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. Agarwel
    Mar 17, 2011
    3
    Real dissapointment. The dialogues and side quests itlesf are great. But thats all. Main quest is basically missing (I was not sure what Im trying to achieve in the main plot until like 35hours in the game. Till then the main plot feels like series of random side quests. Where most of them really have nothing to do with game ending). There is so few locations that it is smallest game IReal dissapointment. The dialogues and side quests itlesf are great. But thats all. Main quest is basically missing (I was not sure what Im trying to achieve in the main plot until like 35hours in the game. Till then the main plot feels like series of random side quests. Where most of them really have nothing to do with game ending). There is so few locations that it is smallest game I played in loong time. Still they managed to put around 40hours of quest into such samll environment. That means you are always fighting at the same locations over and over again. The fights are stereotype with spawning enemies without any logic. It just sents same waves again and again. Boss fight are not interesting at all. The bosses have just bigger size and HP. So you fight it like normal enemy - you just need to spent 15 minutes on it. Resulting in boredom. Considering that the enviromnent is not build for the quests, but the quest are put into generic enviromnent, the atmosphere is really low. It does not matter if you go deal with bandinds, investigate murder, releasing prisoners or dealing with blood mages. It will happen o nthe same generic street (with flegmatic NPCs around) each time. The result feels much more like a datadisk or DLC, than a full game. Its just few small locations with lots of quests thrown into them without any logic.… Expand
  2. Bozochicken
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I Can't believe after 6 or so RPG's, BioWare still hasn't seemed to notice there mistake.

    In this game, you play as a boring character with the lamest voice ever. The conversations are dull and boring and they make you feel like you want it to be over. Not to mention how bad the voice actors are in this particular title. This game feels like it was funded out of BioWare's pocket money.    I Can't believe after 6 or so RPG's, BioWare still hasn't seemed to notice there mistake.

    In this game, you play as a boring character with the lamest voice ever. The conversations are dull and boring and they make you feel like you want it to be over. Not to mention how bad the voice actors are in this particular title. This game feels like it was funded out of BioWare's pocket money. Dragon Age: Origins had a very bad combat style but a decent storyline nonetheless. This game has a button mash combat style with a lame storyline. The ending sucks. Save your money.    … Expand
  3. Xycolian
    Mar 13, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II is very disappointing, If you were an avid fan of the first game and it's expansion and decided to make a perfect run-through of it with the intention of importing it into dragon age II like I did, you will be sorely disappointed.

    Nothing that comes from imports has any real affect on anything in Dragon Age II's already dismal storyline. The only thing you can expect to see    Dragon Age II is very disappointing, If you were an avid fan of the first game and it's expansion and decided to make a perfect run-through of it with the intention of importing it into dragon age II like I did, you will be sorely disappointed.

    Nothing that comes from imports has any real affect on anything in Dragon Age II's already dismal storyline. The only thing you can expect to see are cameo appearances from previous acquaintances and tiny references to your exploits no doubt intended to make you feel nostalgic and happy. These feelings quickly fade when you realize you paid $60 however.

    The gameplay is very tedious and boring. The only noticeable difference on a casual playthrough between combat in DAII and DA:O is that you now have to mash the Attack button repeatedly instead of pressing it once per target.
    There is a new aspect to combat with the advent of cross-class combos, in a casual or normal playthrough you can go the entire game without using one, but in higher difficulty playthroughs the game is practically balanced around taking advantage of these combos, it really feels like they added this feature in an attempt to make the combat seem fresh. What I mean by that is that enemies seem to have a higher amount of health just because they want to make people use cross class combos in the first place and because of that, it feels like just another complication.

    If you do not own a 60" HD Flatscreen TV, expect to squint to read the minute font and the minimalistic Interface they decided to use in this game even if you have 20/20 vision. The only aspect of the game that is an exception to this is the chat wheel that pops up when you interact with NPCs at least you know what decisions you are making...

    The environments are great until you notice that there are only about 20 in the game,Deep Roads, Cave, and Dungeon environments have about 2 variants and that's it. Those 6 different environments are the same ones they use for every dungeon and cave in the game. The only difference between these environments is that certain passages are either closed or open and loot containers are shuffled around.
    Named unique locations feel bland and unchanging. Environments such as the town of Kirkwall (where the games events are centered) don't even change over the course of the 10 years in which this game takes place, aside from superficial things like rearranging loot containers that are placed around said environment. That isn't to say that the people inside Krikwall don't change however, because they do...well the important people do, there are no events that take place in the game that impact the entire city in a noticeable way (until the end anyway, and seeing as it's THE END, you don't get to see how the city changes anyway).

    Cutscenes have a tendency to warp the character models causing them to stretch and shrink very rapidly, I can't fathom how something as obvious and disruptive to immersion as this got past bug testing.

    The new talent trees aren't really as big an improvement over DA:O's talent trees as they were portrayed to be. They are a small improvement however if only for the fact that it is harder to decide where to spend the point you just earned.

    The stories and intimate relationships of your comrades that you can experience are as good as ever, but this one good quality is not enough to raise the average score that quantifies the rest of the game.

    The music never really caught my ear but it didn't sound bad either, I don't know whether it is the hallmark of a good or a bad soundtrack if you can listen to it without realizing that you are in fact listening to it in the first place.

    I only hope that they take full advantage of all the plots and storylines that they have left open in this game and set themselves up to explain in DA:III when the time comes. DA:II is only a stepping stone in terms of plot, only serving as a build up in events with no real feel of accomplishment or advancement. The story feels stagnant and unimportant to be honest.
    We learn next to nothing of Flemeth (aside from the fact that she's still alive despite anything you might have done to her in DAO) and there is no new information or plot points that concern the darkspawn at all. Yeah that's right, nothing new about darkspawn or Flemeth. The problems that Bioware introduces in this title seem trite and unimportant when compared to the first games events.

    I feel really sad when I say this, but to me it seems that Bioware has finally decided that it loves money more than the stories that they craft, especially when DLC is available to purchase off the shelf from day one... I mean what the hell is that about? Just include it with the game you sellouts....

    My advice? This game is good enough to rent but definitely not worth 60 bucks.    … Expand
  4. Golem25
    Mar 14, 2011
    1
    To already give a conclusion before I even arrive at the meat of this review, Dragon Age II feels incredibly rushed, and is a definite step down from the original, which already was quite mediocre. This unfortunate turn in quality leaves us with a sloppy, uninspired, dumbed down, and generally unlikeable game, which pales in comparison to some of Bioware`s gems.

    Gameplay; 1.0/10 The    To already give a conclusion before I even arrive at the meat of this review, Dragon Age II feels incredibly rushed, and is a definite step down from the original, which already was quite mediocre. This unfortunate turn in quality leaves us with a sloppy, uninspired, dumbed down, and generally unlikeable game, which pales in comparison to some of Bioware`s gems.

    Gameplay; 1.0/10

    The combat in DA2 is a huge step back from Dragon Age Origins. The underlying system is the same, but by upping the pace and letting the player control normal attacks directly, combat feels incredibly dumbed down, which becomes rather boring, rather quickly. Successful attacks are met with a slashing sound. The fighting styles between the three classes (warrior, mage, rogue) feel as almost the same, as do different specializations within a class. Difficulty levels are incredibly unstatic, enough to accomodate neither gamers looking for hack `n` slash action, nor for gamers who want full control over their party, and utilizing the pause menu to issue tactical commands for setting up combos.

    STORY: 1/10

    The tale within a tale narrative structure is kinda interesting at first, but any curiosity you might have quickly dies down, however, as poor storytelling makes you lose any connection to Hawke you may have had at the beginning. There are two issues with the plot devices used in DA2. The first is the timeskip. Between each act of the game, there is a gap in which you do not participate. This makes you feel less engaged at the start of the next act, because whatever new predicament Hawke finds himself in, you were not there to experience it. Moreover, Hawke occasionally meets people that he supposedly met during a timeskip, but you as a player have never met. This really wrenches you out of Hawke's shoes, as you realize that despite controlling Hawke's actions and choices for certain parts of his life, you are ultimately just a spectator.

    The second plot device that I have trouble with is something that is common in RPGs. Basically, you have a main objective, but have to do a bunch of other stuff before you can achieve that objective. DA2's side quests are incredibly boring (more on this later), thus making this common RPG plot device much more obvious. After literally spending hours doing side quest after side quest that have no relation to the main plot whatsoever, it's easy to get sidetracked and forget what Hawke's main goal was in the first place.

    Finally, conversations in DA2 are a step down from the ones in DAO. The fully written dialogue choices from DAO are done away with. Instead, DA2 uses a dialogue wheel similar to Mass Effect. What this means is that Hawke talks exclusively in one-liners, and that conversations are all short and to the point, presumably so they wouldn`t get in the way of the mind-numbingly boring action. Moreover, all conversation choices are marked with an emotion icon (heart, halo, you get the idea). While potentially useful, what these icons really do is making sure gamers don`t have to think about how to phrase a response. Instead, conversation quickly boils down to choosing the stance you want to take, like in the much better, but also quite rushed, Alpha Protocol. Conversations with random NPCs are gone too. Now, every conversation is with a quest-giver. This makes Kirkwall a horribly lifeless place, as everyone you talk to just wants you to help solve their problems. It also means that no one talks to you about Dragon Age lore in the game. Instead, all lore is obtained through the Codex, and not conversations. This means that people who hate reading on a screen like me aren't able to learn much about the lore of the DA universe. Then again, it wasn`t interesting in the first place, but still.

    Conclusion;

    Dragon Age II is an incredibly messy game, which smothered any potential it had with bugs, missed opportunities, and general laziness. Kirkwall is a lifeless place, á la the settlements in Borderlands, while dungeons are reused and reused and reused untill you can literally traverse them with your eyes closed. This, of course fits with the dumbing down of the other elements of DA2. The developers spoke of trying to capture the audience of the Call of Duty series, which is, in my eyes, a grave mistake; firstly because this`ll leave RPG-fans and more serious gamers in the cold, and secondly because COD-fans rather occupy themselves with things like Bulletstorm and sports games, outside of COD.

    DA2 could have redeemed itself with other features, like the score, but fails with that too.

    My final verdict;

    GAMEPLAY; 2/10
    STORY; 2/10
    SCORE; 4/10
    REPLAY VALUE; 1/10
    GENERAL FEEL; 1/10

    This adds up to around a 1.5, but seeing as things like gameplay are much more important than the score, I have to give this game a 2. Bioware dropped the ball big time with this game, and I look forward to Mass Effect 3 with fear, anticipating a failure of a game, much like Dragon Age 2. (1.0)    … Expand
  5. billyup
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    I don't like being lied to. Bioware LIED to us. When people want to buy an RPG they don't buy an ACTION GAME they buy an RPG. Do you understand bioware? We don't like your obvious buyout of game reviews. We don't like having our RPGs turned into Action games. We don't like being told a million times how something is "Epic" and then only lasts "25 hours". RPG PLAYERS DON'T WANT ACTION GAMES!
  6. dishwasherwong
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    Dragon Age 2 is not a worthy successor to Dragon Age Origins: The combat while not as bad as expected is overshadowed by awful story, awful character development, one of the most disappointing endings I've seen in a while, and completely pointless inventory system and commerce (torn trousers anybody?). There's no reason to care about anything that happens in this game, the characters areDragon Age 2 is not a worthy successor to Dragon Age Origins: The combat while not as bad as expected is overshadowed by awful story, awful character development, one of the most disappointing endings I've seen in a while, and completely pointless inventory system and commerce (torn trousers anybody?). There's no reason to care about anything that happens in this game, the characters are forgettable with the exception of the dwarf Varric and maybe Avelline and the storyline has no clearly defined antagonist and is poorly paced (seriously, where is the beginning, middle and end?). I'm shocked that Hawke had a motivation to get out of bed in the morning when all he has to do all day is pointless fetch quests in the same drab, tired environments with a bunch of people he's supposed to care about.

    Garbage, if you must play more Dragon Age - go back and play the first one, faults and all.    … Expand
  7. Jumper_351
    Apr 23, 2011
    4
    Negatives: Dumbed down combat. Consists of mash this button till that guy dies, now do it again here. Simplistic level design. Honestly, I was insulted that they pushed this half-finished game onto us. Terrible.
  8. keep
    Mar 14, 2011
    3
    The worst BW game. There is nothing to comments here. do not even think about buying it. Linear plot, miserable battle system, it is not even an RPG, it's more like a bad action...
  9. Vastgirth
    Mar 22, 2011
    0
    Incredibly disappointing. Lots of boring fighting in the same boring environments. Story doesn't tie in with gameplay. Feels very rushed. What has happened to one of my favourite developers :(.
  10. Greyhammer
    Mar 15, 2011
    3
    What a disappointment. This is not worthy of Bioware or Dragon Age Origins. The game is dumbed down to the point of no longer being an RPG but a dynasty warriors game with worse dialog.
  11. Goldnugget
    Mar 16, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm very sorry to say that Bioware's latest visit to Thedas represents for me everything that is wrong with the RPG genre of late, if inventory management, character customization/development and epic storytelling aren't for you then stay clear of the genre, there are already genres out there that cater for players who don't want to micromanage, who don't want to get involved in the fine detail. If you're an RPG purist then a small piece of you will die if you play this game.

    Saying that, I don't think the game deserves a reactionary score of 1-2, I also certainly don't think it deserves a score of 9-10 and have to wonder if the people giving these high scores are new to the genre/series or gaming in general. It has some good points and some very very bad points.

    The Good:
    Varrick - Possibly one of the best characters in any RPG of late, I played alongside this character throughout the whole game and he made a significant improvement to the experience!

    Narrative - The perspective is fresh and makes a nice change from the usual 'mysterious prisoner' opening of many other RPGs.

    Combat Looks - The combat looks good I have to admit, even if it feels somewhat empty, the manoeuvres and magic effects are excellent and the Rogue feels like a force to be reckoned with now that the archery skills and damage have been beefed up.

