Dragon Age: Origins,the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate, is an epic tale of violence, lust, and betrayal. The survival of humanity rests in the hands of those chosen by fate. You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians who have defended the lands throughout the centuries. Betrayed by a trusted general in a critical battle, you must hunt down the traitor and bring h
GenreRole-Playing
Platforms xbox360
DEVELOPER BioWare | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
Dragon Age: Origins Reviews xbox360
acegamez.co.uk review
Once you’re loose in the world, you’re more or less left to approach the main story quests in any order you choose, with the onus being on recruiting the good and not-so-good mortals of Ferelden to your cause. The world itself, by the way, is massive. Although not open in the modern sense of the Western RPG, Dragon Age follows the trend set by previous Bioware titles by allowing you to jump from area to area via an animated map screen – though any traveller should take care, as random encounters abound with anything from wandering merchants to roving brigands and outlawed mages. Handily, you’re not often left alone.
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giantbomb.com review
The main difference between the PC version of Dragon Age and its console counterparts are in the interface. The PC version sports a classic hotbar configuration and a more tactical perspective on the action, while the console versions opt for a Mass Effect-style radial menu and over-the-shoulder camera. The console versions certainly aren’t bad, but if you’re looking to pick the best version, the PC’s layout is more elegant and functional than the comparatively limited radial menus on the console release. Also, the PC version is capable of looking significantly better than the console versions, though all editions feature impressive spell effects and environments. Though the PC version offers a more pulled-out view, I found myself zoomed in more often than not. In fact, the inclusion of things like skies and ceilings (which weren’t exactly present in most previous games of this sort) make the environments complicated enough that the zoomed-out, isometric perspective gets a little clunky.
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rpgamer.com review
Once players actually take to the battlefield, things can quickly become chaotic. The Xbox 360 controller is limited in how quickly it can allow actions to be performed. However, for a game designed with a PC mindset, it seems as if the developers did a decent enough job with the console setup. Player can assign skills to two sets of three buttons, but can also pause combat and go into the radial menu to choose from the complete list of commands. It is also possible to swap between characters on the fly, so players can change their point of view at any time during battle. Since it might be a little overwhelming to micromanage every skill for every character, tactical commands are also set for characters not currently under player control. The game offers configurations for different styles of actions, such as the mage having an option to heal or deal damage. These tactics might not be ideal for every situation, so players can also edit them or create new ones from scratch. This all might seem very unmanageable to start with, but as more skills, spells, and tactical options become available, the combat system grows to become much more interactive and no longer a frustration. Dragon Age never ceases to offer a challenge, even on the lowest difficulty setting, so players must make the best of the battle system or perish.
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1up.com review
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consolemonster.com review
The character creation and development itself is impressive in design. The overwhelming number of choices typically associated with RPGs of this nature has been stripped back to a level that is more accessible. RPG gamers shouldn’t worry though, as there is still much depth available and you can customise your character to a large degree, far more so than the developer’s previous title – Mass Effect. After you have designed your character, selected your class, picked your origin, chosen your initial skills (such as potion creation to improved NPC persuasion) and talents (further character specialisation, such as dual wielding or sword and board) you ready to begin your adventure.
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planetxbox360.com review
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multiplayer.it review
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gamerlimit.com review
As one of the Grey Wardens, an organization of the most elite warriors, you will seek out the assistance of the mages, elves, humans, and dwarves. Along this journey, you will be joined by up to eight different playable characters. Should you purchase the game new, which I strongly recommend, a ninth character will become available to you.
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actiontrip.com review
The game features an epic soundtrack, complete with a range of cool music themes (not one of them heavy metal, thank God). What’s more, there’s some fine voice acting at work here, befitting each in-game character perfectly.
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gametrailers.com review
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ztgamedomain.com review
I cannot stress enough the depth and scale of the information contained in the game. The codex that will keep track of all the pertinent info you’ll pick up along the way will quickly be bulging with entries on various legendary items you’ll pick up, enemies you will face, your companions, and lore regarding the world as a whole. It’s literally possible to lose hours just pouring over these details and marveling at the incredible universe Bioware has constructed.
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gamervision.com review
These small issues are just that – small issues, minor kinks in what is otherwise a stellar suit of armor. So many things are done well that these issues stand out, but hardly detract from the experience. Mere minutes into Dragon Age the attention to detail becomes obvious, immersing the player into the world of Ferelden completely. BioWare is billing the game as a dark fantasy epic, a term that fits it extremely well. The mood is what sets it apart most from other stories like it, filled with blood, sex, and betrayal. It’s a much more violent experience than traditional fantasy games, and each battle ends with the party being covered in the blood of fallen foes. In fact, it’s almost funny at times, when the characters on screen seem completely complacent with their faces being splattered with demonic blood. Enemies will sometimes see the Warden’s blade slicing their head off or being thrust through their chest, resulting in massive blood splatters that leave large puddles on the ground.
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everyeye.it review
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ign.com review
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gamespot.com review
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mondoxbox.com review
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destructoid.com review
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game-over.com review
Perhaps most surprising though is the way that Dragon Age fails to provide a deep and satisfying character building and role-playing experience. The party you assemble is full of interesting personalities, but rather than some metric for how good or evil your character is or how the world views you your only scale for interaction is in how much your companions like you. Moreover, none of them seem to appreciate any sort of dissenting option, leaving you to either disagree with them and have them hate you or pathologically agree like some kind of pandering sycophant in order to gain their approval and unlock their full abilities. Lost is any sense that you are truly building a relationship with the people around or influencing their growth as characters with your words and actions, which is arguably the greatest single aspect of a Bioware’s past successes. Combined with an oddly compartmentalized game world with very little interaction between areas it makes for a somewhat fragmented game that never realizes the potential of its setting.
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gamerstemple.com review
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eurogamer.net review
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