After our last rather cynical few comment thread chats about Dragon Age, a source from within EA (who will have to remain anonymous) got in touch to say that the cynics were wrong, and that the game really is the modern equivalent of the famed Baldur’s Gate games. It is, our source insists, one of the great RPGs. Do we believe them? I mean, it’s all within towing their company line, isn’t it? Well, despite some scepticism induced by terrible marketing, I do hold out that this is going to be a thoroughly enjoyable RPG. Bioware aren’t exactly short on talent, and this game has been years in the tweaking. That said, I’m kind of looking forward to both Alpha Protocol and Mass Effect 2 more, because they’re both looking bold and non-fantasy. But then again, the collector’s retail edition of Dragon Age comes with a cloth map (see below). And that kind of changes things… Terrible map-lust.
Anyway, GamesCom trailer below. It’s good. And Darkspawny.
Problems with the video? Let me know!
Cloth map!
Related Stories:
Why is the map not coming in the normal game box, god damn them I want maps in whatever version I buy. Bethesda does this well, and old RPGs did this well. I don’t want to spend more money just for the map.
Nah, this trailer is still fluff. It’s all just cutscenes still, they don’t want to show actual boring gameplay and ‘You are the chosen one! Fetch me another pint of grog!’ Larpy dialogue trees.
‘My god, the future of the world hangs in the balance, an evil race of orcish creatures are threatening mankind, and only by banding together humans, elves and dwarves will we have enough armies to fight them?’
Yeah thanks.
‘Guys! Has anyone seen my copy of Return of the King? The writers can’t get anything done without it!’
I have to ask, how does this trailer fit with Hawaii Five 0?
Answer: Not very. If you start the theme at the point where the trailer goes from darkspawny to greywardeny, it kinda fits, but then ends 30 seconds too soon.
CLOTH MAP!
@Psychopomp
Deus Ex? I’ve got your back on this one old bean, stay the course.
@JKjoker
Clearly they want to destroy the galaxy every x years because in spite of possessing galaxy-obliterating technology they fear that a grizzled marine with a lack of hair and any real insight or intelligence will assemble a team of the meanest shotgun-wielding stock characters this side of Gears of War. They’re going to take their galaxy-obliterating technology down a freakin’ peg and they’re gonna do it with {insert one of three carefully delineated options} whether some faceless bureaucrat in Washington likes it or not… or possibly with cautious approval.
@Noghri
Oh dear lord, I completely forgot about that.
I’m just playing Baldur’s Gate for the first time and love it.
Sure, setting and story are nothing fancy, but solid and interesting. The game world looks absolutely amazing, every location is in some way unique, which explains why the game is so huge for its time.
But Baldur’s Gate is more than just good. You meet some very unique characters on the way who have all various back stories. Many of them are more or less slightly deranged and the game has its share of funny moments. So, it’s not unimaginative just because it uses D&D and is set in the Forgotten Realms.
Sure, Arcanum and Planescape may be more imaginative, but BG is definitely the most fun. The combat system is the first that I found to be enjoyable in a RPG. I’m just disappointed that it takes so friggin’ long to level up. Ugh!
While I love BG the Dragon Age trailer leaves me cold. I don’t see the connection.
Me? I’m putting my money where my mouth is – this will be the first BioWare game that I’ve never owned on release. The first user ‘DLC’ is deliberately designed to diminish my rights of sale. As much as I might want to play it, I’ll be waiting until it shows up in GameStop’s used games section before I put any money down. The only possible reason for inclusion is to prevent people from wanting to own used copies.
I’ve still got real hope for this one, I just hope they don’t saddle it with some limited install nonsense. In a year where it seems like every upcoming adventure game is set in a modern of futuristic setting, oddly, it seems the fantasy RPG is the one that stands out. As long as I can actually own them, though, I’ll probably buy all of them. I’m a sucker for a good RPG.
