It's About Time :: Dragon Age: Origins

Stranger of Sorts

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Aug 23, 2009
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[HEADING=3]It's About Time! reviews by a Stranger of Sorts...[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Dragon Age: Origins[/HEADING]

Hey, what a surprise I actually got round to writing another one of these! Well, to be honest I haven't actually written it yet, all that's on my screen is the title, the box art and these words... pretty though isn't it?

For the hard of thinking amongst you, the point of this review series is to review slightly older games for two principle reasons: firstly I have had time to play the game, as in a lot of time so I will have found all the flaws and hidden goodies that would otherwise go unnoticed and secondly, it's just an excuse for me to review older games as I don't own any new ones.

Dragon Age: Origins is a third-person role-playing game developed by Bioware that takes heavy influences from online RPG's such as World of Warcraft. What this game does bring to the table is its heavy emphasis on both the story and the effects of the choices your character makes on the story. The sub-title itself highlights the biggest choice you're going to make in the game and that is what starting origin your character will come from; whether that be a City Elf or a Mage serving out their life in solitude in the Circle Tower. Whatever origin you pick will have a huge effect on how others treat you throughout the game, for example an Elf will be looked down upon by the majority of humans and it will be harder for them to gain information as a result.

Sounds pretty good doesn't it?...

_
_


I went into Dragon Age: Origins on the promise of an epic story, engaging combat and the hope that it would take hours out of my miserable and vacant life. And I am afraid to inform you that I left feeling sickened and just the slightest bit confused, what I had purchased was not epic, nor engaging and it didn't waste the best years of my life nearly as much as I hoped it would.

It is funny (to me) that as a game sold on its story telling, Dragon Age: Origins fails on the one thing that, if anything, should have been the best feature in this game. The only twist in it comes at the beginning of the game, in fact it comes so near to the beginning that I can tell you what happens; your mentor and leader Duncan, the character that saves your skin in all the origin stories gets killed in the battle of Helm's Deep Ostagar by Orcs Darkspawn, along with the rest of your order apart from the shy, boyish Alistair. After this rather joyful and entertaining moment you are told that it is up to you and Alistair to gather the armies of Ferelden and lead them in battle again Sauron the Archdemon. As you can probably tell, Dragon Age: Origins does not exactly redefine, or even attempt to redefine, the RPG genre.

This game also manages to fall flat on its face when it comes to combat, when you see an enemy you want to kill you press a button and your character goes zooming off and proceeds to hit the creature you pressed your button at until the creature has liquefied into a crudely animated pool of blood on the floor. Granted, if you choose you can use an ability and to do this you press another button, your character performs said ability and then carries on hitting the creature. This is by no means engaging at all and it seems to go against the whole point of a game, it gives you the feeling that it is not you attacking the enemy, you are just watching someone attack an enemy. The people at Bioware have obviously said to themselves "Hey, look at World of Warcraft, that seems to be doing pretty well but what makes it good? Is it it's gameplay? Or is it the fact that your character is in a world with lots of other player characters and the interaction and competition forces the player to come back every spare minute just to try and be the best? Must be the first one." No! Bad Bioware!

And the length of the game? I did mention that, well at least I hope so, this game is pathetically short as far as most other RPGs are; while Oblivion had me playing for over 100 hours without even touching the story quests, I had completed Dragon Age: Origins within 20 hours.

But I have to admit that after I finished I started a new game and did it all again, then I completed it, then I started again and so on. This game just has so many possibilities, every time you play you will have a different experience. You will play differently, you will be a different race, a different class, you will have different party members, you may bully your way through every situation or talk your way through it or you will choose different dialogue options. The possibilities are very close to becoming endless.

The whole dialogue system is very interesting, in theory every option you take will change the characters feeling towards you and whether or not they will help you. I say in theory as if you play the same section more than once you realise that some of the options receive the same answer and it feels a bit like they've cheated.

One thing Dragon Age: Origins does very well is creating a world that you can become completely and utterly absorbed in, there is a back story to almost every element of the game even when there doesn't need to be one. For example the Legions of the Dead are a group of dwarves who go deep into the earth to fight the darkspawn, knowing that they will someday die. You meet this group once but there are pages and pages of lore about them that is really unnecessary but it helps give the game depth.

