Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles Review

The commercial success of massively multiplayer online games such as Ultima Online and EverQuest is enviable. These games have been around for years, have hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and make each one of those players fork over about $10 a month--that's a lot of profit, so it's little wonder why so many competing products have been announced in the last couple of years. But unfortunately for those would-be competitors, many of them are finding that it isn't easy to convince an EverQuest player to make the switch to their brand. After all, someone who's committed hundreds or even thousands of hours to building up a character and a network of allies in his or her online world of choice wouldn't be quick to drop everything and start playing a different game. Certainly, one thing that almost all online role-playing games have in common is the sheer amount of time they demand.

You can teleport to and from Shrouded Isles' large new landmasses.

At any rate, the release of Dark Age of Camelot in October of last year proved that it is possible for a game to directly compete with the likes of EverQuest if it's good enough. Though superficially similar to EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot provided a number of compelling twists on the formula. Also, unlike most other online RPGs, it launched without incident. Now a commercial expansion pack, Shrouded Isles, is available for Dark Age of Camelot, adding new player races, character classes, and scenery, plus a whole lot of new stuff to find, fight, and do. Some enhancements to the game's graphics and interface are also provided, making Shrouded Isles by all means a substantial add-on that could easily afford you with hundreds of hours of gameplay in exchange for the $30 retail cost. And while Shrouded Isles isn't a stand-alone product--you need the original Dark Age of Camelot to play it--it does show that Dark Age has come a long way since its original release last year, and that the game is well worth getting into even now. Meanwhile, experienced Dark Age players (most of whom no doubt already own the expansion) should find that Shrouded Isles does a great job of reinvigorating their game.

By now, many aspects of games like Dark Age of Camelot can be seen as conventional, since it isn't a huge departure from the formula that EverQuest established in 1999. You start by creating your own character, choosing from a number of different races and classes, and then you set off in a huge fantasy world in your quest to grow stronger and get better stuff. At least early on, most of your time will be spent fighting monsters and gaining experience. Teaming up with other players allows you to slay monsters more efficiently, though you can alternatively try taking on quests or tasks, which are simple hunting missions. You can also try building up your proficiency in various trade skills, a couple of which--alchemy and spellcraft--have been added since Dark Age was first released last year.

Reflective water and some other graphical enhancements help spruce up the game's visuals.

The big twist in Dark Age of Camelot is that the game features three entirely different realms: Albion, which is based on Arthurian legend; Hibernia, which is based on Celtic folklore; and Midgard, which is based on Norse mythology. Each realm has its own unique player races and character classes, though the classes are roughly analogous across the board. Nevertheless, the realms at least look completely different, and that alone makes the experience of playing in each one quite distinct. The realms exist in a state of perpetual conflict: Once you've become strong enough, you'll be able to venture into the frontier beyond your realm and start fighting members of opposing realms for the glory of your kingdom. So at higher levels, Dark Age of Camelot turns into sort of a huge game of capture the flag, where teams of players take on opponents in an effort to steal opposing realms' relics, which grant special bonuses to their owners. Player killing thus is a major element of Dark Age of Camelot, but it's optional, and since you can't even speak with members of an opposing realm, it really has none of the drawbacks that used to be associated with player killing in these sorts of games.

Alternatively, Mythic Entertainment recently launched a purely cooperative server, where no player killing is possible and all three realms exist in harmony. Those looking for an experience more similar to EverQuest should enjoy this option. On the other hand, those looking for even more player-killing mayhem can sign onto special servers where it's possible to attack players even of your own realm. Still, the majority of Dark Age of Camelot servers emphasize high-level realm vs. realm combat, though questing and hunting monsters remains viable throughout a character's lifetime. Of further note, since the launch of the game, Mythic has added the ability for players to consensually duel each other to prove who's strongest. There's no real penalty for losing a duel, so this is a fun feature if ever you've wanted to test your skills against one of your comrades.