Dragon Age: Origins review

I am completely aware of how behind the times I am with this review. But, I think Dragon Age: Origins deserves some review love. What the hell. I might as well cover Dragon Age 2 while I'm at it.

I wont bother hiding the fact that DA:O is one of my favorite games of all time. However, I will try this review fair and balanced. No matter how hard it may be.

The game begins like so many RGP games do.

Welcome to Ferelden folks. It's country on the brink of war. Monsters call the Darkspawn are making life difficult for all. You know, Killing and shit like that. And, of course, different factions trying to put a stop to invading monsters.


Meet the Grey Wardens. This group of warriors are only the best of the best. The Grey Wardens soul purpose is to defeat the Darkspawn and the Darkspawn leader, the Archdemon. Throughout the game you will learn what makes the Grey Wardens so different from other warriors, Which is actually fairly interesting.

The first Grey Warden that we meet is Ferelden's Warden Commander, Duncan. Due to a dwindling Grey Warden population in Ferelden, Duncan has taken it upon himself to recruit talented and intelligent warriors. Since the Grey Warden's only recruit the best of the best, you can only imagine how daunting this task must be. Yet the impending war waits for no man.

After a brief opening cut scene, you will be able to create the character of your choosing.

After choosing your race, sex, class and back round, you will be able to customize your character. While not as deep as some customization, it is fairly extensive. This is where the pc version of this game comes out on top. Thanks to the amount of appearance mods, the customization options are nearly endless. Want a character with neon green hair? There is a mod for that.

The beginning of your story depends on what race and backround you choose. After you learn about your character's beginning, the game itself essentially plays out the same. However, depending on what race you pick, the people of the world will react to your character differently. Elves are seen as slaves. Humans are seen as superior. Dwarfs for the most part are dirt people. Mages are somewhat feared. Who you choose will also effect the ending as well. Which gives the game replay value.

Once your character has been recruited in to the Grey Wardens, things quickly go downhill from there.  After a failed battle, you and a fellow companion are the last two Grey Wardens in Ferelden. It's up to you to gather an army in order to take down the Archdemon, and stop the blight on Ferelden before it actually begins. To make matters worse, an important army general has placed a bounty on your head. I will let you play the game in order to find out why this man has it out for your group. But I will say our little general is slightly bat shit crazy.  When it rains, it pours.
While the story isn't exactly super original, it is enough to keep most true RPG fans interested. You are able to form bonds and even romance your companions. Which adds a layer of depth to the story. I can't speak for all people who have played this game, but I really did care about my companions. I found myself wanting to make most of them happy. This is something you can do through conversations and gift giving. Certain conversation paths lead to "Hardening" a particular character. Or you can leave your wimpy character as is.
There is A LOT of story here. With side quests and all, I finished the game in 75 hours or so. So if you are all about a bit of bang for your buck, this is the game for you. I'm sure with all the DLC for the game it turns out to be a 80 or 90 hour game. So there is a lot of content here to get through.

I've played this game on all the consoles and the pc. In my personal opinion, this is a pc game. Not just because of all the mods that are out there. But it handles like a pc game no matter which system you play it on. Controls for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are a bit confusing at first. With a little time, it becomes easier to figure out where everything is and how it works. The pc version is slightly less complicated. I for inventory. M for map. So on and so forth. All versions have a quick bar. The quick bar is going to save your ass, so keep it fully stocked with abilities and potions.
The game play itself is a throw back to Baldur's Gate. Which isn't a bad thing since I love BG. Which means if you are someone who like a fast and furious battles, sad to say that  this game is not for you. This game requires strategy and most of all patience. Planning out a fight plan is the key to success. Unless you have an overpowered weapon mod, then fuck strategy. Hack away.

Relationships with your companions is important. I cannot stress enough how important this is. There are several companions who will turn on you if you don't butter them up. You don't aways have you please everyone, but it's a good idea to try.

Romance is kind of hit or miss. There are some I simply romanced because it would give me one more achievement. Then there are the characters I enjoyed wooing. I will let you discover who you prefer to warm your lonely sleeping bags at night. There is something here for everyone. There are two characters in this game who are bisexual and two who aren't. I'll let you play and figure out who.
There are sex scenes. Which are deeply unsatisfying. Who has sex with clothes on? The cut scenes are just strange and not very fun to watch. Not saying I want porno quality scenes here, but one spends a lot of time wooing a fellow companion. I'd like a little more than dry humping in a tent.

