Dragon Age 2: Brave or Foolish (time will tell)

So Bioware have decided to announce that unlike the almost blank slate we were presented with in the original Dragon Age 2's player character will be a fully voiced and back storied individual named Hawke.

Obviously the Bioware forums are now full of cries that its the end of the RPG, and the wailing and nashing of teeth.

The main grievance seems to be that Hawke is “not MY character”.
One of the most loved things about Dragon Age Origins (DAO) was that it allowed the players to experience the world from the perspective of one a number 'Origins'. Each Origin gave a glimpse into the way the land operated, and made it far easier to for players to feel a sense of building a personal narrative in some as they wandered the roads of a strange new land.

The withdrawal of this perceived freedom was bound to lead to a backlash, and when you add to the mix DAO's open ended and vague conclusion, plus the expectation that many had that they would be able to move their character to the new game (just as Bioware had allowed in Mass Effect) then its not surprising that many feel betrayed.

The best stories need a rich and believable context to take place within, and in many ways it seems DAO was designed to allow players to build this sense of context, to immerse themselves in a world and the people who inhabited it.

Looking at the preview/press release on Game Informer the single most interesting detail to me is

“Dragon Age II is not about killing an ancient evil or about quelling another blight”

The idea to take a step back from one of the biggest tropes of the fantasy genre feels pretty brave in many ways. But you only have to look to the Hobbit which is far more a tale about the life and adventures of Bilbo than it is about the slaying of a dragon, to see that this can be a very successful approach.

I remain hopeful that DA2 could perhaps be The Hobbit to DAO's The Silmarillion.
A personal journey through a time in a character's life and things which are personally significant, rather than a tale of epic deeds and arch evils.
Obviously to someone searching for a sandbox RPG this is a disappointment but Bioware have been drifting from that template for a while now and perhaps its time for another studio to pick up that particular torch.

Dragon Age Awakening Mini Review

Mini Review of the expansion to Dragon Age Origins Sub 500 words, no nonsense /go!

Gameplay:

-The old holy trinity of RPG (tank healer & DPS) is still present but the ability to respec a character makes a hugely positive change. In any RPG stories are important, Awakening gives you the ability to experience that story with the characters who's personality you like and who's background stories intrigue you, not just whoever makes a effective setup. This is a huge step in the right direction.

-The new skills & sub classes make far more play styles viable, and noticeably multi-target and controlling abilities which were before limited to certain classes are now more spread out.

-Exploring the companions stories has been made easier by some minor refinement to the gifts system, with more hints being given about the character's preferences.

-Crafting is improved by the addition of runecrafting but the ability to not create a party in the games safe 'camp' area and access crafting skills at the same point where the resources for them can be found is annoying.

Story:
-One negative issue is that some very important plot decisions are made very early with little information and are irreversible.

-Overall I would say the voice work and writing are actually stronger than the original, Sigrun is my favourite, witty, humane and believable.

-Noticeably none of the characters are as pivotal to the main plot as some in the original were and this is generally for the better. Awakening maintains feels more like being part of a rag tag band rather than a group of all star hero's.

-The pacing of the story isn't quite right, it builds and builds then climaxes suddenly without resolving much of what it set in motion.

- A issue I had with the original and which continues here is that the credits roll too fast. Origins gave us a chance to chat with the companions after the main quest finished and offered some closure but Awakening skips even that. After being immersed in such rich world I wanted to see in game how decisions had affected it but instead the credits rolled the moment the final boss hit the floor. This adds to the feeling Awakening should have been the 1^st act to a longer story & who knows perhaps in time it could be.

Verdict:
-This is half a great story. You wont regret what it gives you ,but you may be frustrated by the amount.

Do we expect to much from DLC?

The Return to Ostagar downloadable content pack to EA's Fantasy RPG Dragon Age:Origins has been one of the most universally criticized and trashed bit of DLC since the the Oblivion horse armor raised its ugly head back in 2006.

My Play through of Dragon Age was interrupted by some major upheavals in my life at the start of the year, now returning to it a few months later I decided to give in to my completist tendencies and grab all its Downloadable content and expansion's including Return to Ostagar.

Most of the reviews Ive read have been pretty unequivocal about how they felt about it, but what really should i have expected from it? In EA's words:

A return to the battlefields of Ostagar, now thick with darkspawn encamped amidst the snow
An opportunity to reclaim the lost arms and armor of a king
A second chance to add Dog to your party

And after playing it that's pretty much what it delivers.

Nothing more. But also nothing less. I think the best thing i can say is rarely are press statements so literally true.