Back From The Land of Ferelden: Finishing Dragon Age

This follow up review isn’t a new review of the game but more thoughts about the game after finishing it. Pretty much everything I wrote in the review still stands but there are some aspects I want to comment on. I know it’s a long game and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 just came out and there’s a billion more games coming, but, I implore you: finish the game. It’s worth the time.

The Story

I’ll be vague here to avoid spoiling those still playing.

Wow, does this story twist and turn. This was the first BioWare game I’ve played where I agonized over my choices. Even now, the ending I chose still bothers me. Part of it is the good writing and dialogue, but also it’s the strong voice acting of the party members. I liked my party members, especially those with whom I had developed a romance, so it was difficult to make some of my choices.

Of interest is how the origin stories relate to the main story, especially the ones you didn’t play.  I wasn’t expecting that and it makes the world seem more real.

The Gameplay

The learning curve on using your party’s abilities is steep. Early in the game, it’s enough to rely on the default settings but to defeat the bosses, you’re going to have to tweak your party’s tactics. I’m not a fan of that and it was hard to wrap my head around it. There were times where I had to change the difficulty (much to my dismay). But once everyone’s behaviour was defined, it was easy enough to swap in new abilities when characters leveled up . My advice is play to your party’s strengths. Make sure your warriors stay up front and have plenty of points in strength and constitution; keep your rogues and mages in the back unless your rogue is more like a warrior; and save, save, save.

The Graphics

In my experience, the Xbox 360 version looked better than the PlayStation 3 version. However, during dialogue scenes the camera would shoot through a wall or another person. There was also some lag when a lot of Darkspawn piled onto my group but overall it wasn’t too bad.

The Downloadable Content

It’s safe to say the game won’t be much different if you don’t buy the two (currently available) DLC. The biggest benefit to Warden’s Keep is that you get a chest to store all the loot you can’t bear to part with. You also get another area to explore, some  history of the Grey Warden organization, and two additional merchants. I don’t think it’s worth purchasing but it all depends on your tolerance to selling everything, especially equipment you can’t use yet.

The Stone Prisoner DLC for Dragon Age: Origins gives you an extra party member...Shale

As for the Stone Prisoner, the free DLC for those who buy new copies of Dragon Age: it’s a lot of fun. You get an additional party member, Shale, a sarcastic and effeminate stone golem. He bears similarities to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic’s HK-47.  For example, he refers to you as “it” and barely tolerates you, so he’s a bucket of fun. There’s also an underground area to explore and some good loot but the gem of the DLC is Shale.

Overall, I would recommend purchasing Stone Prisoner over Warden’s Keep.

BioWare’s social experiment

Even though Dragon Age is a single-player game, BioWare explained that it was possible to have a social experience via the BioWare Social Network. Maybe I just don’t know enough people online or that the social network is still in beta, but it’s a giant “meh”. I registered my game and my profile hasn’t updated properly although BioWare says that’s very common. It could be interesting, but I don’t think it beats meeting up with your friends in real life who’ve also shoveled 40 hours into the game. There’s nothing like swapping RPG stories over a pint.

The Bottom Line

I would still give it an 8/10. There are some flaws like the graphics, the missed opportunity of Mass Effect’s dialogue wheel, and the game’s unfriendliness to those not use to this style of RPG. But I’m looking forward to playing the game again and also the inevitable sequels.