Preview Don't Worry, Dragon Age II Is For You, Too

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age 2

<p>... Kotaku claims in their <a href="http://kotaku.com/5692653/" target="_blank">latest preview</a> of <strong>Dragon Age II</strong>.</p>
<blockquote>
<h4>PC Differences</h4>
<p>There are some changes PC fans should know, about how their version will differ. First, and this is sort of a non-difference, but the PC game won't be made separately this time. All versions of the game are being made by BioWare's internal teams.</p>
<p>The bigger change, however, is that the game will no longer support an overhead tactical view on any platform. This was an art and combat-design decision, the BioWare rep told me today. Support for that Baldur's Gate-style view forced the artists to design rooms and scenes that didn't have important things on their ceilings and skies &mdash; which top-down players wouldn't see.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of course you wouldn't want that. Also keep in mind that the isometric view greatly disturbs the single most important RPG element: <em>the cinematic flow</em>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It also forced the designers into an awkward spot where they had to accommodate top-down turn-taking players and behind-the-back action-first players. By catering to the more reckless of those playing styles, the designers were forced to make the game's difficulty fairly low. Making all players play from some sort of from-the-rear camera view alleviates that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wait, what? The fact that you could play the game on autopilot for 99% of the time was actually caused by the viewpoints? Who would have thought.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But! PC gamers, your version will include a special option to zoom the camera out, just not up. Console gamers won't get that.</p>
<p>The PC version will also handle combat commands a little differently, letting a player click to issue a continued attack command, instead of forcing them to button-mash (or mouse-click like maniacs, as it were). Leave that to the console gamers.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Autopilot. Watch the particle effects while waiting for your victory.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What to make of all this? Dragon Age II's lack of depth may have been exaggerated. I'd seen concerns that BioWare was abandoning its roots by making DAII more of a Mass Effect kind of game. I don't see that happening as egregiously here as I think some had feared. This series has been altered for a wider audience, but dumbed down? Sold out? I don't see that. There are classic PC RPG roots here. They're just a little more buried than before.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes, what to make of all this? They just burry a portion of their PC RPG roots with every game but they don't sell out, the game will still be deep with ... depth and complexity and so on and then you push a button and something awesome happens.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/100453-dragon-age-ii-preview.html">GB</a></p>

 

[SimpleComplexity]

This series has been has been altered for a wider audience, but dumbed down? Sold out? I don't see that.

Blinded by EA's cock.

 

[MicoSelva]

I'd comment some of these 'revelations', but VoD's comments really say it all.

 

[Morkar Left]

The amount of "It´s not dumped down and consolized"-speaking should already tell everyone that it is.

 

[Ermm]

What to make of all this? Dragon Age II's lack of depth may have been exaggerated. I'd seen concerns that BioWare was abandoning its roots by making DAII more of a Mass Effect kind of game. I don't see that happening as egregiously here as I think some had feared. This series has been altered for a wider audience, but dumbed down? Sold out? I don't see that. There are classic PC RPG roots here. They're just a little more buried than before.

Hur Hur HurrDerp.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

I've said it before and I'm saying it again: they really should give Dragon Age 2 the ME2 treatment. Dragon Age is a pretentious piece of shit of a game. Give Hawk a machine gun and some walls to press up against.

 

[ChristofferC]

So the differences are that you can zoom out the camera a bit? Yeah, that's real different.

 

[jiujitsu]

It sure sounds like selling out to me. You can't blame them. It's their job and they want money. Their pnp d&d roots are severed.

In other news GOG.com has all of the IE games available for ten bucks a pop. The new shit just doesn't compare.

 

[Jaedar]

"By catering to the more reckless of those playing styles, the designers were forced to make the game's difficulty fairly low. "

Didn't every single "professional" reviewer complain that the game was too hard, and didn't bioware fix this by releasing a patch which made easy dramatically more easy?

Classic flipflop I guess.

 

[Tycn]

I've said it before and I'm saying it again: they really should give Dragon Age 2 the ME2 treatment. Dragon Age is a pretentious piece of shit of a game. Give Hawk a machine gun and some alien tits to press up against.

