DA:O

[Lasiien]

So i finally completed it last night, 50 hours played in total which I'm pretty impressed with (and that didn't include farting around trying to pick a character/class to play), didn't drag at all and well worth the money. Probably the best game I've played this year I think, Batman and Uncharted II are also up there though

[xann]

Probably the best game I've played this year I think, Batman and Uncharted II are also up there though

Deffinetly, Arkham is great, and CoD:2 v. good game. But DA:O is the best rpg game i've ever played.

Its on a par with my fav games of all time, the Legacy of Kain series.

50 hours played in total which I'm pretty impressed with (and that didn't include farting around trying to pick a character/class to play), didn't drag at all

Yeah, its pretty amazing how a game that long doesn't drag at any stage... the dwarf bit was a hack fest, coulda been boring if it was a different game, but it wasn't i had 50-ish hours played too, tho i did absolutly none of the side quests, and only just played the DL content.

Just wondering what i'm gonna play going thru it again evil guy i guess

[xann]

I got Mass Effect over xmas with some amazon voucher, just like DA:O its well and truely sucked me in, damn you Bioware... Now i've gotta do this b4 Mass Effect 2 comes out

[Lasiien]

hehe Yep am looking forward to ME2 as well !

[Cernos]

I got DAO as an Xmas present, been really enjoying it so far. Great gameplay and loving the visuals. The plot is great and for once the voice acting isn't completely cringe inducing (though it sails close to the rocks a few times). I'm on normal difficulty playing as a human dual wield warrior (sidenote: Alastair couldn't taunt a paper bag). Just defeated the Ishal tower section, that was one tough fight!

Only gripe I have is the camera angle switches awkwardly from top down to follow cam, I wish there were more intermediate views that worked (like a zoomed out follow cam). Are there any mods which fix the camera issues?

[Lasiien]

I'm on normal difficulty playing as a human dual wield warrior (sidenote: Alastair couldn't taunt a paper bag)

pfft, did you let him sunder 3 times?

(I agree actually, one thing i couldn't make work very well was a sword and board tank in DA:O, Shale was a much better tank imo as he had more agro grabbing ability and a massive consitution which mean't he didn't fall over instantly once you have about 5+ mobs on him (like Alistair!))

I haven't really checked out any mods so I'm not sure Cern, i played most of the game in the over the shouler view and only using the top down on really hectic situations. I've played allot more console games this year on the ps3 so i suppose I've got more used to the over the shouler cam.

[Saxif]

I have started playing it also.  What kind of differences are there if you choose evil/nasty/petty conversation responses?  I tend to stick with the good/noble type actions and responses tbh.  I have my character as a sword and board type as well as Alistair, I tend to get a kicking anyway though.  Not 100% with using the tactics system, I prefer to micro-manage, but often the toons won't do what I tell them, such as go there and they don't and when I tell them to go there if they go, they don't stay, so I can't adopt a formation (2 x 2).  Still I like the game so far and will keep going but I don't have the WOW you all seem to, it seems entertaining but not awesome.  Though I am a fan of turn based and this is like a more intimate version of a RTS with a pause function.

Sax.

[Lasiien]

Like all the bioware games I don't think your choices really affect the story much, only in the way its told (e.g. doing a quest to be noble and good or doing it for your own selfish reasons). The big difference in DA:O is really in how the other characters react to your choices, I upset my party quite allot

You should try to devlop the macros to your own liking as that will help you in most of the 'ordinary' fights and mean you won't have to micro manage quite so much. You can set characters to be aggressive and chase down mobs (for tanks etc) or to stay at range, use heal pots when they get low on heath, use particular abilities more often etc etc. I found i only needed to micro manage the really tough fights.

p.s. happy new year everyone

[xann]

Anybody planning on getting the xpac out soon? pretty sure i will be.

I never actuly planned thru the whole game again (yet) might try to b4 i play the xpac.

