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. CriticalKarl
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    I really don't see how taking out RPG elements out of an RPG would ever improve said RPG. This seems to be a re-occurring problem with sequels recently, removing key features for some odd reason.
  2. 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.
  3. Willypiggy
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    Very saddened to see the game go this way, the game itself is an ok game but from what the original Dragon Age was this is terrible. Combat has been dumbed down, on release there were over 20 DLC items available only for doing silly things such as 'likeing' the game on facebook or preordering before a set date from a set place, there we're also quest DLC's from preordering, DLC on releaseVery saddened to see the game go this way, the game itself is an ok game but from what the original Dragon Age was this is terrible. Combat has been dumbed down, on release there were over 20 DLC items available only for doing silly things such as 'likeing' the game on facebook or preordering before a set date from a set place, there we're also quest DLC's from preordering, DLC on release is crazy but that much is just insane. Not to mention that you also HAVE TO download over 1gig of data to get graphics better than the PC version. STAY AWAY!… Expand
  4. SpectralAnubis
    Mar 9, 2011
    6
    Reading some of the negative user reviews on meta-critic,I wonder if this is not just disbelief that Bioware would venture into a different direction. I personally have no objection for a company, entertainment or not trying new ideas. Dragon Age II is an experimental game. Yes, it does retain a quantum of Origins, however much of it's predecessor has been stripped away. What was strippedReading some of the negative user reviews on meta-critic,I wonder if this is not just disbelief that Bioware would venture into a different direction. I personally have no objection for a company, entertainment or not trying new ideas. Dragon Age II is an experimental game. Yes, it does retain a quantum of Origins, however much of it's predecessor has been stripped away. What was stripped away will definitely irk fans of the first. The inability to customize equipment for companions. The change in chat dialogue. The graphics, and faster combat pace. Lack of spell combination's. No death animations. Whatever one's reasons, surely you can find fault in this product. The glaring, yet easily fixable issues of this game, fall in the games mechanics specifically the A.I. Tank A.I is awful, you'll find yourself (no matter what difficulty) controlling the tank character. The character(s) will activate taunt when enemies are not present, and attempt to spam it's damage reduction moves constantly. Your companions hardly adhere to positional commands either. You'll find yourself using the hold position command, and manually controlling the party. Scripts, must be improved in future patches, if Bioware/EA wishes to sell future DLC's. The good in this game, is the storyline. The game engine runs smoothly on many systems as well. Bioware has always done a excellent job optimizing their products. The characters are believable, yet may or may not hold the same charm as the first games'. The voice acting for the main is exceptional, both male and female. The voice acting in general is very good. The combat can get frustrating, but it retains the "joy" which Origins brought. The skill system is much improved, they condensed it but hardly loses any of it's flare. You'll just have to evaluate this title for what it is: A Different Approach.… Expand
  5. Gorlak
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    You'd think bioware would learn from their mistakes, but apparently they don't. Putting in a mass effect conversation wheel was possibly the stupidest choice they could have made, add a couple of copy and paste dungeons and N64 level graphics and you have yourself the worst game of the year. If they spend half as much money on developing the game as they do on paying of reviewers, theyYou'd think bioware would learn from their mistakes, but apparently they don't. Putting in a mass effect conversation wheel was possibly the stupidest choice they could have made, add a couple of copy and paste dungeons and N64 level graphics and you have yourself the worst game of the year. If they spend half as much money on developing the game as they do on paying of reviewers, they might actually make a decent game.… Expand
  6. Zennousha
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    An uninspiring sequel to a fairly fun and decent title that needed some minor polish. This game looks and feels rushed from the over the top, hack n' slash combat, to the horrible dialogue and environments. Throw into the mix massive piles of day 0 DLC, lack of mod tools, and a zoomed out camera, and you have a very alienated PC user base.

    Overall a major disappointment.
  7. EverettLamb
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Console port FTL. Simplified and dumb down. What happened to the Bioware of the Baldur's Gate era? Let down and disappointed Bioware of that past is no more and is now fixated and focused on the consoles. This game feels like a punch to the face of dedicated and loyal PC Gamers. Was a sequel even needed or necessary? Should have left Dragon Age with just Origins, as Origins is farConsole port FTL. Simplified and dumb down. What happened to the Bioware of the Baldur's Gate era? Let down and disappointed Bioware of that past is no more and is now fixated and focused on the consoles. This game feels like a punch to the face of dedicated and loyal PC Gamers. Was a sequel even needed or necessary? Should have left Dragon Age with just Origins, as Origins is far superior in terms of gameplay and enjoyable.… Expand
  8. 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
  9. Troll
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Nononono.

