Review: Dragon Age: Origins

My purchase of Baldur’s Gate in 2001 was an impulse buy. I was browsing the local Gamestop for RTS games, having recently become enamoured with Age of Empires II, and it was on the sales shelf. For fifteen dollars, I felt a game could do no wrong (my opinion on this matter has changed drastically since then). So I bought it, threw the disc into the awful machine I was then playing PC games on, and found one of the greatest RPG experiences I have ever had. It was so unexpected and fresh to me at the time, that I wondered how more RPGs got away with the lack of customization and visible rules present within the Baldur’s Gate universe. The fact that it was set in a Dungeons and Dragons world, and I was an ex-Dungeons and Dragons nerd, only enhanced everything. Then I played Baldur’s Gate II, along with expansion, and my world was never the same again.

So fast forward a few years to the announcement of Dragon Age: Origins. It had been some time since my love affair with Bioware had flamed up. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Knights of the Old Republic I and II, and Mass Effect as well. I’ve just never been as comfortable in a sci-fi setting as I am swinging a blade and slinging magic missiles. The announcement of Dragon Age sent all kinds of tingling through me, and my pre-order was a quick affair. At that point, however, I was faced with a terrible decision. Do I order this going-to-be-epic game in the spirit of classic PC gaming, or do I submit to the will of console comfort? In the end, the choice of not hunching over a PC setup won out, and I ordered for the PS3. I’ve yet to determine if this was a mistake or not. If ignorance is bliss, then I am presently in the midst of it because Dragon Age: Origins, even “dumbed down” for the consoles, is nothing short of addiction.

I’m going to defy tradition and start out with the bad things. For one, the graphics are nothing impressive. They really don’t even surpass the level of previous next-gen Bioware games. Mass Effect definitely looks better. Don’t get me wrong, the game’s visuals hold their own. Spell effects and character animations are all quite satisfying. And Morrigan looks good, slutty outfits or no (though when my character finally bedded her, I was reminded more of the sex scene from Team America than any other movie). It just doesn’t hold up well to some of the recent releases we’ve seen in the last few months, and it’s noticeable. The game also has some performance issues on the PS3. I’ve had times where characters speech will cut out mid-sentence, and I’ll be watching their lips move with no dialogue audible. This is frustrating in a game with such an immersive story where I literally want to hear every word spoken. I’ve seen screen flickering and weird graphic glitches that are only solved by a system reset. There are times when the performance itself chugs along, something I never thought I’d see on a PS3. The most reoccuring annoyance is simply the sluggishness of the UI, particularly in the menu. I don’t really understand why this is, as menus are generally fairly simple graphic-wise, and Dragon Age is no exception. For some reason, it takes far too long just to navigate around, not because it’s set up poorly, but because every time you switch a window it takes just a second or two too long. Seconds, you might think, mean little, but they do in a micro-management style game such as this where one is constantly flipping around. In many ways, I feel like I’m playing a PC game on an outdated system, yet gaining none of the control advantages of the PC.

Whether the PC version suffers from such performance issues is unknown to me. I plan to find out, I can tell you that much, but not until I’ve exhausted all that the PS3 version has to offer. The game is that good, by the way. I not only see myself playing it again on the PS3, but I’m even anticipating playing it on another system.

So what makes it so addictingly good? For one, it’s traditional in all the good ways, leaving most of the clutter to the past where it belongs. Controlling an entire party, completely controlling them, is very satisfying, and while it’s not as streamlined as it could be on the console, it still works well. Even letting them control themselves works. The tactics system Bioware has set up is incredibly deep. Tactics are basically conditional commands a player sets for each character. They’re an “if x > than y” type of situation. If my tank sees an enemy beating on someone else in the party, he automatically casts Taunt. I’ve only found maybe two scenarios I could think of that couldn’t be slotted. One of them involved an elephant and a barbie doll. There is a limit on tactics for each characters, but let’s just say I had enough.

