Shocking. The dumbed-down sequel to a legendary game, obviously catering to the masses of xbox jocks and stupid girls. A big sloppy profitable dump on anybody who has every praised Bioware for making innovative and beautiful intelligent games for people who appreciate them, and in years to come what will be viewed as the watershed moment that all major game releases looked more and more generic, in the same way that pop chart music all sounds the same. Welcome to consoleville.… Expand

Bioware went the wrong way to create a Hack&Slay so Console players would enjoy it! But the PC-players are disappointed.

I pre ordered the game and got it yesterday. And i was shocked after i played it for more than 3 hours. The Story is so lame. And the HD texture Pack is just the try of Bioware to satisfy the pc-player

This is nothing but a dumbed down sad console port. Graphics are bland and low quality.
All the party controls are gone and we're left with the **** "tactics". Combat is basically button mashing and waiting for cool downs.
Choice in dialogs have been replaced with the **** Mass Effect-style "pick a style and stick to it". God forbid a choice would actually have unpredicted consequences.

Nononono.

Nothing like the original, and even in an original sense it fails in every conceivable way. It's over-stylized, as if making a game an eyesore is somehow better than a drab, boring looking landscape full of boring looking people (they're both terrible, I guess I have a tolerance for the latter, given how I hate this game)

Combat is identical to any hack-n-slash console game- even on PC, no tactical camera, pause and play is merely optional which completely destroys the point of it even being there, the combat does look more fluid and fun but it's still not my cup of tea, and wasn't the reason I bought the original.

Adding a dialog wheel is insulting, I've never been satisfied with the way Mass Effect did things, either you're cyber Jesus or future Hitler, and there's no in-betweens, the voice actor for Hawke is mediocre at best.

It's playable, yes, but it's also the destruction of what was the only isometric tactical RPG franchise we still had.

Shame on you, Bioware.… Expand

Disappointing is all I can say to sum my experience with Dragon Age 2. For fans returning to the series be prepared for a shock because this is nothing like the Dragon Age Origins game you know and love.

There are quiet a few detrimental cutbacks that cripple the enjoyment of the game. The first is the storyline which is in three sequential acts and made up of many uninteresting sidequests, there is no longer any main goal or purpose to the story which paints Hawke as less of a hero and more of a skilled warrior that people dump their problems on .

The next flaw is that your adventure will most of the time will be spent in one city: Kirkwall. There is no spirit of adventure in Dragon Age 2 as you will see the same environments over and over again, which leads to the next point of the recycling of maps. I have never seen an rpg company worth its salt recycle maps to this extent, you will encounter the exact same maps with maybe a few doors locked or if in a cave a boulder in the way of some routes to change it up, but essentially it is the same map you saw maybe ten minutes ago. The next flaw is interaction, in Dragon Age 2 you no longer have the flexibility to say what you want as you had in Origins. You have three choices main choices most of the time which are peaceful, funny and aggressive, this leads to the same problems which were sometimes present in Mass Effect where you pick an option and your character says something you didn't want.

Another major flaw which really kills it for me is the lack of customisation, you have a few options to customise your character and you can change up his equipment, however party member clothes cannot be changed unless upgraded in a sequential and rigid fashion as well as having some equipment only a specific character can equip. There are quite a few other flaws but I would be typing the list out all day. In summary this is a very disappointing sequel from Bioware, I wouldn't even expect this standard from some other rpg developers. If you're on the fence about buying Dragon Age 2 save your money there are so many better rpgs out there.… Expand

Reposting my review, which was deleted by Metacritic:

What an insult. A sloppy console port from a company that no longer cares about the platform which put it where it is today. They couldn't even be bothered to provide a zoomed out camera. This game strips away most of the good features in Origins and compounds the worst parts, namely the encounter design. Waves upon waves of identical enemies guarantee that no tactics except button-mashing is required. This game is an insult to real RPG's like Planescape:Torment and Mask of the Betrayer. Sadly, the only mainstream RPG developer left seems to be Obsidian Entertainment.… Expand

This game is a slap in the face for the PC gaming community. In an attempt to appeal to casual gamers they essentially ruined everything that made the first game enjoyable. I was absolutely shocked when I saw the PC Gamer review a few days before the game released and have to question any "reviewers" credibility when they gave this game such a high review.

Boring. Each time i launch this game, i feel like playing Final Fight. Even the character selection screen seems to say "Guy, Cody, or Haggart ?". First stage. Fight, then go forward, and other waves of enemies comes. Then the boss, a giant and tough enemy which run on me, head down. Wait, this is the exact description of the beginning of DA2. Isn't it supposed to be an RPG ? Well, i'll put a 2 on this one, because i really liked Final Fight. But as a fighting game, it's really less fun. And as an RPG, it really sucks.… Expand

This is an incredibly disappointing game. The story isn't told very well, combat no longer requires much thought (nor enjoyment), and exploration isn't an option. When i played DA:O, I would have moments in which I would have to put down the controller and seriously think about the decisions that I made for my character and his companions. It challenged my values (albeit in a very small and easy to forget way). I didn't have one such moment in the entirety of DA2. Also, as others have voiced, playing through the same few and recycled dungeons was tiresome.… Expand

Ok first off, Bioware did a terrible job with the initial graphics in this rushed, casualized sequel. I was not going to write a review at first, but after seeing the chasm between really high scores and really low scores it's pretty apparent to me that Bioware is doing damage control and countering these low reviews with their own high ones, it's really obvious as they are first time reviewers. That is so slimy, I am just disgusted. This game had potential in the drawing room I am sure, but with more people being suckered into day 1 dlc cut from the game in the first one, they went full speed ahead and went overboard here. It is my firm belief that if you make a game, and almost immediately release downloadable graphical packs for it this is an admission of a rushed work and saying "We didn't do a very good job, but here's this quick fileset you can download to help reconcile for some of our shortcomings." Just garbage, also the new combat system isn't that great. It just makes it easier, not fun. Also, Bioware, I know are the reason most of the positive reviews are here - there is no reason this game should be any higher than a 6.5 on any real review site, and all your perfect 10-drones are just an insult to our intelligence as consumers.… Expand

Don't play this on the PC or atleast get an xbox controller, this graphics/gameplay is only good for consoles. Also, Play dragon age 2 first before playing DAO so your standard bar is not set to high before playing DA2.

