I've been playing a bit of DA:O and it is certainly feeling like a modern version of the great Baldurs Gate. We will be reviewing it over the coming weeks and will get a well rounded verdict to you as soon as we can.

I've just started this on Xbox 360.  The Starting to think I'm more of a 'Mass Effect' guy.

So far, and I'm only about 10 hours in at the mo, this is the greatest thing in the World ever. Ever. Apart from maybe bacon.

I LOVE the fantasty setting, although I can understand why people would dislike it - it is very stereotyped.

And Morrigan. Oh, Morrigan! She's better than bacon.

But is she better than a miniature sausage wrapped in bacon? Cos, y'know, those are mighty tasty.

I don't mind a fantasy setting, but I prefer dark fantasy along the lines of Planescape Torment to fluffy fantasy with elves prancing around and dwarves with big beards. From the reviews, this looks like a mix of the two - would that be fair to say?

Pigs in blankets, eh? They are indeed a delicacy of the highest order, but Morrigan still wins hands down. Perhaps the only thing better than Morrigan, would be Morrigan making me a bacon sarnie in the morning. Good God, I need help...

In other news: At the moment it's quite beardy and prancy, although it's certainly hinting heavily at darker things to come. So yes, it would be very fair to say that.

I'll keep you posted, providing I can pull myself away from you know who.

Bioware just announced some more DLC for DA - "Return to Ostagar will have players thump their way through the fallen fortress where the Grey Wardens were once defeated"

Means nothing to me, but hope that's enough to get you drooling Phats! If not, here's another bacon sarnie...

Well I'm about to have a Bacon sandwich and play Dragon Age.  Chopps you should go into marketing - you have subverted my mind.

Excellent news! The more bacon eating role-players, the better. My army swells...

And, yes, DLC - good lordy! I've barely explored the game and they're talking about adding more to it. I'm gonna reserve judgement on this until I see how long the new quest is. 400 Bioware Points could indeed be a bargain if the quest is decent. But... what's wrong with real money, eh?

I have to say this....

In game I went to speak to some chap and he told me a massive story about how i should help him. So, being a nice fellow I said yes I can help. To which he replied, great give me 600 Bioware points and download it. NEVER have I been sold bits of a game while in game....your thoughts?

Wow, that's random - that's like being confronted by Big Issue salesmen in virtual reality. Advertising in games has really lost control lately, with no regulatory body. Its shameful, I'd say - you've paid for the game, you shouldn't be hassled to spend yet more money to get MORE game. Especially DLC released so soon after the game's release...

This DLC thing does seem to be becoming a ploy by producers just to make a bit more cash. There has already been DLC announced for Borderlands and it has been out less than a month. If that mission is go good why don't they just put it in the game? Some DLC packs do more than this, Fallout 3: Broken Steel springs to mind, a lot of them seem to be more or less money making schemes.

What annoys me is that many companies are planning or even working on the DLC during the game development cycle. It blatantly is a money-grabbing scheme, otherwise they'd include that content to start with! Burnout is one of the few games that did DLC well - lots of freebies to start with, then a small charge for subsequent packs if you wanted even more.

To be honest I think there is another layer to it as well.

I think that DLC is very difficult to bypass with regards to pirating. So if they release the core of a game and then you have to keep returning to their servers to reaffirm who you are...

However, it was quite a shock to find a salesman ingame.

"Ahh Felix the mage, I have a problem and I would like you to pay to help me solve it". Would that really work in real life?

Yeah, companies are getting shrewd - I also heard of a recent game that comes with a one-time use code to get free DLC. Therefore, to get the 'full experience' you have to buy the game new instead of 2nd hand. I know some companies are struggling under the economic conditions, but so are gamers, and this is just going to anger a lot of the target audience.

Frankly, it's a huge minefield of a debate that could easily evolve into a 10,000 word essay on marketing strategy and morals!

Having 'Download content' as a dialogue option is starting to grate with me.

I already have one downloaded thing that I don't know what it does yet why would I download more.  At least save those messages until you have completed.

I'd heard about this. I was lucky enough to get all the DLC with my game, so the in-game DLC pushers aren't there for me. I can imagine it's a nasty immersion breaker though.

I can kinda understand them offering sweeteners with retail versions, but to code a salesman into the game is a bit off - just have the option to buy DLC on the menu screen. It doesn't seem like Bioware either - they've always struck me as having more class than that. Do you think it'll get patched out?

Nice Dragon Age DLC article Squee.

I'm gonna play Devil's advocate here and argue for the sake of arguing...

My DLC worked flawlessly (and I fibbed earlier - I paid, without a Paypal account, for Soldier's Peak). Shale is an utter tank (if anything, a bit overpowered), and I enjoyed the Soldier's Peak quest. I would never pay for the armour, mind you - that was a welcome freebie (Dragon Plate, right?).

Bioware Points are crap though - although not as bad as Microsoft Points.

... and what DRM? I had a CD-Key and that's it. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I didn't need to activate anything online. I haven't noticed any limited-installs malarkey. As far as I'm aware, it doesn't even activate EA Downloader every time you load it.

I'd expect a game to come with a CD-Key/Serial Number and don't really consider it harsh DRM-  hell, they've been in use for donkey's years. Surely your beef is with EA Customer Support, rather than DA:O DRM (FTW!).

... Just saying, and I'm obviously more than happy to stand corrected. Especially if it involves some ingenious act of discipline.

I am going to step aside from this discussion as you two gaming giants duke it out. How about taking this to the new forum though, just a thought?

In the red corner, laying down potent observations we have sword swinging Squee!  The challenger, chewing corn in the black corner Phat_chopps...aaaaand, FIGHT!

Is Shale good is he?  I judge party members entirely on how much stuff they can carry and how and how tolerable their voice is.  Shale fails on both, now Alistair hates me because I killed some kid.

Sten and the French guy will have to do.

So I'm guessing that if I ever find myself with some spare money, I should exchange it for this?

Well then, I'm 50 hours in and have explored only 51% of the world map. This is certainly value for money.

Kind've like Fallout 3 then? I completed that game and a crap-ton of the side missions and still had less than half the map uncovered. I'm definitely tempted by this, but not sure I can dedicate the time needed...