Ah...thanks for the great info you guys. Although I love my Elder Scrolls games I think I'm going to give Dragon Age a try---the graphics are so pretty that I don't think I can resist them anyway.

Tracy

Dragon Age is a lot of fun, one of my favourite games these days. I'm a veteran of Morrowind and Oblivion, but those games take a considerable investment in time; they're endless, really. As mentioned above, they are also pretty much free-wheeling in terms of where you go and what you do, limited only by the level of the enemies in a given area, and that only for a while.

Dragon Age has almost no exploring; the map areas are small (some of them tiny) and there aren't that many of them. The game focuses much more on story and party member interactions, like the old Baldur's Gate games. Much of the game is about your party members, in fact, and how you relate to them. You aren't playing the game to gawk at the scenery, in other words. You're playing to resolve quests, meet new party members, rake in some cool loot, have a romance or two, and save the world (of course).

After playing both Dragon Age games, I'm concluding that Dragon Age Origins (with its expansions)is the superior game with a greater replay value. It has a much stronger story line and the game areas are far less physically restricted. But that's only my opinion, and both are great fun.

I didn't feel the original Baldur's Gate had no exploring, hagatha

I crossed vast tracts of land and visited many places - all of which I explored.
And I had a wonderful time doing so

I felt there was less exploring in Baldur's Gate 2, though.
And I didn't like all the time that needed to be spent underground.
Way too many dungeons for me. I got bored !!

True, the original Baldur's Gate had quite a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, but even that was nothing compared to Morrowind. Dragon Age is more restricted than that, or at least it feels that way to me. Dragon Age 2 is really restricted in terms of where you can go.

But I wonder if the change in perspective from top down to eye level is why it feels so much more restricted? Maybe being able to see the whole map, as in Baldur's Gate, makes the areas feel larger.

Anyway, they're all wonderful games. It will be a long time before I'm sick of Dragon Age. I do think I've finally played my last game of BG2, but that's after about 25 starts and about 20 finishes.

"I do think I've finally played my last game of BG2, but that's after about 25 starts and about 20 finishes."

WOW !!!! Now that's dedication

Yep, I loved that game. Still do. It's just that these days I like the idea of playing the game more than actually doing it, and so I give up part of the way way through. One of these days I suppose I might haul it out and try a solo mage or a mage/thief plus Anomen game just for the heck of it.