dragon age
EA appears hell-bent on competing with Steam using their new Origin store. Between not offering Battlefield 3 on Steam and accepting Steam keys for their games in Orgin they’re taking measures that range from creative to subborn.
The recent removal of Dragon Age 2 from Steam has resulted in fingers being pointed their way as well. EA has previously put the credit for removal of games under their license from Steam with other parties, which may or may not be accurate. In this case, there’s no direct evidence linking EA to this move, so any accusations are purely speculatory at this time.
As a side note, I’d like to point out that Origin is EA’s fourth attempt at an online digitial distribution store. I don’t have any information as to why they scrapped the last three, but I’d keep that turnover in mind when doing business. So far, almost everything I’ve bought since their first store launched is still available for download so there doesn’t seem to be much risk of losing your investments buying from them.
Dragon Age: Origins won game of the year here on e-AAGH.net in 2009, so I was really looking forward to the sequel. I played the demo like most everyone else, and was impressed. However, a demo does not a game make. Did Bioware blow their budget on the demo, or is there more fun to be found within the walls of Kirkwall?
When I say, within the walls of Kirkwall, I’m not kidding. After the introductory escape sequence, almost the whole game takes place inside the city. There’s the occasional foray into the wilderness but by and large your tale is an urban one. That winds up being a double edge sword – on one hand, it’s the same locations over and over, while on the other you develop a familiarity and comfort level with the surroundings, and they almost feel like home after awhile.
Dragon Age 2 continues to impress, so here’s my latest preview.
My expedition into the Deep Roads was a blast. I spent so long getting ready for it that I was afraid it would disappoint but it didn’t. The action was frenetic in some of the battles and the story was strong.