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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. 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,
  2. Dyalad
    May 24, 2011
    4
    Dragon Age 2 seems to be an experiment to introduce Bioware's classic RPG elements to console gaming. The result is at best disappointing.

    You play as Hawke, a human refugee from a town called Lothering. Through framed narrative, you lead Hawke's life through important events of his/her life and how they shape the world. As opposed to previous Bioware titles where several decisions would    Dragon Age 2 seems to be an experiment to introduce Bioware's classic RPG elements to console gaming. The result is at best disappointing.

    You play as Hawke, a human refugee from a town called Lothering. Through framed narrative, you lead Hawke's life through important events of his/her life and how they shape the world.

    As opposed to previous Bioware titles where several decisions would affect the game storyline, the only significant change in Dragon Age 2 is in regards to companion relationships. Discussions between companions will slightly vary depending which way they perceive you, but overall, they will still offer the same missions regardless which path you chose to pick.

    And this is where this game fails miserably. Where previous Bioware titles encouraged and rewarded replays, in Dragon Age the replay value is at best poor, arguably non-existent. On a second playthrough one will sadly realize that if they decide to pick opposite options than in their first playthrough, the consequences and dialog will be the same. By that I mean; if you refuse to complete a task, it will be forced upon you. I found that excruciating and shallow.

    The game ending is probably one of the worst I've seen out there for RPGs. It left me unsatisfied, and I basically felt I wasted 30 hours or so to get an ending that I figured out within the first 5 minutes of the game. The only comparable ending dissapointement I can think of was when I ended Neverwinter Nights 2 (original campaign).

    On to combat. The initial release on console did not have auto-attack option. The combat system was extremely tedious and soulcrushing. Had I done this review prior to be fixed, this game would've deserved a 2 at best.

    Combat is an omnipresent element in the game. Combat went to a classic tabletop style in Dragon Ages Origins to a mish mash button spam that sometimes reminded me of Winter Games or something. I think that the idea was good but poorly executed; if you hit the standard attack button 4 times, the 5th attack has an animation with a flourish and does a bit more damage. The other buttons can be used to map skills. Skill cooldowns usually were at least a dozen of seconds, which felt very long when spamming the auto attack button.

    Most combat scenes, if not all, have waves of enemies. While this concept works well in certain situations, its overuse made the game extremely frustrating; the way these waves appeared was most of the time questionable and definitely mood-breaking (bandits "jumping down" from an enclosed ceiling for example).

    Enemy variety is near non-existent. There is a handful of darkspawns (3 types), humanoids, 2 or 3 types of undeads, the odd unique-style bosses, and spiders. Did I mention spiders?

    I could continue going on, but I think I went over some of the things that made me rage the most about this game.

    Anyways. If you're looking for a RPG fix, look elsewhere, because this game has nothing that older western RPGs offer out there.    … Expand
  3. Redfordsto
    May 22, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's impossible to review this game without comparing to it's predecessor. The most direct reason being that it's billed as a sequel with the "II" hanging there rather than a sub-title indicating this is a relative concurrent adventure to the original. I played through Origin so many times, I had to remove some of the save character profiles to a flash drive because there was a limit on how many characters that I could create. For DA2, I played through four times to find any variation with regard to choice. There wasn't any. That being said...

    Pros: -The graphics engine has been improved. The set pieces are more picturesque than the original. Even the combat animations are more diverse and compelling. -The audio. Both effects and soundtrack are even better than the original. Inon Zur earned his keep yet again. If only there was someone to download the remix of Florence and the Machine's track. -Having a voiced hero does allow for a deeper connection to your hero. It's fun to hear your hero reflect your choices in tone. And the voice acting is excellent. -There are a few more character customization options as far as hair and facial hair... -You can import your saved games from Dragon Age: Origins. -Skill progression as far as branching rather than directly progressive is was more rewarding than just unlocking the next in a row or skills. -Your companions have individual skill trees that are useful. -There were a number or armor variations and weapon variations as far as appearance and textures. -The companion characters are unique and voiced well.

    Cons: -You can import your saved games from Dragon Age: Origins, but it makes no difference at all. The only purpose is to slightly vary a dozen or so comments made by ancillary characters. -A large amount of character customization is gone. No choice of who your character is with regard to backstory. No variation of races. You can choose your class, change your face, and upgrade skills. The opportunity to give more options to the player was lost. -The skill trees were inventive, but there was little in the way of improving skills. Rather than investing in skills that work with your style of gameplay you unlock another skill. Most skills are maxed at a single upgrade. -The endless repetition of dungeons. You see the same locations again and again. And again. -While the weapons and armor looked good, only your main character can use the armor. Your companions are only slightly customizable. -Choice doesn't matter like it once did. You side with someone or help someone escape harm and you end up getting a nice letter and do all the same quests regardless of choice. Your choices don't open up new locations or options only vary dialogue. The biggest choice you have is to not do some of the quests. -You spend 85% of your time in the same city. The story is suppose to take place over a decade but any change in the city are minimal. There are no new area or expansions. There's an occasional new wall or statue and you move live... once. And the only change to your mansion after a few year is you gain a few bottles of liquor and your love interest moves in a mandolin. -Where are the traps, the different types of arrows, various grenades, the runes, and all the potions. Instead of increasing variation, they are either stripped down or just plain gone. This also decreases tactical options. -The stories of all the potential love interests are all depressing. There are no options for happy endings. You're going to find out Fenris is alone, Merrill will alienate her clan, Isabella will do anything to get her ship, and Anders will start a war. While the stories and personalities are unique, their arcs are all downers. -The main story is a set of sidequests. While many are good, when you see the same locations more than a dozen times, it blurs into a mindless hack and fetch experience. Made more boring the second time because even if I sided with the mages on the first playthrough, I get to do the same missions on the second playthrough when siding with templars. And on the third playthrough while trying to stay impartial... which you can't. Further, the threads connecting the acts are thin. I find an artifact while trying to become rich and somehow it corrupts the final boss who I never really interact with till the final act. There's no sustained rivalry and no real growth considering you're supposed to enact the emergence of a hero. Nor do your companions really evolve over the course of the story, they seem obsessed with singular goals. It's a linear story with the false promise of choice. -The highlight that should have been the connection to your family fell way short. You have one act to get to know a sibling then you don't see them till the end of the game... or they died. The promise fell to the same overly dark theme of either killing everybody off or bitter realizations. -Plain lack of satisfaction upon completion compared to most games.    … Expand
  4. liotius
    Jun 1, 2011
    4
    Worst BioWare game I've played yet. Remarkably unfinished to such a laughable degree. Many of the zones are _exact_ copies of other zones, with easily identifiable markings to the fact. So much so in fact that they had to jury rig blockades for areas they didn't want you to go into, not even bothering to update the minimap, causing you to continually go toward implacable barriers. TheWorst BioWare game I've played yet. Remarkably unfinished to such a laughable degree. Many of the zones are _exact_ copies of other zones, with easily identifiable markings to the fact. So much so in fact that they had to jury rig blockades for areas they didn't want you to go into, not even bothering to update the minimap, causing you to continually go toward implacable barriers. The voice acting was poorest for the main character, every remark sounded like a sarcastic one, leaving no real movement on emotion.

    Buggy quests as well, some quests remain active even if there is absolutely no way to complete them.

    As far as the storyline goes absolutely felt like a beginning but if its the beginning then why number it as 2? Poor choice by some of the higher ups on naming this game.    … Expand
  5. tzedan
    Jun 20, 2011
    4
    Bioware should have released this game first and then DAO; that would at least give the impression of improvement. As it stands, this game provides no continuity of significance with Dragon Age Origins. The game play is dumbed down, the character development is no where to be found and the plot is weak. Seems like Bioware is betting all it's money on Mass Effect 3. I just hope then don'tBioware should have released this game first and then DAO; that would at least give the impression of improvement. As it stands, this game provides no continuity of significance with Dragon Age Origins. The game play is dumbed down, the character development is no where to be found and the plot is weak. Seems like Bioware is betting all it's money on Mass Effect 3. I just hope then don't mess that game up.… Expand
  6. laxleonidas
    Sep 17, 2011
    4
    Despite of all expectations, BioWare not only removed good ideas from predecessor, but also used new bad game mechanisms. Forget about tactital fighting, interesting plot and - what's most important - huge, secret world to explore.
  7. Kultur
    Sep 12, 2014
    4
    If this game wasn't preceded by DA:Origins it might have had a less negative impact on players, but since Origins was just that good (easily in my top 10 games all time), this game was a huge letdown.

