prisoner_24601 | I finally finished Dragon Age.

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I finally finished Dragon Age.

I kind of feel like I just ran a marathon or something. I have no idea how you all ended up beating the game so damn quickly, because it took me like 90+ hours to finish it (and I didn't even do everything). True, probably 20 of those hours were spent with the game idle and me afk chasing after the anklebiters or making dinner or whatever, but still, that was a damn long game.

Overall, I thought it was pretty fun. Not the greatest or most original game ever, but pretty consistently entertaining. If I were going to grade it against other Bioware titles, I'd have to say that I didn't enjoy it as much as Knights of the Old Republic or Balder's Gate 2, but thought it was light years better than Jade Empire. I'd put it on the same enjoyment level as Mass Effect, although the strengths of those two games seem to be the opposite from each other. Mass Effect had a more interesting plot line that was much tighter and very well thought out, but the NPC's fell kind of flat. Dragon Age had this sprawley behemoth of a plot that many times was too big and too disorganized and was often really, really contrived, but I liked the NPC interaction much better.

Some thoughts:

The Characters

Bioware really loves those character archtypes don't they? This time we get Canderous (Sten) and HK-47 (Shale) from Knights of the Old Republic and Viconia (Morrigan) from Balder's Gate. If Bioware is going to insist on putting a Canderous analog in every single one of their games, I think we need to start insisting that they finally let us romance him. At least Alistair wasn't giving off Carth vibes, which is a big improvement over the last several games.

Overall, I liked the characters though, even the ones that were regurgitations from past games. I thought that Alistair was a lot of fun to have around and had some of the best banters with everyone in the party. Honestly, I kept waiting for him and Morriagan to just start making out, so I felt vindicated in the end when he sleeps with her for the ritual. True love or whatever with the PC aside, I bet Alistair had been wanting to tap that since they met.

Leliana grew on me too, although she annoyed me at first. Zevran I thought I was going to hate (I hate elves on general principle), but his Antonio Bandares voice and shameless sexual advances and dialogue towards the party as a whole cracked me up. He and Wynne had the best banters of the whole damn game (that shit was hilarious). I wish I could have kept him around more, but I never really got around to making him like me, and he ended up betraying my party which was a bummer. Ogren was really funny to have around as well (loved the line about tattooing his name on your ass in bruises).

As for non party NPC's, I liked both Anora and Logain (although I suspect that there is probably much fangirlish rage directed in Anora's direction). I ended up choosing her for the throne over Alistair, because let's face it - as nice of a guy as Alistair is, he'd make a totally shitty and weak king. So I ended up getting the ending where you both stay together and rebuild the Grey Wardens, which after finding out what all the endings were, made the most sense to me. I may end up going back though and convincing Alistair and Anora to marry to see what happens, because that also made sense too.

The Romances

I thought the Alistair romance was okay. Overall, I liked him as a character, but he's just not my type. I think I understand all of the fangirl squee - he trips all the right buttons (he's young, hot, funny, and has that whole awkward thing that's supposed to be endearing) and on top of it, he doesn't come with baggage that a frustrated a lot of the true love fangirl contingent with Carth (dead wives and hostile kids - although that's why I found Carth interesting myself, lol). Maybe it's my age, or maybe he's just too goofy to be my type, but I was pretty indifferent about the romance angle and really only completed it out of curiosity more than anything else.

Having watched my husband romance Morrigan on his Dwarf Rogue though, I have to say though that the Alistair romance is 100 times better than the goofyness that is the Morrigan romance. I wanted to romance Leliana, but I failed to trigger it one of the early conversations (because I thought I could get to it later) and then it never came up again. And Zevran - he was just way too goofy and over the top for me to really even try.

And omg, I didn't think there was a way to make the sex even sillier than in Mass Effect, but the good people at Bioware have totally proven me wrong.

