| Author | DLC Review |
|---|
Varsindarkin
43,983
Posted on 27 July 11 at 01:16
|
This dlc review has 13 positive votes and 2 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Dragon Age II Legacy is the next DLC for Bioware's action/RPG Dragon Age II. After downloading it, you can travel to your home in Kirkwall at anytime and you interact with a large statue. You're prompted to choose three party members (you can bring anyone you've acquired at the time), you're teleported to a new location (outside of Kirkwall!) and your adventure begins.
What turns from a nice stroll through a desert/outdoor environment, Legacy ultimately turns into a dungeon crawl. But on the positive side, the underground visuals are pretty varied and there are even a few interactive locations that gives you a nice camera pan view and maybe even some dialog.
Like any dungeon crawl, there's plenty of loot to acquire and plenty of darkspawn to kill. The combat is still very fast-paced and monsters still spawn in vast groups. You get a few new Darkspawn models to look at and thanks to the DA2 engine, some conversations/creature models were really cool.
The standard loot formula from DA2 still applies to Legacy. Loot-wise, you find your standard item armor set, your upgradable weapon (depending on your class) and plenty of other stuff to pick up. In addition to loot, there are a few journal entries to read and uncover -- especially one that relates to Varric.
My Hawke was level 5 when I started and I ended up beating it at around level 9. At such a low level, the combat was a little difficult (a few deaths here and there), but I imagine if you're a higher level, the combat will be fine. I had all of the item pack DLC so some of the loot I found in Legacy were replaced by the item DLC but overall, you will find plenty of loot to keep; even specific loot for your party members.
Talking about party members, I took Bethany, Varric and Aveline. I heavily suggest to bring either Carver or Bethany to fully get the experience from Legacy. It talks a lot about the Hawke bloodline so Bethany/Carver will get extra dialog. Varric was awesome to bring along as well, he had a lot of dialog for each cutscene and even had extra zingers because I played my Hawke as the comedic/laid-back warrior.
Much like Dragon Age 2, you have a choice to make at the end but it's ultimately very linear. I found it to be somewhat satisfying but ultimately predictable. There were 4-5 side quests you can undertake through Legacy but they're very easy and it's very hard to not miss them.
So is Legacy worth the $10? I know a lot of people were pretty cheesed off for paying $60 for the full game (I wasn't, I loved it!). If you're a fan of DA2, then picking up Legacy is not a bad deal. I completed it between 3-4 hours and laughed a few times, looted plenty of corpses and wiped Darkspawn blood off of my sword tons of times.
The ultimate point of Legacy was to provide a thrilling experience that's more in-line of DA2. This DLC will not convert the fans who wanted DA2 to be Origins 2 -- if you didn't like DA2, then you probably wouldn't like Legacy. |
I Sanral I
99,258
Posted on 08 June 12 at 10:07, Edited on 08 June 12 at 10:08
|
This dlc review has 2 positive votes and 0 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
This dlc is seperated from the main story of DA II. You can start it by interacting with a statue in your home. It starts out as a quest find out why the Carta is attacking Hawke. Of course, there is more to the attacks than meets the eyes and eventually you get to know the past of the Hawke family. Thus, to get the maximum out of the dlc, be sure to bring Bethany or Carver with you.
More dwarves…
The first bit of the dlc is not all that interesting. Basically, you will be fighting a lot of dwarves which look and fight the same as those in darktown and even your surroundings have the same brown/yellow colors as Kirkwall. Don’t give up, however! Once you get to the actual dungeon the dlc will become a lot better. You soon find out you will be fighting through an ancient Grey Warden prison, which is really cool and unexpected. The prison has multiple levels and the further you go in, the better it gets. Apart from the main quest, there are also three side-quests to be completed.
And darkspawn too…
During your quest you will encounter five ‘new’ enemies. Well, they are not really new since all the enemies were in DA:O as well. The bronto and deepstalkers are actually almost similar, and if you played DA:O they will pose no challenge at all. The genlocks suffer from the same ‘styling’ the hurlocks do, which makes them look funny  . In this dlc, the genlocks look like silly darkspawn guard dogs. The darkspawn alpha’s look somewhat better and are the most dangerous enemies you will encounter. These are leader-type enemies with some unique skills which require a different, more tactical approach. Combined with smart dungeon design, the alpha’s will give you some of the most interesting battles in DA II. And then there is the boss: who is by far the most interesting and cool boss you will encounter in DA II and the fight against him is pretty epic.
And some items, of course
The dlc also offers some new items. Some require a bit of exploration, and some are given to you during the quest. You will be getting a unique weapon for Hawke for which you can determine the upgrades during the dlc. Furthermore, there is a really cool grey warden armor set to be discovered. Finally, if you decided to bring Bethany or Carver, you will also find a unique item for them. That is about it, there is some renamed junk to be found, but who cares? So as far as loot goes, this dlc is a bit limited. I guess Bioware wants people to buy their silly item packs…
And even achievements
If you take Bethany or Carver, and complete the dlc you will have all but one achievement. If you did some more exploration, and completed all three side-quest as well, all the achievements are easily yours in one run.
Summary
A nice piece of dlc which offers some of the most fun battles in DA II and an interesting setting and story. Sadly, the loot is a bit limited and the ‘new’ enemies are not all that new. Still, it offers a lot of fun and it should keep you occupied for about 3 hours.
 |