The BioWare Legacy: Where Do They Go From Here?

With the creators "retiring", Prima Games revisits the past, present and future of this great publisher.

[NYC_Gamer]

Bioware= dead to me.The studio will never be on the same level as they once were.EA just ruined another studio with a huge list of classic rpgs.I can't blame the founders for leaving after all of the latest poor quality releases.

[Captain Qwark 9]

poor quality releases????? wtf lol???? you mean dragon age 2 becuase thats it ( personal opinions ).....

Mass Effect 9.5/10
Dragon Age: Origins 10/10
Mass Effect 2 8.5/10
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening 10/10
Dragon Age II 6.5/10
Star Wars: The Old Republic N/A
Mass Effect 3 9.5/10
Dragon Age III: Inquisition N/A

i cant speak for star wars because ive never played it and DA3 isnt out yet but are you kidding me lol? bioware has put out 4 of the best games this gen with one dud under their belt. they can have my money any day of the week. i was pissed about dragon age 2 but not enough to give up hope on them. clearly they listen too becuase i had a few issues with ME2 losing all its rpgness and they fixed that with 3. they know they f*cked up with DA2, i have a good feeling about 3, they will find a way to mix origins and 2 together in a good way

[NYC_Gamer]

I beat Mass Effect 3 and it was streamlined as well.The game felt like a third person cover shooter along with silly N7 missions and plot holes.Mass Effect 1 is the best one out of the whole franchise in my opinion.

[da_2pacalypse]

Their products since EA taking over has suffered in terms of quality. ME2 was a good game, this is true, however TOR, ME3, and DA2 were all under par in comparison to previous Bioware games. The character progression was weak and the story felt shallow and was over too quickly.

Dragon Age Origins was a perfect game. There was not a single thing I disliked about that game. The sequel on the other hand was way streamlined and suffered due to lack of dialogue and story. DA2 felt too short and shallow in comparison to the first. I'm still optimistic about the third, but I'm also cautious.

[Christopher]

@da_2pacalypse:

I somewhat agree. I think ME1 and DAO were the best of both series so far. Both series were "mainstreamed" once EA took over, including ME2 and especially DA2. That isn't to say that the experiences weren't good, but they were not the same as their predecessors and in many ways were much shallower in design.

[adorie]

To be honest, and I love honesty; The two guys who left Bioware recently probably left the industry because they see where it is headed.

It's no better than the recording industry or even Hollywood.

Also, I wouldn't take Metacritic or many reviews seriously. This industry used to be about fun, creativity and progression.

It's all about who's the best, who can sell the most, how fast can they put a game out and how can they make it so they can churn games with numbers after the franchise names every year.

ME 3 was a 7.9 to me, at best. Good game, but not a good ME game.

[Captain Qwark 9]

it was streamlined yes but it still had the rpg mechanics. instead of random guns that all looked the same with slightly different stats, you got unique guns ( i liked that better ( still would be considered loot. you still had many options for your space suit just like the first. you still had skill to develope for your character and the option to take multiple paths with those skills. just because it had less numbers doesnt make it any less of an rpg.

i loved the first as well ( beat it 5 times in fact ) and i think its tied with the 3rd personally. if i had to pick id say the first was better only because it still had more of an open feel to it, esp since it had the mako. overall though ME3 was still a great game and easily one of the best released this gen so i stand by what i said, other than DA2 they dont have a blemmish on their record

[NYC_Gamer]

It was streamlined on purpose.Why not give us a pure rpg experience?instead with DA2-ME3 they ran after the shooter/hack and slash crowd.I'm an rpg fan and i dislike dumb down gameplay.

[Godmars290]

We'll find out with the next Dragon Age or Mass Effect, wont we.

[HellFeast]

To unemployment. AH AH AH i was just kidding i meant to HELL!

[RivetCityGhoul]

when they say a certain series is a trilogy why can't devs just stick to their words. just move on, stop trying to milk everything.

[nrvalleytime]

They never said Mass Effect was a trilogy, just that Shepard's story was a trilogy.

I'm excited for more Mass Effect games personally.

[Captain Qwark 9]

and speak for yourself here. Shepard's story can be a trilogy if they want it too but dont ditch the ME series. that is one of my fav series of all, id be pissed if it went away

[modesign]

biowares next move is out of business

[starchild]

Well, they won't go out of business. Sheesh.

Bioware have made some of the best games this generation and I hope they continue to bring us great games for years to come.

[toophat82]

Mass effect 1 will always be my favorite out of the 3. No game is ever perfect but if they gonna make another mass effect game I hope it's like part 1 but with the best features of 2 and 3 added in to it. For example the better gameplay, graphics, coop multiplayer, and some other minor things mass effect 2 and 3 had combined with part 1 now that would be the perfect mass effect game.

Even though I like some of the older bioware stuff better their new stuff that they've made since they got with EA hasn't been as bad as people claim not even close to being bad. For example mass effect 3 is still a top tier game and I enjoy it. I'll admit it wasnt made in the same fashion as some of the older games they made that fans like and are uset to getting from bioware.

Maybe they'll give us fans what we want on the next mass effect game something like the original but improved with more modern graphics, gameplay, and so on.