I was a late comer to the Dragon Age universe, this game came out in 2009, it was September 2010 before I played it.
I remember seeing the screens and reviews online but my initial thought was "meh"
Then I got bored bored of beating a game over the space of a week (I'm a mum, I can't play as much as I used to) so I was buying a game every week.
So I looked into Dragon Age after seeing it had a long lifespan and decided to order it. I was instantly hooked!
A lot of people out there compare Dragon Age: Origins to Oblivion or Knights of the Old Republic. This makes sense. Oblivion would be the other truly hyped (and truly great) western RPG of this generation. KotOR is a previous outing from the publisher, BioWare, and is also an object of worship for our benighted kind. People want to know whether they can expect the same sort of entertainment out of DA:O.
I suppose so, sort of. The best comparison, though, is to Final Fantasy XII. DA:O is America's answer to FFXII. I mean that in both the positive and negatives sentences, as you'll see.
Graphics 5
DA:O is unpretty. Judging from what I've heard, it looks even worse on the Xbox. I've only played the PlaySation version though, so I'll limit my review to it. This is where the comparisons to other games are helpful. DA:O is much closer to FFXII graphically than Oblivion. FFXII was a game for the previous console, yes, but it came late in the cycle. It really got a lot out of the PS2. Comparing the two game graphically is slap on DA:O's mouth, yes, but maybe not as hard a slap you might think. Like, open handed with the palm, as opposed to backhanded, in the manner of pimps.
Gabe over at Penny Arcade aptly criticized not just the textures but the architecture of DA:O. It's kind of repetitive. It feels stifling at times. If you've played KotOR, you know what I'm talking about. The corridors are tight, and they often look the same.
I'd love to see something like WoW's sprawling Orgrimmar in the game, but instead all we get is the Dwarven city Orzammar, a space where the entire nobility seem to occupy one of two rooms. DA:O does have better graphics than now dated WoW, of course, but it is nowhere near as thoughtful in terms of design.
Gameplay 9
If you played FFXII, you'll feel right at home. It's the exact same system. BioWare has actually been using this system since at least KotOR, which predates FFXII by three years. Where they learned from Square Enix the script writing system. Back in KotOR days as soon as you encountered an enemy, the action froze, and you entered in a queue of actions for your characters. A character left to their own devices would do random things that were usually pretty helpful.
FFXII improved on this formula, and DA:O follows, by allowing you to set up rules for your team's reactions with incredible precision. Do you want your warrior to bash the closest thing with a pulse? Enter that in the script. But what if your mage is being attacked? Well, you can enter with higher priority a script that taunts whoever is attacking off of your mage. The options here are impressive. And, of course, you can pause the action whenever and tell whoever to do whatever. You're never stuck into these scripts.
Though the game doesn't pause during encounters, it still is nothing at all like Oblivion. In the latter, you push a button, you swing your sword. In DA:O, you enter a command, you swing your sword at the next opportunity. I like the Oblivion model, but it's never been attempted in the party system yet.
But the game isn't without it's flaws. It's extremely glitchy
On a scale of one to ten, zero being no glitches, ten being very glitches, DA:O ranks in at extremely annoying. Now, the good news is the PS3 fares better than the PC which has some truly bizarre stuff going on. Also, the money glitch is really an exploit. No reason to complain about that. The dexterity glitch, though, is almost a gamebreaker for you rogues out there.
Plus, I've had one random freeze in 40 hours. A more common glitch, though, is characters disappearing or appearing at times. I didn't realize Harry Houdini was in my party. Very few of these glitches truly impede the game itself. Could be worse. Should be better. Thankfully, the game's autosaves are ample (even if they are a total give-away that something with sharp teeth and empty gullet is crouching around the corner)
Still, it's an extremely playable game!
Sound 8
The sound design for this game is phenomenal!!
The biggest thumbs up has to go to the voice acting, it's absolutely brilliant, it really makes the characters come to life. Even for the NPC's, it's outstanding!
