Dragon Age II

KwaggaDan

Mar 16, 2011

8

Dragon Age II is exactly what it promises. It's a sequel, meaning it's not DOA. It does inherit one thing from DOA however, and that is the exceptional character driven storyline. It also has extraordinary supporting characters and as is the Bioware standard; the game has exceptional writing and brilliant voice acting.

That's not to say the game is flawless. There is a pretty annoying mapDragon Age II is exactly what it promises. It's a sequel, meaning it's not DOA. It does inherit one thing from DOA however, and that is the exceptional character driven storyline. It also has extraordinary supporting characters and as is the Bioware standard; the game has exceptional writing and brilliant voice acting.

That's not to say the game is flawless. There is a pretty annoying map repetition, and the close up detail is a bit lacking, but the story more than makes up for it. Just remember it's not DOA...… Expand

chinoyray

Mar 16, 2011

8

Still a good game. It feels like it was rushed because it is so repetitive but the story is very good. The low score is probably because we expect Bioware to be very good and not like this. It is enjoyable but then again the use of the same assets again and again makes the game look bad. If you compare this to Dragon Age: Origins, it's like a younger brother who will never be better thanStill a good game. It feels like it was rushed because it is so repetitive but the story is very good. The low score is probably because we expect Bioware to be very good and not like this. It is enjoyable but then again the use of the same assets again and again makes the game look bad. If you compare this to Dragon Age: Origins, it's like a younger brother who will never be better than his older brother. Compare this to non-DAO games and you get a very immersing game with a good story and better combat.… Expand

GDH_PAINBRINGER

Mar 17, 2011

8

I have never written a review for metacritic before, but I figured this one was worth my time in order to give this game the fair review it deserves to hopefully balance out some of the incredibly harsh reviews that it seems to have unjustly gained. As a whole, I think DA2 does not live up to the massive shoes that it had to stand in being a sequel to DA1, but I still think it is a wellI have never written a review for metacritic before, but I figured this one was worth my time in order to give this game the fair review it deserves to hopefully balance out some of the incredibly harsh reviews that it seems to have unjustly gained. As a whole, I think DA2 does not live up to the massive shoes that it had to stand in being a sequel to DA1, but I still think it is a well designed game with a good combat system, driving (albiet short) plot, and plenty of reasons to play it at least once, if not more.
First off: The combat system. I honestly can't see why so many people are complaining here. Yes, it is different than DA1. I don't see that as a bad thing though. The DA1 combat system, although brilliant at its time of conception, grew rapidly tedious as you got into the game. DA2 fixes that by speeding up combat, and making it feel a little quicker and more intense. Normal difficulty is a bit trivial, and you can easily end up treating the game as an action title if you don't turn up the difficulty, but at nightmare mode it feels a lot like the first. You have to stop and think about things, plan out your tactics well, and play the game with an overall level of skill and competence that you would expect to be necessary at a high difficulty level. Nightmare on DA2 doesn't feel any more or less difficult than DA1, I played all the way through as a mage on this difficulty and it wasn't impossible as some people seem to suggest, or too easy as others say. As a whole, the combat system does a great job of keeping the game interesting and brilliantly bloody, and the different difficulty settings allow the game to be accessible to both newcomers who just want to slash their way through some darkspawn, and veterans of tactics games that want to think a lot about a fight before they can make their way through it.
Secondly: Graphics. Once again, I don't see why there are so many complaints here. For one, graphics are probably the least important aspect of a game. If everything else is solid, I really don't care about graphics, as long as I can tell whats going on I'm good. Even then, the graphics in this game are well done and have a very aesthetically pleasing look to them. The game does seem to have some issues if you turn it up to "very high" quality settings, however. Me and several of my friends bought this game, and we all have very good computers that should be able to run this game on very high with no problems, but all of us had to run it on high in order to avoid strange lag and crashes. When you drop the settings down to high, however, the game still looks great and I was able to play through the entire game 3 times with only two or three minor lag problems.
Lastly: Plot. While it is very true that this game does not have the epic feel of the first title, it still tells a compelling story and tells it pretty well. Towards the end of the game looking at kirkwall and its surrounding territory does start to get a little tiring though. The story was told beautifully, using Varric as a story teller that interjects throughout the narrative gave the game a very interesting and engrossing feel. I just wish the developers had allowed you to venture around a little more. In DA1 you had a whole kingdom to explore, in the sequel you only have one city and a few areas around it. If anything, this is the only place the game loses points for me. The plot is told well, but it many ways it felt like Dragon Age 1.5, not a full fledged sequel. Things just didn't feel epic enough to live up to the first one.

In conclusion, Dragon Age 2 is a well made game that features an endlessly entertaining combat system, shiny graphics, and a fun, well-told story that will keep you interested all the way up until the end. If anything, your biggest disappointment with this game will be that it ends too early. I know that's how I felt.… Expand

Gamerplays

Aug 13, 2011

8

Well now, I'll be honest to say that its quite a bit different than its predecessor. Does it mean its bad? No, its just DIFFERENT but done quite nicely. It's kinda beyond me why sequels (apparently) have to be the same as the original. Doing the same trick over and over gets dull (just look at the CoD series). If you're looking for a good solid action-rpg, DA2 won't be disappointing justWell now, I'll be honest to say that its quite a bit different than its predecessor. Does it mean its bad? No, its just DIFFERENT but done quite nicely. It's kinda beyond me why sequels (apparently) have to be the same as the original. Doing the same trick over and over gets dull (just look at the CoD series). If you're looking for a good solid action-rpg, DA2 won't be disappointing just don't expect it to be an exact copy of the original DA.… Expand

CKhound

Nov 16, 2011

8

This game is very very good to be honest. I know that some people throw some bad scores at it but the fact is that it does provide a very good experience. Now, having said that, i am a huge dragon age and bioware fan in general. This game is moreso like a mass effect game when you look at the speaking options in the game and also the way that you interact with things. It is stll a dragonThis game is very very good to be honest. I know that some people throw some bad scores at it but the fact is that it does provide a very good experience. Now, having said that, i am a huge dragon age and bioware fan in general. This game is moreso like a mass effect game when you look at the speaking options in the game and also the way that you interact with things. It is stll a dragon age game but it just doesnt feel like the first one at all, i 100% find dragon age origins to be one of the most fun games that i have ever laid my hands on, and even though dragon age 2 doesnt live up to it hardly, it is still an amazing game that is recommended for anyone who likes rpgs.… Expand

tcnuk

Mar 19, 2011

8

Wow, I've been watching so many negative user reviews coming in and I felt that I had to speak up and say my bit. Personally, I'm rather enjoying Dragon Age II so far. To date, I've found the story engaging and the quests enjoyable, and there seems to be a significantly smaller element of "grind" to DA2 compared to the original, where some quests seemed to be endlessly long trips throughWow, I've been watching so many negative user reviews coming in and I felt that I had to speak up and say my bit. Personally, I'm rather enjoying Dragon Age II so far. To date, I've found the story engaging and the quests enjoyable, and there seems to be a significantly smaller element of "grind" to DA2 compared to the original, where some quests seemed to be endlessly long trips through tunnels facing wave after wave of identical enemies which you would handle in identical ways (heading to the Broodmother and some of the Deep Roads quests spring to mind particularly). A lot of the game so far has been centred around the city of Kirkwall without venturing much further, but the city is large and varied enough that I'm quite happy with this for now. The characters I've met so far have all been full of personality and very believable. The voice acting is also generally rather good, though the male Hawke voice can occasionally feel a little uninspired (I suppose it's harder to deliver a good performance when your character could look like just about anything and could be a mage, warrior or rogue).

Many people seem to be unhappy with the new "Mass Effect inspired" conversation wheel. Some have complained that it reduces the depth of the conversations by turning the options into "good", "witty/wry/misc.", "bad" or "further information". However, this is all the options in the first Dragon Age ever really were anyway - it just didn't categorise quite so prominently. Further, the way that the tone is now indicated avoids those occasional moments from the original where you chose something that you thought was intended in a sarcastic sense and actually wasn't, provoking a rather unintended reaction from whoever you were speaking to. The best enhancement here is that the dialogue is now all spoken: a *huge* improvement on the bizarrely mute protagonist of the first game (and something that wouldn't work terribly well if you had just read exactly what was said).

The combat in the game is, to me, executed in a more exciting and elegant way in DA2 than the original. However, camera problems still get in the way a lot of the time, when walls conspire to get in the way. I despise the removal of the overhead RTS-style view, which really makes it difficult for players who do a lot of tactical pausing and want to place mages' abilities precisely and quickly.

Whilst I'm criticising, I also am extremely unimpressed with the buggy release. I had to hack unsupported graphics drivers just to get the DX11 rendering working correctly, without regular freezes. The game also insisted on my putting a disk (any disk) in my floppy drive (!) when it connected to the server, prior to the 1.01 patch being released. Even now, the DX11 renderer feels like it's not quite there.

The "character profile" screen is a little bit "dumbed-down" compared to the original and whilst I'm happy with the information available and the system in place, it feels like there's a little bit too much clicking back and forth through menus to get to what I want.

Overall, despite the few criticisms above, I think there's much to be happy about here. I've certainly set aside all my other games to play this. I'm a little surprised that the user response here has been so poor, considering the good critical response.… Expand

auberonh

Aug 25, 2011

8

A good if somewhat tragic story in the Dragon Age universe, that is smaller than the first game's but spread over a ten year time span. I still find the design of some of the characters to be off-putting and the story is not quit as epic as advertised, but I enjoyed my playthrough and getting to know more of the Dragon Age world.

Llysana

Mar 23, 2011

8

Dragon Age 2... just finished Act 2, and while I do enjoy it a great deal, it just doesn't compare to Dragon Age: Origins. In DA:O, the adventure was EPIC, and the companions were so much fun! In DA2, all you're trying to do is make money during the entire first Act. That's kind of lame. And the companions... I couldn't care less about them. On it's own, DA2 is a fun game, but whenDragon Age 2... just finished Act 2, and while I do enjoy it a great deal, it just doesn't compare to Dragon Age: Origins. In DA:O, the adventure was EPIC, and the companions were so much fun! In DA2, all you're trying to do is make money during the entire first Act. That's kind of lame. And the companions... I couldn't care less about them. On it's own, DA2 is a fun game, but when compared to it's predecessor, it's definitely lacking. However, I'm giving my score based on this game and not in comparison with DA:O. It was still highly addictive and the storyline gets better as it goes on.… Expand

llxxvii27

Mar 26, 2011

8

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have been looking through some user reviews and see strong negative comments, I have to agree that Dragon Age 2 is far below the expectations of Origins. From the simplified battle system, and more balanced jobs, specialization easy access, final boss meredith and orsino can't be compared to the archdemon, no races can be chosen, less branches in options and you just damned stuck in Kirkwall . But, I think Bioware don't mean to create an ordinary style of RPG, such as the usual "good vs evil" genre, but a story of someone from below to the top and showing of a sense of emotional belonging and family relation to the character, when the mother are killed, her brother ran off to the templars, if you don't bring him to the deep roads, all of that are worth giving points .to the game. The game also brought more moral thinking then origins, such as Anders that kill the grand cleric, and whether to sides with the templars or the mages, where the templars are oppressing the mages too much, but in the other side more mages become blood mages because of the templar oppression, the most interesting is when first enchanter orsino become an abomination. This game story is overcome the weaknesses of the entire game, and I think this game is worth playing to get yourself, a good story, rather than battle and action. Even though it is better to make a movie of it than creating a game to it, Ten is for the story, 8 is for the game, and for bioware developers that are working hard to emphasize the story to cover the gameplay itself.… Expand

Eudaemonium

Mar 29, 2011

8

Dragon Age II is a very good game, but it is not a great game. It suffers from a distinct lack of polish, poorly recycled areas, several bugs and a distinct lack of pacing during the late-game. Despite this, I found the game to be engaging, intriguing and fun to play, with well developed characters, and interesting and atypical storyline and fun, tactical combat.

The last of these seemsDragon Age II is a very good game, but it is not a great game. It suffers from a distinct lack of polish, poorly recycled areas, several bugs and a distinct lack of pacing during the late-game. Despite this, I found the game to be engaging, intriguing and fun to play, with well developed characters, and interesting and atypical storyline and fun, tactical combat.

The last of these seems to be an issue with a lot of people, and I feel I should make something clear: the difficulty setting essentially completely changes the way the game has to be played. Casual and Normal play more like an action game, with little thought or tactics required on anything but the toughest of battles. Hard and (particularly) Nightmare by contrast play more tactically with precise tactics and micro-management of your team required to excel or even succeed. Nightmare, for example, introduces enemy immunities and friendly fire, which greatly change how the game needs to be played. Playing on Nightmare, I found the combat and gameplay systems far more engaging and fun, and a vast improvement on Dragon Age: Origins. My recommendations to the player is to experiment with the difficulty until they find one that matches the game they wish to play.

That aside, the combat has several flaws. Foremost of these is the way enemies are pigeonholed into certain "types": Enemy Rogues, Templar Hunters and Rage Demons, for example, fall under a common "Assassin" category that shares behavioural traits. Short of differing elemental immunities (only on Nightmare difficulty), a carefully-thought-out tactic for dealing with assassins will work on *all* of these enemies with almost no variance. This mechanic makes combat for less strategic that it could have been. Other features, such as the more stylised animations, the 'wave' system of enemy encounters, cross-class-combo system and others are more a matter of personal preference: I enjoyed them all, and with some tweaks in future titles I feel they form the basis of an excellent combat system.

The plot has been similarly dividing. Unlike Dragon Age: Origins, this is not a story about saving the world or defeating an ancient evil. Players looking for that story should look elsewhere. DA2's story is a lot more personal and narrow in scope, focusing on the main character and her or his family and companions as they deal with the evolving religious, social and political situations in Kirkwall, where the majority of the game is set, over a period of 7 years. Overall, I found it more engaging than that of Origins. However, it does suffer distinct pacing problems in the final Act, and ones enjoyment of the story will depend entirely on how one relates to the various companions and situations arising. Again, this an area where opinions will differ.

A note should be made about the main character, since this is one area I found the game excelled. The player assumes the role of Hawke, a human refugee. Hawke can be male or female, a warrior, rogue or mage, and is completely voice-acted (by either Nicholas Boulton or Jo Wyatt depending on gender). Further, throughout the game the player has the option to pick from distinct 'personality' choices in dialogue. These fall broadly into 'helpful/diplomatic', 'sarcastic/humourous/charming' and 'aggressive/direct/rude'. The more the player picks one of these option, the more it cements Hawke's personality, meaning that when Hawke responds without player direction, he or she often reacts in the manner of the player-directed persona. Unlike the Paragon/Renegade selection in Bioware's other RPG, Mass Effect, the player is not penalised for switching from one personality to another, allowing more fluid role-playing. The reason I bring this up is because, for me (and opinions will vary), Hawke managed to walk the fine line between a player-customised character and a character in their own right. Hawke managed to be both *my* character and *a* character. In my experience, this is incredibly difficult to pull off and I feel Bioware should be commended for the accomplishment. For references' sake, I played an aggressively direct, sometimes sarcastic and rarely diplomatic female Mage. To summarise, Dragon Age 2 is a solid RPG with some interesting gameplay and roleplay systems, an engaging story and characters and fun combat. However, it suffers from lack of polish, recycled dungeons and somewhat underdeveloped tactical elements. The game probably needed another 6 months to a year in development to be the game it could have been. Overall, the Original may be the better game, but DA2 makes certain key improvements. It is not a great game, but it is far from a bad game. It is, indeed, a very, very good game, and well worth playing.… Expand

JaylaClark

Mar 29, 2011

8

No, I'm not clinically insane, or a hack-and-slash fan. I actually do like the game enough that its flaws are overcome by the enjoyment, in my opinion.

