Bioware gives away free copies of Mass Effect 2 in order to help sell DA2!

[The Grim Ace]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been wanting to get DA II for awhile now and this sinks it, getting this before the thirtieth. Just need to scrounge up the money now.

Cant argue about getting free Mass Effect 2.
Though you might be better off trying to just buying ME2 cheaper.
Dragon Age 2 is....well....the least said the better....*shudder*

There is a good reason its selling so poorly.

I've been offline for awhile, care to tell me what's up with DA II? I loved Dragon Age and with Bioware's usual quality I wouldn't think they'd mess up such a great game, but, worse has happened.

As is, I just noticed that I don't have enough room on my hd for both games and I don't want to buy an external one right now, so, Mass Effect might be the only one.

Hmm. Trying to think of the words to sum it up...
Honestly, it doesn't feel like a Bioware game.
It's short, unpolished, buggy, and your "choices" don't change anything. The ending is also one of the worst I've seen in a few years.
Top that with hit and miss art style, along with "streamlined" combat, and you've got a basic idea of the Dragon Age 2 package.

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 any day of the week though. It's got its own problems, but the good FAR outweighs any issues

Thanks for the warning. I'll probably lose my Spring Break to Mass Effect 2, good trade off I'd hope.

Wait wait dude.If you're gunna take some random guy on the internet's opinion you can also listen to mine.

The combat isn't streamlined in the sense that is bad as most people make it seem like.If you remember DA:O had a fairly bad combat mechanic where the combat was a series of positive events or a quickload.It forced you to play in certain styles and even pick up certain people just so you won't die everytime you start combat with something more than a pack of wolves.

The story is more of an excuse to showcase characters,set the stage for DA3 and expand the universe.Humans,mages,templars,dalish everyone has a lot more character and color.There's a distinct difference in the thinking of dwarves that are born on the surface and in Orzammar,elves don't just look like skinny humans with pointy ears.These are all things I found lacking in DA:O.

As said the whole story is a passing plot of characters that will likely be in DA3.It's a string of random events that happens to 1 person and how he comes out of them rather than go around the world and try to save it.It does a damn good job for a sequel and when you couple it with the new combat mechanics(which had me playing the game 3 times over the course of 1 week as I already knew the story).That and the companion and dialogue wheel system is pretty close to perfection.

As previously stated it's not a better than sex virtual reality.But it's a damn good game one that I will likely replay in 1-2 months.

In that case, you're not exactly convincing me of a positive here. I prefer a game to have a more independent plot than what setting up plot three constitutes. Combat changes would be welcome but I play RPGs for the story more than any element so I might pass on this one for DA 3 in that case.

Any other opinions floating around? I'd love to hear from anyone on this, extra informed on this and all.

 

[Anah'ya]

Thanks for the warning. I'll probably lose my Spring Break to Mass Effect 2, good trade off I'd hope.

Word of Mouth = Bad.

Allow me.

Hmm. Trying to think of the words to sum it up...
Honestly, it doesn't feel like a Bioware game.

I am not sure what sort of BioWare games this fellow has been playing, but Dragon Age II feels like one from start to finish. The narrative is good, the dialogue flows well, the writing is good and the story (if you are not so worked up over not having a heroic fantasy) is good.

It's short, unpolished, buggy, and your "choices" don't change anything. The ending is also one of the worst I've seen in a few years.

Short, eh? I have clocked way too many hours in this game already and if I compare it to Mass Effect 2 (without the DLC - and there will be DA2 DLC) then they are pretty even. Granted I do every single sidequest and don't rush through things, which tends to lead to the general consent of "Meh your story sucks BioWare rollol".

