Customer Reviews

Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition

5 star:		(114)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Here we go again... Bioware releases another game and I lose another 100+ hours of my life to gaming. After 11 hours of play (completing 8% of the story) I thought I'd share a few thoughts in case you're considering purchasing this game.

What's good:

Bioware RPG's always have great stories with deep background and entertaining character interactions. This one does not disappoint. New for this game are multiple character opening stories-- hence the "origins" in the title. Depending on your class and race, you experience an extended opening that really sets the stage for your character and gives you something to think about. The opening for the mage included two quests to play through and a several difficult decisions to make before it merged with the main story line.

Voice acting is excellent, graphics are good and 1080p (though nothing like Metal Gear Solid or GTA4). Combat is fast, furious, and just a little out of control-- and exciting.

What's bad:

I had hoped to see the next generation of RPG, but the game's architecture feels like reused modules from other Bioware games. Character gen is from Mass Effect, 3rd person view and movement from KOTOR, inventory mechanics and interface much like Baldur's Gate. It's all competently designed, but feels a little worn. But maybe Bioware is suffering from Pixar Syndrome - if it doesn't outdo itself with each new release it seems plain.

My only real complaint is that character attributes and abilities are not sufficiently explained. The small paper manual says things are explained in detail in the in-game help but that is not the case.

Lastly:

Be aware that this game isn't suitable for kids. It's a mature game with some disturbing subject matter-- that's why Bioware calls it a "dark fantasy." Kudos to Bioware for aiming for a serious game, but know what you're buying before putting it on the holiday gift list for your little ones. (Wait until after they're in bed and have an epic time playing it yourself!)

I cannot praise this game enough! it will be one of those I play again and again!
the size and scope of the game is incredible. when I started off I'd wager I spent two hours learning about my character's background.
you pick one of many origins (i.e. elf, dwarf, human, etc)(I chose Elf Mage)
and then begin with your origin story (which is like watching a full length movie and so well written the time just flys by)
and then you're tasked with your first quest and the game begins.
this game has more freedom of choice then most, such as make a deal with a demon, or kill it to save a child. (it offers you Powers Not to kill it)
some of the quests have moral choices that will really pull on your emotions about people and things like power over friendship and the feel you have an impact upon the surrounding world.everything you choose to do has a "ripple effect" so your action will be known throughout the world. the characters control via one of two ways,
one is using the hack & slash method though this is harder then hitting pause so you can set all your mages attacks etc.
there's a lot of micromanagement in this but for loot mongers and rpg lovers this will be one of the years ultimate treats I assure you. there seems to be loot everywhere for those that search every area rather thourough. I also must say the amount of DLC available at this time for the collectors edition is amazing. (non collector edition owners will pay 6.99 and 14.99 for both dlc packs)
the graphics are excellent (though not mind blowing)
particle effects are wickedly done and the quests are crafted well enough to let you know you have many approaches to each "situation"
and will pull at your emotions. if you weren't lucky enough to get this collectors edition no worries I know the goodies will be released as DLC to everyone eventually since they listed prices (wardens keep 6.99 and the stone prisoner 14.99)
you have many abilities such as settinhg traps, stealing, dual wielding and so much more. while the game may be a bit "baldurs gat-ish) it's the BEST RPG on ps3 without a doubt.
the skill trees are similar to those you've seen in baldurs gate, diablo II and others. another thing is they must have over 200+ voice actors since I have not heard ANY voices repeat.
excellent actors such as Tim Curry, Kate Mulgrew, Claudia Black and more!
an excellent creature variety, large skill trees,
great loot and D&D style gameplay make this title
one of my all time fav's.

Graphics: Excellent and crispy. not mind blowing but perfect for me 4 1/2 stars great spell effects! excellent creature models and good variety of them.

Sound: the voice work is Top Notch and hundreds of actors
even the crickets put on a great perfomance! 5 stars!
the sound is a star here, the voice talent is top notch.

Gameplay: the micromanagement might put a few off but most will never let go of the controller since they got the controls so spot on for the ps3 on this title. it's amazing! 5 stars.
the controls are well mapped to the ps3 controller.

Fun: Yes Yes Yes! betray a friend or help him in a "forbidden" quest, help a grey warden or not?, kill a demon or trust the mouse? so many choices it's unreal! want to slay a dragon? you can!
want to go into dungeons and hack away, you can!
it's a Mature game so some of the things you can do are a tad graphic and as someone reminded me you end every battle absolutely painted in blood.
the game is brilliant what more can I say? 5 Stars!!

