Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings Review

Article Index

Eschalon: Book II

Publisher:Microsoft
Developer:Turbine
Release Date:2002-11-22
Genre:
  • Massively Multiplayer,Role-Playing
Platforms: Theme: Perspective:
  • First-Person,Third-Person
Buy this Game: Amazon ebay
Quests are a major aspect of the game play; this is the major source of game direction. Vault quests are one of the most interesting quests given. You have to find a special rune to enter each vault and need a fellowship/group to complete. If you die while inside you cannot enter again until you have another rune. At the end of the vault you will encounter a Boss creature, which you must defeat to reach the Vault shard. This shard will show you a scene that reveals some back-story of Dereth. The fellowship system lets you share experience with other members and see how much experience you are gaining. You can also join an Allegiance by swearing fealty to another player becoming their Vassal. They in turn might swear fealty to another. At the top of the Allegiance system is a Monarch. Each player above you in your Allegiance receives a percentage of any experience you earn, this is not deducted from you. This might be a good incentive for higher characters to help new players, but it doesn't have the sense of a guild.

The crafting skill is very easy to understand and gain skill. You are provided with basic crafting recipes and most materials are easily obtained. You have a choice of Non-PVP, Semi-PVP and Full-PVP servers. So far I've found that PVP doesn't really affect you unless you play on a Full-PVP servers. PVP combat may become more important as your characters gains levels and more storylines are added through the monthly events.

The developers are quickly dealing with most bugs that are found. Occasionally you can have a bugged quest that you cannot complete or find a bugged chest. The biggest problem that I see is the lack of game direction. Sure you can just follow along with the quests and kill creatures, but aside from that there is no real content to become immersed in. The developers are trying to add content through monthly events by altering the world and new storylines.

Aside from the awesome graphics I find the game to have a noticeable lack of core game content. It easily can become another experience treadmill game. If you are looking for a MMO that will keep you playing until the wee hours of the morning then this might not be the game to choose. If you are looking for a MMO to play casually that is fun and simple to learn then Asheron's Call II is a game you will enjoy.