45 réponses à ce sujet

[Mirthadrond]

Ok - finished Awakenings and while it was indeed fun, it was no where near as good as Origins, and at 1/2 the size / scope and a mere $10 less than Origins... I can say with absolute certainty:

I will never pay retail price for an expansion, EVER AGAIN.  I'll wait the months it takes for the price to drop and patches to be released.

That being said:  While again, I did enjoy continuing my Wardens adventures, especially so soon after completing my first adventure, (I purchased Origins 3 weeks ago) this expansion was clearly rushed out the door, with plenty of bugs and glaring plot holes that took away from my original experience.

One side story hole that really annoyed me:  So?  Not only did Oghran manage to get Felsi pregnant, but she actually had her baby too, in just a few months??  Last I checked, it took my wife 9 months and 17 grueling hours to squeeze out my little pup.  Are dwarfs so very different??

Plot hole:  Dark Spawn have become ship captains now?  Storming Amaranthine via the smugglers cove, which is entirely inaccessible from anywhere but the ocean, the Inn and a abandoned house just outside the city gate.
Maybe I've too much confidence in the city guard, but it didn't occur to them to seal the entrance after I uncovered it?  Nor did they notice a horde of darkspawn approaching the city?
This isn't even considering the Innkeeper had NO KNOWLEDGE of this tunnel in his Inn?  Nor could I hold him accountable for it's misuse.

WTH?  You killed my tank, via the joining, at the beginning of the game.  Sure, I understand you want us to understand the joining is dangerous, but I think you could have achieved the 'shock value' by forcing the player character to make a choice similar to Duncans, in Origins.  Someone refuses, and the warden must decide to kill them, force them to under go the ritual, or let them leave.  The consequences of which 'could' have dramatic impact on the Wardens.
Killing my tank was just plain mean.  ( was using my rogue and lets face it, Oghran isn't exactly 'tank' material)

Annoyance:  Why do you feel the need to constantly make me choose between 'companion' or 'justice' (not the character).  I'm getting tired of recruiting people who are trying to kill me.  I can recruit the crazy elf who's tried to kill me several times, and has murdered dozens of humans;  I think not.  Even my elf felt no sympathy for this homicidal nimwhit.
Nathanial Howe??  Are you serious?  Recruit him?  Even my elf didn't trust him.  Had I been playing my Human Nobel, I doubt I could have hung him fast enough. 

So - there's three potential companions dead, out of the 5 new ones.  Of my original companions, I get Oghran, who's by far the most annoying and I don't even get my Mabari??

Bug:  Every time I killed a boss creature they got stuck in the death animation death cry loop, so every cut scene after their death featured them wiggling in their death throes screaming or groaning, behind me, over and over again.  I could leave the area, come back.... and they'd still be dying.

Shadow Form breaks the wicked cool Ogre death animation.  It plays backwards.  My character leaping into the air in the opposite direction of the Ogre.

The Architect subdues my Uber Warden with a simple sleep spell???  Really now?  I've killed the Archdemon, several Ancient dragons, countless dark spawn, survived ambush after ambush and multiple assassination attempts and I fall victim to a sleep spell???  When I'm nearly 100% spell resistant and actually ready for him?

*sigh*  Ok... I guess so, but after all his cronies tried to kill me while I'm escaping I certainly hope he doesn't come back later and try asking for my help............  oh wait...  he does.....

Well, I guess even Sentient Darkspawn are only so smart.  He seriously should have known better than to F with me and expect to live through the experience.

Wow - peasant revolt huh?   My 4 points of coercion and 46 cunning couldn't convince them otherwise?  I'm forced to kill them, or.... kill them?
I don't suppose Anders could have 'mass paralyzed' them, and allowed me to throw them in a cell for a few days?

Companion conversation changes.  While I did like the fact that some objects in the world would start conversations, I STILL want to be able to talk to my companions at camp.

Which brings up another annoyance:  I usually had companions master various skills, like rune crafting, so I could spend my points on my own survival.  This makes crafting while in camp impossible, not to mention crafting materials are sold at camp as well, so I had to endure the following sequence:  Buy materials, step outside of camp / building so I could have a companion craft something, go back inside the building to buy the ingredient I forgot to purchase, or did not purchase enough of to complete all my crafting........  load.... load...  grrrrrrh... step outside again....  craft...  go back into building to apply the new runes to armor and weapons... rinse and repeat.

Maybe in the future allow us to have companions craft in camp??

DLC doesn't transfer.  I know it was said here many times it wouldn't, but honestly that was a poor choice on your part.  Then consider that an amature scriptor 'fixed' the issue in a couple of days after release, I'd say YOU dropped the ball.  It is a FACT that you 'could' have transfered those items over (easily it seems) and NOT forced my Warden to fight naked and weaponless at the start of the game.

Yes, I realize the gear in Awakenings is vastly superiour, and I would have upgraded my gear accordingly, but starting out naked is NOT the way to make a good first impression.

