Bioware, the geniuses behind Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and more recently Mass Effect, are back once again. Not only some of my favourite games of all time they’re also arguably the most significant titles in the RPG genre. Dragon Age Origins was to my mind a curious beast and I wasn’t quite sure what I’d make of it. Bioware have a history of pushing the genre forward and everything I saw before getting my hands on this game hinted at a wonderful hybrid and a modern classic. I wondered if it was possible, could this game really combine the likes of Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, and Oblivion? That’s a rhetorical question but the answer you’re looking for is yes and I’ll now spend the rest of this review telling you why this game is an absolute joy to play.

Dragon Age is epic along the lines of The Lords of the Rings. In Tolkien’s classic trilogy Frodo finds himself out in the middle of nowhere with the weight of the world on his shoulders. That’s what’s in store for you here. You’ll find yourself in the middle of a big bloody war and you’re Frodo, or Neo, or perhaps Crocodile Dundee, whatever helps you picture the scene. In sticking with RPG tradition you’re not entirely alone as you’ll encounter various other characters who will help you along the way.

Something in Mass Effect which struck a chord with me was the choice of a background story for your character. This was quite basic, and was only referred to on a couple of occasions, but it was a nice addition and I appreciated an attempt to flesh out your character. Dragon Age features an enhanced version of this device as you actually play out part of your character’s background prior to being swept away by the main adventure. There are three Races, Human, Elf, and Dwarf. Each come with a choice of background stories. After choosing to be an Elf I had an option of starting as either a traditional wild Elf in the forest or as a slave to Humans in a city. I opted for the latter and the prologue really helped to flesh out my character as a bitter and twisted Elf with a healthy distrust of Humans.

One aspect of Knights of the Old Republic which I really liked is the ability to switch between characters in your party. This gave you a greater level of control during combat and I was pleased to discover you can do the same thing here. The battles occur in real-time but it’s possible, while switching between characters, to have a much heavier tactical approach than you’d expect from such a game. More control over the battles can be had by using the combat tactics menus to instruct each character on how they should act in combat. You have control over the distance each character is to the fray so that Mages and Rogues can use spells and bows from a safer distance. You can also tell characters to be more aggressive, defensive, and even have them go after weaker or stronger enemies. The positioning of your character also plays a big part in battle as moving behind an enemy results in a back-stabbing attack which deals more damage.

There are some very interesting side-quests. One in particular involves an Elven tribal leader who told me of a curse which had befallen his people. Apparently a bunch of Werewolves were up to no good in the woods outside his village. He asked me to wander out into the woods, speak with the Wolf leader, and come to some sort of agreement. One of the characters in my party is a Witch who is blessed with the quite sexy ability to shape-shift. My party were ambushed and I watched as she transformed into a Black Bear and began tearing into two Werewolves. There aren’t words to describe how excited I felt upon seeing this. Awesome.

As they wander around the characters in your party will have short conversations with each other. These short conversations can often be quite humorous when you have a couple of the more eccentric characters in your party. This is similar to the short bursts of dialogue from supporting characters in the likes of GTA and Saints Row. In Dragon Age the dialogue during these moments is more character specific and it’s this type of attention to detail which makes it stand above similar titles.

The ability to view your Map, Equipment, Character Record, Skills, and Talents is common in RPGs but here you’ll notice additional screens. There is a Codex with an extensive array of information on Creatures, Items, Magic and Religion, Culture and History, Characters, Books and Songs, plus Notes and Quest-Related items in the game. Taking time out from the adventure to read books is something I enjoyed in Oblivion. I find that additional information and background stories help to suck you into the fictional world resulting in a richer and more enjoyable experience.

When people speak of incredible graphics they tend to focus on polygon heavyweights such as Gears of War. The futuristic shooter from Epic Games is blessed with undeniably impressive graphics but I also have a lot of love for Oblivion which took a different approach. Oblivion may have lacked in shine but it made up for this with an impressive scale and variety. The same is true of Dragon Age although DA does have superior graphics to Oblivion.  To offer one example I was blown away by the sheer size of the Dwarf kingdom. At first I didn’t notice as I busily ran around between characters, gathering different pieces of stories, but then I stopped and looked upwards. An enormous cavern with mighty statues. The entire game is like this and it helps to remind you of the enormity of your task. Nice graphics are one thing but this isn’t a painting and thankfully the animation in this game is also superb. Characters move in a realistic manner which makes for impressive looking battles.

