Anthem

Originally posted by Nephthys
No romances, no companions, no character customization, and no offline play.

RIP Bioware.

Romances could actually be added later (if the demand is high enough) and would free, according to Darrah.

No companions is confirmed. Depending on how this game is structured and if they incorporate other story functions effectively, it won't bother me.

Yeah, no customization for the individual inside of the suit, I am pretty sure, but more javelins are coming in the future and customizations will go beyond colors (For example, no two Rangers will look exactly the same).

No offline play doesn't irk me that much but I can certainly see why it does for some.

It won't be a BioWare game that people are used to but if they make this an enjoyable experience and check most of the boxes with a degree of competency? I don't see what the issue is. This also isn't an indication that their other franchises are dead or they are done with SP games or w/e so I don't really understand the "RIP Bioware" statement. Do you think Anthem indicates a changing trend for Bioware that will be negative? If so, why do you think this?

He's saying RIP Bioware because he expects Anthem to underperform, and that when it does, EA will drag Bioware out back and blow its brains out.

Yeah, it doesn't cater to any of Biowares strengths or what their fanbase expect from them. On top of being a blatant Destiny-clone I expect it to likely underperform (at least by EA's standards) and be just another nail in the coffin.

Bioware needs this to succeed after Andromeda. But with their fanbase I doubt it will. The gameplay looks good but it also looks super shallow outside of that.

I think the game will probably sell pretty well initially, but will probably end up hampered by a lot of the same issues the Destiny games are - long term playability problems, things like "game play loops" being emphasized over a compelling story and strong characters/world building, issues with satisfying loot drops/weapons, etc.

I'm not sure I agree that this needs to be a home run for Bioware to remain safe, though. It's a new franchise, EA may be giving it some leeway in regards to how it performs or how it's received. I think the next Dragon Age game will truly be the make or break game for Bioware.

I'm starting to get somewhat optimistic about this game. From what I've seen I think it looks pretty good. May end up getting it.

Playing the demo. Oh the bugs and connection problems and crashes. Here’s hoping it’s fixed by release cuz this is just ridic.

Essentially, been trying to play for 3 hours. Got a total of maybe less than 30 minutes game time.

I did hear about that stuff, it's concerning, but that's usually what these betas/demos are created for. To iron the stuff out now instead of on release. Of course half the time the problems remain during release as well.

It looks like people are punishing the servers. Most online games have this problem when they first come online during a beta.

Anyway, servers have stabilized enough that I’ve been able to consistently play the game.

The good.
-Landscape is beautiful, the verticallity of exploration lends to some pretty stunning views, especially in freeplay.
-Abilities are powerful and make solid impact on gameplay, perhaps even too powerful. Storms for example can chain freeze almost any non-boss enemy once their shields are down. Ultimates hit hard and feel great.
-Graphics are well done. Equal in quality to Destiny in many respects.
-Customization is very comprehensive.

The Bad
-Gunplay is subpar compared to games like Destiny/Division/Warframe. The problem I feel lies in the fact that most combat takes place at long range for most javelins (to avoid getting surrounded/swarmed). This makes opponents just blips on the radar. However, opponents don’t seem to be ever be hampered by distance, able to shoot you accuratlely from just any range.
-Cover mechanic sucks. Mostly nonexistent. Enemies can shot you through cover while your bullets get snagged on terrain even when you can clearly see your target. Gameplay is more focused on movement and repositioning to get a clear shot and using abilities every CD. Can get old.
-Landscapes are beautiful but empty. Not much point exploring if there’s nothing to see.
-Flying through the world takes away a lot of fun in the exploration. Seeing as a LOT of the terrain will just get skipped by most ppl, they made the world quite barren. The fun part of exploring in games comes a lot from the tiny details you run into when just randomly going around (something 76 did right at least). None of that in Anthem.

The Ugly
-Loadscreens everywhere.
-Bullet sponge enemies seem to be the extent of what Bioware feels is what makes games challenging. That and just constantly swarming you.
-From what I see of the underwater part of the game, it’ll suck hard. Impossible to tell down from up, it’s dark and dreary and nothing happens other than getting lost. Every game like this that tries to do underwater segments suck at it. Just stop.
-XP and loot are given at the end of missions, making the missions feel exhausting without the constant thrill of new loot funnelling into your inventory. Bad decision for a looter shooter like this.
-I’m getting a very Destiny (1 not 2) vibe in the storytelling where they just give you tiny tidbits of info. I guess for foreshadowing and stuff but it makes not care one bit about the world and the characters (Bioware is normally known to be good at this, hope they have MUCH more in store for the final product).
-Why do Bioware games have such butt ugly face models these days?

