Review: Dragon Age II

The term Action RPG is becoming synonymous with the words Bioware. These guys just know what they are doing. From the team that brought you the timeless Mass Effect series comes the next installment in a franchise just as deep in story, Dragon Age II. Anyone familiar with the Mass Effect games will see immediate similarities in some interface and game play aspects and this is by no means is a bad thing. Some of the hardcore Dragon Age fans may feel this game is a little easier than the last, but if EA wanted to bring new fans to the fold, they have done an amazing job. This game flat out rocks.

The crux of any action RPG is the combat aspect of the core game play. The story is always a great piece, the graphics are usually very good in these high budget games, and mostly the voice acting is strong. Those are all very true for Dragon Age II, but the combat absolutely shines. It is easy to pick up, hard to master, and so diverse for each class that this game commands a few different playthroughs. I was amazed how easy it was to pick up as I did not play much at all of the original DA. Like Mass Effect, the story will reward you for prior game saves or send you on your way with some preloaded options. You will play as Hawke. That much is certain. Whether he or she is a warrior, mage, or rogue is totally up to you. How you want to customize them through the vast pickups in the game will shape you character completely.

Aside from the insanely addicting nature of this game, there is one major gripe of almost everyone who has sunk 30+ hours into: the locations. Without spoiling anything, you will spend almost all of your time in a limited number of places. They will change over time, but if you want to explore a vast world much like Elder Scrolls, this is not it. The dungeons, caves, warehouses, whatever will repeat. A lot. You will often fight in the same place maybe 10 times over the game and the room layout is unchanged. You will know where to look for loot, where to set up your team, even what to expect enemy wise. You wont fight a mammoth dragon in a small cavern.

As I said above, the game needs to be played through 3 times because each class fights so differently. The weapons and armor are class specific and not being able to use that 100HP sword because you are a mage sucks, but it makes you want to play the game again to try it out. The only downfall here is that the game just repeats itself wherever you go. I am about to start my second playthrough and since the game will offer absolutely zero variety in where I will be going, I am semi apathetic. Nevertheless, the combat is just so much fun. The story jumps all over the place, and your supporting cast are likeable at times, but the game will heavily, heavily change on some key choices you make. I thought I was advancing a conversation and went full gay with a male hooker. Yeah, that happened. The funny thing is, you won’t know what they are until you do. Save often, health potion up, and level the shit up out of your character. You are in for a 30+ bloodbath and will love every minute of it.