Here we go again, "we're calling it an MMO". It's not an MMO! BioWare themselves call it a co-op action RPG. What is it with people calling anything online MMO's?
As for the game itself, it looks stunning. The one problem I have is the bullet sponge gunplay. Don't give me a game with guns and then make me shoot something 500 times to kill it. That's just BS.
After watching the gameplay demo yesterday I've completely lost interest in Anthem. They've made the same error that The Division made. Any boss needs thousands of rounds aimed at weak spots to have an effect. Piss poor, unimaginative bollocks. Why not require heavy weapons or use the environment in some way, rather than a bullet sponge boss? Very disappointed.
Rofl my feelings exactly on Division. I walk up to to and shoot you in the head point blank with a shotgun you are not jumping into cover and returning fire.
Im an mmo/arpg player. Not a shooter gamer. But for some reason this has me super excited. Its got loot and customization like an arpg and elements of mmos(though i would agree that while this game will be massive, i would not call it an mmo). I dont mind the slower pace it seems to have. If i wanted fast paced, id play warframe... but im guessing they will offer different playstlyes, including speed/fast paced, theough different warframes errr i mean javelins.
Some are saying its a generic shooter with jetpacks. You prolly are right. The fun to me, however, is in the customization. Im not really sure what a non generic shooter is, however. As most of them are left and right mouse with a grenade button. And maybe a few skills. So i guess i dont know what you are expecting.
As for the bullet sponge concern, diablo like games are super endorphin inducers when you just melt through mobs. Starts losing that feeling in higher level harder content. I do hope normal mode is just a melt fest. I know there will be harder difficulties. But i want that relaxing endorphin inducing melting of mobs diablo feeling. But i know to allow for combos- they wont want to make things die to quickly. So im sure there will major sponginess.
My feeling is that this will be kinda what warcraft turned into. Since ppl arent at their computers as much as back in the day play session wise, they went to an appeal to more by making the game easier and more approachable to a wider audience with more instant gratification and easy to learn and jump in mechanics. Not to mention the level 1 joining the high levels and having level scaling. How hard could the content be before a full high level group is required? Anthem feels like to me, a simple easy to understand game with No cover or hiding or stealthing around. No high end raids with intricate mechanics- just move and shoot and collect loot.
I think its a good recipe. The downfall will be lack of content. But as an arpg gamer, repeatedly doing the same content wont be so bad if there is gear/skills to chase and enough dynanic events or randomization to make it feel somewhat fresh each time.
As much as I want to see the game like that - I don't believe EA/Bioware can pull it off after MassEffect 3+ failures. And/or most likely it'll be buried under layers of paid DLCs, lockboxes, "pay for convenience" crap which will inflate its price into hundreds $$$.
In the past(distant?) I would have given Bioware the benefit of the doubt. But recently they just haven't deserved it. Looks good, but seeing how terribly they have handled SWTOR, it is a big wait and see with a healthy dose of caution.
IMO I think Bioware has written off the old player base and is looking for a new player base. DAI was a departure from the formula that made the previous two DA games great and MEA coouldn't have gotten any further away from what made the ME series great.
Story, characters, and dialog used to be the corner stone of the DA and ME series. It has shifted more toward game play and world building at the determent of the others. Anthem will be even a bigger departure from that which isn't likely to drag any Bioware fans of old along with it.
If the game is successful and I think it will be, I would expect DA4 will be even a bigger departure from what DAI was with less focus on story, characters, and dialog. The only reason I still follow whats going on with Bioware is the next DA game, but my expectations are really low at this point.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
I liked gaming better back when the action adventure game was a separate genre from the role playing game. Now they're a homogenized mess that I can't stand to play. I miss the days of Gold Box D&D, Wizardry, Baldur's Gate, EverQuest and Dark Age of Camelot.
We have entire genre's dedicated to action combat, why does the rpg have to be dragged into it as well?
I think the success of Twitch TV as an advertising platform for games is quickly changing what pubs/devs are interested in making. Making games is expensive and the AAA studios need to diminish the downside as much as possible. The rise of Twitch 'influencers', the tie-in between games and the Twitch sub model is a clear indicator that pubs/devs are looking to Twitch to increase sales. In turn, these influencers are giving feedback and, in their own interest, it has to be about what plays well to Twitch viewers. Couple this with the increased backing of Esports, the push to include esports in the Olympics, the growing number of Esports arenas, the inclusion of Esports as a big part of gaming conventions, and we're talking about the morphing of video games into a spectator sport.
