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[Rhys Cordelle]

After I am hailed a hero by Queen Anora I farewell my wonderful companions and head out the doors to greet my adoring public, and so ends Origins. Then Awakenings begins and my first quest is to go fetch some bandages. Suitably epic.

I open my inventory to suit up and find that Awakenings has stolen my Warden Commander armor... which is slightly ironic given that the plot has just appointed me as the new Warden Commander, and more than slightly aggrevating considering I paid cold, hard cash to get that armor.

The darkspawn that have invaded the castle are nothing more than minor distractions that pose absolutely no challenge to me and my very forgettable, very generic female companion. A short dialogue with her results in +10 approval rating and I cringe to realise that this may be an indication that she is a permanent fixture in my party.

When I met Anders I had to wonder if the plot had leapt forward 20 years or so, because I could swear I was looking at the inbred offspring of Morrigan and Alistair. Sadly he lacks both Alistairs charm and Morrigans wit, but he seems to be trying very hard to match both.

Bring on Oghren! Thank goodness, I was beginning to consider playing this thing solo. Only....that's not the Oghren I know. He's been replaced by a doppelganger that shows almost no sign of having ever travelled with me before, and seems to be unsure if his voice is deep enough to mimic the original Oghren, so he overcompensates with a voice more akin to that retard Murdoch from Redcliffe. Would it really have been so difficult to let Oghren maintain his point and skill allocation that I gave him in Origins?

I continue to make my way through the keep, battling disappointingly weak darkspawn that wither and die at the very sight of my new, somewhat over the top abilities. Experience, gold and godlike gear is thrown at me like I've just won the Wardens Lottery, and pretty soon Anders is levelling up. He recieves a spell that freezes every darkspawn in the vicinity, without harming allies one bit... because what I really needed was to make this easier. I pick up a +10 spellpower ring and proceed to destroy it in disgust.

Now I encounter the talking darkspawn. This should be interesting. Imagine the wealth of knowledge I could glean through prolonged torture. But rather than find out the location of broodmothers and their top secret plans for world domination, Oghren declares it's scull-cracking time, and the talking darkspawn orders his forces to kill us... his forces being two Hurloks and a Genlok, with narry an Emissary between 'em.

Surely, then, this talking darkspawn must be so epic in power that he needs no assistance, and yet Anders can tank him. As I watch, I find myself rooting for the darkspawn. I always did have a thing for the underdog.

After the battle I invoke the Rite of Conscription on Anders, without having had any opportunity to determine whether or not that's a good idea, because I can't friggin initiate dialogue with any of my companions, and a Joining Ritual beings, hosted by a man who is...not...a grey...warden...right... Oghren tries for comic relief with some contrived grumblings about getting a small cup for a short man, despite the cup being as big as his fat head, then burps as his eyes roll back in his head. Anders survives... yay... and I am treated to my first warm fuzzy as the generic female companion goes the way of Daveth. Moving on.

An old woman makes reference to my liberation of Soldiers Peak and I am tempted to throw something at my screen. Apparently Awakenings can recognise the efforts I made in the DLC, but it doesn't want me to keep my rewards.

I am told there is a thief in the dungeons, which is fantastic news because I could do with a thief. Turns out this thief is the son of the man who had my friends and family murdered in Highever, and he's got a chip on his shoulder for taking his keep. Diddums.

Nathaniel Howe looks more like Generic Commoner 3 from Denerim,and he continually advises me that he aims to kill me, yet I have the option to invoke the Rite of Conscription... again. Everyone in the room looks at me like I'm completely insane, and I shrug and try to explain that I really want to be able to pick the lock on the chest outside. At least Zevran was only trying to kill me because he was paid to, but here I am witnessing the second joining ritual in as many hours of gameplay, for a guy that has sworn a blood vendetta against me.

Suddenly I feel the urge to restart Origins.

[Aisynia]

Cool story bro.

[thegreateski]

*Pats Rhys on the back and hands him a tissue*

[Aisynia]

I'll get my violin.

[UnDutchable]

There are many, many people who feel the same way about Awakening. It really seems like the game was meant to be played with the new Orlesian Warden, as the lack of import items and bonuses makes the game more challenging and the fact that no one actually knows you very well explains why there are so few references to what you accomplished in Origins.

[phaonica]

Hear, hear.

[Caldarin V]

All that I Could have handled, I laughed as my character walked ass naked up to the gates of Vigil's keep... what got me was the way the soldier run for the gates when you save them, saying "Thanks for helping us commander, we'll come back when it's safe..." SAFE? IT'S YOUR JOB TO PROTECT THE KEEP!
gah... also, the guy who asked for bandages. I really wish there was a "do you know who I am?" dialogue option; you don't ask your commanding officer to run errands for you

Modifié par Caldarin V, 28 avril 2010 - 03:23 .

[Skadi_the_Evil_Elf]

Yes, the start was pretty underwhelming.

[ashez2ashes]

LOL Anders as Alistair and Morrigan's time traveling mage son is a great image. Thanks for that.

[Callo Istur]

Ha, I thought the same thing during the intitial fights; they were so easy that I got overconfident and started not really paying attention. And then I got wiped by the measly genlock emissary at the gates- the only time I've gone down in all of Awakenings, and I'm almost finished. Embarrassing, heh.



Now, that you mention it Undutchable, it does seem like it was designed more with the Orlesian Warden in mind. Strange, since I think most people would elect to play their Origins character.