Overall: the package wraps up nicely into a 5 star Must Have!
the Gods at Bioware have greated the best "baldurs gate" style game yet! it's brilliant! you have to buy it asap if you don't you're missing THE BEST RPG experience of the year and possibly in my lifetime. (it's Very similar to Baldurs gate Dark Alliance)
this coming from a Hardcore
70's D&D player!!!
that's what I'd call an endorsement!
Dragon age origins is the RPG to buy.

EDIT: the Ultimate edition ships the 25th with ALL the DLC and the Awakenings disc!


Buy it here (ultimate edition)
Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition

The PS3 version is 17.3% better than the 360 version for 4.2 reasons.
The 360 version is 13.7% better than the PS3 version for 2.4 reasons.
Which version is better for you will be determined by your saving throw.

NO SPOILERS

I picked up both versions. I have two identical TVs, one bedroom, one den, both 50" 1080p Panasonic G10s. For this review I put them side by side in the den, PS3 hooked up to one, 360 to the other, and choose the same origin story. I played the PS3, my wife played the 360, we both took the day off of work, a "Bioware Holiday."

BIOWARE

The Bioware RPG is one of my favorite video game genres. KOTOR 1 is still my favorite story. I played through Mass Effect 7 times. If you like Bioware, you will like Dragon Age.

KOTOR 2 GRAPHICS

Bioware didn't make KOTOR 2. Until now. Dragon Age's graphics in general look like a last generation game, upconverted to HD. And why should they not? This game was 5 years in the making. Personally, if I could wave a magic wigglestick, I would magically wish the graphics into the year 2069, to play in my PS9 in my flying car. Unfortunately, I live in a condo that doesn't allow wigglesticking. So the choice is (A) Play the Bioware game. (B) Don't play the Bioware game. (C) Eat a cup cake. No one plays Bioware games for the graphics. You play for the CYOA storytelling.

6 COMPLETE CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE NOVELS

Dragon Age is 10 Novels long. With 6 unique hero journeys. That can be twisted good or naughty. Warrior. Magic. Thief. Hybrid-Hybrid. Bioware is the only developer on the planet that makes this kind of beautiful uniqueness. This kind of awesomeness only comes around once every few years. Is this flavor of awesomeness perfect? No. Is amateur pornography perfect? No. Sometimes the pacing is off, or the dialogue excessive, but it gets the job done. The job is to experience a genuine human story--even if you're a lesbian elf. Dragon Age is fantastic video game storytelling. And better written than most fantasy novels.

BLOOD SPLATTER OR POTPOURRI?

I'm going to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt and believe that after battles my characters are splattered with blood and not potpourri. It's hard to tell visually, but I don't think they would censor themselves because this game is, like, totally Mature.

GAY SEX - NO NUDITY

My wife likes lesbian threesomes. In books. In movies. In video games. In our kids' crayon drawings. She had never played a Bioware game before, but she likes role playing, and I told her Dragon Age has lesbian threesomes. Now, like with most video games, the depiction of sex isn't much more sophisticated visually than taking two barbie dolls and slapping them together. And there's no nudity. Because Bioware understands the genuine human condition--that people make the special love with their cloths on-- even if you're a bi-sexual dwarf. So if you like realisticly-sized breasts well-covered with beige felt bikinis, then you, my friend, are in for a PG-13 flavored treat.

CASUAL VS HARDCORE

My wife played on easy, I played on normal. If you're an uber-genius, like me, who enjoys micromanagement, obscure RPG tactics, and general strategery... Then prepare to spend a lot of time, with the game paused, in clunky interface menus, because that's how real men play. That's how my grandpappy played his Bioware games, and his grandpappy before him, back when Bioware wasn't even Canadian, when they were still French, and the TVs had 11" screens and were powered by fire--usually dry hickory. So if you want that kind of authentic gaming experiece, you can have it. But if you just want to enjoy the story, crank that menu to easy, slump back in the couch, and unbuckle your pants for a good time.

PS3 VS 360

Like with all games, it's a choice between graphics vs framerate. The PS3 has slightly better textures, color saturation, contrast level, resolution. The 360 is less pretty but smoother. The PS3 is the supermodel with arthritis. The 360 is a Ukrainian gymnast. You get to choose who you want to take to bed. But since all you're going to do in bed is talk... It's not such a big deal. Unless you put two 50" plasmas right next to each other, you're not going to see the difference. I'm going to keep the PS3 version (because I like the controller better) and give my 360 copy to my favorite charity FVGFBO that provides fantastic video games for blind orphans.

