Review Vault Dweller reviews Dragon Age

[Big Nose George]

Generic review is good for what it is. Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. 1.50 at a kiosk.

The combat system comes with auto-healing, auto-mana refill, auto-revival, and limited level scaling. Overall, they work well because of all the combat filler. With less combat, they would have been more noticeable and jarring, but considering how much stuff you have to kill, you'll be grateful that you don't need to heal/revive your party members every 5 min.

Well, if this is not apologetic faggot shit than I dont know what is. Working well is defined different in my book. But hey, increasing the AoD target audience one at a time. Carry on!
I havent played the game.

 

[Dny]

Of course all the RPG, even the best ones, have their own, personal flaws but the flaws of DA far outweight its qualities. Yes DA has good (not great) quest design but the filler combat and tediousness of the game, the extremely crappy character system with one single dump stats makes it a one trick pony, something you might never go through again. DA is barely playable once since the filler gets so boring, I will never get to see how great the mythical quest design you spend so much time praising is. DA is as boring as it gets and not a fun gaming experience, it has its moments but nothing that could keep me interested for long enough before I throw in the towel.

I can still replay Fallout, Arcanum and other oldies to this day and have fun but I will NEVER go through DA again. Doing it once is enough for a lifetime. The character system is so boring and predictable, like a MMO it has only one way to do it and you stick to it. Replaying DA is like replaying a linear platformer.

To me this game felt like the biggest waste of money ever. At least half of the game is boring filler and I will never replay it, didn't get much actual entertainment for the money.
DA is the kind of game that is only worth buying in the bargain bin.

 

[Hobbit Lord of Mordor]

Agree with vd da is improved over previous be games for rp and rt combat design is good tho lacks balance. Quest / story is Meh.

 

[dr. one]

great and really well reasoned review, agree with the conclusion 100%

well, maybe except the "best Bioware game ever" part which i find a bit disputable - i think DA´s on par with BG2 - each game has just about the same share of aspects the other one lacks in

 

[Brother None]

Good review. Odd choice of screenshots.

Fortunately, Bioware doesn't fall into the trap of forcing you to fall for the lie.

Hah. Not here, no, but everywhere else? Yip. Dragon Age is littered with "obvious trap" situations you can't avoid. Zevran's "ambush" is the laziest of all.

I know you're writing up to prove a point on solid C&C, but it doesn't actually make your point stronger when you glazy over the faults, including the still-unexplained Circle Mage solution to the Redcliffe quest.

but this time you can kill a lot more party members, which is a must-have feature in a Bioware game;

This is an odd statement.

 

[Lockkaliber]

but this time you can kill a lot more party members, which is a must-have feature in a Bioware game;

This is an odd statement.

I imagine it's a veiled attack on Biowares writing/characters.

 

[Brother None]

I suppose so, and why not? I'd say Dragon Age's followers are certainly stronger than BW's usual fare, even if Shale is just a barefaced and lame attempt to recreate the success of HK-47, and Morrigan is an annoying bitch (why do you lie, Morrigan is BioWare's best character ever)

But if you want to criticize BW's writing, criticize it. It reads oddly in the bullet points.

 

[Elzair]

Hey DarkUnderlord, when are you going to post mine?

 

[Lockkaliber]

I'd say Dragon Age's followers are certainly stronger than BW's usual fare

I don't really agree. Sure they have a lot more exposition and are to some extent more fleshed out, but otherwise I found them flat and sometimes oddly out of place.

But if you want to criticize BW's writing, criticize it. It reads oddly in the bullet points.

This I fully agree with.

 

[MetalCraze]

So just like Failout3 it's good for what it is

 

[Dny]

Actually Fallout 3 was probably a better game (I didn't say a better RPG) than DA. Sure the writing was utter shit and some of the stats check like intelligence actually sounded more retarded than base dialogue but it didn't feel like doing chores which is what DA is.

DA is crappy when it comes to the two R and P letters but it has also totally forgot the meaning of the G : Game. It's not a game, it's a chores simulator. Even when you are 15+ levels the bandits are still taking AS MUCH TIME to kill as a BOSS. Clearing up a ROOM of BANDITS takes as much as killing a fucking DRAGON.
When I was doing the urn of shit quest I actually measured the time it took me to clear up the city and first dungeon, a fucking hour. That was before the encounter with the dragon, and the second dungeon and going back..

 

[Jaesun]

Good review. Odd choice of screenshots.

