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. Darpaek
    Mar 19, 2011
    0
    You do not play Dragon Age 2. Dragon Age 2 plays you.

    Your character's choices and actions have no bearing on the larger story. Everything important in the game is caused by an NPC - most of them being your party members. Your character is little more than an observer to the world around them. Even when your character could feasibly influence the events around them, Dragon Age 2 seems    You do not play Dragon Age 2. Dragon Age 2 plays you.

    Your character's choices and actions have no bearing on the larger story. Everything important in the game is caused by an NPC - most of them being your party members. Your character is little more than an observer to the world around them. Even when your character could feasibly influence the events around them, Dragon Age 2 seems to purposely deny you the ability to do so to force less plausible outcomes upon your character.

    Throw in easy, repetitive combat and generic, re-used dungeons and you have a flop I would not have finished had Bioware's label not been on the box.    … Expand
  2. Jaddel
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    Absolutely disappointing. This was my last bioware game...
    For the next 5 years I will give the money for every bioware game released, to charity instead buying the game !!!
  3. TheGunner
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    I wish I could say it's pretty like some of the other reviews on here, but due to the game not even supporting nVidia cards properly(because obviously no one uses them right?) it looks/runs terribly on my computer that should be able to run it maxed out. I loved DA:O, I love both of the Mass Effects, but this is honestly one of the most disappointing games I have ever played.

    Shame on    I wish I could say it's pretty like some of the other reviews on here, but due to the game not even supporting nVidia cards properly(because obviously no one uses them right?) it looks/runs terribly on my computer that should be able to run it maxed out. I loved DA:O, I love both of the Mass Effects, but this is honestly one of the most disappointing games I have ever played.

    Shame on you Bioware, and shame on you EA for appearing to have ruined both a good title and a great company. It's just sad. :(    … Expand
  4. Seolas
    Mar 21, 2011
    3
    The storyline really isn't bad and certain side-quests are of interest, often tying into the bigger picture. Unfortunately the mechanics and gameplay have been popamole'd to the extreme, with many of DA:O's best things "streamlined" (dumbed down) or removed. Companions range in quality from very good (Varric) to very bland (Fenris). The re-use of maps is unforgivable and makes even theThe storyline really isn't bad and certain side-quests are of interest, often tying into the bigger picture. Unfortunately the mechanics and gameplay have been popamole'd to the extreme, with many of DA:O's best things "streamlined" (dumbed down) or removed. Companions range in quality from very good (Varric) to very bland (Fenris). The re-use of maps is unforgivable and makes even the above-mentioned side-quests a grind at times as you run through the same cave you've seen 100 times with a door blocked here and opened there. Bioware's attempt to "streamline" the game in an attempt to attract younger action game fans seems to have failed big. Not only have they failed to draw in a significant amount of those based on early sales but they have also jaded those of us who love a proper RPG and had faith in them to improve on the original title. Instead, not only is this much inferior, even the rushed out expansion to DA:O, Awakenings, is a better game than this. I worry for Mass Effect 3 now...… Expand
  5. Browser
    Mar 22, 2011
    5
    Seems like one of the times they make a game add a "2" to the name and milk it for all it's worth. Changing the game to suit the largest audience relying on the original's success and in the process ruining what could have been a great sequel to an excellent original. Instead it's a "lowest common denominator" situation, overflowing with violence, sex and pubescent attitude rather thanSeems like one of the times they make a game add a "2" to the name and milk it for all it's worth. Changing the game to suit the largest audience relying on the original's success and in the process ruining what could have been a great sequel to an excellent original. Instead it's a "lowest common denominator" situation, overflowing with violence, sex and pubescent attitude rather than continuing and expanding Dragon Age.

    Why they completely change games and call it a sequel instead of just making a separate game is beyond me. It disappoints the buyers/fans who helped make the first a success and you simply can't please all the people with a single game so how about just pleasing the people that enjoyed the original to begin with.

    It's really sad when they do this to games just to try maximize profit, it's one of those times you wish a sequel hadn't been made. Though big game companies lately seem to love prostituting and milking something for all it's worth, changing it to suit a "broader" audience which ruins what made it good then give up on it when people stop buying it because of these changes that turn it into just another game.

    It would have been better if they simply used everything from the original (gameplay, style etc) and simply added a continuation of the story.    … Expand
  6. Lyonesse
    Mar 24, 2011
    5
    Dragon Age II feels more like a RPG lite than a true successor of Origins, it's not a really bad game but in many ways it leaves a feeling of disappointment.
    The combat, while faster than in Origins, feels shallow and tedious due to the wave mechanic employed in most battles. The gritty, semi-realistic animations have been replaced by over the top combat animations that remind more of    Dragon Age II feels more like a RPG lite than a true successor of Origins, it's not a really bad game but in many ways it leaves a feeling of disappointment.
    The combat, while faster than in Origins, feels shallow and tedious due to the wave mechanic employed in most battles. The gritty, semi-realistic animations have been replaced by over the top combat animations that remind more of cartoons/anime than dark fantasy.
    Non-combat skills like coercion or survival have been stripped from the game and overall the game feels strongly focused on combat and action.
    The story itself isn't bad, though the pacing seems somewhat odd at times. The companions are generally likable, though companion interaction takes place mostly during the companion quests.
    The city of Kirkwall, to which the player is mostly confined, feels unfortunately lifeless. NPCs are basically static background, which wouldn't be much of a problem if the game's story wouldn't take place almost entirely inside the city.
    Dungeons consist mostly of a few maps that are recycled over and over, with various passages blocked off by locked doors. Unfortunately the mini-map doesn't reflect the blocked passages, making the lack of variety in maps even more obvious.

    The game is certainly ok for a beginner RPG, but it cannot compare to BioWare's masterpieces by any means. It lacks the depths and complexity that Origins had and would have better been marketed as a spin off game than a sequel.    … Expand
  7. cdreid
    Mar 27, 2011
    6
    Dragon Age 2 is not DA: Origins. Origins had one of the best plots ever in an rpg and you literally cared about every character. Most of all you had a goal. A purpose you cared about. Even the greatest games failed in this area (Oblivion comes to mind). There are only a few changes in DA 2, the details of which you can hear screamed about in every other review. One of the most annoying isDragon Age 2 is not DA: Origins. Origins had one of the best plots ever in an rpg and you literally cared about every character. Most of all you had a goal. A purpose you cared about. Even the greatest games failed in this area (Oblivion comes to mind). There are only a few changes in DA 2, the details of which you can hear screamed about in every other review. One of the most annoying is that you cannot equip the character outfits. This was made according to the designer because people all dressed all their characters the same and it bored him. So now your choice is.. to dress your characters the way He wanted you too. In addition the combat is seriously dumbed down. Rather than fighting a few powerful enemies and using tactics to defeat them mostly youre fighting waves of weak enemies with a couple "bosses" thrown in. On Hard or Nightmare difficulty this is still almost as interesting as the original game because on the tough fights you literally act/pause/issue orders/act/pause/issue orders. It isnt a game breaker though. What breaks this game more than anything was an egotistical designer deciding he knew better than the customer and forcefeeding us a lame plot you dont care about, his personal preferences on character equipment, and truely bizarre recycling of content. You only have afew areas to go to in this game and you will go to them again, and again, and again. Note: you can check out his softball interview to verify all of the above.

    Also missing from the game is the sense of danger, urgency, stress in making decisions. In DA:O You cared about every decision and fretted over them. You even had regrets at the end of the game no matter which decisions you made. In DA2... not so much. After a while you feel like a mercenary running around killing things for.. you dont know why. You might as well play wow or one of the other senseless click click click faux rpgs mmorpgs out there.

    Having said all that: This game is fun. Its not worth the full price and it shouldnt even be mentioned in the same breath as DA:O, Mass Effect, Baldurs gate etc. But if you can pick it up for 10 or 20 bucks.. its certainly worth it as its isnt Unfun. Perhaps Bioware will decide its customers are more important than the egos of its employees and fire the person responsible for this disappointment. Lets hope so because bioware is without question the best RPG company in the business.    … Expand
  8. LadyDumrotten
    Mar 29, 2011
    4
    There is a lot about this game that I love. It has excellent characters and an addictive, refined battle system... It's just a shame that the ridiculous amount of recycled content really kills it for me. There aren't even that many explorable areas in the game, and those that are there are all narrow corridors that are re-used over and over for the entire game. Also, the storylineThere is a lot about this game that I love. It has excellent characters and an addictive, refined battle system... It's just a shame that the ridiculous amount of recycled content really kills it for me. There aren't even that many explorable areas in the game, and those that are there are all narrow corridors that are re-used over and over for the entire game. Also, the storyline apparently spans nearly a decade, except the only way you would know that are the cut-scenes at the end of each act (of which there are three) telling you a number of years have passed... except, NOTHING, literally NOTHING changes over the years. At the beginning of Act 3 your party starts off standing in the exact spot where you finished Act 2 as if no time had passed at all. Laughable. This game could have been a classic had only more time been put into development. As it is, it's only recommendable if you think you can overlook these huge flaws and enjoy the strong combat and fairly interesting cast.… Expand
  9. ModusOperandi
    Apr 6, 2011
    5
    Not as bad as people say it is but it's definitely not "good" either. I give this a 5 because it's such a repetitive game with recycled locations and quests. The boss fights look like they were tripped from WOW. The character dialog can be interesting at times but you're basically forced into a canned character concept defying the whole point of a fantasy RPG. Also, many of the events ofNot as bad as people say it is but it's definitely not "good" either. I give this a 5 because it's such a repetitive game with recycled locations and quests. The boss fights look like they were tripped from WOW. The character dialog can be interesting at times but you're basically forced into a canned character concept defying the whole point of a fantasy RPG. Also, many of the events of DA:O don't seem to matter very much in this game. The character of hawk is non compelling. On the plus side there are some OK graphics and environment design.… Expand
  10. Grim13
    Apr 7, 2011
    0
    I haven't seen a more confused collection of polish and poor design choice since, well, ME2.... Like BrutallyHonest points out: Bioware now design games via marketing research and focus group responses! This is a game entirely designed with the ADD addled, "ewwww, look at the Shiny object!", celebrity crotchshot demanding, Corporate pablum swilling, Generation Shallow, in mind... InI haven't seen a more confused collection of polish and poor design choice since, well, ME2.... Like BrutallyHonest points out: Bioware now design games via marketing research and focus group responses! This is a game entirely designed with the ADD addled, "ewwww, look at the Shiny object!", celebrity crotchshot demanding, Corporate pablum swilling, Generation Shallow, in mind... In otherwords: Gaming's "Brave New World". Existing fans? **** 'em. This, to me, isn't about the console-ification of gaming... nor, is it about being upset with a company trying something new... It's about sacrificing quality and depth to appeal to a greater market. Some people just don't like RPG's... and, it's ridiculous to sell out on what made you famous in the first place, in the hope that you'll expand your market into that group. Out: game affecting choices, In: "Choose Your Own Inflection'... Out: Epic storytelling, In: episodic confusion... Out: any attempt at graphical realism, In: graphic novel inspired art style... Out: tactical combat, In: Devil May Cry enemy wave spawns... Out: depth of any kind, In: skin deep surface veneer... And, On and ON it goes, ad nauseum.... Cutting out the "RPG", only to replace it with ideas from other game genres, in a sad attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Again, as I stated earlier, it's the maddening production decisions I'm having the hardest time with! Why work so hard to develop top quality voice acting... and then decide to reuse the same 4 - 5 minimaps 7, 8, 9 ^*%#* TIMES EACH!?! IT MAKES NO SENSE! Polish this... be mind bogglingly lazy with that! I mean, seriously, WTF! There are more headscratching story flaws in this game than ALL OF THE PREVIOUS BIOWARE GAMES COMBINED! Some of the plot twists are beyond obsurd. Choices, in this game are merely illusions... The dialog wheel is nothing more than changing how your character's voice sounds as the exact same oucome occurs 95% of the time IRREGARDLESS of what, or how, you say shiite. Bioware is in decline, folks. Mark my words. More fans have been alienated by their recent turn of direction than any new ones have been picked up. A 5/10 rating SOLELY for the games level of polish in comparison with the game industry as a whole. Ptew!… Expand
  11. caraniente
    Apr 8, 2011
    6
    I loved DAO. I played it to completion at least 4 times. I loved the different endings, the total freedom to roleplay, and I found the characters, which from the superficial level seemed totally cliche (bastard prince, wicked witch, drunken dwarf...) thoroughly engaging. I loved all the little permutations. As such, I was expecting great things from DA2. I think like a lot of people, maybeI loved DAO. I played it to completion at least 4 times. I loved the different endings, the total freedom to roleplay, and I found the characters, which from the superficial level seemed totally cliche (bastard prince, wicked witch, drunken dwarf...) thoroughly engaging. I loved all the little permutations. As such, I was expecting great things from DA2. I think like a lot of people, maybe I expected too much - or perhaps I just expected Bioware to be aware of why such a large portion of its fanbase loved it too. Quite honestly, if DA2 was marketed under a different name, I'd give it an extra 2 points. It loses marks because it's a poor follow-up to a game that was, pretty much, the only high-end party-based RPG around (Mass Effect isn't as strong strategically and lacks companion customisation, while The Witcher forces a main character on you and lacks party dynamics).
    My basic feeling is, given another year in development to properly work on the story, sort out the bugs, and tweak the comabt, and DA2 could have been a masterpiece. The ideas are there. But the execution is sloppy, the game lacks cohesiveness and there are far too many elements which fail - not least being, if the entire storyline is about oppression of mages, why you can make your main character a mage and no-one says anything. Even when you use magic in front of a Templar's face. If they really wanted to pull off this impression of a world of prejudice and oppression - they needed to work the mechanics around it. As it is, it's fun.... but it's never going to be a classic. Also, given this, I'm not sure whether or not I'll bother with DLC for this game... it seems to me the EA marketing machine has already brought in far too many cash-ins everywhere.

    The Pros: The continuing stories of characters you meet in every act is quite interesting and does vary MINORLY depending on your decisions.
    Companions are, once you get to know them a little, interesting, though Bioware have once again done what they tend to do for expanions and 'rushed for time' games and made characters that are mostly known for their unusualness (e.g. Varric - very NOT traditional dwarf) - still, they've got the writers to back this up. There is no 'right choice' in most scenes; this is not a good vs evil choice. DAO had that too (with the exception of the werewolves/elves) but not to this extent.
    Therw was one moment in the endgame where my jaw literally hit the floor :) Bioware still tell a good story. Unfortunately, there's not enough genuine story to make the whole game feel connected.

