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Dragon Age: Origins |OT| Letting The Fade fade out of memory

Evolved1

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
What an annoying game... PS3 version is such ass.

Despite this, I've been pushing through. There are elements of the game I like. Unfortunately, the little bits of enjoyment I find here and there are buried in annoyances. I probably wont finish the game and you couldn't pay me to play a sequel. So far... it's a 4/10.

Bioware demonstrates total incompetence porting their game here... it's embarrassingly bad on PS3.

Mest30 said:
I am compelled at the story.
Click to expand...

Really?

Mest30 said:
It actually reminds me of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Click to expand...

"Reminds"... I guess that's one way to put it. :lol
 
R

Ruzai

Member
Anybody else grab the Golems of Amgarrak dlc? I've played about two hours of it, and have to say I think it's definitely a step in the right direction, even though it has it's fair share of flaws.

On the bright side, outside of potions and lyrium potions, the itemization seems better than Origins proper. Gear that I've picked up so far has pretty much all been either uniquely named, have decent stat bonuses tacked on, or rune slots to make use of. Much better than picking up twelve darkspawn daggers in a row. I also like the dungeon design quite a bit most of what was presented in the vanilla game. It retains some light puzzle elements without being anywhere near as annoying as the Fade, and it has it's own story embedded that lends the whole thing a rather unique atmosphere. I wish more places like Amgarrak existed in the regular game, off the beaten path, and not tied to any major questline.

As for negatives, Bioware's idea of a more difficult dungeon diving experience is not to be confused with a more strategic one. Although there have been a few fights that made me sit back and rethink or reload, the majority of the difficulty comes from spamming fights with yellow and orange ranked monsters. By far the worst offender are Golem fights, where you'll have numerous boulders hurled your way, then a round of slams and back to boulders. It's cheap difficulty rather than smart. My only other major complaint is the party they saddle you with. It's just absolutely horrible. There's some nice ideas, like a Golem mage, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired (it can't heal itself at all, it only gets 5 preselected spells) and unless your PC is a mage, everything else you get is melee oriented. It's very lopsided.

Overall I'm liking it though, and I think it feels a lot more substantial than some of the other dlc. Any other impressions?
 
Warnen

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
I didn't like the fact you had no choices at all. Would have liked some kind of choice at the end. Didn't care for the ending either, would have been better to let the credits scroll then the rush.

I enjoyed it but it could have been much better.
 
H

hermit7

Member
recklessmind said:
What an annoying game... PS3 version is such ass.
Bioware demonstrates total incompetence porting their game here... it's embarrassingly bad on PS3.
Click to expand...

Biware didn't port it. Edge of Reality is the one that ported it.
 
R

Ruzai

Member
I didn't have any trouble using potions at any point. However, the golem cannot use them, even though he goes through an animation looking as though he does. Maybe that's the issue?
 
K

kai3345

Banned
Ruzai said:
I didn't have any trouble using potions at any point. However, the golem cannot use them, even though he goes through an animation looking as though he does. Maybe that's the issue?
Click to expand...
No the rouge dwarf couldn't use them. Idk maybe he had some weird debuff attached to him or something.
 
K

kyo_daikun

Member
ALaz502 said:
For those that have been waiting for the DLC to drop in price on Xbox Live, Dragon Age is the new Xbox Live Deal of the Week. Good until August 22nd.

Awakenings for 1600 Points.
Return to Ostegar for 240 Points.
Warden's Keep for 400 Points.

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live/marketplace/dealoftheweek/
Click to expand...

Was seriously hoping that PSN would get a similar load of deals, the DLC is way too expensive at the moment (£32 for awakening? GTFO)
 
M

Mest30

Banned
So as I am progressing through the game and talk to certain people, a dialogue box always pops up and says new quest available. Once you've unlocked a side quest by talking to a certain person, how the hell do you find out where you are suppose to go to complete the quest?
 
G

Gully State

Member
I just wanted to chime in and say how much I'm enjoying the vanilla game on PC again after finally finishing the fade. I'm also amazed that after only completing battle at dennerim, mage tower, and finishing up Brecilian forest (without much sidequesting done), I've already logged in over 30+ hours of gameplay. That said, I plan on picking up the DLC as well as Awakenings down the line. However, is there a way to bypass the shitty Bioware points system on PC? I just want to purchase the DLC that I'm interested in and not have to deal with any leftover points.
 
Z

zero margin

Member
So after calling in sick today to apply for other jobs I decided to buy this for PC after originally playing the first third on 360. Yes, I am excited. So much for the applying.
 
F

FutureZombie

Banned
Just beat the game. I liked it a lot, and thought the dialogue options were much better than in other games. There's some real subtlety to what you choose to say, and sometimes you get different scenarios than what you expected!

I also loved the characters. Morrigan is the most complex, layered character I've seen in a video game. Alistair is a great character, too, and I found myself truly caring for these party members.

What (if any) DLC is worth buying? I want to buy it tonight because the sale ends tomorrow, so if there is anything that is a "must play," I'd like to hear about it tonight!
 
