It is just...incredible.You must play it to fully understand the true power and awesomeness of this milestone of gaming.
The story focuses on a threat called the "Darkspawns" which are some kind of savage beasts that are meant to destroy the whole Ferelden kingdom.However,that's not all;it seems that the whole thing is some sort of a Blight that threatens the whole people.It's complicated to understand the story at the beginning,but as you keep playing and paying attention to the dialogues,or eventually to the codex(I found it quite boring to read though it contains information about the historical events and stuff about Ferelden,characters and so on).Overall,the story is gripping and compelling,and if you add the absolutely charming characters and the tons of spoken lines...you get an awesome and involving experience.
But enough with the story,let's get to the real deal:the game-play.
There are so many to tell about it that I don't really know what to tell you first.Let's start with the combat system,which is very satisfying.No,It isn't a click fest and it obviously require a bit of tactics,for instance you can't just keep 4 warriors in your party,you need at least a spell-caster(mage) so it could cast spells from distance to reinforce the raw attacks of the others(at least this is my party configuration).Don't be scared,It isn't complex at all,the idea is that you have to pause the game as much as possible to unleash your special attacks/spells to defeat the enemies.In conclusion you just can't(and I mean it) rush over your enemies and hope you'll kill them just with the ordinary type of attack,you have to use your special attacks...err you know,just play it,you'll get the idea.Overall,I'd say the combat it's a blast to play and it'll stay long with you after the stains of blood will dry on your armor(yes,the game is pretty gory).
Probably the first dull thing you'll face in the game is the trading system which is very satisfying to perform once you get used to the currency in the game.The currency is "formed" of Gold coin,Silver Coin,Bronze coin.A Gold coin=100 silver coins,A silver coin=100 bronze coins.Personally I was pretty confused first time I faced this system but once I got used with...trust me,it's just satisfying to see the purchased armor/weapons being worn by your character,you really sense you somehow are more protected/powerful with them,especially when you get to wear,for instance a templar armor,and I'll be damned if I ever saw a better templar armor!You know,It's really delightful to see your character fully equipped with that kind of huge,though fairytale armor you've probably seen in movies like The Lord of the Rings for instance.
There are tons of side quests to complete,and they are really really fun to do,though sometimes they are hard since the location where you are supposed to go isn't marked on your map.Expect huge battles with the darkspawn or with wild animals,all sort of surprises lie within the side quest,and you feel rewarded for them.
As you probably heard the single-player campaign can take up to 50 hours and that's if you don't wander around,solving quests or just talking to people.Overall the single-player campaign is a blast to play and it should "convince' you to play more than one time through it,yup you'll do this.
Visually speaking,the game looks gorgeous,especially the character models,and the facial expressions I mean they look so believable and emotional.Plus that,the game features an incredible art direction and sense for art,I mean the structure of the cities,the overall fantasy feel of the whole game,it's amazing how hardly BioWare worked to make this game such an awesome experience,both in terms of gameplay and of graphics.
There isn't much to say about the game,oh,besides the fact that there are constant mini-DLCs to download and install,however you don't actually pay for them.You unlock them by completing achievements which grants you points to spend on the DLCs.They add some hours to the single player campaign so be sure to download them,they are fun!.
Dragon Age:Origins is an amazing achievement that almost raises the bar of what a true R.P.G. means.