Monthly Archives: April 2011

OnRPG’s New Look

OnRPG’s New Look

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-In-Chief

 

 

Hello to all our faithful OnRPG readers and visitors! It’s been too long since OnRPG has been updated. After much pain staking discussion, planning, and testing, we have developed a vision of how to improve the website in various ways to improve your experience. Some of you may have noticed our initial tweaks to the homepage and forum restructuring. This was merely the beginning.

 

 

Today’s launch is geared toward making navigation simpler and doing it with a keen eye for aesthetics. We’ve had a disorganized categorization system and some features that could only be accessed through round-about ways (like the difficulty in reaching our screenshot gallery). We have expedited your ability to find games you are interested in by providing 8 categories easily accessed through our homepage!

 

 

Furthermore, we have condensed space by combining our news and MMO feature article feed into a single area. This will remain color coded so to not confuse the types of articles and open up additional space for us to feature more screenshots as well as our new video reviews and previews! That’s right, OnRPG is finally getting on the bandwagon and providing more unique video reviews from our own writers. The first of many to come can be seen right here, produced by our own Nic (Nilax) van’t Schip! We are also bringing on new faces to add to our writing team to provide the most diverse and informed articles straight to you on a daily basis. We’ll be featuring top stories on our homepage and letting you get to know our writers better by including their avatars along with their feature. We’re making an effort for our content to be more personal and informative.

 

 

Below is a look at our old site for memento’s sake. Be sure to let us know your feedback on the site changes at our newly redesigned forums! This is not the end but merely the second phase of a continuous evolution of the website. We will continue to improve the site to provide the content you want the way you want it. Your feedback is very valuable toward this goal.

 

OnRPG's New Look

 

Coming soon: The OnRPG Blog!

 

 

 

Prius Online’s Closed Beta Has Arrived!

Prius Online’s Closed Beta Has Arrived

 

The long wait has finally come to an end! The build up and anticipation has been excruciating but finally gPotato’s Prius has opened its doors to all those carrying a closed beta key! Over the past month OnRPG has given away over 3,000 keys to this event and the demand continues unabridged. If you are left out of the loop you must be wondering what this hype is all about. I will fill you in.

 

Prius Online Closed Beta

 

Prius Online features a unique 3 character system. You explore a lush beautiful world as the warrior of legend, complete with deep and meaningful customization options to truly utilize your power. Most MMOs would stop here. Prius laughs at the thought. They allow you to venture with a mystical child known as the Anima. Like your main character, she too has forgotten the past and has joined you in your journey of discovery. The anima is the ultimate MMORPG pet, brought to life. By interacting with her, you will be able to develop an emotional bond and progress her powers and trust of you in a multitude of directions. Beyond this, there is also a large golum protector you will be able to summon in your most dire times of need.

 

With all this focus on customization I began to worry that maybe development was lacking elsewhere. But from everything Prius has shown, this does not seem to be the case. The game previews all show beautiful graphics with seemless battle animations. There is also a deep storyline that is closely followed to prevent you from feeling like you are just grinding monsters mindlessly.

 

Our own Nic van’t Schip has decided to test out Prius on this initial closed beta weekend and will be providing a video preview in the coming weeks. We eagerly await his report.

Scarlet Legacy

Scarlet Legacy takes place in a feudal land, torn asunder by dark forces. As one of the children who knew grew up in the peaceful land of the past, it is your destiny to overthrow the Dark Emperor and return Princess Scarlet to her rightful place on the throne.

 

Scarlet Legacy features four very unique character classes complete with detailed growth paths and skill trees to provide you with plenty of customization options. These paths are labeled as standard, heart, and skill and will essentially provide a total of 12 character builds to choose from.

 

From the initial preview we have seen so far, the game seems to play out similar to Dynasty Warriors but with smoother more skill based control systems. The game looks surprisingly beautiful and the promise of ranked deathmatch arenas and guild ranking systems intrigues us even further.

 

The game also features unique benefits for maintaining long lasting partnerships with fellow players. Thus the closest of friends will carry an advantage over the lone wolf in this world. Three systems exist for a player to access through this system. You can pair up with a lover, as a master-apprentice, or as God-brother/sisters, with each providing a different type of bonus to bolster your strength and skills.

