Save the world and kill Darkspawn in the best RPG I've played.
Story
The minute you start Dragon Age: Origins story, you will be plunged into the start of an unique origin that depends on your character's race. Each of the 6 origin stories will have an impact on the rest of the story, like your Human Noble can become king/queen, or your Dwarf can become a Paragon of his people.
Each of the major decisions can end completely different from each other, depending on the ending, some people may die, and maybe no one will. Depending on who you put on the throne will alter the ending. Not all of the choices will have as much impact as the next, but even some of the side quests have a result in the end.
The story is about you, one of only two Grey Wardens - a group of skilled warriors that are the only ones that can stop the Blight - must gather and army starting from nothing except a few ancient treaties to different races, with the only other Warden, named Alistair who like you, just joined. Each of the major quests are almost like individual mini stories, but you never loose track of the full story and what you doing. As you go along in the story, different companions join your quest. Although a couple of them are obvious, some are not. If you have no idea who they are, you may accidentally kill one, or not give a second thought to another. Also, this is the only RPG where I actually like the whole party.
Gameplay
This is a pause-and-play RPG on a console. That said, the combat is well done. X is your basic attack, while [], /, and O, along with R2+those buttons serve as 6 special ability short-cuts. This works very well for Warriors and Rouges, but it doesn't work quite as well for mages. Mages will have dozens of spells before the end, and only having 6 of them for quick use is a little annoying. But, you can still pause the gameplay and select which spell/talent you want to use.
Unfortunately, DA:O gets really easy after about halfway though. Even on nightmare, a well-built Warden will mow though the enemies. That's about the only compliant I have about the gameplay.
Upgrading is just as fun as you would expect, getting new talents and feeling your Warden become more powerful is thrilling. You'll get 3 attribute points, 1 talent, and every 3 levels(2 for Rouges) you will get a skill point. Skill points are used for things like making potions, poisons, traps, etc. The gameplay section of DA:O, like the story, is fantastic.
Graphics
As great as the other parts of DA:O are, the console versions have very lackluster graphics. The PC has great graphics, but I'm not reviewing that version.
Some of the character models look good, mostly your Warden and party, but some of the NPCs look bad. Like the character models, the environments go from good to bad. The citys, especially Orzammar, look good. However, the caves, like the Deep roads are especially lacking.
Sound
The voice acting in Dragon Age sits with the best of it. All of the party sounds believable and the NPCs sound good too. The battles and sword clanging have an epic sound to them.
Overall
Dragon Age: Origins is an incredible RPG, and my favorite RPG ever. With a great story, addicting gameplay, and believable voice acting, its easy to look past some of the uglier graphical moments.
Short Version
The Good
-Story is incredible and well told
-Great leveling and combat
-Cleaver dialogue and great characters
The Bad
-Graphics are underwhelming
-Rare glitches, nothing big though.
Single-player: 10/10
The exciting combat and dialogue system speak for themselves. Among the best out there.
Graphics: 6.0/10
There are some good sights here, but don't expect anything special.
Sound: 10/10
The voice acting is great, and the combat sounds epic.
Story: 10/10
It has a basic path, but how everything ends is up to you. And its all told brilliantly.
Immersion: 10/10
You will be entrenched in the gameplay for hours.
Replay Value: 10/10
I've spent 230 hours on this and I don't feel any time was wasted.
Overall: 10/10
Minus the graphics, this is as good as it gets.