I'm still in the early stages the game, but Dragon Age: Origins is an easy game to recommend, for RPG fans. Whereas another recent release, Demon's Souls, is more of a Zelda-style action-adventure game, Dragon Age: Origins is more of a traditional RPG, in the style of the Final Fantasy series. The combat action is more laid back, but there's a complex story involving history, politics, religion, sex, romance, and of course, war; and your actions determine the course of the story.

There's a lot to keep track of, including the various members of your party (you can take with you three at a time) and many side quests. You can choose to play as one of six race/origin combinations for your character (Human Noble, City Elf, Dalish Elf, Magi [Human or Elf], Dwarf Commoner, or Dwarf Noble), and one of three classes (Warrior, Mage [Human or Elf only], or Rogue). You begin the game by designing your character, choosing gender, physical traits, vocal style, makeup, facial tattoos, etc.

It took me a little while to get used to the menu and the combat system, and there are a lot of skills and spells that I still haven't learned, but I'm enjoying the game so far. The history is detailed, and the dialogue can be very entertaining at times. I have the PS3 version and I'm happy with it, but if you like the idea of using player-created content (see the Tool Set), or if you simply prefer using a mouse and keyboard, you might be better off with the PC version.

Dragon Age: Origins (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)