Happy Dragon Age II Day!

Happy Dragon Age II Day!


Guess what I'm going to be doing tonight?

Alllllllll night?


Lol, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might remember a post I did about Dragon Age Origins, a video game with some of the best characters/voice acting/storylines I've ever seen. The characters (and there were a lot of them) were all fully fleshed out, with their own personalities and backgrounds, but there were two I kinda fell in love with.


Alistair













A knight, a warrior, and an absolute sweetheart. Got the whole chivalry thing down pat. Apparently, I'm not the only admirer.






















The "hello" version.

















The "yum" version.



And Zevran.















There's my assassin thing again. Zevran is part of the Antivan Crows, an order of feared assassins, and was sent to kill the main character, but he ends up joining the group instead.

Zevran also has quite the following, but I'm not going to post any pics. This is a family-friendly blog, after all. If you've played the game, you know what I mean.


Needless to say, I loved Dragon Age Origins. And the ending? The fabulous Ultimate Noble Sacrifice ending? Loved it! And now, FINALLY, Dragon Age II is out. Today! I have been stalking their official site for months now and I'm dying of anticipation. So if you don't see me around for a bit, its because I'll be in Ferelden again, saving the world. Also, I'm VERY intrigued by this guy.














His name is Fenris (LOVE!) and he's an elf who was a slave, killed his master, and escaped. Apparently, he has magical tattoos burned into his skin by his former master, so we'll see what those can do. He's also one of the love interests. *Huge geeky grin*

And, like Alistair and Zevran, he's already gathering admirers.





















Ooh...



So, who else is dying for Dragon Age II? Declare your geekdom proudly. :D

Happily Ever After, or Ultimate Noble Sacrifice?

I just finished the most amazing, epic, fantastic game ever, Dragon Age Origins, and I am still reeling from the awesomeness of it all. It wasn't the graphics that grabbed me, or the fighting or the leveling system. It was the characters. And the story.

Rarely can I say that the game's plot was what I truly enjoyed, but Dragon Age pulled it off flawlessly. The story was better than a lot of novels I've read, and that is saying something. The ending was truly climactic, and I might've teared up once or twice when it all came to a close.

Here's the thing that got me thinking though. In Dragon Age, you have the option for several endings, depending on your character and the choices you make throughout. In my storyline, the heroine came to fall deeply in love with one of the other characters, a knight named Alistair. Without being too spoilery, at the climax of the game, you had to make a choice: to slay the Ultimate Big Bad, one of you had to die. OR, you could choose to cast a ritual that would spare both your lives, but could have possible reprecussions for the land in the distant future.

So ... what would you choose? What would you prefer the story ending to be? Happy Ever After, or Ultimate Noble Sacrifice? I must say, even though I chose to enact the ritual and get the ending that left us both alive, I prefer the bittersweet, Ultimate Sacrifce ending, in movies, games, and books. The main character doesn't have to die for me to be happy, not at all. Nor do the lovers have to be forever separated. But they should have to give up SOMETHING for their story to end. If they sacrifice nothing, then nothing is all they end up with. And the story feels cheaper, contrived somehow.

For me, I find that if a book can make me cry, then the author has done their job well. Even if I'm sobbing my eyes out over the tradegy, I still feel it has come to its intended conclusion. Like it couldn't be any other way.

Also, I think I am completly in love with Alistair. I mean, come on, how can you turn down a handsome knight who's willing to die for you? *Swoon*