Dragon Age 2 Review - Is it Underrated?

[@InfoGuyGaming]

If you want to see more reviews I've done, here's a playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLtiuHW2Sjl_7-g6kcP64unhSdqBSYDtya

[@iloveyourunclebob]

Origins for the story, Inquisition for the aesthetic, II for the friends we made along the way.

[@samflood5631]

That’s what kept the Dragon Age series going and why this franchise still has fans over the years.

[@dostwood5103]

I love Dragon Age 2. I finished it for the first time back in October and it was such a fun experience, but some mods to make it a bit more familiar to Origins definitely help. I loved how more small scale the story was and that it was more focused on Hawke’s friends. Don’t get me wrong, the game has its problems, but I didn’t mind some of the changes. I’m sure we all wish BioWare had more time though. Also, Merrill is just the cutest.

[@ChuongDang185]

DAO is objectively the best of the series but I love DA2 a lot and I would say it has at least the best character writing in all three games.

[@habijjj]

Idk about objectively like I love Dao but 2 and inquisition are much more enjoyable for me especially from the gameplay perspective.

[@kenzovich9225]

Objectively speaking, when people bring up dao objectively being the best game in the series, is voicing out a subjective opinion.

[@dgrblue4162]

Subjectively. Fixed it for you If you say DA2 is worse because not open world, reusing map skins and simpler combat, then you haven't been paying attention.

[@Mysthe75]

DAO is my favourite combat system and I really like the story. DA2 makes me feel at home, having great time with my friends

[@veiregor]

Objectively inquisition is by far the better game. Origins is just a better rpg which most of us prefer more.

[@jackyogurl5735]

Remasters for Dragon Age 1 & 2 would do wonders for these games. Though I personally think bioware could focus improving Dragon age 2 more because Dragon age Origins is practically perfect in my eyes.

[@InfoGuyGaming]

If Origins just ran better on PC I'd be happy.

[@theepicduck6922]

@@InfoGuyGaming The instability is pretty annoying albeit you can do patches and mods to help it really is a big barrier to entry to people who just want to run the game then play.

[@InfoGuyGaming]

Yeah, I agree.

[@Ed-jd6wj]

How the fuck is something this nicely made the product of someone with only 141 subs This is amazing quality. Make it 142 subs

[@dgrblue4162]

Dragon Age 2 is great. I feel it unfairly gets put down as lame or weak because BioWare didn't make Dragon Age: Origins 2. The characters are great and the story is well done, and combat is more user friendly,plus voiced protagonist, all this in about 2 years.

[@juliosilva2301]

"Anders won't be in Rush Hour 3!" That's fucking got me! I watched those bloopers as a kid so many times!!

[@ladyorapma]

Good review. DA2 is far from perfect but even with all it's faults (most of them clearly due to the lack of time) I really love it. I miss the different origins from DAO but I love Hawke, specially sarcastic Hawke, and I love the companions. DAO is my favourite game of the franchise but (unpopular opinion coming) DA2 is actually the second for me, I prefer it over DAI. About the combat system, I enjoy it (except for the continuos enemies spawning out of nowhere, those can really get tiresome) but I agree with what you say. And the fights on the DLCs are definitely more difficult than in the main game, the fight with Corypheus is difficult AF, I always have more trouble fighting him in the DA2 DLC than in DAI (but that is a conversation for if you do a review of DAI). And since I'm talking about the DLCs I will complain that is 2022 and they still haven't fixed a problem for PC that happens if you buy the game from an Origin account from a non english speaking country (spain, italy, etc). The game is in english with subtitles but when you download the DLCs there are some files missing and because of that the DLCs just break and there is no voice in the cutscenes and no facial expressions. It can be fixed very easily just dowloading the missing files but is really shameful that after all these years this problem hasn't been fixed and players have to search for the fix themselves.

[@InfoGuyGaming]

Thanks, yeah the Corypheus fight in DA2 is no joke especially when you try to make your party members not do silly things. Will eventually get to DAI, just getting mentally prepared to go through the Hinterlands again lol. Origin has always been a pain to use, the lack of support EA gives it and titles post release has always made me want to delete it.

[@TheKevinNoble]

Love your editing and extra added references, it makes watching the video more interesting. Most of these reviews can be played in the background like podcasts without losing much.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

In my opinion, the game is VERY underrated. One of my most favorite games ever. It is true Origins is better, but that is a different thing, that doesn't mean DA2 is bad.

