Dragon Age: Origins

Whether family or career, Mercedes or BMW, GameStar or ... GameStar, life is full of important decisions. This also applies to every role-playing game that the Canadian developer Bioware published before Dragon Age: Origins in the course of its almost 15 years of existence. How do I behave in conversations? Do I resolve conflicts diplomatically or by force? Am I willing to sacrifice my fellow combatants for the good of others?

After Biowares Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins is back on freedom of choice; almost everything your hero does (or doesn't do) affects history. Bioware packs this constant either-or into an excitingly told, often dramatic and in the genre currently unrivaled emotional pool. So you should make an important decision right now: read on!

The start of the game

Dragon Age: Origins begins classically: You choose from three races (human, elf or dwarf) and classes (warrior, magician or villain), distribute points to six roleplaying-typical character values and miss your hero with all sorts of ledge-like sliders likeness.

Depending on class and origin, Dragon Age offers six different, approximately two-hour introductions to history, the so-called Origin Stories. As a prospective magician, for example, you have to take an exam that immerses you in a surreal dream world to hunt a demon. Human warriors find themselves in the home castle in the middle of an attack by enemy soldiers, as a result of which your own father falls and you just get away with your life.

The six opening variants already make it clear how much love organic goods have put into the characters and the story and spiced them up with drama. As urban elves, we have to watch how our cousin Soris' bride is murdered by human guards because she refuses to serve as a pleasure object at their "parties". The narrative intensity is underlined by excellently staged cutscenes. Both the animations and the finely drawn facial expressions make every emotion of the characters visible.

»Test video: Watch the Dragon Age game

The quests

The game owes three reasons that Dragon Age: Origins maintains its entertainment value in the 30 to 40-hour campaign, which is the same for all hero classes after the respective introduction, until the end.

Point 1: the quests. Above all, the story-relevant orders present you with tasks that are as varied as they are gripping. In the Brecilian Forest, for example, you get to the bottom of a werewolf curse that has haunted the local elves, but in the course of time you come across indications that someone else is involved. In the tower of the magician's circle you will meet the demon of inertia, who will quickly lock your hero into your own consciousness, where you will work your way through an unreal labyrinth with shape-change talents. Dragon Age aims to unite all the races of Ferelden in the battle against an arch demon and its dark brood. Whom you knock for when is up to you, the actual quests are still strictly linear. Instead of being allowed to freely explore the world as in Risen, you go through predefined »hose levels«, which hardly encourage exploration due to fewer branches, but keep you going with cutscenes and script events.

Compared to Mass Effect, Bioware has reduced the density of secondary tasks, but integrated them better into the storyline. For example, if you find oil bottles in an abandoned house before the story-relevant battle for Redcliffe and get the blacksmith Bevin to exchange the schnapps reel for his hammer, you will fight the undead with fire barricades and strengthened AI troops. In addition, almost all quests offer several solutions. Bevin, for example, can either be persuaded (assuming he has the right talent) or wants to get his missing daughter Kaitlyn to safety first. Or maybe it works to put the sword on the dwarf's throat. Critics at a high level: Some quests drag on due to areas that are sometimes unnecessarily large. Two stories down in the Magician's Tower or a few caves in the Frost Summit Mountains would actually have been more here.

The AI heroes

Item 2 on the list of motivational elements: the characters. As is typical of a bioware role-playing game, Dragon Age: Origins gathers several AI-controlled comrades, one of which is more distinctive than the other.

For example, while the warrior Alistair looks suspiciously at every stranger, the cynical magician Morrigan always likes to let the guns speak in case of doubt. If there are moral conflicts, you should consider what your colleagues have to contribute to the topic. If you vote against a view too often, the moral value and thus the combat strength of the corresponding hero will decrease. In the worst case, he even leaves the group. To counteract this, you can provide good weather with gifts. Here, too, tact is required; Pushing a diamond necklace into Alistair's hand is less impressive than the healer Wynne. The corresponding comments are not only funny, but also strengthen the bond with the heroes. The latter, in particular, will give you rough remorse more than once in the game.