    Cons:
    The main cons seem minor, but are so repetitive that by the end of the game you;'re beating your head against the wall, and they have been repeated more times than DA2's single 'cave' map, so I won't rant too much.
    Overwhelming re-use of maps: every cave in the game is identical, and I have played story missions where you enter different caves at different locations consecutively and play the same map - just one you start at the other end.
    Combat flaws - the respawning of enemies out of nowhere, the lack of tactical combat, the 'pretty' spell effects that obscure the actual battle, the fact that every boss battle is almost identical (horde of minions at every quarter health lost) and one of my main gripes - dragon battles should feel epic, not like yet another boring hack'n'slash encounter!
    Related to both the above, the numerous predictable low-level mobs that appear in the same locations every map and leave the game feeling like a slog, not an exploration.
    Incredibly boring loot, plus the lack of ability to change companion armour - every item gives one or a combination of +attack, %damage, % damage resistance, and +stamina/health/regeration. Most of it looks identical. In DAO I took on hordes of enemies to complete an armour set that game me stuff nothing else had - here, everything seems the same so I can't be bothered.
    The neon yellow arrows over anything quest-related, which rules out any exploration possibility and means most quests are just a matter of running from arrow to arrow to arrow; apart from a very few exceptions, if it doesn't have an arrow over it's head, you can't interact with it. Completely brain-deadening. The exception is the couple of 'extra' quests which can be obtained, which ar virtually identical in structure to one another and ddon't even give you very good rewards...
    The achievements! I mean seriously, did they set those achievements for 5 year olds or what? getting one of switching the damned map from day to night makes me feel like a kid being patted on the head because it wiped it's own bum. Seriously, Bioware, we're not idiots.    … Expand
  12. viking1
    May 18, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Boring game with awful graphics. It is one of the worst sequel in history of mankind. A slap in the face for fans of DA:O, seriously where did they get the idea to main the masterpiece that DA:O was into this piece of filth. Everything's dumbed down and simplified, what on earth were they thinking. Don't buy this game, buy DA:O instead.… Expand
  13. MagnusGman
    May 22, 2011
    6
    By the time Dragon Age 2 launched, I had my mind completely set that the game would be a complete and utter disappointment. However, despite it not deserving it's status of the finest RPG this year, it was an incredibly fun ride, that seemed to end rather abruptly and somewhat strangely. My biggest disappointment with DA2 was the overall departure from the combat style of the first.By the time Dragon Age 2 launched, I had my mind completely set that the game would be a complete and utter disappointment. However, despite it not deserving it's status of the finest RPG this year, it was an incredibly fun ride, that seemed to end rather abruptly and somewhat strangely. My biggest disappointment with DA2 was the overall departure from the combat style of the first. Although I could still individually order my troops, the combat itself seemed more like a downgrade. The story however was a welcome change from the 'ancient evil will destroy the world' bag. I found the political intrigue between the Templars and Magi to be quite involving, even though not having a main villain did detract slightly from the experience. Another complaint I had were the overall graphics quality. I don't like to think of myself as a graphics whore, but what I saw in DA2 was nothing short of lazy developing. Cookie cutter caves, and city dwellers that were a step above cardboard cutouts are not permitted in this day and age. With it's main competitor right now being the Witcher 2, which seemed to pride itself on detail before it's release, the kind of laziness Bioware displayed here is a slap in the face. I look forward to your letters.… Expand
  14. Ahria
    Jun 25, 2011
    1
    To be blunt, I cannot believe that EA has whored Bioware out to the point that Bioware as a name no longer means anything to me. I have been a avid fan of Bioware to the point they were like Blizzard I saw the name and bought, no matter the reviews or anything else. The blatent laziness of reusing maps, same crowds over and over again, no epic novel to live through and honestly to buyTo be blunt, I cannot believe that EA has whored Bioware out to the point that Bioware as a name no longer means anything to me. I have been a avid fan of Bioware to the point they were like Blizzard I saw the name and bought, no matter the reviews or anything else. The blatent laziness of reusing maps, same crowds over and over again, no epic novel to live through and honestly to buy the end of the game is totally unacceptable. When I buy a novel the I don't expect to get the last three chapters torn out. Thats DA2 is lazy development no story (you don't feel like a hero) and you have to pay for the end.

    What a load of crap. EA you don't understand your market and you have ruined some really good houses in gaming. I will never ever from now on will buy another EA game without some serious time before I know how useless the game is.    … Expand
  15. Thederaci
    Mar 21, 2011
    0
    I've always thought of Bioware as a safe choice when buying a game. When EA took over I was worried that they were going to ruin another good game company, but surprisingly most of the games came out were good ol' Bioware (maybe abit rushed) with some useless DLC content that I did not care about. That was uintil I came across this joke of a game.
    First of all the world feels soulless and    I've always thought of Bioware as a safe choice when buying a game. When EA took over I was worried that they were going to ruin another good game company, but surprisingly most of the games came out were good ol' Bioware (maybe abit rushed) with some useless DLC content that I did not care about. That was uintil I came across this joke of a game.
    First of all the world feels soulless and small. Well actually, the world feels small because it is small. Quoting a critic "You cant have an epic story on your backyard". That pretty much sums it up.
    The game feels more like a grind than a RPG - You're basically running the same linear dungeons over and over again with enemies that have slightly different color and name. Even the bosses are recycled.
    Combat requires no strategy at all, you can basically buttons mash your way trough the game. Increasing difficulty just requires the player to have more potions and the patience to spam the buttons longer. Sure the people looking for a simple game might enjoy it more, but anyone actually looking for a challenge should not bother with this game.
    Something that Bioware has always gotten right is the story, but not this time. Most of the charaters feel hollow and boring, charater cameos from DA:O just makes you wish you were playing DA:O instead.
    The story itself is rather non thrilling and the side quests are very repeative.
    The graphics are outdated (PC) to say the least and there are some annoying gliches with some of the older graphic cards. If the game looks like it was made 10-years ago, it should atleast work with older hardware.
    I could go on pointing out flaws in this game, but I think i made my point - Dont bother paying 60 bucks for a crappy game. If you absolutely must play this game, then do yourself a favour and wait for the GOTY version with all the DLC content and bugfixes.
    When compairing to other games this game does not deserve a 0 though, but on a Bioware scale it absolutely does. It is definitely by far the worst game they have ever done.    … Expand
  16. monkza
    Mar 20, 2011
    4
    Probably the worst game in 2011.... this game is full of bugs and the combat are really terrible... choppy the graphics are terrible the gameplay is poor....
  17. bernardtcx
    Mar 14, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well its been 4 days and I went through DA2 twice to try out the impact of different decisions. Did my second run through on casual to get over the repeated dungeons asap. A good game on its own but it shouldn't be called DA2. Yes yes we all want change but not too much shall we? We can't franchise Macdonalds and not sell burgers!

    Some plus points first. It was nice to hear my character speaking, but this is nothing extraordinary. Music was average, and the environments were well designed and nice to look at (I like the wounded coast sky), if one ignores the reuse of environments and the static nature of everything. The grey area of decisions is a good step forward, but it was not used properly and left players (me at least) hanging. Cliffhangers are good, but a balance is needed. There was no closure at all (not to mention the cliffhangers from DAO).

    I must say, that if Kirkwall was ruined and converted entirely into one expansive dungeon, it would have been kinda cool (Like ghastheim in good ol' ragnarok). It would have served excellently as ONE major quest, but the content given to us was far to short and limited to be DA2 in its entirety.

    Also, the entire of DA2 had to do with mages. The problem is that the enemy mages were useless! They casted less spells than their demonic counterparts and there are so many interrupts available to stop them (or to kill them in one shot). In DAO, a battle with just 2 emissaries could be fatal if you didn't plan your tactics properly. In DA2, a rogue can tank 5 mages that do nothing but shoot at you with their staves. As one of the core classes of the story, this was one major disappointment. Improvements to the combat system were definitely appreciated, and I liked the junk system as well. However, I felt that the items were just bland, and there was no kick from getting an EPIC item from a boss kill. The star system wasn't really helpful.

    I missed how expansive the word of DAO was. Yes you can say that DAO was just in ferelden and it is good to move out of ferelden but the fact remains that the entire DA2 was in one city! Uptill "chapter 3", I was still thinking that the entire game was just one small chapter of a larger story, and was waiting for some epic war against tevinter to materialize. How disappointed I was when the game suddenly ended (WAY TO SUDDEN).

    One major attraction of RPGs is the variety: of environments, of creatures and of items that a player faces. It is an expression of human imagination: it is thrilling and refreshing. Cutting back on these three aspects is most disadvantageous: they the pulling factors that retain old players and draw new ones. Remember how deep we could go into the deep roads in DAO? Remember the myriad of creatures found in each area in DAO? There was so much variety just for every single chapter, and now this? Obviously there has been a massive shift in corporate strategy, and from my financial background, this is one colossal red flag. Note that DAO is just one basis of comparison. All successful rpgs (Diablo, WOW etc) tend to have large varieties of enemies and deep lore. Also there were some comments on how the escape from lothering didn't feel like an escape. Well I think the demo sums up what you can expect from the game. I remember other 'escape' scenarios in other games, like Maiev running away from Illidan as the cave collapsed all around her, or the Protoss evacuation from Aiur. These were ancient games but with whatever technology they had, the missions actually embodied the urgency of an escape. It is this lack of atmosphere, coupled with the reuse of environments, that has degraded the utility of DA2.

    Also, you rescued Flemeth, one of the characters that has had an excellent redesign, and she was like "KTHXBYE". What? Thats it? Ain't even a cliffhanger.

    Such a pity for a game with an excellent foundation. There were so many advances and improvements (including good looking characters), but the developers did not realize the full potential of their creation. There is no need to rush games to increase revenue (why else would you rush it?). Investments have long horizons are take time to realize their true value (Look at blizzard!). Was it worth it to risk Bioware's reputation (You cannot deny all these honest, negative reviews when they are the majority!)? Will I buy DA3? Yes, but only because DAO was really good, and because I am waiting for Diablo 3 to come out (which better not be a disappointment) and have nothing to play in the mean time.    … Expand
  18. MadJackMcMad
    Mar 22, 2011
    6
    MadJackMcMad
    Earl


    A fair and balanced review. Although choice is the epitome of recent Bioware offerings, choice is not given here. Three races are reduced to one, and six origins are reduced to one. As such, I could only play as the queasily named â
  19. Herrnewbenmeist
    Mar 19, 2011
    6
    The worst part of the game is that the environments are consistently recycled. It ruins immersion, kills suspension of disbelief. This in turn makes other, minor quibbles I might have the game all the more annoying. I would say it is even worse than first Mass Effect in this regard. It's original Halo bad (read: one corridor). Additionally, to try and make it look as if they are notThe worst part of the game is that the environments are consistently recycled. It ruins immersion, kills suspension of disbelief. This in turn makes other, minor quibbles I might have the game all the more annoying. I would say it is even worse than first Mass Effect in this regard. It's original Halo bad (read: one corridor). Additionally, to try and make it look as if they are not constantly recycling environments they block off some doors of areas and pretend that this makes it a different place. Imagine if all of Baldur's Gate took place in two sections of Baldur's Gate and two outdoor areas and one cave. That's right, there's one cave. You'll get awful familiar with it and the one warehouse, one mansion, and one coastal strand. Apparently the Maker was busy having awesome god-sex with Andraste when divinely designing Kirkwall and its environs and just said, "Screw it." At one point I was in the whorehouse and said to myself, "There are a ton of books here." Turns out the reason why there were so many books in the whorehouse is because the whorehouse uses the mansion environment. So they just cut-and-pasted the thing library and all. That's dickish, but the coup de grace is that the minimap does not reflect when they close off sections of a recycled area to make it look a little different. So oftentimes there are these large pieces on the minimap that look accessible, but are not. The first time I encountered this I didn't understand what was going on and I was convinced I was missing a secret switch and looked for a solid five minutes before realizing the game developers were either rushed or lazy and hadn't bothered to patch up the minimap. The plot is ambitious and it works in part and fails in part. It does give the impression of years passing. But this comes at the cost of telling what are essentially three separate stories with much smaller scale than the epic Dragon Age, NWN, or BG plots of yore. You're essentially dabbling in the petty politics of a single city. The loremasters of Dragon Age have gone to such lengths to create such a big and detailed world, why are we trapped in this tiny, consistently recycled environment? If you want to tell a story over the course of 10 years, why not put in a lot of globe hopping? The dialogue and the characters at least are interesting. I liked most of the party companions and their banter. I'm not entirely against the Mass Effect wheel making an appearance. I really enjoyed the companion sidequests. Those were much more compelling to me than any of the main plot line quests. I actually liked many of the changes to combat people complain about so much. Cross-class combos are interesting and make warriors and rogues feel more worthwhile. It also adds a bit of skill in using them against enemies at higher levels of difficulty. Yes, rogues now do teleport into position to backstab, which yes, is dumb. But in comparison to the above, it's hardly even worth noting as annoying. Finally, why the hell did they make it so I can't equip armor on companions? My inventory was constantly laden with plate mail and leather armor my mage could never equip and my companions just kept their pre-fab armor that automatically improves with leveling and upgrades stored in the most random places of all Thedas. One of the most enjoyable parts of an RPG is improving your characters. This does not just come from leveling. In Baldur's Gate, NWN, Morrowind, Dibalo when you find your first good piece of plate armor and throw away your stupid rusty chainmail, you feel like such a badass. Here, you don't get to do that for 6/7 party members. That's just lame. Some people complain about the graphics. Overall I'd say they're fine. Some textures stand out as very low-res. That's lame, but compared to some of the complaints above, negligible. Graphics don't really make or break a game for me. It's the story, it's the adventure. It's how immersed I can get in the game. In short, it's decent. The plot is at least trying to do something new, even if it doesn't entirely succeed. Bioware still writes good dialogue and the characters are worthwhile. But the game is crap compared to what I hoped it would be. If it had even just been as good as Dragon Age I would have been happy. Alas, it got substantially worse. I'd wait for it to hit the bargain bin if you've got time on your hands and like the genre. Do not pay full price, and if any of the above sounds unbearable to you, just don't invest at all and read a summary of plot somewhere while waiting to see if they botch DA 3.â… Expand
  20. Unlimited_AUT
    Mar 20, 2011
    4
    I read a few user reviews myself before starting this game, so my expectations were not too high. Still I was disappointed from the start. Dragon Age 2 is not a bad game just many little details that are amiss. The battle system is mediocre - even later in game there is not a lot of variety. The Story itself gets burrowed by a flood of side quests. At first they seem interesting, but afterI read a few user reviews myself before starting this game, so my expectations were not too high. Still I was disappointed from the start. Dragon Age 2 is not a bad game just many little details that are amiss. The battle system is mediocre - even later in game there is not a lot of variety. The Story itself gets burrowed by a flood of side quests. At first they seem interesting, but after a while you start stumbling about side quest after side quest. Thanks to the in-game map that shows you when and where you have to go to solve a quest, it boiled down to "go to location and kill/collect X, then come back to get reward". The main story itself is stretched thin over several in-game years.
    Bottom line - there are worse games and if the DA world interests you, you could take a peak. Personally if I had to choose again, I would wait and pick it from a bargain bin in a few months.    … Expand
  21. VermithraxP
    Mar 21, 2011
    4
    As a fan of Dragon Age Origins and Bioware in general I was very much looking forward to this release. Some friends tried to dissuade pointing out the obvious such as this sequel followed far more quickly than Mass Effect 2 for instance. This is only important since it means that the time and care Bioware is famous for putting into their games could be lacking. Sadly despite theAs a fan of Dragon Age Origins and Bioware in general I was very much looking forward to this release. Some friends tried to dissuade pointing out the obvious such as this sequel followed far more quickly than Mass Effect 2 for instance. This is only important since it means that the time and care Bioware is famous for putting into their games could be lacking. Sadly despite the suspiciously glowing reviews from the major reviewers this game has not delivered. Much like with Mass Effect 2 before it Bioware has chosen to take the dumbing down route. A route which might I add is wholly unnecessary as the original games were incredibly successful. Now granted DA O wasn't perfect. But it had the depth that a real RPG needs. This one sadly does not. Crafting? Gone. Legitimate dialogue choices? Gone. Interesting interactions with the other party members? Gone. Ability to customize parties gear? Heavily restricted. Varied and interesting backgrounds? Gone. The point is this game is incredibly watered down. It doesn't even really feel like an RPG, more like an action game with some heavily watered down RPG elements. I'm still going to finish the game. After all I paid good money for the thing. But I am extremely disappointed in Bioware. The watering down in Mass Effect 2 was bad enough, this is unforgivable.… Expand
  22. Jounar
    Mar 21, 2011
    4
    Bioware need to learn that rushing out or fast tracking a game for a quick buck is a sure fire way to lose there fanbase. While the combat system and graphics (if maxed out with high texture pack) are cool the plot of the game is a complete joke.