Combat, to my eyes, is improved -- I don't feel constrained to take more than one warrior to any one place anymore, as opposed to the last game where my tank (Alistair, or Sten) had to come by every single mission. The story, too, isNo, I'm not clinically insane, or a hack-and-slash fan. I actually do like the game enough that its flaws are overcome by the enjoyment, in my opinion.

Combat, to my eyes, is improved -- I don't feel constrained to take more than one warrior to any one place anymore, as opposed to the last game where my tank (Alistair, or Sten) had to come by every single mission. The story, too, is more immersive by my standards.

If it weren't for fit and finish issues, like the recycled maps and the more cartoonish face morphs, I'd say this was clearly the better game. They're enough of an issue to cause me to take two whole points off, I'll admit, but they didn't kill the game for me.… Expand

dare2shine

Mar 30, 2011

8

As a major fan of the previous game, I had Dragon Age:II preordered since September. Having now played through the game twice, I feel i can fairly review it. There's a definite lack of freedom and choice, which origins offered to players in abundance, and the lazy re-use of locations is a critical error by Bioware, it pulls down what is in all honesty a very decent game. The battleAs a major fan of the previous game, I had Dragon Age:II preordered since September. Having now played through the game twice, I feel i can fairly review it. There's a definite lack of freedom and choice, which origins offered to players in abundance, and the lazy re-use of locations is a critical error by Bioware, it pulls down what is in all honesty a very decent game. The battle system has been upgraded and it much more efficient and enjoyable and the action is much smoother but at the cost of the lore of the game's predecessor
The characters and dialog system, i thought, were better than the previous game, though the structured methods of character interaction was tedious. It felt harder to play the game 'your way', something Bioware normally prides itself on. The graphics were a lot smoother and generally prettier than Origins, but again the re-use of locations rather marred this. I found the game to be engaging with an interesting plot, but I didn't feel I could have such radically different play-throughs as I did on my re-plays on Origins. Personally I really enjoyed the game and it's characters, especially Fenris, and found their personalities to be deeper, if a bit more 'emo' than Origins. There is definite replay value, and Bioware should be proud of the game. It's just a shame they didn't spend a little longer designing levels and less time offering bonus DLC items on their website.
8/10… Expand

mcTwex

Apr 8, 2011

8

Once again I find an outstanding game with which I disagree with a majority of the reviews out there. Not only was this significantly better than DOA: Origins (a game I barely recall, only that it was a good game) but it is fantastic in story and quest: This is easily one of my favorite RPG's of all time which says a lot, as normally I do not enjoy a linear experience. Strictly speakingOnce again I find an outstanding game with which I disagree with a majority of the reviews out there. Not only was this significantly better than DOA: Origins (a game I barely recall, only that it was a good game) but it is fantastic in story and quest: This is easily one of my favorite RPG's of all time which says a lot, as normally I do not enjoy a linear experience. Strictly speaking that is what this is: an elaborate fantasy novel with **** of lore and character development, nothing more. The combat is OUTSTANDING and reminiscent of the short-lived T.V show 'Legend of the Seeker' (one of my top 5 RPG moments occurs towards the beginning where a fight in the tavern breaks out into some sort of retro guitar-drum beat score and all hell breaks loose), though it is a little to easy on the easiest setting and a bit towards frustrating towards the higher end with little balance in-between. The graphics are fantastic and never miss a beat or hiccup and the character voicing is superior to even high-budget titles like Mass Effect. If you enjoy sick storytelling, tons of lore and a bit over-simplified combat that is short but gorgeous pick this up. The major con and what prevents this from being above a 9 rating for me is the replay value; there is no sense in playing a story-driven game more than once if the conversation choices (very narrow to begin with) have almost no real effect on the game world and only alter to one or two outcomes with a few different lines of dialog thrown in-between.… Expand

mech

Apr 5, 2011

8

This game is very different from the first Dragon Age, and I guess this is the reason for so much hate. Just about everything is different: the combat, the graphics style, the scale of story, and so on.

The game is not Bioware's best effort by any means and clearly lacks polish, but giving it red scores out of spite is just childish, if only for one simple reason: recently there has notThis game is very different from the first Dragon Age, and I guess this is the reason for so much hate. Just about everything is different: the combat, the graphics style, the scale of story, and so on.

The game is not Bioware's best effort by any means and clearly lacks polish, but giving it red scores out of spite is just childish, if only for one simple reason: recently there has not been a similar game by a different developer that could even come close.… Expand

TJGeb180

Apr 12, 2011

8

(Note: I basically explain in this review the actual game there is no spoilers or anything but it will basically give you the idea of why this isnt really a DAO sequel)

Alright so after playing through Dragon Age Origins and the Mass Effect series, I picked up real quick on what Bioware was doing with Dragon Age 2... A lot of people expected this game to pick up, fill in some gaps and(Note: I basically explain in this review the actual game there is no spoilers or anything but it will basically give you the idea of why this isnt really a DAO sequel)

Alright so after playing through Dragon Age Origins and the Mass Effect series, I picked up real quick on what Bioware was doing with Dragon Age 2... A lot of people expected this game to pick up, fill in some gaps and give use a new cause to well save the world as usual... This however is a middle ground game with a strong prologue plot. So itâ… Expand

Daibhi

Apr 12, 2011

8

Dragon Age II is a good game if taken on its own at face value. You will see typically positive reviews by professional critics because of this reason. It is not however, very similar to its predecessor DA:O which is why there are so many negative reviews, more than likely die hard fans of the original. The combat seems a bit simpler and the fact that the story unfolds in a smaller areaDragon Age II is a good game if taken on its own at face value. You will see typically positive reviews by professional critics because of this reason. It is not however, very similar to its predecessor DA:O which is why there are so many negative reviews, more than likely die hard fans of the original. The combat seems a bit simpler and the fact that the story unfolds in a smaller area rather all across Ferelden makes it seems slightly less epic. You are also pushed into the role of a predetermined character, Hawke, rather than choosing from a varied selection as in the first, and the story will unfold in a more structured fashion, whereas the first left you more leeway. While I enjoyed the first more, I still thoroughly enjoyed Dragon Age II. The characters are memorable, and the story well told. The combat, while important I think, was never, and never will be my main draw to an RPG based game. If you are looking for a clone of the first DA:O you won't find it here, but if you are simply looking for a solid game to play through you should pick it up.… Expand

Artamba

Apr 15, 2011

8

Alright. I know there are many idiots in this world, but honestly, look at all these negative reviews. Probably a bunch of kids who quit after the first 5 minutes. (I admit, the beginning was dreadful.)

But really, I agree that this game doesn't compare to Origins, but it is no where near a bad game. The graphics are good (with HD texture pack). The storyline is forgettable, but notAlright. I know there are many idiots in this world, but honestly, look at all these negative reviews. Probably a bunch of kids who quit after the first 5 minutes. (I admit, the beginning was dreadful.)

But really, I agree that this game doesn't compare to Origins, but it is no where near a bad game. The graphics are good (with HD texture pack). The storyline is forgettable, but not bad. The combat is not as satisfying or challenging as Origins but it is decent. And people who say that the voice acting is terrible are being too harsh on DA2. The voice acting is not as amazing as some games out there (Origins), but it is not dreadful or anything close to it. You're all just sad that it's a console port. You use this 'console port' crap as an excuse to tear this game apart.

This, of course, is just my humble opinion.… Expand

dragunrising

Apr 16, 2011

8

Judging by the review scores, I'm guessing there are a bunch of disappointed Dragon Age: Origins fans and/or perpetually depressed people purposely exaggerating minor annoyances. If you review Dragon Age 2 based on its own merits and not its prequel, its hardly the bad game other people make it out to be. Giving the protagonist a voice? Progress. Speeding up the game play and reducing theJudging by the review scores, I'm guessing there are a bunch of disappointed Dragon Age: Origins fans and/or perpetually depressed people purposely exaggerating minor annoyances. If you review Dragon Age 2 based on its own merits and not its prequel, its hardly the bad game other people make it out to be. Giving the protagonist a voice? Progress. Speeding up the game play and reducing the number of available special abilities? Better combat. The menu system is less complicated. The game is a tad bit shorter as well. Most adults/people with jobs hardly have the time to play a game as large as Dragon Age. Good decision in making the game easier to finish for busy people. The bottom line is that sequels are sequels for a reason. They "try" to make improvements for the better. If your going to harp about anything, talk about the reused level design and assets. That is something worth discussing.… Expand

lionalio

Apr 19, 2011

8

Although there is some restriction in gameplay and not so great like its precedessor, in my point of view, this is still a good game that worth to play. Hope in the next sequence, the creator should not get the same weakness and restriction that they have made in this game. They deserve to get a praise, though. 8.0 points

exp3rt

May 19, 2011

8

A very good game for RPG-players. If you played original Dragon Age - you'll like it. It's not a very good graphics, but interesting story and game play. Enjoy.

Kaligo

May 21, 2011

8

I've been playing this game for about a month now, on my 3rd play through. When I first started playing I found the game a little easy as some people had complained, but then I change it to Hard, then completed my 2nd play through on Nightmare.

I find that people forget that not everyone is a a hardcore gamer where everything in a game has to be a challenge. A lot casual gamers getI've been playing this game for about a month now, on my 3rd play through. When I first started playing I found the game a little easy as some people had complained, but then I change it to Hard, then completed my 2nd play through on Nightmare.

I find that people forget that not everyone is a a hardcore gamer where everything in a game has to be a challenge. A lot casual gamers get frustrated at the complexity of some popular games and such. Bioware did a good job catering to all with this sequel, although the game story/decisions isn't as diverse and in-depth as DA:O it still tells a great story altogether.

I like the changes to the combat system, its more fast pace, more interactive, I found that DA: O combat could get dry in long fights with its long cool downs and such. DA2 took a step in a different direction with lower cool downs, cross class combos, and faster combat.

If you think this game is too easy, try playing it on Nightmare. I say some battles are near impossible on that setting.

Overall I give it an 8, I like the game play, it had a good story, just wish I had more of a hand sculpting it. The game had quite a few bugs, and could of been a bit more polished before release. It's a solid sequel.… Expand

AW8

May 21, 2011

8

My first playthrough was seventy hours of entertainment. Combat is fun, conversation is fun. I like that the whole game takes place in Kirkwall, and (mostly) moves in time instead of new locations. It's fun to follow questlines throughout the years. I prefer that party members have their own clothing, like in ME2. You don't have to manage them all, it's less punishing to pick a partyMy first playthrough was seventy hours of entertainment. Combat is fun, conversation is fun. I like that the whole game takes place in Kirkwall, and (mostly) moves in time instead of new locations. It's fun to follow questlines throughout the years. I prefer that party members have their own clothing, like in ME2. You don't have to manage them all, it's less punishing to pick a party member that you haven't upgraded in terms of gear. And you don't have to see the ones you don't use wear old, rusty armor because that's all you're going to let them have. You still get to customize jewelry and all the gear on yourself. there I like the skill trees, and the fact that the classes are more balanced in terms of abilites, for example, rogues can crowd control as well as mages now. Combat is just more fun than in Origins. Everything is faster and reacts quicker. The story isn't the same old "save the world"-type that Origins had, the story is much more original and interesting this time around, BW is fully using the factions they have created and are putting them against each other. The party members are also more interesting than in Origins. Voice acting is impeccable. Aveline's voice actor is making an incredibly good job.

Crafting has been simplified, how you learn specialization classes have been simplified, don't really care.

The minor complaints I have with this game is that often, enemies explodes in a blood for some reason. It's just comedic, and should've been left out. Then there's some sidequests that you receive when you find a lost object in loot or in the world, and you have to go to the person who's lost it and receive a small reward and hear both Hawke and the NPC exchange short, boring lines. Those quests should've just been removed, they add nothing to the game. Then there's the most awful thing with the game - the re-used locations. I'm not talking about the fact that a lot of the major plot takes place in the same locations, I'm talking about how cheap BioWare has been when making dungeons, warehouses and damn well everything. They just keep re-using the same maps, with some slight modifications, again and again. Some dungeons are used for at least three times in what is supposed to be different locations, and that's just sad.

Overall, the game is just pure entertainment. They made the game less hardcore than Origins, but also improved things and made it more interesting. The world and lore they created in Origins are put to much better use as things aren't as good and evil anymore, the whole story is full of gray choices, even until the end - unlike Origins, there's no clear world-threatening pure evil. The conflict keeps you interested, surprised and entertained throughout the whole game.
Avanost's review was shameless - but closer to the truth than all the 0.0's you see here. :)… Expand

SargeGO

May 25, 2011

8

While I still found this game to be great, it wasn't as good as DA:O. While I think that the gameplay got better, the dungeons got too repetitive and it was not nearly as replayable as DA:O. I think the story was just as good, if not better than DA:O.

IdeaLista

Jun 4, 2011

8

Actually DA2 is what DA1 should be and the biggest disappointment is the disconnection between those two. DA1 had a far more flat story, huge problems with the camera, non-voiced player character dialogues etc. etc. It's main advantage was it's 'Baldurness' which - let's face it - has little room in modern RPGs.
The problem with the whole DA series is, that it actually introduces nothingActually DA2 is what DA1 should be and the biggest disappointment is the disconnection between those two. DA1 had a far more flat story, huge problems with the camera, non-voiced player character dialogues etc. etc. It's main advantage was it's 'Baldurness' which - let's face it - has little room in modern RPGs.
The problem with the whole DA series is, that it actually introduces nothing fresh: romance copied from Mass Effect, steering from Baldur's Gate + 3D, Grey Wardens concept from The Witcher, DA2 story (templar-mages confilct) from The Witcher, DA2 dialogue concept on Mass Efect and so on...
Nothing new to combat...

DA2 advantages - quite coherent story, interesting characters,
DA2 disadvantages - walking same-looking locations over and over again...… Expand

wangxiuming

Jun 15, 2011

8

It is perhaps impossible to review Dragon Age 2 without making comparisons to its predecessor. Dragon Age: Origins was a stunning achievement in late 2009, winning multiple game of the year awards and lauded as one of the best RPGs of the generation. Considering the daunting tasks that the game had to achieve and how well it succeeded - creating an immersive setting, establishing a fun andIt is perhaps impossible to review Dragon Age 2 without making comparisons to its predecessor. Dragon Age: Origins was a stunning achievement in late 2009, winning multiple game of the year awards and lauded as one of the best RPGs of the generation. Considering the daunting tasks that the game had to achieve and how well it succeeded - creating an immersive setting, establishing a fun and tactical gameplay system, and building a strong fanbase for future games to capitalize on - it's no wonder that the game took 5 years for the RPG veteran Bioware to complete.

Comparatively, Dragon Age 2 was released in March of 2011, less than 1.5 years from the release of the original in November of 2009.

That was probably the first clue that something was wrong.

See the full text of the review here: http://boredomsadvocate.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-dragon-age-2-da2.html… Expand

Peregrinati

Jul 14, 2011

8

Overall a great game. Excellent story / acting. Play on Hard though, normal is too easy but Hard isn't too difficult if you've got a brain and plan out your builds / cross-class-combos a bit (or build some good tactics to have your companions use them). Fairly different feel from DA:O, but it's only a feeling - at the core the mechanics are very similar it's just that things happen faster.Overall a great game. Excellent story / acting. Play on Hard though, normal is too easy but Hard isn't too difficult if you've got a brain and plan out your builds / cross-class-combos a bit (or build some good tactics to have your companions use them). Fairly different feel from DA:O, but it's only a feeling - at the core the mechanics are very similar it's just that things happen faster. The story also feels a different - there's few things that characterize a direct sequel (like, the same characters, for example. Imagine if Empire Strikes Back had Luke and Han return for the occasional cameo!) However the new characters are very good and interesting, and there's enough tie-ins to DA:O that it doesn't feel like a different world. It's also hinted that the connection between Hawke and the Warden may be stronger than anyone realizes... I'm very much looking forward to DA3 to see if it's true!

