Dragon Age: Origins (A Game Review)

....Or why saving the day, getting the girl, and making it look good...ain't so bad.

So for the past month and a half, nearly all my regular gaming has been put on hold. That's right, mininal Dragon Quest 8 or Lord of the Rings, and no Final Fantasy Tactics. And it's all due to one game - Dragon Age: Origins. As you may recall from previous posts, I am a complete BioWare fan. At worst, they make a mediocore game that is better than a majority of the games out there. At their best, it becomes an epic game that demands to be played multiple times and leaves you with fond memories for years to come.

While I'd been hearing rumblings about the game, I hadn't really been seeking it out or wanting to learn anything more about it. Until I saw it was a BioWare game. Then I started watching trailers and getting more and more excited. My best friend purchased it when it came out so I saw him go through the character creation process and first area.

That's all I needed to see.

I bought it and have since dumped about 100 hours into the game (using multiple characters). Each time I play through I find new things or different ways of handling situations or new side quests. Yet, after 100 hours, I've still only unlocked about 73% of the trophies/achievements in the game.

Now, onto the review:

Gameplay - This game is definitely designed for the computer, where a point-and-click interface would make things faster and much easier. On the consoles however, they've opted for a Mass-effect style Circular menu (a little awkward to get used to at first, but fairly intuitive). The difficulty of the game is customizable at will. Having trouble with a particular battle, turn down the difficulty for it and then turn it back up when you have finished that section. Once again, we have a game that borrows heavily from D&D for its skills and attributes. While not quite as obvious as with KOTOR, it is none-the-less present.

Graphics - The character creation is extremely indepth allowing you to take basic models and tweak them according to your personal taste. The environments are all very well fleshed out and distinct. You travel across a country with your party and spend time in each area helping out the people and trying to recruit them to your side. While some gamers have complained that you don't actually get to run to each zone (instead a map shows up, with a red trail indicating your relative position), I feel that it would only make an already long game more drawn out. The cut scene graphics are pretty good...most of the time. There are still moments when the faces of the characters seem to be a bit plastic, but overall they're continuing to improve in this area. Plus, the story is so engrossing, you cease to pay attention to the graphics and just accept them. Which leads me to...

Story - This is pretty much your standard "you are the chosen one and you have to help all these people" type of tale. However they throw in some nice twists (6 different starting stories, each very unique), a few romance options (coupled with the option of trying to juggle a couple of relationships, until they find out about each other), and such. They even have it set up so that your choices and actions will have an effect later in the game. Party members express approval or disapproval at your choices, and you can further influence them with "gifts," often leading to further story or side quests. While there is no "good vs. evil" continuum in this game, they have instead chosen a "selfish vs selfless" style. You can play for the greater good, or just look out for yourself.

Now it should be noted that this game is definitely not for kids. It is a truly dark fantasy story.

Overall, this was a great game and well worth the purchase. I haven't felt this engrossed in a game since Knights of the Old Republic (another BioWare game...surprise, surprise).

The Downloadable Content:

The Blood Dragon Armor - Very cool looking and great stats, well worth it.

The Edge - Free, so might as well take it. Not necessarily the best dagger but fun.

The Stone Prisoner - A great little area and fun character to have in your party. Opens up two quests as a result, giving you just that much more experience and gameplay. I got it for free from buying the game.

The Wardens Keep - Another area that while fun and fleshed out, definitely made me feel like there was no "This is obviously the best way to go" choice. Great armor from the area though and well worth the purchase.

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Now for my impression of each of the specializations. I haven't unlocked all of them, but I'll update it later when I do. One last bit of advice for PS3 owners - when I played through, the specializations would "re-lock" when I created a new character. I might suggest creating all the characters/classes you anticipate playing before starting the game.

Templer - So far it has been my favorite specialization. You encounter so many mages in this game, that it helps to be able to handle them efficiently. I've tried combining this one with the Champion and the Reaver class. Initially I wasn't impressed until he got his final ability (which hits multiple enemies). That's when it became my favorite.

Reaver - Tied for my second favorite. Unfortunately it's only for the first ability, which allows the character to self heal. The rest of the abilities I haven't yet been able to use as effectively as I would like.

Berserker - My first character was a berserker/reaver. Classic, eh? The berserker class has a lot of benefit to it and fits well with any other class you pair it with.

