No romance and my dead character lives again ....
The one thing I love about Bioware is they know how to make a RPG that gets me emotionally involved with the characters and story. The problem I have with it is that I invest so much into story and character elements that I expect some sort of pay off in the expansion or sequels.
Example. ME2. Liara's reaction. You would think after being missing for two years your loved one would be in tears or at least tell you how much she missed you. But no, just a quick kiss then it's on to business. Wow, thanks. Not even going to go into how Kaidan flips out when he finds out you're alive.
Same thing with Awakening. Where is Leliana? Where's Zevran? If you had carried a romantic relationship with either, you'd think they'd be there for you after the Archdemon was defeated. Nope, nowhere to be found. Thanks.
Which brings me to no romance in Awakening. Bioware, don't give me cookies for desert one night, then give me carrots for desert the next. Awakening is only like 20 hrs of game-play @ $40, where as DA:O was 60+ hrs @ $50. Not saying it wasn't worth it, just saying next time I'm waiting for the expansion to hit the bargain bin.
Finally, I like continuity. I love the ME series for this very reason. So why should I bother caring about what choices I make in DA:O if they don't carry over to expansion packs or sequels? Being able to import my dead character breaks the immersion for me big time. I have 4 characters with full completions, only one made the ultimate sacrifice, I should only be able to import 3 then.
If Bioware actually went for the higher standard, you could import your deceased character, which brings you to the "character gen screen" to make a new hero. Then in that game you hear about your dead character in dialogue and see monuments dedicated to your selfless hero. Alistair names his son/daughter after your hero ... Stuff like that. That would be amazing. But alas, that's not happening here.
In DA:O I had an ending, but in Awakening my "ending" and "choices" really didn't matter at all. That's a huge disappointment for me. Though I love the combat and exploration, it's the story and the choices I make that gets me replaying over and over. Playing Awakening really shows me how linear this game was meant to be. :(
Hopefully, one day Bioware will understand what their fans want. We want everything. :)