rss feeds
@gamegrep
Facebook
The second installment in a weekly series examining different methods of storytelling used in video games. This week we are looking at the increasingly popular trend of player choice.
There's been a fair amount of furor over EA's supposedly draconian approach to banning people from EA's Origin service. Ever since March of this year, more and more people are coming forward, complaining about how EA banned them from their games. I spend this rant picking apart their arguments.
Relationships in video games is something that looks good on paper but never really hits home. In so many games a "relationship" with another character is more or less irrelevant to the outcome of the game and serves to do little more than offer a way to have a fade away simulate copulation. What we should be seeing is relationships that actually require real decisions with meaningful consequences.
"Then came Dragon Age: Origins, a game that had not only hot tenting scenes, but also two characters who would swing either way. If you played as a male, and wanted to romance the sultry male elf, Zevran, you could. If you played as a female, and wanted to get it on with the red headed female bard, Leliana, you could."
"Simplification of equipment for companions in DA2 versus having access to all gear for companions in DA:O. This I could really go either way on. It can get tedious to equip all your characters with the latest gear, however not being able to put gear on them at all can be aggravating. And [one person] makes an excellent point; we can no longer unequip everything from our companions and have them chat in their skivvies."
"Being released on March 31, the Dragon Age comic book series by IDW Publishing will be bringing the Dragon Age series to gaming and comic book lovers alike. IDW has already proven themselves with such great titles like 30 Days of Night, Locke & Key, Wormwood and much more. Who will be the minds behind the story in this series? None other than Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston!"
"Gather round dear friends for I shall reveal unto you a secret most extraordinary! For in this late hour I have discovered the secret that has befuddled gamers and fueled countless debates across the wily plains of the internet. I know (hold your breath folks) why PC gaming is on the decline: it’s a pain the ass."
"If you’re a seasoned wizard already adept at slaying dragons with a flick of your staff, or blasting the darkspawn horde to bits with your arcane power, then this column is not for you. But if you’ve yet to dip your toes in the deep and tantalizing pool of magic, grab your wand and start casting, apprentice – the Tower is open and ready for you."
GameZone's Raychul takes a look back at all the DLC add-ons for Dragon Age: Origins and recaps memorable moments of her time spent in Ferelden, and concludes with her impressions on the final piece of DLC that brings the story full circle.
"Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the DLC, I think it was a bit lackluster. Ariane and Finn, your companions for the quest are nowhere near a replacement for any of your original party. I loved the gameplay of Dragon Age but without the character interaction of the main game the experience is significantly lessened. I could have overlooked all of this though, if the final meet up with Morrigan had been at all satisfying. It felt rushed and lacked a fraction of the emotional resonance of her orig..."
Video games are a medium filled with lousy stories, absurd scenarios and otherwise ridiculous plot points. That said, there are also some real gems out there. The sort that rise above the stupidity of their bretheren and prove that yes, gaming can be a real, honest-to-goodness medium for storytelling. Sadly, few can do this perfectly. Even in the best games there are those moments where you just have to sit back and wonder what they were thinking.
This week: Dragon Age: Origins
"Important Places in Denerim:
1. Arl of Redcliffe's Estate
2. Fort Drakon
3. The Pearl
4. Royal Palace
The now capital of Ferelden started out as a small outpost for the Tevinter Imperium. The market district in the northern part of the capital is the one-place-stop for merchants and quest seekers. But don't let your eyes focus on just one spot for too long or one of Denerim's dirtiest citizens will rob you of coin or your life. There is also the estates of both Arl of Redcliffe and D..."
"Video games have multiplayer, anymore that’s almost a given. Multiplayer gives people the chance to go out and pit themselves against other people from around the world or it allows for a collaborative effort to achieve victory. But there are some games that either miss the mark, or totaly skip the online process altogether."
"This is not a list of diabolical villains of gaming. No, it is a list of the unsung pricks in the gaming world. The ones who aren't really evil, just annoying as all hell. Okay, well sometime's they are evil. I'm 90% sure that Toad is nothing but a mushroom headed piece of evil."
