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[caption id="attachment_2898" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="Just one more gift and I can totally do her."]
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I used to be a scholar and a gentleman, with a good job…a good life. That is all over now. Now I am a Dalish elf fighting vagrants and putrid evil in my quest to push back the Darkspawn into the festering muck from whence they came. There I am, drudging along in the darkness with my companions…that ex-religious nut and that damn whorish witch, and my real life work keeps emailing me looking for those damn reports! You lecherous heathen! Don’t you see there is a war going on! A war between good and evil and all you care about are those damn reports!
….(deep breathing)…
This is Dragon Age: Origins and this is what it has done to me. Last night I had a date to get drinks with two females and before I left all I could think was “This better not take too long…I’ve got to play more Dragon Age.”
I am lost.
But it is not all for nothing. I can honestly say that Dragon Age: Origins is the most engaging RPG I have played in a very long time. To compare it to other games, I’m more invested in my character here than I was in Mass Effect. 15 hours in and I have explored approximately 30% of the game world…Brutal Legend I was able to complete and uninstall in just over 8 hours.
It should be noted that Dragon Age plays very much like an old school RPG. Not only is it a spiritual successor to Boulders Gate, it feels exactly like playing that game but in a 3D world. This is not an action game. It is a tactical RPG. During my first play through at PAX 2009 I would enter combat and repeatedly hit the A button to attack. Only after hearing “Alright”, “Ok” and “By your command” over and over did I realize that just once was enough. You don’t actively attack in this game, you issue commands as battle progress in a semi “RTS” style that works very well in this instance. Combat is frenetic, when you haven’t paused it to issue commands to your party.
The command structure on the console versions uses radial menus and a 6 button quickbar to issue combat actions. The system works in the imperfect world that is console RTS mechanics, and it certainly helps that an in-depth tactics system allows one to issue constant “if-when” commands to party members in the spirit of Final Fantasy. It allows one to grant a bit of intelligence to party companions usually blasted for their incompetence. Honestly, they do pretty well for themselves and I found myself not tinkering with the tactics system at all until about the 10th hour in.
The story of Dragon Age is extremely engaging and you will also find a myriad of meaningful side quests to keep you busy for those moments when you feel like going off the beaten path. I have no specific number, but I do find myself having to stop and concentrate on emptying out my quest log before I begin to feel overwhelmed. The voice acting is superb and even though it doesn’t quite flow as well as the conversation system in Mass Effect it still does a fantastic job of offering a good amount of conversational trees that will change the course of the conversation…and will sometimes change the course of the quest.
Sitting here, writing this, I can feel the icy cold stare of the CD-box calling to me from across the room. My hands twitch with the need to tinker stats and I’m beginning to wonder if I can make Morriggan like me again. There have been a few disappointments this year but Dragon Age is certainly not one of them. It has retained its place as a possible GOTY…but looking ahead there is some competition on the horizon. The years not over yet. Honestly…it’s almost just begun.
-Joseph-
Comments
14 years, 5 months ago
meh
14 years, 5 months ago
I was going to rent the game so I could fuck Moriggan (alongside other reasons), but the place was out of copies. Overlord 2 will have to do instead.
14 years, 5 months ago
So far Dragon Age is easily my GOTY. Having played most major releases throughout the year thats a compliment. The only game I can see giving it any trouble was Bayonetta and that was pushed back out of the calendar year. Its the first game that feels like Im in Lord Of The Rings. The obvious strong point of this game is story telling. Is Tolkien sitting in Bioware headquarters writing for this game? I mean seriously! I just wish I had a proper pc because the 360 version is technically a bit sketchy. This game makes me that much more excited for Mass Effect 2.
14 years, 5 months ago
Hands down my GOTY so far also. The only test it has to pass is when I get Uncharted 2 next paycheck.
14 years, 5 months ago
I was surprised at how the game didn't exactly look that great on the feed. Something about it just turned me off. I think I'll have to play it to get it. Must be one of those games.
14 years, 5 months ago
In all honesty rabbes, the game is not a graphical powerhouse. But, honestly, thats not really what the game is about and what it does offer is more than enough considering the content.
14 years, 5 months ago
It looks freakin' beautiful in some parts on the PC Rabbese
The gameplay is fun and addicting, the dialogue deep and refreshing, and the story enthralling and chilling. I find myself wanting to just push past the side-quests in order to kill off the blight, because there's a constant feeling that no time should be wasted, which is a sign that the game truly has pulled me in.
If you don't like strategic combat, I wouldn't recommend the higher difficulties. On easy and normal, you can pass by mostly just staying out of the pause section of the combat, although if you are resourceful and intelligent about your strategies then you'll find many of the battles to be a lot easier than if you just send your group straight in to attack.
My only complaint is the like/dislike system. It's hard to please everyone, and choices you make may bring down someone's respect for you. You can offset this with gifts, but I really prefer to play a good and virtuous character that takes everything into consideration... which makes it hard to keep Morrigan (I want to get with her so bad) and Sten in high relations with you. But really, this all just adds to the depth of the choices you make, and is a positive aspect to the gameplay. I don't not like the system, I just wish there was an easier way to bring everyone up to higher respects without you having to shower them with gifts and carefully plan your decisions.
I could go on and on, but I will sum the rest up by saying: This game is better than Oblivion 9 out of 10 times, get it if you show a relative interest in the RPG genre, or you'll be kicking yourself for it. Hell, even if you don't like RPGs, get it. There's something for everyone.
14 years, 5 months ago
Yea! Morrigan! I'm getting DA just for her...and cuz its an awesome game =)
14 years, 5 months ago
Good post. Glad to have you here Joseph.
14 years, 5 months ago
Hmm...
Nice Joseph, because of this, my purchase of Dragon Age is imminent. I wasn't able to watch Brad play it for the past few days but maybe thats a good thing since I want to play this myself.
14 years, 5 months ago
I have to agree with some of you. It is an addicting game. At least for me it is. I have a hard time putting it down. Between this and fairy tale fights, I find myself picking up dragon age up a heck of a whole lot more than fairytale fights. I seem to enjoy my character and her companions more than anything that I've played. I seem to think I'm more attatched to this game and the final fantasy series than anything else that I've played.
14 years, 5 months ago
I managed to run this on my shitty laptop with integrated graphics. BOOYA! All low settings, windowed at 800x600, 20 FPS, BOOYA!
Also, this game is wonderful. It's not perfect, but damn it is worthy of GOTY, at least a nominee. The story is great, the characters aren't as memorable as say Mass Effect or Baldur's Gate, but they still have their own personalities and morals, which works out well enough.
I'm honestly a little disappointed in the skill trees though. The specializations are quite dull, as they only unlock one line of skills. I was just hoping for more...ya know...specialization.
I also cranked all the settings up to full, which gives me about 2 fps lol. But holy shit the game looks pretty damn nice. A little glossy and stuff, but it sure looks great.
The gr
14 years, 5 months ago
i got a bit depressed after i beat this game hehe i didnt want it to end
14 years, 5 months ago
Nice review. The previous Bioware game was Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gale II not Boulder.