Yearly Archives: 2012

CCP Announces New Dust 514 Mercenary Pack

CCP Announces New Dust 514 Mercenary Pack

 

Dust 514

 

Today CCP Games is proud to announce the brand-new Mercenary Pack for its upcoming free-to-play massively multiplayer first-person shooter, DUST 514, scheduled for release later this year exclusively on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The Mercenary Pack provides players with an arsenal of gear, game currency and a booster to expand their opportunities on the battlefield. The pack also includes exclusive items, rewarding early adopters with uniquely styled armor and weapons, in addition to an all-access pass to the closed-beta program running throughout the summer.

 

 

DUST 514’s first scheduled Beta Event begins this Thursday, June 28, with more following every other weekend. By purchasing the Mercenary Pack, players are guaranteed access to every Beta Event, and have exclusive access to the game on off-weekends. Anyone interested in testing DUST 514 can also sign up at www.dust514.com/beta, where they will be chosen at random to participate. All participating players will receive a unique dropsuit for each Beta Event to commemorate their time testing DUST 514.

 

Dust 514

 

The Mercenary Pack offers a $50 USD value for a price of $19.99 USD and is now available on the PlayStation Network.

 

 

The contents of the Mercenary Pack are:

4,000 Aurum ($20 USD value) – the in-game currency for DUST 514 that you can buy in the PS Store

30-dat Active Skill Booster – increases earned Skill Points (SP) by 50%

‘Dragonfly’ Scout Dropuit – a uniquely designed armor with unlimited use

‘Toxin” ICD-9 Submachine Gun with unlimited use and a custom skin

HK4M Shotgun X 50

Hacked Drop Uplink x 50 – allows players to create on-the-spot spawn points for their teammates

Fused Locus Grenade x 50

1.5dn Myofibril Stimulant x 50 – offers players a temporary melee damage boost against opponents

All Access Beta Pass – allows players to participate in every Beta Event, as well as additional play sessions during off weekends

 

Dust 514

 

 

One of the most anticipated titles of the year, DUST 514 brings intense infantry combat, large-scale warfare and deep character advancement to the PlayStation®3 in an exclusive free-to-play massively multiplayer shooter. Set in, and integrated with, the massive universe of EVE Online™, players wage war in the next generation of first-person shooters, where a single victory could prove the crushing blow to a galactice empire of thousands of online gamers.

 

 

The Mercenary Pack is available now in the US for $19.99 USD and on June 27 in Europe for 17.00 / 13.99. Players can purchase the pack via PSN. DUST 514 is currently in closed beta and is set to launch in 2012, exclusively on Playstation3.

OnRPG Shotgun News 6/26: Maplestory, SWTOR, Age of Wulin, and more!

OnRPG Shotgun News 6/26: Maplestory, Battlefield Heroes, SWTOR, Dragon Eternity, Age of Wulin, Face of Mankind, and FFXI

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

MapleStory: Jett Character Revealed

A new trailer has been released looking into the new character Jett in Nexon America’s very popular MapleStory. For the first time players see what Jett looks like and see combat. Jett is set to be introduced exclusively to North American players on June 27th. In addition to the new character the update will introduced a newly balanced Thief class. They are faster, stronger and have improved skills. Players will be able to give their characters part time jobs which will put the characters to work even when they aren’t logged in.

 

 

 

Battlefield Heroes Celebrates Three Year Anniversary

One of EA’s leading browser based free to play games is turning three years old! Battlefield Heroes has over 12 million players which EA is thanking with new content, give aways and enhanced game features. Between June 25th and July 1st players can log in to Battlefield Heroes and get two free Party Packs. Each pack includes a birthday shirt, Tricycle emote and a treasure chest key. A brand new map called Fortress Frenzy has players fighting for victory on a small island. The celebration also includes more opportunities to earn Valor Points, Experience Points, and introduces the Treasure Chest which randomly gives players special rewards for defeating an enemy.

 

 

Star Wars: The Old Republic Update 1.3 Allies


 

BioWare has announced that the third update in 6 months has been released in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Titled Allies this update focuses on grouping, pvp, and gear. A Group Finder has been added to make it easier for players to connect with others to complete tasks while being a well rounded group. Ranked Warzones have been introduced to make pvp more challenging and more rewarding. Players will be able to track their performance and measure their skill against other players.