A real disappointment, Bioware has gone to the dogs. Everything about this game stinks: The drab graphics (even with the high res texture pack), horrible dialogue, lack of variety in location, limited party control, poor combat - you can't see what the hell is going on half the time. It feels like a tacky Playstation 2 game, not a bleeding edge title released in 2012. Dragon Age 2 is garbage - don't even buy it when its on sale.… Expand

Seems that there are no more old-style rpgs: Dragon Age Origins was far from Baldur's Gate series as well as Dragon Age 2 is far from Dragon Age Origins and I don't want console-looking games in my pc, especially if they claim to be solid rpg when they aren't at all. It's a murder. There are already Mass Effect that is an eccellent action game series.
P.s.
@Bioware,
do not apply some dx11 feature to the engine makeing it heavier when this force you to make an "essential graphics". It's not necessary: it's stupid, . Gamers prefere less feature and more artistic style: we aren't benchers.… Expand

Pros: More fluid combat, less boring treks through long dungeons, great story, half your characters are interesting, liked ME2 style of missions, nice graphics

Cons: Horrible horrible ending, at the end of the game you feel like you didn't win and you accomplished nothing, can't romance a strong moral character (ie: Aveline, Isabella is slutty even if she somewhat reforms when you romance and Merrill is an insecure and irritating idiot blood mage like almost every mage in the game), repetitive dungeon city environments (having to run through same cities, dungeons and outdoor areas over and over is just lazy design), half of your party characters absolutely suck balls to the point I didn't do any of their quests or want them in my party.

Overall a 1 because the cons are so overpoweringly strong compared to the pros, specially the worst ending of a game I've seen in years where nothing is accomplished and lots of loose ends are left.… Expand

Waste of time and money, shouldn't be labeled as an RPG, more of an action/adventure hack & slash... Loved DAO, so disappointed with this game:( Why would you take perfectly good game and ruin it? for a quick profit that's why

This game is boring, like its predecessor. It's also shorter in length, (as indicated by the size of installation and number of words written for dialogue, compared to DA1), and dumbed down to a hack and slash game. Games like this or CoD:Black Ops make me question the validity of critic reviews. Somehow these 'big' games get positive reviews no matter what, even when the majority of players disagree. If there is a lesson to be learnt, it is that you should trust reader reviews, at least on this website; they're really helpful and detailed. Critic reviewers, on the other hand, are probably forced to write positive reviews on famous games made by famous developers, or maybe they're too scared to be honest about how bad these games really are. Ugh.

Mass Effect series is much better than DA in my opinion. DA has bad story, bad graphics, bad dialogues (cheesy), and boring combat. DA2 "improved" this lackster combat by simply transforming it into a hack and slash game that can be enjoyed by simpletons who like to press a button. (Dynasty Warriors anyone?) Unlike DA1, DA2 is made with consoles in mind, and as such, the depth of the gameplay is gone from what I already considered a mediocre game. Last but not least, no, I am not blinded by PC elitism; I enjoy console games as much as PC games. I just think that DA was better off as a PC game. If I really wanted a hack and slash game, I could find many games superior to this. But there aren't that many PC RPGs anymore. DA was never to my liking, but at least it rejuvenated a dying genre. DA2 does not.… Expand

Let me start by saying that I've been a fan of Bioware since KOTOR, one of my favorite game of all time, but after this I'm not sure I'll ever buy another Bioware game ever again.. The original Dragon Age wasn't the best game of all time, but I felt it had a sort of charm to it. It was average at best, but I had a lot of fun with it which is something I can't say for Dragon Age 2. The graphics seem to have gotten WORSE, I have no problem with bad graphics, however, I do have a problem with a sequel looking worse than its predecessor. That aside, another major issue is that I no longer felt like I was playing an rpg, but rather some hack and slash game with little to no depth. The combat is nothing short of atrocious. It felt as if Bioware was instead catering to the mindless click click click win audience. I know not everyone enjoys RPGs since they can be slow, but that's what first person shooters and action games are for. This may have been a better business move by Bioware, to aim for the larger group, but I can't help but feel betrayed by one of my favorite developers. Another issue concerning the combat was that enemies seemed to appear out of nowhere in waves which, at least for me, broke some of the immersion. I'll be honest, I wasn't really immersed in it in the first place, but it's an issue I feel Bioware has to address. Now as for the story, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Throughout the whole game the story never really felt like it was going anywhere no matter how far I got. Maybe I'm just spoiled from some of the other great stories Bioware has made in their games. The dialogue wheel is beyond terrible, and some of the dialogue from the characters makes me cringe. One example is in the demo Bioware released. A woman is yelling "They shall not have you" to her injured husband and then says to the darkspawn"You shall not have him." Really Bioware? Really? I can't even begin to fathom how they could release a demo with such a terrible scene. As for the day 1 dlc, I'm sure people can see why I'd be annoyed by this so I won't go into it. One bad game doesn't make a developer terrible obviously. What really killed any hope I had in Bioware, was their staff on their forums. ANY criticism towards their game is dismissed as trolling. It's as if they truly believe their game is flawless. It's a shame how such a great developer turned into what it is today. I could go on and on about how much of a let down this was, but I'd rather end it now.… Expand

The amount of effort spent on making the game playable has all but been completely overshadowed by superficial additions to make the game look more appealing. Even so, graphical errors and awkward visuals are abound. Very sad day for RPGs, Bioware has lost its touch completely. Will we ever see a game as good as Neverwinter Nights again? Not if DA2 is any indication.

I registered an account here on metacritic just to say that this game is one of the worst crpg attempts I have tried for a long time. It is a huge step backward from the DAO. Keep in mind, that the DAO was in development for 6 years and DA:2 for only 2 years. As effect we get primitive consol hack and slash with linear storyline, repetitive scenery and total lack of rpgness. Only payed reviews seems to like it and it really shows how honest they are in they reviews. One would have to pay me to play this garbage.… Expand

This game is just a disgrace to the name Dragon Age and even more so to the name Bioware. Just stay away from this misery, it represents everything that goes wrong right now in the gaming industry. Dont buy Dragon Age 2, thank you!

Terrible graphics, terrible dialogue, forgettable music, bland characters, linear gameworld, uninteresting locations, terrible button-mashing gameplay. Overall: A very very bad game that you should avoid

this game sux in any way it can. worst console port ever. DA1 was good RPG, not perfect but just good.
DA2 is just step back: bad graphics, bad gameplay, bad story and incredible high requirements.

if u want play good cRPG just stay away from DA2. it's waste of ur time

This game is a massive downgrade from the original. Tactical camera is missing, enemies respawn in waves making player positioning essentially worthless for most fights, dungeon maps are recycled, player companions can not equip any armor you find which makes acquiring new gear mostly a case of selling gear to vendors, the non combat trade skills have been removed (granted many were pointless but I would have preferred something different rather than complete removal), the Mass Effect style dialogue wheel is stupid, forcing the player into one role takes away quite a bit from the experience of the first, higher difficulty settings result in a kite fest rather than actual strategy, DLC content marketed AT LAUNCH and extra items given out for crap like "LIKING DRAGON AGE IN FACEBOOK" which makes a pirated copy of this game more convenient than just buying that game on STEAM since you won't have to jump through hoops to get the extras you want. I'm not sure if I could have been any more disappointed by this game. Terrible! I was hoping for another game similar to Baldur's Gate and I ended up with what feels like a crappy console port.… Expand

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 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

I really don't see how taking out RPG elements out of an RPG would ever improve said RPG. This seems to be a re-occurring problem with sequels recently, removing key features for some odd reason.

