Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening
Gameplay 8
Graphics 8
Sound 9

Since Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is an expansion instead of a full-blown sequel it’s not quite as lengthy or epic as the original game. However, it’s still a great game with plenty to offer RPG fans. The new party members are just as good as the original ones and the inclusion of new class specializations, spells and abilities also make the combat more interesting. If you were a fan of Origins, then you won’t want to miss out on Awakening.

Gameplay: More of the same compared to Origins, but still fun.

Graphics: The visuals are still good, albeit very bloody.

Sound: Good music, sound effects, and voice acting

Summary 8.3 Outstanding
Gameplay 0
Graphics 0
Sound 0
Summary rating from user's marks. You can set own marks for this article - just click on stars above and press "Accept".
Accept
Summary 0.0 Terrible

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening

Developer: BioWare | Publisher: Electronic Arts | Release Date: 2010 | Genre: RPG | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

By the time Dragon Age: Origins was released Bioware had already built up quite a reputation for creating quality role-playing games, which meant expectations were quite high. Thankfully, they managed to deliver a title that lived up to the hype. Awakening is the first full-fledged expansion for the game, which means it’s longer than the bite-sized DLC before it, but not quite as long as the original game. Since the original game is required to play Awakening we are going to assume that everyone interested in the expansion has played Origins first, as they should. This also means that there will be a few spoilers in this review for Origins.

Awakening is set six months after the events of Origins, which saw your character defeat the Archdemon and put an end to the blight. However, instead of retreating back to the deep roads as expected, it seems that the darkspawn are instead still lingering on the surface. Even more worrying, there have been reports that these foul creatures are even more intelligent than before. Awakening allows players to import their Origins character, provided that they survived the events of the first game, or create a new level 16 character. Whichever option you choose, your character will be appointed as the new Grey Warden Commander of Vigil’s Keep. However, things get off to a rocky start as the darkspawn attack the keep just before your arrival and leave everything in disarray. This leaves you in the unenviable position of having to rebuild the keep, fend off the darkspawn, keep the locals happy, and figure out what is going on.

As it is an expansion Awakening has a lot fewer locations to explore than Origins, but at least all of them are new. Apart from Vigil’s Keep, which serves as your base of operations so you don’t have to camp anymore, there is also the city of Amaranthine. It’s the only major city in the area and nowhere near as large as what you are used to in Origins, but still has plenty to see and do. A handful of other locations, including some woods, a marsh, and three major dungeons fill out the rest of the game. By simply sticking to the main plot the game can be completed in as little as 12 hours, but chasing down every side quest and optional story thread can easily push this up to 20 hours. Some, like the quests from the Chantry board or merchant’s board, is hardly exciting, but others are well worth uncovering because of the excellent writing.

Speaking of high-quality writing, Bioware has added five new party members to Awakening as well as one returning face from Origins. Initially, it didn’t feel like the new characters could hold a candle to the ones we spent so many hours adventuring with in Origins, but slowly they began to grow on us too. Unfortunately, it’s easy to miss out on the best parts of their stories because the game is relatively short, and interacting with your party members is completely optional. For example, one of your early party members is a human mage named Anders who has repeatedly escaped from the Circle of Magi. At first, he appears to be quite haughty and has disdain for the Grey Wardens, but delving into his past reveals his fondness for cats. Awakening still features the “gifting” feature of Origins, so when your character discovers a stray kitten that can be picked up and gifted to Anders be ready to witness a total transformation. This is just one example of the small touches that Bioware has managed to cram into the game. The witty banter between party members, depending on who you choose to take with you are also still present and just as funny as Origins. Something else that Awakening retains from Origins is choices that have real consequences. The choices that you have to make are never easy and the outcomes not always obvious. We also like the fact that the ending shows you the outcomes of all your choices.

Awakening uses the same engine as Origins, so visually the game looks identical to the original. This means plenty of blood and characters that are covered in arterial spray after each combat encounter. The combat is also still the same as the first game, but Awakening does have six new class specializations, and a host of new spells as well as abilities to play around with. The game also has a few new enemies to take on and some of them are quite disturbing, to say the least. Also, the music and sound effects are good and the standard of the voice acting is as high as it was in Origins.

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is a great expansion to the original game, but unfortunately the shorter playtime also means that it feels a lot less epic. It also doesn’t help that a lot of the interesting new ideas, such as fortifying the keep, arming your forces, and listening to the complaints of the locals could have been fleshed out a lot more. Fans of the original game may also be disappointed by the lack of romance options in Awakening. Finally, we had to make use of the quicksave option in this game constantly as it was very prone to crashing unexpectedly. This issue seems to be more common in the Steam version of the game, which forced us to switch over to Origin. However, despite these issues, we still thoroughly enjoyed our time with Awakening and believe that any RPG fan will enjoy it just as much.

