I tried it and  did not do well. Then i went to the internet and read up on some stratagies.

Tried it again and did better.

still was having problems

Tried it with a different class and did even better!

Then i realized that if i wanted to do well in the game you really had to pause after each of the party members attacks and queue them up no matter what,

I uninstalled it three times in frustration and finally left it off my PC.

I really liked the story, voice acting and the atmosphere. The real killer for me was the micromanagement of the fights.

Especially during the more involved encounters

It is WAY WAY WAY too difficult.

But the storyline so far is AMAZING!

I am embarrased to say I turned on immortality during certain stages because I tried and died a lot of times

Iv'e got more, but will stop there. Not really designed to be a bash of boware or their game, I just don't like it. Obviously a ton of people do. It just surprises me  is all. I am an older guy so perhaps what i think of as a "good game" is just different from the current generations. Seems "playable movies" are the new thing :(

  

  Apparently you were asleep when Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment pretty much rescued the near-dead RPG genre - and this is a refined version of that playstyle. This is something of a slow game by some standards, and won't appeal to everybody,  but superior attitude and outright lies [cutscenes every 5 minutes? please] don't really help your argument.

Originally posted by zero0ut

I tried it and  did not do well. Then i went to the internet and read up on some stratagies.

Tried it again and did better.

still was having problems

Tried it with a different class and did even better!

Then i realized that if i wanted to do well in the game you really had to pause after each of the party members attacks and queue them up no matter what,

I uninstalled it three times in frustration and finally left it off my PC.

I really liked the story, voice acting and the atmosphere. The real killer for me was the micromanagement of the fights.

Especially during the more involved encounters

  Micromanagement of your characters happens when you do not take advantage of  the tactics for automation, and build your party to compliment each other.

My character is a DPS warrior, so I do not have ONE tank, I have two off tanks. I then have two casters that split healing and buffing. One heals and revives, then does damage... the othe does damage, buffs, and heals.

I rarely have to micro-manage except during stressful boss fights. Using "Hold Position" you will need to develop a system that places your casters/range back  away from the melee action. Have one of your offtanks take out range enemies as they show up. It becomes habit every time you approach unknown territory so you begin to do it without thinking. You identify key locations where you can best take advantage of choke points and cover.

The game does not do it for you. YOU have to learn the system and develop the skill at operating it.

Does that suck? yeah... especially if your looking to just have a good time and enjoy a good storyline.

Set it on easy, and all will be well.

If you are looking for a challenge and to develop a connection with your characters... to feel like you accomplished something...

Learn the system.

 I completely understand the OP's frustration. Bioware games have become 'interactive movies' in a way. Plenty of people do enjoy being strung along through a linear story but there are those that don't. 

Originally posted by dhayes68

I haven't played it yet, and I'll give it a fair try before I buy at a friends, but the DLC and the npc that bugs you to buy sounds like a real turn off. We'll see.

As far as the whole Bioware rpg thing goes, I've noticed my patience for their style of game has drastically reduced over time. Especially with sequels. Loved Baldur's Gate. 2, not so much. Loved Kotor, kotor2, not so much. Didn't finish Jade whatever.

I guess their style is too unique. They need to try something different. Also, since the advent of MMO's my patience for storylines on rails has also drastically been reduced.

 The game has a total of 4 different endings. And if you want a good storyline, and here's a universal truth, you *need* it to be somewhat linear. Dragon Age takes about 40 - 50 hours to finish with your first character, and while the storylines are a bit different depending on your class and origin story, it's simply insane to expect Bioware to write a few alternative plots.

 The enormous amount of work that went into the story, landscape, lore, characters, voice-acting etc etc completely justifies, in my mind, Day 1 DLC. Look, Bioware made an absolutely huge, very polished, almost bug-free game, completely from scratch, and yet they charge a standard price for it. They put in a *lot* more work than your average developer does, and I'd say that completely entitles them to seek extra profit via optional DLC.

I was expecting the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate with a game play style and quality of Mass Effect....Guess what, I got exactly that. add to it excellent voice acting and a engrosing story and you get what was advertised plus some.

I use the tactics system so I rarely pause and do not have the game on easy.

