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Apr 01 2006
Untold Legends 2: Warrior's Code Review
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| Summary: Anyone for a second dose of goodness?
90
SOE has certainly gone out of the way to produce a full-fledged and polished title using the Untold Legends franchise. With all its virtues, it does have its faults. Of all the multiplayer options, the game lacks 4 player cooperative play. I can remember all the fun I had with three of my friends playing BotB as we tried to slay the Shadowed God, but we won’t be able to go slay the dark Emperor as a foursome this time around. A small disappointment, but worthy enough to be voiced. Another minor thing is the linearity of the game. There’s not as much room for exploration this time. To me at least, that shaves a lot of time out of the game. The final annoyance, and this is really annoying at first, is the menu system. But once you finally get the setup down, it becomes second nature.
With the introduction of the new combat system in “The Warrior’s Code”, the combat dynamic has changed slightly. At heart, it’s still a “smash-X-until-it-dies” game, the charged attacks and attacks of opportunity add enough to vary how you fight. Sometimes there will be a situation where you have an opening for an AOO (attack of opportunity) and it can be the difference between beating the monster or getting killed. But, don’t expect to execute one perfectly the first time you see it. It takes time to learn the timing, thus balancing the new variables out. For those who enjoyed adding components to their items, they may be in a shock. Not all items are socketed in this incarnation of the game. But to balance it, socketed items can have multiple slots. This adds to the strategy needed to use the sockets, so bedazzle your gear well. It could be the difference between life and death.
Controls – (16/20):
For the most part, the controls are solid. Nearly everything is where you expect it to be. The only flaws in the controls come from the shift toggle, weapon switch, and blocking. SOE broke from what BotB had set up for those commands. The shift and potion buttons are reversed so that it’s now are and not L that uses a potion, leaving L as the shift. Keep in mind there is an option to revert the shift back to R, but don’t even bother. SOE mustn’t have completed the remap for that option, because with it enabled some shift commands don’t function. You’re better off leaving the controls at their defaults. This isn’t quite a bad thing, only annoying and is easily countable as part of the game learning curve.
Sonically , the game hasn’t changed all that much. The sound effects seem for the most part to be recycled from the first game. There is a little variety, but not enough to notice. However, the TWC’s soundtrack has undergone a full overhaul. The soundtrack for the first game could easily be recreated using Cakewalk if you knew what to do. Instead of relying upon what sound like polyphonic ring tones to convey the game’s atmosphere, there is actual orchestral music lending a much more epic feel. Think of it as if you went from the Ultimate DOOM to the Halo Soundtracks, it’s just that good. Also, the new addition of character voiceovers helps make the story come to life and makes the plot more accessible. It’s a welcome improvement for those who got tired of reading through dialog.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem as if much has changed, if you’re looking at just your character. SOE decided to ditch random dungeon creation in favor of making it as they want it to be. That kind of ruins the exploration value, but at least you won’t be getting lost trying to find the next area you need to get to. Along with static maps, the texturing has been vastly improved for the environments. Bringing the camera all the way in to see things in the most visceral sense is a massive treat as well, since the character animations have been completely redone. That stiff feeling from BotB is gone now, the characters look and more far more fluidly this time around. If only SOE could to the same for my back.
All in all, TWC is a wonderful game. For those looking for a true sequel to BotB, you won’t find it here, but it’s still worth picking up. Once you get past the acceptable learning curve of the game, things really begin to shine with the glamour of gold. So enjoy and add a few scars to the Emperor’s fiendish horde.
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Comments
Have you lived in a cave since 1997 or have you perhaps never touched a computer before? o_O
Look it up here: link
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im a noob gaming addict, but i was only 4 years old in 1997, im just 13, doesnt that explain it?
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darkblade said: "im a noob gaming addict, but i was only 4 years old in 1997, im just 13, doesnt that explain it?"
Both yes and no, but I do understand you better now for asking  edited: Sep 30 2006
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should have looked it up before asking...
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