Dragon Age Origins
In the most recent DGR podcast, John uttered something as close to blasphemy as I have ever heard: “Screw Bioware.” Bioware, the maker of such great games as Mass Effect and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic? Say it ain’t so, John! Little did I know that John’s utterance might be closer to the actual truth than I dared to imagine…
I need to take you back about seven years ago, when my roommate and soon-to-be best man bought a little game for my PS2 called Baldurs Gate. It was Christmas vacation, and we had no work commitments, plenty of beer, and wireless controllers. My roommate and I spent five days straight – and I mean 24/7 – playing through that game cooperatively, and it was a blast. We never slept, just plodded along through the dungeon crawler beauty that was this game. When I finally introduced my wife to gaming, it was Baldurs Gate that she and I gleefully played together on the couch. It was one of the first games I ever played through twice. We eventually graduated to Baldurs Gate II, Gauntlet, and a lesser known title Dungeons and Dragons Heroes (a game my whole family played together)!
So when Bioware announced they were working on a sequel to Baldurs Gate I was immediately excited. Dragon Age Origins was its name and it promised amazing graphics and stellar storytelling. I watched for clips from E3 to see what appeared to be 4 characters in mortal combat with a fire breathing dragon. It looked awesome and so I pre-ordered it right away. I should have done more homework, for despite how good this game looks, it is hardly the cooperative experience that I was looking for. In fact, there is NO COOPERATIVE PLAY at all in this game, not even online. And for a game that touted itself as the next Baldurs Gate, that’s blasphemous! That’s like releasing a single person Left 4 Dead; no matter how good it is, they have ruined it by sheer comparison of design.
Dragon Age does have some groundbreaking features that the single player will find compelling, I am sure. First, no character’s story is the same. In fact, there are several different opening tutorials and story lines are chosen for you based on character creation. You may be a rich aristocrat whose family was betrayed or a hapless slave fleeing from your captors. From that point forward the quests you get and how people react to you are completely different based on your own unique origin. This will encourage multiple play-throughs from those wishing to experience the game in a whole new way.
Bioware revolutionized the story arc with KOTOR and again in Mass Effect with expansive dialogue trees. What you choose to say has extensive effect on how characters react and the direction of your story. I especially loved Mass Effect as I would pick a line and watch how Sheppard would say it and the reaction from the NPCs. There are dialog trees in Dragon Age, but they are more like KOTOR as you never hear your character say anything. The line is chosen and your NPC reacts. I am sorry, but after Mass Effect, I kinda expected more from BioWare here and I found the interactions to be a burdensome and not as immersive.
The graphics are good, but not great. One thing I did find interesting is after each battle your character model is pictured covered with the blood spatter of your defeated enemies. The more enemies you kill, the bloodier you become. While this is kinda cool, I do ask myself…why? Seriously, why is this necessary? Don’t get me wrong, I dig blood, but this seemed glorifying it to me which made no sense. Maybe the devs should have spent a little less time on the blood and spent, oh maybe an hour or so working on some co-op. But I digress…
The controls and the camera are very solid, and overall I found the gameplay to be quite fun. However, there are skill trees and at first there was a lot of trial and error in picking which skills I should increase. Again, Bioware seems to be counting on multiple play throughs, the first being my guinea pig play through. I’m about 6 hours into the game and I know there is a ton of gameplay and story to be told here. Story that, despite it’s flawed approach, is done quite well in Dragon Age. There is a moment early on in the game where you are part of this massive army that is being besieged by hoards of evil creatures. It’s very Two Towers like and it felt…epic! That and what happened to characters I just got introduced to left my mouth agape for more than a few moments. So there is goodness in this game, that is certain. I’m just having a hard time accepting that they removed part of Baldurs Gate from its sequel. I’m sure I will play it through, but I have to wait for my wife to get over her disappointment.
Ahh what could have been …Screw You Bioware!
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Tags: Baldurs Gate, Bioware, diablo, Dragons, ea, KOTOR, sacred 2
November 5th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Ohhh how you console only gamers make me cringe some days lol. Just a quick tip Bioware said this game was the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. not the sequel to some console beat em up that no one gave a rats ass about. I would say that yes as a console gamer you won’t like this game at all. It really needs to be played on a PC which was where it was originally announced as a PC exclusive for quite a while.
