So in just over 24 hours, the demo has been downloaded 406,067 times. Not bad, not bad. Did anyone notice anything that referenced unlocking Hayder's Razor? I didn't see anything saying "Hey, you beat the demo! Good for you! Have an in-game item!"
RE: Fantasy and the sub-genres thereof (based on the wisdom of Wikipedia):
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds.
...
High fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the real, or "primary" world. The secondary world is usually internally consistent but its rules differ in some way(s) from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or "real" world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements.
While Dragon Age may have some elements of low fantasy, it is not in any way low fantasy. This isn't Earth we're dealing with. At least, not in any explicit or implied way. Wheel of Time? Yes. Dragon Age? No.
EDIT THE SECOND (the above being the first):
This Wikipedia entry lists Wheel of Time as being an example of a "setting in which the primary world does not exist." Obviously this is not the best source of information, since Wheel of Time takes place beforeafter present day.
Fawst on
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
edited February 2011
Demo impressions:
- Loved two handed warrior, including abilities
- Didn't particularly like rogue play/abilities
- Mage? Pew pew pew, that's cool, some cool attack animations
- Liked dialog wheel
- Like art style, feels closer to stylized intro sequences, thematically stronger
- Camera a bit annoying
Seeing as I'm on media blackout until the game launches so no demo for me. I really wanted to play a 2hander in DAO but the combat animations made your character look like he was drunk trying to crack open a pinata. Has this changed...can I swing a 2hander and look cooool? Like really cool?
If you aren't logged into an EA account or EA-connected XBL/PSN account, there will be a message on the title screen notifying you that you should log in to get in-game stuff from completing the demo.
Fiaryn, I'd say for the reason you quoted, it is not low fantasy. This is not a familiar world. There are many races of sentient beings besides humans. There are real, verifiable "old gods" that periodically rise up with a horde of minions to consume the countryside.
Just because one aspect (the treatment of mages) was rational, it doesn't make the entire world "rational and familiar". I would consider low fantasy to be things like (to use a terrible movie example The Sorceror's Apprentice where they're in the real world... with magic.
This is certainly a fairly reasonable argument, and the merit of the discussion is questionable in any case. I do think Fiaryn has a point, the world is meant to be grounded and very much vanilla medieval europe, with different nations having many elements of cultures from our world. All this is done to make us feel at home in a world we can believe rather than trying to dazzle us with a world full of magic and wonder.
The evil old gods and their darkspawn were intended to be horrible in part because they break into what is a familiar and relatable world. These are all elements of low fantasy.
Pretty much everything you just said can be applied to LOTR, which is pretty much standard high-fantasy.
Just because parts of the world are inspired by real world cultures does not make it low fantasy.
Also: Typical themes of High Fantasy = "elves, fairies, dwarves, dragons, demons, magic or sorcery, wizards or magicians, invented languages, quests, coming-of-age themes, and multi-volume narratives." That pretty much speaks for itself.
The way I've always looked at it is the "high" and "low" monikers refer to the amount of fantasy.
Seeing as I'm on media blackout until the game launches so no demo for me. I really wanted to play a 2hander in DAO but the combat animations made your character look like he was drunk trying to crack open a pinata. Has this changed...can I swing a 2hander and look cooool? Like really cool?
Seeing as I'm on media blackout until the game launches so no demo for me. I really wanted to play a 2hander in DAO but the combat animations made your character look like he was drunk trying to crack open a pinata. Has this changed...can I swing a 2hander and look cooool? Like really cool?
I'd say about 20% cooler. At least.
I don't really care how the game plays as long as I look sexy.
Did anyone notice that if you try to teleport-backstab through the ogre's charge, you'll come out doing a knockback animation? For all the talk about the new direct/1:1 combat in DA2, I was very disappointed that they still left this "old school RPG combat" glitch in there.
I guess you can reason that he's not literally teleporting, so within the universe he probably still got knocked down by the charge as he snuck around to do the backstab. But it would have been a clever ability for certain tactical situations, like avoiding boss monster special attacks. Kind of like teleporting in Dawn of War II, if anyone's played that.
I did confirm that if you get close enough to an enemy on a ledge, you can teleport up without having to walk up the ramp. That might come in handy.
I miss inferno though. Firestorm is neat but it isn't as impressive as being able to turn an entire room into a swirling vortex of flames.
RT800 on
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
edited February 2011
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
I just finished the demo as a dual wielding rogue. People... don't like this? It was so much fun! I probably had the most fun as a rogue.
