Review by: Todd Brakke

Dragon Age 2 is a fine game that could have been something special were it not for some glaring flaws and cut corners, and though it makes you wonder just how little development time BioWare had for the sequel, the peaks in the game and its story are so great that when it's over you can't help but be glad you played it—even if the overall design disappoints.

Despite Origins' success, almost nothing in Dragon Age 2 goes untouched. A lot of systems are needlessly simplified (injuries, party member loadouts), replaced (the combat model), or flat out removed (non combat skills), leaving less for the player to actually do in the game world. Granted, not everybody liked all of Origin's fiddly bits and it's clear Bioware designed this game with that group in mind. If you like Mass Effect, which was designed more inline with the advantages and restrictions of console gaming, better than Origins (a more PC-centric design) or if you're a fan of World of Warcraft-style combat, you'll think this game is an improvement. Fans of Origins and the Infinity Engine games will mark this game a retreat from what was a very fair marriage of classic CRPG gameplay and modern design ideas. Although I admire a lot of what Bioware tried to do with this game, I stand with the latter.

Dragon Age 2 leaves behind the story of the Greywarden, which was a smart move. What more was there for the Greywarden to do, really? It instead puts you in the role of Hawke, a Ferelden refugee trying to protect his mother and two siblings as the Blight-driven darkspawn burn their home town of Lothering to the ground. This brief overlap with the events of Origins is a good way of bringing you into the character's world and setting up the change in scenery to the primary setting of Kirkwall, a massive city in the Free Marches. Once there your real aim is to build a new life for you and yours, but as the ever-present narrator makes clear from the get go, you'll soon be sucked into events wildly beyond your control. Who'd of guessed?

This is a much smaller and more personal story than Origins, an epic game that is about as close as you can get to a gaming equivalent of Lord of the Rings. As much as I loved Origins, I liked the more personal touch here. Games don’t always have to be about saving the world, the universe, or the entire multi-dimensional plane of existence. You can do things with story and character in a smaller story that you can't do in a bigger story and it's clear that was Bioware's aim. If only they'd been a little better at it.

As a game Dragon Age 2 continues the design philosophy Bioware used for Mass Effect 2: Less is more. Take everything that isn't great and get rid of it. Some call that trimming the fat; I call it a disappointing retreat from a gutsy and successful first effort.