Dragon Age: Origins wins Best RPG and Best PC Game Awards at VGAs

Dragon Age: Origins has won the Best RPG Award at the Video Game Awards 2009 beating out Borderlands, Demon's Souls and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. It was also awarded the best PC Game Award.

[Saaking]

Damn it. I wanted Demon's Soul to win.

I haven't played DA Origins so I can't really say much about it. Demon's Soul is still awesome though.

OH and this also won best PC game.

[sabestar]

Believe me this is one helluva game. True, demon's souls was also awesome, but one has to win and I'm happy with whoever of the 2 wins, so glad it was DA:O

[Saaking]

What's the game like? I heard it's similar to ME,but I never followed it. Is it a sequel or something?

[Spike47]

I felt bad for him.

[Kalowest]

Don't worry, your not the only one to think DS was going to win, i thought it would be DS or BorderLands.

[morganfell]

Saaking, it's as generic as it comes. It isn't a bad game but the title has no soul, no personality. It scored okay in reviews not because it did something great but simply because it didn't do a lot wrong...which isn't quite the same thing.

[raztad]

It's clear that originality, innovation is not relevant for those awards.

Demons Souls (the hardcore RPG) has been robed. Long live the casuals.

[Baka-akaB]

DA is actually awesome , but it's basically a creator owned (and 3d) baldur's gate . .. a 3d baldur's gate .

Does it even live up to Baldur's gate 2 ? Nope , still great but nope .

Anyway based on that alone , that DA is nothing new , and that DS is everybit as good , arguably better , and definitively more innovative and risk taking ...? Demon's souls should have won this .

But since when does proper taste and logic meets in such awards ? basically never , so no surprise .
Hell i was surprised DS made it to nominations

[Redempteur]

BEST PC GAME ...OK

BEST RPG ? NO

demon soul is better on that point more original ..more risky ...

sadly ....

[Nikuma]

DA:O is a good game but it has flaws. Demon's souls is overall the better game and is more innovative. Demon's Souls should of won IMO, but I love both games so it's alright I guess.

[S4NDM4N]

wow all you people complaining about it are dumb sh*ts no offense.

The game is crap on consoles.

On PC, it is way better. Dragon Age is casual? When it was released it wasn't. Bioware had to release two patches to make the difficulty easier sadly.

lol it plays like Mass Effect? What the hell? If people can say it is worthy of being the spiritual successor to Baldurs Gate 2, then it is probably the best RPG this gen.

I wouldn't even call Dragon Age a multiplat game. The game is terrible on consoles. It was pretty much a PC vs. a PS3 exclusive.

[Darkstorn]

Good choice. I had to choose this over Demon's Souls, but by an infantecimal margin.

[Tony P]

True, you'll recognize the hallmarks of a BioWare RPG in DA, but had you ever had your hands on even one King's Field, you'd probably be calling Demon's Souls "generic" as well.

I know it's not a graphical powerhouse like Demon's Souls is, but I think it outweighs DS in content and goes the distance in replay value, which is saying something for a SP-only RPG.

[Daver]

I preferred Demons souls over Dragon Age.. to each their own taste i guess

[crck]

I loved Dragon Age on PC. Probably the most fun I had with any game this year. I think an extremely important part of a rpg is story and character development and as far as I know Demon Soul has next to no story and npcs to interact with. Of course that's just my opinion and as others have said to each their own.

[evrfighter]

Putting Gameplay > Graphics is how it should be. Bioware is NOT known for graphical powerhouses. They are however known for insanely in-depth RPG's.

Putting gameplay > graphics has made Bioware the top RPG developer in the world this generation. You know it, I know it, the Japanese know it.

Gameplay > graphics will ALWAYS net you the trophy in the end. I feel sorry for people that would rather have it the other way around.

PC gamers learned this lesson with Crysis. It's a good game but it was still considered a disappointment due to the fact the graphics was supposed to make Crysis the best game ever.

