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. sgeGaming
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Bioware has turned into money hungry idiots like activision.
    They are just blowing games out of their asses now and expecting to get praised for it. This game was atrocious. It's like playing dynasty warriors with an even worse story. If you are thinking of picking this up for any reason, stop right there. Dont give this company the satisfaction of thinking they made something good. They    Bioware has turned into money hungry idiots like activision.
    They are just blowing games out of their asses now and expecting to get praised for it. This game was atrocious. It's like playing dynasty warriors with an even worse story. If you are thinking of picking this up for any reason, stop right there. Dont give this company the satisfaction of thinking they made something good. They seem to have spent no time in this at all, and need to stop.    … Expand
  2. RainmakerNL
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    What can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" reviewWhat can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" review sources, they get paid big money by EA to give it a 8 or 9!

    The biggest insult of them all is the load of DLC there is pre-installed on your disc, but you cant acces it without paying or doing stupid facebook games.

    Steer clear of this game and any future BioWare games, vote with your wallet!    … Expand
  3. polluxcastor
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This is as much an RPG as Sesame Street is PG rated. The low score therefore does not just concern the product, but the way it is advertised: as catering to the RPG crowd. It does not, yet it has deliberately been marketed that way, and even been branded as such.

    If BioWare/Electronic Arts had wanted to be honest, they would not have published this game as part of the Dragon Age    This is as much an RPG as Sesame Street is PG rated. The low score therefore does not just concern the product, but the way it is advertised: as catering to the RPG crowd. It does not, yet it has deliberately been marketed that way, and even been branded as such.

    If BioWare/Electronic Arts had wanted to be honest, they would not have published this game as part of the Dragon Age franchise, a franchise that was named the 'spiritual successor' of Baldur's Gate. Instead, they could have branded it as 'Hawke's Adventures', or God knows what, and I would not have felt the need to be this straightforward with my criticism. For then they would have been honest. Selling this as a Dragon Age game is tantamount to fraud: it is dishonest advertising and BioWare deserve all the criticism that is currently being hurled towards them.

    Dragon Age 2 may be a good game, but it is a terrible RPG and that is how it is being marketed. Therefore, I have to judge it that way. It gets one point for having a story that courageously avoids the 'big bad' RPG trope and frankly that's being generous, as normally frauds shouldn't get away with any points.    … Expand
  4. Shadow04
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This is not Dragon Age, despite the game's title, the game itself has precious little to do with Dragon Age. It's almost an insult naming this game Dragon Age 2. Very saddening to see a once great rpg turned into something like that. Almost every aspect of a rpg is dumbed down beyond words to better appeal to the console users, seriously. What the hell is the Mass Effect conversation styleThis is not Dragon Age, despite the game's title, the game itself has precious little to do with Dragon Age. It's almost an insult naming this game Dragon Age 2. Very saddening to see a once great rpg turned into something like that. Almost every aspect of a rpg is dumbed down beyond words to better appeal to the console users, seriously. What the hell is the Mass Effect conversation style doing in Dragon Age, it basically give u 3 words and a face beside you to hand hold you telling you that the choice is an evil/good/neutral one. Only one default race, seriously? Much of the appeal, and re-playability, of the previous Dragon Age is that one can choose a different race on each play through and the NPC will react accordingly to your race. Now you are better off deleting the game after your first run through, no re-playability whatsoever. There is so many things fundamentally wrong with this game I dun even know where to end.

    Bioware better off naming it Mass Effect: Origins which tells the story of how Shepherd's ancestor save the world. If we wanted something like Mass Effect we would have waited for the next Mass Effect. In a nutshell, this is NOT Dragon Age, anyone looking forward to reliving the hundreds of hours spent on the original Dragon Age will be sorely disappointed. Better off grabbing Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition and play any dlcs that you missed out previously, even replaying Dragon Age: Origins for the 1000th gives you a better experience. Give us back our original Dragon Age!    … Expand
  5. Gradstudent
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    It's wholly unfair to judge an entertainment product without taking the time to complete and evaluate it on its own terms; if one had skipped the finale to Lars Von Trier's masterful "Dogville," for instance, and judged it merely on its (somewhat dull) first two thirds, the criticisms one would level against it, while technically accurate, would be unfounded and unfair. Here lies myIt's wholly unfair to judge an entertainment product without taking the time to complete and evaluate it on its own terms; if one had skipped the finale to Lars Von Trier's masterful "Dogville," for instance, and judged it merely on its (somewhat dull) first two thirds, the criticisms one would level against it, while technically accurate, would be unfounded and unfair. Here lies my biggest issue with many of the first "0" reviews on Metacritic; unless these gamers live outside our time-space continuum, I cannot fathom how they could have had the time to fully evaluate the game, much less finish it. This damages the impression of many of these reviewers as it sets them up as soapbox preaching whiners who the vast populace should ignore, as well as their opinions.

    That said, I have just completed "Dragon Age II" for the PC. And yes, every complaint railed against it is pretty much dead on: Brain-dead combat that fits the PC like a children's mitten on a camel (the lack of controller support is positively nonsensical), generic writing (at best), weak characterization, massive amounts of retconning (don't expect your save game from Origins/Awakening to matter in the slightest), mostly unreactive world, atrocious, "Saturday morning cartoon" art design (even WITH the texture pack) and a plot that barely even exists. Huzzah EA, you've successfully destroyed the final AAA RPG manufacturer in the world. Congrats. Would you like a cookie?

    Do not buy this game. Please. EA does not need your money.

    Well, unless you wish to buy my used copy on Amazon. If so, do buy it so that I can be rid of this abomination. Speaking of abominations, time to go fight some in Origins.    … Expand
  6. Superstring
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    As an **** CRPG gamer, I wasn't big fan of DA. Though DA had it's good moments. This isn't a proper review, since I could only stand more than 20 minutes of DA2, and I must say it was horrible. Primitive dialog options, characters made of cardboard, enemies spawning from nowhere and swarming the claustrophobic area. Maybe I'm just too old for this kind of entertainment and it's time toAs an **** CRPG gamer, I wasn't big fan of DA. Though DA had it's good moments. This isn't a proper review, since I could only stand more than 20 minutes of DA2, and I must say it was horrible. Primitive dialog options, characters made of cardboard, enemies spawning from nowhere and swarming the claustrophobic area. Maybe I'm just too old for this kind of entertainment and it's time to pass RPG genre to newer generation of players.… Expand
  7. Jez89
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    The amount of effort spent on making the game playable has all but been completely overshadowed by superficial additions to make the game look more appealing. Even so, graphical errors and awkward visuals are abound. Very sad day for RPGs, Bioware has lost its touch completely. Will we ever see a game as good as Neverwinter Nights again? Not if DA2 is any indication.
  8. RedAvatar
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II is one step forward and three steps back compared to the previous game. On the one hand, you have a solid (if very linear) story, well made graphics and ... well those are the only positives I can really give. The interface has been simplified, lacks any of the nice design and art of the first game, the characters are mostly flat and dull, areas much smaller, interaction withDragon Age II is one step forward and three steps back compared to the previous game. On the one hand, you have a solid (if very linear) story, well made graphics and ... well those are the only positives I can really give. The interface has been simplified, lacks any of the nice design and art of the first game, the characters are mostly flat and dull, areas much smaller, interaction with the world has been severely limited, the combat has less tactics and is more scripted not to mention the game is far too easy on normal and you basically end up spamming every ability and spell while making sure no-one croaks. Do that, and you can easily survive in "hard" mode. Sorry, but that's not how RPGs are supposed to work. On top of that, the game makes so many more mistakes - no free-roaming camera to oversee battles, no way to gear up your team mates or swap gear (meaning every piece of armour or ring you pick up, you have to wear), dialog has become ridiculously simple with the dialog choices having virtually no impact. This is essentially Mass Effect: Fantasy Edition - taking all the stuff that made Mass Effect 2 less fun than the first Mass Effect and jamming it into a game which sold millions and was loved by many.… Expand
  9. darkvadar
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    This is probably the worst RPG I have ever played. I have a hard time even calling it an RPG. I don't even know what to classify it as. Interactive movie, maybe? I really didn't like the first Dragon Age, but it wasn't that bad. I never got around to beating it. My friends kept telling me how awesome this game will be and I checked out reviews which gave it a really high score. From theThis is probably the worst RPG I have ever played. I have a hard time even calling it an RPG. I don't even know what to classify it as. Interactive movie, maybe? I really didn't like the first Dragon Age, but it wasn't that bad. I never got around to beating it. My friends kept telling me how awesome this game will be and I checked out reviews which gave it a really high score. From the sound of the reviews it looked to be GOTY quality. I bought it and played it and was unimpressed through about an hour playing. I just wanted to get through with playing it and it was so repetitive after only an hour. I can't take it any more and I had my stomach sink like when you lose money. I felt like I had been scammed and that my $60 was wasted. I really hate judging a game without even beating it but I just don't have to willpower to wade through this game. Bioware could of at least spent some of the money on commercials for this game on the development instead. It played like World of Warcraft. It was horrible and the only thing I liked about it was the fire that looked pretty cool.… Expand
  10. TiesTorN
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Total crap after DA:O, they really shouldn't have even bothered to release this game to PC, 'cuz this is not a PC game, this is a dumb console game which is an insult to all PC gamers.
  11. danu22
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This is definately not a worthy sequel to the great original Dragon Age. It is a shame that the pc platform is once again having corners cut everywhere it its games. Even an indie company would be ashamed to shovel this game out. It feels rushed. From the constant crashes, NPC's bugging out on terrain and drab, uninspired landscapes. I'm sorry Bioware, but this is the last time you treatThis is definately not a worthy sequel to the great original Dragon Age. It is a shame that the pc platform is once again having corners cut everywhere it its games. Even an indie company would be ashamed to shovel this game out. It feels rushed. From the constant crashes, NPC's bugging out on terrain and drab, uninspired landscapes. I'm sorry Bioware, but this is the last time you treat us like this. You have lost another customer. Just ready the rest of the reviews! Something is up!… Expand
  12. Siegfriedm
    Dec 9, 2011
    5
    I cancel the preorder of this game, 3 days before the release. I have to say more?
    I cancel the preorder after I tried the demo. Some days ago I had the opportunity to test the final game for a long period and I have to say: My decision was totally right!
    The game is not really so bad, but is too much simplified. The first Dragon Age was really good and sometimes remember me the great    I cancel the preorder of this game, 3 days before the release. I have to say more?
    I cancel the preorder after I tried the demo. Some days ago I had the opportunity to test the final game for a long period and I have to say: My decision was totally right!
    The game is not really so bad, but is too much simplified. The first Dragon Age was really good and sometimes remember me the great period of Baldur's Gate 2 :'( Dragon Age 2, is a kid-fanbase game. It's much near Diablo than to Baldur's Gate 2. All was simplified and changed in bad mode (IMHO): Inventory, graphic, fighting, etc...Anyway, I love the first Dragon Age and MAYBE I buy DA2 and finish it when an all-in-one edition will be available. But I don't like the Bioware method. They make a good 1st game (Mass Effect 1, Dragon Age 1), then they devastate them in 2nd chapter....    … Expand
  13. bareshift
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This camera make my mage go insane.Reality can't replace the conveniences,when I can't enjoy my mage, who care the reality?The NPCs model are rough.Give the economic profit of investment as soon as early will make workers and players feel tired,bring quality trouble,gameplay experience nervous.And then EA will kill another good studio.Who's next after Bioware?… Expand
  14. SuperSalad
    Mar 8, 2011
    6
    Im doing my best not to rate this lower than I feel because of all the bogus 9/10 reviews given to this game by big name gaming sites. This is not a 9/10 game by any stretch, 8/10 maximum.
    I felt this game was a huge step backwards from DA:O, its like Bioware put hardly any effort into it this time around. Almost everything is worse; the dialog, the graphics, the gameplay. I did enjoy the    Im doing my best not to rate this lower than I feel because of all the bogus 9/10 reviews given to this game by big name gaming sites. This is not a 9/10 game by any stretch, 8/10 maximum.
    I felt this game was a huge step backwards from DA:O, its like Bioware put hardly any effort into it this time around. Almost everything is worse; the dialog, the graphics, the gameplay. I did enjoy the new skill system, and I'll give them props for fixing it. But it is still nothing special and pretty boring, it's just better than DA:O's level up system which was a travesty.
    All in all, this game is not good, but it is enjoyable. And the fact that certain sites are rating this 9/10 should be a big 'red flag' on which sites not to trust in their big budget game reviews.    … Expand
  15. Toddc45
    Mar 18, 2011
    3
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  16. thedecline
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Bioware has farted out probably the worst thing ever to come out of their behinds, thank you Biodrones, for supporting the decline of RPG's. The decline of RPG's begins with DA2 The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins withBioware has farted out probably the worst thing ever to come out of their behinds, thank you Biodrones, for supporting the decline of RPG's. The decline of RPG's begins with DA2 The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2.… Expand
  17. TheTopazWombat
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    When Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal ofWhen Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal of this standard. The combat feels jolty and unrealistic. The characters wield a 2 handed sword that would make Braveheart sweat like it was made from tissue paper. The weapons were equally large in Dragon Age: Origins, but at least they felt like they were actually that big. Instead, what we have here is a combat system that resembles crappy anime more than anything else. As if the combat wasn't bad enough, the dialogue has been dumbed down into the wheel-of-fail style that was implemented with Mass Effect. Not only that, but every single piece of dialogue feels like it was written by an 8 year old who just read his first fantasy novel. There is no character depth, I'd as soon stab my party members as look at them, and to glue all this together the voice acting feels more like a group of Live Action Roleplayers than paid voice actors. To top all this off, the game not only doesn't look and present itself better than Origins, it actually looks worse. I can't recall another time when a sequel to a game looked worse than its predecessor. It feels as though Bioware did everything in their power to make this a worse RPG in an effort to alienate their hard-earned fan base and sell to the mass media'd console market. The only thing that kept this game from getting a 0 from me is the fact that maybe Bioware didn't intend for this to be an RPG at all, and simply another generic, boring, railroaded action game. As a lifelong Bioware fan, I truly hope they don't stay on this road. They've proven time and again their ability to make a solid RPG, but this game was an utter betrayal of everything I as an RPG fan have come to love and expect from them.… Expand
  18. apexTF
    Mar 16, 2011
    7
    May as well start by saying that if you're looking for a hard-core RPG, then Dragon Age 2 is not for you. It's RPG-lite at best. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you may have to adjust your expectations of the game. Initially I was dissapointed as I was hoping for a bigger and better DA:O, but it feels like bioware has taken DA in a completely new direction.
    I guess the easiest way to sum    May as well start by saying that if you're looking for a hard-core RPG, then Dragon Age 2 is not for you. It's RPG-lite at best. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you may have to adjust your expectations of the game. Initially I was dissapointed as I was hoping for a bigger and better DA:O, but it feels like bioware has taken DA in a completely new direction.
    I guess the easiest way to sum it up is that DA2 is simpler than its predecessor. The combat is faster and less tactical, even on the harder difficulty settings I rarely had to play with the custom tactics or pause to set up an attack. The loss of the tatical overview was dissapointing but I would argue that you hardly need to use it in this game. I actually enjoyed the more arcadey feel to the combat but I think the corpses that explode body parts all over the place at the slightest of touch was abit much!
    The game is centred around one major city and at 30+ hours long there's a reasonable amount of content to get through. The story starts slow (the first 6 hours feels like you are just plodding along) but the second half is definitely better than the first and develops into quite an engaging storyline. The writers do a good job of keeping it interesting but after spending 80% of your time in the same city you do find yourself wishing for newer landscapes, the choice of locales is limited.
    This leads me on to, in my view, one of the major downpoints of the game. The dungeon areas are horribly over recycled. You may not notice it for the first few hours but by the end it becomes jarringly obvious. It seems that blood mages and smugglers are more than happy to share a hidaway while bandits and spirits of the fade clearly swap interior decorators.
    The graphics are a step up from the original and the cutscenes look pretty good but you will find better elsewhere.
    The voice acting and script is competent without ever being spectacular and some of the characters are likable, even producing some chuckles. The conversation wheel works well and some of the choices you have to make are genuinely difficult.
    The skill trees give a pretty decent choice for customisation but some skills feel like fillers. I liked the new approach to crafting, not having to search for millions of ingredients and instead just discovering resources works well, but the range of recipes seems limited.

