Developed by: Bioware
Published by: Electronic Arts (EA)
Genre: Role Playing Game (RPG)
Age: 18 – Contains strong, bloody violence
21 December 2009 for Mac OS X
One evening late last year, my daughter and I caught an advert for a new video game. We watched as various action scenes of characters from the game engaged in combat and performed feats of magic. As the commercial finished, my daughter looked at me with shining eyes and said, ‘I want it. I gotta have it. It…looks…so…COOL.’ I smiled at her as I mentally added ‘Dragon Age: Origins
’ to my Christmas gifts list.
’ to my Christmas gifts list.A few weeks later my daughter was on the Xbox 360
creating the character that would take her through her new adventure…I mean…game.
creating the character that would take her through her new adventure…I mean…game.What’s The Story?
Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player game which takes place in the mythical country of Ferelden, located on the fabled continent of Thedas. You are recruited by Duncan, a Grey Warden, to join him and others in fierce combat against the cursed and diabolical creatures known as ‘darkspawn’. Lead by an archdemon, a supernatural being housed within the body of a mighty dragon, the darkspawn are threatening to overrun the surface world in a massive mobilization known as a Blight. Thedas, in past Blights, has always relied upon the Grey Wardens to drive these monstrosities back to their underground dwelling.
During the first great battle against the darkspawn, the army is badly decimated. You and Alistair, another Grey Warden, are gravely injured during the fighting and nearly die. You are both rescued and nursed back to health by a witch named Flemeth who lives in a secluded wood with her daughter/apprentice Morrigan. Your only hope is to raise a new army and slay the archdemon before Ferelden and, possibly Thedas, are obliterated. With Alistair and Morrigan by your side, you begin your quest.
During the first great battle against the darkspawn, the army is badly decimated. You and Alistair, another Grey Warden, are gravely injured during the fighting and nearly die. You are both rescued and nursed back to health by a witch named Flemeth who lives in a secluded wood with her daughter/apprentice Morrigan. Your only hope is to raise a new army and slay the archdemon before Ferelden and, possibly Thedas, are obliterated. With Alistair and Morrigan by your side, you begin your quest.
How Does It Look?
Being a very visual person, graphics are important to me. There have been occasions when the quality of the graphics was the deciding factor when choosing between two similar games. I’m not saying that graphics are the be all and end all of video games, but they definitely count for a lot.
As far as the graphics for Dragon Age: Origins go, I have to be honest; I found them a bit disappointing. Maybe it’s because I’m used to the quality of PC games; the graphics are usually crisp, clear and rich in detail. The graphics on the Xbox version of Dragon Age: Origins seem to have a smudged appearance. They seem quite flat and dull in appearance and the characters’ move with a stiff and stilted gait.
Judge for yourself how the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 compare.
Anything Special?
Like most RPG games, Dragon Age: Origins takes you on flights of fancy by letting you assume a character and navigate his/her progress through the fantastical world of Ferelden. It’s most attractive feature is the ability to interact with your NPCs and actually change the course of the storyline with the decisions you make.
I’m more of a life simulation person, specifically the Sims franchise. I am a massive fan and play it almost exclusively. As a result, I don’t know a whole lot about the RPG thing. But as I watched my daughter play Dragon Age: Origins, my curiosity was piqued. When I saw the interaction between all the characters, so very similar to my own Sim characters, my curiosity grew. Eventually I asked her if I could have a go.
How Did That Go?
The real action starts when Duncan takes you to Ostagar to be initiated into the Grey Wardens. Prior to this you need to complete one of six origin stories based on the character you have chosen. While playing this section, you learn how the game works and how to access and refine your character’s skills. You also learn about the background of your character, the fictional world you are about to enter and how to navigate through it. Simply put, this is essentially the tutorial part of the game. Players who like to jump into a game without any preliminaries may become impatient with this section, but it is worth taking the time to play this, though. So rein in your exuberance and just play the game. You can’t skip this part anyway so you might as well enjoy the ride.