I personally am enjoying it a great deal. I love the other bioware games and pretty much new I would like this one. It is linear and there is a bunch of "story" . It is JUST like Mass effect for the most part in a fantasy setting with the addition of "origin" stories which are all pretty well done.

Honestly I love it.  Story and characters are very interesting.  Bioware games, for me, are like a good book.  Tough to get started with, but once you are into in, so very very hard to put down.  Not so much NwN though, i couldnt really ever get into those.

Originally posted by zero0ut

I tried it and  did not do well. Then i went to the internet and read up on some stratagies.

Tried it again and did better.

still was having problems

Tried it with a different class and did even better!

Then i realized that if i wanted to do well in the game you really had to pause after each of the party members attacks and queue them up no matter what,

I uninstalled it three times in frustration and finally left it off my PC.

I really liked the story, voice acting and the atmosphere. The real killer for me was the micromanagement of the fights.

Especially during the more involved encounters

I can understand that some people may not enjoy the combat management (did you try setting tactics for each character?) but for me its my favorite part of the game. The story as well is probably the best I've seen in any of the RPGs I've tried. It truly keeps me coming back for more.
 

I enjoy the strategy of combat so much that I literally turn off all AI tactics and que up skills for everyone in my party myself. I love it! It makes for some real fun encounters because my actions will garentee my success or failure if I'm not on the ball.

Just last night I tried fighting a large group of badies, dieing 3-4 times before I finally decided to go straight for the boss first and down him asap (he kept throwing fire bombs at my group and taking out huge amounts of damage to everyone in the area). Once I downed the boss first I quickly started dropping the regular mobs one by one until they were all dead...my plan worked brilliantly!! I ended the fight with 2 dead and two on their last legs but I managed to make to through somehow.

For those that enjoy this type of combat Dragon Age has plenty of epic fights to be had, not too mention the story is superb.  IMO this game is the best rpg we've seen in many many years! Each night I can't help but play for afew hours and quit afterwards wishing I could play more...

For those that don't enjoy it? Its truly sad, because we likely won't see another rpg as good for quite some time now. Hope you find the type rpg your looking for though! :-)

Originally posted by BadMedicine

Originally posted by dhayes68

I haven't played it yet, and I'll give it a fair try before I buy at a friends, but the DLC and the npc that bugs you to buy sounds like a real turn off. We'll see.

As far as the whole Bioware rpg thing goes, I've noticed my patience for their style of game has drastically reduced over time. Especially with sequels. Loved Baldur's Gate. 2, not so much. Loved Kotor, kotor2, not so much. Didn't finish Jade whatever.

I guess their style is too unique. They need to try something different. Also, since the advent of MMO's my patience for storylines on rails has also drastically been reduced.

 

 The game has a total of 4 different endings. And if you want a good storyline, and here's a universal truth, you *need* it to be somewhat linear. Dragon Age takes about 40 - 50 hours to finish with your first character, and while the storylines are a bit different depending on your class and origin story, it's simply insane to expect Bioware to write a few alternative plots.

 

 The enormous amount of work that went into the story, landscape, lore, characters, voice-acting etc etc completely justifies, in my mind, Day 1 DLC. Look, Bioware made an absolutely huge, very polished, almost bug-free game, completely from scratch, and yet they charge a standard price for it. They put in a *lot* more work than your average developer does, and I'd say that completely entitles them to seek extra profit via optional DLC.

Bioware did an excellent job with this game, and i can see major changes from the way Mass Effect took your acitons and decisions, and the way Dragon Age does it. The storyline is very good, and i repeat, if you learn the system.

Does it have problems? Yeah... probably a couple hundred depending on the person you talk to.

It's really easy to find what's wrong... but people always have difficulty pointing out what's right.

It's human nature to ignore or just accept something when it functions and works properly... and so it requires effort and thought to stop and make note of something that works correctly or even very well.

Effort many people don't want to put in.

You don't have to google very far to find problems and issues with DA:O from your average player... but I'm certain you will have to work to find an average player who lists the bad things, but matches it with an list of good things.

When you do find something like that... i'm almost willing to bet that player isn't average.

