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Dragon Age: Origins Impressions Of No Dragons
Posted by Michael McWhertor at 11:00 AM on July 22, 2008
BioWare treated us to a closed doors look at its upcoming role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins at E3, our first glimpse into what even the developers are referring to as a spiritual successor to the Baldurs Gate series. While there was a distinct lack of actual dragons in our extended preview of the PC version — BioWare reps confirmed that we will run into said dragons at some point — what we did see was still impressive.
Our demo began with an introduction to the Grey Wardens, better known as the Good Guys, and their epic struggle against the Blight. The Blight are a the blue and green skinned orc lookalikes that you, your party and the Grey Wardens will battle throughout. They're of a varied species, some standing ten feet tall with sprouted horns, others more human like, with an unfortunate similarity to the Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. movie.
At first glance, the game is pure BioWare. Dragon Age: Origins has the dialogue tree interface the company is well-known for, with Mass Effect style camera angles paired with more isometric, full party view angles for keeping an eye on the action.
The game also has the BioWare patented "pause and play" method of controlling your party members actions with a turn-based/real-time combat engine. The whole thing looks familiar enough to feel like a medieval fantasy skin applied to a BioWare's Greatest RPG Hits release. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just that, despite the dandy artistic style and modern-day graphics engine, it could feel like familiar territory.
Dragon Age's twisting plot line, full of choices decided by your unvoiced dialogue tree choices, came into play early in our demo. Wandering around the king's courtyard, we came across a caged man, one who promised us a key in exchange for feeding him. Instead of opting to find food for the poor caged soul or ignoring him, our "hero" decided to go with another choice — kill the prisoner and take his bartering tool.
BioWare reps showed off some of the game's scope, as we watched a massive Blight versus Human battle going down just outside the castle wall. This kicked off a brief mission in which we were instructed to light a tower beacon, gathering up disposable party members along the way. These "red shirts" weren't important to the story, but, as we saw later, you'll come across playable teammates that do affect the plot.
Our BioWare rep switched the action to a separate scene, showing off the skills of a higher level elven mage, one gifted with elemental powers. She casted fire and ice spells — each with spectacular effects — which showed off the "pause and play" technique a bit further. Dragon Age can pull off some impressive visuals, something one might not appreciate if the visual din weren't something that could be stopped and controlled.
After dispatching some of the lower-level Blight, our rep kicked off what amounted to a boss fight with a giant blue-skinned demon. The ogre, twice the size of the Grey Warden and his party members, was hurling chunks of the floor, picking up the less fortunate and bashing them to death as the four-person hero squad attacked. It was more action oriented than what we've come to expect from the RPG experts and, after whittling down the ogre's health bar, ended with a sword through the skull cinematic attack. Oh, it was epic.
Our all-too-brief look at Dragon Age: Origins, part of a BioWare-built franchise that will be supported with downloadable content in the future, left us surprisingly interested. It looks to have a respectable blend of story, action and solid design, a satisfying return to form for the developer. We'll be keeping an eye on it.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
exkon
Posted 11:58 AM 22/7/08
for anyone who reads the series, doesn't this sound a little like "The Wheel of Time" series?
exkon
Lider
Posted 11:50 AM 22/7/08
Would be awesome if Bioware got the D&D and Forgotten Realms rights once again to make a new Baldur's Gate. I guess this spiritual successor will ahve to sufice...
Lider
bnpederson
Posted 11:49 AM 22/7/08
@Jawmuncher: PC first with 360 later I believe. Kinda the reverse Mass Effect.
bnpederson
sir_carrot
Posted 11:48 AM 22/7/08
Hmm. I would really like to see this in action.
Anyway, it's mostly irrelevant for me - won't have a PC to run this in a millennium.
sir_carrot
Jawmuncher
Posted 11:43 AM 22/7/08
Dragon Age is PC only right?
Jawmuncher
Arsenicberyllium
Posted 11:41 AM 22/7/08
I want them to create an intriguing plotline.
From what you described, this plot seems to be generic cut n' paste.
Arsenicberyllium
PsycheE
Posted 11:31 AM 22/7/08
@maniacmayhem: Except the size limit would get you through the character creation, then your 360 to proceed to laugh at you and ask for 200 more points.
PsycheE
maniacmayhem
Posted 11:28 AM 22/7/08
Very interested. I would love for them to bring back Baldur's Gate though.
