Beat Dragon Age 2!

Hey readers!  You missed me didn't you?  Yeah, well once again I was sucked into another Bioware game,  and on top of all the other things happening in my life, it soaked up a big chunk of my time. Literally, this game soaked up 47 compelling hours of my life.  And of course, I'm going to review it.  You ready to listen?

Well Varric is going to tell you anyway.

WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE ANY HINT AT ANY PART OF THE STORY BEFORE YOU PLAY, DON'T READ FURTHER.  IN OTHER WORDS, SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD.

Story: Oh many the story.  I have to say, this is the first time in a video game where there was a scene that made me cry.  Like really cry.  From the get go, you play Hawke, male of female, who is trying to survive and avoid the blight in Ferelden.  You try to find safety in Kirkwall, and over time you do gain more notoriety, but not without huge sacrifices.  Death is a constant fact of life.  Conflict is inevitable.  And the choices you make are gut-wrentching.  There were definitely points when I had to fight people, and I felt horrible having to do it.   

The game's story is a tale of freedoms over safety, and it's amazing how strong that theme is and how is enhances the game because of it.  And your characters all have their own story that has it's own built in conflict within the game.  Are you going to help with a project that may bring back a demon?  Are you going to save someone's life if the entire city's well being on the line?  If you're like me, and you love video games because it's an interactive story device (with fictional violence for fun!), you won't be disappointed.  Bioware does deliver.

Only complaint?  Like much of Bioware's stuff, it's very binary.  No middle ground.  Someday there will be a video game that allows that option.

8.75/10

Gameplay: Similar to the previous game, where pause and play rules the day, you command your Hawke and three other companions in battle.  Strategy is a must, especially if you're playing at the harder difficulties.  Be ready to be selective about who comes with you, balancing everyone's strengths.  

Selecting Attributes and Abilities is less guesswork now.  Attributes, in the style of DnD's abilities, clearly show what about gameplay will change if you raise them.  Abilities can not only be added but modified, allowing you to be a master a a couple of specialities rather than a jack of all trades that you stumbled into the first game.

The part that I personally hate?  WAVES of enemies.  You finish one set of baddies and suddenly out appear from nowhere another set, and then another set!  Especially in the beginning of the game, it totally cramped my style because it affected the way that I would plan my battles.  You get used to it, but it's just a little frustrating sometimes when it's not even a boss battle and you've killed the baddies and then six more of them show up.  Dude!  Party's over, the chips are gone and the hosts are going to bed!  In a boss battle I fully expect it and prepare for it, but it got repetitive when I'm just walking down the street.

8/10

Design:  First of all, we must admit that it's not going to take a lot to look better than the last game.  But it does look good!  Especially if you don't mind looking at the same cave in a different part of the map over and over and over again.  Everything looks good possibly because they scaled it back and focused.  I'm for that to an extent, but I don't like every warehouse or cave looking exactly the same for all of the side missions.  But they do look good, and would be believable if you didn't see everything all the time.  The details do make everything awesome, including making your family look more like your Hawke when you change your preset base face.  

However, you can tell that the game was rushed.  It glitches more than it should.  I just upgraded my motherboard and it definitely is not the issue.  Cut scenes were cut off and there was a whole side mission that I could not complete and cannot be completed across all platforms.  What the hell Bioware? A lot of people are complaining that they rushed production, and I'm sure EA put pressure on the team.  This makes me sad, because it shows.  If this is the reason, Dragon Age 2 is a great example how taking the time to polish makes a big difference.

7/10

OVERALL: 8.25/10

Play it!  It's a good story and a good game.  Is it perfect?  No.  But it's better than the majority of what's out there on the market.  It's a high quality game that has a great story and great characters.  Enjoy it!

What kind of Champion will you become?

Dragon Age II: New Crush (and short review)

In the first game I was totally falling for Alistar, the awkward templar who had a good heart and was the only other Grey Warden in all of Ferelden with you.  You bonded over loneliness and using flowers as weapons.

I'm now playing Dragon Age II, and who do I find myself enamored with?  The exact opposite of Alistar.

This Adrien Brody look-alike elf is super hot.  Do not deny that.

Crazy, right?  I go from a dorky sincere knight to a dark and brooding escape slave.  Why can't I be consistent?

Oh yeah, it's fiction, why should I care?

Review so far:  I like the story and I want to get more of it, and I like how it's a bunch of little pieces that will eventually come together, but... the fighting is getting in the way.  As in the cooldown times are way too long for such quick battle actions and wave upon wave of baddies.  The story is good enough that I'm still going through it.  Hooray for playing a snarky apostate!  I'll keep you all updated, I'm only in Act I and almost ready for the deep roads.

