Not quite as deep as the previous Dragon Age , not is it quite as tactical , but it offers fun for Action fans.
Unlike the first Dragon Age installment , Dragon Age II have essentially changed the typical "point and click" battle-system to an Action oriented game.
Generally speaking , I am both apalled and pleased by the changes in the game.
Certainly , the fundamental features of the game is still retained and the content is similar in terms of it's core structure.
For example , the player can still set up the AI behaviour of their allies when they are not in use , giving them an edge in battle.
However , as the game is no longer the typical "top-down" view and requires active effort from the player to... well , bash the living daylights out of your enemies , the "tactical requirements" of the game which it had once boasted no longer exists.
Players would once find themselves finding a vantage point for their mages to cast spells , finding ways to make use of the terrain to use for their advantage and quickly switching between your allies to gain an edge in the battlefield , but that feature , that one important feature was abolished.
However , in exchange for the sacrifice of it's RPG value , Dragon Age have a more... "in-depth" feel for it's combat system , allowing the player to actually feel the intensity of the combat as an action game.
The storyline is also generally more stable , seeing that the starting character listing have been limited. In some ways , it's certainly a bad thing , but in others , does it really matter if there's just a limitation on how things start out? It had certainly stabalised the storyline greatly due to the lack of "what-if" situations the developers have to worry their heads off about.
As for the cinematic sequences , I believe it has degraded.
Whilst retaining the quality it bears in typical storyline cutscenes , where was the epic finishing move we see when we kill off a gigantic foe?
Like how a warrior would leap up to the Ogre to stab it repeatedly across it's torso and into it's head?
Like how a warrior would jump onto a dragon's neck and continuously hack it to it's inevitable doom?
That , what we had once widened our eyes in awe , was , along with the RPG feature of the game , has been lost.
For the decision and consequences side of things , it mainly retains it's original flavour , though the morality complex of the game isn't quite as strong as before , or rather , it has hardly improved at all.
What is good and what is evil , the game still offers answers that are a clear-cut between good and evil , only occasionally throwing in decisions that are hard to make if your not a practical joker whom simply likes to piss your allies off.
Cutting the long chase short , Dragon Age have bolstered it's Action genre by a significant amount , but as a result of that , the RPG nature of this game was greatly diminished.
If your a fan of Action games with mild RPG elements , Dragon Age II is a perfect buy. But if , if your a fan of THE Dragon Age with heavy RPG elements , along with some corny Paladin who likes to make corny jokes , along with a seductive witch and the rest of the team , think twice before prancing off to the nearest retail store to get this game.