GameKult: Provided automatically to owners of a deluxe version of Dragon Age: Origins and charged at € 7 to the world, Fortress Guard of Shadows adds an NPC quest to our faithful camp in the RPG to BioWare. Interested in the history of his great-great-grandmother,
Greg Zeschuk from Bioware states "People are thinking about our games after they play them... Somehow, our stuff sticks with you. It's the character interactions, all these things that Ray discussed. It all lives with you after."
According to Ray Muzyka, Bioware intends on building and evolving upon the "most emotionally engaging gaming experiences in the world" and that it is "the vision for the BioWare group across the four studios."
Kotaku states the "four branches currently have several projects in development, including future installments of Dragon Age and Mass Effect as well as Star Wars: The Old Republic" and that gamers can expect Bioware's goals "to be targeted in all of those games."
Dragon Age Origins was an amazing RPG from Bioware that had a lot of living up to do. After all, its not every day that someone says a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 2. Instead of releasing several more DLC packs to lengthen the life of DAO, Bioware decided to return to the roots and made a proper expansion pack. Good call Bioware.
In Awakening, hero of your choice will pursue darkspawn to the northern coast where several factions of creatures retreated after the battle at Denerim. You arrive at Vigils Keep, a fortress that stood there for centuries against all kinds of enemies, yet this time not all is well. Fortress is half destroyed and in bad shape and if it wasn't for your hero there would be no survivors. You are given control of the Keep along with the surrounding lands, farms and a city of Amaranthine and it will be up to you to make crucial decisions as to what to protect, how to replenish supplies of gold etc.
First thing that comes to mind when mentioning story of Awakening is topping off Origins which is not a small task but Awakening manages to pull it off. You see, no matter how good Origins campaign was, Awakening is much more focused on what's happening, who does what, what decision you made and territory is smaller with less specific racial camps spread out. This gives the story less meat overall but what you get is straight to the head, plain, simple yet completely intriguing material.
IncGamers' Belinda Vaughan takes an impromptu break from MMOs to find out what all the fuss is over Mass Effect 2. A snip:
"You know when you go to the cinema and you see a film that takes your breath away, and you're walking out afterwards feeling like you actually took part in the events you just witnessed? Or you've just finished a wonderful book series or sat through a gripping DVD box set – playing this game has left me with the same emotions."
Gaming gets simpler and simpler, easier and easier, less and less complex. This is 'better'?
@ Yes, its writing and cinematic ambition are stunning; its game is Not.
Having said that, could you maybe give an example, by naming a game which you believe to be more complex and better than Mass Effect. This is not and attack on you preference. I just need to understand your perspective, and I can't do so by what you said in that statement. I have no idea what you are using as a comparison.
Mass Effect 2 is so clearly a game made for console owners: The inventory is stripped, stats are nearly irrelevant, and the difficulty level on 'Insane' doesn't even equate to Dragon Age's 'Easy'. The combat has some interesting systems in place to be sure, but it never forces you into thinking about how they function. Aim. Shoot. Compare that with Dragon Age, in which you have to use everything that's at your disposal to pass through battles.
I get their ambition to make it a shooter, but that doesn't have to mean scooping out your brain in the process.
I agree that they removed some of the RPG elements and streamline the game to satisfy the action crowd. But I still see ME2 as a very complex game. The dialog options for example are far more expansive and varied than DA. Because of this you are constantly faced with tough choices. Like should I give this person another chance? she is a new recruit and just made a mistake. Should I kill half a race off just because my friend has a problem with that race? Should I follow the rule here and hand over my weapons? They are plenty of these choices that aren't black and white. Some people just choose the good or bad options to move up a paragon or renegade bar. I don't consider those bars in my discission making. I found it completely emersive and not simple. But I see why you say it is simplified. I believe that simple is exaggerated though.
Still yet to play this properly, can't wait to sink some time into it. High praise from an MMO gamer too.
Yup, quite happily handing over cash for all the DLC for mass effect 2 right now. Keep it coming bioware.
