Dragon Age II

 Xbox 360
User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2466 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 795 out of 2466
  2. Mixed: 431 out of 2466
  3. Negative: 1,240 out of 2466
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  1. paketep
    Mar 15, 2011
    0
    Sorry, this review was intended for PC, and the delete button has gone south.

    150 char 150 char 150 char 150 char 150 char 150 char 150 char 150 char
  2. Speck
    Mar 15, 2011
    0
    The worst 60 dollar pile of junk I've ever purchased. Cannot believe how bad the role playing is, and how meaningless the dialogue. Voice overs are pathetic, with no inspiration what so ever. This is a sequel? Hack and slash only, what a waste!
  3. Surenkin
    Mar 26, 2011
    2
    I have enjoyed almost all the games Bioware has produced in the past. Hardly anyone can deny that games like Baldurs Gate II, Dragon Age Origins and Kotor provide tons of entertainment. They received high ratings from professional reviewers and the community was pleased.

    What happened? How is it possible for a gaming company to take such a nosedive in one year? It would have been    I have enjoyed almost all the games Bioware has produced in the past. Hardly anyone can deny that games like Baldurs Gate II, Dragon Age Origins and Kotor provide tons of entertainment. They received high ratings from professional reviewers and the community was pleased.

    What happened? How is it possible for a gaming company to take such a nosedive in one year?

    It would have been UNFATHOMABLE to even consider that the average community score for a Dragon Age sequel would be less than 60/100 but here we are.

    How is it that in almost every single installment before Dragon Age 2 we had the ability to impact the world around us and the ending of the game would change depending on our choices? But now it doesn't matter who you support, not one bit. One tragedy after another isn't the core problem here but that you can't do anything about it.

    What's the replay value people? Really, what is it? What can I do differently? Have sex with Merrill instead of Isabela and change my tone of voice while speaking during pre-determined events?

    And how is it that romances have devolved into *press heart symbol to have h0t s3x*

    What happened to gameplay? What happened to stealing, creating potions, collecting resources and having a connection with the world around us?

    Where is the possibility to lie, intimidate and charm during conversations? Isn't that what roleplaying has been all about in your previous releases? You dont even need to read your own lines in DA2 (nor can you). Just choose one option from *calm*, *joke* or *angry*. Talking yourself out from a bad spot isn't really an option if the game has already decided what is going to happen.

    What happened to being able to choose your own race. What's the point of having racism towards elves if you cant even play one anymore?

    Customizing the armor of your companions might not seem like a big deal to many people since we are forced to use the best armor sets anyway and sell all the junk. But it does look completely stupid to have some pirate woman in a prostitute uniform fighting against a high-dragon. This is something I expect to see from square and Final Fantasy, not Bioware.

    And the worst thing is that after investing over 40 hours of gameplay, there is no real ending or closure. So what's the idea behind this? Rip us off with DLC's?

    And people really need to stop being naive. I hardly doubt this is going to be a prequel to some epic tale. Why should I believe that a savegame import would matter now when it has never had a major impact in the past? It's just going to be another set of cameos, letters from the people you saved and a couple of mentions about what happened in the past.

    This game does its job as a linear adventure hack'n'slasher but that's it.

    Just one year ago Bioware put square on blast by stating that "Final Fantasy XIII is not an RPG yadayada". And here we are now....I hope CD Projekt stays silent and walks the walk with Witcher 2, because you guys need a reality check.

