Ready your earth and water to receive victims of sparta-ing, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s Skirmish, we revel in the release date of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, snuggle with a companion cube for Portal 2 next February, check out the collectors edition of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, moan and groan on the pre-order madness for Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, and roll our eyes as F.E.A.R. 3 is delayed.
First up on the main course, we reflect on the recent news that Mass Effect 2 is headed to the PS3 and the announcement of Dragon Age 2. With all the talk of streamlined combat systems and selling games to the widest possible market, we ask the question: Is EA’s corporate influence beginning to sink BioWare? Next up, Sony had a strong showing at GamesCom 2010; with exclusives like Resistance 3 and Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One as well as the newly announced console bundles for PlayStation Move, we discuss what lies ahead for Sony.
The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Gran Turismo 5‘s cart racing mode, Virtua Tennis 4, and Dead Space 2.
If you’ve got a comment on the show, sound off below, if you’ve got a Battle Cry you want to share, click here and sound off on the latest topic-started post! Stay sharp.
The only reason to look forward to Mondays.
Yeah! Tony is back! Loved that “suspense” in the intro. Don’t get me wrong, Lorin you are great but Tony is the EPIC CASTER!
Who doesn’t use a mouse pad? I basically only PC game, and all the PC gamers I know use mousepads.
awesome! tony welcome back!
DK let’s face it, you’re a fanboy and you hate that ME2 has slipped over to the PS3, end of story! lol just kidding, great show guys looking forward to the 6th of september
Awesome episode as usual.. the amazing trio will be missed next monday as i always stay up at night here in norway to catch your episode before i go to sleep..
keep up the good work, much love from norway and btw Brent the lara croft game rocked !!!!!
im kind of annoyed that its that mass effect will be on the ps3 is it getting diluted
i think bioware game will be diluted when we see it and compare this sereis release to call of duty …then again you can say that about dragon age since how quick it is coming out compared to 1
Welcome back Tony, great to have you back.
Now, for the issue on hand of Bioware. I am totally with you on the “watering down” of Mass Effect into Mass Effect 2, Tony. For a person that has not owned a Microsoft console system in years, I have purchased ME and ME2 for the PC(which I feel it plays more natural) and I love the original Mass Effect. The first Mass Effect is a great representation of what a mixture of RPG elements and 3rd person shooting elements could produce if done right, so when I played ME2 I was so disappointed in the “dumb down” gameplay.
I can understand that everyone wants to market their creations to the masses, but when a certain group of people become attached to that creation(the genre fans), they will always be the first to become invested in that franchise and become the mass marketing tool that the creators want for their product. So when that fanbase becomes disjointed and fractured, it is kind of difficult to say that the addition to the franchise may be great or not. For me, I have been an RPG fan and always will be, so when I played through Mass Effect 2, I felt that I bought a 3rd person shooter(which are plenty and some are better) and not an RPG game. I wonder if this will be the same disappointment feeling I have coming from Dragon Age 2 since I own Dragon Age Origins and all DLC(which is awesome as an RPG). Will it become just another hack and slash game with some small RPG element or will it become an actual great RPG addition to a new franchise?
Can reaching out to a more wider audience mean an end of a developer, no. Can it mean an end to a franchise…I would have to say a mighty strong maybe. Ultimately, it boils down to the marketing tools created from those franchises(the fanbase).
(Been gaming since the Atari 2600 circa 1984)
Great show, as always
And no worries, I’m confident that BioWare will stay awesome.
Oh, and next week is going to suck =(
Tony! we missed you man! the triforce of awesomery and win in videogame PodCast is complete!!!!!!
Sad couple of weeks ahead of us though, maybe Lorin, TG and 3d and someone else could make a couple of EBC on-tabs, we need the AXELORDS!!!!!
Please DK embark upon this EPIC quest for knowledge. Exclusive pre-order bonuses are ungodly. I was horrified when I saw that the new spider-man had a different costume at five different retailers. I’m the kind of person that wants all that stuff and was actually contemplating getting them all for the exclusive suits and returning the games. Luckily all but the Lamestop one(of course) turned out to be early unlocks. For people like me who are EPIC guitar screech dorks, having to pick between the cosmic and negative zone spider suits is a nightmare.
Hey DK, you said MS published ME1 and that was the reason it’s not coming to PS3, but MS also published Ninja Gaiden 2, which later appeared as NG sigma 2 for PS3. There must be something else in the contract.
Ha I was litterally about to say the exact same thing before I saw your comment!
