Dragon Age: Origins Catch-All

NSMike wrote:
Bit-tech's review also here, also along the same lines: derivative, takes a long while to really get it going.

Derivative doesn't surprise me. I mean, a fantasy RPG? Who ever heard of one of those? ;)

Well, he said that like it was a bad thing. Most reviewers are expecting a "is fantastic innovation!". Most of the fans are eager for a proper successor to Baldur's Gate. The contrast is easy to see when you read any of those reviews, and then you watch the Giant Bomb review.

Bottom line: the game, it seems, is great for Bioware fans, mandatory almost, if you enjoyed (and miss) Baldur's Gate. It won't drive the genre forwards, but then again, progress is overrated.

Just look at Torchlight.

I gave in to the great reviews. It's downloading now while I am at work. Logmein.com is awesome. I hate keeping my computer on all day and night.

TempestBlayze wrote:

I gave in to the great reviews. It's downloading now while I am at work. Logmein.com is awesome. I hate keeping my computer on all day and night.

Aw, Tempest, why couldn't you have posted that yesterday? I could've started my download at 1:00 PM today... I continue to misunderstand why you're so well-liked.

Well, he said that like it was a bad thing. Most reviewers are expecting a "is fantastic innovation!".

Yeah, I'm getting sick of that attitude. You mentioned Torchlight, and I don't even remember being this fond of Diablo/Diablo II. Torchlight is just fun, for some unknown reason. A game doesn't have to be some revolutionary innovation to be fun. It's probably the reason I've ditched most traditional review sites for this one, though.

I think I can feel the H1N1 coming on. Cough cough...wheeze...must...get...home...by...2PM!

Ah, to be young, single, and childless again. Gone are the days when I could take "sick" time off from work, go home and game 18 hours a day for several days straight, eating quickly prepared food. It wouldn't even do me any good to go home early, what with little ones and a wife waiting at home. No, I'll just have to wait patiently til afternoon to swing by Gamestop, then wait patiently til after the girls go to bed... Patience, it is a virtue... I do not possess. This is so torturous. Even the manual was a let down. I remember back in the old days, a Fallout or BG or IWD manual was spiral bound, 100+ pages thick, and would take a couple hours at work to read through. It eased the pain. I tore through that pdf version of DAO's yesterday in about 5 minutes, lame!

Khoram wrote:

Ah, to be young, single, and childless again. Gone are the days when I could take "sick" time off from work, go home and game 18 hours a day for several days straight, eating quickly prepared food. It wouldn't even do me any good to go home early, what with little ones and a wife waiting at home. No, I'll just have to wait patiently til afternoon to swing by Gamestop, then wait patiently til after the girls go to bed... Patience, it is a virtue... I do not possess. This is so torturous. Even the manual was a let down. I remember back in the old days, a Fallout or BG or IWD manual was spiral bound, 100+ pages thick, and would take a couple hours at work to read through. It eased the pain. I tore through that pdf version of DAO's yesterday in about 5 minutes, lame!

I agree wholeheartedly about the manual. I loved the days of tomes, back when the boxes were bigger and men were men. You're giving me too much credit assuming I'm not willing to ignore my children and spouse, at least for a few days. Fight the power to conform to what society demands of you! Solidarity, Brother!

Khoram wrote:

Ah, to be young, single, and childless again. Gone are the days when I could take "sick" time off from work, go home and game 18 hours a day for several days straight, eating quickly prepared food. It wouldn't even do me any good to go home early, what with little ones and a wife waiting at home. No, I'll just have to wait patiently til afternoon to swing by Gamestop, then wait patiently til after the girls go to bed... Patience, it is a virtue... I do not possess. This is so torturous.

I feel your pain. I too have a wife and kids that, for some reason, expect me to actually pay attention to them while they are awake.

Quick Question: What comes in the regular $50 box? Is the manual any good? I'm debating Steam vs retail, but I won't be able to get to retail for a while.

So, I didn't see this listed anywhere else, but it looks like Wardens Keep (for those who didn't purchase the CE) is going to run about 7 dollars USD. But, those of us who bought on Impulse, and used our "lovely" coupons, got the game for $39.99... I'd say picking up the full game plus the DLC for about 10 bucks cheaper than the CE worked out pretty well.

I read here the system requirements are acceptable. I have a very average rig (E6750 Core2Duo 2.67Ghz, 6Gb RAM, GF 7900GT 256MB), could it spit out generic fantasy (;-)) images at a 1680*1050 resolution with acceptable detail you guys recon?

mudbunny wrote:
Khoram wrote:

Ah, to be young, single, and childless again. Gone are the days when I could take "sick" time off from work, go home and game 18 hours a day for several days straight, eating quickly prepared food. It wouldn't even do me any good to go home early, what with little ones and a wife waiting at home. No, I'll just have to wait patiently til afternoon to swing by Gamestop, then wait patiently til after the girls go to bed... Patience, it is a virtue... I do not possess. This is so torturous.

