Dragon Age Dragon Age: Origins is ten years old today

[Nano]

Also, an RPG that lets you cuckold someone is very based and would never happen in an American game these days. Not sure why you're complaining about this.

 

[Marat]

Also, an RPG that lets you cuckold someone is very based and would never happen in an American game these days. Not sure why you're complaining about this.

Because I resolved this quest by walking up to a lady and saying "(Coercion) Go and love him".

 

[Nano]

Because I resolved this quest by walking up to a lady and saying "(Coercion) Go and love him".

You sound like a bigger wimp than him.

 

[Marat]

(Coercion) Respect me!

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Side quests are based, main quests are gay.

 

[Justicar]

Ulgy trash the graphics are some of the worst example of late 2000s fascination with brown color. The art style is really bad too with retarted armor design, plot is another save the world trash fire how many times have I done this shit in rpgs already? Npcs just stand in one place whole day like in some shitty mmo and dont even have any flavour animation which Gothic 1 had in 2001. Just compare the graphics and art design.

Faggot age: 2009

Glitcher 2: 2010

The difference in quality is obvious.

 

[Technomancer]

It was a very clever bit of worldbuilding and a stark contrast to D&D-style "gods exist, accept it or fuck off, ya filthy heathen". Similarly, Chantry sells fuzzy-wuzzies stories about how darkspawn came to be through hubris of Tevinter mages and that story is in conflict with explanations offered by a foreign branch of the same religion (where Tevinter branch distances itself from guilt) or a more rationally-minded Dwarven version.

I could really get into this setting

Later games are much worse but I still liked the lore. Things you guess right now are reinforced when you meet people and creatures who were directly involved in

Spoiler

dark spawn creation.

So there is even more doubt over chantry version of events.

This was the most enjoyable thing in later series. To see how ancient beliefs (DA 1 lore, dalish stories, tevinter ascension) were warped by time.

 

[Riel]

Yes, Dragon Age's lore is pretty decent, not just the chantry but I find the mage's setting around power with temptation interesting. A shame Bioware goes to immediately rape all immersion by allowing you to be a Blood Mage without any of its dangers. Probably the most cringe worthy moment of the series is in Dragon Age II, when you start openly showering Kirkwall's streets with meteor showers without anyone noticing you are a bloody maleficar and having no excuse at all to be ignored. At least they did provide an excuse in DA Origins for MC to be a mage outside the circle.

 

[Cael]

Yes, Dragon Age's lore is pretty decent, not just the chantry but I find the mage's setting around power with temptation interesting. A shame Bioware goes to immediately rape all immersion by allowing you to be a Blood Mage without any of its dangers. Probably the most cringe worthy moment of the series is in Dragon Age II, when you start openly showering Kirkwall's streets with meteor showers without anyone noticing you are a bloody maleficar and having no excuse at all to be ignored. At least they did provide an excuse in DA Origins for MC to be a mage outside the circle.

Mages were there to basically showcase the hypocrisy of the Chantry. And blood magic was the tip of that particular point. That the Chantry continued to unravel after DAO, especially all the shit that went down in DA2, is a pretty logical progression.

 

[Jarpie]

Ulgy trash the graphics are some of the worst example of late 2000s fascination with brown color. The art style is really bad too with retarted armor design, plot is another save the world trash fire how many times have I done this shit in rpgs already? Npcs just stand in one place whole day like in some shitty mmo and dont even have any flavour animation which Gothic 1 had in 2001. Just compare the graphics and art design.

Faggot age: 2009

Glitcher 2: 2010

The difference in quality is obvious.

Even comparing Derp Age 1 with Twitcher 1 makes DAO look like shit, Twitcher has lot better art direction and design than DAO had, and still looks pretty good for its age.

