The Dragon's Game
I’m not much of a game player. Not really. At most, I would buy between three to five games a year depending on who puts them out. Sometimes not even that many.
But everything good and proper points me to getting the game “Dragon Age Origins” merely a short while after it hit the shelves. There is only one word labeled on it that sold me on the product: BioWare.
That was it. BioWare are the gods of gaming. And now I got the game in my hands and got swept into the high octave fantasy elements in the game that is a fine blend of the old classics such as Tolken to the many fictional novels which are breeding like rabbits on the shelf. Fantasy is a big draw for audiences seeking an outlet from the grim reality most of us are used to.
Bioware is the same company that brought out good games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the more recent hit Mass Effect. These guys are geniuses when it comes to the role playing type of games that involves long storytelling and epic battles. The story reminds you of the best of Robert Silverberg or Piers Anthony.
I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. I always liked the KOTOR styled games that specializes in novel length plots weaving with anywhere between eight to ten original characters vying for a spotlight. It’s custom made which means you can spend nearly 45 minutes creating your character any way you want… as a female, male, elf or dwarf, the three classes of people. There are also warrior castes, rogues and the magic wielding mages.
There’s enough here to make the head spin.
But it’s well worth checking out as the game draws you easily into the world of sword and fantasy, the realm in which magic rules and the battles are decided by the grace of cunning. There are layers of stories as the game can stretch into many side quests all for the manner of getting more character experience points. The more experience you have, the more powerful your character becomes.
Now I like this. The game designers are not forgetting something: games are supposed to be fun. They shouldn’t be frustrating, cumbersome and kicking you around until you ready to stab someone in the face with a console unit. No, “Dragon Age Origins” simply sweeps you into a rewarding place where you feel you are part of a story. That your character can influence the end result of the story.
I’ve explored fifteen percent of the game so far. And I haven’t been killed once yet. This is on the easiest level however. But I am more interested in having fun and getting wind of the story’s beautiful setting. I have been killed a thousand times already in the “Gears of War” game last month because I can’t get passed one stupid part involving a crazed berserker. Game shouldn’t be like this. They shouldn’t be so challenging that you are backed into the corner ripping your own hair out. This game "Dragon Age" is a thousand times better than the Conan game. Sorry, Robert E. Howard. I like your Conan stories very much. But the game was a pain.
Not “Dragon Age Origins”. Not at all.
However, if you want to play on the most difficult setting, be my guest. That’s for more hardcore professional gamers who have all the time in the world to figure a game out. I don’t. I want to sit down and be whisked away for a couple of hours. Without getting upset over game play. Or cursing up and down over it. Or, forgive me, attempt to break the joysticks.
So what is “Dragon Age Origins” about?
You can play a central character, depending on your background, where you are thrown into the middle of a growing battle between the good people of the land and the Darkspawn. You become a noble part of the Gray Wardens who are commanders in the heart of the war. Throughout the game, you must find other forces to add to your military might before ascending to crush the blight out of the land.
I chose the mage caste as I have always an interest in the magical. But, for the first time, I feel like I’m playing Dr. Strange straight out of the comic books. It really feels like you’re dabbling with sorcery with an onset of powers, mixing of potions and waving around a magic staff like Gandoff the Wizard. My character is also a dark haired, ravenous female so she can use her beauty to persuade others in their decisions.
The game is extremely well received with a 94 percent appreciation figure. Many websites such as PC Gamer UK and Gamezone have picked this as one of the better games to play, with the latter website rating it a near perfect grade of 9.9 out of 10. The consensus would be very similar to this particular game player who finds the game to be a good experience.
Why?
Better gaming controls, more settings and surroundings to venture through, more repeated game play for different results. There is none of the frustrating difficulty getting in your way of having fun. Such role playing games are worth every penny of the price. It doesn’t get any better than this.
My only issue with the game is that you can’t skip the dialogue or make it go faster. Therefore it’s a drag getting through the talky bits. I’m okay with it. You can even pursue romantic entanglements with your characters depending on who it is. It is a rated M game so there are some steamy stuff going on… not for the little kids. Whenever you and your party gets into a battle, you end up getting splattered with your foes’ blood if you see close ups. It’s great and bloody.
If you are a big fan of the KOTOR games along with Mass Effect, getting caught up with big stories, this is something for you. Others who might be looking for a fast game of shoot him up, you may want to give it a pass. However, you’ll find this game is nearly on the par as a high budgeted film blockbuster… and it is very much like a movie experience with a grand soundtrack and boasting actor voices. This one should get deserving praise.
But everything good and proper points me to getting the game “Dragon Age Origins” merely a short while after it hit the shelves. There is only one word labeled on it that sold me on the product: BioWare.