 

 

Dragon Eternity Announced

Game Insight has announced a new cross platform MMO for iOS, Andriod and browsers. Dragon Eternity is a fantasy based MMO with two factions. As adventurers in either Vaalor or Sadar players complete quests, take part in pvp and non-combat crafting professions. In addition there are social elements which include an auction house system and long term player clans.

 

 

Age of Wulin History and Setting Announced


 

gPotato has announced new information about the historically accurate Chinese martial arts MMO titled Age of Wulin. The story is set in the early Ming Dynasty, a time of codes of chivalry when the martial arts culture was at it’s peak. There are 27 regions which represent the different areas of Imperial China. There are over 40,000 NPCs who all have their own lives and don’t stand around. Age of Wulin will be entering closed beta testing soon and preregistration is available on http://en.wulin.gpotato.eu/mini/.

 

 

Face of Mankind Developers Blog

A new dev blog has been posted on the Face of Mankind website. It outlines Faction Stance Tax Customization, Colonial and Sector Ownership perks, World Service Displacement, and Crime Rate. Ownership perks are set to replace the current perks allowing leaders to strategize galactic domination. Worlds will have a natural crime rate which will be based on their distance from Earth.

 

 

Final Fantasy XI Announces Expansion

Square Enix has unveiled the fifth expansion to Final Fantasy XI called Seekers of the Adoulin. A new continent will be introduced on the West as well as the city of Adoulin. It has a Mediterranean style influence and mainly focuses on high end content. A new class called Geomancer is an AoE buffer/debuffer with another class being announced at a later date.

 

 

Elsword Chung Launch Interview

Elsword Chung Launch Interview

Questions by Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

Answers by Frank Kim, Elsword Product Manager

 

 

Hey everyone! I’m stoked this week as not only do I get to meet the awesome and sexy cosplayers at Kill3rCombo’s Anime Expo booth on Saturday, but I get my hands on the newest playable Elsword character, Chung, this coming Wednesday! Information on the US launch of this character is still pretty limited, so I coordinated to get an interview setup to learn about Chung of Hamel!

 

 

OnRPG: Hello from OnRPG! Can you introduce yourself and explain your position at Kill3rCombo?

 

Frank Kim: Hi, I’m Frank Kim, Product Manager on Elsword—I also secretly pose as one of the GMs in game but players don’t know which one. J

 

 

OnRPG: Keeping true to the manga theme, every playable character comes with some hefty baggage, er.. backstory to how they got to this point. What is Chung’s story?

 

Frank Kim: Chung has one of the best backstories yet because it also ties in with a whole new region of the world we unlocked a couple weeks ago. He comes from a line of guardians sworn to protect the beautiful kingdom of Hamel. When demons attacked, the sea began to swallow Hamel and most of the guardians lost their lives. Chung’s father was possessed by demons and Chung was seriously wounded fighting his own father. Now Chung is teaming up with Elsword to restore peace to Hamel, but you’ll have play through the Hamel saga to see what happens next.

 

 

OnRPG: Will his story play a significant role in any of the quests related to the series of Hamel updates coming this summer?

 

Frank Kim: Oh yes. Even if you don’t play as Chung, the quests you take will reveal more about his guardian clan, the fall of Hamel, and let you confront the demons that attacked the town. Of course each of our 6 characters has their own unique story, so you might want to go back and play it again to see it from Chung’s perspective.

 

 

OnRPG: What’s the general player feedback you guys have received on the new Hamel content update?

 

Frank Kim: It’s been amazing. The hardcore fans are excited because the game has even more higher level content, but new players are excited too because this Hamel is actually the first part of a new continent we unlocked so it’s really the start of something bigger.

 

 

OnRPG: So Chung’s design reminds me of Eve in terms of look and style yet he seems to have more of a bruiser feel to him. Is that an accurate description of his playstyle?

 

Frank Kim: You are very much on the right track.  His playstyle is an absolute bulldozer like. With his giant cannon “Destroyer”, which you can sort of guess from its name, he likes to swing for the fences and demolish anything in front of him.

 

 

OnRPG: If you had to describe Chung’s role in the party as a mix of any two current characters, how would you describe it?

