Massive Nerd

(For a full listing of Character Guides, please go here)

Dual Weapon Warriors are similar to their Two-Handed brethren in some respects, but differ vastly in gameplay style. While Two-Handed is all about using your skills to the fullest, Dual Weapon is more about pure DAMAGE. Throw up your sustained abilities and auto-attack away. Since Warriors don't get a Backstab bonus, they can deal maximum damage with little micro-managing.

Party Members

Alistair starts with several Weapon and Shield points, but can be switched to this rather easily.
Sten starts with a couple Two-Handed abilities, but this is an option.
Oghren and Spoiler all come with too many points already in Two-Handed skills, switching them over would be difficult.

Stats

Strength: Maximum - Damage, damage, damage. Bring the pain.
Dexterity: 36 - Dual Weapon talents need Dexterity to learn.
Willpower: Minimum - You need to put a great deal of points into Dexterity, so you would have to take points away from Strength to pump your Willpower. This is why Dual Weapon Warriors are pretty much auto-attack machines.
Magic: Minimum - Nearly useless
Cunning: 16 - This is the minimum amount required for max-rank Coercion (for your main character) and Combat Tactics (for your companions).
Constitution: 15-18 - As a front-line fighter, you're going to take some damage, but you only need enough to survive a few hits, hopefully.

Specializations

Templar: Odds are, you won't want to be splitting the good one-handed weapons between two characters. If so, and you roll without a Rogue, this is a very viable secondary specialization.
Berserker: You get mad and hit stuff. Berserker is the primary damage-dealing Warrior Specialization. The fact that you'll be using very few active abilities makes the reduced Stamina regeneration a non-issue.
Champion: A solid Secondary Specialization. Rally is yet another Sustained ability to add to your arsenal.
Reaver: Reaver's stat bonuses are defensive in nature and their abilities aren't very impressive. It's an option, but not recommended.

Talents

Instead of listing EVERY talent, I will just point out the important ones, both good and bad.

Powerful: Definitely
Death Blow: This is very nice to have, but you'll have to spend 2 points in useless talents to get there. Definitely pick it up, but save it for later.
Precise Striking: This ability is PHENOMENAL if you get it early enough.
Disengage: Enemies target characters in heavy armor before those in light armor. Since Warriors walk around with tons of metal strapped to their backs, this could get you out of trouble from time to time.
Perfect Striking: Like Death Blow, a solid ability that can wait until later in the game to pick up.
Dual Weapon Moastery: Get this ASAP. This will allow you to wield a sword or axe in your offhand instead of a dagger. A MASSIVE damage increase for a Strength-focused Warrior.
Dual Weapon Sweep and Whirlwind: The only active abilities that I suggest for Dual Weapon Warriors. Your Stamina is at a premium, so you may as well use it to dish out as much damage as possible. Warriors have an advantage over Rogues here. First, they'll deal more base damage with these attacks. Second, if they happen to draw aggro, they can take the hits.
Momentum: This is why you won't have any Stamina to work with. Fire your AoEs, pop this baby and carve up some Darkspawn.

(For a full listing of Character Guides, please go here)

Two-Handed Warriors may lack the pure damage of a Dual-Wield build, but they make up for it in utility.

Party Members

Alistair starts with several Weapon and Shield points, but can be switched to this rather easily.
Sten, Oghren and Spoiler all come with points already in Two-Handed skills.

Stats

Strength: Maximum - Damage, damage, damage. Bring the pain.
Dexterity: 18 - Minimum requirement for a couple talents. Your Attack rating (Accuracy) comes from a combination of Strength and Dexterity, so this will not hurt.
Willpower: 25+ - As I mentioned earlier, Two-Handed Warriors are about utility. You need a good amount of Stamina to keep flowing. Adjust to whatever fits your playstyle, but don't go too high.
Magic: Minimum - Nearly useless
Cunning: 16 - This is the minimum amount required for max-rank Coercion (for your main character) and Combat Tactics (for your companions).
Constitution: 15-18 - As a front-line fighter, you're going to take some damage, but you only need enough to survive a few hits, hopefully.

Specializations

Templar: If you choose not to roll with a Mage-killing Rogue, this would be a Secondary option.
Berserker: You get mad and hit stuff. Berserker is the primary damage-dealing Warrior Specialization. Just make sure to pump that Willpower stat a bit, especially early on.
Champion: A solid Secondary Specialization. Your Two-Hander will likely have more mana to spare than your tank to keep Rally going.
Reaver: Reaver's stat bonuses are defensive in nature and their abilities aren't very impressive. It's an option, but not recommended.

Talents

Instead of listing EVERY talent, I will just point out the important ones, both good and bad.

