Thursday, May 26, 2011

Expectations.

Those who have read this blog lately know that I love Dragon Age 2. I think the game is great but in no way is it perfect. I like the changes to the combat, the updated graphics, the new party members, the streamlined crafting, and a fully voiced hero just to name a few things that I believe makes for a better experience than in Origins.

So what's wrong with DA2? Well actually quite a few things. Regardless of the development time or the technical issues that hampered the game at launch, the biggest problem DA2 has is expectations. Say what you will about the game being a cash grab or that it's too easy or whatever, it seems that those most outraged are those who were expecting Origins 2. The issues facing DA2 are not all that serious that they can't be overlooked.

Which leads me to the Witcher 2. I have yet to play the game so I am not going to pass judgement on it, but to me the best thing to happen to Witcher 2 was for those who had rather high expectations for DA2 all but crucify the game and Bioware too. After browsing the message boards a bit it's plainly obvious that Witcher 2 is everything Dragon Age 2 was suppose to be and if you believe differently than you are (insert random word meant to be an insult here).

I have read a few reviews for Witcher 2 and it does seem to be quite good and I am looking forward to buying and playing the game at some point, but the game is not without its faults as well. I am not going to compare faults between the two games nor do I believe the faults of one game are worse than the other. But, I do believe those pushing the gospel of Witcher 2 on the message boards are more than willing to overlook the game's issues.

So what does that have to do with anything? I have a problem with people crying out vehemently against a game, it's developer and those who enjoyed said game but are willing to forgive another game that has issues all its own just because the first game did not give them the experience they were expecting to have. Basically I am saying that I believe people are building Witcher 2 to be better than what it really is because it gives them that taste of expectation that was suppose to be in Dragon Age 2.

I want to make it clear that I haven't played Witcher 2, so it very well could be as great as it's being made out to be, but I get the feeling that somewhere in the middle is the truth.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

As for why people might be building Witcher 2 up to be better than it really is, perhaps it is that desperate need for vindication -- anything to "prove" they were right all along about how big a disaster DA2 was.

Funny thing is, I know at least two people who have said Witcher 2 is "everything Dragon Age 2 was supposed to be" when I know for a fact they haven't even played Dragon Age 2. Why some feel the need to mindlessly repeat what others have said when they know nothing about it personally, I have no idea.

Which is why I admire your post. You express your doubts, but still reserve judgment until you've played it for yourself.

I'm personally happy to hear such good things about Witcher 2. I never got into the first game, so I'm hoping the sequel will be better. I'm going to pick it up soon, after I finish some of other games and clear them off my plate. Since I loved DA2 as well, I should be in for a treat with The Witcher 2, no? :)

Jayedub said...

I've tried to play through the first game a few times, I just didn't like it all that much. But I guess you're right, we should both be in for a treat!

Yeebo said...

Penny arcade had a great cartoon about Witcher on Wednesday. As I expect we all read it every time it updates I won't bother to link it.

I have played neither DAO dor DA II. However, reading between the lines of all the commentary, it seems that a lot of folks were pissed at Bioware for not simply releasing DAO v 1. 8.

The only criticism I've seen that seems genuine to me is that certain spaces were recycled too much. Apart from that, every criticism I have read goes along the lines of "This is different from what I expected."

Jayedub said...

I won't argue that there are some issues with DA2, but it's not nearly as bad as some would have you think. But again, I am very biased.

kaozz said...

I saw Witcher 2 sitting on the shelf last night, I passed it up for Fable 3 =p

I still need to play through DA2,I'm sure I'll enjoy it for what it is. I loved the first, the second sounds pretty good IMO.

Jayedub said...

I haven't heard many good things about Fable III, but I still want to give it a try at some point.