Poll: Bioware or EA?

[Tarakos]

The way I see it, it's EA, all the way. I don't think it's a coincidence that right after BioWare's bought out by EA, they started a movement away from their traditionalist design, and more toward ACTION gaming.

ME2 was good, but it was more a shooter with RPG elements, rather than the original's RPG with shooter elements.

DA2 was just bad.

I'm hoping that ME3 doesn't continue this downward trend. If so, I think it's time I picked a new favorite developer.

 

[Signa]

Voted Bioware. For whatever reason, that company just isn't the same anymore. You can blame that on EA or not, but those changes didn't happen JUST because of EA. And if they did, EA is still just being EA. Bioware still had to make a choice to follow what EA wants, so it was Bioware's choice to change.

It's like what Obi-Wan said. "Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?"

It always amazes me when people assume that you can ignore what your employer (yes Bioware are employees of EA) says.

Do you talk back to your employer when they tell you to do something?

"Hey Jim, go stock that shelf." "Nah boss, I don't think that I will do that, its not really ME, you know?"

Do I think they have a choice now? No. You're right, I'm not oblivious to that fact. My point is that EA has always been EA, and Bioware is the one that has changed. Whenever the merger happened, they could have bargained for retaining creative freedom or whatever, but I don't think they cared. Just seeing the screenshots of some of the Bioware forums and how they handle their customers doesn't seem to me like EA is at any particular fault here. Bioware is just as concerned about money over making good games as EA is. It's a perfect match for them.

 

[Estarc]

Obviously Bioware. They've stated many times that EA has little to do with their creative process, and honestly, is it that hard to believe that they want to appeal to a wider audience and make more money?

 

[Sp3ratus]

-snip-

I can see what your saying and in a way it's valid but when you can button bash your way through it on medium-hard (i forget which i played it through) where on origins i found myself needing to use tactics, it's a step down in my eyes. P.S i never claimed the game was easy i claimed they made it easier to control for console making it worse when you consider origins was very tactical (you could tell it was designed for mouse/keyboard), now making a game easier to control for a platform isn't a bad thing, it's just i don't know, the way they did it seemed to kill the pc gamer aspect of it for me anyway (kind of like turning command and conquer into a shooter would be a good example, because esentially you take away a part of the game which made it command and conquer).

Either way i'll most likely always hate it considering it's the sequel to a game known for going back to the roots of RPG on pc, if it didn't have Dragon Age title i probably would think more highly of it but lets face it, the game was no where near ready for release, there was too little content (in terms of areas) and with it being the sequel to something it beared little resemblence to other than some of the story, and for those reasons it killed the game for me.

While I'm inclined to agree with the whole "making it easier for consoles" thing and that it's too bad they've scaled those difficulties back that much, playing on nightmare is nowhere near as easy as it is on hard. I really think it's a shame that you seem to have made up your mind about it, without even giving it a try, because if you liked the strategy, positioning etc. of DA:O and you appreciate a challenge, nightmare is definitely something I believe you would like. The gameplay on nightmare with resistances, friendly fire and a lot tougher enemies makes for a good experience and is exactly the kind of gameplay you're referring to, being very tactical and not just charge in and kill.

In regards to the "too little content", I'd rather say there's too little variation in the environment. There's a lot of content in the game, including side-quests and very tough, optional bosses, but yes, all the reused dungeons/docks/whatever reeks of laziness and is something I can't believe was allowed to be in the game at launch. I mean, just 2 or 3 more different kinds of caves more would have greatly alleviate the criticism it's gotten there.

Anyway, as I said, I think it's a shame you've given up on the game. I highly recommend trying it out on nightmare, because it really brings out how fun the gameplay actually is. My first playthrough I thought the game was so-so, but the second time around, when I played on nightmare, I came to realize that it's still a good game, exactly because of the gameplay, even if it's not the high standards we're used to from Bioware.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

DA2 yes, I think EA put too much pressure on BioWare to churn it out as fast as possible. Less than 18 months after Origins? We should have had another expansion to join awakenings before a sequel at the very least. Origins had an awful lot of life, but like Valve with L4D, it was sequeled in very short order. I have no idea what kind of community formed around it, as they did around NWN and that's the tragedy. BioWare used to make epic games that span generations (as Bethesda still do), now they make throwaway console titles.

