Exactly. The series was never really popular so to make it more popular they had to add a bunch of new things like the avatar, pair up, and marriage. Some of the stuff they added was pretty good, some of it was bad or just completely unbalanced.
Also don't be too paranoid about buying the game even though everyone is saying the plot is bad. Everyone has just had a lot of time to look at every part of the game, but the first time you play the game it really is fun.