LinkPain said:
Here.
As for why? Because they're dumb? I don't know. Don't buy the glitch story obviously, but it does seem more like a mistake. I don't know if EA is as dumb or brazen as to think they could actually get away with this.
Dragon Age II: now more like Mass Effect 2
- Thread starter Brother None
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Here.
As for why? Because they're dumb? I don't know. Don't buy the glitch story obviously, but it does seem more like a mistake. I don't know if EA is as dumb or brazen as to think they could actually get away with this.
Of course I don't buy it as a glitch story cover up 
Even if it was, it's ridiculous for them to wait for him to go public.
This is why game industry sucks as it is now, when you buy one game and the seller limits you to the point that he controls how you can use it as part of the product which shouldn't exist (having to log on internet to play something that is not MMO and that is YOURS ONLY), because they believe you look like a rude bastard on free internet.
But this kind of thing destroys DA2 even more, I might not like how the game design went from DA:O, but doing things like these is utterly stupid.
Even if it was, it's ridiculous for them to wait for him to go public.
This is why game industry sucks as it is now, when you buy one game and the seller limits you to the point that he controls how you can use it as part of the product which shouldn't exist (having to log on internet to play something that is not MMO and that is YOURS ONLY), because they believe you look like a rude bastard on free internet.
But this kind of thing destroys DA2 even more, I might not like how the game design went from DA:O, but doing things like these is utterly stupid.
you know something that I really find surprising is how EA always ... gets away with it. They did so much shit over the years. And seriously it is like basically almost everyone is saying "they suck". But they still are in business.
But EA has some competition in the market ... or are they the only company selling and publishing/developing games ?
EA isn't even the biggest publisher anymore. Their bullshit and bad games already bit them in the ass. They've been in decline for a while. So yeah, there's that. They still make games people want to play, even with all the hate piled on em. But keep it up and you will decline. It's just a slow process, it's not like people boycott them.
Boycotts are kinda dumb anyway, in my opinion. But that's just me maybe.
EDIT: ah, naturally, it sold faster than DA:O
Boycotts are kinda dumb anyway, in my opinion. But that's just me maybe.
EDIT: ah, naturally, it sold faster than DA:O
aenemic
Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
I'm really struggling to finish this game. the story doesn't interest me anymore, it had potential but then fell pretty much flat. still running around in the same areas I did at the start of the game doesn't exactly lend to a feeling of accomplishment and progress. everything is basically same old, nothing new. bosses with a million hp that one-shot my healer isn't exactly a fun challenge, just annoying. and so on.
Ilosar
Vault Fossil
So, after a month...
http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dra...ed/Dragon-Age-2---Week-4-Sales-6983266-1.html info is from VGCHartz, but still gives a decent estimate.
Barely over one million copies sold across all platforms, far lower than Origins, with numbers steadily decreasing. Kinda expected, really, with the trainwreck of a release they had (no auto-attack on consoles? seriously...). And we know why they bundled with Mass Effect 2.
Trying to please everyone + rushing a game (1 year and a third to make a 50 hours RPG while changing so much? sigh) = anticipated disaster. I seriously hope it means they will change that for an eventual third game, but the IP will probably be judged non-profitable and simply abandoned.
I wanted to write a review for a time, but Vault Dweller said it all; good potential wasted by horrible design decisions and developing schedules.
http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dra...ed/Dragon-Age-2---Week-4-Sales-6983266-1.html info is from VGCHartz, but still gives a decent estimate.
Barely over one million copies sold across all platforms, far lower than Origins, with numbers steadily decreasing. Kinda expected, really, with the trainwreck of a release they had (no auto-attack on consoles? seriously...). And we know why they bundled with Mass Effect 2.
Trying to please everyone + rushing a game (1 year and a third to make a 50 hours RPG while changing so much? sigh) = anticipated disaster. I seriously hope it means they will change that for an eventual third game, but the IP will probably be judged non-profitable and simply abandoned.
I wanted to write a review for a time, but Vault Dweller said it all; good potential wasted by horrible design decisions and developing schedules.
Ilosar said:
No it doesn't. VGChartz is a joke. It's worse than a random guess. Like I linked to above, the game sold one million copies within two weeks. That's an official number. There are no other numbers available that are remotely reliable.
GameBanshee review. tl;dr: an intensely mediocre action RPG.
