Dragons Age: Origins Review - PS3

8

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 7
Audio: 7
Innovation: 8

Introduction

Long-term gamers will know that anything associated with Bioware is almost guaranteed to be a hit RPG. The team has been known for such famous RPG such as the Baldurs Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and more recently the highly rated Mass Effect. Having discarded the long-held AD&D license, Bioware returns with its first post-Forgotten Realms fantasy RPG, Dragon Age: Origins.

Gameplay

The storyline is a way too complicated to describe adequately (or without giving too much away!), but Dragon Age has you fending off the "Darkspawn" or evil demons that are plaguing the land. Along the way things develop a bit more, and the ongoing tensions between the different races of the land come to a head, and your party has to come together to try and unite them all against the Darkspawn before they over-run the world of Ferelden.

When you start the game, you have the familiar character creation screen where you can create your own head character. Here you can choose to be male or female, and customise your character's facial features to the nth degree. Those hoping for something too different from the standard RPG system may be a little disappointed. When you first see the option to be a fighter, mage or rogue/thief (and the usual variations such as Ranger, Assassin, Bard, etc), you may be mistaken that everything is taken from "How to write a generic RPG For Dummies". It doesn't branch out too differently either with the option of being a human, elf or dwarf. Each of these has subtle differences on the game, but don't expect too much out of the ordinary here.

The first introductory area of the game varies depending on which core class you choose. We played through as the Mage, which had us starting in the Circle of Magic, where you formally undertake your Mage's test. After this introductory area, things blend into the one main adventure, although there are many different paths you can take to get through the game.

Cut scenes appear quite often in the game, and set the mood pretty well. They are all rendered using the in-game engine, so aren't stunning, but help break up and set the story. The voice acting is decent with a good script and the animation also fairly good. Their faces can be a bit wooden during speech, but you begin to overlook that fairly quickly.

During your adventures you'll run into many unique characters, and many of these are quite memorable. Thankfully Bioware has realised the art to a great RPG these days is interesting and varied characters, and other than a few 'generics', every location and area is full of unique personalities. Many of the characters you meet along the way you can offer to join your party. Some personalities may clash with others, or even your own path you take (being good or evil or somewhere in the middle) so it can be a challenge to keep everybody happy. A sliding scale in the ...