MadCap's Game Reviews - "Dragon Age II: Legacy"

Considering that Dragon Age II was the first game I ever reviewed, one would think I would have already reviewed the DLCs that came with it that weren't anything more than just gear or aesthetic fluff added on.  Then again, by the inverse, I've reviewed the DLCs of both Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas and neither of the vanilla games, so who even knows what order I'm going in? Regardless, I figured it was about time to re-immerse myself in all things Dragon Age once more in preparation for Inquisition.  Hence, I got myself a hold of Dragon Age II:  Legacy, the DLC expansion that adds some new areas to the game and further illuminates the history of the Hawke family.

And I'll go ahead here and admit that I might have been a little too harsh in my review of Dragon Age II, upon further playthroughs from my original, the characters did rub off me more and I found them and their dynamics more enjoyable...in some cases, anyway (sorry for not being sorry, Fenris fans!), though I still don't think - for all of Bioware's excellent writing and decent characterization - that it holds a candle to those in Origins, but that's neither here nor there.  I came to speak of Legacy, and of Legacy I shall speak.

Upon uploading the DLC, the player will find a griffon statue that has miraculously appeared in the area of their home - be that Gamlen's Darktown home in Act One, or the player's mansion in Acts Two and Three - that they can interact with, which will trigger a cutscene between the lovable dwarven bard Varric and the tough-as-nails Seeker known as Cassandra Pendagast.  Apparently, a redacted part of Varric's interrogation that frames the story of Dragon Age II is seen in which Cassandra mentions an incident involving a Grey Warden prison, forcing Varric to tell the story.

Hawke (in my case, Alyssa, a bow-wielding rogue) has been attacked by dwarves from the Carta, and has enlisted the aid of Varric (and two other party members) to track down the offenders.  They speak of a master they are bound to known only as "Corypheus", who is driving them all to insanity much as those affected by the Blight spread by Darkspawn.  But the Carta hideout is only the beginning of a grand adventure that leads deep beneath the land of Thedas into a Grey Warden prison, where several demons and other forces of malicious intent have been sealed away using Blood Magic.

The gameplay is pretty identical to the vanilla game, so I won't dwell on it.  What I will dwell on for a bit are the enemy variations, of which there is one new enemy to smack around. Or rather, be smacked around by in some cases, as the Alpha version of this new quadruped variety can sometimes balance large, spiked shields to bash and run down enemies with.  They are also, coincidentally, complete assholes for that.  Luckily for me, Alyssa had an item with immunity to stun, so this did very little to hinder my progress in sending them off into the afterlife with many, many arrows in the face. The rest of the enemies are either Carta dwarves, Darkspawn, or Grey Wardens. And, also, demons, though with far, far less frequency.

Where this game is really good, however, is in the story.  Primarily that of Hawke and his/her family.  The voice of Malcolm Hawke, the family patriarch (voiced by the same voice actor to voice the male Hawke), is heard throughout the complex at various points, and will eventually trigger a moment with Hawke and either one of his/her siblings if they're in the party with him/her at the time, while also getting a moment between them all at the end (though this might be some artistic license on Varric's part, admittedly).  The revelation that Malcolm Hawke performed blood magic at the behest of the Grey Wardens if a rather shocking one, though given the reason for it, I can't personally say I blame the man.

However, the even bigger reveal for this game has nothing to do with Hawke's family history at all.  It has to do with Corypheus, the final boss (and, incidentally, a complete pain in the ass to fight), who is revealed as having been a Tevinter magister before his transformation into a Darkspawn.  Not only that, but being one of the Magisters who attempted to reach the Maker's Golden City.  Anyone familiar with the deeper lore of Dragon Age knows the Chantry purports the story that magisters, in their foolhardiness, attempted to go to the Maker's city in the Fade and the Maker cursed them as the first of the Darkspawn for their arrogance.  If Corypheus is indeed one of those magisters, as he proclaims, then this myth about the creation of the Darkspawn is actually true.

However, Corypheus makes some comments before his boss battle that add a disturbing twist to the story...namely that, when they reached it, the City had already been blackened.  So either it's merely Corypheus' deteriorating mental state, he's lying, or the Maker is far, far less benevolent than the Chantry would have the whole of Thedas believe.  And the escape of Corypheus at the end of the game (spoiler alert!...only not, really) may come into play later on in Inquisition and so on, as Varric notes that there might be more to the story, but it hasn't happened yet.  I have to say, it's something I'm looking forward to seeing...if they follow up on it at all.

As for Legacy itself, it's rather short, but then it's supposed to be.  I would have liked more variety in enemies and perhaps a little more in the backstory of Malcolm Hawke and the Grey Wardens, but I can't say I'm wholly unsatisfied with what we did get.  No less than I was with its vanilla game, at least.

Dragon Age:  Legacy is now available from EA and Bioware for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

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