The music pumps you up when battle starts and gives you that much needed adrenaline rush or the nice serene music plays whilst wandering through a town or whatever. My fave is definitely the back track that plays when you're on the docks at lake Callenhad
As for sound effects. Everything sounds as it should, swords clashing, ballistas firing, people screaming, rocks falling etc. It's completely immersive! Well done BioWare!
Story 11
This one goes to eleven. I've not felt so involved in the lives of fictional characters since Buffy. All of the epic plot and backstory are there. The dialogue is just top notch stuff, as well. Again, it invites comparison to FFXII's sweeping storyline. In fact, I'm not even sure what kind of person would really go through all of the books you'll find in game on the history of the DA:O universe. It's incredibly well put together.
And I really like my group. The opportunity to tell jokes with Alistair makes him feel real. The “relationship gauge” beneath each character allows you to invest in your party, or not. If you don't like the characters in real life, you don't have to like them in game.
But mostly, the characters are incredible likeable. Not to mention hilarious. As you traipse through town, random dialogue breaks out between your party, depending on who you include in your group. Not only is it interesting to see relationships develop between party members, it's often really funny. If you keep your dog around, he will make laugh. I imagine that someone might actually talk to the dog out loud, asking whether or not he's a good boy. I don't do this, ever. I just imagine somebody might.
So that's two paragraphs about the characters alone. The plot is beyond the high expectations I have for BioWare. It's better than a lot of books I read. If you're at all interested in fantasy stories, I don't see how you could pass this game up, for all its bugginess. If you prefer action, Demon's Souls might be a better route for you. There is a lot of dialogue.
Overall 9
DA:O was meant to be replayed. This comes out in the unlocking of specializations. You might want to be a Blood Mage. Well, it could take you nearly a playthrough to unlock that specialization. You shouldn't have too much trouble if you Google all this stuff, but then you're diminishing the exploratory nature of the game.
Also, the DLC is there and I think paid DLC from launch is a damnable practice, exploited by frothy mouthed heathens. But, it is what it is. It proves, anyway, that EA wants you to play the game through more than once.
And there is reason. As complex as the plot is, it allows you to make huge decisions that will affect the outcome of the game. Some of these are a bit fudged, though. For instance, I once chose to fight a pretty important battle, but then a party member sallied forth into the fray, anyway. I was given a choice, I guess, but the outcome was identical. Anyway, a lot of the impressiveness of this game is that there is just no way to get to all the excellently acted dialogue with just once character. It takes many rounds to really see everything this game's got.
DA:O is an incredible, incredibly flawed game. The plot is so good, though, that it would be a mistake to forego this title for other, prettier, better play tested games. For all its junk, there's just nothing else like it.
This game is one of my most favourite games EVER! I've played through it about 10 times and I've clocked up a couple hundred hours in-game... That's not counting the DLC
Awakening
Gameplay 9
Awakening is the biggest of the add-on packs to Dragon Age: Origins, following the story of what happened to your Warden should he or she have survived, if not you get to play an Orlesian warden.
The game plays exactly like Origins so you should feel right at home playing it. New quests, upgrades, armours and weapons make this a must-play if you enjoyed the DA:O universe
Sound 8
Again, this is pretty much like Origins a lot of the voice cast return, though in different roles and the new ones do their jobs very well. Especially the Elf Velanna. You can really feel her hatred for humans.
Story 8
Taking place six months after Origins, Awakening follows the new Warden commander and his/her journey around the Arling of Amaranthine in a bid to stop a new Darkspawn invasion
There is no Arch Demon however and it's all to do with a Brood Mother aptly called "The Mother" who is at war with another Darkspawn "The Architect"
One wishes to destroy humanity, the other, ally with it. The Grey Wardens are stuck in the middle.
Overall 8
Not as good as Origins, this is definitely worth playing if you're a fan of DA:O. Especially if you wish to see what happens to your Warden after the Blight.
The characters aren't as memorable, nor are the locales but it gives you more of a look at Fereldan
And now that it's packaged for free with the Ultimate edition box set, there's no reason why you shouldn't play it.
NOTE!! I will try and include the other mission based DLC over time with this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment