Topic: Dragon Age: Origins -> Update: DAO Ultimate joins GOG

[Xessive]

If you use a bow try the Andraste arrows which have a "spell interrupt" property. So far I've found that rangers are the most effective against mages.

In most encounters a mage is surrounded by some henchmen and archers, I focus my attacks on the mage while my team takes out the warrior henchmen, and as soon as I dispose of the mage I take out the archers one by one while the rest of the team handles the hard hitters.

[MysterD]

So, is this game gonna be on sale for like $30 on Black Friday anywhere or what?

[Pugnate]

Nearly finished with Redcliffe, though I am off to the Mage's tower for now.

I just love this game. Yes the storyline is a bit cliched, and yes some of the elements lack consistency (like the treatment of elves), but the narrative is still rich, and the world is beautifully fleshed out, while the combat is highly polished and the looting is very balanced and rewarding. The action is rewarding in terms of production values as well.

If they start releasing quality DLC at fair prices, I could be hooked for years.

It is just a pity the game doesn't have a multiplayer component ala Neverwinter Nights. I would have loved to have done some dungeon crawling with you guys.

[PyroMenace]

Yea, the game is amazing, I'm still playing it religiously. I just finished with the Dalish elves quests, I have to say it has been much more easier than some other areas I have done, either that or I'm getting much more tactical in how the combat works. I also defeated a bitch ass revenant, those fuckers are hard.

I had a mess up with one of my characters however, Morrigan of course. I've been trying to get her approval rating up, I found some gifts that she likes which helped. However conversing with her guarantees disaproval, in one such case I had a bad conversation with her, but instead of quickloading, I hit quicksave which totally fucked me. I'm really disliking this aspect of the game, I am very curious about the characters that I am with, especially Morrigan, I do actually like her. But when you attach this approval score to it, it really ruins it for me. I am learning about this character's background and more about the world, and I get this negative consequence to go with it, its like a slap in the face for nothing. Other Bioware games were more simple in this case, but here I think they over-thought this system. I don't like loading and saving after each conversation because it went well or bad, because the difference could cause a game failure to me, Morrigan is the only mage in my camp, without her, Im fucked. I could just totally ignore her, but I'm interested as what she has to say, so yea, this is my major nit-pick of the game.

[Pugnate]

I have to say it has been much more easier than some other areas I have done, either that or I'm getting much more tactical in how the combat works. I also defeated a bitch ass revenant, those fuckers are hard.

I'd say it is a combination of you improving as a player, and your characters being more skilled overall.

As for the romance, you could always concentrate on the bard chick on this playthrough, and perhaps go with Morrigan later when you play again? You can still unlock the bard's story by just talking to her at camp. She really likes those white flowers.

haha you know, the whole idea of romancing an ingame character probably sounds pretty pathetic to a normal non-gamer person. But fuck normal people.

[Xessive]

Haha romance is an intellectual endeavor!

Now that I'm getting it on with Morrigan I'll sometimes hear my other companions gossiping about it! hehe Leliana said something like "Why is he with her? She's so cruel and wicked!" The irony of course is the whole time I was trying to win over Leliana but wound up with Morrigan. I can always dump her though.. The question now is if I dump her can I hook up with Leliana?

Yes, I am asking you for in-game dating advice

[Quemaqua]

Two words: Mabari dominance.   

This game has some funny shit in it, I tell you.

[Pugnate]

OK I’ve had some awesome and hilarious moments during the mages tower thing.

Near the end I was trapped by this demon thing and sent to another dimension where I woke up without my party. At first I was really ticked because it felt like such a cliché, but things went from lame to awesome within minutes. But I am not going to talk about learning to take various animal and demon forms on the plane… I am just going to talk about the part of the demon plane where I encountered the mages that had gone crazy after decades of imprisonment.

While I was in the form of a stealthy mouse, I snuck between two mages that were having some wild paranoid conversation. As they spoke, I decided it was time for my rogue to take human form. The minute I took human form, the mages screamed AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH in panic and fired high level spells at me. The first mage fired a lightning bolt, which I dodged (and remember, I was standing between these two mages before I took human form), and it killed his friend immediately.

The mage who had died had filed a cone of ice spell, which I had also dodged, and it froze his friend who had inadvertently ended up electrocuting him. So at this surviving frozen mage, I fired a crippling arrow, which knocked him down and left him with little health.

