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Sachys: Due to a few factors, the christmas money I had been given has had to go on other things (such as the household). An offshoot of this has been lack of spending power these last few days, and with it, not being able to bag some of the sale bargains I've wanted.

Now (thanks to my sister) it seems I'll be able to bag something after all, and with a bit of messing around, I can in fact buy something now.

The two games that I currently find my attention returning to are Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition and Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (both currently on a decent discount on steam). Given the fact my spending is limited, they both look to be pretty good value for money, both look like games I'd love to play for varying reasons... but I can only get one of them.

As I know plenty of people on here will have played both, which do you think I should go for and why?

Things to note:
Tend to prefer darker atmospheres in games, i dont own a control pad, I'm open to suggestions in a similar price bracket. I'll update if i think of anything else relevant.

Edit: black magic love counselling available! ;)
If you want another fantasy cliché, with unintuitive awkward sluggish and boring WOW style combat complete with terrible animation, dialogue and writing, go with Dragon Age.

If you want a mature, enthralling action RPG experience with deep intuitive combat as well as many many leveling branches due to it's complexity, go for Dark Souls. The animation is beautiful, the graphics and style are great, and combat system does not rely on cheap gimmick gameplay mechanics which basically means it's no bullshit skilled and tactical play. You have stamina, you have health, you can block and dodge, and you need to figure out what you will equip and level in accordance with these figures. It's not difficult when you realize how predictable enemy attacks are and how easy they are to evade. Don't let the frustration or anticipation throw you off; this is key to mastering this game. Furthermore, this is a GAME, and it doesn't shove exposition or cutscenes down your throat unless you go looking for them.
Post edited December 25, 2013 by JCD-Bionicman
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JCD-Bionicman: If you want another fantasy cliché, with unintuitive awkward sluggish and boring WOW style combat complete with terrible animation, dialogue and writing, go with Dragon Age.
My thoughts exactly, pretty much. I played through Dragon Age, and even though it wasn't exactly shit, it's probably among the five most boring games that I have ever played - a problem exacerbated by the fact that it's longer than a life sentence.

So yeah, good job choosing Dark Souls.
Utterly loving Dark Souls - it's a double-hard bastard at times, and the utter lack of in game guidance at times is confusing, but massively refreshing. No more being babied about the game world, and the flimsy manual doens't even want to help you!

Pleasing purchase!
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Sachys: Utterly loving Dark Souls - it's a double-hard bastard at times, and the utter lack of in game guidance at times is confusing, but massively refreshing. No more being babied about the game world, and the flimsy manual doens't even want to help you!

Pleasing purchase!
Goodness all this hate for Dragon Age: Origins is really making me sad considering it was bioware's recent love letter to PC gaming heck it came with Mod Support.
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scampywiak: DA:O has dreadfully boring combat and zero exploration. Go with Dark Souls.
BORING? I was on my toes battling the High Dragon and the Final boss in golems of Amgarrak.

And Dragon Age was never meant to be a game about exploration.
Post edited December 25, 2013 by Elmofongo
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Elmofongo: Goodness all this hate for Dragon Age: Origins is really making me sad considering it was bioware's recent love letter to PC gaming heck it came with Mod Support.
no hate from me - just didnt make a purchase of it this time around
HEHEH!
Typical, NOW DS hits 80% off! Heheh!
DA:O is like any Bioware's game. If you liked BG and KOTOR, you will probably like DAO too. It's the same formula. Personally, i liked that game ( and bought it, too ).

What i do not recommend, unless is very low priced, is DA2 ( available only on Origin, anyway ).

@Elmofongo the dwarf stories are quite nice and Orzamar is a bit different for that race/origins characters. Those stories are probably some of the best in the game. Because that's not usual black and white from Bioware. If you played, you know what i mean.
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Sachys: Utterly loving Dark Souls - it's a double-hard bastard at times, and the utter lack of in game guidance at times is confusing, but massively refreshing. No more being babied about the game world, and the flimsy manual doens't even want to help you!

Pleasing purchase!
I heard the game is very satisfying because if you survive a battle, you feel very proud of yourself because the game doesn't baby you.
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wolfsrain: DA:O is like any Bioware's game. If you liked BG and KOTOR, you will probably like DAO too. It's the same formula. Personally, i liked that game ( and bought it, too ).
Well, DA: O feels a lot more focused on cobat than the other Bioware titles, and as far as I'm concerned, suffers for it. As I felt the storyline of DA: O was extremely uninspired, disliked the combat and since it seemed that vast majority of the game consists of 'Move to the next room, fight the next group of enemies' ... Eh, let's just say I didn't enjoy the game very much. I feel DA: O stands or falls on its combat, and in my case it was the latter.

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wolfsrain: What i do not recommend, unless is very low priced, is DA2 ( available only on Origin, anyway ).
... DA2, on the other hand, is what I always liked about Bioware. Good storyline and great characters. Combat was forgettable, but I didn't really pay much attention to it anyway so eh, and some environment repetition didn't really help either. At any rate, the story is not the grand topic that DA: O is, but I feel it benefits greatly from that. And that's why I would recommend DA2 over DA: O any day.
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wolfsrain: DA:O is like any Bioware's game. If you liked BG and KOTOR, you will probably like DAO too. It's the same formula. Personally, i liked that game ( and bought it, too ).

