The game takes place in the land of Ferelden, where a long forgotten enemy called ‘The Blight’ has once again risen up and is taking over the land. Ferelden is painted as a world in peril, where evil and corruption reign and hope is all but lost. It is up to the player to turn the tide and fight off the Blight to restore the land.The game’s character creation, while not demoed, seems to quite in depth. Depending on which race (human,elf, or dwarf), gender, and economic class, and fighting class (warrior, mage, or rogue) you pick, the world and the people in it will act differently around you. These options will also change the options presented to your character as well as changing which prelude and ending you will experience. There will also be more options to customize your character class. For example, you could make a slow, heavy hitting warrior, or you can have a speed basedwarrior who focuses on quick light attacks.
The demo level took place in a tower and the objective was to get to the top of the tower and kill the boss. The player character was accompanied by four NPC characters, each a different class from the main character. These characters can react according to what your main character is doing or the player can control each of them individually. The AI seemed well balanced and acted according to the situation. For example, the mage would use spells that were useful during the current situation and would heal only when appropriate. They would stay close to the player character unless directed to do otherwise so you don't have to worry about your backup wandering off to follow an enemy who is running away.
The demo used controls similar to Diablo or Baldur’s Gate. The display featured a spell/ability chart at the bottom which you could customize according to which spells you wanted to use. At any time you could pause the game, open your spell/ability tree, and swap out one spell for another depending on what you wanted to use at any given time. The game’s environments are filled with rich color and vivid lighting that really gets the mood of the area across . The environments were also very interactive, with levers to pull, which released dog type creatures to aid your party, boxes to break, treasure to find, and all sorts of things you could set on fire. The environments and spells are dynamic, so finding the right combination of spells can help immensely. If you happened to spill some oil on the ground (say from a barrel in the room) and then use a fire spell, you can ignite the oil and burn any enemies standing in the area. The character models are pretty detailed with their appearances changing depending on what items they have equipped at the time.
Dragon Age: Origins looks to be one of the standout titles for the year. BioWare is returning to its roots with Dragon Age and it's going to be a good move. The demo was just a small taste of what is to come, but this latest offering from BioWare seems like it could engage an entire new generation in fantastic dungeon adventures such as Baldur's Gate.
OneNerdyGirl
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I hope it turns out as well as I hope. At future conventions people have expressed some discontent with the newer builds and that has me worried! I will still cross my fingers and get it as soon as it comes out! |
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