A disappointing sequel...
Bioware is known for their amazing stories and not for their revolutionary technology used in their games (maybe the only exception is the first Mass Effect which has both). Unfortunately the story of DA II is boring, unfocused, not very well developed and extremely linear. It's divided in 3 acts which are standalone stories of a refugee named Hawke, who after some years of various achievements becomes the champion of the city of Kirkwall. The problem is that all these 3 mini stories are rushed, don't have a real closure or connection at all and to finish them you have to complete various boring quests which most of the times have nothing to do with the main plot. You feel more of a glorified errand boy and a person who was at the wrong place the wrong time than a hero or a champion. You don't have a main goal, you just have to follow the events which happen around you. Your only real choice which can change some of the events is near the end of the game (act 3). Add to all these issues that the game most of the times plays in the city of Kirkwall, which is well designed but it feels dead and small. It's nothing like the cities you experience from games like Assassin's Creed, GTA or even the Witcher. If you want dear Bioware to create an urban based story at least make the city huge, alive and interesting. Instead there are tons of recycled maps in every act. You'll visit so many times the same few places in the game that you can easily get sick of the laziness and the copy & paste "technique" the developers have used. Every mansion, warehouse, cave and dungeon is exactly the same! The only difference is that there are new enemies for the different quests. Wow, huge minus this...
The combat is not so different from Dragon Age Origins, actually it plays the same but the differences are in aesthetics. It's more flashy, quick and with some anime / cartoony animations. You can use tactics but the problem that ruins everything again is a new feature which appears in the middle of combats and uses several waves (reinforcements) of enemies who appear out of thin air or fall from rooftops of Kirwall's buildings (!) This "amazing" new mechanic isn't only unrealistic and frustrating but it also makes you forget every tactic / positioning of your allies you have previously planned. Too bad because without this mechanic or at least with more careful use of it, the combat of DA II could be equal or even better than Origins. Also, there isn't an option for an isometric camera view like Origins, so add another huge minus here. Fortunately, the talent trees are very well designed, have a non linear structure and are well balanced for each class.
The graphics of the game is the only thing which feels improved from Origins and if you have a good PC to play the game at its max settings, they are good (but not spectacular compared to other recent titles). It's also obvious that the world of DA II has a new artistic direction. The environments are nicely designed with a more unique and exotic look but the new redesigns of the various races aren't so successful. Except from the new looks of Qunari (which IMO are amazing), all the other races are a step back from their original designs. For example the elves look like the Na'vi creatures from the movie Avatar, darkspawn look like skeletons with ninja outfits and dwarves look just weird. The music, ambience sounds and sound effects are well done, they fit the game, so no complaints about them.
The companions of DA II were for me, disappointing... Except from Varric (who is also the narrator of the story and probably the best character of DA II) and maybe Isabela and Hawke's siblings. All the others are uninspired and one dimensional boring characters. I mention companions, because they were one of the many factors which made Dragon Age Origins such a successful RPG. Origins had a well written story which wasn't original and maybe cliché, but it had companions with amazing backstories, personalities and depth who were also surrounded by tons of interesting NPCs to care about. In Dragon Age II I didn't feel the same, to be brief.
Unfortunately, there are many other flaws in DA II. The dialogue system / wheel is almost a copy from Mass Effect, with its famous paraphrased dialogue options. The main problem is that many times there is a real difference between the paraphrases and what your character is actually saying... Add to this that the way you can reply is with a peaceful / diplomatic tone, a sarcastic tone or an aggressive tone and you can easily understand that there are many limitations and flaws with this new dialogue system. Because, most of the times, you have only to choose the tone to respond to someone than making a real choice and open a new path in a conversation. It's indeed the perfect camouflage for linearity.
My conclusion is that DA II as a standalone RPG title is above average, but if you remind yourself that it's supposed to be a sequel for one of the most successful RPGs in recent years, it's disappointing beyond explanation. It had its great moments, but it's so full of flaws and bugs which is obvious that it wanted more development time, play-testing and a totally different philosophy. If you haven't played it yet but you are desperate to try it no matter what, prepare yourself to experience it as a Dragon Age Lite version of Origins to accept it for what it is. For newcomers to the series, it's a just a good RPG, nothing more, nothing less. Definitely one of the worst titles of Bioware though.