He then started firing spells at me that started to quickly chop away at my health leaving me near death. In panic, I activated ‘rapid shot’ and fired my arrows at him. My first arrow missed, as did my second, and as did my third. Then I activated ‘dirty fighting’, and my elven rogue ran up to the mage, and killed him with a single kick to the balls.

It was quite funny and unexpected.

Later I battled four mages that were literally called ‘crazy mages’. At some point the battle got tough, so I ran away and turned into a mouse... this was when to my amusement, the mages went insane and started fighting each other yelling profanity.

The funny thing was that one of the mages had frozen me, and the other fired a chain lightning spell. The spell hit me, and then proceeded to kill two of his own buddies.

I’ve battled against mages before, so this clearly isn’t some bug. I am pretty sure Bioware intended for these ‘crazy mages’ to actually be batshit crazy.

edit:

For some reason my dog found a dirty bone, and proceeded to place it in Morrigan's underwear. Needless to say, she was not happy at this show of affection.

[Pugnate]

Just finished the Sloth Demon. Holy crap, that was awesome. After I had the golem transformation, I felt like The Hulk!

This game continues to amaze.

[Xessive]

That whole sequence was pretty good

[poomcgoo]

Yeah, the whole mage's tower was awesome.  The fade part was especially cool.  I'm currently doing the Dalish elves thing like Pyro but where the fuck is Orzammar?  That's where I want to head next but I'm busy hacking up some werewolves.  I really can't stop playing the game, although I got pissed at that stupid bridge puzzle in the gauntlet a ways back.

[K-man]

Wait...you can kick people in the balls in this game?

Sold

[Pugnate]

Yeah, the whole mage's tower was awesome.  The fade part was especially cool.  I'm currently doing the Dalish elves thing like Pyro but where the fuck is Orzammar?  That's where I want to head next but I'm busy hacking up some werewolves.  I really can't stop playing the game, although I got pissed at that stupid bridge puzzle in the gauntlet a ways back.

That is where I am at the moment, and like yourself I was wondering wtf it was. Turns out it is party of the Dwarven city.

[Xessive]

The bridge puzzle got me to sit up and think about it! hehe It was alright once you figured out the pattern.

Orzammar is in the Frostback Mountains. I recall one of the documents I picked up said something about it. I'm out there right now dealing with the Deep Roads.

Haha yeah the "Below The Belt" hit is a swift kick to nads! It's most effective against enemies with light armour.

[MysterD]

Man, DAO PC needs to go on sale during these crazy BF sales for like $30 or something...
That'd so be awesome.

[Xessive]

Just finished it with my Human Rogue. What a journey.

Gonna start my City Elf Warrior next.

[iPPi]

Apparently Canadian retailers are trying some Black Friday sales to keep people from going to the US.  Dragon Age Origins is $40 this weekend at some Canadian retailers.  I might pick it up.  If I do though, it'll be PS3 version since I don't have a PC capable of running the game.  Do you think that's a good idea?  I mean, it's fairly known that the PC version is the superior version of the game, but I think the console version should still be playable, just not as tactical (can't zoom out like in PC version), and utilize a more simplified UI. 

Still somewhat undecided.

[Quemaqua]

It's also rebalanced as far as enemy count and such.  Your fights will be more simple and have less enemies.

[Pugnate]

For some reason the PS3 version is superior to the 360 version. Not sure why that is, but it apparently looks and performs better.

As for PC vs PS3, it all comes down to how badly you want to be able to pause the game, and get a top down perspective. Like Que mentioned, the console versions have been balanced to make up for the lack of tactical options. They actually play a lot more like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, which was a more Diablo style game.

The menu is also radial ala Mass Effect 360, so it is up to you.

I would go for it rather than not play at all. If you don't care for the pausing and the top down perspective, then stick with the PS3 version.

Though at the same time, if you have a decent processor/mobo, you could get an ATi 4770 which costs just over $120, and will run any game incl. Crysis on a 1080p rez.

BTW, you can still pause and stuff in the console versions of the game, but it is just not as easy to do because of the limitations of the controller.

In the end, it is still worth having the game, even on the PS3. The Bioware social forums have the majority of people on the console, and are seemingly happy.

edit:

Xessive, it is great you enjoyed it to the end. Man the game takes up a lot of free time.

[Quemaqua]

If you don't care for the pausing and the top down perspective, then stick with the PS3 version.

