Last night I opted to FINALLY play a game with an accompanying strategy guide (sorry, Two Worlds II), and the ever-seemingly popular Dragon Age: Origins won the lottery. I guess it’s partly from all the hype of the upcoming Dragon Age II that prompted me, or the fact that so many people on Twitter are either replaying it or playing it for the first time. So far though, I am quite, quite pleased.
I originally started the game back when it released on the PS3. I played as an elven mage, and it did not take long for me to realize what a mistake that was. I had to keep switching control of characters because it’s next to impossible to keep the story moving while hanging in the back. Why did I hang in the back? Well, as a mage, I have virtually no armor and no real way of killing things quickly. Usually I was the one killed quickly. The visuals on the PS3 were terrible as well. Textures kept popping in and out, everyone’s face looked a bit odd, and the controls didn’t flow well for me. I sold it back for Darksiders (another game in the backlog) in eagerness to play DAO on the PC, only to find out that none of my PCs could handle it.
So I repurchased the game, this time with the Xbox. Smart move. The environments look crisper, people look fairly normal, and hey, textures stay put. The only thing I find annoying is the constant pausing the game has due to the Xbox trying to keep up with itself. Didn’t have that issue on the PS3 (thank you for one thing, Blu-ray). However, I can accept that over a bad-looking game. (If this is really the result of my Xbox about to tank, please don’t tell me.)
I also picked a completely different character this time around, someone that suits more to my playing style of RARRRRRR: a human noble. Her origin story was far more shocking and depressing than the tale of the mage, but I’m glad for my pick. I’ve rarely died so far, and I’m having fun to boot. In fact, I can’t wait until bedtime tonight when I can play it again.
I may develop a drinking game to it (for others to play, not me) that could possibly guarantee severe drunkenness within minutes. Drink whenever you see blood spatter. I don’t think any character from any game I’ve played has ever been covered in as much blood spatter as this game. That includes Gears of War 2.
I think I remember either the framerate or the streaming was better on PS3 than Xbox 360 for DA:O.