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September 11 2010

When news of Witch Hunt was first released, I have to admit that I was very excited.  I played through Dragon Age: Origins twice, investing nearly 200 hours, and on my second character, I romanced Morrigan.  Sure, my Elf Mage flirted with Leliana quite a bit… and there was that one-night stand with Zev that no one ever talks about… but his heart belonged to Morrigan.

Despite playing him as morally-bankrupt as possible, I always chose options with Morrigan which would have better suited a love-struck teen with a crush on his favorite teacher.

So when she ran at the end of DA:O, my child in her belly, I was devastated.

When the Witch Hunt trailer was released and I heard her voice after months apart, I do not lie when I say that a small shiver of excitement ran up my spine.  That’s the power of DA:O for true role players.

Unfortunately, this final chapter in the DA:O saga crushed that feeling and did nothing but disappoint me from beginning to end.

You start the DLC at Flemeth’s hut.  The only companion at your side is a Mabari hound.  You’d assume that he’s the same one as you had previously, however the fact that you have to name him again, even when importing a saved character, makes him feel more like a tacked-on character meant only to fill your party.  No history is needed… only bad dialogue between party members later.

Upon entering the hut, you’re confronted by a Dalish Elf warrior, Adriane, who informs you that she too is searching for Morrigan.  Apparently Morrigan has stolen a tome from her clan, and she aims to retrieve it.  She asks you questions about your past with Morrigan, and quickly invites herself to the party.

From there, you head to the Circle of Magi tower to go through the library in the hopes of gaining some clues.  This involves you checking through books at various locations within the library.  Sounds epic, I know…. when it fact, it’s not.  Whoever thought this up, thinking that we would be excited about it, should be fired.

Seriously.

There’s no lore given here.  You stare at spine covers, whose graphics are horrible and blocky, and read one line references to a variety of spells and such. 

It’s boring. 

And consider the source here, folks.  I love lore.  I created a podcast devoted to nothing but lore.

This isn’t lore.

This is writers calling in their scripts because they spent a weekend on a bender and didn’t get any work done till early Monday morning.

At one point, a snotty mage, Finn, comes over to give you shit about how you’re handling priceless tomes, and then proceeds to invite himself to your party as well. 

I never thought I’d long for nothing but the barking of a Mabari hound in my party.  The conversations between party members are terrible.  I realize they were shooting for “clever” and “cute” and “quirky”... but they’re annoying.  Plain and simple.

“Keep your eyes open for dragons… and mirrors.” -Finn

Wow.

As if that were not disappointing enough, the gameplay matches the writing in terms of excitement.  Whether running around the library in the Circle of Magi tower, through the Deep Roads, or fighting dragons (including a new Strider boss), the gameplay and combat can also be called in… though this time, by the players.

As a mage specializing in healing, I cast one heal throughout the entire DLC, and that was only because I was bored senseless.

Now granted, perhaps the combat is more challenging if you are not importing a character.  That said, when giving people the choice to import DA:O or Awakening characters, you want to adjust combat so that it is challenging for either option.

That said, the biggest disappointment of Witch Hunt lies not in its combat or gameplay.

The main reason to buy and play this DLC is to close the final chapter of an incredible journey.  Morrigan played an extremely important part in Dragon Age: Origins.  Even if you did not choose her as a regular party member, her influence was felt till the very end by everyone.  By offering to become impregnated by a Warden as a means of saving a party member, she offers a vital piece of lore at the end of the game which then opens up worlds of possibilities.

And if you chose to romance her, as many did, her final words have echoed in your ears since spoken.

“Don’t follow me.”

Sadly, Morrigan is only in Witch Hunt at the tail end of a short journey.  Within a hour or so, you will find her by a mirror, and you will engage her in a very brief discussion which will answer absolutely none of your questions.  In fact, she creates more confusion by stating that Flemeth should be your main target, as she has cheated death before.

If you confront her aggressively, she will state that she regrets your decision and will disappear through the portal.  If you ask about your child, she will tell you that he is doing well, and is unaware of the future that lay before him.  However she’ll not tell you any more.

Corny lines such as; “Change is what sets them free.” leads me to believe there’s some (not so clever) wordplay therein referring to Dragon Age II.

In the end, I chose to continue my role playing, and told her that I would follow her through the portal, simply to be with her.  The dialogue was not dramatic.  It was, for lack of a better term, lame.

Upon completing Dragon Age: Origins on both of my play-throughs, I felt larger than life.  The experiences stirred emotions in me, and for a game to do that is an incredible gift.

Witch Hunt could have… should have done the same.  Regardless of the fact that it is simply a DLC, it should have been able to end this epic journey in a manner befitting DA:O.  It could have allowed for some unanswered questions… which would hopefully get answered in Dragon Age II.  However instead it chose to leave nothing but unanswered questions.

Short.  Terribly written.  Two dimensional, annoying party members.  Disappointing gameplay and combat.  Horrendous story with absolutely no resolution.

Bioware, I would like my seven dollars back, please.

Screenshots

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