Lots of hours to go

I still have a long way to go with Dragon Age: Origins. I've only gotten the Magi to join us against the Blight so far. And I'm surprised others have finished the game so fast.

I'm taking my time, I have no reason or need to hurry. I also have the extra free content that came along with it to go through.

My only tiny, tiny complaint is I wish we had more gearing up options. I feel like I loot a lot of stuff but hardly any of it is useful.

Losing track of time

I lost track of time last evening while playing DA:O. But I imagine I haven't gotten very far in the game. I spend lots of time talking to the npcs and my party.

I have enough party members now that I have to choose to leave one of them behind. I don't really want a rogue in my party but I've hated not being able to see what is inside of the ton of locked chests peppered about. If the locked chests end up not really having much in them, I'm going to go back to my favored party members. Shhh don't tell my rogue that!

So far I haven't spent any noticeable wasted time traveling. When it came time to leave one area and go to another it was represented on the map but happened instantaneously. Some may complain they aren't allowed to explore their way to the next town, but for me it was much welcomed. Just like I've grown to feel in WoW I simply don't want vast empty areas to traverse through - it doesn't enhance my gameplay.

Like Guild Wars, DA:O has invisible walls, so you can't just go anywhere you want, but while it bugged me in GW, it doesn't bother me so much here.

I play on a PC and I've heard that's the best platform for it. Last evening, I put graphics on very high just for the heck of it and didn't notice any issues with performance.

I'm just plain enjoying this game right now and can't think of any negatives.

Read me a story!

I'm not very familiar with playing games like Baldur's Gate, so I'm having to get used to having a party I control.

I started playing on "Normal" but have changed it to "Easy" because I was so interested in the story, I didn't want my failed battles to get in the way of moving the story along.

I had to force myself to pick a stopping point, because I kept wanting to see what was in store.

I'm not sure how much I want to say because I don't want to spoil it for anyone else, that is to say if you're looking for a single player RPG to try - pick up this game.

The (Un)familiar

First off, my copy of DA:O came with a Warhammer Online free trial. Or if you're still playing it, Mythic offers 2 in-game items, a handbook that provides a 10% bonus when used and a Skaven Skin cloak that allows you to take on the appearance of a Skaven - whatever that is.

But enough about MMORPGs.

I can't believe it but I think I'm leaning toward playing an elf again. I like what appears to be an underdog theme (the dwarves have this as well just less so).

And like I mentioned before I plan on playing a warrior eventually specializing in a champion or templar.

It all sounds very familiar, and a small part of me is concerned about so much familiarity, but the huge difference here is I won't be on a everlasting treadmill.

I'm looking forward to getting to play. I have my fingers crossed I don't get as easily disenchanted as I did with Aion.

Origins

I've decided to give another single player rpg a try. I'm particularly excited about the idea of playing something from start to finish and having a sense of completion MMORPGs can never give.

I had planned on trying some proven winners - Fallout, Bioshock, Mass Effect. But when I heard the buzz about Dragons Age: Origins and that it was being released in a few days it felt like fate.

I'm not sure what to expect. I've been thinking about what class I want to play. I'm leaning toward a warrior, which I think gives you the option to eventually become a templar.

Pre-orders had the option to download a character creator early. This probably means I won't actually be playing the game right away if I end up ensconced in the creator.