Dragon Age: Origins Review

To be honest, I finished Dragon Age a few weeks ago, but I am one of those gamers who: A)Likes to sit and think about a game they have just finished for a little while, before touching it again. B) Doesn't typically play games a second time.

Now I think I am ready to tell the imaginary readers of our blog what they need to know about Dragon Age: Origins. For a start, Dragon Age is a game I will be playing again. It is an excellent video game that I would definitely recommend for christmas if you're a fan of RPGs. The lore and history of the world is in depth, the writing is mature and complex and the combat most tactical and enjoyable I've seen in an RPG to date.

Let's start with the combat. It is not a particularly new idea to have 4 party members working together to take down waves of enemies, but Dragon Age is certainly the most engaging tactical experience I can remember from an RPG point of view. It is not at all uncommon to fight 10 enemies at once, with this spiralling up to 20 now and then, not counting massive battles. For this reason you will need to use the four members of your party (who can be a warrior, rogue or mage) in tandem with one another to defeat a wide variety of reasonably intelligent enemies. Because you will be pausing a lot, I would recommend getting the game on PC, as the console versions don't really allow for the tactical top-down view that can be useful in massive fights. There are a wide range of spells and abilities as well as class customizations which means there's lots of room for replayability (I'd like to know if that's really a word).

Speaking of replayability, let's have a look at the replayability value of this game. You can choose from 6 different origin stories which define your character's position in the world. Each origin gets a 2 hour starting story before branching off into the main quest and does not only affect the opening hours of the game. I for one am aware of several quests I missed because of my origin choice, and one very cool ending to the game which requires you to have a specific origin story. Long story short, this is quite possibly the best game in terms of value for money I have seen for a long, long time (it's only $60 dollars or so on steam). I racked up 60 hours on this game before finishing it and I didn't even get the achievement for finishing 75% of the side quests.

The music in Dragon Age also deserves a mention, it contains an excellent score by the world reknowned composer Inon Zur, who has done the soundtrack for many Triple A titles. The music is used well by the game to create some very cinematic moments that you'd struggle to find in most modern day films. The graphics also deserve a mention, they're not top notch, but you should be able to run them on high settings if you have a modern PC, and you will probably only see lag during some of the extremely large battles.

Let's move on to my favourite part of this game, the story and the writing. BioWare is well known for its writing and Dragon Age is no different. The story is engaging and interesting from the beginning of the tale and the choices you make in this game are so interesting you'll want to replay it just to see what happens when you do one thing instead of the other. On top of that, the characters in this game are very well done. The party members at the beginning of the story all give interesting impressions, but once you go beyond the surface you'll find that none of them are exactly as you thought they were. They all are complex people with very complex opinions and feelings. The plot feels the same way, in that not all of the choices are black and white, and there really aren't good or bad choices in the game, as opposed to what you think is the best option.

Summing up, there aren't enough games out there like Dragon Age: Origins. Great storyline with interesting party members and dialogue, coupled with an interesting new world and fun combat is not something you see everyday. There's only so much about it I can repeat before you need to see the game for yourself. If you like RPGs, especially BioWare RPGs, this game is a must. Christmas isn't that far away, so if you don't have a copy already and then go grab one or guilt trip a relative into it!

Sup Y'all

Sorry to all that I haven't been watering the blog much recently, and that no podcast went up this week; I've been working, Mark is staying at Michael's house, and life is generally getting in the way of our sorry excuse for a gaming blog. Anyways, the reason I actually started this post was to talk a little about Assassin's Creed 2, which I beat this afternoon.

To start with, a big comment on just how good this game has already been mentioned; I beat it quickly, in fact before I had beaten both Dragon Age and Borderlands (getting there guys). This second installment really does propel you through it, with much tighter pacing than the first, and a much more interesting story. I do have to say that playing the Assassin's Creed 1 will really help you understand "what.the.fuck." is going on (there's a reason I put that in quotes, you'll see).
All in all, AC2 always gives you something to do, and feels shorter than the 25 hours or so that it is(which is a good thing, to clarify).

I've already talked a bit about the mechanics that underpin the action in this here video game, and my thoughts earlier on were more or less correct; everything has been made just a little bit better, though the climbing is still occasionally unwieldy. Of the new armaments in the game, namely poison, a gun and TWO WRIST BLADES, only the one in caps is really important.

There are a stack of other improvements, but I don't need to list them; suffice to say, Assassin's Creed 2 is fantastic. On one final note, the game has one of the more cliffhanger endings you'll see in a video game, much like the first, but guess what? Assassin's Creed 2 has by far the best end game credits ever. Nothing even comes close.

This is Dennis, saying go buy that game.

Alien vs. Predator Banned in Australia...

Some of you may or may not be aware that Sega was planning to release an Aliens vs. Predator game for 360, PS3 and PC in February of next year. It seems at this point Australia will not be receiving that game. It has just been refused classification by the OFLC and Sega decided not to attempt to tone down the violence factor for a similar case with German censors. Refusing classification means that the game will not be able to be sold on Australian shores.

The OFLC claims up close and gruesome decapatation and other violent acts are the reason for the ban. Some of the things in the game definitely sound worthy of an R 18+ rating, which of course Australia does not have. In our next podcast we will be discussing a few things to do with R 18+ ratings and the OFLC, and gamers' favourite Attorney General, Michael Atkinson.

If you're interested in the game or the ban, be sure to check out this report.

BFBC2 PC Specifications announced!

If you're as excited about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as we are, then you'll be interested to know that the minimum and recommended PC specs are out. There is already a PS3 Beta for the game and a PC beta will be starting early next year, according to the game's blog. The recommended specs include a quad-core processor and a 512MB Graphics card, so you might want to consider an upgrade or two before March next year, if you're a die hard fan.

Click here for the full list.

DLC for Major Titles Inbound! (Also, we're not dead!)

The good news for gamers this holiday season is that their favourite games do not have to end. Both Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 and BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins will see DLC this summer, with 2 new DLC downloads becoming available for Assassin's Creed early next year and several DLC pieces planned for Dragon Age. Assassins Creed 2 will see "the Battle of Forli" and "the Bonfire of Vanities" which still lack more details, while Dragon Age will see "Return to Ostagar" in which the player returns to an early area of the game to learn more about the ruins of Ostagar and get some new epic loot!


Additionally, as a blog we are not dead, just playing a lot of MW2 and a few other games. We will start updating the blog regularly as of now....I hope. And fear not! A new podcast is coming up before the end of the week.

So stay tuned for more ranting and occasional gaming news!