Should lead by saying there\'s a significant segment of oldbeards who would tell you that Baldur\'s Gate II is BioWare\'s true masterpiece, even if I\'m not one of them. But I\'ll admit that the opening statement is broadly true if you append a \"modern\" in front of it.
I like the game too, even if I sympathize with people who didn\'t like the Fade (it\'s definitely a clunky interface and if you take a break midway it\'s easy to lose track of what you have and haven\'t done). The Origins were also pretty good, even if as a City Elf my own origin didn\'t feel super followed-up-on, and while I acknowledge the six years of dev time are probably a big factor in the immense depth and craft to the situations involved, I wish later games did a better job of evoking it too.
At the very least, even if I personally prefer Mass Effect and Jade Empire, I can\'t deny that Inquisition was the last Bioware game I\'m ever likely to buy, and this is definitely the best Dragon Age game, clunky bits that don\'t quite fit with later titles and all.
Finally, I\'ve found someone else who likes the Fade sections! Yes it\'s superfluous (minus those great companion nightmare scenes, but that\'s the part everyone agreed on liking anyway), but it was a great change in gameplay, getting all the attribute increases were satisfying and it really captured a dream-like tone.
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The Crown Jewel of Bio Ware's Golden Age
When people ask what the best BioWare game is you'll generally hear three choices: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect 2, and Dragon Age: Origins. As you can see from the title, my vote goes to the latter. In fact, it's my favorite video game period.
Let's get the flaws out of the way, the combat can be slow and the graphics aren't that great. I've also heard some people have problems with the game crashing on PC, but that's only ever happened to me a few times in the major hub city. As for the first two, while I acknowledge that these are legitimate critiques, they don't bother me much. The graphics are decent for 2009, even if they aren't as good as Mass Effect 1. The combat can be slow, but it's generally in the service of being more tactical than hack-and-slash. If you're looking for an action RPG, this one isn't going to be for you. But if you're looking for an updated take on Baldur's Gate 2, this will certainly fit the bill. I do agree that several segments of the game rely too much on combat encounters and could've been truncated, particularly the Deep Roads, but generally, the game works fairly well.
The biggest criticism I've seen of the game that I disagree with is the Fade section. I agree that it's not necessary for the plot, but it gives the player a good idea of what the Fade is like and why demons are so dangerous. And when it comes to its segmented and abstract nature, I personally appreciate those parts. I like abstract puzzle-solving and non-linear answers, so this was quite a treat for me. Perhaps that's a product of growing up with the Professor Layton series before playing this, but I've never minded Bio Ware's puzzles too much.
Anyways, onto the game's strengths. There's certainly a lot to cover, so let's start with the titular feature itself: the origins. The game features six different playable origins for your character, each uniquely contributing to the world-building and plot of the game. Most are around 1-2 hours in length, but they do a great job at setting up your character while still giving you room to play around with their personality. Your background may be fixed, but how your character responds to it and the rest of the world is up to you.
That brings us to another major strength, the level of choice in your character's voice and actions this game provides. This was the last Bio Ware game not to use the conversation wheel, and it makes a great case for why trees are better. There's a freedom here that no other game in Bio Ware's catalog has ever matched. This is enhanced by the lack of a morality system in the game. Your dialogue and actions are not arbitrarily deemed good or evil, they are instead judged by your companions. Certain ones will approve of more selfish or pragmatic options while others will be glad you played a stalwart hero. Ultimately, the final choice is up to you, even if the consequences aren't.
Admittedly, some of these choices are easier on replays when you know the best outcomes. The fate of Connor in the Redcliffe quest is a big example of having two bad choices and one obviously good one. Still, there are several sections where there really isn't a right choice, particularly involving the Dwarven succession crisis. It helps that generally, the obviously good choices are harder to achieve than the others. Most involve careful dialogue navigation and some extra exploration and fights, and several require a high persuasion ability.
One of the game's strongest assets is its cast of companions and supporting characters. Many are memorable, from the quirky but lovable smith Wade to the surprisingly complex Loghain. The companions are also one of the best casts that Bio Ware has ever put together. Except for the Dog, all of them are complex and layered characters who have much depth to plum. Some are certainly better than others, Oghren in particular losing a lot of his complexity once you finish the Deep Roads, but all of them are interesting to explore. The common theme between them all of being outcasts in some way does a lot to endear them to the player, especially since no matter your origin the PC will be one as well.
That leads us to the final major strength I want to touch on, the underdog nature of your character and party. At the outset of the game's main story, you essentially have nothing. Your order is dead, your country is divided, and there are no mentors to guide you. If Ferelden is to be saved, you're going to have to figure things out on your own. But over the course of the game, you do exactly that. With each quest, you grow a little stronger. With each companion conversation, you grow a little closer. You rebuild the country piece by piece, so that by the end when you've assembled your army, it dawns on you just how important you've become and how massive your impact has been. You were no one's first choice for a hero, but you overcame that and built yourself up to become one. And that experience is something no other game has ever really captured for me. It's one of the best examples of the Ragtag Bunch of Misfits plot I've ever seen, and it's only reinforced by the fact that your choices are what guide them to victory. When you beat the game, you truly feel you earned it.