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Gaming Dragon Age 2 Preview

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by CardJoe, 5 Oct 2010.

  1. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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  2. GravitySmacked

    GravitySmacked Mostly Harmless

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    I'm putting my faith in Bioware not to have ruined the series with all the changes they're making. They know their stuff so fingers crossed...
     
  3. Kris

    Kris Lord Lolwut

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    Agreed with GravitySmacked.
    The screenshots look very bland and brown indeed - I hope they don't signify all that the game has to offer.
     
  4. Blademrk

    Blademrk Why so serious?

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    I found the first Dragon Age to be a bit of slog tbh.
    Even though I'm determined to complete it, I can't say I'm enjoying it that much.
     
  5. jimmyjj

    jimmyjj Minimodder

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    I played Dragon Age Origins and loved it - a wonderful game.

    However the next game I played was Mass Effect 2, and well I had a lot more fun out of it.

    With Dragon Age I had started to find it a bit of a marathon. I loved the story and characterisation but the combat was just not fun enough. I finished the game and promptly bought the expansion - but to be honest I am not sure I can face the grind and it is still on the shelf.

    With Mass Effect 2 however the story was equally strong but combat was also a blast. If it was not for the thought of having to sit through more endless mining I would be happy to play it through again - something I could never say about Dragon Age.

    On the subject of Dragon Age 2 I think it will be great. Basically I just have faith in Bioware. I am playing KotOR through again right now (from the Steam sale - something ridiculous like £1.49) and it is still awesome.

    I look forward to Dragon Age 2, but to be fair I am more excited by Mass Effect 3.
     
  6. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    ^This.

    DA 2 should be a good game, but will it be better or worse than the first one? Have to wait and see.

    I am also majorly looking forward to SW: The Old Republic due next spring. Of the 3 games Bioware are developing, Dragon Age 2 is bottom of my wish list.
     
  7. Lance

    Lance Ender of discussions.

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    Lol at Michael Jordan
     
  8. Boogle

    Boogle What's a Dremel?

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    The problem with Dragon Age is Mass Effect. If Dragon Age came out in isolation it would be amazing, and I'm sure the tweaks in DA2 would make it almost revolutionary.

    Instead ME1 came out, and now we've got ME2... Bioware have really managed to hit the nail on the head with ME, and it's a process that started with KOTOR. Baldurs Gate was a fairly stereotypical RPG, albeit very polished. KOTOR made the whole things much more accessible and entertaining. ME took what KOTOR did, made it super-slick and utterly thrilling. DA just seems to be KOTOR with the combat made less entertaining.

    To be honest I never complated DA, I think I got to the end game bit and was like 'well this is tedious' and left it. I'll probably complete it in the future, but the complete play-through stats for me don't lie: DA: 0, KOTOR: 3-4, ME1: 5-6, ME2: 2.
     
  9. RickTheSnake

    RickTheSnake What's a Dremel?

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    i have this horrible feeling that this "masseffectication" of the game is greatly wanted not by bioware but by the publisher who wants its biennial release no matter what. with mass effect, which was not so overwhelming in its rpg features, the change to fast paced action did definitely the magic, but with dragon age? also, the fact that bioware covered for several plot holes with DLCs (witch hunt anyone?) makes me think that bioware's plans about a trilogy and the continuation of origins' plot through the sequels have been by now pretty much screwed.
    i have nearly absolute trust in bioware and their skills but imho the dragon age project is already closed and buried under marketing needs, and what remains is a probably good action game that has nothing to do with the original apart from the brand.
     
  10. mastorofpuppetz

    mastorofpuppetz What's a Dremel?

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    Mass Effect is not even an RPG, LMAO, its gears of war with dialog, man how low peoples standards are when it comes to RPG's these days. The decline of the once great RPG genre is in full force. Bioware = masters of cliched story, forced romances, cliched characters, making the same story for over a decade. Mass Effect is crap really, but hey, the mass idiots like it because of the graphix and slickness. I could make a deeper rpg then Bioware these days it seems.
     
  11. Yemerich

    Yemerich I can has PERSUADETRON?

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    I don't think it is "fair" to compare dragon age with mass effect. Mass effect is an adventure with SOME elements of RPG.

    Dragon age is a pure blood RPG where you can develop your character in a number of ways.

    Storywise, ME 1 was much deeper than DAO no doubt, but the game play in DAO is much better! C'mon folks!
    The combination of armor, weapons, magic and tatics are ten times deeper! It is like saying:
    "What do you prefer, your legs or your arms?"
    They are diferent. Simply put.

    This lead me to think that if they have different proposals, why make DAO to look like ME? They are BOTH blockbusters. But again, I was never disapointed with a Bioware release before.

    But I was looking at the teaser trailer for DA 2 and I was REALLY disapointed with the MANGA/ANIME style of it. Let us pray that they doesn't transform such a good game in something like Devil may Cry or such stupid japanese style games.

