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[cartman414]

Brent Knowles is still responding to posts on the blog entry.

He just said that he had to fight to keep backstab positional rather than automatically guaranteed in the first DA.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

So getting rid of origin arcs was a bad idea? Good to know.

 

[Basileus777]

So getting rid of origin arcs was a bad idea? Good to know.

I don't getting rid of those was about "ideas," but about budget and development time. This game was made in less than two years for a reason.

 

[charsace]

So I can assume reviewers gave this scores in the 80's at best since I can't see this being more than a good game at best.

 

[NovemberMike]

The fuck is with the equipment requirements? Don't give us a choice on which stats to upgrade if every weapon for warriors is going to Str Con, everything for rogues is dex cunning and everything for mages is magic wisdom. Jesus fucking christ this is retarded.

 

[BY2K]

So I can assume reviewers gave this scores in the 80's at best since I can't see this being more than a good game at best.

PC Gamer UK called it the RPG of the Decade.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

WTF? a 9.2 from Gametrailers?!

Edit: They gave Origins a 9.1

 

[Exuro]

PC Gamer UK called it the RPG of the Decade.

Yeah but there have been what, 2 rpgs released this decade?

 

[AcciDante]

I'm playing on casual and I used the XP glitch. Deal with it.

 

[mujun]

WTF? a 9.2 from Gametrailers?!

Maybe they liked it?

I just watched the review and it looks pretty awesome to me. Can't wait to get home and try it out.

 

[Luthos]

One of my favorite moments so far was talking to the bartender in the Hanging Man, and he mentioned the decreasing population of pigeons in Fereldon.

 

[Edgeward]

It's so awesome they included the ability to change Hawke's appearance's anytime in the Emporium. I was actually debating on just starting over after what seemed like a good fem Hawke in the creator had some nagging flaws, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Bioware add it so that I can make my adjustments.

It's real nice to see some Origins PC mods making it into the sequel proper: hiding helmets, making the dog a summon pet and modding Hawke's face anytime.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

I haven't seen this posted yet, but if your missing your old save, this can make a new one for import
Gibbed's Dragon Age Save Generator
http://social.bioware.com/project/4242/

A generator that can create importable Dragon Age: Origins for Dragon Age 2 with user-specified options for plot, characters, etc. Please report any bugs in the project forum.

 

[jackdoe]

Has anyone imported a save with Anders dead yet?

I imported an Anders who was friends the Warden, and he still talks shit about them. Getting serious Garrus vibes here.

 

[gdt]

At the end of Awakenings, the blurb on Anders was that he got tired of The Wardens, left, and then returned sometime later, never to leave again.

I'm guessing his appearance in the game take's place in that gap?

 

[Heart Attack]

so is the game actually good, or did bioware/ea pay reviewers for those high scores the game is getting?

 

[Basileus777]

I wish there was a way to turn off the visual effects of sustained abilities. The upgraded arcane shield is nice, but now my entire party is covered in a bubble.

 

[gdt]

so is the game actually good, or did bioware/ea pay reviewers for those high scores the game is getting?

They actually kidnapped the families of the game journos. Only explanation.

 

[vocab]

so is the game actually good, or did bioware/ea pay reviewers for those high scores the game is getting?

Id say some of those reviews are greatly exaggerated. Especially from what some people who actually played the game have said about the game. You can't depend on legitimate reviews these days. The metacritic score has inflated like crazy every since GTAIV came out.

 

[Kintaro]

WTF? a 9.2 from Gametrailers?!

Edit: They gave Origins a 9.1

I had to laugh when I saw a DA2 ad on the side of the page and a DA2 commercial played before the DA2 review finally came up. While probably not their fault, I couldn't take the review seriously.

Then again, that place is run by Shane Satterfield who is all in favor in dumbing everything down to mashing a button and talking if he could.

 

[Fredescu]

so is the game actually good, or did bioware/ea pay reviewers for those high scores the game is getting?

It's the lowest scoring Bioware game in a while, so I guess they didn't pay quite enough.

 

[canadian crowe]

so is the game actually good, or did bioware/ea pay reviewers for those high scores the game is getting?

I'm enjoying it so far. The conversation system is pretty good, and I'm enjoying it more than Mass Effect's since your characters dialogue reflects the consistency of your conversation choices. Hawke is much less bipolar than Shepard.

 

[itxaka]

wait wait wait wait for the love of god. No persuasion??? That means that there is no way you can get characters and enemies to not fight based on your charisma/persuasion skills and such? Or you can alter quests via the dialogue thanks to them?

That can't be right, I have to read that wrong. That is like one of the main ingredients of an rpg, the ability to charm your way up trough people with dialog. Please tell me I'm wrong, because I was gonna get DA2 but this is one of the few things I just cannot stand not having in an rpg.

