Dragon Age II

 PC
User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5052 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,397 out of 5052
  2. Mixed: 1,198 out of 5052
  3. Negative: 2,457 out of 5052
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  1. PHDIKOULAS
    Jan 23, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. review for DA 2 ultimate edition , one major spoiler so be warned

    This second part gets a 3,

    Its obvious this game was done alongside mass effect 3 and the devs where probably juggling games,The sloppiness or laziness or whatevernes permeates this game through and through.

    One minor example is act 1 80? quests act 2 30? act 3 10 tops :D

    The plot is one of the worse i ve ever seen in a triple A title,even a blind mad stroking randomly a keyboard would have made a better story ffs

    I imported my dragon age 1 save and it had 0 effects.The effects were so minimal its laughable. Honestly from bioware i didnt expect this but hey, now in 2020 its the norm. Ill just say this and do what you will so you know what amount of laziness we re talking about. SPOILER FOLLOWS

    At one point your mother dies.Its scripted so you cant save her no matter what you do. The devs want to up their drama game. The scene is sad emotional all that stuff. After the cutscene i talked to my houses butler(you were living with your mother in same house) i talk to the butler and he had this to say

    "lovely estate you have here mesere................................................................................................"

    They didnt even bother to change the line of the first person you meet who was your family's manservant ffs , i loled so hard my sides are in andromedan orbit if you catch ma drift. So yeah,should you get this game?if you find it for 10 bucks yeah sure.Otherwise move along

    TLDR the game dosent feel anything like dragon age origins. Almost like a different game with dragon age vibes, Feels like good passionate devs started making it and some 0 fantasy no clue devs finished it as a drudgery. also critics giving 90-95% to this game? Woah they got some good money it seems to write the reviews    … Expand
  2. Sego
    Jan 23, 2022
    3
    After cool DA:Oriring it's just a trash, I just want Origins Remake, and EA can die after this
  3. Dom007
    Mar 28, 2021
    3
    This is literally inferior in every way to dragon age origins. Thankfully I didn't get to experience the hype around release, otherwise I would have had to endure the disappointment of the game as well.
  4. Goekhan
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    After playing the demo, hoped that the full game would worth something. But, simply no. Basically, a hack&slash game with conversations, companions, etc... And those alone doesn't make a game one RPG. Just an insult. I'll no longer buy any Bioware games, they don't exist for me anymore.
  5. Fr0s7y
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Unlike some who appear outraged over Dragon Age 2, all this game has really managed to do to me is make me somewhat sad. Sad that I have to see such an amazing developer fall so far in releasing an obviously rushed, horribly over-simplified game in order to target what appears to be their new demographic, the "console crowd". Where to start.. The game has been "streamlined" and simplifiedUnlike some who appear outraged over Dragon Age 2, all this game has really managed to do to me is make me somewhat sad. Sad that I have to see such an amazing developer fall so far in releasing an obviously rushed, horribly over-simplified game in order to target what appears to be their new demographic, the "console crowd". Where to start.. The game has been "streamlined" and simplified in areas where it just wasn't necessary.. The combat is laughable, simply wave after wave of enemies that not only die in a single hit, they somehow explode. Tactics are nonexistent.. Sure, on Nightmare you'll micromanage through waves of enemies that somehow follows the same formula regardless of what you're fighting.. Sorry, but I don't really consider that "tactical" play.

    The UI is absolutely hideous, clearly having been designed with a console in mind. Yet another change that was absolutely unnecessary, all to appeal to the crowd that hasn't given a damn about BioWare while those of us that have supported them for years are casually tossed to the side.

    The graphics are about the only reason this game is receiving a 2 from me.. While I noticed others are complaining about them as well, I have to give credit where credit is due and say that on DX11 with the high resolution textures the game is quite beautiful (if you can ignore the fact that every area you're in is nothing but a simple corridor). It's sad, but this game has brought me to a point where I can say that I will never, ever again pre-order a BioWare title, despite having supported almost every major release of theirs since KotOR. If you're thinking of purchasing this game, I can assure you that you really aren't missing out on much, especially if you're expecting anything even remotely resembling what made the original Dragon Age popular.

