Wednesday 15 August 2012

Alchemy Bytes #12: Descent - Journeys In The Dark 2nd Edition

 

An interesting look at Fantasy Flight Games latest version of the I suspect some day classic dungeon crawl, Descent: Journeys In The Dark.

Personally, I can't say that I agree with Tom Vasel's take on the new version of the game and, his assumption that it makes 1st edition obsolete. Without the fan base of the original version I think it is fair to say that this new release wouldn't be receiving half the attention it is.

Can I see all of those fans jumping ship at the sight of a new version of their favorite game? Not likely.

Not to mention that the second edition isn't really a new game! It's a rehash built on the lessons learned from years of first edition (in much the same way that first edition was a re-skin of the Doom: The Boardgame, taking on board the lessons that they had learned to build a stronger product).

One element that second edition does add to the base box is a campaign system similar to that in the Road to Legend expansion for the original. Which is a nice as without a doubt, that was the most popular expansion amongst the fans.

Is that enough though? Not for me I'm afraid.

Although I know that I will almost certainly end up buying a copy for the sake of completion, I am no fan of the majority of the changes that have been made by Fantasy Flight in the name of progress.

The campaign system is a nice touch and the skills that you collect as your character advances in level also have a certain appeal about them. Most of the other changes seem more like mistakes rather than progress though in my opinion.

In conclusion, this is a nice product but it's no more than a pale shadow of what it had the potential to be and, certainly not worth its price tag.

Best left avoided.

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