Dragon Age Origins was 60 hours well spent.
Dragon Ages story takes place in the country of Ferelden. Many years ago a blight came, hideous creatures known as the darkspawn rose from the earth and attacked every living thing in sight almost destroying the combined races of dwarf, elf and human alike. Then a group known as the Grey Wardens came and turned the tide, pushing back the darkspawn, turning a near rout into a victory. Now Ferelden faces yet another blight, the dawkspawn are once again rising and the worlds hope once again lies with the very small group the Grey Wardens.
The story itself is a fairly standard fantasy affair, dwarves live underground, elves in forests etc. Much of DA:O will seem very familiar though there are some nice touches like the way elves are second class citizens as well as some of the more political aspects the story takes. What really makes the game shine however is, like most Bioware games, the characters. There is a great variety in the gathered party and the main villain so to speak is fantastically performed and even understandable in his motives, there is no such thing as black and white in Dragon Age.
Dragon Age starts with a character creation system allowing you to pick gender, race a variety of hairstyles, skin tones as well as customizing the facial appearance of your character. Most importantly after this however is their class and Origin. Depending on which Origin you choose completely changes the prologue of the game, your characters background, race and class all make an impact here on certain story elements as well as how your character is treated throughout the game. It's a nice touch giving people plenty of choice to play the type of character they like.
The gameplay to Origins is very reminiscent of Biowares original RPG Baldur's Gate. In dungeons you have up to four party members in which to battle with, though you can only directly control one, switching between them on the fly is not a problem. With the press of a button combat can be paused bringing up an ability wheel showing special moves, ongoing powers as well as items, traps and other relevant options. Swapping between characters in this mode allows you to stack ability use as the situation requires, which is a nice touch. These abilities can also be hot keyed allowing quick access to those your characters will use most. The characters you are not using will fight on their own automatically attacking and casting spells depending on parameters previously set, similar to Final Fantasy XII's gambit system. There are set types that can be used like "warrior" or "healer" or you can customize your own tactics to fit any situation. It's remarkably adaptable and can often be the difference between victory and defeat.
With each kill, completed quest, lock pick or even trap disarm your characters gain experience. With the right amount they level up giving ability points to use on stats as well as class skills and abilities. The options in how to build your character are surprisingly diverse even just in one class, giving a lot of options in building a balanced party though you can let the game "auto level" up for you though you need to keep track on your equipment related to the skills it invests.
The biggest gameplay related feature in nearly all Bioware games has always been the dialogue system. The numerous options to responses in conversations are of course quite staggering and once again less black and white then in some of their previous titles. When talking to your own party members in camp depending on what you say will increase or decrease a party members approval of you. The higher it is, the more you benefit either from stat bonuses or the development of romantic relationships with characters you like the most.
This system wouldn't be worth the disc it was printed on if the voice acting didn't come up to scratch. Fortunately it does, each character is perfect for the part they play and have a variety of accents making the game feel as deep and as rich as the history texts you find imply it to be. (I especially like Orlais's sexy french accents ;) ) The music is of equally high quality with the title screens haunting melody being a perfect example of the atmosphere to come.
It is sad to say that for all my praise for Dragons Age, the visuals are not among them. Not that it looks bad, it doesn't, but it doesn't really impress at any point either and doesn't really do the PS3 justice. The character models look nice, especially your party members but some of the textures and colours are really bland, and what really annoys is like most Bioware games i have played it is riddled with constant frame skips. It sadly just doesn't play smoothly.
With 6 different openings, several different endings and a ton of side quests to do, Dragon Age is certainly value for money. My first play through was over 60 hours and i still have plenty of trophies to collect (takes a minimum of three play throughs) as well as lots of DLC to push it further including a new expansion Awakening.
Bioware has once again succeeded in producing a deep universe full of history and memorable characters. Couple that with a return to it's deeper high fantasy RPG roots and Dragon Age is a resounding success though certainly not a flawless one. This game is highly recommended for any RPG fan and especially those who have enjoyed Biowares previous titles.
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+ Amazing world and characters
+ Huge variety of quests to take part it
+ Fantastic voice acting and dialogue
+ Customizable battle system with loads of abilities to use
- Graphics are a bit bland
- Constant frame skips