would I like Dragon age origin?

[Virtual_Dom]

I was wondering about trying out dragon age origins but i wanted to ask the community if I would enjoy it.

So here are my questions?

*The length: can it take me longer than, say... 15 hours?

*The dialogue: how much of the game am i going to spend talking to NPC's, I love great writing and voice acting, but I don't want to spend 50% of my playtime talking to an NPC?

*The quests: are they repetitive or is there enough variation in them?

*The combat: is the combat like in an action game (attack everytime attack button is pushed, dodge everytime, etc) or is it like in world of warcraft (you target an enemy then you just automatically attack each other in patterns, while you access spells and buffs, etc)? I don't mind giving orders to team members, but I don't like that latter style of combat.

So would you recommend dragon age to me?

 

[Nagisa94]

Well, I can tell you that it is a long game, and yes, there is a TON of dialogue, great writing too. Combat style is slow unfortunately, WoW style.

 

[Baralak]

It's more like WoW, to use your example. You attack automatically (on console anyway, never played it on PC) and hit a button to use a special skill or attack. Your allies are AI controlled, but you can switch to them at any time.

You also spend a bunch of time talking. the amount spent talking and killing is about 50/50, IIRC. And yes, the story will take you at least 20 hours your first time through.

 

[ultrachicken]

Jeez, it seems like you didn't even watch/read a review before posting this, but whatever.

1. I usually spend around 25-30 hours on each playthrough, and I'm close to completing my fourth one.

2. I'd say there's a 1-6 ratio of talking to gameplay.

3. The quests usually add enough variation to stay fresh. Some of the side missions are terrible, however.

4. Neither. Dragon Age is a very tactical RPG. I'd say that it bears more resemblance to WoW than an action game, but you'll be pausing to issue tactical commands more than just tapping your fingers as you and your opponent have a shin-kicking match.

EDIT: You can also "program" your team's AI, which is not as complicated as it sounds.

 

[Jaranja]

Well, I can tell you that it is a long game, and yes, there is a TON of dialogue, great writing too. Combat style is slow unfortunately, WoW style.

Excuse me?

The combat style is as if you controlled four WoW characters at a time.

The quests are baked in story and the side quests usually take you to new areas. It's extremely long and there is a lot of well-written dialogue. The story, while quite unoriginal, is told very well and the game itself is immersive.

 

[ultrachicken]

Shit! Double post!

 

[BehattedWanderer]

In that regard, I would recommend it. You might find it a little dialogue heavy, but there's great story intertwined with lots of combat. The sidequests have a good variation, though there's the occasional one you'll do without ever realizing it, stumbling straight into the resolution without knowing what it was for, unless you manage a lot of your data logging. Spells and attack styles vary enough to allow different kinds of attacking, but there is a click-and-hit feel to it. You can go into the menus and really control how your AI-controlled teammates respond to practically every enemy, so it's a good mix of tactical and direct action. Oh, and, depending on how invested you are in certain stats (like lockpicking and coercion), you get extra quests, which extend your gameplay time from about 35 hours to maybe around 60 hours. Add in the expansion, which is about 10-15 hours, and the DLC, which are usually an hour and a half or so, and you've got quite a lot of worth in Dragon Age.

So, yeah, I'd recommend it, if the above doesn't dissuade you.

 

[linkvegeta]

yes i would recommend it to you, but if you do get it make sure to get the ultimate edition that comes with all the DLC (there is lots of DLC) im sure you would enjoy it, while its not the best thing to look at it is a pretty good game and i think it is definitely worth playing through if even once.

 

[Zhukov]

*The length: can it take me longer than, say... 15 hours?

Easily. If you do all the side quests it could take you 60+ hours. Exactly how long will depend on difficulty setting and how much optional questing and dialogue you choose to do.

*The dialogue: how much of the game am i going to spend talking to NPC's, I love great writing and voice acting, but I don't want to spend 50% of my playtime talking to an NPC?

It's more like 30%. A lot of the dialogue is optional though. The writing and voice acting is generally good.

*The quests: are they repetitive or is there enough variation in them?

Repetitive as all hell. They all boil down to either "go here, kill him" or "go here, talk to her".

*The combat: is the combat like in an action game (attack everytime attack button is pushed, dodge everytime, etc) or is it like in world of warcraft (you target an enemy then you just automatically attack each other in patterns, while you access spells and buffs, etc)?

I've never player WoW, but from your description that's what Dragon Age is like. It's certainly not an action game. There's a reasonable degree of tactical depth in there.

So would you recommend dragon age to me?

