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. Kmtw
    Jun 29, 2023
    1
    You'd think after all these years there'd have been a fix for the Wayward Son glitch by now. Can't progress the game, not starting over. Was looking forward to playing the Dragon Age games but I think I'll leave it here.
  2. Swimming4Ten
    Jul 15, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The fact that this game claims that it's a Dragon Age game, but it doesn't have the option of changing your race. Your forced to be a human. The storyboard writer that said this game was a good idea probably shouldn't be a writer for anything. I didn't care about my companions, in fact I made it a goal to kill them all by the end of the game. Except Varrik.… Expand
  3. Peachboiii
    Nov 28, 2021
    2
    I feel bad for giving it such a low score, because i know its EAs fault and not bioware. And they did a great job in the time they had and the pressure they were under. But i just cant get into this game. I hate the character im playing, the layout looks cheap, enviroment is bland and everything looks the same everywhere. They could've called this something else, like making it a spin offI feel bad for giving it such a low score, because i know its EAs fault and not bioware. And they did a great job in the time they had and the pressure they were under. But i just cant get into this game. I hate the character im playing, the layout looks cheap, enviroment is bland and everything looks the same everywhere. They could've called this something else, like making it a spin off or something. It would be more forgiving. But EA also demanded they call it DA2.. I mean, f them so f*ing much. EA is the worst thing to happen to Dragon age.… Expand
  4. ONI913
    Jul 29, 2020
    3
    как отдельная игра она получилось неплохо, как Dragon age 2 это кошмар... отношения с персонажами это единственный плюс игры, ибо играть в это больше 2х часов почти невозможно, а если вы только недавно закончили первую часть и ее дополнения то ваше впечатление о геймплее становится еще хуже.как отдельная игра она получилось неплохо, как Dragon age 2 это кошмар... отношения с персонажами это единственный плюс игры, ибо играть в это больше 2х часов почти невозможно, а если вы только недавно закончили первую часть и ее дополнения то ваше впечатление о геймплее становится еще хуже.
  5. mnKx
    Jun 23, 2020
    4
    Coming fresh from beating DA:O and all of it expansions it makes really frustrating playing this game
    It has basically the same type of combat and commands as DA:O but executed very differently.
    The combat (and the animations) got a lot faster mostly because of the way they design the levels and the combat encounters. Instead of having all the enemies placed on the map, you will find a    Coming fresh from beating DA:O and all of it expansions it makes really frustrating playing this game
    It has basically the same type of combat and commands as DA:O but executed very differently.
    The combat (and the animations) got a lot faster mostly because of the way they design the levels and the combat encounters. Instead of having all the enemies placed on the map, you will find a small group and when you start combat they will have spawning waves of enemies that come from pretty much everywhere in the surrounding area of the encounter, which would be fine if the gameplay itself was something more appropriate to this kind of design (something like Devil May Cry or even Diablo), instead we have very generic and streamlined gameplay mechanics that doesn't fit the type of game that was supposed to be.
    The gameplay changes are probably the worst part about this sequel (even though I liked the new animations compared to the dull ones from DA:O), but another thing that buggered me the most was the reused scenarios and the way they did it, because a lot of times you would do a few missions in a row that used the same scenario but in a different part of the map, which was very bad for immersion
    There are a few things good about the game, but as a Dragon Age title is a disappointment    … Expand
  6. RidiculousDeath
    Oct 16, 2019
    1
    One of the worst sequels in the history of gaming. Also the beginning of a "woke" era in Bioware.
  7. gqmasters3
    May 11, 2019
    2
    I cannot give this game a "zero" because it IS playable and it has a mild amusement value, but it is the worst sequel ever. The game is clearly very rushed, dungeons are reused over and over (to the degree it is insulting to the gamer), you spend the entire game in one town and the plot is quite scattered and unengaging. I personally did not like the different battle gameplay, but it isI cannot give this game a "zero" because it IS playable and it has a mild amusement value, but it is the worst sequel ever. The game is clearly very rushed, dungeons are reused over and over (to the degree it is insulting to the gamer), you spend the entire game in one town and the plot is quite scattered and unengaging. I personally did not like the different battle gameplay, but it is not terrible.… Expand
  8. AutumnReviewer
    Sep 16, 2018
    2
    When I played the game for the first time I love it.
    But playing again, again and again (I played 7 times) we start to notice the flaws. Despite one of their main features being "choices" and diversity of gameplay, it don't exist much to do. It has almost no replay value after you play for the second time. They reuse the same map over and over again damage more the game replay value. You    When I played the game for the first time I love it.
    But playing again, again and again (I played 7 times) we start to notice the flaws. Despite one of their main features being "choices" and diversity of gameplay, it don't exist much to do. It has almost no replay value after you play for the second time. They reuse the same map over and over again damage more the game replay value. You really need to have a bad memory if you want to play this game again.
    The combat is very dumbed down than Dragon Age Origins. Despite I liked some stuffs, like the warriors skills tree, it's very noticeable they decrease the skills from the Mages. This lead to not have much to do when you play the game again with the same class.
    Nightmare mode apparently was not tested, resulting in a very infuriating level which you will die constantly and win mostly fights by luck.
    The personality trait, despite being a interesting idea, really don't suit Dragon Age franchise and limit your freedom to roleplay.
    I liked the characters and the plot was ok, but really it required more development to be someway be interesting. They constantly drop some characters to do cameos from Origins which I found kind annoying.
    The soundtrack is probably one of the best on the franchise.

    Conclusion: You probably will like to play this once and never more.    … Expand
  9. mikereview
    Aug 1, 2018
    2
    Dragon Age 2 plays like an unimaginative console port. The story is lackluster, the battle consists of brainless button mashing and the graphics are ugly and dated. They even recycled several maps. There's very little this game has in common with either DA1 or DA:Inquisition except the name. It is a turd sandwich so stay away from this game.
  10. MarsCorialanus
    Oct 27, 2017
    2
    I love Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening. Super fun RPG's that just felt amazing. Cool characters with compelling stories. This sequel had repetitive maps and missions that lacked any fun factor. I also felt like I was always on a loading screen, maybe it would be more tolerable on a more powerful machine. Dragon Age II, I cannot even recall one memorable character. Not like Liliana,I love Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening. Super fun RPG's that just felt amazing. Cool characters with compelling stories. This sequel had repetitive maps and missions that lacked any fun factor. I also felt like I was always on a loading screen, maybe it would be more tolerable on a more powerful machine. Dragon Age II, I cannot even recall one memorable character. Not like Liliana, Morrigan, Alistair, or Sten! This game is really when I first saw that Bioware could do wrong. After MEIII I realized I would not be joining in for another title from this new EA Bioware. This game truly marked the beginning of the end.… Expand
  11. silverwolf42
    Oct 21, 2017
    0
    Worst sequel ever. A game done without any passion, shallow characters, boring story, recycled levels and music, no connection to Origins at all... it's sad, the first one was so good and they just screwed it up.
  12. Reed618
    Mar 15, 2017
    0
    This game really stuck with me as an example of reviewer bias. In the years since i've become suspicious of ign, gamespot and any other reviewer that would lie to avoid angering bioware. This game reused environments again and again, there was no sense of consequence for your actions and sidequests undertaken for your party had no payoff. The story didn't make sense either, it was a realThis game really stuck with me as an example of reviewer bias. In the years since i've become suspicious of ign, gamespot and any other reviewer that would lie to avoid angering bioware. This game reused environments again and again, there was no sense of consequence for your actions and sidequests undertaken for your party had no payoff. The story didn't make sense either, it was a real struggle to finish this game. It was just so repetitive and joyless. Like most people I love mass effect 1 and 2 but bioware have made some questionable choices with their other titles.… Expand
  13. DinoVas
    May 9, 2016
    2
    This game completely derails from the excellence of DAO. It's extremely weak, horrible battle system and very boring story. Actually the game doesnt even let you get to know the story since the game is so horrible from the get go.I tried to like it as I loved the first game but Icouldnt get passed 1 hour.
  14. akamrboone
    Nov 15, 2015
    0
    Pros: the skill trees were much more interesting and intuitive, a great improvement over the first game imo.

    Cons: Literally everything else. The characters are mildly entertaining at best and the plot line / sub-plot lines all seem like they were developed by 4 different story-boarding teams and then thrown together last minute. the dlcs weren't too amazing either. Also, as if    Pros: the skill trees were much more interesting and intuitive, a great improvement over the first game imo.

    Cons: Literally everything else. The characters are mildly entertaining at best and the plot line / sub-plot lines all seem like they were developed by 4 different story-boarding teams and then thrown together last minute. the dlcs weren't too amazing either.

    Also, as if anyone who has played the game needs me to point it out, holy repetitive environments! I am aware that every developer is guilty of copy/pasting set pieces, but Bioware doesn't even do that in DA2. They legit send you back to the same places, just with different invisible walls, or a fancy 90 degree turn.    … Expand
  15. Luizzrz
    Jun 20, 2015
    0
    Think about everything that's sh!tty and insert it here, that's Dragon Age 2 folks.
    OBS: Even though that, the graphics are okay and the world is very stylish.
  16. tazz29
    Jun 15, 2015
    0
    This is one of the worst games I've played. Repeated dungeons/landscapes that made me question whether I'd already played the quest before, cliche characters, a story arc containing you to a predetermined outcome, weak, Twlight-ish dialogue that sounds like it's straight from Creative writing Beginners class, and you can't even customize characters' armour, other than for Hawke. I stoppedThis is one of the worst games I've played. Repeated dungeons/landscapes that made me question whether I'd already played the quest before, cliche characters, a story arc containing you to a predetermined outcome, weak, Twlight-ish dialogue that sounds like it's straight from Creative writing Beginners class, and you can't even customize characters' armour, other than for Hawke. I stopped half way and uninstalled it. Dragon Age Origins is superior in every way.… Expand
  17. vazait
    Apr 11, 2015
    1
    This game ruined Flemeth forever.
    Zero interesting characters with the exception of Varrick.
    Zero exploration, zero RPG-elements, dumbed downed dialogue.
    All in all pretty much no redeeming factors.
    1/10 **** game.
  18. Winterspark
    Dec 28, 2014
    0
    Boring, repetitive, pointless. The point of this game seems to be trotting around with a bunch of dull characters pressing the same button, over and over and over and over and over... Meanwhile little numbers float out of peoples heads and then you die and rinse and repeat.
  19. RimJobson
    Sep 27, 2014
    4
    Dragon Age II is the best representation of games that suffer due to new elements leading to neglect of old ones.

