Okay, so I enjoy RPGs from time to time, but “sandbox” style play has limited appeal for me: I hated Oblivion, for example, because I kept getting lost and could never figure out where the story goals were. (Fallout 3 was much better in this regard.) For the same reason, I didn’t really enjoy Mass Effect that much; it was a lot more widespread than most of BioWare’s RPG games (which I usually like) and my gaming time is limited so I don’t want to spend it running my character all over the damn place.
I’m asking because I want to know how big the sandbox factor is for Dragon Age. Will I grow old and die before I advance my character halfway through the frigging game? These are important questions if I am gonna play the game. Otherwise I’ll just go buy Left 4 Dead 2 and shoot zombies. Actually, why don’t I just go buy Left 4 Dead 2 and shoot zombies?
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It’s pretty linear, but the story is -much- longer than Mass Effect, probably clocking in at 30 hours or so.
I’m sure there is a reason to not go shoot zombies. Science just hasn’t discovered it yet.
Go buy Let 4 Dead 2 and shoot zombies. I just uninstalled Dragon Age, it’s horrible.
Dragon’s Age isn’t big in a Sandbox kind of way, it’s just big. The actual environment design and story structure is very much in the spirit of Neverwinter Nights – you’re allowed to juggle the order of certain main plot events a bit but it’s otherwise not at all like Mass Effect.
I’ve yet to see any kind of lame samey copypasta environments and quests that blighted the sidequests in Mass Effect.
The writing is really good. You should buy this game for Morrigan alone.
Also, when they call a difficulty “hard,” they ain’t lyin’.
I haven’t played Dragon’s Age, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Left 4 Dead. Zombie shootage is awesome.
You play on PC or Xbox? Because I would be honored to shoot zombies with you.
I would say that Dragon Age is quite entertaining, if only for ghetto elves.
I keep getting Dave Chappelle flashbacks.
You could just teleport places in Oblivion. How the hell did you get lost? You even have that little red arrow!
Dragon Age is fantastic. There’s a bit of that “sandboxy” feel to it after you get through the initial bit, but it’s not bad.
L4D2 still feels like the L4D1 expansion to me, after playing the demo.
Borderlands is fun, but the multiplayer support on the PC is TERRIBAD (technology licensed from GameSpy? I have to set up port forwarding to play? Is it the 90’s again?).
If you want the best gaming value for your buck, go drop $20 on Torchlight instead. It’s like Diablo 2.5.
You shouldn’t buy L4D2 because that would be supporting Valve’s attempts to screw over its fans.
^- Hyperbole much?
Now I know your millage may vary but I enjoyed FABLE II quite a bit… The world is expansive but the breadcrumb feature keeps you from getting lost even if you voluntarily get sidetracked.
I just download user mods for Neverwinter Nights 1
Mass Effect’s sandbox is pretty annoying – Play it again and ignore most of the sandbox and it’s a really good game.
Dragon Age feels like an open world, but fast travel between locations makes it hard to get lost in the little details like Oblivion, and the writing is excellent.
L4D2 will be a fun shooter with friends, but will likely get boring quickly playing solo, just like the first one (although, in the states at least, if you reserve through GameStop you get $5 off the final price – you get the game for $55 instead of $60 and your deposit goes towards that $55).
Borderlands is a good comprimise between the two. Diablo style story, loot drops and character advancement with tight FPS controls on par with L4D. The only real issue I have with it is how weak the vehicle controls are.
I’m playing all of these on 360, so I can’t speak to any PC related issues.
See, I liked Oblivion because I could ignore the main quest. Who gives a shit if the world ends, I have better things to do.
I’m concerned about L4D2 because, from the previews, it looks like they turned it into too much of a typical Quake-style shooter. Rocket propelled grenades? Even more silly boss zombies? Come on, the joy of the original was in the bare-bones desperation of it.
PS: For you Xboxers – I’m on as spookable. Just have Ghostbusters and Guitar Hero 5 right now (I just switched from PC gaming), but I’d love to play with someone who isn’t a 13-year-old more interested in how gay I am than having a good time.
Just so we’re forwarned-how gay are you? Because in a life-or-undeath struggle, that could mean EVERYTHING.
Did you play the Baldur’s Gate games? Because it’s totally not hyperbole when people say it’s practically an updated Baldur’s Gate 2. From what I can tell so far, it’s got the same “go through linear beginning chapters, open up world to pick what order to do quests, then narrow back down to the road to end-game” pattern that that game did. The most Bioware-y (and so my favourite) Bioware game in ages.
They’re not kidding about the “dark fantasy” thing, though. I played through the city elf origin first, and fuuuuuuuck.
…because Left for Dead 2 will in all likelihood be as awful as its predecessor?
Chris, it’s got Claudia Black as a voiceactor. Claudia Black. And she’s a romance option, I hear. Get the damn game.
