Incredible storytelling, great characters, and exciting battles are just a few of the things that make this fantasy role-playing game so extraordinary.
Game play
The game incorporates "origins" for each race and some classes. For example, a Dwarf Noble begins the game as part of the royal family in one of the dwarven cities, whereas the Dwarf Commoner origin story begins on the streets of the city. Origin stories determine the background of the player's character prior to the main events of the game's story, forming an introduction to the world while also comprising hours of play. Characters that the player meets during the origin story may reappear throughout the game, some of whom may be adversaries.
There is no tracking of moral alignment as in previous BioWare games, but the moral choices of the player will still affect the story throughout the game. The player will save the world regardless of choosing to be good or evil, but the decisions that the player makes in the process will change the game world accordingly – deciding who will become king, for example, and affecting nations and races and their places in the world. These decisions will also influence the companion NPCs, possibly causing an NPC to leave the party or even attack the player if they disagree strongly with his or her actions.
As with the Baldur's Gate series, players are able to issue orders to NPCs in real time, but pause the game to queue up actions such as spells and special attacks.
There are three base classes to choose from: warrior, mage, and rogue. These classes can be upgraded later into a specialized class, such as the Berserker or Templar for the warrior class, Shapeshifter or Spirit Healer for the mage class, and Assassin or Ranger for the rogue. The game uses a party system similar to that of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, in that it features the main character with up to three active party members, chosen from a large pool of NPCs in the game.
Game view
Players are allowed to change game views throughout the game, by zooming in or out. Zooming out affords players a detailed overhead view, allowing them to spot important features in a scenario that may be positioned up above, such as a dangerous lurking creature. The overhead details are not visible in the zoomed in view.
The camera is in an over-the-shoulder third person view when zoomed in, and an isometric-style view when zoomed out, though the console versions cannot zoom out to the extent of the PC version.
The spells in the game interact with the effects of others, such as a fire spell igniting a grease slick before being put out by a blizzard.
Synopsis
Plot
BioWare has described Dragon Age: Origins as being a "dark heroic fantasy" story told on an epic scale with mature themes.
The player begins the game in one of the six origin stories which serve as an introductory point for the players and present the world from their personal point of view. The origin story chosen (the choices being Human Noble, Human/Elf Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Commoner and Dwarf Noble) determines who the character is and how NPCs react to the player. For example, Elves are often viewed as second class citizens.
After completing their character's respective origin story, the player encounters Duncan, leader of an elite group known as the Grey Wardens. Duncan guides the player to their destiny of becoming a Grey Warden, a group who dedicate their lives to the destruction of the Darkspawn, a force of demonic creatures that live underground and have at various points in history swarmed the surface of Thedas in movements known as Blights.
The player and Duncan journey to a fortress called Ostagar in southern Ferelden, to join Cailan, the King of Ferelden, and Loghain, a legendary general and friend to Cailan's father. There they plan to make a stand against the encroaching Darkspawn, who Duncan believes have gathered for the first true Blight in 400 years. Duncan has sensed the influence of an Archdemon, a great being hosted in the body of a powerful dragon, in the Darkspawn's actions, making a Blight possible.
Duncan ordains the player into the Grey Wardens in a dangerous ritual called the Joining. Afterwards, the player, along with another Grey Warden, Alistair, is then given the task of lighting a beacon at the top of the fortress in order to signal Loghain to charge. After fighting through many Darkspawn that have infiltrated the fortress, the player does this, but Loghain, upon seeing the signal, quits the field with all of his men. King Cailan and Duncan die along with most of the army at the hands of the Darkspawn, who take control of the fortress and southern Ferelden. Loghain goes to Ferelden's capital city, Denerim, and proclaims himself regent for Queen Anora, his daughter and Cailan's widow.
The player and his party are nearly killed by the Darkspawn as well, but they are saved by Flemeth, a powerful witch who lives in a secluded hermitage. Flemeth presents the player with the involuntary assistance of her daughter and apprentice, Morrigan. The player, along with Alistair and Morrigan, decide that in order to slay the Archdemon believed responsible for the Darkspawn uprising and put an end to the Blight, a new army must be gathered from a myriad of factions located in the Ferelden area, which the Grey Wardens have treaties with.
After the player successfully encounters and obtains the assistance of the Dalish elves of the Brecilian Forest, the Dwarves of the Kingdom of Orzammar, the Circle of Magi, and most importantly the uncle of King Cailan, Arl Eamon of Redcliffe, a meeting known as the Landsmeet is called between all the nobles of Ferelden at Denerim, during which Ferelden's political unrest is settled and the kingdom is ready to face the Darkspawn at Denerim.
At this point, the player learns that a Grey Warden must personally slay the Archdemon, giving his or her life in the process; the player chooses between self-sacrifice, sacrificing either Alistair or Loghain depending on which is available as a result from the choices made in Landsmeet, impregnating Morrigan with a child that would capture the Archdemon's essence or convincing Alistair or Loghain to impregnate Morrigan with the same result. Regardless of the choice, the player's party reaches Denerim and force a final confrontation with the Archdemon atop the largest tower in the city. The Archdemon is slain, causing all of the other Darkspawn to flee.
Downloadable Content
BioWare announced on October 8, 2009 that two pieces of downloadable content will be available on the game's launch: The Stone Prisoner and Warden's Keep. By November 12, 2009, BioWare announced that sales of downloadable content had generated over one million dollars of sales revenue.
The Stone Prisoner
The Stone Prisoner adds Shale to the game, a stone golem and a party member. Shale is a powerful character and has a backstory, voice acting, and a unique quest. The Stone Prisoner also adds new locations and items. New copies contain a promotional code to receive The Stone Prisoner for free.
Warden's Keep
Warden's Keep adds the fortress of Soldier's Peak to Dragon Age: Origins, granting the player the opportunity to understand why the Grey Wardens were exiled from Ferelden. The player can set up a base of operations with an area to store party members' surplus equipment. The download also adds new talents, spells, trophies/achievements, and items.
Blood Dragon Armor
Blood Dragon Armor adds a set of armor that will be accessible in both Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. New copies contain a code to receive Blood Dragon Armor for free.
Return to Ostagar
Return to Ostagar was announced on November 19, 2009 and was originally scheduled to be released during the 2009 holiday season. It was then delayed to January 5, 2010, at which time it was delayed indefinitely. It was released on the Xbox 360 on January 13, 2010, but withdrawn again due to bugs. It was re-released on January 29, 2010 though only for Xbox 360 and PC. The PS3 release date will be March 11, 2010. It features a return to the first battlefield of Ostagar where the Grey Wardens were nearly wiped out by the darkspawn invasion. It allows the player to unravel King Cailan's and Loghain's agenda, discover the armor of the late King Cailan and the arms of the last Grey Warden Commander, Duncan, and provides another opportunity to recruit Dog. It also includes one achievement and other new items.