 

[Lacrymas]

Twitcher 1 is unplayable and the series only gets worse from there. DA:O >>>>> Twitcher

 

[Sykar]

Twitcher 1 is unplayable and the series only gets worse from there. DA:O >>>>> Twitcher

What the hell are you talking about? Gameplay was the absolute weakest part of Witcher 1 and in the series, clicking in the right rythm that never changes per sword/style, ugh. While the changes in Witcher 2 and 3 are not great they were still a clear step up from the rythm game of the first game. What the first game does right is giving you the option of molding the amnesiac Geralt into the character you like him to be with 3 potential paths and they did that overall well with clear choices that have at least somewhat lasting effect. It also had a really nice detective quest that could easily fail if you did not pay attention. Atmosphere was great and at higher difficulties you needed proper preparations with oils and potions so that was done right as well. Upgrades to weaponry and armor was sparse but also made significant impact.
Meanwhile DAO is a shitshow both in terms of systems and gameplay. The gameplay is bog standard RTwP without having anything special no worse they added CDs into the mix as well for almost every god damn spell. Hell the camera is such garbage that proper ranged combat and initiation is at times impossible to pull off and all fight degenerate into a melee fest. When it comes to encounter design it is easily one of the worst cRPGS I have ever played and it is a big reason why I could never finish it. Deep Roads is pretty much universally hated and for good reason.
Its systems were even worse. They made a big effort of making character interactions and bonding through special companion dialgues but they completely undercut it by you being able to nullify ANY negatives by just giving enough gifts so you end up with the highest affection levels anyway. Itemization is a complete joke and a massive downgrade from its predecessors like Baldurs Gate series. Now all we get are some paltry 1-5% upgrades with nothing special to it.
Then there is the story and holy shit does it blow. It is yet another chosen one savior of the kingdom where you hunt after a McGfuffin in 4 locations just like in the KotoR game before, a shtik Bioderp never grew out of and continued in Mass Effect series. The Archdemon has to be one of the least imaginative and boring villains in a story which is head scratching when we had the likes of Sarevok and Irenicus before which while not the epitome of good villain writing are at least solid and decent enough that you can get invested in them.
And of course the travesty of Blood Magic school, when the show is all about how horrifying blood magic is and yet not a single one of your companions including Wynne cares if you are a blood mage which is utterly ridiculous and it also has no bearing on NPC reactions, you could cast as much bood magic as you want in frong of a group of Chantry soldiers and they would not bat an eye.
DA:O 2 is far WORSE than the the previous shitshow and I have to this day no idea how ANYONE can enjoy that garbage, period, it has very few redeeming qualities. DA:I I never bothered to look at because that that point I had given up on Bioderp Especially considering how shallow and crappy ME 2 was which for someone like me who was able to at least finish ME 1 despite its flaws and shortcomings was hoping they would improve at least that series but nope they shit the bed there too.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

DAO combat >>>>>>>> Witcher, not even close.
Witcher has better individual quests and areas to explore tho.

 

[Lacrymas]

I really can't stomach Witcher's god-awful and mind-numbingly boring combat, which was at its peak in 1 and got even worse from there. I also can't stand Geralt, the people around him, and the setting in general. I tried to play 1 recently, got to Vizima, did a few quests there and I wanted to go do chores or something.

 

[just]

well well it's 12 years old today
time to do nothing

 

[Sykar]

I really can't stomach Witcher's god-awful and mind-numbingly boring combat, which was at its peak in 1 and got even worse from there. I also can't stand Geralt, the people around him, and the setting in general. I tried to play 1 recently, got to Vizima, did a few quests there and I wanted to go do chores or something.

There are plenty of things I cannot stand, like certain types of music like Opera. That does not mean that opera singers are crap singers. Literally a nothingburger of an argument. And no the combat was at its worst in 1 it was no challenge whatsoever and only predicated on difficulty and level of preparation. Well occasionally right sign usage.

I stopped the first time in DAO in Deep Roads literally and I was already pretty drained from the shitty encounter design and god awful CD/RTWP combat from before. Never mind the terribly graphics and tiny town maps.
I tried it twice more and could not get past the prologue.

 

[Marat]

Deep Roads is pretty much universally hated and for good reason.

