All Boob, no Nipple
Played a marathon session of Dragon Age: Origins today. I'm having fun playing it but it's not quite doing it for me. It's hard to pinpoint what it is that'sstopping it being a wonderful experience for me. Elements are really good but I think what it is, is a slight sense of disappointment that it's going 'so far' but no further. It makes an effort to change fantasy stereotypes, to play with your expectations but it doesn't push that extra mile to really make it work.
The experience is rather reminiscent of ready D&D3.0 for the first time. Amazing happiness at the extent of the changes and modernisations, tempered by disappointment that they didn't go that extra mile and slay a few more sacred cows. There's a touch of hypocrisy there I guess, I write enough fantasy game material playing up to the usual stereotypes but still, I'm SO tired of them and like to confound expectations. Dragon Age could have gone a bit further.
The Elves are a downtrodden and mortal people, but half of them are still wild forest dwellers and the city elves don't quite manage to have a culture all their own. The dwarves are all but extinct, but they're still doughty warriors who live underground. There's nobles and peasants and all the usual pseudo-medieval gubbins. There's religion which is obviously meant to be a somewhat critical take on Christianity, but they keep just shy of really pushing it.
Given that I got to the 'sex scene' (Morrigan, obviously, that insipid 'French' girl and the bisexual leather fetishist just weren't doing it for me) the whole thing can be summed up neatly in relation to that.
Dragon Age is boobs, but no nipples.
I like boobs, don't get me wrong, but one can only take so much teasing and disappointment.
The Dragon fight was good mind you, but again, while difficult, didn't quite pay off dramatically enough.
The experience is rather reminiscent of ready D&D3.0 for the first time. Amazing happiness at the extent of the changes and modernisations, tempered by disappointment that they didn't go that extra mile and slay a few more sacred cows. There's a touch of hypocrisy there I guess, I write enough fantasy game material playing up to the usual stereotypes but still, I'm SO tired of them and like to confound expectations. Dragon Age could have gone a bit further.
The Elves are a downtrodden and mortal people, but half of them are still wild forest dwellers and the city elves don't quite manage to have a culture all their own. The dwarves are all but extinct, but they're still doughty warriors who live underground. There's nobles and peasants and all the usual pseudo-medieval gubbins. There's religion which is obviously meant to be a somewhat critical take on Christianity, but they keep just shy of really pushing it.
Given that I got to the 'sex scene' (Morrigan, obviously, that insipid 'French' girl and the bisexual leather fetishist just weren't doing it for me) the whole thing can be summed up neatly in relation to that.
Dragon Age is boobs, but no nipples.
I like boobs, don't get me wrong, but one can only take so much teasing and disappointment.
The Dragon fight was good mind you, but again, while difficult, didn't quite pay off dramatically enough.