remotely made the first game appealing is futile.Without any sense for storytelling and character progression DA2 managed to look like the bastard child of DAO and Fable.
    A horrible port on PC and a slap in the face for console users, that are often used as a excuse for greedy development processes.
    Hawke's voice actors are completely unable to rescue the    Searching for anything that even remotely made the first game appealing is futile.Without any sense for storytelling and character progression DA2 managed to look like the bastard child of DAO and Fable.
    A horrible port on PC and a slap in the face for console users, that are often used as a excuse for greedy development processes.
    Hawke's voice actors are completely unable to rescue the worst writing in any Bioware game ever. It's mixture of a bad budget movie and false edginess that creates facepalming moments for the player with a mindset above 14. Consoles lacking auto-attack, PC without a tactical camera.
    "Think like a general ,fight like a Spartan,"Bioware's slap in the face for all the fans eager to play their game despite the DLC overflow and content already present in the game. Lack of environmental interaction , the feeling of emptiness and the spoon feeding of the player are just minor things compared to the overall inconsistency of the game.
    Bugs in the PC version, broken quests, import saves and random graphical and animation glitches another welcome addition to the players pain.
    DAO's combat often criticized as filler, suddenly looks realistic and appealing from the perspective of the Role -player. The player was able to decide at least something in combat , DA2 combat is just boredom , fast paced boredom. Like putting a set of Full Plate Armor set on Kratos and wondering why it's not fitting in the game.
    The companion characters with the exception of two of them are created with the targeted player in mind, a apparently very young player or a player perceived as immature. Very unfortunate, knowing that the DAO characters had actual depth and where interesting even after the player completed multiple playtroughs.
    Now it's impossible to relate to them, unless actually chasing only the sexual part, they tend to be just part of the feeling that Hawke is a pawn in someone's chess game. This sound incredibly edgy and mature, but serves only as distraction from the fact that players decisions are poorly implemented.
    Recycling, everything is recycled the robes, armors, items, models especially painful when thinking about the negative comments from Bioware about the art style of DAO.
    What is redone is redone to reduce polygon count , for the sake of performance of a very bad parallel release , that is a bigger port than actual ports.
    A truly disappointing game, with a bad story , that ruins it's own lore and creates unnecessary gaps in the players vision of the world of Thedas, that was introduced in a interesting way to the player of DAO, and despite it's technical and polish flaws made him feel welcome or at least a part of it.    … Expand
  67. mcritic
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Boring, boring and boring ... Can't even compare it to DA:O not to mention BioWare's older RPG games. Incredible disappointment. No much more to say.
  68. GrackFields420
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Terrible game on all platforms. 2003 graphics, mediocre gameplay, underwhelming story.
    Just go replay Dragon Age: Origins or Neverwinter Nights 2 instead and avoid this disaster.

    Spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, MY ASS!
  69. kingslayer
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age was an above average game with many decent elements that should have been improved upon. The biggest flaw of Dragon Age was the uninspired encounter design, where they tried to replace the lacking quality of encounters with the quantity of copy-pasted trash encounters. Instead of improving / enriching the character system and reactivity of the story and the game world andDragon Age was an above average game with many decent elements that should have been improved upon. The biggest flaw of Dragon Age was the uninspired encounter design, where they tried to replace the lacking quality of encounters with the quantity of copy-pasted trash encounters. Instead of improving / enriching the character system and reactivity of the story and the game world and providing challenging tactical combat, with proper encounter dosing and design, the designers decided to cut the gameplay out of the game in order to replace their former target audience with intellectually impaired people who are unable of performing tasks like basic arithmetic and basic reading comprehension. Character customization and development and character stat based gameplay, which is the staple of RPG genre, is gone, tactical elements of combat are gone in favour of button mashing, text responses are gone, replaced by dialogue wheel for the illiterate attention deficit disorder crowd. God forbid that there are proper multiple dialogue choices consisting of complete sentences in the game, it would hurt the feelings of the target audience. Sticks and stones may break their bones, but big words hurt their tiny brains. Instead there is the game that has done away with numbers and reading, and replaced it with "cinematics" and button mashing. Of course, numerous trash encounters have only increased in number and frequency. Without a proper character system and considering the way story is presented, Dragon Age 2 is more of a homosexual porn movie than it is an RPG.… Expand
  70. Ahlan
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    one of the worst RPG games i have ever played.

