Mass Effect & Dragon Age – Bioware’s own Star Wars & Lord of the Rings?
So coming off of Mass Effect 2, I decided I needed some more Bioware in my life, so I picked up Dragon Age: Origins to give it a whirl. I’m really digging the game and am getting pretty into it, although I still think Mass Effect 2 is the better game in my mind. Maybe that’s because every step of the way in Dragon Age I’m just comparing it to Mass Effect. I decided to jot down a few of my thoughts into writing.
Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings
The Mass Effect universe has been compared to Star Wars (biotics = the force), and Dragon Age really feels like Lord of the Rings. I kept waiting for them to talk about Mordor and Sauron during the intro movie, which I think does a great job of setting the feel for the game. Dragon Age has dwarves, elves, and humans (sound familiar?) while Mass Effect has a wide array of alien races who all manage to speak English. For my money, both these games top the licensed Star Wars and Lord of the Rings games out there, at least in this console generation!
Silent Protagonists!?!?!
I think I’d definitely recommend both games, but I think you might want to play Dragon Age first. Why? Because there are so many awesome dialogue options, but you never hear yourself speak!! Coming off of Mass Effect, where Shepard has so many funny lines, it was a real bummer when I found out my character in Dragon Age didn’t speak at all. The lines delivered by NPCs in both games are great, but it really takes me out of the experience when I don’t speak in Dragon Age.
Micromanaging Inventory is No Fun
Frankly, I hate micromanaging my inventory, and I didn’t remember how much I hated it in the original Mass Effect until I was forced to do it again in Dragon Age. The Dragon Age inventory system is especially annoying because I don’t know what’s valuable or not! I really wish Dragon Age had the trimmer system from Mass Effect 2, but I guess it is set in olden times, so they needed to carry stuff in packs? Or something? Inventory limits suck.
Build Your Team
It’s funny that both these games revolve around gathering allies for a huge battle. Mass Effect 2 felt epic, and so does Dragon Age. The difference is Dragon Age feels like a much larger scale. In Mass Effect 2 you build a small team, but in Dragon Age you are building an ARMY. I’m really excited to see what happens in the end after I gather all of my allies: it’s going to be Lord of the Rings meets William Wallace. Epic!
Overall, I don’t think you can go wrong with either game. Bioware is quickly climbing up my list of the top developers out there!
i haven’t had a chance to play mass effect 2 yet, but ya – the silent protagonist and inventory system are the worst aspects of DAO. If you can get to a point where you can accept them (ALWAYS clear your inventory space before going to a new dungeon!), you’ll definitely be able to enjoy the rest of the game.