I'm with the OP on this one. I found them interesting at first, but the more I kept having to read dialogue or listen to it the more I started to get bored. I love story in a game IF it flows right and offers a heavy chunk of things to do other than go from point A to point B just to listen to dialogue trees.
A perfect example of how to do this, is in the first Prince of Persia game on the PS2. Having you hear the story unfold AS you play is perfect. God of War does it well too.
As a matter of fact, the last Bioware game I really enjoyed was Neverwinter Nights 1. After that, they kept adding more story time and not enough game time.
On a side note, only two MMORPGs have done the story aspect right. FFXI had the best and LOTRO the second best. The rest are all bunk and don't deliver correctly.
To be honest,the more i see and read up on SWTOR the more i think it wont be the massive hit people are expecting. I would say that Guild Wars 2 and FFXIV have more appeal at this moment than SWTOR. Yes it will have over a million subs because BioWare has a big fanbase but most of those will not be mmorpg gamer who know what makes a good mmorpg.
Having 200 hours of story does not make it a great mmorpg,from what i can tell is BioWare want you to reroll after each toon. The latest update suggest that they don't really like end game content or raiding and such,it's all leaning towards the great single player experiance.
They think a single player taking out 20 mobs on his own is heroic, lol WTF does that tell you.
To be honest,the more i see and read up on SWTOR the more i think it wont be the massive hit people are expecting. I would say that Guild Wars 2 and FFXIV have more appeal at this moment than SWTOR. Yes it will have over a million subs because BioWare has a big fanbase but most of those will not be mmorpg gamer who know what makes a good mmorpg.
Having 200 hours of story does not make it a great mmorpg,from what i can tell is BioWare want you to reroll after each toon. The latest update suggest that they don't really like end game content or raiding and such,it's all leaning towards the great single player experiance.
They think a single player taking out 20 mobs on his own is heroic, lol WTF does that tell you.
That also worries me. I have a horrible feeling - though this is only speculation - that SWTOR will be applying an extended financial model of the revenue pattern established by ME and especially DE.
In other words:
You will BUY a game that, while described as an MMORPG, will be largely modelled on Bioware's SRPG games.
Since the game will only be playable online, you will effectively have to pay a continuing RENT (the monthly sub) to play it.
Additionally, you will have to BUY every patch that contains new content (as you had to do with DA and ME) rather than just enjoy free mini-expansions like you do with WoW.
When you make a basic RPG game for a single player you usually make a rather straight story. Those type of game is about telling a story and while you add some twist and choices it is often rather basic.
And that works rather good for that kind of game, MMOs are often partly using the same concept, either if it is about defeating a lich king, save a kingdom or something else. But MMOs also have a lot of things that have nothing to do with the big plot and you can often ignore the plot totally and still have a good time.
Games like Dragon age just don't have the budget to do that, it focuses instead of telling a rather short but good story with more well thought npcs than regular MMOs have (well, Guildwars Nightfall excepted).
MMO is something people should enjoy for at least a year and games like mass effect and Dragon age is for a week or possibly 2 if you play really slowly and try to do everything. But I had fun in Dragon age and got what I payed for, it wasn't as good as Neverwinter nights but not bad either.
If Dragon age would work as a MMO is a different thing.
It really does not matter how we in this thread go back and forth,the time is approaching when BioWare have to lay all their cards on the table.
If BioWare are telling it like it is then good luck to them. This game will appeal to their fan base and some star wars fans but as a mmorpg it does not look like it has lasting appeal IMO.
BioWare must be aware that it will be the beta leakers that expose this game whether it's good or bad the cat will be out of the bag within the first week of beta,BioWare will not be treated any different when it comes to testes leaking info about their game.
I wait with baited breath to see the outcome of this journey. We have took on board that the reason they don't show much info is because they want to make sure that each update is what you will find in the game so when the time comes many will hold BioWare to that.
Oh and anyone thinking this game wont have micro-transactions is delusional.
ME 1 and 2 are among my favorite games of all time. Great combat, fantastic characters, good story, etc. Still a little room for improvement here and there, but pretty damn close to perfection.
Dragon Age... not so much. The differing origin stories are cool, and some of the characters are decent, but combat on the X360 version is just shit. The piss-poor party AI makes it far more difficult than it should be, reducing combat on any mode but easy to a potion-chugging contest. When combined with the inability to pause and issue individual orders and the lack of a tactical view (REALLY? They couldn't do this WHY?) makes combat incredibly irritating and a detriment to the game. I often found myself swearing in frustration every time a battle started, as I just wanted to get back to the story.
