The story might be open, but the gameplay isn't. My point is that compared to these other titles I listed, DA:O is a throw back to the classic RPG gameplay of 10+ years ago. I didn't find that type of gameplay engaging then, and I still don't; it's simply a personal preference.
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Dragon Age: Origins. Thanks but no thanks.
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SPARTAN VI
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It's feeling a lot like KoTOR to me. So far I'm having great fun, but feeling that BioWare is getting predictable...
^^ This. Less whining and more leveling up guys.
i don't really see how this game is so ground breaking. the tactics options are cool and wasd is great and all but aside from that what really makes this so much better than rpg's before it? i'm playing the same dragon age. it's not bad but to me it is just a decent linear rpg that i think is getting too much hype (like a lot of games lately). then again, i'm not the sort of nerd that reads every bit of lore (couldn't pay me to read the codex stuff) and get totally absorbed - all i know and want to know is the big picture.
the travel on the world map is absurd; to have to sit there and watch a dotted line for the possibility of a run in with enemies? with the longer and longer load times travel is almost painful to me.
the travel on the world map is absurd; to have to sit there and watch a dotted line for the possibility of a run in with enemies? with the longer and longer load times travel is almost painful to me.
PrincessFrosty
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The Travel on the world map is part of the loading process, the faster it loads the faster the trail occurs.
If you're having problem with load times after a number of hours of play then save and close the game and restart, there's some kind of memory leak that effects loading times the longer you've been playing.
I don't think the game is ground breaking, it's just incredibly good.
If you're having problem with load times after a number of hours of play then save and close the game and restart, there's some kind of memory leak that effects loading times the longer you've been playing.
I don't think the game is ground breaking, it's just incredibly good.
The game isnt ground breaking and it wasn't suppose to be. Its just a return to the roots of pc rpgs which we have not really had in a long time. Dont need to reinvent the wheel to have an amazing game. But ofcourse I still think that quake3/live is the best online fps that there ever was or will be(at least for the foreseeable future).
Yeah, it's very KotOR. I feel like Bioware is becoming sort of the Firaxis of the RPG world, small incremental improvements from game to game, but nevertheless sticking with the same proven formula.
That's not all bad, mind you. It's can be reassuring sometimes to know exactly what you're getting into when you plan on putting $50+ and 40+ hours into a game. But people looking for something that's going to turn all their preconceptions on their heads are going to be disappointed.
SPARTAN VI
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Agree, not a bad thing. Just slightly predictable in terms of plot or story telling. Betrayal seems to be their favorite, I'm only a few hours into DA and think there have been 3 or 4 instances of betrayal.
Other than that, Dragon Age is running very close to NeverWinter Nights. At times I feel like I'm playing a medieval themed KoTOR and other times I feel I'm playing a streamlined but more engaging NeverWinter Nights. Both could probably be considered compliments. But I've mysteriously acquired the urge to buy NWN again...
Freezebyte
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I didn't find it ANYTHING like KoTor IMO. And I loved KoTOR to death but this...this is too classic RPG for my tastes.
LeninGHOLA
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You found NO similarities to DA and KoTOR? You might want to call your city and tell them there is a mercury leak in the drinking water.
SPARTAN VI
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Dragon Age is a carbon copy of KoTOR, mechanically speaking.
Instead of traveling to planets via Ebon Hawk, you travel to different towns and cities via foot and setup a camp site.
Metal swords replace light sabers. Bows and crossbows replace blasters.
Instead of the Force, you have magic. Instead of Sentinel, Guardian, Consular, you have Rogue, Warrior, and Mage.
Both use a mixture of real time and turn based combat. Both have 4 member parties.
Both are based off the D20 system.
And the list probably goes on..
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Actually, in kotor you had 2 other group members with you at all times, for a total of 3.
Does D20 mean D&D? (I dunno I never played it) Dragon Age is not a D&D game.
LeninGHOLA
Vladimir Hayt
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D20_system
No, DA is not a D&D game, which should be obvious. However, it does use a ruleset to determine statistics and things like how much damage a swing will do. A large number of games use a D20 system that have nothing to do with D&D.
No, DA is not a D&D game, which should be obvious. However, it does use a ruleset to determine statistics and things like how much damage a swing will do. A large number of games use a D20 system that have nothing to do with D&D.
Parmenides
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Dragon age = KOTOR with stuff from Baldur's gate and Neverwinter Nights ... minus the D&D stuff (thank you Bioware!!!!)
Still fairly D&D-ish except for the skill/spell system. I really like the new skill/spell system.
Still fairly D&D-ish except for the skill/spell system. I really like the new skill/spell system.
What do want from the game then? How do you expect to enjoy it the way the developers intended when you choose to ignore such a huge and important aspect?