@1:40 It’s Captain Kathryn Janeway! :D
@JKjoker
You’re pretty much doing the same thing that you’re complaining that others are doing, and that’s simply having an opinion. I’m one of those people that loved BG2, and would probably mark it as the best CRPG I have ever played, in terms of story, character, battles, etc. It may not have been the best in each area (although at the time it probably was), but for me, the entire package is what makes it the best, the way it all meshed together.
This looks like standard Bioware fare: a clichéd melodrama for teenage megalomaniacs.
I’ll echo Matthew’s comments and say that I too started out very excited over Dragon Age and have become markedly less so with each new trailer and this one was no exception. Everything about this seems very generic, and I’m getting very close from downgrading DA from a “day one” purchase to a “wait till it hits $20 on Steam” title.
How about releasing an actual gameplay trailer?
That is some wonderful side boob.
Cloth. Map.
RAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWRRRRRRRR!!!!
Good storytelling and good story are two different things. Wake me up when Bioware decides to write something unique and edgy.
OK, a bit harsh — I rather liked where Mass Effect went on a few missions, especially the one where you get to talk someone out of suicide if you’re of a certain background. But, yeah, if only all that great tech and cinematography could be used to tell a story that feels less Hollywood and more, I dunno, intriguing.
Still looking forward to it, though.
Video not working. On FF3 with latest adblock. Gives me an endless wheel-spin deal.
Also experienced the same problem with the Battlefield:BC2 video.
@mpk
“Did they actually throw in a gratuitous bikini shot in that trailer or am I just watching too much porn again?”
No I think you’re right they did, however even the promise of virtual boobs isn’t enough to make me interested in what looks to be a Fantasy RPG built on 20 years of clichéd ideas.
I like Bioware, and part of me really wants to like this (I’m practically moist with anticipation of ME2), but its looks so utterly banal I just can’t muster the enthusiasm. Some seriously positive reviews are going to be required to make this enter my purchasing plans I’m afraid. With fantasy RPGs I’d say the Witcher changed things, but it doesn’t look like the team behind Dragon age got the memo unfortunately based on what I’ve seen so far….
I agree with most people here: Generic Green-Grey-Brown fantasy-hollywood cliche’s.
I hate save the world quests, the scale in them is always off. I can never wholly get into them, as I never feel there is a real world out there to save.
All RPG’s have this issue, but BioWare ones especially so (Bethesda a close second). The world’s they build always feel like those old Hollywood Western sets: A Facade, with nothing behind it. Just think about where the crew members of the Ebon Hawk or the Normandy go when nature calls (Or where does the food come from in Cyrodill?) …Nothing they build feels actually functional, it all feels like set dressing.
What I’d like to see is a Firefly like RPG. Where it’s just you and your crew, trying to survive and having adventures. Strong characters, and fun stories.
@BinhoF
Good point about the save the world quests. With ME at least it builds up to that rather than it being there from the off.
Personally I think its high time someone out there purchased the rights to The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance, and made a game out of them.
1) they are a fantastic read (go purchase now)
2) although they are fantasy they aren’t encumbered by traditional fantasy cliché’s. The denizens that populate the books are extremely varied, as are the environments.
3) Vance paints a rich universe of possibilities, from the humorous to the utterly terrifying, without reference to traditional staples.
I would agree Putty, generally speaking they don’t come up with the most original stuff, but they have a way of making me enjoy it most of the time. I will also admit, that writing in games still has a long way to go. Most games pull off really good Hallmark, B-movie dialogue.
Games right now seem to be reconciling addictive and enjoyable mechanics with stories and characters that people actually care about. A few games have done it, and it’s been really successful, but there is a disadvantage because they don’t have the luxury of real actors to lend credibility to bad dialogue (Christopher Walken can turn any line into gold). So, I think we’re getting there, and hopefully these times are the equivalent of the movie industry’s 80s.
