Dragon Age:Origins
BelgarathMTH
Member Posts: 5,653
Hi, is anybody else playing DA:O while waiting for BG:EE? I started playing with it again, and I'm having a really good time. It's got good tactical combat as long as you keep the difficulty slider turned up, an interesting character skills progression, and good npc relationships.
I can really see the "spiritual successor" thing now.
It's quite an epic game, even though I don't think it's got quite the replayability of BG. Too bad they ruined it after DA:O with the successor expansions and games.
If you're playing, what party configuration(s) are you using, and why? Do you use mods? Who is your favorite romance interest?
I can really see the "spiritual successor" thing now.
It's quite an epic game, even though I don't think it's got quite the replayability of BG. Too bad they ruined it after DA:O with the successor expansions and games.
If you're playing, what party configuration(s) are you using, and why? Do you use mods? Who is your favorite romance interest?
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My Party Configuration for my Surana (Arcane Warrior/Blood Mage) is Zevran, Alistair, and Wynne. Why? Magical Bosoms. Other than that, I need a trap person, a tank, and a healer. I use a lot of mods. My favorite romance interest is...Zevran. Hah.
I've also got better-looking versions of Alistair, Zevran, and Leliana.
I've got one that lets you bash open chests, and one that lets you respec if you want to. I've also got one that lets you skip most of the sloth demon Fade sequence in the Circle quest.
I have better looking versions of most party members except for Alistair, Anders, Nathaniel, and Sigrun.
The Deep Roads is the part that slogs the most to me. By the time I get around to doing it, my guys are usually powerful enough to just roll over every encounter but it still takes foreeeeever.
I loved the expansion. My biggest deal with DA:O is trying to connect with my EA account ends up crashing a lot and so I can't access any of my DLC. Loved the game. Want to replay it. But I just can't seem to get it to run.
I agree I liked the expansion, not the sequel though. I didn't have the EA account issue (with DA) but I used to issues with downloadable content mysteriously disappearing mid game and then returning. I would have been annoyed but I got on the DA boat late so all the content was already included so it's not like I particularly paid for the content.
I really hate the EA account system, I have had quite a few issues and the support is really crappy, like unless you give them remote control of your comp they won't help you. Seriously? I work at a large law firm that deals with highly confidential contracts, I cannot allow another company to have access to my computer.
not saying Mass effect sucks, i like it a lot...but..the elements in mass effect ain't suitable for DA series
(eg. the circle of choices...)
I bought the collector's edition as well as the ultimate edition to show my love to the game (and of course for the DLCs... :P ) but DA2..well...not so much, its a good game but kind of went the wrong direction...
anyway I love Morrigan's personality and Alistar's..huh...mmmm...stupidity?
Ah..and don't forget the DOG...Mabari war hound is the best companion you can ever get..
well maybe after Shale..
EDIT: O, I also like the fade, never skip it with the mod on replay..also the choices in dwarven politic questline, well done in terms of old and new in grey zone
@junk11, I think the word you're looking for to describe Alistair is "goofy". "Lovably goofy."
I have just ordered the second one though since it's cheap.
The Deep Roads was very tedious, especially on higher difficulties because almost every battle is the same. I actually don't even mind the fade, I find it less tedious than the Deep Roads.
The characters were generally pretty well done I thought. Alistair for instance is pretty lovably goofy. Morrigan was great.
But basically the game to me has very limited replay value beyond maybe the second playthrough. I played through it probably three times, once for each class I believe (though I'm not sure if I played through the whole game with a warrior or not). However, since you basically can get access to all of the abilities you can get as your own character through your companions (who are all conveniently at camp) it takes the need to replay for the purposes of trying different ability/spell combinations out of the equation (for the most part). Especially given that your companions all level up with you even if they are not used (if I am not mistaken).
I ended up being disappointed in how little your origin impacts the experience. Given that that is the title of the game, I guess I presumed it would be given greater importance than it is.
I only briefly have played awakening. It is supposed to be good but I just never was committed enough to play it. I won't be playing Da2 given what I've heard about it. Sorry for the rant... this is just a game that grinds my gears.
