Dragon Age DLC in Dec.

Most of us haven’t even scratched the surface of BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins, and yet BioWare seems overly anxious to gives us more content to play. The company is kind of like an overly excited parent rushing their child through presents on Christmas morning. Meanwhile, we’re still trying to enjoy the original game’s various nuances and secrets.

But despite that, BioWare is moving forward with downloadable content in Dec. The first bit of DLC, Return to Ostagar, allows players to go on a quest to collect the mighty arms and armor of the once great King Cailan in Ostagar, the site of the Grey Wardens’ darkest hour. Besides these mythical arms and weapons, players will learn the secrets of Ferelden’s fallen king. Players will discover King Cailan’s secret political agenda and go behind enemy lines to revisit a place that many believed was forever lost to history. This location is particularly forboding because it was here that the Grey Wardens were almost wiped out.

Return to Ostagar will be available for $4.99 on the PlayStation Store, for 400 BioWare Points on the PC (yeah, BioWare points. Really) and 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360 in North America. Return to Ostagar will be released this Holiday season worldwide.  Figure out what BioWare Points are by visiting dragonage.com.

Modern Warfare 2 Tops GameFly’s Most Wanted

Video game rental service GameFly has released its annual list of “Most Wanted” games ahead of the holiday shopping season. Of the top 10 titles featured on the across all platforms list, seven have seen brisk retail sales and significant rental activity for GameFly. They include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3: ODST, Borderlands, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Madden NFL 10. Here are the top ten most wanted games according to GameFly subscribers:

1) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - XBOX 360, PS3

2) Batman: Arkham Asylum - XBOX 360, PS3

3) Assassin’s Creed 2 - XBOX 360, PS3, DS

4) Halo 3: ODST - XBOX 360

5) Borderlands - XBOX 360, PS3

6) Left 4 Dead 2 - XBOX 360

7) Dragon Age: Origins - XBOX 360, PS3

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS3

9) Madden NFL 10 - XBOX 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PS2

10) New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Wii

For more information on GameFly, check out www.gamefly.com.

Dragon Age: Origins in stores

BioWare’s newest action RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, is now in stores and available for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. Dragon Age present an original RPG created by BioWare, best known for creating such hits as Neverwinter Nights and Mass Effect. Dragon Age: Origins introduces a dark and gritty approach to the fantasy genre where players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind. Several downloadable content packs are also now available, including Warden’s Keep, The Stone Prisoner and the Blood Dragon Armor.

The Stone Prisoner gives players access to new environments, items, hours of additional gameplay and the stone golem Shale who can become one of the most powerful party members in the game. The Warden’s Keep DLC provides a new dungeon-exploring adventure, new loot including a set of ancient Grey Warden armor, a chance to gain two of six mysterious new abilities, a new base complete with merchants and a party chest to store their hard-earned items. In addition, BioWare has released the Blood Dragon Armor DLC, a set of themed armor that gives players additional protection in combat and will be available for use in both Dragon Age: Origins on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and in Mass Effect 2 on the Xbox 360 and PC.

Dragon Age: Origins is available today in North America on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. In Europe, Dragon Age: Origins will be released on November 6th on the Xbox 360 and PC and later in November on PlayStation 3. The game is rated M by the ESRB and 18+ by PEGI.

For more information on the game check out www.dragonage.com.

Dragon Age: Origins event: Wardens’ Quest

BioWare announced the Dragon Age: Origins Wardens’Quest, a 24 hour gaming event for Dragon Age: Origins. To celebrate the launch of the game, BioWare is inviting gamers and press from North America and across Europe to put their skills and endurance to the test. On October 28, at 10:00 AM GMT, ten teams of four players each will explore the game in their 24 hour quest to claim the grand prize. Each winning team member will receive $12,500. Official rules can be found at www.wardensquest.com.

There will be ten participating teams representing their countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and a specially selected team comprised of BioWare fans from around the world. The competition will take place in the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England. BioWare staff and costumed actors will further make the event even more uncomfortable to watch or be a part of. I’m glad I am not one of those people. Just saying.

Dragon Age: Origins will be released on November 3 in North America on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and PC. The game will ship on November 6th in Europe on PC, the Xbox 360 and later in November on the PlayStation 3. Dragon Age: Origins is rated M by the ESRB and 18+ by PEGI.

Dragon Age: Origins gold, in stores Nov. 3

BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins has gone gold and will be released on Nov. 3 in North America. And for those PS3 owners concerned with having to wait longer than the rest, BioWare confirmed that the PS3 version would in fact ship on the selfsame days as the Xbox 360 and PC versions. Dragon Age: Origins will be released on November 6th in Europe on the Xbox 360 and PC. The European PlayStation 3 version will follow later in November. At launch Dragon Age: Origins will be available on all three platforms with several packs of downloadable content (DLC) including The Stone Prisoner, the Blood Dragon Armor and Warden’s Keep.

While waiting for this original action RPG to ship, players can begin to immerse themselves in the culture of Dragon Age: Origins early by joining the BioWare Social Network - a destination to share in-game screenshots, review game data and share story information. Players can also download the free to download Character Creator. The Character Creator lets players create and customize a player character on the PC and then upload their character data and avatar to the BioWare Social Network before Dragon Age: Origins launches. The Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator will provide players with the tools to create a character with a large amount of options.

Dragon Age: Origins is rated M by the ESRB and 18+ by PEGI. Learn more about the Character Creator, Social Network and the recently launched Flash game Dragon Age: Journeys, by visiting www.dragonage.com.

Dragon Age Journeys now live

BioWare has launched the first chapter of Dragon Age Journeys, a free to play browser based game set in the Dragon Age world. Dragon Age Journeys lets players explore the underground dwarven kingdom of Orzammar, uncovering a dastardly plot that threatens to unleash a great evil that won’t stop until it destroys every single living thing. Based on BioWare’s original fantasy RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Journeys also gives players the chance to earn exclusive in game content for Dragon Age: Origins on the day of its release.

The game was produced by a new browser-based production team at EA and an all-star team of independent development talent, with the goal of creating premium quality browser games.

Dragon Age Journeys features tactical combat, a story that ties into Origins and deep customization for a web game. Players can choose from one of six different origin stories, each offering a unique background that shapes how the player perceives the world and how the world will perceive them. The game mostly serves as an introduction to Dragon Age: Origins, which ships on Nov. 3 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator, Social Network launched

BioWare has released the Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator and BioWare Social Network in North America and Europe. The BioWare Social Network will provide a destination for future players of Dragon Age: Origins on any platform to upload screenshots, game data and story information to share with other community members as they progress through the game.

The freely available Character Creator allows players to create and customize a player character on the PC and then upload their character data and avatar online to the BioWare Social Network before Dragon Age: Origins launches. The Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator will provide players of Dragon Age: Origins with the tools to create a character with a lot of options - including the ability to use their created charcters in the PC version of the game.

Learn more about these and other Dragon Age related happenings by visiting www.dragonage.com.