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Realm of Rikonia
Rikonian Revuze
(Video Games)
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Reviewed By: Lord High Rikonian ( 11/21/2009 11:14:14 PM)
Overall Rating: 5.00 TPKs
Quality:
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Review: Dragon Age: Origins is in many ways well-trodden territory. If you enjoy Bioware's games, then this is the gold standard (or should I say the sovereign standard?) of Bioware RPGs. If you've ever played KOTOR (and if not, what the hell is wrong with you?!) you know all about the over-the-shoulder perspective and the winding pathways. And if you've ever played Neverwinter Nights, then you're familiar with the power wheel interface, the look of the medeival themed armors, and the sound, especially that fricking looped song they play at the taverns.
Plus the classic good and evil plot-driving dialog options we all know and love from Bioware.
But this is not just a retread. The characters are fresh and very well voiced. The powers are well designed and executed. The plots are compelling. The visuals are crisp. The voice acting is top notch. And the morality engine decisions are just as deliciously wicked as we expect form Bioware (although you could play the game the good way too, if for some reason you wanted to do that). Although, I do miss the good/evil slider bar (or for you Mass Effect fans, the pussy/douchebag slider bar).
Unlike prior Bioware games, you have a 4-character party, which is nice because it lets you mix things up a bit more while still getting to play with your favorite characters in party. And you'll want to mix it up, because the characters have some great conversational sequences. And they do this more frequently than in KOTOR or Mass Effect. Good thing these characters are so interesting. Well, for the most part. Alistair the Warden/Templar is a bit annoying and whiny. But I think the developers must have known this. Mainly because in one scene he complains about his "manly feelings" being hurt, an obvious refence to Carth "whiny bitch" Onasi. But Alistair isn't that bad, even though he is the worst charcter, primarily because the others are so great. Morrigan the shapeshifting witch woman, voiced by Claudia Black, is my favorite. But Shale the golem is a close second (it reminds me a bit of HK47, and I just find unliving automatons who are so blithely psychopathic amusing).
But the game is not perfect. The controls are a bit clunky, and the camera will sometimes swing around so that columns or walls are between you and your chosen target. And choosing your chosen enemy to target can be vexing. Usually whoever is in the center of the screen is selected, but not always, and it is very easy to think you're targeting a nearby enemy only to have your character push past the close enemies to run after some archer or spellcaster.
But even with the weak control scheme, this game is highly engrossing, fun, and richly detailed.
Playing Advice: You want this game. Don't rent it, buy it. Believe me, this game is so jam packed you will want go back to it.
And when you play it, save often, because this game is, as I said earlier, brutal. And don't buy it if you'll need to get anything done in the near future.
Also, I have played both the XBox 360 and the PC versions of this game. If you have to choose between console and PC, then I'd recommend console. Sure the quickbar on the PC version is nice, but maneuvering your character using the cursor keys is far too clunky, especially for a game that mixed tactical positioning in with the RPG combat. Trust me on this, you'll want the precision of dual analog thumsticks when you're trying to get to backstab position or get out of the way of a dragon's tail.
And why the frel didn't Bioware add controller support for the PC version? Pretty much every serious PC gamer has at least one controller for the PC, and it really is a vastly superior interface for moving the characters than using the keyboard.
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