114 réponses à ce sujet

[_Ermehtar_]

Voice Acting: Very good, but I feel all of Biowares and Obsidians(Troika) games have always used the best voice actors. Well most of the time that is. I had some gripes with NWN.

Dlai wrote...

Voice acting? I understand the direction they wanted to go with the accents the characters had, but personally I thought it was terrible. I really hated the voice acting. Not really even the voice acting, cause the actors did fine, but the feel of the setting was... meh. I wish they wouldn't have done it that way.

What's wrong with the accents, let's just say the game would have sucked hard with American accents, they don't fit a medieval setting. There never was a medieval U.S.A. English sounds so much better. And I loved the french twist on the Orlesians.



My only gripe was the Dalish, they shouldn't have blurred any letters, as it makes their language sound artificial. Even if they have lost most of their language and culture, they shouldn't have lost their pronunciation, as visible in real cultures that has been more or less ruined. I think they should have spoken as the ghosts in the ruins



Writing: That's a harder one. I truly enjoy the game, but I can't place it above BG1&2,VTM:Bloodlines, Torment,Farenheit, TSL etc. But it's up there with them.

[Klimy]

I liked DA, and I think its very well done in a way of story, but it has a problem that in order to get all this information you need to spend lots of time reading codex (which sucks because english is not my native language).



So from perspective of story telling I'll vote BG due to all was there from the start (or maybe it had such in print because at those times we were not spoiled by AAA games).

As about voice acting I think ME is much superior in this case.



As an overall RPG, then definitely not something for console version (have XBox myself) but probably PC version is much cooler in this case.

[Terror_K]

I actually think both Mass Effect titles beat Dragon Age out in both regards, even if DAO is the superior game gameplay wise. That doesn't mean DAO isn't still excellent on both fronts though, and while I consider the gist of the main story to be fairly straightforward and fairly by-the-books as a fantasy story, one does have to consider that the excellent writing beyond that manages to keep it fresh and interesting, particularly the character-related stuff.

[Spitz6860]

i still can't decide if this game is better than Mass Effect 1&2 in terms of voice acting, i mean at least your character have a voice in ME.

[Nogaurd]

I do not think that I could recommend Torment to todays audience. It would not work with its graphics (the story though amazing would not be able to carry it on its own). However, if it got a Titan Quest styled graphic update....then there is a good chance. Note: I said graphics, not game play.



As for BG....without a doubt I would recommend it to anyone to play today. Graphics are no where near as good as todays stuff, but bugger me, the game is still soooooooooooooo much fun to play:D

[Excalibut_2102]

I dont really know... I still cant make up my mind where id place DA compared to games such as BG, and I probably never will. The voice acting is some of the best ive heard, but ive not done alot of modern gaming lately. All I can say is it beats oblivion (though patrick stewart rules) in general and most other games ive played recently.



Writing is good. I dont understand why the OP dislikes BG's writing so much, but DAs is very good too. I know this topic isnt about story but honestly, baldurs gate 2 wasnt exactly the best story ever. In fact BG 1 has an arguably better story in my opinion. BG2 is about a mad mage who steals your soul to get revenge. I know its a little more in depth than that but while I hold the BG series as some of my favorite games, I dont really think its the most inventive story ever told.

[10 Steps Back]

It really depends, in terms of story it's pretty good and voice acting is one of the most well done voice acting in the video games I've played.

The only thing I could say that makes DA:O's voice acting not as great as it could be was quite possibly me enjoying both Claudia Black and Steve Valentines performance in Uncharted 2 more. However Simon Templeman and Tim Curry kinda make up for it.

I wasn't that big a fan of the rest of the cast though (alright I like Leliana when she's talking about schmooples).

Modifié par 10 Steps Back, 23 février 2010 - 01:36 .

[Helios969]

Loved the voice acting, I thought it really brought the story to life and gave the companions and npc's authenticity.