    Story wise it's very bland and unlike every other Bioware RPG it dosen't make any difference what dialogue options you pick for 95% of the game    Bioware need to learn that rushing out or fast tracking a game for a quick buck is a sure fire way to lose there fanbase. While the combat system and graphics (if maxed out with high texture pack) are cool the plot of the game is a complete joke.

    Story wise it's very bland and unlike every other Bioware RPG it dosen't make any difference what dialogue options you pick for 95% of the game as the final outcome is exactly the same and this totally kills replay value. The fact that so many characters can't be saved from their fate really bugged me and killed the idea of being the hero of the story.    … Expand
  23. T-Rein
    Mar 22, 2011
    0
    Inferior in every way to dragon age origins. The Graphics are worse, yet the game engine performs worse as well (a bad combination), the dialogue wheel leaves you feeling like you have little control of what your character says, battles consist of you defeating wave after wave of cannon fodder enemies requiring nothing more than pushing attack keys with no tactics whatsoever. The mostInferior in every way to dragon age origins. The Graphics are worse, yet the game engine performs worse as well (a bad combination), the dialogue wheel leaves you feeling like you have little control of what your character says, battles consist of you defeating wave after wave of cannon fodder enemies requiring nothing more than pushing attack keys with no tactics whatsoever. The most unforgivable of all is the horribly boring story, gone are the tough/meaningful decisions and grand scope of the original. Combined with the continuation of slimy day one dlc marketing leaves me not wanting to play anything made by bioware in the future.… Expand
  24. parad0x
    Mar 23, 2011
    0
    What else can I say that hasn't been said? This is what happens when money hungry companies take control over everything. We get crap, crap, and more crap. Take a great game that took years to develop, dumb it down for the console kiddies, call it a sequel - since you can make more money that way - and just shout a big "screw you" to every gamer who enjoyed what the first one was about.What else can I say that hasn't been said? This is what happens when money hungry companies take control over everything. We get crap, crap, and more crap. Take a great game that took years to develop, dumb it down for the console kiddies, call it a sequel - since you can make more money that way - and just shout a big "screw you" to every gamer who enjoyed what the first one was about. Nothing about this game is on par with Dragon Age: Origins. Nothing. It's a piece of garbage. How the developers let this happen is beyond me, and they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to be released.

    I was looking forward to this game so much, only to find that it's a fraction of what the original game was. Don't worry though, they're bound to release tons upon tons of DLC, side quests and other trash that add nothing to the core experience, but do subtract from your wallet.

    As a standalone RPG, this game deserves a 4 or 5 out of 10. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the luxury of being reviewed on its own merits, as it's following a truly great game. By that relative measure, this piece of trash deserves a zero.    … Expand
  25. Kamal
    Mar 23, 2011
    6
    While entertaining, this game doesn't come close to its predecessor. There are two problems with DA2: first it has a number of extremely silly design flaws, and second that it differs from Origins in many respects without bringing any improvement to the table.

    Just to list the obvious mistakes: no tactical camera (why would anybody kill a degree of freedom that doesn't come with any    While entertaining, this game doesn't come close to its predecessor. There are two problems with DA2: first it has a number of extremely silly design flaws, and second that it differs from Origins in many respects without bringing any improvement to the table.

    Just to list the obvious mistakes: no tactical camera (why would anybody kill a degree of freedom that doesn't come with any development cost?), companion armor restrictions (same question), copy/paste levels (it seems there only 10 maps in the game or so), poor artwork in Kirkwall (where you spend 90% of your time), enemies spawning out of thin air every fight (which ruins tactical gameplay in a lot of ways) and last but not least nasty bugs. Those mistakes could be made by beginners in game development, sitting on a tight budget, without any established rules to build upon, but to get them from Bioware team, having EA financial backing? Shocking.

    What's probably even more important for the fans of the Origins is that this game is different even where not outright bad. Everybody understands the desire to broaden the customer base and get more people to play this, but it's customary to tread carefully when naming something a sequel to something else. Combat is fast-paced while it was more tactical in Origins, the wheel-based dialogue system allows less room to role-play, you don't really get to know your companions, and their character development is weak. The strongest selling point of Dragon Age, the story seems dull and short at the same time, a collection of random encounters and errand missions. Hawke is more of a chip in the whirlpool, as it's impossible to influence most of the important events in the game. While I appreciated some changes (crafting for example), and most of the changes are a matter of taste, what surprises is the willingness of the developers to alienate their own fanbase in the first place, as none of this changes are obvious and straightforward.

    What's very disappointing is that the opinion of the average critic differs wildly from the opinion of average gamer whom the critic is supposed to represent. Whether the result of the PR machine at work or just the sequel effect, that's an important lesson for those looking at the (meta)critic scores.

    Financially, the results of this flawed design and sloppy execution are going to be deferred to DLCs and DA3, if it's greenlighted at all. Contrary to what "evil EA" theory suggests, EA's long-term profits are going to be negatively impacted by killing one of the most prominent franchises in the portfolio of acquired company (and honestly, if there is anything to learn from the film imdustry, it's the importance of having a good franchise and solid "customer base" aka fanbase).

    What EA/Bioware have done to Dragon Age is, in Talleyrand's words, worse than a crime - it's a mistake.    … Expand
  26. diabloNtoqe
    Jun 4, 2011
    0
    this game is an insult to rpgs, an insult to my intelligence, and an insult to the pc gaming itself, they fraudulently took 60 dollars from me and in return it only included just 1 freeking city with dungeons that repeats over and over and over again. whats going on with this world ? are we that dumb ? this game is an abomination! DONT buy this game please!
  27. Geovas77
    May 21, 2011
    4
    I was a huge fan of the first game with multiple playthroughs and was looking forward to the sequel being as impressive but unfortunately DA2 is bland and hugely disappointing. The amount of reuse maps get is really something I have never seen before and its impossible to get excited about visiting a new area when you have already seen the same textures 20 times before. I gave up on theI was a huge fan of the first game with multiple playthroughs and was looking forward to the sequel being as impressive but unfortunately DA2 is bland and hugely disappointing. The amount of reuse maps get is really something I have never seen before and its impossible to get excited about visiting a new area when you have already seen the same textures 20 times before. I gave up on the game half way through, just couldn't get myself to play it anymore 4/10… Expand
  28. sambeckard
    May 26, 2011
    6
    Pleasant, but a little bored me. And the graphics ... This is not the DA1.
    Good entertainment, but not an outstanding game. I expected something more.
    Now I'm waiting for DA3 - I hope it will be much better!
  29. foxx1337
    Jun 6, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I frown upon games that seem to have more money put into marketing than into the actual art/engineering from under the hood. Dragon Age II seems like such a game. I envision the developer being forced by the publisher, maybe even against the studio's strategy, to release something that would appeal to the mass of COD players out there. Had my hopes pretty high after Dragon Age: Origins.
    The character design is clunky at most (the hero's sibling death scene from the beginning feels like "ok, let's get this over with, and fast, because we have an awesome button to mash" - no emotional involvement, sterile at most), the remaining developments feel rushed and often interrupted by fast-forwards in time (you don't get to experience the "impending doom" from DA:O anymore). You're basically this Hawke person, bullying and pimping around through a world nothing links you to.
    The spell effects look way better than in the first game, the camera is worse, the combat dynamics also lack, the story is weak, characters unmemorable, level design through copypaste, If this is what gaming is going to, I'll first boycott the $$$ hungry a$$e$ in charge, then I'll resort to more lucrative activities if my efforts prove to be in vain.    … Expand
  30. karibou
    Jun 5, 2011
    0
    I'm disgusted. Disgusted by what Bioware have done to a good franchise, by their attitude, and by the reviews of the so called "professionnals' of the video games magazines. I shouldn't have bought this game, and Bioware shouldn't have made it.
  31. Tweed
    Jun 5, 2011
    0
    Supposedly this, thing is suppose to be the sequel to one of the best RPGs seen on the PC since the days of Baldur's Gate. However, for some unfathomable reason Bioware decided that the best thing to do was make a quick cash in rush job and completely eliminate every element that made the previous game good. The writing is flat and lazy, peppered with too many Internet memes and out ofSupposedly this, thing is suppose to be the sequel to one of the best RPGs seen on the PC since the days of Baldur's Gate. However, for some unfathomable reason Bioware decided that the best thing to do was make a quick cash in rush job and completely eliminate every element that made the previous game good. The writing is flat and lazy, peppered with too many Internet memes and out of place profanity in some lame attempt to make the game appear edgier. No effort was spent in actually making any of the party members seem believable or unique, when the characters aren't being completely two dimensional stereotypes or boring they're irritating to the core. If the game had admitted that it was entirely linear it wouldn't be so bad, but you're given the illusion of freedom and nothing you do ever really has any lasting effect. Nearly all story events will play out the way the writers wanted it, It's Bioware's world, you're just playing in it.

    Combat is artificially tweaked to make it appear to be fast paced when in reality it' handles much like a MMORPG, waves of monsters literally rain from the sky as you try in vain to use any special abilities against all but the weakest of them. The same system also causes all boss battles to slow to a crawl as you're forced to whittle away at them bit by bit. The inventory and loot system have been reduced to a Diablo clone style to try to make the player feel better about having to kill so many monsters before moving on to the next boring fight in another generic warehouse. The skill system was also redone to reflect a Diablo clone style with many of the abilities from the previous game being done away with and most of whatever is left over either being useless or forcing the player to be shackled to a particular set of abilities or spells thus removing most of the strategic elements from the game as well. In fact all the game play changes can be summed up as Bioware trying to removing everything that made the player actually have to think.

