Is Dragon Age: Origins one of my favorite games ever?

[MrAngryFace]

So i've got over 100 hours sunk into the PC version and here I find myself the past few weeks picking at the 360 version; which is, despite its fuglyness, still a lot of fun. I am also shocked at how decent the UI is.

Is this one of my favorite games of all time? This generic game with a generic cherry on top?

Dont even ask why I picked up Dragon Age II for 360- sure I finished it on PC but REALLY? Oh i'll play it, and ill be all like FUK THE TEMPLARS MAGES UNITE!

Maybe i'm just subconciously trying to fund a Garrus/Varric crossover title.

[Great Rumbler]

I love it, but it's not even Top 5 WRPG of the generation for me.

[MrAngryFace]

I love it, but it's not even Top 5 WRPG of the generation for me.

I clearly love it, but its a different kind of love than say....skies of arcadia/tech romancer/etc...I cant quite put my finger on what its all about

[Human Snorenado]

It's just eminently playable.  I also sunk well over 100 hours into it across multiple platforms.  Honestly, reminds me of KOTOR last gen as a comparison.

[MrAngryFace]

It's just eminently playable.  I also sunk well over 100 hours into it across multiple platforms.  Honestly, reminds me of KOTOR last gen as a comparison.

the first + expansion is pretty great; the second game does have Varric, who may be one of the best bioware characters ever. A realistic BRO if I ever saw one

[demi]

pretty shit game. might as well play JRPGs.

[MrAngryFace]

I know, right? wtfffffffffffff ar tonelico here I cum :*(



haha jus kidding- ill stick with my shitty games

[Stoney Mason]

Great game. Hopefully 3 will be more like it than the lame ass #2. And actually epic in scale and feel like the original.

[Human Snorenado]

Varric was totally sweet.  I have tried to play DA2 twice now and keep stopping.  The last time it was after the stupid quest where

spoiler (click to show/hide)

your mom gets abducted and used in a science experiment, I was all like "ok I can't even TRY to take this shit seriously anymore."

[close]

Then I replayed the GC and Wiinis Fire Emblems.  I need to find more games like that, they rule.  Although hopefully within 4-5 months I won't need to worry about this shit anymore as Diablo 3 will be out and I will just drop out of society for a year or so.

[Van Cruncheon]

triumph, have you played titan quest

[Himu]

pc version is still the best wrpg this gen (that I've played)

[Madrun Badrun]

I agree.  I love it and yet really can't say why it's so good.  I also liked 2 as well even if it was disappointing.

[Human Snorenado]

triumph, have you played titan quest

no

[Himu]

triumph, have you played titan quest

no

ultimate diablo clone, brah

[tiesto]

pc version is still the best wrpg this gen (that I've played)

Mine's still Witcher 1. I never really was interested in Dragon Age, it looked too generic. I did play the demo of the second one and it was horrible.

[fomalhaut]

Fallout New Vegas takes every rpg related crownings, but Dragon Age is ok. It's total butt compared to Baldur's Gate in every single department, especially graphics

[cool breeze]

I liked DAO a lot.  I think it did a good job in letting you build your character.  There're a bunch of transparent choices and stuff, but I was fooled enough to think I was dictating what happened.  It was really generic but whatever, I did good deeds and had an elf manservant.  I'm ok with that.  The origins sections might have helped a lot too.

[Great Rumbler]

If I was ranking the last 6-7 years of Western RPGs, they'd go something like this:

1. Fallout: New Vegas
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
3. Fallout 3
4. Mass Effect 2
5. The Witcher 2
6. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
7. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
8. The Witcher
9. Mass Effect 1
10. Dragon Age

[MrAngryFace]

That's a weird order since Mass Effect 1 was a lot better than Mass Effect 2.

haha what

[Great Rumbler]

That's a weird order since Mass Effect 1 was a lot better than Mass Effect 2.

