Diablo 3 vs. Dragon Age 2 Anticipation

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Well yeah, let's just gloss over the NWN series...

 

NWN? Naaahhhh - Don't know what you're talking about. Everyone is allowed a screwup every now and then. That game never happened...

 

Was Jade Empire any good though? I dont think I ever tried that one.

 

Jade Empire was ok. Not great not that bad.

Combat is dull and repetitive, especially in the beginning. The melee combat could've done with a little more variety, I found myself thinking that a system of combo's like in for instance Return of the King would've made combat more interesting. After a while, though, when you learn a couple of special moves and transformations it becomes more interesting.

The story is nice but not that great. I think one of the best things it has going for it is the break away from the standard fantasy setting with its chinese mythology based setting.

Overall, I quite liked the game, if only for the way the combat towards the end can be totally broken and you can cheese your way through the last part of the game. Not unlike BG2

 

Definitely. I actually like Jade Empire. It's not the best CRPG ever but it has some great moments and the setting is very refreshing.

Besides I'm tired of the old clichéd European medieval setting... Especially since more often than not it is represented in games like some Hollywood version of the Middle Ages rather than one based on actual history. That's just another reason why I like the Witcher. This game looks medieval and that is not something that can be said of many CRPGs.

 

Imho, the good and creative time of Bioware is over.

The highlights are the Baldur's Gate saga and Knights of the old Republic.
Especially when concerning dramaturgy and overall story.
In this regard Mass Effect is brilliant, too, but fades already to KotoR.
Concerning game mechanics and complexity, BG has an exceptional position, anyway.
Even DA:O doesn't come close.

DAO is not a bad game, not at all, but it tries beeing both: a spiritual successor to BG and a 'modern' RPG, that appeals to a younger generation. But it cannot achieve greatness in either.
It is only consistent, when they try to force DA in only one direction (unfortunately for my taste, in the wrong one ^^).

True. Sadly the story isn't as great as in KotoR or ME (it's still good), and the game mechanic (though unique), isn't that thrilling to me either.

 

Kotor didn`t have much in the way of replayability though. You get forced into becoming a jedi in it anyway. I finished it twice, and the second time I played it it just felt like i was watching a movie for the second time.

 

@Rawgrim
I would label KotoR and ME 'story rpg'.
In this regard they are brilliant and therefore I don't mind the lack of replayability (well in KotoR you can actually play twice, lightside and darkside).

Concerning me, the only game I can replay without getting bored is the BG saga (sometimes I replay KotoR because it just is so damned good).
DAO would be second for replayability but it lacks some elements, I can't describe accurately why, but the story is lacking (the background and world is very good but the realisation of that background into a thrilling story doesn't satisfy).

 

I agree with you there Hannibal. Kotor was excelent the first time I played it. I agree with the "something missing in DA" as well. I think its the story somewhat. The main quest, I think it is. The darkspawn invasion is the main enemy in the game. The game really sets the tone for this in the beginning, and then it just goes away. swept aside to the background, and not really in the picture untill after the landsmeet.

 

I didn't vote in time for this, but I'm going with Dragon Age II, based on what I hope DAII ends up being (i.e. a fantastic step forward from the original game).

Diablo III isn't that far behind. While I'm not a huge fan of uber hack and slash typically, I find that pretty much anything Blizzard does is worth picking up and enjoying. I played D2 into the ground, and DIII looks like it's going to be light years better.

Regarding the Dragon Age story... I agree with the idea that it's missing something compared to the replayability of BG2. I think Dragon Age is a fantastic game, don't get me wrong -- I consider myself to be a HUGE fan of it. I just don't quite get the same "spring in my step" when I replay it like I do when I replay Baldur's Gate II. Honestly, I think that subconsciously it has a lot to do with how dark DA is, vs. how hopeful BG2 is. Everywhere I go in DA2 I'm depressed. People are fleeing their homes, they got robbed, their world is about to be enveloped by evil creatures. It's always so damn intense, even horrifying what's going on in DA. By comparison, BG2 is a very hopeful game. When you get out of Irenicus' dungeon and head into the Promenade, there's a sense of relief, a sense that you can breathe. Sure, there's plenty of despair, but it is regularly contrasted against a world where people are generally hopeful. You hear children playing. You hear hawkers plying their wares. You meet plenty of boisterous and upbeat characters, and you can visit places like the Radiant Heart building and feel like there are those who are still fighting for what is right. I think that this, for me, is as much as anything what makes this game so much more replayable. It doesn't require the same level of emotional investment to get through.

 

The world in BG2 is more cheerful that is certain but the story itself is probably darker.

