Dragon Age: Origins

 PC
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4891 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,221 out of 4891
  2. Mixed: 414 out of 4891
  3. Negative: 256 out of 4891
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  1. LeahR
    Dec 26, 2009
    3
    Most overrated RPG of the year. The AI is terrible. Left alone, it will either sit around doing nothing, which means you go nowhere if you've chosen to play a ranged or back-line support class--or else it will rush blindly into enemies, leaving you to perform damage control and clean up behind as it continues to charge forward without pause. If you play on anything above casual Most overrated RPG of the year. The AI is terrible. Left alone, it will either sit around doing nothing, which means you go nowhere if you've chosen to play a ranged or back-line support class--or else it will rush blindly into enemies, leaving you to perform damage control and clean up behind as it continues to charge forward without pause. If you play on anything above casual difficulty, you'll fight the AI every step of the way and end up having to constantly micromanage your party. The game offers "tactics" slots which you can use to assign conditional behavior patterns to NPC teammates, e.g. "Heal yourself if your health gets below X%," yet for some insane reason, you have to spend skill points to unlock these tactics slots. Essentially, you must spend skill points to make the AI slightly less stupid. The tactics also need far more flexibility and generality, e.g. "Use any debuff skill not on cooldown" instead of "Use specific skill X." Because of this, the tactics end up being mostly useless on harder difficulty levels and require you to micromanage the team anyway. On top of these gameplay issues, DAO has a ridiculous amount of dialogue, even by Bioware's verbose standards. It's well-written dialogue, for the most part--but it's still redundant jawing. Too much of the narrative is talked about rather than shown in action. This tendency to tell rather than show has been creeping deeper into each successive Bioware game for years, but it feels like DAO finally crossed the line into self-indulgent writing. Ultimately, the game is simply formulaic: it's the same linear, on-rails RPG with the same linear, on-rails dialogue "choices" which are supposed to give us the illusion of making moral decisions in tense, finely-shaded conflicts. Bioware has been making this same well- (if over-) written, painstakingly-realized, yet ultimately stultifying and narratively-funneled game for years. While playing, I kept thinking how cinematic the game felt, and how much more I would have enjoyed it as an animated film, or a novel. Dragon Age: Origins is a throwback RPG addled by last-gen gameplay and self-indulgent, tedious writing.… Expand
  2. Elizondo
    Feb 9, 2018
    4
    I can't understand how this game is so overrated. Crowded with glitches, horrible interface, poor performance, stupid AI, incomprehensible peaks and valleys in the difficulty level, a game camera that makes your life impossible, inexplicable FPS drops at some areas... the list of deficiencies seem to be endless. Honestly, it is like no one tested this game.
    And how about the story? In one    I can't understand how this game is so overrated. Crowded with glitches, horrible interface, poor performance, stupid AI, incomprehensible peaks and valleys in the difficulty level, a game camera that makes your life impossible, inexplicable FPS drops at some areas... the list of deficiencies seem to be endless. Honestly, it is like no one tested this game.
    And how about the story? In one word, mediocre. The main story is the usual in Bioware games. An ancient evil is coming to destroy de world.. go and recruit your army. Exactly the same as in Mass Effect. And as also usual in Bioware games, side stories are plagiarism from here and there. Take this from King Arthur, take that from Joan of Arc, etc.. exactly the same that they later did in Mass Effect, taking things from Ender´s game, Battlestar Galactica, etc. I wonder how they have managed to avoid lawsuits.
    In short, this game is like it has been developed by three teenagers in a couple of weekends. Technically very poor, mediocre story full of cliches, and a combat system that forces you to micromanage because the AI is retarded. Can´t recommend this one to anyone.    … Expand
  3. Voyou
    May 20, 2016
    3
    Dumb dumb dumb.

    You can read about the biggest flaws in numerous other reviews. I'm not going to repeat. I just want to concentrate on a couple of them that are common in the genre. Flaws are supposed to disappear in later games, right ? Well, not according to the baboon who designed DAO and brought them to a higher level of frustrating stupidity. Many games give you an ability to    Dumb dumb dumb.

