Poll: Dragon Age storyling : Fail or Win ?

[Lonelykiller]

I did enjoy playing Dragon Age and rate it as a pretty good game. I did feel pretty ripped off regarding the story line. Gameplay and the game world were obviously awesome though.

But I thought the story line sucked.

1) There are bad guys. They do something bad to you.
2) Collect 4 in game keys to use to defeat the bad guys and gain access to the bad guys.
3) Defeat the bad guys.

The in game story related questions you might have, go largerly un-answere.Having beaten the game I feel like I have just completed a single chapter of BG2, rather than an entire game.

While dragon age was a good game I don't think the story can be compared to a masterpiece like BG1, BG2, Ultima7 or Planescape torment. I felt this game appeared to be very incomplete and is in dire need of a sequel, for which I would happily pay another $100 bucks.

 

[Davrel]

I thought it was pretty good if a little generic. What really made it for me were the story missions that you got from party members.

 

[DoctorNick]

The writing in a game consists of three major things:

1) The Main Plot
2) Universe fluff
3) Interesting characters and their interactions

The last couple BioWare games have to me been shining examples of 2 and 3, but yeah the main plots aren't anything special. I almost get the feeling that they're written by different departments or something.

Having said that, two and three were strong enough for me to live with the fact that the main plot was basically 'generic ye-olde fantasy kill Sauron quest.' It would have been nicer if it was something more original, but I'm getting to the point where I have to ask myself:

Do I be thankful for the good game I have or do I lament the great game that could have been?

I don't have a good answer to that yet.

 

[Weaver]

I rated it as good. I feel the story TELLING was phenomenal. I wanted to help Allistair find a memento of Duncan, I wanted to find sten's sword. I was genuinely interested in the world and it's lore. The main plot was just pretty generic. Evil is building, army is marching, you have to stop it.

This is the standard fantasy archetype but they could have mixed it up a bit better.

 

[Pimppeter2]

The plot line is simple

However, the way it is told is supreme.

 

[The Madman]

It was pretty good, but far from the best work they've ever done. I would have liked the Blight to be fleshed out better as an enemy rather than simply being portrayed as yet another generic evil here to kill everyone, something Bioware apparently intends to do with the expansion but still.

For the most part however it was quite well done. Would have liked for their to be some more dynamic dialogue options and realistic interactions, but that's probably just a case of me wanting *more*.

 

[Hybrid Sight]

The plot line is simple

However, the way it is told is supreme.

I agree 100% If you really look at the story its relatively simple, but it is told in such a way that it feel truly epic.

 

[MarsProbe]

I thought the story was fine though like Davrel said, the thing that made the game more than the story was the characters and their backstories.

I know a good number people go on about the "standard Bioware story template", that being:

Learn of threat to the world, assemble team/squad to combat threat, endure potentially awkward dryhumping scene, defeat said threat, bask in glory

but I'm sure they're not the only games that follow that kind of template (though perhaps not with the dryhumping).

 

[high_castle]

I liked the plot, however, to get the most out of it, you need to engage in lots of conversations and read the codex. There's quite a bit that goes unsaid unless you hunt for it. Also, the tie-in novels provide additional perspective on the story which make it far deeper than it appears to be. Also, I thought the characters truly made the story shine. Every moment had real emotional impact because I'd taken the time to get to know all my companions, complete their side quests, and thus truly feel as though we were friends (more than the ME2 characters, who were very shallow in comparison). But the story was, in general, exactly the kind of thing I like. The political intrigue portion of the game was by far the most compelling for me, and it's not often you get to see that in a game. (Actually, I would've been fine if they'd cut the stuff with the Darkspawn and focused entirely on the Loghain/crown dispute, but then I guess it would've been too much like A Game of Thrones).

 

[Hiphophippo]

The plot line is simple

However, the way it is told is supreme.

Beat me to it. Actually several people beat me to it, but such is life. It's like this with nearly all games or movies.

 

[Andothul]

Its generic fantasy yet very original. The plot is simple if you think about it but how it unfolds and the depth to the universe is what makes it really great.

I loved Dragon my only bother was the loose ends that the ending left but i suppose thats what Awakening and Dragon age 2 are for

 

[Looking For Alaska]

Firstly, the gameplay was awful and the world generic, imo. The plot was a little more boring than the most boring fantasy novel in your local bookstore. It did have quite a few interesting or likable characters but wasn't on the level of the casts of other Bioware games. The main fault with the game was that your character didn't even feel like an actual character and the fact YOU AND ONLY YOU have word that is law during the decisions in all parts of the game, even when it doesn't make sense. It felt so shoehorned in.

It was a rather large let-down from from my favorite developer, IMO. I think it was only good enough to warrant one playthrough, if that.

Edit 2: It appears I'm in the minority.

 

[Altorin]

All bioware games are exactly the same in that respect, and DAO shouldn't have surprised you.

The beauty of BioWare's games aren't in the PLOT, they know that, their fans know it.

The beauty is in the WRITING. The dialogue, the characters, the setting

 

[Naheal]

I find it--

The plot line is simple

However, the way it is told is supreme.

Nevermind. This guy said it perfectly.

 

[DustyDrB]

It was good. Can we give the word "fail" a sabbatical?

 

[ItsAPaul]

Morrigan dude. Morrigan.

 

[Altorin]

It was simple, it was clean and it worked. It didn't get its head muddled up its own asshole and there weren't organs leaking out of its urethra like some stories tend to when they try and flesh it and the world out beyond "BAD GUY BAD, HERO KILL"

My one complaint is that the darkspawn are basically just orcs from LotR.

I missed the memo where Orcs came from a.. well.. this:

Spoiler: Probably NSFW, but it is from the game.