    Change is never a bad thing, but its execution is what makes or breaks games that label themselves as the "next step" on the series' evolutionary ladder. Dragon Age II is no different, change is what made the parts of the game that were praised and change is what broke the    Dragon Age II is the best representation of games that suffer due to new elements leading to neglect of old ones.

    Change is never a bad thing, but its execution is what makes or breaks games that label themselves as the "next step" on the series' evolutionary ladder. Dragon Age II is no different, change is what made the parts of the game that were praised and change is what broke the parts of the game that were hated.

    The best thing about change in regards to Dragon II is definitely the combat. While not extraordinary, the fact that you play a bigger part in how things unfold allows for a more fun combat experience rather than treating it as a "Press A and watch until someone needs micro-managing" chore.

    However, that is where the well-executed change ends. The new system of personality was not developed upon enough, making it seem more as a meaningless statistic rather than one that actually impacted the story, with friendship and rivalry following the same path. Companions were not as developed as in the first game, making them seem more like something you would like to read a Wiki article on than do a personal quest for. Maps were a joke, with many environments being recycled to the point of being ludicrous (fighting at least 4 different factions in the same cave or warehouse at different times, for instance). The plot was not completely terrible, but paled in comparison to that of the first, which is a serious problem if you're dealing with a series and not just a standalone game.

    All in all, the game suffered from lack of force concentration: attempting to "revolutionize" so many aspects of the game that you dilute the framework of it to the point of decaying its value.

    Is it a terrible game on its own? No, it is mediocre but certainly not the worst I've ever played.
    Is it a terrible installment of the Dragon Age series? Without a doubt.    … Expand
  20. Kultur
    Sep 12, 2014
    4
    If this game wasn't preceded by DA:Origins it might have had a less negative impact on players, but since Origins was just that good (easily in my top 10 games all time), this game was a huge letdown.

    In DA2 the loot is named "junk", instead of having comparably amazing back-story for a simple painting found in a random barrel in Origins. Combat has been dumbed down, there's more    If this game wasn't preceded by DA:Origins it might have had a less negative impact on players, but since Origins was just that good (easily in my top 10 games all time), this game was a huge letdown.

    In DA2 the loot is named "junk", instead of having comparably amazing back-story for a simple painting found in a random barrel in Origins.
    Combat has been dumbed down, there's more flashiness to movement and strikes, but the depth of Origins combat has at best been preserved, often falling under the mark and never really improving gameplay.
    Promotional material touted claims of an interactive story that adapted as you went along, which was an outright lie. The ending is the same regardless of class and decisions which quickly becomes apparent and especially in the act finales.
    Dungeons - Oh the dungeons... most blatant copy/paste job performed in a AAA-title for me. No love was given to dungeon crawling, you will quickly recognize rooms and often whole sections of dungeons.
    The city - You will spend the majority of your time playing in the city which changes between the acts, giving a sense of time passing. But not enough, it's still the same levels reskinned a few times.

    Overall, a rushed and passionless sequel that rightly disappointed most fans. For some reason critic reviews were generally very favorable, the most flattering thing I can say about that is that maybe they got to play an alpha/beta build. I have a hard time believing any reviewer played the whole game before writing the review.    … Expand
  21. mikhailmaldonag
    Jul 7, 2014
    0
    I love DA: Origins and win the game in nightmare 10 times, with full Achievement.

    Este juego es por mucho uno de los peores RPG que me tocó jugar. Ni siquiera es un RPG, no tiene el menor sentido, usaron algunos elementos del Origins (que si es un buen juego) sin siquiera usar la atmósfera del primer juego. Nada de lo que uno espera. Agregar variantes y cambios en la mecánica puede    I love DA: Origins and win the game in nightmare 10 times, with full Achievement.

    Este juego es por mucho uno de los peores RPG que me tocó jugar. Ni siquiera es un RPG, no tiene el menor sentido, usaron algunos elementos del Origins (que si es un buen juego) sin siquiera usar la atmósfera del primer juego.

    Nada de lo que uno espera. Agregar variantes y cambios en la mecánica puede ser "Excelente" (Biohazard 3 - Biohazard 4) pero en este caso fue patético. El juego es extremadamente fácil en "Pesadilla", el 90% del tiempo tengo a mi equipo atrás, lejos de la pelea y a mi personaje pegando y curandose cuando necesita.

    La dificultad y la inteligencia artificial es patética. Hay 2 formas de jugar: pegar, pegar y pegar o pegar, pegar, usar habilidad, pegar, pegar. Si por algún misterioso motivo llegas a perder suficiente vida como para morir, solo tenes que correr en circulos, en solo 2 horas de juego ( las 2 más aburridas) tenes todo el dinero necesario para comprarte los primeros items, que sorprendentemente dado lo facil del juego, sirven hasta la mitad sin problemas.

    MALISIMO. Es tan malo que tuve que loguearme luego de años a metacritic a criticarlo y salvar a cualquier latino que llegue a tirar dinero en esta basura. :D    … Expand
  22. Kriss_A
    Jul 4, 2014
    0
    A terrible game overall. I could take the time to talk about all it's terrible flaws, but I don't think metacritic.com can afford enough bandwidth to support all that text.
    - terrible reused, low quality level design
    - atrocious agenda driven writing - shoehorned romances with 0 plot relevance + Nice combat animations - terrible character and item design - overly linear for a RPG -    A terrible game overall. I could take the time to talk about all it's terrible flaws, but I don't think metacritic.com can afford enough bandwidth to support all that text.
    - terrible reused, low quality level design
    - atrocious agenda driven writing
    - shoehorned romances with 0 plot relevance
    + Nice combat animations
    - terrible character and item design
    - overly linear for a RPG
    - childish sense of morality
    - terrible DLC policy    … Expand
  23. AnEwOkSeXsLaVe
    Apr 25, 2014
    0
    This is not an RPG. There are no choices or customizations. It's like Government... you get the illusion of choice, you get 1 of 2 Satans to pick from. That's the options-scales in this game. Everything is flashy and meant to captivate you "ooh attacks look so cool now". It's smoke and mirrors... dog and pony show... NOT SUBSTANCE beneath it. It's boring, weak, and repetitive combatThis is not an RPG. There are no choices or customizations. It's like Government... you get the illusion of choice, you get 1 of 2 Satans to pick from. That's the options-scales in this game. Everything is flashy and meant to captivate you "ooh attacks look so cool now". It's smoke and mirrors... dog and pony show... NOT SUBSTANCE beneath it. It's boring, weak, and repetitive combat that is essentially brainless. No matter what class you're playing.

    Knights Of The Old Republic was a legendary game that got EVERYTHING RIGHT. Story-telling... RPG, combat... characters... these Dragon Age games get worse and worse and they're all visuals with no real substance at all. And negative reviews are all correct... this game is ON RAILS. Again... NO OPTIONS. The illusion of choices.

    Characters are awful. Story starts out boring and persists to be boring. You can interact with nothing but your next quest thing/guy/objective. On Rails.

    I played this over a couple times as Rogue/Warrior and you're just restricted to nothing at the beginning-mid... few if any skills. Activated Abilities and Passives abound and limit actual gameplay. Combos non-existent. You're 8-12 years old you might like this game a lot. If you're older then that you will hate this piece of flaming ****

    I'm pissed I wasted $20 and had to load these Gamestop Apps (because Origins Store kept having difficulties..) then loading Origins then updating... etc. etc. So much **** to just PLAY A GAME. That's not even a game.... It's not even a good story or movie-game. It's just awful beyond words. And there are recycled areas and everything...

    Recycle, reduce, reuse. The philosophy of these companies now; especially with sequels.

    I'm actually proud of myself thinking of that just now.... RECYCLE. REDUSE, REUSE. That's what these companies do in these games, especially EA. Remember Command and Conquer? Same... damn... thing... happened with it. Over and over.

    DO NOT PURCHASE by titles. I played Diablo 1 and 2... did not buy 3. Watched the updates... learned it was corrupted and garbage. Made by different people. Same with Knights Of The Old Republic MMO... saw it was turning out to be trash and based on greed. Same with C&C titles. Titles get bought out and passed around and used to create a cashcow through people's nostalgia. Don't trust books by covers, ever, or people by looks, or games by titles/screenshots. Research first.

    I mean I could go on all day how bad this game is. It's SO GOD DAMN BORING. BORING. BORING. BORING. Repetitive, NOT an RPG on any level.. (I mean what in this game constitutes it as a real RPG... seriously... it's an illusion). There's really no story either... the other negative reviews are saying it right; no story. Another illusion.

    Go back to old games if you want great stories and great fun. Go play Diablo 1 and 2. Go play Knights Of The Old Republic, or even KOTOR 2, the unfinished and cut down sequel that was forced to be rushed out too early and got chopped in half. Even KOTOR 2 is better then this trash... BY FAR.

    Some other points...

    You cannot talk to party members... they have set gear. It's like no interaction or customization of them at all. You can summon a dog briefly.

    The combat is just extremely slow and plodding. The difficulties just make things take longer to kill. That's all. So there's no difficulty, just kind of a handicap for the enemy. It doesn't make you think any different it just extends combat time. *shrug* You will be bored to tears.

    Another major point: I don't want to paly a game... and read through a god damn bible of Codex/Journal/Quest stuff. There is so much crap to read... it's ridiculous.

    Running and running and reading and reading and running... who wants to DO THAT. Reading is ok, but don't make people read ultra-boring, red herring... non-sequitur ****.

    And quests don't upgrade with the details you want to see. You forget something, go back to the NPC and start over. Not like it matters.

    Probably the most NOTEABLE THING... about this game, is the glitch looking movement and graphics. I have top of the line PC with 6-core processor and an awesome video card. JUST UPGRADED....