    On a scale from 1 to pretzel, I'm mad salty lol. I guess it's time to go back to hyping the upcoming Mass Effect 2 DLC, because atleast you still have dev-teams that know what the hell they are doing.    … Expand
  4. evanbiddulph
    Apr 11, 2011
    0
    I heard that Bioware had an employee review on here giving it a perfect 10 score. For that, I am going to write a review with a "0" to even it out. I love Metacritic and always will trust its integrity.
  5. gheed123
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bioware for me stood for quality RPG. Dragon age Origins was a quality RPG. The quality steadily went down with each DLC and the absolute low of this decline now seems to have been reached with DA2. They tried to make an RPG that appeals to the bro's that play CoD, Halo and Gears of war and the like and ended up with this **** The story is nonexistant, enemies are lame, they raped the lore that they built up with DAO, combat is fun for an hour or 1000 exploding bodies, copypasted terrain, fetch quests.. To me yet another huge disappointment for a triple A title.… Expand
  6. MC83
    Mar 15, 2011
    0
    A frustrating experience. While the plot has its merits (eventually), it's bogged down by horrible art direction and game design. Somewhat dated graphics are acceptable, but the environments are downright ugly, with barely any detail and apparently no effort to make them look interesting or varied. Areas are RECYCLED over and over again. That could be forgiven, say, a decade ago, whenA frustrating experience. While the plot has its merits (eventually), it's bogged down by horrible art direction and game design. Somewhat dated graphics are acceptable, but the environments are downright ugly, with barely any detail and apparently no effort to make them look interesting or varied. Areas are RECYCLED over and over again. That could be forgiven, say, a decade ago, when storage space and game engines weren't adequate to either retain or dynamically generate large gameplay areas, but in 2011, this is absolutely unacceptable, especially for environments that are as unimaginative, linear, and empty as the ones in this game. The tactical gameplay is ruined by having the majority of enemies spawn at random locations (usually at the player's tactical disadvantage) in the middle of fights, and often the newly spawned enemies outnumber those that were there originally; it's an artificial and lazy way of making the game more difficult. The inventory system has been half-heartedly simplified. Because only the player character can use the majority of equippable items, many end up being discarded because they are class-specific. The majority of found items are useless trinkets to be sold, without even a picture to give a sense that they are something other than - as the game describes them - "junk" (other than the trash can icon that is associated with them, be it a moth-eaten scarf or a diamond). The obvious push for DLCs from day zero is downright insulting for such a rushed and incomplete game, and the gushing reviews for it are similarly insulting to our intelligence. Shame on Bioware, and (as usual) shame on EA.… Expand
  7. Dathmir
    Mar 26, 2011
    0
    A remarkable disappointment. With dumbed down gameplay, an uninteresting story and very poor game design, this game is not worth your money. As a stand alone game it is acceptable at best. As the sequel to one of the greatest games made, it's a travesty.
    This may well mark the end of Bioware as we know it - a company that never waver in the quality of its products. If so, it will be the    A remarkable disappointment. With dumbed down gameplay, an uninteresting story and very poor game design, this game is not worth your money. As a stand alone game it is acceptable at best. As the sequel to one of the greatest games made, it's a travesty.
    This may well mark the end of Bioware as we know it - a company that never waver in the quality of its products. If so, it will be the greatest tragedy in recent gaming history.    … Expand
  8. CPB
    Mar 15, 2011
    7
    Okay, this is coming from someone who beat the game, and all in all it's not that bad. The combat feels better, the characters are like-able, and SOME of the choices in the game are compelling and make you think. Now for the negative. The graphics are below average, hawke sounds like a english **** the environments by the second act are just recycled, and most of the choices feelOkay, this is coming from someone who beat the game, and all in all it's not that bad. The combat feels better, the characters are like-able, and SOME of the choices in the game are compelling and make you think. Now for the negative. The graphics are below average, hawke sounds like a english **** the environments by the second act are just recycled, and most of the choices feel unimportant and lead to the same conclusion. So it's a good game but pales in comparison to the original.… Expand
  9. pppotamo
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Terrible decepción. Se ha consolidado el juego en PC. ¿Ha esto ha quedado reducido el legado de Baldur´s gate?
    Graficos desfasados, falta la visión cenital.
    Parche con texturas de casi 1GB tras su venta.
  10. 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
  11. bolshibyr
    Mar 11, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disgusting plot silly fighting system it simply degradation of 1 part of any possibility for role game The drawing excentric "DX11" manages to give out poor quantity of shots in a second considering that it has become outdated year on 2 That it is a lot of, so it is locations-bliznjashek and at times some times sends us in identical caves and warehouses… Expand
  12. pizzigol
    Mar 11, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. El juego es muy repetitivo las locaciones son siempre las mismas y aburre , la historia es muy buenas y las batallas estan biern realizadas , no se pueden usar armaduras en los personajes jugables salvo en el que iniciamos como nuestro jugador… Expand
  13. iagree
    Mar 9, 2011
    5
    I always believe that a game should be played in entirety before being judged. I would still stand by that belief if said game inspired me to continue.

    The word 'improvement' has been thrown around like confetti at a New Years party since we first heard of the sequel early last year. Does it live up to the promise? Yes, no and maybe so. There a improvements on some fronts but it seems to    I always believe that a game should be played in entirety before being judged. I would still stand by that belief if said game inspired me to continue.

    The word 'improvement' has been thrown around like confetti at a New Years party since we first heard of the sequel early last year. Does it live up to the promise? Yes, no and maybe so. There a improvements on some fronts but it seems to be at a cost of other aspects that made the first (in my mind) as good as it was and in essence put us all back at square one.

