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. Kozal
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    DA2 confirms the turn taken with ME2, this does not reassure the future of RPGs from this studio. Bioware is a turning point in its history, abandoning his philosophy to produce evoluted PC games for simplified console games (it is their right, no worries on that point, but Bioware must not hide behind the notion of RPG who died in this game).

    DA2 is not an RPG, the story is    DA2 confirms the turn taken with ME2, this does not reassure the future of RPGs from this studio. Bioware is a turning point in its history, abandoning his philosophy to produce evoluted PC games for simplified console games (it is their right, no worries on that point, but Bioware must not hide behind the notion of RPG who died in this game).

    DA2 is not an RPG, the story is transparent, the city of Kirkwall is almost empty, spaces are duplicated (for reasons of economy ? Why ? It's a shame for this great studio), poor gameplay and poor level graph, strategic and tactical disappear, it is not worthy of Bioware (the bitter feeling of having a game not finish â    … Expand
  2. Norgredel
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    Pcked this up a couple days ago on Steam, and I have to say that I'm horrified. I liked DA1, although I wasn't terribly impressed but I still enjoyed the game and looked forward to improvements in the sequel. I guess I should have come here first before blindly blowing $60 (can't return it either and if I dispute the charge, my entire steam account is forfeit).

    How did a company fall so    Pcked this up a couple days ago on Steam, and I have to say that I'm horrified. I liked DA1, although I wasn't terribly impressed but I still enjoyed the game and looked forward to improvements in the sequel. I guess I should have come here first before blindly blowing $60 (can't return it either and if I dispute the charge, my entire steam account is forfeit).

    How did a company fall so far from producing Baldur's Gate 2, MDK 2, Knights of the Old Republic, and Neverwinter Nights to producing this monstrosity? Already, it's been released with some serious bugs that were simply ignored in development. It has over 20 DLCs on its first day (including a "high resolution texture pack") that should have simply been in the game. Bioware developers said it was because they "ran out of time before the release date". If they were too busy to get basic game items and textures in there, I can see why it has so many bugs in the game itself. It's really sad that they didn't have time to put 1.5 GB worth of content (approximately 30% of the total game size) into the game.

    The writing is a bunch of over-the-top tripe that was written by high-school freshmen. The combat has gone from RPG style to a generic hack-n-slash. The story has been neutered beyond belief...

    All they needed to do was tweak a couple of things from the first one and this one would have been legendary, or at least passable. But it's like they just gave up; this game has no soul because the developers simply didn't care.    … Expand
  3. Waterboy2go
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    A far cry from its glistening counterpart. The graphics feel dumbed down and is impossible to not notice all their flaws. The dialogue sounds as if it was written by a fanfic writer, and takes a lot of atmosphere and emotion out of the game. The clunky controls make the game nearly impossible to play. Overall, the game feels very rushed and is more of an open alpha then a genuine release.
  4. TheGuineaPig
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    Just terrible, it''s just disgusting how Bioware can alienate their audience and call their game a RPG. They removed so much and added so little just so they can appeal to an audience that doesn't care about the genre. The gameplay requires very little, as the generalization of "button-mashing" would come into effect, the graphics are sub-par, there is no excuse for this since they aren'tJust terrible, it''s just disgusting how Bioware can alienate their audience and call their game a RPG. They removed so much and added so little just so they can appeal to an audience that doesn't care about the genre. The gameplay requires very little, as the generalization of "button-mashing" would come into effect, the graphics are sub-par, there is no excuse for this since they aren't going for any kind of art style. The storyline is just terrible, as well as the dialogue making no sense and having no relation with what you chose on the dialogue wheel. There is very little customization, which is what a RPG is supposed to have. The game sacrifices deep and compelling storyline and gameplay for a bloodfest. It's sad to see that Bioware is going this way, and I hope Mass Effect 3 doesn't suffer the same problems if they haven't already.… Expand
  5. MinDokan
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    I don't want to be rude, but is a piece of ****
    No one in good shape wastes his time in this Action RPG. Because is not a RPG game, nor a action game.
    Graphically is mediocre. Some textures are great, the rest, 8 bits. I think people who said the game is excellent, didn't play as a Warrior. Did you see how Hawke cuts the air with that sword? First time I saw it, "lol". For moments I    I don't want to be rude, but is a piece of ****
    No one in good shape wastes his time in this Action RPG. Because is not a RPG game, nor a action game.
    Graphically is mediocre. Some textures are great, the rest, 8 bits.

