Introducing Dragon Age

Curse was recently invited to Edmonton to visit the Bioware offices and play their upcoming title Dragon Age: Origins.  

Dragon Age is the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, and the intensity from that game is carried over and amplified in the new title. You play a Grey Warden, one of the last members of an ancient order that has guarded the world from the Blight for centuries. The world is, as most worlds are, plagued not only by the horrific terror that is the blight but also by political strife, poverty, and injustice. Few remember the greatness or the purpose of the Grey Wardens, and many are too busy with their own lust for greed and power to care.

This is a game that really delivers on it's promise. You will be immersed, you will feel remorse, you will feel regret, you will revel in your marvel as you make decisions that shape the world around you. If you've missed the emotional attachment that you've felt in only the best of games then don't go another day without looking into Dragon Age. 

At the beginning of the game you're able to choose how your character begins life in the new world. The choices you make early on are going to reflect how your character is treated and accepted later in the game. A few examples include a poverty stricken Elf, or a Dwarf from a noble house. The story starts in a completely unique way depending upon how you make your character, and the decisions begin compounding from that point on.

The Blight is the enemy that the main storyline focuses on. Early on in the game you have your first encounter with the Blight. You're helping the King, and the leader of the Grey Wardens, when a trusted general of the King pulls back his reinforcements and leaves everyone to die. During the course of the game hunting down and killing this traitor is part of the storyline, but you also need to unite the nations and gather a massive army to help defend against the Blight, as it's apparent anything less than a solid unified front will mean death for every living person.

In Dragon Age you're able to gather a party, play each member of the party during combat situations, and use their skills. Each character that will react in a different way to the environment around them, and will assist you in battle or give you their opinions when you're faced with a choice. Characters are unique in Dragon Age in the fact that they each have their own moral compass. Choosing to abandon a helpless child might earn you points with some of the members of your party, but severely diminish other members' feelings towards you as a leader. During the gameplay and demo it became apparent that if you made a decision that was so out of the norm for the moral compass of one of your party members they might even attempt to KILL YOU.

You can also use the very helpful system that is built into the game that will allow you to set general rules and guidelines for characters in your party to follow even when you're not controlling them. They can be INCREDIBLY in-depth for the master tacticians or very simple for players who want to allow the game to pick the best options. Everything is easily handled via a check box system that only takes a few minutes to learn and can provide you with an incredible advantage in some of the more vicious battles in the game. This gives players an excellent amount of control over the members in their party, even when they're not playing them.

The content for Dragon Age is incredibly vast, the game is said to have over 80 hours of gameplay, but with the number of choices and different paths that those choices lead you it can grow exponentially. During the brief demo we were able to observe several players playing the same game, and the most unique thing about Dragon Age is you couldn't tell they were playing the same game, the various decisions and choices a player makes actually impacts how events unfold and will give each player a unique experience. A specific example would be a mother begging you to help her son who's possessed by a demon. The apparent options for the game we were playing were:

A. Kill the boy
B. Sacrifice the mother in a ritual that would allow us to fight the demon and save the boy
C. Leave

After sacrificing the mother and saving the boy one of the game developers told us that there was, indeed, another option that would have saved both the mother and the son! Our actions specifically lead to the death of a character in the game, and depending upon how we go there certain choices are made available to us. This level of choice is unlike anything in any game to date.

Bioware is going to continue to support Dragon Age with over 2 years of post launch content that will be seamlessly and easily integrated into the storyline you've chosen and the world that the player lives in. They also plan to support the community with development tools and sharing capabilities that will allow players to quickly and easily create and share content.

Here's a look at the origin stories:

Curse received a press release today from EA and Bioware about the voice talent added to their upcoming RPG Dragon Age: Origins. Tim Curry, he of Rocky Horror fame (and countless other films) and Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager) will be lending their talent to making the game a success.

Looking at the cast so far, it looks like it's going to be interesting to see how the various folks contribute to adding to the atmosphere of the game. Check out the full press release below:

BIOWARE’S DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS TO FEATURE THE VOICES OF FANTASY AND SCI-FI STARS TIM CURRY AND KATE MULGREW

Award-Winning Celebrities Featured in BioWare’s Dark Fantasy Epic                                      

EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA – August 27, 2009 – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) has secured a star-studded voiceover cast for its upcoming blockbuster game, Dragon Age™: Origins.  Featuring Tim Curry, star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Broadway’s Spamalot, as well as Kate Mulgrew, well-known for her role as Capt. Kathryn Janeway in “Star Trek: Voyager”, Dragon Age: Origins also includes notable cast members Tim Russ (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Samantha Who?”), Claudia Black (“Stargate SG-1,” “Pitch Black”) andSteve Valentine (“Estate of Panic,” “Crossing Jordan”).  Dragon Age: Origins marks BioWare’s return to fantasy, created from the ground up to take players through a dark epic tale filled with violence, lust, and betrayal. 

