So Bioware’s new and sparkling RPG is coming out in Nov (Gamespot Launch Center here). It is touted to be the best thing since…eh, Baldur’s Gates II, and is a “dark fantasy” RPG.
I am not so sure; this game has the chop 'HUBRIS: TEMPTING THE GAMING GODS TO SMITE IT AS A ROTTEN GAME" stamped all over it. It kind of reminds me of Hellgate London.
Even before the game is out, they are already talking about paid downloadable content. I am thinking “WTH?” - you are already counting the eggs even before there are any chickens?
Green Ronin Game already has a pen and paper RPG designed based on the game.
It kinds of remind me of Hellgate London putting out a comic and having novelization. And the game turned out to be a bomb.
Here’s hoping Bioware is not making the same mistake too.
So, are you looking forward to the game? I am, actually, for the lack of a good PC RPG for some time.
I’ve been following Dragon Age on and off for the past few years. It was announced quite a while ago.
Of course, so close to release, I’ve been a regular over in the boards and at their website.
I’ve got to say that given what I’ve seen, it looks extremely promising. There have been numerous previews all which mention that Bio’s tagline, “spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate”, is spot on. The couple of early reviews have also garnered a 9 to a 9.5 which is encouraging.
The most negative things I’ve heard so far about the game are that the graphics aren’t Crysis level, which is fine because they’re great for an RPG, and that it’s difficult. Great news IMHO! I’m sick and tired of the hand holding that goes on in order to appeal to casual gamers.
The expanding of the game into the books, comics, and pnp (and now a flash game and online comic) is being done as marketing but also to flesh out the world. Their plans are to start a franchise here, not just make 1 game, and they need to compete with game worlds that have a lot of depth to them such as the Forgotten Realms in D&D and the Elder Scrolls world.
The whole day one DLC hullabaloo is mostly about people not knowing the facts. There are three pieces of DLC. Two of them are free to everyone with a new copy of the game. It’s essentially free day one content. Oh no! How terrible!
The last piece is free to people who get the digital deluxe version (to make up for the lack of goodies that come with the boxed copy) and is otherwise $7.00. The reason why it’s day one DLC is that the game was done back in February (for the PC) but was delayed so that it could be released alongside the console port for marketing reasons. In that intervening time the DLC team finished this DLC. I suppose they can sit on it for another six months, but as a fan of the game, I’m happy I have the option to purchase it on day one. It’s a dungeon to explore with some new items, it’s not cut content or crucial.
Oooh, the character creator was released on Tuesday. It’s not a game demo really, but it’s pretty cool - it lets you see the skills and some of the attributes you’ll get to choose from as you level up.
Yes. Given Bioware’s reputation with the genre, I pre-ordered. I won’t visit the message boards though, as most gamers who dwell on game specific forums make me want to break out the clue-by-four and use it judiciously. I don’t have the stamina to wade through the flotsam to find posts that are actually interesting.
Yep. Bioware’s RPGs are always solid (at the very least). I was going to mention the weaknesses of KOTOR 2 and NWN 2, but I looked them up and they were punted to Obsidian, which then screwed both of them up just enough to make them less than enjoyable.
Bioware has the RPG mechanics down (including some pretty solid variations on that theme), and usually can come up with a pretty good story and setting. I’d be surprised if Dragon’s Age wasn’t decent at the very least, so I’m looking forward to it.
Having loved BG, BGII the various Ice Wind Dales and Planescape I really want to like it. My problem is perhaps in the marketing - I can’t not stand the relentless blood fixation. There’s no way I could sit down and play this with my boys hanging over my shoulder giving me the benefit of their vast experience . I’ll try out the character generator and wait to hear if my problem is with the advertising or the game itself.
There will probably be a “Gore” option (though I haven’t play-tested, seen a beta, or read the message boards). It’s pretty common. I’m pretty sure Baldur’s Gate II had the same option. Personally, I liked seeing my opponents turned into bloody goo.
Gore option has been confirmed by the devs. Although people with a similar concenr who played the demo at the various conventions this year have said the blood isn’t a big deal. The characters do come out fo fights with blood flecks on their armor/face though, I have seen that on the videos. But witha toggle, it should be ok for your kids.
The marketing is trying to appeal to a large audience, one that wouldn’t normally give an in depth RPG like Dragon Age a chance. That is all Marketing is there for. Nothing the devs have said or I have seen in demos leads me to believe that this is going to be anything other than a great, in depth, mature RPG.
Ehhh, but keep that in mind. this game is not for young kids. It’s for adults. There are a considerable array fo grey moral choices that must be made, there is the possibility of an intimidate relationship with NPC’s, etc. Think BG 2/Planescape torment, not fable or Oblivion.
Just reading through the 6 different Origins should give you an idea of the topics covered in the game: slavery, political machinations, betrayal, prostitution, xenophobia and intolerance, etc.
I was wary of buying it since I expect it will demand more of a computer than I have. I bought Mass Effect and can only barely play (I can’t say “run” because I can’t apply that word to the game’s performance on that machine!) that on my husband’s laptop, which is newer than mine.
However - I’m thrilled to see they’re releasing it on the PS3! We have PCs, PS3, Wii, and DS at our house, and typically Bioware hasn’t been putting out PS3 releases, so this is great.
You’ll be missing out on some things in the PC version that the consoles aren’t getting, but if you don’t have a rig capable of running it, then that would be the way to go. PS3 version is coming out I think 2 weeks after the PC/360 version.
That’s assuming I do outlay the cash for a new game so soon after buying a DS, but otherwise, my alternative is probably waiting another year or so until I get a new laptop. I even stopped trying to play Mass Effect on my husband’s laptop because the graphics had to be cranked so far down that it was ugly to look at, and that’s saying something because otherwise I’m a big Bioware fangirl.
Is a desktop out of the question? you can get one that will max out the game (and any others for the foreseeable future) for a lot less than a gaming laptop. We’re talking <50% the cost of a high end laptop.
Yeah, our house is small and there really isn’t a good place to put a desktop. Plus my husband and I play WoW together and we like for the both of us to be in the living room on our laptops. He’s on the couch with his laptop on the coffee table and I’m in a chair with a little endtable and my laptop parked on it. We also take our laptops on vacation.
Played around with it for a bit. The spells and special abilities feel very MMORPGish, don’t they ? Both in what they do, and their descriptions. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a growing trend in RPGs and it annoys me. Cut the “does light damage” crap, gimme numbers to crunch !
As a rogue lover I must say I’m also a bit disappointed, there. Warriors and Mages get five skill trees to play with, rogues only three (including a fighter duplicate)
OTOH, the face generator is neat - it manages to be more in depth than your usual “pick your face from these 10 predefinites”, yet at the same time not as frustrating to use as the Oblivion/Mass Effect/Fallout 3 one, where you’d always end up with a fugly if you kept fiddling with the sliders.
I also like the fact that an Elven warrior will not start with the same stats and skills as a Humie or Dorf one. Sure, by the end of the game they’ll probably all be the same, but it cuts down a bit on the “everybody is equal & it’s all just eye candy” thing, which, again, irks me in MMORPGs.
If you sign up on the DA community site and upload a character you created using the app you’ll get an ingame item. I believe it’s te luck stone +1 to all attributes.
