Poll: So does anyone still care about Dragon Age?

[templar1138a]

Yes, I do care. You may call the combat "dumbed-down," but having played Deus Ex: Invisible War, I believe it's fairer to say that the combat was merely made more intuitive and better animated. The developers stated multiple times that the combat in Origins was like watching individual D&D dice rolls, and I agree. I especially like how dynamic they made mage combat animations in 2.

And of course Dragon Age 2 had a not-ending. Mass Effect 2 also had a not-ending. That's what happens when companies plan for a trilogy. "The Empire Strikes Back" didn't have an ending, and I'm pretty sure movie-goers didn't complain about that either. If there are plans for a trilogy, don't expect everything to be wrapped up in the second installment. That would be silly.

As for plot holes, I didn't notice any. And there was only one instance of retconning I saw, and was that Zevran (whose throat I'd slit in Origins) was somehow brought back to life despite my import data. Of course, this is easy to cope with. I just opt not to do the side-quest he's brought back to life in. It's the only one I have to skip.

In regards to Mass Effect 3, I have two words: Dead horse. Granted, I still haven't played it yet (still working my way through my latest playthrough of ME2), but knowing that the ending is one of three explosions, I say "So what?" The end of the first game was deciding when to send the cavalry in and making a recommendation you could change your mind about in the beginning of 2. The end of 2 was choosing whether the explosion blew up the whole station or just all living things on board (and there was a third option if you sucked and were a poor planner). In both cases, only two choices. And at the end of Mass Effect 3, there are three choices. 3 > 2. I see no problem with this, because I'm guessing that each explosion has a different purpose.

And no, don't spoil it for me. I still love Mass Effect. Just go back to whining about Diablo 3. Or that Tropes vs Women kickstarter. Or whatever is pissing you off by the time you read this comment.

 

[Tayh]

I care about Dragon Age.
Still play Origins occasionally, but I doubt I'll get the third DA, unless revert back to their original gameplay.

 

[Rack]

I think they'll probably mess up DA3 because it's difficult to reverse the whole mess of problems they have at the moment, but they might start turning things around after that and that may mean a playable DA4. Sadly though since so many people are perfectly happy with 90% of the horrible writing in ME2 and ME3 things are unlikely to ever really get back to where they were.

 

[Zeckt]

I really enjoyed the first one, but the second one for me was just sooo bad. Positioning your mage away from the fight and suddenly having 3 enemies magically appear out of nothing and instantly gank him was my WORST video game experience this gen. That is piss poor programming. And Anders was a complete *****, this coming from a total ladyboy too. Seriously, fuck that game.

 

[Chicago Ted]

Here's my pipeline dream that's barely related to this. Bioware should combine DA and ME. Give us all of the standard fantasy elements of dwarves, elves, dragons, and magic. Then set that shit in the future. IN SPACE. Suddenly you have dragon-slaying snipers and wizards shooting down spaceships. Fuck yeah.

... like Star Wars?

OT: Yeah, I care. I really enjoyed DA2 despite it's flaws, and will likely pre-order the limited super-duper edition of DA3 almost as soon as it's announced. I'm a fan, I enjoyed the story, and didn't mind the voice acting.

I don't see any elves or dragons in Star Wars. And The Force barely qualifies as magic now that we know it's caused by aliens.

Not to you, but to the comparison of Star Wars.

Now onto you. There already exists a series like that, and it's called Warhammer 40k. And this is what it looks like:

[HEADING=1]FOR THE EMPEROR![/HEADING]

 

[veloper]

Nope. Even Origins wasn't all that good.

Bioware nolonger do the RTWP games that made them big and they are lightyears removed from knowing how to make a real action game.
DA3 will prolly be another crappy not-so-action game with a couple stats and much cringe-worthy dialogue.

 

[irmasterlol]

Here's my pipeline dream that's barely related to this. Bioware should combine DA and ME. Give us all of the standard fantasy elements of dwarves, elves, dragons, and magic. Then set that shit in the future. IN SPACE. Suddenly you have dragon-slaying snipers and wizards shooting down spaceships. Fuck yeah.

... like Star Wars?

OT: Yeah, I care. I really enjoyed DA2 despite it's flaws, and will likely pre-order the limited super-duper edition of DA3 almost as soon as it's announced. I'm a fan, I enjoyed the story, and didn't mind the voice acting.