    Qunari     … Expand
  12. Suleiman
    Mar 16, 2011
    3
    Per quanto concerne la mia esperienza di gioco, in un'ottica GDR, dopo diverse ore di gioco a questo nuovo titolo, devo dire che è davvero poco appagante.
    Non c'è immersione: ci si limita a galleggiare in superficie, intuendo che poteva esser fatto molto di più.
    La grafica è abbastanza curata, anche se preferivo i toni più    Per quanto concerne la mia esperienza di gioco, in un'ottica GDR, dopo diverse ore di gioco a questo nuovo titolo, devo dire che è davvero poco appagante.
    Non c'è immersione: ci si limita a galleggiare in superficie, intuendo che poteva esser fatto molto di più.
    La grafica è abbastanza curata, anche se preferivo i toni più maturi di DAO. Quello che non va proprio bene è che ci saranno una cinquantina di location che vengono riproposte allo sfinimento, il che non aiuta certo ad immergersi in un gioco di ruolo, dove l'ambientazione dovrebbe essere resa minuziosamente a video.
    La grafica dei menù è a dir poco oscena. Mi chiedo, con una grafica tanto scarna, come sia stato possibile rendere il sistema di menù più confusionario rispetto al precedente DAO... mah: ci sono riusciti, proponendo, ad esempio, un sistema grafico di avanzamento nei talenti che richiede ogni volta di visualizzare un albero di skill, impedendo una visione globale ed un confronto veloce tra le varie abilità.
    Il sistema di dialoghi è abominevole: in base a quale malato ragionamento non si può più cliccare sulla esatta frase che il nostro PG dovrebbe pronunciare, con senso chiaro, ma si deve interpretare una linea di scelta che spesso ci mette in bocca cose che non volevamo dire?
    Lasciamo perdere il combat system, e la gestione dell'inventario, il sistema di crafting, la possibilità di interagiore con gli altri personaggi in senso ampio, che di ruolo qui hanno mantenuto solo ed esclusivamente la dicitura.
    Coerenza a video rispetto alle abilità dei PG, a quelle che dovrebbero essere le loro effettive capacità e limitazioni: inesistente.
    Si salva qualcosa? Forse la storia sì, quella si salva, anche se è raccontata in modo non più che discreto.

    Ma parliamo di altri aspetti: COERENZA ed IMMEDESIMAZIONE..
    Ogni mondo, quello reale, ma anche quelli immaginari, ha delle regole.
    Regole sia fisiche imposte dalla natura, forza di gravità etc, sia convenzionali imposte dalla società, sistemi giuridici, etc., sia di altro tipo.
    Queste regole sono fondamentali perché qualsiasi mondo possa funzionare.
    Stessa cosa in un gioco fantasy, in cui i personaggi si muovono in un mondo di certo immaginario, ma comunque con delle regole.
    Se, ad esempio, un mago passa tutto il suo tempo a studiare magie, di certo non avrà potuto studiare le tecniche di combattimento corpo a corpo... se volesse imparare queste tecniche dovrebbe sacrificare parte del suo tempo (leggi: punti abilità) e così si creerebbe un personaggio ibrido mago/guerriero, che però non eccelle in nessuna delle due classi.
    Stessa cosa per le caratteristiche fisiche del guerriero: un'arma a due mani implica colpi più lenti, ma più potenti.
    Insomma le "regole dei mondi" fanno sì che se tiri la coperta da una parte, la accorci dall'altra...
    E allora?
    Semplice, tutto ciò è fondamentale per due cose importantissime: CREDIBILITA' e, quindi, IMMEDESIMAZIONE.
    E l'immedesimazione è tutto ciò a cui punta un GDR.
    Se faccio venir meno il realismo fregandome delle regole, tutto il mondo immaginario creato crolla, e non è più credibile: e la mancanza di credibilità fa venir meno l'immedesimazione.
    Per questo la COERENZA è tanto importante, in ogni sistema-mondo fantasy: perché rispettando il realismo (con riferimento alle regole del mondo immaginario creato) permette l'immedesimazione.
    Se in un film di cawboy ambientato nel passato del nostro mondo ad un certo punto gli indiani si mettessero a volare come pipistrelli, lo spettatore verrebbe catapultato di forza fuori dalla storia e comincerebbe a ridere.
    In un mondo fantasy, quindi, il realismo è ancor più importante che nel mondo reale: per il semplice motivo che nel mondo reale il realismo c'è per forza... e ci mancherebbe! Mentre in un mondo immaginario va creato e mantenuto con arte e sforzo e fatica: ma è prprio da quel realismo che nasce la magia!
    Ora, Dragon Age 2 non rispetta le regole del mondo in cui è ambientato, e quindi non è credibile, e quindi non è coerente e quindi chiude le porte in faccia all'immedesimazione.
    Cosa comporta ciò? Che:
    - se DA2 fosse un DGR, sarebbe davvero un pessimo GDR
    - se DA2 fosse un gioco action, sarebbe un brutto gioco action se paragonato ad altri del genere (soprattutto dungeon siege...)
    - se DA2 fosse un misto action-GDR, lo troverei tirato via e poco studiato.

    CONCLUDENDO
    Dopo aver giocato per diverse ore la versione definitiva di DA2, purtroppo, devo confermare le mie impressioni inziali.
    Brutto gioco, fatto in fretta e male: basta guardare la ripetività delle location o la scarnissima grafica dei menù.
    Coerenza zero, tatticità zero, personaliazzione zero.
    La storia si salva, ma non è assolutamente ai livello di DAO.
    Io ragiono nell'ottica GDR, che è quello che mi aspettavo di trovare e che mi sarebbe piaciuto giocare.
    Peccato!
    Spero che alla Bio ritrovino presto il senno e sfornino un GDR che sia un GDR vero!    … Expand
  13. sterle2009
    Mar 16, 2011
    2
    I really loved Dragon Age : Origins. It was a refreshing RPG. A great release for the PC in a long while. Of course that created high expectations for DA2. I pre-ordered the game just to get Signature Edition and then came the rumours that it's a game suffering from consolitis... I had to keep my faith as I wanted to believe the developers wouldn't snub PC gamers... Then came the Demo...I really loved Dragon Age : Origins. It was a refreshing RPG. A great release for the PC in a long while. Of course that created high expectations for DA2. I pre-ordered the game just to get Signature Edition and then came the rumours that it's a game suffering from consolitis... I had to keep my faith as I wanted to believe the developers wouldn't snub PC gamers... Then came the Demo... my worst fears were justified. i didn't finish the demo as I wanted to believe the final game would be different. In the end... it's worse than I thought. Pure consolised displays, 0-day patch for High Res textures, armour only for the main char, selected "upgrades" for the companions... It's a very disappointing sequel to one of the best games ever.
    Overall, if taken on it's own. It's a decent game. When taken as a sequel to DA:O... Maybe if u play it on a console it wold be good. I don't know. I won't buy another sequel until it hits the bargain bins..    … Expand
  14. Nightfish
    Mar 17, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is the "Phantom Menace" to Dragon Age: Origin's "A New Hope". Thank you George for making this comparison possible and instantly recognisable by nerds everywhere. In many ways, I wouldn't need to say anything more than that, but I will anyway: When writing a review of Dragon Age 2, you probably have to say a few words about where you are coming from first. Are you theDragon Age 2 is the "Phantom Menace" to Dragon Age: Origin's "A New Hope". Thank you George for making this comparison possible and instantly recognisable by nerds everywhere. In many ways, I wouldn't need to say anything more than that, but I will anyway: When writing a review of Dragon Age 2, you probably have to say a few words about where you are coming from first. Are you the wide-eyed fanboy or the disgruntled, estranged hater formerly known as a "true" fan? Then you claim to be neither, but the one true voice of reason who's got a neutral view on this issue. Personally, I have bought and played repeatedly pretty much everything Bioware published since Shattered Steel and I've enjoyed each game on his own merits. I loved Planescape Tormet, Baldur's Gate 2 just as much as Jade Empire, even though that game is radically different in terms of combat. I'm saying that to illustrate that I am very well capable of enjoying a game that does not have the traditional isometric view of tactical combat.

    Dragon Age 2 however, I cannot get into no matter how much I want to like it. This game is a train wreck of Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age and not in a good way. Let's take a look at some of the "bad" things. First of all: Combat. I cannot, for the life of me, see how anyone could view the new system as an improvement. They tried to make combat incredibly fast paced and action packed, but somehow this does not play out the way it's intended, at least not for me. Seeing a guy in full platemail armed with a huge two-handed weapon move faster than Neo in the Matrix doesn't just break immersion for me, it shatters it beyond all hopes of repair. Most enemies die in one hit now and they do so in a spectacularily silly and over the top gory way. There's more blood in here than in the silliest splatter movie I ever saw. There's a fine line between "adult" and "graphic violence" and enemies EXPLODING into 20 gallons of blood and shishkebab upon being stabbed in the chest once. To compensate for all the insta-kills, enemies now spawn in waves by the dozens. This robs the individual enemy of any significance. How can I be intimidated by a blood mage or a horrible demon if there's 20 of each under every other rock? Beats me. The sadest thing about DA2 is that it actually fails where bioware usually excells. The story and dialogue. Take the human noble origin story in Dragon Age Origins, for example. Before everyone dies a gruesome death you spend some time to get to know them. Thus, when they do die, their death has some impact on you. In DA2, we skip the first part in favor of turning the gruesomeness of the death up to 11. The thing is, if some random red shirt dies twice as horribly, I don't care twice as much. The "main story" if it can so be called, is anything but an improvement over the original as well. Granted, you are not saving the world, which in theory can make for an interesting story as well, but many people take this fact alone to mean the story is brilliant. Unfortunately, that is not quite true. The writing is incredibly ham-fisted at times. I cannot count how often the game prevents you from using obvious solutions to problems simply because the plot requires that this problem cannot be solved in a simple manner. This adds to the "rushed" vibe the game gives off in general. There's barely any "fluff" anymore. You cannot talk to your companions at will anymore, for example. Some of the events of DA:O are imported and the game shoe-horns them into DA2, but if you spend even 2 seconds thinking about "Why was Alistair here just now?" you'll notice that he had no significance to the plot, provided no insight whatsoever and was there simply as a little bit of fan-service. Oh yea, and the RPG part got dumbed down some more, but that was to be expected I guess and is barely worth mentioning in light of all the other shortcommings the game has. Still, rating the game a 0/10 as many people do is just as silly as rating it 10/10. There is good to be found if you can look past your expectations for a bit. Some of the quests are indeed well written and fun. The voice actors did a really good job, almost without exception. Flemeth's new look is a vast improvement over her old one, too bad she is in the game for about 5 minutes, tops. It's almost like she notice "Oh snap, this is gonna hurt!" and flapped out of the game on her dragon wings. I cannot say I blame her. In conclusion, Bioware lost a lot of credibilty with me for this game. No longer will I blindly buy whatever they release. Once burned, twice shy. The shady things they did here on metacritic are not helping that image. I hope they learn a lesson from this disaster and can recover and return to what made them successful in the first place instead of succumbing to EA's corruption for good.    … Expand
  15. Marcman59
    Mar 18, 2011
    3
    It's rather unfortunate how this game turned out. The combat is no longer tactical, it simply requires you to hit your abilities as the cooldowns refresh. The story is bland, and makes it difficult to press on, nothing "hooks" you. If this game had been released as a stand-alone title not under the Dragon Age name, it wouldn't have been nearly as disappointing. Also, 27 different DLC'sIt's rather unfortunate how this game turned out. The combat is no longer tactical, it simply requires you to hit your abilities as the cooldowns refresh. The story is bland, and makes it difficult to press on, nothing "hooks" you. If this game had been released as a stand-alone title not under the Dragon Age name, it wouldn't have been nearly as disappointing. Also, 27 different DLC's at launch is rather excessive and a terrible trend to follow. I'm all for DLC, but I want game expansion that couldn't have been included on the disc.… Expand
  16. Hun73rdk
    Mar 20, 2011
    2
    The copy paste RPB of the decade everything in the game is the same copy paste the mines a all the same the caves a all the same and the areas around the city a all the same, armor only have diffrent colors.

    Im having trouble playing for more than 10 min at the time before getting bored This game is dumbed down to console players with no brains at all You can sit and watch a movie just    The copy paste RPB of the decade everything in the game is the same copy paste the mines a all the same the caves a all the same and the areas around the city a all the same, armor only have diffrent colors.

    Im having trouble playing for more than 10 min at the time before getting bored
    This game is dumbed down to console players with no brains at all

    You can sit and watch a movie just pressing R and still win a battle    … Expand
  17. Andyuk101
    Mar 21, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2 has been awaited ever since its announcement, and given Bioware's Reputation, it can be forgiven if people where mouth watering over the release of this game.

    Dragon Age Origins / Awakening rearly set the benchmark for fantasy world RPG'S, more in depth and detialed than any other fantasy type RPG game before it. Emulating the success of Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights    Dragon Age 2 has been awaited ever since its announcement, and given Bioware's Reputation, it can be forgiven if people where mouth watering over the release of this game.

    Dragon Age Origins / Awakening rearly set the benchmark for fantasy world RPG'S, more in depth and detialed than any other fantasy type RPG game before it. Emulating the success of Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Mass effect. all truely great rpgs and excellent ways to spend your free time playing. However after playing the game for 12 hours or so, i started to notice alot of things that seemed , to be the same, I ignored these at first, these being the same map layouts of caves, alleys, coasts etc constantly visited but with different enterances and exits. Then i started to noitce how bland the backgrounds were, how average the graphics felt, and the sense of epicness seemed to be vanishing the further i progressed into the game. Then i started to notice the quests started becoming quite tedious, go here kill something, go here talk to this person and kill something, go here get ambushed by more mobs etc, felt very disjointed. There rearlly isnt any choice, just the illusion of choice, one of the most frustrating things for me is the lack of gear, and gear / weapons you can equip yourself and your allies with almost everything you pick up being vendor trash and mostly useless. You cannot spec any ally , they all have set roles, with only 1 choice of tank (really annoying), one automatic choice of healer (unless you are a mage) and a real lack of companion and character development that was so enjoyable in the first DA:O / DA:A. The voice acting in my opnion is good, but some of it felt "static", Varric and Isabella are excellent, and Hawkes Male voice is okay, but the Female voice of Hawke to me sounds alot better. You are able to customise Hawkes appearence which is great, because i felt that the default male hawk looked like something of of thunderbirds with his rediculiously looking square face and jaw. If you think Dragon age 2 would be an excellent straight sequeal to DA:O , then just like me you will be terribly disapointed.