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

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

    Overall, a rushed and passionless sequel that rightly disappointed most fans. For some reason critic reviews were generally very favorable, the most flattering thing I can say about that is that maybe they got to play an alpha/beta build. I have a hard time believing any reviewer played the whole game before writing the review.    … Expand
  8. Ishman
    Dec 20, 2011
    4
    Played on its own merits without any idea of DA:O this game would be quite solid.
    Having loved the original, and feeling like I was taking part in an epic quest that actually meant something, I was sorely disappointed with the follow up. Admittedly the first 10 hours or so were pretty Rad I thought, this was in part due to the fact that I was high as **** when I first got the game, but    Played on its own merits without any idea of DA:O this game would be quite solid.
    Having loved the original, and feeling like I was taking part in an epic quest that actually meant something, I was sorely disappointed with the follow up. Admittedly the first 10 hours or so were pretty Rad I thought, this was in part due to the fact that I was high as **** when I first got the game, but soon enough not even a big stack of weed couldn't improve this bland follow up. The action orientated combat didn't bother me as much as it has others, where it really let me down was the constantly repeating environments, the original had me trekking all over the place to a number of awesome locations, the sequel has going through the same old bland locales over and over. One of the few reviewers who must not have been paid off by EA put it best with "you can't have an epic storyline in your own backyard" or something like that, you get the gist. All in all its not a "bad game" in my mind, but not worthy of being the sequel to the excellent original. If you come to the game having never played the first you will probably enjoy it for what it is. Bioware really need to rethink there game plan for no. 3 especially since Skyrim is now out and has absorbed 80 hours of play time and I haven't really done jack **** so far. In summary, pay more and get Skyrim instead. Shame on you Bioware.Shame on You.    … Expand
  9. TolHydra
    Jan 7, 2012
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game really is a letdown...as a person who played Dragon Age: Origins 9 times through by writing this review. There are only a few things improved in Dragon Age II...Combat and in the aspects of character creation don't get me wrong, NOT being able to play any other races sucks badly but i loved creating a female hawk I could live with the voiced character..it didn't seemed very odd since i also love Bioware's other franchise Mass Effect; Only god knows how much would i enjoy to blow up a certain mage companion (the elf one) I mean i could live with the emo character but the thing made me frustrated was especially moral choices..AND MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER RESURRECTIONS REGARDING THE CHOICES OF THE FIRST GAME...You see i killed this lovely companion in the first game and imported my save to only see BIOWARE SIMPLY DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN THING about your moral choice..or role playing therefore this game has a real RPG value its a "auto-attack hack'n slash" yeah that's it .… Expand
  10. Resplendent
    Jan 27, 2012
    4
    Scoring this game is complicated for me. One the one hand, I will admit to it being a good time killer. But as a sequel to DA:O, which I absolutely loved, it falls completely flat. The story felt unimportant, several of the characters were just annoying, and the copy-paste maps were simply insulting to the player. If "epic adventure" is what you had in mind when you picked this up, you'reScoring this game is complicated for me. One the one hand, I will admit to it being a good time killer. But as a sequel to DA:O, which I absolutely loved, it falls completely flat. The story felt unimportant, several of the characters were just annoying, and the copy-paste maps were simply insulting to the player. If "epic adventure" is what you had in mind when you picked this up, you're going to be sorely disappointed. For $10 though, there are worse ways to kill several hours. Get it if you have absolutely nothing better to play, but prepare to end up wanting to strangle whoever green-lit DA2- truly a mistitled game if there ever was one.… Expand
  11. huzz
    Jun 13, 2012
    4
    A disappointing sequel. It seemed like Bioware left their core fans behind in an attempt to try and gain a more mainstream audience. DA2 fell short do to things like: re-used maps, simplified combat, boring characters, a weak story, a lack of important decisions, locked companion armor and many useless items.
  12. Aeryx
    Sep 20, 2012
    4
    Requires no brains to operate. STAY AWAY fans of Dragon Age Origins. As a long-time of Bioware, Dragon Age 2 for me was the first tangible indicator that something was really wrong with them and they were no longer interested in making great games--- only milking their franchises. The gameplay is bland, the dungeons freakishly recycled and the gameplay requires no brains. It you hate yourRequires no brains to operate. STAY AWAY fans of Dragon Age Origins. As a long-time of Bioware, Dragon Age 2 for me was the first tangible indicator that something was really wrong with them and they were no longer interested in making great games--- only milking their franchises. The gameplay is bland, the dungeons freakishly recycled and the gameplay requires no brains. It you hate your money, burn it in the fireplace just don't buy this game.… Expand
  13. Riven126
    Oct 28, 2012
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is a bad game. It may be a sequel to Origins in name, but the game itself tells a very different story, and that;s the ultimate problem. Not only is Dagon Age 2 a huge departure from the original, but it's also worse in almost every way.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    At the end of the day, Dragon Age 2 is an uninspired mess of a game. While there may be some redeeming qualities to be found, it is without a doubt a step backward for the series. It does to many basic things wrong that the first game got right the first time. It fails to deliver compelling characters and a strong narrative. The world of Thedas has never felt smaller and Kirkwall is more of a prison than a city. My advice to anyone who enjoyed Origins and Awakening is to replay those great games and forget about Dragon Age 2. But if you absolutely must play it, I strongly suggest you rent it or borrow it from a friend.    … Expand
  14. yowave
    Jan 4, 2013
    4
    Dragon Age 2 is a bad game.

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

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

    The Good:
    Mediocre combat mechanics.

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

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

    There were days that i swore loyalty to Bioware, those days are gone.    … Expand
  15. houyi111
    Dec 16, 2013
    4
    If the title is not "dragon age", I might give it a 7 out of 10. The voice acting and the dialogue are good and often funny. The combat and customization is easy to adapt. The whole game is neat. The auto-saving is handy and well-done. However, it is supposed to be the sequel of the DA:origins, but it just goes horribly wrong.
    I didn't play many WRPG games, but I also never played a    If the title is not "dragon age", I might give it a 7 out of 10. The voice acting and the dialogue are good and often funny. The combat and customization is easy to adapt. The whole game is neat. The auto-saving is handy and well-done. However, it is supposed to be the sequel of the DA:origins, but it just goes horribly wrong.
    I didn't play many WRPG games, but I also never played a modern game where the game setting is A SMALL CITY. The abuse of reusing maps is just unforgivable. None of the characters is interesting. The romance is just dull. The story is way too linear and stupid to say the less. I am also amazed that Bioware surely has a twist way to turn an epic story to something beyond turd. Like in ME franchise, you think the whole plot is to unite everyone to fight reapers, but it turned out synthetics vs organics is the only core. In dragon age, you got the idea that unite everyone to fight the blight, but no, no, no, the actual and the only conflict in DA is Templars vs Mages. wtf, bioware.    … Expand
  16. mnKx
    Jun 23, 2020
    4
    Coming fresh from beating DA:O and all of it expansions it makes really frustrating playing this game
    It has basically the same type of combat and commands as DA:O but executed very differently.
    The combat (and the animations) got a lot faster mostly because of the way they design the levels and the combat encounters. Instead of having all the enemies placed on the map, you will find a    Coming fresh from beating DA:O and all of it expansions it makes really frustrating playing this game
    It has basically the same type of combat and commands as DA:O but executed very differently.
    The combat (and the animations) got a lot faster mostly because of the way they design the levels and the combat encounters. Instead of having all the enemies placed on the map, you will find a small group and when you start combat they will have spawning waves of enemies that come from pretty much everywhere in the surrounding area of the encounter, which would be fine if the gameplay itself was something more appropriate to this kind of design (something like Devil May Cry or even Diablo), instead we have very generic and streamlined gameplay mechanics that doesn't fit the type of game that was supposed to be.
    The gameplay changes are probably the worst part about this sequel (even though I liked the new animations compared to the dull ones from DA:O), but another thing that buggered me the most was the reused scenarios and the way they did it, because a lot of times you would do a few missions in a row that used the same scenario but in a different part of the map, which was very bad for immersion
    There are a few things good about the game, but as a Dragon Age title is a disappointment    … Expand
  17. RimJobson
    Sep 27, 2014
    4
    Dragon Age II is the best representation of games that suffer due to new elements leading to neglect of old ones.

