Yearly Archives: 2010

Ether Saga Online Review: Where’s my bunny?

Ether Saga Online Review: Where’s my bunny?
Written by: Mohammed Afzal (MageMoa), OnRPG Journalist

 

Pets, pets, pets and more pets! Pets and minions have always been an obsession to me. If a game didn’t provide these awesome creatures, I wouldn’t be interested.  This is exactly the reason why I was so amazed by Ether Saga Online, a game created by Perfect World Entertainment, the creators of Perfect World.  The game had everything I wanted! Fast combat, flashy skills, billions of slave-.. pets, beautiful graphics and life skills. I didn’t hesitate a moment and tried to download it from three different sites, to see which one would be the fastest. After ten exciting minutes I was able to enter the game and make my dreams come true, but I should have known that dreams will always remain dreams….

 

Ether Saga Dreams
Dreamlike world in Ether Saga

 

How it all began…

I started the game, expecting to find amazing character customization, but that was not what I found. I could pick between three or four facial expressions, a few hairstyles, a race and a class. Sure, the characters looked beautiful, but I was hoping to create a unique character instead of finding ten clones of myself the moment I went in game.

 

That being said, you could have knocked me down with a feather if you had been there at the moment I entered the game. Everything was so beautiful and everything seemed so lively! I decided to talk to the woman that was trying to do everything to get me to talk to her. The woman, a Goddess, started to tell me a story and I was immediately interested in what she had to say. She told me about the past and what had happened to the world of Ether Saga and I felt so bad for her and decided to help her.

 

Ether Saga Character Mask 
Beautiful characters in an enticing, beautiful world

 

After doing a few quests for her I realized that I had already hit level 20. She told me to go to some big town and talk with a man that could help me out. I decided to listen to her and I ran through the beautiful valleys, covered in colorful flowers.

 

When I reached the town I saw people! No, I am not talking about dead ones. I had almost forgotten that I was playing a MMORPG.  There were many people who were willing to help me and they brought me to the man I was referred to by the Goddess. The dude was a little bit annoying, but I totally forgot about him when he gave me a cloud. I had no clue what to do with it so I just double-clicked it and WHOOOM! I could fly! It was time to explore the world of Ether Saga and its amazing features.

 

 

Gameplay

“No grind” was what I had heard about the game and I would have agreed if I would have quit the game at level 30, but that was not the case. After level 30 leveling got a bit annoying. Doing quests was the only way toget good exp, but these quests were not unique or special. You had to kill X amount of this and gather X amount of that, which was really disappointing, since the monsters didn’t give a lot of experience. There were moments in the game where you were questless, which meant that you had to kill hundreds of monsters to get that single level. I was glad that the game had more to offer than just leveling.

 

The pet feature made up for the horrible grind. There are so many monsters that you can catch and they all have different stats and skills. It will take some time before you understand what kind of pet will fit your personality, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t catch some beautiful creatures. These beautiful creatures have their own personality (naughty, shy etc..) and they have some pretty cute emotes that you can use.

 

Flashy Combat Ether Saga
Flashy combat

 

The combat, one of the most important parts of every MMO, was… flashy. The combat is point and click and you are spamming skills the whole time but I can say that the combat was pretty amusing. All classes have many different skill trees and special skills that you can use. The only downside of this system is that you need a certain amount of points, which you can get by killing monsters, to obtain a certain skill. It took me hours to get enough points for a skill I wanted.

 

Another aspect I was looking forward to was crafting and I can easily say that I was not disappointed with the crafting features in Ether Saga. The life skills, such as woodcutting and picking herbs, were all combined with a certain way of crafting. You could make your own weapons, equipment and even your own potions! It might take you a while, just like everything in this game, to craft swords and bows that are actually good for your level, but selling the items you craft will still make you a decent amount of money, something that you really could use at lower levels.

 

Some background information

There are some things that you should know before playing the game. First of all, be sure that you pick the right race for your character. All races are supposed to be equal, but people prefer to pick a class that fits their race. The Ren race is the human race. You could say that it focuses on melee. It would be a good race to pick for classes like Dragoon and Rogue. The Shenzu race is the demigod race. It is a more spiritual race and it would fit well with classes like Shaman, Conjurer and Mystic. The Yaoh race is the more agile one of the three. Classes like Rogue and Ranger are preferred by the Yaoh. Please keep in mind that the races are pretty much balanced, so you can pick any race. The things written above are just recommendations.

 

Ether Saga Mount

 

Conclusion

After a few weeks my adventure in the world of Ether Saga had ended. I was no longer willing to spend hours to get enough experience to level and get my next series of quests. There is not much to aim for in this game. It is a good timewaster if you have nothing better to do and I would really recommend it to gamers that love having minions and pets, but that’s all the game can offer you.

 

Now, has anyone seen my bunny?

Moonlight Online Developer Diary: An Exclusive Peek at Game Design

Moonlight Online Developer Diary: An Exclusive Peek at Game Design

 

The development team behind IGG’s first vampire-themed MMORPG, Moonlight Online, is hard at work on the game. They took just enough time out to send along details about the dynamics of character movement and the concepts behind the Moonlight universe and its inhabitants, so sit back and enjoy!

 

Moonlight Online Great Forces 
Three great forces collide

 

With a 360-degree camera rotation offering a fully 3D gaming experience, players will use both their keyboard and mouse to control the user interface. While developing in-game movement for the three great races, the team is focusing on highlighting the acrobatic abilities that enable parkour-style stunts in real-time combat. The fluid leaps and death-defying feats characters perform in the game may seem surreal or downright impossible, but the visual impact they deliver will be realistic. Vampires will be the epitome of grace and elegance, humans will personify balance and stability, and werewolves will move with all the force of their rage and fury.

