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. vetr
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    Took me 18 hours to finish playing it to 100%. Most of that was traipsing around identical areas and fighting the same waves of enemies I fought since the beginning with larger health bars. The writing is mainly horrid much like the non-branching storyline. I don't think i've been quite this pissed about a game before. It starts out okay and just rolls downhill at a constant pace. GetsTook me 18 hours to finish playing it to 100%. Most of that was traipsing around identical areas and fighting the same waves of enemies I fought since the beginning with larger health bars. The writing is mainly horrid much like the non-branching storyline. I don't think i've been quite this pissed about a game before. It starts out okay and just rolls downhill at a constant pace. Gets even worse if you redo certain parts (or open the debug console) and realize there's almost no branching paths to speak of.… Expand
  2. valero
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    just because metacritic is paid to give it good reviews (or in this case medicore since it wasn't 99/100) doesn't mean it's any good. i could write a thesis on why the game sucks, but to make it short, it's like they took a time machine and went back to 2002 to develop the game. the storyline, combat, and graphics are horrible. this is a bigger disappointment than fallout new vegas
  3. baronb
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    It would be nice to say that Dragon Age II fell short of lofty promises and unrealistic expectations for a sequel to a quite successful game. It would be nice to say that, but DA2 is in every sense of the word rushed, and oozing focus-group driven development. DA2 is to RPGs what a mockup of Avatar done in Poser would be to film: an anaemic, shallow, mass-market appeal piece of shlock thatIt would be nice to say that Dragon Age II fell short of lofty promises and unrealistic expectations for a sequel to a quite successful game. It would be nice to say that, but DA2 is in every sense of the word rushed, and oozing focus-group driven development. DA2 is to RPGs what a mockup of Avatar done in Poser would be to film: an anaemic, shallow, mass-market appeal piece of shlock that also happens to look like crap. The same four (count em, four!) different dungeons will be trawled through the entire game, with some minor variations in which doors are hard-locked. The enemies are similarly monotonous and repetitive, coming in three types: basic, auto-attacking warriors and archers, and spellcasters that will hang back. No difference in behaviour or special abilities seem to exist between the different species of monsters. Fighting the same endless waves of spider-people and dwarf-orc "run up and attack" monsters with no variation quickly dulls the mind, which is almost comforting given the writing, setting, and level design. The encounters in which these brilliant tactical AIs are presented consist of copy-pasted waves of monsters spawning from nothing, ad nauseaum. The levels are incredibly linear, and one quickly realizes anything resembling an open area will probably just mean lots of spawns of identical mobs before trundling down the next corridor. Despite being a triple-A title from a star studio, the game manages to look like Poser models battered in jaggies and fried in tones of brownish-red low-res textures. The "Push button; receive Awesome", fun-finds-you game design leaves little or nothing to the player's imagination or skill. The dialogue is offensively cheesy, even by generous RPG standards, and the ridiculousness and awkwardness of the romances and massive out-of-place gazongas on ancient crones and tiny elf women speak to state of mind of the writers and who they were writing for. Maybe Bioware is too high on a decade's success to realize they too are capable of producing trash when churning out the most tepid, repetitive, cash-in sequel imaginable in as little time as possible. Maybe the blog posts by senior designers about the old staff not being on the project and the design going entirely another way tell the story. Either way, leaving aside the questions of developing for consoles and DLC, leaving aside expectations from old-school RPGs: Dragon Age II does not stand on its own as an RPG. It is a dull slog and a massive failure of a game. Save your money and please, vote with your wallet. Keep your hopes up for the Witcher 2 and Deus Ex 3 for quality franchise RPGs in 2011, but give DA2 the widest possible berth.… Expand
  4. Witness
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    Having played Dragon age origins I'm sorry to say that this game is shockingly bad. Dragon age 2 is a game without a soul. It drops all pretense as a rich, character driven RPG in exchange for needlessly flashy combat animations.

    The game is enjoyable if you want to watch endless waves of goons explode for 40 hours. Otherwise you might as well use the DA2 cd as a very expensive drinks    Having played Dragon age origins I'm sorry to say that this game is shockingly bad. Dragon age 2 is a game without a soul. It drops all pretense as a rich, character driven RPG in exchange for needlessly flashy combat animations.

    The game is enjoyable if you want to watch endless waves of goons explode for 40 hours. Otherwise you might as well use the DA2 cd as a very expensive drinks coaster.    … Expand
  5. JJDrakken
    Apr 10, 2011
    3
    Reason it's getting such a High Critic review, E.A./Bioware are literally throwing money at them to write anything nice & give it high numbers. Trust the User's, we know how much this game failed us.

    This game should never came out when it did, they just wanted to make money & be damned of the issues, they'll just throw more money at it, say look see have this great game, expect stupid    Reason it's getting such a High Critic review, E.A./Bioware are literally throwing money at them to write anything nice & give it high numbers. Trust the User's, we know how much this game failed us.

    This game should never came out when it did, they just wanted to make money & be damned of the issues, they'll just throw more money at it, say look see have this great game, expect stupid awards for it, because more money is being thrown at the judges.

    JJ    … Expand
  6. AndymanMessiah
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    The only reasonable score for a game like this is zero. Dragon Age 2 is an insulting product, rushed out the door with sub-par graphics, idiotic writing, copy-pasted dungeons and a bad attitude. If this is what we can expect of Mass Effect 3 then here's an Origin and Bullfrog fan honestly hoping EA makes the assimilation process short with their newest and most stupid acquisition.
  7. Schweinehund
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Baldur's Gate 2 was one of my favorite games. I thought Dragon Age: Origins came close enough to being its spiritual successor as advertised, and I enjoyed that game for what it was, but Dragon Age 2 is as far from being a successor to the Baldur's Gate series as possible. It was just painful to play for so many reasons. Graphically, they somehow managed to make it appear even worse thanBaldur's Gate 2 was one of my favorite games. I thought Dragon Age: Origins came close enough to being its spiritual successor as advertised, and I enjoyed that game for what it was, but Dragon Age 2 is as far from being a successor to the Baldur's Gate series as possible. It was just painful to play for so many reasons. Graphically, they somehow managed to make it appear even worse than its predecessor (not saying DA:O was bad graphically, but it certainly was groundbreaking in that aspect). The combat is now a mindless button masher, obviously tailored to please console players, because it ends up just being frustrating on the PC, only aggravated by the clunky camera. The formulaic dialogue and the cliche story are so inept in this one that it makes me want to stab furniture. Apparently BioWare were just looking for a quick cash-in. I'm definitely not buying Dragon Age 3 when it comes out (and it will, because their greediness knows no bounds).… Expand
  8. Hamakua
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    EA is starting to show through the Bioware veneer, this is not a game of "traditional" Bioware quality but your typical EA "shovelware". A re-skinned and neutered DA:O pushed out the door as a cash infusion into EA's portfolio just in time for Q1 reporting.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Tell you what guys, maybe Bioware is passed it's prime, maybe you should all liquidate and move your assets over to the Madden house, you know, where all mediocre developers go to be forgotten.    … Expand
  9. Impagliazzo
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Pretty weak mechanics, bad camera, heavy. A let down! The first DA is a much more polished game with mechanics suited to the complexity of its gameplay.
  10. sheep
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    It's a big shame to see a studio that was responsible for legendary titles like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights releasing such a disgraceful title called Dragon Age 2. Generic combat, annoying cutscenes with cheesy dialogs, limited role-playing elements, closed maps - where is freedom I ask? I can't believe that major gaming sites rated this game so well. I can only think of sponsoringIt's a big shame to see a studio that was responsible for legendary titles like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights releasing such a disgraceful title called Dragon Age 2. Generic combat, annoying cutscenes with cheesy dialogs, limited role-playing elements, closed maps - where is freedom I ask? I can't believe that major gaming sites rated this game so well. I can only think of sponsoring articles... Game just got released and we have DLC already - laughable. Making money on well-known IP, that's all. It's sad.… Expand
  11. 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
  12. dddd2
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    Waste of time and money, shouldn't be labeled as an RPG, more of an action/adventure hack & slash... Loved DAO, so disappointed with this game:( Why would you take perfectly good game and ruin it? for a quick profit that's why
  13. Comradepinko
    Mar 17, 2011
    0
    This game is a massive downgrade from the original. Tactical camera is missing, enemies respawn in waves making player positioning essentially worthless for most fights, dungeon maps are recycled, player companions can not equip any armor you find which makes acquiring new gear mostly a case of selling gear to vendors, the non combat trade skills have been removed (granted many wereThis game is a massive downgrade from the original. Tactical camera is missing, enemies respawn in waves making player positioning essentially worthless for most fights, dungeon maps are recycled, player companions can not equip any armor you find which makes acquiring new gear mostly a case of selling gear to vendors, the non combat trade skills have been removed (granted many were pointless but I would have preferred something different rather than complete removal), the Mass Effect style dialogue wheel is stupid, forcing the player into one role takes away quite a bit from the experience of the first, higher difficulty settings result in a kite fest rather than actual strategy, DLC content marketed AT LAUNCH and extra items given out for crap like "LIKING DRAGON AGE IN FACEBOOK" which makes a pirated copy of this game more convenient than just buying that game on STEAM since you won't have to jump through hoops to get the extras you want. I'm not sure if I could have been any more disappointed by this game. Terrible! I was hoping for another game similar to Baldur's Gate and I ended up with what feels like a crappy console port.… Expand
  14. vladyxxx
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Looks like AE game, plays like EA game, smells like EA game. Seems like EA in their infinite wisdom finally managed to kill their golden goose. Probably the last BioWare game I ever pre order, they lost my trust.
    I don't care if its similar to DAO or not. Its simply not fun. I got bored out of my mind 10 hours into the game. In the first 30 min of the game play you see everything there is    Looks like AE game, plays like EA game, smells like EA game. Seems like EA in their infinite wisdom finally managed to kill their golden goose. Probably the last BioWare game I ever pre order, they lost my trust.
    I don't care if its similar to DAO or not. Its simply not fun. I got bored out of my mind 10 hours into the game. In the first 30 min of the game play you see everything there is to see and than you get approx 70 more hours of the same. Their main selling point was alway a story telling, well 10 hours in and there is still no story to be found. The myriads of side quests the keep spamming the player blur into one monotonous meaningless mass. Most of the time you mindlessly run from quest marker to quest marker without even realising which quest you are on.
    There will be nothing to remember this game by and I shiver just thinking about replaying it as I dont think I can stand to see the same narrow city streets again.    … Expand
  15. JamesSteal
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II for Bioware is what the Sendai earthquake is to Japan, A disaster. Simply an uninspired game developed to market the Dragon Age series towards children.
  16. DigitalAcuity
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Geeze, can they possibly dumb down these games any more. Blatant copy-paste areas and revisiting the same locations over and over, very lazy design. So many waves of mobs that its almost border-lining on hack and slash game. that wouldn't even matter so much if the combat was good but it's not, like everything else totally dumbed down. I just can't stand to play this game any more, itsGeeze, can they possibly dumb down these games any more. Blatant copy-paste areas and revisiting the same locations over and over, very lazy design. So many waves of mobs that its almost border-lining on hack and slash game. that wouldn't even matter so much if the combat was good but it's not, like everything else totally dumbed down. I just can't stand to play this game any more, its just bad in just about every area, way to linear and tedious and an incredible disappointment, a huge step backwards in my opinion. Total proof that publishers are paying these top reviewers to give good reviews.… Expand
  17. Chuckwow
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Chuckwow Mar 10, 20110 You go to the shop to buy milk cos you love milk, and you see a carton labelled MILK 2, wow, that sounds great. Oh, it is, they tell you, look, even the local paper says so. You buy the carton. You go home and pour a suspiciously thin yellow liquid into your tankard, hey, they said it might look a bit different, but it's sure gonna taste even better than milk, so whyChuckwow Mar 10, 20110 You go to the shop to buy milk cos you love milk, and you see a carton labelled MILK 2, wow, that sounds great. Oh, it is, they tell you, look, even the local paper says so. You buy the carton. You go home and pour a suspiciously thin yellow liquid into your tankard, hey, they said it might look a bit different, but it's sure gonna taste even better than milk, so why not? You swirl it round your mouth, glug it down, and savour the unusual taste...before going into spasms and projectilve vomiting in every direction. You do not feel good. You stumble outside choking, saying, my friends, be wary of Milk 2, it really isn't anything like that beautiful liquid we adored. Others, also retching, nod in agreement. Yet in the crowd there are a few strangers wearing "Milk 2 Rules" t-shirts. Where did they come from? "Milk 2 rocks," they say. Just cos it's different from Milk doesn't mean it's the worst liquid you can imagine drinking. But, yes, actually it is.â… Expand
  18. JesusHKriest
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    This is ridiculous. The scores metacritic has listed for this game are nowhere near accurate, as evidenced by user reviews. The story is ridiculous... I don't even understand why people are traveling with me. The main quest is short, devoid of story and back-story, and to make matters worse I suddenly am having intercourse with two females at the same time. I don't even know them; I don'tThis is ridiculous. The scores metacritic has listed for this game are nowhere near accurate, as evidenced by user reviews. The story is ridiculous... I don't even understand why people are traveling with me. The main quest is short, devoid of story and back-story, and to make matters worse I suddenly am having intercourse with two females at the same time. I don't even know them; I don't even remember hitting on them.
    The combat is ridiculously easy, even on Nightmare difficulty. Bosses can be kited (as in, you can run around in circles over and over again and they will never catch you) as your friends continually shoot them, essentially making every boss nonexistent. For combat, all you have to do is rack up as much damage output as physically possible and nuke EVERYTHING. And by everything, I mean waves and waves of random people who are attacking me for reason unknown. I'll just be running a little errand for some guy in exchange for money, and SUDDENLY 50 people will charge out of nowhere to prevent me from delivering an old man his medicine (I made up that scenario as to prevent spoilers).
    I am not usually one to care about graphics (especially considering I still play 8-bit games), but in all seriousness this game makes me feel like I am playing on a Nintendo 64. And that's not saying the N64 was bad, it's just very old. Every character seems to be colored in a poorly textured splash of blood at all times, and it's just not realistic. Speaking of realism, every character seems to have 100 pound swords that they swing around like baseball bats, which seems a little lame. I'm going to stop here; as I write I am continually lowering the score I am giving this game, and so I should stop before it gets down to 1 for the sake of Bioware.    … Expand
  19. TheMitherer
    Mar 10, 2011
    4
    I thought that DA:O (decent game though it was) was the beginning of the end for Bioware and this just confirms it. Bioware have, in the past, given me more value for money than I could ever hope for. And for that I am ever grateful. But this game, this game is a disgrace. Companions I know little about and a main character that I care about even less. Extremely repetitive dungeons, lackI thought that DA:O (decent game though it was) was the beginning of the end for Bioware and this just confirms it. Bioware have, in the past, given me more value for money than I could ever hope for. And for that I am ever grateful. But this game, this game is a disgrace. Companions I know little about and a main character that I care about even less. Extremely repetitive dungeons, lack of any driven storyline, poor artwork, far too much (oversimplified) combat in any given period of time, environments pared down to the bone, uninspiring weapons, uninspiring armor, uninspiring enemies, not a few essential elements deliberately left out so that they can be put back in via DLC. The list does not end here.