BUY IT, PLAY IT, LOVE IT


* UPDATE

I have played 115 hours, beaten the game twice, tried three of the six origin stories, watched every sex scene, won every topless hottie boss battle, and found "teh secret nipplz." Personally, I feel this is the best Bioware game to date, the best written video game of all time, and a genuine evolution of the Bioware formula. For those of you fleeing in terror from Adult Content, know that, like in real life, bi-sexual dwarf sex is awkward, optional, and over in less than a minute. You can get through the whole game without "going hairy."

Deluxe edition stuff at the very end.

If you don't want to read my retarded ode to Bioware, please skip ahead to where it says, "Actual Review!".

Ah, Bioware. You're like an old girlfriend. The one who defined love for me (1). Then you hurt me (2). I still loved you, but I didn't understand; why did you have to do that?

You went your way and I went mine. Eventually I learned to forget. I met new people; sometimes I'd fall in love, but it was never quite the same (3).

We'd see each other every couple years, and we'd have a lot of fun for a night or two (4). But other times I thought to myself, "What are you doing with your life? We could be happy together! Why are you doing this? (5). After these ultimately disappointing hookups I'd always dig up our old photos and go through them (6). I'm not ashamed to say I cried a little.

You always told me you were searching for something. Learning who you were, and how to be.

Then, one day in early November, you called me. You said, "I know now; I know who I am. I know where I belong: with you." And then you came back home to me.

Then it all became so clear; you HAD been learning. It was the old you, but a new version! Everything past was prologue to this; the version of you I always knew was there. I just needed to have faith, and you'd see it too, and we could get back what we had, what we'd always known was us.

I love you Bioware. I realize now I've always loved you. Thank you for being in my life.

Answer Key!

1. Baldur's Gate I and II, the infinity engine that led to Icewind Dale, Fallout, and Planescape

2. Neverwinter Nights

3. The Elder Scrolls, Neverwinter Nights 2, FFX, FFXII

4. KOTOR, Mass Effect

5. Jade Empire, Sonic RPG

6. all those replays of BGII

ACTUAL REVIEW!

This is the best cRPG experience I've had in ten years. It becomes very clear within the first few minutes of your Origin story that you're experiencing gaming history. Not the revolutionary, innovative, awesome new mechanic kind of gaming history. This is analogous to a new album from your favorite artist that's been doing experimental side-projects for the last few years, and now comes out with a solid, deep, meaningful effort in a well-established form.

All the old ingredients are here: rich, meaningful character relationships; deep, tactically challenging combat; well written, thought-provoking dialogue trees. In short, everything you knew Bioware was capable of, but hasn't been fully present in any of their games since BGII.

Don't get me wrong; I've liked almost all of their games since then (Jade Empire and the Sonic RPG being the exceptions). It's just that none have fully satisfied me, or they've left me with the nagging feeling that something's just not quite right (re: KOTOR and Mass Effect feel slightly underdone).

This game is an instant classic, from a master of the genre. It's the kind of game that will be added to the roster of eminently replayable games (BGII, Fallout 1+2, Morrowind, Final Fantasy [pick your favorite], etc.). It's as good as or better than all of those.

Now, those of you that have NOT played Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Icewind Dale, NWN2, beware.

As evidenced by the very few negative reviews, the ad campaign for this game is not very representative of the content. This is a true western RPG, especially if you're getting it on the PC. Combat is challenging on every difficulty mode but easy.

IT IS BY NO MEANS a hack-and-slash or action RPG!!!

I still recommend it, but be prepared to open your mind to a new experience.

For those of you trying to decide on which version to get, here are some things:

If you played and loved Baldur's Gate, and got it because you bought into the "spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate" thing, get it for the PC, no question.

On the console, the camera is locked in behind the character in the style of Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect. This is fine for those who fell in love with Bioware since their console years began, but not if you want to play it for full tactical enjoyment.

Also, if you have a capable PC, the graphics are far superior to the consoles, which is often the case.

360 vs. PS3?

PS3 looks better, 360 moves smoother. 6 of 1.

Don't hesitate. Buy this game.
Learn it,
Live it,
Love it:

Bioware is Back.

