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. Lucita
    Mar 12, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I won't go into details about the "technical" parts of the game (UI, combat, graphics, etc.) some were fine, some weren't. What disappointed me more was the story. It seemed...vague and vain to say the least. A lot of things left unanswered in DA:O which I was expecting to be answered in DA II. Yet they remained as vague as they were. Maybe it was wrong of me to expect something like that...The only way to be pleased by DA II is to see it like an expansion of DA:O, a story that is preparing you for what is coming next.… Expand
  2. Verilee
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    Oh my... I have never thought I had to write that...

    RPGs... I did em all... from the first days with my Commodore Amiga (Bard's Tale, some AD&D RPGs), to PC games (also AD&Ds, Might and Magics, Ultima Underworld, those from Interplay, and all the classic Biowares, and Elder Scrolls Arena, Daggerfall and so on...), so I claim to have a vast knowledge about how RPGs were and how they are    Oh my... I have never thought I had to write that...

    RPGs... I did em all... from the first days with my Commodore Amiga (Bard's Tale, some AD&D RPGs), to PC games (also AD&Ds, Might and Magics, Ultima Underworld, those from Interplay, and all the classic Biowares, and Elder Scrolls Arena, Daggerfall and so on...), so I claim to have a vast knowledge about how RPGs were and how they are now. I found some better, some not so good, but most of them were quite solid RPGs.

    It's of course a matter of taste, but to me, RPG means story, interactions and customizing the characters. DAO is already streamlined compared to the Elder Scrolls Universe, but still classic RPG because of all those things that are still possible, and probably one of the best story and especially dialogues (which results in a great overall atmosphere) I have ever seen in an RPG.

    Although, even in DAO I miss being able to jump, or to access all those places that can be seen, from that point it's a bit limited, but still acceptable to me as there are other unique features.

    Now DA2... I decided to first have a look, so visited a friend, and had a look, and have to say, I won't buy that game. I don't hate it, but I am not into Action-Adventures. Opponents spawning out of nowhere, 2 metres jumps in full armor, no thank you... to me that is more comic style gaming, jump and run even a bit... no, that's not RPG anymore to me.

    Flemeth designed like a mixture of Manga and Domina, no, not my taste.

    Not being able to equip my party... that is a no go for me in an RPG. I mean, I love to spend hours with so callled unimportant details like trying out clothes, armors, crafting, making potions... whatever. DA2 delivers nothing. A fast paced action game, not bad by itself, but not worthy of being named Dragon Age or even being regarded as its successor.

    Some good things still, some nice dialogues, but it feels more like an interactive movie... hey of course not to the extent I had with Dragon's Lair on my good old Amiga... but still, too dictated for me. Everything is kind of chewed before we get it to eat.

    I don't hate this game, but I don't think it is wise to distribute it as the successor of DAO, and besides, Bioware to me was a synonym for great RPGs. Now, that does not seem to apply anymore. A pity.

    Per se there is nothing wrong in offering variations or different style games within the same universe... other companies did that in the past too, Bethesda had some spin-offs (Elder scrolls series vs Battlespire, Redguard), 3DO had them (Might and Magic series vs Heroes), Origin (Ultima, and then Ultima underworld was different), and some more.

    They could have opened a new spin off series, like DA Action Adventures or whatever, then the players can decide for themselves whether to try it out or not, without being fooled with wrong expectations, rising up when hearing the name Dragon Age, or even Dragon Age 2, which implies the continuation of the 1st game.

    Dragon Age, to me, stood for RPG, like Elder Scrolls does, different, but great. I don't want to see an action adventure under the Elder Scrolls series label, and I didn't want to see that with DAO.

    It happened, and I think they didn't do themselves a favour. For me, this series ended with DAO, and will start again, when they pick up on what they built with DAO. Whether it was Bioware's fault, or EA's, it is an enourmous damage that has been done to Bioware's reputation, in rushing out such a game, and pretending it is the successor of DAO.    … Expand
  3. marineuac
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game kept hardly anything from original origins... there just seemed to me more awakening, but not even awakening solved alot of questions in origin. theres also the fact that you only see flemeth twice in the whole game, why is she even in the game? (aside from travel twards kirkwall) What was the point in the long run??? What of morrigan's child and my warden? Seeing alistar was about the only satisfying thing in the game.

    Then theres just only Kirkwall?? In first da there was much more cities and places to go to... limiting everything to kirkwall just seemed so stale. I half expected they would keep that map or at least make traveling seamless but guess not.

    Also the major thing that bothered me was how during import it said all of these things, shale recovered, amaranthine saved, urn of sacred ashes, connor's status, and most importantly my warden went threw the portal with morrigan... yet in NONE of this changed anything in da2. Flemeth only seen twice... pitiful. She seemed like a major story element too. saved by her, then released from amulet then thats it??

    The game should not even be called dragon age 2. Should just be called "game #456: hawke" because it has nothing to do with dragon age.    … Expand
  4. DKN
    Mar 12, 2011
    5
    I am really disappointed with DA2, it has poor story, poor characters and npcs, combat system is completely awful, with mobs constantly spawning in waves from absolutely random locations you can forget tactics and positioning.
    Why is there an inventory and loot in this game at all is a mystery to me, you donâ
  5. MAXX45
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    "As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPGÃ
  6. skulls
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    This game isn't as terrible as people make it out to be. Its nothing compared to DA:O but its still a decent game. Before I go on I'll admit that I am in fact a bioware fanboy. KOTOR I and II were my favorite games as a child, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 had me squealing with joy, and Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. That's why DA2 breaks my heart. The biggestThis game isn't as terrible as people make it out to be. Its nothing compared to DA:O but its still a decent game. Before I go on I'll admit that I am in fact a bioware fanboy. KOTOR I and II were my favorite games as a child, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 had me squealing with joy, and Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. That's why DA2 breaks my heart. The biggest problems I had with the game were firstly they re-used the same map over and over which is not just lazy but insulting to my intelligence. It was the single most immersion breaking experience I have had in an RPG, they didn't even clean up the map when there are unused passages and you can see the rest of the same cave in the mini map although you can't get to it in this particular instance. Secondly they replaced the dialogue system with a wheel based system which I put up with in Mass Effect but am very disappointed to see being used in other games and I hope is not going to be something Bioware continue to use in the future. The biggest problem I have with it is that you try to say one thing and what Hawke actually says is something else entirely, the complex dialogue trees are also gone and generally whatever you say is responded to by a single line of dialogue then the NPC just carries on as if what you said had no impact. To me the actual dialogue system is perhaps the single most important part of Bioware's games, it defines how you interact with the world around you and how you personally shape the story, somehow Dragon Age 2's dialogue wheel system failed to immerse me in the world in the same way the ME dialogue trees did and was a huge step back from all the non-linear dialogue wheels they've had in previous titles. Third there was day 1 DLC, being a bit of a perfectionist I couldn't stand playing without the DLC and forked out the money after having to pay a full sixty dollars for the game itself. What makes me even madder is that I know they're going to eventually make a big pack that has all the DLC included for 30 or 20 dollars in one or two years, itâ… Expand
  7. hf2016
    Mar 12, 2011
    5
    To start, Dragon Age II is not actually bad enough to deserve the scores of 0-2 that many people are giving it. The problem is that it really is not very good either. People have come to expect a certain standard of quality from Bioware, and DA2 simply does not meet that standard.

    Combat is horrible. In fact, it is probably DA2's worst flaw. On the recommended combat difficulty setting,    To start, Dragon Age II is not actually bad enough to deserve the scores of 0-2 that many people are giving it. The problem is that it really is not very good either. People have come to expect a certain standard of quality from Bioware, and DA2 simply does not meet that standard.

    Combat is horrible. In fact, it is probably DA2's worst flaw. On the recommended combat difficulty setting, playing the game feels disturbingly similar to watching a mediocre film. You spend the early levels of the game clicking a few buttons every 15-20 seconds. Groups of enemies never pose a serious threat, yet still live long enough to make combat tedious. Combat improves later, especially if you raise the difficulty, but it never reaches the tactical depth or difficulty offered frequently in its predecessor.

    Dialogue is mediocre. There are fewer options than there were in Origins, the quality of the writing is surprisingly low for a Bioware title, and much of the voice-acting is disappointing.

    The new art style is matter of taste I suppose, but I personally dislike it. To begin with, changing the appearances of various established creatures was in rather poor taste. The Qunari now resemble something from The Lower Planes while the Hurlocks are reminiscent of Skeletor. The "visceral" combat is simply preposterous. The amount of gore if you can even call it that is so exaggerated that it makes combat even less satisfying. My character's sword should not produce similar results to an airstrike.

    As with the previous game, the graphics were mediocre while the musical score was quite good. It would hardly be fair to blame Bioware for the fact that certain people insist on selling and developing for six-year-old hardware that wasn't even all that it was made out to be on release. The problems with Nvidia cards are not so easily dismissed, however. There is a little thing called testing that is supposed to prevent little things like that. That being said, the game performs quite well on my modest dual-core ATI/AMD machine.

    Overall, I would say that DA2 will be worth purchasing for fans of the first game when it sees a drop in price. Until then, it is not worth your time or money. As an RPG and a sequel, DA2 is mediocre at best.    … Expand
  8. BethBigTeeTees
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dragon Age II is everything DA: O should have been... if BioWare had intended to make Origins a complete and horrible failure. Bethesda really should have known better with titles under their belt such as Mass Effect, in the end their sequals fall short such as prequels to sequels generally do. In retrospect I would actually give this game a 5.5/10 but I'm taking a stand they must have spend 2 days developing this game I'm taking a stand no more bad games!… Expand
  9. Sylvaticus
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    Wow, I am not liking the haters on this one. The graphics are beautiful, they story is great, the combat is a bit dumbed down but I am still thoroughly enjoying this game. Isabella is a better Leliana and Alistair is a drunk in a bar. Origins was iconic but this game is great as well. My wife and I have already got 15 hours into the game each, and we are greatly enjoying it. Don't listenWow, I am not liking the haters on this one. The graphics are beautiful, they story is great, the combat is a bit dumbed down but I am still thoroughly enjoying this game. Isabella is a better Leliana and Alistair is a drunk in a bar. Origins was iconic but this game is great as well. My wife and I have already got 15 hours into the game each, and we are greatly enjoying it. Don't listen to the smelly trolls, this game is a blast.… Expand
  10. Lolipop
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    My review? Recycled characters ( no more than 5 models for each race) , like 3 types of caves , 1 interesting boss fight , empty city , only ONE city , unidimensional characters ( the whore , the innocent , the brave ). MOST **** RPG EVER , whoever gives this piece of **** more than 5 most be paid by Bioware . I WANT MY MONEY BACK.

    OOO , and you call the blood bath gore and realism? You    My review? Recycled characters ( no more than 5 models for each race) , like 3 types of caves , 1 interesting boss fight , empty city , only ONE city , unidimensional characters ( the whore , the innocent , the brave ). MOST **** RPG EVER , whoever gives this piece of **** more than 5 most be paid by Bioware . I WANT MY MONEY BACK.

    OOO , and you call the blood bath gore and realism? You must be **** kidding me , you don't blood all over your body when you kill a SKELETON , you retards .