Loved the story, even though the writers borrowed heavily from other fantasy stories and themes in books and from history. There were enough unfamiliar aspects and a freshness of presentation that allowed me to accept the story as "original."



Loved the graphics, some of the best I've experienced. Not a big gamer though - one or two a year at most, and more often than not disappointed. For me this is the least important aspect. A game could have "real life" graphics, but if it lacks a compelling story I'm not really interested. I hate first person shooter games centered around killing increasingly difficult creatures for no other reason than to kill them.



Combat interface is great. Easy to use, intuitive.

[Time Spiral]

Voice Acting (VA):



Served its purpose, but didn't stand out to me as anything extraordinary. The VA presentation was completely disjointed. It actually could not flow because your main character cannot speak! So, the rhythm, drama, danger, or tension of any scene is almost completely broken by the time it takes you to read your responses, and then choose one. Unless it is a scene where you are merely spectating. In DA your main character is silent Bob, but less fat.



Writing:



Some technical aspects of the writing were excellent, but it was not a compelling or cohesive storytelling process. The entire plot, including the ending, is totally exposed in the first two-three hours of the game. Any prospect of mystery, suspension, or motivation was almost completely bungled by this technique. The rest of the game is spent learning about various historical and legendary events, and other seemingly unrelated problems around Ferelden.

[Helios969]

Time Spiral wrote...

The VA presentation was completely disjointed. It actually could not flow because your main character cannot speak! 

Yes, this is the one area I did not like.  I definitely would like my character to actually speak the words you are choosing.

[Harcken]

On my first playthrough, I was so absorbed that I kind of ignored the voices and thought they were all great. On my second playthrough, I took more notice and quite a few actors came off as dull and forced.
As to the writing, I thought it was the best for a Bioware voice acted game to date, but my reigning champ for dialogue is still KOTOR II.

Modifié par Harcken, 23 février 2010 - 03:15 .

[ksterker]

Not sure about voice acting, as it's something I don't pay much attention to. Probably better than most RPGs I played.



As far a writing/plot goes. Looong way from the qualities of Planescape Torment. There are bits that shine out, like (some) companions or individual quests, but the plot arc as a whole is pretty standard fare, with the biggest surprises near the beginning. Onward it's just slaughtering darkspawn.



Overall, DA:O is a nice game, but not outstanding.

[knittzu]

For voice acting, this game is hands-down the best.  But in terms of story and writing, I don't think it comes close to PS:T.

Rankiz wrote...
Everyone talking about Baldur's gate and Planescape. They surley must have been good, but for a person who like outstanding graphic combined with a solid story and plot DAO is the way to go. Would you really suggest playing Planescape as of today?

Unfortunately no, I couldn't recommend it.  The graphics and UI are now very dated and I'm afraid most would find it unplayable... which is unfortunate, because the story is astounding.  Oh, what I would give for an updated version...

[Ralnith]

I like the voice acting in DA, it always seems to fit the character and the situation. But the story is rather "same old, same old". For me, the best rpg I've played is and stays Planescape: Torment. I don't care about graphics, if the story is interesting, I play it, and PS:T has best story I've seen in a game. I wouldn't recommend it to people who value the looks (that game came out in 1999, I think, so it's not exactly a high end graphic demo), but anyone who likes an rpg with a good story might want to try it.

[Wretched Gnu]

ksterker wrote...
As far a writing/plot goes, [DA is a] looong way from the qualities of Planescape Torment.

Plot? Yes.  Writing? No.  

These are very different animals.

[kumanur]

Dragon Age Has to be One of Two of the Best Voice Acted Games in my gaming experience, the second Being Forgotten Realms Demonstone, i always thought that game was wonderful in terms of voice acting.



Plus Patrick Stewart really classed the game up by lending his voice to the cast.



I wish DA could have Gotten ahold of Stewart, Perhaps as a Chantry Priest or as the voice of Irving, dudes got a voice that's awesome to listen to.



