16183 réponses à ce sujet

[Master Shiori]

This DLC is a stand alone adventure so don't expect a second chance of getting Leliana if you missed her in Lothering.



And I agree with your second sentence. MOAR MORRI!!

[Giggles_Manically]

Hell I just want more DLC that is actually story based. coughOVERLORDcough. Wadens Keep and Stone Prisoner are the only ones worth playing really.

[Brockololly]

Giggles_Manically wrote...

Hell I just want more DLC that is actually story based. coughOVERLORDcough. Wadens Keep and Stone Prisoner are the only ones worth playing really.

Agreed- the prequel idea with Leliana seems ok, but I'd really like some DLC stuff that eventually tries to move the story forward in some meaningful way or adds to the lore significantly. The Leliana DLC seems to add backstory which is good, but sadly I don't think we'll get much "bridging" type DLC for Origins to DA2, like they seem to be trying with ME2 to ME3.

[Master Shiori]

Keep in mind we have no idea what DA2 will even be about.

Bridging the gap, as you say, only makes sense if you'll have some sort of continuity between titles.
We know ME3 will feature Shepard again and be a direct sequal to ME2. The same may not be true for DA2 and DA:O.

Modifié par Master Shiori, 17 juin 2010 - 06:41 .

[Giggles_Manically]

I really just wish that Bioware would focus on telling a good story and getting back to what made them great: A focused charachter driven narrative that was all tied up in one game. In so many places it feels like DA and Awakening is lacking.



On an aside if it is true that the Warden wont carry over, would you rather see one fully expanded Origin like JAde Empire, or have Origin stories again.

[Brockololly]

Master Shiori wrote...

Keep in mind we have no idea what DA2 will even be about.

Bridging the gap, as you say, only makes sense if you'll have some sort of continuity between titles.
We know ME3 will feature Shepard again and be a direct sequal to ME2. The same may not be true for DA2 and DA:O.

Oh I know we have no clue what DA2 will be about;)

Even in the event DA2 is something completely different, it would be neat to have DLC that connects the 2 or sets the table of what is to come in DA2, even if its not clear to us right now. For instance, maybe in the Leliana DLC we run across an Orlesian character or something. SKip ahead and put DA2 set in Orlais and new PC or not, maybe we run into the same character?

Kind of how in ME2 there is one mission on Omega for a Salarian that I think figured into the MAss Effect iphone game. And Miranda and Jacob react accordingly.

But I've all but given up on getting any significant DLC though- just seems with the budget/resources they're given there is only so much they can do.

[Master Shiori]

Well, DA:O is a focused character driven narrative. The problem is that, depending on your choices, you are left with lose plot threads by the end of the game.



As for previous Bioware titles: KOTOR 1, Jade Empire and NWN were stand alone stories wrapped up in one game.

ME and Baldur's Gate were an entire series.



Now disregarding NWN, which I believe is the weakest of all Bioware's games story wise, all these titles were well received by the public and became simbols of great story driven rpgs.



Thing is that right now,based on David Gaider's comments and the way Origins and Awakening had ended, I have no idea where DA is supposed to fit. A story that stretching through several games or a series of stand alone adventures?

Honestly, I'm not sure if Bioware themselves are clear on that issue either...

[Brockololly]

Master Shiori wrote...

Well, DA:O is a focused character driven narrative. The problem is that, depending on your choices, you are left with lose plot threads by the end of the game.

As for previous Bioware titles: KOTOR 1, Jade Empire and NWN were stand alone stories wrapped up in one game.
ME and Baldur's Gate were an entire series.

Now disregarding NWN, which I believe is the weakest of all Bioware's games story wise, all these titles were well received by the public and became simbols of great story driven rpgs.

Thing is that right now,based on David Gaider's comments and the way Origins and Awakening had ended, I have no idea where DA is supposed to fit. A story that stretching through several games or a series of stand alone adventures?
Honestly, I'm not sure if Bioware themselves are clear on that issue either...

Exactly- if BioWare was aiming to make DAO a self contained story like JE or KOTOR1, then it doesn't work. Even BG1 is relatively self contained- sure it hints at more Bhaalspawn at the end, but its all quite vague. The problem with Origins as I see it is that sure, you beat the Blight and if you did the US, then it is rather self contained.

