In Return to Ostagar, the player is tasked with returning to the battlefield of Ostagar where a majority of the Grey Wardens were exterminated by the Darkspawn. Arriving on the scene, you find there are no survivors and a lot of Darkspawn to be punished. Along your way, you’ll reclaim the lost arms and armor of King Cailan and Duncan. Not only do these look pretty cool, they are statistically superior to much of the armor in the game.

This is basically where the content stops, however. Ostagar hasn’t changed much, aside from now being covered in snow and in a state of crumbling disrepair. There is one additional achievement to be earned, and all in all the Return to Ostagar mission takes all of 30 minutes if you’re quick about it. For the amount of content, I can’t personally see what caused all the delays.

The price point seems to be on par with the rest of the DLC for the title. 15 bucks will get you a new character and a few new quests and items. 7 bucks will get you a new quest, a storage box, some new powers, and some new items. And apparently for 5 bucks you can just get a new quest and some items. If you’ve already got the MS points burning a hole in your pocket, or 5 bucks is just a trifle to you, by all means add this little bit of spice to your already zesty RPG experience. If not, I would certainly wait for the chance of a sale or DLC bundle to be released on the cheap.

To start, the player creates their character from a fairly straightforward character creator which is essentially a much simpler version of Origins‘ creator. The player’s character begins on a journey with their unit to the Deep Roads to do battle with the rising number of Darkspawn in the area. Barely escaping an ambush by an unusually large force of Darkspawn, you escape to the Dwarven capitol of Orzammar and attempt to rally support against the Darkspawn threat. Throughout the game, battle goes down on a hex grid in a style similar to the Might and Magic series. As you gain experience, you can level up your characters and assign their talents, giving you a little bit of insight into the way characters will advance in Origins.

For a program constructed in Flash, the visuals are fantastic. Characters and environments contain a high level of detail by Flash standards, thanks in great part to Adam Phillips of Brackenwood fame. My only beef with the visual design of the game is that the dungeons one must crawl through are quite mundane, repetitive, and flat. Some effort could have been made to at least throw in the illusion of vertical depth. One assumes that a massive series of underground caverns would not be a perpetually flat plane. All things considered, the visual experience is quite refined for a platform that is primarily used as a workplace time waster.

On its surface, Journeys is a pretty unassuming strategy RPG with some solid dialogue and graphics. As mentioned previously, EA2D has employed some distinguished veterans from the field of Flash gaming, so the game doesn’t mess around. Where the game truly shines is the way it factors into the overall Dragon Age marketing plan. For completing surveys, unlocking achievements, or accomplishing certain quests, one may unlock equipment which can be downloaded and used for your characters in Dragon Age: Origins. In this way, a continuity is created between platforms, and the IP gains integrity as a well-constructed, connected mythos. This manner of storytelling and multimedia integration is truly an epoch-making endeavor.

In terms of replayability, the game will take up several hours for each playthrough. Also, considering that the greatest of the unlockable items, the Helm of the Deep, requires an achievement that demands playing through the game as each of the three classes, it will take multiple replays of the game to unlock everything. The multiple dialog choices and varying talent specs for each class allow for a fresh experience each time, making the replays quite enjoyable.  Overall, between the immaculate crew of flash authors, brilliant marketing tactics, and superb storytelling, Dragon Age Journeys is a franchise that I look forward to seeing more of. Keep up the good work, EA2D.

[podcast]http://geekspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/geekcast2.mp3[/podcast]

Bioware just put up a link with pictures of the box art for their upcoming game Mass Effect 2. The title, scheduled for release in early 2010, is still a long way off but now at least you know what it will look like on your shelf!

What are you running from, Shepard? Who are those people following you? How is that planet so close to the one you’re on without crashing into it? What is that awkwardly posed chick shooting at? Oh, my!

[Source: Bioware via Facebook]