Although NG2 came to PS3, I don’t think ME1 will for a very long time. M$’s response to ME2 on PS3 was that only on the 360 you can get the “complete Mass Effect experence”. The Mass Effect franchise was one of their top exclusive franchises and anything M$ can do to gain the edge they will do
Its using the same engine and frankly that’s good enough. Bioware has shown repeatedly in the past has shown repeatedly that the same engine can be used over and over again with few, if any, upgrades via the BG, BGII, two BG expansion packs (the DLC of its day) as its the story that really matters… and bioware is master storytellers.
Oh, and the length of time between sequels for BG and BG2… about 2 years. So I wouldn’t worry too much.. But I’m also thinking that DAII won’t make that release date and will be pushed back to the second half of the year.
god i LOVE this show. get a daily 1 hour episode on MSNBC in place of kieth olberman (or hell, anything on that channel). not a sole would know except the axeheads (although neilson ratings might get suspicious when the viewership goes up).
Bioware’s Mass Effect is in my opinion all about the experience/story. And I do not mean in terms of being rpg or third person shooter. Mass Effect 2 was a great game and provided a better story experience by being faster paced and having less focus on the inventory.
Games should not be about catering to an audience of a specific genre but about providing the best game possible. Multi-platform is seen as a negative to some now but until Mass Effect 3 comes out and it is a horrible game how can one assume it will be bad just based off it being multi-platform.
I love the Mass Effect series, it is my favorite game by far and I am hopeful and don’t think Bioware will screw up a good thing.
What up my piercing impalers and my menacing marauders.
My epic battle cry goes to the x-men legends/ultimate alliance series I think the x-men legends/ultimate alliance series has been watered down by activison. Vicarious creations and raven soft created the first two x-men legends and marvel ultimate alliance,Those where great games. Activison rushed x-men origins: wolverine .The game was separate from the movie and was in development before the movie came out. Activision changed the wolverine game to x-men origins: wolverine for the movies release. Wolverine Origins was a good movie game but could it have been an amazing video game period. “side note, I stop reading the comics after they fu(guitar sound) the story line up so fox could keep the x-men series rights.” X-men legends one and two weren’t based on the movies and were based on the comics. The only good copies of the game were on the xbox 360 and the PS3 ones while the psp, wii and ds received horrible ports. Activison probably made them port it to every system. When they moved x-men legends 2 to psp they took their time and added extra characters and missions because the game came out later then original release. With marvel Ultimate Alliance2 many people thought the first one was better than the second one. I think that has to do with raven soft not being on the development team. There where more charterers in the first one and the DLC didn’t stay up for only one month. Activison is a great example where they want quantity over quality.
eee lol you mean this -> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Ergonomic_mouse_pad.JPG
No they dont use this, this is for kids …
We use this -> http://s2.alejka.pl/i2/p/14/28/8ecf6643abe84_0_b.jpg
Well I honestly think that Daniel sounds really pissed that mass effect 2 is coming out on the ps3. I’m not gonna pull any punches because when Mass Effect 2 came out he praised it as the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and now all of a sudden he thinks that biowares franchises are being watered down to feed the greed of EA. That’s BS. Mass Effect didn’t sell enough copies on 360 for Bioware to recoupe costs, I think, and that is because the 360 fanbase isn’t really into RPG games. You might not like it but it’s true. I knew from when I started playing mass effect 2 from mass effect 1 that it was sooo watered down and dumbed down that it might as well have been gears of war in space with some character recruitment and planet scanning. Now that it’s coming out on ps3 I think it will sell well enough to satisy Bioware because of the ps3′s more mature audience. Look, the same thing happened to Final Fantasy 13. Square-Enix, when they decided to bring it to 360, knew that they had to cut content and make the story more linear and shallow and go from point A to point B to make the 360 user base who are used to that sort of thing more comfortable and allow them to get sales on the 360. It sucked for all the fans who have supported it for 15-20+ years because it turned into one of the worst FF games to be released. I’ve finished every FF game that i’ve played except for FF13 and it makes me sad so I sort of feel your pain Daniel, but this is not EA’s fault nor is it because Bioware put ME2 on the ps3. It’s just how they think they’ll get more sales. It’s the fault of the userbase of its respective console and of the userbase of this generation really. That’s how I feel and I enjoyed this episode very much that in fact this is my first time posting here. I hope you guys respond to this with your opinions and look forward to more shows and maybe more debates on here or gametrailers and etc….Keep up the good work guys.
Bioware IS degrading. It’s not about PS3. Just take a look at quantity and quality of DLCs for ME2. They promised not to cut the story for DLCs and what do we have now? Shadowbroker DLC. To hell with them!
Tony is back!!!!!
