I think it's somewhere between A and B myself. I don't think it's as good as Baulder's Gate, but I do think it is a damn fine spiritual successor and as good of a successor as you can get today. The game has it's issues, but it's amazing none the less. I don't know if I'd say it's better than KOTOR or Mass Effect, because both of those games did some things differently on the mechanical side of things that I liked better than Dragon Ages approach in certain areas. However, I do think Dragon Age Origins is one of Bioware's best and one of the best games to come out this decade. I had a little over 90 hours on the clock the first time I beat it and it's been a long time since I had a single player game that had me happily put in that much time. Not even Persona 3 or 4 had me putting in that many hours, as I finished those around the 80 hour mark.

Definitly C.
 
Hey and Jade Empire is a great game!

Never played it, but I hear it's one of their weakest games overall. 
 
And I myself would definitely say B. Although it is sort of hovering around KoTOR as far as mechanics go.....

The choices weren't great to be fair mate, it's up there with Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect for me. Think it's a great game, another example of why Bioware are the current kings of the RPG.

" Never played it, but I hear it's one of their weakest games overall. "

Its a raelly great game, I would say B..though without the inclusion of "doesnt live up", it surpassed my expectations actually.

I say "B", though I also would not have added the "doesn't live up" tag. 
 
I didn't expect it to beat KOTOR, my personal favorite Bioware game.  
 
It's a shade better than Mass Effect, and I loved me some Mass Effect.  
 
So basically, my top 5 BW games would be: 
 
1. KOTOR 
2. Dragon Age 
3. Mass Effect 
4. Baldur's Gate 2 
5. Baldur's Gate

I played it round a friends for about 35 minutes, thought it was really lame. Choose an elve, storywise seemed a bit too geeky and camp for my liking. Combat was pretty good though. I say D and want a KOTOR3 dammit!

Right now, I think it is their best game.  But I just finished it last night, after 56 hours in two weeks.  It is hard to have great perspective from that close.
 
But I felt that Mass Effect is a better overall game than Jade Empire, which was an improvement over KOTOR, which was superior to Baldur's Gate.  With the exception of Sonic RPG, I feel that Bioware has consistently gotten better at making games as they went along.  Settings and characters can sway you to prefer a particular game's story over another, but I think the core structure, the "game" part, is better with each new creation.
 
Note that I played Dragon Age on the PC (along with most of their other games).  So that may color my perception.  I know that the experience on the consoles is quite a bit different.  For example, buckybit's view that the gameplay reminds him of KOTOR and Mass Effect at first seemed odd.  Dragon Age's overhead, tactic combat seems nothing like those two.  But that is a PC only experience.  Which is sad, because it is by far my preferred way to play.

..I refuse to have a bioware rpg discussion thread without the mention of neverwinter nights, which was one of my favorite bioware rpgs.  I concede that the solo campaign was a bit dry (and not even remotely comparable to dragon age, mass effect, KotOR, or even BG1&2), but the user made content/online setup was amazing: great modding community (the toolset was awesome), helpful players, an all around good time.  Oh right, forgot I was supposed to cast my vote. I'd say A or B for overall RPG experience (immersion, gameplay, enjoyability).

I selected A but would have rather had something between A and B. It is a fabulous game, lives up to their standard of quality is a perfect for a spiritual successor of Baulder's Gate 2. That being said, I don't think think its their best game ever. But its up there with the rest of their amazing games. It is definitely their best piece of work recently...but they have had so many successful RPGs in their lifetime (everyone one of their games really) I don't know if you can say it is the best ever. So yes...its is great, lives up to the expectations but I think this poll needed another option or two.

I think it's most similar to KOTOR in terms of gameplay, but I haven't played any of the BG games. I don¿t want to compare it to Mass Effect, both are excellent games, and BioWare is certainly my favorite developer. 
 
:)

I voted for B, but again I wouldn't say "it didn't live up to promises".  I thought it was excellent, and very much achieved what it set out to do.  It may not have been as good as Baldurs Gate, but it was still spectacular.

" I am very interested in your opinions (keep 'em coming). 
 
I haven't bought/played it yet. Need to finish other games first. I bought all Bioware/BlackIsle(!) games - never finished any. I am now starting to 'get into' Mass Effect (started it the 3rd time). 
 
My fear about Dragon Age is: It would remind me too much of Kotor gameplay (like Mass Effect does) while boring me with Elves/Dwarf stuff (I confess, I am on the Fantasy fatigue train). George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice & Fire" is gritty & dark. The characters & dialog I have seen so far from Dragon Age recalls too much the Jade Empire / Kotor stuff. "

I had to vote for A. This is indeed the most entertaining story I have ever experienced in a video-game. And guess what?! When I play through it again, the story will be a great deal different. And I am willing to predict that the third time will yield quite a different tale as well.

The graphics really bring this game down. As well as the fact that it demands a lot of pausing in combat. 
 
1. KOTOR
2. Mass Effect
3. Dragon Age Origins
4. Baldur's Gate 2

I think it's the best, second to Mass Effect. Yes, I liked Mass Effect more than KOTOR. Mainly because of the characters.
 
Also, I had MASSIVE fantasy setting fatigue before starting Dragon Age, but the characters and dialogue in Dragon Age along with the subtle changes from D&D fantasy you wouldn't have expected really make it a fresh experience. Honestly, Mass Effect only feels slightly more original than DA:O, and that's saying a lot considering DA:O is stock dark fantasy fare.

Since other people are including Black Isle Studios as Bioware, I'm assuming I can too: 
 
1.  Planescape: Torment 
 
2.  Baldur's Gate 2 
 
3.  Baldur's Gate 1 
 
4.  Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 
 
5.  Dragon Age: Origins 
 
I'm a little dissapointed to see that most of you guys have not played the classics.  Or maybe you weren't alive when they came out (which is forgiveable).

I played Baldur's Gate 2, and I feel like Dragon Age is as close to a 3D transition from that game as we're going to get. Haven't finished Dragon Age yet, but I'm already enjoying it more than BG2.

" The graphics really bring this game down. As well as the fact that it demands a lot of pausing in combat.   1. KOTOR 2. Mass Effect 3. Dragon Age Origins 4. Baldur's Gate 2 "

" Since other people are including Black Isle Studios as Bioware, I'm assuming I can too: 
 
1.  Planescape: Torment 
 
2.  Baldur's Gate 2 
 
3.  Baldur's Gate 1 
 
4.  Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 
 
5.  Dragon Age: Origins  I'm a little dissapointed to see that most of you guys have not played the classics.  Or maybe you weren't alive when they came out (which is forgiveable). "

i am getting this game tomoroow for my ps3! i love all bioware games, the have this special bioware formula which never fails!

Definately my favourite Bioware game to date and I've played every single one of their titles. It delivers an experience better than Baldurs Gate 2 purely due to the character interaction surpassing it. The combat was great, the difficulty appropriately challenging and the story while cliché was highly competent and well thought out. 
 
Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate 2, Jade Empire, KOTOR, Mass Effect are now my current fave Bioware titles top 5.

" Since other people are including Black Isle Studios as Bioware, I'm assuming I can too:

You know what's missing? Multiplayer. I fondly remember Baldur's Gate for the awesome LAN multiplayer sessions I took part in. So no, this can't be Bioware's best for me, but it's pretty good in it's own right.

Its amazing, and Jade Empire was great why the hate