[ibage]

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The only way to play.
 
On the subject of Dragon Age, I'm a little worried with the third game. Apparently Bioware is going back to the drawing board with it, and I'm hoping they don't totally change the story or combat. By the end of the game was I was completely satisfied with the direction the story was going, there seemed to be a lot of promise there.

I'd be happy with a solid mix of combat from both previous titles. Much like Mass Effect, I felt 1 and 2 had strengths and weaknesses and the perfect balance was between the two. I hope they can find the good and cut the bad for DA3. 
 
That aside, I know they're going for the continuation of Hawke's story. Or at least that was the last I heard of it but it seems to be mirroring the oppression from the catholic church from the middle ages with the chantry. I hope they do a better job with that story though. I also hope they make hitting on Anders much less sneaky... They tricked me in that respect a few times my first playthrough. 
 

 

[Kukuk]

 
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The main thing that pissed me off about ME3 is that I wasted a lot of time going to the Citadel after every planet based mission. I didn't wanna miss anything, so I felt compelled to go through every damn area on the Citadel so as not to miss sidequests. It was a chore, and really waste my damn time, especially when I spent those 20 minutes or so for nothing.
Next time, I'm just gonna go through the Citadel only after Priority missions, and hope all the sidequests available can be picked up all at once per every major break.

I thought that was part of the fun of ME3, just wandering around the Citadel eavesdropping on people, and just taking it all in. It made the Citadel feel more alive than in the first two games.

 
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I'd be happy with a solid mix of combat from both previous titles. Much like Mass Effect, I felt 1 and 2 had strengths and weaknesses and the perfect balance was between the two. I hope they can find the good and cut the bad for DA3. 
 
That aside, I know they're going for the continuation of Hawke's story. Or at least that was the last I heard of it but it seems to be mirroring the oppression from the catholic church from the middle ages with the chantry. I hope they do a better job with that story though. I also hope they make hitting on Anders much less sneaky... They tricked me in that respect a few times my first playthrough. 
 

I really can't think of what they could bring from DA:O to the new game while keeping what I love about DA2. More dialogue maybe? I'm just afraid they are going to roll back the combat to DA:O, since so many people hated DA2's.
 
I think they'll probably open up the game world a little more, which I could give or take. I really liked Kirkwall, and the more linear build of the world, focusing on showing the town through the years and all.
 
I really, really hope they don't do away with Hawke, or the talking main character thing. Silent protagonists just don't have a place in this day and age...

 

[MuppetFace]

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I really, really hope they don't do away with Hawke, or the talking main character thing. Silent protagonists just don't have a place in this day and age...

But you do "talk" in Dragon Age Origins. It just wasn't voice acted because there were so many dialog options, it would have been overwhelming. A truly silent protagonist would be many JRPG protagonists who don't even have dialog lines you have to read.
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Kukuk, I was fine with the Citadel and how lively it is. My problem was having to go back after every mission even if nothing new was happening at the Citadel. It takes a long time going through the Citadel, and its rage worthy when all that time was for nothing, which most times, it wasn't.

 

[MuppetFace]

I think you'll be safe, so long as you go back after each major priority mission and finish the side quests open to you at that point. I've found the best way to avoid missing something is:
 
Priority ---> Citadel ---> all side quests you can find ---> back to Citadel if any side-quests require it ---> Priority
 
Also the game "rewards" your trips back through the Citadel with dialog. In the old games you could just walk a few steps away, come back, and hear the next lines in conversation between NPs. But now they make it so you get the next fragments with each visit through that zone.
 
Of course, if that stuff isn't a big deal to you, it's not much of a reward...

 

[MuppetFace]

I'm annoyed right now.
 
 

Spoiler: Post-Tuchanka%20Spoiler

There's a dialog choice early in the game that tells Kelly Chambers she needs to change her identity. At the time, I thought the choice referred more to Shepard not wanting to be in contact with her, sort of "move on with your life" thing.
 
Well! Turns out after the Citadel Attack, if you don't tell her to do this, she gets killed by Cerberus.
 
DAMNIT.
 
And I had just gone back to replay through all the Tuchanka and Citadel attack stuff because of missed side quests. No way I'm starting back even further again. I guess I'll wait until the second play-through...
 

 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Actually, for new dialog, you can just enter an area, hear the convo, leave to another area, and go right back to the first area, and hear the next set of convos. Once you hear all the conversations per break in the story, it starts to repeat. With my continuous back and forth, I was dead tired of the same conversations, over and over.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'm annoyed right now.
 
 

Spoiler: Post-Tuchanka%20Spoiler

There's a dialog choice early in the game that tells Kelly Chambers she needs to change her identity. At the time, I thought the choice referred more to Shepard not wanting to be in contact with her, sort of "move on with your life" thing.
 
Well! Turns out after the Citadel Attack, if you don't tell her to do this, she gets killed by Cerberus.
 
DAMNIT.
 
And I had just gone back to replay through all the Tuchanka and Citadel attack stuff because of missed side quests. No way I'm starting back even further again. I guess I'll wait until the second play-through...
 

 

Hah, I made the SAME mistake. I literally screamed NOOOOOO when I got to the point you're in. I was so mad that I messed up. @_@

 

[Kukuk]

 
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But you do "talk" in Dragon Age Origins. It just wasn't voice acted because there were so many dialog options, it would have been overwhelming. A truly silent protagonist would be many JRPG protagonists who don't even have dialog lines you have to read.
 

 
Oh you know what I mean.
 
I guess I've gotten too used to every character being voiced in games this gen (and last).
 
 
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I'm annoyed right now.
 

 
I know that feel.

 

[MuppetFace]

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Oh you know what I mean.
 
I guess I've gotten too used to every character being voiced in games this gen (and last).
 

 
FWIW, Skyrim and the more recent Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 don't have voice acting for their main characters, for much the same reason as DA:O.
 
Also Portal's protagonist and Gordon Freeman are both truly silent. And they certainly could have been voice acted.

 

[ChronorSonar]

So... um.. who's finished the game?
 

 

[MuppetFace]

Everyone here except me, apparently. : P

 

[ChronorSonar]

LOL, I'll have some tissues ready for you.  My virtual lips are sealed.  No spoilers. 

 

[Kukuk]

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FWIW, Skyrim and the more recent Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 don't have voice acting for their main characters, for much the same reason as DA:O.
 
Also Portal's protagonist and Gordon Freeman are both truly silent. And they certainly could have been voice acted.

Yeah, but those games aren't what I'd call story heavy. They also don't have proper cut scenes where you see your character moving around on screen.

 

[MuppetFace]

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Yeah, but those games aren't what I'd call story heavy. They also don't have proper cut scenes where you see your character moving around on screen.

 
I only bring up Half-Life and Portal as examples of games that could easily have voice acting for their main protagonists but don't. There are plenty of games in the last two generations that don't have voice acting for their main characters, either as artistic decisions in the case of Portal, or as logistic problems like in Skyrim and Dragon Age: Origins.
 
Yes, there are cutscenes in DA:O, but they aren't exactly plentiful. Really the game has more in common with BioWare's older RPGs and older RPGs in general than it does Mass Effect and DAII. As with Skyrim, you customize your character far too much to be able to have every dialog choice voice acted. It's not just a male and female set like in Mass Effect, but a male and female elf, male and female dalish elf, male and female dwarf, etc.
 
I do agree though that Hawke is a welcome change, and I'm fond of her character and the voice work. I still like the style of DA:O more though, myself. It's just a totally different game. If BioWare can find a way to bridge the two mechanically in the third installment, well, all the better I think.
 
Provided they aren't rushed by EA again.