Dark Age of Camelot

Review - Adrian drops by to deliver his thoughts on the phenomena.

Dark Age of Camelot (from hence-forth to be referred to as DAoC) by Mythic Entertainment, manages to set new standards for the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG) Genre. Following in the footsteps of the giants that came before, namely the big three: Ultima Online, Everquest and Asheron’s Call; DAoC manages to borrow and enhance elements from each across the board, resulting in a game that is horrifyingly addictive and a total blast to play.

Online Roleplaying games, where the player purchases the game (usually with a free month) and then pays to play each month there after, are really beginning to come into their own. Mythic Entertainment, a relatively small and independent software development house, but with a solid resume of other titles behind it, has really thought hard about it’s latest contribution to the online genre. The result, DAoC, is beautiful to behold, fun to play, and challenges the player with a world with an absorbing storyline, smart computer opponents, and even the option of blasting or whacking other players in real-time.

Set in the period following the death of the legendary King Arthur, the game world of DAoC is separated into 3 different realms: Albion, the ancient kingdom of Arthur, Hibernia, a magical land loosely based on the Celtic myths of Ireland, and Midgard, based around the legends of Valhalla in the lands of Scandinavia. Each of the three realms has its own look, quests and equipment, resulting in a brand new way to extend the “freshness” or replayability of the game.

Players must first choose one of the 16 servers to call their “Home” and then must swear allegiance to one of the three realms. Once selected, that server and its four empty character slots are forever tied to that realm (preventing possible cheating by players with an inside knowledge of an enemy realm). Now the player is ready to select and create their character and prepare to enter the game world.

Character creation, where the player fleshes out his or her online persona is done very well, detailing information and options for the player and his chosen profession or “class”. Each character starts life at the first level of experience in one of the realms base classes. Although each realm has variations, these are typically split between the fighter class (those who specialize in hand to hand combat) the rogue class (Those who specialize in stealth and sneak attacks) the healer class (Those who heal, obviously) and the Mage class (Those who forego physical defense and attack skills to specialize in mystical arts). The character is further fleshed out at the 5th level of experience by further specializing in a subclass – for example a fighter could become a defensive warrior who masters armor and shields, a hybrid between a spell caster and a fighter who can heal as well as bear arms, or a lightning fast master of combat who concentrates on offensive damage at the expense of his (or her) own defense. To go into each of the separate subclasses would take far too long, and is best explored by visiting one of the many excellent fan-sites that have sprung up around this game.