Dragon Age: Return to Ostagar – DLC Impressions

*UPDATE: DLC worked a few days after launch, the initial problems were fixed.

Originally slated to release last week before being delayed, the third downloadable content pack for BioWare’s dark epic RPG Dragon Age: Origins technically still isn’t available for download.  There was a bit of a hiccup Tuesday however, and a certain someone was able to download Return to Ostagar on XBox Live prematurely.  I now pass my impressions of the add-on to you, our lucky readers.

This Ferelden-flavored Koolaid is delish – For some reason, I seriously bought into this quest.  I felt invested in returning to the scene of the games early battle and exacting vengeance on denizens of darkspawn.  Call it drinking the Koolaid if you must, but I found myself seriously stoked to whipe the area clean of baddies and see King Cailan off with a proper burial.  This feeling may have been buoyed by my party choice – I brought Wynne and Alistair with me, two characters who were at the battle and voiced their desire for revenge multiple times.

Drop the loot and no one gets hurt – Return to Ostagar really is about one thing: loot. Retrieving King Cailan’s armor, shield, and sword for your own darkspawn-slaying purposes is pretty much objective numero uno.  And it’s worthwhile too. Cailan’s armor is not only snazzy, but it’s stats topped the heavy armor I had equipped on my tank as I rolled through the area.  The King’s shield wasn’t the best, but Cailan’s sword is pretty sweet.  Guilded in gold, it looks pretty sick; while it’s damage was a point or two lower than what i had currently equipped, it comes with a +6 damage to darkspawn.  Filling it’s two enchantment slots with similar buffs and you’ve got a serious darkspawn-slaying blade.

Short DLC is short – It took me less than two hours to blast through Return to Ostagar.  That’s not to say it wasn’t a worthwhile two hours – I quite enjoyed it.  But to say this pack is anything but bite-sized is a a fool’s notion.  This begs the question: is a 2-hour add-on worth 5 bucks in Microsoft Points?  In the end, I think the quality of the content trumps it’s volume.  Quality over quantity every time….that’s what she said.

I’m supposed to hold on to this, aren’t I? – Beyond retrieving Cailan’s armor and seeing his body off, you are tasked with retrieving an important correspondence from the King’s personal chest.  I won’t spoil it too much, but it has to do with the neighboring nation of Orlais.  I’m not sure when this will come into play, as its not made clear right away, but I’m sure it will.  My gut says it will come into play with the Awakening expansion set for March, which is said to take place in Orlais.

So what’s my downloading recommendation?  If you really enjoy Dragon Age: Origins, then you can’t miss out on this quest.  It’s fun and it broadens the experience. In a way, Return to Ostagar achieved the truly difficult for a game: by stirring feelings of duty and a longing of vengeance in me, this quest broke down the digital barrier and elicited true emotions in me, the player.  It may be strange that the fuller title hasn’t done so for me yet, but this tiny yet tasty morsel surely has.

*The Return to Ostagar DLC pack was downloaded and played enjoyed on the XBox 360.

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