Dragon Age™: Origins - Ultimate Edition

Being a different race actually impacts segments of the game! A surprisingly rare occurrence (looking at you, Inquisition). The plot is an adventure that'll have you wanting more. Take on an impossible task with a unique cast of characters that are likable and enjoyable, though a bit quirky. Also certainly one of the strongest RPG classics in terms of combat mechanics, though the not the most flashy by any means. A world in which you have a lot of agency to mold it, and complex decisions to make, and a character creation that feels meaningful to the world and how you think of it.

I could never actually beat this game, as I tend to lose interest in the late game, but the real draw for me was the character interaction and romance themes. It's done really well, probably the best effort from Bioware in general, far better than the cringe of Mass Effect's romance. It kept me engage and wanting to play even with the sometimes long, tedious dungeons/caves/areas made me want to quit. The level design is very uninspired, and I think that's really what just pushes me away from it. Long, long corridors of repeating enemy encounters, with nothing really to see or find, intill you either make it through the area or complete the objective. It grew really tiring and although the story was interesting and the characters were cool, I never could bring myself to beat it. The combat is a nice blend of early CRPG's and modern streamlined ARPGS, but it doesn't go far enough in either direction and like the level design I just stopped caring about combat. It wasn't fun, but it can be fairly challenging when it wants to be. It's deserving of it's high score and legacy

I know there are a lot of other Iso RPG Franchises that folks enjoy a heck of a lot more, but this particular title is my favorite. It's a shame they rushed the second and veered violently off track in the third but this particular game is one of the best of all time. The following categories are the most important to an RPG in my opinion: Graphics, Story, Choices, and Gameplay. Graphics From a graphical standpoint, I feel this game still holds up well in 2022. I've played Pillars of Eternity and Baldur's Gate 3. Pound for pound, it looks superior to the former and the art style is better than the latter. If the same people who worked at on DA:O at Bioware in 2009 banded together to create something similar to DA:O with updated graphics, I'd be happy. At the time of release, I was running a first gen i7 and a geforce 9600. I upgraded to a GTX 295 and rebuilt my HP Desktop, retaining the PSU, CPU, and RAM. Believe it or not, to run this game with maximum AA and 60+ framerate, you needed quite the machine. Today, I have a 5900x and an RTX 3080. I still love how this game looks. I've read there are mods to update the graphics. I will probably do so at some point. Story This story was a fresh take on the Tolkien End of the World/Forces of Darkness tale. I enjoyed all of the origin stories and the companions had great personality. The Gandalf-like character you meet in the beginning of the game sets the tone, immediately making you feel like you're controlling a badass. Choices Gameplay

Loved this game so much. Great story and character and a pretty decent combat system, with lots of depths, DAO is, in my opinion, the best game to ever have been created, bar none.

One of the best games ever created, the dark and mature story is fascinating and still plays with enthusiasm today.