Dragon Age: Origins gameplay and discussion thread.

[frogbeastegg]

All spoilers must go into spoiler tags!
However small you think the spoiler is, show consideration for your fellow org members and use the tags!
Mark the spoiler with a brief spoiler free description so people can tell whether they have seen that part of the game yet! Example below.

Spoiler for the game's box.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

It has a dragon on it made out of pooled blood.

Some places in America have broken the street date and are selling the game early so it's time to start a gameplay thread.

[Jolt]

Looks like an awesome game.

[Beskar]

Pre-load is out on Steam. (for those who bought it electronically)

I am watching the game at http://evaxephon.com/stream/

It looks pretty much like Mass Effect style, but you can have 4 characters and the NPC's interact with eachother and other things in the party. Two of them sounded rather like one of Frogeggbeast's partnerships.

[Zenicetus]

I was going to wait for reviews because I wasn't sure it would run on my older PC/newer graphics card, but I broke down at the last minute and got the fancy Steam version.

I just played through part of the intro/tutorial as an Elfin Mage. I don't think there are any spoilers here, it's just a first impression.

I picked a mage to start, because I'm curious to see if the game can handle getting a party through a dungeon door with the mage leader protected at the back of the room, which was a frustration in NWN2. And if not, I'll re-start as a Rogue.

The intro/tutorial is specific to my mage character, which really makes me want to go back eventually, and see what the intro for the other classes are like! So far, it's very nicely done as an intro and tutorial for the game controls. If you've played the Flash game, the interface will be familiar and just more in-depth. Movement, camera controls, and combat are easy to pick up (at least for my mage, dunno about the other classes). Combat seems a little quick and twitchy, but there is a pause on the spacebar so you can do it in semi turn-based mode.

My first concern was how smoothly it would run on my old PC (Athlon 64 3800+, 2 Gigs RAM, GeForce 8800 GTS). So far, using default settings at 1280x1024 it's running smooth as silk through the tutorial intro, but the real test will be when a full party is fighting a room full of mages and the spells are flying. I can ramp it up to full 1600x1200 res, but I'm not sure it will handle things when the party and combats get larger, but we'll see. So far, it's encouraging for those of us with lower-spec PC's. All the cut scenes so far are running without hiccups.

The opening 2D artwork and the music is very good. First exposure to the writing isn't bad. It's throwing a lot of made-up words around to explain the background story, and there is a codex/journal to help organize that information. What I've seen so far leans heavily on generic Tolkein/D&D tropes (Elves! Dwarves! Bad things from the Bad Place!), but it's not too cringe-inducing. Could be worse.

With just a brief dipping of toe into the game, the engine looks solid. And now it will depend on the writing of the story, and how they're handling the RPG elements.

[Monk]

I was going to wait for reviews because I wasn't sure it would run on my older PC/newer graphics card, but I broke down at the last minute and got the fancy Steam version.

I just played through part of the intro/tutorial as an Elfin Mage. I don't think there are any spoilers here, it's just a first impression.

I picked a mage to start, because I'm curious to see if the game can handle getting a party through a dungeon door with the mage leader protected at the back of the room, which was a frustration in NWN2. And if not, I'll re-start as a Rogue.

The intro/tutorial is specific to my mage character, which really makes me want to go back eventually, and see what the intro for the other classes are like! So far, it's very nicely done as an intro and tutorial for the game controls. If you've played the Flash game, the interface will be familiar and just more in-depth. Movement, camera controls, and combat are easy to pick up (at least for my mage, dunno about the other classes). Combat seems a little quick and twitchy, but there is a pause on the spacebar so you can do it in semi turn-based mode.

My first concern was how smoothly it would run on my old PC (Athlon 64 3800+, 2 Gigs RAM, GeForce 8800 GTS). So far, using default settings at 1280x1024 it's running smooth as silk through the tutorial intro, but the real test will be when a full party is fighting a room full of mages and the spells are flying. I can ramp it up to full 1600x1200 res, but I'm not sure it will handle things when the party and combats get larger, but we'll see. So far, it's encouraging for those of us with lower-spec PC's. All the cut scenes so far are running without hiccups.

