First Impressions

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Hello all,

I had preordered Dragon Age and it arrived early yesterday and I played it quite a bit. I know the DA forums aren’t very popular here (at least for now), but I wrote these first impressions for the official forums at BioWare and figured I might post them here as well.

In short, I initially had reserves about this game judging from some previews that hit the web over the last year. After playing it for a few hours though, I have to say that this is the most fun I’ve had since Knights of the Old Republic.

Gameplay

DAO has been lauded as Baldur’s Gate's spiritual successor. Personally, I think it's more a Knights of the Old Republic successor with BG elements thrown in. The controls, the menus, the dialogues, the areas, the general gameplay; it's much more like KotOR than NWN or BG. The big difference is obviously that you can go isometric like in BG. Incidentally, if you're going to play the console version, my guess is that you're looking more at a fantasy KotOR than anything else (since you can’t go isometric on the consoles).

Controls-wise, I personally play it much like WoW or KotOR (using WASD while holding down the RMB to turn the camera) and go isotropic when there's combat. Considering Obsidian's blunders with the camera settings in NWN2's expansions (which turned out to be a headache to configure, at least in my opinion), I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it worked in DAO. If you have played KotOR or WoW (or pretty much any MMO on the market) you'll feel right at home with the zoomed-in camera. And if you've played the Infinity Engine games, you'll like the isometric view. Party play is smooth thanks to it. It's really a BG camera, not an NWN2-like mess. It's easy to use and intuitive.

I like levelling. You get to improve your attributes and spells/talents each level, and skills every couple of levels. That's a pretty nice improvement over the d20 system, in which levelling often didn't mean that much. It's also better than action RPGs where you often only get to increase one kind of attribute.

As far as quests go, you get the usual variety of fetch-and-deliver, go-talk-to-that-guy and clear-the-cellar. DAO doesn't reinvent the wheel.

I haven't met many "real" companions so far, but I like the dialogues. They're well-written, well acted for the most part, and are actually interesting. Also, BioWare created a real world there. For instance, the priests hate the mages and it's pretty obvious. It's not just a quest gimmick, it's a recurrent theme. There's also a lot of background lore and it's often referred to by the characters, so the whole thing feels like a real, breathing world.

There are 4 difficulty settings (easy, normal, hard and nightmare). I started out on normal, and it's not a cakewalk. You really need to use your characters' abilities.

Story

Since I'm only a couple of hours in, I don't know that much - and I don't want to spoil what I know either. What I can say though is that the mage origin (the only one I've played so far) is very nicely done. Apart from that, I'm a bit worried about the material of the main plot line. It seems like it's going to be a bland "save the world" thing. But again, the information I have is very slim and I'm hesitant to judge the story based on the little that I know.

Graphics

I'm hesitant to talk about the graphics here for two reasons. First, I know a lot of people have a fetish on graphics and think that it makes or breaks a game. Second, my computer is in the mid-range at most. Considering these two premises, I don't want to induce people in error with what my game looks like and generate panic.

I'll only say this: the graphics are not as polished as some of the "next-gen" stuff out there, and the animations are not as fluid either. Bottom line, if you're looking at "raw graphics quality", games like Mass Effect win. I'd evaluate the quality as a definite step forward from NWN2, but it's not leaps and bounds away from it.

Personally, I value art direction much more than raw texture size and such. And I think DAO is extremely nice there. In that respect, it's truly a game with its own style and atmosphere.

Finally, the game seems very stable and well-optimised. It shows that it was built from the ground up for the PC. My PC is arguably a dinosaur by today’s standards, but it runs fine (better than Mass Effect).

Edit: now that the game has been officially released, there's a lot of people who are reporting various technical issues on the official forums. As far as I'm concerned though, the game runs extremely well on my PC.

Conclusion

So far, it's looking good. I like the gameplay, I like the dialogues, I like the characters. Graphics are really fine, and sounds too so far. I really dig the origins, but have reserves as to the core story material. It's executed very nicely; there's no doubt that DAO is truly a role-playing game in essence, not just in name. But you have to admit that the whole "join the elite warriors to save the world from the convenient and generic horde of evil creatures" isn't the most original plot out there. We'll see how it turns out.

