Dragon Age: Origins
 

So, I just found out about BioWare's new game tonight via Penny Arcade's newspost and I didn't see a thread about it here. It's called Dragon Age: Origins, calling it a spiritual successor to their famous series Baldur's Gate. I watched the preview videos on the site and they have me literally giddy to get my hands on this game and tear shit up. I haven't really played a different game since WoW came out, but this one may very well lead me to take a stab at something different.

Check it out. If you are a fan of BioWare, I don't think this preview will leave you disappointed.

Dragon Age Origins - Home

Well damn... This is a beautiful game. Looks like a typical action style game though. Boasting an over the shoulder view. I can't help but wonder at the other aspects of the game. With the improved graphics engine of the next gen systems it's sure to be a thrill of gore and violence. I might have to look into obtaining this game. Thanks for the link and the heads up!

Really? To me the game looks graphically crippled. Models are really low quality, Animation is stiff, textures are low res. I just don't see this game winning any awards in the graphics department.

Now, I don't mind the graphics. This is Bioware we're talking about and I trust there's going to be more than pretty scenery.

Lol, well you might be right, although I only watched a few clips to get an overall feel for it. With it being Bioware they will probably bring more to the table than meets the eye, that is the least we can hope for. How do you feel about Biowares other games? They're not exactly well known for great graphics, considering.

I actually found other Bioware products to be pretty impressive. I recently re-played KOTOR and it's age didn't show at all. Mass Effect also looked very nice and clean. I'm not all turned off by the graphics, just to make that clear. It was most likely necessary since they are including a toolkit that allows for user-made content to be added to the game much like Neverwinter Nights.

I always wanted to play Neverwinter Nights. And KOTOR was a really good game.
What was Mass Effect like in terms of gameplay and story line?

I've been twiddling my thumbs for quite a few months waiting for this game. My only major beef is the lack of co-op (if I'm not mistaken). Otherwise I suspect this will provide a pretty kick-ass single player campaign. I dig the artistry of the world, bad guys look bananas.

All I have to say is: Baldur's Gate, baby!!! I trust BioWare to not let us down. It's not neccesarily a bad thing to be single player, much more focused and rewarding storyline.

OK, this is really wierd: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6232117...dlines;title;1
I don't believe that BioWare's gone corporate. I hope it just means they couldn't fit these additions in at the last minute. We get two DLCs for free, and one we pay $7 to get.
If they attempt to suck us dry with a bunch of DLCs, I will be really pissed.

You're right, Bioware will not let us down.

But yeah . . . a $7 DLC released on the same day seems like . . . well, bad timing.

Then again, it's better than waiting month and months for an xpack I suppose.

the dlc is free for people who buy the game new or preordered. I don't see the problem.

Looking forward to this, not sure if I wanna pick it up on my ps3 for the no hassle gameplay or on the PC for the inevitable modability, I'm sure people will have all sorts of fun hax for it on the pc.

thing is pushing HDMI graphics on my tv is a much easier task for my ps3.

I used to say the same thing about Blizzard...

I am going to have to boycott any game that has DLC released at the same time as the game.

It's free though if you buy the game new. whats the problem? Batman AA had a DLC exclusively for the PS3 right out of the gate for free. was that bad too?

I'm not boycotting anything that has the words Bioware, Dragon, and Sword in it. DLC off the bat or not. If it has hack and slash action with Bioware backing, I'm jumping on the fucking band wagon.

I might actually buy this game. It's been a long time since I've done that.

Personally I don't care when DLC is released. I like the freedom of choice it offers.

Just to clarify, two of the DLCs are free (The Stone Prisoner {NPC ally, adds many side-quests} and Blood Armor {gear, also works in Mass Effect LOL). One is not free, you will have to pay $7 (Warden's Keep {Dungeon}). I am hoping I am not going to have to buy too many addon packs since the community content should be sufficient.

That's what I thought, when I read it. If you want the "legit" DLC (namely, new dungeon, spells, etc) you need to fork over 7 bucks. Which I will still do . . .

