Dragon Age II

 Xbox 360
User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2466 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 795 out of 2466
  2. Mixed: 431 out of 2466
  3. Negative: 1,240 out of 2466
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  1. usernam322
    Mar 12, 2011
    4
    From DA:O to DA 2 seems like a pretty big fall for Bioware. It almost seems like they didn't even try this time around. One of the biggest grips I have is with where the game takes place.
    DA:O had you traveling all over the place and DA 2 has you running around one city and a few other locations near the city. The main character is supposed to be this great champion but one would wonder    From DA:O to DA 2 seems like a pretty big fall for Bioware. It almost seems like they didn't even try this time around. One of the biggest grips I have is with where the game takes place.
    DA:O had you traveling all over the place and DA 2 has you running around one city and a few other locations near the city. The main character is supposed to be this great champion but one would wonder how he would pull that off running around just one city. Even then the city doesn't seem all that big as dungeons seem to be copy and pasted over and over again. The only real break is the Deep Roads but that doesn't last too long.

    Combat from DA:O to DA 2 is much like from ME 1 to ME 2 where its more of an action RPG than anything else. Ultimately it just seems like they stripped down DA:O for some reason and ended up with this. Not worth your money in a time when games cost $60 new. Wait for it to hit the bargain bin if you really need to play it.    … Expand
  2. Pachkenum
    Mar 17, 2011
    3
    The story is there but the telling of it is very poorly executed.
    It lacks the depth and strategy elements that made the first one good.
    The reuse of levels and the ability to only play human as well as the lack of control over your companions really pulls you out of the enjoyment.
    At best it is mediocre.
  3. llagrok
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I went into Dragon Age 2 with relatively low expectations. The first game was something special, something unique. I realized that it would be unfair going into Dragon Age 2 expecting a game of greater quality than its predecessor, yet... Bioware has been handing out top-tier games for many years now, ever since baldur's gate 2 it has been a never ending line of quality writing and topI went into Dragon Age 2 with relatively low expectations. The first game was something special, something unique. I realized that it would be unfair going into Dragon Age 2 expecting a game of greater quality than its predecessor, yet... Bioware has been handing out top-tier games for many years now, ever since baldur's gate 2 it has been a never ending line of quality writing and top notch game play. This game, has to be the odd one out. No more than a few hours in did the cracks begin to show. Giving the game the benefit of the doubt did nothing. I went into the dungeons, I let the dialog play out, I gladly read the new codex entries and leapt into every side-quest. What was I met with? Disappointment, garbage, complete and utter surrender from the game developers side. A weak storyline, flat dialog where the conversation choices slide between "GOOD", "BAD" and "SARCASTIC". There is no way to say this nicely. When a game has been dumbed down, dissected and stripped of originality, only to be rudely presented as a cash-in and "game of the year" at the same time, I am left with two thoughts. The major game-reviewers have been paid off, and this game is complete and utter garbage.… Expand
  4. PeterWillard
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I must say this is one of the biggest disappointments I had in the last couple of years in terms of games. I have spent over 50h playing DA1 and even though it had its flaws it managed to give a memorable and overall enjoyable experience, cool locations and character development. It was solid. I don't really know where to start when it comes to DA2. It's such a wasted title. With all the built up hype and promises from the ever so self-content developers the end result is appalling. The worst thing in my opinion is how Bioware treats us, their paying customers, delivering a product of such low standards and still advertising it as an improvement over the first installment. Day 1 DLC with an additional NPC character? Seriously? There is so little to go with in the game itself and yet you cut out one party members? I've just finished the chapter with the expedition and to my dismay discovered that I am still confined to the same city, the same locations (with re-rolled resource items so you have to look for them again). There are what - four unique dungeon/building maps which repeat over and over only to change the initial spawn point and lock some of the doors. The dialogues, although pleasantly voiced, have no impact on the story whatsoever. It doesn't matter whether you pick the nice option or the aggressive one - the show goes on no matter what. You can bad-mouth most of the important npc characters with no penalty. At some point I started skipping lines altogether and just relying on the map marker to guide me to the next objective - yes this is what this game degrades to after some time - running around delivering answers / questions to the next individual and slaying groups of cloned enemies appearing from thin air on scripted locations. I once had spiders descend on their webs straight from the bloody sky. Combat although presented as dynamic and engaging comes down to mindless button-mashing. Large groups of cloned enemies appear in waves very much alike to some arcade games. The fighting is so high-paced all you see on the screen is bloody pulp exploding all the time and severed limbs flying all over the place. I mean how is it possible to hit someone with a dagger so that the body explodes and only the boots are left standing? After a while, when you have seen all the animations and effects, combat becomes more of a nuisance rather than fun. As for me I am abandoning the game completely - it's not worth the time and it feels more like punishment or some chore. I strongly advise you to skip this game and keep your money.… Expand
  5. Sh0dan
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    With DA: Origins BioWare captured a tiny bit of the magic they used to have in their heyday with the likes of Baldurs Gate 2 and KOTOR, and in my opinion that strategic, tactical "thinking" gameplay felt like a step in the right direction, particularly the PC version with its overhead distant perspective allowing us to get a good view of the battlefield. However this game just feels soWith DA: Origins BioWare captured a tiny bit of the magic they used to have in their heyday with the likes of Baldurs Gate 2 and KOTOR, and in my opinion that strategic, tactical "thinking" gameplay felt like a step in the right direction, particularly the PC version with its overhead distant perspective allowing us to get a good view of the battlefield. However this game just feels so watered down and casualised its just lost all of that past BioWare magic. I felt the same about Mass Effect 2 also, which seemed dumbed down and more about mindless action. So if anyone else out there reading this felt the same about that game, then trust me, DA2 will disappoint you too.… Expand
  6. ZieGentleman
    Mar 10, 2011
    4
    So terribly dissapointed. Don't we have enough watered down mainstream games out there? That might even have been okay if this game was a good mainstream game. But its not. It tries to be a hybrid between an action game like God of war and a classical rpg, and it ends up failing at both. The story is also the worst I have seen from Bioware. The story never picks up a main goal and all youSo terribly dissapointed. Don't we have enough watered down mainstream games out there? That might even have been okay if this game was a good mainstream game. But its not. It tries to be a hybrid between an action game like God of war and a classical rpg, and it ends up failing at both. The story is also the worst I have seen from Bioware. The story never picks up a main goal and all you do ALL game is run around in one city and do quests that all feel like side missions. Suddenly the game ends with a bam and a cliffhanger... Not only that but they reuse every dungeon like 15 times, and there are only like 6-7 small dungeons. Any real rpg elements are taken out, you never even get the opportunity to talk your way out of a fight everyone just charge you. If I want an action rpg I will rather play diablo or titan quest.... this is a bad action rpg and it shames the dragon age franchise. I might be a little harsh, its an okay game, but nothing more... don't expect anything.… Expand
  7. Hynda
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    Bioware have abandoned us, they just wanted more money, so they got rid of every kind of complex aspect about this game, people blames wii for being casual, but sadly the whole industry is everyday more and more casual. And with Dragon age 2, I just reached the limit, everything on this game, from the lack of story and complexity, the lack of any sort of deph in the gameplay, and the wayBioware have abandoned us, they just wanted more money, so they got rid of every kind of complex aspect about this game, people blames wii for being casual, but sadly the whole industry is everyday more and more casual. And with Dragon age 2, I just reached the limit, everything on this game, from the lack of story and complexity, the lack of any sort of deph in the gameplay, and the way its portrayed as a hack and slash, is just an example of how much companies, like EA or bioware really care about their fans. They dont give a crap. This is the last time I am buying a bioware game, I guess they'll do the same with mass effect 3, I bet they will make a game for casual people who dont want to think about anything but follow instructions and pressing buttons to kill things to the end. The RPG is dead this generation gentlemen.… Expand
  8. genericgamer01
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had high hopes for Dragon Age 2. I loved the first one and was so looking forward to this one. I anxiously awaited the day the demo was available so I could get a look at this sequel and I was terribly disappointed. Against my better judgment I did not cancel my pre order and decided to give it a chance anyway. Honestly I should have saved the 50$ I spent on it. Leaving out the fact that the new combat system is just dreadful in my opinion....

    The characters are ugly, the art style is terrible, the character creator is mostly just a rehash of the same options you get in DA: Origins. The same hair styles with a couple of new additions, the same tattoos etc. You would think that with a new game they might try to come up with some new options for your character.


    Then we have the characters... I played all day as soon as I got my game and installed it. I did not feel any connection at all to the characters. My own character is not very interesting and I know some people love that the character is voiced but it just makes it harder to give my character the personality I want her to have. I don't care for it at all. I don't care for the conversation system either. I liked being able to initiate random conversations with my companions. Being able to only talk to them when they feel like it is not immersive at all. I feel absolutely no connection with these people even though when I can talk to them I explore all the conversation options and really try to get to know about them. My sister died in the beginning and my only thought was oh damn the one with the heals died. Seriously I felt nothing at the prospect of my sister dying. In origins I was actually saddened by the deaths of my companions even the redshirts that were doomed from the start I cared when they died. In this game I really don't care.

    Then there is the story. It is boring and lacks the sense of urgency and epic feel of Origins. Where is the story? Where is the reason for my characters actions. I feel nothing, no sense of purpose, no urgency no desire to see what happens next. To me this game is a complete and utter failure. Granted I am only about 10 hours into it but it should have grabbed me by now. Origins had me in the first 15 minutes of game play. An RPG, like a good book should grab you from the first sentence and make you not want to put it down. This one fails to do that. I could look past every other flaw it has if it could do that but it doesn't.    … Expand
  9. Rachanol
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    ´As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPG´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! That´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a´As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPG´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! That´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a Action Adventure/Hack´n Slay ? THIS, Dragon Age 2, is the Call of Duty of RPG´s. DA2 doesn´t even deserve to be named a RPG. One Town, No Worldmap, ridiculous characters, a "not so interesting Story", Graphics from 2005 (Hello bioware, we have 2011 now, Even the current console generation hardware is bored to death with this program), really bad environments, no armor management for party mambers and always the same cloned level structures like the dungeons in Oblivion. They oversimplyfied everything in this game. DAII does not make ONE simple point better than part 1. A downgrade all along the line. DA II is no RPG. It´s a slap in the face of every single person who loves role playing games.… Expand
  10. jigoku
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    (skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro)

    As a PC gamer, DA:O was my introduction into RPGs. And I have to say, even getting started was daunting to me. I had envisioned a vast open world of freedom, choice, adventure and fun, based on the reviews I had read and all the buzz I had been hearing about the game. Instead what I got with the    (skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro)

    As a PC gamer, DA:O was my introduction into RPGs. And I have to say, even getting started was daunting to me. I had envisioned a vast open world of freedom, choice, adventure and fun, based on the reviews I had read and all the buzz I had been hearing about the game.
    Instead what I got with the first Dragon Age was a linear, repetitive, unimaginative and boring affair where nothing really seemed to come alive and "choice" was a thinly-veiled illusion conjured up most ham-handedly by uninspired developers.
    Also I did not care for the looks of this world and its inhabitants, which does not help immersion one bit (bland lighting, unimpressive structures, flat and unexpressive faces, goofy armor, ...).
    What got me the most though was a thing called "level scaling". Gone is the thrill of slaying a beast that once seemed completely indomitable, after having spent hours "training" your characters in preparation for your revenge. Instead everything and everyone simply levels up along with you. Disgusting.

