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Dragon Age 2 - first screenshots

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DennisK4 said:
Oh god, not this shit again.

Dragon Age = Baldurs Gate 2

Dragon Age =/= KoTOR
i know myself and others have described how DA is like KotOR but can you give me reasons as to how DA is like BG?
 
EviLore said:
Dragon Age = shitty game

Dragon Age != Baldur's Gate 2
You really couldn't look past the shitty story of DA, crank the Difficulty to Hard or Nightmare, and just enjoy the Baldurs Gate 2-like combat?

I can't think of a single game, except DA, that have given me a taste of BG2....
 
DennisK4 said:
You really couldn't look past the shitty story of DA, crank the Difficulty to Hard or Nightmare, and just enjoy the Baldurs Gate 2-like combat?
Let me just establish for the record that i enjoyed DA. i got burnt out on it from the "all-combat, all the time" and me recording an HD playthrough (meaning i had to play 200 gigs worth, encode using VirtualDub and then upload to Youtube.. so even though i logged like 40 hours and never completed it, actual total time i spent with DA was like 120 hours).

i played exclusively on Nightmare and the game was not like BG for reasons i have gone over before. How exactly was the combat on Hard or Nightmare difficulty like Baldurs Gate again?
 
jeesh, those shots look teeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrible.

if the final product is going to look better than that, they would have been better off not showing stills till they were ready to impress.

and if that is what the final product looks like.. then may Andrastre help us all.
 
water_wendi said:
How exactly was the combat on Hard or Nightmare difficulty like Baldurs Gate again?
What, you expect me to write an essay on the gameplay or something? Isn't it pretty obvious? Played in isometric and with the Pause-Give Orders to squad - Action gameplay it very much resmbled how I played BG2 - moreso than any other game since BG2.
 
DennisK4 said:
You really couldn't look past the shitty story of DA, crank the Difficulty to Hard or Nightmare, and just enjoy the Baldurs Gate 2-like combat?

I can't think of a single game, except DA, that have given me a taste of BG2....

Real time with pause plus overhead is a type of combat. It doesnt mean DAO was close to BG II.

For the record, BG II doesnt have great combat either, but it has better loot, better encounters and better customization.
 
EviLore said:
Dragon Age = shitty game

Dragon Age != Baldur's Gate 2

No EviLore, Dragon Age is far from a shitty game. It's not even close to BG2, but not a shitty game at all. Especially on PC. It's weaker than BG2 in every aspect of the game, but BG2 was just too much for a nowadays game to get close.
 
HK-47 said:
Real time with pause plus overhead is a type of combat. It doesnt mean DAO was close to BG II.

For the record, BG II doesnt have great combat either, but it has better loot, better encounters and better customization.

Yes it does, actually. To me, playing DA was a lot like playing BG2 - except BG2 was the better game. But similar. Very similar in gaemplay. I am not talking about whether BG2 had better story, variety, enviroments and maps etc. (it clearly did), but about how it felt to play the game.

And yes, the BG2 combat was in fact great.
 
Honestly, the battle system is not the defining feature of Baldur's Gate. It's the wide-open game structure. All of the ridiculous sidequests, the way that you can only choose a small subset of the available companions, the incredibly complex locations (complete with dozens of throwaway inns/houses/caves that are just there to provide ambiance and an opportunity to get moar loot), etc.

In these respects, Dragon age is FAR more KOTOR than Baldur's Gate.
 
DennisK4 said:
Yes it does, actually. To me, playing DA was a lot like playing BG2 - except BG2 was the better game. But similar. Very similar in gaemplay. I am not talking about whether BG2 had better story, variety, enviroments and maps etc. (it clearly did), but about how it felt to play the game.

And yes, the BG2 combat was in fact great.

If you like lame and possibly misguided implementations of DnD pen and paper combat then sure.
 
DennisK4 said:
What, you expect me to write an essay on the gameplay or something?
No but i was hoping for some reasons as to how DA was like BG.

Isn't it pretty obvious? Played in isometric
Okay. Isometric view is one thing that is like Baldurs Gate.

and with the Pause-Give Orders to squad
Real Time w/ Pause is also like KotOR.

- Action gameplay it very much resmbled how I played BG2 - moreso than any other game since BG2.
Okay.. lets go over the list. Which of these statements applies to these three games (Baldurs Gate, Dragon Age, KotOR)?

Combat consists of using special attacks that are on short cooldowns.

Magic consists of abilities that are on cooldowns where the mystical essence that powers these special moves regenerates during combat.

Access to all your spells and spelllike abilities are always ready to go as long as you have enough mystical energy.

Inventory is shared between all party members negating thought into which members have priority for consumables.

As long as one party member survives the fight, all will regain consciousness and return to combat readiness within 30 seconds (There is no death).


This is just combat. If you cannot see the difference im wondering if you played Dark Alliance or something.
 
lol, looks like shit. still looks better than the first one. I just bought the first game and I couldn't believe how bad it looked. still fun though.
 
