 My eyes glow red with FIRE! The darkspawn are coming to take control of Fereldin. You, our faithful hero, have one shot at destroying the blight and saving your country. But it may kill you in the process...
1. Gameplay
 This could be a problem... The exact storyline that the player will follow is almost impossible to determine. The general idea is that an invading army of demons, known as the “Darkspawn”, are marching towards the land of Fereldin. The player will have to join the Grey Wardens, an organization dedicated to fighting the Darkspawn, and lead a massive army against the invading horde. That’s literally all I can tell you, not because I’m being secretive but because the exact details will vary depending on who the player recruits into their party, what choices the player makes along the way, and how the player chooses to fight the Darkspawn. It is impossible to complete the entire game in a single playthrough. I estimate that it would take at least three playthroughs to complete the entire game.  Do things right, and people will live. Do things wrong... Let me put this in perspective. I have played almost 46 hours of Dragon Age: Origins (which is a lot of time for any single game) and still haven’t obtained half of the achievements available, meaning there are still 48 major accomplishments in this game that I could potentially do if I played through the game again. With that in mind, there were a couple of spots where this game became so long it was a bit tedious. Non-combat travel was especially boring since the player had to walk through a large environment just to get where they wanted to go. It was nice to appreciate the landscape but sometimes the 5 to 10 minute lull between conversations that travel caused wasn’t really worth the outcome.  Talking trees? Throw in some hobbits and you've got Lord of the Rings. Overall, I definitely enjoyed the game. Now that I’m done I think I’ll stay away from the expansion pack and other extra content for a while, but I know that I’ll pick it up again someday soon.
If that’s still not enough gameplay for you, take into account that this game has a number of high quality add-ons and hundreds of mods that could easily add on thousands of hours of extra gameplay. A truly dedicated gamer could easily play this game for over 300 hours.
Players will probably have an extremely difficult time early on in the game. My character was designed to be a heavy-hitter later in the game, but I never felt like the game was particularly predictable. Sometimes I would slaughter a large enemy force, sometimes a small force would wipe me out. It felt like the same strategy could lead to completely different results even against the same number and type of enemies. Sometimes the game did not give good directions as to where to go to complete a quest. There were a number of quests that I was unable to figure out where to go without looking up specific directions online. The main quests were all perfectly marked but a decent number of the side quests needed additional information. Many of the high-power combat spells have the possibility of “friendly fire”. Let’s say that a mage shoots a fireball into the center of a fighting mass of friends and enemies. The fireball will explode and send both the enemy and friendly troops flying, damaging them both. It makes many spells very difficult to cast effectively because it will likely damage your own troops in the process. 2. Parental Notices
 Somebody get a bucket. There’s so much blood spraying everywhere that there are quite a few conversations that my character has with other players still covered in the blood of the enemies I had just killed. It was always amusing how totally stoic my character remained and how no one commented on the amount of blood he was constantly covered in.  Totally normal. Nothing to see here. If the player kills certain specific enemies (such as Ogres) or delivers the final blow to an enemy, the player will perform an execution. Most of the time these are simple (yet bloody) stabbing or slashing moves that finish the enemy off.  Shanked in the face! If the player is using a bladed weapon, such as a sword and some daggers, the executions that the player performs can sometimes result in decapitating the enemy. Even though the extremely bloody combat plays a prominent role in the overall gameplay, the amount of time spent in conversations or non-combat travel is almost equal to the amount of time spent in combat. Otherwise, this game would have received an even higher rating.
 I'm more surprised that she'd still be willing while my character is coated in blood. One of the characters that the player can recruit is a rather “saucy” female sailor. She says that she requires the player to go through a text of dexterity before she will join him. He can either choose to play a card game with her or opt to have sex with her. If the player has certain companions, the companions can join in the “fun”. In case I’m not making myself clear, the player can have a threesome or foursome under correct circumstances. The characters only talk about the “incident”. The game doesn’t actually show any of the “action”. There are a number of characters that the player can develop a romantic relationship with. The player will always be able to develop a relationship with two people of the opposite gender and one person of the same gender. If the player manages to correctly develop the relationship (which is actually extremely difficult to do), the pair can have an extremely awkward sex scene. The characters keep on their underwear, but the player usually has a very awkward expression and the music in the background doesn’t fit the situation at all. The entire scene just seems to break the flow of the rest of the game.  They really do have clothes on. So it's more like dry humping. The actual conversations involved in the relationship are rather well developed, which causes the poor quality of the sex scene to stand out even more. A common problem for many fantasy video games is that the female armor is rather awkward and doesn’t always do a great job protecting the wearer. Some articles of clothing are worse than others, but Morrigan’s default clothing is especially revealing.  Doesn't that get cold? I’m not saying this is the norm. Most of the female armor in the game does at least a decent job of protecting the wearer. However, some definitely “accentuates” the female’s “assets”. The game also includes the “Lady of the Forest”, who is basically a forest spirit. She’s completely naked, but thick vines cover her lower half and her hair covers her upper half (barely). As usual, the characters never seemed to comment on the overt sexuality of her “outfit”, but it’s definitely obvious to anyone playing the game.  Awkward... The “lust demons” are near-naked humanoid demons that are able to influence some of the characters around them. They’re discussed in greater detail in the “Miscellaneous” category.
