Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle [PC]

Believe it or not, the most popular and lucrative massively multiplayer online role-playing game of all time isn't Star Wars: Galaxies, Ultima Online, or even the mighty EverQuest. It's a little game from Korea called Lineage. An Internet cafe obsession on that peninsula for years, NCSoft tried to put a spit-shine on it for American audiences, but failed. Even with Ultima creator and RPG legend Richard Garriott behind its promotion, they couldn't stop the game from tanking over here.

NCSoft isn't finished, though. The MMO specialist has just released Lineage II, a sure-fire hit in Asia and a new attempt at seizing the western crown from the EverQuest juggernaut.

Players of Lineage will be shocked into silence by the visuals of its sequel. The game sports a superb and stunning game engine, replete with special effects, dynamic lighting, gorgeous environments, and a well-crafted, varied game world. There's a lot to do, a lot to see, and a lot of adventure to experience.

Lineage II offers five playable races: human, elf, orc, dark elf, and dwarf. Every race, bar the dwarf, can be a mage or a warrior, as well as other interesting professions and proficiencies. The dwarf can only be a warrior but they're also the only race that can craft new items. There's also a wide variety of clothing and items with which to personalize your character.

MMORPGs face many unique challenges, one of them being the balance over the long term. One potential problem is the economic system. In Lineage II, monsters drop a pittance, while items are ridiculously overpriced; a mighty warrior might have to kill hundreds of low-level monsters just to get a sword. This is frustrating, but the upshot is that once your character is fully kitted up, you're inordinately proud of your accomplishment.

Killing monsters -- the core of any MMORPG -- earns money, experience points, and fame points. Fame is used to earn new skills, and experience increases a character's level. Like most games in this genre, the experience is very much a leveling treadmill, consisting of tedious fighting with low-level creatures. There's ways of maximizing your skills to level up more efficiently, but we'd prefer more adventure and excitement.

One interesting feature is using a "bot." High-level characters can be set loose in an area with weaker creatures, essentially working on "autopilot." The character keeps fighting and earning experience and money while the player sleeps through the night. Naturally, this is a controversial addition to the game, and it's unknown how it will develop or play out over the game's lifecycle.

Other common MMORPG problems are present. For example, no measures are in place to prevent "kill stealing" -- this is when a player "steals" experience by striking a sneaky lethal blow on a creature weakened by another player. Then there are the higher-level characters ambushing or bothering newbies ("griefing"), and the unfair free-for-all looting. Smarter MMORPGs have included workarounds for these issues.

Lineage II features full clan support and player-versus-player combat. Usually limited to special areas of a game world, this means players can always attack each other Wild West-style. It brings a bracing excitement, but it can be frustrating and drive players to quit. Fortunately, antagonistic players who attack characters that don't reciprocate get branded with a red name, and become targets for powerful non-player characters in towns. Death usually follows, meaning the loss of an item or level. It's a solid self-policing situation.

The title experienced (and continues to experience) launch problems. Slow servers, memory leaks, and disconnects occurred. Also, the story isn't fully formed yet. As of the time of writing, the game is in what NCSoft calls a "prelude" -- the first big story arc is coming in a month or so. Since the first Lineage was well regarded for its chronicles, this could be worth waiting for.

Lineage II offers much the same as other fantasy MMORPGs and is currently more potential than reality. The server problems will likely be fixed, and hopefully the economics will be tweaked into something more exciting. The game does perk up once you reach higher levels, but it's still a work in progress. Lineage II's international nature is definitely interesting, but overall, the title offers nothing particularly compelling over its many peers. We'll revisit the game as it develops, and keep you posted.