    This game is just disrespectful to all fans of Bioware. It is so obvious that it was rushed purely for money making purposes without any care for fans or even for Bioware's own integrity. Their marketing department nowadays is tacky, untruthful and quickly becoming synonymous with unadulterated greed on one hand and total BS on the other. It's fine making money boys, but where the hell has your pride gone?

    I thought I'd get double digit playthoughs of DA:O. I managed 2. I tuned out of this one after 10 hours. I'll give you this one Bioware. I'll give you this one because you have done fantastically well by me in the past. But please, get your pride and integrity back.    … Expand
  20. V2Rocket
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    Turned an unrefined RPG with a lot of promise into a hack-and-slash with a color coded dialog system which gives you the ability to be, good, bad or stupid. I was expecting something better, having felt DA:O I had expectations for improvements and create something pretty amazing. It's not a bad game, it's mediocre, EA and Bioware should learn to under promise and over deliver not, overTurned an unrefined RPG with a lot of promise into a hack-and-slash with a color coded dialog system which gives you the ability to be, good, bad or stupid. I was expecting something better, having felt DA:O I had expectations for improvements and create something pretty amazing. It's not a bad game, it's mediocre, EA and Bioware should learn to under promise and over deliver not, over promise and under deliver. If you like God-Of-War, but find it too complex, pretty and polished, you might want to consider buying DA2.… Expand
  21. Roycon
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Fans of RPGs will find this a huge disappointment. It's falsely-advertised and very dumbed down in order to appeal to a younger audience.

    There's little good to be said. And there's a lot of bad things to known. Sadly, truth hurts. The most noticeable change lies in combat. It's faster, grittier, more responsive and... not very tactical. I kept using the very same tactic throughout the    Fans of RPGs will find this a huge disappointment. It's falsely-advertised and very dumbed down in order to appeal to a younger audience.

    There's little good to be said. And there's a lot of bad things to known. Sadly, truth hurts.

    The most noticeable change lies in combat. It's faster, grittier, more responsive and... not very tactical. I kept using the very same tactic throughout the game the whole. 'Cause it was the fastest way to slay my foes. It involved having one melee unit (in this case a warrior specialized in two-handed combat) and 3 ranged units (one, preferably a healer). It's simple. I would let the A.I. control the warrior, he jumped into the fray and did whatever he wanted - Gathering the attention of my enemies. At the same time I would have all my 3 units selected at all times. And order to them to focus fire on the same target and when it dies, move onto the next target. Most often combat lasted less than a minute using this method - It was very dull.

    But what about the story? I can tell you it's great, though disappointing. It's a lot like the one in Mass Effect 2. Dragon Age 2 lacks a real [visible] plot. Instead you'll follow Hawke and company for years in the city of Kirkwall. While playing, it will feel like a giant side quest, that contains side quests. It's not too bad, as there's a lot of good moments in the game, some that comes completely unexpected, depending on your relationship to your companions. The ending is however very disappointing and makes the game seem like a pro-logue.

    The visuals are mostly dull. There's very little to be seen and the animation is stiff and awkward, which is strange seeing how we've had, and it still is, outstanding animation in games that was released in the early 2000s. And there's a total of 3-4 dungeons in the game that you will be visiting, over and over and over again (in side quests). AND THE BLOOD IS STILL AWKWARDLY APPLIED TO YOUR CHARACTERS FACES.

    To summarize the whole game. It traded in the strategic and tactical thinking that Dragon Age: Origins had for a hack'n KITE and some slash game. Story is hidden and it will feel like a side quest, but you'll go "ah" when it's all revealed and probably disappointed. The interactions between you and your companions are better than ever. But even that won't save the game from it's flaws.

    5/10. Bioware made the same mistakes in Mass Effect 2. Which you'd think they learned anything from. But it couldn't be further from truth. They are forsaking the RPG players tactical play, characters customization and much more in order to appeal to none-RPG players.    … Expand
  22. 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
  23. No1R
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    I'll just leave this here.

    http://www.gameinformer.com/games/dragon_age_ii/b/pc/archive/2011/03/08/dragon-age-ii-pc-review-a-port-caught-in-the-middle.aspx
  24. dcynic
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Not worth a full zero by any means, the game works after all, but as a matter of principle the game gets one anyway.

    Combat and gameplay areas are endlessly repeated and monotonous, obvious budget cuts and rushed duedates by EA and lets not forget stripping away half of the mechanics for a streamlined massively effective experience.

    RIP Origins =(
  25. Truesteel
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    Let me just start this by saying that Bioware games are usually pure gold. USUALLY. Dragon Age Origins was a well crafted RPG with great elements that far outweighed its many flaws. I cannot say the same for Dragon Age 2. I started the game thinking that I would be able to play it entirely maxed out graphically, after all, I more than exceed the recommended secs. When ramping up theLet me just start this by saying that Bioware games are usually pure gold. USUALLY. Dragon Age Origins was a well crafted RPG with great elements that far outweighed its many flaws. I cannot say the same for Dragon Age 2. I started the game thinking that I would be able to play it entirely maxed out graphically, after all, I more than exceed the recommended secs. When ramping up the graphics to very high with anti aliasing on, the game slows to a meager 11 frams per second with artifacts being rendered during combat. I can run Bad Company 2 on full specs, why can I not run this game that looks like it came from the PS2 era? Poor optimization because the game is rushed.

    AND IT SHOWS. Not only in the graphics but in the discontinuity within the story, the poor writing, and the shallow combat system. Sure, everyone TOTALLY jumps around and does SUPER COOL things now to appeal to all the edgy teenagers out there, but most of the combat is horribly overdone. This can vary from the main character doing leaping lunges that you had nothing to do with, to enemies EXPLODING when I stab them with a basic ability. All in all, this game has been a huge disappointment. Between the rushed look and style of the game, the poor combat, the sub par writing and story, the awful optimization for PC, and the constant nickel and diming of day one DLC, this is one title you NEED to stay away from.    … Expand
  26. jackitsu
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Critics are rigged. This game was so bad on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. More than anything it was disappointing, because it could have been a great game and fell short on everything and got so far from its roots that its barely recognizable. It strings you along with hopes that it will take you back to the world you loved but never does. Disappointing. Bad.
  27. 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
  28. Rohlio
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Pretty much stripped everything out of DA:O that I liked,

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

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

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

    I enjoy picking crafting classes.

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

    Using the same "cave" for every mission, or the same layout of every building is just pathetic. Gaming should be about options. If you wanted to make a game that was more "Accessible" that is fine, create toggle switches. Let those of us who actually enjoy the details have them, let people who don't want to worry about it turn those options off. Seriously this feels like a step backward in so many areas it is hugely disappointing.    … Expand
  29. Lolipop
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    My review? Recycled characters ( no more than 5 models for each race) , like 3 types of caves , 1 interesting boss fight , empty city , only ONE city , unidimensional characters ( the whore , the innocent , the brave ). MOST **** RPG EVER , whoever gives this piece of **** more than 5 most be paid by Bioware . I WANT MY MONEY BACK.

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

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

    Don't buy it , if you did , try to get your money back . You sold yourself to Ea , bioware , **** YOU    … Expand
  30. kingslayer
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Dragon Age was an above average game with many decent elements that should have been improved upon. The biggest flaw of Dragon Age was the uninspired encounter design, where they tried to replace the lacking quality of encounters with the quantity of copy-pasted trash encounters. Instead of improving / enriching the character system and reactivity of the story and the game world andDragon Age was an above average game with many decent elements that should have been improved upon. The biggest flaw of Dragon Age was the uninspired encounter design, where they tried to replace the lacking quality of encounters with the quantity of copy-pasted trash encounters. Instead of improving / enriching the character system and reactivity of the story and the game world and providing challenging tactical combat, with proper encounter dosing and design, the designers decided to cut the gameplay out of the game in order to replace their former target audience with intellectually impaired people who are unable of performing tasks like basic arithmetic and basic reading comprehension. Character customization and development and character stat based gameplay, which is the staple of RPG genre, is gone, tactical elements of combat are gone in favour of button mashing, text responses are gone, replaced by dialogue wheel for the illiterate attention deficit disorder crowd. God forbid that there are proper multiple dialogue choices consisting of complete sentences in the game, it would hurt the feelings of the target audience. Sticks and stones may break their bones, but big words hurt their tiny brains. Instead there is the game that has done away with numbers and reading, and replaced it with "cinematics" and button mashing. Of course, numerous trash encounters have only increased in number and frequency. Without a proper character system and considering the way story is presented, Dragon Age 2 is more of a homosexual porn movie than it is an RPG.… Expand
  31. GrackFields420
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Terrible game on all platforms. 2003 graphics, mediocre gameplay, underwhelming story.
    Just go replay Dragon Age: Origins or Neverwinter Nights 2 instead and avoid this disaster.

    Spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, MY ASS!
  32. Twisterxiz
    Mar 8, 2011
    3
    Bioware has officially alienated the entire audience that made Dragon Age: Origins the hit that it was. Graphics:
    In short: The art style rework looks horrible. The new orcs and hurlocks look like rejects and don't convey a threatening visage at all. In general, all the new enemies lack a sense of danger or urgency, which I think is the main flaw with the game (main point later). The new    Bioware has officially alienated the entire audience that made Dragon Age: Origins the hit that it was. Graphics:
    In short: The art style rework looks horrible. The new orcs and hurlocks look like rejects and don't convey a threatening visage at all. In general, all the new enemies lack a sense of danger or urgency, which I think is the main flaw with the game (main point later). The new draw distance does look great, but there are so many poor textures in the game, it honestly makes you go "What is this". Just for reference, I am playing the game on my PC with full graphics in DX11 mode, so it's not my computer it's just either laziness on Bioware's part or my standards are too high (For DA:O it wasn't). The new cities look great, as do the caves, but honestly the new landscapes look bad compared to the original.

    Gameplay:
    I think this is where most of the problems derive from: Combat and animations are too fast. There is no need for tactics because the game boils down to to a hack and slash (especially at the lower difficulties. This mindless fighting leads to no memorable fights unlike the first game, which is another point. Nothing in this game is memorable. Your companions feel hollow. They all have back stories and some are interesting but it's hard to connect with any of them. It might just be the fact that Hawk is voiced over himself, but I just felt detached from the entire experience unlike the first game. I was no longer able to choose my back story, choose how I started the game, and feel like I was the protagonist of the game. It honestly mimicks an JRPG such as final fantasy. It's weird, I originally thought the voice over would be similar to mass effect, but it ended up just making the game feel like a movie. Thinking back I think the main issue with the disconnect was simply the story. In most Bioware RPG's you are a normal bloke, and something bad happens and you get drafted into a special league of people to solve the problem. In DA2, I was simply "told" that I was the champion kirkwall, all I accomplished, everything that I was and would be was predefined. The story telling medium really just made it feel terrible, extremely similar to the vibe I got from Fable 3 (Also another terrible RPG). The story is simply too disjointed, where most of the story line entail quick missions that involve mindless running through hurlocks and friends, killing everything, all to recover an item or to meet/rescue someone. It just felt terrible.



    I rated the game a 3. It is "meh", which in my book is a 5, but I feel that Bioware has royally screwed up on this game. The alienation gives it a 3. Note at Bioware: You can't say that you are "improving" a game by removing everything that made the original a success. You have alienated the PC gamer group (I'm sure the game is fun more so on consoles) and it will show. Catering to the console audience will be your demise, as the PC community is what originally valued your games and gave your company the notoriety that it has today. Yes DA:O had clunky issues, but what you have done in order to improve and streamline the game has backfired horrendously, and it shows. It really does. Just looking at the original and the sequel compared, it's as if the sequel should have been the original, everything just seems a stepback.



    Or maybe because it's Bioware, everyone will buy it and say that it's fit for worship. Who knows, but the future of RPG's look grim.    … Expand
  33. jadeia
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    The Dragon Age story has lost it's soul with this console-implementation. It's incredibly dumbed down, and feels like a simplified game you would expect on an iPhone or mobile device. While the graphics are indeed amazing, the voice acting fine and the interface slick - it's just disappointing. The unusually high average scores from professional "reviewers" just shows how large the divideThe Dragon Age story has lost it's soul with this console-implementation. It's incredibly dumbed down, and feels like a simplified game you would expect on an iPhone or mobile device. While the graphics are indeed amazing, the voice acting fine and the interface slick - it's just disappointing. The unusually high average scores from professional "reviewers" just shows how large the divide between commercial expectations and end-user expectations really are.… Expand
  34. dricks
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Boring.
    Each time i launch this game, i feel like playing Final Fight.
    Even the character selection screen seems to say "Guy, Cody, or Haggart ?". First stage. Fight, then go forward, and other waves of enemies comes. Then the boss, a giant and tough enemy which run on me, head down. Wait, this is the exact description of the beginning of DA2. Isn't it supposed to be an RPG ? Well, i'll    Boring.
    Each time i launch this game, i feel like playing Final Fight.
    Even the character selection screen seems to say "Guy, Cody, or Haggart ?".
    First stage. Fight, then go forward, and other waves of enemies comes.
    Then the boss, a giant and tough enemy which run on me, head down.

    Wait, this is the exact description of the beginning of DA2. Isn't it supposed to be an RPG ?

    Well, i'll put a 2 on this one, because i really liked Final Fight. But as a fighting game, it's really less fun. And as an RPG, it really sucks.    … Expand
  35. xXxSephirothxXx
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    I can't believe I paid full price for this game, what a total let down.
    I absolutely loved DA:O, and this game was a total kick to the pants.
    I've never felt so strongly to actually leave a review before on here, but this game has really rustled my jimmies. Even FFXIV is better than this game. Shame on you bioware for releasing this absolutely disastrous videogame. You should consider    I can't believe I paid full price for this game, what a total let down.
    I absolutely loved DA:O, and this game was a total kick to the pants.

    I've never felt so strongly to actually leave a review before on here, but this game has really rustled my jimmies.

    Even FFXIV is better than this game.
    Shame on you bioware for releasing this absolutely disastrous videogame.
    You should consider yourself lucky people can't get a refund!!!!!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  36. Nemato
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    This game is boring, like its predecessor. It's also shorter in length, (as indicated by the size of installation and number of words written for dialogue, compared to DA1), and dumbed down to a hack and slash game. Games like this or CoD:Black Ops make me question the validity of critic reviews. Somehow these 'big' games get positive reviews no matter what, even when the majority ofThis game is boring, like its predecessor. It's also shorter in length, (as indicated by the size of installation and number of words written for dialogue, compared to DA1), and dumbed down to a hack and slash game. Games like this or CoD:Black Ops make me question the validity of critic reviews. Somehow these 'big' games get positive reviews no matter what, even when the majority of players disagree. If there is a lesson to be learnt, it is that you should trust reader reviews, at least on this website; they're really helpful and detailed. Critic reviewers, on the other hand, are probably forced to write positive reviews on famous games made by famous developers, or maybe they're too scared to be honest about how bad these games really are. Ugh.

    Mass Effect series is much better than DA in my opinion. DA has bad story, bad graphics, bad dialogues (cheesy), and boring combat. DA2 "improved" this lackster combat by simply transforming it into a hack and slash game that can be enjoyed by simpletons who like to press a button. (Dynasty Warriors anyone?) Unlike DA1, DA2 is made with consoles in mind, and as such, the depth of the gameplay is gone from what I already considered a mediocre game. Last but not least, no, I am not blinded by PC elitism; I enjoy console games as much as PC games. I just think that DA was better off as a PC game. If I really wanted a hack and slash game, I could find many games superior to this. But there aren't that many PC RPGs anymore. DA was never to my liking, but at least it rejuvenated a dying genre. DA2 does not.    … Expand
  37. Mikespiegel852
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Let me start by saying that I've been a fan of Bioware since KOTOR, one of my favorite game of all time, but after this I'm not sure I'll ever buy another Bioware game ever again.. The original Dragon Age wasn't the best game of all time, but I felt it had a sort of charm to it. It was average at best, but I had a lot of fun with it which is something I can't say for Dragon Age 2. TheLet me start by saying that I've been a fan of Bioware since KOTOR, one of my favorite game of all time, but after this I'm not sure I'll ever buy another Bioware game ever again.. The original Dragon Age wasn't the best game of all time, but I felt it had a sort of charm to it. It was average at best, but I had a lot of fun with it which is something I can't say for Dragon Age 2. The graphics seem to have gotten WORSE, I have no problem with bad graphics, however, I do have a problem with a sequel looking worse than its predecessor. That aside, another major issue is that I no longer felt like I was playing an rpg, but rather some hack and slash game with little to no depth. The combat is nothing short of atrocious. It felt as if Bioware was instead catering to the mindless click click click win audience. I know not everyone enjoys RPGs since they can be slow, but that's what first person shooters and action games are for. This may have been a better business move by Bioware, to aim for the larger group, but I can't help but feel betrayed by one of my favorite developers. Another issue concerning the combat was that enemies seemed to appear out of nowhere in waves which, at least for me, broke some of the immersion. I'll be honest, I wasn't really immersed in it in the first place, but it's an issue I feel Bioware has to address. Now as for the story, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Throughout the whole game the story never really felt like it was going anywhere no matter how far I got. Maybe I'm just spoiled from some of the other great stories Bioware has made in their games. The dialogue wheel is beyond terrible, and some of the dialogue from the characters makes me cringe. One example is in the demo Bioware released. A woman is yelling "They shall not have you" to her injured husband and then says to the darkspawn"You shall not have him." Really Bioware? Really? I can't even begin to fathom how they could release a demo with such a terrible scene. As for the day 1 dlc, I'm sure people can see why I'd be annoyed by this so I won't go into it. One bad game doesn't make a developer terrible obviously. What really killed any hope I had in Bioware, was their staff on their forums. ANY criticism towards their game is dismissed as trolling. It's as if they truly believe their game is flawless. It's a shame how such a great developer turned into what it is today. I could go on and on about how much of a let down this was, but I'd rather end it now.… Expand
  38. Lemonbud
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age: Origins was awesome. I like hack and slash games like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. DAO really sucked me into the fantasy world and combat. There was something in it that really was fun, addicting, and truly unique when I played it. The game kept me wanting more. Awakening was just more of what I needed. When I heard DA2 was coming out I couldn't be more excited. Finally theDragon Age: Origins was awesome. I like hack and slash games like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. DAO really sucked me into the fantasy world and combat. There was something in it that really was fun, addicting, and truly unique when I played it. The game kept me wanting more. Awakening was just more of what I needed. When I heard DA2 was coming out I couldn't be more excited. Finally the demo was released. OMG what the hell is this crap! Ok so I know I should expect a new look and updated combat and so forth unlike Fallout 3 to Fallout: New Vegas (should have been an expansion because it was the same damn game). At first it was kinda cool but then it really started to feel very cheap very quick. It felt like a fast action paced console button masher rather than a tactical team based RPG as the original. I think they tried to appeal to the mass of xbox and ps3 console gamers and completely undermined the loyal PC gamer and/or RPG fan. Based off the demo I will definitely skip this title. You know when your favorite band sells out? Seems like DA sold out unfortunately… Expand
  39. Ominae
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    Up until release of this game, I was cursing the name of EA, and to a lesser extent Bioware, for gouging their customers with endless amounts of DLC and maiming their game in the name of money, more money and even more money. I was sure, absolutely and completely sure, that the game would be amazing, that when it came out all my fears and hatreds would be allayed and I would be dining inUp until release of this game, I was cursing the name of EA, and to a lesser extent Bioware, for gouging their customers with endless amounts of DLC and maiming their game in the name of money, more money and even more money. I was sure, absolutely and completely sure, that the game would be amazing, that when it came out all my fears and hatreds would be allayed and I would be dining in a smorgasbord of RPG wonderfullness punctuated by plot, intrigue, character development and strategic gameplay that rivaled the best RPGs ever made.

    And then the game came out. And then I knew, exactly, why EA was gouging people for money.

    Because the game sucked. Because the plot was linear, unexciting and predictable. Because there was no character development. Because everything that could be fun and important in the story was skipped over in a cinematic. Because there was no causality, there was no flow, there was absolutely no explanations given for extremely important bits of plot development aside from some badly voice acted dwarf telling a story to some equally as badly voiced french chick.

    Why? Why was all of this skipped over? Why was all of this glossed over and forgotten and put on the shelf? Why did Bioware literally go through potentially one of their biggest and most beloved franchises with a blowtorch and acid?

    Because NOW, dear readers, Darkspawn explode into BLOOD when you kill them! And so do people! And you swing a sword around really fast and do this really cool thing where you slide on the floor and 'scythe' through a bunch of mobs and then make a sweeping arc with your sword and take out enemies and then OMG another wave of enemies appear and THEY TOO EXPLODE INTO BITS OF BLOOD. IF YOU STUB YOUR TOE, THE ROOM IS FULL OF BLOOD.

