copyright © Jedo Dre 2011
Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle
Rati ng:
Impact: Very memorable
GAMEPLAY
MMORPG (Massive Multi-
That’s almost exactly the formula that Lineage 2 uses. First, you choose your character out of several races and 2 classes: mage and fighter (a ranger is part of a fighter class, don't worry, archers). After choosing your character, you’re thrown into the virtual world, and following an optional brief tutorial, you’re on your own. The majority of the time in L2 you will spend fighting, methodically cleaning different territories of all kinds of creatures. After each sweep you will have to rest to restore your life (which is done by simply sitting down or using different health potions), while the monsters take time to respawn. After that it starts all over again. Creatures, besides providing you with experience points, also often drop money (gold coins referred to in the world of Lineage as Adena) and/or items. Animals dropping gold coins sounds wrong, doesn’t it? It certainly isn’t surprising. Many RPGs seem to have some influential noble beasts living within their animal kingdom. These creatures will be your main source of money and items.
Apart from the simple monster slashing, there are quests to complete in L2, but there
aren’t many of them and they usually consist of the same simple slashing, only then
you have to kill a certain amount of specific creatures to gain certain items from
them. The quest-
What’s a warrior without his tools? The weapons in L2 vary quite a bit and must be
chosen wisely, in accordance with the character’s class. The same is true for the
armor. Weapons can be bought in shops or crafted in a smith. Some weapons can be
made to be carried in both hands. This, actually, has to be crafted in a smith (well,
it’s great art to make an identical sword suitable for carrying in your other hand).
Armor varies quite a bit, even more so because armor with the same name looks differently
on each race to suit its style. Lineage 2 introduces a system of sets, where certain
combinations of armor result in special bonuses for the player. Aside from the endless
array of weapons and armor, there are tons of items, most of which are gained from
dead enemies. Many of these are sub-
At that stage, high-
Lineage 2 is really one gigantic interactive chat room, the ultimate meeting place if you like. In this world of good and strong runaway models, at least for the time of playing, great friendships are born. Nothing can kill the joy that one might feel when he arrives in time to help his clan members to turn the tide of battle, and everyone starts cheering him for that, and he drowns in their gratitude and imagined smiles. Many laughs from many adventures will stay in his memory for decades to come. Not all of these memories will be positive, though. It all got so extreme that, at some point, there has been a case of one of the moderator’s girlfriends leaving for one of the players (I can't confirm this rumor). There are even gestures that players can make to other players. Such is the social nature of Lineage 2.
Although the L2 world is packed with creatures to kill, the heart of the game is
still person-
One of the many benefits of being in a clan is a possibility to become a co-
Near every castle is a town. These towns are meeting places for traders, fighters and simply social creatures. Here is the armor and the weapon shop as well as several guilds. Guilds are the forward bases of different races. In these guilds players can purchase new powers as well as receive important quests. The city is also an important safe zone because here the players can’t attack other players, and the place is free from monsters (if you don't count the occasional bunch of skeletons being brought in by the screaming for help players, who had overestimated their character's strength).
Aside from towns, there are plenty of other environments. The map of Lineage is friggin
huge! It's hard to find words that would describe it better. You will spend hours
doing some quests, not because there's a lot to do, but because it takes so long
to get to the mission objective and back. There are gatekeepers. These mages, who
stand in each town, will teleport you to one of the closest located gatekeepers.
However, for quite a long time the gatekeepers will be way beyond your means, so
you will be walking. I'm not sure whether this was done to justify the space used,
so thoughts like "Ooo I haven't been here yet" rise regularly in the player's mind,
or for some other reason, but after a while thoughts like "Oh I've been here before
a thousand times and I'm sick of it" appear more regularly in the player's mind.
There is a possibility to put the character on automatic and let him run forward,
but you don't want to do that unless you know for a fact that you’re passing through
a non-
If you come across a new story-
A little on the controllable beasts. The electronic pet has become quite a craze
among the people of all ages on this planet. For these people Lineage 2 has an interesting
feature: a pet-
VALUE
Lineage 2 does not stand in place. For that monthly fee you pay, you get a game that
expands regularly. New items, sounds, movements and even cities are born with time.
