That and Champions are both the perfect examples of corporate cash-in mediocrity.

Will neverwinter be on-line only?

Edited: After reading about the game it seems to be like Guild Wars. Which is a pity really, I was expecting to be able to play off-line.

Fair enough. I have no experience with their other products, so I'm trying to keep an open mind. Though they do all seem to be MMO's, so I understand your skepticism. And if they decide to follow the same kind of ridiculous DLC-fueled approach that BioWare has exercised with their last few titles, then they can count me out.

That is really a bummer, well I won't wait for the game then, when it comes out I'll see what the press and players have to say about it.

It is a bummer. There is always a chance they could reverse their position on the online requirement, but it isn't likely. Even if they do it will still be a Cryptic game filled with lame fetch quests and bland locations.

Since the launch of the current Gen consoles, I get the feel that publishers only make games who are mainstream to get the most profit possible. I know that it is their ultimate goal but at what cost? We're almost at the point where indie games are more enjoyable than what these publishers shell out.

I'm thinking of minecraft, streets of rage remake, chrono trigger fanmade sequel, sonic 2 remake, trine, world of goo... Etc.

I know that I may be wrong or selfish but I really wanted a current gen Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's gate, or something with the Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition rules and universes with gameplay akin to one of those games.

Dragon Age Origins was great, addicting and fun but it wasn't D&D and so it didn't satiated my hunger for a great D&D RPG video game since I finished the mask of the betrayer.

The sad thing about DA:O was we all thought given it's success it would start a whole new wave of proper cRPG's. Unfortunately BioWare had other ideas.

And sold less. Yet I bet they stick with the changes anyway.

Last I heard they are still crowing about hitting the 2 million mark as some kind of achivement. DA:O managed 5 million and it didn't have to bundle Mass Effect or go on sale for 50% off to do it. I think they mean it's a success knowing it's the sequel nobody wanted.

Even though DA2 sold worse than the original they are focused on the potential a more mainstream game can achieve. That's my take on it... they think there is some formula they still need to discover that will make 10+ million people suddenly want to play their games. They're not going to go back and "accept" 4 million in sales, they are going to keep fighting for that super mega hit (and maybe kill themselves doing it).

I don't know why they can't just budget to their audience and keep making good games. Risen was a mega-hit for Piranha Bytes and Deep Silver because they budgeted for their fanbase and then sold a good bit more than that.

For obvious reasons they aren't going to say they fucked up and should have listened to the fans but there is clearly something happening at BioWare over the DA2 fallout. Mass Effect 3 being delayed to add further polish and Fernando Melo saying all DA2 story based DLC has been delayed due to feedback. I'm hoping that somewhere along the line Laidlaw has had a swift kick up the arse and been told to fix it.

Of course no DLC can fix what is fundamentally wrong with DA2 but some actual content with some actual character development and real actual choices would be very welcome.

I agree. Personally, I'm hoping that DA 2 is a stumble that they'll learn and recover from. It might be wishful thinking, since I've been a Bioware fan since Baldur's Gate came out and I don't want that to change, but one mediocre game out of a stream of good or great games is not (yet) reason to announce Bioware's fall.

As for 4th ed D&D, from what I've heard it would be great for tactical combat-focused games like ToEE or Icewind Dale. Too bad nobody seems to make that kind of game any longer.