Come on, feel the noise.  Gamers, rock your toys.  Cause I want more, more, more... of my blog writing!  Yessir, bad puns in tow, it's me, Sparky, bringing you the Macho Bloggo Combo Burrito special, baby, and I'm servin' it up all day, every day.  Well, okay, how about once a week or so, just like usual?   This week, I talk about the awesome Dragon Age Origins, and discuss my one caveat with the game.  I'll also discuss my immediate future as a gamer and a blogger.  Other than that, it's going to be a short blog.  You see, I was without heat for nearly a week and a half, leaving me stranded at my parents' house with only my trusty DS and Final Fantasy Tactics A2. 
 
A Dragon Just Flew In, and Boy, Are His Arms Tired 
 
Good Lord, Dragon Age Origins is one hell of a fantastic RPG.  You've all probably read great reviews and everyone's opinion on the game, so I'm going to only say this - if I review it here on Giant Bomb, it will get 5 out of 5 stars, if simply for the fact that ten hours into it, I knew I was going to be playing it over and over again. 
 
There is one issue that I'd like to take up with the game.  Well, it's really more of a challenge.  Given today's gaming technology, one advance I'd like to see implemented to a much larger degree is seeing the consequences of your actions.  I don't just mean random NPC quotes, a few different loot items, or different branching options for dialogue trees.  What I'm talking about is something visual, something physical.  Dragon Age does a good job with this, but it's something I'd like to see developed further in future games. 
 
I guess what I'm looking for is more of a real change to environments over a gradual period of time.  I want to have the ability to do great things in a town, come back in months or years of game-time, and see the area slowly develop with that passing time period.  This has been done before in games - Fable 2 comes immediately to mind - but I don't think anyone's done it with a great deal of subtlety and that sense of small but rippling changes. 
  
This is also pretty nitpicky, but I'd like to see more custom party interactions based on dialogue trees and your actions in game.  Again, Bioware does this to an extent, but it still feels slightly stilted at times and sometimes canned.  If I commit an atrocity, I want to hear my party members discussing it amongst themselves, or even better, perhaps huddling together at the camp in hushed whispers that dissipate as my character approaches.  Little touches like that would just about make my jaw hit the floor. 

This will come with time, I'm absolutely certain.  In the meantime, it's a stunning game and I highly recommend it. 
 
We're Going Back... To the Future! 
 
With the Steam sale having drained me of my last bit of "play" money, it's going to be quite a while before I can afford to buy another game.  Therefore, while the basic structure of this blog will remain the same, I'd like to start introducing more intellectual thought and less "Here's what I'm playing" nonsense that no one really gives a shit about anyways.  Since I'm not exactly an intellectual thinker, we'll see how that goes, but ultimately, you be the judges and feel free to criticize and comment on what you'd like to see. 
 
I believe next week I'll discuss the impact Al Lowe had on me as a gamer, and what kind of difference quality writing can make in a series of games.  Sound interesting?  Maybe?