DA:O At a Good Breaking Point

Dragon Age: Origins
@Crilloan

That's how I play games during the weekends, and the reason why I get so much gaming done. Gaming is far more efficient when you have few interruptions. During weekdays I settle for 4-5 hours due to work, but weekends are only limited by eating/sleeping.
 
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I restarted Two Worlds yesterday. Yes that game can be pretty dumb but it is so much fun. I'm really not enjoying DA enough to continue right now. I'll come back to DA before making my 6th attempt at getting into NWN2.
 
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I restarted Two Worlds yesterday. Yes that game can be pretty dumb but it is so much fun. I'm really not enjoying DA enough to continue right now. I'll come back to DA before making my 6th attempt at getting into NWN2.

I often think back fondly on the desert and jungle areas of TW, and that Japanesey town. I'm looking forward to TW2, actually. TW had a cheesy story, but I enjoyed the world, nevertheless.

I'm also tired of DA by now, but I might use my soon-to-arrive DD2 (Ego Draconis) as a motivation to finish DA properly first.
 
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I really enjoyed DA:O but when I finished, I felt very spent. I did not really want to dive back in and replay.

Then again, it took me over 100 hours to complete the game. I did nearly every side quest and explored each corner of the world.

I also fully exploited the tactics system. I downloaded a mod that unlocked all 25 tactic slots early on. Truly one of the most satisfying parts of the game for me was sitting there devising tactics, then seeing my party members automatically execute my plans. The combat animations are excellent so there was a very cinematic and visceral feel once everything locked into place. Yes, I would have to do manual commands at times for boss battles — but MOST of the time I could simply control who I wanted and everyone else just fit into the roles around that person.

My final verdict? It is Bioware's best game since BG2. But it is not better than BG2. It simply doesn't have the scope or sweep of that game. I think that is more than just nostalgia talking. BG2 simply had more diverse characters, equipment, locations, everything.

Don't get me wrong — DA:O is VERY, VERY good and is without a doubt worth the money. I'm just not sure I'm ready to put it in the top 10 yet.
 
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My final verdict? It is Bioware's best game since BG2. But it is not better than BG2. It simply doesn't have the scope or sweep of that game. I think that is more than just nostalgia talking. BG2 simply had more diverse characters, equipment, locations, everything.


Well stated elkston, I agree 100%.
 
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On a side note: I'm also struggling to stay interested in DA right now. I only have Orzarmar and the Brecillian Forest left to finish, but I'm really forcing myself to continue at this point.

To be honest, I don't even know why. DA has a decent story, great combat, interesting characters, etc, but the game as a whole just isn't pulling me in.
 
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Well stated elkston, I agree 100%.

I'd almost argue that content/quest-wise, the whole of DA:O is equal to the single chapter 2 of BG2.

And this is not to say that making a game longer necessarily makes it better. Only that BG2 somehow managed to walk that tightrope of sustaining interest and excitement across a long, expansive game.
 
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BG2 somehow managed to walk that tightrope of sustaining interest and excitement across a long, expansive game.


And it did that nearly perfectly imo. I remember playing BG2 almost around the clock until I was finished with it. There was never a moment in BG2 when I didn't want to explore at least one more room, even when I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.
 
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It may be best to do small bits of a location and then go do something different. The main quest locations are very long.

BG2 had a lot of sidequests and things happening in the city. I could travel to another part of the city for a quest and inadvertently open up new quests. DA:O has a different structure. I found each location more of a big chunk which I tried to do in one go.

Also since you arrive in each location in the middle of a crisis. You may be more invested and understand the issues better if you did your origin there. For Circle Tower and Redcliffe it took me a while to grasp how dangerous magic was and this is why it needs to be tightly controlled.
 
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To keep the game fresh fore me, I always explore a new location whit tree new follows, and usual use them until that location are fully explored, often its give me an party that is not perfect, and often make the game a little harder, but as long I have one mage whit me to CC, its not the big problem, being a tank myself. Its fun to explore and use the “new” follows abilities, stick to the same tree get old really fast.
 
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