Bioware has got this and the new MMO coming out -- they can cement my eternal love this next year or two with these two titles ;)

The reason i'm saying boycott the game is because if people go ahead and get this and buy the DLC then other game designers are going to do the same thing. Pretty soon it will be the norm to have to purchase DLC in order to get the full game. For example how long will it be until games are released as single player only but you can purchase the multiplayer as DLC. It is coming and this is just the next step to that.

Did it say somewhere that the initial release is incomplete?

The purpose of DLC is for value-added options: you may choose to add to your experience as you see fit.

Look at the original release, look at the price, read the reviews: if it's worth it without downloading anything, then what's the problem either way?

Yeah, Rekna, as much as I thought it was "bad timing" I don't really view it as an ominous sign of things to come. I think I will still have a really cool experience if I don't buy the DLC, which, however, I will, because I'm a sucker for more content.

I do see the trend with DLC. When Fallout 3, a single player game, came with Games for Windows Live, I was very confused. It's purely a profit tool to coax people to buying new content on impulse. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising came out lacking critical features for the PC, yet they already have monthly DLC planned out. Hmm, I wonder if bug fixes or DLC content will be the priority. Although it's in a different class, being an MMO, Age of Conan came out with large parts of the world mostly empty to the disappointment of power levelers and explorers. Although, people were paying a monthly fee already. Sadly, game companies can get away with murder, still receive good reviews, and not have to worry about your complaints because you're just another number.

The interesting thing is DLC works really well on the console, but PC gamers are known to be stingy. If they don't deliver on the original game, not many people will buy the DLC. They can promise us new features, but they will be more obligated to fix bugs before asking us to buy more content.

In reality, however, the console market has eclipsed the PC, so we are easily ignored. Most games are sold on hype, and the consumers that we are, we are always ready to bite for the next new thing.

comprehension people....


"
BioWare has confirmed the Dragon Age: Origins 'Warden's Keep' bonus content included with the Digital Deluxe Edition will also be released as $7 downloadable content at launch."


it's basically the "collectors edition" content for those who opt out of it.

Well the whole thing doesn't make sense, so it's hard to understand. Yes, the digital deluxe edition will come with Warden's keep, but only because you're already downloading the whole game, so they can easily throw in the extra download. However, it's essentially separate content because people who bought the full, retail collector's edition will still have to spend the extra $7 dollars for the DLC.
Dragon Age: Origins DLC details and limited-time offer - Neoseeker News Article
BioWare Plans Years Of Dragon Age DLC - Dragon age: origins - Kotaku
The two free, included DLCs will be free to anyone who buys the game retail in the first 6 months. I suppose they see it as something akin to royalties. Even, if people buy the game used, years down the road, they still can cash in on the DLC.
They also want to control the game experience. They'd like you to always be excited for the next DLC and I suppose tell them what you want so they can incorporate it.
I'd like to say you have to option to use community content only to control your own game experience, but they will probably release some must-have, game-changing content only available in the continued DLCs.

I dnt know, this game's graphics are :( disgusting and this was a rushed up job by bioware. I rather wait for Neverwinter nites 3 or Witcher 2

graphics arent everything. If this game has great gameplay (it's bioware, come on of course it will!) it will be awesome. And it's not like the graphics are terrible, it's no Crysis engine but in my opinion that would detract from the gameplay. Games that just want super graphics tend to have shit gameplay.

What makes you think the graphics are bad? They don't look bad at all. Dragon Age: Origins Video Game, E3 2008: Gameplay Montage HD | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Even if the game went back to the way Baldur's Gate looked (a decade ago) I would still play the game. It's not about the graphics. Realistic graphics doesn't bring immersion, it brings lag. :)

I must have a bad eye because I thought those graphics were pretty solid.

They look like the proper evolution of NWN-NWN2.

Oh, man....the eternal question about video games: "Does it have good graphics?!"

Seriously. The bar is set too high on graphics. You know why? Because in most cases gameplay is light years behind.

i just goofed around in the newly free Dungeon's & Dragons online... even that has beautiful graphics, and it's 4 years olD! but besides that, don't be surprised when you could give a rats ass about graphics because bioware's mechanics and writing are just so awesome. i'd almost wager eating a turd that they wouldn't pull some kind of Chinese Democracy meltdown.

if you can't tell, i'm already seeing this game in my apneatic dreams !!

