Age of Splendor dawns for Lineage II

The online realm of Lineage II opened up its frontiers today. The American arm of Korean developer-publisher NCsoft announced it is releasing a massive expansion to the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, called Chronicle 2: Age of Splendor.

Available free to Lineage II subscribers via automatic download, the 500-megabyte expansion adds a slew of new content to the game, including three new zones: the shark-infested water world Innadril, the floating city of Heine, and the Giran region, which is home to the dreaded Devil Island. There will also be a new castle, the Tower of Insolence, added to the preexisting region of Aden.

Chronicle 2: Age of Splendor will also give Lineage II players something to do other than slay monsters, embark on quests, and slay each other in player-versus-player combat. The expansion will introduce a full-scale gambling system to the game, which will allow players to bet their in-game funds on monster races and in dice games. It will also feature a regular lottery for which players can buy tickets.

In a statement, Lineage II's North America producer Aaron Rigby outlined the further additions included in Chronicle 2: Age of Splendor. "This is a gigantic expansion of the game which, along with the new zones, castle and gambling, includes 18 new quests, 83 new raid monsters, enhancements to clan halls, new weapons, spells and countless improvements to player quality of life," he said.

For a complete rundown on the original version of Lineage II, which was released in the US in July, check out our full review.