So it finally arrives, after a year or so of anticipation, and so far it has delivered. Bioware returns to its roots in fantasy RPG gaming on the PC. And yea, I know it has both PS3 and 360 versions, but I really don't care. Any true gamer knows that this game was meant to be played on the PC.
 
I am about 3 hours in to my Elf Rogue - city dweller story line. I have just rescued my bride to be from the clutches of the human king's son and am now on the run from his minions (I opted to kill the scum). I am about to join the Grey Wardens - warriors against the Darkspawn. 
 
Great roleplay potential here - my dialog so far has been moving more and more towards a hatred of humans.
 
First Impressions

- NOT for the short attention span gamer.  
This is a good thing - deep story line, lots of lore to read and listen to. If you aren't prepared to spend long wintery nights next to the fire listening to some good lore and reading about the history of a new world, then this game might not be for you, or you might not unleash all of its potential.
 
- FOR the old school CRPG gamer.
Deep PC RPG story telling and elements so far. What appears to be some PSX RPG elements mixed in as well, more on that later. i.e. Vagrant Story, FF7, Ultima, Might&Magic, Baldur's Gate, Fallout. 
 
- Great dialog options and story building 
Some of the most impressive aspects of the story, to me so far, are the dialog options. How you respond to NPCs in the world really DOES have a DEEP effect on the story and your interactions with that NPC from that point on. Also, it appears the way you start out talking to someone, effects the dialog options beneath the initial one. For instance if I start off a bit angry at the NPC, I can continue to press on down that direction as far as I'd like. You just have to see this to believe it, this is NOT the typical Baldur's Gate stuff. It's a bit like Mass Effect style interaction, but expanded.

- Incredible music.  
Some of the best fantasy themed symphony I have listened to. See: Howard Shore, Nobuo Uematsu
 
- Great combat.  
Fast paced, critical timing, and choice of tactics.
 
- Awesome skill set.
As I have only played a Rogue thus far, that is all I can comment on. I have 3 "trees" to chose from, and can create any combination of the three to create a truly unique style of play that suits me. You  basically have a rogue tree, stealth, stuns, etc. A dual-wield tree, lots of back stabbing and melee dps. An Archer tree for some ranged DPS and ranged crowd control - like snaring and knocking out.

- Loot and treasure, as well as crafting loot!  
Something to loot from every room/area I clear so far. Lot's of hidden treasure around the maps, towns, etc. Again, a hint of old school console RPG.
 
I will blog my characters journey and my impressions as I continue. Pics and video to come!