Dragon Age: Inquistion - Can Bioware Survive Another Misstep?

[CloudAtlas]

The good thing about Dragon Age is that the latest installment comes out after so much outrage that they can't afford to screw up. But that doesn't mean they won't. As a consumer it would be wise not to pre-order any Bioware game, EVER. Just wait a few days after it's released and visit this forum. If there is outrage about it on the internet, avoid the game at all costs.

It's not very wise to pre-order any game.

And, no offense to the users of this forum, but a dedicated gaming forum is the last place I'd go for differentiated, somewhat objective opinions. Don't get me wrong, such opinions do exist here as well, but they're always buried under truckloads of self-absorbed, worthless "worst/best (mostly worst) game ever" statements.

 

[Eacaraxe_v1legacy]

The thing is, once you step outside the bubble/echo chamber that is comprised of BioWare's "hardcore" (i.e. guano) fans, the company despite everything it's been through is doing all right. The crumbling, corroded hulk of a game developer laid low by EA, one bad release away from being put out of its misery, it certainly is not.

The only decision they've made that could really be called a misstep in the last few years was the developmental and release C.F. of TOR (after which it still "only" got average reviews and reception). DA2 had solid sales despite being critically panned, for a BioWare game, which meant it "only" received lukewarm reviews. ME3 was one of their most financially-successful games to date, and but for the ending had a fantastic reception among the community and fans. It really says something that the company's greatest blunder, that if you listen to hardcore BioWare fans was a slap in the face to their own fanbase somewhere in morality between intentionally scraping your fork against silverware and forced Ludovico Treatment-style screenings of the Star Wars Holiday Special for Holocaust survivors, was...A MEDIOCRE GAME.

Yet, these same people still line up around the block for each and every BioWare title, so obviously they're doing something right, even if "something" in this case happens to be separating people with more disposable income than impulse control or common sense, from their money. They're not going anywhere, any time soon.

 

[Raikas]

Maybe the three near-ruinous outings they've had will have taught them something and they'll hit DA:I completely out of the park.

Near-ruinous? Complaints aside, their games are still selling well. And no matter how much people rage about ME3's ending, it was still a solid game overall (I'd even say brilliant, but that's just me). And for all that people were disappointed with DA2 there were also plenty of people who enjoyed it, and it's proof that Bioware is willing to experiment with less-clichéd fantasy stories, which I think is a good thing.

They're never going to make everyone happy, they just need to make enough people happy that the game sells.

The good thing about Dragon Age is that the latest installment comes out after so much outrage that they can't afford to screw up.

Eh, people are going to complain regardless of the overall quality of the game. Depending on what you like/dislike about their past games it certainly makes sense to check out reviews and see what elements they include in this one, but fan outrage is meaningless without context and I expect to see it whether the game is awesome, mediocre or terrible.

 

[Simple Bluff]

I can confidently say that 90% of the ill will against Bioware is the perfidious work of the Papist Church.

Every Bioware game has been an ode against the devils of Popery. See Mass Effect, with its masterly depiction of the Illusive Man, a good man who's made even better by the fact he murdered a Pope. Or Neverwinter Nights, with its depiction of priests, Popish priests, who turn out to be evil.

This DA game is subtitled Inquistion. I'd wager my legs that the Papist internet brigade's already set eyes on it.

Man, if there was any justice in the world you'd be announced a hero among men. I'm dead serious.

Anyhoo, Bioware has suffered a bit lately but I think Inquisition will be fairly good. They slipped up badly with DA2 (but they were given barely any time to make it, in fairness), but ME3 (if you disregard the ending) was a massive improvement on ME2, so I honestly think they're getting back on track. They've only made one terrible game in my opinion (DA2), so I never lost much confidence in them to begin with.

Come on Bioware, don't let me down.

 

[CloudAtlas]

The good thing about Dragon Age is that the latest installment comes out after so much outrage that they can't afford to screw up.

Eh, people are going to complain regardless of the overall quality of the game. Depending on what you like/dislike about their past games it certainly makes sense to check out reviews and see what elements they include in this one, but fan outrage is meaningless without context and I expect to see it whether the game is awesome, mediocre or terrible.

