The sun fades beyond the Mountain of Lethe as the darkness of night
sweeps over the land. The ethereal wisps can be seen fluttering
throughout the night sky and the twin moons gleam a powerful glow on
the cities around the world. A group of travelers leave the pub and
grab their swords, shields, wands, and bows, and prepare to venture
into the wilderness. As the fellowship continues on, their power can be
sensed by nearly every being in the area, and one by one, enemies fall
before their might. As the regions get increasingly tougher, more and
more from the group begin to falter, and before long only two remain. A
merciless group of dark beings, called the Virindi, hover terrifyingly
toward them. You can still do battle, but your friend is their target
and he is low on health. Will you risk yourself to try to help him
recover or take them all on yourself?
It is innovative, exciting online role-playing at its finest and above
is just a taste of what you will experience in the midst of a real time
battle. I had the pleasure of learning about this game's existence
around the spring of 2001. Now most are well aware of the existence of
the “MMORPG” community and some of the games that represent the genre.
The repetitive game-play and shoddy graphical value of Everquest had
previously turned me off to the whole online scene for a while. There
were plenty other titles that came out after that, but none really
could grip me any better than the previous mentioned game could. Later
when I came upon this hidden gem, I had somewhat similar expectations,
and boy did this one surprise me. An amazing sense of fantasy envelops
the world of Dereth, and it took me in, proceeding to not let go, for
several years.
The name of the game is Asheron’s Call and what makes this game so
successful is the dedication developer Turbine has for this game. This
dedication exists primarily in the form of expansive monthly updates.
Every month the game is updated with new quests, enemies, items, and a
storyline that should draw even the smallest lore freak in. Updates are
a feature that most online games definitely lack, and it is because of
this feature, that makes this game topple every other competitor
around. Now even if a game had updates, it would not be great without a
stable game-play system right? Encompassing the whole player system is
a great character creation setting and experience table. Want to make a
swordsman, archer, sorcerer, or life mage? Go ahead, and while you’re
at it, adjust your attributes the way you want to fit your character
type. Continue by adding skills to your repertoire, from war magic and
healing, to crossbow and sword. You can even make hybrid characters
that could eventually be both magic and melee fighters. With freedom
like this it is easy to see why the game can be so enjoyable.
Though it takes a lot of dedication on the player’s part, the character
improvement system is really what makes the game so great. As you play
along throughout the game and defeat monsters with your variety of cool
weapons and magic powers, you will get experience. You can take that
experience and add it to improve the stats of any of the skills you
trained and specialized. There is only one problem with the whole
system of things and that is whatever you want to be, you have to train
magic. Now there are several magic abilities that improve stats, weaken
monsters, etc; and unless you take the time to buff yourself up every
time you go into battle, you will most likely die. However, learning
how to master the magic of the game is not boring, but actually quite
interesting. There are also various ways to cast and use magic, and
learning to apply it to an archer or melee, can make you really tough
to beat. The challenge of the game flows quite well too. Turbine has
positioned it so that no matter what level you are there is a place for
you and your friends to fight comfortably. However, being mischievous
is always fun and you can always break the rules and take on some
tougher baddies.
“You burn Panumbris Shadow for 159 points with Ilservian’s Flame.”
“Panumbris Shadow grazes your chest for 5 points of bludgeoning damage.”
“Panumbris Shadow is incinerated by your assault!”
Just an example of what you will see when you and your team are blowing down your enemies. For all three classes there is a slightly
different system you will use. For melees you have a bar that indicates
a slow and stronger attack or quick and fast. People who use a sword
would most likely want a stronger attack, while dagger users will
prefer to flurry. Archers have a bar indicating speed or accuracy,
similar to the system that the melees use. The magic system, however, is
the most unique and interesting of them all. To get those powers going
you will basically assign certain spells to your tool-bar. Now you can
either shortcut them or double click them depending on what you find
most suitable. Your primary offense will be colorful projectiles and
the like which go by the name of War Magic. The lock on system in the
real world environment really adds to the excitement and having all
three classes do battle at once is spectacular. However, you will not
just be fending for yourself, within the group you will need to make
sure your teammates are in good shape too. Just as the intro suggested,
you will need to keep a good eye on your fellowship members, or you
will not only lose assistance but overall experience flow, as well.
Just as the story of the game revolves around Asheron bringing warriors
to this land to combat the forces of Olthoi and others; you will spend
a large portion of the time training and fighting. However, the land
has much to offer, so drop your gear and enjoy many of the game’s other
things to do. Go to the Glenden Wood casinos and try to win prizes, go
on one of the hundreds of interesting quests, fight a “player-killer”
battle against one of your friends, or just hang out at the pub and
drink some ale. Your virtual character tired after a long day or
kicking ass? Purchase a settlement home ranging anywhere from an
apartment to a mansion. The great thing about these is that you can
decorate them for other players to visit or warp here when in danger.
However, the most fun thing to do in the entire game is just to explore
the virtually endless world. With two main lands, several large
islands, and hundreds of dungeons, Asheron’s Call has everything that
you could want for content.
Taking into account that the game was made in 1999, the graphical value
is a bit below today’s standards. Though the character models and some
landmark structures are a bit ordinary looking, the lighting effects,
fluid motions, and great frame-rate all make up for it. Get on the top
of a large mountain and it is amazing how far into the distance you can
see. The battle motions in the game are a little repetitive at times,
but the free-form movement and lack of any jerky moments, all help
battle sequences flow a lot better. There are also so many landmarks
and sights to see in the world, that the game’s below average graphics
are easily overlooked, as you see the sheer size of the land of Dereth.
Towering mountains, murky swamps, snowy wastelands, and unique cities
all envelop you and help draw you in even further. However, the lack of
one thing is what always had irked me over time, and that is music.
Unfortunately, besides the repetitive enemy and battle sounds, there is
no over-world music to speak of. Which generally means you will have to
break out your stereo, if you want any music to battle to.
”Hail, my name is Calidreth…”
There is one word that encompasses all that is an online game and that
is “community.” A tremendous deal of the game will have you being
associated with a lot of people. There are the newbie’s, the arrogant
high levels with no lives, and the item beggars, but hey, every online
game has that, right? I will say though, in the three years I played
the game I met friends I could not replace. Joining up in hunting
parties, doing quests together, or just sitting down on a bench and
chatting, can be a great deal of fun. Now sometimes running into each
other in an online game can get frustrating because you will be
fighting over the same monster or item. However, because of the great
fellowship system you can setup with one another, it makes group
hunting a lot of fun. Primarily, because when you are in a fellowship
you share the experience with one another. Though you will get less
experience per enemy at first, it will make up for itself in the end
because of the quicker efficiency of your group. As you become good
friends with the people you meet, you can join up with their
allegiance, which each has their own monarch, events, and way of doing
certain things. Some will even have web sites, each planned with quest
dates and information about members and services. So, do not be shy,
come on in and introduce yourself to the group.
With a huge world, large player-base, quick-to-learn battle system, and
fun atmosphere, Asheron’s Call is all that represents online gaming. It
is a shame that it is a bit less recognized than other major titles out
there, but that is because of less promotional advertising. With the
release of Dark Majesty, the expansion pack, the game got some
additional world content and a large welcoming for new members. Even
today, after five years of release, the game still has over eight
thousand members, within all eight servers. Though the game’s graphics
are a bit outdated and there is no music to speak of, the charm of the
community and atmosphere all but make up for it. Hey, I would not have
played it for over three years, if the game was terrible, right?
Anyway, if you are looking for a great online experience, go ahead and
give the series a try, it is $13.95 a month, but to me the game is
worth a lot more than that.
