NOTE: I usually try to avoid spoilers with any game that I review, but this game has so many kinks and quirks with every aspect that I really think there is no way around it. I have pushed this review back a whole week trying to research other spoiler-free avenues that I could take, alas I have found none. So to clarify now, this review WILL contain spoilers even for the end of the game. Also, Dragon Age: Awakening is an expansion DLC thus will be a small part of this blog as well.
As and additional note, I really did not want to review this game because it is one of my favorite games of all time. I have very few of those and this is in fact the closest to my gamer's heart. The reason I did not want to review it is because I will be addressing all of the little problems that the game itself has.
As is usual with one of my reviews, I will start by saying that the storyline of this game is super amazing. If you like dragons however, you may be disappointed because there are only 4 in the whole game. First of course is the Archdemon, the second being Flemeth (if you choose to do Morrigan's Companion Quest), the third being the High Dragon just before reaching the Urn of Sacred Ashes. The last isnt one specific dragon, but the two specific spots where Drakes and Drake babies are fought. But I digress. The storyline is very captivating and the best part about it is that you can do all of the main storyline quests in any order you wish. Having completed 16 full playthroughs myself, I have found an order that works best with character/enemy development (as the enemies level as you do in this game). However, as with any game, the storyline is merely one aspect of the game as a whole.
Though I love the storyline (and how it is continued with each expansion and each new game), I will say that the gameplay does fall just a bit short of expectation. I will start with a few of the positives about the game so that this review doesn't seem overshadowed with the negative. I do like that whichever companions you choose to have follow you talk with each other once you reach certain spots of the game. Also, (and it shames me to admit that it took me 3 playthroughs to realize this) your companions can help you make things. I was highly displeased during my first few playthroughs because I was under the assumption that my main character had to be the one to make any and all traps, poultices etc. and was always distressed that I had to either save the Halla in the Dalish Camp (requires level 2 survival), or make the anti-poison in the Dwarven Royal Palace in Orzamar (requires max herbalism). With each playthrough after that however, I designate different specialties to different companions and mastering herbalism myself, that way each can be mastered by level 8 and I don't have to return to camp to make potions.
Now comes the negative aspect of the review. This game is very glitchy and has a great many quirks. One of which being that it is NOT meant for long term play. I have no clue why or even how it is done, but there is a difference between when a foe is slain and when he/it actually dies. The longer you have played, the greater that period of time. For instance, when you just turn on the game the moment a foe is slain (when you land that final blow) is the same as the moment a foe dies (when the game recognizes an enemy as dead and quests are update and the body becomes lootable). However, if you binge play for 5-6 hours as I am known to do, a foe is not recognized as dead for sometimes up to 10 minutes after it is slain. And no I am not being hyperbolic. I have had to wait anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes for a quest to be updated (because even if you have killed the enemy, your quest needs to update, that is the game needs to recognize that enemy as dead, in order to continue). This is especially bad when pursuing a random encounter quest as you only get one chance to do it. If you leave the area after you kill the enemy but before the game recognizes him/her as dead you create a paradox which cannot be resolved as the game knows that the enemy is dead thus removes the chance of a random encounter with that boss again, yet the game also recognized that the enemy has not been slain thus the quest cant update. However, though this specific problem wasn't resolved with the recent update, they did make an attempt to resolve the issue. Now, once the period between slain and deceased becomes too great, all you need to do is save and turn the system off completely and it resets everything and ceases to be a problem (unless you play for another 3 hours straight lol).
Finally, the game itself does seem to have a great many glitches as you progress. NOTE: This is where the SPOILERS that I mentioned previously come in. If you do not wish to know plot outcomes and epilogues please stop reading now. If you are unaffected by spoilers or already know how the game ends (and the subsequent alternate endings). Starting off light, once you reach the part of the game where you are staying at Arl Eamon's estate in Denerim, characters and NPCs start getting funky. I have seen companions standing halfway inside of walls, Anora on one occasion was seen standing inside the sofa in her room instead of beside it and a couple maid NPCs were floating in mid-air. Though I have only had these problems once and it was during my longest playthrough. As you can plainly see, there is a pattern emerging here. The longer you play this game the more problems you will have. It is clear that this game was designed for you to play in short bursts only, and going from point A (the beginning) to point B (final battle with Archdemon) as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The Landsmeet is an event that I have done at least 20 times alone. In fact, it is the greatest part of the reason that I play this game this far. I have only even received a perfect landsmeet outcome (all voters siding with the Wardens) once, and even THAT is a glitch in the game. Now, every time I hear all of the voters side with me and the other Grey Wardens, it sends terror straight through me because the game automatically recognizes that everyone has sided against you. How and why I do not know. Yet, if only one or two people side against you, you will win the landsmeet. This is the biggest FU glitch the game could have made. Its the same as a teacher saying "You worked and studies so hard and you got a perfect 100% on your big test so as a reward I am going to fail you".
The final big glitch in the game is one that I think is more awkward than annoying. I will say first that if you know one ending, you know them all. And you should know each ending by the time you begin the march to Denerim (final assault). The bigger glitch is that Alister dies AND survives at the same time. The night before you go to Denerim, Riordan will tell you that whoever lands the final blow on the Archdemon will also perish. After you leave his room, Morrigan visits your room and tells you that if you have a baby with her, no one has to die (this being the most chosen and recommended ending). If you refuse her and have Allister land the killing blow on the Archdemon, he will die just as Riordan warned. Yet at the coronation ceremony after the battle, everyone will talk as though he is still alive and tell you things he has done since fighting the Archdemon. Also, the epilogue will tell you that he went on the be a good king going on to live a long full life. I suppose this is a good way to get a positive ending without anyone having to sleep with Morrigan (if you are a female character, she will have you persuade Allister to do the deed, but Allister will highly disapprove and if your compatibility rating is too low, he will leave right after). Note: you have to put Allister on the throne in some way, either by marrying Anora or ruling alone, in order to get this glitch. Also, note that there may be future updates to the game that may remove this glitch.