The Gameplay

Sometimes it was fun, but a lot of times it was a tedious slog. I thought I was NEVER going to get out of the Deep Roads. They should keep the difficulty (I liked that the combat wasn't super easy like other Bioware games) but cut the number of battles and the sizes of the dungeons in half.

Also - wtf, Bioware? Why do you have such a freaking hard time making hair that doesn't look completely ridiculous? And what the hell is up with the mage robes? Please, for the love of god, go over to Mod the Sims, and hire some of those artists to create hairstyles and clothing that doesn't look completely idiotic.

The Fans

Frankly, the Alistair fangirl contingent scares the hell out of me. The rabid devotion that Alistair has inspired is rather amazing, and I think it even tops the Carth fangirls from back in the day.

I found all of the outrage over Mages, Dwarves and Elves not being able to marry Alistair and become queen really hilarious. I mean, the dude so obviously does not want to be king, and here is this woman who would actually make a decent queen who wants the job, but they end up goading Alistair into taking the throne anyway, and then he ends their romance. Whereas if they'd listened to what Alistair actually wanted and gave Anora the throne they'd get to be Grey Wardens with their one true love. I'm sorry, but that's freaking priceless.

All the fangirling inspires evil urges where Alistair and Anora end up getting married and Alistair gets over the PC and lives a happy life with his wife. Or an Alistair/Leliana story or something. I kind of want to write some Sten/Leliana stuff too - they seem like they'd make an interesting pair.

Anyway a fun game, but not super awesome. I may go back and play through the other beginnings just to see those parts, but there's no freaking way I'd play through the whole thing again.

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*eyes collab KotOR stuff mournfully*

It's not something I understand, since my male mage's main experience of Cullen is of him being very paranoid and slightly insane... as in "Templar most likely to spontaneously decide that all the mages are abominations and try to kill them all". I thought this in the introduction.

awww. Thanks for the plug, rose! Yeah, I played um, Human Cousland fem, and that seem the most popular, with city elf as the second, then dalish, then both dwarves. Aimo is rocking the dwarves, and I kind of love her for it.

I am replaying as an elf mage now. The combat is tedious, but I'm kind of enjoying trying new techniques (like a ton of range) and how much ass mages can kick. Which is a lot. Agree, dungeons too long. I rushed through the game the first playthrough, but this time I've been in the deep roads for two weeks. And that's my first one.

I think there's a ton of interesting stuff in the game that isn't omg!Alistair! although sometimes that seems to override everything in the fandom. Like, why has no one besides me ever even noticed how creepy the whole broodmother concept is? And why does no one ever think, hrm... maybe Loghain's paranoia about Orlais? What if there's a good reason? Bah. Anyways, uh... I like the lore a lot. It reminds me of a playable version of GRRM's stuff and that can't be bad.

the Cullen thing is a little whack, yes. But I am inpressed he can generate so much fanfict with so little screentime! He's like a Dustil with plate.

Like, why has no one besides me ever even noticed how creepy the whole broodmother concept is?

I have been dared to write Broodmother/Broodfather smut and I'm going to do it!

Wynne/Gregoir is also suprisingly popular, given that they are oldsters.

That is true, I've come across the wynne/gregoir. MH, you, btw, have been too prolific of late. I am still catching up on your fict.

I have been slightly manic lately! Plus I'm on holiday from the novel, so let the fanfic flow!

Yeah I've seen some of the Aimo fem dwarf stuff and it's pretty cool. I totally wanted to play as a dwarf, but I wanted to play as a mage more, and since I can't stand elves I ended up playing a human. Which is kinda boring, but on the other hand, Mages kick so much ass it's not even funny.

I think there's a ton of interesting stuff in the game that isn't omg!Alistair! although sometimes that seems to override everything in the fandom.

Yeah, I noticed that when I went over to ff.net and the other lj dragon age sites. It's unfortunate, but I'm not surprised. I'm hoping that it's a symptom of a young fandom, and as it gets older, people will start getting bored with the same old stuff and start pushing themselves out of the box a bit. You could see that with KoTOR - when the games first came out everything was centered around the game romances. As the fandom grew and got older, people started expanding their ideas. I think we'll start seeing more gen stuff or at least non cannon romantic pairings once the fangirling dies down a bit.

