Return to Ostagar: Interesting Premise, Shallow Execution
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Return to Ostagar is the latest downloadable add on for BioWare's hit role playing game Dragon Age: Origins. This add on tasks the player with returning to Ostagar, the location of the infamous battle that set in motion many of the events seen in Dragon Age. Here the player will encounter swarms of dark spawn occupying the now desolate city, as well as a familiar creature who was responsible for King Cailan's demise.As you begin this additional quest, you stumble upon a soldier who fought at Ostagar. He reveals that he was once in possession of a key that belonged to a chest of the King. Fearing that he would lose the key and leave it in the hands of the dark spawn he hid it somewhere in Ostagar.
Once you set off in search of this hidden key, you will encounter a fair amount of dark spawn. There are no new additional dark spawn to fight other than the previous batch of Orc-like creatures, so do not expect anything new combat wise. As you hack, slash, and cast your way through these dark spawn some will drop some familiar looking gear. This gear was once King Cailan's set of armor, looted by the dark spawn after they had sieged the grounds of Ostagar.
In the end, if you are looking for some new gear or just another excuse to play more Dragon Age and willing to pay the price of admission, Return to Ostagar offers a fairly interesting, though very short, side quest to an already lengthy game. However, if you are not a Dragon Age die hard then it is rather hard to recommend this downloadable content. There is little dialog and moral choice present in this add on, some of Dragon Age's best offerings, and the concept of returning to such a pivotal location in the game compared to the actual execution does not live up to expectations.
