A wonderfully fleshed out fantasy RPG that's a must play for any fan of the genre.
Long games have been hard to come by this generation. Especially long RPGs. Most games of this type that come out are around twenty to thirty hours, and usually have nothing that promotes a second or third play through. Then along comes Dragon Age: Origins and changes everything you thought you knew about RPGs this generation.
Dragon Age is an epic game. Not very many games can boast this truthfully. Reports of 60-80 hour play through times just working on the story is rare in this generation of games. Not to mention players can play through the game several times and have different experiences every time. When the game begins players have the option to choose from three different races; human, elf and dwarf. Each race has a different background story, and they all affect how the entire game world reacts to you. For example, if a player starts playing a human noble, the rest of the world will treat them with respect. However, if the player chooses an elf, the world will basically ignore you as elves are generally considered secondary citizens with some being slaves.
The story in Dragon Age: Origins is fantastic. There is an evil in the world that rises up every few centuries called the darkspawn or the blight. They are lead by an Archdemon, who just also happens to be a dragon. The Grey Wardens, the good guys in the fight, take it upon themselves to gather an army of the lands to drive the darkspawn back and destroy the Archdemon. Up to this point they always drive the darkspawn back but never finally slay the Archdemon. As basic as this story sounds, the game gets much more complex than this. At the beginning of the game, you become a Grey Warden, and quickly become one of the last Wardens in the land. The task of uniting the lands then falls to you, the newest and possibly last, member of your new order. Once this opens up, players are allowed to forge alliances in any order they want, and the way they forge allegiances changes the composition of the army that is raised.
After the opening missions it becomes very clear that this is a massive game. Even the in-game codex is huge and, once filled out, could take someone a long time to read. The various areas are very detailed and well done. Surprises can come from anywhere and anything. Dragon Age: Origins feels like it is setup more realistically than many other RPGs, and it doesn't feel like it is trying to push you in any particular direction. There are places where if players do not explore, major things can be missed including quests and items and even characters that could join the party. Decisions that are made by the player can impact the way party members feel about you. For example, there is a quest to find a missing boy in a town, if the boy is found and brought back, the player may be offered a reward. There are a few different responses at that point: take the reward, refuse the reward, or take more from them. Depending on the choice made, a party member might be happy, or possibly mad, depending on the situation. Gone is the good and evil gauge for the main character, there is now a gauge on each character that shows how they feel towards the main character. If enough discontent with the main character is generated, the party members could leave the party permanently.
The combat in Dragon Age is very reminiscent of the old Balder's Gate or Planescape Torment games on PC. It is technically turn based, but is played out in real time. At any time during combat, a player can pause the game and issue an order for the characters next turn. Tactics can also be assigned to each character, and much like Final Fantasy XII a list of commands can be programmed for the character to react just how the player wants them to. As the character levels up, new tactics slots can be earned. Skills and ability points are also earned and can be spread in any way the player sees fit.
Dragon Age: Origins looks amazing. From the trees to the grass, the game looks extremely good and Bioware has done a fantastic job of fleshing out their game. If you have a PC powerful enough to run this game, I suggest purchasing that version. Control of the camera is much better on the PC than on the consoles. In the console versions, players can use the second stick to simply zoom and rotate the camera, however with the PC version, when a player pulls the camera all the way back, the game presents an overhead view of the action. Players can then control characters as if it were in a RTS game that can be paused easily. This feature helps greatly especially when navigating small corridors with enemies all around. No slowdown, or popup on the PC version makes the world feel large and realistic. Even in the small confined areas, no detail is overlooked.
The biggest problem with Dragon Age: Origins can potentially be its biggest asset. When Bioware announced that DLC would be available for the launch, it made the game feel like it was incomplete. Especially when Bioware incorporated it directly into the game before the DLC is purchased. For example, when the party camps for the night, there is a person in camp that is offering the chance to go to the Warden's Keep. The only problem is that the quest is only available as paid content. This could be the way Bioware advertises it's DLC but it makes the game feel as if it's missing something. If players were lucky enough to score a collector's edition, they get the Warden's Keep mission for free.
Overall Dragon Age: Origins is fantastic, and is a must play for any fan of the genre. Doubly so since it readily promotes multiple play throughs. It's the player that controls the game more than the story , so everyone can look forward to spending endless hours in a wonderfully fleshed out fantasy realm.