And the Companions.. oh yummy. For once they don't feel like a ragtag group of folks standing around a camp waiting for you to talk to them. They interact with each other and go out of their way to talk to you. And don't get me started on the Friendship / Rivalry system. Thank you, BioWare. I can be harsh and say my mind to a companion without fear of losing them, because sometimes not agreeing is true friendship. Right, Anders? RIGHT?! [small]You twat.[/small]

Buggy? I have yet to encounter a bug. I know of one revolving around a companion quest, but after 2 playthroughs I have yet to see it. And you can easily fix it, least on the PC with the console commands.

"Choices" don't change anything? Ah, lovely. Choices have an impact on how quests are played out during follow up Arcs. And allow me to say it again, as I have said before, choices are good on paper. The amount of raving over the Origin imports and "WAH WHY IS THIS AND THAT PERSON ALIVE WAH WAH", etc should showcase that, while choice is sweet and all, if you plan on continuing a series you are given little choice but to keep it at least a little bit under control unless you want to disconnect yourself from the original.

Bad Ending? I believe the Ending was pretty decent. It is plagued by the typical BioWare (see, it IS a typical BioWare game!) quality of end bosses (read: Oh Gawd what where you guys thinking?), but the actual Ending is brilliant if you stop long enough to actually think about it.

Dragon Age 2 is the Empire Strikes Back of the Dragon Age franchise. It is the middle ground, the setup for something else to come.

Top that with hit and miss art style, along with "streamlined" combat, and you've got a basic idea of the Dragon Age 2 package.

The art-style is purely up for personal opinion. I enjoyed it and thought it was a great improvement to the somewhat clunky and washed out quality of DA:O. The combat? Brilliant. Yes, enemies do pop up out of no-where (or charge you from across the corner), but that doesn't make it any less fun. I am, for one, glad my rogue no longer shuffles awkwardly around the hitbox of an enemy, only to swing her sword wide of the mark anyway.

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 any day of the week though. It's got its own problems, but the good FAR outweighs any issues

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 any day of the week. It has the same amount of "problems" that Dragon Age 2 has, but both are good, quality BioWare games.

Yes. Oh my God. I said "quality".

Someone flog her!

Quick!

... maybe I should point out some flaws? Fine. Let's prove that this Taffer is not just some raving mad fangirl. There are.. plot holes. Things overlooked or not taken into account due to the large amount of writers involved (yes, not one person writes a game). But after my second playthrough I realize those are the ones that matter little. Minor annoyances that you see in every RPG out there; and even more so in none RPGs.

And of course BioWare is still struggling with getting a grip on the environment reaction to the player. They never did get this right in any of their games before or maybe they just don't want to for fear they would make it too complex for some gamers (You know, they'd just as well complain about NOT being allowed to cast magic in town, as quickly as they would complain that they ARE allowed to. Can't make everyone happy.)

While they have done alot of writing and voice recording and scripting of scenes and all the other yummy BioWare stuff, they have certainly slacked on level design. Though to be fair, they did the same in Mass Effect 2. And if I play a BioWare game I would rather see the narrative well fleshed out than the level design fixed. Would like both, of course, but hey. Flaw. Right there. See. I said it. To be honest though... anything as long as I don't have to go back into DA:Os Deep Roads. Anything. ANYTHING.

What else? Oh yeah. Female Hawke.

BioWare, if you are listening (I know you are not), WHY DID YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE RAVING GIRLS ON YOUR FORUMS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE LACK OF FEMININE STRUTS IN DA:O?! Why! Gah. Hawke moves like a ballerina.. it is disturbing. Make her stop doing that digging at the ground with her toes and staring at her foot! Gah! GAH!

*takes a deep breath*

Anything else?

Ah. Yeah. The "emotional" scenes aren't as emotional as they could be. There are a few good ones, but the major ones lack. However, not a DA:2 fault. I haven't seen a really good one done in any of the BioWare games before. And don't go telling me Talis' was good. You fanboys.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

Who the fuck doesn't have Mass Effect 2 by now?

