Dragon Age 2... WTF???

[Nimzabaat]

So if you've read any of my posts you'll know that i'm damn picky about my chosen form of entertainment. I like quality, value for money, all the good stuff.

Just a note as well, if you don't like games just because they're popular so you can be cool and individual... it just shows people that you have poor taste. Well done you.

Okay getting on topic. Dragon Age: Origins is a fantastic game. It allows you to play through an interesting back story for your main character, a quality that a lot of games lack (*cough* Mass Effect *cough*). It allowed for character customization, different races (not a huge selection but still something), different sexes, classes etc. Some people compained about the graphics on the console ports but graphics don't make a game good, they are simply icing.

Dragon Age 2 (judging only from the official announcement) is going away from the things that made the first one good. You get to play Nier, er Shepard er Hawke. A generic grizzled male human refugee (I suppose the name is generic enough that you may be allowed to play a grizzled generic female). Already I have little to no interest in this game. Honestly when all the ME2 ads said that Shepard was dead I was overjoyed at the prospect of rolling a Turian, Krogan, Asari, Quarian, anything other than these stupid generic humans. (I've played human for a long time, not well sometimes, but still human). It was the origin stories that started Dragon Age on the right track. What other changes can we expect? Are they going to be throwing in chest-high-walls everywhere? Are we losing the inventory system? It looks like the last sequel that Bioware did well was Baldur's Gate 2. (Don't mention ME2, the people that hated ME liked ME2 which means it failed as a sequel, but succeeded as a game, which isn't the same thing)

 

[YesConsiderably]

I loved Mass Effect and i loved Mass Effect 2.

ME2 changed a lot of aspects of ME1 for the better; which in my opinion, means that is succeeded as a sequel. And if you wanted to play Mass Effect 2 as anything other than a human, it kind of shows that you either haven't been paying much attention to the story, or simply just failed to understand it.

As far as Dragon Age 2 goes... if you really can't stand to play as a human, then don't play it. It's a rather silly attitude, though. We don't know to which extent we'll be able to customise Hawke, but considering the importance of your character's origin in the first Dragon Age, it's fair to assume that DA2 will offer similar options.

Playing as an elf didn't make your character as exciting as playing as an elf that killed a noble for raping his cousin on his wedding day did. I fully expect origin options to return, giving us ample opportunity to create the character we want to play as.

 

[Anah'ya]

Let's disregard the additional level of story quality that playing a somewhat (but not completely) pre-made character will add. I've had more fun in the story of Metro 2033 than Dragon Age, 'cause my stiff character with the lack of a voice (literally) made her feel so out of place. Even a mute fellow like Artoym managed to snare my heart more effectively.

I'm personally welcoming that change. BioWare is doing what they want to see done with their IP, and I say good on them. They are improving upon their experience and I can't wait to see how they keep evolving. It's a great ride so far.

 

[JEBWrench]

I fully expect origin options to return, giving us ample opportunity to create the character we want to play as.

I don't think so, Tim. S/he's already got a fully fledged backstory, what with being the hero of some place and the escaping the Blight.

 

[YesConsiderably]

I fully expect origin options to return, giving us ample opportunity to create the character we want to play as.

I don't think so, Tim. S/he's already got a fully fledged backstory, what with being the hero of some place and the escaping the Blight.

As far as i am aware, how Hawke became a "champion" isn't predetermined. In fact, the article i read suggested that you had a fair amount of control over how he (or she) picks up that title. That could be the origin option.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Frankly I don't see how it really matters whether you play a prebuilt PC or not. Sure it was touted as one of the features of the earlier game, but then again so was the inconsistent difficulty and novel time length.

 

[Keava]

Not to mention it's coming out in just over a year after the original's release. Better not expect anything much from that, or you'll probably end up pretty disappointed.

Also, I'm pretty sure there are loads of people who liked both ME and ME2, me included.

Dragon Age world was developed since NwN times. Making a game based on the idea you already have created and probably detailed pretty well is not that hard on its own. It's just technical stuff, refining meshes, coding etc. BioWare is also always working on new engines for their games constantly so they have a good base to start the actual works.

How will the idea will turn out tho, we will have to see, still too little is really known to make any assumptions. I don't mind a premade character that i only can refine. I don't care that much about races either. In the end it is the overall gameplay and story that will either make it or break it for me, not details like whenever the character will have pointy ear or not.

 

[Anah'ya]

Another wee thing I forgot to add: Imports? Sad that it won't be the same character anymore? Here's this Taffer's take on the subject...

What I would find even more intriguing (amazing and exhilarating, actually) would be seeing the footprints your previous character left in the game world, even if only on a subtle level. That way the feeling of having accomplished something in the previous game would still be there, and lets not forget the feeling of being tied to the game a little bit better.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

While the races stories didn't feel that different at time, if they could flush out the details, and expand the story it could really work. A sequel the detracts content rather then adds content, and a sequel that is suppose to be as long as bioware games ussually are comes out as soon as the year after is not a good sign.

