Review: Dragon Age: Origins

sanzo

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Jan 21, 2009
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TheBarefootBandit said:
I'll get my hands on it when either my PC goes to super saiyan 3 or more seriously when the PS3 version's out. The 6th of this month I think?
I actually picked up the ps3 version today

Unfortunately I haven't had much time to play other than seeing which class I want to start with (Mage, BTW), but i'm really liking it so far
 

Undead Dragon King

Evil Spacefaring Mantis
Apr 25, 2008
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I was waffling over whether to get this for the PC or the 360 for a long time prior to this review. I'm glad I finally chose the former, even though I'm not sure my graphics card will survive the process.
 

Keivz

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Dec 4, 2008
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Yurimistress said:
I've just played through the first combat mission and for the most part the game is good. My buzz, however, quickly died once I realized that your character doesn't say a damn thing! Oh sure he/she says a few things while in combat but that's it. Instead of limiting your character to one awesome and very well done voice actor per gender (as in Mass Effect) we are now given the choice of various voices to use that don't go beyond one sentence at best.

I'm going to keep playing through the game until I can get a more definite feel for it but this has been a huge blow for me personally. Mass Effect had its faults but you could ignore those just cause the story sucked you in so well, especially when you had a voice behind your character. I was hoping that this game might perfect on some of those faults but never would I have considered the lose of grade A voice acting for my character.
I expected this and am also disappointed by it. Whereas The Witcher had the entire game's massive dialogue translated into several different languages spread across two discs, Bioware couldn't be bothered to make one character's dialogue in several different voices and choose instead to go for the immersion breaking "silent character" that I love to hate. Arrgh!
 

veloper

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Jan 20, 2009
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What really cheers me up is most of the reviews of today mentioning how hard the game is.
I've been waiting for a challenging tactical rpg for a long time.

I also get the impression that the worst part of this game is going to be the dialogue. Maybe we should all be grateful that the PC isn't VOed aswell.
No RPG except VTM:Bloodlines ever did voice-overs right.
 

Otterpoet

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Jun 6, 2008
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Doug said:
Otterpoet said:
Mr.Pandah said:
I glanced through the comments on this, but didn't see anything pertaining to the PS3...How well does it run on the PS3? Or does it have the same hiccups as the Xbox360?
From what I've been reading, apart from the lack of 'Baldur's Gate' vision, the PS3 has the best graphics for the game. And that comes as a happy surprise to me - usually we PS3ers draw the short end of the stick when it comes to ports. I believe the comparison goes from best to worst: PS3, PC, XBox360.

Still, for me, it's the game-play that matters and everyone will be lucky in that regard :)
Odd - someone else in this thread said it was PC, PS3, 360 - given the PS3 lacked fullscreen antialiasing or something.
I went back and I think you're right. The PC is supposed to be the "superior experience," which only makes sense frankly. However, the PS3 has "higher-quality textures than those on the Xbox 360, better color saturation, smoother facial animations, and shorter load times." And apart from minor hiccups is the superior console for running DA:O. That was welcome news.
 

Captain Pancake

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May 20, 2009
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I was about to say it looks a lot like Mass Effect...

Then I realised it was made by Bioware.

silly me...
 

Slycne

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Feb 19, 2006
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Yurimistress said:
Granted that's what I tend to do inside my head for Kotor or older RPG's. This, however, is not an older RPG and feels like a step in the wrong direction. For Bioware to go from Mass Effect with damn near complete voice acting for your character (I say near cause a few speech options say the same thing regardless) to me having to imagine how my character would say a line just feels wrong.

Oh and the controlling of your fellow party members feels overly complicated and clumsy. Guess I'll just return the game and bide my time for Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dragon Age Origin feels a touch...generic as medieval stories go.
Keivz said:
I expected this and am also disappointed by it. Whereas The Witcher had the entire game's massive dialogue translated into several different languages spread across two discs, Bioware couldn't be bothered to make one character's dialogue in several different voices and choose instead to go for the immersion breaking "silent character" that I love to hate. Arrgh!
I actually don't think a fully VO'ed main character would work in Dragon Age. RPGs grew out of table-top games which you were fully in control of your character's voice, quite literally. Until AI becomes advanced enough to respond to a player's spoken or written dialogue, we have made the concession that the developer choices several dialogue choices for us. The Witcher and to a lesser extent Mass Effect took that one step furthers. By removing your character voice by providing their own, this actually takes these games another step away from a true role-playing experience. In the Witcher you are definitely Geralt, you may have control over actions and some choices, but you are always playing that role. Even Mass Effect fell prey to this, falling somewhere in between - there were several times where I felt the spoken dialogue didn't align with the choice I made and that the character of Shepard was coming through subtly. While you may prefer that, Dragon Age is trying to create a world that you can interact with as any character you can imagine within a broader scope than a fully voiced main character would allow.
 

Mr.Pandah

Pandah Extremist
Jul 20, 2008
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Otterpoet said:
Doug said:
Otterpoet said:
Mr.Pandah said:
I glanced through the comments on this, but didn't see anything pertaining to the PS3...How well does it run on the PS3? Or does it have the same hiccups as the Xbox360?
From what I've been reading, apart from the lack of 'Baldur's Gate' vision, the PS3 has the best graphics for the game. And that comes as a happy surprise to me - usually we PS3ers draw the short end of the stick when it comes to ports. I believe the comparison goes from best to worst: PS3, PC, XBox360.

