As for that pic, I always picture that scene in the Bio/EA boardroom. Bioware, ever loyal to their master: "Must go in, must destroy our IPs, must sell, must sell out!"

EA: "Patience my child, soon we will go in and get all of their fuel."

Bioware: ..."Fuel?"

Love the picture and this post: the sad thing is its true, same thing for Maxis and EA. EA buys these companies and tries to find ways to ruin them.

Well DA2 was definitely rushed out. There is no question in my mind on that one. When a major title game can't even come up with different content and simply re-uses cave after cave and location after location for EVERYTHING... then it went to market WAY too quickly.

Every major series seems to have a major setback.

Oblivion was a huge step backward for the TES series. DA2 was by itself a decent game, but it was a very pale comparison to DA:O.

Hopefully, the next DA game that will correct their many obvious flaws. Skyrim seems to be heading in the right general direction again, though it still has a way to go to make up for the ground they lost when changing the game format with Oblivion.

I am hoping studios will realize one day that if they stumble upon a winning formula..... DO NOT change it. Improve it, but stop throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I was disappointed with DA 2, Skyrim is on a whole other level.

Bioware = great characters
Bethesda = open world

I don't know that these two things are mutually exclusive, but I've never seen them together in an RPG from either developer.

And for the haters: I loved DA2.

This.

DA2 is an abomination best left forgotten.

DA:O had an amazing story, a perfect fanasty story. DA2 did have a GOOD story when you go back and think about it. The graphics, environment, and other reused things left a meh feeling about DA2.
I'm telling you guys...if Bethesda and Bioware worked together to make a fanasty RPG, it would be almost perfect. Just as long as they work on their strong suites and know what they are bad at.

BTW did you know that Bioware is taking hints off of Bethesda for DA3? (not directly, but they are looking at Beths games and using the things they're amazing at).

Bioware can't even do their own thing anymore,their job is to chase sales and make quick money for EA,i don't want these milk drinkers anywhere near TES.

I hate games like that. I don't get what is fun about clicking on your guy to attack something and watching him do it. And constantly stopping time to control all your other guys

Is that a fact?

Dude, this is the internet. Of course It's a fact.

Some of us think so.

I miss the old Maxis. I still whip out Simcity 4 for when I get a little tired of exploring around in Skyrim. I think I clocked around like 1,500 hours total in SC4 + Rush Hour, but that's like over the past 5 or 6 years. I wish EA would stop being so greedy. Give the other guys a chance, eh?

Oh I completely agree, Maxis is one of the best ever I too still play Sim City 4/ Rush Hour.

I wish EA would let them debug Sims 3 and let them get started on Sim City 5. They do need to stop being greedy, its pathetic they are one of the most successful video game companies around and that is still not enough, give me a break.

Bullfrog and Pandemic were the two big ones for me (other than Bio) that EA ruined. I dont even see how its profitable to destroy good companies that make good games.

You mean Sim City 6? SC5 was that piece of [censored] Sim City: Societies garbage made by Tilted Mill. I respect their other games, just not SC:S. I believe Sim City franchise is pretty much dead. I mean, with the horrible SC:S reviews, I doubt EA is gonna invest any more money in a franchise that's been milked beyond belief (they even made an expansion for said piece of garbage, SC:S).

Fixed, how you can say skyrim gives you more choice and doesn't go out of it's way to invalidate them boogles me, 50% of the time its is no choice at all it's happening so run away and ignore it or do the only option there, 25% there multiple choices, all being simalar lines and leading to the exact same event, the rest is there is a difference but it'll be the opposite of what you'll expect at the cost of the little they've developed a character so far or though the ques around them (Civil War Jarl Balgruf theres a few things but Worshipper of the banned god in the city walls left free to preach against the ones "with" imperials, if that doesn't scream he will eventually fall on the side of freedom of worship over allowing people in that would drag him off to be killed I don't know what does). And then to say you can forsake a companion (or any companion) and join the opposing side, see someone killed and watch as people of the area react etc is no choice.

