Editorial DA:O Awakening examined

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age

Is BioWare out of touch with their fans expectations? At least Hellforge <a href="http://hellforge.gameriot.com/blogs/Blogryn/Dragon-Age-Awakenings-Dead-Wardens-Society">does think so.</a>
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<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">At the end of Dragon Age: Origins, your character had the option of making this ultimate sacrifice, giving their life to end the Fifth Blight. There were other ways out of course; creating some sort of demon-godchild with the apostate Morrigan, or having Alistair or Loghain make the killing blow. However, with the recent update of Dragon Age: Awakening's FAQ comes a revelation; if your character sacrificed themselves to destroy the Archdemon, you must either pretend it never happened and continue the character, or you must play Awakening in an alternative universe where your character never existed and never made the major changes to Ferelden of Dragon Age: Origins.
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This is one time that I have to say I feel Bioware is out of touch with their fans' expectations of story, and judging by the furore on both the official DA forum and several other internet fora, such as Penny Arcade, I am not alone in thinking this.
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So a major choice doesn't have a much of a consequence? I think we are onto something here.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/96852-dragon-age-origins-awakening-storyline-continuation-examined.html">Gamebanshee</A>

 

[Volourn]

He's an idiot.

 

[circ]

Bullshit.

 

[Azarkon]

Why not just cameo it? Shepard Grey Warden dies, people weep for him, a legend is born, etc. etc. If you're going to let players import their Grey Wardens anyways, why not just have the decisions made by the self-sacrificing Grey Warden stand? It could be a new Origin story, even.

 

[Silellak]

I was under the impression if you choose to play as a new character - the Orlesian Grey Warden - it was assumed the original PC died sacrificing themselves against the Archdemon, not that the character "never existed".

I guess it kinda sucks you can't bring over the results of the decisions you made unless you "revive" your character, but oh well.

 

[Azarkon]

Apparently the Bio boards are up in arms about it, too. Plus no new romances, no carry over romances, no carry over DLCs, most old companions don't return... Lawl what a disaster, you'd think Bio would know their fans by now, or maybe they just don't give a shit.

 

[Jaedar]

BioWare needs to ship one game that sells horribad. It would push them to stop releasing mediocre shit and actually reach their potential.

Oh, how one can dream. Awakening will be shit, but the fans and press will still praise it as the best expansion to an RPG since the dawn of time.

 

[KazikluBey]

BioWare needs to ship one game that sells horribad. It would push them to stop releasing mediocre shit and actually reach their potential.

I think the only thing that would push Bioware towards is the fate of so many other studios purchased by EA.

 

[Jaedar]

That's a risk I am willing to take.

 

[Volourn]

"Lawl what a disaster, you'd think Bio would know their fans by now, or maybe they just don't give a shit."

They do know their fans, and that's why they don't give a shit. They know their fans are blowing smoke and the whining means fuckin' nothing.


NWN: Waaa! Concentrating on MP and companions were thrown in as secondary shit yet fans still bought the game en masse.

DA: WAWAWA! The toolset isn't exactly like NWN1's yet they buy it anyways.

ME2: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! We cna't have all the ME1 companions. BIO BETRAYS USSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Has sold 2 mil in 2 weeks.


FFS All his crying means shit as the ones crying the loudest will likely be amongst the first to buy Awakenings. FFS


By the way, it's hialrious the Codex bashes BIO's fans for crying abotu x game yet still buying/playing it since that is the typical Codexian mode.

"WAAAAAAAAAAA! BIO SUCKS YOU AR EDUMB IF YOU PLAYT HEIR GAMES BUT I WILL BUT IT ANYWAYS AND IT SUCKS BUT I WILL BUY THE ENXT BIO GAMES ANYWAYS!"

Fucknutz. THE CODEX ARE BIO FANBOYS. FFS

 

[Elzair]

Volourn, I am no Bioware fanboy. I liked BG, so I got NWN, hated it and swore off Bioware games. I tried DA:O, thought it was a mess, and I have given up on Bioware's games.

 

[Volourn]

"I liked BG,"

" so I got NWN,"

" hated it and swore off Bioware games."

" I tried DA:O,"

RECAP FOR DUMBOS: I HATED NWN AND SWORE OFF BIO GAMES THEN I BOUGHT THE BIO GAME DA:O"

FFS

 

[Futile Rhetoric]

THEN I BOUGHT THE BIO GAME DA:O"

FFS

There's more than one way to try a game, Volly.

Keep fuckin' that chicken.

 

[Nightjed]

Why not just cameo it? Shepard Grey Warden dies, people weep for him, a legend is born, etc. etc. If you're going to let players import their Grey Wardens anyways, why not just have the decisions made by the self-sacrificing Grey Warden stand? It could be a new Origin story, even.

i think the same thing, read the savegame, take the choices, cameo surviving npcs, mention those that died, change a few thingies here and there, they are not going to matter much anyway (look at ME2, the difference between saving the council or not, the single most important choice of ME is that you, when you make a completely optional visit to the presidium, have a small chat with the old council... or the new council refuses to chat with you, there are also maybe 3 or 4 lines in other dialogues where they say that you killed the council, thats it ... really BIG CHANGES!)

meanwhile you play a new character, which makes a lot more sense than going into epic levels (a very bad idea that never works, this crap made MOTB's combat unbearable) or pulling an amnesia/get-weaker-potion device that just pisses everyone off

 

[Micmu]

At the end of Dragon Age: Origins, your character had the option of making this ultimate sacrifice...

I sacrificed myself at the end...
Because the consequence of beheading the fucking Loghain bit me in the ass (and that's a good thing). I didn't want to have anything with that obnoxious evil cunt and Alistair was a good tank for my mage throughout the game and I just couldn't kill him.

Unfortunately I am not going to find out what happens/doesn't happen in the sequel because it is a fact that the sequel will be even dumber/more "streamlined" and I fucking don't even think about going through torment of fighting 48379248278989734 billion level-scaled enemies of same type all over again in the most stupid and dumb combat system ever.

I died. Game over.

 

[aries202]

Yes, if you sacrificed yourself at the end, you'll have the option to play as an Orlesian Grey Warden. [I think Bioware has made it so that you can revive your 'dead' player character, because certain people don't like the consequences of their actions].

On a more general note, why is every developer and publishing house so keen to do a planescape torment ending? The ending (in this game) made sense for this game, PS: Torment, the sacrificing of yourself, I mean.

I do think that Awakenings will be more hack and slash and mosntergrinding rather than Bioware's traitmark of character development, story and party banter. And yes, the Bio forums are up in arms, mostly because the DLC won't carry over in Awakenings. [People tend to get testy when they can't use their paid for content...]

As fas as the romances are concerned, I'm neutral on this issue. I find it a bit odd, though, that the romances won't continue, alsthough Gaider (the BioWare dev) has said that they will be acknowledged in one form or another.

Apparently, the player is now playing as a Grey Warden Commander, facing a new threat. This must mean that as a Grey Warden Commander, you're not allowed to have romances?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I do think that Awakenings will be more hack and slash and mosntergrinding rather than Bioware's traitmark of character development, story and party banter.

hack and slash + monster grinding is also Bioware's trademark.

Apparently, the player is now playing as a Grey Warden Commander, facing a new threat. This must mean that as a Grey Warden Commander, you're not allowed to have romances?

Maybe he became a commander because he's smart enough to know that wasting time with love sex is not a wise move when there are orcs trying to rape and kill everything on the continent