Video Game Review: Dragon Age:Origins

I've been feeling a bit down the last couple of days, likely getting a cold, so I decided to pickup the new Dragon Age: Origins game. The version I got was for the PC, though versions for Xbox and PS3 are available.

So far the reviews for the game have been excellent. Which both made me interested, but also cautious. Either this was fantastic or there was just way too much hype. Though the commercials were great, and add to the curiosity. But that's just marketing and not gameplay.

The big questions about the game are

Is it fun?

Does it have great visuals?

Is it open ended?

Is it smooth to play?

How is the sound?

Does the plot work with the gameplay?

Is it worth $50?

Let me answer all of that in the word, Yes. To be specific, I can say having cleared 10% of the game so far that it is addictive. It keeps you involved whether you are a hardcore gamer or just play casually in your spare time.

In terms of the looks, right off the bat you will be impressed. The images are very nearly the quality seen in the commercials. It moves smooth and is almost like a film as opposed to a game. The fluidity of motion of all the characters is very good. And scenes with background characters have high detail, many with character all having original faces and individuality that normally is just cloned. Even scenes of mass numbers of characters, all interacting at once flow and are visually rewarding.

At this point I should mention that you will notice quickly that the theme of the game is in many respects a take on Lord of the Rings. In fact in many ways it is a rip-off of that storyline. But when you get to see the first upclose image of a screaming Hurlock, you just won't care that it just as easily could have been called an Orc. The theme of the game many not be the most original, but then again this is a fantasy RPG afterall.

Another key factor in the game is the question of openendedness. It's something that has become more of a driving force in the industry, and something I always recommend. It adds to the replayability of the game and keeps things fresh.

Dragon Age is not quite open ended. It's more akin to Fable and Neverwinter in that it is open to your choices. By that I mean that most all conversations will provide a tree of choices that you can make in response. Depending on how you answer, and what you did in the past, the response of any character speaking with you can change. Adding to that is the class, race, and other factors found in the game. It's a nice touch and adds to the intrigue of the game.

My character is a Dwarven Noble, or at least he was. And already I can see how a couple of early choices that seemed somewhat neutral at the time, are going to kick me in the butt later on. Such is the nature of the entire game. So no single choice is generally horrible, but they all add up as the game mocves forward. But it does help to create a character that is truely what you wish to embody at the time.

I will further digress to another point of the game. As I mentioned I chose a Dwarven Noble. But there are several choices of race (Human, Dwarf, and Elf), either sex, and a choice of class (Noble or common). This adds a nice bit of diversity. Of course certain classes are restricted from certain races, but that's part of your choice. As you go further in the game it becomes clear that many of the base abilities are open to any class, but the bonuses and specializations are restricted.

Also, the game does a great job of covering the backstory of your character. The start of the game introduces who you are, early choices you make, and how you come to be in the main plotline. This gives you ample time to get familiar with various classes and the game mechanics. Its a simple device that has been used before, but in Dragon Age it works well and really gets you engaged in what is going on.

I've already discussed how smooth the game runs. No major glitches or skips. Moving from zone to zone will require a load screen, but that is relatively quick and otherwise smooth. As for the sounds, well they are spot on. Not too loud and never too mechanical, the sounds work well for what is going on. The voiceovers are a match to the characters, the background sounds make sense and are in the background, The sounds of battle are crisp and mean. Even the fire sounds nice and toasty.

A key point in a RPG, especially in fantasy realms, is the plot. As stated before this took generous helpings from Lord of the Rings (the books and movie not the online game). But the thought behind tying together the various aspects of this game shows through.

Your character makes sense in how they fit into this world. It makes sense the questions and answers they make with conversations. Answers are given that fit the personality and theme of the character and overall story. There is enough not said right away to make you want to know more. And you want to take the time to figure it all out.

From the outset the final battle, which I have not yet seen, is pretty obvious. The television commercial makes it clear that it will be a battle with a Dragon. The question of how you will get there, how powerful you will be, and who will be there with you are not nearly as clear. Plus there are all those pesky consequences of all the things you have said and done earlier to keep in mind.

So to combine the question of fun and whether it's worth $50, I think so. The game will suck up hours of time if you let it. While this is not a game like Oblivion that took months to finish (I think the fastest time was 6 months) it is hardly a game that anyone will finish in 5 hours. Thus in that alone you know you are getting your money's worth. You can see 2 movies in a theater for about the same price as this game. The game will have better acting, better visuals, be more engaging, and last longer than 10 movies, maybe more. Which says a lot of positives about the game and the designers.