Found the abilities underpowered/dissatisfying compared to warrior/mage. Maybe I was doing it wrong, I don't know. From what I gather most people disagree with me.
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
At some point people will realise Baldurs Gate 3 isn't coming out, ever. There are support groups, I've moved on and it feels amazing to be able to enjoy a new relationship with my new lover.
The camera didn't make Baldur's Gate what it was, nor was it the defining feature in Origins. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I find it odd some things people put an emphasis on in terms of what makes and is central to an RPG. The camera wouldn't even be on my list whatsoever.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
I just finished the demo as a dual wielding rogue. People... don't like this? It was so much fun! I probably had the most fun as a rogue.
Found the abilities underpowered/dissatisfying compared to warrior/mage. Maybe I was doing it wrong, I don't know. From what I gather most people disagree with me.
I don't know man, Backstab and Dualfang(?) are pretty strong. Evade is handy when you draw too much aggro.
I've decided on my first Warrior playthrough to go Sword and Board. Shield Bash is so epic when you send four guy flying across the screen.
Skull2185 on
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
At some point people will realise Baldurs Gate 3 isn't coming out, ever. There are support groups, I've moved on and it feels amazing to be able to enjoy a new relationship with my new lover.
Except that DA:O was close enough to Baldur's Gate to satiate us, which is why it's so strange that DA2 went off in a completely different direction, much more akin to Mass Effect. DA:O was a very tactical RPG, DA2 is an action RPG for all intents and purposes.
It's not JUST the camera, the camera is part of it, but it's the most visible part. The rest of it is that nebulous term "feel". The game doesn't "feel" right to me.
Again, not expecting anyone to agree, and I'm glad others are enjoying it. I just feel the entire experience is a big step backward, and it's not what I was looking for. Cest la vi, at least I still have DA:O and Mass Effect.
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
I thought that everyone stopped drawing DAO:BG comparisons a while back. Also, what the fuck? Who played BG for the combat? I must've completed the entire BG series about ten times and in nine of those I treated the combat as punctuation in an otherwise plot and character-driven game. If you want Infinity Engine combat then try IWD. If you think that the "Baldur's Gate feel" was encapsulated in isometric combat then I despair.
I wonder what percentage of people who say "I won't be buying this game" or "I'll wait for a GotY/Ultimate edition to come out" are actually planning to buy it within the first week of it being out.
Did anyone notice that if you try to teleport-backstab through the ogre's charge, you'll come out doing a knockback animation? For all the talk about the new direct/1:1 combat in DA2, I was very disappointed that they still left this "old school RPG combat" glitch in there.
I guess you can reason that he's not literally teleporting, so within the universe he probably still got knocked down by the charge as he snuck around to do the backstab. But it would have been a clever ability for certain tactical situations, like avoiding boss monster special attacks. Kind of like teleporting in Dawn of War II, if anyone's played that.
I did confirm that if you get close enough to an enemy on a ledge, you can teleport up without having to walk up the ramp. That might come in handy.
Did anyone notice anything that referenced unlocking Hayder's Razor? I didn't see anything saying "Hey, you beat the demo! Good for you! Have an in-game item!"
I watched the credits in full for both the XBox and PC versions, and neither prompted me telling me I got the item. Never fear though, as long as you're logged in you got it.
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
I thought that everyone stopped drawing DAO:BG comparisons a while back. Also, what the fuck? Who played BG for the combat? I must've completed the entire BG series about ten times and in nine of those I treated the combat as punctuation in an otherwise plot and character-driven game. If you want Infinity Engine combat then try IWD. If you think that the "Baldur's Gate feel" was encapsulated in isometric combat then I despair.
I wonder what percentage of people who say "I won't be buying this game" or "I'll wait for a GotY/Ultimate edition to come out" are actually planning to buy it within the first week of it being out.
So because you didn't care about the combat in Baldur's Gate, no one else is allowed to like it? Or think it was an important part of the game? Okay....good to know I guess.
And when I say I won't be buying something until X happens, I generally mean it. Too many other places to spend my gaming dollar, it's not like I am sitting here gnashing my teeth about not being able to drop 60 bucks on DA2.
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
Kinda proved my earlier point.
It's a shame, because it makes me wonder if you'd feel the same had DA:O not hearkened back to Baulders Gate.
Now I'm disappointed I didn't know about the signature edition until after it was no longer able for pre-order.
