Dragon Age Origins

Having played Dragon Age Origins for a good amount of time now, I actually think I am beginning to like it a lot. The game presents itself well, and the storyline definitely draws you in. The animation is superb, the sound effects excellent, and the gameplay well structured and enjoyable. That said, it is quite a gory game to play, so much so I actually turned off the persistent gore in the options menu, which made the game a lot more enjoyable, so I'm glad they kept that in the options.

The game itself has you play as a Grey Warden, a Jedi Knight of olden times if you will, peacekeepers and defenders against this horde of evil creatures called the Blight. After the initial intro section, you end up travelling the lands to try and gather everyone together in order to stave off this Blight while being seen as an outlaw and outcast by those ruling.

Before I go on, the intro section is most interesting. Depending on the race, class and sex you pick to play as, your storyline changes to reflect that, so much so that it gives you a unique entrance into the game compared to other characters people might pick. There are six locations, with a possiblity of twelve different intros, compared to what race and class you choose, and with minor changes depending on sex. And as I said, the choices you pick at the beginning influence how people react and see you along your quest.

So, you travel the land with your companions to gather people together to stave off evil. And along the way you pick up companions to join you and help you complete your quest. You can have a total of three companions travelling with you at any time, so you need to swap your party in and out to get the best out of them. The decisions you make during gameplay also influence the game heavily, and influence your characters. The game provides a way for characters to indicate their approval of your actions, and of course different characters will approve and disapprove of different things. I've had situations where one character highly approves, and another highly disapproves. There is also the option of romance along the way for some companions, if they approve high enough...

The game's camera angle is also quite fun, as it supports both top-down and behind-the-character views. Top-down gives you a very much Neverwinter Nights feel, eerily so, so much that when in that mode you could have someone look over your shoulder and say 'you playing Neverwinter?' The behind-the-character view allows you to play similar to Star Wars KotOR, and really shows off the superb graphics and feel of the game, and is where I play personally. But it supports both, with very quick transition between them.

Overall, Dragon Age Origins is an awesome game, and if you are an RPG fan over the age of 18, a must get...