 

Frank Kim: Chung can be classified as a character that specializes in one of two roles, much like our character Rena who can choose between magical arrow mastery or using fierce kicks to combo. He can branch off with his 1st job change and specialize in a much more powerful close range combat or ranged dps types of attacks.

 

 

OnRPG: Does Chung bring any unique mechanics to combat that aren’t used by other characters?

 

Frank Kim: Actually he does have quite different combat mechanics.  While he has his own cool and unique skills, unlike others, his cannon ball attacks require special ammunition that players need to reload/recharge during battles when it’s empty. Also, one thing that make him totally unique, he’s the first player who completely transforms when he enters Awakening mode. All the characters go into overdrive with higher stats, but with Chung you gain new abilities and look totally different, so instead we call it Berserk mode.

 

 

OnRPG: How is Chung shaping up in testing as far as PvP goes? Is he more of an easy to pick up and play character or does he have a higher learning curve? Also do you find him better in team battle or is he more of a duelist?

 

Frank Kim: Chung is going to be quite a game changer in PVP. As always with a new character release, players will need to learn and adapt to his playstyle. Chung should have a higher learning curve compared to other characters due to his unique features such as berserk and managing your ammunition with the cannonball system. Chung will be a great team battler and duelist with his all-around technical style of play.

 

 

OnRPG: If Chung had a girlfriend among the Elsword crew, who would you guess it to be?

 

Frank Kim: Well, part of me thinks Chung secretly wants to be rock star, so he’d really hit it off with Aisha. But then again, he’s also all about honor and loyalty, so I think Rena would really go for that. I don’t think he would have a chance with Eve, no way in million years. (that’s probably how old she is by the way.)

 

 

OnRPG: Finally question is a bit off topic but I’ve wanted to know this for a while. A couple major companies have started promoting their titles through unusual mediums including comic books and mangas. Will we ever see an officially sponsored Elsword manga?

 

Frank Kim: Actually we have a bunch of cool things in works, especially since we just recently entered our second year of Elsword. Nothing we can discuss just yet, but people should definitely stay tuned for exciting news.

 

 

OnRPG:  Anything else you’d like to say to our fans before we wrap up this interview?

 

Frank Kim: Thanks for having me and while we love all our fans, we have a special message for those can join us at Anime Expo in Los Angeles from June 29 – July 2. We’ll have tons of cool swag, PvP tournaments, and professional cosplayers as all the characters to the bring Elsword to life. For those who don’t want to ride the rails like a hobo to join us, we’ll also have lots of footage to share afterward, but nothing beats hanging with the ElCrew in person! To find out more about the show fans can go here:

http://www.elswordonline.com/animeexpo/

 

 

Deepworld Interview: Below and Beyond

Deepworld Interview: Below and Beyond

Questions by Bryan King (Bryan), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Sandbox users, unite! Deepworld is a 2D Open World Sandbox-Style Building Game, utilizing cloud technology to allow users to make their own worlds and explore. Today, I got to sit down with Quinn Stephens of Bytebin, who goes into more detail about this neat looking title.

 

 

OnRPG: Hello Quinn, please introduce yourself to our readers.

 

Quinn: Hi everyone, I’m Quinn, one of the three guys that make up Bytebin. We’re a new indie game studio and we’re about to release our first game, Deepworld. It’s a sandbox crafting MMO with a steampunk aesthetic, and we’re really excited to welcome players into the world we’ve created.

 


OnRPG: The first question on a lot of our readers minds, “isn’t this just Terraria or Minecraft?” What differentiates Deepworld from those two sandbox games?

 

Quinn: Deepworld definitely takes a lot of inspiration from Minecraft. In fact, we came up with the idea when we were running our own Minecraft server. We wanted to see what the same basic exploration/crafting/building mechanics would be like if we streamlined the gameplay, connected everyone to the same cloud-based persistent world, and added more social interactions  – without the hassle of players setting up the server themselves.

 

We ended up with an MMO that will be familiar to Minecraft and Terraria players, but unique in ways that will continue to evolve as the game world itself does. We’ve already got a dynamic ecosystem that players can change, as well as a skill-leveling system that ties into achievements. Soon we’re going to add steam power, mini-games like capture the flag and freeze tag, and some really cool dynamic player-manipulated music. And that’s just the beginning. We plan to make the game accessible across desktop and mobile platforms as well; whether you’re on your laptop or your phone, you’ll always be able to pick up playing from where you left off.

