An epic fantasy that does everything just about right.
Dragon Age is a fairly typical fantasy adventure with all the trimmings. Their elves and dwarves, swords and sorcery, kings ruling over lands, warlords who betray for their own ambition, and an army of demons threatening to destroy the world. It's nothing we haven't seen from anything Lord of the Rings, or pretty much any other typical midevil fantasy adventure. However, what separates this from the typical fantasy adventure is the same thing that separated Mass Effect from the likes of Star Wars. Dragon Age weaves a tale so human and deep, so full of important choice and three dimensional characters, you forget you're playing a typical fantasy adventure.
For starters, Dragon Age is a fairly open ended book when it comes to your adventures. From the very beginning, the creation of your characters determines your starting point. You also have such incredible options to create the character as you want, both physically and personality-wise, that the replay value comes with exploring all the options alone. And this is barely scratching the surface of a massive game that will have you on a grand adventure. Engaging in discussions about beliefs on god or injecting you're characters individuality onto a very serious matter is where the game truly shines, breathing life in a world that could have otherwise been very generic. While we are familiar with many aspects here, this world feels alive and full of conflict. There are deaths in this game which wcan invoke anger and sadness, and it puts you in the shoes of your character. You want to go seek vengence and it is a driving force, and just one example of the many things that this game does so well.
This is supported by the plethora of quests to be had and the things to do. For those with an explorative and inquisitive nature, you'll find plenty of land to cover. For those who love backstory and lore, there are volumes of pages to read about Ferelden. Ferelden is also a land that makes it's own rules, with it's own laws. While it does share many elements with the usual fantasy tale, it also separates itself by adding it's own elements, as well as understandable, universal themes, such as racism, religion, and, love and death. It's truly a fascinating experience with hours upon hours of exploration and information to tickle your fantasy fancy.
Gameplay options are also quite numerous, with the ability to craft an interesting party that can work with one another through some cunning strategies. For starters, you can create some very detailed tactics by designing intricate strategies based on how and when your team fights. This is done by setting the behavior and tactics of your team. For example, you can have a mage cast a certain spell when an enemy is at half health, while one of your warriors uses a special attack when said spell is cast. It creates for some greatly varied battle plans that can be specialized to whomever you are fighting. Second are the many creative options available that have recently become staples of fantasy games. You can use a plethora of option to take down oppnents, from traps to crowwbows, and they're all as interesting as they might seem, especially in combination with one another.
With that being said, the game is not without it's issues. Namely, direct combat is not all that exciting. Instead of having an active combat system that requires your full control, we have yet another auto-hack n slash system, something I have grown quite tired of. It would have been nice to see another Mass Effect style form of combat where you must actively participate in battles at all times, as opposed to auto attacking enemies while occassionally casting a spell or using a skill. The graphics also leave something to be desired, as they seem to be somewhat old. It was dissapointing to see these kinds of graphics the whole way through, though the trailers boasted full CG animation.
None the less, the characters are so well voiced and they are so full of life, it doesn't take away from one truly fantastic adventure that is well worth picking up. With so much good stuff here, Bioware succeeds once again in turning what could have been a typical cliche adventure, into an epic you won't soon forget.