Champion - I've tried this class and while I like the knockdown ability that he gets as his last ability, it's so hit or miss (mostly missing) with the enemies at the end that I just don't see it being too effective. On the other hand, the benefits to party members make this a great secondary specialization for another party member (Alistair, Sten, Oghren).

Bard - Great support class. I'd personally leave this to Leliana, however two bards in a party could control just about any battle effectively (at least at the low levels).

Assassin - So far I'm not as impressed with this class as I hoped I'd be. This class is very useful with taking down big enemies, but kind of gets lost with large scale battles. At least, that has been my experience.

Duelist - A fun class for any character looking to create a fighter-style rogue.

Ranger - I must admit I'm loving this class if only for the extra animal companion. More members in your party, the better your chances of survival.

Shapeshifter - Not very impressed with this class. Other than the swarm form, I've never seen much point in using it, other than if the battle is easily winnable and I just want to try it out.

Arcane Warrior - Trying this class now, and it's surprisingly fun. Great for people who want to melee and cast spells (something the shapeshifter can't do at the same time).

Spirit Healer - Pretty standard healer character. You've already got one character in the game who specializes in this, however, this would make a useful secondary class.

Blood Mage - Very powerful character and very difficult to unlock. Great either as a main class or support class. However, this specialization draws heavily from the health of your companions, so use it wisely.

Disney Dreamers trip - 2009

The Disney Dreamers outside of Universal Studios

..or how we survived a trip of 5 theme parks in 5 days and came out with our sanity.

I just got back from California yesterday. It was a fun but whirlwind week. To give a bit of a background, the Disney Dreamers is the brainchild of my boss and another owner of C&R Inc. You see, once a year Silverwood opens up the park to adults and children with disabilities called, "Night of Stars." Well, this got my boss to thinking. Why couldn't we take a bunch of the people we work with to some place better than Silverwood? Why not Disneyland?

By the end of May, my boss approached the rest of us and told us that she thought we could pull it off. June, July, August, and September are all spent fund-raising with yard sales, benefit concerts, raffles, and so on. October hits, and many of us realize that it is actually happening. We are going to Disneyland...only to find out that my boss got a package deal that included Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, and Sea World. To cut down on the length of this entry, I'll just give highlights from here on.


Sunday: Woke up at 2:30, picked up PJ (friend of me and Misti, also a worker at C&R) and Toby. Arrived in John Wayne Airport and drove to the Fairfield Inn Marriott. Many of us took off to see Disneyland that night and ended up staying for the awesome Fireworks display/Disney Villain show.


Monday: Woke up around 7 a.m. and took Toby to breakfast at Millie's. Spent the day running around Disneyland park.


Tuesday: Woke up around 7 a.m. again and started our day off at Disneyland before heading over to California Adventures. Went back to Disneyland in the afternoon and then had dinner at Medieval Times. Lucky for us, our knight (the Red Knight) was the eventual champion.


Wednesday: Woke up at 6 a.m. to drive to Sea World in San Diego. Unfortunately, most of our drivers got lost on the way so we didn't get into the park until late. We hit rush hour traffic on the way back so it took a bit longer to get to the hotel. Went to Downtown Disney with Toby and PJ where we ate Mexican food at Torilla Jo's.



Thursday: Had another early morning as we had to drive to Universal Studios. Had a great time at the park (Highly recommend the Simpsons Ride as well as the Jurassic Park Ride). We tried to leave early so that we could get back in time for a basketball pre-season game (Lakers versus Nuggets), but we hit the bulk of rush hour traffic. 2 hours to go a distance of 45 miles (approximately). Got to the show about half time and watched the Lakers destroy the Nuggets in the second half.

Fast And Furious on the Hollywood Tram Ride

Me with Curious George: Pirate Monkey

Friday: Today we got to sleep in until about 7 a.m. since we were going to Knott's Berry Farm (just down the road from Medieval Times). By this time, we were pretty much theme parked out. Many of our participants were very tired/exhausted and just ready to get home.



Saturday: Woke up at 5 a.m. to get ready to head to the airport and fly back home. Home sweet home.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful week. I had a great time hanging with Toby who was just awesome everywhere we went.

Recommended Reading: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

....Or how Misti may have stumbled upon the best graphic novel I've seen in a while.

