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| Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles (PC) | |
| Publisher: Mythic Entertainment / Vivendi Games | Developer: Mythic Entertainment / Abandon Entertainment |
| Genre: Persistent Online RPG | Release Date: 11/12/2002 |
Dark Age of Camelot, a massively multiplayer online game set in a pseudo-Arthurian world, was a pleasant surprise when it was first released in 2001. Now Mythic is trying to keep the magic going by releasing an expansion pack entitled Shrouded Isles. Fortunately for gamers, not only does Shrouded Isles contain plenty of new material, including six new character classes, three new playable races, an improvement to the graphics engine, new sounds, a new user interface, new monsters, new monster AI, and a ton of new items and quests, but almost all of it is well done and a welcome addition to a good game.
Brave New Worlds
Shrouded Isles adds three new brand-new islands to the realms: Avalon in Albion, HyBrasil in Hibernia, and Aegir in Midgard. Each new island also has its own new playable race. Albion is inhabited by the Inconnu, small, pale dungeon dwelling hermits with large dark eyes. The new Sylvan race, a Dryad-type creature that has bark-like skin and leafy hair, threatens the realm of Hibernia. Midgard is menaced by the Valkyn, a pre-historic race of humanoids.
One possible danger to adding so much new territory for players to explore is travel time to the new lands -- always a hazard for massively multiplayer expansions where players want to see all the recent additions. Fortunately, the game has portals in the three starting towns on the new islands that will take players back and forth from the old world. Also available at these portals is a vendor that sells travel scrolls that sends players to the "Realm vs. Realm" areas, which makes it easier to both explore and get to where you need to be.
New People, New Creatures
New classes include the valewalker and the animist in HyBrasil. The valewalker is a mage class that wields a large scythe and casts nature spells. The animist is also a spellcaster that summons stationary mushroom turrets with offensive and defensive abilities. Aegir sports the bonedancer, who can summon skeletons (one right away and more as they gain levels), and the savage, a melee class character that prefers hand-to-hand combat. Players in Avalon can play as one of the new necromancers who can turn themselves into shades and summon zombies, or as a reaver, a cross between a fighter and a necromancer who can wear armor and sap an enemy's life-force.
Fortunately, these interesting new classes are matched out by a slew of new monsters with upgraded AI. Players will be forced to come up with whole new stratagems by the intriguing ways in which monsters can now attack. In just one example, the dog-like Scourgins or the Domnann Anglers' will use a small, harmless-looking creature as a lure for players. When the player moves in for an easy kill, the scourgin or domnann will jump out from behind cover and turn the tables on the unwary adventurers.
New Stuff, New Solutions
Of course, one of the key features players look for in an MMO expansion pack is a global solution for chronic problems in the game world's design. In this, Shrouded Isles does not disappoint, addressing DaoC's chronic lack of loot for players who spent a lot of time adventuring outside of the realms' dungeons. Players who add Shrouded Isles will find that the amount of equipment dropped outside of dungeons has not only increased significantly, but the variety of stuff, both normal and magical, has increased as well.
A stunning city on Hybrasil.
Mythic Entertainment has opened up several new servers that allow players to adventure in different styles. For those who enjoy combat, paranoia, and danger, there are new strictly "Player vs. Player" servers where gamers face the threat of being attacked, even by members of their own realm. There's also a completely co-op world where players can fight, get quests, adventure, and shop at stores in every realm without having to worry about enemy players or being stabbed in the back.
New Sights, New Sounds
Eye-candy lovers will be pleased with the new, more powerful graphics engine. This allows for higher-resolution textures, an increased amount of foliage that adds density to the landscape, improved spell effects, bodies of water that actually flow, and reflective surfaces instead of just static blue surfaces. Even better, the new graphic power is matched by stunning architecture on some the new islands. The Hybernian city on the island of HyBrasil is probably the best out of the three, and players may find themselves beginning their games just wandering around looking for new wonders to see. It's too bad that all the new areas couldn't match HyBrasil; Aegir in Midgard looks rather boring and cookiecutter. In addition, the dense, dark forests are just that -- dark. Even during the day, running into trees and losing your way can be annoying -- be sure to have your torches lit!
Of course, as with all game engine upgrades there's always the danger of a hit to performance. During my own sessions with the game, nothing came along that dropped the framerate below playable, but there were some noticeable slowdowns in the more complicated areas of the forests of Hybernia. (You can see the system specs we used at the end of this review.) Check the system specs before you buy -- your mileage may vary.
On the other hand, the new sound engine in Shrouded Isles is a clear winner. The music in the game now varies considerably depending on where you are and what you are doing. Even better, the music thus generated is excellent and really fits the mood of the situation. For the first time, it's actually worth keeping the music on in an MMORPG!
A Cool New Edition
New Sights, New Sounds
Eye-candy lovers will be pleased with the new, more powerful graphics engine. This allows for higher-resolution textures, an increased amount of foliage that adds density to the landscape, improved spell effects, bodies of water that actually flow, and reflective surfaces instead of just static blue surfaces. Even better, the new graphic power is matched by stunning architecture on some the new islands. The Hybernian city on the island of HyBrasil is probably the best out of the three, and players may find themselves beginning their games just wandering around looking for new wonders to see. It's too bad that all the new areas couldn't match HyBrasil; Aegir in Midgard looks rather boring and cookiecutter. In addition, the dense, dark forests are just that -- dark. Even during the day, running into trees and losing your way can be annoying -- be sure to have your torches lit!
Of course, as with all game engine upgrades there's always the danger of a hit to performance. During my own sessions with the game, nothing came along that dropped the framerate below playable, but there were some noticeable slowdowns in the more complicated areas of the forests of Hybernia. (You can see the system specs we used at the end of this review.) Check the system specs before you buy -- your mileage may vary.
On the other hand, the new sound engine in Shrouded Isles is a clear winner. The music in the game now varies considerably depending on where you are and what you are doing. Even better, the music thus generated is excellent and really fits the mood of the situation. For the first time, it's actually worth keeping the music on in an MMORPG!
A Cool New Edition
New spell effects.
It's really easy for companies to issue expansion packs for MMORPG's that are little more than glorified patches, or just pack on new eye-candy without addressing global gameplay problems. DAoC: Shrouded Isles is neither of these. It's a great expansion pack and seems to have accomplished, for the most part, what the developers intended it to do. The graphic and sound engine upgrades both rock and provide improved environments and atmosphere. The updates to the user interface make controlling characters even easier, and the overall improvements in design make it a wonderful addition for all players in the Dark Age of Camelot universe.
