Gaming Dragon Age: Origins Review

i was going to buy this on release, but following the awesomeness of borderlands and this lack lustre review i reckon i'll pick it up cheap later on. tbh i think the graphics look fugly too.

 

Odd review, this one. Reading it I would expect a final result of 6 or 7. You gave it an 8. So, it's more of the same, simplistic and generally limited and uninteresting... an 8!

 

I feel like you tacked on a few points just because the game was made by Bioware, and because they worked on it for a long time.

 

I'd agree with that - I was surprised to see an 8 there after reading through the review

 

Well, if it came off that way then I guess the tone got a little lost. I really like the game. It's a good RPG. But, on the other hand, it messes up a few things that it tries (such as the gore, sex, violence and quote-unquote adult tone). It's all been done before and it doesn't really live up to the expectations or promised depth. It is still a good game, just not a great game = 8/10.

For further thoughts, I'd suggest reading Oli Welsh's review at Eurogamer. He drew some similar conclusions to me, based on the quick read through I gave his review this morning.

 

i think an 8 is fine, at the end of day he's saying all the elements that need to be there are there, and they work. its just nothing that hasn't been done before and is too genrefied

 

Interesting. The impression I get from the review is that it's a good game with a few little niggles but you can't help feeling a little let down down that BioWare haven't produced another true epic on a par with Baldur's Gate or KOTOR.

I hate to say it but I'm rather happy that I didn't have this one on pre order as I'd probably be feeling a touch let down right now.

 

I have read reviews from alot other sites, I think you are comparing it too much with other games and not given it a proper go. The score given is the lowest I have seen so far and from what I have read you have been looking too much at the negative side of game.

 

look at IGN, Gamespot,
and PC gamer

 

I think I'll give this one a miss as it looks like a cookie cutter generic fantasy RPG. I still have the witcher to play through, which I bought on steam when it was on sale.

 

Look at Metacritic, it's just quicker if you want to judge it that way - on the number of reviews without thought for taste or opinion or bias. Reading a review should never be about that; it should be about finding a site and writer that reflects your own interests and tastes. If the writers at IGN represent your thoughts closer, great. I'm offering up my thoughts for people who think along similar lines.

I do find it funny how some gamers get such secure and unassailable opinions so quickly - you could have only been playing Dragon Age for a few hours at most. It's taken me two and a half weeks of gameplay to come to my conclusions.

 

Looking forward to playing this tonight


Are there big dragon fights like in the trailers? That'd make me very happy..

 

i might pick this up, its 25 squids on amazon

 

Thanks for the review, however two comments, one which seems to apply to all 4 reviews I have read of this game:

- No one mentions graphics settings or video card requirements. Not Bit-tech, IGN, or Gamespot. Why?

- I agree with the comments that after reading the review I was expecting a 6 or 7. It was very negative overall, and the sudden grade 8 at the end seemed out of proportion. Perhaps a bit more on what you liked about the game enough to warrant the 8. Saying it does the exact same thing as a game 10 years ago, that did get a 9 then, is not a good argument for an 8 today. IMHO.

 

Well, we didn't test video requirements and all that because our code wasn't totally bug-fixed yet. Also, you can get that information off the back of the box.

Talking about what I liked about the game is difficult without giving spoilers and made more so by the fact that I don't personally hold a strong opinion on the game. It's a fantasy setting RPG about a big demon army and OMG a bit of nipple and a lot of blood. It's hard for me to get excited about that in all honesty, because the world isn't presented with much consistency or merit. It switches rapidly from a somber "You have an epic duty to avenge your family" to a woman coming out wearing nipple armour. Ugh.

Still, I can recognise the strength of the systems underneath. The RPG mechanics allow for a lot of variation and the tactics system is great for people who don't want to micromanage every move. The weapons descriptions are a nice touch too and the graphics are gorgeous. The world itself is massive and it feels like there's a great amount of replayability to be had within it, both from playing in different ways and getting to know the characters and interacting with your party. It's the characters and the party conversations I like most, but as I said; spoilers.

Still, those things aren't enough to win undying affections. I like all the little things in the game and the way the individual pieces fit together, but judged as a whole it feels like BioWare has dumped a load of senseless adult content in here in a cheap and quick attempt to spice up what would otherwise have been a realisitic, if very dry world. The bulk of the plot is approached with great maturity and skill, but it's then soured by content which has been added to attract 11 year old boys.

 

Wait for a patch then play!

 

Thanks for elaborating, hopefully a follow-up on the actual graphics performance will come out, as the game is incredibly anticipated. I will inevitably have to see this for myself, having loved BG, as well as KOTOR and Mass Effect. In terms of FRPG, the last two to really get me were Oblivion (modded of course), and the uncut version of The Witcher, which was nothing short of outstanding. I am dying to see what The Witcher 2 will be like.

As an aside, I'd be curious to know what you think of the recently changed to Free to Play (a hybrid model BTW) DDO. You may or may not know it has changed enormously since it first came out, and gameplay is far from the same. It is very unlike the typical MMORPG grind seen in WoW, LOTRO, and many others. I highly recommend it.

 

personally I'm hoping for something that isn't groundbreaking, fallout 3 tried something ground breaking and failed miserably destroying a great series as a result.

If you think back to the last 2 years, apart from the witcher, I cant think of a single decent cRPG that was released, I'm personally dying for something that isn't revolutionary and trying something new. Even the witcher wasn't revolutionary or groundbreaking, it did nothing new but was probably the single best RPG since fallout 2 / BG 2...

I'm not in the market for new features and revolutionary concepts (cough IWnet cough), just give me a solid RPG with good dialogue and consequences to player choices and I'm happy. I don't want some shallow hack and slash, looting epic like dungeon siege / borderlands / diablo...

Personally I'm happy with lack of change in the genre, and this review has made me anticipate DA:O even more as now I'm sure they aren't going to pull some sort of consolified abortion like oblivion/fallout3...

 

If it's nothing new or original, then I'll pass.

 

@CardJoe, kudos for the great review. While I'm only a few hours into the game myself, many of the criticisms you mentioned have already started to ring true. Maybe it's an expectations thing (I got into RPG's with games like KotOR and Mass Effect, not Baldur's Gate et al.) and while I do like the game, I would of preferred it to be slightly more visceral (and I don't mean just more blood and gore) and less methodical.

I suppose Bioware have games like Mass Effect 2 to appeal to gamers like myself and kept this one tailored to their original fanbase. But anyway it's all irrelevant as I'm enjoying the game regardless.

But I have a question. I'm running this game on hardware that was great 3 years ago (E6600, 4GB ram, 8800GTS, Windows 7) with all settings on their highest, 2x AA and 1920x1200 resolution. Surprisingly the game runs great with no slowdown, but I'm noticing some strange low quality blurred textures in places. Particularly when up close to wood or stone. Did you guys notice this too or do I have a problem somewhere?