P

Pancakes

hot, steaming, as melted butter slips into the cracks, drizzled with sticky sweet syrup OH GOD
FutureZombie said:
Just beat the game. I liked it a lot, and thought the dialogue options were much better than in other games. There's some real subtlety to what you choose to say, and sometimes you get different scenarios than what you expected!

I also loved the characters. Morrigan is the most complex, layered character I've seen in a video game. Alistair is a great character, too, and I found myself truly caring for these party members.

What (if any) DLC is worth buying? I want to buy it tonight because the sale ends tomorrow, so if there is anything that is a "must play," I'd like to hear about it tonight!
Click to expand...
Uhhh sure...

As for DLC:
Wardens keep is good (recommend)
Stone prisoner is amazing (recommend)
Leliana one is acceptable (only if you like leiana)
Darkspawn one is terrible (avoid at all cost)
 
R

REV 09

Member
I bought Return to Ostagar at the $3 sale price and actually enjoyed it. Well worth that price. I remember it getting a lot of hate, but it was a good 1.5 hours and had some nice, unique pickups and story points. I also really liked the Warden's keep. I didn't care much for the Stone Prisoner, but it was free with new purchases.

I'm going through Awakening now and i think i like it better than the main game. It seems more focused and the levels seem to branch better. it also looks a tad better or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. So far, the characters that i've recruited have been more consistent in their likability when compared to the first game. I used Morrigan, Leliana, and Alistair exclusively in the first game...loved all 3, but didn't care for a single other character.

still need to dl Liliana's Song, DarkSpawn Chronicles, and the new Golam one.
 
P

Pancakes

hot, steaming, as melted butter slips into the cracks, drizzled with sticky sweet syrup OH GOD
How is the new Golem DLC? Any decent story/dialogue or is it just another dungeon to trek through?
 
O

Owzers

Member
Just finished Awakening, thoughts:

1) having played the 360 version of Origins and the PS3 version of Awakening, the framerate on the PS3 version does indeed suck.

2) Some of the new skills are really neat and make the game feel a bit more fresh, i liked Force of Nature and Juggernaut the most.

3) The ending of the game, like the ending of Origins, sucked. The story started off okay but eventually escalated without any REAL escalation other than Bioware basically saying " okay this is us taking the story forward but we really don't have the time to SHOW the story moving forward, so we're just going to pretend like it already has"

4) Total play time: 12.5 hours.

5) Verdict: Definitely a step in the right direction...a leap in the right direction...of what i want out of dlc/future content for games. Overall it was enjoyable and worth the $25 i paid for it.
 
K

kai3345

Banned
FutureZombie said:
Just beat the game. I liked it a lot, and thought the dialogue options were much better than in other games. There's some real subtlety to what you choose to say, and sometimes you get different scenarios than what you expected!

I also loved the characters. Morrigan is the most complex, layered character I've seen in a video game. Alistair is a great character, too, and I found myself truly caring for these party members.

What (if any) DLC is worth buying? I want to buy it tonight because the sale ends tomorrow, so if there is anything that is a "must play," I'd like to hear about it tonight!
Click to expand...
lolwut

How is the new Golem DLC? Any decent story/dialogue or is it just another dungeon to trek through?
Click to expand...
I havent finished it but there's definitley a plot. A dwarf goes looking for his brother who got lost in the deep roads and when you get there all this weird ass shit starts happening so you explore the dungeon looking for clues as to what happened. There is some dialog, but most of the story is told through this dude's journal pages that you find, whenever you pick them up it playes a voiceover, reading the entry.

Anyway, its a fun add-on and well worth the 5 bucks.
 
R

Ricker

Member
So I started Awakening and I like it a lot so far...something happened that I didn`t like already though,so I might restart just before that to see if it`s inevitable or if I could of avoided that...(early spoiler once you get in Vigil`s Keep)


Mhairi dies during the Joining process to become a Grey Warden?? can you avoid that happening at all? I was liking her lol
 
EviLore

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
FutureZombie said:
Morrigan is the most complex, layered character I've seen in a video game.
Click to expand...

coletrain02.jpg
 
J

Jerk

Banned
FutureZombie said:
Morrigan is the most complex, layered character I've seen in a video game.
Click to expand...

:lol

Had you simply put forth Alaster, I would have understood (still would have been a stupid thing to say).

But...

:lol
 
F

FutureZombie

Banned
Either no one else talked to their party members, or you've all played much different games than me, because I don't remember seeing game characters that were as well developed as Morrigan and Alistair.

So you get Morrigan early on, and she seems like a total bitch. But then you learn her background story, and talk to her in camp, and you see her differently in many ways. And you see how she struggles with being around people because of how she grew up.

Same with Alistair. First, he just seems like a wise-ass. But throughout the game, you learn about his troubles with his identity and how he views his family/friends.


I don't recall another game where the characters feel like actual people, and not just NPCs that have no thoughts.
 
