No offense to Felicia Day and her very well-made live-action web series, Dragon Age: Redemption, but Dragon Age is a franchise best suited for the world of top-tier animation – where the canvas is virtually limitless and pretty much anything is possible.
Not only do the visuals of the series lend themselves to epic set pieces, brutal action and rich fantasy, but animation also allows a nearly seamless bridge between game and cinema, that is, until someone's willing to throw down $200 million on a big-budget live-action film.
Enter Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker, a high-concept animated movie blending CG animation with a rotoscoping-type 2D visual palette. While a bit jarring at first, the animation style slowly sinks in, and allows for a lush, beautiful setting that feels both daring and refreshing.
The story, which follows a young Seeker named Cassandra as she attempts to uncover the conspiracy in the Chantry, plays with all the intrigue and excitement fans have come to expect from the Dragon Age franchise. It's a touch cliché at times, not to mention a tad confusing for newcomers, but it fits well within the established mythology of the series, and moves along at a sharp, enticing pace. The characters, as always, are richly developed and the action is remarkably choreographed and quite dazzling.
Voice work, in both the English and Japanese versions, is quite great. No one feels out of place or comes off too stoic or unemotional. Music, while quite good, does feel a little cheap, especially compared to the scope and scale of everything else. It's hardly terrible, but it's the one element of this production where it feels like corners were cut.
While few newcomers will likely attach to Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker, the film provides a real treat for longtime fans of this franchise. The story is complex and exciting, the characters are wonderfully rich, and animation is both dazzling and unique. Let's hope Dawn of the Seeker is but one of many animated films to come.
The film comes to Blu-ray/DVD combo pack courtesy of FUNimation. The transfer is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, encoded in 1080p/AVC. Audio is mixed in English and Japanese 5.1 Dolby TrueHD. Naturally, optional English subtitles are also provided. The DVD copy of the film comes on two discs – one disc featuring the Japanese version, and one disc with the English version.
It should come as no shock that Dawn of the Seeker looks absolutely remarkable on Blu-ray. Created entirely on a digital canvas, the direct-to-digital transfer is absolutely spotless – not a single blemish was detected at all. The encode fairs considerably well, with no major compression issues. No banding or bleeding colors were noted, either. If you're in the market for a reference digital transfer, give Dragon Age a look.
Audio is also top notch. I toggled between both the Japanese version and the English dub. The film's palette remains the same with both mixes. Surrounds are lively and immersive, with rich atmosphere and hearty bass. Dialogue is well-mixed and clean, not one distortion, hiss or crackle was detected. Now, which version you choose to watch is really up to how much of a purist you are. Regardless, whether you opt for the English dub or the original Japanese, you'll be getting a pretty great mix.
Extras include a trio of brief featurettes and a downloadable digital comic – Dragon Age: The Silent Grove. The first featurette (8 minutes, HD) takes you backstage at Bioware Studio. It's nothing too earth-shattering, but it's worth a look if you're a fan. The next featurette (21 minutes, HD) explores the making of the film, as well as the various characters and groups seen within the Dragon Age franchise. Finally, there's a quick but wonderful look at the film's production artwork (9 minutes, HD).
Dragon Age fans should definitely check out this animated adaptation. And current lovers of Game of Thrones might also want to consider stepping into this franchise, if you haven't already. You might find much to love. If nothing else, you'll have a pretty great Blu-ray to show off the might of your system.
Source : ign[dot]com
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