Posted in: Games, Review, Video Games | Tagged: game review, HRL, Lineage, Lineage 2, Lineage 2: Revolution, Lineage II: Revolution, NCSOFT, Netmarble, Netmarble Games Corp

Lineage II: Revolution Review: Impressive, but Not Quite Impressive Enough

Netmarble and NCSoft's Lineage II: Revolution released back in November with a considerable amount of hype. When I first got started playing the game, I found it to be much like I expected.

Lineage II: Revolution is a fun, if a bit cookie-cutter MMO. And with high-fidelity 3D graphics, it does give many traditional MMOs a run for their money. I don't think it has yet reached the point of supplanting traditional MMOs, but it is the closest we've seen yet.

There are a couple of proper cutscenes, but mostly we just get these text overlays over the game UI that feature a portrait of the quest giver. That's how we get most of the story. And like with any MMO, it takes a while to really get started. And for a mobile game, that really isn't the best tactic. Mobile games are all about immediacy, and long plodding stories are emphatically not. It isn't a good mix.

However, there is a chat system, guilds, loot boxes, everything you could possibly want. Now, the loot boxes haven't blown up as controversial because they don't quite come into the pay-to-win category, but it is a close thing. With PVP just come to the game in the latest update, that may change.

Really, what made me raise my eyebrows the most was the auto-questing feature. Sure, Lineage II isn't the first game to have auto-questing, nor will it be the last. I just don't understand it — but then, I happen to positively adore grinding. I do play a lot of Square Enix games, after all. But sitting there tapping through the dialogue and watching my character quest without me seemed the exact opposite of fulfilling. I was just tapping my phone through throwaway dialogue that felt pointless for almost no reason.

Sure, turning auto-questing off made some of that go away but I was stuck with the feeling of "what am I doing here?" for a bit too long.

That said, it is a solid game — even an enjoyable one once you get deeper into the game world. The getting there can be a problem.

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