F

FutureZombie

Banned
As far as RPGs, I've played most of the FF series, Suikoden III, Mass Effect, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Paper Mario, Paper Mario TYD, .Hack, Xenosaga, and a bunch of others. Just looking over that list, and thinking of other games where characters matter (GTA series for example) I see a bunch of one dimensional characters. Some are very cool or memorable, but they are not as human-like as the party members you get in Dragon Age.

The impression I'm getting from everyone else who replied to what I wrote is either that:

A) Morrigan is a boring character.

B) They sped through the game without talking to their party members.

or

C) There are lots of games out there with unique characters with fully fleshed out back stories who make you look at them differently throughout the game.


I know it's not A, because I just finished the game last night. I think most likely the answer is B, but then again, if you're posting in this thread, it would be weird if you sped through the game. And if it's C, then I want to know what games those are so I can play them.
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Morrigan is a fine character.

Anyway I am still playing Awakening. Haven't played lots of games lately but decided to come back and got hooked once more. I must say, as the expansion progresses dungeons get much, much better and detailed. It also has some fun battles, easy, but fun. I am around 9 hours in.

I luv ma DA. =)
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
The Baroness! Finally a hard fight haha!

EDIT: Well fuck me. After I lost to her once because she took out Anders I quickly dispose of her. Goddammit :lol
 
P

Peff

Member
FutureZombie said:
As far as RPGs, I've played most of the FF series, Suikoden III, Mass Effect, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Paper Mario, Paper Mario TYD, .Hack, Xenosaga, and a bunch of others. Just looking over that list, and thinking of other games where characters matter (GTA series for example) I see a bunch of one dimensional characters. Some are very cool or memorable, but they are not as human-like as the party members you get in Dragon Age.

The impression I'm getting from everyone else who replied to what I wrote is either that:

A) Morrigan is a boring character.

B) They sped through the game without talking to their party members.

or

C) There are lots of games out there with unique characters with fully fleshed out back stories who make you look at them differently throughout the game.


I know it's not A, because I just finished the game last night. I think most likely the answer is B, but then again, if you're posting in this thread, it would be weird if you sped through the game. And if it's C, then I want to know what games those are so I can play them.
Click to expand...

Don't worry too much about the tone, people tend to overreact when someone plays the "best ever" card. I think many people would agree that both characters are good and stand out from Bioware's latest offerings, but just to put one example, Chris Avellone does some magnificent stuff with his characters. Play Knights of the Old Republic 2 for a very well written cast and one character in particular (Kreia) has a lot of nuances and even does something not very usual in games (but I can't tell you what it is :p) or Planescape: Torment overall, really fantastic too.
 
V

Ventrue

Member
FutureZombie said:
As far as RPGs, I've played most of the FF series, Suikoden III, Mass Effect, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Paper Mario, Paper Mario TYD, .Hack, Xenosaga, and a bunch of others. Just looking over that list, and thinking of other games where characters matter (GTA series for example) I see a bunch of one dimensional characters. Some are very cool or memorable, but they are not as human-like as the party members you get in Dragon Age.

...

And if it's C, then I want to know what games those are so I can play them.
Click to expand...

I think Morrigan is a good character, but your list is sorely lacking the WRPGs that excel in this field. I'd recommend some other games by Bioware, Troika (Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines), Black Isle (Planescape: Torment) and Obsidian (Mask of the Betrayer).

EDIT: But seriously, the answer is Planescape.
 
K

kaizoku

I'm not as deluded as I make myself out to be
Morrigan was an awesome character and personally my 'relationship' with her during my play through was completely unplanned, unexpected and the most 'fulfilling' interaction I've had with a game character that I can remember.

and I don't mean sexually :lol Most games I play don't let me choose a love interest (Mario, Final Fantasy) and if I do it was for meaningless reasons (Fable, Harvest Moon). Here I really liked her story and it kinda felt like I'd worked for it too! I had to put real effort into learning about her. The ending was also suitably sentimental and emotional (trying to avoid using spoiler tags).

God I sound like such a loser, but for Morrigan I will! and this is from a guy who usually rebels against characters or people who are overtly emo/goth or whatever.

Was she the most multi layered character? I dont know I dont analyse characters or scripts too much, but my interaction with her (and the rest of the DA cast) was way ahead of other games I've played.

Granted I havent played that many WRPGs (or dating sims)
 
R

REV 09

Member
just finished Awakening. Did just about everything and my total playtime was 14hours. Overall i found Awakening to be significantly better than Origins. All of the companions were interesting except for Sigrun. The level design was less broken up between loadscreens. I also found the villains to be more defined and menacing. The graphics and art were also a step up from the original. I guess a negative could be that the entire economy and leveling systems were kind of borked, but that wasn't much of an issue for me.

If you like Origins then do yourself a favor and find a way to play Awakening. I paid $20 for the game, but i would value it at $30 after finishing it.
 
S

Slackbladder

Member
DA:O has been patched (via Steam) and now I can't play with the DLC Bought. Fuck me.. They all say unauthorised and I definitely have the right account. Looking on the forums this looks like a common problem. Now, will Bioware fix it or am I supposed to do their job for them?
 
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