Broodmother is very creepy. I definitely think there's a ton that could be done with her. I really liked the implications in your fic, actually. That was a great idea and I'd like to see more people explore that idea.

I may reload the game and make Loghain a grey warden just to see what happens - because frankly, he and his daughter are two of the most interesting characters in the game. I thought he was a tragically misguided hero who deserved a better end than that, although admittedly, getting all the people killed who are supposed to stop the blight is kind of a dumb plan. Then again, that king guy was dumb as hell. Loghain should have just found a way to get the king killed without destroying the Grey Wardens.

If I can figure out a way to marry Alistair and Anora and still spare Loghain's life, I'm going to do it. I'm just not sure I want to have to fight through all that end stuff again just yet. So more experimentation with the origin stories first.

Hahahahaha he is. I hadn't thought of him like that, but it's so true.

I think it must be that writers are finding the whole mage/templar forbidden attraction thing too hard to resist. I think they're ignoring the creepy ass stalker vibe that dude gives off. He kind of reminds me of Edward from Twilight - like he creeps into her room at night and watches her sleep.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get the appeal.

Really? That's cool. I'll have to dig some of that stuff up, because that sounds interesting.

When you play a female mage you find out after you get back from the fade that he was the one who was supposed to kill you if you get possessed, and that he was all conflicted about because (it's implied) that he has a crush on you.

Later when you come back after the demons have taken over and you find him by that staircase, he thinks you're the demon, because the demon has been his crush on you to torment and torture him (and has apparently appeared to him as you). He's half insane, paranoid and totally bitter about you when you talk to him.

Personally, I still found him creepy. His infatuation seemed less like anything healthy and more like something that requires therapy and a restraining order, but maybe that's because I'm an old, cynical bitch.

No I haven't. I guess I should check it out. I need to replay ME before the sequel comes out, since I lost my old saves when I wiped this computer awhile back.

I know, me too. Dinah and I were talking about maybe working on some Batman!Revan & Yuthura stuff once we get the stuff we're working on now finished. Would you be interested in doing some exile stuff with us?

We probably wouldn't do it as a roleplay thing (I don't think I have the stamina for that), but maybe as a one shot or a multi chapter short story.

Oh yes, please!! I miss Darja and think of poor Atton left with those Gamorreans ...*shakes head*

Behold, in all it's nerdy glory...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjRefrIiwf8
Seriously? Colonal Tigh AND Jayne??

Dammit...wrong link...well, it's still full of nerdy goodness, but this is full of voice nerdy goodness; vhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_xY2JckQm4

It's funny. In my game, Alistair ended up saying that he might as well be king, because he didn't want Anora on the throne (this would be after her second betrayal - which, by the way, was awesome). I kind of boggled at that. He also decides to suddenly take the throne if he thinks you're going to spare Loghain. I think that speaks more to his relative immaturity than anything else. He still has a lot of growing up to do, apparently.

And I liked it that he broke up with you. Finally, a romance option that isn't for granted. And it was for a good reason, too! And then you can get back at him by making him sleep with Morrigan. (I agree with you - that would be some epic hate sex.)

The best outcome, IIRC, is if Anora marries Alistair. She's the politician, he's the man of the people, or something like that. I liked Anora - she frustrated me with her constant double-crossing, but she did what was necessary for her to retain power. I can respect that, haha.

I also got an Alistair/Leiliana vibe from their banter--like if I wasn't around/was male, they would totally hook up.

I got that vibe too! I thought I was the only one.

You convince them to get married beforehand, I think? And then when Alistair gets angry and runs off, it's just to some room in the castle. Anora mentions that he's off pouting somewhere.

Oh yeah, me too. Alistair actually seems really interested in her from the banter they share. I could totally see the two of them sharing a tent.