The problem is the DR and the epilogues. To me, the whole notion of the DR is that while it provides a short term consequence in who lives and dies with the Archdemon, it also introduces a potentially huge consequence coming 9 months later- one that factors into your PC's choice in the DR scene, but a consequence that you're likely not going to see within Origins. Thats a big chunk of my issue whenever Gaider mentions you're only playing the game in front of you and nothing else is guaranteed. I understand his logic in saying that, but it doesn't jive with the whole notion of dealing with your choices and consequences in Origins with respect to the DR.

Basically, if we're only thinking about Origins, why wouldn' t you do the DR? Obviously if you have objections with Morrigan or RP reasons, but while it seems warning bells and whistles would be going of when Morrigan mentions her desire for a demon baby, why not do it if we never have to deal with that consequence in game? The whole who lives and dies part is even potentially nullified in Awakening, so one has to wonder whether the DR matters at all?

If they wanted Origins to be more self contained and for us to focus on the story within Origins, why throw in mention of the Old God baby if its never going to come up again? And then while Gaider might like to call the epilogues only "vague" rumors, the problem I have with them is that they raise and introduce way too many questions than they actually settle. In my view, epilogues should aim to wrap up loose ends or try to bring things to a close. With Morrigan's epilogue it just raises more questions and it surely adds to her whole mysterious side, but does nothing to leave me feeling any sense of accomplishment or resolution with the story of Origins.

Its all a moot point if Morrigan, the Warden and OGB get resolution and closure in a future game, but its just not clear where the series is headed at this juncture

Edit:

Footage from E3 of Leliana's DLC- crummy cam quality though

Modifié par Brockololly, 17 juin 2010 - 08:10 .

[Master Shiori]

Brockololly wrote...

Exactly- if BioWare was aiming to make DAO a self contained story like JE or KOTOR1, then it doesn't work. Even BG1 is relatively self contained- sure it hints at more Bhaalspawn at the end, but its all quite vague. The problem with Origins as I see it is that sure, you beat the Blight and if you did the US, then it is rather self contained.

The problem is the DR and the epilogues. To me, the whole notion of the DR is that while it provides a short term consequence in who lives and dies with the Archdemon, it also introduces a potentially huge consequence coming 9 months later- one that factors into your PC's choice in the DR scene, but a consequence that you're likely not going to see within Origins. Thats a big chunk of my issue whenever Gaider mentions you're only playing the game in front of you and nothing else is guaranteed. I understand his logic in saying that, but it doesn't jive with the whole notion of dealing with your choices and consequences in Origins with respect to the DR.

Basically, if we're only thinking about Origins, why wouldn' t you do the DR? Obviously if you have objections with Morrigan or RP reasons, but while it seems warning bells and whistles would be going of when Morrigan mentions her desire for a demon baby, why not do it if we never have to deal with that consequence in game? The whole who lives and dies part is even potentially nullified in Awakening, so one has to wonder whether the DR matters at all?

If they wanted Origins to be more self contained and for us to focus on the story within Origins, why throw in mention of the Old God baby if its never going to come up again? And then while Gaider might like to call the epilogues only "vague" rumors, the problem I have with them is that they raise and introduce way too many questions than they actually settle. In my view, epilogues should aim to wrap up loose ends or try to bring things to a close. With Morrigan's epilogue it just raises more questions and it surely adds to her whole mysterious side, but does nothing to leave me feeling any sense of accomplishment or resolution with the story of Origins.

Its all a moot point if Morrigan, the Warden and OGB get resolution and closure in a future game, but its just not clear where the series is headed at this juncture

My stand on this issue is: if you really don't know for certain in which direction you'll go, then it's better to wrap the current story properly but leave your protagonist alive. That way you're not obliged to use him again and can always say "This is the end of the road folks".
The fact that he is alive means that you always have a chance to continue his story at some point if you want, but nobody can call you out if you decide not to.

With dark ritual, OGB and Awakening epilogue writers have basically set themselves for a lot of fire from certain fan groups. 
Sure, they never openly said we'd see the Warden again, but the lose ends and epilogue slides paint a different picture, whether they like to admit it or not.
So, to repeat Swoo's words from his epic rant, fans may have "unrealistic expectations" at this point, but those are based on what was said in the game itself and not on any wishfu thinking on our part.

[Master Shiori]

Great video Brock.



Now I'm REALLY looking forward to this.

[Swoo]

Well that answers that. They won't have to show us anyplace in Orleasean because it looks like it goes straight from a Castle/Keep mission to a prison to her escape. Looks interesting anyways.

