Dragon Age: Origins

Spoilers ahead but ah, what the heck. You know you wanna read!

I admit that I have played very few RPGs compared to the more avid gamers but meh, this is not the case here. Dragon Age: Origins is made by Bioware, developers of other great western RPGs of our generation such as the amazing Star Wars: KOTOR I and II, though to a lesser degree for the latter, Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2. Let’s not forget Mass Effect and Jade Empire too. I’m currently in the process of… acquiring Jade Empire. I hope it’s worth the time I have invested.

Anyways, Dragon Age: Phew. I should’ve bought the original copy, really. There’s quite a bit of downloadable content (DLC) that seems really, really interesting that’s way too interesting to fucking pass up on. The game by itself, I’ve completed it twice now. Both times with some rather large differences. I essentially played with the mindset that I’m a good guy out for glory and the betterment of Ferelden. Unlike KOTOR, being good and bad doesn’t set you on a “light path” or a “dark path” but instead it determines the attitude your travelling companions have towards you, the world’s attitude towards you and of course, ultimately what happens in the end and who fights with you in the finale.

My Dalish Elf Rouge with Alistair



Shexy witch Morrigan. Rrrr~

It’s a pity I don’t have a machine at my disposal that can contain this beast. The whole thing is a whopping 15 GB. Jeezus Mother’uckin’ Christ. The graphics are supposed to be amazing from what I can see from the trailers and the such but seeing as I do not currently possess a machine that can handle this thing, I had to lower the graphics greatly but this did not hamper my gameplay experience at all.

This game stands out because it’s one of the most morbid and violent RPGs I have seen. Blood gets spattered all over your ass whenever you kill an enemy, either with a huge swing over the chest with your huge ass zweihander, a good old fashioned decapitation or a delicate yet deadly 1-2 with longsword and dagger. Morbid as in desperate times call for desperate measures and creature that are evil incarnate from everything in the lore as fantasy world comes. Werewolves, zombies, undead, demons, abominations (No, no fresh meat) and of course, the darkspawn, the grunt antagonists, litter the battlefield in this tale of betrayal, lust and violence. No vampires though, just realized that. Would’ve loved if there was a quest involving someone looking like ol’ paleface and then proceed to decapitate his sorry dead ass just to shut those rabid fan girls up.

Romance in this game is pretty tight, much better than KOTOR ‘cause Jedi are supposed to be chaste anyways and Star Wars sex scenes will kill half the geek population anyways. Bioware definitely rewards players who pursue the girl. You get 2 choices, both very hot in their own element. It’s either a witch or a nun. I’m not talking crooked nose, hunchbacked old bitches or nuns covered so much that the ninjas of the Middle East are put to shame. I’m talking like… goddesses here mate.

2 girls only. But pretty tight. Too bad there’s no harem option. There is a harem opportunity though, so I’ve heard. Ah, I’ve got your attention now, have I? Hahahaha… Well, that’s another story that you’ll have to find out.

Characters in the game are insane. Very colourful lives they live or have lived and plunging you into some of their problems are just fun. Splendid voice acting save for one or two fouls during rare occasions.

Pity that Bioware still hasn’t mastered how to make good endings ‘cause ending them with numerous boxes of text just doesn’t cut it. People want cutscenes. FMVs. Come on! Either way, Dragon Age: Origins is a must get. Great character dialogues to keep you entertained for hours, I love Morrigan and Alistair. Their banter. Classic. Wide variety of quests. Interesting characters and dialogue options. Spells, skills that are not only flashy but damn deadly. One of the more interesting parts of this game is that your main character has their own unique background that you can play that has been aptly named “Origins”. You have the choice of playing the Human Noble, Human Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, Elf Mage, Dwarven Commoner and Dwarven Noble storylines that are vastly different from each other and has no common themes with each other except that Duncan recruits you into the Grey Wardens at the end of it. Some pretty softcore sensual shit. Yeap.

Your own Indy Jones and Da Vinci Code experience

Ol’ Spiky’s Rating: 4.5/5 5 means a perfect game. Unfortunately this is not perfect ‘cause Bioware could’ve done better with certain aspects but it’s all to my personal liking, that’s it. Overall, it’s a super solid game. Totally shouldn’t miss out on this. It’s like missing totally on FF7 or FF8 or not knowing what’s 9-11.