[MaxxQ]

I'm a pretty easy-going kind of guy in real life, so the start of the game didn't bother me as much as it seems to have bothered everyone else here (I suppose it also helps that I modded my game to be able to keep all my DLC equipment), but I have to say that the OP was some pretty hilarious ****, and i found myself nodding sympathetically many times while reading.

[ObserverStatus]

Hey, your bagging on Anders, them fighting words.

[Majspuffen]

I felt a little like that too, but not to the same extent. I saved Anders mainly because I needed a mage, and not that I wanted to. The whole joining thing was bad. When I saw Nathaniel Howe, I thought "meh, screw companions. Why should I save him?". I didn't kill him, since the castle did belong to his family, I gave him his stuff and told him to leave. Later I found him whilst traveling, and he said that he wanted to join me, and become a grey warden. Couldn't deny him that, and as I learned more about the character, I became to respect him. I think Nathaniel is a great character, one of the best.



So yeah, start was a bit bad, but the expansion itself was more than I could've asked for.

[Foolsfolly]

I think I need to play Awakenings again. I played it once and felt underwhelmed by the whole thing. Because I felt a lot like the OP throughout the whole game. The only thing I liked was updating and rebuilding of the Keep...too bad I didn't even get to see the Keep triumphantly hold the line while I saved Amaranthine.

[Xandurpein]

There are a lot of really good moments in Awakening. The overall story is fine, some of the new companions are cool, and the part where you are Arl of Amaranthine is fun.



The weakest points in the story in Awakening are the beginning and the end, which both are way to rushed. They should have spent more time bringing you into the story, with a different line or two that recognized where you ended your story in Orgins. The end was just... very abrupt.



I felt combat was too easy to. Although I only needed to set difficulty up one notch to compensate as I don't play on nightmare anyway. But I think this highlights a problem with adding more levels to the current system. The more talents/spells they add, the more complex the battle system will become and the bigger the difference will become between those who really master the battle system and those who primarily play for the story.

[rak72]

The sad thing is all the wasted potential w/ Awak

[phaonica]

Putting everyone you come across in Awakening through the Joining was quite jarring for me, at first. It's like "hey, stranger, you are an effective murderer, how about directing some of that potential at the darkspawn." Exactly how am I as a player supposed to take the duties of the Grey Wardens seriously when nearly none of my party members do?

[Carmen_Willow]

Awakenings is like a movie that could have been great but wasn't. Like the idea was good, the plot could work, etc., but the director just didn't quite know how to take it where it needed to go, or the actors didn't quite have the ability ......



I too liked fortifying the keep and trying to get traders to come. I liked having to make decisions that beiftted an Arl, like whether or not to hang the deserter....and then I had to go on a scavenger hunt in the woods.....or look for poison in the city.......or figure out a puzzle to get gear I didn't need because I was already blasting apart everything in sight.

[Thomas9321]

Valid reaction to Awakenings. Also a very funny post, kudos!

[Aisynia]

phaonica wrote...

Putting everyone you come across in Awakening through the Joining was quite jarring for me, at first. It's like "hey, stranger, you are an effective murderer, how about directing some of that potential at the darkspawn." Exactly how am I as a player supposed to take the duties of the Grey Wardens seriously when nearly none of my party members do?

According to Riordan, that's pretty common recruiting strategy, so it wasn't jarring to me at all.

[phaonica]

Aisynia wrote...

According to Riordan, that's pretty common recruiting strategy, so it wasn't jarring to me at all.

Yeah, Riordan did say that. And practically every origin story also proves that point.  It just seems odd to make such high demands of duty and sacrifice from lawbreakers and murderers, and makes me feel like the Wardens are more of an internment organization than a group of "honorable soldiers", that the "duty and sacrifice" thing is just rhetoric. Meh.

[Caldarin V]

phaonica wrote...

Aisynia wrote...

According to Riordan, that's pretty common recruiting strategy, so it wasn't jarring to me at all.

Yeah, Riordan did say that. And practically every origin story also proves that point.  It just seems odd to make such high demands of duty and sacrifice from lawbreakers and murderers, and makes me feel like the Wardens are more of an internment organization than a group of "honorable soldiers", that the "duty and sacrifice" thing is just rhetoric. Meh.

Have you ever read The Song of Ice and Fire books? There's an organization in them called the Night's Watch, for which the joining requirements are very very similar to those of the Grey Wardens (give up your family, all holdings ect). At the time the books take place, the Watch is mostly comprised of murderers and thieves because a lot of criminals are given the option to "take the black" and go north to join the Watch. Nobody of any import actually joins during the books because the threat they were supposed to guard against hasn't been a threat for nearly 1000 years

it's the same with the Wardens; after the 4th blight, humanity was convinced that the darkspawn were forever defeated. Therefore, the Wardens were considered somewhat obsolete, and as a result, recruitment fell.

Now that it's clear that the Darkspawn are still around, the number of recruits should increase

[phaonica]

Have you ever read The Song of Ice and Fire books?

No I haven't read them, but you are right that organization sounds very similar.

it's the same with the Wardens; after the 4th blight, humanity was convinced that the darkspawn were forever defeated. Therefore, the Wardens were considered somewhat obsolete, and as a result, recruitment fell. Now that it's clear that the Darkspawn are still around, the number of recruits should increase

Or if the next Blight doesn't come around for another however-many-centuries, we'll start calling this the last Blight and be right back where we started.
What do the Wardens actually do when there is no Blight, anyway? Kill straggler darkspawn on the surface? Hang out and fight darkspawn in the Deep Roads. 
I say we take this fight to the Black City. That would be epic. 

Modifié par phaonica, 28 avril 2010 - 10:41 .