    ANY VIDEO SETTINGS YEILD THE SAME GLITCHY LOOKING MOVEMENT AND ENVIRONMENT FLAWS. Big lines, squares of darkness... borders in the environment... weird anomalies... changing settings in anyway did nothing. Same speed, same choppy movements... same glitchy looking hair on characters that looks like toupees... (you can see under it, bald heads). Good graphics but terrible/recycled animations and doodads.. same bookshelf, same walls, same everything, everywhere. It looks like the same crap that was all in DA:O.... it seriously does... Doesn't even look like anything really new went into this.

    Go watch the cutscenes on youtube if you want to see the story-aspects. That will tell you right there.    … Expand
  24. janki
    Apr 10, 2014
    1
    Combat dumbed down. The art-style changes made since DA:O are awful. Companions are mostly bad and boring. Re-used areas all the bloody time! The game is a disaster and the biggest disappointment I had experienced with Bioware.

    The 'awesome' button killed the game. I hope that it won't kill the franchise when DA:Inquisition goes live.
  25. siamoinballo
    Jan 19, 2014
    0
    Do not buy it. It's a s**t without any sense... It's not an RPG it's a poor arcade game unable to give you anything just leave it on the shop shelf. I don't understand: is there a connection between the creation of the origin platform and the sharp deterioration of the games produced by electronic arts? The witcher 2 it's thousand times better
  26. cidgrad01
    Dec 31, 2013
    0
    This game is not only one of the most disappointing sequels ever made but a terrible RPG overall, to boot. It feels like a rush job EA ordered Bioware to put on the market to fill the void in their schedule before Mass Effect 3 came out. If you did not play the first Dragon Age game, you might think this is okay, at best. If you loved the first game, however, you’ll most likely find DragonThis game is not only one of the most disappointing sequels ever made but a terrible RPG overall, to boot. It feels like a rush job EA ordered Bioware to put on the market to fill the void in their schedule before Mass Effect 3 came out. If you did not play the first Dragon Age game, you might think this is okay, at best. If you loved the first game, however, you’ll most likely find Dragon Age 2 an abomination worthy of being hunted down by Templars.

    There is no continuation of any loose threads from the DA: Origins story other than a few characters making lame cameo appearances. This despite a cliffhanger ending where Morrigan (and possibly your Warden character, with her) disappear through a mirror portal to an unknown location. Instead of bothering with any of that stuff, Bioware thought you might enjoy playing the life of Hawke, a refugee who ends up in the city of Kirkwall and stays as far away from the plot of DAO as possible. So what does he do? Well…nothing, really. Just wanders around Kirkwall & its environs.

    To give you something to compare this to, imagine that the second Lord of the Rings movie decided to take a break from all that heavy stuff about Frodo, the One Ring, Sauron, etc and instead followed the life of a guard in the village of Bree. That’s what Dragon Age 2 is like.

    This is doubly disappointing since the story & characters in DA2 are completely uninteresting and silly. It’s like reading fan fiction. There are a few returning, minor characters from the first game who were pretty cool there but are ruined by Dragon Age 2’s dull-witted dialogue & stupid plot choices that cannot be changed no matter what. Oh and pretty much everybody but Hawke’s sister and the dwarf guy are bisexual, which again, is silly and seems designed by a 10-year old boy: “I want male or female Hawke to be able to have sex with everybody!”

    The game tries to pretend like your choices make a difference but they ultimately don’t. The first game explored a very complex relationship between Templars & mages. DA2 turns everything DAO spent telling you about this relationship on its head. DA2 wants to paint a portrait of Templars just being jerks while mages are poor victims who should be set free. Except that every time you side with a mage over a Templar, the mage decides to turn into an evil demon to gain more power. This includes the head enchanter during the final part of the game. To me, that seems pretty conclusive proof that maybe the Templars are right. There isn’t anyone to root for and you end up killing pretty much everybody.

    The atrocity doesn’t stop at the story & characters, unfortunately. Gameplay is broken as all you need to do is talent up the dwarf’s crossbow damage. I literally ended up running around & spamming the attack button in every fight, including bosses. I barely even needed to heal myself except during a few fights. A huge letdown from DAO’s combat system that was very strategic and required you to pay attention to what you were doing to beat many groups of enemies.

    The most unforgivable sin this game makes, though, is that of its reused environments. It’s bad enough the story takes place over several decades, giving Bioware an excuse to drudge up the same old environment maps after a “10 year later” subtitle. However, they also reuse the exact same maps for supposedly different areas. One, in particular, is the “cave map” that appears whenever you go inside a cave dungeon. It’s not supposed to be the same cave every time, but IT IS the same cave. They don’t even do palette swaps or rearrange any items. The most they do will be to block off section of the map or start you from the opposite end to try and make it feel fresh. Ditto for the “mansion map” and “underground map”. It’s the laziest thing I’ve ever seen in a game, especially for a AAA budget game.

    To recap: uninteresting gameplay, terrible story, stupid characters, and walking again & again through literally the same maps for 30+ hours. If that sounds like fun, have at it. As far as I’m concerned, though, the Dragon Age franchise is dead well before its time.    … Expand
  27. houyi111
    Dec 16, 2013
    4
    If the title is not "dragon age", I might give it a 7 out of 10. The voice acting and the dialogue are good and often funny. The combat and customization is easy to adapt. The whole game is neat. The auto-saving is handy and well-done. However, it is supposed to be the sequel of the DA:origins, but it just goes horribly wrong.
    I didn't play many WRPG games, but I also never played a    If the title is not "dragon age", I might give it a 7 out of 10. The voice acting and the dialogue are good and often funny. The combat and customization is easy to adapt. The whole game is neat. The auto-saving is handy and well-done. However, it is supposed to be the sequel of the DA:origins, but it just goes horribly wrong.
    I didn't play many WRPG games, but I also never played a modern game where the game setting is A SMALL CITY. The abuse of reusing maps is just unforgivable. None of the characters is interesting. The romance is just dull. The story is way too linear and stupid to say the less. I am also amazed that Bioware surely has a twist way to turn an epic story to something beyond turd. Like in ME franchise, you think the whole plot is to unite everyone to fight reapers, but it turned out synthetics vs organics is the only core. In dragon age, you got the idea that unite everyone to fight the blight, but no, no, no, the actual and the only conflict in DA is Templars vs Mages. wtf, bioware.    … Expand
  28. Fishymew
    Nov 11, 2013
    1
    could in the original). And I never knew who to choose, as they are all flat, shallow and extremely hard to sympathize with. They've also ripped of the function to actually do any real talking to them, meaning you're stuck with a bunch of idiots that from time to time will chit-chat with each other about "quirky" stuff. While this was a nice perk of the original game, in this game it justcould in the original). And I never knew who to choose, as they are all flat, shallow and extremely hard to sympathize with. They've also ripped of the function to actually do any real talking to them, meaning you're stuck with a bunch of idiots that from time to time will chit-chat with each other about "quirky" stuff. While this was a nice perk of the original game, in this game it just makes the game feel even less interesting.

    They've changed the dialog system as well. While you chose from different speech alternatives in the original, which often had a range of options besides the good or evil one, this game will provide you with three types of answer. The good one, the evil one, and the "funny" one. But the character will seldom say exactly what you wanted, as you won't know for sure what the outcome will be. I find the new dialog system to be shallow, and overall makes the conversations uninspiring. While the protagonist do have a voice over, I must say that I actually felt less attached to him/her because of it, as I thought it affected my roleplay in a bad way.

    They have tweaked the battle system, including giving it more of a hack and slash feel. This actually felt nice the first 10 minutes, but as you'll soon realize that there's about 5 different fiends in the game and that you'll for some unexplained reason keep getting attacked every 30 seconds, it stops being fun in an instant. And not only will you keep getting randomly attacked, they've also made the fiends come in waves; meaning you will keep fighting the same guys forever and ever before you're done and may proceed with whatever the hell you were supposed to do. The classical RPG feel is completely taken away as well. I often found myself wishing that there was an "auto fight" button to use, so that I didn't have to engage in any fighting at all.

    As for the story. I'm still not sure what the story is about. The game is sectioned into acts, but there's overall no real goal to it. You just revisit the same handful of places in the game over and over (with minor changes, a dungeon door may be closed in one quest, but open in another one. But it's still the same place revisited.) Doing fetch quests for NPC's you don't care for at all, and won't remember 10 minutes after you're done. The main story is just a couple of minor events badly folded together into something supposed to look like an adventure, I guess. The game also takes for granted that you do care for minor NPC's, but since they all look alike and just feels like slightly different versions of each other, you won't remember them and definitely won't care one bit for them. Your only motivation to do stuff in this game lies within the hopes that maybe, one day, something interesting may happen.

    Because there is, for instance, no satisfaction in trying to collect new, badass weapons and gear. You'll just have to sell most of the stuff you find, since your party members can't use most of it. I'm still unsure on what you may buy for all the money though, there's very little interesting things to spend the money on.

    The only thing I did like with this game, was whenever you got to revisit any of the characters from the original game. Which is about 2-3 minutes of this dreadfully long game. Whenever I got to see any of the original characters, it just made me feel agony over that I was playing this pile of junk, when I might as well just replay Origins for the umpteenth time.

    So there you have it! Dragon Age 2 is a game without any satisfactory fighting, story, dialog, characters, environments or quests. I wish I could get my money back.    … Expand
  29. DAOuser
    Sep 24, 2013
    0
    Patético. Como juego es pésimo: la historia no es mala, pero está muy mal llevada, repetición de áreas ad infinitum (y más allá), detalles muy poco cuidados. Aburrido y repetitivo hasta la saciedad, con un combate simplificado a más no poder y un inventario de risa. Llamarlo rpg es insultar al género del rol. Ignoro cómo pudo alguien pensar que después de empezar una saga con algo tanPatético. Como juego es pésimo: la historia no es mala, pero está muy mal llevada, repetición de áreas ad infinitum (y más allá), detalles muy poco cuidados. Aburrido y repetitivo hasta la saciedad, con un combate simplificado a más no poder y un inventario de risa. Llamarlo rpg es insultar al género del rol. Ignoro cómo pudo alguien pensar que después de empezar una saga con algo tan bueno como DA:O y luego cambiar el formato hasta convertirlo en algo como ésto, iba a ser una buena idea.… Expand
  30. MaxNormal
    Aug 30, 2013
    1
    Just boring as hell.

