I was pretty stoked for this game, but only because playing it unlocks items for my Dragon Age 2 game. I typically avoid Facebook games like a plague, and in reviewing this you will find out why.
DAL plays like a mix of farmville and a turn based RPG. The turn based RPG aspect takes place in some unidentified time in the Dragon Age universe. You are given the ability to create a character and choose its race, gender, and class as well as edit a view of the physical characteristics. You are given some starting gold and crowns (a type of currency in the game) and also allowed to build a castle (where you create potions and the like). Unfortunately, once you get past what the developers allowed to be your "trial period" (what I'm calling it) you essentially become extremely limited in anything you can do, but I'll get into that in a bit as well.
Combat takes place first on the map where you move from encounter to encounter and then battle in a classic turn based system (think any JRPG). You take turns and do the normal attacking, potion, and item using BUT the frequency of your turns are dependent on your characters agility score. At first you don't notice it, until you start facing 4+ enemies at a time. Sometimes the enemy would have multiple turns before ANY of my characters causing me to consume potions at an alarming rate. Something wasn't right here. Anyway, you do battle with any number of waves of enemies making your way to the end of the board for either Gold, an item, or a weapon. Yeah, usually its nothing you'll want to use. Here's another kicker. You have a preselected group of people you choose at every battle to fight with you. Party size is, at least from what I've played, at 3 (including you). Once you use a character they are exhausted for anywhere from 1-3 hours+. Don't fret though, you can call them into battle by using crowns! Which you purchase with real world, hard earned, goes faster than we'd like dollars.
Movement on the board is dictated by energy which you start out with 20. You are also given energy potions to use if you want to move on, but once you go through your initial batch you will be required to buy them with crowns....which you purchase with real money, again.
Your castle is where you can setup rooms for building potions, items, and other stuff. Basically this is where the farmville aspect comes in and its just as boring as the rest of the game. 5 potions takes me over 1 day to create, and how the game stacks against you (to get you to either spend money or only play 1 or 2 turns a day) it can get to quickly be a game you are forced to not play. Let me reiterate that: You pay money or you don't play. This isn't a problem to me, but charge 1 cost up front and don't nickle and dime me for everything, please.
The game is technically in beta, but if they are charging you money for anything its past that point in my opinion. Avoid this at all cost unless you want to quickly get a couple of items (I think I got 2 or 3 before the game started to stagnate and require I pony up or wait) for your Dragon Age 2 characters. Highly disappointed in this and if this is what the future of gaming is then I don't want any part of it.
