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Denver, 7:06 PM
Fri Nov 20
55 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/10/09
11/10/09
11/11/09
I think I can kick him out of the party via a dialog tree. But I shouldn't have to do that. If it isn't already, a tenant of NPCs should be: don't annoy the player. And I don't see how through playtesting, not one person wasn't annoyed as hell by the dog's incessant barking. #dragonage
11/10/09
(SPOILERS)
When I rescued the Arl's kid from the fade, one of my options was "pleasure" from the demon. I knew it's not something I would go for in character, but I was curious and quick saved before the convo, and went for it. All I got for selling out the kid's sould was a slightly erotic kiss.
If I'm going to sell out a kid's soul, I want some full on, cut scene, demon sex. Naturally I loaded up my quick save and made short work of the demon. I think this may be a mage only quest, by the way, as if your PC isn't a mage, I believe Morrigan has to go into the fade.
(END SPOILERS) #dragonage
11/10/09
11/10/09
It puts a smile on my face every time Zevran mentions an orgy. #dragonage
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11/09/09
I'd like to tap that pile of bricks, hooyeah! #dragonage
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11/09/09
The only thing the console is missing is the graphix (obviously), the toolsets (sadly) and the inability to use a mouse to control the game.
That said, its wonderful. Think KOTOR/Mass Effect. Those weren't so bad to play on a console, were they? Rather good, actually!
Its probably the best RPG in years I've played on a console. Takes me back to my Baldurs Gate days, only I can now play Baldurs Gate like I did KOTOR.
As far as getting the PC version goes... right now its buggered all to hell with memory leaks and issues running the game. Works like a charm for some, doesn't work at all for others. I'd go with the PC one if you want your true Baldurs Gate experience and mods and community created expansions, but I can't find fault with the Xbawks/PS3 versions.
I mean, except that EA is completely ignoring a giant glaring issue right now with anyone who got the DLC achievements in the first four days of having the game causing a rather large group of us to be storming every forum we can and finally resorting to mail bombing Major Nelson tonight trying to get some answers... but thats a completely different story. ;) #dragonage
11/09/09
Let me explain. Without pulling up the radial menu you have access to 6 skills. I played this version first as a mage (ps3) and I thought it was OK but as soon as I got more spells then 5 (1 slot was heals) it quickly became an issue of "what do I really want quick access to?" The radial menu is helpful to an extent but it just feels like it takes you very far out of the action if you use it excessively.
The PC version has a hotbar like an MMO and if you have ever played one then the entire interface is extremely easy to pick up. There are.. something around 15 slots to fill up so even as a mage you can quickly access much more than the console version allows.
That said the game looks like muddy on the ps3, but I only noticed how bad it looked when I saw the game maxed out on my brothers gaming Comp. This game is gorgeous. But not nearly as much on the ps3. It's still worth playing on the ps3 if that is your only option but the pc version is where it's at in my book.
I quit playing the ps3 version immediately upon seeing the pc version. I then got the pc version and never looked back. #dragonage
11/09/09
Baldur's Gate is the grandfather to the game. #dragonage
11/09/09
They should have really called it Fantasy Mass Effect/KOTOR. Because its far more similar to those games (especially on a console) than it is to Baldurs Gate, except the setting. #dragonage
11/09/09
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11/10/09
30-40 hour main quest story, triple digit numbers if you end up doing side quests as well.
The quality and gameplay of Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect.
A dialogue and story tree with huge branching choices that guarantee you won't play the same game twice, or even see all the same stuff in one go. Irreversible choices that can affect gameplay immediately, or that you won't see the consequences of until 20 hours later (of real time).
Good/Evil choices, but no good/evil bar, meaning you play the game the way you want to play and deal with what happens because of it later. You're not all evil, you're not all good. You're whoever you want to be saying whatever you want, with your attributes affecting how well you can... say... convince a man to rush into the castle to help you, or poison his own daughter.
And hey, maybe you don't want to help this prisoner out even though he says hes got a reward if you do. So you stick a knife in him and take his reward.
I don't know how to convince someone of its quality, but as much as Fallout 3 might have been a more complex game, this is the living breathing world that Fable bullshitted about. This actually delivers and your actions and reactions really will have an effect upon the grand scheme of story you're taking part in. #dragonage
11/10/09
In particular, it seems the PS3 is worth the stuttering frame rate for better graphics vs the 360 version...and personally I'm scared my 360 is going to break down...again.
But is the combat so dumbed down that it sucks? I don't want to play a hack and slash. God of War Collection can fill that need. #dragonage
11/10/09
11/10/09
Probably not. The combat is not hack and slash so much as it is... like I said, Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect.