No Romance:  Yes, I knew there would be no romance in this adventure, but I can't help but think there was something missing in my interaction with my companions this time around.  I did not develope the same attachment to them that I did in the original game "Origins".  I cannot put my finger exactly on what was missing?  Maybe it was the romance, maybe it wasn't, but I did not feel nearly as attached to my companions as I did in Origins.
Well, with exception to Mhira, whom I actually liked, and dies far too soon.

In closing:  Thank you for putting out the expansion, despite it's flaws.  It was great to be able to continue my adventure so soon after finishing Origins, however in the future I will be waiting until the price drops before I purchase.

Not enough spit and polish to be worth the $40 I paid, so I shall never make that mistake again.

I'm still a fan, but even the best RPG developers in the world can make mistakes, so it seems.

[Bitterfoam]

To channel Oghren!: If you drank more wine, you'd whine less. Ha-ha.



Awakening is what it is, which is an expansion, not a full game. It is not Origins. It need not have the same characters as Origins, nor the same aspects as a full game. It does work as it is, and ultimately whether you love or hate it does not change this fact.



And that it works, the price is justified. Luckily, opinion does not a review make.

[Doyle41]

It was actually $20 less. $62 for DA:O and $42 for DA:A. I feel as that I got my money out of it but wanted more. Call me greedy.

[Bitterfoam]

Wanting more is a good sign.

[Mirthadrond]

I just bought origins 3 weeks ago: Paid $49



I would have been happy to pay $20 for this expansion, as is, but it was a let down at $40, with 1/2 the content and 1/2 the polish of Origins.

[Thalorin1919]

Everyone was expecting WAY to much out of an expansion.



For an expansion I thought it was great. The characters were good, it had a good story, and ruling Amranthine was a challenge and different.



But dont worry, I called the WAAAAAAAAA-bulance. They will be here soon.

[Bitterfoam]

Thalorin1919 wrote...

Everyone was expecting WAY to much out of an expansion.

For an expansion I thought it was great. The characters were good, it had a good story, and ruling Amranthine was a challenge and different.

But dont worry, I called the WAAAAAAAAA-bulance. They will be here soon.

Hahaha! Thumbs-up!

[Efesell]

I got pretty much what I expected here.



I have my gripes but it seems like a very solid expansion to me.

[sonlockdon]

we understad it's an exspansion but it's at the cost of a reatail price game



i enjoyed the exspansion but call me greedy to i wanted more





RENDEN HOWE QOUTE : I DISERVED...........................................MOREEEEEEEEEEE

[mitsuiji]

good

i read half of that text and got bored ¬¬

whine will get you nowhere...

i too didn't like the game so much as the DA:O

the Tank thing you said.. i tanked the high dragon on the final and the queen of the blackmarsh with a good healer and Ohgren without problem...

and you know that the dakrspawn didn't got on the Smuggler den with a Boat. the boat was there even when you kill or help the smugglers...

that smuggler connects the Inn to the farms outside Amaranthine...

[Thor Rand Al]

Thalorin1919 wrote...

Everyone was expecting WAY to much out of an expansion.

For an expansion I thought it was great. The characters were good, it had a good story, and ruling Amranthine was a challenge and different.

I have to agree with you on both parts.  It was an expansion which adds to your current game, it let us carry over our character's from Origins.  I was happy and very satisfied.  It was well worth the money and considering I played mine longer than 15 hours I feel like I got my money's worth.  Yes there are a couple of bugs but with a patch that can be fixed.

Playing a female pc I felt that we had a harder challenge than a male.  Reason I say this is because look at Warden's Peak and what happened.  The last Warden-Commander was a woman, that revolt kind of made a bad name for Wardens (despite whether Sofia was in the right or not) but I felt like I had to work extra hard because I was a woman so that made it more of a challenge. 

[J-Reyno]

Thalorin1919 wrote...

Everyone was expecting WAY to much out of an expansion.



For an expansion I thought it was great. The characters were good, it had a good story, and ruling Amranthine was a challenge and different.



But dont worry, I called the WAAAAAAAAA-bulance. They will be here soon.

Characters were good only in concept. Interaction was shallow. What is a wabulance?

Anyway, pretty much agree with everything the OP said. I personally just think the expansion was a little too ambitious for its own good. Tried to put in too much content without anything near the quality of Origins. Granted, it's enjoyable in its own way, but almost leaves a feeling of disappointment after playing its big brother. It's almost painfully obvious at points in the game that they had serious time constraints. But hey, it is what it is now. Hopefully they'll just kick it back into gear for future installments.

[Venatio]

Wow, bad karma.

I know Oghren doesnt looks his best with a shield but, should you learn how to use Focus Books (I didnt till recently) then that issue can be fixed. Also found out how to use heraldry!

But look on the bright side: your experience here will likely save you hundreds of dollars as your paranoid salesman (we have one in all of us) will now try to get the best value on a game even if it means waiting for months.

Remember: "if its worth having, its worth waiting for."

Wish I had remembered that...