    I DO have to admit that I did not finish the game, I could not force myself to go any further after I reached the 3rd Act and I realized I that was completely trapped within the city and it's excuse for an outdoor area, but somehow I doubt that the game magically became 95% better after I dropped out. The fact of the matter is this: This game is completely inexcusable and unacceptable from a company that KNOWS better. And they knew exactly what they were doing when they choose to produce this game the way it is, but I imagine they couldn't have anticipated the sense of betrayal the player base would feel or the amount of negative backlash they would receive for it. There is no patch they can develop for this game that will "fix" it or turn it into something it's not and it is NOT a sequel to Dragon Age:Origins.    … Expand
  32. Thothistox
    Jun 10, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It looks like it was designed by a two teams: a group responsible for combat/character design and another responsible for story. The trouble is that they didn't talk to each other, and the resulting game doesn't make any sense. People on these review threads complain about other things: the GUI, the recycled areas, the waves of goons, but the crux of the problem is that the game didn't do anything for them and they don't even know why... and so they blame it on the details. Well, I'll tell you why: it's the story. To begin with, it's one of the least interesting sub-plots of Origins made into it's own game. The beauty of western RPGs is their appeal to moral ambiguity, but this only works if the conflicts within the game are an analogy for something in the real world. That doesn't happen with the concept of mages and blood magic. (Why is blood magic evil? Well, who cares really.) But it goes beyond the basic concept, the trouble is the game ignores what choices you make in the game. It ignores who you decide your character is. It gives you almost exactly the same plot whether you're a mage or not. It gives you whiny companions who keep following you and fighting for you even if you denounce them. You can get the captain of the guard help you assist smugglers and assassins. You can get mage-hating Fenris to help you fight for the mages. ...and the NPCs very rarely acknowledge anything about who you are or what stance you've taken. That's if they acknowledge anything at all: many of them stand around quietly as if stoned. The plot is full of holes and cringeworthy scenes, and there are at least two dangling plot threads that are never addressed (Flemeth and the return of the Wardens). If you don't know much about the game before playing it, you'll have no idea what the goal is or where the game is heading because the dangling plot threads create the misleading impression that something important will happen, but it doesn't. The result is an alienating experience. You don't feel that the character you've created matters and the world he inhabits doesn't make sense. It's not an RPG. There is no role here. Stay away from this game.… Expand
  33. Varur
    Jun 13, 2011
    4
    A letdown compared to DA1, expected more. The combat system is more hack/slash with little need to think. Extensive reuse of certain area maps. Story telling isn't as good as DA1, characters are forgettable (I didn't feel for or connect with any character).
  34. zimm
    Sep 2, 2011
    3
    Pathetically Simplified to what is basically a hack n' Slash fest.
    The only reason i have not given it a 0/10 is for the second act plot. the first act was dull and the third act seemed as if it had been cobbled together by a drunken 13 year old. the second act however was very interesting and presented intriguing questions of morality, and a growing tension between the qunari and the    Pathetically Simplified to what is basically a hack n' Slash fest.
    The only reason i have not given it a 0/10 is for the second act plot. the first act was dull and the third act seemed as if it had been cobbled together by a drunken 13 year old. the second act however was very interesting and presented intriguing questions of morality, and a growing tension between the qunari and the citizens of kirkwall.
    User choice plays little role, repetitive non varied environments, no need for thought about combat, and a cast of forgettable characters + a darkspawn redesign that changed them from creatures that i was at times genuinely scared of to waddling clowns    … Expand
  35. moua
    Nov 14, 2011
    0
    TO ALL the gamers that never played DA:O first before this one? Your going to pour out your heart loving this game, but to all us veterns? We already know this is an Unholy Abominations that needs to destroyed. Or a possessed mage that's need to "Tranquil". Tranquil is exactly what happen to Dragon Age Origin. Tranquil+DA:O=DA2. 5/10*
  36. MattM
    Mar 21, 2011
    0
    If you were a fan of Origins and any of its old school predecessors, you will be extremely disappointed with this game. The game itself is not bad, the only problem I have with it is that Dragon Age and Bioware are written on it. It's a linear, hack n slash, button masher, and it can never hope to amount to anything more. The complex branching storylines and tactical, challenging combatIf you were a fan of Origins and any of its old school predecessors, you will be extremely disappointed with this game. The game itself is not bad, the only problem I have with it is that Dragon Age and Bioware are written on it. It's a linear, hack n slash, button masher, and it can never hope to amount to anything more. The complex branching storylines and tactical, challenging combat are gone in favor of flashy moves, button mashing and a selection of 3, count em, 3 choices as to what path you will take through the game: kiss ass, smart ass, or douchebag. Take your pick. The sequel to one of the best rpgs of the previous decade is a watered down console port. How exciting. I guess I expected a major change after reading the GI preview and playing the demo, but there is no excuse for this piece of trash. I think the number of negative reviews speaks for itself, and I'm repeating like a broken record, but I just thought I'd share my two cents and help bring this garbage down to the score it deserves.â… Expand
  37. poloman
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    First, you should know that this review comes from a fan of Dragon Age Origins.
    As far as I am concerned DAO was the best single player RPG of the past 10 years.
    With that said, DA2 is quite simply an epic fail. Kirkwall One of the well known 'features' of Dragon Age 2 is that the whole "story" takes place in Kirkwall. When I read this in a game preview, I didn't mind. I assumed    First, you should know that this review comes from a fan of Dragon Age Origins.
    As far as I am concerned DAO was the best single player RPG of the past 10 years.
    With that said, DA2 is quite simply an epic fail.

    Kirkwall

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

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

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

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

    Battles

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

    Story / Characters

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

    Conclusion

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

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

    Final words: What happened?    … Expand
  38. Nickless_man
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    Game is rushed from beginning to the end. New dialog wheel locks you in with 3 basic options, which are basically good, funny/neutral, angry but good options. No matter what you select, game moves forward, your companions loves you for it.

    Quests are just MMO rehashes. Collect 50 golds, go there, do this and that. There's no driver for doing quests other than "YOU HAVE TO MAKE MONEY!"    Game is rushed from beginning to the end. New dialog wheel locks you in with 3 basic options, which are basically good, funny/neutral, angry but good options. No matter what you select, game moves forward, your companions loves you for it.

    Quests are just MMO rehashes. Collect 50 golds, go there, do this and that. There's no driver for doing quests other than "YOU HAVE TO MAKE MONEY!" line. There are no moral dilemmas, everything is overly simplified.

    Combat is both better and worse than the Origins. Better because it is overall more responsive. Worse because of the design choices. Enemies ALWAYS attacks you in waves. When you engage a group, there's usually a trigger mob, once this mob is killed, another wave that is generally at least as big as the original group appears out of thin air. All combat has at least 2 waves that includes 5+ mobs at least. Some mobs have ridiclous powers to mark up the difficulty. NPC Assassins for example, will literally disappear for a while, and then backstab one of your characters, no matter what they are doing. You cannot attack assassins while they are invisible, they are invulnerable, even though official guide says you can hit them with areal attacks, but you cant. Their attacks hit for at least 75% damage on your tank.

    Area you play the game gets rehashed to death. On act 1, you run around to make money, on act 2, you run around doing a different thing, in the same area. Slightly different quests, slightly different loot. Caves are all identical, at most they'll have some other texture pack on them to disguise this fact.

    You cannot talk with ANY OF YOUR COMPANIONS. Only way to talk to them is when they have a quest available. Even then, you can only get that quest from their own house/bar/keep/whatever. Most of them just utter 3 lines and give you +5 reputation. There's absolutely no character development.

    Because of the limited dialog wheel, your character falls short on any kind of development. Your character either becomes extremely naive, annoying or childishly unfunny. Worse part is, no one seems to notice your characters character traits, they make a 1 line comment at most and thats it.

    Graphics while better than Origins, is still leagues behind any competent game. High res texture pack is simply mandatory, its a wonder how the game got shipped without it. Directx 11 options are mostly jokes. Tessellation is minimal and game has the worst SSAO effect I've ever seen. Blur is simply over the top. Even with minimal effects directx 11 causes too much of a performance drop.

    Animations are just blatant attempt at capturing "cool" kids. Characters swing heavy 2 handed swords like its a small twig. 2 handed swords really become over the top in this game, every 2 handed weapon has the "GIANT F**ING WEAPON" syndrome. Stinks of anime in a western cRPG is worst of both worlds.

    I wasn't surprised when the lead designer of Bioware quit his job because of the direction Dragon Age 2 was going.

    This simply isn't a Bioware game. Its a mediocre attempt at miking Dragon Age name.    … Expand
  39. Sharuko
    Mar 15, 2011
    6
    I am a massive BioWare fan, and their games are my favorite of all time especially Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. But this game was a huge disappointment. It had no identity. The Action was too "actiony" even for a action RPG let along a RPG.

    The stages and levels were rehashed and used over and over again. Difficulty was sending the same waves of mobs at you over and over again.    I am a massive BioWare fan, and their games are my favorite of all time especially Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2. But this game was a huge disappointment. It had no identity. The Action was too "actiony" even for a action RPG let along a RPG.

    The stages and levels were rehashed and used over and over again. Difficulty was sending the same waves of mobs at you over and over again.

    This is probably BioWare's worst game to date. I usually went around saying "BioWare games can't fail" I guess I was wrong. This game didn't really fail but was average at best.    … Expand
  40. mindguru
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    As an absolute lover and fanatic raver of Dragon Age: Origins, I was desperately looking forward to the series' second installment. Unfortunately, for every step forward this game took, it removed everything that made it's predecessor special to RPG players. The removal of the tactical camera, seemingly endless and predictable waves of repetitive enemies, and an AI that makes yourAs an absolute lover and fanatic raver of Dragon Age: Origins, I was desperately looking forward to the series' second installment. Unfortunately, for every step forward this game took, it removed everything that made it's predecessor special to RPG players. The removal of the tactical camera, seemingly endless and predictable waves of repetitive enemies, and an AI that makes your allies slip into loops of stupidity make combat frustrating, though it is not as difficult as in Origins. Non-customizable or usable loot/armor for allies makes treasure hunting, one of the keystones of the RPG genre, feel largely unimportant. The WORST part is the constantly recycled dungeons. Each setting only has one map, with different doors closed off or opened up. These, among other travesties, are what makes this game a nightmare to play. It is not a follow up to Dragon Age: Origins in any sense of the word, and has gone from being an RPG to make you think and formulate tactical strategy to being one of mindless hack-and-slash. Do yourself a favor: save your money and pray that Dragon Age III, if it is ever made after this hack-job, goes back to its roots.… Expand
  41. KarlB
    Mar 15, 2011
    6
    The simple truth is that this game is not up to par with what I have come to expect from Bioware. The game is not terrible, but it is not great by any means. The Graphics are very good, and the animations are much more fast paced than origins, however I dont care. I dont buy RPG games for thier High end graphics engines and expansively voiced cutscenes (which the game delivers) I buy themThe simple truth is that this game is not up to par with what I have come to expect from Bioware. The game is not terrible, but it is not great by any means. The Graphics are very good, and the animations are much more fast paced than origins, however I dont care. I dont buy RPG games for thier High end graphics engines and expansively voiced cutscenes (which the game delivers) I buy them for an engrossing story arc, which, while not terrible, is not as well written or epic as previous Bioware titles. The lack of an overhead view is not a game-killer, but would have still been nice to have, and the camera controls take a while to get used to, multiple camera modes would have been better. The thing that bothers me most, is the cut down inventory mangement, as due to the way companions are designed, I basically end up with three choices for most pices of equipment, 1. Wear it 2. Sell it 3.carry it around forever. The environmental reuse is quite obvious. they didnt even reconfigure the one cave template they had for most cave areas, I get that they did it to save time, but how hard would it have been to make it a different shape using the same art pieces. Ok so enough of the bad, here are the games actual redeeming qualities: Combat is done really well, it is fast paced, fluid and farily enjoyable. The leveling system is much better than origins, with a much more clear and customizable approach to picking abilities and specializations.
    In summation, while the game is not aweful, its not up to par for Bioware, and I wouldnt consider it up to par for a AAA title.    … Expand
  42. The013
    Mar 14, 2011
    4
    I rated DA2 4/10. Let me explain why I deducted 6 points from maximum to get this score.
    First: you cannot equip your party members. This is an RPG for god's sake and most of the equipment you find gets trashed as it cannot be used by anyone except the PC. Sorry Bioware, this is not how RPGs work.
    Second: dumbed down dialogue system. Again, RPG means role playing. How can you "play the    I rated DA2 4/10. Let me explain why I deducted 6 points from maximum to get this score.
    First: you cannot equip your party members. This is an RPG for god's sake and most of the equipment you find gets trashed as it cannot be used by anyone except the PC. Sorry Bioware, this is not how RPGs work.
    Second: dumbed down dialogue system. Again, RPG means role playing. How can you "play the role" if you have no idea what your character is about to say?
    Third: copy-pasted locations. You will spend a lot of time there and you will learn them by heart. One particular foundry is where three different quests take place. Four quests will have you search one particular warehouse. All caves are similar, etc blah-blah-blah. Trust me, you will be tired of visiting the same locations over and over again.
    Fourth: glaring errors in lore and storyline. The dalish camp stays in one place for six years even though they are supposed to move. Mages (mostly enemy mages but your companions as well) can teleport even though official "laws of magic" say this is impossible. And I'm just scratching the surface here.
    Fifth: boring combat. Bioware designers believe that sending in waves after waves of enemies on party from all sides is challenging. It is not, it's stupid, unimaginative and overly repetitive. First I was outright laughing at enemies appearing out of thin air then it just became annoying. And by the way, you can throw tactics out of the window too: what point is "trying to hold a chokepoint" as in-game tips suggest when you have enemies popping out of nowhere all over the place?
    Sixth: immutable storyline. Sure, your hero does have a profound impact on the game world but your choices are of little, if any significance.
    There's only one thing that does matter in DA2 - the story. It is indeed set in stone but it is great and keeps you moving forward despite all of the game drawbacks. I suggest to knock down the difficulty level to Easy and just enjoy the narrative. Pretend you're watching an interactive movie and you might actually enjoy it - even though the endless battles can still bore you down to death.    … Expand
  43. DKN
    Mar 12, 2011
    5
    I am really disappointed with DA2, it has poor story, poor characters and npcs, combat system is completely awful, with mobs constantly spawning in waves from absolutely random locations you can forget tactics and positioning.
    Why is there an inventory and loot in this game at all is a mystery to me, you donâ
  44. darkcerb
    Mar 13, 2011
    4
    Excellent combat and crafting system likable characters (for the most part) go a long way to making this a great game, unfortunately this is an rpg and as such is dragged down by linear quests, boring and extremely repetitive quests.

    What can I say? at the end of the game I felt extremely disappointed, some things are improved and yet we're still stuck crawling through narrow and    Excellent combat and crafting system likable characters (for the most part) go a long way to making this a great game, unfortunately this is an rpg and as such is dragged down by linear quests, boring and extremely repetitive quests.

    What can I say? at the end of the game I felt extremely disappointed, some things are improved and yet we're still stuck crawling through narrow and claustrophobic dungeons which seemingly include the city you spend all your time in...This is just a massive let down from an amazing franchise. Wish I was a professional reviewer though, they must be paid very well....    … Expand
  45. dama666
    Mar 17, 2011
    4
    I always like the games of Bioware, all of them are greats.
    But this one, was really disappointed for my:
    -No character creator (Race and origin like the first part) -To short dialogues and with the companions its worst -The characters looks like comic a not like the DAO (darkspawn looks like living dead, Qunari looks like a ogre) -The main character, in my opinion, its no a good choice.    I always like the games of Bioware, all of them are greats.
    But this one, was really disappointed for my:

    -No character creator (Race and origin like the first part)
    -To short dialogues and with the companions its worst
    -The characters looks like comic a not like the DAO (darkspawn looks like living dead, Qunari looks like a ogre)
    -The main character, in my opinion, its no a good choice. I dont like his appeareance, the voice.
    -The combat its to low qualiti in comparation to DAO.
    -The skils are to simple and the spells too, has no details.
    -No air camera

    Sorry, but im disappoint.
    I really expect a sucesor of Origins, and this one was another type of game.
    This is no Dragon age 2, its an Action Game based in the world of Dragon Age.
    I Hope Bioware make a great game in the Tird part

    Best Wishes    … Expand
  46. Mythe87
    Mar 17, 2011
    4
    After enjoying Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening, I've been waiting for Dragon Age II with much excitement. I grabbed my hands on a copy of DA2 on release date, went home, unwrapped the foil from the box and put the disc in my PS3. After setting up the options to my personal liking I was ready to start the journey. Let's start playing.