The opening 2D artwork and the music is very good. First exposure to the writing isn't bad. It's throwing a lot of made-up words around to explain the background story, and there is a codex/journal to help organize that information. What I've seen so far leans heavily on generic Tolkein/D&D tropes (Elves! Dwarves! Bad things from the Bad Place!), but it's not too cringe-inducing. Could be worse.

With just a brief dipping of toe into the game, the engine looks solid. And now it will depend on the writing of the story, and how they're handling the RPG elements.

Have to double this sentiment.

My relic P4 3ghz is able to run this game just fine, which is amazing considering most places tell you flat out if you don't have a dual core you cannot play the game. Granted, i've had to turn a few options down but it still looks great on my dinosaur cpu. I cannot wait until my new case comes and I can install this new motherboard/cpu I have sitting next to me.

I'm about five hours into the game and I have a few comments. First off is any notions of DA:O being a "frat boy RPG" have been woefully blown out of proportion. This is a very serious game, with a very serious narrative. Secondly is combat could be a bit tighter, it feels a bit loose and its easy to get bogged down into a single character mind-set. Not having a "healer" character is really starting to bug me as I'm chugging potions like spring-water. (I think i just havent met her yet). That being said, its still tons of fun and very challenging. I've died four times and i'm playing on Normal.

The Origin stories are not as long as I thought they would be, but they are still long enough to give you a glimpse into the past of your character. I like it, its short but it doesnt overstay its welcome - before you know it you're at the meat of the game.

That's all for now.

Oh, but one more thing:

EA are 'teh devil'. I have heard of tales of their systems before, but this? Wow. They nearly caused me to lose all chance of playing this game with their botched registration system. Basically, i registered my game on the Social site.. but then was asked for registration a second time in game. When i provided my key the game crossed its arms and informed me "sorry, that key is in use by someone else." ...

OF COURSE IT IS! I'M THE ONE WHO USED IT!

[FactionHeir]

How did you get around it?

Just so I know when I get back tonight.

[Vladimir]

Bugs! Bugs! Tell me if I should wait for the third patch please.

[Monk]

Bugs! Bugs! Tell me if I should wait for the third patch please.

Pretty stable actually. Had a CTD last night after six and a half hours of play and its been the one bug/crash i've experienced.

[Husar]

I've read there are clipping errors, arms that go into legs and the like...

May be nitpicking but that's sort of a bug. When will they ever get things like that right?

[frogbeastegg]

Mine's here! I'll post some impressions of the xbox version tomorrow.

I'm going human female mage. Quite a departure from my usual sword-wielding characters; the concept of mages in this world is too interesting to pass by. Hoping Bioware managed to do as good a job with the female protagonists as they did with the female Shepard in Mass Effect; she was outstanding and, unlike most of Bioware's older female types, not embarrassing to play as. I have no interest in walking around in a chain mail bikini while being harassed by whichever soppy idiot NPC is the designated love interest. The one who always, always has a dead wife in his past and/or other tedious angst that he will whine about for 70% of the conversations. Yep, if the female protagonist is a return to Baldur's Gate form I will be restarting as a male. I can't endure tens of hours of frostbite in sensitive locations and Carth-a-like stalkers.

[Zenicetus]

Bugs! Bugs! Tell me if I should wait for the third patch please.

I haven't seen anything I could label a bug so far, unless it's something deep in the combat stats that I'm not noticing due to unfamiliarity. It has a very solid feel, like a game that's been in development for a long time (which it has been). The 3D engine might have been state-of-the art a few years ago, but it looks a little behind the curve now (at least compared to high-end PC games), which is a good thing, for those of us with older computers.

I did get one brief moment of choppiness in a melee combat scene (no magic, 3 in my party against maybe 6 or 7 enemy fighters), but I don't know if that's the game or something my computer was trying to do in the background outside the game. Still feels nice and smooth overall.

A few more quick impressions and comments. These lean a little on the negative side but nothing too serious. Just some minor gripes, and I'm still enjoying the game very much with my Mage just past the start of the main plot.

Bioware did a nice job with the camera, the clipping of ceilings in tight spaces, and the amount of scenery you can see at one time. I haven't had much time in open spaces yet... looks like it might still be a little tight to make effective use of an archery-based character, but we'll see. The world isn't seamless; there are disk loads between areas, but nowhere near as annoying as the constant loads in NWN2. Game save and load operations are very fast, even on my older computer. The game itself boots up quickly, and unloads from memory quickly. It seems to have a fairly light footprint for something this complex. I haven't noticed the arm/leg clipping issue Husar mentioned (I'm playing on PC).