    I would recommend this game to anyone but for some it may be too bigger step away from the original. If you can look look past that you'll find an enjoyable game, that despite its flaws, easily gives you your moneys worth without ever being anything special.    … Expand
  19. Nemo888
    Mar 24, 2011
    7
    The first 5 hours of this game SUCKS as you can see from my initial impressions below. But it gets better. Much better. By the second act I was really enjoying it. The story and characters are excellent, much better than Origins. If you could skip the first 5 hours I would give it an 8. This is an excellent game once it gets on its' feetThe first 5 hours of this game SUCKS as you can see from my initial impressions below. But it gets better. Much better. By the second act I was really enjoying it. The story and characters are excellent, much better than Origins. If you could skip the first 5 hours I would give it an 8. This is an excellent game once it gets on its' feet
    _________________________________________________________
    Downloaded it and installed all the extra content.
    They wrecked the combat. Randomly appearing spawns, too much mana, etc. There are no tactics whatsoever.
    Most items so far are Hawke only. WTF is that? Items are screwed.
    The game has lost all the tactical tweaks that made RPG's different from shooters. It's just some crappy console game. Maybe it gets better.    … Expand
  20. marchmaninov
    Mar 11, 2011
    8
    AAAAhhhhhhh!!! not you!!! Bioware !!!! what have you done...... its not a good game ....its not a rpg.... and its a rushed development.
    WE ARE NOT COW!!!
    i expect its a unique fail, and unique treason of the pc community. i loved your previous game , Bioware was a god for me , but now , i lost my faith.
    this game is not Dragon age 2, its an adventure action game for massive selling action.
  21. BananaPuncher
    Mar 9, 2011
    5
    Bioware's identity crisis and tribute to the color brown gets a sequel with an even greater identity crisis. If Dragon Age: Origin's crisis came from its overly generic universe, it was at least an honest attempt to recreate the magic of Baldur's Gate, even if it had none of the charm of Forgotten Realms, needless micromanaging, and 1% of the monster variety (Darkspawn and dragons, yay. IBioware's identity crisis and tribute to the color brown gets a sequel with an even greater identity crisis. If Dragon Age: Origin's crisis came from its overly generic universe, it was at least an honest attempt to recreate the magic of Baldur's Gate, even if it had none of the charm of Forgotten Realms, needless micromanaging, and 1% of the monster variety (Darkspawn and dragons, yay. I thought dragons were supposed to be hard to kill and usually optional?). In Dragon Age: 2, the identity crisis extends to the gameplay, where it either feels like a dumbed down version of Dragon Age: Origins, or a really bad God of War, depending on your personal preferences. This is really too bad because the dialogue is solid; they replaced the mute character of Dragon Age: Origins with a Mass Effect-style dialogue system and the story is decent enough for an RPG, in my opinion. It just doesn't feel like enough to make up for the bastard-child gameplay.… Expand
  22. Xelian
    Mar 29, 2011
    9
    At first I was like... OMG what a trash game. Crappy combat system. Stupid camera etc etc etc. Just like most of the reviews here are. But I've forced myself to continue playing and after I while i realized that the game is not bad at all. You have the same funny character which made Origins what it was. You have the similar quests. A considerable amount of choices which affect manyAt first I was like... OMG what a trash game. Crappy combat system. Stupid camera etc etc etc. Just like most of the reviews here are. But I've forced myself to continue playing and after I while i realized that the game is not bad at all. You have the same funny character which made Origins what it was. You have the similar quests. A considerable amount of choices which affect many aspects of the game. Even the order of doing quest sometimes results in different dialogue options. The ability to import saves from the Origins and the minor effects (different quests and choices) somehow make you feel that there were a effort put in that game. I have found the game quite challenging at Nightmare difficulty if you think that the combat is like on a film just try that. The only think BIoware must do now is fix the camera, and make the dropping out of nowhere enemies disappear, put some more effort into the level design (after a while it get stupid to fight in the same cave/warehouse for 10 time) and the game will be as good as the original. Lets hope they will be able to do that with one good Ultimate edition and an expansion.… Expand
  23. godfather830
    Mar 9, 2011
    7
    Dragon Age II is a decent game, but fades in comparision with its predecessor. Most of the changes made just made the game less fun and less great. The only two positive changes are that the graphics have improved (slightly) and the main character can now talk.

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

    I regret purchasing it. I think it may have been worth $15 or so to me, so I would have preferred buying it at a huge discount, even 2-3 years later. But I would have gladly paid $100 for Dragon Age: Origins.    … Expand
  24. Gvaz
    Mar 9, 2011
    7
    I'm not going to go in depth, because no one will read this but here's what's changed in DA2: (PC)
    - combat is sped up
    - voiced MC - even linear than before - Enjoy not taking a long time for quests? Well you can complete some quests by literally walking five feet. - voice actors are hit or miss, the story feels disjointed and it feels a lot like your actions are meaningless, and the wheel    I'm not going to go in depth, because no one will read this but here's what's changed in DA2: (PC)
    - combat is sped up
    - voiced MC
    - even linear than before
    - Enjoy not taking a long time for quests? Well you can complete some quests by literally walking five feet.
    - voice actors are hit or miss, the story feels disjointed and it feels a lot like your actions are meaningless, and the wheel adds nothing to the game. It's not even done properly like in ME2. Frequently your character ends up saying something totally different from the paraprhased note.

    Overall, it's not a bad game, but as a sequel to DA2, it simply doesn't stand up.    … Expand
  25. Danarchist
    Mar 8, 2011
    8
    Great game so far! For the equipment customization options we have lost we got much more developed and usable skill tree's and a major graphics overhaul if you have the rig for it. The combat is fast and exciting, maybe a little too fast, and the animations are a nice change from the clumsy puppet show motion of the last one. The tatics screen is far better worded and actually useful. TheGreat game so far! For the equipment customization options we have lost we got much more developed and usable skill tree's and a major graphics overhaul if you have the rig for it. The combat is fast and exciting, maybe a little too fast, and the animations are a nice change from the clumsy puppet show motion of the last one. The tatics screen is far better worded and actually useful. The downside is your toons seem to be overly dependent on it to actually trigger any of their skills. My tank lady absolutely refused to used shield slam till I scripted it in.

    My only complaints are so far it has seemed very on rails (3 hours in), almost as much movie as game. And in cities its frustrating having to run around with you tab key held down so you can actually find the vendors etc. The inventory screen is reminiscent graphically of x-com and looks slightly rushed to market.    … Expand
  26. javiveras
    Mar 9, 2011
    8
    Although it went away from a hardcore RPG to a more action oriented combat I still find it fun to play and quite addictive (not as much as DA:O). It would be a 9 if it wasn't for the repetitive scenarios. In my opinion, a different game but still a good one.
  27. shakinha
    Mar 9, 2011
    9
    It`s not just a sequel. It`s more like a rebirth in fast-paced style.

    Great storytelling makes you feel like you are really there and care for the cast. The atmosphere is superb and Bioware again nails with voice acting.

    Some will not like some changes in combat, but works for me.

    Awesome game, a must buy for people who loves a great story.
  28. aribter
    Mar 9, 2011
    10
    Improved upon in almost every way. More immersive, better storytelling mechanics (especially the fact that relationships develop over a series of years) and combat is just downright more fun. If you think the graphics are worse than the original, you are lying to yourself. The combat is strategic as ever, just FASTER AND MORE FUN. The abilities all actually DO something, unlike DA:OImproved upon in almost every way. More immersive, better storytelling mechanics (especially the fact that relationships develop over a series of years) and combat is just downright more fun. If you think the graphics are worse than the original, you are lying to yourself. The combat is strategic as ever, just FASTER AND MORE FUN. The abilities all actually DO something, unlike DA:O where you spent points on things you would never use. And if you really have a problem with the dialog wheel, go play D&D in your basement. Interactive cinema is what its all about.… Expand
  29. RightIKnow
    Mar 9, 2011
    10
    This is the Dragon Age game to get into if you have never played Dragon Age Origins. I played through my 120 hour campaign of Dragon Age Origins/Awakenings and this game is a breath of fresh air and this is why.

    I didn't want Dragon Age 2 to be Dragon Age Origins 2. Here are the main gripes people have. 1. It's a console port. 2. The graphics are terrible. 3. The combat is overly    This is the Dragon Age game to get into if you have never played Dragon Age Origins. I played through my 120 hour campaign of Dragon Age Origins/Awakenings and this game is a breath of fresh air and this is why.

    I didn't want Dragon Age 2 to be Dragon Age Origins 2. Here are the main gripes people have.

    1. It's a console port.
    2. The graphics are terrible.
    3. The combat is overly simplified.
    4. The conversation wheel.

    1. There is no way around this. The market is what it is. Vote with your dollar, and know that other people are voting with theirs. If a developer needs to put the title out on multiple platforms, so be it. I'm not sure what they're talking about with this complaint. 2. The graphics are the best I've seen in a fantasy game in a long time. Especially with the day 1 Texture Pack you can download, and if you have a directx11 capable card. 3. Playing through DAO I know the combat was different. The combat in DAO always felt clunky to me. Strategic yes, but clunky. Almost like your characters were in slo-mo. Now, the combat is visceral and fast paced and does not lack the depth that most users have commented on.

    4. I LOVE the conversation wheel. I'm around 4 hours into it and I LOVE the fact that the game plays through like a movie similar to Mass Effect. After 130 hours or so of DAO I was pretty happy not to be reading a novel while I was playing my game. I should let you know that Bioware has been VERY communicative about relaying the information to their fans prior to release and there was a demo on PC. That said, there should be no reason why any fanboys of DAO would be dissapointed as they have had ample time to become educated before making a purchase. This of course would speak to the invalidity of many of these user reviews. If you knew what you were buying why did you buy it? I don't see any legitimacy to the claims the negative feedback users are putting out there. They simply don't like it, and they give it a bad review without playing it. There's no law against it, but I love this game and I wanted to put out my two cents.    … Expand
  30. AdrianaLF
    Mar 9, 2011
    10
    Dragon Age II is a great story with lots of emotion. I love the characters and the graphic style. Combat is really good ... one of the best combat executions for an RPG. Best of all words ... I just love the game.
  31. Hazey
    Mar 9, 2011
    10
    Game is great, personally I prefer this feel to the combat. A lot more responsive and satisfying. Mainly posting this because of all the bad reviews, can't stop playing for too long ;).

    Hopefully this will be cleared soon, bunch of spam accounts posting identical reviews.
  32. Alodar
    Mar 8, 2011
    10
    I really enjoyed the new combat. Characterization is fantastic. I love the new dialogue system and improved character development.
    This game is a lot of fun.
  33. GottFaust
    Mar 9, 2011
    8
    Looking at the other user reviews for this game, it almost looks like someone is using dummy accounts to spam-post slight variations of 2-3 different raving hate-fueled reviews with random marks from 0-2. Don't trust the spam-reviews, this game is solid. It's no Dragon Age Origins, but it's still a good RPG with a story that builds well and good character development if you get past theLooking at the other user reviews for this game, it almost looks like someone is using dummy accounts to spam-post slight variations of 2-3 different raving hate-fueled reviews with random marks from 0-2. Don't trust the spam-reviews, this game is solid. It's no Dragon Age Origins, but it's still a good RPG with a story that builds well and good character development if you get past the first 5 hours. Contrary to the apparent bulk of reviewers, you CANNOT beat the game in 10 hours even if you rush the main quest. I took the day off of work yesterday and played for 21 hours and haven't even gotten past the initial town.… Expand
  34. Catchmeifucan
    Mar 8, 2011
    9
    Enjoying Dragon age 2 very much about 5 hrs in and is very entertaining has enough new stuff and enough old stuff (from DA1) to be enjoyable. There are a few thing I would of done differently but all in all a good solid game.
  35. Roarshack
    Mar 9, 2011
    9
    Dragon Age 2 is a great successor to the classic and a good candidate for a GOTY of 2011. Way better fighting system than bloaty and unintuitive Origins one make the gameplay so much more fun. Story is interesting and exciting, you grown really attached to the characters thorough the game. Voice acting on Hawke really puts life into him instead of being a marionette without feelings likeDragon Age 2 is a great successor to the classic and a good candidate for a GOTY of 2011. Way better fighting system than bloaty and unintuitive Origins one make the gameplay so much more fun. Story is interesting and exciting, you grown really attached to the characters thorough the game. Voice acting on Hawke really puts life into him instead of being a marionette without feelings like in the first game. Overall must have for all RPG fans.… Expand
  36. Shengren
    Mar 8, 2011
    8
    I usually won't write a review for something that I'm 99% sure NOBODY in the users section has finished yet, but with all the number of people raving about terrible this and that - had to chime in:

    If you are one of the people who rated this 0-4 and are complaining about "casualized" combat or that it's "too easy" etc etc.. for heavens sakes take it off normal, nuke your game, start it    I usually won't write a review for something that I'm 99% sure NOBODY in the users section has finished yet, but with all the number of people raving about terrible this and that - had to chime in:

    If you are one of the people who rated this 0-4 and are complaining about "casualized" combat or that it's "too easy" etc etc.. for heavens sakes take it off normal, nuke your game, start it over again on nightmare.
    That's why they have it there. Yes, normal mode you could probably close your eyes and mash buttons to win, but crank the difficulty up and you will have to pause it quite a bit and make your decisions carefullly.
    (I can't even imagine what casual difficulty would be like.. but hey, maybe if your non-gaming significant other wants to run through for the experience)

    If you're concerned about graphics.. just DL the demo before buying.. that's what it looks like - I can't see how anyone is surprised at this point. I enjoy it myself. A number of people are still experiencing graphics bugs, though I understand some of this is due to nvidia drivers - I would assume a lot of this will change with time.

