[Note] This article contains a few early game spoilers for Dragon Age : Origins

Let's be honest. Dragon Age: Origins was a pretty ugly game in general. Classes were frightfully unbalanced, bugs were frequent and there were so many invisible walls and unclimbable slopes that you'd be forgiven for thinking you were taking part in an experimental cross over fantasy mime RPG simulator.

But when I think about Origins, I raise my eyes a little to the distance... and smile a smile that only happens when you think of something you love right down to your very core. I've been revisiting it (with great mods that you can see listed below - It's amazing how mods can bring a game back to life) and I can't think of a game that matches it for story and character development. There was a "where can they possibly go from here" vibe to Origins (and if you played Dragon Age 2 you can see that was not very far). Origins had throne chasing, Magician prejudice politics, same sex and interspecies love, an epic, evil, seemingly-unstoppable demon invasion that we brought upon ourselves and countless fascinating companion storylines. And many of these stories intersected and overlapped which you don't get to appreciate on your first run through. When it came to story, Origins had it all.

And best of all, right from the moment you picked up your sword, staff or dagger, you had villains that you loved to hate. In almost every origin story (which had hours of original content for each), you had the darkest of villains offering you the darkest of choices which cleverly inspired you to do the right thing. Assuming you could work out what that actually was. The moral compass was hard to read, which made your choices more interesting.

The origin story that hit me right in the gizzard though was the human Nobel. As much as I hated my in-game father calling me "pup" ALMOST EVERY FEW SECONDS, I shed many a tear watching him bleed out alongside my in-game mother, who also chose to remain behind simply to be with him to the end. Powerful stuff. So powerful that a fan was inspired to make a mod called "Castle Cousland" which lets you revisit and take revenge on every single guard (after you've levelled up a bit). What fan love for a game!

And the intricate and twisting stories seemed to have no end. A relentless journey of constant decision that actually made you pause, stop and sit back and think a bit with each twist in the action. And best of all - there were no obvious EVIL/GOOD/CANTDECIDEJUSTMOVEON indicators. You started to notice some dialogue patterns after a while but that's only if you looked very hard. I can't tell you how much I hate being told which choice is "the bad one" and that kind of telegraphing is becoming more common with these types of games. Do developers think we'll whinge and cry if we don't get the result we want in a conversation? Or is it just too hard to design a sliding moral compass alongside some sort of good/evil progression? The unexpected results of your actions in Origins was half the fun.

But best of all, Origins had characters that you loved to love: Alistair's cheeky grin and awkward ramblings, Sten's stern face and Morrigan's captivatingly-saucy dialogue.

Watching Morrigan swagger into view in the wilds was even better the second time around - knowing the journey you both had ahead.

With each new game I unwrap, I find myself yearning for dialogue and story that can connect me to a world like DA: Origins did, and so far nothing has even come close.

Recommended Mods

If you're thinking of revisiting or first timing DA: Origins, I recommend the following mods. Install these at your own risk and save often.

- DAModder

This installs mods. I don't recommend the drag and drop method it suggests, I found using the 'install mod' button works best. Many of the mods below have their own installers within the folder you download, so check that too.

- JB3textures

High res mods. Don't not do it.

- Lock Bash

This is the greatest mode ever made for an RPG. Locked door? Locked chest? No problem - BASH IT. I hate seeing a chest and not being able to get into it or return to it later - what does it hold?????!! Also, it doesn't seem to break missions by opening doors that need mission keys (as far as I can see).

-Combat Tweaks

This balances talent progression and abilities. I'm in two minds about this one - since installing it I am finding the game unusually difficult in points - perhaps because of other mods conflicting with it somehow. But I can see the reasoning behind many of the choices.

- Emissary

This is an apparently quite epic fan made darkspawn campaign. I have yet to finish it as it's quite hard (maybe the ability balancer mod causes this or maybe I'm just a bit crap at the unfamiliar classes), but I'm loving the visuals and fight setups so far.

-Improved Atmosphere

Bug fixes, bodies don't disappear, companion approval gains fixes, a bunch of new and improved visuals with gear and too many other fixes to mention!

- Dragon Age Redesigned

While this mod did mess up my wife's head, it's worth that price to enjoy nicer faces all around.

- Skip the Fade

The fade missions while fascinating conceptually, suck actually. All of them. Skip it.

- Ser Gilmore

This is a whole new character, with voices, that apparently even carries over to the Awakening DLC with continuity! In truth I uninstalled him so I could play Castle Cousland without compatibility issues, but if you want a whole other companion this is incredible.

- Advanced Tactics

This mod improves the tactics system in many ways. If you're playing on normal or hard, you'll want this. It's still not a perfect tactic system with every option you want for every situation- but it's the best there will probably ever be.

- Auto Loot

This mod momentarily possesses your party and sends them all out to collect loot for you. It's not perfect and you have to uninstall and then reinstall it every time you want a new character, but it's a timesaver.

- Castle Cousland

A revenge trip back to Castle Cousland. Note: This mod has severe incompatibility issues with Ser Gilmore apparently.

Those are my favourites. I found all of these mods from this helpful source.