 

Scarlet Legacy also features a detailed profession system consisting of 10 professions including Weapons Crafting, Blacksmithing, Cooking, First Aid, Alchemy, Jewelcrafting, Engineering, Herbalism, Mining and Hunting.

 

Whether you are a hardcore grinder or prefer casual daily events, Scarlet Legacy has you covered. You will be able to gain strength from spending a small amount of time per day or gain bonus experience by unleashing your inner zen and slaying a massive amount of enemies in a short period of time. Skill and efficiency seems to be greatly rewarded in Scarlet Legacy.

 

Lost Saga Review: Frantic Fighter Hits Europe

Lost Saga Review – Frantic Fighter Hits Europe

Neil Kewn (Murxidon) – OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Many online fighting games have debuted over the years with varying degrees of success in the crowded free-to-play market. It is easy to disregard a new fighting game as being a carbon copy of the last, with titles in this genre typically reduced into violent bouts of even more violent button mashing. Whilst the idea is generally a simple one, kill your opponent before they kill you, developers have found ways of adding variety and innovation to help distinguish themselves from the pack. OGPlanet’s Lost Saga doesn’t break the mould, but it is a refreshingly polished action fighter that fans of the genre will absolutely adore.

 

First hitting American shores in late 2009, Lost Saga has now made its way to Europe. The core gameplay remains intact, taking the familiar formula of multiplayer fighters present in other games and adding several interesting dynamics to the mix. Basic gameplay, as you might expect, consists of up to sixteen players battling it out in a variety of game modes on a range of maps. From the typical free-for-all deathmatch modes to the more structured base control derivatives, there is plenty to sink your combo hungry teeth into right off the bat.

 

Lost Saga Review

 

The lobby acts as the central hub of Lost Saga, accessible after a relatively small download and installation period. From the lobby you can join games, create your own battle, chat with other players and view quests. In addition you can join Plazas (rooms where players can chat, practice and uh, fish) along with access to the game’s store. Jumping into a game is often a quick and easy process, with a Quick Join button automatically dropping you into the next available arena. It doesn’t always find a game, but that will become less of an issue once the player base grows.

 

Once you are in a game it’s time to select a Hero. Heroes are Lost Saga’s playable characters, and they are divided into three separate archetypes – Melee, Ranged and Magic. There are several Heroes to choose from within each class, each differing in appearance and abilities. As Heroes complete battles and gain experience, they advance in level and are rewarded with Hero Points. These can be spent improving specific character skills such as Dexterity, Speed and Attack strength. You are given a single character to start with – others can be attained through the store.

 

The basic keyboard layout works well. The arrow keys determine movement whilst the W, S, and D keys are assigned to actions, spells and abilities. Just seven keys are all that is required to play Lost Saga, although you do have the option to create a custom setup if holding down multiple keys isn’t your thing. Each Hero has four specific abilities, in addition to blocking, jumping and a basic attack.

 

Maps are enclosed and usually on multiple levels, so it’s important to keep an eye on the minimap to see where teammates and enemies are located. From my experience you should never branch off and face a group of opponents, as tag-teaming is a common annoyance that often renders you incapacitated almost immediately. As your health bar depletes, weapons and gear are stripped from you, so the more of a beating you take the less and less effective you become. Endure enough punishment and you’ll be left in just underwear, which is as humiliating as it is strange.

 

Lost Saga Review

 

Thankfully button mashing won’t get you very far in this game. Effective players take advantage of timing, positioning, blocks and counters to successfully KO their opponent. Fallen weapons and gear can be equipped on the fly too, adding a new dynamic to the battle. It’s a lot to consider given how frantic a battle can be at times, especially when there are many players in a single game. It may frustrate some but it just makes a successful chain of attacks all that much more rewarding.

 

There are two currencies in Lost Saga, the Peso and the Astro. The former is attained by participating in battles and completing quests, whilst Astro needs to be paid for with real world currency. Most of the items in the game’s store can be purchased with either coin, but one significant difference separates the two. In theory players can see the majority of what Lost Saga has to offer without paying a dime, but purchases with Peso generally aren’t permanent. You can splash out on a brand new Hero or outfit, but without Astro those items will disappear after you have used them for an allotted time. This is not the first time we have seen such a funding method in a game and it means that regular players can usually enjoy new gear and upgrades for free.