Originally posted by Derros

Honestly I love it.  Story and characters are very interesting.  Bioware games, for me, are like a good book.  Tough to get started with, but once you are into in, so very very hard to put down.  Not so much NwN though, i couldnt really ever get into those.

I agree. For me, when it comes to single player RPGs I always get into the story, if it is done well and BioWare does story well.

Originally posted by LiquidWolf

Bioware did an excellent job with this game, and i can see major changes from the way Mass Effect took your acitons and decisions, and the way Dragon Age does it. The storyline is very good, and i repeat, if you learn the system.

Does it have problems? Yeah... probably a couple hundred depending on the person you talk to.

It's really easy to find what's wrong... but people always have difficulty pointing out what's right.

It's human nature to ignore or just accept something when it functions and works properly... and so it requires effort and thought to stop and make note of something that works correctly or even very well.

Effort many people don't want to put in.

You don't have to google very far to find problems and issues with DA:O from your average player... but I'm certain you will have to work to find an average player who lists the bad things, but matches it with an list of good things.

When you do find something like that... i'm almost willing to bet that player isn't average.

Yup, its sad isnt it? Its the same with MMOs..players pick and pick and pick at em looking for problems to compain about. And then they wonder why their bored of video games? lol

It truly is a shame how the we've turned out as MMO and RPG gamers...just take a look at the forums here. We're a bunch of whiners and complainers rather then playing to have fun and sharing the good things. There are exceptions of course.

Ah well, nothing will change. And on we go!!

 I never really got into Baldur's Gate or NWN series it just isnt my cup of tea on single player RPGs I am more inclined to play Oblivion type of games, but despite this and following some friend's advice I decided to give Dragon Age a shot, it felt a bit odd at the start since I wasnt used at all with having to pause the game all the time and having to micro manage every member of the party .

After the inital shock I must say I am very pleased the game feels simply amazing, I dont think free roaming would fit this game, and actually it was one of the things I was worried when I went out of the camp on the Warden trial mission if I had to actually walk my party from an area of relevance to another it would just make the game VERY VERY boring to me, I want to interact with the areas but I want hands on story not roam around for 20min everytime I want to go somewhere.

I found it very refreshing the difference in attitude of each party member the fact that you cant please everyone and there is no really a set of "good" decisions.

Cant complaint about gfx the game looks really nice and fighting sequences are epic.

Why do people say this game is so linear...sure there is a point to the story to which you want to arrive, but in terms of character customization you have a decent amount of choice.  Here is an example of why its not so linear.

I was talking with my friend who pick the mage story arc, as well as i did...i went spirit healer because i told him it didnt seem like you got a healer in the game...he said ya you do when you go to the circle of magi you get one....i looked at him confused? he starts cracking up ... O you just killed the boy..hahha.

The game is not for action rpg players, it is all RPG...with a side of action.  Its not for everyone but certainly deserving of a 9/10.  I do agree that they spent a shit load on advertising...prolly didnt need to , i think word of mouth would have been just as good with this great bioware game. 

I think it's a great game. I love storyline RPG's and this one sure delivers. One thing that I have discovered while playing this game is how tired I am of mmo's. Finally I am playing a good game. I'm sorry to the OP and a few of the others who didn't like it, hopefully you'll find a game more suited to your tastes.

Originally posted by rav3n2

 I never really got into Baldur's Gate or NWN series it just isnt my cup of tea on single player RPGs I am more inclined to play Oblivion type of games, but despite this and following some friend's advice I decided to give Dragon Age a shot, it felt a bit odd at the start since I wasnt used at all with having to pause the game all the time and having to micro manage every member of the party .

After the inital shock I must say I am very pleased the game feels simply amazing, I dont think free roaming would fit this game, and actually it was one of the things I was worried when I went out of the camp on the Warden trial mission if I had to actually walk my party from an area of relevance to another it would just make the game VERY VERY boring to me, I want to interact with the areas but I want hands on story not roam around for 20min everytime I want to go somewhere.

I found it very refreshing the difference in attitude of each party member the fact that you cant please everyone and there is no really a set of "good" decisions.

Cant complaint about gfx the game looks really nice and fighting sequences are epic.

