Dragon Age I just finished Dragon Age Origins and some parts of it werent awfull

[Falksi]

I'm definitely a DA:O fanboy.

On first playthrough I'd have rated it 7/10 - cliche with a lot of the points Thac0 makes standing up.

However on subsequent playthrough's I really got sucked into it, and I found the C&C very satisfying. I always play as a good guy first time, evil cunt second time, and that latter playthrough's were really fun. The first playthrough was also as a Rogue, the latter ones as a mage, which helped too (one started as Warrior, but that was dull as shit). Defo a 8 or 9/10 experience for them.

I think I'll dust it off over the next few months to see if the taint of the Codex has corrupted me enough yet to hate on it.

Yeah, but you like Fallout 3 and dislike Fallout 2, so your standards are incredibly low by default.

I wouldn't say low, I'd just say alternative.

I freely admit I need to give Fallout 2 more of a chance, and will return to it later in the year.

Also, to put FO3's like into context, I just really enjoyed my first playthrough of it. The latter ones were shit, so I'm no fanboy of it like DA:O, I just think it's got some disposable value to it like a fat chick noshing you off. To some it makes them sick, to others they can empty their sack and trade it in the second they've spunked.

 

[DalekFlay]

Also, to put FO3's like into context, I just really enjoyed my first playthrough of it. The latter ones were shit, so I'm no fanboy of it like DA:O, I just think it's got some disposable value to it like a fat chick noshing you off. To some it makes them sick, to others they can empty their sack and trade it in the second they've spunked.

This is a good analogy actually. The idea that New Vegas is a top 20 Codex classic while Fallout 3 isn't worth playing at all has always made me chuckle. Fallout 3 is of course very flawed with shit writing and big mistakes in mechanics design, but it's the same game in a ton of ways and at the fundamental experience level. If New Vegas's improved writing and RPG design is a hot chick giving you that sweet, sweet pussy then Fallout 3 will also get you off, she just won't look nearly as hot doing it.

 

[Falksi]

Also, to put FO3's like into context, I just really enjoyed my first playthrough of it. The latter ones were shit, so I'm no fanboy of it like DA:O, I just think it's got some disposable value to it like a fat chick noshing you off. To some it makes them sick, to others they can empty their sack and trade it in the second they've spunked.

This is a good analogy actually. The idea that New Vegas is a top 20 Codex classic while Fallout 3 isn't worth playing at all has always made me chuckle. Fallout 3 is of course very flawed with shit writing and big mistakes in mechanics design, but it's the same game in a ton of ways and at the fundamental experience level. If New Vegas's improved writing and RPG design is a hot chick giving you that sweet, sweet pussy then Fallout 3 will also get you off, she just won't look nearly as hot doing it.

To extend it, I found New Vegas far harder work in terms of bugs & glitches too.

That sweet pussy comes at the price of more hassle in more dates & legwork. Whereas FO3 was virtually big-free for me (a rarity I know, but my genuine experience), so that fat-nosh was also offered to me on a plate, then fucked off out my face the second I spunked too.

 

[alyvain]

This is a good analogy actually. The idea that New Vegas is a top 20 Codex classic while Fallout 3 isn't worth playing at all has always made me chuckle. Fallout 3 is of course very flawed with shit writing and big mistakes in mechanics design, but it's the same game in a ton of ways and at the fundamental experience level.

I don't quite like New Vegas, and it is precisely because of core mechanics from Fallout 3.

If New Vegas's improved writing and RPG design is a hot chick giving you that sweet, sweet pussy then Fallout 3 will also get you off, she just won't look nearly as hot doing it.

This chick has a dick. Be careful.

 

[Butter]

Also, to put FO3's like into context, I just really enjoyed my first playthrough of it. The latter ones were shit, so I'm no fanboy of it like DA:O, I just think it's got some disposable value to it like a fat chick noshing you off. To some it makes them sick, to others they can empty their sack and trade it in the second they've spunked.

