Review Dragon Age: Awakening Review Bundle

VentilatorOfDoom · Mar 17, 2010

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age

Dragon Age: Awakening has been released and some reviews naturally surfaced.
 
 
Gameinformer doesn't feel compelled to <a href="http://gameinformer.com/games/dragon_age_origins_awakening/b/pc/archive/2010/03/16/the-tale-of-the-grey-wardens-continues.aspx">give more than 7.5/10.</a>
 
 
All of the features where Awakening could have built on the Dragon Age foundation are sidelined, like the team at BioWare knew where to expand but didn’t have the time to flesh them out. Building up your base at Vigil’s Keep is just a handful of simple upgrades. Governing the region is handled in a single sequence where you mete out justice. Unraveling a conspiracy against your rule is a brief sidequest. Maybe a 15-hour adventure isn’t enough to time to dig into these concepts, but they feel pretty hollow and unsatisfying as implemented.
 

 
 
Videogamer <a href="http://www.videogamer.com/pc/dragon_age_origins_a_awakening/review.html">scores it 8/10.</a>
 
 
Awakening, then, is undoubtedly good value. So, it's good, then, right? Well, like a tortuous break up, it's more complicated than that. Awakening is more of the same. It does nothing to right any of Origins' wrongs, nor does it seek to improve upon what worked. In some areas, it's even slightly worse.
 
...
 
That's right, the darkspawn are back. The Blight was defeated, but stragglers remain, and they're setting up shop in the northeast, terrorising everyone and anyone silly enough to invade their personal space. But this time something's different. This time, the darkspawn are capable of more than the mindless slaughtering of farmers and townsfolk. This time, they're talking to each other, guided by a new, mysterious being called The Architect who likes philosophical discussion and post-modernist debate (that last bit's another lie). As the new warden-commander of Ferelden, the responsibility falls to you to clear the darkspawn out, and unravel the mystery behind these new intelligent beasties.
 

 
 
IGN <a href="http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/107/1077905p1.html">rates it 8.5/10.</a>
 
 
So where does Awakening miss out? Well, a couple of places come to mind. First, after the wealth of story connections between Mass Effect 1 and 2, Awakening doesn't really feel quite as connected to your choices in Origins. Did you side with the Templars over the Circle? What happened during the Landsmeet? Did you get it on with Leliana? None of it ties together quite as strongly as I expected it to in Awakening. Even if you finished the original game with no expectation that your character could continue on in the expansion, you're brought back into the story with a strange sleight of hand. There's an equally strange hocus-pocus act with the character refocus option, which lets you rebuild your character from scratch. For a game that builds so much substance into your decisions and growth, having clumsy systems that let you erase the past is a real mood killer.
 

 
 
And finally 1UP <a href="http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3178370&p=1">gives a B+.</a>
 
 
This expansion does follow the BioWare formula, so you're given a handful of regions and a directive to take care of them however you want. Quests range from more imaginative than in Origins (investigating a literal ghost town) to the expected (go underground and clear out the darkspawn). In-between story-critical quests, you're often asked to deal with political matters back at the fortress, such as making, "who is right/wrong" judgments and resolving genuine dilemmas (will you allocate troops to the farms, or to the city?). Finally, there are numerous sidequests: puzzles to solve within dungeons, helping a party member deal with family issues, or taking on a spectral dragon. As good as these quests are, they also fall victim to the glitchiness from having a big game with so many moving parts within; I've had quest triggers either fail to initialize (meaning I couldn't progress), or trigger incorrectly (in one instance, I helped the cops rather than the criminals, but even after killing said criminals, the guards treated me as though I sided with the bandits, until I reloaded and replayed the entire quest chain).
 

 
 
All taken into account, it doesn't sound as if I need to buy it anytime soon.
 
 
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com/">RPGWatch</A>

Black · Mar 17, 2010

This expansion does follow the BioWare formula

God damn haters.

Micmu · Mar 17, 2010

7-8.5 scores by "impartial gaming press"? Holy crap, this expansion must really suck then.

Lesifoere · Mar 17, 2010

"Bought" and played it for a bit. Not even worth the bandwidth; it's so boring it's unplayable.

Volourn · Mar 17, 2010

Expansions are almost alwasy rated lower than the original.