    You can read about the biggest flaws in numerous other reviews. I'm not going to repeat. I just want to concentrate on a couple of them that are common in the genre. Flaws are supposed to disappear in later games, right ? Well, not according to the baboon who designed DAO and brought them to a higher level of frustrating stupidity.

    Many games give you an ability to sneak. Most just pretend to give it to you, as they happily ignore it ever after. You know, you're invisible, but a cut-scene begins that makes you instantly visible, and generally at the worst possible spot. And it also gathers your strategically (or is it lazily?) disseminated party. So now you're a bit frustrated because the game ignores your manual efforts and/or your superior brain. Also, the narrative lost its edge somehow. These scenes happen when the game mechanics are not designed according to the story needs. Or the opposite. Actually... both. Anyway, one day, a good game will do this right.

    Now a little example on how DAO handles this simple matter: So here I was, sneaking far ahead of my imposed companions, past many paralysed-looking orcs-with-another-name, careful not to miss any passage between all the invisible walls. Suddenly !... a flower. I mean, an interactive flower, you know, something I can finally touch without killing it. So I tend my hand to grab it... and suddenly !, but very suddenly this time, instantaneous-like, my unwanted companions are next to me, talking to me. They sneaked faster than I did. But not as well, since we are all visible and orcs nearby can see us. They are already charging.

    Do you think this is not stupid enough ? Here's the punchline: only 2 of my 3 companions have teleported in order to dispel my cover with their powerful voodoo. The 3rd one is still where they left him, on the other side of 4 or 5 enemy patrols.

    Believe it or not, it got so much worse in the next chapter that I gave up and uninstalled with a sneer towards the designers. Among niceties, you can't manipulate anything while in combat, you can't go back into sneak mode in an empty, locked room because there is an enemy in another locked room somewhere in a large radius around you, and so on.

    Basically, DAO forces you into linear paths (disguised as exterior maps) and into killing everything as you progress. Not so surprising since the Gray Warden you work for is nothing but a cold blooded murderer after all, but I already hinted that this review wasn't going to dive into the failures of the writing.    … Expand
  4. unclekulikov
    Jun 14, 2015
    2
    The mechanics are woefully inadequate in this game. Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect 1, 2, 3, and Old Republic are all better in terms of mechanics while also maintaining the high level of storytelling and player choice that this game is known for. The thing is all of those games have been made by the same company, so I don't know why this one is so different in such a bad way.
  5. level250geek
    Feb 2, 2011
    3
    I wanted to like this game, I really did. However, I had the same experience with this game as I did with Mass Effect. After about 10 hours, I felt like I was just playing Knights of the Old Republic all over again. However, this game's major saving grace was that the storyline was much more interesting and involved; it's typical dark fantasy stuff, but it had an interesting spin byI wanted to like this game, I really did. However, I had the same experience with this game as I did with Mass Effect. After about 10 hours, I felt like I was just playing Knights of the Old Republic all over again. However, this game's major saving grace was that the storyline was much more interesting and involved; it's typical dark fantasy stuff, but it had an interesting spin by including a nod to real-world Middle Ages politics in the form of an all-powerful church and the existence of slave labor; that bit of mythology was interesting. However, after over 30 hours of play, I stopped caring. Novel ideas were quickly abandoned and there were no new narrative developments or interesting new characters after a while; in fact, there was one character who was so incredibly boring I just kicked him out of my party. Add this to the fact that, despite some new narrative spins, DA:O still managed to implement every single fantasy RPG cliche (not to mention well rehashed BioWare plot devices) into the first two-thirds of the game. As for the game play, I grew tired of a camera that never seemed to be where I needed it to be and AI partners that either never did exactly what I wanted them to do. BioWare threw in a clunky tactics system that was supposed to allow for fine-tuned combat strategy, but it was too complicated to be useful and never really translate into any useful AI actions for me. Not to mention that the endless dialogue trees never felt like they had any actual impact on the game, nor did I ever feel as if my character had any true personality. I really don't understand why this game got the incredible reviews it did and why people love it so much; it's a tired, recycled template with some new modifiers and prettier graphics slapped on it. Time would be better spent reading George R. R. Martin.â… Expand
  6. PCgamerONLY
    Apr 25, 2013
    0
    This game sucks.
