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Mac gamers to enter the Dragon Age on Dec. 21
It's a much-better-than-usual day to be a Mac gamer: EA and Transgaming have announced that they're bringing BioWare's downright fabulous Dragon Age: Origins to OS X on December 21. The game will be released via "popular online digital retailers" including GameTree, Direct2Drive, GamersGate, GameTap and Best Buy as a download only (sorry, packaging-philes). Two versions of the game will be offered up: Standard and Digital Deluxe. Both will include the Stone Prisoner add-on content and Blood Armor, while the later grows that list with the Warden's Keep expansion, wallpapers and in-game items. They'll run $49.95 and $64.95, respectively.
Breakfast Topic: Lessons from Single Player RPGs
I'm sure by now it's pretty much no secret whatsoever that half the team, myself included, spent a good part of the waning days of Patch 3.2 enamored with Dragon Age Origins. Maybe it's the innocent charm of the leading man, Alistair, the deep and involved game world, or the fact that Marilyn Manson totally warned us that this was gonna be big, but I'm in deep. Patch 3.3 is finally dragging me back to WoW with its pure awesomeness, but Dragon Age is still pretty fresh in my mind, and there's more DLC to come.
Dragon Age: Origins patched once again
Already a great game, Dragon Age: Origins is getting incrementally better as BioWare just announced Patch 1.02 for its sprawling RPG. None of the fixes contained within the new download are huge -- more tweaks than anything -- but if you've found, say, dagger damage to be a bit low when using a character with high dexterity, or if you're plagued by too many health poultices, this patch should please you. In addition to a long list of minor cross-platform fixes, there's an extra list of fixes that it makes to the PC version. This corrects one problem that could be a big deal: "Creating a character in a custom module did not create a folder for saves. This could result in corruption of main campaign saves. This no longer occurs." Celebrate by playing the main campaign -- and then saving! [Thanks, Samuel!]
Walmart offering $50 gift card with Wii purchase next week, cheaper games now
Sad that you missed all the Black Friday sales? Walmart wants to take advantage of that feeling of being left out, with a series of December sales and price drops. The most exciting offer: for one week (from December 5 -12), every Wii will come with a $50 gift card, effectively dropping the price to a ridiculous $150.Walmart's price drops on games are less dramatic, failing to reach the depths of, say, Amazon's Black Friday weekend drops, but the list provided (after the break) does include a lot of hot games for less than MSRP -- like The Beatles: Rock Band on Wii for $40 and Batman, Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, and a lot more for $50 each. Walmart promises more price drops on its website and in stores. How can it afford to do this stuff?Oh, right, by dominating the entire retail industry.
PSA: Futureshop slashing prices on Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, NFS: Shift
Hey Canadians! Yeah, you guys and gals huddled together attempting to maintain sustainable body heat. Just a friendly reminder that big-box retailer Futureshop is currently slashing prices on a slew of new video game titles. Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, Brutal Legend and Need for Speed: Shift are all on sale for $39.99. Wait, what's this? NHL 10? Oh, Canada. You're so adorably predictable! The online and in-store sale ends on December 3, so make sure to defrost your car, dust off your skates and hit the store ASAP. And before you ask: Yes, Rock Band 2's special edition is priced at $99 and does include a free mullet kit. We don't know what that is, but we know we want it. More Canadian deals can be found after the break.Update: Best Buy Canada is offering similar discounts.
Amazon.com's Cyber Monday deals available now
In the market for Nathan Drake's latest adventure but not trying to spend a hidden fortune on it? Amazon.com's Cyber Monday deals are here to help, offering Uncharted 2 for only $40, among other great deals. How about Left 4 Dead 2 for $40? Or maybe you'd prefer a 60-hour-long fantasy RPG for the same price? Amazon has you covered. Look, we'd keep listing deals here, but there's kind of a lot. So pick your console of choice (Nintendo Wii / DS, PlayStation 3, or Xbox 360) and check out all the savings for yourself. While it's not quite Steam levels of insane price drops, we're quite partial to games for a third or more off normal retail price. Aren't you?