P.S. For those of you getting the Deluxe Edition, the added content is completely worth it. You don't have to feel cheated; they did it right. Worth every last penny.

PS3 owners have been dying for a good RPG to hit the console and Bioware delivers with Dragon Age: Origins. RPGs have become few and far between and it is nice to finally have a game that is defiantly worth the full $60 price tag.

This game has six different origin stories that you can choose when you create your character. Each origin story is a small little start to the game that basically explains where your character comes from, and why they are getting involved in the story's main plot. Each origin story is completely unique which gives some good replay value. The game play time of the origin stories is about 2 hours. It can be longer or shorter depending on the type of player you are. The six origins are: Human Noble, Mage, City Elf, Dwarf Noble, Dwarf Commoner, Daelish Elf.

As you can guess from the origin stories you have three races to choose from: Human, Dwarf, and Elf. The stereotypical three races in fantasy games. Mages can only be humans or elves. Your choice in race and origin story both have an effect on your characters base stats.

You also get the choice of three classes: Warrior, Rogue, or Mage. At first that sounds pretty crappy only having three choices, but there are specializations that you come across later in the game. For example a rogue can become a bard and a mage can become a shapeshifter. So as you play, the choices will begin to open up. You automatically get two specializations as you progress through the game. You can get more though depending on how much exploration you do in the game (quests and reading books).

Every origin story ends at the same spot; your character being recruited into the Gray Wardens. Gray Wardens are warriors who fight the darkspawn. This is where the main plot of the game takes off and your off to start your adventure. While the origin story is only a couple hours, you still get great replay value out of the game because everywhere you will come across choices where you have to make a decision that effects the game. Each time you play through you can choose different options and make the rest of the story different.

Combat in the game is highly customizable. The basic formula is your characters all auto-attack, so you only press the 'X' button once. It is not a hack and slash type game in this regard. While you are auto-attacking you can use spells or abilities to do more damage, do crowd control, or turn the tide of the battle. You can do combos, for example you can freeze an enemy then cast your stone fist spell to shatter them and instantly kill them. You can put an oil slick on the ground then use a fire spell to light the oil on fire for some extra damage. You need to use caution though, friendly fire is possible!

You have three basic options for combat. Full AI control where your party members act on their own. You can customize that AI in a rather extensive way, similar to Final Fantasy XII gambit system. The second way to play is to take direct control of your party members, switching from your main character to a party member to make them use a specific ability or spell. The third option is full control where you pause the game and issue specific commands to every character and they never do more than auto-attack unless you tell them to. The choice is yours on how you want to play.

The graphics in this game are to be honest kind of dated. They are not mind blowing and you will not go "WOW!" when you see them. That said, they are not horrible either. This game was in development for a very long time which probably contributes to them being dated. The PS3 version does have some frame rate problems, but they are not game breaking. It is enough to notice, but not really that bad and after awhile you stop noticing. It's really right on the line of being able to notice and not being there at all.

Character customization is as good as you can get. You get to assign your atribute points (strength, willpower, magic, constitution, etc) yourself, you get to pick skills however you want (some require minimum attribute points), and you get to pick the spells/abilities you want (again, some require minimum attribute points). If you don't like this level of control, you can press a button and the game will auto-level your character. This customization also extends to your party; you control how they level up and what they learn. In addition, your party will continue to gain levels even if they are not in your active party (you get more playable characters then you can use at one time) so you don't have to worry about leaving someone behind.

Initially when you create your character you can also fully change their looks. There are lots of sliders to play with, not just a couple like most games. You can also have any character be female or male.

This game has a HUGE story to it. There is lots of lore all over the place and you can spend hours reading it all. There is also romance for those who want to do that, your main character can get into relationships with other characters and there are some steamy scenes. It's PG-13, you won't find full up nudity.

With that I'll go into the pros and cons.

Pros:
+Great combat system - play how you want!
+Several hours of gameplay
+Promise of two years of DLC support from Bioware
+Great replay
+Great character customization
+Great Story

Cons:
-Poor frame rate at times
-Jerky cutscenes
-Dated graphics
-Limited camera (3rd person only, fixed distance)

Scores:
Gameplay: 5/5
Graphics: 3/5
Sound: 4/5
Replay: 5/5

Overall (not an average): 4/5

I'm typically harsh with reviews and am a true believer of using the full scale. I consider 3 stars to be 'average' and not bad like most people. 5 stars is perfect, 4 is above average, 3 is average, 2 is below average, 1 is awfull. I would consider this game to be above average. It is not perfect, but it is really good.