@Anson:
The article I read about the game is some months old, so I -guess- it could be out of date, but my impression was that the game is in part subtitled Origins because depending on the character you create you come from very different backgrounds and origin points. Prophesied peasant boy is almost certainly just one of the options – the one I remember reading about was a dwarven noble who is manipulated into killing his brother and exiled from his realm.
@Ozzie: “Sure, setting and story are nothing fancy, but solid and interesting. The game world looks absolutely amazing, every location is in some way unique, …”
Your description sounds more like BG1 than BG2. I’ve come to feel that the real excellence of the BG series lies not in its storytelling (BG1’s storytelling is like that of a PNP campaign that every now and then develops new enemies to replace one that the party has defeated, and BG2’s storyline is a bit bland) nor its gameplay (though the NWN series never came close to being as good), but its characterisation.
Characterisation was the thing that really stuck out about BG1 (the delightful zaniness of Xzar, the psychopathy of Montaron, the bossiness of Jaheira, etc.) and it’s the one thing that Bioware got absolutely right in BG2 (creating a superb pair of villains along the way).
So, I’ll go out on a limb and state that in my opinion the best CRPG game ever is BG1 played using Tutu and with the BG1NPC mod. BG1NPC takes the core strength of the game — the characters — and ramps it up to stellar heights.
Dragon Age? Well, the game they’re hyping is one that revolves around an epic plot on a huge scale, with the fate of civilisation at stake. That kind of plot is a florin a dozen. Plot is nothing. Interest is everything. BG did it with its characters; the Elder Scrolls does it with its landscape; Deus Ex and The Witcher did it with their choices.
@KilgoreTrout XL: Ultima III had a cloth map too (here it is).
Plot is nothing. Interest is everything. BG did it with its characters; the Elder Scrolls does it with its landscape; Deus Ex and The Witcher did it with their choices.
This. This is pretty much it.
I’m practically wet over Alpha Protocol, it has limitless potential.
Plot is nothing. Interest is everything. BG did it with its characters; the Elder Scrolls does it with its landscape; Deus Ex and The Witcher did it with their choices.
Repeated again for truth.
That’s not to say plot can’t be “the thing.” There are a number of good games with a gripping plot. It just seems unlikely that a game where the Fate of the Medieval Known World rests upon You, The Hero stopping the rise of The Great Demonic Evil — in exactly those terms, I’m not being snarky — is going to ride its plot to the brim of our hearts.
As for the lionizing of BG2, I’d agree that it’s a little overrated, but part of that is the appreciation on a technical level for what they accomplished in 2000. The characters were less interesting and there were fewer of them, but they improved the combat system and the artistic presentation greatly. When people remember BG, I think they remember some hybrid of BG1 and BG2, with maybe some other Infinity Engine memories from Icewind Dale or Planescape thrown in.
I finally figured out what this game reminds me of, thematically – the Kingdom under Fire games.
Ok, I’m very drunk (damn you, Duvel!), but BG2 being boring and generic? Wtf? Maybe if you played it years after it was released, yeah. Like it or not, but the BG series sparked the return of the true fantasy RPG and hasn’t been toppled since.
Arx Fatalis is a close call. But other than that? I loved Arcanum for what it was, but it was no BG2, no sir.
Oh and Planescape obviously was awesome – but it was part of the infinity engine revival too.
And yes, it’s definitely “toe” the line, despite what Wikipedia might say. Any explanation for “tow” is simply trying to provide weak justification for the incorrect spelling (you don’t “tow” a line in any sense of the word anyway, you tow what the line is attached to).
What’s that? Dragon Age? Oh yes, well of course it could be good but I just get this unsettling feeling that we’re all going to be horribly disappointed. I hope not, but none of the gameplay or the cutscenes or I’ve seen so far give me any kind of goosebumps. And they need to.