    When I played this game I was devastated. The complete change of artistic and gameplay direction was an unexpected and not at all pleasant shock. The worse aspect is the combat. Completely ruined. Enemies just spawn and spawn from nowhere, making any kind of tactics useless. Its just hack and slash and really dull. The character progression is streamlined, and    Just boring as hell.

    When I played this game I was devastated. The complete change of artistic and gameplay direction was an unexpected and not at all pleasant shock.

    The worse aspect is the combat. Completely ruined. Enemies just spawn and spawn from nowhere, making any kind of tactics useless. Its just hack and slash and really dull. The character progression is streamlined, and it's OK I suppose but not very involving. You can't do anything with your companions and they aren't very interesting apart from a few exceptions.

    I loved DA:Origins and really wanted to like DAII. I tried to play this game for about 11 hours but just found the combat to boring and the story not interesting enough.

    I've sold it now and wouldn't recommend it to anyone, the worst of all worlds. It's just boring as hell.    … Expand
  31. brips
    Aug 7, 2013
    0
    It's unfortunate that this game was such a supreme disappointment, especially since the first Dragon Age was hailed as the glorious revival of the old-school fantasy RPG genre. The visuals and character designs are all a giant step back, as they are somehow markedly worse than it's predecessor and everyone looks like they're fresh off the pages of an independent comic book from the 90s.It's unfortunate that this game was such a supreme disappointment, especially since the first Dragon Age was hailed as the glorious revival of the old-school fantasy RPG genre. The visuals and character designs are all a giant step back, as they are somehow markedly worse than it's predecessor and everyone looks like they're fresh off the pages of an independent comic book from the 90s. The combat feels more like a dumbed down Dynasty Warriors knockoff than anything that belongs in an RPG, and the strategic aspect has been left to the wayside as the solution to most encounters is to mash buttons against constantly respawning hordes.

    All of this would be forgivable, however, if the most important parts of any RPG were handled well: plot and characters. Unfortunately these aspects are once again nothing but a disappointment. The story is centered around one single, lifeless city that you aren't given a reason to care about and most, if not all characters seem like they were intended to only appeal to the one who created them. Nobody in your party is sympathetic or relatable in any way as they seem like gross caricatures who constantly act in extremes.

    I'm not sure who this game was made for. Fans of the first game will be put off because of the myriad changes that make the experience radically different in ways no one wanted. Fans of the RPG genre itself will be put off because game plays like an uninspired hack and slash title from a decade ago and the story is a jumbled mess that constantly trips over itself in attempts to be edgy and extreme. That, coupled with the fact that development was clearly handled by Bioware's B-team make the entire affair come across as a soulless cash grab.    … Expand
  32. Nimbus1701
    Aug 1, 2013
    3
    I often wonder what people would have felt playing this game if its predecessor did not exist. Probably a little less let-down. DA2 is more intensive when it comes to combat, but that's not the problem. The plot is poor, characters are not that appealing, and it feels linear and simplistic. Might have done better as a large XBLA arcade game in some ways. Another nail in the coffin for Bioware.
  33. Aidana2010
    Jul 19, 2013
    0
    This is the most disgusting and miserable game that I played. I did not expect this from Bioware!
    A terrible battle animation, faceless companions, horrible redesign of the elves. I have no words that would express how disappointed me this trash!
  34. Hendriksen
    Jun 6, 2013
    0
    Have you ever played Dragon age Origins and felt you liked it? well dont g here, its the direct opposition of Origins.

    Nothing Works: Bad story, bland or boring characters and nothing to care about.

    Every thing is a mess.
  35. Socratease
    Feb 16, 2013
    2
    Worst. Bioware game. Ever. At least Mass effect 3 did a pretty good job of covering up its crappyness. With dragon age 2, however, bioware seemed to think it a rather amusing joke to throw as much said crappyness as possible at their consumers, AND BOY WAS THERE A LOT OF IT!!

    First off, the only two characters in the game that were even marginally interesting were the antagonist, and    Worst. Bioware game. Ever. At least Mass effect 3 did a pretty good job of covering up its crappyness. With dragon age 2, however, bioware seemed to think it a rather amusing joke to throw as much said crappyness as possible at their consumers, AND BOY WAS THERE A LOT OF IT!!

    First off, the only two characters in the game that were even marginally interesting were the antagonist, and Varric, the dwarf without a beard!!!

    Nobody reacted to ANYTHING you did (EX: stealing from a guard, using magic RIGHT. IN FRONT. OF TEMPLARS, drawing your weapon in public, etc. I thought this series was going to evolve, not devolve). It`s not a living, breathing world like ME1s and DA:Os were: it`s a bland, empty, artists nightmare filled with carboard cut outs in place of NPCs. The facial animations are terrible. Half the NPCs look like they had their faces partially melted, and the elves looked like retarded little fairy creatures. bu-but the protagonist is fully voiced!!

    Whoopdie. Fu--ing. Doo. Does it make up for the other 98% of the games bad parts?

    But the combat is more action oriented!

    Did dragon age ever NEED to be a mindless hack n slash?! Did it ever need to be something so witless that only the hapless little lab monkeys at EA games and Activision would find it enjoyable?!

    Somethings rotting in the state of bioware and it has a name: Electronic. Goddamned. Arts.

    Dragon age was, WAS, the spiritual successor to Baldurs gate and Neverwinter nights. But now it`s a final fantasy wannabe, complete with final fantasy rejects (Fenris. Nough said).

    Who in their right mind would give this game a score any higher than a 3/10?! Oh, that`s right: the bought and paid for game ''journalists'', if that`s what you want to call them. Personally, i think a more appropriate term for them would be: corporate spokespersons. Pay no attention to those pravda rejects.

    This game is NOT AN RPG by ANY stretch of the imagination: it`s a witless hack n slash for six year olds, and should be burned in the streets along with similar games like mindjack and, lets count sand (okay, i made that up, but you get the point). Unless you`re six years old and don`t know any better yet, DO NOT buy this game!!    … Expand
  36. Theraton
    Feb 4, 2013
    1
    A waste of time. The beginning was very promising. Interesting new talent system, good graphic, new world/adventures. So much to discover.... Ye not really. The first act was kinda good, but there will much more to see in the second? No! You walk the following 20 hours in the same dungeons. To be precise: There are only 2 cavemaps total, whatever cave you enter, you are on the same mapA waste of time. The beginning was very promising. Interesting new talent system, good graphic, new world/adventures. So much to discover.... Ye not really. The first act was kinda good, but there will much more to see in the second? No! You walk the following 20 hours in the same dungeons. To be precise: There are only 2 cavemaps total, whatever cave you enter, you are on the same map just another entrance. this map recycling!! The whole game world map is as big as one event in Dragon age Origins. The "boss fights" are very poor also. No special abilities for your main hero. This game was way to fast published, and the fault goes 100 to EA… Expand
  37. yowave
    Jan 4, 2013
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is a bad game.

    The Bad: The game is short almost feel rushed, the story is lacking beyond believe, characters are not memorable, encounter areas get recycled throughout the game, your followers can't equip armor, the soundtrack is bad, enemies appear out of nowhere. The Good: Mediocre combat mechanics. It's almost as if they didn't really gave their all to create    Dragon Age 2 is a bad game.

    The Bad:
    The game is short almost feel rushed, the story is lacking beyond believe, characters are not memorable, encounter areas get recycled throughout the game, your followers can't equip armor, the soundtrack is bad, enemies appear out of nowhere.

    The Good:
    Mediocre combat mechanics.

    It's almost as if they didn't really gave their all to create this game, and i think the one to blame should be EA, the publisher who probably rushed this game and didn't gave Bioware enough time to make yet another master piece.
    I bought this game on day one solely because it's "little" brother Dragon Age: Origins was such a great game, and i was disappointed.

    When comparing Dragon Age 2 to it's "little" brother Dragon Age: Origins, you start to wonder what went wrong. it takes some effort to ruin such a game, especially when the ground have been taken care of by their previous game.

    There were days that i swore loyalty to Bioware, those days are gone.    … Expand
  38. 6xdandangp
    Dec 29, 2012
    0
    I expected MUCH more. Dragon Age: Origins had an excellent concept and was much more enjoyable overall. This game definitely does not deserve to be part of the main series. The fact that you're forced to be in one town for most of the game shows how lazy EA is getting.
  39. 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
  40. ChrisGames
    Oct 23, 2012
    0
    This is the worst video game i have ever played without a doubt. You will go to the same cave 100 times, and each time the game will rename the cave, telling you it is a new and mysterious place you have never seen before. And then its just the exact same cave. Bioware has no shame for releasing something like this.
  41. 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
  42. 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
  43. Tubey
    Jul 3, 2012
    2
    This game, along with Fable 3, destroyed my RPG soul in the space of six months, as these two releases made me realise that big studios no longer give a monkeys about producing a technically proficient game; rather, they're more interested in rushing a half finished product out the door as soon as possible to bring in the cash.

    My proof? The game is graphically inferior to Dragon Age 1,    This game, along with Fable 3, destroyed my RPG soul in the space of six months, as these two releases made me realise that big studios no longer give a monkeys about producing a technically proficient game; rather, they're more interested in rushing a half finished product out the door as soon as possible to bring in the cash.

    My proof? The game is graphically inferior to Dragon Age 1, for a start. Not really sure how that's possible but it's true. The script has either never seen an active revision by a team of writers before release, or the whole team are raving idiots. This is the same company that brought us the amazing Jade Empire... it's beggars belief a game of this low quality passed through their doors.

    Gameplay? Awful. So very dumb to the extent that this is a generic hack and slasher with little to no requirement for strategy. Again, in stark contrast to the first game. Character development - something that should be a standard for an RPG, right? Nope. Nothing. In fact, three months after playing this title I dare you to recall three names from it. The sound effects and general atmosphere, so immersive in DA1, are completely gone. So how about the ability to move around the open world, discover places etc.? Nope, it's as linear as they come. In fact, it's almost a dungeon crawler. DA1 let you off the beaten track for a while which worked, even if you had to go back to the main story after a while; DA2 doesn't let you do this at all, ever. This would be forgivable, if the story was fine tuned and memorable, but no, no, no. It's completely generic and something your average 15 year old emo could write in a week. The completely irony is that if they'd taken the original Dragon Age graphics engine and overall game and just slapped a new story on it with reskinned characters, then they'd have had a hit. Instead, they managed to balls up everything (and I mean everything; not one single improvement and no redeeming qualities introduced) on the previous game.