How about an HD remake for Xbox Live/PSN!?
maniacmayhem
PsycheE
Posted 11:28 AM 22/7/08
I want NAO. Holy mother of all pearls, let your velvet of unconditional love be graced on the release date.
PsycheE
bleeps
Posted 11:27 AM 22/7/08
While I appreciate the BioWare polish they put on a lot of their projects (and I am *not* looking at you Mass Effect), I was hoping for something more than what we've already come to expect. Hopefully this will bear out in future previews.
bleeps
jettokisora
Posted 12:21 PM 22/7/08
No one ever links to the gameplay video.
[www.gametrailers.com]
So there you have it. Everything McWhertor discussed in the post, wrapped up in video form. I don't understand why no one ever links to this...
jettokisora
BassForever
Posted 12:20 PM 22/7/08
I'm afraid that the bioware touch might start to grow a bit stale, so far I've enjoyed everything they put out, will pick this up when its released.
BassForever
Malyonsus
Posted 12:01 PM 22/7/08
@exkon: Except it's probably written better. Burn! (I kid. Wheel of Time may not be the best written fantasy, but I have read most of the books)
On the subject of familiar, for me it's like Sonic for everyone else. I loved Baldur's Gate. I would like nothing more than a graphically updated version of it.
Malyonsus
Arttemis
Posted 11:59 AM 22/7/08
I can't say I'm all that confident knowing the release date is under a year away...
So little information, so much hope...
Arttemis
art_zombie
Posted 11:59 AM 22/7/08
Well at least these impressions have managed to rouse my interest more than the video we've seen a bunch already. Kudos, Mr. McWhertor.
art_zombie
okenny :)
Posted 12:43 PM 22/7/08
When will people realize that western RPGs (aka real RPGs) don't demo well? There are some exceptions such as Oblivion because I'm biased and also Mass Effect because it had many touch stones such as the dialog system, the graphics, the voice acting snippets, and the combat that all can be digested in small pieces. Now McWhertor, I generally like your opinions but I'm going to have to call you a hater because you didn't show nearly enough fanboyness for this game to appease the erection I've had for it. Same on you... now I have to go find my poor dog and a jar of peanut butter to find release :(
... this and the soon to be blindness of my dog is ALL YOUR FAULT!!
okenny :)
Replica23
Posted 12:42 PM 22/7/08
I just wish it was multi-player.
Replica23
teamr
Posted 12:36 PM 22/7/08
@maniacmayhem: lol. have you ever played Baldurs Gate? Not only would it totally rape the XBL/PSN filesize restrictions, the game would need to be totally reworked to play with a controller.
teamr
Snake726
Posted 12:35 PM 22/7/08
Needs more dragons
Needs more art direction
Needs less generic fantasy
Snake726
okenny :)
Posted 1:09 PM 22/7/08
@jettokisora: That was sexy <3
okenny :)
jettokisora
Posted 12:56 PM 22/7/08
Totally forgot we can include videos in comments now.
DRAGON AGE GAMEPLAY VIDEO!
+ Watch video
jettokisora
Syril
Posted 12:52 PM 22/7/08
No voiced dialog for the hero, huh? I thought that added a lot for Mass Effect.
Syril
AllegraStreit
Posted 12:50 PM 22/7/08
Games like that make me regret not being a PC gamer. But it wouldn't run on my PC anyway.
AllegraStreit
crim
Posted 1:15 PM 22/7/08
@exkon: I sure hope it isn't, I like the genre but can't take the series(you might disagree, some of my friends do so I get the other viewpoint). Past that though this looks just about perfect to me.
crim
Ignatius
Posted 1:14 PM 22/7/08
@BassForever:
I can't share your displeasure. I'm still hopping up and down for Mass Effect 2 and 3. :O
Ignatius
i_9
Posted 1:52 PM 22/7/08
@jettokisora:
All I could think was KOTOR. Now I'm definitely fucking sold on this one.
i_9
dozerking
Posted 1:47 PM 22/7/08
ahh..rpg's are looking good for PC, especially with the Possible rumor of Too Human coming to PC (labeled as multiplatform for a later date)....hmmmm..I can see the entire Hellgate community jumping onto Too Human if true...what say you?
[www.kotaku.com.au]
dozerking
Thorax
Posted 4:27 PM 22/7/08
This is a day one purchase for me. And yes, that is only because of Bioware's pedigree.