    Thanks for all the great times, BioWare.. You've just really messed up on this one.    … Expand
  6. poloman
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    First, you should know that this review comes from a fan of Dragon Age Origins.
    As far as I am concerned DAO was the best single player RPG of the past 10 years.
    With that said, DA2 is quite simply an epic fail. Kirkwall One of the well known 'features' of Dragon Age 2 is that the whole "story" takes place in Kirkwall. When I read this in a game preview, I didn't mind. I assumed    First, you should know that this review comes from a fan of Dragon Age Origins.
    As far as I am concerned DAO was the best single player RPG of the past 10 years.
    With that said, DA2 is quite simply an epic fail.

    Kirkwall

    One of the well known 'features' of Dragon Age 2 is that the whole "story" takes place in Kirkwall. When I read this in a game preview, I didn't mind. I assumed (wrongly) that Kirkwall must be HUGE. The first thing you will notice after stepping into Kirkwall is how tiny it is. It takes all of 10 minutes to explore the whole entire city. You think you are going up some stairs to explore a new area when a dialog box pops up, "Would you like to gather your party and continue?". Uh, Ok. A screen pops up where you have to click a new area. Boom. You are transported to the new area that looks exactly like the first and is tiny, tiny, tiny. There are a few crates and sacks to open, but that is it.

    Oh well, you say. "I don't care how tiny it is, my attention span is so short every area will seem new to me anyways". Well you will also notice Kirkwall is filled with tons of people going about their business! What a sprawling city just filled with life! Unfortunately, you can't talk to any of these people. None. Zero. Clicking them does nothing. Area recycling

    OK, so now the dreaded area recycling that fangirls everywhere try to justify. I'd like to remind everyone that I play games for fun. I realize many of you now play games as a form of repetitive work (like WoW), in that case, you still won't like this game. It is truly ridiculous. Accept a quest, go through a mine, return back and get a reward. Good, it was fun. Accept another quest, go back to the exact same mine, but now somehow there are doors closed off with rocks, and new doors magically have opened. WTF? Ok whatever, I'll let it slide. Oh wait, please don't make me go back to Kirkwall to accept another quest. I know we have moved past this but Kirkwall is so small that I memorized every area, where everything was in just one pass through of the city. I can see how people can convince themselves that this area recycling is fine, as I did myself for a little while. But finally I cracked. I hate it. I hate this game. If you haven't cracked yet, just keep playing. It will happen. I promise.

    Exploration is a desired component for me in RPG's and there is no exploration here.

    Battles

    Not much to say about this one. Every battle is the exact same, with the a lot of the same enemies. This is just a real let down. Here is how it works: Approach an area, kill off about 7 - 10 enemies, a second wave of 7-10 enemies appears. Kill them. Move on. Every. Single. Battle. Is. The. Same. Two waves. Then done. All of them. So when you enter a battle, you know exactly what will happen, this absolutely kills immersion. It is obvious they tried to take a middle road in combat design to please console and PC players alike. They failed in both.
    Combat is boring, boring, boring and boring, no strategy, and did I mention boring.

    Story / Characters

    Ah what else. How about the story? Weak, beyond weak. I didn't have a single moment in the game that I found the story to be enaging, in fact most of the time it was flat out confusing and vague.
    In addition to the weak story that you don't care about the companion's histories are very undeveloped and interactions with them are dismal compared to its predcesor. The new dialog options of simply 'Peaceful' 'Funny' and 'Angry' is partially to blame. The old dialog system was much better.
    Unlike DA-O I felt no attachment to any of them because I was barely given any information about them or opportunity to learn about them.
    By the way, the main character being voiced was actually a huge detraction from the game, not a benefit.

    Conclusion

    I was expecting an epic sequel to DA:O. This is such an embarrassment of an RPG that I actually feel used, and conned. There is no possible way that BioWare was putting the finishing touches on this baby and thought, "Wow, good job guys. This game is really fun". The game is small, repetitive and just plain boring. Why are there 2 waves to every fight? Why are all the areas the same? Why is Kirkwall so damn small?! Why is there no life in it? I am surprised that it took them this long to release the game.

    I truly miss the days where developers put their heart and soul into their games. There is always some ?????? bag that realizes they can get people to pay 60 bucks for the game on its reputation alone, and can cut costs by simply making it a pile of trash. I doubt I will ever buy another BioWare title. I am disgusted. I just wish the gaming media websites would actually rate games truthfully. They could possibly save this game by making it a Facebook only web app.