Console gamers will learn this lesson in time.

[raztad]

@SADMAN

It really cracks me up when someone feels like calling you names, instead of arguing in a civic way. WTF dude?

Demons Souls blows DAO out of the water in terms of gameplay/innovation. If you need to repeat the same thing over and over is because you suck at the game. Innovative gameplay > Lord of the Ring-cliche story.

[S4NDM4N_V2]

"@SADMAN

It really cracks me up when someone feels like calling you names, instead of arguing in a civic way. WTF dude?

Demons Souls blows DAO out of the water in terms of gameplay/innovation. If you need to repeat the same thing over and over is because you suck at the game. Innovative gameplay > Lord of the Ring-cliche story."

You haven't played Dragon Age on a PC. You said it yourself, you USED to be a PC gamer awhile ago. The game is different. It is actually like two different games. And no it doesn't innovate. It is a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 3. They took the classic PC RPG mixed with micromanagement strategy, and mixed with an immersive story that gives you choices. Sorry, at least Dragon Age had a story.

And innovative gameplay? This is what I love about the PS3 fanboys on n4g. They are such hypocrites. I'm usually a PC-PS3 fanboy, but the users here makes me want to support the 360. I'm sure Uncharted 2 wasn't that good of a game either. I mean Lara Croft/Indiana Jones theme with nothing new or innovative.

I'm saying that each time you play DS, how different is it? Dragon Age is a massive game. There are so many different story arcs and choices.

You also can't judge the gameplay since you haven't played the PC version

"Anyone familiar with the Baldur’s Gate games will feel right at home with Dragon Age’s gameplay on PC, but it’s a very different experience between PC and consoles. On PC you can switch between either 3rd person over-the-shoulder view or a much more tactical isometric view. Combat moves can be selected from a skill bar at the bottom of the screen by clicking on them or using hotkeys. Combat can also be paused with the spacebar, allowing you to switch between party members and queue up actions. This is essential for survival on anything above normal difficulty.

Tactics are certainly the name of the game with Dragon Age. Careful combination of abilities such as freezing and shattering moves, and fire and oil traps will be necessary to surviving many of your fights. Often you will find your party outnumbered three or four to one, and poor micromanagement will get you quickly killed, even on normal difficulty. This combat system is engaging, and extremely challenging. Those new to the genre will absolutely want to start on Easy, at least on PC.

Consoles are another story. The isometric view is not an option, limiting you to the over-the-shoulder view. Instead of hotkeys, you use a radial menu to select your attacks, which works pretty well. You can also switch between characters, but without a wider view it can be hard to get them to perform the tactics you want. To compensate for this, the enemy AI and general difficulty of the console version is drastically reduced. Even the hard mode isn’t as tactically challenging as normal on PC, and friendly fire on spells is turned off by default. This makes for a game that’s fun to play, but feels more like an average action RPG than a challenging tactical experience."

[raztad]

@above

It's ok dude. Dont take things so seriously. This is just about sharing opinions. I knew DAO was meant to be RPG of the year because DS is too hardcore (dare I say niche?) to win that award. Still I dont agree, because in terms of gameplay DS is far beyond DAO (IMO) and DS story is told through gameplay, w/o resorting to cutscenes, no incredible deep but is there.

Have fun sadman, and why no to support the xbox?, besides the horrible hardware, it got a decent share of exclusive games/multiplats. 2010 is looking up for the xbox.

[S4NDM4N_V2]

niche? You're right. Flower was the most mainstream game this year.

It beat out all the other indie games because of it appealed to a larger crowd

You haven't played Dragon Age on a PC. Unless you actually plop yourself down, and spend like 150 hours playing through all the origins, and different choices and etc.., then you can comment.

I don't mind sharing opinions, but only when people have actually played both games.

[Tony P]

@Raz: Again, it's strange people call DS incredibly innovative. The game is a spiritual successor just like DA. Look it up.

