Dragon age origins: The thread

[wizkid007]

Well there is one for demon souls, so I figured that I would make one for this game as well.

Right now I am currently on my second play through, and let me tell you that this game, this game is the best rpg that I have played in god knows how long. The story is just so captivating. So much to do and so many things to shoot for.

So whats so great about it.

1. You dont grind in this game to progress. You just play through the story line and thats it.

2. You can play the game in any order that you want. But the faster that you find your party, the more options they will have available for customization.

3. Building relationships with characters is highly rewarding.

4. First play through will take you around 60 hours. I looked for as many sidequests and extras as possible. But I am flying through my second playthrough in a much more timely fashion.

5. Building your character and balancing it against the rest of the party is very important. Currently my party of choice is 2 mages, 1 rogue and one tank. But you can build it any way that you want. Just make sure that you take advantage of the classes strengths.

6. Side quests have a point, extra experience and to gain extra money for better equipment.

7. Level design is great.

8. Diplomacy and choices in the game really affect how your own party preceives you and affects the paths you take in the game. You want to be really careful about what you do.

9. You can sleep with all the main characters in the game. Even if you want gay relationships. Even make out with bar maids or pay for a fling or two on the side.

10. Voices are done perfectly and each character has their own unique personality.

11. DLC will be supported for 2 years, with 1 item pack and 3 extensions to story already released.

12. Battles have a nice blend of macro and micro skills.

13. There are quite a few twists in the plot that tie into other things as you progress through the story line.

Ill add some more later. And gladly answer any questions. Give this game a chance.

 

[GregN]

Never played any WRPGs or Bioware RPGs so I don't know what to expect. (I'm strictly a JRPG whore). Everybody sez they're the cat's pajamas.

 

[Lagduf]

I just couldn't get in to this game. I'm being captivated by Mass Effect 2 though.

 

[wizkid007]

Never played any WRPGs or Bioware RPGs so I don't know what to expect. (I'm strictly a JRPG whore). Everybody sez they're the cat's pajamas.

This is the first one that I have ever played. I like the jrpgs too, and am currently playing magna carta 2. But overall, this game is just much more complete in terms of experience.

I just couldn't get in to this game. I'm being captivated by Mass Effect 2 though.

I was like that at the beginning of the game, wasnt sure I was going to like it. But after i became a grey warden, it really took off.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

This is the first one that I have ever played.

If that's the case, I'd urge you to try more of 'em. Dragon Age was a good game, but there were a hell of a lot of flaws as well. Overall it's hardly the best western-style RPG out there.

I'd go for Fallout 3 next if I were you. That game is an enormous time sink, but the opportunity for exploration and customization blows Dragon Age out of the water, I assure you. (And it has vastly superior DLC, pretty much all of which is worth playing. And the graphics are better... Come to think about it, the only think Dragon Age does better is character development, and maybe story. That's about it.)

There's a pretty mighty thread about it if you're curious, though it's really long. But whatever. Take my word for it — Fallout 3 is a much better game. Hell, Mass Effect 1 is better than DA (can't speak for 2, though — my 360 died before I had a chance to see it).

 

[wizkid007]

If that's the case, I'd urge you to try more of 'em. Dragon Age was a good game, but there were a hell of a lot of flaws as well. Overall it's hardly the best western-style RPG out there.

I'd go for Fallout 3 next if I were you. That game is an enormous time sink, but the opportunity for exploration and customization blows Dragon Age out of the water, I assure you. (And it has vastly superior DLC, pretty much all of which is worth playing. And the graphics are better... Come to think about it, the only think Dragon Age does better is character development, and maybe story. That's about it.)

There's a pretty mighty thread about it if you're curious, though it's really long. But whatever. Take my word for it — Fallout 3 is a much better game. Hell, Mass Effect 1 is better than DA (can't speak for 2, though — my 360 died before I had a chance to see it).

Yeah you are right, its not perfect, my biggest gripe with the game is the skill selection, not everything is totally usable and if you pick the wrong things, then you can really screw up the development of your character. But I most certainly will pick up fall out 3, and while I am at it, ill pick up mass effect 2. I havent played ether of these yet.

I read some of the other thread, and I know you were a big advocate of fall out 3, as others were so ill def give this a shot. And maybe it has even come down in price!

