Dragon Age™: Origins - Ultimate Edition

The prologue to this game is absolutely stunning. It will hook you in, and the responsibility on your shoulders feel heavy and real. The game also has the most unique visual representation of blood splatters on characters. It's ofcourse exaggerated, but what a feel it is. You appreciate that you were in a battle and have slain many creatures along the way. The best companion characters in any game, rivaled only by Mass Effect 2. Alistair's goofiness, Morrigans' dark and sharp wit, Leliana's mysterious past, Sten's uniqueness and Wynne's strong moral character were so addictive. The lore in this game is mesmerizing. I wanted to read every single book and talk to every single NPC to learn more about this world. The politics, racism, religion and emotions in this game kept me hooked for hours on end, and unfortunately could never be matched by any game since, outside of Mass Effect2. I also love the combat, it's tactical but without the tedious 45minute battles you get from playing Larian games. Every enemy character is dangerous. Just an example, you need to get rid of the archers and mages. Run headlong towards them, and the frontline warriors will engage you while the backline tear you to shreds from range. So, it's upto you as a player to devise tactics to find a way to the backline and annihilate them quickly. There are many moments where it feels like a chess game, with the tide of battle swinging against you and for you. Pure masterclass. Compare this to Veilguard, where enemy mages engage you in head to head combat and get annihilated in no time. Fifteen years later and enemy design goes backwards. If you have not played this game, a gem awaits you.

When the game originally came out I was aware of it but didn't care much about it since I was all about Point & Click adventure games back then. That changed when a buddy told me about this gem 3-4 years ago. And what can I see, from the moment I started playing, I was hooked. Story, characters, setting, soundtrack and lore - I loved everything about it. I've just finished another run and this time I also played the DLCs. DAO still didn't lose any of its charm. The only things I would criticize is that Awakening marks the beginning of recycled locations which ended up being my main point of criticism of DA2. They also overdid it a little with the party banter. I really enjoyed listening to it in DAO while running through areas where nothing would happen. However, in Awakening many conversations started when I was about to leave an area so a lot of the banter got cut off in the middle. Another rather annoying part was rune crafting. I also enjoyed Witch Hunt and Leliana's Song as both story DLCs tell you more about your beloved party members and adds more flavor to an already rich story. I was less impressed by The Darkspawn Chronicles and Golems of Amgarrak. On the technical side, the game crashed a few times (especially in larger regions like Denerim) but that didn't really ruin my overall experience. I recommend this game to everyone who's new to RPGs as Dragon Age does a great job easing you into the mechanics and the world. Once you begin to play you won't be able to stop that easily.

Dragon Age : Origins c'est un des meilleurs RPG-Tactiques (combats pausables et très profonds) que je connaisse. La narration est excellente, maitrisée et de grande qualité. La liberté est très grande et les quêtes intéressantes. Je conseille à 100% ce jeu. Je tiens à préciser que la version GOG.COM est la meilleure (par rapport à celle de steam et origin d'EA...) car c'est la seule qui est complète avec tous les DLC et les divers bonus ingame. Pour terminer, je vous conseille d'aller sur nexusmods pour ajouter quelques fabuleux mods et prolonger le plaisir. BRAVO à BIOWARE pour cette perle et BRAVO à GOG pour cette édition vraiment complète.

Dragon Age Origins is by far one of my favorite games of all time. It's the third time that I bought the game (One physical copy, Origin and now GOG) and I don't regret it! I freaking love this game

...And I regret nothing :) Ah, Dragon Age Origins, a game that just knows how to draw me in, one of my personal faves and I think one of Bioware's better games as this game's successors, while fun in their own right, lacked some of the charm this oldie has. As with any game made by Bioware, it's got solid writing and engaging characters, though the visuals and animations show their age they are far from terrible and the gameplay, which is similar to Baldur's Gate or Kotor tends to be unbalanced at times, but in a way that I still feel is fun and has run pretty smooth on my PC (Using Win8 to be exact). One thing I ought to suggest however is a little mod called "Skip the Fade" found on the DA:O Nexus, anyone who has played this game will know what I'm talking about. In the end, Dragon Age Origins is truly an epic, and despite some minor issues has aged like fine wine, a must have for any fan of the genre :)