    So far I'm enjoying the game quite a bit and do not regret plopping my money down early.
    People seem to be freaking out and panning this thing.. but I'll just assume they were expecting mana from heaven and not what this is: a game.    … Expand
  37. TwsitedComplex
    Mar 8, 2011
    10
    Great game

    A lot don't like the changes but don't know how to move on. Definably a great RPG

    The story is great, the combat changes are awesome. I love it through and through
  38. antiall
    Mar 8, 2011
    10
    The best RPG ever, you never played as fun and tactical party RPG combats, it's the biggest and most interesting town that you ever seen in RPG. There are many player choices with consequences on the story. The story is very well written and will make your eyes wet many times. Some companions are much more attaching than any companion of DAO.

    DA2 fixes many weakness of DAO, the fights are    The best RPG ever, you never played as fun and tactical party RPG combats, it's the biggest and most interesting town that you ever seen in RPG. There are many player choices with consequences on the story. The story is very well written and will make your eyes wet many times. Some companions are much more attaching than any companion of DAO.

    DA2 fixes many weakness of DAO, the fights are better balanced and more deep. DAO fights was ridiculously easy and now at Hard difficulty they are hard and at Nightmare it's a real challenge. In DAO the companions was sort of dead puppets once out of the camp. Now they are lively and really participate to the adventure, and even, your companions will influence the evolution of the story. In DAO you had only very few build per class, now in DA2 you have plenty more builds making you character building a lot more fun and deep. In one play through DA2 isn't as long than in DAO, because of the multiples alternatives coming from player choices and companions choose the replays are much more interesting and setup a longer play value with replays.    … Expand
  39. Biowarebud
    Mar 8, 2011
    10
    Bioware did it again. Simply amazing, the gameplay the story the everything. The graphics on this game could give modded Crysis a run for its money. The people who are hating on the storytelling just don't get it. It's obviously too deep for them. And don't get me started on the characters accompanying Hawke. Merril is just soooo cute. I want to nom her head and giggle and squee every timeBioware did it again. Simply amazing, the gameplay the story the everything. The graphics on this game could give modded Crysis a run for its money. The people who are hating on the storytelling just don't get it. It's obviously too deep for them. And don't get me started on the characters accompanying Hawke. Merril is just soooo cute. I want to nom her head and giggle and squee every time I see her.

    Some people may dislike the changes but they just need to get past the fact that games evolve. No longer are we stuck with a silent protagonist with which we just choose lines of words to reply with. I mean who wants to read all those words? Certainly not I (but maybe some nerds do...lol). Now we have a fully voice acted character that speaks with super realistic emotions expressed in each sentence.

    Which is great because the dialogue is amazingly deep. You can choose between the peace loving diplomatic guy, the angry lets fight now guy, and the sarcastic witty guy for like every single response you make! Certainly no other game matches Bioware in its depth in character choices.

    You can literally do anything.    … Expand
  40. ChemMasta
    Mar 8, 2011
    10
    Bioware. Where ports to the PC contain better graphics then the consoles. I own the original on both 360 and PC; by far PC has the best graphics. Although I do prefer the feel of a controller in my hands as opposed to a keyboard, I always felt the PC had the better deal. I really hope this ties me over until Mass Effect 3 comes out. Which kinda begs the question since both these title areBioware. Where ports to the PC contain better graphics then the consoles. I own the original on both 360 and PC; by far PC has the best graphics. Although I do prefer the feel of a controller in my hands as opposed to a keyboard, I always felt the PC had the better deal. I really hope this ties me over until Mass Effect 3 comes out. Which kinda begs the question since both these title are out this year, creating a lull in their production; what is Bioware planning?… Expand
  41. Gamed2long
    Aug 24, 2012
    6
    A lot of people got their hate on for this game. If you payed $60 expecting a reasonable sequel to Dragon Age:Origins I don't blame you.
    I read the reviews and eventually bought this game anyway when the price was much reduced.
    This is a great example of a low end $20 bargin bin game. There is fun to be had. Interacting with the characters on your team is where most of the fun lies. And    A lot of people got their hate on for this game. If you payed $60 expecting a reasonable sequel to Dragon Age:Origins I don't blame you.
    I read the reviews and eventually bought this game anyway when the price was much reduced.
    This is a great example of a low end $20 bargin bin game. There is fun to be had. Interacting with the characters on your team is where most of the fun lies. And the plot is simple yet functional. Its a tad predictable but it doesn't really get in the way. They recycle maps like a son of a gun. I mean several years are supposed to pass between acts and your player is generally stuck in the same city. It would be cool if you could watch the city grow and evolve or maybe show off some of its devastation as the game progresses. I mean by the end of the first act I was sick of all the same old places that went basically unchanged as the game went on. Because every warehouse is exactly the same everywhere right? Just the way they designed the maps it feels very sandbox. But it is a solid play. And while it isn't "Epic" in any sense of the term I went into it with modest expectations and it didn't disappoint.
    Don't get me wrong they killed the franchise here. DA:O was an epic and could have started an epic franchise and its a shame this is the sequel. But looking at it as a stand alone game its alright.    … Expand
  42. chronoT
    Sep 2, 2012
    5
    Although I do not think it's fair that this game is getting a score of 1, it really is disappointing. The graphics are decent but not much if any improvement from Origins, but the gameplay itself took a huge nose dive. The thing that bothers me the most is the way the maps and quests are setup, it's totally generic, rushed, and to be honest seems incomplete. Seriously, after a few hoursAlthough I do not think it's fair that this game is getting a score of 1, it really is disappointing. The graphics are decent but not much if any improvement from Origins, but the gameplay itself took a huge nose dive. The thing that bothers me the most is the way the maps and quests are setup, it's totally generic, rushed, and to be honest seems incomplete. Seriously, after a few hours of play all the dungeons and a lot of areas are repeated and used again, and makes the game feel lame. The story as well was overall pretty terrible, I have no idea how they went from such a well written story in Origins to a game that really doesn't add up. I would have to recommend not wasting your cash on this, stick with Origins and the DLC/Expansion/Character Texture improvement mods.… Expand
  43. Bossk-Office
    Mar 28, 2012
    5
    A so-so game that probably feels worse than it truly is because it is the sequel to one of the best games ever, Dragon Age Origins. It is a much, much smaller game, made even smaller by limitations such as you can't equip your companions with armor and in some case even with weapons of your choice; you spend most of your time running quests in a very few different locations, instead of theA so-so game that probably feels worse than it truly is because it is the sequel to one of the best games ever, Dragon Age Origins. It is a much, much smaller game, made even smaller by limitations such as you can't equip your companions with armor and in some case even with weapons of your choice; you spend most of your time running quests in a very few different locations, instead of the enormous world of Origins; and when you do travel to other places, you find they re-use the same maps as places you've already been to.

    The saving grace is really the combat, which is fast and quite a bit of fun once you get used to the new system. Still, even that has its serious drawbacks: encounter design ranges from run-of-the-mill to amateurish, full of immersion-breaking nonsense like knights in heavy armor dropping from the sky all over the place in mid-battle as waves of reinforcements. There is also really only one way to build each character, a far cry from the flexibility of Origins.    … Expand
  44. Escherichia
    Jun 18, 2012
    5
    I played this game before Dragon Age Origins and, since I couldn't compare it with its predecessor it didnt feel that bad... Sure, the hack and slash combat wasnt the best idea for a RPG and the story was kinda dumb, but overall it felt like a mediocre game, not a terrible game.
    Then I played Dragon Age Origins and understood where all the hate was coming from: Dragon Age 2 butchers the    I played this game before Dragon Age Origins and, since I couldn't compare it with its predecessor it didnt feel that bad... Sure, the hack and slash combat wasnt the best idea for a RPG and the story was kinda dumb, but overall it felt like a mediocre game, not a terrible game.
    Then I played Dragon Age Origins and understood where all the hate was coming from: Dragon Age 2 butchers the franchise in pretty much every aspect.
    I stick to my original feeling for the game at this review since i did not replay it after playing Dragon Age Origins and give it a 5: Far from great, still not absolutely terrible game. But if I had to compare it to DA:O, I would give DA2 a 2 at most.    … Expand
  45. madhad234
    May 15, 2012
    2
    This game isn't even worth my time to write a review about, avoid Dragonage 2 at all costs! 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.
  46. dumle
    Aug 8, 2012
    5
    Bioware were pretty bold when they made Dragon Age 2. Sadly few things got improved from the first one. The combat though pretty to look at feels dumbed down, and the new conversation wheel is a complete disaster hurting a big part of the game. A lot of features from the first one has gone missing and overall it feels a lot more simplified. The writing feels uneven and has more downs thanBioware were pretty bold when they made Dragon Age 2. Sadly few things got improved from the first one. The combat though pretty to look at feels dumbed down, and the new conversation wheel is a complete disaster hurting a big part of the game. A lot of features from the first one has gone missing and overall it feels a lot more simplified. The writing feels uneven and has more downs than ups and the story lacks real choices despite despite being alright apart from that. The games biggest flaw however is that its feels rushed. Bioware must really like the environment because they are recycling material like never before. It really get embarrassing, especially considering that the environments weren't that great the first time.Its still a decent rpg though. Just don't expect to much.… Expand
  47. chumpwithnoname
    Feb 19, 2020
    2
    Complete piece of trash if you compare this game to DA:O.
    Story - mediocre at best.
    Characters - Varric is good, rest of them are unremarkable at all.
    Mobs are spawning during fight - DA FUGG? This is an RPG? RLY?
    Ending is stupid and anticlimax.
    No strategy and no tactics anymore.

    Wouldn't buy this crap if not the name on the box.
  48. sefrabu
    Oct 6, 2016
    7
    And yet another game which the reviewers love and the players hate.

    I'd say I find myself in the middle - after my first walkthrough years ago. But each time I go back to Kirkwall I realize that these are the Dragon Age characters, story and art direction I liked the most. The intrigue unfolds nicely, the gameplay is - contratry to the popular opinion - quite strategic and satisfactory    And yet another game which the reviewers love and the players hate.

    I'd say I find myself in the middle - after my first walkthrough years ago. But each time I go back to Kirkwall I realize that these are the Dragon Age characters, story and art direction I liked the most. The intrigue unfolds nicely, the gameplay is - contratry to the popular opinion - quite strategic and satisfactory (provided you're playing on higher levels), the outcomes of you actions are really different each time you play, and the "small scale" (you're saving "only" one city, not the whole world for once... or are you?) is quite refreshing.

    I can't give DA2 any higher score due to the infamous dungeon recycling and the limitation of the locales to one city and a few (painfully recycled) outskirts, but had this game been in development for a few months more to make the locations more varied, this would have been at least a 9.    … Expand
  49. GoldenGail3
    Oct 31, 2016
    5
    To be honest, I really just... disliked this game. The companions were whinny and obnoxious (I'm staring at you Anders and Fenris). But overall, it's better than DAI. DAI was a a boring, *lawn* game. This game in comparison is just a mediocre mess.
  50. KittyWhisky
    Mar 20, 2017
    5
    Dragon age 2 is the first call that something goes wrong. They promised Newerwiter, but it is not so, not at this level.
    The game consists of boring locations, repetitive dungeons with a continuously reviving enemies.
    The plot is very primitive, and boring. The job is extremely weak compared to the first game. Although there are several good, but not enough to continue such a wonderful    Dragon age 2 is the first call that something goes wrong. They promised Newerwiter, but it is not so, not at this level.
    The game consists of boring locations, repetitive dungeons with a continuously reviving enemies.
    The plot is very primitive, and boring. The job is extremely weak compared to the first game. Although there are several good, but not enough to continue such a wonderful game!
    The characters is what made the game good. They are interesting, although not all, but favorite will be a lot.
    From Dragon age 2 I was expecting epic, and got a boring story about family.
    The combat system was much better, but it's an RPG, not a slasher.    … Expand
  51. JrSpaceMan
    Mar 1, 2021
    0
    In some ways the setting feels more like an expansion to Origins but the scope of the story is a complete game. It's not a grand globe trotting adventure like Origins or Inquisition but it is a grand adventure in it's own right. If you liked the story of Origins and the subsequent DLC, you'll almost certainly enjoy this. Just keep in mind that it's a much more focused format that staysIn some ways the setting feels more like an expansion to Origins but the scope of the story is a complete game. It's not a grand globe trotting adventure like Origins or Inquisition but it is a grand adventure in it's own right. If you liked the story of Origins and the subsequent DLC, you'll almost certainly enjoy this. Just keep in mind that it's a much more focused format that stays in the same city for almost it's entire playthrough.

