Dragon Age II Review

Bioware has a knack for creating game worlds and stories that have the potential to grab your interest for tens to hundreds of hours. Following in the tradition of franchises like Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic - and more recently, Mass Effect and Dragon Age - Dragon Age II continues the company's outstanding record of rich storytelling and engaging gameplay, albeit with some issues that hold it back from being a perfect title.

Rather than being a chronological sequel, Dragon Age II starts out within the same timeline as Dragon Age, and carries on past the original game's conclusion. You play as Hawke, a survivor from the Battle for Ostagar in the first game, who is fleeing from Ferelden with his family to the nearby city of Kirkwall in the Free Marches. The story is told within a framed narrative, meaning that one of your companions, the wry dwarf thief Varric, is relating the events of the game to a third party as you play through them, providing a sort of larger context for what you're doing.

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The choice for a framed narrative is an interesting one and different from the previous game, much like many other decisions Bioware has made for Dragon Age II. The story that is being told is way smaller in scope than that it Dragon Age, taking place mostly within and around Kirkwall, rather than across an entire country at war with every monster ever. It's still very engaging and epic, but very different. Similarly, the art style that the game's developers have gone with is much more stylized - and dare we say, better - than the first game, looking much more clean, colorful and polished. The Bioware team seems to have been super self-reflective about the critiques of the first game's art; one of the NPC conversations we've heard in-game has a Ferelden refugee telling another something like, "I'm so glad we've left Ferelden for Kirkwall - it was so drab and brown!"

The RPG and combat elements have likewise been changed and feel much more streamlined and action-packed. Rather than having a number of races and classes to choose from, you can either be a female or male human warrior, rogue, or mage, with several unlockable class sub-specializations. The same radial menu and quick slot action bar exist with some refinements to make them better organized, and the level up system has been simplified to basic progression trees that help you to better plan out your character's projected badassery. Probably the coolest addition to the combat system itself are the new skills and the way that they're presented; I swear I geekgasmed when my rogue Hawke did a backstab for the first time, teleporting through a haze of black smoke to appear behind some noob monster to lay the smack down. More like darksPWN, amirite?!@!

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It should also be mentioned that if you're playing on PC, Dragon Age II no longer supports a full isometric view, only pulling back to a mostly over-the-shoulder viewpoint. This change fully supports the game's vision as an Action RPG, rather than a traditional RPG with strategic elements like in Baldur's Gate or even the first Dragon Age.

The story is fantastically told, and with some few exceptions, is one of the most engaging parts of the game. True to Bioware's canon, Dragon Age II's story is complex and gratifying, getting you involved in the different aspects of the political intrigue within Kirkwall and motivating you to help each of your (mostly) likeable companions with their own quests to further your relationships and potential romances with them. Your party members' personalities are all very three dimensional and easy to relate to, and continually chatter and bicker with each other when you're gallivanting about Kirkwall, which can be hilarious and provides some great backstory about the world and your companions themselves (some of whom will be familiar from the first game). In addition, Bioware has implemented the Mass Effect-style dialogue wheel to streamline the various conversation options when you're talking to people, and it works very well to help you figure out what Hawke (who's not mute like your character in the original game) is going to say. Pro-tip: pick the neutral "funny" dialogue option whenever possible if you appreciate sarcasm!

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If most of this sounds like a great improvement over the first game and a streamlining of its features to be more fun and action-oriented, that's because it it is, which is both a blessing and a caveat. Having played through the entire 40+ hour campaign of the first game and loving it, we can definitely say Dragon Age II is even more fun, but sometimes feels like an upgrade and reimagining of the style of Dragon Age rather than a true sequel. This is especially apparent in certain combat situations and quest scenarios, where you'll plan out some strategies for your character and party members, completely waste the baddies in a room, and a bunch more of them will drop from the ceiling or spawn around you. Equally frustrating is how many of the side quests will take you to the same locations or what look to be similar caves to clear out, which can be very repetitive. Why not figure out a better solution to mob spawning, instead of sending wave after wave of enemies in inconsistent ways? Or create a better variety of locales to explore?

We suspect that although Dragon Age II was most likely in development before the release of Dragon Age, the fact that this game came out only a year after the original game may have a lot to do with why it feels somewhat unpolished. We can understand this, but it largely contributes to Dragon Age II not feeling like a complete sequel and preventing it from being a 10/10 game.

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Dragon Age II also has a considerable difficulty spike towards the end of the game, which may require you to try different strategies with your party to succeed. This isn't annoying by itself, and it encourages you to experiment with different characters and skills. Still, the game's long load times can make repeating battles frustrating, especially if you don't have a recent save (hint: save all the time).

Still, if you're a fan of the Dragon Age mythos and are looking for more of the engaging story and companion relationships that only Bioware knows how to create, you'll likely love Dragon Age II. The action-y combat is really satisfying, and the stylized art style is much easier on the eyes than the first game. Additionally, if you haven't played the original, it's worth playing through to understand the full backstory of the world. After you do, you can import your Dragon Age save to influence certain overarching story elements of the second game, which is pretty awesome, although not as particular as Mass Effect's import system. Despite its issues, Dragon Age II is a worthy second entry to the franchise, and we're looking forward to what Bioware does next with the series.