Dragon Age: PC or Xbox?

The big difference between KOTOR and Mass Effect, though, is that they were using an already established setting. The same is true of the Baldur's Gate games. It seems to me that so far, everytime Bioware has tried to establish an own setting (e.g., Jade Empire, Mass Effect), the results have left something to be desired. I've already seen a couple of comments from players saying that DA lacks "heart and soul", which is not dissimilar to what I'd say about those earlier games.

Once bitten, twice shy, and all that... I prefer to be positively surprised, etc., etc.

Looking forward to playing the game friday evening.

/Strategy
Designer/Developer, The Imperium Project

PC all the way.  From the review at Destructoid:

It's worth noting that PC gamers get a more tactical perspective of battle and have access to hotkeys. These additions will surely help and make the PC game the infinitely superior choice. In comparison, the console versions cannot handle the kind of battles BioWare have created. This game probably should not have been released on the PS3 or Xbox 360. Even with the extra tools, however, the PC version still seems to suffer from many of the same problems, from what I have played of that version.

OK, having played a few hours, let me return to this subject:
 
Maybe it has to do with the origin story you pick, but this game has as much - or more - "heart and soul" as any game I have ever seen.  I actually had tears come to my eyes at one point early on (in the human noble rogue origin story).
 
My best guess it that the Eurogamer reviewer was a little sloppy in wording, and what s/he really meant about the world lacking depth is really a complaint about the game's story and action being "on rails" as opposed to wide-open gameplay like Oblivion.  In fact, the only specifics about lack of depth in the review refer to invisible walls, etc.
 
And that's certainly true.  You are on rails and there are invisible walls that guide you from one plot or quest event to the next.  There are spots here and there where you get to wander around, but generally you wander down a tube to the next story/battle spot, and then you wander down another tube to the next spot after that.
 
Your mileage may differ - but I certainly see the advantage to gameplay on rails, and in fact I think most of the best RPGs/shooters are on rails.  It allows the developer to carefully tailor a progression of story and level-appropriate combat.  If it's done elegantly, you still get the illusion or even reality of choice - and in fact, based solely on what I've read (and not on anything I have yet experienced), you get to make many important plot choices in DA, and the game plays out differently.
 
I'm not putting down the open-world experience, which is fun in its own right, and in fact I like variety so I want to do open-world occasionally.  But the tightest and best-designed possible games are on rails, IMO.  That's ESPECIALLY true if plot and character are important game elements, which is the way Bioware rolls.
 
So far as I can tell, the Eurogamer reviewer was complaining because the game was on rails, and not because the plot lacks "heart" or the world lacks "depth."  I've seen lots of heart and depth in just a few hours of play.

^ excellent post

Yeah I agree, thanks Glen55.

Just remember kids, when you need something wholesome and innocent like Sesame Street twisted into something sick and perverted - I'm just a phone call away.

-HR

^ agreed.  Rails.  No rails.  As long as the game has a story that hooks and characters that make me care about not letting them die...I'm good to go. 

I've been playing BG alot lately to get back in the mood of RPG'ing - but truth be told I'll have to wait for awhile on DA for the price to come down.  I've got to eat.

I do wish the game was more open world, but it is quite clear from the FAQ on the Bioware site that this is going to be a series of hubs joined by tubes (I like that description!)  I  was gutted when I found out- I disliked the Witcher for that very reason- and NWN2- but I get the feeling this one is going to be worth it- that the depth will make up for the claustrophobic nature of the world.