Mass Effect 1 had essentially broken gameplay, a sub-standard RPG system welded to a sub-standard shooting system. ME2 did away with much of the RPG system, but replaced it with a far improved shooting system that was actually fun to play. I also enjoyed the "episodic" nature of the storyline, even if the main plot was far weaker and less interesting as a whole than in the previous game. The inclusion of Illium wins huge favors for me, and the excellent Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC ties a nice bow on the package. Having good and evil decisions tied into the cutscenes themselves [rather than just going through dialog choice] was also a nice touch.

ME1 had the better main plot and the better OST, but it wasn't the better game, in my humble opinion of course.

[fomalhaut]

in RPGS atmosphere, plot and ost go alot farther to me than 'gameplay' , the nebulous term as any time i'm 'playing the game' is gameplay, even dialogue.

but idc that much about Mass Effect to have a side, it's not really an rpg series anymore and i don't care that it's not, i just prefer the experience of 1 better.

[Himu]

in RPGS atmosphere, plot and ost go alot farther to me than 'gameplay' , the nebulous term as any time i'm 'playing the game' is gameplay, even dialogue.

but idc that much about Mass Effect to have a side, it's not really an rpg series anymore and i don't care that it's not, i just prefer the experience of 1 better.

This is what I don't get about most wrpg fanatics. They seem mostly concerned about plot and story than mechanics and gameplay.

[Stoney Mason]

in RPGS atmosphere, plot and ost go alot farther to me than 'gameplay' , the nebulous term as any time i'm 'playing the game' is gameplay, even dialogue.

but idc that much about Mass Effect to have a side, it's not really an rpg series anymore and i don't care that it's not, i just prefer the experience of 1 better.

This is what I don't get about most wrpg fanatics. They seem mostly concerned about plot and story than mechanics and gameplay.

If I'm spending >20 hours in a game it better damn sure have some great immersion qualities. Whether we specifically call that "plot" and "story" is another issue. It's why Fallout New Vegas for me would never make any list other than buggiest pile of 2010. But that's just my imo.

If I'm not motivated by your world in some manner I'm going to stop playing your game once it goes over a certain time length.

The only real exception to me for this is loot games which have a constant level up and reward mechanic in place. But the reality is that most games can't effectively string it out for that long.

[Human Snorenado]

WRPGs have completely, absolutely shit all over JRPGs in mechanics and gameplay this gen.  Story and plot for that matter, too.

As an aside:  I see a bunch of people saying they enjoyed Fallout New Vegas more than Fallout 3 in this thread... really?  I admit that I never got to the strip in New Vegas but for whatever reason the game just didn't click with me like 3 did.  Could have something to do with all of the goddamn glitches, bugs, and updates but yeah.

[Stoney Mason]

WRPGs have completely, absolutely shit all over JRPGs in mechanics and gameplay this gen.  Story and plot for that matter, too.

As an aside:  I see a bunch of people saying they enjoyed Fallout New Vegas more than Fallout 3 in this thread... really?  I admit that I never got to the strip in New Vegas but for whatever reason the game just didn't click with me like 3 did.  Could have something to do with all of the goddamn glitches, bugs, and updates but yeah.

Some people love Obsidian so they love that game and the "Obsidian elements"  it brings to the table. I'm not much of a fan of them and I had issues with that game even beyond the bugs.

[MrAngryFace]

I liked Fallout 3 more- the story was more meaningful (even if poorly constructed) and the setting had a lot of impact. New Vegas while A LOT of fun never felt like everything that happened happened for any particular reason.

[Great Rumbler]

The "gameplay" is still a very, VERY large chunk of the Mass Effect series.

Despite what some here will say, I liked the ME2 OST. It was a bit more symphonic, but there were still a lot of really great tracks. The main story wasn't as strong, but the little stories along the way [the side missions and the character missions] were very enjoyable and gave the game a different [but not necessarily BAD] feel. As for atmosphere, ME2 still had that in droves. Places like Illium, the Shadow Broker's hideout, and Omega were great locations to look at and become immersed in.

Yes, ME1 did some things better, but it's not an either/or situation here.

WRPGs have completely, absolutely shit all over JRPGs in mechanics and gameplay this gen.  Story and plot for that matter, too.

