Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Instant classic"

Back the days, I used to play the pen-and-paper RPG based on Tolkien's Middle Earth world and this game reminded me of those times. It was the closest feeling I had to the dice rolling mechanics and guided storytelling. I also do like the open world games (like Oblivion) where you can spend two hours watching a deer in the forest but this one has this feeling there is a hidden guide telling you the things in the land of Ferelden are constantly changing and pushing you in the right direction.
So, you gather your team and most of the game you'd explore a realm with four of them.
You can really get attached to the characters. I liked the Shale (golem from the DLC) character and he was in 30% of my quests but I really got close to Moriggan, Wynne and Alistair. Which was a perfect match with me as a rogue Elf master in archery, mage (more like a witch) Morrigan focused on primal spells, enchanter Wynne with so useful healing & spirit spells and of course Alistair with templar talents as the front line warrior.
All the dialogues are well done so you never get bored talking to people.
I played this game over 100 hours and still some side quests left unfinished when the game ended. I'm thinking about buying Awakening DLC (which I rarely rarely do:)
I played it on PS3 so from the technical side, controlling a battle mode can be sometimes tricky but once you assign all the quick buttons and (very important imho) proper tactics order for each character, you just watch your team beautifully synchronised and taking care of each other.
I recommend this game to any RPG fan willing to take an adventure in the LOTR/Game of Thrones-like fantasy world.