This is a good analogy actually. The idea that New Vegas is a top 20 Codex classic while Fallout 3 isn't worth playing at all has always made me chuckle. Fallout 3 is of course very flawed with shit writing and big mistakes in mechanics design, but it's the same game in a ton of ways and at the fundamental experience level. If New Vegas's improved writing and RPG design is a hot chick giving you that sweet, sweet pussy then Fallout 3 will also get you off, she just won't look nearly as hot doing it.

Fallout 3 is a fat bitch who thinks she's funny and doesn't know why men hate her. Fallout: New Vegas is her younger sister that exercises and is nice to people.

 

[CyberWhale]

Also, to put FO3's like into context, I just really enjoyed my first playthrough of it. The latter ones were shit, so I'm no fanboy of it like DA:O, I just think it's got some disposable value to it like a fat chick noshing you off. To some it makes them sick, to others they can empty their sack and trade it in the second they've spunked.

This is a good analogy actually. The idea that New Vegas is a top 20 Codex classic while Fallout 3 isn't worth playing at all has always made me chuckle. Fallout 3 is of course very flawed with shit writing and big mistakes in mechanics design, but it's the same game in a ton of ways and at the fundamental experience level. If New Vegas's improved writing and RPG design is a hot chick giving you that sweet, sweet pussy then Fallout 3 will also get you off, she just won't look nearly as hot doing it.

F3 and F:NV both come in the same envelope and form - the "only difference" is the base material, the former is made from shit and the latter from fine Swiss chocolate. People who think that is worth chuckling are free too bite into both.

 

[DalekFlay]

F3 and F:NV both come in the same envelope and form - the "only difference" is the base material, the former is made from shit and the latter from fine Swiss chocolate. People who think that is worth chuckling are free too bite into both.

The RPG mechanics, writing, quest design, faction systems, world design, etc. are all obviously better in New Vegas. That's why New Vegas is a great game, and Fallout 3 is not. However the shit you're doing 90% of the time... roaming the wasteland, shooting raiders, picking up garbage... is the same in both games. I know anything that isn't screaming hatred for Fallout 3 is triggering for many of you, but If you hate the basic gameplay loop of FO3 then you would also hate it in New Vegas, because what you do the vast majority of the time is the same in both games. It is a testament to how much writing and quest design matter in an RPG though, and should be taught in schools.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Dao is a fun game. Poe is not a fun game.

POE despite all its problems is significantly better than DAO. It has better combat, better character progression, better NPCs, better art, and a more coherent world. The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded and the Darkspawn enemy is generic and boring. There is no personality to the villain just an anonymous threatening mob. Who the fuck cares.

POE's big problem was lore dumps and all the backer shit and you can just mod that out.

 

[DalekFlay]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

 

[oldmanpaco]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

And were you a ruler in this logical Dragon Age world, you'd find yourself at the mercy of those nations which did not kill their mages (here I'd also draw a parallel between Dragon Age and the Witcher, with Nilfgaard's advantage in the Northern Wars being due to their stance on mages).

 

[Sykar]

It's basically the same shit as the IE games but because it doesn't have dnd setting (just like PoE) it gets trashed hard around here from those bigoted dndfags that hate tb combat and have never even heard of kotc.
And compared to BGs or Icewind Dales i am not completely turned off from replaying it sometime in the future.
It was pretty much ok. Not good but ok.

Edit: Also Morrigan is the best waifu.

I finished Shadows of Amn and Origins pretty much simultanously. Killed Irenaeus about a week ago
I liked BG2 much more than DAO and I liked BG1 even more than BG2.
Inventory management and itemisation is much better in the IE games. Character progression and itemisation is better aswell, although I gotta say when it comes to magic both systems are probably even. Magic is the best thing about DAO.
6 man group with 10+ classes and multi and dualclassing is much more interesting than a 4 man group with 3 classes. Sidequests take you to more interesting places in BG2.
Characters are prolly the same quality. Xan from BG1 is the best Baldurs Gate character.
Combat against trash is faster and deadlier in the BG games.