I disagree.  The top down perspective means nothing to me and I never use it, but the UI, the depth of control, and the bigger battles all make a huge difference.  You take that stuff away and you start losing what grabs me.  Not because it would be a bad game, mind you, but because it would start becoming a hell of a lot more average in a hurry.

[Pugnate]

The top down perspective means nothing to me and I never use it, but the UI, the depth of control, and the bigger battles all make a huge difference.

Yea basically that's what I meant, and it was what I was driving at with the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance comment. The better UI, the depth of control, the bigger battles, and the top down perspective, all culminate into a more tactical and involved experience in terms of action. Dark Alliance, which was released several years after Baldur's Gate II, was a very trimmed version of the game.

To be fair, I haven't played the console version, though I couldn't get behind the UI in Mass Effect, which is similar to that in Dragon Age.

It really comes down to your preference. If those things aren't important to you, then I feel the PS3 version is still worth it.

While there are some issues with the main storyline, as it is just another spin on a cliched story, and some of mature elements like the racism and whatnot do lack consistency for sure, the game is still exceptional in its highly detailed world, its party member story lines and their interaction with you, and the voice acting etc.

I personally wouldn't enjoy the game nearly as much on console, but there seem to be tons of console fans on the forums expressing lots of love.

[iPPi]

Well, I loved Mass Effect and KOTOR.  KOTOR I played on the PC and Mass Effect on the 360.  I couldn't get into NWN and I never finished Baldur's Gate II.  Still, the gameplay looks MMO style (quests and party/character building) and doesn't look as complicated as a D&D game.  It should be easier to get into.  There's just a sudden influx of games though.  I just finished Assassin's Creed II and am working on God of War Collection.  Modern Warfare 2 is still factory sealed.  I'll have to add this to the pile (and Prince of Persia (2008) as well.  It's $14.99 this weekend.  The price is finally low enough to justify the purchase).

At least I'll have tons of gaming to do over the holiday season.

[Pugnate]

While I loved Kotor, I think the action in Dragon Age in its more diluted console form should be richer than that in Kotor.

[Quemaqua]

That sentence seems to have a problem.  Did you mean richer than KotoR?

I wouldn't really compare this to Dark Alliance on the console, though.  That game was absolutely nothing like any of the true BG titles.  It didn't even have the depth of Diablo.  That was pure dungeon hack n' slash, whereas DA on the console is just a slightly dumbed-down RPG.

I'd say your assessment is pretty accurate, though, iP.  The gameplay veers a lot more toward the MMO style and things are far more accessible since they dropped the D&D stuff.  I couldn't get into NWN at all, either, though I did thoroughly enjoy BG, Torment, Icewind Dale, et al.  But that was despite the D&D stuff, not because of it.

[Pugnate]

Yup, that's what I meant. My mind is getting too old. I have edited the comment so that it makes more sense.

As for Dark Alliance, I haven't played it a whole lot, and I haven't played Dragon Age at all on the consoles, but the people on the IGN podcast were comparing the console version of Dragon Age to Dark Alliance. In fact, I am pretty sure they did so twice. Then again, it was IGN, and those people have all the accuracy of a drunken dwarf at an archery contest.

[MysterD]

haha you know, the whole idea of romancing an ingame character probably sounds pretty pathetic to a normal non-gamer person. But fuck normal people.

Amen, Pug.

God, all of you guys are killing w/ all your DAO talk. And this here doesn't help matters for me, either.

EDIT:

For some reason my dog found a dirty bone, and proceeded to place it in Morrigan's underwear. Needless to say, she was not happy at this show of affection.

WTF?!?!? LMAO.

[Pugnate]

Amen, Pug.

Buddy, I was sorta kidding.

edit:

One last thing I wanted to touch on.

I think Que mentioned earlier that while he did enjoy Dragon Age, he didn't feel that it deserved the praise of being revolutionary.

While I do think Dragon Age is awesome, I do think it is more evolutionary than innovative. On the PC, it is like a more accessible version of a game like Baldur's Gate. It is sorta like a mixture of all their RPGs. Aside from old Bioware titles, it also owes much to RPG classics like Wizardry and Betrayal at Krondor (one the great RPGs of all time).

Regarding the reviews, a few of the more experienced reviewers were definitely more grounded in their praise; RPG vets at PCG USA and PCG UK gave it 92% and 94% respectively -- which I think are fair scores. While both the PCG publications were enamored with the title, they never went over the top.

