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Thread: Dragon Age: Origins

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    Default Dragon Age: Origins

    Somehow this game did not get on my radar until a few months ago, but I had been looking forward to it since I heard about it. I picked it up yesterday and it does not disappoint.

    From BioWare, makers of Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, this is an action RPG with gore and sex galore. You get to choose from 4 classes (humans, elves, forest elves, and dwarves) and 6 origins (nobleman among others) and of course different classes (warrior, mage, rogue, etc.) each with their own unique story that accounts for 6 ways to open the game and affect the story. In addition, like Mass Effect, your dialogue choices affect how people react to your character.

    Battles play out in a Diablo/Baldurs gate style with heavy RPG elements. You can assign strategies to your allies (offense, defense, etc.) and each battle leaves you with a sense of accomplishment if done well. You enter each fight, even with basic enemies, constantly strategizing the best way to dispatch everyone. Archers will attack your flank as warriors attack your mages. Do you take out the archers or save your mages who can not attack well while getting hammered? And when you come across new enemies that dwarf your biggest fighter (including dragons later in the game), you actually get a little nervous.

    After each battle, the blood you spill stays with you (literally) as it stains your skin and armor/weapons. After a good dungeon crawl, you look like you worked the midnight shift at the slaughter house.

    Good graphics, an amazing score, and fantastic voice acting round out the package. The initial disc comes with a Blood Dragon armor download (which is armor that can also be used in the upcoming Mass Effect 2) and a full expansion which includes a quest to recruit a powerful golem that becomes a permanent party member.

    I'm only about 5 hours in and I can tell this is gonna be good. Its one of those games you think about until you can play it again. And going through the game 5 more times (each a 40-50 hour play through at least) is something I'm actually looking forward to just to try different races/classes and see how the story branches.

    9/10.

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    You beat me to my review, you bahstahhd and mine would've been better... I'm kidding lol. I was going to do one but I wanted to spend at least a few hours more with it.

    It is essentially a medieval Mass Effect.

    One of my major gripes is the main character has no voice spoken dialogue sequences with party members and NPCs, which was a strong point in Mass Effect and will be probably the same in ME2. I mean it was the case in KOTOR, but that game is like 6 years old now. They should've added full voice acting for the lead.

    Also, there is really, really bad screen tearing at times, at least on the console versions. Sometimes the lead character looks like he's wearing a necklace or has been beheaded, it's so bad.

    The graphics are great, but some of the characters looked better in ME.

    I read somewhere you can **** a Dark Elf too in the romantic subplot. Ha ha.

    Many side quests. Intriguing scenarios of murder, betrayal and even racism. Tons of options. Fantastic replay value. Adult-oriented RPG. Bloody and gory combat. Party members you can care about. A battle system that is easy to pick up but with challenging strategies to master. An epic RPG.

    To me, Bioware has surpassed Square. KOTOR, Jade Empire, ME and Dragon Age are some of the best single player electronic Dungeons and Dragons simulators ever made on consoles.

    8.5/10
    Last edited by Shazam!; 11-04-2009 at 10:07 PM.
    "I may not be a mathematician, but I can count to a million." - Shannon Sharpe

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shazam! View Post
    You beat me to my review, you bahstahhd and mine would've been better... I'm kidding lol. I was going to do one but I wanted to spend at least a few hours more with it.

    It is essentially a medieval Mass Effect.

    One of my major gripes is the main character has no voice spoken dialogue sequences with party members and NPCs, which was a strong point in Mass Effect and will be probably the same in ME2. I mean it was the case in KOTOR, but that game is like 6 years old now. They should've added full voice acting for the lead.

    Also, there is really, really bad screen tearing at times, at least on the console versions. Sometimes the lead character looks like he's wearing a necklace or has been beheaded, it's so bad.

    The graphics are great, but some of the characters looked better in ME.

    I read somewhere you can **** a Dark Elf too in the romantic subplot. Ha ha.

    Many side quests. Intriguing scenarios of murder, betrayal and even racism. Tons of options. Fantastic replay value. Adult-oriented RPG. Bloody and gory combat. Party members you can care about. A battle system that is easy to pick up but with challenging strategies to master. An epic RPG.

    To me, Bioware has surpassed Square. KOTOR, Jade Empire, ME and Dragon Age are some of the best single player electronic Dungeons and Dragons simulators ever made on consoles.

    8.5/10
    Good assessment. The graphics are pretty good, but nowhere near Mass Effect which used the Unreal Engine. If they did that, it would have been a four disc game!

