Blizzard's Chris Metzen retires at ripe age of 42

[Berkut]

Did not like the DA2 combat and customization. Liked most of the rest of it. Merrill sucks.

I liked the combat because in the other DAs it is pretty straightforward and boring 99% of the time. Well ok boring is a little strong but it was straightforward.

In DA2 there were always unpredictable and weird tactical situations as adds would just keep pouring in. Kept it fresh and fun. The big fights tended to have phases with different tactics needed for each phase which was very nice and refreshing as well.

I understand the customization but I thought it was more than made up by the fact that each character had unique skills so having Sebastian or Varric in your group was actually different rather than just plug and play ranged rogues.

Agree on Merrill

Valmy, did you play on a console or PC?

[Valmy]

Did not like the DA2 combat and customization. Liked most of the rest of it. Merrill sucks.

I liked the combat because in the other DAs it is pretty straightforward and boring 99% of the time. Well ok boring is a little strong but it was straightforward.

In DA2 there were always unpredictable and weird tactical situations as adds would just keep pouring in. Kept it fresh and fun. The big fights tended to have phases with different tactics needed for each phase which was very nice and refreshing as well.

I understand the customization but I thought it was more than made up by the fact that each character had unique skills so having Sebastian or Varric in your group was actually different rather than just plug and play ranged rogues.

Agree on Merrill

Valmy, did you play on a console or PC?

PC. The last console I owned was a NES. Though I play on my son's WiiU from time to time that is just to play games with him.

[Berkut]

My son actually bought me (or had the wife buy me) DA2 for the Xbox One. It was a nice gift, but of course...playing on a console? Uggh. The combat seemed very clunky to me.

[Valmy]

Good for him, but like others I'm also thinking that in a few years he'll be getting back into something. He's too creative and enjoys what he does to be out for good at such a young age.

I don't know if that is such a sure thing. That industry is a young man's game. Lots of stress and long hours. He might do some consulting or something.

[Valmy]

My son actually bought me (or had the wife buy me) DA2 for the Xbox One. It was a nice gift, but of course...playing on a console? Uggh. The combat seemed very clunky to me.

Gameplay on consoles is always clunky unless the game is built around jumping. IMO anyway.

And granted I am hardly somebody who plays loads of console games

[Barrister]

Good for him, but like others I'm also thinking that in a few years he'll be getting back into something. He's too creative and enjoys what he does to be out for good at such a young age.

I don't know if that is such a sure thing. That industry is a young man's game. Lots of stress and long hours. He might do some consulting or something.

Meh - if he gets back in it would be with his own company.  It's not as if he's going to be pounding out code for 18 hours a day.

[Valmy]

Meh - if he gets back in it would be with his own company.  It's not as if he's going to be pounding out code for 18 hours a day.

He is not a manager or CEO though. He is a designer.

[Barrister]

I dunno - he's got the credibility, and name recognition, that I'm sure he could start up his own company and people would fund him.  You have a lot more creative freedom as CEO than as lead designer working for someone else.

[LaCroix]

hopefully he's gone for good

Why the hate?

the best analogy is probably george lucas. his early stuff was good, arguably great (for video games). over the past decade, however, he's been pretty consistently terrible.

[Valmy]

Would you mind explaining a bit more? I have only ever played WoW from Blizzard's list of games and not since 2007.

[LaCroix]

a bunch of stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-eJezQV1cY (narud is duran, get it? he's now a shapeshifting agent of a dark god)

a few other things like kerrigan going back to human, then back to zerg, then cliffhanger (but she probably became phoenix rising and turned human again). series turns into a bad love story between raynor and kerrigan. any sort of political intrigue is gone. characters who were once interesting just do stupid things. a great evil awakens; let us unite and defeat it, etc.

granted, I don't think starcraft 1 was a perfect example of video game storytelling, because a lot of the interesting stories, etc. are probably at least to an extent nostalgia/being young at the time. but starcraft 2's and diablo 3's storylines pissed off pretty much their entire fanbases

I don't think metzen had much to do with WoW, so he gets a pass there. (plus, WoW's storyline can be excused by the fact it's an endless MMO.)

[Razgovory]

This shit was much more compelling when I was 15.

[viper37]

He'll do something else just like the Doctors of Bioware are doing now.

Aren't they brewing craft beer or something now?

Yes, I think so.

Basically a hobby. They are no longer feeling pain. The pain of dealing with Bioware's toxic and psychotic fanbase anyway. I know the rather over-the-top response to Dragon Age II killed their enthusiasm.

can you blame the fans for not liking an half baked product sold to them at 60$?

[viper37]

I know there were many disappointing things with DA2 (esp. gameplay-wise), but I, for one, appreciated what Valmy despised: I liked the fact that, for once, events were unfolding without you being the prime mover and shaker, or the main reason for all plans to be thwarted in one climactic battle. The quintessential climatic battle is often announced super early in the beginning of any RPG - i.e., you know where you are going - and everything else feels contrived. At least, this time around, you could see in germ the conflict, and it involved much bigger stakes than you. It gave depth to that world. Too often RPG stories try to mix the epic with the political - and that doesn't work very well.

I liked the concept too.  You are a nobody, really.  Only through your actions in the game do you become the Champion of Kirkwall, not because you were born for a greater destiny. 
It's just sad that it was so badly implemented.

[Oexmelin]

Vip, you need to post more inane right-wing shit. First, we agree on Room - the movie - now, on DA2? What is the world coming to?