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
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  1. nothere413
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    The game on the whole is not BAD. It's just amazingly sub par. The dialogue and voice acting are ok, but characters really don't have anything important to say. The combat is fine, but there's not much variation in movesets, so after awhile it feels like a chore. The art style is nice, but at least half of the textures are REALLY low-res. The main plot points aren't established wellThe game on the whole is not BAD. It's just amazingly sub par. The dialogue and voice acting are ok, but characters really don't have anything important to say. The combat is fine, but there's not much variation in movesets, so after awhile it feels like a chore. The art style is nice, but at least half of the textures are REALLY low-res. The main plot points aren't established well enough. Conflicts come and go at the drop of a hat, which made me feel generally uncaring as to the outcome. There's not enough substance, and the framed narrative aspect feels like a gimmick.

    There was a lot of reusing of dungeon models, too. Which made the entire game feel half-assed. Almost like Bioware got lazy and stopped caring if the game felt repetitive or not.

    The ending was the biggest kick to the face of them all, though.

    I really can't see myself buying any downloadable content for this game. I don't hate it... but it's certainly not Dragon Age: Origins in terms of quality and enjoyability.    … Expand
  2. Sagebeat
    Mar 8, 2011
    5
    Dragon Age II...where can I begin. Where along the lines of game development did Bioware think to themselves, we need to remove immersion, and role playing, from a role playing game? When did we think choices, false or real, taken from the character would make them enjoy a character driven storyline MORE?

    At what point did they think we wouldn't notice the re-use of the same map over 8    Dragon Age II...where can I begin. Where along the lines of game development did Bioware think to themselves, we need to remove immersion, and role playing, from a role playing game? When did we think choices, false or real, taken from the character would make them enjoy a character driven storyline MORE?

    At what point did they think we wouldn't notice the re-use of the same map over 8 times in the beginning of the game, when being sent to different places? This isn't the postate cave, this isn't the qunari mine, this isn't even the cave the wayward son was in. THIS IS THE CAVE THAT I WENT THROUGH AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME WITH THE AMULET.

    Combat has been sped up at the cost of strategy, there is no more thinking in fights, there is no more friendly fire, you simply hack away, and drink a potion, which they've handily hotbar'd to their own UI, knowing this was all that was required to win. Fought my first dragon 3 hours into the game, it was a 2 minute fight, consisted of me watching auto attacks and popping the occasional potion, and that was it. No special achievement, apparently dragons are super common now, also it dropped 20s, and a hatchet. Not a unique hatchet, a regular hatchet.

    resources reused from DA:O, and resources reused again and again in this one make for non unique dungeons, landscapes, and immersion

    combat has been oversimplified to a fault, it's no longer hard or involving to do anything, which is a pity, due to half the content being waves of hapless enemies.

    Dialogue and conversation are a joke, no control, and even in the small glimpses where they game tries to give them to you, the wheel will screw it up by captioning what Hawke will actually say incorrectly. What you say either doesn't matter, or isn't what you wanted to say.

    I cant say much about the story as of yet, but its shaping up to be your standard Bioware fare, which isnt nessicarily a bad thing, but the graphics have somehow taken a step backwards on top of all this, and it runs even worse on my computer then DA:O did, which is a big slap in the face.

