Dragon Age: Darkly Dark? Preview for Dragon Age Legends.

So the announcement of Bioware/EA's Dragon Age: Legends is rather old hat by this point, but given my own Facebook expansion, it seems appropriate to take a snippet and chat about it. For those of you not familiar with the franchise, it really has nothing in the way of amazing innovations for the 'high' fantasy genre, but it is a solid universe with a commendable depth. And to preempt a comment or two: Yes, 'high.' Despite marketing's attempt at labeling the game 'dark,' which amounted to an 18+ rating, almost-bared breasts, and a few buckets of blood that had a drunken night with a three-legged airbrush, the game is no more 'dark' than any of its spiritual predecessors.

If I had to label something as 'dark,' or 'gritty,' I'd go with A Song of Ice and Fire or the Book of the New Sun for the sheer shock of some of the moral issues (and failures) detailed therein. In that light, I might go so far as to classify Dragon Age as 'dim,' but there's rarely a fantasy story without some Earth-Shattering conflict with a Great Evil or some-such. And quite frankly, Dragon Age would lose its charm if it were any grittier. (However, the prospects of Dragon Age 2 fiddling with these tropes has me a bit giddy, to say the least).

A few examples of anti-grit:

• The core game's companions are fantastic, detailed personalities with believable and sometimes confrontational motivations, and while I adored their banter, the lightness of it sometimes did more to undermine the seriousness of the character's mission than underscore it.
• The lighting in the game is beautiful, and very befitting a fantasy game. It's also plentiful and not the adrenaline wall-hopping of F.E.A.R, Silent Hill, and so on.
• Quests are true to the genre's tropes: There's even a 'rats in the cellar' problem for the human noble origin. I loved it, but this leads to an atmosphere of nostalgia, amusement, and so on. Hardly dark. (With the exception of the City Elf origin, I didn't personally find any of the origins that 'gritty,' though several are quite tear-jerking).
  

I'll admit that the game's 'mini-climaxes' sported some fairly gruesome scenes of the eye-widening variety, if not out-right gasp, which I appreciated. There was also quite a bit in the way of abjection, be it the nature of Grey Wardens, the semi-exile of the character cast, the dead bodies, flesh-like taint, all of which successfully lend themselves to an environment of horror. So I'm certainly willing to give the game an honorable mention for 'darkness', though it's still not quite there for me. What did you think? Toss me a comment.

Anyways, while it hasn't been made clear exactly how much of the universe's lore will be apparent in Legends, I don't think a lack of historical knowledge should stop those of you who enjoy Facebook/social gaming from giving the game a shot when it premiers in January. I do have my reservations about the universe's cultural analogues (zounds! the French are giant snots, invaded England, and have amazing shoes), tiresome plot elements (betrayal again! take a shot of tequila), and questionable motivations (really, Loghain? are you still mad about that?), but I've also played the core game through three times and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

If anything, I recognize that this universe should ultimately be very familiar to not only lovers of fantasy or those of you who have had reason to flirt with 1066, but anyone who's in-tune with European stereotypes or has at least glanced at the Lord of the Rings movies. But in familiarity is not only comfort, but also a cauldron of ideas, ready to be ladled out and repurposed, and Dragon Age has repurposed these idea well - far more than I can say for half of the 'once again!' novels that keep flooding the market.

As for story, I must agree with the amusing, if foul-mouthed Yahtzee (yes, I watch him too) that Bioware just doesn't get props for good story anymore. They've gone and made themselves a model in the industry for sound, compelling narratives. Now why would anyone go and do that? All that work. All those expectations. (No, really, please don't stop).

So, without further ado, here's some information I've scraped together about the upcoming Facebook social game, Dragon Age: Legends. Keep in mind that this is all tentative and open to revision between now and January.

• No longer do you have to fight or mug solo in those lonely, dark Facebook alleyways. Now you can requisition your friend's characters to fight alongside yours! Doing so will not 'level-up' your friend's characters, but it will get them gold, and likely access to whatever epic loot the party happens to come across (presumably duplicated between characters).
• Build and manage your own castle! Visit the castles of your friends! TP them from the battleme--no, no, I don't think they actually added that. But you will be able to perform some actions in the halls of your regal compatriots, likely involving rewards, gifts, and 'special rooms' which have yet to be detailed.
• Yes, castles will aid in combat (somehow), and work like a sim town-builder. I doubt the castle will join your party, alas.
• Every class (I'm assuming three, per Dragon Age canon) will have 27 skills, which are maxed out at 10 points. Level max is currently 270, but will likely be capped at launch, with that cap being relaxed every so often.
  
• There will be monthly updates that may include such things a PVP arena, Raid Dungeons, and Epic Team Battles (all caps).
• The game's life expectancy is somewhere in the 2-3 year range before needing a major revamp, but there is story planned for the length of this time. It has been promised that Bioware's excellent attention to story will not waver for Legends.

For an idea of how Legends might run, check out Dragon Age: Journeys, Legend's predecessor. (And for those of your who are curious, Journeys has not been canceled, but merely tabled until the Legends hubbub calms a bit).

Any comments? Disagree with anything stated? Feel free to post your thoughts here, or over at the Phantom Narrative's facebook page!

MCH