I don't regret buying it, but I'm not spending a dime on DLC or the expansion. Bioware needs to immediately fire the morons who converted it to the 360. I'm sure the PC version is better, but my PC isn't hefty enough to run it, and I've no inclination to buy the game a second time.
Still looking forward to SWTOR though.
Oh man, I’m completely with you there! After playing a few different classes on various “alts” I soon realized that I should create a tank if I wanted to manage the combat at all--Alistar is just crap. I have the PS3 version and I found that I have to constantly switch between all of my party members to ensure they are drinking their potions in time. Sure, I have those rules set up for them to drink at 50% and 25% of their health but I swear it doesn’t always work.
Anyway, right now I’m on the last boss and there I am tanking the Dragon and allowing my other peeps to nuke the crap out of him. Well, what does my ranged healer feel the need to do?! Run right next to me and throw down a heal! Really?! Really?! You couldn’t do that from, I don’t know, half way across the map like I have you “programmed” to do?! Then my other party member glitches on a wall and just stands there! Are you effin kidding me?!
I didn’t think the game was great but I did enjoy it for what it was until the combat system became too much. I have no idea where I was going with that but I just had to tell someone...
Bioware have a guaranteed buyer here. Mainly because I've enjoyed pretty much every game they've ever put infront of me for my £35.
I've played KoTOR, < First love. The story was magnificant. I was abit weird though with the combat as I would just use basic attack because I liked the animation better lol. (Sabers clashed, looked more duelish.)
Jade Empire (This is in order of me purchasing them.) Really enjoyed it. Was a nice breath of fresh air, and a different setting to most, with an 'interesting' twist, that funnily enough provoked rage from me lol, which I guess is what the character would feel but I felt it too.
Mass Effect 1 < Played this whilst on nightshifts. Was really good. A nice treat to the eyes, I though the combat was abit shallow but I did get immersed (guilty) and it soon became a second skin and I used it well.
Dragon Age < Interesting. I didn't like the combat at times, but I soon got past it. I later found out I loved playing as an archer type class, but alas.. I played it. I hear many people complain that the world wasn't open. Yeah I didn't like that either. I felt like a large part of the world was locked off from me. However they give you reason to go to these places, and if you were in the characters positions you wouldn't be ****ing around, exploring. Theres more important things at hand!
Mass Effect 2 < Ah, beautiful. Everything I didn't like, was pumped up and revamped. The story was gripping, I felt sad, amused, hell I even had a feeling of a cold shiver going (SPOILER) On board the collectors base, and when I saw the Reaper. Wow, just, wow. It built it up alot, and it really did feel huge. Though after fighting it I did wonder, 'Arnie? Was that you?' Guess I'll never know. Little did I know, little decisions like what upgrades you grab and don't, and certain decisions effects, who the hell dies. I got a little aggressive when Thane was taken from me. Almost wanted to run ahead killing like a madman. ( SPOILER OVER).
SWTOR < I like KoTOR more than the star wars movies. Story wise anyway. I love the setting, so I'm set. I do fan fiction of this era also, so I was bound to be happy with the decision. Though I was praying for a KoTOR III, ending to Revans story, but this will do. I didn't love the art design at first, but its grown on me. It's not even bad graphics, because you can see several scenes that are just 'Wow' like, and no, not world of flaming warcraft. It's just the art they've decided to go with. Doesn't matter to me. The voices are there, and thats alot for me. Immersion is the key for my enjoyment.
Whats better than a great book? A book that you can have an impact on. That is what Bioware delivers, and I love them for it. I'm not a fanboy, I'm just greatful for someone giving me the most enjoyment I've had from a game, since X wing.
I think the worlds will be big. Bioware aren't stupid, and will try their best to deliver a world, or um, twelve worlds, that will make us happy.
Just my opinion though. By no means are any of the games listed above flawless, and neither will SwTOR.
I'm just going to have a great time.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
Bioware have a guaranteed buyer here. Mainly because I've enjoyed pretty much every game they've ever put infront of me for my £35.
I've played KoTOR, < First love. The story was magnificant. I was abit weird though with the combat as I would just use basic attack because I liked the animation better lol. (Sabers clashed, looked more duelish.)
