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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bad Reviews, Negative Feedback...Then Why Do I Love It So???, August 9, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Like anyone, I am very leary to join up with any MMORPG. It's just really tough to justify forking over money every month to play a video game, unless it's really amazing. Unfortunately, my experiences with MMORPG's have been less then stellar. My last disastrous experience was with Horizons. That game was the worst managed, least fun game I have ever played. So, needless to say I was a little jaded when it came to MMORPG's. I've played World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Everquest, etc., etc., so I am very familiar with the world of MMORPG's. Having dilligently read all the gaming reviews, scoured the forums, and porused through the newsgroups, I came to the conclusion that Lineage II was not a very good game. So, I didn't buy it.
2 months later, I'm forced to buy this game(I made my buddy buy a game earlier in the year, so I was on the hook). I thought I would play for a couple of token "I really tried to enjoy it" weeks and then call it quits. I was wrong.
Introduction/Graphics
The first thing you will notice is the AMAZING graphics and scenery. LII is still using the Unreal 2 engine, and they really have it wired. It's hard to believe that this is the same old tired graphics engine that has been around for such a long time. It really shows off when it is night time, and there is a full moon out. NCSoft will display a wild and imaginative skyline that literally takes your breath away.
In the same token, they do have one major flaw in the graphics dept. and it is terribly silly. The Time of Day Transitions from Night to Day and vice versa are awful. I don't know if they do that on purpose for some reason, but it is such a tragedy to ruin what is otherwise a wonderfully rich and beautiful world. You'll be standing somewhere in the middle of a hot and sunny day, then BAM, it's midnight. Literally no transition from dusk to dawn, and so on and so forth.
Besides the knock on daily transitions, their fighting graphics are spectacular. Each spell, sword swing, staff smash, has amazing effects to go with it. You can tell that NCSOFT really spent a lot of time emphasizing good combat graphics, and it shows.
Audio
The sound is great. It has a wide range enviromental noises that change smoothly from each appropriate area. Having great enviromental affects can make a game so much more fun and have a level of realism that just can't be achieved without it. It really immerses a player into that world, and I love it. The character affects associated it with all character actions is good as well. I won't say great, because I can't think of one item that really caught my attention enough to remember.
Gameplay
This is tough to judge with an MMORPG. The nature of the beast requires a certain amount of level grinding that just can't be avoided, which just becomes a second job after a while. That aside I will point out some positives and negatives I found. The fighting in the game is fun, and the character menu is your standard RPG layout. Complete with inventory, hotbars, XP and Magic meters, so on and so on. The macro system is average, and purposely so. If anyone has ever played an MMORPG that can be exploited using the macros, it can really suck.
The questing is a little weak, but it does improve with every new edition that is published with LII, currently on Chronicle 3 for this review.
This game allows for full PvP (Player vs. Player) action, which means that other real world players can go and kill you if they want for no reason at all. This adds a dicey element to the game that you just can't get with a non-PvP game. Have you ever caught yourself playing a online game and thought, "Man, I would love to kill that annoying turd that keeps mouthing off, or keeps getting my squad killed." Now you can. It feels really good to crush someone who has been talking trash for 2 days, way too good. On the flip side, it's really devastating when you get owned by some other character when you know it's probably some 10 year old kid who just schoooled you. This aspect of the game really narrows the focus of who would enjoy this game, as it really appeals to the hard core gamer. I know some people who will not play PvP simply because it is too stressful. I love it. The system is designed with a karma system so it's not a total free for all, as their are penalties for just killing everyone randomly all the time, but you can agree to fight with another person with no penalites at all; or just make a character that is pure killer, that says damn the consequences, and kills all that stand in his path. This part of the game in my opinion is one of it's best highlights.
On the flip side, there is a clan and alliance system that is pretty good. The clan system is pretty robust, and does have some major benefits to be in a high level, powerful clan. Clans have alliances with other clans, which basically makes them even stronger. These alliances can setup castle sieges, where they siege the local castle, to vie for control of that area. If you belong to a clan that holds a castle, you make buko bucks and gain tons of privelages that non-castle holders have.