    The game feels rushed, incomplete, even with the DLC you pay an extra 15$ for, and everything in it minus some of the characters are just lowest tier in quality. Sadly characters do not make up for the rest of the games flaws.    … Expand
  3. xXAnthonyXx
    Mar 8, 2011
    4
    What sucks is all the hype around this for a lackluster game. "Oh DA2 is da best game ever!" Then once you play it, you trade it in and say "I can't believe I gave into hype." I can't believe the words "hype", "improvement", and better yet, "critics." Improvment. What? I thought this was the first game. Hype. Yeah, hype over nothing. Critics. They're just jumping on the "big name"What sucks is all the hype around this for a lackluster game. "Oh DA2 is da best game ever!" Then once you play it, you trade it in and say "I can't believe I gave into hype." I can't believe the words "hype", "improvement", and better yet, "critics." Improvment. What? I thought this was the first game. Hype. Yeah, hype over nothing. Critics. They're just jumping on the "big name" bandwagon that critics jump in. They give alot of positive reviews to crappy games. Just because it's a big name. Do yourself a favor, and avoid. Rental at best.â… Expand
  4. BrutallyHonest
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Designed by focus group. By trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, Bioware has created game that never really develops it's own personality. Utterly forgettable, DA2 tries in vain to be darker, edgier and sexier, but only succeeds in trying too hard. The violence is bloody, the "sexiness" is a bit blatant and ham-handed, all the while giving the impression that behind theDesigned by focus group. By trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, Bioware has created game that never really develops it's own personality. Utterly forgettable, DA2 tries in vain to be darker, edgier and sexier, but only succeeds in trying too hard. The violence is bloody, the "sexiness" is a bit blatant and ham-handed, all the while giving the impression that behind the scenes is a 40-something game director saying "this is what the kids want, right?" Rather than focus on making a solid, entertaining game, Bioware tried to include all things for all gamers. They have created a game with something for everyone, but not enough for any one group to enjoy the experience.… Expand
  5. Galeon22
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    What a slap in the face to everyone who played and loved the first one...dumbed down combat, ugly graphics...does Bioware care anymore or are they just trying to reach a crowd so stupid it'll buy anything as long as its marketed en masse? Expect to have to pay many DLC just to finish the game, the cliffhanger ending and poorly crafted story seems to point to a number of additional episodesWhat a slap in the face to everyone who played and loved the first one...dumbed down combat, ugly graphics...does Bioware care anymore or are they just trying to reach a crowd so stupid it'll buy anything as long as its marketed en masse? Expect to have to pay many DLC just to finish the game, the cliffhanger ending and poorly crafted story seems to point to a number of additional episodes to explain backstories or events.

    You should be ashamed Bioware, how low you've dropped.    … Expand
  6. zeister
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    Terrible.
    To sum it up, every single mechanic has been dumbed down, Dialogue has become of the wheel type, and you can't put much thought into your choices.
    The story is cliche and it doesn't even feel like they are trying. The game play is simplified, it's easier, and even at the highest difficulty, not much thought has to be put into it. The graphics are absolutely terrible, compared    Terrible.
    To sum it up, every single mechanic has been dumbed down, Dialogue has become of the wheel type, and you can't put much thought into your choices.

    The story is cliche and it doesn't even feel like they are trying.

    The game play is simplified, it's easier, and even at the highest difficulty, not much thought has to be put into it. The graphics are absolutely terrible, compared to the old prequel, it's hard to believe how bad the graphics are, and they even advertise themselves on it.

    do not buy it, if you must, you could sate your curiosity by borrowing it or something.    … Expand
  7. KhaaL
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    I'm a big fan of the original DA and really got into the lore. Unfortunately that dosen'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 belive "less is more", but not to the point when its so simplified it    I'm a big fan of the original DA and really got into the lore. Unfortunately that dosen'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 belive "less is more", but not to the point when its so simplified it becomes braindead.    … Expand
  8. Tizlor
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game.

    I do, it's mindless. After working long days and my terrible menial job that saps my mental capacities; it's nice to sit down with a mindless game that takes absolutely no thought what-so-ever to get through. But that's a problem. This is a Bioware game. It's set to a higher standard than other games, it's supposed to draw you    I'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game.

    I do, it's mindless. After working long days and my terrible menial job that saps my mental capacities; it's nice to sit down with a mindless game that takes absolutely no thought what-so-ever to get through.

    But that's a problem. This is a Bioware game. It's set to a higher standard than other games, it's supposed to draw you in with it's story and setting; the characters are supposed to be memorable, witty, devious, intelligent.

