After seeing this video on youtube, I immediately canceled any idea in my head of buying this game. The video shows actual gameplay from Dragon Age II. Where do I start? The grahpics on the character creation screen look worse the Dragon Age Origins, less detail and worse character models. The next scene shows the UI, Party frames and the party and a few enemies. The Party frames looks terrible, just a HP bar and a Tiny Portrait avatar that looks so poor compared to the first games avatars.
The character and weapons models as well as the textures and landscape / area all look terrible and are a step backwards from Dragon Age Origins. The models looks like Neverwinter nights 1 models, seriously how did the detail and textures go backwards from the first game? The spells look worse then the first game as well, In the video you see a rogue do a stupid barrel roll jump for no reason and then stick one sword into the enemy, the animations look retarded. I'm so angry just from this 2 minutes of gameplay footage, it's really saddened me the game has gone backwards and made no improvements whatsoever.
Every time EA buys good dev company first all seems well but then ea will start forcing them to push stuff out faster and faster and faster...I wouldnt be suprised to see DA3 in 2012.
Bioware wouldnt be first AAA+ company killed by EAs greed.
Yup, damn suits that use money as a cause instead of consequence, screwing up the whole thing that was working right. EA, Activision, Sony and Microsoft destroying AAA developers, monetizing the game in small pieces that used to be a whole before (DLC) and sacrificing quality for quantity, I guess it's time to give money for the indies so they can start making AAA studios, should work fine at least until they get sold to one of the big publishers.
Meh, I think it looks great. I like the fact that they are making it more like ME2, that game was great. Don't get me wrong DAO was great too, but would I like to play the same replica of DAO, in a 2nd version? Hmm nah, I already have all the DLC for DAO as it is, don't see how they could of made it much better to warrant a DAO2, so I'm happy with the change to having 1 "Shepard" character for the story.
I for one will be buying it, but I'm also one of those people who buys a game for what it is, instead of overanalyzing it before it's even released.
They are doing the same thing as Mass Effect 2. Giving the fans of the original a big middle finger, changing the mechanics and gameplay while completely exploiting the player through design elements which result in RMT business.
Make no mistake, EA has rotted BioWare to the core. At this pace, BioWare wont last long.
My only issue with this whole thing is the DLC being sold before release..
What the fuck? I thought DLC was additional content after release, why the hell are htey advertising this as DLC instead of just adding it to the game? And what stops them from making other current content into DLC? If it is already finished why not just include it with the game?
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
BioWare = Fail! They are doing the same thing as Mass Effect 2. Giving the fans of the original a big middle finger, changing the mechanics and gameplay while completely exploiting the player through design elements which result in RMT business. Make no mistake, EA has rotted BioWare to the core. At this pace, BioWare wont last long.
i liked the change from ME1 to ME2. I liked something from both gameplays, but ME2 was better for me. I won't be mad if they change the mechanics of the game for the ME3 if the general gameplay gets even better.
I really don't get the DLC hate, we've had expansion packs for how long?
Yeah expansion generally have more content but they are also more expensive. And fully priced expansions too!
After the merger with EA they released ME2, DA and a good sonic game (a positivly received one. o_O)
Not sure if I can agree on 'drop in quality' or 'selling their soul'. All three were critically well received by the industry and sold millions of copies.
Whether they suited everyone's taste is another issue, but 'drop in quality' or 'selling their soul'? Sorry, I can't agree.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
I really don't get the DLC hate, we've had expansion packs for how long?
Yeah expansion generally have more content but they are also more expensive. And fully priced expansions too!
After the merger with EA they released ME2, DA and a good sonic game (a positivly received one. o_O)
Not sure if I can agree on 'drop in quality' or 'selling their soul'. All three were critically well received by the industry and sold millions of copies.
Whether they suited everyone's taste is another issue, but 'drop in quality' or 'selling their soul'? Sorry, I can't agree.
Agreed.
too many "Sell out" name callers out there. Alot of people afraid to like a game because big money is behind it..
Am I the only one that saw on the last screen of the DLC video that it indicated that the DLC was included in the Signature Edition?
Was I also the only one that saw for the last part of December through January 9th, any preorders were upgraded to the Signature Edition free?
