One day, I was sitting at my desk, reading the latest PlayStation 3 news on PS3Center.net, when there was a knock at my door. This wasn't an ordinary knock, it was loud and distinctive—like someone with power was trying to wake me if by chance I was asleep. I was startled, but calmly went to the door, only to find a man dressed in a blue jumpsuit. I instantly thought, “Surprise, happy birthday to me!”

It wasn't my birthday.

The man gave me a package, a big, light box. I figured that this couldn't be a game, that it must be something else—boy was I wrong.

I opened the package only to see a vast amount of hay and straw. Digging deeper I found a circular case, a piece of parchment and a wrapped package sealed with wax—needless to say this got me excited.
Opening the items, I found a note deeming me a Grey Warden, a vial of Darkspawn Blood, and a copy of Dragon Age: Origins. This made my day, so I proceeded to drink the Darkspawn Blood—a bad choice as it tasted like vomit and filth (with a hint of berry), and I wanted to throw up after drinking it. This all makes sense after playing the game however, but I'm not here to spoil that for you.

   
Some images to whet your whistle, just hopefully not with Darkspawn Blood.

The game starts off in a very creative manner. My first impression before running through the game was that you played as a fixed character, with a certain background and skill set—I was partially right. The character creation engine in Dragon Age is great. You can change everything about yourself including gender, appearance, race, class, and even a back-story (which changes the beginning of the main plot-line and how characters interact with you.)

When I started the game up, I saw that the menu system was lovely to look at. So sleek yet fitting for the theme, the menus seemed to flow in and out with ease. Navigating them was simple and not off putting—of course, this is something we've come to expect from BioWare. While the menus seemed like they could initially be a bit overwhelming for the casual gamer, they are fortunately easy to learn.

Moving onto the game itself, I was impressed for the most part. You are thrown into the story headfirst, and it quickly picks up without losing your attention. This also helps with learning the controls, though they really aren't that hard to get in the first place.