Ilosar
Vault Fossil
Good review, but I disagree with him on several points, starting with the issues pointed out on the last comment (that Durandal fellow), the plot is more complex than he lets on imo.
Also, character build is much more open in DA2 (despite the confusing decision to restrict weapon and armor selection, doing away with the requirements with a mod leads to tons of fun customization without breaking any balance), allowing you to have a two-handed warrior that can act as a decent tank while sacrificing only a little damage (impossible in Origins since all two-handed talents increased damage) and the way trees function in general means mages have to plan their ability selection rather than pick at random. I do agree that no non-combat skills is bad, however.
One thing I wanted to point out is how I am starting to be annoyed with the Diablo comparisons and 'action-RPG' terms being thrown around like a death sentence. The game is a poorer RPG than many, but it remains an RPG, it doesn't change label because of it.
Also, character build is much more open in DA2 (despite the confusing decision to restrict weapon and armor selection, doing away with the requirements with a mod leads to tons of fun customization without breaking any balance), allowing you to have a two-handed warrior that can act as a decent tank while sacrificing only a little damage (impossible in Origins since all two-handed talents increased damage) and the way trees function in general means mages have to plan their ability selection rather than pick at random. I do agree that no non-combat skills is bad, however.
One thing I wanted to point out is how I am starting to be annoyed with the Diablo comparisons and 'action-RPG' terms being thrown around like a death sentence. The game is a poorer RPG than many, but it remains an RPG, it doesn't change label because of it.
TheWesDude
Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
LinkPain said:
it actually was not a glitch.
see this post from 2008
http://games.slashdot.org/story/08/10/31/004213/EA-Forum-Ban-Will-Now-Mean-EA-Game-Ban
I lost my optimism about the game after I learned how little I can do to change the outcome of the final confrontation or even some quests. Like Merril's and Anders' quest are so shitty, no matter what you do (even outright denying to do the quest), the game forces you to complete it with some nasty consequences, which you cannot avoid no matter what.
I hoped that by denying Anders help in his quest you can prevent him from [spoiler:fccf800b25]blowing up the Chantry and killing the Grand Cleric, thus allowing for a peaceful ending or something[/spoiler:fccf800b25], but nooooo, everything has to be as planned by the devs. Same with Merril. I told her to stuff that stupid mirror of hers and that I will not help her rebuild it, but somehow I am railroaded into that damn cave where nasty shit with a demon happens. Bleh.
It's a game good for one playthrough, still. Could be done a lot better, but hell.
I hoped that by denying Anders help in his quest you can prevent him from [spoiler:fccf800b25]blowing up the Chantry and killing the Grand Cleric, thus allowing for a peaceful ending or something[/spoiler:fccf800b25], but nooooo, everything has to be as planned by the devs. Same with Merril. I told her to stuff that stupid mirror of hers and that I will not help her rebuild it, but somehow I am railroaded into that damn cave where nasty shit with a demon happens. Bleh.
It's a game good for one playthrough, still. Could be done a lot better, but hell.
Ilosar
Vault Fossil
@ sea: Have to disagree somewhat here. Yes, big health bars are definitely a problem (the High Dragon just.won't.die.). But the click-on-until-it-dies? From the exterior it may look like that, but not using ability combos (Cleave/Assault for example, or OP cross-class combos) makes Hard much more of a pain, and is practically a requirement every fight on Nightmare because you can't AoE your way to victory anymore. The longest boss battle is a duel, because no cross-class combos lowers your damage significantly. I began finishing an old save of Origins, and have an easier time at Nightmare than in the sequel at Hard, save for Ser Cauthrien of course
And as I have said before, I find character builds very good and amongst my favorite in RPGs (I am not a DnD fan at all, to be honest). Very few other games allow a warrior-type class so much utility and flexibility while still keeping it unique from the other 3 classes, far more than in Origins (where warriors were really linear and dull and rogues were squishier warriors with backstab and lockpicking). My only regret is that there is not enough threat management abilities, making fights too chaotic (the stupid wave system doesn't help at all), hell it seems many of those abilities have been passed on to rogues for some reason.
As for identical enemies, that's wrong on a level and true on another. There are Commander types that buff and heal troops, mages can wipe a whole party if you don't pay attention and those pesky Assassins deal huge (one-shot on Nightmare) damage to squishies if you do not reveal them beforehand via AoE or keep them on the move. On the other hand, yes, fighting demons or spiders or humans is almost identical, hell three unique demon types replace the three unique human enemy types.
