Let me preface this with a small introduction, and perhaps some context as to where I approach gaming from. I'm a cranky old lady who's been earning a living for 20 years with nothing but a moderate knowledge of the English language. I'm a tabletop RPG, sci-fi, fantasy freak living comfortably in my alter-ego as a suburban-living corporate drone. And I have the hand-eye co-ordination and reflexes of a tortoise on Xanax.

When it comes to RPGs, actual gameplay mechanics are truly secondary to me. I mean, as someone who's spent countless hours with Neverwinter Nights, Oblivion, Fable and Mass Effect, I found the controls of DA: O to be intuitive, easily mapped and accessible to my only-semi-opposable thumbs - drag spell/skill/item into slot where it's easily found, master zoom in/zoom out feature, Crazy-Glue thumb to space bar for pausing and voila! The absolute joy to be found in the gameplay mechanics is when you stumble across those spell combinations, or particular skills that allow you to wander through the land of Ferelden rejoicing in your own bad-assery.

Using the party rogues to sneak, disable traps, shoot some one-hit kills, and lure unsuspecting darkspawn into your winding trap of death ... priceless. Watching your mage take out an ogre with a cone of cold/stonefist combo ... priceless. Making your husband look at you with a touch of fear for a week after an accidental slip of the phrase 'ice-fisting' ... priceless.

Speaking of bad-assery - and really, aren't we always? - one of my RPG pet-peeves from the moment I first plugged in TES: Oblivion has been level scaling. What FUN is it to level up, find the best armour, and improve your spells if every creature this side of the swamp is still stronger than you as you advance? While it's obviously important to make sure there's always a challenge to the game, one should always be able to experience the sheer joy of wading through puddles of virtual gore and slicing your way through hoards of fodder while singing a sea shanty. DA: O's endgame, in particular, accomplished this very well. While full of dozens upon dozens of slayable target practice, the encounters are also sprinkled with just enough impale-you-on-your-own-petard challenge to make each victory a real celebration.

I am somewhat amused by the amount of complaining around the lack of a PC voice in DA: O, especially as I'm not quite senile enough to have forgotten the whingeing around the prospect of a fully-voiced PC in Mass Effect. ("Ohnoez! It's not MY voice! It will break teh immersionz!!" ... etc. etc.) That said, every time my Elven mage opened a door and said "On it!" my instant and uncontrollable response was, "These darkspawn are TOAST, because REVAN is gonna kick their ASSES!!! Whooot!" ... and so on...

The graphics are, perhaps, a step back from something like Mass Effect or other next-gen console games, but I was playing on PC, so I didn't notice that much. My only complaints were the occasional frame-rate stutter, as well as the freakishly large hands and bad teeth on each and every character. Seriously...get these people some Crest Whitestrips.

Now...for the meat, the gravy, and the dessert. Story. Yeah, I'm a BioWare fangirl. Let's get that out of the way. (Or, perhaps...BioWare Fangranny ... or some such thing.) But the reason I'm a fan, is because the stories they present to me continue to blow my mind. Dragon Age: Origins is no exception. The characters and companions that followed my wacky elf from one end of Ferelden to another had me laughing out loud, getting misty eyed, and raging wildly at my computer screen. Adventures had me thinking about issues like honouring the war veterans who put their lives on the line for us, about choosing duty, love, honour or faith, about the ties that keep families together and the lies that drive them apart. I couldn't resist constantly returning to my paramour for kisses, and nighttime cuddles, and to my friends for advice and colourful commentary.

Now, let it also be said that I'm a huge, huge fan of endings that aren't necessarily pulled from the arse of Walt Disney. I love a story that leaves me feeling like I've been kicked in the gut a few times, and let me tell you, I've been thoroughly pummelled through this experience. In my mind's eye, I seriously have a raging, screaming elf who's being carried away over the shoulder of a large Quanari while hurling incoherent obscenities on the entire congregated population of Denarem. And thus the legend of the Mad Grey Warden begins.

If you don't like dialogue, skip this game. If you only want happy endings, skip this game. If you don't want to have to think your way through scenarios, skip this game.

If you want to have your mind and soul ripped away from the everyday drudgery of real life and thrown into a mind-numbing adventure of passion, rage, betrayal, love and the occasional digital luvvin' ... get Dragon Age. Live it. Love it.

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My weird-ass fandoms:

Neverwinter Nights:
Walk Away [link]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I and II:
Control [link]
A Lesson in Pazaak [link]
Healing Touch [link]
Luck of the Draw [link]
Revan's Challenge [link]
Such a Quiet Thing [link]
Lost Causes [link]
Your Man Until the End [link]
Safeword [link]
Afraid [link]
Interlude [link]

Mass Effect:
What Should Have Been [link]
Ode to the Geth: [link]
Wired: [link]
Tracers: [link]

Oblivion:
If You Came Out [link]
A Good Man [link]