On a slightly more on-topic note, this is pretty sad. I knew that the butthurt old school RPG fans had spread their diseased reviews across the internet in an attempt to sabotage an otherwise decent game, but I didn't really think it would succeed. Apparently it is, and that's a shame.

You have to keep DA2 in perspective. It was made in 18 months, compared to DA:O which took what, 5 years? With that in mind, I think DA2 is a pretty damn impressive game. Another 6 months to add more environments and improve the story a bit and it could have been a great game.

 

[linkvegeta]

Who the fuck doesn't have Mass Effect 2 by now?

On a slightly more on-topic note, this is pretty sad. I knew that the butthurt old school RPG fans had spread their diseased reviews across the internet in an attempt to sabotage an otherwise decent game, but I didn't really think it would succeed. Apparently it is, and that's a shame.

You have to keep DA2 in perspective. It was made in 18 months, compared to DA:O which took what, 5 years? With that in mind, I think DA2 is a pretty damn impressive game. Another 6 months to add more environments and improve the story a bit and it could have been a great game.

I dont have ME2 yet, im waiting for the price to drop, witch should happen for a game before ME3 comes out.


DA2 isnt bad its just a massive waste of potential the same ME3 will be, Bioware hold your horses and stop releasing sequels so freaking fast. like DAO is still fresh the same with ME2.

 

[Anah'ya]

I'm having trouble thinking of any other group besides gamers that could honestly complain about getting something for free. I mean really guys?

'tis Roleplayers, good Sir.

Spending my time amongst them I have come to realise they are the most bitchy, demanding and unforgiving lot out there. Just look at the ratio of ranting to enjoyment seen on an MMO RP server forum.

You can never please them. Never.

A shame too.

 

[The Grim Ace]

Thanks for the warning. I'll probably lose my Spring Break to Mass Effect 2, good trade off I'd hope.

Word of Mouth = Bad.

Allow me.

Hmm. Trying to think of the words to sum it up...
Honestly, it doesn't feel like a Bioware game.

I am not sure what sort of BioWare games this fellow has been playing, but Dragon Age II feels like one from start to finish. The narrative is good, the dialogue flows well, the writing is good and the story (if you are not so worked up over not having a heroic fantasy) is good.

It's short, unpolished, buggy, and your "choices" don't change anything. The ending is also one of the worst I've seen in a few years.

Short, eh? I have clocked way too many hours in this game already and if I compare it to Mass Effect 2 (without the DLC - and there will be DA2 DLC) then they are pretty even. Granted I do every single sidequest and don't rush through things, which tends to lead to the general consent of "Meh your story sucks BioWare rollol".

And the Companions.. oh yummy. For once they don't feel like a ragtag group of folks standing around a camp waiting for you to talk to them. They interact with each other and go out of their way to talk to you. And don't get me started on the Friendship / Rivalry system. Thank you, BioWare. I can be harsh and say my mind to a companion without fear of losing them, because sometimes not agreeing is true friendship. Right, Anders? RIGHT?! You twat.

Buggy? I have yet to encounter a bug. I know of one revolving around a companion quest, but after 2 playthroughs I have yet to see it. And you can easily fix it, least on the PC with the console commands.

"Choices" don't change anything? Ah, lovely. Choices have an impact on how quests are played out during follow up Arcs. And allow me to say it again, as I have said before, choices are good on paper. The amount of raving over the Origin imports and "WAH WHY IS THIS AND THAT PERSON ALIVE WAH WAH", etc should showcase that, while choice is sweet and all, if you plan on continuing a series you are given little choice but to keep it at least a little bit under control unless you want to disconnect yourself from the original.

Bad Ending? I believe the Ending was pretty decent. It is plagued by the typical BioWare (see, it IS a typical BioWare game!) quality of end bosses (read: Oh Gawd what where you guys thinking?), but the actual Ending is brilliant if you stop long enough to actually think about it.

Dragon Age 2 is the Empire Strikes Back of the Dragon Age franchise. It is the middle ground, the setup for something else to come.