The graphics are going to be fine, the DLC will be included in many preorders, stop bitching already.
My bitches/complaints with Bioware are that before EA, they would have given us at least one more expansion and more DLC's. They would have given us years worth of entertainment, IE NwN..... They didn't even give us a years worth of content with DA:O, and they are already changing gears to ME 2.5... Errr I mean DA 2.
Am I the only one that saw on the last screen of the DLC video that it indicated that the DLC was included in the Signature Edition?
Was I also the only one that saw for the last part of December through January 9th, any preorders were upgraded to the Signature Edition free?
The graphics are going to be fine, the DLC will be included in many preorders, stop bitching already.
My bitches/complaints with Bioware are that before EA, they would have given us at least one more expansion and more DLC's. They would have given us years worth of entertainment, IE NwN..... They didn't even give us a years worth of content with DA:O, and they are already changing gears to ME 2.5... Errr I mean DA 2.
Didn't DA have an expansion, Awakening?
With the sequel coming out 2 years after the original and an exp in-between, not seeing this 'more stuff' before the merger.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Am I the only one that saw on the last screen of the DLC video that it indicated that the DLC was included in the Signature Edition?
Was I also the only one that saw for the last part of December through January 9th, any preorders were upgraded to the Signature Edition free?
The graphics are going to be fine, the DLC will be included in many preorders, stop bitching already.
My bitches/complaints with Bioware are that before EA, they would have given us at least one more expansion and more DLC's. They would have given us years worth of entertainment, IE NwN..... They didn't even give us a years worth of content with DA:O, and they are already changing gears to ME 2.5... Errr I mean DA 2.
Didn't DA have an expansion, Awakening?
With the sequel coming out 2 years after the original and an exp in-between, not seeing this 'more stuff' before the merger.
DA:O Released November 2009. The last content for DA:O, if memory serves me right, Witch Hunt was prior to November 2010, meaning they didn't give us even a years worth of content. (I could be wrong on the Witch Hunt date, so they could have given us exactly a years content)
But that's not my point. My point was that Bioware used to give a lot more support, a lot more content, at least my experience with NwN was such. And they made it seem like they would support DA:O for a much longer period than they did.
As for DA2 coming two years after, nope based on the November 2009 release of DA:O, DA2 is releasing more like a year and 4 or 5 months after.
Am I the only one that saw on the last screen of the DLC video that it indicated that the DLC was included in the Signature Edition?
Was I also the only one that saw for the last part of December through January 9th, any preorders were upgraded to the Signature Edition free?
The graphics are going to be fine, the DLC will be included in many preorders, stop bitching already.
My bitches/complaints with Bioware are that before EA, they would have given us at least one more expansion and more DLC's. They would have given us years worth of entertainment, IE NwN..... They didn't even give us a years worth of content with DA:O, and they are already changing gears to ME 2.5... Errr I mean DA 2.
Didn't DA have an expansion, Awakening?
With the sequel coming out 2 years after the original and an exp in-between, not seeing this 'more stuff' before the merger.
DA:O Released November 2009. The last content for DA:O, if memory serves me right, Witch Hunt was prior to November 2010, meaning they didn't give us even a years worth of content. (I could be wrong on the Witch Hunt date, so they could have given us exactly a years content)
But that's not my point. My point was that Bioware used to give a lot more support, a lot more content, at least my experience with NwN was such. And they made it seem like they would support DA:O for a much longer period than they did.
As for DA2 coming two years after, nope based on the November 2009 release of DA:O, DA2 is releasing more like a year and 4 or 5 months after.
I guess I sit on the 'more content faster' rather than 'content but spaced out more'.
in 17months we had an expansion and 4 DLC (Witch hunt, leliana's song, return to ostagar and one other thing that i can't recall). Rather than an original and an exp every year (ala NWN) but each to its own.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
The Original Dragon Age has been crashing regularly since the last patch some 8 months ago. People buy the ultimate edition only to find out it's unplayable...
Bioware don't seem to care as they are busy with their sequel, but I for one have had it with them. Way to treat paying customers, giving them nothing not even recognising the issue.