Couldnt you guys talk about everything of GamesCom? like a short special just like E3. I know you guys were not at GamesCom, but there has been some intell coming out, like the intro of Epic Mickey (maybe the first Wii title ill buy), Guild Wars 2 etc. But back to what happened in the podcast. I have up till now only played ME 1, but also several other Bioware RPG’s. ME2 probably have been a bit watered down in terms of RPG inventory elements, but it hasnt watered down with the enemies that you fight. In ME2 your opponents had different parts that you had to get through and made the enemy stronger. Like shield and special things against a certain power. In ME1 that happened when you were at a higher difficulty grade. Now it was also in normal. (im refering to the demo).
But to say Bioware has watered down, I would absolutly say no. If Bioware would have been watered down, Dragon Age Origins wouldnt have come out in the way that it did. That was some hard hard hard hardcore RPG experience on the PC. EA would not have let them do that if they didnt see the potential in the game. And the help of EA is also good for the doctors to make the big projects that they want. The powerhouse of marketing that is EA really let the company do their own thing, and when shown results and feedback from the community they change things. Think of making it easier to play DA2 on the consoles instead of the difficulty with part 1. And we are even not looking to the biggest game Bioware is busy on, namely SWTOR. If anything is a hardcore hardcore experience, an MMO most definatly has a place in those ranges.
I think DK is worrying to much at the moment. Bioware isnt Rare.
I am a huge rpg fan and thus Bioware is on THE list. Now i never owned a Microsoft console, i have been a PC gamer slowly moved to a ps3, and now i dont touch nor upgrade my PC.
To the point: got hooked on Bioware when Baldurs Gate came out, i love those games so Dragon Age came as a preorder purchase on the PC and i loved it it was Baldurs Gate with new combat system and graphics, i locked myself indoors and played it in my sleep.
Mass Effect 1 was also a huge hit for me aswell, loved the rpg in it BUT the third person shooting part was not as good as it could have been, but the story keept me going, so i was causious when ME2 came out dident pre order it, but after seeing footage and videos it looked sweet so i bought it and boy did i love it, the rpg was stripped sure but the story, the voice acting the shooting was sweet and solid. So for ME they made the right choise. For Dragon Age 2, im worried, sure if they can make a Deamon Soul’s kinda rpg with it it will be cool, but don’t loose the rpg in it, but they need to do somthing because it just don’t work on the console versions. For PC they just need to make new story new grahics and new stuff to do and it will be a sucess tbh.
What ever they decide to do i hope i will enyoy the secual more then the orgional.
Now to the EA soul sucking part, the DLC’s…. common, just stick with expansions or somthing thats what bioware did and still do great. Dragon Age awakening was really good. But all the dlc for ME2 and Dragon Age just make my head spin
EA love pumping out stuff, but i like and i think most consumers like having a big DLC(Expansion) further apart instead small once every month.
Peace
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, next week will suck so much
ME2; i wouldn’t mind playing it again on PS3 im sure they will add all the content straight away if not there will be bundle pack with all the extensions. DA2 might be good but im more interested in witcher2
What’s up my attorny’s of alienating, my judges of jeopardizing, how are thou !
goodday my fellow axehead comrades, i think that bioware joining with the big boys won’t jeopardize their mentality for creating good games, bioware was founded by 2 guys that had studied programming and saw the games of their time and thought that they could do it better.
it doesn’t matter if a small company joines a big one or not, it’s the mentality of that company that will decide wether their games will remain good or not.
I live in Europe in Finland and yes i think that PS3 is more stronger here than XBOX360. For example on my class 3 people have xbox360 and 7 have PS3 and the rest 10 buddys have PS2. So playstation RULEZ
Fantastic episode again. Lots of fun while digging through some interesting topics. Something that should be in the how-to-make-a-gaming-podcast handbook: Gaming is about having fun, so have fun while you talk about it. You guys have clearly nailed that. Good showin’ and keep slicin’.
Sorry DK for not checking out the latest GTTV for all the portal-goodness, it’s just that when I know a game is going to be fantastic for it’s gameplay, I try not to see gameplay at all. First time I had to look away from an EBC-segment.
On the topic of Mass Effect (I seem to be unable to make a post without mentioning it, sorry for that), I don’t think it’s such a bad thing that they want more cash. I think with the new backing from EA they aren’t just being pushed to sell games on all platforms just for the sales numbers. I think with this backing also comes a higher budget that actually makes them able to produce a multiplatform game of high quality.
Dragon Age might have been the better game on PC compared to the console version, (going on hear-say here, haven’t played DA, mainly because of setting) that didn’t make it necessarily bad on the consoles. Another interesting example is the first Mass Effect, which was released in 2007, but in 2008 on PC, with some tweaks to it (which, in my opinion, made it better). Did the simultaneous release of ME2 hurt the 360 version of said game?