    Dragon Age 2 is a travesty. It is the apex of companies attempting and failing to bring their games to a console audience for the sake of brand recognition and more money. It is the absolute failure of Electronic Arts and Bioware.

    They managed, somehow, to take a good game, a good franchise, something that would have taken minimal work to make into an excellent sequel, and run it into the ground like a mole machine.

    Congratulations, EA. You successfully transmuted gold into guano.

    Don't buy this game.    … Expand
  40. jp7843
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Were all the critics bribed? how is this game managing to get such a high critic rating!? this is a terrible game, awful graphics & rubbish story held together with average gameplay. Avoid at all costs, I wish I had...
  41. archurban
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    many people already posted about everything what I wanted to say. I don't want to explain more. the game is the worst ever I have played such a big games in my life. graphic, junk console port, no details on PC setting, no movement with mouse and camera view, boring combat, terrible voice acting, many bugs.... it is too bad that Bioware ruined their reputation by itself.
  42. Boon03
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Bioware has stooped to the lowest of the low. Lower than even Ubisoft. In DA2, SecuROM DRM is stealth installed on your system, without telling you and with no way to completely remove it. I mean... just... wow. I never would've thought Bioware would stoop to that level.

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

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

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

    Normally, I would've rated this a 4. But because of the DRM lies, I have to rate it with a 0. And anyone with half a conscience for game should rate it a 0, as well. Avoid this game and everything this company represents.    … Expand
  43. kevinverdammt
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    WTF BioWare? What happened between Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age? This is no longer an RPG in any sense, but a hack-n-slash action clone. Close up shop, BioWare you are dead to me.
  44. Cerebyss
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is a fun and accessible game but at the expense of many of the qualities that made Dragon Age: Origins such an engaging experience. Being the 2nd release in the franchise, many of the changes are disappointing if you're expecting a game with as much depth as the first. It stands strongly enough on it's own but for fans of the first it feels like a watered down, rushed sequel.Dragon Age 2 is a fun and accessible game but at the expense of many of the qualities that made Dragon Age: Origins such an engaging experience. Being the 2nd release in the franchise, many of the changes are disappointing if you're expecting a game with as much depth as the first. It stands strongly enough on it's own but for fans of the first it feels like a watered down, rushed sequel. Taken on its own, it's an enjoyable game if you can look past all the stripped out features (or if you didn't care for them in the first place).

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

    Lows:
    -lack of content: if DA:O was a full course meal, DA2 is from the fast-food menu
    -recycled environments: the same maps are used over and over again with no changes, yet the player is supposed to believe they are completely new locations. Some areas sealed off with magic concrete slabs filling an open doorway. Serious deja-vu from Oblivion's cookie cutter dungeons, however Oblivion's at least had some different layouts, these are EXACTLY the same
    -enemy mobs now respawn in multiple waves during combat, including respawning out of thin air in the middle of your party making tactical party placement an exercise in futility
    -weak loot (lack of armor pieces, generic item names: "ring" "amulet" with no flavor text)
    -lack of armor customization for party members
    -lack of unique/relationship dialogue between main character and party members
    -conversation options are often misleading or unpredictable based on the summarized text shown
    -voiced main character dialogue undermines roleplaying experience and pigeon-holes your character into playing one of 3 stereotypes: pretentious do-gooder, sneery jokester or belligerent bad-ass.
    -lack of customization for PC interface (ie. font size, resizable GUI windows that use all of the screen instead of a tiny window that you have to scroll through, etc.)    … Expand
  45. Coldspyros
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I'm extremely disappointed in DA II. I expected more from the successor of DA:O. Bioware has done great things in the past, such as ME I and II, and DA:O, among other games, but this is terrible. The dialog options suck, the gameplay is simple hack n' slash, and the story line is cheap. The game feels rushed, and, although I'm no graphics whore (SC:BW is one of my favorite games, up thereI'm extremely disappointed in DA II. I expected more from the successor of DA:O. Bioware has done great things in the past, such as ME I and II, and DA:O, among other games, but this is terrible. The dialog options suck, the gameplay is simple hack n' slash, and the story line is cheap. The game feels rushed, and, although I'm no graphics whore (SC:BW is one of my favorite games, up there with Wind Waker, STALKER SoC, etc etc), the graphics are terrible. I think they put very little effort into this game, and just pumped it out for the money. Speaking of money, all of the reviews are paid off. They even paid the NEW YORK TIMES to review their game. NEW YORK TIMES.
    Heh.    … Expand
  46. 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.
  47. UnpaidCritic
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    As someone who deeply enjoyed DA:O, I am immensely disappointed by this sequel. Dragon Age 2 is inferior to its predecessor in basically every way. And how Bioware manged to even implement worse graphics than DA:O is completely beyond me. Ratings are always subjective but if you see game reviewers give this game a 10/10 praising its superior graphics .. you cant help but wonder how much ofAs someone who deeply enjoyed DA:O, I am immensely disappointed by this sequel. Dragon Age 2 is inferior to its predecessor in basically every way. And how Bioware manged to even implement worse graphics than DA:O is completely beyond me. Ratings are always subjective but if you see game reviewers give this game a 10/10 praising its superior graphics .. you cant help but wonder how much of this praise came directly from EA itself.

    Also nice try Avanost.    … Expand
  48. Daveid
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    My rating of 0 does not reflect the game's quality. Metacritic's (as of now) user score of 3.0 does not reflect the quality either. Merely, we as fans are severely disappointed in the delivery and intent of Dragon Age II and are expressing it accordingly. If I were to be honest with myself, I'd probably give it a 6/10, which is still fairly horrible.

    Here's the sad truth. Some, if not    My rating of 0 does not reflect the game's quality. Metacritic's (as of now) user score of 3.0 does not reflect the quality either. Merely, we as fans are severely disappointed in the delivery and intent of Dragon Age II and are expressing it accordingly. If I were to be honest with myself, I'd probably give it a 6/10, which is still fairly horrible.

    Here's the sad truth. Some, if not mostly all, the highly ratings for these games are just paid reviews. You can see evidence for yourself on the forums. This is sad and completely unnecessary. Instead of shelling out cash to make your game look good, why don't you use that money to actually make the game look good, honestly and truthfully? I have no idea where it all went wrong in the development of this game. The graphics are a step down from Origins, the combat is a joke (unless playing an Nightmare, which is exactly the problem) and worst of all, the RPG element of this game is hideous. Only 3 dialog options, really. Are you kidding me here, BioWare? Maybe, maybe, this would be forgivable.. if it weren't for the 5 words or less sentence that represents that dialog option. Case in point, the story telling just atrocious.

    I sincerely hope BioWare learns a lesson from this. Hell, I hope they end up releasing ALL DLC for free, in hopes that more people will buy the game and their fan-base will half-heartily turn the other cheek. But, it's gonna take a lot more than free DLC to fix this problem. Rather, I think they should just consider it a loss, make a great Mass Effect 3, and then somewhere down the road revisit Dragon Age and make it the game everyone wanted to be.    … Expand
  49. jigoku
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    (skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro) As a PC gamer, DA:O was my introduction into RPGs. And I have to say, even getting started was daunting to me. I had envisioned a vast open world of freedom, choice, adventure and fun, based on the reviews I had read and all the buzz I had been hearing about the game. Instead what I got with the(skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro) As a PC gamer, DA:O was my introduction into RPGs. And I have to say, even getting started was daunting to me. I had envisioned a vast open world of freedom, choice, adventure and fun, based on the reviews I had read and all the buzz I had been hearing about the game. Instead what I got with the first Dragon Age was a linear, repetitive, unimaginative and boring affair where nothing really seemed to come alive and "choice" was a thinly-veiled illusion conjured up most ham-handedly by uninspired developers. Also I did not care for the looks of this world and its inhabitants, which does not help immersion one bit (bland lighting, unimpressive structures, flat and unexpressive faces, goofy armor, ...). What got me the most though was a thing called "level scaling". Gone is the thrill of slaying a beast that once seemed completely indomitable, after having spent hours "training" your characters in preparation for your revenge. Instead everything and everyone simply levels up along with you. Disgusting. Then along came DA2. From what I was reading this true sequel to the Dragon Age saga promised to be substantially different from DA:O, and I was excited. Even though DA:O was a huge letdown, it had kindled within me the hope for something truly epic and inspired. I had been reading various outcries from die-hard RPG fans and DA:O fans, but since the latter game had disappointed me so these outcries only strengthened my conviction that DA2 might actually be different; and I might actually enjoy it. Not so. Take all the negative comments on DA:O above (uninspired, unimaginative, linear, ugly, repetitive, devoid of actual choice, ....) and multiply them by any factor you may deem impressive, and you have DA2. * The corridors of DA:O have become even narrower and more confining; * The level design is unapologetically lazy (copy-pasted dungeons and caves); * The choice of story-progressing replies has dwindled to a basic three; * The graphics are at a playstation 2 level (although the overall style has improved); * Combat has been dumbed down to a button-mashing fest artificially rendered more difficult with mid-fight enemy spawns (only remotely enjoyable difficulty setting is "nightmare" but as said before the difficulty is artificial); * Kirkwall (where all but the entire game takes place) feels and looks artificial and devoid of any bustle and - indeed - life itself; I could go on and on about how much I have started to loathe DA2, but in the end it really is my fault for pre-ordering a game which promised to be "different" but turned out to be merely "worse". Much worse.… Expand
  50. Judge3030
    Mar 10, 2011
    4
    The first game was very good. This is just crap. I liken it to the step backwards neverwinter nights 2 was when compared with the first neverwinter nights.
  51. War_Tiger
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Thanks bioware for selling out and appealing to the mass majority of younger gamers. The addition of many scantly clad characters does well in appealing to 13 year olds. The over the top exploding gore and wildly unrealistic combat is also good at catering to the wants of hyperactive anime fans with ADHD everywhere. When I played this at a friends house I felt like I was playing a specialThanks bioware for selling out and appealing to the mass majority of younger gamers. The addition of many scantly clad characters does well in appealing to 13 year olds. The over the top exploding gore and wildly unrealistic combat is also good at catering to the wants of hyperactive anime fans with ADHD everywhere. When I played this at a friends house I felt like I was playing a special exclusive version of god of war made only in japan but featuring a different protagonist 'hawke' the man who can swing a two handed sword with 1 hand like it was a tin butter knife. (Of course god of war was actually an action game, not an "RPG" trying to be one). Did you like the tactical challenge of nightmare in DA:O? Well we don't have any of that boring tactical crap anymore! No thinking and planning required! Just mash those buttons hard enough and you can overcome any battle! If you're really have trouble just grab your keyboard/controller hold it high and shout "Super sayian button mash activate!!" then proceed to repeatly smash the keyboard/controller into your desk/tv/monitor/friend (Maybe he'll explode into a blood mist like in the game!)

    Whats next? Dragon Age 3: Path of the vampire god of war. Featuring cloud from ff7 and sepphiroth fighting together in their latest adventure to stop the twinkling vampire god edward (yeah twilight) from his vampire darkspawn invasion. Also featuring full frontal nudity from all your favorite ff7 and DBZ characters. If you buy the special naughty DLC for only $70.00 you can get breast enlargements to EEE+ (up from just DDD) for every female character and you get kagomai from inyuyasha as a new tag along sex slave companion.

