Dragon Age Gamespot Review

[draexem]

Theoretically you could complete Fallout 3 without killing anyone...

I still prefer BG2

 

[Grunker]

Theoretically you could complete Fallout 3 without killing anyone..

And as we all know that game was a true delicacy in the world of CRPGs.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Doesn't the codex gush over the fact that FO1 can be completed without killing anyone

You might argue that it's because it's also a brilliant game, but I recall this distinct feature receiving praise.

 

[draexem]

And as we all know that game was a true delicacy in the world of CRPGs.

Indeed, because we all know non-linearity is the measure of an RPG's worth. All rpgs must strive to be more like Fallout 3.

Let's all go make friends with Bethsoft.

 

[Grunker]

Doesn't the codex gush over the fact that FO1 can be completed without killing anyone

You might argue that it's because it's also a brilliant game, but I recall this distinct feature receiving praise.

Yes. That's exactly my point. The codex does give it praise for that, and they really shouldn't. At least they shouldn't spew out their nonsense on other games for not choosing that particular route.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Fuck your stupidity. Weresloth asked:

Would you not say that BG1 was non linear?

I answered:

You only had 1 way to proceed through the game, so yes, BG1 was linear.

End of story. Except you had to share pearls of wisdom:

And of course, as we know from literature and film, stories in which killing take place are never written into the annals of history..

to which I might answer:

And of course, as we know from literature and film, there are no other sorts of stories, nothing but killing, killing killi- oops, no, that's a load of crap, like you

But we can even skip that and just answer this comment from you:

You might be of the opinion that a game without killing would be fresh, but it's pretty fucking hollow to yell: "THERE'S KILLING! BAD GAME!"

Meh. Where did I say that? I said that every Biogame has been linear, allowing you only one way to proceed through the plot, which was always to kill the next guy and the next guy and the next guy and that anyone who thinks that DA:O might do things differently is deluding themselves.

Oh and AlaCarcuss,

DA:O is the best RPG to come along in fucking years regardless of weather it fits into your strict mould of rpg game mechanics - deal with it

Using your own "criteria", did you finish the game already? I have quite different observations about the people commenting on the game that you have.

Plus KotC has better combat and VtM:B has better plot&dialog&VA.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

I'm sorry, could you repeat that? There is no pausable combat? None at all? Like not even press the spacebar pausable combat?

Edit : Looks like there is pausable combat according to another thread.

Ok, I'll repeat what I said, just for you. It is not turnbased. The way RTWP flows and controls simply feels awkward and imprecise, a flawed, primitive version of real turn-based combat. Maybe not necessarily, but I can't think of any examples to the contrary. In any case combat seems to be more a way to showcase cool animations than a tactical, thrilling experience. Not that I had much hope after the disaster that was ME combat.

I've been registered here for a couple of years and lurked here for much longer and it's become increasingly apparent that most of the so called "old timers" sole purpose in life is to bitch, moan and complain about every single game released after 2000 and/or every game that doesn't adhere to their strict 'set in concrete' idea of what constitutes a 'hardcore' RPG. All this without any basis in fact or little (if any), time spent actually playing the games they bitch about.

Yeah, we should praise games that have unexciting and trivial set of good features (things like animation) and a large set of bad features that piss you off. I suppose much of the new codex crop are the kind of people who enjoyed Transformers 2 "for what it is".

 

[Grunker]

Meh. Where did I say that? I said that every Biogame has been linear

Oh. Excuse me, then. I though you had a point saying this, but apparently, it was just a statement out the blue.

I'm so sorry. You can go back to your pointlessness.

 

[Serious_Business]

You are pretty edgy new guy but you are definitively a product of the new shit so you will not be getting any credibility anytime soon here until more new guys come out and the circle of absurd nerd rage continues in an abyss of mediocrity until everyone forgets what was the point what was the ideal and why should we give a shit and then AoD comes out in 2024 and that will be the end of time

 

[Grunker]

You are pretty edgy new guy but you are definitively a product of the new shit so you will not be getting any credibility anytime soon here until more new guys come out and the circle of absurd nerd rage continues in an abyss of mediocrity until everyone forgets what was the point what was the ideal and why should we give a shit and then AoD comes out in 2024 and that will be the end of time

You are pretty cool for an old guy but you are definitively a product of dementia* so you will not be getting any credibility anytime soon until more old guys come out of the woodwork and the circle of absurd nerd rage continues in an abyss of bizarre arguments until everyone forgets what was the point what was the ideal and why should we give a shit and then AoD comes in out in 2024 and that will be the end of time.

