Dragon Age

[Paelos]

The party AI is probably the strongest point of the game because it is completely moddable to your specifications.

That being said, if you don't like that sort of thing, the standard default party UI is a total POS.

[Nebu]

That being said, if you don't like that sort of thing, the standard default party UI is a total POS.

I noticed this my first play through while watching Wynn burn through her mana casting largely ineffective crap. 

[Azuredream]

I played all the intro zones and had a great time, then it came time to actually play the game and the micro-management aspect just annoyed me to death.  My characters were so dumb they ignored what I told them to do and either ran off attacking multiple targets or just stood there taking damage.  On Medium difficulty it was an exercise in gaming rage to have to re-load fights 3-4 times to finish them without having half the party dead.  And on Easy difficulty it just felt too bleh and boring (1-2 shots kills everything, monsters just sit there).  One guy in my WoW guild gave me all this info on how he set up his party and characters and all the custom AI he had set up and how he was having a great time on the hardest difficulty.  I asked him how long it took him to do all that and he told me it took a few hours to get everything set up right and I just didn't have the patience for that level of character management.

Which sucks, because I REALLY wanted to like this game a lot.

It's really not necessary at all unless you're on the higher difficulty settings. Me, I just like to play through the game, so I always set it on easy where it's really hard to die. I like that about Bioware games that they all have an insanely easy difficulty for people who don't want to figure out how to exploit the crap out of whatever system is in place.

[eldaec]

Set everyone to autochug health potions and run warriors, and you're left with very little micromanagement (though you are also left with very little else to do).

Honestly I play it as a tactics game and rarely go more than 2 seconds without a pause to adjust orders. It's still too easy most of the time, but kind of fun setting up the combos and such.

DA has combat micromanagement and the story, you can turn off the former by setting it to easy and building the tankmage thing, you can turn off the latter by the usual method of cutscene skipping. If you don't want either I'd play something else.

[Merusk]

I had a lot more fun as a game playing the rogue than my magetank who walked through shit making it explode.  Never tried the warriors, figuring Sten, the Dwarf and Alistair were enough exposure to it.  If I didn't need a meatshield (my game is eternally bugged so I can't get Shale without hacking) or wasn't required to take them for story I left 'em behind.  Fuckers are useless! USELESS!

[Rasix]

Decided to see how this looks on my new PC.  Not surprisingly, it looks pretty damn good on max setting and is silky smooth.

Rolled a female city elf rogue.  That is the most   of the origins, surpassing the dwarven noble.

The best part is when you meet the king:

King: "So, I've never been to an Alienage.  My advisors won't let me go.  What is it really like? Is it that bad?"
Me:  "I just killed an arl's son because he raped my cousin"
King: "You.. wha...?" (look of utter repulsion and bewilderment)
Duncan: "Ok.  Let's move on."

[Velorath]

Just a reminder, anyone who wants the Dragon Age 2 pre-order bonus content (which includes a character and some missions) has to pre-order the game before the 11th.  I've been holding out for a while hoping the game would show up on Steam before the deadline, but no such luck it seems.

[Mosesandstick]

Any news about DRM? I keep wanting to pre-order Bioware games but I just don't like paying full price for games with heavy-handed DRM.

[Ingmar]

Just a reminder, anyone who wants the Dragon Age 2 pre-order bonus content (which includes a character and some missions) has to pre-order the game before the 11th.  I've been holding out for a while hoping the game would show up on Steam before the deadline, but no such luck it seems.

My understanding is you can get that with or without a preorder, the preorder deadline is just to get the digital deluxe version for the price of the regular. I should double check that I guess.

EDIT: Looks like I was wrong, sort of? It is really unclear if the in-game extras in the pack will be available separately as DLC or not.

Sorry, as I have said, the special deal of pre-ordering Dragon Age II and getting the upgrade to the Signature Edition WILL NOT happen on Steam. We do not yet have any further word on whether or not the standard edition will or will not appear. When we know, we will let you know.

[Velorath]

They just recently announced that the character and mission will be available separately for $7 in a DLC pack called The Exiled Prince.

[Reg]

Hmm. Impulse has been advertising the January 11 thing for a while now. Why would EA sell through them and not Steam?

[Velorath]

Looking around, Chris Priestly said a couple weeks ago that the Signature Edition would not be available on Steam.  Not sure why Steam doesn't get it when seemingly every other retailer does.

[Ingmar]

They are probably having a slap fight about percentages with Valve right now backstage.

[Hawkbit]

I was going to preorder 2, but seeing as how I haven't even finished 1 I'll just hold off for the ultimate edition of 2, I suppose. 

[Sand]

I was going to preorder 2, but seeing as how I haven't even finished 1 I'll just hold off for the ultimate edition of 2, I suppose. 

