Dragon Age™: Origins - Ultimate Edition

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!

DA:O netted me a handful of sleepless nights and missed classes back when it came out. I'm going to focus on the story and setting, because for me the combat, while fun, isn't really what makes this game shine. As others have said, it's a pretty standard story. It does gets credit for being one of the first major releases to present a GRRM-inspired "dark fantasy" fiction. You know, the type where knights and wizards share the stage with brutal politics, disturbing sorcery, and a sense that everything and everyone is tainted by some dark secret. But its real strong point is the delivery. The scenery and the background lore really take center stage here, simultaneously eclipsing and augmenting the characters and the main story itself. If you're the sort who likes to drink in the fictional world, who enjoys mysterious unexplored areas, and reading histories and illuminating tidbits often buried in poetry or deliberately obfuscating language, this is most assuredly a game you DON'T want to miss. SPOILER ALERT As an example, my favorite in-game setting are the dwarven Deep Roads. A gargantuan, half-collapsed, mostly-forgotten network of grand tunnels overrun with filth and horrors, and littered with disturbing secrets and the sad memories of a fallen civilization. Questing through them is a lonely and oppressive experience, making you glad to have your fellow party members around. They are also closely linked with that which is by far the most likable party member in the game (grumpy dwarf turned up to 11) and my favorite Origin story (dwarven noble). The Roads are one of my fondest gaming memories, right up there with watching the Enclave's oil rig go off in a mushroom cloud, and hearing Fall-From-Grace promise that we will find each other again though worlds and eons divide us. *sniff* SPOILERS END The sequels didn't live up to the original, with too much "coolness" and not enough old-fashioned storytelling. So enjoy DA:O for what it is. It stands on its own.

+An entirely new world to explore +Origins stories are interesting, though not worth building new characters for -Massive grind -There is only one best character (Blood Mage + Arcane Warrior) -Some of the characters are very boring, e.g. Alistair -Darkspawn are uninteresting -Filler DLC