Overall I can tell you that yes, this is a good game that does deserve some credit but it could have been so much better! The inclusion of things like proper gameplay and a lot more side missions would ascend this game into greatness.

It's About Time! Little Big Planet [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.184065-Its-About-Time-Little-Big-Planet]
Games The Fall(en) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183414-A-Stranger-reviews-The-Fall-en-updated], Plants Vs Zombies [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183040-Plants-Vs-Zombies-In-a-Nutshell], Borderlands DLC: Secret Armoury [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.179437-A-Stranger-Reviews-Borderlands-Secret-Armoury-Get-you-one],Cod: Modern Warfare 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.181561-A-Stranger-reviews-CoD-Modern-Warfare-2-a-review-to-end-all-others-well-hopefully], B:BC2 demo [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.176510-Review-Battlefield-Bad-Company-2-multiplayer-demo]
Movies 2001: A Space Odyssey [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.179870-2001-A-Space-Odyssey-A-Strangers-verdict]
Music [url-http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.183857-Music-for-Dummies-A-collection-of-music-reviews-7-Technicolour-Health-by-Harlem-Shakes]The Music Thread[/url] My Dinosaur Life [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.182845-A-Stranger-reviews-music-My-Dinosaur-Life-by-MCS], Cajun Dance Party [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.181141-Cajun-Dance-Party-A-Strangers-Music-Review], Bloc Party [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.178462-A-Music-Review-Bloc-Party]
Random The Escapist forums [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.182355-A-Stranger-reviews-The-Escapist-Forums] Progress Wars [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.185328-Poll-A-Stranger-reviews-Progress-Wars]

- Thanks for your time, when I ask for feedback this time I want it to be as harsh and nit picky as possible, cheers!
 

Knight Templar

Moved on
Dec 29, 2007
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I had a very long reply with quite a few points you could improve on and parts where I thought you were wrong. Then I closed the tab by mistake.
Fuck.

Ok, let me try again, maybe not as long as the original.

Your writing seemed very good to me.
You didn't tell me what the story was about to a good enough degree.
You didn't explain why the story was bad.
You didn't describe the combat enough.
You said it was a good game but for most of the review you were pointing out bad things, odd conclusion.

You've got over a thousand words, The Escapist's Review of Dragon Age ran to over 1,500 words and didn't have a forward like yours, it was also more to the point. Just to give some context, you can review a game in a few words it just isn't likely to be a good review.

Nit Picks: "Legion of the Dead" not "Legions".

You're outright wrong: The battle of Ostagar is nothing like the siege of Helm's Deep. In one victory is a certainty and in the other defeat is inevitable (or so it seems). Both have the opposite occur but for different reasons, HD was a matter of support from a zombie wizard and Ostagar was a betrayal.
They are very different, as are Orc's and Darkspawn, I should not have to explain why. But if you want me to go on I will. (Through PM so as not to distract from your review)

A very nice review but I think it needs a lot of work.
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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Knight Templar said:
snipped for conservation of space
Thanks for that, story wise I didn't go in too much detail as I try to keep these things (sort of) spoiler free. Looking back, I do see what you mean about the combat section and I completely forgot to mention about the tactics while playing; I also forgot to talk about class customisation, oh well.

Again thanks for the feedback, you can be sure it will be used on my next review.
 

Brandon Lum

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Apr 4, 2010
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I'm new here, so I don't want to create the impression that I'm the new guy ripping on everyone or that I'm the new guy in the office trying to suck off the boss while simultaneously doing his/her paperwork to avoid getting fired. But I'll be honest-

Writing isn't an issue here, and by that I mean grammar and spelling, though after pouring over the R&R I don't think I should mention this. ;)

The images were a nice touch and made it easier to continue reading, as opposed to seeing a giant text brick wall. Good on you for that.

I enjoyed the humor, but that's a easy win for me. I quite like humor in anything and so you've pretty much got me there, however:

I see why you didn't go into the story too much, and I agree, but there were still things you could've written, that would've been revealing, but not so much that spoil-phobes try and draw and quarter you. I'll admit, at the moment, I'm struck dumb for an example to give you, but I'm sure you see what I mean.

All in all a good job. I liked it. ^_^
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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Brandon Lum said:
Thanks, you shouldn't worry so much about how people view you. Though when I first started I managed to give everyone the impression that I was a complete twat; but it's nice to see new people visiting the User Reviews section, most of you stay in Off Topic.
 

veloper

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Jan 20, 2009
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You should have stated where you came from first thing.

