As an absolute lover and fanatic raver of Dragon Age: Origins, I was desperately looking forward to the series' second installment. Unfortunately, for every step forward this game took, it removed everything that made it's predecessor special to RPG players. The removal of the tactical camera, seemingly endless and predictable waves of repetitive enemies, and an AI that makes your allies slip into loops of stupidity make combat frustrating, though it is not as difficult as in Origins. Non-customizable or usable loot/armor for allies makes treasure hunting, one of the keystones of the RPG genre, feel largely unimportant. The WORST part is the constantly recycled dungeons. Each setting only has one map, with different doors closed off or opened up. These, among other travesties, are what makes this game a nightmare to play. It is not a follow up to Dragon Age: Origins in any sense of the word, and has gone from being an RPG to make you think and formulate tactical strategy to being one of mindless hack-and-slash. Do yourself a favor: save your money and pray that Dragon Age III, if it is ever made after this hack-job, goes back to its roots.… Expand

Frankly, I am baffled by so many negative responses. With user score 4.3 the game has to be real crap. Surprisingly, it's not. I spent about 6 hours with it, and I must say Bioware made a good job. As I hoped, they managed to transfer a lot of Mass Effect 2 look and feel into the new Dragon Age game.

What I like most about ME2 and DA2 is that for the first time in many years Bioware is doing something that feels fresh and new, and not yet another Baldur's Gate clone. Don't get me wrong, Baldur's Gate was great, probably the best thing that the company has ever done, and I immensely enjoyed it. Almost every game from Bioware after that tried and failed to live up to this high standard. It's time to move on. DA2 is an honest (and rather successful) attempt to do some change in the area.

Probably, other gamers are outraged by simplification, and there is indeed a lot of that. Personally, I think that it had to be done a long time ago. NWN2, for example, was a nighmare and completely unplayable because it was overloaded with all kind of junk that simply was no fun anymore: unwieldy inventory, complicated party control, monstrous class system, etc. DA2 makes an excellent job of cutting out everything that failed to work.

Now, dialogs. Maybe they are a bit oversimplfied, but defnitely an improvement. Don't get me started on dialogs in DA:O. They were horrible. The idea of "approval" ratings for party members was a distaster. To please everyone, your character had to be a real hypocritic bastard. The whole exprience was digusting, frustrating and boring. So good riddance. In DA2, it's "rivalry" vs. "friendship", which is much more fun, because both extremes have their advantages (similar to "paragon" and "renegate" in ME). Graphics. Ok, maybe it's not perfect. But "2003"? No way. I am running on "medium" detail level, cause my graphics card is not fast enough, and it looks great. Again, I see it as an improvement over DA:O, which didn't exactly work for me. I think in DA2 it's stylish and atmospheric. The city of Kirkwall is just beautiful. All races (dwarfs, elves) look definitely better. Darkspawn are scarier, etc. What else is needed?

To summarize, the game is a lot of fun. It's very well paced, packed with action, and there is much less boredom and pointless running around than it was in DA:O. Try it for yourself, if you haven't yet. However, keep in mind that the demo is real crap and doesn't give a good impression of the game.… Expand

How extremely disappointing this game was, after waiting for it for so long, to get this mediocre piece of crap just pisses me off. I am in awe of the critic reviews. How can you re-use the same maps over and over, how can you only fight 10 character models the whole game, did the devs think that they could copy Baldur's Gate with the whole city hub thing? They failed miserably.
I wish one critic would have the balls to come out and say the truth about this mess of a game.… Expand

This trend (as it seems) of dumbing down the essence of what RPG has always been ...must stop. My rating is nothing more or less than a protest, a much needed one at that. The industry must cease this behavior, it's banishing the role-playing auditorium - effectively erasing the genre from existence.

I am really disappointed of the way Bioware is going with one of its major brands. The action parts are ok, but there is little to nothing left of the Dragon Age feeling. Story Failures, Decisions from DA:O are not correct imported. People alive that died... and such things. Boring Hack&Slay Action. DA2 isn't really a PC RPG Game anymore, it is a Console Hack and Slay RPG Action game. With bad Interface and technical Problems. Also the level design repeats constantly, i only counted 2 or 3 different maps for caves and buildings. Monsters and Models of DA:O/A and DLCs get reused, partially as Boss Monsters. Altogether they used what they had, made some little additions and sold it for the full prize.… Expand

Wow, I've been watching so many negative user reviews coming in and I felt that I had to speak up and say my bit. Personally, I'm rather enjoying Dragon Age II so far. To date, I've found the story engaging and the quests enjoyable, and there seems to be a significantly smaller element of "grind" to DA2 compared to the original, where some quests seemed to be endlessly long trips through tunnels facing wave after wave of identical enemies which you would handle in identical ways (heading to the Broodmother and some of the Deep Roads quests spring to mind particularly). A lot of the game so far has been centred around the city of Kirkwall without venturing much further, but the city is large and varied enough that I'm quite happy with this for now. The characters I've met so far have all been full of personality and very believable. The voice acting is also generally rather good, though the male Hawke voice can occasionally feel a little uninspired (I suppose it's harder to deliver a good performance when your character could look like just about anything and could be a mage, warrior or rogue).

Many people seem to be unhappy with the new "Mass Effect inspired" conversation wheel. Some have complained that it reduces the depth of the conversations by turning the options into "good", "witty/wry/misc.", "bad" or "further information". However, this is all the options in the first Dragon Age ever really were anyway - it just didn't categorise quite so prominently. Further, the way that the tone is now indicated avoids those occasional moments from the original where you chose something that you thought was intended in a sarcastic sense and actually wasn't, provoking a rather unintended reaction from whoever you were speaking to. The best enhancement here is that the dialogue is now all spoken: a *huge* improvement on the bizarrely mute protagonist of the first game (and something that wouldn't work terribly well if you had just read exactly what was said).

The combat in the game is, to me, executed in a more exciting and elegant way in DA2 than the original. However, camera problems still get in the way a lot of the time, when walls conspire to get in the way. I despise the removal of the overhead RTS-style view, which really makes it difficult for players who do a lot of tactical pausing and want to place mages' abilities precisely and quickly.

Whilst I'm criticising, I also am extremely unimpressed with the buggy release. I had to hack unsupported graphics drivers just to get the DX11 rendering working correctly, without regular freezes. The game also insisted on my putting a disk (any disk) in my floppy drive (!) when it connected to the server, prior to the 1.01 patch being released. Even now, the DX11 renderer feels like it's not quite there.

The "character profile" screen is a little bit "dumbed-down" compared to the original and whilst I'm happy with the information available and the system in place, it feels like there's a little bit too much clicking back and forth through menus to get to what I want.

Overall, despite the few criticisms above, I think there's much to be happy about here. I've certainly set aside all my other games to play this. I'm a little surprised that the user response here has been so poor, considering the good critical response.… Expand

I like the game. I enjoyed it, so it was worth the money to me. I think people are being unfair. It's very much worth a purchase for entertainment. Some of what people have posted here are myths about the game, having played it.

I think the combat in Dragon Age: Origins (the original) was overrated. This combat is much faster but still reliant on the underlying character statistics. In DAO it was easy to potion spam, and be basically invulnerable, especially with the Arcane Mage class. With DA-II it is a little more difficult to have a single winning strategy. Movement seems far more important. One criticism, but it's by no means a show stopper, is the lack of a free camera or isometric few occasionally leads to oddities from the camera, which is annoying in the middle of a quite fast battle. The 'waves of attackers from nowhere' method of improving difficulty seems seems lazy versus facing NPCs and attackers with statistically determined attack profiles. Maybe there is. Doesn't feel like it though.

The size of the weapons in the game is a bit cartoonish. It seems odd to have a grown-up plot and then have comic book style weapons. While the story falls into a few RPG cliches, it's not awful by any means. The voice acting is generally good. I thnk the game strikes a good balance between cinematic elements and interactivity. There do not seem to be as many outright deterministic conversations. The games RPG system does feel more like an MMORPG than something with its roots in tabletop gaming. Unlike say Fallout: New Vegas, which while some distance away from its GURPS roots, has that feel of total personalisation. This misses that satisfaction by hiding a great deal of the underlying derived statistics from the users, particularly with regards to enemies. This will actually please some people, who prefer MMORPG style questing. I'm neutral on the subject.

Overall, if it weren't for the potential pricing of DLCs versus actuall add-ons, I'd say if you've got the cash it's a good few days of quality entertainment. I like it. I have yet to replay it, but I'm less hopeful of major plot differences based on my character. Simply because I don't feel the underlying statistics can affect speech/negotiations in the same way the current Fallout series does.

Graphics wise, rather annoying to have to run beta drivers with a high-end NVIDIA card. I have installed the high-res textures pack and it does make a difference. But for a product making a point of being DX-11 enabled it hasn't got a particular wow factor and looks like a console port. It does the job though.

Compared to many other current games I'd give this 8/10. Which is a must purchase for raw entertainment value. Rather than arguing about the particular direction they took. I like the fact it deviates and updates on DAO canon, if only because that will annoy DAO fans. I've given it 10/10 because it will annoy both DAO fans and others.… Expand

Okay, let me preface this by saying that i am not one to prescribe to the mob mentality of trolling video game forums and dumping heaps of praise/criticism on games unnecessarily. I understand that video games, like most things, are subjective and may appeal to some but not all. However, i feel overwhelmingly compelled to point out the flaws in this title, because of the depressing trend of the "consolization" of the big AAA releases, to the point that finding quality PC titles yields as much fruit as searching for unicorns. What makes this bastardization of a title so much more rage inducing is that the original dragon age was a game which harken back to the roots of PC rpg's and offered an epic story strategic gameplay and a level of complexity that was engrossing and satisfying. This is not a true sequel as much as it is an unveiled attempt to draw more people into the game by delivering dragon origins "light'. To call this game an utter crap storm, might be a bit excessive, yet that is the feeling i got when i played the first ten or so hours of the game. I really hate this game, but not because it is a bad game. On its own, played on a console, it would be an awesome experience. However, it should not be the sequel to what was one of the strongest pc releases of the last decade, when it is in fact as step back. My point in writing this little tirade, is to add more voices to the growing mass of pc gamers becoming frustrated with the iterative releases of FPS like COD:BLOPS and the horrible ports of console games to PC. I am sick and tired of the graphical enhancement, and innovation possible on PC's being hamstrung and tired needlessly to the 5 year old and aging consoles. I want a game that is not cognizant of the limitations of consoles and designs a game with them and mind and only later attempts to sling the crap together to release it on PC. That is why i took this game back to gamestop got my money back and preordered the witcher II. That is a PC game and is an example of what a PC game should look and feel like. So while dragon age 2 is not a bad game it is not the game that DAO was and anyone looking for a similiarly satisfying experience should look elsewhere. console = 8 PC = 5… Expand

Origin was not perfect, but it was a good game. Here, on DA2, every aspect of the game is a downgrade. No more strategic battle, no armors for companions in inventory, no crafting (NPCs make it for you), no dialogue skills like persuasion or intimidation (you can ask a companion to interfere in conversation, but it's an automatic succes). This game is a waste, and I'm worried about Mass Effect 3.

In short, waste of time and money. This game has no strong points whatsoever. Graphics is bland, environment is the same everywhere, at first interior of some houses looks nice but it becomes tedious cos you run through the same looking rooms over and over again (~20 or so times, not kidding). Dialogues are dumb and options you chose rarely change outcome. Quests are the worst I have ever seen in a RPG. Even free to play MMORPGs have better quests than DA2. Battles are nice till you notice that mobs spawn like in some arcade game... You won't have to control your companions so tactics is pretty much gone. They had to stick with Hawke and ditch other 3 party members from the game entirely. Action game fans would have loved that even more! So yeah very bad game, Sadly It has way more weak points than I've mentioned in this review...… Expand

Commander Hawkes incredible city runner When DA2 was announced I was afraid about the promised improvements also known as catering for the casual. But silly me I thought Bioware could not make a bad game. So I preordered the game anyway. After the rather irritating beginning with bland uninspiring atmosphere it was time to start the game. I was ready to be the hero as usual and my hero is always a chaotic good smooth talker.
Well the first few hours flew by and I was feeling ok about the game.

But then just after few hours the maps started to feel repetitive:
- Wow the exactly same map again with just different doors locked is this really a different place in the city?

Then I noticed that no matter what dialogue options I chose the end result was always pretty much the same. So that meant that I could not be the smooth talker my hero has always been , meaning I like to talk my way out of situations. Instead now I had situations like:
I have to get past some thugs lets talk to them:
- Option 1 : Positive reply
- Option 2: Witty reply
- Option 3: Slaughter the baddies

Well no matter what I tried it always ended up in bloodbath suppose that the edgy and sexy part of the game when you are being forced to kill everything without option Yay...

Then the combat , at fist I liked it , but then it got repetitive the combat required no tactics at normal , and little to none at hard until you met enemies that one shots you , talking about balancing difficulties.
But the most ridiculous part was all the flashy moves and gore. I mean since when all the mages become some Ninja masters with their staffs? Since when has warrior in full plate been able slide across the room like he was on ice with jetpack?

And the gore my god its silly. I stab you with a fork and you explode to gazillion pieces and splatter all your innards in the process I mean even bad splatter movies are more realistic. Another issue for me was the lack of real healing spec tree talents or pretty much anything. There was TWO yes TWO healing spells in the whole game and the extra one is on one of the followers. This means that bringing an healer to fight means more about bringing an boom explosions mage to the fight that just has an ability to give someone extra health potion now and then.

And how about the waves of enemies randomly appearing? It made the use of tactics pretty much void since every time you meet enemies you can count on that Spock will be beaming down more of them during the fight. This again kills the immersion completely. How about the companions then , well they are ok , but the lack of customization is horrid. I mean sure it makes a nice unique feel to a companion perhaps when you cant change their armors but bloody hell since when a skimpy dress has been a good pick for an armor to bring into a fight?

Also most of the items are way too generic , you will find plenty of amulets , belts , and rings named yes you guessed it amulet , belt , ring. Oh the joy. All the armor you find is pretty much useless since well you cant give them to your followers.

And what about the brilliant junk system. Yes you will literally picking up junk during your travels. Since in DA2 you are Hawke the great janitor. BUT wait there is more , the city that you will spend your whole adventure in is boring and bland. There is the gray zone , the brown zone and so on. There is no feeling of life or excitement in the city. I have seen ghost cities more alive than Kirkwall. The background inhabitants of the city are just props if you happen to have the change to click one of them they will probably say something just as dull as the city.

But wait I am bringing my DA:O save to DA2 that should make things interesting? NO
The imported save game brings no depth to game. There is little to none references to your DA:O game suppose they did not want to confuse all those poor farmville gamers that might buy DA2 , (no offense intended to farmville players).

Top if off with minimal replay value. Because of the linear game play , reused maps , and Commander Hawke I`m sure this game is the flop of the year.

I suppose I have to say something good about the game too. Well the good thing is I won`t trust bioware assuring that they are not dumbing down or forgetting us old RPG gamers.… Expand

Like many others here, this is the first time that I've been motivated enough to write a review for one of these games. Mostly, it's because of where the game fails. Also, I have to say right away that I've been disappointed with how Bioware has responded to user criticisms. Please get a crisis management consultant, who will give you a much better approach to this, which will start with "oops, we tried our best but it didn't work for a lot of you so let's figure out how to improve in the future." This would have added to your credibility instead of the current reputation-killing approach.

To the game. I've been playing RPG games for decades and Bioware has been among my favorite companies. So I guess I'm among the many disappointed in part because my expectations were higher. Though perhaps Awakenings should have warned me, since I found that game had some similar flaws. 2. I like the idea of a talent tree, but it could be a lot better. And where are all those talents that help with something other than #245th way of blowing something up. I miss stealthing to scout out a territory or to take down a crucial mage by surprise while my partners rush in to distract. Sidekick wise, Varric and Aveline are great characters. Merrill is not bad, though not as memorable as the DA:O crowd. Carver isn't bad, either. Bethany, on the other hand, was bad enough that I restarted a game to back to Carver. Isabela made me cringe and I like adult-themed games. . The last two battles are the last straw that break the camel's back. Ugh. To put it bluntly, when I play through again, it's likely I'll stop around the beginning of Act 3 and hope that the writers are replaced for any sequel that comes (which I will NOT pre-order).

Staying in the city wasn't a bad idea, but it needed more life and depth. I found the repetitive scenery a big minus. I found the endlessly similar battles with the more and more boring waves of unrealistically appearing enemies to be harder and harder to accept. The 123 "rings" and "amulets" really took almost all value out of the items we collected and used. It also led to the other complaint, that so many things that were named still look the same. I would rather have a few, quite different and interesting items that I can grow to love for a while. I like overall the tension between the different factions and I would have liked the game to focus on and develop these even more. It worked much better for Act 2, and I was ready to stop the game by its end (though I would have liked to see that plot developed even more; it would have been worth it). Act 3 as a build up of the earlier other tensions could have been great, but it was defeated by the apparent need to make every encounter a battle with something bad. So instead of a gripping choice between two imperfect, human, and sympathetic sides, I get numbed out by endless, unjustified, and similar battles.… Expand

Game is awesome. Combat is still tactical like in Origins, just a bit faster-paced. Still awesome story and dialogue. So it isn't as awesome as DA:O, but almost nothing can be. It is still a great game, don't listen to all the hate.

Playing this game makes me really want to play DA:O to see what the backlash against DAII is all about. For one, I found the combat in this game to be incredibly addictive. It is extremely fast-paced, but still requires you to pause the game frequently to issue orders to your companions. Like any good RPG, there is still a great deal of micro-management to be had: stats, skill trees, and equipment are all still there. You can't change your companions' armor, but that seems to have less to do with "streamlining" the gameplay and more to do with taking away the ability to change their in-game appearance, since the rest of their equipment is still customizable. What is a bit annoying is that much of the game's challenge comes from it throwing waves of cannon fodder enemies at you. It does make exploring the dungeons feel a bit more like you are playing a God of War style game and I can see why many fans would be disappointed in this regard, but it didn't bother me a whole lot.

The biggest complaint I have with the game are the recycled dungeons and interiors. It really takes you out of the experience when you you realize that the cavern you are exploring is structurally IDENTICAL to the cavern you were exploring a half an hour ago, or when you enter a house that is identical to your hero's house, right down to the decor. This, more than anything, just seems like pure laziness on Bioware's part. I'd also like to know why they didn't make this a more open-world style game since the vast majority of it takes place within the walls of a single city and its outskirts. Instead, you get a handful of small, disconnected areas you reach by clicking their icon on the map screen. Would it have been that hard to connect them? Graphically, the game is pretty simple. Again, it seems like this was a lazy decision made just to get the game out faster and that's really unfortunate.

Where I absolutely cannot fault the game is its storytelling and characters, both of which make Dragon Age II an experience I'm not likely to forget anytime soon. As for the story itself, it seemed pretty unfocused and I never really understood where the storyline was headed or if it was headed anywhere at all, but the frame narrative made me much more interested in finding out what would happen next. I was also surprised at how much I came to care about all of Hawke's companions after not caring at all about anyone in Mass Effect. I commend Bioware in particular for creating a great female character in the form of Aveline and for being much more inclusive than in their Mass Effect games by including male same-sex romance options.

I enjoyed Dragon Age II immensely despite all the recycled interior areas. Yes, the game borrows certain elements from action games, but it is still much more of a true RPG than either Mass Effect 2 or Final Fantasy XIII. Not a total success like ME2, but not an abysmal failure like FFXIII, the game is still a very welcome refresh of a genre. If Bioware has put more effort into designing the game's world, it would be an easy 9 for me. As it is, it's still recommendable because the characters and the underlying gameplay are just so good, but I really hope Bioware doesn't try to cheat us like this in the future.… Expand

Dragon Age 1 was my favourite game of the last year, this sequel is my least favourite so far. The game mechanics and dialogue has been dumbed down to the point that its just too boring and monotonous to play.

I played DA:1 for about 60+ hours without once getting bored. DA:2 gets very boring, very quickly. Like others have said, this is more like a Mass Effect action game than an RPG with any depth. I've been a bit fan of Bioware games in the past, I hope they dont ruin the next Elder Scrolls game as much as Dragon Age has taken a step backwards.… Expand

Origins pulled you in and didn't let go - I wanted to marry it and devote my life to exploring every facet of the game. It was what I look for in a woman - it was rich, deep, engaging, beautiful, and filled with brutal, visceral combat. We had something real together, the kind of thing you can build a real life on.

I feel like DA2 got me drunk and gave me herpes.

Dragon Age 2 is a huge step back from the first game. While you get to explore a whole country, with lots of different scenarios, and do all sorts of different missions on the first game, here you will only visit half a dozen places and only do missions that feel like side quests. There are 2 things that I thought were improvements, the main character with a voice is one, and the new combat system, but the combat itself wasn't very well explored. It is too predictable, and there is no variation with the enemies. The main plot is very week, it gets interesting in the last 2-3 hours of the game, .. but the rest is simply there to fill some space (so about 30 hours of filling) The developers obviously rushed this project, and the game just looks like it was made by lazy people. Rings that are just called "ring" but with different specs, "belt", etc.

overall the experience isn't terribly bad, but it's not up to DA:O standards and not up to bioware's reputation.... I find it hard to believe that bioware thought this was a good game to release.… Expand

While I would like to create a long, fully elaborated review on the game to explain the core features and everything in depth, I honestly cannot, as the game is without much merit whatsoever. The combat took a system which felt unrefined in DA:O and rather that improving it and making it better, just completely ruined it to make a system without thought or challenge

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. OK I grabbed this from the steam user forum, from "loa1452". Sorry to plagiarize, bit his/her review really hit it on the mark for me. To summarize, this game is TERRIBLE: reused levels (again and again and again), the same fight over and over again, very limited enemy types(lots of spiders...), and incoherent story.

From loa1452
_______
DA:O was not perfect by any means, but boy did it immerse you. There were so many minute details that just sucked you in. Didn't care about the graphics, didn't care that my party of mages steam rolled every battle on the hardest difficulty. It was fun. That is the whole point of RPGs: Laugh, cry, battle and forget that you are playing a game.

Kirkwall

One of the well known 'features' of Dragon Age 2 is that the whole "story" takes place in Kirkwall. When I read this in a game preview, I didn't mind. I assumed (wrongly) that Kirkwall must be HUGE. The first thing you will notice after stepping into Kirkwall is how tiny it is. It takes all of 10 minutes to explore the whole entire city. You think you are going up some stairs to explore a new area when a dialog box pops up, "Would you like to gather your party and continue?". Uh, Ok. A screen pops up where you have to click a new area. Boom. You are transported to the new area that looks exactly like the first and is tiny, tiny, tiny. There are a few crates and sacks to open, but that is it.

Oh well, you say. "I don't care how tiny it is, my attention span is so short every area will seem new to me anyways". Well you will also notice Kirkwall is filled with tons of people going about their business! What a sprawling city just filled with life! Unfortunately, you can't talk to any of these people. None. Zero. Clicking them does nothing. Area recycling

OK, so now the dreaded area recycling that fangirls everywhere try to justify. I'd like to remind everyone that I play games for fun. I realize many of you now play games as a form of repetitive work (like WoW), in that case, you still won't like this game. It is truly ridiculous. Accept a quest, go through a mine, return back and get a reward. Good, it was fun. Accept another quest, go back to the exact same mine, but now somehow there are doors closed off with rocks, and new doors magically have opened. WTF? Ok whatever, I'll let it slide. Oh wait, please don't make me go back to Kirkwall to accept another quest. I know we have moved past this but Kirkwall is so small that I memorized every area, where everything was in just one pass through of the city. I can see how people can convince themselves that this area recycling is fine, as I did myself for a little while. But finally I cracked. I hate it. I hate this game. If you haven't cracked yet, just keep playing. It will happen. I promise.

Battles

Not much to say about this one. Every battle is the exact same, with the a lot of the same enemies. This is just a real let down. Here is how it works: Approach an area, kill off about 7 - 10 enemies, a second wave of 7-10 enemies appears. Kill them. Move on. Every. Single. Battle. Is. The. Same. Two waves. Then done. All of them. So when you enter a battle, you know exactly what will happen, this absolutely kills immersion. Items They seemed to have made an effort to add a ton of gear into the game. Only problem is that most of it is only for the main character. That leaves a tiny subset of stuff you can actually equip to others. It is obvious that the game was rushed. A few items have actual clever names like, "Gloves of the unknowable unknown". Ok, whatever. Cool. But then it stops. Items that have different attributes are all named the same, "Ring. Belt. Helm. Staff". Annoying to sort through 5 "Rings" in your inventory that all have different properties.

Story
Ah what else. How about the story? I never could figure out what was going on. It's full of endless side quests. Inever did figure out what the overall goal was. There was an area in the journal that listed the "main plot" quests, but they were no different than the endless, forgettable side quests.

Conclusion
I was expecting an epic sequel to DA:O. This is such an embarrassment of an RPG that I actually feel used, and conned. There is no possible way that BioWare was putting the finishing touches on this baby and thought, "Wow, good job guys. This game is really fun". The game is small, repetitive and just plain boring. Why are there 2 waves to every fight? Why are all the areas the same? Why is Kirkwall so damn small?! I am surprised that it took them this long to release the game. It should have taken 4 months, max. I just wish the gaming media websites would actually rate games truthfully. They should be embarrassed.… Expand

Dragon age 2 should be called, "Assassin's Creed 3: The Dragon Age edition." If you are looking for the same great experience of an epic, sprawling RPG, then look elsewhere. They removed any sense of epic struggle, moral ambiguity in making large and important decisions, and perhaps more damning, they removed the element of exploration that is so prevalent in many RPGs. Instead, we are given an ultra-linear story, one city to explore (the whole game mind you, just like assassin's creed, but actually assassin's creed has more than one city!) and absolutely no exciting pacing. By the middle of the game you are utterly sick of running menial tasks. There is no sense of a greater purpose like there was in the original Dragon Age: Origins. On top of this, there is clear evidence that Bioware was cutting corners any place it could just to save time and money. Environments are repeated sometimes between 4-5 times, but are supposed to be completely different areas. You'll think to yourself, "Hmph, I've been here before!" quite a few times. If you loved Dragon Age: Origins, I can imagine you'll buy the game anyway, but don't expect the same experience; it's gone.… Expand

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MAIN PLOT: This game's storyline is a slow build, but once I got to Act 2 everything changed. I started appreciating the plot and the almost gentle progression. SIDE QUESTS: I dont think I've had so much fun playing the side quests before. I basically ignored most of them in DA1. COMPANIONS: (a) Voice Acting. Awesome. (b) Subplots. I like that we have subplots with them in every act. Fenris and Aveline's subplots were very well done and definitely memorable (and funny!). (c) Same-Sex Romance: I still feel the need to thank bioware for including this again and in full form.

(c) Romance in General. I romanced Merril, and the only thing I kept thinking was that I wish I had a chance to talk to her more. I felt as through the romance was based on very limited dialogue (more like a mass effect 2 kind of romance as opposed to DA1). BUT the romance scene itself was so well executed that I forgot about how little I spoke with her before that. The pillow talk after the scene was *great* too! Also, as it goes with romance pacing, it was strange to have Merril move in after our first sex scene, especially since we weren't really dating or anything like that. And now that we've moved in, nothing is being said about it.

(d) Dialogue: There feels like much less companion dialogue in this game. BUT I also like that I haven't exhausted the dialogue yet either. Being able to speak with your companions of the fly was nice. Merril has very few things to say about herself, the past or the Dalish. Also, I found the flirting lines with Merril really cheesy, and only did because I wanted to proceed with a romance.

(d) Banter. Lots of good stuff here and with the number of companions, I don't think I'll ever hear all of the banter.

(e) Character designs. I love how distinct everyone looks and acts. The new body types are great.

(f) Comforting Hawke. I am soooo grateful that someone asks me how I am!

(g) Companion Interactions. Its refreshing to see the companions visiting each other and seeking their guidance. Like everyone else, I love that dog is there. The fact that now I can ask a question to my party while in conversation with someone else is a good thing.

THE WORLD: I have no problems with being in one city, but I guess I expected the city to change more than it does. I don't mind the reused areas too much. I'm fine with there being a few places you always visit (the bone pit and sundermount) but its when I go into other places that seem very similar to each other, that's when it loses flavour for me. I would have appreciated more fantastical locations (like in DA1 Sacred Ashes quest). I will insert thought that I love the fact that mines/maps/areas have multiple exits now and that leaving a dungeon is so much easier.

INVENTORY
(a) Companion Inventory: The fact that I can still equip my companions with their own weapons saved the day for me. If they were completely static, it would have been boring, but I am still able to upgrade their weaponry. As for their armour, I also like the idea of upgrades. I sort of wish I'd see the upgrades though, as a different colour of armour or *something*. The fact that I didnt have to equip the upgrades myself was nice too.

(b) Junk: This container has gotten a lot of heat, BUT it does serve a purpose. i can now mark items as junk and sell them all with one button when I get to the store, how convenient is that? Very!

TIME JUMPS: This left me feeling disconnected from the game. I believe its because I'm not filled in on what happened during the jump with myself or my companions (or perhaps the lack of control). The game tries to remind me that 3 years have passed, but its hard to "get into" that.

ACTION: I loved the speed and looks of the action. This game is so much fun to play, now I actually enjoy the battles unlike in DA1. The skill trees are fun as well.

WHAT ITS MISSING
Its hard to explain what this game is actually missing for me without saying its missing "charm" or "soul". What I think has happened to create that feeling is the mix of: 1) not enough companion dialogue/backstory/progression, with 2) the fact that I'm not sure why my companions are still following me around.

In DA1 we were a group of people thrown together to save the world. Even though its not unique, the fact that we were drawn together and that we had that camp common space created a feeling of "we're in this together" and "us against the world" which is missing from DA2. In DA2 I just feel like "stuff happens" and maybe some of my companions will be around later. They, currently, don't feel integral to Hawke, not even my LI.… Expand

What a waste. This could have been a great franchise. I love DA:O very much and regret every single cent spend on DA2. In a nut shell: the graphics are obviously better, but taking a closer look it's pretty clear: money was saved in production by receycling NPCs endlessly. Females (even parents) are ridiculously sexed up in order to serve a adulescent male consumer base. The controls and all relevant RPG aspects are seriosly dumbed down, "Consoleros" will find it great. Dungeons are mainly based on the same basic model reused over and over again.

I'm sorry for every single cent and won't preorder any future Bioware Games. I despise the greed of the producers and my own naiveté. Believing Bioware would stick to the high quality standards of the series while it was able to cash in on a inexpensivly produced cash cow was plain dumb.

I'm giving this game a score of 2.0 but metacritics system is not accepting it. (Error "Score (10.0) id must be a floating point number.") This leaves a fool taste...… Expand

With all these "negative reviews" I don't see where all the fuss is about. This is an amazing game! I just completed game on normal a few hours ago and now playing on nightmare mode which isn't breezing by. So far the DA2 has great story telling which kept me guessing through out the whole thing. The pause option provides you a more tactical view of the battlefield instead of blindly stumbling into a fight. If I wanted to play through a 1 button hack and slash game I would be playing Dynasty Warriors. I enjoyed the dialogue very much and having options to choose from instead of a set in stone story line. The cross combo tree lets you customize how the player wants to play. Instead of just do 1 thing and 1 thing only, I can DPS with an optional support role or crowd control. I enjoy the micro of the game between characters, why only use 1 character when you can manage 4 and control what they do. Good game, lots of fun, worth your money.… Expand

I must admit, that DA:2 is not what I would call an improvement compared to DA:O. But that doesnt necessarily mean, that its bad. There are a few things that put me off a little bit in the beginning. There is the combatsystem of course... lots of blood and pretty much the same every time. you kill the first bunch, then suddenly another wave appears out of thin air. then, no customisable armor for the other partymembers. for me that was an extremely big annoyance. Also kinda got on my nerves when I played ME:2. but that is also understandable to some extend. In terms of story telling it is an important part that the characters wear something that reflects their status( for example evelina...if she walked around in some kind of Bandit armor, that would be kinda weird oO).
The Story: well, people can say what they want, but I actually liked it. Sure, it is not the most complex story there has ever been, but then there arent many games that even make it as far a DA:2. I liked that a lot of the Companion-,secondary- and side quests played into the main story line to some extend. Also, you've got to hand it to bioware. even if the story wasnt all thaaat complex it was very well staged with the tension building up until the end.
now, my final point: the thing that annoyed me the most and where I couldnt find a reasonable explanation for....WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THE INTERFACE??!!! I mean, its not like its too complex or anything, but it just doesnt fit into the setting at all. I liked it the way it was in origins. had a nice fantasy-ish feel to it. But this?? it looks like it was designed for SWTOR or ME3 but then it was decided that DA2 desperately needed some Sci-fi elements (?????) and thats what happened.

Well, all in all though, I still enjoyed playing it through till the end alot. I mostly forgot about those thing that annoyed me at first while I was playing ( except for the interface >:O). And I think you cant say its a bad game just because its not as good or different from the first one. If there wouldnt have been a tag on the box saying " Dragon Age 2" I bet most people here wouldnt have been half as mad about the combat system etc. It would've probably been praised a a game that found the line between traditional RPGs and Hack n' Slay games Like the Diablo.
Its not perfect, but its still very good.… Expand

i cant believe what bio did with this game. they take the name of a good rpg and put it on a hack and slash dungeon crawler for consoles. the name of the game reminds of dragon age origins and the theme. nothing else. everything is made with consoles in mind. i don't want to destroy my keyboard and mouse after all. graphics are a joke and the hi res texture pack for pc is nonsense. many say that a good rpg doesn't need good visuals but no one plays text based adventures anymore. we live in 2011.
the only good thing about the game is that with its lunch dao ultimate edition sells for 18 euros for pc.… Expand

Everything about this game has been improved. Combat, UI, and even the story. This is not a sequel, really. It's not Dragon Age : Origins 2.0. It's a story within a story. Pick it up.

A grand let down. From the reused locals, to the lackluster quest lines, Dragon Age 2 never stops feeling stale. If your looking for a engrossing depth defying role playing game, Dragon Age 2 can't fulfill.

Ñ

Disappointed at how Bioware could deliver a half-finished game. The intention was there, with the interesting characters and some development, but the game feels rushed and unfinished as whole.

The PC version of Dragon Age 2 suffers from severe consolitis, most noticeably in the lack of the isometric camera known as the "tactical view" in Dragon Age: Origins.

The game is set in the city of Kirkwall and it's direct surroundings. You will be in the actual city for approximately 80-90% of the game. This is made even worse when it becomes clear that Dragon Age 2 is a rush job. This is painfully evident in the level design. There are several caves and interiors you will fight your way through close to 10 times each, that are supposed to be different locations. By the time you finish the game, you will have thought to yourself "this cave AGAIN?" more than once.… Expand

It's rather unfortunate how this game turned out. The combat is no longer tactical, it simply requires you to hit your abilities as the cooldowns refresh. The story is bland, and makes it difficult to press on, nothing "hooks" you. If this game had been released as a stand-alone title not under the Dragon Age name, it wouldn't have been nearly as disappointing. Also, 27 different DLC's at launch is rather excessive and a terrible trend to follow. I'm all for DLC, but I want game expansion that couldn't have been included on the disc.… Expand

Simply the best RPG of the last 10 years, together with Dragon Age Origins.

Incredible plot
Incredible OST
Incredible gameplay
Incredible storytelling

Bioware learns how to create games, as always.

10.0

Copy/Pasted dungeons and building interiors : Check Inability to customize companion armor : Check Very limited companion interaction : Check Uninteresting protagonist : Check Less than half the abilities/spells compared to its predecessor : Check Lack of tactical combat : Check Mediocre storyline : Check Boring side quests inserted into the title for the sole purpose of increasing the playtime: Check

To sum all the above up, Bioware going down in flames : Check

I had high hopes for this title and I really thought that it would improve as I continued to play the game. I was bored from the start, but instead of writing a scathing review after just 10 hours of play I decided to give the game a chance and played the game to completion before writing this review. At times during the game play experience I found that I was trying to force myself to enjoy it. The game really does feel incomplete and buggy at times and never truly draws the player into its world. I loved Dragon Age : Origins despite its few flaws and I was hoping that this game would improve upon that winning formula, instead of taking one step forward it seems that Bioware has taken 2 steps back with this title.

Bioware and/or EA were not generous enough to give this product the extra year of development that it probably required, so I'll be generous and give it a 5 out of 10 score which is more than it deserves.… Expand

Simply the best RPG of the last 10 years, together with Dragon Age Origins.

Incredible plot
Incredible OST
Incredible gameplay
Incredible storytelling

Bioware learns how to create games, as always.

10.0

My my, what a week It has been! Like so many others around the world, Iâ

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Story was my greatest disappointment. I understood that Bioware wanted to make a smaller story this time, but rpg is about making choices which have effect. I did not feel like I had the ability to choose in this story. Certain things happened no matter who I sided with, and the ending and main story remained the same. No replay value here. Different dialogue choices were just for flavor, sarcastic Hawke will have the same story as heroic Hawke.

Lack of build-up with companions and family. I would have expected that time span of ten years would have added more depth to relationships instead of losing it. There was very little companion interaction.
The family focus was a joke.

Recycled areas. All caves look the same, all ruins look the same etc. Only some doors won't open, depending on location. Irritating.… Expand

Origins had a lot more epic and exciting story. Idea of putting story in one city, with 2-3 locations near it is really catastrophic. Combat is not that satisfying as it should be and inventory is awful. In Dragon Age Origins we didn't have so much restriction for armors and weapons like here. I was really surprised by that, but in the wrong way. Graphics, well, I can't complain too much about it because my graphic card doesn't allow me to experience high or medium quality settings. Characters...there's only one worth mentioning and that is Varric because it seems they only finished him and that the others were in work by the time game was out. Main character is finally voiced and it doesn't seem so dumb like in Origins, but I expected more. I really wanted to like this game, especially because it is from Bioware. But call of money and greed from EA made this game the biggest flop this year. I will give it a 4, only because it gave me 35 hours of gameplay and because the main character isn't so dumb. I really hope this won't happen again, this rushing and placing a half-finished product on the market with Mass Effect 3.… Expand

Spawning enemies in front of your eyes, repetitive locations, boring quests, lots of the same demons from Dragon Age: Origins, no ability to change armor of your companions, money make no use in this game anymore, the ending of the game is quite the same and no matter what path you choose, imported saved games from DA:O make no significant role. Final word: this game is bad sequel.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. [Previously rated an 8]
Personal experience is 50% of what makes a game fun, not all of the weight is on Bioware's shoulders. MMORPG games can be extremely well-crafted, but still not my game of choice. My personal experience does not represent their failure to produce a great game.
All that out of the way - I've had a lot of fun with this game; 60 hours in and most likely to break 100 hours next week. Most people gripe about the Black and White morality choices, though I haven't honestly found one that's simply put "Kill bad guy/Give bad guy weapons." The Yes/No decisions aren't as limiting as you'd think, if you are playing across multiple accounts at once, you will be able to see how differently certain quests accepted/declined affect the world around Hawke. In my opinion, the game is, in essence, simpler than DA:O. Bioware themselves have chuckled to this idea within their own game, passersby saying things like: "Have you noticed that everything is getting... Easier? Like everything from eating, to fighting is a lot Simpler?" [Talkative man, from Hanged-Man Pub.] The game certainly feels a lot more like Fable II, but that doesn't mean the entire game is just a joke and a clink of mugs, there are some moments you wish you could cut people down in, but simply cannot. Not all problems can be solved by mashing "r."
Which brings me to combat - it is simpler, without being "Dumbed-down." In this, a Soldier is just as well to have Cunning, Dexterity, Strength, Constitution, and even Magic, whereas in DA:O, Magic was pretty passable if you had a healer, though Potent Health Poultices pretty much made the whole 'Magic increases health regained from poultices" useless. And the 'Sneak' skill is brilliantly implemented, making the original look a little weaker in the Rogue department. People have stated that 'Even on Nightmare setting it's way too easy, with no need to pause/fiddle with Tactics.' Whereas even on Normal, fighting bosses/challenging encounters may require a pause here and there. Casual is basically for people too lazy to type "runscript killallhostiles" in console, as it makes using any abilities pretty useless, considering you're mainly attacking low-tier enemies most of the time - though it's intended to be that way. I've ended up fighting a Dragon boss 3 times total, once in Nightmare, twice in Hard, and eventually beat it. To most people, they'd focus on the fact that I had to fight a Dragon 3 times, when in truth, I *wanted* to fight the dragon thrice, on a hard difficulty. Plus, Difficulty can help 'immersion,' cranking it up whenever you fight the supposed "Nightmarish Darkspawn" actually being a challenge rather than an average horde.
I rarely thought I'd enjoy any other RPG as much as/more than DA:O, but my overall experience with DA2 certainly outdoes DA:O's (Which I have 370 hours and counting on). As an avid Dragon Age fan, DA2 isn't a disapointment, and does explore the unique world DA:O created much more in-depth than the first. In DA:O, your goal is to get aid from Mages, Dwarves, Dalish Elves, and perhaps the Arl of Redcliffe, in DA:2 your goal is to get a high enough standing to protect your family from the religious fear of your Sister's/Your magical gift, fearing the Templars will rush in some day soon...… Expand

- The high respawn rate destroys the immersion and the tactical part of the game
- The combat is boring, because of the long cooldowns, the high costs and waves of standard enemies
- The quest design is sometimes great and sometimes bad
- Many skills are useless (Dispel Magic, Panacea (40 % cost for +50 health regeneration), ...)
- The recycled areas destroy the immersion and the need to explore the game… Expand

I loved DA 1. I waited with great anticipation for this sequel to the point where I marked it on my calender lol
I have never been so disappointed in a sequel before and that is saying a lot lolol
The characters were flat and uninteresting. The characters were so whiney I cringed when I had to pick which ones to take with me. The plot was extremely messy to the point it seemed act 3 was thrown together last minute and not actually a part of the original plot. The combat was much worse then the first DA. There was no real stradegy thinking to kill mass amounts of low grade uninteresting monsters.
There was only 1 decent boss fight in the whole game (the high dragon) and that wasn't "great". Overall I was beyond disappointed in this game! When will game designers give us combat with boss monsters that are interesting to fight?! Don't keep throwing more of the same thing at us and expect us to be thrilled ~ give us great boss fights and plenty of them! As another reviewer said, going more into my review for this game isn't worth my time.… Expand

Boring combat system, boring story, boring graphics. I thought bioware turn everything into gold but I was wrong. Mass effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 have both been disappointing for me. Compared to the RPGs of the past, you cannot put this in the same category. Baulders Gate and DA:O was captivating making me wish the game would never end, Dragon Age 2 on the other hand, I find myself pressing ESC button a little too often to skip speech so I can mindlessly press 12345 while right clicking on boring enemies at every corner, just so I can finish the game and be done with it. lol. Give this one a miss or at least try the demo first.… Expand

Hot trash , they took every good feeling and interesting aspect of origins and decided to dump it , companions are now a specific event only affair; no more talking to them as and when you please. gifts are quests now and totally retarded, random encounters? what random encounters? and as everyone has noticed , reused maps.. gets to the point you sometimes forget what the hell you are in the dungeon for.. was i killing dragons? spiders? rescuing idiots? whats the diff anyway it all looks the SAME. totally would not recommend, screw bioware and EA , never getting my money again… Expand

I think people are being a bit tough on DA2. When compared against Bioware Standards, it is indeed their worst product to date. But that's like saying the smallest diamond in the mine- I'll take it. When compared to other games that have been released lately, DA2 was a good reprieve. I think it suffers from Apple-ification. Origins was slow, clunky, half the skills were worthless, half of the characters had no personality (Sten, Lelianna, Oghren Pre-Awakening? Really?), the dwarf area... ugh. The dwarf area... Dragon Age 2 tried to streamline all of Origins' flaws. Battles were quicker. Travel was quicker. Quest Markers were visible from far away. Not every conversation involves 6 soliloquies. Unlike most people, I actually rather enjoy the plot. Everything that was changed sounds like it SHOULD be better it just... it kind of plays itself- and you're along for the ride. Like the Matrix. The first had a few action scenes that were intense because of the lack of action scenes elsewhere. The second was almost entirely action scenes, and by the end you were ready to fall asleep. I think developers should look at DA2 and see what happened, what went wrong. I think a lot can be learned at what happens if you oversimplify and over-streamline your game. There is something to be said about requiring a bit of effort before the reward... otherwise it quickly loses its appeal.

I can't give DA2 less than a 6. Because it IS all good stuff. But what it lacks is what is missing between said good stuff.… Expand

A disappointment compared to Origins. While I did enjoy it im not going back for a 2nd playthrough anytime soon, this is the complete opposite of origins which i could not get enough of. The responsiveness in combat was nice but i felt it made the game play more like an action than an tactical rpg. The problem with Dragon Age 2 is that it sorta sits half way between origins and mass effect and this results in players interested in either 'genre' being disappointed. I find it strange that bioware completely changed the game rather than improving on it like they did between mass effect and mass effect 2.… Expand

I'm quite disappointed tbh. I managed to finish it in 17hrs on normal, doing most of the side quests. After playing the Mass Effects, I was expecting something a little longer. Thought the story was a bit so-so.

fast paced combat, tapping 'a' to win, some romance, simple gameplay, yea i think some might like da2.
but for me, da2 it's just a piece of filth and horrible way to spend $60. I ain't gonna buy me3 or da3. ;p

I love DA:O very much, it's one of the most impressive games I've ever played,. I'm not at all impressed with DA2, however. In DA:O, I could log in, and immerse myself for 12 hours without realizing it - here, I have to fight to want to play an hour at a time. The graphics are pretty, but otherwise, this is a step backward from DA:O in almost every way. It feels like a fairly primitive console game thus far, and the inability to swap nearly any armor on your party members is beyond stupid. The questing is vapid (One never even knows what you're actually doing half the time, or why) with many quests being things like "Go talk to X group member at the tavern" when that group member is, in fact, in your travelling party and standing right next to you. The storyline, while potentially intriguing, is so broken up that it isn't particularly enjoyable. Everything feels like an excuse to go from one cut-scene to the next. In DA:O, it felt like you, the player, actually controlled the flow of the plot, and could make a difference in what would happen. In DA2, everything is preordained, and you're just along for the ride, being pushed from one step to the next, whether you will or no. Also, you felt an attachment to your character - you understood and helped shape the back-story that would be with your throughout the game. In DA2, you're some random nameless person, back-story already established, and everybody already knows everything about you... except you the player. They forget the part where they tell you about yourself.

The voicing of the main character is unnecessarily lengthy, and appallingly inaccurate - you almost never say anything resembling the option you selected, and conversations take twice as long as they used to, because you have to wait for (or ESC through) constant banter that you apparently have no control over anyway. The whole chat-wheel thing is a damnable console derivative that needs to die in a fire, and makes it unclear what number keys to use for keyboard chat control. To top it all off, there is no non-combat skill-tree! This isnâ… Expand

BEFORE YOU BUT DRAGON AGE II READ THIS ***********This is not a bad game.*********** That is what i want to say right from the bat. Compared to Dragon Age Origins though, it is probably better in a few ways, and worse in a few, and i think this is what is pissing everyone off. Let me start with the good. --- The Story --- This is up to every person i guess, but i thought the story was fine, pretty epic feel, took a little longer to get into than the first, but other than that not too bad.
--- The Combat ---
Loved it, everything reacts when you click it, it looks good, took a while to get used to the slightly different roles of the classes this time, but i much preferred the combat.
--- The Leveling ---
It was different and i was skeptical at first, but i really enjoyed the leveling. The abilities menu was good and allowed for awesome customization of the character, by level 20 my character was exactly what i wanted.
--- Crafting ---
Much better, rather than have to collect a million elfroot, you find sources of it, and can craft things using money once you have find enough sources. Much cleaner more efficient and i actually used crafting this time round.

Now the the bad, and i apologize in advance to Bioware for this, but i only do this because i love you.
--- The Maps ---
Oh god please please PLEASE give me some different **** maps. I was SO sick of playing through the exact same cave maps over and over again the only difference being some pathways are blocked off in each one. And if you are going to use the same map over and over PLEASE at least change the minimap to only show the paths you can reach, that way it might take me a little longer to work out its the same map. Seriously, the exact same mini map for every cave, for ever vault, for ever house, it gets so old.

--- The Character Interaction ---
Now i want to make a point clear here, i actually liked most of the characters, sure everyone thinks Anders is a bit of a whiney **** sometimes, but every game has one of them, however the interaction was a real letdown. I also liked how they talked to each, other some of their conversations were great.
The first game was great you could take so much time talking to the characters learning about them any time you want.
This game, they only talk to you if your getting a quest, otherwise its the same canned lines spoken back to you.

--- The "Choices" ---
Oh man did this annoy me on my second playthrough. Its just lazy developing. First time i played through i was thinking, hmmm maybe if i do stuff different i can improve that. People who have finished the game will know that there is an event towards the end of the game where it gives you an illusion of having played a part in it, but there is really no way to affect the outcome.
There were a few things in the game that did this, and it feels like it only did it because they couldnt be bothered making different endings.

--- The Setting ---
Kinda ties in with the maps, but i think deserves its own criticism, there are what, 4 places you can go, and only one of them is a city. Whoopde friggin do. DA:O was interesting because it gave you a very diverse number of places you could go, the forests of the elves, the caves of the dwarves, the castle of the humans, or if you had DLC, the mysterious keep you could conquer.
This game just used the same 4 areas, and a few other locations that were all pretty identical, and chucked different bad guys in them.

--- Conversation Wheel ---
I know there are some people that love this, but i am so sick of trying to say something and my character saying something else, especially if you are trying to make the conversation flow and don't notice the symbol on the wheel.
Example: (Slightly paraphrased)
Fenris: Mage guy wanna kill me good, wont be happy till he sees my cold dead body
(I look at my choices and choose "Thats a shame", which is exactly what it says in the game, thinking i will be nice and supportive)
Hawke: Thats a shame.... you have a great body ;)

I mean come on, really? Sure there are the symbols, but thats just one example of when i didnt check it, and there are many others of me clicking the option that says "No i wont kill him" and Hawke says, "No i wont kill him, ill kill you instead RAHHHH" and i just sit there going oh balls.


I could go on forever here but i wont, there were a few more good things, and many more bad, eg
- lazy romance options, ie everyone is bi-sexual
- every single combat situation has some SURPRISE guys attack you from behind EVERY TIME!!!
- those damn quests where you find **** and give it to people for money that made no sense

But in the end, i played the game through and am halfway through playing it through again, it is not a horrible game, but when you make game like DA:O and have that as a starting point, we set our expectations pretty high, and Bioware, you really didnt impress...… Expand

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 give this game such a low score because I absolutely cannot review it in a vacuum, as a stand-alone game that has nothing to do with DA:O. Even if it was not in any way related to DA:O, I would still have to give it no more than a 5, because this is not an RPG. It's a flashy, anime-esque hack'n'slash game with a few RPG elements. And that is just not my cup of tea. But because this is called Dragon Age 2, I have to compare it to DA:O. It may not be a sequel, per se, but it is still supposed to be the same universe with the same lore, and that is where Bioware went staggeringly wrong. For starters, the artwork and rendering of various races, characters, and creatures have been drastically changed. Elves look like rip-offs of Avatar's Na'vi, Qunari have horns, darkspawn look like humans with stupid skull-mask faces that aren't the least bit scary or revolting, and Flemeth is an armor-clad Disney sorceress. Not only have they turned into cartoon caricatures of themselves, it is practically inconceivable that Bioware would actually expect us to believe that this is in fact the same world. To add insult to injury, Bioware took some serious liberties with the lore of DA:O (e.g. when people are infected with the taint, they no longer simply go insane and die an agonizingly slow and painful death, they actually turn into darkspawn). Call me a fanatic or a purist, but I feel as strongly about this as I would about someone taking liberties with LOTR lore. What makes for great fantasy or science fiction is its internal consistency, its adherence to the reality of its own world. Start taking liberties, start introducing contradictions, and we stop believing in the reality, which is the real magic. I could have dealt with a few cosmetic changes if they hadn't messed with the lore. But this game is disappointing for me in other ways as well. Everything feels "dumbed down." Combat is an over-the-top gore fest with little to no tactics (or thought) required. Enemies constantly explode into little meaty bits, limbs flying in all directions. Two-handed weapons are larger than the characters that wield them. Rogues execute Bruce Lee-style gravity-defying spins and kicks, leaping twenty feet to close with an enemy. The basic rules of physics are non-existent. The story-line is similarly non-existent. While I do like the new Friend/Rival companion system, where a companion will stick with the main character even if they disagree about everything, there is no compelling reason for the Rival companion to stick around. This would have made much more sense in DA:O. Stopping the Blight and killing the Archdemon is precisely the kind of world-at-stake pressing goal that would realistically override hurt feelings, petty squabbles, and political disagreements. In DA2, there is no such overarching world-at-stake goal, so the "I'll stick with you even though I hate your guts" mechanism just doesn't ring true. Everything else RPG fans love about the genre, from armor, weapon, and item systems to skill development, is also "dumbed down." A little "star-rating" system tells you at a glance whether the item you just picked up is "better" than the one you have equipped. Crafting has been vastly simplified, and the need to gather, scavenge, or buy crafting materials virtually eliminated. You can no longer equip companions in any armor, or (in some cases) with any weapon; they are limited to their specific "companion armor." Again, all this does is take the need for thought and tactical planning out of the game. As for the UI, it is obviously designed for consoles, which is extremely aggravating for PC gamers. We don't play consoles for a reason -- because we don't like them! -- and when we are forced to click around in a console UI on our PC, it is just infuriating. This game has left me very sad. Considering that Bioware has been *the* RPG leader of the industry for the past several years, I worry that the future of this beloved genre is bleak indeed.… Expand

I can certainly understand why there is so much hatred for this game after finally playing it through. Rarely have I experienced such an anger while playing a game. Dragon Age 2 is a shockingly pathetic combination of a weak story, retarded game mechanics, ugly graphics (compared with ALL current games) and extremely annoying companions and NPCs. It is unbelievable that they dare charging 60 bucks for this piece of trash. I would rather cut both my hands and legs than to ever buy another Bioware "product" again ("work of art" my ass!). To the extremely lucky who have not yet bought the game but are curious to try (curiosity here only brings more pain than good), I humbly advise you to torrent the hell out of it (Dragon Age 2's shoddy quality doesn't even justify your patient waiting for its price tag to drop to 10%!). Just torrent, try and then utterly forget it!… Expand

DragonAge2 kind of reminds me of ME2 its not much like the first one, but its still a great game.
Yeah its shorter and has no origin story, the gameplay is a lot faster.But the way it tells the story is something new and kind of cool.Buhuhu its not a Dragon Age "Origins 2" but its still a good game, better than the most common rpgs.If you not just rush the mainplot you really can enjoy the game.It absolutely has its moments.… Expand

After playing through the game I think its a solid game. It is very different from Dragon Age: Origins, but thats not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like the game is more streamlined than Origins. It reminded me more of Knights of the Old Republic than Baldur's Gate. I enjoyed my first playthrough and and am working on my second and there will probably be a few more over the next few months. So, if you are expecting a rehash of Origins, you'll be disappointed. It's a completely different game, but it's still a fun game and has plenty of merits of its own. Download the demo, give it a whirl and see for yourself.… Expand

Well, honestly, I can not understand why people are so worked up on the combat mechanic. I never played DA:O in the top-down view except when I need to, because I lost one of the chars somewhere. I set up the tactics and then it was the Warden only except once to get the healing spell right when I wanted it.
And to be honest, 2handed looked way to awkward in DA:O. So ok it is a little over the top with that "rush into combat" but at least I do not need to be frustrated because Alistair got stuck on a table.
The story so far is well written and also more down to earth (which I like). As I have not completed it yet, I can not comment on everything but a 1 is something different than that. And do not forget, even ME:2 was a nice ROLE-playing game. And nobody said an rpg needs to have combat like Drakensang.… Expand

Greates devil's trick on players in history !!!!!
I been playing rpgs for over 3decades an for WCgames Ut&Cs- so got got some exp with both forms of play(rpg+action). there is NO comment how dissapointing this CRAP is after DA game which i consider one of bestest rpg in gaming history since BG. i only created acount and write this to WARNN!!! all rpg players of this ABORTION of one of bestest games in history!! Tthough real CRIME is that they advertise game as so great succesor of DA that i got signature version without doubt and any worry it would be. what i got is greatest RIPoff i can recall !!!!!
Take heed in my advice if you are rpg player. for action players get dead space 2 or go for fine pvp like Leaugue of legends!!... ;D… Expand

Anybody that gives this game a score less than 5 needs to pull their head out of the extremely dark place it has wedged itself into. We gamers have all basically agreed upon a 10 point scale for universally rating our games. 10 means this game is so utterly fantastic it will more than likely be named in the all time greatest games list, 8-9 says this game is worth playing even if you typically do not like this genre, 7 shows this game has potential but for some reason has fallen short of the must play scores in other words completely average. 5-6 says this game is not really worth your time or money. Now a 4 means that this game is COMPLETELY BROKEN, this is Superman 64. So everyone that is reviewing this game with a score of 4 or less is saying that Dragon Age 2 should sit next to Superman 64 in the craptastic section of your video game library. I understand some people have a problem with the direction this game took but the majority of you are acting like a bunch of whiny and spoiled little bed-wetters. Please grow up because your little crusade is quite frankly proving to the rest of the entertainment industry that games are for kiddies.

Now onto the game. I like it! Have not finished yet as work has been hectic. The story so far seems to be highly personal and not the "we have an imminent danger knocking on our doorstep we must hurry" kind of story, I have no problem with the latter type of story and neither do I with the former they are just different. Let me say that there are things I feel were improved on and things which took a step back in comparison to origins and awakenings. I truly like the faster paced combat in comparison to origins but do miss the top down "pulled back view" that was lost from the pc version. I am seeing people gripe about the combat and how there is no tactics needed for most of the battles, well there were not very many battles in origins where tactics were needed either it is still mostly the boss battles where you feel you need to micromanage things. The speed is what I am really enjoying, especially if playing a mage. If you were a mage in origins you cast your spells then auto attack, in DA2 you cast your spells then auto attack but I look a heck of a lot cooler during the second part of this equation, which is the same for both games. The quest structure is intriguing and I do like it better than the 1 major quest per area of its predecessor. In origins it seemed you did the side quests for the major area, then went onto the major quest for the area and then onto the next major area. I am enjoying doing a portion of the major quest for the act, then some side quest sprinkled in between each scenario. I do not have a problem with the graphical style as some seem to. Elves look worse than they did in Origins but humans looks better and Dwarfs will always be ugly. The Qunari designs are very nice in my opinion as are most of the monster types. The environments are hit and miss, some look good some not so much. I do have a problem with the re-using of dungeons and interiors, just like I did for the original Mass Effect and most every game I play. I look past it and tell myself they must have pre-fab buildings in their universe as well. The spell animations are wonderful, a major step up from origins. The companions are great, nice writing so far. I have mixed feelings about the party members equipment. On one hand the character designs are wonderful and you avoid the cookie cutter appearance we had in Origins but I am old school and enjoy finding a helm and saying that definitely goes to Isabela, now it is just accessories so most equipment you find becomes vendor trash.

All in all this game so far has been a blast and all the boo-hoo's and "you're sellouts" barking is just getting on my nerves and making every gamer on the planet look like a bunch of children. Baldur's Gate is one of the greatest games of all time, but if someone made a game today like that I would say its crap and so would you. I am not saying all of the complaints are unfounded, I have some as well, but this organized effort to hurt this game is just crazy. They told us everything they were changing, if you have a problem with the changes its because you let them happen. If you don't like them voice your complaints but don't exaggerate as the majority on the net are doing. I assure you a score of 7 hurts a whole lot more than a 2. That 2 says a vocal minority of idiots are trying to make a point, a 6 or 7 says we really got some things wrong and need to address them.

When Origins came out I felt it was a game that deserved and 8.5 rating, I feel the same way about DA2. Once the modding community and expansions and DLC came out for Origins I felt it was deserving of a 9.5 rating, I feel confident that will hold true here as well, so long as people grow up and quit trying to cause this game to fail.… Expand

Dragon Age 2 though being a good game is a big let down for RPG fans. It tries to cater to a very large gamer base thus sacrificing a lot of which made DAO a huge success. The story at best is average, the voice acting is average though it does shine at times, the combat is more of a hack n slash, enemies explode in countless bits with one hit from a weapon. The combat consists of waves n waves of enemies spawning at you out of thin air which is absolutely immersion breaking and it continues throughout most of the game in the same manner. The environments are reused again n again n again n again....... The companions are not that great no feeling of attachment, romance is not implemented well, no companion customization, poor inventory system. I could go on n on but Ill stop. Please Bioware check you priorities you can't serve two masters at the same time...… Expand

Just played DA2 for a few days, absolutely horrid experience. It is nothing like the original DA. No depth, no interesting environment, and the combat is so boring. I mean if you are going to make a sequel, at least make the game play similar to the original, just improve upon it. If you are going to make something completely different, then release it as a different franchise please.

Seriously folks- this game on the nightmare setting is a man's endeavor. It requires utilization of cross class combos, precise management of group member placements during AOE attacks, constant pausing to micro-manage, and twice as much mustard as DOA. The black emporium DLC is pretty much a requirement so you can respec your character and your party members (like countless times to get everything right). Again, I think the reuse of dungeons and the lack of an immersive or expansive environment really detracts from this game, and I can get behind the grumblings where that is concerned, but I am really appalled by players saying this game is too easy or requires no strategy. This is about 66% harder than DOA on nightmare (although I did play DOA with the OP arcane warrior spec, so there's that to consider). For the half-men out there, goto the dragon age nexus website and download the mod that allows you to make nightmare difficulty setting easier but still play with Friendly Fire: without it the game is for preemies.… Expand

I have never written a review for metacritic before, but I figured this one was worth my time in order to give this game the fair review it deserves to hopefully balance out some of the incredibly harsh reviews that it seems to have unjustly gained. As a whole, I think DA2 does not live up to the massive shoes that it had to stand in being a sequel to DA1, but I still think it is a well designed game with a good combat system, driving (albiet short) plot, and plenty of reasons to play it at least once, if not more.
First off: The combat system. I honestly can't see why so many people are complaining here. Yes, it is different than DA1. I don't see that as a bad thing though. The DA1 combat system, although brilliant at its time of conception, grew rapidly tedious as you got into the game. DA2 fixes that by speeding up combat, and making it feel a little quicker and more intense. Normal difficulty is a bit trivial, and you can easily end up treating the game as an action title if you don't turn up the difficulty, but at nightmare mode it feels a lot like the first. You have to stop and think about things, plan out your tactics well, and play the game with an overall level of skill and competence that you would expect to be necessary at a high difficulty level. Nightmare on DA2 doesn't feel any more or less difficult than DA1, I played all the way through as a mage on this difficulty and it wasn't impossible as some people seem to suggest, or too easy as others say. As a whole, the combat system does a great job of keeping the game interesting and brilliantly bloody, and the different difficulty settings allow the game to be accessible to both newcomers who just want to slash their way through some darkspawn, and veterans of tactics games that want to think a lot about a fight before they can make their way through it.
Secondly: Graphics. Once again, I don't see why there are so many complaints here. For one, graphics are probably the least important aspect of a game. If everything else is solid, I really don't care about graphics, as long as I can tell whats going on I'm good. Even then, the graphics in this game are well done and have a very aesthetically pleasing look to them. The game does seem to have some issues if you turn it up to "very high" quality settings, however. Me and several of my friends bought this game, and we all have very good computers that should be able to run this game on very high with no problems, but all of us had to run it on high in order to avoid strange lag and crashes. When you drop the settings down to high, however, the game still looks great and I was able to play through the entire game 3 times with only two or three minor lag problems.
Lastly: Plot. While it is very true that this game does not have the epic feel of the first title, it still tells a compelling story and tells it pretty well. Towards the end of the game looking at kirkwall and its surrounding territory does start to get a little tiring though. The story was told beautifully, using Varric as a story teller that interjects throughout the narrative gave the game a very interesting and engrossing feel. I just wish the developers had allowed you to venture around a little more. In DA1 you had a whole kingdom to explore, in the sequel you only have one city and a few areas around it. If anything, this is the only place the game loses points for me. The plot is told well, but it many ways it felt like Dragon Age 1.5, not a full fledged sequel. Things just didn't feel epic enough to live up to the first one.

In conclusion, Dragon Age 2 is a well made game that features an endlessly entertaining combat system, shiny graphics, and a fun, well-told story that will keep you interested all the way up until the end. If anything, your biggest disappointment with this game will be that it ends too early. I know that's how I felt.… Expand

I played with demo only and i tried to read everything what i have found about DA2..now i am really really disapointed. DA:O was a dream me and i replayed and ended it some days ago..I really thank you Origins but understand fully the people why give you 0 point to DA2. I gave 6 point you because i know you havent made bad game. But i wont buy this game now because i would like to believe you never make bad game.… Expand

Combat system improved, but everything else is worse than Dragon Age: Origins.
Nobody needed a game like DA II. There are tons of titles like that.
We needed an improved realistic, revolutionary & innovative npc interaction. Because there wasn't an RPG like Origins for that aspect before.
In DA II you cannot talk to your company whenever you want, you have to wait for a Cutscene (quest or gift). You cannot talk to your party friends about your accomplishments, while the old good Origins did.
We got a step back to something pointless, instead to improve the innovation, they killed it.
A static location into the same city for the whole game and some anonymous random cave, BAD.
No longer an epic journey like Origins, but the dumb match Templars Vs Mages.
Efforts reduced on DAII, a team weakened to work on an other project like SWTOR. BioWare revealed in July that the ME2 system has been adopted cos the Dragon Age system requires too many efforts and resources, despite the higher quality / success of DA compared to ME2.

The DA2 sales are pushed by what people know about DA:Origins.
If DA3 will never ship, it will be a fail, because DA2 won't push anything.… Expand

This game represents exactly what is wrong with the video game industry these days. What's more is that developers are attempting to inflate the scores of these games by creating fake reviews (see "Avanost"). For that, and the fact that this game is a travesty, I'm giving the game a 0.

Plot is good, companions are at least as interesting as in the first installment, but probably because the game was rushed (its 1,5 year since Origins are on the market) its overly simplified. Interiors are repeatable, running around Kirkwall is boring after a while, and game stutters on DX11 mode when using GF cards. Throw in some bugs and glitches, and i recommend waiting for new drivers and some patching before trying it out. Don`t get me wrong - the game is good, but its not as good as Dragon Age one.… 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

I always like the games of Bioware, all of them are greats. But this one, was really disappointed for my: -No character creator (Race and origin like the first part) -To short dialogues and with the companions its worst -The characters looks like comic a not like the DAO (darkspawn looks like living dead, Qunari looks like a ogre) -The main character, in my opinion, its no a good choice. I dont like his appeareance, the voice.
-The combat its to low qualiti in comparation to DAO.
-The skils are to simple and the spells too, has no details.
-No air camera

Sorry, but im disappoint.
I really expect a sucesor of Origins, and this one was another type of game.
This is no Dragon age 2, its an Action Game based in the world of Dragon Age.
I Hope Bioware make a great game in the Tird part

Best Wishes… Expand

After enjoying Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening, I've been waiting for Dragon Age II with much excitement. I grabbed my hands on a copy of DA2 on release date, went home, unwrapped the foil from the box and put the disc in my PS3. After setting up the options to my personal liking I was ready to start the journey. Let's start playing.

I'm writing this review while I am 18 hours in to the game, somewhere in Act II I presume. The reason I play RPGs are to feel immersion, connected to the main character and it's companion, a interesting story, to explore the world and to find epic loot. Dragon Age 2 is lacking major in every department. Let me tell you why.

The characters feel too generic, except for Varric and Anders. Their personalities are boring, their stories are boring and the fact that BioWare doesn't give you an opportunity to feel connected with them makes it even worse.

The story is telling the tale of how you become the champion, but to be honest I don't see it going anywhere. You do some side quests to make money, go on an expedition and after that do some more side quests. In my 18 hours of play I still don't have the feeling I am doing something important or amazing. To end with a positive note on this subject I do like the way they are presenting the story.

Exploring the word in DA2 is just drama. 90% of the game is taking place in a not so appealing city to say the least. So there's not a lot to explore, but hey we still have dungeons, right? You can scrap that from your list. There are just a few layouts and they are, sadly, reused for every dungeon. So there goes all your of exploring the world. While killing some mobs, you mostly find some loot. It might contain something epic, but sadly you can't wear it because it's another class. So you'd say let's equip one of my companions with it. But some genius at BioWare decided no one cares about equipping their party members, instead we let the player buy upgrades of armor for their companions. Thanks for not taking the weapon and accessory slots away. To end on a positive note the improved combat system is something I enjoy. It's a lot more action based and a lot smoother. From time to time you just don't want to pause the game to play it like a strategy game, but just like a hack 'n slash game.

All of the things really break the immersion for me. I want to equip my characters, I want to have cool traveling bunch, I want to explore the world and I want to feel that I am in something big. Sadly DA2 doesn't do any of that. ***Posted my review in the PC deparment, because for some reason it doesn't allow me to post it in the console department***… Expand

Is it as good as DA:O? No. Ist it on my list of possible Game of the Year candidates? No. Was Bioware cutting corners left and right.. yes.. Let's face it, DA2 feels like it was rushed to the market without the care and attention to detail that made its predecessor special. DA2 suffers from repeating dungeons over and over again and disappoints me with a over simplified skill tree. Let's just skip over the whole party armor upgrading business and while we're at it, cram the stupid dialog wheel system from Mass Effect down the players throats. It's getting almost too casual now. Yes,I do feel like this title was produced with minimal effort, to rake in some more additional cash. And yes i do blame EA for it.

Act 1 unfortunately being especially bland, while Acts 2 and 3 do pick up a quite bit, with my party members finally starting to develop some actual profile. But does it deserve a meager 0-4 scores? Hell no. It is still an entertaining title that will keep fans of the old DA:O or faster paced W-RPGS entertained for a good 20h if not way more. My first play thru took 38h. It has a decent storyline, it's technically 'sound' - not great, mind you, just average. I haven't experienced any bugs, crashes or whatnot. I liked the story, it even does lend itself to be played at least a second time through. Plenty of quests to go around, too. I think this title is getting bashed a bit too hard here.… Expand

TDLR: A fun action game, but a sad disappointing follow-up to the rpg masterpiece "DA:O". It should had been named as a dragon age spin-off ( e.g DA: dynasty warrior/legend or something )||||

DA2 is a fun action oriented "rpg-ish" game which sadly failed as a sequel. Its only redeeming quality is perhaps the revamped combat system which is much more action and "button smashing". The lacklustre plot, the small set of repetitively recycled dungeons/environment/enemies and numerous glitches indicate a rushed unpolished product. The game has a long long list of flaws, but its cardinal sin was the failure develop any semblance of a role playing game. Most quest were simply reduced to a generic formula of "click me ---> teleport there ---> click/kill". The fame choice system of bioware games became a mere selection of your speech tone as opposed to any significant degree of plot branching. The game has simply been reduced to an excuse for button smashing. EA/Bioware should had just brand and market this game off as a dragon game spin off.… Expand

Not quite the masterpiece that was Dragon Age Origins, but very far from being a terrible game. If this had have been the first game I would have given it a 10/10. However it did not improve at all on the original and removed some of the best features of the game. Lack of overhead tactical view, atrocious camera controls and nonsensical enemy spawns were what drove the score down for me. Bioware has clearly abandoned their loyal PC fan base in favor of the younger console generation. Shame.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. An excellent successor to DAO2. The story is engaging and the conflict between mages and templars is compelling, forcing you to make some hard decisions. The combat has been streamlined in a good way, and although I personally find some of the combat animations abit over the top, I found that it was actually better than DAO after going back to DAO and comparing.

DAO's animations looked tortured and sluggish by comparison. I know this is what people call "realism" but seriously? The way people swing 2handers in DAO is full of defensive holes and quite unrealistic in its own way.

People who complain about the story not being as epic or good as DAO are simply expressing an opinion coloured by their butthurt over how this game has evolved over DAO. The story in DA2 is just as unique and entertaining. You just don't get to play the hero.

Also not being able to choose your race was negligible, having a voiced character is leagues better in terms of the role-playing experience.

In summary i'd give this about an 8. However actually I'll rate this full marks to spite the idiot band-wagon jumpers who thinks this is the worst game ever made. GTFO and take your butt-hurt with you.… Expand

Welcome to the first game to be designed by a focus group. Made to appeal to everyone and ends up appealing to nobody. Poor story, poor characters, no exploration, retarded romances and just a general dumbing down of all the core elements of the first game. (an RPG where u spend the entire game in the one place???). Hugely disappointing.

There's really only one good thing about Dragon Age II and that is its ability to reveal how the 'critics' have become next to useless when it comes to assessing the worth of a game. Especially so when the inflation of a game's rating is part of the marketing strategy utilised by EA and various other publishers to get you to purchase overpriced tedium (i.e. DA2). Want to know how good a game really is? Read the reviews made by people whose opinions aren't subject to scrutiny by these publishers.

As for the game itself, virtually everything that needs to have been said has been said. Dragon Age II is truly a celebration of the most asinine elements of game design. It's built on the principle that far less detail is somehow much more exciting. After all, why should game developers construct elaborate backdrops and diversify the environments that the player will roam through when they can simply copy and paste the same areas over and over again? It's not as if anyone will notice that they're running through the same buildings and the same caves if those areas are changed ever so slightly on each return visit.

Keeping in line with the graphical splendour, the gameplay of Dragon Age II is also wildly mediocre. The combat feels unpolished and oversimplified. With the addition of a 'wave' mechanic to fights, it becomes near impossible to tactically assess any fight from its outset. Once you've fought off all the enemies on screen, more simply pop into existence to fight you. There's no indication of how many waves you'll get nor how many enemies you'll fight in each wave. This is especially tedious when it occurs in every encounter. No thought seems to have been given to enhancing combat at all other than to extend its duration and give you less to do during a fight. Last time I checked, prolonging a bad thing didn't turn it into something magical and Dragon Age II is no exception.

If you were hoping that the narrative was the redeeming factor, hope no longer. It's not. The story could simply function as a long winded introduction to the protagonist and nothing more. There's no true climax in this game and the note on which it all ends sums up the entire experience; overwhelming blandness.

Keep the money in your wallet, don't embarrass game developers and publishers who actually make the effort to allow you to enjoy games and don't buy this game.… Collapse

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Dragon Age 2 is the "Phantom Menace" to Dragon Age: Origin's "A New Hope". Thank you George for making this comparison possible and instantly recognisable by nerds everywhere. In many ways, I wouldn't need to say anything more than that, but I will anyway: When writing a review of Dragon Age 2, you probably have to say a few words about where you are coming from first. Are you the wide-eyed fanboy or the disgruntled, estranged hater formerly known as a "true" fan? Then you claim to be neither, but the one true voice of reason who's got a neutral view on this issue. Personally, I have bought and played repeatedly pretty much everything Bioware published since Shattered Steel and I've enjoyed each game on his own merits. I loved Planescape Tormet, Baldur's Gate 2 just as much as Jade Empire, even though that game is radically different in terms of combat. I'm saying that to illustrate that I am very well capable of enjoying a game that does not have the traditional isometric view of tactical combat.

Dragon Age 2 however, I cannot get into no matter how much I want to like it. This game is a train wreck of Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age and not in a good way. Let's take a look at some of the "bad" things. First of all: Combat. I cannot, for the life of me, see how anyone could view the new system as an improvement. They tried to make combat incredibly fast paced and action packed, but somehow this does not play out the way it's intended, at least not for me. Seeing a guy in full platemail armed with a huge two-handed weapon move faster than Neo in the Matrix doesn't just break immersion for me, it shatters it beyond all hopes of repair. Most enemies die in one hit now and they do so in a spectacularily silly and over the top gory way. There's more blood in here than in the silliest splatter movie I ever saw. There's a fine line between "adult" and "graphic violence" and enemies EXPLODING into 20 gallons of blood and shishkebab upon being stabbed in the chest once. To compensate for all the insta-kills, enemies now spawn in waves by the dozens. This robs the individual enemy of any significance. How can I be intimidated by a blood mage or a horrible demon if there's 20 of each under every other rock? Beats me. The sadest thing about DA2 is that it actually fails where bioware usually excells. The story and dialogue. Take the human noble origin story in Dragon Age Origins, for example. Before everyone dies a gruesome death you spend some time to get to know them. Thus, when they do die, their death has some impact on you. In DA2, we skip the first part in favor of turning the gruesomeness of the death up to 11. The thing is, if some random red shirt dies twice as horribly, I don't care twice as much. The "main story" if it can so be called, is anything but an improvement over the original as well. Granted, you are not saving the world, which in theory can make for an interesting story as well, but many people take this fact alone to mean the story is brilliant. Unfortunately, that is not quite true. The writing is incredibly ham-fisted at times. I cannot count how often the game prevents you from using obvious solutions to problems simply because the plot requires that this problem cannot be solved in a simple manner. This adds to the "rushed" vibe the game gives off in general. There's barely any "fluff" anymore. You cannot talk to your companions at will anymore, for example. Some of the events of DA:O are imported and the game shoe-horns them into DA2, but if you spend even 2 seconds thinking about "Why was Alistair here just now?" you'll notice that he had no significance to the plot, provided no insight whatsoever and was there simply as a little bit of fan-service. Oh yea, and the RPG part got dumbed down some more, but that was to be expected I guess and is barely worth mentioning in light of all the other shortcommings the game has. Still, rating the game a 0/10 as many people do is just as silly as rating it 10/10. There is good to be found if you can look past your expectations for a bit. Some of the quests are indeed well written and fun. The voice actors did a really good job, almost without exception. Flemeth's new look is a vast improvement over her old one, too bad she is in the game for about 5 minutes, tops. It's almost like she notice "Oh snap, this is gonna hurt!" and flapped out of the game on her dragon wings. I cannot say I blame her. In conclusion, Bioware lost a lot of credibilty with me for this game. No longer will I blindly buy whatever they release. Once burned, twice shy. The shady things they did here on metacritic are not helping that image. I hope they learn a lesson from this disaster and can recover and return to what made them successful in the first place instead of succumbing to EA's corruption for good.… Expand

Combat is ridiculous. Animation speed increased to the point that no strike animations are visible. Intended to speed up combat ... which it doesn't, since the increased speed is offset by higher monster hitpoints and swarms of enemies.
also, combat has been "coolified", meaning that every standard attack is the 'Fallout 3' equivalent of 'Bloody Mess', meaning that a killing stab with a dagger causes humans to explode.

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

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

No, this game is a complete fail in the categories Bioware tried to improve.… Expand

My real rating is a 9, but I felt like voting 10 to help balance out all those stupid 0's. DA2 is not as good as DA1. But all the rage is unnecessary. There are flaws - map layouts are repeated, camera control is horrible, and the story is less epic than the first. But there is alot of good stuff here too. Party companions have good depth and personality, and Hawke's personal tale is enjoyable with strong voice acting, and certain events had a genuine emotional impact on me. Took me 27 hours to finish which is 13 hours shorter than DA1 but still alot longer than some other games I've played recently. Please, give the game a chance, look past its flaws and enjoy it for what it is. Bioware deserve some critisism, but there is a right way to do it, and they are more likely to listen to *honest* opinions.… Expand

Dragon Age 2 is essentially a blatant money grab, destroying an interesting and original franchise that is rarely found. While Dragon Age Origins did not break any new ground for Bioware, Dragon Age Origins did show us how a well written game with an intriguing storyline can boost gaming past nerdom to the mainstream.

DA 2 shows us the greedy side of Bioware (while some may blame EA), regardless, DA2 is a poor (very poor) cousin (not even a sequel) to DA:O. Terrible plotting, less than interesting conversations, boring combat, no art direction whatsoever, it's like a uwe boll movie without a budget and a script.

It's almost as if DA 2 was developed by a 2nd rate development team fresh out of design school. A terrible sequel to a much lauded development firm. If I was EA, I'd have given Uwe Boll a call and given him the money to make a DA Movie rather than this drivel.… Expand

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At first the game is enjoyable, but that turns sour once you complete your 20th or so fetch quest. The game hooks you in and grabs your attention, then your realize you have been in the same damn city/dungeon that you were in for the last five hours. Never have I felt claustrophobic in a video game. This game was rushed and it shows; big-time. In Dragon Age Origins, I felt captivated by the unique cities and landscape. In DA2 you feel trapped in a very small sandbox. The combat is improved, but the story, characters, art, lore, and scenerary are all half-assed. I expected better from Bioware, very disappointing.… Expand

Dragon Age 2 did disappoint me, because it's not as good, as Dragon Age Origins! There isn't ANY aspect that is be better, than DAO. That said, it's not a terrible game, but it isn't good either. Pros: - The Story is quite okay. - The characters aren't bad. - From the technical view point it's quite stable (expect for DX11). - The graphic is good enough. Cons: - Don't like the new combar system. It's too fast, the spawning of waves of enemies isn't realistic and it feels like stupid hack&slay.
- RPG features have been cut or removed. Character customization, char. development, inventory, equipment and the diolog wheel are probably the main issues here.
- Why the useless and ugly comic style? DAO looked much better! Realistic characters and dimensions of equipment build up much more atmosphere.
- Boring levels without any details. They weren't made with "love".
- The same boring places are repeated and repeated and repeated again and again and again.
- DX11 doesn't work correctly. Have to play it with DX9, even though my PC is extremely strong.
- The High Def. Textures Pack wasn't included in the released version.
- No Signature Edition on Steam...
- DLCs before release! Selling me have the pie again...
- The featured items are too strong/good. It's a balance problem. Summary:
- The game was released too early.
- The game has a very poor atmosphere.
- Too many aspects and features were cut or removed.
- The game has been dumbed down even more.
- Don't like the "evolution" from "rpg" to "action".
- It can't live up to DAO.

Remarks:
- Bioware/EA try to bleed the Dragon Age franchise out so that they have enough money for SWTOR. Shame on you! Dragon Age Origins was your most successful franchise so far? Why destroying it then by changing the winning team?
- Of course people have to compare Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2! It's the same franchise and it shares the same name ...
- I was stupid enough to trust Bioware and pre-ordered the game. This is a mistake, I won't repeat. Where is the quality people are used to?… Expand

When considering the value of a sequel to a game that usurped such a loyal and respective fan-base, as that of Dragon Age:Origins did, people's expectations as to what was attractive, what made it stand out amongst its crowd of predecessors at the time, are held firm at the hip. Now for myself, remaining a casual gamer, Dragon age origins was a surprising recall to everything I had forgotten I loved, enriching fantasy and an RPG with surprising depth that pulled at my most sensitive heart, and brain, strings.

For so many others, based on its positive feedback, origins seemed to have one of those, you know, time and place circumstances to its release. The market for this genetic breed of game had been at a seeming standstill, if I recall, and Bioware began a roll. However, in this day and age when success snowballs everyone wants a push to add to it, but that's irrelevant right now.
I knew Dragon Age 2 was in development last summer but my focus was redirected until about two months ago, before its official release, when I remembered I never beat Origins. Taking matters into my own hands, I revived the title and conquered the Archdemon. I was excited again, but nothing near over-excited. The story was gripping and I wanted to know where it was going.
Now on to Dragon age 2, sorry I felt I just needed some background established as I think there are multiple angles to approach this Bioware title.

The initial impression was satisfaction, which did continue a few hours in as well. To clarify, I played on the ps3 platform. Buttons were mashed, graphics were displayed, dialogue was chosen and incurring in me was upon the urge and feeling more was just around the corner. And I kept going. And kept going. What I stumbled upon was the dust-ravished cliffs of never-ending. It all pulled its own weight up until I identified just what was unsettling inside me. It simply lacked. It had no bow; no shiny decor of paper with polar bears shaking snow globes. Maybe a fancy name tag, but that was about. After saving one entry, I noticed the gameplay hours were at about 20 then. What did I remember about those 20 hours? practically nothing. I was trying to understand the Arishock, predicting the next turn of events, and knowing the Wounded Coast had way too many quests for me to want to go back to the same dungeon for the 10th time. I found nothing really jumped, no lines very memorable, albeit the voice acting was entertaining and well done, and felt little to no sense of reward after I did anything for anyone. At the end of the day, it was primarily how much cohesiveness it lacked. It felt consistently uni-lateral, I knew I was going from point A to B and my options were noticeably clear cut. Perhaps this is because of the constant pick and chose business, such as with the mages and templars; the overall theme left a dry taste in my mouth. For the hardcore fans, it is a bit unrealistic to expect the same novelty the first game created, a modicum of change will always exist somewhere. For the Crew of producers or whoever, the respect in audiences across platforms for Origins was for a reason, RPG fans wanted its immerse experience, not button press equals awesome.

At this point it may appear a negative review, however, this is not wholly my intention. It is still apart of the Dragon age franchise; it holds meaning (even if half of it will rely on buying all 10 dlc packs or whatever >_>) . The dialogue is not entirely nonsensical, I still thought about the answer and character relations were still a strong suite. One can suspend their ulterior schema for rpg when playing on console in this case, it can be enjoyable to randomly blow up enemies, but in context of seriousness...well.
In my own opinion, DA2 could have been more thoroughly developed, improving environments and progression but the fundamentals would be changed no matter what e.g the skill trees, inventory, combat, or what qualms have you. Being able to accept these qualities, it helps when in the casual gamer status, what only remains to be seen is if the true workers at Bioware will take the 'good' and the 'bad' from this series and release something great latter on.… Expand

I would much rather replay Dragon Age Origins than have spent money on something that is not as well polished as I have come to expect. It's not horribad, it's just not what I wanted. Your mileage may vary.

I had some problems with Dragon Age: Origins - the story came off like it was written by teenagers who had just finished a George R. R. Martin book; the events were supposed to be dramatic or shocking, but they were more comical and predictable. The combat was difficult in the sense that it was an endurance test - a tedious exercise in patience and the amount of healing potions you were packing. I also didn't care for many of the companion characters.

Dragon Age 2 fixes all of these issues, and more. Bioware gives your character a family, roots in the world and a reason to care from the very beginning. The story is told in amazing fashion by one of the better written and acted characters in recent years, a dwarf named Varric. It takes place over the course of a decade in a city state, allowing you to see the consequences of all your actions. Talking to other friends also making their way through the game, it's like a collection of parallel universes. You don't need to wait for the epilogue to have an impact in this game.

The combat is a dream. I really think this is what Bioware has been shooting for with its fantasy games for 10 years now, finally realized in true form. At first glance it may appear simpler than its predecessor's - there are fewer talents, for instance; but they are arranged in unique trees and every one of them has significance. The interplay between the classes is extremely engrossing: there is real strategy here in cross-class combos, setting up your allies for thrilling maneuvers. A far cry from the first game's "strategy" of making sure you have enough potions to last the fight. The bosses are actually fun encounters, not the dreary exercises in patience they were in Origins.

Your character has a voice, which is a welcome addition. It also has to do with the reason I feel this game has so many low reviews: people were expecting an old school RPG in the style of Baldur's Gate, and this really isn't. It's a new game, an incredible game; but it is not Baldur's Gate. Unfortunately, few people seem willing to review it on its own merits. Having disliked Origins so much, I was dreading this release but it was a very pleasant surprise and here's hoping Bioware doesn't take the negative reaction to heart and continues to make bold, enjoyable games.… Expand

This game is so epic that bring tears to my eyes!

Everything it's perfect, story, characters, combat, world, polemic, the big pwned that the "Bioware can't go wrong" fan boys are taking. Play Dragon Age 2 it's watch the history being written!

DA2 is very impressive at first. A huge step up from Origins in terms of graphics and fluidity of the interface, making it much faster paced and exciting to watch. It's really beautifully done. However, the whole idea of a great RPG should be that it's like reading a great story (only better, since there's no reading!), so a great plot is an obvious necessity. Simply put, the plot of DA2 is boring. .
In comparison to Origins, everything is on a much smaller scale. Rather than moving across a country to thwart the apocalypse, all you do is move around a city increasing your fame, and putting out minor fires in your personal life and local politics. Sure, the political implications of the characters' actions are sort of interesting, but on a much smaller scale than, say, saving the world. .

My other complaint is that the setting is so limited. Spending the entire game in one city means they had to reuse the same settings over, and over, and over, and over. And over. I get that it's hard to design maps and textures, and that reusing them somewhat is necessary, but they really went to far with the recycling. We aren't just talking about going back to the market district a few times, or playing through a map once, then revisiting it later under different circumstances (that can even be cool sometimes, like in Origins you revisit a familiar city during a siege and all the familiar sites are burning). We're talking about repeatedly performing "new" missions in the exact same cave, with the exact same rooms, only you're supposed to pretend it's different. "Gee what a coincidence, this is the 8th quest I've been in a cave with a staircase EXACTLY like this one." There are times when they use map layouts designed for the deep roads as if they were sewers beneath the city. COME ON!! :(
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It just feels like they wrote a game with about 10 hours of gameplay worth of plot, then tried to stretch it out with a bunch of filler missions, without drawing up new settings. I'd almost say it feels like an expansion pack in it's laziness, but that would be going too far since the graphics and gameplay engine really is all new. Maybe the best description would be to say this is an all new game, but just a really lazy one. One they wrote half of, got tired, and just threw together some filler in the end to round it out. .

I won't include any spoilers, but I will say that the game's claim that you rise to power to become the most important character in the world, is ridiculous. More like you rise to power to be "pretty important, I guess."… Expand

This game has NO HEART in it. The world is boring. No NPC to talk to. Full of one liners. All you do is stare at the mini map and follow in one direction towards the marker. There is no exploration. There is no good loot. In fact they made it easy by letting you find a bunch of junk items and a "SELL ALL JUNK" when visiting a merchant. What's the point of picking up junks simply for selling? Normally junk is considered items you end up not using but could be used if you had plans or skills for it. They really took the "role playing" out of RPG. All that left really is just a vanilla game. You cannot customize your party equipment. You are forced into using certain roles for your companion if you want to maximize their potential. The actions of this game also go so fast that it feels like you're in a freaking shooter game with the ability to pause. Don't get me started on the DLC money making scheme either ... ... and be careful with these reviews. Google "dragon age Chris Hoban" and see for yourself. This game should rank somewhere in the low 7s as average score due to the graphics.â… Expand

It takes a special talent to take something so good and to screw it up sooooo bad. If I didn;t know better I would think it was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the genre and the game as a whole.

Combat is unbelievable with exploding bodies and spamming adds at every turn. Complete lack of RPG content - cannot converse with companions or merchants as in DA:O, romances have gone back to the 1950's and the elves look like they were cross bred with the little green men from Mars. Inability to tweak companions gear and all the wasted inventory made me want to cry. Lack of any real coherence to the story, lack of consequence from your decisons and lack of any sympathy towards your companions (or should I call them what they really are? Swords for hire?) equals a boring game without anything that endeared the original to me. I will NOT be buying any DLC in the near future and will think a second and third time before buying anything else from EA/Bioware in the future.… Expand

Still a good game. It feels like it was rushed because it is so repetitive but the story is very good. The low score is probably because we expect Bioware to be very good and not like this. It is enjoyable but then again the use of the same assets again and again makes the game look bad. If you compare this to Dragon Age: Origins, it's like a younger brother who will never be better than his older brother. Compare this to non-DAO games and you get a very immersing game with a good story and better combat.… Expand

Wow, where do I start? The characterization is fantastic. The story is genuinely thorough and engaging. The Voice talent is spot on. The Combat is tactical crazy, for lack of a better phrase. The speed at which everything happens just adds to the complexity. The only drawback is the recycled areas, but the story keeps them from being to distracting.

I was shocked by how bad this game was. I am not a hardcore gamer and don't follow all the industry news, but isn't this the same team that designed Dragon Age: Origins? How is that even possible? That was such a great game that I bought DA2 on Steam without even playing the demo. Shame on me. I'm a pretty simple gamer. I've bought buy every Civilization sequel and every Dragon Quest sequel since I first played those games in the 80's. I like a certain style of game, and I don't often take a chance and try a new game. I did for Origins and was quickly hooked. I bought all the DLC. The story and visuals were simply amazing, and the game was completely immersive. Dragon Age II is much too bland and boring to be immersive. I played five or six hours before deciding I was never going to get that feeling in this game. I know my rating is harsh, but that is my anger at the complete waste of money. They should not have used the Dragon Age name for this game.… Expand

Dragon Age II вполне добÑ

Do not expect DA:O here!. After reading some of the critic reviews shortly after DA2 was released I was excited and decided to buy DA2 and boy was I disapointed. Do not believe everything you read! I am not sure why there is such disparity between the critic reviews and the user reviews but I wish I would have waited. They really dumbed this game down. There are some things that I consider improvements such as giving Hawke a voice, the lip sync is good and it fits the characters but the complete lack of dialog options kills it. This really is a watered down version of DA:O.

Don't expect to be able to equip more than a couple items on your party members or change how your party members look, don't expect to have any meaningful tactical combat it's just a hack and slash that requires little to no thought in that regard. Don't expect to spend as much time playing this as you did on Origins if you played it. Don't expect to get your money's worth. This really lacks the depth I felt in the original. I wasn't drawn into the game like I was in the original I was very disappointed, especially how critics claimed they made several "upgrades" fight like a spartan bull crap. Fight like your a god more like it. I wouldn't check this out until it hits the bargain bins or buy it used. Definitely save your 60$… Expand

I am really disappointed of the way Bioware is going with one of its major brands. The action parts are ok, but there is little to nothing left of the Dragon Age feeling. Story Failures, Decisions from DA:O are not correct imported. People alive that died... and such things. Boring Hack&Slay Action. DA2 isn't really a PC RPG Game anymore, it is a Console Hack and Slay RPG Action game. With bad Interface and technical Problems. Also the level design repeats constantly, i only counted 2 or 3 different maps for caves and buildings. Monsters and Models of DA:O/A and DLCs get reused, partially as Boss Monsters. Altogether they used what they had, made some little additions and sold it for the full prize.… Expand

Nothing I can really say except without a doubt the production company bought and paid for any decent critic reviews. There is no way a professional game critic could endorse this pile of crap. It's story is for a 5 year old, the gameplay is boring, and you can't even choose the equipment for your party (dead serious)

The PC gaming market is disappearing and we are becoming more and more of a console based world. The PC had its prime but is is diminishing faster and faster with each passing year. When I bought this game, I did it with the trust that Bioware would not disappoint, but instead a worthy successor to the first game in the series. What I got for my $60.00 is a rushed game that has been stripped of immersible storyline, graphically simplified for idiots, a combat system that is cool for about 10 minutes, and in short a
game that I am having trouble finding the motivation to even finish. The game lacks an interesting story, interesting characters, interesting quests, interesting tech trees, interesting equipment. This game at best should have been an expansion on the first game simply following a certain character, much like Awakenings, but instead they have already tarnished this series with this deplorable piece of garbage. I had a lot of respect for Bioware until now and the only thing I have to look forward to on the horizon is Mass Effect 3, which I am now worried may have the same fate of Dragon Age 2 in being a rush job. Pasta save Shepherd.… Expand