    So thanks Bioware and Lionhead, you've destroyed my gaming innocence and the long held hope that some gaming studios actually gave a monkeys about making a decent game first and a profit second.

    The worst game of 2011 when taking into account the overall execution and expectations of the title. So bad, that I can no longer play Dragon Age: Origins without feeling angry about the franchise as a whole.

    So, just like Fable 3, this is potentially a franchise killer. A heartless, soulless train wreck of a game that doesn't deserve so much as $10 from anyone unlucky enough to find this in a bargain bin somewhere down the line. A game so bad that whenever I check for a review of a new game on a website, I check to see what score they gave Dragon Age 2. If it's anything over 6/10, I move on, as it'd be a ludicrous score. For me, 2/10, and those two points are solely for the fact that the game works when you put the disc in and it responds to the actions of your control pad. That's it.    … Expand
  44. hiimbigdave
    Jul 2, 2012
    0
    After playing the marvellous game that was the original Dragon Age this will be nothing but a disappointment to any person who chooses to play it. I suggest you instead use your time wisely and instead grind you way to the next prestige level in Call of Duty
  45. Vehement
    Jun 25, 2012
    0
    Bad game. Bioware took everything I loved about DA:O,and destroyed them in DA2. Stiff, locked, and awkward hack and slash really messed up DA2 for me. The characters in DA2 is no where as interesting and heartfelt like Origin. What happened to the many choices I can pick? Why am I getting a choice wheel? This is not f'n Mass Effect. Also, Tons of fetching/killing quests that willBad game. Bioware took everything I loved about DA:O,and destroyed them in DA2. Stiff, locked, and awkward hack and slash really messed up DA2 for me. The characters in DA2 is no where as interesting and heartfelt like Origin. What happened to the many choices I can pick? Why am I getting a choice wheel? This is not f'n Mass Effect. Also, Tons of fetching/killing quests that will have you backtracking the same map over and over and over again. DA2 and ME3 really dropped my confidence in Bioware's game quality.… Expand
  46. noesis790
    Jun 18, 2012
    0
    I created an account just so I could review this game.
    This is a sequel that takes a step backward in almost every area of the game.
    It doesn't even compare to Dragon Age: Origins.
    Skip.
  47. 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.
  48. 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
  49. ButtholeSurfer
    May 19, 2012
    3
    Unfortunately for Bioware, Dragon Age WILL be judged and compared against its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins. This is something to be expected, and this review is written with such a thing in mind.
    And indeed, compared to its predecessor, this game fails to to be equally or even half as good. The combat feels more arcade-like, the abilities watered-down and samey. For me, the worst thing    Unfortunately for Bioware, Dragon Age WILL be judged and compared against its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins. This is something to be expected, and this review is written with such a thing in mind.
    And indeed, compared to its predecessor, this game fails to to be equally or even half as good. The combat feels more arcade-like, the abilities watered-down and samey. For me, the worst thing Bioware did was essentially eliminate what made DA: O so much fun; the need to use strategy during battles, the need to pause and plan out actions, the use of the abilities of different classes to form a strategy (for example a mage's cone of cold spell to freeze an enemy and stonefist, or a critical hit, to shatter him, and many other combinations). Another, very cheesy aspect of this game was that some of the characters' weapons and armour would automatically upgrade with their level, and for other characters you had to purchase specific upgrades. I'm not an autist by any means, but part of the fun of DA: O was setting up your characters with the correct equipment.
    Atmosphere was also another thing I found lacking in DA II. In DA: O, you really got a sense that you were fighting the Blight (especially when you were at Camp). In DA II, the story doesn't seem to have had any effort put into it, the characters feel boring and uninspired . Just think of Sten, Morrigan, Oghren, Wynne and other DA: O characters, all of which were interesting in their own way. It just feels boring.

    This is by no means a complete review, as I'm not so great at structured writing, but these are indeed my thoughts. My cents.    … Expand
  50. 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
  51. Nichtswisser
    Apr 24, 2012
    3
    Behold one of the worst sequels in history: Dragon Age 2, the adventure of Hawk in copy&paste Land. If you ever wanted to see serious recycling this is the game for you
  52. Syndic
    Apr 11, 2012
    1
    The amount of critic reviews here giving this game a positive score is truly astonishing. Only explanation I can think of is that EA has spent a lot of money persuading the gaming media to give good reviews.

    As someone who is a big fan of Bioware's earlier games, this game was a severe disappointment. Not going to spend too much time writing this review as, frankly, it isn't worth the    The amount of critic reviews here giving this game a positive score is truly astonishing. Only explanation I can think of is that EA has spent a lot of money persuading the gaming media to give good reviews.

    As someone who is a big fan of Bioware's earlier games, this game was a severe disappointment. Not going to spend too much time writing this review as, frankly, it isn't worth the effort. Suffice it to say that if you are looking for an RPG avoid this like the plague. If you want a dumbed down, console action game then maybe you will enjoy this.

    Really a shame, used to be able to rely on Bioware to make decent RPGs but since EA bought them out they haven't released a single good game.    … Expand
  53. Notonlytheend
    Apr 3, 2012
    1
    If this game didn't have the "Dragon Age" in it's title, it wouldn't have gotten any attention. It's a crap game with a good trailer. The story is confined to the same city and dungeon maps you'll see till you can run through them blind. Your "friends" can barely be called that as they all just pine over some obsession for the course of the game. The character customization is far lessIf this game didn't have the "Dragon Age" in it's title, it wouldn't have gotten any attention. It's a crap game with a good trailer. The story is confined to the same city and dungeon maps you'll see till you can run through them blind. Your "friends" can barely be called that as they all just pine over some obsession for the course of the game. The character customization is far less than previous or comparable games. And the combat isn't fun or tactical. The RPG element have been stripped to appeal to action gamers. They want a wider audience, but it just ends up alienating anyone older than 12. Finally, the story tries to be dark. It's not dark. It's damn bleak. The vast majority of the people you meet are the worse for the encounter and nothing you do can ebb a coming war. At the end, everything stands in ruin and you just walk away. Personally, I don't play videogames to be depressed. I play to save the world and be the hero. They went for dark, they hit train wreck tragedy.… Expand
  54. coelo
    Mar 14, 2012
    0
    This game sucks so bad.
    Graphics are not as good as the first DA.

    Also, the environment just repeats over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...


    See how it felt to have to read that?
    That's how it feels to play DA II.

    The game sucks hard.
  55. SupR_G
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    An absolute mess of a game. Buggy, full of nonsensical subplots and scenery that is constantly recycled in a way that just comes off as lazy - this game did not impress me. In terms of story and writing, it paled in comparison to Dragon Age: Origins and just came off as a cheap sequel you would see in theaters (like Speed 2). While I found some of the artistic re-designs of familiar racesAn absolute mess of a game. Buggy, full of nonsensical subplots and scenery that is constantly recycled in a way that just comes off as lazy - this game did not impress me. In terms of story and writing, it paled in comparison to Dragon Age: Origins and just came off as a cheap sequel you would see in theaters (like Speed 2). While I found some of the artistic re-designs of familiar races was refreshing and gave more distinction, overall the game suffered from the lack of a coherent and compelling story. Some of the characters got on my nerves and combat had little substance. The entire game seemed to forebode some "great threat" that we never see or understand, and the ending simply gives a cliffhanger into the next game. On top of this, the DLC is terrible and slapped together with little care. All in all a poor game that I would recommend to nobody.… Expand
  56. Ahmiran
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    The graphics seem cartoonish and while I like the art for the Qunari, the darkspawn look like clowns with a leather fixation. The environment is endlessly recycled.
    The story is disjointed. The three acts could very well be three separate stories being told. While I like the frame-narrative idea, but the implementation was poor.
    The real killer are the choices or the lack of them to be    The graphics seem cartoonish and while I like the art for the Qunari, the darkspawn look like clowns with a leather fixation. The environment is endlessly recycled.
    The story is disjointed. The three acts could very well be three separate stories being told. While I like the frame-narrative idea, but the implementation was poor.
    The real killer are the choices or the lack of them to be precise. Play the game in 2 completely different ways and you wind up with the same experience will only minor changes, your choice of character class has greater impact on the story than any other choice in the game.
    Thanks to the dialog wheel you have 3 ways of saying the same thing, yes, sarcastic yes or angry yes. It also doesn't help that what it says on the wheel isn't what Hawke says. Too often I was screaming "that's not what I wanted to say." The dialog itself between NPC's is actually very good and the only thing that kept me going through the game.
    Combat, the less said about it the best. Endless waves of generic foes which half the time seem to attack you for no reason what so ever. Too often I found myself asking who are these people and why am I killing them?
    All and all this is a poor game and nothing more than a shameless attempt to milk money off gamers. Stay away.    … Expand
  57. babyfarmer
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    Dragon Age II is my biggest letdown in video game history. DA: Origins is one of my favorite games this generation, and I was very stoked for DA2. Alas, I was just set up to be disappointed, everything that was great about the original has been replaced or removed. The entire game takes place in one city, unlike Origins, where you went from city to city in the world. The combat has beenDragon Age II is my biggest letdown in video game history. DA: Origins is one of my favorite games this generation, and I was very stoked for DA2. Alas, I was just set up to be disappointed, everything that was great about the original has been replaced or removed. The entire game takes place in one city, unlike Origins, where you went from city to city in the world. The combat has been sped up, dumbed down, streamlined, however you want to describe it. The combat devolves into mashing the attack button over and over and OVER. Against mobs that respawn out of nowhere, simply to inflate the game's difficulty by throwing more enemies at you, instead of making the enemies harder. If I wanted to mash the attack button all day long, I would play Dynasty Warriors, I thought this was an RPG? The writing and the "story" are laughable, especially by BioWare standards. All in all, a major letdown and the start of a once great video game developer going down the toilet. R.I.P. BioWare.… Expand
  58. lolwut6045
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    this game is so bad that it hurts. bioware needs to be purged. once a great company, now they pander out garbage left and right. also, hamburger helper
  59. moon625
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Put shortly, an abomination. Completely disregarding any input from the player or its predecessor, this game is, again put shortly, a solipsistic mess. This is an un-game. Its greatest positive influence is that it makes other games better in comparison. Not seem better, but actually making them better games by its mere existence.
  60. TheVindelator
    Mar 5, 2012
    2
    This game was a big disappointment for me. A huge step down from the original. The world is so incredibly small and limited. What I thought was the starting city turned out to be the entire game.

