Game News Darkspawn Chronicles DLC Announced

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age

...officially.
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/97760-dragon-age-origins-darkspawn-chronicles-dlc-announced.html">Here's an excerpt:</a>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>For the first time ever, fight as the darkspawn in BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins. In the new downloadable content pack, Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn Chronicles, players have the chance to experience life on the dark side, playing as the corrupted army of the Blight, are enslaved to the will of the Archdemon. In North America, Darkspawn Chronicles will be available for the Xbox 360 videogame system for 400 Microsoft points and PC for 400 BioWare points on May 18th, and on PlayStation Network for $4.99, with its launch date to be announced later.
<br>
<br>
The Darkspawn Chronicles offers players a look at an alternate history in the Dragon Age universe. Darkspawn Chronicles begins as your character dies during the Joining ceremony, and the Grey Wardens now march under Alistair's command. As a hurlock vanguard, you alone hold the power to make thralls of their fellow darkspawn and drive them into the heat of battle as Denerim burns! This adventure gives you command of genlocks, hurlocks, shrieks, and even the mighty ogres.
<br>
<br>
Key features include:
<br>
<br>
• Imagine a world without heroes, where the greatest among you never became a Grey Warden
<br>
• Play through the Fall of Denerim from the perspective of the darkspawn
<br>
• Complete the module and unlock an epic darkspawn item for use in Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening
<br>
• Use the “Enthrall” ability – recruit any darkspawn you encounter into your party
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
To be fair, the idea does sound interesting. But for a mere DLC a bit ambitious, because that sounds more like material for a whole game or at least an expansion pack unless of course the DLC doesn't consist of anything but pwning Alistair in Denerim.
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/97760-dragon-age-origins-darkspawn-chronicles-dlc-announced.html">GB</A>

 

[racofer]

They have to resort to such things when the sales of DA:O and DA:OA combined can't match the less funded project called Mass Effect 2, or else EA will be very disappoint

 

[Humanity has risen!]

A whole 30 minutes of content! W00t!

 

[Overweight Manatee]

The important question: Will there be romances?

I'm sure we all know by now that the difference between mediocre DA:A and best-since-arcanum DA:O is the fact that you can fuck your party members.

 

[LazyD]

The truly important question is: Who honestly gives a fuck?

 

[racofer]

People that post ITT.

 

[Fez]

I wish they wouldn't use these annoying points systems to sell it.

 

[Volourn]

VOD makes a good point. This is a fun, and inetresting iudea but seems such a waste for a simple DLC.


"They have to resort to such things when the sales of DA:O and DA:OA combined can't match the less funded project called Mass Effect 2, or else EA will be very disappoint "

Proof, please.

Last I heard, DA:O sold 3.2M+ while ME2 had sold 2.5M copies with no official count on A.

 

[Mortmal]

Likely a 30 minute module indeed , you just go through the fall of denerim. They will reuse the same assets and you will complete it by doing filler fights after filler fights until the king fall(a barely strategic battle).
Playing the villain side is a great idea but that cant possibly happen, i asked my father when i was a kid why the evil guys in cartoons despite more troops firepowers etc, never win, he told me that evil winning would traumatize me and other childrens .Bioware willl never traumatize their fanbase, we will never play evil characters.

 

[random_encounter]

To be fair, the idea does sound interesting. But for a mere DLC a bit ambitious, because that sounds more like material for a whole game or at least an expansion pack unless of course the DLC doesn't consist of anything but pwning Alistair in Denerim.

Agreed. I'd rather have a larger expansion involving darkspawn such as the Architect, communion with Archdemon via blood ritual or drug induced hallucination, and more sinister doings behind the scenes such as cleaning up what is left of the survivors at Ostagar or corrupting children via their dreams.

But I guess it'll do as a cheap add-on. A waste of a really good idea, though. Curious if they did this in order to provide for a KOTOR-level good/evil viewpoint for the game as opposed to simply allowing your character to be a true bastard.

Last I heard, DA:O sold 3.2M+ while ME2 had sold 2.5M copies with no official count on A.

Those are shipped numbers, what were sold to retailers. Not actual units sold to players, though I wouldn't doubt if DA:O sold more than ME2 given its lead during the holidays. DA:O is also available on the PS3 where ME2 isn't.

 

[Nostradumbass]

I wish they wouldn't use these annoying points systems to sell it.

 

[J1M]

I don't see why this has to be alternate history. By doing that they basically label it as "IGNORE ME PLEASE" to the lore fags.

Would be just as easy to have you playing someone who was converted to darkspawn and had to rise in the ranks/lead attacks that the player doesn't see. There are at least two but I don't remember what the towns were called.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if the end of this DLC was for the evil darkspawn to overwhelm the more evil dragonspawn and win their evil freedom of evil.

 

[circ]

A whole 30 minutes of content! W00t!

Only because it's scripted that way. And hoo boy how it's scripted. I don't think I've seen a shittier and buggier piece of scripting short of crashing the whole game in a long time.

 

[Volourn]

"they basically label it as "IGNORE ME PLEASE" to the lore fags."

I don't give a shit about these punks.

 

[Konjad]

could be interesting expansion, but DLC? no thx bye

 

[Shannow]

Ruling the world throgh necromancy?

All in all it sounds like a weak effort.

And just btw: If you're a hurlock you're not evil. You'll now kill all humans whereas in DAO(A) you killed all darkspawn. Same difference.

 

[circ]

Ruling the world throgh necromancy?

All in all it sounds like a weak effort.

And just btw: If you're a hurlock you're not evil. You'll now kill all humans whereas in DAO(A) you killed all darkspawn. Same difference.

It's the weakest DLC effort I've heard of so far. Seriously, taking one of the worst sequences from DA and turning it into something from the other viewpoint? Did this take even 30 minutes of work BW?

 

[Grunker]

Wow, that sounds terribad. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

As said, the idea sounds nice, but doesn't seem DLC material. It would be interesting if Allistair ended up being a more sucessful leader than you. If everything's gonna happen the same way, there's no need to make it an alternate reality.

Sounds like an excuse to make players way too attached to their characters to forget about the grey warden for a minute, and play as someone else.

 

[Nightjed]

Key features include:

• Imagine a world without anyone that can talk so that the game is 100% combat and no dialogue other than grunts

• Play through <generic battle n°10924> from the perspective of the darkspawn

• Complete the module and unlock an epic (and completely useless!) darkspawn item for use in Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening (might come in handy if one of Awakening's many bugs managed to strip your character naked and ran away with your best items! no we wont patch that, we prefer working on more DLC!)

• Use the “Enthrall” ability – recruit any darkspawn you encounter into your party (finally, no need to work story and character into NPCs, just let the main character recruit faceless, voiceless grunts and then try to sell it as a feature!)

 

[denizsi]

 

[markec]

The important question: Will there be romances?

PC Darkspawn: RAAAWGRRAAARRRRR AGRGRUGRAGGG UGRAAGHGHHH (Hi baby, nice pair of titties you got there bet you gonna make a fine broodmother.)

 

[Clockwork Knight]

-Use the new "Throw Pokéball" ability - recruit any pokemon you encounter into your party!

 

[KalosKagathos]

 

[denizsi]

That is such a cool face. Except for the hair.

 

[madbringer]

-Use the new "Throw Pokéball" ability - recruit any pokemon you encounter into your party!

As long as you can romance them.