Buggered if I know. Go read some reviews or watch some gameplay footage.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I dunno, do you like boring games? #troll

It's way longer than 15 hours. To be honest, I only got about 10 hours in but I didn't even put a dent into the game. You'll spend about 75% of your time talking to people, 20% walking from place to place, and 5% actually battling. I actually found the quests pretty varied. And the combat is set up in different ways. I'm going to assume you're playing on PC here and say that what you can do is play it in real time and just control one character at a time, letting the AI take over for your allies who are actually pretty smart or at least smart enough to realize what they can do and when to do it (and if they aren't smart enough for you, you can assign someone to be healer or something and their AI will focus on healing) or you could pause the game, queue up moves, unpause, watch them battle, then repeat.

I think it's supposed to be like a tabletop game, except made for PC (except I recently became aware of the Dragon Age tabletop game) so it's definitely more for that crowd. I think I picked the wrong timing to play it, because now that I actually am getting into that sort of stuff I think I could appreciate it more.

And by the way, get it for the PC. I haven't played the 360 version, but the stuff that's in the PC version that isn't in the 360 version is pretty much really important. Plus, all the hotkeys...

 

[warm slurm]

I completed the game in about 25 hours the first time I played, but I didn't do every sidequest/etc. I'd say it was medium-to-long.

And the quests are kind of repetitive, but for the most part I think the game does a good job of hiding it well. The only time I think they sucked at hiding it is in a certain quest that you have to finish before you can leave and do something else.

The writing is some of the best in video games, in my opinion. Maybe not in the story, per say (I wouldn't call it a LOTR rip-off, however), but in the dialogue and the characters. I think anyone who knows a darn thing about how to write will tell you that.

Good game. I'd recommend it. Get the Ultimate Edition, though.

 

[DanielBrown]

Lenght wise each playthrough for me took about 20 hours or less, I believe. Everybody told me it was a 100+ hours long game, so I got really shocked when it was over.

There is very... very much dialogue in the game, but I can't say that it bothered me. Bioware games tend to focus heavily on the story, so if you're not into that to begin with I doubt DA:O is for you.

I suppose one could think the quests were repetable, but it's hard not to make them. If you're not a fan of MMO-styled quests then you won't like Dragon Age.

Combat is like in WoW. You press a button to attack the nearest target, then you use some skill buttons when they're off cool down. On my warrior and archer character I only had like two attacks though, so it was mainly just auto attack for me.

I'm not sure if I think you'd like this game, but if you can find it cheap - give it a shot!
Don't buy any DLC though. I bought two of them and for costing about 6 euro each they only lasted like 20 minutes tops.

 

[Smooth Operator]

So would you recommend dragon age to me?

It appears to me you like action packed games, and this is not it.
It is a story driven RPG, there is alot of dialogue, the combat is slow(RPG style), and it is a long ass game(40 hours first time through), the story is also quite heavy(you really haveto take your time with this game, sort of like reading a long book).

I'd say borrow it from someone if you can, or watch youtube walkthroughs, you should get a fairly good idea of what it's like.
I for one thoroughly enjoyed it because it is a proper old school RPG, the story is layed out a bit harshly but I think that was the idea.

Oh and try to get the PC version, the console ones are really watered down... then again some people prefer that.

 

[ZodiacBraves]

*The length: can it take me longer than, say... 15 hours?

*The dialogue: how much of the game am i going to spend talking to NPC's, I love great writing and voice acting, but I don't want to spend 50% of my playtime talking to an NPC?

*The quests: are they repetitive or is there enough variation in them?

*The combat: is the combat like in an action game (attack everytime attack button is pushed, dodge everytime, etc) or is it like in world of warcraft (you target an enemy then you just automatically attack each other in patterns, while you access spells and buffs, etc)? I don't mind giving orders to team members, but I don't like that latter style of combat.

So would you recommend dragon age to me?

First off, I haven't played it on the Xbox, but based on the quality of play I had on the PC and what I heard about the xbox version, I say get the PC version.

Length: I am a completionist and I was playing most of my game on a harder difficulty, which required more pausing to set up moves and contemplate my next actions. I didn't complete all of the quests, but I did complete most of them, and it took me somewhere between 55-60 hours in my first full playthrough.

The dialogue: Personally I feel its higher quality than most current video game voice acting. There are some bad moments, but most of it ranges from just ok, to good, to some great moments.

The quests: Some may disagree, but I feel the main storyline is great. There are quite a few of the side-quests are also pretty good, but I'll admit some of them do end up feeling like WoW filler quests. If you try to do all of the side quests the shine definitely tends to fade over time.

The combat: Many of the people have stated it feels very much like World of Warcraft. Although I don't feel its entirely untrue, I do think its a somewhat unfair label. In terms of telling your character to "target an enemy then you just automatically attack each other in patterns, while you access spells and buffs", yes that is the basic core of the combat. However, there are differences that may make or break it for you.