Best thing we can do is get the game new as cheap as possible and then use the savings to buy the $7 Sebastian DLC. For instance, I got the game for $47 off of D2D, this past weekend. That plus $7 is like buying a new $49.99 game with tax added.
Honestly, I'm fine forgoing the 4 in-game items that come with the SE, since we can get plenty of other items through other means (sign-up, demo, DA:L, etc.). And as far as the soundtrack goes, I'll hear it when I'm playing the game, so... yeah.
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
I thought that everyone stopped drawing DAO:BG comparisons a while back. Also, what the fuck? Who played BG for the combat? I must've completed the entire BG series about ten times and in nine of those I treated the combat as punctuation in an otherwise plot and character-driven game. If you want Infinity Engine combat then try IWD. If you think that the "Baldur's Gate feel" was encapsulated in isometric combat then I despair.
I wonder what percentage of people who say "I won't be buying this game" or "I'll wait for a GotY/Ultimate edition to come out" are actually planning to buy it within the first week of it being out.
So because you didn't care about the combat in Baldur's Gate, no one else is allowed to like it? Or think it was an important part of the game? Okay....good to know I guess.
And when I say I won't be buying something until X happens, I generally mean it. Too many other places to spend my gaming dollar, it's not like I am sitting here gnashing my teeth about not being able to drop 60 bucks on DA2.
I wouldn't suggest that anyone shouldn't like the combat in BG2, just that it'd probably be the last thing that anyone wrote home about. Baldur's Gate is a game that has nearly all of its reputation founded on having excellent characters in an excellent plot. These are points that can be transferred quite easily, and is obviously the fraction of DAO/2 that harks back to the days of Baldur's Gate, but there's a reason that no-one ever brings up Icewind Dale these days.
It's not JUST the camera, the camera is part of it, but it's the most visible part. The rest of it is that nebulous term "feel". The game doesn't "feel" right to me.
It felt fairly tactical to me. If I didn't pause and issue orders, target the right enemies, use my abilities at the appropriate times, I'd be in trouble. I still had the same controls at my disposal as I did in Origins. Not to mention they improved cross-class play (one class with an ability to make an enemy brittle, while another class has an ability that exploits that state), although I don't think they gave us much of those abilities in the demo. And it was only on the Normal difficulty level, too, so it was bound to be a bit easy.
The combat was just faster. Less waiting. The shuffle and dance was gone. It had a greater visual flair. Origins was painfully slow by comparison. But faster doesn't necessarily mean a game changing transformation from tactically to action oriented. If that increased speed just feels wrong to you coming off Origins, then that's perfectly fine, but I'd have to disagree strongly that it changed the entire nature of the game.
And speaking of BG2 combat, since a few people are talking about it, it sucked. Badly. It was terrible. Those D&D PC rules could hurtle themselves off a cliff. It's a pain in the ass in Planescape: Torment, too, which I'm working my way through right now. It certainly wasn't the combat that made me enjoy those games. It was the story and the characters and the choices and consequences. Those are the things important to me in an RPG, and I can overlook bad combat if those other elements are good.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
The combat in DA2 can be played almost exactly the same as DA1. The only major difference I can see is it's now much more interesting to watch and you can no longer detach the camera from your party.
If that minor difference is enough to make you not buy the game you clearly didn't like DA1 all that much.
Cabezone on
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
Kinda proved my earlier point.
It's a shame, because it makes me wonder if you'd feel the same had DA:O not hearkened back to Baulders Gate.
I think you'll come around, personally.
Maybe I wouldn't feel the same, but it did. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. DA:O is what it is, and what it is is not what DA2 ended up being. Obviously this was a conscious change on BioWare's part. Obviously most people like the change. I don't. I have no doubt I will own the game someday, but it definitely got dropped way down my purchase list. I am now much more comfortable waiting for an GoTY/Ultimate pack, or a Steam sale.
Also, here's to hoping for a mod that puts the DA:O camera back in.
To an extent, the rogue feels a bit unwieldly. The Rush (or whatever it's called) skill does charge forward and hit enemies... but I have a hard time guaging how FAR he'll rush forward, how much he needs to close the gap before doing so, and what type of AoE there will be upon striking. I'm sure those are the kinds of things that are intuitive with more experience playing, but it's not as straightforward as a mage.