Modifié par Venatio, 21 mars 2010 - 04:57 .

[Eonassassin]

a lot of really good points, especially the one about not being able to connect with the companions. I think this is because we couldn't talk to them at camp. In origins we asked questions about their past, morals, gossip etc etc which really made the characters feel real..In this xpac thats completely missing.. I didn't want any romances anyway because I want to find Morrigan but some interaction would be nice.

Also the complete absent of your friends who helped you kill the archdemon drove me crazy.. (I don't count ogrehn cuz I didn't care for him)

King Alistair just comes to say hi, wynne gives you a pointless side quest and thats it!!! Thats what bioware calls a cameo appearance lolzz. Its understandable that they are all busy with **** but c'mon we just defeated the freaking blight you would think that they would keep in touch.

[Myusha]

I pretty much agree with runecrafting. Otherwise, you're on your own.

[Takamori The Templar]

Well I agree with OP in some points( MAINLY ON THE CRAFTING PART) ,but for an expansion provided me a lot of fun.

But if you wanted 45 hours of playtime, well sorry to say but you have to wait for Dragon Ages 2:The revenge of the sith.





As my "complains" : Make my decisions worth in the next game .

[Booglarize]

Thalorin1919 wrote...

Everyone was expecting WAY to much out of an expansion.

For an expansion I thought it was great. The characters were good, it had a good story, and ruling Amranthine was a challenge and different.

But dont worry, I called the WAAAAAAAAA-bulance. They will be here soon.

Eh, even with the "For an expansion..." proviso, it doesn't really do that well. I mean, Throne of Bhaal was a great expansion. Mask of the Betrayer was a great expansion. Awakening was, at best, average (or a tad above average, if one were feeling generous), even as expansions go. 

Modifié par Booglarize, 21 mars 2010 - 06:30 .

[rumination888]

Booglarize wrote...

Thalorin1919 wrote...

Everyone was expecting WAY to much out of an expansion.

For an expansion I thought it was great. The characters were good, it had a good story, and ruling Amranthine was a challenge and different.

But dont worry, I called the WAAAAAAAAA-bulance. They will be here soon.

Eh, even with the "For an expansion..." proviso, it doesn't really do that well. I mean, Throne of Bhaal was a great expansion. Mask of the Betrayer was a great expansion. Awakening was, at best, average (or a tad above average, if one were feeling generous), even as expansions go. 

What made Throne of Bhaal so great for you that Awakening is only average at best?

Modifié par rumination888, 21 mars 2010 - 06:49 .

[InvaderErl]

Why would you want to kill Nathaniel Howe? Aside from hanging him for the ****s and giggles value, his only sin is being related to Rendon Howe and if that's excuse enough for you to murder a man then that's kind of sad really.

Modifié par InvaderErl, 21 mars 2010 - 06:51 .

[Booglarize]

rumination888 wrote...

What made Throne of Bhaal so great for you that Awakening is only average at best?

For one, the best characters of the series returned for the expansion. My opinion would have almost certainly been different if there was only one returning character and it was, say, someone like Valygar. Also, it wrapped up the story of the series in a very satisfying and well-written way which provided actual closure. Finally, I thought the story held up better than Awakening's.

Also, on second thought, I'm not sure I'd call Mask of the Betrayer "great" - probably just "very good". I still feel that it's several steps above Awakening, though.

[DKJaigen]

Also, on second thought, I'm not sure I'd call Mask of the Betrayer "great" - probably just "very good". I still feel that it's several steps above Awakening, though.

I what way? OP your nitpicking the only thing i agree on is the runecraft system

[sonofalich]

my gripe about the game was how lame the keep was. they should have made it like NWN2 instead of this quest garbage.

[Booglarize]

DKJaigen wrote...

Also, on second thought, I'm not sure I'd call Mask of the Betrayer "great" - probably just "very good". I still feel that it's several steps above Awakening, though.

I what way? 

Better story, better character interactions (though not necessarily better characters), better ending, better writing for epilogue sequences. 

[0mar]

Awakenings was just poorly written and had no thought to what occurred in Origins.



Like the OP said, a sleep spell affecting the Warden? Really???



And not including at least a couple Origins characters is an egregious miscalculation. At least include the romance of the Warden (save for Morrigan, due to her leaving no matter what). That's only 3 characters (Alistar, Zevran, Leliana depending on the choices made). Not having at least one of those is just a terrible decision. At the end of Origins, all three of them will promise to stay by the Warden's side forever, but a scant couple months later, they all but disappeared? Come on now. Don't insult me like that Bioware.



All in all, Awakenings could have used another 6 months in development. This just feels like a complete cash cow. It's one thing if this was a user made mod, coming from Bioware though, this is medicore at best.

[Walina]

@ Mirthadrond : Thank you so mch I really laughed hard! It's unbelleivable how much contradictions this game has and oh my goood! Seriously ? You can't craft at you HQ ? O_o That's so stupid, why removing this feature from the origianal game ?