Top that with hit and miss art style, along with "streamlined" combat, and you've got a basic idea of the Dragon Age 2 package.

The art-style is purely up for personal opinion. I enjoyed it and thought it was a great improvement to the somewhat clunky and washed out quality of DA:O. The combat? Brilliant. Yes, enemies do pop up out of no-where (or charge you from across the corner), but that doesn't make it any less fun. I am, for one, glad my rogue no longer shuffles awkwardly around the hitbox of an enemy, only to swing her sword wide of the mark anyway.

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 any day of the week though. It's got its own problems, but the good FAR outweighs any issues

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 any day of the week. It has the same amount of "problems" that Dragon Age 2 has, but both are good, quality BioWare games.

Yes. Oh my God. I said "quality".

Someone flog her!

Quick!

... maybe I should point out some flaws? Fine. Let's prove that this Taffer is not just some raving mad fangirl. There are.. plot holes. Things overlooked or not taken into account due to the large amount of writers involved (yes, not one person writes a game). But after my second playthrough I realize those are the ones that matter little. Minor annoyances that you see in every RPG out there; and even more so in none RPGs.

And of course BioWare is still struggling with getting a grip on the environment reaction to the player. They never did get this right in any of their games before or maybe they just don't want to for fear they would make it too complex for some gamers (You know, they'd just as well complain about NOT being allowed to cast magic in town, as quickly as they would complain that they ARE allowed to. Can't make everyone happy.)

While they have done alot of writing and voice recording and scripting of scenes and all the other yummy BioWare stuff, they have certainly slacked on level design. Though to be fair, they did the same in Mass Effect 2. And if I play a BioWare game I would rather see the narrative well fleshed out than the level design fixed. Would like both, of course, but hey. Flaw. Right there. See. I said it. To be honest though... anything as long as I don't have to go back into DA:Os Deep Roads. Anything. ANYTHING.

What else? Oh yeah. Female Hawke.

BioWare, if you are listening (I know you are not), WHY DID YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE RAVING GIRLS ON YOUR FORUMS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE LACK OF FEMININE STRUTS IN DA:O?! Why! Gah. Hawke moves like a ballerina.. it is disturbing. Make her stop doing that digging at the ground with her toes and staring at her foot! Gah! GAH!

*takes a deep breath*

Anything else?

Ah. Yeah. The "emotional" scenes aren't as emotional as they could be. There are a few good ones, but the major ones lack. However, not a DA:2 fault. I haven't seen a really good one done in any of the BioWare games before. And don't go telling me Talis' was good. You fanboys.

And thank you for your extremely in depth opinion on it. I should mention, while I'm enjoying all of these posts on the subject of which game to get, the biggest factor I have go in ME 2's favor is many of my friends already have it so we'd all be able to talk about it. I'd rather not have a repeat of FF XII where I'm enjoying it yet none of my friends know what I'm talking about. It's annoying. You do have my considering DA II again, so, kudos.

 

[ScorpSt]

I have to call BS on this. The video links to a blog post and none of the links in the post that supposedly take you to the offer are valid.

 

[Canadish]

I'm having trouble thinking of any other group besides gamers that could honestly complain about getting something for free. I mean really guys?

I think it's not so much complaining about getting free stuff, but rather (in my case at least) finding it kind of sad that Bioware needs to join the two games in a package, in order to increase sales, rather then let it go on its own merits.

The sales are supposedly low and the reception has been less the warm (putting it lightly).
This seems less like a benevolent gift, and more like the sales team trying to get numbers up in order to impress the share holders.
It's not anger. I'm just sad for Bioware.

 

[Anah'ya]

And thank you for your extremely in depth opinion on it. I should mention, while I'm enjoying all of these posts on the subject of which game to get, the biggest factor I have go in ME 2's favor is many of my friends already have it so we'd all be able to talk about it. I'd rather not have a repeat of FF XII where I'm enjoying it yet none of my friends know what I'm talking about. It's annoying. You do have my considering DA II again, so, kudos.