Maybe so, but the trend of developers not really pushing graphical boundaries is getting old. The Wii is doing great, and its graphics suck dick, so developers think that people don't care. But they do. Look at Uncharted 2 and you can see developers who care about gameplay AND graphics.

yes but also look at games like Crysis that were piles of dogshit that just were about the graphics. I don't know what everyone is saying anyways, the graphics look good to me.

Okay, this is putting a different spin on it. When you bring the Wii into it, you are looking at a system with limitations compared to systems that have at least double the graphical power.

The graphics don't "suck dick" unless they compare poorly on a particular game when contrasted to another on the same system. Hey, NES graphics suck even harder dick. Many of the games are intentionally "lo-fi."

I doubt developers as a whole are stupid. They know what's going on with Wii, Xbox360, PS3, handhelds, PC rigs, online flash games, etc.

When a game project sets out for production, I'm sure they have thought out what balance of elements they want. They don't sit there and say, "Oh, don't worry about the graphics, just make sure it plays good. Let the intern do the graphics; that's cool."

I think what it comes down to is some projects want to "pull out all the stops" on graphics and tend to drop the ball on other elements. Sometimes it goes the other way, sure. But for quality developers like Bioware, I think they're fully aware of what works, what's valuable, and what people want. They can't please everyone on every element, but I think they're going to make a damn fine game out of this.

I'm not saying the graphics of this game look bad. I think they look great. I just hate blockbuster games that don't push graphics forward like the shitfest that was MGS4. The character models are great but the environment might as well have been MGS3. Halo 3 is the same. Watch videos on youtube of Halo 2 and 3 and at first glance you can't tell them apart.

I understand the graphics on the Wii are limited due to the hardware, but that's not my point. My point is that the Wii's success has made developers trend towards not pushing the graphical capabilities on other consoles.

I'd much rather have game designers who push gameplay instead of what we saw when the xbox first hit and you had tons of absolutely gorgeous (for their time) games coming out with jack, t and shit in the way of innovative and immersive gameplay. I think it's probably expecting too much from game designers writ large to ask for great graphics and great gameplay. MOST studios are going to hit one full tilt and let the other be a generation or so behind. BioWare has always been about gameplay first, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that this game looks a bit last gen. Occasionally a gem of a game comes along that does both, but you have to appreciate that rarity for what it is and not hope the rest of the industry will conform to it.

I've played with the character creator they released online though, and even just that has me chomping at the bit. I cannot wait.

I was just watching some videos on the site. I'm starting to get a feel for just how much story is going to be in this game, that's for sure.

I totally want to be a Grey Warden.

Yeah I'm still split on if I should get it for the ps3 or the computer. >.>

Leaning towards getting it for the pc at this point.

I'm kinda leaning the same way but if I do that I'm gonna have to break down and finally buy a real video card which will probably mean a new power supply too

yeah for me i'd say my system and the ps3 are both graphically capable. It's just a preference as to where I want to sit and how I want to interact with the UI. Knowing Bioware games, the KB/Mouse interface is usually stronger than the controller interface. That and I still think it'll have a stronger mod community on the PC.

If your itching to see a little action while waiting for release, head over to Dragon Age Journeys. It's a flash game put together by EA where you can earn in game items. From the site...

I've only played through the 'Flight to Orzammar' quest and wandered around the Dwarf village so far but for a flash game it's pretty deep.

Wow thanks. This is pretty cool. Very in-depth and well made for a flash game.

Yeah flash has really come a long way as a platform. It used to just be for making pretty graphic stuff move around on your website. now it's completely over my head because i've never been much of a programmer type ;p

I just assumed I could get this via Steam (not in the US at the moment) . . . and I guess I can't! Anyone know of a download service for this beastie when it's released?

Edit: Thank you, Direct2Drive :)

After playing the real game on 360 i gotta say this game is pretty damn good!

The way they handle the spells is very clean and fluid. X Y and B cast spells, if you hold right trigger it brings up another 3 to choose from. A selects targets/loots/talks to people.

The environments are all extremely well done and detailed so far. The voice acting is spot on, and there are TONS of people to talk to. The quests are all very clear and well labeled, i haven't had any trouble yet finding what i need to find or talking to who i need to talk to.