    I'm only 10 hours or so into the game (as that's all I can manage to bear playing at the moment) the lingering doubts I had from the demo, are slowly making its way to me at full force. The improvements are rare and meager to wow anyone, small minor details here and there so far, can not redeem its glaringly obvious faults. The loss of immersion is a big blow. The bigger insult is the loss of being able to forge a character you want. Even though i have full control of Hawke, I feel as though I know as much about him as I did about a random guard in DA:O. Being a gamer fond of a challenge I found myself constantly checking, double checking and in my immense annoyance, triple checking whether or not I had it tuned to the correct difficulty setting. I did, Nightmare mode and I felt like I was playing on a mode designed for a 5-year-old. The PC version seems to be a lame attempt at a port of the console versions, as I found through playing the game briefly on my roommate's PS3 that it played nicer. The classic smash until it dies games, hasn't died a horrible death it seems.

    It's a game that has snippets for all type of gamers and that sort of combination of gamer types (all seemingly unfinished) molded into one may not appeal to the masses. I'm still on neutral territory as I haven't played enough to know for sure if I should hate and trade the game at the quickest moment, for now I'm hoping for the best. My roommate is chugging the game down pretty fast, again, not for everyone but maybe a small few may find appeal to it.

    My earlier suspicion as to why the Signature Edition wasn't priced more than the standard copy has been confirmed. Nothing like freebies to win a gamer's heart, no Bioware? At the moment, I feel like it has sorely backfired on you.    … Expand
  14. sgtStones
    Mar 12, 2011
    7
    Expectations are a b*tch. They have to be filtered out when trying to give some sort of a review...well at least to a point. A sentiment, not many users ( on metacritic anyway ) seem to share. I finished DA:O 6 times ( 4x on hard and twice on nightmare )... needless to say I love that game and I'm already thinking about the approach I'll take in the next playthrough.

    But now DA2 was    Expectations are a b*tch. They have to be filtered out when trying to give some sort of a review...well at least to a point. A sentiment, not many users ( on metacritic anyway ) seem to share. I finished DA:O 6 times ( 4x on hard and twice on nightmare )... needless to say I love that game and I'm already thinking about the approach I'll take in the next playthrough.

    But now DA2 was released and yes...the first 2hours of playing this long-awaited game, really disappointed me. I think that's when some people alt-tabbed to their browser, went on this site and had to let off some steam. The strange thing is, although things don't really get better as the game goes on, I still had fun with the game ( and I'm still having fun with it now ). But the moment my destined-to-be spirit healer pulls off moves like "the last airbender" I new that this won't live up to my expectations. Here are my cons: - Menu/Icon-Design really doesnt hold a candle to the beautiful art we saw in Dragon Age:origins....it looks like its been designed for a tron-movie-tie-in game
    - although Combat now looks much fancier, it's also much quicker, hence too chaotic at times and with top view removed it can be hard to keep track of everything thats happening
    - Enemies spawn into the battlefield, so you cant really tell how long a fight will go
    - Looting has lost a lot of its charm and restrictions concerning the equipment of your party members really takes away from the fun
    - the crafting system doesn't deserve the name
    - the skill trees and the associated restrictions are not to my taste - the gift mechanic has been changed dramatically, to the point of no recognition
    - it would also have been nice to see what the scale is on the friendship/rivalry bar, so that I know wtf 10 points in either direct are worth ( but I'm nitpicking, and I shall be the cop who stops it...erm me )
    - and yes: Carver is a douche ;)

    pros:
    - everything that reminds me of DA:O


    I was also a fan of Mass Effect. And in the beginning, I was disappointed in ME2 aswell. Mainly due to the ( severe ) dumbing down of the skill-system ( which wasnt the most complex to begin with ). But ME2 provided some new gameplay features, great graphics, much improved action and once more a great epic story with diverse characters, making it, in the end a superior successor. DA2 fails to deliver anything new to justify the "dumbing-down" ( or streamlining, as the industry would like to brand it ) making it inferior to its predecessor.