As to continuing storylines vs standalone, I think it's pretty clear where we stand and where they have done their best work. Baldurs Gate had a very good storyline, but you ask people for the top 5 things from the game and I bet companions eat up 60-80% of most lists. I remember curing Jaheria, Minsc and Boo, the baddassery of Jon Irenicus, Sarevok going from a Dark Age Darth Vader into someone you could kind of call a friend, Viconiiiiiiia, how Bodhi was the most awesome number two ever...and then you get into the 'the plot was awesome' examples like finally facing a Dragon or assaulting the Vampire dens with the Icewind Dale crew.

Completely random but I wonder how much they give them to spend on DLC and how much the Voice Actors charge. I just heard Martin Sheen's spot for a local donut shop here which is nowhere near a mega corp, and if they can hire him for a radio spot I think Bioware could get Claudia Black for a DLC (Even though I don't want them too; MorriganxWarden in DA2!)

"This is the end of the road folks".

My point is you can't say 'and the story was far from over' and then get pissy when people talk continuation. That's not directed at anyone in particular mind you, just an overall mindset you run into.

Morrigan mentions her desire for a demon baby,

Ugh, am I all alone in the belief that the Old God's weren't evil? Just because they were corrupted to the 'dark side' I don't see that as a 'always evil' check against them. Oh, another random though. The OG was the one of beauty! Orlais is French Thedas! God of Beauty + The French...

the prequel idea with Leliana seems ok, but I'd really like some DLC stuff that eventually tries to move the story forward in some meaningful way or adds to the lore significantly

I like the idea, my only concern really is it's serving up a story we already know the major twists and resolutions too. It's one of the main reasons (other than **** filmaking) that Lucas failed in the Star Wars prequels - we already knew the major dramatic notes, so it lost something  major in the telling. It would have been nice to maybe see her on an earlier Bardic mission that somehow out of the blue tied into the main plot so we can be surprised; Perhaps the notes were the beginning stages of Celene and Calian, I don't know.

All in all, it's still a step in the right direction and I will be buying it and hopefully enjoying it.

There's a new ME2 DLC and it's story related? I'll have to check it out later...

I don't know if it's just me, but ME2 left me with no desire to replay it. ME1 I did 2-3 run throughs, but ME2...nothing. So the DLC doesn't interest me too much other than the new character they introduced and maybe the alternate armors.

If the DR had truly never been a planned component of DA:O's storyline, then surely that would severely undermine any possibility of Morri reappearing in the future, when its fairly evident they meant for her reappear in the future

Not at all. That was the perfect 'in' for them to set the stage for Dragons Age 2 as the 'Child of a Hero' Origin they tossed around for a bit. The inclusion of the DR only shows that they had cold-feet about ditching the PC so soon.

I still find it unbelievable that the "payoff" scene (and one of the most pivotal moments in the game for that matter) for the cover girl were given such low priority considering the male fanbase

I have absolutely no clue about that. You cut things out like helping Cammen, getting Bella to Denerim, or the like. You don't cut an defining moment down to scraps. I'm sure he had to be pissed.

I'm kind of worried on how the dialogue will go in the Leliana DLC. Is it all predetermined or do you get to choose how she will react. I would rather have the former if it is written in character than the latter.

The Morrigan in the Fade example is how I expect it to go down, if she even has any dialogue trees. It's very likely that you get the opening cutscene, the end cutscene, maybe a smaller one or two in between like WK, and the rest is just combat.

Blademaster, great pictures. Was there EVER a lazier and more disappointing ending than 'You were crushed by a rock. Game Ovah?'

This is really awesome Ximena, I like how you draw her.

Modifié par Swoo, 17 juin 2010 - 10:05 .

[Swoo]

Oh, and speaking of the comic, am I just blind?



I see page 29, and then it goes to pages 32 and 33? Where is 30 and 31?

[Brockololly]

Swoo wrote...

Oh, and speaking of the comic, am I just blind?

I see page 29, and then it goes to pages 32 and 33? Where is 30 and 31?

30 and 31 are hidden because they are far too hawt and smexy for the internets. Or you can find the links here (mildly NSFW):

30

31

[Swoo]

Brockololly wrote...

Swoo wrote...

Oh, and speaking of the comic, am I just blind?

I see page 29, and then it goes to pages 32 and 33? Where is 30 and 31?

30 and 31 are hidden because they are far too hawt and smexy for the internets. Or you can find the links here (mildly NSFW):

30

31

Aha, tricksy tricksy.