    Then along came DA2. From what I was reading this true sequel to the Dragon Age saga promised to be substantially different from DA:O, and I was excited. Even though DA:O was a huge letdown, it had kindled within me the hope for something truly epic and inspired.
    I had been reading various outcries from die-hard RPG fans and DA:O fans, but since the latter game had disappointed me so these outcries only strengthened my conviction that DA2 might actually be different; and I might actually enjoy it.
    Not so.
    Take all the negative comments on DA:O above (uninspired, unimaginative, linear, ugly, repetitive, devoid of actual choice, ....) and multiply them by any factor you may deem impressive, and you have DA2.
    * The corridors of DA:O have become even narrower and more confining;
    * The level design is unapologetically lazy (copy-pasted dungeons and caves);
    * The choice of story-progressing replies has dwindled to a basic three;
    * The graphics are at a playstation 2 level (although the overall style has improved);
    * Combat has been dumbed down to a button-mashing fest artificially rendered more difficult with mid-fight enemy spawns (only remotely enjoyable difficulty setting is "nightmare" but as said before the difficulty is artificial);
    * Kirkwall (where all but the entire game takes place) feels and looks artificial and devoid of any bustle and - indeed - life itself;
    I could go on and on about how much I have started to loathe DA2, but in the end it really is my fault for pre-ordering a game which promised to be "different" but turned out to be merely "worse".
    Much worse.    … Expand
  11. Jay44225
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    i liked the story of dragon age 1, despite the mediocre graphics. what i really don´t liked, was the straight forward level design, it´s the same with mass effect which is exactly taken just "dragon age in space". after playing da:o i really felt like it was roleplaying for dummies. roleplaying for me ist always something like oblivion (or baldurs gate) or fallouti liked the story of dragon age 1, despite the mediocre graphics. what i really don´t liked, was the straight forward level design, it´s the same with mass effect which is exactly taken just "dragon age in space". after playing da:o i really felt like it was roleplaying for dummies. roleplaying for me ist always something like oblivion (or baldurs gate) or fallout (every part of it). different paths, a open world linked with decision making and character development with different impacts.

    but what are the changes in dragon age 2? they try to make it easier and more simple, to meet the casual gamers wishes.

    i hope this works out for EA, it´s good that nobody is forced to buy this game. life is too short for another "run of the mill - hack and slay" game.    … Expand
  12. Trotskyist
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    If you want to ever get decent, smart CRPG again, if you dont want the whole genre to die out - Dont buy this slasher game! Under any circumstances - dont buy this slasher, labelled as RPG!

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

    This slasher needs to flop. Bioware should go bankrupt. Laidlaw, Gaider, Muzyka - all these... ahem... businessmen... no longer have moral rights to wear the same badge as Baldurs Gate 2 creators.
    If DA2 succeeds comercially, this kind of gameplay re-imagining may very well happen to possible Baldurs Gate 3. Just imagine this nightmare - Baldurs Gate 3 : God of War style.    … Expand
  13. bobbythebrown
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age: Origins was a groundbreaking RPG with an engrossing plot within an intricate fantasy world, with well-written characters and good replay value. Dragon Age 2, by comparison, is a lazy, cynical slap in the face. The visuals are the most obvious flaw. Somewhat dated graphics can be forgiven, but the art direction seems almost nonexistent. Kirkwall, the main setting of theDragon Age: Origins was a groundbreaking RPG with an engrossing plot within an intricate fantasy world, with well-written characters and good replay value. Dragon Age 2, by comparison, is a lazy, cynical slap in the face. The visuals are the most obvious flaw. Somewhat dated graphics can be forgiven, but the art direction seems almost nonexistent. Kirkwall, the main setting of the game, looks like something out of a 1990's first-person shooter; it's comprised of large, sparsely-populated open areas with drab walls that essentially form long corridors with only 90 degree turns. The "bazaars" are a handful of people standing next to chests under otherwise empty tents. Assassin's Creed-level detail isn't necessary, but to actually have *less* graphical intricacy than the first game - and substantially so - is baffling. Outdoor levels fare slightly better, but are still inferior to the first game. Of course, this could be somewhat forgiven if the core story and gameplay were decent, but they both paid a similar lack of attention. The story fluctuates between being completely uninteresting and being simply generically mediocre, spending most of the time closer to the former due to a plethora of mindless and unengaging side quests, not to mention leaving things wide open for future DLCs. The branching dungeons and outdoor areas of the first game have been replaced by linear paths that would be navigable by a decapitated chicken. The inventory system has been similarly simplified. The tactical gameplay remains, thankfully, mostly intact, with a welcome action-oriented twist, but with so many other flawed elements, the game simply loses its appeal, becoming an arduous grind rather than an addictive adventure. This is easily the biggest disappointment of the year, and it's shameful that so many gaming "publications" (aka EA mouthpieces) are giving it stellar reviews.… Expand
  14. Nekator
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    Sadly DA2 is no roleplay Game in my Oppinion 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 Oppinion 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
  15. 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 at 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 inI'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game. I do, it's mindless. After working long days at 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
  16. alien5
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    DA:O Managed to take Biowares "tried and true" formula for action RPGs and make it neither a compelling action game, nor a compelling RPG. DA2 continues with their woefully generic lore and improves the overall story a bit, while trying to put a strong emphasis on action oriented combat this time. What's left is a clunky mess with fewer options, and an overall worse product than DA:O whichDA:O Managed to take Biowares "tried and true" formula for action RPGs and make it neither a compelling action game, nor a compelling RPG. DA2 continues with their woefully generic lore and improves the overall story a bit, while trying to put a strong emphasis on action oriented combat this time. What's left is a clunky mess with fewer options, and an overall worse product than DA:O which is sure to appeal to fewer people. If you need romance trees, go for it. It's Bioware's strong suite. If you're looking for an RPG or action game with engaging combat, deep or original backstory, and meaningful character building options, where you aren't shoehorned into a terrible 'alignment' system, look elsewhere.… Expand
  17. Dread
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    What a Disappointment.!
    Why did they dumb down the game like that?!
    There is not any fun in the combats anymore! The camera mechanics are extremely frustrating. There is not enough dezoom to think any tactical choice. You can't even move the camera around. The combats are way too fast paced and look completely ridiculous. Since you pass most of your time in combat, it's hugely    What a Disappointment.!
    Why did they dumb down the game like that?!

    There is not any fun in the combats anymore!
    The camera mechanics are extremely frustrating. There is not enough dezoom to think any tactical choice. You can't even move the camera around. The combats are way too fast paced and look completely ridiculous. Since you pass most of your time in combat, it's hugely unsatisfying.

    It feels super scripted with cinematic every two seconds. Loading times every two seconds.

    I'm really sad for bioware! They are loosing a lot of credibility with this joke of a game.
    It's an insult to rpg players. It has lost almost all the elements that gave some interest to the first opus. And it was already pretty dumbed down compared to Baldur's Gate.


    Save your money!    … Expand
  18. RPGLover
    Mar 10, 2011
    1
    A Dynasty Warriors from Bioware? wtf
    I loved their games but this is awful in all ways. No NPC reaction for stealing, fighting, etc. Tube Levels, cloned caves, a dumb story, cloned NPC (thx for the big **** BW! if this would be real, yeahhh!)
    Please make RPG instead of this crap Bioware!
  19. Rpgfan1981
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    I am a big RPG fan and I was crawing for Dragon Age since i heard it for the very first time. I must say even Dragon Age: Origins had flaws although the game was ultimately sucessful on almost most of it's main points that I was simply ignoring these stuff. That is why I am so genuinely disappointed about Dragon Age 2 this much.

    They took away pretty much everything that made the original    I am a big RPG fan and I was crawing for Dragon Age since i heard it for the very first time. I must say even Dragon Age: Origins had flaws although the game was ultimately sucessful on almost most of it's main points that I was simply ignoring these stuff. That is why I am so genuinely disappointed about Dragon Age 2 this much.

    They took away pretty much everything that made the original Dragon Age such a big sucess. Story is a way too simplified thanks for the hunger of pulling new gamers to the franchise. Dialogue options are limited which makes the Characters less and less developed and beliveable. Graphics even the animations are a little off but these are flaws that i can let go. What i can't ignore is, the fact that Dragon Age 2 is a train wreck. I played the Demo and it was horrible, though i kept my hopes high for the game hoping it would improve somehow. This is not a story that would fill it's player with awe, and make him beg for more. Dragon Age 2 is a over simplified hack and slash game where not even the gameplay but the story itself is simplified in order to make the game more accessible. I am sorry really sorry for Bioware. A game where accessiblity takes over quality and immersiveness is destined the sink to the bottom. This is trully not what I expected from developers that made such a great game like Dragon Age.    … Expand
  20. nfrs
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Quit playing after 4 hours into the game. This game is a slap in the face of DA:O fans.
    - conversation wheel with 3 options in a role-playing game
    - Mortal Combat style fighting
    - bad characters and story
    - linear plot
    In summary, this game is not worth my time.
  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. Ramaah
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    One of the most overrated games ever, second to Treyarch's works. You say graphics are good? In my opinion old Dungeon Siege looks better and juicier. Game looks like poor MMORPG. Dialogues are flat, boring, predictable, and trying so hard to be epic, that are actually parody of RPG genre. The whole history of hero's family is like "The Bold and the Beautiful" or "Dallas" with dragons. TheOne of the most overrated games ever, second to Treyarch's works. You say graphics are good? In my opinion old Dungeon Siege looks better and juicier. Game looks like poor MMORPG. Dialogues are flat, boring, predictable, and trying so hard to be epic, that are actually parody of RPG genre. The whole history of hero's family is like "The Bold and the Beautiful" or "Dallas" with dragons. The most funny thing is the masturbation mode for 12 y.o.: dragon-sized boobs everywhere. Hell yeah, I just drowned in epicness, singing the song of the old days. What is good? I really don't know, maybe music here and there? This game is not BAD, it deserves more than 3.5 (user score at the time I'm writing) - I'd say it's something between 5 and 6 (7 if you really love dragons). It still offers adventure and ugly creatures to kill and for sure it's better than Arcania.. But in order to balance these crazy optimistic rates I give it 1. Because I have enough of this stupid trend, that if BioWare did this, or Bethesda did this, or some part of the title says "Call of Duty", than we give 8 or 9 at the very beginning and then we play the game. No, folks, all the glitters is not gold! And Dragon Age 2 don't deserve to be called VERY good game (8/10), fantastic game (9/10) or masterpiece (10/10). This game has nothing more to offer, than dozens of similar RPG games. My score is my protest against such practice mentioned above. (Sorry for bad spelling).… Expand
  23. Breadordecide
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    This game makes FFXIII feel like Chrono Trigger. Terrible combat, story, graphics, and even better, DLC on day one. You can see where the priorities lie. You are being robbed at $60 - don't think twice about it.
  24. Kalophae
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    Soulless, disappointing, misstep (if not outright misshapen). Bioware has long been a gem of rich storytelling and having the ability to define gestalt. However, glamor doesn't make a game. The graphics & sounds effects are clean, dark, & too simple to bring reference to the genre (they're more suited to modern, the future, or a tech setting). The quality of voice & story leaves oneSoulless, disappointing, misstep (if not outright misshapen). Bioware has long been a gem of rich storytelling and having the ability to define gestalt. However, glamor doesn't make a game. The graphics & sounds effects are clean, dark, & too simple to bring reference to the genre (they're more suited to modern, the future, or a tech setting). The quality of voice & story leaves one wondering that budget cuts were in the wrong areas--quite frankly, the game feels low rent, a sellout, & hoping to be a cash cow--or else promising to deliver to an immature crowd. The deviation from the genre just doesn't work. Given critic reviews of the game vs. user reviews, I wonder that critics are now as out-of-touch as Tom Cruise. As much as I feel that Overlord was an underrated game by critics, I call this game far too overrated. It's a huge let down. Let RPG fans mourn the loss of Bauldur's Gate, the downfall of it's "successor", & pray Skyrim is better, not bastardized, nor as dumbed down.… Expand
  25. Silvermaul
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    I have been following Bioware through their first ever steps. I own all their RPG titles until this day. Sadly this will be the last Bioware title I will own. As such an old fan I came to appreciate the effort put into game making. Titles such as Baldur's Gate, KOTOR will always be memorable. What can someone say about Dragon Age II though? The gameplay is dumbed down to the point ofI have been following Bioware through their first ever steps. I own all their RPG titles until this day. Sadly this will be the last Bioware title I will own. As such an old fan I came to appreciate the effort put into game making. Titles such as Baldur's Gate, KOTOR will always be memorable. What can someone say about Dragon Age II though? The gameplay is dumbed down to the point of hack/slash. Thanks but no thanks, Diablo III will do a better job than this. Storytelling is linear and non thrilling. Tactics are next to non existent and inventory, customization are a shadow of what is expected for an RPG game of this caliber. That said I think 60 bucks for a game rushed to please the mass fan base it too much. 30 would be good for this quality..… Expand
  26. 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
  27. Hugegnome
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Disappointing sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and this poorly refined game does gamers a disservice. The game has been oversimplified, the graphics are terrible, the dialogues are corny, and the quests are boring.
  28. MrReviewer
    Mar 10, 2011
    0
    Quite simply a horrendous sequel in every way possible, bioware have truly let their fanbase down. Casualized combat coupled with horrific graphics and a dull plot really let this game down. It borders practically on being unplayable becuase it's that easy and boring. A game that has simply been created and tampered with to suit frat boys more accustomed to call of duty and halo. In otherQuite simply a horrendous sequel in every way possible, bioware have truly let their fanbase down. Casualized combat coupled with horrific graphics and a dull plot really let this game down. It borders practically on being unplayable becuase it's that easy and boring. A game that has simply been created and tampered with to suit frat boys more accustomed to call of duty and halo. In other words bioware have ruined a once respectable RPG series and dumbed it down for the consumer market with quite horrific results. Spend your money elsewhere if you are looking for a good RPG experience, or even for that matter, a gaming experience on any level, because frankly I would rather play through crap like sonic riders than play this absolute abomination of a game again.… Expand
  29. Sparafucil
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    A horrible, wretched nightmare without end. That is what this game feels like.

