Dragon Age II

 PlayStation 3
User Score
4.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1245 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 384 out of 1245
  2. Mixed: 188 out of 1245
  3. Negative: 673 out of 1245
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Surematt
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Ive never reviewed a game on here before, but after about 10-15 hours into this, i just could not do it anymore. i needed to tell people not to buy this game. you might argue that that game has good RP systems, or whatever, and it dosent deserve a flat out 0, mabye a 3 or 4, but a game that when i play it, all i want to do is **** STOP playing it, deserves a 0 in my eyes. god i hope i canIve never reviewed a game on here before, but after about 10-15 hours into this, i just could not do it anymore. i needed to tell people not to buy this game. you might argue that that game has good RP systems, or whatever, and it dosent deserve a flat out 0, mabye a 3 or 4, but a game that when i play it, all i want to do is **** STOP playing it, deserves a 0 in my eyes. god i hope i can get my money back on this junk. it is a total insult to all DA:O fans, and PC gamers in general. terrible console port, from a company that once made such great games. Bioware, if you are reading this, do NOT let your DA team ANYWHERE near Mass Effect 3.… Expand
  2. GodlikeSlayer
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    This game was a poor attempt at an Rpg even for an action Rpg it's dated graphics and poor gameplay let this title down, when compared to the original dragon age origins it is indeed seen as being an inferior sequel.
  3. Wildfire8
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II will be recorded as one of the worst blunders in video game history. Bioware somehow managed to take a promising series, and do a Tomb Raider with it. The game visually looks like a mod for Knights of the Old Republic, if that mod were to lower all the games textures and was inspired by minecraft. The writing in this game is exactly what you'd expect an autistic 12 year oldDragon Age II will be recorded as one of the worst blunders in video game history. Bioware somehow managed to take a promising series, and do a Tomb Raider with it. The game visually looks like a mod for Knights of the Old Republic, if that mod were to lower all the games textures and was inspired by minecraft. The writing in this game is exactly what you'd expect an autistic 12 year old farm hand. Gone are the "grey" moral areas, and choices that affect the story. Instead, a dialogue wheel now lets you choose between 3 options, Sissy school girl, comedic relief in b-movie, and complete jerkwad. With such rivieting dialogue options as "Hey, I wunna be a dragon too!" and "Boy, I'm hungry", it's hard not to believe that Bioware is doing a psychological experiment to see how much punishment masochistic fans will put up with. Most of the game takes place in the confines of a single "city". I say "city" loosely, because it is actually nothing more than a collection of buildings, devoid of life. All areas outside of the city and bland and repetitive. Let me be clear on this: EVERY SINGLE OUTDOOR AREA outside of the city consists of a rock wall on one side of the map, and a large, lifeless, poorly textured vista on the other. I've seen 2 year olds that can color better than the job Bioware did with this vista. Dungeons are frequently repeated. Yes, you heard that right, the exact same cave is used over and over and over again. You can no longer equip armor to companions, and the new companions are dull and lifeless. Every voice actor in the game sounds the exact same, and they all sound utterly bored with their jobs. Of course, I needed even comment on the combat to anyone who has played the demo. Bioware decided to strip out all tactical and RPG elements, and instead turn the game into a poor man's Dynasty warriors, complete with waves of spawning powder rangers running at you, while you perform the same over the top animations over and over carrying massive JRPG styled swords. I award this game no points, and may God have mercy on it's soul.â… Expand
  4. Someguy52
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Terrible graphics, terrible dialogue, forgettable music, bland characters, linear gameworld, uninteresting locations, terrible button-mashing gameplay. Overall: A very very bad game that you should avoid
  5. bugbear1
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    What a POS. Repeated environments, insipid dialogue banter between party members, empty dungeons with practically NO detail and get this: you cannot swap out gear for your party! that's right, u CAN trade jewelry and such, BUT you cannot "tailor" your party at all. extremely short, with little to NO exploration, overall trash story with pandering cutscenes, recycled locations,What a POS. Repeated environments, insipid dialogue banter between party members, empty dungeons with practically NO detail and get this: you cannot swap out gear for your party! that's right, u CAN trade jewelry and such, BUT you cannot "tailor" your party at all. extremely short, with little to NO exploration, overall trash story with pandering cutscenes, recycled locations, insta-spawning enemy rogues that can teleport across the little maps and on and on--

