Customer Reviews

Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(36)
1 star:		(75)

 

 

this is an online game. it is no longer playable. do not buy this and expect to play it.

I am not exactly sure what happened with the launch of Asheron's Call 2. It was a game that had everything going for it. The graphics were (and in many ways are) unsurpassed. The ideas presented were very fresh to the MMORPG community. The implementation of a class based system over a point based open ended system brought a whole new dynamic that the original Asheron's Call seemed to lack. I would say, all in all the game had a very bright future ahead of it... then reality hit, and no one bought the game.

It's hard to say why. I think the fact that Asheron's Call has never been a "typical" fantasy setting put some people off. The setting isn't your typical Tolkien rip off - it is a breath of fresh air IMHO. I also think that a lot of the original players from Asheron's Call 1 were unwilling to "restart" their characters in a new game, and leave behind the high levels and the notoriety that goes along with all of that. Plus, the new class based system was so different that the old players felt betrayed in some way. Some people just hate change.

I played AC2 during beta and several months after launch. I ended up dropping the game because I couldn't get my online buddies to leave Everquest, or Dark Age of Camelot, or even Asheron's Call and join me on my adventures on Dareth. So I gave in and moved on - back to AC, then to DAoC, then to Star Wars Galaxies. Then recently I decided to download the free trial and give it another shot. And I wasn't the only one. After the Star Wars Galaxies debacle and the decent but mediocre arrival of Horizons my online pals were finally ready to try something different. So they also downloaded the trial. Now we are all hooked!

The changes that have been made to this game are amazing. The classes are finally balanced the way they were intended to be. With the addition of a hero level island the level cap has been raised from 50 to 150. The quest system in AC2 is the best I have ever seen in a MMORPG. It sort of reminds me of Morrowind in the fact that there are so many quests available. Actually there is so much new content in the game that I can't believe that the additions were part of the monthly updates, and not as a high priced expansion pack. The graphics engine for the game was / is so far ahead of it's time that the technology still hasn't caught up to it, so even after all of this time the game still looks fantastic. Also, Turbine is in the process of beefing up the crafting system, which is already great. I really can't say enough in praise of this game. I have done a ton of quests, and already seen many sites around the world of Dareth, but I haven't even scratched the surface.

To end I will say this, I have played them all (ok, most of them). You name the MMORPG and I have probably played it. I realize that everyone has different tastes, but what do you have to loose? Download the 15 day trial, and see for yourself. I think you will have a lot of fun, and I think that is something that has been missing from this style of game for a while now - FUN! Finally, Turbine has recently bought back the rights for AC1 and AC2 from Microsoft, and they are promising big things for both games, so the future is only getting brighter. I can't wait!

First this review is by a 30 year old who has played since release Ultima Online, Everquest, Dark age of Camelot, Neverwinter Nights,and Earth and Beyond (along with all the multitude of single player RPGs) which means I have a different slant and perspective than some. I have graduated from one to the next always critical yet trying to have fun and enjoy each game. I believe any MMPORGer realizes that each of the above have had many faults that detract from gaming experience.... faults unique to online gaming that are not present in single player offline games. But... to get the community experience we forgive and tolerate.

I don't think any release has been completely smooth and without bugs or dilemma. The current "9 countries only" and heavy system requirements seem to be the worst related to this game. The "lag" within game is fine, and as with all games, will improve in time. I have found personally this game the most ready and smooth of all the above releases. There has been some server downtime.

Turbine has done their homework. There are most definitely recognizable elements of other games put into a fascinating and involving epic storyline. The lifestones are like EQ or DAOC "binding", the gate travel is like UO's moongates (but much more fun), and certainly easier to get around than EQ "porting when you can find a druid or wizard" or DAOC's horse travel. Certainly bettter than waiting for the EQ boat.... but not quite as easy as UO's runes or new gates where you click on your destination. EQ's and DAOC's quests are sort of there.. but seem much less involved (but that's ok because killing a hundred clockworks to make my trueshot bow kinda ... and took a week.. heard some people were lucky enough that they didn't need 10 attempts). There is most definitely UO's faction system (although with an actual reward ... control of a town and its mines), and the typical group and guild systems. No reputation that I can see yet like UO or EnB.

