Editor’s note: This review was written by Chris Bayes, a student at Full Sail University. Chris is a 32-year-old happily married father of two boys. He has had many jobs in his life but never seemed to find his niche. Recently, Chris has been gifted the opportunity to go back to school and pursue his dream career. He has always been into videogames and gaming of all sorts and has seen the genre change over his lifetime. Chris is looking forward to giving back to an industry he has enjoyed and still enjoys.

Dragon Age: Origins is the latest in a long line of story-heavy, player-driven role-playing games from Bioware. Does it live up to other past greats? You bet it does — and then some. Dragon Age: Origins begins by telling a tale of how humanity defiled heaven and how the Maker set forth a punishment upon the land in the form of a Blight, driven by monstrous creatures called Darkspawn. It seems these Darkspawn set forth every few hundred years to march a bloody path across the land. It is up to a select few Grey Wardens — warriors gifted with special senses who can track and have been given special abilities — to fight these Darkspawn as the world’s only hope against them.

Your first choice among many is to choose your origin story. You must pick a race: Human, Dwarf or Elf. Each race has at least two choices of a noble, commoner or mage. You also get to select your gender as well as what class your character will become. While in other games these choices never seem to matter, they have a great impact on your experience in the world of Dragon Age: Origins. Some people react better toward humans or elves, and gender can play specific roles in how quests are resolved and what awards are given. Remember: Choice and its impact while small at first can come back later to get revenge, so walk your path lightly.

You may think you should just play through each origin story and race and gender to get the specific origin story outcome and be done with it, moving on to pick one of them and finish the game, not thinking there is any difference. That, my friends, is the wrong path. Although slight in some regards, each origin story, race and class have an impact on your gaming experience. Some quests and nonplayer characters only appear to certain races and classes. Also, as you progress though the game, part of your origin story comes back to rear its head at some point.

After your origin story is completed, you a thrown into a epic battle of good versus evil. It is up to you to gather forces to defeat the Darkspawn at any cost. Although you may sigh and say “Been there and done that,” you have not — at least as far as Dragon Age: Origins is concerned. Your choices and how you choose to play the game determine how your experience plays out. You can be an epic honorable warrior that would kiss babies and save puppies. Become a murderous mage that is the most vile kitten-kicker that ever walked the land. Or perhaps become something in between. Although this all may sound like it has been done, it has not been done in this way. Each choice you make changes the final outcome of many things, but one thing stays the same: Good or evil, in the end, you are the hero. No matter your choices or punishments of actions taken, you are the envy of the land, the savior. People want to be you and shower you with gifts. You may walk many paths in Dragon Age: Origins, but you are a hero in the people’s eyes.

Dragon Age: Origins is a beautiful game to say the least. The world is brought to life in bright colors and rich sounds that make you feel as if you are walking the countryside with your characters. The visuals of combat are equally fantastic; blood spatters, and heads fly as your character and companions carve your way into your enemies. With each strike a grunt and each death a scream, combat is very satisfying. The background music also sets the mood for each encounter and level, adding to the rich and inviting environments your character encounters. The world is a living world as people and things walk about as you do. People talk to other people, and small animals run about. The weather effects and smoke from battles only add more depth to an already immersive experience. You almost squint to see through the fog as your character walks through it.

Combat is, in a word, difficult. Just going out and taking the battle to the bad guys is not enough to survive. You have to adjust your tactics, weapons and spells for every situation, or you end up taking a dirt nap. One wrong choice or one missed arrow or spell could mean disaster for your party of heroes. Just because you are the hero does not mean the bad guys care in the slightest. Each enemy is out for your blood, to tear you limb from limb and feast upon your lifeless body. Be warned: Acting careless in battle is the best way to let the Darkspawn win.

This is not to say Dragon Age: Origins is all doom and gloom. The interactions with NPCs is, in my opinion, what truly makes this one of the best games I have ever played. Each NPC has its own ideas, agenda and attitude. They will at some point have issues with what you are doing or how you are doing it. NPCs also make themselves available for possible romance, if your character is so inclined. Developing the romance between characters is some of the best and often hilarious dialogue in the game. The banter between NPCs as you walk about is also very amusing. Often, I would just stand there and let the NPCs talk just to hear what they would argue about or make suggestive comments about. Top-notch writing spared no words in Dragon Age: Origins.

In closing, Dragon Age: Origins is what an RPG should be. It has a fantastic story, well-defined characters and a very immersive environment that makes you totally connect with the various characters you stumble across. It has superb graphics and sound that bring the amazing writing together in a unique way. Everything just works and works well. Dragon Age: Origins is a must-buy!