Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening for Xbox 360 is the first expansion to the award-winning single player RPG, Dragon Age: Origins. Developed by role-playing game (RPG) specialists, BioWare, Awakenings is a standalone expansion, meaning that ownership of the original game is not necessary, although players of the original game are afforded the choice of utilizing their character from the original game or starting with a fresh character. Additional features include an expanded storyline, new creatures, locations and more.
For centuries, the Grey Wardens ? the ancient order of guardians sworn to unite and defend the lands ? have battled the darkspawn forces. Legend says that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but for all the Grey Wardens' vigilance, somehow the creatures remain. But there is a new spark of hope. You are the Grey Warden Commander and have been entrusted with the duty of rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens and uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to remain. How you choose to rebuild your order, how you resolve the conflict with "The Architect", and how you determine the fate of the darkspawn will be but some of the many complex choices that await and shape your journey as you venture to the new land of Amaranthine. Gameplay As with the original Dragon Age: Origins game, the Awakening expansion is a single player RPG in which the path of a player's created hero is determined through a combination of ongoing actions throughout the game and the character's particular backstory, known as an Origin Story. Origin Stories relate primarily to the combination of the chosen race of the character and that individual's socioeconomic status. For example, a player who favors a Dwarfish character may have a variety of options, including the choice of being a commoner or a noble. As the character progresses through the game he will interact with any number of non-player characters (NPCs) who may have a particular opinion of Dwarves which may or may not be altered by the fact that the character is of noble or commoner status. These built-in impressions, blended in real-time with the character's interactions and choices alter the hero's personal path and eventually the outcome of the events of the game. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening is a standalone expansion, meaning that ownership of the original Dragon Age: Origins game is not necessary for play. That said, players of the previous game are afforded the added benefit of importing their character from the original game to continue that adventure, or beginning anew with a new character and Origin Story. Key Game Features
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73 of 79 people found the following review helpful: By = Fun: This review is from: Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (Video Game) Dragon Age: Origins was a real treat for me. I was absolutely absorbed by the lore Bioware created for it, and instantly fell in love with the characters with whom I eventually traveled Ferelden. On the whole, I almost liked it BETTER than even MASS EFFECT 2, because I felt like I was playing out MY story, not Shepard's story. That's a feeling I've not had since KotOR. But, similarly to KotOR, the production values of DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS felt last generation, which hindered the experience in many ways.
So, I was surprised to hear about this expansion so soon after the main game's release. I mean...when I first heard about this at the beginning of the year: barely two months after DA:O came out. I was concerned that this was just going to be a moneygrab by Bioware/EA, since...who has ever made an expansion that quickly? (Maybe...Read more 54 of 66 people found the following review helpful: By = Fun: This review is from: Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (Video Game) I had high hopes for this after giving an absurd amount of hours of my life to DA:O. Admittedly, my expectations may have been raised by the wonderful Mass Effect 2, which managed to import almost all your plot decisions from the first game over. Here however, there is hardly any connection to the story in the first one. Not only that, your DLC gear from Warden's Keep, the Stone Prisoner and even the Blood Dragon Armor that came with the game won't transfer over! They did somehow let you keep Return to Ostagar gear. Now this alone wouldn't be so bad, except, you start the game in your underwear if you were wearing DLC gear! I don't mean you wake up at camp in your undies. I mean you are trekking down the road, ready to battle, wearing a diaper! Even if you can look past this, there are numerous import issues people are having regarding stats, spells and talents. In some cases people are missing half their talents. The blood powers you got from Warden's Keep show up in your talent...Read more 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: By = Fun: This review is from: Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (Video Game) I have to admit that based on the somewhat lackluster bang-for-your-buck pricing of Dragon Age's downloadable quests, I was a bit hesitant to drop $40 on an expansion that according to some reports could be done in under 10 hours. As a big fan of Bioware and Bethesda games, I expect a solid amount of gameplay for my money, and the DLC just wasn't delivering.
But here my fears were unfounded. A solid 20 hours of fun later, I wrapped up Awakening having enjoyed a full-fledged and very enjoyable Bioware experience. An experience that can change next time around thanks to story choices that impact the game, adding even more bang for your buck. That's not bad at all for a $40 expansion. Adding to my fun was importing my character from Origins and watching as he climbed to godlike levels of power, with equipment that would make the archdemon weep with fear. Awesome. If you're already a fan of Dragon Age or Bioware you know the gist of how...Read more |