1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (51 votes, average: 3.31 / 5)
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Metin2

Metin2 is a 3D fantasy MMORPG where players choose from one of five classes and join one of three kingdoms to fight for dominance on a sprawling continent. Fight legions of mobs, complete quests, and duel other players with an active combat system.

Publisher: Gameforge
Playerbase: Low
Type: Fantasy MMORPG
PvP: Duels/Kingdom Warfare/Open World
Release Date: June 29, 2007 (NA / EU)
Pros: +Hack and slash combat. +Various PvP options. +Low system requirements.
Cons: -Dated graphics may not appeal to some players. -No character customization. -Heavy grind to level.

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Overview

Metin2 Overview

Metin2 is a fantasy MMORPG developed by Ymir Entertainment and originally released in Korea in 2004. The world is joined as one continent where three factions war for supremacy. Choose from one of five classes and swear your alliegence to one of the three nations, fighting other players for control of the sprawling landscape. Each class, minus the Lycan, can specialize in one of two subclasses, further refining your play style. Engage enemy player in open world PvP, challenge friends to a duel, or choose to display your willingness to fight to anyone in the world. A dynamic combat system lets players choose between a traditional mouse configuration or actively take part in combat by moving around enemies, actively controlling attacks.

Metin2 Key Features:

  • Five classes - players can choose between Warrior, Shaman, Ninja, Sura, or Lycan and specialize in a subclass.
  • Numerous PvP Options - fight for your kingdom by beating rival nation’s players, participate in duels, or roam the world and fight any challenger.
  • Low System Requirements - Metin2 should run on any modern computer, making it accessible to a wide audience around the world.
  • Dynamic Fighting System - Engage enemies using traditional point-and-click attacks or actively participate in combat using a hack and slash system.
  • Grind To The Top - leveling captures the old school grind of classic games; kill endless mobs to level.

Metin2 Screenshots

Metin2 Featured Video

Metin 2 - Gameplay Trailer

Full Review

Metin2 Review

By, Sean Sullivan

Metin2 has slipped into obscurity with a small number of players still brimming with nostalgia. It released in 2004 (in Korea), the same year as World of Warcraft. Unlike its Western cousins, I never played Metin2 as—as usual—my soul had been sold to WoW. From what I learned before playing, Metin2 is a polarizing game—you either love it or hate it. The game was praised for its hack and slash combat. After stepping down from binging on Skyforge, I was curious to see one of the earlier incarnations of the similarly employed combat system.

Starting Off

Before making your character the game prompts you to ally with one of three empires: Chunjo Kingdom, Shinsoo Kingdom, or Jinno Kingdom. Each one relates to the game’s internal lore, but as a player I had no idea what “Metin Stones” were, so how was I supposed to determine which kingdom is the most dastardly. It’s a poor introduction to a lore, not that many MMO’s emphasize narrative as a way of drawing audiences—see 9Dragons. So, I used Plan B and chose the coolest sounding kingdom, Chunjo Kingdom; it rolls off the tongue.

You’re then prompted to choose between five classes: Warrior, Ninja, Sura, Shaman, or Lycan. I can’t help but find the Wolf-man selection, Lycan, amusing. It doesn't seem to fit. Even if it is an expansion character the animal seems like a developers last-minute addition. Of course, I chose Lycan, determined to roleplay as the fearless hybrid. There is no character customization beyond choosing between gender and one of two body types. And body types really refer to clothing options, not physical attributes. Mentin2 did release in 2004 but even EverQuest had more customization in 1999. But, I’ll accept my inability to immerse myself through my avatar. Perhaps resources were dedicated elsewhere. I named my Lycan “Burt,” eager to grind .

Dropped On A Foreign planet

You’re dumped into the game world with little to no direction, beyond having amnesia and the only thing you can remember is to find Myonghorang the Wise. Feeling welcome into the Lycan community I was tasked with slaughtering wildlife—they’ve been acting strange. Movement is traditional with WASD to navigate and right-click to swing the camera. Or, you can left-click a coordinate to move, similar to Ragnarok Online. Running feels excruciatingly slow, as if my avatar is determined to prove Zeno’s syllogism. The tortoise-speed locomotion makes it painful to travel from one NPC to the next. I was tempted to “X” out of the game when instructed to run halfway across the map.

Combat

There are two ways to approach combat, either with an active control scheme or classic point and click. Moving with WASD you can actively engage enemies by using basic attack with spacebar. It’s a system that feels sloppy though, as you must constantly move to realign yourself with enemies, and the camera must be adjusted to keep up. Some players will not find issue with the scheme, but I've been privileged to modernized versions of the system. I preferred to double-click to automatically attack, a passive approach to grinding. But it is nice to have the choice, and Metin2 is one of the earlier active combat MMORPG’s.

If you attack a mob, then nearby mobs of the same type will rush to their defense. Every mob is essentially a pack of three, which may explain why areas are packed with numbers fit for a slaughterhouse. In most MMO’s you attack one enemy at a time without interference. but in Metin2, the village rushes to defend. Multiple enemies make it evident that every basic attack dishes out splash damage. And every packs of mobs seems designed to emphasize your characters proficiency for slapping multiple enemies at once. Even though the animations don’t always connect, your hitting enemies in a cone area in front of your avatar.