 

[HeartlessNinny]

And maybe it has even come down in price!

As a matter of fact it has. You can get the Game of the Year edition, which has all the DLC (which costs about $50) for the price of a new game, or, if you want to skip that part, you can just get the original for $20-30 nowadays. If you enjoy it half as much as I did, it'll be time well spent.

(I had a few more gripes about Dragon Age besides the skill selection, by the way... But let's worry about that another time. Like I said, it's a good game overall.)

 

[Lagduf]

I'd just like to note that a Bioware game and a Bethesda game are in some ways on different ends of the spectrum.

Bethesda in many ways is all about you creating the story through your actions and what you do in their game world.

Bioware takes a more cinematic approach in telling stories and as such often focuses a lot on character development and building relationships with your teammates.

Also Dragon Age is a more traditional western RPG and Mass Effect 2 is more like an action-RPG. Mass Effect 1 sort of bridges the gap in between both of those. Both ME1 and ME2 have the excellent voice acting and character interaction like in Dragon Age.

Although Dragon Age your teammates talk to each while you were just out and about and I really liked that.

 

[Force]

If you like dragon age, definately give kotor 1 and 2 a shot, as well as fo3 and oblivion. If you can get past the archaic graphics, also give fo 1 and 2 and baldurs gate 2 (pc) a shot as well. Not a huge western rpg fan, but these games are great.

 

[matrimelee]

Just my 2 cents, but you'd have to have a LOT of time on your hands to finish ALL of those games. I have them all, and haven't given any of them enough time to finish them. Not that I don't like them. Seems like I get pulled into playing Rainbow Six Vegas a lot, still. God, do I love that game.

Dragon Age seems great too, so far. I feel like I screwed up with it, though. I bought (and have been playing) the Xbox 360 version. I bought a great gaming PC, but I'd pre-ordered this a while back. My brother got the PC version, and it's definitely nicer all around.

 

[abasuto]

My old lady got all into this (PC version).

I haven't played it yet, but she keeps pressuring me to try it. Saying it's one of the better RPGs she's ever played.

 

[Deuce]

Just to throw in my own two cents... while I enjoyed Fallout 3 immensely, and sank quite a lot of time into it, there came a point where I just suddenly stopped. The appeal of the game just suddenly halted, for some reason.

Bioware excels at making me care about the characters in the story, something that never happened in all my hours with Fallout 3. I've been a Bioware fan ever since KOTOR1 on the Xbox. In terms of storytelling, even the oft-maligned Jade Empire is considerably better than Fallout 3.

That's not to say that Fallout 3 isn't a great game, because it is. But I wouldn't consider it better than Mass Effect 1 or 2, nor Dragon Age.

 

[Hippee]

I liked Dragon Age... put in like 35 hours or something crazy - got to the end boss fight - then got bored and couldn't bring myself to finish. I loved ME1 - but I guess I just don't like medieval faeries and wizards and the goofy accents.

It had some good moments but I don't really know if I had "fun"

So I traded it in for Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.

 

[Deuce]

Cue the Takumaji quote.

 

[wizkid007]

Just to throw in my own two cents... while I enjoyed Fallout 3 immensely, and sank quite a lot of time into it, there came a point where I just suddenly stopped. The appeal of the game just suddenly halted, for some reason.

Bioware excels at making me care about the characters in the story, something that never happened in all my hours with Fallout 3. I've been a Bioware fan ever since KOTOR1 on the Xbox. In terms of storytelling, even the oft-maligned Jade Empire is considerably better than Fallout 3.

That's not to say that Fallout 3 isn't a great game, because it is. But I wouldn't consider it better than Mass Effect 1 or 2, nor Dragon Age.

You know what, without even playing fallout 3, that is the exact reason why I never did end up trying it. I looked at it, looked at it again and said to myself, I can’t really relate to the post apocalyptic world or even the character. I really tried to find something that I could relate too and there really was nothing there. I however did what I said I was going to do, and bought the game of the year edition along with mass effect 2. However both are still sealed and I was going to give mass effect 2 a shot first as I loved dragon age.

I liked Dragon Age... put in like 35 hours or something crazy - got to the end boss fight - then got bored and couldn't bring myself to finish. I loved ME1 - but I guess I just don't like medieval faeries and wizards and the goofy accents.

