Draconic Mods

Dragon Age: Awakening came out about a week ago. I didn't buy it. I don't want to. Well...I want to. But, because of the New Year's resolution that I made, I'm only going to buy the game when it's on sale or if the price drops. So in order to occupy myself, and keep me away from buying Dragon Age: Awakening at the drop of a dime, I tried my hand with the Dragon Age toolset again.

My custom amulet for Dragon Age: Origins.

The toolset is really complex. It boggled me even more than the Aurora or Electron toolset did. I failed the first time I tried making mods with it a couple weeks ago, and that was 8 hours of my life gone to waste. But this time, unlike the last, I was able to give my character an in-game item, a god-like amulet. I didn't do it by myself, of course. I had help using the step by step instruction on how to make custom items from weriKK's blog.

But even with this, my modding skill is still at level 0 though. I'm nowhere near as good as those modders who made the Grey Warden Runic Armor or The Ivory Tower mods (two of my favorite armor mods). Those guys are pros. It's still a step forward for me, nonetheless.

Similar Posts:
On Dragon Age: Tips & Mods
Return to Dragon Age
Just Another Resolution Post
First Impressions: Dragon Age
Toying with the Toolset

On Dragon Age: Tips & Mods

So I just finished my second playthrough of Dragon Age this morning. I completed all the available quests this time, which took me more than a total of 50 gaming hours.

I played as a Rogue City Elf with the Duelist specialization and a really high Dexterity. She deals a decent amount of damage, wielding two daggers, and she has a really high defense. Though a lot of people in the BioWare forums said, if you want to deal huge amounts of damage, an Assassin specialization with high cunning is the way to go.

For my companions, I took Shale, Wynne and Oghren with me most of the time. If possible, bring Shale along with you. The golem's tough, I mean it's made of rock, making it the perfect tank. Take Wynne because she's one of the two mages in the group. Plus, she's a good healer and less whiny than Morrigan. Oghren, I just took him because he's funny, and Steve Blum (Oghren's voice) is one of my favorite voice actors.

As for the mods, I suggest you go use the No Follower Auto Level. It is a great mod that prevents your follower to auto level when they first join you, giving you more control of them. With this, I was able to turn Oghren from a two-hander to a dual-wielder. There are other mods I use as well but only for aesthetic purposes like more hair and face options.

Dragon Age: Awakening is still a month away, and I think I got one more game in me. After all, I didn't like my ending with my second playthrough, she became the Bann of the Elven Alienage. I heard that you can marry Anora and become king instead of Alistair. I don't know how, but I think I'm gonna work on that one.

Similar Posts:
Return to Dragon Age
Boarding the Normandy
Mass Effect 1.5
Another Year, Another Checklist
First Impressions: Dragon Age

Return to Dragon Age

I just finished playing Mass Effect 2 today. I have to say that it's the best damn game I've played since Deus Ex. But before my FTL drives can cool off for another playthrough, I found out that the Dragon Age: Origins expansion, Awakening, is already coming out next month. I thought this game wasn't due until this Summer. Oh well.

Since my hero on my last game died, I went back in time, to the age of dragons, and create another hero in preparation for this expansion. Now I feel like BioWare just demoted me from a space faring marine to a mute rogue who doesn't even own a horse. She's cute, at least, and not so full of herself, unlike Sheperd.

In order to spice things up in this Dragon Age: Origins playthrough, I also bought the latest DLC, Return to Ostagar. The DLC costs $5 and it's available over at the EA online store. I haven't played it yet so I don't know if it's good or not. All I know is that your party will -well- return to Ostagar and retrieve Cailan's armor. But since I got a fraud alert call from my bank, 30 minutes after I purchased the DLC, I think Return to Ostagar might suck. Hmmm, even my bank thinks buying from EA is a fraud.

Similar Posts:
Charge!!!
Boarding the Normandy
Mass Effect 1.5
Another Year, Another Checklist
First Impressions: Dragon Age

The Playlist #2

It's week two of my "The Playlist" series. I was actually planning to skip this post today since I thought I have nothing to write about. It was quiet week for me, oddly enough. Work was slow, never spent a dime (not even for gas), and never really listened to music that much. The only thing I did was play Dragon Age: Origins. I'm almost done with the game and I'm already itching to play it again from the start.

Nonetheless, last week brought enough music for me to write another playlist.

"Far Behind" by Candlebox

I woke up to this song last Sunday. This was a pretty popular song back in high school and I love it. Especially the song's guitar intro. I don't know anything about the band though, or heard any of their songs beside this one. I wonder if they're still around today.

