The LV. Cap: Dragon Age: Origins Review

Good ‘ol Bioware. They’ve brought us great RPGs like Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. Now, they bring us a new RPG to their arsenal. Dragon Age: Origins tells a story about the Blight trying to take over the land and you must band every faction to help defeat them. With swords, magic, and dragons, is Dragon Age: Origins for everyone or is it only for hardcore fantasy lovers?



Dragon Age: Origins
Playstation 3, Xbox 360, & PC
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
ESRB Rating: M For Mature
Price; $59.99


Pros:
Story: With every Bioware game, the story is epic. Dragon Age: Origins is no different. You will choose what origin story you want to play through and it will lead into the main story. The Grey Wardens are ancient warriors that defend the world from the Blight, the evil force trying take over the world. After the origin story that you picked, you’ll become a Grey Warden yourself and you must unify the armies of the world to defeat the Blight. If may seem like any other fantasy story but, there are enough twists and turns that will keep you interested in the story. Also, you get to have sexy time with people. Kinda of like Mass Effect but, no spacesuits. Good times.


Customization: When choosing your character’s race, this will allow you to choose your origin story. Certain classes get certain origin stories which, makes you want to go through the game again to find out what’s up with each story. You’ll have a choice of 3 classes; warrior, mage, and rogue. Each have their special abilities and talents. But, how about your character’s looks? Just like in Mass Effect, you’ll be able to make your character the way you want to. You can really make a fugly character or a really average looking character if you want. It’s all up to the player.


Got That MMO Combat Feel: As an ex-MMO player, I found the combat to great. You have your basic attack button and you have your special skills that boost yourself/others, heal yourself/others, or a special attack that causes extra damage. The control scheme is very each to use as you can easily access your ablities and items. This can open up possibilities for MMOs to be on the consoles (I’m looking at you, Champions Online). Here is an example of the combat in Dragon Age: Origins.


Voice Acting/Soundtrack: In most games, the voice acting is pretty horrible. But in Dragon Age: Origins, the voice acting is actually good. Each charaacter in the game has a voice and they all sound different. No re-using the same voices like other games. This does make the world in the game very unique. Also, the soundtrack is epic. It sounds like it is from the Lord Of The Rings movies but, it’s not. The music fits in perfectly with the game.


Longevity: This game is long. You can get through the main story without doing any of the side quests and it will STILL take  you a while to beat it. This game will have you playing hours on in especially with the different origin stories. This game will consume your life, if you really get into it.



Cons:
Graphics: The graphics aren’t bad but they aren’t great. Some of the areas can load very slowly so it will take some time to load. The character models do look great but, some of their clothing do conflict. As in if you have a pair of gauntlets and a robe on, the clothing will go into each other and it will look very awkward.


Framerate Issues: If you are having a big battle, the game will slow down. If there is too much going on in the game, the game will slow down. This is quite annoying when you have a character at the brink of death and you try to heal them. Then, the game slows down enough to get that character killed. It’s a no bueno.


Dumbass Camera & AI: The camera is always in a third person which is nice until you get in a very small walkway with enemies in it. When you try to manuever the camera to look around during the battle, it will zoom in too much to the point where you can’t see your character. This is only in small walkways. Also, the AI isn’t too bright. Mages will waste their magic way too fast. You’ll have to switch to them and refill their magic. The mages will heal you once in a while as well but, you’ll have to switch to the character and do the healing yourself. Also, the AI can get in your way if you are trying to attack the same enemy.


Combat Feeling Slow For You?: Some will think that the combat is too slow for them. The combat feels much like a MMO. As an ex-MMO player, I like the combat in the game. But for people that saw the trailer and thought “Oh snap, I’m gonna be doing flips and sh*t!”, they will be very disappointed.


Verdict:
So, is Dragon Age: Origins worth the buy? If you are looking for a RPG to spend endless hours on or love fantasy, get this game. For everyone else, rent the game. The make or break for people will be the combat. So, get out there and play it. The world is waiting to be saved!

One Response to “The LV. Cap: Dragon Age: Origins Review”

1. ‘Return To Ostagar’ DLC Returns Next Week - The Nerdiest Kids says:

   January 27, 2010 at 4:27 pm

   [...] try to put down Mass Effect 2 next week and play some damn Dragon Age! Check out our review for Dragon Age: Origins and the announcement for Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening! Dragon Age ‘Return To [...]