Though it has only been around since 1995, BioWare has already established itself as one of the premier RPG developers. Hits like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights gave way to hallmarks like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect. At this year’s E3, BioWare showed Dragon Age: Origins, an upcoming role-playing game that shows the stream of great games from BioWare is not stopping anytime soon.
Dragon Age: Origins, a mature fantasy action-RPG taking influences from the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and World of Warcraft. The main character is a Grey Warden, an order of knights charged with restoring peace to the land by slaying the Arch-Demon, an all-powerful dragon.
On the way, your main character will form deep relationships with other party members and characters, which shape the story and the choices you will have to make further down the road. All in all, it reminded me of the character development in Mass Effect, particularly in the way you could choose from an aggressive/neutral/friendly conversation tree.
In the demo at E3, we got to see the main character make a choice between two different romantic options: Morrigan, a mysterious shape-shifting mage, and Leliana, a virtuous maiden who just might be in love with you. Choosing to consummate the relationship with either one will ultimately displease the other, and it’s up to the player to choose how to best resolve the situation.
But of course, what would Dragon Age: Origins be without some good, old-fashioned dragon slaying? The demonstrator showed off a boss battle against a powerful dragon and how party dynamics play an important part in attaining victory. Though they didn’t go quite as deep as I would have liked, I gathered that combat would be similar to World of Warcraft. Your strongest characters attack the massive dragon directly, while magic-casting characters maintain their distance so they can cast healing spells or poison the dragon.
Though I only got a brief demonstration, I can say that Dragon Age: Origins looks like it will live up to BioWare’s promise of an epic fantasy adventure. The company has already proved with Mass Effect that it can successfully create a deep, intricate story, and Dragon Age: Origins will be its chance to prove the company can do the same in a fantasy setting. We’ll see if it’s successful when Dragon Age: Origins is released Oct. 20 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
I am a Los Angeles-based writer and gamer who is always looking to combine my two main passions. I believe video games have the potential to become the best storytelling medium of the 21st century, and it is the writer's responsibility to encourage this process. Oh yeah, I'm also a nerd.
