Dragon Age Origins Ultimate Edition

This edition includes Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age Origins Awakening and seven downloadable content packs. The Stone Prisoner, Warden's Keep and Return to Ostagar can be accessed while playing Origins while The Darkspawn Chronicles, Leliana's Song, The Golems of Amgarrak, and Witch Hunt are stand-alone adventures. Also included are the Blood Dragon Armor and Feastday DLCs.

At the start of the game (begin with Origins if this is the first time you're playing Dragon Age), the player has to choose his character's gender, race, background, and class. Gender will not affect abilities but has some differences in dialogues. There are three playable races (human, elf, dwarf), each with their own set of starting bonuses and natural capabilities. Background will determine the opening act of the character's story. There are six different stories for human noble, magi, city elf, Dalish elf, dwarf commoner, and dwarf noble. Meanwhile there are three classes to choose from; warrior, mage and rogue. This will determine the abilities the player-controlled character can learn in the game. Each class also has four specialization bonuses to choose from (six when playing Awakening, The Golems of Amgarrak and Witch Hunt).

There are six attributes to be improved and these will determine how the characters act in combat and non-combat (dialogue). The following are the attributes: strength, dexterity, magic, willpower, cunning, and constitution.

There are a maximum of four party members while actively playing. In Origins there are ten companions to choose from. Awakening has five. Party members react differently to how the player-controlled character respond to dialogues and decisions. They will either approve or disapprove. Conversations will also lead to more quests (companion quests) and/or romance (romance is possible only in Origins). It is possible to control the movements, attacks, and spells of all the characters through Tactics. This can be changed at any time and the player can switch from among the four active characters.

The characters can have two sets of weapons equipped but can only use one set at a time. However different classes can be vulnerable to certain attacks and are more effective at using specific weapons or attacks (melee or magic). Which armor the companions use can be decided by the player as well as which attributes and specializations are improved. 

At the start of the game, the player is introduced to Ferelden's political climate and the creatures called Darkspawn that threaten it. Hundreds of years ago, the creatures went up to the surface and wreaked havoc in an event called the Blight. The only group of people that successfully fought the darkspawn so far was the Grey Wardens, warriors with various skills and made up of different races. The leader of Ferelden's Grey Wardens, Duncan, has sensed the coming of a fifth Blight and that an Archdemon is behind it. 

The Origins story is determined by the player-controlled character's race and background. Set in Ferelden, the player will be introduced to Duncan of the Grey Wardens and then later recruited because of some tragic event. He traveled with Duncan to a fortress in Ostagar where he is initiated into the order. Before that, he is introduced to King Cailan of Ferelden who is gathering his forces to try to repel the darkspawn and stop the Blight. Cailan is supported by Duncan and his father-in-law Loghain, although the latter seems to disagree with some of the king's plans.

The war council planned to have Cailan's unit and the Grey Wardens lure the darkspawn into attacking the fortress. Loghain, at a signal, will then flank the darkspawn. But when Loghain saw the signal, he ordered his unit to retreat, leaving Cailan and the Wardens at the mercy of the darkspawn. A massacre ensued and the king, the army and most of the Wardens were slain in battle and southern Ferelden fell.

However , the player-controlled character and Alistair survive the attack. It is up to the two to try to gather and rebuild forces again to resist and stop the Blight. The two surviving Wardens will need the help of humans, dwarves and elves but Ferelden is beset by a lot of problems they have to overcome first before they can face the threat of the Blight. Besides gathering skilled individuals throughout the game, they also have to convince the leaders of the different races to lend them support.

Alistair, Grey Warden and Cailan's half-brother

Morrigan, apostate mage and daughter of Flemeth

Dog, a Mabari warhound

Sten, a Qunari, warrior of the Beresaad

Leliana, bard and former assassin

Shale, stone golem

Oghren, dwarf and berserker

Wynne, mage of the Circle in Ferelden

Zevran Arainai, elf and Antivan crow

A screenshot of my character (center) with the nine out of ten companions in DA Origins

In Dragon Age Awakening, the player has an option to create a new character but I recommend importing the character from Origins to continue the story. Most of the attributes and specializations are retained at the beginning of Awakening. 

Several months after the Wardens successfully defeated the Archdemon and stopped the Blight, the player-controlled character, now Warden Commander, is sent to Vigil's Keep to try to rebuild the Grey Wardens. He is also now the Arl of Amaranthine and must deal with other matters. 

When he arrived at the Keep with a new recruit named Mhairi, they discover that it was overrun by darkspawn. Baffled at how the darkspawn can organize such an attack without the guidance of an Archdemon, the Warden Commander discovers that a talking darkspawn led the attack. The player has to find answers about this new threat. It seems the darkspawn have not gone underground after all and two new names (the Architect and the Mother) seem to come up every time.

There are some returning characters but Oghren is the only available companion. The new characters are fewer but are as diverse as in the previous game. You cannot initiate conversations with them outside camp however. Romance is not available as well. 

Moreover, Awakening has some changes in the gameplay and features. There are new specializations (battlemage, legionnaire scout, keeper, guardian, shadow, and spirit warrior), spells, talents, and skills (clarity, runecrafting, and vitality), and materials for armor.

Anders, former mage of the Circle in Ferelden

Nathaniel Howe, rogue, son of Rendon Howe

Sigrun, dwarven rogue and member of the Legion of the Dead

Velanna, an exiled Dalish mage elf

Familiar face. Oghren.

Justice, a spirit of the Fade in the body of a dead Warden

Probably the best part of the game are the companions. Over the course of the game, you get to know each one better through conversations and their personal quests. Trying to balance your relationship with them and the decisions you have to make for the Wardens is almost like a game in itself. Usually companions in games are provided for convenience, but Dragon Age allows the player to explore the different personalities and therefore forge a bond with them. It almost becomes addictive and when you get to the point when there are no more conversation options, you get really disappointed.

I also commend the staff for coming up with back stories that have depth. The world-building of Dragon Age will be appreciated by fans of fantasy, history and mythology. Some stories have parallels in the three mentioned areas but is still engaging and addictive. It's like reading a satisfying book except that you also get to participate in it.

Combat might be easy at some instances but there are stages that are a bit tricky. As long as you prepare ahead, have mastered tweaking the tactics and you have plenty of potions all the time, getting through the fights will not be a problem. Decision-making is the more difficult part of the game. You cannot always anticipate the outcome of events or the reaction of the different affected parties. Sometimes one statement you pick from a seemingly casual conversation has a huge impact in the conclusion of the story. The satisfaction you feel when you get the result you desire is worth all the effort.

Origins is time-consuming given the depth of all the back stories of the various quests. The rewards are worth the effort though. Awakening takes less time to complete.

Were the two games worth playing? Oh yes, and quite addictive as well. The replay value is also high, especially if you want to see all the possible endings.

Duran Manu Aeducan. Male noble dwarf warrior. Loves the weapon and shield. Picked Zevran as his lover.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Origins: 10 out of 10

Awakening: 9 out of 10