Joystiq

{ Nov 9th 2009 at 10:01AM }

Wii Fit Plus has taken the top spot in the UK during its second week of release, according to Chart Track. The excellent Dragon Age: Origins premiered in fifth place, behind Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort and two football games. No surprises there!

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time premiered at the 22nd spot, which is a weaker debut than we had anticipated for the titular duo's final(ish) outing. It'll likely have a stronger showing in the US, though we'll have to wait for the NPD results to see if it lands in the top ten.

Source -- A fitting No1 [Chart Track]
Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]

{ Nov 7th 2009 at 7:00PM }

The still-fresh PC version of Dragon Age: Origins recently got a huge booster shot in two delicious flavors. The first came in the form of Patch v1.01a, which, in addition to fixing a few character corruption issues and display glitches, makes the game easier as a whole. The second, much beefier improvement came with the release of the Dragon Age: Origins tool set, which allows users to create their own adventures using the game's extremely adaptable (and powerful!) engine.

Check out the tool set's capabilities in the trailer posted above. To acquire these modding tools -- or the difficulty-reducing patch -- check out the links below.

Download Dragon Age: Origins v1.01a Patch (13 MB)
Download the Dragon Age: Origins Toolset (472 MB)
Download the EclipseRay Lightmapper Source Code (6 MB)

{ Nov 4th 2009 at 9:00PM }

In a written response to allegations from Fidgit that Electronic Arts had forced developer BioWare to remove features in Dragon Age: Origins with the intention of selling it as future DLC, BioWare lead systems designer Georg Zoeller says the parent company has "nothing" to do with the decision. At the crux of the argument is the game's launch DLC, Warden's Keep, which gives players a "storage chest" to help expand the in-game inventory, among other additions. Fidgit claims the DLC was pre-planned to "bilk users for more money."

According to Zoeller, Dragon Age originally featured a small storage chest in the game's party camp, but quickly became an issue due to story elements in the game that would change the camp's environment; so the storage area was removed. "We decided that it was not really necessary anyway since the item limitation was rather generous compared to the initial designs at least," Zoeller wrote. Later -- during a brainstorm session -- the team decided to include the chest in premium DLC, which was then made available at launch.

Zoeller claims "storage limitations" were never pinpointed as problems by the game's quality assurance team, because "after all, it was part of the design." While the Bioware designer doesn't have an issue with anger toward the decision, he vehemently denies EA was involved for the sole purpose of getting more money out of players. With the DLC already available across all platforms (560

/ $7, or free to deluxe edition players), it's up to players to make their opinions heard by voting with their wallets.

{ Nov 3rd 2009 at 10:20AM }

Hearing the term "RPG" more than likely brings games such as Tales of Vesperia, Persona or, for some of you, Fallout 3 to mind. Not since the earliest days of this current console generation and a little game called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion have we seen a fantasy role-playing game of this caliber rooted in swords and sorcery you'd find in The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons or even World of Warcraft.

The long wait for a true successor to the fantasy throne ends today with the arrival of Dragon Age: Origins. The latest title from Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic developer BioWare is a testament to the company's mastery of the art of building the worlds, characters and stories that constitute a "classic" -- and that's exactly what this excellent experience is.

Gallery: Dragon Age: Origins

Continued →

{ Oct 31st 2009 at 8:00PM }

The dust from the 24-hour Dragon Age: Origins Warden's Quest tournament has begun to settle, and the sleep-deprived, blood-soaked winner has been declared: The team representing the nation of Hungary. The Hungarians trailed in the rankings until the fourth round of the contest, when they rallied to pass the BioWare Community team (who finished in second place). We guess you could say they were just Hungarier for victory than everyone else.

America, however, must have only been slightly peckish, ending up with a disappointing ninth place (or next-to-last place) finish, and getting eliminated in the third round of the competition. This might be a small blow to our egos, but hey -- at least we're still better at dragon slaying than the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Booyah!

[Via Kotaku]

{ Oct 26th 2009 at 1:50PM }

Hardcore fans of brutally violent role-playing games will soon travel from their homes in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and handful of other nations to compete in the Dragon Age: Origins Warden's Quest tournament. Ten teams of four players from across the globe will be vying for $12,500 in cold, hard cash, and bragging rights for their respective nation. Nuclear weaponry is no longer the world's most valuable asset -- leet video game skillz, however, are.

The teams will be going head-to-head, receiving points based on the amount of experience and kills they've accumulated, as well as how much of the game they've played through. Low-scoring teams will be eliminated, giving the whole event an Olympic games meets Thunderdome meets Nick Arcade feeling that's really working for us.

{ Oct 23rd 2009 at 2:40PM }

Speaking during a live chat on the PlayStation Blog, Bioware's Ray Muzyka announced the latest North American release date for the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon Age: Origins. To be specific, the PS3 version will no longer be the latest in showing up on store shelves. So long, "later in November" and farewell to you, November 17! All three versions -- that's PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 -- of BioWare's "dark heroic fantasy" will hit North America on November 3.

European PS3 owners, however, still need to hang on until "a bit later in November." Don't worry, that brief disappointment will make eventual platform parity feel like something amazing again!

{ Oct 22nd 2009 at 9:00PM }

BioWare fans should start polishing up their Dragon Age: Origins related questions, because the good Canadian doctors from the famed studio will be on hand for a live chat with fans this Friday, October 23, on the PlayStation UK Blog.

