Where was this jewel of a thread hiding?

If there was a game in the past 7 years that I'd be the most excited about, this is it. This game hits all the right keys to me.

I'll be a very happy gamer if DA:O lives up to its expectations, and I believe it will.

It's just too bad that it's being hard for me and others outside the normal distribution circles to get this game, but everything will be an afterthought as soon as I get my hands on it... 

The game does look very promising. I'm happy that the DRM is very reasonable. I am unhappy that on the release day, there will be a (if you pay for it) DLC released. It seems ridiculous that if I buy a brand new game on release day that I'm already missing out on content, unless I pony up $10 more dollars...

That video though, felt like extreme torture. I could not stand the interviewer's voice, or style, and would have enjoyed the video more if it were just the game's audio. That's why there is a mute button though. What a godsend.

If that was the only reason, then it would not need to be paid content but free. There is something unsettling about the trend though I won't actually come out and say it's morally wrong. There was a time when developers/publishers created a game and tried to give the consumer the best damn game they could get out, hope that it was well received and we'd seen an expansion pack or something built ontop of a great game in a year or two. Now, these companies are holding back intentionally. It's one thing to acknowledge time constraints and have expansions on the drawing board but as a consumer, I am pretty set against these mini downloads and "stuff" packs. Hell you mention a trailer for Elemental and some people get really worked up because that's time and resources taken from the main game... and yet it's allowed to slide here.

I think this game is getting some leeway because its Dragon Age and everyone is excited about it, can you imagine the response that some of these other games would get, you know, the ones that ship with around 10 hours of content tops for 60 bucks and they tack on additional content for additional money on day 1, meanwhile the game is so damn buggy no one can play it all the way through for a week?

Only DLC that I thought I payed good money for was Sins Entrenchment, and soon to be Diplomacy too.  Hell that expansions for GC2 were great too!

I preordered Dragon Age... normal... Im looking at Special Edition... thank god im not getting xbox version... but ya my mind tells me this DLC is... it should be in the game... but ya... $7 for 5 hours of gameplay.... hmmm... I wanted to talk to stardock support and switch it to Special Edition... Ill think about it...

I would only agree with the current situation if the normal main game would be $7 cheaper. Now this game is not that expensive on retail ($55-ish which is below average here) so I might get it after seeing if it's really a good game or not, but DLC is definitily a black page in gaming history if you ask me. Instead of the promised episodic content for which you would never have to pay for more than you'd play it ended up in being pay twice to get the full game in the first place, in only a matter of 2 years. Hmm maybe I should wait for a gold edition in about a year, with the DLC on the retail disk.

Yeah, I'm not big on paid DLC either.  However, if you simply wait for about a year before buying a game, they'll bundle all of that stuff into a "Game of the Year" edition and sell it at a discount.  Sometimes, you'll even get a proper expansion module in the deal, not to mentioned a patched-up game.  They all do it this way, including NWN, Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc.  Of course, the hard part is waiting a year for a much-hyped game.

Be careful, that might sound like if those were not as important as Dragon Age.

A pity that it's release doesn't share time frame with my vacations.

IIRC it contains Warden Keep, which is extra content. It is included with the more expensive box only. Buyers of the cheaper version will have to pay extra to play warden keep. Correct me if i'm wrong.

Thanks for that. What remains is the (cheapest) digital version on Impulse. I can't remember what it was called and can't be arsed to look it up. The more expensive one was the digital deluxe edition. I assume the chear digital one equals the regular version minus packaging?

Regular download exactly equals regular retail edition. There are no "online bonus items."

What you are talking about is the preorder bonus item, of which every retailer gets their own one (amazon, impulse, gamestop, etc). Impulse's memory band is the same as EA Store's. Impulse is the superior delivery system, though. There has been conflicting information that the memory band is actually included with all preorders, meaning impulse wouldn't have any exclusive in game item.

Deluxe download is just like the retail collector's edition, EXCEPT that the digital version will have $7 warden's keep for free instead of the bonus dvd, cloth map and tin case. Both versions have the 3 extra collector's in game items.

Here is a site with more details:

http://greywardens.com/overview/

Here is a post from the official forums:

http://daforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=689474&forum=135

I was wondering... is Impulse version of the game going to be MULTI5 (with subs in other languages) or just english?

Huh er....uh...no, No, of course those other distractions are as important as Dragon Age... lol

Actually our first Anniversary is far more important than Any game ever could be. My wife and I will still be together many many years from now when I'm old and gray typing on some other forum about how cool Dragon Age 10 or Elemental 5 is going to be.