Oh, it will happen, that's for certain. People just expect too different things from DA:I. Some want fast-paced gameplay, some want oldschool tactical gameplay. Some want original stories, some want conventional stories. Some want a to a certain extent pre-defined, fully voiced protagonist, others an empty template. Some want tits, some want class. And the list goes on.
No matter how objectively well-made DA:I will end up being, plenty of people will call it the worst game ever because it doesn't cater to their own personal interests, and we all know that those are the only ones that could ever count.

 

[Silverbeard]

Whatever else Bioware has done, they do tend to produce decently written games while giving players a very good illusion of controlling the plot. The only other games in recent memory that manages this are the Witcher titles. That tends to go a long way with the player base, who can very likely forgive and forget if it means that they will get more of what they expect from Bioware.
It is worth pointing out that so far, none of the chaps who worked on the Mass Effect series have been established to be a part of the Dragon Age team, who have mostly maintained their roster from Origins until now- a few resignees notwithstanding. Does that mean that they will learn from the successes and failures of their in-house brethren? Maybe.
What will not change are the marketing tactics of Inquisition, and it is here that I will find the most reason to stay away from the title. Cut content being offered as pre-order bonuses and/or day one DLC, mandatory Origin installation and other such tomfoolery will very likely mire Inquisition's production.
That we need to watch out for.

 

[-Dragmire-]

No.

While Bioware has made decisions that I didn't like with their franchises, they are not awful. Each game we complain about has many redeeming factors that, while not up to par with the legacy they've made, are still far better than we get from much of the AAA industry.

 

[Karoshi]

Of course can Bioware survive another flop, and another, and another. There are only few AAA companies that deliver high quality RPGs and despite some storytelling failings, Bioware stills delivers polished products.

For example, I can tell that I will rage about most things wrong in Inquisition, but buy it regardless.

 

[CloudAtlas]

Despite what people here say Bioware has made major PR flops and their recent games have been mediocre.Sale numbers don't mean squat because of people buying DA2/ME3 based on the success of the previous games and misleading marketing.If DA:I flops then Bioware will still have the apologists defending everything they do but even that won't help them this time.

If sale numbers don't mean squat to you, what about a metascore of 89 and countless GOTY & other awards?

 

[-Dragmire-]

No.

While Bioware has made decisions that I didn't like with their franchises, they are not awful. Each game we complain about has many redeeming factors that, while not up to par with the legacy they've made, are still far better than we get from much of the AAA industry.

If you're talking about story then I agree,however there are tons of game that are far better than the recent ones Bioware has put out.

I still feel they're on the higher end of the average. That being said, I'll be pissed if the next game I get from them is as poorly polished as Mass Effect 3. Unfinished art assets, floating geometry, unfinished textures, floor plains not lining up vertically meaning the rocks that are supposed to sit on the ground float a half foot above it, bad animation, limited animations(Shep takes out a shotgun as if it were an assault rifle because the proper animation either doesn't exist or has been improperly coded) etc...

Even with the amount that I rip apart the game for stuff unrelated to the story, I still enjoyed the experience playing it. Not very many games can do that for me which is why I feel they're on the better side of the AAA spectrum.

 

[Therumancer]

So after reading the info about the new Dragon Age, I was wondering; if Bioware manages to mess up DA:I after everything they learned from DAII, ME3 and SW:TOR online - can they survive? Or will the good will finally run out for them?

Maybe the three near-ruinous outings they've had will have taught them something and they'll hit DA:I completely out of the park. But if we're to err on the side of caution and say they do fail again - you think Bioware will still be around this time next year? Or will EA finally jettison them after sending they finances and shareholders into a panic for the 3rd time while making EA look like the devil (again)?

