# Dragon Age?



## cyberpunkdreams (Mar 19, 2015)

I hate to be _that guy_, but is it worth getting into Dragon Age, and if so, is it worth starting at the beginning? I mainly ask as I already have a looooong list of games to play (as I'm sure we all do), so it's a matter of priorities. On the one hand, I like Bioware stuff (I'm Mass Effect's Biggest Fan (tm)), but on the other I'm not nearly so keen on fantasy as I am on SF (although I'm not adverse to it).

I also know that there's no right or wrong answer to a question like this, but I'd be interested in people's opinions!


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## BAYLOR (Mar 29, 2015)

Why isn't this becoming a movie?


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## thaddeus6th (Mar 29, 2015)

Yes, on the basis that the first game might well be the best.

It's pretty damned good. DA2 has its moments but is a little smaller in scale (both in terms of world and length). Inquisition has lots of good points, but is less focused, I think, than Origins.

Dragon Age: Origins is probably available for a knockdown price now so it's well worth a look.


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## cyberpunkdreams (Mar 29, 2015)

Thanks for the feedback! I'll check it out. I'm always a bit weary of the very first instalment of a game, unless it's recommended otherwise. For me, Mass Effect really came into its own with the second one, and I've heard the same about other, similar titles.


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## thaddeus6th (Mar 29, 2015)

I agree that ME2 is better than the first game. DA2 isn't terrible, but Origins is very good indeed. Anyway, hope you like it.


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## Boaz (Nov 7, 2015)

cpd, I'm a fantasy guy, not a sci-fi guy.  That being said, ME's 3 titles are a more fulfilling story (even with the stupid ending) than DAO, DAOA, and DA2 put together. But then DAI changes everything...

The continuing problems from the Salarian communication failure with the Rachni still haunt the Galaxy and cause Shepard no end of headaches... i.e. The Genophage is a phenomenal subplot. You may find the ongoing social and moral issues with mages in DA to be similar.

ME's problems were elevators, the Mako, and general length of time it took to get around.  DAO has a bit of that as well.  I also had monetary issues on my first game and I wish I could have dumped Ohgren.  Once you get into the story, you'll find the gathering of allies (armies, not npcs) and your judgements at Redcliffe, The Alienage, the Temple of Sacred Ashes, and your decisions regarding the throne and the archdemon are at the heart of the story and will make your experience unique.

DAO is fully worth playing.  The npcs make it lots of fun.  On my second game, I named the dog Alistair.  Morrigan, Leliana, Sten, Loghain, and Alistair add a lot to the world. The story is epic.  But in DAOA and DA2, the stories are not epic. Some people enjoyed them very much, but I felt they were a letdown.

After playing DAI, finally DAOA and DA2 feel complete, instead of being tacked on to DAO.  DAI is epic, fun, and fulfilling.  It is so good, it makes the three previous titles seem like teasers or an extended prologue. My complaints are a faulty save function on the Xbone (https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/550657/), eternal loading screens, and too much xp... I steamrolled the final boss.


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## Heir (Nov 7, 2015)

Boaz said:


> After playing DAI, finally DAOA and DA2 feel complete, instead of being tacked on to DAO.  DAI is epic, fun, and fulfilling.  It is so good, it makes the three previous titles seem like teasers or an extended prologue. My complaints are a faulty save function on the Xbone (https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/550657/), eternal loading screens, and too much xp... I steamrolled the final boss.


I love both Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and I've been a Bioware fan since I was 8 and played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (the 2nd game is my favourite game of all time). But I have to say, whilst Inquisition was certainly the best DA to me, the ending felt... anti-climatic. I remember literally laughing as I thought the final boss because it just didn't feel epic to me. That said, I killed the Archdemon with only 3 attacks on Nightmare difficulty, so I'm probably not a good example since I always make my characters powerhouses. Also, the twists towards the end were great if you've been paying attention to the lore of the world. And the final DLC they released was exceptionally good, and then throw into the mix Bioware's phenomenal world-building (in all their games). 

So taking all of that into account, I don't mind if one battle felt a little underwhelming, even if it was supposed to be the final boss.


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## Boaz (Nov 7, 2015)

Heir, I always play on normal difficulty, but I found myself also playing on nightmare due to the fact that my party was ridiculously overpowered.  The mobs and bosses should have scaled according to the party level instead of being preset.


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## cyberpunkdreams (Nov 7, 2015)

KOTOR was a great game! And that for the really detailed feedback on DA. I am planning on playing now, although I must admit I'm much more into SF than fantasy.

Also, am I the only person who didn't find the ending of ME3 stupid? Utterly devastating, yes, stupid, no. I only played the fully patched version though.


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## Heir (Nov 7, 2015)

cyberpunkdreams said:


> KOTOR was a great game! And that for the really detailed feedback on DA. I am planning on playing now, although I must admit I'm much more into SF than fantasy.
> 
> Also, am I the only person who didn't find the ending of ME3 stupid? Utterly devastating, yes, stupid, no. I only played the fully patched version though.


I played it before any ending DLC came out, and I never bothered to replay the ending to see how it changed. At first I was really annoyed, but after a while I didn't actually mind. My main issue with it was that they destroyed the Mass Relays. That _really_ annoyed me. It was like one of those epilogues in stories that tell you where the characters are decades later.

Sure, sometimes it's nice because you know they lived happily ever after, but sometimes it's kind of upsetting to know there will probably be no more adventures.

Mass Effect may be getting a new game, but I don't really know what that's about apart from 'exploring'. I just watched the trailer for N7 Day that came out on PlayStation's YouTube channel about half an hour ago.

Right now, my anticipation for Fallout 4 is steam-rolling anything else. Well, except for Star Wars: Episode VII.


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## cyberpunkdreams (Nov 7, 2015)

Heir said:


> I just watched the trailer for N7 Day that came out on PlayStation's YouTube channel about half an hour ago.



Wow, just checked that out. First time I've seen anything official from Mass Effect using the female Shepard (Femshep fan myself, of course).

As well as sorting out various lore problems, they added a massive amount of new content with the DLC ending, both before and after the central event itself (even before getting back on board the Citadel). It's worth checking out if you still have any interest at all in ME.


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## Heir (Nov 8, 2015)

cyberpunkdreams said:


> Wow, just checked that out. First time I've seen anything official from Mass Effect using the female Shepard (Femshep fan myself, of course).


There were two trailers for Femshep. The one that shows Femshep gameplay was IMHO the best trailer they released for that game, besides maybe the launch trailer. 

Well that sounds interesting. I probably won't play it again for months though. Nothing else is getting played after Nov 10th.


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