    But none of that really applies here. What we got was a game so vapid, so unintelligent, so... test grouped, that it's now not much more than a mindless Facebook game.

    Re-used maps everywhere. Lack of personality in it's setting and characters. Plenty of loot, but only one character to equip it on. (Oh that's nice, a 'mage only' item that has stats that my rogue will never be able to equip. Maybe I'll equip it on to one of my mages on my team, oh wait..) Poorly written characters that are voice acted quite well.

    And what happened to the Qunari? I mean, what? I honestly thought they were Darkspawn. Who even thought that was a good idea?

    I'm starting to go off the rails, the game itself is not worthy of calling itself a sequel. The people who spent the passed year or two working on this game should not be proud of their work. They were forced to make a game that they I'm sure knew would be a big disappointment for the people who actually enjoyed the first game.

    Sorry fellas, people aren't trolling, they're genuinely disappointed that you (Bioware) made a subpar game.

    Borrow this from your friends if you really really want to play it, please do not spend your (or your parents') hard earned money on this.    … Expand
  9. Shodan
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    At the time of writing this, the user score (based on 143 ratings) is *3.6*; the critic score (based on 12 ratings (11 "positive")) is 8.4. You could not have a more embarrassingly obvious exposition of the vapid, dead vacuum-of-integrity that is games journalism. Really, it should be obvious to everyone now that the people who wrote these reviews don't have a single atom of sincerity orAt the time of writing this, the user score (based on 143 ratings) is *3.6*; the critic score (based on 12 ratings (11 "positive")) is 8.4. You could not have a more embarrassingly obvious exposition of the vapid, dead vacuum-of-integrity that is games journalism. Really, it should be obvious to everyone now that the people who wrote these reviews don't have a single atom of sincerity or regard for truth. As far as the game itself is concerned, it's a lobotomized, bordering on the retarded, dumb-down of a game which was itself a lobotomized rehash (of the Baldur's Gate series). You really could not remove more depth from this if you were desperate to. We're at rock-bottom here, and hopefully that means the only way is up. Generic, unremarkable, uninspired, utterly forgettable fast-food for the masses. Nobody who worked on this should be proud.… Expand
  10. 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
  11. FourTHEO
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dragon Age II was terrible, I'm uninstalling it as I write this review.

    Please avoid this "game" if you want to keep yourself from spending hours fighting off boredem and being generally in a poor mood. This game is bad, the entertainment value cannot even be replenished some by laughing at the poorly crafted models and effect, the slap-in-the face linearity that one would expect wouldn't be there if your in-game decisions actually had any effect of the overall outcome of the game or minor scenarios. Not being able to change the equipment to be worn by your party is a minor but needed feature of a title such as this. I can't believe I wasted my money on this.

    If of course time equals money, I spend 2 hours downloading this game and that's 2 hours wasted, not to mention the bandwidth! I have a monthly cap, too.

    Spoilers: This game blows and Stens' race is changed for the worse.    … Expand
  12. ravenXII
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    Combat system is riddled with bugs which really show on nightmare difficulty like your commands reset multiple times during and before battle (seems to only trouble ranged characters) and you cant target aoe spells in tight spaces accurately due to lock in target. Crafting system is over simplified, can't set gear on followers, small amount of total followers fixed by premade dlc, hdCombat system is riddled with bugs which really show on nightmare difficulty like your commands reset multiple times during and before battle (seems to only trouble ranged characters) and you cant target aoe spells in tight spaces accurately due to lock in target. Crafting system is over simplified, can't set gear on followers, small amount of total followers fixed by premade dlc, hd textures are what they are, extremely idiotic sounding conversations if you pick multiple different conversation choices, other weird audio breaks when transitioning to next cutscene, still bioware quality character run animations (hopefully fixable by capable modder) and so much more.… Expand
  13. BarerRudeROC
    Mar 8, 2011
    1
    Horrible rehash,
    Honestly it plays like a standalone mod, Nothing but disappointment, it's even prompted me to sign up to meteoritic to voice my opinion because it's that much of a flop compared to the first DA
  14. 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
  15. Pancakes
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is an abomination. The gameplay is boring and primitive, the story is linear and cliched, the writing is godawful fanfiction.net Naruto fanfics-level crap and the characters are ranging from mediocre to awful (especially Merrill, who is a disgusting moeblob without any personality). Oh, and it's ugly, and i'm not only talking about graphics - the artstyle is... bad. Very, veryDragon Age 2 is an abomination. The gameplay is boring and primitive, the story is linear and cliched, the writing is godawful fanfiction.net Naruto fanfics-level crap and the characters are ranging from mediocre to awful (especially Merrill, who is a disgusting moeblob without any personality). Oh, and it's ugly, and i'm not only talking about graphics - the artstyle is... bad. Very, very bad. DA2 looks like something that a 12 year old with ADHD could make.

