Dragon Age II is by no means a terrible game. It is, however, a wildly uneven experience. Its high points are undercut by the cynical approach of its developers to appeal to as many people as possible by restraining themselves at every turn instead of picking a direction and giving it their all.

In the years following Baldur's Gate II, BioWare has shown a frustrating tendency to underachieve. Their games certainly have all the building blocks of something special. A lot of work goes into lore, characters are presented in interesting (if not always believable) ways, and there are usually several quests or areas which stand head and shoulders above the competition. For some reason, however, the end result always feels like it's missing a level of depth, whether in character interactions, game systems, or variety of items/skills.

I hope that the company takes a step back and examines the decisions which led to these deficiencies and ultimately this game, then lives up to their full potential with the next project. Preferably a nerdy RPG.

If that doesn't happen, at least we'll probably get Baldur's Gate III, the Heavy Rain clone where you stop the end of the world by handing flowers to bugbears until they love you and a steamy saxophone plays.
​