It’s been awhile since I’ve played a really engaging RPG.  Dragon Age: Origins tells a great story with the benefit of great graphics and decent game mechanics. And it’s long, and by long I mean I spent the better part of the Day and well into the night just getting through 2 of the “preliminary” quests (Origin and Warden), and 2+ of the “Main” quests (the Circle, Defend against zombies, and about half of the possession quest).

I also like the voice acting and the banter back and forth between my hirelings.  I wish  my character was voiced more often, however (at least in cut scenes would be nice).   And of course, being an alt-o-holic, I wanted to see more origin stories, so I now have at least one of each race and each career.  To be honest, I think I like my rogue the best, which kind of surprised me since I’m usually some kind of caster.  My mage is my second favorite, so I’m sure I’ll play that character all the way through as well – and he was my first creation, so I kind of feel like I have duty to get him through the game.

If you liked Dungeon Siege, you’ll probably really like Dragon Age.  The two seem somewhat similar, I’d say Dragon Age is a kind of cross between Dungeon Siege and NWN.  The hardest part is selecting who you want in your rather small party.  I wish it were more like Dungeon Siege, where as you progress you can add members to your party, but alas in DAO you’re limited to a 4-person party at all times.

[SPOILER ALERT] it’s a small spoiler to me, but some might see it as large (?)

Anyways, I’ve got my rogue heading for his turn at The Circle quest, and he also has Shale, which my mage did not have at the time.  So my party consists of me (rogue), Shale (DPS/Tank), Wynn (healer/Mage DPS), and Morrigan (DPS Mage).  I kind of miss the banter with Alistair though, so I may swap him back in at some point, probably removing Wynn, but she’s such a good healer I hate to lose her, and I’d hate to gimp Morrigan by training her up in healing. Hmmm.  If you’re playing Dragon Age, what party members do you seem to use consistently?

In other news, since the acquisition of DAO, my NaNoWriMo task has taken quite a beating.  I’m hoping to make up my word deficit this Wed, since I’m one of the “lucky ones” that’s actually gets Veteran’s Day off as a holiday.  I’m only a couple thousand words behind, so I should be able to make that up with the upcoming extra day off from work.  Either that, or I’ll get sucked back into Dragon Age again – OY!  I hope your week goes well, and do something fun! Enjoy!