Overall, if you like "true" RPGs, like Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic, you'll enjoy DAO. If you're more into the action variant, it might take some time for you to get used to the different pace. In any event, this really is a very polished game. It won't revolutionise gaming (it's more a refinement of existing concepts), but so far it's a lot of fun. In all honesty, it's the first time since KotOR that I'm really excited about a game.

 

Cool. Thanks for sharing. As far as PCs go, what is considered a dinosaur nowadays? I have a dual-core 2.66 GHZ and a Nvidia 9800 GT. I can run Oblivion on max for a decent frame rate but the Witcher runs horribly, and this game looks a lot prettier than the Witcher.

 

My dino:
P4 3.6 HT
2 GB RAM
HD 3650 512 MB

Interestingly enough, I technically don't meet the processor requirements (though hyperthreading might fix this). Yet, Dragon Age runs better than Mass Effect, for which I did meet the requirements. That's why I say that the game seems to be well-optimized.

As far as the Witcher goes, I haven't played it but I do know that it's based on NWN's Aurora engine. NWN2 was also based on it, and is infamous for being badly optimized. So perhaps it's the same with Witcher.

 

Thanks for the update, DM. It sounds like a classic RPG, judging from your impressions.

 

With only one PC in the house and with my wife now working days and using the PC for about an hour or two in the evening I purchased Dragon Age Origins for my PS3 last night.

I play through all of the humans introductions for about 45 minutes each. Here is my thoughts on the game given what I have seen so far.

Graphics - I'm not all that impressed with the graphics of the game on the PS3. I'm not sure if the game would look better on a PC or not but I was not impressed especially after playing Resistance 1 and 2 and seeing how good games can be on the PS3.

Gameplay PC vs. Console - I like how it plays on PS3. Without being able to compare the console vs. PC I can't really determine if the game is designed specially for one format over the other - I'm hoping to buy the PC game around XMas. So far the gameplay reminds me of Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance on the PS2.

Game Mechanics - I like how the game mechanis operate; however, the character development trees seem limited from what I can tell from my playing time. I'll know more once I actually get into the game. Only getting to level 2 for 3 different classes surely limits my knowledge there, but from the tree I noticed it does seem to lack progressions like D&D CRPGs.

Storyline - LOVE IT! LOVED BOTH HUMAN STORIES! THIS IS WHAT RPG ARE ALL ABOUT!!!!!

This game did come at a price for me though; my wife now owns a sony MP3 player and a custom carry case for it. Who cares because I got Dragon Age the day it was released and now I get to play it tonight.

My first full play through will be a human magi. I'm not sure if I will become a Healer, Shifter, etc...

 

There's a lot of people who are disappointed by the graphics. Like I said, I personally like them; but I don't have very high standards.

From what I know, the big difference is that you can zoom out to an isometric view on the PC. Also, there are apparently more enemies at once on the PC because you are expected to be more tactical in your approach thanks to the isometric view.

It's true that there's less stuff overall than a game like NWN, but then again I think leveling is more interesting in DAO since you get to improve your character each level instead of only adding a couple of skill points like in D&D 3.0. And for non-mages at least, I think it's more interesting to get special attacks than a boring feat like weapon focus or dodge.

I also forgot to point out that only the PC version gets the toolset. Considering that NWN is still alive 7 years after its release thanks to the toolset, I think that's a major advantage going on for the PC version.

 

The isometric aspect is cool. That's what I loved about combat in BG-2. Aaargh, I'll have to wait till next week ...

 

Question for the Console controls: Can you pause and issue movement orders to multiple people? What I mean by that is, in a system using a mouse, you can pause, click on the person, click on the place you want them to go, and they've got their orders. In most console systems I've seen, you can only command movement by actually moving the person there (unpaused, push forward/left/right/whatever until they're where you want them). This means that, for movement at least, you can still only control one at a time. Did DA:O find a way around that?

 

My graphical grip is that Dragon Age does not look better than NWN2. Of course I'm comparing Dragon Age on a PS3 with a 720P TV and NWN2 on PC with a 1200x1024 monitor using a 8800GS GPU. I just figured a game developed a couple year later would have a little bit better graphics. My thought on this issue is that that Bioware lower the PC requirement to sell more copies of the game.

As for the view I believe there are 2 maybe 3 views on PS3. Didn't really play much with the options. Just wanted to get a feel of the game last night.

