Dragon Age™: Origins - Ultimate Edition

One of my favourite RPGs to date. Character building is critical. Decisions made early on can effect outcomes later. Wide team of companions to choose from. Interpersonal dynamics can modify companion behaviour. Some very tough battles. I think to enjoy the game properly all combat should be micromanaged. This game takes quite a long time to play through but I've happily done so three times.

I'll be honest with you, I don't really know Bioware's previous games or their mass Effect's ones. So, my review will be as objective as I'll try to make it. In terms of gameplay, yap, hard af. Either you get some early powerful companions in the beginning or play in the easiest difficulty (I do a bit of both), pay attention to the game's text (useful if you're the kind of Call of Duty guy, always in a rush like me), and even then it's still a challenge, or risk getting wrecked in some really frustrating missions and/or quests. And make sure to F5 a lot, since you'll need the quicksaves in several ocasions in which you need a checkpoint of sorts. As for the story, I only played the Human Noble one (because that's what I'd like to be in a medieval fantasy world lol). You can play with whichever origin suits you more, or try a bit, I just like to stick to what I like and ignore the rest lol and rarely ever do a second re-run of a game. Anyway, it's really great. The cutscenes are amazingly well done, the majority of the voice characters speak in an impeccable British accent, and what the characters say is really hard to understand, especially when English is not your main language (like me). To me, it seems a lot more Shakespear than modern English with some niche words, and Skyrim's looks like crap in comparison. As for graphics, not too amazing, not too bad, just median, but who needs graphics only, am I right? Now a bit of a bit of my life about this game. As for the soundtrack, the main menu already makes the game already worth it. It's so amazing, and some of the cutscenes' ones are amazing too, but in some places it'll just play the same annoying sound over and over. I was in search of a RPG worthy of reaching Skyrim's heels, and oh boy, this one didn't disappoint me. I only heard it was good and worth getting, so I torrented it, but then gave up because I was stuck in a mission. I ended up getting it here on GoG again and I'm having a blast right now.

By no mean you should take this as a professional review of any sort. I have bought this game's collector edition that comes with a wood box, back than games are half the price of a new games these days. I didn't have a credit card back then, so my purchase options are only cash and I have bought it's DLC as it launches without all the benefits of dirt cheap discount as nowadays. Then came the Ultimate Edition, that includes everything at a cheaper price. I bought that too. Now come GOG, at this almost free price, without drm. Again I bought this too. This is how much I value and think of this game. At this price (discounted, in my country, a meal at a street side stall cost more than this) there is no reason whatsoever to skip this title. Compare to other games then. I never finish Witcher titles before, I hated the mechanic that makes you keep switching weapons to counter different enemies instead of let me choose to use just 1 weapon that I like, and to have to prepare for battles by taking potions, memorize all the spell names and ingredients. Those things feels like chores. There are things like those in this games too, but not feels like forced upon. Skyrim, the objectives are plenty, quest are abundant, but not to the point as overwhelming and meaningless at times as in Skyrim. CTDs are almost non-existing in this game. Though not as many mods, but still, has lots of choices in Nexus. Way more stable with mods compare to Skyrim. However, by no means I dislike Skyrim and Fallout series with all their faults. I like them even with the faults I mentioned. If Bugthesda games have plenty of value in bangs for bucks, then this game gives me the same feeling without the bugs, ctds, and frustration. Plus the characters don't look like potatoes compare to the Bethesda titles of it's age. If you are still considering this title at this price, I don't think there are much that can satisfy you in this world of gaming as it is.

Even after 10 years this game feels so good to play. It's a must play for RPG fans.

If you're a fan of KOTOR, New Vegas, or any Choice & Consequence RPG, Dragon Age: Origins is pretty much a must play title. The depth of Role Play through your character Choices, Dialogue, and Gameplay is astounding. Be a Holy Knight seeking order and the restraint of mages, be a Dread Knight who (through Arcane Warrior) uses magic and strength to bring the world under your heel, be a blood mage seeking to further their own power and authority. The game is incredible! That said, its old. KOTOR itself is known for crashing and is an older game, but DA:O outshines it here by miles. You will crash constantly and bugs that are literally eleven years old remain. For instance, one companion (Shayle) literally has an ability that does not work in the game as packaged and must be modded to function. At one point, I broke an encounter in the Awakening DLC by using a spell to turn an enemy to fight with the party, but after the fight was over they didn't attack when the spell wore off and my character literally walked through the world as the game didn't know what to do with itself. SAVE OFTEN, but its worth the fight for this masterpiece that puts modern games to shame. No game since this era of New Vegas and DA:O has come close to being a true C&C RPG. Fair warning, the first 2-4 hours of this game are abysmal. Don't judge the game off that, just push through until you get to truly explore the world map and the writing has a chance to shine.