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

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

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

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

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

    Is it a terrible game on its own? No, it is mediocre but certainly not the worst I've ever played.
    Is it a terrible installment of the Dragon Age series? Without a doubt.    … Expand
  18. PlutoniumTiger
    Mar 16, 2011
    3
    First of all, just to clear things up, "Avanost" is a Bioware engineer. You see, as long as the critic ratings are positive, Bioware care about their "fans", & their opinions. But when the user reviews are negative, Bioware just dismiss them as an "overreaction". Thats right, we are all far too stupid to play proper RPGs - all we want is dumbed-downed drivel, but we just don't know it!
  19. Hynda
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    Bioware have abandoned us, they just wanted more money, so they got rid of every kind of complex aspect about this game, people blames wii for being casual, but sadly the whole industry is everyday more and more casual. And with Dragon age 2, I just reached the limit, everything on this game, from the lack of story and complexity, the lack of any sort of deph in the gameplay, and the wayBioware have abandoned us, they just wanted more money, so they got rid of every kind of complex aspect about this game, people blames wii for being casual, but sadly the whole industry is everyday more and more casual. And with Dragon age 2, I just reached the limit, everything on this game, from the lack of story and complexity, the lack of any sort of deph in the gameplay, and the way its portrayed as a hack and slash, is just an example of how much companies, like EA or bioware really care about their fans. They dont give a crap. This is the last time I am buying a bioware game, I guess they'll do the same with mass effect 3, I bet they will make a game for casual people who dont want to think about anything but follow instructions and pressing buttons to kill things to the end. The RPG is dead this generation gentlemen.… Expand
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. alien5
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    DA:O Managed to take Biowares "tried and true" formula for action RPGs and make it neither a compelling action game, nor a compelling RPG. DA2 continues with their woefully generic lore and improves the overall story a bit, while trying to put a strong emphasis on action oriented combat this time. What's left is a clunky mess with fewer options, and an overall worse product than DA:O whichDA:O Managed to take Biowares "tried and true" formula for action RPGs and make it neither a compelling action game, nor a compelling RPG. DA2 continues with their woefully generic lore and improves the overall story a bit, while trying to put a strong emphasis on action oriented combat this time. What's left is a clunky mess with fewer options, and an overall worse product than DA:O which is sure to appeal to fewer people. If you need romance trees, go for it. It's Bioware's strong suite. If you're looking for an RPG or action game with engaging combat, deep or original backstory, and meaningful character building options, where you aren't shoehorned into a terrible 'alignment' system, look elsewhere.… Expand
  23. L0stR3negade
    Mar 26, 2011
    3
    Horrible ending and just like the first game it just falls really short. This game needed more time in development. Not worth 60 dollars at all =(....
  24. Devil_Man_X
    Jul 5, 2011
    3
    The User ratings have this one almost dead on. No it's not the worst game out there but just because you can make a game look relatively pretty doesn't mean it's good. Dragon age suffers from one game breaking flaw, greed. EA and Bioware show their true colors here. They have changed everything that made Dragon Age Origins such an incredible game. Not in the name of improvement but to sellThe User ratings have this one almost dead on. No it's not the worst game out there but just because you can make a game look relatively pretty doesn't mean it's good. Dragon age suffers from one game breaking flaw, greed. EA and Bioware show their true colors here. They have changed everything that made Dragon Age Origins such an incredible game. Not in the name of improvement but to sell more copies. I do see how some of the changes could have been for the better if done properly yet others are just senseless. The battle system needed reworked if only for the console versions. However the changes they made left it feeling less like an RPG and more like a bad hack and slash. Gone are all the deep character customizations. You simply choose gender and class. No more custom backstory. If this was any other franchise it would have been better off. Calling it a sequel to Dragon Age simply ruined it. No one buys a sequel hoping it will be more simplistic with a simple story and fewer options. If you buy a sequel to a beloved franchise you expect it to improve on itself. The story is borderline garbage and the way it's delivered is even worse. Don't get excited for some upcoming exploration or engaging plotline as the game will simply skip ahead just as you're getting into it. Yes this dungeon looks exactly like the last one just make a left here instead of a right. Bioware has openly admitted to using the same dungeon layout multiple times. Here is the bottom line. I like many others was expecting a sequel. Hoping to continue my story or atleast flesh out the world of Dragon Age. Instead I was sold a crappy 5 yr old baldurs gate wannabe with modern graphics. I was not expecting Mass Effect Medieval Edition. Bioware is hands down the most overrated developer around. They consistently make terrible games that have great stories. They really should just consider making movies instead of games. We would all be better off… Expand
  25. tobi963
    Mar 8, 2011
    3
    Never good when you make a game worse than it's prequel. So many problems with the game. So much hype over it by DA fans. The "professional" reviewers are giving it a high score for some reason I do not know.
  26. NoWisdomAtAll
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    After the scam EA/Bioware pulled with the Signature Edition I decided to buy the regular copy of the game and my experience wasn't very good this whole game seems more like a scam project than a game, as many have said it's shorter than the previous title, the characters are quite interesting upon first meet but then it goes downhill from there. The areas seem different in some ways butAfter the scam EA/Bioware pulled with the Signature Edition I decided to buy the regular copy of the game and my experience wasn't very good this whole game seems more like a scam project than a game, as many have said it's shorter than the previous title, the characters are quite interesting upon first meet but then it goes downhill from there. The areas seem different in some ways but more or less copied and pasted work and for the story.....it wasn't one of Bioware's best. Overall this game as I said in the beginning feels like a giant scam.… Expand
  27. GlenAllenHill
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    Classic case of a game developer "dumbing down" a franchise to appeal to a larger audience. Dragon Age: Origins laid a great foundation for the future of the DA franchise. It was a deep game with complex RPG elements.

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

    Dragon Age II, however, basically stripped down most of the RPG elements to the lowest common denominator. So instead of a deep, fulfilling game that appeals to RPG fans, the result is a watered-down "hack-and-slash" game that tries to call itself an RPG that appeals to no one.    … Expand
  28. jigoku
    Mar 10, 2011
    3
    (skip to the paragraph starting with "Then along came DA2" to skip the DA:O-related intro)

