So this week we're going to talk RPGs. An older favorite of mine called Dragon Age Origins. Yes this is a Bioware game. Personally I think they are the only ones who can do the RPG right. This particular one is an epic of standard proportions. They billed the game as one of dark fantasy but I can't see where the game was supposed to be dark. It isn't dark on the aspect of the story because its the same story as we've seen everywhere else with any fantasy game or even fantasy book. Well let's get started looking at what they brought us. I'm going to note here that I did this review with both the Stone Prisoner DLC and the Wardens Keep DLC active on my account and I will be noting both.
Character- Always a strength with Bioware's games despite their reuse of at least one character type. All of the characters in Dragon age are strong. I think the weakest one of all is probably Sten but then again I never spent much time talking with him in any of the times I played the game. Shale, while funny is basically a rehash of another favorite from the Knights of the Old Republic games. Same goes for Alistar. But other characters I really liked. Morrigan who acts when you have her with you as the devil on your shoulder and Zevran who is your tame assassin, should you keep him alive. Strange as it sounds I think my two favorite character are Leliana and Wynne. Both have good stories behind them and both are really fun to talk to for a variety of reasons. Wynne is your group's elder stateswoman and the healer that keeps you roaming around.
Plot- Now here's where things get interesting. On the surface it appears that the plot of the game is to defeat the blight that threatens your homeland. This, despite ending the game, is not the main plot of the game. The main plot and villain of the game is the defeat of the usurper Loghain. However it is up to the player as to how they want to go about doing so. Unlike many other games there is no moral choice gauge. Instead you get to find out how your character is going by the reactions of your companions. They all have their own opinions so depending on your actions they may become upset with your choices. Obviously in a game like this you have to travel to a variety of locations and complete quests in order to gain the support of that particular faction.
Gameplay- Well a good description for the gameplay is to call it D20esque with a system that acts behind the scenes to determine the success or failure of your actions. Often when things get hectic you may end up surrounded and be forced to figure out how best to kill off the bad guys. Also due to the system it forces the party selection into certain pathways. The need for a rogue isn't dire but encouraged in order to fully access things in the world such as locked doors and chests. The other side of gameplay is the conversation system. Which I'm sad to say isn't nearly as good as I would wish.
Appearance- It looks decent. Nothing special but there are little touches that I appreciated. The little fact that your character's helmet disappears when speaking to people and the blood that ends up on them after combat are great. Of course this can also make the other characters a little nuts when they aren't bothered by your bloodstained face and armor.
Accessibility- Well it kind of well....isn't. Getting the game to work is fairly intuitive on its own however there are little bits that are never explained. The tactics system is a perfect way to custom build the way the different character's AI go into battle. I've personally never really done very much with the system because I find that the AI is good enough with the exception of the use of potions.
Odds and Sods- Well the exchange of only marginally better pieces of equipment can get old pretty fast as well as some of the ways they pushed the DLC. Warden's Keep should have been in the base game since the sales guy is in your party's camp no matter what and there is an event that requires the dlc to make anything of. Even though the game is called Dragon Age there aren't very many dragons. In point of fact there is only one actual dragon and two other things that look very close to a dragon but aren't. There are also a few points such as the Arcane warrior class for mages which is pretty damn powerful. There are also a lot of equipment that are just not worth using and will end up hocked at whatever merchant you happen to run across first.
I think that covers everything.
Hambone out.
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