I've not seen a more repetitive form of combat like in DA2. They claimed combat to be "tactical" but that's bull. The only tactical are the big 3 bosses, everything else is repetitive waves and waves of enemies appearing from nowhere, even the monsters are similar. And I have a right to say that since I completed on Nightmare, the only difficulty with FF on.

I liked DA2. Yes, the re-used dungeon tiles were annoying, but then again, I was annoyed by Mass Effect 1's re-use of the same dungeon tiles over and over and over again (not to mention bouncing around like a helium-filled football while driving the Mako, but I digress). I also was annoyed that EVERY critical hit in DA2 ended with bloody explosions.

But overall, I loved the game.

I read ACT 3's lack of choice as a real-world situation where you find yourself in a no-win situation; that is real life in many, many cases. Do you save the child or the mother from the burning house? Does Sophie choose the boy or the girl? Do you side with your best friend or your girlfriend/wife in an argument? The Champion is a tough-but-regular guy who is dogged by tragedy and disaster his entire life and ACT 3 is just the icing on the 'life is just f'ing with you now' cake.

my two bits.

I could buy that if Bioware didn't say repeatedly that Hawke is the most important person in Thedas and your decisions will shape the future of the world.

Have to say had mixed feelings on this one. I was so happy when released new dragon age but when i found it dumbed down, rushed and it felt like it had something missing. The
Fact that they used re used and reused x100 the same rooms was a pain but what really pissed me off was the ninja spawns that for a room you just emptied like 5 seconds before then to have an army pour out of it was just crazy and the endless waves of mobs where you ended up just hitting the mouse button constantly got to the point my fingers hurt.

I quite liked the story to it and there was some interesting twists and there was a fair bit of humor.

The one thing that i did feel let down was customisation gone could u be a dwarf,elf whatever but stuck as a human. The inventory what the hell was that for most equipment you pick up you couldnt use and you could not equip your npc that was just stupid.

The way the did this game has put me right off bioware i will be buying mass effect 3 to complete the series but after that unless they go back to their original rpg roots then its a goodbye from me.

I respectfully disagree.

I don't know which dif level you played but if you haven't yet try the last stretch of the "Night Lies" sidequest (Ch1) on Nightmare and maybe you'll change your mind, specially in regards to the 'tactical' aspect of combat which is virtually non existant in DA2.

Yep, we're definitely on the same page there ;)
I'm sorry mate, you have no idea how much i wish i could praise DA2 but i really can't. The only thing 'nice' i have to say about DA2 is that i liked some of the new placeables :|

In any case, don't let any of the criticism get in the way of your enjoyment. People don't look at games (or entertainment in general) in the same way. If you're enjoying it that's what really matters, i only wish i could enjoy it too.

At least with Mass Effect you could explain that away by the fact that they're probably kit facilities, the ikea of architecture, built from a template and missing the allen key and one of the shelves. In NWN it was acceptable that most of the places looked pretty similar since it was made from a tile based toolset but DA2 lacked that excuse as well, it was just the thing that made it feel lazy and rushed

I didn't 'hate' it, but I was very disappointed with it. The only BioWare game that I finished and said to myself that I'd likely never replay it. Off the top of my head, here's what I didn't like:

- recycled environments
- a 'crowded, refugee filled city' that was basically empty
- every single battle was the same: wave after wave of enemies, most appearing out of thin air, and many times coming from areas that were blocked off from your characters*
- tons of graphics glitches (time after time I saw NPCs standing inside objects, for example)
- without getting too heavily into spoilers, there's one companion arc that you can go through that just makes zero sense.
- cut scenes triggering that make no sense in the context of who you have with you
- again, trying to avoid spoilers, a part of the story where someone dies but it makes no sense given the DA:O lore
- you spend 10 years in Kirkwall and there are supposedly tons of changes, yet the city doesn't change at. Same merchants, same abandoned wagons, etc.
- garbage loot (sorry, but I really don't like my loot to be labelled as 'junk' for me)
- a complete overhaul of the game interface in both look and design, taking away nay real feeling of connection with the first game.
- a complete overhaul of the game mechanics. Some of it was good (i.e. the combat movement was speeded up) but it went way over the top.
- various story elements that have you scratching your head going 'Lolwut?" because they completely ignore the lore or in-game logic.

*In one battle in particular, you come into an entry to a building. Doors behind (where you came in) to the front and at left and right. You cannot even interact with the doors to left and right. As soon as you go through the door in front of you, enemies spawn inside the entry room. I had my party spread out in the entry room in expectation of a battle. Enemies spawned in right on top of my squishy mage and came through the doors that I couldn't even interact with. To top it off, the door you came into the building through could not be opened either, so no escaping the battle by retreating. That's just too damned contrived for me to palate.

There were some elements that I thought were good about the game and I do appreciate some of the things they were trying to do. But overall, it just felt like a rush job, it was poorly done, it was too much of a radical change from the original, and it left a very bad taste in my mouth. Worst BioWare game I've ever played, and worst game I've played this year. While I'm not jumping on the "I'm never buying a BioWare game again" bandwagon, I'm definitely not going to be pre-ordering any of the their Dragon Age games again (assuming there are more coming). Fool me once.

You know what? I prefer Dragon Age II over Origins. I particularly liked the companions, I felt that they really contributed to gameplay. The attitude choices were fun, and I thought it was good to throw the main character into a forced choice at the end. The cameos also made me smile, especially since they reflected choices I made in Origins.

I've been playing Dragon Age 2 quite a lot lately and I'm loving it. I haven't seen any real significant or noticeable bugs or glitches and the only thing that has bothered me was the recycling of certain dungeons as was mentioned already.

I really love the combat system although I kind of miss some elements from the first game. I really like the interactions with the companions, how the events of the first game get tied into this one, and how certain actions can really effect whether or not certain side characters live. I also appreciate the contrast of plot types between the first game and the second.

My biggest gripe with DA2 was that how little the warden was mentioned. Come on...

:/

I won't say that DA2 was an excellent game - it failed to be a new ME2 in most every way it tried - but it wasn't bad. If SWTOR plays anything like DA2, I'm sold already; who doesn't like teleporting through a group of mobs and watching them explode, then the next second kicking a grenade at an Elite and following it up with a teleporting backstab another second later?

Companions were a bit meh for me, but Merrill alone makes the game worth playing. Very well-developed character in every way.

I am not touching this game with a 10 foot pole until:

1) I can get a GOTY edition for a deep discount
2) The fan made patches have created something worth playing

Seriously, I've played third rate games with less issues than the complaints I hear about DA2.

Not going to happen. Bioware are refusing to update the toolset 'because'. Some excuse was given that they want PC and console players to have the same experience but really it's so they can continue to sell item packs.

Then fuck em, if they want to play that way I'll only ever play it for free from a friend.