Oi, you can talk to me about it! I always look for people to discuss Dragon Age with (both instances) -- both the good and the bad.

Honestly though, if you have coin to spare, go for Dragon Age II as well. On the other hand it is save to say that you would get better enjoyment out of Mass Effect 2 for the simple reason that it has finish its DLC cycle and you can overload it with additional goodness all the way up to the last tie in with Mass Effect 3 (Arrival).

But... do not dismiss Dragon Age 2 and, as you said yourself, at least consider it.

 

[Canadish]

Who the fuck doesn't have Mass Effect 2 by now?

On a slightly more on-topic note, this is pretty sad. I knew that the butthurt old school RPG fans had spread their diseased reviews across the internet in an attempt to sabotage an otherwise decent game, but I didn't really think it would succeed. Apparently it is, and that's a shame.

You have to keep DA2 in perspective. It was made in 18 months, compared to DA:O which took what, 5 years? With that in mind, I think DA2 is a pretty damn impressive game. Another 6 months to add more environments and improve the story a bit and it could have been a great game.

That's all well and good, and I agree it needed more time.
But we still had to pay full price. If it had been half the price, I would not have minded at all

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

sip

Sorry for being completely off-topic, but is that a AT4W avatar? I'm a huge fan.

 

[Anah'ya]

sip

Sorry for being completely off-topic, but is that a AT4W avatar? I'm a huge fan.

Huh?

Whats AT4W? TO GOOGLE!

[2 minutes later]

Uh. No. 'tis a self drawn one for a Review Project [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.256871-Lack-of-Coop-eration-How-do-YOU-do-it]. Sorry to disappoint.

 

[The Grim Ace]

And thank you for your extremely in depth opinion on it. I should mention, while I'm enjoying all of these posts on the subject of which game to get, the biggest factor I have go in ME 2's favor is many of my friends already have it so we'd all be able to talk about it. I'd rather not have a repeat of FF XII where I'm enjoying it yet none of my friends know what I'm talking about. It's annoying. You do have my considering DA II again, so, kudos.

Oi, you can talk to me about it! I always look for people to discuss Dragon Age with (both instances) -- both the good and the bad.

Honestly though, if you have coin to spare, go for Dragon Age II as well. On the other hand it is save to say that you would get better enjoyment out of Mass Effect 2 for the simple reason that it has finish its DLC cycle and you can overload it with additional goodness all the way up to the last tie in with Mass Effect 3 (Arrival).

But... do not dismiss Dragon Age 2 and, as you said yourself, at least consider it.

It's not coin I'm worried about, it's space on my hd. I've got something like 2 GBs of room left and if I buy an external hd I won't have enough for anything that isn't from the bargain bin. I can delete some things on my comp which would free up at most 40 GBs, so, that's about enough for one of them and not both. I'll take you up on the talk if I get DA II, though.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

sip

Sorry for being completely off-topic, but is that a AT4W avatar? I'm a huge fan.

Huh?

Whats AT4W? TO GOOGLE!

[2 minutes later]

Uh. No. 'tis a self drawn one for a Review Project [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.256871-Lack-of-Coop-eration-How-do-YOU-do-it]. Sorry to disappoint.

Okay then. Guy in the background looks like Lewis off of one of the title cards. Just thought I'd ask.

 

[Canid117]

There is a good reason its selling so poorly.

Sorry but 843,215 units on consoles alone in three weeks is not considered poor sales numbers. If you include the PC which is where most of the hatedom is located then the game sold over one million units in under a month. Not CoD level numbers but not poor in any sense of the word.

But I will admit that the Darkspawn are Fugly in DAII.

