Dragon Age vs. Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls, Console Version Options

[Bob Lord of Evil]

I have played both of these games, even gone back and played Oblivion to make sure that I wasn't remembering it wrong.

What I like...
Dragon Age: Above average dialog, the setting, and the NPC's (yes, I admit that I have more than a passing attraction to Claudia Black...so sue me.)

Oblivion: The visual aspect of the game seems better than Dragon Age, the game system intrigues me far more, AND you can keep playing once you have finished the main quest.

If it were not for the dialog and Claudia Black, I would have to say that Oblivion is simply a superior game in every aspect.

What do you think?

[FooFighter]

I've been playing a modded Oblivion quite a lot a few years ago. It was fun, though even the mods, which finally added proper balancing and interesting characters to my game (something Bethesda utterly failed to implement into vanilla TES IV), it was "just" a nice dungeon crawler (with an admittedly awesome background story, which, however, sadly is only told through books and the like).

Dragon Age, on the other hand, had more than just the nice background. It actually had an interesting (if not too innovative) story and characters you'd actually care about. However, DA wasn't without flaws either - it's gameplay was utterly terrible and consolified, and EA clearly left it's mark on the game in form of a NPC giving you a quest and then telling you to pay money to do it >.>.

Ultimately, I'd say that DA is more fun to play, though both Dragon Age and Oblivion are both (hugely) inferior to the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, which is just plain unbeatable when it comes to CRPGs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) .

This post has been edited by FooFighter: Apr 25 2010, 06:05 PM

[Dumori]

I've been playing a modded Oblivion quite a lot a few years ago. It was fun, though even the mods, which finally added proper balancing and interesting characters to my game (something Bethesda utterly failed to implement into vanilla TES IV), it was "just" a nice dungeon crawler (with an admittedly awesome background story, which, however, sadly is only told through books and the like).

I have to say though the background for TES is really huge I its defiantly easy to understand having play the others.

[Bob Lord of Evil]

I've been playing a modded Oblivion quite a lot a few years ago. It was fun, though even the mods, which finally added proper balancing and interesting characters to my game (something Bethesda utterly failed to implement into vanilla TES IV), it was "just" a nice dungeon crawler (with an admittedly awesome background story, which, however, sadly is only told through books and the like).

Dragon Age, on the other hand, had more than just the nice background. It actually had an interesting (if not too innovative) story and characters you'd actually care about. However, DA wasn't without flaws either - it's gameplay was utterly terrible and consolified, and EA clearly left it's mark on the game in form of a NPC giving you a quest and then telling you to pay money to do it >.>.

Ultimately, I'd say that DA is more fun to play, though both Dragon Age and Oblivion are both (hugely) inferior to the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, which is just plain unbeatable when it comes to CRPGs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) .

You know, I tried playing through the Baldur's Gate Trilogy and I just couldn't manage it. Although, I did like Neverwinter Nights.

I agree that DA is certainly fun to play, but it doesn't seem to be a huge break through that Oblivion did at the time. Oblivion, had a bigger set of things that a player could do though and just felt like you were getting more for your money.

Again, this is just my impression and I am no expert on the subject. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Bob Lord of Evil]

I have to say though the background for TES is really huge I its defiantly easy to understand having play the others.

The number of places that you can wander around is very impressive in TES. There was a huge amount of effort put into it. Still there are things that I would like to see done differently, in terms of the system, crafting items, a gem based socket system like Diablo, and so forth.

[Karoline]

Ultimately, I'd say that DA is more fun to play, though both Dragon Age and Oblivion are both (hugely) inferior to the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, which is just plain unbeatable when it comes to CRPGs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) .

Wait, trilogy? I don't remember there being a third one. The 2nd one already had you getting up to mid 30s or something in level. Or maybe that was the third one and I'm thinking that was an expansion to the second. Still, I agree, it was a great game. They actually followed the rules of what it was based on, there were tons of interesting characters and plots and stories and yada yada awesome. Only thing I didn't like was the exceedingly limited inventory space, though they sorta fixed that with the introduction of quivers and bags of holding.