I think we should trust the skill of the artisians at Bioware. They know what they’re doing. It seems like EA is trying to treat the Bioware brand as some sort of ‘Seal of Quality’, which it has been anyway for quite some time to gamers.
One final thought on this matter, although I still prefer the original ME over the second, I don’t feel the second game’ gameplay as being dumbed down, but moreso tweaked to something a little bit more mainstream because of the different approach necessary to tell this part of the story. Of course that raises the question of whether the gameplay defined the story or the story defined the gameplay, but this still being Bioware, I’m willing to assume the latter until proven wrong. And EA… well… this isn’t the EA of 10 years ago.
+1 mousepads are essentials to fps games like… quake live (Razer DA + Razer Sphex ftw)
Hey fellow axeheads, im just here to address the fact that Mass Effect 2 moving to the PS3 making Bioware products being diluted is not even a valid argument. Im in the camp of Brent where i think that DK’s argument that his fav game going to the PS3 will spread Bioware thin accross 3 platforms creating worse games for some platforms really doesn’t hold water. Why is it bad that Bioware is creating a game for 3 consoles, take the example of Dragon Age(that DK loves to reference) the game on PS3 and XBox 360 were nearly identical games, the PC version was admittedly more Intuititive due to the Neverwinter like controls, but how does that fit in to this argument as Mass Effect 3 for the consoles will probably be the same on PS3 and XBox 360,so how the hell does development change exactly even if the code is different for both consoles(as Dragon Age is evidence to)? Also, look at Mass Effect 2 where the controls were more console oriented compared to Mass Effect 1, was it any a worse product on the PC? The reason i go with Brents argument is that i think that Bioware has ‘dumbed down’ some of their games to appeal to the ‘mass’ market as Mass Effect 2 was basically a coverbased 3rd person shooter with squad tactics and perks(oh yeah and roleplaying) but the first Mass Effect was at its core an RPG game along the lines of KOTOR or NEverwinter or Baldurs Gate with item collection’loot’,dice rolls,item management with all that other stuff( Rp’ing, choice etc). This made Mass Effect 1 endear itself to me (and Dragon Age,KOTOR) although i loved Mass Effect 2 equally for different reasons, and given the choice of both i would still choose Mass Effect 1(minus the Mako).As such,i do think it has been a bit dumbed down in terms of gameplay as evidenced the set up of Mass Effect 2 eliminating item management as an example due to the fact that many people would think of it as troublesome but something which i think is pivotal in roleplaying games(see WoW where people who raid oftenly have to manage their items and equipment to optimizes performance. On a final note before i keep ranting too long, good to see TG back with the crew and DK keep the Puns coming.
Greetings my collaborators of collateral commando pro chaos, my reaction to the BioWare changes aren’t as dire as DK and Brent seemed to echo. I think a lot of gaming has become more “simplified” because the industry has tended to shift toward attracting a larger market. To that end, even PC designers are consistently trying to make their OS products easier for the average user and not something that takes a degree from MIT to correctly set up a home network. The average home PC buyer doesn’t go for an Alienware rig but instead a discount Dell that may or may not be able to run a current, or even late gen, title. Many are pushing for tablet PC’s as the next generation of computers, so is it any wonder why game developers might be pushing for console focused development?
I am glad to see Mass Effect 2 coming to the PS3 as I could only pick one system and went with Sony.
By the way, the genuine laugh from Brent on DK’s excellent pun was rewarding.
Why is DK speaking against mutiplatforming of titles like ME2 or any title for that matter?
Isn’t that a GOOD thing?
LoL DK, you are such a 360 fanboy!…XP
Anyways, opening up avenues to a wider audience isn’t going to delude anything, now if EA was to put pressure on Bioware to release an unfinished PS3 port, that would be a different story which I’m sure isn’t the case, well at least this time since we ARE talking about EA…=P
Wasup my wise guys of destruction , my mafiosos of crime nation how art thou.
My EpicBattleCry goes out to the newly starting web series “Eight Bit Strange”
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/eight-bit-strange/13738
cheack it out its really funny and well done.
really quick before I get cough by my boss.
welcome back Tony
love mousepads ( mostly PC gamer )
hate that kind of DLC, its just stupid, wanna choke the “mastermind” behind it.
love the resurrection pun
great show as allways keep it up guys.
Tony made the best point about saying that diluting the team is the best thing you can do in order to satisfy the massive fanbase out there.
