Game News Desslock – Decline of Gaming and Dragon Age II

[shihonage]

I actually love Fallout 3 as much as its predecessors

Not enough convergence of our sanity planes to bother reading further.

 

[ortucis]

I agree with Desslock. I thought the DA:O graphics were pretty good (excluding the blurry textures). Realistic art style was way better than the cartoonish crap in DA2. Battles were also more fun, for obvious reasons.

I didn't care for the original Fallout games and enjoyed Fallout 3 and Vegas as well.

 

[Cuntfish]

What's this faggot's real name?

Does he fancy himself a Transformer or some shit?

 

[attackfighter]

Yeah, that set me off too. The thoughtless encounter design was the biggest problem with DAO.

Stop the bullshits, start the truths.
Desslock is actually right - in a lot of instances enemies in DA were handplaced and utilized terrain: archers and mages were put on raised terrain or balconies, well behind the fighter lines, while narrow passageways leading to them were filled with traps, thieves would ambush you at the most innoportune moment, firebal-hurling arcane horrors would suddenly break into a room when you were surrounded by zombies, even in the Korkari wilds the Genlock Emissary (or whatever the guy's name) would retreat after being hit only to lure you into a a carefuly set ambush.
There was a lot of mindless enemy mobs too, but quite a large number of encounters were actually well-designed.

As it has been mentioned before the tedium of DA combat stemmed from fighting the same 3 enemy archetypes countless times over and having a limited set of tactics due to a not very complicated combat system. But saying that there was no thought behind encounter design just because you did not like the game is stretching the truth a bit too much.

All of the highlighted stuff is also present in DA2. The gaming journalist (aka retard hack) that wrote the article is just jumping on the hatewagon, and the hatewagon itself started not because DA2 was a decline from DAO, but rather because it was marketed in a way that didn't appeal to Bio's fanbase. If Bioware hadn't advertised it as an RPG lite then no one would have an issue with it (asides from the 'dex I suppose), because 99% of gamers are superfluous idiots who form their opinions not from objective reasoning but from whichever commercial has the most explosions and manly metrosexual action heroes.

 

[Zeus]

the hatewagon itself started not because DA2 was a decline from DAO, but rather because it was marketed in a way that didn't appeal to Bio's fanbase. If Bioware hadn't advertised it as an RPG lite then no one would have an issue with it

Right, because the types of fans who ate up the Marilyn Manson music video from DA:O objected to DA2's advertisements. It was all marketing. It had nothing to do with Bioware dropping the key selling point of Dragon Age--the Origins. That's like if SSI's sequel to Pool of Radiance didn't have any dungeons or dragons, and everyone tried to blame the backlash on bad marketing.

 

[Jasede]

I feel (more) stupid after reading that article.

 

[Serious_Business]

All of the highlighted stuff is also present in DA2. The gaming journalist (aka retard hack) that wrote the article is just jumping on the hatewagon, and the hatewagon itself started not because DA2 was a decline from DAO, but rather because it was marketed in a way that didn't appeal to Bio's fanbase. If Bioware hadn't advertised it as an RPG lite then no one would have an issue with it (asides from the 'dex I suppose), because 99% of gamers are superfluous idiots who form their opinions not from objective reasoning but from whichever commercial has the most explosions and manly metrosexual action heroes.

lol objective reasoning. You're pretty smart

 

[attackfighter]

the hatewagon itself started not because DA2 was a decline from DAO, but rather because it was marketed in a way that didn't appeal to Bio's fanbase. If Bioware hadn't advertised it as an RPG lite then no one would have an issue with it

Right, because the types of fans who ate up the Marilyn Manson music video from DA:O objected to DA2's advertisements. It was all marketing. It had nothing to do with Bioware dropping the key selling point of Dragon Age--the Origins. That's like if SSI's sequel to Pool of Radiance didn't have any dungeons or dragons, and everyone tried to blame the backlash on bad marketing.

They screwed up with DAO's marketing too, but to a lesser extent and it was still percieved as a hardcore spiritual successor to the Baldurs Gate series (which was anything but the truth). Everything about DA2's marketing was wrong though, they completely misread their audience.

lol objective reasoning. You're pretty smart

And I suppose you're some kind of tragically misunderstood genius.

 

[Zeus]

They screwed up with DAO's marketing too, but to a lesser extent and it was still percieved as a hardcore spiritual successor to the Baldurs Gate series (which was anything but the truth). Everything about DA2's marketing was wrong though, they completely misread their audience.

If trying to pitch a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate series with this isn't completely misreading the audience, I don't know what is.

 

[attackfighter]

They screwed up with DAO's marketing too, but to a lesser extent and it was still percieved as a hardcore spiritual successor to the Baldurs Gate series (which was anything but the truth). Everything about DA2's marketing was wrong though, they completely misread their audience.

If trying to pitch a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate series with this isn't completely misreading the audience, I don't know what is.

Yeah but they only made two trailers like that, the rest of their marketing was aimed towards pushing how oldskool and classicthe game was. The "spiritual successor" catch even started with one of the interviews they did. With DAO it seemed like they were split between appealing to their standard fanbase of faux RPG gamers and... whatever demographic Marilyn Manson is supposed to appeal to... with DA2 it seemed as though they were only focused on the latter.