The game was a lite RPG with none of the good things about Origins and lots of new bad things. No equipment for companions? No ability to choose different race? I won't deny that it can work being pushed into a single role (eg. Shepard, Geralt of Rivia, Mike Thorton, etc) but Origins was great because we could make our own characters. The copy/paste of every cave map, mansion map, courtyard map was jarring, showed poor production values and broke immersion. I'm torn over how it's been "MMOd" up...on one hand, the action was satisfying, on the other hand it didn't have the tactical depth of its predecessors.

ME2 was brilliant. Hate the DLC shiz but the games industry has gone down that road now and they're never comin' back. I HATED the global cooldown crap and the fact it became a cover based shooter. But the action, particularly as a vanguard was just enough fun, with good RP opportunities and a great supporting cast that you can forgive the shortcomings. Also, Biotic Charge.

Anyway, it's not entirely BioWare or EAs fault. The consolisation of the games industry is the biggest culprit. If I could have a wish, it would be for an indie BioWare to make one last PC RPG, but that will never be. In fact, a current gen remake of BG2, with voice acting...I wouldn't get any sleep for a week.

 

[LiquidGrape]

At this point, they might as well just start doing full blown gay dating sims.

Their efforts to be as inclusive as possible for those who doesn't tick the 'cisgender straight' boxes is one of the reasons why BioWare is still head and shoulders above most of their competition.

But hey, why not just make fun of the notion that some people finally got to see an intimate aspect of themselves represented in an otherwise largely homogeneous medium.

 

[Katnap_Devikat]

Loved both games. i believe that Bioware has the right to do whatever they want with their money when making a game. I wouldn't have bought them if i didn't like them before they were released.

 

[cynicthnkr]

Da 2 was cr*p considering I had to push myself to complete it. And all those recycled dungeon, even modders do a better job than that.There is no point in discussing DA2.

Talking about ME 2, Yes it was more fun and better than 1 in every aspect except plot line.And had much higher replay value. It very fun shooting through collectors or anything for that matters.
But if wanted to just shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot There are many action games out there.
Why would I play an RPG with no story at all. Make a team, Solve their personel problems, Rob people off their wall safes, and go complete a mission which you knew from almost beginning.
As for triology ME2 had absolutely no role it Except showing TIMs face. ME3 could just as well be released after ME1.With arrival in between of course.
Even thinking about ME2 story makes me want to throw up.

On a side note I absolutely hate Inventory management And can't help but smile when a game decides to release me from it.

Coming on the topic this whole poll is pointless (unlike with valve) there is no bioware anymore they are EA now. There's no difference between the two. But hitting one option I would choose Bioware because they always knew what was coming when they signed the contract with EA.

On a sidenote no matter what they do I can't hate EA more than I already do.
And I hate myself for I am going to break the promise of not giving money to ea. Because I am going to buy ME3.On a positive side at least EAs DRM is not as much headache as it used to be.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

DA2 was horrible and If you don't believe me start it up and look at the trees, just look at them, they look like Christmas tree drawn by a three year old. They personify the horrible that is DA2.

Trees aside I think EA is to blame for that, there was no way you could make a game of the intended scope in the time they were given.

Meanwhile in other news, EA didn't even tell the Kingdom's of Amulur guys that it would have a single player online pass. Although the lead dev blames himself for not asking about it.

 

[Zoop]

I guess it depends on the person. I've spoken to quite a few people who preferred Dragon Age 2 over Origins, and it's not people I'd really consider morons or 'casual' gamers.

Me? I prefer the combat of DA2, but found DA:O to be the more satisfying experience overall. Same with ME2. Combat was better, but ME1 was the better RPG.

 

[demotion1]

DAO2 was way harder than DAO. And i liked it. Both Mass Effects were amazing games.

 

[Zoop]

Which is an opinion. I actually like that Bioware's RPGs include more than just combat. It's also rather nice to see that my lifestyle is becoming so accepted that it's starting to appear in games.

Intimacy is a key part of character relationships. Character relationships is a key part of Bioware games.