by Gina Dunn, Onrpg writer
PART 1
Is this the next generation MMORPG?
WARHAMMER online: Age of Reckoning was coined as”the next generation MMORPG” by its creators and launched on September 18th to be precise, to the waiting arms of a huge number of fans. Just a few weeks before the launch, the open beta began with a staggering number of beta applications toping at over a million. I was lucky enough to participate in both the closed, open beta, and headstart live launch to get a better feel for this highly anticipated game. As a solid MMORPG player, I was excited to check it out and see what all the fuss was about.
General
In general, the game feels and looks great, even did in its beta form. However, I had thought that when the live “headstart” servers opened it would be patched and some of the obvious bugs in the beta would be patched. But, to my surprise there was no patch for the US servers at launch. However EU servers got an initial patch. I imagined it would only get better when the final patches were released and the game itself went live but that didn’t happen.
In the time I’ve played the game I had a great experience with races and classes (known as careers) in the game. It was surprising how many races and careers there are in the game, making me wonder how it will effect the character balancing in later levels. But more to that later. The general style of the game looks realistic, and not cartoony for the most part. This was a welcome change to my experience in other MMOs of late. The art style is something that immediately caught my attention, much more dark and what you’d expect from Warhammer.
Graphics
There are some items of note that I originally thought were beta / early start bugs, but in the end where not. May things don’t work properly in the graphics, including spell effects. For example, some party casts on you are not shown on your own character. I was able to see this by playing in a party with someone which I was sitting side-by-side in real life. I was able to see that as a healer, my heals where not showing on the tanks screen on his character. Settings for “show party spell effects” were set to – all – so either this is how it is supposed to be or its still buggy. Guess we’ll see in the future, but it is extremely frustrating for my tank to not know he’s getting heals. As far as far off terrain is visibly of very low graphic quality, I am still hoping this is something that they fix with a patch in the future.
Interface
Ever wondered what would happen if your favorite addons from other MMORPGs were automatically built-into the release of a “next generation” MMO? Well WARHAMMER ONLINE would be it. It has some fantastic UI features including the ability to fully customize the layout, how it funtions, how it looks, and so forth – completely putting you in charge of your screen layout. The editor is extremely intuative and easy to use and I was able to customize in a matter of a minute. Other interface features I enjoyed were some of the quest tools, while at the same time some of these exact same tools seemed to make the game simply too easy. Those who are still unhappy with the current addons can still grab some additional addons online and try them out.
Gameplay
The gameplay is not rocket science and ground breaking compared to other top MMOs, its a fair amount of grinding to level and I noticed that its very hard to level past 20, just seems to take forever. I played primarily healers in my testing, but even healing classes are interestingly able to do considerable damage too. Its a bit of a different game mechanic then but one that is also fun.
But what else? There’s a lot more to talk about and divulge from my testing but you’ll have to wait until Part 2 comes 🙂 Some teasers.. Part 2 includes RVR and PVP, Siege, Chickens, and Careers! So keep on the lookout next week.
Yearly Archives: 2008
2Moons Review
by Mary Garcia, Onrpg writer
2Moons is a free-to-play MMORPG by Acclaim. It is based on the Korean game Dekaron. Instead of translating and directly porting Dekaron, Acclaim instead reworked the game to suit a US release. Originally announced for US release in 2006, 2Moons is currently still in open-beta phase, with an official launch date unknown. 2Moons tagline is “No mercy for the weak, no pity for the dying, no tears for the slain”. And it indeed lives up to this.
Gameplay:
2Moons is a free MMO to play. However, unlike similar free MMOs, Acclaim has decided to take the marketing model one step further. Aside from the 2Moons shop, where you can purchase game items such as coins for potions and costumes for your character, you have the option of turning off the in-game advertising at the cost of slower leveling speed.
New players can choose between six jobs; Azure Knight, Hunter, Incar Magician, Vicious Summoner, Segnale or Bagi Warrior. The controls were somewhat easy to use, though using the mouse initially annoyed me. Luckily there is easy customization of these controls as well as keyboard shortcuts to help navigate around the game.
