Game have recently slashed the price of their Collectors’ Edition of Dragon Age (presumably in response to the release of Awakening) and now you can get your hands on it for just over £20! Although this is supposedly a retailer exclusive, Cool Shop are also offering what appears to be the exact same version of the game. However, Game can rest easy, as Cool Shop’s price (£44.49) is more than double that of their deal.

• Click here to buy Game’s (allegedly) exclusive Collectors’ Edition of Dragon Age: Origins for £20.98 now

The Collectors’ Edition features a blu-ray disc packed with all the usual sorts of things you’ll probably pay very little attention to (”Making of” documentary, trailers, video of concept art, strategy tips and soundtrack), 3 bits of in-game content (Bergens Honour, Grimoire of the Frozen Wastes and Final Reason),  an unlockable item for Mass Effect 2 (nice bit of cross-marketing there guys!) and unlockable bonus quest The Stone Prisoner with attendant unlockable character Shale. And it all comes packaged in a fancy plastic box!

Dragon Age: Origins is the story of the land of Ferelden and the dreaded “Blight” of darkspawn which has returned to spell out its doom. You take on the role of a new recruit to the Grey Wardens who are sworn to protect the land from the Blight.

While this tale may not be the most original or revolutionary, it is bound to draw you under its spell thanks to its perfect pacing and beautifully realised characters. It’s not the best looking game out there by a long shot but this in no way impairs just how enjoyable it is to play and how much of an essential purchase this is to any game fan who does not shudder at the first mention of dwarves and elves.

Want to know more? Check out Matt’s review here

Thanks to azzaed at Hotukdeals!

Dragon Age: Origins was one of the best and biggest games of 2009. I don’t mean that in a Modern Warfare 2 sense where ‘big’ equates to a massive hype machine and a larger advertising budget than God can afford these days, I mean in terms of game time. BioWare brought a bit of epic fantasy to the games industry last year, and it was awesome.

It’s yo-yo’d a bit in price since its release, but is still going fairly strongly, with sales boosted by being a deals favourite. If you haven’t snagged a copy yet, now might be the time to do so as Grainger Games are currently offering new copies for under twenty quid at the stonkingly good price of £18.99, nearly £6 cheaper than the nearest online competitor (The Hut – £24.73).

• Click here to buy Dragon Age: Origins for £18.99 from Grainger Games

Origins is basically a classic fantasy affair: There’s a country mired in some kind of medieval stasis, your classic blend of humans, elves and dwarves, and the whole world is under threat from the rise of a Big Evil Horde of Demons and led by a massive dragon. There are some nice tweaks to the formula such as the dwarven caste system, the racial mistrust of the elves, and a typical BioWare yarn with a number of twists, turns and plenty of backstabbing.

I’m a huge BioWare fan, and I’ve got to say that I absolutely loved Dragon Age: Origins. Don’t get me wrong, there are some issues; for example, there isn’t really an original bone in this game’s body and all of the characters can be found in other BioWare games, but this is a triumph of something simple done brilliantly. The game is expansive, atmospheric, brutally gory and hugely engrossing. True, the combat is more button mashing than tactical thinking when it comes to the console versions, but you won’t find a game from the last twelve months that will give you more for your money.

Clocked over 100 hours and still going. Check out my review for a longer analysis here.

Thanks to andy182 at HotUKDeals

Bioware’s brand new fantasy epic has been eagerly awaited but sadly missed out on the attention it might have received were it not released quite so close to a certain other recent game.

Shop To are currently selling Dragon Age for just £29.95, representing a £7.50 saving (the next best price is £37.49 from Cool Shop)

• Click here to buy Dragon Age: Origins for £29.95 from Shop To

I was already intrigued by Dragon Age before I heard that the developers were looking to writers such as George R. R. Martin (author of the brilliant and enthralling A Song of Ice and Fire series) for inspiration; afterwards I had no idea what to do with the long months before I could get my hands on this first title. The idea of a dark and gritty fantasy with hints of realism is an enticing premise and luckily the game does not disappoint.

That said, there are plenty of well -trod fantasy trope pathways travelled here, not least when it comes to the old skool set of races. When creating your character you can take your pick from “Dalish” Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Commoner, Dwarf Noble, Mage or Human Noble. However, there’s plenty of interesting history weaving the fates of the races together and pulling them apart to ensure that Dragon Age’s world is unique.

The storyline is complex and engaging with excellent dialogue to bring it to life. There are multiple threads of narrative available to you depending on the choices you make, from the character you opt for to the answers you choose to give in conversations. In fact virtually every decision you make will have genuine consequences that reverberate throughout the game. This adds considerably to Dragon Age’s lifespan– it’s hard to resist taking a stab at the game with each character class to discover the effect is has on the story and you’re bound to find yourself thinking “what would have happened if only I made a different decision at that point?” If only there were more hours in the day…

The combat is very enjoyable and pleasingly gory and there are tonnes of abilities and powers to learn and use to shake up your battles. If you have already played Knights of the Old Republic then you’ll probably feel right at home with the fight mechanics.

Dragon Age’s only let down is its graphics (the PC version fares far better here), with visuals that simply do not live up to the high standard that we are accustomed to these days. To be fair the PS3 version scrubs up a bit better overall in this department with much better textures than its drab 360 sister but on the other hand the visual glitches are, apparently, more prevalent. It’s a shame that the game doesn’t look better but when you are offered such a vast, deep and involving adventure, it seems silly to turn your nose up at the fact that its a bit scruffy.

Check out Matt’s full review here!

Thanks to filmfan at Hotukdeals!