Now Playing: Dragon Age: Origins

In many ways, playing through Bioware's new Lord of the Rings-style fantasy role playing game feels a lot like the experience of reading an epic novel. The writing is mature and fiercely intelligent, the world lush, the story sweeping, and the characters true-to-life.

The appeal here isn't the kind of hack-and-slash gameplay you might expect from the genre; it's the sense of exploration and discovery, and the fact that the way you play your character shapes the story, the world, and the entire experience. There are no easy answers, no black-and-white morality, and that's what sets it apart.

It's a massive, beautiful world built on an intricate mythos that is revealed through dialogue, overheard conversations, and surprisingly entertaining in-game books that can be read through a menu screen. Choosing and customizing your character - from a human noble to a dwarven pauper to an elven outcast, and lots of variations in-between - is just the beginning. The world itself feels alive, and the experience unique to your chosen character. You won't just have to beat enemies to succeed, but poverty, racism, prostitution, and more. So despite the staggering depth of the game on even a single play-through, you'll likely want to go through it again and again to see the world through the eyes of different people.


After playing through a unique "origin story" for your chosen character, you'll get swept up into a war against a rising tide of demonic creatures. Battle plays out in much the same way as the developer's previous RPGs, like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate - and that's a good thing. You can sit back and watch the battle play out, essentially leaving characters on autopilot, or you can switch between your party members, giving each a series of commands. Battles are spectacular and gory, with swords and spells flying across the screen.

Sure, the battles are fun, but what makes them so involving is the fact that you care about the characters and the outcome. This isn't just a fun game, it's a great game built on great writing and a lot of imagination - the video game equivalent of a page-turner. If that sounds appealing to you, don't hesitate to pick it up. And then good luck putting it down.