Dragon Age is an involving adventure that is not only worth playing but could very well keep you coming back for months
While a huge part of Dragon Age is the story and characters, an equal amount of time is spent combing dungeons and vanquishing enemies. Rather than feeling calculated or deliberate, most of Dragon Age's encounters are chaotic melees with the player struggling to make sense of the action. For me the most effective "strategic" decision available was to try and take out any nearby mages first and then mop up the grunts. Unfortunately this seems to be due to limitations with the console versions, as there has been much praise for the tactics and combat system in regards to the PC edition. There are fairly extensive behavior menus that can be programmed to govern how AI-controlled party members react in the battles, but the results are mixed, and in my experience I did not find significant changes even after a considerable amount of time programming each of my allies. Even when used, there's simply not much room for strategy when mobs of enemies appear out of thin air and instantly swarm the player's party. Still, there was fun on a simple level to slash through enemies with my warrior or to destroy a group of them with a fireball from my mage.
GRAPHICS (7.5) - The graphics are dated and the color palette is on the bland side at times. Dragon Age doesn't compare to Mass Effect, a game Bioware released two years ago. Many objects in the background will look like cardboard cutouts, with almost no detail at all. Character models look decent from a distance but when they come in close, especially during cutscenes, the effects aren't pretty. The sets are ambitious, such as castles towering over their villages, mythical ruins, a huge underground city of the Dwarves, etc. but the lack of details and textures keeps them from being as impressive as they could have been. Character animations are generally solid, if at times a bit robotic.The game suffers from some technical issues such as framerate stutters and even a couple of freezes, but weren't frequent enough to truly bother me.
AUDIO (9.0) - Bioware has pulled out all the stops with their audio once again, enlisting quality voice actors to breathe life into the people you'll be spending many hours with. The characters in your party will have conversations with each other and depending on their views will either be nice or have digs, which can be good for an occasional laugh and it definitely helps to make them come alive. Sound effects enhance the desperation of combat and make every sword strike or spell pull you further in. The soundtrack fits the game well, with gentle music for exploring, faster paced music which indicates enemies nearby and an epic soundtrack for the big battle scenes.
VALUE (9.5) - It can take anywhere from 40 to 60 hours to complete a playthrough, depending on how many sidequests you pursue, so there aren't any complaints as far as value for your purchase. In addition much has been made about the origins factor in this game. There are six different origin stories that alter your experience in Ferelden. Most importantly this means that you actually have six distinct opening stories available to you. Once you get into the main quest some of the changes are superficial, with characters addressing you differently or maybe they talk down to you or revere you. Others can drastically alter the flow of the story, whole areas will be different for you if say you were a dwarf returning to your homeland after being exiled, or an elf from the city alienages. All of this coupled with the array of side quests and moral choices presented to you in the main story adds a significant amount of replay value. You'll find that most main plot points have two possible endings and if you're the kind of person who likes to get all the achievements for a game then you'll want to play multiple times for the full experience and the gamer points of course.
SUMMARY - Despite some technical flaws Bioware has created a wonderful new IP that I wasted no time in going back to once I finished my first playthrough, something that is extremely rare for me. There is no question that fans of Western RPGs will enjoy this game, with their level of enjoyment perhaps being tempered by just how much the graphical flaws and somewhat simple combat affects them. For me, the compelling epic storylines, deep characters that I became emotionally invested in and the tremendous amount of playing time made this a very worthwhile purchase.