Do we really need one of these threads here? There were enough of them on the bloody BioWare boards, and as noted by eisberg77 they didn't make anyone look particularly good.

On a side note, there is a long Witcher 2 thread in Off Topic on the BioWare boards that seems to be rather reasonable.

Dragon Age 2 vs. the Witcher 2?

Excuse me, I can't contain my hilarity....


Oooh, whew, laughing fit is over. There is NO COMPARISON.

DA 2 was a horrid game. Oh, you'll have people stick up for BiowEAr and say things like, "it had potential" or "EA rushed them".

EA and Bioware are the same company.

To blame EA is to blame Bioware for the rushed hackjob.

Dragon Age 2 is indefensible. It was rushed. It was stripped down/streamlined/dumbed down to the nth degree. It pushes social agendas where they do not belong. The storyline was crap. The characters no deeper than a shallow mudhole. The game was way too easy, even on the hardest settings. The ninja drops were ludicrous. Kirkwall was a graveyard (well, it may as well have been). Their "mature" story was not "mature". It was a cartoonish attempt at playing adult.

And the repeated areas? Are you kidding me? $60 bucks for that?

The Witcher 2, meanwhile, is revolutionary. No, it's not perfect but it is very damn close. It is beautiful, punishing, immersive and entertaining. It is a game that may never be topped in overall value. It is the modern day Baldur's Gate 2 (not in party RPG but in soul and quality).

Comparing DA 2 and the Witcher 2 is like comparing finger paintings to Rembrandt.

On a side note, Dragon Age Origins was good. I did like that. :)

Interestingly enough, there are paintings out there that look like finger paintings and have made more money then Rembrandts have sold :(

Correct. Your comments are directed towards anyone that enjoyed aspects of DA2. So, everyone that enjoys DA2 are likely immature, or unsophisticated and therefore you feel sorry for them. As I will repeat from my original post, I enjoy the combat. I also enjoy combat in Mount & Blade: Warband, as well as Witcher 2. Completely different games from one another. I also mentioned there were some large problems in DA2, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the game. I didn't even delve into the storyline, character interaction, musical score, voice overs, nor graphical splendor of Witcher 2, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Due to this: I am called a moron [someone else,not you], immature and/or unsophisticated and I have the honour of you feeling sorry for me. In response, due to my amusement I use sarcasm, to your personal attacks...junior.
Anyway, we'll agree to disagree, which you seem to have a problem grasping. Congratulations on not enjoying DA2, flawed as it was.

I have been a long-time fan of BioWare and CDPR and it occurs to me that BioWare simply grew complacent. They reach the point in which all they can actually do is to recycle stories and re-invent NPCs and custom tailor them to what BioDrones (read fan boys) want. They were on the top of the hill and the only way from there is down.

Some would argue that this is temporary, I do not believe so. Math is rather simple. It took BioWare 6+ years to make DAO and assuming they sold 3 million copies (fictional number) they simply realized that if they make DAO2/3/4 in 1/3 of that time (2 years per each) and sell half of total of DAO sales they are still ahead by 1.5 million copies in the end… and they released 3 games in time of 1. Let’s make no mistakes, in the end BioWare is in it for the money (just like any other business).

Let’s face it, they adopted a game a year approach. One year its DA next year its ME, just like the countless shooters that do not need to be named are being released right now. Furthermore, recent visit to few MMO forums have left me with rather harsh observations of what TOR is turning into (this would be the observation offered by those who follow the development of it and I admit I do not, I have no desire of sharing my KotOR like experience with 100k+ morally challenged 13yo).

This was not unexpected, BioWare is making another WoW clone and lacks expertise of writing an MMO or a multiplayer games (their last multiplayer game was the original NWN). I sense hard times ahead for them, and for those of you with some years behind their belts I do not need to bring up the example of Origin (the company) and their downfall (not that different from where BioWare is heading).

In the end BioWare has just been dethroned by CDPR (temporarily or permanently, time will certainly tell) and it would seem they are taking it badly rather than getting back into the fight and making a better game. Disappointing situation.

I sincerely hope that BioWare will get off their high horse and stop blowing smoke up their backside with overly aggressive and downright shameful marketing and become a better company as a result.

As for CDPR I simply hope that they keep doing what they are doing and keep getting better at it. I also pray (that would be the right word) that they do not fall prey to the same mistakes that BioWare and Origin did. Then again… Jeszcze Polska nie zginela poki my zyjemy :)

As for the original comments. For me, a 35 yo veteran of video games (with 28+ years of gaming behind me) I find the style, approach, maturity and content of Witcher 1/2 considerably more favourable and of much greater interest to me than what Dragon Age (Origins/2) have had to offer so far.

Well said, if this game sells like gangbusters, hopefully they'll keep the formula running strong. Only time will tell.

Then again, if company 'x' were to approach you and say, "We'll grant you a production budget of 'x' dollars and ongoing promotional expenses paid, and your salary will the 'x' dollars with 'x' bonus @ yr. end based on sales. Upon condition of completing said project in 'x' time, regardless of state of product"........what would you do?

Fun times ahead!

You're far too mature for this thread. :p Shoo!

If only...

I was hoping this would be a bang up year for RPGs with DA 2, TW 2 and Skyrim. Two out of three (assuming Skyrim is as fun to play as it looks) isn't bad.

As for my earlier post...typically, I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to games. DA 2, however, was the exception, and far exceeded the limits of my tolerance because it was such an obvious rush at bleeding the cash cow of DA:O. Admittedly, the dislike for the game turned into more than that for me due to Mike Laidlaw's disregard for customers, the lies Bioware stated leading up to the game's release and their shady self-review tactics after it was released.

You know, typical EA crap.

dragon age origins was awesome

but dragon age 2 was piece of shit and you wouldn't hear of it if origins didn't get famous

so witcher 2

I enjoyed DA2 but you could hardly say it held up to comparison with Origins. Origins is a modern classic - a true successor to the Baldur's Gate legacy.

DA2 suffered from being made too accessible and pick-up-and-a-playable. That doesn't make it a bad game but it does make you less forgiving of the samey environments and simplified combat system.

Many could say Witcher 2 has done the same in making it more accessible (some will call it being "consolized" but I dislike that term as it has too many negative connotations) but this feels like a full well-developed game with rich environments, strong narrative, combat which has been changed for the better (still requires a little tweaking, imo) and one of the best looking engines we've ever had.

In summary, DA2 and Witcher 2 have been given similar overhauls but Witcher 2 has been made with love and care and most importantly you can understand the direction they wanted to take whilst DA2 was rushed out and felt unfinished.

For me, The Witcher 2 is simply better in every way than Bioware's recent stuff. Technically it's better, the writing is better (and that's presumably after translating from Polish), the story is better, and the world is more believable. The voice acting in TW2 is the best I've ever heard in any game. Maybe the best thing about TW2 is how little filler there is - it's all high quality stuff.

I thought DA:O was a decent game, but a bit overrated because it was Bioware. With DA2, people were no longer willing to give them a free pass, and it was obviously rushed due to the recycling of environments. I must admit I haven't bothered to play DA2 (except the disappointing demo), but I doesn't look like I'm missing much.

Nice comparison. The most shitty game I have ever played (DA2) versus one of the best games I have ever played (Witcher 2). In other words, these games are uncomparable.

DA2 was a 6/10 on a log scale while Witcher 2 is a 9/10. It is also nice that CDprojeckt isn't telling me my opinion is wrong and that the game is perfect.

My answer is a simple one:
I've only been disappointed by one of the two games mentioned in the topic, and it wasn't Witcher 2.