Dragon Age 2 should be watched at your own risk as well.

[Senko]

I just had to share this because I just found it amusing. So I was working through the dragon age reviews and I've gotten to the point in dragon age 2 episode 8 where not only is the game bugging out on a dragon fight but the actual reviewer is having their house fall apart around them (My condolences on that and I hope you found a nice place). Anyway they have just made the comment that the suckiness of the game is infecting the real world and it should be played at your own risk when the video player crashes and I get an error message saying that they apologize for the inconvenience. The game even in video format is able to reach out and affect the real world just from watching a recording of it 'beware'.

I know just one of those coincidences but it got a laugh out of me for the timing.

[Gekired]

The Game is the embodiment of the Anti Life Equation dammit! Don't let Darksiad play it for heavens sakes.

Also ya sorry such a horrid thing happened to Chuck while stuck playing and reviewing Dragon Age 2. No one should have that happen to them...... or have to play DA2.

[planescaped]

Dragon Age 2 was the last game I ever pre-ordered. I had reservations, as I was suspicious at how fast the game came out after Origins considering how long they spent making that.

Should've listened to my gut. As DA2 was just a shadow of what Origins was. People like to say it's still a good game, and it is decent... but it showed absolutely zero passion, and was clearly just a job for the people making it. No one really cared, and it came off in the game.

It was your typical soulless EA fare. I think the people desperate to think it was "great" were in denial. I know I initially was and bent over backwards trying to forgive the games flaws with the rest of them. Before I eventually just accepted that I wasted 60$ and that the series I loved was very likely dead...

[Enterprising]

Dragon Age 2 was the last game I ever pre-ordered. I had reservations, as I was suspicious at how fast the game came out after Origins considering how long they spent making that.

Should've listened to my gut. As DA2 was just a shadow of what Origins was. People like to say it's still a good game, and it is decent... but it showed absolutely zero passion, and was clearly just a job for the people making it. No one really cared, and it came off in the game.

It was your typical soulless EA fare. I think the people desperate to think it was "great" were in denial.

I would say that's a tad unfair towards the people that made it. It's EA who set the deadline, so even if the current dev team told them "no chance we're doing that!" they'd just get fired, and others would be brought in that would churn it out for the stipulated date in an even worse condition.

I think when you consider both the circumstances and the tight timelines involved, it was pretty amazing at what they got achieved, in that sense I can view the game as "good" those factors considered. Outside of that consideration, I’d agree it’s pretty weak. Kind of like how all those making Star Trek The Motion Picture had to go like mad to meet the release date, to the point Robert Wise himself had to take the film reel of the movie on the plane to the Washington premier, they were that up to the wire on it.

DAII was also originally planned to be an expansion to Origins IIRC, as a lead in to DAII but EA of course moved the goal posts, as they had a few months void of no releases, got to keep pumping money into the bank accounts every month!

I’ve no doubt if the game were given even just another year, it would have been a far more worthy successor to Origins.

[Asvarduil]

Dragon Age 2 was the last game I ever pre-ordered. I had reservations, as I was suspicious at how fast the game came out after Origins considering how long they spent making that.

Should've listened to my gut. As DA2 was just a shadow of what Origins was. People like to say it's still a good game, and it is decent... but it showed absolutely zero passion, and was clearly just a job for the people making it. No one really cared, and it came off in the game.

It was your typical soulless EA fare. I think the people desperate to think it was "great" were in denial.

I would say that's a tad unfair towards the people that made it. It's EA who set the deadline, so even if the current dev team told them "no chance we're doing that!" they'd just get fired, and others would be brought in that would churn it out for the stipulated date in an even worse condition.

I would say the same applies to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords. It's a game that was rushed, and it shows. It's not that the game itself was terrible (I'm of the opinion that KOTOR 2 had vastly better gameplay than KOTOR 1, and is likely what was optimized for), as it is that...well, it was rushed.

Being rushed is a fundamentally different problem than being soulless.

A rushed game? DA2 and KOTOR2 (coincidence? I think not!)
A soulless game? Check out any mobile game.
A rushed and soulless game? Fallout 76.

[Thebestoftherest]

Been a while since I last hear anything about fallout 76.

[Worffan101]

DA2 is a rushed, not very good game with a couple of good characters.

Like, Merrill is a GREAT concept (someone who indulges in the Dark Forbidden Arts but ISN'T a nutty monster, but a competent and intelligent person who despite some eccentricities is completely aware of the risks), she just needs more time spent with her to really be one of BioWare's best characters ever. Avelline is basically Fem!Garrus and generally works fine. Fenris is a dick but at least there's a bit of nuance to him and attempts to flesh him out a bit, Varric is at least friendly and generally amusing and likable if not particularly deep. (No excuses for Anders, Isabella the one-note one, or Sebastian the angry prince, though)

The problem, as Chuck says in his review, is that the plot isn't engaging. Doesn't help that the combat is at best lackluster and is horribly paced. Not that RPGs usually have excellent combat pacing, but Mass Effect 2 and 3 managed it, so why couldn't DA2?

Also Anders is a jackass.