LOL metal gear solid is coming out to xbox 360
then mass effect 2 is coming out PS3
that is news, cause i thought they both are exclusive titles only but not anymore
I just wanna say that I think poll is constructed wrong… Dumbing down games (Dragon Age 2) has nothing to do with releasing ME2 on PS3, right?
Seriously though, what gamer doesn’t use a mousepad??
First off, love the show and the site. I think its great. Now with the issue on Bioware and Mass Effect. I ended up playing Mass Effect about a year ago on the PC, when steam was having a sale. I absolutely loved it and I couldn’t wait for the next one. When it came out I got it right away and beat it that weekend. I enjoyed some of the changes including the improved shooting and cover system. I was however disappointed in the simplified leveling system, and the lack of an inventory. I enjoyed having to think out what skills was I actually using, and how to spend my points. And I also enjoyed the inventory management and the variety of weapons, armor, and powerups you could give to each. Even though I missed these, and didn’t see the need in getting rid of them, it didn’t make the game any worse for me. I also enjoyed the story structure better in the first one, because of all of the mystery surrounding the reapers.
I don’t know what’s everyone’s problem with Crysis, I played it on my pc with a resolution of 1440×900, everything on high (no aa tho) and it ran smoothly @ 60 fps.
I have a quad, 4 gb ram with a 8800GT.
Anyone who jumps on this ME2 was dumbed down bandwagon has no clue what they’re talking about. It took me 10 hours to finish ME1 and 24 to finish ME2. The reason why I spent more than twice the amount of time on the sequel is because Bioware put a lot of effort into upping the quality of the content. The side quests in ME2 are actually worth doing and the leveling system has actual consequence. For example the ship plays a huge role in the outcome of your game depending on the upgrades. It seems that some of you are so near sided that everything has to be obvious or else you totally overlook what’s there. ME2 was without a doubt a step in the right direction. If all you care about is sifting through inventory then go get a job as a stock boy and make some real money while you do it.
Don’t fucking say Crysis couldn’t run on any PC 3 years after launch because it could. You have no idea about this game and just listen to those G4TV console guys who as far as I concerned, can’t even boot up Windows, let alone play a PC game! And who uses the mouse pad these days? lol.
Go back to your console for games and MacBook for work!
I agree with the dumbing down. There’s no question that good aspects just being removed is a shame. There’s nothin wrong putting a little thought into your characters, I have no doubt everyone’s mass effect crew in 1 was unique. But in 2 every player had identical characters, identical combat playstyles (assuming similar shephard Class) and the game was reduced to a game of reflexes.
I preferred having the ability to mess up a room with Singularity in the first game than the sad back and forth stop and pop combat of the second. At the end of the first I was just running through a room lifting and throwing everyone and taking no damage because I’d prepared so well.
Also the lack of sidequests of in 2 was also a disappointment. Sure the crew quests were meaningful, but little things like the reporter interviews and the krogan sushi weren’t at all like the Merc hideouts and geth incursions of ME1. I just want more from Bioware. Not less.
Sup guys!!
I’ve come from the GT community to invade your site because I love you guys’ podcast!
Well, I know of a perfect example of when a game going multiplatform turned out for the worst and that is Devil May Cry 4.
If you all can remember, originally, DMC4 was announced for a release of late 2007 for the PS3. However, it was later delayed. Rumors started popping up about it being released on the 360 as well. Capcom had initially denied that claim, but a week later announced DMC4 for the 360. In an interview with one of the devs of the game, they admitted that when they announced the game for the 360, they hadn’t started development on it. So that was the reason to its delay.
Now, DMC4 is not as good as the 3rd or 1st title. If you can remember, DMC3 had numerous costumes for Dante and, even, Vergil in the special edition. DMC4 does not have as many levels as DMC3. Remember, in the later half of DMC4, it’s just a bunch backtracking. There weren’t as many boss battles in DMC4 as DMC3 and enemies period, the story of DMC4 was not as good as DMC3′s, and the main character, Nero, wasn’t nearly as good as Dante or Vergil. In another interview, Capcom stated that they wanted introduce a new character to help bring in people who haven’t played the previous ones.
In conclusion, I feel that if Capcom would’ve kept the game exclusive to the platform that it was originally exclusive to, then the game could’ve been much better. Even if the game would’ve still been delayed, at least they could’ve utilized that time to add in more content instead porting it to the other system.
Basically, DMC4 was not as good as DMC3 or even as good as it could’ve because of the move.
What do you guys think.
Greetings, my Protégés of Pestilence, my Faculty of Famine! (Brent, feel free to borrow) I’ve got a battlecry on the subject of BioWare that deserves an indecent finger pointed at it.