Buy or rent? Buy!

In brief: if you like role-playing, and you have a PS3, this is the game you've been waiting for. Don't hesitate. Get it.

Pros:

+ Role playing for real, here. Your character choices determine who you are and how you start, and your choices really do determine how things turn out, and what other characters think of you.

+ Beautiful graphics. In particular, the character appearance integrates perfectly into the gameplay. That's not just some random body-shape fighting or walking around out there, that's *you*, funky hair, interesting tattoos and all. No one looks weird or distorted either.

+ The automatic notes are the best I've ever seen. Quests are tracked carefully, and where you should be going is easy to figure out. Whole conversations are logged. A "Codex" keeps information about any new person, place, or thing.

+ Gets going fast. After a brief, skippable movie and personalized intro, you're into the game. No lengthy, boring tutorial.

+ There are a good number of character options, without being overwhelming.

+ Everything is so well done and realistic, it's highly immersive. Just what an RPG should be.

+ No DRM. Instead, each game comes with a unique code you can redeem for bonus equipment, through the Playstation Network. THIS is how anti-piracy should be done. (Though this hasn't been as big an issue on the PS3 as on the PC.)

Cons (all pretty minor!):

- Not terribly original, at least as far as I've explored. The movie scenes look straight out of The Lord of the Rings movies. The story is interesting but not amazing. Gameplay is reminiscent of Bioware's D&D based games, like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights... but not exactly.

- Dialogue is mostly played out by actors in real time -- which is great! -- only stopping on occasion to let you decide what you'll say. But there's no real pause button! The only way to pause a conversation if you get interrupted is to use the PS button, which is slow, a bit clunky, and not what it's really meant for.

- The cut scenes, while beautiful, are a bit jerky, especially when they first load up.

Neutral:

* Very violent! Great if you like that sort of thing, not so good if you're squeamish. You're literally blood spattered after a big battle, and stay that way for a while. I imagine the settings can be tweaked, but that's the default.

* Everything is new, if, as I said, not especially original. This can be good or bad depending on how familiar you like your games. I found myself stumped on several occasions wondering what talent to pick or attribute to train, because they're all unfamiliar, and not explained all that well. And so often RPGs promise amazing skills that never turn out to be useful... though so far, they all seem well used.

* You must stay in a certain area until you complete certain storyline quests. You cannot wander freely. Some people like that, some people hate it. I'd rather wander freely myself, like Oblivion, but I'm fine with it.

* No multiplayer.

Overall: Really, really pleased with Dragon Age: Origins. I can't come up with a single significant complaint. Unless it becomes horribly buggy, I don't see coming up with one either.

Graphics: ***
It's been said before, and I'll say it again: the graphics aren't what makes this game. I think the playstation 2 could handle graphics close to what this game has. But the graphics aren't really bad either. Just don't expect a visual thrill ride.

Audio/Music: ***
The audio is decent. The voice actors are on par. No one will be winning any oscars here, but it isn't B movie quality either. I did notice a number of mismatched lip syncing. The music was decent. Nothing to write home about, but it's sufficient to get the job done.

Game play: *** and a half
The game play is definitely above par. There really weren't any times where I got bored with the game during my 50 hour play through. There are tons of items, and the characters have a lot ways they can be leveled up or upgraded. One of the best things about this game is the part members. You get to chat with the people in your party throughout the game. The characters' attitudes toward you will change depending on what you say to them. This really added a lot to the game IMHO. When you finish a quest, you get to chat with your party members to break up the pace of things.
Now, the reason I can't give this the last star and a half for game play has to do with a couple things. (There is no plot spoiler, but some folks consider game player spoilers to be spoilers, so be forewarned, that some game play is revealed ahead...) For starters, there are no random encounters in this game. Monsters do not respawn at all. Once an area is cleared, it never has monsters to fight again, unless a story or quest happens to take place there later on. I felt like that really forced me to move faster through the game than I wanted to. Sometimes it's fun to just stay in an area and unleash a can of whoop a##, ya know? Well, too bad, you can't do that here. You just have to keep moving forward.
Another game play problem is that since you can't grind away on monsters, you really only have a certain limited amount of money to spend in the entire game. This made me feel like I couldn't ever spend much money because I never really knew if the next town might have a killer weapon that I wouldn't be able to afford because I couldn't grind monsters in order to save up money. Yes, you can loot people, but that amounts in a really small amount of money. But hey, I don't knock it, it's just that, looting people is far less fun than grinding monsters IMHO.
So to sum it up: the game play has many interesting elements. But just like the original Mario Bros, where the screen scrolled to the side at a set pace and forced you to keep on your toes and move forward, this game is like that as well. I does not allow you to sit back and really savor the monsters in an area. It's a shame, and THE reason why it does not get more than 3.5 stars.


