Dragon Age: Origins

I've always been a fan of role play games. It began with the original D&D back in the day, and gradually made it's way up to PC games. Neverwinter Nights by Bioware was one of the first I played on PC and one my favorite games ever. Since then I've been a fan of Bioware. Recently, I fell in love with the uber goodness that is Bioware's sci-fi epic Mass Effect.

Then on Tuesday of this week I picked up their latest epic Dragon Age: Origins. After having put in numerous hours into the game, and tried several of the different races/classes I am impressed by DAO. The meat and potatoes of a rpg is the story, and Bioware has proven over the years to be the masters of storytelling. Without giving anything a way I will just say that the story in DAO is on par with any epic Hollywood could produce. Perhaps greater. The brilliant voice acting really creates both beviablity and immersion into the story. Without this the game would fail. The story has a great sense of humor, but also balances the darker and more mature content well. This is a game made for adults, not your 8 year old. Between this game and Mass Effect I am pleased to see game developers coming out with content that appeals to adults without subcoming to mindless violence, nudity, and vulgarity. Rather they're dealing with personal issues and complex conflicts that appeal to some one that's interested in more then 'uber loot'. I also like the fact that you have to work on your relationships with the other characters in your party. You have to EARN their loaylty and/or romantic interests through your own actions and words. It's also an open ended world, not only in regards to where and when you go or do but also you have choices on how to handle situations. Do you let a prisoner free, kill them, or have them join you? That type of freedom is great.

In terms of graphics I have everything set on medium and it looks great and runs smooth. The cutscenes are rather striking with their use of lighting and facial detail. Bioware is not known for earth shattering graphics, but I am very pleased with the detail and quality of the graphics and animations.

The music in the game is brilliant and fits the feel of the world perfectly. I am glad they didn't use the heavy metal music in game like they used for the promos.

Overall, DAO is a fun game. There are some things I don't like - such as the lock picking system for rogues. Yet even with that DAO is a very fun game. I won't consider it the greatest game ever, but one of the best. Between the release of DAO this Fall, Mass Effect 2 early 2010, and their first mmorpg Star Wars: Old Republic I think Bioware is poised to kick some ass and give gamers some fantastic experiences.