*smiles*, what little many know.....thankfuly Dragon Age has a character who acts like me in the real world! ^_^
Unfortunately, what you don't know may hurt!
I love Dragon Age Origins, but the game itself shipped with many "unbounded" conversations and scenes. In short, these unbounded scenes exist in-game and must simply be bounded (in short, connected and non-isolated.) Aside from this, some of the challenge and appearance was changed with the way the scenes went. Also a lot of dialogue was left out, including the best in game in regards to the love triangle in that story that forms if you play as a male warden.
In short, in order to play Dragon Age you need to own the base game, the expansion (awakenings), along with all the DLC with Witch Hunt as the most important one. Finally you need to download the 1.04 patch and then DOWNLOAD the Modification which completely reconnects the scenes to the game along with the FULL dialogue and personality to the characters. In short the modification which completely binds all the unbound content. Forces you to throw it into MyDocuments/Bioware/DragonAge/Packages/Core/overrides.
I preordered my copy of dragon age 2 though Impulse for $50. The reason was that it was the Signature Edition which also has the first piece of downloadable content and bonuses. In fact the deal ends on Jan 11th. Steam doesnt have the Signature Edition and I refuse to buy through the EA store or Gamestop/EBgames.
The second reason was that what you did in Dragon Age 1 carries over to Dragon Age II in some part. At the very end of Witch Hunt which was the final downloadable content and final adventure to tie up Dragon Age Origins. In fact once you clear Witches Hunt, the game creates a save file that you can use on Dragon Age II when released.
The Original Dragon Age has been crashing regularly since the last patch some 8 months ago. People buy the ultimate edition only to find out it's unplayable...
Bioware don't seem to care as they are busy with their sequel, but I for one have had it with them. Way to treat paying customers, giving them nothing not even recognising the issue.
After seeing this video on youtube, I immediately canceled any idea in my head of buying this game. The video shows actual gameplay from Dragon Age II. Where do I start? The grahpics on the character creation screen look worse the Dragon Age Origins, less detail and worse character models. The next scene shows the UI, Party frames and the party and a few enemies. The Party frames looks terrible, just a HP bar and a Tiny Portrait avatar that looks so poor compared to the first games avatars.
The character and weapons models as well as the textures and landscape / area all look terrible and are a step backwards from Dragon Age Origins. The models looks like Neverwinter nights 1 models, seriously how did the detail and textures go backwards from the first game? The spells look worse then the first game as well, In the video you see a rogue do a stupid barrel roll jump for no reason and then stick one sword into the enemy, the animations look retarded. I'm so angry just from this 2 minutes of gameplay footage, it's really saddened me the game has gone backwards and made no improvements whatsoever.
This is a real flop from Bioware, the game looks awful.
What I want to know is, if you can power through a fight as an action RPG in 10 seconds, or go through the exact same fight as a tactical RPG in 10 minutes... and both are equally valid... why would you ever play it as a tactical RPG?
Am I the only one that saw on the last screen of the DLC video that it indicated that the DLC was included in the Signature Edition?
Was I also the only one that saw for the last part of December through January 9th, any preorders were upgraded to the Signature Edition free?
The graphics are going to be fine, the DLC will be included in many preorders, stop bitching already.
My bitches/complaints with Bioware are that before EA, they would have given us at least one more expansion and more DLC's. They would have given us years worth of entertainment, IE NwN..... They didn't even give us a years worth of content with DA:O, and they are already changing gears to ME 2.5... Errr I mean DA 2.
Didn't DA have an expansion, Awakening?
With the sequel coming out 2 years after the original and an exp in-between, not seeing this 'more stuff' before the merger.
DA:O Released November 2009. The last content for DA:O, if memory serves me right, Witch Hunt was prior to November 2010, meaning they didn't give us even a years worth of content. (I could be wrong on the Witch Hunt date, so they could have given us exactly a years content)
But that's not my point. My point was that Bioware used to give a lot more support, a lot more content, at least my experience with NwN was such. And they made it seem like they would support DA:O for a much longer period than they did.
As for DA2 coming two years after, nope based on the November 2009 release of DA:O, DA2 is releasing more like a year and 4 or 5 months after.