The only major downside is the lack of different levels - so many of them are reused that you can visit a "new" dungeon and have a pretty good idea where to go right away.

Overall, I very much enjoyed it. Played it through twice, on Hard both times.… Expand

Bjorik

Jul 16, 2011

8

My beef with this game: NO replay value!!! This is a disaster!
NO character creation, forget playing different races or alternative start. Combat reduced to button mashing. Almost entire game is set in the same city, yet they put no effort in making it beautiful and interesting to explore. Brown dusty streets and nothing to look at!
To call this..abomination a sequel to Dragon age is insulting!

Jagtus

Jul 20, 2011

8

In some areas, it fell short compared to Dragon Age: Origins. In other departments, it surpassed it. If you aren't expecting Origins 2, you will like this.

Parvarteshwar

Sep 12, 2012

8

Now that a few years have passed I can say Dragon Age 2 is actually a pretty good game. Sure, it's not an epic game like Origins but it's still pretty good. The combat is fast paced, highly varied from class to class and even from character to character, and much more frequent. It's a lot of fun to select spells, switch characters, select attacks, switch characters, complete cross-classNow that a few years have passed I can say Dragon Age 2 is actually a pretty good game. Sure, it's not an epic game like Origins but it's still pretty good. The combat is fast paced, highly varied from class to class and even from character to character, and much more frequent. It's a lot of fun to select spells, switch characters, select attacks, switch characters, complete cross-class combo and watch health bars plummet. It's a huge improvement on Origins and you have a lot more control over your companions. The Tactics menu is even improved so you can focus most of your attention on a single character and the AI will still perform adequately up to Hard mode. Dialogue is really improved. Say what you want about the Dialogue Wheel, it has made it a lot easier to choose a response and your no longer surprised when an NPC gets angry at something you said. in Origins you didn't always know when a particular phrase was sarcasm or animosity but now it's clearer and you can make better choices. You don't generally have five or six responses but the ones you do have are just as sufficient to make your impact. The player character is now pre-set and fully voiced in dialogue. This does take away from the 'create your own experience' aspect but Bioware has always had good dialogue and they did not disappoint. You can still role-play as Penis Johnson, now he is Penis Hawke which in my mind is just as juvenilely hilarious. Your companions are just as varied and can be just as interesting as in Origins but they have a lot more companion quests and they will no longer get pissed off and leave if you do something they don't like. You now have a Friend/Rival meter which offers bonuses for being at one end of the extreme, you can even Romance a character that has a -100 opinion. There are now more Romances and you can have several without other companions getting too jealous. Ferelden was a closed world with a few dozen maps spanning a continent but Kirkwall (not the wonderful tourist destination in Orkney) is comparatively small. It has about the same number of maps but they are meshed into a single city and therefore it feels much smaller than it actually is and it fails to create the illusion of a free world like Origins. You do have a lot more quests so now you will revisit the same map a dozen times which does get tedious well before the final chapter. You also never leave the city. I think they did this because they wanted you to feel attached and care for the outcome of its inhabitants. To a degree they succeeded but it is still lacking compared to the first game. The story is a lot more low key than Origins which is where many people get pissed off. Instead of destroying an unstoppable horror from consuming a continent as the leader of a mysterious and storied order, you are just a poor refugee who pulls him/herself up by his/her bootstraps to become the most powerful person in town. You can either be help an independent city-state remain free and happy or you can destroy it. It's closer to The Witcher than Origins but it gets the job done and is interesting enough to keep you going. Each chapter has a different goal and a different theme so even though you never leave the city it does change dramatically. Just don't expect to feel like you've saved the world but do expect to feel like you've created a city. And the most important aspect of any video game: Immersion. Yes, it's easy to get lost in Hawke and the voice actor does a really good job of reciprocating my intent for each given response. The world is still Dragon Age and there is a lot of depth there, just don't expect to sink as far as you did in Origins. In conclusion, it's a good game with a lot more positives than faults and most importantly it is fun. It has the 'Middle Game' problem where they don't want to introduce the big finale but they need a lot of filler and for filler Dragon Age 2 is the best there is.… Expand

Kimmeh

Sep 23, 2011

8

1st and foremost, taken on it's own merit, dragon age 2 is a good game. It tries to do a lot of things different from its predecessor and it has mixed success. Giving it a score of anything below a 5 is ridiculous. Why? Because it's still a good rpg. Having said that, there are things that stand out as annoying. I didn't like the constant reuse of dungeon areas but it wasn't a deal1st and foremost, taken on it's own merit, dragon age 2 is a good game. It tries to do a lot of things different from its predecessor and it has mixed success. Giving it a score of anything below a 5 is ridiculous. Why? Because it's still a good rpg. Having said that, there are things that stand out as annoying. I didn't like the constant reuse of dungeon areas but it wasn't a deal breaker. The choices you make don't really effect a huge proportion of the story either. Certain events are inevitable and the choices that have some presumable impact don't do it on the scale we saw in origins with choices effecting allies we could call upon in the end of the game. It's still a good game after the fact. Party members can still have their abilities and skills tailored if not their outfits. You have to play Hawke but it's not a bad thing. I find it difficult to see how dragon age 2 is continually slated and the Witcher 2 gets away with a lot less. For instance dragon age 2's controls are far more intuitive and easier to customize. If you play the Witcher 2 you have to exit the game before being able to effectively customize keyboard controls. Combat is even less strategic than da2 and party customization is non existent given that Geralt is a one man show. I think it's important to compare the two. Both are good games with there own faults but da2 is taking a lot of flack for not being dragon age origins 2. I enjoy da2 and I replay it a fair bit. It's definitely different, from the experience of dragon age origins but trying something a bit different is sometimes a good thing. Don't be put off by scores less than 5 in my opinion. It may not have been the dragon age 2 everyone was hoping for but it's still worthy of a good long play through or two.

Unless of course not being able to change your party's outfits drastically, turns you emo… Expand

Rennn

Jun 27, 2013

8

Dragon Age 2 is a mixed improvement over Dragon Age: Origins.

The game is not as short as many people say. It's easy to put in about 40 hours on one playthrough, as long as you go out of your way to find side quests. If you just try to burn through the story, you'll come out at probably 15 hours. This is a departure from DAO, because in DAO you run into almost every side quest simply byDragon Age 2 is a mixed improvement over Dragon Age: Origins.

The game is not as short as many people say. It's easy to put in about 40 hours on one playthrough, as long as you go out of your way to find side quests. If you just try to burn through the story, you'll come out at probably 15 hours. This is a departure from DAO, because in DAO you run into almost every side quest simply by visiting the story locations. In DA2 you have to search. This isn't necessarily good or bad, it's just a change that many people missed.

The characters are at least as good as those in Origins, though they're not similar in personality. Stories are consistently multifaceted, with many correct points of view, and which characters you love mostly depends on which one you find the most convincing. Every character's motivations make sense from their point of view. I love Merrill, but I've met people online who think she's the biggest idiot of all time. Likewise, I hate Fenris, but some people love him. Bioware's curse is that they always make characters so deep and multifaceted that a significant portion of the audience hates most of them, because their personalities don't line up with that specific player's view of a good person.

The story is completely different from Origins. Rather than a single epic climax, it has two climaxes, and the setting is halfway across the world from Origins. A completely different set of problems faces the characters in DA2. It's not a good or bad thing for the series, simply different.

Combat has immeasurably improved. You can now actually stab with your daggers and swing your sword, rather than flopping every weapon through the air like a broken tennis racket. More spells are available for mages that allow them to funnel enemies into position for tanks, and every class has more methods of breaking up crowds (which were hopelessly annoying in Origins). The downside to this is that enemy AI has not noticeably improved from Origins, meaning that all your new abilities, it's easy to win after the first 10 hours unless you play on the hardest difficulty.

As usual for a Bioware game, the characters are the incredible part, and they're better than ever. Only Mass Effect does characters as well, and that makes sense considering they're from the same developer.… Expand

WingedAnomaly

Nov 18, 2012

8

I'm going to keep this short and simple. It's not DA:O - hell, it's barely an RPG, but it's a good game. I found myself wrapped up in the world, the characters, and the story, enjoying the combat and the tension, reveling in the soundtrack, and generally enjoying myself. There are a number of glaring flaws, but if you don't walk into it expecting Dragon Age: Origins, you'll probablyI'm going to keep this short and simple. It's not DA:O - hell, it's barely an RPG, but it's a good game. I found myself wrapped up in the world, the characters, and the story, enjoying the combat and the tension, reveling in the soundtrack, and generally enjoying myself. There are a number of glaring flaws, but if you don't walk into it expecting Dragon Age: Origins, you'll probably enjoy yourself, just like I did.… Expand

ChoicestGames

Dec 11, 2012

8

It's true. Dragon Age II did for Dragon Age, what Mass Effect 2 did for Mass Effect. This means the combat is more streamlined and there was more time left to put an effort into an epic storyline spanning several years of the protagonist's life. To me, this is a good thing. If you're an RPG conservative though, probably not.

Riddlefang

Mar 20, 2012

8

Dragon Age 2 has been very much criticized by fans of the first game, and I understand why. It's true that the areas in the game are way to few and that the story and characters aren't as good, but I enjoyed this game a lot. It may not be one of my favourite rpg's, but it provides at least 40 hours of content. I'm not saying the game is flawless, cause the combat is certainly not as goodDragon Age 2 has been very much criticized by fans of the first game, and I understand why. It's true that the areas in the game are way to few and that the story and characters aren't as good, but I enjoyed this game a lot. It may not be one of my favourite rpg's, but it provides at least 40 hours of content. I'm not saying the game is flawless, cause the combat is certainly not as good as the previous one. It's less tactical and more like an mmo, but it's still fun to control 4 characters at once, and the boss battles are probably a little better. There's also better graphics, voice acting and music, and all in all it's actually a pretty good game… Expand

andraip

Mar 23, 2012

8

Not as good as DA:O but still a lot of fun to play, besides the recicled caves and endless waves.

The voiced PC gives the game a lot more depth and I also liked the faster combat and the more personal story.

mrqrvitz

Apr 7, 2012

8

I've bought the game knowing that it has many bad reviews and made Bioware fans angry. But I like this game. It's story is far better than the story of its predecessor. We have some plot twists, not many things are predictable. The gameplay is very dynamic, but it lacks of tactics. You can take control over your companions, but it's not necessary. The only use of that is when you try toI've bought the game knowing that it has many bad reviews and made Bioware fans angry. But I like this game. It's story is far better than the story of its predecessor. We have some plot twists, not many things are predictable. The gameplay is very dynamic, but it lacks of tactics. You can take control over your companions, but it's not necessary. The only use of that is when you try to avoid damage from area spells. Anyway, it is fun. Crafting system is also quite good. Main flow of the game is area recycling - you will march through the same caves, mansions and underground passages all the time. But it's not that you will come back to the same places - you visit completely new locations looking like several other places but with different doors locked, blocked passages etc. It's the same mistake that was made during developing original Mass Effect. It seems that someone was very lazy. Anyway, I am very fond of this game, especially its plot. At last, we are not saving the world, we are watching a political struggle. It's more mature than contemporary RPGs, particularly other games made by Bioware.… Expand

Certate0

Apr 30, 2012

8

I try to review based on the merrits of the game in question, not on its predecessors and not on ideas about how the game should have been. Dragon age is graphically great, the fighting is enjoyable and the story works well. The dungeons and other areas are very repetetive which was a little dissapointing but did not marr the experience. The inability to enhance armour on team mates alsoI try to review based on the merrits of the game in question, not on its predecessors and not on ideas about how the game should have been. Dragon age is graphically great, the fighting is enjoyable and the story works well. The dungeons and other areas are very repetetive which was a little dissapointing but did not marr the experience. The inability to enhance armour on team mates also dissapointing. These are all minor issues and overall I really enjoted the experience and would recommend giving it a spin.… Expand

Larwood

May 28, 2012

8

The good: fluid, enjoyable combat; good characters; involving storytelling; nice character progression system.
The bad: almost no replayability; the story leaves you at a rather awkward moment, leaving blatant room for a sequel; some strange gearing mechanics (like the sets that nobody will ever bother to collect; not many actual dragons(?).
The ugly: constantly reused environments.

Velnon

Jul 19, 2013

8

Dragon Age II is a very enjoyable experience. It has a greatly refurbished combat system that feels like DA:O while still improving on the clumsiness of the original, it feels smooth and enjoyable and significantly faster paced then the original. The story, while not following the grey wardens, is both well written with plenty of references to the DA:O story. The characters are wellDragon Age II is a very enjoyable experience. It has a greatly refurbished combat system that feels like DA:O while still improving on the clumsiness of the original, it feels smooth and enjoyable and significantly faster paced then the original. The story, while not following the grey wardens, is both well written with plenty of references to the DA:O story. The characters are well designed, and even though you are stuck in one city, the city feels vibrant and interesting. A great game to get if you want to get into Dragon Age or you played the first one and want more to do in the same universe.… Expand

trekwood

Sep 24, 2013

8

It was a solid game. The gameplay was just as good as the first game, the dialog was better, your actions have direct consequences later in the game (as you should expect from a Bioware game), and it was a lot of fun. My only real complaint is that they recycled maps so much. Every cave in the game is the same, only with some passages shut off. Same goes for mansions in Hightown, backIt was a solid game. The gameplay was just as good as the first game, the dialog was better, your actions have direct consequences later in the game (as you should expect from a Bioware game), and it was a lot of fun. My only real complaint is that they recycled maps so much. Every cave in the game is the same, only with some passages shut off. Same goes for mansions in Hightown, back alleys in Low Town, and Deep Roads areas. I also really like the endgame, it's exciting and sets the tone for the next game in the series.… Expand

Ensaabahnur

Mar 8, 2019

8

Good sequel to Dragon Age Origins but it feel more like a side story than a true sequel, but i still enjoyed it greatly. A bit annoying is the constant reuse of locations but i got over it.

MeritCoba

Oct 2, 2015

8

At a certain point it dawns on the player that he or she is not that hero possessed with that unique capability to save the world from an impending doom that will otherwise thrust the whole continent into an enduring dark age of torment. This is not a game akin to its predecessor nor akin to its successor. It is something new.. and it failed to entice the maddening crowd.

The story isAt a certain point it dawns on the player that he or she is not that hero possessed with that unique capability to save the world from an impending doom that will otherwise thrust the whole continent into an enduring dark age of torment. This is not a game akin to its predecessor nor akin to its successor. It is something new.. and it failed to entice the maddening crowd.

The story is remarkable, not only for it's content, but most notably for the way it unfolds. The game is told in hindsight by the dwarf Varric to the seeker Cassandra and he isn't above embellishing his tale. This we see from the start. When the game kicks in the player is thrust right into a fight that (s)he easily wins because (s)he is superbly overpowered. The players sister Bethany breasts are noteworthy to say the least, because that is the way Varric likes his ladies. After this introduction the player gets to play for real.. but now (s)he isn't so powerful anymore and Bethany is far less provided with bosom.
Somewhat later into the game we see another example of his 'tall tales' when he describes how he single handly kills a group of bad guys and you get to play that ridiculous scene. Once it has ended, you get to replay it again.. but now how it really went down.

