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What are your thoughts on Bioware right now?

I didn't play Anthem, I did play Dragon Age Inquisition. That means they were a company that could produce a complete, well liked product 6 years ago, and I can potentially reasses my take in 2023-2024. That barely accounted for decade gap does raise some concerns. Not only with them, but with me who continues to wonder about Bioware for a significant portion of my life without much input.
 

meech

Member
Wrong. Guerilla Games, Ubisoft, Capcom, etc etc etc. Games writing is generally an abyss of mediocrity. Even on Bioware's worst day, well besides Anthem, Mass Effect 3's writing still shits all over those studios. Trespasser is phenomenal and Andromeda wasn't nearly as bad as the "It's not Garrus bro and I wanna smell Tali's sweat" crowd would have you believe. Andromeda could have had a flawless launch nd the original trilogy or die weirdos would have hated it no matter what. Damned if you, damned if you don't.
There are some things that Andromeda got right, the combat, especially the removal of the retarded universal cooldow introduced with Mass Effect 2.
 

sackings

Member
0/10 on the expectations and anticipation scale. The last game i played from them was probably ME1 / DA:O. Always felt their games were pretty overrated.
 
They can't even get a "remaster" of there most ironic series right either, just use AI to upscale all the textures like there some free mod pack, cant even be bothered to remake pinnacle Station so just cut it, couldent be bothered to do some slight tweaks to multiplayer so cut it because its too hard.

Oh but some ass shots, dear god why don't we actually do some work and remove those... Yeah if that didn't tell you the state of Bioware after the failure of Andromeda and Anthem I dont know what will.
This, you nailed it. Read between the lines, they aren't putting work into making the game content better, but instead they are putting resources into ensuring that nobody gets triggered from some ass shots.
Same ol' pandering.
 

CharlieTuna

Member
I don't trust them to do justice by any of their IP's. At the same time i'm disappointed that they aren't making a full remake of the ME trilogy, but i'm glad because i just know that they would fuck it up. And i'm not even talking about the SJW stuff or whatever, don't really care, but their recentgames have been very bad and the people that made BioWare are no longer there.
 
Last game I enjoyed from them was Mass Effect 2, in 2010.

Barack Obama was president, and Joe Biden was completing his sentences with the energy of an 18 year old. Apple just announced the first iPad. Lady Gaga wore a meat dress that year, shocking critics and fans. A little known show was quietly being produced by HBO, called Game of Thrones - with discussion happening in small corners of the internet, not yet set to premiere until a year later. The top song of the year was Ke$ha's Tik Tok.

Basically my thoughts on Bioware right now are similar to my thoughts on Ke$ha. 🤷‍♂️
 
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JayK47

Member
EA definitely had a negative impact on Bioware. The last few good games from Bioware were in mid development when EA purchaged Bioware. Every game after that was clearly an EA game with tons of DLC and/or cut content. I enjoyed Dragon Age 2 for some reason, but hated the updated combat and cut and paste levels. Mass Effect 2 had so much DLC, it was a pain to manage on PC. Clearly they have lost the people that wrote the interesting stories and characters. They are clearly hiring people for the wrong reasons and it shows. I can't imagine it will turn around with new releases. The games may be polished, but they will be bloated and bland like the last 3 games they have made. Time to pass the IP torch to a new developer.
 
They're awful. They've made two good games in their entire existence: Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2.

That Dragon Age impressed you is slightly disconcerting, but there's still some hope, I suppose.
 
Biowas/Biowere is dead and gone, and the remaster is EA's last attempt to squeeze money from this stone.

When they were independent, they had a long, good run, but as soon as the $$$ was paid, the decline began.
 
Yeah they sucked too. Andromeda was like an entire game of Vegas and Chobots.
But ME3 had it's moments. The stuff with the krogans and the giant worms was cool.
Nah. There's way more to the Andromeda crew than people will ever admit. They were Wrex/Garrus/Tali/Liara and it wasn't Shepard so people were going to hate them regardless.

ME3 had the most lore important character in the entire series torn out for paid DLC, not to mention ME2 having two squad members ripped out for paid DLC, a crime against humanity in an rpg. We also had Kai Leng in ME3. He talks shit by email. Harbinger reduced to a 30 seconds appearance after an entire game of him talking shit to Shepard's face. I'll give you Tuchanka and the Geth but everything else about ME3 was total shit. Poorly written, poorly designed and totally rushed. Bioware still had their "they can't do anything wrong, ME2 96 MC score" shield from the gaming press so it never got truly critical reviews.
 