    Dragon Age 2 is just as much the story of Kirkwall as it is about it's characters. I just finished a second playthrough and really enjoyed the experience 10 years later. Now that the distortion of expectation has evaporated, feel free to enjoy this little gem without the cacophonic rattling of the internet hate machine. Giving it a 10 for making me feel stuff.    … Expand
  52. Trenos
    Nov 30, 2017
    5
    "Dragon Age:Downfall" this should be title of this game because this is huge step back. Gameplay is so much worse than in first game, story isn't that good too, and graphic.....you know this game was released in the same year as Witcher 2.....they **** up. This isn't bad game, but it's average as hell. If you never gonna play Dragon Age:Inquisition than don't play Dragon Age II.
  53. Lukus_Woker
    Jan 27, 2019
    1
    Всё минусы этой игры( для меня ):
    Диалоги испортили
    Локации говно
    Игра не озвучена на русский,а субтитры я драл читать
    Да и просто это полный шлак
  54. skaywalker
    May 10, 2020
    5
    вторая часть после прохождения первой стала настоящим разочарованием.
    причем не с первого раза. максимально плохо она стала выглядеть только при повторном прохождении, когда не было уже эффекта неизвестности и неожиданности.
    основными минусами для меня стали: -анимация боя (я что, в JRPG играю?) -одинаковые локации. я понимаю, что 2я часть делалась наспех, но это уровень инди-игры, а    вторая часть после прохождения первой стала настоящим разочарованием.
    причем не с первого раза. максимально плохо она стала выглядеть только при повторном прохождении, когда не было уже эффекта неизвестности и неожиданности.
    основными минусами для меня стали:
    -анимация боя (я что, в JRPG играю?)
    -одинаковые локации. я понимаю, что 2я часть делалась наспех, но это уровень инди-игры, а не крупной корпорации. невозможно погрузиться в атмосферу
    -тактический AI союзников. непонятно, за каким чертом постоянная беготня магов и лучников, некорректно срабатывающие цепочки тактик.
    но так ли уж все плохо? впервые в подобной игре я чувствую себя не спасителем мира, а обычным человеком, который борется против враждебности и лжи окружающего мира. Да, сюжет лишен эпичности первой части, но он не становится хуже от этого - это просто другая история, притом, достаточно хорошо прописанная. На протяжении всей игры ты чувствуешь отголоски событий, которые происходили в прошлом. Спутники уникальные, интересные. Диалоги хоть и стали примитивнее, но думать все равно в них приходится
    Так же озвучу вещи, которые можно расценивать и как плюсы, и как минусы:
    -примитивный крафт
    -отсутствие кастомизации брони у напарников. вещи с автолевелингом из DLC.    … Expand
  55. Prometheus1241
    Jan 19, 2020
    5
    Well, it is a very bad sequel.

    It has average plot, average characters.

    But the open world... Damn, it is ****

    It can't be compared to Dragon Age Origins. Dragon Age 2 simply sucks, perhaps, the worst CRPG ever.
  56. bruh1232
    Nov 2, 2022
    0
    really this game really bad dont look critic reviews buy it and game score sit 85 but real score 30 i play this game right now my play hour 40 this 40 hour not solid gameplay 10 hour loading screen and 500 time same place quest DONT BUY IT OR START THIS GAME GO PLAY DRAGON AGE ORIGINS AND JUMP TO dragon age ınq if u want garbage trash game
  57. Crapula
    Mar 13, 2011
    5
    Compared to other RPG or action games, DA2 is a quite good game. Compared to other Bioware's games is dreadful. In all kind of senses, as for graphics, history, gaming and strategy. Really bad choices made by EA. If you are a Baldurs Gate / DA Origins fan you shouldn't buy this game.
  58. DarkXenon
    Mar 15, 2011
    5
    Not worthy of the Dragon Age franchise. Short, uninteresting, characters, repeated dungens, no world map, limited party customization, rag to riches storyline. Very dissapointed.
  59. Adoramei
    Oct 30, 2011
    2
    This was a TERRIBLE game. Especially following Dragon Age: Origins. DA:O was one of my favourite games of all time. Yes, there is a graphics upgrade, but no, it doesn't look great. Whomever decided that the tribal cardboard cutout idea was a great idea.. really should have been reevaluated. It feels lazy to me. In fact, many things about this game feels lazy to me. (Including theThis was a TERRIBLE game. Especially following Dragon Age: Origins. DA:O was one of my favourite games of all time. Yes, there is a graphics upgrade, but no, it doesn't look great. Whomever decided that the tribal cardboard cutout idea was a great idea.. really should have been reevaluated. It feels lazy to me. In fact, many things about this game feels lazy to me. (Including the copy-paste maps. I mean.. come on!) I feel like they put everything into paint and then enlarged it and saved it that way. There are these missing pixels that show up as random white dots in the middle of black/dark spaces.
    And as a female player, I'd have to say.. we've gone back to the big-boobs-sell-all thing now? Ugh. Have some class. At least the women are more shapely than in DA:O.. but then again, just barely. Speaking of character designs.. what the heck were they smoking when they remade EVERYONE? I mean, I think that Elves have the worst of it. Qunari probably had the best. I mean, first off, who decided that every single Dalish had to suddenly have Irish accents? (Save for Merril, who has a Welsh accent.) I LOVE Irish accents, but I feel like the whole thing is forced in this case. I mean, yeah, we get it.. they're different. We really don't have to have our hand held like we're slow. That's a minor thing though. But their new designs.. Oh my god. Okay, don't get me wrong. I grew up as a huge anime fan. I was one of those kids that dreamed of becoming a manga-ka one day. But.. Holy gods. Did some 12 year old Asianophile girl that just started drawing.. design the elves? Seriously. I drew better than this at that age. Basically, elves are now emaciated anorexics with beach balls for heads and giant anime eyes, which wouldn't be complete without their generous amounts of sparkles! It just.. doesn't fit. It looks terrible. It looks like elves have to chase their heads around pretty often because if they lean too far one way, it might snap right off of their neck. Oh, and in case we weren't smart enough to tell that they were elves with that, they made sure that the ears are big enough to be noticed. Because, y'know, we all lack the power of observation.
    I'd run out of room if I put all of my complaints here, by the way, so I'll try to keep it short.
    The characters are awful. I mean, at first, I was freaking out that Anders would be in DAII. Now, I wish they hadn't touched him. He.. is.. ruined. Now, the characters all have their vital flaws. I really don't feel like they took into account the fact that we can think for ourselves. They really, really shove the flaws into your face constantly in the game. I seriously think that the voice actors must have been very confused about why they had to repeat the same lines over and over and over again. Let's just say that I think Fenris said the word "mage" more times in the game than I ever have in my lifetime.
    But wow. Vital flaws. Let's just say that all in all, your character means nothing. Your character is a "Champion", yes, but it really doesn't mean anything. No matter how many times you play through the game, it will end the same way. The same things will happen. The same people will do fool-arsed things, and no matter what you say or do.. your decisions only affect a very, very small part of the game. This is really obvious too since there is no recognition for your hard-fought decisions. So.. do whatever you want. It won't matter.
    I love the pat on the back for making the right decisions. Having the credits tell me, "You united ___ with ____ and despite their hardships, they ended up making the world better by not returning in Dragon Age II to be ruined!" True story. I was there. And being a chick gamer, character development is what I really focus on. ALL of the characters are predictable in their "development". They are all dufuses in their own right. Varric, although pretty amusing, is pretty bland. I almost never remember to mention him. Fenris is my chosen romance for any playthrough, despite his massive flaws. (By the way, if you're a total romantic, his is probably the worst romance. Almost akin to.. Carth Onasi's, which was in a game where I really don't think that they catered to female players.) I figure that it's still better than any other romance option. Merril makes me homicidal. They first make her an absolute idiot. THEN, they tried to really push the "cute" factor with her. Have they FORGOTTEN the whole.. forbidden magic thing? I could write on for DAYS about her. Isabela is hilarious, but she's a whore, and I'm a bit of a purist in that sense. So.. I'm stuck with a character with Gideon Emery's voice. I think that makes him > all. Anyhow, I'm out of room. Let me just say that.. The game is an overall downgrade. The critics who recanted and now say that the story is incredible.. well.. we know EA has deep pockets. This game is more for WoW kiddies vs. real gamers. Easy analogy.    … Expand
  60. ordoabchao
    Mar 21, 2011
    5
    While DA Origins certainly was a spiritual successor to Baldurs gate, this second installment certainly is not. There are things I certainly do like about DA II , such as the Champions dialogue and realistic graphic and character advancement, the Qunari for example look more evolved and some of the textures in the towns and the fighting areas. I have however played over 25 hours now and IWhile DA Origins certainly was a spiritual successor to Baldurs gate, this second installment certainly is not. There are things I certainly do like about DA II , such as the Champions dialogue and realistic graphic and character advancement, the Qunari for example look more evolved and some of the textures in the towns and the fighting areas. I have however played over 25 hours now and I am starting to see what Bioware have done. They have concentrated mainly on the "action" side of the game and removed some of the hardcore RPG elements that made Origins an instant success with RPG fans from the PC market. Fights are now alot faster, animations look sleek and some of the elemental spells and skills now look amazing. However, I am very dissappointed with the fact I am unable to change elements of my party's Armour, I am only able to find upgrades littered sporadically around the world map, via merchants. I am also unable to craft within my party, so they have removed the alchemy and poison making abilities and re routed the player to the merchants. You are also unable to gather raw ingredients to make your potions and poisons. Now you only have to find "sources" of raw materials, which then enable you to make the more advanced recipes with the more sources you find.
    I must say I am also dissapointed with the world map, it doesn't give you a sense of travel, it just zones you in. They have removed the random element of meeting trouble on the road too, so those random clearings you would come across filled with bandits seem to have been dropped also. I am only 25 hours into the game but I am also finding the dungeons and maps quite generic and repetitive thus far and I am hoping this may change. To summarize, we are living in an age where Console gamers now have the power to determine the future of the PC market, they are numbing down games for lazy gamers who just havent got the time and effort to really get stuck into their RPG's. I am a Mass Effect fan and I've really loved the ME series thus far, but they have practically butchered the Dragon Age series to fall in line with a heavy dialouge success that they have had with ME. I love heavy dialogue but all they needed to do was keep the same ingriedients they had with DA : Origins , with the main character dialogue like they have done in the second installment and that would have been perfect. I have been enjoying the game so far, and reccommend it if you played Origins, but if you loved Origins for its Baldurs gate nostalgia you will definately be dissapointed with DA II. Lets hope they can salvage it with some good DLC.    … Expand
  61. grammarye
    Apr 1, 2011
    6
    An astonishingly disappointing entry from Bioware. As a fan of many Bioware games, of Dragon Age: Origins, as well as other classic RPGs, I was all set to return to the world of Thedas & continue in what should be a landmark Bioware RPG... Right? No, not so much. In fact, in complete contrast to RPGs where I just couldn't close the game, where the game cried out for 'just one more hour!' -An astonishingly disappointing entry from Bioware. As a fan of many Bioware games, of Dragon Age: Origins, as well as other classic RPGs, I was all set to return to the world of Thedas & continue in what should be a landmark Bioware RPG... Right? No, not so much. In fact, in complete contrast to RPGs where I just couldn't close the game, where the game cried out for 'just one more hour!' - DA2 I had to make an effort to play it.

    Negatives:
    Complete lack of immersion would be my number one killer for this game. Companions requiring you to be at their home before you can talk with them, terrible space-age user interface, the same unmoving NPCs for an entire decade of gameplay, in-combat spawns (!), the absolutely identical three-four buildings/dungeons reused throughout the entire game - these are just the beginnings of why I didn't immerse in DA2.

    Mass Effect 2 managed to paper over any repetition issues with an engaging story, and combat that was diverse enough that you had to occasionally engage the braincell. Not so with DA2. In fact, strategic planning goes out the window thanks to the spawning system - you can never be sure when the next batch of enemies will mysteriously appear. No isometric-style view was very lacking.

    The characters & story are not much better. Try as I might, I just can't engage with DA2. It's not for lack of effort - the writing and voice acting is excellent - it's just that whoever produced the overall story arc seems to have completely forgotten how to do it. Imagine if the opening of Baldur's Gate had begun with explaining how you were the child of Bhaal destined to defeat Sarevok, dropped you at the encounter with Sarevok bypassing Candlekeep entirely, and some NPC gets killed. Emotional involvement? None. Mystery? Well you've just told me the ending.

    Everyone and their dog can figure out that the protagonist of an RPG will be someone important - take Mass Effect 2; everyone knows Shepard is the hero, but we got to make him/her the hero in ME1 from humble roots - Shepard's Our hero. Hawke starts the game as badass numero uno for hire, and there's no emotions of success or progression involved.

    The companions are awful, barring Merrill & Varric. I found it hard to like any of the others, mainly because they spent so much time diametrically opposed to practically anything I did, for no adequate reason. I honestly felt I couldn't win; that any choice I made had the potential to have my current companions' friendship/rivalry oscillating back & forth yet again; that for each conversation, they have just met you.

    No origin stories, no different race perspectives, little in the way of meaningful influence from DAO, and a story that bludgeons you over the head with the primary warring antagonists, yet inexplicably allows you to make either no meaningful decisions about them or such polarised decisions, all left me feeling railroaded. The distressing thing is that it has all the hallmarks of Bioware great storytelling, and yet somehow manages to be irritating.

    The inventory & loot & armour system are so cut down as to not even be worth bothering with. Your loot is only really useful to you; you can't outfit companions with a different look beyond weapons. Even useful loot is all 'A ring' or 'A belt' with no meaningful descriptions.

    Positives:
    A voiced protagonist in my view really helps the game & immersion, what little was to be found.

    The graphics & sound are generally excellent & good to look at. It's just unfortunate that so much potential was wasted on the same recycled environments. The stale repetitive combat is at least good to look at, with lovely animations & explosions and so on, although mages annoyed me with their ninja-like staff wielding.

    Despite all the immersion-breaking, the core design of the UI is good. The actual interaction bits of the UI were sensible, with good visual feedback, and finally, a decent character level editor that explains what does what.

    The dialogue wheel of ME2 makes an intro, and I loved the concept, especially a decent feedback system for what option was flirting, what was nice, and so on. However I deserve to preview the full text of what Hawke is about to say and not be incredibly surprised when my flirty flippant remark turns out to be rude & unfunny.

    Applause goes to the continued adult treatment of issues like child abuse, same-sex relationships, blood (everywhere), violence, and generally treating an adult audience like adults. Long may this continue. I was disappointed the romance & sexual themes were not handled with a bit more in-depth focus and a bit less 'consider this foreplay! - fade to black', but it's a start that they're in there at all.    … Expand
  62. MJR
    Apr 9, 2011
    6
    Well...I'm pretty sure this game could have been made better (an understatement). Looking at all the negative reviews I do understand that everyone is trying to make the point that they are very disappointed but it isn't as bad as you might think. First I'll start with the cons. It is certainly no DA:O but it still has a good story although it really suffers for a lot of the "improvements"Well...I'm pretty sure this game could have been made better (an understatement). Looking at all the negative reviews I do understand that everyone is trying to make the point that they are very disappointed but it isn't as bad as you might think. First I'll start with the cons. It is certainly no DA:O but it still has a good story although it really suffers for a lot of the "improvements" that were added. For one thing its world is absurdly small. You had all of Ferelden to roam around in DA:O but in this? I don't know who made the decision but Bioware should have a job opening in that department. Other departments that should have openings are: where ever the decision was made to take out finishing kill animations, whoever decided ragdoll still isn't necassary (I mean really it's 2011), whoever thought up that irritating emo elf Faric or "who-the-eff-cares" as I think of him, and whoever decided it was a good idea to have day 1 DLC and have the players revisit every freaking location multiple times.