And spectator sport translates to action.
TL;DR: Esports and Twitch are pushing games to be primarily action oriented, story optional.
I think the success of Twitch TV as an advertising platform for games is quickly changing what pubs/devs are interested in making. Making games is expensive and the AAA studios need to diminish the downside as much as possible. The rise of Twitch 'influencers', the tie-in between games and the Twitch sub model is a clear indicator that pubs/devs are looking to Twitch to increase sales. In turn, these influencers are giving feedback and, in their own interest, it has to be about what plays well to Twitch viewers. Couple this with the increased backing of Esports, the push to include esports in the Olympics, the growing number of Esports arenas, the inclusion of Esports as a big part of gaming conventions, and we're talking about the morphing of video games into a spectator sport.
And spectator sport translates to action.
TL;DR: Esports and Twitch are pushing games to be primarily action oriented, story optional.
I would say twitch has nothing to do with any of it other than most games that are released are just not worth buying in the first place.
god of war did rather well in sales, 3mil first few days 5mil in the first month. Just make things worth buying
the only thing i can agree with is;
Making games is expensive and the AAA studios need to diminish the downside as much as possible
hence companies such as epic games reworking fortnite into a battle royale. minimal effort yet extreme rewards.
Say what you all will but Mass Effect Andromeda, for all it's initial flaws, still went on to sell 9 million copies, Dragon Age Inquisition sold millions of copies, as well in addition to being a significant critical success. If Anthem flops, or under-performs, I doubt they will do anything to BioWare, instead BioWare will probably just be put to work developing more games based in their established franchises that they know sell well, and when it comes to doing something new, maybe they will be put in charge of any narrative/story driven RPG's EA wishes to have produced in the future.
BioWare is still a cash cow for EA, and their IP's are beloved by many, so it would be a remarkably stupid decision on EA's part to shut them down. BioWare is not in the same league of studios EA has dropped, either so I really have a difficult time looking at how things went for a couple other studios a long time ago that didn't have anywhere near the fan-base BioWare has.
I don't know what it is about BioWare, but over the years people always seem to be on some sort of "they're on their last legs" bandwagon, and it has never come to pass. While ME:A had some issues that were hard to ignore at it's release, they mostly subsided after the first hour of the game and were almost entirely cosmetic and were addressed very quickly. That game provided an enormous improvement to the series gameplay-wise, and while it wasn't as gripping as the original trilogy, we're comparing a singular game at it's starting point to a series that had 3 installments to form the full picture, so that's hardly fair.
All of that being said, I am still not completely sold on Anthem, I am warming to it as more about it has trickled out since E3 but honestly I do look for a strong narrative and sense of player agency from BioWare games, and the exo-suit thing is not very appealing to me, I am hoping they are very highly customizable (both cosmetically as well as mechanically) but I want to feel connected to my character, and everything about Anthem actually seems rather impersonal to me.
I think the success of Twitch TV as an advertising platform for games is quickly changing what pubs/devs are interested in making. Making games is expensive and the AAA studios need to diminish the downside as much as possible. The rise of Twitch 'influencers', the tie-in between games and the Twitch sub model is a clear indicator that pubs/devs are looking to Twitch to increase sales. In turn, these influencers are giving feedback and, in their own interest, it has to be about what plays well to Twitch viewers. Couple this with the increased backing of Esports, the push to include esports in the Olympics, the growing number of Esports arenas, the inclusion of Esports as a big part of gaming conventions, and we're talking about the morphing of video games into a spectator sport.
And spectator sport translates to action.
TL;DR: Esports and Twitch are pushing games to be primarily action oriented, story optional.
I would say twitch has nothing to do with any of it other than most games that are released are just not worth buying in the first place.
god of war did rather well in sales, 3mil first few days 5mil in the first month. Just make things worth buying
the only thing i can agree with is;
Making games is expensive and the AAA studios need to diminish the downside as much as possible
hence companies such as epic games reworking fortnite into a battle royale. minimal effort yet extreme rewards.
Exactly my point. And, in fact, Twitch streamers do boost game sales. And very big money is going into converting empty buildings into Esports arenas. These are all reasons for action games to be more successful than straight up solo RPGs. And for publishers to push for action elements in games over RP elements.
Merriam Webster defines Swan Song as a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.
Depending on sales this might be a Swan Song, though not intentional which would be contrary to the meaning of the term, and that really was not the thrust of the article. So I'll ask again, how exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
Merriam Webster defines Swan Song as a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.