Classic. Yeah, there is something wrong with you if you saw NOTHING similar.
On another note, I loved it. Took me about 60 hours and I did every single quest I came across, except I missed 1 love letter out of the 12, but other than that, I think I did about every quest there was in my story. Nothing groundbreaking, and the memory leak drove me insane, but overall a great experience and worth the money. Although, I would have much rather gotten the Soldiers Peak for free with my collector edition rather than the snazzy metal box and stupid map. That would have been more worth it instead of spending another 7 bucks, but I did not know. Oh well.
that's a good question and i have no idea. i think i may be just getting old (as in what little energy i have i use reluctantly) probably as i don't feel it anymore like i used to.
Freezebyte
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I just picked up a used copy of Borderlands for my 360 and now THIS is my type of RPG! Guns, explosions, cussing, blood and more guns! Yep, i'm a happy camper now! Scuze me, I need to go blow more shit up in Pandora...
How can you detractors not see that the ground breaking part of this game is BioWare's absolute commitment to all three pillars of what make RPGs RPGs, story, combat and progression. All three are here in full effect and executed beautifully. It's not that it's just an RPG, it's that it's done in the highest quality way and in the best tradition of CRPGs. Anyone can make a half-assed RPG, like Risen, and anyone can come really close but not really quite get there, like The Witcher. This game makes it to the top of the quality pyramid.
Damar
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Until you get to the oh so lame ass ending and realize you've been had.
Whereas in DA you get to the ending and feel like you actually accomplished something.
SPARTAN VI
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And instead of T3-M4 you have the mabari (war hound). I named mine Dog Meat.
Its a good game. When I first started playing it, I was on a high....it was epic, everything was great. It had tons of potential, looked great, and was engaging.
Then I started to get tired of endlessly useless dialogue...I mean do I really need to hear a fifteen minute rambling diatribe from a blacksmith rambling on about all his problems? His wife left him, his dog is dead, he can't find his aunt, and everyone in the village hates him...and then walk away with a quest to find a guy, who may or may not be his sister's younger brother's nephew? I learned the escape key was my friend, and that was the end of paying attention to the story, which was a huge part of the intrigue the game started with. It all just got too long, too predictable, and generally monotone to care about.
Items...ahhh my favorite part of RPGs. Clear a zone, kill a boss, go to his corpse, here comes the good loot....WTF? I get a freaking standard shield? a set of plate with 5 armor less than what I'm already carrying and no stat bonus? Bogus. Oh, but if I find some dragon skin off some white mobs, and turn one in during a side quest, I get a piece of medium chain armor (on a warrior no less) that has better stats than anything I've seen from main quests....wonderful.
I'm still playing it, but if they had focused more on content (areas to explore, things to collect, places to go) than on dialogue, this game could have been much, much more.
Then I started to get tired of endlessly useless dialogue...I mean do I really need to hear a fifteen minute rambling diatribe from a blacksmith rambling on about all his problems? His wife left him, his dog is dead, he can't find his aunt, and everyone in the village hates him...and then walk away with a quest to find a guy, who may or may not be his sister's younger brother's nephew? I learned the escape key was my friend, and that was the end of paying attention to the story, which was a huge part of the intrigue the game started with. It all just got too long, too predictable, and generally monotone to care about.
Items...ahhh my favorite part of RPGs. Clear a zone, kill a boss, go to his corpse, here comes the good loot....WTF? I get a freaking standard shield? a set of plate with 5 armor less than what I'm already carrying and no stat bonus? Bogus. Oh, but if I find some dragon skin off some white mobs, and turn one in during a side quest, I get a piece of medium chain armor (on a warrior no less) that has better stats than anything I've seen from main quests....wonderful.
I'm still playing it, but if they had focused more on content (areas to explore, things to collect, places to go) than on dialogue, this game could have been much, much more.
I specifically pointed out the content they skipped to add dialogue. If I want to hear 300 lines of recorded gibberish relating to nothing that's actually happening, I'll watch fox news.
At first I was really smitten with Dragon Age, but then all its flaws just started adding up. Sure the (excessive) dialogue is well done, but you can only polish a turd of a storyline so much. The story is so beyond predictable I had trouble not rolling over laughing by the time I finished the game.
The combat system is the same as KOTOR, a six year old game (still hybrid turn based? Please I thought we had quad core CPUs so I don't have to wait and take turns). The game has a massive memory leak on the PC version, with load times eventually reaching 10 minutes. The AI for your party members is terrible.
Yes I finished it, but this game has zero replay value. If you want it wait till its in the bargain bin.