Hey, you don't actually suck that much, grandpa. Learn to set a comma or two, maybe a dot once in a while, and we'll be allright, you and me :D

What is the point, and what is the ideal, again? I'm too young to have learned any of that stuff, and my mom won't tell me










*(since I actually agree with most of the hatred on the new shit, as posted in other threads)

 

[draexem]

Plus KotC has better combat and VtM:B has better plot&dialog&VA.

Stupid post considering you've never played the game, so you can't comment on the dialogue, and have had only limited exposure to the combat.

 

[racofer]

Grunker is so edgy I'm getting wet.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Plus KotC has better combat and VtM:B has better plot&dialog&VA.

Stupid post considering you've never played the game, so you can't comment on the dialogue, and have had only limited exposure to the combat.

Am I arguing with you about this on the other thread as well? Or was that some other just registered Biowhore?

Oh well, here goes:

COMBAT

I've seen several videos. I've read the first impression from Codexers.

1) It's realtime.
2) You need to drink potions = pinnacle of tactics
3) You have levelscaling and auto-regen

See?

That in some occasions I have to order the melee guys to stand fast infront of a door so mobs can't surround me isn't really anything to pat yourself on the back about. It's really basic stuff.

How about improving AI so that enemies avoid fire instead of running through it to get you? How about some open levels where you can use terrain to your advantage? How about enemies who ambush you? How about NOT forcing the player to have a chat with those extremely suspicious looking dudes blocking that bridge?

Yes, it's better than ME or JE or F3 or Oblivion. That's not really an achievement.

KotC was made by ONE GUY over the period of 3 years, using 20d Open Licence. DA:O was made by hundreds of guys over the period of 5 years and the combat is brainless and uninspired.

DIALOG/PLOT/VA

Again, videos. The Gaider-books. Dev-chats. Hey, it's ANCIENT EVIL (tm) coming again! But it's not orcs, it's ZOMBIE ORCS! And hey, mysterious underground badass organisation will fight it and YOU GET TO JOIN! Except the good king IS BETRAYED BY HIS EVIL ADVISOR! AND THE WIZARDS ARE SCHEMING IN THE BACKGROUND! And there's a dragon. EXCEPT IT'S MORRIGAN's MUM!

So, do we really have to go over the plot?

VA - according to videos it's woodenm, nonchalant and the actual reviews have already confirmed that it's "not a strong point for the game".

Dialog. As per shown in the videos, which depict events between major characters AND the banter between party members, again nothing to write home about. Maybe it's not utter shit like F3 but like in combat, that's really not an achievement.

 

[draexem]

1) It's realtime.
2) You need to drink potions = pinnacle of tactics
3) You have levelscaling and auto-regen

1) You won't like many more western rpgs coming out. You want turn based, it looks like you'll need to head to jrpgs, and even then they're starting to progress to real time.
2) Minor, you don't have to drink potions if you don't want to.
3) Auto-regen is no different to the old habit of spamming the rest button. Level scaling has me a bit miffed, but some levelscaling is needed to prevent people from complaining that it's boring/too easy... which they were doing with free-roaming games that weren't level scaled. It'll probably be a staple for most modern rpgs that come out.

Again, videos. The Gaider-books. Dev-chats. Hey, it's ANCIENT EVIL (tm) coming again! But it's not orcs, it's ZOMBIE ORCS! And hey, mysterious underground badass organisation will fight it and YOU GET TO JOIN! Except the good king IS BETRAYED BY HIS EVIL ADVISOR! AND THE WIZARDS ARE SCHEMING IN THE BACKGROUND! And there's a dragon. EXCEPT IT'S MORRIGAN's MUM!

Yes, by all reports the plot was crappy.

Also, by all reports the Gaider books were horrible true, but very few game writers make good book writers because different rules apply (although ex Bioware employee Naomi Novik has managed the transition well).

Dialog. As per shown in the videos, which depict events between major characters AND the banter between party members, again nothing to write home about.

Again, these are nothing more than snippets. What have you not taken into consideration? Maybe you don't like one of the characters shown, maybe the people at EA who selected the pieces of banter to show were trying to drag in some younger gamers and picked pieces of banter aimed at that purpose, banter that wasn't to your cup of tea.

You can't comment on dialogue throughout the game through videos and screenshots.

 

[circ]

From now on, if you want to give your impressions of a BioWare game you will have to:

A. Read and listen through every single word to get the right impression -- aka this game is awesome. It doesn't matter if 99% of the dialogue is garbage, it's the 1% that counts, stupid. This is BioWare, they always cram the best parts into that 1%.

B. You have to play through the game on every single difficulty level with every single party option with every single class, simultanously, with several computers or consoles.

C. You can't get an accurate estimate of what BioWare wanted you to experience if you watch your buddy play the game. These are BioWare games, your tiny peabrain can not comprehend the complexities that arise when you are in the drivers seat, and there's no way you could possibly deduce whether or not you will enjoy this game or not through such archaic means.