And as aforementioned there is the fact that the game is replayable. So if you want to see how a mage, or a female, or an elf, excetra play through you can do so, and still get a unique experience though new eyes. Plus there is downloadable content available for the game already, so the experience can be added onto beyond the in box game (and I believe more will be arriving shortly).

If you are a gamer, Dragon Age: Origins is a game for you. If you love the look and feel of Lord of the Rings and that fantasy theme, this is your game. if you want to make choices and see unique outcomes as opposed to being a pacman, well you get the point.

I recommend this game to all my readers. It's just that simple.

Reviewing the Witcher and SimCities Societies - 12.12.2007.2

Now that it’s the prime selling season, and every nice mom and dad is running around looking for goodies to buy the kids, I wanted to add my 2 cents on 2 recent video games. They are both for the computer, and one I like, the other not so much. Let’s see if you can tell which is which.

The first game I want to mention is SimCity Societies. As the name implies this is based on the award-winning mid-1980’s game concept, SimCity. The concept for those that have never played this is simple. You start with a map of land, and on it you can build an assortment of buildings, streets, bridges, subways and so on. You start with limited money to start off your megopolis-to-be, and as you attract people and employ them your revenues increase. There are of course natural disasters, fires, floods and other events that can cause massive chaos. You can even create them if you are bored or love anarchy.

Those are the good points, and they are holdovers from the original game concept. But this new title takes the original game and waters it down. I presume that the game designers felt that the original game was too difficult, or required too much thought, for the youth of today and thus dumbed-down the game. It’s a shame.

Whereas previous versions made you have to plan each step of your grand design, little thought is needed here. You have multiple options for power generation that includes nuclear, hydrogen, and renewable sources. You can put them down ANYWHERE on the game map and you have power for all your buildings. No need to connect anything with power lines. The same goes for the subway system. Just put down a station and you have an instant metro system. And bus routes too. No planning needed. The trade off there is that you can’t modify the terrain (not a single control for that that I’ve seen). So you have to build around slopes and high grades.

And it gets worse. Societies has several ‘themes’ that you need to balance. This supposedly is to keep your Sims happy. It’s virtually impossible not to. Any value that might be low requires just another building and instantly you move that value up. It doesn’t matter if you drop it in the middle of a business district or residential. And if you keep the values relatively even, the money pours in so fast you will wonder what else to build.

While this might sound nice, it’s boring. The biggest question is where to put new buildings. In a matter of game days your surplus will be overflowing with tens of thousands of dollars. Zero challenge. Not even close to the thrill or intensity of the original game.

This might be a nice game for someone with a lot of time to kill, low expectations, and limited mental abilities, but I think even 5 year olds will bore with this in a day. It’s almost a decent tutorial for learning the original game, except that involves careful planning. At $50 it’s a waste of money, and reminds me of the failure that was SimTower.

On the other hand there is a game that is more interesting and involved. It’s called The Witcher. Now this is an engaging game. But definitely not for kids. It’s an adults RPG.

What you get in the Witcher is moral complexity or ambiguity if you prefer. The world is hardly idyllic, but firmly in the fantasy realm. Magic exists, not that you really use any. You do get potions instead, though your choices are severely limited in what you can make. Weapon options are similarly limited and generally useless beyond the main 2 weapons you start with.

The game is rendered quite well, looking very nice. Sadly you can’t really explore most of it. Don’t be confused, while there are side missions there is no comparison to NeverWinter or Morrowind. This is NOT open-ended.

But as I mentioned there is a level of complexity. No one is without some guilt or wrong-doing. You let one group get supplies, you enable an assassination. Need information, give a junkie his fix. Do someone a favor, you help a criminal. And it keeps going. Nothing is ever just a one way street. And your choices help one side or another more often than not.

And then there is the sex life. Your character is not above paying or saying whatever it takes to bed most every lass in the game. And you get cards to keep track of the notches you get. There are no sex scenes or nudity on the cards though (at least in the U.S. version).

Still don’t think this is a horrible place to have your character stroll through. He is far from a Paladin While not evil, he is up for hire for most any action. You can always say no, but where is the fun in that?

Expect a lot of foul language, adult situations, and immoral characters – minor and major. But the game is fun. It’s definitely a nice change for the morally high-handed hero most games in this genre take. And it’s interesting to see the outcomes of the choices you make.

So if you are not attached to taking the high road, can live with coarse language, and wonder what you can get away with as an infertile, infection-immune, ambivalent monster hunter with a grudge, this can be a fun game. Just don’t get to upset you can’t wander off the beaten path.