I was enjoying that until the bikini shot that reminded me of the woefully bad sex trailer thing they released a while back. That firmly entrenched this game into the back of my head again, let me know when it comes out if it’s any good (which of RPS no doubt will do)
“k, I’m very drunk (damn you, Duvel!), but BG2 being boring and generic? Wtf? Maybe if you played it years after it was released”
I didn’t play the BG games until 2005
This is obviously the negative I-Hate-Bioware-For-All-Kinds-Of-Subjective-Reasons thread. I’m wondering where is the positive Bioware’s Games-All-Have-Metacritics-Scores-Higher-Than-Other-Companies-Can-Only-Dream-Of-Getting thread so I can post about how I can’t wait to be able to play 100 hours for the same price I paid to finish Wolfenstein in a lousy 10 hours. And how I can’t wait to see if there will be a character in Dragon Age that will top Minsc, or HK-47, or Wrex and make me fall off my chair laughing while playing?
All the trailers I’ve seen have make it look like generic fantasy pulp fiction right from the very start, which is a bit dull and hard to get excited about. But even generic fantasy storylines can be good if the details of the storytelling and characters are good, but those sorts of things are very difficult to see in a 2 minute trailer. So I’m still cautiously optimistic it will turn out well despite what the trailers make it look like.
Has anyone here read the tie-in novel yet? A friend of mine who was a bit put-off by the earlier trailers got the book and that completely revitalized his interest.
Then again, if you have to rely on your tie-in novels to sell the plot, story, and setting for you, maybe you shouldn’t be making plot, story, and setting focused games…?
@flootz
I don’t think anyones hating on Bioware, more that everyones a bit underwhelmed by what looks to be another slab of generic Fantasy.
@Petrushka
So it did! I can’t believe I forgot. Thanks. That brings back very fond memories of me and my brother sitting at the family computer 20 years or so ago.
The awful trailers they’ve been releasing for this made me apathetic towards Dragon Age, after playing this for about an hour at Gen Con I am excited for the first time.
It took me about half of that hour to realize that you can zoom out from the default behind the shoulder camera to a standard RTS top-down mode, at which point the game becomes Baldur’s Gate 2, but with less D&D and a much better interface.
They’ve ditched the dull ‘8 spells per day’ Vancian magic system that D&D used through 3rd edition, and replaced it with a more standard MP gauge. This means that a magic user no longer has to rely on weapons in combat except for those times when they really need to use one of their spells. They’re useful all the time.
In fact, every class has useful abilities, and their own unique role to play. I’d imagine you could play through the whole game playing just as the main character (at least on easy, the game’s pretty hard), and still have fun. But the game truly shines when you hit the space bar and set up orders. You can give orders, have your mage set traps at the feet of incoming enemies while the fighter protects the mage and the thief sneaks up behind them. It feels just like Baldur’s Gate (or even better, Freedom Force), except with a better interface and no Vancian magic.
The dialogue and story of the bit I played (the origin story for the Human Mage) was kind of disappointing, but only because it didn’t quite live up to the high standards of Mass Effect. It’s at roughly the same level of quality Bioware is known for (for better or worse), but it’s clear the focus is less cinematic than Mass Effect and more on the classic CRPG template of going into dungeons to kill monsters for loot. I’d even say Bioware is listening too much to their fans; I’d certainly prefer something other than a standard fantasy hero story.
Despite the horrible marketing, Dragon Age is very much a traditional CRPG. If you’re looking for a new generation of Baldur’s Gate, you’re going to be pleased. If you want innovation, Dragon Age isn’t going to break the mold; it’s just going to be yet another good fantasy CRPG. I’m sure I’ll have fun playing it for a good 40 hours.
@David
The main problem with D&D regarding the Vancian approach to spells (that you could only only learn X number a day) is that to convey fairness and balance they rendered magic fairly mundane. In Vances dying earth novels when someone gets hit with Prismatic spray, there’s no saving throw, there’s no 2D6 damage, instead there’s a pile of ash. The spells were devastatingly powerful, and their power had little to do with the prowess of the wielder save in how and when they used them.