    There are some good additions to the game however, the simplifed gear / options menu is nice and feels like the same system they used in mass effect 2, however i feel its to simple for people like myself who are RPG veterans and i feel its a little insulting. There should be an option to use the default system from DA:O or choose the "New and improved" version from DA 2.

    Combat has been completely toned down, there is almost no tactics involed at all, like some people say, its all AOE spam / Keep tank on main threat mob, AOE SPAM / Heal, AOE SPAM, Kill main tank mob, repeat for almost every single fight. The freedom of combat is much better than DA:O however but its so simple my 8 year old son could win every fight without evening trying.

    Im going to finish this review buy breaking it down into "PROS" and CONS", so its easier to make my points.

    PROS:

    - Good Story - Hawke is an excellent addtion to the DA Universe.
    - Simplified Combat easy to pick up and play for new RPG players.
    - Credible Voice Acting.
    - Lots of side quests to keep you enterianed along side the main storyline.
    - The Graphics are good once you have downloaded the textures pack.
    - The Improved crafting system in favor of the tedious one from the first game.
    - 25+ Hours If you do every single side quest and explore everywhere in the game.

    CONS:

    - Combat is too easy, its no challenge to good RPG gamers.
    - The simple gear interace is frustratingly hard to read and compare item to item.
    - The same areas re-used over and over again, simply cut and pasted with different enterances, very boring and bland to play threw.
    - There is no epic feel to the game, the story pans out and leaves you hanging, you feel as if you have only played half a game.
    - The lack of customise options for your crew is rearlly frustrating.
    - Hardly any major boss fights.
    - Once you have played it twice with a male and female hawk, it will gather dust until decent DLC comes out for it.
    - Bioware have sold an unfinshed game, it costs £34.99 at least and you have to pay a further £14.99 or so to get the DLC available straight away, IT should be included in the game!.
    - Leaves you hanging and wanting more, and leaves you feeling very dissapointed.

    Theres an old saying "If its not broke dont fix it", so then why did bioware ruin such a promising game with a seemingly rushed production.    … Expand
  18. eduln
    Mar 21, 2011
    0
    Just played Dragon Age 2 for some time and Iâ
  19. GentlemanMoogle
    Mar 21, 2011
    4
    I wanted to like this game. I really did. It was one of only two games I've ever pre-ordered in my life. I've been playing Bioware games since the original Baldur's Gate, and I've loved them all almost without reservation. And then there's DA2. I'm a gamer who values a coherent narrative, a sense of immersion in a game, and -- if nothing else -- at least the illusion that the choices II wanted to like this game. I really did. It was one of only two games I've ever pre-ordered in my life. I've been playing Bioware games since the original Baldur's Gate, and I've loved them all almost without reservation. And then there's DA2. I'm a gamer who values a coherent narrative, a sense of immersion in a game, and -- if nothing else -- at least the illusion that the choices I make in a game will matter in some way. Unfortunately, DA2 falls short on all three areas. I'll admit, I enjoyed the combat until about half-way through the second act, then it just got repetitive and bland. I didn't mind the lack of companion customization, and I could even forgive the lack of item descriptions. But this is a game that seems to go out of its way to destroy any immersive qualities it may have had. Kirkwall never changes, regardless of your decisions and in spite of the fact that the game supposedly takes place over a ten-year span. Nothing is ever different. If you visit a marketplace in act 1, it will look exactly the same TEN YEARS LATER in act 3. I can forgive a lot, but when Fenris still has the battered corpses of the enemies I killed in his mansion after ten years? Yes, it's a little thing, but the little things matter. Oh, and they use the same four or five maps for every single quest line in the game. Given that most people will put thirty to forty hours of gameplay into this thing, you can bet that you're going to be tired of seeing the same damn map and killing the same damn enemies on that map after the twentieth time you visit. But for me, the biggest kick in the shorts was the overall narrative. Or rather, the fact that there wasn't one. There is no overarching story to this game. Instead, you're given three 'mini-stories' separated by the passage of time. I could forgive this, if Bioware had put in some decent plot and storytelling into these three acts. Unfortunately, they didn't. The totality of Act One's plotline can be summed up as follows: "You need money to get to Act Two." That's right, the entire first third of the game is a glorified toll gate. Admittedly, Act Two is far better, and actually held my interest all the way through to the fantastic end-of-act finale, but then it devolved into a massive Charlie Foxtrot (look it up) in Act 3, with nonsensical revelations flying fast and loose from every corner. And, naturally, Act 3 is where the bulk of the games bugs show up, causing some quests to fry out and become un-completable, and causing other quests and cutscenes to start out-of-order in a manner that yanks me right out of any immersion I might have attained. By the half-way marker in Act Three, I realized that I just didn't care a whit about anything. Thanks to the lack of any extended narrative, I had no reason to care about Kirkwall and its citizens (which wasn't helped by the fact that the entire city seems to live in a static bubble of time where nothing ever changes), and I didn't even care about my companions all that much, despite each of them being fairly well-realized in their own ways. I suppose one could argue that the main narrative was supposed to be Hawke-centered, but I couldn't muster up a shred of care even for my character, because he never felt like a protagonist. All throughout the game, I felt like little more than a glorified errand boy, a bystander relegated to the sidelines while I watch the game's story unfold without my help or the need for my direction. Oh yes, you do rise to power over the years, but it's an empty power, a power forced on you by the game's narratives rather than by your own conscious decision to pick it up. I felt as though every choice I made in this game was superfluous, that no matter what I did, everything would work out exactly the same. This game was supposed to be the story of a man struggling to power in a new and dangerous city. I honestly felt like I was an NPC in what was supposed to be a me-centered storyline. There were some things I loved about DA2. The characters were fun to play around with, and the dialog was top-notch throughout the game. My favorite parts in the entire production were the banters between your party members. But ultimately, they are fluffy sweet icing on a cake made of asphalt and failure. The lack of immersion, the lack of a coherent narrative, the endlessly-repeating levels, and the nagging sense that nothing you do really matters in the grand scheme of things make this one of the most disappointing Bioware entries I've ever had the misfortune to play.… Expand
  20. yalda
    Mar 21, 2011
    0
    Absolutely disapointed, DA II feels like a long trailer for the first expansion. The effects of having played Origins are minimal and also disappointing. Where is Morrigan? Didn't you say the story with her isn't over? And what about Orsino the first enchanter becoming a Golem of Amgarrak with blood magic?!? This is just cheap recycling of already available monster designs. And then allAbsolutely disapointed, DA II feels like a long trailer for the first expansion. The effects of having played Origins are minimal and also disappointing. Where is Morrigan? Didn't you say the story with her isn't over? And what about Orsino the first enchanter becoming a Golem of Amgarrak with blood magic?!? This is just cheap recycling of already available monster designs. And then all the glitches and bugs: Killed Zevran in part 1, but then he shows up again. After Bethany returns at the final battle she seems to be invincible. everytime she dies I didn't have to revive her, she just resurrected without injury. As if the game wasn't already too easy. Playing on normal I just had to load maybe 2 or three times without ever using any special ability of my warrior. When Monsters appear you could just go to the toilet or watch TV, because you'll win the fight without doing anything. Okay, when there is a demon or a dragon you have to use a few portions. Also the money in the game is useless because these's nowhere anything nice to buy. I could go on like this for hours. I loved DA1 but this was just a big big disappointment :(… Expand
  21. Lunar_Savage
    Mar 22, 2011
    0
    This is basically a cash in on the popularity of the first game...with complete disregard to what made the first game a success. Designed to completely ride off the name alone. Hardcore fans and the original target audience of the first game were thrown to the side in favor of trying to draw more people. Every aspect of this game is truly inferior to the first game, and borrows directlyThis is basically a cash in on the popularity of the first game...with complete disregard to what made the first game a success. Designed to completely ride off the name alone. Hardcore fans and the original target audience of the first game were thrown to the side in favor of trying to draw more people. Every aspect of this game is truly inferior to the first game, and borrows directly from Mass Effect 2. In some ways, you could simply say this game is Mass Effect 2 with swords.

    Combat is no longer strategic or turn based. It's a complete hack n' slash game that's completely about flash with no difficulty whatsoever. Dialog is copy/pasted from Mass Effect 2. And customization is extremely watered down to the point where you don't even get to equip your party members. Even skill trees have been reduced and dumbed down. Dungeons are largely copy/pasted and look the same throughout the game making any potential exploration almost pointless and largely unrewarding. The only high point is perhaps the story, but even then, some will have issues with the reduced scope and style/method of the storytelling.    … Expand
  22. ahpucha
    Mar 28, 2011
    4
    Giving this a 4 (should be a 6) to counteract all the lies and "user" reviews written by people associated with the company and the outright lies fed to us by the game review industry (they're obviously getting something for giving the game such inflated scores). Hard to suspend disbelief in regards to the story line, tedious gameplay, lazy environment creation, linear gameplay, nearlyGiving this a 4 (should be a 6) to counteract all the lies and "user" reviews written by people associated with the company and the outright lies fed to us by the game review industry (they're obviously getting something for giving the game such inflated scores). Hard to suspend disbelief in regards to the story line, tedious gameplay, lazy environment creation, linear gameplay, nearly every quest havingg nothing to do with the story and the inability to make the player care about the characters is enough to stay away. If we support this type of mediocre game creation that is all we are going to get.… Expand
  23. LadyDumrotten
    Mar 29, 2011
    4
    I'm really digusted with how the critics have managed to forgive this game's glaring flaws. Not that there aren't things about the game that I love. It has excellent characters and an addictive, refined battle system... It's just a shame that the ridiculous amount of recycled content really kills it for me. There aren't even that many explorable areas in the game, and those that areI'm really digusted with how the critics have managed to forgive this game's glaring flaws. Not that there aren't things about the game that I love. It has excellent characters and an addictive, refined battle system... It's just a shame that the ridiculous amount of recycled content really kills it for me. There aren't even that many explorable areas in the game, and those that are there are all narrow corridors that are re-used over and over for the entire game. Also, the storyline apparently spans nearly a decade, except the only way you would know that are the cut-scenes at the end of each act (of which there are three) telling you a number of years have passed... except, NOTHING, literally NOTHING changes over the years. At the beginning of Act 3 your party starts off standing in the exact spot where you finished Act 2 as if no time had passed at all. Laughable. This game could have been a classic had only more time been put into development. As it is, it's only recommendable if you think you can overlook these huge flaws and enjoy the strong combat and fairly interesting cast.… Expand
  24. evox985
    Mar 29, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age 2 was a disappointment, plain and simple. A lot of you Bioware fanboys are trying to say that you have to judge this game based on its own merits and not those of its predecessor, WTF?! Is this game's title not DRAGON AGE 2?! So quit spewing Bioware's BS and develop an informed opinion of your own! And for the Bioware developers of DA2 who decided to post their own positiveDragon Age 2 was a disappointment, plain and simple. A lot of you Bioware fanboys are trying to say that you have to judge this game based on its own merits and not those of its predecessor, WTF?! Is this game's title not DRAGON AGE 2?! So quit spewing Bioware's BS and develop an informed opinion of your own! And for the Bioware developers of DA2 who decided to post their own positive reviews to try to save the user review score, you should be ashamed. You're obviously biased and user reviews should reflect the gamers, not the creators trying to shield themselves from the negative backlash of their own failures. Whatever good intentions that may have been possessed going into development of DA2 were wasted, the game is only worth mentioning as the titanic failure that it is in the wake of Dragon Age: Origins. The character and background artwork/animation are poor design. The storyline, if it even exists, is pathetically weak. Character interaction w/ companions is tedious as sin and not worth the effort due to lackluster personalities. The inability to equip companions w/ unique armor strips the game of one of the fundamental values of the RPG genre and is in my opinion the worst detraction from DA2. Recycled maps? Even the reviewers who gave DA2 a good review bashed Bioware for the recycled maps. And the new combat system that so many reviewers want to boast about effectively turns this game into a hack and slash button masher devoid of tactical approach. The same system used in ME2 was possible w/out detraction because the characters were equipped w/ ballistic weapons and could use cover that created seperation of opposing forces and still allowed the player to effectively perform as a team leader when making decisions for the team. DA2 on the other hand requires players to engage in close combat which works as a major distraction from the rest of the team's welfare because the player is personally caught up in their own struggles so distinctly. Dragon Age: Origins benefitted from the almost 3rd person POV because it allowed the player to control a character right in the midst of a battle but the player could still easily step back and view/alter the other companions behaviors w/out adversely affecting the character they controlled. All said, Bioware is still the best in the business at what they do, I just hope for future titles that they go back to their roots and return to producing games that reward their true fans, not dumbed down garbage for the ignorant masses… Expand
  25. stiffneck
    Mar 31, 2011
    2
    Very dissapointing for a Bioware game.
    Gameplay short and pretty pointless .
    Storyline..well there just isn't one . City of kirkwall..like a quiet village on a sunday Fighting..arcade beat em up. The storyline was hugely uninspired, I was bored after the first 2 hours and this stayed right through to the end,thank goodness it was short TBH. Fighting waves of random darkspawn with    Very dissapointing for a Bioware game.
    Gameplay short and pretty pointless .
    Storyline..well there just isn't one .
    City of kirkwall..like a quiet village on a sunday
    Fighting..arcade beat em up.

