joyner1229 wrote...
Well, this thread is comparing it to other games from Bioware. In terms of story, BG1...well, if you squint really hard, and are really patient, you'll see some semblance of a story. BG2, as I said, was good, but fairly generic (chase evil wizard who just wants more power and desecrated the Tree of Life), and I felt no emotional punch. ToB's story actually had me more involved because of how atmospheric it was, the fact that it threw you into the Bhaalspawn crisis, and the fact that it felt urgent from the get go. BG was a good adaptation of D&D lore/mechanics, but felt generic because of it.
You're falling into "Seinfeld is unfunny" territory, which is what the post you quoted was highlighting. BG was Bioware's first game - from the perspective of a just-launched company putting out its first product, it's nothing short of a marvel. Sure, the story was barebones, and the revelation that you were a child of Bhaal was pretty lackluster, but it still had a depth and attention to detail that most games today still can't match. Lots of easter eggs, avenues for players speedrunning the game to use to progress faster, large open areas with plenty of enemies and optional encounters, tons of background material, and (until ToB) one of the biggest dungeons in a D&D video game ever made (Durlag's Tower).
BG2 is the Empire Strikes Back to BG's Star Wars. It doubled the size of the world, added a ton of extra followers with interesting stories, greatly expanded the lore and stakes of the plot and wrapped it up in an experience that is still unmatched today. Sure, it had problems - the pathfinding in the Underdark is hopelessly borked, there are bugs galore, you get railroaded into plot events more than most games of the era - but its villains, roster of squadmates and variety of locations still haven't been beat, not even by DA:O.
DA:O, by comparison, feels like a greatest hits compilation of everything the BG series offered. The DA romances aren't a speck on BG (considering you actively had to work throughout the entire game and pick the right options and choices during events to see it through to completion), the roster of squadmates was smaller, the plot was a heck of a lot more linear and the entire experience just paled for me in comparison to BG. I remember Irenicus and Bodhi, Yoshimo's betrayal and Sarevok's redemption far more than I remember the final battle at Fort Drakon. The only things I think DA:O did better were the alternate origin scenarios and the wider breadth of epilogues, although BG's worked better for me because of how descriptive and tightly written they were.
For characters, I almost cried when my companions said goodbye to me in DA:O at the Denerim Gates. I made sure to upgrade my entire ship so that my crew would be safe in ME2 because of the connection I had with them. I felt...well, nothing when my companions in BG said their final battle quotes. Characters are again, pretty generic and suprisingly, say very little and have little importance to the plot. As I believe I said, Imoen (your sister) says almost nothing through BG1, and very little in BG2 after you recover her. And I always bring up Minsc, since he's so popular, yet incredibly one-dimensional. The hamster schtick just does not make him interesting to me.
I could say the same thing about any of Bioware's other games - the fact that it often hinges on a "secret history" revelation, the standard beginning-of-the-third-act sex scene, the majority of the squadmates in ME2's characters boiling down to "help me because I have daddy issues", at least one character in every BW game being a Tali clone, etc.
You fail to realize that, before BG2, there were very few (if any) developers putting this amount of time and attention to supporting character arcs. You mention Minsc - he's the game mascot because of his loopiness, but he still has plenty of depth for what is ostensibly a one-note character. Loyal to a fault, intensely protective, wants to be remembered for his deeds. Did you not see Jaheira's romance arc, where she struggles to balance her respect (and eventual love) of the player with her oath to the Harpers? Anomen's decision to let his sister's killer go free and leave the case unsolved because of his virtues? Sarevok coming to terms with his past and rejecting Melissan (in the Ascension mod) because of his respect for the player character? Imoen coming to grips with the "growing taint" within her, and asking you for your counsel? Aerie's respect for herself, and how she thinks the world views her? Korgan and Mazzy's arc?
Their arcs in the game and the expansion make ME and DA's roster look like caricatures on loan from the Giant RPG Book of Cliches. The concepts BG2 created and popularized were later adapted and reused for later Bioware games - you can see the roots of Tali, Jack, Morrigan et al. in BG and BG2.
Modifié par crazyrabbits, 17 septembre 2012 - 12:11 .
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Just because you don't like one thing about a game (or it's not exactly the same as your favourite), that doesn't mean the game is a crime against gaming.
not relevant to the tasks at hand. Also, a lot of companions don't have a great reason to contribute to your cause (discussed later).