Jade Empire (This is in order of me purchasing them.) Really enjoyed it. Was a nice breath of fresh air, and a different setting to most, with an 'interesting' twist, that funnily enough provoked rage from me lol, which I guess is what the character would feel but I felt it too.
Mass Effect 1 < Played this whilst on nightshifts. Was really good. A nice treat to the eyes, I though the combat was abit shallow but I did get immersed (guilty) and it soon became a second skin and I used it well.
Dragon Age < Interesting. I didn't like the combat at times, but I soon got past it. I later found out I loved playing as an archer type class, but alas.. I played it. I hear many people complain that the world wasn't open. Yeah I didn't like that either. I felt like a large part of the world was locked off from me. However they give you reason to go to these places, and if you were in the characters positions you wouldn't be ****ing around, exploring. Theres more important things at hand!
Mass Effect 2 < Ah, beautiful. Everything I didn't like, was pumped up and revamped. The story was gripping, I felt sad, amused, hell I even had a feeling of a cold shiver going (SPOILER) On board the collectors base, and when I saw the Reaper. Wow, just, wow. It built it up alot, and it really did feel huge. Though after fighting it I did wonder, 'Arnie? Was that you?' Guess I'll never know. Little did I know, little decisions like what upgrades you grab and don't, and certain decisions effects, who the hell dies. I got a little aggressive when Thane was taken from me. Almost wanted to run ahead killing like a madman. ( SPOILER OVER).
SWTOR < I like KoTOR more than the star wars movies. Story wise anyway. I love the setting, so I'm set. I do fan fiction of this era also, so I was bound to be happy with the decision. Though I was praying for a KoTOR III, ending to Revans story, but this will do. I didn't love the art design at first, but its grown on me. It's not even bad graphics, because you can see several scenes that are just 'Wow' like, and no, not world of flaming warcraft. It's just the art they've decided to go with. Doesn't matter to me. The voices are there, and thats alot for me. Immersion is the key for my enjoyment.
Whats better than a great book? A book that you can have an impact on. That is what Bioware delivers, and I love them for it. I'm not a fanboy, I'm just greatful for someone giving me the most enjoyment I've had from a game, since X wing.
I think the worlds will be big. Bioware aren't stupid, and will try their best to deliver a world, or um, twelve worlds, that will make us happy.
Just my opinion though. By no means are any of the games listed above flawless, and neither will SwTOR.
I'm just going to have a great time.
If you liked these new Bioware games, you will probably love the really old Baldur's Gate series. Of course, they're very old-fashioned, but for story and atmosphere, they're unbeatable. I imagine you could get the discs off eBay for just a few bucks now.
I second that. Jade Empire had a beautiful world and an awesome story. With some tweaking, the combat could be excellent as well.
I've never understood why they haven't expanded upon that IP. It has so much potential. Instead, we get another mediocre medieval fantasy game. Sigh.
Would like that as well, I only recently bought Jade Empire off of steam, but it was a great experience; the combat was a bit quirky at times, but I really loved the story.
Especially the main villain and the plot twist
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
I really enjoyed Mass Effect 1 . really enjoyed ME 2, and I kind of enjoyed DAO.
Things I liked about ME over DA (mostly matters of preference):
* Voiced main character. This was critical to me. Sheppard's voiced responses made the ME series feel more life-like.
* The pacing of action. ME feels more fast paced than DAO. DAOs combat felt like a carbon copy of the Baldurs Gate games rather than a step forward.
* The Renegade/paragon paths. These remind me of KOTOR, but some of the choices you make are pretty fleshed out. It's fun!
* In ME2 in particular, you do not need a specific party makeup to see all content. In DAO (and I think in ME 1), you kind of have to have a rogue in the house.
* IMO, the sci fi of Mass Effect and the story are very original and well done, whereas in DAO it's kind of a cliche'.
Both games are well done, but I prefer ME2 overall. If TOR combines the best of KOTOR and ME2, and adds on an AH and a chatroom, I am sold. lol.
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I enjoyed both games, specially Mass Effect. I reinstalled ME1 and 2 and I played from the beginning. Because the default story in ME2 wasn't based on my ending.
PS: The game experience in ME2 was very exciting at the beginning, but then i felt a little disappointed, because there were few locations were you can walk freely and explore. I don't miss ME1's empty planets but I'd wanted more cities in ME2.
My overall score
ME2: 9/10 (i like the new shooter focus, but i felt weird at the beginning because i have played mass effect 1 one hour before)
Dragon Age: 9/10
It was a nice game, and it has a very good background.
