EA and BioWare's Anthem

[Fading]

It's a shame, but this point I'm not seeing the Mass Effect series coming back as we knew it. Bioware passed off the Andromeda problems as coming from their B team. But Anthem seems to be worse.

Angry Joe pointed out one quest giver talks like he's your best friend the first time you meet him. Then later in the game introduces himself, like he had just met you. As if the story was chopped up, and reordered for some reason. Then there are technical issues, and a lack of content that gets recycled later on. It's just a mess.

I think EA just has had too much influence on Bioware as it's hardly recognizable anymore. Either way, it's possible EA just dissolves Bioware after this. They continued to ignore obviously great ideas like having Bioware do another Kotor, and instead shoe horned them into games not in their expertise. Meanwhile Respawn had no intervention from EA, and came out with Apex, and people love it. If EA could just learn not to get in their developers way.

 

[X Knight]

yeah, it's a shame about Anthem.

hidden within, it had the potential to be a solid single player, story driven, character driven RPG that Bioware is known for. It could have been Bioware's 3rd RPG franchise to go along with Mass Effect and DA.

there's no reason why this couldn't have been a full blown single player game with a party of AI teammates, characters to romance, full character creation, etc.

The game is fun, but there are so many bugs, crashes, server issues/disconnects that it's not very playable. And because it's an always online game, there is no PAUSE option which makes the game borderline impractical to play.

If you're playing a mission, no matter how far into it your are, if life calls you away from the game, by the time you come back, chances are you're kicked out of the server due to inactivity and you have to REDO THE WHOLE MISSION. There are no save points or check points so you have to start over. It's frustrating and kills your desire to keep playing.

It's like they expect the player to just be able to block out a decent amount of uninterruptable playtime to complete a whole mission. but again, that's not practical or realistic in the real world where you may need to leave the game to do something.

If this were a single player offline game, you could simply pause the game and pick it up later. Or do a quicksave and resume the game later.

but no, can't do that in this game.

and now I'm reading that this game is actually crashing/bricking people's PS4s and X1s (especially PS4s). and that's simply unacceptable.

 

[Marvolo]

I've lost all hope for the next Dragon Age. At best it will be another Mass Effect Andromeda or at worst it will be another Anthem dumpster fire. Bioware as it exists today is not the Bioware that made the original Mass Effect trilogy, DA: Origins, and KOTOR.

 

[Lily Adler]

I've lost all hope for the next Dragon Age. At best it will be another Mass Effect Andromeda or at worst it will be another Anthem dumpster fire. Bioware as it exists today is not the Bioware that made the original Mass Effect trilogy, DA: Origins, and KOTOR.

No more Riding The Bull for anyone.

 

[terry78]

No more Riding The Bull for anyone.

You have to be 18 for that. 16 in Kentucky I think.

 

[Lily Adler]

You have to be 18 for that. 16 in Kentucky I think.

 

[DKDetective]

I've lost all hope for the next Dragon Age. At best it will be another Mass Effect Andromeda or at worst it will be another Anthem dumpster fire. Bioware as it exists today is not the Bioware that made the original Mass Effect trilogy, DA: Origins, and KOTOR.

You are forgetting the games from Boware's original prime, the Baldur's Gate series. Western-style CRPGs would not exist as we know them but for Bioware's 90s games.

EA does this to all of their best developers and its so bad for the industry. Westwood Studios, Blizzard's only competitor for RTS supremacy, was destroyed by EA, following which, Blizzard, lacking the friendly competition, hasn't made a truly great RTS game since Westwood folded up.

If BioWare is folded up by EA now, its also going to suck for Alberta's economy. Their oil and gas industry is already hurting, now to lose such a big, high profile employer in Edmonton, gulp.

 

[Brother Jack]

I'm still reserving some hope for DA4, if not only because up until this current generation Bioware was one of the best developers in the industry, top five probably. And I still want to believe they can recapture their former glory. I really liked DA3 (might be my favorite in the series), and all things considered it they didn't make it that long ago.

 

[Marvolo]

A problem I wasnt aware of until Anthem is EA forces all their developers to use Frostbite. An engine designed for FPS. So the devs are having to jury rig tools and work arounds to get an FPS engine to function as an RPG engine. Supposedly it's part of the reason Anthem and Andromeda had the problems they did.

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

 

[zenith16]

Ok ,so I got video reviews of both the Easy allies & EPN.tv and more importantly news about updates that will fix the bricking of your console where this games involved

Anthem First Impressions with Happy Console Gamer!

3.9K views 1 week ago Published on 03/02/2019
#PlayForever #Anthem #review Official EPN Merch is available at EPN.tv/Merch


Victor Lucas is joined by his friend Johnny Millenium, aka the Happy Console Gamer, to discuss their first impressions of BioWare massive online game Anthem!