Dragon Age has some wonderful music which should come as no surprise to fans of previous Bioware titles. Mass Effect has one of the best soundtracks in any game I’ve played. The music here isn’t quite on par with that but then again I do lean towards science fiction over fantasy. As with Mass Effect before it some well-known personalities have provided their voices and they do a fine job. Tim Curry, who needs little introduction, lends his voice to Arl Howe. Kate Mulgrew, most famous for playing Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, voices Flemeth. The best voice-work is done by the wonderful Claudia Black of Farscape and Stargate SG-1. She does a great job as Morrigan but is no stranger to videogames. Prior to Dragon Age she most notably voiced characters in God of War, Crysis, and Uncharted 2. I hope her future, besides deserved TV and movie roles, involves more of this type of work as I never tire of hearing her voice.

This game features quite a lot of blood and I appreciate that. Don’t get me wrong, I am not some twisted blood-thirsty fiend, well, not completely, but I do expect a healthy level of blood from a game which takes place in a war-torn land. Characters walk around after battle, and take part in casual conversations, with blood splattered over their clothing and faces. While travelling around the map, as the next area is loading, an eerie blood trail marks the route your party has taken. In combat your characters will occasionally pull off special finishing attacks such as decapitating the enemy or leaping at a giant and stabbing a sword into its face.

Not only is this a fantastic game but it’s also garnered quite a bit of controversy. This has nothing to do with the aforementioned blood and violence. It seems that no-one has any issue with that. We are talking about the type of controversy which stems from pure hatred. I hope you’re sitting down for this one because it’s truly horrifying and the shock is likely to cause heart attacks across the land. Dragon Age includes a scene of…wait for it…gay sex. As you’ve recovered from fainting, and are now able to continue reading this review, I will explain why this scene has caused such unrest.

This isn’t the good type of gay sex. You know the type I mean. Bioware showed us some of that good stuff in the past. Mass Effect included a scene in which a human female character has sex with an alien female character. We all know lesbian sex equals epic win. In this game we have that other type of gay sex. The abhorrent kind of gay sex. Two men together equals epic fail. That’s just scientific fact.

This filth should be banned immediately. This is simply not the type of thing which small-minded people find acceptable in a videogame. After all, if we can find it in our hearts to protect small animals then surely our compassion should stretch to protecting small minds. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we don’t mind what gay videogame characters get up to as long as we don’t have to witness it.

Hold on a moment, “gay sex with an Elf”, this is the popular shock-tactic description for the scene in question but it’s misleading. This headline gives the impression that the Elf in question is homosexual when he is in fact bisexual. He has many stories which involve him having sex with females and even describes himself as being bisexual. We can’t let such details get in the way of a good homophobic headline. The description also assumes that a male character is being used at the time. The assumption is more than a little sexist but that’s great because it goes hand in hand with homophobia. I would like to point out that when I write “hand in hand” I of course refer to the hands of one male and one female as any other combination would be defying the baby Jesus.

The best thing about the controversy is that some people appear to be outraged by the inclusion of a choice. For those who dislike the idea of watching two males having sex in a videogame, here’s a little suggestion – don’t flirt with that Elf. Better yet, don’t talk to him at all, you’re not forced to do that either, you don’t even need to have the character in your party. What I find most incredible is that some grown men will happily pretend they are a mighty warrior, an Elf, a Dwarf, or even a female, but when it comes to role-playing a character who might partake in some male on male action their eyes start to water and they run and hide. Here’s another tip – “Real men” don’t bother about this type of nonsense. Quit being so pathetic and grow up.

I adore this game. Dragon Age is not without niggling issues such as the minor graphical glitches which show up now and again. Those minor issues don’t alter the fact that this game is incredible value for money and one of the best I have ever played. At the time of writing there is already one impressive DLC available which boasts an enormous number of additional gameplay hours. I will now finish this review so I can return to the game, then get hold of the DLC, play some more, then wait for even more DLC. This game is incredible.

10/10

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