I should preface this article by saying that I am a huge BioWare fan and have enjoyed all of their role-playing games since Baldur’s Gate. I eagerly anticipate each new offering and have high expectations for their work.
DA:O has consumed the bulk of my free time since its release a couple of weeks ago. I’m a bit of an alt-whore and a perfectionist and tend to savor games instead of rushing through them. So, even though I have logged about 40 hours on this game, I still have yet to complete it. Instead, I have started multiple campaigns and explored almost all of the Origins (unique introductions for each character type that are much more involved than a simple tutorial). I have finished Ostagar and Lothering many times, as well as the Warden’s Keep DLC and The Circle of Magi. Overall, I’ve been impressed with this latest effort from BioWare. The polish of the game – graphics, voice acting, cutscenes, storytelling & dialogue – is noticeable. But rather than write about its many virtues – which can be read about in any review from your favorite video game site, I’m going to focus on a few controverial issues (in no particular order) with the game design:
Predetermined Skills, Spells, & Talents for PC – Every new character has two starting Skills, and one starting Spell or Talent determined for them. This is based on the character’s race (human, elf, dwarf), origin (background), and class (warrior, rogue, mage). For instance, a human warrior starts the game with one of the abilities from the Weapon and Shield tree. This makes sense from a lore perspective. However, if you the player have a character concept for a human, dual-wielding warrior, then you are forced to make a tough choice: either be an elf – since they start with an ability from the Dual Weapon tree, or waste an ability point on something you will never use (Shield Bash). In the grand scheme of things, one ability point is trivial since you will receive over 20 by the time the game is finished. But for the powergamer or perfectionist, this can be a tough pill to swallow and has been a point of frustration for many.
- Being in the perfectionist camp myself, I was having a hard time enjoying the game. I didn’t like being forced to be an elf for my dual-wielding warrior and hated that mages start with Combat Tactics (a completely useless Skill if you plan on micromanaging combat). You receive far fewer Skill points (about 10 for a Warrior/Mage and 15 for a Rogue by end game) than Spells & Talents, and losing one was the issue that pushed me to seek a workaround. Luckily for PC users, it is a fairly easy fix with the developer’s console. Sorry console gamers – you are out of luck.
Skills, Spells, & Talents for Companions - This issue is similar to the first one. The various companion characters that will join you throughout the game have all of their Skills, Spells, and Talents chosen for them. And, unfortunately they seem to be designed in a random, haphazard, inefficient way with very little specialization and a bunch of wasted points. This issue is exacerbated by the level at which the companion joins you. *Minor spoiler* Before discovering the developer’s console, I found myself skipping content in order to get Morrigan when I was as low level as possible so that less points would be wasted. I then proceeded straight to the Circle of Magi quests for Wynne. */Minor spoiler*
- With the console commands, this is no longer a problem for me. I can now tailor my party in a way that suits my particular playstyle and am in no rush to have any particular companion join me. This allows me to enjoy the game much more as I hate when I am forced to choose between skipping content or negatively impacting my game. (Thus my issue with Morrowind and Oblivion –> I couldn’t run, haggle, or talk to anyone for fear of raising the wrong skill and gimping my character…)
Mages are (too) Powerful - There have been some forum posts concerned about class balance with mages generally being considered somewhere between a little overpowered and vastly overpowered. My personal experience is that mages are more versatile than the other classes and lead to an easier game.
- I am fine with this and I’d like to remind any forum trolls screaming about how the devs need to nerf mages now that this is a single player game. There is no competition for spots in a party, loot, etc. Any problems a perceived imbalance cause exist purely in the player’s head and there are many options to correct these “problems” without requiring any coding. For instance, one can easily adjust the difficulty based on their planned hero, companions, and preferred level of micro.
Battle Tactics that Break Immersion – There are a couple of effective battle strategies that break the game experience for me.
- The first one is that you can attack enemies from max range. That enemy will respond. However, it is rare that other enemies around them will also react. This allows you to slowly eliminate the opposition one to two enemies at a time. Conversation between Orcs.. I mean Darkspawn: “Grog is gettin’ shooted by dat fire… Waddya wanna do?” asks the first. “…F*ck ‘im… I never likez Grog,” replies the other.
- Second, in the overhead view, mages do not require line of sight for their area affect spells. (I.e. there are no ceilings.) This can make for some goofy battle tactics that break immersion a bit. Such as having Alistair open a door while my mages incinerate everything in that room from a separate, unconnected, and completely safe location. Or, better yet – simply blast everything in an unknown room without bothering to open the door.
- I believe these two issues are key reasons why mages are more powerful.
Linear Story - Although there is some choice over which objective to pursue next, DA:O is very much a linear adventure game. This can be a letdown for fans of open world games like Fallout 3, Oblivion, or virtually any MMO. To me, the design of DA:O has all of the positives and negatives of a good, old fashioned, dungeon crawl. It is a fast, exciting, game of continuous action. You’re never stuck wondering what to do next or if something was missed. However, you also never get to experience the thrill of discovering a new area or the simple joy of wandering around exploring. The fast travel system impacts game immersion and you don’t get a sense of how vast Ferelden is.
- Personally, I would have liked all of the areas to remain as they are, but the world itself to exist as a tangible entity. You would have to navigate your characters to each location the first time. (Although fast travel would be a viable option after that initial visit.)
That’s all that comes to mind. Really quite a small list when you think about it. There have also been a few bugs discovered that will be addressed. But nothing game breaking that I am aware of. Okay, that’s enough typing for now. Time to get back to playing!