One of the big thing I think Bioware lost when the doctors left was vision. they were the idea guys and inspired something better through their leadership. When they sold to EA they lost some ability to lead, because they had to answer to EA. Then they were separated and one was sent to work on the SW KOTOR MMO. Losing that leadership is really what set the stage for ME4 debacle and the ultimate downfall of Anthem. Kill Anthem, let the talent focus on ME and DA. The other thing they need is someone with a vision and know how to get there. That is one thing Drukman does is he has a vision and he get get a team to to it. That is good leadership, even if you don't like his politics. I wonder if Bioware could hire Jade Raymond, she did some good work at Ubisoft, but I doubt she wants to work for EA again.

The DRs were right to take the money and run though. They built something amazing and were rewarded.

You've got some fine points there but Bioware and most studios don't have the luxury Druckmann has of being a first party studio for a console maker with deep pockets and Naughty Dog still crunches like everyone else. EA forced two sequels to two highly reviewed and well selling games out the door in less than 2 years. EA fucked them a lot as was expected. EA seems like the exact company that gives studios just enough rope to hang themselves with. They're hands-off and let creatives be creative but do the bare minimum when projects are clearly stalling or suffering like Anthem and Andromeda. I don't know why EA even bothers with single player games anymore.

I do wish MS bought Bioware back in the day. Bioware would probably be in a better place today. That fucking snake John Riccitiello.
 
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I hold out hope they can recreate past glory, - DA4 will be the big test.
Not me, they had their chance with Anthem and Andromeda, and after failing 2 big tests, I don't have much hope for them even getting a passing grade on the third... assuming they even finish it and don't release a similar Anthem/Andromeda mess.

Another poster pointed out that nuBioware must struggle to do their IPs justice when the ones who made the IPs have long since gone.

Speaking as someone who's tried to read Patrick Weekes' fiction, I don't have any faith in DA4 or even care about it. The Bioware of old, maybe, the new Bioware - yeah, no.
 

Optimus Lime

(L3) + (R3) | Spartan rage activated
They used to be great, and made some brilliant games. KOTOR, KOTOR 2, Mass Effect, Neverwinter Nights. I really loved their games, and looked forward to the next one.

Now, they are a giant log of shit floating in the unsterilized toilet bowl of the AAA gaming industry, squeezed out by the drunk truck driver that is EA.

But, don't worry. The unflushed toilet also contains large pieces of shit called Blizzard, Infinity Ward, Naughty Dog, Bungie, and CDPR, all bobbing on the water. GAF loves to open the stall door, take a big, deep whiff, and then post about how the smell is just so intoxicating and invigorating - but those of us who aren't completely stupid... we know what shit smells like.

Bioware are terrible. Anthem was a bad joke, and live service games need to all die in a fire.
 

Spaceman292

Banned
Nah. There's way more to the Andromeda crew than people will ever admit. They were Wrex/Garrus/Tali/Liara and it wasn't Shepard so people were going to hate them regardless.

ME3 had the most lore important character in the entire series torn out for paid DLC, not to mention ME2 having two squad members ripped out for paid DLC, a crime against humanity in an rpg. We also had Kai Leng in ME3. He talks shit by email. Harbinger reduced to a 30 seconds appearance after an entire game of him talking shit to Shepard's face. I'll give you Tuchanka and the Geth but everything else about ME3 was total shit. Poorly written, poorly designed and totally rushed. Bioware still had their "they can't do anything wrong, ME2 96 MC score" shield from the gaming press so it never got truly critical reviews.
The Andromeda crew were all boring/annoying versions of those characters. They didn't come up with anything new, they just copied the old stuff but did it badly. People didn't just hate the game because it wasn't the old thing. Also that DLC stuff doesn't factor with this remaster.

Kai Leng is worse than anything in either game.
 

Daymos

Member
Im optimistic about da4. No reason to buy it until all it's dlc is out, it's patched, and it's 20 bucks though.

Don't feed the EA machine anymore than necessary.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
I liked Mass Effect: Andromeda A LOT! And enjoyed Anthem a lot until I finished it.

I think they're still redeemable but they should tread carefully.
 

royox

Member
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The bioware we loved that created Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 1, Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate is dead. Bioware today is a husk filled with politics and not with videogame ideas.