Now the final verdict's

Anthem - Easy Allies Review
76K views 1 week ago Published on 2 Mar 2019 Subtitles

Fans that have waited for Anthem will have to wait a bit longer until it's up to speed with a lot of the competition. Long load times, repetitive missions, and a lack of end-game surprises take a lot of excitement out of what is otherwise a beautiful game with inventive controls. Video Written and Edited by Brandon Jones Reviewed on PlayStation 4 Pro Available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Anthem Final Review! - Electric Playground

3.5K views 2 days ago Published on 03/07/2019
#PlayForever #Anthem #BioWare Official EPN Merch is available at EPN.tv/Merch

Victor Lucas has got his fill of Anthem, or maybe he just stopped because he doesn't want the game to brick his PS4. Either way, here's his final review!





Finally some late but supposedly good news ..

No Cyberpunk 2077 This Year? - The Rundown

2.3K views 1 day ago Published on 03/08/2019
#PlayForever #Rundown #news

Today in the Rundown, we discuss the awesome new game Cyberpunk 2077 and how long we might have to wait to start playing. We also learn what big publisher is the latest to depart E3, have a bit of good news for BioWare's Anthem, take a look at a mobile prequel to Octopath Traveler, wax nostalgic with the second season of Cobra Kai, and finally, learn why the developers of Dark Souls want to make a battle royale game!

source: Easy Allies & The Electric Playground Network | EPN

 

[DKDetective]

A problem I wasnt aware of until Anthem is EA forces all their developers to use Frostbite. An engine designed for FPS. So the devs are having to jury rig tools and work arounds to get an FPS engine to function as an RPG engine. Supposedly it's part of the reason Anthem and Andromeda had the problems they did.

I knew that was a problem for Bioware Montreal with Andromeda, but I thought that Bioware Edmonton had an okay time with Frostbite for DA3.

 

[zenith16]

2 hours ago
ANTHEM Was Reportedly BioWare's Own Idea As "EA Actually Gives Its Studios A Lot Of Autonomy"
According to Kotaku's Jason Schreier, you shouldn't blame only Electronic Arts for the current (quite sad) state of Anthem, as it was reportedly BioWare's idea to make this particular looter shooter...Read more


source: GameFragger.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Trailers and more!

 

[zenith16]

Star Wars: The Old Republic Movie? - The Rundown
1.3K views 17 hours ago Published on 20 Mar 2019
#PlayForever #Rundown #news

Today in the Rundown, we find out what classic Star Wars era might be getting the big screen treatment! We also have an update from BioWare about their troubled game Anthem, have some promising intel about The Division 2, get the latest on how Marvel and Disney plan to mutate the X-Men movies, and finally, sneak in a new details on the Metal Gear Solid movie!

0:34 Old Republic Moive??

1:33 (<< Click here to watch only this part ) Plans For Anthem


2:46 Division 2 Fixed

3:43 Marvel's all Disney's

5:07 Metal Gear Movie delay



confirming the video above



20 hours ago
EA's ANTHEM Will Be "Supported Well Into The Future," According To BioWare's General Manager
It looks like the rather rocky start and generally negative reviews didn't stop Anthem from being a hit as BioWare has some plans to make the looter shooter better, at least according to Casey Hudson...Read more

source: The Electric Playground Network | EPN & GameFragger.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Trailers and more!

 

[Iceman]

I’m still mourning what’s happened to Mass Effect this gen after so much promise.

 

[X Knight]

I’m still mourning what’s happened to Mass Effect this gen after so much promise.

same here. Bioware needs to get their priorities and focus back. hopefully that can start with DA 4. and after that they can revisit ME.

would be nice if they do a Star Wars RPG, too. heck, even Anthem could have been a new single player, story/choice driven RPG.

 

[zenith16]

Sadly this is being pushed



2 days ago
ANTHEM Was The Best Selling North American Game In February
Though much derided, Bioware and EA's Anthem was the top-selling video game in North American during February and digital sales were reportedly over $100 million.Read more


How Ever it's be said that major layoff have taken place at EA details in the latter End half of the video of EPN.tv's (aka the electric play grounds the rundown )

No, Batman Shouldn't Murder People - The Rundown
1.6K views 18 hours ago Published on 26 Mar 2019
#PlayForever #Rundown #news

Today in the Rundown, Victor Lucas unmasks his thoughts on the new controversy about whether or not Batman should kill people. We also have the first details on a new Shantae game, beat up a new look at Streets of Rage 4, have some bittersweet news about The Walking Dead and Telltale Games, find out when you can play a new VR game from the co-creator of Rick & Morty, and finally, explore new details on No Man's Sky in VR!




source: GameFragger.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Trailers and more!&The Electric Playground Network | EPN

 

[AndrewGilkison]

https://kotaku.com/how-biowares-anthem-went-wrong-1833731964

A breakdown of the entire **** show that was this game. I am honestly concerned for BioWare's future at this point.