The other advantage that clans have is they are great to setting up parties to go out and level with. This is the fastest way to level your character, get gear, and overall have a great time. Lineage II does a great job with their clan/alliance system, which only improves with every new Chronicle.
Negatives:
There are some major negatives that are felt pretty deeply in this game. The first issue is the money making problem. It is really difficult to make money in this game, and money is the key to this whole game. Want to level faster? Buy some goodies that will help you kill things quicker. Want to make your guy stronger and kill things quicker? Buy the nicer gear. This formula is not unique, but is absurdly lopsided in this game. You would have to spend 24 hours straight 7 days a week for 1 month to get enough money to buy 1 piece of top of the line gear for a level 20 and lower characert; and guess what? by the time that happens you would be level 40. It is very disproportionate, and very frustrating.
Which dove tails into the other major problem of this game. Ebayers/Money Buying. Since it is so difficult to make money in the game, it has sprung up a multi-million dollar industry where companys' sole reason in life is to sell you the video game money(adena) in exchange for your cold hard cash. Yes, that's right, you can spend your hard earned dough to buy your video game character that armor you've been dying to get,or that sweet sword you know would make your life so much easier. Don't let anyone fool you either, as it happens all the time all day every day, and most people won't admit it.
Ebayers are people who just skip the whole game leveling process and buy a pre-played account, so they can have that uber character with none of the effort. This happens a lot as well, and is very, very annoying(Moms and Dads, please stop giving your kids money to spend off your Credit Card!!!)
Finally one of the worst thing that goes on is botting. This is where people use a 3rd party program to "play" the game for them. It essentially fully automates their characters to kill non-stop without resting or dying. This is very prevalent in Lineage II, despite some lackluster efforts by NCSoft. Their is a petition process you can go through to turn in these botters, but NCSoft's response is mediocore at best, with a very small percentage of botters ever getting banned.
These are all major issues, but they are not unique in LineageII, as they are prevalent in all MMORPG's, so take it for what it's worth. Although, the botting in Lineage II is pretty bad, much worse then some other games then I have played.
Overall
I have been playing for 9 months straight,almost every day and I love this game. It is designed for the hard core gamer in mind, and is not for the weak at heart. The PvP makes it very interesting and keeps you on your toes. While the clan system adds depth and enjoyment on different levels. I recommend this game to anyone who has come from playing any other PvP based MMORPG, or who is interested in a hard core fantasy world. I dont' recommend this game to anyone who is impatient or does not have lots of time to spare, as this game will need a tremendous amount of both. This is a very serious game which requires huge amount of dedication. These games are designed for people who are supposed to be playing it every day for hours at a time, for years at a time. It is not designed to be beaten within a month, or to MAX your character out in 2 months. I have been playing video games before their was any graphics, purely word based games (Zork, Hitchikers Guide..), and I can see why a lot of people do not like this game. It is truly designed for the VERY hard core gamer. If you are an old school gamer with years and years of gaming under your belt, and love the RPG genre, you will love this game. Don't get me wrong, as I really HATE the negatives (botters, ebayers), and the lack of a decent questing system, but unlike Horizons, the game gets much better with each Chronicle; and since we are only in Chronicle 3 out of 12 we can expect some great things to come.....
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Its good or bad...depending on whether you accept the game for what it was designed for, June 27, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Lineage 2...it really depends. If you're looking for a game that's going to provide you with another way to live your life, tons of ways to waste time, etc etc then Lineage probably isn't it. In short, Lineage is an action rpg of MMORPGs. The game is about the action. Your quests...are usually to kill things. The crafting you do...is to create more weapons and armor. You will spend a great deal of time just killing everything you see, and as many have noted the game is geared for open PvP, not as an add-on, but as a key element.
