There are many massive multiplayer online role-playing games on the market now. For a game to be successful it needs to be distinct and without glitches. Xiah brings out all the best aspects of this style of gaming, if not many of the best aspects of gaming in general. In Xiah, you create your avatar by choosing from a variety of colorful races and powerful classes and then you begin exploring, questing, and battling. The game start up is very quick. Gamers of online role-playing games will be impressed at the depth of Xiah. The settings seamlessly connect many unique types of places and make them appear as if they belong in an ecosystem.

The essentials of gaming are on display in Xiah. Fighting dangerous creatures, exploring the countryside either alone or in the company of other players, undertaking various quests, gaining experience levels and new abilities, or acquiring powerful items are at the tip of your fingers. Xiah is a complex, yet approachable game. The game has a simple and uncluttered interface with impressive 3D graphics and delivers high performance on a wide range of systems. The game’s interface is set up in a way which makes it easy to learn. Also, the game-play itself is intuitive so that a long tutorial is not necessary. Although it would be nice if there would be optional pop-up tips as well as a reference guild or FAQ that explains common aspects of play.

The game lets you create multiple characters on dozens of different available servers, each of which are capable of hosting thousands of players. Issues with login and lag did not seem to happen once when I was playing. You may venture out into the wilderness and spend hours hunting monsters or you can undertake quests that give more context to your actions. Plus there are many items to further your character’s abilities for you to devote your money and experience towards. Though the world of the game is very large; you can still effectively travel on foot. This allows a player to take in the amazing sights. When exploring, it is best to travel roads and follow signs, passing in and out of populated areas. An onscreen mini-map and full map are very helpful for travel. If your character gets into trouble with aggressive or powerful enemies; you can run away most of the time.

When choosing a character, there are various combinations that can cater to the player’s personality. Fortunately, there is no wrong selection for whichever type of character you decide on. In online RPGs, many players eventually feel like they made a mistake in their choice of character class after some time. Players realize this fact when their character’s strength limitations become apparent. In Xiah, though, every class seems like a good choice. Each character class is capable and fun to play. Whichever type of character you choose to play (from a warrior to a mage) will be able to hold their own against the game’s variety of monsters and contribute to a clan of players. Each of the character classes offers depth and is pretty distinct. Players do not need to grind through many experience levels for the game to be entertaining. Right away, players can find new equipment and gain new or improved abilities. The benefit of having a limited selection of character classes to choose from is that each one gets to be viable and interesting. The potential problem of this is ending up with a game-world populated by identical looks and styles.

Having discussed the remarkable looks and graphics of Xiah, the sounds are also exceptional for an online RPG. Excellent audio cues highlight key moments, such as when you level up or when you accept or accomplish a feat such as defeating a hoard of enemies. Beautifully created compositions produce the feeling of having personal theme music that perfectly synchronizes with the different senses you are experiencing as you set foot into the game’s different, colorful regions. The game even makes great use of stereo effects as well as other audio tricks, resulting in clear and resonant echoes within cavern-like environments.

Overall Xiah looks to be very solid coming out of beta mode. If there was one thing to tell the developers, it would be to fix it so you can bring up an outside program start window. This feature would allow the user to be able to utilize the “ALT+Tab” function between different programs. For example, a player would use a program such as “out of game” messengers or talk servers allowing for the copying and saving of screenshots by users. There is potential for this game to be a huge success when everything becomes refined and the market for an Item Mall is realized. For now, the game is free to play and it is a great time to get a head start on future competition.
Game play: [9] Graphics: [10] Audio: [9] Replay: [9] Overall: [9.2]