    this drek makes FFXIII "look" like the greatest game ever made- It's readily apparent that EA have finally converted BIOWARE to their way of creating games.
    -lackluster money-grab with no conscience and no-soul gameplay, DA2 panders to the ADD crowd with spamming, action-adventure combat, minimal RPG elements, and in-short: welcome to the suck!    … Expand
  6. snafeer
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    I cannot believe what Bioware did.. they $#!^ on the entire community. This game screams "WE WANT MONEY". This game had little to no effort put into it, it feels like you are playing the role of an inbred retard who needs your help. Yes, your help. You need to help him stop repeatedly punching himself in the face, because he is so damn stupid. The visuals are also terrible, the repeatedI cannot believe what Bioware did.. they $#!^ on the entire community. This game screams "WE WANT MONEY". This game had little to no effort put into it, it feels like you are playing the role of an inbred retard who needs your help. Yes, your help. You need to help him stop repeatedly punching himself in the face, because he is so damn stupid. The visuals are also terrible, the repeated textures and horrible emotions shown on the slapped on character faces remind me of 9/11. Bioware, you should feel ashamed, this is not a game, this is a joke.… Expand
  7. Elvenhunter
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    just a terrible game! i totally agree with the people saying this takes out the "role-playing" out of the roleplaying game. hawke isnt even that cool and the story was flat out... well just that, FLAT. DA2 just destroyed what was to be a great franchise
  8. RPGFan2
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Bioware has created what could go down as the worst "RPG" ever made. Of course, I have to say RPG in quotations, because all RPG elements have been stripped. It is a "role playing" game I guess, but that role is a very strict one laid down by Bethesda. There are no choices to make now, as has become a Bethesda trademark, and very few dialogue trees. The dialogue now is just a linearBioware has created what could go down as the worst "RPG" ever made. Of course, I have to say RPG in quotations, because all RPG elements have been stripped. It is a "role playing" game I guess, but that role is a very strict one laid down by Bethesda. There are no choices to make now, as has become a Bethesda trademark, and very few dialogue trees. The dialogue now is just a linear rambling between two bored sounding cookie cutter people, and the instead of influencing the conversation, you are only allowed to select whether the character will do the conversation angry, soft, or sarcastic.

