Being an unashamed Dragon Age nerd, when I heard that the slightly delayed “Return to Ostagar” downloadable content pack had popped onto Xbox Live available for purchase yesterday, I was pretty damn excited to say the least. I made a promise to myself that the first thing I did when I got home was to crank up the Xbox and buy it. Promise achieved.
And soon after, I started playing it. And soon after that, I finished it.
That’s what you do with DLC, right? You download ‘em, you play ‘em and – soon after – you finish ‘em. No biggie. So what?
Well, when I got into work today I noticed there was a total clusterfuck ensuing surrounding the DLC. There was a bug. They pulled it from Xbox Live. Etc. and etc.
I guess I’m in a weird position as someone who’s played it, so I’ll offer up a review of sorts.
For starters, the bug didn’t give me any problems, and I was able to finish the pack and get the achievement. Apparently, the glitch messes around with characters’ specializations but I didn’t encounter anything like that. Things seemed to be running normally, so, yeah, there you have it.
Possible spoilers ahead:
For those who don’t know, “Return to Ostagar” follows The Warden back to the tragic battlefield where King Cailan and the Grey Wardens were sold out by Loghain to a Darkspawn horde – who slaughtered them all to a man. Or so you were led to believe. Turns out, there were other survivors of the Battle at Ostagar besides you, Alistair and Wynne. After coming across one of the King’s honor guard – a man who should be dead – you learn that King Cailan’s body, his armor, his sword and other important artifacts are still at the battle site and must be retrieved.
And that’s basically it. You head back to Ostagar. You kill a bunch of Darkspawn. You retrieve the artifacts. You are a hero. (I’m leaving out a few details, of course.)
What struck me soon after arriving at Ostagar was how eerie it was to be back. Dragon Age nerds will totally see what I mean when they play this. A nice slice of the original game was set here – but back before it was spoiled by the Darkspawn. Now, it is a broken ruin (well, it was a ruin before, technically, but now it’s extra ruined) and it creeps you out a little, especially because you remember your way around and see what’s been done to the place.
Outside of that, the DLC is pretty much a straight grind. No real twists. No new revelations, really (there is one, I guess, but it’s nothing mind-blowing.) But there is a lot of gear, even when you don’t count the King’s armor, sword and shield. Some surprise booty, too, which is always good (LOL! ** eye roll **)
I would recommend bringing Alistair and Wynne, most definitely, because they have a lot of DLC-motivated dialogue. I had Leliana with me and she didn’t say a peep that related to the Ostagar trip. I can’t really think of any other party members that might have dialogue that would have any sort of emotional stake here outside of being your friend, so definitely take those two and add whoever.
Now on to the bug question: Is it worth the 400 points?
In short: yes. If you love the game, get the DLC (uh, when it’s available again, of course.) It’s nothing insane but it’s a fun bit of closure. It buttons up the overall story arc nicely and would fit in well just before you head into Denerim for the buildup to the Landsmeet.
I’m hoping future DLC will be a little beefier, though.
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening The whole Dragon Age: Origins expansion pack gumbo -- called: Awakening, if you remember -- is getting spicy and tasty sounding. BioWare has released a pretty sweet trailer and other assets for the package and, if you've played some of the fantastic RPG, it'll probably get the juices flowing. It's late. Sorry.
Zelda
Say what you want about Nintendo Wii. Say its your grandma's favorite console. Say its for chumps and wankers. Stick your tongue out at it. Whatever. Still, when I tell you a new Zelda game is set for this year (!) you're gonna head over to your grandma's and get on her good side.
Spider-Man 4…delayed!