The Meh.
-Graphics is just about as good as Destiny (1 not 2) beyond the design of the landscapes, with character models being kinda mediocre beyond the javelins themselves.
-Loot has been meh. Mostly i stat upgrades, no mechanic changing loot in game other than the fact that you arm different abilities. Hoping they fix this in late game.
-The lone Stronghold they demoed was fun but most puzzles are simple fetch ems.

Overall a 7 out of 10 for me. Lots of ppl are loving it though in the facebook group I’m in so my opinion might not be the majority. I say skip and don’t preorder for those who want to know. See if more content is in the final product and if the endgame is decent.

$20 SKINS?!

YouTube video

Is EA trying to kill Bioware on purpose? Last time a game had such insane price tags for it's reskins, the game died (Evolve). Even if these prices aren't official and someone is just testing to see gamers' reactions, you don't give them that kind of first impression or they're not gonna wanna buy it and it won't matter if the game is good.

Maybe they want to declare bankruptcy? And just aren't insolvent enough to do it yet?

Unicron Arts devouring on Bioware's corpse.

Playing the demo, and I gotta say, I’ve already switched back to playing Division.

It’s a fun game and the nuanced gameplay between classes is great. But the single working stronghold (instance) as the only consistently playable content in the demo is getting boring. The fact that they’re coming out with only 3 at launch kinda worries me a lot. That means I’ve played out 1/3 of the content available. 🙁

A NO to pre-order, a strong NO. Wait for new content to come out.

Game sucks balls, NemeBro is right again. Suck my nuts phuckers.

Boycott them, and maybe we'll get lucky enough for them to threaten no more PC ports of Anthem sequels, just like they did with the Guiding Light game, or whatever it is.

I wouldn’t say the game sucks just yet. The good parts of the game are quite fun but endless an monotonous loot grind inside monotonous instances filled with monotonous enemies you can barely tell apart for as yet monotonous loot with little distinguishing facvtors other than “hits harder plus a few quirks” is worrying. I’m not saying the game is like that since all I’ve seen is the demo but I’ve seen streams of the game with high end loot being demoed and they’re not much different, and seeing as there are simply 3 instances that they “spread out” by giving them multiple difficulties and the “difficulty” is expressed in more damager more health enemies... well....

🙁 crossing my fingers that the final product have a few surprises in store. And not: “suprise sucka! we’s got your money!”

That's the genre though.....Division, Destiny and other like minded games do the same thing. Anthem isn't different in that regard.

I played 30 minutes or so. Gunplay felt really good for me and the movements are fun.

Originally posted by Smasandian
That's the genre though.....Division, Destiny and other like minded games do the same thing. Anthem isn't different in that regard.

I played 30 minutes or so. Gunplay felt really good for me and the movements are fun.

Not at this level. Even when Destiny 1 came out it had at least IIRC 6-8 instances, a vibrant and full “world” with multiple areas, a full story with multiple missions that go in and out of the “world” with constant events and even multiple PVP arenas. I can live w/o the PVP (seriously Anthem should NOT have PVP IMO), but 3 instances a couple of bounties and 6 missions (3 of w/c were already shown in the demo) feels a LOT empty to me. They just faked content by giving us multiple difficulty levels that basically increases health and damage of enemies. This is very worrisome. It’s like they got the most boring parts of Destiny and made them even more tedious.

I will agree that the gameplay has HUGE potential and if they follow the Diablo/PoE formula of making loot interesting (allowing you to change your entire playstyle by the loot you gain), then the game’s lack of content can easily be circumvented (I can basically run the same mission in the Division over and over and my play experience is entirely different each time I get a new set item). BUT if they follow the Destiny loot design, oh man, this is gonna get old real fast.

I might have missed something but I'm not sure how you know how many missions they are going to be. I know there will be 3 strongholds for end game content and that will be a problem. But overall....I do not know.

I find it interesting you mention Division. There was serious issues with loot in Division until they fixed it 8 months after release. And a serious issue with content. The same complaints you have about Anthem were echoed in the Division subreddit before Update 1.4. Gear sets didn't change your playstyle at all. Running Lexington for the 500th because that was the fastest way to get decent gear (unless you lucked out in the dark zone) and you basically just went into cover, threw up smart cover and blasted people away.

It was announced by a dev, 6 missions 3 strongholds. So basically the demo gave you 1/2 the missions and 1/3 the stronghold content. I was played out after 1 weekend. If anything can stretch the content out, it would be the loot. But it’s looking like they are following the Destiny loot design (a few quirks on the items and legendaries that do some more quirky things, no gameplay changing gear like in PoE or Diablo). Dumbest decision ever if they did and I hope I am wrong about it.

And that is why Division sucked on release. They fixed it eventually though. It is frustrating that EA and Bioware have not learned the lesson in terms of content. Don’t they know that the playerbase will drop DRASTICALLY very quickly if they don’t have enough content to support the game and that this would ruin any plans they have to expand on the game via microtransactions and DLC? Thus making it less likely for new content to be produced?