    Pros: Well...its still Dragon Age. They have that going for them. It really doesn't improve on the first at all and in many cases steps back but it will feel familiar. It is undeniably in that DA universe. Another improvement is that the character you play has a voice and a control wheel for dialogue like Mass Effect.

    Speaking of Mass Effect why did its sequel take such a wonderful leap forward while this one still more or less chokes on the dust of its predecessor? I    … Expand
  63. Demonbox
    Nov 11, 2011
    4
    Sorry but no, this is how you ruin a good game (DA:O) with potential.
    If you liked the first one chances are you will not like much this new chapter.
    My vote could be a bit higher, but form this new franchise i was expecting way more than a console hack&slash with decent graphics. What bugged me more is the total lack of customization, you can just choose if bein female or male,mage    Sorry but no, this is how you ruin a good game (DA:O) with potential.
    If you liked the first one chances are you will not like much this new chapter.
    My vote could be a bit higher, but form this new franchise i was expecting way more than a console hack&slash with decent graphics.
    What bugged me more is the total lack of customization, you can just choose if bein female or male,mage warrior or rogue (which is just a weirdo fighter) but are forced to be human and forced to be a friggin Hawke that jumps and squeals like a weirdo to chop heads (yes even if you'r a mage you make weird moves).
    Story is decent, but straight: run here do this, run there do that, skip some ages, run there again (yes locations r repetitive) , skip some more ages and BAM ..the end!
    I felt abosolutely nothing about the character, it wasn't me, i didn't care at all, unlike the first episode.
    Next time we'll be forced to play a male warrior named Bingo Bongo with no option to choose?    … Expand
  64. Userusername
    Mar 12, 2011
    5
    Let me start out by saying I liked dragon age origins. It had a good story, memorable characters and a real good setting. The only problem I had with the game is that combat became very tedious. Dragon age II fixes the combat by making it fast-paced and a better leveling system. Sadly it removed everything that made the first game worthwhile. Boring characters and story realy put me of the game.
  65. Itsapaul
    Mar 31, 2011
    6
    Problems with Bioware turning into a pretty shady company aside, I can't believe they thought this would pass as a real sequel. There is no main plot, you're playing a tactical rpg that's mostly in a city, and the reinforcements thing is just retarded. Your party members are still a hoot and the gameplay isn't awful tuned like this, but they needed more than 18 months to make it amazing.Problems with Bioware turning into a pretty shady company aside, I can't believe they thought this would pass as a real sequel. There is no main plot, you're playing a tactical rpg that's mostly in a city, and the reinforcements thing is just retarded. Your party members are still a hoot and the gameplay isn't awful tuned like this, but they needed more than 18 months to make it amazing. Oh and it looks worse than Dragon Age: Origins, and even sadder is the HD graphics mod that isn't from Bioware doesn't even make it look better. I guess the company that made Baldurs Gate and Mass Effect is long gone; hope Mass Effect 3 isn't crap like this.… Expand
  66. donotfeed
    Mar 14, 2011
    5
    Not the best Bioware game. Im not a hardcore player myself, but after 5 or 6 hours of gameplay I was kinda sick of copy&paste caves and visiting same locations over and over again. Combat system is also weak (press "1-9" to kill, repeat 20 times thanks to the constant respawns). The game from "complete & forget" category
  67. 27raven
    Mar 14, 2011
    5
    Why the lack of interesting and diverse locations? Why one repeating cave and houses over and over again? Why waves of enemies spawning from the ceiling? Why the brutal requirements in DX11 in 5 year old looking game? Why no interesting and surprising puzzles? Why many other things i don't want to even remember? If it wasn't for DA:O and if it wasn't Bioware I would give 7 points but likeWhy the lack of interesting and diverse locations? Why one repeating cave and houses over and over again? Why waves of enemies spawning from the ceiling? Why the brutal requirements in DX11 in 5 year old looking game? Why no interesting and surprising puzzles? Why many other things i don't want to even remember? If it wasn't for DA:O and if it wasn't Bioware I would give 7 points but like this i fell it deserves 5 points max.
    Btw. I didn't like many things in DA:O (skill system, class imbalances) but it was still a pearl in comparison to this game.

    PS: Why so high scores from magazines? Does EA pay that well? It was the same with NFS:Shift and I completely understand people who give 0 points as a defense against so exaggerated ratings.    … Expand
  68. kartoonstew
    Mar 18, 2011
    5
    Dragon age 2 should be called, "Assassin's Creed 3: The Dragon Age edition." If you are looking for the same great experience of an epic, sprawling RPG, then look elsewhere. They removed any sense of epic struggle, moral ambiguity in making large and important decisions, and perhaps more damning, they removed the element of exploration that is so prevalent in many RPGs. Instead, we areDragon age 2 should be called, "Assassin's Creed 3: The Dragon Age edition." If you are looking for the same great experience of an epic, sprawling RPG, then look elsewhere. They removed any sense of epic struggle, moral ambiguity in making large and important decisions, and perhaps more damning, they removed the element of exploration that is so prevalent in many RPGs. Instead, we are given an ultra-linear story, one city to explore (the whole game mind you, just like assassin's creed, but actually assassin's creed has more than one city!) and absolutely no exciting pacing. By the middle of the game you are utterly sick of running menial tasks. There is no sense of a greater purpose like there was in the original Dragon Age: Origins. On top of this, there is clear evidence that Bioware was cutting corners any place it could just to save time and money. Environments are repeated sometimes between 4-5 times, but are supposed to be completely different areas. You'll think to yourself, "Hmph, I've been here before!" quite a few times. If you loved Dragon Age: Origins, I can imagine you'll buy the game anyway, but don't expect the same experience; it's gone.… Expand
  69. Goodlight
    Apr 6, 2011
    5
    A good stand alone game, but doesn't live up to Dragon Age Origins. The story suffers the most, as the characters are far less interesting the crux of the plot considerably less epic and the narrative consistency of the world has fallen by the wayside. The inventory interface is terrible the DLC invalidates the need for any equipment for the first act and the dialog tree is irrelevant.A good stand alone game, but doesn't live up to Dragon Age Origins. The story suffers the most, as the characters are far less interesting the crux of the plot considerably less epic and the narrative consistency of the world has fallen by the wayside. The inventory interface is terrible the DLC invalidates the need for any equipment for the first act and the dialog tree is irrelevant. It's still worth buying, but only after the price has dropped a little.… Expand
  70. Eldadin
    May 17, 2011
    6
    Good Rpg but not great like Dragon Age: Origins was.
    Few locations, poor customization for companions, too short but good story plot.
    I've finished and un-installed it......
  71. Hun73rdk
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    The copy paste RPB of the decade everything in the game is the same copy paste the mines a all the same the caves a all the same and the areas around the city a all the same, armor only have diffrent colors.

    Im having trouble playing for more than 10 min at the time before getting bored This game is dumbed down to console players with no brains at all You can sit and watch a movie just    The copy paste RPB of the decade everything in the game is the same copy paste the mines a all the same the caves a all the same and the areas around the city a all the same, armor only have diffrent colors.

    Im having trouble playing for more than 10 min at the time before getting bored
    This game is dumbed down to console players with no brains at all

    You can sit and watch a movie just pressing R and still win a battle    … Expand
  72. affewaffe
    Mar 22, 2011
    1
    Refrain from buying this game if you have any expectations. While the game is not a complete disaster when regarded as a standalone game, you will get disappointed if you want to play it because you liked Dragon Age: Origins. Basically it is just a thumbed down, simplified version of its predecessor.

    My rating is not only game related, but mostly Biowares fault. While I would give the    Refrain from buying this game if you have any expectations. While the game is not a complete disaster when regarded as a standalone game, you will get disappointed if you want to play it because you liked Dragon Age: Origins. Basically it is just a thumbed down, simplified version of its predecessor.

    My rating is not only game related, but mostly Biowares fault. While I would give the game a 4-5/10, Biowares extreme failure forces me to make it 1/10. How can a gaming company even dare to censor people opinions about the game in their forums, having workers write ridiculous hymns of praise on metacritic and paying major magazines money to give outrageous scores? Just refrain from buying Bioware products if you can avoid it. Don't support companys with such low ethical standards until they feel the consequences. This is the only way to hurt them for deceiving people in such a shameful, pathetic way. Greedy bastards.

    But now to the game, which I played to the end. DA2 had 18 Months of development time, while DA:O took about five years. This manifests throughout the game which looks nice in the beginning, but lacks quality the longer you run around doing mindless, uninnovative quests. The combat system itself is fun at first but gets annoying due to it repetitiveness and unfair spawn system. A typical mission looks like this: Go to a cave, do x, collect y. Encounter enemies which spawn in weird waves that make no sense at all. When you run into the middle of a room you can be sure that enemies spawn right around you and the first thing you have to do in every fight is moving your fragile casters around the place and kite monsters so they don't die. Monsters are killed, many more enemies spawn for an unknown reason (couldn't they just be there from start) right in your casters again. Repeat kiting. Expect this to happen in 95% of all fights. And why do monsters suddenly spawn in hordes when there was not the slightest sign of enemies seconds before the encounter? Challenge in the fights come from unfair mechanics like hordes of monsters spawning in your ranged characters. This was so annoying, I can't put enough emphasis on it. Boss fights suck. On higher difficulties they are next to impossible due to near infinite health rather than intelligent design. You will do the same few button combinations for half an hour if you decide to fight that dragon/random other boss on hard difficulties. Often the result is endless kiting until the boss is finally dead - not worth it. A really sad game mechanic for a hyped 2011 game but probably the only possible outcome for a game which is rushed to make more money from the franchise.

    Next annoying thing is the game recycling as you advance through the game. While the main city Kirkwall and 4 locations outside of the city are not too shabby at first, EXPECT TO SEE THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE WHOLE GAME. EXPECT INSIDE LOCATIONS TO BE SEEN DOZENS OF TIMES WITH DIFFERENT ENEMIES. Every house, every dungeon, every cave is used multiple times. Seriously, there is no excuse for this in any way. Next thing are shallow companions inculding a crappy dialogue system. Low friendship/romance options are usually maxed out by pressing the "friendly" or "heart" answer 3-4 times. Clicking through the choices couldn't be simpler and has really nothing to do with role playing. Random pirate **** which offers sex to you the minute you talk to her, eerie looking elves on crack and other rather uninteresting characters you can have fight along your side.

    The storyline is another failure, since there is NONE. You flee from darkspawn to Kirkwall and try to become a champion there, which you are later on by collecting generic herbs, fighting some bad boys and rescuing maidens. There is no real mainplot which guides you through the game, generally you don't have a clue what to do next or what happens, since you will start running from one questmarker to another. At a certain point I didn't even bother to read quest texts anymore but rather collected the exp from certain generic, really, really, boring sidequests. This game is tricky though, at first it made me think "Aww.. what a bunch of haters, the game is not too bad. Nice fighting, decent graphics." But then you realize more and more that the hate has a foundation. The foundation is bad game design which can hardly be considered standard in a 2011 AAA+ game. Basically you end up running around in the same textures over and over again, slaying the same models of enemies over and over again as you advance through the three acts in the game. I also did not like the unlogical choices you are forced to make later on, but this is rather my personal taste on the story, which I found really awful.

    Do not buy this game if you are searching for a good role-playing game.    … Expand
  73. n0ein
    Mar 22, 2011
    5
    I was a huge fan of Dragon Age Origins, so naturally I was really looking forward to this game. Unfortunately, like so many before me I was left disappointed. My biggest complaint would have to be the recycled environments. I can forgive Bioware for using the same city and surrounding areas due to the fact that the whole story takes place in Kirkwall, but when I'm forced to fight throughI was a huge fan of Dragon Age Origins, so naturally I was really looking forward to this game. Unfortunately, like so many before me I was left disappointed. My biggest complaint would have to be the recycled environments. I can forgive Bioware for using the same city and surrounding areas due to the fact that the whole story takes place in Kirkwall, but when I'm forced to fight through the same few dungeons (it's still the same dungeon no matter how many paths you block or open up) and explore the same homes over and over again I just can't help but wonder if they really thought their fanbase would be okay with this. I'm also not very fond of the multiple waves of enemies. I don't mind big battles, but it just seems a bit stupid when the second waves always just sort of materialize out of nowhere. I could go on and on about my problems with this game (voiced protagonist, dumbed down rpg mechanics, weaker writing, etc.) but I'll end this on a happier note. Despite everything mentioned above, this still feels like a Dragon Age game. The story (although a little weak) kept me interested enough to finish the game and a few of the characters actually grew on me. Overall this is a disappointing game, however there are still enough positive aspects about it for it to not be a complete waste of money. Just a minor one.… Expand
  74. flynch
    Apr 3, 2011
    1
    It's just an action console game, not an rpg like its predecessor. And its a bad console game. The fights are repetitive, the abilities tree is really simple , and the story isnt epic at all.
  75. salarus
    Apr 1, 2011
    3
    Awful...I thought the user reviews might be a bit off, so I took a chance. After loving the first game so much I can now see why everyone says this is just horribly bad. I will not go into all the problems with the game as they have been explained over and over...but I'll just say that Bioware has completely done themselves a disservice by completely removing the challenge and strategicAwful...I thought the user reviews might be a bit off, so I took a chance. After loving the first game so much I can now see why everyone says this is just horribly bad. I will not go into all the problems with the game as they have been explained over and over...but I'll just say that Bioware has completely done themselves a disservice by completely removing the challenge and strategic combat of the first game. Just plain awful from story to combat...how disappointing indeed.… Expand
  76. Drissit
    Mar 13, 2011
    6
    Heres a Realistic review from someone who played the game on mostly nightmare/hard difficulty so didn't suffer from the 'button mashing' hack and slash crap people claim it to be, but it simply isn't . The Dialog is somewhat drastically dumbed down from the first, you can only be a goodie goodie, a clown who doesn't take **** anything serious, or an ass, there is no in between like theHeres a Realistic review from someone who played the game on mostly nightmare/hard difficulty so didn't suffer from the 'button mashing' hack and slash crap people claim it to be, but it simply isn't . The Dialog is somewhat drastically dumbed down from the first, you can only be a goodie goodie, a clown who doesn't take **** anything serious, or an ass, there is no in between like the first, i.e. it adopted mass effects slightly less than interesting dialog system bioware seem to love so much. The combat on hard and nightmare is NOT a hack and slash, on nightmare EVERY single encounter has to be micro managed or you will die, on hard all minor encounters can be done with minor micro management but all bosses require full micro management again, the combat is much improved to DAO, its far less sluggish and much more fluid so its a definite plus, DAO itself was just a tedious slow hack and slash on normal/easy anyways so to claim different is stupid. The plot is quite a bit weaker than the previous one, there doesn't seem to be much of an overall plot to the story and it seems second rate from what I would compare to most Bioware games and this looses it major points in my book, for the most part it was very generic and sometimes boring and predictable. The inventory system is dumbed down as in its mostly only about your character now, but honestly thats personal preference, I liked it much more than I disliked it, as it removed a lot of the tediousness from DAO. Graphically, in some cases its improved upon over the original, in others its just bad, the constant reuse of the same bland generic 'block' city really made it get tedious at some points and they reuse the same 20 or so areas over and over and over and over and over, until your eyes feel like they are bleeding. Its not a horrible game, I did however enjoy origins more, but the combat in this was definatly an improvement, just it is a total hack and slash on normal/easy no other way to put it, if you want a true tactical RPG experiance you have to play Nightmare/Hard. I give it a 6/10, some improvement, a lot of dis improvement from the original in other area's of gameplay… Expand
  77. Zokjin
    Mar 14, 2011
    6
    My main gripes with this game are the combat system, the recycled environments and the lack of choice. I don't mind the flashy new feel of the combat, but the enemies-popping-out-of-thin-air -system is cheap and underwhelming. In my mind an RPG is supposed to promote game play where positioning and tactics play a major role. This was possible in DA:O since the enemies you saw where theMy main gripes with this game are the combat system, the recycled environments and the lack of choice. I don't mind the flashy new feel of the combat, but the enemies-popping-out-of-thin-air -system is cheap and underwhelming. In my mind an RPG is supposed to promote game play where positioning and tactics play a major role. This was possible in DA:O since the enemies you saw where the ones you were going to fight but now reinforcements pop out of no where blowing tactics out of the water. One might argue that it's there to crank the difficulty up, but that's just wrong. There are many ways to make a game more difficult which are not as cheap as this. DA:O was plenty difficult on the hardest difficulty without this system.