Differences: Mounts, banks, vendors, npc's, are presently non existent. Towns are empty ruins. Being one who has created/been involved with story lines and roleplaying events within MMPORGs via player base (haven't been a programmer) I'm enthralled with the atmosphere we are in and feel part of a story. If Turbine does as they have planned we're in for a good time roleplayers. Hack and slashers and "dewdz" however probably will not like this game. It takes patience to get to this element (although it is present). In the way are many elements I've felt lacking in other games. The people early on in UO who spent all day mining and smithing and hitting themselves in the head with ebolts to move .1 in magery won't have to work quite as hard... but the element is still there. I assume you could last simply on looted weapons... but crafted are better in this game.

A massive involved skill tree with the potential of UNLEARNING skills, and suitable crafting where I know we're not going to have GM's over night (like UO does now). And with a player based economy where there are no NPC vendors... there will be a demand for crafters. UO did have "unlearning" where if you don't use it you lose it... but it took a long time to lose the points to make way for another GM skill. Your character WILL be unique.

The graphics are better than any.... certainly a step forward from EQ or even DAOC (but not quite Morrowind...). Very realistic and planned. Going into the wasp den I was genuinely scared by the background sounds and eerie moving of trees. Running through the Cauldron to Unrest had its moments of haunting... but not quite like this. MOB's are fine... although not a huge leap forward from EQ or DAOC. Haven't had a train yet..... that's good because there's no zone to run away to (realism). Don't know what's going to happen on the next two continents. For now we all started by coming out of the caves on one "easier" continent. There is sufficient challenge and the dungeons are much more "Neverwinter Nights"... with a plot and an involving storyline (that in NWN someone would have crafted). There's a reason to go into them... unlike UO where the reason was simply to get find more money and harder monsters to move your title.

Personally I'm dropping all the other games to stay in this one and know I'm not making a mistake. AC1 certainly was fine and equal to EQ(although either it or EQ were going to win the battle... like beta and VHS or MAC and PC or PS2 or Xbox or Gamecube). Until EQ2 next year and if and when Shadowbane I know this will be more than a satisfactory step forward from any of the past fantasy MMPORGs. Scifiers are probably fine with EnB (and upcoming Eve Online or Star Wars).... but I'm more for the fantasy storylines and AC2 most certainly has that.

Bravo Turbine. I'm a fan.

... the cool box art. Because someone forgot to include a game.

I was a beta 0 player for AC1 and played it for over 2 years as well as 3 of my friends and had very high hopes for its sequel. We all played Asheron's Call 2 beta for at least a month and we all came to the same conclusion.
We could not have been more dissappointed.

How could 3 years of constant feedback and play experience of thousands of players be ignored in order to created a severely stripped and dumbed down Everquest/DAOC clone?

We expected them to add the present complexity of Asheron's Call with better implemented items, quests and details. (AC1 had hundreds of some of the most well designed dungeons ever)

In the original there are 3 main classes with very different feels of play, each can be tweaked and modified by taking additional skill to match with the primary attack skill giving an extremely varied style of play as well as strengths and weaknesses. This had limitations that we all expected AC2 to address but that never happened- they actually ruined the highly tuned and balanced mechanics that took 3 years of evolution to create.
AC2's 3 classes for 3 races feel remarkably similar to play, so similar in fact, the only 2 things to really distinguish them is speed of attack and range. Not to mention spell variety, AC1 had hundreds AC2 fewer by a factor of 10 or more.

We expected them to build on the stunning graphics engine Turbine has been working on for the past 3 years as well as increase the number of variations as far as character design is concerned.

They did deliver on the graphics engine, some scenes are just downright breathtaking. But everyone looks the same.

In AC you had easily 90 different facial designs to choose from, add hair color and race to variations and everyone had a distinct different look.
I could pick friends out of a crowd in AC without clicking on them- I can't do the same with AC 2 where you would expect more customizations to be available considering there are 3 races.

We expected improved and more varied NPC and enemy AI and a vast world with almost limitless exploration. AC was massive for its time; you could literally run for hours from one area to another without dealing with zones(or take portals), if you could see it you could usually go there. The world felt real because so much detail went into the lore of the land and quite a bit of the world was built around it. Many early players can remember dodging blasts of magic from the Immortal Lord Rytheran in the Mage Academy, to wandering the hidden nest of the olthoi nobles in the Lair of Death to the stunningly complex design of the Disaster Maze or battling legions of undead (well it was a legion at the time) for the legendary Sword of Lost Light...