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

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

    Then along came DA2. From what I was reading this true sequel to the Dragon Age saga promised to be substantially different from DA:O, and I was excited. Even though DA:O was a huge letdown, it had kindled within me the hope for something truly epic and inspired.
    I had been reading various outcries from die-hard RPG fans and DA:O fans, but since the latter game had disappointed me so these outcries only strengthened my conviction that DA2 might actually be different; and I might actually enjoy it.
    Not so.
    Take all the negative comments on DA:O above (uninspired, unimaginative, linear, ugly, repetitive, devoid of actual choice, ....) and multiply them by any factor you may deem impressive, and you have DA2.
    * The corridors of DA:O have become even narrower and more confining;
    * The level design is unapologetically lazy (copy-pasted dungeons and caves);
    * The choice of story-progressing replies has dwindled to a basic three;
    * The graphics are at a playstation 2 level (although the overall style has improved);
    * Combat has been dumbed down to a button-mashing fest artificially rendered more difficult with mid-fight enemy spawns (only remotely enjoyable difficulty setting is "nightmare" but as said before the difficulty is artificial);
    * Kirkwall (where all but the entire game takes place) feels and looks artificial and devoid of any bustle and - indeed - life itself;
    I could go on and on about how much I have started to loathe DA2, but in the end it really is my fault for pre-ordering a game which promised to be "different" but turned out to be merely "worse".
    Much worse.    … Expand
  29. babyfarmer
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    Dragon Age II is my biggest letdown in video game history. DA: Origins is one of my favorite games this generation, and I was very stoked for DA2. Alas, I was just set up to be disappointed, everything that was great about the original has been replaced or removed. The entire game takes place in one city, unlike Origins, where you went from city to city in the world. The combat has beenDragon Age II is my biggest letdown in video game history. DA: Origins is one of my favorite games this generation, and I was very stoked for DA2. Alas, I was just set up to be disappointed, everything that was great about the original has been replaced or removed. The entire game takes place in one city, unlike Origins, where you went from city to city in the world. The combat has been sped up, dumbed down, streamlined, however you want to describe it. The combat devolves into mashing the attack button over and over and OVER. Against mobs that respawn out of nowhere, simply to inflate the game's difficulty by throwing more enemies at you, instead of making the enemies harder. If I wanted to mash the attack button all day long, I would play Dynasty Warriors, I thought this was an RPG? The writing and the "story" are laughable, especially by BioWare standards. All in all, a major letdown and the start of a once great video game developer going down the toilet. R.I.P. BioWare.… Expand
  30. 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
  31. Somas99999
    Mar 11, 2011
    3
    I wanted to like this game so badly. The character voices are top notch, and their personalities are well developed, but this could not save the game. There is no real story, only about 10 individual areas in the entire game that are constantly revisited, and, on PC, the combat is simply clicking once on an enemy and watching a character perform a five hit combo repeatedly. To be fair,I wanted to like this game so badly. The character voices are top notch, and their personalities are well developed, but this could not save the game. There is no real story, only about 10 individual areas in the entire game that are constantly revisited, and, on PC, the combat is simply clicking once on an enemy and watching a character perform a five hit combo repeatedly. To be fair, using abilities does add some differentiation to combat, but, playing as a rogue at least, I found that most of the time I would find myself in a situation where all of my abilities were on cool down before the end of every battle. This was usually because each combat encounter seems to drag on to long. Most of the fights pit you against around 15+ enemies, and as soon as the vast majority are dead, reinforcements will literally rain from the sky. I went into this game expecting an RPG with hack and slash elements, what I got was God of War without all the button mashing.… Expand
  32. jean-francois
    Mar 12, 2011
    3
    I really enjoyed the first dragon age game. It was one of my favorite game of all time. But I did not enjoy this second installment. The history is bland, the role-playing elements has been dumbed down. You cannot pick your race, talk to your companions during missions. The dialogs are boring and the characters forgettable. A note to Bioware: graphics and combat are not the onlyI really enjoyed the first dragon age game. It was one of my favorite game of all time. But I did not enjoy this second installment. The history is bland, the role-playing elements has been dumbed down. You cannot pick your race, talk to your companions during missions. The dialogs are boring and the characters forgettable. A note to Bioware: graphics and combat are not the only things that I enjoy in a game!… Expand
  33. thelivingsauce2
    Mar 12, 2011
    3
    After playing this game I have to say it has to be the worst bioware game ever released. I have a few problems with the game one in the constant re-use of areas. The second is after I heard about EA banning a player from playing their game for calling them a devil company I knew I made a mistake in buying this game. Then I recently heard about EA and Bioware lying to their fans aboutAfter playing this game I have to say it has to be the worst bioware game ever released. I have a few problems with the game one in the constant re-use of areas. The second is after I heard about EA banning a player from playing their game for calling them a devil company I knew I made a mistake in buying this game. Then I recently heard about EA and Bioware lying to their fans about securom in their game and last I heard about how they scammed many a customer out of the Signature Edition because they were to lazy to make enough copies for their fans, but more so is how Mike Laidlaw in an interview pretty much said "people hate complex things so we must call our fans stupid under the guise we are doing what we feel is going to be better"(ok not exactly like that). Now for the game I CAN NOT stress enough how many times they re-used the same locations. The characters you can only talk to at set intervals(at each new act). I think this is the beginning of the end of bioware cause if this is the best they can do under EA then it's clear EA will continue to rush bioware's games out for the sake of making a quick buck, but hey bioware decided to merge with ea.… Expand
  34. Tomtzor
    Jun 20, 2011
    3
    This is not a role-playing game, it's a dumbed down piece of sh*t!
    How could you do this to the Dragon Age franchise EA?!
    Shame on you! You can't talk with any of the characters (except when the game allows you 1 out of 100 times ) You can't customize anything basically! The story is crap, the characters are crap. But goddamnit! It's Dragon Age! I pushed through and enjoyed parts of it, I    This is not a role-playing game, it's a dumbed down piece of sh*t!
    How could you do this to the Dragon Age franchise EA?!
    Shame on you!
    You can't talk with any of the characters (except when the game allows you 1 out of 100 times )
    You can't customize anything basically!
    The story is crap, the characters are crap.
    But goddamnit! It's Dragon Age!
    I pushed through and enjoyed parts of it, I must admit
    I did not mind the changes to combat so much, it was pretty engaging, and the interface was really neat!
    But the rest is just an on-going train-wreck of quick cash-in of a franchise
    I'll go nuts if they do the same with Mass Effect 3!
    Cmon Bioware! You are the rpg kings!
    Bring it next time!    … Expand
  35. 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
  36. KcSmiff
    Mar 13, 2011
    3
    Vast amount of visual bugs which give horrible performance with a Geforce 580. Even when the game is running smoothly, I can't help but notice the obvious copy-pasting of dungeons/caves. The feeling that the quests are all going to the same places as other quests all the time. God knows what the popular game review sites are on, this is no where near on par with Dragon Age: Origins, letVast amount of visual bugs which give horrible performance with a Geforce 580. Even when the game is running smoothly, I can't help but notice the obvious copy-pasting of dungeons/caves. The feeling that the quests are all going to the same places as other quests all the time. God knows what the popular game review sites are on, this is no where near on par with Dragon Age: Origins, let alone an improvement. I liked the combat more on this one, but everything else brings it down and nullifies it. Very mediocre and most likely rushed game; unexpected lackluster installment to the acclaimed Dragon Age: Origins.… Expand
  37. 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...
  38. 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
  39. Blaz
    Mar 16, 2011
    3
    Really disappointing.They simplified everything,the first game had decent game mechanics and a slightly better combat system,it feels like a game released in beta stage,and worse of all,i've even payed for this game
  40. Lawlimnator
    Mar 14, 2011
    3
    Visual: 3/10. Too much junk that bugs me.
    Pros-
    1. They're in hi-def (that's to be expected nowadays, though). Cons- 1. Ground mapping re-used over and over and over. I know this can be real-to-life as far as buildings go, but why are all the caves and mountains the same? 2. Certain people from past games physically changed way too much. 3. Hair. I keep seeing hair do things it    Visual: 3/10. Too much junk that bugs me.
    Pros-
    1. They're in hi-def (that's to be expected nowadays, though).
    Cons-
    1. Ground mapping re-used over and over and over. I know this can be real-to-life as far as buildings go, but why are all the caves and mountains the same?
    2. Certain people from past games physically changed way too much.
    3. Hair. I keep seeing hair do things it shouldn't. While I forgive hair falling through bodies and the like, I can't honestly say I'm pleased about the hair on the back of the elven leader's neck overlapping her collar. Or in other parts, not being connected to her neck at all. It's little wonder half the characters have short or pulled up hair in this game.
    4. Rarely, but sometimes, I can see the audio not having great lip sync. 5. Most non-important characters are replicas (or close to it) of someone else. I don't just mean the horde of enemies you're cutting through, I mean anyone that doesn't have much screen time. Like character A from side quest B looks too much like character B from side quest A.
    Audio: 6/10
    Pros-
    1. Voice acting on main characters is always good, and overall, I only had one character that really bugged me, voice-acting wise.
    2. The main character (i.e. YOU) actually talks. Thank God we're out of the silent savior age of games.
    Cons-
    1. A lot of times, I felt like I'd heard "this music" somewhere before. Obviously they wrote the music for the game, I'm not saying they ripped off some major motion picture, but it's just generic. Being that music is important, this one hits worse than the usual cons.
    2. Not enough background noise. We're in the mountains, is the wildlife dead? Where's the wind and splashing water on the coast?
    Game Play: 2/10
    Pros-
    1. Combat flows better than the original.
    2. Warriors actually do stuff to have top dps, not just dual wield and eat all their stamina with sustained buffs.
    Cons- 1. It's hard to justify more than one mage. Their cooldowns are just too long, all you want is the brittle for your warriors/rogues.
    2. Gearing sucks. I agree with locking us based on the primary stat (Strength, dexterity, or magic), but not so much the secondary one (constitution, cunning, or willpower). Not all my warriors are tanks, some of my mages might be blood. I guess the rogue one doesn't really matter, cunning is useful.
    3. Interaction sucks. I liked in Dragon Age when I couldn't tell how they might like my reaction based on a pretty picture in the middle. For the most part, this isn't too bad, but it seriously tosses you insta-romance. There's no struggle there, and I hate it.
    4. I can't think of many games that require me to constantly pause in combat to beat a boss. The tactics menu is still a joke.
    5. Depending too much on user addons, which are hard to put out without an updated addon creator.
    6. Can't change my allies actual armor, just upgrade it. Even then, I can't honestly see a difference. Maybe I need all four upgrades, but there should be intermediate steps at least.
    7. I know this doesn't bother everyone, but I hate not having everyone in my active party. I guess they'd better fix 4 first, otherwise I'd be pausing every half-second.
    8. Why can't everyone have a specialized talent tree? It sucks that I have to choose from four characters to be on my team because the other four don't get a character-specific talent tree.
    9. Combat is way too repetitive. 10. Story is too linear. When I think successful RPG, I think of things like Morrowind with a much more open-world environment.    … Expand
  41. tuttifrutas
    Mar 14, 2011
    3
    the game is very disappointing. The graphics seem dated, the music is ok, the game-play is simplified and poses no challenge at all for experienced rpg gamers. LOTS of the recycled content. it is the same layout for all caverns, almost all houses, and almost everything has the same type of texture applied.
    But the City Hub system is the worse, i never seen so many loading screen in my    the game is very disappointing. The graphics seem dated, the music is ok, the game-play is simplified and poses no challenge at all for experienced rpg gamers. LOTS of the recycled content. it is the same layout for all caverns, almost all houses, and almost everything has the same type of texture applied.
    But the City Hub system is the worse, i never seen so many loading screen in my life. initiate quest in district A , goto hub, Loading, do quest in district B, goto hub, Loading, finish quest in district A. This system makes the game a chore. just go play DAO this one is just plain boring.    … Expand
  42. clawbytes
    Mar 14, 2011
    3
    An insult to anyone who enjoyed the first game. How the hell can you screw up a good game? The formula to making a decent sequel isn't hard to figure out. Just simply BUILD ON TOP OF WHAT YOU HAVE. Instead, Bioware took out everything great about the first game. Players aren't given the choice to choose their own races this time around. This would be bearable, except your companions aren'tAn insult to anyone who enjoyed the first game. How the hell can you screw up a good game? The formula to making a decent sequel isn't hard to figure out. Just simply BUILD ON TOP OF WHAT YOU HAVE. Instead, Bioware took out everything great about the first game. Players aren't given the choice to choose their own races this time around. This would be bearable, except your companions aren't exactly diverse either. Aside from a shaved Dwarf that looks exactly human (save the height), an emo Elf and another popsicle stick she-elf, the rest of your team comprises of boring human characters. Let's say you wouldn't mind that either, but would you care if you spend the MAJORITY of your time doing quests in a town? I won't even go into the half-baked direction in story line. The developers clearly took a page from the 2004 Chinese movie Hero, except from the exaggerated tale in the beginning, the rest of the story becomes linear as hell. Your role in the story doesn't fare too well either. You don't become anywhere as great as humanity's savior, instead you run around town settling a petty political dispute. If that's also not so bad? You rarely fight Darkspawn this time around. All you fight are rouge mages and bandits. For the fans who insists on playing the game, don't buy it. Rent it or wait for the price to drop, which I'm sure won't take long since the game is so crappy anyways. Or if you've never played any game in the series, just get the first one. At least then you'll understand why I'm so mad.… Expand
  43. DetonNation
    Mar 15, 2011
    3
    What a disappointment... I went out and picked up the game first thing. Repetitive environments! Lack of a story that makes you want to play. I think I notice some of the same environments from Dragon Age 1. They are just recycled! The first Dragon Age was so cool. This one leaves me cold.
  44. 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.
  45. 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
  46. dirtyfinger
    Mar 18, 2011
    3
    Combat is ridiculous. Animation speed increased to the point that no strike animations are visible. Intended to speed up combat ... which it doesn't, since the increased speed is offset by higher monster hitpoints and swarms of enemies.
    also, combat has been "coolified", meaning that every standard attack is the 'Fallout 3' equivalent of 'Bloody Mess', meaning that a killing stab with a    Combat is ridiculous. Animation speed increased to the point that no strike animations are visible. Intended to speed up combat ... which it doesn't, since the increased speed is offset by higher monster hitpoints and swarms of enemies.
    also, combat has been "coolified", meaning that every standard attack is the 'Fallout 3' equivalent of 'Bloody Mess', meaning that a killing stab with a dagger causes humans to explode.

    unconvincing encounters with different factions ... you somehow are constantly forced to kill potential allies. also swarms of enemies, even if you're just on a evening stroll to the nearest tavern.

    also, maps get recycled over and over and over. sure, you're revisiting old locations very very often, but you'll see the exact same dungeon map on up to five DIFFERENT locations!
    Lazy!