Actually, it's the only place where I didn't feel narrative disconnect with the gameplay. Delving ever deeper into ruins of once mighty dwarven empire, slaughtering darkspawn like Wardens of old. But I wholeheartedly agree that encounter design is awful and so are combat systems.

Then there is the story and holy shit does it blow.

Yeah, it's the setting that is the main star of the game. Shame the series went where it did, because I wouldn't mind exploring it more.

And of course the travesty of Blood Magic school, when the show is all about how horrifying blood magic is and yet not a single one of your companions including Wynne cares if you are a blood mage which is utterly ridiculous and it also has no bearing on NPC reactions, you could cast as much bood magic as you want in frong of a group of Chantry soldiers and they would not bat an eye.

There were supposed to be reactions and story interactivity, but that was cut before release. There is a scene on u2b where Wynne tells Templars she thinks you're a bloodmage.

 

[onemananadhisdroid]

Friggin' cutscene simulators.

Dragon Age: Origins ★ THE MOVIE / FULL STORY 【Main Quest + Awakening + Witch Hunt / Voiced Warden】 - YouTube

The Witcher 2 - The Movie (Marathon Edition) - All Cutscenes/Story With Gameplay HD 1080p 60FPS - YouTube

The Witcher 3 All Cutscenes - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Full Movie - YouTube

 

[jackofshadows]

Well occasionally right sign usage.

You could actually develop signs to the point that igni would clear all trash mobs in a blink of an eye and even beyond trash could clear any boss with extensive potions use. It was silly af but kinda cool as an alternative.

There are plenty of things I cannot stand, like certain types of music like Opera. That does not mean that opera singers are crap singers. Literally a nothingburger of an argument.

Why do you judge DA:O so harshly based on the fact you've never finished it then? Yeah, it's ugly and has some flaws like you mentioned but at the same time it has one of the most strong C&C in cRPG history. Sure, the overall story squeezed to a few words is meh but so what? Its take on dark fantasy was more than fine especially considering it wasn't overused yet at the time. The state of elves, the dwarves with their caste system, mage users, overall decadence...

Mechanical wise it has tons of problems but it has plenty of systems and tools to play with unlike The Witcher. The combos (magical, mostly), the stealth, the positioning/glyphs/traps. Overall challenge bar was pretty damn high initially, again unlike The Witcher's clickfest. Not to mention seeing complains about trash mobs from ex-WoW enthusiast is odd The game has some nice encounters to compensate, like the Zev's ambush for example.

 

[Falksi]

Dragon Age: Origins and Witcher 1 & 2 are probably three of my favourite RPG's of the past 15 years tbh. Bags of flaws with all of them, but they did enough right to be enjoyable at least. The C&C included was worth playing them for alone.

 

[Sykar]

Well occasionally right sign usage.

You could actually develop signs to the point that igni would clear all trash mobs in a blink of an eye and even beyond trash could clear any boss with extensive potions use. It was silly af but kinda cool as an alternative.

There are plenty of things I cannot stand, like certain types of music like Opera. That does not mean that opera singers are crap singers. Literally a nothingburger of an argument.

Why do you judge DA:O so harshly based on the fact you've never finished it then? Yeah, it's ugly and has some flaws like you mentioned but at the same time it has one of the most strong C&C in cRPG history. Sure, the overall story squeezed to a few words is meh but so what? Its take on dark fantasy was more than fine especially considering it wasn't overused yet at the time. The state of elves, the dwarves with their caste system, mage users, overall decadence...

Mechanical wise it has tons of problems but it has plenty of systems and tools to play with unlike The Witcher. The combos (magical, mostly), the stealth, the positioning/glyphs/traps. Overall challenge bar was pretty damn high initially, again unlike The Witcher's clickfest. Not to mention seeing complains about trash mobs from ex-WoW enthusiast is odd The game has some nice encounters to compensate, like the Zev's ambush for example.