Well, Bioware might already be dead in the water here. Speaking for myself I will not be pre-ordering DA:I or running out to buy it. Instead I'm going to wait until it's released, read the reviews, and then see what the game is like when other people play it and what their reception is. As sad as it sounds I am also unwilling to be surprised by game endings anymore, Bioware and a few other companies have pretty much made it so that I cannot enjoy endings the way they were intended after so many games that have ended on a self-ruining note (Mass Effect 3) or with what amounts to an advert for the next game in the franchise with no real resolution. I absolutely refuse to wind up putting myself into another position where I'm going to rage like I did over the whole "Star Child" thing or deal with the horrible, horrible, writing that was involved in DA2 all through it's climax and non-resolution.

In short, Bioware's "success" with some of their games like "Dragon Age 2" and "Mass Effect 3" seemed to largely come from people who ran out to buy the game on day #1 trusting the company. The whole "shut up and take my money" schtick. When the games turned out to be garbage it was too late, Bioware had the money, and the games were being touted as successes because of the number of sales they garnered.

I am encouraging everyone I can to take the same approach I am, not to boycott Bioware, but to approach cautiously. Let them smell failure when it comes to early sales (which is how most games are computed) but slowly achieve success through later sales if they actually produce a great product.... and honestly this has to be great at this point, if it's just mediocre I'm not buying, no matter whether they tease resolving the storyline with Morrigan or whatever. At this point for all I know it will turn out Morrigan's unborn child IS the star child from Mass Effect 3 (what a clever twist!) and it's a giant lead in to the brain-cell destroying Dragon Age/Mass Effect crossover where Bioware will resurrect an old D&D license and turn the advent of magic and collapse of the jump gate system into an a backstory for the new Spelljammer... the Krogan will rename themselves Giff, the Rachni will rename themselves Neogi... and uh... Sten's people will grow 8 eyes and become Umber Hulks...... Tali will finally remove her mask and reveal that the pic we saw of her was an illusion and under that mask are actually Beholders (surprise!) the new threat to the galaxy...

 

[CloudAtlas]

Despite what people here say Bioware has made major PR flops and their recent games have been mediocre.Sale numbers don't mean squat because of people buying DA2/ME3 based on the success of the previous games and misleading marketing.If DA:I flops then Bioware will still have the apologists defending everything they do but even that won't help them this time.

If sale numbers don't mean squat to you, what about a metascore of 89 and countless GOTY & other awards?

Again those are meaningless as well because even mediocre games can get good scores and I don't put much stock in GOTY or other awards.By your logic that means games like Aliens:Colonial Marines,COD,and other mediocre games that had marketing behind them are good because of good review scores and awards.

So if both sales and critic's opinions are "meaningless", are you saying that there's no correlation between quality and sales resp. review scores at all? Are you claiming that all the critics got it all wrong? What should we rely on then to judge the quality of a game? Your personal opinion?

By the way, Aliens: CM has a metascore of 45, which doesn't exactly qualify as "good review scores", and CoD is usually criticized because it's always the same, but not because what there is is bad. So if those two examples are the best you can come up with, consider me not impressed.

You know, there are games which I enjoyed less than others did, and where I wondered where all that praise came from. Since we're talking about BioWare here, DA:O is such an example, a game you love by your own account. But I'm not so arrogant to assume that I'm the only one who got it all figured out, that the game is objectively bad, that all the critics got it wrong, and that all the fans are stupid for cherishing an obviously bad game, that my personal set of preferences is the correct one, the only one that matters. That's just an attitude gamers frequently display, and its annoying and immature.

 

[Saltyk]

To be fair, one flawed game, one average MMO, and one great game with a dodgy ending that they at least made an effort to fix does not make a company on the edge of failure. The hardcore RPG purists have been crying foul on these guys since Mass Effect 2, but to people who judge on more than blind principle, Bioware are still a pretty good game company. The recent DLC for DA2 and ME3 has actually shown a lot of improvement.

I liked SW:TOR. Average or not, I enjoyed having a MMO that had story and made me actually care about the characters and what I was doing in the game. I cared to make my decisions and even cared about the characters.

The problem came up when I was doing the same quests for the third or fourth time. That's when it became WoW with lightsabers and laser blasts.
Still enjoyed the PvP more than WoWs.