    Don't buy it , if you did , try to get your money back . You sold yourself to Ea , bioware , **** YOU    … Expand
  11. RobertG
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I had read previews for this game and although I was dubious coming in, I was still willing to give it a fair chance because I really enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins. I am extremely disappointed in the final result. I prefer to play the Infinity Engine RPGs and DA:O on the highest difficulties because of the challenge. The combat mechanics really haven't changed that much from DA:O, but theI had read previews for this game and although I was dubious coming in, I was still willing to give it a fair chance because I really enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins. I am extremely disappointed in the final result. I prefer to play the Infinity Engine RPGs and DA:O on the highest difficulties because of the challenge. The combat mechanics really haven't changed that much from DA:O, but the nightmare difficulty in DA2 is flat out broken. The encounters are the driest and most uncreative things I have experienced in an RPG in a long time. *Every* fight ends up with the initial group of enemies plus two to four waves of additional NPCs that materialize from nowhere. The fights become less an ability of tactics and more of an endurance battle where you are whittled down and praying that another wave of enemies isn't coming. Another major problem is the lack of an isometric camera. In the Infinity Engine games and DA:O, the camera was placed overhead which allowed easy command of your characters. In DA2, you do not have access to such a feature and targeting becomes an arduous event. It is apparent that this is a console game first and the PC version was merely an afterthought. The storyline is also disappointing. The game starts out in an unnamed mountain with characters we know nothing about and within fifteen minutes, something happens to a major NPC. I am guessing that Bioware wants us to feel sympathy during the event, but there is no way to have any sort of connection with the characters because you do not know them. The story is also supposed to take place during a ten year period, but there are jumps in time spanning several years and you never see any of the characters age, therefore you are left confused. Sadly, Dragon Age 2 is a product of Bioware being bought by a corporate giant and being forced to rush out a game and appeal to a specific demographic. The days of wonderful fantasy RPGs are long gone for this developer. I am in greatly disappointed that the creators of the finest RPG of all time has fallen from grace in a mere decade.… Expand
  12. Olf
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    A game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA youA game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA you should be ashamed by the lack of imagination it took to create this game.… Expand
  13. Edge3133t
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    Liked: Random armor generator, and shopkeepers regularly replenishing. Appearance of fully upgraded sets and armor as well as companions. (Anders and Merrill looked amazing)

    Disliked: Difficult to put together a full set of gear, say for example, a full suit of elven armor nearly took me to the end of act 2 just to get something piecemeal that looked halfway decent. Failed to put my    Liked: Random armor generator, and shopkeepers regularly replenishing. Appearance of fully upgraded sets and armor as well as companions. (Anders and Merrill looked amazing)

    Disliked: Difficult to put together a full set of gear, say for example, a full suit of elven armor nearly took me to the end of act 2 just to get something piecemeal that looked halfway decent. Failed to put my second act set together when I didn't pick a fight in the Hanged Man for the rogue chest piece. Need more sexy outfits, yes.

    Liked: Companion interaction.

    Disliked: Need to buy most of the 'gifts' to get said interaction, should have been acquired randomly like the other half of the influencing equipment.

    Liked: Overall storyline, plot progression. Ending left me wanting for more from the series.

    Disliked: Once it's over, it's over, no epilogue, no closure. You just have this vague sense that the story will continue in DLC and new expansions.

    Liked: Combat. Great, wonderful, bloody. PC version excelled in this category. Storyline, and plot had this growing 'sense' of chaos slowly consuming the entire world. Companion quests, events, dialog, and romance.

    Bugged comments: Some minor glitches, but the flow of the game and lag was low. Found a random bandit type leader on the beach non hostile close to the entrance, and never did find that kidnapped girl in act 3 on the same beach(related?)

    Final Conclusion: The end was epic, I got the girl, and killed both individuals I wanted to kill off. I managed to keep my party together, except Sebastian also which was impressive. Overall I had fun, and it's an excellent legacy to the original Origins.

    Oh the musical score... best part, without question it totally painted the scene and adding to the suspense and emotion of the game.    … Expand
  14. Jobawa
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    Where to begin?

    Dragon Age 2 is a rushed game. That's not an opinion, the game released in a ridiculously short amount of time, and Bioware staff have commented on the rush (look for articles on Kotaku and elsewhere about this). To put this in perspective though, a little bit about the first game: Dragon Age: Origins was Bioware's atttempt to create a new fantasy IP which they could    Where to begin?

    Dragon Age 2 is a rushed game. That's not an opinion, the game released in a ridiculously short amount of time, and Bioware staff have commented on the rush (look for articles on Kotaku and elsewhere about this). To put this in perspective though, a little bit about the first game:

    Dragon Age: Origins was Bioware's atttempt to create a new fantasy IP which they could control. Meant to be a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate (a Forgotten Realms property, Dungeons and Dragons/alignments/classes/etc.), they stated upfront their desire to have a grittier, darker, and less fantastical fantasy. They spoke influence by George R.R. Martin's series (A Song of Ice and Fire), and said they didn't want it to be the sort of the world where things can be explained away in a "a wizard did it" sort of fashion (avoid death not being permanent, have magic grounded as far as what it makes possible.. and relatively more rare).

    The game they released was solid, and went on to be very popular. Bioware has typically been known for strong stories, and the tale in DA:O succeeded greatly on a few levels. The titular origins allowed players to start their PC among any of three races, with a possible three different classes. The origins stories were all different, and served to personalize the world for the player - tell what being a "city elf" or a "dwarven noble" is about. The story itself was reasonably flexible about where and what order you did things, with every area having at least one major choice that would have "some" impact on later events. The characters were both well-voiced and written.

    The game was iffy in some aspects too. The origin stories, while fantastic, often were poorly followed-up on in the remaining story. For instance, a betrayal of your family might amount to little when you return home later, making being "blase" your only "choice" about something like... murder, when the game regularly lets you kill people for very petty reasons. In the end, they just weren't as integrated as they could've been. The combat attempted to replicate the feel of commanding multiple units in a similar fashion to Baldur's Gate on the PC, however this wasn't practical for non PC players. So, the combat on consoles wound up more bastardized with awkward bits like repeated pathing errors and a seemingly slow pace for something that had an "action-type" camera. It was a still a good game, the dark atmosphere was well-done, and the world was realized.

    DA:2 would ideally have fixed and expanded on the first game (isn't that what we all hope for in a sequel?). Indeed, there seems to have been attempt to rectify the combat, but the result was not to make it more tactical or responsive - rather, they attempted to speed things up and make it more Action RPG, more "extreme". Difficulty in the 2nd title seems to be more about throwing massive numbers of troops at you, rather than better scripted encounters (ergo: rushed in both planning and balancing). The pathing frustration is removed, but the resulting combat is mindless and dull.

    The earlier complexity of the origins has been dropped altogether, the player is given exactly one "origin": you will always be a human member of a specific family; with your class playing little role in your background. To be clear, they went from 6 possible starting stories to 1. You can change your gender and class.

    Aside from the origins, the world and story are just generally more shallow and less-developed. The darker more detailed graphics of the first title have been traded for a more cartoonish style this time around, which gels poorly with the gritty world they attempt to convey. The Darkspawn (a series bogeyman) manage to look LESS menacing, dropping pointed teeth for flat ones, and getting a more even skintone. The story-telling is more trite and less-engaging. The magic and abilities have been made more ridiculous and over the top; a far cry from the "realism" that was seemingly championed in the first title. The ability to customize your companions has been dramatically restricted. You no longer outfit them. They removed the ability to talk to your companions at any time, inquiring about their past.. it only happens at set points now. You revisit the same areas over and over again, with the same map even. The maps wind up being pointless as what is currently the "visitable" area in the "new" area is never marked off.. you always see the same map. Your character simply lacks the agency they seemed to in previous game. In opting for a voiced Main Character, they seemed to have restricted your conversation options, relatively.

    This game isn't the worst game ever, but it's horribly shoddy for a huge budget studio known for great RPGs. It's a slap in the face to the lore and world created the first time as well.    … Expand
  15. Cheech
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age 2 recycles the same environments over and over to artificially inflate the game's length. You play a static character devoid of personality, an abrupt change from the engaging Shepherd character from Mass Effect fame. I hate comparing a new release to a developer's previous output (preferring to judge exclusively based on the game in question), but this game is a completeDragon Age 2 recycles the same environments over and over to artificially inflate the game's length. You play a static character devoid of personality, an abrupt change from the engaging Shepherd character from Mass Effect fame. I hate comparing a new release to a developer's previous output (preferring to judge exclusively based on the game in question), but this game is a complete insult to any game Bioware has previously done. The company turned from an elite CRPG powerhouse to another corporate whorehouse developer with this title, and it really hurts. I am hoping that Dragon Age 2 is an aberration, and the Old Republic/Mass Effect 3 sustain Bioware's typically high degree of quality.… Expand
  16. dark89
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    This is one of the best RPG in the world. Unlike the first part of the game is 10 hours and she's fun and interesting. I do not understand people who put her 0 and 1. You even played in it?? Why spoil a game rating? Do nothing else or what?
  17. johann1978
    Mar 11, 2011
    6
    If you play more than 6-8 hours it is good, if you play more than 12-15 hours it is really good, and if you play 35-40 hours are you finished :( Its a nice game, down play the demo and say it sucks ore play 2 hours and say it sucks...after a while it gets really exciting and tactical more than DA:O.
    PS: I not kidding you i have played each RPG the last 20 years, Dragon age 2 is good!
  18. WauOatmeal
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    BioWare seems to be trying to go green with Dragon Age 2. Most of DA2's art assets, character design, item design are reused from Dragon Age: Origins. The game's level design is reused to the point that repetitious doesn't even begin to describe it. The combat is maybe the single saving grace this game has but even it starts to get tedious after an hour. Rushed, unfinished, released with DLC, $60.
  19. salty
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    I'm beginning to wonder if these people actually played the game past either the demo or the first 10 minutes.

    The combat in Dragon Age 1 was basically this: Right click, watch your character (literally) walk over, and start swinging their sword like they're about to fall asleep, and then you win. If you slow down the combat in 2, it's the same thing, but god forbid people actually think    I'm beginning to wonder if these people actually played the game past either the demo or the first 10 minutes.

    The combat in Dragon Age 1 was basically this: Right click, watch your character (literally) walk over, and start swinging their sword like they're about to fall asleep, and then you win. If you slow down the combat in 2, it's the same thing, but god forbid people actually think for more than 5 minutes.

    Graphics: I can't play the game on Highest Dx11 without my FPS dropping to 3 and textures spazzing out. So this is the only valid complaint I can see.

    As far as the difficulty complaints go: I've had to turn down the difficulty during some parts. Some boss fights are just ridiculous. There's nothing "dumbed down" at all. As I said, combat merely happens faster and abilities actually have visible effects.

    Conversations being simplified? This one is just stupid. "I don't have to THINK about what I say now!". I never did in the original and I somehow managed to get everyone to love me (usually just pressing the first option). Take away the wheel that gives you a graphical representation of what you're about to say and it's the same thing as Origins

    Either way, it seems most negative reviews focus on nothing and just say "GG BIOWARE YOU KILLED THE RPG MARKET!" without actually specifying why they hate it (which is pretty much Metacritic in a nutshell). To quote the most popular negative review on here: "Unless you're on hard mode, there is nothing to discuss as far as combat goes". It was the same in Origins. Play on Easy or Normal and you could 'lol' your way to victory. From the same review I quoted earlier "after a mere few hours with it I honestly have no drive to play it any more. That didn't happen until Orzammar with DA:O.". I don't know how people can praise the original, yet chastise the sequel when they openly admit they never finished either. 29 hours in and I'm still having a blast (albeit multiple rerolls because lol@me).    … Expand
  20. Celes247
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    This game feels a lot like Baldur's Gate 2 to me. That being said, it's very good. I feel completely immersed, the combat is EXCITING! (unlike the first), and the characters memorable and funny.