As for the original question of DA vs TES, I'd have to say TES. Not sure why exactly, perhaps just that TES is more open ended. I can play through the game a few times, and play entirely different games. With DA though, the only thing that is different is that origin. After that you play the exact same game every time, because even though you may be a fighter in one game, and a mage in another, your party is still fighter fighter mage archer or whatever, and you end up with all the battles being exactly the same except for which of the four people running around is you.

It's like playing through an RTS multiple times, where once you always pretend that the first peasant produced is you, and then you pretend that the second peasant is you. Or maybe more accurately, that you pretend one of the melee types is you, then pretend that one of the ranged types is you. Battle still plays out the same, you just have a tiny focus on who you care about keeping alive the most.

Wish I had my BG disks with me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[FooFighter]

Wait, trilogy? I don't remember there being a third one. The 2nd one already had you getting up to mid 30s or something in level. Or maybe that was the third one and I'm thinking that was an expansion to the second.

Well, yeah, there were only Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2, but Throne of Bhaal (the expansion pack for BG2) was easily as long as 1 and while it used the same engine and picked up where BG2 ended, it's almost a game of it's own (oh, and it usually brought you up to levels around 40-50, but maybe that's just me being a completionist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) ). Thus, trilogy.

And yes, the TES series definitely do have a higher replay value. It keeps you playing longer, sure, but I think it really lacks these "Wow!" moments a game with more railroading, like, say, Mass Effect 2, has.

[Thanee]

For me this is not even a contest.

Oblivion was utterly boring and lame, while Dragon Age is just awesome (though I like Mass Effect even more)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Bob Lord of Evil]

Not sure why exactly

That is exactly how I feel and it bugs me that I can't point to one particular thing and say X makes TES better or Y makes DA less stellar.

[Thanee]

Replay value isn't very high on my list of important factors for an RPG, which might be a reason, I like the more story-focused games better. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

For replay value I have Diablo, StarCraft and L4D. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Karoline]

For replay value I have Diablo, StarCraft and L4D. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Good point. I wonder what game I've logged the most hours playing. Warcraft III is a likely candidate, as I loved the online custom games.

[Thanee]

WarCraft III somehow totally didn't appeal to me. I hated the (importance of the) heroes from the first moment onwards.

StarCraft forever! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Dumori]

And yes, the TES series definitely do have a higher replay value.

TES III ate my life I really have done almost if not every quest side quest/ unmarked quest. In fact I have played TESIII to the point its hard to play it again. I knwo for sure I've put in total over 1000hour in to that game as I know for a fact I have 4 250+hour chars at least. Most loved game at least one of up there with the zelda games for the n64.

[Bob Lord of Evil]

TES III ate my life I really have done almost if not every quest side quest/ unmarked quest. In fact I have played TESIII to the point its hard to play it again. I knwo for sure I've put in total over 1000hour in to that game as I know for a fact I have 4 250+hour chars at least. Most loved game at least one of up there with the zelda games for the n64.

I can't even come close to making that claim! Wow. Until now I thought that I played it alot. If the wife unit ever complains about me spending too much time playing a video game I will just hand her a copy of your post! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[tete]

For me Oblivion hands down, I enjoy things like finding Goblin Jim's book and then go exploring till I find the cave he wrote about. I've been playing Elder Scrolls since Daggerfall and loved reading all the books and the free form nature of the game. I can't wait for MMO. The intro alone got me, after all these years I was coming home, to the Empire.

[toturi]

Well, yeah, there were only Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2, but Throne of Bhaal (the expansion pack for BG2) was easily as long as 1 and while it used the same engine and picked up where BG2 ended, it's almost a game of it's own (oh, and it usually brought you up to levels around 40-50, but maybe that's just me being a completionist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) ). Thus, trilogy.

TOB brought you to 40 max and that was for thieves. Yes, thieves, not rogues but thieves. All other class had considerably lower maxes. My human berserker/theif was 13/39 maxed.

I replayed SOA+TOB quite a few times for all the romances as well as the redeem your evil companions things. But I finished it with essentially only 2 main characters.

[Karoline]

WarCraft III somehow totally didn't appeal to me. I hated the (importance of the) heroes from the first moment onwards.