2Moons is heavily focused on its violence aspect. PK (player killing) and PvP pretty much rule here, living up to its tagline of No mercy for the weak, no pity for the dying. Players may feel frustrated at the rampant PK that goes on while they are exploring or leveling up. Quests are also scarce, and players are met with cheerful profanity from the NPCs in town. The storyline is also lacking. The majority of the games plot is what is written on the 2Moons website. With the focus being heavily on violence and mass killings, it may be a turn-off for those that enjoy questing or otherwise leveling up without being bothered.
Bots have also made their way into this game, like so many other MMOs. The spam bots in the towns spam frequently enough to where you have to leave the main part of the town just to chat. The higher level bots are well equipped and PK players or otherwise grief them. This can be frustrating since it is very difficult to kill them and remove them from the area.
Graphics:
2Moons overall look is dark and foreboding, which fits the nature of this game well. Bright happy colors are rarely used. The graphics are also semi-dated, but that doesnt take away from enjoying the visual fights.
There isnt much in the way of character customization save for costumes, which can be purchased at the 2Moons shop. Without costumes, the characters look similar. You are also limited to a specific gender based on what job you choose to play.
Overall:
If youre into mass killings and violence, then this game is definitely worth a try. If youre the casual gamer type who is into questing and engaging storylines, it may not be as enjoyable.
Pros:
-Free to play
-Controls are easy to learn; keyboard shortcuts are also convenient
-Graphics are rich despite being semi-dated
Cons:
-PK may be frustrating to casual gamers who arent into that aspect of MMO gaming
-Characters tend to look the same without purchasing a costume
-Bots that grief players
Dance! Online Review
by Eline Stiekema, Onrpg writer
Dance! Online is a free to play MMO which drags the player into virtual clubs where it’s all about, you guessed it, dancing. By stepping on the right squares on the dancepad or pressing the right keys on the keyboard, players battle against each other, showing off their moves. To earn the most points and win the battle, speed and skill are essential.
Gameplay
To get the hang of it, players are recommended to take a few ‘dance lessons’. There are four lessons to follow: ‘practice’, ‘double key practice’, ‘timing practice’ and ‘put it all together’. In this part, the graphics are rather dull; the ‘teachers’ appear to be talking, but their mouths hardly move. When you fail and need to take the lesson again, you are forced to hear the whole instruction again. After a few attempts this gets annoying, just like the teachers’ voices.
When you have completed the lessons and mastered the basic skills, the real fun can begin. Players start in the ‘channel selection’-window, where they can choose the level they want to play (‘beginner dance club’ or ‘advanced dance studio’) and pick from a small variety of clubs with names like ‘Club Ozone’ (most popular), ‘Club Focus’ (moderately popular) or ‘Club Voodoo’ (usually empty).
When you have entered a club, you can see who’s online in there and chat with other players. In the club are various rooms, started by players themselves. To join a competition, you can pick a room yourself or wait until you are invited. Some rooms are protected with a password only insiders know.
You can also start a room yourself; you are then the ‘host’ of that room. As a host, you are able to select dance mode (for example, ‘boys vs. girls’, ‘muliplayer mode’, or ‘lovers river’) and background (underwater, haunted house, football field). You can also select music, speed rate and difficulty.
As a host, you can also play single games in your room. This is very good practice for newbies who are fed up with the dance lessons or are not yet looking forward to battle against other players with much better skill.
All newbie avatars look the same. To give your avatar a more unique look, you need to buy clothes, accessories and hairstyles for it at the shop. You can pay these with the points you earned playing the game or with actual money, using a so-called Acclaim Coins-account. The purchased goods are stored in the avatars own room, where you can go to switch outfits. At the shop, you can also buy ‘shout-outs’: annoying text messages which pop up on the screen of every player.
After all these preparations, the actual dancing can start. When all the players in a room click the ‘ready’-button, the host starts the round. The avatars suddenly find themselves located on the dancefloor. The music starts and the avatars start dancing. That is, when the accompanying player presses enough keys at the right time. When input is insufficient, the avatar apathetically stands still while the others are dancing.
At the end of the round, the results are shown and every player gets a grade, varying from E to A++.
The avatars return to the room, where they can chat or start another round.
Graphics and music
Overall, the graphics look nice. The many colors and details of the dancing backgrounds are particularly eye-catching. Obviously, the developers where not afraid to use a little glitter and glamour. The avatars’ dancing moves also look smooth. Unfortunately, the mouth movements of the dancing instructors do not. But as long as the avatars are dancing instead of talking, everything looks fine.
