Breadfan's Bread Basket #5: Bread Dragons
By breadfan 19 Comments
Dragon Age: Origins
Out of all of the great games that have come out during the last few months, Dragon Age: Origins was something of a surprise hit for me. Don't get me wrong, I had an interest in the game for a while, but I just wasn't expecting it to be so good. I was expecting Modern Warfare 2 to be occupying most of my time on the video game front, but it seems Dragon Age has come as a pleasant surprise.
I picked Dragon Age up about two weeks ago and at first I was a little hesitant about getting into the game. As many have said, Dragon Age's length is a daunting time commitment and I was debating whether or not I should wait until the semester was over with before jumping in. However that was not the case and I began my adventure with Dragon Age. In retrospect maybe I should have waited, I would be lying if I said my grades have not taken a slight drop due to Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2.
As I was faced with my first decision in Dragon Age, the character selection, I decided to play it rather straight and just start out as a human warrior. After completing the Human Nobel's origin story I quickly realized just how dramatically different each play through of Dragon Age is going to be. I can see myself playing this game multiple times in the future and getting a new experience every single time. Anyway, as I began my quest as a Grey Warden and had my first encounter with the dark spawn I was fully immersed in the game's universe.
There are very few games that actually allow the player to experience a fictional world like Dragon Age, you feel as if every action you make affects the surroundings. Something as simple as helping a refugee complete a common task can impact how certain members of your party view you. Depending on these actions they may scold you, praise you, make a witty remark, and even leave your party forever. Never has a game created this sort of complexity in which consequences play a major role as in Dragon Age. One bad choice can leave you at a major disadvantage for the rest of the game.
So far my current play through has clocked in about fourteen hours and it is a safe bet that the game will last for another thirty or so more. The story is excellent and keeps you interested and offers a wide variety of side quests and adventures to be had. Aside from completing some important main quests, I delved into some secondary tasks such as killing a group of bandits raiding refugees on their way into the city and even went looking for a blacksmith's daughter who managed to get herself into some trouble of the demonic sorts.
The sheer scale of Dragon Age's main plot is an astounding feature of the game. Once you have made strides in completing a number of quests you realized just how much more is in store for you before the final conclusion. Looking back on my time with the game I really feel as if I have accomplished a great deal. You really feel as if you have come along way as you continue forth onto the game's journey.
For anyone wondering which platform I am playing Dragon Age on, it is the Xbox 360 version. I had heard some negative things about the console versions of the game, and though I can see where many people are coming from, it is not as bad as many make it to seem. Sure this sort of game has a degree of comfort playing on a PC (by this I mean hot keys and the such), but the game is perfectly fine being played with a controller.
I have nothing but praise to offer BioWare for creating such a rich game universe that is possibly one of the best role playing experiences I have ever had. There is still much for me to see and do in Dragon Age, but it is safe to say that this is my game of the year for 2009. For anyone on the ropes about Dragon Age, whether it be which platform to play it on or otherwise, I highly recommend it.
I leave you with this.
Thanks for reading