I now know what I'm wasting my money on next.

I have clearly not given BioWare enough money, so they gave me a reason to give them more.

I haven't bought everything yet, but goddammit I obviously need to have it all, especially if $114 of stuff is going to be $50!

I better hope this is on steam.

Okay, enough free advertising and fan-gasming for the day.

Finally writing about Dragon Age

I know the game isn't new and exciting anymore, but I essentially don't care about that.  I have been meaning to write about it for a while.  Also want to write about it first before I write about Mass Effect 2.

Warning: Spoilers for Dragon Age below

First of all, I played at a mage for the playthrough I'm talking about now.  I started one as a dwarf but the results of my choices didn't make any sense to me, and didn't feel like any character I wanted to connect to.  Also, the prospects of me getting in Alistar's pants were slim to none, so I gave up and started a new character.  Yes, I am that shallow.

So I restarted as the human mage, who I named Thia.  I decided that she'd mostly do the morally "good" choices, but if there is a chance for a joke or hilarity she would take it.  That did make it a lot more fun. And that is definitely something I do appreciate about Dragon Age: it's a lot less binary when it comes with the character choices you make.  You don't necessarily benefit for going one way or the other, you just either sever or keep ties and alliances according to what you say or do.  And just because you think one thing is good and other people don't, you're not immediately chastised for disagree with the "morals" of the game.

I don't need to go through every quest and decision I made.  I doubt you guys are super interested in that.  So this will just touch upon my general thoughts about the game.

As I posted around November, when I first started to play I  noticed a theme of betrayal.  It's a theme that most of the origins stories have.  For example, I went out of my way to break rules and help my friend Jowan, a mage who was afraid of becoming the emotionless, monotone, Tranquil.  But after I helped him it turned out he was lying about who he was and his powers, and there I was left to take all the punishment.  And then you introduction to the Grey Wardens in battle turns to Teryn Loghain leaving the King of Ferelden and all of the Grey Wardens except you (and hottie Alistar) to DIE.  This game definitely teaches you that life is unquestioningly unfair, even if you are the hero.

Yet as people time and time again lose your trust, you still have to reach out and find help with a huge diverse group of people.  You have to reach out to every contact you have to fight this war against some epic evil knowing that you can't trust most of the people you are talking to.  Partly because if everyone outright agreed with you the story would suck, but also because everyone is distracted by problems that affect them right now.  The blight isn't immediate.  It is a slow takeover.  No one really notices it until it's too late, because they have communities and families and friends to worry about that are right there in front of them. You have to be the one to say "Look, I know some stuff is happening now, and I'm here to help you, but OH GOD THE BLIGHT!"

The epic fantasy feel, the whole "I'm on a journey to save the world" vibe, didn't feel old and rehashed excessively.  Sure, some of the same themes that have been prevalent since Tolkein were there.  They definitely got a facelift though.  For example, in almost any fantasy story with elves, the elves look down on humans from their ivory towers of immortality and are snooty assholes.  Not here.  Elves are recovering from their traditions being stripped away and generations of slavery.  They're either in the slums of the city or on the fringes of the forests keeping away from human cities.  Sure they still have the pointy ears and lighter frames and they have a good set of archers, but they aren't what you grew up with.  They have real issues now.  Also the standard set ups of bastard children and witches and god-blessed martyrs are there, but not the old, dust-gathering ideas of them.  This definitely kept the story intriguing.

I do like the harkin back to D&D style structure when it came to leveling up, but I'm biased because that was my first RPG.  I also liked the playing style in general.  I love strategizing and managing people in general.  I know of some people who got bored with pause and play, but I feel like I am a much better play for having it available.  Going to Mass Effect 2, I kind of missed it, but then again I wasn't controlling four people at once so I understand why it can't be utilized all the time.

If I have any complaints about the game, it's definitely not gameplay.  Nor is it graphics like everyone else--I really couldn't care less about graphics if I like the game.  It was the body proportions.  The arm lengths and size of the hands were WAY off.  All the women had man hands!  All the dwarves looked like they could walk on their fists!  I hope they fix that in the sequel, or even better in Awakening.

Sticking to the "good jokester" idea of a character that I decided on, I was able to befriend most of my quest buddies without much effort.  I became best friends with Leliana and Morrigan, two very different characters whose morals are totally on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Now in this game the more yours allies like you the better bonuses they have in combat.  This was fantastic for me since my three closest chums were a mage, a rogue and a fighter.  Totally balanced out.

Thia definitely worked out for me.  She was a mage who could talk her way out of trouble, could deal out a good amount of damage, and I didn't regret looking at again after creating her.  That is one thing that can go wrong with making your own character.  You may end up regretting what they look like.  But Thia totally worked out.

