Bioware, a return to former glory ?

[Gorgon]

There is nothing good about lazy MMO/Ubisoft storytelling where they spend time on the main mission and all the other open world stuff is just copy/pasty. It's not really 'open world' if everywhere is the same.

 

Awkward sex scenes can be pretty funny though, and it looks like they haven't ruined that tradition. Lot's of potential in transgender (what were the bull people with the horns called anyway)

[HoonDing]

" Bioware, a return to former glory ?"

 

No.

[hollowcrown]

StarWars: I certainly agree that the respawning is over the top in many areas, especially the Hinterlands (and try touching the water in the Mire when in combat and watch a monster bonanza unfold!  ). In order to remedy that I try to travel a lot via the camps, and luckily I have a Rogue as my main, and almost in constant stealth, so now I just run passed everything I don't feel like taking on. In short, if you have a rogue in your party, move around with it in stealth - it will improve stuff a lot.

 

hollowcrown: I reckon the comparisons to Ass Creed open world + Skyrim and streamlined D3-like ARPG elements are all fair comparisons to what DA:I is system-wise. However, the story and some of the quests are pretty atmospheric, not to mention the fantastic music - and if you, like me, read everything, it's even more lore-meaty than BG1 vanilla, at least. I reckon there is some CRPG magic happening.

 

Don't get me wrong I definitely enjoyed the game, but  it's deeply flawed in many ways. The open world is completely separate from the story, it should be more integrated, sidequests are a side thought, the world has been Assassins' Creedified, and the main story is overall too short. It's a shame because they're really close to making a great game but just miss the mark on several levels sadly.

 

The good thing about the game is some of the characters, and the lore. I love the lore of Dragon Age and is probably the main reason I play it, the cultures they have created are really good.

 

Origins is Bioware's most magical modern game in my opinion. It has a great atmosphere and brilliant music that has sadly gone missing in the later games of DA.

[Hurlshort]

 

And now we have DA:I , I have always maintained that this was there last realistic chance to deliver a quality RPG to fans. The feedback seems mostly positive.

 

 

You are going by the literal, 50%+1 definition of "mostly", right?

 

I haven't played DAI, but from what I've read, it doesn't really deliver on promises made, it's buggy as hell (a hallmark of Bioware products) and the PC controls aren't very good. This doesn't necessarily make it a bad game, but nothing that "restores faith", whatever that means.

 

I'll get around to playing it if I see a good bargain or in a few years, and I'll probably like it enough to finish it, much like every other Bio game, except JE. However, I reserve my worship and faith for stuff that is actually important in my life, such as peanut butter and bacon sandwiches.

 

 

My guess is half of those negative reviewers are people who haven't even played the game, they just automatically default to hating all things Bioware.  At least that would fit the trend we are seeing on these forums.  

[Mamoulian War]

 

 

And now we have DA:I , I have always maintained that this was there last realistic chance to deliver a quality RPG to fans. The feedback seems mostly positive.

 

 

You are going by the literal, 50%+1 definition of "mostly", right?

 

I haven't played DAI, but from what I've read, it doesn't really deliver on promises made, it's buggy as hell (a hallmark of Bioware products) and the PC controls aren't very good. This doesn't necessarily make it a bad game, but nothing that "restores faith", whatever that means.

 

I'll get around to playing it if I see a good bargain or in a few years, and I'll probably like it enough to finish it, much like every other Bio game, except JE. However, I reserve my worship and faith for stuff that is actually important in my life, such as peanut butter and bacon sandwiches.

 

 

My guess is half of those negative reviewers are people who haven't even played the game, they just automatically default to hating all things Bioware.  At least that would fit the trend we are seeing on these forums.  

 

 

I can play that game as well:

 

My guess is half of those positive reviewers are people who are paid by EA, they just do what their exec told them too

[Hurlshort]

 

 

 

And now we have DA:I , I have always maintained that this was there last realistic chance to deliver a quality RPG to fans. The feedback seems mostly positive.

 

 

You are going by the literal, 50%+1 definition of "mostly", right?

 

I haven't played DAI, but from what I've read, it doesn't really deliver on promises made, it's buggy as hell (a hallmark of Bioware products) and the PC controls aren't very good. This doesn't necessarily make it a bad game, but nothing that "restores faith", whatever that means.

 

I'll get around to playing it if I see a good bargain or in a few years, and I'll probably like it enough to finish it, much like every other Bio game, except JE. However, I reserve my worship and faith for stuff that is actually important in my life, such as peanut butter and bacon sandwiches.

 

 

My guess is half of those negative reviewers are people who haven't even played the game, they just automatically default to hating all things Bioware.  At least that would fit the trend we are seeing on these forums.  

