.. wow. Just.. wow.

110+ hours of my life (the + representing hours of finicky restarts)- not that that means much when you're unemployed and do most of your job-searching from home.. this time perhaps could have been put to better use, but served any craving for an epic and immaculately crafted tale, well.. almost perfectly.

To those of you who enjoy the story of the game, who love its characters and voices and depth above all else: buy it. Buy it and play it now. I can honestly compare it to a single game that captured me in a similar spirit, BioShock, and as a far longer and more involved gaming experience it feels more epic than BioShock or any other game I've played, in the most traditional sense of the word. The only problems I had with this game were the odd difficulty settings (fixed by a patch released 3 days ago) and the fact it started glitching oddly towards the end, giving me dialog it shouldn't have - an odd problem I doubt will repeat itself.

I was quite happy with my "ending", as it was, despite the fact I unintentionally and completely screwed the Dwarven kingdom over. Sorry guys. I also tarnished my experience a little by going to spoiled forums once or twice for help during my game - DON'T. For the love of all that is holy and unholy, don't do it. An experience like Origins should be something that takes time and is only guided when you have no where else to turn, not when you get marginally impatient.

Announced 2004, released 2009. Preorder pick-up on release day, November 3rd, and finished a little over 2 weeks later. BIOWARE PLEASE MAKE A SECOND GAME. I know where your door is, I'll just toss several sacks of cash your way.

ALSO: If anyone complains this game is unforgivingly linear, they've a brain of potatoes, are lacking any imagination or creativity beyond combat, and deserved to be strung up from their genitals somewhere unpleasant.