Yeah I found it on you tube, which was very fun to watch (and stirred up some fic plot bunnies actually. I think you have to harden Alistair first though, which I don't think I did, so I'm not sure if I could do it myself unless I went back and played the whole thing again (oh hell no, lol).

I'm going to have to try and see if I can find the second betrayal on you tube, because it sounds like a lot of fun. She's so pragmatic and ruthless. I love it.

And I liked it that he broke up with you. Finally, a romance option that isn't for granted. And it was for a good reason, too!

Oh yeah, I actually give Bioware lots of credit for having the balls to go there, and not just slapping on an ending where they ride off into the sunset on a pair of sparkly unicorns. I mean, there's a ton of good reasons, if you choose to make him King, why the two of you shouldn't be together in that situation especially if you are a dwarf or an elf or even a mage (because everyone is constantly freaked out about mages). I'm hoping they ignore the loud shrieks of outrage from the fangirl contingent and continue to write their games like this.

The fangirl outrage over it I find both hilarious and really frustrating. What really drives me up the wall is the way the fangirls blame everyone except Alistair for making that decision, even though it was very clear to me from what I've seen that it is very much Alistair's decision. The latest trend is to blame Arl Eamon for "talking" Alistair into it, even though the only person in the game who can really push for Alistair to become king is your Grey Warden. In fact, the Arl seems to take it for granted that you and Alistair will remain lovers (if not get married), because if you bring up the idea of Alistair marrying Anora to him, he's all "Are you sure, dude, cause I though you and Alistair had something going on?"

And it never seems to occur to them that the reasons are legitimate and really damn important. I mean, having an heir is really freaking important in that situation. So is being able to forge a coalition of leadership to stop the damned blight and rebuild the country. So is having someone around to continue rebuilding the Grey Wardens. They both have pressing duties in different directions, and I get irritated with the "But true love should conquer all!" contingent. And why they are so hung up on becoming Queen I also don't get. If they want to ride off into the sunset with him, they should just make Anora queen. But they can't seem to accept that either (with the excuse that Anora would make a horrible queen and that she's Teh Evil, etc...)

I swear, two days in the fandom and the fans are already driving me nuts, lol.

The best outcome, IIRC, is if Anora marries Alistair. She's the politician, he's the man of the people, or something like that. I liked Anora - she frustrated me with her constant double-crossing, but she did what was necessary for her to retain power. I can respect that, haha.

This makes sense to me. They seem like they have different skills and personality traits that would balance each other quite well. He'd need her political savvy. She'd need his moral compass, and in my brain, I think he'd eventually get over the Grey Warden and grow to love and respect his wife. (Fandom blasphemy I know, lol).

I think I'm going to have to do some writing. Epic hate sexxors between Morrigan and Alistair seems like way too much fun. And I keep coming up with Anora/Alistair ideas. I hate my brain sometimes, lol.

As you know my experience was better, but I think the environment had a lot to do with that.

The game still looks like it's gameplay is somewhat shallow compared to something like, say, NWN2 or KotOR, but I expect that's what a lot of people actually wanted (I can be a complexity addict at times).

With yours, noneko, and mad's recommendations I have little reason not to at least give this a chance.

Yeah, it's a pretty solid game. Not groundbreaking by any stretch, and not as cool as KOTOR or BG, but still pretty solid entertainment.

My husband is enjoying the hell out of it (even though he thinks the Morrigan romance is utterly silly, lol), which is interesting because I can almost never get him to play stuff. And now he's talking about installing mods and paying for extra DLC.

I don't know if the gameplay is shallower - more like it sprawls all over the place and drags on for too long at times. But once you hit a certain event, the plot kicks into high gear and the choices you can make get much more interesting. It just seems to take FOREVER to get to that part.

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I finally finished Dragon Age.

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Glad to hear the game is actually fun to play

Re: Glad to hear the game is actually fun to play