Powerful: Definitely
Death Blow: This is very nice to have, but you'll have to spend 2 points in useless talents to get there. Definitely pick it up, but save it for later.
Precise Striking: This ability is PHENOMENAL if you get it early enough.
Disengage: Enemies target characters in heavy armor before those in light armor. Since Warriors walk around with tons of metal strapped to their backs, this could get you out of trouble from time to time.
Perfect Striking: Like Death Blow, a solid ability that can wait until later in the game to pick up. Once you pump your Strength, you shouldn't need too much more Attack.
Pommel Strike: One of those great utility abilities. Use this to cancel a Mage's casting. Also, when an ally is in a "grab," like those you see from Ogres and other, nastier enemies later in the game, this will free them.
Indomitable: Own the battlefield. Use this. Always.
Stunning Blows: This makes Zev slightly useful if he has the talent that gives automatic backstabs against stunned enemies.
Critical Strike: Really not that great. This should be happening decently often enough without the Stamina cost.
Sunder Arms and Sunder Armor: These deal very good damage IN ADDITION to their debuffs.
Powerful Swings: Seems nice, but you'll already have a few Sustained Abilities running, and Indomitable is better.
Two-Handed Sweep: Your only AoE, try to get this as early as possible. Between this and Warcry/Superiority from Champion, you can keep groups of enemies at bay for a while, though you may need to Disengage afterward.

(For a full listing of Character Guides, please go here)

Clank.

Unless you're using Shale in his Stoneheart form, you'll need a Warrior for tanking.

Party Members

Alistair is ready to go in this role.
Sten starts with a couple points spent in Two-Handed talents, but could be switched to tanking with minimal loss.
Oghren and Spoiler join your group too late in the game to be effective tanks, with several points already spent in Two-Handed talents.

Stats

Strength: 42 - This is the requirement for wearing the heaviest armor in the game. Anything beyond this is wasted, since it will only increase your damage, which is less important than your defensive abilities.
Dexterity: Maximum - Dexterity increases your chance to dodge attacks, as well as the amount of damage absorbed by armor. Every extra point you have should go here.
Willpower: 20-25 - Honestly, whatever you're comfortable with. Tanks use several sustained abilities, which will eat up your Stamina pool. The last thing you want is to be unable to use Taunt in an important situation. Your choice of Specialization will also factor in here.
Magic: Minimum - Nearly useless
Cunning: 16 - This is the minimum amount required for max-rank Coercion (for your main character) and Combat Tactics (for your companions).
Constitution: 20-25 - Again, whatever you're comfortable with, as well as adjusted for difficulty. Though, keep in mind, you only gain 5 HP per point.

Specializations

Templar: Alistair comes pre-loaded with this, so many think it's the Tanking Specialization. In reality, it isn't that useful. All of a Templar's skills are for use against Mages, which is a job better suited for your Rogues.
Berserker: Berserker talents are offensive-oriented. While not bad, your Stamina is better used elsewhere.
Champion: THIS is the Tanking Specialization. War Cry decreases enemies' chance to hit, which is very handy for a tank. Superiority gives War Cry a knockdown effect, and makes it invaluable. Rally & Motivate are great, but only if you invest in extra Willpower to offset the upkeep cost.
Reaver: Reaver is a decent SECONDARY Specialization, because of only one skill. Frightening Appearance increases the effectiveness of Threaten and Taunt, two vital Tanking abilities.

Talents

Instead of listing EVERY talent, I will just point out the important ones, both good and bad.

Powerful, Threaten and Taunt: Of course.
Bravery: Grants several offensive and defensive bonuses when engaging more than two enemies. This will be often.
Death Blow: While a Stamina return seems like a good idea, your tank will rarely be getting the killing blow.
Precise Striking: You have to get this as a prerequisite for Taunt. Additionally, it's a decent ability to use early in the game when you don't have a full compliment of abilities to drain your Stamina.
Perfect Striking: While this seems like a great ability to generate aggro, the Stamina cost is not worth it.
Shield Bash, Shield Pummel, Overpower and Assault: Nice aggro-building skills, and the stuns and knockdowns are very handy. However, use them sparingly to conserve Stamina and focus on your defensive Talents first.
Shield Defense and Shield Wall: Should be your top priorities. They do not stack, so Shield Defense should be cast aside once you get Shield Wall.
Shield Cover: Useful early on, but unnecessary once you have Shield Wall and better gear.
Additionally, all Passives in the Weapon & Shield tree are mandatory.

Over the past several weeks, I've had several people asking me for advice on Dragon Age: Origins. Instead of repeating myself, I figured I'd make a few blog posts with the info.

As has been my style, this post will be the central database for the guides.