    Final words: What happened?    … Expand
  7. Ashin
    Mar 14, 2011
    2
    A step back in every respect from Origins, if you enjoyed Origins, don't expect to enjoy this, it caters for a low tier of gamers, one day DLC is another slap in the face from a money grabbing company.
  8. Sirkiko
    Mar 15, 2011
    2
    This is for sure the disappointment of the year and the reason why BioWare should've never been sold to Electronic Arts. This "sequel" is worse than the original in almost everything, except textures and skill effects. The main plot is boring and has no sense, the combat is dumb and the Hawke has no charisma at all.
  9. Sh0dan
    Sep 18, 2011
    2
    With DA: Origins BioWare captured a tiny bit of the magic they used to have in their heyday with the likes of Baldurs Gate 2 and KOTOR, and in my opinion that strategic, tactical "thinking" gameplay felt like a step in the right direction, particularly the PC version with its overhead distant perspective allowing us to get a good view of the battlefield. However this game just feels soWith DA: Origins BioWare captured a tiny bit of the magic they used to have in their heyday with the likes of Baldurs Gate 2 and KOTOR, and in my opinion that strategic, tactical "thinking" gameplay felt like a step in the right direction, particularly the PC version with its overhead distant perspective allowing us to get a good view of the battlefield. However this game just feels so watered down and casualised its just lost all of that past BioWare magic. I felt the same about Mass Effect 2 also, which seemed dumbed down and more about mindless action. So if anyone else out there reading this felt the same about that game, then trust me, DA2 will disappoint you too.… Expand
  10. Cicatrix
    Nov 13, 2013
    2
    While it is nice to have fully voiced responses, this game is annoying and boring. You basically run the same dungeons over and over again, except sometimes its "1 year later" which doesn't mean anything in the great scheme of things. The city you start in, while impressive at first, is the only place you ever really go, you will spend your entire gaming experience in this city, meaningWhile it is nice to have fully voiced responses, this game is annoying and boring. You basically run the same dungeons over and over again, except sometimes its "1 year later" which doesn't mean anything in the great scheme of things. The city you start in, while impressive at first, is the only place you ever really go, you will spend your entire gaming experience in this city, meaning about 40 hours in the exact same crappy place. Gone is the wonder of going new places and meeting new people from Dragon Age Origins, now your basically restricted to 2 dungeons and a city over and over and over again...… Expand
  11. batosai33
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age II is another sequel that would have been better as a new IP. Looking at it as a new IP, it has a flowing combat system, decent customization, good story, and interesting characters. This, however, is not a new IP. This is the sequel to one of the best RPGs i have ever played. Compared to DA:O the customization is laughable, the leveling is limited, combat animation is moreDragon Age II is another sequel that would have been better as a new IP. Looking at it as a new IP, it has a flowing combat system, decent customization, good story, and interesting characters. This, however, is not a new IP. This is the sequel to one of the best RPGs i have ever played. Compared to DA:O the customization is laughable, the leveling is limited, combat animation is more interesting and flowing, but is very limited, and the characters are too stuck in their roles. Essentially the only thing that they improved was making the combat more flowing, especially for the mages. Everything else was cut by 1/3. you have only one race instead of 3, cutting your character options by 1/3, any non mage class is stuck in archery, 2handed swordsmanship, etc instead of being able to choose between 3, and you are stuck in one city and the mountain out back instead of being able to travel around a huge map. Will I buy it? Yes, once the price drops to 1/3 that of DA:O.… Expand
  12. Paulie_C
    Mar 13, 2011
    2
    I would have given this game 7 or 8/10 if it wasn't called DA2. This is not the sequel the first game deserved and is a traversty to the RPG genre set forth from its predcessor. Having said that, if you ignore the title and assume this game isn't within the DA lineage then it is actually quite entertaining, even though it is a hack & slash 'RPG'.
  13. WMD
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    I am extremely disappointed in Dragon Age II. I should have done the research, I should have waited a few days and read the reviews. Instead at 10 AM today I was at Gamestop picking up my copy not knowing just how disappointed I was about to be. I expected a lot of this game, what I did not expect to receive was a dumbed-down almost direct console port of a video game. The graphics lookI am extremely disappointed in Dragon Age II. I should have done the research, I should have waited a few days and read the reviews. Instead at 10 AM today I was at Gamestop picking up my copy not knowing just how disappointed I was about to be. I expected a lot of this game, what I did not expect to receive was a dumbed-down almost direct console port of a video game. The graphics look terrible even with the "high-res" pack installed and running. The vegetation is so sparse it is comical. The inventory system is deplorable. For every character other than your main character you can only change their weapon, rings, and amulet and belt. No boots, no gloves, no helmet, no grieves. The battles amount to nothing more than, "Here fight these 8 enemies you can one shot. You killed them? Here is another 8. You killed them!? Bet you didn't see this come, here is another wave. Good job, you won." There is no strategy involved, indeed, there CANT be strategy when just about every one of your abilities one-shots your enemies. There just isn't time. I am writing this review in the hopes of saving someone else the disappointment I am feeling. I just played 13 hours of Dragon Age 2. All 13 hours of the same thing was going through my head, "This game is nowhere near as epic as its predecessor because it is FIRST a console RPG, and then a pc RPG, not the other way around like DA:O was". Save your money if you own a pc, rent it if you on a ps3 or 360. Don't make the mistake I did.… Expand
  14. dinges
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    A slap in the face for fans of DA:O, seriously where did they get the idea to main the masterpiece that DA:O was into this piece of filth. Everything's dumbed down and simplified, what on earth were they thinking. Don't buy this game, buy DA:O instead.
  15. Galeon22
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Here goes...reserved the game months ago because I loved DA:O and even Awakening. Bought a couple of DLC even. Thought the game was a bone to the old-ish veteran gamers who enjoyed Baldur's gate, NWN, etc. Here's my opinion on the game:

    Pros: -Characters are pretty interesting so far (played about 8 hours) -Voice acting is great. Cons: -Action oriented, which is a matter of    Here goes...reserved the game months ago because I loved DA:O and even Awakening. Bought a couple of DLC even. Thought the game was a bone to the old-ish veteran gamers who enjoyed Baldur's gate, NWN, etc. Here's my opinion on the game:

    Pros:
    -Characters are pretty interesting so far (played about 8 hours)
    -Voice acting is great.

    Cons:
    -Action oriented, which is a matter of opinion. But considering this is the sequel to the 2009 GotY that used a completely different combat system more based on strategy, this just sounds like Bioware left its old fans behind and tried to reach for a new market. On that note, ''Strategic pause'' isn't very strategic. Button mashing feast.
    -Graphics are unpolished. Unexcusable, especially the NPC's look horrible up close.
    -Dungeons rehashed only 5 hours in the game...really Bioware?
    -No isometric view. Makes me believe the PC game was more an afterthought than anything else.
    -Story is unfocused. Jumping from point to point in time and following the story through someone else's viewpoints isnt a bad idea (Diablo 2 everyone?) but it's poorly done this time, at least in my humble opinion.
    -Dialogue wheel was fine for Mass Effect, but it breaks the mood for this game. Having a choice between being overboard angelic, a complete **** or a wisecracker doesnt sound like a lot of choice to me.
    -So little choice on how to customize the main character...human male or female. Poor immersion, I never believed for a second I was Hawke the way I identified to my warden in DA2.    … Expand
  16. Kuudou
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    While I was somewhat optimistic even after playing the demo most of that optimism faded when I actually played the game.

    Revamped combat does not work too well, stiff character animations are also very off putting. And is it me or did Dragon Age Origins have better character textures? Also what's with the Critic's score, my god. Those are NOT honest reviews, because metascore's user    While I was somewhat optimistic even after playing the demo most of that optimism faded when I actually played the game.