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

    I feel sorry for Bioware.    … Expand
  6. smugster
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    Whilst I enjoyed to play the first game whenever I felt to get inside a good RPG I have to admit that my expectations could not be reached by Dragon Age II (PC).

    The new combat system feels very reduced and and does not give me the deep feeling of immersion that the first game offered. I don't even want to talk about the plot writers, which reduced this game's depth to a low I've never    Whilst I enjoyed to play the first game whenever I felt to get inside a good RPG I have to admit that my expectations could not be reached by Dragon Age II (PC).

    The new combat system feels very reduced and and does not give me the deep feeling of immersion that the first game offered.

    I don't even want to talk about the plot writers, which reduced this game's depth to a low I've never experienced in a BioWare game, I've enjoyed all Mass Effect games, the Baldur's Gate series, Dragon Age Origins, Awakening and several DLC made by this company.

    This game however is not even worthy to be mentioned among those gems.

    I was failed, please forgive me for this rating, but it's honest. If you enjoy a game where you can engage in romantic liaisons with every character that can't escape your party you should buy it and enjoy the wooden animations. If you seek role playing quality stick to the first game and never touch this one.

    I had to return it, sorry my $50 are me more worth than pestering unmotivated developers.

    Thus rated 1 with deep disappointment and please don't make any more characters like Tali and Merrill.    … Expand
  7. greydel
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    Ugh my first review had a problem... didn't save right but I still want to give my two cents.
    Not a Bioware game... its a console button masher. Seems to go all the wrong places with characters I just could not stand to watch or bother to care about.
  8. Fettskalk
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    Since I have to keep things short;
    Things that are wrong:
    -Poor graphics (gnarly arms, clipping, npcs spazzing out in the background during conversations. Bad textures (yes, there is a high res pack available, but it should have been shipped with it.), poor character proportions (the elves tend to look like absolutely stupid.), generic idle npcs in towns with n64 graphics. Have your    Since I have to keep things short;
    Things that are wrong:
    -Poor graphics (gnarly arms, clipping, npcs spazzing out in the background during conversations. Bad textures (yes, there is a high res pack available, but it should have been shipped with it.), poor character proportions (the elves tend to look like absolutely stupid.), generic idle npcs in towns with n64 graphics. Have your world designers ever tried to make rocks that aren't octahedron-shaped? And every enemy looks exactly the same, with no variations. Heck, even the mercenaries tend to have full face masks. Stormtrooper effect anyone?
    -Poor writing, and at times voice acting. Everything about Merril makes me want to hurt cute animals.
    -Poor combat system. It tries very hard not to be a traditional rpg, as it wants to be a action game with rpg elements. It fails at both things. The combat system is very uninspired. It seems as if the general thought behind it was to just autoattack, and use cooldowns whenever they are up for some flashy moves. It is very dull, and you hardly even have to think about strategy. Stick with the traditional mode, or go full action rpg ala Demon's Souls. Don't go for a inbetween abortion of a combat system.
    -Enemy npcs spawn reinforcements. Often right on top of you. Playing primarily as a mage, this system just makes me seethe with rage. How are you supposed to play with strategic positioning when the enemy is likely to spawn on top of you? It would seem as the only viable way to get some enjoyment out of this game is to play at lower difficulties, since the enemies just get more hp and lower cooldowns on the harder difficulties. They don't do anything extra, they just take longer to beat. And as a mage that is cooldown strangled, this is just ragefodder.
    -Stripped out most forms of custiomisation options for your companions. All you can give them are weapons and belts+jewlery. So this means that Carver will run around in his shirt all game? This also means that there is very little in the way of min/maxing your characters, except for skill setup.
    -Constant reuse of areas. I'm looking at you, cave, coast and mountain areas. In act one, I had to enter the exact same cave more than three times. Can't you just make a little effort to actually make areas? It is very monotonous and dull.
    -Timeskipping. This completely ruins immersion. Suddenly, a year has gone, and when you go talk to random people, they act as if they have known you for years, leaving the player absolutely dumbfounded as to who they are, and what they do. And then, three years have gone. I honestly feel that this is a very, very big immersion breaker, and should have been scrapped from the start.

    All in all, I feel that this game shouldn't have been released in this state. They should have actually worked on it for another year, possibly half a year. This game tries too hard to be a cross between some random anime (melee skills. Seriously. What is going on there?), rpg and action game. And it fails in all aspects. The animation works are shoddy, often outright lazy, leaving multiple *main* characters with severely deformed bodies and gnarled limbs. Many items and armors are practically a copy/paste from DA:O. How did you spend your time and money, Bioware? Because you surely can't have spent it on this game.