After just recently playing through the masterpiece that is Mass Effect 2 on the PC, I experienced a craving for more content. And after having fully discovered all star systems, side-missions and planets in the game, I thought I’d try out this “DLC” thing all the kids are raving about these days.
Having never bought any DLC for any title (aside from a few downloadable games on my PS3) I looked around biowares Mass Effect site for interesting missions and add-on characters. When I was just about to follow through on the purchase I noticed to my incredible frustration that there is no way for me to just buy the mission I want. Before getting the content I have buy some bullshit “BioWare Points”, and I can only buy preset amounts leaving me with a retarded, and for me, otherwise unusable currency.
I can see why Microsoft implemented the system with XBLA, since that’s a huge platform, where the points system at least gives you a wide range of options and content to distract you from how they’re screwing you over. But for a single game developer to have this ass-backwards payment module that’s really only relevant for 2 games is just pissing me off.
If buying the DLC legally directly from the developer is more of an inconvenience and a hassle than just straight up pirating the stuff, why in the world should I even consider paying for it?
I have nothing but utmost respect for BioWare as a company and a developer, but just let me buy the damn content for the price that’s on the fucking tag.
Well I think it would be good for both console and PC gamers if consoles would get their XBOX/PS3 mouse and Keyboard.
and these input methods get actual support in games .
This way console players get an extra option , that can make a lot of games more enjoyable.
in multiplayer you can still add a filter for games with Controller or KB+Mouse like crysis does.
For PC gamers it would be great too , maybe this way we`ll get FPS console ports , featuring decent mouse input support and not the floaty mouse controls that seem to plague a lot of FPS (console ports)games like I.E ; Battlefield Bad Company 2.
Yes a mouse and KB might not be as comfortable as relaxing on a couch with a controller , but giving gamers the option to choose , would only benefit all of us .
And give the developers some extra options , especially in RPG/MMO type games.
This is me calling GameStop to ask if they have a particular game in stock.
Hello. (insert DK’s fucking perfect answer here)
uhhhhh… I can’t remember why I called, sorry.
Hallo everyone!
I feel the need to share some insight into the Bioware discussion. I was at Gamescom in cologne this month and got some hand-on with Dragon ago 2. I played the game on a 360, and i must say that the combat has changed dramatically. It now works very much like the combat seen in Fable 2. They have introduced more of a hack-n-slash type of gameplay where you have your main attack on the right trigger, while X,Y and B functions for unleashing special attacks. It was possible to switch character mid-combat to a mage class type of character. This mage also functioned a lot like a caster functions in Fable 2, you choose direction of the spells you want to throw with the analogue stick, then shoot fireballs with the right trigger. Again special abilities were also assigned to the X,Y and B button. It should be noted that it was possible to bring out a “selection cartwheel” to choose from multiple spells/abilities rather than relying on the ones that were assigned to your hot-keys, this function also paused the game to make sure the player could make his selection without to much stress.
The phasing of the combat is still a lot more hectic though, you take down hoards of enemies rather than small groups at a time. And even though the function to pause the game and make precise selections is still present, it feels more of an option rather than a must-do.
For the console version i felt that this gameplay was really tight, and it works a lot better than the previous Pc-port controller scheme. I did throw an eye on the PC version as well, and it looked like it handled a little more like the previous DA.
However, as a fellow developer i cannot blame Bioware for making this decision. A large majority of their market is console players, this is where they make their money. With no online capabilities the piracy for DA PC must have been huge. I see no need for Bioware to cater for a PC market when the PC market itself does not support the developers as they should. (I know you are not all pirates, but sadly a majority are)
Take care!
/Khoplin
DK cant hide his feeling for Mass Effect 2 going to PS3 , obviously he didn’t like it ,now EA acquired BioWare long time ago , but now when they announce ME2 on PS3 ,DK start questioning the quality of BioWare.
And that example for Dragon Age losses quality when announced for consoles , well , this is a game that ported from a PC to console , but Mass Effect already on console ,what happen now is that it went to a superior console so there is no worry of losing quality.
what should be worrying ,is the PS3 version of ME3 when it get a cheap port from 360 version since BioWare will work on 360 as a leading platform and they will release all versions simultaneously.
@ 9:43 *Cough* Banjo-Kazooie Nuts&Bolts
I agree with you completely. ME2 was fantastic and I am so pumped for ME3 whenever that may come out.
My children of carnage, my doctors of Doom, my scholars of savagery how art thou!!!
I wish to bring light to data caps on internet usage. With mobile phones getting capped and some big name household internet providers talking about doing the same. I am left wondering that we gamers and consumers in general will face a bloody onslaught, of out right greed.Games have gotten bigger to well within the GB range and I know that is down to graphics,sound etc.That size becomes huge amounts of bandwidth (as well as space on our systems).