    The storyline was hugely uninspired, I was bored after the first 2 hours and this stayed right through to the end,thank goodness it was short TBH.
    Fighting waves of random darkspawn with no objective made it a chore.
    Kirkwall was a HUGE dissapointment in itself.An empty city on par with chernobyl
    Save your money as this was a let down..or buy it and post yourselves here like I have    … Expand
  26. RandomGood
    Apr 15, 2011
    1
    Everything is bad: design, storyline, characters (except Warric), copy-paste locations (really copy-paste), mindless boring combat with spawn frags from the space... it is just a one more asian MMORPG, just it's not MMO and RPG and it is from bioware. Don't waste your money and time!
  27. e-dallas
    Apr 20, 2011
    3
    Wow. This game has failed on so many levels. It's almost the complete opposite of "Dragon Age- origins" Every room is the same, every cave is the same, the map is small, the story has no driving force (no finishing line) and the main character's only motivation seems to be money. I did like the companions and the combat was greatly improved but, overall, it's weak
  28. Tancred88
    Apr 20, 2011
    0
    A dumbed-down RPG, simplified for console users, rapidly released to capitalize on the success of DA Origins and Bioware's reputation. Combat is a clickfest, more akin to a streetfighter game than an RPG. Enemies teleport in, everyone warps around the battlefield, everyone flips around like ninjas, and fountains of blood erupt from every wound. The storyline is simply a grouping ofA dumbed-down RPG, simplified for console users, rapidly released to capitalize on the success of DA Origins and Bioware's reputation. Combat is a clickfest, more akin to a streetfighter game than an RPG. Enemies teleport in, everyone warps around the battlefield, everyone flips around like ninjas, and fountains of blood erupt from every wound. The storyline is simply a grouping of unrelated quests. The zones are totally linear, and are continually reused (every cave looks like one of two possible cave templates, etc). Conversation options have little or no impact on the story. Graphics are ok, though nothing special. This game is not an RPG. It is nothing like Dragon Age Origins. I am a huge fan of previous Bioware games, but I'll never buy another until I read user reviews several weeks after release.… Expand
  29. Sagnip
    May 17, 2011
    1
    I used to be a feeble "biodrone". One of those many who believe that Bioware can do no wrong and that everything they touch turn to gold. That all changed when I played this game.

    **** you Bioware. **** you.
  30. majonez
    May 17, 2011
    0
    Refrain from buying this game if you have any expectations. While the game is not a complete disaster when regarded as a standalone game, you will get disappointed if you want to play it because you liked Dragon Age: Origins. Basically it is just a thumbed down, simplified version of its predecessor. My rating is not only game related, but mostly Biowares fault. While I would give the gameRefrain from buying this game if you have any expectations. While the game is not a complete disaster when regarded as a standalone game, you will get disappointed if you want to play it because you liked Dragon Age: Origins. Basically it is just a thumbed down, simplified version of its predecessor. My rating is not only game related, but mostly Biowares fault. While I would give the game a 4-5/10, Biowares extreme failure forces me to make it 1/10. How can a gaming company even dare to censor people opinions about the game in their forums, having workers write ridiculous hymns of praise on metacritic and paying major magazines money to give outrageous scores? Just refrain from buying Bioware products if you can avoid it. Don't support companys with such low ethical standards until they feel the consequences. This is the only way to hurt them for deceiving people in such a shameful, pathetic way. Greedy bastards. But now to the game, which I played to the end. DA2 had 18 Months of development time, while DA:O took about five years. This manifests throughout the game which looks nice in the beginning, but lacks quality the longer you run around doing mindless, uninnovative quests. The combat system itself is fun at first but gets annoying due to it repetitiveness and unfair spawn system. A typical mission looks like this: Go to a cave, do x, collect y. Encounter enemies which spawn in weird waves that make no sense at all. When you run into the middle of a room you can be sure that enemies spawn right around you and the first thing you have to do in every fight is moving your fragile casters around the place and kite monsters so they don't die. Monsters are killed, many more enemies spawn for an unknown reason (couldn't they just be there from start) right in your casters again. Repeat kiting. Expect this to happen in 95% of all fights. And why do monsters suddenly spawn in hordes when there was not the slightest sign of enemies seconds before the encounter? Challenge in the fights come from unfair mechanics like hordes of monsters spawning in your ranged characters. This was so annoying, I can't put enough emphasis on it. Boss fights suck. On higher difficulties they are next to impossible due to near infinite health rather than intelligent design. You will do the same few button combinations for half an hour if you decide to fight that dragon/random other boss on hard difficulties. Often the result is endless kiting until the boss is finally dead - not worth it. A really sad game mechanic for a hyped 2011 game but probably the only possible outcome for a game which is rushed to make more money from the franchise. Next annoying thing is the game recycling as you advance through the game. While the main city Kirkwall and 4 locations outside of the city are not too shabby at first, EXPECT TO SEE THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE WHOLE GAME. EXPECT INSIDE LOCATIONS TO BE SEEN DOZENS OF TIMES WITH DIFFERENT ENEMIES. Every house, every dungeon, every cave is used multiple times. Seriously, there is no excuse for this in any way. Next thing are shallow companions inculding a crappy dialogue system. Low friendship/romance options are usually maxed out by pressing the "friendly" or "heart" answer 3-4 times. Clicking through the choices couldn't be simpler and has really nothing to do with role playing. Random pirate **** which offers sex to you the minute you talk to her, eerie looking elves on crack and other rather uninteresting characters you can have fight along your side. The storyline is another failure, since there is NONE. You flee from darkspawn to Kirkwall and try to become a champion there, which you are later on by collecting generic herbs, fighting some bad boys and rescuing maidens. There is no real mainplot which guides you through the game, generally you don't have a clue what to do next or what happens, since you will start running from one questmarker to another. At a certain point I didn't even bother to read quest texts anymore but rather collected the exp from certain generic, really, really, boring sidequests. This game is tricky though, at first it made me think "Aww.. what a bunch of haters, the game is not too bad. Nice fighting, decent graphics." But then you realize more and more that the hate has a foundation. The foundation is bad game design which can hardly be considered standard in a 2011 AAA+ game. Basically you end up running around in the same textures over and over again, slaying the same models of enemies over and over again as you advance through the three acts in the game. I also did not like the unlogical choices you are forced to make later on, but this is rather my personal taste on the story, which I found really awful. Do not buy this game if you are searching for a good role-playing game.… Expand
  31. kosiarzksrz
    May 17, 2011
    0
    The worst game of the year . Don't buy it, it's better to spend money on something else. Everything is inferior to the first game. I don't know what to say about this thing.

    very poor game
  32. Jony22
    May 17, 2011
    0
    Bioware DA two vendetta squad with "o" scores will fail. lowering TW two ratings ? thats not good idea.

    screw u bioware with ur sh..y game. played da two and for me thats the worst pile of sh.t i have ever played.


    DA two SUCKS
  33. TruthIsOutThere
    May 22, 2011
    1
    Bioware releases another misogynistic jaunt into the Mary Sue world of 'the dragon crap.' There is hardly anything of substance to recommend this train wreck to a discerning connoisseur of RPGs. Every element of its design can be described as 'embarassingly awkward.' Animation, art direction, dialogue, writing, combat. It's a list of sad mediocrities as long as your arm. The fact of theBioware releases another misogynistic jaunt into the Mary Sue world of 'the dragon crap.' There is hardly anything of substance to recommend this train wreck to a discerning connoisseur of RPGs. Every element of its design can be described as 'embarassingly awkward.' Animation, art direction, dialogue, writing, combat. It's a list of sad mediocrities as long as your arm. The fact of the setting and characters being a shameless copy of Michael Moorcook's classic Elric of Melnibone series aside, the game itself behaves like a confused child. Does it want to be a brawler with peripheral RPG elements? Or an action RPG with brawler combat? In either situation the designers have failed to deliver on both satisfying combat or a compelling story that ever rises above the juvenile. Look to the masters at CDProject with their latest RPG epic, The Witcher 2, for inspiration in your future games, Bioware. You certainly won't find it making shallow sex simulators based on generic fantasy worlds.… Expand
  34. Fursnake
    Jun 4, 2011
    3
    I really enjoyed the first game a good deal and ultimately found the sequel to be a big letdown. The combat is more enjoyable and I the companion AI seems more flexible and responsive. The main character feels like it has a bit more personality having a voice. That is about as good as it gets.

    The narrative does not feel as cohesive as the original game nor does it feel like it has the    I really enjoyed the first game a good deal and ultimately found the sequel to be a big letdown. The combat is more enjoyable and I the companion AI seems more flexible and responsive. The main character feels like it has a bit more personality having a voice. That is about as good as it gets.

    The narrative does not feel as cohesive as the original game nor does it feel like it has the same epic sense. The lighter roleplaying elements and the more limited character creation choices detract from the freedom of the roleplaying experience. I did not feel like I was forging my own destiny/story in DA 2 like I did in DA:O. The game world design sucks; the city hub setup that lasts for the whole game is uninspiring both in layout and in visualizations. The repeated use of the same scant amount of maps/areas throughout the entirety of the game is repetitive and speaks of cheap, lackluster game design. Overall DA2 is mostly a letdown as a sequel and part of the Dragon Age world. The overall experience feels a bit more streamlined but at the cost of being much more on rails than the sequel, as well as having a narrower and less epic storyline and being entirely too repetitive and un-immersive. Honestly, I am in the third act of the game, almost near the end, and I just can't find the interest to finish it.

    Poorly done Bioware, poorly done.    … Expand
  35. 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
  36. Masterbrew
    Mar 12, 2011
    4
    I'm a person who very much enjoyed Dragon Age 1, Mass Effect 1 and 2. And RPGs in general.
    I hadn't read any reviews or any info really on Dragon Age 2 before impulse buying it in a store. I never thought it could be bad given it's frikkin' Dragon Age by frikkin' Bioware.
    After having played it for 8-10 hours it became clear to me that I'm not really having fun. I don't care about the    I'm a person who very much enjoyed Dragon Age 1, Mass Effect 1 and 2. And RPGs in general.
    I hadn't read any reviews or any info really on Dragon Age 2 before impulse buying it in a store. I never thought it could be bad given it's frikkin' Dragon Age by frikkin' Bioware.
    After having played it for 8-10 hours it became clear to me that I'm not really having fun. I don't care about the characters, I'm not sure who the bad guys are, the quests just seem unimportant.
    So I played for another 3 hours thinking SOON I will be hooked like I had been so many times before by Biowares stories. But I just got more and more disconnected. Running straight to main plot quests, skipping dialogue - something I usually never do.
    Now I'm done. 10 hours spent on the game and $70 later. The game is going on a used games market website. If I'm lucky I can get 2/3rds of what I paid for it.
    This leaves me worried for my favorite franchise, Mass Effect 3. Lets hope Bioware finds their way again.    … Expand
  37. Yvesdante
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    It is indeed a good action game, but it should not have by any means the words "Dragon Age" in its name unless it had been advertised as a spin-off; it is just like if Halo Wars, instead of a spin-off, had been Halo: Reach. A sad day for wrpgs.
  38. BLAHEMOTH
    May 19, 2011
    1
    This game,simply put,is an absolute train wreck-the lead designer should be fired for this stain on bioware's legacy-dumbed-down gameplay,awful graphics(is it 2006?)and "quests" that are not only an absolute bore,but feel like work,not fun-and isn't that the point of gaming in the first place?Combat is repetitive,with wave upon wave of drone enemies attacking,again and again ,adThis game,simply put,is an absolute train wreck-the lead designer should be fired for this stain on bioware's legacy-dumbed-down gameplay,awful graphics(is it 2006?)and "quests" that are not only an absolute bore,but feel like work,not fun-and isn't that the point of gaming in the first place?Combat is repetitive,with wave upon wave of drone enemies attacking,again and again ,ad nauseum..(why do they explode,anyway,absolutely ridiculous!) Bottom line,people,be glad i played this abomination,that way only one of us had to suffer..a total waste of time and money, avoid at all costs! i give it 1 point because it boots up.… Expand
  39. Akira91
    Apr 7, 2011
    1
    Does bioware not know what rpg means anyway? I feel geberous giving it a 2 and not a zero just for the effort but it feels like there was no effort put in this game. the thing that made DA:O great was its rpg elements and DA2 has none infact.... WHY BIOWARE WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU WTF!! thats what im screaming inside my head while playing this game..
  40. CTR8008
    Apr 7, 2011
    4
    DA2 was a very basic game to me. Quest seem more like chores and the story seems flat. I did like the combat system though it put you more into the action in every battle. I'm very suprised at Bioware for this one they usually never put out average games like this.
  41. 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.
  42. Fef
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    Sorry, not this time BioWare. This game is a crap and all are like "wohoooohoooo best game evah". Seriously this game sucks hard. Im off, goin play some RPGs. REAL ONES.
  43. Adwinistrator
    Mar 11, 2011
    1
    Another bad game from a bad company, just a button jamming slasher. Too many complaints, the combat, subpar conversations (YES , NO, HELL YES, NO) , terrible graphics and a boring world killed the immersion entirely. Rent this, do not buy.
  44. affewaffe
    Mar 22, 2011
    0
    Refrain from buying this game if you have any expectations. While the game is not a complete disaster when regarded as a standalone game, you will get disappointed if you want to play it because you liked Dragon Age: Origins. Basically it is just a thumbed down, simplified version of its predecessor.

    My rating is not only game related, but mostly Biowares fault. While I would give the    Refrain from buying this game if you have any expectations. While the game is not a complete disaster when regarded as a standalone game, you will get disappointed if you want to play it because you liked Dragon Age: Origins. Basically it is just a thumbed down, simplified version of its predecessor.

    My rating is not only game related, but mostly Biowares fault. While I would give the game a 4-5/10, Biowares extreme failure forces me to make it 1/10. How can a gaming company even dare to censor people opinions about the game in their forums, having workers write ridiculous hymns of praise on metacritic and paying major magazines money to give outrageous scores? Just refrain from buying Bioware products if you can avoid it. Don't support companys with such low ethical standards until they feel the consequences. This is the only way to hurt them for deceiving people in such a shameful, pathetic way. Greedy bastards.