    Nothing like the original, and even in an original sense it fails in every conceivable way. It's over-stylized, as if making a game an eyesore is somehow better than a drab, boring looking landscape full of boring looking people (they're both terrible, I guess I have a tolerance for the latter, given how I hate this game) Combat is identical to any hack-n-slash console game-    Nononono.

    Nothing like the original, and even in an original sense it fails in every conceivable way. It's over-stylized, as if making a game an eyesore is somehow better than a drab, boring looking landscape full of boring looking people (they're both terrible, I guess I have a tolerance for the latter, given how I hate this game)

    Combat is identical to any hack-n-slash console game- even on PC, no tactical camera, pause and play is merely optional which completely destroys the point of it even being there, the combat does look more fluid and fun but it's still not my cup of tea, and wasn't the reason I bought the original.

    Adding a dialog wheel is insulting, I've never been satisfied with the way Mass Effect did things, either you're cyber Jesus or future Hitler, and there's no in-betweens, the voice actor for Hawke is mediocre at best.

    It's playable, yes, but it's also the destruction of what was the only isometric tactical RPG franchise we still had.

    Shame on you, Bioware.    … Expand
  10. 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
  11. Mrozny
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    I'm totally disappointed. Simplified combat, recycled and small enviroments, weak dialogues. No isometric view. Bad character graphic (they look way worse than those from Dragon Age!) and animation (completely unrealistic - mage is turning left and right while casting a spell and characters that jump all the time while attacking - such animation is not 'cool and awesome' but stupid, thisI'm totally disappointed. Simplified combat, recycled and small enviroments, weak dialogues. No isometric view. Bad character graphic (they look way worse than those from Dragon Age!) and animation (completely unrealistic - mage is turning left and right while casting a spell and characters that jump all the time while attacking - such animation is not 'cool and awesome' but stupid, this is not Devil May Cry). Also, no possibility of changing armour for anyone else than main character and enemies spawning behind player in most stupid locations are unbelivably annoying. Dragon Age: Origins was a truly epic RPG game. Don't believe critic reviews of Dragon Age II. DA II is just another action game for consoles (and imported for PC) that simply lacks depth in every field. It is a perfect example of ruining a game instead of improving it. Sometimes it just looks like a really bad Fable clone...… Expand
  12. Tipjar
    Mar 21, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My experience with Dragon Age 2 has been a complete mess (similar to all the Bioware/EA PR incidents that have been happening lately) since I picked the game up on release date, fully regretting it. While the presentation, graphics and sound of the game are bordering on average the biggest difficulty lies with this less than mediocre game relying on the name of it's predecessor for sales while failing in all the areas that should have been improved. While the graphical style is good and does make for a nice looking game the extremely low resolution textures and terrible models of certain people in Kirkwall stand out extremely badly, not only that but because every location in the game is repeated ad naueseum you notice it every single time. There is literally nothing in the soundtrack that stands out compared to some of the tracks in DA:O that really drives home the point that the composer mentioned in an IGN interview about being rushed by EA to push the game out as soon as possible. Now it is the gameplay that really causes the game to fall apart and where the poor work that was put into the game is clearest. The two main portions of the game- combat and conversation- were terribly done due to their desire to appeal to as many non-RPG fans as possible without attempting to cater to their true fanbase, the most insulting part of the game. The combat was pointless and repetitive where fights without 20 enemies falling out of the sky as reinforcements was an oddity and a severe lack of tactics became obvious as I never had to make custom tactics on the hard difficulty. Conversation under the mass effect wheel was even worse than it was in mass effect with the vaguest statements being available on your "choices" which hardly change a thing in the game and only give you an illusion of having a decision. Not only that but the story was so terribly written it must be embarrassing for anyone from the original DA:O team to play through it: a refugee where everyone that you care about dies, constant fast-forwarding that give you no incite on your character, random plot devices being thrown in such as the lyrium idol turning into Meredith's sword which seemed more like a "HEY REMEMBER THIS FROM 3-6 YEARS AGO?", random DA:O cameos that make absolutely no sense without explanation, stupid decisions by NPCs that they make for no reason and without any explanation such as Orlin using blood magic, Merril being kidnapped without any mention and still having the ability to use her to save her from her own kidnapping, terribly written romances (obviously Twilight referenced)... I can't keep going on without feeling sad for the state of this sequel, Bioware and the current direction video games are taking. There isn't even any lasting appeal to the game as you already play through the same area 100 times by the end of the game anyway. The idea about centering the story and game around a single city and how it was influenced by your character and what changed during your life isn't a bad idea but the implementation where nothing else changes in the scenery and absolutely everything remains the same for the 7 years of gameplay just pulls away from any semblance of immersion this game can give you. Just save your money, you'll find way better RPGs from budget studios than you will from Bioware now it seems.… Expand