 

[water_wendi]

wait wait wait wait for the love of god. No persuasion??? That means that there is no way you can get characters and enemies to not fight based on your charisma/persuasion skills and such? Or you can alter quests via the dialogue thanks to them?

That can't be right, I have to read that wrong. That is like one of the main ingredients of an rpg, the ability to charm your way up trough people with dialog. Please tell me I'm wrong, because I was gonna get DA2 but this is one of the few things I just cannot stand not having in an rpg.

Well, skills are gone so i guess Persuasion is gone with them. It doesnt matter though, imo. There are plenty of choices during dialogue.

 

[Speculator]

wait wait wait wait for the love of god. No persuasion??? That means that there is no way you can get characters and enemies to not fight based on your charisma/persuasion skills and such? Or you can alter quests via the dialogue thanks to them?

That can't be right, I have to read that wrong. That is like one of the main ingredients of an rpg, the ability to charm your way up trough people with dialog. Please tell me I'm wrong, because I was gonna get DA2 but this is one of the few things I just cannot stand not having in an rpg.

I believe persuasion is not tied directly to an upgradeable attribute/skill set. Special dialogue options substitute persuade and other moments in-game depending on your personality (star icon/dialogue choice). Having companions with you can also unlock more dialogue options where they can provide feedback/input to your character and even persuade or kill for your character.

 

[ProtoCents]

God damn Varric is hilarious. I had him in my party when I was on a sidequest. The NPC issuing the quest talked about not wanting a massacre so he wanted me to persuade a group of people. (Being vague for a reason here)

The camera cut to Varric and he just gave the troll face. He knew me too well. There was bound to be a massacre.

This is turning out to be very enjoyable. Even with all the changes. 2 steps back, 2 steps forward... if that makes sense.

And btw, 12 hours in and I haven't gone on the first real mission yet. The game is very front loaded with side quests.

 

[Riposte]

I asked this awhile back, but didn't get much of an answer(game was newer): How much does DA's events factor into this game?

 

[Dead]

So, is there more to the Exiled Prince DLC after "Duty?"

I finished that part, and now Sebastian just stands there in the chantry with no "real" dialogue. Is shit glitched or is there more to it?

 

[ProtoCents]

I asked this awhile back, but didn't get much of an answer(game was newer): How much does DA's events factor into this game?

Very little. It is quite embarrassing that they allow you to import when it is all so irrelevant. So far the only things mentioning my full DA:O and Awakenings play through was when an NPC rattled off significant enemies that I faced. They listed The Mother at the end of the list.

Your DA:O save will be retconed. I never made Anders a Grey Warden and he is one. Even spoke of tales of exploring with the Grey Warden. It's a joke but so was the ME2 import.

 

[Aedile]

Nah. This game is nothing like the Witcher.

It reminded me of The Witcher in one way: the plot seems to be driven by a conflict between factions and the stance the player decides to take towards them.

Generally speaking, I like what Bioware was trying to do here, giving us a story centered around a smaller locale with an emphasis on "meaningful decisions." It feels like a fantasy Alpha Protocol with fewer branches (it falls victim to three-options-same-results-regardless a little too often). If that was their goal, I wish they'd spent more time on plot-related set pieces and less on fetch/kill quests. As I understand it, the game is something in the area of 30-40 hours; I would have been happy with a game half as long if it was all plot and no filler. But maybe there was an expectation that an RPG had to be x hours long.

How much does DA's events factor into this game?

Aside from cameos and tidbits in conversations (such as what the Warden did in this or that situation, or who the current ruler of Ferelden is), Ferelden-related quests seem to vary based on the actions taken in your imported save.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Man, the optomization. Sometimes when I open up the shop menu, the game drops to the teens. THe fix? hit escape then exit out and the framerate is fine again.

 

[antonz]

Man, the optomization. Sometimes when I open up the shop menu, the game drops to the teens. THe fix? hit escape then exit out and the framerate is fine again.

I have run into a few of these odd slowdowns on my PC. go from a super smooth game then boom it runs like crap. I alt tab out go back in and it is smooth again.

Id guess im at least 1/2 done by this point. Game feels like an 8 out of 10. Story has picked up a bit and the characters are good as far as interactions go.

Spoiler

Merrill is great for entertainment with how naive she is. As is Isabela and Avelines banter about sex etc.

Still don't like the fact a huge chunk of the game consists of omg you need gold to advance the story so spend hours running back and forth in the same city with repeating dungeons and houses that are identical inside.

 

[-tetsuo-]

What the hell, you can only buy armor for Hawke?

edit: not just Hawke, and not just armor. It seems 90% of the equipment in shops, minus trinkets, are for Hawke only.

 

[Basileus777]

What the hell, you can only buy armor for Hawke?

edit: not just Hawke, and not just armor. It seems 90% of the equipment in shops, minus trinkets, are for Hawke only.

