Excuse me, but are you one of the Grey Wardens?

A while ago I watched a video of a recent advertisement for a game called Dragon Age: The Awakening, which was meant to be one of the best sequels this year. I was confused, since I had not seen any game called Dragon Age. So I went into my nearest Gamestation and asked about the previous game. The cashier told me that it was called Dragon Age: Origins, she told me that it is a worthwhile game to buy, since it uses an all new game engine named Eclipse, for which a toolset for creation of fan-made content is available to owners of the PC version.

Once I had got home, I opened the box and a card fell out. On one side there was a code for a extra quest and a valuable character, who is a Golem, and on the other side there was a code for some extra special armour, which could be used in Dragon Age: Origins and in the up-coming game; Mass Effect 2. I thought that this was a really good idea for marketing, since if people cannot buy any of the DLC for a while this gives them a real boost, since they start off with a really good one. (And you would have to pay 1200 Microsoft points for it otherwise!)

In the beginning of the game, you get to choose one of six origins stories to start off. There are three races, Human, Elf and Dwarf; and each of these can choose a type, which includes: Warrior, Rouge and Mage. (However a Dwarf cannot be a mage.) The order of Race, Type and Story includes: A Human Warrior or a Human Rouge will start as a Human Noble, A Elvin Warrior or an Elven Rouge will start as either a Dalish Elf or a City Elf, A Dwarven Warrior or a Dwarven Rouge will start as either a Noble Dwarf or a City Dwarf. Last but not least either a Human Mage or an Elven Mage will become one of the Magi.

As you progress through the game you can recruit some characters, they will interject into the main story line, for instance a Dwarf called Oghren, and a Warrior called Alistair. However most of the characters will have to find yourselves such as, a Warrior called Sten and a Rouge called Leliana. One problem that I find annoying is the fact that you cannot change your party in an area where a battle will take place.

However this is a game that you cannot only play once, since at crucial points in the game, you can choose sides. So for instance you can either side with the Elves or the Werewolves in the Quest “The Nature of the Beast”. Each choice will have its own achievement, so unless you are an avid gamer and saves before the choice, so you can go back and get the other achievements.