There you go.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Who didn't see this one coming? Big fuck you to the Bioware-apologists who thought this wasn't going to happen.

 

[Begriffenfeldt]

My head hurts.

 

[Dyskolos]

Big fuck you to the Bioware-apologists who thought this wasn't going to happen.

Anyone who has managed to remain a defender of the true faith for this long isn't going to go down that easily. Just wait and watch for the weasling to begin.

 

[Xor]

I'm so glad I don't care about this game, otherwise these apologist articles might piss me off.

 

[Zed]

I'm so glad I don't care about this game, otherwise these apologist articles might piss me off.

I don't feel like I care about the game but I'm still pissed off

 

[Topher]

"By catering to the more reckless of those playing styles, the designers were forced to make the game's difficulty fairly low. "

Didn't every single "professional" reviewer complain that the game was too hard, and didn't bioware fix this by releasing a patch which made easy dramatically more easy?

Classic flipflop I guess.

Yep. I remember hearing all over the place that it was difficult. Almost every review I read talked about it. So I don't know what their on about.

 

[bhlaab]

I tried Dragon Age recently. It was a piece of shit and it's not like Baldur's Gate was a tactical masterpiece to rival X-Com and JA2 either.

Mass Effect 2 on the other hand was decent enough to be The Best Game Bioware Has Made Since MDK 2 so maybe this is for the best. Instead of making bad RPGs maybe Bioware should focus more on milquetoast action games.

 

[racofer]

Baldur's Gate was a tactical masterpiece to rival X-Com and JA2 either.

 

[Shannow]

It also forced the designers into an awkward spot where they had to accommodate top-down turn-taking players and behind-the-back action-first players. By catering to the more reckless of those playing styles, the designers were forced to make the game's difficulty fairly low. Making all players play from some sort of from-the-rear camera view alleviates that.

The POV determines the difficulty... aha.

This series has been altered for a wider audience, but dumbed down?

Yes, "altered for a wider audience" (especially one that needs a low difficulty because it didn't use the restricted and fucked up birds-eye view that DA:O gave you if you wanted it) means "dumbed down". Sechs, setzen.

Well now, DA2 might be an uninteresting piece of dross but at least it elicits some moronic "reviewer" newspeak to entertain me. Next generation of DRM will probably try to charge me for that, too.

 

[Flatlander]

But, as a PC gamer I liked Bioware much more back when they were unreasonable trend setters instead of the reasonable trend followers they've become under EA.

I was a bit hazed out during the period that Bio raised to its fame so how much of the above is true? Esp. the part about _unreasonable_ trend setter.

 

[DalekFlay]

Yes, "altered for a wider audience" (especially one that needs a low difficulty because it didn't use the restricted and fucked up birds-eye view that DA:O gave you if you wanted it) means "dumbed down". Sechs, setzen.

It's pretty common lately for the mainstream gaming press to ignore that little bit of common sense. They talk of streamlining, simplifying and enhancing accessibility, but refuse to admit this is dumbing things down in any way. The fact that it's common sense seems to go over their heads.

 

[Lesifoere]

The amount of "It´s not dumped down and consolized"-speaking should already tell everyone that it is.

Yes. The moron doth protest too much.

 

[ArcturusXIV]

This game just reeks a little too much of the "badass" gene.

 

[BlackCanopus]

It also forced the designers into an awkward spot where they had to accommodate top-down turn-taking players and behind-the-back action-first players. By catering to the more reckless of those playing styles, the designers were forced to make the game's difficulty fairly low. Making all players play from some sort of from-the-rear camera view alleviates that.

I honestly don't know what to say about this load of bullshit.

 

[Xor]

It also forced the designers into an awkward spot where they had to accommodate top-down turn-taking players and behind-the-back action-first players. By catering to the more reckless of those playing styles, the designers were forced to make the game's difficulty fairly low. Making all players play from some sort of from-the-rear camera view alleviates that.

I honestly don't know what to say about this load of bullshit.

Call it like it is. A revisionist statement to give them an excuse to remove the overhead view. I suspect there is some truth to the quote, as they probably did lower the difficulty to make it easier for retards, but the viewpoint has absolutely nothing to do with that. FFS.