Bioware Has Done it Again

Bioware, the developer who created Dragon Age, has once again turned out a revolutionary role playing game. Every game they've made has pushed CRPGs, starting with their blockbuster Baldurs Gate series. Dragon Age: Origins is no different. DA:O has it all as far as CRPGs go; dynamic character development, real time combat that can be as simple or as complex as you care to make it, innovative quests, and differential gameplay depending on what choices you make. This particular review will orient more on gameplay than storyline.

Bioware, in case you don't know the name, has given us a long line of ground-breaking games. The Baldurs Gate series gave us hundreds of hours of quest intensive multiplayer gameplay. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic was an incredibly immersive, character driven space opera. Jade Empire opened a mystical world with real time combat and an outstanding role playing environment. Mass Effect was the science fiction universe so many role players craved, with a 100% voice acted main character and no character alignments to predefine the character you created. Each one of these games presented something new to the CRPG community, as well as just being downright fun to play. Dragon Age: Origins is no exception. Years in development and Bioware's own Intellectual Property, DA:O promises to truly be that; an origin story, with much more to come in the future.

Unlike most CRPGs out today, you actually can have different starting points depending on not only what race you choose, but what class as well. Human warriors have a different start than elven mages or dwarven rogues. This feature lends itself to replayability, and also keeps DA:O away from the cookie cutter playing of so many other CRPGs and even MMORPGs out today. It also gives the player a better ability to design the character they want, be it a heroic human noble or bitter elven rogue. Not only do your beginnings have an impact on your immediate play, but it also extends further, to quests further down the line. It can change your dialogue options and even how the quest itself turns out. Not every impact is an earth shattering revelation, some are quite subtle. You'd never know they were there unless you played a second time with a different starter.

Character development is also largely played out through dialogues with your party members. There are a reported fifteen romance options available, including same sex. That being said, all of them provide not just a great way to enhance the feel of your character, but most have extremely amusing moments as well. You definitely get to know your party members, and yourself, through the many different dialogues with them. Bioware also instituted an approval method with your party members, which can be a double edged sword. If the approval is high enough, you unlock new dialogue options, romances, and even additional quests. If it gets too low, however, your party members will abandon you and move on to seek company more in tune with their own beliefs. Some can even outright betray you, leading to a combative resolution. Other games, namely Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Obsidian Entertainment), incorporated similar systems, but DA:O improves on that by letting you see exactly where you stand with a slide bar in that party member's information screen.

If you choose a dialogue option with them they strongly disapprove of and that approval rating is dropping like the proverbial rock, Bioware has wisely included gifts into the game. Gifts are items you can find or buy throughout to give to your party members. As you get to know more about them, you find out what interests they have and can better figure out who gets what. Some are obvious; Oghren the dwarf likes ale, for instance. Some are less so, Alistair, the Templar turned fellow Grey Warden, likes figurines of magical creatures. Who'd have thought it? Gifting is a great way to keep your party members around when you really don't like each other much. There are some gifts that only certain party members will take, and these can open additional dialogues and start some of the side quests if you play your cards right. For those not into heavy dialogue games, the option to skip past the speechifying is also there.

Combat is real time squad combat, with a twist. Instead of pausing the game and directing your party to do what you want them to, Bioware has added another option. In the character screen, you can get to a menu called Tactics. This particular menu is invaluable. Easily navigated, you can have your characters perform specific actions when there are specific criteria. For example, you can direct them to use a health poultice when their health drops to a certain percentage, from 90% to 10%. They can use a particular attack against specific enemies, cast a selected spell at a certain trigger, etc. The higher the level of the character, the more Tactics slots they get, and there is also a skill they can take to increase them. This enables the player to use better strategy and not have to keep an eye on both the active combat and everyone's health bars at the same time or worry that they'll use the wrong ploy. In addition to the Tactics screen, you can also switch party members at any time should you need the thief to disable a trap, the mage to cast a defensive spell not in their Tactics, etc.

The only real fly in the ointment, for me, as far as the party combat goes is the target selection. I've been playing the XBOX 360 version. The auto-selection leaves something to be desired and the manual selection is done by the directional thumbpad, and it can truly be a real pain in the tuckus at times. For example, many times when I stun the enemy in front of me, my character will just stand there until I actually direct him to attack, then he runs off to attack a different target. The left thumbstick provides a target lock, but when you lock the wrong thing, using the thumbpad to try and get back to the right one often results in messy death for your character as everything is is chosen except the thing you want to interact with.

Still, that's really the only hangup I have with the combat system. It's easy to understand, and can either stay that way or grow more complex as your character levels up. Not only do you have the standard increase to abilities and new attacks, when certain attack types are combined, you get interesting results. Your mage casts Cone of Cold on a target, effectively freezing them in place. A warrior or rogue then uses a Critical Strike against them. This gives the chance to Shatter the opponent, resulting in an instant kill. There are seemingly endless variations to play with, and again the Tactics menu can help you with that. You can set up the mage to use Cone of Cold or Winter's Grasp on a target, and then direct your warrior to use Critical Strike if the enemy is unable to attack. Players with better coordination than I have can even simply direct the individual party members as they wish, selecting the mage to cast the spell and then the warrior to use the appropriate attack.

It's not all happy fun time with the party, though. As you move on to Hard and Nightmare difficulty levels, you enter into the dangerous realm of Friendly Fire. Most Area of Effect spells and abilities have just as much of a chance of hitting your own team as the bad guys, and this calls for much, much better strategical use of your party's skills. Even when on Casual and Normal difficulties, spells like Earthquake can knock your characters off their feet, and Cone of Cold will freeze everything in its path, friendly or not although doing no damage. Needless to say, some tactical thought is required at the higher difficulty levels.

As usual, the quests in this Bioware game are not as straightforward as they may seem. Some are fraught with moral quandaries, and for some there are no right answers. Not all quests have a happy ending, and what may be expedient may not always be right. Do you allow the traitor to live because he may help you later on, or simply kill him out of hand? Do you incorporate the assassin who tried to ambush you or use him to send a deadly message to any who might have similar ideas? Certain quests require you to choose an uncertain future for an entire people, trusting to your own judgement and opinion. Some decisions you make can drive away party members forever, or bind them to you just as strongly. Not all quests are such emotional quagmires, though. There are a great many that are straightforward "kill them all and let the Maker sort it out", and some that don't require killing at all.

Quests are divided up by who they are for. Not only do you have the quests that move the main storyline, there are dozens of side quests to be done as well. Different factions have letters that need to be delivered, components they need collected, and allies they need spoken to. Certain quests also evolve differently depending on who you have in your party, so choose carefully before beginning. Your party members have strong beliefs, and have no hesitation about voicing them and trying to influence your decisions. Quests can open up one shot areas on the map, and others (like the downloadable content now available) can supply needed resources.

In my humble opinion Dragon Age: Origins is another revolutionary milestone in the CRPG market. Bioware has once against pushed the envelope to bring players a fantastic game with so many layers of playability I am seeing much time glued to the console in my future. The characters are relateable, the storyline is immersive, and combat is just downright fun. Bioware has added further incentive to getting the game. They have just announced if you buy the game before November 30, 2009 you will be able to get a free downloadable item. Also, they've stated that they will be releasing downloadable content for this game for at least the next two years. If you want a game that doesn't box you in, force you into a linear path, or use a trite formula, definitely check out Dragon Age: Origins. You won't regret it.