As an aside:  I see a bunch of people saying they enjoyed Fallout New Vegas more than Fallout 3 in this thread... really?  I admit that I never got to the strip in New Vegas but for whatever reason the game just didn't click with me like 3 did.  Could have something to do with all of the goddamn glitches, bugs, and updates but yeah.

Kinda hard to really put into words, but I guess if I had to come up with some solid reason I'd say it's because I liked the world a bit better. They're both really close together in mind, so much so that the tiniest things here and there make the different for me. And I never had much of an issue with bugs and what-not, so it's not really a consideration.

[Himu]

WRPGs have completely, absolutely shit all over JRPGs in mechanics and gameplay this gen.  Story and plot for that matter, too.

As an aside:  I see a bunch of people saying they enjoyed Fallout New Vegas more than Fallout 3 in this thread... really?  I admit that I never got to the strip in New Vegas but for whatever reason the game just didn't click with me like 3 did.  Could have something to do with all of the goddamn glitches, bugs, and updates but yeah.

I don't know. Aside from Dragon Age for pc, I just don't agree. All the other games I've played they've turned them into weird hybrids. Mass Effect 2 is great, but I wouldn't consider it an rpg, for example.

I haven't sank my teeth into New Vegas yet either. It's sitting on my shelf. Maybe next year.

[Himu]

Actually, I enjoy wrpg and jrpgs both, passionately, in fact. It really wasn't a wrpg vs jrpg thing. I mean, Dragon Age: Origins is my favorite rpg this generation.

[Human Snorenado]

Name me some of these great JRPGs from this gen, cause I'm just not seeing them.  If you say FF anything, I will punch you in the dick over the internet.

The only enjoyable JRPG experiences I've had this gen are Lost Odyssey and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn.  Lost Odyssey was completely because of the story/plot- the gameplay was absolute generic vanilla rpg stuff.  Radiant Dawn was enjoyable for the complete opposite reason- gameplay and I guess a little bit of nostalgia carried over from PoR.  Everything else out of Japan that I've played has been either mediocre or awful.  Compare that to DA:O, Fallout 3 and even New Vegas... yeah.  Plus, unlike you I don't sit around and cry over ME2 not being an rpg.  It's an action rpg and a damn fine one.

[Himu]

Name me some of these great JRPGs from this gen, cause I'm just not seeing them.  If you say FF anything, I will punch you in the dick over the internet.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Etrian Odyssey
Cladun
Dragon Quest IX
Tales of Vesperia
Devil Survivor
Demon's Souls
Valkyrie Chronicles
Ys VII
Ys III
ZHP

If you want to have good jrpgs this gen you have to go to the handhelds. This may or may not be to your liking, but they're certainly there like they always have been and I haven't even played Dark Souls, Last Remnant, Trails of the Sky, or Radiant Historia, which I hear are fab.

My original point was that I find it sad that the bulk of the wrpgs this gen have sacrificed their more rpg roots for becoming glorified shooters. It wasn't a post directly comparing jrpgs to wrpgs in any way, though to be truthful, I do find jrpgs to be mechanically superior to wrpgs, as seen in games such as Strange Journey or Demons's Souls, which hilariously enough, are games directly inspired by western rpgs of old.

[Himu]

Name me some of these great JRPGs from this gen, cause I'm just not seeing them.  If you say FF anything, I will punch you in the dick over the internet.

The only enjoyable JRPG experiences I've had this gen are Lost Odyssey and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn.  Lost Odyssey was completely because of the story/plot- the gameplay was absolute generic vanilla rpg stuff.  Radiant Dawn was enjoyable for the complete opposite reason- gameplay and I guess a little bit of nostalgia carried over from PoR.  Everything else out of Japan that I've played has been either mediocre or awful.  Compare that to DA:O, Fallout 3 and even New Vegas... yeah.  Plus, unlike you I don't sit around and cry over ME2 not being an rpg.  It's an action rpg and a damn fine one.

