Dragon Age impressions

[Monocause]

Seeing as how the more level-headed codexers name it decent, I'm quite positive that it'll be enjoyable. 2 gigs more and the DL is over, I should have it by the time I'm back from the uni.

To all the shit-spewers out there - it's not that the Codex's standards have dropped. It's just that the Codex isn't as jaded as it used to be, and that's good. The place is quite boring when all you have is a bunch of guys who vomit on games like they're Hitler running in circles wearing blue jeans while on steroids, meth and a bucket of home-made opiates.

 

[Black]

It's cute that you believe the "level-headed" codexers and still are downloading it, not buying.

 

[kris]

It's cute that you believe the "level-headed" codexers and still are downloading it, not buying.

Its not out yet.

I will in most likelyhood buy it.

 

[Lonewolf]

Man never read so much children whining in my life

Think my eyes are bleeding from the contrite shite spouted in this thread

 

[Monocause]

It's cute that you believe the "level-headed" codexers and still are downloading it, not buying.

I always download before I upload, whether it's about cash or seeding.

 

[relootz]

It's pretty much the best rpg in years. Saying that however it doesn't stand up to games like Torment, BG2 and Fallout. Doesn't mean it isn't fun to play though. I'll buy it once there is a game of the year edition with all the DLC included.

How does it do in comparison to

1. Risen

2. The Witcher

 

[Arcanoix]

It's pretty much the best rpg in years. Saying that however it doesn't stand up to games like Torment, BG2 and Fallout. Doesn't mean it isn't fun to play though. I'll buy it once there is a game of the year edition with all the DLC included.

I can confirm that you get the DLC with the standard PC edition, as EA/BioWare promised for us PC gamers. It's strange, 8 hours of playing and I'm feeling strangely enthusiastic about this game.... The writing is goofy, the subtitles sometimes don't match the voice overs, but overall - I'm entertained.

 

[Arcanoix]

IGN UK Review of PC version: 9.2

http://pc.ign.com/articles/104/1040976p1.html

To Dragon Age's credit, they remain titanic throughout. When a common problem with RPG progression is the heroes becoming richer than God and twice as powerful, it's a breath of fresh air to see a game that remains steadfastly demanding right the way through the entire campaign. There never comes a point where you can rest easy and casually run into battle without a care - every single fight in this game can kill you if you're not paying attention, no matter your level. But there is still a strong sense of progression.

:D

Origins remains tough because the challenge ups its ante as the campaign unfolds. Enemies level up alongside you, which can be a little absurd if one dwells on it – a mere Captain of the Guard towards the end turns out to be several magnitudes of order more powerful than the first giant Ogre fought at the beginning, but the trick is that the scale of the battles increase alongside you as well. What starts off as taking down uncoordinated roving bands of blaggards ends up with facing off against entire armies of beastly brethren. And all shall fall at your sword.

The reviewer played it on Easy.

 

[Stauff]

I wonder whether DA is mostly the sandbox for playing the toolset created modules i.e. NWN.. Still I don't quite yet grasp the hivemind as of now - Risen is pretty solid game with flaws yet the discussion on Risen on Codex was how to say mediocre at best.. Here with DA we instantly have posts waterfall..

P.S. As a side-note do we have VD'd Risen review somewhere or he now resorts to hyped games only?

 

[Arcanoix]

What kind of details do you want?

Anything is better than:

My Dragon Age Impressions:

Graphics: SHIT!
Gameplay: SHIT!
Writing: SHIT!

I only played to about the part where that 20 minute video play, posted a while back, began.

In other words, you haven't seen enough and aren't in any position to judge the game yet, but you wanted to make "I HATE!!!" thread to be like everyone else. I understand.

As opposed to

Graphics: GOTY!
Gameplay: GOTY!
Writing: GOTY!

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant.

I think that review told me plenty about a POS that I'm convinced I'll hate anyway.

*rolls eyes

VD, if I may, the game isn't as bad as you think. I'd say it's like a party-based Witcher with a hint of NWN2 graphics. Hell my characters face is an exact replica of a face from NWN2. License-wise BioWare probably reserved such rights to re-use things from both TW and NWN2 as both of those games use updated versions of the Aurora engine, just like DA:O. It would've been better for BioWare to release a demo of the first few levels, but I'm certain EA barred them from doing so.

 

[Trash]

It's pretty much the best rpg in years. Saying that however it doesn't stand up to games like Torment, BG2 and Fallout. Doesn't mean it isn't fun to play though. I'll buy it once there is a game of the year edition with all the DLC included.

How does it do in comparison to

1. Risen

2. The Witcher

Very different games. Risen got boring after a great start. The Witcher gives DA quite a good run for its money though.

 

[Arcanoix]

I wonder whether DA is mostly the sandbox for playing the toolset created modules i.e. NWN.. Still I don't quite yet grasp the hivemind as of now - Risen is pretty solid game with flaws yet the discussion on Risen on Codex was how to say mediocre at best.. Here with DA we instantly have posts waterfall..

