And now...for something completely different!

While editing my novel in the hopes of having at least part of it presentable for next week's writing conference, I've taken time out to play Dragon Age: Origins.

Like Scott Oden I love fantasy and RPG stuff and so of course I had to get my hands on a copy of this game. I got a console version of the game, which means there's MASSIVE loading time everytime I enter or exit an area, but other than that...well, read on!

Despite the sometimes eye-rolling similarities to Lord of the Rings, I'm actually enjoying this game. I chose a female humanoid as my protagonist since humans are the most well-rounded race, and made her a warrior since I tend to bulldoze my way through battles. Yuna's a good girl, polite to most but wary and suspicious of others, and since I've turned her into a tank she can cleave through enemies fairly easily in order to get to the next plot point faster. I haven't had much social interaction with side characters as of yet, but I am looking forward to seeing how my party members react to my decisions on the field.

So far the action is good, the acting is solid and the battles are well-spaced. I admit I'm overwhelmed by the depth of the features list and the amount of sidequests, but in an RPG that's a good thing. What's not a good thing is the constant tearing and flickering in the PS3 version. It strikes me as sloppy and it's distracting; at one point a character briefly disappeared right in the middle of a speech! I'm not usually one to be turned off by a few bugs and glitches, but this can be downright annoying at times. Still, as long as the story and action moves apace I'm willing to overlook it.

Sorry to geek out on all of you. Don't worry, I'll Greek out again soon (see what I did there???)