The Mac OS X version of Lineage, the massively multiplayer online role playing game, finished its public beta testing and has “gone live,” according to NCsoft Corp.
Users who want to play the full release of the game can download it from the Lineage Web site, but it’s huge — 385MB, in fact — so if you don’t have a fast, reliable connection, you’re better off requesting a free game CD. NCsoft will ship the game on CD-ROM via U.S. mail. Lineage is also available for download via Apple’s iDisk.
Lineage is a sword-and-sorcery adventure game that puts thousands of PC gamers along side Mac gamers. The concepts of community, social interaction and combat are reinforced in Lineage through the “Blood Pledge” — a strong alliance you establish with other players which can be used to develop a strategy for overtaking other players’ territory. “But winning the battle only means the game of politics and negotiation is just beginning,” said NCsoft. “Keeping your castle is sometimes harder than capturing it.”
More than four million active subscriptions to Lineage exist, and the service sports more than 330,000 concurrent users worldwide. Lineage is particularly popular in its home of Korea, and other pac rim nations. It was introduced to PC gamers last year and debuted for Mac gamers earlier this year at Macworld Expo San Francisco.
Now that the full release is in distribution, Mac game play is no longer free. Lineage uses a subscription-based model that costs US$15 per month, or four months for $11.25 each. The game comes with a 30-day free trial, however, so you’re encouraged to give it a shot to see if you like it.
Bear in mind that as a massively multiplayer online role playing game, Lineage requires an Internet connection to play. Also, it’s for Mac OS X only.
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