This. Good job VD.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Now to comment on the review itself. Excellent review, VD. You put one of the best cases forward for Dragon Age.

Thanks.

what I hate isn't the races but the cardboard cutout implementations - "these are dwarves, they live underground and like to fight; awesome or what?"

And that is totally not the case in DA:O... come on! They even have a scottish accent!

The races ARE stereotypical, but whereas most games show nothing but the basic stereotypes, Dragon Age shows stereotypical races that are very well developed and fleshed out. Orzammar was one of the best locations in the game. Elven alienage was also very well done. I can't think of a game where races were implemented better. I doubt that even the great Arcanum can compete with DA here.

I sure agree, but I'm surprised there's not a word in the review about the awful excuse for a plot device that grey wardens are.

Because I didn't see it as an awful excuse. The gray wardens thing was neither awesome nor horrible. It was just ok. I was disappointed that the obvious potential wasn't met, but that's subjective.

To put it simply, playing a fighter is FUN in Dragon Age, which is quite an achievement.

I wouldn't go this far.

Compare it to playing a fighter or rogue in BG, Arcanum, Witcher, Gothic, Risen.

Besides, I once again don't see a word on the fact that, for a warrior most peculiarly, character development is quite straight forward. Once you've decided wich spcialization you'll take (damage dealer or tank), you know you'll end up with all the talents of your group and that's it.

And? That's a lot of talents and using the talents effectively can make quite a difference.

I see you try to avoid the discussion about what could have been a better implementation of C&C. For those not in the knowing, this question has already been discussed aptly on these boards. When the player is given the option to get to the circle of magi to request some help, you understand that doing so would take some time and you are lead to fear that when you return, the possessed boy may have gone too far.

It goes without saying that it would have been a lot better if this choice had some consequences, no matter how minor.

Your reward is a rare but powerful specialization for your character (self interest again, instead of simply the option to be a cackling villain).

I found this to be a really weak reward. As you pointed out, offering the option to recruit cultists instead of the arl's men should have been an option. I even believe that it was an option. Bioware must have cut it at some stage in development. Surely, they felt that the arl should be with the team for the conclave or something like that.

I agree that trading the arl's men for the cultists would have been a better option, but I don't think that a rare specialization is a weak reward. I think the best rewards are character traits and abilities, and the only problem with the specialization reward is the "unlocked once and for all" implementation.

 

[quasimodo]

Good review, although I remember the battles as having more time spent camera wrestling and space bar clicking than making tactical choices.

In the end all the wonderful RPG elements are wasted if you can't stand to replay the game because of the combat.

 

[Zomg]

Needs a combatectomy mod

 

[Vault Dweller]

And how the fuck a system with THREE CLASSES can provide "a lot of options"?

"You get 4 different sub-specialization per class. Each specialization has 3 branches with 4 talents per branch, thus giving you 48 talents to play with."

The number of classes is irrelevant. What matters is the number of options your character gets.

Standard party members setup with all the banter and drama you can expect, but this time you can kill a lot more party members, which is a must-have feature in a Bioware game

The weakest part of the game gets only one sentence dedicated to it?

The party system is the standard Bioware fare. I suppose I could have dedicated a paragraph explaining it for people who have never played a Bioware game before, but the review was already 10-page long and I decided to skip it.

I don't see it as a weakest part of the game. If anything the party members were much better than in Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and KOTOR. If you have an opinion that goes beyond "banal, shit, boring", state it here.

Good review, although I do not agree about the writing and setting. If they want to make a game that is as storydriven as DA is, they need to hire someone better than Gaider for writing, or go back to licenses where he can get inspiration from something that's not completely devoid of original and interesting ideas.

"You assume that the setting is the best that Gaider could come up with. I started with that Dave Maldonado's quote for a reason."

Hah. Not here, no, but everywhere else? Yip. Dragon Age is littered with "obvious trap" situations you can't avoid. Zevran's "ambush" is the laziest of all.

It's a bit different. The Zevran ambush is a minor thing. It happens instantly, doesn't put you in a bad position, and is an introduction of a character. Don't like it, kill him and move on.

... including the still-unexplained Circle Mage solution to the Redcliffe quest.

Meaning what?

but this time you can kill a lot more party members, which is a must-have feature in a Bioware game;

This is an odd statement.

Bioware often overdoes the personality thing, creating characters that can rub you the wrong way.

