Dragon Age combines all the lessons learned of past WRPGs and weaves a wonderfully immersive tale.
If you enjoy RPGs, you can go ahead and stop reading. Buy this game. If you have never played an RPG or would like to get a sense of why Dragon Age Origins is so great, then continue reading. Dragon Age Origins is the type of game that only comes along every few years. It is deep, expansive, polished, and most of all very immersive. Anyone who enjoys a well told fantasy story of defeating a greater evil, with all the side stories in which a great plot entails, while exploring rich and colorful cultures, regions, and characters will surely get weeks of enjoyment out of the proper game not including the expansions and add ons. There are some problems and imbalances, but when viewed as a whole, this game is very special and deserves your time.
Story
Without giving anything major away regarding the plot line or story, this game is set in the fanciful world of Fereldon which has been plagued with problems of "demon" creatures called darkspawn for many generations. The story starts with the darkspawn rapidly increasing in number and beginning to pillage outlying areas. Depending on the race chosen, the beginning one to two hours will be a separate story which is tailored to the player's initial character creation choices. Throughout the game the player is required to explore many varied and diverse areas while experiencing a large range of unique characters, situations, and great side stories or plights. The story and adventure in this game draws the player in and does very well at directly linking the player with the in-game world. This is a story that must be experienced. I will also add that the out come of the story can be changed depending on the choices throughout the game. There is not a "good or evil" slider in this game, but characters will leave or love you depending on your choices.
Gameplay
The game can be played from two major POVs. The typical view is directly behind the back of the character in a traditional 3rd party view. This allows the player to play the game like a normal WRPG while also being able to shout orders to the team. However, the most tactical view is the top-down view which places the camera around thirty feet above the party looking directly down on the action. This view will most likely be played by people using a high level of difficulty and using the "pause" feature liberally to micromanage the action.
The combat system is much like other WRPGs such as Neverwinter Nights. The player controls up to four characters including the main antagonist. When engaged in battle the player chooses skills or spells to be used against the targeted creature or in case of area-effect spells or skills, groups of enemies. This can get hectic when there are ten enemies and four characters to control which is why Bioware included a scripting profile (tactics) for each character that can be customized using default profiles or they can be deeply tweaked by advanced players. Of course, dedicated players will totally opt out of using the tactics and instead pause the action to issue orders for each character. This is by far the most effective way to fight and at higher difficulties it is a must. However, the game may be played using tactics alone without ever getting involved in the pausing system, which some people find to break the immersion.
Character Classes
Classes are broken into three categories: fighter, scout, and mage. These classes have 4-5 sections in which the player may use skill points to unlock skills and spells. Fighters have dual wield, two hander, defense, general, archer, and other areas which can be unlocked by specializing later in the game such as Berserker, Templar, and others. Each has traditional role categories such as healer, protection, damage, etc. The great part is that the player does not have to lock into any one area, skill points may be arranged into any category. This gives the player endless hybrid choices and lets the player tailor the character to exactly their play style.
There is a major imbalance in the classes though. The fighter is a must for any group as tank. The scout can be used, but is rather weak. The mage is by far the most powerful class in this game. When I say "by far" I mean it. They have so many area effect spells, direct damage, crowd control, and healing that most battles are over within a few seconds of game time if the player has stacked mages in the group. The best group is one tank with three mages. It becomes laughable how powerful they actually are. If you enjoy playing mostly melee groups, get ready to have a lot of trouble later in the game when faced with mage groups, they will dominate and you will be forced to plow through tons of potions. Again, mages rule and are very imbalanced, you have been warned.
Graphics
The visuals are not technical marvels, but are perfectly suited for what this game demands. Only a few times will the player be blown away by beautiful vistas or incredible effects, but what the game lacks in a powerful graphics engine it makes up for in the varied, diverse, and artful design elements. The characters, armor, housing, and battlefields are richly detailed and finely crafted. The visuals are styled around an old world, English type of look with thatched roofs, grand castles, freshly plowed, green rolling fields, and temperate forests. The graphics offer more than enough to please and engage the player without requiring excessive system requirements.
Sound
The audio tracks and effects go wonderfully with the mood the developers were trying to pull off. Everything in the game is voice acted and sounds great, these are not amateur castings. The people are very believable and never sound out of place. There were several times in the darker portions of the game when various screams and deathly noises made my hair stand on end, very immersive.
Value/Final Thoughts
This game is a must have. It was easily worth the 50 dollars I paid on release and can be found even cheaper now. The player will get at least forty hours out of a first play through and with the various add ons that plus doing all the side quests that can be easily increased to fifty or more hours. If you are on the fence about this game it is most likely because you have never played this type of RPG before. If that is so then I would recommend purchasing it when it becomes within your budget and giving it a try. Anyone who enjoys a good story and likes to explore beautiful worlds while engaging in tactical action will love what this game has to offer, both new players and veterans. Give it a try, I'm sure you will love it.