 

[gl1koz3]

My guess... they listen to the fans (aka loudest haters) too much.

 

[ItsAPaul]

Psst, it was probably DLC that they went "shit, we can make this into a normal length rpg" thus they did. It doesn't make sense at all given how the first one ended, but maybe there's more DLC to bridge the gap.

I would also LOVE the ME2 treatment, though they be messing with the wrong genre to take away inventory and all that.

 

[JuryNelson]

It's a Fantasy RPG. They're taking the Final Fantasy approach and just building a world where stuff happens.
Plus one of the big criticisms was "All the races play the same" and they totally do.
You can still roll class and build stats in the same way, so is it really THAT big a deal that your character's race is set?

I guess I just blink whenever somebody "complains" that a given game isn't going to revolutionize the medium.

 

[Azrael the Cat]

It's a bit trite to say 'Bioware can do what they want with their own IP' - noone is saying that nations should pass legislation stripping Bioware of their intellectual property. Yes, they can do what they like with their IP, but it's also completely legitimate for other folks to say whether or not they expect to enjoy the game.

I also don't understand the mentality of '[insert game here] was good, so lets make ALL games clones of that one'. It would be disappointing if Dragon Age just became Mass Effect with swords - not because Mass Effect is bad, but because we already HAVE a Mass Effect game, a Mass Effect sequel and another Mass Effect sequel coming out soon. Anyone who wants to play a Mass Effect style crpg has got plenty of gaming available. Dragon Age, on the other hand, was a different kind of crpg for a slightly different market. Part of it's appeal was that it is one of very few current games that has a mid-sized party (still prefer the tactics that the old 6 and 8 person parties gave, but Dragon Age's 4-person party is the closest we've come in a while) and combat optimised for mouse+keyboard.

Basically, Dragon Age provided a PC-oriented party-based crpg, which is kind of rare amongst AAA producers these days. Choosing your own character race and background was a part of that, giving a nod to the old mass customisability that you used to have. Frankly I'm not too fussed by that - I'm much more concerned about switching to a Mass Effect dialogue system. I just don't see how there's any benefit in not being able to choose exactly what your character will say. That doesn't mean that Dragon Age was better than Mass Effect - just that it was different. And variety is good. Otherwise why bother having two different franchises?

As for the business sense of it, I don't doubt that it will make money, and lots of it. But long term it isn't a great idea to narrow your own product base - it's better to cater to both markets with products for each then to abandon one market completely. So yes, while personally I'm more of an old Interplay/Troika enthusiast, I can see why the folks who wanted something akin to BG2 would be annoyed in having it scrapped for a Mass Effect clone. After all, they probably already own Mass Effect.

No-one thought that a PC-optimised BG2-style crpg could sell these days. Publishers simply thought the market no longer existed. Then one gets produced, largely because it had been delayed for so long that they didn't have the opportunity to simplify the dialogue system and reduce the party size. It was released with an advertising campaign that just screamed 'we don't believe a BG2 style crpg can sell anymore, so we'll hope that Marilyn Manson makes it seem next-gen'. AND IT SOLD BUCKETLOADS - BIOWARE'S BIGGEST SELLING GAME EVER. And instead of a follow-up, the name and IP are going to be used for a different style of crpg, aimed at a market that is flooded with crpgs of that type. Yeah, I can understand why the old BG2-style crpg fans feel a little abandoned. I mean, what do those guys have to do to show that they are still a viable market? The one game aimed at them breaks sales records, and that still apparently isn't enough.

 

[JEBWrench]

As far as i am aware, how Hawke became a "champion" isn't predetermined. In fact, the article i read suggested that you had a fair amount of control over how he (or she) picks up that title. That could be the origin option.

Either way, we'll probably be getting it, but it to me sounds like they're taking Origins away from not just the title.

 

[reg42]

Oh God... I wish people would stop judging this game before we know anything about it.

 

[Marmooset]

So if you've read any of my posts you'll know that i'm damn picky about my chosen form of entertainment.

Apparently, if we've read any of your posts, we've seen 10% of your whole collection.

 

[Woodsey]

You can change gender but not race (in terms of humans and elves).

They're Shepard-ising the character and making them fully-voiced, and that's got it's pros and cons. I will say that Origins felt very outdated with a non-voiced character. It works in something like HL2 (exceptionally well), but in an RPG where you're actively picking and choosing dialogue options it feels very outdated.

Also: The game's just been announced, we've seen like one piece of art for it and we know 5 things about the lead. You're allowed to start complaining when you've actually seen the game played and watched/read at least a dozen interviews with the designers.

Before that you're just uninformed and whiney.