Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle

The graphics are absolutely stunning and the characters are well designed.

With such a high investment of time needed in order to see any real gains, it’s more likely to grab the attention of the hard core of MMORPG players.

Brutally Hardcore would be a good quote I think. Lineage 2 is an unforgiving game and makes no apologies, a laudable stance in the dollar-whipped, weak-willed world of MMO Live Teams.

If Lineage II has one main problem, it is that it is a treadmill supported by an economic system that is inane.

A game that grows on you, the more you play it the more you will like it, unfortunately there are enough missteps early on to dissuade many players from sticking with the game and realizing its full potential.

There have been a few MMOs that have tried to build stable gameplay structures based on universal PvP/guild play system -- "Shadowbane" being the most high-profile example. Almost none, however, have done it as well as Lineage 2.

The potential sweetness of participating in a globe-spanning conflict between thousands of players is huge. [July 2004, p.122]

One part that really sparkles however is the graphics; the Lineage world is one with a stunning backdrop, large, sparkling cities will surely take your breath away.

Low-level players have very little guidance if they can’t form relationships with other people or clans. They will be lost and confused.

Pretty, very pretty but PvE gameplay is one long level grind.

Sure it starts to build up interest when you reach level 40 but it takes forever just to get to level 20.

Lineage 2 is a brilliant game with a few very brutal rules that will wind up being its undoing.

It lacks enough of a hook for existing MMORPG fans to sink into, and there’s many, many competing titles that offer a more exciting holiday in the land of orcs, elves and shrieking demons with gold up their bottoms.

I can't simply go through the motions, grinding out level after level in anticipation of greater fun to come. I want something fun now, not twenty levels from now.

There’s just too much of a time commitment, too repetitive and slow advancement to recommend the game to anyone other than those who really, really want to be a part of a game that supports a clan war system.

Once its player-versus-player elements are fully implemented, Lineage II could become the tense, harsh, and Darwinian experience it's supposed to be. At this point, it's basically an occasionally chaotic, and aesthetically attractive level-grind.

Pros for Lineage 2 include the good graphics, castle sieges and the sound. Cons include the interface, the blatant lack of interesting quests (especially for low level characters/delivery boys) and the soul sucking experience grind.

Despite the fact that the whole purpose of the game is to sock it to your fellow players, Lineage II is accomplishing something that other MMOGs have been trying to do for years, it gets the players to actually work together. To me, that fact is pretty huge.

The Chaotic Chronicle has its positive elements, but you don’t really get to them until after level twenty. The lower levels aren’t terrible, just dull.

My biggest complaint is the excruciating grind, where you hunt creatures for experience points and money. [July 2004, p.66]

The way I see it, the only reason you might want to carry on playing is because you've already invested so much time in getting to where you are - which sounds like a lot of hard work to me. [PC Zone]

Depending on how you look at it, Lineage II offers either a repetitive grind or a stiff challenge. In any case, the game isn't suited for more casual players who may only have time to play for 30 minutes to an hour.

Eventually the grind is going to get you.

Briefly, as good-looking as it is and as interesting and novel as its character skill/profession system is, Lineage II feels much like yesterday’s MMOG. To the extent you’ve enjoyed such games all along, this may not be an issue. But many of what seem like minor advancements in the genre are missing here, such as a centralized market system for selling goods.

The monotonous gameplay, unrealistic economy and slow leveling keep it from ultimately adding much to this ever-crowding genre.

If you’re a casual MMO gamer and like the nice quiet solo life then look elsewhere – co-operation is vital in the later stages for increasing wealth and your characters power, it’s just too bad the chat and group system makes that too, a chore.

My vote for funkiest feature included in a collectors edition has to go to the 3D paper figure included with Lineage II. It stands at just about 22 inches tall, includes 32 sheets of paper and 128 pieces. [DVD Review]

The worst abuse of all are the 'bot macros, that allow high-level character "bots" to farm areas for loot and experience, automatically attacking anyone who trespasses into "their" zone. [Aug 2004, p.68]

So that's L2 "PvP" for you -- seemingly dangerous at first, but then a disappointment and apparent breeding ground for grief and exploitation. Under any other name, it would just be consensual duels. And other companies were doing those competently years ago. The catch is that this is supposed to be the main draw of this modern MMOG. Without it, there's nothing but a steady stream of intolerably slow-moving experience bars and arrogant, immoral players.

This MMORPG is so difficult, long, and slow that playing it feels more like work than a game. [Sept 2004, p.85]

A more significant problem, though, is that the gameplay just isn’t much fun. You’ll spend a lot of time running (slowly) from place to place, undertaking repetitive quests, such as fetching a list of items, killing all the undead in an area, or retrieving a large number of wolf pelts.

A derivative, persistent online RPG that is trying to compete with older and much better games in the genre. Lineage 2 is too little, too late.

For anyone new to the genre, this isn’t the best place to start due to the technical flaws and PvP griefing. Even veterans of the online role-playing genre will find the many errors impeding their fun.

A gorgeous boilerplate game with little innovation and many sections of tedious play.

This one is only for those who need clan-based pvp warfare very, very badly, as they will have to go through twenty levels of the most monotonous gameplay ever experienced.