Playing this game, for me at least, was like reading a good book.  You had no idea what would happen next but you needed to know as soon as possible.  That's part of the reason why I spent hours and hours playing it whenever I had the freetime.  Each scene was another chapter in a fantasy novel that I was helping to write.  It's a testament to the writers over at Bioware that they kept me this engrossed.  It's actually really easy for me to just stop picking up a game and not finish it.  It's something that happens with me for a lot of other stories too, in books, tv series, etc.  I just stop caring that much.  But that didn't happen with Dragon Age.  I was so excited for the end of the game, and when it was over, I was kind of sad.  I looked forward to seeing those characters after work or during the weekend.  Now, I didn't really have to anymore, did I?  At least, not with Thia's story.

Oh, and the romance with Alistar that caused me to have the superb crush on him?  It was cute, poignant, and although not super realistic not super improbable either.  The stuff junior high crushes are made of. Also, can I just say it's refreshing to have a bastard heir to the throne who thoroughly doesn't want to be king?  Mmmm, lack of power trip.

Romances, or at least having the choice of a romance, are always something I appreciate in games.  Partly because in stressful situations, people always want to lean on someone.  Friendships definitely do that as well, which is why they're nice to have in this game.  Human connections in general, ones that aren't strained and ones that are genuine, are intriguing to watch.  That is why TV producers can get away with reality tv--the connections are already there, they don't have to fake them.  What's more fascinating is to see these connections grow, and how they blossom, and why they do.  That's what these romances in video games allow you to do.  Sure, the way the friendships grow in this game are great to watch as well, because they do grow and people do react to them.  But romances are a more tangled web than mere friendship, and watching to see if the knots tighten or unravel are definitely entertaining.

I think for me, it's the characters that are going to keep me coming back for more.  I want to see what happens in the sequels--where are they and how have they fared?  Will they still be my friend?  Or will they be my foe for some odd reason?  Did they go where they said they would?

I'm going through my second play through finally, and I'm realizing how much I missed these people.  Although this second character is going to be a complete jerk, it's still going to be nice to hear Morrigan pissing everyone else off, or Sten suffer culture shock, or even pet the dog again!

If you like RPGs, good stories, and making choices (and for once, not solely binary choices!) in your video games, you'll probably love Dragon Age.

Just Finished Dragon Age

I don't want to go into detail about everything right now, because it literally just happened.  I literally just finished watching the credits.  And now, I am feeling slightly emotional about it.

I easily sympathize with characters in stories, which is something that happens in great intensity with a well written story.  Once the game was over, I realized I wasn't going to play Thia, my Grey Warden, anytime soon.  And I almost got teary-eyed.

I invested so much time into creating a character that I loved playing, and that was the kind of character I wanted to play.  Thia became friends with all the people she brought along the way, and she was hilarious.  She was an awesome mage that kicked serious butt.  And a lot of the choices I had to make in the game were seriously hard.  I put in a lot emotionally, partly because I'm sensitive like that, but partly because the game encourages you too.

And now it's over, and the thing I looked forward to every night after work is gone for a short time.  It's like saying goodbye to a friend you only see once a year or something like that.  It's bittersweet.

I think I will do a more in-depth post later about my choices that is somewhat spoiler-rific, but for now I'm going to look back and enjoy what I just did... beat my first PC game on my new computer Adonis.  Sweet.

Why I Have Crushes on Fictional Characters

FYI:  This post is spoiler free.  Please keep the comments that way too since I and a good chunk of my readers haven't finished the game.

Alright, in my last post were I apologized for not writing in ages, I admitted something embarrassing.  I'm not sure if all  of you thought it was true, but I know some of you knew it had to be.  And to be honest, I have no problem just saying it out in the middle of the internet.

I have a crush on this guy:

Handsome, no?

Don't worry, I'm not going to be like the girl who dumped her boyfriend because he wasn't like Edward in Twilight.  My expectations are realistic.  I know I'm never getting with this piece of pixelated ass or anyone even close to my expectation of who he really is.  Also, having a boyfriend in real life is a lot healthier.  Sorry, Alistar.

My and my nerd gal pals do this all the time though!  I was writing horrible fan fiction about Chekov from the original Star Trek in junior high!  In fact we all wrote horrible fan fiction about our heart throbs, whether from Star Trek, Pirates of the Carribean, heck even Digimon! Uh, p.s. the digimon is not even me.