Though they didn't get the Captain of the Enterprise they did get the Captain of Voyager...so Good on Bioware!

[Eudaemonium]

I have to admit, I think the VA in DA is excellent. Its executed really well for almost all the characters (and all of the major ones). ME1&2 also had great VA, but I prefer DA in general (largely because I can't stand Shep's voice).

As far as plot/writing goes, though: DA takes a standard fantasy formula and executes it to perfection. Its very cliche, uses a significant amount of fantasy features, but does them in an exceptionally good way. It doesn't score many points for originality, but its top notch in execution. I have to say, as I noticed the BG franchise. That stated, we'll be more in a place to judge once the DA story unfurls more in upcoming expansions, sequels, DLC, etcetera.

[Dick Delaware]

I agree with Colenda completely. The writing is a bit uneven - the introduction to the world is excellent and hooks you in very well. Even the Dalish Origin (IMO, the worst of the Origin stories) is still does a great job of giving you a perspective on the world and really influences the choices you make throughout the game.

The middle of the story is all about trying to get people to work together about the Blight, but ultimately detracts from the focus, because you spend a huge amount of that time without a single darkspawn in sight. OK, so I have to get the Urn of Sacred Ashes so I can help Arl Eamon so Arl Eamon can call a Landsmeet so the Nobles band together to kill the Archdemon. That's what I mean by a lack of focus. The Redcliffe - Sacred Ashes questline was done very well in terms of choices and consequences, but the game did suffer from a lack of urgency and a strong antagonist. That, I think, was the games biggest weakness.

The characters and particularly the companions were fleshed out characters with flaws and mostly well-written. I like how you can get a completely different viewpoint on a particular person, and have both of them be completely valid. I felt ambivalent about Morrigan the whole time, which is exactly the way I should have felt. I was actually surprised at how believable the romance with her was - everything she does makes sense and is in-character. One of the writing highlights of the game.

Overall, I'd describe Dragon Age's writing as a generic main story that acts mostly as a backdrop to a lot of interesting characters and factions and presents you with some interesting choices and consequences in between.

As for games that are better written, I can name several. Fallout 1, Planescape: Torment, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Mask of the Betrayer and even BioWare's own Mass Effect 2 seems to be this way so far (haven't completed it yet).

Modifié par Dick Delaware, 23 février 2010 - 07:18 .

[Dick Delaware]

kumanur wrote...

Dragon Age Has to be One of Two of the Best Voice Acted Games in my gaming experience, the second Being Forgotten Realms Demonstone, i always thought that game was wonderful in terms of voice acting.

Plus Patrick Stewart really classed the game up by lending his voice to the cast.

I wish DA could have Gotten ahold of Stewart, Perhaps as a Chantry Priest or as the voice of Irving, dudes got a voice that's awesome to listen to.

Though they didn't get the Captain of the Enterprise they did get the Captain of Voyager...so Good on Bioware!

 
Who cares? Yeah, he sounds awesome, but Captain Picard was in Oblivion and it didn't stop that game from sucking. A guy like that is probably expensive too.

Btw, I thought Irving's voice was great. Gravelly and wise. The voice acting in the game is pretty stellar overall. I'm hard-pressed to think of a single weak spot in that regard. Well, maybe Isolde shouting "TEAAAAGAAAANNNN!!"

[errant_knight]

Dick Delaware wrote...

kumanur wrote...

Dragon Age Has to be One of Two of the Best Voice Acted Games in my gaming experience, the second Being Forgotten Realms Demonstone, i always thought that game was wonderful in terms of voice acting.

Plus Patrick Stewart really classed the game up by lending his voice to the cast.

I wish DA could have Gotten ahold of Stewart, Perhaps as a Chantry Priest or as the voice of Irving, dudes got a voice that's awesome to listen to.

Though they didn't get the Captain of the Enterprise they did get the Captain of Voyager...so Good on Bioware!

