Ah, ok, misunderstood that then. I remember such cover mechanics from Alpha Protocol only, I think - and I considered them a major annoyance there. It was way more flexible to just take cover behind whatever you wanted to take cover behind, at a distance you wanted keep between you and the cover (in case of rockets and grenades), then to get glued to some piece of wall and have to waste time for the "take cover" and "go out of cover" animations to play out.

aw, but virtual cop was a fun game.

They've made my favourite game.

They've made my disappointing game.

Can speak for GoW but you aren't guarenteed to be 100% safe while in cover in Mass Effect 1&3 (not played 2 yet). In Mass Effect 1 so far all I've done is hide behind tall walls and even then I'm either shot through it or it from an angle and health doesn't respawn in ME1, unlike in Mass Effect 3 were your shield respawns and you get a little bit of health back. In Mass Effect healthing is primarily done using med-gel. And in Mass Effect 3 if you crouch behind a wall you aren't 100% safe either because more often than not part of you is sticking above the wall giving the enemy something to target, so it's kinda fair game.

I get what you mean, it can get dull quite quick, especially when you begin to power up, that's why I have a mix of run 'n' gun and cover based. More than 4 enemies = take cover, <4 run 'n' gun and take cover if health goes lower than 50%

I think if anything sums up what their major problem is, if they took time to work on their projects rather than rushing them for deadlines, their products would be good not brilliant but good, and yes im not looking forward to the next dragon age i think theyve painted themselves into a corner there.

I had trouble getting into shooters for years until I tried out Doom. The first one. I loved going crazy on everything rather than getting behind things. Every. Five. Minutes. I don't mind taking cover in shooters as long as it doesn't mean doing so more often than William Shatner pauses when talking. I don't find simulating his way of speech in shooter form fun. When I play a game that is a shooter, I want to shoot stuff and grab health items. I find that fun.

If the shooter you mentioned that makes taking cover essential doesn't make it seem like some chore parents give, then I hope more games stop using the press button to take cover and not really save your hide from bullets style. Maybe the Arma games actually make it less like pausing the game without pausing the game.

I do prefer run and gun, though. Yes, I have ADHD. Only saying that before anyone calls me some ADHD addled COD nut, even though I don't play COD. Bitter annoyance towards that aside, I prefer run and gun because most shooters make me feel like soaking up the bullets and shooting stuff in game. Not hiding behind a wall while shooting things. This is why I like Bioshock. It pretty much avoids this crap. It isn't using the usual cover style at all. I can one man army if I want.

*shrugs*

Bioware knows how to tell a story. I've got no problems with them as a company, and I'm one of the very, very few people who didn't mind DA2 or the ending of ME3.

I don't see them going away.

I can honestly say the only Bioware game I enjoyed was Knights of the Old Republic. I didn't like KotOR II for all of Obsidian's shenanigans, I couldn't get into Dragon Age, and I had to force myself to finish Mass Effect 1. Nothing about any of their recent games has made me say "Wow I really need to play the sequel now."

Took the words out of my mouth.

So far my experience with BioWare has been rather good. But considering I've only played ME and just started ME2 yesterday, that may change.

I'll have to agree. I'll be looking forward to whtever they make next.


Wow, i have to admire your courage for posting that publically I myself disagree, but don't think DA2 was the worst crime against video games ever, as it's often seen. In fact i quite like it

And if we were at BSN, this would be about the moment the angry mob shows up

Nah even the BSN don't like DA2. Personally I think it's one of my favourite games ever. That and DAO are excellent. I think Biowaree write characters better than a lot of other companies out there.

Still one of my favorite developers but they've had some poor business decisions since teaming up with EA.

I really couldn't care less about Bioware. I have no idea how KotOR and Mass Effect managed to become so popular.

That was my point, around there saying you like DA2 is a guaranteed way to get flamed

It's strange that it's one of your favourite games ever when so many people can't stand it, especially those that played DAO. What is it that you like about it?