It had some good moments but I don't really know if I had "fun"

So I traded it in for Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.

Sounds like you got your ass kicked when the darkspawn started spamming you around the midway point. Also 35 hours seems like you did the bare minimum, this game is about exploring the character relationships. So if you didnt have fun, maybe thats why.

My old lady got all into this (PC version).

I haven't played it yet, but she keeps pressuring me to try it. Saying it's one of the better RPGs she's ever played.

Go for it man, the one thing I really loved about DA is the fact that it was a continuous story all the way through and it put tons of emphasize on character relationships which opened up additional plot and side quests. It really didn't feel forced like the JRPGS that I was used to playing. There is almost no grinding at all, its all story line.

 

[jro]

Bizump for WZA's thread since there's a stand-alone expansion coming out next week.

Anyone interested in Awakening? I didn't really know much about it up until I finally read a bit about it online and in Game Informer today, hell, I was assuming it was just the usual shitty Bioware DLC up until today when I went oh hell, this is actually a $40 retail release.

Supposed to last about 15 hours, introduces a bunch of new party members, you can import your old character if he/she lived, or you can obviously create a new one if you sacrificed your sorry ass at the end of Origins.

I am quite certain that there's no way in hell I'll be able to resist the temptation of playing something that's even remotely close to a new, proper Dragon Age game, so yeah, I'll be reserving a copy of this tomorrow when I pick up my Yakuza 3 pre-order.

 

[wizkid007]

Ill be all over this release.

However I didn't know that it was only going to be 15 hours long... for the price I thought it would be at least 30 or so... hell thats what I paid for the original.

Also I have made over 1700 Sovereigns selling potent Lyrium potions... and have bought all the best items in the game. My 4 character party is a force in itself.

 

[HeartlessNinny]

I'm interested in the expansion too, but... How much is it gonna cost again? If it's $20, that's fine, but any more than that is too much.

 

[bluelander]

DA:O is one of those games that when I'm not playing it I don't really feel compelled to, but when I sit down and fire it up I'm enthralled. When this semester is over I'll hopefully have enough time to sit down and power through the rest of it.

I have to say, its one of the first RPGs where I actually cared about the story and characters. I don't just have conversations to see what rewards I can get, I have them because they're actually engaging. The conversation structure is large enough that you can't predict it easily; most games with these systems in the past were highly predictable despite the developer's efforts.

 

[SNKorSWM]

Thought the thread was about the Japanese manga magazine.

 

[jro]

Thought the thread was about the Japanese manga magazine.

Brilliant fucking post.

 

[RBjakeSpecial]

I just bought Dragon Age today. I'm two hours into it and loving it so far. I'm an elf rogue. I got stuck on a battle and there doesn't seem to be any way to grind. I'm going to try the game some more, but I might have to bring down the difficulty. I'm trying to find some documents and keep gettng smashed.

Great game so far.

 

[wizkid007]

I just bought Dragon Age today. I'm two hours into it and loving it so far. I'm an elf rogue. I got stuck on a battle and there doesn't seem to be any way to grind. I'm going to try the game some more, but I might have to bring down the difficulty. I'm trying to find some documents and keep gettng smashed.

Great game so far.

For the rogue...

There are two development trees to follow... 1. max out the archer abilities with the bulk of your points in dexterity. 2. Or go the stealth route and focus on backstabs.

Check the gamefaqs website for information on character builds. The website helped me develop a knowledge base on how to max out character potentials and gave me an understanding to why I was building them a certain way. I still havent unlocked the 250 damage achievement though...

Oh and there isnt any grinding, which is the way it should be as the game is about the story and building your characters properly.

 

[SNKorSWM]

Brilliant fucking post.

ebayed 24k gold dildo.

 

[complexz]

good timing on the bump, I got this game as a gift and I am really not a rpg guy but have enjoyed the odd Jrpg in the past....way past. That being said I got sucked into this one and am quite enjoying it.

I actually felt a little guilty when one of my party members got all emo about me sacrificing some chick. But on the flip side it kinda sucks that i do care as it seems like in every quest there's this hard decision that whatever option I pick someone will disapprove.

anyway yeah my first American RPG experience and actually pretty fun. With how time consuming it is I don't imagine seeking out more.... but at least now I understand the appeal