Bioware has revealed who the bonus companion character will be for those intrepid players who pre-order the Signature Edition of Dragon Age 2 before the end of the January 11, 2011 deadline.

The Exiled Prince DLC will include the addition of Sebastian Vael, a noble archer bent on avenging the brutal murder of his family. Sebastian will have a full series of side quests for Hawke to complete as players channel his wrath onto their enemies. Along with this news comes a brief video which introduces the gentle-hearted man:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjQcng6f2i4

Okay, maybe he's not so gentle.

Dragon Age 2 has been shaping up to be an exciting game with the introduction of a new control scheme and a predefined and fully voiced character, a'la Mass Effect's Shepard, in leading character Hawke. The new controls will allow gamers to play the game like the original, or more like an action game. The latter may be a big relief to console gamers who prefer a more controller-intuitive control scheme that really allows them to take control of the main character.

The shift to a predefined and fully voiced character, on the other hand, will no doubt lend itself to a deeper overall story where the protagonist's emotions show in more than just facial expressions.

Players who opt out of pre-ordering Dragon Age 2 before January 11 can still pick up the DLC for $7 on PSN and 540 MS Points on Xbox Live. As of this writing only three days remain, and the countdown at Bioware's Dragon Age page is perpetually ticking away as a constant reminder to those of us who have not made the trip to our local retailer yet.

Will you be pre-ordering the Dragon Age 2 Signature Edition? What do you think of the newly revealed character?

Dragon Age 2 is due to hit the shelves on March 8, 2011, for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.