Dragon Age:Origins

Enchantment?

Enchantment!

So says Sandal, a "soft-skulled" (his own father's words) dwarf character in Bioware's latest opus, Dragon Age: Origins, and it serves to describe the game pretty accurately. From the moment the player chooses his race (between human, dwarf, and elf) and class (warrior, rogue, or mage), the game whisks him or her away into a fully realized fantasy world populated with memorable characters and horrifying monsters.

The game will be played differently every time through. The volume of choices the game presents to the player is staggering, and there is rarely a clear division between right and wrong. The only guide the player usually has is his or her own moral standards. The game does a wonderful job making the player feel involved in the telling of the story. The main quest involves the player's character joining the Grey Wardens, an elite group of protectors tasked with defending the land of Ferelden from the Blight. Every 400 years or so an evil entity referred to as the Archdemon conjures an army of undead demonic soldiers to wreak havoc, and as a Grey Warden, the player is driven to raise an army of humans, dwarves, and elves to repel this Blight. Obviously that isn't as easy as just asking them, and the player can expect to perform many quests and tasks to secure the favor of the various races. Each duty the player is asked to perform is varied and interesting though, so, unlike some Western role-playing games, I never felt like I was just going through the motions for story progression and better loot.

The mechanics of combat in DA:O are also very fluid and responsive. Each battle feels brutal and intense as the player and his party of companions (four total, including the player, at any given time) hack and slash through skeletons, demons, wolves, and other staple fantasy enemies. There are many different weapons, abilities, and spells for the party to choose from to keep things interesting, so it never felt to me I was repeating the same combat again and again. Sometimes, the combat can be very difficult, and the composition of the player's party can be crucial. Obviously the player can only control one character at a time during combat, so the very useful tactics system is important. The tactics system allows the player to dictate the actions of his or her companions by setting certain behaviors to be performed in specific situations. For example, the healer can have a tactic that prompts her to heal a party member when he or she is at less than 50% health. This system is not nearly as complicated as it seems and makes combat much more satisfying than constantly switching between characters.

I suggest this game be purchased by anyone and everyone. Because it is a Bioware product, though, there is a fairly large helping of wonderfully gory violence that may put off some players. Also, the romantic options that Bioware has become famous (infamous?) for are present here, giving players the option to have relationships with several companions, both male and female and of all three races. If these things aren't deal breakers (and I really hope they aren't) I command you to buy this game.