I’ve spent days roaming the country, fleeing from my home only to land in the midst of an enormous battle. And when all seemed lost, I was spirited to safety, only to roam the lands for assistance against a new Blight; a rising of Darkspawn. But Ferelden’s inhabitants are not without problems of their own, and in return for pledges of allegiance I have rescued a village from a nightly assault and am at this very moment traversing the many floors of The Circle Tower in search of aid in the struggle against the darkspawn.
Many people have joined me in my travels and pledged themselves to the Grey Warden’s cause. But the land is not yet saved, the blight not yet halted and I’ve still only seen little of this land. Many former allies need to be reminded of their duties and perhaps more willing souls will join along the way. Thedas is facing its first blight in over four hundred years, and I can use all the allies I can get if I am to drive the darkspawn back.
I’ve been captivated by Dragon Age since I received my Collector’s Edition last week, spending nearly every waking hour in the world of Thedas. It was easy to lose myself in this world, with its vast lore, excellent storytelling and captivating cinematics. And it’s a genuine classic BioWare RPG, with excellently challenging RPG combat encounters and a massive cast of interesting characters. Some of the party members are a little tried and true, but they come into their own as the tale progresses.
At first glance there’s not a lot that Dragon Age does differently when compared to its predecessors. It isn’t very different from Baldur’s Gate, or Obsidian’s Neverwinter Nights 2, in terms of gameplay. You control a party of four, you can pause during battle and you explore a fantasy world with a myriad of quests. There are no great innovations apart from the six several-hour long origin stories, which influence the rest of the game rather significantly, and the combat tactics system.
But that truly doesn’t matter, because what BioWare has crafted instead is the culmination of all that is cRPG: it is the great gameplay and longevity of cRPG classics, the graphics of modern-day action games, the user-friendly interface and quest systems of MMORPGs, and a quality of presentation and storytelling well beyond that of previous RPGs – or indeed games in general.
It may not be Crysis, but it does have dragonloads of atmosphere and style
In the interest of fairness, I have to admit that Dragon Age: Origins probably isn’t for everyone. Any cRPG fan such as myself will not be deterred by the following, but it should serve as fair warning to those with little experience with cRPGs such as Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights 2 (arguably, not NWN 1).
BioWare took care to craft a genuine spiritual successor to their most famed RPG of all, Baldur’s Gate, and in doing so have crafted a game for the hardcore. Dragon Age puts you in control of a party of four and expects you to head into combat with a competent tactical mindset and those who don’t will get massacred. Not straight away, at least not on normal difficulty, but there are numerous encounters scattered throughout the world that genuinely require optimal utilization of the surroundings, the party members, the pause function and the items in the inventory.
Compounding this ‘problem’ (I’d rather see it as a welcome challenge) is the fact that party member AI is not particularly bright and the amount of player-adjustable combat tactics per character are limited by skill selections. Playing this game in real-time with only minimal pausing will require turning the difficulty down to easy. Superior equipment, higher levels and faster clicking are not means of winning battles in Dragon Age, which relies more on player intellect. It’s a refreshing approach to RPGs in today’s gaming world, that will be welcomed by many (such as myself), but also prove a turn off for others; fans of games such as Oblivion and World of WarCraft most notably.
There’s another potential flaw to mention and that is the presentation of DLC in Dragon Age. It’s very… prominent, if you have not yet purchased the Warden’s Keep DLC, which is only included in Digital Collector’s Editions. Personally I purchased it even prior to starting the campaign, so I never ran into this, but apparently the quest NPC for this content is present even if you do not own the DLC. Talking to him will result in a dialogue promoting the DLC, which would obviously be jarring in this otherwise very gripping fantasy world. You have to decide for yourself whether it’s worth it: Warden’s Keep adds about an hour of gameplay and permanent storage (that you do not otherwise have) and merchants, as well as a few nice tidbits of lore and an achievement.
Dungeon crawling is back!
After nearly a week of play I think I can safely say that Dragon Age: Origins looks to be my vote for Game of the Year. It may not be for everyone, with it’s hands-on gameplay and hardcore difficulty levels, but it’s definitely my cup of tea.
Roaming the lands of Thedas has introduced me to a varied world of interesting characters, tense battles, riveting storytelling, top-notch gameplay and a level of depth and scope that easily make it worth the long wait. It’s been a decade since Baldur’s Gate, but this spiritual successor looks more than worthy of the name, so if there’s only one game you can buy this winter: make it this one.
I do have one minor gripe to note, which is the lack of multiplayer. This is easily overshadowed by the enormity of the singleplayer game, as well as its vast potential for replayability (there are countless different paths to be taken). Furthermore the promise of two years worth of DLC and potentially expansion packs, as well as an enormous modding community tearing eagerly into the top-notch modding tools, ensure that there will be no lack of content anytime soon. Even so, I’d still have liked some sort of multiplayer functionality. Hopefully BioWare will add this in an expanion pack, if only the basic functionality so that modders can get to work with it.
Now excuse me as I resume my journey into the world of Thedas.
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