  13. 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.
  14. fragget
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    This is an absolute joke. Bioware took everything that made DA:O great, and then tried as hard as they could to make it suck. Graphics are worse, plot is worse, voice acting is worse, variety of locations are worse, combat is worse, special attacks are WORTHLESS unless you just like a pretty light show (or a ridiculous vaporized cloud of blood). To add insult to injury, they had the nerveThis is an absolute joke. Bioware took everything that made DA:O great, and then tried as hard as they could to make it suck. Graphics are worse, plot is worse, voice acting is worse, variety of locations are worse, combat is worse, special attacks are WORTHLESS unless you just like a pretty light show (or a ridiculous vaporized cloud of blood). To add insult to injury, they had the nerve to price this piece of crap ten dollars more than the previous version, which was ten times better. It PISSES ME OFF that devs whine about piracy and release games like these. Like a poster said below, if you don't want your games pirated, don't release CRAP. I'm so angry I wasted my money on this garbage. No wonder the lead developer left... I would shoot myself in the face rather than have my name attached to this travesty.… Expand
  15. BobTheBarbarian
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Bland characters, soap opera dialogs, no choice of playable back-story or race. Combat system looks like a bloody jRPG with over-sized weapons swung at supersonic speed. Sometimes when you hit an opponent with 2h sword he vaporises into a tiny blood cloud and only his shoes are left standing... (I'm serious) T_T this game is a joke - a bad, bad joke that just makes me wanna play theBland characters, soap opera dialogs, no choice of playable back-story or race. Combat system looks like a bloody jRPG with over-sized weapons swung at supersonic speed. Sometimes when you hit an opponent with 2h sword he vaporises into a tiny blood cloud and only his shoes are left standing... (I'm serious) T_T this game is a joke - a bad, bad joke that just makes me wanna play the sh**tiest DLC from the first one and forget about that nightmare of a sequel.… Expand
  16. 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
  17. x181
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Super Dragon Age Fighter 2 Turbo: Tournament Edition Round 2.
    Console trash. A money grab. A precisely calculated move. When you make a deal with the devil (EA), he always comes back to collect. Bioware is dead.
  18. Sparafucil
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    A horrible, wretched nightmare from which you can never awake. That is what this game feels like. The original DA:O was a lovingly crafted tour-de-force moment in the history of video games. The sequel feels like a rush-job shoved out the door to cash in quickly on its success. The levels look bland, the quest variety is paltry, the characters are boring, and the combat feels dumbed downA horrible, wretched nightmare from which you can never awake. That is what this game feels like. The original DA:O was a lovingly crafted tour-de-force moment in the history of video games. The sequel feels like a rush-job shoved out the door to cash in quickly on its success. The levels look bland, the quest variety is paltry, the characters are boring, and the combat feels dumbed down for consoles. Shame on EA! And shame on Bioware for releasing this steaming pile of ****… Expand
  19. 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
  20. hokum
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    Just dire. Did not think BioWare could make games this bad. Is it the EA effect? This is neither a proper action game nor a proper RPG - it's some mutant ugly hybrid trying to appeal to both types of gamer, and failing. And a cliffhanger ending? So much for epic story - just an ad for some DLC or DA3. The graphics are worse than Dragon Age 1, like some 2005 console port. The combat is justJust dire. Did not think BioWare could make games this bad. Is it the EA effect? This is neither a proper action game nor a proper RPG - it's some mutant ugly hybrid trying to appeal to both types of gamer, and failing. And a cliffhanger ending? So much for epic story - just an ad for some DLC or DA3. The graphics are worse than Dragon Age 1, like some 2005 console port. The combat is just a button mashing cartoon, dumbed down from DA1. LOTS of things have been cut. It's short - like 12 hours for the main campaign. The characters you meet feel lifeless, and the same scenery is recycled. To hide this, BioWare stuck in lots of bink cinematics and sex scenes. Get ready to be fleeced with tons of DLC now that will raise the cost of this disgusting trainwreck to over $100. Last BioWare game I buy â… Expand
  21. NukeDukem
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Bioware decides to ditch the gameplay mechanics that made Dragon Age 1 such an engaging and strategic experience, in favor of making an action ARR PEE GEE on par with Fable 2 or Fable 3 in it's lackluster execution. Every design choice, graphical rendering, movement control scream out "MADE FOR CONSOLES." Regardless, it will make all of it's developers money back, due to it's two previousBioware decides to ditch the gameplay mechanics that made Dragon Age 1 such an engaging and strategic experience, in favor of making an action ARR PEE GEE on par with Fable 2 or Fable 3 in it's lackluster execution. Every design choice, graphical rendering, movement control scream out "MADE FOR CONSOLES." Regardless, it will make all of it's developers money back, due to it's two previous sucessful entries, Dragon Age has changed for the worse in this sequel. 0/10… Expand
  22. 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
  23. JMILTON