    Lets get to the recycled environments. I don't mind having to visit the same place a few times, but when you have 3 templates for a building interior which are used for 20 different buildings it gets old and fast. Same goes for caves etc.

    This game also lacks one of the most important aspects of RPG's, actual choices that affect what happens in the world. There are some minor things you can decide on, but nothing that truly affects the world around you. You can solve a situation a few different ways but in the end the result is almost always the same.

    A lot of people seems to think the story is something horrible but I don't share that view. It's not a great story but it's also not a complete train wreck.

    There are a lot more flaws in this game like the VO acting which is done without emotion, uninteresting characters and bugs.

    Don't get me wrong, it's an OK game, but it feels very rushed. The sad thing is I know Bioware can do a lot better than this.    … Expand
  78. Seredine
    Mar 15, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First let me explain where my review comes from: I found Dragon Age: Origins by accident. My husband was playing it, it seemed interesting, as a bit World of Warcraft and Fable fan, I could get on board with the levelling up, gaining skills etc. On my first play through, within ten minutes, I was engrossed in the Dwarf Noble Origin- I screamed when my brother died and when my other brother turned against me, I swore at the screen and vowed vengeance. I play for the story, not so much for the combat. The character development and plot drives me, and DA:O had this in bucket fulls as well as giving me loads of room to create my own back story, present stories (what's happening in camp etc) and future happenings of my Grey Warden. The same, however, cannot be said for DA2. I tried to view it away from Origins, I tried to judge it withot bias, even though I knew the changes were happening - I tried to avoid all spoilers and even avoided the demo. I wish I hadn't. People say not to compare it to DAO, but it's a Dragon Age Game, it's the same franchise, it even has the number 2 after the title, so yeah, people ARE going to compare it. So compared to DAO the whole game just feels shallow and empty. There is no big bad guy that's pressing you to complete tasks, that's urging your game play forward. DAO allowed me to feel that if I moved away from my PC when I came back the Darkspawn would have overrun Ferelden and all would be lost! DA2 makes me feel that I can go away and never come back and everything will still be the same.
    Below is a lit of things that I want to pass comment on.
    * INTERFACE is pretty looking and very sleek. However, I don't like the positioning. Minor personal thing.
    * COMBAT ANIMATIONS I'm a 29 year old woman, not a 14 year old boy. Really, the flashy kicks and the exploding mannequins just took the p***. Bodies just don't explode when you stab them, nor do their heads and limbs fall to the ground like broken mannequins. It's a game aimed at the 'Mature' market, not 'Teen'. COMBAT itself is tedious. I fight a group and I go phew!... then suddenly there's freaking ninja style drop down waves of MORE bad guys to fight... really? I have to go through the same fight THREE times before I can go on? Bored now. Especially as I DON'T CARE about combat in a RPG game. I'm playing a role, a character, I'm building a story. Sure I want to cut the bad guys down, but c'mon!
    * AREAS - repetitive, boring and dull looking. I liked the day/night switches though, but I miss being able to jump to the 'World' map tho.
    * DIALOGUE - UGH. The wheel needs to go. NOW. Voice Acting needs to shush. The Actor was good, she did well, but I felt I was watching someone else play, instead of me. Hawke never feels mine.
    * ARMOUR - like that you can hide helm, don't like that armour is not customisable. * ROMANCES / COMPANIONS. This is one area that interests me the most. I LOVED the different companions that DAO provided. They all stood out, all had their own personalities, all added a little something to the story. I felt connections with them - with DA2 it seems that you're TOLD you have relationships with them once you've met them. I romanced a certain mage, who told me in Act 2 that for three years he had lain awake each night aching for me... REALLY??? I told you you were handsome, but other than that, I really haven't spoken with you - 'cept in quests. The romances in Origins made you work for them. You had to say the right thing, you had to stroke their ego a bit, you had to listen to their stories, enquire, and learn about them. This is just a quick fix. On the COMPANION front, the banter is good as we're walking around, you tend to learn more about them from that than you do from talking to them. It's more a we're TELLING you what's happening instead of SHOWING you. However, VARRIC - I want him in my life full time. I had him at my side the whole way. The only other character I enjoyed hearing the story of was Aveline, which surprised me as I didn't think I'd like her. I felt disconnected with the rest, even my sister - she was apparently my best friend, but I didn't KNOW her. Also I miss the 'accidental', sometimes awkward, talks. I HATE running to a home for a chat.
    * STORY - ahhh the big one; the thing you watch a movie for, a reason you read a book, the whole point of my playing a game. To me Story is the most important element of a game. After the first 20hrs of playing I still didn't really know where the game was going; I just had to get enough cash to go to the Deep Roads on an expedition that lasted about an hour of game play, if that. By hour 35 I have completely lost interest in WHY I am playing this and I ended up closing down and restarting Origins. I will finish DA2 some day, but it won't be any time soon.
    TLDR? Overall a 5 - lots to do in game, but no REAL point to it so far.    … Expand
  79. Brenbenn
    Mar 15, 2011
    5
    What killed the game for me was the heavy re-use of area layouts. I'm all for re-using the same textures when generating area's of minor importance but to use exact mirror images of area's constantly is just down right criminal in a triple A title. Towards the end of chapter 2 and in chapter 3 I started to miss out on crafting components and codex entries because I was just over going toWhat killed the game for me was the heavy re-use of area layouts. I'm all for re-using the same textures when generating area's of minor importance but to use exact mirror images of area's constantly is just down right criminal in a triple A title. Towards the end of chapter 2 and in chapter 3 I started to miss out on crafting components and codex entries because I was just over going to check out 'hidden cave number 3' that looked not only the same as hidden caves 1 and 2 but also other area's in the game i'd already been through multiple times. Wish i'd kept count of how many times I had to revisit sundermount and it's two caves that are the same anyway for example.

    I can live with less companion customization, I can deal with the romances being disjointed due to time elapses, hell I can even deal with the fact that none of my decision really effect the gameplay in any real way but to only have a very limited number of area's in the game to begin with and then just re-use them over and over... unforgivable. If this was a vast sprawling world I'd happily accept it but if you sat down and tallied up all the area's and caves in the game the percentage of overlapped content is depressing.

    As for positives I liked the skill tree layout, I found that to be an improvement. Combat was a little more refined, though the leaps in difficulty on some of the fights was a bit weird (if you can call just throwing more waves of enemies that appear out of no where or huge boss hp pools with easy to avoid mechanics difficulty of course). Some of the random companion interaction could be amusing, personally it fell short of the DA:O interaction but others surely would disagree which is fine, personal opinion there.

    To sum up DA2, when I finished DA:O I immediately through myself into my next playthrough to see what else there was to explore. When I finished DA2 I tried to replay playing a more evil persona and couldn't even force myself to get past the 20 minute mark. Where as parts of my first play through felt like a chore due to the issues I mentioned above, every part of my second playthrough has felt that way.

    Maybe it's because I fall into the catagory that has been playing rpg's for a very long time (as opposed to those who just jump on message boards and say they have to try to get credibility) and if a game doesn't have enough innovation it doesn't impress me or maybe DA2 is just lacking in general. Either of these factors could potentially modify my score, I can't rightly say to be honest. All I can say is at the Dragon Age 2 did not leave me with a feeling that i'd played an enjoyable game at the ending credits.    … Expand
  80. joejoejoe
    Mar 16, 2011
    5
    I'm kinda split here. The negative aspects cannot be ignored, and the actual price paid per hour entertained, cannot be ignored. I think I reached about ten hours playtime in the game before I started feeling really cheated. After this point it became less and less fun and the recycled stuff became more and more annoying. I wouldn't necessarily consider it straight ten hours of playI'm kinda split here. The negative aspects cannot be ignored, and the actual price paid per hour entertained, cannot be ignored. I think I reached about ten hours playtime in the game before I started feeling really cheated. After this point it became less and less fun and the recycled stuff became more and more annoying. I wouldn't necessarily consider it straight ten hours of play time either due to abundant cut-scenes and what felt like a walking noncombat pace to go here then there.

    So about $6 per hour of entertainment. I could pay $8 for a 2 hour movie ticket, this game can be compared to a slightly interactive movie...

    Negative points: 1) Limited mob diversity. This includes AI. The AI for Assassins across the few mob types, undead, templar, insert faction here... are all the same. This shows with Undead popping healing pots. I bet all the archers and the ranged spiders have the exact AI/Abilities too. 2) Almost all mobs have previously been created and produced for a previous title(this compounds point1, why not finish the duplication you already started?). 3)Constant reuse of maps(I should have asked how many DVD's it took to install before purchase). I think the very first map in the prelude is even partially copied for the Wounded Coast map. Caves are done over and over with the same mini-map on your radar(even though some passages are blocked), even the spawn triggers are in the same locations(So fail). 4)Crazy player interrupts. Fight a mini-boss/boss that takes a larger area than you can see or hit and this gets worse. You will stumble and get interrupted if the Dragon walks next to you. Don't forget about getting stun locked into an invisible wall in that reused cave map. I'd also like to add that I noticed quite a bit of Dragon Effect 3. Watching some of the interaction with the characters looked exactly like the model movements in ME2. A lot of the character models felt very ME2ish, not just the male Hawke and human male Shepard. Don't see it yet? Order a drink at the hanged man and then take Shepard for a drink somewhere, same exact interaction/body movement. I understand the whole concept of not reinventing the wheel. But you don't want that to visually creep into totally unrelated titles. With the amount of copy pasta in this game(AAA title I might add), the developers fail IMHO, because it should have been out at least six months sooner. Or I guess the blame could be put on the tracers, I mean artists. I'm feeling quite lazy so I'm not gonna list the positive points in my review, and there are some. Like EA/Bioware I'm not gonna finish what I started/promised. Too bad I can't make large profits from duplicated-half-finished reviews. I will finish by informing reviewers that said something in the effect of: "Revel, savour and bask in the brilliance; this is a game that no gamer can afford to ignore. Everything here is bigger, better, brighter, faster, longer, sicker, cooler than the series has ever been before" You can find your check in the corner of the round room, but first bend over real quick. And metacritic here's to you stripping all my newlines from 3.277k characters to create a wonderful wall of text for everyone not to read.

    tl;dr Metacritic gets a critic.    … Expand
  81. Jos6969
    Mar 18, 2011
    5
    Copy/Pasted dungeons and building interiors : Check
    Inability to customize companion armor : Check
    Very limited companion interaction : Check Uninteresting protagonist : Check Less than half the abilities/spells compared to its predecessor : Check Lack of tactical combat : Check Mediocre storyline : Check Boring side quests inserted into the title for the sole purpose of increasing the    Copy/Pasted dungeons and building interiors : Check
    Inability to customize companion armor : Check
    Very limited companion interaction : Check
    Uninteresting protagonist : Check
    Less than half the abilities/spells compared to its predecessor : Check
    Lack of tactical combat : Check
    Mediocre storyline : Check
    Boring side quests inserted into the title for the sole purpose of increasing the playtime: Check

    To sum all the above up, Bioware going down in flames : Check

    I had high hopes for this title and I really thought that it would improve as I continued to play the game. I was bored from the start, but instead of writing a scathing review after just 10 hours of play I decided to give the game a chance and played the game to completion before writing this review. At times during the game play experience I found that I was trying to force myself to enjoy it. The game really does feel incomplete and buggy at times and never truly draws the player into its world. I loved Dragon Age : Origins despite its few flaws and I was hoping that this game would improve upon that winning formula, instead of taking one step forward it seems that Bioware has taken 2 steps back with this title.