 

 

I can play that game as well:

 

My guess is half of those positive reviewers are people who are paid by EA, they just do what their exec told them too

 

 

That's probably true.  We should just wipe out all the 10's and 1's, that will be a more realistic rating.

[213374U]

My guess is half of those negative reviewers are people who haven't even played the game, they just automatically default to hating all things Bioware.  At least that would fit the trend we are seeing on these forums.  

 

To be honest, I don't take Metacritic seriously at all. But from what I've seen, DAI hasn't received "mostly positive" feedback. Rather, mixed, lukewarm with some people loving it and some people hating it. Pretty much like every other AAA project these days, I guess.

 

*shrug*

[Hurlshort]

It's hard to take metacritic too seriously when there are only a few thousand reviews for a game that sells millions.  It's a small sample size and really only represents people that are in that community.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Not really IMO. I've liked quite a few Bio games and hated others, but I would hardly call DAI a herald of a golden age for them.(I've beat DAI after doing most of the content)

 

It's good for what it is, but its combat is bad, filler content dominates much of the quests, RNG everything was a bad choice, and there's some glaring problems with animations. Writing wise its fairly good, but nothing I could call groundbreaking or even fantastic. All in all it's an enjoyable experience, but I wouldn't recommend it above something like Divinity Original Sin if you had to choose.

Edited December 21, 2014 by KaineParker

[Orogun01]

Not really IMO. I've liked quite a few Bio games and hated others, but I would hardly call DAI a herald of a golden age for them.(I've beat DAI after doing most of the content)

 

It's good for what it is, but its combat is bad, filler content dominates much of the quests, RNG everything was a bad choice, and there's some glaring problems with animations. Writing wise its fairly good, but nothing I could call groundbreaking or even fantastic. All in all it's an enjoyable experience, but I wouldn't recommend it above something like Divinity Original Sin if you had to choose.

On the defense of DA:I, it doesn't have turn based combat.

[Guard Dog]

What? Two pages into a Bioware thread and Volurn hasn't posted yet? Ok, I'll come back later.

 

I haven't played it and I'm not gonna so I got nothing to add myself. 

[ManifestedISO]

He's busy mud-wrestling a transsexual warrioress in a Malay sweat shop.

[BruceVC]

He's busy mud-wrestling a transsexual warrioress in a Malay sweat shop.

 

[500MetricTonnes]

I haven't played DA:I (because I have a personal policy of not giving one cent to EA), but I have watched an LP  of the game on RPGCodex, and my general impression is that DA:I is some kind of Frankenstein monster of gameplay elements lifted from other titles and crudely stitched together. A little bit of Skyrim here, a little bit of Assassin's Creed there, and so on. BioWare's gone from being trend-setters to trend-followers.

 

As for their other franchises, Mass Effect started out well, being a space opera RPG with occasional elements of hard sci-fi thrown into the mix. Then the sequel turned it into a Gears of War clone and made Shepard into this brainless, one-liner-spewing action hero. The third game was so terrible it became a meme. They had this universe with so much potential, and they squandered it making games that could have come from any other developer.

 

SWTOR took the KotOR story out behind the shed and shot it in the back of the head, all because EA/BioWare saw World of Warcraft making money hand over fist and they wanted a slice of that pie.

 

The message I've been getting from people like Gaider and Laidlaw is that if I happen to enjoy the games they've made prior to their acquisition by EA, then my opinion is invalid. BioWare's reaction to the furor surrounding DA2 - blaming fans and insinuating they "couldn't accept change!" instead of owning up to their mistakes - ensured that I will never again give them one cent of my money.

 

So really, they're obviously not going to "return to their former glory" in my eyes because they've changed their focus to something that has no appeal to me. I have little interest in their terrible romances and their watered-down gameplay that serves no purpose but as filler between cutscenes. They apparently believe that the purpose of a game is to tell a story, rather than offer compelling gameplay. That's a design philosophy I despise.

 

[Leferd]

Lot of the talent who created the classic BioWare games are no longer freezing their arses off in Edmonton.

 

This would include the major brain trusts such as the Doctors, James Ohlen, Scott Greig, Trent Oster, Casey Hudson, and many others.

 

#BioWareInNameOnly.

[Volourn]

 Geez. You people are fizted on me a little too much. Stop trolling me. I'm not that important.

 

As for the game. It's playable but it's overrated. And, of course, the usual haters are hating because they are pathetic.

[GhostofAnakin]

Inquisition is no better or worse than DA:O, with Origins having a longer/more in depth main quest, and Inquisition having more world exploration.  And though there were flaws in the Mass Effect series (stupid ending at the top of the list0, they were by and large very solid games.

 

So I don't think Inquisition has swayed my opinion of BioWare at all.  It's exactly what I expect from them: a pretty good story-driven game with some good NPC party companions sprinkled in with the odd questionable decision/design choice.  No more, no less than their previous games.

