14 DAY TRIAL // Dragon Age: Origins is officially out and on its feet and I've already managed to get about four hours of gameplay. The level of excitement I have for the game surpasses the one I had for Borderlands, mainly because I'm a lot more attracted to the “fantasy-sword-clashing” genre than to the first-person shooters. I admit, I am fascinated by swords, since, you know, they cut people. Still, I find myself a lot calmer and more composed than I was when facing Borderlands. Gearbox's RPG-FPS had me on pins and needles hunting for weapons and items, while Dragon Age has me in a far more confortable, padded armchair, with a blanket wrapped around me as I sit by the fire and listen to the story.
Soldiers are mainly the thing for me, just like Borderlands proved, so my first Origins build was a human fighter. Dwarfs are just too hard to take seriously and, even though the idea of an elf warrior isn't bad at all, I stuck with the human, perceiving my elf as a future rouge. I said the first character, because, since every different race and background you chose played a somewhat similar story, the origins of your character greatly influenced the plot. The player's decisions along the game are also expected to greatly influence the progression of the story, so chances that I'll get bored or that I'll do the same thing twice in a row are slim to nothing.
At first, I wanted to throw in a little spice, and give my warrior a two-handed spec, but the first fights proved so on the edge, as far as the outcome was concerned, that I quickly changed to a shield and blade. In case anyone is curios, I most defiantly made a male character. Even though I'm not really a misogynist, I just don't find viable the idea of a woman acting on the battlefield as a plated-armored, shield-bearing, immovable tower. Maybe because to fit America's Hollywood standards of fashion and so-called realism, women look like they're built of stuck-together twigs, with, of course, the fruits still attached to the branch. So, anything above a silk dress and a diadem would rank as overburdening as far as armor goes.
Now, as I said, BioWare's game shines in its story. Not that the rest is all shabby, as graphics come closely in second, but the combat and the role-playing game character progression are no match for the interactive narration. So far, all I know is the starting intrigue for the human noble build, but I have to say, the plot revealed at this point has my interest peaked, as I seem a lot more interested in advancing the personal story of the game, rather than focusing on the blight that are the dark spawns.
Regardless of what characters you choose, two mandatory party members have to be Alistair and Morrigan. The first, a gray warden, has an incredibly portrayed and performed sense of humor that literally had me giggling and downright laughing out loud at his remarks. He makes an incredible pair with the witch Morrigan, as his somewhat submissive and even slightly masochistic nature is perfectly exploited by the shape-shifting, cynical spell caster.
The other thing I truly enjoyed about Dragon Age was the variety of lines you had for your character. It's no just that you have plenty of choices beyond “yes”or “no” and “good” or “evil,” it's that each answer is peppered with the appropriate attitude and I have yet to find myself making a decision that feels imposed and not a direct manifestation of my wishes. Also, characters react according to your words and remember your past lines. In an attempt to be sarcastic with Alistair, a sarcasm that he really didn't get, he noted the change in my perspective when I decided to speak plainly and presented an opposite opinion. I won't try to spoil the game for you, so I'll stop here. For now.