jango
01-31-2010, 05:00 PM
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a8838796.jpg
In the first week of January this year we got some bad news .. no, it wasn't the fact that we all had to go back to work or school, or that that terrible Britney Spears album that a distant relative bought you couldn't be returned to your local HMV over the minor technicality of it being smashed to bits in a rage on Christmas morning. No. In fact, we were told that the long anticipated Return to Ostagar DLC had been delayed on all platforms. At the time it didn't matter too much, there were things to do in Bordlerlands, there was a brand new content patch for Warcraft, there were hours of watching Mass Effect 2 videos, there was some real life stuff (but hey, let's not get bogged down in real life stuff, right?). However, each time I opened up Steam, or opened my 'Games' folder, it saddened me a little that there was Dragon Age sat in the corner like a forgotten old man with dribble on his beard.
BUT .. as I mentioned earlier today (http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=132.0) Return to Ostagar is here .. I KNOW! The premise is this, a survivor has been found from the pivotal battle at the beginning of the original game, and like a moth to a flame you are drawn to find them - who knew, right? Before we go any further I won't be spoiling ANY of the content for you here - as you'll see it's not really possible.
The war of the poses
So, when you first purchase the DLC, install it, sacrifice a horse to the gods of Bioware (you know, the usual) you'll get a new entry on your map called 'Bann Loren's Lands' to the East of the Mage Tower - this is where the DLC starts. From there it's kind've obvious where you're headed .. and no, not Disneyland. As you might expect it doesn't take long before you're ankle-deep in Darkspawn.
Make sure you clear your inventory before going, there's a lot of tasty and lame loot to pick up. Here's one of the random items to give you an idea of the type of thing you can get your grubby Dragonbone mitts on ..
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a9db94ae.jpg
There's some nice upgrades to be had even if you've completed the game and are doing this DLC for something (or should that be ANYTHING) to do with your main character in DAO.
Makeovers should be compulsary for the over 20s, right?
I should state here that I went through with my level 21 human warrior, along with Wynne (healer), Leliana (ranger), and Morrigan (sexy warlock type), and was using the best armour I could find by the end of the original game and all the previous DLCs. I also went through with another character, who had the choice of a very nasty man from the original game .. yes, Donald Trump (jk .. don't sue me Donald /hug). So anyway, you could say I was very well geared to test it out. You'll be happy to hear that even at my advanced gear and character level I did not out-gear the DLC. As with previous DLCs the zones scale with your character, and sometimes this also means in the numbers of creatures that are attacking you at any one time. By way of example, here is the intrepid Jango battling with her gender *cough* I mean some Darkspawn (I've edited out some of the scenery not to spoil the new look of Ostagar):
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a889c103.jpg
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a886ee7e.jpg
What to expect ..
Now, seeing as this is a straight forward DLC don't expect any bug fixes, UI tweaks, or much else. The DLC costs $5/£3.10 (4 euros), which is the equivalent to 400 Bioware or Microsoft points or a sandwich from a news agents in the middle of nowhere, so you're getting what you pay for. What you get in essence is a return to an exciting part of the original game to bring your horror reprisal to the Darkspawn on the very land that started you off on your epic quest. You fight a whole bunch of baddies, get some loot (some of it good), you kill a boss, then return to your party camp and wonder what the hell just happened. The good thing is that regardless of when you do this DLC, and especially if you've reached the end-game and had certain choices play themselves out, you'll see that this DLC makes a good job of integrating with the original game. Unlike the other DLCs Return to Ostagar blends in well and feels part of the story, rather than a distant cousin to it. And in one DLCs case a rather hideous cousin at that ..
Now, the above statement might make it sound utterly worthless, but consider the price, consider going there on characters of a lower level, consider the beaver (um, no forget that one). The point is this, for about $5 you're still getting around 2 hours worth of extra play, extra loot, extra XP and so on - it's hardly going to be a massive DLC, especially with the prospect of the Awakening expansion (http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=114.0). If you're like me and revelled in the glory of Dragon Age and simply couldn't get enough then you won't mind paying for this, and if anything it might remind you why the game was so awesome, while at the same time keeping you warm and moist for March the 16th when the expansion is released.
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a9ddcf02.jpg
^^ nice to see the Bee Gees are back on tour ..
Make mine a double!
So, by way of conclusion without wanting to drop any more hints about the DLC itself, I would recommend this DLC over the Stone Warden DLC, and would put it directly on par with the Soldier's Keep DLC for content and enjoyment. You could do worse than buy this .. you might have bought Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot (http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=109.0) like a total gimp expecting it to be good - at least with this one you'll come away saying 'Damn, I love Dragon Age .. bring on March!' rather than 'Christ, I could've got another couple of beers with that money *sniff*' ..