P.S. As a side-note do we have VD'd Risen review somewhere or he now resorts to hyped games only?

DA has been in development since before HoTU was released for NWN1. Though I doubt it was being penned by Gaider during those times. And given that there has never been such a following for community-created content since NWN1, I'd say BioWare has a reputation to live up to in terms of module-builder supported. I'll also wager that their probably hoping to win back some of their previous credibility they lost when NWN1 proved to be shit in comparison to the Baldur's Gate series.

 

[Stauff]

Just discovered this -

- oh yeah.. so mainstream.. just another step to complete 'oblivion'.

 

[circ]

Too much positivity FFFFFFFUUUUUUUU.

Anyway, from what I've seen and read so far -- Graphically it looks like shit. On par with NWN 2, except textures seem better, and char face gen is certainly more varied, although everyone looks like a mannequin. Still, horrendous looking armor and clothing. Colors clash horribly. Everyone wields their oversized JRPG swords on their backs, not the hip like in say Morrowind.

No one has mentioned music, but voices seem as bad as the previews promised and dialogue is tripe.

Combat is challenging because -- 1. mobs swarm you. 2. they hit hard. There's no mention of a dynamic AI that shifts tactics depending on the situation. This can be countered by spamming a hotkey to quaff potions and/or running off to another room to regen. There doesn't seem to be any banter regarding your near death experience; 'Shit dawg, that was close, close the door fuckhead.' 'Rest up bitches.'

There's no mention of how thiefy a rogue is. Have there been any traps or chests so far like in say NWN 1. Can you even pick pockets? What's the loot like?

So far it seems like a mediocre hack and slasher on par with Dungeon Siege, which atleast had good looking armor and colors. Combat tactics seem the same as any other hack and slasher.

 

[Heresiarch]

How much sex are there in the game? Any rape? Orc sex? Goblin sex? Tentacle monsters?

 

[Grunker]

Too much positivity FFFFFFFUUUUUUUU.

Anyway, from what I've seen and read so far -- Graphically it looks like shit. On par with NWN 2, except textures seem better, and char face gen is certainly more varied, although everyone looks like a mannequin. Still, horrendous looking armor and clothing. Colors clash horribly. Everyone wields their oversized JRPG swords on their backs, not the hip like in say Morrowind.

No one has mentioned music, but voices seem as bad as the previews promised and dialogue is tripe.

Combat is challenging because -- 1. mobs swarm you. 2. they hit hard. There's no mention of a dynamic AI that shifts tactics depending on the situation. This can be countered by spamming a hotkey to quaff potions and/or running off to another room to regen. There doesn't seem to be any banter regarding your near death experience; 'Shit dawg, that was close, close the door fuckhead.' 'Rest up bitches.'

There's no mention of how thiefy a rogue is. Have there been any traps or chests so far like in say NWN 1. Can you even pick pockets? What's the loot like?

So far it seems like a mediocre hack and slasher on par with Dungeon Siege, which atleast had good looking armor and colors. Combat tactics seem the same as any other hack and slasher.

We're comparing it to Dungeon Siege now? ^^

Really, guys. This place is great, but you have to do better than that.

 

[Dionysus]

How does it do in comparison to

1. Risen

2. The Witcher

I only played the Risen demo, so I can't really comment on that, but it's better than the Witcher so far. There's a lot more character customization. The railroading is similar (much more than I'd like). The character sheet seems to actually matter for something other than determining the best way to murder the bad guys. And the tactical combat is more entertaining than the Witcher's simple rhythm-based action combat.

 

[Stauff]

As an interesting touch it may be worthwhile to compare it to DrakenSang game. Although Codex verdict on DS was very predictable - zero C&C, almost zero story, etc - the game itself, graphics, battles and character building were pretty good. So may be someone who played DS and DA can compare them.. For now it looks like DS never hyped anything yet delivered better than DA

 

[circ]

We're comparing it to Dungeon Siege now? ^^

Really, guys. This place is great, but you have to do better than that.

Sure why not. Dialogue seems about as important as DS -- click any key for next line of text. No mention of poison or that it would affect stats. Regen of mana and health. Atleast in DS people stay dead until you recite a scroll or cast resurrect. Potion bopping.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

I was just wondering why the seasoned hardcore players of the codex wouldn't just crank it directly to the hardest setting

And you got your answer - there is no point in playing at harder difficulty because all it does is nerfing your party while adding cheats to enemy party isntead of making the AI better so all "STRATEGERY" ends up in casting healing spell 1 additional time.

Uninformed bullshit presented as fact. As per the Skyway course. Apart from making them stronger hard makes enemies more agressive and makes them use their abilities better. In normal you have a fight in hard the enemy goes straight for the jugular by assaulting your archers and spellcasters. It makes combat pretty interesting. Go play the damn game.

