A few words from a professional procrastinator

Both Kotaku and 1UP.com are reporting that 2009 RPG of the Year Dragon Age will be getting a huge expansion in March. Currently listed as Dragon Age: Awakening. According to the report, the expansion will take place after the storyline of DAO and will introduce a new character and a new origin story. Unlike the current available expansions, this one is said to clock in at 15 hours of gameplay.

Then there’s the cost. The rumored street price between $30-40 USD for the PC version with a more expensive Xbox version. No PS3 version was mentioned.

CO-OP episode 0305 mentioned that Bioware has prepared 2 years of DLC on Bioware to keep fans busy over the next few months.

These DLCs have been quite controversial with gamers. EA reports $1 Million in DLC sales for Dragon Age. This is interesting since almost all of the DLCs were given away for free with the exception of “Warden’s Keep”. The mainreason why this DLC has been downloaded so many times is the fact that after completing the quest, you gain access to a party chest where you can store an unlimited number of items. In my first playthrough, I was selling a lot of items and destroying a lot as well since there was a 120 item limit to your inventory. This expansion then became a necessity to play the game.

But the cost is something for some gamers to take pause before buying this for an additional 15 hours more gameplay. Unless of course you’re as addicted as me. But if the rumors are to be believed, does it mean that I have to create a new character just for this expansion? I can’t bring my über character that I built with all the armor and weapons that I’ve accumulated? That would really suck for me. But there’s no mention yet on what happens to your companions.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

Maybe Bioware will apply the same mechanics they’re doing with Mass Effect 2, where your choices affect the events of the next game. To put it simply, your choices determine if Commander Shepard continues on the next game. If you’re moving through Dragon Age at a good pace, you know that certain dialogue choices can make you lose certain party members.

END SPOILER ALERT

Bioware has laid down the foundation for a very expansive RPG series. There are some elements that will remind you of Dragonlance and Lord of the Rings but will still maintain a certain uniqueness to it. I am pretty sure that we will be able to explore the entire world of Thedas in the years to come.