Before BioWare became famous for its console rpgs set in scifi settings (Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), they were a company already well-known and well-loved by PC gamers for their excellent Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights fantasy-based rpgs. The company was able to take the rich and complex setting of AD&D’s Forgotten Realms universe and actually succeed in making it accessible to old and new fans alike. While they made one fantasy-based console rpg in the last couple years (the very underrated Jade Empire for the original Xbox), BioWare seem to have stuck mainly in making scifi rpgs. It was a nice surprise when just a couple years ago the company announced that in addition to developing Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 the company was also in the midst of creating a new and original fantasy-based rpg for the next-gen consoles (Xbox 360/PS3) and the PC. This game was to be called Dragon Age and was to be their latest rpg franchise. A fantasy one to bookend the scifi franchise they had established with Mass Effect. It took them a couple years, but the renamed Dragon Age: Origins was finally released in early November 2009 to some considerable fanfare. This was a game fans of the company’s earlier fantasy rpgs on the PC have been waiting for. Did fans of the Baldur’s Gate Series get what they’ve been wishing for or did BioWare misstep with their return to fantasy rpg in Dragon Age: Origins. I’m happy to say that BioWare more than lived up to their own hype of their latest fantasy offering.

Dragon Age: Origins is a a fantasy rpg based on a world wholly-created and owned by BioWare. Like it’s scifi sibling in Mass Effect, this game is an amalgamation of ideas from well-established franchises (Forgotten Realms, Lord of the Rings, Warhammer Fantasy) but with a rich history and background created from the ground up by the creative forces within BioWare. This world that DA:O inhabits is called Thedas with the realm of Ferelden being the main setting for this introductory game to what looks to be an on-going franchise. It is populated by the usual fantasy races such as elfs, dwarfs and imperial humans. The world has its own version of the usual orcs, goblins and other so-called evil races of fantasy. These races are generally called “darkspawn” and it is this danger which forms the main conflict the player must fight and defeat throughout most of the game’s playthrough. BioWare has also introduced a very complex political and intrigue element to the game in the form of a civil war brewing within the human faction in the game not to mention a conflict of succession on the dwarf side of the equation. The elf race (divided in two separate and distinct groups – city elf and Dalish elf aka wood elf) also get it’s own brand of subplot in the form of racial discrimination and a genocidal battle with a primal race. One common thread binds all these different races and the many classes one could choose from and that’s they all become Grey Wardens and the main hero of the game.

Such rich additions to an rpg are usually simple and minor in even some of the best rpgs of the past both western and Japanese. BioWare’s decision to make these sorts of storytelling additions very complex and rich makes for a more immersive gameplay. There are literally volumes of history and information to find and sort through in the game and from the impression I was able to glean from books and stories found throughout it barely scratches the surface of the history and background of Thedas and Ferelden. The world-building BioWare has done with DA:O was as deep and complex as Tolkien’s fantasy world and those created by the legion of writers who worked on AD&D’s Forgotten Realms. DA:O just doesn’t introduce you to the game and it’s world but immerses you in its details. These were details ranging from those needed to get through the game to the minutiae which doesn’t do much in terms of gameplay but does help make the world seem more real.

The gameplay begins with an introductory chapter which works as both introducing the origins of the player’s chosen race and class, but also as a way for new players to get an on-the-field tutorial on the game’s combat and inventory mechanics. Combat both melee and spellcasting has less to do with button-mashing once a target has been highlighted but instead similar to BioWare’s combat system in their KOTOR games. A player selects the appropriate special attacks and buffs using a radial menu (attacks and buffs used often can be hotkeyed to the appropriate button on the Xbox 360 controller for instant access). Other characters in the player’s combat party could either be left to attack, defend and support the player using preset commands similar to Square-Enix’s “Gambit System” in Final Fantasy XII or the player could pause the game to switch to those characters individually and set a particular command manually before unpausing the game to continue the fight. The combat in DA:O is more about managing how the party fights and making sure the right combinations of attacks and spells are chosen. In the beginning of the game the simplest commands should suffice to beat most enemies in small or large numbers, but as the game progresses deeper into the story both main and sidequests the need to make use of every type of attacks and spells became more important. Bulldozing one’s way through most of the game only works in the beginning and would only get a player and his party killed once they enter Chapter 2.

