1. Multiple origins This made every experience unique and worthwhile playing in its our right creating an impact that effected my role as a Hero increasing playability. The treatment of elves and casteless and mages as opposed to nobles of both Human and Dwarf was striking and emotive.
2. Role Playing Let me play out the part like Origins starting on a epic journey as one of the Last two Grey Wardens barely surviving Ostagar. If I become the Hero of Ferelden it has to mean something and feel it is worth the sacrifice, battle and challenges to get there. Somehow Champion of Kirkwall lost it shine and meant so much less I do not want it to be a done deal. Story telling has its place and I liked Varric but it broke my immersion in the game and became annoying after a while. Witcher 2 is particularly irritating I want to shake the guy interrogating me "come on you were standing right beside me at times when the king spoke to me".
3. Outcomes forced on me I cannot influence or change. Role playing at its best is about choices Mass Effect Kaiden and Ashley was a tough decision I hate to leave a member of my team down I want to be able to save them all sometimes I accept that is not possible and if it happens it has to mean something. Having to kill Wrex this was avoidable if loyalty quest was completed so it was possible for me not to lose him. Jory and Daveth this was a bit ambiguous was not a Grey Warden in the wilds so in a way I felt my actual companions started after that .Though again in tower additional troops always felt and clearly were temporary. Losing Mhairi in Awakenings was not a decision I felt able to accept and so always use mod to bring her back felt I had invested in her used books I had intentionally kept back to spec her out had gained approval with her. She was part of my team and I was not prepared to lose her I would have gone into the Fade to rescue her and would have like the option to do so.
Which brings me to DA 2 and the arbitary seemingly meaningless death of siblings depending what class you choose. Personally I struggled to care much for the whiny one so although I would fight to the death for them both against the Ogre the later decision did not bother me over much. While the options with Bethany later were felt contrived and ridiculous, one I would have killed them all if necessary to prevent and the second I managed to get her through with zero injuries so am bemused how it happen. The final family incident later with no chance to change the outcome how ever fast you move was the last straw in closed quest writing.
In Mass Effect 2 I wasted far to many hours (between 20-30) scanning planets (almost 200) for resources to do all the essential upgrades replayed the end mission a number of times until I saved them all at least it was possible although some of friends still do not believe it even though I have the saved files to prove it. In Baldurs Gate you could be heroic and save people in quests what happenned! In summary being able to save people and having to work hard to do it so it means something is an essential part of RPG imho. NB Apparently 1.02 patch I believe sped up mining but was taking about 10 min per planet. This one element killed what is a really good game for me. I am Commander Shepherd and have a crew not the tea girl/boy I enjoyed going and finding the planets etc just not doing the scanning. (EDI or another crew member would have been much better at it would have liked to have option.) After the first 10 planets or so I began to loathe having to do this and I have never loathed anything so much in any game. I know people complained about the Mako but that was only 30 planets and I had no problem with that, if I had to do it almost 200 times I may have thought of it differently.
4. The dialogue wheel was acceptable in the Mass Effect if not my first choice, but in Dragon age 2 it felt like a dumbing down, I want to have to opportunity to have more complex dialogues choices that I can fail sometimes not even knowing why. Not just Good, Jokey Sarcastic and Bad with symbols to tell me which one and paraphrasing putting words into my mouth that I would not actually say.
5. Open environment sadly in both DA 1 and 2 they seem to have lost the openness that games like Fallout 3 achieved in the wasteland though I accept this was primarily due to less demanding graphic requirements because of the greyness of the world. Accept for the wrong way go back at the edges which I think could have been better handle by increasing radiation levels created for me the most open immersive world of recent times. Travelling between areas ie zoning with occassional random events some how is less satisfying than setting out and having to find your own way there. (I prefer not to use what could be compared with some sort of fast travel) This was not game breaking in either game just a preference.
6. Time night and day in particular was less aware of this as an issue in Origins as there were night missions and it felt like you were camping every night. Considering Baldurs gate had normal game time the method used in DA 2 felt extremely contrived and although it was supposedly taking place over a number of years this was completely not apparent as it possible to do everything in a chapter in a ridiculously short period cramming loads of quests all into the same day, changing to the night to cram a load more things into. I would prefer time to pass in a normal a way as possible with a 24 hour clock so at least events are normalised within the actual time frame. Baldurs Gate established the importance of resting up it was tough but felt more realistic and the modding community helped add this back to fallout 3 and this helped it to fully integrated in New Vegas.
7. Continual immersive experience. I wish to be involved in the whole journey not picking it up here and there when the developers decide. Origins felt like my own unique journey 2 felt very bitty control for a bit narrative time passes yawn, some control for a day then a dissapointing year of service that I would have preferred to have played than have it happen and I am no further forward no experience gained. Apparently a known person but I have done nothing to gain this reputation.
8. Important overriding story arc and world to explore. Origins achieved this with the clear and present danger of the blight and role of Grey Wardens to stop it. Fereldan felt like a interesting and worthwhile world to explore.In 2 I felt more like an errand girl/boy or rubbish collector than Champion of Kirkwall. I have read a review which used the term newspaper boy/girl which seemed to sum it up. I hoped in Origins I was clearing out the Thaigs of Darkspawn for the Dwarves so that they could relaim them. Each chapter in Kirkwall seem to be more of the same chores. For me DA 2 seemed to run out of steam at the end of Act 1 with the epic and extremely challenging battle with the Arishok. The deep roads in Origins were much more lavishly done and leading the charge for the Legion of the Dead was a memorable moment. Considering how important the deep roads were built up to be this was rather dissapointing. Kirkwall felt like it should have been so much more Fereldan was and remains memorable Kirkwall by the time I wearily attempted to complete it for the 3rd time because I so much wanted it to great I just ran out of steam and was not sure I could face seeing it again.