Leveling

Metin2’s grind is brutal. Even leveling from levels two to three is reminiscent of the Poring massacre needed to advance in vanilla Ragnarok Online. And it’s not easy. There’s an implicit expectation that you’re willing to cut down lackadaisical creatures for hours on end, even to advance the quest chain. An early quest asks you to collect a meteorite sample. Upon attacking the meteorite a legion of rabid animals spawned and surrounded me. With two dozen teeth and claws gashing my character I stood no chance and quickly succumbed to their rage. How am I supposed to handle that many mobs without grinding and only my basic skill? You can’t. You must grind, and love the grind. I recommend throwing on a movie while mindlessly clicking away.

Instead of an experience bar your UI has four orbs in the bottom left-hand corner. When they fill with experience sand you level. An interesting concept is hat every time one orb fills you gain a stat point. So rather than be allotting stats once leveled, they’re awarded periodically. It’s a nice change up that you don’t see too often in MMOs. But it’s difficult to determine how much experience you’ve accumulated, particularly because the interface is excessively minuscule.

Aesthetics

Metina2's graphics are more likely to be accepted on mobile devices that a PC today. Its environments are on par with EverQuest, or Celtic Heroes. Without a large dose of nostalgia to act as anti-aliasing, the game’s visuals may be too dated for some players. The environments evoke an image of stale miso soup that prevents any sort of engagement. Combat animations are smooth enough, though how my Lycan’s fists barrel through three bears is a logic I’m better off ignoring. The models aren’t so bad, but are well done in terms of their zaniness. But from a visual standpoint it’s obvious why Metin2 was popular among players with weaker computers. It’s not demanding by any means. In comparison the soundtrack is pretty good—although the title screen choice seems dated even for a 2004 release.

Enemy designs are some of the laziest I’ve seen. On a rocky field with splashes of sickly green, a congregation of bears bounce back and forth, a mass gathering as if it was mating season. But there’s not just one species of bear. There’s Black Bear, Brown Bear, and who could forget: Bear. Each model is the same beyond a slight change in hue, a menagerie of fearsome bears more appropriately found in a Zoo. Normally when developers decided to recycle enemies they spread them between zones for consistency’s sake. But Metin2 throws every variation in one area. And while most developers flood their maps with mobs, Metin2 takes it to an extreme, with dozens of maps standing within meters of one another. It feels cheesy and its a cheap way of trying to bring the world to life. The overwhelming number of mobs makes them more of an annoyance than instilling a desire to grind.

Private Servers

If you’re looking to rekindle a lost love for Metin2 then you can find similarly passionate players in a private server. There is a large catalog to choose from, some offering changes to mechanics, experience rates, and further emphasizing PvP. There aren’t many to choose from, and some servers are in Spanish so I’m not even capable of launching their client due to an active imagination while in school. Private servers will provide a more complete experience, as players are typically veterans of the game, similar to the excitement that surrounds Ultima Online private servers.

PvP

In its day Metin2 was known for PvP mechanics, but I did not have the opportunity due to the official server’s small population. Before you can test your might you’ll have to grind to level 15. Then you’ll have access to duels that can be requested by challenging another player. Or you can fight for your fellow countrymen and take on players from another kingdom. But losing such a noble cause can result in experience loss if a monster is tagged in combat—seemingly easy to do considering their prevalence. Players can elect to flag themselves for combat in the PvP mode section of options, opening them up to attack by anybody regardless of allegiance. If you’re looking to PvP, I suggest searching for a private server instead of joining the official.

Cash Shop

I don’t know who’s injecting cash into Metin2, but there is an item shop for those brave souls determined to part with their cash. From tribal braid hairstyles to Peach Flower Wine, there is plenty of stock for everyone to have a piece. Items such as Third Hand, that automatically collects Yang are a bit funny. Automatically picking up the games currency would have been a nice feature to throw at players. Instead, frustrated patrons can purchase the item, and for seven days all of the Yang will flow into their bag. Amulets and rings that improve stats or increase experience gain abound. It's not pay-to-win, but there are some significant temporary advantages to be gained from the cash shop.

Final Verdict - Fair

Metin2 is far passed its prime, and without a large influence on the market or lasting legacy it's difficult to find much of the game engaging. While I can appreciate the emphasis on active combat and PvP, the bland environments and lazy mob designs become repetitive and slice through any immersive quality. Metin2 is not unplayable but that doesn't stop it from feeling more like a prototype for another game. As I played I just couldn't wait for it to be over. I don’t recommend Metin2 unless you’ve played before or are looking to join a private server. I can’t not recommend this game enough.

Screenshots

Metin2 Screenshots

Videos

Metin2 Videos

System Requirements

Metin2 System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
CPU: Pentium 4 1.5GHz or Athlon XP 1700+
Video Card: GeForce 3 Ti 500 or Radeon 8500 Series 64MB
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Disk Space: 2 GB

Music

Metin2 Music & Soundtrack

Additional Info

Metin2 Additional Information

Developer(s): Ymir Entertainment (now owned by Webzen Games)

Original Release Date: 2004 (Korea)
Release Date: June 29, 2007

Development History / Background:

Metin2 was developed by video game development company Ymir Entertainment, and released in Korea in 2004. It is the sequel to the 2D MMORPG Metin, a top-down game with a similar presentation to Ultima Online. The first Metin was never translated to English. Since Metin2 launched it has acquired 13.7 million registered accounts and had 8.6 million monthly active players. It has seen wide global release in numerous European countries, the United States, and Singapore. South Korean developer and publisher Webzen Games acquired Ymir Entertainment on January 26, 2011. In North America Metin2 was published by Subo Games, the same publisher for Prison Tale, and was then published by Z8 Games, before being acquired by Gameforge. Webszen Games is known for free-to-play MMORPG’s such as Flyff, Age of Wulin, Archlord 2, and Sevencore.