But many critics and fans did claim that a lot of features in Dragon Age were innovative, when these features were simply revived from the great CRPGs of the past. I think there is a reason why so many people found the game so revolutionary, and I think the major reason is that for many, Dragon Age is a first time experience.

The reasons for this are many. Let's face it, the vast majority of critics and gamers are kids in their teens or their early 20s, and thus have never gotten to enjoy something like Icewind Dale -- at best they've played games like KOTOR and Mass Effect, and not even Neverwinter Nights. Then the marketing for this game drew a lot of people who wouldn't have been caught dead with a fantasy RPG. And of course, with the removal of the D&D system, many gamers were suddenly less intimidated. And let's face it, Dragon Age is quite accessible and polished for an RPG of its type, even on the PC, which again attracts a lot of the uninitiated.

One other thing I wanted to mention...

When Bioware started its new community site for Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age, it had about 50,000 members. Since the release of Dragon Age, it has about 6 million.

No, I am not saying that the surge is entirely due to Dragon Age, but it is still an amazing figure to consider.

[MysterD]

Buddy, I was sorta kidding.

Sorta?
Either you are or you ain't!

One last thing I wanted to touch on.

I think Que mentioned earlier that while he did enjoy Dragon Age, he didn't feel that it deserved the praise of being revolutionary.

While I do think Dragon Age is awesome, I do think it is more evolutionary than innovative. On the PC, it is like a more accessible version of a game like Baldur's Gate. It is sorta like a mixture of all their RPGs. Aside from old Bioware titles, it also owes much to RPG classics like Wizardry and Betrayal at Krondor (one the great RPGs of all time).

Regarding the reviews, a few of the more experienced reviewers were definitely more grounded in their praise; RPG vets at PCG USA and PCG UK gave it 92% and 94% respectively -- which I think are fair scores. While both the PCG publications were enamored with the title, they never went over the top.

But many critics and fans did claim that a lot of features in Dragon Age were innovative, when these features were simply revived from the great CRPGs of the past. I think there is a reason why so many people found the game so revolutionary, and I think the major reason is that for many, Dragon Age is a first time experience.

Maybe for console gamers its revolutionary, yes - I don't think they have anything like PST, DAO, NWN 1, NWN2, BG1, BG2, IWD1, IWD2 on their consoles.

The reasons for this are many. Let's face it, the vast majority of critics and gamers are kids in their teens or their early 20s, and thus have never gotten to enjoy something like Icewind Dale -- at best they've played games like KOTOR and Mass Effect, and not even Neverwinter Nights. Then the marketing for this game drew a lot of people who wouldn't have been caught dead with a fantasy RPG. And of course, with the removal of the D&D system, many gamers were suddenly less intimidated. And let's face it, Dragon Age is quite accessible and polished for an RPG of its type, even on the PC, which again attracts a lot of the uninitiated.

Right - they didn't play NWN b/c likely these gamers were console gamers. So, they never experienced anything like DAO before - they never played PC only RPG's tlike PST, DAO, NWN series, Bioware's BG series, IWD series, etc.

Also, I never thought the D&D systems used in games were too hard to grasp, myself. Also, I think they've gotten easier to understand in the later editions, as well - especially since CRPG's used the AD&D 3rd Edition - when they changed the armor system completely and reversed it.

EDIT:
Also, I don't know if console gamers have really had a very adult-RPG like say DAO. We had that already on the PC - it's called The Witcher.

EDIT 2:
LOL @ Yahtzee's DAO X360 review.

[Quemaqua]

Haha, that was one of his better reviews lately.  And I actually agree with almost all of what he said.  He, of course, focuses more on the negative than the positive because that's what makes his reviews funny, but essentially it boils down to my thoughts on it: the game isn't really innovative, some stuff doesn't hang together well (for all the neat stuff your party members say, nobody ever reacts to it, they just toss their varied responses in to an otherwise static conversation), and it's not particularly original nor particularly dark (The Witcher is dark fantasy, Dragon Age is just fantasy with armor that gets some blood on it).  But it's still a compelling game and is mechanically one of Bioware's best, and it doesn't hurt that it's got a fair bit of personality to boot.  All in all, it makes you want to keep playing, and that's the hallmark of a good game.

