Ultimate Videogame Topic 3: The Next Generation

[Brandi]

Reck you should get Dragon age Origins if you ever see it on sale. (But not the sequel) I think you'll find it's different than fallout and Skyrim. (Though if you have played New Vegas and didn't like it then I'm less confident in that assertion)
Unlike Skyrim and Fallout 3 it has excellent characters, voice acting and writing. The game play is difficult enough to be a challenge.

When I played Skyrim despite all the quests and characters I felt so... lonely. Everyone felt so artificial and stale. I could not get immersed, even visually with the highest graphical settings. The combat is just too boring and despite having several novels worth of dialogue it seemed the game was more of a "quantity" than "quality"...

Dragon age though, it's made me feel things I've never felt while playing a WRPG before. Some of the characters are complete dicks/bitches and I HATE them for their personalities and yet... they made me feel these things for a fictional character. Not something I can say about a lot of other games. Then there are some actual grey and grey morality choices where it actually would just be your personal opinion of what you're doing is right or wrong. (I've seen 10+ page debates on what was the "correct moral decision" for certain parts of the game and I still haven't come to a conclusion)

I could go on about it, but basically Dragon Age is the best thing I've played in years and I'm still not even finished with it but I'm likely going to do multiple playthroughs with different races/genders. DA is also the first game that's made me want to actually go and make a male character just for the different dialogue and interactions.

[GuyInFreezer]

[zoraster]

i liked dragon age origins a lot, but i will say that it did not exactly go against fantasy tropes (the dwarves are ax swingers who live in mountains, the elves are arches who live in the forest, etc). But it feels epic, there's intrigue, and you're constantly propelled down a story-path without feeling like you're just treading water.

[Natirasha]

Yeah, DAO isn't really unique--it follows the 'Bioware flowchart' pretty much exactly and is mostly generic fantasyland, but its also really really well-written and an enjoyable tromp. The combat is kinda boring unless you like the old isometric style stuff(I don't), but you can turn it in easy and just breeze through. Its also the last good game Bioware made before EA really took them over.

[Nero Cain]

Dragon Age Origins was great.

[zoraster]

Yeah, DAO isn't really unique--it follows the 'Bioware flowchart' pretty much exactly and is mostly generic fantasyland, but its also really really well-written and an enjoyable tromp. The combat is kinda boring unless you like the old isometric style stuff(I don't), but you can turn it in easy and just breeze through. Its also the last good game Bioware made before EA really took them over.

I thought ME2 was good. I wish I could play ME3 without getting motion sick.

[Umbrage]

ME3 was a great game, it just happened to be a great UNFINISHED game.

I've never been able to get into DAO. It's fun enough, just hasn't grabbed me like Mass Effect did.

[Nero Cain]

I'm like the only person that liked Jade Empire. DAO and ME is better but still enjoyed JE.

[bv310]

Reck you should get Dragon age Origins if you ever see it on sale. (But not the sequel) I think you'll find it's different than fallout and Skyrim. (Though if you have played New Vegas and didn't like it then I'm less confident in that assertion)
Unlike Skyrim and Fallout 3 it has excellent characters, voice acting and writing. The game play is difficult enough to be a challenge.

When I played Skyrim despite all the quests and characters I felt so... lonely. Everyone felt so artificial and stale. I could not get immersed, even visually with the highest graphical settings. The combat is just too boring and despite having several novels worth of dialogue it seemed the game was more of a "quantity" than "quality"...

Dragon age though, it's made me feel things I've never felt while playing a WRPG before. Some of the characters are complete dicks/bitches and I HATE them for their personalities and yet... they made me feel these things for a fictional character. Not something I can say about a lot of other games. Then there are some actual grey and grey morality choices where it actually would just be your personal opinion of what you're doing is right or wrong. (I've seen 10+ page debates on what was the "correct moral decision" for certain parts of the game and I still haven't come to a conclusion)

I could go on about it, but basically Dragon Age is the best thing I've played in years and I'm still not even finished with it but I'm likely going to do multiple playthroughs with different races/genders. DA is also the first game that's made me want to actually go and make a male character just for the different dialogue and interactions.