Thorax
JohnnyLA
Posted 4:10 PM 22/7/08
I heard that this has been in development for about 5 years...that's a looong time to get this together and they still have a year to go?
Even Diablo III might be coming out before them and that's been in production for a long time.
Oh well, if they got the cash to time their time to create a great game (like Valve, Blizzard, etc.) more power to them.
JohnnyLA
robur
Posted 6:49 PM 22/7/08
I saw the demonstration at E3 as well. For me, that was the biggest disappointment of the show. Dialogues that are a step back from Mass Effect, character models that are a step back from Mass Effect, lots of talking and cut scenes, just a few similar fights.
What would you think of this game if it wouldn't be done by Bioware? And what did they do the last 5.5 years?!
robur
Ariakkan
Posted 8:22 PM 22/7/08
Lets face it, what we have seen so far is totally generic, at least could have a D&D licence to save the day, but no. Oh god Bioware what you have become...
And by the way, just the think of playing Baldurs Gate in a console is a great nasty blasphemy.
Ariakkan
coffeehair
Posted 9:00 PM 22/7/08
Can't wait for this! Reminds me of Neverwinter Nights big time, rather than Baldur's for some reason.
coffeehair
SicariusIV
Posted 10:29 PM 22/7/08
I'm not too worried about the story being too typical - the writers at Bioware have stated many times that their influences stray more towards George RR Martin and his Song of Fire and Ice series than towards Wheel of Time. This bodes extremely well for this game. I'm pretty certain they are only showing the more typical fantasy side right now because first, marketing perceives that's what people want and second, they don't want to give away the zillion plot twists in the game.
SicariusIV
jerros
Posted 11:21 PM 22/7/08
I'm willing to cut Bioware a little slack on Mass Effect. The game was certianly unpolished & incomplete (as you could see with the dialog system that wasn't what we were promised, the inability to control party members, etc). However shortly after Mass Effect went "Gold" the announcement that EA bought out bioware was made, which means there was chaos in the office for weeks/months before that.
I'll judge Dragon Age on it's own merets when it's released, though I'm still quite concerned EA is messing with the company's MOJO. Dragon Age could very well be the last bioware title I ever buy if it's as unpolished as Mass Effect.
jerros
Sullyville
Posted 12:54 AM 23/7/08
Loved Mass Effect, KOTOR, Jade E.
Bioware is astonishing.
6 years in development means
that this game will be brewed
like a fine wine.
If it comes with online activation
and DRM however, I will still buy it
to support the developer, but
will download a cracked exe.
because that shit is bullshit.
Sullyville
Zodduska
Posted 12:42 AM 23/7/08
Wooooohooooo PC domination!!!!
Zodduska
jettokisora
Posted 12:36 AM 23/7/08
@KilgoreTrout__XL: Watch the gameplay video!
jettokisora
KilgoreTrout__XL
Posted 11:52 PM 22/7/08
If the combat is as awful as mass effect's, than this will be just as disappointing.
Bioware's RPGs were far better when they were on the Infinity engine. NVN, Jade, MS- all pretty soulless, if you ask me (well, compared to Shadows of Amn.) The combat had more room for tactics and strategy, sicne you controlled a full party and could arrange them on screen with a simple click of the mouse. Like, for instance, a web/abu spell trigger, if anyone remembers that.
A great side product was that the screens were beautifully-drawn artworks, not FPS rendered green hallways. That eliminated the requirement that you have to look at the same fucking dungeon 400 times in one game.
KilgoreTrout__XL
Poo_and_Wee
Posted 11:19 PM 22/7/08
"return to form"? When have BioWare ever been off-form?
Poo_and_Wee
Lukems
Posted 1:50 PM 22/7/08
Playing through Mass Effect again right now, goddam Bioware is awesome!
Lukems
CoreWolf
Posted 11:45 AM 22/7/08
At the moment, but i think it's meant to be heading to the 360 eventually.
CoreWolf
jo0nie
Posted 11:40 AM 22/7/08
I don't really care if Bioware's not going to be reinventing the genre this time, they've already done that. As long as I get to see again the epic battles and story like in Baldur's Gate, I'll be happy.
jo0nie
Muk1000
Posted 11:28 AM 22/7/08
The overhead viewpoint looks so much like Baldur's Gate that it makes me giddy. I sure hope this runs on my computer, cause it sounds like they're gonna deliver on their promise. Although no D&D rules will take some getting used to.
Muk1000