I’m rather astonished that some of you fellow gamers have decided to focus more on my initial statement of being a fan and have turned this into a topic about my credentials, versus the topic I’m discussing. To those of you fellow gamers who have not lost focus on my topic, thank you, I’ll get to that in a moment. To the others, the reason I began with “I’m a fan of Bioware” is that prior too Mass Effect I didn’t consider myself a gamer, I rarely played games, but since the first Mass Effect and DA, Bioware games are the only ones that provide the interactive stories I truly enjoy.
After those two games, I was so impressed by Bioware that I began researching them, just simply because I wanted to know if there were any other games similar to those first two as well as how the company came to be. When Mass Effect 2 came out I was again mesmerized, the story and game play fit so well together and connected all the dots, and filled in all the holes that it was like a 6 course meal, plus desert to finish it off. I’m referring equally to the ending of Mass Effect 2, it was super polished and provided a nice conclusion to the game while still providing plenty of suspense for the third installment.
As for Dragon Age: Awakening, it was alright, it felt like a extra cut of pie and icing added to a nice meal for the first Dragon Age.
Then comes Dragon Age 2, which I did enjoy, do not misunderstand, it was only the ending that infuriated me. If I didn’t like the entire game, why would I have put over 100 hours into the game (yet I can not do another play through because of the ending). For those wondering, the 100 hours was done by doing every single little mission, collecting over 300 gold, and every little thing I could in the game. When I play a game, I sometimes go overboard. ;-)
One person replied that if you side with the Mage’s you lose any chance of becoming Viscount, but if that’s the case, that creates a huge hole in the storyline. Because when given the choice at the beginning of Act 3, I said it should be the people who choice who becomes Viscount! So through out Act 3 the storyline, the companions, and the NPC’s were giving me the impression that my “Champion” would become Viscount because Hawk was helping everyone stand up against oppression (among other things).
In another part of Act 3, I made Hawk the owner of the Bone Pit as payment for everything she had done. Yet, after that there was no mention at all about her owning the mines. Heck, I COULDN’T DO anything with the mines.
With everything I did in the game and all the choices I made, I was expecting much more then for Hawk and all her companions to go running for the hills with their tails between their legs (so to speak). As I said before, I certainly did not expect Bethany to leave her sister’s side, it was nice that Merril stayed, but Bethany should have to. However, I did briefly read one posted mention that Varric may having been lying to protect his friends. So maybe they didn’t split up? Maybe they didn’t go running for the hills?
I do hope, I really do hope Varric was lying at the end to protect the where about’s of his friends and that an expansion or massive DLC finds all of them spread out between Starkhaven and the Bone Pit, maybe even Sundermount.
Overall my frustration is that Bioware left the game without any closure, only a mass of unanswered questions, and questions as to why the questions were unanswered. Especially considering that Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 were played by completely different characters, it makes me wonder whether or not the same will be true for DA3. Because at least for me, when I spend so much time learning about a character and their companions, whether in a game, a book, or in a movie, I would expect a sequel to continue with those same characters.
So to leave DA2 the way it ended with Varric’s vague comments, leads me to wonder whether or not I wasted all my time caring and creating an emotional connection with the characters and companions. Originally I didn’t like the idea of starting DA2 with a completely new character, but I wasn’t entirely against it, BECAUSE DA Origins and DA Awakening provided some decent closure for each character. Where as with DA 2 there is none of that!
I’ll take that a step further, the way I played the game was to help the innocent and those who needed someone to speak on their behalf. I helped all the victims no matter if they were mages or not. Due to that that, about 90% of all the people in the city where on my side, as ACT 3 continued more and more NPC’s within the city were supporting my character and there was an uprising starting against the Templars, or more so against Meredith.
This is again the reason I’m so disappointed in the way the game ended, because to me, it’s missing a chapter…it’s unfinished. There should be something more to fill in the empty gap, but there isn’t and that’s just very unsettling. Which is why I’m now uncertain about buying future Dragon Age games, I need better, truer closure with this game first. An not just some brief small mention, but something I can sink my teeth into. Some big DLC or expansion to fill in this huge hole that DA2 has left me with so that I can feel content and somewhat happy about what ever happens next.
Lastly the reason I have written out so much detail (and yes criticized the ending the way I have) is that I’m hoping in some off chance a Bioware designer might scan through the forum and see this. Because I have seen interviews in which the lead Bioware’s designers have openly stated that they have sought fan input via these and other forums. So, for anyone wondering, that is half of the reason I’m verbally criticizing the game, not because I don’t like the game,
I do,
just not the ending. I’m doing this because I’m hoping there’s a chance someone at Bioware might read this and take from it, regardless of whether or not I ever know that happened. The other reason I wrote this out, is to vent my frustration and too see if anyone else felt similarly; which it seems that some do.
Modifié par LivelyLaughter, 05 mai 2011 - 05:53 .
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