Dragon Age: Origins is BioWare post-World of Warcraft. All the traditional elements of their games are here: party members ranging from the benevolent to the antisocial, a bevy of combat specs, endless dialogue trees with the ability to persuade or intimidate, and the “go to four places” story progression structure. In Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, being good or evil provides bonuses to certain abilities; following Mass Effect, DA:O divorces morality from combat specificity. Something new here is the primary goal of building an army. Instead of simply going to four key locations to solve an arbitrary, localized problem, you’ve got to pick a side between two factions and eventually recruit one of them to accompany you into the game’s final battle. Side quests, instead of locking you into exploring one area for an extended period of time, often require you to solve problems in other regions before proceeding.

Modern Warfare 2 is already selling out, and selling a lot. This review is almost a moot point for those familiar with either the Call of Duty franchise or the previous Modern Warfare game: you probably already own Modern Warfare 2 if you are either of those two things. On the off chance you’ve been waiting to check out Infinity Ward’s darling, I think we need to talk.