Dragon Age: Origins gameplay and discussion thread.

[DisruptorX]

Something's gone off in the Bioware formula.

Indeed it has. They decided to finally make a great RPG for the first time since Shadows of Amn to close out the decade. A shocking twist indeed.

If only they hadn't made it so that mages were that much better than everyone else, though. Sure, you technically don't need them, but they are powerful to the point of ridiculousness. As noted, Arcane Warriors trivialize the hardest difficulty. And if you are playing on lower difficulties? Why bother bring the rest of the party! I don't like mages for this reason, it feels like cheating.

The core mechanics, on the other hand, are superb. Fluid controls, good camera, great UI. You'd never know its not a PC exclusive. The ease of control and fun of executing strategy puts garbage like NWN 2 to shame. This is the first time I've played a fully 3d party based RPG that at no time made me wish it was on a 2d engine instead. You never have to fight the controls or the camera. Its also quite challenging unless you abuse mages, which is a break from Bioware's recent fare. All they need to do is balance the next Dragon Age title.

Its not the perfect game that BG 2 was, but its more than I expected and a huge step in the right direction. Fun combat in a Bioware game? More likely than you think. With a class rebalance, more dungeons, and more sidequests in a sequel, it can hopefully only get better.

edit: just as a note, for the love of god, play the PC version. The console version has bad graphics, toned down encounters, and poor control. I'm not normally someone who really cares, I bought Fallout 3 on console so I could kick back and play with the gamepad, but Dragon Age, or any tactical game, is the sort of the thing you don't want to be playing on console.