Lineage II takes place 125 years before the original game, and as such, the world is rougher and the alliances are less formed. Even amidst this backdrop of chaos, though, each race was distinct in its architecture and homeland. The Elven town we looked at, for instance, was very open and the architecture was very flowing. Birds chirped and chimes rang in the wind. Characters could stand in the shadow of a great ancient Elven tree in the center of town to be healed.
In contrast, the Dark Elves lived in a hive-like series of underground chambers. Wind howled through the caverns, and a statue of the great Dark Elven goddess was locked away in a chamber below the floor, visible through a steel grating beneath your feet. The human cities were your typical Medieval fare, but rendered at an absolutely magnificent scale. Complex networks of Castles and ramparts and towers and cathedrals loomed high above cobblestone streets.