It’s been a long time since
Turbine’s Asheron’s Call franchise got started. Building on the success of the
original Asheron’s Call, their second game in the series, Asheron’s Call 2:
Fallen Kings, was a wonderful game for its time. Trying to draw new players into
the world of Asheron’s Call, Turbine has released a new expansion pack for the
game – Asheron’s Call 2: Legions. Combined with the updated graphics recently
brought to Asheron’s Call 2, Legions adds two new playable races and some
entertaining content. It might not be enough to bring in long-term players
though – Asheron’s Call 2 is beginning to show its age in a few places.
This expansion pack has a
few good features tucked inside. The two new races add a great deal of
flexibility and enjoyment to the AC2 universe. Unfortunately the control
interface itself is beginning to show its age. When Asheron’s Call 2 was first
released by Turbine its interface was a leap forward in ease and control. The
system is not painful to use or clunky, it just isn’t as streamlined as more
recent games, although anyone who has played another of the role-playing online
games will feel right at home with the control system.
The addition of two new
playable races and their classes is a breath of fresh air. Each of the races,
the rascally Drudge and the powerful Empyrean, have their own strengths that
will fit in well with the other heroic races. The Drudges focus on being hardy
and versatile. They are limited to a single skill tree, but it is extremely
large and has a number of useful abilities. Players can gain access to heals,
mana restoratives, powerful self-buff spells, and vicious attacks. The Drudge
also have a lot of humor involved. The animations for spell casting, involving a
lot of arm waving and dancing, or the standing-around-and-waiting animations
will get a laugh out of fans.
The Empyrean are the primary
addition to the player races. Unlocked immediately with the purchase of the
Legions expansion pack, this race of mystics has many tricks up their sleeves.
The skill trees available for warriors, mages, and missile specialists of the
Empyrean race have a lot of self-buffs included. Players can increase their
maximum hit points and mana pool, increase their attack speed, and more. In
addition they have a wide variety of skills to use. This variety comes with a
small price, however. The Empyrean classes, especially their mage class, require
a lot of attention to detail to get the hang of. Their abilities are very useful
… if the right conditions are met.
Following in the footsteps
of the EverQuest series, the developers at Turbine have added new texture files
to bring more depth and detail to the Asheron’s Call universe. The textures add
more detail and immersiveness. The higher-quality graphics come at a bit of a
cost. Older computers will have a harder time as they struggle to render
everything. I noticed a few hiccups as I wandered through the more graphically
complicated areas near Arwic. It was a little annoying, but I went with the
high-quality graphics install when my machine didn’t meet all of the minimum
requirements.
Legions is being packaged
with the original Asheron’s Call 2 game, allowing new players to pick up both
games easily and conveniently. New players can jump right into the world and get
started exploring and enjoying the game. There are also tutorials for players to
go through when they first enter the world. These tutorials will get new players
up to speed very quickly, allowing them to get the hang of the game and get out
into the wide world to explore for themselves.
Looking back, Turbine has
had a few rough patches with Asheron’s Call 2. A lot of players have moved on
for the promise of brighter futures in other games. As a result the community in
Asheron’s Call 2 is relatively small and closely knit. The players are also
extremely knowledgeable about the game. New players will have a lot of “older
siblings” they can ask for help. Just be prepared to spend some time looking for
people to answer your questions. A lot of the existing players have high-level
characters as their main avatars.
In the end Asheron’s Call 2:
Legions is an expansion pack that builds on the existing game. Players who are
already enjoying the game will also enjoy the expanded content and new races.
New players might not be drawn to the expansion on its own. By adding the
original game into the pack, new players will be able to enjoy the best of both
worlds without buying two separate games. The interface and gameplay are showing
their age a little, but Asheron’s Call 2 still has more-than-enough content to
keep its players happy. If you are looking for a new game to play, AC2: Legions
might not be the best buy for you. If you are looking for a game that has a
serious, skilled community to play with then Asheron’s Call 2: Legions might be
right up your alley.
Tips:
As soon as you can start working in groups. It will cut back your down time. The
high-end content is also aimed at groups. Learning what role your avatar fills
in a group early is priceless.
|
Review Scoring Details for Asheron’s Call 2: Legions |
Gameplay: 6.7
The gameplay in Asheron’s Call 2: Legions is basically the same as it was for
Asheron’s Call 2. There have not been a lot of upgrades to the system. As a
result, what was once a shining example of a good system has aged as the years
go on. AC2 Legions is about average for the genre, but the interface is a bit
clunky is places, especially when compared to the recent heavy hitters like
World of Warcraft and EverQuest II.
Graphics: 7.0
Even with the high-quality graphics turned on the expansion is just about
average. There are some good points to the graphics, and there are some bad
points. Requiring a 3.0GHz processor to run the game at high-quality graphics is
a bit higher than many casual gamers have.
Sound: 7.0
The sounds for Asheron’s Call 2: Legions are about what I expect from an MMO
these days. The background music is delightful, the combat sounds are fairly
good. Listening to the sound effects you can get a good idea of what’s going on
around you without having to look at the screen.
Difficulty: Medium/High
Concept:
7.0
Adding two new races
and some new content is going to excite the fans of Asheron’s Call 2. New
players won’t find very much to draw them that was not in the original game.
Asheron’s Call 2 was innovative and unique when it was released. Legions is just
more of the Asheron’s Call 2 world and some better graphics.
Multiplayer: 7.0
The server and population count for Asheron’s Call 2 have dropped over the years
since it was released. The community is closely knit and very knowledgeable
about their game. Unfortunately the long-term players tend to be very high level
and some of them don’t have a lot of time to “waste” talking to new players.
Overall:
7.0
Asheron’s Call 2: Legions is a decent expansion pack for an older game. The game
itself is a bit dated, with muted graphics and a slightly clunky interface. The
addition of new races and content will make existing players happy, but new
players should do some reading on the fan sites to decide if they want to buy
into the world of Asheron’s Call 2.