This type of gameplay mechanic might turn-off some players who prefer a more active-style of combat which BioWare implemented in Jade Empire. At times I still found myself button-mashng a particular hotkeyed attack even though I knew that pressing that attack nonstop didn’t make me attack faster (each use of an ability came with a cooldown time which last just mere seconds to minutes depending on their level and potency). It is definitely a combat mechanic that took some getting used to and at time it does make the player less an active participant in the game and more an observer. I’m still on the fence as to whether I like this micromanaging-style of combat. While it does add some complexity and strategy to how a player fights the multitudes of battles in the game it also makes some of the larger boss fights (especially the final boss fight) very long with a wrong choice of commands ending a fight as quickly as it started.

The graphics for DA:O on the Xbox 360 is pretty crisp and keeps a steady frame-rate throughout the  game and it’s many cutscenes. I’ve heard comparisons about the look of the game on the 360 to the PS3 version with the latter having a more vibrant color palette but some slowdowns in the framerate when there’s many things going on in the screen. Until I actually get a chance to play the PS3 version I will say that the 360’s look and stability of its graphics I’d prefer than slowdowns which considering the type of combat mechanic it uses could really become detrimental to gameplay. It’s not the prettiest Xbox 360 game out there but this game makes’ ample use of the 360’s power to make gameplay as smooth as possible.

Now one can’t talk about the graphics without pointing out the pros and cons of the audio in the game. I’d say that it’s in this aspect of DA:O that BioWare had better success. Each weapon strike whether they be sword, staff or bow/crossbow has a very distinct sound to them. The sounds of the world around the player adds to the experience. Even when a player is not in battle and just stands around to admire the view the game still bombards them with sounds both ambient and natural depending on the area they’re currently at. One aspect of the sound design that would probably put a smile on many gamers would be the varying sounds of weapons and spells hitting flesh in the game. BioWare sure delivered on making a very violent world come to life with their sound design. I’d also like to make special mention to the soundtrack by longtime collaborator Inon Zur. His orchestral work in the game is a great mixture of Medieval Europe and Middle Eastern musical influences.

The voiceover work by the large cast in Dragon Age: Origins gives life to the dialogue both in and out of camp. I would say that pretty much 60 percent of all the dialogue in the game was spoken and done well. While it’s not on the same level as Mass Effect‘s voice work for an rpg it was a lot and helps distinguish it from it’s Japanese rpg counterparts where most dialogue outside of cutscenes are silent and read-only affairs. Some players might even recognize some of the voices in the game. Two who stood out where Claudia Black (of Farscape and Stargate SG-1 fame) as the witch Morrigan and Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek Voyager’s Capt. Janeway) as Morrigan’s mother, Flemeth. All the actors on in the game give off dramatic readings instead of flat, directionless reads which could break a player out of the moment. I think Black’s work as Morrigan was some of the best voiceover work in video game history and really fleshesh out her character. I knew that I kept her around through pretty much most of the game’s playthrough just to hear her speak.

Overall, Dragon Age: Origins was a great introduction to BioWare’s newest rpg franchise. It’s definitely the spiritual successor to their acclaimed Baldur’s Gate rpg series on the PC. As with most introductory games in a franchise it does have some flaws that could’ve been fixed prior to the game’s release, but these flaws were not enough to take away from the game’s enjoyment (on the Xbox 360 at least which I played it on). The rich and complex world-building BioWare’s creative magicians were able to inject into their own brand of rpg gameplay makes for a very immersive videogaming experience. Thedas and Ferelden come to life as do the Grey Wardens and it’s other inhabitants both good and evil. BioWare has already announced a new expansion to extend the game past it’s final boss fight. Here’s to hoping that they continue to support the game while they begin work on the sequel.

Dragon Age: Origins – Morrigan Profile

Dragon Age: Origins – Leilana Profile

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Dragon Age: Origins – Wynne Profile

Dragon Age: Origins – Oghren Profile

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Dragon Age: Origins – Shale Profile