    DA:O was a lovingly-crafted tour-de-force masterpiece in the history of video gaming. It sequel feels like a rush job to cash in on its success. The graphics look bland, the characters are boring, the quests are paltry, and the combat is dumbed down for consoles. Shame on EA! And shame on Bioware for releasing    A horrible, wretched nightmare without end. That is what this game feels like.

    DA:O was a lovingly-crafted tour-de-force masterpiece in the history of video gaming. It sequel feels like a rush job to cash in on its success. The graphics look bland, the characters are boring, the quests are paltry, and the combat is dumbed down for consoles. Shame on EA! And shame on Bioware for releasing this steaming pile of crap.    … Expand
  30. Fredhay
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    Absolute trash Bioware. EVERYTHING is inferior to the first game. It's like KOTOR 2, but made by Bioware themeselves. As someone who deeply enjoyed DA:O, I am immensely disappointed by this sequel. A terrible change in direction from Bioware, linear maps, more simplification, absurd anime-like combat with teleporting rogues that makes the whole setting unbelievable, OversimplificationAbsolute trash Bioware. EVERYTHING is inferior to the first game. It's like KOTOR 2, but made by Bioware themeselves. As someone who deeply enjoyed DA:O, I am immensely disappointed by this sequel. A terrible change in direction from Bioware, linear maps, more simplification, absurd anime-like combat with teleporting rogues that makes the whole setting unbelievable, Oversimplification compared to previous rich detailed title, where you could create numerous different characters(just one aspect eliminated by Bioware). I highly recommend to avoid this game if you played DO. It's like i'm really playing a JRPG… Expand
  31. Jayna
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    From the beginning Bioware knew that would "streamline" the sequel to Dragon Age Origin to attempt to draw in more and more action fans. There entire advertising philosophy was "push buttons and awesome happens". However, this left out many of the old school RPG fans out in the cold. The game has not been improved by this streamlining it has been Dumbed Down. From the lack of changing yourFrom the beginning Bioware knew that would "streamline" the sequel to Dragon Age Origin to attempt to draw in more and more action fans. There entire advertising philosophy was "push buttons and awesome happens". However, this left out many of the old school RPG fans out in the cold. The game has not been improved by this streamlining it has been Dumbed Down. From the lack of changing your characters armor to alterations in combat, the game is no longer a RPG its an action game with elements of RPG tacked on to it… Expand
  32. hokum
    Mar 9, 2011
    4
    Just dire. Did not think BioWare could make games this bad. Is it the EA effect? This is neither a proper action game nor a proper RPG - it's some mutant ugly hybrid trying to appeal to both types of gamer, and failing. And a cliffhanger ending? So much for epic story - just an ad for some DLC or DA3. The graphics are worse than Dragon Age 1, like some 2005 console port. The combat is justJust dire. Did not think BioWare could make games this bad. Is it the EA effect? This is neither a proper action game nor a proper RPG - it's some mutant ugly hybrid trying to appeal to both types of gamer, and failing. And a cliffhanger ending? So much for epic story - just an ad for some DLC or DA3. The graphics are worse than Dragon Age 1, like some 2005 console port. The combat is just a button mashing cartoon, dumbed down from DA1. LOTS of things have been cut. It's short - like 12 hours for the main campaign. The characters you meet feel lifeless, and the same scenery is recycled. To hide this, BioWare stuck in lots of bink cinematics and sex scenes. Get ready to be fleeced with tons of DLC now that will raise the cost of this disgusting trainwreck to over $100. Last BioWare game I buy - I dont even trust they can do Mass Effect 3 right after this.â… Expand
  33. macready
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Well, what can I say really? Its becoming the norm for Bioware now to covet what it doesnt have at the expense of what it does already. I saw it in ME2, and Ive seen it in this too. It really isnt that surprising that if you structure the game around a combat system designed for the lowest common denominator, the rest will suffer.

    Crappy environments based around ploughing through endless    Well, what can I say really? Its becoming the norm for Bioware now to covet what it doesnt have at the expense of what it does already. I saw it in ME2, and Ive seen it in this too. It really isnt that surprising that if you structure the game around a combat system designed for the lowest common denominator, the rest will suffer.

    Crappy environments based around ploughing through endless dumbed down combat. Poor story?

    It really is the transition from Mass Effect 1 to 2 in fantasy form. Both games just redisinged their core combat mechanic and made it the overriding focus of the game and all its pre-release hype in order to try and snare something approaching COD sales figures (which the PR folks are practically admitting openly).

    For me, its simple: ME3 is last chance saloon for Bioware. Currently as an RPG powerhouse, theyre simply dead to me. Its a question of if the final act of what started out to be a promising sci-fi RPG-shooter hybrid can get out the defibrillators and recapture some of that spark, or if its simply going to remain a dumbed down TPS.

    As DAII so closely mirrors it, Id have to say the same. After such a mediocre affair, the only way I could ever take interest again is from a concerted effort from Bioware to make up for all this dumbing down.    … Expand
  34. Diplomacide
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    When I first heard of DA2, my heart soared. Wow! A sequel to one of my favourite WRPG's of all time! The initial trailers showed promise, but when the demo finally hit, everything turned sour and quick. I got the full game to confirm my suspicions, and I can tell you right now: This is NOT a Dragon Age game. Ok, picture Mass Effect. Now throw in some swords and magic and you've got DragonWhen I first heard of DA2, my heart soared. Wow! A sequel to one of my favourite WRPG's of all time! The initial trailers showed promise, but when the demo finally hit, everything turned sour and quick. I got the full game to confirm my suspicions, and I can tell you right now: This is NOT a Dragon Age game. Ok, picture Mass Effect. Now throw in some swords and magic and you've got Dragon Age 2. Next to nothing of the original game remains in this sequel, save a similarity in the combat systems. Everything else is just...No.

    The game has you play as Commander Shep- Hawke, a refugee from Lothering which just got destroyed by the dreaded Darkspawn (Think orcs, but led by a giant dragon.) This is my first gripe with the game: Hawke. In Dragon Age: Origins, you played as a character of your own creation. You could choose from 3 different races and several different origin stories. The character felt unique to you, since everything about him could be customized. Hawke, on the other hand, is always a human, and has 3 different personalities, depending on your choices: The second coming of Jesus in terms of pure selflessness, Satan in disguise in terms of full-on evil, or an arrogant prick. I went with the third option because that's how I felt Hawke's character wanted to be portrayed: An arrogant prick that has nothing better to do that ruin a perfectly good franc- kill Darkspawn.

    For those of you that enjoyed the 8-9 different dialogue choices given in DA:O when prompted that allowed the player to sculpt their character as they saw fit, there's a fun little surprise here in DA2 just for you. Gone are the dialogue choices. Instead, we get the Mass Effect choice wheel. New and exciting!

    Enjoyed exploring all of Ferelden, gathering armies to confront the Darkspawn in an epic battle of glory and chaos? Too bad. You're stuck in the city of Kirkwall, with occasional (read: rare) instances of outside exploration. Instead of gathering armies, you're gathering party members. Mass Effect 2 called, Bioware, and he wants his EVERYTHING back.

    The combat might be considered DA2's saving grace, but only because it's the only thing that remains from DA:O. Bioware claims that it's a great improvement, but I didn't see it. The only thing improved are the animations, which do well to excite the easy-to-please gamers out there who only play games because of the "pretty lights". Apart from that, the combat is the same as DA:O, minus any semblance of challenge. Protip: Play the game on the hardest difficulty setting. It equates to DA:O's easy setting.

    All in all, Dragon Age 2 is one hell of a disappointment. Many reviewers are kneeling at it's feet, saying that it's the "reboot the series needed". Yes, because a "series" that's composed of one game and an expansion for that game clearly needed a reboot.

    Bioware, let me give you some friendly advice: Don't try to Mass Effect everything. Yes, Mass Effect is a hit series and we all love it to bits, but when you start making games that are pretty much Mass Effect but in a different era, that's when you've lost everything. You guys have shown that you can make compelling games that aren't Mass Effect with DA:O. Now you went and completely **** that up with Dragon Age 2. Did someone in the office just yell "Wait! This isn't Mass Effect-y enough!"? Hopefully, Bioware will rectify all the issues outlined in this ran- review by releasing a patch. (read: Recalling all copies of DA2 and printing more copies of DA:O while they work on the real DA2.)

    This was my review of Mass Effe- Dragon Age 2. Thank you for reading.    … Expand
  35. sogeking7
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    RPG is not a full voiced hack n slash. RPG is not a linear cinematic scenes. RPG is not a copy paste dungeons. You want profit of casual gamers but you are losing your fan player base. DLC policy are totally abusive and greedy. ad graphics, bad gameplay, bad story, loaded with day 1 DLC that you have to pay for. What is there to like? Dragon age origins is so much better than this POS.RPG is not a full voiced hack n slash. RPG is not a linear cinematic scenes. RPG is not a copy paste dungeons. You want profit of casual gamers but you are losing your fan player base. DLC policy are totally abusive and greedy. ad graphics, bad gameplay, bad story, loaded with day 1 DLC that you have to pay for. What is there to like? Dragon age origins is so much better than this POS. Don't give into bioware and stop buying their products. Save your money and buy something better.… Expand
  36. Wellness
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This game is such a disapointment. I am SICK of developers screwing over the PC games because of console playing peasants. Starting with DA2 , Bioware became just another EA wh0re , pushing out subpar games to please the unwashed masses.

    Really looked forward to playing this game, but the god-aweful combat, subpar conversations ( YES , LOL YES , HELL YES used as dialog wheel options) ,    This game is such a disapointment. I am SICK of developers screwing over the PC games because of console playing peasants. Starting with DA2 , Bioware became just another EA wh0re , pushing out subpar games to please the unwashed masses.

    Really looked forward to playing this game, but the god-aweful combat, subpar conversations ( YES , LOL YES , HELL YES used as dialog wheel options) , pityful graphics and a lifeless world killed the mood entierly.

    :(    … Expand
  37. GlenAllenHill
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    Classic case of a game developer "dumbing down" a franchise to appeal to a larger audience. Dragon Age: Origins laid a great foundation for the future of the DA franchise. It was a deep game with complex RPG elements.

    Dragon Age II, however, basically stripped down most of the RPG elements to the lowest common denominator. So instead of a deep, fulfilling game that appeals to RPG fans,    Classic case of a game developer "dumbing down" a franchise to appeal to a larger audience. Dragon Age: Origins laid a great foundation for the future of the DA franchise. It was a deep game with complex RPG elements.