ME was a great game and I have went through several times and the same with ME2 and DA. I enjoyed the character interaction and storylines. I do wish I had a little more free roam with the areas like a fallout 3 but all in all great games. I agree with some previous posters about BG and Kotor being excellent games as well. Imo it can't be a great rpg without a good storyline and good characters.
I know these games were very suffcessful financially but, for me, they had profound weaknesses. While the stories were strong, I did not like the linear path that yo had to take through them. I also found the landscapes which the game let you enjoy to be very limited. While combat was very accessible, it was also very simple, too simple for my tastes and a little clunky. I hope that Bioware have not taken too many aspects of their single player games and used them in this new SW MMO,
I disagree with Dragon Age being linear. There is different options for reaching a minor goal. It is a storyline after all.. Judging by this you are going to say that Baldur's Gate (for example) is linear, but its still one of the best rps ever made.
Bioware have a guaranteed buyer here. Mainly because I've enjoyed pretty much every game they've ever put infront of me for my £35.
I've played KoTOR, < First love. The story was magnificant. I was abit weird though with the combat as I would just use basic attack because I liked the animation better lol. (Sabers clashed, looked more duelish.)
Jade Empire (This is in order of me purchasing them.) Really enjoyed it. Was a nice breath of fresh air, and a different setting to most, with an 'interesting' twist, that funnily enough provoked rage from me lol, which I guess is what the character would feel but I felt it too.
Mass Effect 1 < Played this whilst on nightshifts. Was really good. A nice treat to the eyes, I though the combat was abit shallow but I did get immersed (guilty) and it soon became a second skin and I used it well.
Dragon Age < Interesting. I didn't like the combat at times, but I soon got past it. I later found out I loved playing as an archer type class, but alas.. I played it. I hear many people complain that the world wasn't open. Yeah I didn't like that either. I felt like a large part of the world was locked off from me. However they give you reason to go to these places, and if you were in the characters positions you wouldn't be ****ing around, exploring. Theres more important things at hand!
Mass Effect 2 < Ah, beautiful. Everything I didn't like, was pumped up and revamped. The story was gripping, I felt sad, amused, hell I even had a feeling of a cold shiver going (SPOILER) On board the collectors base, and when I saw the Reaper. Wow, just, wow. It built it up alot, and it really did feel huge. Though after fighting it I did wonder, 'Arnie? Was that you?' Guess I'll never know. Little did I know, little decisions like what upgrades you grab and don't, and certain decisions effects, who the hell dies. I got a little aggressive when Thane was taken from me. Almost wanted to run ahead killing like a madman. ( SPOILER OVER).
SWTOR < I like KoTOR more than the star wars movies. Story wise anyway. I love the setting, so I'm set. I do fan fiction of this era also, so I was bound to be happy with the decision. Though I was praying for a KoTOR III, ending to Revans story, but this will do. I didn't love the art design at first, but its grown on me. It's not even bad graphics, because you can see several scenes that are just 'Wow' like, and no, not world of flaming warcraft. It's just the art they've decided to go with. Doesn't matter to me. The voices are there, and thats alot for me. Immersion is the key for my enjoyment.
Whats better than a great book? A book that you can have an impact on. That is what Bioware delivers, and I love them for it. I'm not a fanboy, I'm just greatful for someone giving me the most enjoyment I've had from a game, since X wing.
I think the worlds will be big. Bioware aren't stupid, and will try their best to deliver a world, or um, twelve worlds, that will make us happy.
Just my opinion though. By no means are any of the games listed above flawless, and neither will SwTOR.
I'm just going to have a great time.
If you liked these new Bioware games, you will probably love the really old Baldur's Gate series. Of course, they're very old-fashioned, but for story and atmosphere, they're unbeatable. I imagine you could get the discs off eBay for just a few bucks now.
May well just do that. I've definately heard of them, as I've got all the Bane series star wars books, and the writer, Drew Karpyshan< or shyn whatever, wrote a book about balders gate I think. So I'm told anyway.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
I agree, the landscapes and areas were very limited as well as the pipeline progression, like the final fantasy games, but the story kept me enthralled the whole way.
ME 1 and 2 are among my favorite games of all time. Great combat, fantastic characters, good story, etc. Still a little room for improvement here and there, but pretty damn close to perfection.