    Revamped combat does not work too well, stiff character animations are also very off putting. And is it me or did Dragon Age Origins have better character textures? Also what's with the Critic's score, my god. Those are NOT honest reviews, because metascore's user ratings clearly does not reflect that.    … Expand
  17. Shadow04
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This is not Dragon Age, despite the game's title, the game itself has precious little to do with Dragon Age. It's almost an insult naming this game Dragon Age 2. Very saddening to see a once great rpg turned into something like that. Almost every aspect of a rpg is dumbed down beyond words to better appeal to the console users, seriously. What the hell is the Mass Effect conversation styleThis is not Dragon Age, despite the game's title, the game itself has precious little to do with Dragon Age. It's almost an insult naming this game Dragon Age 2. Very saddening to see a once great rpg turned into something like that. Almost every aspect of a rpg is dumbed down beyond words to better appeal to the console users, seriously. What the hell is the Mass Effect conversation style doing in Dragon Age, it basically give u 3 words and a face beside you to hand hold you telling you that the choice is an evil/good/neutral one. Only one default race, seriously? Much of the appeal, and re-playability, of the previous Dragon Age is that one can choose a different race on each play through and the NPC will react accordingly to your race. Now you are better off deleting the game after your first run through, no re-playability whatsoever. There is so many things fundamentally wrong with this game I dun even know where to end.

    Bioware better off naming it Mass Effect: Origins which tells the story of how Shepherd's ancestor save the world. If we wanted something like Mass Effect we would have waited for the next Mass Effect. In a nutshell, this is NOT Dragon Age, anyone looking forward to reliving the hundreds of hours spent on the original Dragon Age will be sorely disappointed. Better off grabbing Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition and play any dlcs that you missed out previously, even replaying Dragon Age: Origins for the 1000th gives you a better experience. Give us back our original Dragon Age!    … Expand
  18. ArtHouseMouse
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    I don't understand how IT was born?"OK, let's make some fighting system for kids, dialogs which can't change storyline, AND SEX with woman, than man, man, man, woman".So, is it a boylover simulator or it was made for a schoolboys? I can't understand why enemies are crashing into pieces from one knife slash?It's hilarious game from fathers of RPG. And some words about graphics - it sucks.
  19. tobi963
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    Never good when you make a game worse than it's prequel. So many problems with the game. So much hype over it by DA fans. The "professional" reviewers are giving it a high score for some reason I do not know.
  20. Pancakes
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age 2 is an abomination. The gameplay is boring and primitive, the story is linear and cliched, the writing is godawful fanfiction.net Naruto fanfics-level crap and the characters are ranging from mediocre to awful (especially Merrill, who is a disgusting moeblob without any personality). Oh, and it's ugly, and i'm not only talking about graphics - the artstyle is... bad. Very, veryDragon Age 2 is an abomination. The gameplay is boring and primitive, the story is linear and cliched, the writing is godawful fanfiction.net Naruto fanfics-level crap and the characters are ranging from mediocre to awful (especially Merrill, who is a disgusting moeblob without any personality). Oh, and it's ugly, and i'm not only talking about graphics - the artstyle is... bad. Very, very bad. DA2 looks like something that a 12 year old with ADHD could make.

    Oh, and the Nightmare difficulty that was hyped as being super great stuff for truly hardcore gamers? It's crap too. Instead of giving new abilities to the opponents and making them smarter Bioware just gave them really high stats and called it a day.    … Expand
  21. jackofallfades
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I waited to buy the game because I was tentative and, after having played it at my friend's house (and seeing the reviews), I'm glad I didn't.

    My short playthrough of the demo and my long play at my friend's house has shown me that Bioware has given us a throwaway in DA2. -The locations are bland. Flat, color-less, empty (and I mean devoid of life... ME2 felt like a bustling galaxy, even    I waited to buy the game because I was tentative and, after having played it at my friend's house (and seeing the reviews), I'm glad I didn't.

    My short playthrough of the demo and my long play at my friend's house has shown me that Bioware has given us a throwaway in DA2.

    -The locations are bland. Flat, color-less, empty (and I mean devoid of life... ME2 felt like a bustling galaxy, even in empty places. Here... everything just seems disjointed and static). The beginning area of the game, which would have been an amazing opportunity to kick off the game the right way by showing the full range of the Darkspawn destruction, was instead limited to a couple brown ditches, a small, crumbling structure, and a battle on a flat, brown field. The "bustling, and over-populated" city of Kirkwall, which is the ONLY CITY YOU WILL SEE ALL GAME, is full of bland, repeated textures, and claustrophobic, bite-sized map chunks.

    -The story is almost non-existent (we're several hours in and have yet to encounter anything that resembles a coherent plotline, save "go here, do this."). I wish I was joking, but this game jams side quests down your throat like you wouldn't believe. And, unlike DA:O or ME2, every single one of these side quests is boring beyond belief.