Dragon Age vs. DD - There are quite a few useful and activated feats in DD - knockdown, powerattack, etc... I just have to play a bit more than 2 levels to see how Dragon Age compares to DD for skills/feats

As for the add on content with the tool set; it would not surprise me if the add on content created on a PC could be ported on a console system. Just to play the game I had to download over a 3GB file. Most PS3 games I have played do not require that much download content from the game disc in order to play the game. Also, there could be differnet download content for PC and console down the road. Since the PC may have more FREE downable content I plan o purchasing the game some time in December around XMAS.

Giving Command to companions on Console - I have only play to level 2 with the three human classes. I have yet to really dive into the game and all of its features and options. In fact I have yet to read the game manual. Why bother when most RPGs give you slow instructions, though not nearly detailed enough to truly make the gaming experience truly enjoyable. I will know more tonight as I sit down and read the full manual and get into the game more.

I have to say this - Having ONE disc for a game is great. I'm not sure how many disc the PC game has but one disc for the PS3 is AWESOME! No need to swap disc, etc... Just ONE disc. I wonder how full the blu-ray disc actually is and if they could have added more content to the PS3 game. I also wonder if they were delaying the PS3 to add the FREE content to the disc instead of making it a download? Either way, one disc is better than 2, 3, 4, etc...

 

Official content would obviously come out on all platforms, I'm really talking about the free, community-made variant. Assuming the game gets a strong community going like NWN1, that could be very much awesome.

 

That doesn't sound so original...

Do quests include options to change sides? Or different ways to complete them?

Is the game linear? Does the game take into account your character's traits and his or her past actions?

How does death work? Is it like in BG or more like Kotor?

I've watched a few trailers and videos and I am not impressed so far. I'm going to give the game creator a try though.

 

My take is that the game was so long in development that the technology became dated while they were working on it. I mean, they started this almost 6 years ago. Three years ago it probably would have been awesome regarding eye candy. But they figured that most RPG players really don't care that much about the graphics anyway, as long as the artwork is compelling. The Black Isle game technology wasn't much to speak of, but the hand painted scenes were fantastic (all the areas and dungeons were different and had their own character which added more atmosphere to the game), rather than the 3D tiles that are cut and pasted and used over-and-over again, but are arranged a bit differently in the same game.

 

It's not, but then again what can we really expect? Seriously, questing in RPGs has always been pretty much the same. What matters is how these quests are presented. The final quest of the mage origin for instance was in essence just a "fetch and deliver"... but there was a real story behind it and I was actually excited to see how it would end.

Yes, at least so far. For instance right off the bat during the mage origins I had different ways of doing the quest. Whether or not there's real consequences for the path you choose I don't know, I've only done it once.

Without spoiling too much, once you're done with the prologue you have 4 main quests that you can do in whatever order you wish (so it's kind of like the KotOR planet system, or the Underdark part in Hordes of the Underdark).

Your origin seems to have an impact on some conversations and such. Can't say much more, I'm still just a couple of hours in.

Companions auto-resurrect after combat, but with an attribute penalty that can only be removed with a special item or a high level spell available to the spirit healer specialisation for mages. Subsequent deaths add more penalties. So it's more like KotOR, but with a little twist.

It's all a matter of opinions of course, but I reiterate my original statement: it's the most fun I've had in quite a while. There really aren't that many good RPGs these days, DAO is pretty much as close to BG we'll ever get.

There might also be the fact that the game was originally not supposed to come out on consoles. To sell a PC exclusive, you have to take into account mainstream machines.

And I absolutely agree with you about 2D art vs tilesets.

 

Chandos made some very good points.

Thanks DarthMuffin for answering my (many) questions. I think that your point about the lack of new RPGs is quite valid (and can be applied to other games like The Witcher).

I've made three characters with the game creator, they looked great (and the face generator is much better than it is in Oblivion no argument there).

The game is probably a lot of fun but it doesn't look like there is that much variety in the number of characters that can be created. No histories or backgrounds (like in Arcanum or Vampire Bloodlines) for instance. The feat system looks interesting though it seems that at character creation there is absolutely no difference between two characters of the same race, gender and class (except cosmetic choices and 4 stat points).

I know that BG didn't set the bar particularly high in that respect but still when you claim that a game is going to be revolutionary you at least try to improve on the old used pattern.

