Bioware's writers phoned this one in.
The first thing that you will notice upon starting the game is that it is ugly. (I am aware that the PC version looks better, but I am not reviewing the PC version.) The second thing that you will notice is that the controls are sluggish and imprecise (a problem that carries over into combat). The third thing you will notice is that the dialogue system is deep, well-constructed, well-written, and that all of the characters are expertly voiced.
Yes, this is a Bioware game. We've come to expect top-class writing and voice-acting. The characters and dialogue do not disappoint. Everyone you meet has a rich backstory that you will want to explore. If you listen carefully, each of your companions will reveal some object (or objects) from their past that was of great sentimental value to them. If you can locate the object, you can give it to them as a present, which in some cases opens up side quests, and will improve your relationship with them, which can also lead to some romantic sub-plots.
In what appears to be a bizarre attempt at continuing - and indeed expanding upon - the reputatuion they got with Mass Effect 1 for their infamous lesbian sex-scene (I'm aware that Liara isn't technically female and that it wasn't actually sex, but you have to acknowledge what it was intended to look like), Bioware have now introduced the option of pursuing a romantic relationship with a male character while playing as a male. I say that it is bizarre because nudity has been removed completely. Sex-scenes take place with the characters still wearing their underwear. Were they trying to be controversial or not? Only the minds at Bioware will ever know the rationale behind this baffling move.
The combat is 'fiddly' at best, controller-stompingly frustrating at worst. When you are fighting some creature and it dies, and you want to start attacking another creature, you have to look at it and press the A button. But where you point the camera is irrelevent. It is the creature your character is looking at that you will attack when you press A. You'd think it reasonable to want to line up your next target before finishing your current one, but no. More than once, my character ran all the way across the battle-field to attack a harmless enemy rather than the beast the camera was centred on, which was a much bigger threat.
In one instance, there were a group of archers beyond a barricade. The only way to reach them was to go around, but doing that got my team killed, and without my team, I soon followed suit. I had to open the pause menu, target the barricades, smash them, and then attack the archers. Now, I realize that since it is impossible to access all of your character's skills at the touch of a button on a console, the pause menu is a necessity. But when I'm forced to use the pause menu just to target a minor obstruction that my character should engage automatically, then we have a problem, Bioware.
Combat does get exciting during the finale, when you are given the ability to command armies. At least, you are given the ability in theory. You are permitted to summon about six soldiers of a style of your choosing (mage, archer, etc), and these cannon fodder will keep respawning when they die until you run out of reinforcements. While it is a bit of a power trip to summon soldiers to fight for you, they are useless as anything other than diversions, and you aren't given any real command over them besides 'exist' and 'go away'.
You have the ability to program the tactics of your other squad members (the full-time ones, not the cannon fodder ones). This is a great feature, if you can make it work. There are a number of presets that seem to function just fine without being tweaked. The option is there if you're the sort who just loves to micromanage on a ridiculous level. To me, this ability to fully customize the behaviour of each squad member dehumanizes them, making them more like puppets than companions. Moreover, I could never get the system to work properly, so after a while I didn't even bother.
The combat has its problems, but it isn't a deal-breaker. The characters, quests, and moral choices are enough to make this one worth playing - perhaps not repeatedly, but at least once. The multiple origin stories are a joke because you end up playing the same game anyway. It's a little different depending on your origin, but not enough to keep bringing you back. It's a pity that the premise wasn't original, because that definitely could have improved the experience. Some of the quests are a bit derivative as well. In the Human Noble origin story, you start off fighting rats. Your companion quips that it's "just like the beginning of all those terrible adventure stories my grandfather used to tell." I'm reminded of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's assertion that, just because you acknowledge a problem, that doesn't make the problem go away. The analogy he used was a fat person going back for a fifth helping at a buffet, and excusing himself by saying, "I know, I'm so fat!"
And that's what Dragon Age: Origins is: A series of acknowledgements of problems. The derivative story is excused by joky asides. The combat system is excused by the ability to pause in the middle of it and micromanage every facet of your companions' combat actions. Having said that their game is "so fat" Bioware then hope that the players will politely look past its shallowness. And for some reason it seems to be working. Maybe it's because they keep releasing new content. Or maybe gamers really don't care that they're doing the same thing they've done in so many other games. Who can say?
Now, I gave this game a 7, so I obviously don't hate it. I enjoyed it (the first playthrough at least). I hate that they didn't work harder on the backstory, because I know from playing Mass Effect that Bioware are above rehashing old cliches. I hate the combat because it does so much more than is necessary, and skimps on the things I would really like to have (like better targetting). Aside from those things, I think it's a great game. Interacting with the other characters and going questing is fresh and exciting (I especially liked the originality and implementation of the Fade). I definitely recommend giving it a try, just don't expect the seminal experience that Mass Effect was.