well, "Awakenings" is complete

[nagia]

And I have mixed feelings about it. I really, really love the characters -- Nathaniel, Anders, and Sigrun are all hilarious, and I adore them to bits, and I enjoy figuring out how they'd interact with the DA:O companions. (In my headcanon, Zevran and Anders need to be kept apart, because together they either get into snide catfights or drive everyone around them insane through the power of concentrated hilarity.) The story line, on the other hand, I love a lot less -- and I don't like the endings at all.

I had an entire rant about why I hated Sens's ending because it totally doesn't feel like her and blah blah blah... but I don't feel that it's really pertinent. Point is: adored the characters, hated the story line, hated the endings even more, and damn you, Bioware, I want Varel to be alive.

Comments

[darkrose]

In my headcanon, Zevran and Anders need to be kept apart, because together they either get into snide catfights or drive everyone around them insane through the power of concentrated hilarity.

And sexy. Don't forget the sexy.

The story line, on the other hand, I love a lot less -- and I don't like the endings at all.

I was really disappointed with Awakening, because it felt like an incredible rush job. No romance options, but some of the triggers left in, broken quest lines, items not dropping correctly (Blackblade armor set), and a weak, anticlimactic ending all made me sad. And they didn't even mention Varel in the Epilogue!

This is why I'm nervous about DA2. With all of the major changes they're making to gameplay, I'm not sure they have enough time to put out a product of the kind of quality I'm used to from Bioware.

[nagia]

DAO is pretty buggy itself, so Awakenings being buggy is no surprise. But definitely it felt like a rush job, like Bioware was just racing to get a brand name/franchise going, and kind of forgot what made DAO so powerful.

I'm... tentatively optimistic about DA2, although I'm also afraid it's going to be nothing like the game I fell in love with. I really worry about the storyline, too -- none of the expansions for DAO fill me with any confidence re: Bioware's ability to build on the DAO story.

I guess we'll see in a couple of months.