When you consider all this, thats where my review title comes in. You'll probably notice if you truly play a lot of ORPGs (i.e. more than just the american ones) that the asian ones, except for the japanese ones, tend to focus a lot on the action and PvP. well....that's lineage right there. yeah the game can be a big grind, yea the quests aren't going to have you doing much more than kill a lot of things. What about "the game is all about the action" is so hard to understand??? kidding. the point is it would seem a lot of the more mainstream MMORPG players in the US at least don't really like this design. thats not good or bad, just the way it is. If you're like that, if you're expected something that you can cook, and fish, and do all that stuff other than fight, then yeah, Lineage probably isn't for you. If you're the type that wants to fight, fight lots, and fight other players; its more than Lineage 2 "might appeal more to you". Frankly, Lineage 2 was MADE for you. The "action MMORPGer" is the audience Lineage targets and no other. Its really as simple as that.
My personal opinion is its pretty good. but y'know what??? i like Guild Wars...i think RYL has potential (when most western reviewers gave it horrid reviews). point is, that game style doesn't bug me.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Game, but Worst Support Ever, July 23, 2004
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
What is Lineage 2? Take the greifers and fanatical gamers from every other MMO, and put them in one world where you can kill people in almost any region, and sometimes without consequence. L2 is not meant for casual gamers, and it's not meant for "Care Bears." It is a world where you cannot back down from a fight, or you will be eaten alive. If World of Warcraft seems like a game you'd love to play, this is not the game for you.
However, it has the worst support I have ever seen. Here is a letter I sent to NCSoft's PR. 2 days after that, they announced that they will have GMs reading the message boards 24/7 and replying. I doubt that will do anything. Here's the letter:
I am writing to inform you of the abysmal service provided by the North American Lineage II team. I have played many MMOs, and I understand there are technical problems for some time after launch, and will not mention them here. However, I have never seen such indifferent GMs and support staff.
The first line of GMs are close to useless. They are condescending, and do not read the initial message at all. In every case, all they finally say is that they will send the request to senior GMs and end the message. I never get the usual "Is there anything else I can help you with?" The conversation is immediately ended so I must repetition and wait the 3 or 4 hours for another GM if I have multiple issues. However, not all GMs are so quick to end the conversation. Others shout "PKer! Get him!" when someone who has turned red is
near me.
As I said above, my requests are almost always sent to senior GMs. I have only once been contacted by a senior GM, only to be told my request would be sent to an even more senior GM. That was the only one that I ever heard from. In other cases, I have waited over a month and have not heard from a senior GM. I recently enquired about some of them, and received a reply in which the support representative have obviously not read my e-mail carefully, and had not read the original support e-mail at all. I was even asked for information (account name, etc.) that the support representative had sent me in the same e-mail.
A glance at the message board since launch will show complaints of unresponsive GMs, duplicate CD Keys sold in retail, and account suspension without cause. The message board GMs have replied to virtually none of them, so the customers are left with no information.
The information for updates is vague, if not non-existant. For instance, the details for the Chronicle 1 patch, which had been out in Korea for months, was not given to us until a day before the update actually occurred. And those details were incomplete, and in some cases wrong.
And then there is the biggest problem of all: "Adena Farmers." In case you are unaware of this issue, there are several groups of people, mostly based in China, who continuously kill easy enemies for lots of money, and sell it on e-bay. Normally this would not be a problem, except it clearly says in the agreement that no in-game items my be traded for real money. These Adena Farmers are excessively aggressive, have exploited "delevelling", and take control of vital areas of the game, and thus making these areas unplayable. One GM said it was difficult to find the "bosses" of these rings. I find that hard to believe. Their naming schemes are very simple. Lets say their name is Unattainable (this is one of the infamous on the Erica server). The "boss" will either be named Unattainable001 or UnattainableBoss. Members of this ring will
have the name Unattainable002, 003, etc. The GMs have done nothing to stop them. They have been active since open-beta, and they are still thriving, and a search of e-bay will show more "adena" being sold than most players will ever see in game.
While there are a decent number of subscribers right now, in the 4th Quarter of this year, Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft, along with some lesser known MMOs will be released. Lineage 2 can be a fun game, but soon there will be alternatives with support and GMs who seem to care and fix problems.
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