Dead Again: Origins

It was going to happen sooner or later. I got around to playing Dragon Age: Origins. It was on offer on Steam last week, so I thought "what the hell" since it's that or Oblivion if I want to play an RPG any time soon.

It's not quite what I expected, in both good and bad ways.

It plays a little more like an MMORPG than I expected, but at the same time there are glorious moments when you're reminded that it's just you and the NPCs out there, and that there is plenty of room for the sort of events and immersion that you only really get from single-player games.

One problem I've had with some fantasy RPGs (e.g. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights) is the needless ham that is injected to make the world appear to be medieval Europe with magic in it. Dragon Age mercifully disposes of such ideas and replaces it with more believable moods and flavours.

You could describe the atmosphere as a sort of "Lord of the Rings grown up". There is a fallen dwarven kingdom digging around where they shouldn't, but they're tied up with a rigid caste system, petty politics, and the constant threat of invasion. Elves used to be the immortal superbeings that you might recognise from Tolkien's fantasy, but thanks to being assimilated by mankind, they've lost much of their culture and traditions. The storyline is fine, so far, even if people seem to suddenly explode into showers of blood every now and then (okay, so it only happened once), or rely entirely on outsiders for aid. I'd appreciate more dialogue with my party members, but I guess you can't have everything.

There is something, however, about some of the game play which has vexed me. It's bloody difficult.

I've looked online and there seems to be a fair number of people remarking on how hard the game is. The response from other players is often "lol u suck" or words to that effect, but despite gratuitous use of the "tactical pause" function, I still have a great deal of difficulty with the game. Some enemies are just so tough, and have attacks so powerful, that I simply sidestep them when possible and think about combating them some other time. There is a problem, however, when such an opponent needs to be dispatched if you are to progress with the game (I'm looking at you, brood mother).

While I don't think the game should be a cakewalk, there are enough skills, abilities, and spells that you can form a pretty diverse party. The game becomes nightmarishly difficult, however, if you don't pick a party with specific abilities and powers to get you through certain areas. Suffice to say, there are party members who can be seen as essential while all the others are merely decoration or flavour.

Bioware's previous RPG, Mass Effect, allowed you to barrel through the game with whatever team you wanted to compile at the time. Admittedly, the game was a little too easy for most people, but Dragon Age seems to have swung too far in the opposite direction.

I'm still playing it though, so I haven't rage-quitted just yet. I'm sure the game will be easier the second time I play it, but I don't think a player should have to go through hell and die several times just to know how to plan his next move.