The dialog text has all been very interesting so far and you can take it in many different direction. You can be nice, be a prick.. talk people into and out of things based on your skills.

If you guys liked Elder Scrolls or Mass Effect DEFINITELY pick this game up. You WILL enjoy it. It takes everything from those games that was great and improves on it extremely well.

To all future mages: be careful in The Fade!

Metacritic has 13 PC reviews reporting, and it's currently sitting at 92%.

Everyone's talking about the story and characters. This is a good sign.

I think I know what's at the top of my Christmas list.

I'm about two hours into the game on PC.

The controls definitely take some getting used to. You cannot freely move the camera with the mouse without holding down any buttons in 3D mode, so the camera is mapped onto A and D. Of course, you can always control it like a Diablo game by just clicking on where you want to go and on things you want to interact with. The game has lots of statistics and in a little over an hour and a half, I've prompted 72 conversations. Of those, you have a list of at least 3-4 choices, sometimes more, of things to say. Nothing extra-ordinary yet.

I'm playing a Human noble Rogue, and the origin story has been a very good tutorial so far with plenty of fighting and tips on how to position your character.

Positioning here really does matter. Rogues specialize in back stabbing attacks so my character does more damage and sometimes a critical one hit kill if I position her behind the enemy. My party so far has consisted of various humans and my character's pet dog, whom you can control in battle as well. He levels up too and you get to assign points.

The very first merchant I ran into has a shitton of stuff for sale in terms of armor and weapons, so I'm guessing this game will be very rich in customization and options.

Voice acting is very good. Think Mass Effect quality. The graphics are on par with Mass Effect as well when it comes to character model. The faces aren't very detailed, but they look realistic thanks to the spot on facial expressions and really good lip syncing.

My gripes:

The controls don't feel right, but I'm guessing it's a matter of getting used to them. In many games I feel like I'm spot on with the character. This game feels a bit floaty.

The inventory system is static and doesn't scale as you go up in resolution. It only takes up 1/4 of the screen. At 1680x1050, I have to lean into my monitor to read item descriptions. I wish they would've scaled it as resolution went up.

Those are pretty much my impressions after two hours.

This game has too many menus for me to have considered getting it on a console.

There was certainly a big headache to login to the social "beta" site, register your game and redeem the promo codes when the game was first released. Luckily, they've fixed it by now. I blame EA, because the game itself seems so well done.

What's with the massive amount of blood splatter?

I agree the camera system is a little screwy, but it's still very playable. It's a tighter system than what Neverwinter Nights used. However, you can't see enough in the top-down view and, as mentioned above, you should be able to look around normally.

I hope the campaign is as expansive as BG was. If not, the game is mod-friendly so hopefully its a customizable, immersive experience to come.

I'm getting it.

I'm getting used to the camera. According to reviews, a leisurely walk through will take you 60 hours and around 80-90 if you want to do absolutely everything in the game.

Also, blood spatter can be turned off in the menu. The option with the check box is called Persistent Gore.

I'm thinking of buying this game, WineHQ has it listed under Silver Compatibility and people are saying they have it running in Linux with some tweaking. I'm going by the store today and seeing how much it costs.

I'm really interested in seeing how this game plays out story-wise. I've been dying for a good RPG.

It's $50, like every new PC game.

I've been playing it for a few days now, and am pretty much hooked. I play an elf fighter, which has some interesting effects on the interactions with NPC's (racism for example). Very well done.
The game looks great. The camera and controls take some getting used to, but it works. The story is very interesting, with plenty of twists and turns.
The combat is challenging. If you just barge in, you'll probably get your ass kicked a lot (I know I did). If you plan ahead and use your special moves (and the pause key) at the right moment, it's much easier. I like how the fighter, rogue and mage all have their own strengths and weaknesses. You need all three to get the most out of the game: a thief to sneak, backstab, open locks and disarm (and set!) traps, a mage to strike from a distance, and a fighter for hand-to-hand fighting.

About 22 hours in. Playing a Human Rogue. Very much hooked. One of the best RPGs I've ever played. [/comic book guy]

I can't even install the damn game. Getting a "Data Error" about 75% through the install. Checked the forums, apparently I'm not the only one. Trying to troubleshoot, but I don't really want to start deleting "corrupted files" within the game.

