I killed a dragon

So I've been playing (and have been horribly addicted to) Dragon Age: Origins.

Just so you know, this game is completely in my wheelhouse, in terms of games that suck me in for hours (and days) on end.

Mind you, I like just about all types of games. I'm pretty equal opportunity as far as that goes.

RTS? I played Starcraft to DEATH once upon a time. Some of my other favorites in that genre include Total Annihilation, C&C Generals, Age of Empires, Civ2 (although 'real time' in the RTS title really doesn't apply, but it is kinda the same), and I even played Simcity. (though not the Sims...I hated that game)

FPS? I was a Quake junkie back in the pre-internet LAN party days. The original Wolfenstein and Doom games were a lot of fun, and more recently I've been a huge fan of the Battlefield Series. (Side note: I'm not as big a fan of these games on the console. I'm a mouse looker. without a mouse, FPS feels so...inaccurate)

Platformer? Mario! I've played every Mario title since the original Donkey Kong and with few exceptions, loved playing all of them. I don't generally seek out these titles (other than Mario), but they are nice time wasting fun.

Racing games? From Mario Kart to Burnout, I enjoy most of the 'Arcade' types of this genre, but usually don't go for the 'simulation' games -- Haven't really played any since the old Grand Prix series back in the day. I have some of the new ones in my Gamefly queue to check out though, to give them a look.

Sports games? I've played Madden a lot. I mean a whole hell of a lot. I also played (and loved) NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, and pretty much all of the 'Arcade' style sports games (Hockey, Soccer...heck, even Tennis on the Wii).

All that said...my true love in the PC game are RPG's, particularly ones with an engaging story. The play is simple. You kill stuff, and as a result of that killing (via XP and/or loot), you get more and more powerful, and as a result of that power, you can kill more difficult things and unlock another chapter in the story.

With an rpg, you are always playing for the story. Great RPG's have a big main story that you can't wait to see the next chapter of, as well tons of great side stories that you want to finish as well.

In terms of combat, it can be arcade style (such as Zelda or even Kingdom Hearts) or strategic (like Final Fantasy). It can even be something in between. It really doesn't matter. What sucks you into an rpg is the story. Great ones are like a good book that you stay up reading because you can't bear to put it down.

World of Warcraft has an 'okay' story. It is mass-media fantasy lore that is sometimes inventive, but mostly all old hat. Some of the gameplay mechanics make for a really good game. Getting together with 24 other people to down a new boss with unique and interesting abilities? Awesome fun. And...those fights advance the story. And then you can go rehash them on hard mode for the same 'story' but better loot. bleh...loot is boring.

Dragon's Age has a great main story. The gameplay is pretty standard for the rpg fare. Combat is real-time, but you can pause the battle to setup strategic encounters. 'Bosses' are fairly easy (though some have proven a challenge). Overall the gameplay itself is pretty simple. It has some depth to it, but once you learn the basics, you can kill just about anything with a single strategy. (Tank gets aggro, healer heals tank, dps pew pews, repeat until dead). There are some encounters where you have to think outside of that box, but for the most part, that box is where you live. It's a happy box. A peaceful box. (I've taken the box thing too far now haven't I?)

The game is far from perfect. The loading times are pretty bad and even on a decent computer I was having framerate issues until I turned down some stuff, which almost never happens for me. Beyond the technical, there are some gameplay things. For example, mages are pretty overpowered. Currently I believe I could win most encounters on my mage without the rest of the people in my party. I'm just that OP.

Also, the aforementioned story is fairly typical fantasy fare. Not a lot of twists to be found.

That said, the positives for this game outweigh the negative and then some. The story is engaging and the decisions you make impact the story.

For example, do you let a mother sacrifice herself to save her possessed son, kill the boy so that you kill the demon/end the threat, or go look for another option somewhere? I let the mom sacrifice herself and now I'll never see her again. Later she could have influenced the story... I'll never know (until I replay it). She is dead as a doornail. Maybe next time I'll be evil and kill the boy. I dunno. If I did that I'm sure some of my good party members would not like that decision (causing me to lose influence with them, costing me in stats). Also, the mom wouldn't like that, so she would be unlikely to help me later and might even inhibit my mission.

You are faced with choices like this throughout the game. Choices that matter. I love it. It makes the game interesting to me because all along the way I'm evaluating what choices I will make differently on my next run through the game. And I can't wait to do that run.

Anyway, it is a great game, I highly recommend checking it out.