Maybe with a little bit of MMO thrown in. You choose who you want to attack, and your guy will swing his axe/sword/whatever in hth with whoever you chose to attack until one of you is dead. You don't even have to press another button if you don't want to.
But in not pressing any other buttons, all you will do is basic attacks. This is where your stamina bar comes in. Using a move that you've learned takes up that stamina bar (which is determined by how many points you dumped into your Willpower attribute), so this is where you press X button to say, use a pommel strike (the butt end of your two handed weapon) to knock the guy to the ground so your party members and you can hack away at him on the ground.
You can flip between party members at any time and choose to control each one individually. If you have more spells or abilities than can be assigned to hotkeys (such as pressing circle, or triangle, or X button or whatnot), then the game will pause as you hold down one of the triggers to open up a radial menu to access some other abilities. This is where the PC would come in handy because all your skills are displayed at the bottom of the screen and you can just click on one to use it. Its also why I play a warrior, because I have less of a myriad of spells and skills to worry about, and moreso 'knock guy to ground with pommel strike to make it easier for my AI controlled party to beat the shit out of him, use my skills that deal huge damage as quick buttons".
As far as your AI controlled party goes, you can unlock 'tactic' slots for them as well as program them if you want them to be agressive, defensive, etc etc. The tactic slots are great, because the more you unlock, the more advance planning you can do with them. The way they work is that... say, you can make one tactic slot be 'If *Ally* drops below 50 percent health, use heal spell on them' or 'If there are more than 2 enemies at once, use growl (a dog move that stuns groups)' or 'Use frost spell on nearest most damaged enemy'. Or even 'Cast Enchant Weapons with Ice if nobody has an enchant on them' Your AI buddies will behave quite intelligently if you set them up with a good array of options.
Once again, you can take direct control if you need them to do something specific, or pause the game at any time to change tactic slots around.
I really have no issue with control and commands on a console version of this game. I can see where keyboard and mouse would be easier, but I'm willing to make the concession to not have to worry about my computer when I'm going to play.
As far as the PS3/360 version goes, both are great, just yes, your tradeoff for better graphics on the PS3 is slight SLIGHT stuttering when you're spinning the camera around everywhere. Not even noticeable unless you had the 360 and PS3 side by side, really.
The combat is only dumbed down if you play it on easy and don't worry about setting up your party to be a well oiled cohesive unit of people, if you're simply auto target and let the auto attack kill the enemy. Play on medium and hard, and thats a stupid thing to do that will let the Dragons and monsters of the world eat you. Like I said, getting everyone to work together is a pretty great feeling when you've got your dog programmed to go for the jugular the moment an enemy is stunned, which you can do with the aformentioned pommel strike, and then once the enemy is low enough you have another guy programmed to whip a bow out and go for a killshot or life force draining spell.
If you like RPGs, but don't like periods of boredom or long stretches of nothing but talking to people (sigh, as much as I like you Mass Effect, your Citadel hurts my desire to do another playthrough), then this is great. You'll be looting corpses and treasure chests and setting up traps on the ground for passing enemies with glee. Did I mention you can build and create your own traps and potions out of materials you find, based on recipes you collect and buy?
Great game not to be tossed aside. Accessable and fast-paced enough for the rpg-light fan, customizable and (holy cow theres a lot of different armour, weapons, etc) lengthy enough for the hardcore roleplayer to get into.
Like I said before, as much as I think Fallout 3 is the more groundbreaking game, and maybe more advanced, this is more 'fun', for sure. #dragonage
11/10/09
11/09/09
Muchas gracias, Luke! :) #dragonage
11/09/09
Not that there's anything wrong with that! #dragonage
11/09/09
In a world where b-ball has been outlawed, and ballers live in constant fear of persecution: one man sets out to escape his past and find a home for his son.
Note: Not only is this game REAL, it is CANON. #humor
11/09/09
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11/09/09
No, it's a wonderful game ruined by the worst writing ever. #humor
11/09/09
The game would have been greatly improved by removing all text, all written references to the story itself. #humor
11/09/09
[www.moddb.com]
as a allround 2d artist. #humor
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11/06/09
M Rating = R Rating
AO Rating = NC-17 Rating
Would a small blip of pubic hair on an animated character get an NC-17 rating in a movie? No. It would get PG-13 at most. It's a stretch to call this M-Rated, and patently ridiculous to even suggest that it deserves an AO.
And yet our enthusiast press here at Kotaku have drank the kool-aid. You've decided that Jack Thompson is right and that any and all titillating content must be near-pornographic.
I long for the day that games are considered an equal medium to television and film. Articles like this aren't helping that cause. #nsfw
11/06/09
11/06/09
Anime that is brought over to the US has no problem getting an R-rating, even those with copious amounts of nudity (Paprika, for instance). #nsfw
11/07/09
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