When I heard that there was a game coming out called Dragon Age I got all excited. I thought it was a new MMO and I literally did a booty dance right then and there the moment I learned about it. Then I found out it wasn't an MMO and the booty dance stopped. Still, I kept hearing people say how awesome it was going to be, and how much fun it was. I just had to try it. Boy, am I glad I did.
For those of you who don't know the story behind Dragon Age is a rich one. There are many different facets to the world that was created for the game. In this age (every 100 years makes up an age) there is another Blight. A Blight is an invasion of darkspawn that is lead by an archdaemon (a dragon), and the sole purpose is to destroy the world and take it over for evil. The Gray Wardens are an elite group of people who have undergone a drastic change (Not giving away any details. You have to play it to find it out.) and are able to sense darkspawn. They are even able to 'hear' the archdaemon from time to time. The Gray Wardens have been tasked with protecting Ferelden from the darkspawn invasion. It's been so long since the last Blight that people find it hard to believe there actually IS one. Still, the Wardens are recruiting and you have managed to get in their sites.
The actual gameplay is good. The UI is not difficult to figure out at all, the movement is self explanatory (Yay WASD movement.), and the different ways to access the same feature is genius for those of us who like to spice things up a bit (Yes, I am still talking about the game...). There are many different parts of the UI that I found interesting. There was a quest journal, of course, but there is also a codex journal which is updated as you click various things in world, or talk to various characters. It's a good way to go back and refresh your memory about all of the rich storylines. They really did not spare any details for this immersive game.
I absolutely LOVE the fact you can play different races (Human, Elf, and Dwarf) and get different storylines. You can also make choices as to how your character interacts with other characters throughout the game. Yes, you CAN play a female which also made me happy. There are even romance options (Yes, even some 'sex' scenes, but nothing too graphic. They, at least, kept their M for Mature rating. Good job, guys.). There are abilities in the game which also help your interactions with the other characters. I found the persuasion trait MOST effective, but some of you may like intimidation. My mom always did tell me you get more flies with honey...
The fighting is really, really good. Reminiscent of Baldur's Gate in the way you were able to position your people for maximum damage, and able to pause to figure things out as you go. That feature alone was very, very helpful. It's your choice which party members you take. It's completely dependent on your playing style, although some characters are better for certain types of fights than others. Hint: Do equip your characters with both ranged and melee. Trust me.
Overall, this game is the awesomesauce. I am supremely glad I was talked into trying it and can see myself playing through it multiple times as different races/classes/choices. Dragon Age has many different factors going for it; humor, creepiness, drama, intensity, and even some sadness (What?!? Maybe I DID tear up at some parts. Got a problem with that?!?). I managed to get lost so often in the game. I actually formed an attachment to the characters as I went through. It will be a very, very long time before I'm done with it totally.
In this gamer's opinion Dragon Age is a game you seriously want to play if you like RPG games AT all. Even if you don't, it'd be an excellent game to try them out on. Just... be sure to keep a clock nearby or something. There were multiple instances where I would start playing the game and five or six hours later finally realize I hadn't stopped yet. It's a bit addictive.
Kiss Rating: Rough and Raw..and we’d do it again!!
Publisher: BioWare
Developer: BioWare
Release Date:11/04/2009
Platforms: PC, Xbox, PS3
Played On: PC
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