The newest and possibly last DLC trailer for Dragon Age: Inquisition dropped this weekend.  Tresspasser is DLC set two years after the final events of the game and will hopefully answer a lot of the questions players were left with.  In addition to finding out the fate of the Inquisition you get to fight Qunari again.

Dragon Age Inquisition's newest DLC was released yesterday.  The Descent sends the Inquisitor and crew into the Deep Roads and has them facing off with Darkspawn.  The expansion is very combat heavy but starts dropping some pretty big lore changes/hints when it comes to Dwarven history.  If you're heavily into Dragon Age's Lore you already know Inquisition threw some pretty big bombs at the player, this continues that trend.


I'm happy to see that the Dwarves are getting more time to shine this time around.  Inquisition didn't really spend much time with what is happening with Orzammar.  I realize their information shows that Dwarves are one of the least played races but I still really dig them.  Harding and Dagna were two of my favorite people to talk to in Inquisition.

Thanks to the Dragon Age Facebook page we now have the cover of the new Dragon Age game.  The cover is gorgeous and does something that really impressed me.  Bioware likes to give its player’s choices, I’m not saying all of those choices actually mean anything, but they are there.  One of those choices is the sex of the game’s main character.  When Mass Effect 3 came out they had two covers; so players could show off a male or female Shephard. 


The new Dragon Age cover simply made it impossible to tell which gender the character is.  It’s a simple solution that works perfectly in this instance.  We still don’t have an actual date for the new Dragon Age’s release, but I’m sure as that date gets closer and closer I’ll be completely consumed by it like I have been with the other games.

I have three Xbox 360 controllers in my house. The one I got three or so years ago when I bought my original 360, a red one for my wife when she wanted Lego Harry Potter, and a new black one I got when I upgraded to the slim Xbox. I still use my oldest controller; it’s the most comfortable to me. Even though my thumb has worn the rubber off the left analog stick it still works fine. Even if it didn’t, I have two pristine controllers that I could switch to. And yet, I know at some point I’m going to end up buying a Razer Onza.


The most ridiculous thing about this obsession, besides having three working controllers, is that I have no need for something this complicated. One of the first features is that it has two programmable buttons under the normal shoulder buttons. These Multi-Function Buttons can be set to perform the same task as any of the other buttons on the controller. Want the start button or analog button easier to reach? You can do that. Let me stress the “You can do that” line, because sadly even if I had the controller I probably would never get around to setting up the MFBs.


Onza also corrects one of the biggest complaints about the 360 controller. The D-Pad has given fighting game fans fits for years. So Razer spent extra time working on what they are calling precision directional buttons. You can’t really get much worse then the Xbox’s, so these have to be an improvement. Sounds great doesn’t it? I can’t think of a single game that this will improve my gaming experience on. The only games I have that even use the directional buttons only need a quick press in a single direction. I’m not trying to throw fireballs or dragon uppercuts. So much like the MFBs, I just don’t see this improvement helping me much.


Despite just writing out all the reasons I don’t need one, I still want it. Now I know I’m a little Dragon Age obsessed right now, but I can say with 100% certainty that this obsession is not because they just released a DA2 version of the Onza. Honestly they almost had me too. The first time I saw it last night I got excited. Then I saw Hawke on the right side of the controller. Totally buzz kill. Had they left him off and just included that bloody red splatter I’d already have it pre-ordered. I don’t want pictures of people on my controllers; I guess I’m weird like that. So know I’ll just continue to stare at the normal (and cheaper) version knowing that at some point I’m going to break down and order something I totally don’t need just because it’s shiny.

There have been a lot of changes made between Dragon Age 1 and 2. The main character is now voiced and has to be human. The class skill trees and specializations have been completely reworked. The dialogue system has been given a complete overhaul. Combat was called more dynamic. Many fans of the first game were worried. There was a lot of talk about the game being “dumbed down”. Starting today we can find out exactly how these new systems work, because today you can download the demo. Pick your poison the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will both be on their respective networks and the PC one will be available here http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/.


Lothering's Lament - Written by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this book of poems contains touching reminiscences of all she had to leave behind. Readers will surely benefit from her experience. (Gives XP boost when read.)


While I really want to play more Mass Effect, I hope this isn’t like the last time where we get Witch Hunt and Lair of the Shadow Broker at the same time. Give me a month with DA2 before dropping that Arrival awesomeness. I can’t believe I asked for them to hold off releasing a DLC.

Dragon Age Legends is a new Facebook game that promotes the Dragon Age series. If you played the Flash based Journeys you already have a good idea about what to expect. It isn’t a direct port of Journeys though; there have been upgrades that make the game better and a few changes to fit with the Facebook structure.


I had mentioned before that through playing Legends a number of items will be available in Dragon Age 2. The rings Air of Confidence and Evra’s Might, Evra’s Trophy Belt, and the amulets Ivo Family Crest and Dura’s Blue Flame will all be available to unlock once the game comes out of Beta. In a neat twist, if you are still playing Legends once DA2 comes out, Hawke the hero of DA2 will become a recruitable ally.


Legends also adds a building a crafting mini-game to the experience. You have a castle which you can choose the style and background for. Once you’ve done that you can start filling rooms with things like worker's rooms, taverns, and crafting centers. The crafting is all time based, spend a couple gold pieces and then come back in a couple hours to pick up your potions. Most the game is timed based actually. Your recruits are good for fight or two and then have to rest before you can use them again.


Does all this sound fun to you? Are you counting the days until DA2? Do you check your inbox every morning for a Beta invite? Remember, at That F’ing Monkey we have your back. I have two Beta Key invites to give out. Click on that F’ing Email button on the right hand side and I’ll send keys to the first two people who respond.  EDIT:  AND BOTH Beta Codes have now been given out.   Also if you haven’t done it yet, make sure to hit the “Like” button in our Facebook plug-in it’ll help us get the word out.

