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Dragon Age: Origins Review:

By Jordan Davis -Editor

Even though I consider myself a full-time gamer, I find that I tend to lose interest in games before I get to the end. However there is one developer that has always kept my interest, even in games that have a setting I dislike. That developer is Canadian based BioWare, and most likely will continue to be my favorite until they disappoint me.  With an amazing resume of games including Knights of the Old Republic (don’t worry, the headache inducing KOTOR II was developed by Obsidian Entertainment), Jade Empire, and Mass Effect, Bioware is among, if not the best RPG developer at this time (sorry Bethesda, Fallout 3 just wasn’t that great).

With my developer praising and flaming behind us, let’s move on to the topic at hand, Dragon Age: Origins. I have never been a fan of fantasy based games or movies, hence my lack of appreciation for Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movies. I tend to lean more toward sci-fi (although not “SyFy” by any means). I was given a chance to play Dragon Age on a trial basis, and so I thought I would give it a shot. I had low expectations entering, but by the time I quit the first day I had played roughly six hours and only stopped due to dry eyes and a severe hand cramp. As much as it scares me to say it, I loved this fantasy game.

The immersive story takes us on an epic journey to battle the darkspawn, which are an evil collaboration of what appears to be orc like creatures, lead by a giant dragon called the “Archdemon”. No matter how you start out, in which there are many ways to do so, you will end up on the same basic story. But don’t let that fool you; there are plenty of different paths to experience. With a plethora of class/race/location choices you can have a unique experience for several playthroughs, making the replay value of Dragon Age outstanding. Different starting locations remove the problem of replaying a game’s beginning and typically boring starter quests. This allows a fresh start to a finished game.

Having the standard good or bad morality scale allows you to change how missions work. The only issue with this system is that choosing the “bad guy” choice often forces you to refuse missions to help people, making the gameplay seem less action filled. Even with that being the case, it didn’t stop me from being a complete jerk to every unsuspecting civilian. I finished the game four separate times before moving on to anything else, and still am eager for more.

I played this on PC through steam, and have yet to try a console version, so I can’t speak for the performance of the game on X-box 360 or PS3. However on PC it ran beautifully (see my PC specifications below). I did find that after traveling to different sections of the map that the loading would take significantly longer requiring a reboot of the PC. Also make sure you have extra room on your hard drive because the install and saved games take up a hefty amount of space. If I remember correctly around 15GB’s for the install, and if you save before every battle like me expect a few gigs there as well. The visuals in this game were fantastic, aside from the occasional floating loot or clipping. The music was a welcome companion, fitting to the gameplay perfectly. The voice acting was superb and gave a strong personality to all the characters. Come on, who doesn’t love Tim Curry’s voice!

Be prepared for some incredibly difficult fights even on the easiest setting. With constant battle pausing and strategic planning almost any battle can be won the first try; however I did find it increasingly difficult with certain classes. For instance, my warrior tank build had much more trouble taking down enemies regardless of my superior defense, mostly due to my lack of offensive skills. My mage had no problem in the areas that my warrior struggled; unfortunately I was forced to lower the difficulty with my mage to easy due to the negative effects of my AOE spells on friendly troops.  The controls are smooth, and the camera is easily adjustable to fit each situation. From time to time zooming out will give you a great view of the ceiling or a wall, but rarely would it hurt my chances in battle.

Dragon Age is a great play for any RPG fan, even if you are a sci-fi junkie like me. For a modest price of $39.99 on Steam, you get a fantastic storyline and brilliant writing that will keep you pulled in till the end. Beware of surprisingly difficult battles, plan out your skills ahead of time, and makes sure the kiddies are out of the room before inviting one of your AI companions into your tent and you will have a great experience with this game.

For more information on this game visit:        www.dragonage.bioware.com

To purchase this game visit:                             http://store.steampowered.com/app/17450/

PC Specs:

Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4

3GB DDR2 RAM

EVGA 8800GT 512MB

750GB 7200RPM SATA HDD

22” Widescreen @ 1920 x 1080

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