The other way they were trying to be like BG, with some success, I think, was in fairly well-developed npc characters with interjections and banters and personal quests. There was also an epic story where the protagonist's decisions influenced the world. And there was a complex, fully written political environment complete with plots, conspiracies, racial tensions, policing of mages, etc.
I've heard so many bad things about DA2 that I don't think I will ever buy it. I don't think I would play it if they started giving it away. I already see the beginnings of the dreaded "consolization" in DA:O, which manages to be a great game despite being written for consoles, but DA2 supposedly represents the complete downfall of story-based and tactics-based rpg's to the console.
"spiritual successor"?? Never was, Never will be - just a marketing slogan to attract old RPG fans..
Not talking about DA2, the best part in this game was the Uninstall button.
[..fanboy mode off]
Mods helped this game immensely. I didn't particularly care for the game in my first play-through.
The story is really good, but I didn't quite feel it because it didn't have the refined visuals. Armies didn't feel like armies, at least not different ones. Two different factions could wear the same armor set, just slightly different colors. The Grey Wardens, who you join, don't even have their own armor set as they do in the second game. And you would have a hard time telling your party member apart when everyone wore the same armor, and had huge ugly helmets covering their face. I'm not complaining that it isn't realistic, but it doesn't have to look so boring. And rogues only had one armor!
But basically, I installed a mod where soldiers wore cool NEW stylish armors appropiate to their factions. People had white teeth, and had better faces (not always prettier, but they didn't feel randomized in a tool-engine).
And for personal preference, which belgarathmth won't agree with, all the female NPCs had big boobs and tight mini-skirts (they were different styles and color, of course). I also gave my party members unique look. I could tell them apart, and they looked bad-ass in comparison to the un-modded game. Here's a pic from my party:
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596981956757995028/E913D2839F36D3D1F59B09168FE56CCB50E56080/
Anyway, with my personal visual preferences satisfied, I could stop being annoyed and just focus on the story. Ah, what a fun campaign it was. Shame it had to end
EDIT: And I had a mod that skipped the Fade. Best, mod, evar.
I've gotten about 6 character to the lands meet but I've only finished it once.
Just before Dragon Age 2 came out I decided to beat it for the first time. Over two weeks I went form loving the game and calling it the best RPG ever, to hating it with all my soul.
I don't know what got to me; the fact I realized my decisions didn't matter, the mind-numbingly easy combat (Played a mage on xbox with friendly fire off ) or how needlessly padded it was.
But I think the main reason was how annoying ALL the characters were!
So no........ I will not be playing dragon age while I wait for BG:EE
Gonna be playing Lost lost odyssey and IceWind Dale 1.
The Fade? It was long but I thought it was great, twisted and all.
DA2 is not as good. And the npcs are terrible.
What.
You know what I find funny is the amount of people who loved DA:O when it came out. They loved it when the expansion came out.
Then DA2 came out and was a huge slap in the face, and all the sudden tons of vitriol came pouring DA:O's way by extension.
DA:O is not perfect, but it is easily one of my favorite games of the last ten years. I beat it on the hardest difficulty without my main character ever falling in battle (Alistair died like 27 times but that's another matter). Honestly I'm surprised by the amount of hate I've seen for it.
Problem as I see it is that I couldn't get into the top-down view of the game. Mostly because it feels clumsy to move characters around. VERY useful for spells, not for combat in general. That's why I never saw too much BG into it, although they did look similar in some ways.
Not too hard of a game for those that KNOW what to do, definitely doable on Nightmare difficulty without "injuries". If you don't know what to do though, then Normal difficulty can be punishing.
Was thinking about playing it, after seeing my girlfriend start up Awakening, but I am not sure. Too many games I want to play, sooooo little time.
I switched halfway through the game to hard rather then normal and I still just had to mash "A", I was a Acrcane Warrior. It was Stuipdly easy.
Also one of my friends played the game parallel to me and also said the game was still a mash "A" fest as a Dwarven Warrior, So its not just my class.
The console version of Dragon Age was just boring to play because of the combat.
(Well....That and the characters. They.Never.Stop.Talking.About.Nothing. )
Edit: I have like 120 hours on DA so I don't hate it . I just never want to see it again