    I must have played a completely different game that the rest of the people who enjoyed this game. Everything in this game was a grind.
    I found none of the characters (Sten kinda grew on me) enjoyable. What's with the 10,000,000 gallons of blood on everything all the time? Dialogs were drawn out long winded whining. Did I miss the part in Superman where he had to    This game sucks.
    I must have played a completely different game that the rest of the people who enjoyed this game. Everything in this game was a grind.
    I found none of the characters (Sten kinda grew on me) enjoyable.
    What's with the 10,000,000 gallons of blood on everything all the time?
    Dialogs were drawn out long winded whining.
    Did I miss the part in Superman where he had to deliver groceries to little old ladies to gain valuable experience?
    My character is a Grey Warden... not Fedex. Have someone else deliver the message!

    What's with the endless quantity of ho-hum quests?
    Seriously, you want me to go the forest and shoot a flaming arrow? You mean the forest where I just slaughtered everything but the squirrels? You are too scared to go in there now? but you are willing to talk to the blood drenched group that just emerged from the woods?    … Expand
  7. rogvid
    Jan 27, 2014
    3
    I was so overwhelmingly excited to play this game.
    I have played the Baldurs Gate series (I and II + ToB) as well as some IWD I & II, NWN I + SoU + HotU and the KotOR series, so I have experience in Bioware's CRPG genre and have always enjoyed their games.
    EA really did a good job promoting this game with the teaser trailers and their announcement that this was the spiritual successor to    I was so overwhelmingly excited to play this game.
    I have played the Baldurs Gate series (I and II + ToB) as well as some IWD I & II, NWN I + SoU + HotU and the KotOR series, so I have experience in Bioware's CRPG genre and have always enjoyed their games.
    EA really did a good job promoting this game with the teaser trailers and their announcement that this was the spiritual successor to BG.
    But this game doesn't deserve to be on the same list as the above mentioned games because it doesn't have any of the qualities that it's predecessors. I found the story boring and linear and found the exploration of dungeons to be droll and repetitive. The spell system was ridiculously bad and the side quests were forgettable. My hate (and yes I mean hate, because I hate this game and will never ever touch this again) for this game might have been a product of over-excitement, but that fault, imo, still lies on EA's and Bioware's shoulders. I hope Bioware pulls their **** together and retracts any previous comments on the equality of this game and BG and starts developing a true successor to BG.

    Because the graphics and sound effects were fine, I will give this a score of 3 only based on these aspects of the game,

    TL;DR; Very disappointing result of something that could have been great.    … Expand
  8. FirstRait
    Feb 20, 2011
    1
    What a completly horrible interface. Worst possible combat ui ever! If your a fan of being attacked by things you can't see because of the terrain overlapping the enemy and the ui unable to rotate it then this is the game for you! Anything remotely close to the Baldur's Gate combat ui would have been preferable. I bought this game due to the high rating and am stunned that so many findWhat a completly horrible interface. Worst possible combat ui ever! If your a fan of being attacked by things you can't see because of the terrain overlapping the enemy and the ui unable to rotate it then this is the game for you! Anything remotely close to the Baldur's Gate combat ui would have been preferable. I bought this game due to the high rating and am stunned that so many find this not only an acceptable game, but a good one.… Expand
  9. blacksmith
    Mar 9, 2011
    3
    I've been a big fan of Bioware ever since the first Baldur's Gate game out. It truly saddens me to see them release this pile of crap. There is nothing I like about this game. The graphics look like the game could've been on the PS2. The combat and whole gameplay has a derpy feeling in it. The story is aimed for babbies. Deleting negative reviews, really now Bioware?
