Jan 4, 2010
BioWare received massive attention in 2009 with the release of Dragon Age: Origins. Just like Mass Effect, you could create your own character as you trolloped along the landscape and created havoc or brought fortune to your teammates. Unlike Mass Effect, though, DA: O is set in medieval times, complete with cockney accents and bad teeth. I know for me it was the perfect antidote because my sword arm was twitchy!
With that being said, the company has issued Dragon Age: Return To Ostagar as a DLC release for January 5th, and it’ll be for PC, Xbox 360, and (an unconfirmed date) PS3.
It’s mighty unusual for a PC game to release an expansion so soon, given the fact that many MMOs want to milk a player’s time for as long as possible, but Aaryn Flynn, General Manager and Vice President at BioWare Edmonton, says this nugget of wisdom about the release:
“Return to Ostagar represents BioWare’s commitment to providing a steady stream of compelling post release content as we continue to expand the Dragon Age universe.”
I think this is a great way to not only keep a series on-going (Look at how quick Aion and Age of Conan faded from view), but to expand the content and storyline. I think that BioWare has an awesome thing going with the branching story and different ways you can control the fate of your character. I’ll admit that I’m crazy excited to see my stud Alistair in action once again.
Source: Joystiq.com
If only the DLCs that BioWare releases to Dragon Age could be called “expansions”. I was rather disappointed that Warden’s Keep added a whopping 45 minutes of gameplay for the £5 I bought it for. :( I doubt RtO will be any different.
I wouldn’t go comparing DAO to Aion/AoC though, while the DLCs are nice to have, it’s not necessary to shell out the cash for them unlike with MMOs. To many people DAO is the spiritual successor to the Baldur’s Gate series, and there are still people (myself included) who play the old BGs. :)
I’m going to be ridiculously excited though if/when BioWare brings out the first major expansion pack that actually extends the new content beyond the main story of DAO. Or if that’s not happening, then at least I can hope for DA2 in a couple of years…
There are rumors of a full expansion called Dragon Age: Awakenings to be released in March. Supposedly, it will offer 15 hours of gameplay, new characters, and a new origin story. Only rumors, but still exciting.
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/dragon-age-origins-expansion-pack-listing-spotted-2010014/
Woot! I had heard about this earlier but that source seemed unreliable (now I wish I had listened!)
I got DA:O when it first came out but I found myself without enough freetime to really sit down and play it. I recently got a new GPU and PSU and I’m on the verge of finishing some of my modules at uni, so it will be good to actually be able to play it on full graphics and really enjoy the game, because atm it’s just sat on my shelf gathering dust.