Fail! Hope they can fix it soon ;)

Bought it yesterday. Haven't installed it yet because I'm installing Windows 7 this weekend. :(

How does the game run in Windows 7? I'm having problems getting it to run in linux and going to duel-boot this weekend so I can play it. Don't know if I should install windows 7 or XP this weekend to run it (I'm only running windows to run this game). Anyone else runing win7 and the game?

I'm running it with the Win 7 RC that I have not bothered updating off yet it works fine except for the random crashes you seem to get with any pc game, or maybe that's just me.

On an unrelated note anyone else noticed they lowered the price of the game today? What the fuck... it's $10 cheaper on both PC and consoles, and I think they even lowered the Collector's if you can still find one.

I haven't had any crashes at all (on Vista). In fact, I almost never get crashes with PC games... So yes, that may be just you. :D
(or your computer hardware and drivers, or some other program running in the background or any of a dozen other possible reasons...)

Runs just fine on Win 7. There does seem to be some issues with XP SP2 and below so if you decide to use XP make sure you install SP3 before playing. Another thing to watch for in XP and earlier versions of Vista is the patch was compiled using a newer version of the MS VC++ 2005 runtime libraries so make sure you update them by going to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en and download install vcredist_x86.exe before patching. Newer versions of Vista and Win 7 already have the newer libraries so you should be fine if you have them.

I got a Win7 RC cd laying around my house and a Winxp SP3 cd (legal version), so I need to figure out which to install so I can play this game. I had it running for about 30 seconds the other night, then I tried to fix the black flickering in the game (that's the main problem in running in under Wine in linux) it crashed and I went back to square one. I guess I need to load myself down with rum and try to get back to the point where I made it work.

Been playing it since release, got the Digital Deluxe Ed. off steam. I love this game. ;P

Anybody else getting their tail kicked on "normal?" Doing the tower of Ishaa and just getting stomped every battle. I guess I suck!

i'm playing on hard and its way hard. I had to turn it down to normal a few times, those damn revenants rock me.

I'm only like 25% done with the story because i did all the DLC first (tho i'm not using anything from the dlc, the armor or the new character, i'll do that on the next playthrough probably)

I just downed the High Dragon, playing on normal, no real problems so far. I might die once or twice but I just adjust my strategies a bit and find something that works.

High Dragon is a range fight with a really good tank/kiter :D

Beat it some 15 minutes ago with 46 hours on the clock and 46% of the game completed (with 93% of the areas explored).

Wow. Fantastic atmosphere, character interaction and story telling. One of the best RPGs I've ever played. Some of the choices I had to make were genuinely hard to morally agree on due to some interactions and friendship that has been built with my characters. In one case, I felt so guilty about a choice, I reloaded an earlier save and picked another option. If that's not masterful immersion, I don't know what is. It doesn't hurt that the voice acting is fantastic and gives characters life.

With the lady who played Capt. Janeway on Voyage, Claudia Black from Dexter Season 2, and Tim motherfuckin Curry, I don't see how the voice acting in this game could have been bad. For all the reviews that take a weak stab at saying "oh but the graphics aren't there" it's nice to see them totally dominate the other senses.

I hate the crap out of the overwhelm ability.

I just got the game running on Linux, just got to fix one last thing and I'm off to play the game.

I want to throw a big shoutout to Martian for helping me patch wine and helping me figure out the PATCH command in Linux. Thanks man, you were a huge help!

This game is just...so good. I can hardly contain myself. I'm playing through two games simultaneously. One game I'm on my own as a 2h warrior human noble and the other game I'm playing through with my wife on a dw/archer Dalish rogue. I do all the combat and she picks the dialogue options. To say I'm having a great time wouldn't begin to describe it. BioWare truly pulled out all the stops when they put this thing together. I love it.

Yeah . . . it pretty much kicks ass.

I am completely digging this game (Even with the movies flickering when I watch them, that's a linux problem) and I am officially hooked. I'm playing a standard sword and shield Dwarfen noble (I haven't found a good axe for him yet). I'm already thinking about starting over again and making a new character. I've heard that duel weapons characters kick ungodly amounts of ass as you rise up in the character skills. This game is all kinds of awesome, I recommend this game to any RPG lover out there. BUY IT.