In addition to their own comrades-in-arms, many quest givers also score points with quirks and quirky details, such as the dwarf dealer Garin, who has sniffed too often at the poisonous lyrium ore and therefore started to stutter. In addition, the characters (NPCs) react differently to inquiries depending on the origin of your hero. While you, as a member of the Elves, will find rejection and distrust in the populated capital Denerim, human heroes bite granite at the pointed ears in the Brecilian Forest. This ensures a decent atmosphere plus and increases the replayability through partly different quests. The villain also managed Bioware well. Why Loghain Mac Tir, the former leader of the human armed forces, betrays his king and tries to start a civil war despite the threat of the Dark Brood, makes him (especially if you know the novel about Dragon Age) an opaque and interesting rival.

»Video: The game world of Dragon Age: Origins

The fights

Point 3 of tension: the struggles. Those who meet opponents in Dragon Age: Origins will find themselves in tactically demanding battles of the Baldur's Gate brand, in which it is always important to pause cleverly, give orders in peace, cast spells and activate passive bonuses.

Advanced role players rub their hands: where do I place my warriors? Which enemy do I attack first? Should Morrigan freeze the undead magician in the background with her "frosty hug" or would you rather take care of the struggling mob with the area-effective "flame blow"? A sensible team is just as important as good timing. If the warriors run out of steam at the wrong moment due to overly researched endurance skills, even the most powerful broadsword will no longer help. Cool: If you do not want to decide what each knight should do next in every second of the fight, you can use the clear talent menu. Here you can determine how your colleagues should behave in special situations. Then, for example, Wynne automatically works healing spells if a colleague's life energy slips into dangerous areas.

The diversity

Beginners will be overwhelmed by the enormous tactical depth of Dragon Age, especially since you already have to nibble on the battles on the second lowest of the four difficulty levels.

Professionals, on the other hand, not only get the playful challenge that Mass Effect missed not only because of the skirmishes and crisp boss opponents, but also because of the numerous, very well-balanced talents. For example, a magician can be trained in four magic genres, each with four talent trees, to become an elementalist, healer, supporter or conjurer. Specializations bring additional tactical depth: warriors with the title "Berserker" prefer slow but particularly strong blows, "champions" increase the morale of fellow combatants with battle cries. As diverse as the talents are, the arsenal is relatively lean; Similar to Risen, you can count the axes, swords, bows and crossbows on one hand. In addition, magic bonuses are often repeated. After all, you can permanently improve the equipment found with runes and at least partially individualize it.

The technology

There are downsides, especially in the technical area. Dragon Age: Origins scores with soft animations, detailed figures and chic magic effects.

The partly polygonal surroundings, arid vegetation and spongy textures are no longer up to date. The main problem with the actually excellent sound is that the own hero does not speak a single word - after Mass Effect a clear step backwards. The German dubbing of the other characters is okay, only we would have liked deeper voices for the dwarves. The occasional camera problems in big fights and especially the bugs can also be improved. The latter, however, are limited and should not deter you from the most important decision now: to buy this game. You can see more about the technology in the video below and our detailed technology check.

»Video: Technology in Dragon Age: Origins

bugs

Atypical for organic goods, Dragon Age is plagued by various bugs. The severity of the program errors is limited, but the masses are nevertheless negative.

Copy protection & versions

German version: Dragon Age: Origins has received an age rating from the USK of 18 years and appears uncut in this country.
Languages: You can install the game either in German or in English (text and language).

Copy protection: Dragon Age does not have to be activated over the Internet. Instead, the program checks the authenticity of the DVD every time the game starts.

Registration: If you want to play the enclosed additional quest package "Caught in stone", you have to activate and download it online with a code. This requires registration with Electronic Arts and only works once; after that the code is used up. This is how Electronic Arts wants to devalue second-hand versions of Dragon Age.

Version muddle: On November 5, Dragon Age will be released in two sales and download versions. At the same time, Electronic Arts also published the two additional content “Caught in Stone” and “Guardian Fortress”.

All versions come with the mighty Blood Dragon armor and the download code from “Caught in Stone”. If you buy the game used and the code has already been redeemed, Electronic Arts offers the package separately for 14.99 euros. »Guardian Fortress« is available for 6.99 euros. The two store versions offer the best price-performance ratio; the download counterparts are overpriced due to the lack of extras (printed manual, DVDs, etc.).

»Watch Dragon Age: Origins test videos

»Dragon Age: Origins walkthrough
»Character guide to Dragon Age: Origins

»Watch specials about the Origins stories, the characters & the game world