At the moment, assuming the world doesn't end first or something, I am planning to start Covertape Chaos Season 5 on Tuesday April 2nd, with new episodes every fortnight until we finish off with Power Pack 64. As you many know, there were actually only 61 official Power Packs, but the Commodore Format blog have produced three more since the mag closed down for good. All of this will take us most of the way through the rest of 2019, but that doesn't mean that I'm not already thinking about what to do with the series after that. There are several directions that I could go in - I could go through all of the ZZAP Megatapes, I could morph the series into Coverdisc Chaos and look at Amiga demo discs, or I could change it up even more and look at the CD's that came on the front of Official Dreamcast Magazine. PlayStation demo discs are also a possibility, but I feel that these are already pretty well catered for thanks to Giant Bomb's Demo Derby series. What do you think I should do?
Other than that I really need to get PS2 Tuesday's Season 5 finished off. I was doing quite well at the start of the year with three new episodes, but after that there has been a gap again. I still owe everyone three more. I also need to crack on with The A-Z of Amiga, make some more RetroGrade episodes, and throw in a few other types of video here and there to keep things interesting for myself, such as Time for a Wii and Last Gen Regen.
I am making slow but steady progress through Dragon Age: Inquisition. I want to explore the last three or four world areas that that I have yet to visit, then I will tackle the end of the main story. After that I'll put together my review, and then get started on the DLC. Give me another few weeks and I should have something for you. I've also been spending a considerable amount of time with The Division 2 lately - my character is level 22 right now. I might be able to to get to level 30, choose my specialisation and get started on the World Tiers this weekend, I shall have to see how much free time I have. I do hope to review the game eventually.
Looking to the future, we have Days Gone coming out next month which I was not terribly interested in to begin with, but having watched a few videos about it I have to say it does look pretty impressive. 2019 is looking a bit thin compared to last year right now, but there are a few games that I'm looking forward to. Rage 2 could be pretty good, and I love a good kart racer so I am quite excited about the prospect of Team Sonic Racing and Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled. I don't know if we're likely to see the finished version of Torchlight: Frontiers this year as well, but sign me up for that on day one if it is. Hopefully it will get a console release, it was disappointing that Torchlight 2 was never ported to anything.
Finally, I want to try and get to back to writing on this blog more often, rather than just making videos on the YouTube channel. Sometime I end up wanting to talk about a game but I didn't capture any footage as I went along - in these cases a written review makes perfect sense and gives readers something of an exclusive.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Dragon Age II DLC Round Up
My Dragon Age series retrospective continues today with the DLC round up for Dragon Age II. Like my round up for Dragon Age: Origins, I will be focusing on stuff that actually adds story content, and not all of the various items that were sold in packs or given away for free for various reasons.
1. The Black Emporium, free from the Xbox store
The Black Emporium is a curiosity shop full of strange creatures, items and relics ran by the mysterious and rather creepy Xenon, but unfortunately there's not a lot to it. It's fun to look around for 15 minutes or so investigate all the weird stuff that's on display, but there's not really a lot to do. You can buy some equipment which changes out every so often, but you will probably find better stuff on your travels anyway. You can also change your appearance if you don't like how your Hawke turned out or you get bored of it. You also get a mabari hound as part of the deal, who you can summon in combat and talk to at the Hawke estate. One mustn't grumble too much as this is a freebie, but it's not terribly exciting all things considered.
Overall: 5 out of 10
This is the Dragon Age II equivalent of The Stone Prisoner from Origins, seeing as it adds a new recruitable character to the game who is as fully fleshed out and integrated into the experience as any of the others that were included for free. But whereas Shale was a well written, extremely funny and interesting character with an interesting back story to uncover, Sebastien Vael is rather dull in comparison. He was sent away by his parents to become a member of the chantry, only for his family to be murdered shortly after he arrived in Kirkwall. Now he's trying to find out who was responsible and weighing up whether to abandon his religious pursuits in the name of revenge or put try and put the hatred he feels aside and embrace the teachings of the chantry. It's not terrible, just a little bit bland compared to what has come before, not to mention overpriced.