It's wholly unfair to judge an entertainment product without taking the time to complete and evaluate it on its own terms; if one had skipped the finale to Lars Von Trier's masterful "Dogville," for instance, and judged it merely on its (somewhat dull) first two thirds, the criticisms one would level against it, while technically accurate, would be unfounded and unfair. Here lies my biggest issue with many of the first "0" reviews on Metacritic; unless these gamers live outside our time-space continuum, I cannot fathom how they could have had the time to fully evaluate the game, much less finish it. This damages the impression of many of these reviewers as it sets them up as soapbox preaching whiners who the vast populace should ignore, as well as their opinions.

That said, I have just completed "Dragon Age II" for the PC. And yes, every complaint railed against it is pretty much dead on: Brain-dead combat that fits the PC like a children's mitten on a camel (the lack of controller support is positively nonsensical), generic writing (at best), weak characterization, massive amounts of retconning (don't expect your save game from Origins/Awakening to matter in the slightest), mostly unreactive world, atrocious, "Saturday morning cartoon" art design (even WITH the texture pack) and a plot that barely even exists. Huzzah EA, you've successfully destroyed the final AAA RPG manufacturer in the world. Congrats. Would you like a cookie?

Do not buy this game. Please. EA does not need your money.

Well, unless you wish to buy my used copy on Amazon. If so, do buy it so that I can be rid of this abomination. Speaking of abominations, time to go fight some in Origins.… Expand

Dragon Age: Origins was awesome. I like hack and slash games like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. DAO really sucked me into the fantasy world and combat. There was something in it that really was fun, addicting, and truly unique when I played it. The game kept me wanting more. Awakening was just more of what I needed. When I heard DA2 was coming out I couldn't be more excited. Finally the demo was released. OMG what the hell is this crap! Ok so I know I should expect a new look and updated combat and so forth unlike Fallout 3 to Fallout: New Vegas (should have been an expansion because it was the same damn game). At first it was kinda cool but then it really started to feel very cheap very quick. It felt like a fast action paced console button masher rather than a tactical team based RPG as the original. I think they tried to appeal to the mass of xbox and ps3 console gamers and completely undermined the loyal PC gamer and/or RPG fan. Based off the demo I will definitely skip this title. You know when your favorite band sells out? Seems like DA sold out unfortunately… Expand

A game that resembles every other RPG game tossed out for consoles. No imagination or creativity. The ingenuity that made Dragon Age origins so ground breaking is totally lost on this sequel that would make DAO get an emancipation from Dragon Age 2 if it could so it would not stain its good name. A terrible at best sequel and a very sub par game in general. Poorly done Bioware, and EA you should be ashamed by the lack of imagination it took to create this game.… Expand

Looks like AE game, plays like EA game, smells like EA game. Seems like EA in their infinite wisdom finally managed to kill their golden goose. Probably the last BioWare game I ever pre order, they lost my trust.
I don't care if its similar to DAO or not. Its simply not fun. I got bored out of my mind 10 hours into the game. In the first 30 min of the game play you see everything there is to see and than you get approx 70 more hours of the same. Their main selling point was alway a story telling, well 10 hours in and there is still no story to be found. The myriads of side quests the keep spamming the player blur into one monotonous meaningless mass. Most of the time you mindlessly run from quest marker to quest marker without even realising which quest you are on.
There will be nothing to remember this game by and I shiver just thinking about replaying it as I dont think I can stand to see the same narrow city streets again.… Expand

I'm not sure why they even released this for the PC. Almost everything in the game was dumbed down to give a better experience for consoles. Why not go the extra mile and just not release it for PC? Bioware's games have always been extraordinary, but I can't in good faith give this higher than a two. They need to understand that you can't make games like this just because of your reputation. Are you even trying, Bioware?… Expand

Bioware has become very good at making shoddy casual rpgs, much to the disdain of it's fanbase, this is an unworthy successor to dragon age origins no improvements to graphics and gameplay was added, I felt physically ill after playing this game.

I have no way to relay my complete an utter disappointment in this game. All i can say is that the combat is ruined by making it look like a bad action movie. And the game is overly simplified.

Shame on you bioware for ruining what was to be the best series of games

Boring button-mashing combat, okey story, dull dialogues, lame dialogue options.

Overall, should not be classified as an RPG. Way too linear and laughable so-called "romance".

As an **** CRPG gamer, I wasn't big fan of DA. Though DA had it's good moments. This isn't a proper review, since I could only stand more than 20 minutes of DA2, and I must say it was horrible. Primitive dialog options, characters made of cardboard, enemies spawning from nowhere and swarming the claustrophobic area. Maybe I'm just too old for this kind of entertainment and it's time to pass RPG genre to newer generation of players.… Expand

I'm a huge fan of Dragon Age: Origins, easily clocked over 100hours in to the game and really enjoyed it over all. Now about Dragon Age 2.

Graphics: They suck I mean they really suck after what I saw in Dragon age Origins they are really bad, I had everything maxed out on my i7@4.0 two GTX580 and 8gig of ram, they look like something from Playstation 2 era and its 2011, not to mention the frame rates dont go past 25 and sometimes they drop to 1fps for god knows what reason, the only thing that fixes it is alt+tabing.

Gameplay: No matter how much better Origins is the only thing they improved in this is the Combat, yes it faster and better, obviously much more oriented towards console peasants. While playing origins when you use to become General of an army so to say and maxed out with best items you just wanted to rape **** left and right like God of War that you are, nonetheless other than combat improve men't nothing else deserves mentioning the game it self feels rushed the interaction wheel haves its ups and downs the perfect combo would be if you could chose texts like in origins and your character would talk would be pretty good that you could chose voice for him such as suave or mystic, but then again we will never see something like this from console port, the game feels like its 70-80% -/+ complete like it unfinished but then again they did what they did for console people.
I give this game 3/10- Because its a console port, feels like rushed and unfinished game, ****ty graphics and ****ty companions. Deal with it. Gonna go play Origins.… Expand

Bioware has turned into money hungry idiots like activision.
They are just blowing games out of their asses now and expecting to get praised for it. This game was atrocious. It's like playing dynasty warriors with an even worse story. If you are thinking of picking this up for any reason, stop right there. Dont give this company the satisfaction of thinking they made something good. They seem to have spent no time in this at all, and need to stop.… Expand

DA2 has to be the saddest excuse for either an action game or a roleplaying game, or a combination of the two. The glitches that result from trying to import the save file from Origins alone make it clear that Bioware wasn't even trying with this one. Just rush out a sequel as quickly as possible to milk your fans for all they're worth. Really pathetic. The gameplay is horrible, the graphics are from 2 generations ago at best, and the story is completely forgettable garbage. They even had the gall to end on a cliffhanger!!!! Probably just to sell more DLC that will hopefully end the story properly. Disgusting, Bioware. You've lost a customer.… Expand

What can i say? This game fails on every aspect you can imagine. From promised DX11 graphics we went to watered down character models and a bland city which is the main course of the game. This game suffers from acute and extreme consolitis. Bad graphics, way to simple gameplay (whack a mole) and the interface is completely tailored for consoles! Do NOT believe any "official" review sources, they get paid big money by EA to give it a 8 or 9!