    Oh, and the Nightmare difficulty that was hyped as being super great stuff for truly hardcore gamers? It's crap too. Instead of giving new abilities to the opponents and making them smarter Bioware just gave them really high stats and called it a day.    … Expand
  16. hellogoodbye
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    From a company that made fun of FF13 about it being an rpg, they sure seemed intent on one upping Square in making one of the most horrid 'rpgs' of all time.

    From the dumbing down of even the most simple features to some of the worst voice acting I've ever had to put up with and the difficulty that would even make a halo or cod player think it's just a tad too easy, it really made me    From a company that made fun of FF13 about it being an rpg, they sure seemed intent on one upping Square in making one of the most horrid 'rpgs' of all time.

    From the dumbing down of even the most simple features to some of the worst voice acting I've ever had to put up with and the difficulty that would even make a halo or cod player think it's just a tad too easy, it really made me sympathise with the former lead developer that left Bioware because of the direction they took with this game. While the game had nothing but disappointment and failures to pick from, it was actually hard to choose which one I should start off with. Departing from the loveable old system of being able to choose what your character was going to say which really helped to define your Warden and the ability to immerse yourself with the character, Bioware decided it was a great idea to adopt the dialogue wheel from Mass Effect which has proven to be quite bad in this situation. I especially like it when my character would all of a sudden go on a random hate speech when all I wanted was for him to say yes.

    The amount of day 1 dlc has always been a hot topic when it comes to games, especially with Rockstars LA Noire recently showing that it has actual gameplay content up as pre-order incentives from different retailers. Bioware has decided to hop on to this gravy train and insists on showing nothing but utter contempt to fans by using the stick and carrot method of throwing day 1 dlc at fans to help advertise this 'game'. Apparently learning nothing from DAO, pretty much every piece of dlc breaks the game and makes it crazy easy, even at 'nightmare' mode. I'd place the games difficulty on par with the opening few hours of FF13 where you basically just pressed x to win.

    At this point of where I am up to in the game, I'm actually thankful that I hadn't bothered to register any of the dlc coupons that came with my signature edition yet. I've already put it up on ebay and it's going for $90, $50 more than I paid for the thing. I don't know if I should be happy or not that there's still people crazy enough to buy such garbage but hey, we live in a world where COD sells 7 million in 1 day.    … Expand
  17. RainmakerNL
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    What can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" reviewWhat can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" review sources, they get paid big money by EA to give it a 8 or 9!