    Dragon Age II, however, basically stripped down most of the RPG elements to the lowest common denominator. So instead of a deep, fulfilling game that appeals to RPG fans, the result is a watered-down "hack-and-slash" game that tries to call itself an RPG that appeals to no one.    … Expand
  38. Worrker20
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I tried to keep an open mind, I really did, But Bioware messed up big time. Literally everything about this game is what is wrong with the gaming industry. from the insane amount of pre order DLC that they put out to the "nerdy" jokes they try to force, DA2 did not deliver at all. Now, I was a Bioware fan, played Baldur's Gate, Kotor, and Mass Effect is one of my favorite series. Hell, II tried to keep an open mind, I really did, But Bioware messed up big time. Literally everything about this game is what is wrong with the gaming industry. from the insane amount of pre order DLC that they put out to the "nerdy" jokes they try to force, DA2 did not deliver at all. Now, I was a Bioware fan, played Baldur's Gate, Kotor, and Mass Effect is one of my favorite series. Hell, I even played the First Dragon age as well, but the quality of DA2 is drastically lower. from the casualized button mashing combat, to the sappy attempt at romances, to the maps that simply with a different skin. im not lying, there are 3 dungeons with the EXACT SAME LAYOUT. They said that they improved the game from the original, no, they did no such thing. in fact it's worse. the original was fun because you caould play it with rts tactics. with this, it's like they got rid of that and tried to copy dynasty warriors. And it seems they spent more on marketing than the actual game for crying out loud.
    Now The "New dialogue system?" it's a direct copy from mass effect, and your only choices are to be a boy/girl scout, a "funny" guy (not that funny at all), or an **** not much else. the graphics are only slightly better, but both the default character presets literally look decent like 3rd party hair mods. The graphics are so terrible, BW even released an official patch to help it along. Now the Characters... oh god the characters. They are too oversexualized and forced. there's a pirate with the biggest pair of knockers Ive ever seen in an WRPG and She has a Jay Leno chin. They Butchered the awesome Mage guy from the Origins Expansion. your sister is probably the best looking female in the game, why would you do that? The Templar chick looks like a dyke, Fenris was pretty cool. and The elf Merrill is literally Tali 2.0. The only saving grace in this game was Varric, the Dwarf telling the story. I found him to be very interesting and unique, considering he breaks away from the traditional dwarf, and he;s an interestin character.

    in the end, DA2 is a terrible game. i dont know what the official reviewers such as IGN etc were thinking, but it's just terrioble    … Expand
  39. GenTrigger
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    If this game was promised to be a worthy successor to Dragon Age 2 and this game breaks all of those promises to try to be something that not only undermines everything that was good about Dragon Age: Origins, it spits on those mechanics and insults the player's intelligence at every moment in some new spectacular way. When the game runs out of ways to prove it's not it's more matureIf this game was promised to be a worthy successor to Dragon Age 2 and this game breaks all of those promises to try to be something that not only undermines everything that was good about Dragon Age: Origins, it spits on those mechanics and insults the player's intelligence at every moment in some new spectacular way. When the game runs out of ways to prove it's not it's more mature sibling it begins to plateau into boring and repetitive quests that leave you asking, "Was this supposed to be fun?"

    The setting was supposed to be stylized more to look more exciting, though someone forgot to tell the art direction what stylization meant and they just assumed it means making boring designs and making them look ridiculous. The best example of this is the gigantic weapons that look like they'd be more fitting in a cartoon, which are lazily animated to rest on the back two inches away as if held there by magic. Also another pet peeve that's plucked about the weapons is that staffs (tools that are normally used to assist walking) are placed on the back in an absolutely ridiculous manner. Knives are also held on the back in this way and look absolutely ridiculous while placed as such.

    The writing is downright elementary and the game treats the subject matter of sex like a bunch of giggling school children who've just seen a breast for the first time in their life. We've grown far beyond this juvenile stage in video games and EA should feel ashamed to publish this trash that's dragging down the medium of video games.    … Expand
  40. TheTopazWombat
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    When Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal ofWhen Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal of this standard. The combat feels jolty and unrealistic. The characters wield a 2 handed sword that would make Braveheart sweat like it was made from tissue paper. The weapons were equally large in Dragon Age: Origins, but at least they felt like they were actually that big. Instead, what we have here is a combat system that resembles crappy anime more than anything else.

    As if the combat wasn't bad enough, the dialogue has been dumbed down into the wheel-of-fail style that was implemented with Mass Effect. Not only that, but every single piece of dialogue feels like it was written by an 8 year old who just read his first fantasy novel. There is no character depth, I'd as soon stab my party members as look at them, and to glue all this together the voice acting feels more like a group of Live Action Roleplayers than paid voice actors.

    To top all this off, the game not only doesn't look and present itself better than Origins, it actually looks worse. I can't recall another time when a sequel to a game looked worse than its predecessor. It feels as though Bioware did everything in their power to make this a worse RPG in an effort to alienate their hard-earned fan base and sell to the mass media'd console market.

    The only thing that kept this game from getting a 0 from me is the fact that maybe Bioware didn't intend for this to be an RPG at all, and simply another generic, boring, railroaded action game. As a lifelong Bioware fan, I truly hope they don't stay on this road. They've proven time and again their ability to make a solid RPG, but this game was an utter betrayal of everything I as an RPG fan have come to love and expect from them.    … Expand
  41. DA2IsTerrible
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Worst game ever of the year. Don't buy it for $60, because it's TOTALLY not worth it. They're going to hit you with a **** of DLC costs too. Wait a year until the ultimate edition comes out ... and then wait until it's on sale for $20.
  42. 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
  43. blindhilt
    Mar 8, 2011
    0
    Nice to see bioware not even act like they're trying anymore with the day 1 DLC and worse graphics than the first. I mean really. If you're gonna purposely take out features atleast wait a few months before releasing it.
  44. jabbur
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    If you want to play RPG stay away from Dragon Age 2 I.e.:
    - Speechless NPC;
    - Boring quests: kill, kill, kill or kill kill bring something to me;
    - Lack of interactions with game ecosystem, or being honest lack of any ecosystem.

    If you want something like full of blood fantasy movie - go and spend your money.

    The choice is your.
  45. hobodave
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I don't normally write reviews, nor read them prior to playing a game. I enjoyed DA:O, so why wouldn't I try DA II? Big mistake. I'm 4 hours into the game, and I think I'm giving up. I'm bored. The first hour of the game is 45 minutes of badly written cutscenes and 15 minutes of combat. How is the combat? Terrible. I just hold down a button. Being a rogue is usually a fun and interestingI don't normally write reviews, nor read them prior to playing a game. I enjoyed DA:O, so why wouldn't I try DA II? Big mistake. I'm 4 hours into the game, and I think I'm giving up. I'm bored. The first hour of the game is 45 minutes of badly written cutscenes and 15 minutes of combat. How is the combat? Terrible. I just hold down a button. Being a rogue is usually a fun and interesting class to play. Nope, not in DA II. The characters are boring and uninteresting. They don't draw me in like they do in DA:O or Mass Effect. The voice acting is meiocre at best.

    It's like they took DA:O and watered it down with Fable 3.    … Expand
  46. 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
  47. philbo1965uk
    Mar 24, 2011
    2
    This game lacked everything.Story was weak and very boring .Levels were disgracefully reused.

    The whole game screamed rushed and dumbed down.

    Bioware appear to have this PC elitist approach ..thinking we on console are so dumb we only want a dumbed down peice of garbage hack and slash.Very let down by the lack of effort that went into DA2
  48. DSlazy
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    I don't know what the developers were doing all this time. Squalid landscapes, a total simplification of the RPG-component. As a result, low-grade slasher.
    Epic Fail. Sad but true.
  49. trevman
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    After hearing about dragon age 2 i was ecstatic, i could not sit still waiting for this game! more Dragon Age, i thought. how naive i was. After trusting Bioware to much, and shaking off the strange new changes as upgrades, improvements or merely thinking "Bioware know what there doing, i mean hey, they made DA:O, right?" I was wrong, the game is not good. it does not play way, it doesAfter hearing about dragon age 2 i was ecstatic, i could not sit still waiting for this game! more Dragon Age, i thought. how naive i was. After trusting Bioware to much, and shaking off the strange new changes as upgrades, improvements or merely thinking "Bioware know what there doing, i mean hey, they made DA:O, right?" I was wrong, the game is not good. it does not play way, it does not look good, it does not sound good, its a lazy, bad game.

    Do not buy this game.    … Expand
  50. Slash47
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Very disappointing... I was hoping for even more depth, better, more creative graphical designs and more interesting combat. Instead it delivered less of all those things. A lot of the characters and monsters look absolutely ridiculous. It's not 'dark', it's just bad design. I do not get the sense of scale that DA:O had at all. It's fine that the adventure is 'smaller' but this is justVery disappointing... I was hoping for even more depth, better, more creative graphical designs and more interesting combat. Instead it delivered less of all those things. A lot of the characters and monsters look absolutely ridiculous. It's not 'dark', it's just bad design. I do not get the sense of scale that DA:O had at all. It's fine that the adventure is 'smaller' but this is just plain uninteresting. And everything sexual is still cringe worthy, just so shallow and unexciting. This game shouldn't exist.… Expand
  51. uazzamerican
    Mar 9, 2011
    1
    This game is a clera example on how a company maximizes profits using a brand name, lot of resouces to advertising and marketing (INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL REVIEWERS... SHAME ON YOU) and an awful product.
    This "Sonic-like" game doesn't deserve a review, this game doesn't deserve nothing. Stay away, save your money, it's the best thing you can do.
  52. libno
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    I love dragon age. Or at least the first one. This much anticipated sequel is a wreck. I played the demo and it's obvious this game has problems. First, all the systems from origins that were "improved" looked retarded and weren't to my liking. All the skills were cartoonized, the leveling tree is stupid, and your portraits are minuscule! I made a mage and guess what? They gave me oneI love dragon age. Or at least the first one. This much anticipated sequel is a wreck. I played the demo and it's obvious this game has problems. First, all the systems from origins that were "improved" looked retarded and weren't to my liking. All the skills were cartoonized, the leveling tree is stupid, and your portraits are minuscule! I made a mage and guess what? They gave me one stunning spell and that was it. The new loading screen even grinds my gears! It looks high tech, at least for dragon age, while the old one was realistic, looking like parchment and blood. And the hurlocks have no detail! Their faces were completely black and I used maximum quality. This is a degraded sequel comparable only to the force unleashed two (I haven't played many games so this is all I could come up with). A major disappointment for a long time bioware fan.… Expand
  53. Chaosmaker
    Apr 28, 2012
    2
    Even without comparing it to the previous title, it's not a good game. But taking into account it being a sequel, 2 is a generous rating. Really.

    Let us begin with story. Entirely forgettable, detached from the former title, it didn't keep me playing at all. The certain... decision in its presentation actually detracts much from the experience than adds anything. Characters were bland and    Even without comparing it to the previous title, it's not a good game. But taking into account it being a sequel, 2 is a generous rating. Really.

    Let us begin with story. Entirely forgettable, detached from the former title, it didn't keep me playing at all. The certain... decision in its presentation actually detracts much from the experience than adds anything. Characters were bland and forgettable to the point I only remember one of them. My own "avatar" behaved stupidly, mostly because of bad representation of dialogue options that always seemed to mean the opposite from what I've planned.

    The graphics were good. But! Level design... Ugh. Reusing the same and same and same dungeons over and over is a crime in AAA title. That alone is simply insulting. Not that there were any breathtaking sceneries out there, mind you - the locations are horribly limited. And I mean - horribly. Another stupid decision was to remove the option of giving your companions armors. No, they are instead limited to QUEST UPGRADABLE ones! So no giving them latest loot - that would brake IMMERSION. The fool who thought of this idea should be fired on the spot. Immediately.

    Combat. While having nice moves, combat is surprisingly dull. Really. Enemies appear out of nowhere, you usually get waves of them. Tactics are nonexistent, magic is weak, skills are boring, the only battles that require you to actually think are the bosses - but this doesn't save the game much. Whenever a combat occured, I thought: oh, another Generic Combat Filler.

    I would consider this game a refund fodder. It feels rushed, looks rushed and is rushed. If this is the direction future RPGs will go, I am out of this train.    … Expand
  54. PrpleTrtleBuBum
    May 25, 2012
    3
    Dragon Age 2 is way different from Origins, mostly in bad ways. Storywise it is very loosely connected with the original. Warden is barely mentioned just like everything else from Origins, though there a a couple of short fun cameos. Moreover much of the lore is neglected, for example in Origins Abominations were described as the worst beings ever and there are only some. During DA2 theDragon Age 2 is way different from Origins, mostly in bad ways. Storywise it is very loosely connected with the original. Warden is barely mentioned just like everything else from Origins, though there a a couple of short fun cameos. Moreover much of the lore is neglected, for example in Origins Abominations were described as the worst beings ever and there are only some. During DA2 the player however fights hundreds of Abominations and if mages are willing to reject their humanity so easily I just can't side with them, although otherwise I feel they're harshly oppressed and templars are the enemies.

    The story of game itself has 3 loose and incoherent acts with focus on templar oppression of mages. The concept is original and refreshing, but execution is half-assed. Aside from that there are no proper sidequests, which are replaced with eavesdropping fetch quests that absolutely suck. Game area is also awful centering just on 1 ugly barren city with a couple of small dungeons and such areas that are used over and over and over.

    Some people like the new more active combat, but I hated it. It's just smashing attack button with special moves thrown out as soon as possible. What completely ruins the system is the waves of spawning enemies. Even the smallest of fights becomes dragged and there is almost no planning or strategy possible. This is the first game ever in which I decided to lower the difficulty to easiest possible even though I didn't get stuck, but I just wanted to shorten the battles. There are also less skills and customization options than in Origins.

