So I picked up Borderlands and Dragon Age during the first week of January. They weren't included on my best-of-09 list because of this, but I think they might have had I played them. Borderlands was played co-optly with my brother, via split-screen. Dragon Age was just completed last night.
First, Borderlands. The last FPS/RPG game I had played was Fallout 3 which culminated when Mothership Zeta came out (unfortunately not the best episode to send it out on...but alas). I completely had fallen in love with Fallout and must have put in a total of 150 hours or so between a few characters. So, Borderlands was a nice way to hop back into that genre. Now, I really did enjoy Borderlands. It's definitely a great game. My brother, however, loved it as I loved FO3. Me, not so much. There were a few decisions made with game design that I didn't take to as much, although I'm sure my experience would have been better served with 4 friends over XBL and not 2 via split-screen. Split-screen in Borderlands is seriously affected and cut down on the fun factor quite a bit. Too much info for a half-screen. I heard vertical split-screen is an improvement, but I didn't want to bother getting used to that. So, while Borderlands is a great game, I think it gravitates to the lower 10 of the year. Fighting, which the game certainly throws at you, isn't really that fun in my opinion. I've still yet to go back and hit the level 50 mark for fear of bearing that monotony again. Even most of the boss fights lacked that certain boss-ness that would have served the game well, I think. (Except for the flying boss. Loved that).
The biggest crime in Borderlands is its biggest touted feature: MASS AMOUNT OF WEAPONS! The randomness of them severely ruined the game, I think. To pick up a weapon and not have any kind of upgrade for it for the next twenty or so levels disinterests a player. There has to be some kind of incentive. Very rarely did I pick up definite upgrades for my weapon, grenades, or shield slots and after killing every boss only to be greeted with more money-fodder weapons is disheartening.
My love.Dragon Age, on the other hand, would take the number one spot on my list. For some reason, the game didn't register in my brain for the longest time. And yet, when the end of 09 approached I felt some need to pick it up. It didn't come from any source. I didn't read a single review. Not one friend mentioned it. I just thought it sounded interesting and I didn't really know what game to next delve in to. The game might lead you to believe it's a war of swords, but it surprised me when it became evident it was a war of words. I enjoyed that kind of game much more. Even Fallout 3 was less action oriented than it makes out to be. Maybe I took advantage of VATS too much, but that tailored me to liking the game so much more than I thought I would. No surprise, but I'm not really an action-y kind of guy. I like my plat-formers, my puzzle games, my RPGs, etc. I like to make critical decisions. And that is entirely what Dragon Age is. It dances the gray line of morals with splendor and is unforgiving in making you question what is right. Everything in that game entranced me from the surprising cast of amazing characters and interesting plot points.
Anyway, this post has dragged on enough. Suffi ce to say Dragon Age is a superior game and you should let it surprise you. Borderlands: it was fun.
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