Review: Dragon Age- Origins
First Impressions
Bioware (for me) is the RPG to Bungie's FPS. So far, they can do no wrong. And, though some of the comments I read in reviews of the game about a lack of originality to the world (which I address here) I've been impressed with all of the aspects an RPG has to capture: world, characters, plot, and gameplay.
Pacing
My experience with BioWare began with the classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for PC (played on several friends' computers). Anyone who's played that game will recognize the basic structure. The main plotline requires finishing several rather lengthy quests (which all, of course, spawn their own sub-quests) in no particular order. Even though you're *encouraged* to go to Redcliffe first, you do any of the other main quests first.
That said, this isn't an open-world RPG in the vein of the Elder Scrolls series or Fallout 3. In fact, while the environments are all well-done and have good variety, my favorite parts of the game involve Orzammar--especially the forays into the Deep Roads--that are semi-linear in progression. Perhaps because the constrained level design is compatible with an underground environment. Artificially inducing corridors in a forest just makes it feel artificially structured--which in turn breaks immersion.
Another criticism is something inherent to the plot design of the game. The opening battle against the darkspawn is a huge moment. But until the very end of the game, there's no more big battles. Did the darkspawn decided to take a vacation?
I know the PC has to run around recruiting allies, but it would have made for somewhat better pacing if there were smaller battles before the incredibly challenging battle in Denerim. This would also highlight the optional sequence of recruitment--i.e., having to face an early battle with just mages in one playthrough, and the same battle with just dwarves in another.
Incidentally, this was one of my critiques of Awakening--the full expansion pack that I've finished but still need to review as well.
Game Mechanics
The primary feature of Dragon Age is the radial menu--which controls everything from potions, poisons, a 'quick heal' command, sustained spells/talents, activated spells/talents, and even some 'advanced' functions which appear during certain quest-specific times. It sounds like a lot, but it's really a pretty intuitive system--and your most commonly-used spells/talents can be mapped to a dual-layer face-button hotkey system.
The radial menu itself is similiar to anyone who played Mass Effect--with one particular advantage. Instead of having to hold down a button while scrolling through, you can set the menu to toggle open-closed. I found this a great feature for my own physical limitations.
Balance
The default difficulty level is pretty good, though there are battles--especially the final fight against the archdemon--that can turn downright frustrating. Part of it is the default AI. Maybe I could have spent more time tweaking the combat mechanics system (which was a nice addition but tiresome to update every time one of your party members got a cool ability), but during boss fights and other difficult battles I found myself constantly in 'pause' mode via the radial menu. Hmm, that reminds me of KOTOR. . . .
Another balance issue (though realistic) is that some boss fights that *should* be hard come off as wars of attrition because it's just 4 on 1. Keep everyone healed and its just a matter of time before you can plunder their corpse. I'm thinking of a couple battles here that I won't name because it would spoil plot. At least the hardest 'bosses' are purely optional. The main quest is somewhat more even until the archdemon--here we have an incredibly hard single enemy matched with large numbers of weaker enemies. I was stuck here longer than any other part of the game.
Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery
I have little to no hope of Fable III fixing many of my issues with that frachise's utterly shallow relationship system. But Peter Molnyeux should really take a look at the like/dislike relationship system in Dragon Age. Some characters I never really interacted with--so I could never even talk with them about their back-stories. Others (e.g. Morrigan) I was fascinated with, and wished there was more to discover. And the twist at the end of our romance. . . wow.
This takes a really simple system that Obsidian introduced in KOTOR II and really fleshed it out. I still crave more back-story or companion-specific quests, but there's only so much content you can put in an RPG and still make money on it. I spent (including time in pause screens dealing with crying kids) close to 90 hours on my first play-through). Considering that the politics, world, and NPCs are much more deeply developed than more massive games like Oblivion, I'm content with the content provided.
Nitpicks
Every game has its glitches, but two complaints stick with me:
(1) Certain quests never showed up as complete, even though I had completed them. This is really annoying when you like a game so much that you're tempted towards completionist status.
(2) The in-game economy still isn't quite right. It's probably one of the better of the BioWare games, but by the end I have a boatload of money and not much to spend it on. Certainly nowhere near as bad as Mass Effect, where there's almost nothing worth buying and all the good weapons come via questing, but it's still annoying. I also hate having an inventory cap that's totally unrealistic. I like the weight system used in Oblivion, not the arbitrary 'number of items, except duplicates' that BioWare uses here.
Would You Do it All Again?
Yes, absolutely. In fact, I think I'm going to start a new origin story tonight (or play my new start of Fallout 3). Which is, of course, the primary way BioWare sought to provide incredibly replay value. The six separate origin stories are brief (1-3 hours of gameplay) but set the stage for how people in Ferelden view you. Granted, I have yet to play more than my first character, but I can think of dozens of ways the experience will change the second time through. Even changing class radically changes gameplay for the main character.
Also, I'm going to try nightmare mode this time through (the highest difficulty level). Partly it has to do with the fact that I'm curious to see how hard it is in the first game--Awakening is way too easy as the levels increase--and also to keep the combat from getting too repetitious a second time through.
I almost wish I'd pre-ordered this game rather than wait longer. It's good. Really good. And the DLC (I've played everything except The Darkspawn Chronicles) is excellent. In fact, other than the Halo 3 map packs, probably the best DLC content I've purchased to date.