    Again thank you bioware. I remember when you made RPG's like Baldur's Gate, but you're right! Why make a good game when you can make GOOD MONEY!!!!    … Expand
  52. chronos
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    I do not typically preorder games, and this game has proven why that is a wise idea. I am of the crowd that thought that Mass Effect 2 was a downgrade from ME1 in the RPG department (but without a doubt a better shooter) and I cannot imagine how anyone who claims to like rpg's will find much of anything redeemable in Dragon Age 2. There is no longer any strategy to combat, no tacticalI do not typically preorder games, and this game has proven why that is a wise idea. I am of the crowd that thought that Mass Effect 2 was a downgrade from ME1 in the RPG department (but without a doubt a better shooter) and I cannot imagine how anyone who claims to like rpg's will find much of anything redeemable in Dragon Age 2. There is no longer any strategy to combat, no tactical camera, no tactical positioning. I would have been much more satisfied with a deeper, involved story based on the DA:O engine. Say a more polished Awakenings with considerably more content. As it is, I wish I could return DA2.… Expand
  53. galstaff
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    Two words: huge disappointment. While DA2 by itself might not be too bad by console standards, but it's absolutely horrible and degraded sequel to one of the best CRPGs. I really regret my decision to preorder. Spending $60 not only didn't buy me a good game, but also I've just spent the money to encourage developers of this garbage.
  54. Githzerai
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This is without a doubt one of the laziest, most poorly designed, poorly made, and just plain awful games i have ever played. Although i have to congratulate Bioware on making a game that requires impressive system specs, particularly the need for DX11 to use the higher graphics settings, AND still somehow manages to look like a first generation PS2 game.

    The dialog is awkward and    This is without a doubt one of the laziest, most poorly designed, poorly made, and just plain awful games i have ever played. Although i have to congratulate Bioware on making a game that requires impressive system specs, particularly the need for DX11 to use the higher graphics settings, AND still somehow manages to look like a first generation PS2 game.

    The dialog is awkward and uninteresting even by bioware standards, the area design is so linear and simplistic, everything is just dull and awful looking. The combat is annoying, far too simple and just plain boring. When DA:O came out i was hoping for a modern day version of Baldurs Gate 2 or Icewind Dale and was fairly disappointed but at least that game was playable and even enjoyable at times. DA2 on the other hand somehow took the dumbed down, simplified gameplay from DA:O and sucked every last bit of fun from it.

    Every moment i spent playing this game felt so shallow and tedious. DA:O was an RPG with some depth, strategy, exploration, a nice amount of content. DA2 on the other hand is a huge step backwards, i've played free flash games with more depth and content. Bioware take note, this is what happens when you compromise your game to try and appeal to the lowest common denominator. I'm sure you'll make a huge profit and your shareholders will be happy, but brand recognition is everything and i now recognize Bioware as a company that have lost the ability to produce RPGs.

    The only redeemable quality this game has is the satisfaction i received from uninstalling it. The most remarkable thing of all however is the high ratings this received from game journalists compared to the almost universally bad ratings from actual gamers. I guess Bioware probably should have spent more on making a decent game instead of all the marketing and advertising dollars spent on strong-arming good reviews out of the useless and dishonest game journalists.    … Expand
  55. Getterray
    Mar 8, 2011
    3
    The gameplay is dissapointing at best, insulting at worst. In an attempt to streamline the gameplay for consoles, the PC version has suffered. No isometric view means it is very hard to see the action and micro manage your group. The very quick cooldowns and lack of difficulty coupled with the bad camera effectively make pausing the game a waste of time. The game reusues the same caveThe gameplay is dissapointing at best, insulting at worst. In an attempt to streamline the gameplay for consoles, the PC version has suffered. No isometric view means it is very hard to see the action and micro manage your group. The very quick cooldowns and lack of difficulty coupled with the bad camera effectively make pausing the game a waste of time. The game reusues the same cave layout with the exact same door placement and the exact samevisuals from start to finish. You enter many caves yet somehow they are all the same. If you thought Mass Effect was bad then DA2 will blow your mind. The dialogue is very poorly written. It reads like a bad harlequin romance novel, something of the grade that you'd find in a trashy teen vampire cash in. The voice work feels dead pan and boring for any non party member NPC and that coupled with the unrealistic fangirl-like writing makes for some truly cringe worthy scenes. One character tries so hard to be cute, so hard to appeal to the "moe" loving crowd that her lines make her seem borderline retarded. It works with little girls because they are young and the stupidity can be excused. But when a grown woman speaks like a nervous 14 year old and calls swordsmen "sworderers" that "do something with a sword" then you start questioning this person's IQ. The game has the textures of an N64 game and that isn't even an exageration. There are pictures floating around the internet showing the low res (even with the supposed high res pack) of the ground, the buildings and the people most of all. All the NPCs asside from those in Hawke's party and in cutscenes look as detailed as the Happy Mask Salesman from Majora's Mask.

    This is a bad game. Don't buy the hype.    … Expand
  56. checkem22
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Terrible game, david gayder should be ashamed of himself. this is a spit in the face to all rpgs.

    more linear than FFXIII if you can believe that.
    and the gameplay? was watching tv while spamming random buttons and i beat the game
    the writing is atrocious, its almost as bad as this review.
  57. zwaps
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    1. Rogue Archer is useless. The NPC dude is much better and it's almost impossible to run from mobs with two rogues and one mage. I had to cheese every single engagement. I hope you get a warrior if you keep playing because ****
    The worst thing: The difficulty on insane is not from tactical depth. All you need is luck and button-mashing (and running around in circles, if your party    1. Rogue Archer is useless. The NPC dude is much better and it's almost impossible to run from mobs with two rogues and one mage. I had to cheese every single engagement. I hope you get a warrior if you keep playing because ****
    The worst thing: The difficulty on insane is not from tactical depth. All you need is luck and button-mashing (and running around in circles, if your party sucks).

    At least I can spec the Dwarf to be melee if I want my character to be ranged.
    Oh wait I can't. That's right, **** your RPG-ism. You play like we want.


    2. The gameplay has nothing to do with tactical RPG. Your only real option is when to press the ability buttons.
    Tactical placement of characters, stealth, backstab etc. doesn't mean **** All you need to do is press the button since _everything_ is an ability now.
    I don't even see what I could be doing differently. There are a few battles where you can chokepoint enemies in doorframes, otherwise there is little to do tactically.
    It feels like half of the elements of BG2 combat are missing. In BG2 I usually ended up planning hard engagements, leading different enemies into traps I set earlier, buying specific items and buffs just for that engagement. DA2 is so far away from that complexity. DA:O wasn't perfect, but it was at least a bit closer.
    Rogue used to be about using a few things like stealing, positioning and stealth. Now it's just like beeing a mage - a Rogue mage.

    Also, I hate the amount of enemies. The screen is littered with em and any amount of tacticality that remained is pretty much an efford in futility. Most mobs should have been about the size of your party, but with interesting foes. I don't even particulary analyze what enemies I am fighting, I am doing the same charade over and over again.
    Miles and miles away from previous RPGs.


    3. You never get to plan ahead anyway, since ALL enemies just drop on you literally. This is the worst thing ever and I can't grasp how they thought this would be a good idea.
    It's almost like Mass Effect 2 now. "Oh look an empty room. Welp, ambush. How surprising"
    Preparation doesn't get you any further. I also haven't used any potions or buffs yet previous to engagements. Maybe it was too early in the game for that though.

    4. Camera angle.. whatever. Isometric view wouldn't have salvaged the gameplay.

    5. Everything feels so restricting. You have almost no choice in what your character does and how he looks etc. Inventory has become more or less obsolete. It doesn't even feel like an RPG in that sense.
    For some reason the character creation process and the initial RPG immersiveness has - for me- never felt so disappointing in any PC RPG.
    It feels like a movie.
    Everytime. Cutscene. Go somewhere, enemies appear out of thin air, second wave, cutscene. Repeat. Every.. single .. time.
    Immersion level is very low. If you care about those things.

    6. Graphics are fine, voice acting is nice etc.

    7. Art style is ****ed. The ****ing Dalish elves look like cartoon characters. This has bothered me the most. It's like an anime. I expect this will be even worse later on. Not that the gameworld is completely unattractive. It just feels like EVERY SINGLE THING they changed is worse than in DA:O.
    I HAVE to use that dwarf with the cyberpunk Machine gun in an high fantasy RPG? Yeah thanks, totally works for me. **** you.

    8. You can interact even less with the gameworld. In the spirit of dumbing it down this is not too surprising. But there is so little loot, so little to pick up or see or get.
    You just don't get the feeling the enemies are actually carrying weapons or whatever.
    It feels like you get a generic reward, instead of actually "going through their stuff for useful ****".
    Feels wrong.

    9. The interface is **** I don't even know why, but it annoys me hugely. Probably because back in the day the interface symbolized a backback or inventory or a spellbook or whatever. Now it's literally a list of computer buttons. Just like the loot is not actual loot, but a computer-given reward. Also feels wrong.



    With a decent story I could see myself buying this for 10â    … Expand
  58. Rogue69
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    Like many others I have to say that DA2 has been a disappointment. Others who have mentioned that DA2 is like a fantasy Mass Effect game is actually insulting the Mass Effect series; Mass Effect I/II were great action-oriented RPGs in their own right and should not be lumped in with this incomplete game called DA2. When you played Mass Effect you felt as if you were in a futuristicLike many others I have to say that DA2 has been a disappointment. Others who have mentioned that DA2 is like a fantasy Mass Effect game is actually insulting the Mass Effect series; Mass Effect I/II were great action-oriented RPGs in their own right and should not be lumped in with this incomplete game called DA2. When you played Mass Effect you felt as if you were in a futuristic world. When one plays DA2 you fell like..... well you dont feel anything really. I've played RPGs for over 25 years and I have to say without a doubt that the interface in DA2 was one of the worst ever conceived and used in any RPG game to date. DA:O used a very stylistic, engrossing interface that featured bloodied parchment to display multiple fantasy elements. DA2 uses a characterless, lifeless interface that does not support a fantasy setting (nor a futuristic setting for that matter). In fact if a gamer was just shown the DA2 interface without prior knowledge to the game he/she would have problems identifying what genre of game they were looking at; this should never be the case.... ever.... If that wasn't bad enough the producers decided to simplify the game so that my 3 year old daughter could participate in combat... and WIN!!! Now I know what youre thinking....'He's just saying that... He's exaggerating..' The really sad part is no... Im not. My 3 year old daughter did in fact fight one of my battles and actually killed several creatures before the battle was over (difficulty was on hard). The inventory/character screens are also TERRIBLE! For example.... the equipment that my character has equipped are represented by symbols..... SYMBOLS!! You dont even get a graphic icon to represent the equipment; its all done with symbols much like from a map legend!! I cant tell one ring or amulet from another except when i mouse over and get a very detailed description such as this 'RING +3% to physical damage'; no item history, no description, not even a picture.... I could go on and on and on, but why should I? I really wish I read the user reviews before purchasing this game. I would have honestly passed on this one and thats really sad considering Im the biggest DA fanboy going! I cope with this game like I cope with the movie series "The Matrix", I just pretend that only the first Matrix was ever created....… Expand
  59. NikoT
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    Alright, after reading most of these reviews and playing the game for a few hours. I want to share a few glimpses of what I got out of the game. Well, first of all, I'd like to address the combat. In DA:O it was tactical, you had to use your brains, rushing straight-forward was a no-no. In this game, you basically spam one or two abilities on group of enemies and wait them to die. MaybeAlright, after reading most of these reviews and playing the game for a few hours. I want to share a few glimpses of what I got out of the game. Well, first of all, I'd like to address the combat. In DA:O it was tactical, you had to use your brains, rushing straight-forward was a no-no. In this game, you basically spam one or two abilities on group of enemies and wait them to die. Maybe get a heal spell from a mage or gluck down a health potion. The combat is seriously boring and repetitive, it actually makes you wish you'd just get over with and move on with the plot without beating dozens of same looking monsters in same looking environments. Now about the areas, the recycling is hell of a bad thing. Having to run the same looking mine cavern really isn't what I define as immersive. Couldn't Bioware put any more work on the areas instead of recycling every type of area (there's one cavern, one beach etc.) for the duration of the game?? Really now. The dialogue and conversations.. well they aren't bad, the voice acting is nice but.. does it really matter what you choose? It always ends up in the same situation as with every other choice. Sigh, I really expected too much of this game. It is dumbed down heavily from the original, for the CoD-playing little boys who want to see flashy gore and easy, casual gameplay. I'm going to join the bandwagon and give this a low score, for pity's sake. If it would had been a standalone game, maybe it would been decent. But this is a sequel to a great game with great combat and great dialogue. This game takes two dozen steps backwards in everything. And what's with the stupid exploding bodies? Really, I see an archer shoot a thug with an arrow, and the thug explodes into 6 pieces?! And some of the characters are just lame beyond imagination, namely this one elf.. He's a one big cliché, I've got to say. I'm already tired of this game and I haven't even finished it..… Expand
  60. MasterChef
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    The way Bioware changed this franchise from DA:O is devastating. I mean seriously, no isometric view? Are you serious? Plus the camera controls and overall camera is just horrible. The mediocre gameplay experience is nowhere satisfying and if I want to just concentrate on dating sims I'd play a game that's genuine dating sim. (Oh, and FYI the graphics were terrible too.)
  61. Ahlan
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    one of the worst RPG games i have ever played.

