Another classic from Bioware..
Story always plays a big part in these types of games, and of course Dragon Age: Origins delivers on all aspects of what makes up the fabrics of story epicness. From great character lines to engaging plot twists, and great voice acting meshed with interesting characters, everything story is done perfectly. There are six different origins to chose from (depending on what class and race you play as), that are completely unique and definitely add replay value later on.
As far as gameplay goes, this game is pretty much done just like all other Bioware RPGs. I guess you can label it as a tactical-real-time-with-pause battle system. Your party will always consist of four characters that are essentially controlled by you the player. Giving them different actions to perform in combat. But if you don't like pausing and assigning orders to you party members, there's an option to set up different tactics for a specific character to perform in combats. It takes a little getting use to, but once you master it, combat can become less of a chore and more of a real time delight. Although for the tougher encounters you always need to be aware and pause the game to think things through. And of course you'll have a blast gathering loot, and then equipping your party with the best gear possible. There is tons of juicy micromanaging to be done here with all your party members.
My only real complaint with the combat system is the missing isometric view. Of course it's there in the PC version of the game, but for some reason was taken out for the console versions. But one can't complain too much about this, seeing as how lucky us console gamers are to have access to a game that would normally only be found on the PC. Also, graphically the game is pretty average. Definitely no eye candy to be found here, but in the end it doesn't matter. The overall experience will make you forget about the low textures and short draw distances.
So in conclusion, I would say that there's no reason why any RPG gamer out there should miss out on this sweet gem of a game. Bring on the sequel!