 


OnRPG: What influenced your decision to utilize Kickstarter as a funding source?

 

Quinn: I think a lot of game designers’ eyebrows shot up when Tim Schafer’s adventure game project raised over 3 million dollars – that was when Kickstarter went from being a cool idea to an undeniable force in fundraising for indie projects. We knew we’d never approach anything like Double Fine’s success, but we figured if we could raise enough to support ourselves for a few months, pay for some more servers, and hire a sound designer, we’d be able to get a polished project out the door much sooner. It was really encouraging to watch people pitch in to help us do that. Unfortunately we didn’t hit our goal, but that didn’t stop us – it just slowed us down for a bit.

 


OnRPG: On the same train of thought, what influenced your decision to release Deepworld on Mac, iOS, and Windows?

 

Quinn: One of our developers, Mike, had already released a few games on the iOS App Store and was very familiar with both the publishing process and the cocos2d framework that we’re using to build the game client. Cocos2d can easily build to the Mac desktop as well, so both the Mac and iOS App Stores were a natural first choice for our platform. It was during the Kickstarter campaign that we really started to hear demand for a Windows version as well, so we decided to make that a priority. Fortunately there’s a cross-platform version of cocos2d that we can use to port the game to Windows, and it recently added some of the last few features that we needed, which should speed up that process quite a bit.

 


OnRPG: For the lone wolves out there, will there be a single player mode?

 

Quinn: You’ll be able to purchase private game zones and decide whether or not you want to invite other people to explore them. We’re considering a limited offline mode as well, but that’s not a huge priority at the moment.

 


OnRPG:  How will you guys transition the game release to iOS?

 

Quinn: The biggest challenge will be getting the touch controls right. All the art assets and code already work on iOS, but we want to make sure the game is still fun and intuitive to play without a mouse and keyboard. We’ll be rolling out an iOS beta very soon, and once our users are enjoying the game as much on their iPads and iPhones as on the desktop, we’ll go ahead and submit to the App Store.

 


OnRPG: You guys seem to go into great detail about how important socializing is in Deepworld. What social features does Deepworld include to help culminate this feature?

 

Quinn: We want interacting with other players to be a key part of the experience, so we’ve already implemented a Twitter-inspired “following” system. You can use it to see when your friends are online, which zones they’re in, and what they’ve been up to lately. You can set your own visibility level in other players’ feeds as well.

 

In addition to the collaborative building and resource sharing, and the mini-games I mentioned, we’re going to enable players to create trap-filled dungeons and even entire quests for other players. We’re planning to implement collaborative and competitive building challenges, with unique game items as rewards. PvP combat will be possible as well for players who prefer their social interactions to be a bit more adversarial.

 

The game is, at its heart, about creativity, and we want to give our players as much opportunity and as many tools as we can to combine their creative drives and come up with crazy, unexpected things. We think the end result will be really cool.

 


OnRPG: What kinds of worlds can users come across when exploring the game?

 

Quinn: The world is split up into large, self-contained game zones, and each of these zones starts off in a state of post-apocalyptic blight. The plants are dead, the buildings are ruined and you’ll encounter deadly acid rain and hostile mutant creatures. But if players in a zone manage to find the broken pieces of a purification machine and re-activate it, the skies will clear and plants will begin to grow again. With enough work you can create an idyllic paradise – or you can just strip the land of all its raw materials and leave it to rot, if that’s your choice.

 

Everything is procedurally generated, so there’s no telling what you’ll find in a new zone. There will be collapsed houses, abandoned underground bunkers full of treasure, vast mineral-rich caverns and crumbling industrial cityscapes. Eventually we’re hoping to add new environments, like snowy mountains and wetlands, as well.

 


OnRPG: How does the skill system come into play?

 

Quinn: The skill system is tied into the achievements. Every achievement you get – say, for hunting a certain number of monsters or for finding rare treasures – gives you points that you can assign to your different skills at will. Some of the skills will be pretty familiar to RPG players – Luck, Agility, Stamina – and some are more specific to our game, like Building and Engineering. Raising your skills will allow you to move and mine faster, to place blocks from farther away, or to craft stronger and better items – all things that have an immediate and tangible effect on gameplay. The Automata skill will even let you build robots to do your digging, crafting and fighting for you. We’re really looking forward to the possibilities of that.

