fifty frenchmen can't be wrong (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
some_stars) wrote2010-08-19 04:09 am
some_stars) wrote2010-08-19 04:09 am
(no subject)
So I just played Golems of Amgarrak! I actually wanted to use the character I just finished, but the game mysteriously STRIPPED HER NAKED and did not put the armor in the inventory, so, uh, no. I used my slimy jerkass level 21 mage instead. Which turned out to be good, since you don't get a mage companion, and the golem with healing abilities only acquires them gradually.
The whole thing was at least a half hour too short to feel worth the five bucks--I think it was even shorter than Leliana's Song, although that may just feel that way because GoA has no likable characters like LS does. There's no talking or party banter, just fighting. The fighting does have more replay value--I want to do the final battle a few more times--because it's much harder. I've been playing Origins on Normal for weeks now but I had to drop down to Easy for this (after getting thoroughly destroyed in a couple of the intro battles) because I wanted to get through GoA at least once and see what happened. And even then, I used the healplayer cheat a LOT. I'm not sure if it's a bug that my golem couldn't heal--the potions seemed to be available but didn't do anything. (Healing spells did work on it, though.) So that made it a bit harder, too. I think the difficulty is the biggest thing it has going for it, because again, it is WAY too short. Also, way too edgy. Ooh, crazy person moaning about tearing flesh apart! Ooh, scary dead-guy's-journal talking about tripping on someone's entrails! That last one is where I started actually laughing, because THAT IS SO OVER THE TOP IT IS NOT SCARY. The Something Wicked sidequest in Origins was scary(if cliched as hell), that creepy child in Haven was scary--this is moderately gross comedy.
Also, being a blood mage (my hard-won bloodmagery!!) is basically useless here--you get hit with a ton of golems, spirits, and corpses, none of which respond to that. And the final boss is flesh/blood but you can't exactly use Blood Control on him.
Anyway, basically: at five bucks it's a little overpriced for how quick it goes by and the lack of character interaction, but worth buying if 1.) you really enjoy DA's combat and strategy, and 2.) you have several different characters to import(level 20 or higher) so you can try different approaches with a mage, rogue, or warrior of various sorts, which will increase replay value. (Apparently you can also create a new character, but I doubt the inventory will be as useful as one you've built up yourself.)
I just wish we could get some DLC that was like all the good parts of Leliana's Song (development and depth for one of your Origins companions, good voice acting, interesting-or-at-least-endearing new characters to interact with) and the good parts of Golems of Amgarrak (challenging combat--seriously, LS was so easy I felt kind of insulted--and an interesting new game mechanic). I would pay five dollars for that! I would even pay TEN. If it were over two hours.
EDIT: So apparently you're really meant to play through Awakenings before doing this? Since in Awakenings you can get up to level 35. I haven't done that yet because I am nervous that I will lose the cheat console and also, I just hate change. So probably it's less insanely difficult at level 30 than 20.
The whole thing was at least a half hour too short to feel worth the five bucks--I think it was even shorter than Leliana's Song, although that may just feel that way because GoA has no likable characters like LS does. There's no talking or party banter, just fighting. The fighting does have more replay value--I want to do the final battle a few more times--because it's much harder. I've been playing Origins on Normal for weeks now but I had to drop down to Easy for this (after getting thoroughly destroyed in a couple of the intro battles) because I wanted to get through GoA at least once and see what happened. And even then, I used the healplayer cheat a LOT. I'm not sure if it's a bug that my golem couldn't heal--the potions seemed to be available but didn't do anything. (Healing spells did work on it, though.) So that made it a bit harder, too. I think the difficulty is the biggest thing it has going for it, because again, it is WAY too short. Also, way too edgy. Ooh, crazy person moaning about tearing flesh apart! Ooh, scary dead-guy's-journal talking about tripping on someone's entrails! That last one is where I started actually laughing, because THAT IS SO OVER THE TOP IT IS NOT SCARY. The Something Wicked sidequest in Origins was scary(if cliched as hell), that creepy child in Haven was scary--this is moderately gross comedy.
Also, being a blood mage (my hard-won bloodmagery!!) is basically useless here--you get hit with a ton of golems, spirits, and corpses, none of which respond to that. And the final boss is flesh/blood but you can't exactly use Blood Control on him.
Anyway, basically: at five bucks it's a little overpriced for how quick it goes by and the lack of character interaction, but worth buying if 1.) you really enjoy DA's combat and strategy, and 2.) you have several different characters to import(level 20 or higher) so you can try different approaches with a mage, rogue, or warrior of various sorts, which will increase replay value. (Apparently you can also create a new character, but I doubt the inventory will be as useful as one you've built up yourself.)
I just wish we could get some DLC that was like all the good parts of Leliana's Song (development and depth for one of your Origins companions, good voice acting, interesting-or-at-least-endearing new characters to interact with) and the good parts of Golems of Amgarrak (challenging combat--seriously, LS was so easy I felt kind of insulted--and an interesting new game mechanic). I would pay five dollars for that! I would even pay TEN. If it were over two hours.
EDIT: So apparently you're really meant to play through Awakenings before doing this? Since in Awakenings you can get up to level 35. I haven't done that yet because I am nervous that I will lose the cheat console and also, I just hate change. So probably it's less insanely difficult at level 30 than 20.