Dragon Age II for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

As has been the trend lately, DA2 got a facelift and a slight change from an RPG element game into what feels more like an action game than RPG.

The overall game is still playable, though a few minor glitches during cutscenes persistant during my play, these were not so bad as to take away from the game as a whole. The biggest disappointment was the change from a classic RPG element that origins was, into something that felt more like a god of war facelift. This change is similar to how ME1 changed to ME2, also by bioware. The difference is the changes in mass effect where such that it was the combat that recieved the overhaul, but not so much so that the game itself radically changed. Unfortunately you will find that things have changed to a more action based game playing DA2, compared to origins.

Also removed was the overall character creation that you experienced in origins. your choice Is still between a fighter, mage, and thief, but the only other choice is the gender of the character (and how they look) you cannot choose to be a dwarf or elf in this game. Another disappointing feature is that weapon select is now heavily depended on what class you play, and not all weapons you could before in origins are available to your class (Fighters are stuck with 2hers or shield, but no archery and no 2 1hers at once)

the entire game however did get a much needed facelift and things look more pleasing than they did before. Unfortunately the reuse of the same maps tends to make the drag feel dragged down, afterall there's little excitment to be had going into a quest location if you already know the layout, so there's little to no surprise.

Overall however the game is still as said playable and is still a much interesting addition to the DA lore. Just don't go into the game expecting Origins, or something like it as the game has changed greatly and resembles the original only in the slightest of terms.

First a disclaimer: I’m a huge fan of Dragon Age: Origins. Origins was cleverly designed with addictive gameplay and an epic story that had me talking about it long after I put down the controller. I had a lot of hope for Dragon Age II but after playing the demo I started to have reservations. In the end I put my doubts aside and purchased the game on opening day. It turns out that my concerns were well founded as there are many serious flaws in an otherwise potentially impressive game.

Let’s start with the good: DA2 has some of the best story telling I’ve seen in a game to date. Like other Bioware games, DA2 isn’t afraid to punch you in the stomach with cold hard reality and situations that don’t have a happy ending. Also, the use of political agendas and back-biting was a refreshing change from the standard “storm the castle, save the princess” story.

Now for the bad: My biggest gripe with DA2 was the constant recycling of maps. I truly cannot comprehend the logic behind this decision. It really feels like a lazy, amateurish shortcut. While the story was excellent, it felt fragmented and lost amongst the other missions yet too linear due to the lack of available exploration. The graphics were a step up from Origins but the texture of the armor in close-ups looked extremely low-res, especially next to the crisp facial renderings. It kind of looks like a character from an Xbox 360 game wearing armor from a Playstation 2 game. The combat system felt subpar and overly simple with too much button mashing. The final cut scene was shorter than most of the other cut scenes in the game, finished with a cliffhanger, and didn’t provide any background story on the city or your characters like in Origins.

In the end I think they game was good but didn’t nearly reach its potential. Many flaws coupled with what seemed like a lazy rush-job greatly hampered my enjoyment of this game. I would still recommend this game to others but advise them to keep their expectations low.