    On the positive notes Bioware still knows how to write characters, sort of. Varrick especially is great and he gets some support. Not every character is good though, and romances are absolutely horrible. Additionally I was surprised how at the very end I had troubles deciding when the time of the big choice came, the point-of-no-return was set up well and from there on the game got kind of interesting. At the very end I was even looking forward to seeing more.

    Summary: Dragon Age 2 is mostly terrible. It looks bad, it sounds bad, story is disconnected and retconning, gameplay is yawnworthy. None of the big things work. However there were some good scenes and conversations, which don't manage to save a lot. On the plus-side they managed to have me intrigued enough to wish for Dragon Age 3, but if it looks to be of the same rushed quality I'm not buying it even at half price. This game just feels rushed and obsolete, there was no reason to make this game other than to milk gamers.

    *    … Expand
  55. Sarog
    Jan 6, 2012
    2
    Dragon Age 2 suffered the burden of being the sequel to a highly beloved critical success, and falling completely short of the origins of the series.

    Areas of dissatisfaction include; - The game was obviously very rushed, given its development cycle in comparison to Origins, and suffered for it. Recycled area maps are obvious evidence of this, with "new" areas being the same tired,    Dragon Age 2 suffered the burden of being the sequel to a highly beloved critical success, and falling completely short of the origins of the series.

    Areas of dissatisfaction include;

    - The game was obviously very rushed, given its development cycle in comparison to Origins, and suffered for it. Recycled area maps are obvious evidence of this, with "new" areas being the same tired, repeated maps with different doors blocked off. It is visually jarring, especially considering the beautiful environments that Bioware has created in the series, and it shows quite clearly how corners were cut to a spartan extreme.

    - The game is focused very tightly on the city of Kirkwall, and this was compared by Bioware to how the beloved Baldur's Gate 2 was very focused on the city of Athkatla. The execution failed, however. Whereas Baldur's Gate 2 was a mammoth game that contained many environments outside of the main city, and many hours of gameplay to be spent there, Dragon Age 2 offers mere brief field trips into small, reused environments. Kirkwall itself is a let down; while being very visually appealing, the sheer lack of things to interact with, buildings to enter, and people to have conversations with leaves us with an extremely shallow urban adventure compared to the depth of BG2's Athkatla. Kirkwall, and the areas surrounding it, feel more like a stodgy field trip to a prison-turned-museum than the vibrant city-based RPG that might have been.

    - The artistic style of the game was a significant step down from the last installment. While there were some improvements (such as the re-imagining of humanoid races like elves and qunari to be more visually distinct from humans), the game was done a disservice in much of its visuals. The near photo-realism of Origins, coupled with its dark, gritty visuals to go with the tone of the world, was strength of the series that was too soon abandoned. Dragon Age 2 falls into the "stylized realism" trap, essentially cutting the corners of its visuals, offering *less* character customization than Origins, and brightening the world to a gaudiness that is inappropriate for a Western RPG set in a dark, medieval setting.

    - Visually, combat was a very jarring change from Origins. While the combat in Origins was slow, it was visually pleasing; players were treated to seeing the full arcs of weapon swings, weapons and armor felt heavy, and the game appealed to a strong medieval visual aesthetic. DA2 takes a turn towards anime; rather than having your warrior decapitate a foe in a beautifully rendered arc of his weapon, your characters swings his sword in a blur and suddenly enemies all around you explode in a maelstrom of random body parts. This step down from a beautiful, satisfying sense of aesthetics in Origins to childlike, immersion breaking anime-physics makes DA2 hard to take seriously in a side by side comparison to the grit and realism of the original. Compared to the visuals of competing games like The Witcher 2, DA2 seems like a cartoon.

    - For a game that was lauded by Mike Laidlaw for its innovation in moving choice into gameplay, DA2 offers merely the illusion of choice. The only outcomes the player can affect are minor details that are largely unimportant to the narrative. The player is blatantly subjected to a rail road, being forced every step of the way down a very tightly controlled narrative. Quests tend to be non-negotiable, outcomes remain fixed regardless of seemingly different choices, and the player character is stuck merely reacting to events that are beyond his/her ability to influence meaningfully. For a game that was marketed on the significance of choice, this is an unforgivable shortcoming.

    - The final act of the game is further evidence of rushed development. The act progresses very quickly, with precious little time spent familiarizing the player to extremely important characters that were introduced at the last minute with. Meredith and Orsino show up at the end of the story, and the game's conclusion is forced before either character is able to really play their role. The story falls apart, becoming a rushed railroad that doesn't make good narrative sense from every perspective (such as Orsino's fixed role regardless of the player's final choice). Compared to the highly superior act 2, act 3 was an narrative anticlimax no matter what big events are thrown in.

    - The extent to which the roleplaying aspect of the game was sacrificed in favor of being "streamlined" is both tragic and poorly executed. The sheer amount of FedEx quests is one thing; but the lack of story context is laughable. You pick up an item, you get a marker on you map, you hand in the item and get xp and gold. These quests clearly serve no purpose but to fill your purse in a convenient way, offering no context at all for your actions. Roleplaying game so bare-bones as to have the player play fetch without even being bothered to offer a rationale for it.

    Bad work.    … Expand
  56. TolHydra
    Jan 7, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game really is a letdown...as a person who played Dragon Age: Origins 9 times through by writing this review. There are only a few things improved in Dragon Age II...Combat and in the aspects of character creation don't get me wrong, NOT being able to play any other races sucks badly but i loved creating a female hawk I could live with the voiced character..it didn't seemed very odd since i also love Bioware's other franchise Mass Effect; Only god knows how much would i enjoy to blow up a certain mage companion (the elf one) I mean i could live with the emo character but the thing made me frustrated was especially moral choices..AND MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER RESURRECTIONS REGARDING THE CHOICES OF THE FIRST GAME...You see i killed this lovely companion in the first game and imported my save to only see BIOWARE SIMPLY DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN THING about your moral choice..or role playing therefore this game has a real RPG value its a "auto-attack hack'n slash" yeah that's it .… Expand
  57. Resplendent
    Jan 27, 2012
    4
    Scoring this game is complicated for me. One the one hand, I will admit to it being a good time killer. But as a sequel to DA:O, which I absolutely loved, it falls completely flat. The story felt unimportant, several of the characters were just annoying, and the copy-paste maps were simply insulting to the player. If "epic adventure" is what you had in mind when you picked this up, you'reScoring this game is complicated for me. One the one hand, I will admit to it being a good time killer. But as a sequel to DA:O, which I absolutely loved, it falls completely flat. The story felt unimportant, several of the characters were just annoying, and the copy-paste maps were simply insulting to the player. If "epic adventure" is what you had in mind when you picked this up, you're going to be sorely disappointed. For $10 though, there are worse ways to kill several hours. Get it if you have absolutely nothing better to play, but prepare to end up wanting to strangle whoever green-lit DA2- truly a mistitled game if there ever was one.… Expand
  58. huzz
    Jun 13, 2012
    4
    A disappointing sequel. It seemed like Bioware left their core fans behind in an attempt to try and gain a more mainstream audience. DA2 fell short do to things like: re-used maps, simplified combat, boring characters, a weak story, a lack of important decisions, locked companion armor and many useless items.
  59. Aeryx
    Sep 20, 2012
    4
    Requires no brains to operate. STAY AWAY fans of Dragon Age Origins. As a long-time of Bioware, Dragon Age 2 for me was the first tangible indicator that something was really wrong with them and they were no longer interested in making great games--- only milking their franchises. The gameplay is bland, the dungeons freakishly recycled and the gameplay requires no brains. It you hate yourRequires no brains to operate. STAY AWAY fans of Dragon Age Origins. As a long-time of Bioware, Dragon Age 2 for me was the first tangible indicator that something was really wrong with them and they were no longer interested in making great games--- only milking their franchises. The gameplay is bland, the dungeons freakishly recycled and the gameplay requires no brains. It you hate your money, burn it in the fireplace just don't buy this game.… Expand
  60. Ocelot113
    Sep 5, 2012
    0
    For a game that really only had to improve on the fluidity of combat, they changed pretty much everything from the first game, for the worse I might add. Combat seems to be the only thing they got right, for the most part.

    The story was linear not allowing for multiple outcomes to situations. Bringing a hero through tragedy is okay, but absolutely dropping the story after the downfall    For a game that really only had to improve on the fluidity of combat, they changed pretty much everything from the first game, for the worse I might add. Combat seems to be the only thing they got right, for the most part.

    The story was linear not allowing for multiple outcomes to situations. Bringing a hero through tragedy is okay, but absolutely dropping the story after the downfall is not. The point of a hero is the journey back from disaster and the choices that they make shortly after tragedy. Dragon Age 2 after every major event skips ahead in time missing all those pivotal choices. Immense tragedy with no option for justice is a good way to piss people off, not get them emotionally invested. because there was no proper response to events it made me realize that this is a game, and I don't want to play it anymore because my reaction was not expressed. Not even close. That's the opposite of immersion.

    Speaking of immersion, the use of a main voice actor could have been an amazing addition, IF... the tone of the voice were more versatile. RPG's requires that you feel like you are the role you are playing and when you cannot be aggressiveness sharp-tongued or be righteously stern then voice acting obliterates immersion. Forcing voice acting into pansy good guy, cheery joker, and jack-off bad guy, means you do not get real characters but cliche stereotypes. And when you are choosing multiple reactions during a scene you get unrealistic multiple personality mood swings.

    Party Character options got an axe to the face. No ability to equip characters with armor and no ability to choose any skill tree, killed this game for ever RPGer that played, and loved Dragon Age: Origins. One of the great things about DAO was that if you didn't like someone in the party, you could give that role to someone more interesting. The fact that I had to run 90% of the game with the soulless, emotionless, thought and humor inept Aveline because she was the only tank, was... well the dumbest character choice I've ever come across in a game.

    Lastly, I'll quickly touch on the combat. Really the only problem I had with the combat was the cooldown system. In DOA there was a dedicated tank and a dedicated healer, for the most part. This system works, use it. Healers were made extinct because of the over-powering cooldown system. I downloaded a mod to lower all cooldowns making this game faster paced and much more fun since the healer was viable again.

    Needed mods to enjoy:
    http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/3194#content (Armor for Party Members)
    http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/2407#content (All Skill Trees for Party Members)
    http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/2186 (Reduce All Cooldowns)    … Expand
  61. Riven126
    Oct 28, 2012
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is a bad game. It may be a sequel to Origins in name, but the game itself tells a very different story, and that;s the ultimate problem. Not only is Dagon Age 2 a huge departure from the original, but it's also worse in almost every way.

    Level re-use is easily the worst offense. The game lasts about 30-35 hours on normal difficulty and if you complete all the side quests.    Dragon Age 2 is a bad game. It may be a sequel to Origins in name, but the game itself tells a very different story, and that;s the ultimate problem. Not only is Dagon Age 2 a huge departure from the original, but it's also worse in almost every way.

    Level re-use is easily the worst offense. The game lasts about 30-35 hours on normal difficulty and if you complete all the side quests. In that time, you will revisit the same three or four dungeons over a dozen times. To call this game repetative would be an understatement.

    The combat in the game is a mixed bag. It often feels like Bioware was trying find a happy middle ground between God of War and the original combat system. Because of this, combat suffers and both camps are left unsatisfied. While the combat is more flashy than the original, things quickly become chaotic when "waves" of enemies begin attacking. Combined with overly long cool downs for your main abilities, combat feels more like a chore.

    Graphically, the game also fails to impress. From the art direction to the textures, the lighting, and atmosphere (or lack there of) all fail to rise above the mediocre level. Kirkwall (the city you are imprisoned in) is full and lifeless. NPC's are tucked away in corners and never interact with you. The city lacks detail and looks very unfinished because of it. Character models are too clean and also lack detail. That said, animations have been improved from the original and look more fluid.

    The UI has been redesigned and for the most part, it looks a bit cleaner. Sadly, functionality has taken a hit. Unlike Origins, the "tier" system that was used to determine the value of an item has been replaced with a "star" system. This makes it very difficult to manage inventory and find matching sets of armor. The "junk" bin still exists, but is primarily used to store things that you randomly pick up around town instead of it's role in Origins as a folder to store all your unwanted gear in before selling it to a merchant.