"Everyone has that video game they absolutely love. Everyone has that video game that they can play for hours on end. Everyone has that video game character that has won their heart and everyone has that video game character that they absolutely hate..."
"Lately we have seen a renaissance of gaming tie-ins. Tie-ins can include movies, comic books, novels, and even television series. Big publishers like wringing every cent they can from a popular IP, and thankfully this will often bring fans some extra material about the universes that we've fallen in love with. They aren't always done well, but I would argue that there is an increasing movement towards hiring quality writers and artists for these projects, and it has made for some fantastic ti..."
"As we make our way through 2010, what better thing is there to do than to take a look back at the last ten years, browse over the RPGs released during that time and talk about them? Of those RPGs, which were the most notable? Which were the ones that set the scene for the decade and which of those should be forgotten?
No really, does anyone have any better ideas because we're all out of them.
For our purposes, we'll officially declare 1st January 2000 as the opening of this decade. Tech..."
"You’re standing in a dank dungeon, looking for a door that doesn’t exist. The lights flicker, and you hear the raging scream of a distant enemy. Flump, flump – the steps are getting closer. Arming yourself with your favourite weapon, you peer around a corner in the low light and you see him: the Big Daddy. By this time in the game, you have crossed over a mysterious threshold – your brain has mapped itself into the undersea world of Rapture and all you care about is saving your own skin. An i..."
"I think even BioWare would have to admit, though, that the sex scenes depicted in one of their most recent titles, Dragon Age: Origins - in which your character and paramour of choice roll around by the fire with their underwear on - felt a bit awkward and cheesy."
Binge Gamer's James Walker takes The Bulletin's Susan Brinkmann to task for her recent article that claimed that video games are becoming more "anti-religion". Walker addresses falsehoods in Brinkmann's assumptions before looking at how religion is handled in video games. Finally, he chastises the games industry for being too afraid of offending particular groups of people to take the next necessary steps forward in storytelling and game design.
GameDaily gives its own take at which RPG style is superior in the categories of the classic RPG, the MMORPG, the tactical RPG, the action RPG, most emotionally engaging (contains FFVII and Mass Effect spoilers), and the overall winner.
Though you might not agree with everything stated, it is an interesting read on a topic that continues to spur the interest of RPG fans.
"While most PC games are also released for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xboox 360; they normally offer a different experience than their console counterparts. This games offer the ability to modify your gaming experience or play other people's mods. There are also games that are only available for the PC. Here is a guide to five of the PC version's games, ones that stand out from the console ones and ones only for the PC."
"Playstation 3 owners have a few great games to choose from for the holidays even if the majority of games are multi-platform. Choosing one of them for the PS3 console might be dependent of many factors such as what consoles you own and how the game differs from console to console. Here is a list of the top five games that I recommend people to put on their list of either games to ask for or games to give."
"Article Excerpt:
"I can hear what you are saying to yourself right now, and your cheetos are in the second drawer. (Underneath where you keep your silverware.) That's not what you are thinking? Oh. You are questioning my title with outrage and anger. "Why Hamsterfist you are crazy!" There are plenty of great games released this fall, none of which are disappointing. Now who's the lunatic? You, my dear reader are. But the advertisers and game developers thank you for rushing to the defense..."
All Age Gaming's Phong Nguyen bring's us the 17th AAG "The Week That Was". This week he discusses Wii HD, Wii Sports sales, the proposed absent of private chat in Xbox 360 games, PlayTV and more!
"Homosexuality is still a major issue in the video game community, to the point where companies really scratch their heads and run around blind, formulating policies they think might work on paper until another Teresa or Gaywood comes along. What can they really do? If this group isn't angry with them, another one is. In all honesty, social change is probably the only way to guarantee acceptance on the gaming front, but we all know that takes a whole lot of time and tireless efforts by the ..."
![Box shot of Dragon Age: Origins [North America]](http://i.neoseeker.com/boxshots/R2FtZXMvUEMvUm9sZS1QbGF5aW5nL0ZhbnRhc3k=/dragon_age_origins_frontcover_small_VHwxCMLgPsm5boy.jpg)