The story is probably the main selling point of the game. I hunger for good stories. I’m a reader by nature, a character trait that made me an RPG fan from the get go. Having waded my way through so many bad stories, and so many games lacking in story period, I can see the love and care Bioware has taken to craft something amazing here. I want to know what happens. I want to see this game to it’s conclusion. How often can a player say that about a game? Honestly, how often has finishing a game meant unveiling the story rather than completing it for completion’s sake? I’m normally a trophy hoarder, constantly checking the list to see which ones I can unlock next. I’ve never done that with this game. I’m pleased when they pop up, but they’re just an afterthought because I’m actually immersed. Not only is the main story impressive in scope, but the lore behind this game is second to none. There are so many notes and books and information to gather around the world that often I’ve spent large chunks of time just reading, not dialogue or story elements, but backgrounds and tidbits and trivia basically. It’s all good. If there were an Oscar for video game writing, Bioware’s guys should get some kind of lifetime achievement award.

Another thing Bioware excels at is character. While the main character is silent, the party members he or she meets around the world never lack in personality. In fact, the hardest thing about this game isn’t the dragons or the demon lords or the blood mage bastards. The hardest part is picking which of these people to take along for the ride. I honestly wish my party could have consisted of ten people. Morrigan is bewitching, and every time she says something I laugh. Alistair is similar, and hearing them banter in the background while running through town or a forest is one of the highlights of the game. There is also a character that comes straight out of Princess Bride, and if my own character hadn’t been his exact replica, I would have loved taking him around. I actually pity anyone who doesn’t get access to the downloadable character that came as an addon to my game package, who is a Golem with more personality than I’ve ever met in a rock-formed being. I haven’t even mentioned the alcoholic dwarf, but I don’t want to spoil everything. And I can’t really even comment on the characters I didn’t choose. I would have loved to learn more of Sten, the stoney faced warrior, or Leliana, the flowery-voiced bard. But one has to make choices!

There have been many criticisms of Bioware returning to the fantasy realm for this latest effort, as though science fiction has somehow become more innovative and interesting all of the sudden. Personally, I could do without anything set in space, but I know I’m in the minority with that sentiment. I understand that the fantasy over-saturation many gamers have been through may have soured them to its nuances. Let’s face it, for a fantasy fan, the past 20 years have been pretty sweet. Video games and books were about the only places we could go to satisfy our cravings. Movies, thanks mostly to Peter Jackson, have begun to catch up, but even now we get abortions like In the Name of the King (may Uwe Boll die in a thousand fires). Despite this oversaturation, I think it wrong to criticize a design choice like Bioware’s made with Dragon Age. They returned to a few conventions, but they’ve constructed one of the most solid games of this year, which is saying quite a bit considering how amazing this year has been. And while the end may be as cliched as possible, it’s also incredible and stands as a pinnacle of boss fights.

In short, Dragon Age is the same game you’ve played before. It’s dressed up prettier, it has a whole new batch of personality, and it’s very long. But in reality, all we ever do is play the same games we’ve played before. We’re all still just playing Super Mario Bros or Final Fantasy or Super Tecmo Bowl or Doom. And where many games fail to live up to even those early industry classics, Dragon Age sets the bar and sets it firmly. This is a game fans of the genre should play. If you didn’t like RPGs yesterday, you won’t like them today. If you did, stop reading and start saving the world already.

Title: Dragon Age: Origins Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Bioware Platform(s): PS3 (reviewed), Xbox 360, PC Release Date: November 6, 2025

Doin It RIGHT: - Fantastic story and characters, second to few games - Incredibly deep character customization. - Gameplay stays fresh even after 50+ hours - It has dragons in it-Voice acting is top notch	Doin It RONG: - Graphics could look better, though certain parts look great. - Some fairly major technical hiccups on the console versions. -Console versions lack of control can be frustrating -It has dwarves in it
FINAL SCORE: 9 / 10

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