7/10 - passable, and enjoyable for the money
In the first week of January this year we got some bad news .. no, it wasn't the fact that we all had to go back to work or school, or that that terrible Britney Spears album that a distant relative bought you couldn't be returned to your local HMV over the minor technicality of it being smashed to bits in a rage on Christmas morning. No. In fact, we were told that the long anticipated Return to Ostagar DLC had been delayed on all platforms. At the time it didn't matter too much, there were things to do in Bordlerlands, there was a brand new content patch for Warcraft, there were hours of watching Mass Effect 2 videos, there was some real life stuff (but hey, let's not get bogged down in real life stuff, right?). However, each time I opened up Steam, or opened my 'Games' folder, it saddened me a little that there was Dragon Age sat in the corner like a forgotten old man with dribble on his beard.
BUT .. as I mentioned earlier today (http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=132.0) Return to Ostagar is here .. I KNOW! The premise is this, a survivor has been found from the pivotal battle at the beginning of the original game, and like a moth to a flame you are drawn to find them - who knew, right? Before we go any further I won't be spoiling ANY of the content for you here - as you'll see it's not really possible.
The war of the poses
So, when you first purchase the DLC, install it, sacrifice a horse to the gods of Bioware (you know, the usual) you'll get a new entry on your map called 'Bann Loren's Lands' to the East of the Mage Tower - this is where the DLC starts. From there it's kind've obvious where you're headed .. and no, not Disneyland. As you might expect it doesn't take long before you're ankle-deep in Darkspawn.
Make sure you clear your inventory before going, there's a lot of tasty and lame loot to pick up. Here's one of the random items to give you an idea of the type of thing you can get your grubby Dragonbone mitts on ..
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a9db94ae.jpg
There's some nice upgrades to be had even if you've completed the game and are doing this DLC for something (or should that be ANYTHING) to do with your main character in DAO.
Makeovers should be compulsary for the over 20s, right?
I should state here that I went through with my level 21 human warrior, along with Wynne (healer), Leliana (ranger), and Morrigan (sexy warlock type), and was using the best armour I could find by the end of the original game and all the previous DLCs. I also went through with another character, who had the choice of a very nasty man from the original game .. yes, Donald Trump (jk .. don't sue me Donald /hug). So anyway, you could say I was very well geared to test it out. You'll be happy to hear that even at my advanced gear and character level I did not out-gear the DLC. As with previous DLCs the zones scale with your character, and sometimes this also means in the numbers of creatures that are attacking you at any one time. By way of example, here is the intrepid Jango battling with her gender *cough* I mean some Darkspawn (I've edited out some of the scenery not to spoil the new look of Ostagar):
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a889c103.jpg
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a886ee7e.jpg
What to expect ..
Now, seeing as this is a straight forward DLC don't expect any bug fixes, UI tweaks, or much else. The DLC costs $5/£3.10 (4 euros), which is the equivalent to 400 Bioware or Microsoft points or a sandwich from a news agents in the middle of nowhere, so you're getting what you pay for. What you get in essence is a return to an exciting part of the original game to bring your horror reprisal to the Darkspawn on the very land that started you off on your epic quest. You fight a whole bunch of baddies, get some loot (some of it good), you kill a boss, then return to your party camp and wonder what the hell just happened. The good thing is that regardless of when you do this DLC, and especially if you've reached the end-game and had certain choices play themselves out, you'll see that this DLC makes a good job of integrating with the original game. Unlike the other DLCs Return to Ostagar blends in well and feels part of the story, rather than a distant cousin to it. And in one DLCs case a rather hideous cousin at that ..
Now, the above statement might make it sound utterly worthless, but consider the price, consider going there on characters of a lower level, consider the beaver (um, no forget that one). The point is this, for about $5 you're still getting around 2 hours worth of extra play, extra loot, extra XP and so on - it's hardly going to be a massive DLC, especially with the prospect of the Awakening expansion (http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=114.0). If you're like me and revelled in the glory of Dragon Age and simply couldn't get enough then you won't mind paying for this, and if anything it might remind you why the game was so awesome, while at the same time keeping you warm and moist for March the 16th when the expansion is released.
http://www.gamers-forum.com/imagehosting/215284b660a9ddcf02.jpg
^^ nice to see the Bee Gees are back on tour ..
Make mine a double!
So, by way of conclusion without wanting to drop any more hints about the DLC itself, I would recommend this DLC over the Stone Warden DLC, and would put it directly on par with the Soldier's Keep DLC for content and enjoyment. You could do worse than buy this .. you might have bought Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot (http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=109.0) like a total gimp expecting it to be good - at least with this one you'll come away saying 'Damn, I love Dragon Age .. bring on March!' rather than 'Christ, I could've got another couple of beers with that money *sniff*' ..
7/10 - passable, and enjoyable for the money