Dragon Age: Origins.

[Tawmis]

I believe my desktop has a less powerful Video card than you (not home to check the model) and I can play it - granted with most things turned down and in windows mode (playing on the wide screen makes it chug - more drawing space). But still very playable in 800x600 or 1024x768 - which ever it's playing in.

[Maiandra]

Dragon Age is definitely worth it, Rath! Great story and characters and they've done a great job with the RPG system as well (or at least I think so).

Right now I'm playing through Ostagar and while it does seem like a large quest, I have to say I like all the political maneuvering. I like that you can play both sides of it and put off your final decision that way.

[Rath Darkblade]

Sigh... I just heard something that completely put me off DA:O. Apparently, I have to pay extra in order unlock certain areas of the game. I really hate that. How can it be considered justified to be charged $100+ for the game to start with, and then another few dollars to unlock area XYZ? That stinks.

[AndreaDraco]

The DLCs - in this case, I assume, Warden's Keep and Return to Ostagar, which isn't even out yet - are completely optional, and won't detract from the overall experience if you don't have it. The price is really low, though, especially for the announced RtO.

[dotkel50]

Rath,

You paid $100+ for DAO? I got it for my nephew for XMAS for $40.

[Tawmis]

He may have - like me - got the collector's edition (though mine was only 70, I believe).

[Rath Darkblade]

I don't know how much it is (as I haven't bought it yet), but here in the Down Under you can expect to pay anything for a new game, including $100 (and sometimes even more than that - I've seen Assassin's Creed II listed for $120). !!!

[DeadPoolX]

Actually... I can see how Rath would've paid $100 (or more) for the game. Assuming he bought the Collector's Edition (which, like Tawmis said, is $70 in the U.S.), that amount would have to be adjusted from USD to AUD. Then there would be shipping fees, taxes and probably some sort of importation fee levied by Customs.

Canada pays more for products (such as books, games, etc) than the U.S. does and for the same reasons as I posted above. Look at the price quoted on books -- there will be small section that says how much the price is in USD and CAD and there's a big difference between the two. You'll regularly see games priced at $60 (before taxes) and Canada is RIGHT NEXT DOOR, so getting the game in a country as far away as Australia would probably cost even more.

What's really annoying is that both the Canadian and Australian dollar isn't worth much less than the U.S. dollar. Using the $70 USD price tag of DAO:CE as an example, that would translate into $72 CAD or $76 AUD. Does that matter? Nope. Prices are still set MUCH higher in other countries.

[dotkel50]

OK then. Didn't know he was an Aussie. Still, that's a lot of moolah.

[Rath Darkblade]

Yep, I got kangaroos hopping in my back paddock, I drink gigantic beers, and I say "That's not a knife, THAT'S a knife" a lot.

And yes, it is a lot of moolah. If there's a new game I really want, I have to either save up or wait for it to be on sale. It's not fair.

[dotkel50]

Do ya put another shrimp on the barby too?

[AndreaDraco]

I just wanted to share a bit of self-pride!

During my second playthrough (Dalish Rouge), I managed to save everyone - Knights, Thugs and Militiamen - during the siege of Redcliffe. It took me one reload and, all in all, forty minutes to finish the battle with everyone alive. Poor Wynne was really exhausted from casting Heal literally dozens of time. If you're looking to do the same, do yourself a favor: do not tell Ser Perth to use the oil and set it on fire - the knights are bound to go berserk and walk straight into the flames, immolating themselves.

[Rath Darkblade]

Do ya put another shrimp on the barby too?

Yepyep! Although I can't get much shrimp nowadays, so I put another chicken on the barbie!

[Tawmis]

From the DragonAge Twitter:

Return to Ostagar is NOW available for Xbox 360. It will be coming later today for PC users and soon for the PS3. Check Xbox Live 4 details

[AndreaDraco]

While still waiting for the chance to returning to Ostagar, I'm in the midst of my second playthrough and I hereby announce that... I'm finding the Deep Roads not as bad as the first time!

I realized that the first time I was so very eager to continue with the main story that the Deep Roads seemed to me way too long and boring. This time around, I'm playing more leisurely and - even if I'm not enjoying them (they are still a bit too long a dungeon, or series of dungeons, and extremely difficult too) as much as I enjoy other segments of the game, like Redcliffe or the Circle of Magi - I'm surely appreciating the tactical challenge that they offer and the many details hidden inside their meanders (like the Dead Caste lore, or the story of one honorable topsider, or the Stelata Negata), and, as a result, I'm appreaciating the whole Orzammar storyline more than before.

Anyway, on another news, excited about Mass Effect 2 coming soon?