Extremely unimpressed with Bioware DLC

[muse108dc]

EDIT: Summary: Didnt like the DLC, found it lacking, short and dull, the stuff in the core game was better, Didnt like the expansion either. Scared for DA2.



Finally got around to playing the Dragon Age DLC and I have to say, compared with the main game, they are all pathetic. Witch hunt took me no time at all to beat and was a major disappointment as a whole, a few boss fights that were not all that hard, 0 new locations if you have played Dragon Age and the expansion. And worst of all there is NO hunt, theres no tracking Morrigan, no following of clues, you find a clean freak mage and a human hating dalish and BOOM theres Morrigan waiting at a mirror for you. There was no challenge and no sense of achievement at the end, sure you find her but it was a strait line to her. The characters you find were flat, the only dialogue you could have with them were when they talked to you due to necessity for the quest.

Golems of Agra.....something, feels better but at the same time I think to actually complete it you not only have to beat Origins but also the expansion, and considering I didnt like the expansion, I'm getting mauled in it far too easily. One of the first fights is against 4 golems that can each squish your character without too much trouble. Its a bit more interesting though.

Lelliana's song. Short and didnt take place in Orlais. Was also lacking in story.

The DLC in game, Ostagar, Wardens Keep,were better as they fit in to the actual game and therefore didnt feel as lacking to me and I think that that was because they were integrated into the game, and just to note Shale wasnt DLC in my books she was part of the original game.

What I'm now afraid of considering I loved the core game, didnt like most of the DLC, and didnt like the expansion that I'm not going to like Dragon age II and the direction that Bioware is moving with the series. With what I know of II already its not looking good, changing combat to be better for consoles (this is never a good thing to hear for a PC gamer, normally equals dumbed down), a move towards Mass effect's fixed character (I quite liked the fact that in Origins you could pick your race even if in the big picture it really didnt play that big a role in the overall game). I'm just praying that it is still dragon age in it's core and not mass effect.1

[Ryoohki]

Originally Posted by muse108dc

EDIT: Summary: Didnt like the DLC, found it lacking, short and dull, the stuff in the core game was better, Didnt like the expansion either. Scared for DA2.



Finally got around to playing the Dragon Age DLC and I have to say, compared with the main game, they are all pathetic. Witch hunt took me no time at all to beat and was a major disappointment as a whole, a few boss fights that were not all that hard, 0 new locations if you have played Dragon Age and the expansion. And worst of all there is NO hunt, theres no tracking Morrigan, no following of clues, you find a clean freak mage and a human hating dalish and BOOM theres Morrigan waiting at a mirror for you. There was no challenge and no sense of achievement at the end, sure you find her but it was a strait line to her. The characters you find were flat, the only dialogue you could have with them were when they talked to you due to necessity for the quest.

Golems of Agra.....something, feels better but at the same time I think to actually complete it you not only have to beat Origins but also the expansion, and considering I didnt like the expansion, I'm getting mauled in it far too easily. One of the first fights is against 4 golems that can each squish your character without too much trouble. Its a bit more interesting though.

Lelliana's song. Short and didnt take place in Orlais. Was also lacking in story.

The DLC in game, Ostagar, Wardens Keep,were better as they fit in to the actual game and therefore didnt feel as lacking to me and I think that that was because they were integrated into the game, and just to note Shale wasnt DLC in my books she was part of the original game.

What I'm now afraid of considering I loved the core game, didnt like most of the DLC, and didnt like the expansion that I'm not going to like Dragon age II and the direction that Bioware is moving with the series. With what I know of II already its not looking good, changing combat to be better for consoles (this is never a good thing to hear for a PC gamer, normally equals dumbed down), a move towards Mass effect's fixed character (I quite liked the fact that in Origins you could pick your race even if in the big picture it really didnt play that big a role in the overall game). I'm just praying that it is still dragon age in it's core and not mass effect.1

Well welcome to 10 years ago. Off course the control are gonna be Console centric, game on console sell 10-100x more than on PC. Except for a very few rare occasion. 2M sell on PC a HUGE, on console it's 2 days of Halo...

[sswilson]

Originally Posted by Ryoohki

Well welcome to 10 years ago. Off course the control are gonna be Console centric, game on console sell 10-100x more than on PC. Except for a very few rare occasion. 2M sell on PC a HUGE, on console it's 2 days of Halo...

It'd actually be interesting to see the breakdown of sales on true RPGs (games like dragonage rather than the console button mashers popular in the `90s) on both platforms. I'd like to think that the PC still holds it's own against consoles in that genre.

[thorn]

Seems to me you have really only been disappointed with two of the DLCs, the thread title is somewhat misleading.

As for Dragon Age 2, from what I have read the combat on PC will remain mostly unchanged from Dragon Age: Origins. There are obviously going to be tweaks but afaik there hasn't been any concrete PC gameplay videos, heck I don't think there have been any gameplay videos (I don't really consider the most recent trailer a gameplay video).

[LaughingCrow]

I pre-ordered DA2 (PC) mainly on the strength of all the previous games by Bioware that I liked.

I too have some trepidation with DA2, from reading the Bioware forum questions/answers. Some people are calling it Dragon Effect, since it will mimic Mass Effect in some regards. I suspect that since Bioware was bought out by EA, they have had a big influence on the direction of DA2, pointing it towards the consoles. I liked the variety of the 'Origins' concept and how that made the game re-playable, (more roles and background choices). This won't be possible with only a human character in DA2, where gender and class is the only distinction (like Mass Effect). The Bioware devs seem to be aware that the direction they're taking with DA2 is not be well liked by those who have played the earlier games like Baldur's Gate, NeverWinter Nights, etc. With a single character type, it's probably a lot easier and faster to develop and perhaps they're able to put more effort into other parts of the game and the game engine.

No way to really tell until it's released.

But, I think the one telling point is going to be if DA2 gets a toolset like DA: Origins and NeverWinterNights. The toolset and modding is only useful on the PC platform and modding is why a lot of people play these games. No toolset is going to be a good indication that EA is betting on sales for the consoles. No toolset, probably equals more crappy DLC content. Possibly along the same lines of what Activision or Infinity Ward did to cut out servers and modding for Call of Duty - more control of content.

The other telling point, might be if key people start leaving Bioware, which I haven't heard of.

I got "Awakenings" and Witch Hunt. Awakenings is buggy and it seems clear they're not going to fix it. Witch Hunt seem like it was pasted together in a hurry.

[CTA]

Originally Posted by thorn

Seems to me you have really only been disappointed with two of the DLCs, the thread title is somewhat misleading.

As for Dragon Age 2, from what I have read the combat on PC will remain mostly unchanged from Dragon Age: Origins. There are obviously going to be tweaks but afaik there hasn't been any concrete PC gameplay videos, heck I don't think there have been any gameplay videos (I don't really consider the most recent trailer a gameplay video).

no not whole combat engine... i remember... i did 300+ based damage for rouge archer... and more exps...

yes i agreed dlc sucks...

btw i dont play second dlc so i dont know...

[YukonTrooper]

It's logical to assume that any cheap bastards who decide to charge for DLC will release cheaply made DLC. As is the nature of these cash-grabs that have flooded the industry.

I don't buy DLC simply because I do not support the idea of DLC.

[Arinoth]

Well i did find the DLC with Dragon Age a little luck luster, i can't say the same about mass effect 2. Some of the ones they have released and i've played have been great. The Lair of the Shadow Broker (the latest one) took me i'd say 4-6 hours to go through it (was playing it on hardcore), added quite a bit of new scenery, background story and even little informational tibits about different characters (party and general npc).