DA:O

[Lasiien]

Argh too many good games not enough time

[Saxif]

My DA:O expac arrived today from Amazon, even though I put it on a super saver delivery!  Now to complate about 50 hours game play so I can put it to use

Sax.

[Cernos]

Bah, lucky fecker. Play.com have only just posted mine today the slackers. Probably have to come all the way from Jersey too. Ah well, I need to do Wardens Keep on my first toon, the DW warrior, anyway.

[Lasiien]

Are you enjoying it more now then Sax?

I'm still playing Mass Effect II atm, which out of the two games i thought i'd prefer but so far I'm thinking the reverse, that DA:O was the better game overall. Whilst ME II is indeed great I'm finding for some reason it's a bit more disjointed, I don't feel as immersed as i did in DA:O.

[Cernos]

My DA:Awakening didn't arrive in the post today and I've just been reading that lots of players have already completed it!

Apparently there's only about 12-15 hours gameplay, half that if you skip the sidequests. That's rather lightweight for the money. Also reading that they've broken some plot issues in order to allow import of all DA:O characters (won't mention details as will be a spoiler for Sax). General feeling is it's a nice xpack but far too short, maybe even something that should have been released as DLC for a lower price.

Bioware have a good name in the industry, but it worries me that the money grabbers at EA are dragging them down.

[Lasiien]

yeah it does sound a bit lightweight for the money but I'd keep in mind these people who have already completed it tend to be the 'rushers' I'd read people that completed the entire DA:O original campaign in 20 hours, dunno how that is possible if you actually listen to any dialogue and take the time to get immersed in the world (maybe they are just too used to ignoring the story and just completing the tasks?). After about 20 hours play I think i'd only just figured out which class i wanted to play and got to the first village (though admittedly took my time and did a fair few of the origins stories)

EA do indeed seem to want to destroy everything with additional charges and other ways to exploit us (e.g. advertising), hopefully bioware will retain some independance

[Cernos]

Yeah with DA:O I took my time too and explored dialogues thoroughly, did all the side quests etc. Both playthroughs that I've done were around 90 hours. Unusual for me, I can be a bit of a completionist if I like a game but I don't often get that immersed in the lore. In DA:O I've done both, so it's testament to the game's immersiveness.

Awakening arrived this morning, installing it now. Will post some thoughts (no spoilers) later.

[Saxif]

Yup am enjoying it, fiddled with the Tactics system and mainly turned off the useful stun abilities unless fighing yellow/orange and even then I tend to take heavy control of the fights.  Just finished the Mages Tower, will prolly go back to the Dalish area now and put together a heavy dps party with Wyn healing to take down that Mad Hermit, if anyone deserves to die its him!!!

Sax.

[Cernos]

Well I finished DA:Awakening last night, hard mode, with about 25 hours on the clock. That was with all side quests completed and watching all cut scenes and dialogues without skipping anything. Overall it was really enjoyable, but there was too little of it to feel fully immersed in the new story or get to bond with the new companions, who mostly feel dispensable. I understand why they wanted to break a lot of the links with DA:O and enforce brand new companions (apart from Oghren who has some very entertaining moments) but I think there needed to be nearer 40 hours of gameplay to achieve better immersion.

The relative lack of immersion compared to DA:O isn't helped by the fact that the game ends abruptly after the final boss battle. Without giving anything away, let's just say there's no epilogue where you can debrief and chat to you companions, nor is an epilogue save created by the game (so dunno how they intend to bolt on any additional DLC). You just defeat the boss, watch a very short cut scene, get given the epilogue text screens (some of which makes no sense whatsoever given your decisions during the game) and then the credits roll. Leaves a sense of deflation where DA:O left a sense of satisfaction. Shame.

So, where DA:0 is a 9.5/10 game, DA:A is only really a 8/10 for me. Still very good, but not great. It's a bit like comparing one of Iain Banks' masterpiece novels with one of his lesser ones. In the big picture they're both good, but compared to each other one has an epic ending and the other feels like the ending was written in a rush on the back of a beermat.

[Lasiien]

bah, you don't get to run with the original companions ? Givf Shale.....

I have my copy waiting (I'll get around to it once I finish ME II), ?15 seems reasonable for 25 hours or so play though. Especially given games like COD MW II were only about 4-5 hours play and ?30+

I think I kinda expected the expansion wouldn't quite top the original campaign, but yeah i see what you mean about feeling a slight sense of disappointment

[Cernos]

Yeah, it's pretty good for ?15. I think the problem is that whilst it's an xpack it feels more like a standalone game because there's not much continuity between DA:O and DA:A besides your main character. And with the lack of an epilogue save you have to wonder if it's the end of the road for the main character.

I just started ME 2. I suck so much at shooters I'm struggling on normal mode (ahem) but I'm getting through the team recruitment missions somehow

[xann]

Just got my copy today, will leave it for abit tho. Have just got too the Final Battle on my 2nd playthough of the main game as a City elf Rogue, enjoyed it more than my 1st playthough, still barely touched the side quests, but did alot of the types of ones you just stumble upon (Ser otto in the alienage, the summonings in the mage tower etc). Still got alot of replay-ability for me, i like playing out all the different options and dialogues, even tho ultimatly they produce the same result, most of the time. Also all the group quests you get at camp, still need to explore the different characters and party setups.

[Lasiien]

Yeah xan, that's my only complaint about Bioware games, the dialogue is all very well thought out and really adds a nice feel to the game but utilmately changes nothing!

[xann]

Played Awakenings abit, 1st impression i'm getting game play wise is the unbalance. My toon just doesn't take damage and kills everything with Twin strike/Unrelenting Assult. Can pretty much solo the boss types, could even do that spectral dragon if it didn't heal its self. This is on Hard btw... Dual Wielding Rogue, what did you play as Cern?

[Cernos]

I played on Hard as Dual Wield warrior, until the endgame when I respecced as a full tank to make the last encounter a bit easier (you'll see why when you get there).

I found my character was overpowered too and walked through most of it with little need for strategy. I think part of the problem is that my imported character was level 24 but if you start a fresh Warden you begin at level 18. So I think the early content is geared for a lower level. This seems to be a design flaw because surely most people importing characters are going to be 20+ if they didn't bypass too much content. The other part of the problem is that all the new monbs and bosses use the same tactics as in DA:O, nothing really brings anything new to the table. So once you identify the type of mob/boss you're dealing with you know what you need to do to defeat it. Overfamiliarity makes things easier.

The game does get a bit tougher as it approaches the endgame, but very few of the encounters are anywhere near as tough as anything in DA:O.