I don't see any elves or dragons in Star Wars. And The Force barely qualifies as magic now that we know it's caused by aliens.

Not to you, but to the comparison of Star Wars.

Now onto you. There already exists a series like that, and it's called Warhammer 40k. And this is what it looks like:

[HEADING=1]FOR THE EMPEROR![/HEADING]

No. Actually that's not what I was thinking at all. You don't want to know my opinion of Warhammer 40K.

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

Nope I have pretty much no faith in Bioware now to tell a story after DA2 and ME3. It seems they have gotten rid of a lot of good devs and replaced them with yes men.

Which is a shame really

 

[Dandark]

I would have looked forward to it and probably even bought it on release but I don't trust Bioware or EA to deliver a good game anymore so im probably just going to rent it at some point, maybe buy it used even if I lose access to half the games content that way. Oh no! If I buy it used I won't be able to play the multiplayer and that's what Dragon age is all about right!?!

 

[Voulan]

I've never played Dragon Age, but after seeing some gameplay of Origins I've been considering getting any new game that next comes out. I know I'm late on the train, but that's all good. So yeah, I do care, and I'll be watching closely.

 

[Megalodon]

And of course Dragon Age 2 had a not-ending. Mass Effect 2 also had a not-ending. That's what happens when companies plan for a trilogy. "The Empire Strikes Back" didn't have an ending, and I'm pretty sure movie-goers didn't complain about that either. If there are plans for a trilogy, don't expect everything to be wrapped up in the second installment. That would be silly.

Actually, when I first saw Empire, the lack of an ending did piss me off. I doubt that Dragon Age was intended to be a trilogy when Origins was made, given how long it was in production, and how it works perfectly well as a stand alone title. The thing for me is, DA2 didn't seem like a sequel to Origins in any meaningful way, all it did was shit on the ending to origins with the fate of The Warden, otherwise it was trying to tell a new story, in a new place, with a new cast. Calling DA2 a sequel seems like calling The Force Unleashed a sequel/prequel to the Jedi Knight series. The point here is DA2 didn't feel like a second installment, hence a heavier level of complaint about the crap ending.

In regards to Mass Effect 3, I have two words: Dead horse.

But ME3 is relevant to this discussion, as people's opinions of a developer will colour their enthusiasm for subsequent releases. like it or not, ME3 did generate a lot of bad feeling, so it being mentioned with regards to future Bioware releases is relevant.

On topic, DA2 was disappointing, although I did enhoy it. But combined with the ME3 disaster, I've lost faith in Bioware's ability to deliver a satisfying product. So I won't be preordering, may pick DA3 up later on, but it would have to be pretty damn impressive.

 

[salinv]

DA:O was quite awesome, and I actually (somewhat) enjoyed DA2. Granted, DA2 wasn't great by any means, and had a plethora of flaws, but I still enjoyed it. Honestly, I like the Thedas universe (despite it possibly being only named for being THE Dragon Age Setting *sigh*) and I am interested in seeing more in it. DA:O just had really got me interested in the universe, and I would love to see another story (though preferably better told) set there.

I believe Bioware already announced that they were planning on making DA3, at the very least it is not all that much of a stretch to see them working on it. If they are making DA3, I will certainly be interested in seeing what comes of it. The time since DA2 came out with no real news on DA3 is almost as long as the entire rushed dev cycle of DA2. That is promising at least.

 

[Durgiun]

screw dragon age. They monstrously screwed up dragon age 2 with homogenized replay dungeons and Final fantasy over the top fighting instead of sticking with the great game-play mechanics from DA1...

Dude, the fighting in DAII was at least exciting. In DA:O it looked like the characters were LARP fighting, and if I wanted to witness a damn LARP fight, I would've just gone somewhere where a LARP was taking place.

Yeah because real fighting always looks like choreographed ballet dancing and has blood pissing out of your enemies like a fireman's hose.

At least the choreographed ballet dancing looked more alive than the drunk people swinging blades at each other suuuuuuuper slooooooooowly. In an RPG where you can actually dodge the attacks, the realistic movements would be OK, but in DA you can't dodge so more stylized battle moves are a good idea.

 

[Durgiun]

screw dragon age. They monstrously screwed up dragon age 2 with homogenized replay dungeons and Final fantasy over the top fighting instead of sticking with the great game-play mechanics from DA1...