    Truly loving it, the only thing negative I can say is that it does feel a little "rushed". Still, worth the money. A lot of the negative reviews are simply because it is hard to compete with a    This game feels a lot like Baldur's Gate 2 to me. That being said, it's very good. I feel completely immersed, the combat is EXCITING! (unlike the first), and the characters memorable and funny.

    Truly loving it, the only thing negative I can say is that it does feel a little "rushed". Still, worth the money. A lot of the negative reviews are simply because it is hard to compete with a groundbreaking original. Sequels always have it harder. I played the original right before this one came out and it's still very fresh in my head. Comparing the two is easy for me, Da2 wins.    … Expand
  21. flavahbeast
    Mar 11, 2011
    9
    It's a very good game and a worthy successor to the first. I loved Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and would love it if Dragon Age 3 had that sort of depth as far as environments and spell mechanics and NPC's are concerned. That said, the combat is a lot of fun and the streamlined combat mechanics don't take anything away from the tactical elements. I do recommend playing the game on the HardIt's a very good game and a worthy successor to the first. I loved Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and would love it if Dragon Age 3 had that sort of depth as far as environments and spell mechanics and NPC's are concerned. That said, the combat is a lot of fun and the streamlined combat mechanics don't take anything away from the tactical elements. I do recommend playing the game on the Hard difficulty setting. Normal is pretty trivial, at least early on, whereas Hard is a challenge on par with the Infinity Engine games… Expand
  22. darwihn
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II sees a grand overhaul of the series' underlying systems, and the game benefits greatly as a result. The class system in particular is much improved. It revolves around the three roles you remember from the first game, but the level of distinction between variants within each class is much more defined. Your sword-and-shield warrior, for instance, will play quite differentlyDragon Age II sees a grand overhaul of the series' underlying systems, and the game benefits greatly as a result. The class system in particular is much improved. It revolves around the three roles you remember from the first game, but the level of distinction between variants within each class is much more defined. Your sword-and-shield warrior, for instance, will play quite differently from one wielding a burly two-hander. By the same token, Dragon Age II dives headlong into MMO conventions more avidly than its predecessor did, so if you've yet to internalize the concepts that drive those games, it might all be a little overwhelming. Though there's more than one way to skin a cat--sword-and-board warriors aren't the only viable tanks, for instance--the fact that the game is built around these notions puts some soft limits on your choices when it comes to party composition. You wouldn't dream of going into one of the key boss battles without a mage specced for healing.… Expand
  23. abbeyramms
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Completely awful in every way imaginable. Avoid like the plague. And yes, I have beaten it, and it is an experience I am not likely to ever repeat. Please bring on Witcher 2 to wash this nightmare from my mind.
  24. FilthyGround
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Compared to DA:Origins this game is a great disappointment.
    Compared to Baldur's Gate it's a mere insult.
    Even if you take it for what it is without comparing it to the greatness of former Bioware games, you end up with a not much of a game at all. The art work is sloppy, the gameplay lacks depth, the moral choice system is a joke and the story is cliché on cliché    Compared to DA:Origins this game is a great disappointment.
    Compared to Baldur's Gate it's a mere insult.
    Even if you take it for what it is without comparing it to the greatness of former Bioware games, you end up with a not much of a game at all.
    The art work is sloppy, the gameplay lacks depth, the moral choice system is a joke and the story is cliché on cliché on cliché.
    Adding to that the story is so blatantly cut off to provide them with content for the mandatory launch day DLC. I never pirated a Bioware game out of respect for they great games they made.
    This ends now.
    This game is bad enough to end more than a decade of loyalty.    … Expand
  25. Donotpushme
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    If you are fan of Mass Effect, then you will love it, like me. Bio ware you are best.
    Dragon Age 1 path to 2 part looks like Me1 to Me2. Many people forgot that is rpg means Role Play Game, when you play a role with your decisions in dialogs.
  26. DungnCurmudgeon
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    DA2 has value as a game. That value, however, is heartbreakingly destroyed when viewed in light of it being a sequel to DAO. Others have listed its faults, but I would like to point out that the game makes the most rookie DM mistake there is; it *tells* you instead of *showing* you.
    EA may have ruined Bioware. I hope not, but I will not buy another Bioware product without first checking    DA2 has value as a game. That value, however, is heartbreakingly destroyed when viewed in light of it being a sequel to DAO. Others have listed its faults, but I would like to point out that the game makes the most rookie DM mistake there is; it *tells* you instead of *showing* you.
    EA may have ruined Bioware. I hope not, but I will not buy another Bioware product without first checking the reviews.    … Expand
  27. DJ-Lethal
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    As has been said time and time again, Bioware have screwed up this one. And boy, did they screw it up good...
    I've rarely been so disappointed by a game, and I blame that on the fact I enjoyed the the first one in the series so much that I had quite the expectations for Dragon Age II. NOTHING came true, unfortunately.
    Everything is worse... the story, the characters, the world, the    As has been said time and time again, Bioware have screwed up this one. And boy, did they screw it up good...
    I've rarely been so disappointed by a game, and I blame that on the fact I enjoyed the the first one in the series so much that I had quite the expectations for Dragon Age II. NOTHING came true, unfortunately.
    Everything is worse... the story, the characters, the world, the graphics, the interface, the animations. It's... astounding, outraging. They actually managed to ruin a promising franchise even before it fully bloomed.
    You could write a book on what's wrong with Dragon Age II, but I'm just going to give it a 1 and move on. I have lost a great deal of respect for Bioware.    … Expand
  28. MrKerstbal
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    Imagine all of these reviews spoken in the voice of comic book guy from the simpsons

    (great game though, it's certainly not the same as DA:O and bioware has decided to take a different route and all that good stuff)
  29. MinDokan
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    I don't want to be rude, but is a piece of ****
    No one in good shape wastes his time in this Action RPG. Because is not a RPG game, nor a action game.
    Graphically is mediocre. Some textures are great, the rest, 8 bits. I think people who said the game is excellent, didn't play as a Warrior. Did you see how Hawke cuts the air with that sword? First time I saw it, "lol". For moments I    I don't want to be rude, but is a piece of ****
    No one in good shape wastes his time in this Action RPG. Because is not a RPG game, nor a action game.
    Graphically is mediocre. Some textures are great, the rest, 8 bits.

    I think people who said the game is excellent, didn't play as a Warrior.
    Did you see how Hawke cuts the air with that sword? First time I saw it, "lol".
    For moments I forgot that it is Dragon Age and I think I'm playing Devil May Cry.

    I feel sorry for Bioware.    … Expand
  30. JamesSteal
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II for Bioware is what the Sendai earthquake is to Japan, A disaster. Simply an uninspired game developed to market the Dragon Age series towards children.
  31. artanis
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    This game is extremely disappointing. They have removed so much of what made Dragon Age great. There is no longer a branching storyline. It doesn't even matter what dialogue options you select anymore. The characters act as if they're living a giant joke.

    The graphics are mediocre in most areas of the game, and absolutely horrible in others. I haven't seen such blocky character    This game is extremely disappointing. They have removed so much of what made Dragon Age great. There is no longer a branching storyline. It doesn't even matter what dialogue options you select anymore. The characters act as if they're living a giant joke.

    The graphics are mediocre in most areas of the game, and absolutely horrible in others. I haven't seen such blocky character models since the playstation 1. It feels extremely rushed and I am sad to have paid for it.    … Expand
  32. Hovis
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    There's a lot of butthurt about Dragon Age 2. Lot of nerds wanting to crunch stats, spank and tank and grind for gear. It's not that sort of RPG and, like Mass Effect 2, it is all the better for it. It's a story, one that you have a huge part to play in telling, rather than just watching it unfold, you make choices and pick sides and shape the world. Meantime you stab up a bunch of peopleThere's a lot of butthurt about Dragon Age 2. Lot of nerds wanting to crunch stats, spank and tank and grind for gear. It's not that sort of RPG and, like Mass Effect 2, it is all the better for it. It's a story, one that you have a huge part to play in telling, rather than just watching it unfold, you make choices and pick sides and shape the world. Meantime you stab up a bunch of people and get frisky with a pirate wench, among others. It's not perfect, the combat animations don't fit the tone of the game too well for example, but beyond that it's a masterpiece, far superior to the original.… Expand
  33. DartyShrodinher
    Mar 11, 2011
    5
    Not a best RPG ever. Not a worst. But what is really disapointing - it's not RPG I expected from BioWare. It's completely new-school RPG. While playing, I wasn't thinking about BG or PS:T or even about ID. Well, everything that was on my mind - Devil May Cry and Mass Effect 2. In DAO we can see camouflaged D&D, here we can see camouflaged ME. Combat system now feels better - more quick,Not a best RPG ever. Not a worst. But what is really disapointing - it's not RPG I expected from BioWare. It's completely new-school RPG. While playing, I wasn't thinking about BG or PS:T or even about ID. Well, everything that was on my mind - Devil May Cry and Mass Effect 2. In DAO we can see camouflaged D&D, here we can see camouflaged ME. Combat system now feels better - more quick, more beautiful, BUT less tactics. Roleplay - well, for me there's more roleplay in BBC2 - I can be a medic, a pilot, a stormtrooper etc. Dialogs in DA2 are great...would be great if game would be slasher or sort of. But for RPG they're very bad.
    Story - better then in DAO. But not exellent. Nothing more to say.
    Visuals, sound, music, decorations - not too bad, but for BioWare this "not too bad" transforms into just "bad".
    The game is not too bad for consoles - but it bad enough for PC. It's not completely awful, but I don't know for whom I can recommend it. let's just better wait for Wtcher 2, The and Skyrim. But I'm afraid DAO was last good oldschool RPG. And BW transformed into developer of casual console ****.    … Expand
  34. ishaar
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    It's a flat game. Boring. No emotion. Missing RPG character. the style of game has been completely changed. It has now become a simple game console. the characters are graphically rough. total disappointment.
  35. sheep
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    It's a big shame to see a studio that was responsible for legendary titles like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights releasing such a disgraceful title called Dragon Age 2. Generic combat, annoying cutscenes with cheesy dialogs, limited role-playing elements, closed maps - where is freedom I ask? I can't believe that major gaming sites rated this game so well. I can only think of sponsoringIt's a big shame to see a studio that was responsible for legendary titles like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights releasing such a disgraceful title called Dragon Age 2. Generic combat, annoying cutscenes with cheesy dialogs, limited role-playing elements, closed maps - where is freedom I ask? I can't believe that major gaming sites rated this game so well. I can only think of sponsoring articles... Game just got released and we have DLC already - laughable. Making money on well-known IP, that's all. It's sad.… Expand
  36. Freland
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    I'm just so disappointed after loving Origins very much. The game was hasted and you can see that at every part of the game. EA should be ashamed of ruining such a fantastic brand like Bioware.
  37. Rohlio
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Pretty much stripped everything out of DA:O that I liked,

    I actually do like the reactivity of the combat now ( it feels much faster and smoother), but outside of that it feels like a downgrade in everyway. Basically they decided to limit my choices in every avenue that they should have been expanding them. I actually like equipping my companions and choosing what they are using in order    Pretty much stripped everything out of DA:O that I liked,

    I actually do like the reactivity of the combat now ( it feels much faster and smoother), but outside of that it feels like a downgrade in everyway. Basically they decided to limit my choices in every avenue that they should have been expanding them.