Depending on sales this might be a Swan Song, though not intentional which would be contrary to the meaning of the term, and that really was not the thrust of the article. So I'll ask again, how exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
I think I get what the author meant. "Swan Song" as in if Anthem fails, it will likely be the end of Bioware as we know it, but I agree with you that I don't think it really applies here. Final Fantasy I was a true swan song. It was titled "final" fantasy because it was in fact supposed to be their final game. I don't get that from Anthem at all. They even have more games in the works even if development on those hasn't progressed beyond the planning stages.
Well I fort one am looking forward to this game coming out, and plan to give it go when it goes live.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Merriam Webster defines Swan Song as a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.
Depending on sales this might be a Swan Song, though not intentional which would be contrary to the meaning of the term, and that really was not the thrust of the article. So I'll ask again, how exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
So overly literal. It means that it is the last chance for Bioware. If they don't succeed, they'll most likely be relegated to other, less BW stuff. Like mobile gaming.
No I am pretty sure they will be limited to BW-like stuff only, because as I said in a above post, those titles (DA/ME) still are very successful (even ME:A sold 9 million copies, despite it's mediocre critical reception) and DA:I was both a huge critical and commercial success. EA isn't going to waste such a recognizable brand as BioWare on minor projects.
I also don't really like the choice in title because it's misleading and trying to be too indicative that BioWare isn't doing well in the first place, when the exact opposite is true.
Merriam Webster defines Swan Song as a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.
Depending on sales this might be a Swan Song, though not intentional which would be contrary to the meaning of the term, and that really was not the thrust of the article. So I'll ask again, how exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
I think I get what the author meant. "Swan Song" as in if Anthem fails, it will likely be the end of Bioware as we know it, but I agree with you that I don't think it really applies here. Final Fantasy I was a true swan song. It was titled "final" fantasy because it was in fact supposed to be their final game. I don't get that from Anthem at all. They even have more games in the works even if development on those hasn't progressed beyond the planning stages.
Merriam Webster defines Swan Song as a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.
Depending on sales this might be a Swan Song, though not intentional which would be contrary to the meaning of the term, and that really was not the thrust of the article. So I'll ask again, how exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
So overly literal. It means that it is the last chance for Bioware. If they don't succeed, they'll most likely be relegated to other, less BW stuff. Like mobile gaming.
No I am pretty sure they will be limited to BW-like stuff only, because as I said in a above post, those titles (DA/ME) still are very successful (even ME:A sold 9 million copies, despite it's mediocre critical reception) and DA:I was both a huge critical and commercial success. EA isn't going to waste such a recognizable brand as BioWare on minor projects.
I also don't really like the choice in title because it's misleading and trying to be too indicative that BioWare isn't doing well in the first place, when the exact opposite is true.
I liked gaming better back when the action adventure game was a separate genre from the role playing game. Now they're a homogenized mess that I can't stand to play. I miss the days of Gold Box D&D, Wizardry, Baldur's Gate, EverQuest and Dark Age of Camelot.
We have entire genre's dedicated to action combat, why does the rpg have to be dragged into it as well?
I agree with this^^
Now games/genres have little identity,even the one poster says he just likes mobs to melt and the faster the better,no thinking,close your eyes and feel like you are accomplishing something,what that something is beyond me,to me it is just brain dead gaming.
I have zero use for the Diablo's or POE's.They are cheap lazy game designs,the ONLY reason they exist is because they are very low risk,low budget games for devs to just toss out,rinse and repeat until something sticks.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
With mobile games bringing in so much money and being such an easy platform to monitor your activities, game makers are going for that arcade, pay as you go system. That's having a big effect on traditional games, imo.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Almost everyone from old Bioware's gone. Hell, even SWTOR era Bioware is decimated. Muzyka, Zeschuk, Freed, Erickson, Karpshyn...all gone. Ok, DK comes and leaves, but outside of Musco and Boyd, I'm not sure anyone of notice is still working at Bioware.
But that's how EA operates. If Anthem flops, they'll be relegated to mobile market, 100% certain. Just like Mythic was, remember that studio?
edit: It's also not about the Bioware audience, but rather will they be able to replace enough of us with these new age gamers. I'm still open for the possibility of Anthem being good, but it looks almost entirely like Destiny and if I want Destiny...I have Destiny.