The music is very poppy and there’s a great variety of songs to choose from, which is great if that’s your taste in music. If it’s not, dancing to Teeny Weeny String Bikini might get annoying after a while. The poppy tunes make the game seem somewhat childish and shallow.
Personal recommendation
Dance! Online is absolutely fun to play, although it may take you a while to get the hang of it. Especially the first couple of times you’ll be likely to think: how can anyone move this fast?!
But with some practice it’s quite easy to learn and it starts to get just a little addictive, especially after a few good battles. I liked the fact that you can also play alone, because at first I was a little shy to play with others, since I could hardly press one key right. After some practice I felt more confident to battle others. It was a pity though, that there were often not so many players online, and the ones who were usually gathered in one club that was almost always full. Sometimes playing by myself was the only option. The poppy music added to the impression that this is a game for particularly younger players, although older players absolutely can enjoy it too.
The graphics look nice, although it’s a shame that almost all the avatars look the same. To give your avatar a more original look, you need to earn quite a lot of points or pay with actual money, which seems a little excessive, seeing that it’s after all ‘just a game’.
If you’re looking for a breezy, fun-to-play MMO, Dance! Online could definitely be your thing. For more serious players it might be a little too shallow. I really had fun playing it though.
Pros:
– Playing is fun and kind of addictive
– The ability to choose whether you want to play with others or alone
– Great variety in backgrounds and songs
– Different ‘dance modes’
Cons:
– Poppy music quickly gets annoying
– Not a great choice in outfits for your avatar
– Game comes over as childish and shallow
Age of Conan: major content update now live
This week Funcom updated the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures live servers with the largest gameplay content addition since launch. By visiting the vast, new outdoor area of Ymirs Pass players will now be able to find new quests to solve, new characters to meet, new monsters to slay and a dramatic new storyline to unravel. The update also includes a new dungeon – The Amphitheater – that holds one of the most epic and memorable monster encounters ever created for the game.
“This is an important update that opens up a lot of new gameplay content for players who have already passed the level fifty mark,” says Game Director Craig Morrison. “In the months ahead we will introduce even more new content, and coming up soon are two exciting new high-level dungeons intended for players who have reached the maximum level. At this stage adding more content and keeping people entertained is very important to us!”
This free update is available to all Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures subscribers and the content will be downloaded automatically when launching the game. In the months following the launch of the game, Funcom has addressed several of the key concerns voiced by the players and have also added a series of new content and features. Recently the live servers received a major update to the player-versus-player part of the game, allowing players to become criminals based on their actions when battling other players. New armor, weapons and other content have also been added, and from a technical perspective the game has also seen major improvements in terms of stability and performance. Funcom remains determined to keep updating and improving the game, and will keep players posted on the updates that are planned in the months ahead.
Perfect World Europe
“Perfect World” is a vast online role-playing game set in a fantasy world with many extra features such as character customization to an unprecedented in game level with self built characters.
In addition the fighting experience is taken to literally a new level with extensive fighting whilst in flight to offer the gamer a truly unique 3D experience.
The excitement is further enhanced by Guild territory ownership and the ability for guilds to build structures on their territory. The world has its battles and quests in land, sea and air in a huge, open and continuous world with different areas is real time simulations with a natural day-and-night-cycle, changing weather (sun, rain, thunder, snow, clouds …).
Millions of players experience an immersive and huge open world, with an unbelievable number of varied quests, varied terrains and highly challenging dungeons, bosses and a complex game-economy. There is a massive crafting system, with pets and tame animals to ride if you are good enough!
The integrated chat system, the in and out Game Messenger and the individual mailing system also brings a new standard of communication in the world of Massive Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games (MMORPG).
Perfect World Multilanguage Service provide one of the most comprehensive localizations ever seen in the games market.
Myth War II Online: Audio Design Overview & Soundtrack Release #1
When you start playing Myth War II Online, you will be deeply impressed by the audio presentation in the game. Today the folks behind are going to elaborate on the music design behind Myth War II.
In the field of in-game audio design, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra was invited to record the game music and create a well coordinated, memorable orchestra performance. There is a profound range of feeling in the background music, which incorporates a majestic spirit within a tightly knit composition. Still you can pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage. An elaborate, ornamental melodic flourish in which all the syllables are sung on or intoned has been brought together in this vocal piece. You will find many different, explosive and beautiful elements alive within the percussion as well. The music is a mild accompaniment to softly maneuver your emotion while you are engaged in the game.