    I actually like equipping my companions and choosing what they are using in order to tailor the party to my needs.

    I enjoy picking crafting classes.

    Not having the isometric pullback camera is just a freaking joke.

    Using the same "cave" for every mission, or the same layout of every building is just pathetic. Gaming should be about options. If you wanted to make a game that was more "Accessible" that is fine, create toggle switches. Let those of us who actually enjoy the details have them, let people who don't want to worry about it turn those options off. Seriously this feels like a step backward in so many areas it is hugely disappointing.    … Expand
  38. November
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    CaÅ
  39. Poodlejumper
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    The only honest review I saw of this game from a pro was Adam Sessler (THANK YOU ADAM.) He kept it honest that it has a great story but the combat ruined it. Between the flashy animations that looked like the damn Power Rangers fighting grey faced goons to (speaking of the Power Rangers) how about that Rita Repulsa...I mean newly designed Flemeth?

    Even past the initial stage its just    The only honest review I saw of this game from a pro was Adam Sessler (THANK YOU ADAM.) He kept it honest that it has a great story but the combat ruined it. Between the flashy animations that looked like the damn Power Rangers fighting grey faced goons to (speaking of the Power Rangers) how about that Rita Repulsa...I mean newly designed Flemeth?

    Even past the initial stage its just Kirkwall...and limited dialog that does have some impact on the game...but the damn thing isn't long enough to really make you get into it. Only in the 3rd act does the story pick up.

    We expect more from developer Bioware. The publisher EA? Not so much.    … Expand
  40. thedan89
    Mar 11, 2011
    6
    I would like this game a lot more if they hadn't put Dragon Age on the cover. I do like the new art work that has gone into it but the game feels a lot different. Side character development doesnâ
  41. maselphie
    Mar 11, 2011
    9
    I'm hearing a LOT of anti-DA2 feedback going around. Frankly, I can't understand it. It seems merely out of a fear of change, rather than if the change was a good or bad thing. When I first played the demo, I was freaked out by many things, but after finishing the game, none of those things held water anymore. It was simply me being "whoa different game is different" and none of it made itI'm hearing a LOT of anti-DA2 feedback going around. Frankly, I can't understand it. It seems merely out of a fear of change, rather than if the change was a good or bad thing. When I first played the demo, I was freaked out by many things, but after finishing the game, none of those things held water anymore. It was simply me being "whoa different game is different" and none of it made it a bad game in the end. I know the quick phrase to describe the changes is "dumbed down" -- and trust me, I hear ya. They dumbed down Mass Effect from game one to game two, and I was totally pessimistic about DA2. But you know? "Streamlined" is honestly the better term for it all. In the end, it is an amazing game. One of the most memorable RPGs I have played in a while. Is it worth it's selling price new? Yes! This is a $60 game. There's so much crap out there selling for the same price and is just a huge disappointment. This is one of those games. Please, ignore reviews and just play it for yourself. And I am not talking about just the demo. The demo is in no way indicative of the tone or experience of the main game. Look to Denerim in DA:O for a better idea of how it might feel.

    If you find you skip dialogue scenes, it might be just an okay game, because you're skipping the best part. If you're just watching your family's cutscenes with a "okay okay I'm getting a quest" attitude, then it's not going to work its magic on you.

    As a visual novel community, I can honestly say that WE will see what the developers were doing with the story and appreciate it. The hordes of action games may not see it, but I certainly did, and I will defend it rabidly. I was so surprised by how good it was. Maybe because of all the pessimism. Maybe all these bad reviews are good -- so you go in thinking "this will blow", but then blown away.

    It's a shame that it will take too damn long for people to find that out, since everyone is going to take one look at the negative reviews and decide to wait until bargain bin day. Or worse, the developers will see the negativeness and not make DLC for it. Christ. I've never wanted DLC more for any other game before. I don't want this game to be over.    … Expand
  42. Synplasm
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Bring me the head of the guy who sanctioned the release of this one. A rush job and not much more. How some supposed professional reviewers are giving this game scores in the 80s or 90s is beyond me. I spent several hours doing tedious quests in order to fund an expedition to get......some more money. I think. Whilst doing said quests I was interrupted on a far too regular basis by hordesBring me the head of the guy who sanctioned the release of this one. A rush job and not much more. How some supposed professional reviewers are giving this game scores in the 80s or 90s is beyond me. I spent several hours doing tedious quests in order to fund an expedition to get......some more money. I think. Whilst doing said quests I was interrupted on a far too regular basis by hordes of easily despatched nobodies whose time would have been better employed raging against whoever dared call this an RPG. My character, his mind numbed by such repetitive combat, was then bamboozled by several overpowering outbreaks of deja vu, before being seduced by a rather bizarrely rendered elf who had pipe cleaners where her arms should have been. My character shrugged all this off, after all he had free will didn't he? He didn't have to do this. But some guy and some woman kept telling him how his life was planned out from the start and what will be, will be. Somehow he made some friends and they wanted to come along for the ride for no particular reason at all (maybe they thought I would be able to get them out of Kirkwall or perhaps even get them some new armour - sorry about that). Let's plod on. Or maybe let's not eh? This game fails to deliver on many things. It's biggest fans will be people who aren't legally old enough to play it. That's your choice Bioware. Fair enough. Goodbye.… Expand
  43. Gixxer420
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    The combat in Dragon Age 2 was actually a lot more fun than the original. But the gameplay, story, atmosphere, music, and just about everything else made this game a steamy pile of **** compared to the original. You stay in one area for the ENTIRE game and environments are recycled 5-10 times, holy **** The characters are decent, but it's hard to get attached to them like you could inThe combat in Dragon Age 2 was actually a lot more fun than the original. But the gameplay, story, atmosphere, music, and just about everything else made this game a steamy pile of **** compared to the original. You stay in one area for the ENTIRE game and environments are recycled 5-10 times, holy **** The characters are decent, but it's hard to get attached to them like you could in Origins. Now as a modern game it was mediocre, but for a Dragon Age successor it was a huge disappointment... I think I beat the game 100% in a little over 9 1/2 hours, Dragon Age: Origins took me over 60 hours to fully complete it, huge step backwards. The story was a mess, serious **** mess, I won't spoil it for anyone but no connections are made and it's a huge cluster **** of nothing. The game has polish, but it doesn't have that epic feel like Origins did. Oh well, maybe Dragon Age 3 will be a little different.… Expand
  44. snowstorm
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age II plays like WOW in sigleplayer. that is, it is a completely nobariner, there are no need to apply tactics, skills or or any thing like that. so if you are in for some point and click action, it looks good and plays well, if you were hoping for a great story, intelligent gameplay and a level of sofistication beyond tetris, then you would be wasting your money.
  45. BillTheB
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    If you are looking for a game with a good storyline and decent voice acting for the protagonist this game is great. The fighting is quick paced and the graphics are a step above the predecessor but only if you get the high res pack and run DX11. If you are looking for a Dragon Age: Origins clone with a new story then you will be disappointed. The game has the great lore of the originalIf you are looking for a game with a good storyline and decent voice acting for the protagonist this game is great. The fighting is quick paced and the graphics are a step above the predecessor but only if you get the high res pack and run DX11. If you are looking for a Dragon Age: Origins clone with a new story then you will be disappointed. The game has the great lore of the original but lacks a bit of personality as they didn't have enough time to fully develop the world around Kirkwall. I would guess that after the DLC comes out the Ultimate edition will be great and on par with the world of Thedas in Origins. All in all. I love the game and find the story gripping.… Expand
  46. laek
    Mar 11, 2011
    6
    Dragon Age: Origins was like a father, whom you haven't seen for 10 years, returning home one day, apologizing for his absence, bearing gifts, telling you many stories, resulting in the two of you bonding and having a good time. All is well until he mysteriously disappears again and turns up 1 year later as Dragon Age II, an abusive, burnt-out junky with only one thing on his mind: domestic abuse.
  47. Rendercat
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. epic fail. game is really stupid and knee-made. The recipe is simple: copy-past and nothing more. No more story, no more characters. Just simle lots of neverendin' respoun… Expand
  48. Caven
    Mar 11, 2011
    5
    DIFFICULTY:
    Played this game on hard and challenge was nice, tho it was what I'd expect only from normal. Even worse lately started a nightmare play and found how though this game is with friendly fire when camera is so low and you go a whirlwind killing two companions who suddenly got on your back. Redeem items/ DLC kills this game by swiftly powering up character, lowering not that high    DIFFICULTY:
    Played this game on hard and challenge was nice, tho it was what I'd expect only from normal. Even worse lately started a nightmare play and found how though this game is with friendly fire when camera is so low and you go a whirlwind killing two companions who suddenly got on your back. Redeem items/ DLC kills this game by swiftly powering up character, lowering not that high difficulty, tho at least this time i didn't get annoying guy with big Exclamation Mark telling me to buy DLC to unlock his adventure.

    COMBAT:
    Combat is fast paced, loosely tactical based but to be honest i was glad to play rogue moving back and forth since I'd die of boredom playing mage just standing like a tower and auto-attacking whole time while waiting for cooldowns (tho gets slightly better with more spells). Wave format was more annoying than anything else since it didn't allow to properly plan for usage of high cooldown abilities especially Taunt-like. On other hand re-positioning mages after each new group spawned was sometimes required but annoying, even more on nightmare. Tactics were very useful tho sometimes i wished there would be "Turn off all tactics" UI button so i could micromanage team better on especially challenging encounters without turning them off 1 by 1. Also found them lacking especially in "positioning" department like go to biggest group of mobs and taunt or stay away from boss at max range, and my favorite move out of fire/spell.
    Force effect is very nice addition making combat more real and i only wish i could exploit it more.
    Character development:
    Tree's are nice and with nice synergy but sometimes it's hard to do proper build with all those requirements. By far worst one was rogue tree one requiring to take 3 skill of which only 1 can be active at a time only to improve one we really want. Overall was happy with trees and choices even tho i still don't find use for some of them.
    Attributes on other hand were total disappointment being forced to basically max 2 of them to wear armors made character customization hard to say the least. At end game my rogue was fast, deadly and very dead whenever he drew attention since i didn't spend enough points in stamina. Situation gets more tricky for Player Character when companions only have to spend points in one stat or some times 0 to use equipment.

    COMPANIONS:
    I liked most of them and found most of them useful at one time or another. Their stories where nice, and only added to their appeal. Only thing i didn't like was low choice of them or rather thanks to their sole focus specializations makes it very hard to play them differently or create dream team. At one point choices i made almost made me loose vital teammate whom i'd not be able to replace.

    GAMEPLAY:
    Time play somehow vital role in this game where some quests can be done at night where others only in day time, switching between both is easy but u somehow detached from time. Best one was "come meet me tonight" and then i went on a 2 week trip (lore wise) and yet person was still waiting not annoyed by my coming late. Sometime i felt like i did a lot of quests and yet only 24 hours passed.
    Also people you meet on street also feel somehow detached telling about events long passed as if they happened yesterday.
    There was plentiful of quests even tho annoyingly usually go to location you've already seen and kill, kill, kill and after killing all those minions kill boss or tell boss how you're in only for peaceful solution or to save them all from extermination. Still some quests were still nice. Other annoying thing was handing completed quest, going back home to grab new letter and back to same quest giver for next one as if he couldn't tell me from start. Last item it's nice that they tell you which quest ends chapter, but why didn't they do same with last one...
    Dialog system is on one hand good you exactly know whether you'll answer "Diplomatically", "Ruthlessly" or "Ironically" on other hand you don't really choose what you'll really tell so why bother with text lines in first place just place 4 icons (one more for investigate) and be done about it and don't give me illusion of proper dialog.
    Crafting system is great and feels somehow right.

