2701

Since I decided not to go for the CE version, I didn’t bother preordering. There are going to be plenty of copies on the shelf Tuesday morning at the major retailers while Steam and other services won’t unlock until later (Steam currently shows an approximately 11AM release time). Plus I don’t have to bother with a large download.

2702

I think even the CE won’t be too hard to find on the first day. I think someone mentioned earlier or maybe somewhere else that each Best Buy is supposed to get 6 copies of the CE.

2703

That may be true, but I don’t know if any other retailer will be carrying it.

2704

I just got an email saying my collectors edition shipped already for the PC today (sunday). I was about to cancel and go with steam too.

I would normally be happy but I am still pissed that I got charged $4 for overnight shipping when everybody else in prime got release day shipping for free. Collectors edition also didn’t the get the $10 credit kickback either. If I get it tomorrow I won’t be as irritated, but I bet instead it shows up on tuesday.

2705

I got the CE for the PC and I was only able to get one day shipping. My order is about to ship but it’s still showing delivery estimate as 11/5/09. Did you really get overnight shipping??

2706

Good to hear you’ll be getting it on Tuesday at least. I switched my Amazon order to the standard edition because I thought I’d get the CE later. Plus the $10 off future purchase thing.

2707

I think the CE will be gone in an instant. EB isn’t even taking preorders for it, as they’ve all been spoken for for weeks.

Of course, anything of note in the CE can be purchased as DLC separately, so it doesn’t really matter.

2708

Just caved and pre-ordered on Steam. Jumping into Dragon Age after playing a ton of Torchlight will probably be like jumping into the pool after an extended hot tub session. I think IWD1 was the last BG game I played, and that was 9 years ago.

2709

They charged me for overnight, $4. I set it to that a few days ago when I didn’t see a release day option. The tracking number works now and says it will be delivered on Monday. It’s shipping from Reno and they are using a new delivery company I think is local to California, Ontrac. They fucked up a previous order, delaying it by 2 extra days due to an “exception” and in the end it was a UPS truck that dropped it off.

2710

So I went from not really caring at all about this game to preordering the CE on steam, buying the prequel book on my Kindle and playing Dragon Age Journeys for the past 2 days for the unocks.

+1 Bioware/EA marketing department…

2711

Is it just me or does shale not sound very fun? I know he gets his little crystal things as equipment, but that doesn’t sound nearly as interesting as actual gear. His skills also don’t sound as customizable.

He is probably about as much as a tank as an evil leaning character can get though from the sounds of things. Unless 2 hand users can tank just as well.

2712

Well, actually, it’s already downloaded (at 1.2 MB/s) and is ready to go. :)

And external hard drives work great if you need to reformat or reinstall. You should have one for backup purposes anyway.

2713

Switched my order to Steam. I’m willing to forego $10 off a future Amazon purchase for the guarantee that I can play it on Tuesday. I’ve had UPS/FedEx screw me too many times in the past.

Getting awesome transfer rates from Steam. 1.4 MB/s. Already 60% done after an hour.

2714

I had no idea playing it on Tuesday as opposed to Wednesday was so important to people. Is Wednesday a national holiday I don’t know about? Or are you all taking Wednesday off?

2715

I’ve been wondering about this as well. I mean, the game was announced several years ago; you can’t wait another day to get it effectively $10 cheaper (assuming you regularly buy games from Amazon, of course).

In the last couple of weeks, though, Amazon has been using a courier service instead of UPS for my Prime deliveries, and I’m really not a fan of it. I assume they’re trialing companies for the new same-day delivery thing, but the courier doesn’t leave anything on my door when I miss the delivery, and unlike UPS, I can’t see the truck down the street and go get it.

2716

Playing it early isn’t the ONLY thing, but it is important to me. As a default, I tend to buy things on Steam anyway. This particular game I was hemming and hawing due to the manual. And for me, personally, I have Tuesday night all to myself to play this. Wednesday-Friday, I don’t.

Also- I buy very few video games from Amazon. That was about to change since I just joined the ECA, but then the codes went away…

2717

Question for those who have it/reviewed it – is there a gore slider or anything? I’m not really one for blood spraying all over everything, but I do like detailed fantasy worlds. I’m on the fence about Dragon Age, and being able to turn down/off the arterial sprays would go a long way with me.

2718

For me Steam also gives me the ability to give relatively ambiguous answers to my wife when she asks how much money I’ve been spending on games lately…

2719

My free shipped Dragon Age that I paid $27 because of discounts, shipped today. Amazon actually has a warehouse in Pasadena, so if they shipped it from that warehouse I could get the game on Tuesday and only have paid 27 bucks. Worst case (if they shipped it from Washington), Wednesday. Really really glad that I chose the free shipping option.

2720

Your story choices aren’t going to deprive you of a tank. I don’t know how much you guys know about the characters, but there are two warriors you get who can both be built up as excellent tanks.

As for Shale, no story spoilers, but following might be a minor gameplay spoiler:

You’re right that he’s not as well-fleshed out as the main characters since he has a limited skill tree and no real gear. But he’s got a unique gameplay mechanic where you can use him in one of three modes, each with distinct skills and abilities. In the defensive mode, for instance, he’s a sort of totem/statue/tank who provides nearby party members a defensive buff.

But mostly, he’s got some great conversation stuff that you won’t want to miss.

-Tom