  10. Ywrik
    Mar 25, 2011
    3
    According to most reviews, this game should be something like the gamer's paradise, well actually its purgatory or worse. I really cant understand why should I prefer it in comparison with such titles as The Witcher, Dragon Knight Saga (that was really fun to play !) or even good old Dungeon Master. I can compare it to watching a movie, separated by short sequences of "tactical" combat inAccording to most reviews, this game should be something like the gamer's paradise, well actually its purgatory or worse. I really cant understand why should I prefer it in comparison with such titles as The Witcher, Dragon Knight Saga (that was really fun to play !) or even good old Dungeon Master. I can compare it to watching a movie, separated by short sequences of "tactical" combat in which Im supposed to metaprogram my companions behavior according to conditions of my or enemy's or ally's parameters. Seems good idea, but sadly, In practice I found this concept really boring. I have to all the time rearrange my "tactical" companion script with every new spell or skill and troubleshooting it through combat. I found this so very uncool, that I really just pray for end of it wave after wave of hurlocks genlocks nad other locks, so i would be able to see another cut scene of the plot. I tried to play this game twice, around 20 hours or so, but in the end I fell asleep somewhere around or after Loithering village. I cant give this movie more than 3 points, just for the work of programmers, sorry.… Expand
  11. dont_walk
    Oct 11, 2014
    3
    I eagerly followed the development of this game, then hated it. It was so formulaic, unoriginal and limited. Role-playing games are about exploration and surprises. Locations were limited and the dialogue very poor, especially in comparison with The Witcher.

    I am giving it another go with all the content added.

    I am holding out for Pillars of Eternity.
  12. Tubie
    Oct 2, 2010
    1
    I could not get into this game, no matter how hard I tried to like it. The game graphics are horrible to look at even on max settings, the battle is slow and boring, the story might be good but i just could not deal with the other issues to get into it.
  13. KingWormy
    Feb 19, 2011
    3
    I wanted to go this far and write a review to let people know to stay away from this game, like most of you I read the reviews and gave this game a chance, I must say this game will make you pull your hair out, got pretty far in the game and it was not even fun, you spend most of your time dying, trying different strategies to defeat your opponents, what makes it so hard is AI is soI wanted to go this far and write a review to let people know to stay away from this game, like most of you I read the reviews and gave this game a chance, I must say this game will make you pull your hair out, got pretty far in the game and it was not even fun, you spend most of your time dying, trying different strategies to defeat your opponents, what makes it so hard is AI is so horrible, people here aren't lying its really bad, midway through the game and Im still wondering when Ill get some armor to compensate on some battles where I fight 20 enemies at once or an overblown boss. I suggest you buy this game when its 10 dollars and spend the rest of the money on beer just so you'll manage to ignore all the flaws in this game. Buyer Beware.… Expand
  14. supertle
    Mar 16, 2011
    2
    This game has NO HEART in it. The world is boring. No NPC to talk to. Full of one liners. All you do is stare at the mini map and follow in one direction towards the marker. There is no exploration. There is no good loot. In fact they made it easy by letting you find a bunch of junk items and a "SELL ALL JUNK" when visiting a merchant. What's the point of picking up junks simplyThis game has NO HEART in it. The world is boring. No NPC to talk to. Full of one liners. All you do is stare at the mini map and follow in one direction towards the marker. There is no exploration. There is no good loot. In fact they made it easy by letting you find a bunch of junk items and a "SELL ALL JUNK" when visiting a merchant. What's the point of picking up junks simply for selling? Normally junk is considered items you end up not using but could be used if you had plans or skills for it. They really took the "role playing" out of RPG. All that left really is just a vanilla game. You cannot customize your party equipment. You are forced into using certain roles for your companion if you want to maximize their potential. The actions of this game also go so fast that it feels like you're in a freaking shooter game with the ability to pause. Don't get me started on the DLC money making scheme either ... ... and be careful with these reviews. Google "dragon age Chris Hoban" and see for yourself. This game should rank somewhere in the low 7s as average score due to the graphics.… Expand