But in my book, this doesn't cut above the mid 80s.  A solid game, and there's definitely some big potential for sequels to make things even better, but not a classic.  Despite the fact that I like the mechanics better than Baldur's Gate, everything feels more generic and less interesting than the D&D setting.  I'm not even that into the D&D setting, but there's something more convincing about it than the DA stuff.  It isn't bad, and they did put thought into it, but until the series goes on long enough to establish some sort of legacy, it still just feels like some disjointed funny words thrown into an encyclopedia of funny words.  And that's overstating it a bit, really, as it isn't bad at all, but it's just a pretender to the throne as far as history and lore go.  In part it's because it's only had a single game in which to stretch its legs, but it really suffers from knockoff syndrome.  A lot of the stuff they tried to do might have seemed interesting or edgy once, but it's all kind of been done, in some cases better.  The social plight of the elves, for instance, was far better done in The Witcher, and for all their talk of religion, the deities of the Elder Scrolls universe are far more memorable and are much better integrated into the context of that world.  Here, they feel like window dressing.

Not trying to be down on the game, though, so I hope nobody thinks so.  The game deserves high marks for polish and depth of content alone.  It's a sincere effort by a talented developer, and I do think it deserves to be recognized as such, and certainly should be played by anyone who really wants to see what a high-profile CRPG would look like in the modern era.  Because... well, this is what it looks like!

Though I worry sincerely if you could accurately compare the console versions to Dark Alliance.  That game was fine for what it was, but even with Julia and I both playing it together, we got bored and quit basically at the final boss.  It was like... yeah, we could kill it and beat the game, or we could just stop and go do something... I don't know... fun.

[K-man]

Just got home with the PS3 version.  Grabbed it at Best Buy for 35 bucks.  I toyed with getting the PC version, but ultimately decided that a new video card coupled with a better monitor was far too great of a price of admission for this game.  Maybe down the road.

Plus, I'm becoming less and less inclined to want to sit at my computer for hours on end playing a game.  I'd much rather be doing it in my recliner.

[Xessive]

$35?! That's a sweet deal! I hope you enjoy it man

[MysterD]

$35?! That's a sweet deal! I hope you enjoy it man

I need someone to match that Fry's $29.99 deal for the PC version, dammit - no Fry's near here and it's a B&M deal only.
Again, I'm lookin' here at Amazon and Newegg to step up to the damn plate...SOON - since they been often stepping up to the plate w/ matching other deals.
NOW!

[iPPi]

Nice.  I picked up the PS3 version for $40 today (Canadian Dollars), along with Prince of Persia for $14.99.  Now I just have to have some time to play it.

[MysterD]

Nice.  I picked up the PS3 version for $40 today (Canadian Dollars), along with Prince of Persia for $14.99.  Now I just have to have some time to play it.

POP 2008 is really good. Good pick.

Can't wait to hear some of your thoughts on DAO PS3.

[K-man]

Well, I rolled a Dwarf Rogue named Stumpy. 

[iPPi]

I think a lot of people are rolling rogues and warriors.  Anybody roll a mage have any impressions on general difficulty?  I recall in Baldur's Gate II, and D&D games in general, rolling a caster was very punishing and challenging.  While DAO isn't D&D, is it more difficult to play than a warrior or a rogue?  I ask because I like playing casters (my main in WoW was a mage).

[Quemaqua]

I'm playing a mage.  No trouble thus far.  I think I posted about my tactics earlier in the thread to give you an idea about my build.  I'd say check my Bioware page, but it doesn't seem to have updated my info in forever.

[Pugnate]

Initially the mage can be a bit more difficult than other classes due to the lack of melee skills... but it doesn't take long for the mage to hold his own. The mages in the game are easily the most powerful classes. At higher levels, the mages are crucial to the game.

BTW, you guys should add us on the Bioware network thing.

My user name is obviously Pugnate. You will find everyone else in my contact list... though D hasn't added me yet.

edit:

iPPi, should mention that you will find at least two very powerful mages in the game. One very early, and she is one the more richly constructed characters in the game, so if you roll a warrior or a rogue, you can still enjoy using a mage.

But a mage is about as hard to use in this as Diablo or WoW, so don't worry about that too much.

[Quemaqua]

I am, unsurprisingly, Quemaqua.

[Pugnate]

One other little criticism of the game. My brother decided he wanted to play, and created a black human character... turned out his parents were still white hehe.