Case
3281
When using the WASD keys…
I had to remap “Q” and “E” to camera, then map “A” and “D” to right/left movement. So technically, the default is not WASD.
Also, is there any way to make the “S” key have the character run backwards, instead of turn around and run forward?
I personally don’t care, but a friend of mine who’s really into MMOs wants this.
Dismissing those of us who do not find the world compelling in this way is facile and incorrect. It’s the presentation of the world that is the problem. Even the more interesting parts of the lore (templar oppression of magic users, enslaved elf culture) is dull and uninvolving because Dragon Age, like most BioWare RPGs of the last few years, tells rather than shows when it comes to backstory and world building. Mass Effect was able to make it interesting with snappier dialogue, a fresher setting and a main character who was actually able to hold a voice acted conversation. Dragon Age has none of this, and so I’m stuck listening to characters drone on reading off some lore builder’s notepad while doing the BioWare Conversation Stand and occasionally doing the BioWare Concerned Conversation Pace.
After Mass Effect it feels like a throwback, and the subject matter is so well-traveled that it really needed something with more “oomph” to hook me on it. I’m enjoying the combat, building my character and the way the quests weave into one another in ways previous BioWare games’ quests have not. I am not enjoying having a pedestrian world with occasionally interesting facets presented to me with all the aplomb of a university lecture.
Eurogamer’s review comments that Dragon Age takes place in a fantasy world that lacks soul and a sense of its own fantastical trappings, and I think that hits it right on the head.
I’d try to say why DA isn’t very good but it wouldn’t come out nearly as eloquent. Matt has summed up my thoughts precisely.
Sarkus
3284
Based on comments in this thread it’s pretty clear that not everyone agrees with your (and Eurogamers) analysis. I don’t think there is anything wrong with others expressing that, just like there isn’t anything wrong with you expressing yours. Nobody is “right.” It’s all just relative to our own perspective.
It is a throwback from Mass Effect. We all knew that going in, due to its development history and also not being blind when they showed screenshots and movies.
But Mass Effect is by far Bioware’s best game, and if you compare Dragonage to any of the others, it comes off looking pretty good, particularly considering that it doesn’t get the automatic shared-world benefits of Star Wars or Forgotten Realms. There’s a lot of room between “not as good as Mass Effect” and lifeless and forgettable.
I agree with you insofar as we are talking about the story and how it’s delivered.
However, I’m playing the game as more of a series of tactical combat set pieces surrounded by enough story to giving some meaning to the combat. I suppose I play a lot of RPGs that way, and from that perspective, it’s working for me.
This is as opposed to Mass Effect, which may have a had a more interesting setting and a more lively main character, but had a far inferior combat system. It also had the most generic uninteresting loot of any RPG I’ve ever played. And let’s not get started about the dune buggy.
For me the often dull story presentation isn’t ruining my enjoyment of the detailed world, tactical combat, and character development.
mono
3287
Describing something as ‘best’ is about as useful as ‘fun’.
I couldn’t keep up any interest in ME beyond about 1/2 hour of game time. It’s still sitting there in my Steam folder, unplayed, whereas I’m trolling the forum today relentlessly to assuage my DA jones, since I can’t play at work. I’m only about an hour or so into the game and already it’s ascending some personal all-time charts.
I sense a schism between some PC RPG fans who enjoy the top down, clickety-clickety character management, spreadsheet inducing, heavy micro interactive nature of DA, as opposed to the sit-back and let the game show me a story strengths of console lead titles. Nothing wrong with either approach.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to get this game right away or not, so I never pre-ordered it or anything. All the talk changed my mind, however, so I pre-ordered the game through EB games website. Monday afternoon. Still got the bonueses and everything. Plus, since I’m still going through GTA4:TBoGT, and will be out of town all next week, figured I didn’t need it right away so selected the free 5-10 day shipping option. Also ordered the CE edition of the guide (more so I don’t miss anything rather than help with the game).
Still received the guide yesterday afternoon - < 24 hours after I ordered it with ‘free’ shipping - and the game about an hour ago.
Pre-order. heh.
There’s nothing wrong with it, but I think game developers and reviewers don’t address often enough the difference in playstyles and expectations between certain types of gamers (not necessarily a PC-console thing). Either that or we’re not listening or filtering that properly, which I have been guilty of.