I knew I wasted my time reading this when I read this line:

"This is by no means engaging at all and it seems to go against the whole point of a game, it gives you the feeling that it is not you attacking the enemy, you are just watching someone attack an enemy."

That's no different from the BG series, fallout, ultima7 and the majority of great RPGs. It is you who doesn't get the point of the game, which is most definitely NOT twitch based action.
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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veloper said:
You should have stated where you came from first thing.

I knew I wasted my time reading this when I read this line:

"This is by no means engaging at all and it seems to go against the whole point of a game, it gives you the feeling that it is not you attacking the enemy, you are just watching someone attack an enemy."

That's no different from the BG series, fallout, ultima7 and the majority of great RPGs. It is you who doesn't get the point of the game, which is most definitely NOT twitch based action.
I will again compare it to Oblivion, in that game there was an element of skill to combat. In the actual review I compared the combat to World of Warcraft, the most popular RPG out there (well most heard of if that isn't the case) and I say how arbitrary the combat is in that as well. But yes, maybe I "don't get it", but this is a review and therefore I am stating my opinions about the game, not everyone else's.

Woah and wait a minute you said that the combat is the same as in Fallout? The third one was the definition of twitch based action.

Glad to have wasted your time...
 

veloper

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Jan 20, 2009
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Stranger of Sorts said:
veloper said:
You should have stated where you came from first thing.

I knew I wasted my time reading this when I read this line:

"This is by no means engaging at all and it seems to go against the whole point of a game, it gives you the feeling that it is not you attacking the enemy, you are just watching someone attack an enemy."

That's no different from the BG series, fallout, ultima7 and the majority of great RPGs. It is you who doesn't get the point of the game, which is most definitely NOT twitch based action.
I will again compare it to Oblivion, in that game there was an element of skill to combat. In the actual review I compared the combat to World of Warcraft, the most popular RPG out there (well most heard of if that isn't the case) and I say how arbitrary the combat is in that as well. But yes, maybe I "don't get it", but this is a review and therefore I am stating my opinions about the game, not everyone else's.

Woah and wait a minute you said that the combat is the same as in Fallout? The third one was the definition of twitch based action.

Glad to have wasted your time...
The original 2 fallouts obviously. Figures you opnly know #3.

So yeah, you should've said right at the top that Oblivion is what you look for in a RPG.
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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veloper said:
The original 2 fallouts obviously. Figures you opnly know #3.

So yeah, you should've said right at the top that Oblivion is what you look for in a RPG.
Okay lets summarise this with the sentence, "I don't like this type of combat!" and "I want a game that I will play for hundreds of hours without getting bored (that's Oblivion by the way)!"

...Or is that not allowed?
 

veloper

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Jan 20, 2009
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Stranger of Sorts said:
veloper said:
The original 2 fallouts obviously. Figures you opnly know #3.

So yeah, you should've said right at the top that Oblivion is what you look for in a RPG.
Okay lets summarise this with the sentence, "I don't like this type of combat!" and "I want a game that I will play for hundreds of hours without getting bored (that's Oblivion by the way)!"

...Or is that not allowed?
That would be just perfect, if only you fly your colors before you begin, so the reader doesn't have to find out halfway through.
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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veloper said:
That would be just perfect, if only you fly your colors before you begin, so the reader doesn't have to find out halfway through.
That would be a bad idea, why would I start with a conclusion? It would completely negate the rest of the review for everyone.
 

veloper

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Stranger of Sorts said:
veloper said:
That would be just perfect, if only you fly your colors before you begin, so the reader doesn't have to find out halfway through.
That would be a bad idea, why would I start with a conclusion? It would completely negate the rest of the review for everyone.
Starting with the conclusion is not bad by all means, but in this case you'd be doing something more important than that: you tell the reader where you come from.

It's like you don't want to read a review on MW2 either, only to discover the reviewer hates FPS gameplay halfway through.
In this case: real-time infinity-esque tactics isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it is also the core of the gameplay, so the reader deserves to know where you stand before.
 

Aloran

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Oct 9, 2008
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An otherwise good review even thought it ripped off one of my favourite games. And I disagree with many many many of your points.

The writing is solid though.