My current character - a rogue Mage

I’ve posted this on FB already but I thought I’d share this video again just ‘cause the video is so kickass and the song is awesome. In case you couldn’t catch the words in the bottom left corner, it’s “This Is The New Shit” by Marilyn Manson.



Peace.

P.S: Check your newspapers. Did you notice Sherlock Holmes does not show in Ipoh? Now what is up with that, you tell me.

Turmoil. Again.

Fascinating how the country just loves to tear itself apart at every chance it gets. It’s like a baby with chicken pox. It just won’t stop scratching until it bleeds out of every motherfreakin’ pore and dies.

So yeah, a’ite. Few things I bet most of you have already thought of about the whole matter. What matter? Don’t you read the news?! A’ite, I can’t really use that line ‘cause I don’t either, ‘cause I believe that ignorance is bliss.

But yeah, what else am I talking about? The nuking of these churches!

1st off, I ain’t a fan of either side ‘cause most of you know my stand on religion. Sure it has brought people together for great causes, miracles, possibly responsible for whatever morality that remains in this world and every other good thing these holy scriptures claim that they have given. Still. Nuh uh.

2ndly, and I’m pretty sure this had gone through everyone’s head more than once for the past few days. Why didn’t someone just give in?!

I say both sides are to be blamed. The Herald for even CONSIDERING using the word “Allah” in the Malay editions. Honestly, if you’ve sat in front of the TV in the earlier years of your life, you’d notice during that 3 minutes near dinner that they have a video that is the call to prayer. It even has bleeding translations. Obviously it shows that God is not Allah. I’m not going to elaborate more as I am NOT super familiar with the religion as a whole and do not wish to draw unnecessary negativity to myself. But through this observation, it’s obvious innit?

The people who have nuked these churches. They can’t think 2 steps past their dicks can they? So… I wonder what do they think they’re gonna achieve? That is assuming of course these arsonists are religious zealots or idiots looking for a reason to hurl mollies. They’re not going to give the tarnished image of the Islamic community in the world a better image, that’s one thing for sure. I’m sure on BBC, CNN in another country is showing what’s left of those churches and who’s behind them and why. Yeah, great publicity.

A’ite, truthfully, there’s no love from Ol’ Spiky for either side or the image of Malaysia. What I’m really uh, concerned with is the thought process of the parties involved. It’s just so fascinatingly stupid. And this is totally assuming that there’re no political string-pulling involved.

*sigh*

Not too bright are they now, eh?

I love my country. It gives me good entertainment. It tickles my dark side’s fancy very often.

Peace.

S'up 2010

1st and foremost, despite being a few days late but nonetheless out of courtesy, Happy New Year to you chumps.

A sudden thought. Why do you care about who reads your blog when the way you write does not account for other people's feelings?

Alright, putting that aside.

New year's resolution? Pfft. Please. It's only a source for more self disappointment. Go with the flow. Take things as they come but it never hurts to be slightly prepared for the worst.

My holidays? Well, so far it's just been playing Left 4 Dead 2 with my bro, finally got past The Bridge with ALL SURVIVORS without gunning them down while they're hobbling over while a Tank is approaching the rescue vehicle. Yeah, that's how I play. When that chopper arrives, it's every man for himself.

Hm, what else?

Few friends getting married soon. Some are really happy about it. Overall happiness all round. Some have insufferable relatives. Some... Hahahaha... well, the circumstances are SERIOUSLY dodgy. It's like something right out of a The Bold & The Beautiful episode.

"John, your mum's... a man"

*DUN DUN DUNNN*

*screen fades to black, commercial on*

You get the point.

Crud. Totally forgot the main reason why I wanted to write this post... I downloaded Timbaland and OneRepublic's new album. Totally mediocre. 30 Seconds to Mars as well. Totally mediocre and seriously they are experimenting with different sounds altogether, straying far from their previous album. I never did really like their old hits. It's listenable, but just was never in love with it.

Trying to set up my KL upcoming KL trip... not sure what to do yet. Need to talk with some people 1st... Anyways, I guess that's it.

Peace.