I feel your pain. I too have a wife and kids that, for some reason, expect me to actually pay attention to them while they are awake.

You need Homer's nerve pinch. Ideal for temporarily incapacitating family members.

IMAGE(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuZoLkvmBbc/ShRZ-Ja1ZHI/AAAAAAAADsg/iAEWR0dFKX8/s320/Homer+Simpson.jpg)

Family members don't like the application of pressure point holds, judiciously used or not.

f*ck you tests. Stop being the day after games come out.

FWIW, Impulse says it will release precisely at 10AM PDT.

Work today is proving......challenging.

I am definitely coming down with something though. Hack....cough...

Stupid new PC, where are you!?

Why oh why did I waste my pneumonia before Dragon Age came out. Stupid pneumonia should have known better.

kaostheory wrote:

Why oh why did I waste my pneumonia before Dragon Age came out. Stupid pneumonia should have known better.

Relapse time! (not that I'm wishing pneumonia on you, you picked that up right? I always knew you were quick on the uptake...)

Some what related, the latest bitmob podcast has 3 rpg developers discussing the theory and philosophy of rpg game design. They talk about dragon age briefly with no spoilers, but I would imagine people in this thread would appreciate the whole discussion. Sorry there is no link, I'm posting from my phone at work.

All I have to say after about 2 hours of playtime, is WELCOME BACK BIOWARE.

I've been loosely following the devlopment of this game, but gave up on it long ago, when it started as an action rpg using the neverwinter nights engine.

The game I'm playing right now, is absolutely the spiritual successor to the Infinity engine games... my favorite games EVAR. I read the Eurogamer review, and I guess the reviewer played a different game then I am, because I have a hard time agreeing with much of what he says.

He keeps referring to Oblivion as if it's the standard bearer for modern RPG's. I personally couldn't stand it, and it's cardboard npc's. I feel like this game is drawing me in, like nothing since BG2 has. I'm sure there will be things that will irritate me, and things I wish they'd included/left out. I'm also sure if I went back and played any of the IE games, I'd find numerous niggles as well.

Until then, I'm going to enjoy my 100 hours of isometric/pause/realtime combat!!!

IUMogg wrote:

Some what related, the latest bitmob podcast has 3 rpg developers discussing the theory and philosophy of rpg game design. They talk about dragon age briefly with no spoilers, but I would imagine people in this thread would appreciate the whole discussion. Sorry there is no link, I'm posting from my phone at work.

Here's the link: http://bitmob.com/index.php/podcast/...
Direct download of the mp3: http://media.libsyn.com/media/mobcas...

About the podcast wrote:

In celebration for Tuesday's release of Dragon Age: Origins, Jason hosts a special role-playing game edition of The Mobcast, featuring Aram Jabbari (@AtlusAram on Twitter), the manager of public relations and sales at Atlus America (Persona, Demon's Souls); Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone), cofounder and creative director of Obsidian Entertainment (Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol); and legendary RPG designer Brenda Brathwaite (@bbrathwaite).
[...]

I happen to be ready to play NOW. Why must I wait another 2.5 hours!!! The waiting has somehow prevented me from doing anything usefull with this time, which makes it much worse.

I wonder, is it worth going to the store on my lunch hour to pick it up, or do I take the chance that there will be some at the end of work.

NathanialG wrote:

I happen to be ready to play NOW. Why must I wait another 2.5 hours!!! The waiting has somehow prevented me from doing anything usefull with this time, which makes it much worse.

Mine is on a UPS truck, and for me UPS comes at either 1PM (an hour from now) or 6PM (an eternity from now).

Is there a god of package deliveries I can pray to?

NathanialG wrote:

I happen to be ready to play NOW. Why must I wait another 2.5 hours!!! The waiting has somehow prevented me from doing anything usefull with this time, which makes it much worse.

Think about those poor Europeans who got to wait 70 hours! *going back to my corner*

Gametrailers review is up!

Just purchased the digital CE from Steam. I promised myself that I would finish some games before this one, (namely, Borderlands) but the pull may be too much!

Anyone know if DA:O will take advantage of dual-monitors by any chance?

Jeff-66 wrote:

Anyone know if DA:O will take advantage of dual-monitors by any chance?

Good question! Inquiring minds want to know!

I take back what I said about Journeys not being hard. On the hard setting, it's pretty tough. Even your regular encounters can wipe you out if you're not mindful and let them flank you. I get the feeling this is going to translate into DAO, which I personally like.

Can't wait to unlock when I get home!