14 DAY TRIAL // BioWare has pretty much confirmed that Anders, the mage that is part of the player party in the Awakening expansion for Dragon Age: Origins, will be one of the first characters that Hawke will meet in the upcoming Dragon Age 2.
The information appears in this month's Game Informer magazine and one of the main developers working on Dragon Age 2, David Gaider, made a statement in one of the official threads on the subjects, saying “Until you see the official reveal, don’t assume that Anders is what you think he is– or that he’s the same person from DAO:A. People change.”
It seems that after the events seen in Awakenings and after his life changing encounters with the Grey Warden Anders has found a measure of safety in Kirkwall and is working there to heal the numerous refugees that have been driven off by the Blight.
Hawke will quickly meet him and they will team up to save one of his mage friends that is being hunted by Templars.
The two discover that the friends have been turned into one of the Tranquil, effectively lobotomized, and at that moment Anders reveals that he is more than seen at first glance as a Spirit of Justice, possibly one that was seen in the first Dragon Age, speaks through him.
Apparently, the abilities and the skill set for Anders have changed because of the spirit which now sustains him.
BioWare has not said whether his love for kittens has survived the melding with the Spirit of Justice.
It's nice to see that at least one of the characters seen in the first Dragon Age will return for the sequel, but it would be even better on BioWare's part to include one of the more loved companions from the original, like Alistair (who is perhaps too close to Anders in terms of temperament) or Leliana.
Dragon Age 2 has an official launch date of March 8 and will be playable on the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.