To summarize, it’s powdery, potent, said to have magical effects, and can eventually drive you insane especially if too much is consumed too quickly.  White lines... flowin' through my mind... The player will eventually be almost forced to create potions out of ingredients found throughout the landscape. These potions usually consist of health potions and “lyrium” potions (used for the mana required for spellwork). Players going through the game at lower difficulty levels may be able to avoid making potions, but anyone playing the game on at least “normal” difficulty will eventually need more health potions. The quickest and simplest way to obtain these potions is to make them.
3. Other Factors
 This is the kind of stuff that makes a game go from "great" to "amazing"! But unfortunately that’s not what I have to focus on. Instead, I have to mention the fact that some modders have not only created clothing that fully reveals all of the body parts of some of the characters (primarily the female ones), but one developer has fully revamped every sex scene in the entire game to include extremely graphic acts. Seriously, it turns Dragon Age: Origins into Dragon Age: Porno.  This was the least graphic photo I could find. They get really, really graphic.
The Chantry (the collective religious organization, which is to what the game normally refers) is constantly mentioned throughout many quests and conversations. The player can perform quests on the Chantry’s behalf in almost every major city on the map. These quests aren’t overtly religious in nature (most have to do with aiding travelers or finding information) but all of the people around the chantry will say religious “chants” and “verses”.  Do the Maker's blessings come with some sort of bonus? Like a health bonus? Or a toaster? While the Chantry is a popular theme in the game, the idea of the “Maker” is even more prominent. It is difficult to go through any conversation without some sort of reference to the Maker. Sometimes they are simply offhand references (i.e. “Thank the Maker”), but sometimes they are more obvious conversations. One character, Leliana, is recruited from a chantry. She is extremely religious and the player can earn a good amount of influence with her for stating a belief in the maker and agreeing with her beliefs. If Leliana is following a player with certain other characters, especially Morrigan, Leliana and that other character can get into conversations about the Maker, belief systems, and religion in general.  Those conversations usually end poorly. There are also many religious texts and sacred items. The most prominent of these items is the “Urn of Sacred Ashes”, which holds the ashes of the “prophetess” Andraste. Andraste was murdered, cremated, and placed into an urn. The ashes are said to have extremely magical healing properties. The player is sent on a quest to find the ashes in order to heal the mortally ill Arl Eamon.  I had to fight a dragon for a pinch of ashes? Ugh. Other races have their own forms of religion. While these religions are rarely mentioned outside of the races’ respective cities and towns, they play a role in a few of the missions that the player must do to win favor with those races. Both the elves and the dwarves have a very complex system of religion based on their racial history and social structure.
One mission has the player find three body bags and hide them in a well.
 Wheeee!
 This type is probably outlawed. The player also has the ability to choose a mage character. The player will then have the opportunity to learn a variety of spells to use both to defeat enemies and to protect allies. A number of the player’s allies will also have magical abilities that can be used throughout the game.  Bibbidi, bobbidi... Many high-value weapons will also have magical abilities. Some will enhance the player’s abilities (such as those that increase health) while others will add on magical damage (such as fire damage) in addition to the normal damage that the weapon would deal. Some weapons can be enhanced with runes (stones with symbols on them) that give the weapon the ability to do additional types of damage or add negative effects onto enemies (such as paralysis).  It's so finely choreographed! Some characters, both ally and enemy, have the ability to “shapeshift”. Morrigan, a witch, has the ability to change from a human form into that of a spider, bear, or swarm of insects. Flemeth, Morrigan’s mother, has the ability to shapeshift into a dragon.