StarCraft forever! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

Yeah, I was never overly fond of core WC3. It was fun, I liked going through the campaign and liked the story well enough, but what really got me playing it was the custom online games. From what I've heard most of them were more or less copies from SC, but I got SC back before battlenet, and so never experienced that.

I do admit that I really hated that your skill in the game was basically dependent on how good your hero was, since a good enough hero could basically take down an entire army on her own. Of course both SC and WC3 suffer severely from twitch play. I despise that a strategy game essentially comes down to how good you are at strafing with two zerglings or hydralisks or whatever, and how quickly you can push the right combination of 13 buttons and mouse clicks that gets your units to use all the right abilities at the right times on the right people.

[Sengir]

If it were not for the dialog and Claudia Black, I would have to say that Oblivion is simply a superior game in every aspect.

What do you think?

All bow to mighty Morrowind!

(with ~1.5 Gigs worth of mods, texture replacers and MGE of course)

[Bob Lord of Evil]

Speaking of custom mods...

I have taken a peak at some of the mods out there for Dragon Age and a lot of them are pretty interesting (beyond the naked skins for Morrigan)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I wonder, if the game companys put out these mod kits as a means to search out new talent or a means to guage interest in certain aspects of the game?

[Delta]

I have taken a peak at some of the mods out there for Dragon Age and a lot of them are pretty interesting (beyond the naked skins for Morrigan)! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Well if you've got any recommendations, feel free to share (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

On topic, Oblivion is a great game for sure, but it has its flaws. Still, I'm eagerly looking forward to the next installment in the TES series, and I hope they'll manage to improve on the strong points of Oblivion and maybe bring some of the greatness which was Morrowind up to date, that would make up for an incredible experience of a game, IMHO (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

While Dragon Age has its flaws as well, of course, it just "drew me in" in a way hardly any CRPG has managed to do before. I loved the style, the story, the characters in a way that simply wasn't possible with Oblivion, because for all it's great features, it felt a lot more sterile, keeping me from getting too invested in the game. The ending of DA had me close to tears at a certain moment, which is something Oblivion could never come even close to, and for a computer game, that's quite an achievement. So all in all, Dragon Age gets my vote.

[Karoline]

I wonder, if the game companys put out these mod kits as a means to search out new talent or a means to guage interest in certain aspects of the game?

I think they do it because it means the game gets tons of extended life (and thus attracts more customers to buy it) because of people adding more content. It's like all the work of patches and updates and added content and all that other stuff, only done for free by other people.

For example, one of the most popular mods for oblivion is the one that shrinks the menu sizes so you can see more than two things in your inventory at once. Had that mod not been made, customers would have been less satisfied. But the mod was made, and so the game as a whole was improved, and the game as a whole is attributed to the company that made it, even though it was some gamer working for free that made the mod that improved satisfaction.

Simply put, its free labor, free ratings boosts, free extra customer loyalty.

[Bob Lord of Evil]

While Dragon Age has its flaws as well, of course, it just "drew me in" in a way hardly any CRPG has managed to do before. I loved the style, the story, the characters in a way that simply wasn't possible with Oblivion, because for all it's great features, it felt a lot more sterile, keeping me from getting too invested in the game. The ending of DA had me close to tears at a certain moment, which is something Oblivion could never come even close to, and for a computer game, that's quite an achievement. So all in all, Dragon Age gets my vote.

For me, the dialog was such a huge part of Dragon Age drawing me in! The ones that made me laugh the hardest...Shale, Oghren, Zevran! I was really bummed about Morrigan leaving too.

[Dumori]

I can't even come close to making that claim! Wow. Until now I thought that I played it alot. If the wife unit ever complains about me spending too much time playing a video game I will just hand her a copy of your post! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Yeah well I spend my early teenage years on that game!

[Sengir]

Yeah well I spend my early teenage years on that game!

Certainly not the worst way to spend that time...I think I put nearly as much time into modding Morrowind as I spend playing it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Dumori]

I may have done the same. I own 4 copys of that game. GOTY for PC and xbox and just morrowind for both...