Simple question though: what difficulty did you play it on?
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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Aloran said:
Simple question though: what difficulty did you play it on?
That would be medium

veloper said:
Starting with the conclusion is not bad by all means, but in this case you'd be doing something more important than that: you tell the reader where you come from.

It's like you don't want to read a review on MW2 either, only to discover the reviewer hates FPS gameplay halfway through.
In this case: real-time infinity-esque tactics isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it is also the core of the gameplay, so the reader deserves to know where you stand before.
I guess that makes sense, I'll take it into account if I do something similar again.
 

Aloran

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Oct 9, 2008
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Stranger of Sorts said:
That would be medium
Ah. May I suggest that you try and play it on hard/nightmare. If you found the combat far too lack luster then those will certainly test you.

I do appreciate that you obviously prefer the oblivion/fallout 3 style of RPG, however you can't appreciate the combat in Dragon Age unless you forget about them.

There's far more micromanagement necessary than in other RPG's.
 

sms_117b

Keeper of Brannigan's Law
Oct 4, 2007
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It was a good read, but felt a little empty, you did only brush up on the points of the game, a lot of the beginning of the review felt like humorous waffle, the last few paragraphs decribing the dialogue system, replay value and back story were shor sweet and spot on.

I must contest the length of the main story, it really varies on the user and playstyle. I done it in 30 hours first time, under 20 my second, my current "best scenario" file is on 40 or so and my girlfriend who just got to the Landsmeet is on about 50 hours.

Regardless, still a good review, I wouldn't have got the the end otherwise, let alone post, going to go read some of ytour others now...
 

Stranger of Sorts

Individual #472
Aug 23, 2009
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Aloran said:
Ah. May I suggest that you try and play it on hard/nightmare. If you found the combat far too lack luster then those will certainly test you.
Actually, I may just do that.

sms_117b said:
It was a good read, but felt a little empty, you did only brush up on the points of the game, a lot of the beginning of the review felt like humorous waffle, the last few paragraphs decribing the dialogue system, replay value and back story were shor sweet and spot on.
You know I'm glad you said that, the It's About Time series has been me trying to change my writing style a bit but toward the end of this review I slipped into my usual.
 

atol

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Jan 16, 2009
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I'm very confused. You say you don't like the story, but then say you became completely absorbed in it. Then you bring up Oblivion, which has the most awful story in an RPG I can think of. You say the game is not engaging, and then you say there's a plethora of choices and possibilities throughout the game. You also say you completed it in 20 hours, which basically means that you barreled through it and couldn't have completed even half of all the sidequests, and then you criticize the game for having too few sidequests. Very confused.
 

Stranger of Sorts

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Aug 23, 2009
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atol said:
I'm very confused. You say you don't like the story, but then say you became completely absorbed in it. Then you bring up Oblivion, which has the most awful story in an RPG I can think of. You say the game is not engaging, and then you say there's so many choices and possibilities throughout the game. You also say you completed it in 20 hours, which basically means that you barreled through it and couldn't have completed even half of all the sidequests, and then you criticize the game for having too few sidequests. Very confused.
Wow I think I was confused by that. I bought up Oblivion with reference to gameplay and it was the gameplay that bore the adjective 'engaging'. The main story for Dragon Age: Origins was very weak but the 'lore' was very strong (i.e the background story for all the different elements of the game)

I have completed all the side quests and they are all very short, or at least would be if it weren't for the loading times (why didn't I bring up loading times in the review? Damn I forgot) The only one I remember distinctly is the one where you are paid to have a fight in a brothel.

Does that help?
 

atol

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Well, you said "...not epic, nor engaging," at the top, which I then assumed was a general statement about the game and not specifically the combat. I gathered that you simply enjoyed Oblivion, and not specifically its visceral combat. It wasn't a logic flaw in the review, but just in your personality that I felt. You could have probably mentioned that the storyline is disjointed throughout most of the game, since setting/lore is indeed part of a story.
I still believe it's impossible to go through the game in 20 hours and finish all the side quests, you most likely finsihed them in your subsequent playthroughs. Doing everything in the game can take well over 50 hours, and it's all far more detailed than anything in Oblivion.
Anyway, it just seems you went into the game expecting something else, and you are linking your disappointment with your actual opinion of the game, causing that flipfloping from "I don't like it because it's not what I thought it was," to "It's a good game."