Now, this was definitely one game I wanted to revisit. Dragon Age 2 was released in 2011 and was underwhelming for fans. I didn’t play it until like 2015 since I was in my Bioware phase. I remember liking DA2 and can kinda see why some folks didn’t like it. It did feel a few steps below Origins. We had a lot of reused dungeons and areas, some of the gameplay could be repetitive, and some of the writing wasn’t the best. Still, I had a fun time back then and eventually went on to play Inquisition.
Now that I’ve replayed it and some of the DLCs (I skipped Mark of the Assassin), DA2 really grew on me. The fact that this game was rushed out of development and made to shelves playable was a miracle. While I get that some wanted an experience similar to Origins, I like how DA2 changed it up. We’re limited to Kirkwall and get to see how bad things are for Hawke, his companions, and the rest of the city over a span of a few years. Last time, I had no idea what I was doing and didn’t know what to expect when some big moments happened.This time, I really wanted to see what could happen with these characters. I came away with a bit of a realization from some of my companions. I was Warrior Hawke this time and I had so much fun with that big sword/axe/hammer. I might go two handed for Inquisition, but I’m not sure yet.
So, how were the companions this time? They were pretty good as usual. Some of them don’t hold a candle to the ones from Origins, but there are some that are on par. We also have a limited number of companions which I think helped things a bit story wise. Since we play Hawke over a span of years, we get to see these friendships go through the ringer, and you sometimes don’t know how things will end.
I did not want to be gone this long! This is what happens when you’re married, have two growing kids, have a job, and have other activities that get in the way of writing on your pretty old blog. One of those things that took a lot of time away from here was revisiting one of Bioware’s greats: Dragon Age Origins. After Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released, I had a hankering for some Thedas action especially since I can’t play the thing yet. “That will happen one day,” I wistfully say to myself.
I thought about maybe doing a bit of a retrospective on it, but I already don’t have that much time. Just know that I still had a blast replaying this game. This time, I was able to really delve into it unlike with my first long playthrough. I made some thankfully better decisions. Alistair didn’t leave my party, Zervan became a good friend, and I held off going off into those dang Deep Roads. I still couldn’t romance Morrigan nor Wynne (Bioware dropped the ball on some old lady action!), but Leliana still fits that role in a good way. I also was able to play more companion quests as well.
The game play is still the same in that weird “turn-based/real-time action”, but I got used to it. I was also curious about the rest of the DLCs I didn’t play through way back when. That Witch Hunt DLC was a waste, finding an old Warden castle was alright, and returning to Ostagar was interesting. Anyway, since I have been able to do a more detailed playthrough of the game, I thought a new companion ranking would be good. I did one back in 2015 with all the main companions in the games. This time, it’s just gonna be the Origins ones, and I mean all of them. I’ll even throw in the DLC ones this time. I’ll also add a quick tip on gameplay.
And my first post back from a pretty long sabbatical is... a random post about the first Rock/Rap combo. Well, the blog is called "Random Thoughts", so there you go. Anyway, Blondie was a rock band from the late 1970's. They blended a bit of new wave, punk, and other genres. They're known for songs like "Heart of Glass" and "One Way or Another." Those two songs and today's song, "Rapture", are the only ones I know from them though. They're aren't exactly on my "Find Old Music To Listen To" journey, but some of their songs are catchy.
"Rapture" is from their fifth album, Automerican, released in 1981. The music video was released about the same time on MTV and Solid Gold. It was a bit of a rock and rap mixture. Rap was in the early stages at this point but not on the grand stage just yet. You had ones already out like the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambatta, and Fab Five Freddy. Fab Five Freddy is important to this because he knew Debbie Harry and Harry Stein, two members from Blondie. They were inspired by Freddy and the growing rap sound to write some into one of their songs. It was pretty much a success on their end with "Rapture" being one of the first successful rap songs. I would see this video show up on VH-1's Pop Up Video when I was younger. Is it good though?
Great Music Arrangement - Say what you want about the rapping, but the music and Harry's vocals in the beginning are awesome. It's got a slick bassline, good drumming, and some nicely placed saxophones. It's what I love from music. The added bonus are the chimes which give it a dreamlike vibe.
THE RAP IS KINDA WACK - Hey, I like the song, but the lyrics are pretty bad. I don't know if I can relate to the man from Mars who eats cars and then suddenly decides to eat guitars. Harry's flow is alright. You can kinda tell where they ran out of stuff to say at times. I guess they didn't know what to rap about which I get. If you listen to rap songs from this era, their lyrics tend to be weird. Just check out "Rapper's Delight" where you'll hear about the following: The hip-hop hippity hop, Super-sperm, and something about bad macaroni and cheese.
Dreamlike Video - Not only does the song have this dream-like vibe, the video is about the same. You got all sorts of randomness here. You got dancing, people painting graffiti, and a few other things I'll mention in a minute. Also, were Debbie and the rest of the band mannequins at first? That's what it seemed like to me. I also gotta admire most of it being taking place in one shot.
Black Man in a White Suit - I don't even get who the dude in the white suit was supposed to represent. I know it ain't Fab Five Freddy. I know that from Pop Up Video. He apparently sports red, glowing eyes, so maybe he's the man from Mars... or what some people think Jesus might've looked like. He even dances with the girl ballerina for a sec, and that was cute... oh yeah, why is a girl ballerina hanging in an alley with all sorts of mischief ?!?
Random Indian who looks like Richard Pryor - Yes, I know what I said. When I first saw this vid, I was like, "Why's Richard Pryor dressed up like an Indian Chief?" I now know it wasn't him now, but still, so random! I ain't even mentioning Homeless Uncle Sam, the weird scientist, the dancers from a cult, and some lady who looks like she escaped Arkham Asylum.
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In the end, it's a classic song and video with some weird rap lyrics. When I say it like that, it definitely sits in good company. I might add Blondie to a listen pile, but I'm not sure. Maybe someday. I don't know how much I'll post these days, but hopefully, I won't take too long with something. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there... The Richard Pryor chieftain may still be around.
Look I'm just saying... it looked like Richard Pryor to me, dang it!!!
Well, it’s finally time to end my time with this franchise. I mean to post this a while ago, but I've been kinda busy. Life does that sometimes. I gotta say that it’s been fun visiting these shows. I didn’t think I would’ve found these shows cool, but here we are. I got my wife to thank for that. She can be good with choosing some shows at times. This made for a fun binging.
While I wouldn’t throw any of the Vampire Diaries shows on my “Greatest TV Shows Ever” list, they were decent shows for the most part. They hit great highs and fell into some pretty bad lows. Their respective areas were pretty interesting, and the characters made these shows work even when the writing failed. Each show tried to do something unique. Of the three, I’d say that The Originals was my favorite of the bunch. The Mikaelsons made for some fun characters, and the conflicts between the supernatural factions in New Orleans were good television.
I really couldn't keep the count low for my favorite characters, so 18 should do it. It’s not a ranked list, but I will have the best ones up first. I had to include all three shows with this. I know some don’t like Legacies, but that was where it really started for me. I got some main characters and even some side characters that I really liked from all three shows.