 


OnRPG: What influenced your team to use a steampunk art style when developing the game?

 

Quinn: We’re big steampunk fans – honestly, we just think it looks really cool. This particular style of hand-drawn, cross-hatched art is somewhat uncommon in games nowadays, and we wanted our game to have a unique look and feel that matched the setting and gameplay.

 

OnRPG: What degree of customization do players have on their characters?

 

Quinn: Lots, and there’s more to come. Every character starts out with a randomized appearance, but once you find or build a mirror and wardrobe, you’re free to change your skin tone, hair style / color, and clothing, as many times as you want. You’ll eventually be able to craft your own outfits. Unique clothing, hats and accessories will make up a lot of the treasures and special items that players will find throughout the game.

 


OnRPG: Is there some form of dedicated player housing?

 

Quinn: In addition to private zones, players can use special protection devices to mark off a certain radius of game territories as their own. Once the protector is in place, only you – and anyone you grant the privilege – can mine or place blocks in that area. A number of our beta users have already built themselves some really amazing homes that way.

 


OnRPG: With such a heavy degree of Steampunk artistic basis, can we expect to see crafting? If so, how will this system work in-game?

 

Quinn: Crafting is a huge part of the game, but we’ve kept it simple and accessible. As you dig around and scavenge to fill your inventory, your crafting menu will highlight the items that you can create with your current resources and skill level. Once an item is available, you can craft it with a single click or tap. If it’s not available, you’ll be able to see right away which items you still need in order to craft it. Right now we have nearly 100 craftable items in the game. We have plans for many, many more.

 


OnRPG: As it stands, you guys currently have a Mac beta released. When can we expect to see the iOS and Windows versions?

 

Quinn: Our Mac and iOS versions share a lot of code, so we think we can get an iOS beta out in the next couple of months. We’re still evaluating options for our Windows port, but we hope to get that underway within the summer as well.

 


OnRPG: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

 

Quinn: Thanks for your attention, and we’d love to meet you in Deepworld! You can stay updated on the progress of the game by following us on Twitter (@deepworldgame) or checking out our website and forums at deepworldgame.com. We’re happy to answer any further questions. And don’t forget MAC users can jump into the game right now!

 


OnRPG: Thank you!

 

Quinn: Thanks for having us!

Deepworld Online

Deepworld is a 2D crafting adventure game with a persistent, online sandbox universe. It’s built in the cloud, so you can join up with your friends at any time to journey through the depths, create new worlds, or visit other players’ fabulous creations – on your Mac, and soon your iOS devices and PC, too!

 

 

Features:

Explore the World(s): Journey through vast mountains, caves, and ruins while collecting crafting materials, fighting baddies, or even checking out some custom maps built by other players!

 

Collect and Craft: Tear down part of one world and build another with it. Deepworld’s crafting system is robust and features tons of inventory space to ensure it doesn’t stand in the way of your imagination.

 

RPG Elements: Complete objectives to unlock achievements and skill points used to buff up your character’s crafting or combat abilities.

 

Ecosystem: Players can repair ancient technology to restore hurting ecosystems, ensuring an ever changing dynamic world.

OnRPG Shotgun News 6/25: Carte, FFXI, Nexon, and Blade & Soul

OnRPG Shotgun News 6/25: Carte, FFXI, Nexon, and Blade & Soul

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Editor’s Note: Hey everyone and welcome to a new regular daily article recapping a bunch of news from around the industry in quick short tidbits. As OnRPG’s staff of freelancers has grown over the past year we are able to better compete with the major online news sites and hope this column keeps our readers better informed on the games and industry around them!

 

 

Carte Arena

Popular Online Trading Card Game Carte announces new features which include an all new Arena feature. This will pair players using an automated matchmaking system. Hubert Lee, Head of Marketing at GamesCampus, the publisher of Carte said this on the changes; “With numerous tweaks, both big and small, players will see an immediate difference in their matches.” The system also matches players of the same approximate skill level using an intelligent new system. In addition players will be able to review their own match histories and stats to allow them to adjust their decks and strategies. Arena Medals can be earned by taking part in Arena matches these serve as a currency for purchasing exclusive heroes and cards not found anywhere else in Carte.