    I'm writing this review while I am 18 hours in to    After enjoying Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening, I've been waiting for Dragon Age II with much excitement. I grabbed my hands on a copy of DA2 on release date, went home, unwrapped the foil from the box and put the disc in my PS3. After setting up the options to my personal liking I was ready to start the journey. Let's start playing.

    I'm writing this review while I am 18 hours in to the game, somewhere in Act II I presume. The reason I play RPGs are to feel immersion, connected to the main character and it's companion, a interesting story, to explore the world and to find epic loot. Dragon Age 2 is lacking major in every department. Let me tell you why.

    The characters feel too generic, except for Varric and Anders. Their personalities are boring, their stories are boring and the fact that BioWare doesn't give you an opportunity to feel connected with them makes it even worse.

    The story is telling the tale of how you become the champion, but to be honest I don't see it going anywhere. You do some side quests to make money, go on an expedition and after that do some more side quests. In my 18 hours of play I still don't have the feeling I am doing something important or amazing. To end with a positive note on this subject I do like the way they are presenting the story.

    Exploring the word in DA2 is just drama. 90% of the game is taking place in a not so appealing city to say the least. So there's not a lot to explore, but hey we still have dungeons, right? You can scrap that from your list. There are just a few layouts and they are, sadly, reused for every dungeon. So there goes all your of exploring the world. While killing some mobs, you mostly find some loot. It might contain something epic, but sadly you can't wear it because it's another class. So you'd say let's equip one of my companions with it. But some genius at BioWare decided no one cares about equipping their party members, instead we let the player buy upgrades of armor for their companions. Thanks for not taking the weapon and accessory slots away. To end on a positive note the improved combat system is something I enjoy. It's a lot more action based and a lot smoother. From time to time you just don't want to pause the game to play it like a strategy game, but just like a hack 'n slash game.

    All of the things really break the immersion for me. I want to equip my characters, I want to have cool traveling bunch, I want to explore the world and I want to feel that I am in something big. Sadly DA2 doesn't do any of that. ***Posted my review in the PC deparment, because for some reason it doesn't allow me to post it in the console department***    … Expand
  47. florestan123
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    Along with several other people here, I have never written a review or commented on a game before, but I felt the strong need to voice my opinion about DA2. It just isn't a good game at all. How is it possible that the gaming industry critics have given the game such a favorable review?? Surely they are getting paid by EA in some form or another - we already know that at least one biowareAlong with several other people here, I have never written a review or commented on a game before, but I felt the strong need to voice my opinion about DA2. It just isn't a good game at all. How is it possible that the gaming industry critics have given the game such a favorable review?? Surely they are getting paid by EA in some form or another - we already know that at least one bioware employee (name of Avalone I think?) has posted here with a perfect score. That isn't really bad, and I don't mind that so much, but it sure makes me wonder what else EA/bioware is up to. Here's a message to all RPG fans out there wondering whether to buy this game or not... you will be hugely dissapointed if you enjoyed DAO - because all of the things that made DAO great are missing in this game. Trust me when I say this (because I have no hidden agenda), the general consensus of the user reviews is a lot more accurate than the critics reviews. All of the things that you've read about the game from the user reviews (repeatiing dungeons, hack and slash style play, poor dialogue choices, non-immersion, no caring for characters, no sense of being part of a bigger world), it's all true. Stay away from this one - you can find a much better way to spend $60!… Expand
  48. PsyXxXDekler
    Apr 2, 2011
    1
    Like everyone else, after i played through DA:Origins i was really thrilled to see that the DA2 is coming so soon. The problem is that it never occurred too me that it is perhaps a little too soon. That said DA2 feels more like a sketch of game than like a fully finished product. Story although not bad in concept (tension between mages and templars) turns out too be just a big pile ofLike everyone else, after i played through DA:Origins i was really thrilled to see that the DA2 is coming so soon. The problem is that it never occurred too me that it is perhaps a little too soon. That said DA2 feels more like a sketch of game than like a fully finished product. Story although not bad in concept (tension between mages and templars) turns out too be just a big pile of random crap, with characters changing their sides all the time and doing really retarded things, that are just way too irational too be believable. Number of stupid situations starting from Bethany going too the circle are too numerous too count. Even at the early beginning, when your brother/sister die, the characters react more like a neighbours dog got hit by car than like one of their own siblings had died. Same with Hawks mother death. Flemeth appearing also doesn't makes any sense, and all the other characters appearing just feels way too forced,and you get the feeling that they are there just to remind you that this is a DA game. But the biggest problem is that the presentation of the whole game is just INSULTING to any average gamer. Recycled areas are really annoying, combat although somewhat improved was dumbed down by waves and waves of magicaly reapearing enemies(I mean WTF people?), totally removing the tactical aproach to fighting(i mean for example, you put your mage in a corner, back to the wall, thinking he is safe there, an then in a second or two while you are not looking some flying ninja falls from the sky next to your mage and starts F###$$ng him in the a...), items are few and verry stupid and there is a general lack of money through out the game, meaning you can only buy one or two of the better items in the game, a large number of the stupidly placed traps are irritating since unless your main character is a rouge, the other party members will warn you way too late, and you get instant injury,buged quests....There are just way too many stupid things to list here.BOTTOM LINE-IF THIS GAME DIDN'T HAVE A DA TITLE IN IT'S NAME, you would probably play through it and forget about it in a day or two. The main reason for the verry low rating is that I felt INSULTED while playing the game and that developers probably thought that we will turn a blind eye to all their crap. And also i don't mind gay rights and all that stuff, everyone should have the same rights in real world BUT WHO THE **** WANTS TO HAVE A GAY TWO HANDED ELF WARRIOR IN HIS TEAM. They should have had the gay romances tied to some random side character....… Expand
  49. Fenarid
    Aug 23, 2011
    0
    I am very, Very disappointed with this game. Worst game in the history of BioWare. They should be ashamed of releasing such crap. Dragon Age 1 was in every respect better than the DA2.
  50. Rosiello
    Sep 10, 2011
    5
    After having played DA2 for a while and calming myself down from the initial rage - it took months believe - I can write a review of this game with reason.

    Is DA2 a bad game per se? No, it's not. It's fun in its own way, but If the game was called "Grandma Hawke killing ugly monsters" I wouldn't have problems with it, maybe I would have enjoyed it, but fact is it's called Dragon Age 2;    After having played DA2 for a while and calming myself down from the initial rage - it took months believe - I can write a review of this game with reason.

    Is DA2 a bad game per se? No, it's not. It's fun in its own way, but If the game was called "Grandma Hawke killing ugly monsters" I wouldn't have problems with it, maybe I would have enjoyed it, but fact is it's called Dragon Age 2; THAT is a problem.

    The combat system, with all its flaws is fun and well thought. With a higher level of difficulty it manages to be quite tactical and yet frenetic. But for all it's bloody glory it's still not as good as the first title's system.

    The graphics are not bad, but they're not improved either. They look more polished, but the old flaws of the first Dragon Age - like the low quality textures - are still there. The fact we see the same locations all the time it doesn't help much.

    The companions, with the exception of Varric and Aveline, are not very imaginative. Moreover there is one I loathe with passion: Fenris. If a "Mary Sue Grand Prize" will ever be created I think he'll win the 2011 edition hands down. I don't think I've ever met a character so predictable and uninteresting I could speak his own lines before he delivered them.

    The thing that puzzles me is that Dragon Age 2 looks more like a Mass Effect 2 sequel than a Dragon Age one, and it just does not make sense, given the fan base. The game mechanics, the storytelling, even the character design are very similar, DA2 manages to be even more linear. For example trying different dialogue options in a different play-through gives similar results in a lot of side-quests, and sometimes even in the main ones. Of course there are multiple endings, but the fact is that they are poorly executed and some of the companions will end doing things that don't have sense at all!

    One of the problems is that Dragon Age was marketed as the spiritual successor of Baldur's Gate; and it was. It expanded the concept, added a great storytelling, compelling characters, but it was true to its roots. Everyone who loved Baldur's Gate loved Dragon Age too, maybe more. So we were expecting a title that was similar, expanding the concept, but remaining true to its roots. With DA2 it was not the case, the game was something different and at times not even a roleplaying game. There is no exploration, limited character development and interaction.

    Looking for innovation is not a bad thing, but the game is not innovating in any field and so it's hard to appreciate it, even if, as I said, it's not that bad, but it's a rushed job and it looks like one.    … Expand
  51. SirLance
    Nov 13, 2011
    5
    DA II failed to be remotely as good as the first game. Much as Mass Effect 2 was nowhere as good as the first one, Bioware has tried to make it "easier" with a lot less elements of role play. Instead of making a great PC game, they have made a console game and ported it over the PC. I give the first one a 10, this one was hardly worth playing, was it not for Isabela's great lines, itDA II failed to be remotely as good as the first game. Much as Mass Effect 2 was nowhere as good as the first one, Bioware has tried to make it "easier" with a lot less elements of role play. Instead of making a great PC game, they have made a console game and ported it over the PC. I give the first one a 10, this one was hardly worth playing, was it not for Isabela's great lines, it wouldn't be.… Expand
  52. Viljanen
    Oct 25, 2011
    3
    Compared to Dragon Age: Origins this game is totally uninspired and boring. It seems they took everything that was good in the prequel, removed it and replaced it with everything that was bad in DA:O. The combat system is too simplified and the story never takes off.
  53. Eroes
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    What is this ****
    Give me a real successor to the original Dragon Age. Bioware, you've lost all of my trust.

    No freedom of movement, ALWAYS the same old dungeon repeated again and again, no environment diversity, stupid and semplicistic fighting system .... never seen something like this.
    Shame on you.
  54. dakphillips
    Mar 19, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Improved several things from DA:O, while taking large steps backwards on others. Having a voiced character whose dialogue would change based on whether the PC typically chose diplomatic/sarcastic/direct dialogue options was a big plus. The combat skill trees were an improvement. And in my opinion, letting characters simply upgrade their armor instead of micromanaging was an aspect I enjoyed as well. Steps backwards are most obvious in areas Bioware typically shines. You cannot talk with party members unless they are giving a quest. So instead of Hawke taking time to get to know the party, the game gives quests letting you know when they want to talk to you. The storyline is hit and miss. The first 2/3 of the game are actually pretty decent. Showing a refugee rising up from the slums to eventually have a hand in saving the city from an imminent threat. Then act 3 happens. Normally, this is where choices the PC in Bioware games really come out to shine in the conclusion to a story. But no, turns out everyone in Kirkwall is just crazy. Instead of having the chance to rule Kirkwall, the player simply gets to kill the largest factions in the game even after siding with one over the other. It really felt like a DLC meant to set up the future of Thedas more than a standalone game. Easily the worst Bioware ending they've done and really depressing considering the great job they've done in the past on RPG stories.

    However, Bioware is known for writing great and engaging stories in their games. In DA:O, the Warden was tasked with uniting a divided country to push back the Blight that threatened everyone. Simple on paper, but Bioware did a good job in creating dynamic factions with different motives and concerns in a way that immersed you into Ferelden. In DA2, Hawke shows up and things just happen around him. But despite claiming the players choices dramatically affect Kirkwall as time passes, this simply isn't true. Too often the player is presented with multiple dialogue choices, but will experience the same outcome.    … Expand
  55. necro128
    Mar 19, 2011
    4
    thats simple.
    DA2 is the jar jar binks of western rpg. seriously. why Ea enjoy taking good companies and killing them and filling the carcases with crap?
    EA buy maxis and kill the simulation genre. the last hit with spore and now is doing the same with rpg and bioware.
  56. Hiut831
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    Not sure what happened, but I can't recommend this game. After playing DAO, DA2 is just a horrible failure. I tried though, I really tried. This is my 2nd restart. Meaning I played 8 hours into the game and decided to start over hoping the game wouldn't suck as bad the 2nd time. I was wrong.. *tears*
  57. Nautilus
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    The main thing frustrates me about this game is the bad graphics and how high resolution texture pack doesn't change anything at all. It looks like crap even at 1080p with dx11 highest details but the game is more demanding than Metro 2033 or Crysis. Runs like crap even on a GTX580 or 6970. Why should people pay $60 for a game that has graphics from 2003 yet still runs like 20 frames perThe main thing frustrates me about this game is the bad graphics and how high resolution texture pack doesn't change anything at all. It looks like crap even at 1080p with dx11 highest details but the game is more demanding than Metro 2033 or Crysis. Runs like crap even on a GTX580 or 6970. Why should people pay $60 for a game that has graphics from 2003 yet still runs like 20 frames per second on high end hardware? There's really something wrong with this game.… Expand
  58. Scottydog
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    I had just finished Dragon Age Origins, and proceeded to launch DA2. I was shocked and disappointed, to say the least, in the overall dumbed down design. This disappointment of course is mixed with a touch of sadness that a lineage of great games I have played over the years have may have become extinct and Bioware has (d)evolved them to this tripe. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, andI had just finished Dragon Age Origins, and proceeded to launch DA2. I was shocked and disappointed, to say the least, in the overall dumbed down design. This disappointment of course is mixed with a touch of sadness that a lineage of great games I have played over the years have may have become extinct and Bioware has (d)evolved them to this tripe. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Dragon Age Origins are great games. DA2 is a clear example of fixing what clearly was not broken and leaving the faithful behind.… Expand
  59. GayBooSC
    Mar 21, 2011
    0
    You know, I was so excited about the release of this game. But, even the demo left something to be desired. The storyline was mediocre at best and they could have made a better looking game if they used DirectX 10 instead of the lagging DirectX 9. But, that is not even the biggest problem. If you even say one wrong word on the BioWare Forums (which are now run by EA), they can not onlyYou know, I was so excited about the release of this game. But, even the demo left something to be desired. The storyline was mediocre at best and they could have made a better looking game if they used DirectX 10 instead of the lagging DirectX 9. But, that is not even the biggest problem. If you even say one wrong word on the BioWare Forums (which are now run by EA), they can not only ban you from the forums for a few days, but also ban you from using/registering your game on the account. Meaning you will have to create a completely new account in order to play. Might not sound like a big deal, but if you have been with BioWare games for a while, all of your games and stats will be gone from the new profile.