 

[Brother None]

Yeah but they only made two trailers like that, the rest of their marketing was aimed towards pushing how oldskool and classicthe game was.

Well, the division is pretty clear, and it's not between DA:O and DAII, it's between Tudge/Knowles' DA:O as opposed to Laidlaw/EA's DA:O and DAII. All those New Shit ads and focus on blood spatter and sex opportunities did was show us what's to come.

 

[villain of the story]

I love the realistic, gritty artistic style of Dragon Age: Origins. It’s grounded, and doesn’t look like a cartoonish

LOLWUT

I agree with Desslock. I thought the DA:O graphics were pretty good (excluding the blurry textures). Realistic art style was way better than the cartoonish crap in DA2.

LOLWUT

I didn't care for the original Fallout games and enjoyed Fallout 3 and Vegas as well.

0/10. Brand with a "T" on the ass and the forehead.

 

[DaveO]

Give it up Desslock. Your relevance expired a long time ago just like the crappy site you work for.

 

[mydnight]

Pagan was awesome. Fuck the haters!

 

[Nex]

Pagan was awesome. Fuck the haters!

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

What's this faggot's real name?

Does he fancy himself a Transformer or some shit?

Stefan Janicki.
http://twitter.com/thedesslock

 

[Daemongar]

Pagan was awesome. Fuck the haters!

You are just wrong. Post patch Pagan was tolerable and fun in some areas, pre-patch Pagan was a nightmare. I finished it both ways, and the pain is still etched upon my mind. The Titan of Air where you have to jump on them rocks or die, using the crummy jump feature? Running around underground where ANY moment the ground could cave in and you just plain die?

The thing that bothered me the most about is U8 is that there was soo much stuff there. It could have been something, but it was so fucking gloomy. Not fun with the dirge type music playing constantly. Nope, U9 at least had some lighter moments and a sense of exploration. U8 just had so much that went nowhere.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Give it up Desslock. Your relevance expired a long time ago just like the crappy site you work for.

Indeed.

 

[Orgasm]

Didn't even read it.

I never read the linked articles. Previously I used to read the summary by the newsposter, but now I've stopped doing that as well and only read the snarky attempts at humour underneath. As long as they contain an emoticon that is.

I look for avatars that provided lulz in the past.

 

[commie]

What's this faggot's real name?

Does he fancy himself a Transformer or some shit?

Fuck me, Desslock is not a fucking Transformer! Desslock is the Anglo naming of Desslar, the leader of the Gamilons in 'Star Blazers'(Space Battleship Yamato).

Where's a Star Blazers RPG or strategy so I have an excuse to have a Desslar avatar?

 

[Metro]

Pagan was an abomination. Super Avatar Brothers.

 

[Excommunicator]

I would take Pagan over Dragon Age quite easily

 

[Daemongar]

I would take Pagan over Dragon Age quite easily

The understatement of the year. I would take Pagan unpatched over Origins.

 

[Jaesun]

Ultima VIII: Pagan's The Execution Scene (and music) are still far better than any thing BioWare has ever done in the Dragon Age series...

 

[Befuddled Halfling]

Desslock is actually right - in a lot of instances enemies in DA were handplaced and utilized terrain: archers and mages were put on raised terrain or balconies, well behind the fighter lines, while narrow passageways leading to them were filled with traps, thieves would ambush you at the most innoportune moment, firebal-hurling arcane horrors would suddenly break into a room when you were surrounded by zombies, even in the Korkari wilds the Genlock Emissary (or whatever the guy's name) would retreat after being hit only to lure you into a a carefuly set ambush.
There was a lot of mindless enemy mobs too, but quite a large number of encounters were actually well-designed.

As it has been mentioned before the tedium of DA combat stemmed from fighting the same 3 enemy archetypes countless times over and having a limited set of tactics due to a not very complicated combat system. But saying that there was no thought behind encounter design just because you did not like the game is stretching the truth a bit too much.

Exactly. Origins put lots of thought in 90% of its encounter design. Almost everyone complaining of trash/filler will fit into one of these categories:

1) Playing on console (so a different game basically)
2) Playing on PC at normal or below (where enemy abilities have been nerfed to triviality and do indeed become "trash"). Think that hard = just more HP = more time
3) Primarily a storyfag (so any combat other than story specific = "filler")
4) Only accepts turn based as valid combat system (or some other CGA system from the DOS era).
5) Holds the length of DAO against it (after 50 hours you've seen it all, therefore combat = repetitive)
6) Ultra picky in pointing at a few overpowered skills (Mana Clash, Cone of Cold) as evidence of whole system being "shit". Or are under the illusion that 3 or 4 template tactics work for most encounters.
7) Bragging ("beat Jarvia on nightmare solo, unarmed, first playthrough, while simultaneously fucking my cat's anus") and the 75% of players kept dying repeatedly on normal in the Tower of Ishal (per BIO telemetry) are retards compared to my awesomeness.

The funny part is, even after Origins' pre-planned ecnounters (which each took an hour to set up on paper, per Knowles) were replaced by DA2's thin air spawning with all enemies indistinguishable from each other (which probably took less than 30 seconds to design), half the Codex still doesn't see see the difference! Fuck DAO, and fuck everything - because we wouldn't know a promising step in the right direction if it bit us on the balls.