Dragon Age... not so much. The differing origin stories are cool, and some of the characters are decent, but combat on the X360 version is just shit. The piss-poor party AI makes it far more difficult than it should be, reducing combat on any mode but easy to a potion-chugging contest. When combined with the inability to pause and issue individual orders and the lack of a tactical view (REALLY? They couldn't do this WHY?) makes combat incredibly irritating and a detriment to the game. I often found myself swearing in frustration every time a battle started, as I just wanted to get back to the story.
I don't regret buying it, but I'm not spending a dime on DLC or the expansion. Bioware needs to immediately fire the morons who converted it to the 360. I'm sure the PC version is better, but my PC isn't hefty enough to run it, and I've no inclination to buy the game a second time.
Still looking forward to SWTOR though.
Oh man, I’m completely with you there! After playing a few different classes on various “alts” I soon realized that I should create a tank if I wanted to manage the combat at all--Alistar is just crap. I have the PS3 version and I found that I have to constantly switch between all of my party members to ensure they are drinking their potions in time. Sure, I have those rules set up for them to drink at 50% and 25% of their health but I swear it doesn’t always work.
Anyway, right now I’m on the last boss and there I am tanking the Dragon and allowing my other peeps to nuke the crap out of him. Well, what does my ranged healer feel the need to do?! Run right next to me and throw down a heal! Really?! Really?! You couldn’t do that from, I don’t know, half way across the map like I have you “programmed” to do?! Then my other party member glitches on a wall and just stands there! Are you effin kidding me?!
I didn’t think the game was great but I did enjoy it for what it was until the combat system became too much. I have no idea where I was going with that but I just had to tell someone...
Huh?
No, you do NOT need to be the tank. I play the game every time with a rogue and kick butt. I also make sure to use all the runes that do good damage to dark spawn and you can kill them very quickly. For a rogue, always use two daggers because they hit faster and do more damage that way. For a warrior, use a shield and sword. Always use the best on your characters and then sell all the garbage. I rarely ever have to touch my healing potions for any of them. Use Alastair, Sten, or Oghren as the taunter and they will take the most damage, but by the time they go down, you've usually done so much damage to the baddy by that point that the bad guy will go down soon anyway.
Sounds to me like you thought combat sucks because you hadn't figured out how to play. You being the tank is totally worthless when you only need to get taunt and have the other tank in your group keep the attacks on them while you and the others do mega damage to it while its back is turned.
I played DA and found it to be too restricting for me. I thought the combat was fun, but I didn't like having to pause the game, adjust for difficulty, and constantly saving before making decisions. I suppose I just don't like the games that you have to make choices anymore; I thought they were cool at first with both KOTOR, but I'm over them now. DA was worth playing for RPG fans, but I wouldn't even put it in my top 10. I like sandbox style RPGs much more.
I was actually somewhat disappointed in dragon age though. I never felt like I was actually connected with my characters in that game. I still can't put my finger on why I didnt like it as much as I thought I would but it was just something about not really feeling my characters.
And a small pet peeve I have about dlc for both ME2 and DA. If your going to put out a game and then wait more than a month to put out dlc. Do NOT make the dlc as part of the original story. I mean seriously, The story is already over, make dlc content that is after the main story line. Both games have done horrible in that department.
I rather enjoyed Dragon Age and Awakenings. I have ME1 but I can't get into the game or the story for 1 reason: I hate the game play.
If you're going to make it a shooter, then don't block off so much of the screen with the main character. The camera controls (If they even have any) are just... no, I did not like the gameplay in ME1 so didn't really give the game a chance.
Is it a good game? Quite possibly. Not to my taste's though.
Will SWToR be to my tastes? I hope so, Bioware tends to make quality games.
Anyways.. Planescape > Baldur's Gate imho.
*ducks and runs*
The gameplay in Mass Effect 2 is much better. Bioware cleaned up the combat by quite a bit. Still, if you prefer fps (Halo) over tps (Gears) that is fine too. I prefer third person shooters myself.
Planescape and Baldur's gate were both great games. I really enjoyed playing both of them. I have enjoyed all of Bioware's games (ME2 > Kotor> BG2>DAO>BG>JE>ME1) to this point thus I am looking forward to The Old Republic.
Enjoyed ME1 and ME2 more than Dragon Age. ME series has better gameplay, storyline and immersion. Yes, it is a pretty pulp fare in terms of story and such, but the immersion is so good that I did not let it bother me that much. Admittedly I am a scifi fan, so I forgive a lot when watching/playing the genre.