    Controls are terrible and clunky There are no other control schemes (Only Point and click - click to move)
    Dull story
    Weak dialogues.
    Graphics environments looks terrible (DX11)
    Dumbed down RPG for casual wide audience.
    Its ultimately feels like a step back from DA
  71. McFlighii
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Pretty much everything there is to be said has been.

    The game is bad, it is every obviously a console port. It is a really, really, porty port. Additionally Bioware's "whenever you push a button something awesome should happen" just makes the entire game very bland.
  72. Sarra
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    I never thought the Origins was that great, but after playing DA2, I can safely say the comparison is just.
    This god awful port needs some work. I would recommend waiting to buy this game, until this is on sale for around $10.
    Play DA:O again, or if you're just an RPG fan in general, and don't care for Bioware, just get the Witcher 2
  73. Sparafucil
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    A horrible, wretched nightmare from which you can never awake. That is what this game feels like. The original DA:O was a lovingly crafted tour-de-force moment in the history of video games. The sequel feels like a rush-job shoved out the door to cash in quickly on its success. The levels look bland, the quest variety is paltry, the characters are boring, and the combat feels dumbed downA horrible, wretched nightmare from which you can never awake. That is what this game feels like. The original DA:O was a lovingly crafted tour-de-force moment in the history of video games. The sequel feels like a rush-job shoved out the door to cash in quickly on its success. The levels look bland, the quest variety is paltry, the characters are boring, and the combat feels dumbed down for consoles. Shame on EA! And shame on Bioware for releasing this steaming pile of ****… Expand
  74. Dikkus
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    When everyone around me was telling me how bad this game was going to be, I couldn't believe them. I defended this game till my last stand. I even replayed all of DA:O including its expansion and some of the DLC. Finally the game was out, and I was pumped, I loaded up my game and imported my save and shortly after an hour I was a bit dissapointed: I was questioning every move that BiowareWhen everyone around me was telling me how bad this game was going to be, I couldn't believe them. I defended this game till my last stand. I even replayed all of DA:O including its expansion and some of the DLC. Finally the game was out, and I was pumped, I loaded up my game and imported my save and shortly after an hour I was a bit dissapointed: I was questioning every move that Bioware made, and there are so many plot holes it hurts, and by the time I beat it (Only took me 10 hours, which, by the way was 40 hours shorter than origins) I was so depressed in how awful the game was.

    Most of the characters were interesting, but other characters (Isabella) who comes back as a minor character from origins has a complete make-over and is a walking stereotype of a pirate. She greets you in a standard "Captain" Jack Sparrow fashion and asks you-- a person she has never met before to guard her during a duel. Once you are at this duel you do all of the fighting for her, and once you are done with the fighting? She tells you that she wants to have sexual intercourse with you.

    It's this type of crap that I was tired with throughout the whole game, the "mature" theme (M RATED GAMES FOR MATURE GAMERS LIKE MYSELF GUYS!) that didn't even need to be there. The story was uninispired, the voice acting was standard-fare, and the graphics were that of a PS2. Bioware has turned their back on the PC gaming community and are just showing how much of a joke their games can really be.

