Okay, well, let me start by saying that Bioware is one of my favorite developers - I have played, replayed and rereplayed each and every of their games. Big fan here.
Well then, let's get to the point.
A quite depressing thought has been haunting me for... well, a year or two, now - basically since Mass Effect came out. Mass Effect. That one was supposed to be huge. And, as it turns out, it was - stunning facial expressions, intuitive dialogue system, beautiful exposition, awesome music. Yet something was amiss. I couldn't quite put my finger on it; I guess the game just felt a little hollow. The party members didn't banter (well, they occasionally did in the elevators), you could only talk to them on the Normandy, and I guess it made the whole thing a tad lifeless. I tend to think the clean, futuristic military setting didn't help. Still loved the game - three playthroughs to date.
Then Dragon Age came out, and the "Baldur's Gate successor" thing really got me pumped - needless to say, I chose to disregard the atrocious trailers. Finished it twice, loved the character interactions and the various endings, the sense of accomplishment and loss. Then again... I couldn't help but thinking something was missing from the game. Something crucial - I won't go for "soul", that would be a tad overdramatic, but you get the idea. It felt hollow.
Mass Effect was good, but it was no KotOR; I liked Dragon Age, but it was certainly no Baldur's Gate. So yeah, okay, nostalgia's a *****, as they say; I may very well be seeing Bioware's first game through pink-colored glasses. Except I really don't think I am.
I reinstalled Baldur's Gate 1&2 the other day, gave KotOR another run, and tried to compare these titles with the other two (leaving Jade Empire aside; really liked that one, by the way - surprising, I know) with an objective mind.
Well, after doing so, I have come to think that the main differences - and the main cause of my disappointment with the latter games - can be blamed on both technical limitations and, possibly, a lack of creative ones.
Here are my main conclusions, if anyone actually cares:
1) Voice acting, how I hate thee
I hate voice acting. Even when it's done well; even when it's jaw-droppingly perfect. Why, you ask. Well... mainly because it doesn't come cheap! Here's a funny little experience: play Baldur's Gate (or Fallout, or Arcanum, or Planescape: Torment, for that matter) and go talk to any important NPC. See those little lines with numbers in front of them? They are dialogue options. They are numerous, quite long, and get specific responses. Well, Dragon Age has them, you will say! No. No it doesn't. In many instances, the game only gives you the illusion of choice by giving your (mute) character a long list of dialogue options to pick from, most of which leading to a couple of stock responses from most NPCs. I found this "I bet you say that to all the girls!" feeling extremely unnerving while replaying the game. With Mass Effect, Bioware decided to cut on the choices for the sake of the cinematic atmosphere: you set Shepard's mood, but his actual line is always a surprise - you're both a spectator and a player, and it's quite cool. Yet one can't help but thinking that with a bigger budget, Bioware could have given the Commander even more dialogue options to pick from. I guess the dialogue trees of the Infinity Engine era are gone for good, and it makes me a little sad.
2) Creative constraints are a good thing!
Well, in this case, I truly think they are. Seriously. Some writers are good at world-building; some truly shine when they explore a pre-existing universe. I, for one, truly believe Bioware belong in the second category. It's not a bad thing, really; I absolutely love what they've done with the Forgotten Realms and Star Wars. They gave these verses a unique spin; made them much more interesting that they originally were, as far as I'm concerned. As for Mass Effect and Dragon Age... meh. Just meh. Let's just say that I don't really care about Saren and Loghain - Revan and Irenicus strike me as much, much more interesting tragic villains (yes, I know the first and the the latter don't really compare storywise... bear with me
), and that the worlds feels much too generic (arg, I hate the word, but still...) for my taste. Maybe the sequels will surprise me, though!
All right, that's all I could come up with. For the record, I still think Bioware are the best at what they do - I just believe they have done, and could do, so much better. What do you think? Am I high on nostalgia, or do I make some sort of sense?
Sorry for the long, looooooong first post by the way!
Well then, let's get to the point.
A quite depressing thought has been haunting me for... well, a year or two, now - basically since Mass Effect came out. Mass Effect. That one was supposed to be huge. And, as it turns out, it was - stunning facial expressions, intuitive dialogue system, beautiful exposition, awesome music. Yet something was amiss. I couldn't quite put my finger on it; I guess the game just felt a little hollow. The party members didn't banter (well, they occasionally did in the elevators), you could only talk to them on the Normandy, and I guess it made the whole thing a tad lifeless. I tend to think the clean, futuristic military setting didn't help. Still loved the game - three playthroughs to date.
Then Dragon Age came out, and the "Baldur's Gate successor" thing really got me pumped - needless to say, I chose to disregard the atrocious trailers. Finished it twice, loved the character interactions and the various endings, the sense of accomplishment and loss. Then again... I couldn't help but thinking something was missing from the game. Something crucial - I won't go for "soul", that would be a tad overdramatic, but you get the idea. It felt hollow.
Mass Effect was good, but it was no KotOR; I liked Dragon Age, but it was certainly no Baldur's Gate. So yeah, okay, nostalgia's a *****, as they say; I may very well be seeing Bioware's first game through pink-colored glasses. Except I really don't think I am.
I reinstalled Baldur's Gate 1&2 the other day, gave KotOR another run, and tried to compare these titles with the other two (leaving Jade Empire aside; really liked that one, by the way - surprising, I know) with an objective mind.
Well, after doing so, I have come to think that the main differences - and the main cause of my disappointment with the latter games - can be blamed on both technical limitations and, possibly, a lack of creative ones.
Here are my main conclusions, if anyone actually cares:
1) Voice acting, how I hate thee
I hate voice acting. Even when it's done well; even when it's jaw-droppingly perfect. Why, you ask. Well... mainly because it doesn't come cheap! Here's a funny little experience: play Baldur's Gate (or Fallout, or Arcanum, or Planescape: Torment, for that matter) and go talk to any important NPC. See those little lines with numbers in front of them? They are dialogue options. They are numerous, quite long, and get specific responses. Well, Dragon Age has them, you will say! No. No it doesn't. In many instances, the game only gives you the illusion of choice by giving your (mute) character a long list of dialogue options to pick from, most of which leading to a couple of stock responses from most NPCs. I found this "I bet you say that to all the girls!" feeling extremely unnerving while replaying the game. With Mass Effect, Bioware decided to cut on the choices for the sake of the cinematic atmosphere: you set Shepard's mood, but his actual line is always a surprise - you're both a spectator and a player, and it's quite cool. Yet one can't help but thinking that with a bigger budget, Bioware could have given the Commander even more dialogue options to pick from. I guess the dialogue trees of the Infinity Engine era are gone for good, and it makes me a little sad.
2) Creative constraints are a good thing!
Well, in this case, I truly think they are. Seriously. Some writers are good at world-building; some truly shine when they explore a pre-existing universe. I, for one, truly believe Bioware belong in the second category. It's not a bad thing, really; I absolutely love what they've done with the Forgotten Realms and Star Wars. They gave these verses a unique spin; made them much more interesting that they originally were, as far as I'm concerned. As for Mass Effect and Dragon Age... meh. Just meh. Let's just say that I don't really care about Saren and Loghain - Revan and Irenicus strike me as much, much more interesting tragic villains (yes, I know the first and the the latter don't really compare storywise... bear with me
), and that the worlds feels much too generic (arg, I hate the word, but still...) for my taste. Maybe the sequels will surprise me, though!All right, that's all I could come up with. For the record, I still think Bioware are the best at what they do - I just believe they have done, and could do, so much better. What do you think? Am I high on nostalgia, or do I make some sort of sense?
Sorry for the long, looooooong first post by the way!