This is not another rehash of the Lord of the Rings, where the heroes travel far and wide to stop some incredible evil by destroying a ring, this is a tale about someone who makes his way up the ladder of power in a small city on the coast of some forgotten continent. The underlying theme is a conflict between those who see magic as a benign force and those who see the dangers. There are fanatics on both sides and you have to navigate your way between the contending forces..

On top of that is the power struggle between the city on the one hand and Qunari on the other, which you have to resolve eventually. It leads to one of the hardest fights in the game, or the easiest depending on your class.

Eventually the conflict between magic users and its detractors will burst into the open and when the end credits role you have become merely the one who holds the power, not that great hero that stopped a doom by sacrificing his or her live.

Added to this are a set of interesting characters with extensive backgrounds, always a novelty. There is Avelline, an awesome fighter who has her own ideas on how the law should be maintained. There is Anders, someone who is hard to like, but has his own take on the conflict between the magic users and the priest, because he is a hard core magic user. There is Merril, apparently a much hated character for reason I cannot fantom, unless you can abide that someone cute can also be someone very dangerous. There is Isabela, not quite the thief in the party, but still an interesting character. The only one I truly disliked was Fenris, but then everyone has his or her likes and his or her dislikes.
Each character in Dragon Age II has a whole personality.

This then makes basically for a good story, with good characters, with a good background which is way better than the average crap that is served with games like Skyrim or Divinity.. Unfortunately it is almost completely undone by the lack luster gaming experience.

Gamers want to loot stuff and do not care much for a story unless it is one that caters to their expectations. They want to be special and feel special and make a difference by stopping the world from that impending doom.
Hence Dragon Age III rightly returned to what Dragon Age I was. A smart move, but regretful in a way for with it any novelty in writing went down the toilet. The future of stories for big budget game is bleak: it will see heroes with special abilities defeating impending dooms until eternity or the end of the human race, whichever comes first.

A solid 98 for trying to do something different storywise and succeeding.… Expand

Pantheon

Jan 18, 2013

8

I could write paragraph after paragraph here about why DA2 isn't even 25% as bad as the majority of critics here would want you to believe, but it would be to no avail I'm sad to say. In the first place, I'm suspect of any rating between 0-3, I'm also suspect of 10's. I could see some people finding this game enjoyable enough to give it a 9, or annoying/disappointing enough to give it aI could write paragraph after paragraph here about why DA2 isn't even 25% as bad as the majority of critics here would want you to believe, but it would be to no avail I'm sad to say. In the first place, I'm suspect of any rating between 0-3, I'm also suspect of 10's. I could see some people finding this game enjoyable enough to give it a 9, or annoying/disappointing enough to give it a bland mediocre rating of 4-6. I can see where some people don't think the graphics are better than in DA: Origins, but the graphics are fine --- not exceptional. The storyline was interesting and some of the characters were downright hilarious, so I really don't understand any complaints on that end. Sure, some of the dialogue could be better ... and all games seem to suffer from repetitiveness, some more than others. I do agree that they overused the same areas/caves which almost gave the game a DLC quality, but I can't see how that merits a drastically diminished overall rating. It's true that combat is simplified and any difficulty encountered relies more on the excessive respawning of mobs than on the mobs' AI and innate abilities .... and it's true that they removed the complexity (or hassle to some) of having to outfit/equip your companions ... still though, the story is fun and intriguing despite its slightly bizarre ending. Yes, it falls short of DAO, then again how many sequels truly surpass their predecessors? I was hesitant to give it an 8, but giving it a flat 7 seemed a bit too low. I think this is one case where the Critic Reviews are closer to the truth than the User Reviews ---- note that they range from 58 to 95. Buy this game on sale and decide for yourself.… Expand

MightyThor

Mar 17, 2013

8

I'm very disappointed in the massive amounts of negative reviews for DA:2. It is not origins 2, it is not skyrim, it is dragon age 2 so stop trying to make it what you want it to be and enjoy the game for what it is! I understand to an extent where they are coming from, but for the most part it is a good game, and the number one complaint is it's not Dragon Age Origins 2 but a totallyI'm very disappointed in the massive amounts of negative reviews for DA:2. It is not origins 2, it is not skyrim, it is dragon age 2 so stop trying to make it what you want it to be and enjoy the game for what it is! I understand to an extent where they are coming from, but for the most part it is a good game, and the number one complaint is it's not Dragon Age Origins 2 but a totally different game. Why can't each game stand on its own? I think DA:2 does. First to address the poor points of 2 in my opinion, one the world has very few locations. It is not open, but neither was origins. Origins just had more instanced places to go. DA2 focuses on a central location and unlocking small instances there for storyline and quests. It plays very similarly to mass effect 2 in that way. Which personally is fine by me, but many people criticize that feature.

The other flaw to me is the combat animations can get a little over the top. It's a little bit borderline anime when you're playing a rogue. But to me it's a huge improvement over origin's animations (try playing a two handed dwarf in origins, you look ridiculous when you swing).

The last flaw is you can't create your own hero or play races other than human. Boohoo. Playing a dwarf would've been fun but I can live with this.

The good points, I like the fully voiced dialogue more. Instead of picking a fully written response you select a flavor of response or question and your hero speaks it, like you pick a humorous response or an angry one so you don't know exactly what he'll say. The game keeps track of what you pick and you start to sort of develop a personality. And it's much better than mass effect's series where you're always trying to be all bad or good because it doesn't work that way here so you can respond to each situation however you like and reactions are done individually and don't need to be unlocked that way.

Another thing I like is the talent tree. It's an actual tree now so it feels like you're making more of a build instead of just picking a selection of skills. You can also combine effects with other classes for combos so there's some depth there. Battle is not as tactical as origins but in general I like the combat and talents.

The story is compelling and good to me. It's not on such a grand scale as origins but you're following a family as they rise in importance and it's cool to watch it play out. There's still plenty of lore involved and it's immersive enough.

In general it's not as deep as origins but still a very enjoyable game.… Expand

owen1218

Apr 5, 2015

8

It's sad this game was skewered so badly by critics, because so many of its advantages were thrown aside in the construction of Inquisition. Yes, clearly there are not nearly enough environments. And it's just really annoying and bad for immersion when enemies pop up out of literally nowhere. But even moreso than Origins (and FAR moreso than Inquisition), I like the fact that my Hawke wasIt's sad this game was skewered so badly by critics, because so many of its advantages were thrown aside in the construction of Inquisition. Yes, clearly there are not nearly enough environments. And it's just really annoying and bad for immersion when enemies pop up out of literally nowhere. But even moreso than Origins (and FAR moreso than Inquisition), I like the fact that my Hawke was actually a character in the story. I liked my interactions with her sister Bethany, her mom, uncle, and cousin. And I built real relationships with my characters-- notably Varric, Aveline, and Anders. And although it was terribly lousy to be stuck in one city for the whole game, at least they bothered to make that one place feel real, which is more than I can say for *any* of the environments in Inquisition (except perhaps Skyhold). I hope moving forward BioWare takes some inspiration from DA II-- rather than moving on reconstructions of popular RPG-lite exploration games like Skyrim.… Expand

benpaco

Feb 6, 2014

8

Let me start by saying that I first played this on Xbox 360, then PC, THEN played the first game. The PC version, while better looking, didn't seem optimized control wise for this game. The console version just seemed ... better. Some very interesting things here still, not a BAD game at all, but it is the worst incarnation of DA I've played outside of EA's attempt at a flash game version.

iRakeJakei

Apr 11, 2014

8

Before I start, I play games to enjoy them, not to criticize. AND THIS IS NOT DRAGON AGE ORIGINS!!! Very very very different game but i still really liked it borderline loved it.

Positives I do like the dialog wheel much better than DAO's list. Absolutely loved the social conflict between the Mages and Templars. Preferred the combat. Despite no tactical view. Loved havingBefore I start, I play games to enjoy them, not to criticize. AND THIS IS NOT DRAGON AGE ORIGINS!!! Very very very different game but i still really liked it borderline loved it.

Positives
I do like the dialog wheel much better than DAO's list.

Absolutely loved the social conflict between the Mages and Templars.

Preferred the combat. Despite no tactical view.

Loved having voiced protagonist!!!

Negatives
Only being able to be human, while I am ok with that (due to the fact I like a voiced protagonist) it takes a lot of replay value away that DAO had witch made that game great.

No tactical view. Though i prefer the combat in this one compared to DAO, when you play a nightmare play-through, you NEED tactical view!

Not really a faithful sequel, it changed a little to much from DAO.

Fourth, and my biggest gripe with this game that made me what to stop playing my second time threw, was the size of Kirkwall and how they reused areas. I would rather a game take another year to finish then to due what they did here. I would assume most people would have overlooked all it slights if it didn't reuse map after map. Come on Bioware change it up a bit! It was the must frustrating thing in the DA franchise, even more frustrating then the FADE!!!!… Expand

t4th002th

Feb 17, 2014

8

sure thing. this is not dragon age origins. what we loved about the first part is a total mess in da2. the other way around, everything not so cool about dragon age origins is made perfect in the second part. the teamfights for example are one of the best ive seen in strategic rpgs. the talent- trees are much better than in the first part and specially as mage i got addicted in lvling up.sure thing. this is not dragon age origins. what we loved about the first part is a total mess in da2. the other way around, everything not so cool about dragon age origins is made perfect in the second part. the teamfights for example are one of the best ive seen in strategic rpgs. the talent- trees are much better than in the first part and specially as mage i got addicted in lvling up.
no question, story and characters are lousy compared to his predecessor. but if you see this game just as a good strategic rpg simulation you got a good game. there are not much games outthere with such good combat-simulation. shame, the other stuff went wrong.… Expand

SasBorg

Jan 5, 2014

8

I love to see how users all around the world acclaim other RPGs with massive stories, but feel disappointed by DA2. Why? It's arcade combat system? I find it pretty useful to have an easy way of fighting your way in the world, but have plenty of time to explore the story, people and places that this wonderful game has to offer. No doubt that DAO was more interesting in this aspect, combat,I love to see how users all around the world acclaim other RPGs with massive stories, but feel disappointed by DA2. Why? It's arcade combat system? I find it pretty useful to have an easy way of fighting your way in the world, but have plenty of time to explore the story, people and places that this wonderful game has to offer. No doubt that DAO was more interesting in this aspect, combat, but still, this sequel gives you an interesting view over Thedas, and grants Inquisition plenty of opportunities. It is a lovely game, beautiful graphics, wonderful motions, great story, and most of all, the characters in it are full and seem so alive. Bad parts, it felt shorter, for some reason, compared to DAO. Still, one of the great games of this age.… Expand

finns

May 2, 2014

8

I wasn't going to create an account but this game deserves some more positive comments!
At first, I hated it. Camera was annoying and at first the game was boring and scenery was similar everywhere and all that is true.
BUT! In the end I still really liked the game. You got used to camera and all battle movements were beautiful and exciting, (especially Fenris. And mage's movements wereI wasn't going to create an account but this game deserves some more positive comments!
At first, I hated it. Camera was annoying and at first the game was boring and scenery was similar everywhere and all that is true.
BUT! In the end I still really liked the game. You got used to camera and all battle movements were beautiful and exciting, (especially Fenris. And mage's movements were cool) and even tho some of you deny it, but the game looked really pretty.
I'm not experienced gamer, my difficulty was set for normal and I admit most of the battles were pretty easy but I liked it that way and if I had set it to hard or nightmare it would have been much harder.
At first when the game started I felt like I was just watching a movie and I didn't really connect with my Hawke at all. it didn't really feel like it was MY character and MY story. But as the game went on that feeling disappeared and I really started to like what my Hawke was becoming.

And for the story, I really liked my companions (Varric and Fenris you were the best) and I liked the plot when it finally started. I loved that I got to meet some origins/awakening characters again. I would have wanted to have more conversations with everyone and about trivial things not just when plot needed it, that's one of the game's biggest flaws for me.

I truly don't think this game deserves so harsh comments. I spent +50 hours on it and enjoyed the game very much. It isn't a game I won't be playing the game again any time soon, because there really isn't another path I'd like my story to go but for me this one time is well worth of the money I paid.… Expand

daikon

May 9, 2014

8

Not really sure why this title gets hated on so much. I'm guessing it's mostly because avid fans of the original were expecting the second game to be very similar to the first. It's definitely different, but, in and of itself, I felt like it was an entertaining game.

I think the bad points are already well known: -levels get re-used a lot, which feels lazy -can't equip yourNot really sure why this title gets hated on so much. I'm guessing it's mostly because avid fans of the original were expecting the second game to be very similar to the first. It's definitely different, but, in and of itself, I felt like it was an entertaining game.

I think the bad points are already well known:
-levels get re-used a lot, which feels lazy
-can't equip your companions, so you find a lot of neat gear but can't put it on anybody
-overall, a bit rushed feeling. for example, there's a lot of generic rings, etc. that you find

But there was also plenty of good:
-improved skill trees
-more original storyline. Most every other rpg is about saving the world. This gets dull. DAII is a more personal story about a refugee and a city (I do wish the city changed more over the course of the game though). I also thought the framed narrative made for some cute moments.
-combat was fast paced and flexible, so you could pretty much have whatever sort of party you wanted. If you were really in love with the more strategic, pause and play style of fighting from DA, you might be disappointed in the new style. I happen to like both, so it was fine for me.

Overall, the game was fun to play which is basically all that really matters to me. If you really, really wanted another dragon age origins, this isn't it. If you're just looking for a solid rpg, however, then DAII is pretty good.… Expand

Togan77

Aug 16, 2014

8

It's hard,even for the Master's at Bioware to replecate perfection that was Dragon Age Origins. What we are presented here is a game that was rushed to release,and it clearly shows in Level Design. Alot of reused assets throught Campaign. However,what is in the game is great,better graphics than Origins,Music that is arguably better;Characters while new,are still brought to life with greatIt's hard,even for the Master's at Bioware to replecate perfection that was Dragon Age Origins. What we are presented here is a game that was rushed to release,and it clearly shows in Level Design. Alot of reused assets throught Campaign. However,what is in the game is great,better graphics than Origins,Music that is arguably better;Characters while new,are still brought to life with great writing. I have faith Dragon Age Inquisition will be more akin to Dragon Age Origins.

