Dragon Age 2
EA
Xbox, PS3, Mac OS, Windows XP
Here's a quintessential RPG for the hack-and-slash RPG connoisseur. Several pleasant surprises popped early and changed my entire perspective on this bad boy. In fact, one killer tidbit that completely got me was the party-combat system; no more of that flying solo nonsense we see in modern day single-player RPGs; now we can switch between members of our party all through the game and utilize different talents and tactics! More, the option to select skills as you level up and slay enemies is highly addictive. The versatility with each class you control is neat, offering several professions you can choose for each character. You also get character traits to distribute to each, depending on what their class demands. The classes are pretty typical, (warrior, mage, etc.), but each has its own specialty, and some classes may be trickier to construct than others. In short, RPGs are a popular mainstream genre of game these days, and DA:2 gives lots for RPG fanboys to see. Simple, yet requires thought. You'll dig it if you dig the genre. —Josh Sexson
