BioWare are no amateurs in the arena of role-playing game development. From the classic Baldur's Gate series to Neverwinter Nights and more recently the sci-fi epic Mass Effect, BioWare have proven that they are adept in creating detailed worlds that all too easily consume countless hours of our day. Dragon Age: Origins has been called the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, but in truth it brings together the best elements from both the classics and BioWare's latest games to offer an exciting new experience.
Using the voice acting and modern graphics found in Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic but returning to the high fantasy setting of BioWare's roots, Dragon Age promises to put you more completely in the world of the game than any RPG before it. In order to achieve this Dragon Age will be making use of the expansive dialogue options and character customization found in previous titles while also bringing some impressive new developments into play.
When Dragon Age offers you the traditional choice of human, elf or dwarf, you could be forgiven for thinking that nothing remarkably new is going on here but the game will soon surprise you. Character creation offers three races and three classes alongside a choice of origin and this is where Dragon Age breaks away from its predecessors. Depending on what character origin you select, the first few hours of the game will present a completely different beginning for your character's story. Ranging from an elvish commoner to a dwarven noble, six origins are available and they determine the challenges faced in the first few hours of play. Beyond this the character origins will have ramifications later in the game rather than being limited to an introductory quest.
Dragon Age also promises to be unique in tone, darker and grittier than anything we've yet seen from BioWare. The world of the game is not a pleasant one: elves are treated like second class citizens while dwarven culture is split down the middle between nobles and commoners. The story is very mature, from racism to rape and class division Dragon Age deals with some serious issues. This all runs alongside a desperate struggle against the Darkspawn- the big bad of Dragon Age.
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