Dragon Age was ok RPG, but it was not spectacular. The weakest part of it was the story. The gameplay itself was ok in my books, if you did not try with the easiest setting. It was even challenging at parts, especially with Revenants and with that Spider boss. Unfortunately, the story was too generic, they could have done so much more with the dark fantasy setting, but they went with the mainstream instead. Baldur's Gate was vastly superior in the story department.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
Comments
I'm with the OP on this one. I found them interesting at first, but the more I kept having to read dialogue or listen to it the more I started to get bored. I love story in a game IF it flows right and offers a heavy chunk of things to do other than go from point A to point B just to listen to dialogue trees.
A perfect example of how to do this, is in the first Prince of Persia game on the PS2. Having you hear the story unfold AS you play is perfect. God of War does it well too.
As a matter of fact, the last Bioware game I really enjoyed was Neverwinter Nights 1. After that, they kept adding more story time and not enough game time.
On a side note, only two MMORPGs have done the story aspect right. FFXI had the best and LOTRO the second best. The rest are all bunk and don't deliver correctly.
To be honest,the more i see and read up on SWTOR the more i think it wont be the massive hit people are expecting. I would say that Guild Wars 2 and FFXIV have more appeal at this moment than SWTOR. Yes it will have over a million subs because BioWare has a big fanbase but most of those will not be mmorpg gamer who know what makes a good mmorpg.
Having 200 hours of story does not make it a great mmorpg,from what i can tell is BioWare want you to reroll after each toon. The latest update suggest that they don't really like end game content or raiding and such,it's all leaning towards the great single player experiance.
They think a single player taking out 20 mobs on his own is heroic, lol WTF does that tell you.
Furious Fighters
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/13trindx.htm
That also worries me. I have a horrible feeling - though this is only speculation - that SWTOR will be applying an extended financial model of the revenue pattern established by ME and especially DE.
In other words:
You will BUY a game that, while described as an MMORPG, will be largely modelled on Bioware's SRPG games.
Since the game will only be playable online, you will effectively have to pay a continuing RENT (the monthly sub) to play it.
Additionally, you will have to BUY every patch that contains new content (as you had to do with DA and ME) rather than just enjoy free mini-expansions like you do with WoW.
I hope this is not the case.
To the OP's point, Mass Effect was awesome, and DA was boring. This all boils down to gameplay.
< Hoping for Jade Empire 2.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
When you make a basic RPG game for a single player you usually make a rather straight story. Those type of game is about telling a story and while you add some twist and choices it is often rather basic.
And that works rather good for that kind of game, MMOs are often partly using the same concept, either if it is about defeating a lich king, save a kingdom or something else. But MMOs also have a lot of things that have nothing to do with the big plot and you can often ignore the plot totally and still have a good time.
Games like Dragon age just don't have the budget to do that, it focuses instead of telling a rather short but good story with more well thought npcs than regular MMOs have (well, Guildwars Nightfall excepted).
MMO is something people should enjoy for at least a year and games like mass effect and Dragon age is for a week or possibly 2 if you play really slowly and try to do everything. But I had fun in Dragon age and got what I payed for, it wasn't as good as Neverwinter nights but not bad either.
If Dragon age would work as a MMO is a different thing.
I second that. Jade Empire had a beautiful world and an awesome story. With some tweaking, the combat could be excellent as well.
I've never understood why they haven't expanded upon that IP. It has so much potential. Instead, we get another mediocre medieval fantasy game. Sigh.
It really does not matter how we in this thread go back and forth,the time is approaching when BioWare have to lay all their cards on the table.
If BioWare are telling it like it is then good luck to them. This game will appeal to their fan base and some star wars fans but as a mmorpg it does not look like it has lasting appeal IMO.
BioWare must be aware that it will be the beta leakers that expose this game whether it's good or bad the cat will be out of the bag within the first week of beta,BioWare will not be treated any different when it comes to testes leaking info about their game.
I wait with baited breath to see the outcome of this journey. We have took on board that the reason they don't show much info is because they want to make sure that each update is what you will find in the game so when the time comes many will hold BioWare to that.
Oh and anyone thinking this game wont have micro-transactions is delusional.
Furious Fighters
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/13trindx.htm
Oh man, I’m completely with you there! After playing a few different classes on various “alts” I soon realized that I should create a tank if I wanted to manage the combat at all--Alistar is just crap. I have the PS3 version and I found that I have to constantly switch between all of my party members to ensure they are drinking their potions in time. Sure, I have those rules set up for them to drink at 50% and 25% of their health but I swear it doesn’t always work.
