After about 28 hours of game play, I've finished my first play through of Dragon Age 2 on the Xbox 360. The thoughts I expressed in my "first impressions post" still hold true when all is said and done, though I feel like I can add some more that may be helpful to someone considering this title for future purchase.
In short, Dragon Age 2 is the result of Bioware trying to fix a bunch of things about Dragon Age: Origins that weren't broken. Inventory management is present virtually in name only, removing a significant strategic element of game play. The stakes are incredibly low when compared to the events of Dragon Age: Origins and the story has very little motivating it or tying quests together. Combat has been streamlined, resulting in less interesting or powerful-looking spell animations and the constant need to hammer on "A" to keep combat moving makes it impossible to move the camera around and enjoy what cool animations are present.
Although Flemeth makes an intriguing appearance early on and once more a few hours in, she is never heard from after that. No sign or hint of Morrigan, either. At the end of the game, a larger story is implied to be at work, making me wish the end of Dragon Age 2 was only the halfway point of a single, complete game. The experience ends up feeling more like a boatload of DLC or the opening 1/4th of a single game rather than the main content of a complete RPG or the first part of a trilogy.
An additional bug in the game prevented me from ever recruiting one of the main companions featured in the trailers for this game: Isabella. Bummer, since she was one of the few ties to the first game, something this story needed more of.
I think Bioware would have done well to make some of their significant changes optional. For example, instead of only allowing me to adjust the armor for my main character, put an "auto-equip" option in the game instead of assuming that process doesn't interest me. And instead of making me repeatedly hammer on "A" to continue attacking, give me the option to select "auto-attack", as I understand is possible on the PC version.
Finally, give me a story that is more far-reaching in consequence. I'd rather have a cookie cutter "save the world" story with strong character subplots than a small scale main plot with only peripheral epic consequence. And how about a game that lasts at LEAST 30 hours. I got 20 hours of game play from one play through of the EXPANSION for Dragon Age: Origins, and only 28 hours out of Dragon Age 2. I'm sure missing Isabella had some effect on my playtime, but I took on every quest I could otherwise and still only logged 28 hours. (Both of my play-throughs on DA:O were close to 70 hours with all DLC, though the total time added by DLC was certainly no more than 10 hours.
As I said before, there are certainly many elements that make this game addictive and enjoyable. But unlike so many of Bioware's RPGs, I can't think of a reason I'd want to play through this one again or spend any money on DLC that isn't dirt cheap.
Last night, after finishing Dragon Age 2, without skipping a beat (well I did play the awesome demo for "Torchlight") I started up a game of "Dragon Age: Origins, Awakening" for my second play through. I'd recommend that most Dragon Age fans do the same and wait to see if a future version of Dragon Age 2, which includes all DLC, will be a more compelling buy.
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