The expansion to the best RPG of 2009, but that's not saying much since the only good RPG that came out in 2009 was Dragon Age, as far as I know.
I played the expansion and the original game on PC (where it should be played) and here are my specs:
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.83Ghz
6GB DDR3 RAM
Asus GTX 260 216 896MB
EX58-UD3R M/B
2x 20xspeed DVD drives
800w PSU
Logitech G10 keyboard
Logitech G35 Headset
Windows Vista 64bit SP2
22" 1920x1080 monitor
I ran everything at max on 1920x1080 resolution
Now, let's talk about the actual game
[HEADING=2] Visuals [/HEADING] The visuals in the Awakening expansion are more or less on the same quality level of the original game. Not the most impressive, but it has it's moments of visual glory. One thing that the expansion improves upon in terms of visuals is that Bioware included some more colours than shades of brown, but not alot. There's also a couple of blurry textures among good ones and that can draw you out of the experience. So, visuals, not too bad, but not too great either.
[HEADING=2] Gameplay [/HEADING]
The gameplay in Awakening is pretty much the same as the main game, with some additional class specializations and abilities and a few new item types. For those of you who don't know what the gameplay is like, it's sort of like classic RPGs, such as Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights, but with a better interface and a great job of hiding dice-rolls, making combat flow better. It is simplified, what with the 3 races and class types, but really, in most RPG games, it really just boils down to the classes available in Dragon Age.
The choice and the hidden moral system also work exactly the same as the original, with your choices effecting companions, quest outcomes and the endgame.
[HEADING=2] Story [/HEADING]
Now, Dragon Age has been prasied for it's story, even though it rips off Lord of the Rings and The Witcher. It is, however, very well told and the original had very memorable characters that were well fleshed out. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. The characters aren't very well-fleshed out and the story being quite confusing at times. Now, I know the codex would probably help explain things better, but I don't play video games to read text in the amount of novels. Might as well just read a novel instead, so I didn't really bother with the codex.
Those criticisms aside, let's talk about the actual story here. You can start off as a completely new character or use a character from the main game. I chose to use the character I had from the original, for consistency.
You begin in the land of Amaranthine, which
Vigils Keep is the area you're in, which is basically a small village and strategical outpost. It is attacked by darkspawn and you meet one who can talk and try to figure out how and why the attack happened. Throughout the game, you try to restore wealth to the keep by helping with trade routes and gaining a few allies. There's also some side quests, which also have some impact on the endgame.
You also have to prepare you mean and the keep for an attack, but it wasn't as deep a system as I would've liked. It should've been more like it was in Nevewinter Nights 2, when you build up the fort/village, preparing for battle. Hell, even a system similar to Assassins Creed 2 would've been fine.
So, all in all, the story was alright and fairly enjoyable. I did it all in less than 10 hours.
[HEADING=2] Technical issues [/HEADING]
I experienced some graphical slowdown, but nothing gamebreaking.
[HEADING=2] Replay value and is it worth buying? [/HEADING]
I would say to buy this, if you have the original (as it requires the original to play). Or, if you don't have the original, but this expansion with it. Clocked about 30 hours in original, 10 in expansion, but that's with one character. There is quite alot of gameplay here and is well worth it. The expansion contains roughly the same amount or more content than your average mainstream game, for only half the price.
If you liked Dragon Age: Origins, then getting the expansion is a no-brainer, since it's just more of Dragon Age, and that's really all you can ask of an expansion.
If you want to see more details on my character build and story,or check out some screenshot, take a look at my Bioware Social Network profile: http://social.bioware.com/822994/#profile
Thanks for reading.
I played the expansion and the original game on PC (where it should be played) and here are my specs:
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.83Ghz
6GB DDR3 RAM
Asus GTX 260 216 896MB
EX58-UD3R M/B
2x 20xspeed DVD drives
800w PSU
Logitech G10 keyboard
Logitech G35 Headset
Windows Vista 64bit SP2
22" 1920x1080 monitor
I ran everything at max on 1920x1080 resolution
Now, let's talk about the actual game
[HEADING=2] Visuals [/HEADING] The visuals in the Awakening expansion are more or less on the same quality level of the original game. Not the most impressive, but it has it's moments of visual glory. One thing that the expansion improves upon in terms of visuals is that Bioware included some more colours than shades of brown, but not alot. There's also a couple of blurry textures among good ones and that can draw you out of the experience. So, visuals, not too bad, but not too great either.
[HEADING=2] Gameplay [/HEADING]
The gameplay in Awakening is pretty much the same as the main game, with some additional class specializations and abilities and a few new item types. For those of you who don't know what the gameplay is like, it's sort of like classic RPGs, such as Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights, but with a better interface and a great job of hiding dice-rolls, making combat flow better. It is simplified, what with the 3 races and class types, but really, in most RPG games, it really just boils down to the classes available in Dragon Age.
The choice and the hidden moral system also work exactly the same as the original, with your choices effecting companions, quest outcomes and the endgame.
[HEADING=2] Story [/HEADING]
Now, Dragon Age has been prasied for it's story, even though it rips off Lord of the Rings and The Witcher. It is, however, very well told and the original had very memorable characters that were well fleshed out. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. The characters aren't very well-fleshed out and the story being quite confusing at times. Now, I know the codex would probably help explain things better, but I don't play video games to read text in the amount of novels. Might as well just read a novel instead, so I didn't really bother with the codex.
Those criticisms aside, let's talk about the actual story here. You can start off as a completely new character or use a character from the main game. I chose to use the character I had from the original, for consistency.
You begin in the land of Amaranthine, which
you become arl of, given by Queen Anora after Arl Howe was revealed as a traitor and after his death.
Vigils Keep is the area you're in, which is basically a small village and strategical outpost. It is attacked by darkspawn and you meet one who can talk and try to figure out how and why the attack happened. Throughout the game, you try to restore wealth to the keep by helping with trade routes and gaining a few allies. There's also some side quests, which also have some impact on the endgame.
there's also a conspiracy against you from disloyal nobles, which should've been fleshed out more. The conspirators all end up dying instead.
You also have to prepare you mean and the keep for an attack, but it wasn't as deep a system as I would've liked. It should've been more like it was in Nevewinter Nights 2, when you build up the fort/village, preparing for battle. Hell, even a system similar to Assassins Creed 2 would've been fine.
Just in case you decide to save Amaranthine instead of defend the keep. Having it fortified and defensible could've made it an easier decision and have a better outcome
So, all in all, the story was alright and fairly enjoyable. I did it all in less than 10 hours.
[HEADING=2] Technical issues [/HEADING]
I experienced some graphical slowdown, but nothing gamebreaking.
[HEADING=2] Replay value and is it worth buying? [/HEADING]
I would say to buy this, if you have the original (as it requires the original to play). Or, if you don't have the original, but this expansion with it. Clocked about 30 hours in original, 10 in expansion, but that's with one character. There is quite alot of gameplay here and is well worth it. The expansion contains roughly the same amount or more content than your average mainstream game, for only half the price.
If you liked Dragon Age: Origins, then getting the expansion is a no-brainer, since it's just more of Dragon Age, and that's really all you can ask of an expansion.
If you want to see more details on my character build and story,or check out some screenshot, take a look at my Bioware Social Network profile: http://social.bioware.com/822994/#profile
Thanks for reading.
