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Though the pithy in-game dialogue in Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 has clearly demonstrated BioWare's collective sense of humor, it appears the company wasn't kidding around when it promised more DLC for its main franchises. The latest Xbox Live Newsbeat has announced a new downloadable chunk of content for Dragon Age: Origins, titled "Darkspawn Chronicles." Aside from its release date (May 18) and its price (400, or $5), nothing else has been explained about the listing.

We've contacted BioWare to ascertain said details. Personally, we're hoping for playable Darkspawn characters. Haven't you always wondered what's going on inside that poor little Genlock's scaly head?

Though the pithy in-game dialogue in Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 has clearly demonstrated BioWare's collective sense of humor, it appears the company wasn't kidding around when it promised more DLC for its main franchises. The latest Xbox Live Newsbeat has announced a new downloadable chunk of content for Dragon Age, titled "Darkspawn Chronicles." Aside from its release date (May 18) and its price (400, or $5), nothing else has been explained about the listing.

We've contacted BioWare to ascertain said details. Personally, we're hoping for playable Darkspawn characters. Haven't you always wondered what's going on inside that poor little Genlock's scaly head?

#dlc The latest edition of Microsoft's Xbox Live Newsbeat newsletter lists a May 18 release date for the Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn Chronicles downloadable content, which is interesting, as we've never heard of it. More »

What's the next feature to be removed from the PS3 through a firmware update? According to some posters on the Bioware forums, it's the ability to play Dragon Age: Origins. Several users have reported frequent crashes or freezes while playing the RPG after installing PS3 Firmware 3.30. "The game has crashed like 7 times in an hour just after the update," complained forum poster "scorpgul." Another poster, "eugeni_dodonov," reported that "it never ever froze before, but since 3.30 it is freezing like every 15 minutes." Players claim to be experiencing the issue on both original and "slim" PS3 models in the US and Europe.

On Friday, online producer Fernando Melo indicated that BioWare was working with Sony to correct the issue, which he called "a bit out of the blue for us." We suppose your Warden could use a couple days off anyway.

Stickers are meant to inform customers that not all DLC is free.

You might be forgiven for thinking this was a joke, considering the calendar date, but no, apparently it's real. BioWare really has released $3 worth of downloadable content for the in-game Dragon Age: Origins holiday of "Feastday," which is what they call April Fool's in Ferelden. For $1.99 in real money, you can get a Feastday Prank pack or a Feastday Gift pack, consisting of 10 items each that will either decrease or increase your standing with the various characters in your party, and also provide some simple fun. Examples include a doggie cone that you can give to your Warhound, as you can see above, or an Alastair Doll that you can give to Morrigan to have her do some voodoo on your least favorite Grey Warden. No really -- this is real.

And the money you'll be giving them for this is real, too -- $1.99 (in each systems' requisite points format, of course) for either the Gifts or Pranks pack, or $3 for a Combo Pack with all of the items. On the one hand, sure, it's a bit of in-game fun for your Dragon Age characters. But on the other hand, BioWare, it's not quite as funny if you go and make your April Fool's gag, y'know, real. And then charge us for it.

The Dragon Age comic is ready to tell its epic tale now at your local illustrated book peddler. The first edition was already released on the App Store and through PSP's comic network on March 16 and 18, respectively. Dragon Age issue #1 sets the stage for mages who will defy the Circle of Magi and battle against the lyrium-addicted Templars. It is co-written by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston. The art is being done by Mark Robinson, with cover art by Humberto Ramos.

The first Dragon Age series is 12 issues. The first issue is out now, the next is in June and then it goes monthly. The first trade collection of six issues will release in November and include extra content, however the publisher has no idea at this point what those extras will be composed of.

Publisher reveals "BioWare Bazaar" auction house.

Free advertised downloadable content an issue for used market.

Monday announcement forthcoming.

Steam is having a "midweek madness" sale on Dragon Age: Origins until Thursday at 4PM PST. BioWare's fantasy epic is discounted 33 percent, making the regular and "digital deluxe" editions $33.49 and $43.54, respectively.

Of course, the discounts are to get you on the hook to purchase the game's first expansion, Awakening, which releases today. But, just so you go into this with eyes wide open, DA:O is a long game -- especially if you get the bundle stuffed with the extra DLC missions. The game is so long, in fact, that if you purchase the base game now, by the time you're ready for Awakening, you may very well be able to get that at a discount, instead of its initial $40 price.

Game Informer's latest "TidBits" column features a a glorious list of "inside baseball" stats from Dragon Age: Origins. Some of the numbers are simply cute, while others are positively frightening: "QA analyst Bruce Venne played 1,957.55 hours of Dragon Age PC in 5,352 games." Consequently, "The Bruce" was awarded to staff that played more than Venne in a single month -- the honor was bestowed only once.

While the list is mostly packed with numbers, there are some notable non-numerical did-you-knows, like the staff's affectionate nickname for the Ogre, "Fluffy," and, unsurprisingly, the revelation that one of the BioWare crew makes chain mail "from scratch."

Check out the full list of Dragon Age tidbits on Game Informer.

It looks like Dragon Age fans hoping to delve further into its fantasy realm will have to wait a little bit longer. IDW Publishing editor-in-chief Chris Rydall tells Big Download that the planned March release of its Dragon Age comic has been pushed to April. Furthermore, the second issue will release in June.

The comic was announced last year, and is slated to feature a story written by Orson Scott Card. The plot itself focuses around a band of rogue mages that "will defy the rules of the Templars and change the course of the world forever."

It looks like Dragon Age fans hoping to delve further into its fantasy realm will have to wait a little bit longer. IDW Publishing editor-in-chief Chris Rydall tells Big Download that the planned March release of its Dragon Age comic has been pushed to April. Furthermore, the second issue will release in June.

The comic was announced last year, and is slated to feature a story written by Orson Scott Card. The plot itself focuses around a band of rogue mages that "will defy the rules of the Templars and change the course of the world forever." Presumably, it will also feature lots of sex.

FIFA 10 lifetime sales near 10 million.

If you're pacing out your Dragon Age playing to ensure that you have a steady drip of elfin lovemaking and epic dragon fighting, here's a bit of new info to consider for your tactics: EA is planning to launch a new Dragon Age title in Q4 of its fiscal 2011, which, in real-world time, falls between January 1 and March 31, 2011.

Intriguingly, EA currently lists "Dragon Age Title TBA" (that's what it's called at the moment) for consoles, PC and handhelds -- which could mean either handheld game devices (think: DS and/or PSP), cell phones or both. Whatever platforms it appears on, expect the game to be super hot. Assuming, of course, this is the real sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and not a spinoff.New Dragon Age in early 2011 on consoles, handhelds & PC

Alright, alright, you kind of already knew about the giant blue dragon in the upcoming Dragon Age: Origins 'Awakening' expansion pack, but you hadn't seen her (yes, her) in all her rage-filled majesty, scaring the crap out of those venturing into Blackmarsh. Between her and Skeletor, we're getting pretty psyched for March's DA:O content infusion. Sure, there's that other BioWare RPG that we're obsessively playing for now, but how long will that last before we feel the urge to venture back into the fantasy realm? We're guessing about two months. And hey, if nothing else, it'll give us something to talk about at PAX East during the Joystiq / Blueberry Muffintops Breakfast.

Alright, alright, you kind of already knew about the giant blue dragon in the upcoming Dragon Age: Origins 'Awakening' expansion pack, but you hadn't seen her (yes, her) in all her rage-filled majesty, scaring the crap out of those venturing into Blackmarsh. Between her and Skeletor, we're getting pretty psyched for March's DA:O content infusion. Sure, there's that other BioWare RPG that we're obsessively playing for now, but how long will that last before we feel the urge to venture back into the fantasy realm? We're guessing about two months. And hey, if nothing else, it'll give us something to talk about at PAX East during the Joystiq / Blueberry Muffintops Breakfast. Gallery: Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (Retail Expansion)

Dragon Age: Origins presents strong evidence that great games can overcome gawd-awful graphics, but BioWare isn't about to test that theory -- and the limits of our forgiveness -- again in the sequel. "I think one of the key things we're working on in Dragon Age 2 is the technology," BioWare VP Greg Zeschuk recently told Joystiq. "I can confirm that we're doing a lot of work on the Dragon Age engine, and doing a lot of stuff to pump it -- to make it visually super hot." Now, to clarify, frisky rogue foursomes and lesbian alien sex are measured on different "super hot" scales, as Zeschuk conceded, "Dragon Age is, in the structural sense, a fundamentally different game than Mass Effect ... You have to make different technical considerations." Certainly, with Dragon Age: Origins, those considerations were designed to benefit the superior PC version. Still, there's hope for a console sequel makeover, since, in Zeschuk's words, the process of iteration allows a developer to "get to a much higher level." "I think the overall visual style we're going to continue to evolve in Dragon Age," Zeschuk added. "People are going to see some cool ... I can't really say too much, but I think Dragon Age as a world is interesting. It's a timeline, and you can go anywhere." Go anywhere, huh? So, like the future Ferelden, where a race of sexy blue aliens have been possessed by horny desire demons? Super hot.

From Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect 2, we trace the legacy of a beloved RPG developer.

You'd hoped that after investing 60 hours of your life, you could hang up your sword and catch a breather until the next BioWare RPG, but, oh no, the Darkspawn did not simply disappear. Thankfully, today's announcement of Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, a retail expansion to IGN's & Spike's RPG of the Year Joystiq's "4th Best of 2009," has been accompanied by this video pep talk. After all, you have quite the task ahead of you. Awakening will be released March 16 for $39.99 on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. A copy of the original Dragon Age: Origins is required to play.

We no longer have to rely on Google-translated rumors about retailer listings regarding an upcoming Dragon Age expansion. EA has officially revealed Awakening, the first retail expansion of Dragon Age: Origins, due in stores March 16 for $40 and up for pre-order on GameStop now. Awakening takes place after the (many) events of Origins, putting the player in the role of a Grey Warden Commander taking on new monsters, like the Inferno Golem and the Spectral Dragon, in a new area of the world called Amaranthine. That character will have an increased level cap, new items, new spells, and five new friends with whom to bond. It seems odd that the DLC delay and the expansion announcements would coincide so closely, though we don't think it's a matter of BioWare trying to starve people for Dragon Age content so that the expansion would appear more attractive. We can't think of any other explanation than "it's a weird coincidence," though we'll attempt to clear it up with BioWare.

Gamers honored for its efforts to be accessible to players of all capability.

Awakening coming to PC and 360 this Spring?

Dragon Age: Origins may seem expansive enough, but BioWare has already proven willing to inflate the game further with DLC and talk of retail expansion packs. And according to an unidentified retailer listing spotted by Eurogamer.cz, the first of those expansions, titled Awakening, will supposedly arrive in Europe on March 19. According to Eurogamer's summary, the expansion will star a new player character with a new origin story, new areas and enemies, for about 15 hours of new content. The expansion will also raise the level cap. Eurogamer speculates that EA will announce this expansion sometime in January, though we can't fathom how that information would be extrapolated from a retailer's erroneously hasty listing. [Via Big Download]

click for "Return to Ostagar" gallery While trailing behind what some of us might call "this holiday season" (as originally pledged), the latest expansion for BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins, dubbed "Return to Ostagar," has been given a more finite release date of January 5th for both Xbox 360 and PC. The PS3 release is slated for "later in January." Aaryn Flynn, General Manager and Vice President at BioWare Edmonton, says of the DLC offering, "Return to Ostagar represents BioWare's commitment to providing a steady stream of compelling post release content as we continue to expand the Dragon Age universe." For just $5, and the promise of "the mighty arms and armor of the once great King Cailan," we imagine we'll be returning to Ostagar next week ... and as long as we're there, it won't hurt to find out what "King Cailan's top-secret political agenda" is, right? Check out a video of DLC expansion after the break.

DLC provides players opportunity to return to site of the Grey Wardens' darkest hour in BioWare's award-winning epic RPG fantasy.

click to dragon size The previously announced Dragon Age comic series will begin next March. Penned by Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, Shadow Complex), the story appears to revolve around rogue (the concept, not the class) mages within the Circle of Magi who "will defy the rules of the Templars and change the course of the world forever." BioWare and TOR previously released the Dragon Age novel, The Stolen Throne, which if you're into the whole words without pictures thing, sets the stage and gives plenty of background for the epic RPG. [Via Big Download]

Fantasy world arrives at Mac.

Already a great game, Dragon Age: Origins is getting incrementally better as BioWare just announced Patch 1.02 for its sprawling RPG. None of the fixes contained within the new download are huge -- more tweaks than anything -- but if you've found, say, dagger damage to be a bit low when using a character with high dexterity, or if you're plagued by too many health poultices, this patch should please you. In addition to a long list of minor cross-platform fixes, there's an extra list of fixes that it makes to the PC version. This corrects one problem that could be a big deal: "Creating a character in a custom module did not create a folder for saves. This could result in corruption of main campaign saves. This no longer occurs." Celebrate by playing the main campaign -- and then saving! [Thanks, Samuel!]