  15. Gyrolin
    Jan 27, 2010
    2
    After completing Dragon Age: Origins, I was sorely disappointed. The high reviews made the game seem like it would be something innovative or new, when it was really just a cheap Neverwinter knockoff with no multiplayer or campaign editor. Below is my breakdown: Pros: Party members have diverse personalities Good voice acting Challenging Mildly interesting story Decent NPC After completing Dragon Age: Origins, I was sorely disappointed. The high reviews made the game seem like it would be something innovative or new, when it was really just a cheap Neverwinter knockoff with no multiplayer or campaign editor. Below is my breakdown: Pros: Party members have diverse personalities Good voice acting Challenging Mildly interesting story Decent NPC interaction(Though way too much of it) Cons: Unoriginal concept Controls not intuitive Poor gear system(lack of decent upgrading system) Repetitive questing Inventory system makes selling a pain Very linear after the 'origin' quests Not enough options for party tactics Leveling up was unrewarding Crafting system is poor Way too much talking to NPCs Limited skills planned for Fighters/Rogues Prestige classing was pointless Shameless DLC plugs everywhere throughout the game Graphics sub-par for what was advertised Boring all the way through The cons list can go on and on, but I have to stop at some point. As hard as I've tried I really cannot come up with any more pros than are listed. The reason that I gave this game a 2 is that at the end of the 25 hours it took me to beat the game, I felt that all the time had been wasted. This is the first time I've played a fantasy RPG and not enjoyed myself in the 15+ years I've been PC gaming. My personal opinion is that DAO is a no buy/no play. If you respect what little free time you have to play games, just stay away from this one.… Expand
  16. arkangel
    Nov 5, 2010
    1
    I bought this game because of the rave reviews and because I loved Oblivion - I naively imagined that the role-playing fantasy genre would have developed a good deal further in five years. Instead, I felt I'd gone back in time, not forward - Dragon Age felt more like my old Amiga games than a state-of-the-art PC game. I gave up after a few hours - never to return.
  17. DonnieB.R.
    Dec 7, 2009
    0
    Insanely claustrophobic. Mindnumbingly boring conversations. Horribly boring, cliche' story. Terribly boring items. Did I say boring? Almost no customizations. No advancement, generic skills. NO freedom at all (Is this some kind of joke, years after games like Gothic 3 or Oblivion? Playing on 15 x 20m areasy? Loading screens every minute? You gotta be kidding me. There is absolutely Insanely claustrophobic. Mindnumbingly boring conversations. Horribly boring, cliche' story. Terribly boring items. Did I say boring? Almost no customizations. No advancement, generic skills. NO freedom at all (Is this some kind of joke, years after games like Gothic 3 or Oblivion? Playing on 15 x 20m areasy? Loading screens every minute? You gotta be kidding me. There is absolutely nothing in this game that warrants a good score. No, not even the graphic. A true shame on Bioware, and its reviews are marking the death of independent gaming journalism.… Expand
  18. NathanA
    Jan 4, 2010
    4