Yep. The next Spidey film is having trouble getting off the ground as director Sam Raimi and Sony execs are squabbling over the script and villains and whatnot.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty franchise is so damn huge it needs two developers working on it. Massaging it. Minding its mineral bath. Growing it in vats. Etc. That way, businessmen and frat dudes get to pwn each other online 24/7/365 (are we still saying that?) every year. One year, Infinity Ward puts out their crazy popular Modern Warfare version of the title; the next year, Treyarch heads back to World War II for some Nazi-shooting fun. Or do they? While Treyarch's last installment had a secret Nazi zombie level, it was also met with a lot of meh when it was released. Well, this time around the team is looking to shake things up. Large. We're talking venue change large. Scratch that! We're talking potentially controversial venue change large. Rumors are starting up that the next Call of Duty may take place during the Vietnam War. Edgy, right? I think this could be awesome or a total shit show, so I'm kind of bullish on the idea but we'll see. Regardless, y'all should probably leave out the zombies this time around.
YES!!! (but no) Saruman Christopher Lee has recorded a heavy metal album. Do I need to go on? Listen.
And finally… Have y'all seen that 70-minute review of The Phantom Menace that's floating around? It's awesome and spot on. Here's an interview with the dude who made it and you can see the video there, too, if you haven't. Then, when you remember how bad the movie/prequels were, you can head here and you'll know what to do...
Force Unleashed I liked the Force Unleashed. Not many people did, apparently. I think expectations for the Sith-y Star Wars game were (understandably) pretty high and fell short a bit. For me, I just liked using force powers and cutting shit up with my lightsaber. Now, though, we're going to need things to get stepped up a bit, right? Can't just be dazzled with a few force throws and saber slices, yeah? On that note: Here's a cool "wish list" for the recently announced sequel.
Dragon Age: Origins
It's a bad news-good news day in the world of Dragon Age today. Bad news: the "Return to Ostagar" DLC that was supposed to launch today has been delayed indefinitely. Boo! Meanwhile, the good news: BioWare has announced a full, 15-hour expansion called Awakening for March. Yay! Seriously, I've played the shit out of this game -- and will continue to do so for a few more weeks -- and it still keeps showing me new twists and turns. I think by March, though, it will be time for some new Dragon Aging and my interest in the game will definitely need an... awakening. Andithankyou.
Hmmm
The Onion's AV Club is some good internet. They offer up a darn good skew on all things pop culture-y. Their head isn't up their own ass but they're also pretty free of fluff, too. It's a nice balance. That being said: AV Club did their games of the year and put (spoiler alert) Batman: Arkham Asylum as No. 1. I have no problem with that, Batman: Arkham Asylum (and most of the games on their list) would be on my best of 2009 list, too -- maybe not at No. 1, but still. I loved that game. Many people did. That's not my problem. What is my problem is that the AV Club said Batman: Arkham Asylum was a “lean” game that “clocks in at around 8 hours.” Uhm, I’m no games wiz admittedly, but I’m (according to the game) 53% of the way through the game and I’ve played over 24 hours. No matter how much I suck, there’s no way someone is cutting through that game in 8 hours. Also, no Uncharted 2 (the game I would put as No. 1 in 2009) on the list. Like, at all. And, according to the comments, it was rated higher by AVC than some games on the list. I call bullshit.
Awesome
If this e-mail exchange is for reals it's gold. Hey, even if it isn't, it's still damn funny.
COD: MW2 DLC = $$$
Have you played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 yet? I haven't picked it up yet but I think that may be the next game I buy (since no one sent me a copy to review). So, yeah, no shooting up of the n00bs and whatnot. Not for a little bit, anyway. Activision should be okay until then since they sold a metric fuck-ton of them already. With that said, they're looking to launch some downloadable content in the spring that will probably sell faster than tickets to a Free Bags of Money and Blow Jobs convention.
Choice
I don't know if y'all read that reallllly long post I tossed off up here yesterday. Not the one about Power Girl's boobs but the one re: Dragon Age: Origins. In it, I talked a bit about choice in games -- moral or otherwise -- and how it's a cool and sort of evolving topic in the art of gaming. Well, here's a good article to have a look at if you're interested in pursuing the topic a little further.
And finally…
Is it wrong that: a) I find this brilliant and b) can't stop laughing at it? (Via Topless Robot)
I’ve played about a day of Dragon Age: Origins (the game told me so) and a lot has happened in that time.