EA did that with a game I loved, Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning! Why buy up a game/company only to dismantle it or degrade it? You have to ask yourself, is EA a "corporate raider" or worse, are they money launderers?
Gladari: Ranger of Surefall Glade Red Mage of Vana'diel Acrotecher of Moatoob Mate of Union
Almost everyone from old Bioware's gone. Hell, even SWTOR era Bioware is decimated. Muzyka, Zeschuk, Freed, Erickson, Karpshyn...all gone. Ok, DK comes and leaves, but outside of Musco and Boyd, I'm not sure anyone of notice is still working at Bioware.
But that's how EA operates. If Anthem flops, they'll be relegated to mobile market, 100% certain. Just like Mythic was, remember that studio?
edit: It's also not about the Bioware audience, but rather will they be able to replace enough of us with these new age gamers. I'm still open for the possibility of Anthem being good, but it looks almost entirely like Destiny and if I want Destiny...I have Destiny.
EA did that with a game I loved, Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning! Why buy up a game/company only to dismantle it or degrade it? You have to ask yourself, is EA a "corporate raider" or worse, are they money launderers?
I've never been an EA fan but they had very little to do with the demise of 38 Studios. That was all on them and their problems paying off the $75 million loan they got from the state of Rhode Island which eventually resulted in their bankruptcy.
They were never an EA brand, they just a publishing deal with them.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Bioware has gone through a lot of changes since its early Baldur's Gate days. Their presentation style changed significantly when they left their isometric style behind and went more with an action-adventure style with DA, ME and SWTOR.
But even with such a drastic change they were still uniquely identifiable as Bioware with the focus clearly on RPG and story.
As technically proficient and interesting as Anthem looks so far, I'm having a hard time seeing the Bioware brand in it. This looks like a more generic FPS looter, light on RPG and story and heavy on mindless blow shit up. It could have been done by a host of other studios and if it had been no one would be saying "hmm... this looks like a Bioware game to me."
They will sell buckets of units numbering in the millions but wanting to pull in the traditional Bioware fan base seems delusional to me: this is a Bioware game in brand name only.
The thing is I am not sure that EA cares if they bring Bioware fans onboard, they want "Bioware" to prove it can make the sort of game that EA wants. If EA really saw a future in any version of a traditional Bioware game they would not be making Anthem. It is a case of make the games we want or go under.
After watching the gameplay demo yesterday I've completely lost interest in Anthem. They've made the same error that The Division made. Any boss needs thousands of rounds aimed at weak spots to have an effect. Piss poor, unimaginative bollocks. Why not require heavy weapons or use the environment in some way, rather than a bullet sponge boss? Very disappointed.
The easy solution from Bioware would be to make some of the "large" Bosses immune to "auto-attack" damage such as bullets or flamethrowers. Bioware shouldn't even bother with the "100" or "120" damage attacks.
For instance, you have a 30 ton insect with chitinous hide or a Titan-sized mech - it doesn't take damage from bullets. Imagine a bullet as a needle fired from a blowgun.
Comments
Rofl my feelings exactly on Division. I walk up to to and shoot you in the head point blank with a shotgun you are not jumping into cover and returning fire.
Some are saying its a generic shooter with jetpacks. You prolly are right. The fun to me, however, is in the customization. Im not really sure what a non generic shooter is, however. As most of them are left and right mouse with a grenade button. And maybe a few skills. So i guess i dont know what you are expecting.
As for the bullet sponge concern, diablo like games are super endorphin inducers when you just melt through mobs. Starts losing that feeling in higher level harder content. I do hope normal mode is just a melt fest. I know there will be harder difficulties. But i want that relaxing endorphin inducing melting of mobs diablo feeling. But i know to allow for combos- they wont want to make things die to quickly. So im sure there will major sponginess.
My feeling is that this will be kinda what warcraft turned into. Since ppl arent at their computers as much as back in the day play session wise, they went to an appeal to more by making the game easier and more approachable to a wider audience with more instant gratification and easy to learn and jump in mechanics. Not to mention the level 1 joining the high levels and having level scaling. How hard could the content be before a full high level group is required? Anthem feels like to me, a simple easy to understand game with No cover or hiding or stealthing around. No high end raids with intricate mechanics- just move and shoot and collect loot.
I think its a good recipe. The downfall will be lack of content. But as an arpg gamer, repeatedly doing the same content wont be so bad if there is gear/skills to chase and enough dynanic events or randomization to make it feel somewhat fresh each time.