 
Who cares? Yeah, he sounds awesome, but Captain Picard was in Oblivion and it didn't stop that game from sucking. A guy like that is probably expensive too.

Btw, I thought Irving's voice was great. Gravelly and wise. The voice acting in the game is pretty stellar overall. I'm hard-pressed to think of a single weak spot in that regard. Well, maybe Isolde shouting "TEAAAAGAAAANNNN!!"

Actually, I'd say that the actor for Isolde did a brilliant job of defining the repugnant Isolde. Her weakness, selfishness and petty jealousies come across clearly, while not going over the top into Snow White's wicked stepmother territory.

[el-pinko-grande]

I would hesitate to name a game I think had better voice acting than DA, though I don't know if I'm willing to go so far as to say that DA has the best voice-acting ever. Certainly, it’s very very good. I have rarely been so sold on a character as I was after hearing Leliana’s voice actress say the world “ogling.”

As for writing? I would say that the story is good, but not extraordinarily so. But I also think the story is secondary to the wonderfully written NPC’s. Seriously, I think DA definitely has the best written NPCs of any RPG ever. Planescape: Torment comes pretty close, but I’m inclined to give the edge to DA. I like every single character in Dragon Age, even the ones that annoyed me at first, like Oghren and Zevran. And it definitely has the best written female characters- they all seemed like actual women, as opposed to fanboy projections of how they’d like women to behave.

[Dick Delaware]

errant_knight wrote...

Actually, I'd say that the actor for Isolde did a brilliant job of defining the repugnant Isolde. Her weakness, selfishness and petty jealousies come across clearly, while not going over the top into Snow White's wicked stepmother territory.

I was nitpicking a bit. Really, I'm hard-pressed to think of voice acting in the game that was truly bad, like say, in Oblivion. That line did sound kinda funny, but it probably had a lot to do with the French accent. Yes, Isolde is quite good - the line when you first meet her where she shows nothing but contempt for Alistair after all this time made me dislike her right then and there.





*SPOILER*
However, at the same time, you're right, she doesn't go over top either. She loves her boy and happens to subscribe to some religious ideas that caused her to do some incredibly stupid things.  After telling her I was considering killing Connor, she starts crying hysterically and begging you not to do it. That was some pretty powerful stuff.

Modifié par Dick Delaware, 23 février 2010 - 07:48 .

[Lord Atlia]

I would rate DA:Os voice acting very high but by no means the best ever. The best I think goes to Bioshock which had high quality voice acting but also consistent dialect and accents. The problem I found with DA:O is that it seemed at times that the accents were both forced and never consistent. What I mean is that they had a certain type of accent they wanted for each country and than just allowed anything close to that accent to be acceptable. I would also say that Mass Effect 2 outdid DA:O especially during emotional scenes.



The problem with comparing DA:O's writing with other games is that DA:O invested a lot of resources into fleshing out its characters. Had the same effort been put into the ME series I think that ME would blow away DA:O. I would already rank Mordin, Tali, Wrex, Thane, and Garrus up there with Sten, Alister, Morrigan, and Shale and that is just with a fraction of the depth DA:O's characters got. As for the story itself all the political stuff with Loghain, the dwarves, Arl Howe and so forth was golden but the whole darkspawn storyline was ripped right out of Saving the World 101 except much like ME2 there was no compelling villain.

[Wretched Gnu]

el-pinko-grande wrote...
And it definitely has the best written female characters- they all seemed like actual women, as opposed to fanboy projections of how they’d like women to behave.

This was huge for me too.  One of the many things that makes the dialogue in most video games so poor is its bizarre and childish conception of women.  DA is a rare breath of fresh air in that regard.

And that problem is just an extension of a kind of adolescent boy's worldview that reveals itself in almost every line of most games -- including otherwise well-conceived games like the Baldur's Gate series.

Modifié par Wretched Gnu, 23 février 2010 - 09:14 .