    But now to the game, which I played to the end. DA2 had 18 Months of development time, while DA:O took about five years. This manifests throughout the game which looks nice in the beginning, but lacks quality the longer you run around doing mindless, uninnovative quests. The combat system itself is fun at first but gets annoying due to it repetitiveness and unfair spawn system. A typical mission looks like this: Go to a cave, do x, collect y. Encounter enemies which spawn in weird waves that make no sense at all. When you run into the middle of a room you can be sure that enemies spawn right around you and the first thing you have to do in every fight is moving your fragile casters around the place and kite monsters so they don't die. Monsters are killed, many more enemies spawn for an unknown reason (couldn't they just be there from start) right in your casters again. Repeat kiting. Expect this to happen in 95% of all fights. And why do monsters suddenly spawn in hordes when there was not the slightest sign of enemies seconds before the encounter? Challenge in the fights come from unfair mechanics like hordes of monsters spawning in your ranged characters. This was so annoying, I can't put enough emphasis on it. Boss fights suck. On higher difficulties they are next to impossible due to near infinite health rather than intelligent design. You will do the same few button combinations for half an hour if you decide to fight that dragon/random other boss on hard difficulties. Often the result is endless kiting until the boss is finally dead - not worth it. A really sad game mechanic for a hyped 2011 game but probably the only possible outcome for a game which is rushed to make more money from the franchise.

    Next annoying thing is the game recycling as you advance through the game. While the main city Kirkwall and 4 locations outside of the city are not too shabby at first, EXPECT TO SEE THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE WHOLE GAME. EXPECT INSIDE LOCATIONS TO BE SEEN DOZENS OF TIMES WITH DIFFERENT ENEMIES. Every house, every dungeon, every cave is used multiple times. Seriously, there is no excuse for this in any way. Next thing are shallow companions inculding a crappy dialogue system. Low friendship/romance options are usually maxed out by pressing the "friendly" or "heart" answer 3-4 times. Clicking through the choices couldn't be simpler and has really nothing to do with role playing. Random pirate **** which offers sex to you the minute you talk to her, eerie looking elves on crack and other rather uninteresting characters you can have fight along your side.

    The storyline is another failure, since there is NONE. You flee from darkspawn to Kirkwall and try to become a champion there, which you are later on by collecting generic herbs, fighting some bad boys and rescuing maidens. There is no real mainplot which guides you through the game, generally you don't have a clue what to do next or what happens, since you will start running from one questmarker to another. At a certain point I didn't even bother to read quest texts anymore but rather collected the exp from certain generic, really, really, boring sidequests. This game is tricky though, at first it made me think "Aww.. what a bunch of haters, the game is not too bad. Nice fighting, decent graphics." But then you realize more and more that the hate has a foundation. The foundation is bad game design which can hardly be considered standard in a 2011 AAA+ game. Basically you end up running around in the same textures over and over again, slaying the same models of enemies over and over again as you advance through the three acts in the game. I also did not like the unlogical choices you are forced to make later on, but this is rather my personal taste on the story, which I found really awful.

    Do not buy this game if you are searching for a good role-playing game.    … Expand
  45. Nenene
    Mar 13, 2011
    2
    Very disappointing. A complete step backwards from DA:O in every respect-- graphics, gameplay, characters and storytelling. This was a rush job, and it shows. I'm saddened that BioWare doesn't think very much of their playerbase to not callously use them as an apparent cash grab by charging inflated prices for a substandard product.
  46. defive
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    Sad to see how far the once great Bioware has fallen. DA2 is a rushed, dumbed down travesty of a game designed to cater to the lowest common denominator of brain-dead console gamers. The mechanics are overly simplistic, the plot and characterisation are bland and the supposed 'dark' side of the game feels like it was driven completely from EA's focus groups. And that's before we even getSad to see how far the once great Bioware has fallen. DA2 is a rushed, dumbed down travesty of a game designed to cater to the lowest common denominator of brain-dead console gamers. The mechanics are overly simplistic, the plot and characterisation are bland and the supposed 'dark' side of the game feels like it was driven completely from EA's focus groups. And that's before we even get to the isse of Day 0 paid for DLC.… Expand
  47. firthh
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    As a sequel to DA:O this is a total let down. It is sad that i pre-ordered it at all. I would have never expected this from BioWare.The game itself is a total console port and I couldn't say anything good about it. Everything is just dumbed down, except maybe dialogues. Totally linear story. You could compare it's graphics to Gothic II. I guess I was expecting just too much. It has noAs a sequel to DA:O this is a total let down. It is sad that i pre-ordered it at all. I would have never expected this from BioWare.The game itself is a total console port and I couldn't say anything good about it. Everything is just dumbed down, except maybe dialogues. Totally linear story. You could compare it's graphics to Gothic II. I guess I was expecting just too much. It has no similarity to DA:O but if you like action rpg's you might like it and if you loved DA:O, just don't bother..… Expand
  48. Al_Borland
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    The biggest mistake Bioware made with this game was calling it Dragon Age 2 and not something like Dragon Age: Refugee or Dragon Age Adventures. The game feels like a very disappointing follow-up to Dragon Age Origins.

    While they did manage to fix several issues with the origin series it seems in the end their solutions only caused more problems. The game feels closed in with little to no    The biggest mistake Bioware made with this game was calling it Dragon Age 2 and not something like Dragon Age: Refugee or Dragon Age Adventures. The game feels like a very disappointing follow-up to Dragon Age Origins.

    While they did manage to fix several issues with the origin series it seems in the end their solutions only caused more problems. The game feels closed in with little to no immersion in the environment. A bustling city supposedly packed with thrones of refugees is empty and barren yet manages to feel small at the same time.

    Emotional connection to characters within the game is bland at best and you will often find yourself rolling your eyes at the campy writing provided within the game that barely manages to hold your attention long enough to keep going.

    Combat while feeling a little bit more engaging than Origins will quickly grow old on you as every fight is thrones of cannon fodder thrown at you that literally appears out of thin air repeatedly during the fight. Leaving little to no room for any kind of strategic fight. This is usually accompanied by one tough enemy in the middle of the fray that you have to try and deal with while fighting wave after wave of "zerging" minions. This isn't just a few fights - it is almost every fight in the game, which is extremely disappointing.

    On the plus side inventory management is no longer an issue in this game as all characters besides the main hero/ine is the only character that actually has equipment (aside from weapons and accessories) that you can actually change. While you have limited inventory space you never feel any need to pick up loot off the monsters or treasure chests as generally everything your character already has given to you is several times better.

    The game on a whole feels sloppy and lazily made. Empty town and little to no interaction with what NPCS in the game - including your own party members really dumbs down any immersion in the game and constantly ruins any chance of getting into the game. An example of the lack of immersion in this game would be the majority of merchants in the game. You are unable to engage in conversation with them or even haggle on prices. Instead you simply click on a box that opens up the shop, no welcomed greeting, no discussion of their wares, just opening a box and buying what you want or selling the garbage you loot. It just feels lazy and uncaring. Even the icons in the game are recycled and sloppy looking. Health potions have a heart on them and injury kits - which used to be elaborate in DA:O are simply potions with a + sign on them.

    It is these little details that show the overall lack of care put into this game. Audio and music in the game also appears to be recycled from the previous game and some sound effects seem to date even further back to early Neverwinter Night days.

    If you absolutely have to have this game I suggest waiting a year for the ultimate edition which will be cheap, and contain all the DLC and extra materials you've already missed out on and would end up paying more of your hard earned money for. While the game keeps you mildly entertained - there are better games to spend your money on.    … Expand
  49. philosoraptor
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    Just awful. You're trapped in one area for the entire game; with some small excursions. You can barely interact with the characters (a couple times per year), & when you do the responses can tend to be annoying or disjointed. You don't become invested in these characters & if they were to die off, I'd just say, ok whatever. I'm about 30 hours in, I will finish this accursed game oneJust awful. You're trapped in one area for the entire game; with some small excursions. You can barely interact with the characters (a couple times per year), & when you do the responses can tend to be annoying or disjointed. You don't become invested in these characters & if they were to die off, I'd just say, ok whatever. I'm about 30 hours in, I will finish this accursed game one way or another, so far the Artwork is grossly overrated, the dialogue is mostly uninspired, and the hero's goals are twice as insipid as the conversation. Overall I'm bored out of my mind. To be fair the later chapters have picked up a bit, but at this point I can't bring myself to care, and I like being able to fight faster. But WOW, what disappointment.… Expand
  50. uberfanboy2000
    Mar 19, 2011
    1
    As a fan of everything RPG, I fell completely in love with Dragon Age: Origins. A sprawling game filled with memorable characters, an intricate storyline and seemingly limitless customization opportunities, Origins ticked all the right boxes and felt like a concerted effort to breathe new life into a genre that is seemingly falling by the wayside. Even Origins' most glaring flaws could beAs a fan of everything RPG, I fell completely in love with Dragon Age: Origins. A sprawling game filled with memorable characters, an intricate storyline and seemingly limitless customization opportunities, Origins ticked all the right boxes and felt like a concerted effort to breathe new life into a genre that is seemingly falling by the wayside. Even Origins' most glaring flaws could be easily forgiven in light of it's many strengths.

    Dragon Age II is a rushed, poorly written and overly-simplified game that has little to nothing in common with it's predecessor. Whilst the immediacy of the reformed combat and the overhauled interface are welcome improvements, the rest of the game seems like a cynical slap in the face to roleplaying game fans everywhere.

    The characters are soulless husks saddled with sparse, poorly written dialogue. The environments are claustrophobic, drab, grey and brown boxes with moveable walls and endlessly spawning enemies that are endlessly recycled (think of THAT WAREHOUSE in Mass Effect 1). The dialogue wheel, whilst a positive move, was hampered by the fact that Hawke delivers all of his lines with about as much emotion as dead slug. Couple this with the fact that the ENTIRE of the game takes place within roughly 10 or so areas (sorry, but Hightown Day and Hightown Night or does not exactly satisfy any wanderlust) and you are left with a bland, cynical, soulless game that does nothing but blacken the name of what was shaping up to be an intelligent, well written and refreshing fantasy series.

    Must try harder Bioware. You are a lot better than this nightmare of a game...    … Expand
  51. necro128
    Mar 19, 2011
    4
    simple.. repetitive and predictable. good bye dragon age.....
    now you have a action game masked as rpg. run around the same caves and "dungeons" one time and other let you with the feeling of be playing a bad chinese MMO made to extract you money with micropayments. and probably thats what EA want with the forthcoming dlc,s.
  52. Nerresand
    Mar 14, 2011
    3
    Story - 5/10
    While I appreciate the divergence from the stereotypical "save the universe from an unspeakable evil" in favor of a more down-to-earth story, they spoiled an opportunity here. Not being grandiose doesn't mean the story can't be good and interesting, and this one wasn't particularly either one.
    Graphics/Audio - 4/10 I actually liked Origins' graphics and sound much more.    Story - 5/10
    While I appreciate the divergence from the stereotypical "save the universe from an unspeakable evil" in favor of a more down-to-earth story, they spoiled an opportunity here. Not being grandiose doesn't mean the story can't be good and interesting, and this one wasn't particularly either one.

    Graphics/Audio - 4/10
    I actually liked Origins' graphics and sound much more. It's just personal preference, but I feel that DA2 looks and sounds more like a comic book than a good RPG.

    Speaking of RPG... 2/10
    The positive spin is that this game was made "more accessible". Unfortunately, I feel that this spoiled part of what made Origins so good - it was a game that focused on RP elements more than most, and they sold out. Interacting with the characters is a shallow experience, inexplicably made more difficult than it needs to be and offering very little satisfaction from a roleplaying perspective. This is a roleplaying game, and while personal character customization and choice are part of that, the RP elements that Dragon Age already had were very good, and just needed a little work; I was surprised and disappointed to discover the gigantic step backwards. Almost everything having to do with your party members is worse than it was in Origins, from customizing their gear, to having conversations with them, to affecting their personalities, to making sweet love with them in a campsite. Overall - 3/10
    Bioware seems to have taken the approach that simplicity is good, delivering a mindless comic book of absurd gore (one fatal sword slash causes an enemy to explode in a cloud of blood and its armor to, for some reason, pop into a dozen pieces?) and lackluster story. Simplicity is a very bad approach for an RPG, however, and a great many things that only needed minor improvement (or didn't need fixing) were completely destroyed in this sequel. Your opinion of DA2 will very likely depend on what you liked or didn't like about DAO. If you were disappointed with the action and thought the overall game was too complex, you'll probably like it. If you liked the core RP elements, you probably won't.    … Expand
  53. galaktur
    Mar 16, 2011
    1
    Game - disappointing year. is certainly in the game and the good moments, improvements and new approaches, but unfortunately, disadvantages outweigh all its advantages. in pursuit of excess income, usually leaves the crude product, which subsequently will only exacerbate the situation and standard condemns the continuation of game to fail. ea company should reconsider marketing policy.
  54. FozzyTheForger
    Mar 16, 2011
    0
    (PC) Acknowledging that "Immersion" has become the sword to wield when you're in computer game or other content delivery marketing, I have built up antibodies that make me immune to marketing BS. If marketing funds manage to show me nothing but outsourced videos to try and lure me in, I just don't bite anymore and put my cravings on hold until I get reviews and visual proof of what's to(PC) Acknowledging that "Immersion" has become the sword to wield when you're in computer game or other content delivery marketing, I have built up antibodies that make me immune to marketing BS. If marketing funds manage to show me nothing but outsourced videos to try and lure me in, I just don't bite anymore and put my cravings on hold until I get reviews and visual proof of what's to come. This is, of course, a bit sad in itself since it prevents me from pre-ordering, another new tool of the trade that has already gone bittersweet.

    Thing is, I was really actively waiting for Dragon Age II to happen. So, when I got it in the mail, I simply could not wait to have it up and running. I tried to look beyond the shaved dwarf or the deadpan delivery of unpalatable speech impediments. I was looking forward to dive into the game and get my RPG fix. And I got a hack'n'slash with multiple-choice cutscene intermissions. Or a machinima movie with action-RPG intermissions, maybe.

    Let me say that I really like God of War. But when I go out and (pre)order an RPG, that's what I expect to get. In case of Dragon Age II, however, it is just not what I got - at all. I got a mini-game which consists of way too many options to customize my - one - character. So I did that. Then I was served confusing and annoying bits of want-to-be movie sequences, haphazardly made-up history, cut scenes, an in-my-face appetizer of the action that was to come and.... more cut-scenes and more sessions of story-telling. If you can't read, it's pretty much OK, for the video is included in the game. Then I ran through what appeared to be an on-rails beat-em-up button mashing routine that was only improved (on PC) by having my character auto-attack, which is definitely easier on the mouse-and-keyboard hardware. My brother has no such luck on the PS3, he's mashing buttons till kingdom come - but he likes it, so there you go.

