Here is some information to help you get the idea: I will start with the game engine. Lineage II uses the good ol' Unreal 2 engine. What? Yes you heard me! I couldn't believe it myself! Come on, Unreal 2 looked good... The graphics in Lineage are... let's not be harsh... mediocre. But hey, you don't have to believe me, have a look for yourself:
I did however like the way your character casts spells, and the (obviously Final Fantasy inspired again) way your character levels up: a light from the skies and white feathers. Water looks good, but then again this happens in all recent games. The water reflects your character on it, which is pretty cool, but the reflexions are way to... how should I put this... "unreal?"
Animations are even worse, your character has wooden legs that never bend when running. Monsters don't seem to "really" attack, they just come to you and stay there while they do damage.
"Lineage II is an epic adventure of strategy, teamwork and immense challenge" says the box. Well, I am sure they aren't lying but, even if since the launch this game had over 15 million players worldwide (until present day), and currently has 1.5 million subscribers, the game is getting old. New players aren't coming anymore. For a new player like me it was very very hard to start in a practically empty area. I can count on my fingers on one hand the number of players I've seen (and no, despite of what you may think, I'm not a mutant freak - I don't have 12 or something like that). The longest conversation I've had with someone in this game was "Hello". And again, it's not like I don't like to talk.
Anyway, let me see what else... Oh yes! The music. The music is kind of addictive, I found myself singing along or humming it in the bathroom... Didn't notice anything special about the sound effects though.
Hmm I am thinking now what pictures to link here so they won't look the same... Tough! You can be a mystic or a fighter when you start the game, and one of the five races: Humans, Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves and Orcs. Dwarves cannot be mystics however. But these two classes are just the beginning as you can specialize more as you reach certain levels (starting at lvl 40): for example mystics can become wizards or healers, and so on.
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At level 75 you are eligible to become "noblesse". You will get a crown, special skills and more teleportation options. Being a noblesse allows you to compete in the Grand Olympiad, and by wining it you can become a Hero. There is a limit of 31 Heroes at any time, and heroes get special abilities and weapons.
By completing certain quests you can get a pet. There are four types of adult pets: Wolf, Hatchling, Strider, and Wyvern; and three types of baby pets: Baby Buffalo, Baby Cougar and Baby Kookaburra.
The maximum level is 80. You character, like in any other MMORPG, gain experience from various quests and by killing monsters in the virtual world. I found the quests extremely boring and repetitive. They involve killing the same creatures over and over again. You are sent at the beginning for example to kill wolves and toads, and get a lot of pelts and ore (from frogs??!!). Anyway these have something like 50% drop rate. I picked a mystic as my character. You only have one spell available for the first 10 levels basically. To be able to buy new spells and skills, you need to have SP or skill points that you can get by killing monsters. Questing or killing for experience is as follows (in four easy steps):
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Let's talk about the history of Lineage II:
"Prelude"
Lineage II went live in North America on April 27, 2004. Prelude was the beginning of the game, right after the open beta. The players had to pay a monthly fee for the first time.
Chronicle 1 : Harbingers of War
The first official chapter of the game.
Chronicle 2 : Age of Splendor
Introduced in December 2004, Chronicle 2 brought a new manor system and some new map locations such as: the water city of Heine, Devastated Castle, Tower of Insolence, the castle of Innadril, the Aden Coliseum, Alligator Island, Field of Whispers, Field of Silence.
Chronicle 3 : Rise of Darkness
Released May 2005, Chronicle 3 brings the idea of two factions, Dusk & Dawn, competing over Seals. Seals are items dropped by mobs, and can be exchanged for Ancient Adena. Adena is the currency in Lineage II, and Ancient Adena is a special type of currency used to obtain special items. This expansion pack also gives you the option to fly: players can buy a Wyvern (Dragon).
Chronicle 4: Scions of Destiny
February 8, 2006 brings Scions of Destiny, with new content, territories, enemies and equipment.
Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood
Released in September 6, 2006. The level cap was raised to 80, new siegeable castles were added into Rune and Schuttgart. New skills were added, and the Clans system received a "make over".
Interlude: The Chaotic Throne
It's still in beta status. Adding approx. 60 skills for high level players and Fortresses.
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Gameplay: 63
Boring and repetitive. The fact that is an old game with hardly any newcomers makes it really difficult to start playing. Feels like a singleplayer game, at least at lower levels. Quest design doesn't help either: few quests that involve killing tons of NPCs, and nothing else.
Graphics: 69
Unreal Engine 2 or not, it could do better. It has the means, and it probably was ok 4 years ago, but it doesn't keep up to today's standards.
Multiplayer: 55
What multiplayer? Some areas are so empty that you feel like singeplayer.
Sound: 76
I like the music. And the sounds are acceptable.
Hardware: 72
It has several annoying bugs, and I had to reinstall the game after a disconnect. The game was frozen and I had to end the task. Next thing you know, it was stuck in 320x200 resolutions, and the options menu wasn't accessible. You cannot edit a configuration file/registry anywhere either.