Keeping it spoiler free (because I really think you should play this game and discover what happens on your own) I’ve killed a bunch of stuff, talked (and grown) with my ever-expanding band of companions and continued slutting around the countryside of Ferelden with the hopes of stopping the major bummer of a full-on Darkspawn invasion known as a “Blight.”
It’s serious business, even with all the slutting around.
I’m sure you’re saying to yourself: “My friend, at a milestone such as this, it is time for some deep reflection upon your many long travels thus far.” (That totally sounds like you, BTW) And you’re right.
So: what have I learned so far?
Again, what with the non-spoilers thing, I can really only talk in broad strokes and generalizations – things you probably aren’t accustomed to reading anywhere at all on the Internet, so I apologize.
The main thing that starts to sink in as you play Dragon Age: Origins is dread. Deep, dark, deepening dread.
Where does it come from?
You would think it out of place in one of these epic fantasy tales of heroic deeds and elven maidens and whatnot, right? And, the thing is, for the most part, that’s what DAO is so far: a big ole ball of fantasy goodness.
My character is completely awesome. I don’t just mean that because he’s like Aragorn and the Knights of the Round Table combined -- with a little 1960s Mick Jagger thrown in for the ladies; I mean it in that I’m playing him to be an incredibly noble person, with bottomless honor and bravery and a willingness to back up all his friends no questions asked. Sure, I play it so that he basically can’t say no to rolling around with women – high born, wenches, elves alike – but he’s always honest about what’s going on. So basically, so far Dragon Age has been me and my friends going around on awesome adventures being awesome.
So why the dread?
Well, I think it seeps in there in a number of ways and on a number of levels, starting with the glorious and simple menu screen.
Let me set it up: We see two war-ravaged swords stabbed into the earth, abandoned – as storm clouds ominously churn above. The music is sad in the background. A drop of blood (almost mournfully) rolls off the guard of one of the blades. Unclear debris (bodies?) is strewn into the background. Is this the aftermath of an epic clash of armies that shakes the world? Is it one fought by a small brave band of companions, one that changes the world forever though none shall notice? Whatever has happened, it is over and it isn’t (entirely) good.
Here, watch and listen:
That’s the menu screen! What has happened here? There’s a reason they went with this one and not some sexy sorceress fire-balling a shit-ton of orcs hurlocks, right? Shoot, they could have even gone with the blood dragon Dragon Age motif (at the top of the entry) – that’s pretty sweet looking, right? But they didn’t. They went with this scene and it seems like it was for a reason.
Sure, at first, I was all like, “That’s pretty much standard fantasy code for the kickassery that is about to ensue – gimme!” But soon it felt like more. Soon, I felt the dread of impending doom and tragedy.
Maybe it was the clouds that started it. The clouds definitely can’t be a sign of anything good to come. Look at those! They’re all sepia and stormy and orange and roiling like a fire that’s going out.
Then the swords – chipped, abandoned, sad somehow. And bloody. (Keep an eye on the sword on the right for the blood drop…) It feels like they want to tell me their tale – to experience their tale – rather than just be plunder. How did they wind up here, forgotten? Who once wielded them? Was it/is it me? What happened?
Throw in the mournful tune, the plaintive lady singing – and then the build up to a pounding, ominous march that comes out of nowhere.
Dread, dudes. Dread.
And that’s just the menu screen.
Before I talk about anything grounded in the actual play of the game itself, I thought I’d draw your attention to a couple of side points related to the game that fill me with dread as well.
First off: BioWare describes the game as a “dark fantasy epic.” They don’t describe it as a “fun fantasy epic” or a “bitchin’ fantasy epic” or even an “epic fantasy saga” or anything like that. It’s their “dark fantasy epic” and they use the word “dark,” specifically.
Now, of course, they could mean that in a sort of, “it’s violent, there’s sex, people die but it ends on a heroic, happy note after it all” kinda way – but something tells me this isn’t the case.