    If you haven't played Dragon Age Origins 1st, absolutely don't buy this. Play the original.
  61. bubblegumNtaffy
    Mar 3, 2012
    0
    The first RPG game I ever played was KoTOR. From then on I was instantly hooked, even calling it my favorite game. I bought every Bioware release from then on. Although Oblivion eventually replaced KoTOR as my favorite RPG/game of all time, Bioware continued to make me happy. I enjoyed Jade Empire, loved Mass Effect, and honestly I was mesmerized by Dragon Age. No story has fully engrossedThe first RPG game I ever played was KoTOR. From then on I was instantly hooked, even calling it my favorite game. I bought every Bioware release from then on. Although Oblivion eventually replaced KoTOR as my favorite RPG/game of all time, Bioware continued to make me happy. I enjoyed Jade Empire, loved Mass Effect, and honestly I was mesmerized by Dragon Age. No story has fully engrossed me as Dragon Age did. The characters were real. The plot was fantastic and felt as though ti was fully customizable and world that was yours to develop. Lets get this out of the way first, I have always been a console boy. Now onto DA2.... I have never been more let down by a video game. EVER. If you thought Mass Effect 2 was bad then you're in for a rude awakening. Mass Effect 2 at least kept me interested in the ME world. I have completely lost interest in everything relating to the DA world. I was bored the second hour into this game. The combat, is only slightly entertaining... for the first couple of fights. There is no tactical advantage at all. The only reason I finished the game was to finish the game. The game was pure filth. I honestly cannot say any more that anyone else hasn't said. Even those who have been at Bioware for years agree with most here. If you go to Wikipedia you'll read this:

    During the pre-development of the game, Brent Knowles, a veteran lead designer who had been with Bioware for a decade and the central figurehead behind Dragon Age: Origins, decided to resign during the designing process of Dragon Age II and eventually left the company, stating "I'm not the same person I was when I started, and BioWare isn't the same company."[10] He later went on to clarify his decision to leave, elaborating "I never thought Dragon Age 2 would be a terrible game. It was just that a highly cinematic, action-leaning RPG wasnâ    … Expand
  62. svett
    Feb 28, 2012
    0
    This was the most disappointing game that I ever played. Not because it was the worse, but because it did not measure at all to the first one. There's only one city during the whole game. The dungeons are reused with the entrances reversed and some rooms blocked. The characters are flashy, but not very deep. You can't equip your NPC's now - what's up with that?! It's a terrible failure inThis was the most disappointing game that I ever played. Not because it was the worse, but because it did not measure at all to the first one. There's only one city during the whole game. The dungeons are reused with the entrances reversed and some rooms blocked. The characters are flashy, but not very deep. You can't equip your NPC's now - what's up with that?! It's a terrible failure in light of the previous game - it's as if the game was not made by the same company. I don't know what else to say.… Expand
  63. Amorphous_Blob
    Feb 8, 2012
    3
    The best thing i can say about this game is that it is relatively stable... That's it... The game play is, for the most part, more or less the same as origins except simpler and with less emphasis on tactics, due to enemies spawning all around he group during fights. The character customisation has been, inexplicably, cut down(even though in the expansions for origins it was improved).The best thing i can say about this game is that it is relatively stable... That's it... The game play is, for the most part, more or less the same as origins except simpler and with less emphasis on tactics, due to enemies spawning all around he group during fights. The character customisation has been, inexplicably, cut down(even though in the expansions for origins it was improved). Many of the more interesting spells from origins have been entirely removed and the player now lacks the ability to decide what their characters wear. Non of this would matter, however, if the story or setting was interesting. They aren't. The story is confused and dull and the same goes for te environments. The main city feels dead with little to interact with. Outside the city, much the same except here the cut-and-paste environments get more noticeable...

    To sum up, EVERYTHING about this game smacks of a lazy developer doing the absolute minimum to make a quick buck. Bioware, you owe me £30...    … Expand
  64. Hunterx1x
    Feb 4, 2012
    0
    This game is an insult to players who have played DA:O. I do not see how Mike Laidlaw could have allowed this half***ed game to be released. Does he really think customers are that dumb that we wouldn't notice the recycled maps? Or he just didn't care because he's making good money off it? I played DA:O beginning to finish over 10 times and couldn't even finish DA2 a second time as a mageThis game is an insult to players who have played DA:O. I do not see how Mike Laidlaw could have allowed this half***ed game to be released. Does he really think customers are that dumb that we wouldn't notice the recycled maps? Or he just didn't care because he's making good money off it? I played DA:O beginning to finish over 10 times and couldn't even finish DA2 a second time as a mage versus a warrior. I could go on and on but it's not worth it. I will wait and see DA3's USER reviews first before I think about buying it. Same goes for ME3(… Expand
  65. 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
  66. Crustypirate
    Jan 17, 2012
    0
    The story of dragon age 2 has a number of problems but the most evident one is that it doesn't have any relevance to the dragon age series in the slightest. In fact It feels more at home in the assassins creed universe. My best guess at bioware's thinking is that they wanted to cash in on the success of the assassins creed games and were pushed for time by EA their publisher. TheThe story of dragon age 2 has a number of problems but the most evident one is that it doesn't have any relevance to the dragon age series in the slightest. In fact It feels more at home in the assassins creed universe. My best guess at bioware's thinking is that they wanted to cash in on the success of the assassins creed games and were pushed for time by EA their publisher. The gameplay would be fine if not for the fact that this game bears the title of dragon age 2. The second game in a series is supposed to improve upon a game, refine and add to the mechanics and deliver a better experience. Dragon age 2 dumbs down already simple combat bringing it to a pathetic hack and slash style. Complexity and large numbers of abilities have been thrown out due to bioware attempting to build the game for a controller one of the worst design decisions that can ever be made yet I see repeated over and over. Basically the game is a simplified husk devoid of any interesting lore or gameplay. Do not waste your money on this garbage.… Expand
  67. Loco
    Jan 9, 2012
    1
    Dear EA,

    We all know that you corrupt the poor developers who join your money-making operation, and I don't mind any more. I don't even care that you have sucked the soul out of Bioware, who used to be one of the best developers in the industry. It hurts, but I can deal with you killing talent in the way that you do. It's in your nature. I'm beyond complaining. But killing Dragon Age?    Dear EA,

    We all know that you corrupt the poor developers who join your money-making operation, and I don't mind any more. I don't even care that you have sucked the soul out of Bioware, who used to be one of the best developers in the industry. It hurts, but I can deal with you killing talent in the way that you do. It's in your nature. I'm beyond complaining.

    But killing Dragon Age? After all the promise the first game had? All that potential, just wasted? Even you, EA, must recognise that you've crossed a line too far this time.

    So go ahead. Kill my favourite developers. Drain the life out of the whole industry if you have to. But leave Dragon Age alone. For the love of Ferelden, please, stop Mass Effect-ing what was once the greatest RPG franchise of this generation. Even you have to draw the line somewhere.

    -Loco    … Expand
  68. 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
  69. 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
  70. Nikkolette
    Jan 4, 2012
    0
    Dumbed down RPG. Japanese slasher arcade combat with acrobatic knights in heavy armor, parachuting waves of zergling enemies, also in heavy armor. Idiotic wheel dialogue system where your written phrases differs from Hawke actually saying. Location that game uses n+1 times. Shallow companions. Etc etc etc.
    A shadow of Origins.
  71. 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.
  72. Emilia
    Dec 29, 2011
    1
    Honestly, the game is bad. Really bad. The story is slow and bland and the characters are annoying (please bioware, stop constructing dating-sims instead of making rpgs) at best, and hilariously bad at worst. The storytelling technique could be interesting, but it's really hard to tell since the story and characters are so of-the-wall bad that you just can't believe what you're seeing sometimes.
  73. Bralz
    Dec 21, 2011
    1
    This is without a doubt the worst RPG I have ever played. Period. It's the RPG equivalent of repeatedly smacking your head against a wall. Combat is atrocious, characters are lame, dialogue is crap, and the story is boring and full of holes. Do yourself a favor, give this stinker a wide berth.
  74. Ishman
    Dec 20, 2011
    4
    Played on its own merits without any idea of DA:O this game would be quite solid.
    Having loved the original, and feeling like I was taking part in an epic quest that actually meant something, I was sorely disappointed with the follow up. Admittedly the first 10 hours or so were pretty Rad I thought, this was in part due to the fact that I was high as **** when I first got the game, but    Played on its own merits without any idea of DA:O this game would be quite solid.
    Having loved the original, and feeling like I was taking part in an epic quest that actually meant something, I was sorely disappointed with the follow up. Admittedly the first 10 hours or so were pretty Rad I thought, this was in part due to the fact that I was high as **** when I first got the game, but soon enough not even a big stack of weed couldn't improve this bland follow up. The action orientated combat didn't bother me as much as it has others, where it really let me down was the constantly repeating environments, the original had me trekking all over the place to a number of awesome locations, the sequel has going through the same old bland locales over and over. One of the few reviewers who must not have been paid off by EA put it best with "you can't have an epic storyline in your own backyard" or something like that, you get the gist. All in all its not a "bad game" in my mind, but not worthy of being the sequel to the excellent original. If you come to the game having never played the first you will probably enjoy it for what it is. Bioware really need to rethink there game plan for no. 3 especially since Skyrim is now out and has absorbed 80 hours of play time and I haven't really done jack **** so far. In summary, pay more and get Skyrim instead. Shame on you Bioware.Shame on You.    … Expand
  75. ManOfSteel
    Dec 20, 2011
    0
    This game is a monstrosity. After a beautiful and well-written game in DA:O, BioWare took everything about the game, burned it, dumbed down gameplay and made hack/slash combat and a boring story, and what you have is the Dragon Age name tarnished forever. The effort or this game was lazy and rushed. They were very lazy in this game, and BioWare should be ashamed. I will never play a DAThis game is a monstrosity. After a beautiful and well-written game in DA:O, BioWare took everything about the game, burned it, dumbed down gameplay and made hack/slash combat and a boring story, and what you have is the Dragon Age name tarnished forever. The effort or this game was lazy and rushed. They were very lazy in this game, and BioWare should be ashamed. I will never play a DA game again. But at least there is Skyrim :).… Expand
  76. Eowor
    Dec 13, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age Origins was announced as the spiritual brother of Baldur's Gate, an rpg in the greatest tradition of the genre.
    As has happened for DA2, strengthened by its new license falls as low as that. To make it the worst game bioware?
    On top of that, we see that mass EFFECT2 also had the race to the bottom, less than rpg, more action. But back in to DA2, the game looks better, but we    Dragon Age Origins was announced as the spiritual brother of Baldur's Gate, an rpg in the greatest tradition of the genre.
    As has happened for DA2, strengthened by its new license falls as low as that. To make it the worst game bioware?
    On top of that, we see that mass EFFECT2 also had the race to the bottom, less than rpg, more action.

