Dragon Age: Origins - PS3

Four hundred years have passed since the Grey Wardens successfully prevented the last Blight. Now the terrifying Darkspawn are gathering once more under the rule of the Archdemon, and are poised to invade the land of Ferelden. The first battlefield: the ruined town of Ostagar, where the Grey Wardens meet the army of Cailan, King of Ferelden, to try to stop the Darkspawn and prevent death and destruction before it has even begun.

But during the battle, General Loghain's forces inexplicably withdraw from the field. As a result, the Grey Wardens, the King and most of the human warriors are killed. Among the few survivors is the hero, who had joined the Grey Wardens shortly before the battle and must now find a way to unite the races of Ferelden against their common enemy.

Dragon Age: Origins is a party-based role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. Similar to Baldur's Gate, combat takes place in real time and can be paused at any moment. Tactical options include an editor that lets the player give the AI detailed instructions on how to behave in any given situation. Even so, the player can also control the party (with up to four active fighters) one at a time, switching between characters and using their special talents and abilities to defeat the many different enemies. Over the course of the game, the player has the opportunity to invite up to nine companions to their party. While only four people can leave the party camp at a time, the experience points gained from killing enemies, completing quests or simply opening a chest are credited to every member of the group.

With each level-up, a character receives three attribute points and one talent point. The talent point is used to unlock new spells and abilities in the extensive talent tree, which differs greatly between the three available classes: Warrior, Rogue and Mage. Every three levels, the character also receives a skill point, which lets them learn or improve herbalism or improve their survival skills. In addition, characters receive a specialisation point at levels 7 and 14, which lets them learn two of four class specialisations, such as Shapeshifter and Spirit Healer for the Mage class. These specialisations grant instant bonuses to certain attributes and unlock five exclusive talents. However, to learn such a specialisation, it must first be unlocked. This happens either by purchasing the relevant book from merchants or by learning it from another character, whether a non-playable character or a party member.

Not everyone is willing to teach the protagonist right from the start. In particular, the player's party members must have a certain level of trust and approval. Approval can range from -100 to +100 and is strongly influenced by the decisions the player makes during the game. Talking to and giving gifts to party members also increases their approval. A high level of approval then grants the party member a bonus to certain attributes and unlocks additional quests as they open up and share their past. Furthermore, it's possible to pursue a romance with up to two party members, provided the player character is the right gender and makes the right dialogue choices.

Although the main part of the game is the same for every character created, differing only in what the player does first or which decisions they make, the game features six unique prologues (called "Origin Stories" in the game) – two for each race, except for humans, who share the origin story of mages with the elves. They all tell the story of how the player's character met the Grey Warden Duncan and ended up in the Battle of Ostagar.

The console versions lack the tactical overhead view available in the PC version. The controls are designed to make it easier to control a single character and let the AI handle the rest of the party, in contrast to the PC version, where the entire party can be controlled more easily. In addition, the default difficulty level is lower on consoles than on PC.

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