Only Hawke can change armor, NPCs have their own custom armor that upgrades throughout the game. You can buy upgrades for NPC armor through shops too.

 

[SenorDingDong]

wait wait wait wait for the love of god. No persuasion??? That means that there is no way you can get characters and enemies to not fight based on your charisma/persuasion skills and such? Or you can alter quests via the dialogue thanks to them?

That can't be right, I have to read that wrong. That is like one of the main ingredients of an rpg, the ability to charm your way up trough people with dialog. Please tell me I'm wrong, because I was gonna get DA2 but this is one of the few things I just cannot stand not having in an rpg.

Is it possible in specific cases choosing one of the few dialog stances actually acts as the coercion option? The game isn't unlocked in Australia yet so I've not yet seen just how different the responses are to Hawke's various dialog options. I don't know if it is the case or not but I think I wouldn't mind something like that as opposed to a clearly marked persuade / win the conversation option.

Edit: Looking at the manual it appears there are a whole host of different dialog stances. Just how prevalent are the main three from the demo? Are they the staple responses for nearly all of the conversations or do these other various options appear with reasonable regularity?

 

[firehawk12]

As a game, people are going to stand where they stand. On normal it's cheese anyway.

But storywise, I'm very mixed on it all. The characters are somewhat interesting, but the buildup to the main quest (ie, Hawke's origin story) is just boring as hell. If the reviews are accurate, then that probably won't get better later on.

The BioWare writers just need to sit down and figure out what kind of story they want to tell. The aimless "middle chapter" isn't an excuse anymore.

 

[CecilRousso]

Ya. Sounds like the downgraded on how to distribute all that. DAO method was really good.




Nah. This game is nothing like the Witcher.

My question was more about the concerns about the game.

As for the Witcher comparison, I can see quite a few similarities.

 

[IrishNinja]

If it was from some random eastern european company though, PC Gaf would probaly be in love with it.

looks like you already got called on this one a few times, but: do eastern eruo companies now get EA level budgets? news to me.

Spoiler

'sup

ps this is the greatest OP evar

 

[itxaka]

I believe persuasion is not tied directly to an upgradeable attribute/skill set. Special dialogue options substitute persuade and other moments in-game depending on your personality (star icon/dialogue choice). Having companions with you can also unlock more dialogue options where they can provide feedback/input to your character and even persuade or kill for your character.

ok, so you can still talk your way out of battles and influence npcs to give you more info/help you with quests/change the path or they just add a bit more of talk and the quests ends the same way if you do that if you don't?

 

[Cyborg]

I expected much higher reviews

IGN

Spoiler

8,5

GS

Spoiler

8

 

[shinobi602]

WTF? a 9.2 from Gametrailers?!

Edit: They gave Origins a 9.1

YEA WTF!? How dare they like the game, those bastards!!!

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Huh.
This whole debacle seems to have affected my dreams.

Dreamt that Geralt (Witcher MC) walks up to Hawke, scoffs, does an awesome sword move, throws the sword at Hawke's feet and walks away.

o_o

 

[Ellis Kim]

Can someone confirm or deny whether or not all of the ladies are bisexual or not :x

Searches are coming up with conflicting answers, like whether or not some batch of pics are photoshopped or not.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

Huh.
This whole debacle seems to have affected my dreams.

Dreamt that Geralt (Witcher MC) walks up to Hawke, scoffs, does an awesome sword move, throws the sword at Hawke's feet and walks away.

o_o

If only you could press 'A' button in your dream, then Hawke could do an awesome move too

BTW. I've checked the high-res textures patch in the demo yesterday and while during close-ups some textures still look blurry or had painted on details, overall the demo certainly looked a lot better.
I still can't understand why did BioWare cut the demo so much: no CC, no inventory, no difficulty settings, no high-res textures :/

 

[bathala]

WTF? a 9.2 from Gametrailers?!

Edit: They gave Origins a 9.1

same site who gave Mass Effect GotY.

 

[delirium]

If you're going to revolve the entire story around a city, one would think Bioware would have made the city's art much more appealing. Kirkwall is just bland as fucking hell.

 

[Trickster]

same site who gave Mass Effect GotY.

Mass Effect kinda deserved it though.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

same site who gave Mass Effect GotY.

and MW2 ...also won best ps3 game, best xbox 360 game and best pc game.

It was so fucking funny i almost cried ...almost.

 

[jakonovski]

If you're going to revolve the entire story around a city, one would think Bioware would have made the city's art much more appealing. Kirkwall is just bland as fucking hell.

They could've started by actually modeling a city, instead of a handful of separate locations on a map.

 

[Truant]

They could've started by actually modeling a city, instead of a handful of separate locations on a map.

Again, this game just reeks of a rush job. It feels like a game from 2003, and not in a good way.