"Hate Worldwide" by Slayer

I knew there was a Slayer album that just got out. I didn't mind it, however, because I'm not that much into Slayer, and their recent albums weren't that good anyways. But when I heard this song while driving home from work, I was smitten. It's old school and a lot of people (including old fans) are even comparing the new album to Reign of Blood and South of Heaven (two of my favorite Slayer albums). So know I'm thinking of getting the album.

"Lovesick Teenagers" by Bear In Heaven

This is one of my music purchases from weeks ago. I've never heard of the band before but I'm really loving them now. I especially love this song. It's just so dreamy and swirly. Listening to it will leave you lost and lazy.

"Worm Mountain" by The Flaming Lips (featuring MGMT)

I fell in love with The Flaming Lips after I heard At War with the Mystics, back in 2006. Now the band is back again with a new album, Embryonic, and it's crazy awesome. I don't know if they have an official single but "Worm Mountain" is my favorite song from their album. The buzzy bass of this song is just awesome. It's very psychedelic, very stoner metal.

"Wretched World" by Converge

I don't listen to metal or hardcore as much as before, I admit. But if Converge releases any kind of new material, I'm there to buy it. Ever since Jane Doe, this band have been breaking skulls. Their new album, Axe to Fall is no exception. Although this song is kind of slow, very un-Converge. I still like it, however.

"Hell" by Tegan and Sara

I've been a fan of Tegan and Sara since The Con. I'm currently enjoying their latest album, Sainthood, and it's definitely one of my favorite albums this year. Anyways, this song is the first single from their new album. While it's not my favorite track (there are far more better songs in the album) it's still a fun, fast paced song. There's clearly a lot of 80's influence in it.

"This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars

Actor Jared Leto can sing, I like his voice, I'll give him that. Unfortunately, I don't like his band, 30 Seconds to Mars. They're not my cup of tea. But I stumbled a trailer for Dragon Age: Origins in YouTube (which can be found here) that features the single from their new album. I don't like the song though. The Dragon Age trailer, however, rocks. The Grey Warden and Sten looks pretty kick-ass in the video.

That's it for this week. I hope you guys will enjoy this my playlist as much as I did.

Similar Posts:
The Playlist #1

First Impressions: Dragon Age

Finally, after five long years of waiting, Dragon Age: Origins is installed on my PC. I've been playing it for more than a week now. But, since the game is really good, I had a hard time pulling myself away from it to write this. The main thing I love about the game is that your choices and actions doesn't dictate if you're going to be a good or an evil character, there's no moral compass in here, unlike in other BioWare RPGs. What you do in the game -your actions and choices- are mostly on the gray lines, which makes it really gritty, like The Witcher. The combat is pretty nice as well, and it reminds me a lot of Baldur's Gate. As of now, I'm really enjoying the game. Although I have yet to see the endgame before I decide it's better than Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Similar Posts:
First Impressions: Borderlands
The Draconian Hype Machine
First Impressions: Risen
First Impressions: Arkham Asylum
First Impressions: Champions Online

The Draconian Hype Machine

Dragon Age: Origins comes out a week from now, finally. That's probably why BioWare and EA Games are stepping up their ad campaign. So everything you see in gaming sites right now are just "pre-order Dragon Age" banners (which are working effectively because I already pre-ordered my copy from Steam). In addition to the massive ad campaign, EA also threw out a stand alone character creator for the game and also a Dragon Age web-based game.

Beautifying my character.

When I pre-ordered my copy of Dragon Age: Origins at Steam, I was surprised to see that there's a stand-alone character creator available for download. That, of course, made me a happy camper. RPG enthusiasts, such as myself, always get stuck at the character generation area of the game, trying to tweak the look of our characters to make them pretty or ruggedly. So I really appreciate EA and BioWare by making a character creator available early on. Now I can take my time making my character, save the progress and then load them once I get my retail copy. Dabbling with the creator and uploading your character via BioWare's social network will also net you an exclusive item.

Combat in Dragon Age: Journeys is fun and addicting.

Then there's Dragon Age: Journeys which is a web-based game developed to feed the hype. It's a perfect game if you're already itching for the real deal. At first, I thought that this was just going to be a simple hack n' slash game, like most web games are. But I was surprised that this game actually have a working RPG system -level progression, skill customization, dialog options- and a fun tactical turn-based combat. Plus, you'll also receive unique items for Dragon Age: Origins if you take the in-game survey and unlock some achievements in the game.

