March 16, 2010 -
Dragon Age Origins is easily one of my favorite games of the last few years and I think that I love it for exactly the same reason that many other gamers can't stand it -- it's big, it's heavy on story, and it's unashamedly nerdy. So when the chance came to dive back into Ferelden with the Awakening expansion, it was a done deal for me. As long as BioWare didn't rock the boat too much, I was pretty much guaranteed to enjoy it. I'm happy to say that Awakening delivers more of the same stuff we loved the first time around. It has fun combat, a good story and great sense that your choices actually matter. There were a few features that just weren't as well developed as we'd hoped but once we dug into the content, we found it easy to forgive these faults.
The story is filled with dozens of incredibly weighty decisions that can have significant and sometimes surprising effects on the outcome. I'm kind of in a Catch-22 here with regard to discussing the plot. So much of what makes the story interesting are the unforeseen developments and elaborate setups, but I can't talk specifically about how cool they are without spoiling them. At the risk of talking in annoying generalities, let me just say that the situations in the game often ask more of you than you can give, so even your best decisions will leave weak spots in your plan and unhappiness among your followers. Throughout it all you never lose the sense that you're setting things up for the big showdown. And the showdown in this expansion is ridiculously epic.
In terms of actual content, you'll be in some very familiar territory. The game takes place near Amaranthine and the Warden's new headquarters at Vigil's Keep. The darkspawn are still threatening the region, so it's up to the Warden to protect the people of Amaranthine, not only from the remnants of the Blight, but also from their own petty rivalries. This means acquiring upgrades for the keep, negotiating the political nuances of the major families, battling malevolent spirits in the wilderness, delving into deep dungeons to reclaim lost treasures, and determining which of your companions might like a new scarf. All the expected humor and incidental character details are present as well.
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It's all handled beautifully here with a great sense of urgency and no shortage of interesting content. Though the main quest could probably be completed in a few days of focused play, exploring all the side quests and gathering up all the codex entries could take twice that time. Honestly, the side quests are so rich in story and rewards that skipping them not only makes the game less interesting, but also more difficult as well.
Awakening comes with a number of new options for your character. You can (and should) import your character from Origins, but you can also start as a brand new Orlesian Warden who has their own unique story elements. We're still a bit confused about the transfer of party gear and DLC content into Awakening but you do get to keep a fair bit of your loot from the original game as you move to your new post at Vigil's Keep.
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