Oh, yeah, BioWare's at it again. If you thought they had forgotten about fantasy gameplay and story elements after they left the Baldur's Gate series somewhere in La-La Land after 2001 in favor of more Sci-Fi experiences like Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect...and that horrible Sonic RPG...then treat this game as a "welcome back" party because everything that this developer has ever done is done again and a lot better. RPG fans rejoice, because everything you like about the genre is sitting right here waiting for you in Dragon Age: Origins. It's just the kind of game that you want to get lost in, explore, and learn everything there is to, since just about every faceat is covered and coated with a shiny coat of paint.

There's obviously a well-crafted story behind all of this, but easily the best part of it all is covered within the first few hours of the game. You create your character using one of three races and one of three classes (Dwarves still get the shaft for not being able to use magic, however), and a background from this outcome. Depending on what you choose, it effects how people in the future interact with you and even some plot elements. It's a lot better than the set-up that we got in Mass Effect: after creating your own Commander Shepard, you got to see your background for about ten seconds into the intro and it was completely forgotten. In Dragon Age, the complete opposite happens. Did you betray someone in the intro storyline? Looks like you just made a game-long enemy. Help someone out big-time or give them a small trinket? Prepare to be paid dividends later on. Even twenty hours in the game, something will get brought up about what you did here, which turns the regular RPG experience into your own, every time you play the game.

The story is where, like all BioWare games, Dragon Age shines brightest. Sure, there are some cookie-cutter plot coupons and character designs, but the characters are still some of the best you can play in an RPG. What may look like your typical sword-slinging grunt will turn out to be a very well-rounded and designed character, so much so that they seem like you're actually talking with someone with the real-feeling voice talent behind the scenes. Even some of the more insignificant characters have long and engaging backstories, it's just too much fun to ignore it every time you get a chance to meet someone new.

What's really great about these characters is that their performance on and off the battlefield will also depend on how you let them develop and grow in your own relationship. Just as an example, if you take on a particular sidequest near the beginning of the game, you get the option of having an attack dog join your party. Treat him like an equal, and he'll be an unstoppable force in your group. Let him "mark his territory" in some areas and he gets a stat boost. Ignore him, and he probably isn't going to have your back any time soon. Same goes for the humanoid characters, you can give them gifts to increase their morale, and in return they can teach you a specialization to augment your character's class. Otherwise, they just might leave your group entirely...often in a bloody fashion.

Not to be forgotten, the combat gets some recognition as well. While it's not as action-oriented as some of BioWare's other games, but it plays well enough. You can customize your character at every level up, distribute points to stats, learn new skills and talents, or, if you've unlocked it, go through a specialization, and so forth. But if you're ten hours in and don't like controlling your main character in combat, you can switch to another character that matches the way you like to play with the push of a button. So if you're sick of being a brute and would love to try out being a healer or archer while your main character gets controlled by the AI, go for it.

If you played Final Fantasy XII, then controlling your NPC characters works in a similar fashion. You can assign priorities to each character--like heal someone with less than 50% health, then attack an enemy if that condition is not met--and unlock more spots to do so as you level up that particular character. Unlike FFXII, there's no silly inventory system where you have to actually buy or find the command before using it, a welcome addition to those of us who got sick of organizing everything in our parties, only to find out that you couldn't execute your plan the way you wanted to because you didn't unlock the portion of your team's common sense you wanted to use. Dragon Age forgoes this silly system and just lets you do what you want from the second you boot up the game.

The game you want to play is easy to find here, thanks to all the customization available. From the characters, equipment, the very well done story, and even the difficulty. While the interface to find everything you want to do isn't exactly the most useful in the world, it does what it can for the amount of content you can use. You're never really forced to organize everything past equipment and level ups, but if you have to, it may take a little digging to get there.

The only real complaint I have is in the main character's lack of speech. Dragon Age definitely has one and a half feet in the door, but without your main character speaking to the NPCs like Commander Shepard would in Mass Effect, it feels more like you're being talked at rather than being talking to. It makes me wonder why I was given an option for what kind of voice I wanted my character have when I was making him in the first place.

Everything else in the game, however, is above and beyond just about everything we've seen this year, and definitely worth a purchase. PC gamers will love it for the game's Eclipse engine for better convenience of fan-made content, but 360 and PS3 owners will have to deal with loading times and some slight differences in graphic quality. Buying the game also gives you access to one of the game's DLC campaigns, and if you plan on getting Mass Effect 2 in January, a special-looking piece of armor, some neat value to be had alongside such a great package. But it doesn't matter which version you get here, just pick it up.