    STORY
    Story at first is very chaotic and then gets cleared only to plunge you straight back into chaos, and at the end you are Champion whatever it really means. It's nice to see choices you made at one time explode in your face later on, tho I feel somehow cheated by dialog system. SUMMARY:
    Very nice fantasy themed RPG I only wish it wasn't branded continuation to completly different game I felt dragon age origins was.

    I liked: Story, Companions, Boss fights
    I disliked: Dialog System, Wave combat, Time detachment, Repeatable zones, DLC making game easier.
    Could be better: Attribute distribution, Tactics system    … Expand
  49. SiaG
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    I put 10 because it is really excellent game! The tree of skills became more, tactics is more clear and the drawing has not disappointed! A lot of new and it is good!
  50. Cerebyss
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is a fun and accessible game but at the expense of many of the qualities that made Dragon Age: Origins such an engaging experience. Being the 2nd release in the franchise, many of the changes are disappointing if you're expecting a game with as much depth as the first. It stands strongly enough on it's own but for fans of the first it feels like a watered down, rushed sequel.Dragon Age 2 is a fun and accessible game but at the expense of many of the qualities that made Dragon Age: Origins such an engaging experience. Being the 2nd release in the franchise, many of the changes are disappointing if you're expecting a game with as much depth as the first. It stands strongly enough on it's own but for fans of the first it feels like a watered down, rushed sequel. Taken on its own, it's an enjoyable game if you can look past all the stripped out features (or if you didn't care for them in the first place).

    Highs:
    -fun
    -smoother, faster combat
    -good level of polish

    Lows:
    -lack of content: if DA:O was a full course meal, DA2 is from the fast-food menu
    -recycled environments: the same maps are used over and over again with no changes, yet the player is supposed to believe they are completely new locations. Some areas sealed off with magic concrete slabs filling an open doorway. Serious deja-vu from Oblivion's cookie cutter dungeons, however Oblivion's at least had some different layouts, these are EXACTLY the same
    -enemy mobs now respawn in multiple waves during combat, including respawning out of thin air in the middle of your party making tactical party placement an exercise in futility
    -weak loot (lack of armor pieces, generic item names: "ring" "amulet" with no flavor text)
    -lack of armor customization for party members
    -lack of unique/relationship dialogue between main character and party members
    -conversation options are often misleading or unpredictable based on the summarized text shown
    -voiced main character dialogue undermines roleplaying experience and pigeon-holes your character into playing one of 3 stereotypes: pretentious do-gooder, sneery jokester or belligerent bad-ass.
    -lack of customization for PC interface (ie. font size, resizable GUI windows that use all of the screen instead of a tiny window that you have to scroll through, etc.)    … Expand
  51. Coldspyros
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I'm extremely disappointed in DA II. I expected more from the successor of DA:O. Bioware has done great things in the past, such as ME I and II, and DA:O, among other games, but this is terrible. The dialog options suck, the gameplay is simple hack n' slash, and the story line is cheap. The game feels rushed, and, although I'm no graphics whore (SC:BW is one of my favorite games, up thereI'm extremely disappointed in DA II. I expected more from the successor of DA:O. Bioware has done great things in the past, such as ME I and II, and DA:O, among other games, but this is terrible. The dialog options suck, the gameplay is simple hack n' slash, and the story line is cheap. The game feels rushed, and, although I'm no graphics whore (SC:BW is one of my favorite games, up there with Wind Waker, STALKER SoC, etc etc), the graphics are terrible. I think they put very little effort into this game, and just pumped it out for the money. Speaking of money, all of the reviews are paid off. They even paid the NEW YORK TIMES to review their game. NEW YORK TIMES.
    Heh.    … Expand
  52. Lackadaisy
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    I would like to start off by saying that while I do not regret buying Dragon Age 2, I do regret paying $60 for it. This game is not worth the $60 in it's current state, and the writing at some points is downright terrible to a degree of which made me want to kill small animals.
    On to what I do like:
    I find that the game is in many ways better than it's predecessor and one of them is    I would like to start off by saying that while I do not regret buying Dragon Age 2, I do regret paying $60 for it. This game is not worth the $60 in it's current state, and the writing at some points is downright terrible to a degree of which made me want to kill small animals.
    On to what I do like:
    I find that the game is in many ways better than it's predecessor and one of them is companion inventory. Along with Mass Effect, it's inventory management system was a complete mess. With the removal of said problem, the game got considerably easier to play. Another bonus was the visual aid to the dialogue options. Sometimes things are difficult to decipher when just words, or the small description isn't enough. The combat is smoother, the dialogue entertaining, and the storyline immersive. But there is still one problem.
    Text.
    The massive blocks of test.
    Stop doing this BioWare.
    I bought a game to play it, not to read several novels worth of text.
    I give it an 8/10, but will change it if the game does not receive its much needed patches.    … Expand
  53. shaun1021
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Stay away. This game is a failure of epic proportions. The game re-uses environments so every dungeon you visit is exactly the same. The entire game takes place in 1 tiny city, it would be like playing all of DA:O in Denerim or playing all of Mass Effect on the citadel and never being able to leave. The city is lifeless, you can't talk to anyone or do anything, the people just stand thereStay away. This game is a failure of epic proportions. The game re-uses environments so every dungeon you visit is exactly the same. The entire game takes place in 1 tiny city, it would be like playing all of DA:O in Denerim or playing all of Mass Effect on the citadel and never being able to leave. The city is lifeless, you can't talk to anyone or do anything, the people just stand there lifeless. This game is beyond epic fail, if I were president of bioware I would fire the entire DA:II design team for this disgrace. It's a sad day for games.… Expand
  54. tbone420
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    Great Game 10/10, better than DAO, which was a 9/10 imo. Love the story and the flow of combat. On nightmare mode it is an extremely challenging tactical game. I have played nearly all of the CRPG's since the PC D&D games from late 80s and early 90s (secret of the silver blades...etc) up to now I never thought action and RPG could actually exist in the same game. A great setup forGreat Game 10/10, better than DAO, which was a 9/10 imo. Love the story and the flow of combat. On nightmare mode it is an extremely challenging tactical game. I have played nearly all of the CRPG's since the PC D&D games from late 80s and early 90s (secret of the silver blades...etc) up to now I never thought action and RPG could actually exist in the same game. A great setup for future games from Bioware. This game is NOT suppose to be a DAO sequel, it is an experiment in using interactive frame narratives with RPG elements. I love forward thinking, everything evolves. GREAT GAME!… Expand
  55. Liquid_Wolf
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    PC Version - Graphics are stupendous on a newer system... GTX 400 series or above should be good. 200 series is probably good too. The game is definitely not like DA:O... but I'm not disappointed. Obviously there are going to be a LOT of heartbroken people out there that were really looking forward to a return to the old style of RPGs a-la Baldur's Gate and maybe even Neverwinter Nights...PC Version - Graphics are stupendous on a newer system... GTX 400 series or above should be good. 200 series is probably good too. The game is definitely not like DA:O... but I'm not disappointed. Obviously there are going to be a LOT of heartbroken people out there that were really looking forward to a return to the old style of RPGs a-la Baldur's Gate and maybe even Neverwinter Nights... Dragon Age II is not going to be that. I enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins but I did have to struggle through it to finish before DA2 released... I enjoyed Mass Effect, but I also found myself pushing through to finish just before ME2 came out.

    With Dragon Age 2, I am having an absolute blast. I find it a very enjoyable experience, and I really like each of the characters Hawke works with. They make me laugh, cuss, and even surprise me with some of their remarks and conversations. Unlike with DA:O, I will be playing through this game at least one more time. I do not feel forced to push through playing this game... and I recall that I had a very similar experience with Mass Effect 2. Very enjoyable game, the characters are fun, and I do not believe there is a problem with the combat/mechanics. Now... This is not Dragon Age: Origins, but that does not mean this is a bad game. I tell people who ask about Dragon Age the same thing I say about Mass Effect... Play the second one first, then move on to the first one. For the majority of people new to the series/genre, ME2 and DA2 are much easier to learn and enjoy. Was I hoping that DA2 would become the next Baldurs Gate 2? Yeah... a little... But I'm not letting those hurt feelings get in the way of what is a good experience. Dragon Age 2 stands well in it's own regard even if it didn't meet the expectations of many fans of DA:O. You can probably blame EA's influence if you like... but I do believe Dragon Age 2 is worth the money.

    I've put the difficulty on hard, and find myself completing all available side quests, backtracking to collect chests/materials/loot, and talking to every party member/NPC as much as possible. I did all this in DA:O, but everything feels much faster and lively in DA2. Sure I noticed the caves/dungeons/warehouses were copied/pasted... but the story and character interactions are in place to pull your attention off it. I'm happy I no longer have to mess with EVERY single armor slot on every party member. That was tedious to me... at best. There are plenty of bad things if you look for them, but I find there are more than enough good things about this game to make it worthwhile. Anyone who can't see them is really just upset the game isn't what THEY believe it should be. I saw a review that was rated 6.5/10 that hit on a good many true points about the flaws. A 6.5 is the absolute lowest I would believe this game should have, based on flaws alone... But I believe the game is easily a 7-8.5. I'm giving it a 10 because I am getting my money's worth, and am very happy with what I am playing.