    The story fails to make a compelling case for the player to care about what's goin on within the city. The two central conflicts are the Qunari invasion and the Mage/Templar conflict. This may come as a shock to those who expected the story to pick up where Awakening left off. These two major conflicts essentially go nowhere and leave the player out in the wind. They feel very forced thanks to the abysmal writing that's present.

    Because the writing is so poor, the characters and character interaction really suffer. Unlike Origins, you cannot simply talk to your companions whenever you like. Instead you have to wait until you get a message in your journal telling you to go visit that character. Interactions are often very brief and feel forced. The most annoying part about this is you must travel across Kirkwall to preset destinations in order to talk with your companions. Which means you have to sit through load screens before you get there.

    The characters themselves range from uninteresting to almost interesting to "I want to kill that guy". Unlike Origins, which had truly interesting and deep characters with a a good amount of dialogue, Dragon Age 2 offers characters that feel like cardboard cut outs that are simply there to amuse or frustrate you. Anders frustrates you and Isabela amuses you. Banter is actually far more interesting to listen to than real dialogue.

    Unlike Origins, Dragon Age 2 uses a voiced-protagonist. The voice acting is terrible and sounds like there was just no effort put in. The dialogue wheel has been imported from Mass Effect to replace the dialogue tree from Origins, leaving the player with only three responses in most situations: Good, sarcastic, and evil. The wheel simply doesn't work as well as it does in Mass Effect despite Bioware adding pictures to the center of the wheel to help players understand what's good, sarcastic, and evil.

    At the end of the day, Dragon Age 2 is an uninspired mess of a game. While there may be some redeeming qualities to be found, it is without a doubt a step backward for the series. It does to many basic things wrong that the first game got right the first time. It fails to deliver compelling characters and a strong narrative. The world of Thedas has never felt smaller and Kirkwall is more of a prison than a city. My advice to anyone who enjoyed Origins and Awakening is to replay those great games and forget about Dragon Age 2. But if you absolutely must play it, I strongly suggest you rent it or borrow it from a friend.    … Expand
  62. Saul
    Mar 31, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age Origins was an excellent game.

    Dragon Age 2 is a big disappointment for me. Specially because there's no epic feeling at all. Why I have to spend 90% of the game going around Kirkwall doing small "kill this guy", "bring this stuff" missions? I'd like to battle hordes of enemies, be part of an epic story, command an army, lead a desperate mission or kill the king.. I don't    Dragon Age Origins was an excellent game.

    Dragon Age 2 is a big disappointment for me.

    Specially because there's no epic feeling at all.

    Why I have to spend 90% of the game going around Kirkwall doing small "kill this guy", "bring this stuff" missions?

    I'd like to battle hordes of enemies, be part of an epic story, command an army, lead a desperate mission or kill the king.. I don't know, something EPIC, difficult, impossible for no one but my character and his foes.

    But what I got in exchange is... hey, you can be a small smuggler/assassin.. and spend hours and hours of gameplay just moving around this city, doing "no one cares about it" missions.

    **** I want to be a hero! That's why I buy a game with "DRAGON" in its cover!    … Expand
  63. Ahto
    Apr 16, 2011
    1
    Let's see, where to start? Dragon Age: Origins was one of my favorite games in a long while. This game is a shell of that game. That's actually an insult to our shell-covered brethren. I would say that the graphics are much improved, but that's kind of a hollow endorsement in that you keep seeing the same graphics over and over and over. There is really no excuse for recycling the same mapLet's see, where to start? Dragon Age: Origins was one of my favorite games in a long while. This game is a shell of that game. That's actually an insult to our shell-covered brethren. I would say that the graphics are much improved, but that's kind of a hollow endorsement in that you keep seeing the same graphics over and over and over. There is really no excuse for recycling the same map over and over with some lame obstacle keeping you from exploring the same map you saw five minutes ago. Some say the combat has improved, but I am not one of them. The game teases you by suggesting that you set a tank at the choke point to protect your mage or ranged character, only to then see enemies fall from the sky behind you. You can back up to what looks like a 4 story building and enemies just drop from the sky. Pathetic. Where to go next? Oh yeah, the loot system. I can see this conversation playing out. Some wasted dude in the corner says "Hey, let's make 80% percent of the loot they find worthless". Some equally wasted dude says "Okay, that sounds cool and to top that, let's have them sell their cool looking 3 star weapons with cool names when they pick up plain 4 star weapons with cooler names like"dagger"". Seriously, you couldn't take the time to make all the weapons have names that represented their properties? Once again, pathetic. Okay, and why do enemies explode? That just seems juvenile. This is a mature rated game right? Why appeal to the basest of gaming instincts? Blood everywhere!!! Stupid. I wish I could think of a movie sequel that disappointed as much as this game "sequel" did, but I'm drawing a blank. That's probably because I'm drinking, which I had stopped doing until I tried to finish this game. Actually, in retrospect, Dragon Age:Awakening was a better sequel to DA:O than this game. Did I mention that there is absolutely no story here? A bunch of random fetch quest with no real purpose. And tell me, how do I pick up a random item from a chest and magically know to give it to some random person for, get this, a 1 gold piece reward? Insanely stupid! I rarely use exclamation points by the way. This is the saddest follow-up to a great game that I have ever encountered. I thought Mass Effect 2 was a step down from the original, but it was okay. I hear they are looking at online co-op play for DA3. I fear what we have on the horizon is a "Call of Dragon Effect" where, in an effort to maximize profits, Bioware decides to appeal to the brain-dead co-op button mashers at the expense of those of us who actually like RPGs. I have bought every Bioware game since I started buying games because I trusted them. That ends now.… Expand
  64. ErraticUnicorn
    Apr 19, 2011
    4
    Here lies a perversion of the original Dragon Age. Shedding anything that made it special, leaving it devoid of a soul and presenting the bare-bones minimum for this game to be functional. Repetitiveness lazy level, enemy, and quest design all make for a mediocre game.
  65. Greggor
    Mar 20, 2011
    4
    The only redeeming quality of this game is its combat system, but even that system is flawed. Enemies tend to come at you in waves. So be aware that any time you think you're picking a fight with three bandits, their entire bandit army is waiting around the corner to punch you in the sack. This wouldn't be so bad except for the implications it has for aggro control. New enemies can't beThe only redeeming quality of this game is its combat system, but even that system is flawed. Enemies tend to come at you in waves. So be aware that any time you think you're picking a fight with three bandits, their entire bandit army is waiting around the corner to punch you in the sack. This wouldn't be so bad except for the implications it has for aggro control. New enemies can't be aggroed until they spawn, so they are gong to immediately jump on your mage/healer/rogue/weakling and ignore your fighter until you scramble to save the lives of your squishy party members.
    That said, the combat is a bit more fun and manageable than its counterpart in DA:O.

    But the rest of the game has just gone downhill. Bioware really disappointed me with this title. The story is watered down and hard to accept. The breadth of its predecessor was sacrificed for "accessibility" to a wider audience. In fact, the whole game takes place in one (small) town. But besides that, other features I dislike are: Your companions don't get new armor, period. You can purchase "upgrades", but you can't put any loot on them. You don't get to choose a race anymore: you're human, and that's all there is to it. The game reuses the same areas for quest after quest after quest. Most of the loot you find (50-75%) is junk. Literally, it's junk. It goes in the junk tab of your inventory. And its only purpose is to be sold for a pittance to merchants. Really, Bioware? You couldn't just give us more cash in treasure chests? You had to add "broken chair" or "mangled darkspawn dagger" into the mix? Are you kidding? This whole game was a massive disappointment. I will never pre-order another Bioware or EA title again. No, you can earn your money from now on. You don't get to get away with crap like this anymore.    … Expand
  66. wastelander75
    Mar 30, 2011
    4
    Without a doubt, a middling, muddling attempt to cater to the hack and slash / Mass Effect fans while TRYING to lightly cater to the fans that made Dragon Age Origins a hit. In the end it succeeds at doing neither. From reusing maps that are surprisingly similar in design from random quest #33 to random quest #85 (which was surprisingly similar in design to the map used in random questWithout a doubt, a middling, muddling attempt to cater to the hack and slash / Mass Effect fans while TRYING to lightly cater to the fans that made Dragon Age Origins a hit. In the end it succeeds at doing neither. From reusing maps that are surprisingly similar in design from random quest #33 to random quest #85 (which was surprisingly similar in design to the map used in random quest #10), to the tactic-less approach to combat. Companions who were, for the most part, never really a "stand out" kind of lot. No Urdnot Wrex, no Tali vas, no HK-47. They're OK, but they are no Wrex. I also felt no real sense of purpose, no feeling that what I was doing was shaping or changing the future of Kirkwall, other than having Hawke move from rags to riches. Every event I played, seemed lifeless and self contained in their Acts, with no real significance or impact on the overall. My only one true praise is that it at least looks better than the drab lifeless world experienced in the first (and still superior) game.… Expand
  67. outlaw2x4
    Apr 2, 2011
    1
    Utter betrayal of a loyal fan base. Designed entirely to accommodate a simplistic console community. Origins was a massive success both critically and financially, so why did Bioware suddenly think everything needed to be changed in a sequel. If its not broken don't fix it.
  68. DenebKaitos
    Apr 18, 2011
    0
    When will companies learn that value does not equal labor. Supply and demand is how the economy works. Bioware ruined any interest I had in this game by destroying its value by adding DRM. Someday maybe companies will learn not to treat legitimate customers like criminals. Until that day I will not be playing anymore games with DRM. Especially not ones from Bioware or EA.
  69. olorijn
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    I pre-ordered this purely on how much I enjoyed DA:O. Boy do I regret that.

    Endlessly repeated landscapes, stuck in a single city, with no motivation, just a bunch of fedex quests and ever repeating spawns of enemies out of thin air. I miss being able to customize my companions armor. I miss having more than good, snarky & evil conversation choices. I miss the feeling of exploring a    I pre-ordered this purely on how much I enjoyed DA:O. Boy do I regret that.

    Endlessly repeated landscapes, stuck in a single city, with no motivation, just a bunch of fedex quests and ever repeating spawns of enemies out of thin air.

    I miss being able to customize my companions armor. I miss having more than good, snarky & evil conversation choices. I miss the feeling of exploring a whole world. I miss the old Anders, and ser-pounce-a-lot.

    The voice-acting is meh; there's no Claudia Black here. The graphics are improved, but so repetitive, it's hard to care.

    I've finished Act 1, bored, and unable to work up the motivation to continue. I won't be pre-ordering DA:3. Renting maybe.    … Expand
  70. 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
  71. Randomfart
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    A dumbed down experience. Hack and slash combat, cluncky graphics, recycled enviroments bad pacing, boring storyline, bad dialog and companions. All the naysayers have been right since day one, this game has not been made with the spirit of an rpg and it's an insult to what Bioware used to be.
  72. TrueGamer2011
    Apr 7, 2011
    0
    Utterly disappointing. I was intending to write a long thought out review explaining in detail my dislike of this game. But why should I bother? Bioware obviously couldn't be bothered to spend time creating a faithful sequel, so likewise I won't bother spending time writing a thorough review. I have totally lost faith in Bioware.
  73. dj1917
    Apr 9, 2011
    2
    As soon as the corporate behemoth that is EA swallowed up Bioware, this was the inevitable result- trying to get an RPG, a game genre that will always appeal to a specific rather than general audience, and make it appeal to the masses of Gears of War and Halo fans. In the process they rushed development, leaving in several game-breaking bugs, and decided to re-use all the environments inAs soon as the corporate behemoth that is EA swallowed up Bioware, this was the inevitable result- trying to get an RPG, a game genre that will always appeal to a specific rather than general audience, and make it appeal to the masses of Gears of War and Halo fans. In the process they rushed development, leaving in several game-breaking bugs, and decided to re-use all the environments in the game (of which there are no more than what, eight?) so the player spends most of his time either in the same very few city locations (day or night versions), or in caves or mansions which all look identical but in which different random doors will be impassably locked (even to my lockpicking expert rogue) and unbreakable, and different passages which have been seemingly concreted up. What is in Act 1 of the game the entrance to a warehouse is magically transformed 3 years later to be the entrance to an alleyway, despite being clearly the door to a building. To compund this, areas are far too small. For instance, apparently the Elven Alienage area of Lowtown is where all the thousands of elves in the city live, despite consisting of about 12 houses and a big tree. There's no sign of any effort whatsoever to even give the impression of a larger city beyond, as in Mass Effect and other games. Areas outside of the city are made up of strange winding path-based areas with no open areas whatsoever, and various versions of the one-size-fits all dungeon/cave/underground base area. Undetailed, unrealistic environments like this have only previously been acceptable in RPGs because gamers knew that the price you paid for having loads of different places to explore was that they would inevitably have to be a bit scaled-down and simplified. When there are so few different areas in the game, it's inexcusable. Combat is a major problem too: even IF my character wasn't now moving at half-speed due to a bug. Acts 1 and 2 are absurdly easy, and almost every fight can be won in seconds by basically bashing A. In Act 3, suddenly the difficulty level shoots through the roof, which is not helped by the unbalanced economy of the game- i've been everywhere, done everything, looted all the corpses and opened every chest, yet there are items on sale in shops that cost four times the gold my character has got his hands on in the entire game. Basic healing potions etc. are far too expensive. How my character affords to maintain his 'estate' (which has about four rooms and one double bed, despite at least six people living there) is beyond me.
    And then there's the story-telling. It shows how terrible it has generally been in games if people think this is good. One example (trying to be spoiler-free for anyone fool enough to actually buy this game): a companion ends up in a situation where they have to do something that would haunt most of us for the rest of our lives, although they have no choice. They have destroyed all that mattered to them. But seconds later, that character will, it seems, have forgotten all about it and be back to making mildly humourous remarks.
    To sum up: it's broken, it's boring, and Bioware games should in future be approached with caution.    … Expand
  74. Blaz
    Mar 16, 2011
    3
    Really disappointing.They simplified everything,the first game had decent game mechanics and a slightly better combat system,it feels like a game released in beta stage,and worse of all,i've even payed for this game
  75. Ravepirate
    Mar 14, 2011
    1
    Such a dissappointment from Dragon Age 1, everything that made the Origins fun and interesting has been stripped out and replaced with "EPIC" violence and a failed attempt at trying to gain access to the young violence fanatic. Oh, and it would've been high, BUTTT, this stuff about Bioware padding Metacritic with employee's writing reviews, i feel a -5 is in order
  76. Mythe87
    Mar 16, 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.    … Expand
  77. Zelnaga
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    Currently I'm struggling to finish this game. The more I play it the more I think this is the ugly child of Mass Effect and Devil May Cry (or insert your own hack and slash title here). This isn't the Dragon Age i know, because its anything but Dragon Age apart from name and a few standout features. Could call it a stripped down version of it.