There are a number of instances in the game where demons are able to possess or influence people. The most notable of these incidents is where a young boy is possessed by a demon in exchange for letting the boy’s father live. The player has the option of entering “The Fade”, a sort of limbo realm, to fight the demon and purge it from the boy.  Eh, he just acts like most teenage boys. There was another instance where a knight is influenced by a “desire demon” into thinking that the demon is his wife and that together they have children. His possession is so deep that killing the desire demon will kill the knight. The knight, believing that the player is threatening to kill his wife (the demon), attacks the player and the player is forced to kill the knight anyway.  Honey, when did you grow horns? Desire demons are present in multiple locations throughout the realm.  There's another one! When fighting in the Circle Tower, the player will encounter a sloth demon that makes the player go into a deep sleep. The player will then enter the Fade where the player will be required to fight a series of demons before he can defeat the sloth demon.  Dude, there's something on your face. And your chest. And your arms. Assassination / Murder for Hire There is a group of assassins called the Antivan Crows that is paid to assassinate specific people. At least one assassin is even sent to kill the player. Later in the game, the player can help the Antivan Crows by accomplishing a few “assignments”. The assignments turn out to help the player politically, but at the time the player has no clue. There is no penalty for completing these missions. Prostitution As stated before, the city of Denerim features The Pearl, an upper class brothel featuring a wide range of prostitutes of both genders and all races. The player can pay between 30 and 40 silver for a “romp” with a prostitute.  I guess if you're into that kind of thing... “Surprise me” / BDSM At The Pearl, the madame gives the players a few options to pick from. The player can pick to select from “men”, “women”, “a little of both”, or “surprise me”. The last option yields some extremely “interesting” results. They all involve some sort of serious bondage and sado-masochism or sex with something that should not be involved in sexual acts (i.e. nugs, a large, hairless hybrid between rabbits and pigs).  Is that the surprising part? Because if it was, I want my money back. I definitely wasn't surprised. Broodmother This one is a bit difficult to describe since it encompasses a number of different categories. The cave system underneath the Dwarven city of Orzammar has a large army of darkspawn. The darkspawn sometimes take prisoners for various reasons. One of the reasons is to create more darkspawn by creating a “broodmother”.  I wanted my character to say "DO THE TRUFFLE SHUFFLE!" Unfortunately, that wasn't a conversation option. Broodmothers are created by infecting a humanoid (meaning either human, elf, Qunari, or dwarf) female with the darkspawn taint. The taint is extremely poisonous and usually kills people who are infected. However, if the female lives and is exposed to enough of the taint, she will mutate and develop cannibalistic tendencies. Eventually they grow into something horrible. Here’s the kicker. The game is slightly vague on exactly how the future broodmothers are given the taint. It is possible that she is forcefed large amounts of darkspawn flesh. However, the game implies that it is also just as likely that she is “violated” by the darkspawn and “injected” with the darkspawn taint in that way. Golemry The dwarves of Orzammar used to have a huge army of nearly invincible golems. What the majority of the dwarves did not know is exactly how those golems were made. A good portion of the golems were made by taking a “volunteer”, separating its soul from its body, and putting the soul into a newly created golem. The golems could then be controlled by another dwarf.  Fat golem with a little hammer. Suicide Deep in the caves underneath Orzammar, the player meets a golem. If the player picks the “correct” choices, the golem will make a crown for the player (as part of a quest) and then off a cliff and falls down into a large river of molten lava.  Hot hot hot! Kidnapping Kidnapping occurs a number of times during the course of the game. The most notable of these times is when the elves in the “Alienage”, a district of the main city of Denerim, are kidnapped and sold into slavery. The kidnapped elves are told that they have a plague and are being placed into quarantine. Instead, they are taken into a house where they are transported into slavery. Slavery As was just mentioned, the elves from the Alienage were kidnapped and sold into slavery. Although slavery is illegal in the kingdom of Fereldin, it still occurs on occasion. The player can choose to either allow the slavery of the elves to continue or to shut down the practice by force. Life Draining / Human Sacrifice If the player chooses to shut down the slavery ring by force, the proprietor of the ring offers the player a deal. In exchange for sparing the proprietor’s life, the proprietor offers to drain the life out of all of the enslaved elves and give it to the player. This would kill all of the elves and give the player a supposedly significant health increase (the actual increase is almost insignificant to higher-level players). Execution There are numerous examples in the game of times when the player or other characters can choose to execute another person. The executions are done outside of normal combat (meaning during some sort of conversation).  Well at least they don't discriminate based on gender! The most notable of the executions are just after the “landsmeet”, a large meeting between nobles to decide on who to elect as the monarch of Fereldin. If the player chooses to help the Queen to the throne, she will have Alistair (the other option for the monarchy) executed in order to unify the land and prevent any pro-Alistair rebellion.  Aw, and right on the carpet! Cant you bleed somewhere else? The player can also choose to execute Loghain, one of the main antagonists, after Loghain is defeated in combat. Arranged Marriage Part of the main questline puts the player in a bit of a political conundrum. Fereldin, the main kingdom, lacks a monarch. The player must decide between placing one of his close allies on the throne or the queen of the deceased king. If the player is persuasive enough, he can convince the ally and the queen to marry each other for the benefit of the kingdom. It’s a marriage designed for political reasons more than love and neither party is particularly happy with the outcome, but they see the benefits and eventually things seem to work out. Werewolf Curse In order to help the forest elves, the player must deal with a large band of werewolves. The curse behaves just like a classic werewolf curse. If the werewolf bites someone but doesn't kill them, they will soon deteriorate and become a werewolf as well. If the player lifts the curse without killing all of the werewolves, the wolves will turn back into their previous form (which, for the most part, is human).  Yet, somehow, my character is unaffected by the curse. Convenient...
1 Comment
5/31/2012 10:16:56 pm
Awesome...Now i Agree, The darkspawn are coming to take control of Fereldin... Leave a Reply. |
Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
Not sure what a term means? Read the definitions!
Not sure what a review section is about? Find out more information!
|
RSS Feed