I guess I sit on the 'more content faster' rather than 'content but spaced out more'.
in 17months we had an expansion and 4 DLC (Witch hunt, leliana's song, return to ostagar and one other thing that i can't recall). Rather than an original and an exp every year (ala NWN) but each to its own.
I'm nitpicking here, truly I am. The game released on 11/19/09, (if memory serves me right) A full calendar year, 12 mos, would be through 11/18/10. Witch Hunt was the last "content" released and it was released in September 2010. So technically we got 10 months worth of content, the time since 9/27/10 (I believe this is a patch to fix things for Awakening/Witch Hunt) doesn't count as content.
I just wanted more out of my DA:O than they gave us. DA 2 is going to be very limiting, it's going to be one story for one human character.
I've finally gave the Mass Effect series a try and so far I liked the first one even though it was short even after doing all the sidequests and DLC, I liked its inital setup, planet exploration, and more exploration in different areas even though it was linear, the 2nd Mass Effect I thought it was a disapointment , it seemed more like playing a FPS Arcade Shooter, Missions ended like levels, less stuff to explore , too many conservations, token appearances from the ME1 cast. It felt like ME2 herded you thru most of the game without you actually getting to revisit location to pick up stuff you may have missed. The series should've been made into one big game like Final Fantasy VII was remember it had 4 discs? Lots of content and plenty of game play plus a engaging story without the need to alter every detail of your story? All the fun little minigames as well that made it more fun to play?
One of the reasons why I never cared for BW games, too much emphasis on story and not enough on gameplay, which is why I fear for TOR.
I just watched it and look like how I will be playing dragon age 2 same as I played dragon age 1 with pausing some battles not others. I do not know what you can gauge from that but to me it looks fine.
video looked fine to me, although i hate the idea of advertising or even having DLC on release. They're really going for every penny they can get on these games now. Kinda funny when awhile ago we were hearing rumors that the 60$ price tag on new games was too much and they might be dropping.
Playing: EVE Online Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2 KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
I'm not going to lie i usually preorder everything bioware but this one is getting a pass until it is in the $9.99 bin.
I liked DA:O for the origin stories and the multiple race classes we could play and played the heck out of it and got my monies worth. The character interaction was good but no better than ME. The new direction worked for me in ME but to me ME always fit more of the role of a story based scifi action game. With the inclusion of ingame hooks to DLC (remember the quest NPC who directed you to the Shale quest but you couldn't go cause you hadnt paid) was the one thing that really turned me off. If i didn't pay for the DLC don't include the quest mob it kills the immersion in an RPG.
I do see in the in game DLC hook and the "actionizing" of the gameplay of a core fantasy RPG IP of Bioware as a huge slide downward for them.
I hold out hope that these negatives do not make their way into SW:TOR, although i am looking forward to ME3 (just not the DLC hooks that it will have).
One of the reasons why I never cared for BW games, too much emphasis on story and not enough on gameplay, which is why I fear for TOR.
For many BW fans (like myself), the the story part is their biggest strength. I loves me some good story. Please, feel free to give me long cutscenes (tons of them), and interesting dialogue choices. I quite enjoy the pacing switch from those scenes to combat and then back.
Regarding TOR, I fully plan on playing ever class to max level, and completely exploring every story. Even after that, I may go back and do it all again on all 8 classes but make different dialogue choices, just so I can see how those play out.
Comments
Bioware back in the day was more hands on. Today being teamed with EA they have too satisfy stock holders which come first not the player/consumer.
Rating the game before its even released is like eating your dinner as its cooking. This post is completely stupid.
I think it looks great! O.o!
Yup, damn suits that use money as a cause instead of consequence, screwing up the whole thing that was working right. EA, Activision, Sony and Microsoft destroying AAA developers, monetizing the game in small pieces that used to be a whole before (DLC) and sacrificing quality for quantity, I guess it's time to give money for the indies so they can start making AAA studios, should work fine at least until they get sold to one of the big publishers.
Meh, I think it looks great. I like the fact that they are making it more like ME2, that game was great. Don't get me wrong DAO was great too, but would I like to play the same replica of DAO, in a 2nd version? Hmm nah, I already have all the DLC for DAO as it is, don't see how they could of made it much better to warrant a DAO2, so I'm happy with the change to having 1 "Shepard" character for the story.