I had difficulty getting Solona to go where I wanted her to. I just couldn’t seem to get coordinated with the controller, although my daughter and son took to it easily enough. This would be a recurring theme throughout my gameplay. If just getting my character to walk a straight line was a problem, actually finding my way around was a nightmare.
When Duncan arrived at the Tower, Irving, the Master Enchanter, tasked Solona with showing Duncan to his quarters. I wandered throughout the Tower hopelessly lost. All the while I kept bumping into walls and furnishings with Duncan following close behind.
After what seemed like hours, I turned to Duncan. He thanked me and seemed most appreciative. 'Finally,’ I thought, ‘I found his room.’ With my mission complete, I left Duncan to get settled in.
I Like This Because…
Despite my earlier statement regarding the quality of the graphics, I still like them. Yes, they could be a bit sharper and more defined; yes the movement of the characters could be more graceful, but it’s still a nice game to look at.
Coming from a life simulations background, I am quite accustomed to making decisions for my characters and controlling the storyline. While I obviously don’t have that much flexibility in Dragon Age: Origins, there’s enough to keep me interested.
This is probably the main appeal for me about Dragon Age: Origins. Your character is not locked into pre-programmed modes of behaviour. While their biography may dictate their place in society and what sort of dialogue appears, it is you who decides the character’s personality and actions based on the sort of responses you choose. If you want your character to come across as thoughtful and wise, you would choose responses reflecting that quality. If you think your character is somewhat cynical, there are options available to display this trait as well. Like the Sims, you can develop relationships with non-playable characters (NPCs).
I also like that the storyline is fluid. The decisions you make not only have an impact on your character and their relationships with other characters, but on the story as well. It’s not unknown for NPCs to leave your party if they disagree with a decision you make thus changing the possible outcome of the story. Mind you, the type of relationships your character has cultivated with the NPCs also comes into play. If the relationship is strong enough, the NPC may decide to stay although the friendship may be strained. If the relationship is not well developed, he/she may just drop you like a bad habit.
I also like that Dragon Age: Origins engages you like a game of chess. It requires some forethought. As your decisions can affect the storyline of the game, you must choose wisely and not rush in as I have done here:
When I so rudely (but unintentionally) abandoned Duncan in the library, I sought out Jowan because an Apprentice Mage had mentioned earlier that Jowan had been acting strangely. It turned out Jowan had fallen in love with someone he shouldn’t have and they needed to break out of the Tower. This wouldn’t be easy as the main gate was constantly guarded. However, even if they did manage to escape the Tower, Jowan could be easily traced. If he were found, he would be killed.
The next mission I was presented with involved my having to find a way to break into a secure room where blood samples of all the mages were kept. It is through these samples that any runaway mages could be tracked down. I had to acquire a rod of fire in order to gain access into the room. But in order to get the rod, I had to jump through some hoops.
I first spoke to Owain, the Tranquil in charge of the storeroom, about obtaining a rod of fire. He said I needed to get a requisition form signed by a Senior Mage before he would release it. The first Senior Mage I spoke to requested I write a proposal before he would sign my form. The next one I spoke to flat out refused, fearing I was up to no good (nervous laugh) and wanted nothing to do with it. I had more joy from the last Senior Mage I spoke with after we stuck a deal.
With my form finally signed, I headed back to Owain who handed over the rod of fire. I then met with Jowan and Lily so we could get his blood sample. I then realised that I didn’t actually know where I was supposed to go. And there was still the matter of Duncan standing in the library. I decided to call it a night.
The following morning I had a chance to reflect on my actions. I had made several mistakes during the acquisition of the rod of fire. By approaching any and all Senior Mages, I had left a very visible trail for Irving to follow that would lead straight to me once the break-in was discovered. I had jeopardized my own position at the Tower, as well as that of the Senior Mage who had signed the form. This could lead to retribution from the Mage later in the game should our paths cross again.
In short, Solona screwed up badly and there is a very real possibility that Duncan may never get to his room.