    Steer clear of this product and vote with your wallet!    … Expand
  18. Websurfer
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    DA2 simply, is NOT an RPG! It 's an "Hack & Slash Action RPG" with a grotesque amount of blood, a very poor system of attack, a ridiculous (console oriented) interface, a limited scenario, bad dialogues, an horrible rule-set ... Add to this that is technically worse than DAO and we have the biggest FAIL of this year!
  19. rich
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    oops forgot to put my score
    really dont like what bioware and EA have done to this game i really liked the first game but this one doesnt fill like an RPG to me it feels more like a action game.I got very bored very quickly of the combat in DA2 i dont like the dialogue wheel it is fine in a game like Mass Effect but not in a RPG its just stupid.Also why cant you change your teams armour    oops forgot to put my score
    really dont like what bioware and EA have done to this game i really liked the first game but this one doesnt fill like an RPG to me it feels more like a action game.I got very bored very quickly of the combat in DA2 i dont like the dialogue wheel it is fine in a game like Mass Effect but not in a RPG its just stupid.Also why cant you change your teams armour all rpg in know have that option sorry but this game is poor.    … Expand
  20. 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
  21. tobi963
    Mar 8, 2011
    3
    Never good when you make a game worse than it's prequel. So many problems with the game. So much hype over it by DA fans. The "professional" reviewers are giving it a high score for some reason I do not know.
  22. johnGamer34
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    I'm giving this game a 1 because coming from Bioware this is just insultingly bad. Horrible. DA2 has to be the saddest excuse for either an action game or a roleplaying game, or a combination of the two. The glitches that result from trying to import the save file from Origins alone make it clear that Bioware wasn't even trying with this one. Just rush out a sequel as quickly asI'm giving this game a 1 because coming from Bioware this is just insultingly bad. Horrible. DA2 has to be the saddest excuse for either an action game or a roleplaying game, or a combination of the two. The glitches that result from trying to import the save file from Origins alone make it clear that Bioware wasn't even trying with this one. Just rush out a sequel as quickly as possible to milk your fans for all they're worth. Really pathetic. The gameplay is horrible, the graphics are from 2 generations ago at best, and the story is completely forgettable garbage. They even had the gall to end on a cliffhanger!!!! Probably just to sell more DLC that will hopefully end the story properly. Disgusting, Bioware. You've lost a customer.… Expand
  23. cryocore
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I tried to like DA2, but I cant. This console centric garbage isnt worth the effort. Yes it looks better, the combat is smoother, and im sure the story is good (Bioware always excels here), but come on removed customisation, NPC interactions, put big bloody flag on the next objective, quests are almost all self fulfilling. Its like an RPG made for 6 year olds. Bioware peaked with 2 epicI tried to like DA2, but I cant. This console centric garbage isnt worth the effort. Yes it looks better, the combat is smoother, and im sure the story is good (Bioware always excels here), but come on removed customisation, NPC interactions, put big bloody flag on the next objective, quests are almost all self fulfilling. Its like an RPG made for 6 year olds. Bioware peaked with 2 epic games. Baldurs Gate II, and KoTOR. Both epic, complex and requiring intellect to play. DA2 breadcrumbs the entire game... garbage, utter garbage.

    After ME2 I thought Bioware would have learned, but it seems the EA dragon has once again put down the "APPEAL TO THE MASSES!!!!" mantra and ensured that a rich, deep and complex title wont get made by any dev under its umbrella of mediocrity.

    I'm sure there will be cries of "PC Elitist" or some such, but when the muelling mob is appeased by sunstandard and lesser entries from a previously high sepc developer its really hard not feel better than them.

    Just another example of the big publishers slowly eroding away the quality to lower the barriers so Joe Casual wont get lost.

    Well Bioware I WAS a loyal fan. BG 1 and 2 + exp. KoTOR, NWN, DA:O, ME1, and even Jade Empire were epic and enjoyable RPGs worthy of praise and what your reputation was built on. ME2 while an epic tale was the first obvious step down the path to Casual land. Strip out RPG mechanics, focus on twitch/non RPG gameplay and profit.

