After a week out of town and getting caught up, we’ve finally had a chance to sit down with the first post launch DLC for Dragon Age II: Legacy. While we had a very favorable opinion of Dragon Age II, the game’s overall reception has been somewhat lukewarm, in part due to the fact that the level design is a bit repetitive. Legacy is somewhat of a wet kiss to those complaints, with completely new levels and a new story arc that ties back to the Grey Wardens that were so heavily featured in Dragon Age: Origins.
The new Legacy DLC becomes available anytime after Act 1 begins. It can be accessed via a Griffin statue that is found in Gamlen’s House in Act 1, or in Hawke’s Estate in both Act’s 2 and 3. Players my also access the Griffin statue post game in Hawke’s Estate.
Brontos return from Origins as an enemy type
Legacy begins with the party approaching an old ruin in the mountains outside of Kirkwall. Apparently Hawke and his sibling have been staving off attacks from the Carta, a dwarven gang of thieves and mercenaries. Hawke’s dwarven companion Varrick has led them to this hideout to deal with the threat (though he need not accompany Hawke on this adventure). The party quickly makes it’s way down into a ravine to enter the hideout, and must cut a swath through the Carta thugs. However, upon actually entering the hideout, Hawke learns that there is much more to this than he/she was led to believe, and that it involves the Grey Warden, Darkspawn, and something his/her father did before he/she was born.
Legacy is a decent sized expansion that will take a couple of hours to beat. It does start slow however. The second half of the adventure has much better pacing and story development, and features some interesting encounters, a difficult boss fight, and a choice that may have repercussions in later installments of the series. All in all, it’s a solid expansion.
It's a TWAP!!!
However, it’s not perfect. Legacy features a bit of a slow burn in that it takes a while to really get up to speed. Some of the early story moments seem to drag as if they struggle to not reveal too much too soon, yet still be relevant. As such, the expansion can drag a bit until about the halfway point.
Even still, Legacy is a nice addition to Dragon Age II, and probably a stronger expansion than any of the DLC packs for Dragon Age: Origins, with the possible exception of Awakening. But if you’re not a diehard fan of the game, it’s certainly not essential.
Overall Score: 7/10
