So, for people possibly interested in the actual game, I thought I'd put together what the press is saying about it after playing.
First -- though it's not an actual review -- here's the
GiantBomb Quick Look video. About 20 minutes of gameplay (with their usual commentary) from a point very early in the game (so no real spoilers). Probably the best footage so far in showing how the gameplay works.
Second, the first official reviews were from the Polish magazine CD-Action. One reviewer gave the game a 8.5, while complaining that the game was too hard-core (not easy), insufficiently shiny graphically, and didn't allow respec (seriously!?). There's a translation
here, though it's via RPGCodex and has their usual snarky comments interspersed. One interesting tidbit:
The devs claim that DA takes 120 hours to complete with all the sidequests. Even if they're exaggerating, it would appear that not too much - after 26 hours and getting to something that looks like a final boss fight, it came out that I completed only 34% of the game, while exploring 86% of the map. Plus, I spent a lot more time with it, since I had a lot of reloadings caused by deaths.
The other, giving a 9, said this:
What I can say, I had great expectations towards this game. Although I have to agree with all the cons mentioned by Allor, yet I do think that the game diserves better rate and even the quality mark. We should keep in mind that DA: O has to be approached in specific ways. This is not next-gen RPG game .[...] We have playability in old, very classic style. Gathering the party, prepering for hours for major battles, plodding at a development tree and pondering investing in which areas will eventually pay off - that is the very core of the game. We haven't got many games nowdays requiring so much involvement from a player. At the same time none of them offers so complex, multi-threaded and interesting plot, which is the most important thing. Thanks to it you really wanna spend dozens (or even houndreds!) hours with DA: O. I recommend the game to all hardcore RPG's fans. [...]
Third, GameInformer gave it a 9, in this
short spoiler-free review.
While some time is spent exploring and conversing, the biggest thrills in Dragon Age are found in combat. This is no breezy hack ?n slash affair; the best encounters feel like puzzles, forcing you to use your resources wisely and make calculated decisions on the path to victory. Which enemy poses the largest threat? How do you stem the tide of oncoming skeletons? Can your tank stand in the middle of your mage?s electrical storm long enough to take down the ogre? Your answers to these questions change depending on your party members and their skills, leaving some space for experimentation. Almost every fight can kill you if you aren?t focused, but the satisfaction of standing in the midst of your slaughtered foes after a well-fought battle makes it all worthwhile.
[...]
In the middle of reviewing Dragon Age, I had a couple vacation days scheduled. During my long out-of-state weekend, the game was constantly popping into my mind ? how I could have won a fight differently, or how I might spend my next few talent points. As soon as my flight landed back in Minneapolis, I didn?t even fight the urge; I drove straight into the office and spent an entire Sunday night in front of the computer fighting darkspawn and saving Ferelden. The number of titles that can foster this level of dedication and obsession are few, and Dragon Age: Origins is among the best of them.
Fourth, German magazine PCAction gave it a 91. I don't think the whole review is up anywhere, but there are some tidbits
here.
Desslock's review in PC Gamer should come out in a week or so. He has been talking the game up in the
QT3 thread, if you want some preview bits.
UPDATE: French magazine PC Jeux gave it a 95. There's a translation
here (careful! some mild spoilers), French
here. Non spoilery excerpt:
About 8 brothers in arms, varied, and well made, will follow you, and they wont act like simple puppets, but will benefit from personal background, and personality, that will lead you into secondary quests, as long as you develop your friendship with them.
Thus, they all have their own objectives, and will react to your decisions, and actions, some aren't angels [snip] and every cross into the story will bring you to make hard decisions, some of them won't have consequences...until hours later, and of course, there's no karma, or alignment, so you wont know what will be the impact of your choices on your companions.
For PCJEUX, such a storyline has rarely been seen, get ready for short nights, an average 70 hours of game play to finish the main story, if you take the time to explore as much as possible, with the temptation of trying a new origin, with a new group, and to make different choices.
Much more, the game is full of tactical encounters, where you will have to coordinate the actions of your companions (only 3 can follow you). The fights will give you the occasion to use a vast range of spells and special hits, witchcraft is very powerful if you use it well, but the spells can also affect your companions, so be careful when aiming!
On the enemy side, monsters use their capacities quite well, so you better use the strategic pause to give orders.
UPDATE AGAIN:
Not many details yet, but apparently PC Gamer in France, Sweden, and the UK are giving the game 94%+.
Thread on the UK version
here. More tidbits
here.
This is the most enormously detailed game world I've experienced, its history stretching back thousands of years, its cultures vivid, beautiful and flawed, the battles enormous, the humour superb. Roleplaying games now have a great deal to live up to.
Verdict
A truly astonishing game. Vast, vivid and microscopically detailed. Dragon Age is the RPG of the decade
94%
The Swedish one isn't in print yet, but from
this blog post has the news of their highest score awarded in four years (which means at least 94%):
Epic role-playing with unprecedented emotion.
And from France,
a 95%:
Old-school gameplay with a fast rythm and a foregrounding of the story, this title mixes together the best of what Bioware has done in the last few years. The intensity of a Baldur's Gate and the depth of a good book series, what more could you ask for?
Desslock's review for the US version of PC Gamer will be in their Holiday issue.
UPDATE YET AGAIN:
Some more foreign reviews, but the big names should drop today. IGN UK weighs in first
with a 9.2 and text that's even more favorable:
And what of criticism? Well, the loading screens can be a bit long, and most of the conversation animations are reused by a lot of the NPCs. Animation during conversations on the whole is stilted, which would lessen the impact of the voice acting if the quality of it wasn't so fantastic to begin with. Oh, and it would be nice to quick-travel to the map screen without having to trudge your way back to a starting location, but it's clear why this isn't the case – lots can and does happen on that homeward bound, but we're plain lazy. And that's about all we've got. Simply expect one of the best RPGs you have yet played.
10/10 Lasting Appeal
Words like epic don't do it justice.
RELEASE DAY UPDATE:
Gamespot
gives it a 95:
When was the last time you felt totally lost in a fantasy gameworld? When was the last time you played a game with such a well-crafted and enjoyable story that you knew you’d remember it for a long, long time? Dragon Age: Origins is that kind of game, so rich and involving that you are powerless to resist its wiles and whims, so touching and triumphant that your mind and heart will be moved. In the fictional land of Ferelden, you meet memorable characters and fight for a cause you believe in, and it's this backdrop that makes developer BioWare's newest role-playing game so extraordinary. Dragon Age is more than a well-crafted story, however: It's a lengthy, intricate, and thoroughly entertaining adventure that's easy to fall in love with.
Giantbomb gives
a full five stars.
Also, the main forums are up and down (mostly down).