    Try again with the recipe you used for DA:O. It worked better. Heck, even better: use the BG2 recipe.    … Expand
  9. Nomoremrniceguy
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    Unbelievably Lazy console port. Imagine a PS2 era japanese fight game with pong style graphics dumbed down so that random mashing of keys provides total victory running at around 10fps and you have this travesty of a game. By far the worst in the series and I've been playing since they were mostly text!
  10. DenverOHara
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    The very definition of consolized garbage, clearly this game wasn't made for PCs, let alone for consumers with a brain. The graphics are an abomination. Generic places, uninteresting visuals, low 2003-like textures (hell, Half Life 2 is way more beautiful than this game AND has really better facial animations)... I could go on and on. The sound is mediocre, the story is incredibly retardedThe very definition of consolized garbage, clearly this game wasn't made for PCs, let alone for consumers with a brain. The graphics are an abomination. Generic places, uninteresting visuals, low 2003-like textures (hell, Half Life 2 is way more beautiful than this game AND has really better facial animations)... I could go on and on. The sound is mediocre, the story is incredibly retarded and it's on a fanfic, Stephenie Meyer level... Everything that is wrong with the game industry in a single package, props to Bioware for this achievement in degradation of humanity's values and standards. Oh and what's even funnier: Activision will probably misunderstand the hate and will try to dumb down DA3 even more, trying to make it more "accessible". This is why we can't have good games anymore, console-centric games made by individuals with billions and billions of **** in their minds.… Expand
  11. Rock-o
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dear Bioware,

    I just made a metacritic account for the sole purpose of giving my review(more like ranting/flaming two cents) for this game that I was so excited for......... and I am too depressed to write it. Why would you do this bioware? After so many great games you give me this. I thought that when I beat the game, I was still somewhere in the middle of the plots/storyline...nope. The credits appearing literally felt like a smack in the face. I'm just so utterly dissapointed right now that I don't even know what to type. Way to dumb down absolutely everything about the original game that I loved so much. I have never, ever, beaten a game and felt confused/depressed thereafter until I played this. I am absolutely refusing to buying a single DLC for this game as I am not giving any money to the people that just robbed me of sixty bucks.. besides the fact that this is going to be the very first bioware game I have ever traded back in as of tomorrow morning. Thanks for wasting my time setting yourselves up for another sixty dollar expansion.. With Love, Already Dreaming Of Uncharted 3    … Expand
  12. johndows
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Trash for 60$. How can they call it an "rpg" ? Better spend money on a game rather buying reviews! 1 score for not trivia scenario, other parts of game doesn't deserve more than 0
  13. Marvik
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Unfortunately I must admit .... disappointed, from DAO made â
  14. Brod
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Сх Expand
  15. Securion
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Plays, looks and feels like a Korean hack n slash now and is nothing like Dragon Age 1.

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

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

    All in all; It really feels "console".
  16. Sfx
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It not the dragon age 2, is a dragon age 1,5 maximum. A console crap.… Expand
  17. Koumal
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    No strategy, no challenge, mediocre interface, RPG ? No, I don't believe. Action boom boom, it's all.
    A slap in the face for fans of DA:O and for fans of good games.
  18. HLeo
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    What happened?! They took my favorite game ever made and completely dumbed it down and destroyed it. Seriously what the heck is this? What game is this?!
  19. ChDeWa
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age II is supposedly the sequel of DA O but it lacks all the traits that made DA O such a great game. First of all DA II is too linear because all the different options of DA O have been reduced to good-neutral-evil, while many your choice doesn't even matter because the result will be the same. The characters are simpler, thus less interesting. The battles are too simple and someDragon Age II is supposedly the sequel of DA O but it lacks all the traits that made DA O such a great game. First of all DA II is too linear because all the different options of DA O have been reduced to good-neutral-evil, while many your choice doesn't even matter because the result will be the same. The characters are simpler, thus less interesting. The battles are too simple and some times comparable to the complexity of games like...Pokemon.… Expand
  20. curry
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age 2 feels completely rushed, streamlined and dumbed down. The writing is generally sub par, dialogue is childish and cheesy, and quests are mostly just delivering items around the map and killing trash mobs. Voice acting is also bad and doesn't fit the characters. Don't waste your money on this garbage.
  21. jthm39
    Mar 14, 2011
    1
    This game, is the worst game....EVER.

