Review:
Dragon Age #1

Dragon Age #1 has something of a reputation to live up to and not only because it’s set in BioWare’s latest smash-hit franchise. Chris Priestly - BioWare’s Community Coordinator - has been raving about Dragon Age #1 and the team behind it (Orson Scott Card amongst others) on BioWare’s blogsite. I’ll admit I took his philanthroping with a grain of salt; after all, he can’t exactly be considered an impartial voice.

Still, impartial or not, he was right for the most part. Dragon Age #1 is an admirable first entry into what I hope will become an ongoing series. The artwork is what really stands out in my mind. It’s exceptional, though to a degree a bit disconcerting at first as well. I say disconcerting because Dragon Age: Origins (the video game) has an extremely realistic bent to its art. In contrast, Dragon Age #1 is highly stylized; it’s almost Tim Burtonesque (specifically Nightmare Before Christmas) minus the prepackaged goth garbage. It took two read-throughs to grow on me, but eventually it did, and I was able to enjoy the value it brought to the table.

The story itself wasn’t entirely original though. A Templar of the Chantry gets the hots for a Blood Mage, sparks fly, Templar finds God again, badness ensues when the women is scorned. It’s not exactly breaking new ground I’ll admit, but to be fair, I’ve never really found the stories in BioWare’s games to break new ground either (with one or two notable exceptions); and frankly that’s never stopped me from enjoying said stories. With that in mind, I’m more than willing to dive into a few more issues of Dragon Age and see where it takes me.

What have I have found throughout the years is that BioWare games have impeccable presentation, and what they lack in originality they make up for in polish and production. Dragon Age #1 shares this commonality. Even though it wasn’t original, the way it was presented made for an entertaining read. The artwork - as stated before - contributed considerably.

In closing, while Dragon Age #1 doesn’t burst out of the gate with quite as much confidence as its cousin series Mass Effect: Redemption, it’s still an excellent addition and entertaining enough in its own right.