Why on Earth would commercials of all things be canon? (Well my Warden actually was an Arcane Warrior who romanced Morrigan, though he was an elf, not a human -- that's beside the point though.)

Frankly there shouldn't even be a canon. Isn't the point of save imports and choices and whatnot to decide how things go yourself?

 

True. But there is in fact an official Bioware Canon. It's what the books take place in. So Alistair as king is canon. They've left what has happened to the Warden/Hawke out of the books but stuff like Wynne being dead? Canon.

 

Oh, so Bioware fucks up again. Yay. Why bother putting choices in the game when you're just going to invalidate them?

EDIT: Oh, Wynne died in a book, not retroactively in DAO like I thought. Must've misread. Well, they should still leave something like that for a game, not some book. If they're going to do a book like that they should focus on stuff that won't be in the game to preserve player choice.

 

Hawke was male and a mage in every piece of promotional material, and he was also male and a mage in the cinematic sequence at the start screen. He uses magic and Apostate Kung-Fu to fight the Arishok, and finishes him off with (what the fanbase assumes to be) a type of blood magic that we never got to see in the game.

I would link you, but apparently no version of the Destiny trailer exists on YouTube that isn't the shitty version with crap music and Flemmeth narrating. So fuck that. But it's there. Just put the disk in and wait.

Because Varric AND the Viacount both cover for you, and you're the wealthiest and most prestigious family in Kirkwall after the Deep Roads expedition. Everyone knows you're an Apostate. You're just an Apostate Merideth can't touch.

Then the Viacount dies, and Merideth actually approaches you and tells you that she can't kill you because everyone in Kirkwall loves you (hero of the people), but that she's watching you anyway, because you're an apostate, and she doesn't trust you, and that's all kinds of adorable coming from a person with a sword made out of Lovecraftite.

But no. It's explained and justified quite well in the game. It's no more immersion breaking for you than it is for Anders, who enjoys similar protection via being associated with you and Varric covering for him, because it's not like it's goddamn obvious where he's holed up or anything.

I prefer Mage Hawk personally because I like it better when he's a mage, the Mage vs Templar theme of the game doesn't seem so utterly out of the left field if you're a Mage Hawk, it paints a very interesting portrait of Kirkwall politics that is otherwise absent (and I'll take whatever gems of depth, however accidental, in a game whose plot is this barren), and I just like being a mage more in Dragon Age 2 than I did in Origins.

This is a game where you're going to be seeing the same attack animations repeatedly for the next thirty hours at the very least. They did fuck the combat in the name of making it, for lack of a word that won't make me sound like a hipster, 'more casual,' but they did make the attack animations a whole hell of a lot cooler and flashier looking, and that was a minor touch that went a very, very long way.

I've used Apostate Kung-Fu repeatedly to describe what Mage Hawke does in a fight. I will continue to do so, because it is accurate and awesome, and a hell of a lot easier on the eyes to see repeated a thousand times than the generic casting stuff Origins went with. I didn't randomly unsheathe my staff in Origins and then re-sheathe it while walking down the street just to see my guy casually-offhand twirl it. That's Dragon Age 2 exclusive.

Also, it's pretty obvious where they're going with the overall plot. The Main Characters will inevitably unite to stop or turn aside a massive threat to the entire world, or at least most of it, be it the simultaneous awakening of the remaining Elder Gods, the fabric of the world between the mortal realm and the Fade being permanently sundered, or a simultaneous invasion on one side by the Tevinter and the Qunari on the other.

You need at least four people to make a classic party, because that's how many people you can have in a Dragon Age group at once. We've already got two, the Warden and the Champion. Now we're getting a third, the Inquisitor, and there will likely be a fourth before we have the A-Team Avengers Assemble moment.

The Warden can be anything, but most material shows the Warden as human, and I'm pretty sure Origin clocked the most popular Warden as being Human Noble. Also, Human Noble arguably has the best story, because it's the only one that directly ties into the rest of the overarching plot, instead of just being a stand-alone genesis to explain who and what and why you are. And the Human Noble is either a Warrior or a Rogue.

But let's shelve the Warden, because the Warden is the first, has no determinate class, no determined last name (and thus cannot be called anything besides "the Warden," unlike Hawke and the next guy, whose name I can't remember), and is also (at this point) the most badass of the group, because s/he is the only one with a confirmed Archdemon kill.

So let's ignore the Warden and focus on what we've got in front of us.