    But back in to DA2, the game looks better, but we find ourselves in a smaller area, with some areas copy and paste, so an artistic research much less advanced than in DAO.
    The interface is simplistic, the inventory is ugly, I do not understand this modernity while we are in a medieval world. Our compagons wear one armor, unchangeable, innaceptable.
    The fighting tactics were great at a high level of difficulty, now, we are left with the little brother's spiritual Bayonetta, it does not reflect, is dark, no need to break tactics. Enemies out of the ground like moles.
    The story is weak, very weak compared to that of DAO. Immersion is difficult because of the script which is very poorly led. The fault also has not really charismatic fellow. Forget Sten, Alistair, Morrigan ...
    The design of the elves, Qunaris, Flemeth is really in poor taste, too offset from DAO
    The dialogue system is inadequate because not enough choice, because too Manichean. The hero is good but it speaks to the detriment of our answer choices. The world is not black or white, good or bad, the game is intended for an audience too mature to have such simplistic reasoning.
    Quests are a distressing banality, which do not grow more than that a plunge in the background, which is still good (but that's thanks to DAO).
    The soundtrack, also falls short of the first game, Mr. Inon Zur says himself: the game was sloppy
    I finished the game once, and I sold four days after his purchase, and more so because the game is much shorter than the first.
    Conversely, I always Dragon Age Origins and I remade some every 2 months

    Dragon Age 2 is an oil stain in the curriculum vitae of Bioware, I have done once, but I would be very careful next time.

    For me Mass Effect 3 will be your last chance.    … Expand
  77. coughxcool
    Dec 13, 2011
    0
    Whate a waste of money. I was disgusted when I realized I was never leaving Kirkwall. The party and friend mechanics were cool, but thats to be expected from any bBoware game at this point.
  78. RedHead1982
    Dec 13, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age II is an embarrassing misstep by a company I have grown to trust over the past 8 years. Bioware has the desire to create a game genre that does not work by blending elements of the most basic platformer with the highly strategic and customizable character creation and interaction provided in most RPG genre games. Unfortunately, the gamer is left with a poorly diluted productDragon Age II is an embarrassing misstep by a company I have grown to trust over the past 8 years. Bioware has the desire to create a game genre that does not work by blending elements of the most basic platformer with the highly strategic and customizable character creation and interaction provided in most RPG genre games. Unfortunately, the gamer is left with a poorly diluted product which neglects to serve either the hardcore RPG fan (and Bioware fan) or the lowest common denominator it was intending to exploit for profit. Sadly, the RPG gamer is the only one who truly loses (and frankly feels deceived) with this hegemonic disaster because we are the ones who cared. (And I do care-- from an intelligent standpoint... read on.) I look forward to a "quality" RPG experience because a game like Dragon Age Origins is few and far between. Dragon Age II patronizes and agonizes the more intelligent and mature players with flavorless characters, effortless game mechanics and the repetitive pointless meandering through a linear plot. Bioware needs to understand that complex and interesting gaming which takes concentration and organization is NOT a bad thing. I am in no way bothered by the need to make money and sell a product, but I do not like it when myself as a consumer is being sold a defective product. I could reiterate the many problems and flaws in Dragon Age II that have been mentioned by many other reviewers, but the thing that pisses me off the most is that it could only have been produced by a lazy disinterested and unmotivated group of game developers intent on making money at the expense of its core audience. I want to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt, but Dragon Age II is truly inexcusable and it makes me wonder if the Action/RPG genre Bioware has taken effort to create over the past few years is really false advertising. Can you dilute tried and true RPG elements and still call a game an RPG? No, you really cannot. For some reason, despite all contrary propaganda it doesn't seem to be logically possible. Saying it is possible doesn't make it so. Sorry, "I don't believe in fairies." At least not this time, from a company that can and should do so much better.… Expand
  79. Acquiredempire
    Dec 8, 2011
    0
    Bioware fan since Baldur's Gate but this game was rushed, dumb downed and in my mind a sub par money grab off the success of Origins. Barley a RPG. Could have been so much more. Bioware is trying to walk the fine line of pulling in new fans without alienating their core. I hope this is not a sign of things to come from EA.
  80. Vertillian
    Nov 30, 2011
    0
    This makes a lie of all the previous praise for Bioware. Shoddy design, and lazy production values! In my opinion the inflated praise for ME2 has effected them far too much. Supposedly known for their "humility" bioware still won't admit to the outright failure and terrible reception this game has received. This is not an RPG, its a bland attempt to turn a successful Fantasy RPG into MassThis makes a lie of all the previous praise for Bioware. Shoddy design, and lazy production values! In my opinion the inflated praise for ME2 has effected them far too much. Supposedly known for their "humility" bioware still won't admit to the outright failure and terrible reception this game has received. This is not an RPG, its a bland attempt to turn a successful Fantasy RPG into Mass effect. Linear, unresponsive gameplay with no depth, nor attempt at decent storyline. No consequence to actions, nor any noticeable change to story. Shocking.… Expand
  81. ArcticZombie
    Nov 18, 2011
    1
    I will remember DA2 as the game that officially knocked Bioware off its throne. The king of RPGs has become a fat, lazy, greedy pig of its former self. It is a dumbed-down joke of an RPG that only some delusional fanboy, or unskilled/half-retarded child could ever love. Flat, bland, recycled environments. RPG elements dumbed-down beyond recognition or removed. Lack of detailI will remember DA2 as the game that officially knocked Bioware off its throne. The king of RPGs has become a fat, lazy, greedy pig of its former self. It is a dumbed-down joke of an RPG that only some delusional fanboy, or unskilled/half-retarded child could ever love. Flat, bland, recycled environments. RPG elements dumbed-down beyond recognition or removed. Lack of detail everywhere I look. The Darkspawn don't look evil; they look like knock-off Skeletor action figures. Plastic, dead, and trying too hard to be cool for its own good. Oh, and I hate the fact that my character was already given a name. And a voice. That contributed to the loss of me feeling like I was playing an RPG. That made it feel more like an interactive movie. This game is trash. I wouldn't take it for free. Bioware, wake up and stop contributing to the destruction of society.… Expand
  82. HonestJoe
    Nov 11, 2011
    2
    This game should have been brilliant. It was created by a developer that has the story driven RPG down to an art.
    The problem is that EA rushed the game out before it was ready and what we got was an unfinished mess.
    Repetitive scenery, repetitive combat, repetitive gameplay. Any redeeming features the game might have are overshadowed by the knowledge that this could have been a great game    This game should have been brilliant. It was created by a developer that has the story driven RPG down to an art.
    The problem is that EA rushed the game out before it was ready and what we got was an unfinished mess.
    Repetitive scenery, repetitive combat, repetitive gameplay. Any redeeming features the game might have are overshadowed by the knowledge that this could have been a great game if only it was given the time and attention it deserved.

