It's one of the best games I've ever played.
As an RPG fan I haven't been blown away by a game this much since the original Fallout in 1997.
I thought Bioware were at their very height with Baldurs Gate 2 but from then on I felt they moved progressively towards picking up popular IPs and watering down mechanics to boost their profile and sell more games.
Not to say Bioware made bad games after Baldurs Gate 2 but it felt like a de-evolution of RPG's rather than progress so even though I played and enjoyed KOTOR, Jade Empire and Mass Effect I felt they were leaving behind seasoned RPG players in favour of making more comercially flavoured games.
I have to admit after playing Dragon Age Origins I feel like a fool for ever doubting Bioware.
I think Bioware do an incredible job with this game and a few points stood out for me in particular:
1: The game is very lengthy in terms of the main story which is a great thing. It's also very absorbing and all your companions are extremely well fleshed out. The back story to each faction is incredible as well. You feel like your sitting in a deeply enriched universe with so many stories its pretty incredible they can create that feeling with the first game in the Dragon Age universe.
2: You actually feel like your choices mean something. I've had companions leave me. I had one companion challenge my authority and then try to kill me. I even had one companion who only joined me so he could set me up and kill me later on.
Also when your out in the big wide world the decisions you make are never easy. In Dragon Age Origins they create an atmosphere of desperation. People are in a constant power struggle at the dawn of a new age and you won't come across very many goody two shoes or outright evil people.
Every decision you make has consequences and you are never going to be right or wrong. I really struggled to make decisions and pick sides during the game when I came to realise just how bad some of the people I was working with were. I love how the game refuses to use black and white stereotypes though and every character has a grey area.
3: The diversity in the game also blew me away. When everything falls apart you have to recruit different races to help you fight the Blight.
It takes you to a variety of places like underground dungeons for dwarves, haunted forests for elves, a grand palace for the human soldiers and a tower for the mages.
They are all very different worlds and they are extremely well fleshed out.
4: Last but not least the presentation of the game is fantastic. It's like playing a movie. Some people want a big world to explore and that is understandable. With Dragon Age Origins being quite linear I know it won't appeal to everybody but regardless the cinematic quality this game possesses is something out of a motion picture.
Having said all of the above while I was first skeptical of the upcoming Star Wars MMO now I simply can't wait for it.
If Bioware can provide this kind of quality for 30 hours with a game that cost ten million dollars to produce I can't wait to see what they can do with the Star Wars MMO and ten times the budget.
As an RPG fan I haven't been blown away by a game this much since the original Fallout in 1997.
I thought Bioware were at their very height with Baldurs Gate 2 but from then on I felt they moved progressively towards picking up popular IPs and watering down mechanics to boost their profile and sell more games.
Not to say Bioware made bad games after Baldurs Gate 2 but it felt like a de-evolution of RPG's rather than progress so even though I played and enjoyed KOTOR, Jade Empire and Mass Effect I felt they were leaving behind seasoned RPG players in favour of making more comercially flavoured games.
I have to admit after playing Dragon Age Origins I feel like a fool for ever doubting Bioware.
I think Bioware do an incredible job with this game and a few points stood out for me in particular:
1: The game is very lengthy in terms of the main story which is a great thing. It's also very absorbing and all your companions are extremely well fleshed out. The back story to each faction is incredible as well. You feel like your sitting in a deeply enriched universe with so many stories its pretty incredible they can create that feeling with the first game in the Dragon Age universe.
2: You actually feel like your choices mean something. I've had companions leave me. I had one companion challenge my authority and then try to kill me. I even had one companion who only joined me so he could set me up and kill me later on.
Also when your out in the big wide world the decisions you make are never easy. In Dragon Age Origins they create an atmosphere of desperation. People are in a constant power struggle at the dawn of a new age and you won't come across very many goody two shoes or outright evil people.
Every decision you make has consequences and you are never going to be right or wrong. I really struggled to make decisions and pick sides during the game when I came to realise just how bad some of the people I was working with were. I love how the game refuses to use black and white stereotypes though and every character has a grey area.
3: The diversity in the game also blew me away. When everything falls apart you have to recruit different races to help you fight the Blight.
It takes you to a variety of places like underground dungeons for dwarves, haunted forests for elves, a grand palace for the human soldiers and a tower for the mages.
They are all very different worlds and they are extremely well fleshed out.
4: Last but not least the presentation of the game is fantastic. It's like playing a movie. Some people want a big world to explore and that is understandable. With Dragon Age Origins being quite linear I know it won't appeal to everybody but regardless the cinematic quality this game possesses is something out of a motion picture.
Having said all of the above while I was first skeptical of the upcoming Star Wars MMO now I simply can't wait for it.
If Bioware can provide this kind of quality for 30 hours with a game that cost ten million dollars to produce I can't wait to see what they can do with the Star Wars MMO and ten times the budget.