 

The real world price for Astro isn’t remarkably cheap and is sold in blocks that conveniently don’t cover the price of average items in the store. Nevertheless, OGPlanet offers a range of different ways to acquire the currency for free. These range from filling out surveys to completing offers and watching advertisements. If you are liberal with your personal information, it’s an interesting and welcome method of funding your game.

 

Lost Saga Review

 

Graphically Lost Saga is a very attractive title. Cel-shaded graphics compliment the game’s over-the-top combat perfectly. Bright, bold colours and cartoon textures highlight how little the game takes itself seriously. I was pleasantly surprised by the consistently high frame rate, providing a solid smooth looking gaming experience even in the most frantic team fights. Connection issues have cropped up though, hampering the fairness and fluidity of a game that demands good networking between players. Hopefully this gets ironed out during the beta testing.

 

Lost Saga is a polished, enjoyable casual fighting game that is easy to play but difficult to master. It’s commendable that so much content is available to free players, and those who play more often can reap the rewards in free store items. Thanks to the fun and fast-paced arena combat, Lost Saga is a perfect casual game for those lacking the free time demanded by most MMOs. Whilst it’s unlikely to persuade those who shun the genre to change their minds, fighting fans are extremely well catered for with everything Lost Saga has to offer.

 

 

Pros

Frantic combat that’s easy to grasp
High quality visuals
Free players are not alienated
Co-op Crusade mode is great fun

 

 

Cons

Not that many players right now
Some connection issues

 

Metal Assault Preview: Blood and Babes

Metal Assault Preview: Blood and Babes

by Nic van’t Schip (Nilax), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Be sure to check out our video preview!

 

At first sight Metal Assault looks like the wet dream of any Metal Slug fanboi and fangurl. The game is wholly unapologetic about being a multiplayer version of the original arcade shooter. I know Metal Slug itself was multiplayer as well but hey, you couldn’t play with 20 of your buddies at the same time could you?

 

Metal Assault Preview

Our friends at Aeria Games are bringing this game to us and frankly it was about time we saw something new from them. They didn’t really have a side scrolling game yet so this will round out their impressive portfolio nicely.

 

The game is currently in beta still and we were not able to test the item mall. Everything else seems to work just fine however so let’s get to the testing!

 

Character Creation

Metal Assault gives you the choice between four distinctly different characters and even lets you customize them a bit, but more on that later.

 

Carl is your standard “in the middle” kind of character. He doesn’t rule at anything but he also doesn’t suck at anything. Many gamers will argue that this means he sucks at everything and rules at nothing but that’s merely a matter of perspective.

 

Metal Assault Preview

Burton is the tanky type character. He reminds me a lot of Barrett (FF7 but I didn’t have to tell you that right?) because he’s a big guy with a big gun and a black beard. Lots of people seem to play him like the Heavy in Team Fortress 2. To me it seems like he takes a serious hit in all his stats compared to Carl for a small increase in hitpoints. In fact if we count the number of little blocks on both characters we’ll see that Carl has 57 and Burton only has 51… What an interesting concept of balance huh?

 

Metal Assault Preview

Marie seems to take the cake though in the “Box Counting Competition” with a whopping 65. She’s the sniper of the team and according to her bio on the Metal Assault website she goes by the name of “Lil ‘Miss Headshot”. I can imagine that with stats like hers headshots should be quite easy. She trades about a 3rd of her hitpoints for a massive advantage in stats.

 

Metal Assault Preview

Ai is our fourth and last choice and rather than whine about her stats I want to in stead quote her background story from the Metal Assault website:

Ai’s childhood was a struggle against her perfect sister, Maii, to gain their parents’ attention. Unlike Ai, Maii excelled at everything she tried, from gymnastics to ballet to sharpshooting. Maii later became a war hero in the R.O.C. Ai’s love and jealousy grew until an incurable illness struck Maii down behind enemy lines.

 

Metal Assault Preview

Hoping to both surpass her sister’s memory and alleviate her own guilt, Ai became determined to join the R.O.C. herself. She strives to both follow in Maii’s footsteps and outperform her at every opportunity. Quick and nimble, Ai complements the team well as a forward scout.

 

Holy heavy back stories Batman, where did that curveball come from? But I guess a bit of family intrigue, guilt and a healthy inferiority complex has never hurt a game’s lore. I could mention FF7 again here but you get my point.