 

[Elayis]

I was hoping that Schreier was working on one of his trademark behind-the-scenes articles for Anthem. It boggles the mind that BioWare has gone through the exact same problems three times in a row (long, unfocused development; Frostbite not being an RPG engine), but haven't changed their approach even a little. Instead of fixing their obviously broken management approach, their response to Andromeda's failure was to make Anthem "un-memeable", as if that game's problems was it's bad press and not any underlying problems with the gameplay itself.

And now they've released a response to Schreier's article, basically attacking him for calling out their unethical overworking of employees during crunch.

Anthem Game Development

On top of all that, the Kotaku article also mentioned that the original development of DA4 was canceled so that its dev team could help finish Anthem. The new iteration of DA4 will apparently use Anthem's code, and straddle the line between "games as a service" and the traditional BioWare single-player experience.

 

[zenith16]

^^^ yeah this was put up last night.


17 hours ago
ANTHEM Developer BioWare Issues Statement After Shocking Report On Game's Disastrous Development Process
Following a bombshell of a report that documented the chaotic development of Anthem, EA and BioWare drafted a response that explains why they chose not to participate in the actual article itself. Read more

source: GameFragger.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Trailers and more!

 

[Fading]

As much as I dislike EA, and their practices, Bioware itself is pretty messed up. I had read that article, and was coming in here to see if you guys had too.

Still, easy to see why Anthem was so screwed up. They changed the name at the very last second. With 7 years of development, didn't even finalize certain features until the last few months. Employee mistreatment to the point of widespread depression. Bad mismanagement.

As much as I like some of Bioware's previous titles, I'm going to stop hoping that they bring them back. Bioware needs to fix itself before it works on any new titles. Even their response shows they've learned nothing. As they basically accuse the journalist of trying to tear them down, but don't deny what he wrote.

Plus, they put out their response before he even released the article. Meaning they didn't read his article. Bioware is likely fully aware of the problems in their company.

 

[Lily Adler]

But I wanted to romance the milk man.

 

[X Knight]

yeah, the culture at Bioware itself needs to change. That Anthem article is pretty damning, if true. but it also echoes problems with MEA development, so there's prob a lot of truth in that article.

I remain cautiously hopeful for Dragon Age 4. but after Anthem, MEA, and even DAI to an extent, I'm not as confident in Bioware as I once was. And hearing how even DA 4 got sacrificed for Anthem's development makes me nervous about that game, too.

speaking of Anthem, it's a good thing they decided to put Flying back in at the last minute.....lol.

cuz Flying is the one thing that makes Anthem stand out. without that, I'd have even less interest in the game.

 

[zenith16]

As much as I dislike EA, and their practices, Bioware itself is pretty messed up. I had read that article, and was coming in here to see if you guys had too.

Still, easy to see why Anthem was so screwed up. They changed the name at the very last second. With 7 years of development, didn't even finalize certain features until the last few months. Employee mistreatment to the point of widespread depression. Bad mismanagement.

As much as I like some of Bioware's previous titles, I'm going to stop hoping that they bring them back. Bioware needs to fix itself before it works on any new titles. Even their response shows they've learned nothing. As they basically accuse the journalist of trying to tear them down, but don't deny what he wrote.

Plus, they put out their response before he even released the article. Meaning they didn't read his article. Bioware is likely fully aware of the problems in their company.

I like what Vic had to say with johnny about all this about it's shame of what bioware and EA have become and the fact that current head of EA use to be one of those dev's that did all the work for the content and now they just do we'll put it out the content after it comes out in stores .




New Joker First Impressions! - The Rundown
965 views 8 hours ago Published on 3 Apr 2019
#PlayForever #Rundown #news

Today in the Rundown, Victor Lucas gives us his first impressions of the new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix! We also find out who is joining Scarlett Johansson in Marvel's Black Widow solo film, loot release details on Borderlands 3, and finally, delve into the controversy surrounding the development of BioWare's online game Anthem.


source: The Electric Playground Network | EPN

 

[zenith16]

Star Wars and Avatar Sequels Shuffled - The Rundown


1.2K views 2 days ago Published on 05/09/2019
#PlayForever #Rundown #news


Today in the Rundown, we discuss why Disney is shuffling around the upcoming Star Wars movies and the sequels to Avatar! We also have some bad news for anyone waiting for the new X-Men horror movie The New Mutants, find out who might star in Marvel's latest adventure The Eternals, and finally, learn what EA thinks of the troubled sci-fi game Anthem!




2 days ago
ANTHEM Fails To Meet EA's Sales Expectations But The Company Is Not Planning To Ditch The Game
Anthem has officially underperformed, which means that BioWare's controversial title ultimately failed to sell the expected 5 to 6 million units in its launch period – but EA still has faith in the game...Read more


source: The Electric Playground Network | EPN & GameFragger.com: Video Game News, Reviews, Trailers and more!