    I have not yet finished the game, but currently I feel more inclined to un-install it and burn the disc it came on. It is not an adventure. It is not an RPG. What it seems to be is partly immersive cut-scenes with multiple choice forks - of the "Good"-"SarcasticLOL!"-"OhShutUpAlready" type, with the "good" ones easily leading to gratuitous sessions of very open-minded sexual intercourse with seemingly anything that moves. Bioware really seems to be about procreation. Was I surprised? Yes. Was I touched? A bit, but not in places where I wish for an RPG to touch me, really. "Moving about" has become a moving back and fro, revisiting recycled resources as if it had a positive impact on CO2 emissions. It is definitely less about discovery and all about run-by kill-em-all. "Dungeons" consist mainly of recycled locations, as well. Not the kind of ever-repeating deja-vu I was looking to find. I actually came up with a word to describe my emotions when i recognized the same set for the n-th time: Grindhog Day.

    I know the bills that need to be paid and business in general call for franchises to be established and then cashed in ASAP to reach ROI targets. But this is sad and preposterous.

    I hope this new-school bubble of not-quite-RPG will soon burst and funds will find a way to flow into the resurrections or reincarnations of the true RPG titles of old. Here's to hoping we'll get more "Dungeon Master", "Bard's Tale" and "Wizardry" crawling and discovering than "Dragon's Lair" interactive cut-scenes (without the brilliant cartoons, mind you). When I feel like watching a movie, I don't sit down to play a game. Maybe this is "modern" and I'm just not "modern" enough. Then again, I remember going out and buying what I thought was a fighting game some fifteen years back. It did involve well-known samurai sword-wielding characters alright. But it turned out to be a Japanese RPG of sorts. I felt stupid for not having informed myself properly beforehand. It was my fault, and it at very least delivered good incentive to get a basic grip on the Kanji & Kana, even though the game still didn't get better once I was able to somewhat understand the funny symbols.

    This time around, however, I got something I thought I was watching closely for a year - and I still didn't get what I thought I'd get. And that's wrong on a number of levels, I think.    … Expand
  55. Jaddel
    Mar 19, 2011
    0
    Absolutely disappointing. This was my last bioware game...
    For the next 5 years I will give the money for every bioware game released, to charity instead buying the game !!!
  56. pete_3po
    Mar 22, 2011
    0
    I have never felt the need to write a review for anything on metacritic before. However after being so excited at getting my hands onto DA 2 and enjoying the first few hours of play i have been left feeling appalled by the absolute lack of regard shown by Bioware towards the Xbox community. As i have said i was enjoying playing this game and have no particular greivance with the differingI have never felt the need to write a review for anything on metacritic before. However after being so excited at getting my hands onto DA 2 and enjoying the first few hours of play i have been left feeling appalled by the absolute lack of regard shown by Bioware towards the Xbox community. As i have said i was enjoying playing this game and have no particular greivance with the differing approach taken from origins, but since running into the shield glitch I have had to stop playing and wait for Bioware to release a patch. The shield glitch is a bug in the game were-by if you unequip/re-equip or change your shield your defense stat is not reset but stacks, meaning that your warrior class characters become unbalanced and in effect you are unintenionally lowering the diffulculty of the game. How was this bug missed in testing? did the testers never change their characters shields? In the demo you were unable to change your characters equipment and this leads me to belive that there were stat issues with regard to altering equipment then, if this was the case why was this game released without Bioware resolving this glitch. While I haven't been playing DA 2 (all most two weeks now) I have been reading the Bioware social forums for info on a ETA for a patch, from what I have read I'm glad that I did stop because multiple other game breaking glitches have been found including save, achievement, AI and issues envolving the downloadable content. While little to no info from Bioware as to why on when these issues have occurred or will be resolved.

    Overall i have had to rate this game 0 out of 10 as it is unfinished and should never have been released and therefore in my opinon does not qualify for a rating. The experience has left me with a nasty taste in my mouth after giving Bioware and EA my £40 day one that all most two weeks later is still not a finished product whilst also feeling completly ignored by a company that just doesn't seem to care that it has done wrong.    … Expand
  57. konda210
    Mar 23, 2011
    4
    Same review I've posted in other forums...One word. Unfinishable. This was like watching a long bad direct-to-video fantasy. Wow. I'm really shocked at how bad the storytelling was here. Just so unlike Bioware to utterly fail at the story. Possibly it was the production timeline? I can excuse the repetitive maps, the hack-and-slash, the idiotic AI, the auto-spawn enemies that always seemSame review I've posted in other forums...One word. Unfinishable. This was like watching a long bad direct-to-video fantasy. Wow. I'm really shocked at how bad the storytelling was here. Just so unlike Bioware to utterly fail at the story. Possibly it was the production timeline? I can excuse the repetitive maps, the hack-and-slash, the idiotic AI, the auto-spawn enemies that always seem to materialize out of closed spaces, even the giant spiders who web down from a clear blue sky. Over-powered rouges and buggy system that clearly handicaps damage when there are more enemies than less, no problem. I can even excuse the locked companion armor, nameless equipment and the disjointed, often-times mindless quests, but never, ever have I bought a Bioware game and was so frustrated where I just preferred not to finish. I'm a hardcore RPG fan and not only is this worse than Dragon Age Origins, it's more like some strange alternate world spin-off. It doesn't even feel like Dragonage. I got to the final part of the end of the final act and was so disgusted with the story, I turned my Xbox off. It's been a long, long time since I've done that.

    Look for copies to show up on the pre-owned shelves soon. Remember it's a very LONG game and Bioware earned credibility with DA:O that despite bad experiences people are still trying to give it a chance. I think some are coming to the conclusion that I've arrived at. I'm done. Not even a DLC can save this .......... abomination. LOL.    … Expand
  58. CmdrShepard
    Mar 29, 2011
    3
    As a fan of Bioware, I can honestly say that I never expected quite an "exprience" like the one I received from this game. Bioware, to me, is a forward thinking developer of Great Western RPGS and experiences like the Mass Effect Series, Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age: Origins and of course, Knights of the Old Republic. Despite my great anticipation of Dragon Age 2, the game feels very rushedAs a fan of Bioware, I can honestly say that I never expected quite an "exprience" like the one I received from this game. Bioware, to me, is a forward thinking developer of Great Western RPGS and experiences like the Mass Effect Series, Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age: Origins and of course, Knights of the Old Republic. Despite my great anticipation of Dragon Age 2, the game feels very rushed from the stand point of the story, which is completely linear and somewhat unsatisfying, a rare failure by Bioware. The "rushed to the shelves" feeling also comes from the lack of Item descriptions and the complete failure of the Inventory System. Companion Armor is nonexistent and probably 80 percent of the items you will loot are useless as you are unable to equip them based on your characters stats or your character's build. (Warrior, Rogue or Mage) Thankfully, you have access to several vendors and storage almost immediately , unfortunately, it still requires either going back to your home base to store or constantly visiting vendors to unload several pairs of "Torn Trousers" you have come across in Thedas. The generic item names also led to several things being sold that weren't meant to be sold, thus more trips back to the vendors. This caused a large disconnect from the game world for me.

    The Story is spilt into three Acts, with each one hinging on a end act climax. Bioware really pushed this game as an "Interactive Framed Narrative", where your choices have real consequences, but nothing could be further from the truth. Every descision your character makes all leads to the same result, regardless of how you play through the game. Bioware has already written the end before you kill you're first Darkspawn, all you are doing is telling them if your Character is a jerk or a nice person. Little to no depth from the standpoint of the PC, you're character is billed as one of the most important people in the world by the end of the game, but you feel dragged along since you're choices just don't matter.

    Promised fresh new enviornments was what i was also looking forward to, alas, the game failed to deliver in this respect as well. The Environments are bland and HEAVILY recycled, giving you a deja vu feeling everytime you are sent to a quest location. You are constantly revisiting the same areas over the course of the story with no real change, despite being told over a decade, nothing in the city or the surrounding landscape, outside of a few corpses to loot, ever changes. The Battle system, which was tweaked to be more natural feeling on consoles was hit and miss. I liked the new skill trees and the new animations, even if they were a bit "over the top" however, the "wave fights" were handled poorly with enemies basically dropping off high buildings or out of the sky, in some cases. This also made the "tactical" side of combat completely useless with enemies poping in and out all the time.

    The story was driven by the sidequests, but there were only a few that actually mattered to the overall story of the game, the rest felt like "filler", but there was always a unique hook or angle from which the quest went. Some of the later side quests were bugged, further leading to the assumption that the game was rushed. Act 1 and 2 were hit and miss but the Last act, act 3, was an absolute nightmare, it was buggy, glitched in some respects and led to a hollow, empty ending.

    The dialogue was witty and clever, for the most part. Utilizing a Conversation wheel, like Mass Effect, along with a voiced character really added to the experience in the sense that you could, at least navigate responses, even if you couldn't affect the story in any measurable way. The Bioware writing and lore salvaged what little respect the game gets from me. Certainly, its hard not to see this has an attempt to blind the gamer with unfulfilled promises and cheap flair. The questionable release of a DLC pack day one that seems like it was meant to be part of the original game as well is disappointing. Hopefully, Bioware will realize that trying to totally reinvent something has risks. I'm glad that the same development team isn't working on other Bioware products. This game clearly isn't worth what was charged for it and I think you would've seen an even bigger outcry had Bioware/EA charged extra for the Signature Edition (instead of just setting a "Pre-Order By" deadline)

    A disappointing ride from start to finish. Clearly not a product that stands up with its predecessor or any other Bioware titles that I've had the pleasure of playing and enjoying.

    No need to try and reinvent the wheel if its still working, Bioware. You have a strong enough team of writers that just minor tweaks to the Origins system would have brought this game much more widespread acclaim amongst the consumers.    … Expand
  59. junglepat
    Apr 3, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have been a follower of BioWare's games since the release of the Baldur's Gate series - they generally put out high quality products. Dragon Age 2 is not of the same caliber as previous games, but it is moderately entertaining. They have made some changes to improve the overall game play experience - some are successful, while others are not.

    PROS:
    - Combat system feels more responsive and visceral. While the option to manage companions and their tactics remains, you can definitely get right into some button mashing fun without every combat being an agonizing tactical slog or ending in a funeral pyre for you and your friends.

    - I enjoyed the way the the story unfolded as a combination of cut-scene dialogue and direct player involvement. The cut-scenes between Varric and Cassandra are excellent and work to unfold your time in Kirkwall.

    -Great character companions, with involving stories, certainly made the game interesting. They were well voice-acted and written. More dialogues would have been even better.

    CONS:
    -Some quest bugs had me running around scratching my head as to what I was doing wrong - all of which can be fixed with a patch. Although I did find it funny when my character assumed the daggers ready stance for 1/3 of the game while moving and talking to people - she looked like a car crash victim, hobbling along. Seriously, buggy games are not cool.

    - Player options are severely limited. After the tour de force that was Dragon Age:Origins, with multiple races and origin stories, your time as a human male/female seems downright pitiful. Not the usual buffet of choice presented in BioWare's games. It is not inconceivable that there may have been other survivours from Lothering, or characters that had been related to the Battle at Ostagar in a different way. -Player choices don't have the same impact that they have in Dragon Age: Origins. Whether you are an apostate or a supporter of the Templars does not make a difference to the game ending. You fight the same boss and the game ends exactly the same way - as a cheap cliffhanger. Choices made during the game have no actual impact on on how the story unfolds. As an example, I supported the mages and Templars during different play throughs and got the same result. I felt like decisions made during the game were pointless. -The story is somewhat limited. In other games like ME, ME2 and DA:O there were extensive plot lines and character development. In comparison, DA 2 felt short and contrived. It did not have the same epic feel as these other games. Most of the time you are completing mundane fetch/carry/find quests. The plot which is suppose to be the back bone of this story is sometimes non-existent and when it does rear its head you are left wondering how things got to this point. The idea of a rags to riches story is great in theory, but falls short in this game. On my first play through I stumbled on the end game - very annoying since I had unfinished quests. -Environments and NPC's - I don't know if BioWare was under pressure to save money or if they only had one guy working on these but, the places you go and the people you see are severely limited. Just because you make me run through a place backwards doesn't mean I don't realize that it is the exact same environment. At one point, when an NPC said that I could meet him at his base on the Wounded Coast, I felt like asking if everyone in Kirkwall was time-sharing this place, because three other NPC's were using it as their base as well. No effort was made to change any of the layout's or anything. I understand that the story takes place in one city - it's good to be familiar with a place that you are living in for an extended period of time, but creating one cave and two outdoor sets really seems like someone got lazy. It really makes the game hard to replay when you know you will be trudging through the same 10 rooms over and over again. Character models are also limited - the mobs that you meet in the streets wear the same outfits. At one point I was like "Hey! Didn't I kill you guys in the other alley over there... at least 30 times!?" -A lack of really memorable foes. Besides the Arishok and the High Dragon (which really came out of nowhere the first time I fought it) the villains you meet really are not that memorable. Meredith seems like a foe of convenience rather than, someone you have been building to face - like the Archdemon or Saren/Reaper.