The console version uses a metric fuck ton of radial menus whereas the PC version uses hotbars much akin to WOW.
I have not finished the game or anything I’m maybe 5 or 6 hours in but as the Baldur’s Gate games for the PC were my favorite games of all time this game gives me that tingly feeling in my pants all over again.
Also the game is very tactical if you just run into a battle you are going to die….a lot. One other feature that the PC version has which has been left out of the consoles is the ability to play from a bird’s eye view just like the first games or Diablo if that is more familiar. This gives the player a much more detailed view of the battleground and allows you to set up your party properly. (archers up on hills raining down arrows while your mage freezes enemies and your warriors shield bash them to pieces)
This can make battle very slow as you need to pause often and issue orders to your whole party to be the most effective. Also the PC version looks gorgeous but I haven’t really seen any console comparison shots to say how much better it looks.
All I can say is I am loving this game because it takes me back to when I was a young lad playing the original Baldur’s Gate series. Any more of this from Bioware would make me a happy dude…
November 5th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Upon a second reading that beginning part sounds like a forum fanboy, mouth held agape while choking on taco bell, reading your article so i apologize for that. One other thing though Bioware didn’t make the console versions of Baldur’s Gate, and from the beginning in early previews stated that there would be no multiplayer of any kind so you may have bought into something that didn’t quite exist.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
@CanadianJon, we have a local sports station that broadcasts a video game show and they just did a comparison of DragonAge PC vs the consoles. The editor of Game Informer was doing most of the talking and he was creaming all over himself for the PC version and that the console version was lack luster in comparison. Because of how the system is set up, the console versions CAN’T be tactical, so it ends up being pretty easy. I have found the combat in game to be pretty easy myself and I haven’t died yet, nor have any of my NPCs.
Sadly, I am one of those who enjoyed the couch co-op experience that was the console version of Baldurs Gate, and I enjoyed it a lot. I hope I’m not alone and we are slowly seeing the days of being able to cooperatively enjoy a game without a second console disappear. Aside from the music games, Lego anythng, and Madden, they just don’t exist much anymore. This may not be important to some folks, but if you have a family, it’s very sad.
As for being a big dummy, when the hype machine started I asked some folks on a forum that will remain nameless if there was co-op. I was told there was and I believed them. I don’t visit there anymore…
But seriously, as cool as the experience is, how much cooler would it be if you could play with your freinds? Mass Effect was awesome, but it would have been even more awesome playing it with someone else. Everyone is going nuts for Borderlands right now, and IMHO it’s becuase the shared experience is so powerful. I think they missed a huge opportunity, and that’s why I cry foul. That being said, it is a fun experience so far.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:17 am
I wasn’t interested in this until I heard that the console version was less tactical. Now I might rent it.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Dude, Bioware said it was the spiritual sequel to Baldur’s Gate, not Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. The PC Baldur’s Gate and the PS2 Baldur’s Gate were totally different games.
That said, I actually agree with the cooperative statement, I played Baldur’s Gate (PC version) co-op end to end with a friend of mine, the fact the Dragon Age lacks this option is upsetting to me
November 6th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Having never played the PC version, the only Baldurs Gate I knew was the console one. That being said, I’m still an idiot…
November 6th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I hate being that guy, but the console Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (which I also really liked) wasn’t developed by Bioware, and didn’t resemble the Baldur’s Gate PC games in any real way. The best comparison is Fallout 1/2 vs/ Fallout:Brotherhood of Steel (the console co-op version).
Interestingly, the PC versions of Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2 did support co-op multiplayer, but it didn’t work so hot.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
@ Ryker XL. Oh please don’t misunderstand sir I would love the game to have co-op. My brother and I played the original Baldur’s Gate from start to finish co op on PC over LAN, so I would never turn down the option. I’m just saying I love the game they have created and was never expecting any multiplayer after an interview Jenn Tsao did on 1up with the Bioware Doctors where she asked why there wasn’t even LAN support.
I think The Old Republic MMO that Bioware is making will be the cure to anyone who wants a multiplayer Mass Effect experience.
Sadly at the end of the day it seems between the PC and console versions we are almost playing 2 different games.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:20 am
@CanadianJon, well said sir, I just feel like Rosanne Rosanna Danna these days…”Oh? Nevermind…”
The KOTOR MMO looks amazing btw!