    -The combat is clunky. Between targeting issues and camera fowl-ups, I've easily MISSED enemies with attacks and had to repeat entire battles because my Defender is too stupid to defend my mage (who goes down in three seconds from EVERYTHING attacking her) when I tell her to. Babysitting the Defender through the pause menu makes no difference whatsoever, because fights are too fast, flurried, and often too spaced out for abilities like (AoE) Taunt or (cone) Shield Bash to prove effective.

    -Shepherd in ME1 *and* ME2 felt special, because she was uncompromising, strong-willed, and experienced, which showed in every playthrough on either Renegade or Paragon. However,in DA2, everyone keeps saying Hawke is a "Champion"... but I can see no clear reason why Hawke is special, other than she's the PC and Bioware said so.

    -The poorly-written dialogue reinforces this, as Hawke is bland and uninteresting. Her compatriots are similar in this regard, as they sign on to her party without question, offer help for no reason, and become fast friends for no reason other than it's convenient to expedite the pace of the game. Much of the dialog (lore, expository, AND romantic) is downright abysmal and actually forced me on numerous occasions to stop playing so I could find someone to point out how stupid they were. No joke... there is actually a portion of the game where one character admits their love for Hawke... and an available response is "I'm hungry." *facepalm*

    -The first two hours of the game emphasize combat only by making you play through the beginning... the play through it AGAIN, just in case you didn't enjoy the SAME EXACT BATTLE the FIRST time. It barely touches on specialization (which is confusing unless you spend 20 minutes reading all the different branches and even then, some of them are locked to your characters), and are filled with endless waves of cookie-cutter enemies. Hell... even the writers seemed to get bored with it, because I was allowed into the city with two short walks on the same, small map, before I was consigned to a ONE YEAR fast forward and then introduced to a bunch of NPCs (lacking any discernible personality besides being gruff and shrewd) that knew my character as a slave, but had yet to be introduced to me. This actually ends up being the tone of the game, where you complete numerous side quests before completing a few big ones and fast-forwarding the story a year into the future. This ended up making me frustrated to the point that I lost all interest in character progression, because I was missing large gaps of time. Oh, and my first big quest is "make mom happy." Fantastic.

    -Inventory system is broken and clunky. Companions are almost stuck with the gear they've got.

    -Game is unoptimized for beta drivers, comes without the HD textures pack (God knows why, but you have to download it from Bioware separately), and has some of the ugliest, blandest... and creepiest... character models, textures, and weapon models. Google "Dragon Age 2 looks" to see what I mean.

    This game reeks of crappy console port and is a slap in the face to the PC community that has become Bioware's fanbase of the years. The game has been dumbed-down (repetition, repetition) significantly to appeal to the console gaming crowd and it's painfully obvious. No game should make you feel like you have to struggle to enjoy it and DA2 made me miserably bored and angry for hours before my friend and I uninstalled it.

    This game is God-awful pitiful at the on-set and several hours through does not appear to be getting any better. Do NOT buy.    … Expand
  22. Koalab
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I have no way to relay my complete an utter disappointment in this game. All i can say is that the combat is ruined by making it look like a bad action movie. And the game is overly simplified.