    Oh, and by the way: There are two endings, and the only difference is a about a line of dialogue. Game of the year!    … Expand
  75. Mikespiegel852
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Let me start by saying that I've been a fan of Bioware since KOTOR, one of my favorite game of all time, but after this I'm not sure I'll ever buy another Bioware game ever again.. The original Dragon Age wasn't the best game of all time, but I felt it had a sort of charm to it. It was average at best, but I had a lot of fun with it which is something I can't say for Dragon Age 2. TheLet me start by saying that I've been a fan of Bioware since KOTOR, one of my favorite game of all time, but after this I'm not sure I'll ever buy another Bioware game ever again.. The original Dragon Age wasn't the best game of all time, but I felt it had a sort of charm to it. It was average at best, but I had a lot of fun with it which is something I can't say for Dragon Age 2. The graphics seem to have gotten WORSE, I have no problem with bad graphics, however, I do have a problem with a sequel looking worse than its predecessor. That aside, another major issue is that I no longer felt like I was playing an rpg, but rather some hack and slash game with little to no depth. The combat is nothing short of atrocious. It felt as if Bioware was instead catering to the mindless click click click win audience. I know not everyone enjoys RPGs since they can be slow, but that's what first person shooters and action games are for. This may have been a better business move by Bioware, to aim for the larger group, but I can't help but feel betrayed by one of my favorite developers. Another issue concerning the combat was that enemies seemed to appear out of nowhere in waves which, at least for me, broke some of the immersion. I'll be honest, I wasn't really immersed in it in the first place, but it's an issue I feel Bioware has to address. Now as for the story, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Throughout the whole game the story never really felt like it was going anywhere no matter how far I got. Maybe I'm just spoiled from some of the other great stories Bioware has made in their games. The dialogue wheel is beyond terrible, and some of the dialogue from the characters makes me cringe. One example is in the demo Bioware released. A woman is yelling "They shall not have you" to her injured husband and then says to the darkspawn"You shall not have him." Really Bioware? Really? I can't even begin to fathom how they could release a demo with such a terrible scene. As for the day 1 dlc, I'm sure people can see why I'd be annoyed by this so I won't go into it. One bad game doesn't make a developer terrible obviously. What really killed any hope I had in Bioware, was their staff on their forums. ANY criticism towards their game is dismissed as trolling. It's as if they truly believe their game is flawless. It's a shame how such a great developer turned into what it is today. I could go on and on about how much of a let down this was, but I'd rather end it now.… Expand
  76. danu22
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This is definately not a worthy sequel to the great original Dragon Age. It is a shame that the pc platform is once again having corners cut everywhere it its games. Even an indie company would be ashamed to shovel this game out. It feels rushed. From the constant crashes, NPC's bugging out on terrain and drab, uninspired landscapes. I'm sorry Bioware, but this is the last time you treatThis is definately not a worthy sequel to the great original Dragon Age. It is a shame that the pc platform is once again having corners cut everywhere it its games. Even an indie company would be ashamed to shovel this game out. It feels rushed. From the constant crashes, NPC's bugging out on terrain and drab, uninspired landscapes. I'm sorry Bioware, but this is the last time you treat us like this. You have lost another customer. Just ready the rest of the reviews! Something is up!… Expand
  77. Zinyal
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I'm not sure why they even released this for the PC. Almost everything in the game was dumbed down to give a better experience for consoles. Why not go the extra mile and just not release it for PC? Bioware's games have always been extraordinary, but I can't in good faith give this higher than a two. They need to understand that you can't make games like this just because of yourI'm not sure why they even released this for the PC. Almost everything in the game was dumbed down to give a better experience for consoles. Why not go the extra mile and just not release it for PC? Bioware's games have always been extraordinary, but I can't in good faith give this higher than a two. They need to understand that you can't make games like this just because of your reputation. Are you even trying, Bioware?… Expand
