Dragon Age: Origins

[Thanee]

Thanee: Mass Effect 2 actually seems to change quite a bit. Going further away from a turn-based RPG and much closer to a FPS :-(

Turn-based? Mass Effect isn't turned-based.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Phaezen]

When Bioware announced that Dragon Age doesn't have multiplayer at the last moment, my interest waned considerably...

At the last moment? I never remember reading that it was going to have multiplayer, but I've only been paying attention for the last 6-9 months or so.

As far as I can recall it has been slated as a single player game. This is possibly Bioware's big strength, singleplayer story driven rpgs.

 

[Gulla]

Turn-based? Mass Effect isn't turned-based.

I know (played it through twice) but it will take another (by the rumor mill, big) step towards being a pure FPS with a story, and I'm not sure I appreciate that. But it is still BioWare, so I'll buy it and probably grit my teeth and enjoy it

 

[LightPhoenix]

Turn-based? Mass Effect isn't turned-based.

For that matter, Dragon Age: Origins isn't turn-based either.

Of the stuff I have read/seen so far, it looks good. I like turn-based rpgs, so the ability to pause between rounds looks like it will be functional in that capacity (as well as real-time).

There's no concept of rounds like in NWN and other D&D-derived games. You can certainly pause in the middle of combat, but you can only give one order at a time. You can't queue them like in NWN. Otherwise, combat is real-time.

I've gotten through a bit of the Mage origin, although my computer is crying for an upgrade. I probably won't be playing it again until the weekend when I can grab a new processor (mine is ollllllld). Ironically, my graphics card is fine.

My one big complaint right now is that the camera doesn't pan far enough upward in the overhead view. It's highly annoying when you're in a small area (like say, the intro to the Mage origin). Also, there were a couple of quirks with the DLC; I had to reload the game to get it to recognize I had used the codes.

 

[horacethegrey]

My brother just got the collector's edition for my 360 yesterday, and he's been loving it so far.

My reaction has been a bit muted. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great game, but it's not exactly been wowing me as much as when I first played Mass Effect. For one, the graphics don't look exactly next gen. After being wowed by Mass Effect's realistic character models and stunning environments, I'd expect other RPGs to match it. A bit of a spoiled reaction? Probably, but DA's visuals still leave me a bit underwhelmed.

The combat too is a bit clunky at times. For the record, I've played through all of the Baldur's Gate series, so the whole pause and click system is nothing new to me. But that was on a PC, and what works for a keypad and mouse may not necessarily translate well for gamepad. At times it was a bit of chore to micromanage your unit during a fight. The lack of the overhead view available on the PC versions kinda stinks as well, but it hasn't been much of a bother for me.

I am digging the whole dark fantasy vibe that I've been getting from this game, and the NPC's look interesting, though I've only just started so I can't give an accurate judgement of them as of yet.

Despite my misgivings, I still think this is a good game. And it's enough to tide me over until Mass Effect 2 comes around next year. My female Da'lish Ranger will have to suffice for now until I step into Commander Shepard's boots once more.

 

[Cergorach]

As far as I can recall it has been slated as a single player game. This is possibly Bioware's big strength, singleplayer story driven rpgs.

Could be me and a case of selective memory, but wasn't DA supposed to be a spiritual successor of NWN1? Could have sworn that there was also some mention for party play...

 

[John Crichton]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this game so far. About 5 hours in.

Could be me and a case of selective memory, but wasn't DA supposed to be a spiritual successor of NWN1?

Nope, Baldur's Gate II.

 

[Runestar]

Restarting ever so often to try out all the various backgrounds. Only complaint so far is that the scrolling system seems very restricted, so my view tends to get blocked by walls from time to time.

 

[Chainsaw]

Didn't get a chance to play yesterday, but read through the booklet - just as much fun, right? Haha, yeah right!

The weak graphics and battle lag seem to be a common complaint here and elsewhere. My comps are probably not that impressive though - 640K RAM era computer games, so I'm guessing it won't bother me too much.

Not to derail my own thread, but I stumbled across a YouTube walkthrough of Ultima Exodus for NES and am considering playing through it. I tried as a kid and just got my butt kicked time and time again. Stupid food!

 

[Aus_Snow]

I remain curious enough to try it. Might be a couple of days or more before I actually see my copy, but that's OK. A bit o' backlog to get through, and - oh yeah! - some pesky life stuff too.