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Dragon Age: Origins is going to own me (https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=192131)

More from Gamespot, I missed this yesterday:

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http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/drago...On With Combat

By Luke Anderson, GameSpot UK
Posted Feb 9, 2009 4:33 pm PT

BioWare gives us a peek into the medieval world of Dragon Age: Origins, and it looks like there will be a rich, new universe to discover.

EA is showcasing a number of games at its winter event, hosted at its UK office in Guildford, Surrey. The lineup includes The Godfather II, Red Alert: Uprising (the new expansion pack to the just-born strategy sequel), and BioWare's latest project, Dragon Age: Origins, which is heading to the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2009. The PC version, which is the lead version, was shown off by BioWare's CEO, Dr. Ray Muzyka. Though the game is based in an all-new fantasy setting, Muzyka is touting Dragon Age as a "spiritual successor" to the company's classic Baldur's Gate series, and it looks like fans of fantasy are in for yet another treat.

Muzyka describes Dragon Age as a dark, heroic approach to high fantasy with a "mature, gritty" setting. Throughout the game you'll have to make choices with lasting consequences. From what we were told, the game is also full of racial hostilities between the various factions, including humans, elves, and cursed werewolves, and although there will be romantic relationships, there has been no word yet on whether there will be intimate interracial relationships (such as the now-infamous alien liaisons of Mass Effect).

The mission we looked at, Tower of Ishal Dungeon, takes places early on in the game, after the "origins" section of the game. In addition to potentially branching storylines and multiple endings, Muzyka explained that there will be six distinct origin stories at the beginning of the game, depending on the character you pick. The Tower of Ishal Dungeon mission takes place in the tower of the same name and had us leading a four-character party through several levels of the tower, battling through hordes of orcs before squaring off against a huge and unsavoury ogre--the level's end boss.

Our party consisted of four characters: the circle mage, a female level 5 mage; the tower guard, a male level 6 warrior; Alistair, a male level 5 warrior; and Winter, a female level 5 warrior (who was also the game's origin-related protagonist, of elf descent). We didn't get a chance to thoroughly test all of their strengths and abilities, but each seemed to be equipped with specific unique powers. We were told you can augment non-playable character AI in the game, although this wasn't elaborated on. You'll also be able to customise some of your party members' options, and depending on your preference of play, you can have quite granular control over specific party member settings or sit back and let the AI kick in and command your unselected companions. If you poorly manage your party and subject them to a gruesome death, fear not: Party members slain in battle can be resurrected once your immediate threat has passed; however, they'll suffer a hit to their health and won't be as much help to you as those still in fighting condition.

We were told by a member of BioWare's development team that the familiar "pause and play" mechanic, which appeared in Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, will give you the choice of playing Dragon Age in real time or queuing up tactical orders for your party members while the game is paused. The camera can also be viewed either behind your character in a cinematic behind-the-shoulder style or high up above your whole party, giving a more strategic overview.

The heads-up display in Dragon Age should be familiar to anyone who has played a role-playing game. There's a map in the top-right corner, party member stats in the top-left corner, and a customisable action bar along the bottom, which you can assign special attacks to. Menus and settings can be accessed at the top middle of the screen. A ring around each character's avatar will show you their HP and stamina/mana levels (for warriors and mages, respectively) as you engage in battle.

As it turns out, our American counterparts also had an opportunity to try out a different battle in the game, with a slightly different party consisting of Alistair, Winter, Morrigan (the shape-changing sorceress), and an elf scout with a mean backstab attack that kicks in any time he can get behind an enemy. They fared decently in a forest battle, taking on a handful of ferocious monsters by engaging them from the front with fighters, while circling to the rear with the rogue for backstabs and constantly pausing the game to use Morrigan's spectacular sorceries, such as cone-shaped frost spells, debuff spells that weaken foes in combat, and healing spells that kept the party in the fight. Baldur's Gate-style careful combat management seems to work quite well in Dragon Age, but as our American colleagues quickly discovered, combat isn't a cakewalk, especially when you have to fight trees that walk. While the standard humanoid foes were easy to polish off, the weakened party eventually fell to the assault of a small group of sneaky moving tree monsters, which were initially disguised as, of all things, a group of trees--though they immediately uprooted themselves as the party approached and pummelled them into oblivion.