Thank you for your time!
Story, characters, and dialog used to be the corner stone of the DA and ME series. It has shifted more toward game play and world building at the determent of the others. Anthem will be even a bigger departure from that which isn't likely to drag any Bioware fans of old along with it.
If the game is successful and I think it will be, I would expect DA4 will be even a bigger departure from what DAI was with less focus on story, characters, and dialog. The only reason I still follow whats going on with Bioware is the next DA game, but my expectations are really low at this point.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
Love Minecraft. And check out my Youtube channel OhCanadaGamer
Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/And spectator sport translates to action.
TL;DR: Esports and Twitch are pushing games to be primarily action oriented, story optional.
I would say twitch has nothing to do with any of it other than most games that are released are just not worth buying in the first place.
god of war did rather well in sales, 3mil first few days 5mil in the first month. Just make things worth buying
the only thing i can agree with is;
hence companies such as epic games reworking fortnite into a battle royale. minimal effort yet extreme rewards.
still, i kinda digg that pic!
mb bc...
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
BioWare is still a cash cow for EA, and their IP's are beloved by many, so it would be a remarkably stupid decision on EA's part to shut them down. BioWare is not in the same league of studios EA has dropped, either so I really have a difficult time looking at how things went for a couple other studios a long time ago that didn't have anywhere near the fan-base BioWare has.
I don't know what it is about BioWare, but over the years people always seem to be on some sort of "they're on their last legs" bandwagon, and it has never come to pass. While ME:A had some issues that were hard to ignore at it's release, they mostly subsided after the first hour of the game and were almost entirely cosmetic and were addressed very quickly. That game provided an enormous improvement to the series gameplay-wise, and while it wasn't as gripping as the original trilogy, we're comparing a singular game at it's starting point to a series that had 3 installments to form the full picture, so that's hardly fair.
All of that being said, I am still not completely sold on Anthem, I am warming to it as more about it has trickled out since E3 but honestly I do look for a strong narrative and sense of player agency from BioWare games, and the exo-suit thing is not very appealing to me, I am hoping they are very highly customizable (both cosmetically as well as mechanically) but I want to feel connected to my character, and everything about Anthem actually seems rather impersonal to me.
"BioWare’s Swansong"(sic)
How exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
Merriam Webster defines Swan Song as a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.
Depending on sales this might be a Swan Song, though not intentional which would be contrary to the meaning of the term, and that really was not the thrust of the article. So I'll ask again, how exactly is this BioWare's Swan Song?
I think I get what the author meant. "Swan Song" as in if Anthem fails, it will likely be the end of Bioware as we know it, but I agree with you that I don't think it really applies here. Final Fantasy I was a true swan song. It was titled "final" fantasy because it was in fact supposed to be their final game. I don't get that from Anthem at all. They even have more games in the works even if development on those hasn't progressed beyond the planning stages.
No I am pretty sure they will be limited to BW-like stuff only, because as I said in a above post, those titles (DA/ME) still are very successful (even ME:A sold 9 million copies, despite it's mediocre critical reception) and DA:I was both a huge critical and commercial success. EA isn't going to waste such a recognizable brand as BioWare on minor projects. I also don't really like the choice in title because it's misleading and trying to be too indicative that BioWare isn't doing well in the first place, when the exact opposite is true.
Exactly! Well said both of you.
Now games/genres have little identity,even the one poster says he just likes mobs to melt and the faster the better,no thinking,close your eyes and feel like you are accomplishing something,what that something is beyond me,to me it is just brain dead gaming.
I have zero use for the Diablo's or POE's.They are cheap lazy game designs,the ONLY reason they exist is because they are very low risk,low budget games for devs to just toss out,rinse and repeat until something sticks.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
EA did that with a game I loved, Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning! Why buy up a game/company only to dismantle it or degrade it? You have to ask yourself, is EA a "corporate raider" or worse, are they money launderers?
Gladari:
Ranger of Surefall Glade
Red Mage of Vana'diel
Acrotecher of Moatoob
Mate of Union
They were never an EA brand, they just a publishing deal with them.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
The easy solution from Bioware would be to make some of the "large" Bosses immune to "auto-attack" damage such as bullets or flamethrowers. Bioware shouldn't even bother with the "100" or "120" damage attacks.
For instance, you have a 30 ton insect with chitinous hide or a Titan-sized mech - it doesn't take damage from bullets. Imagine a bullet as a needle fired from a blowgun.
Problem solved.