Interview: BioWare's Greg Zeschuk on Dragon Age, DLC, and more
Here's a Thanksgiving treat from the vault – we've dug out the following interview with BioWare co-founder (and Group Creative Officer of EA's newly formed RPG/MMO Group) Greg Zeschuk from earlier this year at PAX. But don't let the date fool you! Our discussion of multiplatform console development, DLC strategies on future BioWare titles like Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, and Greg's recommendation that everyone buy two copies of the game (one on console and one on PC) defies time. Read on! Joystiq: Dragon Age is the first PS3 game that BioWare's developed. Can you talk about that process? Greg Zeschuk: We did partner with Edge of Reality, so we partnered with folks who have had the experience, and that was a good process where we actually had some folks that knew how to do it but also, in general, just worked together with them. A lot of it ended up being like we needed a lot of work to get done and a lot of stuff very fast and everyone was very busy on Dragon Age itself. Collectively, on the console, I would say it was very interesting and challenging to take the richness of the PC game of Dragon Age, with all these different powers and everything else, and actually try to transpose it to the consoles. And the interesting thing about that, or where it worked out really well, is that we literally set ourselves a goal: We didn't want console players to fell like we ripped them off by taking anything away, by minimizing or simplifying. We want them to feel they have all the power at their fingertips, but it's very accessible. It's got the multiple rings that sort of have subsets to them, and you can actually pretty much access any power just a couple little joystick twiddles and button presses. And so with that experience, I think we succeeded there. Another place where we succeeded on both the PS3 and 360 versions: it feels very different from the PC. Where the PC has got the traditional Baldur's Gate top-down [perspective], the PS3 and 360 are over-the-shoulder and they do have that kind of, very KOTOR feel and that's probably what I play, and that's what I feel most familiar with is KOTOR -- and it actually feels more action-y than the PC does, so I think people will find a very different experience. I recommend both platforms actually, PC and console versions. %Gallery-28224%
EA takes 30 percent off several PC games until Monday
EA's online store is running an exciting Black Friday sale, with downloadable PC games getting 30 percent off from now until Monday. We're talking about discounts on a bunch of games here, with standouts such as Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box for a cool $21 and Mass Effect for a very reasonable $14. Not everything is on sale, however -- some of the newer titles like Left 4 Dead 2 and the Dragon Age Collector's Edition don't qualify (though the regular version of the latter is on sale for $35). If you're determined to get good deals on some of these newer games, we have a feeling you'll be able to find 'em somewhere. [Via Big Download] .nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } Check out Joystiq's Black Friday Game Deals Hub or jump to a retailer guide below: Best Buy | GameStop | Kmart & Sears | Target | Toys"R"Us | Walmart For more Black Friday coverage, check out Black Friday Deals, Cyber Monday Sales, And other Black Friday 2009 stories today from Walletpop.com
Direct2Drive offering $10 off Dragon Age: Origins through Nov. 30
Starting now until November 30, Direct2Drive is offering $10 off either the standard edition or Digital Deluxe Edition of BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins. The exclusive sale kicks off an upcoming Thanksgiving price drop on unnamed titles from the digital download service. The standard edition is priced at $39.95, while the Deluxe edition is priced at $54.95 for the promotion. With the savings we recommend you look into purchasing the (somewhat controversial) downloadable content already available for the title. If paying for storage space is your thing, that is.
Dragon Age: Origins DLC to 'Return to Ostagar' this holiday
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/19/dragon-age-origins-dlc-to-return-to-ostagar-this-holiday/'; Polish up your armor and prune your dialog trees: EA has announced a new Dragon Age: Origins DLC adventure, "Return to Ostagar," is coming to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this holiday season for $5. The add-on will allow your hero to "revisit Ostagar, the site of the Grey Wardens' darkest hour, to reclaim the honor and learn the secrets of Ferelden's fallen king." Listen, we're as big of fans of Dragon Age: Origins as you're likely to meet, but we have to question the scheduling of this DLC release. It's not that we don't want it, but who out there has played so much DA:O that they're bored of what's on the disc? Seriously, the thing's like 340 hours long!
BioWare considers storytelling challenge of multiplayer experiences
Outside of the MMO genre, solitary experiences are de rigueur for role-playing games, most of all those emerging from the venerable story specialists at BioWare. Speaking to VideoGamer.com, BioWare CEO and co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka offered some insights into the company's considerations for co-op multiplayer gaming. "We haven't announced anything on that front yet, but those are interesting ideas," Muzyka explained. "They could make a great gameplay experience. Whether we'll do them or not remains to be decided."Among the things to be decided is how best to incorporate your party of friends with, well, your party of in-game friends. "It's hard to weave a great single-player storyline into a multiplayer experience," Muzyka said. "It's not impossible." The good doctor insists that it's been done and points to the developer's anticipated Star Wars MMO as proof. "We've done it, and we're doing it again now in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But it is challenging."
