Role-Playing

Frodo, meet Commander Shepard

HIGH Superb characterizations, story, and role-playing.

LOW The combat system is a mess.

WTF Screwing up a quest by missing one line of dialogue 20 hours beforehand.

As is somewhat apparent, I've been spending some time (a lot of time, actually) with BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins. Although it's got a few issues, it's a great Adventure-RPG if you like the style as much as I do, and it's had no trouble keeping my interest. However, there has been something that's been bothering me about it—the character Shale.

For those that don't know, Shale is an extra character that can be recruited into the player's party. A powerful wrecking-ball of a golem with a witty personality, he's a very attractive prospect. The issue? He's only available via DLC.

So, now that it's here I've been able to log some hours with it and at this point all I'll say is that despite some of the big talk BioWare was putting out, Dragon Age = KOTOR/Jade Empire/Mass Effect in a Medieval-ish/Lord of the Rings skin. Frankly, it's the same game they've put out a couple times now, so everyone's mileage may vary. In my case, this is one of my favorite game types and BioWare does them best, so I'm digging it. However, I'm under no illusions that the game pushes any boundaries or explores new territory. This is firmly-established boilerplate.

In This Case, The Length Is A Good Thing

HIGH It's a real JRPG, except it doesn't waste your time.

LOW The Knight 30 mode could have used a little more work.

WTF Why is nobody talking about this game?

Over the past week or so, it seems like the issue of race in gaming has been picking up steam. I've come across two great posts on the subject, one from Paul Tassi and a sardonic take over at the Play Like a Girl blog. More pertinently, an illuminating study from the USC Annenberg School of Communication revealed that minorities—and particularly Latinos—are woefully underrepresented among protagonists and other characters in leading video games.

Foiled By A Fence

HIGH Seeing the consequences of a choice I made much earlier in the game.

LOW Having to keep re-entering conversation trees that I haven't fully explored yet.

WTF Buying stuff from the same fat guy with the same bell around his neck a bazillion times.

Ever wondered what it would be like to whole up in a building you'd converted to a fully functioning fortress during the zombie apocalypse? Well, wonder no more because Paradox Interactive's forthcoming Fort Zombie is set to let you live the dream.

In Fort Zombie, players must save the town of Piety, Indiana from an impending wave of zombies migrating from a nearby major city. Players are challenged to take control of a single building throughout the entire campaign. By effectively building this structure into the ultimate fort, as well as carefully searching for supplies and finding and training survivors in Piety, players have a chance at conquering and outlasting the flesh-hungry zombies.

The game reportedly blends zombie-killing mayhem with casual RPG elements and will be available for PC download later this fall—for an insanely cheap $9.99 price point. Just to set the tone, here's a look at the game's introductory cinematic. Yes, the graphics aren't exactly cutting edge, but the gameplay may well make up for the visual shortcomings.