    BioWare has really bit the big one when dealing with EA. Welcome to Nazi Gaming.    … Expand
  60. Vailinor
    Mar 25, 2011
    5
    Any one who loved Balder's gate plane scape or DA:O will hate what they did to DA 2. Its rushed in all regards from reused levels to waves of enemies that pop out of thin air. The story is sub par the characters are shallow and you have 0 choices that make any difference to the game world. This game is at its very best absolutely average in all regards.
  61. JLTex
    Apr 1, 2011
    5
    I want to like this game but I just can't do it. The characters and story in this game seem small and unimportant. Almost random with no big "hook" to keep you committed to the story. It is a kind of fun time-waster but seems brainless. The sidequests require no thought at all. Just look at the map and go exactly where it tells you to go. Instead of trying to solve problems or questsI want to like this game but I just can't do it. The characters and story in this game seem small and unimportant. Almost random with no big "hook" to keep you committed to the story. It is a kind of fun time-waster but seems brainless. The sidequests require no thought at all. Just look at the map and go exactly where it tells you to go. Instead of trying to solve problems or quests you are just following the road map. In combat you generally face a room full of enemies and after you kill them, a whole bunch more just "parachute" into the screen. Are we supposed to pretend this is not happening? It ruins the flow of combat. And unfortunately this is a combat-RPG. I will finish playing through it but not purchase DLC.… Expand
  62. Indy
    Apr 12, 2011
    4
    This game is an embarrassment of Dragon Age origins. The game is nothing like origins, which is the whole controversy, the story isn't compelling as Origins. The characters are so conventional they seem almost lifeless and limited interactions doesn't serve well. Combat is nicely flowed together and much more smoother then origins, but the lack of challenge and constant enemies can make itThis game is an embarrassment of Dragon Age origins. The game is nothing like origins, which is the whole controversy, the story isn't compelling as Origins. The characters are so conventional they seem almost lifeless and limited interactions doesn't serve well. Combat is nicely flowed together and much more smoother then origins, but the lack of challenge and constant enemies can make it all too repetitive. But what really tears me up is that DA2 facilitates for newer gamers with neglecting the older fans. Whatever choices you made in origins have minor or no significant impact on DA2. This game suffers from an overload of enemies, recycled environments and is missing that unique fantasy element that makes rpg 's so grand.… Expand
  63. Kondorr
    May 18, 2011
    6
    I really liked the first one... although I always preferred the Mass Effect games... and The Witcher... I really wanted to like this game... and guess what! I liked it... it was not this epic adventure, which the first one was... it was nowhere near the masterfully executed Mass Effect... it did not even hold a candle to KOTOR... BUT it WAS fun. But let me get to the specifics: TheI really liked the first one... although I always preferred the Mass Effect games... and The Witcher... I really wanted to like this game... and guess what! I liked it... it was not this epic adventure, which the first one was... it was nowhere near the masterfully executed Mass Effect... it did not even hold a candle to KOTOR... BUT it WAS fun. But let me get to the specifics: The graphics are for todays standards very bad. OK, face animation is great... but the designs and the cartoony art style... did not work for me. The story did not seem like a whole story... but random scripted events tight together... Although the years advanced... Kirkwall stayed the same... the same almost dead and unimpressive city... characters did not age, at least not visually!
    The whole sub story with managing the Bone pit... completely wasted... Locations looked often very similar if not exactly the same... the music was unimpressive, the fighting was ridiculous over the top...

    I could go on like this... BUT IN THE END... AS LONG AS IT LASTED... I had fun with it... despite it's numerous flaws and design short comings... The characters were interesting, the story seemed intriguing... but ultimately turned out to be mostly about nothing... just a random string of scripted events... I think the only reason I really can recommend the game... is for it's characters...

    It is nowhere as good as the critics-score... but it is better than the User-Score...    … Expand
  64. Antix
    Jun 16, 2011
    3
    A really bad game. Plain and simple. The 'level design' - and you have to use that term loosely - just consists of a few a very narrow corridors. The areas are shamelessly reused. How a developer can get away with making about 6 tiny areas for a 40 hour long game and calling it a day is beyond me. The game mostly takes place in a city and its surroundings. Needless to say, they never evenA really bad game. Plain and simple. The 'level design' - and you have to use that term loosely - just consists of a few a very narrow corridors. The areas are shamelessly reused. How a developer can get away with making about 6 tiny areas for a 40 hour long game and calling it a day is beyond me. The game mostly takes place in a city and its surroundings. Needless to say, they never even bothered to design a city, only 3 separate and small areas that you can fast travel to.

    The combat is frantic. Gone are the strategic battles of Origins. A lot of enemies bumrush you in the small corridors and you have to press the awesome button. On top of that, it is very tedious, since each and every single encounter you have will have about 4-5 waves of the exact same enemies literally teleporting in out of nowhere to bore you to death. Ridiculous game design. Not to mention that most encounters are random i.e. you just walk around and explore and don't see your enemy until the fight begins. Quite ironic from the company that bashes jrpgs. The difficulty curve is pretty much nonexistent if you keep your equipment in check since level scaling is in effect. A hurlock won't be easier to kill at lvl20 than at lvl1.

    Your character, Hawke, has 3 stock replies locked in their respective places: Good, funny or aggressive. Funny is especially bad. Like "wanting to punch whoever wrote that crap" kind of bad. Good or aggressive is most of the time what you'd expect. Emphasis on most of the time, since the few words they put in the dumb dialogue wheel so you don't bother your pretty litle brain with too much reading can be misleading. Sometimes extra options or questions show up but most of the times they're just stuff that isn't worth asking or has already been answered.

    The party members feel like wasted potential. You have to visit them in their homes so they all explain their backstories in about 2-3 conversations over time and all have a chain of quests tied to it. At the core, they're not all that bad but everything feels very formulaic so you end up not caring much about them. But hey, they're mostly bisexual and you can romance them since that's obviously more important than the rest of the game, so it's all good. Their armor isn't customizable but weapons, stats and skills are up to you.

    Finally, the story. If you last long enough (trust me, that's difficult) to make it to the final act, you'll have a somewhat interesting story on your hands that just ends up being predictable, but at least you get the 'epic' high fantasy feel for a while and a laughable final boss. The first act just feels like a needless prologue and you will feel a general lack urgency or motivation. Act 2 is more bearable but still nothing to write home about. The side quests are all derivative and boring.

    Lazy game design, bad writing, and poor production values are what make this a title that isn't just hard to recommend, but should simply be avoided by anyone. The icing on the cake is that overall, the game feels like a slap to the face for the people who had hope in the Dragon Age franchise and took it the exact opposite direction from what they were hoping for.    … Expand
  65. DevilhornsMag
    May 22, 2011
    5
    The first truly mediocre game by Bioware. I enjoyed DA: Origins very much and pre-ordered this as soon as it became an option, sure it would be more of the same greatness. Recycled dungeons, waves of space-invaders type enemies, terrible dialogue, nonexistent script and worst of all, plasmatic choices that do not matter in the slightest, this is a travesty of an RPG and a shame upon allThe first truly mediocre game by Bioware. I enjoyed DA: Origins very much and pre-ordered this as soon as it became an option, sure it would be more of the same greatness. Recycled dungeons, waves of space-invaders type enemies, terrible dialogue, nonexistent script and worst of all, plasmatic choices that do not matter in the slightest, this is a travesty of an RPG and a shame upon all it's creators. As a stand-alone game it's merely mediocre, a good natured if clumsily executed fumble at indie gamemaking.… Expand
  66. Fascination80
    May 19, 2011
    1
    I have played this game on the Xbox and on the PC. I didn't like it on the Xbox but I hated it on the PC. The camera view during combat on the PC is downright awful. The dungeons are all copy and pasted. You have very few choices in the game ( very linear playthrough), almost no interaction with your companions, and they removed the ability to customise your companion's armour and in someI have played this game on the Xbox and on the PC. I didn't like it on the Xbox but I hated it on the PC. The camera view during combat on the PC is downright awful. The dungeons are all copy and pasted. You have very few choices in the game ( very linear playthrough), almost no interaction with your companions, and they removed the ability to customise your companion's armour and in some cases, weapons.
    Bioware removed some of the best parts about Dragon Age!
    Oh, and the story made you despise both sides in the "major" conflict so at the end of the day, you are forced to take sides when my character didn't even care one way or the other.
    I also felt almost nothing for my love interest since as I wrote above, Bioware removed almost all of the interaction with your companions that was one of the unique and great things about DA Origens, so all my companions including my love interest, felt almost like strangers.. I hope Bioware straightens their act out with DA3, otherwise, they can forget about getting my money.
    On a last note, the replayability of DA2 is crap. Both endings (yes, there are only TWO with the exception of which love interest you pick), are almost exactly the same. So, why replay the game? Where as Origens, had great replay value with many different endings depending on your in game choices. Could this mess be EA's doing? Trying to rush the game to make a quick buck? I think Bioware has lost their soul.    … Expand
  67. SJ_pl
    May 22, 2011
    5
    It's good. It has a ton of flaws but I finished the game and not all games made me do that especially that I've spend a lot of time with it (more then 20 hours). - Repeated levels
    - boring characters
    - boging skills

    + fighting mechanics...
  68. BobTheSCV
    May 25, 2011
    6
    If this was any game, by any developer, completely stand alone game that wasn't a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins, I would have probably given it a higher rating. But as it is, Bioware has set a certain standard in it's games. Never once have I played a Bioware game that didn't adhere to the very finest standards of quality. ... until Dragon Age 2. It feels rushed, watered down, andIf this was any game, by any developer, completely stand alone game that wasn't a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins, I would have probably given it a higher rating. But as it is, Bioware has set a certain standard in it's games. Never once have I played a Bioware game that didn't adhere to the very finest standards of quality. ... until Dragon Age 2. It feels rushed, watered down, and downright uninspiring.

    Dungeons are frequently re-used. In Dragon Age 1, some maps would be re-used, typically in random encounters and the like where it didn't really matter. In Dragon Age 2, this is taken to a whole 'nother level. In general, level design has taken a hit as well. It's just less interesting. Less features. Less attention to detail. The world doesn't feel lived in anymore. Feels like a film set.

    The combat has serious issues. The combat mechanics aren't glitchy, but very poorly balanced. Either it's face-rollingly easy, or extremely difficult, with very little in terms of a middle ground. The difficulty also comes from the unforgiving wave mechanic that has units spawning out of nowhere in waves, which means it's virtually impossible to recover from mistakes. Did I mention that potions are on a global cooldown? Sometimes, games with broken mechanics are redeemed by the amount of love put into them by the developers, but this game feels mostly as an attempt to see just how many corners can be cut before people react. And clearly they've cut one corner too many.

    To re-iterate, by industry standards it's not a bad game. But by bioware standards, it's disappointing. If you find it on a discount, by all means pick it up for the story if nothing else, but don't expect another masterpiece like Dragon Age: Origins.    … Expand
  69. Marsten
    Jun 5, 2011
    3
    I consider myself to be a hardcore RPG gamer, and I am a huge fan of BioWare Games. I was raised on Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and I also love their modern titles such as Mass Effect, and also Dragon Age:Origins. But dragon Age 2 is just a big misunderstanding. This rushed, inconsistent and monotonous piece of crap is just a sad, sad attempt to cash in on a promising franchise. HowI consider myself to be a hardcore RPG gamer, and I am a huge fan of BioWare Games. I was raised on Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and I also love their modern titles such as Mass Effect, and also Dragon Age:Origins. But dragon Age 2 is just a big misunderstanding. This rushed, inconsistent and monotonous piece of crap is just a sad, sad attempt to cash in on a promising franchise. How can such good IP deteriorate so quickly, is just beyond me. Remember how in Origins we could travel through Ferelden, have an epic adventure fighting Darkspawn, and save the whole land? You can forget that here. Action takes place in one city - Kirkwall. ONE GOD DAMN CITY! Yeah, sure, we have few locations in the outskirts, but they are recycled so often, that you will constantly return to the same places, and just fight different mobs depending on the quest that you will be doing. That is just a lazy design. And what about the plot? In Origins we were trying to stop a monster invasion, so we traveled from city to city, trying to unite the land and build an army. You can forget such epic storytelling here. To tell you the truth there is no backbone for a plot here, it just feels like one overlonged prolouge. You want to know what the plot is? Warning spoilers: How we became a champion. Thats it. We have three chapters, that seem totally unrelated with each other. And so first we will be preparing for a trasure hunt (best one), and then we will just be dealing with political machinations. It is all just boring, and uninspired. Whats more, this game is laughably easy even on hard difficulty, and has a dumbed down dialog system. Combat? Please. Characters animation during the fights reminds me a free to play korean MMO. Furthermore forget about any tactics. You will be fighting waves after waves of weak enemies, that will literally fall from the sky or even from ceilings. You will just maw through them without any strategy. it looks like a damn cartoon, and not a hardcore dark fantasy RPG. What to say more... How abou the fact, that your decisions in Origins have almost no impact on the plot of Dragon Age 2. Yeah, sure you'll meet some references here and there, and once I think you'll meet a character from the first game. But it does not change anything overall. Summarising Dragon Age 2 is a worst BioWare Game I have ever played. I hope they will takes their fans opinions to heart and improve upon in the next installment. I really, REALLY hope so.… Expand
  70. Fursnake
    Jun 6, 2011
    3
    I really enjoyed the first game a good deal and ultimately found the sequel to be a big letdown. The combat is more enjoyable and I the companion AI seems more flexible and responsive. The main character feels like it has a bit more personality having a voice. That is about as good as it gets. The narrative does not feel as cohesive as the original game nor does it feel like it has theI really enjoyed the first game a good deal and ultimately found the sequel to be a big letdown. The combat is more enjoyable and I the companion AI seems more flexible and responsive. The main character feels like it has a bit more personality having a voice. That is about as good as it gets. The narrative does not feel as cohesive as the original game nor does it feel like it has the same epic sense. The lighter roleplaying elements and the more limited character creation choices detract from the freedom of the roleplaying experience. I did not feel like I was forging my own destiny/story in DA 2 like I did in DA:O. The game world design sucks; the city hub setup that lasts for the whole game is uninspiring both in layout and in visualizations. The repeated use of the same scant amount of maps/areas throughout the entirety of the game is repetitive and speaks of cheap, lackluster game design. Overall DA2 is mostly a letdown as a sequel and part of the Dragon Age world. The overall experience feels a bit more streamlined but at the cost of being much more on rails than the sequel, as well as having a narrower and less epic storyline and being entirely too repetitive and un-immersive. Honestly, I am in the third act of the game, almost near the end, and I just can't find the interest to finish it. Poorly done Bioware, poorly done… Expand
  71. Powderkeg40
    Jun 5, 2011
    4
    Compared to the first Dragon age this game is lacking in the story line department. Though there are many ways to play through it I found that unlike the first, once was enough. Another Blah sequel that could of and should of been so much more.
  72. recondite
    Jun 7, 2011
    0
    This game irritated me SO much that I had to join this site to write a review in hopes of stopping anyone that reads it from buying this game for PC. The creators of this game decided it would be a good idea to say "SCREW YOU PC GAMERS FOR SUPPORTING US IN THE BEGINNING, WE ARE NOW ALL ABOUT CONSOLES!", so what did they do? Everything in the game now feels circular, and I'm sure that wouldThis game irritated me SO much that I had to join this site to write a review in hopes of stopping anyone that reads it from buying this game for PC. The creators of this game decided it would be a good idea to say "SCREW YOU PC GAMERS FOR SUPPORTING US IN THE BEGINNING, WE ARE NOW ALL ABOUT CONSOLES!", so what did they do? Everything in the game now feels circular, and I'm sure that would be JUST FANTASTIC if we were playing the game with an Xbox controller, but we are not. You get thrown into the action of the game without so much as a single tutorial (The tutorial you do get is ignored because you are being attacked by 20 enemies the second you start the game, so you ignore the text if you want to live). The only thing this game is good for is that I can throw it like a frisbee into a lit fireplace. What a waste of money.… Expand
  73. Apollo45
    Jun 9, 2011
    4
    Bioware has created some great games. Dragon Age 2, when compared to most other developer's lineup, would come across as slightly above-average. Overall, it's not a bad game. But it's not a good one either, and when compared to other games that Bioware has put out, it comes across as outright bad. It has its good points:
    -The combat animations have been improved
    -Varric and Aveline are    Bioware has created some great games. Dragon Age 2, when compared to most other developer's lineup, would come across as slightly above-average. Overall, it's not a bad game. But it's not a good one either, and when compared to other games that Bioware has put out, it comes across as outright bad. It has its good points:
    -The combat animations have been improved
    -Varric and Aveline are both excellent characters
    -The storyline, at face value, is good
    -The skill trees are a good way to go in my opinion However, its bad points heavily outweigh the good ones: -The combat has been "simplified" to the point of being able to click auto-attack and just let your character do the work on every difficulty level but Nightmare. -The combat situations have been reduced to randomly spawning enemies that have little to no reason to be there in the first place.
    -Enemies get "reinforcements" during every battle that immediately surround you and eliminate any strategic positioning of your characters that was so key in DA:O
    -Dungeons are re-used throughout the game; there are about four total dungeon maps, and every "new" area consists of those maps re-used with areas closed off or opened. Enemies remain much the same as well.
    -The other characters feel very shallow. As Hawke, you get to know them over the course of ten years, yet I feel like by the end of any other Bioware game I got to know more about my companions than Hawke ever did, despite only knowing them for a year at the very most.
    -Graphics seem worse than in DA:O, and certainly are worse than other recent Bioware games. Everything looks flat and dull.
    That's not everything, but those are the big things. Overall, it feels rushed and very much geared towards console players, which isn't a bad thing in itself, except that Bioware left out and changed things that didn't need to be changed so that console players would have it easier, even though it made playing the game on PC more annoying and much less immersive.