The biggest insult of them all is the load of DLC there is pre-installed on your disc, but you cant acces it without paying or doing stupid facebook games.

Steer clear of this game and any future BioWare games, vote with your wallet!… Expand

What have they done to my beloved Dragon Age? Shoddy performance on Nvidia and the game feels very rushed and simplified. I won't be pre-ordering the next one!

Combat = Derped
Interface = Derped
Graphics = Derped
Writing = Fail

Banal, Boring, "Streamlined", Popamole ****

Avoid, whatever the cost.

Do not enable Bioware in their derpification of the genre.

Dragon Fail 2=Epic fail Lol at those who gave an 8 or 9 out of 10.
This game sucks and is an insult to all the pc gamers out there.It has been dumbed down and consolised.On top of all that the graphics suck ass and it runs like sit even on high end hardware.
Bioware has failed.

Terrible game, david gayder should be ashamed of himself. this is a spit in the face to all rpgs.

more linear than FFXIII if you can believe that.
and the gameplay? was watching tv while spamming random buttons and i beat the game
the writing is atrocious, its almost as bad as this review.

1. Rogue Archer is useless. The NPC dude is much better and it's almost impossible to run from mobs with two rogues and one mage. I had to cheese every single engagement. I hope you get a warrior if you keep playing because ****
The worst thing: The difficulty on insane is not from tactical depth. All you need is luck and button-mashing (and running around in circles, if your party sucks). At least I can spec the Dwarf to be melee if I want my character to be ranged. Oh wait I can't. That's right, **** your RPG-ism. You play like we want. 2. The gameplay has nothing to do with tactical RPG. Your only real option is when to press the ability buttons. Tactical placement of characters, stealth, backstab etc. doesn't mean **** All you need to do is press the button since _everything_ is an ability now. I don't even see what I could be doing differently. There are a few battles where you can chokepoint enemies in doorframes, otherwise there is little to do tactically. It feels like half of the elements of BG2 combat are missing. In BG2 I usually ended up planning hard engagements, leading different enemies into traps I set earlier, buying specific items and buffs just for that engagement. DA2 is so far away from that complexity. DA:O wasn't perfect, but it was at least a bit closer. Rogue used to be about using a few things like stealing, positioning and stealth. Now it's just like beeing a mage - a Rogue mage. Also, I hate the amount of enemies. The screen is littered with em and any amount of tacticality that remained is pretty much an efford in futility. Most mobs should have been about the size of your party, but with interesting foes. I don't even particulary analyze what enemies I am fighting, I am doing the same charade over and over again. Miles and miles away from previous RPGs. 3. You never get to plan ahead anyway, since ALL enemies just drop on you literally. This is the worst thing ever and I can't grasp how they thought this would be a good idea. It's almost like Mass Effect 2 now. "Oh look an empty room. Welp, ambush. How surprising" Preparation doesn't get you any further. I also haven't used any potions or buffs yet previous to engagements. Maybe it was too early in the game for that though. 4. Camera angle.. whatever. Isometric view wouldn't have salvaged the gameplay. 5. Everything feels so restricting. You have almost no choice in what your character does and how he looks etc. Inventory has become more or less obsolete. It doesn't even feel like an RPG in that sense. For some reason the character creation process and the initial RPG immersiveness has - for me- never felt so disappointing in any PC RPG. It feels like a movie. Everytime. Cutscene. Go somewhere, enemies appear out of thin air, second wave, cutscene. Repeat. Every.. single .. time. Immersion level is very low. If you care about those things. 6. Graphics are fine, voice acting is nice etc. 7. Art style is ****ed. The ****ing Dalish elves look like cartoon characters. This has bothered me the most. It's like an anime. I expect this will be even worse later on. Not that the gameworld is completely unattractive. It just feels like EVERY SINGLE THING they changed is worse than in DA:O. I HAVE to use that dwarf with the cyberpunk Machine gun in an high fantasy RPG? Yeah thanks, totally works for me. **** you. 8. You can interact even less with the gameworld. In the spirit of dumbing it down this is not too surprising. But there is so little loot, so little to pick up or see or get. You just don't get the feeling the enemies are actually carrying weapons or whatever. It feels like you get a generic reward, instead of actually "going through their stuff for useful ****". Feels wrong. 9. The interface is **** I don't even know why, but it annoys me hugely. Probably because back in the day the interface symbolized a backback or inventory or a spellbook or whatever. Now it's literally a list of computer buttons. Just like the loot is not actual loot, but a computer-given reward. Also feels wrong. With a decent story I could see myself buying this for 10â… Expand

Like many others I have to say that DA2 has been a disappointment. Others who have mentioned that DA2 is like a fantasy Mass Effect game is actually insulting the Mass Effect series; Mass Effect I/II were great action-oriented RPGs in their own right and should not be lumped in with this incomplete game called DA2. When you played Mass Effect you felt as if you were in a futuristic world. When one plays DA2 you fell like..... well you dont feel anything really. I've played RPGs for over 25 years and I have to say without a doubt that the interface in DA2 was one of the worst ever conceived and used in any RPG game to date. DA:O used a very stylistic, engrossing interface that featured bloodied parchment to display multiple fantasy elements. DA2 uses a characterless, lifeless interface that does not support a fantasy setting (nor a futuristic setting for that matter). In fact if a gamer was just shown the DA2 interface without prior knowledge to the game he/she would have problems identifying what genre of game they were looking at; this should never be the case.... ever.... If that wasn't bad enough the producers decided to simplify the game so that my 3 year old daughter could participate in combat... and WIN!!! Now I know what youre thinking....'He's just saying that... He's exaggerating..' The really sad part is no... Im not. My 3 year old daughter did in fact fight one of my battles and actually killed several creatures before the battle was over (difficulty was on hard). The inventory/character screens are also TERRIBLE! For example.... the equipment that my character has equipped are represented by symbols..... SYMBOLS!! You dont even get a graphic icon to represent the equipment; its all done with symbols much like from a map legend!! I cant tell one ring or amulet from another except when i mouse over and get a very detailed description such as this 'RING +3% to physical damage'; no item history, no description, not even a picture.... I could go on and on and on, but why should I? I really wish I read the user reviews before purchasing this game. I would have honestly passed on this one and thats really sad considering Im the biggest DA fanboy going! I cope with this game like I cope with the movie series "The Matrix", I just pretend that only the first Matrix was ever created....… Expand

- realy dont know where Bioware wanted to take this story but they really fell short of their goal. - multiple elements simplified or cut completly. Another case of Bioware trying to fix what wasnt broken I guess
-"Tactical" combat is not really tactical to put it nicely
-if you want a good computer button masher then maybe you should wait for Diable 3

I thought that DA:O (decent game though it was) was the beginning of the end for Bioware and this just confirms it. Bioware have, in the past, given me more value for money than I could ever hope for. And for that I am ever grateful. But this game, this game is a disgrace. Companions I know little about and a main character that I care about even less. Extremely repetitive dungeons, lack of any driven storyline, poor artwork, far too much (oversimplified) combat in any given period of time, environments pared down to the bone, uninspiring weapons, uninspiring armor, uninspiring enemies, not a few essential elements deliberately left out so that they can be put back in via DLC. The list does not end here.