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    After purchasing Dragon Age 2 and playing it for some 8 hours, I've come here to warn the people against buying this game. First of all, it is completely unbelievable that a triple A title that had millions upon millions of dollars of production budget has graphics that looks like it's from 2001. I'm playing with the high resolution texture pack that needs to be downloaded and installedAfter purchasing Dragon Age 2 and playing it for some 8 hours, I've come here to warn the people against buying this game. First of all, it is completely unbelievable that a triple A title that had millions upon millions of dollars of production budget has graphics that looks like it's from 2001. I'm playing with the high resolution texture pack that needs to be downloaded and installed separately, and DX11 on my AMD 6970 and yet Morrowind has prettier graphics. The game was also designed with 12 year old children in mind by giving laughable and ridiculous amounts of gore and sex innuendos with party members that it's on the verge of being a parody of itself. The writing is terrible, invoking cliches from the worst airport novels. Story is an incoherent mash of gibberish and stuff we've seen in Origins. Level design is boring and some maps are literally copied from Dragon Age Origins. Dialogues can only be explained as retarded; no living creatures sputter the words with no meaning and completely inappropriate to the situation so often as DA2 characters. There is no fun to be had from this game, and that's a shame to see Bioware go this way.… Expand
  24. jimmy2x2x
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    A real disappointment, Bioware has gone to the dogs. Everything about this game stinks: The drab graphics (even with the high res texture pack), horrible dialogue, lack of variety in location, limited party control, poor combat - you can't see what the hell is going on half the time. It feels like a tacky Playstation 2 game, not a bleeding edge title released in 2012. Dragon Age 2 isA real disappointment, Bioware has gone to the dogs. Everything about this game stinks: The drab graphics (even with the high res texture pack), horrible dialogue, lack of variety in location, limited party control, poor combat - you can't see what the hell is going on half the time. It feels like a tacky Playstation 2 game, not a bleeding edge title released in 2012. Dragon Age 2 is garbage - don't even buy it when its on sale.… Expand
  25. Max_R
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Seems that there are no more old-style rpgs: Dragon Age Origins was far from Baldur's Gate series as well as Dragon Age 2 is far from Dragon Age Origins and I don't want console-looking games in my pc, especially if they claim to be solid rpg when they aren't at all. It's a murder. There are already Mass Effect that is an eccellent action game series.
    P.s.
    @Bioware, do not apply some dx11    Seems that there are no more old-style rpgs: Dragon Age Origins was far from Baldur's Gate series as well as Dragon Age 2 is far from Dragon Age Origins and I don't want console-looking games in my pc, especially if they claim to be solid rpg when they aren't at all. It's a murder. There are already Mass Effect that is an eccellent action game series.
    P.s.
    @Bioware,
    do not apply some dx11 feature to the engine makeing it heavier when this force you to make an "essential graphics". It's not necessary: it's stupid, . Gamers prefere less feature and more artistic style: we aren't benchers.    … Expand
  26. mcritic
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Boring, boring and boring ... Can't even compare it to DA:O not to mention BioWare's older RPG games. Incredible disappointment. No much more to say.
  27. haydensterling
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    All I do is follow my little icon that tells me where to press A some more. No party banter, no cool icons for your trash, everything is white and streamlined and boring looking as far as loot goes, not to mention the fact that all the interesting loot is reserved for me alone. Worse than all of the hack and slash button mashing combat is the fact that even though I've made it to theAll I do is follow my little icon that tells me where to press A some more. No party banter, no cool icons for your trash, everything is white and streamlined and boring looking as far as loot goes, not to mention the fact that all the interesting loot is reserved for me alone. Worse than all of the hack and slash button mashing combat is the fact that even though I've made it to the Deep Roads, I still don't give a damn about any of my companions. For a Bioware game, that is a crying shame. Just how are they managing these (generally) high reviews from gaming sites? The payoffs must have been epic. Taking it back to the store today and going to reply DA:O on PC to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.… Expand
  28. malautomedonte
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    I've played the first part of the game (PC version). Well, DA2 is absolutely below any average expectation, an insult to RPG games: the combat mechanics are directly mutuated by a consolish system which simply brings the player to "press a button repeatedly" (or by clicking in my case)... And "something awesome" DOESN'T HAPPEN. Animations are mediocre and feels like watching a japaneseI've played the first part of the game (PC version). Well, DA2 is absolutely below any average expectation, an insult to RPG games: the combat mechanics are directly mutuated by a consolish system which simply brings the player to "press a button repeatedly" (or by clicking in my case)... And "something awesome" DOESN'T HAPPEN. Animations are mediocre and feels like watching a japanese cartoon. During dialogues, npc's are stuck like mannequins and facial animations are poor. Did I say dialogues? Oh, yes... Dialogues are simply awful, are they written by a 12 years old boy? They are poor in content and in words themselves, with no "verve" and inspiration, the same fantasy rpg-like pattern always replicated. Well... Wow! Technically the game is discreet, neither generous in details, nor scandalously lacking of polygons (don't expect something great anyway). To finish, the plot isn't interesting at all, there is a sensation of deja-vu everywhere, and voice acting doesn't help. A reccomendation: don't buy this game and wait for The Witcher 2.… Expand
  29. symple19
    Mar 8, 2011
    4
    The slovenly PC gamer review is the worst of all. Everything I want to say has been said. Save your money and teach Bioware a lesson