Gendal
3290
As much as I am enjoying DA, especially over ME, I certainly can’t disagree with this. I am reading all of the Codex entires as I get them and for the most part have been entertained but I did read the Stolen Throne, and while light on historical details it’s certainly peaked my interest in what’s going on right now in Ferelden.
I was also going to complain about Captain Janeway’s reading of the witch lines, but really she had to voice exactly what you are complaining about. Not really possible to make that exciting.
This seems pretty accurate. I couldn’t get past the first few hours of Mass Effect due to a variety of annoyances I had with it, but Dragon’s Age already has me hooked, mostly due to the awesome combat and characters. That, and the fact that I love the sleek PC interface, a refreshing sight these days.
Leaving aside that backstory is called backstory because it’s, uh, in the back, I couldn’t disagree more. Just as earlier in this thread you missed the blood literally under your own nose – and under your boots, on your cheek, and probably even getting in your mouth – I’m surprised to hear this criticism leveled by anyone who’s actually played through Dragon Age. And you have played through Dragon Age, right?
Because it does, in fact, show you. The situation between the magic users and templars is the cornerstone of a huge chunk of the middle game. The enslaved elf culture has its own section of the city that’s unlocked in the third act. Both of these things are the subjects of at least half of the origin stories, where you actually play out much of this backstory you insist is told instead of showed. These things that you dismiss with a hand-wavy “dull and uninvolved” are parts of the gameplay and the world-building.
-Tom
The thing is, though, even if you just talk about people who care about story (which I think has nothing to do with PC vs. console), there’s a divide. Because this is a really story-filled game, but it’s story-filled in the way pre-Mass Effect RPGs were – that is, it’s like reading an interactive book rather than like watching an interactive movie. If you’re expecting the “modern” (i.e., Mass Effect) cinematic style, it’s going to come off lame. If you’re expecting the classic (i.e., KOTOR/NWN/BG) bookish style, it works really well.
But a lot of people apparently prefer either the cinematic style Mass Effect thing, or else the “20 lines of dialogue total” sparse-story approach of your Oblivions.
Which is better books or movies? :)
I think its fine to appreciate both, if this game leans more towards the text heavy Planescape Torment style and away from the interactive movie style that so many game use these days then I’ll be happy. Its not automatically archaic, just different. At least in my opinion. I mostly just wish it would arrive in the UK so I could see for myself.
It’s text-heavy, but fully voiced and by default subtitles are off, so it’s the worst of both worlds. It’s like either listening to an audiobook when you’re not driving, or like watching the most woodenly-acted movie ever. That’s why I think the Mass Effect cinematic style is the inevitable progression of the genre – once you put in voice-acting, you can’t just leave it as stock-still expressionless dudes talking at each other.
Easily the best rpg in a long long time. Risen and fallout 3, both fun and good games in their own right, do not compare.
The story also isn;t the normal bullshit that some suit paid a guy on the street to write (“dude where is my dad?”).
My only complaint now that i’ve made it past the B grade mmorpg launch stupidity (this was stupid) is that the social site doesn’t seem to be getting updated with my character even though all options to do with it in game seem to be on. The character i made with the character creator is still up there, but my new guy is not.
The difficulty also seems overstated if you’re playing a mage. It is hard yes, but i am playing nightmare so i expect that. I wouldn’t turn it up if there was a higher difficulty though as while i have never wiped, i have come close. The first boss in the game was a long, hard experience that cost me all of my health/mana potions and still killed every character except the main character. I had to take the last 5% of his life or so by doing the fire cone and running. I think having a fire mage with flaming weapons and heal has helped a lot since the fire damage is a huge gain at that level with all physical damage dealers.
Screaming at EA over the activation problem if you bought it through Impulse got them to add Dragon Age to my EA Download Manager account so I can download it again, but this time it should work. I’ve got a new key, as well.
Well I guess we’ll see how well I like the voice acting. Personally I wish some games didn’t bother with voice acting at all - deliberately. Its all production values and cost at the expense of flexibility and imagination.
Yeah, this game kinda leaves me wishing I was reading a book. The world it creates for me to enjoy this cool fiction is just so lacking. Instead of this cool fantasy world I get this giant pile of brown yuk, populated by wierdly proportioned ape men (who all stand with the exact same posture). I kinda wish I could just read the story, and leave what things look like up to my imagination in this case.
Maybe I’m being abit of a graphics whore…but honestly the presentation is sort of always pulling me out of the story. The place just doesn’t feel alive, and instead of pulling me in, it keeps reminding me that I am playing some silly game.
