FEW THINGS get me more interested in a product than the promise of an epic fantasy story, and the new game "Dragon Age: Origins" from Bioware promised just that.
In it, the Tolkienesque world is facing an old problem, the Blight. This demonic force ravaged the lands years ago and was defeated by a huge army led by a group called the Grey Wardens--and recently it has returned.
As a child it is likely you read a choose-your-own-adventure book, where by deciding the main character's actions you jumped to certain pages. That is a rudimentary idea of how you play "Dragon Age: Origins." You see, "Dragon Age" is the epitome of a virtual role playing game. It rests heavily on giving you near-complete choice of how you interact with the environment: how you lead your party, where you go, how you interact with non-player characters and so on. While there is a place for linearity in games, I love this concept, and have been scorned by the promise in the past.
As far as video games go, "Dragon Age" is the closest to complete choice I have played and enjoyed. It doesn't actually let you do anything you want, but it is exemplary at making you believe you can.
To start the game I created my character, Leohnard. He is a dwarf from the underground city of Orgamar, one of the two remaining "thaigs" of the previous 12 that existed before the first blight. Leohnard is the second son of the king and the people's favorite son. His older brother is heir to the throne, and some don't like that. The norm in dwarven politics is corruption, so as the character it is expected that either you or your brother will assassinate the other, and I did, resulting in my banishment to the surface.
My favorite situation I've been placed in thus far is how I attained my party member Shale. He is a golem, a living stone statue created by the dwarves, and was magically frozen still. To reanimate him I had to find the correct spell, and the only person who had it told me to retrieve a young girl from deep inside a cellar laden with magical traps placed years ago by his father.
After reaching the end of the cellar I found her, and a cat--but not just a cat. This cat was the guise of a demon trapped in the room, and it wanted to leave inside the little girl's body. I had a plethora of choices on how to handle the situation. I could fight the demon, try bargaining with it in numerous ways, or simply allow the possession.
I allowed it. There was a golem on the line, and I justified my decision with my quest to save the world. This situation was unique, interesting and presented a moral dilemma that exemplified the choices presented in various situations in the game.
Combat is also an important part of the "Dragon Age," and is very well constructed, but so deep that I have not yet figured out all of the nuances. As you progress through the game it evolves and changes. Coupled with being challenging and strategic this is very rewarding because it causes your encounters to feel as epic as the world you are in.
An important note, however, is that the game is very gory. When fighting enemies you will slash and bash them constantly, so it makes sense; but it also makes the game inappropriate for a younger crowd (the game is rated M for mature). Interestingly, the amount of gore on your characters directly correlates to the intensity and proximity of an encounter and persists on your character until you rest.
Keeping with the trend, combat also presents you with a mountain of choices in how you level your character, the gear you equip, beneficial items you use and what skills you employ to overcome your encounters.
The game, for these reasons and more, is an incredibly entertaining time drain. This can be seen as both a good and bad thing, depending on your viewpoint, and certainly attracts a particular type of gamer. The estimated time for a single play-through of the main story is 60 to 80 hours. I haven't come close to finishing, but have already put many hours I should have been working, sleeping and eating with Leohnard--and don't regret it in the least.
Ben Gregson is a junior at James Monroe High School.