@ Ravager: oh so very true. I somewhat understand the situation with Anders as it is critical to the plot, but stopping Merill while advancing her story should definitely have been possible, at worst just make her leave if you refuse to aid her. At least you can avoid butchering her whole clan, even if the option is pretty obscure.
And as I have said before, I find character builds very good and amongst my favorite in RPGs (I am not a DnD fan at all, to be honest). Very few other games allow a warrior-type class so much utility and flexibility while still keeping it unique from the other 3 classes, far more than in Origins (where warriors were really linear and dull and rogues were squishier warriors with backstab and lockpicking). My only regret is that there is not enough threat management abilities, making fights too chaotic (the stupid wave system doesn't help at all), hell it seems many of those abilities have been passed on to rogues for some reason.
As for identical enemies, that's wrong on a level and true on another. There are Commander types that buff and heal troops, mages can wipe a whole party if you don't pay attention and those pesky Assassins deal huge (one-shot on Nightmare) damage to squishies if you do not reveal them beforehand via AoE or keep them on the move. On the other hand, yes, fighting demons or spiders or humans is almost identical, hell three unique demon types replace the three unique human enemy types.
@ Ravager: oh so very true. I somewhat understand the situation with Anders as it is critical to the plot, but stopping Merill while advancing her story should definitely have been possible, at worst just make her leave if you refuse to aid her. At least you can avoid butchering her whole clan, even if the option is pretty obscure.
ramessesjones
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Just got around to playing this and wasn't expecting much given some of the negativity, but overall I was pleasantly surprised and happy enough with the game.
For as much talk as there was about the combat being dumbed down, I don't really see it, at least on the higher difficulty levels where you need to control you whole party, the combat is pretty much exactly the same as Origins (although that isn't really saying much, combat in both games is serviceable but not great), with the exception of waves of enemies that appear out of nowhere (I don't mind the waves of enemies but I would preferred they out of doors or caves or whatever, instead of popping in). The general flow, control and strategies of the battles are very similar to the first game though.
I don't mind the absence of non-combat skills because the ones in Origins were pretty useless and not used much anyway.
The dialogue wheel wasn't as bad as I expected, although there were a few times were Hawke said things I didn't necessarily want to say, but it never ended up being a big deal.
Playing other races would have been nice, but it wouldn't have worked with the story.
What I liked about the game, is that it wasn't a continent sweeping epic and where you save in world, and the design was generally on the smaller scale; this made the game stand out as its own unique experience, rather than a regurgitation of Origins and also was likely easier for them to implement in its short development time (it does make the expansiveness of New Vegas look even more impressive given its short development time though). The cast of characters was pretty good (Varric is especially good) and the writing was solid overall.
I probably didn't like the game quite as much as Origins, but I think it serves as a nice transitional game in the series, to next game which will probably be bigger budget, in development longer and more expansive in design and story (the game hints at a possible continent spanning war involving Orlais).
For as much talk as there was about the combat being dumbed down, I don't really see it, at least on the higher difficulty levels where you need to control you whole party, the combat is pretty much exactly the same as Origins (although that isn't really saying much, combat in both games is serviceable but not great), with the exception of waves of enemies that appear out of nowhere (I don't mind the waves of enemies but I would preferred they out of doors or caves or whatever, instead of popping in). The general flow, control and strategies of the battles are very similar to the first game though.
I don't mind the absence of non-combat skills because the ones in Origins were pretty useless and not used much anyway.
The dialogue wheel wasn't as bad as I expected, although there were a few times were Hawke said things I didn't necessarily want to say, but it never ended up being a big deal.
Playing other races would have been nice, but it wouldn't have worked with the story.
What I liked about the game, is that it wasn't a continent sweeping epic and where you save in world, and the design was generally on the smaller scale; this made the game stand out as its own unique experience, rather than a regurgitation of Origins and also was likely easier for them to implement in its short development time (it does make the expansiveness of New Vegas look even more impressive given its short development time though). The cast of characters was pretty good (Varric is especially good) and the writing was solid overall.
I probably didn't like the game quite as much as Origins, but I think it serves as a nice transitional game in the series, to next game which will probably be bigger budget, in development longer and more expansive in design and story (the game hints at a possible continent spanning war involving Orlais).