    No, this game is a complete fail in the categories Bioware tried to improve.    … Expand
  47. 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
  48. Pachkenum
    Mar 17, 2011
    3
    The story is there but the telling of it is very poorly executed.
    It lacks the depth and strategy elements that made the first one good.
    The reuse of levels and the ability to only play human as well as the lack of control over your companions really pulls you out of the enjoyment.
    At best it is mediocre.
  49. 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
  50. El_Duckie
    Mar 17, 2011
    3
    I don't say this often, but I found myself unable to complete this game. Not out of difficulty mind you, but sheer boredom. After completely ignoring their old fanbase who enjoyed the original, Bioware, and I quote, "want call of duty's audience." I.e. a bunch of ADD 12 year olds, and this shows in the changes. Gone are the skill trees in the first game, replaced instead with...nothing.I don't say this often, but I found myself unable to complete this game. Not out of difficulty mind you, but sheer boredom. After completely ignoring their old fanbase who enjoyed the original, Bioware, and I quote, "want call of duty's audience." I.e. a bunch of ADD 12 year olds, and this shows in the changes. Gone are the skill trees in the first game, replaced instead with...nothing. Something as simple as a skill tree would scare off the Call of Duty audience so they just got rid of it altogether. Combat is now hack'n'slash in Devil May Cry style, only without the fun. The graphics are awful, textures and objects are poorly rendered, but don't worry, I heard they're releasing a graphics overhaul as DLC for the low price of £14.99. Bioware seems to have it's greedy heart set on deliberately taking out features of a finished game and forcing you to pay extra for content that should've been part of the game originally.

    If you can't be bothered to read that, imagine Dragon Age I as an older brother. He has his flaws, he's hardworking, immersive and generally an interesting person to be around. Dragon Age 2 is it's younger, exceedingly simple and borderline retarded brother, who was diagnosed with ADD as a fetus.    … Expand
  51. 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
  52. olorijn
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    I pre-ordered this purely on how much I enjoyed DA:O. Boy do I regret that.

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

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

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

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

    I've finished Act 1, bored, and unable to work up the motivation to continue. I won't be pre-ordering DA:3. Renting maybe.    … Expand
  53. Zelnaga
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    Currently I'm struggling to finish this game. The more I play it the more I think this is the ugly child of Mass Effect and Devil May Cry (or insert your own hack and slash title here). This isn't the Dragon Age i know, because its anything but Dragon Age apart from name and a few standout features. Could call it a stripped down version of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    This is anything buy Biowares finest. You can be sure that when DA3 is being hyped up in a few years time, they will use DA2s negativity and downfall as a way to promote its squeal.    … Expand
  54. 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!
  55. Eceliion
    Mar 19, 2011
    3
    Everyone has said everything that needs to be said. I finished the game (mostly) today and...wow, I've never been so disappointed. Not only did I waste $69.00 buying this junk, I also wasted hours of my life. Sigh.
    EA has eaten BioWare up and pooped them out. I've lost hope now :(
  56. 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
  57. nirax
    Mar 20, 2011
    3
    If you liked the nwn series, DA:O or even the witcher you may than i suggest to try the game first before buying. You may prepare for some serious disappointment.
    There would be nothing wrong with the game if there were some 'Diablo' letters on the cover, but it is a tremendous disappointment and dumb down if you expect a rich and interesting game.
    Its basically pure hack&slash (Diablo    If you liked the nwn series, DA:O or even the witcher you may than i suggest to try the game first before buying. You may prepare for some serious disappointment.
    There would be nothing wrong with the game if there were some 'Diablo' letters on the cover, but it is a tremendous disappointment and dumb down if you expect a rich and interesting game.
    Its basically pure hack&slash (Diablo Style) with a soso story and some nice characters. The graphic feels cleaner and worse than in DA:O, the combat was streamlinded and quickend, but is esthetically totally unpleasing. Its never elegant, its never eye catching eye candy, i never bothered taking a screenshot, while i have hm ~2k screenshots from the first game.
    Now there are some nice additoins. The voice over feels good, and some options like the possibility to give funny answers is an enrichment, espeically if thats what comes first in your mind anway .
    But the repetitive dungeons, boring map, boring graphics, missing items, everythin feels like it has a huge stamp on it "MAKE the over 10 MIL copies SELL with just 1/2 year development EA order". That just wont work. It was definately my last Bioware game i ever preordered before reading user reviews. / as such its interesting to see how commercial reviewers join Bioware´s epic fail.
    What should they do better: Well stop trying to do a DIABLO clone (knowing that the real diablo would be delayed and thus sniffing blood) - but stick to your theme, stick to what you know best. Deliver a full rich and good - but well yes, costy - RPG environment again. And yes, keep the EA guys away from Product planning.    … Expand
  58. 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.
  59. 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
  60. Enex
    Mar 30, 2011
    3
    Disappointing, on the whole. None of your choices actually matter in the game. There is a serious lack of art in the game which leads to extreme repetitive environments and enemies. The "wave" enemies appearing from nowhere are an insult to DA:O more strategic gameplay. The siphoning off much of the game to release as DLC later is stupid. There isn't enough game there to siphon off.Disappointing, on the whole. None of your choices actually matter in the game. There is a serious lack of art in the game which leads to extreme repetitive environments and enemies. The "wave" enemies appearing from nowhere are an insult to DA:O more strategic gameplay. The siphoning off much of the game to release as DLC later is stupid. There isn't enough game there to siphon off. Overall, I'd call it a quick cash-in on a much better title. Hopefully EA will do better next time. (I'm really not even sure you can call them Bioware after this).… Expand
  61. 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
  62. mirimar
    Apr 28, 2011
    3
    Another disappointing cash run from a major developer. Clearly rushed; yet most mainstream review blogs and magazines pander to Bioware and give praise to this abortive money grabber. Don't these reviewers know they lose the trust of their readers when they do this?
  63. wilddemoncat
    May 19, 2011
    3
    I own every bioware game ever made, and this is only one I really have been disappointed in, don't get me wrong I did enjoy parts of the game, but clearly EA had them rush it out, reused art assets, maps and ninja's jumping down from 2nd floor or higher in full plate........ Out of everything in this game what I disliked most was the combat spawning system, no excuse to be teleporting inI own every bioware game ever made, and this is only one I really have been disappointed in, don't get me wrong I did enjoy parts of the game, but clearly EA had them rush it out, reused art assets, maps and ninja's jumping down from 2nd floor or higher in full plate........ Out of everything in this game what I disliked most was the combat spawning system, no excuse to be teleporting in units for a fight unless in startrek or some magic teleportation that makes sense.

    I found almost all the battles same, 1st group attack kill them 2nd harder group teleports in broke the game for me.

    After finishing wither 2 today I really see how much was missing from DA 2.

    BIOWARE RIP    … Expand
  64. Fascination80
    May 19, 2011
    3
    I love RPGs. I loved Dragon Age Origens. This game is not an RPG. Very linear playthrough; I played both endings (yes, only 2 endings!) and your choices don't really matter.
    You can't talk with your companions whenever you want like in Origens so you don't feel as connected to them. My iPhone is messing up so that's all I can type now but shame on you, Bioware
  65. blueweed
    May 22, 2011
    3
    my second post, and a few things happened that led me to create a metacritic account. I bought DA2 recently, I could not reconcile the quality of this game(bad) so I had gone to the web to check around and I read Laidlaw's defense on DA2 design decicions, fine...then

    Then, I played Witcher 2. so there I made a metacritc account and gave witcher 2 a 10, and had felt responsible to give DA2    my second post, and a few things happened that led me to create a metacritic account. I bought DA2 recently, I could not reconcile the quality of this game(bad) so I had gone to the web to check around and I read Laidlaw's defense on DA2 design decicions, fine...then

    Then, I played Witcher 2.
    so there I made a metacritc account and gave witcher 2 a 10, and had felt responsible to give DA2 a 3. Witcher 2 was made from labor of love, DA2 was made from steaming pile of %$@, laziness, and lies imo. in anycase, DA2 is passe, so you better watch out Skyrim....the bar have just been raised!    … Expand
  66. BlackVulcan
    May 28, 2011
    3
    Very bad game following DAO. The combat is too flashy without any substance, animations are overexaggerated and trash mobs are everywhere making you wonder "Just how many people do live in Kirkwall? I must've slain a thousand by now" . The level design is bland, dull and poorly done, with Bioware reusing the same dungeons at least 5 times(I did every sidequest hoping it would affect theVery bad game following DAO. The combat is too flashy without any substance, animations are overexaggerated and trash mobs are everywhere making you wonder "Just how many people do live in Kirkwall? I must've slain a thousand by now" . The level design is bland, dull and poorly done, with Bioware reusing the same dungeons at least 5 times(I did every sidequest hoping it would affect the main story.. big disappointment there as well). And I'm a real die-hard perfectionist/completionist in games and honestly... this game left a severely bad taste in my mouth. The story was meh really, no sense of scale and though some scenes were well done, the hundreds of enemies exploding from handblade strikes ruined the moment. Slash enemies with a dagger, they explode. Bash em with a large sword, they explode. Shoot em with an arrow, they explode. Blow em up with a fireball and guess what happens? These fights in between story missions are just NOT fun(nor are the enemies materializing out of the void) and the isometric camera is sorely missed, or the slightly free roam one to effectively survey the battlefield. It was watered down completely to the point it lost everything that DAO shined for and replaced with generic rpg drivel. It was the biggest disappointment of the year and I am definitely NOT getting DA3 anymore... ME3 is still a might since ME2 wasn't butchered THAT much, and at least there... combat wasn't this garbage.… Expand
  67. spiderfish
    May 29, 2011
    3
    I would've given this game a higher review if the apple hadn't fallen so far from the tree. The combat is much improved, as is the art direction, but in all other aspects the game falls far short of its predecessor.

