Dragon Age Countdown

[Tom_Ohle]

Hmm… the Germans are pretty tough on review scores, but an 8 still isn’t awesome. I retain my wait-and-see attitude.

[TurinTur]

Review of… goddamnit doldfiel was fast! :P
I just saw it in rpg codex.

Chris, it’s a 5-page review.

[Chris_Nahr]

So exactly what version are we talking about here? Has Bioware been sending out final review code a week ago or more? I don’t really see how they could otherwise post a competent review at this point.

[TurinTur]

The game should be already finished, or just at the end of the testing phase done by the publisher. The game will be released in one month, doesn’t it? And it’s going to be released in three platforms, worlwide, all in the same day. You need a decent amount of time for duplication and shipping for that kind of release. So yeah, i think the game is already finished.

[Kool_Moe_Dee]

So exactly what version are we talking about here? Has Bioware been sending out final review code a week ago or more? I don’t really see how they could otherwise post a competent review at this point.

From this thread:

Because of the delay, the PC version of Dragon Age has had an abnormally smooth transition to ship version. The build has been quite stable for months, and the press has been able to preview it based on versions that are very close to what we will ship. This review is probably based on the final version, and there should be no reason for any review of Dragon Age to be rushed out the door. I think that will work to our advantage, because Dragon Age is not a superficial game which yields its full entertainment value in just a few hours.

Sounds reasonable to me – at the same time, though, I definitely understand the cause for your suspicion.

[Desslock]

So exactly what version are we talking about here? Has Bioware been sending out final review code a week ago or more? I don’t really see how they could otherwise post a competent review at this point.

Because of the delay for the console ports, the PC game has been ready for a long time - even if they’ve still been tweaking and cleaning up a few things.

FWIW, the reviewable build I’ve had for a few weeks is rock solid - in over 80 hours of play, it hasn’t crashed once and is very polished. No issues whatsoever aside from a single journal entry that improperly recorded the resolution of a quest (the Conor quest, Bioware guys).

[TimJames]

FWIW, the reviewable build I’ve had for a few weeks is rock solid - in over 80 hours of play, it hasn’t crashed once and is very polished. No issues whatsoever aside from a single journal entry that improperly recorded the resolution of a quest (the Conor quest, Bioware guys).

Are you reviewing this for someone? I thought you mentioned that but couldn’t find it.

[Desslock]

Are you reviewing this for someone? I thought you mentioned that but couldn’t find it.

PC Gamer Mag.

[Larinson]

The overall rate is 8+/10.
Pros: multi-threaded plot
climate
combat
great possibilities for development
length

Cons: looks old school
some fights are difficult like hell even at lower difficulty
levels (difficulty levels)

Hmm, well, if this review is bona fide, and accurate, then I’m pleased, as I pretty much view all those things listed as cons, as pros.

[TimJames]

PC Gamer Mag.

I wasn’t able to follow what their current review candidate policy is, but are they making any effort to get the review out sometime in November since the game has been stable for a while? Or did that deadline already pass?

[Desslock]

If you’ve been looking for a party-based RPG with tough tactical combat, Dragon Age is definitely for you.

Which is not to say it’s combat intensive - it’s actually very dialogue heavy, and most fights feel like heavily designed, challenging, setpieces. The awarded “achievements” for keeping your character alive in combat are well-earned.

[Desslock]

I wasn’t able to follow what their current review candidate policy is, but are they making any effort to get the review out sometime in November since the game has been stable for a while? Or did that deadline already pass?

Time to print is much quicker than it used to be - we are saving space for the review in the next issue. I have another week with the game before I have to submit the review and the review will still be out before the game’s release in November.

[Vesper]

Time to print is much quicker than it used to be - we are saving space for the review in the next issue. I have another week with the game before I have to submit the review and the review will still be out before the game’s release in November.

Looking forward to reading your review. I’m buying it anyway, of course…

[Eightball]

If you’ve been looking for a party-based RPG with tough tactical combat, Dragon Age is definitely for you.

Which is not to say it’s combat intensive - it’s actually very dialogue heavy, and most fights feel like heavily designed, challenging, setpieces. The awarded “achievements” for keeping your character alive in combat are well-earned.

That seriously sounds great.

Though I think their marketing campaign is now an utter fail. They’re going to get folks to pick it up who think it’s some light action-RPG, who are going to be really upset when they find out how hard it is lol.

[Shimarenda]

That seriously sounds great.

Though I think their marketing campaign is now an utter fail. They’re going to get folks to pick it up who think it’s some light action-RPG, who are going to be really upset when they find out how hard it is lol.

For a while I could decide if it would be better for the marketing to be accurate or for it to be a misrepresentation of the game. Since my wife is getting it, I’ve decided on the latter; at least she’ll be happy. Either way, the marketing makes Bioware look cynical and lacking in judgment.

[greg_wak]

So cool we are getting a Desslock review! I thought those were all a thing of the past. Pretty much everything I have read has led me to believe this will be the excellent game I have thought it would be since it was first announced. As opposed to the trailers, which made it look bad. Only bad thing for me is that I will not be able to start it on day one as I will still be finishing up Risen. I’m a slow gamer.

[TurinTur]

If you’ve been looking for a party-based RPG with tough tactical combat, Dragon Age is definitely for you.

Which is not to say it’s combat intensive - it’s actually very dialogue heavy, and most fights feel like heavily designed, challenging, setpieces. The awarded “achievements” for keeping your character alive in combat are well-earned.

How tough? And that review also mentioned hard fights.
I like rpgs, and i like ‘tactical’ strategy games, but… don’t ask me why, i don’t like tactical party-based rpgs a lot. When i am playing a rpg, i focus more on story, characters, exploration, dialogue and general immersion feeling.
Should i play this game on easy?

[Murbella]

If you’ve been looking for a party-based RPG with tough tactical combat, Dragon Age is definitely for you.

Which is not to say it’s combat intensive - it’s actually very dialogue heavy, and most fights feel like heavily designed, challenging, setpieces. The awarded “achievements” for keeping your character alive in combat are well-earned.

Yes please! Sounds like baldur’s gate series to me. Oh and didn’t someone come on to say that it was a myth that they were sitting on the finished pc version in order to feast on the dreams of pc gamers?

[Desslock]

When i am playing a rpg, i focus more on story, characters, exploration, dialogue and general immersion feeling.
Should i play this game on easy?

Yes, probably – try it on the default setting and go down if you find it too difficult (which has friendly fire, although that makes less of a difference than it would in NWN2 for instance). I think you can adjust it while playing, in case you get stuck or are just annoyed at replaying a battle, but I’ll confirm that. I’ve stuck on “normal” and have spent a long time on some battles to develop better strategies (and, occasionally, relying on BG1-type kiting).

[Quitch]

I was on Impulse getting my pre-order in… US and Canada only. Serious Internet fail.