    That is all...
  30. Redwarlock
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    This game is an absolute joke. They've taken the best parts of DA:O and excised them, choosing instead to distill the franchise through a Mass Effect 2 flavored filter and then serve the resulting abomination with a nice glass of Console Port. The funny thing is, I played the demo on my PC and was already disappointed; I don't know why I was expecting the actual game to be any different.This game is an absolute joke. They've taken the best parts of DA:O and excised them, choosing instead to distill the franchise through a Mass Effect 2 flavored filter and then serve the resulting abomination with a nice glass of Console Port. The funny thing is, I played the demo on my PC and was already disappointed; I don't know why I was expecting the actual game to be any different. There's a big difference between "simplified" and "dumbed-down," and DA2 gruesomely illustrates the latter. Options, preferences, camera controls and dialogue options, all reduced to the absolute minimum of interaction and usability. Bioware (likely at EA's behest, with the aim of broadening market appeal) has created a hobbled gameplay experience that is neither pedestrian enough to appeal to mainstream console audiences nor nuanced enough to appeal to hardcore PC RPG enthusiasts. In trying to please everyone, they've pleased no one.

    It's truly misleading to call this a "Sequel," as this game has very little in common with its predecessor, choosing to ride the coat tails of name recognition instead. And the promise of perpetual DLC down the road from day one (arguably content that should have been included for the price but was held back in favor of stretching profits) only further exposes this shameless $60 cash grab for what it is. The fact that it's receiving such glowing reviews by paid critics leads me to believe that somewhere, someone was crossing palms with a few "gold pieces" of their own to get some good feedback.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

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