Granted, the most original thing about the game is the way online play is handled, but few agree whether it's a great thing or unnecessarily archaic. And I don't understand how making a game harder automatically makes it better. It just makes it harder.

I agree with S4ND. I mean, DS fans make it sound like DA does nothing better than DS. But be honest. DA obviously outclasses DS in some important areas RPG players care about. Like STORY and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, both of which DS is sorely lacking for an RPG. I think that beats DS's superior graphics and MP any day. DS could have all the innovation in the world, but you can't short change players on those basic elements.

[TheColbertinator]

Excellent news for RPG fans.Trust me,this game is gold.In the first 15 minutes I played it,I knew it was the shining RPG of 2009

[Skyreno]

dragon age deserved it ..love game everyone who love rpg should buy this game now ,

[ZBlacktt]

Have you played and beatin Demon's Souls? It is by far a much better looking game. A more rich experience and a pro level player's type of RPG.

btw... I don't care who disagree's. at least have the balls to speak up. Because you know you have not play Demon's Souls. Your point would be meaningless then now wouldn't it? Much like 80% of the users here. ;)

[S4NDM4N]

a more rich experience? Right, the story in Demon's Souls blew me away.

Dragon Age is far more immersive. Demon's Souls replay value consists of playing the same exact thing over and over again. New game +

Dragon Age's main replay value is the huge number of different choices you have, and 6 different beginnings.

[ZBlacktt]

DA looked like a PS2 game does it not? Be honest now.

[S4NDM4N]

oh lord. The graphics part. Listen, DA:O looks good on PC. Don't talk about the PS3 and 360 port. Seriously, if Demon's Souls was a 360 exclusive, all the N4G PS3 fanboys would be bashing it.

They already released texture mods and what not, so the graphics look good.

Unless you played DA:O on a PC, then you can't compare.

And, I forgot that great graphics are more important than in RPG than story.

[ZBlacktt]

Oh lord..... too, lol.... Pointless. See it how you like. Bty, you played DS? Sure you'll say yes, so let's just move on.

[S4NDM4N]

Actually yes I have. I have a PS3 and a PC.

I love the online parts in Demon's Souls. But the difficulty is way over rated.

I would say Dragon Age is easier but that is because I micromanage like a motherf*cker and plan out everything perfectly.

Like I said, I laugh at people when they say Dragon Age is a multiplat game. No it isn't. It is a terrible port from Bioware, but that is because Bioware clearly designed it only for PC.

[crck]

@2.1

And have you played Dragon Age on PC. If not then your a hypocrite.

[Letros]

I have Demon Souls and DA:O on PC and Xbox(roomate), DA is a game you really have to play on the PC to enjoy it, its a whole different game that plays out more like a WRPG should play.

While I like Demon Souls mainly for its innovation, I'm happy to see DA:O take the top spot.

[Lavalamp]

A tough call I'll bet. Demon's Souls and Dragon Age were at each others throats.

[MiloGarret]

Not a tough choice at all in my opinion, the award should have gone to Demon's Souls, it should also have been GOTY, nothing even comes close.

Bye, heading back to the valley of defilement with my hunter.

[Digitaldude]

Lol once again a Multiplat wins it.
Demon's souls is obviously better and way more innovative. But once again multi plats and DA is more popular...

[RadientFlux]

Good to hear, shame it didn't win GOTY. Though it doesn't really matter as it's my GOTY.

[ZBlacktt]

Demon's Souls is a better game overall. But congrats nonetheless.

[rakunado]

Demon Souls is great for what it does, no doubt about that.

However it is what i would call a "niche" title as much as I love it.

I say "niche" because there are people that really really hate it, i know a few people who bought it and loathe it. Are they real gamers? Yes they are, they can see what demon souls is trying to achieve, and they DO admire it. They just acknowledge the fact that the game is not compatible with them.

