Looks like EA has finally sunk their claws of mediocrity into Bioware.

[Kanaric]

I've been playing DA2 and its easily Biowares worst game. First they simplify Mass Effect 2 turning into a dime a dozen action game with an above average plot, now with Dragon Age they simplify their "classic rpm homage" game whose purpose was to emulate Baldurs Gate and games of that type. Why even make this game if you are going to do this?

This game is Mass Effect with swords, it is not unique at all. Combat was turned into a LOL LOLZY LOOK ITS AN ANIMATED 300 stupid action garbage animationfest. Whats sad is that Bioware is the only company that was making classic rpgs. We have Elder Scrolls, quake 1 axes only. We have Diablo, non rpg. Then we have JRPG Myst style adventure games with easy as battles. Nobody makes classic RPGs anymore, not even bioware, and it is sad.

Bioware, keep action garbage out of our games. Please if you want to make over the shoulder garbage action games stick with console, I do not want to be convinced to buy this trash again. One more game like this and Bioware will really have lost its luster having its label on a box, and it will signify the death of the CRPG genre.

I was hoping that Mass Effect 2s simplification was just the game being streamlined to a shooter-rpg and that they thought Dragon Age would be the classic style rpg they have promised to us. However Bioware is showing here they are no longer interested in making good games. Just games for bros to say LOL THAT WAS COOL at.

Also WTF is with the millions of DLC for this game? Liking it on facebook = dlc.... preorder = dlc.... any action other than playing the game = dlc.

God this game is the WORST. WTF were they thinking? They stopped making DND games because of Atari ing with them, then EA bought them, and this is what we get. I would rather of had a million mediocre NWN games than this.

Everything that was good about Bioware is absent from this most recent game. NWN1 release, unpatched and without player made modules that made the game great, was far better than this. This is ALMOST like playing that Troika TOEE abortion

[Sanguinary Guardian]

That was my reaction when I finished the demo, there is no way in hell I am giving 45 Euros for that game. DA universe apparently died in Awakening for me, since, if the new style is successful (and it will be with all those fools who think that gaming is "press a button and something awesome happens")...a pity...

[Stavroforos]

How is the story?

[Inhuman One]

It happens with all companies bought by EA.

ME2 was still a good game, I considered the first installment to be mediocre at the shooter and the rpg parts, so I can't blame them for embracing the shooter part more. It seems to work and the action is not over the top. the universe is fleshed out a lot further as well.

Just don't expect Bioware to ever make new franchises again.

[Captain Jin]

I don't really care about Dragon Age but I don't agree with you at all in regards to Mass Effect 2. That game was anything but mediocre.

[Qchongfu]

The story is meh...the more you play, the less you find yourself caring about it or Hawke for that matter.

[God-Emperor of Mankind]

I don't really care about Dragon Age but I don't agree with you at all in regards to Mass Effect 2. That game was anything but mediocre.

Read what he said
He said the first game was mediocre.

[Heathen Hammer]

Well, thats what happens when company sells out to Electronic A***oles. As long as they are with them Bioware would never release a CRPG again.
Its a shame they left Atari. D&D-based combat = win.

[Blaze86420]

One hell of a rant, I don't think the game is that bad. I'd give it a 7.5-8 out of 10.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

I agree about the combat gripes.

However the story and dialog are great. I typically look for the best in people, games, movies etc. Nothing's perfect and the story and dialog are quite good from what I've seen in the first 36 hours of the game (I'm trying for near full completion). They did improve the combat animations for the mage and archer this time around (archer has a small blade for melee that he automatically uses without switching weapon sets yay!).

The over-the-top impossible animations demonstrated by certain attacks and take downs are what I hate the most, especially the rogue leaping 5 times as high and far as is humanly possible and the bodies that fall apart on impact at every joint. I would prefer beheadings, or dismemberment takedown animations rather than this impossibly exaggerated stuff.

[Blaze86420]

Yeah, and don't forget the weapons. My staff actually goes past the ground, and the blades are wider than I am.

[Corvis]

This game is Mass Effect with swords, it is not unique at all. Combat was turned into a LOL LOLZY LOOK ITS AN ANIMATED 300 stupid action garbage animationfest. Whats sad is that Bioware is the only company that was making classic rpgs. We have Elder Scrolls, quake 1 axes only. We have Diablo, non rpg. Then we have JRPG Myst style adventure games with easy as battles. Nobody makes classic RPGs anymore, not even bioware, and it is sad.

Well, with Bethesda they were raping a well-established franchise that was actually well-crafted in many ways when they made Oblivion. With DA2 at least we don't lose anything, since Dragon Age was fairly mediocre from the start.

And removing the RPG elements in DA2 made no sense, whereas removing those elements in Mass Effect 2 arguably made it a better third person corridor shooter since the gameplay was decent. Dragon Age's (including Origins) gameplay consists of constant filler combat until you get up to fighting the boss. I'd bet if you removed all those trash mobs in DA:O, left in the bosses, and shrunk the maps down to compensate the game would probably be 3-5 hours long.

