Dragon Age : Origins - An utter disappointment ?

[Brisingr]

Well I loved it, the first few hours are a bit overwhelming but after that it was a wonderful experience. I guess its every man has different tastes.

 

[Serenegoose]

the conversation menu. What possessed bioware to take a step backwards and use a generic and resultantly bad conversation system over their innovative mass effect conversation menu?

I just had to quote out this bit, because it's the bit I most strongly disagree with. I feel that Mass Effects 'conversation wheel' has done more than any RPG mechanic so far to take choice OUT of the game. Instead of 2-6 options that actually let you know what you're going to say and let you say it with actual nuance, Mass Effect gives you 3 options. One's an asshole, the other is noncommittal, and the third is a generally nice guy. Occasionally you get access to a SUPER OPTION which just resolves dialogue in your favour, whether nicely or assholishly. Instead of actually picking a reasonable option, you pick the top middle or bottom option depending on your character, without having to think about it, and watch a little cutscene. It's no surprise to me that Mass Effect is possibly the most linear Bioware RPG I've ever played, with all of your choices thoroughly abstracted and offscreened. For example, take every single character recruitment mission in Mass Effect 2. There's no possible room for variation, there's no choice, just a linear sequence of events from point A to B. Absolutely nothing you as a player can do to affect it. Whether Shepard is a diplomat or an asshole, the actual game plays out in precisely the same way.

For a counterexample, take the wide range of choices offered in curing Connors possession in Dragon Age. There's at least 3 different outcomes I can think of, offered to you through Dragon Ages dialogue, which allows you to have far, far more input than the dialogue wheel which gives you only a hint of what might be said, and never allows any real, on screen choice. (unless you've collected enough goodguy/asshole points and can unlock the FLASHY RED/BLUE option, which there is never ANY good reason not to pick if available, as it always resolves the situation in an optimal manner.

Sorry for the incoherence in advance. I realise that's a little rambly and not easy to read.

 

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

It sounds to me like you need a hug and a firm slap on the wrist.

Sounds to me like you... wait, what? Hug and a slap on the wrist? Huh?

Because one of them might cure you of you're massive bigotry.

Also, in the spirit of things I feel it necessary to point out that they are also doing an American version of Shameless.

 

[elcamino41383]

our The Office.

Nothing good about the show anyway, UK OR US version. So...it was hardly ruined

 

[Duffeknol]

Long story short: it's a slow burn.

The DLC is pathetic though.

 

[Jorias]

Absolutely despised it. If it were a country I would've declared war on it by now.
Awful story I didn't care about, boring and disgusting looking game world, none too good graphics, and the talking, my dear God the TALKING. Fucking overdone. Yes, nice voice acting, I understand that, stop forcing me to listen to it! I want to play a game! Also, AMERICAN DWARVES. America.... just, no. This is too far. You've fucked up our Red Dwarf, our Life on Mars, our The Office, and now our Dwarves. You take the Inbetweeners and shitify it and me and two of my friends have vowed to declare war on you personally. /rant
The gameplay was significantly better than the rest of the game in that it was just alright. I liked the way it seemed like WoW, but condensed for the Xbox 360 controller.

Bioware was founded in Canada, stop ranting about America when the premise for your rant is illogical.

I played DOA about a month ago, i wouldn't mind the RPG aspects if it wasn't so absolute and without any room for error. The conversations lead to either one horrible demise, or one great outcome, no room for interpretation. I have to applaud Bioware for at least trying to mimic human complexity in respect to conversations and human emotions.

 

[Captain Pirate]

Because one of them might cure you of you're massive bigotry.

Also, in the spirit of things I feel it necessary to point out that they are also doing an American version of Shameless.

Bigotry? Yeah, love you too... I just really get carried away and aggresive when it comes to Dragon Age, dunno it just hits a nerve with me.

I haven't heard too good things about Shameless, but... just the concept.

Leave our shows alone, we leave yours American!
I haven't seen C.S.I. Birmingham, or something like that.
Random thought: If there were to be an English House, they'd have to get an American who everyone thinks is English to play Dr. House.

 

[Jimbo1212]

Most people, myself included, think you're flat out wrong about the majority of that. I liked the game, and the only real point I see is older graphics. I will give you that, however graphics are the number one thing that most gamers are willing to sacrifice, if it means more strengths elsewhere. Personally, I liked it better then Mass Effect.

Well if I am wrong, then please explain why, rather then just claiming that my points are invalid.
On the point about graphics, I feel that the only people who are willing to sacrifice graphics to such a horrific level are cheap gamers. Such poor graphics does break the immersion of a game and begs the question why did you pay so much for something that is already dated.

 

[Bretty]

I fucking loved it.

Story was immersive, characters were well developed. Sure there were some glitches and immersion breakers, but name a game that doesn't have those.

I liked the graphics and found the game easy to learn and tough to master (just like it should be). By the end of the game I had my party members scripts running fluidly, so much so I only had to focus on myself.

I am looking forward to number 2. If you like graphics that much OP you should stick with FPS, RPGs are story and progression 1st and graphics second.

 

[JimJamJahar]

Maybe you'd prefer a game with no story at all, since you make it sound as though you cannot stand any talking. It's not meant to be action all the time, that's the beauty of it. It has genuine moral questions with interesting characters and a wonderful story that unfolds as you develop your character. It's meant for fans of old-school RPGs, not people that get bored if the action stops for a minute. If you don't like it, don't play it.

 

[Eduku]

The graphics are dire. The graphics for MS2 are far better, but again, not very good compared to what they should be. As I said, the game has such low spec's it could have easily been released mid 2006 - early 2007 and be maxed out.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Not when it comes to graphics. All it comes down to is what hardware runs it, and with DA:O, archaic gpu's could run it.
Either way, this was one of many problems I found with the game. To be honest, if you want that style of gameplay, go play WoW. At least you play with other people rather then dealing with AI.

