Dragon Age: Origins is one of the greatest RPGs of the last decade, and for a sequel, it should have followed that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Instead, BioWare opted for a more "casual" experience, no doubt to appeal to a wider user-base, but ironically at the expense of alienating those who had made the game a hit in the first place. The problems are myriad: a protagonist it's impossible to care about due to the non-existent character development, the fact that most of the game takes place within the confines of one city, the quick-travel system which replaces actual exploration, and locations which have blatantly been copy-and-pasted from other areas in the game. Most of the customisation options from Origins have been removed or simplified, which just seems like a blindingly obvious no-no, and given BioWare's experience in the genre, they really should have known better. Is it playable? Absolutely, but it's a mere shadow of the previous game and a major step back in every possible way. BioWare have at least promised that the third game, Inquisition, will return the series to its roots.