  78. Argoss
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I registered an account here on metacritic just to say that this game is one of the worst crpg attempts I have tried for a long time. It is a huge step backward from the DAO. Keep in mind, that the DAO was in development for 6 years and DA:2 for only 2 years. As effect we get primitive consol hack and slash with linear storyline, repetitive scenery and total lack of rpgness. Only payedI registered an account here on metacritic just to say that this game is one of the worst crpg attempts I have tried for a long time. It is a huge step backward from the DAO. Keep in mind, that the DAO was in development for 6 years and DA:2 for only 2 years. As effect we get primitive consol hack and slash with linear storyline, repetitive scenery and total lack of rpgness. Only payed reviews seems to like it and it really shows how honest they are in they reviews. One would have to pay me to play this garbage.… Expand
  79. Zero76
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Very disappointed with the direction this game has taken. While the tactical combat from Origins could have used some improvement they chose instead to make it mostly irrelevant. Combat is mostly uninteresting encounters in the same old corridors. The main thing that they seem to be focussing on in the game are the romances which while being somewhat entertaining and distracting fluff inVery disappointed with the direction this game has taken. While the tactical combat from Origins could have used some improvement they chose instead to make it mostly irrelevant. Combat is mostly uninteresting encounters in the same old corridors. The main thing that they seem to be focussing on in the game are the romances which while being somewhat entertaining and distracting fluff in previous Bioware games are not even particularly great in this game making me wonder what they gained from making them a main focus of development. Who asked for this?… Expand
  80. razos
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age 2 is very rushed sequel composed of dense , uninspired characters and shallow combat.
    Companions are huge step backward compared to Origins - boring , unoriginal with very little dialog to help build their personality.
    World where the game takes place feels empty and full of invisible walls . Most of npcs in Kirkwall cannot be interacted with , you cant even highlight them ,    Dragon Age 2 is very rushed sequel composed of dense , uninspired characters and shallow combat.
    Companions are huge step backward compared to Origins - boring , unoriginal with very little dialog to help build their personality.
    World where the game takes place feels empty and full of invisible walls . Most of npcs in Kirkwall cannot be interacted with , you cant even highlight them , they are just a background.
    Overall it feels like Bioware decided to make that sequel very fast and in as inexpensive way as possible , achieving developement cost reduction by simplifying , streamling and removing a lot of elements from the game(for example item description knowns from myriad of other rpgs are gone).    … Expand
  81. qwertxy
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This game is just a disgrace to the name Dragon Age and even more so to the name Bioware. Just stay away from this misery, it represents everything that goes wrong right now in the gaming industry. Dont buy Dragon Age 2, thank you!
  82. Kainz
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Terrible and primitive RPG. Can't even compare it to DA:O not to mention BioWare's older RPG games. It's like fail of Arcania: Gothic 4. Shame on BioWare.
  83. cryocore
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I tried to like DA2, but I cant. This console centric garbage isnt worth the effort. Yes it looks better, the combat is smoother, and im sure the story is good (Bioware always excels here), but come on removed customisation, NPC interactions, put big bloody flag on the next objective, quests are almost all self fulfilling. Its like an RPG made for 6 year olds. Bioware peaked with 2 epicI tried to like DA2, but I cant. This console centric garbage isnt worth the effort. Yes it looks better, the combat is smoother, and im sure the story is good (Bioware always excels here), but come on removed customisation, NPC interactions, put big bloody flag on the next objective, quests are almost all self fulfilling. Its like an RPG made for 6 year olds. Bioware peaked with 2 epic games. Baldurs Gate II, and KoTOR. Both epic, complex and requiring intellect to play. DA2 breadcrumbs the entire game... garbage, utter garbage.