Also, whining that it's 'more of the same' is retarded. What did they expect an expansion to do? Turn the game into a whole different? The whole point of expansions is to 'give more fo the same' for those who liked the original. FFS

I do laugh at all the butthurt over at the BIOm baords 'cause the lack of romances and for BIO having the gall to kill off a character. HAHHAHAHA!!!

Angthoron · Mar 17, 2010

You're more of the same, Volly.

aleph · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
Also, whining that it's 'more of the same' is retarded. What did they expect an expansion to do? Turn the game into a whole different?

Mask of the Betrayer did it to NWN2, so why not have some expectations that Awakening improves Dragon Age. Especially with some many opportunities.

Phelot · Mar 17, 2010

THere's nothing wrong with an expansion being "more of the same" if the game is good. I enjoy most expansion packs for games that I like.

Gragt · Mar 17, 2010

Lesifoere said:
"Bought" and played it for a bit. Not even worth the bandwidth; it's so boring it's unplayable.

I told you, but you wouldn't listen.

Lesifoere · Mar 17, 2010

Yes well, sometimes I don't learn.

Volourn · Mar 17, 2010

"Mask of the Betrayer did it to NWN2"

No, it didn't.

"so why not have some expectations that Awakening improves Dragon Age. Especially with some many opportunities."

Except, lack of improvements isn't what people are crying about. Their crying that a 20 hour expansion doesn't focus 10 minutes (which is about half the time spent on each DAO romance, btw at most) on romance.

here is the stuff people are most butthurt over when it comes to DAA. BTW, This is for those who liked the original. If you didn't like Origins, this doesn't matter.

1. No romances. *shrug*

2. No major ties to DAO. I admit this is a solid criticism. So much more could have been done here.

3. A joinable npc dies pretty early. People cry because BIO killeda 'hyped' character claiming AT THE SAME TIME, that the deed meant nothing because they weren't attached to the npc anyways yet whining that BIO is evil for killing a character they hyped so much that people got attached to. WTF? Trying to have it both ways. WTF.

4. Lack of DLC items coming over. This is lame as I have said before. I started with no armour on. That's retarded. Thankfully, I had a cheap studded leather in my inventory so I didn't have to walk down the road naked.

I have some complaints too but I don't know how anyone who liked the original could be so butthurt when the gameplay is exactly the same but with more options,a nd the story is written in the same way (good or bad depending on your view). 8shrug*

Sceptic · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
"Mask of the Betrayer did it to NWN2"

No, it didn't.

STOP THE LIES START THE TRUTHS

Redshirt #42 · Mar 17, 2010

Lesifoere said:
it's so boring it's unplayable.

QFT

Volourn · Mar 17, 2010

"Would be much cooler if there was a 50/50 chance weither she dies or passes Joining."

My major beef here is that there should have been more built up to the Joining. It was handled much better in Origins, imo, despite the fact you knew the PC would survive and the npcs were likely deaders.

There should have been a random chance for all 3 to die, imo, which some bonuses/negatives depending on how you interact with them.

Clockwork Knight · Mar 17, 2010

3. A joinable npc dies pretty early. People cry because BIO killeda 'hyped' character claiming AT THE SAME TIME, that the deed meant nothing because they weren't attached to the npc anyways yet whining that BIO is evil for killing a character they hyped so much that people got attached to. WTF? Trying to have it both ways. WTF.

I imagine the feeling is less of attachment and more of frustration

SerratedBiz · Mar 17, 2010

micmu said:
7-8.5 scores by "impartial gaming press"? Holy crap, this expansion must really suck then.

This. I believe the standard was to substract 3 from the score given? So that's 4 - 5.5... shiiiiit. :lol:

hoochimama · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
There should have been a random chance for all 3 to die, imo, which some bonuses/negatives depending on how you interact with them.

I get the impression that the way bioware does companions, with the "cinematic" banter, companion quests, party balance and all, they're too expensive to have all that potential content disappear right in the beginning of the game due to random chance.

At most they'd make the girl's death optional and if she survived she still wouldn't join the party due to some BS excuse writers get paid to come up with.

Story-wise there's no reason to think that a person's ability to survive the joining isn't innate, for which the on-the-spot random roll for survival , or having 3-4 dialog lines during the keep battle affect the result, would make no sense.