    I HATE YOU EA!!!!!!    … Expand
  83. zakariru
    Nov 10, 2011
    0
    Big Bioware fanboy. This game was an attempt to bring people to the genre who don't understand it at the cost of people who do. I'll probably avoid DA3 because of how much this game offended me. It's not the worst game ever, if it wasn't a Dragon Age game it would probably be a 5 or 6/10 because it was playable. However the fact it has to be compared to DAO which was one of the best RPG'sBig Bioware fanboy. This game was an attempt to bring people to the genre who don't understand it at the cost of people who do. I'll probably avoid DA3 because of how much this game offended me. It's not the worst game ever, if it wasn't a Dragon Age game it would probably be a 5 or 6/10 because it was playable. However the fact it has to be compared to DAO which was one of the best RPG's ever makes it hard to give this anything other than this score.… Expand
  84. weedlord
    Nov 9, 2011
    0
    There was no button-awesome connection for me. I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry!
  85. Aditum
    Nov 1, 2011
    2
    First of all I'd like to point out that I am an RPG fan. I played nearly all the RPGs out there, and despite that, I have quite liberal tastes (so what if in Oblivion highwaymen wore glass armor? It is still a great fantasy world simulator). Origins presented game mechanics that were considered too complicated for the mainstream to the mainstream, and won many a young heart with perfectFirst of all I'd like to point out that I am an RPG fan. I played nearly all the RPGs out there, and despite that, I have quite liberal tastes (so what if in Oblivion highwaymen wore glass armor? It is still a great fantasy world simulator). Origins presented game mechanics that were considered too complicated for the mainstream to the mainstream, and won many a young heart with perfect balance of all the aspects of the game. As for Dragon Age IIâ… Expand
  86. barbie
    Oct 6, 2011
    0
    I tried my best to like this game, but I couldnâ
  87. Mikolaj
    Sep 30, 2011
    1
    Feels like a budget expansion release, should have cost 15 and be DLC for the original. 1 setting, same dungeon every corner not to mention none of the deep combat of the original.
  88. Rammsoldat
    Sep 30, 2011
    3
    Utter Utter Utter disapointment, im not agaisnt them revamping the gameplay but the story and characters in this game are so half arsed. Any decisions you make in the game lead to nothing there are no consequences the story will still go where it goes all that changes is your group. I really dont see why when they had such a winner on theior hands with origins they decided to much aboutUtter Utter Utter disapointment, im not agaisnt them revamping the gameplay but the story and characters in this game are so half arsed. Any decisions you make in the game lead to nothing there are no consequences the story will still go where it goes all that changes is your group. I really dont see why when they had such a winner on theior hands with origins they decided to much about with it so much and chop so much out. I know they were after a call of duty type audience but those types dont typically go for RPG games so Bioware has forsaken its audience to pursue another that wont want what they have to offer.… Expand
  89. jorge100
    Sep 26, 2011
    0
    Terrible game with no redeeming qualities. Game play was horrible and the storyline was pathetic compared to Dragon Age Origins. . The graphics were also better in Origins. The characters were weak and uninspiring. The combat was a joke. Rogue and mage classes stunk. The skill trees had no skills in comparison to DAO. Games a boring button masher.
  90. laxleonidas
    Sep 17, 2011
    4
    Despite of all expectations, BioWare not only removed good ideas from predecessor, but also used new bad game mechanisms. Forget about tactital fighting, interesting plot and - what's most important - huge, secret world to explore.
  91. SpunkyMonkey
    Sep 6, 2011
    0
    Total dross. Combat is the games main selling point, but it's soooooooo dull and uninteresting, button mashing not unlike Track and Field with very little else - It's just too fast and too sloppy to care about and too in between the action and strategy genres to work well as either. The game as a whole is and a horrid hybrid beteen a Dungeon Crawler and an interactive movie-game whichTotal dross. Combat is the games main selling point, but it's soooooooo dull and uninteresting, button mashing not unlike Track and Field with very little else - It's just too fast and too sloppy to care about and too in between the action and strategy genres to work well as either. The game as a whole is and a horrid hybrid beteen a Dungeon Crawler and an interactive movie-game which you'd find on the Mega CD - There's very little actual roleplaying involved like there was in Origins. As a stand alone game DA2 is very repetative, very dull and dire, but as a sequal it contains none of the elements which were enjoyable in the original. The dialogue tree is missed big time with the conversation choices reduced to a basic "Good/funny/evil" choice, none of which feel well placed or make much difference to proceedings. The final straw is replaying areas which you've already run through several times - how each gang and bad guy hangs out in the same ally is a joke. A perfect example of how this game falls short was with a 1-on-1 battle with what would be deemed as one of the games main antagonists - it literally had me laffing out loud at how bad, boring and comicly the fight unfolded. It was kind of like when I first saw Scream expecting a horror movie, but getting more of a comedy.

    After forcing myself to complete it I put the original on and in 2 minutes it became even more clear how bad DA2 was compare to the quality, if not slightly flawed, Origins. Play Originas through as a different race/class, youtube all the plot vids for DA 2 and avoid purchasing DA2 like the plague!!    … Expand
  92. Davidhowardking
    Aug 31, 2011
    2
    Bioware turned a can't-miss RPG into an easy to digest faux-rpg. It was a waste of time and money. Word is they are going to combine elements of 1 and 2 into 3. My advice is to not make a sequel if that is what they intend to do because the game will not sell. DA2 abandons all the characters from DAO and kills any sense of exploration. The new characters are tepid and the storytellingBioware turned a can't-miss RPG into an easy to digest faux-rpg. It was a waste of time and money. Word is they are going to combine elements of 1 and 2 into 3. My advice is to not make a sequel if that is what they intend to do because the game will not sell. DA2 abandons all the characters from DAO and kills any sense of exploration. The new characters are tepid and the storytelling lame. Your actions have far less impact than they did in DAO.… Expand
  93. SarahCuda
    Aug 14, 2011
    1
    I was really excited for this game to come out, but. I wasent all impressed. The combat game play was better and that was the only this that made this game likable. I was not happy with the story. When i think Dragon age i think Grey Wardens and they did not evn go there in this game. I was not impressed.. The whole game you have to run around doing everyones arrends which made the gameI was really excited for this game to come out, but. I wasent all impressed. The combat game play was better and that was the only this that made this game likable. I was not happy with the story. When i think Dragon age i think Grey Wardens and they did not evn go there in this game. I was not impressed.. The whole game you have to run around doing everyones arrends which made the game boring toward the middle. The AI was boring, DA1 yo ugot to know your party members which made you feel attached. If your thinking of getting this game I would rethink it. Get the first one instead.… Expand
  94. Davecz
    Jul 25, 2011
    0
    Epic Fail...................................................................................................................................................
  95. JamesX
    Jul 20, 2011
    3
    Glitz and glamour makes a pretty presentation but the game falls short of its pedigree and promise of "rise to power." In fact the game's flaw is hugely exasperated on 2nd play through - when you realize that there is little to no difference to outcome of events based on your choice. If it were called Mass Effect with Dragons I would have given it at 8 - because I would not have judgedGlitz and glamour makes a pretty presentation but the game falls short of its pedigree and promise of "rise to power." In fact the game's flaw is hugely exasperated on 2nd play through - when you realize that there is little to no difference to outcome of events based on your choice. If it were called Mass Effect with Dragons I would have given it at 8 - because I would not have judged it as an RPG as opposed to a Shooter with RPG elements. Unfortunately it was not. For a game that is sold on the detail of the world and its story - it is very much a disappointment and falls far from the tree.… Expand
  96. Necrotaur
    Jul 18, 2011
    2
    I was extremely, extremely disappointed in this game. I found DA to be fairly mediocre, but this is a definite step backwards in everything except perhaps graphics. DA2 is one of the few Bioware games I have not had an urge to go back and play through again as the opposite alignment. For one, I found the companions to be either bland or distasteful except for Varric, and the factionsI was extremely, extremely disappointed in this game. I found DA to be fairly mediocre, but this is a definite step backwards in everything except perhaps graphics. DA2 is one of the few Bioware games I have not had an urge to go back and play through again as the opposite alignment. For one, I found the companions to be either bland or distasteful except for Varric, and the factions also annoyed me... especially the 'climax' at the end. It made me realize that my choices throughout the game played no part. I understand the concept of 'grey morality' but in DA2 it's closer to black vs. black. They could have replaced the mages vs. templars plotline with demons vs. Nazis and it would have had no major effect. I mean, the Tranquil Solution? Really? I wanted to side with neither one of them and just return to Ferelden, but sadly I wasn't given that option.… Expand
  97. Devil_Man_X
    Jul 5, 2011
    3
    The User ratings have this one almost dead on. No it's not the worst game out there but just because you can make a game look relatively pretty doesn't mean it's good. Dragon age suffers from one game breaking flaw, greed. EA and Bioware show their true colors here. They have changed everything that made Dragon Age Origins such an incredible game. Not in the name of improvement but to sellThe User ratings have this one almost dead on. No it's not the worst game out there but just because you can make a game look relatively pretty doesn't mean it's good. Dragon age suffers from one game breaking flaw, greed. EA and Bioware show their true colors here. They have changed everything that made Dragon Age Origins such an incredible game. Not in the name of improvement but to sell more copies. I do see how some of the changes could have been for the better if done properly yet others are just senseless. The battle system needed reworked if only for the console versions. However the changes they made left it feeling less like an RPG and more like a bad hack and slash. Gone are all the deep character customizations. You simply choose gender and class. No more custom backstory. If this was any other franchise it would have been better off. Calling it a sequel to Dragon Age simply ruined it. No one buys a sequel hoping it will be more simplistic with a simple story and fewer options. If you buy a sequel to a beloved franchise you expect it to improve on itself. The story is borderline garbage and the way it's delivered is even worse. Don't get excited for some upcoming exploration or engaging plotline as the game will simply skip ahead just as you're getting into it. Yes this dungeon looks exactly like the last one just make a left here instead of a right. Bioware has openly admitted to using the same dungeon layout multiple times. Here is the bottom line. I like many others was expecting a sequel. Hoping to continue my story or atleast flesh out the world of Dragon Age. Instead I was sold a crappy 5 yr old baldurs gate wannabe with modern graphics. I was not expecting Mass Effect Medieval Edition. Bioware is hands down the most overrated developer around. They consistently make terrible games that have great stories. They really should just consider making movies instead of games. We would all be better off… Expand
  98. Tomtzor
    Jun 20, 2011
    3
    This is not a role-playing game, it's a dumbed down piece of sh*t!
    How could you do this to the Dragon Age franchise EA?!
    Shame on you! You can't talk with any of the characters (except when the game allows you 1 out of 100 times ) You can't customize anything basically! The story is crap, the characters are crap. But goddamnit! It's Dragon Age! I pushed through and enjoyed parts of it, I    This is not a role-playing game, it's a dumbed down piece of sh*t!
    How could you do this to the Dragon Age franchise EA?!
    Shame on you!
    You can't talk with any of the characters (except when the game allows you 1 out of 100 times )
    You can't customize anything basically!
    The story is crap, the characters are crap.
    But goddamnit! It's Dragon Age!
    I pushed through and enjoyed parts of it, I must admit
    I did not mind the changes to combat so much, it was pretty engaging, and the interface was really neat!
    But the rest is just an on-going train-wreck of quick cash-in of a franchise
    I'll go nuts if they do the same with Mass Effect 3!
    Cmon Bioware! You are the rpg kings!
    Bring it next time!    … Expand
  99. tzedan
    Jun 20, 2011
    4
    Bioware should have released this game first and then DAO; that would at least give the impression of improvement. As it stands, this game provides no continuity of significance with Dragon Age Origins. The game play is dumbed down, the character development is no where to be found and the plot is weak. Seems like Bioware is betting all it's money on Mass Effect 3. I just hope then don'tBioware should have released this game first and then DAO; that would at least give the impression of improvement. As it stands, this game provides no continuity of significance with Dragon Age Origins. The game play is dumbed down, the character development is no where to be found and the plot is weak. Seems like Bioware is betting all it's money on Mass Effect 3. I just hope then don't mess that game up.… Expand
  100. Epicmaster
    Jun 17, 2011
    2
    Very Unsatisfying RPG game in general, story did not take full advantage of the depth possibility of frame narrative, The Game is full off little things that make it less of a deep RPG and more of an action adventure game. The ending of the game is probably the worst of any RPG i have played. I only finished this game because of the commitment I had from finishing DA:O.
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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

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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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