    I don't really need to state the so called    Currently I'm struggling to finish this game. The more I play it the more I think this is the ugly child of Mass Effect and Devil May Cry (or insert your own hack and slash title here). This isn't the Dragon Age i know, because its anything but Dragon Age apart from name and a few standout features. Could call it a stripped down version of it.

    I don't really need to state the so called 'problems' of this game as its been highlighted already but here a quick run though.

    - Reused Maps - Trying to get more content into this game? Good excuse. Try telling that to the people in the same office. The one who produced Mass Effect 2. Reused maps in ME? Not in the same league as Dragon Age 2 where most of the maps were near identical. Evident of being lazy? Id say so.

    - Item management - No armor customization for your teammates? Whether you could call this being streamlined or not, I don't know. Bioware possibly couldn't be asked to add skins for each armor equipped by our team mates.

    - Respawning Enemies - I remember watching a video of a bioware producer saying Dragon Age 2 demonstrating the game as a 'tactical' game. Well .... if I saw him id tell him hes a BSer. Its more akin to a hack and slash game then anything else, not more so for the lack of auto attack (Im playing 360 version), but the respawn of enemies at anytime, from anywhere. You can throw tactics out the window.

    I could go into more but its already been highlighted, but whether Bioware is just being rushing this game out the door by EA, being lazy or just making this game more streamlined goes it just hasn't worked for me and alot of people. Are they just concentrating all thier efforts on Mass Effect 3 and neglecting this once awesome game? Everyone have their own opinions. For sure. But with the bad press, fan backlash (anyone who thinks otherwise is a tool) and ever decreasing review scores from the public.

    This is anything buy Biowares finest. You can be sure that when DA3 is being hyped up in a few years time, they will use DA2s negativity and downfall as a way to promote its squeal.    … Expand
  78. Landor
    Mar 19, 2011
    4
    Besides the discussion of to much action, gore, comic like design and the Hack ´n Slay fights which is a question of taste for sure. You can see, that DA2 had not enough time.The hardcore recycling of enemies and levels ist just bold. Dialogues are simple, predictable and don´t go into depth. And the hero Hawk never shows any kind of emotions. I love Bioware gamesBesides the discussion of to much action, gore, comic like design and the Hack ´n Slay fights which is a question of taste for sure. You can see, that DA2 had not enough time.The hardcore recycling of enemies and levels ist just bold. Dialogues are simple, predictable and don´t go into depth. And the hero Hawk never shows any kind of emotions. I love Bioware games for the epic story lines and great emotions. I even loved Mass Effect 2, so its quite clear that I´m not that kind of hardcore traditionalist, but DA2 has nothing to do with RPG any more. Its RPG light or RPG fast food. Easy to consume. Easy to forget. I miss the spark, which brings me to play this game again and again. I finished the game one time now and I not going to play it again. So my recommendation: DON´T GIVE MORE THAN 10 BUGS. If this is the future of Bioware´s understanding of RPG, I will never buy a game of this company again. EA and Bioware are going in the wrong direction .… Expand
  79. Eceliion
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    Everyone has said everything that needs to be said. I finished the game (mostly) today and...wow, I've never been so disappointed. Not only did I waste $69.00 buying this junk, I also wasted hours of my life. Sigh.
    EA has eaten BioWare up and pooped them out. I've lost hope now :(
  80. Surumbu
    Mar 20, 2011
    0
    It is deeply unfortunate to see that a certain game company appears to be artificially inflating the metacritic game score on DA2 with a lot of one shot, single reviewer posts. But I urge people looking at the reviews to consider the date frame in which they are posted, the reviewer history and the abnormally high score given.

    DA2 is an poor game, both in terms of what we expect to see    It is deeply unfortunate to see that a certain game company appears to be artificially inflating the metacritic game score on DA2 with a lot of one shot, single reviewer posts. But I urge people looking at the reviews to consider the date frame in which they are posted, the reviewer history and the abnormally high score given.

    DA2 is an poor game, both in terms of what we expect to see from a Bioware title and from the DA franchise. What people have said about the slow/nonexistent story, dumbing down of the game, the poor dialogue, substandard graphics, horrid dialogue wheel... it's all true. This game is NOT worth the $60 to buy it, and is not worthy of Bioware.

    I simply cannot adequately express my disappointment with this game as a long time Bioware fangirl. It's wretched, and I can only hope that Bioware learns the harsh lesson and returns to the format and attention to detail within the RPG genre that made them great in the first place.    … Expand
  81. KOTOR
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was a big fan of bioware. I bought Baldurs gate 1 and 2 ,Neverwinter nights 1,Jade Empire,Sonic The dark Brotherhood,Mass Effect 1 and 2,Dragon Age Origins and Dragon age Awakening And Dragon age 2 .I was dissapointed with Mass effect 2 it was streamlined and didnt fixed the errors of the previous game because i WAS such a fan of bioware forgive them and hoped Dragon Age 2 was the return of The Great Rpg Creators they were.
    Sadly This isnt true Dragon age 2 is not a roleplaying game ,more of action game with a very weak combat and a mess that is the story,this game is a cashin on Dragon Age origins success it was rushed. Spoilers :The Storyline in Dragon Age 2 isn't all that coherent and doesn't really make sense. You have one leader inspired by a magic weapon that influences attitude...but the other leader...their decisions at the end of the game make NO Sense really. The entire game Really doesn 't make coherent sense. It's like whoever made the storyline wanted to make 3 different games and then tried to link them all up nicely at the very end.    … Expand
  82. Arglesmurf
    Mar 21, 2011
    1
    I have never played a bad Bioware game before. As retaliation, I'm giving it a 0. The game is probably nowhere near that bad, but I bought it at full price based on liking the first and loving Bioware products - I'm done with trusting Bioware and will now check reviews before buying. Never again soil your name with crap, Bioware!
  83. 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
  84. JenniferGoo
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    The crticial reception of Dragon Age II is one of the most glaring examples of just how terrified the enthusiast video game press is afraid of upsetting publishers. They wouldn't dare tell you at what point this is a focus-driven rushed-to-market insult to video game consumers everywhere. I never played the original Dragon Age so I'm not an irate fan of the original... there is just notThe crticial reception of Dragon Age II is one of the most glaring examples of just how terrified the enthusiast video game press is afraid of upsetting publishers. They wouldn't dare tell you at what point this is a focus-driven rushed-to-market insult to video game consumers everywhere. I never played the original Dragon Age so I'm not an irate fan of the original... there is just not much to defend here. There isn't a single battle in the game (including bosses) that doesn't involve waves and waves of enemies spawning out of thin air waiting for you to mow them down. Sometimes, even when you give them a gentle whack, they explode into a dozen pieces... which I guess is suppose to make me feel like a bad ass. The entire game takes place in one city made up of a few small disconnected areas and the same two or three dungeons that are reused for the entire game. They even try to trick you into thinking this is a new area by blocking off doors you were previously able to go through and opening other ones. Why can't you go through that door you see this time around? Who knows! You just can't click on it! Look, when asked about this problem in an interview, the developers claim they had two choices: give us all original content and cut the game length down to a couple hours or reuse the same areas over and over until the game lasted twenty-five hours. If that doesn't give you an idea of how rushed this product is, I don't know what will. There is not 60 dollars worth of content here and yet so many people have already bought this game because the video game press is looking out more for themselves and not for us. The sad part of this is that underneath it all, the character interaction is great even if the overally story arc, like the rest of the game, is not well thought out at all. It's clear there were talented people working on Dragon Age II, but they weren't given the liberty or time to make this into a good product. Buyer beware.… Expand
  85. kweeks1
    Mar 31, 2011
    1
    The stats on the game tell the story Dragon Age Origins requires 20 GB HD space while Dragon Age 2 requires 7 GB HD space. why duplicate scenes, less game!
  86. imperita
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    I've played this all of the way through before writing anything. I've always been a Bioware fan, but seriously, DA2 is disappointing and I cannot see how the bulk of review sites can ignore some its fundamental flaws. Granted I can see how the combat has improved for console platforms, but it's really the rest of the game that leaves me feeling irritated. For instance, the dialogue optionsI've played this all of the way through before writing anything. I've always been a Bioware fan, but seriously, DA2 is disappointing and I cannot see how the bulk of review sites can ignore some its fundamental flaws. Granted I can see how the combat has improved for console platforms, but it's really the rest of the game that leaves me feeling irritated. For instance, the dialogue options and conversation interactions have really been dulled down - I assume this is due to the fact that Hawke is now voice-acted. I would love to sit down and talk with whoever came up with the 'sarcastic' replies for Hawke - he just sounds like an idiot. Taking the character of Isabella as an example - we get it, she is a sex addict - there is no need to constantly remind the player over and over again aside from the obviously intended hit with the younger male audience. There is no connection with the characters, you just don't end up caring what happens to them. The exception to this in my opinion is Merrill, whose dilemmas and underlying story fit in more with what I'd come to expect from Origins. The constant 'cameos' from older characters only reinforce the lack of interest with the supposed main cast of this installment. The story is definitely a lesser scale than origins, which makes me feel quite angry as to the marketing propaganda hinting at some sort of epic ascent to 'power'.

    Whilst the combat mechanics are a little more streamlined, as is item and inventory management in general, this doesn't fix the issue of repeated zones, reuse of assets, the low variety of enemies and the incredibly annoying 'walk-into-an-area-and-keep-spawning-stuff' ideology. Perhaps it is my fault for having expectations that were too high, or not checking beforehand that the entire game was essentially going to be set in one relatively bland city with a few outdoor areas which would be reused at periodic intervals as 'years' progress.

    I see a lot of the positive reviews being given here with scores of '10'. I just don't see why. Especially the 'OH MY GOD IM LEVEL 7 AND THIS IS AMAZING' - I too was still 'giving it a chance' at that stage hoping that it would open up and improve. Others suggest increasing the difficulty somehow compensates for the bad storyline and being locked into only a few zones just so that you can engage in slightly harder repetitive combat where on occasion people jump randomly from the sky, up from the ground or pop out of nowhere.

    I'm not a professional review writer - and I've never posted a review on metacritic before despite being a deidcated PC gamer for well over a decade. I just felt massively let down as a player and as a fan of DA:O that the experience of DA2 was quite simply a let down. Honestly it feels as if they sat down after the Awakening expansion and thought 'lets do that again with a new character and implement some of the ideas we couldn't fit into the scope Awakening - we'll call it Dragon Age 2'.

