ea-2d posts

With Dragon Age 2 now about a month or so away from its release date, publisher Electronic Arts has now announced that a Facebook-based companion game, Dragon Age Legends, has started its closed beta test. People can sign up for the beta at the game's official web site.

The game will allow players to "take on challenging quests, earn loot, share rewards and build your kingdom." Facebook friends can be recruited to help you in your quests and to fight off Dragon Age's demons and darkspawn creatures. As we have previously reported, players of Dragon Age Legends will be able to unlock up to five unique in-game items that can be used in Dragon Age 2 when it is released this March.

After a bit of a false start earlier today, the browser-based title Dragon Age Journeys has officially launched, letting folks play the first chapter, The Deep Roads, for free. The tactical RPG, developed by the new Electronic Arts division EA 2D, is naturally based on BioWare's upcoming fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Origins.

People who use their EA account to sign into Dragon Age Journeys and then use the same account for Dragon Age Origins will get three extra in-game items to use in the BioWare game. While the first chapter is free to play, an article on GamePro indicates that future chapters will include microtransactions.

While BioWare's fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Origins is due for release in two weeks, we are becoming more and more interested in the upcoming Flash-based Dragon Age Journeys that's being developed by EA 2D. The latest entry in BioWare's blog site has more info and more screenshots from the game.

As we previously reported the title is being designed as a tactical RPG game with the player controlling up to three heroes. Both their stat systems and their talent trees come from Dragon Age: Origins, as do many of the creatures the heroes have to face in the game. The game sounds like it will be a fairly deep gameplay experience for a browser-based title. Features like giving monsters two special attacks and putting obstacles randomly in the game keeps battles from being repetitious. The first chapter in Dragon Age Journeys should be available later this month.

We have only a couple of weeks until Dragon Age: Origins is finally released but publisher Electronic Arts is pulling out all the stops to promote and expand the BioWare fantasy RPG. Two prose novels have already been released, a pen-and-paper RPG is planned as is a regular monthly comic book. This week it was revealed that a Flash-based Dragon Age game is the works from the publisher's new EA 2D studio.

According to BioWare's blog site, the Dragon Age Journeys Flash game is being created by some of the leading creators of Flash-based game titles. The head man behind the Dragon Age game is Daniel Stradwick, who created the Monster's Den Flash RPG title. Dragon Age Journeys is being designed as a tactical RPG to be released in three chapters with the assistants and guidance of BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins team. There's no word yet on when the first chapter will be released.