    This game doesn't deserve the high scores critics gave it, and, while not as bad as people make it out to be, definitely ranks among the worst Bioware games to date.    … Expand
  74. twolayers
    Jun 12, 2011
    0
    This game is terrible. There is no meaning character interaction, the camera angle is frustrating, the combat consists of mashing the same button without a thought of skill or strategy, the same three environments are used for every mission so it quickly becomes tedious plus you cannot equip any armour or weapons on your companions so exploring and looting becomes meaningless. The overallThis game is terrible. There is no meaning character interaction, the camera angle is frustrating, the combat consists of mashing the same button without a thought of skill or strategy, the same three environments are used for every mission so it quickly becomes tedious plus you cannot equip any armour or weapons on your companions so exploring and looting becomes meaningless. The overall result is a tedious few hours of mindlessly pressing the same button before giving up, turning it off and wishing you could have your time and money back.… Expand
  75. ducklings
    Jun 12, 2011
    3
    I am not a long-term Bioware fan (I have to admit never played BG or Neverwinter back in the day) but I am a lover of RPGs and Dragon Age: Origins was my introduction to Bioware's games. Needless to say I was very impressed. It was a fantastic, well-written and beautifully executed game that I fell in love with. Despite being warned that Dragon Age 2 will not live up my expectations, I hadI am not a long-term Bioware fan (I have to admit never played BG or Neverwinter back in the day) but I am a lover of RPGs and Dragon Age: Origins was my introduction to Bioware's games. Needless to say I was very impressed. It was a fantastic, well-written and beautifully executed game that I fell in love with. Despite being warned that Dragon Age 2 will not live up my expectations, I had to give it a go. How can another Dragon Age be so bad? So I went into this game with a fairly positive yet cautious attitude. And... well... it's disappointing. Not just as a sequel to Origins, but as a roleplay game in general. Especially from a company like Bioware who I'm led to believe is a bit of an authority on the genre.

    The combat is tedious. It's altogether less tactical and more hack-and-slash. There's no tactical camera, and wave combat with enemies appearing from all angles and even dropping from the sky that makes it pretty impossible to place companions, manage potions and generally devise a battle plan. I may be hyperbolising here, but this sort of combat is fit for games like Serious Sam, not Dragon Age. I have no idea why they dumb-downed the combat in this way. It's obvious that a lot of fights were added in as filler combat. There's various encounters that are just waves and waves of uninteresting unimportant enemies that last far too long and then just as you finish up and turn the corner... another one. And another. It gets boring.
    To add to that, it looks ridiculous. Perhaps Origins' combat needed to be speeded up a bit, but not like this. It feels like a JRPG, and instead of looking cool it looks stupid. Also, far too much blood. And exploding bodies.

    The companions are okay. I wouldn't say they are as well-written as Origin's characters, but they're okay. Interaction is quite horrible though. You only ever get to speak to your companions in their house, and that's only when they have something to say to you, usually involving a quest, or when you give them a gift, of which there about 2 for each. You get a very limited amount of these brief scenes with them, and that's it. For a romance, you get a sex scene and a couple extra conversations - well, I say /sex/ scenes - Origins' sex scenes may have been a little comical, but at least their was some nudity. For an M rated game, I expected a little more than a bit of making out.
    I don't know about others, but I felt a lot more distant to my companions than I did in Origins. And I think that being able to speak to your companions when you want, for as little or as long as you want, is important. It's something that felt missed in Awakenings, and it's worse in DA2.
    Party banter, however, is just as golden as it ever was! Hawke was an awkward invention. It seems Bioware couldn't decide on creating a blank-canvas character that can be almost fully imagined and created as your own (like the Warden was) or a pre-defined personality (say like, Geralt from The Witcher). And so they went with... both. Hawke felt half like your own creation, and half like a pre-defined character. This was difficult to contend with. It was hard to imagine Hawke as you wanted as you never knew what he was going to say or how he was going to behave. Sure you could choose 'good/funny/bad' but that isn't enough freedom. You also couldn't assume Hawke's personality and roleplay him, because you weren't given enough definition for him. Because there was hardly any of it. As a result, a lot of the time it almost felt like watching a film. You can dictate what Hawke does, but you can't really invent him and you can't really roleplay him. It just didn't work. The story was very messy. I liked the idea of the game being retold by a character, but the time skips were awkward to deal with. There was some interesting writing, but instead of being pushed along with a sense of urgency to an important goal like in Origins, it felt very much like you were just dawdling around a city and falling into trouble. Companions felt more like hirelings going along for the ride or using you now and again, then people devoted or forced into aiding your cause. There's no real drive to do anything except at the end of act 2 and the end of act 3. Not to say the story wasn't enjoyable, it was, but it wasn't great.

    Overall, I enjoyed the game. But I wouldn't pay for it. Perhaps in a year or so for a knocked down price, or bundled in with an expansion or some DLC, but not now - it's not worth it. And although I feel I shouldn't compare it to Origins, surely I am allowed to, as it's supposed to be a sequel. It not only failed to improve on Origins, it failed to even reach it's level. In fact, it was considerably worse than the original Dragon Age and that is not a success. Oh, and I think the graphics got worse. The eyebrows in the game are frightening. And Zevran - poor Zevran.    … Expand
  76. DMAD
    Jun 13, 2011
    0
    Very disappointing game. Shame on you $EAWare!!! Dovreste vergognarvi di aver venduto l'anima per una manciata di dollari, la prostituzione intellettuale è la rovina della sociretà!!!
  77. Caiobrz
    Jun 30, 2011
    3
    The first game was awesome: nearly perfect graphics, involving (and evolving) story-line, decent story-telling, very likable characters with good nuances on their relationships, good game dynamics and so on. NONE of that is found at this second instance.

    Graphics are on the same level (actually, the design is cartoonist instead of realistic like the first), but system requirements are    The first game was awesome: nearly perfect graphics, involving (and evolving) story-line, decent story-telling, very likable characters with good nuances on their relationships, good game dynamics and so on. NONE of that is found at this second instance.

    Graphics are on the same level (actually, the design is cartoonist instead of realistic like the first), but system requirements are bigger (try to understand that), characters are simple and plain, there is actually no story and you have NO CLUE why you are playing - you just play, you know you are supposed to do something but have no idea why, and all of the sudden, the game ends. If you try and pursue relationships with your companions, you will be disappointed - and don't expect anything spicy for the more intimate moments, for there are none!

    Add the fact that strategy was ruined with friendly-fire not existing, and the dumbing-down of most game mechanics, and what you have here is weak and pointless, and the hard fan will only play it just to see it though and pretend he/she got a minimal worth from the money ill spent.

    In short: a perfect example of how to ruin a good game because of consoles, money and dumbing it for "the masses". Result: 4.2 user score, hope E.A. and Bioware get the message.    … Expand
  78. gvazdas
    Aug 2, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game was a LARGE disappointment.
    As a big Dragon Age fan for it's great story, character development and etc, this game was a downer.
    Every aspect of the game got worse.
    The only thing that kept me going for the game and not just throwing it out the window were the action sequences. They were improved over the last game and kept me playing.
    However, the story and character development was horribly poor in this game.
    Not to mention this game shoves homosexuality to your male character's throat.
    After you have helped Anders' in his acceptable quest mission, he wants you to be his boyfriend.
    If you neglect that request, Anders' disapproves of you because you are straight. This is very dumb and has made this game shameful. The story was poor and has not connected to anything, and what disappointed me the most that we did not meet most of the characters from Dragon Age 1. I really wanted to at least stumble open Oghren and Dog.
    The characters have no original story whatsoever. It's like shoving down a pile of stupid stereotypical ideas down into a bucket and just accepting them into this game. Every single imaginable stereotypical character is in this game.
    Emo person who hates the world? Check.
    A wench who has sex with everyone? Check.
    A person who keeps crying and needs your help? Check.
    A person that has infinite stories to tell you? Check. (Actually, even although it might be stereotypical, this character was really acceptable and funny at times).
    And what annoyed me the most is the main character.
    He had NO development WHATSOEVER. This person was either the dumbest knight in existence of video gaming or the writer was he dumbest writer in the history of life.
    This game is unplayable due to a very unpolished city. You could think, the game is focused only in a city and a mountain, and the city looks like crap. There are many games that have lots of locations and every location is carefully polished? But no. This game has offered no decorations or landmarks to the city or mountains whatsoever.
    If you do optional quests you will be bored by the game. The game uses repetitive hallways and rooms for every single mission and you never see any new locations or interesting plot twists.
    Unless you do not care about story and only the action, you can try getting this game. But it is not worth y our money. Rent it or buy it on a sale. And by sale I mean at least 50% off.    … Expand
  79. Berachan
    Aug 7, 2011
    3
    This is the most disappointing sequel I've played in the last few years... Poor interaction, ugly interface, stupid AIs, feeble script... You get bored during the first two game play hours. I don't know what were the people of Bioware thinking when they planned this, but I can tell you they didn't dedicate much time into it. Boring, awful, hideous!!!
  80. HD3
    Dec 16, 2011
    3
    It's hard to think of anything that probably hasn't been said already about this game, short of just how badly Bioware has handled it. Before this i was convinced they could not make a bad game but DA2 will dissapoint you especially if you enjoyed Bioware's earlier work. Suggest getting Baldur's Gate instead.
  81. Frek
    Dec 21, 2011
    3
    There were high expectations after the retail success of DA:O. I've decided to rate DAII a '3'. Here's my reason's for a 7 point deduction:
    Objective reasons: Recycled places. Every area in the game is copy and pasted several times throughout the game. A lot of RPG's do this but DAII takes this to the extreme. Enemies are spawned in 'waves' and often times magically appear above your head    There were high expectations after the retail success of DA:O. I've decided to rate DAII a '3'. Here's my reason's for a 7 point deduction:
    Objective reasons: Recycled places. Every area in the game is copy and pasted several times throughout the game. A lot of RPG's do this but DAII takes this to the extreme. Enemies are spawned in 'waves' and often times magically appear above your head in mid-air and drop onto the play field. Characters; because of the dialogue wheel any characters that are the same sex as your PC will appear to be gay. You'll feel that you are 'hit' on by every same sex character. This was a major negative for me. For example, as you play though the game as a male, both anders and fenris will 'make a pass' at you. You can either hit the 'heart' or 'break-heart' icons in the dialogue wheel. The end result is that you will feel like all romancable characters of the same sex are gay regardless of what you do.
    Subjective reasons: The art style, while I could have liked it had of this been the first game in the series, it was so drastically different from the first that it ended up changing the very lore and make up of the game. Darkspawn were now goofy looking stooges and such. I did not care much for the combat. It was much better paced but I found it to be considerably easier than DAO as far as tactics go. I played the PC version and on "hard" setting. The combat was quite easy and only challenged me on a handful of encounters.
    To date I can easily say this has been Biowares worst game. For the year 2011 there were a lot of noteable RPG's released. Bioware who in the past has always had the top RPG of the year will probably not be winning any awards. They were quite honestly beat at the own game by several other studios who released RPG's that were in a different league when it comes to excellence. Even the non-user metacritic scores will bear this out. Take a look at how many other RPG's scored much higher than DAII for the year 2011.
    I gave DAII a '3' for the reasons above. It would have been '0' had I of written this in March. It earned a '3' because I did manage to end up finishing the game, though with much perseverance and hope that at some point the game would actually redeem itself. DAII is now sitting on my shelf and I can quite confidently say that I will never touch it again after just one playthough. A sad first with all the Bioware games I have played since 1998.    … Expand
  82. owen1218
    Apr 5, 2015
    8
    It's sad this game was skewered so badly by critics, because so many of its advantages were thrown aside in the construction of Inquisition. Yes, clearly there are not nearly enough environments. And it's just really annoying and bad for immersion when enemies pop up out of literally nowhere. But even moreso than Origins (and FAR moreso than Inquisition), I like the fact that my Hawke wasIt's sad this game was skewered so badly by critics, because so many of its advantages were thrown aside in the construction of Inquisition. Yes, clearly there are not nearly enough environments. And it's just really annoying and bad for immersion when enemies pop up out of literally nowhere. But even moreso than Origins (and FAR moreso than Inquisition), I like the fact that my Hawke was actually a character in the story. I liked my interactions with her sister Bethany, her mom, uncle, and cousin. And I built real relationships with my characters-- notably Varric, Aveline, and Anders. And although it was terribly lousy to be stuck in one city for the whole game, at least they bothered to make that one place feel real, which is more than I can say for *any* of the environments in Inquisition (except perhaps Skyhold). I hope moving forward BioWare takes some inspiration from DA II-- rather than moving on reconstructions of popular RPG-lite exploration games like Skyrim.… Expand
  83. Gene
    Mar 14, 2011
    6
    The game's a bit of a rushed mess. I don't mind the streamlined combat, inventory, or even the cookie cutter locations, but at the end the story just breaks down under it's own weight. Character motivations make no sense, both factions are so unlikeable that it's hard to really choose who to go with, and to top it off it makes absolutely no difference who you side with anyway since you'reThe game's a bit of a rushed mess. I don't mind the streamlined combat, inventory, or even the cookie cutter locations, but at the end the story just breaks down under it's own weight. Character motivations make no sense, both factions are so unlikeable that it's hard to really choose who to go with, and to top it off it makes absolutely no difference who you side with anyway since you're just going up against waves of lunatics on both sides the whole time.… Expand
  84. puscyfer
    Mar 19, 2011
    0
    This trend (as it seems) of dumbing down the essence of what RPG has always been ...must stop. My rating is nothing more or less than a protest, a much needed one at that. The industry must cease this behavior, it's banishing the role-playing auditorium - effectively erasing the genre from existence.
  85. Mikimax
    Mar 13, 2011
    1
    Compared to Origins, this game suck ass. I was expecting much more from Bioware, but they dumped down this game for American kids.

