It was long, and it was hard (that’s what she said), but damn was it awesome.  Find out how long, and how hard Dragon Age: Origins was in our full review below.

Forty hours, twenty-eight minutes.

You know what’s even more insane?  The game server is telling me that I have only completed 38% of Dragon Age: Origins.  38%.  I suck at math, but I’m pretty sure that’s only a little more than a third.  Am I the only douchebag with his jaw on the floor right now?

Glitchoris BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)

If I haven’t conveyed it enough via my Initial and Mid-game thoughts yet, let me be very clear when I say that Dragon Age: Origins is beyond epic.  Even more importantly, Origins is a blast to play – all forty-plus hours of it.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Is That You?

While the storyline seems like it was pulled straight out of Lord of the Rings, having to recruit the Dwarven, Elvish, Human, and Magi armies in order to defeat the massive Darkspawn blight, Bioware did what it does best by stirring in top-notch voiceover acting with some very compelling characters.  It’s long been said that if you ever walk out of a movie/finish a book hating or loving some of the characters or the plot line, then it was probably a good movie or story because it played with your emotions.  In KOTOR I remember absolutely despising Carth Onasi, but loving HK-47, the evil, sadistic, assassin droid who called everyone “meatbags” .  In Dragon Age: Origins, I had a similar experience: I absolutely hated Morrigan from the start, but loved Alistair (even though the dude died on me every fight) because of his hilarious sarcasm.  Bioware, arguably the best RPG development company, does a lot of things really well, but I argue that no one does individual characters better.

While I do poke fun at the overall, somewhat bland “LOTR” plot line, Origins’ story does have its moments, and it once again is a credit to the fine hosers up at Bioware.  Without giving anything away, you will be loved, you will be betrayed, and you will be stabbed in the back, literally and figuratively, all based on your decisions and how well you get along with your companion characters.  There were multiple occasions in Origins when I was literally so pissed off at a character, I actually found myself yelling at my television.  Specifically at the end of the game, I got so mad at a certain character, I had that character killed, and when I was given the option of who to do it, I chose to do it myself for what they had done to me.  No I am not a sadistic person; if you’ve played through the game you likely know exactly who I am talking about.  Plus, these were medieval times, so that was a pretty normal decision in those days.  And it’s a video game, so yeah.

Forty Hard-Fought Hours

As a Marine, I generally take the harder, more challenging route if given the option – why go for a long, flat road run when I can find a hill and do sprints up that bitch until I collapse?  On top of that, I’m a pretty stubborn dude, so whenever I start a new video game I always start it on “normal” difficulty.  Dragon Age: Origins was no different.

I said it in the comments section of my initial thoughts: “every time I stop and think Origins is too easy, it turns around and kicks my ass.”  Like many games of this generation, once you die it will ask if you’d like to dumb down the difficulty level in order to pass a certain stage.  Being the stubborn guy that I am, I never give in, even if I’ve spent six straight hours trying to get past a certain boss.  It’s a pride thing, you know?  Dragon Age: Origins though was tempting, because it definitely has its difficult moments.  I can proudly state that the only time I ever turned the difficulty level down to “casual”, was for the Archdemon – the game’s final boss, and for good reason – that bitch is the definition of “epic”.  My reasoning was because I wanted to simply finish it for reviewing purposes, however, I have that SOB saved and will definitely make a return appearance on normal to get my revenge.  One interesting thing of note with Origins’ difficulty system is the ridiculous difference between “casual” and “normal”; maybe I had been playing on “normal” for too long, but “casual” was almost too easy.  The bottom line however: Dragon Age: Origins is no joke, with plenty of frustration along the way.  But then again, that’s part of being “epic”, isn’t it?

Final Thoughts

With this review being my third post on Dragon Age: Origins, I think all four of you probably get the point here.  Dragon Age: Origins really is a phenomenal game.  While it really is not for the casual gamer, it does feature some incredible characters, so if you enjoy a good story, I think this game is for you.  Origins is most definitely for the fantasy RPG’er, as the depth of Origins is downright astounding – you could easily log 60+ hours into this thing and still not hit the 100% completion mark.  Hell I logged 40 hours myself and I didn’t even hit the 40% completion mark, so do the math.

Overall Dragon Age: Origins is an awesome game.  I had a blast with it, and I’d be willing to bet you will too.  Oh and when you do, smack Morrigan a few times for me, will ya?  She’s such a bitch.