ROLE OF HONOUR; Great playability and superb details make this a classic.
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS **** 360/PS3/PCDEVELOPERS Bioware have a rich history of producing classic role-playing games such as Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic.
With Dragon Age: Origins - touted as the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 2 - they have delivered an engrossing slice of software, epic in scope and littered with magical moments.
On the surface, the storyline is standard fantasy fluff. The land of Ferelden is being overrun by Darkspawn, evil creatures who threaten to engulf the world in darkness and destruction.
It's up to you and your band of adventurers to end the menace.
Add to that a Tolkien-style mix of races including dwarves, elves and men, and it's hard not to dismiss this as just another bog standard high fantasy romp.
However, Bioware's attention to detail, excellent narrative and engaging combat lifts Dragon Age clear of the competition.
There are three races and three character classes to choose from, although more classes open up as you make progress.
The game starts with one of six background, or origin, stories.
These segments aren't shallow vignettes either, they give a great deal of background story to your character, affect dialogue choice later in the game and influence how other characters see you.
Although you can only have four active party members at any given time, you'll meet and recruit others along the way.
Finding a well balanced team is essential, as the game can be brutally unforgiving at times.
Dragon Age Origins' combat system shares similarities with games such as World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online.
Each character has six "hot buttons" assigned, each slot containing a spell or special move.
After activating a command, the button slowly replenishes, meaning you'll have to wait to use the same order again.
Pressing the left shoulder button opens a radial menu where more moves and options can be located in the heat of battle.
Learning to use the menu is vital and takes a bit of getting used to.
While you'll spend the majority of the time in control of your main character, it's crucial you set up tactics for computer controlled allies.
There's a dizzying amount of customisation available - from telling them when to heal, when to use a specific spell or action and when to stand off and use long-range attacks.
This attention to detail means players aren't tied to a specific rule set and are free to tailor the adventure to suit their style.
It's not perfect though.
Choosing a specific character to attack is largely down to luck rather than planning.
You can find yourself isolated from your party, leading to instant death, while the console experience lacks the graphical fidelity and streamlined interface of its PC counterpart.
Thankfully, the engrossing storyline, complete with plenty of twists and turns, holds up well.
Bioware have even gone to great lengths to flesh out the world of Ferelden in the codex system's written texts.
Voice acting is decent, if at times hammy, and the main characters are a likeable bunch and their banter is a nice touch.
It's a sizeable quest, too, with a massive area of land to explore, dozens of optional sidequests, item crafting and downloadable content, giving the player upwards of a 70-hour experience.
Dragon Age: Origins doesn't do anything radically different. But it's a thoroughly entertaining ride, packed with memorable moments and wonderful touches.
It's one of the most enjoyable RPGs I've played since Oblivion.
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FINAL FANTASY: Dragon Age: Origins is a treat for RPG fans
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Nov 13, 2009 |
| Words: | 589 |
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