I'm shocked, shocked to find video games with bra-only characters.
My two little brothers, both Counterstrike champions, separately warned me not to play Dragon Age: Origins. “It’s too good – you’ll do nothing but play it,” they said. “It’s much better than KotR, and you loved that game,” they said. “Please, don’t spend the holidays playing it,” they begged.
So, I’m playing it now, and it’s just as brilliant and immersive as I feared.
I won’t venture too far into the story, but needless to say, the long peace of the kingdoms is finally over. Once again, heads of state have failed to recognize the menace of an approaching demon horde, and it’s up to you to stop them.
The story’s not revolutionary. The gameplay is. For the first time in gaming, your AI allies are as smart as you. You program them with a set of situation trees that go four levels deep, and apply to nearly ever situation in the game. Want your party to attack enemy spellcasters first? Sure, but how’d you like to pick the spell they use while you’re at it? And the next spell? And the potency of the healing item they use while under attack? And exactly how much health they need to lose before they use it?
DA:O’s fighting system. Combat evolved…again.
It’s amazing. For the first time in my life, I’m intentionally playing the weakest character in a battle, knowing my allies will do a far better job stunning the enemy, healing each other and buffing themselves than I will. Several times I’ve caught myself wishing the computer would simply control my entire party, leaving me to check my email on one monitor while flaming arrows rain death on the other.
If you’ve played Mass Effect, you’re used to branching dialogue that goes beyond “Good Response/Evil Response.” Bioware improves on this mechanic by making the characters – get this – funny. Not silly or campy or wacky, but actually funny, which is not easy. For example, your wisecracking companion is an ex-mage hunter, an early sign in the game that you’re in for something fantastic.
Finally, for fans of DLC, it’s integrated so seamlessly into the actual game that you’ll burn out your credit card in no time. As opposed to games like Fallout 3 where you exit play to load new campaigns, DA:O has you encounter NPCs who send you on quests mid-game. Those quests can be bought and immediately downloaded, sending your party right on their way to collecting unique loot.
A quick criticism: all the women in this game wear either giant metal bras or no bras at all. Stay classy, Bioware. Still, at 25 hours in, I’m nowhere near finished assembling the massive army it’ll take to stop the Darkspawn, which is a great sign. Plus, with BioWare planning on releasing DLC for the next two years, you can kiss…pretty much your entire life goodbye.
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