Choices and Consequences of Dragon Age

IGN has published an editorial that highlights the tough ethical decisions we’ll be making in Dragon Age: Origins, as well as the consequences we may have to deal with when making such decisions.

After a cutscene, I was propelled into battle with waves of monsters that would constantly attack my party and the barricades that had been hastily erected by the militia. It was here that I was able to see the consequences of my actions as far as interacting with Dwyn and Owen were concerned. If I managed to get Dwyn on my side, I could find him and his two assistants bearing arms in the middle of the town, rallying the townsfolk to fend off attacks. On the other hand, if I’d left him alone or managed to anger him to the point where we fought, his absence would leave a gap in the defenses that would weaken morale. Similarly, the same could be said of Owen and his smithy encouraging him to re-open the smithy provides the militia with better weapons that cause more damage against the enemy, leading to high morale. On the other hand, if things go badly with Owen, the men are frightened, and are barely equipped to take on the dangerous foe, which will force you to have to take on more enemies.

Regardless of either option, I managed to conquer the enemies, which resulted in a celebratory cutscene the following day. I immediately went back to the tavern to talk to Bella, to remind her that I promised to help her leave. Here again, I was presented with a number of conversational choices, from asking her if she’d like to leave to requesting a kiss as a proper hero’s welcome. Needless to say, the latter raised a number of eyebrows, particularly amongst the female members of my party, who didn’t particularly enjoy watching their leader demand affection from townsfolk. In fact, one of the ladies threw out a sarcastic remark as my character received his “reward,” while the rest of the tavern goers were shocked by the display.

Two new videos and four new images also accompany the article, which you can find neatly rounded up at Voodoo Extreme.