Category: Games

I bought a boxed copy of Dragon Age: Origins and played as a female Dwarf Noble warrior named Theona (because my son thought she looked like the character from the movie Shrek). I spent over 105 hours in Ferelden exploring over 90% of it and finished at level 22. I used the longsword Topsiders Honor for much of the campaign and, with few exceptions, my traveling NPC companions included Alistar (Templar/Warrior), Leliana (Rogue), and Wynne (Healer/Mage). Here are my quick thoughts on the game…

Pros…

The title – Probably the best thing about Dragon Age: Origins is that it doesn’t have a “2” in the title. In an era where big publishers ride the sequel horse until it dies starving in the desert called mediocrity (Call of Duty I’m looking at you), it’s refreshing to see some new “intellectual property” in the gaming world.

The story – Bioware’s RPGs are highly praised and successful for their story telling, and Dragon Age: Origins certainly maintains this pedigree. Simply put, this is probably one of best – if not the best – RPG I’ve played.

The combat – Combat was action-packed, reminding me of BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic. Every encounter was a heated skirmish between your party members and usually large packs of enemies. Like many of BioWare’s RPGs, you’re able to pause the game at any time to give orders to your henchman.

Cons…

Textures – While I found the story and combat best of breed, some of the graphics leave a lot to be desired. Dungeons, structures and towns for example look great for the most part, while other locations – outdoor scenes in particular – are just damn ugly. My theory is that Dragon Age: Orgins was in development for so long that it’s likely Bioware just didn’t get around to going back and optimizing some of the game content that was created first.

The loot – If you’re looking for a “lootapalooza” in every dungeon or building you fight through, this is not the game for you. Special weapons, armor and even health poultices are few and far between. Of course, some would argue that this is a good trait – it makes you really appreciate the good loot when you find it. But, if you’re one of those players that likes to constantly swap out old gear for new, you may be left less than satisfied.

Combat and companions – Some of the mechanics of combat that make the game great can also be a pain in the ass. Every battle is a full on skirmish, usually with your party outnumbered. To make matters worse, melee enemies converge quickly and surround your position making the combat close and cramped. This makes it difficult to spread out and fight or use tactics like pulling. I found myself constantly hitting the space bar so I could reposition my companions, health them up, etc. This resulted in a kind of chess game and really interrupted the natural flow and pace of the combat for me. Also, the shear amount of tweaking you can do to the tactics used by your comanions is staggering. As a result, I found myself constantly tweaking, worrying whether or not I had the right tactics set up for each companion in each encounter. Again, just another disruption in the natural flow and pace of the game for me.

Tips…

Healers are good – I recommend using Wynne for healing and buffing. She does a great job of managing herself, stays out of harm’s way, and will help save on those few and far between health poultices.

Ahh them Rogues – If you’re not playing as a rogue I recommend taking one along in your party. Not only can they open chests (which contain some of the better loot and health poultices) and spot enemies if setup correctly but many of their skills (“Deadly Strike,” “Below the Belt”) will be a huge help in combat.

Revenants must die – A revenant is a “corpse possessed by a demon of pride or of desire…” Whatever. It is, however, one of the toughest damn things you’ll face in the game. There are ten of them in total, four of which are involved in a quest called “The Mages Treasure.” Bring down those four and you’ll have yourself the “Juggernaut” armor set, some of the best armor in the game.

It’s okay to be a weenie – Combat, especially early in the game, can be very tough. I recommend embracing your inner noob and playing the game on “easy” until you get the hang of tactics and positioning.

I bought Torchlight on Steam. I spent ~19 hours playing a “Destroyer” class character, dual-wielding a hammer and a sword for much of the game and finishing at level 37. Here are my quick thoughts the experience:

Pros…

The artwork – The cartoon look of the game is reminiscent of WoW. It’s a nice break from the usual game textures.

The loot – In short, tons. If you’re at all a fan of Diablo, Titan Quest, and the like, this game’s for you.

The pet – Besides fighting the hordes along side you, your cat or dog companion has its own inventory slots for you to stash even more of your spoils. And when all of your slots are full you can send your pet back to town to sell your loot! Single best game feature ever.

The price – I paid $20 for it through Steam and spent a little over 18 hours playing it. That’s $1.11/hour – damn cheap entertainment.

Cons…

The artwork – While I found the artwork endearing, not everyone will find Torchlight’s “cartoony” art style appealing.

The repetition – Kill everything that moves, pick up the spoils, rinse and repeat. I found myself occasionally wonder “when does this game end?”

The pet – While your pet may excel as your emissary back at the market, her endurance leaves something to be desired. She doesn’t die, but rather runs away when her health drops too low. This is followed by a narrator repeatedly uttering the annoying phrase “your pet has fled.” You can feed her health potions by opening your inventory and dragging one of your health potions to her food dish, but it’s a bit clunky.

I bought Borderlands on Steam; played as a soldier; spent ~30-40 hours on it; and finished at level 36. My favorite weapon was the Desert Stomper combat rifle.

Here are my quick thoughts on the game…

Pros…

The artwork – The watercolor look of the game is unique and a really nice break from the usual textures. It was always interesting but never distracting.

The loot – Ridiculous amounts of it really. It didn’t take long to rack tons of cash, weapons, shields, and grenades.

The weapons – The shear number and types of weapons turned into a sort of mini game for me. I found myself constantly swapping them looking for the best load out.

The save system – It’s a checkpoint system, but there are plenty of them; also, the game saves automatically when you exit. It was nice not having to manage the saves

Cons…

The map system – Essentially useless. There is no overall world map to show which part of Pandora your quest is located or how the various areas connect to one another. This makes using game’s teleportation system a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

The vehicle weapons – You get a rocket launcher and a machine gun. Unfortunately, both are seriously nerfed. Luckily the best weapon on the vehicle is the vehicle itself – just running over baddies gets the job done.

The bad guys – In a word… repetitive. You can only fight so many bandits, burning psychos, and skags before you want to throw down your guns and head back to Fyrestone to have a beer with Dr. Zed.

The ending – No spoilers, but let’s just say that it left me wondering if maybe the fire alarm went off and Gearbox developers decided to finished the game quickly and run out of their building.

Tips…

Aim for the head – good advice in any game, but headshots are especially effective in this one.

Armor and health – With the plethora of weapon make and models it would be easy to focus on your offensive firepower. Spend time initially though building up your HP and getting the best shield you can.

Avoid weapons with ridiculously high damage – rocket launchers, some shotguns and sniper rifles in this game feature damage that seems too good to be true. “Damage 850!? Woo hoo!!” Turns out that most are significantly nerfed. Focus on having a balanced weapon. Accuracy and recoil reduction are important stats.