Dragon Age 2: the worst gaming sequels

Dragon Age 2: the worst gaming sequels

Dragon Age Origins, I loved that game. It's probably one of the few games of this generation that gave me genuine pleasure and I enjoyed it all the way through to the (admittedly buggy) finale. 

DA:O felt like an updated KOTOR, which was by no means a bad thing. There seemed to be a lack of quality RPG's around at the time (especially for the PS3) and DA:O more than filled the gap with its meaty story, fun gameplay, varied areas to explore and interesting characters.

So when the sequel was announced in 2010 I couldn't wait for it to release, but I really should have paid more attention to the news that began to trickle out from BioWare and various other sources.

Firstly, I just wanted to say that in its own right, DA2 isn't a terrible game. It has a variety of weaknesses, (that I will come to later) but underneath it all it has the basic framework of a good game. It has a decent storyline, a few good characters and a serviceable (if easy) combat system.

If it had been released as a standalone title than I'm sure I wouldn't dislike it so much, but my point is that DA:2 is a direct sequel to one of my favourite games of all time and it just didn't do it justice in my mind.

Now, I've spoken to quite a few people about DA:O and one of the main gripes seems to be the lacklustre graphics, which didn't bother me personally. EA and BioWare must have listened, as the sequel certainly looked 'prettier', but looks can be deceiving.

Wow.. Just wow.

DA:2 only had a years worth of development (compared to nearly seven years for the original) and it definitely shows. Some blame EA and others blame BioWare. I blame myself for buying the damn thing.

With only a year of development, they had to cut corners and in some places it's pretty obvious. The lack of variety when exploring the game is shameful and the reused areas have to be experienced to be believed. The main city of Kirkwall is bland and empty and the surrounding areas are somehow worse. The game then forces you to visit each area again several times so you can truly get to grips with how crappy and poorly made a lot of the game is.

The decision to use the Mass Effect style dialogue wheel was another gripe for me, because it made the game feel like a cheap rip-off and it felt like even less of a Dragon Age title. I wonder if the short development cycle had anything to do with this decision, but either way for me it was an unwelcome addition.

BioWare has a reputation for having good characters in their games and to give credit where it's due, Anders and Varric are interesting, multi-layered people with ambitions and drives that differ from the player.

The rest of the cast could be described as filler and some are worse than others. The 'sexualised pirate' Isabela and the 'slave with a vengeance' Fenris were particular low points for me, but worst of all was the 'DLC archer' Sebastian, who I honestly can't remember and I wouldn't recommend purchasing.

One of the main selling points for the game was how you take Hawke through a decade of his life, but the game lacks the epic scale of it's predecessor and a large chunk of the early game is spent doing side-missions for gold. The game does build up to a climatic ending that I didn't see coming, but in no way was it worth the asking price. 

Many of the main missions lack clout and the game usually follows the pattern of: Go to area-find mage- watch him change into abomination - kill mage - leave. Even when Hawke's mother dies, it still follows the same basic pattern.

The story does have its moments. The scene where Varric goes to confront Bartrand is funny and emotive at the same time. Gaining the Arishok's respect was interesting and it was good to learn more about the lore of the Qunari.

Untold hours must have been spent shaping the lore and world of Dragon Age, but DA2 doesn't really add to it as much as it could. With the great source material and more development time, DA2 could have added something special to the franchise, but at the moment it just leaves something to be desired.

The DA2 wikipedia page states that "During the pre-development of the game, Brent Knowles, a veteran lead designer who had been with BioWare for a decade and the central figurehead behind Dragon Age: Origins, decided to resign during the designing process of Dragon Age II and eventually left the company, stating "I'm not the same person I was when I started, and BioWare is not the same company."


Maybe this is key to why I didn't enjoy the game. It seems like they went for a different audience and in doing so, lost a lot of the hardcore fanbase of the original. The development cycle consigned DA2 to be a failure no matter what, but the endgame is even more stinky because it could have been so much more.

I realise I've been ranting for a nearly 1000 words now, so I'll start to wrap it up, but there's so much more to complain about.

Overall, DA2 was a regression. Aside from questionable graphical superiority, it pales in comparison to the game it was supposed to replace and it plays like an obvious beta. I used to (naively) trust BioWare, but after this I've learnt my lesson.

To their credit, BioWare seem to have listened and have promised for a better sequel. The development time for DA3 is said to be longer than Origins and one level in DA3 will be larger than the whole of DA2. To be fair, that wouldn't be hard to achieve.

It just annoys me that they know what a complete an utter turd DA2 was and they still released it to the public at full price. Stupidly, I bought it at launch and I can still remember being disappointed throughout the entire game.

I know some people love the game and that's fair enough. It's your decision to make. For me, DA2 is probably the worst gaming sequel of all time.



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