    After ME2 I thought Bioware would have learned, but it seems the EA dragon has once again put down the "APPEAL TO THE MASSES!!!!" mantra and ensured that a rich, deep and complex title wont get made by any dev under its umbrella of mediocrity.

    I'm sure there will be cries of "PC Elitist" or some such, but when the muelling mob is appeased by sunstandard and lesser entries from a previously high sepc developer its really hard not feel better than them.

    Just another example of the big publishers slowly eroding away the quality to lower the barriers so Joe Casual wont get lost.

    Well Bioware I WAS a loyal fan. BG 1 and 2 + exp. KoTOR, NWN, DA:O, ME1, and even Jade Empire were epic and enjoyable RPGs worthy of praise and what your reputation was built on. ME2 while an epic tale was the first obvious step down the path to Casual land. Strip out RPG mechanics, focus on twitch/non RPG gameplay and profit.

    I hope EA rides Bioware into the ground, as I have lost all respect for the company.    … Expand
  84. haydensterling
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    All I do is follow my little icon that tells me where to press A some more. No party banter, no cool icons for your trash, everything is white and streamlined and boring looking as far as loot goes, not to mention the fact that all the interesting loot is reserved for me alone. Worse than all of the hack and slash button mashing combat is the fact that even though I've made it to theAll I do is follow my little icon that tells me where to press A some more. No party banter, no cool icons for your trash, everything is white and streamlined and boring looking as far as loot goes, not to mention the fact that all the interesting loot is reserved for me alone. Worse than all of the hack and slash button mashing combat is the fact that even though I've made it to the Deep Roads, I still don't give a damn about any of my companions. For a Bioware game, that is a crying shame. Just how are they managing these (generally) high reviews from gaming sites? The payoffs must have been epic. Taking it back to the store today and going to reply DA:O on PC to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.… Expand
  85. polluxcastor
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This is as much an RPG as Sesame Street is PG rated. The low score therefore does not just concern the product, but the way it is advertised: as catering to the RPG crowd. It does not, yet it has deliberately been marketed that way, and even been branded as such.

    If BioWare/Electronic Arts had wanted to be honest, they would not have published this game as part of the Dragon Age    This is as much an RPG as Sesame Street is PG rated. The low score therefore does not just concern the product, but the way it is advertised: as catering to the RPG crowd. It does not, yet it has deliberately been marketed that way, and even been branded as such.

    If BioWare/Electronic Arts had wanted to be honest, they would not have published this game as part of the Dragon Age franchise, a franchise that was named the 'spiritual successor' of Baldur's Gate. Instead, they could have branded it as 'Hawke's Adventures', or God knows what, and I would not have felt the need to be this straightforward with my criticism. For then they would have been honest. Selling this as a Dragon Age game is tantamount to fraud: it is dishonest advertising and BioWare deserve all the criticism that is currently being hurled towards them.

    Dragon Age 2 may be a good game, but it is a terrible RPG and that is how it is being marketed. Therefore, I have to judge it that way. It gets one point for having a story that courageously avoids the 'big bad' RPG trope and frankly that's being generous, as normally frauds shouldn't get away with any points.    … Expand
  86. johnGamer34
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    DA2 has to be the saddest excuse for either an action game or a roleplaying game, or a combination of the two. The glitches that result from trying to import the save file from Origins alone make it clear that Bioware wasn't even trying with this one. Just rush out a sequel as quickly as possible to milk your fans for all they're worth. Really pathetic. The gameplay is horrible, theDA2 has to be the saddest excuse for either an action game or a roleplaying game, or a combination of the two. The glitches that result from trying to import the save file from Origins alone make it clear that Bioware wasn't even trying with this one. Just rush out a sequel as quickly as possible to milk your fans for all they're worth. Really pathetic. The gameplay is horrible, the graphics are from 2 generations ago at best, and the story is completely forgettable garbage. They even had the gall to end on a cliffhanger!!!! Probably just to sell more DLC that will hopefully end the story properly. Disgusting, Bioware. You've lost a customer.… Expand
  87. RainmakerNL
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    What can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" reviewWhat can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" review sources, they get paid big money by EA to give it a 8 or 9!

    The biggest insult of them all is the load of DLC there is pre-installed on your disc, but you cant acces it without paying or doing stupid facebook games.

    Steer clear of this game and any future BioWare games, vote with your wallet!    … Expand
  88. dricks
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Boring.
    Each time i launch this game, i feel like playing Final Fight.
    Even the character selection screen seems to say "Guy, Cody, or Haggart ?". First stage. Fight, then go forward, and other waves of enemies comes. Then the boss, a giant and tough enemy which run on me, head down. Wait, this is the exact description of the beginning of DA2. Isn't it supposed to be an RPG ? Well, i'll    Boring.
    Each time i launch this game, i feel like playing Final Fight.
    Even the character selection screen seems to say "Guy, Cody, or Haggart ?".
    First stage. Fight, then go forward, and other waves of enemies comes.
    Then the boss, a giant and tough enemy which run on me, head down.