Hawke is a mage. He is pitched as a mage, is a mage in all the promotional work and trailers, is a mage in the startup trailer of the game itself, and what little story and plot there is in DA2 is at it's best when Hawke is a mage (because it's the only one where politics are actually directly involved in anything that matters).

So the Champion, Hawke, is the mage of the hypothetical Main Character teamup.

What about the Inquisitor? Well, at the moment, the Chain is apparently a power that only the Warrior MC has. The other classes don't get it from what we currently know. So a lot of people will probably end up playing him as a Warrior just to play with the chain (myself being among them). We also know that you join up with/help out the Inquisition, and the Inquisition have always had heavy symbolism with chains in Dragon Age (I believe it's even on their flag). Assuming the Chain becomes the iconic symbol/toy of the Inquisitor, and it likely will, that would paint him as being the Warrior of the group, because only the Warrior gets it.

So the Champion is the Mage, the Inquisitor is the Warrior, and the last guy of the group, the hypothetical protagonist of the fourth Dragon Age game, will likely wind up being pitched with strong Rogue undertones.

So we'll have three Main Characters with iconic symbolism and names identifying them, and they each line up with one of the three classes (Warrior, Mage, Rogue). Then you have the Warden, the original hero, the greatest of them all, that becomes the Main Character again for game five, bringing the whole thing full circle, so you are the Warden, and the Champion, the Inquisitor, and the Unknown Rogue are your allies and squadmates. So the core Dragon Age party in Dragon Age: Everything Has Hit The Fan is you (the Warden) and your three companions/allies (the main characters from the other games). This forms a perfectly balanced party, because every class is represented no matter what the hell you do with your Warden. He could be a fucking Bard or something, and you're still covered as far as party basics are concerned.

I don't consider anything from any book/comic-of-a-videogame canon, because it's stupid money whoring, it's never anything deep anyway, it almost always fucks up the lore, and it's almost always power creep of the highest order.

You should hear the bitching that issues forth from the Halo fanboys when I point out that Doom Marine could kick the Chief's ass.

 

Come on guys, now this is just a thread to bully the guy. Stop it. I love RPGs, and I started loving them because of Bioware games. DAO and Mass Effect were my first RPGs, then came their sequels, Bard's Tale, Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma and now The Witcher. All of them excellent games, very different too. But I still like to play CoD, specially online. I still play sandbox games like Bully and Red Dead, that are incredible games thanks to story, but Ipi would still play the, if they didn't have much story because they still would be pretty fun. Hell, I even have friend that every year buy both FIFA and PES and play only them. My brother loves to play MK, and he also loves to play the Soul River series, games with a ridiculous complicated story.

As consumers everyone of us have the right to pay for what we want, regardless of other people opinion, you can't just bully the guy because he likes to plau a mindless game, it may be his way to turn off and just relax. Or he just enjoys killing those 12 upyears old racists little bitches. Who knows, just because you mainly enjoy this type.

And it is EA fault if she is overflowing the market with just one type of games, and forgetting the rest of the market. And you know what's going to happen? Guitar Hero. They will overflow and it won't be profitable anymore. And RPGs are immensily profitable, just ask Bioware ipor Betheseda. Even CD Projekt, that went from a "smaller" polish game company to one that produces a game whose launch will be almost as big as Skyrim or a new Bioware game. With just two excellent games.

 

I don´t think that we will see a true continuation like you propose Raine... It would make it too hard for new gamers to get into the game when they should have knowledge of 3-4 games and various other sources.

 

We can always hope.

And write fanfiction.

 

I like to turn my brain off and press buttons. I'm not going to make up pseudo-intelligent arguments to justify it because that would be stupid and childish.

Yes, yes they do. I'll probably never join the exclusive club of you old schoolers, but I can always look forward to tormenting future rookies. The cycle will continue.

OT: The chain does sound like a neat trick. But you know what I wont the most?

For shit to work.

One particular bug that comes to mind from DA:O is the absence of a side-quest that should have been available if you let Jowan out of the dungeon in Redcliffe.

In DA2, Haste, one of the best spells in the game, didn't fucking work for mages because of the fucked up magic resistance on the class. They fixed it in the 1.02/1.03 patch, but considering the patch fucked up everything else, it wasn't worth downloading.

So, I'd be willing to settle for less of that awesomeness they're promising (sieges, boss-battles with special scenarios) to get spells and abilities and general game mechanics that work as they should.

