Yeah.....I am so glad I did not jump into the pre-ordering hype bandwagon like so many people here did, knowing full well what Bioware has become as a developer under the control of EA. I too share the view that Dragon Age Origins was perhaps the greatest story-driven RPG of the last decade. Despite the somewhat dated graphics, the game had a living, beating heart at its core; the main story, though in many ways a fusion of most well known high/dark fantasy themes, managed to be original and profound enough to inspire even the most jaded of gamers into falling for it like love at first sight. The heroes and villains alike were given serious multi-faceted development so that we were able to peer into their virtues, their flaws and how their personal stories were meant to become part of this epic saga. Duncan, Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana, Flemeth, Arl Eamon, Loghain, Ohgren, Sten, Zevran, the various Wardens, the Couslands, etc....they all have left an indelible mark in our minds and hearts. Furthermore, the combat system was pure tactical genius. The individual commands option made the game a delight to play. Your party was yours to control in whatever style you chose. You could make it as simple or as complex as you wanted. It took advantage of the M+KB configuration in the best possible way. It all came together, storytelling, lore and gameplay, to make DAO a timeless, true classic.
This time around though, no doubt once again compelled by its corporate master, Bioware tried hard to appeal to fans of all RPG-ish sub-genres, from MMOS to action RPGs to classic, tactical RPGs, only to end up delivering a game that is as bland and frustrating as it is glitchy. The story may be the game's only saving grace, since pretty graphics, ultimately, cannot compensate for the broken gameplay that (mostly) PC gamers are having to deal with, even after months of dev PR assuring anxious fans that the PC was the "leading" development platform for the game. Now we know this was a blatant lie and, unfortunately, PC gamers took the bait hook, line and sinker.
I am so glad I did not pre-order this game. I will wait and if/when Bioware releases significant patches that correct all major issues in this game, then I will consider spending my hard earned money to buy it. As it now stands, this is not worth any PC gamer's hard earned money. I would seriously encourage all PC gamers who feel betrayed or cheated by this unfortunate situation to speak with their wallets, since it seems the language of money is the only language corporations like EA understand. To do that, we have to do something very simple: abstain from pre-ordering any more games. Period. This is the only way these people will learn to respect their consumer base. Wait until so-called "AAA" games come out and are reviewed by fans. Only then can we, as consumers, have enough information that would justify the purchase of such games or not.
It really is sad to see a once cutting edge studio like Bioware dumb down and bastardize one of their most celebrated IPs in such a shameless way.
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