Yes when it comes to graphics. What you think is dire, others may think as good. Opinions differ. For further explanation, refer to my earlier post.

On the point about graphics, I feel that the only people who are willing to sacrifice graphics to such a horrific level are cheap gamers.

Wow. Just...wow.

 

[Jimbo1212]

Not when it comes to graphics. All it comes down to is what hardware runs it, and with DA:O, archaic gpu's could run it.
Either way, this was one of many problems I found with the game. To be honest, if you want that style of gameplay, go play WoW. At least you play with other people rather then dealing with AI.

Yes when it comes to graphics. What you think is dire, others may think as good. Opinions differ. For further explanation, refer to my earlier post.

On the point about graphics, I feel that the only people who are willing to sacrifice graphics to such a horrific level are cheap gamers.

Wow. Just...wow.

So 8 bit colour and 4 bit textures are going to look better to some then dx11 engines that can melt gpu's?
You are getting confused between graphic styles and the quality of graphics.

On the point of skimping on graphics, why do you think people loved God of War 1 & 2 when they were remastered in HD graphics? The same can be said for Team Ico. People want better graphics, different styles yes, but better as it increases the players immersion.

 

[Kelethor]

Ahem....Too Quote A british Australian

Short answer: No

Long answer: No, and give the game a fair shake. its a brilliant RPG, very well written, the characters are all incredibly well thought and voice acted. There are no Rikku's In this game.

 

[Jimbo1212]

Ahem....Too Quote A british Australian

Short answer: No

Long answer: No, and give the game a fair shake. its a brilliant RPG, very well written, the characters are all incredibly well thought and voice acted. There are no Rikku's In this game.

It is a good rpg because...?
Could you add some substance to your answer.

 

[Yureina]

I actually just started doing a playthrough of Dragon-Age Origins again just so I could try to figure out why I too had a problem with this game. So far I'm 6 hours into the game and I already want to stop because I know how the game is going and little else in it is really interesting or new to me.

I've beaten this game twice, by the way. I tried really hard to like it.

 

[lacktheknack]

Mass Effect is (fucking brilliant and) mainstream.

Dragon Age: Origins is (fucking brilliant and) not mainstream.

Right, see the problem is that it's an EA game. EA is the soul-sucking demi-god of pure, un-distilled evil. I'm almost certain they use the souls of orphan children to write data on their disks. Haven't found proof granted, but I know it's there.

Now as for Dragon Age, well the main bit is that it's a small expansion that's been showcased as practically Dragon Age 2 but the fact is, small expansion. It will give you a few hours of decent gameplay and storyline but in the end it's just another wannabe sandbox game that is really as linear as it gets.

Don't get me wrong, I love linear games. You start, you end. Simple. I just can't stand it when they try to say it's not, bugger off and be honest EA, we're on to you.

Words cannot describe how stupid this is. Literally. THERE ARE NO WORDS.

When did anyone ever say Dragon Age wanted to be a fucking sandbox? At least I can see where people are coming from when they pull that argument out for Mafia.

Jesus titty-fucking Christ, I'm actually in awe of you right now.

Not to mention, EA have pulled up their socks and are being much less awful now, almost becoming pleasant. Interestingly, THEY ARE NOW LOSING MONEY.

Anyways, I loved Dragon Age, although I can understand why someone might not like it.

 

[Eduku]

Not when it comes to graphics. All it comes down to is what hardware runs it, and with DA:O, archaic gpu's could run it.
Either way, this was one of many problems I found with the game. To be honest, if you want that style of gameplay, go play WoW. At least you play with other people rather then dealing with AI.

Yes when it comes to graphics. What you think is dire, others may think as good. Opinions differ. For further explanation, refer to my earlier post.

On the point about graphics, I feel that the only people who are willing to sacrifice graphics to such a horrific level are cheap gamers.

Wow. Just...wow.

So 8 bit colour and 4 bit textures are going to look better to some then dx11 engines that can melt gpu's?
You are getting confused between graphic styles and the quality of graphics.

On the point of skimping on graphics, why do you think people loved God of War 1 & 2 when they were remastered in HD graphics? The same can be said for Team Ico. People want better graphics, different styles yes, but better as it increases the players immersion.

No, you are getting confused by the fact that 'worse' is not the same as 'bad'. DA is probably worse graphically than other games released in the same time-frame. That does not mean it is objectively bad (or 'dire' as you put it). That is up to people's opinions. They differ. It's subjective. I don't think I have any more words to put it differently.

As for the second point, branding people 'cheap gamers' because they are willing to play graphics at the 'horrific level' of Dragon Age, as you put it, is just a big fat no-no. I'm not even going to try and bother to argue with that, it should really be self-evident.

Not to mention, EA have pulled up their socks and are being much less awful now, almost becoming pleasant. Interestingly, THEY ARE NOW LOSING MONEY.

Yeah, their poor reputation has gotten steadily better over the years. Activision has taken their place now, it seems.

 

[Free Thinker]

It turned into WoW before my eyes. So I splashed it with holy water and proceeded to throw it into daylight where it burst into flames.
I was hoping it'd be just as amazing as Bioware's other RPGs like KotoR and Mass Effect, but I was fairly disappointed.

 

[_Cake_]

I loved Dragon Age, mostly cause of the story and characters but I also love sandbox style RPGs as well.

To me the gameplay felt nothing like WOW and I disliked the mass effect conversation wheel. Especially with the good answer on top the neutral in the middle and bad on the bottom, then you have people just picking the top or bottom always cause they need the paragon/renegade points. I had no problems with the graphics, but that's not what makes or breaks a game for me.