I for one will be buying it, but I'm also one of those people who buys a game for what it is, instead of overanalyzing it before it's even released.
and Blizzard is going to fail soon too, right?
My only issue with this whole thing is the DLC being sold before release..
What the fuck? I thought DLC was additional content after release, why the hell are htey advertising this as DLC instead of just adding it to the game? And what stops them from making other current content into DLC? If it is already finished why not just include it with the game?
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
i liked the change from ME1 to ME2. I liked something from both gameplays, but ME2 was better for me. I won't be mad if they change the mechanics of the game for the ME3 if the general gameplay gets even better.
Guild Wars 2 Youtube Croatian Maniacs
My Guild Wars titles
I really don't get the DLC hate, we've had expansion packs for how long?
Yeah expansion generally have more content but they are also more expensive. And fully priced expansions too!
After the merger with EA they released ME2, DA and a good sonic game (a positivly received one. o_O)
Not sure if I can agree on 'drop in quality' or 'selling their soul'. All three were critically well received by the industry and sold millions of copies.
Whether they suited everyone's taste is another issue, but 'drop in quality' or 'selling their soul'? Sorry, I can't agree.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Agreed.
too many "Sell out" name callers out there. Alot of people afraid to like a game because big money is behind it..
Am I the only one that saw on the last screen of the DLC video that it indicated that the DLC was included in the Signature Edition?
Was I also the only one that saw for the last part of December through January 9th, any preorders were upgraded to the Signature Edition free?
The graphics are going to be fine, the DLC will be included in many preorders, stop bitching already.
My bitches/complaints with Bioware are that before EA, they would have given us at least one more expansion and more DLC's. They would have given us years worth of entertainment, IE NwN..... They didn't even give us a years worth of content with DA:O, and they are already changing gears to ME 2.5... Errr I mean DA 2.
Didn't DA have an expansion, Awakening?
With the sequel coming out 2 years after the original and an exp in-between, not seeing this 'more stuff' before the merger.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
It's more about the gameplay to me and the visuals looked fine, I thought.
That DLC is a bunch of bullshit though. Why not incorporate it into the game? Greedy bastards..
DA:O Released November 2009. The last content for DA:O, if memory serves me right, Witch Hunt was prior to November 2010, meaning they didn't give us even a years worth of content. (I could be wrong on the Witch Hunt date, so they could have given us exactly a years content)
But that's not my point. My point was that Bioware used to give a lot more support, a lot more content, at least my experience with NwN was such. And they made it seem like they would support DA:O for a much longer period than they did.
As for DA2 coming two years after, nope based on the November 2009 release of DA:O, DA2 is releasing more like a year and 4 or 5 months after.
I guess I sit on the 'more content faster' rather than 'content but spaced out more'.
in 17months we had an expansion and 4 DLC (Witch hunt, leliana's song, return to ostagar and one other thing that i can't recall). Rather than an original and an exp every year (ala NWN) but each to its own.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
The Original Dragon Age has been crashing regularly since the last patch some 8 months ago. People buy the ultimate edition only to find out it's unplayable...
Bioware don't seem to care as they are busy with their sequel, but I for one have had it with them. Way to treat paying customers, giving them nothing not even recognising the issue.
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/58/index/89244/8
*smiles*, what little many know.....thankfuly Dragon Age has a character who acts like me in the real world! ^_^
Unfortunately, what you don't know may hurt!
I love Dragon Age Origins, but the game itself shipped with many "unbounded" conversations and scenes. In short, these unbounded scenes exist in-game and must simply be bounded (in short, connected and non-isolated.) Aside from this, some of the challenge and appearance was changed with the way the scenes went. Also a lot of dialogue was left out, including the best in game in regards to the love triangle in that story that forms if you play as a male warden.
In short, in order to play Dragon Age you need to own the base game, the expansion (awakenings), along with all the DLC with Witch Hunt as the most important one. Finally you need to download the 1.04 patch and then DOWNLOAD the Modification which completely reconnects the scenes to the game along with the FULL dialogue and personality to the characters. In short the modification which completely binds all the unbound content. Forces you to throw it into MyDocuments/Bioware/DragonAge/Packages/Core/overrides.