    While not un-fun, this game is certainly a shadow of its predecessor. It lacked the momentous choices of DA:O and the involved story that went along with that. It worries me that this may be a trend that BioWare's games are going to follow. Perhaps BioWare will take player concerns into account when releasing DLC and DA 3. I certainly hope that the issues with this game are not the result of being tied to EA - generally more concerned with profit than quality.    … Expand
  60. Makaveli
    Apr 14, 2011
    4
    Is this an action game or an RPG? Perhaps a ARPG? I played the first dragon age and I give that one a 7 out of 10, DA 2 gets a 4 and that is being genourous. I have never seen such a game, where they copy and paste areas. I know a lot of games do this because the creators are lazy, but that is all this game is. Take out all the copy and pasted elements in this game and what do you have?Is this an action game or an RPG? Perhaps a ARPG? I played the first dragon age and I give that one a 7 out of 10, DA 2 gets a 4 and that is being genourous. I have never seen such a game, where they copy and paste areas. I know a lot of games do this because the creators are lazy, but that is all this game is. Take out all the copy and pasted elements in this game and what do you have?
    It's like going to a museum and seeing the same painting with different color. This game is only good enough to wipe your ass with, and even then, it aint charmin..    … Expand
  61. karok
    Apr 28, 2011
    1
    Not worth the money, It just goes to show how bad this game really is when Bioware employees made metacritic accounts just to try and boost the scores... then they go and add mass effect as a free game when you buy dragon age 2. Now that is desperate. In all honesty the combat seems different and OK to begin with, but then its just so repetitive and dull, you spend almost the entire gameNot worth the money, It just goes to show how bad this game really is when Bioware employees made metacritic accounts just to try and boost the scores... then they go and add mass effect as a free game when you buy dragon age 2. Now that is desperate. In all honesty the combat seems different and OK to begin with, but then its just so repetitive and dull, you spend almost the entire game in one city and the dialogue is no where near good enough to bring light to that fact. The only reason this game has positive reviews is because some people refuse to believe bioware can release a bad game, either that or they are just dragon age fan boys and mindless gamers who actually enjoy spamming the a button through combat and listening to depressing speech and story. Sorry but it's true.… Expand
  62. kellykrinaldi
    Apr 30, 2011
    1
    Disappointing!!!!! Decepcionante eu esperava muito mais desse jogo, emburreceram o Dragon age 2, sinceramente restringiram o jogo a uma história sem uma real possibilidade de escolha, ficar preso em um mapa mediocre com quests secundárias no minimo entediantes!!!
  63. Nyurena
    May 18, 2011
    4
    The combat system was a new streamlined approach that was enjoyable. Story was decent and your decisions had some weight. At first I felt it had far surpassed DAO in every way. Then the extensive level reuse and boring arbitrary fights set it. Every time I started to get immersed in the story a quest would send me to the same reused level and it would all evaporate. Kudos to bioware forThe combat system was a new streamlined approach that was enjoyable. Story was decent and your decisions had some weight. At first I felt it had far surpassed DAO in every way. Then the extensive level reuse and boring arbitrary fights set it. Every time I started to get immersed in the story a quest would send me to the same reused level and it would all evaporate. Kudos to bioware for trying some new and well implemented things, like the combo system, but you sold us a cheap and dragging game in the end. Don't let EA force to you cut so many corners to release early like this, or your well earned rep will suffer. I turned it to casual and ignored sidequests just to be able to finish it by the end.… Expand
  64. Saker
    May 13, 2011
    0
    on Dragon Age II website they say :

    Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins but then again people say , it's not DA:O 2 , i know it's not and never expected it would either but i would have expected the same quality of it's predecessor or even better but in no way it was. People then say well they only had    on Dragon Age II website they say :

    Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins

    but then again people say , it's not DA:O 2 , i know it's not and never expected it would either but i would have expected the same quality of it's predecessor or even better but in no way it was.

    People then say well they only had 18 months to do it, the development time was too short to make it as good, then why did they scrapped everything and remade a totally different game instead of fixing what was broken and getting rid of meh stuff ? The result is a bland story, shallow companions, retcons, recycled maps: same 1 house same 1 cave same estate and same warehouse X 100 , ninja waves that comes from no where as in popping out of thin air , plot holes .

    While not really worth a 0 but more a 4 or 5 since it's a crap sequel, i put a 0 because of the Biodrones who rated it with a 10 and some tool on DA2 forums exhorted everyone who liked the game to create accounts to raise the user score with 10s    … Expand
  65. sid4975
    May 15, 2011
    4
    Im just so incredibly disappointed in this game that im actually taking the time to write about it. even though im sure no one will read it. when it comes to sequels why must developers dumb down and ruin everything that made the previous game great?! Will someone please tell me this. I must have played through DA1 about 20 times. I cant even get halfway through this game. its a damnIm just so incredibly disappointed in this game that im actually taking the time to write about it. even though im sure no one will read it. when it comes to sequels why must developers dumb down and ruin everything that made the previous game great?! Will someone please tell me this. I must have played through DA1 about 20 times. I cant even get halfway through this game. its a damn hack fest! They did the Same with mass effect 2 although not half as bad as this, but dumbed down none the less. I cant help but think any reviewer on here that gave this higher then a 5 has to be a developer. If you looking for an action/rpg experience look elsewhere. dragon age 1, mass effect 1, the witcher, and the soon to be released witcher 2!… Expand
  66. gorkys
    May 17, 2011
    0
    I am very disappointed. I was expecting something more like RPG game, not Hack&Slash game. BioWare shame on you!! That was waste of my money. This game is very overrated on all platforms.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  67. wrotos
    May 17, 2011
    4
    I,m really disappointed Abut this game. I expect good cRPG and i get game with bad history, graphics and terrible game play, Boring game, made for console,
  68. Fanton
    May 18, 2011
    0
    I had high expectations with this game after Dragon Age: Origins, the game was done without any care for the story, being short and leaving holes that may have been playable and interesting! The worst of it is repeating the same maps in the few places to go! I very much hope that Mass Effect 3 will not turn that same garbage!
  69. yofingolfin
    May 17, 2011
    0
    Oh my God! And I realy mean it- oh my God! How could anyone call this piece of utter uselessnes a cRPG? This is just impossible. Extremely weak plot, characters that are as developed as the grass in my backyard, moder-4-years-ago graphics. But there's a lot of fighting and when you are not fighting you ... fight! If only this was absorbing but no, it's dull and monotonous as hell. FirstOh my God! And I realy mean it- oh my God! How could anyone call this piece of utter uselessnes a cRPG? This is just impossible. Extremely weak plot, characters that are as developed as the grass in my backyard, moder-4-years-ago graphics. But there's a lot of fighting and when you are not fighting you ... fight! If only this was absorbing but no, it's dull and monotonous as hell. First game that I bought just to sell it 2 days later on ebay. This piece of **** is not worth a penny! I give it the score it deserves- (0.0)… Expand
  70. RPGROB
    May 18, 2011
    1
    I borrowed, not bought this game. I'm glad I did. Battling is fun... everything else is not. What happened to games of quality like Baldurs Gate 2? It's a real shame.
  71. estrogen
    May 19, 2011
    0
    Dragon age 2 is underdeveloped, politically correct [in every possible aspect] and consolized hack'n'slash. Graphics are bad, environments are recycled and repetitive, characters are dull and stereotypical. Dialogue "wheel" is pathetic [GOOD CHOICE,BAD CHOICE, NEUTRAL CHOICE LOL]. Comparing to the first Dragon age everything got dumbed down drastically. Talent trees got simplified,Dragon age 2 is underdeveloped, politically correct [in every possible aspect] and consolized hack'n'slash. Graphics are bad, environments are recycled and repetitive, characters are dull and stereotypical. Dialogue "wheel" is pathetic [GOOD CHOICE,BAD CHOICE, NEUTRAL CHOICE LOL]. Comparing to the first Dragon age everything got dumbed down drastically. Talent trees got simplified, dialogues got simplified, you can even equip your team-mates anymore [I guess bioware thought it was too hard for a subset of gamers]. Conclusion: I don't recommend this game because it's a waste of time and money.… Expand
  72. Utensils
    May 19, 2011
    0
    This has to be one of the most disappointed games I have had the displeasure of playing. I foolishly pre-ordered this P.O.S game on the pretense that Bioware couldn't possibly mess up a sequel to a great game. I was wrong. I will not be buying another Bioware game.
  73. Lessi
    May 27, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dragon Age suffers from a disconnect with its predecessor in more than one area.

    One of which being the protagonist and setting. While it is a decent idea to have either a new character or a new location it is an extremely stupid idea to have BOTH. This removes players from the familiar to an absurd degree and makes it harder to see a continuation in the story.

    The story is a weak point in itself. it is a story of religious intolerance and evil magic, but with no real substance. The mages that attack you may as well be cardboard cut outs are are so irredeemably evil that it seems like a safe bet that the local knights of mageslaying are the sane ones until you find out the entire city just wanted to kill itself and the faction that was played up as the 'villains' for 2/3rds of the game probably had the right idea after all.

    The game actually lacks an ending and takes place during a story told by one of the protagonists supposed companions who may or may not be lying through his teeth about everything.

    Hawke is leashed to Kirkwall like a Damane to a Sul'dam (or Saarebas and Arvaarad, as bioware would call yet another of their seemingly endless Wheel of Time borrowances) and can only go to a handful of locations outside the city which never change except to be populated with the monsters that hawke must kill for the new quests.

    Overall the game starts off well enough with anticipation and excitement being the main emotions as the player awaits one of biowares great storylines, this never actually materializes and you eventually wonder what happened as the credits roll.

    One of the reasons the game rates so poorly is the hype and expectation surrounding the game. This to some people may not be a fair evaluation, but as it influenced the positive experience with the first part of the game it is essential in understanding why people are so upset.

    Many people spent months watching trailers and unable to contain their excitement, and the game that arrived is one that causes one of two reactions; denial of its flaws or intense disappointment. I found myself in the later category, after hoping that the game would revive, it didn't.

    Decisions such as having a character killed off immediately if you chose the 'wrong' class reduced the replay value greatly, as it was easy to to see the character 'killed off' if your PC is a wielder of magic is needed to give a magical connection to hawke to artificially draw him/her into the mage-templar conflict.

    As did lack of racial choices. Ultimately we wanted a continuation to the storyline started in origins, wether the Warden's story or Fereldan's story and it simply wasn't told.    … Expand
  74. 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.
  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. 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
  78. 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
  79. Chaozzak
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    Its different game. Its not DA:O and i know it. But i really don't enjoy this one. Combat system is ridiculous, inventory is entire garbage. On the other side - graphics and story is good (not great!). EA pushes to many pencils and this game was obviously rushed. And... I don't want play Mass Effect in fantasy world!
  80. Lascelle
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    What reason do we have to believe Mass Effect 3 won't be given the same shoddy treatment as Dragon Age II? So disappointed. Bioware has bought into their own hype and is throwing their well-earned reputation into the proverbial toilet.
  81. peroxxi
    Mar 12, 2011
    4
    This game in crap. No exploration, tons of bugs, tons of more bugs, awful difficulty calibration, crappy graphics. They made this game in few months just because EA command it!
    It's turned to a great rpg to a casual action rpg.
  82. Erxar
    Mar 13, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is in a word a disaster. Every aspect of the game is simplified. There is no story whatsoever. You don't get the feeling that you're playing to achieve any goal at all. It's only side stories loosely connected to each other. BioWare SOLD OUT. I'm so furious about it. I can't understand critics high scores. My only explanation is that they ware payed to write good reviews. This is the biggest scam of all time.… Expand
  83. muchacho
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    I can only hope this isn't an indication of what to expect with mass effect 3. Reusing level assets multiple times, making dungeons look the same and limiting the map size to a small city and surrounding country side. Also the lack of customization when it comes to the companions in my party. Why did Bioware feel the need to once again streamline one of the best parts of an rpg, gearI can only hope this isn't an indication of what to expect with mass effect 3. Reusing level assets multiple times, making dungeons look the same and limiting the map size to a small city and surrounding country side. Also the lack of customization when it comes to the companions in my party. Why did Bioware feel the need to once again streamline one of the best parts of an rpg, gear customization, is beyond me. This does not live up to the expectations I have of a Bioware rpg, this is a huge step back from the quality titles I have come to expect from them.… Expand
  84. 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
  85. Verilee
    Mar 12, 2011
    0
    Oh my... I have never thought I had to write that...

    RPGs... I did em all... from the first days with my Commodore Amiga (Bard's Tale, some AD&D RPGs), to PC games (also AD&Ds, Might and Magics, Ultima Underworld, those from Interplay, and all the classic Biowares, and Elder Scrolls Arena, Daggerfall and so on...), so I claim to have a vast knowledge about how RPGs were and how they are    Oh my... I have never thought I had to write that...

    RPGs... I did em all... from the first days with my Commodore Amiga (Bard's Tale, some AD&D RPGs), to PC games (also AD&Ds, Might and Magics, Ultima Underworld, those from Interplay, and all the classic Biowares, and Elder Scrolls Arena, Daggerfall and so on...), so I claim to have a vast knowledge about how RPGs were and how they are now. I found some better, some not so good, but most of them were quite solid RPGs.

    It's of course a matter of taste, but to me, RPG means story, interactions and customizing the characters. DAO is already streamlined compared to the Elder Scrolls Universe, but still classic RPG because of all those things that are still possible, and probably one of the best story and especially dialogues (which results in a great overall atmosphere) I have ever seen in an RPG.

    Although, even in DAO I miss being able to jump, or to access all those places that can be seen, from that point it's a bit limited, but still acceptable to me as there are other unique features.

    Now DA2... I decided to first have a look, so visited a friend, and had a look, and have to say, I won't buy that game. I don't hate it, but I am not into Action-Adventures. Opponents spawning out of nowhere, 2 metres jumps in full armor, no thank you... to me that is more comic style gaming, jump and run even a bit... no, that's not RPG anymore to me.

    Flemeth designed like a mixture of Manga and Domina, no, not my taste.

    Not being able to equip my party... that is a no go for me in an RPG. I mean, I love to spend hours with so callled unimportant details like trying out clothes, armors, crafting, making potions... whatever. DA2 delivers nothing. A fast paced action game, not bad by itself, but not worthy of being named Dragon Age or even being regarded as its successor.

    Some good things still, some nice dialogues, but it feels more like an interactive movie... hey of course not to the extent I had with Dragon's Lair on my good old Amiga... but still, too dictated for me. Everything is kind of chewed before we get it to eat.

    I don't hate this game, but I don't think it is wise to distribute it as the successor of DAO, and besides, Bioware to me was a synonym for great RPGs. Now, that does not seem to apply anymore. A pity.

    Per se there is nothing wrong in offering variations or different style games within the same universe... other companies did that in the past too, Bethesda had some spin-offs (Elder scrolls series vs Battlespire, Redguard), 3DO had them (Might and Magic series vs Heroes), Origin (Ultima, and then Ultima underworld was different), and some more.

