Trailers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKeEsG6mmHg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5St9phiHHE
Dragon Age: Origins is an complex, intense RPG developed by BioWare for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2009. BioWare is known for creating exhilarating story-lines (well except from the endings in Mass Effect 3 booooo :( ) and thats exactly what makes Dragon Age: Origins an epic game with thrilling lore.
The game in set in Southeastern Thedas in the kingdom Ferelden. Ferelden is already in turmoil; there is tension between Humans and the City Elves, Orzammar is in search of a new king and the Circle Mages are at breaking point with their enforcers the Templars. The rumour of a fifth blight arrive with the ruthless Archdemon and Darkspawn hordes approaching, Ferelden is in chaos. The only hope Ferelden has are the Grey Wardens; brave and skilled Warriors, Rogues and Mages who have sacrificed more than anyone knows. Grey Wardens have existed since the very first blight in 800 TE (1300 years before the events of Origins) since then few remain in Ferelden. If the Grey Wardens want to stop the blight that is threatening destroy Ferelden and inevitably the whole of Thedas they're going to need all the help they can get, could you be the next Grey Warden hero?
There are 3 races that you can choose to be: Elf, Dwarf and Human, with 6 distinctive backgrounds that changes the opening of the game according to your 'Origin'.
Humans are the predominate race in Dragon Age,
their race benefits are +1 strength, +1 dexterity, +1 cunning, +1 magic.
Dwarves are rarely seen on the surface, they stay underground in their kingdom Orzammar. Dwarves can not do magic, their race benefits are +1 strength, +1 dexterity, +2 constitution, 10% chance to resist hostile magic.
Elves are considered 2nd class citizens and get treated badly by humans, their race benefits are +2 Willpower, +2 magic.
There are 3 classes that affect the availability of 'Origins' Rogue, Warrior and Mage. The availability of a class depends on what race and background you have chosen.
Human Rogue- Human Noble.
Human Warrior- Human Noble.
Human Mage- Magi.
Dwarf Warrior- Dwarf Commoner or Dwarf Noble.
Dwarf Rogue- Dwarf Commoner or Dwarf Noble.
Elf Rogue- City Elf or Dalish Elf
Elf Warrior- City Elf or Dalish Elf
Elf Mage- Magi
Rogues can lockpick and disarm trap this gives them extra exp, they also have the ability 'Stealth' which renders them invisible to enemies depending on how much you have invested in that ability. Rogues use speed and stealth to attack their enemies they're more effective in a backstabbing position. Bonuses to attributes:
- +5 Health
- +4 Dexterity
- +2 Willpower
- +4 Cunning
Warriors are the backbone of the party they smash enemies down with heavy blows and deal a considerable amount of damage. Warriors can also take a considerable amount of damage making them the ideal defenders. Warriors use strength and stamina to fight enemies. Bonuses to attributes:
- +15 Health
- +10 Stamina
- +4 Strength
- +3 Constitution
- +3 Dexterity
Mages have immense magical abilities that can manipulate elements, control the dead, heal party members and slowly afflict damage making enemies more vulnerable to physical attacks. Mages are the biggest damage dealers and can sacrifice a bit of mana to heal party members without the need for potions, making them very valuable party members. Mages may deal the most damage but they can't take a lot of damage therefore Mages wont be ideal on the front lines, even the game itself has stated this "Robes don't work as well against swords and axes as you'd think". Bonuses to attributes:
- +15 Mana
- +4 Willpower
- +5 Magic
- +1 Cunning
Now thats out of the way lets get down to the nitty gritty stuff ;)
The one downfall to this game is the graphics - although the graphics on the PC are notably better than console. As much as it hurts me to say this they suck! The graphics are dated and it makes Bioware look lazy, if you're a "graphics whore" sadly this game is not for you. This game is smooth even when lots of spells and whatnot are going off, so I guess that is a plus. But all is not lost, the attention to detail of the characters, armor and weapons is enough to make up for the PS2-like graphics. Maybe I shouldn't be so fussy, what can you expect with a deep, rich game with 50+ gameplay hours.