    Now... I want Bioware to update the Toolset so we can make use of mods/addons.    … Expand
  56. TruthSeer
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    It shouldn't be titled DA2, for it is Mass Effect: Dragon Age Mod. You can easily see how rushed the game is and each area is recycled over and over again.
    As a sequel to DAO, the game SERIOUSLY disappointed me.
    Sadly, BioWare chose to rush out a mediocre action RPG instead of further enhancing DAO cRPG elements. I hope that they have not fully forsaken Classic PC RPGs altogether, for    It shouldn't be titled DA2, for it is Mass Effect: Dragon Age Mod. You can easily see how rushed the game is and each area is recycled over and over again.
    As a sequel to DAO, the game SERIOUSLY disappointed me.
    Sadly, BioWare chose to rush out a mediocre action RPG instead of further enhancing DAO cRPG elements. I hope that they have not fully forsaken Classic PC RPGs altogether, for easily forgettable mediocre Action console gaming.    … Expand
  57. syn44
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    This game is a shadow of its former self. The graphics look 5 years old and the gameplay is an absolute downgrade from the previous. The power tree is absolutely stupid. There is no way to change companion outfits. The story is lame and feels like a drag. There is also no toolset available at the moment and there is a very small chance they will ever release it as they want to go the ME2This game is a shadow of its former self. The graphics look 5 years old and the gameplay is an absolute downgrade from the previous. The power tree is absolutely stupid. There is no way to change companion outfits. The story is lame and feels like a drag. There is also no toolset available at the moment and there is a very small chance they will ever release it as they want to go the ME2 route and cash in on the DLCs rather than letting us create community content. If you were a DAO fan stay away from this absolute crappy excuse of a sequel.… Expand
  58. kevinverdammt
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    WTF BioWare? What happened between Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age? This is no longer an RPG in any sense, but a hack-n-slash action clone. Close up shop, BioWare you are dead to me.
  59. Grimm2Reaper
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    I'd love to give this game the score I think it deserves, which is a solid 9.0, but the plethora of 1 and 0 reviews force me to at least normalize the score by making mine a 10. Dragon Age II is by no means the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins. This is what so many of you have missed. The flashier combat, voiced protagonist, and lack of the ability to choose your race are not BioWareI'd love to give this game the score I think it deserves, which is a solid 9.0, but the plethora of 1 and 0 reviews force me to at least normalize the score by making mine a 10. Dragon Age II is by no means the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins. This is what so many of you have missed. The flashier combat, voiced protagonist, and lack of the ability to choose your race are not BioWare attacking fans of Baldurs Gate-style RPGs. They are design decisions intended to create a new entry in the series. Hawke's story is not intended to be the player's story like the Warden's was. It is like Mass Effect, more of a Player-guided protagonist who is separate from the player. The combat, while fairly ridiculous on the higher levels, what with all the corpses exploding, is intended to change what was taken as a flaw in the previous game, the glacial combat. At no point in my several playthroughs of Origins did I feel any of my characters were actually any good at fighting. The tank would just sort of stand there and wave his sword while the ranged companions would stand off to the side, firing hordes of arrows into enemies who would simply keep walking around like pincushions. I understand that this system, with its highly tactical combat, evokes nostalgia in many PC gamers, but in this day and age, I feel that is rather outdated. I applaud their direction as far as making swords and arrows feel as though they are actually doing something to enemies. As far as graphics go, this game is a lot better than Origins. It's no Crysis 2, but the ones calling out DAII for its graphics while clinging to DA:O as a great game should look closer. There was a marked improvement between the two games. As for the story, I will not spoil anything, except to say that this game is very dark. BioWare has tried to create a dark fantasy in the Dragon Age series, and the previous game has very little in the way of dark. If you chose the right options, everything turned out all right in the end. In this game, no matter how hard you try, you never really get the classic heroic conclusion. I applaud BioWare for actually making this happen. Many games have claimed to create choices surrounded by muddy waters, but they generally do not succeed as far as one option always producing a result that is generally perceived as good. You find none of that in Dragon Age II. It makes the game that much more depressing and that much more REAL. I feel sorry for the folks at BioWare who have to sift through all these negative reviews calling for them to make another Dragon Age: Origins, because despite the massive amounts of them, chances are it's a small minority of angry ex-fans, while the people who actually like the game are still busy finishing it. In summation, a great game, much better than many I have played this year, and definitely worth my $60.… Expand
  60. vladyxxx
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Looks like AE game, plays like EA game, smells like EA game. Seems like EA in their infinite wisdom finally managed to kill their golden goose. Probably the last BioWare game I ever pre order, they lost my trust.
    I don't care if its similar to DAO or not. Its simply not fun. I got bored out of my mind 10 hours into the game. In the first 30 min of the game play you see everything there is    Looks like AE game, plays like EA game, smells like EA game. Seems like EA in their infinite wisdom finally managed to kill their golden goose. Probably the last BioWare game I ever pre order, they lost my trust.
    I don't care if its similar to DAO or not. Its simply not fun. I got bored out of my mind 10 hours into the game. In the first 30 min of the game play you see everything there is to see and than you get approx 70 more hours of the same. Their main selling point was alway a story telling, well 10 hours in and there is still no story to be found. The myriads of side quests the keep spamming the player blur into one monotonous meaningless mass. Most of the time you mindlessly run from quest marker to quest marker without even realising which quest you are on.
    There will be nothing to remember this game by and I shiver just thinking about replaying it as I dont think I can stand to see the same narrow city streets again.    … Expand
  61. BioWareEmployee
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    BioWare has done it again with their most fantastic title to date! Everything from the character interaction to the graphics have been fleshed out making Dragon Age IIâ
  62. Boon03
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Bioware has stooped to the lowest of the low. Lower than even Ubisoft. In DA2, SecuROM DRM is stealth installed on your system, without telling you and with no way to completely remove it. I mean... just... wow. I never would've thought Bioware would stoop to that level.

    Unfortunately, it has become a dishonest and deceitful company. Very much reminds me of Infinity Ward before its    Bioware has stooped to the lowest of the low. Lower than even Ubisoft. In DA2, SecuROM DRM is stealth installed on your system, without telling you and with no way to completely remove it. I mean... just... wow. I never would've thought Bioware would stoop to that level.

    Unfortunately, it has become a dishonest and deceitful company. Very much reminds me of Infinity Ward before its collapse. But is the game good?

    No, it's not. The game is grossly repetitive. Same locations, same bland textures, same trash mobs over and over and over. There are driver issues. There are clipping issues. There are story issues. There are combat issues. Sure, it's playable. But ever single facet of the game is sub-par.

    Normally, I would've rated this a 4. But because of the DRM lies, I have to rate it with a 0. And anyone with half a conscience for game should rate it a 0, as well. Avoid this game and everything this company represents.    … Expand
  63. askhole
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    This game is good all those negative reviews are just bunch of trolls. If you feel that this game is a mindless hack and slash game try it in hard or nightmare mode, the only down side is that your companions has less option in customizing there items.
  64. KLS
    Mar 11, 2011
    6
    Setting, Story, Characters and Environments are horrible. RPG elements are dumbed down. That dumb blood all over the characters, that bland and desaturated colors, repeating locations... gameplay is freaked out - its horrible! Its not something that i was waiting from Bioware :-///
  65. richard_31
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Everything I feared the game would become - Dragon Effect is in da house. It's like EA took the worst parts of both games and put it into one awful game. Simplied, linear gameplay. Way too many recycled maps. It feals like I'm playing someone else's character in someone else's game. Story is not epic, I mean why do I even care about "The Champion"? Combat is inspid. Rogues flyingEverything I feared the game would become - Dragon Effect is in da house. It's like EA took the worst parts of both games and put it into one awful game. Simplied, linear gameplay. Way too many recycled maps. It feals like I'm playing someone else's character in someone else's game. Story is not epic, I mean why do I even care about "The Champion"? Combat is inspid. Rogues flying 30 feet through the air. Warriors flitting around as if they had a rocket up the arse. Enemies exploding with one hit from a dagger. Super Jedi ninja combat. Dumb. It's like an interactive movie with some random things to do in between scenes. There is no challenge at all. Endless waves of cartoonish enemies that simply pop up out of nowhere. Everything that made DA:O good was stripped out. No redeeming qualities. A turd foisted upon the gaming public by EA.… Expand
  66. 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
  67. jackitsu
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Critics are rigged. This game was so bad on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. More than anything it was disappointing, because it could have been a great game and fell short on everything and got so far from its roots that its barely recognizable. It strings you along with hopes that it will take you back to the world you loved but never does. Disappointing. Bad.
  68. dddd2
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    Waste of time and money, shouldn't be labeled as an RPG, more of an action/adventure hack & slash... Loved DAO, so disappointed with this game:( Why would you take perfectly good game and ruin it? for a quick profit that's why
  69. bazooka65
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad gamevery bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad gamevery bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad gamevery bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very bad game very 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  70. Frostlance
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    1. Shockingly disappointed beginning with character creation

    Recycled hair styles from DA:O used in DA:II character creation (this is especially awful because the modding community has already produced a vast number of beautiful hairstyles for DA:O available through mods) Tattoos from DA:O were re-used in DA:II and not improved upon -No freedom to choose race Only 3 classes Unable to    1. Shockingly disappointed beginning with character creation

    Recycled hair styles from DA:O used in DA:II character creation (this is especially awful because the modding community has already produced a vast number of beautiful hairstyles for DA:O available through mods)

    Tattoos from DA:O were re-used in DA:II and not improved upon -No freedom to choose race

    Only 3 classes Unable to customize default Hawke face (can't even change his eye color)

    I went from my first playable experience as hawke being totally awesome, high level with skills/spells/armor to being 100% useless and weak in a span of 2 minutes...this approach made me feel like playing my low level pathetic hawke was lame.


    2. Uninspired introduction to game (I didn't care about Hawke's family)

    Hawke's family didn't seem interesting to me, at all, except for bethany who was actually kinda hot and interesting but my sister...so yeah awkward...

    Hawkes mom has the same voice as my human noble mom in DA:O...wtf?

    DA:II failed to capture my interest from the get go, leaving me feeling unmotivated to play the game, and disinterested. Whereas, ME1, ME2 and DA:O all managed to capture my interest early and in a powerful way

    3. Playing an entire game in 1 city... is failure.

    Playing 80% of the game in the same city removed the feel of exploration and adventure (it would be like removing every location from ME2 and forcing Shepard play the entire game on the citadel, epic fail)

    Re-used dungeons, locations etc, this is so beyond fail for many reasons but when I think back to diablo 1, even way back then they had an awesome randomized dungeon/location concept working so you never felt like you were in the same spot twice, why not use this approach?


    4. Companions were much weaker than in DA:O or ME1 or ME2!

    Maybe you set the bar too high with Morrigan, Leliana, and Alistair and shot yourself in the foot? Because these DA:II companions just don't cut it, by any standard.

    ME1, ME2, DA:O companions blow DA:II companions out of the gaming universe

    DA:O chatting with companions was vastly superior and more personal to DA:II approach.

    I hated not being able to dress my companions and change their items


    5. The Story is...where?

    Hawks story is a bit uninspiring. I don't really care about Hawke or his rise to power. It feels insignifcant to me. Poor story, especially compared to DA:O, ME1, ME2 etc. The best part of playing DA:II is the comfort that at least I have Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to look forward to.    … Expand
  71. Impagliazzo
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Pretty weak mechanics, bad camera, heavy. A let down! The first DA is a much more polished game with mechanics suited to the complexity of its gameplay.
  72. Lascelle
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    What reason do we have to believe Mass Effect 3 won't be given the same shoddy treatment as Dragon Age II? So disappointed. Bioware has bought into their own hype and is throwing their well-earned reputation into the proverbial toilet.
  73. imperita
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I've played this all of the way through before writing anything. I've always been a Bioware fan, but seriously, DA2 is disappointing and I cannot see how the bulk of review sites can ignore some its fundamental flaws. Granted I can see how the combat has improved for console platforms, but it's really the rest of the game that leaves me feeling irritated. For instance, the dialogue optionsI've played this all of the way through before writing anything. I've always been a Bioware fan, but seriously, DA2 is disappointing and I cannot see how the bulk of review sites can ignore some its fundamental flaws. Granted I can see how the combat has improved for console platforms, but it's really the rest of the game that leaves me feeling irritated. For instance, the dialogue options and conversation interactions have really been dulled down - I assume this is due to the fact that Hawke is now voice-acted. I would love to sit down and talk with whoever came up with the 'sarcastic' replies for Hawke - he just sounds like an idiot. Taking the character of Isabella as an example - we get it, she is a sex addict - there is no need to constantly remind the player over and over again aside from the obviously intended hit with the younger male audience. There is no connection with the characters, you just don't end up caring what happens to them. The exception to this in my opinion is Merrill, whose dilemmas and underlying story fit in more with what I'd come to expect from Origins. The constant 'cameos' from older characters only reinforce the lack of interest with the supposed main cast of this installment. The story is definitely a lesser scale than origins, which makes me feel quite angry as to the marketing propaganda hinting at some sort of epic ascent to 'power'. Whilst the combat mechanics are a little more streamlined, as is item and inventory management in general, this doesn't fix the issue of repeated zones, reuse of assets, the low variety of enemies and the incredibly annoying 'walk-into-an-area-and-keep-spawning-stuff' ideology. Perhaps it is my fault for having expectations that were too high, or not checking beforehand that the entire game was essentially going to be set in one relatively bland city with a few outdoor areas which would be reused at periodic intervals as 'years' progress. I see a lot of the positive reviews being given here with scores of '10'. I just don't see why. Especially the 'OH MY GOD IM LEVEL 7 AND THIS IS AMAZING' - I too was still 'giving it a chance' at that stage hoping that it would open up and improve. Others suggest increasing the difficulty somehow compensates for the bad storyline and being locked into only a few zones just so that you can engage in slightly harder repetitive combat where on occasion people jump randomly from the sky, up from the ground or pop out of nowhere. I'm not a professional review writer - and I've never posted a review on metacritic before despite being a deidcated PC gamer for well over a decade. I just felt massively let down as a player and as a fan of DA:O that the experience of DA2 was quite simply a let down. Honestly it feels as if they sat down after the Awakening expansion and thought 'lets do that again with a new character and implement some of the ideas we couldn't fit into the scope Awakening - we'll call it Dragon Age 2'. P.S. Bring back more of the mage schools and spell combos. Why remove them?… Expand
  74. Hamakua
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    EA is starting to show through the Bioware veneer, this is not a game of "traditional" Bioware quality but your typical EA "shovelware". A re-skinned and neutered DA:O pushed out the door as a cash infusion into EA's portfolio just in time for Q1 reporting.