ME2 is a damn fine game, sure. But it's also mechanically light rpg. It is literally Your First RPG. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't advertised heavily as an rpg, but going from Dragon Age: origins, with its myriad of options and customization to Mass Effect 2 was the ultimate lol.

[Himu]

in RPGS atmosphere, plot and ost go alot farther to me than 'gameplay' , the nebulous term as any time i'm 'playing the game' is gameplay, even dialogue.

but idc that much about Mass Effect to have a side, it's not really an rpg series anymore and i don't care that it's not, i just prefer the experience of 1 better.

This is what I don't get about most wrpg fanatics. They seem mostly concerned about plot and story than mechanics and gameplay.

If I'm spending >20 hours in a game it better damn sure have some great immersion qualities. Whether we specifically call that "plot" and "story" is another issue. It's why Fallout New Vegas for me would never make any list other than buggiest pile of 2010. But that's just my imo.

If I'm not motivated by your world in some manner I'm going to stop playing your game once it goes over a certain time length.

The only real exception to me for this is loot games which have a constant level up and reward mechanic in place. But the reality is that most games can't effectively string it out for that long.

I completely understand this.

But I think there's a line between your philosophy, and like say, GreatRumbler's, where they advertise how much of a great game Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines is, and it turns out that it play like shit. But it's written well! -- and that apparently is the only thing that truly matters. Have the same issue with those crappy Euro rpgs every drools over.

[Great Rumbler]

in RPGS atmosphere, plot and ost go alot farther to me than 'gameplay' , the nebulous term as any time i'm 'playing the game' is gameplay, even dialogue.

but idc that much about Mass Effect to have a side, it's not really an rpg series anymore and i don't care that it's not, i just prefer the experience of 1 better.

This is what I don't get about most wrpg fanatics. They seem mostly concerned about plot and story than mechanics and gameplay.

If I'm spending >20 hours in a game it better damn sure have some great immersion qualities. Whether we specifically call that "plot" and "story" is another issue. It's why Fallout New Vegas for me would never make any list other than buggiest pile of 2010. But that's just my imo.

If I'm not motivated by your world in some manner I'm going to stop playing your game once it goes over a certain time length.

The only real exception to me for this is loot games which have a constant level up and reward mechanic in place. But the reality is that most games can't effectively string it out for that long.

I completely understand this.

But I think there's a line between your philosophy, and like say, GreatRumbler's, where they advertise how much of a great game Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines is, and it turns out that it play like shit. But it's written well! -- and that apparently is the only thing that truly matters. Have the same issue with those crappy Euro rpgs every drools over.

You'll find precious few posts where I hold up Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines as an objectively "great game". It's the ultimate flawed gem, an exercise in what could have been if the developer had more talent/time/money. I'll recommend it because it offers a great experience if one is willing to put up with horribly broken combat and laughable [but thankfully infrequent] cutscenes. It's got great characters, great writing, great voice-acting, great RPG mechanics, and interesting story, quests, and world. Seven years of fan-patches have got it into some semblance of order, thankfully.

[MrAngryFace]

Nier is kinda of the same way

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Who cares about story.  U guys are lame.  Fallout NV>>>>>>>>>>>Fallout3

absolutely

which reminds me, some upcoming Steam Sale should drop the shit out of New Vegas and its DLC - which DLC packs are Awesome and which ones are Shit

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Bad shit is going down.  You need to get stats and loots to stop it.  Best story ever.

when you put it this way, I look forward to the Eurogamer 10/10 Diablo III review

[Himu]

Bad shit is going down.  You need to get stats and loots to stop it.  Best story ever.

[Human Snorenado]

Bad shit is going down.  You need to get stats and loots to stop it.  Best story ever.

Tell me more of this stats and loots you speak of.