    Bioware loves to tout its emphasis on "story, story, story." They should know the heart of any story is it's characters, and boy did they miss the boat in DA2. There are    I would've given this game a higher review if the apple hadn't fallen so far from the tree. The combat is much improved, as is the art direction, but in all other aspects the game falls far short of its predecessor.

    Bioware loves to tout its emphasis on "story, story, story." They should know the heart of any story is it's characters, and boy did they miss the boat in DA2. There are only two interesting characters in the game: Anderson and the Arishok, who outshine the rest of the cast by several orders of magnitude. I felt no connection whatsoever to Hawke, and even less to his groupies. Why are these characters following me around again?

    We've all heard it said that the environment can be a character too. In that sense, Kirkwall is as hollow and uninspiring as the rest of the cast. Hardly anyone in the city is worth talking too. Most NPCs are stereotypes of one kind or another, and the setting loses its luster quickly. You see every environment in the game during the first act, and it's recycled for the rest of the game.

    Choices are meaningless for the most part. You can flip flop between personalities without any consequences. I found myself making conversation choices based on which of the two companion skills I'd like to have. Conversations are far less intricate and engaging than they were in DA:O, probably because the characters themselves are so underwhelming.

    Perhaps Bioware expected the more complex subject material and narrative framing to carry the game. It didn't. DA:O, a perfectly boilerplate monomyth fantasy, was infinitely better.

    What a waste!    … Expand
  68. 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
  69. 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
  70. 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
  71. Amorphous_Blob
    Feb 8, 2012
    3
    The best thing i can say about this game is that it is relatively stable... That's it... The game play is, for the most part, more or less the same as origins except simpler and with less emphasis on tactics, due to enemies spawning all around he group during fights. The character customisation has been, inexplicably, cut down(even though in the expansions for origins it was improved).The best thing i can say about this game is that it is relatively stable... That's it... The game play is, for the most part, more or less the same as origins except simpler and with less emphasis on tactics, due to enemies spawning all around he group during fights. The character customisation has been, inexplicably, cut down(even though in the expansions for origins it was improved). Many of the more interesting spells from origins have been entirely removed and the player now lacks the ability to decide what their characters wear. Non of this would matter, however, if the story or setting was interesting. They aren't. The story is confused and dull and the same goes for te environments. The main city feels dead with little to interact with. Outside the city, much the same except here the cut-and-paste environments get more noticeable...

    To sum up, EVERYTHING about this game smacks of a lazy developer doing the absolute minimum to make a quick buck. Bioware, you owe me £30...    … Expand
  72. SupR_G
    Mar 14, 2012
    3
    An absolute mess of a game. Buggy, full of nonsensical subplots and scenery that is constantly recycled in a way that just comes off as lazy - this game did not impress me. In terms of story and writing, it paled in comparison to Dragon Age: Origins and just came off as a cheap sequel you would see in theaters (like Speed 2). While I found some of the artistic re-designs of familiar racesAn absolute mess of a game. Buggy, full of nonsensical subplots and scenery that is constantly recycled in a way that just comes off as lazy - this game did not impress me. In terms of story and writing, it paled in comparison to Dragon Age: Origins and just came off as a cheap sequel you would see in theaters (like Speed 2). While I found some of the artistic re-designs of familiar races was refreshing and gave more distinction, overall the game suffered from the lack of a coherent and compelling story. Some of the characters got on my nerves and combat had little substance. The entire game seemed to forebode some "great threat" that we never see or understand, and the ending simply gives a cliffhanger into the next game. On top of this, the DLC is terrible and slapped together with little care. All in all a poor game that I would recommend to nobody.… Expand
  73. Ahmiran
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    The graphics seem cartoonish and while I like the art for the Qunari, the darkspawn look like clowns with a leather fixation. The environment is endlessly recycled.
    The story is disjointed. The three acts could very well be three separate stories being told. While I like the frame-narrative idea, but the implementation was poor.
    The real killer are the choices or the lack of them to be    The graphics seem cartoonish and while I like the art for the Qunari, the darkspawn look like clowns with a leather fixation. The environment is endlessly recycled.
    The story is disjointed. The three acts could very well be three separate stories being told. While I like the frame-narrative idea, but the implementation was poor.
    The real killer are the choices or the lack of them to be precise. Play the game in 2 completely different ways and you wind up with the same experience will only minor changes, your choice of character class has greater impact on the story than any other choice in the game.
    Thanks to the dialog wheel you have 3 ways of saying the same thing, yes, sarcastic yes or angry yes. It also doesn't help that what it says on the wheel isn't what Hawke says. Too often I was screaming "that's not what I wanted to say." The dialog itself between NPC's is actually very good and the only thing that kept me going through the game.
    Combat, the less said about it the best. Endless waves of generic foes which half the time seem to attack you for no reason what so ever. Too often I found myself asking who are these people and why am I killing them?
    All and all this is a poor game and nothing more than a shameless attempt to milk money off gamers. Stay away.    … Expand
  74. Nichtswisser
    Apr 24, 2012
    3
    Behold one of the worst sequels in history: Dragon Age 2, the adventure of Hawk in copy&paste Land. If you ever wanted to see serious recycling this is the game for you
  75. ButtholeSurfer
    May 19, 2012
    3
    Unfortunately for Bioware, Dragon Age WILL be judged and compared against its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins. This is something to be expected, and this review is written with such a thing in mind.
    And indeed, compared to its predecessor, this game fails to to be equally or even half as good. The combat feels more arcade-like, the abilities watered-down and samey. For me, the worst thing    Unfortunately for Bioware, Dragon Age WILL be judged and compared against its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins. This is something to be expected, and this review is written with such a thing in mind.
    And indeed, compared to its predecessor, this game fails to to be equally or even half as good. The combat feels more arcade-like, the abilities watered-down and samey. For me, the worst thing Bioware did was essentially eliminate what made DA: O so much fun; the need to use strategy during battles, the need to pause and plan out actions, the use of the abilities of different classes to form a strategy (for example a mage's cone of cold spell to freeze an enemy and stonefist, or a critical hit, to shatter him, and many other combinations). Another, very cheesy aspect of this game was that some of the characters' weapons and armour would automatically upgrade with their level, and for other characters you had to purchase specific upgrades. I'm not an autist by any means, but part of the fun of DA: O was setting up your characters with the correct equipment.
    Atmosphere was also another thing I found lacking in DA II. In DA: O, you really got a sense that you were fighting the Blight (especially when you were at Camp). In DA II, the story doesn't seem to have had any effort put into it, the characters feel boring and uninspired . Just think of Sten, Morrigan, Oghren, Wynne and other DA: O characters, all of which were interesting in their own way. It just feels boring.

    This is by no means a complete review, as I'm not so great at structured writing, but these are indeed my thoughts. My cents.    … Expand
  76. PrpleTrtleBuBum
    May 25, 2012
    3
    Dragon Age 2 is way different from Origins, mostly in bad ways. Storywise it is very loosely connected with the original. Warden is barely mentioned just like everything else from Origins, though there a a couple of short fun cameos. Moreover much of the lore is neglected, for example in Origins Abominations were described as the worst beings ever and there are only some. During DA2 theDragon Age 2 is way different from Origins, mostly in bad ways. Storywise it is very loosely connected with the original. Warden is barely mentioned just like everything else from Origins, though there a a couple of short fun cameos. Moreover much of the lore is neglected, for example in Origins Abominations were described as the worst beings ever and there are only some. During DA2 the player however fights hundreds of Abominations and if mages are willing to reject their humanity so easily I just can't side with them, although otherwise I feel they're harshly oppressed and templars are the enemies.

