Place 4 – Lineage 2
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: NCSoft | Platform: PC | Release Date: April 28, 2004 | Rating on Metacritic: 62
What kind of game is this? Lineage 2 is an old MMORPG where PvP plays a significant role. It is the successor to Lineage, which is still one of the biggest games in Korea today.
During character creation, you can choose from different races and two classes – Fighter and Mystic. However, the two split into various specializations over the course of gameplay, resulting in over 30 classes in total.
The game is played in third-person view, but you can also zoom out quite far and view the action from above. This is particularly important in PvP battles.
What is the best rating on Metacritic? Just RPG gave the MMORPG a 93, describing it as “as revolutionary as EverQuest.” Particularly praised was the Free2Play model, which was not that widespread in 2004.
Indeed, Lineage was able to gain over 18 million players in the West over the years, but most of them quit relatively quickly. The MMORPG primarily catered to a niche audience.
What is the worst rating on Metacritic? Four reviewers awarded only 40 out of 100 points. GamerFeed criticized the monotonous grind and the requirement for clanning for PvP, while Adrenaline Vault focused on technical issues and griefing in PvP.
G4 TV wrote in the review: “A beautiful game, but with little innovation and too many boring gameplay segments.”
How is the MMORPG doing today? Lineage 2 is still a brand in Korea, but plays almost no role in the West anymore. Nevertheless, the MMORPG continues to receive updates here, including a new event for its 19th birthday, which runs until July 4, 2023.
At present, many are waiting for the unofficial successor to Lineage 2, named Throne and Liberty. However, things are not going smoothly here either:
Place 3 – Marvel Heroes
Setting: Superheroes | Developer: Gazillion Entertainment | Platform: PC | Release Date: June 3, 2013 | Rating on Metacritic: 58
What kind of game is this? Marvel Heroes was an action MMORPG where you could play characters like Iron Man, Captain America, or Deadpool. It focused on hack-and-slash combat, similar to Diablo, and was implemented by David Brevik, who also contributed to Blizzard’s game series.
The gameplay focused heavily on finding loot and grinding the same daily tasks and missions. However, character development progressed slowly, and there was little to do at launch.
There was also criticism of the Free2Play model and the associated shop of the game.
What is the best rating on Metacritic? Digital Spy gave the title an 80, stating that the license was well-utilized and that the gameplay was enjoyable. Furthermore, since the game is Free2Play, it would be worth checking out.
Quarter to Three also gave the MMORPG an 80, followed by a 77 from Ten Ton Hammer.
What is the worst rating on Metacritic? This comes from GameWatcher, who rated the MMORPG with 30 out of 100 points. They said:
The battles are dull, the graphics are boring, and even the heroes – the game’s main selling point – are completely uninteresting. Not to mention the ridiculous costs for any extras. You can try it for free, but the breadth is not really worth it.
The second-worst rating – a 40 – was awarded six times, including by Eurogamer and EGM. They too criticized mainly the combat system and the “unfinished” feeling.
How is the MMORPG doing today? At the end of 2017, Marvel Heroes was shut down. The end resulted from both poor player numbers and criticism of the CEO, who allegedly behaved inappropriately toward women.