And as long as there are players playing the game, the replay value is endless. The
totally addictive nature of a MMORPG will ensure that those who get a taste of the
game will have a very hard time leaving. Teenagers play day and night, leveling to
prepare for the next siege, forget to prepare for the school test next morning. Nevertheless,
even though Lineage 2 actually takes a smaller fee than some other MMORPGs, it takes
a very large fee if you compare it to its value and value of games of other genres.
$50-
About the bugs, well, they are always there, and I'm not talking about the game’s giant ants. The character, at rare occasions, falls through the map. Although he's then unable to attack the enemies (you can't even see the enemies from where he fell), they are able to attack him. Quitting the game and then returning might fix the problem, but your character will be dead by then. Getting stuck on stuff can be bad for your health in equal manner, as explained earlier. No game is perfect, but the problem is that when you die at higher levels, you loose points that are much harder to earn back. Therefore, the significance of these bugs increases a whole lot with time.
What also scares many players away from Lineage 2 is the lack of evidently original
things. It’s nothing they haven’t seen before, and what they will be doing for a
very long time is push a key-
The previously described process might be too boring to some and yet not boring to
others. To many the addictive formula still works. The hair on their back still rises
in joy every time their enemy drops a very rare and valuable item. Person-
Then there are other annoying moments, which are a noticeable in any MMORPG. Some
new players who have friends among the powerful players level much faster than the
rest. Those who are prepared to spend their real-
VISUALS
For quite a long time Lineage 2 was the most beautiful MMORPG on the market. It might
not have reached the levels of high-
Environments are incredibly diverse. There are pretty green hills, where the pretty pixies fly free; there are dark misty swamps of the Dark Elven territory with the monster trees; there are deep dried out valleys, and there are gigantic ant houses...The game just keeps surprising. The architecture detail is given a lot of attention. The massive and detailed cathedrals, with the sunlight passing through its windows, look overwhelming. In the end, Lineage 2 succeeds in creating an atmosphere, even though it cuts the corners here and there.
SOUND
The music is the most remarkable thing about the sound in Lineage 2. It perfectly
suits the different places you’ll encounter in-
The rest of the sound in L2, unfortunately, is not remarkable. There are all the basics. When you hit something there's a "clang"; when you run, you can hear footsteps; You can hear the water when approaching a waterfall; Characters moan in effort when fighting. However, the ambient sound leaves a lot to wish for. And yet, looking at some other MMORPGs, it's hard to be too demanding. After all, this type of game is not about sound.
PERFORMANCE
There are several uncertainties about the recommended requirements of the game. They are reported as being very low, but the truth, it seems, has traveled through too many sources to stay just that. Every time one enters a strategically important town his machine is overwhelmed with the amount of player models found on the city’s central square. The effect is even more dreadful during a castle siege when hundreds of players, if not thousands, get together to become a human sea and flood your processing unit. The solution is to lower the world detail. This, in an instant, takes out all the eye candy but saves you the gameplay.
THE VERDICT
L2 is a typical MMORPG and it suffers from all of the typical MMORPG problems, like
the botting and the involvement of real money in getting in-
Personal thoughts
The reason I came back to review this game, that I haven't played for a while now, is the "6" that's been given to it by Gamespot. I might not be an expert (this was my first MMORPG), and L2 might not be the top of excellence, but is most certain not a 6. And the 6.4 that's been noted under "They say" is, in my opinion, not too fair either. I found hundreds and hundreds of players online in L2 and from many of them I heard how L2 is their favorite from all MMORPGs. I became one of those people. And the only reason I want to destroy this game as well as its makers is that it messed up my life outside of the game. With MMORPGs one of your worlds has to go, either the real one or the virtual one.
Music favorites |
Movie favorites |
Finished paintings |
Resources |
About my painting |
Painting tips |
3D Modelling |
Finished Projects |
Video Reviews |
Sheet music |
Resources |
Music Study Corner |
Movie reviews |
Game reviews |
Other |