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


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

    Dragon Age 2 is not only a huge step back for the series, but a huge step back for video games in general. The dumbing down of the series marks the biggest leap in what has become a trend in video game design. I can only hope that Bioware listens to the fans after this outing and, pun intended, return to their origins as RPG designers in their next outing.    … Expand
  9. Tamarzan
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Very bad. Sony has terrible sauce with stuff that makes everybody sad, and they cry because they think it's supposed to be good. TL;DR: very very bad, do not
  10. pazmacats
    Mar 15, 2011
    0
    Game is optimized for DLC. Disjointed story, chaotic combat. I recommend reading a book or watching 3 movies instead. If you throw a ball against an wall while wathcing the movie you can call your movie-watching interactive. You can even add a mulitplayer function by throwing the ball to some mate while watching the movie. You should however chose a good movie to watch (otherwise you'll beGame is optimized for DLC. Disjointed story, chaotic combat. I recommend reading a book or watching 3 movies instead. If you throw a ball against an wall while wathcing the movie you can call your movie-watching interactive. You can even add a mulitplayer function by throwing the ball to some mate while watching the movie. You should however chose a good movie to watch (otherwise you'll be wishing to click through stupid dialogue like in DA2)… Expand
  11. omgwot
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Its hard to make a game worse than this nowadays. Any decision-maker who played this and approved it for release has either the wrong job or was under heavy pressure, or maybe he had a moment of silly or was on drugs, or both. Maybe they just wanted to deliberately piss off their user-base and destroy their image, forever.
  12. TXTSWORD
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    This is exactly what's wrong with gaming, and I hope this entire situation revealed that for some of the plebe gamers who have been asleep to the evils of popular marketed-to-hell trash games. What obviously happened was they decided to take a successful game with a promising future for it's franchise, and make it a DIFFERENT game targeted to people who were not fans of the first. I don'tThis is exactly what's wrong with gaming, and I hope this entire situation revealed that for some of the plebe gamers who have been asleep to the evils of popular marketed-to-hell trash games. What obviously happened was they decided to take a successful game with a promising future for it's franchise, and make it a DIFFERENT game targeted to people who were not fans of the first. I don't know what the long term plan for that was. Additionally, the game was so rushed (to be cranked out in a year for maximum profit) that it's an incoherent trainwreck. Beyond the fact they ruined everything fun about Origins, beyond the weird new "artsy cartoon network show" art direction, beyond wrecking the dialogue system and significance of "choice", beyond everything I expected, it also managed to not be a coherent videogame. The story progression, the world, the sense of purpose, the understanding of your objectives, everything is lost. It's the most bizarre experience I've had playing a game. If it were just bland soulless triple A title bad, that would be understandable. It was what I was expecting. But this is so much worse. It seems... confused. Lack of focus in the design, or lack of direction. Anyways, I imagine that they wrecked this franchise so congratulations I hope you're punished for ceasing to make good videogames. This industry is sick. I don't know what developers to trust. The only one that comes to mind is From Software. Punish bad devs, punish bad publishers, stop giving them your money, stop buying into the hype, and make the industry well again.… Expand
  13. Puma_Mexa
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Previous game was miles better. This one is just average at best, definitely not worthy of a good score. But I can see EA payed every relevant reviewer to have a descent score on Metacritic, though If you see the user scores It clearly shows the discontent of gamers about DA2, too much hype and all we got was a game where the only descent point is the combat mechanics (just at hard). EvenPrevious game was miles better. This one is just average at best, definitely not worthy of a good score. But I can see EA payed every relevant reviewer to have a descent score on Metacritic, though If you see the user scores It clearly shows the discontent of gamers about DA2, too much hype and all we got was a game where the only descent point is the combat mechanics (just at hard). Even the graphics are really bad. I have a high end PC were I can run Crysis at max at 60fps, but DA2 consumes a ridiculous amount of resources even on medium settings, and it's not like it has state of the art visuals or employs real time physics in every interaction either. I was going to give it a 5 but now. Bioware, banning a gamer and not letting him play the game just because he talked bad about your overlord, EA? That's low, and not just Activision low. See if I ever buy another game from you.… Expand
  14. Naka
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    I'm a big fan of the original DA and really got into the lore. Unfortunately that doesn't help me trying to like this sorry mess for sequel. The combat is extremely simplified (and meaningless), the story is told in a most unexciting way and the game just feel like a downgrade compared to the predecessor. Usually i believe "less is more", but not to the point when its so simplified itI'm a big fan of the original DA and really got into the lore. Unfortunately that doesn't help me trying to like this sorry mess for sequel. The combat is extremely simplified (and meaningless), the story is told in a most unexciting way and the game just feel like a downgrade compared to the predecessor. Usually i believe "less is more", but not to the point when its so simplified it becomes braindead.â… Expand
  15. hafini
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    there is nothing much to say about this game because EA has corrupted its from the inside. The first game is a success but the second game is only a money machine for EA's devils
  16. Lascelle
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    What reason do we have to believe Mass Effect 3 won't be given the same shoddy treatment as Dragon Age II? So disappointed. Bioware has bought into their own hype and is throwing their well-earned reputation into the proverbial toilet.
  17. Gixxer420
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    The combat in Dragon Age 2 was actually a lot more fun than the original. But the gameplay, story, atmosphere, music, and just about everything else made this game a steamy pile of **** compared to the original. You stay in one area for the ENTIRE game and environments are recycled 5-10 times, holy **** The characters are decent, but it's hard to get attached to them like you could inThe combat in Dragon Age 2 was actually a lot more fun than the original. But the gameplay, story, atmosphere, music, and just about everything else made this game a steamy pile of **** compared to the original. You stay in one area for the ENTIRE game and environments are recycled 5-10 times, holy **** The characters are decent, but it's hard to get attached to them like you could in Origins. Now as a modern game it was mediocre, but for a Dragon Age successor it was a huge disappointment... I think I beat the game 100% in a little over 9 1/2 hours, Dragon Age: Origins took me over 60 hours to fully complete it, huge step backwards. The story was a mess, serious **** mess, I won't spoil it for anyone but no connections are made and it's a huge cluster **** of nothing. The game has polish, but it doesn't have that epic feel like Origins did. Oh well, maybe Dragon Age 3 will be a little different.… Expand
  18. FilthyGround
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Compared to DA:Origins this game is a great disappointment.
    Compared to Baldur's Gate it's a mere insult.
    Even if you take it for what it is without comparing it to the greatness of former Bioware games, you end up with a not much of a game at all. The art work is sloppy, the gameplay lacks depth, the moral choice system is a joke and the story is cliché on cliché    Compared to DA:Origins this game is a great disappointment.
    Compared to Baldur's Gate it's a mere insult.
    Even if you take it for what it is without comparing it to the greatness of former Bioware games, you end up with a not much of a game at all.
    The art work is sloppy, the gameplay lacks depth, the moral choice system is a joke and the story is cliché on cliché on cliché.
    Adding to that the story is so blatantly cut off to provide them with content for the mandatory launch day DLC. I never pirated a Bioware game out of respect for they great games they made.
    This ends now.
    This game is bad enough to end more than a decade of loyalty.    … Expand
  19. absu
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. an epic fail,al for i love Dao - is disapper empty locations ,all game in stupid citty like deneriom from fao
    shame on you Bioware.....