I was a dual wielding Human Noble Rogue. When you get the legendary dagger and have your dual wielding skills nearly maxed out, you can face a group of Darkspawn on your own and only get hit maybe twice due to extremely high evasion and blocking bonuses.

Example, remember how much trouble the first Ogre was? Well, they become a somewhat common enemy later on. I could down one in about 6 seconds. On my own.

This game is just getting better and better. The story and character interactions are pretty awesome.

this dude used a bit of exploiting to get his specialization/levels early in the game but I think his gameplay is still impressive to watch. Kind of gives you an idea of the level of tactics you can employ as a rogue/ranger

That is very impressive. I played a rogue my entire game and never even bothered with poisons or trap making. Damn, it would've made some fights a whole lot easier. I'd like to see how he manages larger crowds that actually come at you without giving you a chance to go into stealth first (unless you're Level IV).

Thinking about getting this game fox XBox 360 on Black Friday. I have a couple questions. Would you recommend this game over Fallout 3? I haven't played either. DA is $35, F3 is $20. Can you control and upgrade multiple characters or only the main character? I used to play Baldur's Gate back in the day and I see some similarities with this game, though I couldn't imagine playing BG on a controller. Would the gameplay be that much worse on the XBOX360 than the PC?

I received this as an early Xmas gift (yay me).

You guys weren't kidding, nor exaggerating. This game is absolutely awesome!

This makes me wish that Bioware made Neverwinter Nights 2. It would have been infinitely more playable then, and it has me looking forward to SW: The Old Republic.

Is anyone else extremely impressed with how the game performs on their machines? I mean, it looks really good with only a few drawbacks, but it runs really smoothly compared to other games I've played (esp. Neverwinter Nights 2).

It has me wondering if it uses quad-core technology. Any thoughts on this?

It does and it makes a difference. PC Games Hardware did a few benchmarks as well as put together a few tuning tips. From the article...

They're two completely different games. I loved Fallout 3 and I loved Dragon Age: Origins. I don't think I could recommend one over the other. They're both really, really good.

You can control every character in your party as if it were your main in real time. Each one also levels up (even those who stay in your camp so that you don't end up having your main party at level 13 and your reserves stuck at level 3).

As for the controls. Honestly, I think the game is terrible on the console just for the interface alone. Eventually you will have 20+ spells for your mage and around 10-15 for your normal characters. On the PC it's as simple as clicking an icon on the icon bar on the bottom of the screen. On the console, you only get 6 slots per character and if you want to switch out spells or abilities, you need to go through a wheel menu. Do that a few times per battle and you will be pretty frustrated with the game. Honestly, I could not imagine playing this game on a console.

Interesting. I had a hunch. It runs better than World of Warcraft on my machine. Seriously. I haven't tried jacking up the graphics settings, but I did switch it to "Ultra" and 2X antialiasing and didn't notice a performance difference. I'll see what jacking it up to max will do.

I'm running a 2.4Ghz quad core with an 8800GT.

This is really promising if future games use quad core effectively as well. I'm really impressed.

I had both wow and dragon age open last night for somewhat odd reasons and noticed no real play difference on either. I play both at max settings except I have detail textures turned down one notch in dragon age. For some reason if I set that to max, no ones hair models will show up which looks really awful. It's too bad because I know the rest of the game would look so good. But having everyone with weird blotches on their head is far too distracting.

I have 4 gigs of ram and a dual core for comparison. You should easily e able to crank dragon age up.

For people who have finished, does hitting 20 happen pretty naturally or did you really have to go looking to cap?

Fross,

Finished at about lvl 17.5-18.0. But I was screaming through the main story near the end of the game (just so damn interesting). One complaint, as mentioned in PC Gamer, is the main story is *so* involving that the side quests often seem anticlimactic.

I did most, if not all, of the companion side quests though.

I had to actively quest to 20. However, 20 is not the cap. There is a softcap of around 26 because you run out of things to kill for exp.