Graphics=10
Music=10
Gameplay=8
Story=9… Expand

albinocreep

Oct 29, 2014

8

It gets a five for gameplay and a three for level design but the plot and characters alone make this one of my favorites. It's definitely earned some of the scorn it gets but if you get way into a games story like I do, this is really a fun time. I suggest play it on easy and just soar through the **** parts. Hoping this stuff is ironed out in the next game in the franchise.

moonlight_shado

Dec 7, 2015

8

For me this game is amazing. It is really dark fantasy this time, not like before a cute pinky colors all the time and bad guys with lovely personality . Companions seems to be more realistic and well written. Varricks sense of humor is smashing and for other companions you really care about. In previous DA i didn't particularly like anyone, they all seems to be the same. Combat turn to aFor me this game is amazing. It is really dark fantasy this time, not like before a cute pinky colors all the time and bad guys with lovely personality . Companions seems to be more realistic and well written. Varricks sense of humor is smashing and for other companions you really care about. In previous DA i didn't particularly like anyone, they all seems to be the same. Combat turn to a full time action game which is good thing. Dont get me wrong im not fun of brainless action from slasher kind of game and i really love classics i.ex. BG2 but DA:O wasn't classic in the first place i found the exploration and combat management very unresponsive and scripted so much, so it is better this way where you can handel enemies like in the Witcher games or any proper action rpg game. Bioware tried something different this time and it worked for some people, but not necessary for fanboys who don't even try to see the beauty of this game because it is not Origins 2. Story (in a story :)) is separated from the previous and this time is more local. You are not the chosen one from the very beginning but you help more local folks and your self to begin with, to find a better life in this place of conflict. Im fidingt his part of DA to be deep, exciting and exactly to my liking. It's kinda Mass Effect 2 in the DA world. I only agree with the fact there is not much room for exploration. game looks unfinished and like the real potential is hiding there. One of a few games with very unfair score as it is a brilliant game with extraordinary story and gameplay.… Expand

pinkytwist

Jun 19, 2015

8

I don't get all the bad reviews for this game. True, the recycled environments are a big negative but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story and the characters, which is always what I look for on a Dragon Age game. I really enjoyed playing as Hawke, I love that she had a personality, a background, family and the companions actually feel like her friends, unlike the Inquisitor in DAI. II don't get all the bad reviews for this game. True, the recycled environments are a big negative but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story and the characters, which is always what I look for on a Dragon Age game. I really enjoyed playing as Hawke, I love that she had a personality, a background, family and the companions actually feel like her friends, unlike the Inquisitor in DAI. I also liked all the little sidequests with interesting NPCs and stories and the fact that they all had cutscenes which makes things feel more personal. And again, unlike DAI.… Expand

Topfpflanze

Apr 21, 2021

8

Perhaps surprisingly, I find this game immersive and beautiful. Yet the story is so linear that every decision made by the player basically leads to the same result indiscriminately. Many scenes are cheaply made: copies of their predecessors, some well-known corridors taped shut, others opened. But it's all told in such a rousing way that it's still fun to play. Until, at the end, thePerhaps surprisingly, I find this game immersive and beautiful. Yet the story is so linear that every decision made by the player basically leads to the same result indiscriminately. Many scenes are cheaply made: copies of their predecessors, some well-known corridors taped shut, others opened. But it's all told in such a rousing way that it's still fun to play. Until, at the end, the difficulty level suddenly increases from "beginner" to "advanced". Maybe it's not a good role-playing game, but it's a great story told.… Expand

FishForce

May 22, 2016

8

I have played the entire game, and i have to say that this game is heavily underrated by the users.
Ok the game starts very very very slow before the real story starts to begin what its really about.
You wil see a lot of the same locations which is the downside of this game, but the ending story makes this entire game it well worth it... most of the negative users only play a part of theI have played the entire game, and i have to say that this game is heavily underrated by the users.
Ok the game starts very very very slow before the real story starts to begin what its really about.
You wil see a lot of the same locations which is the downside of this game, but the ending story makes this entire game it well worth it... most of the negative users only play a part of the game but never really finish it.This game is no were worth a 0 to 4 ... which some user gave it...… Expand

OberiousLocke

Dec 14, 2017

8

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A sound improvement over 1st game. Graphical quality vastly improved despite being on the same engine. The terrain doesn't look so funky anymore, the armor is nice and varied (though this is mostly due to Allies having their own outfits that you can just upgrade with things instead)

The gameplay is buttery smooth compared to Origins, so that you can now land more than one hit every hour or two as a warrior or rogue. Excellent, easily lovable characters, a fairly simple but well-written story that had me begging to slice up some Templar zealots by the end of it.

I very much like how it did away with the black/white approval system from the first game, and how it actually remembers my personality choices (Sarcastic Hawke is best Hawke) and instead gives the Friend/Rival system where unless you go around murdering babies you don't really have to risk losing a team member, which is nice considering I successfully managed to lose my healer in Origins.

They've still got the stat system, which I was never too keen on but it's been a bit simplified so if you want, you can just focus on the main stats for your class (Dexterity for rogue, for instance) but you'll probably have a bad time if you don't invest in stamina as a warrior or cunning as a rogue. On the upside the talent system just as good with different sets and playstyles to pick from. As a rogue you can play the silent killer brandishing daggers, the expert marksman with a bow, or one of the above augmented with stuns and smoke bombs.

It does have some down sides when compared to the first game. You're still given 3 classes to pick from, but are locked into being a human instead of a elf or dwarf. It takes place in a relatively small area of the world of Thedas, in the Free March city of Kirkwall and the surrounding area. The thing about this is (and what some people seem to forget) that Origins was essentially just a bunch of prefab area's assembled in a few varied layouts, much like the original Mass Effect, so 2 still wins out over Origins for me. DA2 is still guilty of this, but to a lesser extent I feel like. I also feel that Kirkwall is a very engrossing place. Lowtown actually feels like a slum, Hightown actually feels like a rich snob's district. Given that part of the prologue and the first act, you are one of the people living in Lowtown, it really fits. I do feel like it's a bit easy to trivialize even the greatest of enemies, my rogue having knocked out a high dragon in about 30 seconds or less. There are also a few balance issues. I may have been building them wrong but both warrior and mages feel really wimpy, where in the first game both were perfectly overpowered and rogue was a bit weaker.

Really, it's not as bad as people make it out to be, though. If you really loved Origins, chances are you'll enjoy the second one.… Expand

BilboBaggins123

Nov 9, 2016

8

I dont understand why everyone hates this game. Sure origins is better but i have no regrets after playing this game and encourage everyone to try it.

ANTtheKNEEEE

Dec 6, 2021

8

Really not as bad as people make it out to be. It's only because of how good the first one is. It is definitely a downgrade but in my opinion, the combat is more fun, and the great lore and story are still there. The bads are just the limitations to the map/game world.

RagingPoet

Feb 6, 2018

8

Yes, it is worse than original Dragon Age, but it doesn't make it a bad game. It is still a good RPG but with smaller game world and less epic story.

Karoli

Aug 25, 2018

8

I was very disappointed the first time I tried this game. Then it grows on me after a while. To enjoy this game, you need to let go of Dragon Age: Origin and have 0 expectation, because it is different from the first game. You also need to correct some of its flaws with mods. The story is pretty good and the characters are very interesting. Far from being as memorable as the first one,I was very disappointed the first time I tried this game. Then it grows on me after a while. To enjoy this game, you need to let go of Dragon Age: Origin and have 0 expectation, because it is different from the first game. You also need to correct some of its flaws with mods. The story is pretty good and the characters are very interesting. Far from being as memorable as the first one, but decent if you take it for what it is. Still a shame that this game seems to be a rush job because it could have been a real masterpiece with a little more love...… Expand

worshipthesquid

Apr 20, 2018

8

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dragon Age II has a strong story, a decent combat system and an atmosphere and personality that endures in both characters and, despite its continuously recycled areas, setting. Moving from darkspawn to the threats of mage-Chantry conflict and international tensions played out on a local level was a good move that builds on the brilliant political elements of the first game and its DLC, allowing you to stick around for the effects of your actions on ordinary people by dint of more or less being one. Unfortunately, Dragon Age II doesn't take the opportunity to create more varied grinding combat encounters - and unlike the first game and its darkspawn, no theme of a huge, swarming, identical enemy is served by the repeated street thug encounters; crime in the city isn't even necessarily your enemy, story-wise. The written quests are generally good and story-contributing, though, the lore is conveyed engagingly through gameplay, and the main story and companion quests and story arcs are fun to play, well written and well acted. Perhaps most impressively, the game pulls off a story with themes - of the mage-templar issue, forgiveness and belonging - that seem complex rather than muddled while retaining a significant player influence on individual character arcs and direction.

Overall: the gameplay (especially in combat) could fit the story better, and the repetitive environments generally fail to capitalise on the major theme of belonging and citizenship and the opportunities presented by a mostly static city setting by creating a strong sense of place, though the day/night map division is a step in the right direction. Maybe looting the same cave o' bandits ten times... reinforces... a sense of familiarity with your surroundings? Ugh no it's bad. But what comes out is a game that, impossibly, does a creditable job of not just continuing or repeating Origins' story but creating a new story that manages to keep and develop the down-to-earth, muddy feeling of the first game without sacrificing all of the far-reaching consequences and broader international story. Along with combat changes and the shift from a frequently traversed Ferelden-sized map to a game that takes place mostly in one city, this change from the first game's epic save-the-world scope to a smaller-scale, save-some-people-in-your-city story is probably responsible for a lot of disappointment with Dragon Age II, but for me it ultimately holds up well both as a sequel and as an individual game. I'm glad they put effort into making a markedly different game rather than capitalising on the success of the original by repeating a similar story.… Expand

zodak

May 24, 2021

8

well, i completed DA2 yesterday and I can actually say for the most of the time I enjoyed it. maybe that's because I can overlook weaknesses. i know it has issues. you've seen one dungeon, you've seen them all. it's not as good as DAO, but the hard truth is, I still liked it nonetheless and that's all that matters to me. still has nice characters and let's be honest; who wouldn't reload awell, i completed DA2 yesterday and I can actually say for the most of the time I enjoyed it. maybe that's because I can overlook weaknesses. i know it has issues. you've seen one dungeon, you've seen them all. it's not as good as DAO, but the hard truth is, I still liked it nonetheless and that's all that matters to me. still has nice characters and let's be honest; who wouldn't reload a lot of times just to start a romance with Isabela.… Expand

Daggerrim

Mar 19, 2019

8

The things I like and dislike about DA2
Like 1. Great story
Like 2. Great companions
Like 3. Great level-up system

Dislike 1. Gameplay
Dislike 2. Cannot change armor for companions
Dislike 3. Money is to easy to get and you never really spend it

Hochbichler

Jul 28, 2022

8

Dragon Age II is a second installment in the classic fantasy RPG series Dragon Age. It is set after the blight, in a different part of the world, you play a different character than in Dragon Age: Origins, but the overall Dragon Age atmosphere is still here. I want to start with the negatives this times. The most important one for me is pretty general. Several major game aspects areDragon Age II is a second installment in the classic fantasy RPG series Dragon Age. It is set after the blight, in a different part of the world, you play a different character than in Dragon Age: Origins, but the overall Dragon Age atmosphere is still here. I want to start with the negatives this times. The most important one for me is pretty general. Several major game aspects are simplified versions from the DA:O. Companions no longer have armor slots, only weapons and trinkets, that does not make any sense to me at all. The tactical view is mostly gone, AOE ridiculously sticks to targets, which will make your life hell. The intro/tutorial in the Ferelden mountains look terribly bleak, I remember I could not believe that this was supposed to be an improvement of DA:O the first time I played this game. All the dungeons and caves use the same model, just some doors are sometimes blocked. That also seems like a very amateurish idea. All in all, the developers rushed this game, developed it in a little over year and it shows. However it does not make the game bad, far from it. The companions are again great and you really built strong friendships and rivalries and romantic relationships with them, that is easily the strongest aspect of the game for me. I do not hate the idea that the game is set within one city, but I would expect more parts of the city to be explorable. The story happens over 6 years and deals mostly with the good old story of mages vs. templars. There is a number of well written and interesting side quests, which present you with the typical vast array of choices, some of which are pretty harsh. I really enjoyed that part. The enemies lack greater diversity and the fights can get repetitive. The game font sucks, should be replaced with DA:O font from a mod. The difficulty seems to be pretty balanced for an RPG. Also the very end does not make much sense and feels very forced if you side with the templars all the time. This game has plenty of Horse Armor type microtransactions, no SJW politics. I played on Nightmare difficulty. Total playtime with both major DLCs: 82 hours.

DLCs: Many, many Horse Armor DLCs. Only major ones are:

Legacy - A nice little dark excursion underground and foreshadowing for the Inquisition. This should have been the story of Corypheus. Final boss fight is by far the longest in the game.

Mark of the Assassin - Qunari spy game in Orlais. This whole story seemed a little far-fetched and the she-elf is very annoying. Contains the most difficult fight in the entire game (for me) - sky cult arcane horror.

The Exiled Prince - Adds a companion with an interesting backstory. Honestly, not anyone's favorite, but plays well into your anti-mage setup or as (poor) Varric substitution.

Dragon Age II has plenty faults when compared to its predecessor, but strangely I still have a very good feeling from this playthrough. This is not the one that ruined Dragon Age. Final Verdict: 84 %… Expand

kabskannar12

Apr 19, 2020

8

Despite being overshadowed by the first game, I find Dragon Age 2 as much fun as it is. Despite everything, this game is good and I definitely like to try it. It does not deserve all of the bad comments written about it.

GVB

Oct 30, 2020

8

So many bad critics for a great game... ok, i get it: it is not so good as DA: Origins, but it has a much more interesting main questline, and a much more focused story. So... an 8, maybe? The development of the game was rushed. And the companions are not as interesting/lovable as Origins or, of course, Inquisition, but even with that... It has some things that are brilliant.

gotterpotter56

Jan 29, 2021

8

Игра оказалась не так уж и плохой, как говорят другие. Из минусов: однообразные локации, тонны врагов (для меня это показалось минусом). Из плюсов : сюжет, красочная боевка, прописанные персонажи (это всегда был главный козырь bioware). В общем мне игра понравилась!Игра оказалась не так уж и плохой, как говорят другие. Из минусов: однообразные локации, тонны врагов (для меня это показалось минусом). Из плюсов : сюжет, красочная боевка, прописанные персонажи (это всегда был главный козырь bioware). В общем мне игра понравилась!

hyoputer

May 7, 2022

8

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The story of Kirkwell was better than just saving world story. and I loved friendly/rivalry system. Dialogue words were still ambiguous, it's not good, I couldn't expect how Hawke said. And using same maps was very disappointed. But, It was great sequel of DAO.… Expand

Asp_klg40

Aug 10, 2021

8

The main plus in this game is that this is one of the few RPGs where you don't need to save the world. We play as an ordinary person with simple desires (status, money, position in society, love). This is what is lacking in RPG games - the ability to play as a human character and not just another superman. As for the minuses, enough has been written about them, I will not repeat myself
...

Woolee

Sep 29, 2021

8

Going into this game, I had extremely high hopes, most of which were smashed against the cliffs of mediocrity. Dragon Age II is nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to cash in on the incredible success that was Dragon Age: Origins. That said, the game has both positive and negative features that one must take into account.

AgentLvi

Jun 18, 2023

8

Great game. The story is decent. The scoring is great, visual is really amazing, the voice & sound is also amazing

cheerful_dirge

Dec 21, 2022

8

The game doesn't deserve so much hate. It's still a good game despite the small game world. The atmosphere, plot and companions are excellent.