[blank]

Well, with Bethesda they were raping a well-established franchise that was actually well-crafted in many ways when they made Oblivion. With DA2 at least we don't lose anything, since Dragon Age was fairly mediocre from the start.

For my money, Oblivion was far better an RPG than DA2 is. Even with those awful oblivion gates and bugs.

And removing the RPG elements in DA2 made no sense, whereas removing those elements in Mass Effect 2 arguably made it a better third person corridor shooter since the gameplay was decent. Dragon Age's (including Origins) gameplay consists of constant filler combat until you get up to fighting the boss. I'd bet if you removed all those trash mobs in DA:O, left in the bosses, and shrunk the maps down to compensate the game would probably be 3-5 hours long.

Not sure what your point is here. Name some RPG/action games that don't have "filler" (all non-boss as you defined it) combat.

The concern is not so much about DA2, but rather for Bioware games in general; if EA continue their "policy", they will turn into a shooter/slasher company.

[Corvis]

Not sure what your point is here. Name some RPG/action games that don't have "filler" (all non-boss as you defined it) combat.

My point wasn't that the games have filler combat to begin with, but that most of the gameplay WAS the filler combat.

And I didn't define filler combat as any non-boss enemies. Filler combat to me is repetitive encounters that don't serve much purpose other than to artificially extend gameplay time and don't offer anything of interest. A lot of DA:O was filler combat, since mobs rarely dropped anything of real value other than potions, crafting material (which was mainly useless since you didn't need to make potions because you already had dozens of them just from loot), or trash goods to sell to merchants.

The concern is not so much about DA2, but rather for Bioware games in general; if EA continue their "policy", they will turn into a shooter/slasher company.

EA was looking to cash in on DA:O's success by rushing the development of DA2, but I don't see why BioWare should get off the hook so easily. I have no doubt that a lot of the features in DA2 is of their own doing. The company seems to want to head in this direction, what with their own developers repeatedly saying they want in the CoD audience and introduce everyone and their grandmothers to RPG's, EA's just kind've speeding up this process.

[frontier-auxilia]

Err dude have you the game from insane or something? From what i heard its a lot harder then the really Insane difficulty from DA:O.

Anyway i hope Bioware take heed of some of the complains since they come from people who will continue to support them with a passion and care about how the company made their product. Other people wouldn't have give a about it. Imo its not an absolute fest but then again i am one of those tasteless consle using plebians who have never touched classics like KOTOR, NWN or Baldur's gate.

Imo the combat was one of the better improvements they did in ME2. The first one was a half arsed shooter and any concept of tactics or sophisication can be thrown out when you simply shuft all your enemies in a biotic ball and shoot them continuously.

[Leo4444]

hitler agrees http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep_OTLZOQsU

[Habelo]

I think its sad that they will kill bioware off. Dont understand why all good companies sell out all the time? Is it purely out of greed or sum?

Atleast we have valve. Praise the gods!

[Inhuman One]

Great companies rise and fall, happens all the time. Let's just hope other great RPG makers will rise soon enough that have the same interestes as Bioware used to have before Sovereign (EA) got involved.

The thing with these developers is though, many die slowly and painfully, and maybe less than 1 out of 10 manages to make a come back. Unless Bioware breaks away from EA, they certainly won't return to greatness. Perhaps with ME3 they will give us one last good game, and maybe TOR will be good the first year before it is completely adapted to draw in the most simple minded customers. But after that it's likely over, and we will just be playing ME4,5, up to infinity and same for Dragon Age. Maybe they will even go out of their way to make terrible sequels for Jade Empire too.

[Sanguinary Guardian]

Great companies rise and fall, happens all the time. Let's just hope other great RPG makers will rise soon enough that have the same interestes as Bioware used to have before Sovereign (EA) got involved.

The thing with these developers is though, many die slowly and painfully, and maybe less than 1 out of 10 manages to make a come back. Unless Bioware breaks away from EA, they certainly won't return to greatness. Perhaps with ME3 they will give us one last good game, and maybe TOR will be good the first year before it is completely adapted to draw in the most simple minded customers. But after that it's likely over, and we will just be playing ME4,5, up to infinity and same for Dragon Age. Maybe they will even go out of their way to make terrible sequels for Jade Empire too.

That's the sum of all my fears for Bioware...
And, as a complete pessimist I don't believe that we will ever see pure RPG greatness like NWN in the future.The 45 Euros I had preserved to buy DA2, will go to the Witcher 2.
Perhaps later, when DA2 costs 15 Euros, I may buy it.

[PGeo36]

The simplification for Mass Effect 2 imo was fine. There were few areas that I thought were too simplified but for the most part it was fine. The thing with Mass Effect is that it was a more action orientated game to begin with.With Dragon Age, this was not the case which is why I really hate DA2. BiowarEA tried to make the Dragon Age franchise into the Mass Effect franchise. This doesn't work any better than trying to turn Mass Effect into Dragon Age. Both games have separate play styles and did fine in their own respective departments.