This is my favorite game, Dark Age of Camelot. I have played since just after the game went public, (going on 7 years now) and there have been many upgrades and expansions. The first 4 parts of the game, including base and 3 expansions, are now free download. (including Catacombs so dont buy this one) Find these at [...]

You will want to purchase the two newest expansions, Darkness Rising and Labyrinth of the Minataur. I cant think of anywhere better to buy these 2 expansions than amazon.com, so purchase them here. I play daily for over 6 hours per day and have yet to become bored.

With 10 character slots you can create and develop a number of classes and switch round at your discretion. With 3 realms from which to choose, and multiple servers you could potentially create every class in all 3 realms, over the different servers all on one account. This is NOT a cartooney little kid game folks, this one is for the 'big kids' from age 9 through 90. (no kidding, since Im 64 myself!)

A whole new starter zone (including a lovely voiceover at the start) has been developed and added into this game, giving new players a nice big starting field including quests and monsters to kill, plus decent armor to earn (since game money isnt included with your char) This new zone allows character development without excessive exposure to all the high levels that are out there.

There are new things added to the game on a regular basis by the makers, at no additional cost. Roughly every 6 months the creators of the game put in a whole new high level quest line that is exciting and innovative. The monthly charge I find to be quite reasonable for the hours and hours of pleasure it gives, great bang for the buck! I have met hundreds of people from around the world ingame.

Fighting styles require quick reflexes once you decide to play against enemy realms. There are hunting zones for all levels, even very new characters can enter a battleground zone to experience realm vs realm. Not an easy feat, with 2 realms against you, no matter which of the 3 you decide to become!

The game is based on real history and locations, but is all fantasy as well. Albion is old England Scotland Wales right after King Arthur died. Hibernia is Ireland, with Celtic origins and much more. Midgard is Finland and northern euro background. A blend of real sights and imaginary ones, along with real history and fantasy make for a seamless bit of sheer entertainment!

I purchased the DAoC Platinum Edition a few years ago and while I was very happy with the game and the guild I was involved in (I played the Galahad Hibernia server), I was not that impressed with the backdated graphics. Fortunately, the story and gameplay kept me interested, and my guild got me into the Realm-vs-Realm aspect of the game (the absolute BEST part of DAoC; if you haven't tried it yet, download the RvR New Frontier, already!!!) and using Teamspeak, I was able to talk to real people while playing this game. The people who play this particular MMORPG are very helpful and courteous, and if you need money, help in quests, ressurection, etc. they will always be glad to lend a hand!

...Needless to say, when Catacombs came out, I was very anxious to get it, but was even more surprised to see the incredible graphics overhaul that occurred as a result of it. My character looked SO much better (she actually looked feminine and graceful), the monsters actually looked like--well, monsters, and two new Hibernian classes (vampiir and bainshee) were a lot of fun to play (I ended up playing a vampiir; they are great for Realm-vs-Realm, depending on how you spec them, and you can solo them easily). The other great thing about Catacombs was the Task Dungeons and Instance Dungeons--a GREAT way to level your character up quickly, depending on the type of character you have (I was able to solo in the Task Dungeons with my vampiir and get her up to level 48 within a few days).

...Catacombs was a great expansion--one of the best overhauls I have ever witnessed. Thumbs up, Mythic! :-)

I played DAoC when it first came out but quit after about six months. Now ~2 years later, I reopend my account and upgraded to the Catacombs expansion. OMG! I am having so much fun. If you are thinking of comming back to DAoC you MUST get this expansion. Leveling is faster, instant tasks/dungons, traveling is easer...basicly a lot of the time/money sinks have been removed. So much content has been added it may take a year to see it all. Oh, the upgraded graphics are just fantastic!

Excellent gaming experience. The game is very robust with many different types of activities to become involved with.

Catacombs basically renders all the old zones useless. Why waste time in them when you can level up twice as fast running the insta dungeons. The new Catacombs areas themselves are pretty boring and ill conceived. Pretty stupid release imo but at least it makes the grind to 50 alot easier.