    As you may have imaginated, I hate those...
     
  12. mastorofpuppetz

    mastorofpuppetz What's a Dremel?

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    ME had a deep story? LMAO, the old cliche :Ancient race returns to destroy the galaxy". Very predictable, very superficial choices that amount to almost nothing, Recycling the same story with just different characters and areas. Small indepndant devs blow Biowares story telling out of the water. The witcher, poor combat and all, blow biowares weak stories out of the water,.

    no wonder gaming is still considered amateur, biowares stories are immature and shallow. Until gaming gets some real story telling, it is an amateurish medium.
     
  13. mastorofpuppetz

    mastorofpuppetz What's a Dremel?

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    Sidenote: The combat in DA is ten times better the the "Hide behind cover wait for dumb enemy to run in the open and kill them combat" of ME. On hard ME was dog easy. The combat is DA is ten times more tactical and in depth.
     
  14. thEcat

    thEcat What's a Dremel?

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    WTB game that isn't a FPS (1)

    As 'a game' I don't rate DA to highly, ME1 > DA > ME2, but DA is so much more than strategy, combat and button pushing. ME2 in last place because it is inferior to ME1 in so many ways, streamlined to the point where thinking becomes optional.

    As an overall gaming experience DA > ME1 > ME2, according to my Steam hours played DA is more than 3 times better than ME2, from memory 230 hours vs 70 hours... Obviously I must have enjoyed both games but 230 hours is one hell of a lot of quality time spent with Shale, Leliana et'all.

    How the player relates to the main game character is a major part of the gaming experience so I'm not sure why they would remove a major part of the character customisation, probably cost cutting, another MMFS (Made by Marketing For Shareholders) game. Streamlining to a level appropriate for the bacteria on your toilet seat must carry great appeal for the mass gamer target market :sigh:



    (1) with the possible exception of Fallout NV, providing it distances itself even further from Oblivion than Fallout3 did.
     
  15. Weekly_Estimate

    Weekly_Estimate Random bird noises.

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    I preferred dragon age over mass effect my self, but both where great amazing games which i still play today, I'm a large fan of the story's, I'm pretty disappointed in hearing you can't pick between races and go though story's, makes me think they've rushed it which worries me a bit.

    Hope they release a little figure with the collectors editions aswel, I'm sick of getting my super sculpey out and doing it my self.

    My 3 top story following games..
    1. Dragon age
    2. Mass Effect 2
    3. Darksiders
     
  16. robots

    robots What's a Dremel?

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    Me too. My friend quit when he reached the boring Dwarf town. I slogged on to the end but was very unsatisfied by it all.

    I had hoped that this sequel might improve on what they started, but to me it sounds like a further degeneration from Baldur's Gate. Dragon Age is a dumbed down console game in comparison, but still ok. This though.. sounds like it has gone the whole hog. They are no longer making classic RPG's, they are now just making crappy "hack 'n slash" games with a few stats and skill choices. Stick it in a generic good vs evil setting and have a few dialogue choices so it can pose as RPG and pretend to be something superior to what it really is. What it really is, is a glorified hack 'n slash.

    Just yet another casualty of consolised games, dumbed down for the dumb modern gamer. System Shock becomes Bioshock, Elder scrolls has become Oblivion, Everquest becomes WoW, Rainbow Six has become... a distant memory. It's a different age of gaming now. Sad but true.
     
  17. mastorofpuppetz

    mastorofpuppetz What's a Dremel?

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    Agree totally man, Bioware are the most overrated dev around, there RPG' s have gotten less RPG over the years to the point they are barely RPG at all, ME especially. Classic RPG's dont get attention anymore, like Drakensang, Divinity, no one ahs the cahoons to make them. Stupid consoles and publishers catoring games to the kids these days.

    Dragon Age though was not dumbed down for consoles, it was a PC game only until late in the cycle, Bioware dumbed it down because bioware doesn't make deep RPG's anymore, have not since Baldurs gate really. Its a lot more RPG then ME, ME is GEars of War with superficial dialog cliched plot and characters.
     
  18. TMhat

    TMhat frupsie bumsies

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    Sadly it looked rubbish at eurogamer expo compared to origins :(
     
  19. Leane

    Leane What's a Dremel?

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    Very predictable actually, their competition with Blizzard getting rather obvious. The models looking simply horrendous. Empty environments and Hawke seriously looking in dire need for more polygons . This will be a clipping fest. They can claim that the graphics have improved, because most gamers still believe that the CGI trailers are in-game footage. The gameplay demo looked bad, constantly excused as Varic's exaggerated part. And even for that it was bad. Consoles probably being blamed for their weaker hardware, however there is no excuse for a complete reduction of story length, and probably depth with the new combat and art direction.
     
  20. thehippoz

    thehippoz What's a Dremel?

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    is my elf mage going to be chocolate dipping again
     
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