After quickly getting tired of the initially exciting but progressively repetitive Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I took a trip to GameStop one day with a few other unwanted titles and traded them in. Thankfully, this was before Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 had been publicly known, and so the trade-in credit had not significantly dropped. The last time I was at GameStop, I noticed the Ultimate Edition of Dragon Age: Origins for the PlayStation 3, and had heard some good praise for it. I took Angry Joe of Blistered Thumbs word for it and expressed interest in purchasing since I’m an avid RPG fan; it has probably become my favorite genre at this point. However, during that visit, I didn’t have the money for it, hence the MvC3 trade-in. So I paid for it, and brought it home with me, though my fun would have to wait as the installation download coupled with every DLC made for quite the delay. After every last download had finished, I finally began my quest in the land of Ferelden.
Dragon Age: Origins is an RPG developed by the Western RPG giant known as BioWare, (famous for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect) developed as a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate. Origins details the adventures of your protagonist, a Grey Warden, as he or she battles against the Darkspawn, among other things. Your character is custom when you start, physical appearance, class, race, and combat preference are up to the player. Such choices include a Human Noble, a Dwarf Commoner, and an Elf Mage, to just name examples. Each class and race pairing has its own unique backstory, hence a part of the subtitle. Players of BioWare titles will feel right at home to Dragon Age with trademark dialogue branches and combat. Being a personal fan of Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, it didn’t take me long to get comfortable.
There was something that felt right the moment I began playing, mostly familiarity. My first save file included a Human Noble, and I loved the old-fashioned feel of role-playing that brought me both a feeling of nostalgia as well as a sense of tradition. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with RPGs that push the envelope in a different direction such as Bethesda’s Fallout or The Elder Scrolls series, and as blasphemous as it may sound, I have not had the chance to play any of the Mass Effect games. That being said, Dragon Age: Origins is a fix for a certain hole left unfilled, and that is the Knights of the Old Republic 3 I always wanted (The Old Republic does not count to me). Between a main protagonist without a voice outside of battle phrases, a memorable selection of characters, some unobtainable depending on your choices, and an influence mechanic, the game could very well have Lightsabers and The Force in place of swords and magic.
That’s not to say that the game is some sort of a diamond in the rough, because it has glaring issues. First off, the graphics are a little subpar, but the game has so much to offer in other categories that this fault can very easily be excused. Second, there is considerable slow-down in certain areas, which in my honest opinion, is much less dismissible on a console than a PC. Next, we have texture pop-in, a lack of an alignment mechanic, and dialogue branching could be a little more advanced, considering the technological advancements since KoTOR II in 2004, despite it being developed by Obsidian. These issues make the game feel dated, despite it a fairly recent product. Also, among DLCs, I felt all of them could have been longer; Awakening was particularly disappointing both length-wise and from a storytelling standpoint.
Despite my complaints I would recommend this to most consistent RPG players, as the various origins and different classes offer a solid amount of replay value, and your companions are quite memorable, each having their own personal missions, plus the integration of sex and blood helps this mature package come full circle even with the few bumps in the road. Ferelden is an intriguing setting, the game’s soundtrack is more than generic fantasy, and solid voice acting is greatly appreciated, particularly from Morrigan, played by Claudia Black, previously known for playing Chloe Frazier in Uncharted 2. There are some issues, but I think I probably would have paid a full $60 for it, knowing how good it is now. 9 out of 10.
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