Dragon Age: Origins Reviews and Editorials

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Written by BuckGB on November 26th, 2009

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As a reviewer I have a reluctance to give ten out of ten scores. I believe it's very important to handle them with care and avoid awarding them too often so as to avoid cheapening the accolade. Dragon Age was a joy to play from start to finish and I was always tempted to give it that perfect score but the crash bug, slightly erratic difficulty curve, and one or two cringe-worthy character scenes threatened to bring it down to a 9.5. Then I finished the game. It had taken 56 hours, 22 minutes, and 53 seconds from me and yet the very first thing I thought about as the credits rolled was whether I'd make a mage or a rogue for my next playthrough. That's how you get a ten.

Technically, the game looks great (we tested the PC version, supposedly the visuals are a bit worse on consoles) it's no Crysis by any means, but the visuals are good enough to immerse you into the world, which is always the main point of having (great graphics). The sound and audio and top notch, there's hours upon hours of spoken dialogue, and the score suits the game well. Overall, it's a no brainer for RPG fans, and the rest of folks except those who hate micro managing will have a lot in for them by checking out Dragon Age. If you're thinking of getting the console version or the PC version: get the PC version, it's clearly better in almost every sense.

Despite not being the biggest fan of the combat system, it is something that can grow on you and you can get accustomed to over time. Ultimately, the reason why you'll find yourself adapting is because the rest of the game is so good, you'll want to muster through and learn the ropes so that you can experience the tale through to completion. With several different difficulties, several different races/character backgrounds, and numerous quests and storylines that have different branching paths based on decisions you make, Dragon Age: Origins is all about the replayability. There are some kinks in the game, but for the most part it's a very solid game for Bioware fans and RPG fans. I certainly hope this is but the first game in the franchise, as I'd love to see the game expanded upon and tweaked in a sequel.

If you're going to play Dragon Age then I highly recommend you buy it over renting due to how long the game is and because of promised future content. Also, if you have a computer able to run the PC version then you would be much better off going that way.

While the console version of the game is great in its own right, the PC version trumps it on nearly everything that matters.

A great storyline with plenty of twists and charismatic characters make Dragon Age: Origins a memorable experience. The story, which perhaps might not seem so original will progress at a nice pace that can be partially dictated by the player opting to do side quests. The amount of character customisation means that there are lots of different party combinations available so the game can be played from a different perspective in another play through. There is also a vast world to explore that although might not be visually appealing, still manages to suck you in. The combat system may take a while to learn how to use all the options competently, but discovering the features and levelling up is part of the fun. Aside from it looking rough around the edges and a combat system that might not be to everyone's liking, Dragon Age: Origins is an enjoyable RPG experience.

As it stands, Dragon Age: Origins is not for everyone. It is, after all, an RPG. If you're not into leveling up characters and completing quests, then this isn't the game for you. Assuming we're all on the same page and you're into role playing games, then I would only share one other caution: Dragon Age: Origins has no Multiplayer mode. This is an RPG in the same vein as the old school single player RPGs that existed before MMORPGs were born. The online connectivity is only used for downloading new content, which, as of this writing, includes at least three things: The Stone Prisoner (a playable character), The Grey Warden's Keep (including a dungeon crawl and an upgraded camp including a box to store your extra gear) and Blood Dragon Armor (special armor included with some copies of the game via a redeemable code). You should check your box before purchasing these downloadable content items, however, to make sure that you don't already have a code to redeem for it. Some boxes will contain a card with codes for certain DLC. Mine, for example, had codes for The Stone Prisoner and Blood Dragon Armor. If you can overlook the glitches and you don't mind playing with yourself, run out and pick up Dragon Age: Origins today.

Dragon Age: Origins doesn't really serve up anything we haven't seen before in a roleplaying game. What it does, it does well and gameplay in the title is near perfect! However, a few minor annoyances do frustrate throughout but most of its shortcomings are made up for with an excellent and gripping story that will make you want to keep playing all the way to the end.

While I would like to see longer, deeper and more robust DLC for Dragon Age: Origins in the future, these first two launch-day pieces of DLC are pretty solid, depending what you're looking for. A problem that keeps cropping up in the main quest is the lack of inventory space to store things that you won't use often or want to save for later, and Warden's Keep solves that with the chest. That, and the fact that it's quite a bit less expensive, is what bumps it up above The Stone Prisoner content.

This type of believable discussion between non-player characters gives players a feeling of progression beyond what has normally been established in the medium. The banter can range from the humorous, such as Morrigan's mocking of Leilana, to the serious when one your party members particularly objects to a choice you've made in the dialogue tree. Depending on the actual situation, the latter could well see you part ways with that character.

This allows for a significant amount of exposition to be explained without any real action on the player's part. Instead of insistence on delving trough the dialogue trees, randomly-generated banter shows insight to both party members involved; not only does one learn about Shale's hatred of birds but also of Leilana's love of them. If I have one criticism, it's that the banter is always been two people and never three. For complexity's sake the number of involved parties was kept to a minimum, but when a game reaches to that level of immersion it's a shame to not shoot for the moon.

I'd chosen the wrong skills towards the start of the game, unsure what my build was going to be, no idea what abilities future party members might have (presuming there'd be a dedicated healer along soon; I didn't go to the mage's tower, where one can be found, before Elfland and Dwarftown and so ended up with a crapload of melee types in my roster), and naively hungry to make this character capable of everything. I'd tried to shape him into a crowd control type later on, but those misspent early points meant he was still a few levels off being anything like effective. My only options were to press on, suffering an infuriating degree of death and reloading, not to mention burning all my gold on health potions, or to start afresh with a new character. Whichever I picked, I knew the result would be the same: my time with Dragon Age would be as good as over. I hasten to add that I'm quite sure I would have been able to continue with this borked character, eventually levelling my way out of the problem I'd gotten myself into: but I didn't want to. I wanted to have more fun, not a slog.

So I cheated. Or did I?

I've tried to rationalise it to myself, with endless variations upon the theme of the intro above, but I know there's no escaping that I have cheated. I have pulled the game's skin away to reveal the endoskeleton below, have performed decisive and powerful surgery that the game did not intend me to, and then pulled the skin back over. Everything looks neat and normal and as it should be, but I have broken the rules, as set by Bioware. My immortal gaming soul is befouled. I know, you can barely stand to look at me.

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