For the record I hated Mass Effect 1 with a passion. I bought it on launch day and after trying several times to get into the game I put it away. After a while I ended up selling it. Then I saw it for 10 bucks one day and thought to myself after much debate about the game maybe I was hard on it or not in the mood for a slower paced RPG at the time. So I bought it again and while I made it a bit further the second time I still ended up hated everything about it aside from the fact it was Sci Fi.

I have only played the demo for Mass Effect 2 and while the framerates are better and the controls are more polished I still don't like many of the other elements of the game like inventory, items, and skills etc in general. I also hate baby sitting AI. That said I can't stand the main characters voice. He looks ok but that voice just drives me up a wall. Almost as bad as the pilot of the Normandy but not quite. I had to play a female in the demo to even enjoy what was there and it definantly wasn't enough to make me buy that game at even 20 bucks to be honest.

Dragon Age is a bit better in pretty much every way except the terrain and level design in Dragon Age sucks. There I said it. Combined with a poor talent tree setup and character creation I really think they should have taken a step back and said what needs to be changed for this game to be enjoyable out of the box. Things like respec wouldn't be needed so much if the main character gets to choose all their stats and traits. The lack of a storage area to store anything or sort items properly aside from buying DLC is a slap in the face. Not to mention using an NPC to store your items is far better as it has sorting mechanics. Itemization in general is also severely lacking in Dragon Age. Crafting system is terrible. There are no good drops to get from bosses and mini bosses. You can't bash open a chest without a mod. So many mistakes were made in the original game design wise compared to todays standards.

Passive visual effects that stay on characters look horrible. Helmets are terrible looking also and no design to hide them like the last 10 years of MMO RPG. Persistent blood was a neat idea but looks brutal in cutscenese so that gets the axe also. Clunky map system and poor terrain leave battles a bit on the lacking side. Areas like the Elven forest (I forget the name) are just brutal design wise and performance wise. Basic tuning and balancing of encounters was also out of wack.

I did however find the game to be much better than anything else currently being offered. The dialogue was interesting for the most part but some of the character just weren't memorable at all. Hell I killed the elf rogue when I met him he was so annoying. Characters like the golem are out of context IMO and just detract from the overall feel and immersion of the game.

I know there are Bioware fans today that think they are the best and they definantly have good production values. However I would say the games are just good but not great. I still have Dragon Age installed and really need to finish it. Perhaps I will try some of the DLC but I doubt it. I think after the move to EA Bioware's quality of games has gone down. Anyone who knows people that work at EA or how EA operates then you can understand why.

I wouldn't be supprised if thier stats (they have all your achivements and stuff right? Same with ME2 they collect all that data) say the vast majority of the players only played human noble or human mage. If they cut the origin stories down to 1 they save aproximtely 10 hours (aprox 2 hours times 5 other 'prologue') of content added on to the main game playthrough.

Maybe not, but thats my thinking. They want to focus it in and have less "wasted content".

The human noble version of DA:O seemed to be the most 'supported' version anyway, there seemed to be very little in the way of specal content for elves and dwarves past the origins anyway so they probably see it as limiting thier ability to story tell in a way.

They might even do better sex scenes lol...

But it still feels bad to have that option taken away, you can't be called knife ears anymore.

And IM irritated about the Jedi preist, sorry, consular in TOR, it looks no different than the stand in one place raise your arm slowly and say "HEAL! ... HEAL!.... HEAL!". I really want the healers (as Im SURE to end up playing one) to be more than the heal-bot. They should be charging up big heals by doing damage and thier 'spells' should be instant cast or very quick casting for the most part. And the MAIN thing for me is that NO FORCE power should need me to stand still to cast... please, don't do that guys. I have enough of that furstrating and boring gameplay in WoW already.

Yeah, the Dwarven area was great and pretty interesting.

I generally enjoyed Dragon Age.  It was a step down from the Bioware of old, but still a step up from the usual crap that passes for RPGs these days.  I didn't play through it more than once, but it was fun and interesting for that one playthrough.

Mass Effect on the other hand I don't get.  I finally got around to playing part 1 when it dropped to $10 on sale, and I honestly can't believe it was getting 90s across the board from critics.  The roleplaying aspects were minimal, the side-quests were dull and painful ordeals of driving around huge, empty planets in a bouncing buggy for 1/2 hour, combat was broken (activate Marksman, hold down the fire-button), money was pointless due to the game giving you shovelfulls of new guns every area, and none of the characters really stood out aside from maybe Wrex.  I've never been so disinterested in a heroic sacrifice scene like Mass Effect's, and honestly even if both characters had died I wouldn't have cared one bit.  The overall story was about the only thing that kept me playing, and even that was artifically short as they obviously wanted to push ME2.

Despite frequent sales on ME2, I have no interest in it at all as I've heard the roleplaying has been reduced even further, they replaced the boring planet exploration with an even MORE boring planet exploration concept, the skill system was dumbed down tremendously, and not much of any real consequence goes on with the story until the final missions.  From the sounds of DA2, I'm not sure I'll want anything to do with that either.  They're getting lighter and lighter on gameplay so they can sell more and more DLC.  Another company run through by EA.

You people are being so dumb when it comes to EA. What proof do any of you have of anything that EA is hurting Bioware?

Completely agree. Talk about leaps of logic.

Origin, Maxis, Westwood Studios, Pandemic Studios

I didn't buy Mass Effect 2 because I didn't like Mass Effect 1, frankly. Their games became less complex, dumbed down versions so to say. No freedom, no complexity - no buy. There are people out there which probably treat Computer gaming like TV - show me cinematic, allow me illusion of interactivity but without demanding too much of an effort i.e. less clicks less brainpower, and I am sold. Well, Bioware decided to follow that path and give consumers what they want.

I think in fashion, either you set standards or you follow the trend. Bioware used to set standards, now they follow trend. Sad, of course. But can't be helped probably.

Is that in reference to Alpha Protocol?  I heard it was bad...

I really don't agree with you. I feel Mass 2 is a smooth improvement over the first game. All that's really different from the 1st game is the wonky inventory system. Technically speaking, Mass 2 is a strictly better game than the first. Its better written, better shot cinematically, has way better audio and plays much better as a third person shooter. Bioware really hasn't failed in maintaining excellence.

I enjoy ME 2. I am sure you've realized by now, since you are reading what people who disagree with you say, that a number of us like both the games but do not want them  to be merged into some sort of ME2.5 with swords and magic. I do not want ME 2 when I play Dragon Age. I have ME 2 for that. I also don't want ME3 and DA 2 to be that similar, as in the same game with different skins and paints. No thanks. I enjoyed Dragon Age for what it was, a traditional RPG with a lot of customization and options, not some interactive movie where I play some stereotypical man or woman I find to be rather bland. I find Shepard to be extremely bland and boring in ME2. The characters I like in ME2 are the companions, and I wish I could have tried playing one of them to see those alien cultures from othe pov of an insider, not an outsider.

In terms of story, the weakest bioware game is NWN 1. In terms of strongest story, it was definitely Baldur's Gate II. Dragon Age I thought was actually pretty decent if clearly not a Masterpiece of Storytelling.

Best story in a game? Traffic Department 2142. Man, never has a game had such mediocre gameplay been paired with such a gripping story.

Also: characters trump story. In fact, with good, interesting characters, a good story will arise pretty much arise on its own accord.