I ordered my copy today

I love how cinematic this game is. This is the first game I've played that makes me compare it to watching a movie. And I've barely scratched the surface of it.

I finished at level 21 with my main character and 20 with my other two party members. I turned 21 in the last series of battles before the final boss. I didn't go out of my way to level up once. I just did the story missions and many side quests that came up along the way.

The cap is 25 if you kill everything.

---------- Post added at 11:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 PM ----------

Which part are you referring to?

The entire package, generally. The use of cut scenes dispersed throughout the action. It's not new in a Bioware game (or other games, for that matter), but they are really well done this time around.

It's been mentioned above, but the voice acting is great. Even the way the characters emote (both facially and in body language) and move around seems more lifelike than other games I've played. Even minor characters come alive and seem like they matter.

The soundtrack is great, as are the sound effects.

And the way it's all put together...it all works well for me. Like I said, the graphics may have some drawbacks. I can see where they've made them more efficient through the use of stylistic depth of field, etc., but that's easily overlooked when you look at the whole thing.

Bioware has really taken things up a few notches since KOTOR. And to me it seems even better than what they did with Mass Effect. But I think the difference with the latter is the difference in style. Sci-fi deserves a different treatment than fantasy, and I tend to favour fantasy.

I don't know. Maybe I'm still in the honeymoon phase with it. I'm barely into the storyline so far. I started as a human noble warrior but restarted after realizing I'd rather play as a sword-and-shield warrior instead of a two-hander. You have to admit the shields look pretty awesome.

Just wait till you see how awesome Legion of the Dead armor looks on your sword and shield warrior.

If you find it, that is. :p

I can imagine.

All I know at this point is that shield bashing is so much fun.

As great as that armor is, my favorite set in game look-wise is still the Warden Commander's Armor.

Heh..got it for 25% off on the current steam sale. Can't wait for it to load!

I didn't buy the DLC, so I never got it.

Legion of the Dead just looks...menacing. I love it. I was sporting Juggernaut Armor until Alistar was strong enough to wear LotD.

Kinda frustrated with my playthrough at the moment. Spoiler: When I got to the Circle, I'd romanced Morrigan, and so followed her advice to just kill Wynne instead of bringing her along with my party. Now I'm trying to do Morrigan's questline, and trying to fight Flemeth without any magic user is just...painful. There's some terrible irony in losing Wynne to Morrigan's advice, and then getting stuck on Morrigan's quest because I don't have another mage for support while fighting mommy-dearest. My PC is a 2h warrior, so it's slim pickings for putting together a party of folk who can take her down. Might just have to come back once I have a lot more fire resist gear.

Spoiler: Why are you fighting her anyway? I just let her go on the promise that we will not meet again in this lifetime. I always max out my persuasion in RPGs though, so I don't know if I got that option because of that. You still get the book and Morrigan thinks she's dead. Quest counts as complete. I killed Wynne as well. Wanted to keep Morrigan in my party. She leaves otherwise.

Spoiler: I had Morrigan and Wynne in my party at the same time. Morrigan didn't like it when I let Wynne join, but she didn't leave.

Spoiler: Morrigan and Wynne are both in my party as well and I completed the Circle questline last night. Morrigan did voice her opinion on the matter but that was really it. I ended up making out with Morrigan pretty early in the game so I think it's safe to say she's not leaving.

Yeah, i wasn't worried about Morrigan leaving, I just try to keep some semblance of RP in these RPGs, which is also why Spoiler: I feel like I ought to kill Flemeth instead of letting her live.

It's a very short but sweet DLC. One of the things I really like about it is when you finish it, you get a chest to store junk in. So instead carrying that blood dragon armor around for 5 levels I just store it and don't have to worry about losing it or selling it on mistake.

I never pretend to be a character in RPGs. Most of the time the choices I make reflect what I would do if I were the main character. That's why I usually don't really deviate from my initial choices in subsequent playthroughs. If something was morally wrong to me the first time, it will still be wrong the second time.

Well, indeed, that's why I play again-so I can go back through and be a huge douchebag and do everything wrong.

Can't be a reaper in this game without, well, being awful.

You know a game is good when you make an evil choice and feel guilty afterward. I've actually reloaded my save a few times because of that.