    This game is absolutely terrible. The companion AI is so bad as to make the game practically unplayable without pausing the game between EVERY action. I literally had warriors sitting there doing nothing while my mage character took a beating from all the monsters. The so-called morally ambiguous dilemmas are absolutely terrible. In real life, many situations have a clear "right" This game is absolutely terrible. The companion AI is so bad as to make the game practically unplayable without pausing the game between EVERY action. I literally had warriors sitting there doing nothing while my mage character took a beating from all the monsters. The so-called morally ambiguous dilemmas are absolutely terrible. In real life, many situations have a clear "right" decision, which usually conflicts with what you want to do. Hence, the dilemma. In Dragon Age, there are no right answers. No matter what you do, you end up feeling like a jerk because you screwed over virtual people. The cutscenes are waaaay too boring and numerous. Thankfully they are skippable. If they weren't, this game would have a negative score. I have to admit that I am more of an action RPG fan. I was hoping this would be playable as a decent action RPG to tide me until Diablo 3 comes out, but apparently I was wrong. The AI is simply too terrible. From the screenshots it looked as if it would play rather like an RTS, but it's too hard to click on your units in the middle of battle. I guess you could click on the pictures to select them but that requires moving your mouse outside of the battle zone. This seems like it would be a pretty fun game if it didn't have so many issues. Honestly I can't believe the reviewers rated it so high. I think the user reviews much better reflect the quality of the game, since it has a VERY VERY VERY limited appeal. I played this game for 2 hours and can't stand it anymore, I'm uninstalling it from my computer. I was going to rate it a 0, but I CAN see how it would be appealing to some people, so I decided to go with a 4.… Expand
  19. EggManStudio
    Apr 22, 2015
    3
    I can see how this would maybe appeal to those who enjoyed isometric RPGs the likes of Baldur's Gate and Diablo, but this game just didn't appeal to me. I don't like how I just have to click on an enemy and watch my character defeat him for me. For me, that takes the enjoyment out of it all. It feels as if I'm dteached from my character, just sort of telling him what to do instead ofI can see how this would maybe appeal to those who enjoyed isometric RPGs the likes of Baldur's Gate and Diablo, but this game just didn't appeal to me. I don't like how I just have to click on an enemy and watch my character defeat him for me. For me, that takes the enjoyment out of it all. It feels as if I'm dteached from my character, just sort of telling him what to do instead of actually doing it, and in a modern game it feels outdated and boring. Aside from that, the voice acting is very subpar, and the whole thing just feels overly complex and behind its time.… Expand
  20. DanS.
    Dec 24, 2009
    0
    Overrated. Conversation options are merely cosmetic; almost all of them are inconsequential and lead towards the same path. Mindless dungeon crawl with a weak combat system. The antagonists lack depth.
  21. moocow
    Jan 14, 2011
    4
    Very big let down. I should let you know I have never played any othe RPG other than Chrono Trigger (SNES) and Final Fantasy VII (PS1). PROS: The voice acting was incredible for a few characters, and I loved how characters within the party interacted with each other. The conversations were witty and modernized, the humor was not stale at all. The variety of the quests was predictable, butVery big let down. I should let you know I have never played any othe RPG other than Chrono Trigger (SNES) and Final Fantasy VII (PS1). PROS: The voice acting was incredible for a few characters, and I loved how characters within the party interacted with each other. The conversations were witty and modernized, the humor was not stale at all. The variety of the quests was predictable, but still entertaining. I enjoyed the storylines much more than I expected I would due to some of the criticisms here. CONS: Coming from first person shooters, I like to play games in real time and even on normal difficulty some of the combat was impossible to perform in real time in order to survive. The fact that most crowd damage spells are friendly fire capable means that you have to position your party well...something that is impossible in real time. "Tanking" does not work, your party will still head straight for the enemies and your "meat shield" pretty much whacks away with useless damage done. Chain-chugging potions to stay alive or restore mana is extremely boring and demotivating. "Tactics" scripting does not work at all; it is a result of very poor AI in the programming. You may enjoy this game it you are familiar with the genre, but expect frustration and displeasure if you like to play games in real time.… Expand