TianLong1

Mar 31, 2023

8

Better graphics and more stylish fights than in Dragon Age origins, but you cant really move around the world like you did before because you are stuck in one city. The fight system is more action-focused and the animations are very cool, every hit feels impactful so i can see what the devs were going for. The relationship and romance system are still in the game and they can have anBetter graphics and more stylish fights than in Dragon Age origins, but you cant really move around the world like you did before because you are stuck in one city. The fight system is more action-focused and the animations are very cool, every hit feels impactful so i can see what the devs were going for. The relationship and romance system are still in the game and they can have an impact later on, the story is rather compelling because it makes you want to take side one way or the other.… Expand

MikePushkin

Mar 31, 2011

7

I loved Origins. Great game, a game in which you feel the weight of your decisions, you realize what you are doing, you realize that you are responsible for major changes in Ferelden. I expected something similar from DA2, but more refined and deeper. Sadly, what we get is an unfinished game instead of a masterpiece like the first game. It took me 20 hours less to beat Dragon Age 2I loved Origins. Great game, a game in which you feel the weight of your decisions, you realize what you are doing, you realize that you are responsible for major changes in Ferelden. I expected something similar from DA2, but more refined and deeper. Sadly, what we get is an unfinished game instead of a masterpiece like the first game. It took me 20 hours less to beat Dragon Age 2 compared to Dragon Age Origins. It took exactly 40 hours. Just like Mass Effect 2. Or Mass Effect. You know what, that feels strange, like Bioware is trying to adjust the length of its games to 40 hours. Anyway, on topic, the game is better in almost every aspect than Dragon Age Origins: we have better combat system, better RP system (not simplified but adjusted) now warrior gets benefited from investing a point or two in Magic. Design of new inventory makes a lot more sense and is much more helpful. Quests are numerous, yes, but not very much unique... Graphical part is better than Origins in every way, but the fatal flaw of Origins never got rid of in DA2, - same locations. This is very sad part, actually, because it kills the unique feel of locations you visit and destroys the atmosphere of what's happening. In DA2 the decisions you make, don't feel the same way as in Origins. Storyline in general seems weaker, but its personal opinion. What's not personal is the way story is told. 10 bloody years. What the heck?! You do something important, a couple of years passes. You do something again and another couple of years passes. WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! What's he sleeping or something in between?! Conclusion: A very good game with nice combat system, nice graphical part, more intuitive dialog system, improved RP system, better design overall, great voice work BUT with poor storyline, poor locations, the blasted Kirkwall over and over and over again, abundance of DLCs, more of a popular product than a work of art. Sad. 7/10… Expand

darksydex3226

Mar 13, 2011

7

Despite the constant copy & pasted maps, and being pretty much restricted to Kirkwall, Dragon Age II is still a very fun role-playing experience, and I would recommend playing it. I'm on my second run now, and still enjoying it... the game definitely has some low points (hence the 7), like the music, level design, repetitive (but still enjoyable at the end of the day) combat, andDespite the constant copy & pasted maps, and being pretty much restricted to Kirkwall, Dragon Age II is still a very fun role-playing experience, and I would recommend playing it. I'm on my second run now, and still enjoying it... the game definitely has some low points (hence the 7), like the music, level design, repetitive (but still enjoyable at the end of the day) combat, and anti-climatic boss battles... the story is really good though, and the characters are too. All in all, a fun game to hold me over until The Witcher 2.… Expand

Fredvdp

Jul 25, 2017

7

While Dragon Age II certainly makes compromises due to a rushed release, the characters and storyline are just interesting enough to warrant a playthrough.

Gvaz

Mar 9, 2011

7

I'm not going to go in depth, because no one will read this but here's what's changed in DA2: (PC)
- combat is sped up
- voiced MC - even linear than before - Enjoy not taking a long time for quests? Well you can complete some quests by literally walking five feet. - voice actors are hit or miss, the story feels disjointed and it feels a lot like your actions are meaningless, and the wheelI'm not going to go in depth, because no one will read this but here's what's changed in DA2: (PC)
- combat is sped up
- voiced MC
- even linear than before
- Enjoy not taking a long time for quests? Well you can complete some quests by literally walking five feet.
- voice actors are hit or miss, the story feels disjointed and it feels a lot like your actions are meaningless, and the wheel adds nothing to the game. It's not even done properly like in ME2. Frequently your character ends up saying something totally different from the paraprhased note.

Overall, it's not a bad game, but as a sequel to DA2, it simply doesn't stand up.… Expand

Kaizoku2793

Mar 15, 2011

7

Dragon Age 2 is a big letdown for all of us Origin fans but if we can forget about Origins for a second and compare it to other RPGs Dragon Age 2 is a pretty solid game. At first I was extremely disappointed in DA2 and pessimistic towards it but when I gave it a chance I found myself unable to stop playing it (Completing the game twice). Pros:
Many people will probably disagree but I likeDragon Age 2 is a big letdown for all of us Origin fans but if we can forget about Origins for a second and compare it to other RPGs Dragon Age 2 is a pretty solid game. At first I was extremely disappointed in DA2 and pessimistic towards it but when I gave it a chance I found myself unable to stop playing it (Completing the game twice). Pros:
Many people will probably disagree but I like DA2â… Expand

verbose

May 6, 2011

7

I enjoyed a lot of what this game changed. Unlike many, I enjoyed the change to the battle system, and I think that the battle system has been improved and streamlined from the first game. I am ambivalent about not being able to change anyone's armor but the main character, but I can live with that. I enjoy customizing my entire party, however, there is a different kind of enjoyment thatI enjoyed a lot of what this game changed. Unlike many, I enjoyed the change to the battle system, and I think that the battle system has been improved and streamlined from the first game. I am ambivalent about not being able to change anyone's armor but the main character, but I can live with that. I enjoy customizing my entire party, however, there is a different kind of enjoyment that can come from not having to worry about your companions gear very much(especially when half of them are very rarely used). I did not enjoy the fact that certain characters were essentially mandatory for much of the game if you did not pick a mage due to the fact that there is only one real healer in the game. I thought the story was decent. It was not the epic that DA:O was, but it was still interesting to see how one person inadvertently caused a chain reaction. There are three things that I really do not like about this game. 1. DA:O took me roughly 80 hours to finish and do everything there was to do in the game. This game took me roughly 25 hours to do the same. 2. This game uses recycled areas for the entire game. In all of the Acts of this game, you will be revisiting areas that you have already been to over and over and over again. This is probably my biggest gripe of the game. 3. There are too few references to the characters and events of DA:O. As a sequel, and specifically, as a Bioware sequel, I expected to have more appearances from characters of the first game. Also, when characters from the first game do appear, I felt unsatisfied. It seems that they put the characters in the game just to have an appearance rather than actually weaving them into the story of the game. That said, I initially greatly enjoyed this game. It is not a perfect game, but it is still fun.… Expand

ravenblade

Apr 11, 2011

7

Saying this game is bad would be generally unfair. Bioware's biggest mistake in this case wasn't the game not being a true sequel but being advertised as such even though it is realistically a separate game. Think of Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate both playing in Forgotten Realms but being two separate story-lines where the events of one may be referred to in another. It's title shouldSaying this game is bad would be generally unfair. Bioware's biggest mistake in this case wasn't the game not being a true sequel but being advertised as such even though it is realistically a separate game. Think of Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate both playing in Forgotten Realms but being two separate story-lines where the events of one may be referred to in another. It's title should have been Dragon Age: The Kirkwall Chronicles. Story-wise I do have mixed feelings. I am not happy about the lack of alternative storyline aspects but the few being there are still entertaining enough to keep a player happy for a while. Companions still have their own personalities and your personality being a lot less mute than in the original Dragon Age titles certainly helps to blend in. On dialogue side the game presents you with a classical Mass Effect style wheel giving you options for certain type of straight answer or investigative questions - but unlike in Mass Effect series the obvious outcome is not always that clear and not always wholly different for the entire dialogue regardless of which conversation path you chose.

Sadly the exploration side got a bit of a short straw, it is still there but due to lack of big locations quite limited. It seems a bit symptomatic for recent Bioware games: Exploration getting steadily removed from games altogether. However as saving grace it should be noted that the game allows you to progress in the main plot at your own terms without too much prescribed linearity.

The combat system got a major overhaul but while it can be challenging on its own terms especially on higher difficulty modes. Its shortcomings are minor compared to the original Dragon Age title, in this case the lack of tactical camera, enemies coming from thin air and Nightmare involving some several issues making making it favour single target ranged combat should be noted. I believe the latter will be addressed by Bioware soon. Talent trees got improved a lot and leave a lot of room for experimentation and replay. Personally I found the issue of fixed but upgradeable companion armor quite an interesting idea. It would have been better though if upgrades would allow more flexibility.

The old crafting system got replaced by a less hunter-gathering aspect but more one which people who played Mass Effect 2 are familiar with. Instead of gathering the resources into your backpack you are now mostly out for finding resource locations you'll have to tag/unlock depending on the locations you are visiting. The more resource locations you find the higher classes of runes, potions and poisons you can craft. Crafting also isn't done in the same spot but done at certain shop-like locations. While this hurts any fan of the classical gathering & crafting game I feel the old system did not actually limit you aside from backpack size whereas the new one obviously uses your cash as limiter. In the end I personally liked the old system more but to be fair the new system is achieving the same results in the end without forcing the player to reserve a large part of his backpack for resources and materials.

Graphically it's looks are stunningly good even though it does lack the deliberately dark look of its predecessor title. Animations are well-down although the game overdoes a lot on the explosions side making it unnecessarily messy-looking when there is no reason for it. I do miss effects on weapons from runes and the lack of a bit more beautiful inventory graphics. The game's locations are well done although a lot of quests do lead to several previously locations. This does lead to a certain level of repetition but amusingly also to a lot of familiarity. The game however does a good job in keeping Kirkwall more than just one town although its lack of aging, progression and liveliness as the story goes on does make the town feel static and lacking the realistic feel of years spent within it. The whole story could be in fact one of a single 24 hrs. day when taking the persistent looks of the town's scenery into account.

The GUI has been overhauled quite well and it's quite intuitive from the get-go. Nothing more to add this one is done well.

What needs to be left noted is the relative subtlety of game's score, even though the score is quite excellent it does lack the certain epic factor which the original title was known for. Otherwise the atmosphere, combat and ambient are in parts a lot better done than in the original titles.

In conclusion I think it is worth buy if you see it as a game within the Dragon Age universe or setting. If you are truly seeing a linear successor to the original Dragon Age titles you might not like it. It certainly does come with a lot improvements of its own but also another set of issues left to be addressed in another possible upcoming Dragon Age title. Perhaps both titles will give Bioware sufficient amount of material to find the real alchemy for an ultimate Dragon Age game.… Expand

godfather830

Mar 9, 2011

7

Dragon Age II is a decent game, but fades in comparision with its predecessor. Most of the changes made just made the game less fun and less great. The only two positive changes are that the graphics have improved (slightly) and the main character can now talk.

I regret purchasing it. I think it may have been worth $15 or so to me, so I would have preferred buying it at a huge discount,Dragon Age II is a decent game, but fades in comparision with its predecessor. Most of the changes made just made the game less fun and less great. The only two positive changes are that the graphics have improved (slightly) and the main character can now talk.

I regret purchasing it. I think it may have been worth $15 or so to me, so I would have preferred buying it at a huge discount, even 2-3 years later. But I would have gladly paid $100 for Dragon Age: Origins.… Expand

islesofurth

Mar 16, 2011

7

shame people cant be realistic with reviews...

just finished the game and heres what i think PROS: the new combat sysytem is great, allows for more fluid fights so great if you dont like to pause all the time. skill trees that are unique to chracters other than the main, encourages people to try diferant teams rather than the one team all the time. character stats remake, stats areshame people cant be realistic with reviews...

just finished the game and heres what i think

PROS:
the new combat sysytem is great, allows for more fluid fights so great if you dont like to pause all the time. skill trees that are unique to chracters other than the main, encourages people to try diferant teams rather than the one team all the time. character stats remake, stats are much more role specific making it less strenuous by not having to balace stats. the storyline is extreamly adaptive and unless you actuly try to you will never play it the same way twice, also with the ability to create the backbone of the story with a DAO save.

CONS:
the game is based in a single town so the landscape get old. some DAO cons are follow into DA2 such as multiple sotryline 'busness ventures' that the player may invest into or buy and that do not actuly bring in any income other than a possible longer quest line for that 'venture'. some parts of the game put you at a fork with quests allowing you to take one and not the other however it does not specify that you wouldnt be able to do both you simply need to figure it out the hard way. gold just like in DAO is extreamly hard to come buy if your wanted decent items, if you do all the quests and sell everything you find you wil get about 250g total, depending on the dificulty alot of that will be spent on potions, runes and armour for your team so you will only ever have enough gold to buy one item that is 120g or there abouts and saving for it will take all game if you dont skimp.

even tho this game has alot of cons i dont know any game that doesnt
i had fun playing this game, i probly wont beat it with every class but i will certainly beat it one more time over on the hardest possible trying to get everything

with a few patches this game will be much better

and to all those people who rated this a bad game, i certainly hope your not waiting for D3 to come out coz it wont have much more specially not in the graphics department… Expand

Fernell

Mar 10, 2011

7

In every single way DA2 is worst than DA:Origin. But it is a bit of injustice to give it less than 5/10. I know guys that you are disappointed. I expected something different too. In spite of all, it's still quite a good game, not perfect of course, not even near to perfect but it's still fun to play !

animefan1976

Mar 10, 2011

7

I'm giving it a 7 as there are a number of features that improvements over Dragon Age: Origins. Some of those include faster combat, a better spell/talent selection and advancement method, and a voiced player character. There are some other good points as well. Bad points would be things such as a more restricted inventory system for companions, less dialogue with companions one on one,I'm giving it a 7 as there are a number of features that improvements over Dragon Age: Origins. Some of those include faster combat, a better spell/talent selection and advancement method, and a voiced player character. There are some other good points as well. Bad points would be things such as a more restricted inventory system for companions, less dialogue with companions one on one, and a story that doesn't keep you as engaged as the previous game. One thing the PC version really shines on is the graphics. DirectX 11 renderer shows some excellent quality even on high settings with AAx8 and AFx16.… Expand

sgtStones

Mar 12, 2011

7

Expectations are a b*tch. They have to be filtered out when trying to give some sort of a review...well at least to a point. A sentiment, not many users ( on metacritic anyway ) seem to share. I finished DA:O 6 times ( 4x on hard and twice on nightmare )... needless to say I love that game and I'm already thinking about the approach I'll take in the next playthrough.

But now DA2 wasExpectations are a b*tch. They have to be filtered out when trying to give some sort of a review...well at least to a point. A sentiment, not many users ( on metacritic anyway ) seem to share. I finished DA:O 6 times ( 4x on hard and twice on nightmare )... needless to say I love that game and I'm already thinking about the approach I'll take in the next playthrough.

But now DA2 was released and yes...the first 2hours of playing this long-awaited game, really disappointed me. I think that's when some people alt-tabbed to their browser, went on this site and had to let off some steam. The strange thing is, although things don't really get better as the game goes on, I still had fun with the game ( and I'm still having fun with it now ). But the moment my destined-to-be spirit healer pulls off moves like "the last airbender" I new that this won't live up to my expectations. Here are my cons: - Menu/Icon-Design really doesnt hold a candle to the beautiful art we saw in Dragon Age:origins....it looks like its been designed for a tron-movie-tie-in game
- although Combat now looks much fancier, it's also much quicker, hence too chaotic at times and with top view removed it can be hard to keep track of everything thats happening
- Enemies spawn into the battlefield, so you cant really tell how long a fight will go
- Looting has lost a lot of its charm and restrictions concerning the equipment of your party members really takes away from the fun
- the crafting system doesn't deserve the name
- the skill trees and the associated restrictions are not to my taste - the gift mechanic has been changed dramatically, to the point of no recognition
- it would also have been nice to see what the scale is on the friendship/rivalry bar, so that I know wtf 10 points in either direct are worth ( but I'm nitpicking, and I shall be the cop who stops it...erm me )
- and yes: Carver is a douche ;)

pros:
- everything that reminds me of DA:O

I was also a fan of Mass Effect. And in the beginning, I was disappointed in ME2 aswell. Mainly due to the ( severe ) dumbing down of the skill-system ( which wasnt the most complex to begin with ). But ME2 provided some new gameplay features, great graphics, much improved action and once more a great epic story with diverse characters, making it, in the end a superior successor. DA2 fails to deliver anything new to justify the "dumbing-down" ( or streamlining, as the industry would like to brand it ) making it inferior to its predecessor.