This will be a quick entry since I've got work tomorrow morning, but I thought I'd share a quick glimpse into one of the cutest, most creative interpretations of The Wizard of Oz I've ever seen.

While the story itself is simply a retelling of the already timeless tale, young author/artist Eric Shanower manages to stay very true to the original story. The pacing can be a bit slow at times as each character gives their unique backstory (something the classic movie doesn't have the time, nor inclination to get into). However, this bit of information helps the reader to identify more with each character and to contrast their desires (brain, heart, courage) to the absurdity of their actions, e.g. the lion claims to be a coward, yet willingly risks his life for his friends, or the tin man crying over the death of insects that get crushed accidently, despite lacking a heart.

And though the author has managed to condense the novels, the artwork is where this book really shines. Skottie Young has cultivated a loyal following in the comics industry for quite some time now, and managed to develop an artistic style that fits Oz perfectly. To quote Misti, "this book's artwork is a combination of Anime/Manga with a bit of Precious Moments thrown in."



All I can say is...Fantastic. While I've dabbled in Art and drawing off and on for years, this artwork is almost exactly the style that I was working towards. Detailed where it needs to be, yet simple enough to possess a child-like innocence. While I enjoyed the story, it was the artwork that keep me turning page after page. Every panel was done beautifully, framed perfectly, and not a line wasted.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves comics, classics, cuteness, or any combination of the above. Misti and I snagged a copy this last weekend and I'm already looking forward to the next book. Enjoy!

Gaming in September - a study in diversification

.....or how life has been a bit busier of late.

I couldn't let the month go by without putting in at least one blog entry. Unfortunately, the game (or games) that I'm currently playing are not quickies.

As you may have seen in passing, I have a section of my blog sidebar called "Chip's List of Required Games for Greater Edification." This list includes games that my best friend feels that I should play for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps the game is ground-breaking in design or conception. Perhaps it is one of the greatest games of its time. Whatever the case may be, it is considered my "homework" and so I usually try to do a review on it after completion (Symphony of the Night being an exception...didn't have a blog at the time).


So my latest Chip-required game is Dragon Quest 8. Initial impressions are very favorable as it seems to be a perfect blend of old-school hardness and new school graphics. Plus, in the tradition of older RPGs it takes a long time to complete. I've put in about 10 plus hours (at this time) and I'm still chewing my way through the opening areas.

Now were I just to focus my efforts on Dragon Quest 8, I might be able to finish it and review it soon. However I've also started up a game of Final Fantasy Tactics. Thankfully, the latter is a game I've played a few times already (and one that Chip has ultimate mastery of), so I don't feel as much pressure to play through in a hurried fashion.


And as if playing through two lengthy, time-involved games wasn't enough, Chip has convinced me that we should try the Lord of the Rings: Online - Mines of Moria.


As you may have gleaned from my World of Warcraft post, online gaming is an experience that I'm always coming back to and feel very nostalgic about it. As it turns out, Chip was beginning to wax nostalgic himself about the "good ol' days". While he was very happy playing through his current game (Final Fantasy XI), he missed "rolling with his homey."

So we put our heads together to look for a game that would be new to both of us and preferably one that was decently priced. Star Wars - the Old Republic won't be released for some time, and all the "free" games (Aeria, Perfect World, Ragnarok - free servers) had the same problem - they all boiled down to a basic "rinse and repeat" formula as Chip puts it. Novelty lasts only so long in those games as a result, which makes sense because you get what you pay for (or don't, in this case).

Lord of the Rings Online has a free trial period (10 days), allowing you to explore the land and do some quests before deciding if you want to continue with it. While I plan to give it a more indepth review later, I have to say that initial impressions are very favorable.

Gaming aside, my personal/work life has also been quite busy of late. My company is helping a group of adults with disabilities (that we provide services to) save and raise money for a trip to Disneyland. So my weekends and occasionally weeknights have been spent volunteering to help raise money. We've put on a basketball tournament, had several yard sales through out the summer, set up a benefit concert with local country stars, and next week we'll be doing a spaghetti feed/dance to raise more funds. It's been a busy few months, but it'll be worth it to spend a week in California taking this group to the various theme parks (I think we're even renting a van and driving to Sea World). For many of the adults we help, this will be their first and maybe only chance to do something like this. If it's successful though, we may try this again next year or the year after that.

The trip will be October 18th through the 24th. Wish me luck!