LittleBlondeGoth

Chasing Alistair

A few of my favourite Alistair quotes.

“More crazy? I thought we were all full up.”

“It’s just like being home again. Except with more undead.”

“You know, you are just too understanding about stuff like this. Can’t you be more judgmental? I’m trying to rant, here.”

“Now that the warm fuzzy part is over we can get back to the ritual dismemberments. Oh wait, it’s not Tuesday is it?”

“What? Lead? Me? No, no, no. No leading. Bad things happen when I lead. We get lost, people die, and the next thing you know I’m stranded somewhere without any pants.”

“Yes, that’s right. I stopped you to tell you I’m an idiot. Whew! Thank the Maker you know already! Now I can stop worrying I’ll be found out.”

” I don’t think he cared much about my existence. I didn’t mean anything to him. Anyway, to answer your original question, no, we never spoke. Well, maybe once. Maric and Cailan had come to Redcliffe to visit the Arl. I was very young then. We were introduced. I believe I said, “Greetings, your Highness.” He said, “Ooh! Swords!” and ran off to the armoury. So, yes, that was the extent of our relationship. We drifted apart after that. Very sad.”

“It used to get so quiet at the monastery that I would start screaming until one of the brothers came running. I would tell them that I was just checking. You never know, right?.”

“Now here in Ferelden, we do things right. We take our ingredients, throw them into the largest pot we can find, and cook them for as long as possible until everything is a uniform grey color. As soon as it looks completely bland and unappetizing, that’s when I know it’s done.”

“Why would they? Especially when I do things like ask women if they’re female…”

Currently playing: Dragon Age Origins

“Swooping… is… bad.”

I have only one problem with this game (well, two if you include the graphics models of the characters hands). There’s just not enough hours in which to play it. Right now I’m sitting at about 24 hours in, and the end is nowhere in sight. Which is great, since I’ve always hated games that you finish in a couple of hours and then never pick up again.

I bought it quite a while ago actually, and for some reason never got round to starting it until very recently. Now I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner.

Much like Mass Effect, there’s a whole load of characters to be met, recruited and / or killed, and some weighty decisions to be laid upon your shoulders. And those decisions not only change how people react to you, but also shape the world around you and how the story unfolds.

The story itself is epic in proportion with twists and turns round every corner. I feel like I’ve barely scraped the surface and there’s no doubt more to come. Gameplay is good, if complex - I’m playing on the PS3 platform, and can’t shake the feeling that the PC controls might be better. But for me, it’s the characters that really bring it to life.

Some like Wynne or Lelianna are good alignment, while others such as Morrigan (the sneaky Witch of the Wilds) are evil. Keeping everyone happy is therefore… tricky. Depending on your actions, party members can have their approval raised or lowered. They also interact with each other as you run round, which is where the writers have simply come into their own.

Morrigan: So I take it you did not enjoy your templar training?
Alistair: That’s directed at me, I take it?
Morrigan: Do you see any others about who have failed at their religious instruction?
Alistair: I didn’t fail. I was recruited into the Grey Wardens.
Morrigan: And if you had not been recruited? What would have happened, instead?
Alistair: I would have turned into a drooling lunatic, slaughtered the grand cleric and run through the streets of Denerim in my small clothes, I guess.
Morrigan: Your self-awareness does you credit.
Alistair: I thought you’d like that.

Now you’ll have to excuse me, there’s darkspawn to fight…

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This is the awkward bit, isn’t it? The first blog post. What do you write?
Suppose I’d better say something about me, really.

I’ve been interested in computers ever since the age of seven, when a BBC Micro was wheeled into my junior school and I had to be physically prised away from “Granny’s Garden”. Since then, I’ve acquired a plethora of consoles, built my own PCs with varying degrees of success, and discovered an EverQuest addiction that has yet to go away.

Will that do?