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Platform: PC Genre: Online RPG Publisher: NCSoft Developer: NCSoft ETA: Q4 2003
Related Links: Review:
Eve Online (PC)
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Lineage
II: The Chaotic Chronicle
Sporting
the largest current number of subscribers for a MMORPG with Lineage, the
folks at NCSoft have quite the task ahead of them as they are currently
in the process of making a sequel to this game with Lineage II on the
PC. Aiming for a robust
political system, great visuals, and involved combat, role-playing fans
may have something to look forward to here. Taking
place 150 years before the events of the first Lineage game, before
Gunter visits Talking Island, and the main hero of Lineage, King Decon,
has been born. The land of
Aden has just been unified and is currently engaged in a conflict with
Elmore to the North and Gracius from across the Sea.
The world is in a more chaotic state than the first game, hence
the choice of title, but expect to see some familiar places along the
way while traveling across the lands. |
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Like any self-respecting MMORPG teamwork is the order of the day, and Lineage II will be doing everything it can to enforce this by incorporating a clan system. Basically, a group of players team together and select a leader to call the shots. From there it’s off to gather new recruits and conquer the land. Interestingly, just because one person is chosen to be the leader of the clan he or she doesn’t necessarily have to make all the decisions, as they are given the option to decentralize the decision making process. This could come in handy for larger clans that cover large territories where having a |
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singular leader could prove
cumbersome.
Bare in mind, though, that poor decision making can cause
dissension in the ranks. Clan
leaders aren’t all-powerful in Lineage II, as the game goes by the
philosophy that every member of the clan has something valuable to bring
to the table, and if they’re unhappy with their leadership it’s well
within their rights to revolt, or form alliances with other clans to
oust the leader and his loyalists.
Clans will have the option to form alliances as well, allowing
them to join forces against powerful rivals, dominate larger
territories, or to stage coups. On
top of this there will also be clan quests that can increase the level
of the entire clan helping them to become a force to be reckoned with. Of
course, with quests come combat. Embracing
the mantra “easy to learn, difficult to master”, Lineage II will
incorporate much of the same point and click interface of the first
game, trying to be as accommodating as possible to people new to the
game. Once the player has
logged a fair amount of time on the game they’ll find themselves
involved in larger conflicts, such as laying siege to castles.
NCSoft is making the castles very much to scale in Lineage II,
which means players will have to be mindful of how they are positioned.
Sieges, though, will be a tremendous undertaking as it will
involve scores of players attacking and defending the castle, archers
sniping, men-at-arms pounding at the gates, and dragon riders scouting
or doing their part in battle too.
The class system in the game is looking to be somewhat less
defined than in other role-playing games.
Instead of having a myriad selection of classes to choose from,
players choose from the nebulous classes of either Fighter or Mage,
basically melee combat or magic user.
From there they can hone their skills in a particular direction,
be it toward archery, or swordsmanship, or the dark arts.
In terms of races available in Lineage II, NCSoft really hasn’t
strayed from the beaten path here, giving players the choice of Human,
Elf, Dwarf, Dark Elf, or Orc as their race before venturing forth. Lineage
II isn’t all about fighting though, as it will encourage a player-run
economy as clans take over land and start up villages or castles that
pump out special items or mass produce commercial goods so they can earn
money for the war effort. The game will be making use of a modified version of the Unreal Engine during play, and from the looks of things so far the developers are putting a lot of effort into the visuals of Lineage II. For those who barely clock in with the minimum requirements for the game, the graphics engine will feature automatic scalability so gamers with slower computers don’t see their system slow to a choppy halt. This should come in particularly handy during sieges where graphical requirements will be very taxing. On the musical side of things, from the tunes currently available the game’s score looks like it will have a decidedly Celtic feel to it with sweeping, almost haunting pieces.
NCSoft
is already planning to bring out two major updates per year for Lineage
II, with the usual technical patching and minor tweaking peppered
in-between. And for those
who are still perfectly happy playing the first Lineage, NCSoft has
every intension of supporting it for a long time to come with a number
of new chapters in the works, as well as a 70 person team overseeing the
game even now. With
such a huge number of people playing the first Lineage, this sequel
certainly has a lot to live up to in order to keep the masses happy.
It should be noted that Richard Garriot, aka Lord British, is
running the show at NCSoft’s US wing, so maybe he’ll be sprinkling
some ideas into the development process as time passes. -
Mr. Nash (August 6, 2003) |
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