Dragon Age II Reviews, Wave Twelve

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Written by BuckGB on March 20th, 2011

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One can only hope that a future installment will learn these lessons and return the Dragon Age series to the fore with the kind of risk-taking and storytelling that the first game had handily delivered. It is also difficult to ignore how these sweeping changes pushed Dragon Age into this direction. After so many exploding corpses and fireballs flung around like medieval bullets, Dragon Age II will make me think twice when I see another blood-splashed ad shimmying to guitar riffs and beckoning me to step back into the next dungeon on Thedas.

Being about half the length and of a lesser overall quality to boot, Dragon Age II doesn't live up to its epic predecessor. Whereas Origins took years of nurturing to flourish into one of the greatest classical RPGs of all time, DA2 was rushed out the door in a matter of months to capitalize on the investment in and success of the original. With a rock-solid foundation of gameplay mechanics and lore, all they had to do for the follow-up was concoct a decent, albeit formulaic, storyline and make adjustments to better cater to the casual/console crowd that just didn't get what made the first game so special. The result is something more polished, but far less ambitious in both depth and scope, which is not what you'd expect from such a sequel. I would prefer to think that BioWare had no choice in the matter, as that would be the only way for them to save face here. On the other hand, if they truly thought that this was a worthy successor in a previously outstanding RPG franchise, we have all the more reason to fear for the future of this genre.

Dragon Age II is a bit of a contradiction. It is both open and linear, limiting and filled with choice but these all combine together to produce another very compelling adventure. Some of the battles may be drawn out but there is always ample reward for perseverance. Dragon Age II is yet more proof of Bioware's dominance in RPG development and long may it continue.

Despite the reused art assets, and being forced to revisit areas again, and again, the game is still quite a lot of fun to play. Dragon Age 2 could have benefited from being in development a little while longer to prevent this, but here we are. Nonetheless, the character interactions, how the story develops, and the general streamlining of the game are both enjoyable, and welcome. It does seem that Bioware is shifting gears in how they approach RPGs, and from what there is to see in Dragon Age 2 they have some interesting ideas worth exploring. Just give us a little more variation in settings and it'll be a lot easier to swallow. Ultimately, Dragon Age 2 still manages to be a good game, but it will also be a VERY divisive title among RPG fans.

The whole package of Dragon Age 2 comes across as a B-grade effort from a studio that usually brings the A-game talent I know they have. For me personally, this is sad, because this was my most anticipated game of the year. RPG fans, if you haven't played Dragon Age: Origins, do so. Despite its warm critical reception, this one should be a rental, or wait until it's in the bargain bin. BioWare can and should have done better.

I've said it many times throughout this review, but the best way to describe DA II is to call it (unlike the original.) This is not a game about saving the world. This story is far more personal, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it simply lacks polish. In sacrificing polish, the illusion of choice presented to the player is shattered.

In the end it seems Dragon Age 2 had enough hooks to keep me playing through every inconsequential mission and errand until nearly fifty hours of my life had become but a blur. There also remains enough meat on its bones for any RPG fan to get their fill and their monies worth for that matter. Despite my issues with Bioware's '˜improvements' I enjoyed my many hours of play and remained even more excited for the inevitable third installment.

If you liked Origins, then you'll like Dragon Age II. It's basically more of the same with some minor improvements. While it's somewhat disappointing that Bioware didn't make any major improvements to the sequel, it's still a solid game with a good story. There are minor annoyances along the way, but that won't take away from a positively epic experience.

So I suppose the end result is, if you're a BioWare or CRPG purist, this one may not hit you right. But if you're a bit more open-minded to the changes or if you're also a fan of more action-oriented titles, Dragon Age 2 will probably hit you the right way.

Dragon Age 2 is a fantastic game and there are many memorable moments and great storytelling arcs incorporated. The combat is fun and the characters are lifelike and entertaining. It isn't quite as epic as the first game, but those who found the first title rather plodding may just find that the sequel hits the spot.

Dragon Age 2 is an extremely fun RPG, it amps up combat and offers the main character a voice. However, it fails at selling the story of your character in many ways, and slips you into repetitious combat situations. Let's also face the facts that the journey compared to Origins is much less of an epic affair. This game probably clocks in at about 25 to 30 hours, while Origins was easily a 60 hour game the first time through. Dragon Age 2 receives a B- for the various improvements to the gameplay systems, but Dragon Age 3 should take more time to offer a more cohesive and refined story.

So, final thoughts on Dragon Age 2? A bold experiment that mostly pays off. The new art and faster combat do nothing to detract from the epic experience, and the storytelling and characters are suitably enthralling, but some design decisions with the graphic assets and story branches hold it back from being the classic that Origins turned out to be. I don't regret playing it for a second, but I do have high hopes that my next trip to Ferelden or the Free Marches will leave me a little more inspired.

However as the story progressed I quickly found myself hoping for the game to be over as the game pulls out more and more storylines that just seem to drag out the game. While I won't spoil anything I found the ending to be very disappointing and indeed the very last chapter of the game very disappointing, it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Dragon Age 2 lives in the shadow of its older brother which was both a better game and a longer experience. That being said however, Dragon Age 2 stands on its own as a fun game with excellent characters, combat and graphics making it something you should absolutely experience if you enjoy RPG's.

So, Dragon Age II is a departure from Origins. In my opinion it makes a lot of missteps. One I didn't mention above that you should know about is that you basically just hang around Kirkwall, running through the same areas over and over, sometimes leaving the city for the outskirts. But there is no nation spanning epic here. That was a huge disappointment to me. But, personal opinions on the decisions made aside, it is a very competent game. There is still a lot of depth in the narrative and your decisions on what to do and even what to say have a strong influence on shaping the world you are in. The character-driven focus is a major strength to the otherwise weak story and you'll have fun with them as well as do battle with them. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments with companions, I dig that. Sadly, I was hoping for something more grand from this game. The replay value lies in the many decisions available to you throughout the game. I know I spent a lot of the review bemoaning things, but its still a good game worthy of playing and worthy of a high, but not elite score.

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