System Requirements

  • OS: Windows XP (SP3) or Windows Vista (SP1) or Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Single 1.6 Ghz Processor (or equivalent) or AMD 64 2.0 GHz Processor (or equivalent)
  • Memory: 1GB (1.5 GB Vista and Windows 7)
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon X850 256MB or NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB or greater (Windows Vista: Radeon X1550 256 MB or NVidia GeForce 7600GT 256MB)
  • DirectX®: DirectX (November 2007)
  • Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space
  • Sound: Direct X Compatible Sound Card
  • OS: Windows XP (SP3) or Windows Vista (SP1) or Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz or AMD Phenom II X2 Dual-Core 2.7 Ghz Processor or equivalent
  • Memory: 2 GB (3GB Vista and Windows 7)
  • Graphics: ATI 3850 512 MB or NVidia 8800GTS 512MB or greater
  • DirectX®: DirectX (November 2007)
  • Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space
  • Sound: Direct X Compatible Sound Card

Related posts

ASTRO ACE

ASTRO ACE

Astro Ace is a retro-style space shooter that isn't afraid to challenge players. The goal is to take down endless waves of enemies while racking up a high score in the process. Although very difficult, the experience point system keeps players hooked with a steady stream of new unlocks, and the game is addictive enough that minutes can quickly turn into hours if you are not careful. Gameplay: Astro Ace can be frustrating, and it takes a lot of practice to get anywhere, but beating your previous high score is quite a thrill. Graphics: The visuals can get a little cluttered, but the ship designs and different effects have just the right combination of retro and modern. Sound: The soundtrack and sound effects, apart from the Wingman Support, are unobtrusive and provide a good backdrop for the arcade action.

Eye Of The Beholder

Eye Of The Beholder

As far as classic DOS era First Person Role Playing Games go you can do a lot worse than this AD&D effort. It doesn't hold your hand and isn't afraid to put up a stiff challenge, but overall it aged well and still offers hours of enjoyment. Gameplay: Challenging but also entertaining and addictive. Graphics: All things considered, not bad. Sound: Very limited music and feeble sound effects.

The Princess, the Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart

The Princess, the Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart

The Princess, The Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart is a charming and humorous visual novel that features a large cast of interesting characters. It opens with the protagonist, Nora Handa, encountering a girl claiming to be a princess of the netherworld and events just spiral further out of control from there. After his encounter with this newcomer, Nora has to decide whether he is falling in love with her or if his heart beats for one of the three other girls in his life. Of course, the fact that he has been cursed to change into a cat whenever he is kissed also complicates matters further. Overall, this is a great visual novel, but there are some gaping holes where all the adult content has been removed. Gameplay: Completing all four of the routes in the game is a lengthy process, but very enjoyable. Graphics: The artwork is really good, but it is a pity that all of the adult content had to be removed. Sound: Full voice acting for the characters along with a huge and varied soundtrack.

WazHack

WazHack

Wazhack is a game that kept us busy for hours, most of which was spent dying and retrying. It is a very difficult game, but with a good strategy and plenty of luck you will get far. The permanent death ensures that you stay on your toes at all times, and the procedural levels ensure plenty of replay value. There is also a wealth of characters to choose from, each with their own unique skills and weaknesses. Gameplay: A strategic dungeon crawler, that is tough as nails, but very rewarding. Graphics: The rendered backgrounds and 3D character models make for an interesting mix. Sound: Subtle enough that you can play the game for hours without the music becoming annoying.

Mass Effect

Mass Effect

Gameplay: A nice blend of action and role playing. Graphics: A decent looking port. Sound: Very good. Mass Effect is yet another offering from Bioware that does not disappoint. The story is gripping and the characters interesting. Best of all, this is just the start of a trilogy, so there is still plenty of adventures ahead for Commander Shepard and his crew.

Cat Goes Fishing

Cat Goes Fishing

Cat Goes Fishing is a simple fishing game featuring a bunch of fish with different behaviors. As players catch and sell fish they earn enough cash and experience to upgrade their gear and go after even bigger species. The game can be very grindy at times and catching some of the fish on "Realism" mode might make you want to pull your hair out, but overall it's a decent game. It's not the best looking or sounding fishing game on the market, but it is easy to pick up and play. Beware, though, as it is also easy to get hooked and spent hours trying to catch some of the more elusive fish. Gameplay: Simple, but quite addictive. Graphics: Nothing to write home about, but the 2D sprites are not without charm. Sound: Decent enough, but eventually the music does become repetitive.

Leave a comment

3 × one =