    But even DA 0.5 is still good game, and certainly better ( if not by much ) then most recent rpgs ( fable 4, Ego Draconis, TwoWorlds II ). It's DEFINATELY NOT A 4    … Expand
  15. 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.
  16. godofallu
    Mar 14, 2011
    2
    Bioware generally makes good games, this however, is not a good game. The gameplay is generally boring and slow. Character development is also extremely slow, and the dialogue system is as dumbed down as possible. They also thought it would be smart to remove customizing your companion characters, through removal of skill resetting and giving them armor. From any other developer this gameBioware generally makes good games, this however, is not a good game. The gameplay is generally boring and slow. Character development is also extremely slow, and the dialogue system is as dumbed down as possible. They also thought it would be smart to remove customizing your companion characters, through removal of skill resetting and giving them armor. From any other developer this game would have flopped.… Expand
  17. SteveO
    Mar 15, 2011
    2
    Could have been amazing... if it was finished and tested before release! Lots of bugs, lazy with zone creation, DLC items massively screwed up. Publishers need to stop rushing the developers to get the game out before it's ready. It may make them a quick buck but it's financially bad for them in the long run as people like me will stop buying their games altogether.

    Having to re-summon    Could have been amazing... if it was finished and tested before release! Lots of bugs, lazy with zone creation, DLC items massively screwed up. Publishers need to stop rushing the developers to get the game out before it's ready. It may make them a quick buck but it's financially bad for them in the long run as people like me will stop buying their games altogether.

    Having to re-summon the war hound after every cinematic and zone change was especially annoying!    … Expand
  18. SketchPanic
    Mar 15, 2011
    9
    Dragon Age 2 is a much better game than most people give it credit for. The overall visuals of the game are a major improvement over the original, the plot and character development (despite it not having the grand scale of the first one) was fleshed out better this time around, and it was a little more unique than the usual BioWare fanfare.

    To start, the game is called "Dragon Age" not    Dragon Age 2 is a much better game than most people give it credit for. The overall visuals of the game are a major improvement over the original, the plot and character development (despite it not having the grand scale of the first one) was fleshed out better this time around, and it was a little more unique than the usual BioWare fanfare.

    To start, the game is called "Dragon Age" not "Warden Age", or at least since the last time I checked. You are not a god-like hero who can face an entire Blight with little to no assistance. People need to remember that the scale of a game does not equate to its quality. You play a refugee who is simply trying to insure the survival of his family, only to find himself thrust into the role of a hero. Not only does the main character have a personality this time around, but also a voice. He/She also has to face some very human situations as the years pass by. Some situations you might find yourself not knowing what the right thing to say is. This isn't because BioWare doesn't know what they are doing, it is more along the lines of them shying away from "Light" and "Dark" decisions and simply adding a shade of gray. Sometimes it comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils. Just because you don't see an immediate reaction to your choices, does not mean that they won't play a role later on in the game either. To sit there and say that DA2 is completely linear would be saying the same for every other BioWare game ever made, which most of you can't honestly do.

    I understand that quite a few of you might be frustrated by the lack of locations, but then again we go back to my argument over the scale of it. Your rise to power makes you the "Champion of Kirkwall" not the "Champion of the Free Marches" so it is understandable that you are only set to the amount of areas presented to you. Don't even try and say that Dragon Age: Origins didn't recycle locations either. That was one of the first things my roommate griped about when playing DA: O for the first time.

    Ah, on to the classic "RPG/Not an RPG" argument. Correct me if I'm wrong, but RPG stands for "Role Playing Game". The game allows you to customize your character's appearance, stats, abilities, and class. This seems to be something you do in just about EVERY RPG. People fail to realize that RPGs aren't becoming more like Action Games, it is actually the other way around. More action games are implementing more RPG elements. Also RPGs give you an option that most Action Games, if any at all, don't... Choice. Your actions and choices affect the storyline, even if it is only to a small degree. Most Action Games have you follow a very linear storyline and don't have a lot in the way of story or other forms of immersion.

    The combat hasn't changed, other than the fact that the A button now has to be pressed repeatedly rather than hitting it once and then walking away until your target is dead. Potions can't be spam consumed constantly throughout a fight, which makes you think a little more about when the proper time to use one would be. Your special attacks and abilities are even set to the same style as the first one! Combat that is more fast-paced doesn't make it simply a hack and slash. I love Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins. Their combat works well for me too, but just because DA2 decided to be less traditional, doesn't make it any less an RPG.

    I especially love the little things that BioWare decided to do. The little nods, references, and cameos from the first game. It was nice to see some familiar faces and hear of the exploits of my hero from DA: O and DLC. Unlike some of the people who claim to love BioWare, but refuses to support their product, the day-one DLC was also in DA:O, not to mention it was also free to those who actually BOUGHT the game. If you pre-ordered the game you were even bumped up to a Signature Edition for free! We're talking close to $40 of additional content at no charge. So please don't be mad that you actually have to pay for something else since you decided not to buy the game. I'm broke, so the whole "I can't afford to buy a game from a developer I really enjoy" is a pretty invalid argument if I can still manage to do so.