    Basically you take a decent game like Dragon Age: Origins, then rub Electronic Arts **** all over it. Then you hired **** developers that cater to casual 12 year olds. THEN you only worry about sales, and not the quality of the product.

    Thats how you make a **** game. Thats how you kill a good developer like Bioware. 4.0? 4.0.
  22. November
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    CaÅ
  23. ishaar
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    It's a flat game. Boring. No emotion. Missing RPG character. the style of game has been completely changed. It has now become a simple game console. the characters are graphically rough. total disappointment.
  24. Freland
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    I'm just so disappointed after loving Origins very much. The game was hasted and you can see that at every part of the game. EA should be ashamed of ruining such a fantastic brand like Bioware.
  25. DJ-Lethal
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    As has been said time and time again, Bioware have screwed up this one. And boy, did they screw it up good...
    I've rarely been so disappointed by a game, and I blame that on the fact I enjoyed the the first one in the series so much that I had quite the expectations for Dragon Age II. NOTHING came true, unfortunately.
    Everything is worse... the story, the characters, the world, the    As has been said time and time again, Bioware have screwed up this one. And boy, did they screw it up good...
    I've rarely been so disappointed by a game, and I blame that on the fact I enjoyed the the first one in the series so much that I had quite the expectations for Dragon Age II. NOTHING came true, unfortunately.
    Everything is worse... the story, the characters, the world, the graphics, the interface, the animations. It's... astounding, outraging. They actually managed to ruin a promising franchise even before it fully bloomed.
    You could write a book on what's wrong with Dragon Age II, but I'm just going to give it a 1 and move on. I have lost a great deal of respect for Bioware.    … Expand
  26. MAXX45
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    "As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPGÃ
  27. Verilee
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    Oh my... I have never thought I had to write that...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    It happened, and I think they didn't do themselves a favour. For me, this series ended with DAO, and will start again, when they pick up on what they built with DAO. Whether it was Bioware's fault, or EA's, it is an enourmous damage that has been done to Bioware's reputation, in rushing out such a game, and pretending it is the successor of DAO.    … Expand
  28. nagyi
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    i must confess i played only 2 hours and after that i uninstalled the game, reasons:
    -u cant equip ure teammates
    -the potion system is f*cked up, i liked it when i had 234234234 items in my inventory and it was hard to manage it, its how its supposed to be in an rpg -and the whole story is in 1 city? come on!!! -too linear story (i want a huge world to explore as i wish like in fallout 3)    i must confess i played only 2 hours and after that i uninstalled the game, reasons:
    -u cant equip ure teammates
    -the potion system is f*cked up, i liked it when i had 234234234 items in my inventory and it was hard to manage it, its how its supposed to be in an rpg
    -and the whole story is in 1 city? come on!!!
    -too linear story (i want a huge world to explore as i wish like in fallout 3)
    when i played it it felt like prince of persia or assasins creed only worse. i want a normal rpg not an action game.    … Expand
  29. SiliconNooB
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    How could Bioware have got Dragon Age 2 so very very wrong? Performance is terrible even if you are fortunate enough to be able to get the game running, and forget about it running in anything greater than DX9! And then on to of that Bioware have wormed their way through our collective back doors and inflicted us with securom. I honestly couldn't recommend anything more than a rental ofHow could Bioware have got Dragon Age 2 so very very wrong? Performance is terrible even if you are fortunate enough to be able to get the game running, and forget about it running in anything greater than DX9! And then on to of that Bioware have wormed their way through our collective back doors and inflicted us with securom. I honestly couldn't recommend anything more than a rental of this deeply flawed abortion, or perhaps picking it up on the cheap ... :(… Expand
  30. SilentObserver
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    This game is a complete disappointment considering the high hopes of the original DAO fans.
    The plot is transparent and boring, the companions are wooden puppets with no real emotion, the dialogues are as bad as if somebody intended them to be this way, and the maps are no more than an afternoon's boring copy-past work,the quests are horrendous repetitive errands in the same damn bland    This game is a complete disappointment considering the high hopes of the original DAO fans.
    The plot is transparent and boring, the companions are wooden puppets with no real emotion, the dialogues are as bad as if somebody intended them to be this way, and the maps are no more than an afternoon's boring copy-past work,the quests are horrendous repetitive errands in the same damn bland city,the humour present in the original DAO is nowhere to be found,and the ending will make you punch your screen and then your face for being an naive idiot enough to give over 50euro for this piece of rushed ****    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

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