 

[Azmael Silverlance]

EPIC! I am yet to play ME:2 so this deal is just what i needed to finally get that done.
I dare say this is a reward for some of the lazy fans out there

 

[Cyclone of Mystery]

I'm having trouble thinking of any other group besides gamers that could honestly complain about getting something for free. I mean really guys?

Good old gamer entitlement at it's finest. This entire thread is a good example of it.

OT: I've been meaning to pick up DA2 for awhile. Sat on the fence for a bit since I honestly didn't enjoy DA1 very much, but a few close friends have talked it up so much that I'm interested. I already own Mass Effect 2, though. Hrm.

 

[feauxx]

Ooooor.... they're working on adding to the hype for ME3's release later this year by trying to get Dragon Age fans interested in another of BioWare's IPs....

DA2 has been selling reasonably well. People try to do a straight comparison between the sales of Origins and DA2 to say DA2 without taking into account that Origins was released right at the start of the holiday season (which spikes sales) while Dragon Age 2 came out as people were heading into tax season.

Seriously, can we stop the incessant and insipid "Omg look at how much DA2 sucks and how desperate BioWare must be!!!!11one!!!eleven!1" threads?

Get a life and let it go already.

And the White Knight rides in again. Seriously, why do you have to defend Bioware at every turn while insulting others?

Because I'm bored, and if I wasn't on The Escapist, I might be productive, and we can't be having any of that.

If someone wants to have a reasonable conversation with give and take on both sides, I'm more than happy to provide one. But too many people are just interested in bashing BioWare and creating a scene. If you hate the game so much, don't play it and move on with your life.

I'm not insulting anyone here. The threads are incessant, and most (including this one) are insipid: "without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities".

I love The Escapist, but I'm getting damn tired of every third thread on here being "OMG DA2!!!!" People need to move on.

And yes, I enjoy it, and I see where BioWare is taking the franchise, and approve of its direction. But I've never said DA2 was perfect, or that complaints against it entirely lack validity. But the constant bashing and latching onto anything BioWare says or does as signs of being desperate are ridiculous. I tend to see a lot of overreacting with no attempt to compromise, or offer the developer any validity of their choices.

BioWare is not the first to do bundles. And not all bundles are desperate bids to sell more copies of a failing product, but to drive interest in another product all together.

You ask why I defend BioWare, why do you jump into every DA2 bashing thread? To make your opinions heard. Just because my opinions differ from yours, I'm apparently a White Knight fangirl, amirite?

First off, I blame EA. A 14-18 month development cycle? Fuck off. The composer even said EA was rushing the game to capitalize on Origins' success. Most problems can be traced back to "cut for time." I personally hope the game fails so EA might back off Bioware. They already bled Origin dry then shut them down. I would hate to see Bioware share a similar fate.

Secondly, I don't mindlessly hate. I've presented what I don't like about the game multiple times. I just hate it when I see users being insulted by people "defending" Bioware. They are a big boy. They can take it. I've already been labeled a "hater" despite being on the record as saying I really like ME, ME2, DA:O, and KOTOR. But I voice my dislike of one of their games and I just hate Bioware to be cool and edgy. I'm just fed up with people saying I can't dislike a game.

i post here because 90% of this forum feels like people hating on games/developers/etc :s
the overall vibe is pretty negative, that probably causes the more positive minded people to get fed up and that is the start of the vicious circle of people flaming and people defending.

 

[Canadish]

Thanks for the warning. I'll probably lose my Spring Break to Mass Effect 2, good trade off I'd hope.

Word of Mouth = Bad.

Allow me.

Hmm. Trying to think of the words to sum it up...
Honestly, it doesn't feel like a Bioware game.

I am not sure what sort of BioWare games this fellow has been playing, but Dragon Age II feels like one from start to finish. The narrative is good, the dialogue flows well, the writing is good and the story (if you are not so worked up over not having a heroic fantasy) is good.

It's short, unpolished, buggy, and your "choices" don't change anything. The ending is also one of the worst I've seen in a few years.