The Queue: The Hugh Hefner of Dragons
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about Dragon Age: Origins. Adam Holisky be your host today. I want to be sure I mention a few things to start off the week with. First, thank for all the wonderful questions lately! The variety and in depth thought being put into them makes this column much more fun to write. If you do have a question for us, just leave a comment or send us a tip and we'll try to answer it. If we don't answer it, leave it again. We can get upwards of 60 or so questions a day, and we obviously can't answer all of them. Secondly, I know we've mentioned this before, but I just wanted to reiterate. Ask A Lore Nerd has become part of the Queue, so we'll answer a couple lore questions each week. The take quite a bit longer to research and fact check, so the answers won't be as often as normal gameplay and theory questions, but we'll still get to them! In fact, let's start off with a lore-ish question now. Jealouspirate asks... "What's with all these dragons and their consorts?"
PS3 Dragon Age: Origins out in UK this Friday
PS3-owning Grey Wardens of the British isles will finally have the option to enter the Dragon Age this Friday, November 20. VideoGamer reports that EA has finally confirmed DA: Origins' PS3 UK release date, which comes two weeks after the game launched on other platforms.The tardiness of the title, according to BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka, was due to certification and manufacturing issues. If you're fan of RPGs (especially those in the BioWare mold), go get Dragon Age!
WRUP: Dragon What?
Last week, it seemed that our dearly beloved World of Warcraft had sprouted some strange, new zone called Dragon Age. I've been nagging Alexstrasza to tell me what's up with that, since I figured that Wyrmrest Temple was a natural place to unlock that zone. But, oddly, she's got nothing. Still, she's pleasant company, and I don't mind lurking around her boots. They're all stylish and kicky. In all seriousness, though, after reading about so many of the staff trying it out, I have to admit I'm starting to get curious about the Dragon Age myself. Do you think if I ask often enough, Alexstrasza might show up in it to say "hello"? Let's see what the staff is playing this weekend. Once you've scanned through, drop by in the comments and tell us: What are you playing? Adam Holisky: (@adamholisky) - Dragon Age: Origins and MW:2. Alex Ziebart: (@aziebart) -Dragon Age, and then soaking my Tab finger in ice for a few hours. Dragon Age players will understand that. The rest of you are mere husks of men.
Dragon Age DLC has earned over $1 million
EA has touted that Dragon Age: Origins has already brought in over $1 million in sales of its launch DLC. G4 reports on CFO Eric Brown's presentation at a recent conference, where the EA exec revealed the figure and reiterated, "The game was designed at the outset to have extensive [paid DLC] at launch, as well through the next 12-plus months of its lifespan."Dragon Age players should remember to blame developer BioWare and its QA department if they felt obligated to pick up the launch DLC, which expands in-game storage space for items. As shady as that sounds, apparently it wasn't enough to deter significant purchases of the optional content. %Poll-36878%
Wii Fit Plus claims top spot in UK sales chart, Dragon Age debuts in fifth
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]
Dragon Age: Origins gets patched, tool set released
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)
Aion grips top ten digital sales charts a month past release
You'd be forgiven for thinking Aion would've fallen off the Steam and DIrect2Drive top ten sales charts, what with the fire hose blast of new PC releases. Fortunately for NCsoft, that isn't the case as the game is still clinging to said charts in the face of games like Dragon Age: Origins, Borderlands, Torchlight and Left 4 Dead 2. Boldness! Actually, the game is pretty darn good -- if you don't mind your peanut butter with extra grind -- so that's not a huge surprise all things considered. It's always a good sign when an MMO can stay on the top ten after its launch, moreso when it does so against high profile, high pedigree releases. So, rejoice Aion players, you've likely got a strong community! (We could've just told you that, but now numbers vindicate said observation.)
Don't blame EA for Dragon Age's inventory (or paid DLC)
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.
Review: Dragon Age: Origins
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-28224%