I preordered my copy of dragon age 2 though Impulse for $50. The reason was that it was the Signature Edition which also has the first piece of downloadable content and bonuses. In fact the deal ends on Jan 11th. Steam doesnt have the Signature Edition and I refuse to buy through the EA store or Gamestop/EBgames.
The second reason was that what you did in Dragon Age 1 carries over to Dragon Age II in some part. At the very end of Witch Hunt which was the final downloadable content and final adventure to tie up Dragon Age Origins. In fact once you clear Witches Hunt, the game creates a save file that you can use on Dragon Age II when released.
I am really looking forward to the game. ^_^
Didn't ATI release a driver update that said 'DA:O won't crash now' ?
Doubt it was BW's fault when ATI drivers are causing the issue.
I used to be a big ATI fan but after HD4850 and HD5770 and their crashing issues, went back to Nvidia. -.-
GTX 460 gogogo! :P
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
What I want to know is, if you can power through a fight as an action RPG in 10 seconds, or go through the exact same fight as a tactical RPG in 10 minutes... and both are equally valid... why would you ever play it as a tactical RPG?
I'm nitpicking here, truly I am. The game released on 11/19/09, (if memory serves me right) A full calendar year, 12 mos, would be through 11/18/10. Witch Hunt was the last "content" released and it was released in September 2010. So technically we got 10 months worth of content, the time since 9/27/10 (I believe this is a patch to fix things for Awakening/Witch Hunt) doesn't count as content.
I just wanted more out of my DA:O than they gave us. DA 2 is going to be very limiting, it's going to be one story for one human character.
I've finally gave the Mass Effect series a try and so far I liked the first one even though it was short even after doing all the sidequests and DLC, I liked its inital setup, planet exploration, and more exploration in different areas even though it was linear, the 2nd Mass Effect I thought it was a disapointment , it seemed more like playing a FPS Arcade Shooter, Missions ended like levels, less stuff to explore , too many conservations, token appearances from the ME1 cast. It felt like ME2 herded you thru most of the game without you actually getting to revisit location to pick up stuff you may have missed. The series should've been made into one big game like Final Fantasy VII was remember it had 4 discs? Lots of content and plenty of game play plus a engaging story without the need to alter every detail of your story? All the fun little minigames as well that made it more fun to play?
One of the reasons why I never cared for BW games, too much emphasis on story and not enough on gameplay, which is why I fear for TOR.
I just watched it and look like how I will be playing dragon age 2 same as I played dragon age 1 with pausing some battles not others. I do not know what you can gauge from that but to me it looks fine.
video looked fine to me, although i hate the idea of advertising or even having DLC on release. They're really going for every penny they can get on these games now. Kinda funny when awhile ago we were hearing rumors that the 60$ price tag on new games was too much and they might be dropping.
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
I'm not going to lie i usually preorder everything bioware but this one is getting a pass until it is in the $9.99 bin.
I liked DA:O for the origin stories and the multiple race classes we could play and played the heck out of it and got my monies worth. The character interaction was good but no better than ME. The new direction worked for me in ME but to me ME always fit more of the role of a story based scifi action game. With the inclusion of ingame hooks to DLC (remember the quest NPC who directed you to the Shale quest but you couldn't go cause you hadnt paid) was the one thing that really turned me off. If i didn't pay for the DLC don't include the quest mob it kills the immersion in an RPG.
I do see in the in game DLC hook and the "actionizing" of the gameplay of a core fantasy RPG IP of Bioware as a huge slide downward for them.
I hold out hope that these negatives do not make their way into SW:TOR, although i am looking forward to ME3 (just not the DLC hooks that it will have).
For many BW fans (like myself), the the story part is their biggest strength. I loves me some good story. Please, feel free to give me long cutscenes (tons of them), and interesting dialogue choices. I quite enjoy the pacing switch from those scenes to combat and then back.
Regarding TOR, I fully plan on playing ever class to max level, and completely exploring every story. Even after that, I may go back and do it all again on all 8 classes but make different dialogue choices, just so I can see how those play out.