Dragon Age™: Origins - Ultimate Edition

Ok, OK, it is not BG2, but nothing is or will be. This certainly comes damn close. It is like, somehow, DA:O became this gem... near perfect. Sure some think the graphics could be better, and the gameplay is a tad shy of great. i wish there were a few more class options, but they are fine as is. But all the pieces fit together perfectly. I love the characters, the voice acting, the story. It both fulfills and subverts high fantasy. Dragon Age Awakening never quite fulfilled the promise of DA:O. To me the first game with its in game DLC are perfect. The out of game DLC, the expansion ,and the sequels to me all for short. If you want old school RPG in a modern format, it doesn't get better than this. Buy it, play it, play it again, then play it again a few years later.

I like to call these RPG "cinematic rpg's". Game has a very good plot, very good scenario , and top voice acting. In my book one of the best RPG ever made. I particullary enjoyed conversations of NPC in my party.

I love this game and have already owned this Ultimate Edition on disc. Having a DRM-Free version is so much better, though, so I had no qualms with buying it again. Talk about replayability! This RPG can be played so many different ways it's truly amazing - totally fun each time. The plethora of Mods available at Nexus is a real boon, too. What a blast to play through this again, and this time go through all of the extra content that Ultimate Edition includes... wow there's a LOT to play here! Thanks, GOG, for making the whole installation process so... well... effortless. Just install and the DLC is there waiting. Perhaps that's because I already had an account (EA)? Not sure. But the whole thing was entirely painless for me. And I like that!

Role Playing Games came from the Pen & Paper board, in which you design a character in a sheet, and it will be solving troubles throwing dices based on its own statistics, you don’t take your figure with your giant hand making it dodge and hit enemies, that but would be... just playing with plastic soldiers making noises with your mouth. Well, in computer is the same, the only difference is that the computer throws dices automatically, until Baldur’s Gate... maybe the biggest innovation in the RPG genre, making the turn based mechanics be automatically running in background while the player can pause the combat to give new commands to the characters. Dragon Age Origins is the culmination of Bioware’s Baldur’s Gate legacy, adding two points of view (isometric with point and click, and 3rd person action), keeping the "cinematic" dialogues from NWN2, in an epic story with unforgettable moments, and also, a solid toolset evolution from the Infinity Engine, trough the Aurora Toolset, ending with the Dragon Age Toolset, which allowed more than 2000 mods, with the possibility to customizing your game to the absurd. What more an RPG player would want?

Let's start with the type of game you're looking for when purchasing this game. It's one of Bioware's 2 latest 'big' franchises (Dragon Age and Mass Effect) and a natural successor to the game Baldur's Gate as I have understood. I never played the latter, so I will review this as a standalone. It is definitely a Role Playing Game in a Fantasy Setting. The lore of this setting started with this game, so there is no need to inform yourself with books/comics etc. The game consists roughly out of exploring, combat and dialog. Before continuing with those 3 bullet points I would like to express my opinion regarding visuals and soundtrack. The visuals are fine : they never have been top notch but they are still looking great. And the game runs very smooth on any recent Windows system with decent hardware. The in-game music is, in my opinion, nothing more than ok. The tracks are frequently repeated, there is no outstanding tune, but they keep the game rolling. If you are looking for RPGs from that time with superb soundtracks, I advise The Witcher or Divinity 2. Exploring : The 'map' of Dragon Age Origins is not that big, so exploring as in searching for loot takes not much time beside the rest of the game. Regarding the lore of Dragon Age, it's trademarked by Bioware : I myself find it not the most convincing or interesting for fantasy, but it gets a +1 for being very vast and well documented on online wikis, so that players who really wish it, can spend hours studying this work of fiction. Combat is well presented. Had it not been so, the game would not have become as popular as it is today. The player controls a party of 4 companions and can instruct each of them to move, perform basic attack, special skills ( there are a lot of skills and improvements ) or use items. Combat can be paused at any moment for a more tactical approach. What is nice is that another party combination can have great effect on the difficulty of a fight. Alas, as a result you may find yourself neglecting some of the playable companions. In dialog, the game is at it's strongest. Characters share opinions at any time, the dialogues excel in being serious, funny or just silly. And this really is an RPG where choices influence the events taking place in the story a great deal; or at least that's the illusion. A fair amount of dialogues is just between party members, so you really end up thinking of them as friends. Or lovers, yes, I can't imagine you haven't heard of this. Romance is there, and characters behave differently according to the choices you make. Their storyline changes accordingly too. The best part is that the game is very generous with excellent voice-casted dialogues and options. Except for the Elves. ### I hate the elves. Their looks, voices, background, it all feels so synthetic to me? See for yourself!