But why do us nerd girls even do this?  Why don't we lust over guys that really exist?  I remember it being a lot more normal in jr. high and high school to like an actor, like Josh Hartnett or one of the Backstreet Boys.  But throughout that time I would long for other guys.  There was Checkov, Johnny Depp's Ichabod Crane, John the Savage from when I read Brave New World... list goes on.  And it's not like I didn't have boyfriends all throughout that time.  But I was attracted to all these guys that were not real, and didn't think they'd ever be real.

The question is why would I do this in the first place?  Not like I was ever going to be fully satisfied with these romantics interests, right?

I'll let you in on a secret: these crushes are safe.  S-A-F-E.

Think about it.  All you know about the character is right in front of you.  There are no hidden secrets you need to find out (Dragon age is an exception, but not by much) and it is so much easier to focus on all the positives of that character.  Seriously, right now in game I can just make out with Alistar as much as I want when I am in camp.  And if I was really sick, I could replay all those moments when Alistar says silly bumbling things about being in love with my character. (BTW I'm not that sick)  He's available for everything good you want in a relationship, and barely available for everything bad you have in a relationship.

This is especially true for a lot of my other past crushes.  I had just enough information to be "yeah, this is guy is nice/romantic/endearing/just my type, and I'm sure if we met we'd hit it off"and then just roll with it in my own head.  The guy is never going to approach me, never going to reveal himself to have a secret which I couldn't live with, never going to have to move in with me and split rent and utilities... and he's available to you all the time if your imagination is good enough!  If not, watch the movie/play the game/read the book over and relive all the moments that make you heart go a flutter!

Also, fans who have crushes on characters can easily shape some of the character to fit their romantic liking.  "Uh... sure he likes brunettes.  He does in my head at least!"

In a way this is extremely normal.  Everyone in their head has an idea of who their perfect man/woman would be.  A lot of the time people have a problem projecting their current love interest to be that person, or needs to change to be that person.  In this situation, that projecting doesn't cause fights, misunderstandings, and even break ups.  It's just molding something that already isn't there into your liking.

I have never gone too far with this stuff though.  I have never thought that The Boyfriend should suddenly act like Alistar, or start looking like him.  When I was younger I never though "I should have a boyfriend who is just like John the Savage" or anything remotely like that.  Never even compared my real life crushes to my fictional ones.  That's when it just gets weird.  More than weird.   I have never actively sought that out.  I have known of people who do, and it just ends in tragedy.

I will continue to have my crush on Alistar for a while, I'm sure.  The Boyfriend doesn't feel threatened, since when he's around I shower him in kisses and snuggles.  That's something I'm not doing to my computer monitor.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised that this is only because he's a romance-able character.  Those developers definitely know what their doing.

Dragon Age: A theme of betrayal

SPOILERS AHEAD

Well, for a very small portion of the game.

Blame the Boyfriend.  He is an enabler.  I mention I'm really intrigued by Dragon age and BAM his laptop is in my house and I can't stop playing it.  Well, I do for work but dammit, I would play this all day if I had the chance and the right set up.

Like always, I'm drawn into the story. You choose what back story you start with by choosing your race, class, and status in society.  I was a dwarf warrior noble, and I really like the back story that they give you.  I want to play the game again to see how it would be different as a mage (you can't be a dwarf and a mage) and see if I can start out with a fuller group.

Anyway, talking to the Boyfriend about his character's back stories, and then looking at what I've seen of my story so far, betrayal is HUGE.  And this is where the spoiler marking matters so look away those who haven't played and plan to.

No matter what your back story is, you help out at a battle against the Blight (wretched creatures created by the sins of man infecting the lands like a plague) in an abandoned fort called Ostagar.  You're there with your people, the Grey Wardens, to help King Calin's troops.  The Grey Wardens are trained specifically to cast out the Blight.  Your job, along with another Grey Warden Alistar, is to light a beacon for Calin's war aid Loghain to bring troops after Calin and the other Grey Wardens start out killing some darkspawn (creatures of the blight).  So you finally battle a ton of darkspawn that shouldn't have been there in the first place, you light the beacon and you are excited to do your part when...

Loghain pulls his troops back and lets King Calin die.

First of all, you feel stupid for not realizing it would happen.  When I first met Loghain I thought "he's so going to betray me" but then I took it back.  I had already dealt with something similar earlier on in the story (and almost every back story has its own betrayal issues) so I figured it wouldn't happen again.  I was so wrong.  It was like a hard slap to the face.

Second, it prepares you for similar acts on a smaller scale to happen again and again and again.  You have to do actions that you are suspicious of from the get go for the story to move.  And then your suspicions are confirmed!  It's like an abusive relationship!

As the game continues I'm going to see if this theme continues, and how important it is.  Is it also a weapon against the bad guys?

If you know how it ends, don't answer that question!