But even DA 0.5 is still good game, and certainly better ( if not by much ) then most recent rpgs ( fable 4, Ego Draconis, TwoWorlds II ). It's DEFINATELY NOT A 4.0… Expand

OldWolf

Mar 13, 2011

7

At the the time of writing this review I've left Ferelden behind in the wake of the blight and have arrived in Kirkwall, where I'm now preparing to leave on an expedition into the deep roads (Yea, they apparently reach this far). It's worth mentioning that I've done this twice, once as a warrior and once as a mage, to get a feel for how the story, dialogue and combat differs. I'm startingAt the the time of writing this review I've left Ferelden behind in the wake of the blight and have arrived in Kirkwall, where I'm now preparing to leave on an expedition into the deep roads (Yea, they apparently reach this far). It's worth mentioning that I've done this twice, once as a warrior and once as a mage, to get a feel for how the story, dialogue and combat differs. I'm starting with the general stuff, and what I've seen of the game so far hasn't been bad. Character generation: I'm not going to bash the lack of a racial choice since the story is explicitly written for shemlin (human, for does who haven't played DA). A nice touch that has been added is that you start off by picking gender and class, after which you are thrust straight into a mock-up battle against hordes of darkspawn, culminating in a fight against an ogre and an epic takedown (now THAT is a good way to start a game). During this battle you get introduced to some of the abilities available to your class by allowing you to gradually use more and more of them, and you are also taught the basics. After the battle you are introduced to the actual character-creation screen, where you can modify your Hawke's appearance. You are unfortunately not allowed to distribute starting attribute points or selecting starting abilities. Those that have played DA:O will also note that the skills are missing entirely. Interface: In my opinion, the general interface of DA2 is an improvement over DA:O. There is less embellishment and more solid information. Other than that however, the general interface has changed little, mainly just replacing the the icons for items and abilities with simpler/more generic ones. In conversations the dialogue wheel feels rather simplistic, generally having 3 options ("kind", "joking" and "forceful") that will advance the conversation, with a 4th option to "investigate" the current line of conversation further. Sometimes, however, investigating may yield a new conversation-advancing option, and sometimes the game drops this system entirely opting instead to give you an explicit "bribe" option, a "take-action" option or a set of "unspecified" options, showing both the strengths of this approach (conversations can be more expressive, but don't HAVE to be) and the weaknesses (conversations can get really confusing when the dialogue is poorly written and/or acted). Combat: This is clearly a more action-oriented game than DA:O. Battles flow smoothly, without an obvious turn-system your character will chop away at the enemy as best they can, your character will make a lounge attack to close in on an opponent quicker when you order them to attack and the addition of "physical force" modifiers means that combatants may be staggered or interrupted while in combat (Something sadly lacking from DA:O). That said, pretty much all battles now follow the same formula: You engage an enemy that is (generally) in plain sight, as you wear them down they will receive a wave of reinforcements (they've apparently been hiding the whole time) that will generally attack you from behind. Depending on the battle, there can be as many as 3-4 such waves. On the up-side, this means that you have to plan ahead, conserve your strength and pick your targets well. On the down-side this means that combat will get very predictable, and you generally end up formulating a master-strategy for all battles. On another note, the injury-system is greatly simplified. An injury is just a handicap to your health, if you receive an injury (either from falling in battle, or setting off a trap) your maximum health is reduced. Thats it, don't expect any depth. The abilities are generally well balanced, and the addition of abilities that decreases the threat-level of a character (like the rogues "Evade") while disengaging them from close-combat are definitely welcome. In conclusion the combat-system is very reminiscent of DA:O with a few modifications (mostly for the better imho). Story & quests: Well-written and interesting so far, however with at least one major plothole. It is nice to have a story that let's you start without the weight of the world on your shoulders, letting you acclimatise to the world. The quests are generally more convoluted than they first appear and will often twist and turn to keep you interested. Graphics: The Game looks pretty good, in the sense that DA:O still looks pretty good. The graphics do not seem to have been hugely improved since DA:O. Buggy-ness: The game has been running rather smoothly for me. I pre-ordered the game off-of Steam and have been playing it a little each day since it became available. The one bug that I've noticed is that when you alt-tab out of the game and re-enter all menus stop working (i.e. they cannot be opened). Thankfully the game auto-saves as default. Conclusion: DA2 is worth playing, but it does not appear the part of a masterpiece.… Expand

CaptainScalawag

Mar 13, 2011

7

As of right now I'm about 10 hours into the game and must say that it's not as bad as everyone here seems to think it is. No, it's not nearly as good as the original but if you liked the original then chances are you will probably like this as well. DA:O was a complex RPG but I'm sure that might have thrown off a ton of people because DA:II seems to go too far in the other direction andAs of right now I'm about 10 hours into the game and must say that it's not as bad as everyone here seems to think it is. No, it's not nearly as good as the original but if you liked the original then chances are you will probably like this as well. DA:O was a complex RPG but I'm sure that might have thrown off a ton of people because DA:II seems to go too far in the other direction and simplify way too much. First I'm glad they changed the skill trees for the classes and got rid of the alternative skill tree (herbalism, posion, etc.) and instead opted to allow you to make anything as long as you had the recipe, coin, and ingredients to back it up. The skill trees, like I said, have been streamlined and I think they're far better in this since the trees aren't as linear and there are passive buffs that reward you for investing a lot of points in one tree. The combat is better in some aspects. Heal actually feels like a useful spell to have since it does so much this time around. The attacks also feel like they have more weight, especially as a mage, and I really like feeling like I'm having an affect on the battle rather than being a guy in the background clicking on things.

That being said my main strategy seems to be "spam area of effect spells" which isn't really much of an exciting strategy. I think they went too far in simplification too, because now you can't get armor for your allies, which is a real shame because I enjoyed going through all the hidden side quests in the last game to get my allies equipped with godly armor, now it feels like I won't get that option. It also feels a bit too easy. I'm playing on normal and despite a few minor setbacks I've hardly died at all. I actually beat a creature in this game (no spoilers) that took me forever to beat in the last game on my first try! It was ridiculous!

It's not a bad game, but I think they simplified it way too much from the complexities of the first one. If you liked the first one chances are you'll at least get a kick out of this. Maybe in Dragon Age 3 they'll learn from their mistakes and combine the strengths of DA:O and DA II and if they did that, I honestly believe it could be one of the greatest RPGs Bioware ever released.… Expand

Grygus

Mar 13, 2011

7

I wonder whether some of these reviewers have actually played the game or are basing their reviews on the demo or hearsay. This shouldn't be taken to mean that the game is without major flaws; it definitely has problems, but the current user score of 4.0 is laughably low. An unconventional and well-told main story, supplemented by imaginative and fun inter-party dialog and a moreI wonder whether some of these reviewers have actually played the game or are basing their reviews on the demo or hearsay. This shouldn't be taken to mean that the game is without major flaws; it definitely has problems, but the current user score of 4.0 is laughably low. An unconventional and well-told main story, supplemented by imaginative and fun inter-party dialog and a more cinematic presentation are all giant positives. There are some missteps here; the interface feels consoley, with too many clicks to get in and out of subsystems, and the inventory streamlining does some nice things (like the Junk tab) but the loss of party customization is inexplicable. Still, aside from combat I think the game is generally great with some minor lessons to be learned. Unfortunately, the game is primarily about combat, and while the core changes to the combat system are interesting, the encounter design is terrible; almost every fight in the game plays out the exact same way: an initial group is present or is spawned in somehow, and once you've beaten most of them a second wave spawns in. This is highly annoying, partly because it makes every single little fight more of a slog than it should be, partly because it makes the more important battles just more of the same, and partly because it breaks immersion (e.g., second wave coming from a room you not only just cleared, but to which you are guarding the only entrance.) This is exacerbated by the extensive re-use of levels; there are essentially one each of every environment, so every time you're in a cave it's a piece of the larger single "cave" level, and the same is true of the sewers, the wilderness, the wilderness. It's a dismaying lack of content that adds up to truly monotonous combat. There were times I kept playing only to find out what happened next in the story, and actually playing the game was an obstacle to that, rather than fun for its own sake. However, I did keep playing, and I found the ending satisfying (even if the boss fight mechanics, which should have been special and memorable, ended up feeling like minor variations on a theme I'd been listening to for forty hours.) The overall combat experience probably does deserve a 4 actually, but the rest of the game is top-notch. I'll split the difference and rate the game a 7.… Expand

wiwefak

Mar 14, 2011

7

Dragon Age 2, isnt something what i expected it to be. Maybe i was hoping for DA:O sequal. The game does have improvment at some points. The combat is more fun now, it isnt clunky and the animations are smooth. It was nice to see my rogue just kill stuff with style. The spells and skills look nice, First time i casted rock armor i was amazed how much better it looked compared to DA:O. TheDragon Age 2, isnt something what i expected it to be. Maybe i was hoping for DA:O sequal. The game does have improvment at some points. The combat is more fun now, it isnt clunky and the animations are smooth. It was nice to see my rogue just kill stuff with style. The spells and skills look nice, First time i casted rock armor i was amazed how much better it looked compared to DA:O. The new Qunari look nice, but in the game you dont see any female Qunari's also you dont see any female Dwarfs. The dialogue wheel is something they tried to take over from ME2, but it dosent fit for DA2. In a rpg i wanna be the character and choose what i say like i did in DA:O, but with the new dialogue wheel i often felt like i didnt bother reading any options. Making me pay less attention to the story. I always knew top was good, middle was neutral and bottom was evul. So i always clicked the top one and didnt bother reading anything else. Which was a huge letdown. In DA:O you had so many diffrent choices and you chose the option which felt what you would have said so you were thinking what you would do, you were in the game. Also the dialogue options were sometimes confusing, because i hoped it to say something diffrent and it kept me sometimes wondering if i pressed something wrong or could the other options say what i wanted to say.

Companions:
Companion customization is dumbed down. You can't change ur companion armor, except rings,necklace, belt and weapon. In a rpg i always want to customize all my characters. Or maybe it was too much to expect. 1,5 years to make a sequal isnt that much, comparing to DA:O and i guess Bioware didnt have the time to make armors for your companions. But not being able to change armors, resulted my main character who was a rogue, have more armor/defence than my tank. Even though you can upgrade your companion armors, by getting some special upgraders or doing companion quests it isnt as effective compared to DA:O, where you could give them your old set.

Another thing about companions, you cant talk to them everytime you want. Basically if you want to know about them you need to wait for the companion quest to open. I always was checking all my companions, because i wanted to know about them more, but i never was able to talk with them unless they had a quest and that wasnt really what i was looking forward to. In DA:O you could talk with them everywhere, which was great, but now the only chance to talk with them is during companion quests and occasionaly cutscenes. In DA:O, you talked with them everytime gave them gifts, laughed at their jokes and dialogues, but now it feels like they removed it from the game. True the companions to have funny dialogue with eachother from time to time, but here i don't bother listening to them at all, unless its Varrick whos talking. Varrick will probably be the companion i will remeber. Compared to DA:O, where i loved Alistair, Morrigan, Shale, Zevran, Oghren and so on. The companions in DA2 arent that memorable.

The theme is Kirkwall, you spend all the time in Kirkwall and its surrounding places. Kirkwall is a huge city and you can choose to visit at night and day, which is nice, but the city is empty. I mean there arent npc-s. The huge city seems kinda empty, but that isnt a big problem, the biggest problem is the dungeons and recycled areas. After ACT1 you will spend ur time revisiting the places u visited for several more times. Basically after ACT1 you have seen the whole game. Compared to DA:O, where there were so many diffrent places, citys this seems like they didnt have money or the time to make new dungeons. After revisiting a dungeon the 20-th time you know where the most treasures are and it isnt as rewarding and the game lacks exploration.

What is the deal with DLC before the game is even released. They are trying to milk too much money out of the gamers who like the Dragon Age universe. There are 2 dlc-s already, which 1 has a new companion and the other has some bonus items. You can play DA2 without dlc-s easily, because those dlc don't add that much depth to the game. Also on hard/nightmare the game is challenging, however some places are unbalanced and make you wanna tear your hair out. To play on nightmare you gotta exploit all the weakness and the stupidness of the enemys ai. The game started feeling like hit and run. The game isnt as tactical as DA:O, yes you can play it tactically, but after waves and waves of enemys ur tactics mostly end up being useless, because enemy's come out of nowhere and just take out ur mage or rogue. So you never can be prepeared.

Dont get me wrong Dragon Age 2 is a good game, but i always kept comparing it to DA:O. DA2 was rushed out, it wasnt polished like DA:O. If there wasnt DA:O i would give DA2 a score of 8, but it felt for me that it isnt as good as DA;O and i always compared to it. So imma give it a 7.… Expand

Gingervitis

Mar 14, 2011

7

As the low "user score" shows there's a ton of negative feedback from the community on this game. Some is very valid, some is sensationalism.

The interface; Big update since DA:O. Pretty much the entire UI is nicely set up, clean, and easy to use. The first thing that will hit when you first play the game (if you played the first) is they adopted the "dialog wheel" from Mass Effect, whichAs the low "user score" shows there's a ton of negative feedback from the community on this game. Some is very valid, some is sensationalism.

The interface; Big update since DA:O. Pretty much the entire UI is nicely set up, clean, and easy to use. The first thing that will hit when you first play the game (if you played the first) is they adopted the "dialog wheel" from Mass Effect, which was a huge bonus for myself. It was something i was wishing for when playing the first dragon age. Lots of people don't seem to feel the same way as me, but i guess it all comes down to person preference here.

The gameplay; Very fast paced, which is fun but after a few hours and you start to gain abilities, it becomes an absolute cluster****. Spell effects going off everywhere, sometimes i cant even tell if abilities are from my party or from the enemy. The game is also very difficult. I started on normal, but after wiping to one of the boss fights for about an hour i gave up and switched it to casual. Apparently i am all of a sudden bad at video games, Haha. Don't get me wrong, I find the gameplay years ahead of the first game. Which im probably alone in saying, Its much more fun to just pick up and run with. One thing that disappointed me was the fact that you couldn't give gear to your group (except for rings/belts/necklaces) which i thought was a bit lame. The talent trees are well laid out, I would say mages probably have the best set up trees of all of them, they a lot have incredibly powerful spells. But thats not much different from DA:O except now the CC is toned down quite a bit. With my playthrough I chose a rogue. After a few hours i started playing one of the mage side-characters when in combat because of how powerful they are, thankfully after getting the rogue some more abilities i switched back and she's a beast now, lots of hard hitting abilities and the gameplay for rogue after you get up to level 8-9 is just so fast paced and fun.

The story; Well... this is probably the weakest part of the game. When going through the storyline it feels a little forced, but I still find it engaging. I would say the story is a lot more accessible than the first game. I wont get into specifics so there are no spoilers but there have been a few points that made me facepalm and say "REALLY?".

Graphics; I dunno where the complaints about this are coming from... It looks beautiful once you get the HD texture update. But it probably takes quite a newly updated computer to seriously run it at high settings.