Also I liked the writing of the BGs a lot more than that of DAO. DAO is all very generic, Dwarves are fighting an eternal battle in the deep minds against the evil race, elves are hated in the cities and smoking weed in the forest, humans are divided in power struggles. The only cool thing DAO had was the Templar - Mage Tower dynamic, blood magic, golems and that stuff with the Grey Watchers that they can absorb demons which led to a pretty good ending.
The Bhaalspawn lore and the places you go in the games are all much more interesting to me.

Edit: The Baldurs Gates are about 7/10 BG2 8/10 BG1 for me.

 

[DalekFlay]

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Not every society would have your ruthlessly apathy when it came to killing thousands of people who would never go abomination. The ones that did would have underground abolition movements and whatnot. It's nowhere near that simple of an issue, and that's what makes it good.

 

[Thac0]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Yeah they surely would be executed and not seperated, kept under harsh control and stashed into bunkers like the human weapons of mass destruction they are. Just like the world abolished all their nukes as soon as they realised they could literally cause an apocalyptic event with them instead of each country in power hoarding about 100 of them, enough to end the world by itself.

 

[oldmanpaco]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Yeah they surely would be executed and not seperated, kept under harsh control and stashed into bunkers like the human weapons of mass destruction they are. Just like the world abolished all their nukes as soon as they realised they could literally cause an apocalyptic event with them instead of each country in power hoarding about 100 of them, enough to end the world by itself.

Nukes don't get possessed by demons and go off in New York.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Nukes don't get possessed by demons and go off in New York.

Sadly.

 

[Thac0]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Yeah they surely would be executed and not seperated, kept under harsh control and stashed into bunkers like the human weapons of mass destruction they are. Just like the world abolished all their nukes as soon as they realised they could literally cause an apocalyptic event with them instead of each country in power hoarding about 100 of them, enough to end the world by itself.

Nukes don't get possessed by demons and go off in New York.

Nuclear powerplants do, just look at Fukushima and Chernobyl. Still people are harnessing their power. People are willing to take a lot of risks for the benefit of power.
The Mage/Templar dynamic is pretty clever, the world cant afford to be without their might and they want them for their wars. At the same time they are the sharpest dagger in their back.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

just look at Fukushima

absolute retard alert

 

[oldmanpaco]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Yeah they surely would be executed and not seperated, kept under harsh control and stashed into bunkers like the human weapons of mass destruction they are. Just like the world abolished all their nukes as soon as they realised they could literally cause an apocalyptic event with them instead of each country in power hoarding about 100 of them, enough to end the world by itself.

Nukes don't get possessed by demons and go off in New York.

Nuclear powerplants do, just look at Fukushima and Chernobyl. Still people are harnessing their power. People are willing to take a lot of risks for the benefit of power.
The Mage/Templar dynamic is pretty clever, the world cant afford to be without their might and they want them for their wars. At the same time they are the sharpest dagger in their back.

Controlling mages like this would be a giant drain on resources. How many Templars are needed for each mage? How many soldiers just standing around waiting a possessed mage to show up. How many times does a mage get possessed and kill the innocent villagers before they start with the torches and pitchforks?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Dao is a fun game. Poe is not a fun game.

POE despite all its problems is significantly better than DAO. It has better combat, better character progression, better NPCs, better art, and a more coherent world. The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded and the Darkspawn enemy is generic and boring. There is no personality to the villain just an anonymous threatening mob. Who the fuck cares.

POE's big problem was lore dumps and all the backer shit and you can just mod that out.

DAO's story was serviceable with a few highpoints. DAO was happy being a Tolkien/D&D knockoff, like a pig in mud it rolled around and covered itself in it. The setting was immediately familiar to pretty much anyone in its target demographic. I didn't need a book of text to tell me that the orcs darkspawn are bad dudes or that dwarves really love gold, have underground trade routes, and are resistant to magic.

