To mainstream audiences, the words 'role-playing game' conjure up images of elves, swords and guys playing dress-up and yelling "lightning bolt!" Dragon Age Origins, a cinematic game that's equal parts populist Lord of the Rings action and hardcore Dungeons & Dragons dice-rolling, looks to make fantasy role-playing more palatable to the masses when it hits PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year.
How will it do that? The same way that the BioWare team put Mass Effect, 2007's space odyssey, on the mainstream map -- realistic looking characters, emotive conversation (with multiple ways to respond), and, we presume, some more controversial "romantic" content, like the alien sex scene in Mass Effect, to keep everyone talking.
"We've called the game a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate II [BioWare's popular role-playing game from the early '00s] ... but more mature, with a little more grit to it; some more blood, cool finishing movies ... that kind of stuff," lead designer Mike Laidlaw says.
Also like Mass Effect, the game will cater to all stripes of gamers, but still have crazy customization and depth for role-playing game traditionalists. As the leader of a four-person party, you have two options on how to manage your crew in battles. Micromanagement control freaks can control every move during combat, or let the game decide your party member's reactions based on their skills, which can then be tweaked if you so desire.
Once the combat begins, though, players won't win with random hacking and slashing. We watched the game's demoer unleash complicated combos to take out a small army of undead -- advanced moves that players will, hopefully, at that point in the game discover on their own. As you discover those new combos, the game will remember them for you so you can access them again later, handy, especially if you've done something by accident and want to repeat it again.
Decisions affect every move you make, and will lead to one of hundreds of different endings for the game. We also saw the decision making affect an army's performance -- convince the local blacksmith to fix the troops' armor and they'll go into battle fully armed. Didn't convince the drunken smithy to do his job? The troops will head to battle in nothing but their ratty tunics and won't last long.
Each member of your four-person traveling party also has a mind on their own -- which make things interesting when trying to lead. The lesson? Choose your group members wisely. Characters who do agree with your decisions can get "inspired" and score stat bonuses; characters who don't agree will be surly, which will affect their performance. Some might leave the group or try to stop you (by killing you), and you can guess how that ends.
We'll see if Dragon Age: Origins has what it takes to appeal both to the die-rolling role-player and the occasional fantasy enthusiast. From the looks of it so far, it's off to a good start.
Reader Comments (0)