EA Games and BioWare did really well with their ad campaign for Dragon Age: Origins. Both the knick-knacks they gave away before the release date of the actual game are fun, especially Dragon Age: Journeys. I just hope that Dragon Age: Origins will live up to its own hype.

Similar Posts:
Dragon Age Videos
My 9 Most Anticipated Games of 2009
July 9, Dragon Age

Games of Fall 2009

Fall is almost here, and that heralds the start of the Holiday Games Rush. So, in order to prepare my budget early on, I started checking out the release schedule for the next four months, and all I can say it's jam packed with tons of good releases. I actually got dizzy looking at the schedule. Unfortunately, I have to limit my games this year due to time and financial constraints. But here are the four games that I'll definitely save my money for:

September

Champions Online
This game melded two of the things that I really love: gaming and comics. That's why, even though I'm not that much into MMORPG, Champions has gotten me excited since the day it was announced. In truth, however, I was going to skip this game in favor of Aion. But I got sold after I participated in the open beta testing. The contemporary setting, the freedom of character creation, and the wicked travel powers in this game are just so much fun.

Aion
The first time I learned about this game, I was awed by its flight feature. Flying just changes many things in game like traveling and combat. But, other than that, this game didn't interest me at all. But since most of my guildmates (whom I love to play with) are moving to Aion, I gave this game a shot and played the closed beta. Surprisingly, I did enjoy the game. The chain attacks, especially, were a lot of fun. Plus, it's also the most graphically pleasing game I've seen in a while.

October

Alpha Protocol
This game is an upcoming action-RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Most of my favorite games were developed by these guys, way before they were in Obsidian. So that alone is enough reason for me to play this game. But, beyond that, I'm also looking forward to its world and atmosphere, which an espionage setting ala The Bourne Trilogy. It will be a nice change to use contemporary arsenal in a role-playing game other than a sword and board.

November

Dragon Age: Origins
Finally, after waiting for 5 long years, this game is going to be out this coming November. Like Alpha Protocol, the developer alone is enough reason for me to play the game. I've stuck with BioWare all these years since the Infinity Engine era and not one of their role-playing games have disappointed me (not even Neverwinter Nights). So I don't think they'll start dissappoint me with Dragon Age. The game, based on the videos I've seen, is just epic.

So, there, all of my upcoming games for this Fall. I'll try to save money for all of these games, and that is doable. My biggest problem now is time. Where am I going to get all the hours to play all these games. Skip sleep, maybe? Sleeping's overrated anyways.

Similar Posts:
My 9 Most Anticipated Games for 2009
Let the games begin! (Extended Version)
Let the games begin!

E3 2009: Radioactive Highlights

I stopped following news of E3 after their mishap during the 2007 event. That was a disaster. A couple of big names in gaming were absent that year, and those who attended didn't reveal too much either. But this year, after stumbling upon a couple of event and post-event articles, I was so surprised of how much it rocked. The games that were showcased, especially, were just too mouth-watering.

But there be highlights, of course, because some games are just made to be better than others. So here are some of my favorite game articles and videos that were rolled out in this year's E3 event.

1. Star Wars: The Old Republic (Sith vs. Jedi Video)
2. Mass Effect 2 (Post-E3 Clarifications)
3. Tales of Monkey Island (Adventure Lives!)
4. Alpha Protocol (Upside Down Video)
5. Dragon Age: Origins (Hands-On)

All the link of the previews and videos above were just top notch. It made me want to play these games, moreso than before. The funny thing about it though is that all the games mentioned above are from the same developers that I have stuck by with during this years. 3 games (Star Wars, Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age) are from BioWare, 1 game (Alpha Protocol) is from Obsidian and 2 games (Star Wars and Tales of Monkey Island) from LucasArts.

Similar Posts:
E3 wrap and my wishlist
E3 Madness

Dragon Age Videos

The release date of Dragon Age is finally at hand. I've been waiting for this since 2003. So seven more weeks of waiting doesn't make me anxious or excited anymore. But, honestly, after watching the videos released at the New York Comic-Con, I was put off. The gameplay is much similar to Baldur's Gate, a tactical pause and play, as they had promised. But it looks awkward though. Hopefully, the actual game isn't awkward as it was presented in the video.

Anyways, you guys can watch all NYCC game videos here.