    shame on EA managers - who killing the great game    … Expand
  20. DKN
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    Iâ
  21. XcaliburOne
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    BioWare please tell me what in god's name did you do to Dragon Age? I don't even want to type how disappointed I am with this title. I fully blame this game's release with the superquake in Northern Japan.
  22. assmaster69
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    I wrote a detailed review about all the things wrong with the game earlier, and gave it a score of three. This is a revision to balance out the bioware employees and shills giving it 10s.
  23. Redtrip
    Mar 13, 2011
    0
    The only RPG worse than Dragon Age is the sequel. If Bioware continues to make such terrible games it will see itself go from acclaimed developer to bankrupt.
  24. Dzverg
    Mar 13, 2011
    0
    Hello!
    For the first time I haven't received pleasure from game from BioWare Game is awful. The fighting system causes furiousness. The graphics is primitive, that I play such impression Doom, for control of the camera - to tear off hands or it is even better a head.
    If they I will make Mass Effect 3 in the same type it it will be very bad.
  25. Viraglue
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    Bland and watered down, DA2 was a huge disappointment, visually and conceptually. Judging this game solely by itself (I haven't played Origins), I joined Metacric just to say, don't waste your money. If you have to, rent the game first before you flush it down the drain. What I want to know, is how are all of these so-called "Critics" rating this game +86? I wonder how much BioWare spentBland and watered down, DA2 was a huge disappointment, visually and conceptually. Judging this game solely by itself (I haven't played Origins), I joined Metacric just to say, don't waste your money. If you have to, rent the game first before you flush it down the drain. What I want to know, is how are all of these so-called "Critics" rating this game +86? I wonder how much BioWare spent on getting those ratings.… Expand
  26. Vastgirth
    Mar 22, 2011
    0
    Incredibly disappointing. Lots of boring fighting in the same boring environments. Story doesn't tie in with gameplay. Feels very rushed. What has happened to one of my favourite developers :(.
  27. Erenthorn
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    This an extremely sad attempt for an rpg, before continuing i will point out the first obvious flaws in the game. -Reusing the same four maps 500 times.
    -Setting the whole game in one city.
    -Enemies have a ton of HP and come in waves so the game feels longer. -Frame narrative to avoid being too descriptive about what happens between large periods of time. -Half as much dialogue, more    This an extremely sad attempt for an rpg, before continuing i will point out the first obvious flaws in the game. -Reusing the same four maps 500 times.
    -Setting the whole game in one city.
    -Enemies have a ton of HP and come in waves so the game feels longer.
    -Frame narrative to avoid being too descriptive about what happens between large periods of time.
    -Half as much dialogue, more passive interaction.
    -Millions of stupid side quests that have nothing to do with anything.
    -Dull environment bereft of life and matter.
    -Inability to customize companions allowed you to skip designing different armor models.
    -Collecting hundreds of-- literally, junk items-- to create the illusion of immersion and depth.
    -Poor character development, so you hardly care about your companions by the end of the game. -Lack of any substantial choices that have lasting effects.
    -Contrived ending, that tells you nothing, and leaves a huge gap for sub-par DLC
    -Generic UI showing a lack of creativity and effort.

