Disclaimer:  I am a huge Bioware fan, while I'm going to do my best to be impartial, there may be still be some bias.

Ok, so first of all I just completed Dragon Age 2, took me about 60 hours to go through one play through.  So a decent length of time that was for the most part, full of good content.  For people that played the first Dragon Age, there are some similarities, but this is most definitely a different game.  

One of the bigger overhauls we see in this game is the combat.  Combat is quick, fats paced, evisceral, and super fun.  Of all the things they changed in this game, this is one thing that I can say I really liked.  I played it all the way through with a mage, but I also started a warrior and rogue and tried them out just to see what they were like.  The combat is the slow tactical style of the previous game, of which some might not be to happy about, but I think the approach they took lends itself to a much more thrilling game.  

While the combat is very much improved, one area that dragon age 2 falls flat is the story.  I never really felt that it was all that compelling, something that is very rare in a WRPG.  The story mostly takes place in one city and for the majority of the game you don't even know what the main conflict of the game actually is?  The framed story approach didn't actually end up being as bad as I thought it would, its just too bad it wasn't a good story to begin with.  

Another problem or dissapointment with the story is how little it connects with the original game.  I don't even know why they bothered sticking a 2 at the end.  It seems like it would have been better off as a spinoff instead of a full on sequel.  

Graphically, the game is improved quite a bit from the original game, but with some problems.  While the game does look a lot better, Bioware took the shortcut of reusing level designs for quest (think mass effect 1).  So basically everytime you enter a cave, it always looks the same inside.  Same layout, same branching paths.  I would have thought Bioware had learned this lesson from the first Mass Effect, but perhaps their bosses at EA wanted the game out by a certain time and this is how they did it, who knows.  Either way, it is pretty annoying.  

Sound on the other hand, seems to be slightly better.  The theme music is perhaps less compelling, but not by a large margin.  However, the fact that the lead character can actually talk (and talk well, might I add) more than makes of for that.  Great voice acting all around, Biowares legacy in voice acting does not dissapoint. 

Now, for the biggest difference and my biggest complaint, the companions.  Previous Bioware games (first dragon Age included)  have set up a central hub in which all you characters gather and you can go there and interact with them, converse, uncover their storylines, and even start romances.  For some reason, Bioware decided it would be better to have all the companions have their own place instead a central hub.  Ok, thats not too bad, more loading times but whatever.  The problem is that Bioware doesn't let you talk to them whenever you want.  You have to progress the story or get their friendship up to certain point to even get them to talk to you.  This is incredibly obnoxious and makes the whole friendship dynamic difficult.  

For example, if you don't get Isabela up to at least half way friendship by the time you complete the following the qun quest, she will leave.  That may not sound hard, but it is.  I was freaking trying to romance her (meaning I only said nice things, and I slept with her) and she still left.  The only way to up their friendship is by answering dialogue correctly on certain quests, but there is no way of knowing how or if your companions will react to what you say.  You could say something that would tick off one companion, but another companion would love.  Basically, there is no way to make people happy and no direction on how to make people happy.  

So, in closing, Drage Age 2 improves on the original in a lot of ways, but also falls flat in others.  With this being an RPG and all, I feel the story should be front and center and be held to a higher standard than in most games.  The story and the companion system being what it is, I would say this is Biowares worst game to date, which is sad...

I give it a 7.5 out of 10

generally I agree...but the battle music/background music in DA:O is miles better than DA2. 

I also had no trouble getting Isabella's friendship up...perhaps you just picked the wrong dialogue decisions. 

The game is fun but has a ton of bugs and I don't think it compares favourable agaisnt DA:O. 

You took 60 hours to complete DA2?!??? wow, you did take your time.

Anyway, pretty good review (better than the other review on this site for sure). 

Very well said, I too gave it a 7.5/10

I didn't reall care for DAO, so I thought that DA2 would be tailored just for me - Not!

DA2 will most likely be me MDGOY (most disappointing game of the year)

Good review, I feel the same about most of it. Only I didn't like the combat very much until I started playing it like god of war. It's suited for hack and slash frantic playstyle with one character, but too fast and chaotic to switch between characters during fights.

Luckily the tactics system is very flexible in setting up strategies for your AI companions. You can even specify multiple conditions. For example have the AI cast walking bomb on an enemy if his health is lower then x % and he's clustered with at least n other enemies.

I have played the first act with all 3 classes so far to see the differences. A mage who likes to fight with other mages and always sticks up for them. A rogue that hates authority and aligns with outcasts and takes Aveline along just to piss her of at every opportunity. And a Templar wannabee swordsman, who will sell out mages to the circle including his sister. Each class is fun to play and the different choices, although most converge to the same outcome, allow you a lot of freedom to role play.

The biggest disappointment so far is being stuck in Kirkwall again. I was looking forward to exploring the deep roads again which was my favourite part of Origins. There it was a awesome combination of exploration, puzzles, lots of atmosphere and some epic fights. It was a total letdown that in DA2 it was nothing more then a short diversion, walking through 2 lineair tunnels with a couple of cutscenes and unconnected boss fights.

Now I'm back in Kirkwall with another big todo list ugh. I hope I get to leave the city for a bit longer sooner then later. So far I would score it an 8, could be 8.5 if I get to leave Kirkwall and explore the world, 7.5 if not. Definately not as good as Origins which I rated 9.5 after 4 play throughs.

I agree with some of your points, however, I found the story to actually be quite good. It was a different direction to the epic but generic storyline of Origins (and a lot of RPGs for that matter; how many times do we have to save the world?). It was a more personal story surrounding the rise of Hawke but feels very much like a prelude to bigger events in the next game(s). I think the story complaints are mainly because it doesn't feel as "epic" as other Bioware games and Act I spent too long setting up for Acts II & III, but I'm personally happy they tried something different and less generic. 

Also, whilst the combat was improved in some areas, they also completely ruined it by having waves of spawning enemies. Nearly every fight felt like waves of enemies meaning I couldn't plan strategically and also destroyed immersion when I see a random warrior spawn in front of me. At the end of the day it felt lazy and more like it was designed for a pure action game like God of War. I also didn't appreciate the removal of the top-down view. Rather than remove the tactical top-down view they should incorporate it as an option on consoles for better spell placement, especially when the game is paused.

The companions are annoying, even if they're well written. They should have been fleshed out more, but like you said, not being able to talk to them whenever you want is ridiculous. However, I actually liked that trying to please every character was difficult, it gave them more personality if you know they hold strong opinions.

TBH the game felt rushed. There's a great game in their, but there is less dialogue, copy & paste dungeons/maps, less quests, less artwork, less conversations/dialogue, and sloppy combat design (endless spawning waves of enemies). And I agree that this game should have been marketed as a spinoff rather than a direct sequel because quite simply, it isn't. 

modding dragon age one this semester for uni (software team building class) and i have been playing some of dragon age 1 and let me say that i have watched the lord of the rings and it stands there as my favourite fantasy setting and story and movies. An playing Dragon age is like playing an game that pays homage to the movie like an serious fanboy. Everywhere i turn there are so much simulaties to the lord of the rings that one scene in the battle when the king was being held up by an huge troll i was waiting for the ring to full into the lava and him run away but at list he got his ass murdered for putting that cocky guy in charge of the reinforcments. 

Oh and what does this have to do with dragon age 2. Well nothing really but i felt like sharing.