Agreed.

When I first started lurking here, I used to think skyway was cool and actually knew what he was talking about. Then I realised he bags every single fucking game (bar JA, Fallout, Arcarnum and OFP), without the slightest fucking clue - He just goes off screenshots or what some other fucktards here have posted.

This post regading how the difficulty settings work is a perfect example. I started the game on normal and played for a few hours and was finding it a little easy. So I restarted the game on hard and it's exactly as Trash described. You would know this skyway if you had (as Trash said) "played the game", instead you post inane utter crap as fact.

Also, regarding regenerating health and mana - which I agree is a bit retarded, however there definately is a penalty for going down in combat and it's pretty significant. You recieve injuries which affect stats and they accumulate. For instance, my rogue can't use his bow atm, because his Dex was lowered due to injury - which has altered my tactics significantly.

 

[Vault Dweller]

things i learned from this thread: VD is probably going to get paid for the review or something, so he went all politically correct.

I'm reviewing the game for the Codex. 'nuff said?

I wonder whether DA is mostly the sandbox for playing the toolset created modules i.e. NWN.. Still I don't quite yet grasp the hivemind as of now - Risen is pretty solid game with flaws yet the discussion on Risen on Codex was how to say mediocre at best.. Here with DA we instantly have posts waterfall..

P.S. As a side-note do we have VD'd Risen review somewhere or he now resorts to hyped games only?

I was asked to review DA. As for Risen it's a pretty good game. Everything until you officially join a faction is superb and deserves the highest praise. Then the game turns into action RPG on rails, which is disappointing but as predictable as meaningless, flavor-only dialogue options in Bioware games, because that's the PB formula. Still, overall it's a very enjoyable game. I posted my impressions on the Codex, btw.

What kind of details do you want?

Anything is better than:

My Dragon Age Impressions:

Graphics: SHIT!
Gameplay: SHIT!
Writing: SHIT!

I only played to about the part where that 20 minute video play, posted a while back, began.

In other words, you haven't seen enough and aren't in any position to judge the game yet, but you wanted to make "I HATE!!!" thread to be like everyone else. I understand.

As opposed to

Graphics: GOTY!
Gameplay: GOTY!
Writing: GOTY!

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant.

I think that review told me plenty about a POS that I'm convinced I'll hate anyway.

*rolls eyes

VD, if I may, the game isn't as bad as you think.

I didn't say anything about the game. The highlighted quote above wasn't mine. All I know about the game is that:

- the setting isn't original, which is a shame
- it's been a long time in development, which is good
- Dave Gaider posted a lot of interesting things about the game, which raised my interest significantly
- the marketing campaign was idiotic, but it has little to do with the actual game
- a lot of evidence suggests that the combat is actually challenging and tactics will be required
- it's a Bioware game, so flavor-only dialogue options are expected and bitching about them is silly. It's whether or not the game has only flavor options that counts.
- I didn't read every preview/interview, but what I did read didn't contain any obvious "bad design" clues, which is a good sign.
- not crazy about auto-regen, but it's a mandatory feature these days, much like RT combat. Is anyone bitching that DA is not turn-based?

 

[Stauff]

VD or anyone with knowledge - can you confirm that game uses auto-leveling heavily?

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Trash, what game would you say the combat is most like? And honestly, is it at all challenging?

Also, tell me more about the level scaling and its effect.

And how is it for specs? Resource hungry?

 

[AlaCarcuss]

We're comparing it to Dungeon Siege now? ^^

Really, guys. This place is great, but you have to do better than that.

Sure why not. Dialogue seems about as important as DS -- click any key for next line of text. No mention of poison or that it would affect stats. Regen of mana and health. Atleast in DS people stay dead until you recite a scroll or cast resurrect. Potion bopping.

For fucks sake dude - your asking all these questions about the game in one breath, then in the next making critisisms of it, again as statements of fact - join your mate skyway and "play the fucking game"!

I mentioned the penalties for falling in combat above and yes you can poison weapons if you (or one of your party memebers) have the poisoning skill.

There's also definatley C&C in some of the dialog trees. I've already missed out on one quest and also an important (i think) character now refuses to talk to me because I chose all the "smartass" responses.

What still amazes me is that every single line of dialog in the entire game is fully voiced! I'm not sure that's ever been done before - not in a game of this length anyway?

 

[Grunker]

VD or anyone with knowledge - can you confirm that game uses auto-leveling heavily?

If you mean leveling up your own NPCs, you can. Auto-level is toggled.

If you mean level-scaling, DA uses sort of a hybrid. The monsters have a minimum and a maximum level range (for example, a random goblin might range from level 1 to 3). Monsters will never break this range, but when you meet them, their level within this range is determined by your level.

So there is level-scaling, sadly. It's just not as retarded as Oblivion's.