I remember frequently thinking "I don't care" when reading PoE dialogues. Yeah that's great, can I go adventuring now? Yeah, cool hairy gnomes and fish people whatever, no I don't care about your island oh God you're going to make a sequel set there aren't you?

DAO is the video game equivalent of someone realizing they're not smart enough so they quote a smarter person.
PoE is the video game equivalent of someone thinking they're smarter than they are.

 

[Thac0]

The whole Templar/Mage dynamic is incredibly retarded

The lore around mages and them being ticking time bombs and whatnot is some of the best shit in that series, and pretty good shit IMO. The writing is Bioware derp a lot of the time, but the concept is great.

Nope. In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power. Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Yeah they surely would be executed and not seperated, kept under harsh control and stashed into bunkers like the human weapons of mass destruction they are. Just like the world abolished all their nukes as soon as they realised they could literally cause an apocalyptic event with them instead of each country in power hoarding about 100 of them, enough to end the world by itself.

Nukes don't get possessed by demons and go off in New York.

Nuclear powerplants do, just look at Fukushima and Chernobyl. Still people are harnessing their power. People are willing to take a lot of risks for the benefit of power.
The Mage/Templar dynamic is pretty clever, the world cant afford to be without their might and they want them for their wars. At the same time they are the sharpest dagger in their back.

Con tolling mages like this would be a giant drain on resources. How many Templars are needed for each mage? How many soldiers just standing around waiting a possessed mage to show up. How many times does a mage get possessed and kill the innocent villagers before they start with the torches and pitchforks?

But you get those problems either way, wether you spend the ressources for culling them or controlling them. When there is a local struggling Bann who is losing his lands due to the usual intrigue and backstabbery has a mage in his dungeons and waits for his execution, and that offers him a deal, life for power, half of the people in the Dragon Age world would take it. You either get a war on drugs where everyone uses and traffics the mages, or a controlled situation where you get the benefit of the strongest military force in the world on your site. Also if your country executes mages, and your neighbour trains them you are gonna be crushed and assimilated by them in a matter of weeks. Battlefield Implications of spells like Snowstorm, Earthquake and Inferno are massive.

The theoretical use of mages in DAO is absolutely ridiculous. They can summon from other planes, bringing an infinite stream of ressoruces into the world and casually violating the laws of thermodynamics (the side quests where you summon pigs that drop gems when killed)
Magic healers are so incredibly potent every king wants a magical doctor for himself. Enchantment raises the fighting potential of your armies to an absurd level.

In fact the mages were held a lot closer before the second blight, they only got so much freedom because they kicked demon ass so hard. The world did not have the option to get rid of them.

 

[alyvain]

Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Life expectancy of a poor adult peasant wasn't much longer in the time period.

In any logical world the mages would be executed as soon as they revealed their power.

In this world magic was the only source connecting primitive societies to what they considered gods.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Sort of like who the fuck would be a Grey Warden if they knew they would only live for 20 years.

Life expectancy of a poor adult peasant wasn't much longer in the time period.

Yes, life expectancy including deaths in infancy. Otherwise it was a bit lower than the average one today.

 

[alyvain]

Yes, life expectancy including deaths in infancy. Otherwise it was a bit lower than the average one today.

I'm talking about adults precisely.

Once children reached the age of 10, their life expectancy was 32.2 years, and for those who survived to 25, the remaining life expectancy was 23.3 years

Link

Roughly the same life expectancy as with you joining the Wardens, given that they don't usually recruit children

 

[Ulysa]

I really disliked the whole experience simply because they force you to save the world, everything is so gloomy, the end of the world, and everyone is an emo or edge lady/lord. This, Mass Effect...are so depressing that after playing them I feel happy with DOS absurd quest to save a chicken egg.