Categories: Reviews

Dragon Age: Origins Review

Dragon Age: Origins review and info.
Championed as the “spiritual successor” to Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn (widely considered one of the best fantasy role-playing games of all time), Dragon Age: Origins carries a great deal of expectations. Big-budget RPGs are becoming rarer and rarer in this world of social gaming, online piracy, and console games that require multimillion-dollar development budgets.
Further refining the BioWare approach to RPGs — tight storylines, strong character development, satisfying tactical combat, and a balance between epic storytelling and light, humorous moments — Dragon Age not only lives up to its pedigree, and it also shows that BioWare remains the preeminent developer of RPGs in the West.

The most significant refinement to the BioWare formula is the “origins.” These aren’t glorified tutorials, either. Each origin, which is based on your character race and class (and similar to the Pre-Service History and Psychological Profile aspects from Mass Effect’s character creation), effectively introduces the player-character to the realm of Ferelden. I played as an Elven mage for this review, and in my origin, I learned how Ferelden keeps its wizards under tight rein, and some of the history behind this draconian treatment. I’m interested in not only replaying the Elven mage origin (to see how the story changes if I make different choices), but I’m also excited to play the other five origins. An effective tutorial helps you learn how to play the game; these origins make you feel like you’re part of the story, and even have repercussions that carry through to the end of the game.

Other aspects of the BioWare formula — epic story, interesting characters, and a good sense of humor — are stronger in Dragon Age than in any of the developer’s games since Baldur’s Gate 2. After settling your origin, you set off on a grandiose quest to stop the Darkspawn. Twisted creatures created from a taint that turns humanoids into ravenous killers, the Darkspawn boil out of their tunnels under the world in a Blight — led by an archdemon (this one takes the form of a dragon). The only force that can stop the Blight is the Grey Wardens, selfless warriors who accept the taint in a mysterious ritual to forge a mystical connection that helps them battle the Darkspawn.

Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Min Requirements
XP: Intel Core 2(or equivalent) running at 1.4Ghz or greater AMD X2(or equivalent) running at 1.8Ghz or greater / Vista: Intel Core 2 (or equivalent) running at 1.6Ghz or greater
XP: 1GB or more / 1.5GB or more
XP: ATI Radeon X850 128MB or greater, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB or greater / Vista: ATI Radeon X1550 256MB or greater, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB or greater
DVD-ROM drive for physical disc play; Mouse/keyboard/gamepad for gameplayXP: ATI Radeon X850 128MB or greater, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB or greater / Vista: ATI Radeon X1550 256MB or greater, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB or greater

Dragon Age: Origins Review

Incredible storytelling, great characters, and exciting battles are just a few of the things that make this fantasy role-playing game so extraordinary. No doubt, DAO is one of the best 2009 RPG games.

Buy Dragon Age: Origins

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