 Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny is the second
major expansion to the classic online massively multiplayer fantasy RPG Asheron's
Call. Boasting a completely rebuilt graphics engine, the game is more
immersive than ever before. The game's epic storyline pits players against the
encroaching menace of the Viamontians, a new race bent on conquering all of
Dereth. In their battle to defeat these would be rulers, the people of Dereth
will uncover new mysteries and experience new challenges. Asheron's
Call: Throne of Destiny opens the portal to fantastic adventures for
players of all levels.
My First Thoughts
How can something so familiar feel so different? It took a little getting used
to, but really not that much has changed. But somehow the game logs in with
an entirely different feel from what you're used to and kick starts Asheron's
Call: Throne of Destiny, where a new race, new graphics, new items, levels,
and monsters will change all that you thought you knew about Dereth.
Graphics
Well of course this is the first thing that hits you. The graphics have gotten
a major update with this expansion and its bound to be the best feature. Things
have an overall smoother and more life-like quality. Armor is now more finely
detailed and shadowed, bringing a gorgeous new look to something old. Birds
fly in the sky as random cloud shapes go past and trees can be seen far far
in the distance giving the landscape a very realistic perspective. As far as
I can tell, everything has gotten a more detailed overhaul and manages to remain
comfortably familiar but with a brand new look about it.
 What's
New with the UI
Loads more details. If you don't like something about the graphics, change
it here. And the UI's new background designs are much prettier than the old
brown textures. The radar has some nice new trim especially. The basic layout
and functionality hasn't changed much. Informative text about spell casting
and how busy you are has turned red and relocated to the top of the view panel.
The chat panel can expand a lot more now and a notification arrow appears
pointing down when new text is said.
There are popups, most notably in the training hall, and tool tip boxes when
you hold your mouse over examinable objects. I have to say that I'm really
happy with the way all this looks and feels.
Starting Over
The creating a character system has a new overall feel. One thing
that makes me happy is the lock added to abilities sliders to keep one skill
from dropping while raising another.  No
new skills, so moving right along. There are two new hairstyles, completely
new faces, eye colors, and a brightness adjuster for hair color. And Viamontians
can don a lovely berèt in their clothing options. Then there are four
starting cities to begin from with Sanamar joining the lineup. And when you
hit Create you appear in the training dungeon instead of an outskirt of the
city now. But that doesn't mean its mandatory. In fact, now you can simply talk
to one man to receive all your newbie starter equipment with the experience
and portal right back out into your starter town. If you choose to take part
in the training dungeon, you'll find the tasks remain the same, but the location
is new. And that instead of Minions, it might be an Olthoi swarm you have the
pleasure of fighting as your first enemy.
Favorite Change
My personal favorite new little feature is the redesigned ID'ing panel. I don't
have much to actually say about it--look at it, it speaks for itself--except
that I loved it the moment I examined something and I'm so proud of Turbine
for thinking of it and yet keeping it under wraps till now.
Least Favorite Change
Well there has to be something. And I guess my choice is the camera. Something
about this feels wrong right off the bat. As I run I find myself constantly
fiddling with the up/down angle and zooming in and out (and using the mouse
wheel is not nearly as smooth as with AC:DM for some reason). There's a distort
to surrounding objects as you either begin to run or turn. But my experience
with the camera randomly changing angles makes me hope it just has a few more
bugs to be worked out.
Monsters
Did I mention the ID'ing system? Damn, this thing looks good on monsters. There's
definitely some fun new species roaming the Halaetan Islands. The contest-winning
mushroom monsters, Thrungus, are like the new drudges of the Islands. They look
very natural scattered across the landscape with their unanimated mushroom decor
brethren, waiting to attack. In the snowy lands new cold climate loving creatures
can be found such as the Arctic Mattekar, Polar Carenzi, and Penguins. And the
Islands most unpopular inhabitants, sometimes too close for comfort, are the
dreaded Eaters. These guys are scary up close. I'll admit, my first encounter
with one didn't last for very long. Those large mouths and extra pointy teeth
are nature's new way of saying, "Would you like some Vitae with that?"
Other Random Things Worth Mentioning
- Someone say 7th character slot?
- The picture gallery is now conveniently located in your "My Documents"
folder. Also in .jpg instead of .bmp.
- There is no Viamontian racial weapon. Loyalty is specialized and Armor Tinkering
trained.
- Recognize the help system? Its now powered by AC2's design!
- Players can choose sides in a faction war fueled by the Viamontian's love
or hate of the "bloodless"
- The most notable new recipe? Beer!
- At level 125, Augmentation Gems become available. But you already knew that,
right?
- Rares! Something Turbine has already had to tell us about, because unfortunately
I've yet to find one.
- Some things never change. Or they do change, but for the sake of carrying
on the joke.
 |
Last Thoughts
I cannot wait until the expansion goes live. This is a great update to my favorite
game. I haven't even had a chance to fully experience just one aspect at a time
since I keep getting blind sided by new items or monsters or just the beauty
of it. This new expansion should bring everything that you need new back to
the old. All I'm missing now are all my friends. So preorder with your local
game retailers (because you defiantly want those two permanent gems), or be
sure to watch the shelves July 18th and grab a copy before its gone. See you
in Sanamar!
|
Stratics Central