Final Fantasy XI Profits



 

During a speech at Vana Fest 2012 Square Enix president Yoichi Wada declared Final Fantasy XI the most profitable game in the very popular Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy XI was launched in 2002 and has reportedly in that time been played an astonishing 200,000 years worth of game time by players from all across the world.

 

 

Nexon America Offers F2P games on Steam

Nexon American announces that several of it’s free-to-play games will be offered on Valve’s Steam platform. Nexon’s real-physics based MMORPG Vindictus is available immediately on Steam with the online FPS Combat Arms being made available later in June. Nexon America’s CEO Daniel Kim has said the reasons for this are; “Providing our games on Steam is about making it as easy as possible for players to access our games.”

 

 

Blade & Soul Popularity


 

NCSoft’s Blade & Soul has become the most popular game in Korea only three short days after starting open beta testing. This puts it above both Diablo III and League of Legends which now hold the number 2 and 3 places in popularity. NCSoft also announced that it would not be a free-to-play title and would have a monthly fee of 23,000 Korean Won ($19.80 USD)

DDO: Menace of the Underdark Launches Today

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Menance of the Underdark Launches Today

 

Dungeons & Dragons Online

 

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that Dungeons & Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark, the first expansion to the award-winning F2P MMORPG, has now gone live. This expansion ties into Wizards of the Coast’s ‘Rise of the Underdark’ campaign and gives Dungeons & Dragons fans the ability to engage with the drow narrative on the PC platform. Menace of the Underdark can be purchased now at http://underdark.ddo.com/ or on Steam.

 

 

“Today marks a major milestone as we release our first premium expansion to Dungeons & Dragons Online,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons Online, Turbine. “Menace of the Underdark delivers a wealth of content for our players and introduces significant engine upgrades that allow us to bring to life in a striking, visually impressive manner two of the most requested features, the new Druid class and access to the Forgotten Realms setting.”

 

Dungeons & Dragons Online

 

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE: MENACE OF THE UNDERDARK FEATURES:

 

Three New Forgotten Realms Adventure Packs — Featuring a multitude of epic adventures, unprecedented new wilderness areas with challenging objectives, a host of dungeons, and more!

The King’s Forest: Explore deep into the King’s Forest and defend the village of Eveningstar from Lolth’s Drow legions.

The Underdark: Venture down into the Underdark and confront Lolth’s elite followers in the Drow city of Sschindlyryn.

The Demonweb: Journey to Lolth’s home plane, battle demon hordes and confront the spider goddess herself as you attempt to stop her scheme.

Attain Epic levels to 25! — Deadly battles and high-speed action continue as you advance your character to the Epic level 25!

Introducing Epic Destinies — Attain epic enhancements as you progress through levels 20-25!

The Druid Class: Wield nature’s magic or transform into a powerful animal form as you play the all new shape-shifting Druid class!

Eveningstar Challenge Pack: New challenge quests for levels 15-25!

 

 

Also be sure to check out the final Menace of the Underdark Dev Diary HERE!

Hunter Blade: The Perfect Knockoff?

Hunter Blade: The Perfect Knockoff?

By Jerrico Tan (JetSet), OnRPG Journalist

 



Embark to a world of hunting as Global Times Studios and publisher JoyChina present Hunter Blade, a Free-To-Play MMORPG that boasts of overflowing colossal monsters, quests, challenges and hours of item crafting awaiting its players. Fans of Capcom’s Monster Hunter could find themselves slighty disturbed by the apparent similarities but let’s not jump to conclusions yet as Hunter Blade comes with a spicy MMO twist. Have these developers succeeded in making Hunter Blade a game of epic proportions or is this just another rip off?

 



Starting Off

Players are greeted by an option to customize their Hunter. A few face/hair styles are available to choose from but it doesn’t matter as they’ll just get covered by armor later on. The character creation menu lets you choose one of three starting weapons:  the wand, the one-handed sword and the two-handed long sword. All other locked weapons become available once your Hunter has met a certain level requirement.