9. Companions this is something I believe Bioware have and still continue to do well and enjoyed them all in both Origins and Kirkwall. As an essential element of an RPG long may this continue, understandably best in vanilla campaigns less so in expansion / stand alone DLC.
10. DLC's and expansions. These do have a place and very much enjoyed the Origins ones and felt they added to or complemented the game well and with the exception of the Darkspawn one which I chose not to get felt they were good value and I was glad I got them. Awakenings I felt was a good solid expansion with 3 unique areas, I would have preferred the keep upgrades to have been more substantial and more on a par with Neverwinter Nights 2 with key personnel to recruit and manage more of a mini game in fact. Even Golems is great gauntlet test for your Warden after Awakenings and keeping your 3 companions up without casualties a significant challenge .Also why you had no access to the Peak after clearing it was dissapointing. Though in line with the failure to clear up the Circle Tower including 2 templars apparently still cleaning blood of the floor months later. Unfortunately I was extremely dissapointed with Mass Effect 2 Dlc's so am much more wary about buying them. My decision to obtain them very much depends if I believe the game was developed as a real labour of love like Baldurs Gate and Origins making the choice an easy one or the reverse and the feeling that significant material has been intentionally held back to leverage more cash.
11. Equipment Management. The inventory of main and companions is an essential part of an RPG game for me and to find it vastly restricted in DA 2 was dissapointing to say the least and when you throw in the garbage as well (we are back to my bin collector again) I cannot believe I was even expected to collect this. It meant most of what I found fell into the category of completely useless. Borderlands takes this to the extreme I am supremely indifferent to millions of types of guns and unlike PC Gamer comments which has sadly gone down in my estimation I feel no gun envy. Origins worked really well for me and I appreciated they had proper names too. Except for the fact their was no storage container in camp and I had to go outside the Peak to find one.
12 Modding. This can totally transform a game and take it to a new level and continue its success and popularity. Baldurs Gate has been extensively supported over the years as has Origins by some amazing people. I appreciate the commercial pressures on game developers often resulting in games being rushed and perhaps not been delivered to market exactly how they would have liked. I know games should not designed by commitee and often listening too much to the most vocal critics can be misleading as their criticisms of the game can result in a knee jerk reactions resulting in beautiful well crafted game being turned into something completely different in a future iteration. Dragon Age have a loyal fan base that want it to be successful and the toolkit so thoughtfully and considerately provided enabled them to build on that success and continue to put in 100's of hours of their own time adding even more valuable. I am certain they would have done the same with Dragon Age 2 if a similar toolkit had been provided. A significant amount freely made available is often of a similar standard to the vanilla game and is greatly appreciated. Baldurs Gate is be re-released shortly I hope with the recognition due to modders who provided tutu. Work is also being carried out on Kotor and Fallout 3 benefited greatly from providing the GECK. Mass Effect could have been similarly enhanced I suppose I will never understand why a patch was not released to enable EDI to take over the planet scanning in Mass Effect 2. With a toolkit I am sure one would have been devised.
13. Combat Origins felt more tactical to me and I particularly appreciated the top down camera to assist me in controlling the battlefield particularly with regard to mage AOE spells. In 2 this became really frustrating I cannot tell you how many spells were wasted because I could not get them to target where I wanted them. It had some good features but seemed to lose more than in gained. Also lunatic Fenris carving up other members of the party made him a liability on the battlefield I would set him up fighting 3 opponents up the road while I took on another group behind us and he would take it upon himself to leave them and scythed through my group cutting down my mage. Or do ridiculous amounts of damage barging through the group to attack a Qunari. Aveline was much more reliable. A big thing was made of cross class combos I do not know why as shatter etc worked very well with enemies in Origins with frozen, petrified or paralysed by a mage just needed a critical. In 2 it was significantly harder to set up and just became very painful. For me 2 became a lot more arcade like, with the worst element being the 3 waves of enemies often spawning out of nowhere. Solid wall in a cavern behind my mage and they materialise out of it. People have commented eloquently on this subject so I will leave it here.
14. DRM Appropriate protection yes, ridiculous systems that stop me even playing the game sometimes or forcing me to download the game from steam when I have the disk in the drive no. It can take away so much of the pleasure of playing the game leading me to abandon some games I have purchased because they have exceeded my pain threshold in the installation.
Some of my best gaming experiences have come from Bioware games and I genuinely desire to support them but recently my confidence has been knocked, I hope it can be be restored. I believe Bioware of any of the developers know how to write a great game. A game with soul in an immersive lavish environment that I wish to escape to and spend time with companions that I genuinely care about. That is a labour of love and not a cash in on a franchise.
Please game test how many hours may be wasted doing trivial tasks because nothing will kill even really good games quicker than this.
With a wave of welcome from Oghren in Vigil's keep as he slashes about him with his axe that lifts me up with a moment of joy. Just before he is hit by an emissary with crushing prison and my mage warden responds with Force Field creating a shockwave and a laugh as he is freed to do what he does best.
Gaming at its best provides the whole gamut of emotions it has the capacity for greatness. Sometimes I feel alone in my desire for a meaningful gaming experience. The Haloesque experience is not the one I am looking for I want to be challenged with a difficulty level that mean I can and will fail but spurred on knowing it can be done. That I can hold my group together keep them alive nurture them to be the best they can be and enable them to triumph against all the odds.
We were Heroes once and can be again!
Modifié par tigershadow, 10 octobre 2012 - 08:06 .