Dude, the fighting in DAII was at least exciting. In DA:O it looked like the characters were LARP fighting, and if I wanted to witness a damn LARP fight, I would've just gone somewhere where a LARP was taking place.

Yep because wave after wave of enemies for every fight is soooo exciting.

best way to get through the game? fight the first wave then turn on godmode and do something actually interesting for the next ten minutes while the characters duke it out on their own.

At least in all those fights the characters looked like they were fighting.

 

[OutcastBOS]

I do, and I've never stopped. I can sort of understand some of the bitching about DA2, but all of the flak it got was not necessary. I am eagerly awaiting DA3, and will most likely buy it first day.

 

[Durgiun]

screw dragon age. They monstrously screwed up dragon age 2 with homogenized replay dungeons and Final fantasy over the top fighting instead of sticking with the great game-play mechanics from DA1...

Dude, the fighting in DAII was at least exciting. In DA:O it looked like the characters were LARP fighting, and if I wanted to witness a damn LARP fight, I would've just gone somewhere where a LARP was taking place.

Totally agree. I felt that the combat of DA:O held it back horribly. I like your reference to LARPing, because my character didn't look like he was swinging to kill. Like with LARPing, hurting people is in bad form, lol LARP videos are hilarious, "Ouch, TOO hard!"

Though I like my go to reference, it looks like my character is swinging his sword through air that is made of molasses or tar.

Basically, DA2 gave me what I wanted to begin with, and what DA:O should have had to begin with, full control of the battle. DA:O battles determined by how fast your special powers recharged, because the auto basic attack, no matter what weapon I used or upgrades, wasn't powerful enough to deal with enemies alone. DA2 brought special attacks back to what they are suppose to be, support.

I'm actually kind of hoping Dragon Age III goes the way of Mass Effect III, only even more dumbed down and insulting, just to taste the sweet Berserker Tears of all the fans.

Well the so called "core" fan base that unholy worship DA:O, will of course not be please. That is obviously seen from the comments bashing DA2 combat system and voiced protagonist, things that have been confirmed to be staying in DA3.

For me, I hope they also keep the same leveling/ability gaining system from DA2. DA2's leveling/ability gaining system was much more rewarding than DA:O. In DA2, each level I gained felt like it mattered and made me stronger, getting a new upgrade every level was better. Unlike DA:O, which arbitrarily threw me a bone whenever it randomly felt like it.

I also hope that the party characters are like and along the lines of the DA2 characters in personalities and depth. The depth of DA:O's characters was like a two inch stick stuck in a half-inch hole; plus there wasn't much variety, seeing as a vast majority of them were written to be closed of dicks that you had convince to open up through the power of friendship, or well, bribery.

Basically, I hope DA3 is set up exactly like DA2, except with more of and a larger variety of dungeons. Since the amount of dungeons was the only problem I found with DA2.

I didn't know they were keeping all those elements in III. That's good. And I think the characters could have been handled better in II. I don't know, they just rubbed me the wrong way. But I attribute that to the horrendeously short development time BioWare was given.

Here's to hoping that by 2014 DAIII will be damn good.

 

[Durgiun]

screw dragon age. They monstrously screwed up dragon age 2 with homogenized replay dungeons and Final fantasy over the top fighting instead of sticking with the great game-play mechanics from DA1...

Dude, the fighting in DAII was at least exciting. In DA:O it looked like the characters were LARP fighting, and if I wanted to witness a damn LARP fight, I would've just gone somewhere where a LARP was taking place.

so your blaming the characters for looking amateurish in fighting or the combat style? Because if I can remember dragon age the fighting was just like baldurs gate and all bio-wares previous rpg's a fast paced series of movements where you got to use the spacebar to line up your spells ect.

Cmon if were playing compare Da 1 to Da2, at least Dragon age 1 was slightly more realistic that the super swishy sword that looked like a move from tekken and restricted to only playing a human

I was refering to the fighting animations. My mistake, should have been clearer.
The animations were too slow and just felt awkward in a fight. Whereas in II, while stylized, the animations felt more brutal due to their increased speed and thus more inline with what was happening.

 

[teebeeohh]

meh
i will certainly keep an eye on 3 but i am not really excited(if you want to see me excited, ask me about xcom or borderlands 2), Bioware burned me three times in a row.