Overall, the game is a 3 star game. I had a lot of fun on my first play through. I highly recommend it for 50 hours of tight and fun game play, but I don't have a whole lot of desire to play it again. Yes, there is lots of replay value in all the choices you can make. There are a number of major game changing decisions to make, and that gives the game nice replay value. But I hate the fact that I know I'll be fighting all the same monsters, in exactly the same numbers, in exactly the same place, all scripted exactly the same way it was before.

Some randomness to the monster encounters would have been great. Try it, you'll like it once!

I cannot praise this game enough! it will be one of those I play again and again!
you pick one of many origins (i.e. elf, red warden etc)(I chose Elf Mage)
and then begin with your origin story (which is like watching a full length movie and so well written the time just flys by)
and then you're tasked with your first quest and the game begins.
some of the quests have moral choices and pull on your emotions of things like power over friendship and the feel you have an impact upon the surrounding world. the characters control via one of two ways,
one is using the hack & slash method though this is harder then hitting pause so you can set all your mages attacks etc.
there's a lot of micromanagement in this but for loot mongers and rpg lovers this will be one of the years ultimate treats I assure you. there seems to be loot everywhere for those that search every area rather thourough. I also must say the amount of DLC available at this time for the collectors edition is amazing.
the graphics are excellent (though not mind blowing)
particle effects are wickedly done and the quests are crafted well enough to let you know you have many approaches to each "situation"
if you weren't lucky enough to get this collectors edition no worries I know the goodies will be released as DLC to everyone eventually since they listed prices (wardens keep 6.99 and the stone prisoner. 14.99)

Graphics: Excellent and crispy. 4 stars great spell effects!

Sound: the voice work is Top Notch and hundreds of actors
even the crickets put on a great perfomance! 5 stars!

Gameplay: the micromanagement might put a few off but most will never let go of the controller since they got the controls so spot on for the ps3 on this title. it's amazing! 5 stars.

Fun: Yes Yes Yes! betray a friend or help him in a "forbidden" quest, help a grey warden or not?, kill a demon or trust the mouse? so many choices it's unreal! want to slay a dragon? you can!
want to go into dungeons and hack away, you can!
the game is brilliant what more can I say? 5 Stars!!

Overall: the package wraps up nicely into a 5 star Must Have!
the Gods at Bioware have greated the best "baldurs gate" style game yet! it's brilliant! you have to buy it asap if you don't you're missing THE BEST RPG experience of the year and possibly in my lifetime.
this coming from a Hardcore
70's D&D player!!!
that's what I'd call an endorsement!

Dragon age origins (regular ed.)
Dragon Age: Origins

collectors ed.
Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition

With Dragon Age's arrival, the landscape of the cRPG has altered forever and set up a very interesting standard for the next decade.

Until this game arrived, I would've sited Bethesda's Oblivion as the greatest example of the genre and despite my praise of Dragon Age, I would still suggest it's a tie. Why? Because they are, at heart, very different experiences - both of them astonishing and wonderful in their own right.

OBLIVION (and it's none too shabby older brother MORROWIND), are sandbox games. This means you can literally go anywhere and do whatever you want. And OBLIVION delivered on this promise in a big way. If there was a lake or even an ocean in front of you, you just jumped in. Then you could swim around and check out the fish, the flora and anything else going on down there. Where OBLIVION delivered was on absolute freedom - a near virtual other life experience. It was wonderful, unique and imaginatively designed. OBLIVION, by it's nature (and this is true of the previous Elder Scrolls games) was a single character game. You could control one character, and for the most part, they were a loner, taking on dank castles, tunnels and gothic netherworlds as a solo fighter. OBLIVION's limitations were really only story. Since you could travel where ever you wanted on a literally gigantic map, the plots and stories encountered were nicely written but (much like real life) small vignettes rather than part of a detailed connected narrative, and because you were on your own, relationships in the plot were mostly superficial.