[Positive Touch]

Who cares about story.  U guys are lame.  Fallout NV>>>>>>>>>>>Fallout3

i couldn't get into nv BECAUSE so much of it was lame story.  i was expecting fo3 with more time spent running around towns, working opposing sides against each other for hilarious results.  what i got was a game that played like fo3 except they replaced all the long, drawn-out quests with short, boring fetchquests, they made a worldmap that's so rigid it actually has invisible walls, and they made everything built around a shitty story that goes nowhere.  most of the time the choices you face in quests are about as deep as rage's: you either do them or you dont.  theres very few opportunities to play good or bad, or to make critical decisions mid-quest.  you barely even get to interact with one of the two sides of the big conflict in the story.  its usually just "hey another ncr camp lets see what shit quests they have for me!!"  ive been playing for months and only JUST got the dude who runs the strip cuz i keep getting so bored.

[fomalhaut]

man i wish i still had the fight in me to just go and counterpoint left hook all this, but i just don't got the dogs barking anymore. 

Story and Gameplay being considered seperate gameplay elements means that the game has failed, and that's why I like good RPG's as they weave the two elements together.  The story is told through the gameplay elements, which is what Obsidian and Troika excell(ed) at.  Planescape wouldn't be a good novel, it'd be decent, but as a story told through the medium of games, using the tools of the medium, it's the top of its class.

The technical quips are just a result of too much complexity, simple as that, if you want the game to be 'dumb' in rpg terms, turn it into a shooter ala Mass Effect and you'll be relatively bug free.  It's why Modern Warfare is relatively clean as a whistle compared to Fallout 1

[tiesto]

Name me some of these great JRPGs from this gen, cause I'm just not seeing them.  If you say FF anything, I will punch you in the dick over the internet.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Etrian Odyssey
Cladun
Dragon Quest IX
Tales of Vesperia
Devil Survivor
Demon's Souls
Valkyrie Chronicles
Ys VII
Ys III
ZHP

If you want to have good jrpgs this gen you have to go to the handhelds. This may or may not be to your liking, but they're certainly there like they always have been and I haven't even played Dark Souls, Last Remnant, Trails of the Sky, or Radiant Historia, which I hear are fab.

My original point was that I find it sad that the bulk of the wrpgs this gen have sacrificed their more rpg roots for becoming glorified shooters. It wasn't a post directly comparing jrpgs to wrpgs in any way, though to be truthful, I do find jrpgs to be mechanically superior to wrpgs, as seen in games such as Strange Journey or Demons's Souls, which hilariously enough, are games directly inspired by western rpgs of old.

Radiant Historia has a nice battle system and a lot of good going for it, although there's a few places where the lack of budget really shows. It's one of the best games on the DS though, and I think Triumph as a BOF:DQ fan will appreciate some of the elements in it (like placing down traps and knocking enemies into them). Also, The World Ends With You is fucking sweet with its dual-screen battles and lots of interesting design decisions (like a variable difficulty level, encounter chaining, tons of different special attacks), Half Minute Hero is a fun and addicting mini-RPG, Valkyrie Profile:Covenant of the Plume combines the VP combo-based battle system with a SRPG grid and a cool mechanic where you can sacrifice party members for powerful abilities. Not to mention my personal favorite RPG this gen, Resonance of Fate, with its crazy-ass gun kata inspired battle system and goofy sense of humor. All great and unique mechanically-driven games from the magical land of Nippon.

I don't really like many western RPG battle systems, apart from the top-down Infinity Engine style and some of the earlier games. Even the ones that have adopted FPS or third-person elements, haven't been very great. Mass Effect 2 comes the closest, but it's pretty repetitive running down the same corridors fighting the same grunts, without much of a plot beyond "recruit a crew and then solve their daddy issues". ME1 had much more interesting dungeons and much better music/atmosphere... but the sidequests and combat were total rubbish. The best western RPG I played in the last few years... was Planescape: Torment from 1999.

[Himu]

Even Planescape isn't that fun to play.

[Human Snorenado]

Apparently, all we have learned from this thread is that weeaboos are gonna be weeaboos, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.  "BUBUBUT HANDHELDS!"

[Joe Molotov]

Even the dregs of the PS2 era are better than some of these "great" JRPGs. 

[MrAngryFace]

J vs W debates are a waste o time

[Himu]

Even the dregs of the PS2 era are better than some of these "great" JRPGs. 

Better than which ones? The ones I listed are so choice.

