Like the best books, Dragon Age is a game that oozes character and rich detail making it easy to get caught up in.
Dragon age origins takes place in a universe that is familiar enough to fantasy fans to make them feel at ease, yet separates itself from the conventions of the genre to keep everyone entertained right to the end.
Origins is an rpg set in a world that is beset by an immense army of orc-like darkspawn creatures led by the archdemon, which is known as a blight, your ultimate task of course is to end this blight, but in order to do so you will need to find your feet and seek help from a diverse array of allies.
When creating your character you choose from three races; humans, dwarves and elves, and six different origin stories, including dwarf commoner, human noble and mage. These origins aren't just simple tutorials; they also serve to enrich your main character with a history that you come to identify with later on, when the game throws up some origin specific encounters.
Whilst most of the origin stories are uniformly excellent slices of what is to come in dragon age, the dalish elf origin sticks out like a sore thumb as the worst amongst them, but this a very minor gripe in a world filled with so many highlights from top to bottom.
After your initial origin is at an end, and your character seems to be at their lowest a grey warden named Duncan identifies the talents you bestow, and recruits you to join the grey wardens, a legendary group of warriors given the unenviable task of unifying the fractured alliances that once existed between the races of ferelden, and ending the blight when it rears its ugly head.
Whilst on your quest to re-unite ferelden's inhabitants against the blight, you will meet willing, and not so willing citizens who will join you in your adventuring, the first being a fellow grey warden called Alistair, a friendly, funny, and at times emotional person, who is a very handy warrior to have on your side, which can be said of all your recruitable party members, that include a flirtatious elven assassin, a strong, but silent qunari warrior, an often drunk dwarf, a sharp tongued witch of the wilds and more besides.
As well as an eclectic cast of characters, there is great dialogue to hear from npcs and party members alike, whether it is a talking tree that speaks in rhymes, a party member revealing something interesting about themselves, or being able to choose a straight talking, sympathetic, or humorous dialogue choice yourself, the game really makes you sit up and listen, because the conversations you have, and the choices you make based on what you hear, can have a huge impact on how the game plays out.
The player has to make quite a few important decisions that are by no means clear cut between good and evil including deciding which king to put on the dwarven throne, whether or not werewolves that can talk are really the mindless killers they initially seem, and if a blood mage should be allowed to repent for his crimes, or if he should just stay in his cell for his own good.
Dragon age is certainly not a game for staying in one place, as exploring the diverse locations of ferelden is a joy in itself. There are new and wondrous locations to visit, as well as places that are tried and tested yet still evoke a feeling of being fresh, due in no small part to the extensive amount of lore and character invested in everything around you, revealed through a huge amount of codex's that are collected upon your travels, and available for you to read at your leisure in your inventory.
One thing you shouldn't be leisurely with is the various enemies that will attempt to halt your progress throughout which come in a wide array of shapes and sizes, including of course dragons, and although (hardest difficulties not withstanding) you can get through most encounters relatively unscathed, some of the larger scale battles, and especially large creatures require a bit more thought and tactical thinking to get through.
Unfortunately whilst in combat the ps3 version of dragon age frequently shows off its main flaw, especially in larger battles, the game is subjected to screen tearing, and as well as that noticeable slowdown, although this does not occur in most fights it's noticeable enough to be a hindrance at times.
Thankfully these problems are not enough to detract from dragon ages excellent combat, which is very entertaining, especially when you and your party members have learnt spells and skills to better deal with the foes you bump into, whether it be a mage freezing an adversary solid in a block of ice, or a warrior striking an opponent with the hilt of his blade to knock him to the ground, there is a great number of effective abilities for mages, rogues, and warriors alike.
As well as this your character can access specializations that can further enhance your character, for instance a mage can become a shape shifter able to turn into powerful animals and/or be an arch mage capable of wearing the heaviest of heavy armour.
In addition to upgrading your character and their abilities, your relationship with your party members can develop over time as you talk to them, and if you respond to them in the appropriate manner their affection towards you will increase, and the higher their affection is the more they will open up to, and tell you things about their past lives, and with some party members it is also possible to develop romances, which often show a completely different side to your wonderfully well developed companions, who are so full of life you may care for them as you would a family member.
If you haven't worked it out by now this game is huge and that is more than reflected in the amount of time you can spend on one play through, I myself spent just over 100 hours playing the game from start to finish doing as many of the quests as I could, but this game is so involving, and so interesting to play through that you will definitely want to play it again to see what it's like to play as a different race/class.
If you are a fan of long, rewarding rpg game play, and love a great story and environment that completely sucks you into its world, as well as amazingly realised characters and terrific story telling than dragon age is the game for you, even if rpgs are not one of your favourite genres, you owe it to yourself as a gamer to experience dragon age, welcome it with open arms into your family of games, and it may just become your favourite member.