DA:O is awesome. If you wait for a sale, Amazon usually has it and DA2 for 11.99, the first DA:O and Awakenings for 9.99.

DA2 isn't half as bad as people say it is. There was just so much hype about it. I know lots of guys who loved DA2. It's not nearly as good as DA:O, though.

Also, you can have some save files ready for when DA3 comes out in a year or two!

Well gameplay is most important, so... I dunno. I even liked the combat on some level, on hard it's still generally tactical, but it was obviously rushed with the waves and all and a lot of people hated the fast animations and associated them with hack n' slash gameplay.

On the other fronts it is very pretty in my opinion, though if you hate color and style like a lot of RPG die-hards seem to then you won't like it. Simon laid out the story positives pretty well... using mages as an allegory for powerful minorities was a stroke of genius, though they do let it fall apart a bit at the end (at least on a pro-mage playthrough).

A bit? The game falls completely apart in the finale, relying on forced contrivances and all around character stupidity to tell its story. Not to mention that your choice of who you support is completely irrelevant.

I hated DA: O on the gameplay perspective. I'm only ever so slightly into party-based tactical games, because when I want a party-based tactical game, I play X-COM, UFO, JA or something like that. So yeah, as far as I'm concerned, if it's not as tactical: Good riddance.

I liked both DA and DA2. But yes you can easily ignore the second game if you want.

This is my real complaint about the game. Mostly I like it--I don't recall "forced contrivances and all around character stupidity"--but it was very frustrating to realize that I wasn't actually going to be able to make a difference in how the story turns out. If they continue with the mage/templar story in DA3, I'm hoping to be able to act much more meaningfully and decisively (Crush the templars! Viva la revolution!).

Well, they couldn't have too much diversity in the endings. They had a sequel to plan, after all. -___-


Spoilers!



What I mean by contrivances and stupidity is 1.) Anders going full retard on you and blowing up the very people who might have helped him over time in a hamfisted reference to 9/11. That triggers the whole thing, so we're off to a bad start. 2) the game completely undermines Meredith and what she stands for by the convenient revelation that she's been driven mad by the macguffin we found and lost 30 hours ago -_-; 3.) Orsino and his awesomely stupid decision to become a Harbinger or whatever it's called, no matter what. Plus the also convenient revelation that he's partially to blame for your mom's death. Which in itself was dumb and just a desperate to make him relevant somehow, since Orsino didn't really have any defining characteristics.






Spoilers end

I hate DA:O.

Companions are okay, the introduction levels are really good, but the setting is terrible, though. The story isn't interesting enough and the environment is just plain dull. And there is the Fate. Well, the Fate is an attempt of a mystic plane, with something of a supernatural vibe. It fails so badly, it's one of the worst gaming experiences out there. Trust me.

And then, there is a bloodsplash mechanic that jsut drives me crazy. During combat, you get covered in blood, all over you. But the characters don't react at all. It's just a silly texture mechanic that gets even more silly when a dialogue starts after a fight: the generic dialogue-face covered in blood - over their frakking eyes- and they do nothing about it.

Also, there is the dialogue. It's that generic okay fantasy, but they give you options regarding subjects you know nothing about. It's stupid, my character knows more than me!

By the way, there are loadscreens everywhere! The environments are too small.

Well, these are my 2 cents.

SPOILERS

I think that from a pragmatic standpoint, Anders' plan had a lot going for it; he wanted a full-out revolution, and he got one. He thought that as long as it was possible, Orsino would compromise away the freedoms he wanted, and he was completely right; the first thing he does after the explosion is tell Meredith that she can do anything she wants, search the tower and whatever, as long as she doesn't kill them. Since Orsino and the other mages weren't willing to stand up to Meredith, Anders created a situation where a peaceful resolution wasn't possible--they would fight like he wanted them to, or they'd be slaughtered. Their was no indication that the Chantry was ever going to come around ... all "Well I'm sorry you're suffering, really I am, but our religion says what our religion says."*

I didn't get the Orsino stuff with your mother, since I sided with the mages. I agree that he was a nonentity. When I think about it, I realize that what the game really needed to do was give him more face time, then have either him or Meredith as the last boss, depending on who you support; having to fight them both comes back to your (and my) complaint about it not mattering who you support.

*I think we were supposed to view the Chantry mother as some sort of saint, but I can't say I liked her very much.

SPOILERS




I especially hated the fact that Anders goes through with it no matter what. I HATED the fact that under no circumstances whatsoever, no matter how he felt about you, he still wouldn't tell you what he was planning. Imagine the roleplaying possibilities if you could get in on the whole thing! The potential to involve you and your character in the story. And it was all wasted, IMHO. But, well, that is a problem I have with the game in general. It never managed to make me feel involved. I was never more than a spectator, and all the useless drama just didn't interest me AT ALL. Which is a problem I have with Bioware's games in general.


You can find a note that proves that Orsino was an accomplice of the guy who murdered your mother by teaching him how to perform his necromantic rituals. Which was another thing I hated in that game. Liandra served no more purpose at that point, so she was removed by Jack the Necromancer for a cheap shock moment. -_-



Spoilers End

I'm not alone, thank you! Well 'hate' would be a strong word, it's more of that I hate myself for disliking it because it was a present from my wife, but ... Eh, just can't get myself to play another story about saving the 'generic fantasy world.'

Yeah, I feel pretty much the same as you. Except for the fact that it cost $40 from my own pocket. Therefore, "hate" isn't that strong word.

Dragon Age is a damn fine game if not really difficult.

Actually, I liked that. It showed that circumstances sometimes are more powerful than you damn big hero. You can make a lot of decisions and change alot of outcomes, but only for individual people. A lesson of humility for the power gamers of today.

The ending was ham fisted, but it was better than your 'look you saved all. again' endings Bioware usually goes with.