A shame. There was a moment when the word "Bioware" was just a 100% sale for me...now it's just a "ugh what SJW pandering shit are they going to pull this time?".
 

Zheph

Member
A company that badly needs a proper hit (and I'm not talking about ME : Legendary Edition which is likely to sell well) but something new and very shiny that captures players again...
I doubt Dragon Age 4 will be that.
 

Vaelka

Member
I quit caring about their games altogether after ME3.
Not only because of the ending tho, but also because the game turned into an action game with cutscenes it didn't feel like a RPG to me anymore.
I remember I bought Inquisiton tho but only got through the first act I think then never touched it again.
Bioware to me is just dead and has been for a long time, it's not the same studio anymore at all.
 

AJUMP23

Member
You've got some fine points there but Bioware and most studios don't have the luxury Druckmann has of being a first party studio for a console maker with deep pockets and Naughty Dog still crunches like everyone else. EA forced two sequels to two highly reviewed and well selling games out the door in less than 2 years. EA fucked them a lot as was expected. EA seems like the exact company that gives studios just enough rope to hang themselves with. They're hands-off and let creatives be creative but do the bare minimum when projects are clearly stalling or suffering like Anthem and Andromeda. I don't know why EA even bothers with single player games anymore.

I do wish MS bought Bioware back in the day. Bioware would probably be in a better place today. That fucking snake John Riccitiello.
Bioware being owned by MS would have been amazing. If they could have made Bioware in house and had ME stay MS exclusive, I think that would have been a huge gain.
 
Not me, they had their chance with Anthem and Andromeda, and after failing 2 big tests, I don't have much hope for them even getting a passing grade on the third... assuming they even finish it and don't release a similar Anthem/Andromeda mess.

Another poster pointed out that nuBioware must struggle to do their IPs justice when the ones who made the IPs have long since gone.

Speaking as someone who's tried to read Patrick Weekes' fiction, I don't have any faith in DA4 or even care about it. The Bioware of old, maybe, the new Bioware - yeah, no.

Patrick Weekes has been writing since ME1 and was the lead writer for Lair of the Shadowbroker. He is part of the Bioware of old. Put some respect on his name.
 

AJUMP23

Member
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The bioware we loved that created Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 1, Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate is dead. Bioware today is a husk filled with politics and not with videogame ideas.

A shame. There was a moment when the word "Bioware" was just a 100% sale for me...now it's just a "ugh what SJW pandering shit are they going to pull this time?".

Is this person writing the new Mass Effect? If so then I have even less hope.
 

Guileless

Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
I don't think that tweet with the ugly woman is real but the Sarkeesian one is. Safe to assume that Bioware stories will prioritize box checking fashionable political causes by a committee of people paid to find problems. That doesn't mean they will necessarily suck but it greatly increases the odds.

The ME prequel novel by Drew Karpyshyn was really good. He was lead writer on KOTOR and ME1 I believe. That Bioware is dust in the wind.
 

Zannegan

Member
I don't really think of them these days except when people bring them up. Mostly I just feel a little sad that the company that put out KotOR, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect practically back to back can't seem to get its act together.

That said, I jumped on the bandwagon with KotOR and off again when Dragon Age hit (never liked the universe, and the writing was poor), so I'm probably not a real fan anyway. *shrug*
 

ToTTenTranz

Banned
I don't think that tweet with the ugly woman is real but the Sarkeesian one is. Safe to assume that Bioware stories will prioritize box checking fashionable political causes by a committee of people paid to find problems. That doesn't mean they will necessarily suck but it greatly increases the odds.

IIRC that character has been out of a job for a while. It ended with CDPR kindly ignoring her tweet with a pitch for a paid service to dictate them what not to put in Cyberpunk.
 

Drac84

Member
In essence studios are only as good as the people working in them. When those good people leave, if they're not replaced by equally good people all you're left with is a brand name.

The letterheads haven't changed, but this is not the studio that made Baldur's Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect 2 or DAO.

Bioware were the 1997/98 Adelaide Crows, and are now the 2020 Adelaide Crows.
 

Hudo

Member
They made a Sonic RPG for Nintendo DS once. And that game was better than DA: Inquisition. No joke.
 

GinSama

Member
I only hope they do a good job in the legendary edition.

always wanted to try andromeda... it looks good but everyone complains about the game, why??
I mean it was so bad?
 
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