Gamespot review = 8.0

[Protein214x]

Main story lacks focus and drive
Multiple elements have been inexplicably simplified over the original
Combat is much less tactical.




♥♥♥♥ING CONSOLE'D

GS review 8/10:

Main story lacks focus and drive
Multiple elements have been inexplicably simplified over the original
Combat is much less tactical.



Game Informer: 7.24/10

A port caught in the middle
Dragon Age II caters to an audience that didn't connect with Origins
On consoles, the game was a diminished port of the original, offering only a shadow of the tactical combat that made the PC release so satisfying
PC faithful (at whom the original title was explicitly targeted) get snubbed with an inferior adaptation.

[Protein214x]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/Substaticman/asde2.png

[Peeker]

Combat may be less tactical on normal, idk, but on nightmare it's actually harder than DA:O and requires just as much or more tactics. This may be different on console. The story is intriguing but I'm not far enough to say. What they call simplified I call fixed. For instance I rarely put Morigan in those ugly mage robes and kept her in her default until I absolutely had to. I prefer the characters to look cool over giving them hand me downs. The skill tree also feels way more rewarding, instead of just mages having goodies all the classes now do. I miss the way you had to unlock specs though.

[schnitzeljaeger]

finally a realistic score

[Protein214x]

You can also inch closer to love by selecting dialogue options marked with a heart icon, which makes the whole process of romance less mysterious--and more game-ish--than in the original Dragon Age.


Step forward indeed.

[Peeker]

Really? That's what you complain about. You'd have to be brain dead to not realize which options moved you towards romance in the other game so it doesn't really change much. Most of the comments were awkwardly placed and wouldn't really work on none desperate types just like every other game and this one is no exception.

Scratch that. I've accidentally said things to Zevrahn that turned out to make me nervous about him but other than that there was no surprises with the dialogue. The pick up lines basically had a big fat pink heart in ME, ME2 and Origins so what's the big deal again?

[JK_DC]

I agree. The graphics are great but everything else is worse than DAO so far.

[KK_reborn]

On consoles, the game was a diminished port of the original, offering only a shadow of the tactical combat that made the PC release so satisfying
I played Dragon Age: Origins on the PS3. As far as I am aware the only difference is that PC Gamers got an overhead view and skills lined up along the bottom of the screen. PS3 had no overhead view and a quick-access set of 6 spells/skills (which worked well).

So do they mean tactical by meaning of "I had to pause the game to issue commands to all teammates during every battle"? What made it more tactical on the PC?

[Albinon01]

I played Dragon Age: Origins on the PS3. As far as I am aware the only difference is that PC Gamers got an overhead view and skills lined up along the bottom of the screen. PS3 had no overhead view and a quick-access set of 6 spells/skills (which worked well).

So do they mean tactical by meaning of "I had to pause the game to issue commands to all teammates during every battle"? What made it more tactical on the PC?

I miss the top view, also i don't like the camera angles don't let me see the whole enchilada. Not a bad game but a step backwards from origins...

[NasherUK]

It's not a terrible game, but it lacks quality compared to the first. It just doesn't feel as atmospheric and seems rushed. Also most of the voice acting isn't as good (apart from main characters from the first game, like Flemeth) and sounds very flat.

The game play also feels very...gogogo instead of RPG. Also, only 1 character path this time, is that so they don't have to make as many possibilities with dialog? :/

[OurSacrifice]

I played Dragon Age: Origins on the PS3. As far as I am aware the only difference is that PC Gamers got an overhead view and skills lined up along the bottom of the screen. PS3 had no overhead view and a quick-access set of 6 spells/skills (which worked well).

So do they mean tactical by meaning of "I had to pause the game to issue commands to all teammates during every battle"? What made it more tactical on the PC?

The PC version of DA:O was harder. The console "normal" was the PC "easy". There was a heavier focus of tactics in the PC version because all of its difficulty versions were harder then the console counterparts.

[EvilDonkey]

Dragon Age: Dark Alliance.

[Heavysandvich]

I think you forgot to mention that pcgamer gave it a 94. Anyhow, how are those bad scores? It seems like the hive mind thinks that anything below a "9" = bad. Jesus, people.

[OurSacrifice]

I think you forgot to mention that pcgamer gave it a 94. Anyhow, how are those bad scores?

The PC gamer was world first exclusive paid for with advertising money. All "world first exclusive" reviews are like this - for EVERY game a publisher deems "high profile".

The reason it's a bad score is because the first one was scored a 95 by Gamespot, and now this one sits at 80.

[Ssential]

Omg 8 pointz, it'z zoo bad!

8.0-8.5: Great
This range refers to great games that are excellent in almost every way and whose few setbacks probably aren't too important. We highly recommend games in the upper half of this range, since they tend to be good enough to provide an enjoyable experience to fans of the particular genre and to new players alike.

[JK_DC]

Omg 8 pointz, it'z zoo bad!

Originally Posted by Gamespot rating scale
8.0-8.5: Great
This range refers to great games that are excellent in almost every way and whose few setbacks probably aren't too important. We highly recommend games in the upper half of this range, since they tend to be good enough to provide an enjoyable experience to fans of the particular genre and to new players alike.

[Howler54]

8/10 sounds like a solid score to me..

But as someone who have only played the demo it seems as though DA2 is more of a action-rpg than a "traditional" rpg. With more quick bloody fighting.. which will probably cater more to some than to others..

Anyways I always try to keep my expectations as low as possible, that way you don't get so disappointed and you'll have more fun.

[Ssential]

Originally Posted by Gamespot rating scale
8.0-8.5: Great
This range refers to great games that are excellent in almost every way and whose few setbacks probably aren't too important. We highly recommend games in the upper half of this range, since they tend to be good enough to provide an enjoyable experience to fans of the particular genre and to new players alike.

?

8.0-8.5: Great
"This range (8.0-8.5) refers to great games that are excellent in almost every way (8.0-8.5) and whose few setbacks probably aren't too important (8.0-8.5). We highly recommend games in the upper half of this range (8.5-8.9) [...]"

Yeah, obviously 8.5-8.9 is even more recommended. And guess what, 9.0-10 even much more.

[MultiVaC]

Really? That's what you complain about. You'd have to be brain dead to not realize which options moved you towards romance in the other game so it doesn't really change much. Most of the comments were awkwardly placed and wouldn't really work on none desperate types just like every other game and this one is no exception.

Scratch that. I've accidentally said things to Zevrahn that turned out to make me nervous about him but other than that there was no surprises with the dialogue. The pick up lines basically had a big fat pink heart in ME, ME2 and Origins so what's the big deal again?

So they took something only brain dead people couldn't figure out and they made it even simpler? Yeah, I'd say designing a game with sub-braindead people in mind is something worth complaining about.

[armyfreak221]

I expect Pong 2011 to be Ea's biggest title yet.

[SpectralShade]

Problem with game scores are that they have basicly inflated. I mean... An average game shoudl get a 5.0, yet any game getting such a score will be considered as having bombed totally bad in score.

A 'realistic' view of todays gaming scores meas anything under 7 is considered just bad. Under 9 is average, and good games get 9+

[excessive]

DA2 is so ♥♥♥♥ing disappointing.

[JK_DC]

I hope Skyrim doesn't dissapoint.

[Cosmictrippin]

I cant wait for skyscrim.

[17th Knight]

Omg 8 pointz, it'z zoo bad!

Are you really going to argue this? We ALL know that games are really scored from 5-10, not 1-10.

A game that gets a 5 isn't even worth a rental. It's unplayable, therefore essentially it's a 0. 5 and under is unplayable garbage, so 1-5 is essentially the same score.

Going up from there, 7 is a mediocre game, 8 is a rental that is still pretty flawed. 9+ is a solid, quality game.

[JK_DC]

7 is a buy if you love the genre but will be dissapointing in some ways. 8 is good not great but a definite buy if you love the genre. 8.5 and above is usually a very good game and people that want to try a genre they don't generally like may really like the game since it has only a couple minor flaws. That's my personal scale. Anything under 7 is buyer beware.