The Interloper wrote...
Terror_K wrote...
it's not so much directly the direction BioWare is taking, but what it's meaning for their existing IPs when it affects them. Most of us who have issues with the like of ME2 and DA2 isn't because they aren't enough like Baldur's Gate, NWN or KotOR, but because they're not enough like their direct predececessors. Y'know... the original games in their SAME SERIES.
I'm not expecting Mass Effect 2 to be Baldur's Gate in space, I'm expecting it to be a proper sequel to the original Mass Effect, and the same goes for Dragon Age.
I haven't played DA2 and from what I've seen and heard I agree it was a mistake in many regards. I don't agree with ME2, though. Assuming you're talking about gameplay (which is the impression I got, my apologies if I misread) ME1 was a mess and hardly set a completly positive precedent (still fun mind), which by your words a series should always adhere to. Huh?
This is just my opinion, but while I see where you're coming from I think a change is okay if it's for the better. Now last time I checked, ME1 was supposed to be an rpg-shooter, yes? Except it was clumsy at both. Should ME2 have copied that? I don't think it a sin that ME2 came out (nearly as) clumsy at either, and even though the RPG system was neutered in the process it still gave as much if not more meaningful customization then ME1. And if you disagree by all means tell me why, but I thought "role playing" is more about resulting effects in gameplay rather then the complextity of the rping system that causes these effects. If you disagree with that last part, by all means tell me.
Now mind you I'm not disagreeing that the neutering went too far, and I'm happy to see it being reversed partly in ME3. But the point is I don't see how ME2's actions really broke from the vision of the series, except in technicality. Moreover there was no major stylistic change, like DA going from gritty-realistic to cartoonish over-the-top. I think it's innapropriate to compare the two. They are alike in theory but little beyond that.
For starters, ME1 was an Action RPG with TPS elements. It wasn't until ME2 came along that it became an "RPG Shooter" and even BioWare pretty much said so themselves. They didn't even use the term "Shooter" related to the game in advertising until talking of the sequel, and used terms like "it's as much a shooter as an RPG" and the like.
Secondly, I'm not just talking about gameplay, I'm talking about the whole thing. To me, Mass Effect 2 felt like it wasn't really even aimed at me at all anymore, or at least not primarily. Aside from the fact that it was far too removed from the original narrative wise and seemed to sweep too much under the rug, trivialise it or reduce it to emails and/or flavour text, the entire style and feel of the game was different. As a veteran RPG player the whole thing felt like "Fisher Price: My First RPG" and seemed to baby me at every turn, with giant interfaces, big intrusive pop-ups, condescending messages and prompts, the "Mission Complete" screens, etc.
As I've said before, the whole thing became less an experience and more of a game, and despite claims at trying to make the game more immersive by having less inventory screens and stuff that got in the way of the core gameplay, there was so many things that took me out of the game by constantly reminding me it was a game they failed utterly. The whole style seemed to take a page out of the book of the modern Hollywood Action movie too, pushing aside the more subtle and nuanced stylings of the original that reminded me of the likes of Alien and Blade Runner and seeming more like a Michael Bay film. It was more bombastic and over-the-top, to the point of riduculousness sometimes, incorporating style over substance too often and throwing logic and lore consistency aside to simply be "teh badassorz!!1" etc. Things like the massive logic holes in the new thermal clip system, glowy Renegade scars and the Charge power, the oversexualisation of several characters, having squaddies running around with their skin exposed in paper-thin, non-protective gear in dangerous environments and combat situations in a story that involves the main protagonist
dying from exposure and the like are some examples of this.
Now, gameplay wise, ME1 was clumsy, yes. I'll admit that. I even actually think the switch from stat-based shooter gameplay to skill-based shooter gameplay was an improvement. I agree that the weapons in ME2 are more diverse than in ME1. But the problem is that ME2 wasn't a product of the developers fixing ME1's issues: it was a product of them completely throwing them away and starting from scratch. They basically said, "these systems were too complicated in ME1, so let's strip them of all complexity entirely, and now they can't be complicated at all!" Instead of taking some systems that had promise but fell down in the execution, they just went for the simplest solution: cut them out and replace them with TPS elements copy'n'pasted from far less complex titles, then jam them into an RPG and that's it. It's like almost no effort was made to actually adapt them to the genre at all. Then they tacked on thermal clips as an ammo system, added regenerating health like almost every other modern shooter, and took away almost all cusomisation and skills that had anything to do with non-combat. Weapons and other items couldn't be modded, and only upgraded through a linear system that allowed you to God-mod everything across the board with no thought or effort and no trade-offs. Armour could be somewhat customised, but was almost purely cosmetic, providing no real protection at all and being more akin to wearing a bunch of rings and amulets than actual armour (on top of which armour classes disappeared). Anybody can just open a door or container or hack a terminal now, with no power/skill/talent required to do so, adding to the ability for anybody to just make their Shepard a master of all trades now instead of being limited by class and build.
That's just a few examples. The whole thing is massively watered down and presented in such a demeaning manner, it really does seem like Mass Effect 2 was designed
more to bring in the hardcore TPS fan and casual mainstream gamer than it was to appeal to the original ME1 fan. It's like BioWare went out of their way to make sure even a brain-damaged one year old chimp on prozac could understand what's going on, and to appeal more to horny teenagers who love ****** and explosions than to older fans who love the classic sci-fi of the 70's and 80's like the original was. Not entirely, because it seems that BioWare want to have their cake and eat it too if they can, but just like they're trying more to try and get these potential fans in than keep making the series to appeal to those who became fans of it in the first place.
Modifié par Terror_K, 06 décembre 2011 - 02:48 .
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