It wasn't a criticism of Bioware's writing or party members. I'd say that every time a developer goes for characters with personalities, there is a potential for a conflict between the player and these characters. Thus, being able to throw them out or kill them is a must-have option.

 

[PlanHex]

Standard party members setup with all the banter and drama you can expect, but this time you can kill a lot more party members, which is a must-have feature in a Bioware game

The weakest part of the game gets only one sentence dedicated to it?

The party system is the standard Bioware fare. I suppose I could have dedicated a paragraph explaining it for people who have never played a Bioware game before, but the review was already 10-page long and I decided to skip it.

I don't see it as a weakest part of the game. If anything the party members were much better than in Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and KOTOR. If you have an opinion that goes beyond "banal, shit, boring", state it here.

wat

 

[KalosKagathos]

I don't see it as a weakest part of the game. If anything the party members were much better than in Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and KOTOR. If you have an opinion that goes beyond "banal, shit, boring", state it here.

"Shit" is too harsh, but "banal" and "boring"? Certainly. What I don't like the most is that because of relatively high difficulty you can't simply take the party members who annoy you the least, regardless of their classes, without crippling yourself. Your main character isn't a mage? Tough luck, you'll have to tolerate Morrigan for the entire game, or the difficulty will skyrocket.

 

[Elwro]

Standard party members setup with all the banter and drama you can expect, but this time you can kill a lot more party members, which is a must-have feature in a Bioware game

The weakest part of the game gets only one sentence dedicated to it?

The party system is the standard Bioware fare. I suppose I could have dedicated a paragraph explaining it for people who have never played a Bioware game before, but the review was already 10-page long and I decided to skip it.

I don't see it as a weakest part of the game. If anything the party members were much better than in Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and KOTOR. If you have an opinion that goes beyond "banal, shit, boring", state it here.

wat

Jade Empire, of course.

 

[Vault Dweller]

What I don't like the most is that because of relatively high difficulty you can't simply take the party members who annoy you the least, regardless of their classes, without crippling yourself. Your main character isn't a mage? Tough luck, you'll have to tolerate Morrigan for the entire game, or the difficulty will skyrocket.

Well....

First, the difficulty on Normal isn't very high. If you can't beat 95% of the game's fight on Normal without a mage - any mage - than you aren't a very good player. It's hard to reach any other conclusion. Like I said the game gives you plenty of tactical options and with a bit of thought and planning, you can mow through everything the game throws at you.

Second, you have Wynne, who provides the opposite personality if Morrigan is too bitchy for you.

Third, when a game provides you with party members, it's always hard to get exactly what you want (which is a very subjective experience). If you feel that you must have a mage in your party and you can't stand Morrigan, then restart the game as a mage.

 

[Ausir]

Role-playing (i.e. the ability to make decisions that affect both the player and the world around him)

That's not the definition of role-playing that I've seen in Bethesda forum.

 

[Marquess Cornwallis]

Good review, I agree with most of it.

 

[Volourn]

"Even when you are 15+ levels the bandits are still taking AS MUCH TIME to kill as a BOSS. Clearing up a ROOM of BANDITS takes as much as killing a fucking DRAGON."

Fuck, you either suck or are a fuckin' liar. Those are options. Choose. FFS

 

[Black Cat]

@ Vault Dweller

It's not that, like, given my reputation around here this is good for you or anything but that was a really cool and well written review thingie, and it was actually, like, totally refreshing and nice to see a fairly moderated opinion and stuffies in Fair Codexia for once instead of the usual raging extremism, nya.

So, like, amazing job and thingies. Your reputation and stuffies is totally deserved.

@ Dny

"Even when you are 15+ levels the bandits are still taking AS MUCH TIME to kill as a BOSS. Clearing up a ROOM of BANDITS takes as much as killing a fucking DRAGON."

That's an outright lie. I played what little i did of the game straight into the hardest dificulty thingie and i can only say you either suck vewy vewy much or didn't play the game at all. Even when i was, like, totally not knowing how to play the game and learning as i went, and with a mage build based just in picking random things by flavour and coolness alone i never had any trouble with common encounters after that spider cave thingie in the origin stuffie, and once i got past that big battle thingie i was steamrolling the encounters but having lots of trouble with the bosses since they were totally bloated on max dificulty thingie.

 

[Gragt]

That was a nice read. Looks like I'll be giving it a spin in the future. I'll probably wait for the game to go budget with all the DLC in a year or two.