Dragon Age is by far the safer title to appeal to the "common person", and even though not graphically intensive, it does bring back that feel of traditional RPG's. I honestly prefer Dragon Age's music over ODST's, but ive always been a LOTR movie fanboy! :P

Both games are awesome. However, if someone who doesn't game that much came up and asked me should they choose between demon souls or Dragon Age, i would choose Dragon Age for them.

P.S. Dragon Age bosses are a little underwhelming when compared to Demon Souls! ^_~ Dragon Sun God FTW!

[ZBlacktt]

Yep, DS drove player's a way with it's difficulty. You get a Plat trophy in DS, you can conquer any game, lol. Both are great games indeed.

[MiloGarret]

I don't even get that criticism, It's not THAT hard, unless you lack short-term memory... its just matter of memorizing movement patterns and striking at the right time.

It does get quite difficult after your first runthrough though, but even then it's just about adapting your playstyle. I may be a masochist, but I think Demon's Souls is just right in terms of difficulty level. And no, I'm not saying that because I'm so awesome I just breeze through the game. I die, a lot, like EVERYONE else. I just think a game should be challenging, but fair, like DS.

I fücking love this game, I am officially naming it the greatest game I've ever played.

[ZBlacktt]

It's based on overall player's opinions of the game. Not just yours and mine. You've read it just like we've read it. He like I are really speaking in 3rd person. :) I'm moving on to the next story..... UC2 won GOTY and that's the one I was really looking forward too.

[Justin_bristoe]

both these games were..well are great cuz i'm playing them both now.i wasn't shocked by da wining because i was sure it would be either that or demon souls.no other game was worthy of the title rpg.

[wanderofys]

Disappointed. I would have given Demon's Souls the win, with Borderlands behind it. I have DA:O on PC, and I am absolutely in love with the story, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired.

[rbluetank]

i did not play this game for that long becuase it way okay... DS is a great game nothing against DA but DS has soul!!! lol the multiplate awards show strikes again. exclusives great games be darned!!! i am on my second playthrough now... i love this game....

borderlands is a very good game as well. i do not like the map systems but darn good game as well...

[cr136124]

Nice to see that I'm not the only one thinking Demon's Souls deserves the award.

[xXKingofStingXx]

Huh...thought for sure Demon's Souls would win...what with all the fud the gaming media's been throwing around (Here's looking at you Game Trailers!) about "Innovation" i thought the more unique title, Demon's Soul, would have beaten the safer more traditional Dragon Age. VGA's...what a joke...nothing but a popularity contest, completely stunned to see UC2 beat out MW2 but it does little to redeem this laughable affair as a credible event.

[S4NDM4N]

Another one. Has anyone here actually played Dragon Age on PC?

Popularity contest? I'm surprised Dragon Age won because it was a PC game. VGAs is very console oriented (indie games are proof of this), but ya, has anyone actually played Dragon Age on PC? It is pretty uch everything that Bioware has done in the past, they took the best parts, and put it into one game, and then added a hell lot of content.

The gameplay is classic party based PC RPGs which surprisingly has not been seen for awhile.

It is an excellent game. I would only recommend it for consoles if you enjoyed KOTOR on consoles.

[xXKingofStingXx]

Whoa there killer, calm down. No i have not played Dragon Age on PC as i don't use my computer for games. I'm not taking anything away from the game either, all i'm saying is this game had a broader audience, 3 consoles wide, hence alot more people are bound to have played and voted for it than Demon's Souls.

In my opinion Demon's Souls was a much better game as it was a breath of fresh air and that was my point, the gaming media has been complaining about games lacking originality but then turn around and give games like Dragon Age and MW2 all the praise and awards, games that while decent do little to push the boundaries of their genre.

[Veneno]

it used to have the best of the best. now it's best games are multiplat garbage like DA Origins?

[S4NDM4N]

what the hell kind of comment is that?

Dragon Age plays nothing like it does on consoles.

"Anyone familiar with the Baldur’s Gate games will feel right at home with Dragon Age’s gameplay on PC, but it’s a very different experience between PC and consoles. On PC you can switch between either 3rd person over-the-shoulder view or a much more tactical isometric view. Combat moves can be selected from a skill bar at the bottom of the screen by clicking on them or using hotkeys. Combat can also be paused with the spacebar, allowing you to switch between party members and queue up actions. This is essential for survival on anything above normal difficulty.

Tactics are certainly the name of the game with Dragon Age. Careful combination of abilities such as freezing and shattering moves, and fire and oil traps will be necessary to surviving many of your fights. Often you will find your party outnumbered three or four to one, and poor micromanagement will get you quickly killed, even on normal difficulty. This combat system is engaging, and extremely challenging. Those new to the genre will absolutely want to start on Easy, at least on PC.

Consoles are another story. The isometric view is not an option, limiting you to the over-the-shoulder view. Instead of hotkeys, you use a radial menu to select your attacks, which works pretty well. You can also switch between characters, but without a wider view it can be hard to get them to perform the tactics you want. To compensate for this, the enemy AI and general difficulty of the console version is drastically reduced. Even the hard mode isn’t as tactically challenging as normal on PC, and friendly fire on spells is turned off by default. This makes for a game that’s fun to play, but feels more like an average action RPG than a challenging tactical experience."

Do people actually read reviews nowadays?

And 2009 was probably the weakest year for PC for big blockbusters. Instead a lot of the games that people played were indie and hidden gems. Even so, on metacritic the platform with the highest average review score was PC, 72.5. Beating PS3 just by 0.5%.

PC + PS3 = win

[Veneno]

Dude cmon, don't paste no reviews, i 've heard them already PC version>PS3>360 version, am I right? PC needs exclusives that takefull advantage of the platform. its just like how the 360 holds back PS3 and PC. You don't see Crysis on consoles now do you?

this is why valve sucks now because now they put console in front of PC when it used to be the other way around.

[S4NDM4N]

PC exclusives don't get any spotlight

And Dragon Age does take advantage of the PC. Seriously, have you even played the game on consoles and on PC? It is a completely different playstyle.

RTS games and MMO games have been non stop success recently for PC.

2009 for PC wasn't consisting of blockbuster titles, but more indie titles. Different, and unique stuff. I would take that anyday over all the shooters that get released and all have the same gunplay and controls etc..

Valve doesn't suck. Look at how much support TF2 is getting. MS sucks for trying to influence Valve and the L4D series. And MS did succeed in that. But TF2 has been getting phenomenal free support.

You actually suspect PC exclusives to get some spotlight? hell no. There wasn't even an RTS category for the VGAs. Indie games on the consoles are a joke. Go watch giant bomb's quick look of the best XBLA indie games. Go on Steam and get some indie games. 2009 was the year of indie games for PC. 2010 is going to have both big blockbusters as well as indie games.

[EVILDEAD360]

I got Demon Souls the first week it arrived and as a King's Field fan I absolutely loved it. Although, I died almost as much as I did in 'Too Human' (only a few will understand that) the rewarding moments of taking down that boss or just reaching the next level was really fun..for ME. But, the truth is I honestly couldn't recommend it to every RPG fan. It's as love/hate as you could get when it comes to a gaming experience.

Uncharted 2 eventually pulled me away..which bled into Borderlands (wow!..co-op is crack)..but I ultimately left it for other games..and it was a wrap when Modern Warfare 2 ..

That was until I finally opened Dragon Age: Origins and havent looked back. It is RPG HEAVEN! The funniest part about it is they actually robbed a few subtle elements of Fable 2 for the game (Peter M. has got to love that)..but make no mistake this game is amazing. I will say that I am sure the PC game got the best product, but cares..we console gamers got a gem and a half. I'm only 20 hours in and I am literally torn about wanting to start over to maximize how I spend my experience points. Damn you Bioware..I want my life back

Anyways..great picks for the VGAs but the Dragon really is the best...

Evil

[Baba1906]

i enjoyed both games very much. i could not have chosen the better one. well the gameplay in demons souls was more fun for me than DO.

[Jamescagney]

A well deserved win. I've played this game more than anything else this year. I haven't played DS yet, but I'll have it on Xmas and I'm certain I'm gonna love it so I'll have the two best rpgs of this year. Great gaming year all round really.

[kraze07]

DA:O definitely deserved this one. I've got to say DS is a good game but not as great as some of you guys make it out to be. I honestly believe that if it was on the xbox360 it wouldn't be getting all this love from some of you guys.

[led1090]

Why are so many ppl cribbing about this i just don't understand. I have a ps3 as well as a pc. I love demon souls. It as an absolute treat to play and i have skipped many meals just to get my a$$ kicked again and again in the game. It is innovative...no doubt about it. But Dragon age is one of the deepest stories ever told. Every place you visit in the game has a lot of backstory to it all of which can be experienced through the origin stories. And these little stories are so immersive they can easily distract you from the main plot. Sure it doesn't innovate or the gameplay isn't as exciting as Demon souls but when you look at the bigger picture - the story, the dialog, the characters, the lack of a karma system(which is just plain awesome), the art style, micromanagement in combat(which is deep as $hit), the audio, and the graphics(especially on the pc version), its not that difficult to see why its getting all this praise from reviewers.

[Darkfiber]

Are you kidding me? The graphics in Dragon Age were pitiful. I played it on PC with maxed settings and it still looks like crap. Demon's Souls didn't have the best graphics in the world but the art style was better and the textures were more detailed, and had way better animations, especially in combat. The game was also something different and refreshing, and the atmosphere is unmatched. Dragon Age is just like every other Bioware game; not that that's a bad thing since they make great games, but still, pretty much the same. Also, the dwarves had stupid voices and their beards weren't big enough and they weren't fat enough and their arms were too long and and...

[led1090]

I agree the graphics are not mindblowing but they are good no doubt about it. Like when you go to retrieve the Urn of sacred ashes the art style of the entire place is just fabulous. I wasn't comparing it to DS and i agree that DS has better graphics and better animations

[divideby0]

Demon Souls is 10x better in terms of something new and refreshing.
I have not played Dragon Age, but a close friend is lol that it beat DS..according to him who is a ho at these games, DA brings nothing new to the table..and to show you what a FARCE this is...DS had a higher rating than DA.
they just wouldnt give another PS3 exclusive an award...frigging joke..cause it would show PS3s game dominance this year

[led1090]

Its not always about bringing something new to the table. HL and HL2 did not bring anything new to the table but what they did they got it right. Don't get me wrong DS is a great game and a big step ahead in the way of innovation. But DA just gets it right with the story the characters and the micromanagement which is deep as hell. If you tend towards action Rpg's then look no further than DS. But if you love the classic role playing experience - playing through an epic story where your decisions influence the entire game, then they don't come much better than DA. It all boils down to your definition of an enjoyable rpg experience. I prefer both and i'm happy DA won. But it would have been better if a lesser known game would have won. Gives the devs the recognition and the exposure they thoroughly deserve

[led1090]

And the last time i checked(which was roughly 2 mins back) DA has a metacritic rating of 91% and demon souls has 89%

[Darkfiber]

Demon's Souls was superior, but Dragon Age was probably the second best RPG this year. Spike would never give an award to a small Japanese company over EA, it just wouldn't be smart from a business perspective. Their awards hold no merit as they have nothing to do with which games are actually good or not.

[Pillage05]

I've played DA:O and DS both extensively, and IMHO I like Demon's Souls much, much better. I guess I'm the weird one out this time cause I didn't enjoy DA:O as much as everyone else seemed to. I can't stand the speech system they used. It just bores the hell out of me. I found myself dreading having to ever talk to anybody. I'd rather watch an interesting(or skippable) cut-scene. then just given a choice a or b, ya know?

But that's just me, I know a lot of people like that stuff.