DennisK4 said:
Yes it does, actually. To me, playing DA was a lot like playing BG2 - except BG2 was the better game. But similar. Very similar in gaemplay. I am not talking about whether BG2 had better story, variety, enviroments and maps etc. (it clearly did), but about how it felt to play the game.

And yes, the BG2 combat was in fact great.

I have to be honest. Going back and playing BG2 after DA was a real eye-opener. Thought the world, story, loot and basically everything else in BG2 was done better, the combat was much, much better in DA.

Of course, comparing a new game to one that (is what, 15 years old?) is madness.
 
Trickster said:
Is that based on the pc or console version of the game?
EviLore plays almost all his games on PC.

That said, EviLore has an interesting counter-perspective to some of the people in this thread, as IIRC he views Mass Effect 2 as BioWare's best game since BG2, but views DA:O as a shitty game.

Please correct me if I'm wrong about that though EviLore.
 
I doubt I'll get this. Dragon Age was alright, but was not at all a difficult game. It was an interactive movie with "choices" that were hardly game changing. These graphics don't really call out as "pretty" either.
 
DryvBy2 said:
I doubt I'll get this. Dragon Age was alright, but was not at all a difficult game. It was an interactive movie with "choices" that were hardly game changing. These graphics don't really call out as "pretty" either.
Well, there are things called difficulty settings.
 
darkpaladinmfc said:
Well, there are things called difficulty settings.
ive heard the console version is much less difficult even on higher levels. i always thought console Difficulty level was just a step down from the same level on pc but i guess that isnt the case.
 
DennisK4 said:
Yes it does, actually. To me, playing DA was a lot like playing BG2 - except BG2 was the better game. But similar. Very similar in gaemplay. I am not talking about whether BG2 had better story, variety, enviroments and maps etc. (it clearly did), but about how it felt to play the game.

And yes, the BG2 combat was in fact great.

I enjoyed the combat (no where near as great as much as in the IE games, the lack of variety of enemies is awful), but apparently if you made a mage, it was quite broken, just AoE stun spells that consistently recharge automatically take about any difficulty out of even the hardest settings.

Also :lol @ the UT99 screenshot, I don't even think it has the bump-map hack enabled which would easily put it on DA:O 3 levels.
 
Having played KOTOR and BG (though I did not finish the latter) I would definitely agree that the structure/framework/premise of DA is much closer to KOTOR than it is to BG. Dragon Age is a very closed experience, focussed on hub areas from which the player can progress the story and enter dungeons. Almost all travel is through roughly linear areas, and side quest availability is limited in depth and breadth.

Actually, in a funky way KOTOR was closer to BG with the more open environments...

Look at it this way: if you pulled the camera back in KOTOR, you would have something more closely resembling DA than BG does.

P.S. I loved Dragon Age, it was my GOTY 2009. Great game, as it KOTOR. I actually didn't really like BG, so I'm not trying to argue that DA is a bad game by being more like KOTOR.
 
Is DA:O more similar to BG2 or KOTOR? I always chalked it up as a hybrid of both basically. I loved both BG2 and KOTOR so it was a win win imo.

Now back to those horrible, horrible screens and WTF they were thinking by releasing them.
 
water_wendi said:
ive heard the console version is much less difficult even on higher levels. i always thought console Difficulty level was just a step down from the same level on pc but i guess that isnt the case.

Yeah, that may have been it. I think I didn't really enjoy the game because I got the console version. I had the game on the hardest, played a rogue, and died around 2 times on the end boss. I'd say maybe it's just because I'm awesome at games, but that's not the case.
 
I thought the first one already looked pretty terrible, and that they were saying this one will receive a massive visual improvement?
 
Dragon Age was a pretty shitty game. Boring characters, boring combat and bad graphics.

CONE OF COLD
STONE FIST
CONE OF COLD
STONE FIST
CONE OF COLD
STONE FIST
 
If you know at all how BioWare's Dragon Age team works you know that those screenshots can be disregarded.

Why they were released though, I have no idea.
 
DennisK4 said:
Yes it does, actually. To me, playing DA was a lot like playing BG2 - except BG2 was the better game. But similar. Very similar in gameplay.
I felt the same. And it was a great feeling, since the only thing that came close to it in recent years was NWN2 and its expansions.
(And for the record, DA:O was a great game)
 
mescalineeyes said:
If you know at all how BioWare's Dragon Age team works you know that those screenshots can be disregarded.

Why they were released though, I have no idea.
No, I don't know how they work, but I would love some info.
 
Durante said:
I felt the same. And it was a great feeling, since the only thing that came close to it in recent years was NWN2 and its expansions.
(And for the record, DA:O was a great game)
I have to say, it is quite the relief to see that I am not the only sane person on GAF.
 
DennisK4 said:
What, you expect me to write an essay on the gameplay or something? Isn't it pretty obvious? Played in isometric and with the Pause-Give Orders to squad - Action gameplay it very much resmbled how I played BG2 - moreso than any other game since BG2.