    The claims that EA would be hands off for on developers like Bioware and other is of course bunk. IP's get stripped as EA pumps out    EA is starting to show through the Bioware veneer, this is not a game of "traditional" Bioware quality but your typical EA "shovelware". A re-skinned and neutered DA:O pushed out the door as a cash infusion into EA's portfolio just in time for Q1 reporting.

    The claims that EA would be hands off for on developers like Bioware and other is of course bunk. IP's get stripped as EA pumps out sequel after sequel cashing in on usually solidly established franchises. By the time the fans of the respective franchise wake up, they have already moved on and you are stuck with a series of games who's quality is inversely proportional to the "series number". The higher the number, the lower the quality.

    EA is not any better than it was 5 years ago, the difference was they purchased a bunch of new developers who were hot and they "claimed" to have changed their ways. Please.

    How's it feel Bioware to be the latest EA sellout patsys? Way to flush your reputation down the drain.

    DA2 is a shadow of what DA:O was, and DA:O was a fraction of what NWN was.

    DA:2 is a simplistic and linear hack and slash that has been trimmed down so you can roll your face across the keyboard and achieve "Profit!". There is no depth in deploying tactics, hell, tactics? What are those? The game has been made significantly easier (from an already easy franchise) so to cater to the lowest common denominator. The narrative is forced and poorly executed, it feels like I am witnessing 7 year-olds perform a truncated Richard III. Great for the few parents of the 7 year-olds, the rest of us find it infantile.

    Gameplay is button mashing and more button mashing. AI is below par and the graphics/landscape is repetitive and feels pulled from 2002, 2003. The graphics aren't bad, per say, but they aren't pushing any envelopes, or melting any systems. Developing for consoles only then making **** ports over to PC isn't winning you any beauty contests EA-ware.

    Tell you what guys, maybe Bioware is passed it's prime, maybe you should all liquidate and move your assets over to the Madden house, you know, where all mediocre developers go to be forgotten.    … Expand
  75. Berk_Berkly
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    I laughed when I noticed the 84 metacritic score. Not from amusement but from a sense of irony. I don't know the going rate or method of review credibility for so called game critics, but anything outside of Rock-Paper-Shotgun is probably going to be heavily "persuaded" by more than just the game features if you know what I mean. As for the game itself, it simply did not impress or evenI laughed when I noticed the 84 metacritic score. Not from amusement but from a sense of irony. I don't know the going rate or method of review credibility for so called game critics, but anything outside of Rock-Paper-Shotgun is probably going to be heavily "persuaded" by more than just the game features if you know what I mean. As for the game itself, it simply did not impress or even live up to the mediocre flavor of the original I'm afraid. Bioware is really losing the touch, and this game is a victim of EAs policy toward game development more than anything… Expand
  76. kopetan
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    I am very disappointed by this game, it just make you dumb-boy pressing 1,2,3,4,5. Everything is bad, absolute regress comparing to the first part. This is actually not RPG, this is something different and I don't like it. Shame to developers, I expected much more.
  77. alltoohum4n
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    Pointlessly removed the overhead "isometric" view from the PC version. Hacky, unmotivated writing and mediocre graphics. Cut and pasted quest areas. Bioware took a good but imperfect first game and turned it into a focus-grouped monster.
  78. Nohra
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Really, all I have to say can be summed up with something I said to a co-worker earlier today, "The ending screamed 'We're going to finish this game with DLC.'" I don't want to have to pay $30-40 more to finish up a $60 game. I don't want to buy a book, read through it, and discover the last 50 pages have been ripped out. I'm seriously getting sick of the rampant growth of DLC as aReally, all I have to say can be summed up with something I said to a co-worker earlier today, "The ending screamed 'We're going to finish this game with DLC.'" I don't want to have to pay $30-40 more to finish up a $60 game. I don't want to buy a book, read through it, and discover the last 50 pages have been ripped out. I'm seriously getting sick of the rampant growth of DLC as a business practice - especially for single-player games.… Expand
  79. ChDeWa
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age II is supposedly the sequel of DA O but it lacks all the traits that made DA O such a great game. First of all DA II is too linear because all the different options of DA O have been reduced to good-neutral-evil, while many your choice doesn't even matter because the result will be the same. The characters are simpler, thus less interesting. The battles are too simple and someDragon Age II is supposedly the sequel of DA O but it lacks all the traits that made DA O such a great game. First of all DA II is too linear because all the different options of DA O have been reduced to good-neutral-evil, while many your choice doesn't even matter because the result will be the same. The characters are simpler, thus less interesting. The battles are too simple and some times comparable to the complexity of games like...Pokemon.… Expand
  80. AndymanMessiah
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    The only reasonable score for a game like this is zero. Dragon Age 2 is an insulting product, rushed out the door with sub-par graphics, idiotic writing, copy-pasted dungeons and a bad attitude. If this is what we can expect of Mass Effect 3 then here's an Origin and Bullfrog fan honestly hoping EA makes the assimilation process short with their newest and most stupid acquisition.
  81. Someone2345
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    Yes, I created a meta critic account just to post about my disappointment with this game. I have heard it said that it should have been marketed as something like "Hawke's Story: A Dragon Age Adventure" - this would have made much more sense, because this certainly isn't the sequel to that enthralling rich game that was DA:O. It has been simplified to the point of boring. Who is Hawke andYes, I created a meta critic account just to post about my disappointment with this game. I have heard it said that it should have been marketed as something like "Hawke's Story: A Dragon Age Adventure" - this would have made much more sense, because this certainly isn't the sequel to that enthralling rich game that was DA:O. It has been simplified to the point of boring. Who is Hawke and why the well should I care about him? I get to pick snippets of words and then he goes and says something completely different. With the inclusion of the speech wheel I no longer have to work out what is the good, evil or neutral response - I can just pick the pretty picture. I no longer have to discern if my investigative questions will provoke a reaction, cause the big question mark tells me that they are just questions. I can't change the character the way that I want to, I am fighting arena battles instead of "random encounters". What REALLY annoys me is that this game flies in the the face of what DO:A was suppose to be "a spiritual sequel to the late great baldur's quest". This game seems more akin to a MMORPG guest hunt. The shame bioware... the shame... I am also now no longer interested in Knight of the Old Republic MMO. In fact... that is what this game reminds me of. Die by the sword... but without VSIM.… Expand
  82. morethan9000
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Grim, dark, bad. The graphics would have looked shameful five years ago; the writing reads like fanfiction by pre-teens, and the less said of the gameplay, the better. Dragon Age: Origins was mediocre, but DA2 has truly bested it in all departments, descending to a whole new level of unacceptably AWFUL.
  83. Wolwerine
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yes, a dubious idea of clothing - the only misses, lubricants impression of Dragon Age 2. Extraordinarily narrow scope, a different system of "pumping", dizzyingly dynamic battlefield, it would seem, to frighten and repel, but do not believe the first experience. Wee see, a great RPG, one of the best works BioWare.S
    it's a Great Game! thanks BioWare    … Expand
  84. Koukalaka
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    First, I will justify why *I* rate this game as a 10, I think this game is a pure masterpiece in story-telling, gameplay and just overall "fun", this game appeals to me on so many levels, it is so immersive, the voice-acting is of the highest quality, the story is insanely good, the combat is "fun", on the higher difficulties the combat is challenging and the best thing I can say to sum upFirst, I will justify why *I* rate this game as a 10, I think this game is a pure masterpiece in story-telling, gameplay and just overall "fun", this game appeals to me on so many levels, it is so immersive, the voice-acting is of the highest quality, the story is insanely good, the combat is "fun", on the higher difficulties the combat is challenging and the best thing I can say to sum up this game, is when it ended I wanted to go through it again and again, regardless of the "lack of reasons" to repeat the content: I wanted to do it.
    I'll point out some negative points first though, The default difficulty is too easy, I mean I appreciate the toning down of the "spikyness" of DA:O normal difficulty, but essentially it is a fuel for people to hate this game, having said that Hard is a very good difficulty setting and normal needed to be somewhere between where it is in the game and hard, I am playing through on hard and I have to use a large amount of tactics, position my characters carefully and aim spells properly. Pausing is a major part of my gameplay and although FF is only on in nightmare, it also means I can have more fun with freedom of spells in my arsenal rather than being limited to a "nightmare only" build.
    There are also some lazy layout designs, most of the time the game revolves around a generic "dungeon" for each type of area, a generic cave, a generic sewer, a generic camp, a generic mansion. Where the only differences in layout are where they decided to wall off the area, this certainly was very lazy imo, but it doesn't detract from the gameplay experience.
    A mixed point is the amount of "console-porting" this game has done, and in reality I find it has done very little, the only major one is the removal of the tactical camera. Whilst I don't care about this because I believe it reduced the difficulty of lots of fights in DA:O to the point of obscurity, I would like to have seen a system where I could pan with the aiming of my spells rather than limited to my controlled characters field of vision in order to try and place a spell, it doesn't really matter on any difficulty besides nightmare but it is going to make nightmare have an arbitrary difficulty scaling.
    Having said that the combat is fun, it is active, but it retains all the tactical positioning of it's predecessor. If I am not careful about positioning my mages in relation to my tank they can be dead in seconds. Boss fights require you to "move out of the fire", whilst adopting large amount of phases to their battles forcing you to change tactics midfight, healing has changed (for the better imo) to be more supporting, healing has a long cooldown so using it at the right time in combination with potions (which again have a shared cooldown) mean that it's ever so important your weaker party members don't get jumped on or they are dead.
    However, I think the hugest selling point of DA:2 is it's immersive story. Arguably it's story is actually quite weak at the core, but the way it is told, the way it slowly leaks information to you, the way that your actual character stays in character (If you are very jokey with your choices your character is very jokey when investigating or making plot decisions, same is said of being aggresive etc). So in a sense you feel like you are being consistant, even if I make an aggresive move as a "jokey" character, I do the aggression in a more candid tone.
    I got the feeling that this story was essentially placed as a "filler" to get from DA:O to DA:3, but the story is told in such an amazing way that drew me in like no game ever has done. The female Hawke voice is exceptional, along with the other voice-acting work on this title. Having read reviews I was expecting the story to be not that special, but in reality the story was insanely well told, small elements coming back up later to be huge influences to key plot points. Whilst all the time remaining totally unpredictable. Whilst, I kinda knew how the game was going to turn out before the final scenes, I couldn't have guessed how awesome the ending would be.
    DA:2 surprised me again and again, made me burst out laughing from snippets from your DA:O imported history and from my character just staying in character and putting the thumb up to authority at the right times I wanted to. I want to point out that the demo is nowhere near indicative of how this title sizes up on the whole, the fact the demo was limited to normal difficulty was a poor decision by the devs imo. Hard is a great difficulty setting and anybody playing this game should start out with this setting unless you only want to see the story, which is just as worth it.
    To sum up:Play the game before judging, it's an amazing RPG imo    … Expand
  85. crsib
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Worst Bioware game ever. Balance is absent, RPG elements are generally absent. Some minor, yet sometimes strange improvements could not overcome the casual game play.

