Has CDProjek dethroned Bioware?

[Aklis]

Dethroned, no way, but if they keep this up and Bioware continues to fail instead of saving face with Mass Effect 3, then an era of great RPGs (and a worthless one) has come to an end.

The only throne Bioware is sitting on is the toilet.

Just playin.. I can't wait for ME3 and SW:TOR!

Witcher 2 is definitely more fun than Dragon Age II. Bioware just has to learn that if they make the core game suck, then nobody is going to care enough to buy the 50 DLCs they inevitably release with every game.

Originally Posted by WalkenOwns

Also, its kind of weird that Witcher 2 has done so many things on release that garnered so much disdain from people recently in other games such as :

- No DX10/11 support
- Day one DLC
- Buggy release
- odd design decisions (No invert mouse)

Stuff like this happened with other games and people screamed bloody murder.

Personally, I thought they were just being overreacting whiners. But it's kinda odd how Witcher 2 has a bit of a double standard.

1. No DX11, they didn't promise/promote it, (hear me Crytek?), so who cares. The game is still a visual wonder. Massive detail streaming in on-the-fly with only an occasional loading hitch. Go back and play a game with loading screens. You get a real appreciation for what was done here.

2. Day one DLC - this is only a pain when you have to pay for it. Then you know the developer was intentionally holding stuff back for money. CDP has already stated that their DLC will be free.

3. Buggy release, what game isn't? The fact that a developer the size of CDP released this level of game amazes me! They were really trying to raise the bar in several areas, and succeeded. I'll forgive the MINOR bugs I encountered. It's when developers promise the moon,(ahem, Crytek), and don't deliver that people become irate.

4. Design decisions, every game has this. No game is perfect for everyone. Listening to the fans and patching is what we love. Design decisions based on money, like DA2, is what angers.

A smaller developer with a limited budget busting their ♥♥♥ to take on the big boys is a great story. Fans will rally behind it. I think they succeeded in raising the bar. You can bet others will copy some of the things done in this game. Except for the menus/interface! Whoever designed it should be shot!

[Valerianus]

CD Projekt is the largest distributor of video games in Eastern Europe. I wouldn't call them "indie" at all.

They've made a great game, but at times, The Witcher 2 does feel very much like a console game. The inventory menu is evidence of such.

[SpiritSharD]

Bioware dethroned themselves by developing that tripe we call a sequel to Dragon Age.

bioware dethroned themselves with the dog ♥♥♥♥ that was dragon age 2. they went from making great rpgs to making crappy dating sims with dumb down rpg elements.

[Le0]

Originally Posted by Fuzzin

bioware dethroned themselves with the dog ♥♥♥♥ that was dragon age 2. they went from making great rpgs to making crappy gay dating sims with dumb down rpg elements.

I don't know how you could possibly forget this little detail.

[izihbo]

They made Anders so gay it's funny... I don't mind the gay thing, it's nice to have the option - nobody is forcing you to be gay ingame...

[RaranTroff]

Bioware has gone down the crapper every since they stopped making D&D games. If you are honest about it NWN was their last truly great opus of rpg perfection. DA:O was playable but hardly as good as NWN.

Bioware is played out though unless they can pull their head out of their asses and make another good rpg. By rpg I mean rpg not action rpg. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to mix mortal combat with role play but they should be shot for destroying one of the classic genre of gaming.

Bathesda is a better quality company as they still hold the elder scrolls franchise as well as the Fallout franchise. While New Vegas may not be that good there is still the potential for quality product.

From what I understand though CDPr is in a good position to overtake Bioware if they want to. They have a long way to go to dethrone Bathesda though.

[mR.Waffles]

It is a trick question. Most of the community here will argue Bioware dethroned Bioware. Not like one pretty good, but not as good as it should have been game, dethrones years of fantastic products.

I find it fascinating that PC Gamers never forgive for the slightest fault, yet Final Fantasy fans have been playing absolutely terrible games for years just because of their childhood enjoyment of mediocre JRPGs.

[izihbo]

Originally Posted by mR.Waffles

I find it fascinating that PC Gamers never forgive for the slightest fault, yet Final Fantasy fans have been playing absolutely terrible games for years just because of their childhood enjoyment of mediocre JRPGs.

+1 internetz for you.

[RaranTroff]

Originally Posted by mR.Waffles

It is a trick question. Most of the community here will argue Bioware dethroned Bioware. Not like one pretty good, but not as good as it should have been game, dethrones years of fantastic products.

I find it fascinating that PC Gamers never forgive for the slightest fault, yet Final Fantasy fans have been playing absolutely terrible games for years just because of their childhood enjoyment of mediocre JRPGs.

Good point but even hard core FF fans have their breaking point. That franchise has sucked since X2. It still sells as you think that in 5+ years they could make something good but XIII proved once and for all all they can make is crap. The JRPG is just dated, its time has come and gone at least for any market outside of Japan.

[mR.Waffles]

Originally Posted by RaranTroff

Good point but even hard core FF fans have their breaking point. That franchise has sucked since X2. It still sells as you think that in 5+ years they could make something good but XIII proved once and for all all they can make is crap. The JRPG is just dated, its time has come and gone at least for any market outside of Japan.

You are absolutely right, but don't you find it insane that it took something as ridiculously horrible as X2 to wake up even some of the fans?

[NorthernKingdom]

Bioware lost the title after Neverwinter Nights. They haven't created a good RPG since 2003 with the last good proper expansion Hordes of The Underdark.

Ever since then they've been focusing on paid DLC, console games, and simplifying their games to be more of a passive movie experience than a dynamic and deep RPG experience. The first Witcher game using Bioware own toolset was significantly better than anything Bioware created with those tools and that's when it was clear how far Bioware has fallen from their pedestal.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is the new RPG standard. It has set the bar for the genre and I don't see any game RPG developer challenging it's title of greatest single player RPG created yet. It is also a very good litmus test regarding gamer taste in RPG games and a very good example of a PC developer creating a PC game, offering excellent value to customers, and not compromising for significantly dated game console hardware.

Dragon Age: Origins could have been great but Bioware messed that up with paid dlc, a joke expansion priced as a full game, and an entire game that was nothing more than sidequests to collect characters.

[Le0]

Originally Posted by izihbo

They made Anders so gay it's funny... I don't mind the gay thing, it's nice to have the option - nobody is forcing you to be gay ingame...

DA:O had the option and i was ok with that. But DA2 was in your face with gayness. You couldn't score with any female character until about 4 hours into the game, while having dozens of homosexual options just lying around at your feet on your way there.