Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Played on: PS3
Rating: 8.5
Rated: M (for Mature)
The Deal:
The nerd catchword de jour, 'epic,' has gone mainstream – I've heard colleagues refer to good ideas as 'epic wins', and we've seen more than our fair share of 'epic fails' all over the web. Heck, even Disney is getting on board with a game called 'Epic Mickey.' Since 'epic' has lost some of its original meaning (i.e. mind-blowingly kickass), I wanted to know if Edmonton's own Bioware were deserving of touting their newest game, Dragon Age: Origins, as an 'epic fantasy.' After many long nights, I came to conclusion that Dragon Age is indeed epic – but more like the Greek poet Homer, and not like the kickass band Rush.
With Dragon Age: Origins Bioware has come down from the heavens (Mass Effect) to create a new RPG set in the fantasy world of Ferelden – a place inhabited by humans, elves and dwarves, all fighting to keep their land from being swallowed up by the forces of evil called Darkspawn. You play an elf, human or dwarf (you're choice!) who is appointed a Grey Warden – a leader and peacekeeper who becomes entangled in a political coup while trying to save the world from a rumoured arch-demon.
So, is this the epic RPG you've been waiting for? Well, it is definitely epic in the MASSIVE sense – the range of 'things' in the game (quests, side missions, items, spells, armor, skills, etc) is impressive. You can spend a ton of time creating the perfect mage or tank. However, does it deliver a bout of fantasy awesomeness? Sadly, no -- the game feels ripped from the pages of any run-of-the-mill medieval fantasy.
The Good:
-If you're a hardcore RPG fan, then Dragon Age: Origins is a meaty game you can definitely sink your teeth into. All the classic RPG elements are here – a rich backstory to explore, tons of items to find, many ways customize your character, a number of classes to try out, and side quests galore! You might want to pick up a good pair of stretchy pants along with this game and say goodbye to 30+ hours of your life.
-The NPC dialogue and decision-making trees made famous from Mass Effect return again in Dragon Age. This time, however, it is much less obvious how your dialogue affects your characters progression towards good, evil or neutral. Since you can't tell outright which dialogue options affect your character or the storyline, it's actually important for players to read and consider all the options. However, there are times where these dialogue trees can feel totally arbitrary, as if the end result has already been written (many times I thought I was offering help to NPCs, but ended up having to slice them with my sword as they reject my attempt at conflict resolution). Oh well, they can't say I didn't try.
-There is a lot of replay value in Dragon Age – not just from the decisions you make along the way, but also from the character class (warrior, mage, rogue) you chose from the onset. You get a customized beginning and the storyline is built around your gender, class and race. I thought it was pretty cool that NPC characters in cut scenes spoke about being surprised that I was an elfin mage, and a woman at that. It made me wonder how the game would change if I assumed a different character combination.
The Bad:
-I couldn't quite put my finger on why I didn't love Dragon Age. It's a good game in terms of quantity – you get a lot to do and there's a lot to tinker with, but I just wasn't bowled over. It was really hard for me to determine a ranking – as a classic western RPG, it's all there, but there is a real lack of emotion in the game. I expect any great RPG to wrap me up in the story, to make me emotionally invested in the well-being of my characters, party, and the world in which they dwell. While Dragon Age has a massively rich history (supplied by a ridiculous amount of text you can read in your Codex), I had a hard time actually caring about my character. It felt like I was just being pushed from quest to quest.
-The graphics in Dragon Age seem like the shorter, fatter, uglier sister to the hot-as-shit Mass Effect. The environments are pretty forgettable and a lot of the characters look the same. And why Bioware gave almost every character braided hair (even the men), I'm not quite sure.
-I had a number of glitches occur while playing the PS3 version of Dragon Age. Sometimes the NPCs stopped talking mid-conversation, sometimes the battles lagged, or the corpses took a while to register as dead – annoying when you just want to loot and keep moving. Either way, these minor bugs interrupted the experience.
The Final Word:
While it may not look and feel like the best like a wholly new RPG experience, fans of this genre will enjoy rolling up their sleeves and spending time in Bioware's 'epic fantasy' world.
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