    Controls are terrible and clunky There are no other control schemes (Only Point and click - click to move)
    Dull story
    Weak dialogues.
    Graphics environments looks terrible (DX11)
    Dumbed down RPG for casual wide audience.
    Its ultimately feels like a step back from DA
  62. Jimbobbrown
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Well just played the demo and it was enough to make sure i wouldn't be buying it. What a disappointment as i loved the first game. It would seem every decision they made was designed to alienate fans of the original. Could go into all the faults but others have already, don't believe the press this game is not anywhere near the caliber of origins and plays like a dumbed down jrpg. NoWell just played the demo and it was enough to make sure i wouldn't be buying it. What a disappointment as i loved the first game. It would seem every decision they made was designed to alienate fans of the original. Could go into all the faults but others have already, don't believe the press this game is not anywhere near the caliber of origins and plays like a dumbed down jrpg. No thanks Bioware.… Expand
  63. Trotskyist
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    If you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die out - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

    This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge as    If you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die out - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

    This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge as Baldurs Gate 2 creators.
    If DA2 succeeds comercially, this kind of gameplay re-imagining may very well happen to possible Baldurs Gate 3. Just imagine this nightmare - Baldurs Gate 3 : God of War style.

    So skip the railroad locations, ugly graphics, nonexistant stats, uninspiring generic characters Dragon Age 2 has to offer - not only for avoiding boredom, but for the sake of brighter future for RPG gaming.    … Expand
  64. mt2e
    Mar 8, 2011
    4
    This is a complete insult of a game, an obvious attempt to milk the cashcow. BioWare's reputation has taken a hit because of this game. This is a review of the PC version which is a port of console version. Before I get into the PC aspects I will open the bag and say that BioWare flat-out lied about the console version having auto-attack. They knew that feature would not be included,This is a complete insult of a game, an obvious attempt to milk the cashcow. BioWare's reputation has taken a hit because of this game. This is a review of the PC version which is a port of console version. Before I get into the PC aspects I will open the bag and say that BioWare flat-out lied about the console version having auto-attack. They knew that feature would not be included, after openly saying it WOULD be included but admitted a mear 12 hours before release that their had "been a mistake". A BOLD FACE LIE.

    Onto the PC version thoughts.

    The conversation is dribble, utter dribble. For a RPG to have such a uninteresting story, AND method of story telling in a AAA title is insulting. Pressing escape is half the gameplay time, because the story is garbage. Camera view is horrible, worse then the first game. Another sign that the game was rushed. They didnt want to put in the resources in order to make this happen.

    The characters are uninspiring, very generic. The textures are uneven. Some a good while other are unacceptable.

    The combat is the only thing acceptable. If they had completely removed all story and dialog and just stuck with combat, called it a hack and slash and not named it dragon age, I would be a happy camper. I would have not been suckerpunched.

    The fact their really is no point to the inventory system considering they cherry picked what items could be equipped, shows a complete sense of ineptitude. They refused to put in the effort for "Items" and made 10% effort in what is considered baseline expectation. Considering in the first game you could pick a multitude of races to be, in this they allow for only ONE shows their lack of consideration for anybody interested in this genre.

    BioWare: Focus groups, critic bribery, lies and excuses won't save you from the laughing stock this game is, I'm sorry the only thing u can do is laugh all the way to the bank because this game is a joke and I hope you all are proud of yourselves.


    P.S. Don't F'up ME3 or the MMO.....Fool me once shame on you fool me twice......    … Expand
  65. HellFlyer
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    The game is really bad and it seems Bioware became superlazy and EA ruined another great title thanks to their marketing efforts. I dont know even where to begin

    1. Side quests are too short and similar...Kill this kill that , delivery this deliver that 2. Inventory sucks , all items look the same , only colours ...are different 3. Serious performance issues on high end PCs (GTX 480 and    The game is really bad and it seems Bioware became superlazy and EA ruined another great title thanks to their marketing efforts. I dont know even where to begin

    1. Side quests are too short and similar...Kill this kill that , delivery this deliver that
    2. Inventory sucks , all items look the same , only colours ...are different
    3. Serious performance issues on high end PCs (GTX 480 and Core i7 920 max FPS is 30-35)
    4. Its all too simplified , no tactics, no skilled battles, just slash enemies and heal yourself
    5. Time change from day to night with mouse click! seriously????
    6. Female Hawke voice is the same as her sister's voice. I was shocked and disappointed by this
    7. A lot of issues with quests which might become unavailable if you do something differently ( Dont believe me? open README file , scroll down to the bottom and see for yourself
    8. Horrible journal and codex , just a plain dull text with ugly and small font. No pictures, no bestiary images , nothing!!!


    In summary, it seems the game had great potential, interseting story and charchters BUT 2 years is to little for an RPG game. Bioware ruined amazing franchise and I lost money. Do yourself and your wallet a favour and dont buy it. Dont get me wrong I really loved DA and DAO but this game has only one thing in common. Its called Dragon Age 2    … Expand
  66. iCharlie17
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    Big disappointment BioWare...we get a console port far inferior than DAO...huge mistake. We have a DX9 based game with less cameras, options and so on. I though you love gaming BioWare, and gaming on PC is by far the best for real gamers.
  67. Rachanol
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPG´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! That´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a ActionAs a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPG´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! That´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a Action Adventure/Hack´n Slay ? THIS, Dragon Age 2, is the Call of Duty of RPG´s. DA2 doesn´t even deserve to be named a RPG. One Town, No Worldmap, ridiculous characters, a "not so interesting Story", Graphics from 2005 (Hello bioware, we have 2011 now, Even the current console generation hardware is bored to death with this program), really bad environments, no armor management for party mambers and always the same cloned level structures like the dungeons in Oblivion. They oversimplyfied everything in this game. DAII does not make ONE simple point better than part 1. A downgrade all along the line. DA II is no RPG. It´s a slap in the face of every single person who loves role playing games.… Expand
  68. Nightrain50
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    You like to hurt me you know that you do.
    You like to think in some way that it's me and not you... but we know that isn't true.
    You like to have me jump and be good, but I don't want to do it. You don't know why I won't act the way you think I should. You thought they'd make me behave and submit. What were you thinking? Cause I don't forget. You don't know why I won't give in, to    You like to hurt me you know that you do.
    You like to think in some way that it's me and not you... but we know that isn't true.
    You like to have me jump and be good, but I don't want to do it.
    You don't know why I won't act the way you think I should.
    You thought they'd make me behave and submit.
    What were you thinking? Cause I don't forget.
    You don't know why I won't give in, to hell with the pressure I'm not caving in.
    You know that I got under your skin.
    You sold your soul but I won't let you win.
    You talk to much, you say I do, difference is nobody cares about you.
    You've got all the answers, you know everything, why nobody asked you, it's a mystery to me.
    I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
    You don't know who in the hell to or not to believe.
    I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
    You don't who you can trust now or you should believe.
    You close you eyes, all well and good, I'll kick your ass like I said that I would.
    You tell them stories they'd rather believe, use and confuse them, they're numb and naive.
    Truth is the truth hurts, don't you agree?
    It's harder to live with the truth about you than to live with the lies about me.
    Nobody owes you, not one damn thing.
    You know where to put your: "Just shut up and sing."
    I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
    You don't know who in the hell to or not to believe.
    I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.
    You chose to hurt those that love you and won't set them free.
    You don't need anyone else to be sorry for you.
    You've got no heart.
    You can't see all that you've done for me.
    I know the reasons you tear me apart.

    Sorry
    Guns N' Roses
    Chinese Democracy    … Expand
  69. TruthSeer
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    It shouldn't be titled DA2, for it is Mass Effect: Dragon Age Mod. You can easily see how rushed the game is and each area is recycled over and over again.
    As a sequel to DAO, the game SERIOUSLY disappointed me.
    Sadly, BioWare chose to rush out a mediocre action RPG instead of further enhancing DAO cRPG elements. I hope that they have not fully forsaken Classic PC RPGs altogether, for    It shouldn't be titled DA2, for it is Mass Effect: Dragon Age Mod. You can easily see how rushed the game is and each area is recycled over and over again.
    As a sequel to DAO, the game SERIOUSLY disappointed me.
    Sadly, BioWare chose to rush out a mediocre action RPG instead of further enhancing DAO cRPG elements. I hope that they have not fully forsaken Classic PC RPGs altogether, for easily forgettable mediocre Action console gaming.    … Expand
  70. Magnus
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Searching for anything that even remotely made the first game appealing is futile.Without any sense for storytelling and character progression DA2 managed to look like the bastard child of DAO and Fable.
    A horrible port on PC and a slap in the face for console users, that are often used as a excuse for greedy development processes.
    Hawke's voice actors are completely unable to rescue the    Searching for anything that even remotely made the first game appealing is futile.Without any sense for storytelling and character progression DA2 managed to look like the bastard child of DAO and Fable.
    A horrible port on PC and a slap in the face for console users, that are often used as a excuse for greedy development processes.
    Hawke's voice actors are completely unable to rescue the worst writing in any Bioware game ever. It's mixture of a bad budget movie and false edginess that creates facepalming moments for the player with a mindset above 14. Consoles lacking auto-attack, PC without a tactical camera.
    "Think like a general ,fight like a Spartan,"Bioware's slap in the face for all the fans eager to play their game despite the DLC overflow and content already present in the game. Lack of environmental interaction , the feeling of emptiness and the spoon feeding of the player are just minor things compared to the overall inconsistency of the game.
    Bugs in the PC version, broken quests, import saves and random graphical and animation glitches another welcome addition to the players pain.
    DAO's combat often criticized as filler, suddenly looks realistic and appealing from the perspective of the Role -player. The player was able to decide at least something in combat , DA2 combat is just boredom , fast paced boredom. Like putting a set of Full Plate Armor set on Kratos and wondering why it's not fitting in the game.
    The companion characters with the exception of two of them are created with the targeted player in mind, a apparently very young player or a player perceived as immature. Very unfortunate, knowing that the DAO characters had actual depth and where interesting even after the player completed multiple playtroughs.
    Now it's impossible to relate to them, unless actually chasing only the sexual part, they tend to be just part of the feeling that Hawke is a pawn in someone's chess game. This sound incredibly edgy and mature, but serves only as distraction from the fact that players decisions are poorly implemented.
    Recycling, everything is recycled the robes, armors, items, models especially painful when thinking about the negative comments from Bioware about the art style of DAO.
    What is redone is redone to reduce polygon count , for the sake of performance of a very bad parallel release , that is a bigger port than actual ports.
    A truly disappointing game, with a bad story , that ruins it's own lore and creates unnecessary gaps in the players vision of the world of Thedas, that was introduced in a interesting way to the player of DAO, and despite it's technical and polish flaws made him feel welcome or at least a part of it.    … Expand
  71. Krykira
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    How the mighty have fallen.
    Bioworse does it again.
    Making a really great game, then completely destroying the sequel. Where do we even start with this? Dragon Effect II stars Hawke, a faceless human only hero. (Why did I even play a dwarf in the orginal?) That is destined to lead his friends to greatness. The first thing you will notice is the completely lack luster character creator,    How the mighty have fallen.
    Bioworse does it again.

    Making a really great game, then completely destroying the sequel.