A low-level party self-heals and recovers mana after a combat encounter very quickly. I mean, like within seconds. You don't have to stock up on mana potions for a mage like you did in the Flash game, and I'm accumulating lots of healing potions I'm not using, except once in a while during combat. Maybe recovery takes longer once you get to higher levels with larger stat pools to fill? It keeps the encounters moving along with no need to rest, but I wonder how the hardcore D&D fans will feel about this.

I bought it on Steam and there is no local manual. You don't need a manual to get started playing the game, but I miss having a manual for getting an overview of the different character development trees. Choices I'm making during leveling now in the early stages, may restrict what I can do later. I feel like I'm flying blind here. I don't hang out on the Bioware forums so I haven't been keeping track of how the RPG/leveling system works. Of course, this could turn out to be an "RPG" like Fallout 3 or Mass Effect where the choices don't matter, because you'll have enough points to just buy almost every skill and talent by the time you reach the end of the game. I hope that isn't the case. Boo, hiss! Bioware, for not including a PDF manual and forcing us to go online to scrape up the character tree info.

Speaking of restricted choices.... I know this isn't D&D and I'm trying not to make too many direct comparisons... but I'm getting the impression that this is a fairly loose, streamlined system for character development. I played through the Rogue intro just to see what it's like (and yes, totally different from the Mage, nice!), but it was odd to see a Rogue clanking around in light metal armor and being able to dual-wield right from the start.

Very minor spoiler, you'll know this if you've played through the Rogue intro:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Apparently the Rogue type is also folded in with the iconic Ranger type, with an animal companion.

Part of the fun with a D&D-based game like Baldur's Gate and NWN is having to deal with so many restrictions on character development, which can lead to some interesting builds. Ignoring the way multi-classing tends to smear those categories, it's still something Ive enjoyed. At least at the beginning, this game feels maybe a little oversimplified... more like the way you make choices during leveling in WoW, or yes, Mass Effect. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Maybe I'm too conditioned by previous D&D licensed games. It's probably good for game sales to a wide audience anyway.

Is there a way to force the character to walk? Your lead character and your party run everywhere, which is sometimes appropriate but often looks silly in areas where it isn't necessary. With a full party, there's a lot of herky-jerky activity with the party running and stopping, running and stopping behind my party leader. It's a little distracting.

I don't quite have a handle on how aggro works, but it doesn't seem to "lock" most enemies on the nearest target, or first person through the door. If I send a melee member of my party through a doorway first, then the rest of the group, a large group of enemy melee fighters will still swarm everyone about equally. Attacking an enemy that isn't attacking you (the character you're directly controlling) will make them turn and attack you, which is an interesting challenge for mage characters. There is an AI control to force your party members to protect the leader, but I haven't had enough combat yet with a group to get a feel for how well it's working.

[Vladimir]

Excellent! Good news everyone, thank you. It's good to see a company take their time and get something right on the first time out. Hopefully that business model will become competitive some day. The rouge sounds interesting. They do love their dogs in that world. Let's see if the world can handle an opportunistic rogue.

[Monk]

I don't quite have a handle on how aggro works, but it doesn't seem to "lock" most enemies on the nearest target, or first person through the door. If I send a melee member of my party through a doorway first, then the rest of the group, a large group of enemy melee fighters will still swarm everyone about equally. Attacking an enemy that isn't attacking you (the character you're directly controlling) will make them turn and attack you, which is an interesting challenge for mage characters. There is an AI control to force your party members to protect the leader, but I haven't had enough combat yet with a group to get a feel for how well it's working.

I've noticed that too. Target acquisition when combat is engaged can be a little random, much more so than I'd like. Once battle starts going however it tends to follow more rational rules. Tossing a heal spell on a party member will attract unwanted attention if a monster doesnt have reason to be smacking your tank. Ect.

Combat is tough in DA:O. Maybe i'm just used to simplified versions but I really got smacked around on the Redcliff mission. I had to bump the difficulty down to Easy until I could get the hang of managing the party, imho it's far more effective (once you get a healer) to focus your mico on your magic users and only direct your melee at what to hit, rather than what skills to use. Its been effective for me trying to learn the ropes.