 

Then go watch a Michael Bay film with the batteries out of the remote.

 

Look, Raine, at this point your just plain out being a jackass. I have no idea what in the hell your even arguing about anymore, it just seems like your insulting him for no reason whatsoever. Which is stupid. You might dislike his reasons for playing or liking a game, but he still has that right to like, play and buy them.

Your just seeming like a whiny child who's mad people aren't agreeing with him. You might not see it that way, but that sure as hell what you look like to me.

 

Someone who doesn't like video games beyond the ability for flashy things to happen when you monkey-push a button doesn't have any business being in a thread about an RPG.

I don't go hang out in threads and message boards about CoD and call them a bunch of lobotomized lager-guzzling jockstrap baboons for enjoying a 69.99 Disney Themepart Ride where a stuffed doll of Osama Bin Ladin swoops down from the rafters on rope for you to take potshots at with laser tag equipment as you swoop by on your minecart on rails.

That would be an asshole thing to do. That's why I stay where I fucking belong, in things that I like, and don't wander over to piss in someone else's breakfast cereal.

Guess who isn't doing that right now?

No game that came out before 2005 or any game that involves anything remotely resembling a D&D game is going to interest Scott. He's made that perfectly clear. He wants a game with the shiniest graphics possible, and he wants to press buttons and make things explode without thinking. Therefore, he should not be here. And yet he is, talking shit, and somehow I'm the asshole.

Here's an idea. Maybe instead of insisting that a medium not in any way meant to be the thing that you are looking for conform to your specific demands and desires over the objections of literally everyone who is a fan of that medium, you, oh, I don't know, find a medium that is conductive to what you like, and stop kicking over other people's sand castles and ruining their parties because you think Skrillix is the world's greatest musician and all you guys enjoying the music right now need to change it because that's not what I want.

What Scott needs to do is go find a thread on a forum somewhere that's talking excitedly about Ryse, because it's a game that is being directly marketed at him and literally has his name on. You'd probably be well-served to join him, since that's apparently where you lean as well.

 

No. Just no. Your saying because he likes this genre for other reasons then what You enjoy in it, he shouldn't be here. I don't play CoD, or many FPS in general. I love RPG.

But if I did, I'd be on those forums or talking about them. And just because I'd like them doesn't mean I couldn't like other genres, or games from other genres as well. Even if I only like those games because I find some things similar to the other games I play.

Your trying to tell someone he can't like a game, because you disagree with his reasons.

That what I classify as an asshole. If you did the thing you mentioned, you'd be douchebag.

Your being nothing but aggressive and insulting. He's talking shit? All I've seen is him explain his reasons for why he likes the game, and what kind of person he is.

I don't know this guy. Hell, I find a bit dull. But I still disagree with how your fucking acting.

There have multiple chances for this god damn argument to have ended, but you keep taking potshots. You can't let it go. Grow the fuck up, because apparently your just a whiny child.

 

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, if you find something lacking in this thread, why not make your own?

Neither do I.

Let's take a look at the beginning of the thread and point fingers at who started flying off the handle first, shall we? I simply asked if anyone is also looking forward to DA:I. I didn't start the discussion whether or not I contribute to ruining the video game industry. And DA series is something that I like.

It seems you're under the impression that I came over to DLP to troll and piss people off. You happen to be mistaken.

If the International Board of Hardcore Gamers declared that to be a sin, I wasn't notified. Did they?

To be fair, you're talking shit too. And I don't think you're an asshole. I think you're just frustrated.

Show me exactly where I demanded that RPGs be turned into hack'n'slashes.

Ryse will be XBO exclusive. I'm not a console player. That's assuming we're talking about the same game.

 

I think you're misdirecting your anger at Scott. Make no mistake, he's the perfect example of your stereotypical abusive 14yo on Xbox Live, Call of Duty MP, teabagging, I'm-so-hardcore-just-look-at-my-achievements, ADD, dumbed down monkey gamer.

Scott Press is all of those things, but as Chime pointed out, Bioware made DA2 with Scott in mind. Scott was their target audience.

I'm not a fan of being angry at Bioware, but this is categorically their fault. They intended this. Scott didn't kill Bioware games; Bioware did that when they decided to market to Scott instead of their core audience. They fucked themselves.

Considering DA2 was aimed at Scott, he's got as much invested in DA3 as the rest of us. It's an unfortunate state of affairs. Thankfully, this is the only RPG thread he'll probably ever be in.