Same. And see if its worth the dough since I still havent finished my first play through of 1.

[Sjofn]

I'm as big a fangirl for Dragon Age as you'll find, but if it ain't on Steam, I ain't pre-ordering.

[Reg]

I'll go ahead and get it on Impulse but I have a few games from there already.  I'd rather confine everything to Steam but it's not like Impulse insists on running while I play like Steam does.

[Tebonas]

Except Impulse is only North America, and Amazon Germany only gives you the German version.

So, I can't preorder it at all. Retarded doesn't even begin to describe this decision.

[Velorath]

Except Impulse is only North America, and Amazon Germany only gives you the German version.

So, I can't preorder it at all. Retarded doesn't even begin to describe this decision.

Don't know if this helps you, but Gamersgate and EAstore.com have it available for digital download pre-order as well.

Edit: Direct2Drive has it as well.

[Tebonas]

Thanks, but I'm pissed off and decided to wait for the Ultimate Edition or something. Because the EA store doesn't let me buy it during the day (because of German youth protection laws that shouldn't be my problem not being in Germany at all). Those utter retards should learn how foreign countries work or if they are too stupid for that they should not region lock their games.

Assholes!

Edit: Well, I calmed down and bought it at play.com, which has free shipping across Europe. I still find this retarded and would have preferred a digital download via Steam.

[Merusk]

No Steam, no buy.  I figure it's better to reinforce that than give EA cash as they go to other venues... I really don't feel like having 5 or 6 different digital distribution programs on my machine.

[eldaec]

Similarly, I'm not buying if it isn't on steam - and I preorder for no man. A while back all this omgomg YOU WILL MISS SOME CONTENT bullshit might have moved me, but these days all DLC just comes across as the transparent attempt at price differentiatiion that it is. So depending on how busy I am at the time, I'll either buy at launch from steam and the DLC can go fuck itself, or wait for GOTY edition so that paying for the DLC can go fuck itself. 

I haven't been following this - someone update me on whether it still looks like a dumbed down heap of consoletard bullshit.

[Velorath]

Combat-wise, the PC version at least looks like it plays pretty much like the first game.

[eldaec]

Fair enough, one thing I do like about that video is the UI, which doesn't crowd everything out in stupid brown twirly bits. Admittedly DA wasn't too bad for that compared to other fantasy rpgs.

[cironian]

Amazon Germany only gives you the German version.

Try amazon.co.uk, they all run through the same infrastructure anyway. Also, the currency conversion from GBP to Euro is so much in your favor that even with the higher shipping charges you often come out ahead.

[Tebonas]

Play.com, which is also based in the UK did the trick for me. No shipping charges at all beats favourable conversion rates.

[Sophismata]

Combat-wise, the PC version at least looks like it plays pretty much like the first game.

If they've sped up animation times and reduced enemy health it should up the game pace and prevent a couple of the issues with the previous game's combat, but sadly that snapshot doesn't show much at all (except that the game is clearly not designed as an action RPG).

One thing I did catch is a good attempt to balance their spell-slingers by allowing other classes to have decent control effects, as well. Hopefully they didn't drop the ball on that, DA's class balance was non-existent.

[Furiously]

I know in 4 months it will be half priced, I'm going to wait... I really am...

Oh god I'm not.

[Reg]

Hah, me neither. Bioware has earned preorders on Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 from me and I NEVER preorder anything.  Now all I can do is hope they aren't as horrible as Civ 5 and Elemental.

[eldaec]

One thing I did catch is a good attempt to balance their spell-slingers by allowing other classes to have decent control effects, as well. Hopefully they didn't drop the ball on that, DA's class balance was non-existent.

Pretty sure you could make throwable potions as per that video in DA1, you just never needed to when the mage could lock down the whole grid with a flick of the wrist.

[Sjofn]

I am playing DA:O with my brother on the x-box while I'm here in NJ. I'm doing the combat parts for him because he found them frustrating, and I can see why. It isn't very fun at all. It's easier but ... stupider, if that makes sense.

I do like that everything sparkles for me to click on, but that's about it. Plus I can't install Skip the Fade on the x-box. :(

[Sky]

I liked the Fade, but I can see skipping it after the 70th time, Sjofn 

[Sjofn]

I liked the Fade, but I can see skipping it after the 70th time, Sjofn 

 

I liked it the first time, too!

[Sjofn]

Dragon Age 2 is up for pre-order on Steam now. And oh gosh, guys, I know this looks bad, but it was seriously just unfortunate timing that y'all couldn't get the SE! Honest!

Extra character was revealed too. I am pleased I can have a hot Scottish dude instead of no-pants Isabella for my second rogue.

[AutomaticZen]

Chris Priestly seems like an angry man finding his small joys where he can.