Dragon Age Review

For the first several hours that I played Dragon Age, I thought to myself, “They might have done it. This might be the greatest game ever made.” By the end of the game I had changed that opinion, but I still think it's an excellent title and among the best RPGs ever created. A few issues try and for the most part fail to hold it back. Fortunately, the five years that Bioware poured into this game were not wasted.

Things what I think are great:

The Story – At its heart, Dragon Age is a game about talking to dudes. You'll talk to dwarves, elves, humans, good guys, bad guys, women, spirits, animals...all sorts of things. It is this at which the game excels most. No other RPG puts you in the shoes of the main character more successfully than this one. You'll feel like you're in control of the outcome of the story, and the hundreds of conversations in the game are all interesting and worth listening to. Sure, it doesn't use the fancy seamless conversation system of Mass Effect, and the main character stays silent, but the vast number of conversation options are worth it. If you want a game about talking to a massive cast of fantasy characters, this is your game.

The Origins – Not just a slightly lame subtitle, the 6 unique origin stories are a great way for the game to begin. Your actions in these origin stories are reflected across the rest of the game, and each one is fun and different enough to explore at least once. Also, they contain a beefy amount of content, coming in at a couple of hours each if you want to see everything they have to offer.

The Presentation – The graphics in this game are not the most amazing, but the art and style of the world make up for it. Dragon Age, more than any other Bioware game, presents a complete, detailed world, and it's quite a beauty to behold. The characters are well-designed and animated. Character weapons stick off of their bodies at odd angles and distances, but things like this are the exception, not the rule.

Things what I think are horrific:

The Balance – Okay, this is a massive game with hours and hours of content, so obviously not every enemy encounter can be perfectly tuned. Still, I found myself on several occasions backed into a bit of a corner, forced to cheese my way through fights with different tactics than I had been using up until that point. Some of this was probably my fault for not being prepared, but other times I felt like the game was being rather cheap. You might get through the game and not encounter any unbalanced situations, but I just thought I'd warn you it's totally possible to hit a wall.

The Micromanagement – Dragon Age eschews the real-time combat of Bioware's popular Mass Effect in favor of classic pseudo real-time combat with the ability to pause the game at any time. I say ability, but in order to play effectively, it's essential. It's true that the game includes an elaborate AI system for you and your party members, but this is a bit finicky and for effective use also requires you mess around with it a fair bit. I will admit that this style of combat is not my favorite thing in the world, and that this system does it better than most...just don't be surprised if you fair better by stopping to issue orders to your party members rather often.

The Social Networking Experiment – Bioware created their own social networking site that ties into this game. It tends to not work correctly.

Version Differences:

The PC is absolutely the way to play this, but if you can't, then the console version still provide a respectable experience. The only major thing lost in the console versions is the ability to switch to a classical overhead view like Bioware's old Baldur's Gate games. The console versions also don't have as slick an interface as the PC, and some of the textures look rather poor, moreso on the 360 than on the PS3.

This is a game that refuses to be held down by its issues, packed to the brim with character and content, and a story that you could enjoy again and again. It is the pinnacle of “Western RPGs,” and I heartily recommend it to fans of the genre. For newcomers or those just looking for the world's best interactive fantasy novel, play it on easy!

Dragon Age is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information, check out dragonage.bioware.com.


	Dragon Age Review…5 out of 5 By Alex Rowe For the first several hours that I played Dragon Age, I thought to myself, “They might have done it. This might be the greatest game ever made.” By the end of the game I had changed that opinion, but I still think it's an excellent title and among the best RPGs ever created. A few issues try and for the most part fail to hold it back. Fortunately, the five years that Bioware poured into this game were not wasted. Things what I think are great: The Story – At its heart, Dragon Age is a game about talking to dudes. You'll talk to dwarves, elves, humans, good guys, bad guys, women, spirits, animals...all sorts of things. It is this at which the game excels most. No other RPG puts you in the shoes of the main character more successfully than this one. You'll feel like you're in control of the outcome of the story, and the hundreds of conversations in the game are all interesting and worth listening to. Sure, it doesn't use the fancy seamless conversation system of Mass Effect, and the main character stays silent, but the vast number of conversation options are worth it. If you want a game about talking to a massive cast of fantasy characters, this is your game. The Origins – Not just a slightly lame subtitle, the 6 unique origin stories are a great way for the game to begin. Your actions in these origin stories are reflected across the rest of the game, and each one is fun and different enough to explore at least once. Also, they contain a beefy amount of content, coming in at a couple of hours each if you want to see everything they have to offer. The Presentation – The graphics in this game are not the most amazing, but the art and style of the world make up for it. Dragon Age, more than any other Bioware game, presents a complete, detailed world, and it's quite a beauty to behold. The characters are well-designed and animated. Character weapons stick off of their bodies at odd angles and distances, but things like this are the exception, not the rule. Things what I think are horrific: The Balance – Okay, this is a massive game with hours and hours of content, so obviously not every enemy encounter can be perfectly tuned. Still, I found myself on several occasions backed into a bit of a corner, forced to cheese my way through fights with different tactics than I had been using up until that point. Some of this was probably my fault for not being prepared, but other times I felt like the game was being rather cheap. You might get through the game and not encounter any unbalanced situations, but I just thought I'd warn you it's totally possible to hit a wall. The Micromanagement – Dragon Age eschews the real-time combat of Bioware's popular Mass Effect in favor of classic pseudo real-time combat with the ability to pause the game at any time. I say ability, but in order to play effectively, it's essential. It's true that the game includes an elaborate AI system for you and your party members, but this is a bit finicky and for effective use also requires you mess around with it a fair bit. I will admit that this style of combat is not my favorite thing in the world, and that this system does it better than most...just don't be surprised if you fair better by stopping to issue orders to your party members rather often. The Social Networking Experiment – Bioware created their own social networking site that ties into this game. It tends to not work correctly. Version Differences: The PC is absolutely the way to play this, but if you can't, then the console version still provide a respectable experience. The only major thing lost in the console versions is the ability to switch to a classical overhead view like Bioware's old Baldur's Gate games. The console versions also don't have as slick an interface as the PC, and some of the textures look rather poor, moreso on the 360 than on the PS3. This is a game that refuses to be held down by its issues, packed to the brim with character and content, and a story that you could enjoy again and again. It is the pinnacle of “Western RPGs,” and I heartily recommend it to fans of the genre. For newcomers or those just looking for the world's best interactive fantasy novel, play it on easy! Dragon Age is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information, check out dragonage.bioware.com.