[@visceraeyes525]

if you liked origins so much then theres actual other good crpgs out there...you dont have to suffer playing da2 or 3 lol

[@amezzeray2]

Loved this video.I went into DA2 knowing about the hate, so I went in with the lowest of expectations and telling myself "need to do this for the Keep". And I came out loving this one. It is my favourite. And Hawke is my favourite main hero. Because of that experience of going in thinking it was going to be terrible and then being caught off kilter with how much I connected to the story and the characters Yes it has it's flaws, but I love the story; the politcal tension, the ending etc. I completely understand why people hated it on release. Expectations were really high and it was a rushed game with repeated assets. Lets be honest, with the short development period, this game could have been reeeeallly bad. Like, kill a franchise bad. But they pulled it off. Here's hoping they DA4 can bring some glory back to Bioware.

[@visceraeyes525]

you loved the ending? the ending where the whole point of the sub plot was to figure out what happened to hawk yet there was a pathetic;y rushed cliff hanger at the end?

[@milesp1794]

Thanks for reviewing one of my favorite guilty pleasure games, and giving it a fair shake. I hope to see more from you in the future!

[@InfoGuyGaming]

Glad you enjoyed it, might take a break for the holidays but will be making more. :)

[@milesp1794]

@@InfoGuyGaming Don't strain yourself

[@alexg3911]

I have no complaints about the story, the things that bug me in this game are mostly that areas are reused so much and the "wave-like" way that enemies spawn. I like everything else

[@Rho144]

Merrill is both adorable and terrifying.

[@gazzaroony]

The stark evidence of greed getting in the way of creativity and perversely profit is collectively ignored year after year.

[@drewquitco6019]

Origin is a better game but I really enjoy DA2 because you play as a regular guy who isn't the chosen one who needs to save the world. Most of Hawks problem feels personal/local compared to almost all the hero/chosen one characters who goes all over the world to save it in the end. Hawk was a refugee just trying to save his family from a great danger to finding away to build a new life. That for me really more compelling that having to save the world the 100th time.

[@sergeantsandwich8051]

Surprised to see your video in my recommended. Really solid review while I struggle to push myself to beat it after just beating Origins. I hope you blow up with views my dude.

[@alexfrank5331]

It's definitely underrated because people don't understand Nightmare mode, where Bioware made the ultimate CRPG for the 0.001% of hardcore players who can handle it. 7:15 is one common reason why it's a big difference. On easy difficulties, rogues and mages die as soon as you breath on them. On Nightmare, enemy Rogues are ELITE mini-bosses with big health bar, and after they backstab you, they'll chug a healing potion. 99.999% of players will just rage quit. lol It's dark-souls of CRPG. You have to be really good to get through it. This is a game for people who destroyed DA:O on nightmare and want the next level. DA2 delivered on that with its nightmare, and unlike most CRPG where the game starts hard then becomes a joke in end game, DA2 kept it going. If you want some idea of the next-level tactics that DA2 nightmare employs, look at the DPS skills. Many of them actually have a stagger that can cancel enemy action. So instead of using every attack as soon as cooldown is up like a robot, you pause to look at the situation. Is the elite rogue's health near the point to trigger his vanish-stab-heal combo? If so, use the cross-class combo to deal the main damage but instead of adding a tiny bit more damage with the greatsword AoE, save it so that as soon as rogue goes into stealth you knock him out of it using the AoE's knockback. Another thing people whine about is the enemies coming in waves. Most players hate it, but a god-tier DA:O veteran is bored of knowing exactly how a fight will go as soon as he see the battle field, plan out the cooldown, and it's over. Too predictable. The wave system require players to consider multiple contingencies, and people are wrong about it being unpredictable. Waves are timed so that they always happen around the time that my cooldown are up after my initial round of combo, so it's really about "do i just repeat the same spell rotation like a robot? or do I re-assess the battle field, and consider repositioning or rationing of cooldown?" Of course that's way too much for 99.999% of players, but I still give props to Bioware for creating something for the few people like me.

[@briancatoni7000]

Named my canon hawke Gamlen since Leandra was close to her brother once, you can imagine why he goes by Hawke

[@iftea7]

DA2 is really an ARPG and all the better for it. I struggled through 85 hrs of DAO in 2023 - I don't have that much time dammit! DA2 looks, feels and plays great - 3 hrs in and really enjoying it, getting into the story and builds!

[@w3ndigogames]

Great video, man! You’ve got a new subscriber!

[@InfoGuyGaming]

Thanks, glad you liked it. :)

[@habijjj]

Hey legacy dlc gray warden carver is actually quite likeable plus yeah he's rough around the edges but I feel like by the end of 2 and legacy he's alot more likeable.

[@phalanx9089]

You put it a lot more eloquently than I do. Great video!

[@InfoGuyGaming]

Thanks, you bring up some good points about the Templars in your video, was also entertaining. :)

[@phalanx9089]

Thanks. I`ll definitely check out the playlist! :)

[@samflood5631]

I remember playing Dragon Age 2 a lot during my teenage years. While a lot of people claim it’s bad, I enjoyed it in terms of gameplay and character writing. If this got a PS5 remaster, here are a list of Hawkes I’ll play as. 2 Male Hawke Berserker. Romanced Merrill Female Human Spirit Healer. Romanced Fenris Male Hawke Force Mage. Romanced Anders Female Human Dualist. Romanced Isabella Female Human Templar. Romanced Sebastian Male Human Assassin. Romanced Tallis

[@aaronlauretani8921]

It's a good game, but its faults wear on you as you invest more time into it. The characters are strong, the side quests involve some interesting moral dilemmas, and it's interesting playing a BioWare game where you're not saving the world from a cataclysmic threat. I just personally felt exhausted after a while from the reused caves and warehouses, as well as the waves of repetitive enemies. I'd go with a 7.7/10 score or so.

[@Lazladin]

I dont know why, but DA II was my favorite of the three games. Orgins had some moments who dragged out the game for too long, and Inquisition addet the open world aspekt which it didnt need (in my opinion) while DAII had this:" A Nobody Refugee enters a city in a foreign country and works himself to the top" and i wish so mutch there where more of it. Like playing Hawks first year in the city, working for witch ever faction you choose at the beginning and so on.

[@vilhelmthomsen1941]

Good game lenght, great and tight combatplay and lots n lots of RPG choices. Not the usual focus on fancy environments - instead youve got the 4 chapters and a great narrative. Best companion ever: (the Narrator)Varric and Hawk is an exiting and joyful union. Great Dragonfight! Short IS better. Love Kirkwall and its"cartoonish textures" as immersed directly from the "tapestries" of the intro: Cassandra questioning Varric about the mage rebellion.

[@pest1l3nce]

IMO Cassandra looked better in 2 than inquisition.

[@dgrblue4162]

I tend to agree, however, My head cannon puts DA2 Cassie with her scars from Inquisition. Mmmmm

[@faszkivanveletek]

This video has surprisingly low ammount of views and likes, despite the massive ammount of work it took. Anyway, it was fun to watch, keep uo the good work.

[@InfoGuyGaming]

Thanks, glad you liked it. :)

[@albertdeluxe8966]

I would really like to play Dragon Age 2 again, because I remember liking a few things about it back in the day. Mostly the story. But to install it, I also have to infect my PC with EA's Origin malware. Not worth it.

[@ivangajtovich4655]

My first dragon age..best game ever.

[@RandyArmy]

My first RPG ,great story after that I try mass effect 1&2 ,they have great story

[@andrewboteler7522]

Darkspawn were so cool in dao, it was disapointing that they were barely in the game, not to mention how awful they looked. Those hurlocs......

[@vanyadolly]

Me about Corypheus in DAI...

[@KingRat543]

Origins had a memory leak I don't think was ever fixed. If you didn't restart as soon as you noticed lag it would crash...I actually liked 2 just for companions and it being fully voiced.

[@wranglerofdusk]

Didn't find French accent insulting. Always liked this game too, even more so in some way than the first one, because I liked its more personal story.

[@InfoGuyGaming]

I was talking more literally about the guy with a French accent insulting someone but I guess it could be taken that way. Yeah I'd like it if Bioware did more smaller personal perspective games like this.

[@yuthura7871]

i love this game, my favorite DA game of them all. I feel like critics were too harsh to this game.

[@thinlion01]

love this game and love that it's not too long

[@williambooze125]

Keep it up man

[@Evantrop]

"But hey no darkspawn" Unless you go to the deep roads

[@CommandoRickLV]

i kinda liked it , thou not the part that i was stuck in a single city state

[@ladyorapma]

Being stuck in a single city might have not been so bad if there was more variation of scenarios, if every place you visited was different from the others and unique Kirkwall would have felt bigger, less boring and restrictive. Instead all the mansions are the same just like every dungeon and every cave and every street, making the city feel tiny. The fact that we are repeating the same locations all the time is where the little time they had to make this game is more evident.

[@dgrblue4162]

@@ladyorapma if you played older rpg games on the PC, they reused maps and textures frequently. Many games have players revisit same locations. It's all in how you make of it. I like the game because of the linearity of it, less trudging for 30 mins crossing an infinite map.

[@tylerwade3498]

I could listen to aveline and Isabella go at it all day

[@MannerdDesert7]

It feels like everyone who's reviewed this played it on easy, playing on Nightmare makes the game very tactical, you have to constantly pause to reposition and issue commands and if you don't make use of cross class combos you're going to die quickly, everything else i pretty much agree with though, I feel like the biggest problem was it was to small scale for a main entry, i think if this was advertised as a spin off (maybe called Dragon Age: Tale of the Hawke) people would have really liked it.

[@silenceoftheyams7647]

its a good game but coming off of Origins a game like this didn't stand a chance unfortunately.

[@dgrblue4162]

You do know that this game was made in less than 2 years. Halfway past the development time, the studio abandoned the all-online game style (think ESO), and reverted to single-player.

[@zacharyrussell6851]

Legit think da2 had the best combat of the 3 games. Never got bored of how punchy the attacks felt

[@slayermate07]

2 was worse than Origin which is to be expected as that was the sole masterpiece of dragon age, but it may come as a surprise to most, i preferred it way more than Inquisition which i barely played past the opening sequence, whereas i am on my 3rd playthrough of the many political intrigues and exploring various romances in kirkwall.

[@CaspianNomad]

It was ruined for me by the Wayward Son glitch which stopped me progressing the game. I don't have so much free time that I'm willing to start it again. I was enjoying it too, but having a somewhat common game breaking bug still in the game so many years after launch is inexcusable.

[@th3thatguy631]

I feel dragon age origins and 2 should both get a remake which updates graphics and adds more variety in combat maps. I've tried playing 2 multiple times but quit because all the combats look the same and it got very old very quickly

[@jestersraven408]

of the entire series I like 2s Combat the best

[@timeshark8727]

I would call Dragon age 2 a lazy masterpiece. The gameplay is meh, the level design (yes design, they reuse basically every layout over and over and over. Every cave is the same, every house is the same, etc) is poor, the characters are excellent.

[@Barnabas3060]

I avoided and trashed this game for years. Then I played it and quite enjoyed it lololol

[@andrewpf91]

Good show my dude

[@Ivane_Maskhulia]

Dragon age origins is very underrated. First of all combat in DA 2 is best in sieries. Story is emotionally.

[@RIlianP]

The fact that they didn't include Sandal in DAI is a travesty, Dagna was just bland, bland bland

[@Monkismo]

The trailer still looks great

[@EyeOfTheTiger777]

Man, I hated the "stylized" cartoonish chunky visuals and designs. To this day I struggle to tell what material most of the walls (in those underground levels at least) were made of... Wood? Rock? Some kind of sand... plaster? Why do they have those strange wavy stringy patterns? Is that just massive wood gnawed on by some giant caterpillar? If so... WHY? Every time I think about DA2 I keep trying to talk myself into giving it a chance but it's so off-putting to me. Keeps pulling me out of the game and breaking immersion. Sigh.

[@ifsugarman]

"FARD" mod is a must

[@vanyadolly]

DAO is objectively a better game, but I still love DA2 the most because it's the better story.

[@dgrblue4162]

Sure is a lot of folks who don't understand what objectively means

[@dirtsapient9638]

Dragon Age 2 is one of the most disappointing games I've ever played. I would rather wait 2 or 3 years for a game to come out than play some half-ass s*** like that

[@blacksuite1]

I clicked on this vid just to say that it wasn't underrated.

[@HazasDump]

Why don't you have more subscribers?

[@InfoGuyGaming]

I'll get there, just need to keep at it. Thanks for the support :)

[@HazasDump]

@@InfoGuyGaming Keep up the good work, I already subscribed.

[@jackwilkinson500]

Still find it hard too like da2, I can generally enjoy most games, good or bad, but damn did da2 made me depressed. I've played through Dao and DaI over a dozen times and only played da2 once. Yea sure the characters are ok but the rest of the game felt like a bloated dlc

[@BlazingTiger5000]

To Say Dragon age 2 is Underrated Is Indirectly Saying its Classic, No it's Not, and Seriously is Not, to say it's underrated actually means it's overrated.

[@spooky_zen]

dragon age 2 is prealpha inquision

[@jeremypurdy1833]

Underrated? Everybody I talk to seems to always rate DA2 as some massive paragon of gaming for Bioware. Honestly, if it didn't have Merrill being such a cute companion in it, I probably couldn't stomach playing it; It's bland, it's overall very boring, the combat is so fucking mismatched, and I cannot care for Kirkwall if my life depended upon it. DAO is the best. The underrated one here is DAI, since people don't give it near enough credit unless DLCs are involved. DA2 is just shit.

[@Alle_K]

In my opinion Origins has a very generic story. "You are the only one who can save the world from an ancient evil and to do so you need to get the other factions together (dwarves, elves, mages and humans)." Some parts also drag on for way too long (pun not intended). However some side stories/quests are great, but the overall story arc is very generic. Origins is a better RPG tho.

[@Sigurjon96]

It’s not underrated. It feels like a mobile game. One of the most disappointing sequels ever.

[@serathaevistille995]

Having played this right after Origins, both for the first time, around a year ago now... I really, really can't say I liked this game. It may be fine, or even good to some. But this game is basically just... Bad. And one of my biggest gripes is Kirkwall. I got so, so sick of Kirkwall. I liked some of the characters, sure. Merrill was adorable and my personal love interest. Isabella would've been a close second... If the game didn't randomly have her leave my party after Act 2, with no real warning signs at all far as I recall. And let's just... Not even mention the terrorist Anders. Just... No. I'm sorry, the game will never be above a 3/10 for me.

[@ladyorapma]

Isabela doesn't leave randomly, she leaves because you didn't get enough friendship (or rivalry) with her and/or didn't do her personal quest.

[@serathaevistille995]

@@ladyorapma My problem with it isn't exactly that it can happen. It's the fact I'm pretty sure the game didn't mention that she could leave the game permanently. I'm also fairly sure I had at least between 70-80% friendship with her.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

@@serathaevistille995 If you have had 70-80 of friendship as you say, she would have definitely returned.

[@serathaevistille995]

@@SeventhheavenDK I admit I could be misremembering, but I swear she liked me enough to stay, but just didn't. And honestly, the fact she can just up and leave with, to my mind, no real warning was just kinda... Well, dumb.

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

Inquisition is so bad, it actually made DA2 look good by comparison. Atleast 2 still had tactics, if nothing else. I don't understand why some people are having so many issues with Origins. I'm playing 3 separate campaigns of it right now, and it's running flawlessly, on almost brand new hardware.

[@dgrblue4162]

Because not everyone wants to do tactics to optimize every fight, before the fight.

[@samithonjames370]

The dialogue wheel was dumb and having the options amount to 3 different responses that are basically "yes, yes, maybe (Yes)" Was the start of a downward trend for modern role playing games, even worse than what mass effect was trying to do. The voice acting was honestly terrible for the main character, i hated both fem hawke and male hawke but fem hawke was especially terrible. Reminded me of ciri from the witcher 3, which is probably the reason i hated the voice. I wouldn't mind the voice acting so much if we had better voices and since choice is pretty much non-existent in this game i don't really mind the voice acting on principle, not like a silent protagonist would fix this pile of shit anyway. The combat was turned from the modern reimagining of baldur's gate into a japanese manga huge big sword game with spiky hair and a protagonist with a streak of blood across the face so you know he/she's serious. Absolute farce. Not to mention it has the biggest wet fart of a conclusion to a game in history, even worse than mass effect 3's and i'll die on this hill. In conclusion, biggest waste of time/10 have no interest in wasting hard-drive space on it ever again.

[@habijjj]

Go outside and touch some grass the game has issues but it's not even close to that bad.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

@@habijjj . Well, it's his opinion, I have to say that is totally wrong, but his opinion still.

[@EyeOfTheTiger777]

@@SeventhheavenDK No, he's totally right.

[@henryviiifake8244]

22:58 Why is Sandal called 'Sandal' when he's never seen defeat? 👨‍🦯🦶 Dude's just built different.