    Bioware and/or EA were not generous enough to give this product the extra year of development that it probably required, so I'll be generous and give it a 5 out of 10 score which is more than it deserves.    … Expand
  82. gfunk1369
    Mar 19, 2011
    5
    Okay, let me preface this by saying that i am not one to prescribe to the mob mentality of trolling video game forums and dumping heaps of praise/criticism on games unnecessarily. I understand that video games, like most things, are subjective and may appeal to some but not all. However, i feel overwhelmingly compelled to point out the flaws in this title, because of the depressingOkay, let me preface this by saying that i am not one to prescribe to the mob mentality of trolling video game forums and dumping heaps of praise/criticism on games unnecessarily. I understand that video games, like most things, are subjective and may appeal to some but not all. However, i feel overwhelmingly compelled to point out the flaws in this title, because of the depressing trend of the "consolization" of the big AAA releases, to the point that finding quality PC titles yields as much fruit as searching for unicorns. What makes this bastardization of a title so much more rage inducing is that the original dragon age was a game which harken back to the roots of PC rpg's and offered an epic story strategic gameplay and a level of complexity that was engrossing and satisfying. This is not a true sequel as much as it is an unveiled attempt to draw more people into the game by delivering dragon origins "light'. To call this game an utter crap storm, might be a bit excessive, yet that is the feeling i got when i played the first ten or so hours of the game. I really hate this game, but not because it is a bad game. On its own, played on a console, it would be an awesome experience. However, it should not be the sequel to what was one of the strongest pc releases of the last decade, when it is in fact as step back. My point in writing this little tirade, is to add more voices to the growing mass of pc gamers becoming frustrated with the iterative releases of FPS like COD:BLOPS and the horrible ports of console games to PC. I am sick and tired of the graphical enhancement, and innovation possible on PC's being hamstrung and tired needlessly to the 5 year old and aging consoles. I want a game that is not cognizant of the limitations of consoles and designs a game with them and mind and only later attempts to sling the crap together to release it on PC. That is why i took this game back to gamestop got my money back and preordered the witcher II. That is a PC game and is an example of what a PC game should look and feel like. So while dragon age 2 is not a bad game it is not the game that DAO was and anyone looking for a similiarly satisfying experience should look elsewhere. console = 8 PC = 5… Expand
  83. Randomfart
    Mar 20, 2011
    1
    A dumbed down experience. Hack and slash combat, cluncky graphics, recycled enviroments bad pacing, boring storyline, bad dialog and companions. All the naysayers have been right since day one, this game has not been made with the spirit of an rpg and it's an insult to what Bioware used to be.
  84. thebaby69
    Mar 20, 2011
    1
    Really awful game. Most of the game has you doing low-effort quests in the same quest hub, fighting battles full of constantly spawning waves of garbage enemies that require no thought to defeat. The writing is terrible. All of the companions are written terribly as is BioWare's forte. Almost nothing you do ever seems to matter in the end. They don't even try to hide that the templar areReally awful game. Most of the game has you doing low-effort quests in the same quest hub, fighting battles full of constantly spawning waves of garbage enemies that require no thought to defeat. The writing is terrible. All of the companions are written terribly as is BioWare's forte. Almost nothing you do ever seems to matter in the end. They don't even try to hide that the templar are Nazis.

    Completely forgettable.    … Expand
  85. Torque
    Mar 22, 2011
    1
    Awful game. Some console slasher, no strategy, only mashing buttons. 0 as the whole game is. No story line, no memorable characters, only ONE location for all game, awful quests, degraded inventory (why i can change my companions armor?). This game was made as a quick money making mashine. I was your fan bioware sins first Never winter. But today i lost all hope in you.
  86. Nigatsu
    Mar 31, 2011
    5
    I am so flabbergasted, that I have no clue what to write about this game. The first Dragon Age is probably in my top 5 of all time, so this had a lot to live up to; and seeing BioWare as the company behind it, who was I to predict a disappointment? They've proven, with Mass Effect 2, that they can do sequels. And not just "sequels", but sequels that, in my opinion, outdo theirI am so flabbergasted, that I have no clue what to write about this game. The first Dragon Age is probably in my top 5 of all time, so this had a lot to live up to; and seeing BioWare as the company behind it, who was I to predict a disappointment? They've proven, with Mass Effect 2, that they can do sequels. And not just "sequels", but sequels that, in my opinion, outdo their predecessors.

    Sure, the combat is now much more fun and responsive this time around, but that's about the only thing they've changed for the better. Where is the well-written dialogue with the companions? Much of my time spent in Dragon Age: Origins, was spent exploring the past and the future of my fellow companions, yet here I only get to visit their homes twice during the course of the entire game, leaving many personalities woefully unexplored.

    And where are the compelling characters? In Origins, we had a wide array of interesting personas, yet here we have only a couple of memorable people - most of which I'll probably forget, 'less I force myself through more plays. Fenris was one of the first companions I got, yet he was still a complete stranger to me in the end; I knew nothing about him or his wants or anything - except his tunnelvisioned hatred of mages. The romances don't work at all. After trying to flirt around with Isabela, over the course of what must be seven or so years in the games time, I finally get to bed her. Twenty minutes later, she tries to bed a cameo from Origins. What the heck? Talk about a lousy pay-off, immediately making me regret ever trying to sweet-talk her.

    The characters aren't as complex and compelling as in Origins (or any other Bioware-title). An example is Meredith, who's presumably the big bad: she hates mages. Why? Because that's what templars do, and she's a templar. We're not really given any reasons why she carries this extreme hatred, but alas. Compare her to Loghain, who wasn't even the main evil force of Origins: a haunted war-hero, standing up against a dynasty he saw as everything he fought against in his days of glory. He had an understandable motivation that we, as players, could understand, yet still find appaling. Meredith in contrast is just a McGuffaw-carrying evil force. To think this is the same developers/writers that gave us Garrus, Mordin, Jack, Tali, Morrigan, Sten, Leliana, Minsc, Jaheira and Jon Irenicus is just mindbaffling beyond belief.

    And don't get me started on the recycling. You'll run through exact replicas of boring mountainous-cave-with-paths-randomly-blocked and earthy-tunnel tens of times in the course of the game. Clearly a sign of this game being rushed to the shelves. Also, all combat-encounters will have you swarmed with enemies randomly teleporting in or rapelling down building, completely making you disregard what could otherwise have been a good revamp of the combat-system. Kirkwall is a really desolate and lifeless city, yet whenever combat is near, you're suddenly swarmed by thirty bad-guys - and after that, sixty more.

    Is it a horrible game? Not at all, but it's treading around so far below what it should/could/would have been that it's a travesty and a major disappointment. To consider it's the same company that made the masterpieces of Baldur's Gate 2 and Mass Effect 2, can't do anything but leave you completely dumbfounded. What happened, Bioware? You used to be the pinnacle of the great gaming industry, but now you've rushed out an unpolished turd.

    This single game has made me decide not to pre-order Mass Effect 3, for fear of it being just as unpolished a game as this - and I likely won't buy Dragon Age 3 (did I mention that this ends in a **** cliffhanger?) if it's met with the same scorn as this installment of the series. Bioware singlehandedly ruined my blind love and trust for them in one sweep, and it's one I doubt they'll be able to reclaim anytime soon.

    Final words: Go play The Witcher, Baldur's Gate 2, Mass Effect 1+2, or hell, even replay Origins instead of buying this. Don't trust the obviously paid shiny reviews.    … Expand
  87. FRancium34
    Jun 8, 2011
    6
    Would be a 7 or 7.5 if not for the huge drop-off from Dragon Age 1. Story--7. It focuses on the conflicted hinted at in the first game. Some of your decisions will carry on to future quests, but not nearly enough influence in the end. My defense for this is that the developers clearly have a trilogy in mind, so the 2nd one has to end the way they designed. But yes that's extremelyWould be a 7 or 7.5 if not for the huge drop-off from Dragon Age 1. Story--7. It focuses on the conflicted hinted at in the first game. Some of your decisions will carry on to future quests, but not nearly enough influence in the end. My defense for this is that the developers clearly have a trilogy in mind, so the 2nd one has to end the way they designed. But yes that's extremely frustrating, giving the feeling that all your decisions and effort was worthless. Hey, that's life sometimes. Character interactions--9. Banter in your group is fully voiced, and really lets the character jump out. It was also fulfilling to see some of the old characters from the first game make an appearance, some quite important. Graphics--8. I couldn't run it high or on D11, but it was a significant improvement on the original. Exploration--3. The killer for a lot of players. Dungeons were reused over and over again, unacceptable for such a big name release. When freely roaming the areas, NPCs and environment felt less interactive.Combat and talents--8. Solid, every character, even ones of same profession, felt different enough and close to character.

    All in all, the game is entertaining and has its moments. However, it fails as an RPG, and it doesn't deserve to stand beside the original Dragon Age. Sure glad I didn't pre-order this!    … Expand
  88. miller
    Jun 18, 2011
    5
    Dragon Age Origins had its number of flaws. One would expect that these flaws are reduced/removed in its sequel. This is not the case. Most of these flaws are still present in Dragon Age 2, including new ones which Bioware labelled as "innovative ideas". One of these "innovative ideas" is the new story structure. The story of Dragon Age 2 is told in a frame narrative. This might have beenDragon Age Origins had its number of flaws. One would expect that these flaws are reduced/removed in its sequel. This is not the case. Most of these flaws are still present in Dragon Age 2, including new ones which Bioware labelled as "innovative ideas". One of these "innovative ideas" is the new story structure. The story of Dragon Age 2 is told in a frame narrative. This might have been a good feature, if it was implemented correctly. The primary and mostly only reason Bioware uses a frame narrative is to rationalize the time-skip which happens during the game. Another "innovative idea" is to confine the player to a single city called Kirkwall. This city is split up into several areas, which can be accessed through fast travel on a "world" map. The areas aren't connected directly, thus the city feels like a small place. The city is too clean and empty. There is supposed to be a refugee crisis, yet there are almost no refugees in the streets. The game spans 10 years and Kirkwall never changes. There are certain NPCs which stand around in the same spot, spouting the same stuff for years. This is immersion breaking. Here is what I expect from a city, which basically is the whole game world: A huge free-roaming and lively place, which features a dynamic day and night cycle with tons of NPCs who have a daily schedule. This city should change dramatically over the course of the game. Now let me get to the next flaw of Dragon Age 2: Reused environments. This problem was already present in Dragon Age Origins to some extent. The developers have outdone themselves with Dragon Age 2. Caves, warehouses, back alleys are being blatantly copy/pasted throughout the game. This problem is even more grave, considering the small game world. Combat: The combat system is more action-packed. Enemies spawn out of nowhere. You kill a group of enemies and another wave of enemies appears, it is dull and repetitive. Dialog: The conversation system has been imported from Mass Effect. You are reduced to good, evil and humorous answers, instead of a large number of responses that weren't black and white in Dragon Age Origins. Clearly a step back compared to DAO. Party: You can use up to 3 party members. The problem is, that you can only change the equipment of the main character and not that of your party members. If there are party members in a RPG, then I expect to have full equipment control over them. Graphics: The graphics are a mixed bag. Bioware should consider licensing a game engine (e.g. Mass Effect series), instead of using their own game engine. Sound: Nice score and good voice work. Violence and Sexual content: The blood and gore content has been increased compared to DAO (exploding enemies, even more blood on your characters after a battle) the sexual content is still on the usual Bioware-underwear-sex level. Bioware could learn a thing from CD Projekt's (e.g. The Witcher 2) approach to sex in video games. Conclusion: Dragon Age 2 turns out to be a mediocre game, due to the number of flaws. The reason for most of these flaws is probably a short development cycle and "new innovative ideas", which were included to appeal to a wider audience.… Expand
  89. Afreemanuk
    Jul 31, 2011
    0
    This proves to me that the "Critics" dont actually know what they are talking about. This was supposed to be one of the best sequal titles to come from Bioware / EA and sadly it wasnt even close to being anywhere near as good as Dragon Age: Origins.

    I love bioware, i think they are a fantasic RPG company and have great games under their belt but they dropped the ball with this sequal    This proves to me that the "Critics" dont actually know what they are talking about. This was supposed to be one of the best sequal titles to come from Bioware / EA and sadly it wasnt even close to being anywhere near as good as Dragon Age: Origins.

    I love bioware, i think they are a fantasic RPG company and have great games under their belt but they dropped the ball with this sequal bigtime.

    There is nothing positive to say about this title, its simply one of the worst games ever made, one of the worst sequals to one of the best selling and biggest epic RPGs of all time and thirdly one of the biggest wastes of time any production team has spent on.

    There is nothing good about this game, the graphics are substandard compared to the first game, even if you download there "Hi-res" pack it still looks about 6 years old in terms of modern day graphics. The voice acting is terrible really terrible. But thats not the worst part. The worst part is the combat. Yes in DA:1 the combat was pretty basic but you had to be smart, tacticicly outwit your foe and try to survive as well as take them out. But in DA:2 that dont happen unless you play it on easy , then every battle is tedious your cool downs on your potions are too long, as are your healers spells and on top of that you fight wave after wave of bad guys that seem to just pop out of the floor. the boss battles are a laugh too. They have a silly amount of Hp and after 20 mins of hacking and slashing you find yourself pulling your hair out and looking for that 1 hit 1 kill cheat. The gear system is awful you cant even gear up your party members but have to search every vendor under the sun to find them "upgrades" or progress story with them to unlock certian benefits (utter nonsense). On top of that you have to travel to your compainons "base" to talk to them about something even if you are standing next to them you cant interact at all, unlike the freedoms of the first game. The menus are clunky the character development screens are poorly laid out and your ablites you get are laughable and barely make a difference in the fights, most of the time its 1 click kills with 1 or 2 spams of special attacks and you usually win....after about 20 mins.