    This is just a bad console port, period!
  86. Taichoojack
    Mar 14, 2011
    4
    This sequel I must admit was a big letdown they took what was a challenging strategic game for PC and dummed it down to a button mashing console game. The combat system in DA: O was a bit slow but turning every kill into a messy kill just makes it boring, every time I slice a group of foes in half with one swing I feel like pulling out my hair...aah! Nonetheless the narration has improvedThis sequel I must admit was a big letdown they took what was a challenging strategic game for PC and dummed it down to a button mashing console game. The combat system in DA: O was a bit slow but turning every kill into a messy kill just makes it boring, every time I slice a group of foes in half with one swing I feel like pulling out my hair...aah! Nonetheless the narration has improved though the story has suffered, regurgitating codex from the previous game no use reading them. I must say I was very disappointed with the leveling up too, who told them to dumb it down to attributes and abilities that clearly don't add anything as I can hack all foes to death with normal attacks. I must say that the graphics though are better and the narration actually gets you to like your character.
    I don't see myself playing it the 4 times I have played through DA: O( maybe one more play through is in order to remember a true masterclass).That said my only salvation is that the Witcher is coming out later this year I hope they don't disappoint    … Expand
  87. Hax
    Mar 13, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age: Origins was one of the best RPG games I have played so far and I really loved it.

    But this, so called "sequel" was such a disappointment and it had nothing to do with Origins. I have a very hard time understanding why on earth would Bioware let this game come out when it wasn't even done. The game is full of bugs, very bad graphics, bad story, very short gameplay for being a    Dragon Age: Origins was one of the best RPG games I have played so far and I really loved it.

    But this, so called "sequel" was such a disappointment and it had nothing to do with Origins.

    I have a very hard time understanding why on earth would Bioware let this game come out when it wasn't even done.

    The game is full of bugs, very bad graphics, bad story, very short gameplay for being a RPG game.

    I only recommend getting this game when its less expensive. I paid 50 bucks for a half @ssed game.

    Bioware you should be a shamed!    … Expand
  88. idspispopd
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Terrible. Repetitive. Boring. Major disappointment. Plus Bioware will suspend your access to your games if you say something on their message-board they don't like. EA and Bioware will never get another dollar out of me. End of line.
  89. teknohead
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age 2 is one of the worst sequels I have played in a long time. Laidlaw should be fired for this terrible mess of a game. He claims he is aiming to make the game more accessible to a wider audience but has instead alienated the original fanbase. Bioware will not get another $ from me until they prove themselves as a tier one developer again and not some EA lackey churning out cashDragon Age 2 is one of the worst sequels I have played in a long time. Laidlaw should be fired for this terrible mess of a game. He claims he is aiming to make the game more accessible to a wider audience but has instead alienated the original fanbase. Bioware will not get another $ from me until they prove themselves as a tier one developer again and not some EA lackey churning out cash grabbing ****… Expand
  90. daniel_lanois
    Mar 12, 2011
    3
    Dragon Age 2 has been simplified to appeal to a wider audience. The dialogue wheel from Mass Effect (good, bad and cheeky choice), action-combat, less customization (no race selection, limited party equipment control). Instead of improving the game they dumbed it down. It's also obvious that Dragon Age 2 had a short development cycle. Less play time, recycled environments, small gameDragon Age 2 has been simplified to appeal to a wider audience. The dialogue wheel from Mass Effect (good, bad and cheeky choice), action-combat, less customization (no race selection, limited party equipment control). Instead of improving the game they dumbed it down. It's also obvious that Dragon Age 2 had a short development cycle. Less play time, recycled environments, small game world, even the story is below Bioware standards. What a disappointment to true role playing fans!… Expand
  91. isolde1234
    Mar 13, 2011
    1
    Pros:
    Combat system improved
    more blood Slicing through enemies is effortless better graphics (depending on certain circumstances) Con: Everything else sucks No story Awkward conversations Repeated dungeon maps Companions have no personality Stuck in the same city Game-play was very short for the price of 60$ I didn't want to romance anyone because I find none of my companions attractive    Pros:
    Combat system improved
    more blood
    Slicing through enemies is effortless
    better graphics (depending on certain circumstances)

    Con:
    Everything else sucks
    No story
    Awkward conversations
    Repeated dungeon maps
    Companions have no personality
    Stuck in the same city
    Game-play was very short for the price of 60$
    I didn't want to romance anyone because I find none of my companions attractive
    The story is fixed and your choices doesn't make any difference
    The epilogue was stupid. I'd have a small scene where i get to read about what happen to everyone and everything than to listen to varric acknowledging that my hero is somewhere with his/her lover

    Overall : worth less than 10$    … Expand
  92. Jussi
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    "Darker, sexier, prettier" were the advertising words for this sequel. Unfortunately the ONLY thing that actually has got better (in some parts of the game) is combat dynamics. Story line itself is very narrow comparing to original DAO, darkness has been replaced with fierce button smashing combating and then sex... well that's completely REMOVED. Okay, you actually can get to kiss someone"Darker, sexier, prettier" were the advertising words for this sequel. Unfortunately the ONLY thing that actually has got better (in some parts of the game) is combat dynamics. Story line itself is very narrow comparing to original DAO, darkness has been replaced with fierce button smashing combating and then sex... well that's completely REMOVED. Okay, you actually can get to kiss someone and invoke some dirty dialogue, but anyone who has actually played DAO will be very disappointed. There's no passion, no mature decisions to be made and absolutely nothing to see in terms of mature gaming. It looks like this sequel is more targeted to 13 years old console gamers than to people who actually played and enjoyed the original Dragon Age.

    The only thing that could save the game amongst DAO players would be fast introduction of expansions and toolset, that would make possible to enchange game in mentioned areas. Without that, I think the game is doomed and will only result financial loss and more sadly, ruin the name of Dragon Age.    … Expand
  93. garudevil
    Mar 14, 2011
    1
    Best combat ever? did they change the difficulty to hard or nightmare. It's so unbalance. In casual and normal you dont have trouble to deal with the army of enemy (around 15 - 20 guys in all fight). But in hard mode it's sucks! with poor cooldown potion system and no zoom out camera. poorest combat system ever.
    I expect to meet this number of enemy (in every battle) in dynasty warior but    Best combat ever? did they change the difficulty to hard or nightmare. It's so unbalance. In casual and normal you dont have trouble to deal with the army of enemy (around 15 - 20 guys in all fight). But in hard mode it's sucks! with poor cooldown potion system and no zoom out camera. poorest combat system ever.
    I expect to meet this number of enemy (in every battle) in dynasty warior but not dragon age.    … Expand
  94. Hude
    Mar 14, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. DA2 just didnâ… Expand
  95. SHaDER
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    A truly awful game. Absolutely no storyline whatsoever, you are literally cast into town and told to do side quests for the first 13 hours. Combat is the same boring fights over and over again, with multiple waves of mobs spawning in EVERY SINGLE fight. They reuse the same exact maps over and over for different places, they couldn't even be bothered to design different, unique locations.A truly awful game. Absolutely no storyline whatsoever, you are literally cast into town and told to do side quests for the first 13 hours. Combat is the same boring fights over and over again, with multiple waves of mobs spawning in EVERY SINGLE fight. They reuse the same exact maps over and over for different places, they couldn't even be bothered to design different, unique locations. Most of the characters are either annoying or boring, not that it would matter if they were interesting or not because you can't even interact with them save for a few occasions. I thought that Bioware was going downhill before, but holy crap this is just an absolute garbage of a game.… Expand
  96. Cisco78
    Mar 15, 2011
    4
    I've now logged in over 25hrs into Dragon Age 2 and am simply not impressed. Everything about Dragon Age: Origins was absolutely epic, the story, the characters, the combat etc. DA2 changed a lot of what I loved about DA:O. I know there are a lot of folks clamoring about people giving this game poor reviews because it isn't a real DA:O sequel, but I'm not sure I fully understand this.I've now logged in over 25hrs into Dragon Age 2 and am simply not impressed. Everything about Dragon Age: Origins was absolutely epic, the story, the characters, the combat etc. DA2 changed a lot of what I loved about DA:O. I know there are a lot of folks clamoring about people giving this game poor reviews because it isn't a real DA:O sequel, but I'm not sure I fully understand this. DA:O was excellent, the formula worked IMO, I just don't understand why they changed so much. I'm a HUGE Bioware fan, so giving this game a poor review wasn't easy. The story is very week in my opinion. I feel no attachment what so ever to the main character and sup[porting NPCS, they seem extremely generic. In DA:O the work hung in the balance and you were at the center. With DA2 it just doesn't feel the same at all. The two launch DLC, which I feel is a total scam are absolutely not worth it. I have to pay to respec my character? What a load of junk.

    Save yourself the cash and wait for a few of the soon to be released RPGs. DA2 misses the mark by a long shot in my book. And don't be seduced by the "professional" reviews. They all seem infatuated with the new combat system, which I feel makes this game so much worse.    … Expand
  97. alluringsumo
    Mar 15, 2011
    1
    They sold the Baldur's gate soul of this game to make a poor playing Mass Effect Fantasy game. While not unplayable the game makes you feel you wasted all you time in Dragon Age Origins by bot allowing character carry over. Worse yet Bioware took the highly unethical practice of having their own employee rate this game perfectly (check the news stories). Given Bioware has lost its moralThey sold the Baldur's gate soul of this game to make a poor playing Mass Effect Fantasy game. While not unplayable the game makes you feel you wasted all you time in Dragon Age Origins by bot allowing character carry over. Worse yet Bioware took the highly unethical practice of having their own employee rate this game perfectly (check the news stories). Given Bioware has lost its moral compass under EA any redeeming elements of this game are not worth rewarding the now soulless EA/Bioware with a purchase. Wait for the bargain bin.… Expand
  98. achilaem
    Mar 15, 2011
    2
    Gosh, Bioware, why did you destroyed such a great game? Mass Effect 2 can never be Dragon Age 2. I hope youll learn and make a better DA3 with same complexity and good graphics that Origins has.
  99. DksShaman
    Mar 15, 2011
    1
    Terrible gameplay, outdated graphics, underwhelming story, the if you want play DA... go play Dragon Age: Origins. This is not a sequel, is the end of the dragon age series.
  100. blbdart
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    This game is a complete and utter failure compared to the first game, and its expansion.
    3/4 of the maps in this game are all completely recycled. The battle system is fast, and enemies spawn in swarms out of nowhere. The first game was focused more on taking down powerful enemies with tactics. This game seems more focused on making things look shiny and appealing. Although the characters    This game is a complete and utter failure compared to the first game, and its expansion.
    3/4 of the maps in this game are all completely recycled. The battle system is fast, and enemies spawn in swarms out of nowhere. The first game was focused more on taking down powerful enemies with tactics. This game seems more focused on making things look shiny and appealing. Although the characters are much more interesting and stylized in this title, it doesn't make up for the lack of characters and new areas. The plot line always winds up leading to the same conclusion, and a majority of the game is spent doing side quests. This is a one time only sort of experience. I couldn't stand making a second character for any reason. This game seems very similar to the story of Kotor 2, in which Bioware rushed the game, throwing it out there incomplete. It would be acceptable if this title were perhaps not called Dragon Age II, but something else, like "Dragon Age: Kirkwall Hero" or something along those lines, because I personally feel that this game does not deserve the title of a direct sequel.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

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