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Asheron's Call 2: Legions

Asheron's Call 2 liefhebbers zullen hier zeker hun gading in vinden, maar nieuwkomers zijn beter af met de nieuwe generatie MMORPG's.

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.

You need to have guts to release a MMORPG in times where World of Warcraft, Everquest 2 and Guild Wars are ruling the scene. Codemasters did it with Legions, an expansion for Asheron's Call 2. Was this a smart move or not?

In terms of a review, I have to say Legions is a mixed bag. It certainly adds plenty for loyal players, but I think it fails to do much to bring in new faces or draw former players back into the fold. The bulk of changes in that regard have really come from the consistent and determined updates put out regularly by the development team. For existing players, I have no problem recommending the expansion. But by the same token, I'm sure that existing players with their fervent loyalty have already purchased Legions well before seeing this article.

Every MMO on the market could use some new content, including a couple of new races, some new gear, and maybe a new chunk of land. Turbine knew this, and did it, but they decided it wasn't enough. Legions not only adds all of those things, but also improves the overall graphics, revamps the skill system, and adds enough high-level content to be a separate expansion all its own. These improved graphics look great, but are only nice in the new areas. The new races are cool, but it seems strange that one of them is only available to those who pre-order or complete a very high-level quest. While it includes a great amount of content, Legions lacks a bit of polish and lot of shine.

Asheron's Call 2: Legions is duidelijk een uitbreiding gericht op de bestaande speler. De graphics zijn een beetje opgepoetst en er is een hoop nieuwe content voor de liefhebbers (de high level spelers dus). Mensen die het spel net beginnen te spelen zullen door een hele dikke kluif moeten bijten. De graphics zijn wel opgepoetst, maar echt mooi zijn ze niet. Er zijn bijna geen andere spelers waar je samen mee kunt questen in het begin, maar de mensen die je spreekt zullen je wel de weg wijzen. De skills zijn erg complex en de weg naar een goede bouw van je karakter erg onduidelijk. Het boekje biedt wat dat betreft ook geen soelaas, want dit is erg summier en zal je alleen kennis laten maken met de basis van de besturing. Het kan dus een heel leuk spel zijn als je er al wat brood van hebt gegeten, maar als beginner zul je het spel snel wegleggen of heel veel gaan lezen op de verschillende Asheron's Call forums om een beetje geïnformeerd te raken over de details van deze game.

So, whilst the additions Legions provides to the core game are commendable enough, and indicative of Turbine's attentiveness to their long-term customers, Legions' appeal will most likely be confined to those customers. The difficulty curve is far too steep to play solo, and with its diminishing popularity, new players are going to find it very difficult to find other people of equivalent level to party up with. With other, more newbie-friendly MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars on the market, it's practically impossible to give Legions a wholehearted recommendation, or to be brutally honest, even a half-hearted one...

Think of all the clichès that put people off playing MMORPGs: the level grind, the super-generiquests, the identikit enemies, the stupendous amount of time needed to do anything, graphics textures that could peel paint from walls at 30 paces... yes, Asheron's Call 2: Legions has them all. I think you can see where this is going. Before we continue with the character assassination, a little explanatory refrain.