Bioware (for me) is the RPG to Bungie's FPS. So far, they can do no wrong. And, though some of the comments I read in reviews of the game about a lack of originality to the world (which I address here) I've been impressed with all of the aspects an RPG has to capture: world, characters, plot, and gameplay.
Yes, there's dwarves and they live underground, but there's so much there in the details. . . .
Pacing
My experience with BioWare began with the classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for PC (played on several friends' computers). Anyone who's played that game will recognize the basic structure. The main plotline requires finishing several rather lengthy quests (which all, of course, spawn their own sub-quests) in no particular order. Even though you're *encouraged* to go to Redcliffe first, you do any of the other main quests first.
That said, this isn't an open-world RPG in the vein of the Elder Scrolls series or Fallout 3. In fact, while the environments are all well-done and have good variety, my favorite parts of the game involve Orzammar--especially the forays into the Deep Roads--that are semi-linear in progression. Perhaps because the constrained level design is compatible with an underground environment. Artificially inducing corridors in a forest just makes it feel artificially structured--which in turn breaks immersion.
Another criticism is something inherent to the plot design of the game. The opening battle against the darkspawn is a huge moment. But until the very end of the game, there's no more big battles. Did the darkspawn decided to take a vacation?
I know the PC has to run around recruiting allies, but it would have made for somewhat better pacing if there were smaller battles before the incredibly challenging battle in Denerim. This would also highlight the optional sequence of recruitment--i.e., having to face an early battle with just mages in one playthrough, and the same battle with just dwarves in another.
Incidentally, this was one of my critiques of Awakening--the full expansion pack that I've finished but still need to review as well.
Game Mechanics
The primary feature of Dragon Age is the radial menu--which controls everything from potions, poisons, a 'quick heal' command, sustained spells/talents, activated spells/talents, and even some 'advanced' functions which appear during certain quest-specific times. It sounds like a lot, but it's really a pretty intuitive system--and your most commonly-used spells/talents can be mapped to a dual-layer face-button hotkey system.
The radial menu itself is similiar to anyone who played Mass Effect--with one particular advantage. Instead of having to hold down a button while scrolling through, you can set the menu to toggle open-closed. I found this a great feature for my own physical limitations.
Balance
The default difficulty level is pretty good, though there are battles--especially the final fight against the archdemon--that can turn downright frustrating. Part of it is the default AI. Maybe I could have spent more time tweaking the combat mechanics system (which was a nice addition but tiresome to update every time one of your party members got a cool ability), but during boss fights and other difficult battles I found myself constantly in 'pause' mode via the radial menu. Hmm, that reminds me of KOTOR. . . .
Another balance issue (though realistic) is that some boss fights that *should* be hard come off as wars of attrition because it's just 4 on 1. Keep everyone healed and its just a matter of time before you can plunder their corpse. I'm thinking of a couple battles here that I won't name because it would spoil plot. At least the hardest 'bosses' are purely optional. The main quest is somewhat more even until the archdemon--here we have an incredibly hard single enemy matched with large numbers of weaker enemies. I was stuck here longer than any other part of the game.
Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery
I have little to no hope of Fable III fixing many of my issues with that frachise's utterly shallow relationship system. But Peter Molnyeux should really take a look at the like/dislike relationship system in Dragon Age. Some characters I never really interacted with--so I could never even talk with them about their back-stories. Others (e.g. Morrigan) I was fascinated with, and wished there was more to discover. And the twist at the end of our romance. . . wow.
This takes a really simple system that Obsidian introduced in KOTOR II and really fleshed it out. I still crave more back-story or companion-specific quests, but there's only so much content you can put in an RPG and still make money on it. I spent (including time in pause screens dealing with crying kids) close to 90 hours on my first play-through). Considering that the politics, world, and NPCs are much more deeply developed than more massive games like Oblivion, I'm content with the content provided.
Nitpicks
Every game has its glitches, but two complaints stick with me:
(1) Certain quests never showed up as complete, even though I had completed them. This is really annoying when you like a game so much that you're tempted towards completionist status.
(2) The in-game economy still isn't quite right. It's probably one of the better of the BioWare games, but by the end I have a boatload of money and not much to spend it on. Certainly nowhere near as bad as Mass Effect, where there's almost nothing worth buying and all the good weapons come via questing, but it's still annoying. I also hate having an inventory cap that's totally unrealistic. I like the weight system used in Oblivion, not the arbitrary 'number of items, except duplicates' that BioWare uses here.
Would You Do it All Again?
Yes, absolutely. In fact, I think I'm going to start a new origin story tonight (or play my new start of Fallout 3). Which is, of course, the primary way BioWare sought to provide incredibly replay value. The six separate origin stories are brief (1-3 hours of gameplay) but set the stage for how people in Ferelden view you. Granted, I have yet to play more than my first character, but I can think of dozens of ways the experience will change the second time through. Even changing class radically changes gameplay for the main character.
Also, I'm going to try nightmare mode this time through (the highest difficulty level). Partly it has to do with the fact that I'm curious to see how hard it is in the first game--Awakening is way too easy as the levels increase--and also to keep the combat from getting too repetitious a second time through.
I almost wish I'd pre-ordered this game rather than wait longer. It's good. Really good. And the DLC (I've played everything except The Darkspawn Chronicles) is excellent. In fact, other than the Halo 3 map packs, probably the best DLC content I've purchased to date.