Overall: 6 out of 10
If you have already played both Dragon Age II and Inquisition, but skipped this DLC, then it may actually be of some interest to you. Hawke travels to a recently exposed part of the Deep Roads after being called out by members of the Carta (essentially a dwarven version of the Mafia). It turns out that they are trying to bring back creature by the name of Corypheus that Hawkes father had a hand in imprisoning during his time as a Grey Warden. Corypheus was a major player in Inquisition, and he was introduced here. This pack is actually pretty decent, and as well as some important back story you also get a nice new weapon in the form of Hawke's Key, which you get to personalise a little bit by choosing which attributes it gets powered up with. This DLC also feels more substantial than anything that was released for Origins, at around 3 hours if you do everything. Worth a look!
Overall: 7 out of 10
While not as important from a story point of view, Mark of the Assassin is a lot of fun. You team up with the titular assassin, Talis (voiced and modelled on the appearance of Felicia Day) and head off to Chateau Haine in Orlais to try and steal a valuable artifact called the Heart of the Many. During your time with this DLC you will go on a big game hunt for a wyvern, explore the chateau either with the option to go loud or stealthily, before experiencing some interesting twists with an entertaining boss battle at the end. I sometimes find Felicia Day annoying but she is at least a decent actress who delivers her lines well and makes a convincing elf. I think this is the best DLC of all the stuff that was released for Dragon Age II and it's fitting that it was the last. Again it weighs in at about 3 hours of content if you take your time, explore and complete all of the side quests.
Overall: 8 out of 10
With the exception of The Black Emporium which is free, I would say that all of the Dragon Age II DLC is just a tad too expensive for my liking. Unlike Dragon Age: Origins though there is no complete or ultimate edition that I know of, at least for the Xbox 360, which is a shame. These are included in sales every so often though, so it's worth holding out for one of those before you decide to pick them up. On the whole the quality level has increased compared to Origins, apart from the extra party member where Shale was most definitely better than Sebastien. That brings us to the end of Dragon Age II then - I will soon be embarking on my play through of Inquisition. I was thinking I might try playing as a Qunari, as previously I have played it as an elf and a human. I expect there will be a bit of a gap before I return with my Inquisition review as it is extremely long and I don't want to burn out before the end due to rushing through it. There will be other stuff on the site / channel in the meantime though!
Friday, February 08, 2019
Dragon Age: Origins DLC Round Up
Now, I do realise that this is somewhat overdue, seeing as Dragon Age: Origins was originally released way back in 2009, but I never got around to writing about all of the various DLC that Bioware made in the years following the main game. I am currently in the process of replaying the entire Dragon Age series from beginning to end, so what better time to share my thoughts will you all about the optional extra content? This article will be focusing on the DLC that is quest related, rather than those that just add some extra weapons or armour. There will be a short summary on each pack followed by a score out of 10. I won't be including Awakening here because that is full on expansion pack which already has its own, separate review.
1. Warden's Keep - £4.69 from Xbox store, free with Digital Deluxe, Collector's and Ultimate Editions
This is a fairly brief, but useful bit of extra content that gives you a quest that will take roughly 45 minutes to complete at the most. When you're done, your warden will have a new base of operations, although that doesn't really mean very much. It mostly just gives you access to a party storage chest where you can dump your loot in between quests, and a vendor to sell the junk to. The quest itself is quite good fun with some interesting lore to listen to or read in the codex, and there are some moral choices to be made at the end. It's not worth the rather steep price of almost a fiver, either wait for a DLC sale or buy the Ultimate Edition instead.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This is quite easily my favourite of all of the extra content released for Dragon Age: Origins, and I can't really imagine playing through the game without it. The Stone Prisoner adds an extra recruitable party member to the main game, in the form of Shale, a golem. There's an introductory quest that needs to be completed in order to add her to your party, which takes about half an hour. After that you can bring Shale along on any quest that you see fit, and chat with her in camp. She is a very well written and interesting character who has some very amusing dialogue and a bit of a problem with mages and birds. By increasing your standing with her through dialogue options or gifts, you can eventually unlock a loyalty mission which will give you some insight on her backstory, which is well worth taking a bit of extra time to do. Shale ends up being one of best party members in the game, and because there's no cost involved you may as well install her!