D. You must wait atleast 10 years until the game has been patched and modded to get the experience that BioWare intended to give you had they not run over budget and had had more time.

Once these prerequisites are met, only then are you qualified to judge a BioWare game.

 

[Phelot]

Why is there no demo for this game? Why don't they ever release demos for video games nowadays?

 

[draexem]

Once these prerequisites are met, only then are you qualified to judge a BioWare game.

As opposed to right now where people are bashing Bioware to sound good/pose/fit in knowing very little about the game they're bashing.

I reckon if you're bashing a game you have little knowledge of, people should be allowed to call you out and expose you as a complete and utter heretic.

 

[circ]

I reckon if you're bashing a game you have little knowledge of, people should be allowed to call you out and expose you as a complete and utter heretic.

Erm so, all those excerpts from the books and the games and all that information divulged in the numerous reviews so far have given people next to no knowledge whatsoever so far? I suppose somewhere along the way of your bizarro claims, humans suddenly completely lost their ability to deduce a goddamn thing.

 

[draexem]

Erm so, all those excerpts from the books

All books will do is give some detail about the history/world. Most people harping on about the game aren't harping on about the history/world.

numerous reviews so far have given people next to no knowledge whatsoever so far?

Yeah, there's very few reviews that will provide you with any meaningful detailed information. Even the few really good ones really only touch on most aspects of the game. They don't give you a really good idea about the game as a whole and most reviews are utter tripe. Unless you trust all those reviews concerning Oblivion and Fallout... which I found completely fucking useless.

I suppose somewhere along the way of your bizarro claims, humans suddenly completely lost their ability to deduce a goddamn thing.

I don't trust the majority of this forum to deduce their way out of a (very large) paper bag.

 

[racofer]

All books will do is give some detail about the history/world. Most people harping on about the game aren't harping on about the history/world.

So if the game world is total shit on the reader's eyes, that still disqualifies his opinion in regards of it?

I don't trust the majority of this forum to deduce their way out of a (very large) paper bag.

So you completely disregard people's opinions on the matter if they're in disagreement with you. And you have the straight face of coming here and asking DU to dumbfuck this and that poster. As Volly would say, r00fles!

 

[draexem]

So if the game world is total shit on the reader's eyes, that still disqualifies his opinion in regards of it?

Seeing as most of the posters bagging Dragon Age weren't talking about the world, or knew much about it, your point is moot. However, if they did know about the world and they still considered it total shit, then no his/her opinion will not be disqualified.

So you completely disregard people's opinions on the matter if they're in disagreement with you. And you have the straight face of coming here and asking DU to dumbfuck this and that poster. As Volly would say, r00fles!

You're ability to put words in peoples mouths in just one of the many reasons you deserve a dumbfuck. This post is a classic example.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

Oh and AlaCarcuss,

DA:O is the best RPG to come along in fucking years regardless of weather it fits into your strict mould of rpg game mechanics - deal with it

Using your own "criteria", did you finish the game already? I have quite different observations about the people commenting on the game that you have.

Plus KotC has better combat and VtM:B has better plot&dialog&VA.

No, I havn't finished it but I'm about 25hrs into it - so those are my impressions so far.

VtM:B came out what? - over 5 years ago? So yeah - "best RPG in years" still holds true. Besides, Vtm:B may have better plot/dialog (not by much), but that's only one component you comparing. DA:O is better in pretty much every other area.

It's pretty damn hard to compare the combat in KotC to DA also - one's turn-based and the other's RTwP - true real-time too, not phase or round-based like BG and NWN, which supprisingly makes the combat flow more freely and is easier to manage. You characters act almost immediately after issuing commands and don't wait around for thier turn.

I'm loving the combat in DA:O actually, far, FAR superior to anything Bioware's produced before.

But again your only comparing one aspect of KotC - the combat. Again, DA is better in every other regard. (I love both Vtm & KotC btw).

 

[racofer]

You're roll ability to put words in peoples mouths in just one of the many reasons you deserve a dumbfuck. This post is a classic example.

I do not post about anything other than what has been said. Also you clearly fail at seeing your own failures since you deliberately place everyone on the same bag around here, disregarding individual opinions and generalizing whenever possible to avoid direct confrontation.

 

[Volourn]

"Theoretically you could complete Fallout 3 without killing anyone... "

No. This is a bullshit lie.

 

[draexem]

I do not post about anything other than what has been said. Also you clearly fail at seeing your own failures since you deliberately place everyone on the same bag around here, disregarding individual opinions and generalizing whenever possible to avoid direct confrontation.

More generalising bull from Racofer, who likes to projects his own faults on to others.