    I think it would have been tough to do a vocal track for the main character considering they would have to do several tracks (male and female with 5 different accents each, I believe) but you're right, it would have helped. I am at school right now goofing off, wishing I was playing this game!

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    Even if they did just a M or F voice for the lead, it would've been a small gripe compared to a larger one with no voiceover at all. I can't understand it. ME had dozens of hours of dialogue, so does this with NPCs alone. A curious omission.
    "I may not be a mathematician, but I can count to a million." - Shannon Sharpe

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shazam! View Post
    Even if they did just a M or F voice for the lead, it would've been a small gripe compared to a larger one with no voiceover at all. I can't understand it. ME had dozens of hours of dialogue, so does this with NPCs alone. A curious omission.
    Yeah, I could have done without the different "accents" for just one Male and one Female voice.

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    just picked this up for the PC today.. really looking forward to it
    (the previous comment was not directed at any particular individual and was not intended to slander,disrespect or offend any reader of said statement)

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    So.... without giving much away.... First dragon boss is physically impossible. I'm going to have to come back to it later. I'm at about 22 hours played, but I'm not sure if it records time when you have the game paused. I have a bad habit of pausing games and walking away for hours at a time. It certainly seems like i'm 22 hours of real gameplay in. Really loving this game. Current party is Morrigan, Alstair, and Sten.

    SHORYUKEN!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zweems56 View Post
    So.... without giving much away.... First dragon boss is physically impossible. I'm going to have to come back to it later. I'm at about 22 hours played, but I'm not sure if it records time when you have the game paused. I have a bad habit of pausing games and walking away for hours at a time. It certainly seems like i'm 22 hours of real gameplay in. Really loving this game. Current party is Morrigan, Alstair, and Sten.
    I just got that Golem named Shale from the DLC and he seems pretty powerful. I like having my dog in the party because he doesn't take crap. I have him set to aggressive and he almost gets me killed all the time! I named him "********" in homage to The Jerk.

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    Morrigan is one of the cooler characters. I'm only 6 hours or so in.
    "I may not be a mathematician, but I can count to a million." - Shannon Sharpe

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shazam! View Post
    Morrigan is one of the cooler characters. I'm only 6 hours or so in.
    Yes, she is one of the "romantic scene" characters, too. Speaking of romance, I just found a brothel today in the game. Turns out my Female Warrior is a lesbian!

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    Most current setup is Me, Morrigan, Wynne, and Sten. I really like shale, but picked sten because I have TONS of good armor and 2 handed weapons, and felt like I had to use them somehow. About 25 hours in or so, going to take a break for the next day. Going to Philly. I figure I'll finish by sunday.

    SHORYUKEN!

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    Also, what character do you guys play? Currently Human Male Noble Warrior with sword and shield combo. Basic tank.

    SHORYUKEN!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zweems56 View Post
    Also, what character do you guys play? Currently Human Male Noble Warrior with sword and shield combo. Basic tank.
    Human Female Noble Warrior. I always make chicks in case they get sexy armor! Sword/Shield combo but I really want to switch to a two handed weapon. I like the shield combos, though. I play her like a Paladin/tank. I have a subset of weapons with a crossbow but I've never used it. I've been using Shale and Morrigan a lot, and I just picked up some elf dude.

    My next playthrough I'm going to do an Elf Rogue, and I am at least going to do the origin stories for the others. I hope you can do playthroughs again with your souped up character a la Mass Effect. I'm really taking my time this first time through to check everything out.

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    I just came across this and am gonna start a new character before they put a patch in:

    In Ostargar, there is a mission called Tainted Blood that takes place right before you become a Grey Warden. Simply collect the three Vials of Darkspawn Blood but NOT the Grey Warden Treaties. Return to camp and talk to Duncan and report "We have the blood, but not the scrolls." This will exit out of the conversation, but WILL give you the experience for the mission. Rinse and repeat until you are at the desired level. It takes very little time to shoot up to lvl 25(cap) if you press X to skip the conversations and speed up the process.
    I'm gonna do a separate save for it, because I really want to go through my current game without cheating. Subsequent games the sky will be the limit!

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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterShake View Post
    I just came across this and am gonna start a new character before they put a patch in:



    I'm gonna do a separate save for it, because I really want to go through my current game without cheating. Subsequent games the sky will be the limit!
    Isn't doing a Power leveling typ thing... basically 'cheating' anyway?

    btw.. wahts the tip on beating the first big Troll in the tower to light the flame?
    (the previous comment was not directed at any particular individual and was not intended to slander,disrespect or offend any reader of said statement)

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