On Dragon Age: Journeys

 That's how they getcha.

I've been avoiding Dragon Age: Origins.  Don't get me wrong -- I love Bioware as much as, or perhaps even more than, the next guy.  I even played Jade Empire.  But when I found myself choosing a new game, I settled on the devil-may-care wit of Nathan Drake over the blood-besmirched plate-mail of this fellow, whoever he is.

You know I'm right.

I'm more of a Final Fantasy guy, as you may have guessed.  All my occidental swords-and-sorcery needs are fulfilled by Warcraft.  And then this happened.  Dragon Age: Journeys, a well-designed casual RPG built by something called EA2D.   It's pretty!  It sounds good!  It's fun!  Dang it all.

While you're watching The Biggest Loser, 

we're gonna killify things and loot their steaming bodies.

(If there's any doubt left in your mind that EA will someday control all of mankind's dreams from atop a sheer platinum tower, please cast it aside.  Seriously, what else to Potter addicts, chop shop owners, and regular people have in common?  They have been right all along; it is, indeed, in the game.)

So fine.  I play their little flash romp through a few times.  No big, right?  No need for me to fall into the endless pit of expense that is DAO right?  One might think that, but no.  No, the sly devils at EA added a few achievements to this little gem, and once these are successfully completed, content is unlocked in Origins.  I am now the proud owner of a Helm of the Deep, an Amulet of the War Mage, and a snazzy little belt called Embri's Many Pockets.  This for a game I don't even own.

...yet.