Tim Curry will play the villainous Arl Rendon Howe.  Howe is the calculating villain, cultured and charming, with an insatiable lust for power who never hesitates to harm anyone who gets in his way.  Kate Mulgrew will lend her vocal flair to Flemeth, a powerful witch who maintains her immortality through the darkest of means, and who plays a pivotal role in the player’s survival.  Both roles provide the actors with the opportunity to bring their considerable talents to bear in their portrayal of these characters.

“Dragon Age: Origins has the largest cast of characters of any game BioWare has ever made,” said Mark Darrah, Executive Producer, BioWare.  “By working with an incredibly talented cast of actors we are able to bring reality and depth to the characters, their back stories, motivations, and dreams that our talented writers have created for them.”

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take on the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians who have served as protectors throughout the centuries.  Only they have the power to unite the shattered lands, defeat the Archdemon and drive back the darkspawn that threaten to destroy the world.  Players will interact with many interesting characters who may join them in their quest, and they will choose whether these characters become friends, foes, or even a romantic interest.  Featuring a deep and compelling story where every choice can have a dramatic impact on the game, Dragon Age: Origins is scheduled to release on November 3, 2009 in North America, for the PC and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and later in November for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Dragon Age: Origins is rated M by the ESRB.  For more information about Dragon Age: Origins, visitwww.dragonage.com.  Pre-order the game now at www.eastore.ea.com. 

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About BioWare

BioWare develops computer, console, handheld, mobile and online video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's best-selling titles, including the award-winning Baldur's Gate™ and Neverwinter Nights™ series, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ and Sonic™ Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (for the Nintendo DS™). Original BioWare-created intellectual properties include Jade Empire™ and the 2007 Game of the Year, Mass Effect™. With studios in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec), and Austin (Texas), BioWare is hard at work on the epic fantasy roleplaying game, Dragon Age™: Origins, Mass Effect 2™, the epic sequel to Mass Effect, and the story-driven massively multiplayer game, Star Wars®: The Old Republic™, as well as several unannounced projects. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by the world's leading electronic entertainment publisher, Electronic Arts. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA^TM, EA SPORTS^TM, EA Mobile ^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

 BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.  “PLAYSTATION” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment  Inc. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

As Dragon Age: Origins approaches the November release date they're showing more and more goodies! At GamesCom 09 we've seen some excellent gameplay footage and a recent video introducing the Dragon Age characters and plot!

The latest release gives players a glimpse at "Haven" a town that clearly isn't what it appears to be. Here's a look at a story surrounding the town:

Some years ago, a lone traveler paid a visit to a tavern in Denerim, and after imbibing a great quantity of ale related a tale of his travels to the tavern-keeper. The traveler claimed to have stumbled upon a strange village high in the Frostback Mountains. The village was peaceful, he said, and the villagers polite, if a little aloof. They fed him and watered his horse, and then urged him to be on his way. When he lingered too long, suddenly their mood changed. Their faces grew cold and knives appeared, and the traveler was told that what was to happen next “was done in Andraste’s name and for the good of all.” He fled in a panic and could not afterwards retrace his path. The traveler took a room at the tavern and yet never slept there. He disappeared that night and was not heard from again.

Here's the reveal of Haven, in Dragon Age:Origins:

Dragon Age: Origins is an amazing new RPG from BioWare that will be released later this year! A new trailer has been released highlighting the background of the game and an introduction to the heroic Grey Wardens who are the centerpiece for the fight against the Blight.

The Grey Wardens are all that stand between the Blight and their goal of total destruction. As a player, and a member of the Gray Wardens it's your duty to gather followers, amass an army, and lead your men against the greatest terror the world has ever known!

Here's a look at the GamesCom Dragon Age Trailer:

Want to learn more? Checkout the Curse.com Dragon Age Violence Video and Three Combat Videos against massive enemies from Dragon Age! Checkout this reat game!

Today, Bioware sent Curse a press release announcing the latest addition to hero Commander Shepard's crew for Mass Effect 2. "Grunt" joins the assassin Thane as a member of the growing cast of this highly anticipated title. You know, I always ran Wrex as a member of my adventuring crew in the first Mass Effect. The fact that another Krogan could be replacing him makes me a little sad - but if he's as cool as they're saying he is, I could forgive them.

Check out the press release below.

BIOWARE UNVEILS NEW STORY DETAILS OF THE EPIC ACTION RPG

MASS EFFECT 2

Captain Shepard Recruits Critical Squad Members Starting with the

Merciless, Vicious Krogan Character “Grunt”

Cologne, Germany (August 18th, 2009) – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today revealed new plot points in the epic sci-fi fantasy Mass Effect 2™.  Once again stepping into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, gamers will command their crew on a suicide mission in space. Players will strategically select each member of their squad, all of whom have a direct impact on the direction of the story and the squad’s chances for survival. Players will select from a motley cast of characters including the newly revealed ‘Grunt’ – a blood-hungry Krogan.

