To be addicted or not to be addicted, that is the question.
I’ve been known to easily tire from playing a single player campaign ever since I could remember. My brother is a proof of that. While growing up, I never had any interest on playing any console game even if my brother was giddy on wanting to show me the games he’s been playing. I own a PSP for two years now and all of the RPG that my brother recommended that I should play didn’t last long. I only play an hour or even less in a day, sometimes not even. I didn’t finish them and never even had any curiosity on what’s going to happen in the end. It’s only a means to spend idle time while waiting for something or some one. My brother seems to play my PSP more than I do, actually, since he borrows it from me once in a while.
Recently, I’ve heard friends talking about this new game called Dragon Age: Origins. I thought, “Oh… it’s from BioWare, the makers of Baldur’s Gate.” My friends keep posting screenshots of their character and so I did some research over the internet and watched the trailers that BioWare has. On my mind at that time, “this will be another waste for me.” Recalling that I didn’t finish Baldur’s Gate at all when I got stuck in one of the stages in that game, I was a little reluctant to buy the game.
So, I did some reading in forums and on article reviews about the game. It was a mix review, so… I was not really sure if I should buy one. I don’t have the console XBOX or PS, just a PC. I went searching over YouTube showing Dragon Age: Origins. The one that got me interested in trying it out were the animation, the none-linear story, and not to mention the NPC named Alistair.
I bought the game last Saturday after coming back home from an out of town vacation. Know that I haven’t had any sleep on my way home. I arrived around nine in the evening and installed the game. I’m not reading any spoilers or tips on how to play the game. I thought, where’s the fun in that, right? I started playing the game around ten in the evening and next thing I knew, my brother was knocking on my door asking if I want to have “breakfast”. What he was asking didn’t sink in the first time but when it did I was in shock that this game had my attention all through out the night. Of course, I was leaving the computer to get some snacks and drinks all night but in all my gaming experience, I never gotten pass 4 hours on playing a single campaign RPG in one sitting. And I even continued playing after having breakfast, could you imagine that?
When I was kid, I had some experience on playing the family Nintendo but I never had the urge to hog the console all day and all night. I’ve seen what it did to my brother back then. He’d finish TMNT in less that a week, if my memory serves me right. When I got to play Final Fantasy 7, I never really got the urge to play every day or maybe because my parents didn’t allow me to be addicted. After reaching the part where Aeris died, I stopped playing and never finished the game at all. I guess that was silly of me.
In my college days, I only get to play the Playstation at my friend’s house and my only interest on it was answering the puzzles and clues in Resident Evil while my friend does the control. Then one of my friends introduced me to counter strike and then came Starcraft and Warcraft. Thinking about it, I never really finish any of those games either. I only played it when my friends want to go against me in Battle.Net. Then there’s the Lord of the Rings strategy game. I know, I played it for hours and hours like 4 hours maximum a day but I don’t ever recall finishing it. I never got immersed with the story, I guess. Or it could be that I’m just not really that interested in playing any games for a long time.
I hope I am not counting my eggs too early but I actually feel like I really want to finish this game and then some. I salute you, BioWare. And I am not being sarcastic about it. Dragon Age: Origin hasn’t disappointed me, yet.
Alistair kissed my character