Speaking of mages, is it just me, or can you not target an enemy directly with an AoE spell like Fireball? It only seemed to want to let me target the ground. This is painfully apparent in the opening area, as Bethany seems to consistently nuke the ground where Darkspawn used to be.
That is what happens, and to be honest, I kinda liked that part of the mage. I thought it was pretty cool to have to lead your targets when casting area effect spells. It took me all of one fight to get that down and start using it. The really funny thing to me is that it actually kind of reminded me of the old space combat sims where if you wanted to succeed, you had to learn to anticipate where the enemy would be when your shots reached the target, not look at where the enemy is now.
I like it also, the problem is the AI is incapable of leading targets.
The combat in DA2 can be played almost exactly the same as DA1. The only major difference I can see is it's now much more interesting to watch and you can no longer detach the camera from your party.
If that minor difference is enough to make you not buy the game you clearly didn't like DA1 all that much.
Ah yes, the time honored PA thread "You disagree with me about a game, thus I am going to tell you how you must really feel" response.
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
Kinda proved my earlier point.
It's a shame, because it makes me wonder if you'd feel the same had DA:O not hearkened back to Baulders Gate.
I think you'll come around, personally.
Maybe I wouldn't feel the same, but it did. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. DA:O is what it is, and what it is is not what DA2 ended up being. Obviously this was a conscious change on BioWare's part. Obviously most people like the change. I don't. I have no doubt I will own the game someday, but it definitely got dropped way down my purchase list. I am now much more comfortable waiting for an GoTY/Ultimate pack, or a Steam sale.
Also, here's to hoping for a mod that puts the DA:O camera back in.
Well, at least you're not depriving yourself of it completely or damming Bioware to hell, or saying we're all dumb for liking it.
2011 will be here waiting for you when you come around.
It's nice here, you'll like it.
Bacon-BuTTy on
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jefe414"My Other Drill Hole is a Teleporter"Mechagodzilla is Best GodzillaRegistered Userregular
Now I'm disappointed I didn't know about the signature edition until after it was no longer able for pre-order.
Best thing we can do is get the game new as cheap as possible and then use the savings to buy the $7 Sebastian DLC. For instance, I got the game for $47 off of D2D, this past weekend. That plus $7 is like buying a new $49.99 game with tax added.
Honestly, I'm fine forgoing the 4 in-game items that come with the SE, since we can get plenty of other items through other means (sign-up, demo, DA:L, etc.). And as far as the soundtrack goes, I'll hear it when I'm playing the game, so... yeah.
Well I of course mean I'm disappointed in myself for not knowing. As always, Bioware will get my $7. If I can put it up for Kasumi, I can certainly do it for an archer.
jefe414 on
Xbox Live: Jefe414
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
Played through the demo a second time. Yep, the camera is a deal breaker for me. Sorry BioWare, you screwed the pooch on the PC camera for this. The entire idea behind Dragon Age is that it was supposed to hearken back to the Baldur's Gate days. You already have a third-person action RPG out, it's called Mass Effect and it's pretty good. DA2 is not nearly as good as a third-person action game, yet you completely removed the Baldur's Gate feel. No bueno.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
Kinda proved my earlier point.
It's a shame, because it makes me wonder if you'd feel the same had DA:O not hearkened back to Baulders Gate.
I think you'll come around, personally.
Maybe I wouldn't feel the same, but it did. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. DA:O is what it is, and what it is is not what DA2 ended up being. Obviously this was a conscious change on BioWare's part. Obviously most people like the change. I don't. I have no doubt I will own the game someday, but it definitely got dropped way down my purchase list. I am now much more comfortable waiting for an GoTY/Ultimate pack, or a Steam sale.
Also, here's to hoping for a mod that puts the DA:O camera back in.
Well, at least you're not depriving yourself of it completely or damming Bioware to hell, or saying we're all dumb for liking it.
2011 will be here waiting for you when you come around.
It's nice here, you'll like it.
Hell no, I still love the shit out of BioWare. Still one of my favorite gaming companies. I will eventually buy (and most likely enjoy) DA2, I was just really disappointed with the demo, and it's "day one purchase" status was taken away.
And no one is dumb for liking it, like I said earlier, I am glad people are enjoying it. I like to see BioWare games do well, if for no other reason than it funds the next Mass Effect :P
Now I'm disappointed I didn't know about the signature edition until after it was no longer able for pre-order.
Best thing we can do is get the game new as cheap as possible and then use the savings to buy the $7 Sebastian DLC. For instance, I got the game for $47 off of D2D, this past weekend. That plus $7 is like buying a new $49.99 game with tax added.
