One of the biggest charges made at Fallout 3 when it made its bid for 2008 Game of the Year was that its ending was totally unsatisfying, lacking any concrete detail on the fates of the various locales you went through and leaving the player wondering whether all the trouble he went through was worth it. Dragon Age: Origins will not face this criticism when it makes its bid for 2009 Game of the Year (there might be things considered spoilers in the upcoming paragraphs).

The choices begin early as each of the companions you recruit, keep, or kill have an impact on how the game ends, and players need to be aware of the fact that some conversations are more important than they seem to be. They then continue in each of the four big Allies zones with meaningful and tough choices related to who gets to live and who dies: werewolves versus elves, Templars against mages, prince versus compassionate nobleman and dragon cult versus long standing religion. Consider the possible combinations and the possibilities for roleplay, especially given the various origins and the tid bits of information on some areas which they introduce.

And the end game is also choke-full of choices. And the surprise is that they are really interesting and really branch off. The soul of the Old God, which you murder in his Archdemon form, needs to go ... (read more)