So is Neverwinter Nights / NWN2 / Fallout (well, turn based actually)... I've never understood how DAO is anything like BG2. I mean, it lacks one of the most imporant elements of the game for me: multiplayer. My bro and I play the original from time to time and it's still fun mainly because the co-op is really good.
 
Multiplayer is one of the most important elements of BG2? Honestly that's the first time I've heard that. I guess I missed out.
 
DennisK4 said:
No, I don't know how they work, but I would love some info.

with the first Dragon Age, almost every build would get significant improvements in detail. It's like they do repeated passes over everything. I hope this holds true for DA2.
 
I certainly never played multiplayer in BG2, but I'm sure there are some who did. It's definitely not one of the features people tend to mention when they reminisce about its greatness, though.

The mechanics of Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age are obviously quite different, but to me the games have a very similar feel. Either way, Dragon Age is awesome enough to stand on its own merits.
 
mescalineeyes said:
with the first Dragon Age, almost every build would get significant improvements in detail. It's like they do repeated passes over everything. I hope this holds true for DA2.
Yeah, the game is probably in Orange Box right now.
 
Erico said:
Multiplayer is one of the most important elements of BG2? Honestly that's the first time I've heard that. I guess I missed out.

"the most imporant elements of the game for me:" In case "for me" was too hard to read as well...
 
DryvBy2 said:
"the most imporant elements of the game for me:" In case "for me" was too hard to read as well...
Oh I understood your post just fine. It's just that ignoring all the similarities between Dragon Age and BG2 and arguing that they're nothing like each other because Dragon Age doesn't have multiplayer is sort of dumbfounding.

But I guess since your statement was "for you", it's not for me to comment on it.
 
Erico said:
Oh I understood your post just fine. It's just that ignoring all the similarities between Dragon Age and BG2 and arguing that they're nothing like each other because Dragon Age doesn't have multiplayer is sort of dumbfounding.

But I guess since your statement was "for you", it's not for me to comment on it.

Lol, I didn't notice that much of the same in BG2 than some people. The pause/select move thing I've seen is even done in Freedom Force if I remember right. Has the isometric view, etc. The stories aren't near the same. No variety in characters. Customizationlawls. Generic choices with generic answers. I can't even be chaotic evil! Let me tell ya, in BG2, my guy could barely get anywhere how chaotic evil he was. Now, if they were to say it was a spiritual successor to KOTOR, it would be a different story.

Can you explain really why DOA = BG3? In all honesty and not because I'm hating on DOA. I'm just asking because I have never understood how people claim they're the same games.
 
DryvBy2 said:
Lol, I didn't notice that much of the same in BG2 than some people. The pause/select move thing I've seen is even done in Freedom Force if I remember right. Has the isometric view, etc. The stories aren't near the same. No variety in characters. Customizationlawls. Generic choices with generic answers. I can't even be chaotic evil! Let me tell ya, in BG2, my guy could barely get anywhere how chaotic evil he was. Now, if they were to say it was a spiritual successor to KOTOR, it would be a different story.

Can you explain really why DOA = BG3? In all honesty and not because I'm hating on DOA. I'm just asking because I have never understood how people claim they're the same games.
To tell you the truth, I'm actually in the Dragon Age isn't that similar to BG2 camp mainly due to the combat/spell system departing from the D&D system. Also, the freedom with which you could go about Act 2 and its massive amount of long sidequests (which was my favorite part of the game) was huge, too, and I missed that openness in DA:O. Plus infinity engine games just have that unique charm about them. I was just taken aback about hearing multiplayer used as an argument. I do think that DA:O is the closest game we've had in years to the CRPGs and infinity engine style games of old (isometric view, pause/unpause tactical combat, semi-round based combat) but it's definitely diverged from the BG path.

So I guess in the end we're in the same boat :lol
 
Foxix said:
Is it just me or does the right shoulder plate looked shopped in? It looks really weird and out of place, whats with the frills near the bottom of the plate?

It LOOKS like a texture edge, but I doubt that.
 
What makes even less sense than these fugly screenshots is the gaming press reporting on it... I've looked at quite a few and they all mention the fact that it has better graphics and they can tell by just looking at these screens, like they are drooling over this?!? Odds they get paid to say that?
 
Nirolak said:
Gorgon likes to randomly hate on RPG developers he doesn't like regardless of the context of the thread.

??? What the hell? I even said that there was nothing to worry about since those screens were clearly too early! Jesus man. It's no secret I didn't like DA, but looking at the comments in this thread what exactely was so special about mine? I made the comment regarding Final Fantasy due to the stupidly disfunctional sword in the pic, and:

astroturfing said:
so boring artstyle AND technically lacking graphics?

i don't get it, this game series has less visual appeal to me than pretty much any game ever made. looks 100% uninspired. might be just me and my eyes though.

i'm still interested though if it turns out amazing story/gameplay wise. cos i'm staaaaaaaarving for rpgs.

...looks like I'm not the only one?

What the hell, Nirolak?
 
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