That something is my second side point: Of all the possible (and probable) influences on the game (Tolkien, Jordan, Kay, etc.) the developers constantly reference George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series as the main one. That says a lot.
If you haven’t read these books, and you are a fan of fantasy, you should definitely pick them up. In a nutshell, it’s an unsentimental tale of a kingdom’s fall into anarchy through treachery and court intrigue – meanwhile an impending invasion by evil demon-like beings is coming from the north. That’s a simplification, of course but you get the idea. Main characters die on a regular basis and ugly things happen all over the place. More importantly: survival often depends on one’s ability to remain in moral gray areas, manipulating others to make bold moves and suffer the consequences while you reap the rewards. Notions of honour, heroism, glory (the usual fantasy fare) get characters schooled pretty quickly – if they don’t wind up dead in a ditch first.
This brings me to my next point about the dread.
Game narrative is evolving at an incredible rate currently. I’m not going to debate about what makes it up or how it’s created and blah blah – I’ll let the usual suspects do that. What I’m talking about in relation to Dragon Age is that I’m detecting a certain form of manipulation from the narrative that may lead to some very dark things in the tale.
BioWare tells some real bangers when it comes to stories. Yes, you get the usual epic plot arc RPGs require, but you also get character arcs that are just as epic. There are romances and friendships that hang in the balance of what you choose to do. And BioWare really, really has a knack for creating interesting characters. It makes the moral choices in the game (yes, I know the morality in games is artificial and all that but for the sake of this discussion – shut it) that much harder when you’re invested in the characters.
When I played games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion, I wasn’t finding this. Sure, your choices had consequences but it all seemed arbitrary. And the characters were usually ciphers, placeholders, fonts of info I needed. They weren’t characters, really. Do something good to someone and they probably did something good for you and vice versa. The game, the NPCs, everything meant as much as you allowed it to. The storytelling was very passive, in the background. If you let it affect you, it would, otherwise you could just run around, kill things, collect stuff and finish up the quests. Or not. Whatever.
With a Dragon Age, the game actively forces you to care about what you’re doing by throwing so much character and emotional beats that you can’t help it. The “Origins” portion of the introduction is integral to this, indoctrinating you in the game’s world. It takes an active approach to engaging you, as a film or TV show might.
So, where am I going with this?
Well – again without getting all spoilery – I think I’m being played. Manipulated. Hoodwinked. Had. I keep getting a sinking feeling that one of my companions is using my admittedly 2D Sir Lancelot-style heroism for their own gains. It’s not overt. Not yet. They don’t wink at the camera or anything like that. It’s just a feeling. A feeling of dread.
I feel like the game may not reward the standard fantasy hero in the standard fantasy manner. Time will tell. Ask me how it’s going after my next 24 hours of game time.
Much has happened since last I wrote. Twelve or so hours of action, actually.
There has been tragedy, tough moral choices, sex with elven (elfin? elvish?) ladies in waiting, family strife, betrayal, sex with hookers in a brothel, conspiracies, card games, scraps with the undead, intrigue, poisoning – and battle after bloody battle.
I’ve made a bunch of enemies. I’ve made a bunch of friends. And it’s the friends that I’m more interested in. The relationships are so deep and nuanced already. I’ve had one of my friends question something I’ve done and make me feel like total shit for doing what I did. My flirtations with one woman in my party have made the other jealous. Everyone questions my choices. It’s hard being the leader of a bunch of fantasy characters. You have no idea.
Maybe I should just go back to the brothel. It’s a lot easier there.
Dragon Age: Origins
I'm at about hour 12 of my playthrough of BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins and I'm not even close to finishing the first major quest. It's got me bouncing around the world, getting attacked, jumping into bed with hookers -- and loving every minute of it. The only thing I don't like about the game is that one day -- one sad, sad day -- it will end and I will finish the game. BioWare feels my pain. Helping to postpone the heartbreak, they've announced the second DLC for the game and I'm damn happy about it.