[KnightofPhoenix]

Swoo wrote...

That's beautifully drawn. I like how the eyes are always colored. They make Morrigan

[Brockololly]

Swoo wrote...

Well that answers that. They won't have to show us anyplace in Orleasean because it looks like it goes straight from a Castle/Keep mission to a prison to her escape. Looks interesting anyways.

The only thing is if you look in the trailer at about 6 seconds, you see what looks like a cityscape in the distance from a watchtower- maybe we get a glimpse of Val Royeaux from a distance maybe or some other Orlesian city just in a cutscene? Probably would just look the same as any other city though, since this is just a DLC.

Swoo wrote...
As to continuing storylines vs standalone, I think it's pretty clear where we stand and where they have done their best work. Baldurs Gate had a very good storyline, but you ask people for the top 5 things from the game and I bet companions eat up 60-80% of most lists. I remember curing Jaheria, Minsc and Boo, the baddassery of Jon Irenicus, Sarevok going from a Dark Age Darth Vader into someone you could kind of call a friend, Viconiiiiiiia, how Bodhi was the most awesome number two ever...and then you get into the 'the plot was awesome' examples like finally facing a Dragon or assaulting the Vampire dens with the Icewind Dale crew.

Exactly- the overarching storylines and plots for BioWare games are always suitably epic and sufficient, but they're not what you remember in the long run. Its the characters and how they interacted with the PC. Its not to say that they couldn't come up with brand new memorable characters, but the Origins ones weren't too shabby  either. I've said it before but I'd just hate to see the DA games have a brand new adventure with a brand new PC with each title with a roster update for the companions each go around. Obviously we won't stick with the Wardens forever, but like you mentioned in your little rant, Swoo, ditching the Warden now is like Star Wars ditching Luke after he destoryed the Death Star. You're just starting to scratch the surface of what and who the Wardens really are and after Awakening, what the darkspawn really are as well.

Swoo wrote...
Completely random but I wonder how much they give them to spend on DLC and how much the Voice Actors charge. I just heard Martin Sheen's spot for a local donut shop here which is nowhere near a mega corp, and if they can hire him for a radio spot I think Bioware could get Claudia Black for a DLC (Even though I don't want them too; MorriganxWarden in DA2!)

I have no clue about the cost, but VO is definitely pricey at least relative to other costs. I'd imagine its likely the volume of dialogue they have to read that makes the VA's so expensive for BioWare games versus just a radio commercial. Its funny though, I too heard Sheen doing a radio spot a couple days ago for Midas and I was thinking "Wow, Cerberus must be hurting for funds." Its funny how after playing a bunch of BioWare games you come to recognize certain VA's voices quite readily.

Swoo wrote...
"This is the end of the road folks".

My point is you can't say 'and the story was far from over' and then get pissy when people talk continuation. That's not directed at anyone in particular mind you, just an overall mindset you run into.

Very true- lets just hope this is all a moot point onece we get news on  DA2 and we get the Warden's glorious return!

Swoo wrote...
Morrigan mentions her desire for a demon baby,

Ugh, am I all alone in the belief that the Old God's weren't evil? Just because they were corrupted to the 'dark side' I don't see that as a 'always evil' check against them. Oh, another random though. The OG was the one of beauty! Orlais is French Thedas! God of Beauty + The French...

The whole "demon baby" thing is just phrasing (at least when I say it). Obviously or at least we think, the OGB won't be a devil baby, but then again we have clue what it will actually be like. From the Chantry's POV the Old Gods screwed with humanity and drove them to sin yet people used to worship them long before that too. At this point, I'd say we just don't have any first hand knowledge of what the Old Gods would be like. Could be evil, could be good, more than likely the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Swoo wrote...
 It would have been nice to maybe see her on an earlier Bardic mission that somehow out of the blue tied into the main plot so we can be surprised; Perhaps the notes were the beginning stages of Celene and Calian, I don't know.

Hmmm.. you know thats an interesting wrinkle they could play on in this DLC. What exactly were these secrets Leliana and Marjolaine were dealing? From what I recall, they were Orlesian state secrets that constituted treason. Maybe it does relate to Cailan and Celene? Very interesting....

Swoo wrote...
I still find it unbelievable that the "payoff" scene (and one of the most pivotal moments in the game for that matter) for the cover girl were given such low priority considering the male fanbase

I have absolutely no clue about that. You cut things out like helping Cammen, getting Bella to Denerim, or the like. You don't cut an defining moment down to scraps. I'm sure he had to be pissed.