Unless programmers think smarter in the future and try to get as much for as little in terms of size as possible.With things like DLC, PSN and xboxlive games as well as mulitplayer functions too boot. Most of us will incur some big bills that will make frost giants look small if plans like this go a head.
On a personal opinion I fall on I pay for the internet already so I shouldn’t be dictated too on how much of it I can use when I have just purchased access to it.
Bioware are failing hard since ME1 which was in no way perfect but it was good. Dragon age on the other hand had nothing going for it but quantity and newer graphics since i have played better RPGs. ME2 was so watered down it made no sense to me to call it an RPG i played a shooter with a few options. Regarding consoles, i just dont think these games have any room there. RPG and MMOs are the only thing keeping PC gaming alive aside from the obvious SC2 (which is a huge disappointment especially in terms of Blizzard support but that’s on a different topic) I have been a PC gamer all my life and played mostly everything for PCs that was herd of in Europe just recently got a PS3 and i got 5 games for it they are all race sims or action games since these are thing that are traditional on the console since they work well on it. So short and simple:
Bioware(and Blizzard) is failing and losing old fans, dont try to go multiplatform on genders that dont work well on consoles and as the EBA crew mentioned of course PS3 is more popular in Europe its just because its better than the 360!!!
Bioware has been great to me. I loved ME1-2 though the leveling up system sucked in ME2 which is one of the things I loved. The story, gameplay, choices etc got better. The Love Scenes got far worst though… ME1 was better on that end, but those are design choices. I love the fact that ME2 will come out to the PS3 and it makes it possible for me who got rid of my 360 since it RROD on me 5x and I finally gave up on the system and only held on to it for ME1-2 and Left 4 Dead 2, but felt it was time to move on since I had a PS3 to replace it. Now Bioware who made DAO for PS3 is finally putting ME2 on PS3 and it’s a win win. More ME heads to join the fanbase and I get to continue playing ME again. I’ll be re-picking up ME2 in Jan and I will get ME3 on PS3 when it comes out. Also Valve who hated PS3, got bought out and now lick PS3′s balls so maybe I can get Left 4 Dead to come out soon on PS3 as well. Now days there are tools dev can use to take a game and export to any platform causing no delays in the games life cycle, meaning no spiting of the teams, no delays in the game coming out. If their is a slight delay it may be due to checking that there is no bugs from exporting the game to all the platforms, so instead of checking 1 game, it’s etc. DA next game does worry me though. I liked DAO because it was different and to hear they want it more mainstream worries me.I’ll get it, but who knows how I’ll like it. They never completely failed me before and I doubt they’ll start.
I’m a little surprised that as a fan of Mass Effect, DK didn’t mention the saves and how that’s going to translate to the PS3 port.
I mean, sure, you can play ME2 on the PS3 and Sony could use the extra space on the Bluray to include a movie or something that explains everything that happened in ME1 to get the player up to speed, or the player could just hit up a wikipedia page as jokingly mentioned in the podcast.
However, what made Mass Effect feel so epic to me was that I knew that I was going to be playing something awesome that would span three games, and more importantly, where the stuff I did in the first game would affect the last one, and that’s not something you get to experience too often. They’re more than just regular sequels.
And THAT’S where the diluted factor comes in when it comes to Mass Effect, because developing the third game is going to be done with a multiplatform frame of mind, which would be no problem, except since PS3 is missing the first game, now there’s a probability that decisions from the first game are no longer going to be that relevant to the third.
Now if Bioware has a way of leveling the playing field in that aspect, I’d have no complaints. Otherwise, I get the feeling that the final product is going to end up suffering, which is a shame, because in all honesty, I’m looking forward to seeing things from the first game revisit me in the last one.
don’t worry 360 fans maybe some time we will see heavyrain on 360 like ps3 did with mass effect 2 i hope so i really liked this game
Greetings my enforcers of everlasting evil my masters of mass murder (its all yours Brent)
People seem to forget that Bioware was behind Jade Empire and Knights of the Old Republic, saying that NOW Bioware is “getting diluted” or “they’re not making REAL RPGs anymore” hold no weight or substance as long as those two exist and for some reason they are still considered RPGs.
I think Bioware always wanted to expand and bring their games to more people but they couldn’t do it before, but now being backed up by EA they have the money and resources, I firmly believe that at least for now Bioware will continue being the developer I know and love.
Yay Tony’s back! (no offense Lauren)
Speaking of bullshit presale bonuses, Bethesda is doing it for almost all their games. It really annoys me that you get something different depending on where you go. Have you seen the specs for Brink? Different shit at gamestop, walmart, best buy, steam, target. ARGHHHH
I’d like some answers to the point of this as well.