Left 4 Dead 2
Speaking of DLC, is the recently released sequel already lining up its own content pack?
Samurai Jack
Did you like Samurai Jack? I did. It was subtle, lovingly-crafted and very, very unique. I'm glad to hear that a movie of the cartoon is on the way.
Radiohead
Magazines are in a tough place these days. Bottom line: they need to sell magazines in a time where people don't buy magazines. That means sinking low sometimes. That means you need to resort to hyperbole and ridiculousness sometimes (just ask Entertainment Weekly.) Sometimes it's letting reality stars guest "edit" the mag. Other times it's running a countdown of best films and putting something absolutely stupid as the No. 1 while leaving off obvious choices. You need to rile people up. You need to shock them. If you're Spin magazine, you go and write an article on how Radiohead sucks but we just won't admit it. Like, basically, we're all angry and shit that they never continued on their The Bends-slash-rock anthems path to being the new U2 and we just pretend we like how experimental they are -- but really, stuff like In Rainbows and any post-OK Computer albums suck. The problem with that is then this dude comes along and totally disembowels your fake argument and makes you look like hacks. And, also, this.
And finally…
Here's that Hawkman from Smallville picture again -- except bigger. I can't get enough of it. It's terrible. He looks like your friend's grandfather trying to get off a ladder because you guys are "horsing around too goddamn much" and he's going to try and stop you. Like, as soon as he gets down. Whenever that is. (No, I don't know why his grandfather is on a ladder.) Apparently it's all for an episode featuring the Justice Society. I think it's going to have Doctor Fate and Stargirl in there, too. I don't know about Stargirl, but Doctor Fate isn't going to look much better than Hawkman, I'm thinking.
I ended up “buying” this one. Well, I used some Game Stop store credit to pick it up. I hate doing that but what can you do? Sometimes you have to live like the other half and all that.
I’m a fantasy RPG fan from way back. Like, pencils, paper and polyhedral dice way back. Yes, I’m a D&D geek and I make no apologies. Loving the shit out of that kind of stuff and talking and thinking incessantly about it has led to this point. “What point is that?” you ask? Getting paid to talk and think and write about that kind of stuff… FOR A LIVING. So, suck it.
So, yeah, Dragon Age: Origins – I picked it up. Considering the enormity of this sort of game (I’ve heard this thing runs close to 70-80 hours), you’ll probably get a few of these entries detailing my crazy (fake) adventures and whatnot.
To start, BioWare is all about RPGs. They’ve been doing expansive video game RPGs for years. They continually push the envelope with these things. It’s edge of the seat type stuff, yeah? RPG gold that has you obsessed after only an hour of play. If you compiled a list of best all time RPGs, I’m thinking they’d score a few in there. Maybe even the top one. I know they make my favorite: Mass Effect. Sure, that’s not a fantasy one but still, it’s BioWare at their RPG-loving best.
I decided to go with the standard: male, human, fighter. The vanilla of fantasy characters. I’m also a noble, but that was the only choice available. I’ve played about two hours and things are already hardcore addictive. The whole “origins” thing in the title is that the first part of the game sets up an origin for your character – and they have different ones depending on your race and social standing. I guess it really amps up the replayability. Without getting spoilery, my origin had some sex, some sweetness and lots of tragedy. I’m not even sure I’m finished my origin yet. Right now I’m hanging out with the King’s army and trying to complete a special task that will help me join this special group of warriors called the Grey Wardens. Their job is to fight all the bad shit in the world. Sounds awesome, right?
I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface yet but this weekend I’m pretty sure I will. I think I’m just on the surface. Or maybe above it in a sea plane or whatever. There’s still a shit ton of political intrigue, supernatural terror and crazy fantasy action to come.