    All in all, Dragon Age 2 wasn't the best game BioWare ever made, but it was very much enjoyable and an improvement (and welcomed addition) to an already amazing franchise.    … Expand
  19. Metalsand
    Mar 16, 2011
    0
    First of all, the game isn't all that great. They have you running around in a city for about 20 hours until you actually get to the meat of the quest. That's when you realize that there is no meat, only more walking around. Plus, I really don't care about any of the characters, they are completely unlikable. In the first game, it was a companionship, but all of the new characters areFirst of all, the game isn't all that great. They have you running around in a city for about 20 hours until you actually get to the meat of the quest. That's when you realize that there is no meat, only more walking around. Plus, I really don't care about any of the characters, they are completely unlikable. In the first game, it was a companionship, but all of the new characters are lanky or annoying. I don't like a single one, I barely even like the main character. On top of all of the **** of the game, two employees had the GALL to come on here and vote it a 10 and say it is perfect, which lowers my score down another 3 steps, simply because they obviously don't realize what a ****ter this is. I'd much rather replay oblivion for the 14th time rather than even complete the story on this garbage even once.… Expand
  20. slyck
    Mar 14, 2011
    0
    This is not an RPG. Linear, uninspiring garbage is what it is. If you want to know why the game has gotten so many poor reviews try it and see how long you can handle the boredom. If you want to know why it is getting so many 10's it is because paid company shills are posting fake reviews. EA sucks. Bioware now also sucks. P.S. if you say anything negative about bioware on their forumsThis is not an RPG. Linear, uninspiring garbage is what it is. If you want to know why the game has gotten so many poor reviews try it and see how long you can handle the boredom. If you want to know why it is getting so many 10's it is because paid company shills are posting fake reviews. EA sucks. Bioware now also sucks. P.S. if you say anything negative about bioware on their forums they can ban you claiming it's EA's rules and now you can't play the game you paid for. Don't ever give your money to EA or Bioware.… Expand
  21. JoseTadeuChagas
    Mar 15, 2011
    9
    First I loved Dragon age Origins, so naturally i buy Dragon age 2 , the story is better, the central character is better, the npcs adds so naturally to the history, as a rpg game i think it is one of the best, and i hope for a Dragon age 3, with Hawk starring .
  22. Wheezy247
    Mar 26, 2011
    8
    It is not fair to give this game a 0-4 score for not being as great as the first Dragon Age game. The game is still good, even if it does not match its predecessor. The graphics are an improvement from the first one. Even though I did have quite a few instances with texture pop in and during cutscenes characters would shake around occasionally, it didn't hamper my enjoyment. The dialogueIt is not fair to give this game a 0-4 score for not being as great as the first Dragon Age game. The game is still good, even if it does not match its predecessor. The graphics are an improvement from the first one. Even though I did have quite a few instances with texture pop in and during cutscenes characters would shake around occasionally, it didn't hamper my enjoyment. The dialogue is excellent, and the characters are memorable themselves. The story, well if you can call it that, is mediocre. Throughout the entire game I kept thinking that the game was just a bunch of sidequests piled together, but I see the game has rather three stories which are divided into three acts. The quest are fun and interesting, but do not really correlate to create an actually "story." The combat is a lot of fun on the consoles. Being faster paced and more involved than the first, which I could see others not liking, improved the experience. All in all, Dragon Age 2 is a very good game, with interesting characters and dialogue, improved graphics, and a more engaging combat system. It is certainly not without flaws due to a few glitches and the lack of a developed story, but Dragon Age II is still a fun game that you should definitely pick up.… Expand
  23. bookamp
    Mar 10, 2011
    7
    Possibly the worst decision bioware could make after making DA:O which is much superior to this button mashing pseudo arpg. I want my money back. Why is bioware try to ripoff people by developing a sequel that is a sequel in name. This has nothing to do with DA:O except the setting and even that has been bastardized to the point of being unrecognizable.
  24. Wildfire8
