NCsoft Corporation has released Lineage Episode XII: Aden, the final segment in Part I of the ongoing saga in its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Lineage: The Blood Pledge, which currently has more than 3 million subscribers worldwide. This latest episode introduces a new location for players to explore: the city of Aden and its surrounding lands, which include the Twilight Mountains, the Tower of Insolence, and a large crater known as the Scar of Lindvior.

　　Episode XII also introduces significant social, political, and economic system enhancements through a new hometown system. The hometown system allows players to register as a resident of a certain village, town, or city, whereupon they'll be paid a monthly dividend for helping protect it. The registered player who is deemed to have made the biggest contribution to the safety of his or her hometown will also stand a good chance of becoming mayor, although it's not clear what advantages this will afford the player.

　　Although Episode XII is the final segment in Part I of the Lineage story, NCsoft has every intention of releasing a Part II, although specific details have not been released at this time. For more information on Lineage: The Blood Pledge, which can be downloaded for free from the official NCsoft Web site, check out our review of the game.