Nah, this decade will have Project Eternity. Either it will be one of the greatest RPG's ever made to this time, or greatest disappointment of all time.
I disagree with this one, actually. How can it be a greater disappontment than:
1) Xwing Vs. Tie Fighter 2) The Old Republic 3) Master of Orion 3 4) Dragon Age ][
Project Eternity is a new game by some people with varying levels of success (some good/some bad). If you're expecting greatest game ever, I submit that this is an optimistic hope vice realistic expectation. Don't get me wrong - I truly hope this will be great. I'm just saying that I see no reason to assume that it will be.
You should give DA2 another shot, it's quite good once you see past the recycled enviorments. What was bad in TOR? I found it really enjoyable for a modern MMO.
@reedmilfam Gotta agree with @Freche. I loved DA2. Probably the only real gripe I had with it were the rather silly animations for two-handed auto-attacks.
@reedmilfam Gotta agree with @Freche. I loved DA2. Probably the only real gripe I had with it were the rather silly animations for two-handed auto-attacks.
And that was the last seen of @Schneidend, before he was torn to shreds by the packs of rabid DA2 haters that prowl the internet.
They do hunt in packs, it has to be admitted. I had a nasty encounter with a few once. I had to hide in some trees and then get rescued by a passing giant eagle. It was close. Luckily, I had a button that made something awesome happen, and they were ultimately vanquished. But there are always more. Always.
I played DAO, but I never bought DA2 because of all the negative reviews/comments. But if @Schneidend loves it, that's all the confirmation I need to avoid it like the plague :-p
Dragon Age 2 was not a terrible game, It was also not an amazing game, The combat and NPC's in general I found to be more enjoyable and in depth than in DAO, however there is no hiding the fact the game was a rush job, Recycled Dungeons and quests that felt incomplete certainly left a bad taste in the mouth however the game certainly doesnt deserve the ridicule its recieved. That said, both DAO and DA II were no Baldurs Gate I was really annoyed with the whole "Its the spiritual sucessor to Baldurs Gate" Its not, its a good game but its not the greatest game of all time like Baldurs Gate. Thats like saying Goodfellas is the spiritual successor to the god father, both amazing movies but your just not going to top the godfather.
I mean, yes, of course the game had flaws: Vinmark Mountain gets old the fourth or fifth time in. But the characters were some of the best companions I've ever had in RPGs (Varric! Isabela! Merrill!), the episodic plot structure was a refreshing change from the Epic Quest To Save The World in the first game, and allowing players to mold Hawke's voice through dialogue choices so that Aggressive/Diplomatic/Funny Hawkes all sound different/say different things took the idea of character design a step forward.
So: great characters, good story, meh gameplay. To be honest, I can live with that balance - the first two don't exactly grow on trees in this industry.
What originally turned me off to DA 2 was the bought and payed for reviews, and as OK as DAO was, it was no BG successor. The plot was too "you are the chosen one", and the combat system wasn't particularly deep or complex. The use of conversation as exposition also needed work. If you look at BG/BG2, most of the conversations are text based, with the occasional spoken line, usually an audio cue as to who's talking. In DA, everyone gets their line, and EVERYONE has EVERYTHING spoken. It kind of kills the flow of the game to stop and listen to it all, and would get even worse if your character actually spoke their lines.
DA:O and DA2 are not even in the same category. DA:O was a superb game, and one of the best cRPGs since Baldur's Gate. DA2 was rushed, and taken in a different, more "commercial" direction (for reasons I can't fathom, considering how successful the original was -- it sold better than ME2), and the consequences were obvious.
It had good looking maps and menus, but I'd be lying if I said I finished it for any other reason than to learn more about the setting. The game itself was (to put it lightly) not a worthy sequel to DA:O.
I mean, yes, of course the game had flaws: Vinmark Mountain gets old the fourth or fifth time in. But the characters were some of the best companions I've ever had in RPGs (Varric! Isabela! Merrill!), the episodic plot structure was a refreshing change from the Epic Quest To Save The World in the first game, and allowing players to mold Hawke's voice through dialogue choices so that Aggressive/Diplomatic/Funny Hawkes all sound different/say different things took the idea of character design a step forward.
So: great characters, good story, meh gameplay. To be honest, I can live with that balance - the first two don't exactly grow on trees in this industry.
I also really liked the episodic structure, as it allowed the companions to realistically have lives, agendas, and goals apart from following the PC around all the time. I also liked the ability to have more antagonistic relationships with my companions (pissing off Aveline to the point that she decked me was one of my favorite moments in the game).
I also really liked the episodic structure, as it allowed the companions to realistically have lives, agendas, and goals apart from following the PC around all the time. I also liked the ability to have more antagonistic relationships with my companions (pissing off Aveline to the point that she decked me was one of my favorite moments in the game).
Exactly so - it was an evolution of my favorite mechanic from KOTOR2 and DAO: the idea that you could influence your companions individually and develop different relationships with each of them. But DA2 took it a step further by giving Rivalry the same weight as Friendship. Even if Aveline hated your guts, she still respected you and would still develop a unique skill based on that relationship. You could play a romance the conventional way or have angry hate-sex like my male Mage Hawke did with Fenris. (Because sometimes you just want a good old-fashioned emo angstfest, just for the hell of it!)
The companions and banter were all fine to me in DA2. The recycled enviroments and the fact your choices don't have any damn impact at all were a disgrace. Oh, never been a fan of the dialogue wheel too, I'd rather know what my character is going to talk about since it's you know... roleplaying.
I played DAO, but I never bought DA2 because of all the negative reviews/comments. But if @Schneidend loves it, that's all the confirmation I need to avoid it like the plague :-p
Comments
For all these guys who talk about content, we have NO shortage of engines to build games on.
Gotta agree with @Freche. I loved DA2. Probably the only real gripe I had with it were the rather silly animations for two-handed auto-attacks.
No argument here, fellas. I've seen them leave their nests deep in the Bioware Social forums, ravenous for the blood of the innocent.
*rips shift off*
...COME AT ME BRO!!!
Anyhow, about that patch...
I mean, yes, of course the game had flaws: Vinmark Mountain gets old the fourth or fifth time in. But the characters were some of the best companions I've ever had in RPGs (Varric! Isabela! Merrill!), the episodic plot structure was a refreshing change from the Epic Quest To Save The World in the first game, and allowing players to mold Hawke's voice through dialogue choices so that Aggressive/Diplomatic/Funny Hawkes all sound different/say different things took the idea of character design a step forward.
So: great characters, good story, meh gameplay. To be honest, I can live with that balance - the first two don't exactly grow on trees in this industry.
It had good looking maps and menus, but I'd be lying if I said I finished it for any other reason than to learn more about the setting. The game itself was (to put it lightly) not a worthy sequel to DA:O.