Justin Kemppainen, Minnesota Games Examiner, writes:
Dilemma, of course, being not necessarily the case, perhaps it was more of an issue of simple choice. In any case, the beans were recently spilled about Bioware's upcoming sequel to the very popular (and excellent) Dragon Age: Origins, specifically how the characters would be structured.
Instead of the "Origins" type of storytelling (multiple different beginning scenarios based upon race, class, and societal standings), there will be one, and only one, situation. Boiled down to its essence, Hawke will likely take the route of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect: customized to a certain point: most likely choose male/female and class.
With this decision, there's a virtual certainty that the amount of choice in the character built for the DA: II will be much more limited, as there will be full facial expressions and voice acting.
Immersed Gamer writes: "In order to replace the oppressive BioWare Points system, EA is making a large portion of the Mass Effect and Dragon Age DLC catalogs free for PC users.
For those of you blissfully unaware, EA and BioWare employed a payment system called BioWare Points on PC to pay for DLCs for titles like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. While PC gamers have been struggling with BioWare point’s unfair conversion rates and extremely scarce and cost-detrimental sales.
Console players have been allowed to purchase content in pieces through the appropriate Sony and Microsoft shops. For real money, and not BioWare monopoly bucks. In turn, console players missed out on some DLC content, such as Mass Effect 2 pre-order bonuses that have been repackaged into a DLC pack."
Great response to Ubisoft and their disgusting behavior. Ubisoft decide to take away DLC from people who paid for it, while EA give it for free to everyone when they realize their system sucks. Who would have thought that EA of all companies would be showing Ubisoft how it should be done (even if this is EA fixing their own mistakes as well).
What goes around comes around and I promise you, Ubisoft will see their actions blow back on them when their diminishing sales numbers and stock taking a hit downward. That's the only way a company learns when they decide to be reactive instead of proactive.
BLG writes: "There was a time that BioWare games were the biggest deal in gaming. The Canadian developer’s legacy of all-time classics is well known. Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, and Baldur’s Gate are some of the biggest names in gaming.
While BioWare’s quality has fallen off lately, there’s no denying the quality of titles in their portfolio. That’s why we’re going to dive in and rank every BioWare game from worst to best. By every, I do mean every BioWare game, even the ones you completely forgot about!"
Ranked from worse to even more worse more like, they been on free fall for a fair few years now and I personally don't think any of there earlier games have aged well
Wow to think at one point in their history they made a Sonic the Hedgehog game..crazy
Anthem is crazy underrated. I really enjoyed it. ME1 is Bioware's best imo
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I actually put quite a bit of hours into Anthem but i dont think its underrated. It was a huge mess, server issues, gameplay issues, crashes, no endgame loop, too few different enemies, uninteresting gear. too few dungeons.
It for sure had potential and if they could have managed to keep the same gameplay of the classes but without the rest of the issues, this game could have been huge, but in the state in which it launched it was such a letdown. They partly fixed some of the issues, but it took too long. A grinding game like this needs to hook players from day 1.
Delving into a well-loved game or series years after its release, when it already has an enthusiastic and devoted fanbase, can be incredibly difficult. People can be casually mean on the internet without intending to, and that happens a lot when you say you don’t like something they do. Fans of the franchise take their love of the game very seriously. They’re fervent and devoted, which has its charms, but it can also feel like you’re disappointing them when you decide their thing is not your thing.
Because of the reviews, I thought they could do better specially gameplay wise and the third one was even worst
I've never been able to complete a Dragon Age game. They always felt too rigid in design. I eventually think "why am I playing this over Witcher 3?" or pretty much any other rpg.
The same reason you read a different book, or watch different movies. Different world, characters, lore and story.
Idk, because maybe you completed the witcher 3? Not all of us like repeating a game over and over just because its the best in genre.
@arkard
Never found the story or lore of DA interesting. Inquisition was just generic evil dude with demon army wants to conquer world and you're the chosen one.
@jeromeface
I've played through Witcher 3 once, at the same time I was playing DA Inquisition. Hence the example. I never finished Inquisition and went on to complete Witcher 3.
Well the first bored me but I loved 2 and 3. I could never get into The Witcher or Elder Scrolls but I enjoyed those as far as medieval themed RPG's go.
I played inquisition and thought the story was pretty well done. Voice acting as well.
Lost interest when i found an ultimate weapon that could only be wieldable postgame. Like wtf would they let me even obtain it for?
lol Definitely a fair point. When a game is made and published by one of the largest video game companies on Earth, has at least 12 million sales between DA:O/DA2/DA:I, DA:I noted as being BioWare's most successful launch, and made EA enough money to greenlight a 3rd game? I'm thinking it's tough to argue that's niche :-p
If you take cult following on the face of it - a group of people who are highly dedicated & passionate about something - the author wouldn't be wrong. But they have to know that term is most widely associated with the group being small/the object being obscure, so it can't really apply here.
Yeah, in what universe is a series with three games, a fourth on the way that's sold millions and is published by EA a "cult favorite"? Next you'll be telling me The Witcher 3 is a plucky and underrated indie.
Cult favorite? It’s well known and sold fairly well and they are making a fourth game . I don’t see it anywhere near cult favorite status . I really enjoyed the first game and the third was pretty good (with failed mmo faults you could notice) but the second game was lazily made garbage .
Loved the first one, second was pretty good. Couldn't even get through the third one. Don't have high hopes for 4, but hey, nowhere to go but up hopefully.
DA: Origins was cool, but I got Mass Effect 2 at the same time and goddayum there was no comparison imo.
Fascinating question - do you make characters CUSTOMIZABLE, creating a bond between the character and the player that is mostly physical, or do you effectively 'CHARACTERIZE' the entities in the game and give them realistic feelings, thoughts, and mannerisms?
My opinion is this: in terms of immersion, customization is the way to go. It gives the player a sense of ownership over their character and a greater connection to NPCs and those around them.
However, from the perspective of relating the experience that the game offers to the outside world, then characterization is the way to go. Take Metal Gear Solid 4 or Uncharted 2 as examples. I don't think either game would have benefited from being able to create your own character or 'customize' your persona. The powerful aspects of each game stemmed from the characters themselves making choices that the player couldn't control.
Bioware is well-known for offering a great amount of customization options, but nonetheless it will be fascinating to find out how Dragon Age II turns out if it indeed does go the way of Mass Effect instead of the more open-ended Dragon Age/KOTOR route. Will players feel more connected to their characters, or will we respond differently to existing stereotypes and well-known idiosyncrasies?
That depends on what kind of story you are trying to tell. If it is very personal based on the character you are playing, I feel that customization can take a lot away from that. You cannot create an iconic character, such as say Cloud or Solid Snake, if you have character customization.
However, if the story is based more on the world around you rather than you yourself, then I am all for character customization.
Either way the player is going to feel a strong connection with the character they are playing, just in different ways.
Characterization all the way.
It's hard to give a character CHARACTER if you get to customize him/her. Most obvious example is dragon age origin where your hero feels like an empty shell.