 

 

Players undergo a short tutorial session with their hunting instructor to learn more about attacking and movement. The hunting instructor will then take you to the hunter village after your very first hunting session has finished.

 



The Town, Questing and The World of HB

The hunter’s village (yup, it has no name) is where all players in the game gather. The village is split into three zone areas: The Beginner Zone where players begin starter quests, the Second Zone where the vending marketplace is located and the Third Zone where special events take place. These three areas offer tons of quests ranging from NPC interactions, quizzes, item harvesting and monster hunting missions. All players will eventually get to know each NPC around town as they progress further in the game. Lastly, questing is as important as leveling up –  it is the only way to unlock stronger monsters of different types and regions to hunt in.

 



The different hunting regions surrounding the Village are where all the action takes place. From the snowy mountains all the way to extreme volcanic wastelands, each region has a different geological condition that affects every Hunter’s quest. Knowing where the monsters reside is important as it lets you properly prepare for the weather conditions awaiting you in the terrain and saves you from turning your hunter into the monster’s prey. The hunting regions are also split into zones just like the Village so players will need to do a lot of walking between zones before finding and engaging the main monster, which could be hiding randomly in any zone.

 



Combat

The game’s combat system is more tactical than the usual and mindless hack and slash. Every attack button has its specific movement during combat which must be activated at the right time for maximum damage infliction. A keen perception and knowledge of when to attack monsters takes a crucial role in completing hunting missions. Those that just spam skills and attack without a battle plan will usually end up face first in the mud pretty quickly. Thankfully, your hunter could easily evade the monsters’ ferocious attacks by just pressing the spacebar.

 


Customization, Community and PvP

Just like Monster Hunter, crafting is what makes the world of HB go round. All monsters vanquished drop various monster parts that could be used as components for equipment crafting. Carfted armors carry passive effect bonuses that could be beneficial in certain region’s weather systems (crafting a weapon made out of parts from an ice monster would certainly add an ice elemental attack to each of your attack moves.)

 



The only downside in the crafting section is the tireless monster grinding needed. Therefore, hunting in groups of up to four is more efficient (and enjoyable) rather than hunting the monsters alone. The game also has a neat feature where it would auto-search for other hunters to fill up the remaining slots. You can also add hunters in your friends list right away to join in your mission.

 

 

PvP is also available if you want to take your hard-earned equipment and hunting skills to the test and take a break from all the monster-grinding. Deathmatch, Territory Mode and Capture the Flag are three of the available 5-on-5 modes in the arena.

 

Graphics

The graphics engine that Global Times developed for Hunter Blade is more or less satisfactory. The rendering of the monsters and characters sadly couldn’t meet the graphics standards seen on current gen console titles. Furthermore if anti-aliasing is set to off, it would just look like a high-res version of a Monster Hunter game for the PSP. Players can also turn on the game’s stereoscopic Red-Cyan 3D effect just for kicks.

 

 

For its system requirements, as long as you have a PC (sorry Mac users), DualCore 2.4CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 256MB Graphics card then you’re good to go hunting. Computers made around 2010 would definitely run this game with a good frame rate.

 

Conclusion: A Decent Alternative


Hunter Blade shamelessly showcases almost every single feature that Monster Hunter has. From the game’s weapons, items, and even hunter and monster movements, one can’t help but notice that Global Times just reinvented the entire game system with the exception of the title. The English translations are terrible and the voice acting makes the game experience quite awkward, uncomfortable and a drag to play.

 

 

But despite the obvious replication, the game still has its own fun factor. JoyChina and Global Times constantly update the game for the community, making Hunter Blade a fun place to stay. All in all, the joy of winning when you team up with friends, whether cooperative or competitive, always feels glorifying and Hunter Blade has it. So unless you’re already an avid Monster Hunter fan or you’re not into the console action combat MMOs, then this perfect MMO knock-off is worth the download.

 

 

The Good:

-A fair enough alternative for Monster Hunter Fans looking for an MMO experience

– Epic-sized monsters

-Tactical combat

-Wide range of equipment customization

-Fun PvP modes

 

The Bad:

-Very similar gameplay to Monster Hunter

-Some grammar typos

-Awkward voice acting

 

Graphics                             3/5

Controls                               3.5/5

Features                              3/5

Customization                  3.5/5

Community                        3/5