I'm not sure about the adult content that is being advertised as if it was the revelation of the decade. I guess it will boost sales for kids because the ratings will make the game more attractive to them. Hopefully they didn't take the adult theme too far in Dragon Age Origins. There is nothing wrong with dealing with adult themes but that shouldn't be tantamount to gratuitous violence, foul language and sex (for instance the cards in The Witcher were rather meaningless). Adult themes should make you think about your character as a real sentient being (the adult content being a means to an end and not an end in itself).

But I'm just making assumptions. The game is said to be released in France, Germany and Poland on the 19th. I don't know if they handle logistics so badly or if they want to boost online sales but in either case that is not serious.

 

I believe the choices you make do impact the game and how things are played. I am in the process of replaying the whole magi tower sequence because the last task in this part of the game has two possible choices. I want to see if the second choice has a alternative movie sequence.

As far as the game goes; I have now played for almost two hours. There is a lot of material to read to learn about the world history and about how to play the game. There is also a lot of movies. It would not surprise me if the game 80 hours of playing is actually 45 hours of movies and 35 hours of actual gaming. Just an FYI to those of you who did not enjoy NWN2 constance movie sequences. Though the acting in DAO is 10x times than NWN2.

 

Sadly, there have been some errors during the production of the physical DVD,
so availability in severeal European countries will be next week, instead of today what would be the official release date .

 

For backgrounds, they really focused on the origins, for good or ill. I still don't know how much they really mean in the long run, but by themselves I found them to be compelling experiences (well they 2 I did anyway). As for character creation, you can actually select an additional skill and 2 spells or talents in the "real" game when creating a character, something that couldn't be done in the creator. It's not that much, but it's a start. And like I said, I prefer the talents they have in place than NWN's feats, which were just too generic and uninspiring at times (+1 here, +1 there...).

This is something I was "afraid" of during the game's marketing. I'm not against sex and violence in video games, but only as long as it really means something to the game and the plot. So far, the game has actually been pretty tame, which leads to me to believe that it was all a marketing gimmick to move more copies in prepubescent hands. There's blood all right. Characters get blood all over their face when they kill something, but beyond that there isn't too much. Haven't had any foul language so far.

As for the sex, I'm guessing it's just a "reward" for completing a romance plot, like in Mass Effect (times sure have changed since KotOR's "fade to black" kiss Or Aerie wanting to "spend the night with you"). I haven't encountered any subjective material so far.

 

Yes, but will a baby appear in your inventory as a result?

 

Purchase DAO before 4/1/2010

I highly recommend buying DOA now NEW and not used. If you buy it now NEW you get two free Download contect.

If you created a DA character using the character created and uploaded the character to the Bioware/EA Network website you would get a free item for the game.

Also, if you play Dragon Age Journey you can get up to three items for Dragon Age Origins.

Since the game is now released and you can no longer pre-order the game you ened up missing out on some other free DLC. If you pre-order the SE DAO game for a digital download you received extra DLC content ontop of the content received the SE.

I plan to buy the $7 DLC that I was unable to purchase, because the PS3 SE was not availabe locally for me.

If you don't have the money to buy DAO you can play DA Journey; the game leveling up system and skills/spells/special abilites are close to what is in DAO.

 

It was originally intended that the party would need to return to town/camp and see a healer to get those injuries healed. It was supposed to be something like the ressurection of BG, but more functional (companion is still around, just injured). How common are those items, and how easy is the spell to get?

I don't know what Arcanum or Vampire Bloodlines did, but DA:O has 6 different Origins, which define your family, upbringing, and background, as well as a unique first "chapter" of the game.

I think this game system was more focussed around unique development through the game than unique start. When you get 3? stat points to distribute every level, a new talent every level, and a skill point every few levels, customization through leveling is much more significant than in D&D.

I've been cautiously optomistic about this from the beginning. They've indicated that there were going to be a lot of truely mature and adult situations (i.e. hard decisions, sacrifices, risks, consequences), but never gave any specifics (of course, that would be spoiling). Then they started the "New Sh*t" campaign and we saw all the blood. Then they revealed the romances, with the NPCs in underwear (ugly underwear, too). I don't know, but I'm hoping the psychological content was unchanged.