All of it, gone in AC2, and nothing much to speak of in its place.

More islands to work with but the world feels so much like a sand box or a beach resort- More of a graphic demo shipped with the dx8 sdk than real terrain from a real game.

Lore and Trade PCs are to be generated by the players, which there are so few of because well... there are no lore and trade PCs.

Indeed in AC I remember a player filling the tradesman role, (Julia Child) but that's it, Only 1 player dedicated 100% of her time to playing the role typically allotted to computer management.

There are no hero's because player interaction is so stunningly behind the times in comparison to say DAOC or Everquest. The entire concept feels like a failed experiment that should have been tested large scale before implementation.

I hope everyone else takes notice. It failed. Additional player participation is always good but the economy shouldn't be completely player based, we can't be in game all the time, we can't automate our avatars to perform routine tasks of mining, crafting and selling and until that's available AC2's present structure will be a failure.

Feature wise such as storage, horses, transportation spiffy character costumes, and weapon designs all lacking.

I could go on and on as to how bad this game really is in comparison to everything else out there including its 4 year old predecessor but I will stop here.

To sum it up this game lacks the incentive to move, to exchange, to interact, to play.
It's a waste of time, and money to venture into a Dereth till the damage has been repaired.

Till then, Asheron can leave a message.

update June 2003 after a trying out one of them fangled trial accounts- This sucker still isn't fun at all.

Well, for starters; Turbine should have pushed back the release date of this game by a good six months. The game is unfinished. It was released with character skills that don't work, buildings that don't even have interiors, mobs that don't move or work properly, pets that wonder around aimlessly without any type of control, no merchants, no banking, no trade-skills (except for one-crafting), no helmets or any kind of head-gear (except for an earing), broken quests, no houses, no mounts, the weakest economy in MMORPG history, only one functional chat channel (others are still broken), no "uber" mobs with "uber" loot, and absolutely no fun after the first week or two.

I have played the following MMORPG: UO, EQ, AC1, AO, DAOC, and now AC2. AC2 is by far the most boring game I have ever played. I say that while being fully aware of the gankfest pvp-griefing interaction of UO, the lag issues of EQ and AO, Camping in EQ, the bugs in AO, archer balancing issues of DAOC, the lack of high-game content in DAOC, the love-hate feelings of KvK of DAOC, the lack of content of AC1, and the poor graphics of both UO and AC1. Taking all this into account, I can still say that Asheron's Call 2 is most boring MMORPG game I have ever played. In fact, it is one of the most boring games I have ever played.

For a reason that I can't fathom, Turbine decided to dumb-down the player-interface, gameplay mechanics, and content to a point that any three year old child could sit at the computer and do reasonably well while wondering the barren land in Dereth. There is no ammo for missle weapons because every weapon comes with unlimited ammo. There is no food to eat or water to drink. You don't have to manage any stats to try to improve you character. In fact, there is very little to do except kill mobs, loot, check out your experience bar, then repeat. The crafting in the game is nothing more then a clickfest and that is the limit of the trade skills. One trade skill in all of Dereth.

In conclusion, most people will find this lifeless game very boring and a smack-in-the-face to the entire genre. Most of the people you find playing this game are the power-levelers and campers that have worn out their welcome from other, more established games. It is a close community of people who play videogames all day. For a typical or casual gamer, I'd say you would find very little in common with the dedicated videogame lifers that inhabit the second world of Dereth. After all, with so little to do except kill things and monitor experience as if it is the thread-of-life, who else would be playing this unfinished experience treadmill.

I played Everquest for 6 months, and Anarchy Online for 1 year. during this time, holding a very high position in Omni-Tek society, but after much deliberation and repeated abuse by Funcom as well as my other story-org leaders, we decided to evacuate this rotting carcass of an mmorpg.

However.

I Beta tested AC2 and I have to say I AM impressed!

First of all, mechanics. The Beta worked better than AO after it's ONE AND A HALF YEARS OF RUNNING.
Secondly, the grpahics are state of the art, providing suport for todays video chipsets and technologies, as well as the additional graphics capabilities of the videocards and processors of tomorrow.
Character creation is a large improvement I thought. Given there are only three races to choose from. However, being able to actually make a BELIEVABLE name for your character, I mean being able to use spaces, first and or last names, capitals and numbers, is sooooo nice. AO ran out of combinations 2 months into the running. Despite the fact that there are only three races, the customiaztions and personality you can instill in your character is enough to make up for it.