This game is just disrespectful to all fans of Bioware. It is so obvious that it was rushed purely for money making purposes without any care for fans or even for Bioware's own integrity. Their marketing department nowadays is tacky, untruthful and quickly becoming synonymous with unadulterated greed on one hand and total BS on the other. It's fine making money boys, but where the hell has your pride gone?

I thought I'd get double digit playthoughs of DA:O. I managed 2. I tuned out of this one after 10 hours. I'll give you this one Bioware. I'll give you this one because you have done fantastically well by me in the past. But please, get your pride and integrity back.… Expand

Terrible game. Crappy graphics, retarded dialogues, idiotic combat, skill system taken from dao and dumbed down. I feel like idiot wasting money on this piece of ****

It's amazing this is a Bioware game. How times have changed and how awful games are these days. This game has a complete lack of depth and requires very little intelligence to play. They couldn't dumb down this game anymore from the original even if they tried. This is what happens to games when they are catered to the console crowd, they are complete crap and do not deserve any of my time.

Alright, after reading most of these reviews and playing the game for a few hours. I want to share a few glimpses of what I got out of the game. Well, first of all, I'd like to address the combat. In DA:O it was tactical, you had to use your brains, rushing straight-forward was a no-no. In this game, you basically spam one or two abilities on group of enemies and wait them to die. Maybe get a heal spell from a mage or gluck down a health potion. The combat is seriously boring and repetitive, it actually makes you wish you'd just get over with and move on with the plot without beating dozens of same looking monsters in same looking environments. Now about the areas, the recycling is hell of a bad thing. Having to run the same looking mine cavern really isn't what I define as immersive. Couldn't Bioware put any more work on the areas instead of recycling every type of area (there's one cavern, one beach etc.) for the duration of the game?? Really now. The dialogue and conversations.. well they aren't bad, the voice acting is nice but.. does it really matter what you choose? It always ends up in the same situation as with every other choice. Sigh, I really expected too much of this game. It is dumbed down heavily from the original, for the CoD-playing little boys who want to see flashy gore and easy, casual gameplay. I'm going to join the bandwagon and give this a low score, for pity's sake. If it would had been a standalone game, maybe it would been decent. But this is a sequel to a great game with great combat and great dialogue. This game takes two dozen steps backwards in everything. And what's with the stupid exploding bodies? Really, I see an archer shoot a thug with an arrow, and the thug explodes into 6 pieces?! And some of the characters are just lame beyond imagination, namely this one elf.. He's a one big cliché, I've got to say. I'm already tired of this game and I haven't even finished it..… Expand

I gave this game an average 5 before because I liked many aspects but felt it didn't impress me. But now I am greatly disturbed by Bioware employees REVIEWING THEIR OWN GAMES. For Shame Bioware. This is deceptive marketing. So this game gets a 1 for Bioware committing what I consider to be fraud.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/g3td7/dragon_age_2_conspiracy_highest_rated_metacritic/

Turned an unrefined RPG with a lot of promise into a hack-and-slash with a color coded dialog system which gives you the ability to be, good, bad or stupid. I was expecting something better, having felt DA:O I had expectations for improvements and create something pretty amazing. It's not a bad game, it's mediocre, EA and Bioware should learn to under promise and over deliver not, over promise and under deliver. If you like God-Of-War, but find it too complex, pretty and polished, you might want to consider buying DA2.… Expand

This game is such a wasted potential. Bioware made a fortune off of preorders of fans of the original knowing full well that by over-streamlining the game and the pervasive console first attitude they would only alienate those fans. This game looks and sounds better than Orgins but that isn't what I want out of a PC rpg, I want a massive world, mountains more stats, the ability to see background calculations as they are happening and mod friendly design. Once again consoles **** things up for PC gamers who want a product that utilizes their machines full capabilities.… Expand

Fans of RPGs will find this a huge disappointment. It's falsely-advertised and very dumbed down in order to appeal to a younger audience.

There's little good to be said. And there's a lot of bad things to known. Sadly, truth hurts.

The most noticeable change lies in combat. It's faster, grittier, more responsive and... not very tactical. I kept using the very same tactic throughout the game the whole. 'Cause it was the fastest way to slay my foes. It involved having one melee unit (in this case a warrior specialized in two-handed combat) and 3 ranged units (one, preferably a healer). It's simple. I would let the A.I. control the warrior, he jumped into the fray and did whatever he wanted - Gathering the attention of my enemies. At the same time I would have all my 3 units selected at all times. And order to them to focus fire on the same target and when it dies, move onto the next target. Most often combat lasted less than a minute using this method - It was very dull.

But what about the story? I can tell you it's great, though disappointing. It's a lot like the one in Mass Effect 2. Dragon Age 2 lacks a real [visible] plot. Instead you'll follow Hawke and company for years in the city of Kirkwall. While playing, it will feel like a giant side quest, that contains side quests. It's not too bad, as there's a lot of good moments in the game, some that comes completely unexpected, depending on your relationship to your companions. The ending is however very disappointing and makes the game seem like a pro-logue.

The visuals are mostly dull. There's very little to be seen and the animation is stiff and awkward, which is strange seeing how we've had, and it still is, outstanding animation in games that was released in the early 2000s. And there's a total of 3-4 dungeons in the game that you will be visiting, over and over and over again (in side quests). AND THE BLOOD IS STILL AWKWARDLY APPLIED TO YOUR CHARACTERS FACES.

To summarize the whole game. It traded in the strategic and tactical thinking that Dragon Age: Origins had for a hack'n KITE and some slash game. Story is hidden and it will feel like a side quest, but you'll go "ah" when it's all revealed and probably disappointed. The interactions between you and your companions are better than ever. But even that won't save the game from it's flaws.

5/10. Bioware made the same mistakes in Mass Effect 2. Which you'd think they learned anything from. But it couldn't be further from truth. They are forsaking the RPG players tactical play, characters customization and much more in order to appeal to none-RPG players.… Expand

Dragon Age II fails as a sequel to one of the greatest traditional styled RPGs of modern times.
Combat is a pseudo hack and slash RPG in betweener which just seems to be the worst of both worlds.