[Hurlshort]

 They apparently believe that the purpose of a game is to tell a story, rather than offer compelling gameplay. That's a design philosophy I despise.

 

I much prefer games that focus on a good story.  To each their own.

[Katphood]

I spent some 60 hours playing DA:I and it has been pretty good so far. I really liked the crafting and mining. There are still stuff I want to craft and it's fun to go around and search for materials. I still expected a little bit more of the story and the characters though. Cassandra, Varric, Leliana and Josephine are fun to have around and chat with but the rest are pretty much forgettable.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Cat Food

[Tel Aviv]

 

And now we have DA:I , I have always maintained that this was there last realistic chance to deliver a quality RPG to fans. The feedback seems mostly positive.

 

 

You are going by the literal, 50%+1 definition of "mostly", right?

 

This isn't a great barometer of public opinion either. People don't like BioWare. Inquisition was receiving poor user ratings before launch even.

[Volourn]

"Inquisition is no better or worse than DA:O"

 

It is worse. Even  KOTOR is arguably better.

 

As for the 'critic/user reviews'. They are useless garbage. Too much people - on both sides - voting just for gigles. Too many high and low ratings likely were chosen ebfore the game was even released. And, no doubt too many 'voters' haven't even played the game or had their mind set pre playing.

\\

Plus, some people oppose BIO for 'political' reasons. See Q in this thread. Q  likely is one of the voters who gave it a 0 because they kicked Q out of the fourms.

 

*shrug*

 

That's why the opinion that matters is mine. PERIOD.

[Althernai]

Well, Bioware's definitely in decline, but they've redeemed themselves a bit in my eyes... not with DA:I, but with TOR. Under the clunky MMO mechanics, there are some very cool stories hiding in that game.

Yes, there are... but they are buried beneath a veritable mountain of garbage. SWTOR makes me very sad because if they had taken the core content and made a single player game out of it, it had the potential to be something original and great: the logical extension of the idea from Dragon Age: Origins, with the different origins all having an entire story of their own (rather than only the introductory chapter and then a few random variations as in DA:O). Instead, they made it into an MMO and a pretty bad one at that, with all of the time-wasting nuisances that design around a subscription fee entails and a great deal of cut-and-paste (and paste and paste and paste...) content.

 

There's also people like me that don't bother wasting time on Biogames anymore. There's only so many times you see terribly choreographed sex scenes, simplified combat, and so on before it's not worth your money or your attention.

I more or less fall into this boat. It would take nearly universal acclaim for me to play another of their games. The money is not really an issue, but I just don't have the time anymore.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

Well, Bioware's definitely in decline, but they've redeemed themselves a bit in my eyes... not with DA:I, but with TOR. Under the clunky MMO mechanics, there are some very cool stories hiding in that game.

Yes, there are... but they are buried beneath a veritable mountain of garbage. SWTOR makes me very sad because if they had taken the core content and made a single player game out of it, it had the potential to be something original and great: the logical extension of the idea from Dragon Age: Origins, with the different origins all having an entire story of their own (rather than only the introductory chapter and then a few random variations as in DA:O). Instead, they made it into an MMO and a pretty bad one at that, with all of the time-wasting nuisances that design around a subscription fee entails and a great deal of cut-and-paste (and paste and paste and paste...) content.

 

 

Yes, if it had been a single player game with the crappy parts of the content and the necessary evils of the MMO format (like respawning enemies) thrown out, it would be amazing. (And still about 60-80 hours long per class.)

 

On the other hand, the Imperial Agent storyline is shaping up to be a better spy story* than Alpha Protocol (a game for which I hold a deep and abiding love), and if I'm looking at the fact that I didn't pay a single dime for it, it's extremely good value for its price.

 

 

*Which doesn't mean Alpha Protocol isn't a better spy game - another sad consequence of the game being an MMO is that the mechanics couldn't have been specific to each class, so no sneaking around and shooting everyone in the face with tranquilizer bullets

Edited December 22, 2014 by aluminiumtrioxid

[213374U]

Yes, if it had been a single player game with the crappy parts of the content and the necessary evils of the MMO format (like respawning enemies) thrown out, it would be amazing. (And still about 60-80 hours long per class.)

 

Actually, during the recent 12x Class Mission XP event, people were going 1-55 in a matter of hours, with the record being like ~8 hours last I checked. That probably includes spacebarring through dialogues so double that number if you want to get a fair representation of the actual amount of content. Everything else are MMO time sinks designed into the game to sustain, as Althernai surmised, the subscription model.

 

Not that I disagree that a SP game with 8 different (but tangential at some points) stories each lasting ~15 hours could work — many people, myself included, took advantage of this event to go through class stories as a single player game.

[Majek]

Oh look,  a thread by Bruce , discussing a dumb subject. I think i liked these forums more before OE Kickstarter ...