For many people, Dragon Age: Origins has most probably slipped under the couch by now.
It's unlikely that that majority of those who have finished the story arc will actively continue to play the game, no matter how great the experience may have been. In any case, it's timely that BioWare have now produced the Dragon Age: Origins Awakening expansion pack. This is considerably more than you would expect from average content packs, and though it may be downloadable (at a pricey 3200 marketplace points) it can be bought as a stand alone retail release as well. In addition, it appears to be playable without the original Dragon Age: Origins, and this certainly makes it interesting.
Awakening puts the players in the shoes of your previous character, or into a totally new character with a new back-story. Essentially you become a Grey Warden from Orlais sent to help other Grey Wardens rebuild Fereldon. We opted to import our character, he was familiar and homely which immediately provided a level of affinity with the new expansion pack. You are tossed gruffly back into the world of Fereldon just as the darkspawn begin to again plague the world.
The story takes place after the events of the first game. This time something has changed though, with reports throughout the lands of darkspawn again attacking, but this time the darkspawn can speak the human language. It was to be expected that as a Grey Warden you would be encouraged to delve into this mess, although this time you can recruit members into the order, and you will have significantly more respect in the wider community.
As this is an expansion pack it is of course adorned with necessary content upgrades such as new characters, new items, new spells and abilities, a higher level cap and five new recruitable characters. This is on top of the all-new storyline. BioWare certainly didn’t hold back with this, as there is plenty to explore and discover, and it certainly breathes at least a little fresh air into the title.
What is a shame is that the characters aren’t nearly as gripping or compelling as they were previously. There are a few really good ones but they simply don't match the awesome nature of the originals. The game has shifted somewhat now though, as you are able to recruit members into the Grey Warden order. A beneficial party member can be torn down by being initiated into the order, requiring the player to think twice before making the decision to induct someone. This makes for some pretty intense decision making and certainly adds pressure to the player if you are particularly attached to a party member. One character however is very memorable for his witty humour and it pays to have him along. Anders, a mage with a knack for escape, is an entertaining posse member.
The main concern with an expansion of this kind is really the length of time that it takes to play through. Considering the price point, the roughly 14 to 15 hours of playtime feels a little disappointing. That being said, there are shooters out there that will take half the time to complete and cost almost twice as much, but that’s neither here nor there. Certainly not near the time that BioWare were touting for the title. Most of the game remains unchanged, but some small tweaks here and there have been made.
Staying true to form, there are still the very irritating clipping issues on occasion, and in one instance we found the gate to the keep closed, until suddenly we were amongst a whole bunch of darkspawn. Either they were really sneaky, or the game didn’t quite render the scene properly. These are all issues that plagued the original, and if you survived them for the duration then they won’t be an issue now either. It seems like Dragon Age’s problems are simply worth enduring most of the time.
For us the trip back into Fereldon was worth the purchase. Don’t get your hopes too high, but certainly if you enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins there is no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy Awakening. The added content, spells and techniques are great simply because when it comes to this title, more is better.
The best experience with this title will be had by someone who enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins until the very end.
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