  22. FrancisC.
    Jan 29, 2010
    3
    Dragon Age has the most annoying control and combat system of any RPG I have played. Also It's almost hard to call it a game with all the stupid conversations with NPC's that are far far far to longwinded. The game world is also far to rigid as to where you can and can't go, it's so terribly scripted. A major disappointment. You are much better off with an open free Dragon Age has the most annoying control and combat system of any RPG I have played. Also It's almost hard to call it a game with all the stupid conversations with NPC's that are far far far to longwinded. The game world is also far to rigid as to where you can and can't go, it's so terribly scripted. A major disappointment. You are much better off with an open free flowing game like Oblivion.… Expand
  23. MichaelN
    Jan 8, 2010
    4
    I'm not sure whether people are still bursting with love from Bioware's previous efforts, but this game is nowhere near a 9, much less above a 7. Fans of slow dungeon crawling, where reading endless amounts of text and stiff, turned base combat is everyday fare might enjoy SOME of this game, but the rest of us will rip our hair out in frustration. AI is nonexistent, the graphics I'm not sure whether people are still bursting with love from Bioware's previous efforts, but this game is nowhere near a 9, much less above a 7. Fans of slow dungeon crawling, where reading endless amounts of text and stiff, turned base combat is everyday fare might enjoy SOME of this game, but the rest of us will rip our hair out in frustration. AI is nonexistent, the graphics aren't worthy of a $50 game, and the controls are terrible. The camera is forced to follow you around, which in turn forces you to use W, A, S, and D to move, since clicking the landscape to move is impossible with a frantic camera moving every time you turn an inch. Lastly, the story has been done a million times, the "mature" themes come off as a joke, and the dialogue takes forever. The cutscenes are almost as bad, but at least you can skip them. If you are looking for a game that plays or feels anything like the trailer for this, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a boring, sluggish game with graphics from three years ago, this is for you.… Expand
  24. Methesda
    Dec 13, 2009
    1
    I can't get what has impressed everyone... there is a story here, but it's not in anyway interesting or original. Voice acting is good, but the animation and graphics are either wooden or horribly glitchy ('antialiasing' of hair, head rotation at a constant speed making actors seem robotic). The comabt system is the same combat system that has been in use for decades; I can't get what has impressed everyone... there is a story here, but it's not in anyway interesting or original. Voice acting is good, but the animation and graphics are either wooden or horribly glitchy ('antialiasing' of hair, head rotation at a constant speed making actors seem robotic). The comabt system is the same combat system that has been in use for decades; to my limited experience it is basically a FF generic RPG system. in itself is not bad But combined with the constant interuptions for cut scenes compounded by the seriously limiting gameplay areas, i found it impossible to get into any kind of flow with the game. The crafting and loots systems are inferior to many other games. I've enjoyed most Elder Scrolls games, Final Fantasy games, and a handful of other games, including MMO's. Most tellingly, i've enjoyed MMO's story and combat systems better than this game, which simply shouldn't be the case. I'm not sure why I'm even giving this game one point.… Expand
  25. RichardS
    Jan 2, 2010
    0
    I want to like this game, there is so much to this game and it could be great but sadly bioware released an unfinished product and left it up to YOU to script the AI. In order to play anything above easy you have to babysit your entire team because if you don't they'll run backwards into walls, blast you in the back with their spells, or the rogue will constantly try to tank and I want to like this game, there is so much to this game and it could be great but sadly bioware released an unfinished product and left it up to YOU to script the AI. In order to play anything above easy you have to babysit your entire team because if you don't they'll run backwards into walls, blast you in the back with their spells, or the rogue will constantly try to tank and the tank try to sit off in a corner somewhere and play with his thumbs. Bioware placed a tactics page in the game, which is script sets with sugar-coated labels on them so it doesn't look like script sets. The Preset script sets make the AI about as retarded as the AI on Halo, leaving it to you to do bioware's job scripting the game's AI. I am sorry, but no matter how good a game is the company has no right to release a product unfinished and leave it to the consumers to complete their job.… Expand
  26. GordonF
    Feb 8, 2010
    4
    Dragon Age: Origins was a very disappointing game for me. I played most of the good RPGs and I played this because the fan community recommended me to do so. I had high expectations since Bioware made the best RPGs this far. This game is just dull. First of all, conversations are boring and you can even curse someone's mother without any serious consequence. Of course some party Dragon Age: Origins was a very disappointing game for me. I played most of the good RPGs and I played this because the fan community recommended me to do so. I had high expectations since Bioware made the best RPGs this far. This game is just dull. First of all, conversations are boring and you can even curse someone's mother without any serious consequence. Of course some party members may disagree with you, but you can always give them a ring or pendant to make them feel better after you forced them to slaughter innocent puppies. Party AI is ridiculous. Forst I started a warrior but my team hardly survived without healing. Okay then I started a healing (wtf?) mage. I ended up being a healbot of my fellow NPCs. If I dared to shoot a fireball or something like that, all mobs started to attack me and if I unfortunately went down, only the limited amount of healing potions could save my little lemmings. Turning AI on/off didn't help much. So you might call me gay but I died a lot. I didn't know first that this game has a console version, then after 3 hours of gameplay I became suspicious... "hey... this game is dumb and primitive... it must have a console version." And yes, I was right. Nowadays PC games become more and more dull, they lack original ideas. Of course they give us spectacular graphics (in case of DA:O I could argue) but on the cost of story, excitement. If this is the future of PC gaming I think I'd rather buy a dog, or hang myself.… Expand
  27. Blaze997
    Sep 22, 2011
    1
    Is that really a 2009 game ? Limited area of play, bad AI, no way to get out of dialog when you want to (have to click, click and click), so so graphic . I tried to like it ! When you get some action, it's only to get bored . I wont buy another game from Bioware . If you like watching a movie go ahead . If not, stay away .