    Where do we even start with this? Dragon Effect II stars Hawke, a faceless human only hero.
    (Why did I even play a dwarf in the orginal?) That is destined to lead his friends to greatness.

    The first thing you will notice is the completely lack luster character creator, that they literally cut&pasted from the first game, give or take a few UI changes. It sports less choices, less variety, and terrible lighting. Don't even get me started on the EXACT same hair styles from the first game. The dialog wheel is a step back from origins and makes the game feel more and more like Dragon Effect II. The combat, while being faster, and incredibly flashier then Origins leaves little room for any real tactics, and thinking before engaging in battle. This too feels like a step backwards. After an hour or two you might grow incredibly bored with the combat, seeing as how even origins has decent blocking/parrying animations.
    Rogues lacking backstabbing bonuses, and mages lacking tons of skills that I enjoying using from the first one is a disappointment. It all seems very watered down for a younger/mass audience. The graphics are absolutely sub-par, at best. Some how Bioware managed to make the second game look worse than the original. WAIT THOUGH, if you want to, you can visit their site, and download a high-res pack that was mysteriously not even included in the game itself? They could have made the High-res pack DLC, for 15 $ and most likely gotten away with it.

    The writing is absolutely atrocious on all accounts, and steals from the games immersion.

    Lots of things in the game they have you doing feel incredibly similar to the things they had you doing in origins. Being a jerk to merchants that make to much money, being forced to help bumbling fools.

    The companions are now spineless, brainless drones. Blindly following hawke for any reason "I guess I have no choice". It all feels very forced, and not thought out very well..

    I want to like this game, but I just can't bring myself to do so. For every improvement, there is easily 5 other disappointments on the screen. From the horrid looking UI, to the incredibly low detailed environment of Kirkwall. Having loved Dragon Age: Origins, this game has left me feeling empty, and pain stricken.

    If this is the price we have to pay in a bioware game when the main character gets a voice actor, I'd rather they left him a mute, and focused on other areas.
    This game has left me nothing but upset at bioware, for even releasing this game its very obvious the entire game was rushed, and kicked out the door, though with their recent habits I'm sure they don't even care. You can always just add the rest of the game as DLC, so you never have to release a finished product these days.    … Expand
  72. jadelith
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    mass effect with swords. the game is so horrid its not even worth my time to write a review about it.

    I don't believe anyone could give this game a good score. I'm thinking, the reviewing sites (gamespot etc) are scared bioware won't give them any more interviews, which is why they gave it an 8, instead of a deserved 3 or 4. the game is not dragon age 2, simple as that. if you want to    mass effect with swords. the game is so horrid its not even worth my time to write a review about it.

    I don't believe anyone could give this game a good score. I'm thinking, the reviewing sites (gamespot etc) are scared bioware won't give them any more interviews, which is why they gave it an 8, instead of a deserved 3 or 4.

    the game is not dragon age 2, simple as that. if you want to make another mass effect, use a different franchise name, instead of insulting dragon age fans.    … Expand
  73. crescent
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Somehow my previous review magically disappeared. I don't know how that can happen but i guess metacritic either deleted it or it got flagged? (based on the sincereity of my other reviews i don't think i was being a troll or a guy who ate too many sour grapes). Anyways...WNxWind pointed me out in his review that i have never played the game and am bashing it to the ground without anySomehow my previous review magically disappeared. I don't know how that can happen but i guess metacritic either deleted it or it got flagged? (based on the sincereity of my other reviews i don't think i was being a troll or a guy who ate too many sour grapes). Anyways...WNxWind pointed me out in his review that i have never played the game and am bashing it to the ground without any understanding of it. Although at the time of my previous review(early yesterday) i have only played the game for 4 hours, i felt that i have experienced enough to review DA:2. I won't be repeating what i have wrote again, i'll state that this game has been a real let down. Wake up bioware.… Expand
  74. RustyShackle
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Outdated graphics, there were better looking PS2 games than this , Bad story, Gameplay isn't even remotely fun.

    Bioware dropped the ball on this one. There is nothing else to add to this review besides pointing out the corny 10/10 reviews that seem extremely fishy.
  75. RobertParker
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Don't even bother pirating this, it's the Godfather 3 of RPGs. The combat is easy yet tedious, the graphics are designed to run on the equivalent of five year old computers (AKA consoles) and the dialogue was obviously written by aspergers addled game developers who never leave the office. If you MUST try a modern RPG then give Fallout New Vegas a shot.
  76. Kilbane
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    My first Bioware game was Baldur'saGate 2 and the sad thing is that this is their far best game until now. Dragon Age 2 is absolute disaster. I don't care about shiny graphic, this is RPG, graphic comes second in games like this. Dragon Age Origins was ok game, not brilliant but ok, and only thing they could do to make it better is make it more complex, not to simplified it.
  77. Johnbot
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    This is nothing but a dumbed down sad console port. Graphics are bland and low quality.
    All the party controls are gone and we're left with the **** "tactics". Combat is basically button mashing and waiting for cool downs.
    Choice in dialogs have been replaced with the **** Mass Effect-style "pick a style and stick to it". God forbid a choice would actually have unpredicted consequences.
  78. RPGFan2
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Bioware has created what could go down as the worst "RPG" ever made. Of course, I have to say RPG in quotations, because all RPG elements have been stripped. It is a "role playing" game I guess, but that role is a very strict one laid down by Bethesda. There are no choices to make now, as has become a Bethesda trademark, and very few dialogue trees. The dialogue now is just a linearBioware has created what could go down as the worst "RPG" ever made. Of course, I have to say RPG in quotations, because all RPG elements have been stripped. It is a "role playing" game I guess, but that role is a very strict one laid down by Bethesda. There are no choices to make now, as has become a Bethesda trademark, and very few dialogue trees. The dialogue now is just a linear rambling between two bored sounding cookie cutter people, and the instead of influencing the conversation, you are only allowed to select whether the character will do the conversation angry, soft, or sarcastic.

    Gone is any hint of stategy of depth to combat. The game is a click fest, a poor mans devil may cry, that requires no skill to beat on hard or lower difficulties. On nightmare, a mode they obviously ran out of time on balancing, is just frustratingly impossible, not because it provides a good challenge, but because instead of balancing it, they just added 10000hp to every enemy and said "done".


    The graphics represent and huge step back not only from Dragon Age origins, but for the whole generation. This looks like something you'd find on the Playstation 2. The game lacks any art direction, and any sense for colors other than brown.

    Dragon Age 2 is not only a huge step back for the series, but a huge step back for video games in general. The dumbing down of the series marks the biggest leap in what has become a trend in video game design. I can only hope that Bioware listens to the fans after this outing and, pun intended, return to their origins as RPG designers in their next outing.    … Expand
  79. BiowareFan
    Mar 8, 2011
    3
    I can rant a lot about the game-play being horrible, the graphics being sub-par, the CC being plain dumb; but the real thing that pisses me off is the story. This game has an awkward plot and an ending that made my eyes bleed in horror. It is unbelievable that I paid 60 dollars for a completely needless cliffhanger ending. Someone has got to answer for this crime against gamers in general...
  80. kilmindaro
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    The game was advertised to me as the second coming of Baldurs Gate 2, as a game that would save the wrpg genre, and as a sequel to the DA: Origins, which although had it's own problems, was good enough.

    Well, DA2 is bad. It plays more like action-jrpg than a wrpg. Many things that made DA: Origins so good and appealing to me were butchered in the sequels, most prominent amongst all are    The game was advertised to me as the second coming of Baldurs Gate 2, as a game that would save the wrpg genre, and as a sequel to the DA: Origins, which although had it's own problems, was good enough.

    Well, DA2 is bad. It plays more like action-jrpg than a wrpg. Many things that made DA: Origins so good and appealing to me were butchered in the sequels, most prominent amongst all are the options for creating your character, which were severely limited.

    The dialog is laughable, I've seen fanfiction better written. The dialog wheel is atrocious compared to system in the previous game. Many times choosing an option, that didn't relate to spoken words much, and hearing the dialog made me cringe.

    The graphics and art direction are godawfuly bad. the textures and locations would look good in a PS2 era game, but not on PC in 2011. Textures are low resolution, object blocky, and locations empty of decals. Completely void of anything worthy of interest - just plain ground with a texture pasted on. Games from 5 years ago are eye-candy compared to this.

    And why are there so few people everywhere? Wasn't Kirkwall supposed to be a city bursting with citizens and other scum?and end up with, what, five people at most on screen? It's ridiculous.

    Also, DLC. On day one. DOZENS of DLC. Publishing a half-finished game and then making you pay for the rest of your goddamn game is just **** And the high-res texture pack released as a patch only few days after the game? Really? If someone tells me this game wasn't rushed, I will smack him in the head.

    This game shouldn't have been released for another few months at least. Maybe it will get good, after a year or two, with multitude of patches and mods... but relying on the community to fix your half-finished game is just plain pathetic.

    3/10 , had some minimal fun, would get a refund if could.    … Expand
  81. Olf
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    A game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA youA game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA you should be ashamed by the lack of imagination it took to create this game.… Expand
  82. 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.
  83. Asono
    Mar 8, 2011
    3
    DA:2 stands testimony to the fact that Bioware has gone the way of many other developers in the last few years; tailoring experiences and titles for a younger, more mainstream audience, and less of the gamers of yesteryear. Much of the complexity of DA:O is completely missing, and what remains has been stripped to the barest semblance of what it was in the previous title. Many of theDA:2 stands testimony to the fact that Bioware has gone the way of many other developers in the last few years; tailoring experiences and titles for a younger, more mainstream audience, and less of the gamers of yesteryear. Much of the complexity of DA:O is completely missing, and what remains has been stripped to the barest semblance of what it was in the previous title. Many of the mechanics and elements are directly attributable to Mass Effect 2 (Resource "Locating", Conversation Wheel, etc), which makes the game feel like a Dragon Age flavored Mass Effect, and what few mechanics are newly implimented (Namely the combat) feels like it belongs in a Hack&Slash, Gauntlet-type game. Pair all that with a totally stripped down Inventory/Character management system (Feels bad man) reminiscent of Fable 3 and other new-RPG titles that feel "Depth bogs down storytelling", and you've got one abomination of a title. I was looking greatly forward to this release, hoping for grand things from the people who brought us DA:O, but what I've got is an attempt to bring in newcomers to the genre which strays so far from the "Brilliance in the basics" of basic RPG conventions that it feels like i'm watching a linear movie take place in the city of Kirkwall. Overall, the reasons for score follow:

    Graphics: 5 (Being an obvious console port, at least they took the time to create a Hi-Res texture pack and release specialized drivers in coordination with a major video card company. This shows effort, albeit the wrong way of approaching it) The graphics are lackluster and feel very grainy. Running on full dx11 / highest graphics settings, the game still seems to me to be less beautiful and cinematic than DA:O. Mysterious. Would have been a 2/10, but the extra effort to make the port prettier for PC gives them credit.

    Gameplay: 2 The combat (I'm playing on Nightmare) is challenging but not in a tactical way, like DA:O was. I loved how in DA:O i felt like Baldur's Gate, pausing every few seconds to assess and re-assign new actions, move to new locations, and have a very rewarding experience from a tactical standpoint. DA2 feels like i'm playing a rpg-ized Gauntlet Legends and prancing around pressing one of my six one-shot-kill buttons on wave after endless wave of the same four enemies. Pausing is of little value, as the combat is instantaneous-speed for all actions and most of the important things occur too fast to feel cinematic or rewarding. Character Development/Story: 1 I'm not a fan of predestined stories being told in retrospect, but the storytelling is EXCELENT. If only the story they were telling me was any good, or the characters had any real depth to them. The voice acting is well done, the tones and undercurrents of the narrator's persona are well scripted, but that all means naught if the story itself is a weakly contrived ascent to power of a predestined hero, followed about by his caste of hollow-headed, unemotional minions. All in all, this would have been a higher score if they didn't try to use DA:O as a starting base for this game, but they're following an EXCELLENT story with a VERY poor one, maiming the legacy they're coming from in the process. The weak story is the most terrible flaw in DA2, as everything else can be forgiven for a beautifully crafted tale.