Also a warning: If you guys are thinking about buying a digital edition, don't. Get a physical copy - the digital editions have some really messed up registration systems. (Basically what i outlined in a previous post. You can actually get locked out of your own game!) If you AT ALL have a choice, go to the store and grab a copy. Retail editions of the game only have a disk check as their copy protection (you can play without registration) from what i understand.

[Samurai Waki]

I rather like how difficult combat has been. I decided as a first character to play an elf rogue, I should have been comfortable with that, but I was constantly being the source for attention for every baddy, and would generally die within the first 30 seconds of combat.

Then I decided I'd have a go as a close combat character, so I picked the Dwarf Noble. And instead of tweaking my stats to mainly hover around Dexterity and Strength, I split them up between Dexterity, Strength, and Constitution. What a major difference that has been, I have to say so far it has been a nice change up from NWN and Baldur's Gate to actually make Constitution matter.

[Zenicetus]

One other tip here for those new to the game, if you haven't discovered this already. I don't think it's mentioned in a tutorial (and we don't get a stinkin' manual with online purchase... grrrr):

If you press and hold "Tab" (on the PC version), the game will highlight and show a text identifier for any interesting or lootable objects within view. Some things like books are small, and are easy to miss with a mouseover scan of the area. You get small amounts of XP for each discovery, so it's important to find everything and search all rooms, even for this minor loot. Things like crates and bodies have glowy bits that show they're lootable, but I would have missed some of the small stuff like individual books sitting on altars if I hadn't used the Tab key.

[FactionHeir]

Well my digital ended up working fine, not sure why I didn't run into the same problem as Monk. But then again he made me aware of it first!

Got all my DLC to work and am into the first mission outside camp now. Combat so far has been fairly easy even though I started the game on Hard. Playing as Human Noble Warrior. I should note that my henchies usually bite the dust fairly easily for some reason. I guess the DLC makes a huge difference in survivability.

A few bugs so far. When I wanted to use my pregenerated human noble Warrior from the chargen, the background story was listed as "Dwarf Noble"

So I had to recreate...at least they managed to fix the stubble = hollow cheek bug.

The other issues have mainly been around slight clipping issues and loads of spelling errors at various points. Mainly in one-liners.

Also notice that I really need to run V-Sync with DA:O, without, the screen gets rather messy in cutscenes especially.

Liked the intro story a lot, though it was a bit sad.

[seireikhaan]

Also a warning: If you guys are thinking about buying a digital edition, don't. Get a physical copy - the digital editions have some really messed up registration systems. (Basically what i outlined in a previous post. You can actually get locked out of your own game!) If you AT ALL have a choice, go to the store and grab a copy. Retail editions of the game only have a disk check as their copy protection (you can play without registration) from what i understand.

Oh, that's just super...

/crosses fingers that the durned thing works when he gets back from night class....

[Monk]

Oh, that's just super...

/crosses fingers that the durned thing works when he gets back from night class....

What causes the lockout:

As far as I can tell from piecing together experiences of my own and other users on the support forums, if you try to register on the social site before you start the game DA:O will see the registration you made but will not put 2 and 2 together. Instead it'll tell you that key is in use and lock you out. Instead, just input your keys on the game's start-up when prompted to. That's your best bet at getting it to work.

Other users have reported no problems (like FactionHeir), but this problem is wide-spread enough to get mentioned on our wonderful internets.

Is there a way to force the character to walk? Your lead character and your party run everywhere, which is sometimes appropriate but often looks silly in areas where it isn't necessary. With a full party, there's a lot of herky-jerky activity with the party running and stopping, running and stopping behind my party leader. It's a little distracting.

/ on the number pad. Go to options and then Controls, you should see it in the list of key bindings

[Vladimir]

I gotta stop watching the videos. They're too motivating. It's a pity that more of my friends don't get into PC games much; I could really geek out over this one.

I think I'll strap on the tin can to fight in Froggy's stead; pretend I'm a pally once again. We'll see. It depends on if there's more depth in playing a, flexible, character.

[Xiahou]

After seeing the tidal wave of glowing reviews, I decided to give the game a go. So far, so good.