All in all, This game has some major flaws, but is well worth a play-through. I had a hard time getting into DA:O. But DA2 is much more accessible and fast paced for gamers that are newer to the RPG format. Which I guess can be viewed as a good or bad thing depending on your standpoint.… Expand

Osyron

Mar 15, 2011

7

As fair as i can be... Almost a week ago this 35 year old man sat sipping an early morning coffee in egger anticipation of the postman visiting his door, because on this morning two great things where happening... 1. the day off work (not to mention the following three as well) 2. the much anticipated Dragon age 2 signature edition was arriving. I was planing on writing an in depth,As fair as i can be... Almost a week ago this 35 year old man sat sipping an early morning coffee in egger anticipation of the postman visiting his door, because on this morning two great things where happening... 1. the day off work (not to mention the following three as well) 2. the much anticipated Dragon age 2 signature edition was arriving. I was planing on writing an in depth, insightful review but instead i am just going to list pro's and cons and a brief summery at the end. Pro's - Graphically its very good, the characters and landscapes are done with a very high level of detail i was only playing on medium settings and found some of scenery quite stunning at times. The spirit and mood of DAO is there, it pops its head up to say hellonow and then, not quite frequent enough for me to fall in love all over but often enough to keep my hopes up that it will blossom and flourish any minute now. the cast - i really liked the cast and supporting companions, i seem to be very loyal and stick with the first /tank/mage/healer that i come across in games and my fear was in this i would not take to the new characters as i would be missing the old ones to much but they grew on me instantly in most cases and for me the real reason i will revisit the game will be to tryout the characters that i did not use often in my first play through. combat - right this is tricky, im going to list comat in both the pro's and cons of the game because i do believe that improves have been made in some areas but bioware have dropped the ball in others, but as this is pro's lets stick with those first. First thing you notice is the visuals of certain abilities and spells, i played rogue in the original and in this one as well and the dynamic of this has been greatly improved, in DAO to perform backstab you had to position yourself behind your target and low and behold you could perform backstab, but targets dont often like to stand in the one spot so your character could end up chasing thenm around till they hold still long enough for you to perform backstab rendering it useless very often. In DA2 its a different story, at the click of a button you vanish, appear and perform backstab all in an instant making it a viable talent and much more pleasing on the eye . The other great thing about combat is the talent trees, there are at least six yes thats right six trees to choose from meaning you can play the same class over and over but have very different characters, experiences and results. Con's - Repetitiveness on maps, i wanted to play the whole game so i made sure i did all side quests before moving on the the main quest/storryline. I found myself repeatatly visiting the same cave/house/coastline to kill bandits/spiders/mercenaries (very similar to the bandits from where i standing) and after a while this felt like a chore rather than a joy, the quests themselves had very little imagination pretty much forgettable for the most part i can only compare it to my experience grinding in MMO's for money/XP. Something i have never before experienced with any bioware game before. combat - its easy, way to easy i was worried by my lack of a healer in the party and kept hoping to meet one down the line but i never did nor did i need to, i can only recall using 2 health potions outside of boss fights and this is with no healer in the party remember, this made fighting tedious, there was no feeling of danger at any time and the fights consist of hordes of mobs coming at you in waves but you feel like a man fighting toddlers, i personal felt like a bad ass for the first few fights but the novelty soon wore off and it became a bore, something in the way of me getting to where i wanted to go. Epicness - I keep comparing it to DAO which is slightly unfair but understandable as this is it's(supposed) successor but it just lacks the depth, variety and feeling of Epicness, overall the game still feels really good but when your riding on the coattails of Epic, really good just does not cut it.. Summery - Had this not been the follow up to Origins or a bioware game i think it would have been far better revived, i personally think Origins as close to a gaming masterpiece that you can get. and those are impossibly big shoes to fill but if anyone could i had faith bioware could. They did it with Baldurs gate, the squeal improving on the original in many ways yet keeping the same things that made everyone fall in love with the original, they did not pull that off this time. I just have the feeling bioware have gone from setting the standard to following the standard, taking the extraordinary and making it ordinary. Is this down to EA the timing of their involvement with bioware cant be dismissed as coincidence in my eyes, given biowares excellent back catalogue of games it strikes me as odd the would go from "sublime" to "quite good" all of a sudden on their own but maybe EA are an all to convenient scapegoat… Expand

Aluanira

Mar 15, 2011

7

DA2 is a good game with improved graphics and fun companions but it's not quite a worthy successor to DAO. It stands alone better as an expansion. As an RPG, DA2 falls short on the story side and your choices don't seem to matter much. On the plus side, the combat is much faster and the shuffling present in DAO is no longer there. But it can be too fast and with the waves of enemiesDA2 is a good game with improved graphics and fun companions but it's not quite a worthy successor to DAO. It stands alone better as an expansion. As an RPG, DA2 falls short on the story side and your choices don't seem to matter much. On the plus side, the combat is much faster and the shuffling present in DAO is no longer there. But it can be too fast and with the waves of enemies ninja-spawning, tactics don't seem to matter as much as they did in DAO. I found the game a bit dumbed down for a classic RPG but it was still very enjoyable as an action RPG. New models, especially the Qunari, look fantastic but it's unfortunate that Bioware chose to re-use the same environments for so many quests. It's a fun game and definitely worth a go if you're an RPG fan (I'm on my second play through now). Bioware has long been my favourite game company but I do feel let down by this entry in the Dragon Age world after so many years of superb gaming experiences with them. My fingers are crossed for another DA sequel with all of the legitimate concerns addressed. I don't mind waiting!… Expand

SnowHeart

Mar 15, 2011

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While DA2 does not live up to the reputation of games previously released by the developer, it does offer numerous hours of enjoyable play. The storytelling mechanic is fun, aspects of the main storyline are intriguing and, yes, to my surprise, the combat is generally better than its predecessor (Dragon Age: Origins). But the game also has more than its fair share of warts, including the story and the rushed production schedule which shows itself in the reuse of environments. The story itself, generally one of Bioware's strengths, is sorely lacking in focus and direction. A number of different minor story paths are unfolding throughout the game and they are, for what it's worth, mostly tied up by the end and shown how they all connect, yet none of them on their own are terribly interesting and several of them are quite two dimensional. One of the "major" tensions in the game is that between the Templars, a militaristic order with the task of policing (oppressing) the city's community of mages, and the mages themselves who are frequently the target of accusations they practice particularly foul and evil magics. Unfortunately, while the leader of the templars is never shown in a particularly positive light, she does have some compelling arguments and some of her subordinates are positively good people. In contrast, the vast majority of mages are revealed to, in fact, be practicing exactly the kind of dark magic they are accused of. The only excuse the game really offers the mages is that they were "pushed" into it by the templar commander's overzealous persecution. It's a circular logic that may serve the story's purpose but ultimately rings a bit hollow.

The game also reveals a horribly rushed production schedule. Environments are reused over and over. And I'm not talking about 90% of the game taking place in a single city. I'm talking about the "dungeons" themselves, or perhaps I should say "dungeon". There is precisely one outdoor random encounter (or "ambush") map that is reused for each such encounter. There is basically one cave map that is reused over and over again, the only difference being that certain doors may be closed or passages are blocked by rubble. There is one warehouse map, again used repeatedly for each and every warehouse. There is also one under city map, which looks a lot like a mine (including the mine cart), but doesn't make a lot of sense when that map is used for the sewers (a mine cart in the sewers, really?).

There are plenty of other negatives as well. The lack of friendly fire in combat as well as significantly increased cooldown periods (compared to DAO) for the use of healing spells and potions argues in favor of simply spamming area of effect attacks rather than having to prioritize targets and fight strategically. Enemies now enter combat in waves, and frequently come in right behind or on top of you, tumbling out of windows or descending from the ceiling above. As a consequence, tactical positioning becomes almost pointless. Companion interactions are still entertaining but limited as compared to its predecessor, with fewer opportunities to explore their backstories and develop a sense of attachment to them.

Despite these flaws, there have been improvements. The graphics are better and, on the whole, so is the combat. I didn't think I would say that, but I am enjoying the combat more than in DAO. Some of the "improvements" may have been ill-advised (discussed above), but the overall tempo and artistic style of the combat is improved. And while not up to the standard of Bioware's previous work, the story itself is perfectly serviceable and will keep most players going through from the prologue all the way to the end. If you can borrow the game from a friend, I'd advise you to do that. If you have to buy it to play it, I'd wait for a price drop before taking the plunge.… Expand

MrGerbz

Mar 15, 2011

7

Is DA2 a bad game? No.
Is DA2 a bad game by Bioware standards? Definitely.
Currently Bioware seems to become a true EA Games drone, by wanting to release a game every year at the cost of quality. It is mostly the Bioware fans that are seriously pissed off at them, and are giving all the bad scores. People who don't care much about RPG's but much rather prefer action-oriented games likeIs DA2 a bad game? No.
Is DA2 a bad game by Bioware standards? Definitely.

Currently Bioware seems to become a true EA Games drone, by wanting to release a game every year at the cost of quality. It is mostly the Bioware fans that are seriously pissed off at them, and are giving all the bad scores. People who don't care much about RPG's but much rather prefer action-oriented games like Call of Duty are the ones giving the high scores.

Lets focus on the good parts first. The combat *looks* great, the companions are interesting, the graphics are pretty decent, the lore is still awesome to read, and the story while less epic than in DA:O, is still written very well. By industry standards, this is a very decent game.

Sadly, there are also bad parts I need to mention. Like previously mentioned, the combat *looks* great, but when looking deeper at it, you'll notice it's actually pretty bland. Almost each encounter has waves of enemies (kill first group, 2nd group spawns, etc), and while interesting at first, it's overused.
Speaking of overusing, if you have seen one cave / villa / sewer, you've seen them all. This is the biggest evidence of Bioware focussing on quantity over quality. They don't even give you a different minimap, certain passages are just blocked off.
They've also reduced a lot of customization, with the excuse of 'streamlining' it. You can't even change your companions' outfit. But here's a newsflash Bioware: RPG fans LOVE customization. Sure, our companions may not always look great then, but this makes upgrading their outfits to more powerful ones even more satisfying.
The biggest part of the quests you'll do are simple find and drop off quests, without even specific dialogue. You won't feel much of a connection to anyone or anything but some of your companions. Dialogue shouldn't feel like a bother, hence you should have the ability to skip it. But a total lack of it only makes us feel less involved. This goes so far that you don't even buy wares from merchants themselves, but from boxes next to them. BANG, and the immersion's gone.

In conclusion: DA2 isn't bad, hell it's sometimes pretty good even. For the industry standard. But it's far, far away from the Bioware standard.… Expand

Talvrae

Mar 20, 2011

7

As a Bioware fan girl i will try to make as much of an unbiased review i can do for this game. I'm not blind to it's flaw. But dont want to bash it rediculously for some of the scandals on the game reviews.
Even if some of the features of Dragon Age Origins return, this is not the same game at all, for the good and the bad. We return to Thedas the same universe and we still are playing aAs a Bioware fan girl i will try to make as much of an unbiased review i can do for this game. I'm not blind to it's flaw. But dont want to bash it rediculously for some of the scandals on the game reviews.
Even if some of the features of Dragon Age Origins return, this is not the same game at all, for the good and the bad. We return to Thedas the same universe and we still are playing a tactical RPG like the first one, who let you customise the enemies tactics (Richards that's not an unfinished feature, it's necesseries with all the customisations possibles, and it allow to to addapt the tactics to your liking).
.
I wills tart out with the bads
Less customisation than the first one, It's no longer possible to play an elf or a dwarf.
Recicled environements
Lack of environement variety
straight lined missions

On the good side
The story is nice and very personal a good change of the epics stories
The voice acting is excellent as usual on a Bioware titles and the dialogue well work well in the game
Uge improvement on the graphical side (the art style have changed a lot trought and you like it or you dont)
Good replayability with lot of things who can change in the game plays

It's not as good as the original but still a good game… Expand

apexTF

Mar 16, 2011

7

May as well start by saying that if you're looking for a hard-core RPG, then Dragon Age 2 is not for you. It's RPG-lite at best. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you may have to adjust your expectations of the game. Initially I was dissapointed as I was hoping for a bigger and better DA:O, but it feels like bioware has taken DA in a completely new direction.
I guess the easiest way to sumMay as well start by saying that if you're looking for a hard-core RPG, then Dragon Age 2 is not for you. It's RPG-lite at best. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you may have to adjust your expectations of the game. Initially I was dissapointed as I was hoping for a bigger and better DA:O, but it feels like bioware has taken DA in a completely new direction.
I guess the easiest way to sum it up is that DA2 is simpler than its predecessor. The combat is faster and less tactical, even on the harder difficulty settings I rarely had to play with the custom tactics or pause to set up an attack. The loss of the tatical overview was dissapointing but I would argue that you hardly need to use it in this game. I actually enjoyed the more arcadey feel to the combat but I think the corpses that explode body parts all over the place at the slightest of touch was abit much!
The game is centred around one major city and at 30+ hours long there's a reasonable amount of content to get through. The story starts slow (the first 6 hours feels like you are just plodding along) but the second half is definitely better than the first and develops into quite an engaging storyline. The writers do a good job of keeping it interesting but after spending 80% of your time in the same city you do find yourself wishing for newer landscapes, the choice of locales is limited.
This leads me on to, in my view, one of the major downpoints of the game. The dungeon areas are horribly over recycled. You may not notice it for the first few hours but by the end it becomes jarringly obvious. It seems that blood mages and smugglers are more than happy to share a hidaway while bandits and spirits of the fade clearly swap interior decorators.
The graphics are a step up from the original and the cutscenes look pretty good but you will find better elsewhere.
The voice acting and script is competent without ever being spectacular and some of the characters are likable, even producing some chuckles. The conversation wheel works well and some of the choices you have to make are genuinely difficult.
The skill trees give a pretty decent choice for customisation but some skills feel like fillers. I liked the new approach to crafting, not having to search for millions of ingredients and instead just discovering resources works well, but the range of recipes seems limited.

I would recommend this game to anyone but for some it may be too bigger step away from the original. If you can look look past that you'll find an enjoyable game, that despite its flaws, easily gives you your moneys worth without ever being anything special.… Expand

FredIK

Mar 16, 2011

7

Dragon age 2 (DA2) have put a real dynamic fighting BUT too many bugs in the strategic mode made this game disappointing. Too many details (conversation, equipement) with companions, choice of race and background of own characters, the cue aren't reflect sometimes what the characters said (it is perhaps a problem of translation, i don't know). In fact the fans of RPG will find less inDragon age 2 (DA2) have put a real dynamic fighting BUT too many bugs in the strategic mode made this game disappointing. Too many details (conversation, equipement) with companions, choice of race and background of own characters, the cue aren't reflect sometimes what the characters said (it is perhaps a problem of translation, i don't know). In fact the fans of RPG will find less in Dragon Age 2 than In DA Origins. I have more said "it's a pitty" than "Excellent" in my play of DA2.
My score is 7, sure there are gaps but it stay a real good RPG game. People wait perhaps too much from Bioware which perhaps have to take much time to finish Dragon Age 2. It's not an Epic fail, just choices from Bioware, not really satisfied their gamers.… Expand

sk4477

Mar 17, 2011

7

Is it as good as DA:O? No. Ist it on my list of possible Game of the Year candidates? No. Was Bioware cutting corners left and right.. yes.. Let's face it, DA2 feels like it was rushed to the market without the care and attention to detail that made its predecessor special. DA2 suffers from repeating dungeons over and over again and disappoints me with a over simplified skill tree. Let'sIs it as good as DA:O? No. Ist it on my list of possible Game of the Year candidates? No. Was Bioware cutting corners left and right.. yes.. Let's face it, DA2 feels like it was rushed to the market without the care and attention to detail that made its predecessor special. DA2 suffers from repeating dungeons over and over again and disappoints me with a over simplified skill tree. Let's just skip over the whole party armor upgrading business and while we're at it, cram the stupid dialog wheel system from Mass Effect down the players throats. It's getting almost too casual now. Yes,I do feel like this title was produced with minimal effort, to rake in some more additional cash. And yes i do blame EA for it.

Act 1 unfortunately being especially bland, while Acts 2 and 3 do pick up a quite bit, with my party members finally starting to develop some actual profile. But does it deserve a meager 0-4 scores? Hell no. It is still an entertaining title that will keep fans of the old DA:O or faster paced W-RPGS entertained for a good 20h if not way more. My first play thru took 38h. It has a decent storyline, it's technically 'sound' - not great, mind you, just average. I haven't experienced any bugs, crashes or whatnot. I liked the story, it even does lend itself to be played at least a second time through. Plenty of quests to go around, too. I think this title is getting bashed a bit too hard here.… Expand

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