Stub

Although the game suffered from a rocky launch, a flurry of post-release patches quickly addressed most of the actual technical problems. What remains to be fixed are some annoying gameplay issues that might take a bit longer to resolve - notably broken achievements, unlocks, and statistics. Nevertheless, the game is still very fun and quite challenging. Most of the maps are balanced and well done, although the instant death caused by inadvertently straying into an out-of-bounds area is extremely annoying. The clunky interface screens are the worst part of the game but this is quickly dismissed once you are actually in a match since combat is compelling and immersive. The achievements are generally uninspiring but that's a minor disappointment. It would be nice if there were more rewards and unlocks - what's there feels like simply the start of what could have been a great progression system. Vehicle controls are a bit frustrating and the weapon selection limited but fortunately the developer has plans to improve these. The game has a variety of different classes and weapons but the gaps are notable and frustrating (there are no classes for vehicles, there are no stats tracked for vehicle or grenade kills, some weapons have levels yet others don't). Statistics are also limited (no end-of-match stats for number of deaths, team kills, etc). The single player campaign is essentially an underwhelming tutorial/practise session. However, despite the rough edges, the multi-player game experience is much more compelling than either of the more popular Call of Duty or Battlefield franchises. The game requires considerably more teamwork and squad tactics and the atmosphere and realism is a much closer approximation to World War 2 infantry combat than any other than any other first-person shooter. If you are willing to look past the statistics tracking fiasco, the game is quite good and certainly a worthwhile puchase considering how invested the developer is its improvement.

A novel first attempt at making a Dragon Age add-on (as opposed to add-in) DLC. The new (to the player at least) abilities and party members are fun for as long as it lasts. I wish BioWare had allocated more resources and time to this DLC since it shows more promise than the other cookie-cutter DLC offerings they produced for Dragon Age: Origins. At the end of Darkspawn Chronicles I had a feeling of accomplishment that none of the other DA DLCs provided, so it at least delivers on an emotional level despite the utter lack of dialog (apparently there was no voice over budget for this project). However, Darkspawn Chronicles would have benefited significantly had the player's experience with the protagonist been longer than a mere 1.5 hours. Feels like a gem in the rough that BioWare failed to sufficiently polish before release.

A novel first attempt at making a Dragon Age add-on (as opposed to add-in) DLC. The new (to the player at least) abilities and party members are fun for as long as it lasts. I wish BioWare had allocated more resources and time to this DLC since it shows more promise than the other cookie-cutter DLC offerings they produced for Dragon Age: Origins. At the end of Darkspawn Chronicles I had a feeling of accomplishment that none of the other DA DLCs provided, so it at least delivers on an emotional level despite the utter lack of dialog (apparently there was no voice over budget for this project). However, Darkspawn Chronicles would have benefited significantly had the player's experience with the protagonist been longer than a mere 1.5 hours. Feels like a gem in the rough that BioWare failed to sufficiently polish before release.

A novel first attempt at making a Dragon Age add-on (as opposed to add-in) DLC. The new (to the player at least) abilities and party members are fun for as long as it lasts. I wish BioWare had allocated more resources and time to this DLC since it shows more promise than the other cookie-cutter DLC offerings they produced for Dragon Age: Origins. At the end of Darkspawn Chronicles I had a feeling of accomplishment that none of the other DA DLCs provided, so it at least delivers on an emotional level despite the utter lack of dialog (apparently there was no voice over budget for this project). However, Darkspawn Chronicles would have benefited significantly had the player's experience with the protagonist been longer than a mere 1.5 hours. Feels like a gem in the rough that BioWare failed to sufficiently polish before release.

Unimpressive and underwhelming - does not 'expand' on anything. BioWare should let the design department design the game, not a committee of producers, writers, and marketing executives. This franchise is well on its way to ignominy. The quests are unbelievably mundane - now a BioWare tradition it would seem. Converations overly verbose. Unnecessarily long and pointless cutscenes. The new items are game-breakingly overpowered.

A forgettable and regrettable abomination of a sequel. Did anyone at BioWare actually play this game before it was released? I seriously hope that some [lead] heads will roll as a result of this botched, repetitive, snooze-fest. Completely underwhelming, unacceptably short and shallow. What made the original fun has been 'stream-lined' out in this sequel.

Truly disappointed that BioWare can't come up with anything more creative than an unimaginative dungeon crawl. Also very disappointed that the Lead Designer (Mike Laidlaw) skewed the results by rating his own game a 10. If this is your best work, you should be fired.