Short, eh? I have clocked way too many hours in this game already and if I compare it to Mass Effect 2 (without the DLC - and there will be DA2 DLC) then they are pretty even. Granted I do every single sidequest and don't rush through things, which tends to lead to the general consent of "Meh your story sucks BioWare rollol".

And the Companions.. oh yummy. For once they don't feel like a ragtag group of folks standing around a camp waiting for you to talk to them. They interact with each other and go out of their way to talk to you. And don't get me started on the Friendship / Rivalry system. Thank you, BioWare. I can be harsh and say my mind to a companion without fear of losing them, because sometimes not agreeing is true friendship. Right, Anders? RIGHT?! [small]You twat.[/small]

Buggy? I have yet to encounter a bug. I know of one revolving around a companion quest, but after 2 playthroughs I have yet to see it. And you can easily fix it, least on the PC with the console commands.

"Choices" don't change anything? Ah, lovely. Choices have an impact on how quests are played out during follow up Arcs. And allow me to say it again, as I have said before, choices are good on paper. The amount of raving over the Origin imports and "WAH WHY IS THIS AND THAT PERSON ALIVE WAH WAH", etc should showcase that, while choice is sweet and all, if you plan on continuing a series you are given little choice but to keep it at least a little bit under control unless you want to disconnect yourself from the original.

Bad Ending? I believe the Ending was pretty decent. It is plagued by the typical BioWare (see, it IS a typical BioWare game!) quality of end bosses (read: Oh Gawd what where you guys thinking?), but the actual Ending is brilliant if you stop long enough to actually think about it.

Dragon Age 2 is the Empire Strikes Back of the Dragon Age franchise. It is the middle ground, the setup for something else to come.

Top that with hit and miss art style, along with "streamlined" combat, and you've got a basic idea of the Dragon Age 2 package.

The art-style is purely up for personal opinion. I enjoyed it and thought it was a great improvement to the somewhat clunky and washed out quality of DA:O. The combat? Brilliant. Yes, enemies do pop up out of no-where (or charge you from across the corner), but that doesn't make it any less fun. I am, for one, glad my rogue no longer shuffles awkwardly around the hitbox of an enemy, only to swing her sword wide of the mark anyway.

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 any day of the week though. It's got its own problems, but the good FAR outweighs any issues

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 any day of the week. It has the same amount of "problems" that Dragon Age 2 has, but both are good, quality BioWare games.

Yes. Oh my God. I said "quality".

Someone flog her!

Quick!

... maybe I should point out some flaws? Fine. Let's prove that this Taffer is not just some raving mad fangirl. There are.. plot holes. Things overlooked or not taken into account due to the large amount of writers involved (yes, not one person writes a game). But after my second playthrough I realize those are the ones that matter little. Minor annoyances that you see in every RPG out there; and even more so in none RPGs.

And of course BioWare is still struggling with getting a grip on the environment reaction to the player. They never did get this right in any of their games before or maybe they just don't want to for fear they would make it too complex for some gamers (You know, they'd just as well complain about NOT being allowed to cast magic in town, as quickly as they would complain that they ARE allowed to. Can't make everyone happy.)

While they have done alot of writing and voice recording and scripting of scenes and all the other yummy BioWare stuff, they have certainly slacked on level design. Though to be fair, they did the same in Mass Effect 2. And if I play a BioWare game I would rather see the narrative well fleshed out than the level design fixed. Would like both, of course, but hey. Flaw. Right there. See. I said it. To be honest though... anything as long as I don't have to go back into DA:Os Deep Roads. Anything. ANYTHING.

What else? Oh yeah. Female Hawke.

BioWare, if you are listening (I know you are not), WHY DID YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE RAVING GIRLS ON YOUR FORUMS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE LACK OF FEMININE STRUTS IN DA:O?! Why! Gah. Hawke moves like a ballerina.. it is disturbing. Make her stop doing that digging at the ground with her toes and staring at her foot! Gah! GAH!