 For some reason I couldnt get into Oblivion. I tried it 3-4 times and couldnt get past the main city. Its a great game for some peeps but for me it always felt too open with no enough direction. Not to mention quests were slighty boring and the caves always seemed the same no matter what part of the world you were in.

Two totally different games by two totally different companys. Obsideon (sp?) has some competition now for a change :-)

I love the game. Already going through it a second time. The story is good and I enjoy the party dynamics. I don't recall ever having to pause the game during combat I just made good use of the tactics slots. All in all a very nice game brings back memories of baldur's gate.

I like it. But I loved Neverwinter nights and the Baldurs gate games too...

Most fantasy gamers either like those games or the Diablo games, some both. I want a story and don't mind the party thing, I like RPGs. Others prefer action games like Diablo (or dungeon siege) but for me it is just empty combat.

That doesn't mean Dragonage (or Diablo) are bad games, if you don't like them you are most likely not that kind of gamer. 

I liked NWN2 alot. Finished it a couple of times. Dragon Age however doesn't rock my boat. It looks and feels like a NWN2 remake with a different story. (Same b1tchy spell-caster that you're stuck with ONCE AGAIN)

DLC at launch is a complete pisstake too.

my 2 pence :P

I just thought it was funny when zevran tried to hit on my male character and then i had to reject him and then he betrayed me later.  Only in bioware rpgs.

Originally posted by tkreep

I just thought it was funny when zevran tried to hit on my male character and then i had to reject him and then he betrayed me later.  Only in bioware rpgs.

Little spoiler alert>>>

Interesting, Zevran never hit on my character and he did not betray me, He died from the joining. I guess your choices do make a difference.

Edit: oops, I was thinking of Daveth, the Warden prospect, not Zevran the assassin.

Yes it is up to ME to understand how the game works but that is not the only choice I have.
I went online and looked up strats and ideas. I gave it a two or three night try, I have been gaming for a long time...
And as you can see I did not come here and start bashing it, many people enjoy the game.
I tried tactics and non tactics. Different abilities with diffrerent stances. I thought about running the game on easy but I wanted some sort of challenge!

At the end of the day if I am not having fun "playing" a game then whats the point?

Originally posted by LiquidWolf

Originally posted by zero0ut

I tried it and  did not do well. Then i went to the internet and read up on some stratagies.

Tried it again and did better.

still was having problems

Tried it with a different class and did even better!

Then i realized that if i wanted to do well in the game you really had to pause after each of the party members attacks and queue them up no matter what,

I uninstalled it three times in frustration and finally left it off my PC.

I really liked the story, voice acting and the atmosphere. The real killer for me was the micromanagement of the fights.

Especially during the more involved encounters

  Micromanagement of your characters happens when you do not take advantage of  the tactics for automation, and build your party to compliment each other.

My character is a DPS warrior, so I do not have ONE tank, I have two off tanks. I then have two casters that split healing and buffing. One heals and revives, then does damage... the othe does damage, buffs, and heals.

I rarely have to micro-manage except during stressful boss fights. Using "Hold Position" you will need to develop a system that places your casters/range back  away from the melee action. Have one of your offtanks take out range enemies as they show up. It becomes habit every time you approach unknown territory so you begin to do it without thinking. You identify key locations where you can best take advantage of choke points and cover.

The game does not do it for you. YOU have to learn the system and develop the skill at operating it.

Does that suck? yeah... especially if your looking to just have a good time and enjoy a good storyline.

Set it on easy, and all will be well.

If you are looking for a challenge and to develop a connection with your characters... to feel like you accomplished something...

Learn the system.

Yes it is up to ME to understand how the game works but that is not the only choice I have.
I went online and looked up strats and ideas. I gave it a two or three night try, I have been gaming for a long time...
And as you can see I did not come here and start bashing it, many people enjoy the game.
I tried tactics and non tactics. Different abilities with diffrerent stances. I thought about running the game on easy but I wanted some sort of challenge!

At the end of the day if I am not having fun "playing" a game then whats the point?

Thank you very much OP!! I dislike this type of RPG as well. Thanks for the heads up

Scenario:

A person posts "Am I the only one that hates Dragon Age"

Totally a bait post whether he/she had valid points or not. And yet this POS thread is 8 pages long.

And we wonder why this forum is the way it is.....