Dragon Age Comes to Facebook

[Andy Chalk]

Dragon Age Comes to Facebook

BioWare [http://www.bioware.com] is busting into Facebook with Dragon Age Legends, a new casual, social game that will offer exclusive unlockable items for use in Dragon Age 2.

What to do until Facebook [http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-2-Bioware-Signature-Pc/dp/B003UF9E0O]. The game takes places in the Free March city of Kaiten, where the son of Viscount Ravi is beset by "mysterious circumstances." As one of the Viscount's most trusted allies, players will tackle demons and Darkspawn side-by-side with their Facebook friends as they embark upon story-based quests to earn riches, grow their kingdoms and unlock unique, exclusive items that can be used in the upcoming Dragon Age 2.

"Our goal is to change the perception of social network games and attract new players to the Facebook platform by raising the quality bar," said Mark Spenner, general manager of EA 2D [http://www.ea2d.com/], the studio making the game. "Dragon Age Legends will deliver a deep, sophisticated experience, and we will continue to delight gamers by adding new features and content far into the future."

It sounds good, but are Facebook gamers really after a "deep, sophisticated experience?" For that matter, are Dragon Age fans going to take a Facebook version of the game seriously? Legends will no doubt have value as a promotional tool - exclusive unlockables will have that effect - but it may be a tougher sell as a legitimate, stand-alone game.

Dragon Age Legends is scheduled to launch in February 2011 but beta signups are being taken now at dragonagelegends.com [http://www.dragonagelegends.com]. Dragon Age 2 comes out on March 8, 2011, for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.


Permalink

 

[Grey_Focks]

okay, you got me. I am confused. That screenshot just looks silly, and I just do not know who this is supposed to appeal to. The usual "farmville" player doesn't know/care what Dragon Age is, and Dragon Age fans most likely aren't big fans of Facebook games.

But I guess if your a fan of facebook games and Dragon Age, this must look pretty cool to you. I guess.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

In wake of the incoming tide of hate. I don't hate this. I'll probably play it, get the unlockables and never touch it again.

Hooray for exploiting marketing campaigns!

 

[Undead Dragon King]

Um...right. I love BioWare but hate Facebook. Ergo, it looks like I'll be missing out on some of those items. Still, no big deal for me, it sounds like those pre-purchasing items a player would get at GameStop. They are ancillary items that can be left behind for the game.

 

[sir.rutthed]

Ya, I can't see this working for the reasons mentioned above. I'll probably play it just for the unlockables though.

 

[6unn3r]

Is facebook just a testing ground for games now? It wont be long before farmville comes out on multiple platforms....*shudder*

 

[Mr. Grey]

If I need a Facebook account, I'll hate this.

It just seems so backwards, I mean with the way Dragon Age: Journeys worked it was easy to assign your EA Master Account to get the rewards, this seems complicated and clunky by comparison should you need the Facebook account. Not to mention with the leaks, I have to wonder how many people are actually willing to submit their account name and password to verify. Even if it didn't effect that, you have to figure the paranoia of some people will discourage it.

Not to mention didn't they up the price on Dragon Age 2 by ten dollars? Effectively killing whatever savings there were with the Signature Edition? I'd ask "Why do they keep stepping backwards?" but I don't know if this will blow up in their face yet. The pricing hasn't, but the Facebook thing has a lot of potential to do so.

I guess I'll wait and see, but I'm - obviously - pessimistic about it.

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I enjoyed Dragon Age: Journeys, although I really would have appreciated it if they had finished it. I really hope it isn't a game that you need Facebook to play. If that's the case I'll just have to go without the unlocks.

 

[Arachon]

If it's on Facebook, I won't touch it, if they'd hosted it on their own site, or through the BioWare social page, then maybe, but not on Facebook, hell no.

 

[Crimsane]

Good for a laugh, this is. "deep, sophisticated experience" + FB game = lol.

Regardless, I'm not about to use FB just to unlock some throwaway goodies.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

"engaging tactical combat"

Between that and the screenshot, it is actually making me wonder if the combat on there will be more entertaining than it was in Dragon Age Origins.

 

[Frenger]

As much as I love Bioware, there is no chance in hell I will ever touch this.

Apps and games on Facebook are so boring and the quality is so low that it's hardly worth the time. I can't even think of one game that has even caught my eye, except maybe Civilization Network (hope they don't bomb that one too).

I can understand why they do it. The formula is simple. Little Effort = Maximum exposure. No wonder Zynga do so well.

 

[Risingblade]

must play this....

 

[Captain Bobbossa]

i hate facebook sometimes

 

[Gudrests]

okay, you got me. I am confused. That screenshot just looks silly, and I just do not know who this is supposed to appeal to. The usual "farmville" player doesn't know/care what Dragon Age is, and Dragon Age fans most likely aren't big fans of Facebook games.

But I guess if your a fan of facebook games and Dragon Age, this must look pretty cool to you. I guess.

i hate fb games and only use them to kill time.....there is a ninja game and ur char levels up and it plays like an old final fantasy combat so thats it...but yeah...unlockable items?...im in

 

[Stabby Joe]

Wow, this game looks really simplistic and unappealing to those who buy your games Bioware. Remember the portable Mass Effect? No? GOOD!

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

You know, it's obvious that EA is trying to kick the marketing up a notch now that it can make money off Bioware, but is Dragon Age really the kind of game that's mass marketable?

 

[Legendairy314]

Wait...Legends...Wasn't there another popular series that had Legends added to the end to enact a new kind of...Oh god! Abort! Abort!

Joking aside, we'll probably end up combining all our hardcore games, facebook, and all other electronic goodies to our phones sometime in the near future anyways. Taking extra effort to actually combine them in a mature and interesting fashion is something I can't complain about.