    Its terrible. Bioware let there fans down here, themselves down and most of all, everyone hoping for a fantasic return to the world of DA, only to be stuck in a castle / town for the 30 odd hours of boring gameplay, and when it ends. Well lets just say it has the worst ending in video game history. They took a great game / series like DA and turned it into a laughing stock. Bioware better not make the same mistake with its other releases otherwise they will be knocked off there pedistal rather quickly.    … Expand
  90. Sunder_Prime
    Jul 31, 2011
    3
    If I want to be generous 3/10 is the maximum I could give this game. Ignoring its predecessor entirely, the game still fails to do what it says on the tin - the game is not immersive; you feel massively disconnected from the main character you create and, as such, from every event that takes place during the game. The graphics are unforgivable even with the PC patch from Bioware. TheIf I want to be generous 3/10 is the maximum I could give this game. Ignoring its predecessor entirely, the game still fails to do what it says on the tin - the game is not immersive; you feel massively disconnected from the main character you create and, as such, from every event that takes place during the game. The graphics are unforgivable even with the PC patch from Bioware. The controls remove strategy altogether and leave PC gamers with a repeatative and boring experience for the sake of Xbox player experience. The few events that wound have tied you to the character are not seen and are often referenced in past tense, happening off-camera, removed to get you right back into running around the same dungeons and cityscape over and over and over again with little to no feeling of accomplishment! Bioware has sacrificed a good idea, probably at the behest of EA and a developer who needs some sense beaten into him with a tree trunk, to create something that seems to only give the Xbox gamers any sense of a worthwhile experience - such a massive shame considering that PC gamers got Bioware off the ground and made them what they are. My biggest concern is that they listen to only the Xbox reviews and assume they've done well. They are steadily alienating their patrons and will soon find their figures dwindling as though someone dropped them off a sheer cliff if they dont get their act together. Funnily enough, CD Projeckt did what Bioware tried to do in the first 30mins of Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, except they did it right, completely immersing the player. If you have to know what happens in Dragon Age 2 then wait until it drops heavily in price! If you want an immersive RPG played the way gamers have come to expect RPGs to play, buy Witcher 2 - even at full price.… Expand
  91. Marou
    Sep 14, 2011
    4
    I have always enjoyed Bioware games...until the last couple of years. This game includes multiple 0-day DLC that are integrated obtrusively directly into the game. You will receive a quest, which will then ask you to give EA your credit card information to complete. The combat looks wonderful but is regrettably very shallow; enemies drop directly on top of your characters (spawn inI have always enjoyed Bioware games...until the last couple of years. This game includes multiple 0-day DLC that are integrated obtrusively directly into the game. You will receive a quest, which will then ask you to give EA your credit card information to complete. The combat looks wonderful but is regrettably very shallow; enemies drop directly on top of your characters (spawn in waves), making any types of strategic approach impossible. Hit and miss chances are not even calculated, taking "press a button and something awesome happens" to it's logical extreme. This has the unfortunate effect of making every fight a grueling battle of attrition that lasts quite a long time. The story leaves much to be desired; it's admirable that Bioware wanted to do a more personal story, rather than a grand epic. However, this sentiment falls flat on it's face in multiple ways. The first several hours of the game involves running around town and doing MMORPG style quests for random NPC's, this was very tedious and boring; and it took me quite a long time to build up the motivation to continue. Interactions with companion characters and NPC's are dumbed down into clearly marked categories. These seem to be Goody-Goody, Smartass, and Evil. Many NPC's can't be interacted with at all, and spout one line of dialogue when clicked on. This is by far the majority of the NPC characters in the world, and it's very reminiscent of SNES era Japanese RPGs. The environment is very limited, and very often copy pasted. You will travel the same caves and interior rooms over and over. Optional content is very shallow, and while fully voiced always results in you killing people. As mentioned earlier, the quests over-all have a very MMORPG feel to them. I completed this game in 25 hours. Due to Bioware's decision to strip modding capability from this sequel, I will likely never play it again. I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone, there are much better things out there to spend your money on.… Expand
  92. smash_monsanto
    Oct 4, 2011
    4
    It isn't a really bad game. But compared with DAO, Kotor 1+2 or BG 1+2 it is completely useless. Just another milestone on biowares way down to become a casual game company.
  93. Lady_Chloe
    Nov 23, 2011
    2
    What is this? Oh yes, it is the latest greatest RPG - Dragon Age 2! WOW! That must be amazing, DX11 graphics, a successor to DA: Origins... what else can you hope for? I do not know if you can "hope" for this but you start a new game, are given a choice between a warrior, a mage and a rogue (OMG you can EVEN choose your sex!) and you are hurled into the game. Well, "game"... you are shownWhat is this? Oh yes, it is the latest greatest RPG - Dragon Age 2! WOW! That must be amazing, DX11 graphics, a successor to DA: Origins... what else can you hope for? I do not know if you can "hope" for this but you start a new game, are given a choice between a warrior, a mage and a rogue (OMG you can EVEN choose your sex!) and you are hurled into the game. Well, "game"... you are shown some weird videos and then an in-game scene with interrogration. Wha... INTERROGATION? AGAIN? Nooooooooo! No no no, this is a joke, right? Unfortunately, not. The guy in that chair is again reminiscing, talking in the same way like the guy in Battlefield - "yeah, I'm cool". Then you get bumped into the game.

    I will spare you lengthy descriptions of what can actually be ruined in an RPG. I will just sum it up - from a great RPG with a unique atmosphere, storytelling, dialogues... they just whipped up a terrible modern "action" RPG for consoles - for the masses. Characters talk like they are the "coolest guys" - yes, like the smart-ass you can run into everywhere these days. I do not even like my own character! Even her way of talking is irritating and the movement animations! OMG WHAT is that? I thought I would create a great elven sorceress (well elven, you cannot choose to be an elf in DA2 - and thank the Maker for that! Elves look disgusting in DA2!) but I am playing as a smart-ass modern city girl who is cosplaying as a mage. There goes the immersive experience... oh yes, just add some combo moves in DA3, will you? That will be PERFECT for the target audience.

    I forgot to say one thing. One more thing... the gorgeous DX11 graphics. The latest technology, it must look... in some places worse than Origins? Yes, I mean that. And the game is stuttering weirdly even though I am playing at "30 FPS". I guess there are 30 frames per second but nobody cares that two or three of them take 100ms to render (each)? Even the facial generation system was apparently rewritten because I am not able to create such a beauty like in Origins. Basically - beauty is nowhere to be found in DA2 and you are lucky when you manage to create an acceptable face (as long as you do not look at your character's head from the side).

    If I take DA2 as a mindless waste of time then yes, it is usable for that purpose. But as a great role playing experience, it fails miserably.    … Expand
  94. amateurExpert
    Jan 4, 2012
    2
    This is a major let down and insult to the Dragon Age fans, solely made to make a quick buck by abusing fan base trust and expectations hold in a sequel to a great game.
    Usually a sequel builds on its predecessor making it better and bigger, DA2 does the exact opposite.
    Less races, less choices, less story, smaller world, less environment less depth, shorter production time etc. What can i    This is a major let down and insult to the Dragon Age fans, solely made to make a quick buck by abusing fan base trust and expectations hold in a sequel to a great game.
    Usually a sequel builds on its predecessor making it better and bigger, DA2 does the exact opposite.
    Less races, less choices, less story, smaller world, less environment less depth, shorter production time etc.
    What can i say, they did a sloppy short production sequel to milk money from trusting fans and used pre purchases to succeed in this SCAM.
    Never again will i buy anything from these crooks without testing it.
    Also they bought off the corrupted game reviewers who gave ridiculously high scores to this abomination.    … Expand
  95. Zarmi
    Oct 8, 2011
    3
    Dragon Age II is like taking everything that made Dragon Age: Origins good, strip it away, add a mediocre mainstreamed gameplay with repetitive actions and environment, a story where your choices doesn't affect the outcome at all and the most boring overall game I have played in a long time. Yes, the combat is more action packed and flashy, but it ultimately is also a lot more boring,Dragon Age II is like taking everything that made Dragon Age: Origins good, strip it away, add a mediocre mainstreamed gameplay with repetitive actions and environment, a story where your choices doesn't affect the outcome at all and the most boring overall game I have played in a long time. Yes, the combat is more action packed and flashy, but it ultimately is also a lot more boring, because it stripped away the entire strategic element. I speak this after completing the game on Hard and not needing any sort of healer or crowd control at all. A simple combo of damage, damage, damage and damage was more than enough due to the fact you can easily set up group kills with the Disorients or Frozen, easing up the gameplay even further. The game, is bad, and I suggest buying Origins instead if you're new to the Dragon Age series.… Expand
  96. BlameBot
    Mar 22, 2011
    3
    Pros: Ambient music is nice and not intrusive. Voice acting, the characters are believable. The storyline is all right thus far. Some eyebrows raised at Aveline, but. The Qunari are excellently portrayed, even the physical changes seem right. Cons: The graphics are on par or worse than the original. The camera keeps shifting up, obscuring large portions of the field unless you use thePros: Ambient music is nice and not intrusive. Voice acting, the characters are believable. The storyline is all right thus far. Some eyebrows raised at Aveline, but. The Qunari are excellently portrayed, even the physical changes seem right. Cons: The graphics are on par or worse than the original. The camera keeps shifting up, obscuring large portions of the field unless you use the keyboard. Combat is way too quick, it allows little or no time for strategy or adjustments, it's usually over before you have time to implement them, anyway (it literally took about 10-12 hours before I had to use my first health potion.) The characters are way too far away, meaning you often have to squint to figure out what the hell you're doing. Sets are constantly recycled, even in the main storyline. I can understand side-quests, but you could have crapped out a level or two for the main line. And, the minimap does not accurately reflect the area. Bioware, seriously, what the hell were you thinking? Barely playable, definitely not worth $60. Dragon Age 2 was seriously rushed. Ten of these cons are easily fixable with a little time and beta testing. Didja skip a step? And, to the critics: What game were you playing, and or/smoking? I'll take both.… Expand
  97. ZZtop
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    This game SUX i tried to get my money back but i cant
  98. cnewton7
    Mar 16, 2011
    6
    This game starts out with well intentions. You are tasked to save your family from the incoming darkspawn, who would of thought that would of been the most epic moment in the game. From there you will see the same buildings caves and good ole beige kirkwall the rest of the game. now if we want to break down the game into factors like other reviewers i will so i won't get taken down forThis game starts out with well intentions. You are tasked to save your family from the incoming darkspawn, who would of thought that would of been the most epic moment in the game. From there you will see the same buildings caves and good ole beige kirkwall the rest of the game. now if we want to break down the game into factors like other reviewers i will so i won't get taken down for spam. I will be comparing this game to its predecessor.(although i probably should compare it to fable or god of war since thats the way this incarnation is set up.)
    Gameplay: this game is nothing but a Spam R fest on most difficulties while removing most if not all tactical aspects of the game with the inclusion of respawning enemies. not to mention the lack of decent specializations for most classes. Sound: 7/10 i think this is the one aspect of the game that was done well so i will not bag on them more than i have to.
    Graphics: Worse than the first game even with the Hi-Res pack explain that to me.
    Story: it was going fine throughout act 1, but after and during act 2 and 3 the game just lost me and the ending was very sub par. When you complete the main story most people including my self are sitting there reading the credits thinking this is it? this is my epic 10 year story to end like this?
    Replayability: With out Origins story i dont see this game being played much more than 1 or 2 playthroughs for most my self i didn't need more than 1 to know i was done with it.

    All in all buy the first game if you haven't bought it and were thinking of buying this one. If you already have the first one save your money for the witcher 2 or skyrim, and give DA:O another run through cause its clearly a superior product.    … Expand
  99. djekna
    Mar 20, 2011
    5
    I`m big fan or RPG games, hell big fan of Bioware but come on, OK lets start with graphic really great (compered with DA-O)but i don`t think it has more than few maps and who play RPG games for great visual, we play for story, making our character more and more better with next level, going trough lots of mission to get that perfect item, so at the end of the game we can see how ourI`m big fan or RPG games, hell big fan of Bioware but come on, OK lets start with graphic really great (compered with DA-O)but i don`t think it has more than few maps and who play RPG games for great visual, we play for story, making our character more and more better with next level, going trough lots of mission to get that perfect item, so at the end of the game we can see how our perfection look like. Fighting well big zero click this and yeee this explode click that and wow another explosion, story well i can dig it but this is part 2, the story should have been much better you have 3 dialog and that is it? come on i have finish 5 time allover ahead Dragon age origins just because of story, and now i play DA II i`m level 11 and still trying to find good reason for play(damn how a great commercial and reputation can make you feel stupid for paying 50 euro). Skills really you can chose what ever you want, trust me i`t going to look great when you click to use it and there it end it`s value , inventory well i like how they handled resource but that is it if you want to upgrade armor of your companion you need to look out trough all town just sad. Items also i don`t see some great innovation there, and what the f*ck is junk. if you liked first dragon age this one is going to be huge disappointment, really how it get that great critic review i don`t know, this is what it is a mediocrity game with nothing special, and please guys from game industry enough of DLC and promo item that we need to pay, make it free or don`t make it at allâ… Expand
  100. ruttunen
    Mar 19, 2011
    5
    Commander Hawkes incredible city runner

    When DA2 was announced I was afraid about the promised improvements also known as catering for the casual. But silly me I thought Bioware could not make a bad game. So I preordered the game anyway. After the rather irritating beginning with bland uninspiring atmosphere it was time to start the game. I was ready to be the hero as usual and my    Commander Hawkes incredible city runner

    When DA2 was announced I was afraid about the promised improvements also known as
    catering for the casual.

    But silly me I thought Bioware could not make a bad game. So I preordered the game anyway.
    After the rather irritating beginning with bland uninspiring atmosphere it was time to start the game.
    I was ready to be the hero as usual and my hero is always a chaotic good smooth talker.
    Well the first few hours flew by and I was feeling ok about the game.

    But then just after few hours the maps started to feel repetitive:
    - Wow the exactly same map again with just different doors locked is this really a different place in the city?

    Then I noticed that no matter what dialogue options I chose the end result was always pretty much the same. So that meant that I could not be the smooth talker my hero has always been , meaning I like to talk my way out of situations. Instead now I had situations like:
    I have to get past some thugs lets talk to them:
    - Option 1 : Positive reply
    - Option 2: Witty reply
    - Option 3: Slaughter the baddies

    Well no matter what I tried it always ended up in bloodbath suppose that the edgy and sexy part of the game when you are being forced to kill everything without option Yay...

    Then the combat , at fist I liked it , but then it got repetitive the combat required no tactics at normal , and little to none at hard until you met enemies that one shots you , talking about balancing difficulties.
    But the most ridiculous part was all the flashy moves and gore. I mean since when all the mages become some Ninja masters with their staffs? Since when has warrior in full plate been able slide across the room like he was on ice with jetpack?

    And the gore my god its silly. I stab you with a fork and you explode to gazillion pieces and splatter all your innards in the process I mean even bad splatter movies are more realistic. Another issue for me was the lack of real healing spec tree talents or pretty much anything. There was TWO yes TWO healing spells in the whole game and the extra one is on one of the followers. This means that bringing an healer to fight means more about bringing an boom explosions mage to the fight that just has an ability to give someone extra health potion now and then.

    And how about the waves of enemies randomly appearing? It made the use of tactics pretty much void since every time you meet enemies you can count on that Spock will be beaming down more of them during the fight. This again kills the immersion completely. How about the companions then , well they are ok , but the lack of customization is horrid. I mean sure it makes a nice unique feel to a companion perhaps when you cant change their armors but bloody hell since when a skimpy dress has been a good pick for an armor to bring into a fight?

    Also most of the items are way too generic , you will find plenty of amulets , belts , and rings named yes you guessed it amulet , belt , ring. Oh the joy. All the armor you find is pretty much useless since well you cant give them to your followers.

    And what about the brilliant junk system. Yes you will literally picking up junk during your travels. Since in DA2 you are Hawke the great janitor. BUT wait there is more , the city that you will spend your whole adventure in is boring and bland. There is the gray zone , the brown zone and so on. There is no feeling of life or excitement in the city. I have seen ghost cities more alive than Kirkwall. The background inhabitants of the city are just props if you happen to have the change to click one of them they will probably say something just as dull as the city.

    But wait I am bringing my DA:O save to DA2 that should make things interesting? NO
    The imported save game brings no depth to game. There is little to none references to your DA:O game suppose they did not want to confuse all those poor farmville gamers that might buy DA2 , (no offense intended to farmville players).

    Top if off with minimal replay value. Because of the linear game play , reused maps , and Commander Hawke I`m sure this game is the flop of the year.

    I suppose I have to say something good about the game too. Well the good thing is I won`t trust bioware assuring that they are not dumbing down or forgetting us old RPG gamers.    … 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.
    Read full review
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