Dragon Age as a whole is a series home to what are now three action fantasy role-playing video game titles, and many novels and short stories. With the games developed by BioWare and published by EA, Dragon Age has acquired a large fan base and has always had itself as competition.
Dragon Age is my favourite video game series, ever. There is just so much I love about each of the games, and novels. I care for the storylines, I care for the characters and what happens to them, and I like to kill stuff!
No better place to start at than the first game. The first game in the series, Dragon Age: Origins was first announced at E3 in 2004, and made its debut on November 3rd, 2009 for North America. You bet I bought it Day 1, and that’s where it all began.
With many compelling companions, the original Dragon Age has plenty of character interaction.
Dragon Age: Origins was revolutionary in its time; not many games could compare to it. It featured amazing scenery, a compelling plot, and hilarious companions. In the world of Thedas, Dragon Age: Origins is set in the country of Ferelden and you are set to be a Grey Warden in whichever Origin story you choose from, out of the many options. The Grey Wardens are heroes to most. Your job as such is to protect Ferelden against the Blight—when the demon creatures, darkspawn, make their way to emerge to the surface from the Deep Roads underground where they reside. You do so to whatever means necessary, having all kinds of exciting adventures and encounters along the way.
Additionally, the decisions you make will impact your story and characters will say things they might not have said, if you had chosen a different dialogue. DA: Origins is easily one of the best games I’ll ever play, it also has great replay value because of all of its possible options and endings.
Skip forward to July 2010, Dragon Age 2’s announcement. It was released on March 8th, 2011 in North America. Dragon Age 2 faced heavy criticism by reviewers for having repetitive environments and a confusing, as well as short, storyline. Despite the negativity, DA2 received a good average from most (see our DA2 review here).
The companions in Dragon Age 2 create troubles all their own.
Set in the city of Kirkwall, located inside the Free Marches of Thedas, you are Hawke and you are escaping the Blight in Ferelden alongside your family to Kirkwall. As the story progresses, you make your stay with your uncle and you play towards helping the people of Kirkwall. With progression, the Qunari, members of the Qun religion, storm and settle in Kirkwall—which plays with the idea of the city being safe. Later on, political matters quickly rise between the Templars and the Mages with Hawke stuck in the middle. Eventually you must choose a side.
Truthfully, despite being depicted as a “bad game” by many, Dragon Age 2 had beautiful areas and again, hilarious companions with a lot of banter. It is still one of the best games I have ever played. There comes a time when you have to look past something’s flaws and see the good, and hard work done. Dragon Age 2 was not Dragon Age: Origins, and that’s okay. Dragon Age 2 also features an improved dialogue wheel, similar to that in Mass Effect 2, which gave the main protagonist emotion, having the ability to choose from an aggressive response, charming/funny, or polite/friendly. This feature allowed the depth of DA2 to be more personal to the player and connect to Hawke, and his/her companions. One of the best features about this series is how you can import your save from DA: Origins to Dragon Age 2 and it will alter your experience depending on the choices that you made in the previous game, enabling all kinds of flexibility throughout the series. This is easily one of the best features a video game should include.
Dragon Age also has dragons. That’s why they call it Dragon Age, after all.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third game in the series, it was unofficially announced years ago but was only officially announced in September 2012 and was given a teaser trailer at E3 2013. It is now set to release on November 18th, 2014 in North America. I remember initially hearing about DA: Inquisition, and being so excited that BioWare was finally working on releasing a new game of my favourite series. It has been a very long wait, and it has grown difficult to avoid the spoilers and reviews. “What familiar faces will I see?”, “What new faces will I see?”, “What will the storyline be like?”, and “Who will I be able to romance?” (Did I mention Dragon Age is huge on romances and relationships?), are just a few of the questions I’ve been eagerly awaiting the answers to.
Different than the other titles, DA: Inquisition will feature more than one country. The map of Thedas is vast and to my knowledge, you will be visiting many of the countries on the map.
You are the Inquisitor, leader of the Inquisition as you and your companions band together to stop The Breach, which is the current tear in the Veil, the barrier that separates Thedas and the Fade—a realm beyond, where the spirits live. I have a strong feeling that DA: Inquisition will again be revolutionary in its time, following in the footsteps of DA: Origins. Tying into DA: Inquisition, Dragon Age Keep will be a key feature in your experience with the series. It allows you to choose a Hero for both games and play around with the story decisions that can impact DA: Inquisition by exporting the decisions into the game.
I hope to have at least opened your mind on Dragon Age, and now that you’ve seen a peek into what the series, or rather the series of the games is like. Dragon Age is a special series, and unique in its own way. They are great action RPGs and have storylines that you’ll remember. If you need more of a reason to play Dragon Age, play them for the amusing companion banter, beautiful sceneries and interesting dialogue. And, if you haven’t played any of these games—you need to.
Written by: Bobbiann Mako