The dialog system has been vastly reduced. In Dragon Age: Origins all the choices had significant effects on the game world and at times were very difficult to make depending on your morals and values which you wanted to instill or try and play out. In Dragon Age II its reduced to Generic Good, Generic Bad and la Troll answer (i.e. "I want to Be a Dragon" this is a real dialog option near the beginning of the game). There are even icons to signify if its good, bad and trolololol. Taking out any ounce of decision making on the player part apart from I want to be Good/Bad/Neutral.

The story is ok, but there are heaps of unnecessary arbitrary quests scattered mostly constists of kill x gather y or variations of which had little to no impact on the overall story where as Dragon Age: Origins almost everything had impact.

Graphics are acceptable. Characters are done quite well but everything else is blegh.

Music is not done well, it fits but doesn't stand out.

I don't recommend this game at all. Its simply shovelware. Play the original Dragon Age. It is a masterpiece. This sequel is not good enough at all.… Expand

Somehow my previous review magically disappeared. I don't know how that can happen but i guess metacritic either deleted it or it got flagged? (based on the sincereity of my other reviews i don't think i was being a troll or a guy who ate too many sour grapes). Anyways...WNxWind pointed me out in his review that i have never played the game and am bashing it to the ground without any understanding of it. Although at the time of my previous review(early yesterday) i have only played the game for 4 hours, i felt that i have experienced enough to review DA:2. I won't be repeating what i have wrote again, i'll state that this game has been a real let down. Wake up bioware.… Expand

Total crap after DA:O, they really shouldn't have even bothered to release this game to PC, 'cuz this is not a PC game, this is a dumb console game which is an insult to all PC gamers.

Very disappointed with the direction this game has taken. While the tactical combat from Origins could have used some improvement they chose instead to make it mostly irrelevant. Combat is mostly uninteresting encounters in the same old corridors. The main thing that they seem to be focussing on in the game are the romances which while being somewhat entertaining and distracting fluff in previous Bioware games are not even particularly great in this game making me wonder what they gained from making them a main focus of development. Who asked for this?… Expand

Outdated graphics, there were better looking PS2 games than this , Bad story, Gameplay isn't even remotely fun.

Bioware dropped the ball on this one. There is nothing else to add to this review besides pointing out the corny 10/10 reviews that seem extremely fishy.

I tried hard to like it but the exploding people, rehashed areas, **** dialouge, and gameplay. This is the biggest thing though marketing it as the best old school style tactical RPG only for it to turn into a **** of sexual innuendo, gore, bad VA, PS2 era graphics, hack n' slash gameplay, limited customizability and a 12 hour story mode. So all in all it had potential to be a great game but Bioware sold out producing what will be the biggest disappointment of the year if not the biggest disaster of the decade. Oh how the mighty have fallen, Bioware going from a game like Baldur's Gate 2 down a game like this and the worst part is knowing that the people of today will eat this **** up.… Expand

Don't even bother pirating this, it's the Godfather 3 of RPGs. The combat is easy yet tedious, the graphics are designed to run on the equivalent of five year old computers (AKA consoles) and the dialogue was obviously written by aspergers addled game developers who never leave the office. If you MUST try a modern RPG then give Fallout New Vegas a shot.

My first Bioware game was Baldur'saGate 2 and the sad thing is that this is their far best game until now. Dragon Age 2 is absolute disaster. I don't care about shiny graphic, this is RPG, graphic comes second in games like this. Dragon Age Origins was ok game, not brilliant but ok, and only thing they could do to make it better is make it more complex, not to simplified it.

I really liked Dragon Age: Origins but this piece of **** game is not Dragon Age, this is not even an RPG. This is junkfood for spoiled casuals.
The combat is repetitive and looks ridiculous.
The characters are shallow.
The new dialogue-system is weak.
It's basically Mass Effect with Swords (i like Mass Effect because it's Mass Effect, don't get me wrong).

I am disappointed BioWare.

Sadly, yet another developer has abandoned their PC core game base for the mass appeal of the console. Bioware games have historically been extremely deep, really customizable games, with a strong focus on tactics and strategy. The industry as a whole has been moving away from these kind of games because of the increased profitability games have on console, and the simplistic console controls limit what developers can do. Dragon Age seemed to be one of the last remaining franchises truly designed to be a hardcore RPG gamer's type of game. However, the console has struck again, and we are left with Dragon Age 2, a game that does nothing but let down Bioware's long standing fanbase and fans of the genre. Let me preface this by saying that if you aren't familiar with Bioware games (aside from Mass Effect), like hack and slash type games, and are a console gamer, chances are you will enjoy this game. However, to the rest of us, this game signifies everything that is wrong with the market and the way gaming is headed. The depth of PC games of old is dead, and Bioware is no longer doing anything to prevent it.… Expand

Wow, DA:O is my 4th favorite game of all time and this "Sequel" / pile of dog barf makes me wish that i had completely avoided it. Be warned if you like RPGs, Interesting stories, and engaging combat look elsewhere. However if you like casual button-mashing garbage, and picking 3 of the same "choices", please by all means go out and spend 60 dollars on this aborted fetus of a game. My eyes strained to make sense of the "art direction". This was like staring into Rumor Willis' face while getting beaten with a sock filled with quarters and being castrated. I would rather stare into the sun for 5 hours until my eyeballs dried into tiny protein raisins, take them out of their sockets and insert them into my colon than have to play 10 more seconds of this game. What the hell was Bioware thinking?

I can only hope to god that Laidlaw, and Gaider were just shooting up coke and saying "Hey know what would be really funny! Trolling all of our fans in a sad attempt to gain new ones while ostracizing the original ones!" Because no sane being would ever have let this pile of aborted llama fetuses ever escape from the planes of Peru. Avoid. Avoid at all cost. If you want bioware to actually make good games instead of this crap don't buy it and send them a message that you wont just gobble up this vomit because they slapped their name on it. Don't let all those "Biodrones" tell you otherwise. anyone who pledges loyalty to a company that only cares about profit isn't worth listening to. Again.

Stay away, for your own safety. Please.… Expand

I'm sorry Bioware, but you just took the most promising video game IP of the past decade and completely destroyed it, whilst losing most of your loyal fans and supporters in the bargain.

The cosmetic changes and the combat revamp would have actually been fairly amazing if they had been implemented without watering the entire concept of a role-playing game down to the point where I literally can't continue playing past the ten hour mark without beginning to feel guilty'traitorous about doing so.

There is too much wrong here to forgive. The city where you spend 90% of the game is completely devoid of life. Constantly recycled maps. Dialogue wheel instead of real conversation options. Extremely limited loot/items. Lack of ability to fully customize companion gear. And that's just scratching the surface. (Magically instant respawning enemies zomg!)

It seems like everything you did with this game was aimed at having fewer options for the player. My question is....why? It is beyond asinine to limit the player's choices in a role-playing game. Creating and then fully fleshing out/realizing a character or party is what games in this genre are supposed to be about! If I wanted another point and click action RPG/ FPS, well, they're a dime a dozen these days. You guys were special because you were one of the last companies around still making REAL role-playing games.

And if that's not bad enough, on day 1 you're trying to charge players for in-game content instead of just...you know...putting it in the game to improve the experience for your customers.

What a crock.… Expand

DA2 has value as a game. That value, however, is heartbreakingly destroyed when viewed in light of it being a sequel to DAO. Others have listed its faults, but I would like to point out that the game makes the most rookie DM mistake there is; it *tells* you instead of *showing* you.
EA may have ruined Bioware. I hope not, but I will not buy another Bioware product without first checking the reviews.… Expand

Only went half through the game and already lost interest. Can't believe this game comes from bioware and is entitled "DA". The plot is not even decent, and all dialogues are plain & boring. Staring to worry the trend bioware is adopting and the future of DA series.

It isn't Dragon Age 2. Where is the spiritual successor of Baldur's Gate?? If they had call it otherwise might be a good Action-Rpg but not at the expense of destroying his own saga.

Bioware decides to ditch the gameplay mechanics that made Dragon Age 1 such an engaging and strategic experience, in favor of making an action ARR PEE GEE on par with Fable 2 or Fable 3 in it's lackluster execution. Every design choice, graphical rendering, movement control scream out "MADE FOR CONSOLES." Regardless, it will make all of it's developers money back, due to it's two previous sucessful entries, Dragon Age has changed for the worse in this sequel. 0/10… Expand

Completely awful in every way imaginable. Avoid like the plague. And yes, I have beaten it, and it is an experience I am not likely to ever repeat. Please bring on Witcher 2 to wash this nightmare from my mind.

Generally a very bland and disappointing experience versus other "RPGs" and especially vs its legacy. This game is a linear shooter, barely an RPG and only very distantly related to the first game, Dragon Age Origins, a very strong traditional CRPG. It basically feels like a completely separate team was told to build a console shooter based in the Dragon Age universe. At its core DA2 a very simple refined shooter: 1) you run from nondescript environment to the next, 2) spamming AOE attacks to deal with the same waves of enemies, and 3) running circles around tedious boss fights. This is not however an RPG by any stretch: 1) the story is almost non-existent (I'm in Act 2 and no clue), 2) there is no character development, 3) the skill trees are there, but given how streamlined combat is, there is no strategy involved, 4) only the main character inventory can be changed (other than weapons) limited. In summary: Overall: 4 (Gameplay: 5, Story: 3, Graphics/Sound: 6, Fun: 2). Replay value: 0… Expand

Unworthy of being the successor of DA:Origins in every single way. Bioware whored itself to EA, and this is the result. Another mighty company killed by consolization.

Alright, so I finished this, and while it may have been a good stand alone game from a lesser known developer, this is not a $60 epic from a critically acclaimed company that we were promised.

I'll just leave this here.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/dragon_age_ii/b/pc/archive/2011/03/08/dragon-age-ii-pc-review-a-port-caught-in-the-middle.aspx

This game is an insult to gamers. Dragon Age 1 was a decent enough game; far from the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 2 that they claimed it would be, but an okay'ish game. This, on the other hand, is a joke. Maybe it's simply the hand of EA, which likely didn't have enough time to influence the development of Dragon Age 1, but there's absolutely no redeeming feature in this game. Anything that needed improvement in DA1 they simply chose to scrap, anything that was already decent they chose to make worse. This is a 101 guide on how to insult your customers and how *not* to make a sequel.… Expand

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.

This is just your average run of the mill hack n' slash game now. Also combat moves are just so over the top that they are very corny. Not so great...

Not worth a full zero by any means, the game works after all, but as a matter of principle the game gets one anyway.

Combat and gameplay areas are endlessly repeated and monotonous, obvious budget cuts and rushed duedates by EA and lets not forget stripping away half of the mechanics for a streamlined massively effective experience.

RIP Origins =(

Let me just start this by saying that Bioware games are usually pure gold. USUALLY. Dragon Age Origins was a well crafted RPG with great elements that far outweighed its many flaws. I cannot say the same for Dragon Age 2. I started the game thinking that I would be able to play it entirely maxed out graphically, after all, I more than exceed the recommended secs. When ramping up the graphics to very high with anti aliasing on, the game slows to a meager 11 frams per second with artifacts being rendered during combat. I can run Bad Company 2 on full specs, why can I not run this game that looks like it came from the PS2 era? Poor optimization because the game is rushed.

AND IT SHOWS. Not only in the graphics but in the discontinuity within the story, the poor writing, and the shallow combat system. Sure, everyone TOTALLY jumps around and does SUPER COOL things now to appeal to all the edgy teenagers out there, but most of the combat is horribly overdone. This can vary from the main character doing leaping lunges that you had nothing to do with, to enemies EXPLODING when I stab them with a basic ability. All in all, this game has been a huge disappointment. Between the rushed look and style of the game, the poor combat, the sub par writing and story, the awful optimization for PC, and the constant nickel and diming of day one DLC, this is one title you NEED to stay away from.… Expand

Critics are rigged. This game was so bad on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. More than anything it was disappointing, because it could have been a great game and fell short on everything and got so far from its roots that its barely recognizable. It strings you along with hopes that it will take you back to the world you loved but never does. Disappointing. Bad.

the only GOOD thing about this game that i was lucky enough to sell it off to someone... bet they will hate me after they star playing this POS..the first game was an AMAZING experience and this one was piece of crap.. no wonder when a bioware dude in an interview says "Button = AWESOME".. only a crappy game can come out of it then

Bland characters, soap opera dialogs, no choice of playable back-story or race. Combat system looks like a bloody jRPG with over-sized weapons swung at supersonic speed. Sometimes when you hit an opponent with 2h sword he vaporises into a tiny blood cloud and only his shoes are left standing... (I'm serious) T_T this game is a joke - a bad, bad joke that just makes me wanna play the sh**tiest DLC from the first one and forget about that nightmare of a sequel.… Expand

Compared to DA:Origins this game is a great disappointment.
Compared to Baldur's Gate it's a mere insult.
Even if you take it for what it is without comparing it to the greatness of former Bioware games, you end up with a not much of a game at all.
The art work is sloppy, the gameplay lacks depth, the moral choice system is a joke and the story is cliché on cliché on cliché.
Adding to that the story is so blatantly cut off to provide them with content for the mandatory launch day DLC. I never pirated a Bioware game out of respect for they great games they made.
This ends now.
This game is bad enough to end more than a decade of loyalty.… Expand

After playing dragon age 2 I can't help but feeling a bit cheated.Not many games including skyrim can beat dragon age origins but it's the matter in which da2 failed that upsets me. The emotional attachment to characters compared to da:O is non existent,the storyline in my view is boring and the setting of the game leaves further disappointment.Background after background is overused and predictable enemy spawning causes frustration.The first game in my view is bigger in size better in quality and nearly has more depth of story in the intros combined than all of da2Don't buy this game you'll regret it.… Expand

It is too bad they removed some of the KEY RPG elements. The game is more of a Mortal Combat hack and Slash with stats now. The Sole has been ripped from DA and now all that is left is a shallow button masher.

It is so sad that consoles ruined another great game. DA:O was amazing, good thing Elder Scrolls is coming out this year. I do not recommend DA2 if you like in-depth old school RPG's. If you like an action game, then you may like it.… Expand

The Dragon Age story has lost it's soul with this console-implementation. It's incredibly dumbed down, and feels like a simplified game you would expect on an iPhone or mobile device. While the graphics are indeed amazing, the voice acting fine and the interface slick - it's just disappointing. The unusually high average scores from professional "reviewers" just shows how large the divide between commercial expectations and end-user expectations really are.… Expand

Having played to the end I can definitely say this is a step backward from the first game. While the original might have needed slight improvement many of the role-playing elements here are overly streamlined and are now lacking depth. The main problem for me though is the agonising repetition of locations which has held back any thought of going through the game a second time.
I might have given this a 5 if I had a better graphics card but then graphics in these types of games aren't that important.… Expand

many people already posted about everything what I wanted to say. I don't want to explain more. the game is the worst ever I have played such a big games in my life. graphic, junk console port, no details on PC setting, no movement with mouse and camera view, boring combat, terrible voice acting, many bugs.... it is too bad that Bioware ruined their reputation by itself.

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 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

Bioware has farted out probably the worst thing ever to come out of their behinds, thank you Biodrones, for supporting the decline of RPG's. The decline of RPG's begins with DA2 The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2The decline of RPG's begins with DA2.… Collapse

What an utter disappointment. DA 2 feels like god of war. I have trouble even calling it a real role playing game, conversation options are simple and dumbed down, decision making is relatively unimportant, gameplay remains quite linear. The world is small, the story uninspiring, the voice acting is some of Bioware's worst. As far as combat goes, it really feels dumbed down from DA:O (which already felt dumbed down to me). Animations are overdone and the art direction is absolutely ridiculous. To top it all off, levels are recycled to an absurd degree and the game runs like crap on Nvidia hardware despite not looking especially great.… Expand

My feeling is that if your going to copy a Final Fantasy game make it FF7 rather than 12. To be honest Bioware should have had the decency to remove the party and go with a single protagonist, instead of perpetuating the farce that this is a sequel to a really good modern rpg. Take my advice, if your looking for an immersive, challenging and fun rpg experience with a great story go to GOG.com and buy Baldur's Gate 2. Hell, break out your old PS2 and fire up FF7, you'll thank me.… Expand

This game is outright terrible. The combat has no depth whatsoever. The dialogues are infantile. As far as the graphics go, DA2 looks as if it was made in 2005.

Took me 18 hours to finish playing it to 100%. Most of that was traipsing around identical areas and fighting the same waves of enemies I fought since the beginning with larger health bars. The writing is mainly horrid much like the non-branching storyline. I don't think i've been quite this pissed about a game before. It starts out okay and just rolls downhill at a constant pace. Gets even worse if you redo certain parts (or open the debug console) and realize there's almost no branching paths to speak of.… Expand

just because metacritic is paid to give it good reviews (or in this case medicore since it wasn't 99/100) doesn't mean it's any good. i could write a thesis on why the game sucks, but to make it short, it's like they took a time machine and went back to 2002 to develop the game. the storyline, combat, and graphics are horrible. this is a bigger disappointment than fallout new vegas

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 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. RIP BioWare and old-school rpg's.… Expand

As a side note before I start this, NO, this game did not live up to my expectations, but I am trying to judge this game as a standalone, and not as a successor to DAO. We should look at "What is" instead of "What could have been" or "What's not".

Anyways, first and foremost, i'm not a fan of the gameplay change in the slightest. Too point-and-click-esque for me. Some people like that play style, but I certainly don't. The combat is fun but simple. Not complicated, not intricate, not detailed, just simple.

The graphics are fine. They could be a little bit better, but I'm not letdown or anything by them.

The dialogue is just morbidly terrible. It seems like they spent about 2 seconds writing each of the lines without even brainstorming or giving them any thought (AT ALL!). They are really shallow; you can tell almost no thought was put into it.

The CGI is cool I guess. A little much of it, but when i'm high it gives me something to look at.

All-in-all, not a game I connect with at all, but fun for a short amount of fun before I move into something more enthralling.… Expand

It would be nice to say that Dragon Age II fell short of lofty promises and unrealistic expectations for a sequel to a quite successful game. It would be nice to say that, but DA2 is in every sense of the word rushed, and oozing focus-group driven development. DA2 is to RPGs what a mockup of Avatar done in Poser would be to film: an anaemic, shallow, mass-market appeal piece of shlock that also happens to look like crap. The same four (count em, four!) different dungeons will be trawled through the entire game, with some minor variations in which doors are hard-locked. The enemies are similarly monotonous and repetitive, coming in three types: basic, auto-attacking warriors and archers, and spellcasters that will hang back. No difference in behaviour or special abilities seem to exist between the different species of monsters. Fighting the same endless waves of spider-people and dwarf-orc "run up and attack" monsters with no variation quickly dulls the mind, which is almost comforting given the writing, setting, and level design. The encounters in which these brilliant tactical AIs are presented consist of copy-pasted waves of monsters spawning from nothing, ad nauseaum. The levels are incredibly linear, and one quickly realizes anything resembling an open area will probably just mean lots of spawns of identical mobs before trundling down the next corridor. Despite being a triple-A title from a star studio, the game manages to look like Poser models battered in jaggies and fried in tones of brownish-red low-res textures. The "Push button; receive Awesome", fun-finds-you game design leaves little or nothing to the player's imagination or skill. The dialogue is offensively cheesy, even by generous RPG standards, and the ridiculousness and awkwardness of the romances and massive out-of-place gazongas on ancient crones and tiny elf women speak to state of mind of the writers and who they were writing for. Maybe Bioware is too high on a decade's success to realize they too are capable of producing trash when churning out the most tepid, repetitive, cash-in sequel imaginable in as little time as possible. Maybe the blog posts by senior designers about the old staff not being on the project and the design going entirely another way tell the story. Either way, leaving aside the questions of developing for consoles and DLC, leaving aside expectations from old-school RPGs: Dragon Age II does not stand on its own as an RPG. It is a dull slog and a massive failure of a game. Save your money and please, vote with your wallet. Keep your hopes up for the Witcher 2 and Deus Ex 3 for quality franchise RPGs in 2011, but give DA2 the widest possible berth.… Expand