IGN writes: "Not every character that joins your party in an epic role-playing game is pleasant to listen to. An initial reaction may be one of mild annoyance, but after you realize this particular pest's skills are too valuable to ignore, you have to suck it up and bear their overwhelming self-righteousness or torturously unfunny sense of humor for the remainder of the game. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt, and it's entirely possible that after innumerable gameplay hours your initial irritation turned to black rage. If that's the case, you might be the perfect audience for BioWare's The Darkspawn Chronicles, a standalone add-on for Dragon Age: Origins".
"Do what I say.
As I cut their throats, I never thought of them in pain. The Darkspawn were an ever-constant threat to my team and I slew them by the hundreds. Throughout Dragon Age: Origins, they were just the generic enemy I was killing to progress. I started to think of them as the filler between story beats.
The Darkspawn Chronicles DLC changed my mind. Instead of being mindless killers, I began to think of them as a people to be pitied. By putting me in the very shoes of the Darkspawn, I was able to see the battle from their side. Playing as a Hurlock Vanguard, one of the elite of the Darkspawn army, I began to feel firsthand what it meant to be under command of the archdemon at all times."
Rob Hamilton writes: "After playing through Darkspawn Chronicles, one of the many bits of DLC for Dragon Age: Origins, I was reminded of a classic science fiction story by the late Fredric Brown titled "The Arena". It concerns a battle between the forces of Earth and an alien civilization only known as the Outsiders. One member of each race are captured and taken to an arena by a mystical higher power because they are so evenly-matched that the result of an all-out war would be the utter destruction of one race, while the winner would be so crippled that they would never recover. The two captives are to battle to the death, with the loser's race being wiped out so the winner's can prosper."
Much like Mass Effect 2, BioWare has released a generous helping of downloadable content for Dragon Age: Origins. Add-on packs, in particular, have achieved great success, as players enjoy new quests, characters and areas. If you need to experience these adventures, use this check list to keep yourself up to speed in the land of Ferelden.
John Artest (RunDLC)
