During my secondary school education, Role Playing Games were to me what football was to all, bar a select (and often bullied) few - yes, I was a nerd. Instead of throwing a ball, I was throwing dice. My goal didn't have posts and a net, but some dusty chalice guarded by an evil and deranged Ogre. You name the quest, I probably did it, then we finished school, went our separate ways and the RPG void was filled by PC games, still fun but a solitary affair.

Over the past few years though, the Online Role Playing Game has grown and developed. One such title (Everquest) is very well known even to those who have never even been near a PC game, due to the stories about how it has sucked away people's lives and caused marriages to break up. Dark Ages of Camelot is another one of these life-consuming games.

   

The best thing about an online RPG (or MMORPG) is that instead of countless NPCs nearly all the other people you meet are real people. It's like a really huge chat room but with focus and background, a huge living and breathing world is yours to explore and journey through. This particular world sees the land of Albion, home to Camelot (the seat of its recently deceased King Arthur) facing threats from the rival Hibernian and Midgard clans. One very good (and rather original) feature is how the game uses various mythologies to give background to each clan. Be it Celtic, Norse or Arthurian legend, each land has its own individual look and feel.

Depending on which land you decide your character is to come from will depend on what species, skills and careers you can choose from. Albion is based around the Human race whilst Midgard allows a more diverse choice; such as Dwarfs or Trolls. Once your race is chosen you have to decide on being male or female and then get to change the look of your character. You then move on to the class of character you will play. It is here that I recommend that you have a good read through the selections available and maybe even try a few hint sites online, as once you have chosen you are really stuck with it forever. Once you get into the game your character will (as is the way of the RPG) gain experience and higher skill levels - when your chosen class reaches level 5 you will find it branches off (kind of like more specialised versions of a chosen career) and from here your choice will be the path you walk for the rest of the game.

   

Once you have your character chosen and suitably named it's time to enter the world. Now here it can actually get a little intimidating. You see all those people that are coming and going? Well the chances are each and everyone is a real player - maybe some are new like you, but more than likely they are a lot more experienced and more powerful than you are. My first reaction upon entering my new world was to forget about the manual and just explore. The game is very good at holding your hand for the first few hours and points you mostly in the best direction to get started, but should you get stuck just ask someone. One of the best things about Camelot is how its players actually properly Role Play. Instead of being Dave from Clapham they actually are Garn the Destroyer. They act like their characters, and if you do the same you soon find that most people will be more than happy to help you out or answer your questions.

So what now? Well, go adventuring and make the most of this world that you are in. This being an online game there is no end sequence to chase - the game is what you make it. If you want to go hunting local wildlife then feel free to do so, you are of course able to find and complete quests. These quests are given out by the NPCs (non player characters) of the game - these are computer-controlled parties who you can speak to and interact with, but obviously not as much as "real" players. The quests tend to be based on your character's level, so for the most part you should find that you are never out of your depth - quests are a good way to build your character's levels up and also provide some focus to the game.

   

As mentioned earlier, there are three lands in the game and each player will have a "homeland" which is a safe area to stay in. You can do what you want with whom you want in this area with no real threat from other player characters. You can join up with fellow adventurers from your land for group hunts or just hang around and chat. However outside of your homeland is what I can best refer to as no-mans-land - a large area of the map that borders the each land's "safe" area. Here you are allowed to take part in Player versus Player (PvP) combat. This is actually a very good feature as it allows you as a player to choose how much of a part you wish to play in the overall conflict and also gives a war-like feeling to the game.

The graphics are more than serviceable. The problem with online games of this type is that there is always so much going on that even the most powerful of machines can find itself taxed at times. That said though, Camelot did actually run smoother and faster than most other games of its type. There is a wide selection of ways in which each player can tweak and configure their character, so everyone in the game should look different and each land has its own unique ambience. There are also some rather clever weather effects that again add to the atmosphere of the whole thing.

   

Camelot is a good game. It has a very interesting world; it looks nice and has a good, dedicated online community. However, it is not going to be for everyone. As with all games of its type you only get out what you put in and it's not a game that you can just dip in and out of. You really need to devote serious time to the game in each sitting, and you can also find that things move pretty fast when you are away from the game.

Anyone wanting to dip their toe into the waters of the online RPG could do far worse than Camelot, but bear in mind there is the usual monthly subscription to think about.