[Cernos]

Definitely. I really enjoyed Origins and I'm on my 2nd playthrough, this time on Hard. So by the time it is released I should have either a Human Warrior or a Human Mage to choose from to play the xpack with.

[Lasiien]

I will get it no doubt, but maybe a little later on in the year as I'm still playing other games. I did fully complete it once and played all the different origins stories as well, I haven't checked back though if they added anymore DLC ? I'm kinda surprised they are doing an expac as i thought it was all about the DLC now? However i guess the expac will be considerably cheaper so prolly a good thing for us!

[xann]

Theres 3 DLC's iirc?

Shale
Wardens Keep
Return to Ostagar

tbh i wasn't that impressed with it, i mean it was decent but could've been better. I think an Xpac is a good move should do very well, just hope it lives up to (my) expectaions.

I have been itching for a game recently... Can't believe i've been contemplating a WoW return    Slap me

[Lasiien]

Both Shale and Wardens Keep were available at the start of the game, didn't get Return to Ostagar but you didn't think that was any good?

I think it's interesting the way the DLC is going, I don't mind it tbh but I think the price is too high for the content you get. Found it interesting that they are also trying to make more and more DLC available upon release and not part of the original game as they have with Mass Effect II, they then give free codes away with games sold for the DLC, meaning they are actually attacking the 2nd hand (mosty console) market. When a 2nd hand buyer gets the game they decide to go and get the DLC and they don't have a freebie code, they have to register for that Cerebus thing. Seems EA wants a cut of that 2nd hand market

[Cernos]

Shale was a freebie. Worth doing the content even if you don't want to use Shale in your party.

Wardens Keep was premium DLC. I purchased this one and enjoyed it, but felt there should have been a bit more content provided for the money.

As a result I haven't purchased Return To Ostagar.

Have pre-ordered the xpack as I really enjoyed the game and I'm looking forward to developing my characters further.

[eKo]

I'll get it eventually, but between me raiding again in WoW and all the great games coming out this year I'm lacking time to play through them all.

I did finish ME2 & replayed ME after that as, except for the ending, I couldn't recall what happened in the first game. I imported my char into ME2 and the plan is play through it again this time with the choices I made during the first game, but that's for in the future.

Finished Heavy Rain too, turned out to be a really great game. Really neat how the choices you make influence the story, though the main story always remains the same of course. The different characters are believable (which makes it a shame that some of the npc's are so streotypical) and there are quite a few emotional moments which make you really care for the characters. I also found the ending totally unexpected and really well done. I wonder now how different choices would influence the game and I'll most likely play it again sometime.

Haven't played Bioshock 2 yet as I wanted to finish Bioshock again (am about halfway iirc) this time saving all the little girls.

Haven't finished Assassin's Creed 2 either and now got Final Fantasy XIII & Uncharted 2 to play through as well, think I'll have to quit my job so I can play them all . Final Fantasy is well, ... typical Final Fantasy: great graphics, rather stereotypical characters, a good vs evil story (so far as I can make out as it drops you in the middle of events without really understanding what the hell is going on) and a varied battle system. It's not something for everyone, but I like those kind of games. Uncharted 2 is really great so far, more shooting than I expected, but the difficulty isn't too high.

I'm not a fan of DLC either, most seem to have little added content for the price. Got Shale & Warden's Keep with the digital deluxe edition on steam which was only ?5 more than the regular version, so ?5 for Warden's Keep wasn't bad. Didn't get Return to Ostagar as it didn't seem worth it. Would like to finish DA:O again as a mage, but kinda doubt that will happen. Final Fantasy alone will probably keep me busy for 35-50 hours.

Kinda interested in God of War 3 as I keep hearing good things about it and they have remade the first 2 for the PS3. It's something totally different, but it sounds very cool, so might pick them all up eventually.

2010 will be a great year for gaming if it continues like this and it looks like it will (Starcraft 2 & Cataclysm will come out this year, so will Mafia 2 & Civ 5) .