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E3 08: Dragon Age: Origins demo footage photo

We have some footage showing off Bioware’s newest fantasy role-playing game, Dragon Age: Origins, after the jump. The game is being lauded as the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, which is certainly one way to set some high expectations.

Dragon Age is looking good so far, but also doesn’t seem to particularly stand out. That’ll probably change once we see and hear some more about it, though. It is being developed by Bioware, after all.

Just as an aside, but one thing I found interesting was how Bioware president Dr. Greg Zeschuk said that they were trying to get away from Dungeons and Dragons (and yes, I know he was talking about the game not being set in Abeir-Toril) yet, what they show of the tactical, frequently-paused for planning combat, makes it appear to be incredibly close to a standard pen and paper D&D encounter. Heck, Dragon Age even has a four person party, which is the recommended size for a D&D party.

I may not exactly be on the hype train right now, but I’m sure I’ll end up getting more and more excited for the game as time goes on. Dragon Age: Origins isn’t coming out until sometime in 2009, so Bioware still has plenty of time to woo me with the game’s (hopefully) exciting features. How do you feel about it so far? Do you think Bioware has another guaranteed hit on their hands, or is the (apparently) generic fantasy setting not really grabbing you?








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27 comments | showing # 1 to 27
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Gyrael's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 22:27
Gyrael
Looks pretty interesting.
0bshaky's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 22:35
0bshaky
Do want!!

on my Crotch.
Cheezeitz's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 22:36
Cheezeitz
Looks pretty good. It does look pretty good so far.
Josh Tolentino's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 23:03
Josh Tolentino
It's Bioware, that's almost as much a hit-guarantee as being from Blizzard in Korea.

That said, I hope that:
1. It doesn't include DRM as bad as even the neutered version that was included in Mass Effect PC.

2. It includes a plot deeper than the usual stuff Bioware has put out. Mass Effect made some progress on that front, but nothing I've seen has yet equaled the depth present in Fallout, Torment or even NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer.
mistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 23:15
mistic
I love Bioware RPG's so there's a good chance I'll like this :-D
Blommen's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 23:19
Blommen
Baldurs Gate 2 is my favorite game of all time so I have high expectations for this one!
ohhai's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 23:26
ohhai
See Bethesda? you CAN do isometric view in 2008. Fallout 3 should look like this...
GuitarAtomik's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/16/2008 23:37
GuitarAtomik
A little generic but still looks pretty fun. Like a Lord of the Rings version of KOTOR.

@ohhai

No. It's fine as it is.
ThePope's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 00:16
ThePope
Man I wish they would just hurry up and announce KOTOR already!
RJG's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 01:25
RJG
Not to nit-pick, but...Baulder's Gate? With a U?

Baldur, my friend. Baldur. As in the god, Baldur, who...did stuff. Can't remember what he was the god of, but I'm pretty sure it involved either kicking ass or scoring chicks.

Other than that, holy crap, DO WANT!
ohhai's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 01:36
ohhai
@ guitar atomik
It's looking like a game that Neverwinter Nights was meant to be, not too much in common with KOTOR here, and no, Beth's Fallout is not fine. Far from it.
kawitchate's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 03:39
kawitchate
after KOTOR and Mass Effect, i've sort of become a BioWare fanboy, so, yeah, i'll be playing this.
ultrapeanut's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 03:41
ultrapeanut
This is probably the top game on my "I need more info NOW" list. I was fine with not knowing anything when it looked like vaporware, but now that they're actually talking about it I feel obliged to snap up every morsel of information possible.
MultiJoe's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 03:45
MultiJoe
@ OP

By 'getting away from Dungeons and Dragons' they meant themeatically. Obviously they wouldn't create a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate that was different in every way, but they've gone on record saying it's going to be a low magic world, 'inspired' by George R R Martin's Song of Fire and Ice, amongst other things.