I like the idea that fighting and things are "fast" instead of slow. Monsters dart across the screen and leap at you, you can jump and swing your weapon at once.

The difference between being a magician and a warrior is whatever you make it. Personally my character was level 21 and both a paragon fighter and a master magician. It just depends how much time you want to invest on your guy, and how specific you wanna be.
You are whatever you want to be.

Of course there are other nice features. There's already a "base-wars" type of thing going on between the differnt kingdoms. I remember sacking the "Order" base and guardian with my Shadow Beta buddies, spectral sword in hand. You get alignment specific skills and spells as well.

I would recommend this game for anyone who fell asleep leveling to 150-200 in Anarchy-Online and is sick and tired of losing a weeks worth of XP by one death in Everquest.

My name ingame is "Chamber". Look me up.

When Asheron's Call players heard that Turbine was releasing an AC2, expectations were high, and rightly so. For months players were baited with fantastic screenshots and movies as well as tons of articles on what they could expect.

And then there was beta. You could almost hear the sounds of hopes being dashed. Yeah, it looks pretty, there's no denying that. It's the best looking game you're going to see for the next few years, Turbine outdid themselves with the game engine {as long as you don't look at the character's run animation}. But that's about all that can be said for it. Even after giving it the standard run of Beta and a few months of "let's see what happens not that it's gold", people are still flocking back to the namesake Asheron's Call Dark Majesty.

In Turbine's mad dash to please players by removing "tedious" things, like fletching arrows and running to town to sell things, they've completely elimintated social functions. It's a crazed race for people to kill stuff so they can level and do the only thing there is to do in the game, quest.

This game is as close to a FPS as a MMPOG can get without including railguns. And it begs to be run by macro players with it's simplistic "select, attack, walk away for a while" battle-style. You don't even need to be bothered with making a character, you can go to E-bay already and buy a freshly-leveled one.

If you feel the need for a game that is a series of killing stuff to level so you can do something cool, I'd suggest Everquest. At least there you can say cool things like "I'm going to kill orcs to gain faction,". In AC2, you're killing those same thousand creatures so you can get into a cave and if you do it right, to see a little movie.

If you want to play a game that shows what Turbine is really capable of {IE fantastic, sprawling, engrossing and addictive gaming!} and is really worthy of the game engine they put together, go play the father of Fallen Kings, Asheron's Call Dark Majesty.

If you just want to give your computer seizures and get a new set of ...coasters, go ahead and buy Asheron's Call 2.

I played AC1 from a very early beta stage. I enjoyed the game for its open play and flexibility. I played DAoC and EQ. I left EQ cause it was too hard to get really started and DAoC was simply boring if you were not into going to Realm vs. Realm and being assassinated before you even stepped into the frontier. Same old monsters, boring boring boring! AC2 is NOT AC1 with better graphics. If you are looking for that...sorry. AC2 is a different approach. And with that said it is not ready for prime time. I have sent mail to the dev team and asked them to WAIT because it is not ready yet. PLEASE do not release this before it is done or it will flounder. With that said and out of the way let me shed some light. AC2 has a simpler combat system and is designed for people to party together. If you are a soloist it is not easy to play...you need the abilities of other races and player styles to go far in the game. There are a large variety of monsters to face and each one has different animations and play styles including groups of monsters with leaders that will group up and attack you. BEWARE!

The graphics will require a newer faster card and more memory...so do alot of new games out there. You want good graphics and solid play...you need to have the most up todate hardware.

The world is empty right now...if you pay attention you will find that you are coming out of caves after 300 years of domination by the powers that stomped on the races of Dereth in AC1. OBVIOUSLY there are not going to be shops and NPC people sellign stuff. That will come as the game matures. I agree it feels wierd but this is AC...not DAoC which never really changes its story...this story will evolve and NPC's will come up.

Combat is more interesting that AC1 combat in that archers cannot use bows when the enemy is close...realistic if you ask me. Mages can cast even when up close and use styles and abilities...something DAoC does not allow for mages. And melee have skills they can use to make a serious blow to the enemy..not simply choosing HIGH, MEDIUM, or Low location and power as in AC1. More involved.

