Dragon Age: Origins Review

Dragon Age: Origins could not have been released at a better time. With Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 to be released “when ready” (that’s Blizzard spiel for we’ll take as much time as we like. We know you’ll buy the game anyway.), we’re left hankering for a good RPG game. Thankfully, Bioware’s new fantasy game, which has been helmed as the spiritual successor to the popular Baldur’s Gate, is here and we dare say – it’s glorious.

Based in the city of Ferelden, DA:O follows a very Lord of the Rings-esque storyline in the sense that the undead blight army is out to take over Ferelden and you need to round up support from the Elves, the Drarves and the Humans to fight them.

You start the game by choosing your character from a variety of Elf, Human and Dwarf options. Your character can then specialize as a warrior, mage or rogue. Warriors fend off foes with brute strength or fighting skills, mages rely on magic for their attacks and rogues can be archers or close combat fighters who use daggers to deal critical attacks.

Depending on your selection, you start off the game differently with a unique perspective based on your character. Regardless of which character and specialization you choose, you’ll end up moving towards a central storyline.

As you progress through the story, you’ll find many allies and you’ll be able to control a team of up to four members (one of which will always be your primary character). Remember that the game is very story-driven, so your choice of words will often define who becomes an ally or a foe. You also need to work on talking with your allies and keeping them happy. Else, they’ll turn on you and even if you manage to kill them, you’ll lose the ability to control them. The characters really make this game what it is – each of them has a personality and a set view of the world. You have to earn their respect or even love, by playing your cards right.

You can’t control all four characters at once, but can switch among them as you please. If your controlled character dies, you’ll automatically switch over to the next character. A huge advantage to having allies in your team is that you can experience the game as a mage, warrior or rogue as you switch which team member you control.

However, this also means an increase in the number of characters you have to micromanage. You’re tasked with managing everything from inventory (weapons, armor, potions, etc) to skills and attributes. While it can seem cumbersome at times, it really is the micromanagement bit that adds flavour to the game. The right armor with frost resistance for example might be able to help you cull a foe that relies heavy on ice spells. Stocking up on health poultices and lyrium for mana will give you an edge in battle.

Battles can get intense at times particularly when you’re faced with a strong mage or against a swarm of rogues and you’ll have to figure out the right combination of weapons and special abilities to keep you from being killed.

The game also packs in many hours of gameplay. Expect to play about 70-80 hours before finishing the game. The fact that you have so many characters to choose from and the fact that your choices in the dialogue tree affect the outcome of the game, means that you can play the game over a few times and try things a different way.

Claudia Black (of Farscape/Stargate fame) plays the voice of sultry Morrigan

The graphics in the game are above average and it has some great voice acting. The voice acting gives a breath of fresh air to the characters and you’ll find them talking with one another making for some witty (and sometimes annoying) banter. Claudia Black (of Farscape/Stargate fame) does a great job as the sultry voice of Morrigan.

While there’s much to love about the game, there are a few things that annoyed us. The game also has a lot of blood, some of which is just unnecessary. Even if you kill a relatively easy opponent, your face and body will be drenched with blood and it stays around for a while before it disappears. Also, for a game named Dragon Age, there just aren’t enough dragons in the game. There are a few but we’ll leave it to you to discover them.

Overall, this is easily the best RPG game we have played all year. We love the characters, the storyline and the sheer length of gameplay. Buy this game now!

About Hitesh Uchil

Hitesh is a games journalist and Business Development Manager for the Tbreak Network.