Warrior

Tank
Two-Handed
Dual Weapon

What were my games of the year?

Keep in mind, these are only the best of the games I played.

3: Dragon Age: Origins

No game of the year list, in ANY year, would be complete without a listing from BioWare. They are the best at what they do, and DA:O is the best of what they've done. Now, this ranking is based upon my playing the Xbox 360 version. With lesser graphics and controls (with tuned-down difficulty to compensate for the less intuitive interface), it only merits #3 on my list. Perhaps I would rank it higher if I played the PC version.

2: Persona 4

Okay, I'm cheating a bit on this one. TECHNICALLY, P4 came out last year. However, it released so late in the year, it was left off most lists for 2008. As such, I'm ranking it this year. I've previously written about the game. Bottom line: I'm still playing it ten months later.

1: Modern Warfare 2

I always catch a lot of crap from the internet when I say this is the best game I played all year. I think some people just naturally hate anything that's popular. Though, don't you think there's a REASON things are popular to begin with? The first Modern Warfare reinvented what is expected from a shooter. Much like, Half Life, Halo and Goldeneye before it, Modern Warfare did things that no other shooter did at the time.

Modern Warfare 2 has the same incredible multiplayer DESIGN as the first. Any popular game is going to be filled with jerks that ruin it, but the gameplay itself is some of the best competitive multiplayer I've ever seen, with a plethora of game modes and an almost endless supply of weapon and equipment combinations. You can play whatever game you want, HOWEVER you want. On top of this, Infinity Ward has added the Special Ops mode. This two-player cooperative mode pits you and a friend against an amazing variety of missions. Stealth, assault, defense, escort, driving, flying, name it and it's here. It's not just run-and-gun, though. Tactics and communication are the keys to victory. This alone makes Modern Warfare 2 the best multiplayer game of the year.

In case you haven't heard, Modern Warfare 2 offers a robust Campaign mode, as well. Plenty of games have a good story. MW2's story may be a bit convoluted, but it's pretty good, especially by shooter standards. Yes, there are shooters with better stories, but not many. I will say two things about the story. First, it moves at a very quick pace, advancing the missions structure perfectly. Each mission is just long enough to be fulfilling, without becoming boring. Second, I cared. The way the story is told, the way it interjected me into the story, the events it forced me to live through, it all combined to make me care. I didn't just want to SEE what happened next, I wanted to DO it. By the end of the game, I HATED the villain so much that I actually CHEERED at the end.

So yes, for offering some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced, and one of the most emotionally engrossing stories, Modern Warfare 2 is my game of the year.

With the year dwindling away, I thought I'd take a look at what went well and what... didn't.

Wins

3: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Name the last good Batman game. Go on, I dare you. Anyone? Bueller? Right. Arkham is the first Batman game in, let's just say, ever to even be playable. Not content to just make a FUNCTIONAL game, Rocksteady Studios went and made a GOOD one. Not only did they make it GOOD, they made it RIGHT. Bringing in Kevin Conroy, Mark Hammill and almost the entire voice cast from Batman: The Animated Series was a brilliant move. This wasn't just a bunch of guys making a game, it was a bunch of fans creating a labor of love. I hope for a similar treatment on Transformers: War for Cybertron. The developers have already said they can't have Optimus Prime without Peter Cullen.

2: Modern Warfare 2

Anyone who listened to my segment on For the Lore knows that I LOVE this game. I applaud Infinity Ward's risk-taking. Story-wise, this is perhaps the most immersive game I've ever played.

1: New IPs

2009 is the best year in recent memory for new IPs in games. Brutal Legend, Borderlands, Dragon Age, Shadow Complex and Torchlight are all properties I look forward to spending more time with in the years to come.

Losses

3: WoW failing in China

Blizzard can survive without the income from the Chinese market. However, there are LOTS of people in China who want to play games. This is income that many smaller (and I'm using that term relatively) companies rely on to help turn a profit. Not being able to reach a deal in China could cause some borderline-successful games to fail down the road.

2: Aion

Despite what many have said, I STILL think Aion is a fun game, and I would still be playing if I weren't dedicating my time to other pursuits currently. That being said, it looks like the game is on its way to a slow death here in America, joining the ranks of Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Age of Conan and many others as games that just cannon exist in the current WoW-centric MMO market.

1: Console Inequality

Modern Warfare 2 and Borderlands are horribly undersupported on PC. Dragon Age's console versions are inferior to the PC version. Differences in graphics and controls are to be expected. However, removing features, slow content, lack of support and dumbing down features for a "lesser" audience? That's not good business. Release an equal product or hand the ports off to a company that will. In today's market, game companies cannot afford to alienate large portions of their fans.