I'm a pretty long-time Bioware fan. I did enjoy Baldur's Gate, and KOTOR still ranks as one of my all-time favorite RPGs. I absolutely fell in love with the Mass Effect series, and even if things didn't necessarily wrap up in the manner I'd have liked (hoping that the Extended Cut DLC will fix things as far as I'm concerned,) I find I can't discount the entire three games simply for a less-than-stellar final five minutes.

I actually prefer cover-based shooting to not, so that was a big plus in my book in Mass Effect. (I'm no combat expert, or ex-special forces - but I do remember using cover more often than not when playing Laser Tag, so it feels a lot more natural to me that my character might like to utilize things like that.)

Their philosophy of videogame storytelling is something I find I can really get behind. I like the way they tell their stories, and I always support an RPG that can give my character a real sense of personality. I do think their "romance option" angle is getting a bit stale, but I can't fault them for having it (I found it most effective in KOTOR, when I wasn't expecting it at all - and when conversely I had been fighting with my romance for most of the game. Sort of a "Han and Leiea" kind of romance.)

I still think that Bethesda's level design makes anything that comes out of Bioware look rather spartan and un-lived-in, though they have been getting better about that.

And I actually really hope they attempt another series like Mass Effect. I had to see their first attempt at carrying important decisions over between games as something of an experiment - I don't think even they knew just where they were going with that, or what they'd be capable of. But I would like to see another trilogy coming out of Bioware at some point that makes that same attempt.

If I have any gripes about Bioware, it is their association with EA. Now, I do still buy EA titles, and I think some of them are really quite good, and at least worth the money I'm spending on them. But there is a certain... something that tends to be missing from a game that's published under the EA title. Like they could have used an extra couple of months for polish.

I can't really fault them for wanting to work with a big publisher like EA. But the up-shot of access to those extra resources is supposed to result in a superior game. I'd really like to see EA ease up on their leash with their companies, and be more willing to nurture a game until it's "done," or at least give a bit more slack in terms of release date. I don't hold any hope for that happening, but it would be nice to see...

That sums it up for me as well. Though I've only played 4 of their games and only beat 2 of them.

This.

Overall, a bit disappointed with the ending of ME3. And a bit confused by the frothing "ZOMG BETRAYED" overreactions of the internet fanbase. (but, then, I'm confused about most similar reactions; things like EA winning that "worst company" poll, for instance )

Who knows if they want to or not? EA bought them out, so it's not like they have much of a choice.

Gotta agree on this one, I actually did enjoy Dragon Age 2 a bit more then Origins. That's just my opinion, though, there's really no need to go spreading it around.

As for Bioware as a company.. Meh. Mass Effect 3 had a really brilliant story that wrapped up a lot of loose ends I was worried about, while still making all your choices matter, only to be outshined by the INCREDIBLY terrible ending. The whole Mass Effect series was a real treat, though, and it shows they still know how to make a good game.

Dragon Age is still in the air for me. I'll most likely pick up three when they release it, but that'll be my last Bioware product, at least for a while. As someone else stated, they aren't going to be disappearing anytime soon, so let them do what they want.

I gave up hope on them. I remember Mass Effect 3 ending, the hard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JspE9ctseIU&list=PL558527A3C954C927&index=40&feature=plpp_video of getting our claims legitimatized. Fight for the lost indeed. We won, but much like the ending it doesn't amount to anything more than [censored]. To those who haven't seen the end, I feel happy for you and hope you never do.

Edit
Every time I think about the series I feel like old Zaeed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9-dLzzQuVM&list=PL558527A3C954C927&index=30&feature=plpp_video.

I've heard the ME games are good, altough I haven't tried them (I do plan on doing it though). I didn't really like Dragon Age: Origins but I did like DA2 (lol Ergin u svck lolol).

Apart from that I haven't really been exposed to BioWare, so I don't really have any opinion of them.

It's there game, there story, I was actually on biowares side when all those fans were "complaining" about the ending. (Despite it being a copy of De ex).

They ruined Dragon Age... Origins was beastly... DA2 was not beastly and made me very dissapointed. I just don't see how they took what could've been a great series and made it into a flop.

There are also plenty titles under EA that were successfully done without pushing the deadline. Especially for recent titles. I suppose EA learnt from their mistakes.