Dragon Age: Origins: The only thing missing - polish...
+Difficult to put down
+Auto-save feature happens regularly and can be a lifesaver
+Tons to do
+Great choice system
+Voice work fantastic
+Character interactions between non-main characters is well written, and often pretty funny
-Certain regions can be prone to system crashes
-Graphics on the Xbox 360 are nothing to write home about; small graphical glitches
-Occasional audio bugs
-Unfinishable quest bugs
-Couldn't help but think how great this game would be if the designers had just played through it one more time to iron out all of the little things...
(**Note: This review applies solely to the Xbox 360 release)
Dragon Age: Origins is fantastic. It's lots of fun, there's tons to do, and, for the most part, I couldn't put it down. Particularly impressive was the choice system, where, while with most games there's a black and white "good choice" and "evil choice", with Dragon Age: Origins this line is, at times, much blurrier than I've ever seen it before. There is really something for everyone here.
The story, for a relatively Western style, open-ended RPG, is excellent, drawing many comparisons to Lord of the Rings in both scope, grandeur, and soundtrack. This isn't a bad thing, but this game could've been easily placed on a continent to the west of Middle Earth, and no one would've missed a beat.
I wanted to give this game a higher rating, but there are a number of issues. There have been multiple instances when the game has crashed on me, prompting a total system reset. The graphics have small glitches in them, particularly polygon tear in the environment. The voice-overs, while usually fantastic, sometimes get stuck in a loop, with an audio clip of an earlier conversation, and the current text on screen. Several quests in the "Current Quests" section of my log are unfinishable, and permanently stuck on my list, in an unending state of limbo. A vague example, as to not reveal any spoilers: When choosing sides in a political issue in one of the cities, I checked to see what both sides had to offer. This started both of the initial quests for each side. When I chose my side to support, the initial quest for the opposition remained unfinishable, and didn't automatically close out (which happened at other similar times in the game). I found it frustrating to no end to see that there were quests I was being reminded about that were out of control. I did finish the game, and at the final battle, there were 2 such quests in my codex.
I will also add that from day 1, there is DLC available in the forms of a Warden's keep (which has the invaluable party loot chest to store all of your unique items), and a quest to get an additional character. I am firmly opposed to day 1 DLC. This stuff should've been packed in with the game if it was ready to go from the beginning. While those that pre-ordered were able to get a free one-time download of the additional character and his quests (this DOES NOT register in Microsoft's system as far as being able to download it again from the store for free), the Warden's keep's loot chest is an absolute necessity, and should've been there in the beginning. I would suspect this was more EA's doing than Bioware's (see all of the other EA games that have been nickel and dime-ing us consumers recently, such as their sports titles).
Do I recommend this game? Absolutely. I hope that a patch comes out soon to alleviate the crashes and audio bugs. I don't hold any hope that the graphical glitches will get better. I do not know of the PS3 or PC versions have the same issues. I went with the Xbox version because of the armor for Mass Effect 2, but had that not been the case I would've gone with the PS3.
If this game had been better polished, it would've easily earned a 9.5 from me.