Lineage II

2.0 stars

"I expected much better!"

February 18, 2011  |   By pjcnet15

Version: Lineage II 2.3

Pros

Large map, plenty to do. Works on some older PCs.

Cons

Dated graphics, very poor character customisation, unfriendly user interface & infuriating controls (point and click only, a gamepad is supported BUT an Xbox 360 controller doesn't work). lots of grinding and lack of story connected to quests.

Summary

I was very disappointed when I played Linage II for the first time after a lengthy download. Unfortunately Linage II doesn't come close to the likes of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or even the free to play Allods Online amongst many other much better MMORPGs that are available. I'm pleased I only went for a free trial rather than paying.

Firstly the character customisation is extremely limited to just a few simple selections for each race which means many characters look alike. Secondly you notice that the graphics are very dated and just aren't up to standard even when everything is turned up to maximum. Even on maximum settings it doesn't come close to pushing a fairly powerful PC, E.g. a quad or six core processor with a reasonable graphics card like an Nvidia GTX460, but I suppose this is more of an advantage for people with dated single core machines with dated graphics cards who can still often enjoy the game on high settings. Oh, I almost forgot, where's the story as you are thrown into the game without even an intro movie or anything to set the atmosphere of the game? I think this is awful. Thirdly the user interface is rather unfriendly and the controls are infuriating where you're forced to use point and click (I really hated this). One can't even select movement with the arrow keys or the W S, A, D keys which is what most people want. Gamepads are apparently supported, but the most popular gamepad which is the Xbox 360 controller doesn't work at all, when plugged in with the gamepad option on, you are constantly left starring at the ceiling with no control. Also when tracking quests you are presented with a large halo over your character with an arrow telling you where to go which in my opinion looks tacky and gets in the way. Thirdly you find that the quests become pretty boring since there's not enough to link them to the story of the game, there's too much repetitive grinding and travelling back and forth.

On the good side the game has a large map and there's lots of things to do, but this wasn't enough to keep me playing. I have now uninstalled the game to continue playing World of Warcraft and Allods Online (free to play) amongst other much better MMORPGs. If you have an older PC like a Pentium 4 with 1GB of memory that isn't capable of playing some of the latest games, then it might still be worth still taking a look as the system requirements are relatively low.

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