Dragon Age: Spoiler free

[Korea]

Geez, you couldn't have made this offer 2 weeks ago.

[grumbler]

Geez, you couldn't have made this offer 2 weeks ago.

You'd be a few bucks better off, and so would I. 

Seriously, I don't get the vibe about this game.  I am replaying Arcanum and enjoying it much more than DA.  It is at least as deep, and a bunch more fun.  Only the pixels are inferior, and those by not much.

Arcanum with even Morrowind graphics would beat this game all to hell.

[viper37]

I just don't see what you find that lacking in this game... it's not perfect, I'll grant you that.  There could be a thing or two made differently, but overall, I truly enjoyed this game as much as I enjoyed KOTOR when I first played it.

In fact, I've played every origin stories and quite liked it.

And the dialogues between your NPCs are quite funny to hear.

But I do understand the meaning of your nick now more than ever

[DisturbedPervert]

it's not perfect, I'll grant you that. 

Agreed, they should have made it even longer   

[Syt]

I'm still not through with the game, though I'm now at the Elves (and then I still have the capital city to visit). I wish they hadn't filled every map's nook and cranny with enemies (except in towns). I would have appreciated there being fewer but harder encounters. A lot of the combat feels like filler.

I like the story and characters well enough, but having to slice through enemies for what feels like two hours to get to the next plot point is a bit tedious for me.

[Razgovory]

Geez, you couldn't have made this offer 2 weeks ago.

You'd be a few bucks better off, and so would I. 

Seriously, I don't get the vibe about this game.  I am replaying Arcanum and enjoying it much more than DA.  It is at least as deep, and a bunch more fun.  Only the pixels are inferior, and those by not much.

Arcanum with even Morrowind graphics would beat this game all to hell.

My only complaint about the game is that it feels a bit dumbed down (similar to say Diablo), then I prefer.  But that's the way the RPG industry has been going for years so I'm not to concerned.  Still, I miss all the old number crunching.  I think you just have different tastes.

[DisturbedPervert]

My only complaint about the game is that it feels a bit dumbed down (similar to say Diablo), then I prefer.  But that's the way the RPG industry has been going for years so I'm not to concerned.  Still, I miss all the old number crunching.

You sure you're not actually playing Torchlight?   

[Alatriste]

I just don't see what you find that lacking in this game... it's not perfect, I'll grant you that.  There could be a thing or two made differently, but overall, I truly enjoyed this game as much as I enjoyed KOTOR when I first played it.

In fact, I've played every origin stories and quite liked it.

And the dialogues between your NPCs are quite funny to hear.

But I do understand the meaning of your nick now more than ever

Well, I don't know if my complaints coincide with Grumbler's but

[some minor spoilers ahead]

- Long loading&saving times.

- Your freedom of movement is very severely curtailed. In fact, quite often you are forced to go from A to B following the one and only path available. No alternative destinations, no alternative routes. Compared with Oblivion, for example, Dragon Age is pathetic in this aspect.

- Locations are small, very small. No wonder Lothering is pissed off, having three groups of bandits separated by less than 100 meters must be bothersome.

- You will always find exactly the same enemies in the same places (8 wolves when you enter Korcari Wild, 6 giant spiders hiding at a Lothering gulley... yawn) That's not only shoddy work, I would go so far as to say it stinks of a deliberate attempt to limit replayability.

- Some missions are truly ridiculous. Getting food for the prisoner? Speak with the guard, and it's done. Making some traps for Allison? You make them, and it's done. Find the dead woman? It's just 20 meters from the village... Unless the results somehow affect the game further on, they seem just insipid fillers.

- The combat system is, in my opinion at least, unnecessarily complex.

- One word: RAILROADING. Of course, computer RPGs need a measure of railroading, but Dragon Age is an extreme case.

- Graphics are good in general, but they are nothing to write home about either, and besides, every character has huge, creepy hands

- Did I mention long loading&saving times?

On the plus side,

- Voice acting is very good

- Music is very good

- Your wandering band of merry men, women and dog, is interesting and their conversations are indeed funny (however, you need to be fluent in English to get them, I bet most Spanish players don't understand a thing!)

Not nearly enough to counterbalance the bad parts, in my opinion.

[Razgovory]

My only complaint about the game is that it feels a bit dumbed down (similar to say Diablo), then I prefer.  But that's the way the RPG industry has been going for years so I'm not to concerned.  Still, I miss all the old number crunching.

You sure you're not actually playing Torchlight?   

Nah the skill the system is still similar to the one pioneered by the first Diablo.

[Queequeg]

- Some missions are truly ridiculous. Getting food for the prisoner? Speak with the guard, and it's done. Making some traps for Allison? You make them, and it's done. Find the dead woman? It's just 20 meters from the village... Unless the results somehow affect the game further on, they seem just insipid fillers.

As opposed to Fallout 3's Vampire quest? 

[Syt]

As opposed to Fallout 3's Vampire quest? 

That was an entertaining quest that offered a number of solutions reflecting different ethical views.

[viper37]

- Long loading&saving times.

It's not as bad as it was when it first came out, but it's still a problem.  You need to quit the game, run a memory defragmenter and restart the game.

- Your freedom of movement is very severely curtailed. In fact, quite often you are forced to go from A to B following the one and only path available. No alternative destinations, no alternative routes. Compared with Oblivion, for example, Dragon Age is pathetic in this aspect.

The only real place I have seen this is in the very beginning (before the final battle of Ostagar) and in the Deep Roads.  Otherwise, if anything, that game is far from being linear.  You have 3 main quests to achieve (Humans, Dwarf, Elves), but you can do that in any order you want, and you can do or not do the side quests if you wish to.

- Locations are small, very small. No wonder Lothering is pissed off, having three groups of bandits separated by less than 100 meters must be bothersome.

True.

- You will always find exactly the same enemies in the same places (8 wolves when you enter Korcari Wild, 6 giant spiders hiding at a Lothering gulley... yawn) That's not only shoddy work, I would go so far as to say it stinks of a deliberate attempt to limit replayability.

Mostly true, but then again, most 'offline' RPGs are like this, and I suspect it has to do with technological limitations.

- Some missions are truly ridiculous. Getting food for the prisoner? Speak with the guard, and it's done. Making some traps for Allison? You make them, and it's done. Find the dead woman? It's just 20 meters from the village... Unless the results somehow affect the game further on, they seem just insipid fillers.

That's the beginning, you know...  It could have been tougher, but then it would piss off most people with a steep learning curve.  In fact, I had lots of trouble doing these first quests when I played the first time (I found the bandits very hard to clear).

- The combat system is, in my opinion at least, unnecessarily complex.

Disagree.  It is quite simple, even too simple sometimes.

- One word: RAILROADING. Of course, computer RPGs need a measure of railroading, but Dragon Age is an extreme case.

What is that?

- Graphics are good in general, but they are nothing to write home about either, and besides, every character has huge, creepy hands

I haven't noticed the hands... but while I agree with the graphics, short of the FPS who need über machines when they come out just to launch the game, no game has superb graphics.

[DisturbedPervert]

All those examples are from Lothering or before.  If that's how far you are, you're only a few hours in to an 80 hour game.

[Syt]

I haven't noticed the hands... but while I agree with the graphics, short of the FPS who need über machines when they come out just to launch the game, no game has superb graphics.

I thought Dragon Age was a step back (not a big one, but noticeable) from Mass Effect, especially the character graphics.

[Queequeg]

I thought Dragon Age was a step back (not a big one, but noticeable) from Mass Effect, especially the character graphics.

Can't agree there. Mass Effect's resolutions are piss poor.