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

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

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

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

    *    … Expand
  77. Nimbus1701
    Aug 1, 2013
    3
    I often wonder what people would have felt playing this game if its predecessor did not exist. Probably a little less let-down. DA2 is more intensive when it comes to combat, but that's not the problem. The plot is poor, characters are not that appealing, and it feels linear and simplistic. Might have done better as a large XBLA arcade game in some ways. Another nail in the coffin for Bioware.
  78. ONI913
    Jul 29, 2020
    3
    как отдельная игра она получилось неплохо, как Dragon age 2 это кошмар... отношения с персонажами это единственный плюс игры, ибо играть в это больше 2х часов почти невозможно, а если вы только недавно закончили первую часть и ее дополнения то ваше впечатление о геймплее становится еще хуже.как отдельная игра она получилось неплохо, как Dragon age 2 это кошмар... отношения с персонажами это единственный плюс игры, ибо играть в это больше 2х часов почти невозможно, а если вы только недавно закончили первую часть и ее дополнения то ваше впечатление о геймплее становится еще хуже.
  79. NotTodayThanks
    Mar 15, 2011
    2
    Not good. Not good at all. Still an ugly game, so generic in the fantasy space it had to sue the word `Dragon` in the title... there are much better games out there that are basically the same, currently in the bargain bin. Go buy one of those.
  80. HonestJoe
    Nov 11, 2011
    2
    This game should have been brilliant. It was created by a developer that has the story driven RPG down to an art.
    The problem is that EA rushed the game out before it was ready and what we got was an unfinished mess.
    Repetitive scenery, repetitive combat, repetitive gameplay. Any redeeming features the game might have are overshadowed by the knowledge that this could have been a great game    This game should have been brilliant. It was created by a developer that has the story driven RPG down to an art.
    The problem is that EA rushed the game out before it was ready and what we got was an unfinished mess.
    Repetitive scenery, repetitive combat, repetitive gameplay. Any redeeming features the game might have are overshadowed by the knowledge that this could have been a great game if only it was given the time and attention it deserved.

    I HATE YOU EA!!!!!!    … Expand
  81. Sh0dan
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    With DA: Origins BioWare captured a tiny bit of the magic they used to have in their heyday with the likes of Baldurs Gate 2 and KOTOR, and in my opinion that strategic, tactical "thinking" gameplay felt like a step in the right direction, particularly the PC version with its overhead distant perspective allowing us to get a good view of the battlefield. However this game just feels soWith DA: Origins BioWare captured a tiny bit of the magic they used to have in their heyday with the likes of Baldurs Gate 2 and KOTOR, and in my opinion that strategic, tactical "thinking" gameplay felt like a step in the right direction, particularly the PC version with its overhead distant perspective allowing us to get a good view of the battlefield. However this game just feels so watered down and casualised its just lost all of that past BioWare magic. I felt the same about Mass Effect 2 also, which seemed dumbed down and more about mindless action. So if anyone else out there reading this felt the same about that game, then trust me, DA2 will disappoint you too.… Expand
  82. Kalophae
    Mar 8, 2011
    2
    Soulless, disappointing, misstep (if not outright misshapen). Bioware has long been a gem of rich storytelling and having the ability to define gestalt. However, glamor doesn't make a game. The graphics & sounds effects are clean, dark, & too simple to bring reference to the genre (they're more suited to modern, the future, or a tech setting). The quality of voice & story leaves oneSoulless, disappointing, misstep (if not outright misshapen). Bioware has long been a gem of rich storytelling and having the ability to define gestalt. However, glamor doesn't make a game. The graphics & sounds effects are clean, dark, & too simple to bring reference to the genre (they're more suited to modern, the future, or a tech setting). The quality of voice & story leaves one wondering that budget cuts were in the wrong areas--quite frankly, the game feels low rent, a sellout, & hoping to be a cash cow--or else promising to deliver to an immature crowd. The deviation from the genre just doesn't work. Given critic reviews of the game vs. user reviews, I wonder that critics are now as out-of-touch as Tom Cruise. As much as I feel that Overlord was an underrated game by critics, I call this game far too overrated. It's a huge let down. Let RPG fans mourn the loss of Bauldur's Gate, the downfall of it's "successor", & pray Skyrim is better, not bastardized, nor as dumbed down.… Expand
  83. hobodave
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I don't normally write reviews, nor read them prior to playing a game. I enjoyed DA:O, so why wouldn't I try DA II? Big mistake. I'm 4 hours into the game, and I think I'm giving up. I'm bored. The first hour of the game is 45 minutes of badly written cutscenes and 15 minutes of combat. How is the combat? Terrible. I just hold down a button. Being a rogue is usually a fun and interestingI don't normally write reviews, nor read them prior to playing a game. I enjoyed DA:O, so why wouldn't I try DA II? Big mistake. I'm 4 hours into the game, and I think I'm giving up. I'm bored. The first hour of the game is 45 minutes of badly written cutscenes and 15 minutes of combat. How is the combat? Terrible. I just hold down a button. Being a rogue is usually a fun and interesting class to play. Nope, not in DA II. The characters are boring and uninteresting. They don't draw me in like they do in DA:O or Mass Effect. The voice acting is meiocre at best.

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

    The whole game screamed rushed and dumbed down.

    Bioware appear to have this PC elitist approach ..thinking we on console are so dumb we only want a dumbed down peice of garbage hack and slash.Very let down by the lack of effort that went into DA2
  85. Slash47
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    Very disappointing... I was hoping for even more depth, better, more creative graphical designs and more interesting combat. Instead it delivered less of all those things. A lot of the characters and monsters look absolutely ridiculous. It's not 'dark', it's just bad design. I do not get the sense of scale that DA:O had at all. It's fine that the adventure is 'smaller' but this is justVery disappointing... I was hoping for even more depth, better, more creative graphical designs and more interesting combat. Instead it delivered less of all those things. A lot of the characters and monsters look absolutely ridiculous. It's not 'dark', it's just bad design. I do not get the sense of scale that DA:O had at all. It's fine that the adventure is 'smaller' but this is just plain uninteresting. And everything sexual is still cringe worthy, just so shallow and unexciting. This game shouldn't exist.… Expand
  86. Wellness
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This game is such a disapointment. I am SICK of developers screwing over the PC games because of console playing peasants. Starting with DA2 , Bioware became just another EA wh0re , pushing out subpar games to please the unwashed masses.

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

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

    :(    … Expand
  87. Diplomacide
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    When I first heard of DA2, my heart soared. Wow! A sequel to one of my favourite WRPG's of all time! The initial trailers showed promise, but when the demo finally hit, everything turned sour and quick. I got the full game to confirm my suspicions, and I can tell you right now: This is NOT a Dragon Age game. Ok, picture Mass Effect. Now throw in some swords and magic and you've got DragonWhen I first heard of DA2, my heart soared. Wow! A sequel to one of my favourite WRPG's of all time! The initial trailers showed promise, but when the demo finally hit, everything turned sour and quick. I got the full game to confirm my suspicions, and I can tell you right now: This is NOT a Dragon Age game. Ok, picture Mass Effect. Now throw in some swords and magic and you've got Dragon Age 2. Next to nothing of the original game remains in this sequel, save a similarity in the combat systems. Everything else is just...No.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    This was my review of Mass Effe- Dragon Age 2. Thank you for reading.    … Expand
  88. TheTopazWombat
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    When Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal ofWhen Dragon Age 2 was announced, I like many hardcore RPG gamers looked forward to it. While in the past several years Bioware hasn't been producing awe-inspiring games as they once did, they've remained a very solid developer who's RPG's are interesting, characters are varied and get you involved, and build worlds which have depth and are enjoyable. Dragon Age 2 is a complete betrayal of this standard. The combat feels jolty and unrealistic. The characters wield a 2 handed sword that would make Braveheart sweat like it was made from tissue paper. The weapons were equally large in Dragon Age: Origins, but at least they felt like they were actually that big. Instead, what we have here is a combat system that resembles crappy anime more than anything else.

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

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

    The only thing that kept this game from getting a 0 from me is the fact that maybe Bioware didn't intend for this to be an RPG at all, and simply another generic, boring, railroaded action game. As a lifelong Bioware fan, I truly hope they don't stay on this road. They've proven time and again their ability to make a solid RPG, but this game was an utter betrayal of everything I as an RPG fan have come to love and expect from them.    … Expand
  89. Worrker20
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I tried to keep an open mind, I really did, But Bioware messed up big time. Literally everything about this game is what is wrong with the gaming industry. from the insane amount of pre order DLC that they put out to the "nerdy" jokes they try to force, DA2 did not deliver at all. Now, I was a Bioware fan, played Baldur's Gate, Kotor, and Mass Effect is one of my favorite series. Hell, II tried to keep an open mind, I really did, But Bioware messed up big time. Literally everything about this game is what is wrong with the gaming industry. from the insane amount of pre order DLC that they put out to the "nerdy" jokes they try to force, DA2 did not deliver at all. Now, I was a Bioware fan, played Baldur's Gate, Kotor, and Mass Effect is one of my favorite series. Hell, I even played the First Dragon age as well, but the quality of DA2 is drastically lower. from the casualized button mashing combat, to the sappy attempt at romances, to the maps that simply with a different skin. im not lying, there are 3 dungeons with the EXACT SAME LAYOUT. They said that they improved the game from the original, no, they did no such thing. in fact it's worse. the original was fun because you caould play it with rts tactics. with this, it's like they got rid of that and tried to copy dynasty warriors. And it seems they spent more on marketing than the actual game for crying out loud.
    Now The "New dialogue system?" it's a direct copy from mass effect, and your only choices are to be a boy/girl scout, a "funny" guy (not that funny at all), or an **** not much else. the graphics are only slightly better, but both the default character presets literally look decent like 3rd party hair mods. The graphics are so terrible, BW even released an official patch to help it along. Now the Characters... oh god the characters. They are too oversexualized and forced. there's a pirate with the biggest pair of knockers Ive ever seen in an WRPG and She has a Jay Leno chin. They Butchered the awesome Mage guy from the Origins Expansion. your sister is probably the best looking female in the game, why would you do that? The Templar chick looks like a dyke, Fenris was pretty cool. and The elf Merrill is literally Tali 2.0. The only saving grace in this game was Varric, the Dwarf telling the story. I found him to be very interesting and unique, considering he breaks away from the traditional dwarf, and he;s an interestin character.