Xor · Mar 17, 2010

DramaticPopcorn said:
Would be much cooler if there was a 50/50 chance weither she dies or passes Joining.

Then people would just reload until the NPC survived.

Who dies, anyway?

aleph · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
"Mask of the Betrayer did it to NWN2"

No, it didn't.

I can only marvel at your cunning use of rhetoric, your witty refutation of my very idea that MotB is very different if not superior to NWN2... :roll:

Are you retarded or what? MotB differs in theme, scope and storytelling from the original game. The only thing they really have in common is the engine.

Black · Mar 17, 2010

bullshit

Volourn · Mar 17, 2010

"I get the impression that the way bioware does companions, with the "cinematic" banter, companion quests, party balance and all, they're too expensive to have all that potential content disappear right in the beginning of the game due to random chance.

At most they'd make the girl's death optional and if she survived she still wouldn't join the party due to some BS excuse writers get paid to come up with."

Yet, BIO has no problem killing joinable characters off all the time. Zevran lasted.5 seconds before I slit his throat 'wasting' all the work they done. Same thing can happen with others like Wynn, the family murderer, etc.

I see your point about it being 'random'; but ah well. Soemtime life just sucks randomly.

"MotB is very different if not superior to NWN2... Are you retarded or what?"

Are you retarted? Where did I claim it wasn't superior? Fuckin' dumbass.

"Story-wise there's no reason to think that a person's ability to survive the joining isn't innate"

True, but there is no telling what actually detrmines the ability of one sto survive so making it random isn't a bad idea, anyways.

You could have it that 1 in 3 would die.

aleph · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
"MotB is very different if not superior to NWN2... Are you retarded or what?"

Are you retarted? Where did I claim it wasn't superior? Fuckin' dumbass.

Okay, logic 101, in simple words, so even you can understand. Superior implies different*, you denied MotB was different to NWN2, therefore you denied MotB was superior to NWN2. See wasn't that hard, was it?

*one might of course argue the degree of difference required to speak of superiority, though this merely tangential to the argument at hand

Sceptic · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
"I get the impression that the way bioware does companions, with the "cinematic" banter, companion quests, party balance and all, they're too expensive to have all that potential content disappear right in the beginning of the game due to random chance.

At most they'd make the girl's death optional and if she survived she still wouldn't join the party due to some BS excuse writers get paid to come up with."

Yet, BIO has no problem killing joinable characters off all the time. Zevran lasted.5 seconds before I slit his throat 'wasting' all the work they done. Same thing can happen with others like Wynn, the family murderer, etc.

I'm with Volourn on this. And it's not exactly something that Bio started doing recently. You could murder ever NPC in BG as soon as you met him/her. Not a big waste of work back then but even in BG2 you could cause the deaths of Viconia, Edwin, Aerie and a few others before they even joined the party, wasting their quests and their romance if applicable*. In ME1 you could easily skip Garrus or Wrex and kill Wrex later on. Same in ME2 where you could skip Grunt and Legion and cause the death of Samara or Morinth. Pretty sure you could also cause the death of most of your party in DAO, in fact I think the only ones you cannot kill are Oghren and Morrigan. The only Bio games where you can't kill your companions are KOTOR and JE (I don't count the lulzy dark side ending).

*Not gonna debate whether you're missing anything worthwhile or not but you're still cutting yourself off from " banter, companion quests, party balance and all".

Volourn · Mar 17, 2010

"Okay, logic 101, in simple words, so even you can understand. Superior implies different*, you denied MotB was different to NWN2, therefore you denied MotB was superior to NWN2. See wasn't that hard, was it?

*one might of course argue the degree of difference required to speak of superiority, though this merely tangential to the argument at hand"

My fuckin' god. You are retarded.

Everybody here whines how all BIO games are the 'same' yet everybody here also has BIO games they like more than others?

MOTB doesn't change NWN2 fundamentally enough to be considered truly different. The game play, the dialogue system, the combat, et al. are fuckin' the same. The onlym real difference mechanics wise is the spirit meter and it's not enough to be considered a wholly different game. FFS

Black · Mar 17, 2010

Volourn said:
MOTB doesn't change NWN2 fundamentally enough to be considered truly different.

I'm a simple man, I use simple logic.
NWN2 was shit.
MOTB was good, very good.
For me that's a significant change.

Review Dragon Age: Awakening Review Bundle

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