The physics in this game are believable and look genuinely real, well real in the terms of a fantasy game :) The face animation really gives you a sense of how the character is feeling without being over the top stupid, you can't mistake the character's face animation when they're flirting, so no denying that you didn't know you just activated a romance :P
There are 4 difficulties:
- Casual
- Normal
- Hard
- Nightmare
Casual caters to players that may be new to RPG or just don't have the patience to use strategies. There is no need to plan tactics on casual, apart from the end may require a couple of pauses to plan tactics. On the Xbox 360 players needn't even use the tactics menu as the Xbox 360 focuses on issuing commands and fighting enemies in real-time.
Normal and hard are there for any RPG fan who knows the importance of tactics and knows how to operate them.
Nightmare is for the hardcore tactics addict that don't mind pausing to plan out tactics and issue commands, I salute you.
AI is important to how a game functions, lets face it it's frustrating when you do an escort mission and you can't progress because the damn escort is running into a wall >:( To me the AI in Dragon Age: Origins is perfect; Enemies only get harder as you level up, although this doesn't make them challenging to defeat unless it's a boss or a a horde.
The companion AI is brilliant they do exactly what you want them to, although knowing when to back off would be good :/ Sometimes I feel as though I'm babysitting I know the party is at my command but it would be nice to focus on saving my characters ass instead of every 30 seconds having to rush to one of my party members because they're nearly dead as they decided to run off and take on dozens of enemies alone -_-
But at least they move if they get in your way or you can move them yourself.
Companions are a very important part of an RPG to me as I need friends when I'm hiding in my batcave for 3-4 days straight ^_^ So If I babble here I'm sorry.
The companion AI is brilliant they do exactly what you want them to, although knowing when to back off would be good :/ Sometimes I feel as though I'm babysitting I know the party is at my command but it would be nice to focus on saving my characters ass instead of every 30 seconds having to rush to one of my party members because they're nearly dead as they decided to run off and take on dozens of enemies alone -_-
But at least they move if they get in your way or you can move them yourself.
Companions are a very important part of an RPG to me as I need friends when I'm hiding in my batcave for 3-4 days straight ^_^ So If I babble here I'm sorry.
Throughout the game you get various potential companions with their own unique set of skills, personality, likes and dislikes. Their loyalty and response depends on where you are on their approval scale. For every game choice you make depending on your companions you gain approval or lose approval depending on what their beliefs are. Approval may seem trivial to some but it is important in Dragon Age: Origins as if a companion's approval is low he/she can leave the party or even try to kill you O.O
The dialog is the most funny and clever dialog I've come across in any game I've played. The dialog between companions are especially funny you will never hear the same thing twice, I'm on my 9th play-through and I still hear new dialog between my companion's. There's nothing like listening to tons of sexual innuendos whilst running around places ;)
Dialog is not pointless at all, nearly every conversation you have will have a impact whether it's big or small. The voice acting serves it's purpose and really suits the character's personality and mood. Your choices have a big impact on what ending you will get.
Overall the game is a 9/10
Pros
Well this is a first attempt of a game review (for my college work), gee it was pretty hard having to analyse a game instead of just enjoying it, especially one of my favourites :/
Well thanks for reading and lemme know what you think in the comments
The dialog is the most funny and clever dialog I've come across in any game I've played. The dialog between companions are especially funny you will never hear the same thing twice, I'm on my 9th play-through and I still hear new dialog between my companion's. There's nothing like listening to tons of sexual innuendos whilst running around places ;)
Dialog is not pointless at all, nearly every conversation you have will have a impact whether it's big or small. The voice acting serves it's purpose and really suits the character's personality and mood. Your choices have a big impact on what ending you will get.
Overall the game is a 9/10
Pros
- Lots of gameplay time
- In depth lore and story
- Funny dialog
- Great voice acting
- Good AI
Cons
- PS2 Graphics
Well this is a first attempt of a game review (for my college work), gee it was pretty hard having to analyse a game instead of just enjoying it, especially one of my favourites :/
Well thanks for reading and lemme know what you think in the comments
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