Overall: 9 out of 10
This one adds about 45 minutes of extra content again, and allows you to return to the battlefield of Ostagar, which is where the Grey Wardens were betrayed by Tehyrn Loghain at the start of the game and King Cailan lost his life. Your task here is to recover all of Cailan's armour from the darkspawn that are still lurking about, ending with a final confrontation with a nasty Genlock Necromancer. After that, you should return to Cailan's mutilated body and give him the burial he deserves. This DLC reminded me very much of the Normandy Crash Site DLC for Mass Effect 2. It is similar in tone and purpose. Not too bad, but nothing all that spectacular really.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This DLC lets you play out a "what if" scenario, where the darskpawn end up winning during the invasion of Denerim at the end of the main game. You take control of a Hurlock who hear's the whispers of the archdemon and can enthrall other darkspawn units such as genlocks, shrieks and even an ogre. This one takes roughly an hour and a half to finish, and it's a bit of mindless fun really. Laying waste to the hero's from the main campaign does give you a bit of a sick thrill.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This takes the form of a prologue to the main campaign and gives you some insight into the backstory of Leliana, the rogue who became a member of the chantry for a time, before eventually joining up with the Wardens. You will be carrying out a variety of crimes in and around Denerim alongside your partner, and lover, Marjolaine. Those who have spoken to Leliana extensively in camp will know that Marjolaine ended up betraying her and leaving her for dead - now you can get the full, sad story. This is probably the best DLC so far after The Stone Prisoner, as it actually focuses on a character that I already care about.
Overall: 7 out of 10
This is probably my least favourite of all the DLC that was released for Dragon Age. The main reason for this is that it doesn't feature any of the party members that you have formed a bond with over the many hours that you spent from them, and instead introduces a couple of dwarves that are looking for assistance in recovering the lost secrets of golem creation from the ancient fortress of Amgarrak. It's another very brief tale at around a single hour - not enough time to get to know these new characters or care about them. It's also punishingly difficult, and it's highly recommended that you don't attempt it until you've completed the Awakening expansion. I did quite like the design of the new creature that is introduced, called the Harvester, though it did remind me of the polymorph from Red Dwarf a little bit. This DLC isn't worth seeking out individually, but you may as well play it if you obtained it as part of the Ultimate Edition.
Overall: 5 out of 10
Witch Hunt is another incredibly brief, and somewhat underwhelming piece of extra content. Like many of the others, it weighs in at roughly an hour. This one actually had a lot of potential because it sees the return of Morrigan, a very popular character from the main game excellently voiced by Claudia Black. After the final battle with the Archdemon, she took her leave from the party and requested that you never go looking for her. Well, here you are, looking for her. The final conversation with Morrigan is incredibly brief and after its over the end credits roll and that's it. I would have liked the chance to have a quick chat with Finn and Ariane, your new companions that you barely have any opportunity to get to know. It's a shame you don't, because their dialogue is well written and humorous and I would have welcomed more of it. Instead of going out on a bang with its last adventure, Dragon Age: Origins fizzles out instead, which is incredibly frustrating.
Overall: 6 out of 10
Overall I would say that the DLC for Dragon Age: Origins is worth playing through at least once if you are a fan of the original game. Most of these packs are pretty brief however and are definitely not worth paying the full amount for in 2019. However there is a solution - the Ultimate Edition of the game includes everything listed here as well as the Awakening expansion, and because everything is included on a second physical disk you can buy a second hand copy safe in the knowledge that you will still be able to access everything (as long as the DLC disk isn't missing, of course). This is definitely the cheapest way to get ahold of everything - copies go for a bout £15 on Amazon and eBay. While most of these only add an hour or two of game play at the most, it all adds up to an extremely solid package that I think is still worth a punt, despite the rather dated visuals.
One last thing - I wasn't sure if the the Ultimate Edition would work properly on the Xbox One, because you install the DLC from a second disk, put apparently it does work after you jump through a few hoops. Apparently you should install the DLC disk first, then the main play disk, then put the DLC disk back in before launching the game. Then you should be able to access anything. I haven't confirmed this myself because I don't own a copy of the Ultimate Edition, but if you do this you should be OK.
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