Still, for me, it's the game-play that matters and everyone will be lucky in that regard :)
Odd - someone else in this thread said it was PC, PS3, 360 - given the PS3 lacked fullscreen antialiasing or something.
I went back and I think you're right. The PC is supposed to be the "superior experience," which only makes sense frankly. However, the PS3 has "higher-quality textures than those on the Xbox 360, better color saturation, smoother facial animations, and shorter load times." And apart from minor hiccups is the superior console for running DA:O. That was welcome news.
Interesting. I'll wait for a bit more news on how the PS3 version actually runs before I settle on that. Apart from problems on my home computer, I'm trying to decide whether or not this is a 360 or PS3 buy.
 

badgersprite

[--SYSTEM ERROR--]
Sep 22, 2009
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This sounds like my perfect game. Yeah, I don't think I'm going to be leaving the house in December. =3
 

Nimbus

Token Irish Guy
Oct 22, 2008
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Hooray! Justification for my wildly overpriced gaming computer!
 

squid5580

Elite Member
Feb 20, 2008
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Bought the CE and the DLC mission (360 version). It better be as good as you say it is Russ. Or you can expect a visit at your office (and a flaming bag on your doorstep).
 

Loop Stricken

Covered in bees!
Jun 17, 2009
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Achievements!

If I get the PC version, is it perchance hooked up to Games for Windows or whatever the system is that means they show up on your 360 account whajamacallit?
 

Wounded Melody

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Jan 19, 2009
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Anyone find out which guy you can fall in love with if you are playing as a guy? Yea, that's what I want to know.
 

Pyotr Romanov

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Jul 8, 2009
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Ugh, why couldn't they delay MW2? Now people will be going "what the hell man?! Why didn't you buy mw2?! Best game evaaaaahh!!" at me while I try to play a nice rpg.

Should finish demon's souls first, though.

Also, is this gonna be moddable? Will the graphics suck (will not really look too good) on ps3 as well? Been wondering if I should get it on the ps3 or computer. Mods > trophies.
 

FloodOne

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Apr 29, 2009
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TooMiserableToLive said:
Ugh, why couldn't they delay MW2? Now people will be going "what the hell man?! Why didn't you buy mw2?! Best game evaaaaahh!!" at me while I try to play a nice rpg.

Should finish demon's souls first, though.

Also, is this gonna be moddable? Will the graphics suck (will not really look too good) on ps3 as well? Been wondering if I should get it on the ps3 or computer. Mods > trophies.
If mods mean more than trophies, go with the PC version.
 

A13X T3h NubCak3

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May 12, 2009
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Yurimistress said:
A13X T3h NubCak3 said:
Yurimistress said:
I've just played through the first combat mission and for the most part the game is good. My buzz, however, quickly died once I realized that your character doesn't say a damn thing! Oh sure he/she says a few things while in combat but that's it. Instead of limiting your character to one awesome and very well done voice actor per gender (as in Mass Effect) we are now given the choice of various voices to use that don't go beyond one sentence at best.

I'm going to keep playing through the game until I can get a more definite feel for it but this has been a huge blow for me personally. Mass Effect had its faults but you could ignore those just cause the story sucked you in so well, especially when you had a voice behind your character. I was hoping that this game might perfect on some of those faults but never would I have considered the lose of grade A voice acting for my character.
Its alot like Knights of the Old Republic speech..

Just read it out and pretend you are saying it to the person.. Thats what i did for Kotor.. But granted i understand where you are coming from.. it was nice to see your character interacting with the person in that way.

Also can more people update and tell us what they think of the game? Thanks
Granted that's what I tend to do inside my head for Kotor or older RPG's. This, however, is not an older RPG and feels like a step in the wrong direction. For Bioware to go from Mass Effect with damn near complete voice acting for your character (I say near cause a few speech options say the same thing regardless) to me having to imagine how my character would say a line just feels wrong.

Oh and the controlling of your fellow party members feels overly complicated and clumsy. Guess I'll just return the game and bide my time for Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dragon Age Origin feels a touch...generic as medieval stories go.
you playing on xbox pc or ps3?
 

Pyotr Romanov

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Jul 8, 2009
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FloodOne said:
TooMiserableToLive said:
Ugh, why couldn't they delay MW2? Now people will be going "what the hell man?! Why didn't you buy mw2?! Best game evaaaaahh!!" at me while I try to play a nice rpg.

Should finish demon's souls first, though.

Also, is this gonna be moddable? Will the graphics suck (will not really look too good) on ps3 as well? Been wondering if I should get it on the ps3 or computer. Mods > trophies.
If mods mean more than trophies, go with the PC version.
Are you sure there will be mods? Mass effect didn't get any, though that was a different engine ofcourse. I'm just hoping it might get a big mod-/fanbase like oblivion got.
 

Leftnt Sharpe

Nick Furry
Apr 2, 2009
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Those who are undecided about which version to get should consider that the PC version gets the Toolset and all the great mods that will inevitably be produced by the community.
 

Slycne

Tank Ninja
Feb 19, 2006
3,422
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TooMiserableToLive said:
FloodOne said:
TooMiserableToLive said:
Ugh, why couldn't they delay MW2? Now people will be going "what the hell man?! Why didn't you buy mw2?! Best game evaaaaahh!!" at me while I try to play a nice rpg.

Should finish demon's souls first, though.

Also, is this gonna be moddable? Will the graphics suck (will not really look too good) on ps3 as well? Been wondering if I should get it on the ps3 or computer. Mods > trophies.
If mods mean more than trophies, go with the PC version.
Are you sure there will be mods? Mass effect didn't get any, though that was a different engine ofcourse. I'm just hoping it might get a big mod-/fanbase like oblivion got.
Yes there will be mods and player created content. [http://dragonage.bioware.com/toolset/]