“Slipping into my chainmail and sharpening the keen edge of my blade, I pick up the glowing box and open it with the tip of my +1 longsword.”
Dragon Age: Origins is a fantasy Role Playing Game from developer Bioware, set in the land of fereldan, a place of swords and sorcery. You are a newly recruited Grey Warden, taken from the life you call normal and thrust onto the frontlines of a fight against the ‘dark spawn’. Before we further explore this world however, I feel I should explain why the nerd senses of myself and many others are tingling.
Bioware originally rose to fame with the release of the infamous Bauldur’s Gate – a PC title based on the Dungeons and Dragons rule set and steeped in the legends and universe of Forgotten Realms. Following a few well-received sequels, Neverwinter Nights was forged from a similarly effective mould and then followed-up with Mass Effect- a sci-fi epic that grabbed the attention of both gamers and traditional news media. With focus then fixed on an inevitable sequel to the sci-fi behemoth, Dragon Age has flown relatively under the radar since its official unveiling over five years ago.
From the release of those initial trailers last year, many fans were asking questions of their previous outings: Is Dragon Age a sequel to Bauldur’s Gate? Is it a sequel to Neverwinter Nights? And why isn’t Mass Effect 2 out yet? Bioware, for their part, stated that Dragon Age would be set “in a new world”, allowing them to create a fresh take on traditional fantasy settings. Furthermore, it wasn’t lost upon many fans that the ‘Origins’ part of the title hints at future projects.
From the start, the voice acting is crisp, clear and of high quality, welcoming you to Ferelden’s dark times and impending doom. Three races are presented for selection – elf, human or dwarf – which are then further customised with decisions over wealthy or poor, male or female, warrior, rogue (thief) or mage (wizard). For those that want to be in control of every part of their character’s destiny, you can then put points into attributes, skills, and feats. On top of that, you’ll create an individual look in a character builder than puts Mass Effect to shame.
Choices from there on become a much more crucial part of the game. If you’re playing on any difficulty other than easy be sure to take your time choosing skill sets and abilities and plan your AI companion’s tactics for each fight. If you want to get to the slicing and explosions however, I’d recommend auto levelling and playing on easy.
On the first play through I went for the easiest choice with a slight twist: a rich, noble, human warrior. Which, although stereotypical, allowed me to wield two weapons, like a hack ‘n’ slash John Woo. The story progressed well, allowing me to either press on or step aside and experience any of the hundreds of side quests.
In theory, you could easily play through the entire thing in a hardcore session over a long weekend, however, after progressing through the first couple of quests, I looked at my character’s journal and realised that every time I looked at a book, quest, sign, place, road, or bag of body parts, I’d have an entry of at least a paragraph of back-story. You can spend as much time reading about the politics, history and religion of Ferelden as you can slicing up the orcish dark spawn. Choose your path.
Indeed at times it feels like too much information and choice is given to the player with very little guidance. However, you quickly realise that you don’t need to read every page, and that each player should be able to find their own suitable depth.
For a second play through I chose an elf mage, as dwarves in Ferelden apparently can’t practice magic. Additionally, mages are neither rich nor poor; and whilst some may see that as a limitation of choice, to me it feels more like someone has taken the time to think about what would make sense in the world. Attention to detail comes across in every aspect of the game, even down to the casual dialogue of your travelling companions- which reduced me to tears of laughter on several occasions.
But this also brings about its shortcomings. Dragon Age, despite its beautifully cerebral world, is disappointingly clunky to anyone playing on a console. The running requirements for the PC version are astronomical and the port has clearly suffered as a consequence. Visuals lack the definition that Mass Effect had, and movement seems a little like C3PO drunk on battery acid. When in dialogue sections, a slight corona appears around characters with complicated hairstyles, and skipping dialogue occasionally leads to no audio for that conversation, and a multitude of details overlooked.
For all those problems, Dragon Age could still be argued as the best medieval fantasy RPG on 360 and PS3, but seems a little rushed so not to be overshadowed by the imminent Mass Effect 2. It is, however, a game of epic depth which takes pride in the telling of its fables. It will make you smile, cry, and elicit concern for each of the companions you pick up along the way. It compares well to the likes of Fallout 3 in terms of play time and depth; and to Mass Effect in terms of moral choices and character interaction.
If you’re a fan of fantasy RPGs you may well end up playing this through several times despite the flaws, simply to take the fate of Ferelden to its many conclusions.
I think of myself as a jack of all trades and a master of none. Im a Musician/gamer/actor/writer/creator-ist >.< "
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