Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne, Kamael: The 1st Throne is the latest expansion in the Lineage II franchise set up in 2004 and is a part of the second saga, formally known as The Chaotic Throne. Its scheduled release has been eagerly anticipated by fans, due to the inclusion of a new playable class, new areas added to the western and northeastern regions, a selection of new enemies to battle and the promise that, with hard work, pets will grow. A high selling point for the expansion has been the immensely sought after Player-vs-Player action, which has been called for by fans ever since the second saga was released.

Lineage II is the prelude of 150 years to the original Lineage and offers an amazing medieval beauty in its world design, from the architecture to the characters' clothing. This beautiful creation blends the long time held connotation of fantasy with medieval history to give an experience that holds up well against the likes of World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI and other respected MMORPGs. In the same respect you have to pay a monthly subscription in order to keep playing and keep your account open on their servers; and in return you get an experience that many other games cannot compete with. You get the chance to interact with millions of players all over the world, slowly progress your character and explore the beauty of Lineage II's kingdoms.

Graphically, Lineage II is what you would normally expect from a game developed in 2004; aged and wearing thin around the edges. Four years is a long time in the world of gaming technology and it's hard to keep up with the more complex graphics engines around, like the Unreal 3 engine, which shows high levels of detail - against such competition, Lineage's engine cannot compete. It is a step down in graphics, especially if you're used to being even close to the cutting edge, but despite this glaring fact, Lineage II still holds it together by offering diverse environments to explore, such as icy caves, scenic woodland, volcanic caverns and desolate wastelands, set around the high rise walls of cities and towns containing guilds and the hustle and bustle of the non-playable characters and other players such as yourself. Often there are some clipping issues around environmental props such as trees and like, although problems don't worsen much beyond this.

Like many other games of its genre, Lineage II allows you to create a character from a selection of races: Human, Elf, Dark Elf, Orc, Dwarf and now the brand new Kamael. Then you get to choose whether your character becomes a fighter or a mystic; a basic class at the beginning where you get to choose whether your character focuses on magic or strength (except for Dwarves, who can only become fighters). Although these are not concrete, they act as an archetype for later professions that become accessible as soon as a higher level is obtained or new areas are reached. These professions are numerous, including the cliché Summoner, Paladin, Necromancer classes and so on. However, there are some original classes that looked so promising that it's a shame I didn't see any in action such as: Prophet, Bounty Hunter, Gladiator and Tyrant. These classes appeared to be diverse and extravagant in their own right, whether it be through earth-shaking spells or special armour. I only used basic spells such as fire and water, with symbols appearing over the character's head informing me which spell I was casting, and a representation of the element harming the creature. Some of the more powerful spells look devastating and intricate, often resulting in longer spell-casting time and at a higher MP cost (magic points), however the desired result is worth it and looks hellishly good.

You may be shocked to read that I didn't see some of these higher classes in action, so you may wonder if I was hanging around in the wrong areas, why I didn't power level or why I didn't get someone to run me into a higher level area. Well, I shall tell you why I didn't do any of the above; they all involve serious mounds of money and, short of real world transactions (trading real money to obtain in-game money, which is illegal and breaks your user agreement), it takes hours and hours of gameplay to obtain enough money just to get decent armour and weaponry, let alone trying to build funds to ask for a run. Having played WoW and Final Fantasy XI before, getting characters up to the level 40-50 mark, this game is different in the respect that money makes the world go round. The prices are astronomical for armour, arms or any other goods and services found in game. With the lack of money gained from killing creatures by yourself, gamers will either be deterred by the seemingly impossible progression system or see this game as one hell of a challenge. This is because as you level up, you need new armour and arms to survive, let alone progress further, and with the price of these items, a lot of mindless killing and mindless tasks are needed in order to establish any sort of power base to operate independently.

This MMORPG is very hard to get into - a lot harder than its contemporaries - however, if you persevere you will be rewarded with an experience that other MMOs struggle to achieve, due to the allure of interesting class choices and the chance to become a Hero. A person who wins the Grand Olympiad is bestowed the title of Hero, which grants them special weapons and abilities, and the power to speak globally to the whole server with the none-too-modest special aura glow around their character, in order to make them stand out. The catch however is that there can only be thirty-one people who are heroes at one time, therefore the title is much sought after and is greatly basked in when obtained, for fear that its effect will be short lived due to its changing nature.

There is a cycle here; kill creatures, gain exp and pick up money, kill creatures, gain exp and pick up money. This monotonous task is kept lively with many different variations, such as harder creatures that give more exp and more money, and new areas in which to camp these creatures. When I say 'camp', I mean going to a harder area with a group of people around the same level as you and then staying in a safe spot where creatures are less likely to attack you. One player goes out and attacks a creature then runs back to base or camp (the group of you in the safe area) and you ambush the creature and get a ton of exp. This style of playing requires a lot of communication and is a lot more beneficial than going out and wasting time fighting low level creatures for a longer period of time by yourself, only to get the same amount of exp. During my playing time I failed to find a substantial group of players to conceive such an idea, let alone execute it, therefore I found it a very lonely existence. However, it seems that socialising will occur the higher up in level you go, therefore all hope is not lost in regards to power levelling - it just makes levelling up to level 20 an initially lonely experience. The level cap is at 80, so hopefully a lot of socialising will take place, as that is the point of a game this genre - the fact that you get to meet new and interesting people.

The lonely experience is somewhat softened by the easy tutorial that makes getting into the game a task easily achieved. The simple tutorial is just the first of many learning experiences that you as a gamer will have to go through, such as the quests that you are sent on that help you understand how the game menus operate. The game menus are easily accessible on your Heads Up Display (HUD) and may appear daunting at first; however, helpful tips pop up to explain certain things when their services are called upon, such as the inventory or character status.

The graphics are beautiful and portray the game world in its true medieval and mystical awesomeness, which makes playing Lineage II a pleasure at times, due to the breathtaking sights, which help to offset the monotonous routine of gaining funds and experience. The soundscape found in the game is not so impressive however; I was rather confused by the lack of sound at locations that I really felt should have been pivotal in creating atmosphere, such as the beginning when I finished creating my character and was launched into the opening tutorial. The lack of sound effects disturbed me and took away from the game experience that the graphics had worked so hard to create. Therefore I found myself opening a media player to listen to some music before launching the application, as I found levelling in total silence mind-numbingly boring.

The Player-vs-Player aspect of the game promises to be huge and includes full-scale epic battles called sieges, which look to be the envy of other MMORPGs due to the large customisation available in regard to classes and sub-classes, which sees Necromancers pitted against Bishops, Prophets facing Tyrants and Warlords battling Elemental Summoners.

Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne, Kamael: The 1st Throne is one tough cookie to crack; however, put in the effort and you will be rewarded with an immense world featuring a whole host of character classes, locations and quests to get lost in. if you are new to the genre and want to try something to get into then this may seem hardcore, but hardcore MMORPG players looking for a change, Lineage II gives that opportunity to get immersed into another world, as it chucks you straight into the routine of levelling up your character. So no matter what you decide to do, whether to take up the opportunity or leave it, one thing is for sure - Lineage II will be around for a long time to come and is giving WoW and Final Fantasy XI some serious competition.

Reviewed by Brendan Heaney for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).