Derp Roads was the fourth major location I visisted so I was pretty far advanced into the game. But even IF I had never played the game at all there are YT lets play series showing you the gameplay in detail, on top of character building and party building guides everywhere. Any cRPG veteran who has played more than a handful of games can get a good idea about how utterly unipsired, unoriginal, boring ,trite and mediocre the game is on top of a bland story, questionable writing, shitty romances, bland itemization, tiny cities, etc and to top it all off the one minor innovation a companion affection systems that undercut itself without even trying hard and becoming meaningless in the end.
The main challenge was not to fall asleep while wading through more trash encounters than any other cRPG I have ever played except maybe FF type random encounter fest. Or cringe to death during the... romances. There were less than a handful of highlights like Sten or some magic spells being combinable into new effects though as usual it was half arsed so only 3-4 were really used consitently by the majority of players.
Uh yeah I am VERY aware of WoWs weaknesses and always thought it was bonkers that it got well over 90% ratings all over the corrupted gaming journalism that was already turning into a bad joke in the mid 2000s. I would have given it at most between 80-85% being a long time Warcraft 2 and Warcraft 3 fan though objectively speaking it was closer to 75-80%

Deep Roads is pretty much universally hated and for good reason.

Actually, it's the only place where I didn't feel narrative disconnect with the gameplay. Delving ever deeper into ruins of once mighty dwarven empire, slaughtering darkspawn like Wardens of old. But I wholeheartedly agree that encounter design is awful and so are combat systems.

Then there is the story and holy shit does it blow.

Yeah, it's the setting that is the main star of the game. Shame the series went where it did, because I wouldn't mind exploring it more.

And of course the travesty of Blood Magic school, when the show is all about how horrifying blood magic is and yet not a single one of your companions including Wynne cares if you are a blood mage which is utterly ridiculous and it also has no bearing on NPC reactions, you could cast as much bood magic as you want in frong of a group of Chantry soldiers and they would not bat an eye.

There were supposed to be reactions and story interactivity, but that was cut before release. There is a scene on u2b where Wynne tells Templars she thinks you're a bloodmage.

Good for you, most players myself included hated the endless amount of trash combat there. As to story vs setting, both need to have a compelling level of quality or the other becomes meaningless. I cannot think of a single game where one was trash and the other good and the game still being enjoyable. Of course this just shows why I "hate" DA:O same as I "hate" ME 2 and 3, all the wasted potential if only Bioderp could get over itself and properly implement shit instead of half assing almost everything and maybe not get itself too enamored with juvenile romance garbage. That and cutting everything that was critizised, see the massive decline from ME 1 to ME 2.

 

[AdamReith]

I tried to play DA:O not so long ago but the cliche's are extremely abrasive.

There isn't a line of dialogue, a character or anything even slightly interest worthy. I desperately combed the weird encyclopedia thing and random characters for some life.

I don't necessarily mind the romance stuff but it was clearly used here as an alternative to giving to the characters any personality.

When I got to the quirky wild man in the werewolf forest at first I thought it was good but I realise now it was merely a cup of water in a desert.

Graphics and voice acting are good and if it was the first RPG you played I could see it being extremely enjoyable but you can tell that bio-rot was already in force with the writing team.

Shame because it is well done in so many ways, it's like a high budget fantasy series that takes zero chances and one hundred percent relies on the novelty of the setting to entertain. All it needed was a few characters with interesting flaws and removal of the rod up its butt and it might have been a good ride.

 

[KateMicucci]

I liked DAO fine when it came out but after 12 years of rapidly progressing pozz, it's hard to look past all the early pozz symptoms in Bioware games. Even Baldur's Gate 2 shows signs of what's to come.

Main gripes were bad artstyle, armor and weapons that looked like LARP props, half of the skills in the game being trash or broken, and Zevran.

 

[Sunri]

I really can't stomach Witcher's god-awful and mind-numbingly boring combat, which was at its peak in 1 and got even worse from there. I also can't stand Geralt, the people around him, and the setting in general. I tried to play 1 recently, got to Vizima, did a few quests there and I wanted to go do chores or something.

Would you like game more if witchers were eunuchs?

 

[ScrotumBroth]

Enchantment?