That was it. BioWare are the gods of gaming. And now I got the game in my hands and got swept into the high octave fantasy elements in the game that is a fine blend of the old classics such as Tolken to the many fictional novels which are breeding like rabbits on the shelf. Fantasy is a big draw for audiences seeking an outlet from the grim reality most of us are used to.
Bioware is the same company that brought out good games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the more recent hit Mass Effect. These guys are geniuses when it comes to the role playing type of games that involves long storytelling and epic battles. The story reminds you of the best of Robert Silverberg or Piers Anthony.
I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. I always liked the KOTOR styled games that specializes in novel length plots weaving with anywhere between eight to ten original characters vying for a spotlight. It’s custom made which means you can spend nearly 45 minutes creating your character any way you want… as a female, male, elf or dwarf, the three classes of people. There are also warrior castes, rogues and the magic wielding mages.
There’s enough here to make the head spin.
But it’s well worth checking out as the game draws you easily into the world of sword and fantasy, the realm in which magic rules and the battles are decided by the grace of cunning. There are layers of stories as the game can stretch into many side quests all for the manner of getting more character experience points. The more experience you have, the more powerful your character becomes.
Now I like this. The game designers are not forgetting something: games are supposed to be fun. They shouldn’t be frustrating, cumbersome and kicking you around until you ready to stab someone in the face with a console unit. No, “Dragon Age Origins” simply sweeps you into a rewarding place where you feel you are part of a story. That your character can influence the end result of the story.
I’ve explored fifteen percent of the game so far. And I haven’t been killed once yet. This is on the easiest level however. But I am more interested in having fun and getting wind of the story’s beautiful setting. I have been killed a thousand times already in the “Gears of War” game last month because I can’t get passed one stupid part involving a crazed berserker. Game shouldn’t be like this. They shouldn’t be so challenging that you are backed into the corner ripping your own hair out. This game "Dragon Age" is a thousand times better than the Conan game. Sorry, Robert E. Howard. I like your Conan stories very much. But the game was a pain.
Not “Dragon Age Origins”. Not at all.
However, if you want to play on the most difficult setting, be my guest. That’s for more hardcore professional gamers who have all the time in the world to figure a game out. I don’t. I want to sit down and be whisked away for a couple of hours. Without getting upset over game play. Or cursing up and down over it. Or, forgive me, attempt to break the joysticks.
So what is “Dragon Age Origins” about?
You can play a central character, depending on your background, where you are thrown into the middle of a growing battle between the good people of the land and the Darkspawn. You become a noble part of the Gray Wardens who are commanders in the heart of the war. Throughout the game, you must find other forces to add to your military might before ascending to crush the blight out of the land.
I chose the mage caste as I have always an interest in the magical. But, for the first time, I feel like I’m playing Dr. Strange straight out of the comic books. It really feels like you’re dabbling with sorcery with an onset of powers, mixing of potions and waving around a magic staff like Gandoff the Wizard. My character is also a dark haired, ravenous female so she can use her beauty to persuade others in their decisions.
The game is extremely well received with a 94 percent appreciation figure. Many websites such as PC Gamer UK and Gamezone have picked this as one of the better games to play, with the latter website rating it a near perfect grade of 9.9 out of 10. The consensus would be very similar to this particular game player who finds the game to be a good experience.
Why?
Better gaming controls, more settings and surroundings to venture through, more repeated game play for different results. There is none of the frustrating difficulty getting in your way of having fun. Such role playing games are worth every penny of the price. It doesn’t get any better than this.
My only issue with the game is that you can’t skip the dialogue or make it go faster. Therefore it’s a drag getting through the talky bits. I’m okay with it. You can even pursue romantic entanglements with your characters depending on who it is. It is a rated M game so there are some steamy stuff going on… not for the little kids. Whenever you and your party gets into a battle, you end up getting splattered with your foes’ blood if you see close ups. It’s great and bloody.
If you are a big fan of the KOTOR games along with Mass Effect, getting caught up with big stories, this is something for you. Others who might be looking for a fast game of shoot him up, you may want to give it a pass. However, you’ll find this game is nearly on the par as a high budgeted film blockbuster… and it is very much like a movie experience with a grand soundtrack and boasting actor voices. This one should get deserving praise.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:26 AM
2 Comments:
Come on dude, don't blame Robert E. Howard for the atrocious Conan game. It had less in common with Howard than it did with God of War.
If only Bioware or Obsidian could get a hold of the Conan license: a Dragon Age-style game set in Howard's universe would be incredible.
I never blamed Robert E. Howard's stories for the Conan game. I liked his stories well enough... they're great reads as he's one of the finest writers of the 1930s. But the Conan game itself was annoying... an unforunate fault.
However, I do agree if Bioware ever brought Howard's stories to their video world... they may do the stories great justice. The playability would be much better in a Bioware game.
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