Lead designer Mike Laidlaw walked us through the demo level, which was purposefully difficult -- we couldn't just breeze our way through it! According to BioWare's PR coordinator Erik Einsiedel, the sample represented "one of the most difficult fights in the game," and considering our inexperience with the title, it was a bit like dropping us into the middle of the Olympics with no training and saying, "See you on the podium!" Find out what we thought about the challenge after break, where you can check out the (NSFW!) new trailer, as well.
Laidlaw wanted this new demo to show off "kicking some demon ass." We were shown a level inside the Mage Tower, which is a massive stone stronghold that's been corrupted by the evil Uldred, who's creeped out the place with vines of red goo that fester throughout the environment. Uldred's on the upper level with some captive mages being held in place with handy bonds of ethereal force, and he's transmogrifying them one by one into nasty minions of evil. "Abominations," if you will.
We chose: "I think I'll just kill you now, if that's all right with you." |
At this point, Uldred morphed into his "true form," a big, nasty, demon, and the creatures he'd been summoning attacked us as frontline fodder. Once we were softened up, Uldred proceeded to kick our butt all over the place. We died three times before conceding defeat. (We ignored some key advice from one of our party members to use the Litany of Andrala, a magic item found on one of the mages turned against us.)
We played with a full party of five four (we can't count while getting mauled, apparently), although it remains unconfirmed if you'll begin the game that way. You can select which member you're controlling by clicking on a corresponding portrait, all of which are lined up vertically on the left side of the screen. Each character has a different set of abilities that line the bottom of the screen, World of Warcraft-style, and you'll get tooltips about what each does if you hover over them. You steer your character with the standard WASD keyboard layout, while rolling the mouse wheel zooms your view in and out, which includes a Baldur's Gate-esque view -- "quite deliberate," according to Laidlaw.
Uldred continued to corrupt more mages while we fought him and, ideally, we needed to cast plenty of magic to hinder him. This tactic requires the use of a combo spell, called Storm of the Century, along with the aforementioned Litany of Andrala. Spells can interact with each other to create entirely new magicks. Each time you unlock a new spell, it will be inscribed in your "codex," a spellbook you tote around in your inventory.
This innovative gameplay, which includes and mixes countless spells and abilities, works well on PC, but how will it translate to consoles? As is, the bottom of the screen is filled with tiny boxes used to access spells and abilities with the number keys on the keyboard. This keeps the action flowing seamlessly, but seems difficult to reproduce for standard console controllers.
Perhaps the answer lies in pausing the game. Even in the PC version, the spacebar can be pressed to pause at any moment, giving you an opportunity to plan your next move -- or just catch a breather. Still, this "tactic" feels a bit like cheating. We found ourselves pausing a few times during the demo, just to read the tooltips for our various spells and abilities.
Dragon Age: Origins looked exceptionally polished (and much better than the trailer below), especially during the hectic fight, as dozens of spells were cast about the room. (We have to assume the visuals and framerate will take a hit in the port to consoles.) BioWare has an ambitious plan to extend the first adventure with DLC and expand Dragon Age into a full-fledged series, but we need to see what quality of experience the console versions provide before we start getting too excited.
Spells can interact with each other to create entirely new magicks. |
This innovative gameplay, which includes and mixes countless spells and abilities, works well on PC, but how will it translate to consoles? As is, the bottom of the screen is filled with tiny boxes used to access spells and abilities with the number keys on the keyboard. This keeps the action flowing seamlessly, but seems difficult to reproduce for standard console controllers.
Perhaps the answer lies in pausing the game. Even in the PC version, the spacebar can be pressed to pause at any moment, giving you an opportunity to plan your next move -- or just catch a breather. Still, this "tactic" feels a bit like cheating. We found ourselves pausing a few times during the demo, just to read the tooltips for our various spells and abilities.
Dragon Age: Origins looked exceptionally polished (and much better than the trailer below), especially during the hectic fight, as dozens of spells were cast about the room. (We have to assume the visuals and framerate will take a hit in the port to consoles.) BioWare has an ambitious plan to extend the first adventure with DLC and expand Dragon Age into a full-fledged series, but we need to see what quality of experience the console versions provide before we start getting too excited.
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