Thursday, January 14, 2010 @ 1:54 pm
Dragon Age: Origins.

Out of all the games I've played in the past, Dragon Age: Origins (DAO) is the one to successfully make me invest so much emotions in my character. That says alot since I'm a Final Fantasy(FF) fan yet none of the FF series invoke that in me. Or perhaps DAO allows you to shape your characters from sex, race, class and choices you made that makes it really role-playing and not just going with the storyline.

Plot:
There are 6 origins stories to start from: Human Noble, Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Noble or Dwarf Commoner. NPCs may treat you differently depending on which origin you choose, eg. Elves are often viewed as second class citizens. Does not matter which you choose since all will end up at the main story, but 1 particular origin will have an exclusive ending.
Either way, Duncan will recruit you to join Grey Wardens, a group dedicated to destroy darkspawn, demonic creatures that live underground and at times swarmed onto the surface in movements known as Blight. You will journey to Ostagar fortress to join King Cailan and general Loghain against a fight with the darkspawn. Duncan believed that an Archdemon, a powerful dragon, is leading the darkspawn and also responsible for the Blight.

Class:
There are 3 classes in DAO: Warrior, Rogue and Mage. In each class, there are 4 specialisations that can be unlocked by learning from someone or buying the manual from vendors. Even if there are 2 warriors in your party, you can assigned one to be proficient in using sword & shield while the other in dual weapons. Personally I think it's better to be Rogue since certain areas can only be accessed by the player only and only the Rogue can unlocked locked chests. Though if you want to have an easier time, a Mage will be best.

Party:
You can control up to 4 members but you can set tactics for the remaining 3 characters to take various actions depending on the situation. During the battle, you can pause the game and take control over the party as you like. Handy in situations when you need to rethink your strategies.

Companions:
Your companions may join you in the fight against darkspawn but there are times they will disapprove of your actions. Occur too many times and your companion may leave for good. You can of course give them gifts to gain their approval. Companions with high approval will gain boost in their stats. There are also romances in the game, 4 in total, even including options for the same sex should you swing that way. But do note even if your companion have very high approval, certain decisions will make them turn against you and you lose them for good.

Personal thoughts:
DAO gives me the feel of Lord of the Rings, with the dwarfs, elves, mages and human teaming up to fight darkspawn. Not that it's a bad thing, since I like Lord of the Rings. Graphics are pleasant enough, though it may be too bloody for some. I love the voice acting and character design, it gives the character depth and realism. Especially the random party barter that occurs between your party members when walking around, some are so hilarious, kudos to the scriptwriter.
I actually like how the game allows you to make the decisions as you like. You can be a goody two-shoes or a complete ass and still complete your task. That will affect your epilogue depending on what actions you take. But I have to admit it gets harder to make decisions towards the end, to do it for the greater good or be selfish. Due to that, you can have different endings. After my first playthrough, reloaded and did 2 alternate endings just to see how it ends, one was out of character for my mage and the other is just too sad. In the end, I still like my first playthrough even though it's not the best ending but I'm satisfied for my mage.

If you are planning to get this game, avoid reading spoilers on the first playthrough, it will just spoilt the experience. A must buy for RPG lovers and a highly recommended game for all others.

Dragon Age: Origins is rated M18 and available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Lastly some screenshots from my playthrough.

Clearing up the darkspawn Encounter with the werewolves Exploring dungeons
From left: My mage, Wynne and Alistair