Whoo man, look at the score spectrum on this one... Looks about right.

This game is super divisive, and I've found that the biggest indicator of where one's opinion is going to fall on this game is how much they liked Dragon Age Origins. Players who are expecting an actual sequel to that game that is similar in structure and scope will be very extremely disappointed by Dragon Age 2. Players who liked the strategic RPG elements of Origins and were hoping to see more of that will also be disappointed. Dragon Age 2 takes place entirely within the vicinity of one city, tells a much smaller and more personal story, and has a much more action-based combat system.

I had played Origins before Dragon Age 2, but really hadn't fallen in love with it yet. In fact I had burned myself out on it in such a way that my relationship with it had soured, and when I played it I was growing very bored of the formula that Bioware had settled into with KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect 1, etc. Dragon Age 2 was an impulse buy for me on its release, and I had not been following any coverage for the game before that. I didn't even know it was in development.

I had a fantastic experience with Dragon Age 2. I played it obsessively over the course of a weekend and I was enthralled. I had no particular love of Origin's combat, so I enjoyed the crunchy, satisfying, action-y feel of Dragon Age 2. I was completely drawn in by the story and continuously failed to predict where it was going to go next.

Now just because I happened to have a really good experience at that exact moment in my life, doesn't mean that this is an objectively well crafted game, and I find all the standard the complaints to be valid. I'd be interested to know what the reception would have been if it weren't presented as a sequel to Origins.

La segunda entrega de Dragon Age tuvo en su día muy mala fama (por No Ser Origins, básicamente). Y aunque es verdad que tiene apartados que dejan mucho que desear (debido a una producción apresurada, seguramente), este juego es MUY bueno. Y esencial si quieres comprender qué pasa entre DA: Origins y DA: Inquisition. Que la historia se escape a cierto punto de tu control es un elemento narrativo más: aquí no eres realmente el héroe, sólo Alguien que Pasaba Por Allí Mientras Pasan Las Cosas, y es algo que se debe aceptar antes de jugar. Dicho esto: siéntate, disfruta, y paséate por Kirkwall para conocer sus secretos.

A much better cast than the first game, although two characters are very annoying, one completely butchered from the previous game's expansion. Sarcastic femHawke is probably the best protagonist of all time. Combat can look cool but will also grate after a while, as waves of enemies just spawn in seemingly endlessly. Headbutting your desk is more fun than playing a Warrior. Technically not very impressive; the reuse of dungeon layout is very disappointing, considering they didn't have to do any extra work on the main hub, Kirkwall. The idea of focusing your story on a character arc and seeing them grow throughout the years is pretty neat, but the story doesn't do quite enough with it, and it can struggle to connect to the real main plot that goes on in this game.

I can't say I was absolutely in love with every aspect of 'Dragon Age: Origins', but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it for a majority of its runtime. 'Dragon Age II' had enjoyable moments, moments that explored the more complicated relations in the Dragon Age universe, such as the Templars and Mages. It's how they constructed, and ultimately executed said examination that left me yearning for more. The game takes place in a single city and with the amount that changes throughout the narrative the world never changed with it. This left a stagnant world that, also, forced combat scenarios without any narrative significance. Speaking of which, although choices do matter (in fact more so than I initially realized), the dialogue system was stripped bare of its organic flow that was seen in 'Origins'. Gone are the multilayered conversations and here we have, mainly, three options. Diplomatic/helpful, cheeky/charming, and aggressive/authoritative are the central choices at your disposal. This led to static conversations at times, with another downside being the protagonist's voice being a bit wooden mostly. There were moments where I enjoyed conversing with people like my companions, who had backstories and information I wanted to indulge in. Sadly, the game never allowed you to converse with them outside of their personal quests which left me waiting until they had something they wished to discuss. I can go on and on but my final feelings on the game are empty. I could go on and on but what's the point of doing so for a game that left me with such little satisfaction outside of some characters and scenes. Great moments doesn't equal a great game.

no it's not the best game ever. yes it has many flaws. yes you can tell they rushed development. yes, that totally sucks. is it the trashfire game people make it out to be? absolutely not, at least for me. the game is probably the one that i've logged the least time in out of the series, but i'd honestly say that despite that, it's still my second favorite in the series and i enjoy it a lot! the main cast are all some shade of asshole but it's done in a way that makes them likable and relatable. it also has one of the most emotional sequences in the series for me.

I'd put this at the same level as the original. I vastly preferred the cast of characters and the story (even if Act 3 is a bit of a mess) and maybe even the combat, but the game has a ridiculously smaller scope than the original. That's not an inherently bad thing, obviously (I even tend to prefer games with smaller scopes), but it doesn't feel...intentional here at all. Seemed like it was either a budgetary issue or a time management one, or both.

Still, I had fun and I really don't think it deserves all the hate that it gets.

I've always loved this and never really got the hate for it, especially after finding out that EA gave BioWare only a year to make them a game to fill a release schedule gap. Given what must have been a very restricted development, what they turned out was brilliant. It's the weakest of the trilogy for sure, but the companions are great, I like that it tried to tell a smaller scale story within the Dragon Age world and has enough variety in the dialogue and story beats to give it a bit of replay value. I must have played it six or seven times by now and I still thoroughly enjoy every run.