Its been a long time coming since such an epic tale of dark fantasy has graced gaming fingertips around the world but on the 3rd of November the growing number of fans stood in silence as Dragon Age swooped down and once again Bioware has hit gaming gold and in my opinion, last years game of the year!
Bioware certainly set the standard with the unaclaimed game of 2008 Mass Effect and now sets to reclaim gaming history as I dive into one of the best RPG/MMO'S I have ever played and one of the hardest reviews I have ever had the privilege of writing.
Only 50+ hours in and I still have not even scratched the surface of what is Dragon Age. This is such a big game and there is so much to do that in all the time I have spent on it I have only managed to do some of these things.
Bioware's success comes down to how they have presented this world you live in; there are so many characters and each character has a story, and each story has a background to it and all of these are gripping and satisfying in their own unique way.
Before you even get into the world the game presents you with a character customisation menu that you will instantly bow down before. The scale at which you can alter, edit and brand your character is emence. I found myself spending almost a solid hour designing and tweaking my character to look just like me, and boy it payed off. Seeing yourself going through this epic world, smiting anyone that stands in your way is a huge ego boost.
Choosing your characters specialized abilities can be tricky and if this reviewer can pass on a small bit of advice to anyone, dont over look the power of perswagion. You will often find your self in situations where the edge of your blade simply wont be enough.
There are three different races, human, elf and dwarf each with three classes and different backgrounds. On top of all this, each class has four specialized abilities and each one will change the out story line.
Dragon Age throws you into a world of impending doom from a horde of goolish, demonic like creatures called darkspawn. A group of magic dwellers who performed traitorous acts to become gods were cast down from heaven to the underground and became darkspawn. They look to resurrect daemons called Arch Daemons to take them up to the surface and take over the land.
I don’t want to give too much away but take my word for it when I say that even if I did tell you the entire story of my character, the choices I have made and the joys, disappointments, anger and betrayal I have faced, it wouldn’t come close to yours. Every turn changes your destiny and even while I am writing this review I am wondering how long it will be until I can dive back into it and where I will be taking my character next.
Voice-overs carry a sense of sarcasm and wit and the other characters always react to the way you speak to them; be cocky to them and you will find they will be cocky right back.
The down side is that your character doesn’t speak; instead you choose what they say from different possible dialogues at the bottom of the screen, without hearing the actual words being spoken. I couldn’t help but feel that after Bioware had gone to this much trouble on such an amazing game, couldn’t they have at least spent a bit more time on bringing your character to life with his own voice?
This is however a microscopic fault in the glory that is Dragon Age because when you get into a fight and the game cuts into a movie scene you are covered in the blood of your defeated foes and you just can help but sit back and feel like a god.
On the fighting side it can be a bit sluggish, and I often found myself equipping a lighter weapon just so I could move faster. This however will only really be noticeable in the beginning of the game as once you progress and up your stats, you will be swinging a 2-meter blade like it’s a feather.
A nice touch to Dragon Age is the game’s unique set-up; there is always something happening around you and the attention to detail is impeccable. That said, I have had the privilege of playing this amazing game on PC, as I have heard from other sources that the console versions are not as good, and tend to give off that unfinished feeling as they are more focused on an action style rather than the PC'S tactical one. So if you have the machine to handle it, I would highly recommend hitting this one on PC.
Speaking of tactical; seeing as you often travel with up to four companions (all along for the ride only for their own personal reasons), going into a big battle can be tricking. Bioware took this into mind and developed a system called the micro managing system - by pressing space bar the game pauses and you are able to assign tactical paths for your fellow traveller’s attacks.
One of the most lovable things about this game is that even though it is the size it is (landing in at a massive 20gigs) the loading times are some of the shortest I have experienced and this sort of thing always puts a smile on my face.
To conclude, this is the dark fantasy RPG everyone has been waiting for. Bioware has held nothing back and not many games can admit to being this ambitious and succeed. What truly stands out in the end is Dragon Age's ability to keep you coming back for more. After 50+ hours I cant wait to go back and start again with a different character and a different path altogether.
For the PC gamers out there, you will be please that you will get a bit more depth to this game with downloadable toolsets to create new levels, spells, skills and even cut scenes.
When I started this review thought it would be one of the hardest for me to write, and it has proven to be just that; anyway you look at it Dragon Age is like no other - it delivers outstanding results at every turn and has made it a hard task for me to find anything wrong with it.
For this reason I have given my highest rating of a well-earned 9.8/10, with it falling short of the 10 for a minor battle-managing hiccup. To give you an idea of how much I love this game, I have it minimized as I write this, as once you dive into it, it will take you to a land you will never want to leave.
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Played on: PC
Rating: 8.5
Rated: M (for Mature)
Ian Felmore
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How'd fallout not make the list. Atleast over cyberpunk, tales , and halo. Fallout been around since what 96 98 and has 5 6 games into it. It's full of lore when you play it. I'd even add star ocean to a point.
Yes in lore. Easily missed... absolutely. Never played a game that had me loving the world and lore behind it as much as that one. Most of course wouldn't be able to experience it since it is a more difficult game.
I can't speak for all titles on this list, but by the time you get to Dark Souls III, the lore is a bloody tapestry of intricacy
Played them all. Im not saying the games on the list dont have good lore...I just think hollow knight had more lore that is hidden but present and more easily explored and accessed. The souls games have tremendous lore but theyre mostly hidden and stay that way unless you look for it and research it. The lore is not very accessible.
Crows90,
I think that's a somewhat fair assessment. For me, the Souls games are less upfront about the lore, but it does invite your fascination through NPCs, items, locations, bosses, etc. There's this kind of natural progression where the picture becomes just clear enough by doing the essential tasks, but it really makes you want to explore every inch of the world.
narration is more important than lore i'd rather watch the story and characters in a more cinematic way instead of searching for notes and stuff that's why i love sony exclusive games like uncharted and gow and hate from software games
The article was top ten lore in video games. I think they did a bad job picking games out. I know what you mean though. I just like a variety of games and genres.
Great review. I'm really getting into it but have stopped as I have uni work to do and can't afford to get sucked in just yet.
In my opinion if anyone can be compared to Blizzard it's Bioware.
Was wondering what you felt was missing as far as managing the battle? I thought it was really easy to change characters and felt was fairly easy to manage. If anything could use some more macros for how many spells/abilities a chat gets. 3 characters done and can't wait for the add on in march!