As you begin, tasked with your initial quests, little do you know of the rich, intricate adventure that lays ahead.
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS – I do try not to spoil major plot-lines intrinsic to the whole game, but there will definitely be mention of big things that happen in the first hour or two of game-play and occasional nods to other occurences thereafter.
Time Played Thus Far: 11 hours
Intro: My character, Furious, is a noble whose father is slain and his castle captured early on in the game by a trusted subordinate. Furious had been set to be inducted into a mystic set of warrior-types, the Grey Wardens, by a member of that group, Duncan. The initial act of betrayal that’s occurred really is nothing compared to the greater evil afoot in the kingdom of Ferelden, a country in the greater continent of Thedas.
There’s some heavy duty demon incursion in the making. Seriously. The demon faction, or Darkspawn, are looking set to invade the lands in what’s known as a Blight – and this one looks set to make the near apocalyptic previous occurrences of such invasions seem minor in nature. Once clear of the initial scene of bloodshed Furious is relatively quickly inducted into the Grey Wardens, and then teamed up with others and thrown straight into the mix of major battle and suchlike. And from that point things get really interesting. And indeed quite hard, too, for my character (and self) anyway.
The battle system is more akin to the traditional Baldur’s Gate style of things. Though you can quite easily get into the action-RPG habit of clicking to attack your enemies and leaving it at that, that will quite often just get you killed (especially where there’re mages involved in the mix). You soon find that you need to use the pause feature mid-battle to adjust tactics (of which there are already comprehensive, spreadsheet-like pre-settable abilities known as tactics), cast spells, imbibe potions and suchlike). This is more a thinking game in regards combat, which serves to enrich the experience despite some early game difficulty spikes that I, at least, encountered.
The game weaves between cut scenes and game-play efficiently and to good effect
Where Am I: I’m currently in the town of Redcliffe, a little way out from the initial starting point of the game. I’m here on numerous quests actually, with a main arc having me enlist the assistance of a major player in the area, in the hope of setting my character on a path to clearing his and several others from an accusation of treachery.
Along the way I’ve enlisted the help of a character or two, learned more of the fighting tactics and techniques which though being schooled on in the early game I’ve really barely touched the surface of. Redcliffe is the second town/village type place I’ve come across, and along the way here there’ve been numerous characters, encounters (read fights) and interactions that enrich the story, as well as fill your quest journal with plenty of tasks to keep you busy.
Me and my crew of misfits. Actually, they’re a pretty cool bunch of folks, all with interesting tales to tell.
Having Fun: Yes. I am especially enjoying the story as it unwinds, and the interactions between my own characters and those I encounter on my travels through the land of Ferelden.The combat system is also growing on me as I become more familiar with it, though I must point out I do find the setting and deploying of tactics to be quite tricky (I worry that my characters aren’t always following those tactics set) it is something that the more familiarity with it that I have, the more comfortable I feel. But I am a long way off from perfecting its usage.
Given my obsessive predilection for all things Skyrim these past couple of weeks, that any game was able to pull me away from Tamriel for more than an hour or two is testament to its quality. That Dragon Age: Origins managed to have me clock up quite a few hours in the short time since picking it up from Steam (where it was 75% off for the Ultimate Edition bundle with all of the DLC that has been released for the title since it went gold – double bonus!) and also keep me intrigued and wanting to know more of this cool story, is just more evidence to the quality of this product.
There are lots of features to the game that I’ve barely scratched the surface of – such as potion making in regards of poisons and healing items, of trap making, and of magical usage in any decently organised manner. As more quests become available, and with them opportunities to grow my characters and their abilities, I hope to do such things. I also look forward to learning more of the story as it branches out, and also of my ability to influence it in no small way. And to giving my fellow team mates more gifts and seeing their surprised looks (and genuine results on their impressions of me – beware of giving something to someone if it’s not going to be appreciated – you could go down in their estimations).
As with Skyrim, I seem to be spending a large amount of my time in the inventory section, merrily sorting through my items.
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