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    Dragon Age II will be recorded as one of the worst blunders in video game history. Bioware somehow managed to take a promising series, and do a Tomb Raider with it. The game visually looks like a mod for Knights of the Old Republic, if that mod were to lower all the games textures and was inspired by minecraft. The writing in this game is exactly what you'd expect an autistic 12 year oldDragon Age II will be recorded as one of the worst blunders in video game history. Bioware somehow managed to take a promising series, and do a Tomb Raider with it. The game visually looks like a mod for Knights of the Old Republic, if that mod were to lower all the games textures and was inspired by minecraft. The writing in this game is exactly what you'd expect an autistic 12 year old farm hand. Gone are the "grey" moral areas, and choices that affect the story. Instead, a dialogue wheel now lets you choose between 3 options, Sissy school girl, comedic relief in b-movie, and complete jerkwad. With such rivieting dialogue options as "Hey, I wunna be a dragon too!" and "Boy, I'm hungry", it's hard not to believe that Bioware is doing a psychological experiment to see how much punishment masochistic fans will put up with. Most of the game takes place in the confines of a single "city". I say "city" loosely, because it is actually nothing more than a collection of buildings, devoid of life. All areas outside of the city and bland and repetitive. Let me be clear on this: EVERY SINGLE OUTDOOR AREA outside of the city consists of a rock wall on one side of the map, and a large, lifeless, poorly textured vista on the other. I've seen 2 year olds that can color better than the job Bioware did with this vista. Dungeons are frequently repeated. Yes, you heard that right, the exact same cave is used over and over and over again. You can no longer equip armor to companions, and the new companions are dull and lifeless. Every voice actor in the game sounds the exact same, and they all sound utterly bored with their jobs. Of course, I needed even comment on the combat to anyone who has played the demo. Bioware decided to strip out all tactical and RPG elements, and instead turn the game into a poor man's Dynasty warriors, complete with waves of spawning powder rangers running at you, while you perform the same over the top animations over and over carrying massive JRPG styled swords. I award this game no points, and may God have mercy on it's soul.â… Expand
  25. Awesome-X
    Mar 15, 2011
    8
    How dense are you people? Dragon Age II is far from perfect, but it is also MUCH better than the 0s and 1s you idiots are giving it. No, pressing A repeatedly does not make it a "hack n' slash." There are still plenty of tactics to use. That's why there are four difficulties. If you try just mashing A through Hard or Nightmare, you will not make it far at all. The skill trees and abilitiesHow dense are you people? Dragon Age II is far from perfect, but it is also MUCH better than the 0s and 1s you idiots are giving it. No, pressing A repeatedly does not make it a "hack n' slash." There are still plenty of tactics to use. That's why there are four difficulties. If you try just mashing A through Hard or Nightmare, you will not make it far at all. The skill trees and abilities have actually been expanded. It's much better than the linear 1>2>3>4 skill sets in Origins, so I don't know why people complain about that. The story is actually much more original and interesting than Origins. Origins had the usual "slay the evil thing. Save the world" story. There was white and black. Good and evil. In contrast, 2 is a lot more gray. Both sides have compelling arguments, interesting decisions, etc. Now, it does have some faults. The story, as much as I liked it, does fall apart at the very end. The dungeons and environments do repeat a LOT, which gets really annoying. Also, you can't change your companion's clothes, which isn't a big problem for me, but I do see it as a legitimate complaint. Bioware could have polished this game a lot more. Despite that, it is still a very enjoyable game. The negative reviews are extremely overly-critical.… Expand
  26. kitf0x
    Mar 15, 2011
    8
    I think people are really giving this game the shiv for very little reason. It is a lot of fun and managed to pull me out of the other games I've been playing long enough to beat it. The story is interesting and the game play is engaging. It might not be as good as the original but taken on it's own footing it is still quite a lot of fun and worth the play through.
  27. nickpsh
    Mar 9, 2011
    0
    You can buy all the positive reviews you want from gaming sites/magazines. This won't change the fact that your PC user base loathes the changes you're making to RPG gaming.
  28. sonofyoda
    Mar 15, 2011
    8
    Don't know what lots of these reviewers are talking about. Sure, the game isn't as good as the first, but 0s, 2s, and 3s? The game really is dumbed down, but its still super fun and the last time that I checked, that is what games should do. Provide fun.
  29. hulud
    Mar 15, 2011
    9
    The gameplay was much more enjoable that in DA:O against weaker enemies, while big boss fights like the high dragon felt exactly like DA:O. Story/Companions are good. Overall a very funny and enjoable game, better than DA:O
  30. Kyronasec
    Mar 15, 2011
    0
    Dumbed down, over simplified mechanics and ugly repetitive environment. Simplistic character and class development. Uninteresting and dull. Save your $, skip this one.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

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