Yes you are.

 

OP,

I complain about the lack of RPGs all the time. Will I ever play a game that has shitty graphics? No. Life doesn't revolve around one type of game or one era of gaming.

And people who like old graphics because of their "personality" are probably similar themselves.

Everyone who says, "in my day things were so much better" make me think "shoot this old fucker with one foot in the grave and put them out of their misery." Nobody cared when their grandpa told them about the good old days where automobiles didn't exist and blah blah blah. People don't hear that story and decide to give up their car and walk 20 miles each day.

Unlike many people here I actually thought that while DAO was a better game, there were some things that DA2 did better. At the end of the day both games hugely rip off Tolkien and several generic fantasies but somehow still work.

Then, COD can be fun. If you are looking for another fun game, Batman Arkham Asylum was action\adventure but had a good story.

As for Michael Bay, he makes decent actions films. He may be a dirt bag in real life but I wouldn't be going to the theaters for his films anyway.

If I want to watch a film waxing poetic on life and death I will most likely go for European or foreign because most American films lack originality or the bravery to tell a story that doesn't end all happy and unrealistic as hell.

Also if you read between some of the vitrol Raine has some decent ideas about what DAI might look like. Nothing too spectacular like my idea about the game including a trip to Tevinter where a Mage protagonist can own slaves and basically use and abuse their magic unlike the rest of the game where they are being hunted or oppressed or otherwise an outcast.

 

This is bugging me. It's spelled Viscount.

On topic, I've decided to set my hopes extraordinarily low for this game and refuse to get excited for it. That way, when Inquisition ends up sucking, I won't be disappointed. And if it's actually decent, I can be impressed all over again.

I enjoyed DA2 for what it was, but it was a terrible sequel to DA:O, and after the ME3 fiasco, I've lost a lot of my trust in Bioware. As much as part of me wants to believe what they're saying, I just can't. There's a bunch of stuff in the article that could be cool if properly implemented, and that's about as far as I'm willing to go.

 

Well, I have no way to prove that I'm not, so I'll just have to live with it.

OT: I think they have some cool ideas for DA:I. For example, the direction they're taking with companion armor seems like the best of both worlds. You can actually equip something on the party members other than accessories/weapons (lack of that option bothered me in DA2) but they still retain their iconic look.

I liked both DA games so far, so I can say I'm genuinely excited for DA:I. Even if Bioware don't measure up to the fans' very high standards, it'll still probably be a fun game to play.

 

So uh...Just to interrupt here. Gameinformer got some inside looks at Pre-Alpha stuff, and talked to a few of the devs. It was pretty interesting, and I hope it may help people regain some faith.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/08/16/combat-of-dragon-age-inquisition.aspx

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...eturn-of-races-in-dragon-age-inquisition.aspx

I'd like to add that I liked DA:O more than DA2, but I still loved both of them. If only for the amazing story and whatnot. To me the game (and indeed most/all Bioware games) are always about good storytelling broken up by occasionally having to do gameplay. Even if the gameplay is great or even phenomenal, I didn't come for it first.

Aaaaand I think that's it. Out before more divisive rants.

 

The gameplay they've shown so far is MUCH more action-y than I expected. I like the pulling mechanic - that's something that was definitely missing from DA2, as well as, you know, enemies that have unique abilities.

Yet, there are some shitty things left over from DA2. For one, I really hope they have people debugging the game with a keyboard - just look at how they aim those circle AOE spells? They had that same system in DA2 and it was ass for PC users, because you couldn't zoom the camera out. You cannot aim a reticle in 3 dimensions when you are looking straight on at your enemies. Give us the ability to zoom out like in DA:O and we're fine, but the fact they actually debug the game using 360 controllers just makes so much sense as to why the PC controls always feel less-than-crisp. A joystick isn't a mouse.

 

Yak, Raine and the other guys, please stop transforming this thread into "CoD player are retards and are ruining game industry" and other. And I know for a fact that both yak and Raine are much better then this cheap bullying and being so damn condescending. Don't discount your frustrations on Scott just because you disagree with him, is your money better then his? Did your forget that casual gamer and FPS gamers are one of the main reasons video games are so huge today, making possible so many good games? Or you disagree, and say that Red Dead, The Witcher, Halo, Skyrim, Metal Gear Solid are shit because they are new? Those games costed dozens of millions, and people only invested that money because they know video games are lucrative.