Honestly, I'm fine forgoing the 4 in-game items that come with the SE, since we can get plenty of other items through other means (sign-up, demo, DA:L, etc.). And as far as the soundtrack goes, I'll hear it when I'm playing the game, so... yeah.
Forgoing the four in-game items that come with the Signature Edition? You mean the Black Emporium stuff? Because those come with all new copies of the game. They're not restricted to the Signature Edition. I believe the only extra content that does come with the Signature Edition for free is the Exiled Prince DLC.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
Posts
RE: Fantasy and the sub-genres thereof (based on the wisdom of Wikipedia):
While Dragon Age may have some elements of low fantasy, it is not in any way low fantasy. This isn't Earth we're dealing with. At least, not in any explicit or implied way. Wheel of Time? Yes. Dragon Age? No.
EDIT THE SECOND (the above being the first):
This Wikipedia entry lists Wheel of Time as being an example of a "setting in which the primary world does not exist." Obviously this is not the best source of information, since Wheel of Time takes place beforeafter present day.
- Loved two handed warrior, including abilities
- Didn't particularly like rogue play/abilities
- Mage? Pew pew pew, that's cool, some cool attack animations
- Liked dialog wheel
- Like art style, feels closer to stylized intro sequences, thematically stronger
- Camera a bit annoying
- Liking framed narrative and unreliable narrator
- Flemeth = awesome
- Might not day 1 purchase, but will purchase
- Now I want to play DA:O again
I had finally decided I wanted to play as a sword & board warrior, but now I'm re-evaluating that.
Pretty much everything you just said can be applied to LOTR, which is pretty much standard high-fantasy.
Just because parts of the world are inspired by real world cultures does not make it low fantasy.
Also: Typical themes of High Fantasy = "elves, fairies, dwarves, dragons, demons, magic or sorcery, wizards or magicians, invented languages, quests, coming-of-age themes, and multi-volume narratives." That pretty much speaks for itself.
The way I've always looked at it is the "high" and "low" monikers refer to the amount of fantasy.
Steam: adamjnet
I'm pretty sure you can. PC is the platform that's limited to auto-attacking, while consoles give you a choice. I think it's in the radial menu.
I'd say about 20% cooler. At least.
I don't really care how the game plays as long as I look sexy.
I guess you can reason that he's not literally teleporting, so within the universe he probably still got knocked down by the charge as he snuck around to do the backstab. But it would have been a clever ability for certain tactical situations, like avoiding boss monster special attacks. Kind of like teleporting in Dawn of War II, if anyone's played that.
I did confirm that if you get close enough to an enemy on a ledge, you can teleport up without having to walk up the ramp. That might come in handy.
I miss inferno though. Firestorm is neat but it isn't as impressive as being able to turn an entire room into a swirling vortex of flames.
BioWare won't be getting my money for this one, at least not until it hits a Steam sale. Oh well, not expecting any one else to agree. And strangely I'm not that heart broken. Too many other good games coming out this year to really fret about it too much (including the third installment to their actual third-person action RPG series). I am glad that everyone else is enjoying it though. Even if it's not my cup of tea, I like to see BioWare do well with their games.
Found the abilities underpowered/dissatisfying compared to warrior/mage. Maybe I was doing it wrong, I don't know. From what I gather most people disagree with me.
At some point people will realise Baldurs Gate 3 isn't coming out, ever. There are support groups, I've moved on and it feels amazing to be able to enjoy a new relationship with my new lover.
I don't know man, Backstab and Dualfang(?) are pretty strong. Evade is handy when you draw too much aggro.
I've decided on my first Warrior playthrough to go Sword and Board. Shield Bash is so epic when you send four guy flying across the screen.
Except that DA:O was close enough to Baldur's Gate to satiate us, which is why it's so strange that DA2 went off in a completely different direction, much more akin to Mass Effect. DA:O was a very tactical RPG, DA2 is an action RPG for all intents and purposes.
It's not JUST the camera, the camera is part of it, but it's the most visible part. The rest of it is that nebulous term "feel". The game doesn't "feel" right to me.
Again, not expecting anyone to agree, and I'm glad others are enjoying it. I just feel the entire experience is a big step backward, and it's not what I was looking for. Cest la vi, at least I still have DA:O and Mass Effect.