The graphics are shaping up well, with impressive cinematic cutscenes filled with interesting characters and polished voice acting helping to set the scene for an epic adventure. The game engine seems pretty robust too, even through the environment we played, which was a mostly dark, atmospheric dungeon with the occasional lit torch. The characters were quite detailed and had some detailed animations when performing special attacks or magic. We cast a few special attacks during play, including the warrior's formidable shield bash move, which is a charging attack that takes a sizable chunk off an enemy's health. In addition to the cinematic visuals, Dragon Age's enchanting, classical score helps to further immerse you in the timeless action and heightens the medieval warfare.

Dragon Age: Origins should appeal to anyone who's a fan of Baldur's Gate, BioWare's previous games, or the fantasy role-playing genre as a whole, and it will be shipping for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2009. For more on Dragon Age, check out our previous coverage and check back later as we uncover more of the game, and the Dragon Age universe, over the coming months.

More new video:

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From the above video:

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I can't tell you exactly how much there is to play in the game...I can confidently say this is the most content we've had in any of our games since, probably, Baldur's Gate 2. And that was a pretty darn big game. There's a lot to be played here, a lot to be experienced."

I like the sound of that.

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Originally Posted by keg in kc (Post 5508297)

From the above video: I like the sound of that.

BGII was some seriously ****ed up long ass shit. I don't think there has ever been a longer SP game.

I wish they'd make another Champions of Norrath.

Don't go into this game expecting another Baldur's Gate, you'll just be disappointed. They'll never be another RPG with as much content as BG2, it simply isn't feasible anymore.

And do those infernal videos all automatically play for anyone else? It's ****ing annoying.

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Originally Posted by Basileus777 (Post 5511192)

And do those infernal videos all automatically play for anyone else? It's ****ing annoying.

They didn't when I originally posted them, I'm not sure why they do now. :shrug:

As I recall, BioWare did Knights of the Old Republic.

That's enough for me. I'm in.

Some new reads:

Dragon Age: A Strangely Familiar RPG

By Anthony Gallegos | May 11, 2009
Dragon Age mixes old and new to great effect.

Just because something is similar to something that precedes it doesn't mean it can't be good on its own merits. Dragon Age: Origins is case in point. While it takes cues from several games -- both BioWare-developed and not -- it uses them together in such a way that the game feels both new and familiar.

Dragon Age will WoW You

Dragon Age bears a lot of resemblance to World of Warcraft as far as the interface is concerned. Spell abilities are linked to a series of buttons that correspond to the numbers on top of your keyboard, with little images that immediately take me back to Azeroth. But that isn't unintentional, either. The team at BioWare designed the bar this way because they know it works great, and they don't feel the need to reinvent something just to be different, especially when it's already familiar to so many gamers and has proved itself over time. In practice the bar worked great, and I could easily hover my mouse over the abilities to see what they would do.

Enter through Baldur's Gate

While encounters can be played in real time, you'll have to be a robot in order to do so in the boss fights. With a few enemies on-screen, along with your four playable characters, it's easier to just pause the action and queue up commands. This should feel familiar to anyone who's played the old Baldur's Gate PC games, which also allowed you to pause and issue orders to your team. It doesn't break up the action like you'd think, either, and made combat more satisfying for me. There's just something awesome about setting up a series of orders amongst an entire team and then watching it play out like a brief moment in a fantasy action movie. Besides, if nothing else, it makes for an awesome way to capture some really good screenshots.

Choose Wisely

Not that it should surprise you, but Dragon Age takes the dialogue trees we've loved since Knights of the Old Republic and throws them in as well (at this point they are kind of a BioWare standby). Players can choose to be a jerk or take a more diplomatic route with their conversations. And, as in other BioWare games, such choices will have far-reaching consequences (read Miguel's preview for an example). In the battle I fought, for instance, I could just mock my opponent and get to fighting, or I could speak less aggressively and hear more of the story. While my conversation might not ultimately affect the ending of the game, it was a good example of how dialogue choices will change individual player experiences.

Macro Management

While I've played other games such as Dungeon Siege that allowed you to somewhat tailor the AI's abilities to your liking, I've never seen a system as complex as Dragon Age's. Since the player only controls one party member at a time, they are relying on the AI to do their best for the other party members when they aren't in direct control. To assist them the player can either choose from a host of pre-made preferences they want the character to follow -- such as putting an emphasis on healing, or always going after the strongest monster on the screen -- or they can create a custom set of preferences themselves. During my playtime the AI did splendidly, attacking enemies mostly in the way I would have done myself, and healing when appropriate. I'd love to have enough time to customize the macros myself, but the pre-built ones are definitely more than serviceable.

Dragon Age is looking attractive to those who loved the action from Baldur's Gate and Dungeon Siege. Throw in the signature BioWare storytelling and this could be a true spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate games. Now if I could only see what the console versions are like...