    I hope EA rides Bioware into the ground, as I have lost all respect for the company.    … Expand
  24. Nekator
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Sadly DA2 is no roleplay Game in my Opinion anymore. The only thing this game has is fighting (with much blood and exploding hordes of enemies - like the Marketing said.. for every button something flashy happens) also there are no Skills anymore, beside the fighting skills... The other thing is the story presentation, which Bioware still is good at.
    But things like the restricted    Sadly DA2 is no roleplay Game in my Opinion anymore. The only thing this game has is fighting (with much blood and exploding hordes of enemies - like the Marketing said.. for every button something flashy happens) also there are no Skills anymore, beside the fighting skills... The other thing is the story presentation, which Bioware still is good at.
    But things like the restricted inventory and kodex entries (50% percent of the things you find are nondescript junk?? really?), the MMO Interface.. this all makes it to an Action Adventure at best. As a roleplay game it sadly fails in nearly every way :(    … Expand
  25. EMelo01
    Mar 9, 2011
    5
    I do feel like DA2 stepped back in SOME aspects and forward in others. They did 'dummy' down the whole RPG aspect of the game. There's a lot of little things that are over looked, that make a good RPG game. little things that became second nature in DA:O are gone and it leave DA2 feeling empty. Abilities, talents and spells are a lot better now and I don't mind the new combat system. TheI do feel like DA2 stepped back in SOME aspects and forward in others. They did 'dummy' down the whole RPG aspect of the game. There's a lot of little things that are over looked, that make a good RPG game. little things that became second nature in DA:O are gone and it leave DA2 feeling empty. Abilities, talents and spells are a lot better now and I don't mind the new combat system. The list can go on and on, about whats different about this game compared to DA:O, and if DA:O didn't exist and DA2 stood alone, it would have got better user ratings. So as a stand alone game its pretty good. but compared too... it falls short!… Expand
  26. 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
  27. Friedhamster
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    I'm not sure where to even start. How about the demo? The demo that barely loaded, the frame-rate was so bad (this on a 3.2GHz, i5, GTX 460 SE, 8gb desktop) it was unplayble. My brother, telling me that he liked DA:O enough to play... half... got me to delete the demo and reinstall. This time it worked, this time I played it to the end, and this time I wanted to stab my eyes with dullI'm not sure where to even start. How about the demo? The demo that barely loaded, the frame-rate was so bad (this on a 3.2GHz, i5, GTX 460 SE, 8gb desktop) it was unplayble. My brother, telling me that he liked DA:O enough to play... half... got me to delete the demo and reinstall. This time it worked, this time I played it to the end, and this time I wanted to stab my eyes with dull spoons.

    Gameplay: Mindless drivel
    Graphics: My eyes bled dry
    Sound: I don't remember hearing anything over the waterfall of blood pouring from where my eyes had been due to looking at this heap of trash that looks worse than games made in 2002    … Expand
  28. RPGLover
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What is this? I loved your games over years Bioware! Even Mass Effect 2, but this is horrible.
    Dynasty Warriors with more talking? no thx alot. No npc reaction for stealing, fighting, etc.?
    Level Recycling incl. NPC (thx for the big **** BW!) on mass in this small world?    … Expand
  29. Kihoshi
    Mar 8, 2011
    8
    I think it's very easy to dismiss this game because of its faster combat and intent wheel. I have welcomed these changes. I like to know the intent behind my replies. I like not watching my character stumble over and poke a darkspawn. I have enjoyed the five hours I have spent with this game. Your party members don't just show up and stand in one place. They make an entrance. I like theI think it's very easy to dismiss this game because of its faster combat and intent wheel. I have welcomed these changes. I like to know the intent behind my replies. I like not watching my character stumble over and poke a darkspawn. I have enjoyed the five hours I have spent with this game. Your party members don't just show up and stand in one place. They make an entrance. I like the idea that your characters have lives outside of you. The frame narrative is an interesting concept to use and Bioware is using it wonderfully. I look forward to completing this game. I gave the game a score of "eight" only because I haven't finished it yet. I have only spent about five hours with this game, as I stated before. I felt the need to write this review because of the overwhelmingly negative reviews on this website. Thank you for reading this if you did. And if you didn't, thank you for reading at least the second to last sentence. :)… Expand
  30. uk_john
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    Not worthy of the time to even type this! But I am told by Metacritic that I have to have at least 150 characters so here you go: Not worthy of the time to type this!
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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.
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  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
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