For my first character, I finally settled on "vanilla"- a gruff, hardboiled human warrior. As soon as I had a skill point to do it with, I picked up dual wield and chucked the shield in favor of a dagger. It seems to be working pretty well for me so far- the stats tell me that my character does 54% of the party's total damage. I completed the "origins" segment without falling in battle and got a couple of nice achievements to show for it.

I'm really enjoying the storyline so far, even if it has been a bit predictable....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I could see both the betrayals coming from a mile off.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My father's bannerman's army is late and all he offers is some lame excuse? AND the castle will only be left with a skeleton force? I can't see anything bad coming from that.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The king's general just looked like a creep. I think the second time I saw his face I thought to myself "he's totally gonna betray us"

[Zenicetus]

I gotta stop watching the videos. They're too motivating. It's a pity that more of my friends don't get into PC games much; I could really geek out over this one.

I think I'll strap on the tin can to fight in Froggy's stead; pretend I'm a pally once again. We'll see. It depends on if there's more depth in playing a, flexible, character.

FYI, there isn't a direct equivalent to Paladin in this game. The closest thing to a Paladin is a Templar, a warrior specialization that exists to keep the scary mages under control. Templars get bonuses against magic users, but they can't use magic as healers. The Templar/Mage conflict will affect many interactions in the game. I'm playing as a mage, and I'm starting to really hate those guys.

[Krusader]

Also a warning: If you guys are thinking about buying a digital edition, don't. Get a physical copy - the digital editions have some really messed up registration systems. (Basically what i outlined in a previous post. You can actually get locked out of your own game!) If you AT ALL have a choice, go to the store and grab a copy. Retail editions of the game only have a disk check as their copy protection (you can play without registration) from what i understand.

No problems on my end, but thats because I checked Steam's Dragon Age forumboard. And couldn't write in codes for DLC and pre-order stuff after another, had to load up the Redeem Code page when I wanted to write the next code in. I think I'll go for physical copy next game over Steam though.

Started my Human Noble Warrior and really enjoy the game so far.

[Monk]

I'm really enjoying the storyline so far, even if it has been a bit predictable....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I could see both the betrayals coming from a mile off.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My father's bannerman's army is late and all he offers is some lame excuse? AND the castle will only be left with a skeleton force? I can't see anything bad coming from that.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The king's general just looked like a creep. I think the second time I saw his face I thought to myself "he's totally gonna betray us"

Spoil tastic! Don't read unless you're passed your origin story and at least 2 hours in game! (passed your origin story and the first plot quest)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sadly I know what you mean. They did go a bit cliche in the beginning, but hey, I will take cliche over complete any day. The story actually has me interested, I was on the edge of my seat when Duncan took down that Ogre single-handedly only to turn and see the King wasn't getting up.

It's not so much great writing as it has been amazing presentation and characterization. The king wasn't someone I was invested in, but Duncan certainly was a man I liked. If anything, that is what DA:O has impressed me with, I like these characters. Hey I even genuinely hate a couple two, and one of which is someone i've come to loathe... but oddly i find myself taking her advice a lot.

It's also good to hear you all aren't having massive trouble with the Digital Ed like I did on my first day.

[seireikhaan]

I rather liked the origin story, at least for the mage I'm playing as. Maybe it wasn't clear out of the blue, but I liked the setup and how it went through.

Also, major spoiler, don't peek unless you're a decent deal after the origin story:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

THAT DANG OGRE!!!

Perhaps I was going for the wrong spells early on to take this mother down, but I swear there's gotta be some trick I'm not spotting. Stuck for now...

[FactionHeir]

Forgot to mention:

Dislike the camera, prefer the NWN2 one over DA:O. Not being able to rotate without holding the RMB is annoying.
Also, zoom in is quite limited. Can't appreciate the detail without greater zoom.

Lastly, they really ought to allow you to click through dialogue rather than forcing you to wait through it all. Mainly for subsequent playthroughs.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Is there actually any point to the trailfinders? I long found the crates by the time the trailfinders took me there (in fact, before I even found any one trailfinder)

[Samurai Waki]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

THAT DANG OGRE!!!

Perhaps I was going for the wrong spells early on to take this mother down, but I swear there's gotta be some trick I'm not spotting. Stuck for now...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Make use of Alastair as your primary distract; give him plenty of Health Potions (or whatever they're called) I also set the Guard on melee and the Circle Mage as a magic "archer" of sorts, just made sure to try to keep him away from any of the combat. They seemed to die fairly easy though... and use your mage to call in the big spells; make plenty of use out of the Mana Vials. If he comes after you run, then Run, and Let Alastair come in to distract him again... other than that, good luck!

