"In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice" - Preview


image from http://dragonage.bioware.com/
So, a couple days ago I log on to Steam and I get the updates for the week. Amidst this 11 page update cycle I get an advertisement for a game which to me at the time was completely unknown and unfamiliar. So after pursuing further into the actual game and downloading all the trailers, I decided that it simply looked quite awesome. Even Chrissy said it looked pretty cool. (which means a lot).

Here is my take on Dragon Age: Origins from the information thats out there. The first question that came to mind considering that it is a Bioware game is what the gameplay would be like. Would we play from an elevated and more RTS point of view or would we actually see the game from the perspectives of the characters, a la FPS if you will. So it turns out, according to Strategy Informer, that "the camera can be manipulated to have the classic isometric-style view when it’s fully zoomed out or players can zoom all the way in and play the title from a third-person perspective." So not quite FPS but close enough.

The game allows for three playable races. The human, the elf and the dwarf. Each different playable race has a different creation story for the player to run through. The game is centered mainly around the struggle between the Grey Wardens, the best warriors, thinkers, magicians of all the land and their duty to protect, against the Blight, the orc-like infestation of darkness. The starting class include Warrior, Mage and Rogue and attribute specifically versatile, meaning basically that they are adaptable.

Another aspect the game seems to pride itself with is the newly created and more dynamic facial expression system enhanced by apparently more clever and realistic dialogue. If this is true, it would certainly help make players feel more involved and thats one of the key points to make any game stand out. Bringing the player from his or her chair inside the game realm, really differentiates the better games from the worse ones. However, completing and successfully achieving this is never easy.

From the storyline point of view the game is more aimed at adult players, mainly due to its sexual content. This is already hinted in the trailers that have been released, and may be quite reminiscent of Mass Effect. And we all know what happened there... Strategy Informer says that the game could have over 100 hours of content, honestly, I don't know many people who will sit down and play all 100 hours of it, as most just play the main storyline and then occasionally trail off. In any case, its nice to know there is a lot and it allows more choice.

image from http://dragonage.bioware.com/

Dragon Age: Origins also features the consequence system. Every decision you make determines the outcome to the game: the macro sense; and every decision also determines in game relationships, and status: the more micro aspect. If you recall Mass Effect the same type of system was in place, and in this case the system is meant to be even more extensive.

The one thing that shocked me the most, apart from the visually stunning trailers, was the price. On Steam the normal edition is a solid $49.99, the digital deluxe edition on the other hand, a heavy $64.99. I am not quite sure the bonus items that you get with either editions are really worth the price but its up for debate. In any case, the advertising has bought me. Quite literally too.

I will follow up with a review once I have completed the game. And for those who are interested, you can now already try out and make your characters in the character creator demo. The release date is 3-4 November, pre-orders and pre-release are available. Additionally available for not only PC but also Xbox 360 and PS3.

- Joachim
Posted by Joachim at 18 October 2009, 12:38 PM
Categories: Games
Tags: dragons bioware role-playing games preview dragon age - origins
 

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