Gameplay

Getting Metal Assault to run and play perfectly can be a bit of a hassle. I know LOTS of people who had no problem what so ever but the OnRPG team was unlucky I guess. Some of the other writers were unable to get it to run at all and I had to mess about with the sound settings to get it to behave well. We could have simply had some bad luck and the game IS still in beta so we hope these issues won’t plague the game when it releases.

 

Once in the game you are asked if you want to take part in a Tutorial which I accepted. While being extremely basic and perhaps a tad slowly paced this part of the game does do a good job of showing that Metal Assault has character and a real sense of humor. The drill instructor type dude that is guiding us through the exercises cracks a joke or two and does a pretty effective job of teaching me how to run, jump, crouch, shoot and grenade my way through the game.

The first quest he sends me on my way with is obviously designed to teach me how the shop and item system works in the game. For a side scrolling shooter the quest system seems fairly sturdy and the “Town” is nice and busy with lots of players… or is it?

 

Metal Assault Preview

Most of the people in this screenshot seem to be bots, people that logged off with a certain message clogging up the town interface. It does a good job of populating the town I guess so let’s not fret on this too much.

 

But now I’m eager to get to the real shooting. Via a lobby system we can join or start games. When I was online two maps in particular seemed extremely popular; Cursed Forest and Great Escape. Cursed Forest is a static map in which you have to defend your base camp against a constant onslaught of Zombies and Great Escape is a basement which, the name says it, you have to escape from.

 

Metal Assault Preview

As you can see in our game play video, the tactic of spawn camping in Cursed Forest is both extremely popular as well as ridiculously effective. The zombies simply aren’t powerful or numerous enough until the last couple of rounds of each game to really endanger the players and this is a bit of a shame. This results in 80% of a game being a basic grinding exercise with only the last couple of rounds turning into the hectic and epic shooting and running that we expect from this game.

 

Again, as this is only the beta of the game I really hope that Aeria gets the developer to tweak this a bit. Two or three easy rounds at the beginning of a game would be nice as a warm-up but the majority of a game should feel like a challenge and not just the last two rounds.

 

PvP is extremely hectic and if it’s your kind of thing I can imagine it’ll be good for a lot of fun!
It will be interesting to see what the item mall will have in store (puns always intended) for this game and a couple of weeks after the game launched officially we’ll be back with a full on review!

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta Starts Tonight

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta Starts Tonight

 

Chronicles of Merlin, Koramgame’s newest browser game combines the best of the strategy and RPG genres. Tonight at 21:00 (EST), Merlin’s rift in time will open and players will find themselves thrust into battle with the greatest heroes of all time.

 

Merlin will bring you to the magical land of Westmore, his flawed attempt at recreating ancient Europe, where only the strong survive. In the chaotic and war-torn Westmore, you’ll need friends and allies. As you adventure through Merlin’s alternate reality, you’ll meet heroes and villains like Robin Hood, Dracula, and Genghis Khan, among others, who you can recruit to join your army.

 

Features of Chronicles of Merlin:

 

I. Battle Formations
“Every battle is won before it is ever fought.”

Over the course of the campaign’s 10 chapters, you’ll face hundreds of enemy heroes, each one commanding an army more dastardly than the last. Aside from traditional Infantry, Archer, and Cavalry troops you’ll also have Warlocks, Mages, and Siege Ballista to contend with. Fortunately, you will have a powerful tool in your arsenal to use against the dynamic foes in your path: Formations.

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

Aside from letting you control hero position on the battlefield, each formation also gives a specific bonus to your heroes, from increasing magic or physical damage to increasing tactical defense. A keen understanding of how to choose formations and position your heroes will become one of your most powerful weapons on your adventures through Westmore.

 

 

II. Heroes

Heroes are the core of your military and serve as the most critical factor of your overall strategy. Each hero commands their own group of loyal soldiers, so they are permanently linked with a specific soldier type. You’ll want to consider both the soldier type and any special gambits each hero has when recruiting. Heroes all have differently roles; some can tank astounding amounts of damage, some deal critical damage to a single target, others can damage all enemy targets, a select few can even act as healers. The strategic possibilities are endless!