    They could have opened a new spin off series, like DA Action Adventures or whatever, then the players can decide for themselves whether to try it out or not, without being fooled with wrong expectations, rising up when hearing the name Dragon Age, or even Dragon Age 2, which implies the continuation of the 1st game.

    Dragon Age, to me, stood for RPG, like Elder Scrolls does, different, but great. I don't want to see an action adventure under the Elder Scrolls series label, and I didn't want to see that with DAO.

    It happened, and I think they didn't do themselves a favour. For me, this series ended with DAO, and will start again, when they pick up on what they built with DAO. Whether it was Bioware's fault, or EA's, it is an enourmous damage that has been done to Bioware's reputation, in rushing out such a game, and pretending it is the successor of DAO.    … Expand
  86. Kermutten
    Mar 11, 2011
    0
    This game is utter crap, they decided to make a good start (DA:O) into **** by dumbing it down for the console marked, and it may be good business but it sure as hell rubs us computer gamers the wrong way, in the end i think you should just stop making computer games, and stick to the beloved console marked, if this is the piece of **** you want to release.
  87. LivebytheSword
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age II is a cheap, shallow,boring,unpolished,unfinished and repetitive game. It fails to improve on its winning forward and in what appears to be an attempt at commercialization by drastically removing elements of the game that gave DA1it looses what actual prestige it had. Customizing of characters almost non-existent, environments are repetitive and suffer from poor textures, theDragon Age II is a cheap, shallow,boring,unpolished,unfinished and repetitive game. It fails to improve on its winning forward and in what appears to be an attempt at commercialization by drastically removing elements of the game that gave DA1it looses what actual prestige it had. Customizing of characters almost non-existent, environments are repetitive and suffer from poor textures, the story is linear with limited choices and endings. Its a great disappointment to say the least. The only thing worse is observing as all of EA's trouble shooting trolls give this game a 10 and make wildly outrageous statements like this being GOTY or BEST RPG EVER. Be wary of such reviews. I'll be conservative and give this travesty of a game a 2.… Expand
  88. SiliconNooB
    Mar 12, 2011
    1
    How did Bioware manage to turn the majesty of DAO into this dingy and myopic little world? The plot is stunted, the Dialogue shallow, and the combat is clearly compromised, and that is without even touching upon the game's myriad bugs! Dumbed down doesn't even begin to describe DA2.
  89. freo14
    Mar 13, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game very disappointed .. .. do not even believe that *it* makes developers NWN. Cool RPG turned into a dull meat grinder. I really, really sorry for the fans DE. Although children from 10 to 14, this game is really like .. Although there since age limit 18 ))… Expand
  90. TheDeadHeart
    Mar 13, 2011
    3
    The Dragon Age franchise has been tossed into the corporate machinery and spat out as a bruised and crippled shell of its former self. The game manages to deliver a thoroughly mediocre and disappointing experience to both RPG and casual gaming fans alike.

    The combat could possibly be the largest flaw with the game, however it is but one of many large flaws. Many skills and abilities    The Dragon Age franchise has been tossed into the corporate machinery and spat out as a bruised and crippled shell of its former self. The game manages to deliver a thoroughly mediocre and disappointing experience to both RPG and casual gaming fans alike.

    The combat could possibly be the largest flaw with the game, however it is but one of many large flaws. Many skills and abilities present in DA: O which made the game an overly tactical, challenging and rewarding experience have been removed in favor of more 'exciting and fast paced' combat. In Dragon Age 2's case 'exciting and fast paced' equates into the mindless ability bashing. Combat now relies heavily upon 'wave' mechanics. Where instead of individual mobs of enemies the player will be bombarded by wave after wave of enemy turning an epic skirmish into a tedious exercise of endurance. Most side quests are trivial and generic which furthermore offer no further insight into the game world and hold little other responsibility other than keeping the player distracted for a few extra hours collecting X number of items..

    The visuals have undergone an upheaval, yet surprisingly manages to look worse than its predecessor.
    The combat now resembles something out of a Devil May Cry game, rather than the style set in DA:O. The visceral and realistic style of Origins now replaced with an over sensationalized gratuitous flood of warrior aerobatics and bloody explosions. Many Caves, mountains, roads used again and again presumably due to constraints imposed by the soulless suits over in EA pushing for a speedy release and a fast cash-in. Dragon Age: Origins was a modern day throwback to classic RPG games: It incorporated engaging Tactical gameplay , interesting characters and appropriate use of dialog selection and an immersive fantasy setting imbued with a touch of gritty realism to provide a satisfying fantasy experience. Because of this the game was critically acclaimed and sold very well.
    Now letâ    … Expand
  91. Gordon
    Mar 13, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After two playthroughs, I finally pinpointed what it is that ruins DA2. There is just no choice; a bit of a dealbreaker for an RPG! Whatever you do, you'll lose a sibling, your mother will die horribly, the chantry will go boom, the Qunari will attack. You don't roleplay, you simply watch as a character stumbles into various plotpoints. Even on a replay, the very limited dialogue options (angelic, sarcastic, angry) make it hard to change much. You're more of a watcher, not really a participant.

    Given that the rest of the game outside of the main plot is spent acting as the world's errand boy, and the world itself is so dull to look at, it's just not much fun overall. There is nothing wrong with the new fighting system, though the enemy-spamming gets very tedious very quickly (as did Origins). There's nothing wrong with the companions or the overall story. It's just... boring, compared to the sense of magnitude Origins invoked. There is no getting away from this.

    I truly believe all of its problems lie in the lack of creation time. One year is nowhere near enough to time for a polished product, and lot of the things which made Origins great have been removed. There is an obvious lack of thought in the way locations are reused over and over and, worst of all... across 10 years, people are still standing in the same places and the city doesn't change even slightly. Go to Fenris' mansion, for example, and the same corpse is still lying by the door 7 years on! The bright spark in this game is the way romances are handled. They don't have as much depth as in Origins, since there is not much interaction beforehand, but the developers are to be applauded for making the romances open regardless of gender. I hope more games follow their lead, at least on that score.

    But overall, Dragon Age 2 is a disappointment for the genre. I realised this when Isabella kept commenting "I'm bored of this", and I found myself thinking "yeah, me too".    … Expand
  92. Fireside
    Mar 21, 2011
    4
    So initially I wasn't too upset with this game, but I decided to go back and play DOA over the weekend. Man, you haters are right: this game sucks. Everything about it is tragically inferior to its predecessor, even the graphics. F you Bioware. This game is garbage and you know it.
  93. IslandMonkee
    Mar 16, 2011
    4
    This over simplified pile of crap would not even bare the name Bioware a couple of years ago. I am not going to go in depth about the hack and slash gameplay or the repetitive use of the same environments over and over again. Just read the negative reviews from others, you will get the picture.
  94. Trxw11
    Mar 17, 2011
    3
    As a fan of DA1 (and BG before it), this is a disappointment. The gameplay is easier (i.e. less challenging) and paced for action not roleplay, the controls are simpler & imprecise (i.e. fewer tactics possible), the graphics are glossy with FF-style overblown animations, the levelling is much faster and less satisfying with earlier access to formerly senior skills (so it feels badlyAs a fan of DA1 (and BG before it), this is a disappointment. The gameplay is easier (i.e. less challenging) and paced for action not roleplay, the controls are simpler & imprecise (i.e. fewer tactics possible), the graphics are glossy with FF-style overblown animations, the levelling is much faster and less satisfying with earlier access to formerly senior skills (so it feels badly balanced), the redesigned maps are harder to read and spread across multiple panes (so you can't see the whole world in 1 place), the game world starts to repeat even a few hours into the game, and finding stuff is less exciting because it simply says "ring" rather than "ring of xxx" until you go into the inventory, which has been simplified and streamlined so it's less satisfying allocating your spoils. Widescale tinkering by designers too influenced by Mass Effect and less mindful of real RPG design (which should be satisfyingly complex) has resulted in a game that does precisely what they hoped it wouldn't, which is alienate its core audience. Sad to see a franchise get watered down like this. The only major improvements are in story and character, which have more twists, grey areas and unpredictability - unlike the gameplay. I'm playing on in the hope it slows down, this is like getting a sugar rush after eating too many sweets - a slightly sickly feeling tinged with regret.… Expand
  95. Cirth
    Mar 24, 2011
    3
    bad rpg (the story is very disapointing), very bad dragon age, the fighting part is badly done it's more a hack & slash than a strategic fighting system and moreover there are way too much fights in the game, we can also add bugs, unfinished quest, and bad graphic. I'm very disappointed in bioware, until now i always preordered their game blindly, this time is over.
  96. DenofLionsx
    Mar 25, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (TL;DR at bottom)

    I give this game a 4 only because if you ignore the fact that this was suppose to be a sequel to Origins/Awakening it can be sort of fun. This game took the "Spiritual Successor" to the Baldur's Gate Series, killed it, mutilated its corpse, burned it, and pissed on its ashes. From characters that have the depth of a pot hole to the entire campaign being one giant linear repeat of the same 4 rooms. Everything has been dumbed down to the point where if you want a classic tank/healer/dps style part you're character locked into almost a singular party setup due to only ONE CHARACTER IN THE GAME HAVING THE ABILITY TO USE A SHIELD, and one other character being the only one who can AoE heal and ressurect. Spoilers below on characters:

    Your initial tank in the game, Aveline, is probably the most annoying character in the Dragon Age universe (Yes, even Anders makes an appearance and redeems his stupidity from Awakening). Mrs. Goody two-shoes cry about my dead husband. She is the anti-Morigan. Characters that lean entirely to one side with uncompromising ethics are boring.

    Isabela is a character who seems to have been written by the same brilliant 13 year old boys who wrote Lara Croft. Her only redeeming factor, like Lara, is that her **** are the size of watermelons... wait, how does this redeem anything? Anders, along with Justice, is, imo, the best character in this game. He actually has an interesting story since Awakening and isn't a whiny little girl anymore. Sadly he does not make up for the rest of this game's failings.

    Combat:

    The combat system has been dumbed down to the point of, to be blunt, console standards. Once you get a mage with proper end of tree spells the game becomes "Gravity well, AoE the **** out of everything, loot" which I guess is right on target for the kind of audience this game is shooting for. Dialog and Choices:

    Your choices honestly don't mean dick in this game other than party friendship. Kill the templar? What consequences does this action hold? Oh, nothing, -20 Aveline rep and +20 Anders. The Mass Effect style wheel dialog options are rather bad, though I do enjoy my character being voiced this time around. You see the text on the wheel but what comes out of Hawke's mouth isn't even close to the option you chose half the time. Final Thoughts (TL;DR):

    I have no idea who at Bioware thought locking characters to a specific role was a good idea. One of my favorite aspects on DA1 was changing a characters role to better fit the party I wanted to run. The characters lack depth and the entire story is a linear romp with no real choices of consequence. The entire game feels like it was designed to try and lure in Call of Duty fans to make more money. EA boosting the Metascore by having employees post as critics just shows they screwed up and they know it.    … Expand
  97. n00bdream
    Mar 31, 2011
    4
    Very disappointing. The game lacks almost everything that made the first one so enjoyable. The characters are uninspiring, the story is almost non-existing and the interactions with your teammates are boring. The gameplay works, but everything else is inferior to the first game.
  98. AlekKolchak
    Apr 3, 2011
    4
    Honestly, Bioware's first bad game and a poor successor to a great first game. All strategy has been taken out of combat, making it a "point and click" game until all waves of enemies are destroyed. The role playing aspect has been cut, leaving the player with only the ability to select one of three dialogue choices: "peaceful, humorous, aggressive." This has no affect on how the gameHonestly, Bioware's first bad game and a poor successor to a great first game. All strategy has been taken out of combat, making it a "point and click" game until all waves of enemies are destroyed. The role playing aspect has been cut, leaving the player with only the ability to select one of three dialogue choices: "peaceful, humorous, aggressive." This has no affect on how the game plays out. Environments are rarely as detailed as the first game and are recycled to an amazing degree. Most of the game play is uninspired delivery quests. Loot is random and you cannot equip armor on the other team characters. The main story feels more like an expansion pack. The pros? Good graphics and excellent voice work. Hopefully player created mods will eventually add the content that the developers did not. Still, it is sad to think that EA has purchased and eliminated another creative game company.… Expand
  99. alkatrazz
    Mar 13, 2011
    1
    Utter garbage inasmuch as it actually inspired me to signup in order to post my views. This is truly a shame, given the expectations built up with DA:O -- What is hilarious to note is all the major review companies noting `once you get past the..' OR `compare to DA:O this is much worse BUT' and awarding ~80, tbh these look like paid for reviews in order to drive sales. DA2 is awful c.f.Utter garbage inasmuch as it actually inspired me to signup in order to post my views. This is truly a shame, given the expectations built up with DA:O -- What is hilarious to note is all the major review companies noting `once you get past the..' OR `compare to DA:O this is much worse BUT' and awarding ~80, tbh these look like paid for reviews in order to drive sales. DA2 is awful c.f. DA:O.
    END OF LINE.    … Expand
  100. Dracowyr
    Mar 14, 2011
    3
    A company that once saved the RPG genre, is now destroying it. Poor production value, and dumbed-down gameplay aims this game at a more 'casual' console market. I was a fan of Bioware for over 13 years - they were one of the few companies that I would buy a game from without having tried it out first. They were shining examples in the game industry. No longer.

    A terrible disappointment, I    A company that once saved the RPG genre, is now destroying it. Poor production value, and dumbed-down gameplay aims this game at a more 'casual' console market. I was a fan of Bioware for over 13 years - they were one of the few companies that I would buy a game from without having tried it out first. They were shining examples in the game industry. No longer.

    A terrible disappointment, I feel this game would have been better received as a DLC rather than a full game.

    Is this EA's hand at work?    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 75
  3. Negative: 1 out of 75
  1. GamingExcellence
    Aug 3, 2011
    85
    I'll give Bioware points for trying to do something different in their world, but they really did have it right the first time in terms of character building and the scope of the story.
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  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.
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  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.
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