Anyway, right now I’m on the last boss and there I am tanking the Dragon and allowing my other peeps to nuke the crap out of him. Well, what does my ranged healer feel the need to do?! Run right next to me and throw down a heal! Really?! Really?! You couldn’t do that from, I don’t know, half way across the map like I have you “programmed” to do?! Then my other party member glitches on a wall and just stands there! Are you effin kidding me?!
I didn’t think the game was great but I did enjoy it for what it was until the combat system became too much. I have no idea where I was going with that but I just had to tell someone...
Bioware have a guaranteed buyer here. Mainly because I've enjoyed pretty much every game they've ever put infront of me for my £35.
I've played KoTOR, < First love. The story was magnificant. I was abit weird though with the combat as I would just use basic attack because I liked the animation better lol. (Sabers clashed, looked more duelish.)
Jade Empire (This is in order of me purchasing them.) Really enjoyed it. Was a nice breath of fresh air, and a different setting to most, with an 'interesting' twist, that funnily enough provoked rage from me lol, which I guess is what the character would feel but I felt it too.
Mass Effect 1 < Played this whilst on nightshifts. Was really good. A nice treat to the eyes, I though the combat was abit shallow but I did get immersed (guilty) and it soon became a second skin and I used it well.
Dragon Age < Interesting. I didn't like the combat at times, but I soon got past it. I later found out I loved playing as an archer type class, but alas.. I played it. I hear many people complain that the world wasn't open. Yeah I didn't like that either. I felt like a large part of the world was locked off from me. However they give you reason to go to these places, and if you were in the characters positions you wouldn't be ****ing around, exploring. Theres more important things at hand!
Mass Effect 2 < Ah, beautiful. Everything I didn't like, was pumped up and revamped. The story was gripping, I felt sad, amused, hell I even had a feeling of a cold shiver going (SPOILER) On board the collectors base, and when I saw the Reaper. Wow, just, wow. It built it up alot, and it really did feel huge. Though after fighting it I did wonder, 'Arnie? Was that you?' Guess I'll never know. Little did I know, little decisions like what upgrades you grab and don't, and certain decisions effects, who the hell dies. I got a little aggressive when Thane was taken from me. Almost wanted to run ahead killing like a madman. ( SPOILER OVER).
SWTOR < I like KoTOR more than the star wars movies. Story wise anyway. I love the setting, so I'm set. I do fan fiction of this era also, so I was bound to be happy with the decision. Though I was praying for a KoTOR III, ending to Revans story, but this will do. I didn't love the art design at first, but its grown on me. It's not even bad graphics, because you can see several scenes that are just 'Wow' like, and no, not world of flaming warcraft. It's just the art they've decided to go with. Doesn't matter to me. The voices are there, and thats alot for me. Immersion is the key for my enjoyment.
Whats better than a great book? A book that you can have an impact on. That is what Bioware delivers, and I love them for it. I'm not a fanboy, I'm just greatful for someone giving me the most enjoyment I've had from a game, since X wing.
I think the worlds will be big. Bioware aren't stupid, and will try their best to deliver a world, or um, twelve worlds, that will make us happy.
Just my opinion though. By no means are any of the games listed above flawless, and neither will SwTOR.
I'm just going to have a great time.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
If you liked these new Bioware games, you will probably love the really old Baldur's Gate series. Of course, they're very old-fashioned, but for story and atmosphere, they're unbeatable. I imagine you could get the discs off eBay for just a few bucks now.
Yes I did.
Would like that as well, I only recently bought Jade Empire off of steam, but it was a great experience; the combat was a bit quirky at times, but I really loved the story.
Especially the main villain and the plot twist
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
I really enjoyed Mass Effect 1 . really enjoyed ME 2, and I kind of enjoyed DAO.
Things I liked about ME over DA (mostly matters of preference):
* Voiced main character. This was critical to me. Sheppard's voiced responses made the ME series feel more life-like.
* The pacing of action. ME feels more fast paced than DAO. DAOs combat felt like a carbon copy of the Baldurs Gate games rather than a step forward.
* The Renegade/paragon paths. These remind me of KOTOR, but some of the choices you make are pretty fleshed out. It's fun!
* In ME2 in particular, you do not need a specific party makeup to see all content. In DAO (and I think in ME 1), you kind of have to have a rogue in the house.