Similar Posts:
My 9 Most Anticipated Games of 2009
Scribblenauts Unveiled
What is Alpha Protocol?
NYCC 2009
July 9, Dragon Age

My 9 Most Anticipated Games for 2009

Last year, PC gaming wasn't so good. Well, not to me anyways even though I've played some good titles like Sins of a Solar Empire and Fallout 3. What irked me was the lack of exclusive PC games. I don't want to be greedy or anything but console gamers don't share their games to us. So why can't we do the same?

Anyways, that was yesterday and I don't want to mull over it because 2009 is the year of real-time strategy, and this is the only genre that console gamers can't play (or can't play well yet). So here are my few choice games for this year:

9. Mirror's Edge

One thing about being a PC gamer is that you're not important. So while console gamers got Mirror's Edge last Christmas, I have to wait until this month to play this adrenaline pumping, vertigo inducing and platform jumping game. This game, I think, is much similar to Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth where all you do is run from your enemies while thinking quickly on which way to go next. That was a fun game but Mirror's Edge pushes it to the next level with its kick-ass graphics and dystopian setting.

8. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

I'm not much into real-time strategy (except for Total War). Mainly, and honestly, because I get bored building bases and mining resources. But Company of Heroes, as well as Dawn of War, changed all that. I just fell in love with its fast and action-packed combat, and its interactive environments which gives the game a lot of tactical depth. I'm not really expecting much from this game, however, except that I'm thrilled and eager to play another of its campaign.

7. Demigod

This game is a combination of real-time strategy, tower defense, and elements of action RPG, much like Warcraft III: Defense of the Ancients. But this game will push and break the barrier even more than DotA did. If you're not convinced yet, just know that Chris Taylor (developer of great RTS such as Total Annhilation and Supreme Commander) of Gas Powered Games and Stardock (developer of Sins of a Solar Empire) are handling the reigns of this game.

6. Empire: Total War

The Total War franchise have always been one of my favorite real-time strategy game. From Shogun to Medieval, all games in this series have unprecedented tactical and strategical depth compared to other games of similar ilk. I must admit, however, that I always found Total War's learning curve to be quite hard, and mastering it is near impossible for me. But with Empire's naval battles, I think losing sleep to learn how to play this game will be worth it.

5. Disciples III: Renaissance

I prefer turn-based combat over real-time, and Disciples have always been my preferred turn-based strategy game. What I like about this game is its simplicity. Recruit a hero, give him two or three units (depending on how many he can lead), and let him loose to expand your kingdom. So I'm glad that in Disciples III not much have changed. Although there are only three races to choose from this time, and the graphics is much more stunning.

4. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

I don't know what I can say about this game except that I love this game for the reasons I love Company of Heroes (see above). Although I'm looking forward to see this game's new feature, such as Hero leveling, play its non-linear missions -similar to Total War and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth- and the Games for Windows Live support.

3. Deus Ex 3

Deus Ex is one of my favorite games of all time. It's a FPS/RPG hybrid with an excellent storyline, cyberpunk theme and a gameplay where one problem can be solved in multiple ways, whether the use of stealth, guile or direct force. So you can't imagine how excited I am to get my hands on this game. Although, as of now, there's not much info about it. Except that its story is set before the first game, where Mechs are still the shit and Nano Augs don't exist yet. Nonetheless, I expect nothing less from Eidos on this one.

2. Alpha Protocol

I love role-playing games. But, unfortunately, most games that are out now have themes of medieval fantasy or science fiction. While I don't have much problems with that I just wish a little bit of change. That's why I'm excited about Obsidian Entertainment's Alpha Protocol. Its contemporary setting, espionage theme and high C4 combat, similar to Mass Effect, is something I really look forward to this year.

1. Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins is a role-playing game developed by BioWare. A spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, as they claim it, the game features pause and play tactical combat, sterling storyline, copious amount of cinematic dialog, and dialog options that can affect the game world. I actually thought that this role-playing game was on its way to being a vaporware when BioWare stopped feeding us news and updates about it. But, after 5 long years of waiting, Dragon Age: Origins is finally going to be released this spring. Now all I have to do is bite my nails until that day.

These are the nine games that I'm looking forward this year. I think most of the games here will be released early (Demigod, Alpha Protocol and Dragon Age will be released this Q1). So that means it'll be a bit easier on the wallet. I can't guarantee if these games will live up to their hype though. But I'm hoping they will.

Happy New Gaming Year!

Similar Posts:
6 Games for 2006
Games for 2007
Games for 2008