*takes a deep breath*

Anything else?

Ah. Yeah. The "emotional" scenes aren't as emotional as they could be. There are a few good ones, but the major ones lack. However, not a DA:2 fault. I haven't seen a really good one done in any of the BioWare games before. And don't go telling me Talis' was good. You fanboys.

Woah! Good post, I'll try address your points, from what I experienced with DA2

You say word of mouth is bad. But, I myself got into Bioware games through word of mouth! A friend praised Mass Effect to the moon and back, and so I went and got it. 40 quid WELL spent. And after that, the same thing with DAO, but even more so. From then on, I started following Dev's more closely, and Bioware (along with Team ICO) were Kings.

You addressed my point about it not feeling like a Bioware game. And yeah, i see where your coming from. The elements were all there, but it just felt empty. A gut feeling. Kind of like someone was doing a Bioware rip off, rather then the masters themselves.

Game length, yeah, its "long", but 80% of that was just knocking down health bars I found. A casual run through lasts about 20 hours, while a Nightmare lasts about 100!
It's just a problem with the game being padded with hoards of bandits.
And I don't count DLC. As soon as you have to lay down more money, it cant be taken into account imo. I understand if anyone disagrees though.

Companions! Yeah, mixed bag here. I loved Varric. The others? If you ask me they felt like straw men. They just kind of sat there at either end of the Mage vs Templar debate, and either hated or loved you.
While some of the banter between them was pretty funny, and did give them a sense of being actual characters, Bioware ruined this when you went to go see them.
Losing the option to just go and talk to them put a wall up between me and them. I can only talk when a big idiot proof arrow tells me its okay.
Hence, we ended up with about 6 conversations with each, and all were pretty brief. I missed asking them about Dragon Age lore and just listening for about an hour. It filled those gaps in and made the world feel real. Including the characters.
Also, the fact they never even moved for 7 years. Fenris still had the bodies in his house form when we stormed it. 7 years later. Immersion shattered.

You said you had no bugs. And I wonder if this is why the reviews are so mixed.
In my game, I got a family member killed, but had the thumping battle music BLASTING over the scene. Utterly ruined the moment. Hawke fell through the floor over 5 times in my first run through as well. That was...annoying..

Choices. I get what your saying, though I think its down to opinion. I LOVED how different Origins could go. The best part of that was actually after I stopped playing and got talking to my friends. Hearing how their version of Thedas ended up was really interesting, and often, bloody funny. I remember one of them killed Wynne, thinking that was the only way the encounter could go down, and was utterly pissed off when he found out she was one of the companions! We all got a great laugh out of that. THAT I loved.
It's just a shame to see them blow some people off who made the more unusual choices. I wasn't that annoyed when I first heard it, until I read the post David Gaider made. He was so arrogant and flippant about it, just telling folks to get over it.

and....
The ENDING. Dear god, I cant go into detail for spoilers but...*sigh*
They added Lightsabers to Dragon Age. Anime Flash Steps.
*face palm*
That should be all that needs be said.

And yeah, the art style is personal, thats why I said Hit and Miss
You loved it, I like a few things, but not alot.
Dark Spawn turned into Skelator.
Flemeth looks like Rita Repulsa from Power Rangers.
That pissed me off from the get go.

So yeah, I'm not saying your "wrong", but I truly disagree. I did not see the quality in the game. It felt like a rush job. A money grab. Hell, the music composer admitted that. The old lead designer left the project.

But, thank you for a good post and not just dismissing people as Trolls.
Your not a fan girl, you made your argument well
Just not enough to convince me *cough*

 

[AngryFrenchCanadian]

That's a good thing, then. I was thinking about picking either one of the two. Looks like I won't have to choose.

Also: HOLY SHIT LONG POSTS WITH GIGANTIC QUOTE BUBBLES!!!