 

What about the look of the game? On what sort of canvas will characters paint their tales in the universe of Moonlight Online? Peace-loving humans will embark on their free-spirited journeys from their rustic farms by the verdant countryside. Savage werewolves begin their feral adventures in the vast moonlit wastelands. The proud and noble vampires will have their roots in a medieval gothic metropolis teeming with opulence and mystery. With a distinct and unique look for each in mind, the team has set out to create breathtaking game landscapes made to fit the three great races.

 

Moonlight Online Rustic Homes 

 

While the team is spending a great deal of effort on perfecting the tales of the NPCs for the main quests in the key storyline, players will find the lesser-known tales of various mounts and bosses equally intriguing as they complete numerous side quests. What dark past lies hidden in the crimson socket of that skull artifact? The team is devoting a lot of time on weaving stories for these creatures, including anecdotes that will intertwine with all the weird and wondrous glory of their appearances. These will be tales that players will enjoy unfolding.

 

The development team’s goal is to present gamers with the most enjoyable and sensational gaming experience possible in a supernatural world that will both horrify and amaze.

 

Visit http://www.igg.com for more Moonlight Online news as new details emerge from the shadows.

Lords Online Opens a Fresh PvP Arena for World Cup

Lords Online Opens a Fresh PvP Arena for World Cup

 

To celebrate World Cup, Lords Online will add the new PVP Arena to the version1.5. The arena is a place where players can pit their heroes against each other in IGG’s game of expansion and heroic combat. Whenever the arena is upgraded, your hero will be granted an additional 5% experience when defeating a monster or emerging victorious from combat. Players can sign up at the arena and participate in PVP battles to obtain Reputation and record achievements. After registering, you will receive some Reputation.

 

New PVP Arena
New Arena Setup

PVP Contests

Each day there will be a complete round of PVP Contests held in the PVP Arena. On the day of the contest, registration will take place from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM. At 2:00 PM the Knockout matches will begin, followed at 4:00 PM by the second round of Knockouts. At 6:00 PM are the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals at 8:00 PM and the finals at 9:00 PM.

Each player may send one hero to participate at a time. The PVP Contest has 5 ranks based on level range (1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80 and 81-100). Players can sign their hero up for a specific rank match. When a player signs up, the system will automatically record their hero’s level, HP and equipment, so the hero must be ready for battle at the time of registration.

 

PVP Sign Up
PVP Sign Ups

 

The first round consists of auto PVP and is a one-and-done affair, so when a hero loses, they are out, and the winner moves on. Winners will continue to be paired up with new opponents, but must fight with the HP they have left after the previous battle. For the quarterfinals heroes can fight with their full amount of HP as recorded during registration. Players can choose to directly command their hero in PVP starting with the 2nd Knockout round.

 

Viewing PVP Results

After a match ends, a hero’s PVP Results are posted on the Reports page. The PVP Results (from the Knockouts to the Finals) will be announced and open for all players to view. The PVP Results will be kept up for viewing until the results of the next round are available.

 

Lords PVP
The Arena

PVP Rewards

Players receive 2 Reputation just for signing up, plus 1 extra Reputation for winning a match. Those who enter the Knockouts will receive 5 extra Reputation, 5 more Reputation for getting to the 2nd Knockout round, 5 Reputation for the quarterfinals, 5 Reputation for the semifinals, and 10 Reputation for being named the Champion.

Join the fun today and experience the new PVP Arena and many other exciting features as IGG works hard to make Lords Online one of the best games around.

 

New Hero System in EmpireCraft: World Supremacy

New Hero System in EmpireCraft: World Supremacy

 

OPI Games today has released new details on EmpireCraft: World Supremacy. The new expansion will introduce many new features such as a brand new hero system.

 

A number of significant changes in the new version 

1. Heroes will become more “specialized”. Only officer heroes are allowed to appoint a mayor. In new version you will get more exp from being a mayor. The hero who isn’t officer will not be relieved automatically, but if you relieved him from mayor, you will never appoint him to a mayor again.

 

Old version Exp:
Empire Craft Old Exp 

 

New version Exp:
EmpireCraft New Exp 

 

 

Only gladiator heroes are allowed to act a duel in arena. If you challenge other hero spontaneously, your hero will spend 6 energy. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, and your hero will get exp. If you win, you will get more exp. The integration rule of arena will don’t change, arena exp book will be cancelled; you could buy it in shop. Your hero will get more exp in new arena.

 

 

Empirecraft Win/Lose

 

 

2. You will get more exp in new version. The monster will strongerg, but if you attack it and win, you will get more exp. We also added training ground arena (It fit for lvl1~lvl10 hero), the energy depleted rule is the same as arena, training ground don’t have the integral reward, but it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, your hero will get exp!

 

More Empire Craft Features: 
– Full Feature Browser Based RTS + RPG
– Multi-player, compete against thousands of people from around the world
– Huge medieval fantasy game world with thousands of rewarding quests
– Three distinct races and thousands of quests
– Hero system with extensive RPG elements
– Completely browser-based, no downloads required, and free to play
– Playable via Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera
– Regular major content updates 

Zentia

Zentia features a humorous comic book style in 3D, unique characters, and a unique social leveling feature that requires the entire community to work together to open higher level game content.

The story of Zentia begins with an argument between three immortal brothers, each of whom hopes to rule the other two. Their fighting destroys the delicate balance of their world and, rather than clean up the mess themselves, they appoint twenty-two acolytes to do the dirty work for them.

At the beginning of the game, players select one of the twenty-two acolytes as their avatar and enter a distinctive role playing experience.