Its likely that whenever they were doing the DR, they figured what they had was "good enough" given their current resourcesand time/budget constraints. I don't think they look at cuts like "Oh lets cut this Cammen scene so we can add in dialogue to Morrigan's DR scene." Its probably more like they had already sunk X amount of time/resources into the DR and had to draw the line somewhere. Otherwise they'd be tweaking it forever.

That said, as it is, the DR scene kind of sucks to put it lightly. But we all knew that;). And I remember back in the Grey Wardens blog interview with Gaider, he mentioned his least favorite aspect of working on games were the cuts- so no doubt he wasn't happy. So it goes. We can only hope the Morrigan/Warden romance is continued somehow in the future to make the mediocrity of the DR scene out of our heads.

[GardenSnake]

Brockololly wrote...

Swoo wrote...

Oh, and speaking of the comic, am I just blind?

I see page 29, and then it goes to pages 32 and 33? Where is 30 and 31?

30 and 31 are hidden because they are far too hawt and smexy for the internets. Or you can find the links here (mildly NSFW):

30

31

 NSFW indeed. ME LIKEY TO THE MAX! Yo, thanks for the vid too brock, I was already excited to play the dlc, but now I just down right can't wait.

[Master Shiori]

Well, they haven't seen each other for what? 6 years?



That's a lot of catching up.

[Swoo]

Master Shiori wrote...

Well, they haven't seen each other for what? 6 years?

That's a lot of catching up.

Haha, I'm looking forward to seeing the OGB going creepy Shining kid soon. She already showed a talent for precognition, so I'm interested in what the author thinks is also in her bag of tricks.

[Giggles_Manically]

While I am loving the comic so far, what would you guys do if they just dropped the entire Warden story and moved on. Would that put you off from playing DA2, or would you get over it and play it?

I am in the middle on it so far, but I am waiting to see what will happen.

[Master Shiori]

Giggles_Manically wrote...

While I am loving the comic so far, what would you guys do if they just dropped the entire Warden story and moved on. Would that put you off from playing DA2, or would you get over it and play it?
I am in the middle on it so far, but I am waiting to see what will happen.

For me the make-it-or-break-it is whether we see Morrigan's story run to it's conclusion.

Playing as the Warden would be great, since I love continuation between games, if it doesn't happen I would eventually come to terms with the fact his story is over and move on.

[Barbarossa2010]

Brockololly wrote...

July 6th- Leliana prequel DLC

Now that's the type of DLC that seems worthy of the DA franchise.  Perhaps this is a sign of things to come?

Seriously this was what I was expecting from the DA side of things at Bioware.  Mass Effect has fantastic DLC.  Granted they released far less content, but they make up for it in the quality department, which is always preferable in my view.  Though Mass Effect released less DLC in the three + years the franchise has existed (4 total to date over two games) than DA in 7 months, the quality has been superb (IMO): "Bring Down the Sky," "Pinnacle Station," "Kasumi" and now "Overlord;" all great, all worth the money.  In full disclosure though, I've just downloaded Overlord and am loading up to play as I write, but it definitely looks kick ass.

Now for Leliana's Song, I will most likely pick this one up, especially after the Darkspawn Chronicles debacle.  I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come for the DA franchise.  LS looks like the sort of DLC that finally adds to the depth to the DA story that all here are looking for.

Hats off to the DA Team...for now.

****BREAK****

@ Terra_Ex and Blademaster:

I've picked Oblivion back up to continue my playthrough and am enjoying it immensely.  I went to the Imperial City and became an Arena fighter.  I really wanted the 120 Achievment points and the enchanted heavy arraignment, so I focused on making Grand Champion and completed that last night.  Am on the third leg of the main quest line at present, having picked up a horse at the Priory; so I'm getting around a hell of a lot faster now.  LOVE the graphics and the open world (first time for me outside of my initial start-up with Fallout 3--BTW, went ahead and bought the GOTY edition of that, so only New Vegas will have to be purchased, when I'm ready).  The gameplay is a little sluggish in Oblivion for me, but it's serviceable enough.  Having simple magic available, even as a common sword and board foot soldier, is a pretty cool perk though.  Inventory and combat system was easy to pick up.  I guess 5 + playthroughs with DA:O, and 2 thru Awakenings, did have some advantages after all.