The Fade and the Deep Roads. I have no met a single person who enjoys playing through these levels. In fact, there is a mod out to skip the Fade. Believe me, it's downloaded and well worth it. I understand why both of these levels are in the game. They are just take way too fucking long to get through.
You are sent to The Fade by a Demon because....well I assume it's just to waste time and annoy  the player. When inside the Fade there are five levels to get through. There are two objectives here: Pick up a new form in each level. And find your lost companions. All of this leads up to a pointless fade boss battle. If you have the right equipment, this boss is easy. Aside from earning exp and attribute points, I really don't see the point of this level. It's too fucking long!
The Deep roads actually is an important part of the story. However, it takes HOURS to get through. It's easy to get lost, frustrating as hell and just all around not much fun.
If it weren't to build an army against the darkspawn, I would have said fuck help from the dwarves and mages. Since that isn't an option we'll all just have to suffer through it. 

The end is satisfying. There are several different endings to choose from. All of your decisions throughout the game lead up to the end decision. I wont go in to detail, but it is epic.


Let's talk about Dragon Age: Awakening and DLC for a moment. WHAT THE FUCK BIOWARE??! DA:A is a "full length" expansion for the original game. This game AT MOST, has 10-15 hours of game play. If you took your time, maybe you could get 15 and a half hours. The point is, the fucking thing is short. At the time it was also a full priced game. 50 dollars for this? 60 dollars for the console versions. Why this wasn't just released as a DLC is beyond me, but it is what it is.

DA:A gives us a new setting, new party members and new objectives. You have one of two options. Bringing over your Warden from DA:O, or playing as an Orleasan Warden. To be honest I've never played as the Orleasan Warden, since it seemed rather pointless. You don't know anything about this new Warden, nor do you get the time to learn of any back round. Might as well transfer your own Warden and build up those levels.

The new companions fell short for me. Each and every one of them felt like a counterpart to a character from DA:O. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the dialogue with the witty, cat loving Anders. But even he felt like a certain Grey Warden love interest from DA:O. Given the expansion's shortness, you are given very little time to know your companions. There is the gift giving option, but honestly I don't see the point. Conversations are short, don't give you much information, and seem tacked on.

It annoyed me that NONE of my special armor or weapons from DA:O carried over. Showing up in my underwear, or bra and panties was a bit of a surprise. Not a good kind of surprise.

The ending. Well. The End of DA:A just kinda.....ends. It's unsatisfying to say the least. We learn a little of what has happened to the companions and our Warden commander through epilogue stills, but there could have been so much more. It could have been epic. Instead, Bioware phones in a half assed ending that leaves one confused. At least I was a little confused.

Not to say DA:A is all bad. Some of the missions are fun. Also some of the dialogue between the npc's is really kind of funny. I also love the idea of talking darkspawn.

But as a whole it's an expansion pack that falls vastly short of good. Passable and worth a play through. If only to level yourself up for the DLC to follow.

On to the DLC.

The Stone Prisoner gave us a new mission, along with a new companion. It's worth getting just for Shale alone. Some of the items looted along the way is pretty nifty too.

Return to Ostagar gave us a chance to get our revenge on the darkspawn. While this isn't the best dlc on the list, it was pretty fun. The loot was well worth playing through this. The kings armor and Duncan's weapons were nice to have in the old inventory box. 

Leliana's Story was not wonderful, but it was nice to get a back round story on at least one companion. Even though she was the least interesting of the characters. This also adds a weapon to your game inventory. It's hardly worth the time spent.

Darkspawn Chronicles. While some hate this dlc, personally I really liked playing as the darkspawn. I was finally able to kill some of the most annoying characters in the game! I found it thrilling and therapeutic. If you take it for the filler dlc that it is, you can have some fun.

Witch Hunt. This was, by far, the most disappointing dlc of the bunch. We were promised an answers. Sadly, we got none with this sub par episode. We find ourselves in the Deep Roads. Again. This was already enough to keep me from downloading this dlc. Sadly, it came with the ultimate edition of the game. So I gave it a whirl. We need to find Morrigan because she has an important book. There are two rather boring new companions. The dlc raises more questions than it answers. Thus leaving fans utterly disappointed.


The Golems of Amgarrak. Again with this Deep Roads bullshit. However, this was a very challenging dlc. Again we are searching for something. A new companion is on the hunt for something or another. Since I found myself back in the Deep Roads, I really didn't give a rats ass what he was looking for. The puzzles were challenging, as was the end boss. I appreciated the challenge. The story itself was utter shit. Pass.

Armor dlc, Festerday pranks/gifts were let downs. The blood armor was cool looking, but did little else. The pranks/gifts are to help get your party approval up or down. Either way they were utterly stupid and pointless.

It's worth getting the ultimate edition. If you can find it. Just know the expansion is short, and the dlc is hit or miss.

I give the game itself a 9/10

The extra content gets a 5/10

If I were to add my review of DA2, it would indeed be far too long. So next up. My review of the unfortunate Dragon Age 2.