Dragon Age: Origins Updated Combat Impressions

By Randolph Ramsay, GameSpot AU
Posted May 11, 2009 5:34 pm PT

We battle with a pride demon in our latest hands-on with BioWare's upcoming role-playing game.

At EA's recent showcase in London, role-playing game veterans BioWare trotted out the latest build of its much-anticipated Dragon Age: Origins, giving journalists even more hands-on time with the combat mechanics of the game. Although we've previously played around with some early-level battles, BioWare ramped things up this session by showing something from the midpoint of the game. Specifically, we engaged in a magic-heavy fight between some powerful abominations and some seriously kitted-out level 12 characters.

But before we dived in, BioWare lead gameplay designer Mike Laidlaw set the scene for the action in which we were about to partake. The battle takes place roughly halfway through the game, although Laidlaw said that it could come earlier or later depending on the order in which you tackle the game's missions. In this mission, you're charged with taking on the evil mage Uldred, who has taken over the Circle Tower (a sort of mage training academy/stronghold). In Dragon Age's high-fantasy world, mages aren't usually evil types. In fact, they're long-time allies of the Grey Wardens, a special force dedicated to taking on the Blight, a corrupting and dangerous force that is threatening to take over the world of Ferelden with darkspawn. Uldred, seeking to take advantage of the spreading chaos, apparently tried to control a demon to do his bidding, but as is the way with these pesky netherworld inhabitants, his plan backfired and the demon ended up possessing him. Having been turned into a creature known as an abomination, Uldred set about capturing and torturing his fellow mages before turning them into abominations as well.

This battle will take place in a large, open hall in the Circle Tower, and after a brief section of dialogue in which the clearly mad Uldred tried to justify his actions, Laidlaw and a fellow BioWare rep proceeded to demo the battle for us. On the side of the Grey Wardens were four Level 12 characters: three mages and a warrior named Alistair who, according to Laidlaw, was kitted out to act as a typical tank-type class. Once the battle started, Uldred immediately transformed into a large pride demon, a towering monstrosity that had a roughly humanoid shape but with a dragonlike head. As you would expect, this creature packed a mean melee punch, and it was aided by several of Uldred's mage-turned-abomination buddies, who acted as vicious foot soldiers. The action onscreen as guided by the BioWare rep looked quite frenetic, with plenty of spells being thrown around, as well as some fast switching between characters to best take advantage of the situation. After a few minutes, the BioWare rep managed to unleash an ultrapowerful spell--called Storm of the Century--that filled the entire battle arena with a powerful-looking whirlwind that dealt serious damage to the pride demon, eventually putting him down and leaving the Grey Wardens triumphant.

We eventually got to lay our hands on a keyboard and mouse ourselves, and we spent a minute familiarizing ourselves with the game's control scheme before starting the battle with Uldred. You'll get to control a party of four in Dragon Age, with the characters' portraits arranged on the side of the screen. To switch characters, all you need to do is click on the appropriate portrait. Of course, your party members will attack and defend on their own without your direct control, but as with previous BioWare RPGs such as Baldur's Gate, you can pause the action at any time by pressing the space bar. While the game is paused, you can line up commands for each character. Each character's abilities are arrayed as hot slots along the bottom of the screen, although considering that we were new to controlling midlevel characters, plenty of the abilities that we could choose from were mysteries in terms of their effects and how to best use them in battle. And speaking of Baldur's Gate, fans of that revered series will be happy to know that though Dragon Age: Origins can be played from an over-the-shoulder third-person view, players will be able to move the camera above the action, mimicking quite precisely the isometric look of Baldur's Gate (right down to the green circles around your individual party members' feet).

Our time with the game proved to be short-lived and not at all successful; Uldred and his minions made mincemeat out of our team. What we can say from our brief hands-on is that Dragon Age: Origins is definitely heading in the right direction, with the controls feeling quite intuitive, particularly for those who have played BioWare's previous games. Switching the camera angle to the isometric view gave us a strong feeling of nostalgia, and we're sure that many fans of Baldur's Gate will use this as their default view.

After our demo, we spoke with Laidlaw, who said that the game is almost complete, with the team now at the final "bug squashing" stage. Laidlaw said that most of the focus is now on the console versions, particularly on transforming the PC interface into something more controller-friendly for the console versions of the game. Dragon Age: Origins is slated to ship for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in late 2009.

rawr

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Holy shit, that was awesome. We're a long way from Baldur's Gate.