    P.S. Bring back more of the mage schools and spell combos. Why remove them?    … Expand
  87. nirax
    Mar 20, 2011
    3
    If you liked the nwn series, DA:O or even the witcher you may than i suggest to try the game first before buying. You may prepare for some serious disappointment.
    There would be nothing wrong with the game if there were some 'Diablo' letters on the cover, but it is a tremendous disappointment and dumb down if you expect a rich and interesting game.
    Its basically pure hack&slash (Diablo    If you liked the nwn series, DA:O or even the witcher you may than i suggest to try the game first before buying. You may prepare for some serious disappointment.
    There would be nothing wrong with the game if there were some 'Diablo' letters on the cover, but it is a tremendous disappointment and dumb down if you expect a rich and interesting game.
    Its basically pure hack&slash (Diablo Style) with a soso story and some nice characters. The graphic feels cleaner and worse than in DA:O, the combat was streamlinded and quickend, but is esthetically totally unpleasing. Its never elegant, its never eye catching eye candy, i never bothered taking a screenshot, while i have hm ~2k screenshots from the first game.
    Now there are some nice additoins. The voice over feels good, and some options like the possibility to give funny answers is an enrichment, espeically if thats what comes first in your mind anway .
    But the repetitive dungeons, boring map, boring graphics, missing items, everythin feels like it has a huge stamp on it "MAKE the over 10 MIL copies SELL with just 1/2 year development EA order". That just wont work. It was definately my last Bioware game i ever preordered before reading user reviews. / as such its interesting to see how commercial reviewers join Bioware´s epic fail.
    What should they do better: Well stop trying to do a DIABLO clone (knowing that the real diablo would be delayed and thus sniffing blood) - but stick to your theme, stick to what you know best. Deliver a full rich and good - but well yes, costy - RPG environment again. And yes, keep the EA guys away from Product planning.    … Expand
  88. KcSmiff
    Mar 13, 2011
    3
    Vast amount of visual bugs which give horrible performance with a Geforce 580. Even when the game is running smoothly, I can't help but notice the obvious copy-pasting of dungeons/caves. The feeling that the quests are all going to the same places as other quests all the time. God knows what the popular game review sites are on, this is no where near on par with Dragon Age: Origins, letVast amount of visual bugs which give horrible performance with a Geforce 580. Even when the game is running smoothly, I can't help but notice the obvious copy-pasting of dungeons/caves. The feeling that the quests are all going to the same places as other quests all the time. God knows what the popular game review sites are on, this is no where near on par with Dragon Age: Origins, let alone an improvement. I liked the combat more on this one, but everything else brings it down and nullifies it. Very mediocre and most likely rushed game; unexpected lackluster installment to the acclaimed Dragon Age: Origins.… Expand
  89. RavenZD
    Mar 14, 2011
    1
    This games claims to be mature RPG from one of best RPG developers in the world, It simply is not true.
    Before i start with pros and cons, let me just say a thing or two about mature rpg:
    1. It is not mature (yes there is sex and some quests are rather interesting), but flashy combat, quests that are so dumb (discover a item on floor and bring it to someone for reward is insult of    This games claims to be mature RPG from one of best RPG developers in the world, It simply is not true.
    Before i start with pros and cons, let me just say a thing or two about mature rpg:

    1. It is not mature (yes there is sex and some quests are rather interesting), but flashy combat, quests that are so dumb (discover a item on floor and bring it to someone for reward is insult of intelligence). There is no real group dynamics, story so far is refreshment from usual rpg epic default, but i don't mention this as a necessary good thing - you are driven solely by making a name for your self in one rather small town. It is ok to have this, but you expect more at the end. This is just: ok, and that is it, what now?

    2. RPG - where to start....it just doesn't feel like one. Inventory is a big part of rpg for me - i like to play around with items, have meaningful icons, distribute with my members, combine what is best and generally play around with crafting etc. Here they take most of it away. There are no icons, party customization is awful, if you get DLC armor & weapons, you will be using it alot because it is very powerful...crafting is just basically purchasing from a stand...no open world, feels very limited with location recycle... i just can't get into the character and into setting.


    To be clear, haven't played game through...i started by single session of 8 hours, than 6, than 4, than 2.. yesterday i just chilled on couch, had absolutely no wish to turn it on (in DA:o it was quite opposite, my desire to play got bigger with progression). Not really sure if i will be able to finish it (difficultly is not an issue).. it just doesn't captivate and mesmerize like RPG should.


    PRO: no bugs, some very interesting quests, combat can be fun sometimes, top notch voice acting
    CONS: inventory, party chars not very interesting, fight is not tactical at all, no open space, narrow corridors or walls most of game (don't mind dungeon crawl now and then, but this is nowhere near so far), dialog wheel (absolute rpg abomination) and yes for me - no epic struggle as culmination of all the efforts...


    For me a big letdown, if you liked origins and enjoy classic RPG experience do not buy this game until it is not on some discount or used...don't think I'll ever play this more than once if i manage to get interested enough to complete.

    P.S. If this is what RPG is going to be from now on - i must be getting too old and this simply is not for me.    … Expand
  90. Stocky
    Mar 16, 2011
    4
    The game for me has had it's ups and downs. But the lack of depth with characters, rehashed environments and the extremely shallow game play personally proved too much to bear. What is even more annoying from a consumer point of view is the DLC on day one. Why provide extra content from the release date especially after consumers are paying £30-40+ for such a lackluster title?
  91. mareo2
    Apr 18, 2011
    4
    First I believed it was great deserving a 9 or 8, then after a few hours of playing the game I understood that it was a poor plot with characters not as likable as in ME 2 or DA:O and deserved more like a 7 or 6. Then I discovered a bunch of bugs piling up that underscored the impression of a rushed game and deserved more like a 5 or 4. The average user score of 4.4 is correct in theirFirst I believed it was great deserving a 9 or 8, then after a few hours of playing the game I understood that it was a poor plot with characters not as likable as in ME 2 or DA:O and deserved more like a 7 or 6. Then I discovered a bunch of bugs piling up that underscored the impression of a rushed game and deserved more like a 5 or 4. The average user score of 4.4 is correct in their unbiased verdict.… Expand
  92. Davecz
    Jul 25, 2011
    0
    Epic Fail...................................................................................................................................................
  93. 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
  94. Icee
    Mar 21, 2011
    2
    DragonAge: Origins was a great game but DA 2 is just **** Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy thisDragonAge: Origins was a great game but DA 2 is just **** Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game Don't buy this game… Expand
  95. lobotomy42
    Mar 15, 2011
    4
    This game has lots of cutscenes. In between the cutscenes, you press the "A" button.

    On the plus side, I do not believe the game has given me any infectious diseases.
  96. ujellybro
    Mar 16, 2011
    2
    Thanks metacritic for deleting my honest opinion about this game. Gaming really has taken a turn for the worse, when you can't express your opinions on a bad game without it getting deleted. You should be ashamed of yourselves, you and BioWare.
  97. penfever
    Mar 16, 2011
    2
    First time / long time, and so I want to thank Metacritic for years of excellent service to the gaming community. I've enjoyed reading the reviews, both professional and personal, and I base many of my buying decisions on what I glean here.

    I finished DA2. I could certainly talk about the game's many egregious failures (most of which have been covered here), but I think it's more    First time / long time, and so I want to thank Metacritic for years of excellent service to the gaming community. I've enjoyed reading the reviews, both professional and personal, and I base many of my buying decisions on what I glean here.

    I finished DA2. I could certainly talk about the game's many egregious failures (most of which have been covered here), but I think it's more interesting to think about this game in the context of what is happening to the RPG genre in general. FFXIII was, after a nearly interminable wait, the weakest FF ever. DA2 may well be the weakest Bioware game of the modern era. Atari is out of the RPG business, as are many others. And although the EuroPGs like Gothic may be to some players' tastes, I find them too heavily invested in a 'realistic' medieval setting. Seriously ... the PS3's been out for years now. Where are the RPGs?

    I can't remember the last time I played a truly great Fantasy RPG. Some (The Last Remnant) had intriguing ideas but failed in other areas. Some are just dull. DA2 is not a terrible game (merely a mediocre one), but it is a terrible RPG, because it makes you give up on the things that are supposed to matter the most ... exploration, character growth and story.

    By the end I was skipping almost every conversation. I knew what I said wouldn't matter. The idea that Kirkwall is 'vast' is a shameful lie. Daggerfall was vast. LOTRO and WOW are vast ... it takes hours to traverse them. Fallout: New Vegas was ... well, not vast, but pretty big. Gothic was sizable, if repetitious. DA2 is microscopic. Eensy weensy. Really truly small in scope, ambition, diversity ... you name it.

    Why do all mages perform the same four spells (and why are they mostly designed to prevent you from killing the mages immediately?)? Why are shades randomly appearing in Lowtown? Why do trash mobs rain from the heavens like the worthless copper you gather from the corpses? Why do the shops withhold their inventories for years? Why is crafting so utterly meaningless? Why is most of the treasure you collect useless? Why can't your companions wear armor? Why is this game's idea of 'strategy' flooding the screen with identical foes?

    It's not enough to trash this worthless, shameless cash-in of an RPG. That's easy, but insufficient. What we need is a revolution.

    Indie developers, are you listening? Do you remember, as I do, the days of Vagrant Story, FF6, Valkyrie Profile? Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, Neverwinter Nights? Do you remember when there was an embarrassment of riches for Fantasy RPG gamers? Think about what we could do now. Imagine Bioware's production values and visual storytelling married to REAL innovation.

    This review is a call to action. Let's bring REAL RPGs back, on both the PC and the consoles, and relegate this overhyped, overvalued junk to the dustbin of history, where it belongs.    … Expand
  98. PrancingPotato
    Mar 18, 2011
    0
    EA is posting their own reviews here and possibly elsewhere online to manipulate reviews. The 10/10 review by Avanost is fake and posted by Bioware:

    http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/g4jei/ea_admits_to_manipulating_online_review_scores_in/
  99. KalrocVN
    Apr 12, 2011
    2
    A classic example of a game not matching the overall franchise's core values and brand. DA Origins was strongly designed and communicated as a solid old-school Western RPG hearkening back to Baldur's Gate, which itself was strongly influenced by the pioneering Ultima games from the 80's and 90's. Halmarks of these games are 1) large, non-linear open worlds 2) strategic combat 3)A classic example of a game not matching the overall franchise's core values and brand. DA Origins was strongly designed and communicated as a solid old-school Western RPG hearkening back to Baldur's Gate, which itself was strongly influenced by the pioneering Ultima games from the 80's and 90's. Halmarks of these games are 1) large, non-linear open worlds 2) strategic combat 3) character statistic and equipment customization for the protagonist and supporting party members. DA II fails on all accounts.

    There's obviously still a decent market for the traditional western RPG, as DA Origins sold a LOT of copies. And let's be honest, DA Origins wasn't a masterpiece by any means, but it at least targeted a specific segment of the market and served that segment decently well.

    This was bad brand management. Whoever is in charge of the DA franchise at EA should be canned, he's done incredible harm to the DA brand and ultimately devalued EA's investment in Bioware.    … Expand
  100. anharium
    Jan 4, 2012
    2
    Very poor writing, removed everything interesting about the first games combat system. This game was clearly rushed out the door in an attempt to see if an RPG could be made with reliable selling sequels every year like a shooter or sports game.
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Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2011
3
#3 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011
19
#19 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 75
  3. Negative: 1 out of 75
  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. Gaming Nexus
    May 1, 2011
    75
    Faulty game mechanics and disappointing maps, combat scenarios and storyline direction aside, Dragon Age II still has a surprising amount of intrigue hidden beneath the blemishes. The depth of character relationships, as well as the complex nature of the world of the Dragon Age franchise are a savior to a game that would otherwise forever be remembered by its mistakes.
    Read full review
  3. Game Chronicles
    Apr 22, 2011
    90
    Above all, it seems like Dragon Age II is an experiment. If you're a fan of the first game and expect a direct continuation, either in story or mechanics, you'll be disappointed. If you're not willing to put up with some rough edges and some mechanics that don't quite work as intended, you'll end up having a hard time. But if you're going for a game that has some of the best storytelling in RPGs in a while, or you're looking for a BioWare RPG to tide yourself over until Mass Effect 3, you won't do much better right now than Dragon Age II.
    Read full review
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