[seireikhaan]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Make use of Alastair as your primary distract; give him plenty of Health Potions (or whatever they're called) I also set the Guard on melee and the Circle Mage as a magic "archer" of sorts, just made sure to try to keep him away from any of the combat. They seemed to die fairly easy though... and use your mage to call in the big spells; make plenty of use out of the Mana Vials. If he comes after you run, then Run, and Let Alastair come in to distract him again... other than that, good luck!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I messed up a few too many times early on, and Alastair was pretty badly bandaged up by that point. I ended up getting so frustrated with the rage quitting that I took it down a difficulty notch and beat it in one try, albeit fairly closely.

Don't get me wrong, I tried that strategy(after about 50 tries, I'll do about anything ), but it seemed like that ogre just ragdolled my allies far too quickly.

Edit:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Didn't end up getting much sleep at all due to *trying* to truck through the game. I'd say the Hermit is my favorite bit thus far, especially when you try and fight him.

[Meneldil]

Looks like the game is pretty good despite the retard advertising. So I'm probably going to fall for it and buy it :-/

[Vladimir]

I understand people are interested in plot, story, and etc but what about depth? The thing I liked about switching from Paladin/fighter to rogue in DnD based games is the additional depth it offered. Instead of simply strapping on as much metal as possible and slogging through things I discovered how the use of diplomacy, stealth, ambush, and etc opened up far more possibilities. Now I'm more able to "lead" a group and obtain better rewards.

Does the base campaign in Origins offer this too?

[frogbeastegg]

Lastly, they really ought to allow you to click through dialogue rather than forcing you to wait through it all. Mainly for subsequent playthroughs.

You can do that on the xbox version. Thanks to the completely different control setups I can't guess what it'd be on the PC other than to say it's not ok and it's not cancel.


I played ~2 hours last night and completed the mage origin story. The thumb for gameplay is tentatively pointed upwards, the one for presentation is slanting downwards. At the moment the lasting first impression is the considerable shock how archaic the game is in terms of looks, audio, style and atmosphere. I'd expected much more from the people behind Mass Effect.

Gameplay ... well it's Baldur's Gate in 3D. Enough said. Area of effect, friendly fire, a need for tactics if you don't want to turn into a pool of giblets, and a strong need for a rogue to open locked chests. I can tell it's going to improve vastly once I have more spells and a proper party; right now I've spent much of my time running about (away?) on my low-level lonesome wondering if my two offensive spells will recharge before my health runs out.

It's all terribly generic fantasy so far; I expect that to change shortly.

Presentation, yeah. The two year old Mass Effect slaughters this game blindfolded with both hands tied behind its back in all categories of presentation. The first thing that hit me when the game started running was that it looks like Neverwinter Nights 2, i.e. old, badly outdated, and filled with plastic people who look wrongly proportioned. There's some decidedly blergh voice acting on the minor people. Oh well, I don't care so much about that - I've played and loved worse and it's the experience which matters. The blood splatter overlays on the characters look stupid and there's no option to turn them off, which means they show up in cutscenes and conversations.

It's the conversations which are really getting me. Gone are the animated, dynamic conversations which made Mass Effect special. We're back to Bethesda style barely animated barbie doll heads paired with selectable lines of cringeworthy dialogue. I'm afraid I am skipping dialogue in all but the more important conversations; I read entire chunks of dialogue in the time it takes the mediocre actors to get three words out and there's no reason for me to sit and watch instead.

That said, there was one bit of conversation I did like (minor spoiler for the mage origin story)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sloth. He's one of the few where I sat and let the conversations play out. Loved his voice and enjoyed his dialogue.

The console version is definitely not an after thought or cash in and the people behind Risen's abysmal port should be forced to study it hard and learn from it. The interface and everything has been designed from the ground up specifically for the console, and the game works with the platform's strengths and weaknesses, just as I hear the PC version does. I'm actually quite interested in playing the PC version in order to see the 'other' side of the game. Probably when I can pick up a cheapish copy I shall do so.

Gah! I sound so negative when I did enjoy my play time! I spent most of my day at work thinking about what I would do in the game once I got home.