Dragon Age: Origins [Collector's Edition]

Bioware makes great RPGs; it is as simple as that. I've enjoyed KOTOR, Jade Empire, and more recently Mass Effect, so purchasing Dragon Age was a bit of a no-brainer for me. Unfortunately while it is a great RPG, it has its fair share of problems which makes me wonder whether the 360 port was a tad lazy. If your PC is suitable, then the PC version is definitely the way to go.

I'll start by saying what Dragon Age does right, which is the story and character development. As any RPG fan knows, these 2 features are the most crucial to any RPG. Even though the D&D settings have been done to death, the story is told well, and plenty of information is given describing the history of Ferelden and it's (in)famous inhabitants. Dialogue between team members is great, and as with all great RPGs there is a wonderful team chemistry. Hearing Morrigan and Alistair bickering will bring a smile to your face and Shale (if you get the Stone Prisoner DLC) will remind KOTOR fans of HK-47 which is definitely a good thing. Voice acting is uniformly excellent for both main characters and NPCs of lesser importance. Team member romances and side quests that let you find out more about your team members help keep things exciting throughout this VERY lengthy quest.

Unfortunately however Dragon Age seems to have lost a few things its journey from the PC to the 360. Whilst the character and armour designs are great, the graphics are far from, with certain environments (the Alienage in Denerim for example) looking like high-res PS2 graphics. The top down view PC owners have access to during battles is not available in the console versions and this can make spell-casting unnecessarily difficult.

Combat in fact is quite disappointing here. Team AI is dreadful regardless of how you tweak the AI settings (Dragon Age has a simple system in place similar to the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII). You'll have to constantly babysit your team members which is very tedious especially considering that you can only stack 1 command at a time. Miss animations are conspicuously absent, and enemies can hit you with magic through walls (despite you not being able to do the same).

Health poultices and lyrium potions (for magic) are in limited supply in shops, and whilst you can make these yourself their ingredients are not found in every shop. You'll have to travel around the map encountering random battles and LONG load times just to get the various components needed which, in my opinion, is entirely unnecessary. Oh, and if you don't get the Warden's Keep DLC, you won't get a storage place for extra items. Yep, that's right, you need to pay real money for a feature that should be standard and is in nearly all RPGs where inventory space is limited. This kind of mercenary behaviour on the part of Bioware (or is it EA) is very disappointing.

Despite all these complaints Dragon Age still is a worthwhile purchase, which is a testament to how great the story and character development is. It's an absolute shame however that Bioware did not correct these essentially avoidable issues. We, as paying customers, deserve better!

Its Best RPG of the year

Bioware specialize in story driven RPGs and RPG fans around the world will be familiar with their previous great works like KOTOR, Jade Empire and Mass Effect. Dragon Age: Origins is another great addition to their list of accomplishments although the console versions are not without some significant flaws.

1) The game does not look good despite some great artwork. Textures are dreadful, and some of the environments would not look out of place in a previous generation title.

2) The combat in the console versions has been heavily stripped down in comparison to the PC version. There is no isometric view, which makes accurate spellcasting tricky in indoor areas. You can't queue more than a single action at a time for characters (without spamming on the left trigger). The tactics system (similar to the gambit system in FFXII) is pretty inadequate, which when coupled with the inability to queue more than a single action, makes constant babysitting (especially if you are playing on hard) a necessity.

On a more positive note the story is great, and the game is simply huge. If you are into side quests, you'll find plenty to keep you busy for over 60 hours easily. The game is pretty non-linear in nature and you'll have plenty of opportunity to tackle situations the way you see fit. Unlike one of the previous posters here, I have imported Dragon Age and have had no trouble with the downloadable content. In fact I recommend you get both expansions immediately. The Warden's Keep DLC gives you access to a storage chest which is a necessity (and it's really inexcusable that you need to pay to get something like this), and The Stone Prisoner gives you access to an additional character that's fully integrated into the storyline.

So despite being a pretty lazy PC port, if you're a RPG fan, Dragon Age is definitely worth checking out!