The combat system is the same as KOTOR, a six year old game (still hybrid turn based? Please I thought we had quad core CPUs so I don't have to wait and take turns). The game has a massive memory leak on the PC version, with load times eventually reaching 10 minutes. The AI for your party members is terrible.
Yes I finished it, but this game has zero replay value. If you want it wait till its in the bargain bin.
Parmenides
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Strong language. Heheh, no matter how great the hardware on newegg is, or how great the book on amazon is, there is always the token reviewer who gives it a 1 star with flair. More jeering than critique.
Eh, I can feel that way when I feel like I need to stop playing video games.
Why? Because you didn't like it? Critics universally agree it is worth the purchase. Sorry you didn't like it but don't ruin it for others.
Disk check only, that is, if you buy the retail DVD version. I went the Steam route, so I guess you can say Steam is my DRM.
To be honest, if the premise of a KOTOR-like RPG from BioWare is up your alley, you owe it to yourself to play Dragon Age.
No I would not call it a one star game. Grand Theft Auto is a one star game, this is more like a three. It has so much potential, but silly design decisions mar alot of the gameplay potential. I know its "taboo" to say ANYTHING bad about a Bioware game without getting tarred and feathered. Oh yeah, offering paid content day of release is pretty cheasy as well.
Parmenides
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Sameday content is cheesy. But you can't expect any better from EA. I'm enjoying Bioware's game and not EA's tricks.
No big deal criticizing a game either. My wife uses hyperbole's a lot, and when I saw this I had to laugh:
"zero replay value" instead of "not as repayable as you think"
or
"The AI for your party members is terrible" instead of "AI is not perfect." (especially when DA's system is an improvement over like 95%+ of other games with party members)
or
"polish a turd of a storyline"
Hey, I'm not being contentious and I'm not laughing AT you. Your review just made me laugh. Not because I agree/disagree but from your use of hyperbole.
Anyways, when I go to amazon debating on whether to purchase something, I'll look at the negative reviews.... and often times it is the negatives that will actually drive me to buy, mainly by what is not said.
I wasn't enjoying the game at first but i changed the difficulty from medium to easy and it suddenly got a lot more fun.
- if you're a uber-rpg nerd, play on hard
- if you want to play old school rpg, play medium
- if you want to play diablo style, play on easy
- if you're a uber-rpg nerd, play on hard
- if you want to play old school rpg, play medium
- if you want to play diablo style, play on easy
wat
PrincessFrosty
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I have to disagree. I'm not done with the overall storyline yet in only 37.3 hours in and 3 of 4 initial "main" story arcs done. So far it's been very good, the writing is top notch and there's about as much lore as even the hardcore RPG fans could possibly hope for. Only a fraction of the story is told through dialogue, there is a lot to find both of the history of just about any facet of the world and also the current story arcs.
Even without bringing the main plot to a close I'd say I'm happily satisfied with the game so far, I feel like I have got my moneys worth already.
It's not a hybrid turn based game at all, it's real time combat with a pause function, you can play entirely without it if you're quick enough to manage all your squad mates at once, but no one is. The pause is out of necessity to micromanage the characters during tough fights and it works well. On medium with good tactics set up for my other party members I am able to take on most normal mobs in real time by using WASD and putting all of the important spells at the easy to reach 1-6 set of keys.
The AI for your party members is configurable by the player in the tactics slot, this is deliberately part of the gameplay, supported by the fact that you can unlock extra tactic slots when you level up. You need to play with the tactics and learn some good ones like getting them to self heal at a certain percentage of their HP, getting them to stun or CC enemys that are attacking weak players or any number of other helpful configurations.
While I havn't finished yet I can say it has at least some replay value, there is 6 unique origin quests and they have to be at least 2 hours worth of gameplay each so that's 10 hours of replay value right there. i can see myself playing it through again already, I didn't after about the first 20 hours due to coming to grips with the sheer scale, but now I find myself planning on what to do for my next play through, it's safe to say I will play this game at least twice. There is plenty of other replay value as well, loads of content that is either locked away or you wouldn't chose to do with a certain alignment or classes or various other factors.
For example Im playing a goodytwoshoes character and so naturally do not take on any of the shady/illegal extra missions, it just fits with my alignment so when I re-roll as an evil-doer it means my moral choices will greatly effect not only the side-quest story arcs somewhat but also what missions are available to me. WARNING Redcliffe spoilers ahead but also missions like purging the demon at Redcliffe castle, you can chose to fight the boy and confront the demon up front or use blood magic to enter the fade and battle it there.
There's basically no possible way for you to see all of the game in just 1 sitting, there's too many branches to each quest that alter the story arcs, and a lot of your choices actually come back far later in the story to further effect it such as the back and forth with Jowen.
I don't think the game is perfect but it's the closest thing the PC platform has seen for a long time.
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