Enter the Dragon Age. Like Bethesda, Bioware built this game on their own magnificent legacy of stellar cRPG's, most notably the Baldur's Gate series. But this time, they've literally done for cRPG's what 'Lord of the Rings' did for printed fantasy. They've written a mythical story that is so detailed and compelling, players will want to be in this world for a long time, and I'm talking years from now. You see, the Dragon Age is just beginning (hence the subtitle 'Origins' - and anyone who has played over 10 hours of this will know what I mean - Fereldon has become their new home. And with 'Awakenings' on the horizon, expect more expansions to come.

So what do you get in playing terms that differentiates this from OBLIVION? Well, most notably, you are controlling a party of up to 4 characters rather than just one, and whilst you have a lot of freedom to travel in this game, there are limits to where you can go. The reason for this is that the game is lifting the level of plot to a transcendent level and some control of the players journeying is necessary to keep you within this story ark. You won't find yourself standing around in a city street wondering what to do as you would in Elder Scrolls, this game keeps moving along like a great movie or novel. Elder Scrolls purposely leaves this up to you and that approach also has it's own charm. Dragon Age privileges story above all else.

Interaction with NPC's and other party members is far superior to the Elder Scrolls games. And quite seriously, the NPC's here are written and performed better than in 90% of motion pictures. It doesn't surprise me as Bioware have always shined in this department, and Dragon Age is their crowning glory in the writing stakes (so far).

You will find yourself making deeply complex decisions with no real clue as to which one will work out best. For example, do you back one contender for the throne or another? To make matters trickier, members of your party disagree as to what you should do! Sounds a bit like life, doesn't it? Well, you wanted to live an alternate reality, so you'll just have to make a decision and bear the consequences...

You can have relationships with characters that are lengthy and complex and yes, as many reviewers have pointed out, you can have romantic relationships with other characters; you can kiss them and even bed them. And yes there are occasional same sex relationships. The most important thing to know about this aspect of the game, is that it is brilliantly written and acted - you are in good hands here with this aspect of the plot. If you are worried about your kids taking this material on, know also that it's never graphic or degrading or immature (unlike, say the average Brittany Spears music video). This aspect of the game definitely strengthens it's role playing power - edging it closer and closer to rivaling the complex dynamics of old school table-top role playing. And it's also where it shows up the Elder Scrolls series for being a bit trite with it's use of NPC's. Many may find Dragon Age's mature approach offensive, but quite honestly, it's done with such great skill and remember, many people found Elvis shaking his ass offensive in the 1950's - but he carried the future with him.

This game is not for the casual gamer. If you want to have some fun shooting Nazi's or Aliens and like having a range of around 8 weapons to choose from, you are seriously out of your depth here - go straight to Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls or Bioshock - all wonderful games, but Dragon Age is as complex as it gets and that's why it's so much fun to live another life in Fereldon - 4 of them at once in fact. One of the appeals of Dragon Age is that you don't really master it's vast array of combat skills, spells and character interactions until you've played it through in it's entirety! Then you start again with a new character, say a Mage rather than a fighter, or a human rather than a dwarf and play out an entirely new origin story, this time with some mastery of it's many rules, equipment and skill system.

Unlike almost all other console games (excepting Elder Scrolls), there are dozens of different ways of taking out boss enemies in Dragon Age, and when battling a team of rogues or an army of darkspawn, there are hundreds of different ways of going about it.

Once you truly get into the combat of this game, you'll be queuing up attack spells, special attacks with customized weapons, traps, missile attacks, shapechanging spells, time bomb spells and combat modes for each of your four characters and watching the battleground sizzle with flares, explosions and blood. And until you've battled a high dragon, you haven't lived (although you'll probably die more than you'd like as well). It's something else, but it takes time to discover and time to master. That's why it's so good.

Dragon Age is quite simply nothing short of astonishing. Finally, great writers have made an epic RPG video game. I'll leave it to the other reviewers here to point out the differences between the PC version and the consoles. They all convey the same story, so the experience is largely great no matter the platform. And as for the reviewers complaining about graphics, well, maybe they could have been slightly better, but they are still damn good; the world and backgrounds in my opinion are equal to Oblivion, but they have more variety; the character animations are not up to 'Uncharted' level or 'Demon's Souls' but both of those games are far less complex in terms of gameplaying. The graphics in Dragon Age add to the game and won't bother you.

