The Party Scene
I have 300+ hours into Dragon Age: Origins, and I’m still going back for more. Not to replay the quests (I’ve done them all), not to load a new character up with fancy loot (though, admittedly, there are some cool weapons I still want to check out), not to discover a secret location in Ferelden (the unknown frontier has been colonized for me a while back). No, I miss the party scene.
I do miss chugging some ale around camp with the fiery dwarf Oghren, but it’s more about wanting to go back and see all my friends. My companions that journeyed with me from the Grey Warden Joining to the final battle against the Archdemon. Sounds sappy, maybe, but I’ve never played a game before that had this much interaction between you and your pals. We’re all used to the A.I. party member that hacks a monster in the skull to save your neck (most of the time) and slashes through a spellcaster hellbent on turning you into a campfire marshmallow (most of the time); these guys are standard fantasy fare. I was pleasantly surprised, then amazed, at how my Dragon Age buddies came to life.
First up for my party was Alistair. A fellow Grey Warden, the wise-cracking, sensitive-yet-sometimes-surly Alistair became my warrior tank from the moment we sunk our boots into the Korcari Wilds muck. His banter with Morrigan is priceless. The two act like ex-boyfriend and girlfriend with a real axe to grind, and not as prep for our next darkspawn encounter.
Unfortunately, since I mostly played a mage, Morrigan got left home as soon as I hooked up with Wynne at the Circle Tower. Alistair got me again there, when he once asked Wynne to mend his socks because he’s a guy and she’s a motherly grandmother type. Hilarious stuff. There is a lot to love about Wynne and her nurturing wisdom, but probably the coolest thing was when her Vessel of the Spirit ability appears. This ability seals the deal for Wynne as the best healer in the game, but you only get it after a series of events at Party Camp and after a tough boss fight in a random encounter.
As a human male character, I choose to seduce Leliana, our rogue who joined the group at Dane’s Refuge in Lothering. Little did I know that she’s the hardest one to woo: She needs a 100 approval rating to fall in love, unlike companions like Morrigan and Zevran who enjoy their flings. Leliana’s a bard, and when she broke into song—the whole thing: music, lyrics, and all—just for me at Party Camp, I was floored. What other game gives you that much as a “throwaway” moment in camp? Amazing.
There are just too many moments in the lifetime of one character to chronicle. Dog’s fetching antics, grumpy Sten, discovering the gender-bender golem Shale in the downloadable content—moments I’ll remember forever, not because I killed a foe in .2 seconds flat, but because I made a connection with these characters.
Like a good book, I’m excited to get to the end of Dragon Age: Origins, and when I get there, I’m heartbroken that it’s over. Luckily, this story can be retold in many ways, and each time I’ll catch another Alistair joke or a disparaging Oghren comment that seriously makes me pause and think, “Did Bioware just create life with this game when I wasn’t looking?”
To access the official Dragon Age strategy site visit www.DragonAgeWalkthrough .com.
The Prima Collector’s Edition Guide and Prima Official Game Guide to Dragon Age: Origins are available wherever games are sold.
