As long as the gameplay is good I could care less about the story. A good story along with good gameplay however is pretty rare. It is usually one or the other.

Well, to be fair, Dragon Age is a relative newcomer to the scene... especially considering Star Wars.

TES has been around for the better part of two decades on that note.

I think they did pretty good in that regard for the first game, but the second definitely was a step backwards for me.

Take from that what you will.

Bioware is also doing Mass Effect and the new star wars MMO so I understand that they have to be dedicated to other games, but TES has much richer lore and story.

Mass Effect's story blows TES out of the frickin water. Kotor games have always been fun, but the MMO is a pretty big let down. Not as much as SWG, but still...they should have just made a new Kotor game and not tried their hand at an MMO. It is pretty bad.

2 decades but you admit they are not great at it maybe not great only works for 3 maybe 4 games? By the time you get to 5 and you are still not great it's time to say "What if apple made a game" uh duh you would have a semi functional game that will DC you if you touch it the wrong way.?

Nah, Mass Effect was good, but Mass Effect 2 was crap.

In terms of story, yeah ME2 was kind of lame. In terms of gameplay, it had some positive things about it but the almost removal of gear and change of ammo severely hurt the game for me. It still has a better vibe than TES does I feel. TES just does not feel very special, it is a sandbox game they tried to make more complex than it actually is.

Its easy to compare Dragon Age with TES, but its a completely different tangent with Mass Effect.

Really though... I've no business even discussing Mass Effect. I haven't played the game and have very little interest to do so.

You can compare gameplay features and story for any game. They do not both have to have Magic, Swords, and Dragons in order to do that. I could just as easily replace the graphics to be "Laser Swords" "Plasma Cannons" and "Giant Squid Aliens that shoot Acid".

Well...one major difference is that Skyrim doesn't have a gay elf six scene like Dragon Age. I mean, what is an RPG without one of those?


But all joking aside, as another poster mentioned, DA II was awful. They took what should have been DLC for Dragon Age and made it a stand alone game. This left you with a very shallow feeling game after much hype was generated. However, Dragon Age II had a better combat system than both Dragon Age Origins and pretty much any Elder Scrolls games. Your character had much more smooth body mechanics and flow in Dragon Age II as opposed to how stiff you move about in Skyrim. You tend to pay attention to these sorts of things after a few biomechanics classes.

Perhaps, I wouldn't know.

Your statement does... however... remind me of Borderlands and whichever game had that assassin robot in the Star Wars library.

Stupid vault octopus, what was that thing doing there?

The biggest of my very few complaints of Skyrim is the lack of character in the characters everyone is forgettable and has very little impact on the story overall and the environment and the people around you do not change much at all throughout the story. the second of my complaints is the lack of good quests many of them are unmeaningful, repetitive and boring. Don't get me wrong I like the game a lot and definitely suggest playing it but it just doesn't have the same epic story feel as morrowind or oblivion (the previous Elder scrolls games). Bethesda has some work to do on the next DLC's to make me want to play again. The role playing has been just about thrown completely away with the absence of classes to pick or create at the very beginning of the game as well as the fact there are no longer any stats or a moral system like in the previous ES games which use to really define your character. I just am not having any fun when I play the game anymore and trust me I was the last person who thought I would say that, I love TES! Skyrim was just kind of a let down for me. Like Fable 2 and Fable 3. Regardless, I strongly suggest playing it. You'll have a BLAST for the first week of playing! Then its all down hill once you finally get good.

hahahahahahaha and that what my mage did exactly ...
buying Dragon age 2 was a money waste

I wouldn't say that everyone is forgettable.

There are a few standout characters, though Skryim could certainly use more and for spoiler's sake I won't list them.

Eh, for me I liek to have good stories and characters in my RPG's what some of yo uguys do seems to come down to LARPing but in worlds that don't react or acknoledge anything you do. How do you RP "The stories, dialog, and quests I invent myself" when it's all meaningless you the world your doing it in? I don't see any fun in that.

Exactly! I think... I couldnt understand you at all in that last part. But what I think you meant was. In a world where nothing you do really matters because nothing changes then whats the point of doing anything in that world?

sorry very tired it's 2 am XD Edited my post to make a little more sense. Your close, think of it as play by yourself and no one around you changes or does anything to acknoledge what your doing. It's gets boring fast for me. for me RPG's are about characters and how they interact with other characters and the story and how said world interacts with your actions.

Careful now gents.

Hyperbole and blanket statements are very unbecoming.

There are most certainly things that matter and have repercussions for your character in game.

Could there be more? Most certainly.

i like dragon age 2 (and dao even more of course). if anyone who hated it still has their copy, i suggest upping the difficulty. any class will do. the world has a lot of flaws, but the combat takes a lot more thought and tactics than here (and i like skyrim, don't get me wrong). combat aside, i still found it entertaining because of the characters. some of them were better than anything in DAO.

True not everyone is forgettable that was a little over exaggerated (but not by much) but there is no one you grow REALLY attached to like Martin or Borus in Oblivion, same goes for the villains in oblivion I felt much more of a hatred for Mankar Camoran than Alduin or was that just me? And in Oblivion at least the world changed after you freaking beat the game! I also felt sad when you beat the game and no even cares you just saved the F**King WORLD! Sure they write you a song but NO ONE EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED YOU AFTER YOU SAVE THE WORLD! Except for the guards and who cares about guards?! People should be rushing for my autograph and worshiping me!

Mass Effect's story is every summer action movie ever made, drawn out over three games. A nice space opera, fun game, but the lore and story is completely mediocre. I can say this even for ME3 because we basically know how it ends, even without the leaked spoilers. Dragon Age also is pretty bland as a world goes. Origins had some interesting characters, that's what it had going for it. The political story line was also decent. Both of those things got completely crapped on in DA2.

A fair criticism.

Though I did become quite attached to a few characters in Skyrim, but that may have been my own damnable propensity for compassion.

I'm not arguing that any other TES had less depth or less memorable characters, but rather... that there are at least some in Skyrim.

And that there could stand to be more.

Just hate to see otherwise perfectly logical folk stooping down to hyperbole.

And yet the story or every game you said above was 10 times better than the story of Skyrim. But the lore of TES is definitely unbeatable that is true

Honestly I think the game would have had a better ending if you had become the next emperor since you are in fact the Dragonborn and all. When i first heard about this game thats what I thought the story was going to be. and in my opinion it would have been a WAY better ending than that of the current game.

I don't think DAO's world is that bland. it's standard fantasy.. elves, dwarves, zombie armies (somewhat). lone dragons guarding treasure, etc..

but standard fantasy is fun. i seem to never get tired of it.. since i was a kid.

and there's a lot up in the air, a lot of mystery, to how to interpret some factions and the meaning of things. you're really left to your own choices when it comes the mage/templar conflicts or what to believe from the chantry. you're left to interpret what it means to be a grey warden. some party members give some spiel about being a hero (like Wynne), while others are completely neutral about everything (Duncan), and then others are almost above the law for the sake of the blight (like the mage in the Warden's Keep). and you really get the freedom to choose how to proceed, and the game will reflect it.

I want BG/NV depth for atleast primary characters and companions. Is that so muc hto ask in an RPG?