If you love story and complex game play, this is the one.

It's opened up a door through which many wonderful games will arrive over the next decade. And those games will finally start to rival movies in their ability to tell epic, complex stories with great actors and great writing for the player who demands sophisticated, imaginative entertainment. If that sounds like you, then you owe it to yourself to experience Bioware's new masterpiece.

I approached Dragon Age as a committed Oblivion player looking for another fantasy RPG. Whereas I started out hoping the two games would be quite similar, instead I find myself enjoying the differences. If you like Oblivion, I hope this review helps you decide if you would like Dragon Age. I apologize in advance for the huge review.

Dragon Age isn't like Oblivion in that it isn't truly an open world. Rather, it is a series of environments which you travel between in pursuit of the game's main quest. Within any one environment you may travel freely doing what you wish, but when you're ready to move on you can't necessarily return to a favorite village or camp to stock up on supplies, heal, etc. This raises the stakes somewhat and forces you to make tough tactical choices. And making difficult tactical choices is one of the recurring themes of the game.

Character development is much simpler. You collect experience points to reach new levels, then increase your attributes and skills however you like, so long as it is appropriate for your class. This is of course quite different than Oblivion where you use the skills you favor and level up after you've honed enough skills. If you enjoyed 'working the system' in Oblivion to create just the perfect character you may find Dragon Age's system to be a bit simplistic. On the other hand, having the simpler system prevents the trivia of character development from interfering with the story.

And the story is very enjoyable. The story 'size' is probably similar to combining all of the main quests in Oblivion but since they form a single cohesive story it seems much larger. Like an epic story a la Lord of the Rings. Adding to the cinematic feel are the cut scenes and dialog scenes. There aren't really any cut scenes in Oblivion (okay, maybe one at the end of the main quest). They occur frequently in Dragon Age, almost always to move the main quest. They provide the glue that connects the various in-game segments. For example, after your party heads out on the road you may see a cut scene showing a plot being hatched far from you. The dialog scenes are also quite well done. As opposed to the dialogs you have in oblivion where you are looking straight at the face of one of the characters, the look is much smoother, with an over-the-shoulder view that conveys body language, background and shows other characters. The camera will close-in on a character to emphasize certain moments. At other times characters talking to you will strut around while speaking just as they would in a movie or play. Definitely a step up from Oblivion, even if the 'pick an option and see what happens' approach is recognizable.

One of the real treats in the game is the interactions between characters. Two members of your party will quibble or banter while you are walking along. If you stop and engage one of your party in a dialog you may find out they want to talk about something unexpected. Their background, the quest, your relationship. Again, very different from Oblivion where every conversation with a character is a strictly scripted encounter tied to the current quest. Some of these conversations will even be initiated by others in your party when back at camp. Some are laugh out loud funny. It really contributes to the feeling of being part of a larger story with the other characters.

Combat. This may be the aspect of the game that I have been the slowest to warm to. The major difference -as you will know from reading other reviews- is that you are quasi-controlling a larger party, not just your own character. Playing your own character well isn't enough; you have to set the tactics of your fellow adventurers if you hope to win any fights. This can be fairly time consuming, and a bit confusing at first. Some things you might want your fellow adventurers to do cannot be programmed. You may switch to controlling any of your party at almost any time, but this can be extremely confusing during combat, so the scripted tactics are your best bet.

That being said, there is a reward to tweaking the tactics and seeing them work in action. Part of the tactical challenge of the game, as is deciding on the best armor/weapons to use. And all multiplied times four characters. Surviving a tough fight -especially after getting it wrong a few times- is rewarding in its own right.

Finally, I'd like to comment on some of the complaints I have read about the PS3 version. I haven't had a single lock-up or glitch at any point in the game, and I've been playing for 40-plus hours. There is from time to time an extremely brief hesitation during conversations, probably while the game is loaded from disk. Never enough to be annoying and far less troubling than the delays/glitches/hiccups that occur in many games. I'm sorry that others have seen problems, but they certainly are not universal to the game on the PS3. There *may* have been a time or two where a fellow adventurer just sat there doing nothing, but if so then it was so rare as to not bother me.

So... Dragon Age should not be confused with Oblivion, but is an extremely enjoyable game in its own right. I've been playing for several hours a day pretty much every day since I got it. It presents unique challenges, unique rewards and some great story and action.