    Wait, this is the exact description of the beginning of DA2. Isn't it supposed to be an RPG ?

    Well, i'll put a 2 on this one, because i really liked Final Fight. But as a fighting game, it's really less fun. And as an RPG, it really sucks.    … Expand
  89. Erilos
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I tried hard to like it but the exploding people, rehashed areas, **** dialouge, and gameplay. This is the biggest thing though marketing it as the best old school style tactical RPG only for it to turn into a **** of sexual innuendo, gore, bad VA, PS2 era graphics, hack n' slash gameplay, limited customizability and a 12 hour story mode. So all in all it had potential to be a great gameI tried hard to like it but the exploding people, rehashed areas, **** dialouge, and gameplay. This is the biggest thing though marketing it as the best old school style tactical RPG only for it to turn into a **** of sexual innuendo, gore, bad VA, PS2 era graphics, hack n' slash gameplay, limited customizability and a 12 hour story mode. So all in all it had potential to be a great game but Bioware sold out producing what will be the biggest disappointment of the year if not the biggest disaster of the decade. Oh how the mighty have fallen, Bioware going from a game like Baldur's Gate 2 down a game like this and the worst part is knowing that the people of today will eat this **** up.… Expand
  90. RobertParker
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Don't even bother pirating this, it's the Godfather 3 of RPGs. The combat is easy yet tedious, the graphics are designed to run on the equivalent of five year old computers (AKA consoles) and the dialogue was obviously written by aspergers addled game developers who never leave the office. If you MUST try a modern RPG then give Fallout New Vegas a shot.
  91. Kilbane
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    My first Bioware game was Baldur'saGate 2 and the sad thing is that this is their far best game until now. Dragon Age 2 is absolute disaster. I don't care about shiny graphic, this is RPG, graphic comes second in games like this. Dragon Age Origins was ok game, not brilliant but ok, and only thing they could do to make it better is make it more complex, not to simplified it.
  92. Aerozoul
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I really liked Dragon Age: Origins but this piece of **** game is not Dragon Age, this is not even an RPG. This is junkfood for spoiled casuals.
    The combat is repetitive and looks ridiculous.
    The characters are shallow.
    The new dialogue-system is weak.
    It's basically Mass Effect with Swords (i like Mass Effect because it's Mass Effect, don't get me wrong).

    I am disappointed BioWare.
  93. Githzerai
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This is without a doubt one of the laziest, most poorly designed, poorly made, and just plain awful games i have ever played. Although i have to congratulate Bioware on making a game that requires impressive system specs, particularly the need for DX11 to use the higher graphics settings, AND still somehow manages to look like a first generation PS2 game.

    The dialog is awkward and    This is without a doubt one of the laziest, most poorly designed, poorly made, and just plain awful games i have ever played. Although i have to congratulate Bioware on making a game that requires impressive system specs, particularly the need for DX11 to use the higher graphics settings, AND still somehow manages to look like a first generation PS2 game.

    The dialog is awkward and uninteresting even by bioware standards, the area design is so linear and simplistic, everything is just dull and awful looking. The combat is annoying, far too simple and just plain boring. When DA:O came out i was hoping for a modern day version of Baldurs Gate 2 or Icewind Dale and was fairly disappointed but at least that game was playable and even enjoyable at times. DA2 on the other hand somehow took the dumbed down, simplified gameplay from DA:O and sucked every last bit of fun from it.

    Every moment i spent playing this game felt so shallow and tedious. DA:O was an RPG with some depth, strategy, exploration, a nice amount of content. DA2 on the other hand is a huge step backwards, i've played free flash games with more depth and content. Bioware take note, this is what happens when you compromise your game to try and appeal to the lowest common denominator. I'm sure you'll make a huge profit and your shareholders will be happy, but brand recognition is everything and i now recognize Bioware as a company that have lost the ability to produce RPGs.