    Shame on you bioware for ruining what was to be the best series of games
  23. McGlomp
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This game is so disappointing to me. I can live with the unintuitive new UI, the new fast-paced (hack and slash) combat, and the uninspired art design. I really can. What I can't live with are the forgettable characters you encounter and the abysmal "story". There really is no "arc" to speak of; just a bunch of loose ends. Your companions have no personality. I can't even remember theirThis game is so disappointing to me. I can live with the unintuitive new UI, the new fast-paced (hack and slash) combat, and the uninspired art design. I really can. What I can't live with are the forgettable characters you encounter and the abysmal "story". There really is no "arc" to speak of; just a bunch of loose ends. Your companions have no personality. I can't even remember their names most of the time. If they had numbers instead of names it would not make one bit of difference. They are forgettable and so is this game. I do not have the feeling of becoming "attached" to anything or anyone, including the main character (Hawke). There is no reason for me to care. Terrible, terrible writing. There really are no redeeming qualities. If Dragon age 2 wasn't made by Bioware, the professional critic scores would be much, much lower. This game is a generic, uninspired, rushed piece of trash. I am incredibly disappointed. Please do not waste your money like I did.… Expand
  24. Deltaleader
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Utter disappointment. They say Dragon Age II hasn't been dumbed down, it's just more welcoming. The truth is somewhere in-between. The new art direction doesn't really cut it (Dragon Age is a gritty fantasy epic, not some cartoon-ish gorefest), the combat is terrible, lacking any kind of tactical capabilities, it is just mindless button-mashing (even on Nightmare, there is simply notUtter disappointment. They say Dragon Age II hasn't been dumbed down, it's just more welcoming. The truth is somewhere in-between. The new art direction doesn't really cut it (Dragon Age is a gritty fantasy epic, not some cartoon-ish gorefest), the combat is terrible, lacking any kind of tactical capabilities, it is just mindless button-mashing (even on Nightmare, there is simply not enough challenge), rendering the pause and play system completely useless. The environments are uninspired and the gameplay is restricted to a single corridor (most of the time). Mr. Gaider did his best to support the poor combat experience, by some mature storytelling and the framed narrative, but He fails to live up to the example of Alpha Protocol. The plotline is dramatic enough, but the undeveloped C&C, along with the cliched dialogues are well below the standards. The main protagonist is voiced, which would be good thing, had it not been for the removal of the Origin stories. The only redeeming factor of Dragon Age II is the immense work put into the soundtrack and acting. Inon Zur is brilliant as always, even though the score is not as memorable as Prince of Persia or Icewind Dale II. And whoever designed the new UI, should start again from scratch; it reminded me of Morrowind, and that masterpiece came out a decade ago.