RE: Claudia Black
Yes, she voices Morrigan, who’s the saucy witch of the woods. And a romance option, if a cynical one. 😉
Totally agree w/ James Allen, the game is essentially Baldur’s Gate 3.0 without the Forgotten Realms license, instead they have made a more interesting IP. Also agree that the city elves beginning is bleak… to say the least.
If anyone wants to play other 360 games w/ me (notably Borderlands, and L4D2 when it releases) my tag is Spasmolydic. Yes, I spelled it wrong, and no I don’t feel like paying Microsoft to correct it.
I’d say Dragon Age would definitely be a good buy for you, though a lengthy one. I’m 42 hours into my first play through and still have two of the main quests to finish before the ending series is kicked off.
Game goes like this: Character origin leading to Grey Warden recruitment-First campaign against the Blight-Split off into recruiting allies for the war. 5 main quests there, though two are interconnected and the second part only comes after the others are done.-I assume ending quest series, but I haven’t beaten it yet.
If I had to compare it to something I’d say it was more like the linear progression of Baldurs Gate 2 (with lots of sidequests) combined with Mass Effect’s primary quests. Virmire, Noveria, Feros, etc etc. You’re not exploring every planet in a quarter of the galaxy.
Moving on, the story is great, though it is “dark fantasy.” Ugh I hate that phrase. Lots of choices between two options with consequences. Fortunately this game has no morality system whatsoever, so you can be a good douchebag or a evil… douchebag!
Combat is also a blast, but it is hard. Regenerating health and stamina/mana out of combat and unlimited spell casting/ability use with cooldowns and casting costs means the game can throw more stuff at you. AI’s also good for enemies, and you can program your allies fairly well if you don’t want to micromanage everything. My only issue is that I can’t imagine doing the game without the Wynne character, a spirit healer mage, or a main character who goes down the same path. You take insane amounts of damage and the game hasn’t given me enough potions to manage without her.
I have never seen a dilemma that wasn’t rectified (or at least improved) with the slaughter of the undead.
just wait 3 days for modern warfare 2 instead
Dragon Age is fuckin’ long and its also HAAAAARD.
What does ‘sandbox’ mean?
“What does ’sandbox’ mean?”
The missions aren’t nearly as fun as seeing how long you can keep stealing police cars before they take you down in GTA
The story is fantastic and very tightly told. Combat is pretty demanding, but manageable.
The NPC characters are through the bank interesting. They even avoided the “Carth Onassi” factor with the male love interest, Alistaire.
As you mainly seem concerned with the “open world” factor, don’t be. You always know exactly where to go and what to do. There is no “giant open world” to explore, you have areas to which you get through clicking on locations on the world map.
Is there such a thing as a “pure sandbox” fantasy RPG? Because that would kill the lone original factor of my Prototye-but-with-magic game idea.
You could run up the side of a castle, jump onto a dragon, and then crash it into a group of siege-tanks.
Sofa King – About 32% gay? Enough to be perfectly comfortable singing along to Rocky Horror, but not enough to actually sleep with another man. I don’t know, is there a blood test I can take?
I do wonder how this would impact my zombie-killing prowess. “Hm… he wants to eat me… but he looks amazing in those jeans. Oh, decisions, decisions!”
I was ready to give this a pass, just because of the time factor alone (over 90 hours playing “Fallout 3” does not bode well for “Dragon Age”), but then I noticed they’ve got a Dragon Age Toolkit for download that supposedly lets you create your own adventures.
I presume that’s minus the voicework and a few other custom goodies, but just imagine: You could finally play “The Keep on the Borderlands” the way it was meant to be played.
Dark fantasy? Dark fantasy as in the witcher? Silly gratuitous nudity and the female characters are all there for the main character to fuck just like ash ketchum catches pokemons? You even get collectable cards in that game for each female character you manage to score with…
I just finished reviewing it and as a fellow Fallout 3 fan let me say it’s solid, but it will eat your life.
Do you need a PIN number to play RPG games?
Anakrne: Dragon Age does not have the “gotta f@%# ’em all” mentality of The Witcher, though it does share some of the themes of it. Racism, dirty, and violent, with moral ambiguity in some of the game’s choices. I’ve only counted two bits of partial nudity in the game, with four more if you count medieval bra and panties and underwear in that regard.
Yes Claudia Black is in it, but more wooden than normal on her monologues. She has some fun interactions with another NPC though.
It seems like it’s got a lot of play time, but it doesn’t appear to be too sandbox-y. Think KotOR: fairly linear first section into mid section with 4-5 quests to be completed in any order, along with a few sidequests then back into a linear endgame.
Nowhere near as explore-happy as Mass Effect, which still paralyzes me whenever I try to play it.
I second the Torchlight recommendation. For $20, it’s quite fun and a solid buy for Diablo fans.
I agree. I’d wish it was an online game with more variety in character design, but it IS pretty fun. My stpud computer won’t play Left for Dead at all, which is annoying.