Bioware fails to deliver quality and covers with quantity
Dragon age 2 is an ok game but the end was crappy. I felt like i was fighting a jedi in the final battle, witch makes sense because EA came out with a starwars game so they could just remodel things from that. She forced pushed and her sword looked like and sounded like a light saber. Also it didn't tell you anything about your partners and where they ended up. Not that it was that big a deal because getting to know them wasn't random events and talking to them. It was "do this and ill tell you my life story." I really didn't care about them like I did morrigan and alistair in DAO where if i wanted to get to know them I had to do certain speech options, keep them in my party when I ran around and so on. Storyline and character dev were what made DAO great but what DA2 failed to live up to. All in all it was a good game but with another half years work to add new content and a few months to remodel caves so they weren't so repetitive which fans would happily give to bioware, I'm sure that the game could easily rise to an 8.5. To rise higher would require following what the trailers show with burning demon hands, a more impacting side quest choice and leaving the city to other places. Possibly changing the city over time by making certain areas look more trashed/clean depending on your choices. Also showing what happened to your companions would be great and that one shouldn't even take a week to think up.
I really want to blame EA for this mess but I'm not sure I can. If you want what DA2 should have been like with smooth combat and good story then play The Witcher 2 assassins of kings!
edit: After going back to the game after a very long break I realize that this review was a bit harsh. The game does do many things right, I loved the combat but was still annoyed at the lack of armor and skill customization for you allies. Also I still hate the fact that people are swinging around a 2handed sword like a feather. That said the game is a pretty good game, you just have to tweak your expectations of a bioware and a dragon age game. Think of it this way, if it was a random game that you saw and picked up not knowing anything about what it should be like, then you'll see what I did and how it isn't as bad as I once thought and how a lot of other people think.