    All summarized in one sentence: Dragon Age II is an insult to the first game and the RPG genre.    … Expand
  25. TheTopazWombat
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    When Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal ofWhen Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal of this standard. The combat feels jolty and unrealistic. The characters wield a 2 handed sword that would make Braveheart sweat like it was made from tissue paper. The weapons were equally large in Dragon Age: Origins, but at least they felt like they were actually that big. Instead, what we have here is a combat system that resembles crappy anime more than anything else. As if the combat wasn't bad enough, the dialogue has been dumbed down into the wheel-of-fail style that was implemented with Mass Effect. Not only that, but every single piece of dialogue feels like it was written by an 8 year old who just read his first fantasy novel. There is no character depth, I'd as soon stab my party members as look at them, and to glue all this together the voice acting feels more like a group of Live Action Roleplayers than paid voice actors. To top all this off, the game not only doesn't look and present itself better than Origins, it actually looks worse. I can't recall another time when a sequel to a game looked worse than its predecessor. It feels as though Bioware did everything in their power to make this a worse RPG in an effort to alienate their hard-earned fan base and sell to the mass media'd console market. The only thing that kept this game from getting a 0 from me is the fact that maybe Bioware didn't intend for this to be an RPG at all, and simply another generic, boring, railroaded action game. As a lifelong Bioware fan, I truly hope they don't stay on this road. They've proven time and again their ability to make a solid RPG, but this game was an utter betrayal of everything I as an RPG fan have come to love and expect from them.… Expand
  26. LastRite
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    What have they done to my beloved Dragon Age? Shoddy performance on Nvidia and the game feels very rushed and simplified. I won't be pre-ordering the next one!
  27. Tizlor
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game. I do, it's mindless. After working long days at my terrible menial job that saps my mental capacities; it's nice to sit down with a mindless game that takes absolutely no thought what-so-ever to get through. But that's a problem. This is a Bioware game. It's set to a higher standard than other games, it's supposed to draw you inI'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game. I do, it's mindless. After working long days at my terrible menial job that saps my mental capacities; it's nice to sit down with a mindless game that takes absolutely no thought what-so-ever to get through. But that's a problem. This is a Bioware game. It's set to a higher standard than other games, it's supposed to draw you in with it's story and setting; the characters are supposed to be memorable, witty, devious, intelligent. But none of that really applies here. What we got was a game so vapid, so unintelligent, so... test grouped, that it's now not much more than a mindless Facebook game. Re-used maps everywhere. Lack of personality in it's setting and characters. Plenty of loot, but only one character to equip it on. (Oh that's nice, a 'mage only' item that has stats that my rogue will never be able to equip. Maybe I'll equip it on to one of my mages on my team, oh wait..) Poorly written characters that are voice acted quite well. And what happened to the Qunari? I mean, what? I honestly thought they were Darkspawn. Who even thought that was a good idea? I'm starting to go off the rails, the game itself is not worthy of calling itself a sequel. The people who spent the passed year or two working on this game should not be proud of their work. They were forced to make a game that they I'm sure knew would be a big disappointment for the people who actually enjoyed the first game. Sorry fellas, people aren't trolling, they're genuinely disappointed that you (Bioware) made a subpar game. Borrow this from your friends if you really really want to play it, please do not spend your (or your parents') hard earned money on this.… Expand
  28. w1res
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This is just your average run of the mill hack n' slash game now. Also combat moves are just so over the top that they are very corny. Not so great...
  29. TheLastOne
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Sadly, yet another developer has abandoned their PC core game base for the mass appeal of the console. Bioware games have historically been extremely deep, really customizable games, with a strong focus on tactics and strategy. The industry as a whole has been moving away from these kind of games because of the increased profitability games have on console, and the simplistic consoleSadly, yet another developer has abandoned their PC core game base for the mass appeal of the console. Bioware games have historically been extremely deep, really customizable games, with a strong focus on tactics and strategy. The industry as a whole has been moving away from these kind of games because of the increased profitability games have on console, and the simplistic console controls limit what developers can do. Dragon Age seemed to be one of the last remaining franchises truly designed to be a hardcore RPG gamer's type of game. However, the console has struck again, and we are left with Dragon Age 2, a game that does nothing but let down Bioware's long standing fanbase and fans of the genre. Let me preface this by saying that if you aren't familiar with Bioware games (aside from Mass Effect), like hack and slash type games, and are a console gamer, chances are you will enjoy this game. However, to the rest of us, this game signifies everything that is wrong with the market and the way gaming is headed. The depth of PC games of old is dead, and Bioware is no longer doing anything to prevent it.… Expand
  30. MichaelSteve
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Having been a long time wrpg fan, Dragons Age: Origins established what looked to be a great new IP breaking away from frankly tired D&D conventions. I have just finished DA2 which took a little under 16 hours, and I fear for the future of this brand. Graphically DA2 looks almost identical to DA:O origins which isn't unexpected given the very quick development time. Main characters lookHaving been a long time wrpg fan, Dragons Age: Origins established what looked to be a great new IP breaking away from frankly tired D&D conventions. I have just finished DA2 which took a little under 16 hours, and I fear for the future of this brand. Graphically DA2 looks almost identical to DA:O origins which isn't unexpected given the very quick development time. Main characters look great but scenery, NPCs and unfortunately some armor and weapons suffer from hideously low resolution textures and low polygon counts. DA2 has also developed some sort of gore fixation with every kill resulting in an exploding enemy flinging litres of blood around and staining the screen with modern warfare-esque decals over the hud. Performance with the PC version was schizophrenic - FPS changing drastically in areas containing little detail, I would guess some internal face culling was skipped in the development process.

    The voice acting suffers compared to DA:O, unfortunately I would probably link this to the quick development time as well. The male Hawke delivers the majority of his lines with a lack of expression or enthusiasm which is often unintentionally hilarious when coupled with dramatic player animations. The mass-effect conversational wheel could have been a worthy addition if it was made clear what the player was going to actually say. I found the conversations similar to alpha protocol in this respect, the main character often saying things you did not intend for them to say.

    Most disappointing to me is the lack of player choice and provisions for role playing. Many quests are initiated with the typical "Get this item/person from here and bring it back/kill them" line from an npc with your responses limited to 2 or 3 ways to say "yes" with limited occasions where you can refuse quests or hold out for more rewards etc etc...

    Combat is more or less similar to DA:O with the need to flank targets strangely removed, with characters flipping in to backstab then flipping back out again. Quite unusual given the mechanics established in the original. I can't help but think the simplification of some elements of combat removes some of what made DA:O great in the first place.

    There are other issues regarding some cringe worthy pop culture references, the bland story, repeated dungeons and your two dimensional companions, but to be honest, I'd rather forget about this experience and hope that this misstep by bioware doesn't kill off the future of this franchise.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

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