Click the article to see the screenshot (taken on Ken server) close up

The hottest genre in gaming today has a weird, ungainly name: massively multiplayer online gaming. In games such as EVERQUEST, ASHERON'S CALL and ULTIMA ONLINE, thousands of people participate simultaneously in a virtual world where the action goes on 24/7 - whether you're there or not. Until recently, we figured that EverQuest, which has about half a million subscribers, was the most popular nonpharmaceutical alternative reality on the planet. But turns out there are 4 million gamers adicted to NCsoft's LINEAGE in places such as Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Now this online role-playing phenomenon has reached U.S. shores, led by fabled Ultima creator Richard Gariott - a man also known by his game moniker, Lord British. "The impact this game has had in every country that it's come available in is truly phenomenal," says Gariott, who now serves as executive producer for Korea-based NCsoft. "It started life about three years ago in Korea; now, one out of thirty people in the country plays Lineage. When it launched in Taiwan, it brought own the Internet for the entire country." U.S. gamers may balk at the distinctly old school presentation, with its 2-D graphics and familiar sword-and-sorcery combat. But Garriott says that simplicity works in Lineage's favor. "It's much easier to get into than most online games. Most online games drop you into a gigantic world and say, 'Good luck,' which is very intimidating. Often people are very unsuccessful and preyed upon by other players. This game has a much more comfortable beginning. And instead of feeling like you are truly wimpy - fighting rats and rabbits for the first few months of your existence - you get to wade through lots of monsters and see them fall before you, and get lots of gold and treasure from the beginning, so you feel much more heroic." He also points to the "elder game" experience, in which seasoned players can take over castles, set taxation rates for kingdoms and juggle political relations to maintain their power. And for hard-core gamers, the presence of Lord British himself as a character within the world of Lineage could prove irresistible (Gariott gave up rights to the Ultima name when he left Origin Systems, but the Lord British persona goes where he goes). Unlike other massively multiplayer games, there's no game disk to buy, and there's a free thirty day trial period - check the Web site (lineage-us.com) for details...