    The only redeemable quality this game has is the satisfaction i received from uninstalling it. The most remarkable thing of all however is the high ratings this received from game journalists compared to the almost universally bad ratings from actual gamers. I guess Bioware probably should have spent more on making a decent game instead of all the marketing and advertising dollars spent on strong-arming good reviews out of the useless and dishonest game journalists.    … Expand
  94. FatBodies
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Terrible game. Crappy graphics, retarded dialogues, idiotic combat, skill system taken from dao and dumbed down. I feel like idiot wasting money on this piece of ****
  95. Mrozny
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    I'm totally disappointed. Simplified combat, recycled and small enviroments, weak dialogues. No isometric view. Bad character graphic (they look way worse than those from Dragon Age!) and animation (completely unrealistic - mage is turning left and right while casting a spell and characters that jump all the time while attacking - such animation is not 'cool and awesome' but stupid, thisI'm totally disappointed. Simplified combat, recycled and small enviroments, weak dialogues. No isometric view. Bad character graphic (they look way worse than those from Dragon Age!) and animation (completely unrealistic - mage is turning left and right while casting a spell and characters that jump all the time while attacking - such animation is not 'cool and awesome' but stupid, this is not Devil May Cry). Also, no possibility of changing armour for anyone else than main character and enemies spawning behind player in most stupid locations are unbelivably annoying. Dragon Age: Origins was a truly epic RPG game. Don't believe critic reviews of Dragon Age II. DA II is just another action game for consoles (and imported for PC) that simply lacks depth in every field. It is a perfect example of ruining a game instead of improving it. Sometimes it just looks like a really bad Fable clone...… Expand
  96. Krubin
    Mar 14, 2011
    1
    I gave this game an average 5 before because I liked many aspects but felt it didn't impress me. But now I am greatly disturbed by Bioware employees REVIEWING THEIR OWN GAMES. For Shame Bioware. This is deceptive marketing. So this game gets a 1 for Bioware committing what I consider to be fraud.

    http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/g3td7/dragon_age_2_conspiracy_highest_rated_metacritic/
  97. Oran
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This game is such a wasted potential. Bioware made a fortune off of preorders of fans of the original knowing full well that by over-streamlining the game and the pervasive console first attitude they would only alienate those fans. This game looks and sounds better than Orgins but that isn't what I want out of a PC rpg, I want a massive world, mountains more stats, the ability to seeThis game is such a wasted potential. Bioware made a fortune off of preorders of fans of the original knowing full well that by over-streamlining the game and the pervasive console first attitude they would only alienate those fans. This game looks and sounds better than Orgins but that isn't what I want out of a PC rpg, I want a massive world, mountains more stats, the ability to see background calculations as they are happening and mod friendly design. Once again consoles **** things up for PC gamers who want a product that utilizes their machines full capabilities.… Expand
  98. Trotskyist
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    If you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die out - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

    This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge as    If you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die out - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

    This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge as Baldurs Gate 2 creators.
    If DA2 succeeds comercially, this kind of gameplay re-imagining may very well happen to possible Baldurs Gate 3. Just imagine this nightmare - Baldurs Gate 3 : God of War style.

    So skip the railroad locations, ugly graphics, nonexistant stats, uninspiring generic characters Dragon Age 2 has to offer - not only for avoiding boredom, but for the sake of brighter future for RPG gaming.    … Expand
  99. valero
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    just because metacritic is paid to give it good reviews (or in this case medicore since it wasn't 99/100) doesn't mean it's any good. i could write a thesis on why the game sucks, but to make it short, it's like they took a time machine and went back to 2002 to develop the game. the storyline, combat, and graphics are horrible. this is a bigger disappointment than fallout new vegas
  100. omgwot
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its hard to make a game worse than this nowadays. Any decision-maker who played this and approved it for release has either the wrong job or was under heavy pressure, or maybe he had a moment of silly or was on drugs, or both. Maybe they just wanted to deliberately piss off their user-base and destroy their image, forever. Goodbye forever.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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
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