What i do not recommend, unless is very low priced, is DA2 ( available only on Origin, anyway ).

@Elmofongo the dwarf stories are quite nice and Orzamar is a bit different for that race/origins characters. Those stories are probably some of the best in the game. Because that's not usual black and white from Bioware. If you played, you know what i mean.
Yeah though I was human in my playthrough the dwarf quest was really grey.

SPOILER
============================================================


Harrowmont looked and acted like a wise and level headed leader, but when he becomes king he did real dickish things, the poor got more poorer, and then he ended up dying of illness. Bhalin despite being in asshole actually made the dwarven kingdom of orzammar flourished despite his tyrannical appearance. And thats if you did not recover the Anvil of the Void. Also if you helped the Chantry in Orzammar the endings said that the authorities forciably shut it down and when the chantry dwarves did a peaceful protest they were killed as insurgants. Word got out of to the main chantry and declared an Exalted March against the dwarves of Orzammar. Its quite sad for the Dwarves :(
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monkeydelarge: I heard the game is very satisfying because if you survive a battle, you feel very proud of yourself because the game doesn't baby you.
Pretty much yeah, but also that you have to employ an amount of strategy to survive -ie maybe drawing a single enemy towards you from a crowd of three so you aren't overrun.
It's a little similar to Risen in that respect (though also utterly different).
I've found satisfaction in both extended sessions and short "grinds" as well.
If you have the cash whislt its on 80% and think it might be your kinda thing (particularly after reading this thread) then i do recommend it as a hard bastard game!
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wolfsrain: DA:O is like any Bioware's game. If you liked BG and KOTOR, you will probably like DAO too. It's the same formula. Personally, i liked that game ( and bought it, too ).

What i do not recommend, unless is very low priced, is DA2 ( available only on Origin, anyway ).

@Elmofongo the dwarf stories are quite nice and Orzamar is a bit different for that race/origins characters. Those stories are probably some of the best in the game. Because that's not usual black and white from Bioware. If you played, you know what i mean.
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Elmofongo: Yeah though I was human in my playthrough the dwarf quest was really grey.

SPOILER
============================================================

Harrowmont looked and acted like a wise and level headed leader, but when he becomes king he did real dickish things, the poor got more poorer, and then he ended up dying of illness. Bhalin despite being in asshole actually made the dwarven kingdom of orzammar flourished despite his tyrannical appearance. And thats if you did not recover the Anvil of the Void. Also if you helped the Chantry in Orzammar the endings said that the authorities forciably shut it down and when the chantry dwarves did a peaceful protest they were killed as insurgants. Word got out of to the main chantry and declared an Exalted March against the dwarves of Orzammar. Its quite sad for the Dwarves :(
You really should try the story from the both dwarves perspectives. The lowborn and the brother/sister. It gets even better. And your motivations have an actual meaning. As a relative will you pursue revenge or allow bygones be bygones?! As a lowborn will you support tradition or change?! None of the other stories have a dramatic change on location ( the mage, the city elf, the wood elf, the noble ) as the dwarven stories. Or impact. I've played a female noble dwarf as my first character, due to my friends challenging me in doing it. I ended up enjoying it. It was the most satisfying story from all of them. At least for me. And after that, i said to myself: what a heck?! Let's go for the second dwarven origin. Best playthroughs in DAO for me.
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Elmofongo: Yeah though I was human in my playthrough the dwarf quest was really grey.

SPOILER
============================================================

Harrowmont looked and acted like a wise and level headed leader, but when he becomes king he did real dickish things, the poor got more poorer, and then he ended up dying of illness. Bhalin despite being in asshole actually made the dwarven kingdom of orzammar flourished despite his tyrannical appearance. And thats if you did not recover the Anvil of the Void. Also if you helped the Chantry in Orzammar the endings said that the authorities forciably shut it down and when the chantry dwarves did a peaceful protest they were killed as insurgants. Word got out of to the main chantry and declared an Exalted March against the dwarves of Orzammar. Its quite sad for the Dwarves :(
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wolfsrain: You really should try the story from the both dwarves perspectives. The lowborn and the brother/sister. It gets even better. And your motivations have an actual meaning. As a relative will you pursue revenge or allow bygones be bygones?! As a lowborn will you support tradition or change?! None of the other stories have a dramatic change on location ( the mage, the city elf, the wood elf, the noble ) as the dwarven stories. Or impact. I've played a female noble dwarf as my first character, due to my friends challenging me in doing it. I ended up enjoying it. It was the most satisfying story from all of them. At least for me. And after that, i said to myself: what a heck?! Let's go for the second dwarven origin. Best playthroughs in DAO for me.
No. But there are differences for every Origin that you play. Even in the Origins themselves. I.E. The City Elf Male/Female has different versions. And every Origin has its point to "change" something. The Mage in the Tower.
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Elmofongo: Goodness all this hate for Dragon Age: Origins is really making me sad considering it was bioware's recent love letter to PC gaming heck it came with Mod Support.
BORING? I was on my toes battling the High Dragon and the Final boss in golems of Amgarrak.

And Dragon Age was never meant to be a game about exploration.
Well that dragon was the hardest fight I had in a RPG since I don't even remember when :)
need to get the ultimate edition some day , have only played the base game if only ea would remove the region lock on steam on the game