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

Any boss in the campaign can eventually be recruited as a hero in your army, but most of the heroes of Westmore are fiercely independent and won’t join you without a fight. The stubborn ones may require a few beatings before recognizing your superiority. Just keep defeating these bosses until you receive the hero tokens required to recruit them.

 

 

III. Mercenaries and Alliances

A special challenge awaits players at the end of each chapter in the form of a boss legion. These large scale battles require cooperation between multiple players to complete, but give extra battle points and rewards for the extra trouble. If you can’t find players to join you, you can hire a few Mercenaries which have been especially trained to help lone wolves take on the legion battles in the campaign.

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

However, the adage that strength lies in numbers holds true in Chronicles of Merlin. With a strong alliance, you won’t have to shell out for mercenaries during campaign legion battles. Additionally, you’ll gain some allies in your constant struggle to defend farms and silver mines. The strongest alliances will be able to seize control of coveted plantations and provide daily grain bonuses to all their members. With the potential for epic alliance battles with up to 500 heroes with up to 1 million soldiers, you’ll want to sign up for a strong alliance right away to get a piece of the action.

 

 

IV. Turf Wars

Every inch of land in Westmore is bought with the sweat and blood of thousands of soldiers. However, the vast resources to be reaped from silver mines, farms, and plantations across the land, makes the cost seem a small price to pay. Even if you try to develop peacefully in your own city and avoid attacking others, your enemies aren’t likely to afford you the same courtesy. You’ll need to get out there and stake a claim on at least one silver mine and a farm to stay strong.

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

All key resources can be plundered through battle, including grain, silver, battle points, and prestige. The struggle to control the limited resources of Europe spares no man, and inspires one-on-one PvP clashes, alliance battles, and even kingdom warfare. Remember, only the strong survive in Westmore.

 

Stayed tuned as OnRPG will defiitely be getting our hands on this game soon for a full featured review.

 

Chronicles of Merlin

Merlin is up to his magical mischief again, and this time he’s created a catastrophic rift in time. In Chronicles of Merlin, players are caught in the rift and transported back to Merlin’s alternate reality alongside the greatest heroes and villains of all history. In a land called Westmore where the strong rule with an iron fist over the weak, you’ll need to rally heroes to your side and quickly make some allies to survive.

 

Chronicles of Merlin exists as a real-time strategy browser based MMORPG. You build an army through detailed formation selection (that works similarly to selecting plays in football games) and the development of your powerful Hero characters.

 

The game offers you plenty of pve situations to hone your skills and acquire the basic resources required to go toe-to-toe with other players. Each quest consists of multiple missions culminating in a ‘legion boss’ that will require you to join forces with multiple other players to overcome a dastardly titan or great military force.

 

All of this though is just training for the meat and potatos of Chronicles of Merlin, the pvp. Land across Europe can be captured and reaped for resources. Though it is possible to own and protect your own small plot of land, to gain true wealth you will need to team up with a clan and attempt to conquer all the lands of Europe. Fighting is fierce and only the most honed and tatically minded leaders will come out on top. Will you be among them?

Grand Epic Online Enters Closed Beta

Grand Epic Online Enters Closed Beta

 

Grand Epic Online(GEO), an innovative 2.5D browser MMORPG presented by Run Up Information Technology Corp, is to launch its CB today, April 27th! This innovative MMORPG with real-time group action fighting has received great initial reviews from users in last week’s trial run.

 

Grand Epic Online Preview

 

Originally, the limit of players allowed in the trial test was set at 500. However the queue to enter this test went beyond the expectations of the developers. As such they have increased their servers bandwidth and will be more prepared to cater to the large number of players entering the closed beta test.

 

OnRPG has taken an initial look into this game and was surprised by the sheer amount of depth they have managed to offer with no client download. Besides incorporating a pet/mount system, GEO seems to be delivering a complex character development system, with a number of oriental philosophic concepts being used to provide various ways to enhance the character’s power. A few examples of this involve reincarnation, dual immortal practice, and the path of enlightenment, each offering a specific way of self-strengthening.

 

Grand Epic Online Preview

 

OnRPG will be taking a closer look next month to see just how well these features pan out and work together to build into a total game package. In the meantime check out our game profile for more information on GEO’s many features. I am skeptical myself but if GEO manages to incorporate all it has promised, it could be a surprise hit of 2011.