    Overall, it's about a 3/10, not because it actually deserves a 3/10 as an independent title (It'd be closer to a 6 or 7), but because it's Dragon Age 2. Not an independent work, or a new series basis. It's the much anticipated sequel to an amazing game, and fails in almost every way to advance or even match it's predecessor. It feels like a half-hearted attempt to drag Halo and Fable players into the Dragon Age universe and hold their hands all the while. 0/10 for naming it Dragon Age. 6-7/10 for actual production value and quality of product.

    p.s. I registered with Metacritic just because of this game.    … Expand
  84. toby99
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    - realy dont know where Bioware wanted to take this story but they really fell short of their goal. - multiple elements simplified or cut completly. Another case of Bioware trying to fix what wasnt broken I guess
    -"Tactical" combat is not really tactical to put it nicely
    -if you want a good computer button masher then maybe you should wait for Diable 3
  85. FatBodies
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    Terrible game. Crappy graphics, retarded dialogues, idiotic combat, skill system taken from dao and dumbed down. I feel like idiot wasting money on this piece of ****
  86. phlask
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    It's amazing this is a Bioware game. How times have changed and how awful games are these days. This game has a complete lack of depth and requires very little intelligence to play. They couldn't dumb down this game anymore from the original even if they tried. This is what happens to games when they are catered to the console crowd, they are complete crap and do not deserve any of my time.
  87. 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
  88. Nostorum
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Ok first off, Bioware did a terrible job with the initial graphics in this rushed, casualized sequel. I was not going to write a review at first, but after seeing the chasm between really high scores and really low scores it's pretty apparent to me that Bioware is doing damage control and countering these low reviews with their own high ones, it's really obvious as they are first timeOk first off, Bioware did a terrible job with the initial graphics in this rushed, casualized sequel. I was not going to write a review at first, but after seeing the chasm between really high scores and really low scores it's pretty apparent to me that Bioware is doing damage control and countering these low reviews with their own high ones, it's really obvious as they are first time reviewers. That is so slimy, I am just disgusted. This game had potential in the drawing room I am sure, but with more people being suckered into day 1 dlc cut from the game in the first one, they went full speed ahead and went overboard here. It is my firm belief that if you make a game, and almost immediately release downloadable graphical packs for it this is an admission of a rushed work and saying "We didn't do a very good job, but here's this quick fileset you can download to help reconcile for some of our shortcomings." Just garbage, also the new combat system isn't that great. It just makes it easier, not fun. Also, Bioware, I know are the reason most of the positive reviews are here - there is no reason this game should be any higher than a 6.5 on any real review site, and all your perfect 10-drones are just an insult to our intelligence as consumers.… Expand
  89. Taren
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    This game was a huge let down. From the very beginning of the game, it was obvious that there was not nearly enough time put into it. They took a huge step backwards from DA: O, and dumbed down this game in almost every way imaginable, and the sub-par graphics are inexcusable for a company of Bioware or EAs prestige and budget. They removed any tactical aspects that the original gameThis game was a huge let down. From the very beginning of the game, it was obvious that there was not nearly enough time put into it. They took a huge step backwards from DA: O, and dumbed down this game in almost every way imaginable, and the sub-par graphics are inexcusable for a company of Bioware or EAs prestige and budget. They removed any tactical aspects that the original game had and replaced them with mind numbing button mashing as you get flooded by seemingly endless waves of enemies. The game also lacks the detail and overall quality of the first. There are many little things in the game that indicate the lack of development. For instance, the first thing I noticed when I arrived in Kirkwall, was that there was no collision with most of the townspeople other than guards, merchants, and vital characters. You can walk right through most of the people, which in itself is not a game-breaker, but shows how little time they put into detail. Other instances include s having to be lined up with certain objects in a very precise manner to interact with them, poorly rendered textures, and just the overall lack of detailed environments that were abundant in the first game. The lack of exploration and interaction with people other than merchants or vital characters was also a huge disappointment, and you even have to manually cycle day to night on the area selection screen. This is unacceptable as games on the NES made in the mid to late 80s had working day/night cycles. The amount of day one dlc is insane, and the Prince DLC really makes it feel like Bioware/EA are trying to milk every penny out of their fans. I gave this game a 0/10, because instead of improving their game, the developers dumbed it down in every way imaginable, and cut many corners in development, making it impossible for me to enjoy.… Expand
  90. 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.
  91. reallyrichguy
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    My feeling is that if your going to copy a Final Fantasy game make it FF7 rather than 12. To be honest Bioware should have had the decency to remove the party and go with a single protagonist, instead of perpetuating the farce that this is a sequel to a really good modern rpg. Take my advice, if your looking for an immersive, challenging and fun rpg experience with a great story go toMy feeling is that if your going to copy a Final Fantasy game make it FF7 rather than 12. To be honest Bioware should have had the decency to remove the party and go with a single protagonist, instead of perpetuating the farce that this is a sequel to a really good modern rpg. Take my advice, if your looking for an immersive, challenging and fun rpg experience with a great story go to GOG.com and buy Baldur's Gate 2. Hell, break out your old PS2 and fire up FF7, you'll thank me.… Expand
  92. firthh
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    As a sequel to DA:O this is a total let down. It is sad that i pre-ordered it at all. I would have never expected this from BioWare.The game itself is a total console port and I couldn't say anything good about it. Everything is just dumbed down, except maybe dialogues. Totally linear story. You could compare it's graphics to Gothic II. I guess I was expecting just too much. It has noAs a sequel to DA:O this is a total let down. It is sad that i pre-ordered it at all. I would have never expected this from BioWare.The game itself is a total console port and I couldn't say anything good about it. Everything is just dumbed down, except maybe dialogues. Totally linear story. You could compare it's graphics to Gothic II. I guess I was expecting just too much. It has no similarity to DA:O but if you like action rpg's you might like it and if you loved DA:O, just don't bother. RIP BioWare and old-school rpg's.… Expand
  93. shaun1021
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Stay away. This game is a failure of epic proportions. The game re-uses environments so every dungeon you visit is exactly the same. The entire game takes place in 1 tiny city, it would be like playing all of DA:O in Denerim or playing all of Mass Effect on the citadel and never being able to leave. The city is lifeless, you can't talk to anyone or do anything, the people just stand thereStay away. This game is a failure of epic proportions. The game re-uses environments so every dungeon you visit is exactly the same. The entire game takes place in 1 tiny city, it would be like playing all of DA:O in Denerim or playing all of Mass Effect on the citadel and never being able to leave. The city is lifeless, you can't talk to anyone or do anything, the people just stand there lifeless. This game is beyond epic fail, if I were president of bioware I would fire the entire DA:II design team for this disgrace. It's a sad day for games.… Expand
  94. baruch88
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    This game is an embarrassment to the western RPG genre. Unpolished, choppy, and broken gameplay. Horrendous voice acting. And a soundtrack that makes me want to put on Justin Bieber just to drown it out. Oh lets not forget graphics. The Graphical presentation was just horrible. I strained my eyes on this game more than from playing Custard's Revenge on a 1080p flat panel monitor. The firstThis game is an embarrassment to the western RPG genre. Unpolished, choppy, and broken gameplay. Horrendous voice acting. And a soundtrack that makes me want to put on Justin Bieber just to drown it out. Oh lets not forget graphics. The Graphical presentation was just horrible. I strained my eyes on this game more than from playing Custard's Revenge on a 1080p flat panel monitor. The first Dragon Age was amazing, and I really had high hopes for this game, but in the end it turned into another over hyped, over advertised piece of crap. If you buy this game get ready to regret your purchase because I know I regret mine.… Expand
  95. thesisko
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Reposting my review, which was deleted by Metacritic:

    What an insult. A sloppy console port from a company that no longer cares about the platform which put it where it is today. They couldn't even be bothered to provide a zoomed out camera. This game strips away most of the good features in Origins and compounds the worst parts, namely the encounter design. Waves upon waves of identical    Reposting my review, which was deleted by Metacritic:

    What an insult. A sloppy console port from a company that no longer cares about the platform which put it where it is today. They couldn't even be bothered to provide a zoomed out camera. This game strips away most of the good features in Origins and compounds the worst parts, namely the encounter design. Waves upon waves of identical enemies guarantee that no tactics except button-mashing is required. This game is an insult to real RPG's like Planescape:Torment and Mask of the Betrayer. Sadly, the only mainstream RPG developer left seems to be Obsidian Entertainment.    … Expand
  96. iandh
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    This game is an insulting piece of utter trash, a slap in the face to fans of the series. Even console gamers hate this game, which says something... the changes in the game were obviously made to satisfy console owners, and Bioware even failed at that. This game is so horrible it makes me want to spit.

    Cookie cutter levels, horrible, HORRIBLE uninspired voice acting, boring combat,    This game is an insulting piece of utter trash, a slap in the face to fans of the series. Even console gamers hate this game, which says something... the changes in the game were obviously made to satisfy console owners, and Bioware even failed at that. This game is so horrible it makes me want to spit.

    Cookie cutter levels, horrible, HORRIBLE uninspired voice acting, boring combat, useless special moves, removed overhead view, and above all... ONE FREAKING CITY?!?! Bioware, EA, did you seriously think this tripe would pass for an AAA title? SERIOUSLY ?!?!

    If anyone from any game company happens to read this: stop blaming your poor sales on piracy and using it as an excuse to release crappy console port PC games, then crying like a baby about your poor sales.

    If you make a GOOD PC game, it WILL SELL. Watch the Witcher 2 blow DA2 sales out of the water. In fact, I bet that the Witcher 2 will sell more copies on the PC, and DA2 sells on all three platforms combined.

    What a freaking joke. I'm so angry about this stinking, wet, rotten pile of crap that I can't stand it.    … Expand
  97. pppotamo
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    Terrible decepción. Se ha consolidado el juego en PC. ¿Ha esto ha quedado reducido el legado de Baldur´s gate?
    Graficos desfasados, falta la visión cenital.
    Parche con texturas de casi 1GB tras su venta.
  98. mattv30
    Mar 8, 2011
    4
    I gotta say, this game is utter garbage. You would think that they would improve SOME things from the first DA, but no, they go ahead and make a rpg for ten year olds. Let's add a couple of curse words and then charge people ten bucks for downloadable content on the first day. I mean, you completely disrespected everyone that the first game was made for. The combat is atrocious, theI gotta say, this game is utter garbage. You would think that they would improve SOME things from the first DA, but no, they go ahead and make a rpg for ten year olds. Let's add a couple of curse words and then charge people ten bucks for downloadable content on the first day. I mean, you completely disrespected everyone that the first game was made for. The combat is atrocious, the dialog is too simple, so far the decisions i've made in the game are pointless and have no weight to them. The graphics are a step up though. All you gotta do is look at the main characters last name, hawke, to tell that the developers have no clue on how to make a TRUE rpg game. Hell, the main developer left in the beginning of development! That should have been a sign for me to not buy this game. It is truly one of the most disappointing games i've played in years.… Expand
  99. Erilos
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I tried hard to like it but the exploding people, rehashed areas, **** dialouge, and gameplay. This is the biggest thing though marketing it as the best old school style tactical RPG only for it to turn into a **** of sexual innuendo, gore, bad VA, PS2 era graphics, hack n' slash gameplay, limited customizability and a 12 hour story mode. So all in all it had potential to be a great gameI tried hard to like it but the exploding people, rehashed areas, **** dialouge, and gameplay. This is the biggest thing though marketing it as the best old school style tactical RPG only for it to turn into a **** of sexual innuendo, gore, bad VA, PS2 era graphics, hack n' slash gameplay, limited customizability and a 12 hour story mode. So all in all it had potential to be a great game but Bioware sold out producing what will be the biggest disappointment of the year if not the biggest disaster of the decade. Oh how the mighty have fallen, Bioware going from a game like Baldur's Gate 2 down a game like this and the worst part is knowing that the people of today will eat this **** up.… Expand
  100. 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
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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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