Faction combat is now a part of the game and you can have wars and group combat against other factions in remote parts of the world...setup ambushes and such. Great concept and not the rogue fighting that Camelot has where nobody really wins the war.

So there is more for people to fight..great variety in the monsters and combat styles...and the ability to simply create items from stuff you find and mines you can mine for. Over time the story will mature and the dungeons will open up...more than the puny number of dungeons that DAoC has even to this day.

Just keep this one in the oven a little longer to kick out the kinks MS and Turbine..and you will have a winner.

As a Beta Tester of the game I got a sneak peak at the play and feel of the game before retail. (Not much content - they're saving that for the paying customers)

How would I describe the game? Simple.

If you're new to the MMORPG Genre of games this will be an excellent "first" game for you to get your feet wet. Everything about the game is simple and straightforward in an easy to understand format. If you're an experienced MMORPG gamer looking for a new home you may want to look elsewhere for your entertainment.

Character Creation: As complex as selecting your features. There are no "stats"
Character Development: As you level (Yes, AC2 maintains the age old "level-grind") you gain exp and skill points. These can be spent to purchase skills along the various skill tree's offered to each race. The skills are interesting but lack any real complexity in use.
Combat: Again, very straightforward. You target a monster and hit the attack key. You can then hit an occasional skill (or combination thereof) to do a bit of extra damage or "debuff' the mob. Occasionally the mob will flash yellow and you can use a special skill to hit it for a lot of damage. No hit locations or weaknesses to certain types of attacks to worry about.
Crafting: The craft system is also very simple. Each item you loot has "Traits" with a certain quality. Each crafting recipe requires Traits of a certain quality. Put the items in the "recipe" box and hit "Craft". No need to find a forge or use a tool - you can do it all right out in the field. Certain workshops and tools to provide some bonus, but not enough to really notice.
Loot: The items in AC2 have very little variation. Weapons of the same level range all have the same available range of damage and delay - from sword, to drum, to axe, to dagger. Rarely you will find one with a special "ability" but it will typically be weaker than the weapon you are already using. AC2 also sticks to the age-old tradition of animals dropping items they could in no way be carrying. Instead of running back to town to sell your items to vendors or other players AC2 allows you to "Transmute" your items wherever you are. Together with no supply needs (no food requirements, no spell components, no ammo), a lack of NPC's, no banks and no location requirements on crafting there is little or no reason for people to gather in towns.
Spell/Magic System: There is none. There are skill tree's called "magic" but that's all they really are - other skills. Each spell is just a different skill in the "magic" tree - no components to gather and it uses the same "Vigor" as melee and missile skills.
Graphics: The first saving Grace of AC2 is the graphics - they are phenomenal. Naturally you'll need a fairly substantial system to see them.
Content: Something Turbine has always done fairly well is on-going monthly content - they plan to continue that tradition in AC2 perhaps even letting us see the events that shape the world instead of reading about them after the patch. Time will tell.
A.I.: Monster AI in AC2 is actually some of the more advanced I've seen so far in MMORPG's - monsters will call for help, hide from missile attacks, cut and run, and a variety of other sometimes unpredictable responses.
Quests: So far as we've been shown in Beta the Quests in AC2 are the same as quests in any other game - only given by statues and randomly found potions instead of by NPC's. They all still amount too much the same: Kill mob X [and Loot item Y [and take it to location Z]]. The much-lauded Vault Quests are just a series of arbitrary dungeons you can sprint through for a little bit of AC Lore and some XP. Sadly even the slide show with the lore is a bit disappointing; as the art in it doesn't even match up to the concept art used to design the game... much less what they are capable of with their brand new engine and outstanding graphics.

I give Turbine one star for their Monthly Content, one star for the Graphics, and one star for creating a game basic enough to pull in new gamers to the genre. Sadly, they fail to break any new ground and even lose some ground many 1st Gen games had firmly established. Instead of a 2nd Gen game I feel AC2 is perhaps 3/4 Gen.

well I feel right now a 2 star is all i can give ...I'm sure some changes will be made ...don't care much for the vitae recovery system ...the distance a Mage needs to fight from even tho a critter can hit you from way off....all in all the xp system [is bad].....but will buy the Game in hopes alot more improvements will be made..