In DAO you're part of a great order fighting the evil that the Blight represents but in the BG series you're a Bhaalspawn and as such you have within you part of the essence of Bhaal the Lord of Murder, a most evil and devious deity. In comparison a Grey Warden's taint is almost a joke (provided you pass the joining of course).

The most interesting part of the BG series is the inner struggle between good and evil, a struggle that is present in every character but that takes on cosmological proportions in the case of the Bhaalspawn.

 

I don't know, I guess that elements of BG's story are darker. But in Dragon Age, even though you are part of a great order, you never see the greatness of that order because its numbers in Ferelden are way too few (in Origins it the PC and Alistair, mainly). Plus, as a Warden your days are numbered. If you manage to live long enough, you will face your end in a ritualistic suicide of sorts before the taint overtakes you. Pretty depressing, if you ask me.

In BG, sure, you have the blood of evil god inside you, but you are not necessarily doomed to an early death. You have the chance to make a future for yourself. There are elements of this story that I find to be brighter, though it is indeed a dark story also.

But my point with respect to replayability is that in DA there is little that is hopeful to raise your spirits and keep you going. In BG there is plenty that is hopeful, and even with some of the very dark elements in this story, you have more chances to take a breath and enjoy the fruits of a good deed accomplished.

For me, at least, this provides greater motivation to keep making my way through BG, whereas DA requires more work because emotionally, it leaves me constantly drained. I'm sure this is a deeper twist on replayability than most would consider, but it's my 2 cents on the topic.

 

I see your point, Marceror. At least in BG you have the prospect of being able to be a god by the end of it, for good or bad, or even to rid yourself of your divine blood all together. Whereas in DA:O in the best case you die an early death due to the tainted blood or in the worst case you won't even live to see the end credits. The promise of power versus the promise of an early death...

I normally don't get so invested in a game that such things really affect me (I have this only when reading books). The thing that kept me playing BG and NWN was mostly because I wanted to try out a lot of different character builds, and although more limited, DA:O also delivers such a gameplay mechanism but still I couldn't bring myself to replay it. For me it was more the gameplay itself that stopped me from replaying this game, rather than the story.

 

With Sarevok breathing down your character's neck? I'd say the life expectancy of your average Bhaalspawn is pretty short...

That's actually foreknowledge. The Bhaalspawn is left in the dark and going only by the prophecies of Alaundo it is not very clear whether or not the character will achieve godhood or (more likely) be consumed by the essence of Bhaal and only serve as an instrument in Bhaal's resurrection. The prophecy itself is about Bhaal foreseeing his death and making sure that he could come back.

 

It's a good thing Marceror was *never* your average Bhaalspawn. He has Sarevok running kitchen detail for him.

 

Good point. I suppose my point that I don't really get too much invested in the story of any game is valid for BG as well. Or at least, I can't remember me thinking that BG is a very dark game.

On the other hand, as Marceror mentioned, one could also say that BG's environs or even art direction are generally much lighter of colour than DA:O is. Especially BG2 is quite upbeat in it's environs, much more so than BG where there was impending crisis everywhere. DA:O lacks such colourful environs for the larger part and has a darker feel to it's art direction.

Even so, I don't agree with Bioware's claim that DA:O was a so called dark fantasy. It'd have needed a much darker theme than the 'the hero saves the world' theme for that, or to be actually depressing - for me that is. But then that would probably not have sold as good, so I'm guessing Bioware wouldn't want to make it darker either.

 

I have to agree with you about art direction. I also have to agree about the point you make about DAO not being "dark fantasy" it's certainly gritty and grim at times -much like The Witcher- but there is hope.

Actually playing DAO you can make Thedas a much better place whereas in The Witcher you can't really change what is wrong in that world -I'm thinking of non humans who play an important part in both games.

To me the reference for Dark Fantasy is Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné.

 

Elric.... good read. Though I don't really consider that read "Dark" Fantasy, at least not compared to alot of the new stuff out there.

When I think of Dark Fantasy, I think of Diablo 1. Remember the first boss encountered? "The Butcher". The big fat ogre-looking demon wielding a huge cleaver and wearing a blood-stained apron and all the dark, eerie music playing in the background. He comes out and says" Aah, fresh meat!" And then chops you character to pcs. That is what sticks out in my experience as Dark Fantasy.

 

You haven't read a book featuring any of the Lords of Chaos in a long time then... The butcher in Diablo 1 is a pansy compared to Arioch in Moorcock's books.

 

There's strong suspicions among many, that Diablo 3 might be postponed (source) for yet another year... make that 2012. So you could definitely play DA2.