* IMO, the sci fi of Mass Effect and the story are very original and well done, whereas in DAO it's kind of a cliche'.
Both games are well done, but I prefer ME2 overall. If TOR combines the best of KOTOR and ME2, and adds on an AH and a chatroom, I am sold. lol.
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I enjoyed both games, specially Mass Effect. I reinstalled ME1 and 2 and I played from the beginning. Because the default story in ME2 wasn't based on my ending.
PS: The game experience in ME2 was very exciting at the beginning, but then i felt a little disappointed, because there were few locations were you can walk freely and explore. I don't miss ME1's empty planets but I'd wanted more cities in ME2.
My overall score
ME2: 9/10 (i like the new shooter focus, but i felt weird at the beginning because i have played mass effect 1 one hour before)
Dragon Age: 9/10
It was a nice game, and it has a very good background.
ME was a great game and I have went through several times and the same with ME2 and DA. I enjoyed the character interaction and storylines. I do wish I had a little more free roam with the areas like a fallout 3 but all in all great games. I agree with some previous posters about BG and Kotor being excellent games as well. Imo it can't be a great rpg without a good storyline and good characters.
I disagree with Dragon Age being linear. There is different options for reaching a minor goal. It is a storyline after all.. Judging by this you are going to say that Baldur's Gate (for example) is linear, but its still one of the best rps ever made.
May well just do that. I've definately heard of them, as I've got all the Bane series star wars books, and the writer, Drew Karpyshan< or shyn whatever, wrote a book about balders gate I think. So I'm told anyway.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
I agree, the landscapes and areas were very limited as well as the pipeline progression, like the final fantasy games, but the story kept me enthralled the whole way.
So all in all, they were both great games.
Huh?
No, you do NOT need to be the tank. I play the game every time with a rogue and kick butt. I also make sure to use all the runes that do good damage to dark spawn and you can kill them very quickly. For a rogue, always use two daggers because they hit faster and do more damage that way. For a warrior, use a shield and sword. Always use the best on your characters and then sell all the garbage. I rarely ever have to touch my healing potions for any of them. Use Alastair, Sten, or Oghren as the taunter and they will take the most damage, but by the time they go down, you've usually done so much damage to the baddy by that point that the bad guy will go down soon anyway.
Sounds to me like you thought combat sucks because you hadn't figured out how to play. You being the tank is totally worthless when you only need to get taunt and have the other tank in your group keep the attacks on them while you and the others do mega damage to it while its back is turned.
I played DA and found it to be too restricting for me. I thought the combat was fun, but I didn't like having to pause the game, adjust for difficulty, and constantly saving before making decisions. I suppose I just don't like the games that you have to make choices anymore; I thought they were cool at first with both KOTOR, but I'm over them now. DA was worth playing for RPG fans, but I wouldn't even put it in my top 10. I like sandbox style RPGs much more.
I really enjoyed Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.
I was actually somewhat disappointed in dragon age though. I never felt like I was actually connected with my characters in that game. I still can't put my finger on why I didnt like it as much as I thought I would but it was just something about not really feeling my characters.
And a small pet peeve I have about dlc for both ME2 and DA. If your going to put out a game and then wait more than a month to put out dlc. Do NOT make the dlc as part of the original story. I mean seriously, The story is already over, make dlc content that is after the main story line. Both games have done horrible in that department.
The gameplay in Mass Effect 2 is much better. Bioware cleaned up the combat by quite a bit. Still, if you prefer fps (Halo) over tps (Gears) that is fine too. I prefer third person shooters myself.
Planescape and Baldur's gate were both great games. I really enjoyed playing both of them. I have enjoyed all of Bioware's games (ME2 > Kotor> BG2>DAO>BG>JE>ME1) to this point thus I am looking forward to The Old Republic.
Enjoyed ME1 and ME2 more than Dragon Age. ME series has better gameplay, storyline and immersion. Yes, it is a pretty pulp fare in terms of story and such, but the immersion is so good that I did not let it bother me that much. Admittedly I am a scifi fan, so I forgive a lot when watching/playing the genre.
Dragon Age was ok RPG, but it was not spectacular. The weakest part of it was the story. The gameplay itself was ok in my books, if you did not try with the easiest setting. It was even challenging at parts, especially with Revenants and with that Spider boss. Unfortunately, the story was too generic, they could have done so much more with the dark fantasy setting, but they went with the mainstream instead. Baldur's Gate was vastly superior in the story department.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."