First off, as other people before me have mentioned, you have control over 4 characters at the same time (which helps add to the strategy in terms of group make-up, spell synergy, timing each characters spells/CD). Although I do not know which game has more available class spells, I felt that because of my ability to pause the combat and set up my next moves, I ended up using a much wider variety of spells and strategies in DA:O than any wow battle. This all could be based on the difficulty I played (I don't remember if it was the 1st or 2nd hardest), but I also felt that because of the difficulty I played, I played the game more by pausing to plan strategy and give orders to my team than a straight real-time WoW gameplay experience.

Not to say there aren't issues with the combat. By the end of the game (remember, I did most of the sidequests) I was starting to bore of the combat and changed the difficulty to easy so I could blaze through and get to the story/dialogue sections. The difficulty doesn't really add a whole lot of AI changes, primarily health/damage (although I honestly don't remember that much about the differences). Also, by the end of the game (again, tons of side-quests) I felt that I wish there were a few more choices available to develop my character endgame.

Overall, If you don't mind playing a game that; might have a heavier focus on story than combat; a somewhat World of Warcraft combat system that allows for control of 4 characters simultaneously, and in my opinion, more in-depth strategy; with some obvious but overlookable flaws, you may end up liking Dragon Age: Origins. It has definitely become one of my top gaming experiences.

 

[Nimcha]

I was wondering about trying out dragon age origins but i wanted to ask the community if I would enjoy it.

So here are my questions?

*The length: can it take me longer than, say... 15 hours?

*The dialogue: how much of the game am i going to spend talking to NPC's, I love great writing and voice acting, but I don't want to spend 50% of my playtime talking to an NPC?

*The quests: are they repetitive or is there enough variation in them?

*The combat: is the combat like in an action game (attack everytime attack button is pushed, dodge everytime, etc) or is it like in world of warcraft (you target an enemy then you just automatically attack each other in patterns, while you access spells and buffs, etc)? I don't mind giving orders to team members, but I don't like that latter style of combat.

So would you recommend dragon age to me?

No. It was a huge let-down.

1. Length: A short RPG. Disappointing in my opinion. But yeah, it's longer than 15 hours. 40 hours is about all you'll get on a full, side missions and all, playthrough. Too short.

2. Dialogue: It's in there. But I didn't find it very compelling. The story was a huge LOTR rip-off and the characters were unlikeable.

3. Quests: Repetitive? Damn straight. Go here, collect X amount of this, return. Go here, talk to X, return. Very bland quests.

4. Combat: I only played on console, so experience may vary on PC. On console, broken radial system marrs the combat. It devolves into a huge clusterfuck. It's a standard MMO style use spell/ability - cooldown.

It's pretty awful.

Heh, the only thing I agree with is the sidequests one. I do wonder what sort of games you do like if you classify this one as short?

But really, play the PC version. Combat is actually fun in that version.

 

[Virtual_Dom]

Alright thanks guys I've decided to try it out.

 

[teutonicman]

You'd probably like, I know that if you play as a mage you pwn the shit out of everything. Especially after you get the blood mage specialty.

 

[omega 616]

I was wondering about trying out dragon age origins but i wanted to ask the community if I would enjoy it.

So here are my questions?

*The length: can it take me longer than, say... 15 hours?

*The dialogue: how much of the game am i going to spend talking to NPC's, I love great writing and voice acting, but I don't want to spend 50% of my playtime talking to an NPC?

*The quests: are they repetitive or is there enough variation in them?

*The combat: is the combat like in an action game (attack everytime attack button is pushed, dodge everytime, etc) or is it like in world of warcraft (you target an enemy then you just automatically attack each other in patterns, while you access spells and buffs, etc)? I don't mind giving orders to team members, but I don't like that latter style of combat.

So would you recommend dragon age to me?

I am not hanging round but I am about half way through the basic version and I am nearly at 50 hours. I still have all the DLC to do.

You can either rush through the dialogue and miss most of the story (but it is really in depth and you can always catch up in the codex) or you can listen to everyting and it takes awhile.

The quests follow the oblivion quest list, stuff like find this person, get a person to do suff for me, go into a dungeon and collect something and the main story ark of stopping evil spilling into the world/taking over the world.

Combat is basic, you can select 6 special attacks to use quickly and theres loads you can use by pausing the combat.

You can set tactics for the others in your gang to use, such as my mage can shoot a fireball that knocks over people but she will only use it when two or more enemies are clustered together, then when she runs low on mana she drinks something to restore it (rahter than waiting for it to recharge.