    So in short: 1. It is not Dragon Age 2. It is generally not an CRPG 3. GUI absolute sucks. Looks much more like road sings than the fantasy RPG GUI 4. Game balance is awful 5. Most of the "improvements" are making the game    Worst Bioware game ever. Balance is absent, RPG elements are generally absent. Some minor, yet sometimes strange improvements could not overcome the casual game play.

    So in short:
    1. It is not Dragon Age
    2. It is generally not an CRPG
    3. GUI absolute sucks. Looks much more like road sings than the fantasy RPG GUI
    4. Game balance is awful
    5. Most of the "improvements" are making the game close to unplayable 6. Game play is generally lame and way to casual for CRPG

    Still cant believe, that this is game by Bioware...    … Expand
  86. Siven
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    Unfortunately a lot of negative reviews here are a result of an organised campaign who dont seem to have even played the game. Even some positive reviews are way OTT.

    DA2 is not a DAO clone. It isnt an old school complex for complexity sake crpg. It is streamlined and easier to use and play which isnt a bad thing. It is a more modernized approach which should bring more people into the    Unfortunately a lot of negative reviews here are a result of an organised campaign who dont seem to have even played the game. Even some positive reviews are way OTT.

    DA2 is not a DAO clone. It isnt an old school complex for complexity sake crpg. It is streamlined and easier to use and play which isnt a bad thing. It is a more modernized approach which should bring more people into the RPG fold without drowning them in complex systems some games do.

    You still levelup, place attributes and pick talents and spells. You still have a party you use and can chat too. The game takes place mainly in 1 city with several areas to it. I would have preffered more varied location though, but it still plays nice.

    Combat is a little faster than DAO and the classes are more distinct, but the essence of the combat is the same as DAO without the slow shuffling about the original had. You will need to bump difficulty up to hard for more challenge and tactical feel though, as normal is just far too easy.
    The cross class combo system is fantastic.

    The narrative story works well, and they have taken a gamble in not using the tried and tested save the world plot most rpgs use in place of a more focused diplomatic storyline which i think works well but does lack an epic feel to it.

    Graphics are fine if not spectacular, but the game does seemed like EA rushed them by using the same cave with different openings etc. Its a good RPG, but not great due to EA rushing the development time.    … Expand
  87. curry
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age 2 feels completely rushed, streamlined and dumbed down. The writing is generally sub par, dialogue is childish and cheesy, and quests are mostly just delivering items around the map and killing trash mobs. Voice acting is also bad and doesn't fit the characters. Don't waste your money on this garbage.
  88. marchmaninov
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    AAAAhhhhhhh!!! not you!!! Bioware !!!! what have you done...... its not a good game ....its not a rpg.... and its a rushed development.
    WE ARE NOT COW!!!
    i expect its a unique fail, and unique treason of the pc community. i loved your previous game , Bioware was a god for me , but now , i lost my faith.
    this game is not Dragon age 2, its an adventure action game for massive selling action.
  89. hitaisin
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Linear slasher with copy/paste locations :(. - Story is boring, only some times you will see something interesting (only few last moments).
    - no CG videos, only some "animated pictures" like in cheap games
    - Dialogs are boring - Answer variants in dialogs doesn't affect anything - party member relation (friend or foe) is fiction... + battles are dynamic, I finished game only because liked    Linear slasher with copy/paste locations :(. - Story is boring, only some times you will see something interesting (only few last moments).
    - no CG videos, only some "animated pictures" like in cheap games
    - Dialogs are boring
    - Answer variants in dialogs doesn't affect anything
    - party member relation (friend or foe) is fiction...

    + battles are dynamic, I finished game only because liked battles
    +/- graphic is nice, but locations are lack of details it is not RPG, it is slasher with dialogs    … Expand
  90. timkdodson
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    The game could have been good had BioWare and EA not screwed it up by requiring DLC just to complete the main parts of the game. Basically they just want to nickel and dime us into paying double what we would normally pay. Also, they are banning people on the forums which makes the game innaccessable! Not Cool!!! I used to love BioWare games.
  91. Klim
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Really, bioware? Really? This is a disaster, and such a step back for Dragon Age (and RPG's in general).
    The game is still buggy, and graphics are just lazy (don't know how they look on high resolution pack, hope the people who have two polygons on their faces now have at least 4), I'd like to review music, but there is NONE. At battle is rarely noticeable, but if not in battle all you    Really, bioware? Really? This is a disaster, and such a step back for Dragon Age (and RPG's in general).
    The game is still buggy, and graphics are just lazy (don't know how they look on high resolution pack, hope the people who have two polygons on their faces now have at least 4), I'd like to review music, but there is NONE. At battle is rarely noticeable, but if not in battle all you have is silence.
    Bioware stated that FF 13 was not really a RPG, because you can't really feel like the character, or make any important choices (which I agree with, don't get me wrong.)... and what happens with Dragon Age 2?
    You have already a character chosen for you, the only option you get is how he looks and what is his/her gender. While in first game you could choose between races, multiple backgrounds, and really feel like it's a character YOU created. Now we just get someone we don't know, we're supposed to care about him and his lost home and family, even though we didn't get to know them more for a minute.
    And the whole dialogue dumbed down to basically 3 choices? How is that an improvement? Not like the choice really matters story-wise anyway, so what bioware just accused of in another game, is doing itself to Dragon Age. What a shame.
    Dumbed down RPG with one-day DLC's and consolized game-play.
    Sorry, but I have to say no to that.    … Expand
  92. HLeo
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    What happened?! They took my favorite game ever made and completely dumbed it down and destroyed it. Seriously what the heck is this? What game is this?!
  93. Sfx
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It not the dragon age 2, is a dragon age 1,5 maximum. A console crap.… Expand
  94. Koumal
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    No strategy, no challenge, mediocre interface, RPG ? No, I don't believe. Action boom boom, it's all.
    A slap in the face for fans of DA:O and for fans of good games.
  95. Nabende
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2. What could possibly have been more exciting than a new bioware rpg? True, I wasn't impressed with Mass Effect 2, but the changes in that game (stripped down inventory, character interaction, ammo, etc) still worked because Mass Effect was a new game and the changes felt right to what they were trying to create. Unfortunately, this same ideology does not apply to a game thatDragon Age 2. What could possibly have been more exciting than a new bioware rpg? True, I wasn't impressed with Mass Effect 2, but the changes in that game (stripped down inventory, character interaction, ammo, etc) still worked because Mass Effect was a new game and the changes felt right to what they were trying to create. Unfortunately, this same ideology does not apply to a game that is supposed to be primarily an RPG. Rpgs are a very hard creature to pin down. Somehanics then a lot of games become rpgs. More relevantly, according to Bioware, this includes games such as Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, which by the way, are not rpgs in any sense of the word and unfortunately were used as models for DA2. My defense for this position is that you have no freedom in those games to create a character who is your own. The ending has been decided for you, who your character is has been decided for you, where they've come from has been decided, and where they're going has been decided. An rpg must allow for freedom in the universe and DA2 fails horribly at that.

    My biggest problem with DA2 without thinking about it as an rpg is that combat is terrible. Yes, they "streamlined" it and it moves faster. But you know what the sped up version of tactical combat is? It's hack and slash. And the game becomes a hack and slash not because of the way combat is mechanically implemented, but because each battle in DA2 begins with maybe 4 or 8 people appearing out of thin air, and then when you've killed a certain number of them another 4 to 8 pop out of thin air. What this means is that there's no planning or positioning involved in combat as no matter what you do, there's just going to be more people popping up out of nowhere to deal with. Aggro doesn't work as well as it should, there's very little healing (and it all has huge 40-120 second cooldowns), and the best option for winning a fight is to spam aoe spells until everything is dead. The story isn't compelling. A huge part of the game is just you running around trying to get as much money as possible. This doesn't go away throughout any part of the game. In additon, the choices in the game aren't anywhere near as important as they were in any previous bioware titles. But the worst part about it is that there's no freedom to really choose. This an RPG, which means there must be a certain level of freedom. Well, when you've decided who my character is and what they're doing and how the story ends (there's only one ending) I don't really have much choice.

    This game is not an rpg. It is an action adventure game. If the Dragon Age series was supposed to be an adventure game this game would be better, but unfortunately it is supposed to be the spiritual successor to BG2. and the sequel to Dragon Age Origins (hence why there is a 2 after the title). The fact that it fails to be an rpg is heartbreaking and leaves you out in the cold asking, how did things get like this?    … Expand
  96. soldier99
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Bioware threw in all the bad bits in DA:O and Mass Effect 2 in a blender and gave us this abortion they call Dragon Age II. If you want a game that makes you feel bad for wasting your time playing such a piece of garbage then listen to all those paid for reviews. I will warn you that your efforts to want to love the game because it's DA2 will be futile.

    Now I truly fear for Mass Effect 3.    Bioware threw in all the bad bits in DA:O and Mass Effect 2 in a blender and gave us this abortion they call Dragon Age II. If you want a game that makes you feel bad for wasting your time playing such a piece of garbage then listen to all those paid for reviews. I will warn you that your efforts to want to love the game because it's DA2 will be futile.

    Now I truly fear for Mass Effect 3. I can't believe Bioware actually agreed to put its name behind this shoddy product and dared to call it a RPG.    … Expand
  97. Fulminatrix
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    This game is awful parody of the first game. The depth of my dissapointment is very big. I feel like I was robbed. Seriously the wrote "Dragon Age" on the box which contains absolutely different game. Not RPG even. And Metacritic score is now compromised for me. It doesn't correlate to reality.
  98. Shrimpkebab
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    I loved DA:O and mass effect 1 and 2 but Dragon age 2 is clearly a rushed product. Shallow characters, shallow ,story, no real choices. No sense of exploration like DA:o becouse of Re-used places over and over again. This game would have needed 1 more year of development to feel complete.
  99. Securion
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Plays, looks and feels like a Korean hack n slash now and is nothing like Dragon Age 1.

    This is the first ever disapointment ive had from BioWare and is nothing close to what I had expected from this company.

    Its really weird how any reviewer could give this game more than 50% in score...?

    All in all; It really feels "console".
  100. Brod
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Сх Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Apr 18, 2011
    90
    Moving even further from the classic RPG, strong story and clever combat are nonetheless still found within Dragon Age II. [May 2011, p.52]
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Apr 12, 2011
    58
    Despite some advancement in storytelling approach and liberal borrowing from Bioware's Mass Effect approach to gameplay, Dragon Age 2 on the PC has a lot of bugs and is populated with re-used settings that make this feel like a play performed on a stage with two sets.
    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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