Beginning at 7PM BST (2PM EDT), BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck will be on hand taking questions about its latest role-playing game. The hour-long event will give fans a chance to ask about upcoming content, exclusive bonuses and what it's like working with ~~that evil clown from Steven King's It~~ Tim Curry.

{ Oct 22nd 2009 at 6:30PM }

Update: Well, folks, looks like you won't have to wait longer for the PS3 version: Dragon Age: Origins will be available on PS3 day one, November 3.

Original: Bioware is set to unleash Dragon Age: Origins on Xbox 360 and PC on November 3 (November 6 in Europe), but PS3 players will have to wait just a bit longer. EA's David Silverman confirmed to Joystiq at a recent NYC EA event that the PS3 version would release on November 17, which is in line with the "later in November" designation EA submitted when the game was delayed in August. While retailers (see: GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy) have been listing November 17 as the date for the PS3 version, as recent as October 13 -- the date of the latest Dragon Age press release -- EA was sticking with "later in November." As for the game's official website, well, it seems to insist that November 3 is the date for all platforms. Yeah, we don't blame you if you're feeling confused.

Today, Joystiq can officially confirm November 17 as the date for the PS3 version of Dragon Age: Origins. When asked what has caused the minor delay, Silverman told us Bioware "wanted more time to get [the] PS3 [version] to 'Bioware standards.'"

We're not sure what those two weeks will do for the game, but while you're waiting, why not earn yourself some phat loot? Just sayin' ...

{ Oct 22nd 2009 at 10:06AM }

You may have scoffed at the prospect of a flash-based, 2D version of BioWare's upcoming RPG epic, Dragon Age: Origins. "A browser game meant to simulate the deep, immersive emotions that arise when one plays roles," you may have said, mid-scoff. "Who would play something like that?" As it turns out, if you're looking forward to the full, three-dimensional version of Dragon Age, the answer to your query is simply: You.

A short Q&A on the Dragon Age: Journeys developers' blog cultivated an enticing bit of info about the browser adventure: if you play through it while logged into your EA account, you can gain access to three items that will transfer over to your Dragon Age: Origins save file on Xbox 360, PS3 or PC. No details were given about the items in question, but we're imagining they'll either be used to help you slay dragons, or to help you become a more profound lover.

{ Oct 16th 2009 at 8:00PM }

These days, it's not enough that retailers offer pre-order bonuses for upcoming video games. No, nowadays every retailer needs its own specific bonus just so everyone involved can feel more special. Such is the case for Dragon Age: Origins, so we decided to do a little digging and gather up the various bonuses that will be available from different retailers. All the retailers below -- apart from Amazon, for some reason -- are offering the Memory Ring in-game item, which adds 1 percent to XP growth and also bestows players with an additional skill point. Several retailers also have an exclusive in-game item, though Impulse is only offering the Memory Ring. The store-exclusive bonuses are:

GameStop: Feral Wolf Charm - Gives bonuses to armor and health regeneration
Amazon: Lion's Paw Boots - "Adds to armor, dodge, and evading missiles." Amazon is also offering a $10 gift card for pre-ordering the standard edition
Steam: The Wicked Oath - A ring, adds 10% to critical strike damage, improves armor penetration by 2 and adds +1 to combat stamina regeneration

The bonuses apply to the Collector's and Digital Deluxe editions in most cases too, but be sure to check before placing any orders. We're trying to find out if Amazon will be offering the Memory Ring as well, and will update this post as soon as we find out.

{ Oct 15th 2009 at 6:30PM }

BioWare and EA 2D, a web game team at Electronic Arts, have announced their collaboration on Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Roads, a browser-based tactical RPG set in the world of Dragon Age: Origins. Early details on the planned three-chapter game are laid out on BioWare's blog, along with a roster of the indie Flash devs contributing to the project. Development is being led by Daniel Stradwick, creator of the web-based strategy RPG The Monster's Den.

According to EA 2D, "The Deep Roads features character classes, talent trees, sound effects, music and user interface taken directly from Dragon Age: Origins," and that it's getting "invaluable feedback and insight on the game from members of the Dragon Age team, including Drs. Ray [Muzyka] and Greg Zeschuk]." The confines of a browser seems like an odd place to play a game from a maker of epic RPGs like BioWare but, then again, the studio recently released an iPhone title -- so we're thinking any platform's fair game. Next up: Dragon Age for graphing calculators.

[Via VideoGamer.com]

{ Oct 14th 2009 at 8:00AM }

We're not sure how totally into Dragon Age: Origins you have to be to create a character for the game three weeks before you can do anything with it, but lube up your eyeballs and prepare to get your stare on; the character creator we told you about earlier this month has just gone live. (You can grab it from Big Download here).

If you'd prefer to be a bit more constructive with your Dragon Age: Origins lust, you can check out the BioWare Social Network, which also launched today. The site's the perfect forum to participate in the time-honored internet ritual of telling other people that their character builds are useless, only three weeks before the game's even out! God bless you, technology.

Both the character creator and the BWSN can be found on the official Dragon Age site.

{ Oct 13th 2009 at 9:27AM }

{ Oct 12th 2009 at 4:30PM }

If there is one thing we have learned about the world of Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins, it's that it is a bloody, brutal and often disgusting place. While things might appear serene and even peaceful at the beginning of the launch trailer -- a CG-only affair entitled "Sacred Ashes" -- things get very hairy, very quickly. From grisly sword fights to man-eating spiders to exploding dudes, there's enough mayhem to slake the deepest of bloodthirsts. We're talking Tarantino here. Enjoy.