Once players have assembled their squad from amongst the galaxy’s most powerful mystics, geniuses, and convicts, they must lead them on a suicide mission to discover why humans are vanishing from the galaxy. The success of the mission hinges on the squad recruited and their loyalty to the mission. Shepard’s future depends on it.

“The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic saga with consequences that will carry through from chapter to chapter” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, GM and CEO BioWare, VP EA. “Building out a diverse and loyal party is one of the features that makes the Mass Effect series unique. “The characters Commander Shepard recruits are not only pivotal to the storyline but essential to the players overall success.”

The new character revealed in the Mass Effect 2 squad is ‘Grunt’. A violent and unpredictable Krogan fighter, Grunt has never faced true defeat. His unsurpassed physical strength makes him a strong asset to Commander Shepard’s team, if he can be tamed, and if he can be trusted.

Grunt is the second party member to be revealed in the Mass Effect 2 universe following ‘Thane’ a deadly assassin who was first introduced in June. More details about the rest of Shepard’s crew will be revealed in the coming months.

The Mass Effect trilogy is a masterful science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious uncharted planets. Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release on Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC in early 2010. The new recruitment gameplay video and screenshots can be found at info.ea.com. Follow us on Twitter at:http://twitter.com/masseffect2.

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About BioWare

BioWare develops computer, console, handheld, mobile and online video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's best-selling titles, including the award-winning Baldur's Gate™ and Neverwinter Nights™ series, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ and Sonic™ Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (for the Nintendo DS™). Original BioWare-created intellectual properties include Jade Empire™ and the 2007 Game of the Year, Mass Effect™. With studios in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montréal (Québec), and Austin (Texas), BioWare is hard at work on the epic fantasy roleplaying game, Dragon Age™: Origins,  Mass Effect 2™, the epic sequel to Mass Effect, and the story-driven massively multiplayer game, Star Wars®: The Old Republic™, as well as several unannounced projects. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by the world's leading electronic entertainment publisher, Electronic Arts. For more information on BioWare, visitwww.bioware.com

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA^TM, EA SPORTS^TM, EA Mobile ^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

*BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.  Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

We've been given several recently released videos highlighting the combat system in Dragon Age! We've previously posted a Dragon Age Introduction article and an video highlighting some of the violent encounters in the game! This time we've got three videos highlighting some of the excellent combat scenes from Dragon Age.

 

We received an update this morning and some exclusive content from Dragon Age: Origins; which we have previously covered in our Dragon Age: Origins GDC Preview not too long ago. At GDC we were able to preview the game, being developed by BioWare, and speak with the developers about what they're trying to achieve with this spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate series. The fresh content sent to us this morning really puts the game into perspective really gives us a taste of the vision and skill put into this game.

We've got an exclusive new video highlighting some of the VIOLENCE and MAYHEM in Dragon Age and some screenshots of the amazing graphics you'll encounter in game. If you're looking for more information on the game read our previous news post about some of the Dragon Age: Origins Features. Here's a first-look at the new Dragon Age: Origins Video:

Here are some exclusive new screenshots that really highlight the level of detail in Dragon Age:

 

BioWare Softworks, the development studio famous for titles such as Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, haven't been very forthcoming with information about the new MMO.

That's a little bit of an understatement. They haven't told anyone anything which means that the lid is well and truly closed on this one for the time being.

That didn't stop GameSpy from getting straight to the nitty gritty at GDC this week, when the gaming websites went right out there and asked the questions that almost all MMO developers get asked.

Perhaps BioWare may present the challenge that we have all been waiting for. After all, this is a company that has extensive and award-winning knowledge of the RPG genre spanning multiple rulesets. BioWare haven't just hit it off in one genre of RPG either with titles spanning from fantasy to sci-fi. Perhaps we are all just a little too hopeful?

BioWare really are promising us gamers a lot to look forward to with this MMO and that doesn't include the potential for Mass Effect 2, Knights of the Old Republic 3, a new Sonic title as well as the debut of Mass Effect on the PC in May.

Earlier this week, multiple sites reported that an analytical report released by EA revealed a new Knights of the Old Republic title, to be developed by BioWare.

It now seems that this bit of news may have simply been a misunderstanding on the part of Kotaku, who reported this break.

EA contacted Kotaku shortly after they posted the article revealing the rumour, to clear up the KOTOR slide, saying that the report in which it was presented was titled, "Best Creative Talent," and it was a look at, "future and past titles."

Basically, this puts us all back to square one where the new MMO and a potential KOTOR3 are concerned. We all have our suspicions and we are all 99% sure that there is something to do with KOTOR3 going on at BioWare. Now we just have to wait and see if those suspicions prove correct...

This will be such an awesome game if it's true. I'm 99% sure it's true, though. Bioware is making an MMO and partnered with Lucasarts right after announcing that they are making it.