  28. MattG
    Dec 23, 2009
    4
    good storyline, voice acting, graphics? ok, but the gameplay is what killed the game. Oh look an enemy. "click".. 5 seconds later oh look another enemy. "click" and then theres the boss, lets use tactics and our skills to kill it! oh wait, we only have stun abilities which dont work on bosses... Overall the gameplay was depressing, but i thought it had an epic storyline, i loved having good storyline, voice acting, graphics? ok, but the gameplay is what killed the game. Oh look an enemy. "click".. 5 seconds later oh look another enemy. "click" and then theres the boss, lets use tactics and our skills to kill it! oh wait, we only have stun abilities which dont work on bosses... Overall the gameplay was depressing, but i thought it had an epic storyline, i loved having people at my knees begging for mercy, that was the best part of the game.… Expand
  29. buzer
    Feb 9, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game didn't aged well. after finishing skyrim and witcher 2 i just can't get myself into it. fighting system is pathetic, plot is meh at best. bunch of rednecks betraying each others. just few hours into game i already lost my entire family, home city, king and my order. it's just doesn't make any sense considering there're monsters invading my land. For example imagine 1942 Europe. Hitler is biggest threat in centuries but all of sudden uk decide to betray usa even that without them uk chances to survive.are much smaller Its just silly and unrealistic. Not to mention that my character, some unexperienced kid is leading team with senior member of my order, and gods only know how old witch.… Expand
  30. Hardcard
    Sep 20, 2012
    4
    I'm disappointed. I guess I was expecting too much from this game. I can't help but notice that "Dragon Age" is nothing more than "Neverwinter Nights" with a new graphic engine. I've been playing "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" for a while and I can say that it humiliates "Dragon Age" in every aspect.
    This game is so tatty that I can't understand its fame. As far as I've seen, it has a    I'm disappointed. I guess I was expecting too much from this game. I can't help but notice that "Dragon Age" is nothing more than "Neverwinter Nights" with a new graphic engine. I've been playing "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" for a while and I can say that it humiliates "Dragon Age" in every aspect.
    This game is so tatty that I can't understand its fame. As far as I've seen, it has a weak/childish story, poor character depth (if any), it still uses the "Neverwinter Nights" command/navigation systems,and its graphic engine, however improved, is already obsolete.

    In one word: Disappointing.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best PC Game of 2009
4
#4 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 67 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 67
  3. Negative: 0 out of 67
  1. Gameplayer Sweden
    100
    If you're into rpgs, or rather if you love roleplaying in general, there's really no need to waste time reading any reviews of this game. The same goes if you regard games like Planescape: Torment, Fallout 2 and the Baldurs Gate-series among the best computer games ever made. Because this game is everything a person like you look for in a game, and so much more. Be aware though, Dragon Age: Origins is not a revolution of the genre, rather it is an evolution, where Bioware has refined everything that made them into a formula as close to perfection as possible. Without a doubt one of the strongest Game of the year-candidates so far this year and a game we will remember with warm feelings many years to come.
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  2. PC Gamer
    92
    An outstanding story-driven RPG with fantastic writing, RPG depth and tough tactical combat. It's BioWare's best RPG since Baldur's Gate 2. [Holiday 2009, p.38]
  3. GamingXP
    92
    Dragon Age Origins will keep you in front of your computer for hours! Graphics, sounds and the controls couldn’t be much better!
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