A preview review:

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E3 2009: Dragon Age: Origins

PS3, Xbox 360, PC preview by Matt Wadleigh, published on Tuesday 2nd June 2009

When compared to the two other games Bioware is currently at work on, Dragon Age: Origins could get easily overlooked. The storied RPG developers are currently at work on a sequel to 2007’s epic Mass Effect while simultaneously working on one of the largest and most anticipated MMOs currently in development, Star Wars: The Old Repbulic. But their new IP, Dragon Age: Origins, looks poised to become a blockbuster franchise of its own.

In Dragon Age: Origins, players assume the role of a hero of their own design in the Gray Warden, an ancient organization that is periodically tasked with saving the world and all of its inhabitants from a demon and his army of dark spawn. A once-powerful organization, the number of wardens has dwindled as the game begins to just a few remaining protectors. Seeing an opportunity, the arch demon returns with his army of spawn to capitalize on the weakness of the order and to destroy the world.

“You have to defend everything you know and love or else the world will fall,” explained Mike Laidlaw of EA as he began a behind-closed-doors glimpse of the game in action.

That’s a lot of responsibility to be thrown at you after having just sat down.

Laidlaw demonstrated two aspects of the game in our session: the relationships between characters and the slaying of the dragon. Cable news networks are sure to be outraged once they see the intimate physical scenes between the player and their NPC love interests, but Laidlaw assured that “there’s no free love in the game.” Players will have to work for several hours to develop a relationship with an NPC.

As you court the apple of your eye, one of the ways you can gain their affection is by giving them gifts. But unlike in a game like Fable 2 where giving gifts to your mate had little value other than to get them into the sack, there’s practical value in being generous in Dragon Age: Origins. In addition to gaining their affection, if you give the sorcerers in your party a book of spells, she can then gain the abilities that the book contains.

There’s also a dramatic element to the game. After our hero courted and successfully bedded the sorceress, he returned to the rest of his group to find another lover scorned. Our character then had to navigate a minefield, carefully choosing his words and finally having to choose which woman would be his. How you interact with characters also has benefits and consequences: your party’s moral will be affected by how they view you as a leader over the course of the game, though this wasn’t demonstrated during my look at the game. The entire conversation was expertly narrated, which is unsurprising considering how excellent Bioware’s previous voice work has been. This demonstration hopefully offers a glimpse at what promises to be a character interaction system that offers a lot of depth and range.

Following this glimpse of character interaction, we were shown combat against a dragon. It was the first time the team showed a battle pitting the hero against a dragon and it lived up to my expectations. With a user display that’s vaguely reminiscent of World of Warcraft, the combat was fast-paced and frantic. With the click of a button, the player can assume control of any character in their party, allowing you to use each party member to their fullest extent as you battle.

As spells flew and the dragon expelled fire in every direction, I was very pleased to see the frame rate hold up at a consistent rate. The graphics were incredibly rich, with excellent texturing. Individual scales of the dragon could be seen as our hero navigated the chaotic battlefield until he finally was able to mount the back of the beast and slide his sword into the dragon’s neck. The dragon’s death was highlighted with a massive splatter of blood covering everything in sight. A diverse color pallet should allow for very different environments as you plug your way through the game.

From my brief impressions from the demo and after playing a bit of the game, it’s definitely a darker game than most of what Bioware has done in the past. “This is not your father’s fantasy,” said Leo Soskin as he demonstrated aspects of the character creation. “This is dark, gritty, and real.” The team is promising 80 hours of gameplay if you skip the main quest, easily increasing to 100 hours if players complete a plethora of promised side quests. Each character class offers their own origin stories, and since your in-game choices affect the outcome of most scenarios, each play-through should be different from the last.

Dragon Age: Origins promises to be a rich, deep game. My time with it was brief here at the show, but given Bioware’s strong track record of delivering excellent RPGs, I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be a huge hit. Everything seems in place, from an excellent combat system that should appeal to those of all play types to a detailed character relationship system that will hopefully really help move forward a compelling storyline. It’s still a few months away from release, but Dragon Age Origins could very well be one of the most promising games of the show.

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Originally Posted by keg in kc (Post 5040385)

PC only.

Wrong. Ps3 and 360 will release alongside the pc version. Which is good cause my pc probably wouldn't run it.

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Originally Posted by KcFanInGA (Post 5817019)

Wrong. Ps3 and 360 will release alongside the pc version. Which is good cause my pc probably wouldn't run it.

Yeah.

That statement was not wrong when it was posted, however. The game was delayed to add the console ports.