Definitely agree with this, though I'd also recommend DA2 for a different experience in the same world. The two are really separate games, though, and 2 feels rushed, but it's worth a runthrough if you can pick it up for cheap.

I'm psyched for Inquisition coming out this year. Should be nice to tie up some of the loose story ends that the last two games had.

[Natirasha]

I thought ME2 was good. I wish I could play ME3 without getting motion sick.

I just don't really like the direction Bioware went after DAO. Like, they make good games still, but they're just not for me.

[Brandi]

Yeah I don't think the formula for DOA was unique, but I think it executed it well. Though I don't think everything needs to be unique to have merit. I personally like that it doesn't get super silly with "a rose by any other name" archetypes.
Also I find the combat super fun. But maybe that's because on some parts I die a LOT and really have to think about how to do things/position properly to succeed.

I can think of one part of DOA that I really don't like.

The Fade

...but even though there is DLC to skip that part.. I don't think I would want to use it. Still. It was pretty annoying. :c

[Umbrage]

I'm like the only person that liked Jade Empire. DAO and ME is better but still enjoyed JE.

I have JE, and it looked cool but I couldn't handle the awful controls.

[Iecerint]

The Fade is my favorite part of DAO. I guess it's a long dungeon in the middle of a long dungeon, so I can understand the fatigue.

DA2 is so heartbreaking. So much promise, so much obvious lack of completion. The DA2 DLC is A++, too; it gives a sense of how it might have been if they'd had a proper schedule.

[Kcdaspot]

....

i dunno about this..

[Sudo_Nym]

You're welcome, Brandi

I really loved DAO- it's formula for sure, but it does good and interesting things with the formula. Tropes are not bad, after all.

I actually really like DA2, as well, I just think it really suffers in the comparison to the original. It's not a bad game, and it improves on some stuff, but it also cuts out a lot of the tactics and difficulty of the original. I have to agree, though, that Legacy especially demonstrates what Bioware could have done with the base game.

[Nero Cain]

Has anyone here played The Witcher 2?

[TheButtonmen]

Played it, found it very bland. The story is completely uninteresting and the combat was fun at first but is extremely repetitive and easy.

[Nero Cain]

So I should prob not get it. Thanks

[Mr. Flay]

I can't even get through Witcher 1. The controls are driving me batty.

[hasdgfas]

Has anyone here played The Witcher 2?

I played it. I really, really enjoyed the story and the world, but the combat frustrated me quite a bit and I just threw it on easy so I could get through it.

I much preferred Witcher 1, which had a much more understandable combat system.

[Umbrage]

I haven't played Witcher 1, and I feel really guilty about that.

[Iecerint]

I actually really like DA2, as well, I just think it really suffers in the comparison to the original. It's not a bad game, and it improves on some stuff, but it also cuts out a lot of the tactics and difficulty of the original. I have to agree, though, that Legacy especially demonstrates what Bioware could have done with the base game.

Yeah, I like DA2, but I can't help but feel really sad while enjoying it. It's kind of like playing disc 2 of Xenogears, only a more extreme version of that, because in Xenogears your thoughts are pretty divided between FEELS and noticing that the cutscene started 2 hours ago.

[Zachrulez]

I haven't played Witcher 1, and I feel really guilty about that.

The first game's existence and the trouble I've had playing through it is the reason I haven't played the 2nd one yet.

[InflatablePie]

Starting the 23rd, Nintendo Point cards are 20% off at Best Buy. Again.

So I'm probably spending $40 of my $50 card to get Bravely Default and use the extra $10 to maybe get some cheap game like Pushmo/Crashmo. Might even grab a $20 card so I can check out some other small games and still pay for my year of PokeBank.

[xRECKONERx]

GET PUSHMO