Dragon Age: Origins Man, I have a buttload of games to review. First off and for the record: That's not a complaint. It is the truth, though. I have six games I'm at varying stages of playing that all should get reviewed soon-ish (if not already). Shoot, I still have to get deep enough into NHL 10 to start forming some opinions and when did that come out? Like, months ago, it seems (it wasn't.) It's sad. And the worst of it? After Nov. 3, I'm pretty much just playing Dragon Age: Origins. Bioware continues to tease some amazing details like this social network-style element the game uses. Also, this reviewer has outlined the use of sex (which is pretty frequent) in the game. My favorite tidbit from that is that the sex becomes an element "around the 60 hour mark" of the game. Awesome.
Uncharted
Nolan North, game voice actor extraordinaire has dropped that Hugh Jackman is everyone's fave pick to play Nathan Drake in a big screen adaptation of Uncharted. I guess that works. I like Jackman, a lot actually, but him as Drake isn't a slam dunk for me. Nope, it isn't. After recently playing all of Uncharted 2 and revisiting a bit of the original for comparitive purposes (yes, I'm just that thorough), I was feeling Bradley Cooper as Nathan for some reason. He sort of has that cocky-wry thing going, he would probably put a lot more into the franchise than someone who already has one going, and, he really sounds like North/Drake. Then again, maybe Drake needs the Indiana Jones style weight that someone like Jackman has. I don't know. It's probably best that I don't cast giant Hollywood adaptations of video games for a living, isn't it?
Alien prequel
Ridley Scott is doing a prequel to Alien. Whether or not you think that's a good idea, it's happening. Hey, it's better than Brett Ratner doing it or who-have-you, but still, yeah, there's going to be some nervousness there for all of us out here. Scott has started to drop some details about his idea -- well, very vague ones, anyway. Mainly about when the film would take place in relation to the original.
Avatar Here is the first, full Avatar trailer. So, what did you think? It looks rather plush, doesn't it? To me, it also looks like it will be kinda bad and here's why: the dialogue/story we're allowed to see. It just all seems a tad too simple, doesn't it? Shouldn't a futuristic tale of morality have some complex moral choices in it? Then there's the (possibly ridiculous) Braveheart-slash-St. Crispen's Day speech that all epic films seem to have and all I could say was: Wow. As in: Wow, that's bad. My dad and I were talking about the movie at Thanksgiving and he was like, "If they can put people's consciousness into another entity, why don't they have the technology to repair the guy's body?" The trailer sort of hints that maybe there's a reason, but still, I'm really getting the no feeling from this one.
And finally... Networks keep giving science fiction shows the green light. There are a bunch out there in TV land. Some are great. Some are just good. Some are Stargate. Regardless, networks have a tendency to kick science fiction shows in their special parts any chance they can get. Moving them around. Putting them on hiatus. Reducing their budgets. Etc. Well, it's about time they stopped. And figures that as soon as I get into Fringe, it's now considered a bubble show. Face palm.
January Jones
I really like January Jones. I enjoy her. She has a great name. Is a great actress (see Mad Men). And hey, she isn't afraid to call Ashton Kutcher on his bullshit. So, yeah, all awesome. Mostly, though, she looks good in a pair of garters.
Lady Super-heroes
Staying on a feminist tack, here's a compelling list of lady counterparts to famous dude heroes. You know, like Spider-Woman or Supergirl, etc.
Wild Things
Are y'all ready for the Sendak-powered media storm around Where the Wild Things Are? The film is already starting to get some good reviews, so cool, right? Here are some clips to check out and a gallery of stills if you're still ambivalent or just hate that hipsters have already ruined this thing before its even begun.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Yeah, it's pretty late, but I wrote a review of the near-revelation of a game. Wanna read it?
Dragon Age: Origins
If you like your games on PC then you're in luck: BioWare is giving PC gamers an opportunity to create their avatars for fantasy orgy Dragon Age: Origins ahead of time. Like, now-ish. Why would you want to do that, you ask? Oh, I don't know, maybe because the game's latest trailer looks something like this. That trailer is forcing me to call it "the jizz." There, I just did that. You're welcome. (Seriously cannot wait to play this game...)
And finally…
If you've got a spare 90 minutes available, you might check out this Pavement documentary available at Pitchfork.