Get ready for the blood splatter, today is going to be Dragon Age centric. We’ll start out with some downloadable content talk and then after the jump there will be a review of one of the new action figures that just hit the stores. Today the downloadable extras got another item to add to the list. Buy a copy of Dead Space 2; get a set of armor for Dragon Age 2 based on Dead Space’s Isaac. It looks like a pretty cool set of armor but I haven’t gotten into Dead Space so that will probably be the first of the extras I miss out on. Some of the add-ons are no longer available and some won’t be available until the Facebook game starts up.

• Hindsight, a belt you can sign up for on the Dragon Age 2 website
• Staff of Parthalan, you had to sign up for the news letter
• Sebastian Vael, character included in the Signature Edition
• Apostate’s Courage, staff included in the Signature Edition
• Seeker’s Bulwark, shield included in the Signature Edition
• Adder of Aniva, bow included in the Signature Edition
• Might of Sten, sword included in the Signature Edition
• The Irons, belt include in pre-orders placed through the EA Store
• Fadeshear Sword, sword included in any pre-order
• Lion of Orlais Shield, shield included in any pre-order
• The Black Emporium, a store, summon-able mabari hound, a appearance changing mirror included in every new game
• Air of Confidence, ring obtained through playing Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
• Dura’s Blue Flame, amulet obtained through playing Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
• Evra’s Might, ring obtained through playing Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
• Evra’s Trophy Belt, obtained through playing Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
• Ivo Family Crest, amulet obtained through playing Dragon Age Legends on Facebook

I have a bunch of things I want to discuss briefly, all of them happened this past weekend. So let’s jump right into it.


Winter Classic


Did you watch the Winter Classic? Someone besides me did. It was the most watched NHL regular season game ever with 4.5 million viewers. The weather seemed to be the big news, first the delay and then the rain. It was the first Winter Classic played at night. I enjoyed the game, but there seemed to be a lot less going on then in the other years. Less bands playing, other off ice things, etc. It seemed more like just another game then a giant hockey celebration. This will not be the only outdoor game this year. February 20th Montreal and Calgary will be playing at McMahon Stadium.

All Swine’s Day


The first official celebration of That F’ing Monkey’s made up holiday was a huge success. Bacon tacos were enjoyed by all. So were potatoes cooked with bacon, and a mixture of ham and sausage cooked with bacon. Throw in some scrambled eggs, hot sauce, salsa, cheese, and sour cream and you’ve got bliss. The point of the day is to cap off all that holiday over eating with one last hurrah. So for me personally I’ll no longer be buying coke/pop/soda, buying candy/chocolate, or eating at any place with a drive through for as long as possible. Back to the holiday, it is definitely happening again next year. The first Sunday of January, mark it on your calendars. For a few more pictures of All Swine's Day prep, check out our Facebook!


Mass Effect: Cerberus Daily News


The CDN is going off line. Here is the official message:

“OUT-OF-GAME NOTICE: The Cerberus Daily News will begin a hiatus on January 24th, finishing its run of one full year. Daily postings will cease except for three weeks in 2011: a week of posts will precede a downloadable content release, and two more weeks will lead up to the release of Mass Effect 3. The CDN team thanks fans for their attention, comments, and feedback (both in and out of character!). We are sorry to go, but we had fun -- we hope you did, too!”

This means two things. First, new DLC is coming!! Yay!! Second, the team responsible for the CDN put up messages every day for a year. To everyone on that team, thank you. Some times informative, some times funny, the CDN was awesome.


Dragon Age 2 Avatar items


The last thing I wanted to throw out there. Dragon Age 2 has Avatar items on the Xbox Live Market place. Now, the original game was way late to the party with Avatar stuff, only offering T-Shirts for a long time before realizing people would rather have Legion of the Dead armor. Now the pendulum shifted in the other direction. There are items for characters we don’t even know yet. Very strange.

The VGA awards were this weekend. Having watched the VGA awards before, I DVRed it this year so I could fast forward through all the stuff I didn’t want to watch. There were some nice moments buried under all that Dane Cook-ness but for me there was only one “Holy Shit” moment. And if you know my gaming habits it should be very easy to guess.


Mass Effect 3



So what other games are I excited for? Check it out after the jump…

Kadoo Games posted up actual game play footage of Dragon Age2. 
This was taken at the Igromir Game Expo. 

It shows off some combat and the new dialogue system. 

Enjoy.

Again I was their fish and they didn’t even need to bait the hook. The DLC came and I grabbed it. The Awakening expansion came and I grabbed that too. While there are a couple things I didn’t download, I have the vast majority of it. Which is why now when I look at the new game releases coming out, my wallet and I hold each other and cry.Dragon Age Ultimate Edition is about to hit the store shelves. It include Origins, Awakening, The Stone Prisoner, Warden's Keep, Return to Ostagar, Feast day Gifts, The Darkspawn Chronicles, Feast day Pranks, Leliana's Song, The Golems of Amgarrak, and Witch Hunt.
It costs 60 bucks, the same as just Dragon Age Origins did.


If you like RPGs and you’ve never played Dragon Age this is a ridiculous deal. My wallet may wish I had waited, but I don’t regret picking it up on launch day. It has given me hours and hours of enjoyment. Actually I just started another play through because I hadn’t played Witch Hunt yet. As further proof that I am impatient and a whore for BioWare; I have to go preorder the Dragon Age 2 Signature edition today when I get off of work. All preorders placed before January 11 will get an extra playable character, new missions, soundtrack, and digital armory.