I wonder what percentage of people who say "I won't be buying this game" or "I'll wait for a GotY/Ultimate edition to come out" are actually planning to buy it within the first week of it being out.
use your backflip if you want to do sweet dodges
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
I watched the credits in full for both the XBox and PC versions, and neither prompted me telling me I got the item. Never fear though, as long as you're logged in you got it.
You can check here:
http://social.bioware.com/user_home.php
Just log in, go to profile (on the left pane), and then go to "Your registered game promotions".
Should show everything you've unlocked so far, for each platform.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
So because you didn't care about the combat in Baldur's Gate, no one else is allowed to like it? Or think it was an important part of the game? Okay....good to know I guess.
And when I say I won't be buying something until X happens, I generally mean it. Too many other places to spend my gaming dollar, it's not like I am sitting here gnashing my teeth about not being able to drop 60 bucks on DA2.
Kinda proved my earlier point.
It's a shame, because it makes me wonder if you'd feel the same had DA:O not hearkened back to Baulders Gate.
I think you'll come around, personally.
Best thing we can do is get the game new as cheap as possible and then use the savings to buy the $7 Sebastian DLC. For instance, I got the game for $47 off of D2D, this past weekend. That plus $7 is like buying a new $49.99 game with tax added.
Honestly, I'm fine forgoing the 4 in-game items that come with the SE, since we can get plenty of other items through other means (sign-up, demo, DA:L, etc.). And as far as the soundtrack goes, I'll hear it when I'm playing the game, so... yeah.
It felt fairly tactical to me. If I didn't pause and issue orders, target the right enemies, use my abilities at the appropriate times, I'd be in trouble. I still had the same controls at my disposal as I did in Origins. Not to mention they improved cross-class play (one class with an ability to make an enemy brittle, while another class has an ability that exploits that state), although I don't think they gave us much of those abilities in the demo. And it was only on the Normal difficulty level, too, so it was bound to be a bit easy.
The combat was just faster. Less waiting. The shuffle and dance was gone. It had a greater visual flair. Origins was painfully slow by comparison. But faster doesn't necessarily mean a game changing transformation from tactically to action oriented. If that increased speed just feels wrong to you coming off Origins, then that's perfectly fine, but I'd have to disagree strongly that it changed the entire nature of the game.
And speaking of BG2 combat, since a few people are talking about it, it sucked. Badly. It was terrible. Those D&D PC rules could hurtle themselves off a cliff. It's a pain in the ass in Planescape: Torment, too, which I'm working my way through right now. It certainly wasn't the combat that made me enjoy those games. It was the story and the characters and the choices and consequences. Those are the things important to me in an RPG, and I can overlook bad combat if those other elements are good.
http://social.bioware.com/user_entitlements.php
If that minor difference is enough to make you not buy the game you clearly didn't like DA1 all that much.
Maybe I wouldn't feel the same, but it did. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. DA:O is what it is, and what it is is not what DA2 ended up being. Obviously this was a conscious change on BioWare's part. Obviously most people like the change. I don't. I have no doubt I will own the game someday, but it definitely got dropped way down my purchase list. I am now much more comfortable waiting for an GoTY/Ultimate pack, or a Steam sale.
Also, here's to hoping for a mod that puts the DA:O camera back in.
I like it also, the problem is the AI is incapable of leading targets.
Yeah, I got the Razor. You signed in in the demo?
Ah yes, the time honored PA thread "You disagree with me about a game, thus I am going to tell you how you must really feel" response.
Ah, nevermind, it's there now. Apparently just took some time.
Well, at least you're not depriving yourself of it completely or damming Bioware to hell, or saying we're all dumb for liking it.
2011 will be here waiting for you when you come around.
It's nice here, you'll like it.
Well I of course mean I'm disappointed in myself for not knowing. As always, Bioware will get my $7. If I can put it up for Kasumi, I can certainly do it for an archer.
Hell no, I still love the shit out of BioWare. Still one of my favorite gaming companies. I will eventually buy (and most likely enjoy) DA2, I was just really disappointed with the demo, and it's "day one purchase" status was taken away.
And no one is dumb for liking it, like I said earlier, I am glad people are enjoying it. I like to see BioWare games do well, if for no other reason than it funds the next Mass Effect :P
Forgoing the four in-game items that come with the Signature Edition? You mean the Black Emporium stuff? Because those come with all new copies of the game. They're not restricted to the Signature Edition. I believe the only extra content that does come with the Signature Edition for free is the Exiled Prince DLC.