For King and Country

I am an old school gamer. From my early years when I could be found navigating a theif thru the dark alleys of a D&D game to present day when my computer costs more than some cars I have revelled in the ability to escape my cares and woes in the fantasy world of games. The games of today offer far more vivid experiences with great graphics and sound so it is hard for a man like me to settle his mind on one game and play for any length of time. It is rare to have a game that captures my heart and imagination and takes me away on a wonderous ride. Dark Age is one of those games.

Dark Age of Camelot was purchased for me when it was first released by my unsuspecting wife who had no idea she was going to be seeing the back of my head for some time to come. The game starts with a basic premise. You chose a server to play on and are asked to declare your allegiance. You may choose to be a Hibernian (think elves, dwarves, etc), Midguard (Celts, Norseman, etc) or Albion (Highlander, Englishman after the fall of Arthur).

After you choose you one of the three worlds you are taken to a character generation screen (currently you can only have 4 seperate characters per server by that may change soon) and are able to select race, profession and attributes. The starting profession is a general class like fighter, or mage until level 5 when you choose your speciality. An armsman and a paladin might start the same path as a fighter but at 5th level they diverge into much different routes.

Once you have made your character you are transported to the world and your adventure begins. The first few levels are very user friendly and the controls are not hard to use at all. The game comes with a handy keyboard guide and many quests are provided to help you familiarize yourself with the grouping system and other facets of the game. After level 5 I was a lot more comfortable with the controls and was ready to chose the advanced class for my character. The NPCs give you some good interaction here but it is usually best to consult the book that comes with the game. Classes range from the standard Armsman all the way to Wizard and Scout in Albion.

The game itself is constantly changing and being improved so you could play two identical characters and have much different experiences. The interaction between players is varied as the people themselves. There have been recent additions of a dueling system new areas appear with regularity. There is a rich player guild system as well as a grouping system that is far superior to any I have used before.

It would be remiss in this review not to explain the skill professions. In the game you are able to seek out a GUILDMASTER of many different trades. Armorer, Weaponsmith, Boyer/Fletcher, Tailor, Spellcrafter, Alchemist. Not every character can do every skill (alchemy and spellcrafting are only open to specific classes for example) and becoming a master takes quite a time investment and a good amount of coin. Skill starts at 1 and can go 1000 . You can create items for your own use or to sell to other players or NPC merchants. It is possible to get good gear thru drops off of monsters however the best equipment and gear in the game is provided by player craftsman. Some can work in conjunction to create some of the most powerful items in the game.

I have played a bit as a Midguard on one server but I dedicated the lion's share of my time to playing a paladin of Camelot, an Armsman in service to the crown, a Cleric of the church and a Thurgist caster of mystic spells. The classes seem balanced and it is possible to play thru the entire game as a solo character. It is far more fun to group with others and you do earn experience faster. There is a bonus for grouping but it is also the fact that the characters are meant to compliment each other to make a more efficient team. The Armsman and Paladin hold back the monsters while the Cleric and Friar heal and fight and the spellcasters pound the foes with their magic. Working in concert I have had teams take down monsters that were far above our level

To summarize: Dark Age of Camelot is an excellent game. It provides players the ability to customize their characters appearance with different armor types and dyes to change the apparells color. Game play can differ from hack and slash to going on non combat quests for experience. The game does have a lot of high end video so I would recommend checking the box to make sure your computer can run it. It should not be a problem for any of the newer computers but it is always best to check. It is a must have for anyone who loves roleplaying games.