[QUOTE="Flubbbs"]
[QUOTE="Planeforger"]
"Since they were bought by EA"?
They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P
Planeforger
KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, DA:O, Neverwinter Nights LOL, nope
Neverwinter Nights had a bland campaign, but was a technical marvel at the time. It was a step down from BG2.
KOTOR was really good. It was a simplistic RPG, but the presentation helped it a lot. Still didn't top BG2 though, especially given its fairly weak roleplaying (the game punished you for doing anything other than picking the blue or red option every time!).
Jade Empire...well, that was when they started making these console exclusive, action-heavy, stat-lite RPGs. I enjoyed it for its unique setting, but the combat was kind of crap and it wasn't much of an RPG.
Mass Effect...again, great presentation, simplistic roleplaying, very action-heavy.
Dragon Age Origins...attempted to recapture BG2's greatness, but the underlying mechanics were shallow, the setting was exceptionally bland/traditional/generic, the dungeons were awfully designed, and the game was about 40 hours of crap longer than it needed to be.
Anyway, it's not quite a smooth curve downhill, but all of their games since BG2 have either had depth or been entertaining titles - but not both at the same time.
And just in case I'm giving people the wrong impression: no, I'm not a huge BG2 fanboy. It's one of the most 'complete' fantasy RPGs out there, and a great game in its own right, but it's not a personal favourite of mine. I just think that it's 'objectively' a better game than anything else Bioware has done since then, by a long shot.
I can see where you are coming from. I am one of the few that do not like how Bioware is removing role playing and replacing it with system so the player can pretend to be the character. No, pretending to be the character is not role playing in a RPG.
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