BioWare boasts a long-standing reputation as one of the most respected developers in the gaming industry, with numerous household titles and franchises. Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire – all highly successful games produced within a single decade since the company was founded. Few can argue that BioWare develops quality titles, namely RPGs known for their tactical gameplay and powerful stories, two major components heavily character-driven. 

More recently, Mass Effect marked their debut on HD console. Between the epic space opera’s 2007 release and upcoming 2010 sequel, we are graced with something uniquely conventional. Dragon Age: Origins takes several steps away from its sci-fi cousin and takes us back to that ol’ high fantasy genre, filled with snooty humans, drunken dwarves and xenophobic elves. 

Here is Ferelden, a land wracked by the usual civil unrest and racial mistrust.  Well, unfortunately for the residents, the ancient darkspawn are stirring after four hundred years in dormancy and on their way over for a barbecue, with people on the menu. The factions in Ferelden aren’t exactly holding hands around the figurative campfire either, so what’s a nation to do? Rely on a single person and his (or her) band of misfits! Sounds rather like a sitcom when you hear it like that.

An opening cinematic sets the mood, setting a premise for events. The darkspawns' origins stem from a tale of hubris, similar to the "Tower of Babel" story. A group of mages had their heads up their own arses and wanted in on the Maker’s (God) domain, so they dabbled in some seriously shady magic and somehow screwed up Heaven instead of getting in, ultimately bringing it to ruin. As punishment, they were cast down and cursed by their own follies, thus becoming the first darkspawn. Naturally they're near-unstoppable, owning the dwarves ten different ways until the brave Grey Wardens show up to lay down the unrelenting hand of justice.

After the moderately enlightening intro, you're sent to the character creation screen, which is basically the online Character Creator BioWare released earlier. Like in Mass Effect, you select a background for your character that will determine how others react to you; UNLIKE Mass Effect, these character backgrounds are determined by race and class. Players start by choosing from three races and three classes -- human, elf, or dwarf, then Warrior, Mage, or Rogue; it's all very typical fantasy stuff. From there you are assigned a backstory and move on to fleshing out your character's appearance. If you're a fan of Western RPGs, then you know how hard it is to create a normal-looking character without having to purchase the PC version and download mods (won't point any fingers); on Dragon Age, this won't be a problem. In fact, you might even have trouble making a character that isn't unusually good-looking.

Character backgrounds are then assigned based on which combination of race and class the player chose. There’s no mix ‘n’ match option, but BioWare has put a greater emphasis on the significance of character backstories in Dragon Age. These not only influences how characters interact but the entire playable prelude as well; despite whatever your usual race and class preferences are, the game is set up so players may actually want to try all the different combinations to see how events unravel, especially during the prologue to see how your Grey Warden gets his / her start. Before long, the game also reveals exactly why the Grey Wardens are so special, and we're let in on their dark (and nasty) secret before events get into full swing.

A camp site acts as your base by default and can be accessed via the Ferelden map. It's like the Normandy in Mass Effect or Ebon Hawk in KotOR, where your party members stand around in designated spots, waiting for you to walk up and talk about their personal lives, gleaning favor or disdain. A merchant and enchanter pop up early on in your camp, letting you buy and sell, while more characters and NPCs appear later when you've recruited them for your cause. Progress will yield more dialogue options, and your team may eventually offer to teach you their specialties, unlocking attribute bonuses, class specializations and the like. 

The way gameplay is set up should look familiar for BioWare fans. The devs appear to have bonded with radial menus, as it’s where you’ll access spells, items, advanced party commands, and the game’s nifty “Quick Heal” action – just about everything you’ll ever need in battle. It’s fairly easy to navigate, but players can hotkey up to six skills or actions for quicker access during fights. That last option essentially eliminates any need to sift through your inventory for healing items by grabbing the most "suitable" portion when activated. Accessing the radial menu during battle will still pause everything, and the hotkeys are just there to keep the fights fast-paced by offering easy access to your frequently-used commands. By the time you’re halfway through, the six slots will feel less sufficient, and you’ll likely be falling back to the main radial menu constantly for additional options. Regardless, the interface is actually fairly simple to grasp, and BioWare manages to condense the game’s daunting complexities into this manageable form. 

Still, newcomers with less experience in RPGs (or MMOs) might find Dragon Age quite daunting, and a quick glance at the various Talents shows why. The class-specific talent trees will later give way to sub-classes – such as warrior to Templar, rogue to Bard – and come with combat skills as well as buffs, elemental and status effects, saving throws, and other such RPG nonsense most gamers have likely forgotten. Players also need to think of their party; all team members are playable and specialize in a specific class, including your beloved war hound.  There is an Auto Level option, like always, but who really uses those? Just keep the manual with you and don’t ever hesitate to consult it.