    Thank You to Sharkey1337 from the Bioware forums for pointing this out. This "game" is a sad excuse for a rushed rpg that lacked any standards of innovation and i ask anyone who thinks about playing this game to not do so. At most, rent and DO NOT BUY, YOU WILL HAVE WASTED 60$ IF YOU DO. Dragon Age Origins compared to this is an absolute masterpiece and anyone who was not played it should do so over buying this short pathetic game.    … Expand
  28. Asher
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    Don't listen to any of these Biodrones, this game screams RUSH-JOB. Graphics from 2006 and gameplay aimed at CoD kiddies = facepalm. Save your money, go for Witcher 2
  29. gheed123
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    Bioware for me stood for quality RPG. Dragon age Origins was a quality RPG. The quality steadily went down with each DLC and the absolute low of this decline now seems to have been reached with DA2. They tried to make an RPG that appeals to the bro's that play CoD, Halo and Gears of war and the like and ended up with this **** The story is nonexistant, enemies are lame, they raped the loreBioware for me stood for quality RPG. Dragon age Origins was a quality RPG. The quality steadily went down with each DLC and the absolute low of this decline now seems to have been reached with DA2. They tried to make an RPG that appeals to the bro's that play CoD, Halo and Gears of war and the like and ended up with this **** The story is nonexistant, enemies are lame, they raped the lore that they built up with DAO, combat is fun for an hour or 1000 exploding bodies, copypasted terrain, fetch quests.. To me yet another huge disappointment for a triple A title.… Expand
  30. lithh
    Mar 15, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm a huge fan of DA Origins, it was the best game I've played since FF X and VII. I was really excited about DA2, I ordered it in December and when I finally got it, I played it through as quickly as I could. During the whole game I was just waiting it to begin and even just before the end credits I thought the adventure was just about to begin. What a huge disappointment! I don't care about crappy graphics, I didn't even notice if they were bad or not. The battles were quite boring but I could have lived with that, too. I want the game to have a great story and great characters and I think DA2 had neither of these. Instead almost the whole game happened in one boring city! And the characters... They're nothing compared to characters in Origins, I feel like they were just random companions but in Origins I really started to love those guys. There's no Morrigan, no Zevran, no nothing in DA2. The story didn't arouse any feelings, I couldn't have cared less what happened but in Origins I think I actually shed a few tears. And for me RPG:s are all about story and characters and the feelings they make me feel.

    I don't know, it could have been a good game if I had never heard of Origins.    … Expand
Page:

Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Best PS3 Game of 2011
7
#7 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011
80
#80 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 52 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 52
  3. Negative: 0 out of 52
  1. GamingExcellence
    Aug 3, 2011
    85
    I'll give Bioware points for trying to do something different in their world, but they really did have it right the first time in terms of character building and the scope of the story.
    Read full review
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    May 27, 2011
    80
    Ultimately Dragon Age II feels like a one step past, and two steps back from Origins. It has been specced purely with us console gamers in mind and now has a low barrier of entry that will rally new fans to the Dragon Age banner. That's admirable, but fans who did get into Origins will lament the less masterful storytelling and the noticeably uneven visual presentation. [May 2011 p.78]
  3. Gamers' Temple
    May 16, 2011
    85
    A smaller gameworld and recycled environments make Dragon Age II feel less expansive than Origins, but a number of console friendly game changes may make it more appealing to console gamers than its predecessor.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »