Lineage 2

Panoramica

"Lineage 2" è un MMORPG fantasy P2P 3D incentrato sul PvP ed è molto conosciuto per essere uno dei giochi a cui si sono inspirati tantissimi titoli gratuiti.

Caratteristiche

• PvP avanzato e caratteristiche da guerra ed assedi
• Contenuti per la fase ultima del gioco fenomenali
• Grafica e presentazione ben realizzate

Review

Although many of you may not know it, we've had online games for a very long time, even before World of Warcraft, if you can imagine such a thing. Back then, games were different, but more importantly, so were we. We expected less, we enjoyed more, and we appreciated everything. It was a great time for gaming, and for me it all started with "Lineage 2."

Published by the now-famous NCSoft, Lineage 2€ was the first game to combine the Korean styled grind gaming with a beautiful 3D world made up of stunning graphics that at the time had never been seen in an online game before. You began playing by creating a character choosing between the Elf, Human, Orc, Dwarf and Dark Elf races, and then chose whether you wanted to be a fighter or a caster. From there, you were on your own.

The world of Lineage 2€ was (and still is) as enormous and uncharted as it is dangerous, and while in recent years it has seen incredible growth, it was still more than capable of evoking awe like none other before it at its release almost five years ago. Lineage 2€ is most famous for its incredible PvP and siege war systems, which allowed all players to attack one another on sight. Doing so, of course, had its consequences; taking the form of karma in this case, a devastating alignment hit that in effect turned your character name red, allowing players to attack you on sight without consequence, and increased the chance of you dropping your items upon death by about 80 percent. Vicious and unforgiving, the world of Lineage 2€ was a place of caution and understanding, as the difference between a good day, and a really bad one were never very far apart.

The castle sieges in Lineage 2, the other main attraction to the game, were basically as good as it got back in the day, and I'd be willing to say that they've yet to be beaten by any other MMORPG on the market. Castle sieges take place every weekend, requiring guilds to register before they attack, and usually consisted of hundreds of players. These days, things are considerably smaller than they used to be, but no less entertaining. Dwarves (the crafters in Lineage 2) are able to create a range of effective siege weapons to assist in the battles, and by successfully acquiring a castle guilds gain access to an awesome hideout, tax control over a nearby city, and several other fantastic benefits including a flying dragon mount for the guild leader if the previous requirements have been met.

Of course, with the good comes the bad, and the bad (at times) can be really bad. These days, with literally hundreds of Lineage 2€ clones available at no cost, the grind-style nature of the game can seem overbearing to most players, as with only a handful of quests available and a fairly limited class advancement system, there is often little else to do aside from killing enemies over, and over, and over again.

Back in its hay-day Lineage 2 was more than enough to keep players immersed and engaged, but in reality this had less to do with the game itself, and more to do with the lack of games on the market. While Lineage 2€ has always, and will always, be my favourite MMORPG, it is doubtful that newcomers will feel the same way. However, if grind-style gaming and hardcore PvP sounds like you, then Lineage 2€ is still one of the best in the biz, and you can pick it up (with all the expansions included) for less than $40 US.

EXPANSIONS

-First Saga: The Chaotic Chronicle
-Prelude (Open Beta)
-Chronicle 1: Harbingers of War
-Chronicle 2: Age of Splendor
-Chronicle 3: Rise of Darkness
-Chronicle 4: Scions of Destiny
-Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood
-Second Saga: The Chaotic Throne
-Throne 0: Interlude
- First Throne: The Kamael
-Second Throne: Gracia

Throughout its five year reign of terror, Lineage 2€ has released eight separate game expansions, alongside several large updates, adding new storyline, bosses, skills, weapons and armour, lands to explore, and even a new race: the Kamael, a race of half-angel characters. And unlike many other pay-to-play games, they were all released free of charge, paid for by the monthly subscription fees. So as long as you buy a copy of the game to set up your account, you'll get all of them included with the purchase price.