January 12^th, 2006 (1:22pm) - NCsoft North America today announced the release of Episode IV: History and Memory, the latest content expansion for North American subscribers to the original Lineage massively multiplayer online (MMO) PC game. This expansion provides subscribers with 230 megabytes of new geographical locations to explore, an enhanced new player experience, plus additional mage and elven magic spells. Episode IV is free to all current Lineage subscribers.

One of the key new areas added in Episode IV is Pirate Island. Accessed from a hidden dock, players will explore a tropical island in search of treasure and adventure, battling skeletal pirates, giant parrots, and trying to find and tame a rare raccoon with magical powers. Players may also hunt beneath the waves of the formidable Abyss Lake, a dangerous yet profitable new zone that promises a higher difficulty level of play over existing underwater zones. Both Pirate Island and Abyss Lake lead to another new zone, the Elemental Ruins, where players will face various ghost-like monsters and other bizarre creatures.

In addition to new locations, monsters, items and spells, Episode IV brings significant enhancements to the new player experience. New players now begin with a Talking Scroll in their inventory. Clicking it will give players key information about the game that was previously more difficult to come by. Those who turn this special beginner’s scroll to the correct non-player character in a new player zone will receive enough armor, weaponry and money to jump directly into combat instead of training to level 5 before adventuring outside of town.

Lineage is currently available via free download at http://www.lineage.com. Lineage comes with a 7-day free trial period. After that, a subscription of US$15 per month is required to continue playing. Customers can save money by purchasing four months in a single transaction at a rate of US$11.25 per month.