    in the end, DA2 is a terrible game. i dont know what the official reviewers such as IGN etc were thinking, but it's just terrioble    … Expand
  90. bunndle_of_fun
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    ... way to go EA for turning Bioware into a factory... you should have waited another year to release this and actually make a decent game...
    steamy triple coiler....
  91. genericgamer01
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had high hopes for Dragon Age 2. I loved the first one and was so looking forward to this one. I anxiously awaited the day the demo was available so I could get a look at this sequel and I was terribly disappointed. Against my better judgment I did not cancel my pre order and decided to give it a chance anyway. Honestly I should have saved the 50$ I spent on it. Leaving out the fact that the new combat system is just dreadful in my opinion....

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


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

    Then there is the story. It is boring and lacks the sense of urgency and epic feel of Origins. Where is the story? Where is the reason for my characters actions. I feel nothing, no sense of purpose, no urgency no desire to see what happens next. To me this game is a complete and utter failure. Granted I am only about 10 hours into it but it should have grabbed me by now. Origins had me in the first 15 minutes of game play. An RPG, like a good book should grab you from the first sentence and make you not want to put it down. This one fails to do that. I could look past every other flaw it has if it could do that but it doesn't.    … Expand
  92. Tizlor
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    I'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game. I do, it's mindless. After working long days at my terrible menial job that saps my mental capacities; it's nice to sit down with a mindless game that takes absolutely no thought what-so-ever to get through. But that's a problem. This is a Bioware game. It's set to a higher standard than other games, it's supposed to draw you inI'll preface this mini-review with: I actually like the game. I do, it's mindless. After working long days at my terrible menial job that saps my mental capacities; it's nice to sit down with a mindless game that takes absolutely no thought what-so-ever to get through. But that's a problem. This is a Bioware game. It's set to a higher standard than other games, it's supposed to draw you in with it's story and setting; the characters are supposed to be memorable, witty, devious, intelligent. But none of that really applies here. What we got was a game so vapid, so unintelligent, so... test grouped, that it's now not much more than a mindless Facebook game. Re-used maps everywhere. Lack of personality in it's setting and characters. Plenty of loot, but only one character to equip it on. (Oh that's nice, a 'mage only' item that has stats that my rogue will never be able to equip. Maybe I'll equip it on to one of my mages on my team, oh wait..) Poorly written characters that are voice acted quite well. And what happened to the Qunari? I mean, what? I honestly thought they were Darkspawn. Who even thought that was a good idea? I'm starting to go off the rails, the game itself is not worthy of calling itself a sequel. The people who spent the passed year or two working on this game should not be proud of their work. They were forced to make a game that they I'm sure knew would be a big disappointment for the people who actually enjoyed the first game. Sorry fellas, people aren't trolling, they're genuinely disappointed that you (Bioware) made a subpar game. Borrow this from your friends if you really really want to play it, please do not spend your (or your parents') hard earned money on this.… Expand
  93. Jay44225
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    i liked the story of dragon age 1, despite the mediocre graphics. what i really don´t liked, was the straight forward level design, it´s the same with mass effect which is exactly taken just "dragon age in space". after playing da:o i really felt like it was roleplaying for dummies. roleplaying for me ist always something like oblivion (or baldurs gate) or fallouti liked the story of dragon age 1, despite the mediocre graphics. what i really don´t liked, was the straight forward level design, it´s the same with mass effect which is exactly taken just "dragon age in space". after playing da:o i really felt like it was roleplaying for dummies. roleplaying for me ist always something like oblivion (or baldurs gate) or fallout (every part of it). different paths, a open world linked with decision making and character development with different impacts.

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

    i hope this works out for EA, it´s good that nobody is forced to buy this game. life is too short for another "run of the mill - hack and slay" game.    … Expand
  94. jurpque
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    Bioware is death for me.
    Púdrete en el infierno Bioware, cómo puedes venderte de esta manera? traicionando lo que te ha hecho grande, Dragon Age II es basura. Juego sin emoción, pasillero, diálogos estériles, trama aburrida, sin cámara cenital, no vale la pena decir mucho más,
  95. Rpgfan1981
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    I am a big RPG fan and I was crawing for Dragon Age since i heard it for the very first time. I must say even Dragon Age: Origins had flaws although the game was ultimately sucessful on almost most of it's main points that I was simply ignoring these stuff. That is why I am so genuinely disappointed about Dragon Age 2 this much.

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

    They took away pretty much everything that made the original Dragon Age such a big sucess. Story is a way too simplified thanks for the hunger of pulling new gamers to the franchise. Dialogue options are limited which makes the Characters less and less developed and beliveable. Graphics even the animations are a little off but these are flaws that i can let go. What i can't ignore is, the fact that Dragon Age 2 is a train wreck. I played the Demo and it was horrible, though i kept my hopes high for the game hoping it would improve somehow. This is not a story that would fill it's player with awe, and make him beg for more. Dragon Age 2 is a over simplified hack and slash game where not even the gameplay but the story itself is simplified in order to make the game more accessible. I am sorry really sorry for Bioware. A game where accessiblity takes over quality and immersiveness is destined the sink to the bottom. This is trully not what I expected from developers that made such a great game like Dragon Age.    … Expand
  96. Rachanol
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    ´As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPG´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! That´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a´As a Player of Baldurs Gate 1 &2 , Planescape Torment , Morrowind and all the other RPG´s which deserve to be called "Role Playing Games" i am shocked were the Genre is heading. I played Dragon Age origins and enjoyed it. I loved it, Really! That´s why this game hurts so much. But now Bioware made a game where i have to think : Is this a RPG or a Action Adventure/Hack´n Slay ? THIS, Dragon Age 2, is the Call of Duty of RPG´s. DA2 doesn´t even deserve to be named a RPG. One Town, No Worldmap, ridiculous characters, a "not so interesting Story", Graphics from 2005 (Hello bioware, we have 2011 now, Even the current console generation hardware is bored to death with this program), really bad environments, no armor management for party mambers and always the same cloned level structures like the dungeons in Oblivion. They oversimplyfied everything in this game. DAII does not make ONE simple point better than part 1. A downgrade all along the line. DA II is no RPG. It´s a slap in the face of every single person who loves role playing games.… Expand
  97. 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
  98. binarybetrayer
    Mar 10, 2011
    2
    A mayor setback from the first title in every aspect of the game. maybe with more time to get the game properly made instead of rushing it and selling a halfmade thing it would really live up to the scores the rabid fanbase is spamming everywhere to hide the fact that this is actually a bad game.
  99. Biodrone
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    Yes i truly love Dragon Age 2 even tho it is quite different than what i remember from Dragon Age: Origins but it is my belief that the developers guided by the wisdom of EA have made the game better than the first Dragon Age game.
  100. rpeh
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    Dragon Age 1 was a great game; this isn't. The graphics are more of the same, the gameplay isn't as good and while the story is well done, it's not enough to save the game. Bioware rushed this out to capitalise on the success of DA:O but in doing so they may have killed the series. If they had put an extra few months' work into the game they could have had a huge hit. Instead, they've gotDragon Age 1 was a great game; this isn't. The graphics are more of the same, the gameplay isn't as good and while the story is well done, it's not enough to save the game. Bioware rushed this out to capitalise on the success of DA:O but in doing so they may have killed the series. If they had put an extra few months' work into the game they could have had a huge hit. Instead, they've got a below average game that's going to seriously disappoint the fans.… Expand
Page:

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 75
  3. Negative: 1 out of 75
  1. GamingExcellence
    Aug 3, 2011
    85
    I'll give Bioware points for trying to do something different in their world, but they really did have it right the first time in terms of character building and the scope of the story.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Nexus
    May 1, 2011
    75
    Faulty game mechanics and disappointing maps, combat scenarios and storyline direction aside, Dragon Age II still has a surprising amount of intrigue hidden beneath the blemishes. The depth of character relationships, as well as the complex nature of the world of the Dragon Age franchise are a savior to a game that would otherwise forever be remembered by its mistakes.
    Read full review
  3. Game Chronicles
    Apr 22, 2011
    90
    Above all, it seems like Dragon Age II is an experiment. If you're a fan of the first game and expect a direct continuation, either in story or mechanics, you'll be disappointed. If you're not willing to put up with some rough edges and some mechanics that don't quite work as intended, you'll end up having a hard time. But if you're going for a game that has some of the best storytelling in RPGs in a while, or you're looking for a BioWare RPG to tide yourself over until Mass Effect 3, you won't do much better right now than Dragon Age II.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »