Dragon Age II Reviews, Wave Five
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Dragon Age 2 is not what you expect. Hell, even during preview sessions, I hadn't anticipated it being this much of a traditional sequel. But by locking down the context the world and the politics BioWare were free to fill their creation with more character and vitality than any title in recent memory. The best RPG of this decade? Nine more years will tell, but for now, yes.
Yahoo! Games gives it a 4/5:
This isn't '˜Dragon Age Origins 2', let's put it that way. Combat is the centre-piece of '˜Dragon Age 2', always spectacularly staged, so if building and managing relationships within a kick-ass team of heroes is your bag just don't hesitate. On the down side a sense of time, place and consequence isn't as strong as in the multi-faceted '˜Dragon Age Origins', and this will disappoint some BioWare fans.
Edge Magazine gives it a 6/10:
After nearly two dozen hours spent completing quests in Kirkwall's various precincts, we were anxious for the Deep Roads expedition, which would surely serve as a bridge to a fresh new city or locale. Imagine our horror, then, when an all-too brief Deep Roads interlude spat us unceremoniously back out into Kirkwall to spend the remaining 25 hours settling a dispute between the ruling heads of the city's templars and mages, leaving our wanderlust to smoulder unfulfilled. Instead of the road going ever on, over rock and under tree, our path reached an early dead-end in Kirkwall, where we remained like a child in an embattled marriage trying to convince our bickering parents to play nicely.
Gamestyle gives it a 7/10:
Smile, Dragon Age 2 works. But it is a far distance from showing any bravery, preferring the pale replacement of audacity with sheen. Dragon Age 2, like the first, feels like a whisper of a promise rather than a burst of fresh air, always heralding that maybe just maybe the next sequel will be better. For now, it is robust, enjoyable and promising. But most of all, it's safe. It's safe.
GameShard gives it an 8/10:
Visually, though, Dragon Age II is pretty impressive. Console versions boast a welcome parity, and the PC version makes use of extra DX11 lighting and there's a Very High Resolution Texture pack for those with meatier graphics cards. And it all looks good, too; the city of Kirkwall and its surrounds are well-realised and beautifully detailed, and character models are a step up from Origins, particularly the animation in cutscenes - though battle animations can be a little shaky. Artistically, tthe game isn't as much of a shift as you might have expected; there's still a very Dragon Age feel about the game, even if the Elves are now exceptionally skinny and the Qunari have massive horns. Inon Zur once again provides a stirring soundtrack, and the voice acting is typically top-notch, with Primeval's Gideon Emery providing a low growl for Fenris and Torchwood's Eve Myles as the adorable Merill. Brian Bloom's Varric is also a standout.
And Neowin gives it a 4/5:
It isn't perfect, but with around 40 hours of gameplay, a well-built background history, story and some great characters, it is well work picking up.