I finally finished my Army of Two, TFD Contractor difficulty playthrough, (perhaps the most frustrating 8 hours of gaming in the second half of the campaign I''ve had in a long time) and  you said you wanted to know when I got back into Oblivion, so there it is.  So far so good and nothing but good things to report at present.

Also, there was alot of good news out of E3 as long as you're a knuckle-dragger like me.

Modifié par Barbarossa2010, 19 juin 2010 - 02:40 .

[Swoo]

"I've picked Oblivion back up to continue my playthrough and am enjoying it immensely"



See, I can't do that. I thought Oblivion was awesome until the 'hey, go do this stage TWENTY-TWO TIMES'. I never want to play it again now.

[Brockololly]

Giggles_Manically wrote...

While I am loving the comic so far, what would you guys do if they just dropped the entire Warden story and moved on. Would that put you off from playing DA2, or would you get over it and play it?
I am in the middle on it so far, but I am waiting to see what will happen.

Thats a tough one. At the risk of sounding myopic, obviously I'd need to know more, but if they just leave the Warden's story as it is currently with Awakening's ending and just move on to another PC with no explanation, I'd be pissed. Would I forsake DA2 necessarily? No, but BioWare would have to do one hell of a job selling me on it. They've got an easy sale or preorder from me if they bring the Warden back with some meaningful continuity otherwise.

If the Warden doesn't return and its just some new adventure like the transition from Neverwinter Nights to Shadows of Undrentide, I'd certainly look into the story and such, but I wouldn't be in any rush to go out and buy it. I only buy maybe 2-3 games full price each year. More often than not, if I don't rush out and buy a game early after its been released theres a very good chance I either will just forget about it or pick it up way way later when its dirt cheap on a Steam sale or something.

Even without the Warden, I'm curious to see how Morrigan's story unfolds. But as much as I like Morrigan, my emotional engagement to her and her story is really only through the Warden- you take away the Warden and I'm not nearly as interested in Morrigan anymore. I just really hope they don't go the Revan/KOTOR2 route with continuity where they basically have the hero disappear and make allusions to them while having the new PC experience cameos and such from NPCs from the 1st game.

One of my least favorite gaming experiences is in KOTOR2 when you finally "reunite" with Carth and Bastila. As a player, you're going "Hey! Its Carth and Bastila!" yet since the PC is nobody to them, Carth and Bastila just give you a very "blah" reaction. I cannot express how much I hated that moment in KOTOR2. And thats the kind of stuff I'd hate to see in DA2 with a new PC- you "reunite" with Morrigan or Alistair or whatever memorable Origins character, but since they have no clue who this new PC is, you have the unpleasant disconnect between the player's emotional connection and reaction being given to the PC in the game.

----------------------------

Unrelated note, but I'm curious about Awakening now. In this thread about the upcoming patch, they make note of the "players may now receive notes of appreciation from former love interests." This seems to refer to the missing Zevran and Leliana letters. *sigh* Unless there is something else hidden away by bugs in Awakening, it seems us Morrigan romancers get the shaft once again.

So, lets see- Alistair romance= gets cutscene. Leliana and Zev romance= get nice letters. Morrigan romance= she dumps you, runs away with your Old God Kid and if you're lucky, you get a powerpoint slide. I'm not saying things need to be equal, but dammit man, I hope there is some kind of payoff for us Morrigan fans in the future cause the present sort of blows.:(They could always do something with the ring, but who knows all the missing/incomplete stuff there might be in Awakening, since they haven't updated the toolset for it....

---------------------------

Barbarossa2010 wrote...

I've picked Oblivion back up to
continue my playthrough and am enjoying it immensely. 

I really enjoyed Oblivion. I might add that its even more amazing on the PC with the plethora of good mods out there for it;). I know BioWare would never do a sandbox game like that, but I'd love it if DA2 at least had some more wide open levels where you can really look off in the distance and get a sense of scale of the world. One of my favorite things to do in Oblivion is to just ride around on your horse and go to the far north (Bruma, I think?) and go to that mountain with the Temple and just look out on everything and see the Imperial CIty and tower way off- very cool.

[Brockololly]

Swoo wrote...

"I've picked Oblivion back up to continue my playthrough and am enjoying it immensely"

See, I can't do that. I thought Oblivion was awesome until the 'hey, go do this stage TWENTY-TWO TIMES'. I never want to play it again now.

It can definitely get repetitive with the oblivion gates, but its got its cool moments too. The "whodunit?" quest for the Dark Brotherhood is soooo much fun.