FEAR 3, bah, who cares. FEAR 2 sucked ass.
The same things going on in your Bioware discussion are being talked about in relation to the next STALKER game by fans of that.
Thank god tony’s back
Love the show,
I’m getting tired of a myth you are pushing out there about Crysis. And you are not alone in this mistake.
“nobody could play it for, like, 3 years” and qoutes alike.
The game did NOT NOT NOT require very high specs to play, that is a myth put out there by incompetent reviewers who thought their best-buy “gaming” PC was good when they had a medium graphics card. It did however require the very best to get the highest settings, and how is that a bad thing? I fear that the gaming press with their negative spin on this have really held back the graphics on the PC via the stupid publishers/marketers.
So get your act together on the PC, PC gaming today is so far ahead graphically than consoles that it is ridiculous, and for all shooting/rpg games that come on the PC you should recommend the PC version for the best experience. And if you use the “comfy sofa” argument you can suck it because nothing stops you from hooking up the PC to the TV anymore if you so desire.
What you guys should start doing about now is start complaining about how dated the consoles are starting to get, and how they are saying that the want the generation to last 5 years more. This is not for the good of the consumer. They could probably make a console with 10 times better performance for less than 50$ more then they are selling for today. So one can argue that it is a course that all the 3 consoles are doing so well, and how the PC is not getting a fair amount of attention to push them into making hardware upgrades.
What???????? NO EBC today (8/30)??? What am I going to do???????????
My battlecry goes out to Bioware, what they did with Mass Effect 2 and the gaming industry as a whole!
Apart from agreeing 100% with Brent on the matter that they watered ME 2 down for the sake of catering to a bigger audience I also have a problem with the whole mentality of publishers feeling the need to reach out for every potential customer who is physically capable of holding a controller.
If the only thing that matters are sales nowadays then every big game developer will go the way Bioware/EA went and only make games that are small variations of the most popular 2-3 genres (racing sports and shooters) and honestly, those are the ones I can stand the least.
The gaming industry seems to wonder why less and less people are buying their games allthough almost each new one is just a clone of a successful concept from the recent past (for example the new Castlevania game that basically rips of God of War).
Their solution to this seems to be comming up with more and more limited editions, that contain crap nobody really cares about and since that isn’t working either they blame the used games market and come up with cheap DLC sales tactics.
Personally I think the actual misstake is that these three genres I mentioned above might be the biggest part of the industry, but by now everyone seems to compete over those. The result is that more companies try to get to only one segment of the market resulting in a smaller piece left for everyone.
Why can’t more companies be like Valve or Nintendo? Both keep offering new and different experiences and THAT is why they are so enormously more successful than anyone else. The used games market, stupid limited editions, etc have nothing to do with it! STOP DOING THOSE AND GET CREATIVE AGAIN!
PS:
EBC rocks, keep up the awesomeness!
I’ve been sat at my computer trolling through the forums because I haven’t got an EBC to listen to – I live in England so don’t get to listen until Tuesdays. Listening to the EBC is one of the highlights of the week and I now also enjoy Force Feedback as well. The only other Podcast I bother with is Invisible Walls but those guys lack the chemistry (and punnery) that Daniel, Brent and Tony bring to the show.
Anyways, I suppose the only thing to say is make sure next weeks EBC is a good one – and longer than usual to make up for missing this week.
Regarding the “BioWare’s coming to an end” and “Mass Effect 2 was dumbed down” comments, I would just like to point out what RPG means: Role Playing Game. Not Complex Inventory and Turn-Based Combat Game. In Mass Effect 2 the player plays a role just as much, if not more, than in the original Mass Effect and while the story of ME2 wasn’t as good as the original’s (which I attribute to “middle-of-the-trilogy syndrome”), the story was still great and the characters were far more interesting in ME2 than in the original. Now onto BioWare; I think they are going mainstream in the sense that their games are more action-oriented now, and while I understand and feel for fans of more traditional RPGs (really, I do), as a gamer bred on both shooters and RPGs I like it. While I would like to see Mass Effect 3 strike a middle-ground between ME and ME2, even if the shooter/RPG ratio is like ME2′s in ME3, as long as the story delivers I’m good. Oh, and while I never played Dragon Age: Origins because the port was inferior (360 owner), I’m certainly going to play DA2 because of the changes made.
What’s up my nihilist´s of notoriety, my amulets of amazement! How art thou?
Dear axe-lords wont thee grace us noble followers with a new podcast.
My viking blood boils without my weekly fix.
Mr NoManners