And I will use that one character again just to drive home the point of consistancy in story and depth that makes sense, yes he is one of the most complexed and fleshed out of them all but being so tied up to the main story he should be. But you learn about his past certain events which aren't walked over heavily when risen in games, generally avoided due to it's nature, but it makes sense that he was traumatized by this person, lost someone he care about and even though he may be a healer for reasons that make sense to him his actions that still make sense and was on some level arguably justifiable due to a life of him and people he cared about suffer while others turned a blind eye, the blind eye of that person is arguably far from good and begs the question she had to know a revolt was coming for these evils so why do nothing to stop it, it didn't protect people, did she want it to happen (part of the reason I really want a post end DLC). You then have to make a choice one with a few branches which can result in one of 2 people at least leaving you, or one dying, the reasons for a persons demand again makes sense and the choice then changes the game, the character then doesn't do a 180 because you spared them because they simply cannot bare it, the guilt he does show is remarkably touching (yes people lost thier lives but no more then thoses that have died at thier hands) I geniunely felt his conflict over something drastic needing to be done due to the lack of action and listening others will do, complete lack of care by those that should, but in doing so he became at least in part of what he hated, a theme though the game of him being part of the reason why mages are treated the way they are, possession by a demon blinded by justice absolute, you see this repeatedly and aren't simply told, as he struggles to maintain himself and not feel the anger and pain of this demon that suffers for the injustices all around him, the demon itself only made worse by the experiences this person has had, once a being of good now possessed by pain and rage and needing to see justice done in an absolute manner.

Although are we all sure it was this year? Im sure I had DAII October 2010 like Fable III in October 2009, again Im not saying DAII was perfect, I loved the story but yeah gameplay, wave after wave of mob, repeating dungeons were a disaster and an awful shame they too went the way Fable did for me, simalar to how I feel about this, niether reach lionheads level but both are at least at the start of the path. I kinda have a feeling it may have happened to this too, no 3 time lucky for autumn action-rpg release, think I'll skip next years, which will probally be Fable the journey which Ive already sworn to pass over like all of III's dlc.

I miss Bullfrog. I was like *this* close to having a nerdgasm when I saw their sneak peak for Dungeon Keeper 3 on the DK2 CD. Shame it never came to fruition, because I used to love Dungeon Keeper games. They filled a niche that I don't think any other mainstream company has ever come close to even dabbling in. Mucky Foot Productions was the result of Bullfrog's liquidation, and they made a spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper - Startopia. Sadly, they flopped as well due to lackluster sales. It's a shame not many people buy these gem games and always go for *shudder* Call of Duty.

I only keep the games I feel like they deserve to stay instead of being traded in. Out of DA:O, DA2, and Skyrim, take a wild guess which one was unworthy of staying

DA isnt the only thing that's been destroyed. Has anyone played C&C4? Glad I didn't. I'm a HUGE fan of that series but I didn't have the money for it on release but keeping up to date on info it turned out to be a total fail so I'm glad i skipped it.

I wish Bioware didn't take a nosedive after DA:O. What's really troubling is they have no desire to revert back to their RPG roots. Anyone who disagrees with their terrible direction is just stuck in the past, according to them.

They really said that?

Pandemic, Maxis, and Bioware for me. They seem to want to ruin everything they touch I do not understand that ideology, they should let them do what they do best, make their games as they see fit release when ts done. That way they could profit, and everybody is successful and EA would profit more. But their master plan apparently is to royally screw everybody over.
My friend I never count the disaster that was Sim City Societies. I know they said they wanted it to be SC% but they turned it into a branch off the series like Sim Town or whatever it was called. Anyways I always overlook that garbage.

I agree.
I dont understand what even makes it an RPG in the first place.
I look at it, I say 'adventure game'.

Then again, I am the one that says RPG's are dead.
And I mean it.
My reasoning is thus: People seriously insist Mass Effect is an RPG.
Therefore, RPG's are dead.

Did they really denounce RPG games like that!?

Origins was an RPG, to me at least. Mass Effect was a more linear one, but it was. I think you're just narrowing it down because of your nostalgia goggles: "Back in my day, we had REAL RPGs!"

I mean, look at Witcher 2. Fantastic RPG, albeit with no character customization, but the world was great.