I'm neutral on it right now, Forgotten Realms is a tad on the cliche side sometimes, but as it's a published campaign setting, it's got more backstory and lore and better backstory and lore than pretty much any other fantasy series. Still, Mass Effect was fairly well fleshed out, maybe Bioware can pull it off again.
emorymdotcom's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 04:05
emorymdotcom
I dislike how many games have subtitles these days. Is this Origins so we don't confuse it with Bioware's other Dragon Age games, of which there are none? Is it hinting that this is just the origin story and will therefore set up the main hero/villain without coming to a final conclusion? And why distance themselves from D&D, those Baldur's Gate games were the greatest... I just don't understand a lot of the moves they make - do they not like their fans' money?
Harkonnen's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 04:25
Harkonnen
Baulder's Gate FTW!

Also, what I have seen so far of the combat system looks exactly like the combat system in the aforementioned Baulder's Gate, and its successor Baulder's Gate II: Shadows of Man. Also, Baulder's Gate: Tales of the Sward Roast and Baulder's Gate II: Mon of Tikal. Certainly not an innovation, but I love it and am certainly happy to get it back, at last.
atheistium's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 04:50
atheistium
Looks pretty awesome!
Snidesworth's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 04:56
Snidesworth
I registered here just so I could tell everyone how excited I am!

The initial trailer was terrible, but once this one and the screenshots showed up I was reassured. I've been waiting years for something like this and I'm damn glad to see it. Until it's released, though, I'll be giving Baldur's Gate 2 another playthrough.
Solivagant's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 05:22
Solivagant
The demo footage successfully changed my mind. After the poor Mass Effect (poor in terms of roleplaying, I'm pretty sure it's very "kickass" to play a soldier in the future with crazy powers, but too bad that was the only way to roleplay him), Bioware's long in development Dragon Age seems to be the compensation for all these years of wait.

PC roleplayers will finally get another game worth playing since The Witcher and NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer last year.

I'll also add that it's good to know isometric top down view is pretty much alive and kicking, good to have Bioware bring it back again, unlike the "oh-so-awful" poor shooter that Bethesda have planned.
ZilorZilhaust's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 06:52
ZilorZilhaust
t's Bioware so I have all faith it will be good. But I figured they would announce something outside of "Here's an RPG!" because that's all it is. They didn't show off anything unique or special about it, very dissapointing in the moment, but it wont matter in the long run.

I am very glad though to see that the isometric camera choice is in, since it's the bees knees for this kind of game.
Demtor's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 07:45
Demtor
I can't wait for a good PC RPG single player experience again. Everything these days is either shit (The Witcher was SHIT) or its an MMO. Thank the gaming gods for Bioware getting back to their roots. This is fantastic! (note to self: need to get a hold of NWN2)
Maurice Tan's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 08:06
Maurice Tan
YES PLEASE!
Arttemis's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 08:24
Arttemis
Is anyone else fearful that the early release date is the result of EA's influence?
I'd much rather wait for a fully polished game than have one rushed out any earlier than they would have prior to the assimilati... I mean "merger" or "acquisition".
The subtitle "Origins" also has questionable aspects...

I have yet to play the PC version of Mass Effect, though I'm positive I'd prefer it because of the UI, teammate, and loading improvements.
That port doesn't, however, address the slightly lacking size compared to the sheer amount of space to explore as found in their earlier RPGs like Baldur's Gate.

Will this game have a similar scope, or will it be more like my favorite RPG series of all time and this game's inspiration?
Harkonnen's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 10:40
Harkonnen
@Arttemis: What do you mean rushed out? I believe this was announced in 2004's E3, 5 years ago! So, I say it *should* be polished (they had time enough for it at least).
Harkonnen's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 10:41
Harkonnen
As a side note, 8-4=4, and I=fail.
Misanthrope's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 10:56
Misanthrope
Hey if you have a party and can pause the action, Bioware will probably include his trademark dialog of "I am noble and good, have some flowers" "I am the evil so choke on it and die HA HA HA" and "Oh lets forget all this and have teh romance!" options like always.

And like always it will acclaimed as great "storytelling" with "character progression" and "choice". In short it looks to be KOTOR but with dragons, not a spiritual successor of Baldur's gate.

Show me 200+ hours of gameplay and I might buy it, otherwise pass.
Justin Villasenor's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/17/2008 11:20
Justin Villasenor
@RJG

I blame that mishap on my state of mind. I was really tired when I wrote this last night. >.>
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