Apparently, all we have learned from this thread is that weeaboos are gonna be weeaboos, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.  "BUBUBUT HANDHELDS!"

I listed a lot of great games. You can ignore them if you want.

J vs W debates are a waste o time

I agree.

[Smooth Groove]

J vs W debates are a waste o time

I like W better because there's no censoring pixelation.   

[MrAngryFace]

My issue with J fans is that they act like there isnt a tidal wave of shit JRPGs every year that go under the radar because publishers know the games wont sell over here. You get that level of filtration WRPGs just dont enjoy.

[Himu]

My issue with J fans is that they act like there isnt a tidal wave of shit JRPGs every year that go under the radar because publishers know the games wont sell over here. You get that level of filtration WRPGs just dont enjoy.

Yep. Can't stand the people who worship every jrpg ever either.

[Human Snorenado]

jrpg fans like that shit tho.

[Human Snorenado]

The fact remains, however, that a large contingent of stereotypical weeaboos dig that sort of thing.  It would be great if we could pretend they don't exist but let's be real about it.

Not saying that WRPGs and fans don't have their icky counterpoints... the bioware fans that just want to have relationships with Morrigan and shit come to mind.  But that's more of a bug than a feature imo.

[Himu]

jrpgs "fans" is a pretty wide label. Because you like jrpgs doesn't mean it's the only genre you play, and it also means you don't have to like shit like Ar Tonelico. Sorry Drinky.

[Himu]

jrpg fans like that shit tho.

I'm a JRPG fan and I don't like that shit.  Then again, I guess I'm not a JRPG fan to the extent that I love a game just for being in the genre.  I also don't ignore handhelds so I've had more than enough good JRPGs to play without having to convince myself that the latest PS3 shitbomb JRPG is actually NOT SO BAD if you give it a chance!

WHITE KNIGHT CHRONICLES

[Human Snorenado]

Maybe I just find the jrpg equivalent to be creepier because, you know, waifus.

[Van Cruncheon]

chain combo annihilated in here, jesus

[fomalhaut]

Even Planescape isn't that fun to play.

It's engaging, it's not Super Mario weeeeeeeeeeeee.

Silent Hill isn't fun, how could it be? but it's engaging.

[The Sceneman]

thread not about Dragon's Lair

fail

[youtube=560,345]FWzrcb8qZg8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[magus]

you guys are lucky i usualy don't enter thread with dragon age written on it

[tiesto]

My issue with J fans is that they act like there isnt a tidal wave of shit JRPGs every year that go under the radar because publishers know the games wont sell over here. You get that level of filtration WRPGs just dont enjoy.

Honestly, the filtration level ain't what it used to be for JRPGs.  I think more decent games than terrible ones have been left over here while I've been here.  The truly awful shit like Gust RPGs and stuff like Neptunia seem to make it over without fail, while higher quality efforts from companies like SEGA, Capcom, and Nintendo stay in Japan.  This is certainly a newer phenomena (probably from PS2 generation onwards), but there just aren't as many quick and dirty garbage JRPGs made these days.  The 8/16/32bit eras though?  Whoa nelly, I'm only starting to grasp just how much JRPG shiiiiiiiiiiiit was produced in those eras.

Yup, I've said it before, it really sucks how we have been getting Idea Factory rubbish and god knows what else... but lots of great games have been staying in Japan, namely 7th Dragon, the other Trails in the Sky games, Last Ranker, and some little game I heard might be good called Xenoblade. That's what fans are getting up in arms about, not that games like "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute" and that baby-making RPG aren't getting english releases.

Unfortunately while Japanese RPGs are my favorite genre, I know there's a lot of rubbish (in fact, the most popular RPG series worldwide tends to have a whole bunch of bad games in it ). I've played RPGs so bad that you can only imagine (Ghost Lion, Hydlide)... I have a bit more tolerance for "average" RPGs though, but that's typical to any genre-fan.

Triumph most definitely needs to give Resonance of Fate, Radiant Historia, and Covenant of the Plume a try, I think he'd dig those.