Players are given a great variety of options for diverse sound effects and background music based on different sound sources and maps in game. Players can clearly distinguish the breath of beasts hiding behind bushes from the murmuring of the many voices in Woodlingor, and will be shaken at the creepy mourning cry over the killing panic and grief in the Revive Arena, and get cold feet when listening to the overwhelming agony of death in the Sunset Plains. You are haunted and captured in an erotic virtual world where you want to stay and venture but are afraid to step out the door.
Soundtrack samples:
1. Background music when players start playing: The games logo emerges amid melodious music with a beautiful rhythm to get you hooked into the game.
http://flv.iggcn.com/mw2/mp3/Menu01.mp3
2. Background music on log in entry page: Shocking drums and various cool game characters announce your new start in the world.
http://flv.iggcn.com/mw2/mp3/Menu02.mp3
WAR goes to Korea
Korea’s largest game portal, and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment, announced today that two companies have signed a multi-year agreement for Hangame to publish the critically acclaimed Massively Multiplayer Role-playing Game (MMORPG) Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) in Korea. This agreement further expands the reach of WAR with servers to be available in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceanic territories.
Developed by Mythic Entertainment, WAR is a groundbreaking new MMORPG that launched in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceanic territories in September and has attracted more than 800,000 registered users since launch. The game will be launched in Korea in 2009.
WAR is based on Games Workshop’s wildly successful Warhammer fantasy tabletop war game. With over a quarter century of highly detailed source material to draw from, Warhammer provides a rich setting for hundreds of thousands of players to experience the epic nature of war and the glory of battle.
In WAR, gamers venture forth into a grim world of perpetual conflict to fight for the Realms of Order (Dwarfs, High Elves, and Empire) or Destruction (Greenskins, Dark Elves, and Chaos). Next generation Realm vs. Realm game play ensures that players in WAR are never fighting alone. With an army of allies at their back, players will invade enemy lands, besiege imposing fortresses, and sack sprawling capital cities for the glory of your Realm. In addition, every aspect of the game – every player, every quest, every encounter, and every battle – can turn the tide of the ongoing war and mean victory for a player’s Realm!
“I am thrilled to be working with Hangame to bring Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning to the Korean gamers,” states Mark Jacobs, general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “Warhammer is a remarkably rich and exciting fantasy world and we’ve seen it truly come to life as an MMORPG thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of our fans. By partnering with Hangame, we hope to provide Korean gamers with a fresh, new fantasy experience and years worth of Realm vs. Realm adventures on the frontlines of WAR.”
Wook Jung, Director of Hangame, said that “it is an honor to publish Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in Korea. It is a true MMORPG masterpiece which has received an astonishing response and rave reviews from critics and gamers around the world. With the addition of WAR to the NHN game platform and global network, we continue to expand our services in order to provide gamers in Korea with high quality games through various channels.”
“I am very pleased about the mutual beneficial cooperation that we have entered into with Hangame and we will give our best efforts to meet the expectation of our gamers as well as maintain the good working relationship with Hangame,” said Savannah Hahn, Vice President of Electronic Arts Asia Pacific and President of Electronic Arts Korea.
LOTRO: Mines of Moria Silvertine Lodes Fly Through Video
Serene videos of the Mines of Moria, where the foul creatures await you in silence.
D&D Stormreach Review
by Vincent Haoson, Onrpg writer
Porting a well-known and loved tabletop role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons into an MMO is no mean feat. Turbine, the company that brought you games like LOTR Online and Asherons Call in fact attempted to bring the whole D&D experience to the MMO scene. That is why we have Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stromreach, with its 8th module update recently released. MMO players finally get to taste what it feels like to be part of the whole D&D universe.
Character Creation
First up, character creation. Players get to choose what fighting style their DDO character will use, they can choose to be a melee, spell or specialist. The characters job class is highly dependent on the style they choose. If players go with the melee, their options fall to being a fighter, barbarian, paladin or the recently included monk class, while players who go for the spells will be a sorcerer, cleric or wizard. Meanwhile players who go for the specialist are given the option to be a ranger, rouge or bard.
After the characters job class players are provided with the choice of their character build or in DDOs case paths. There are three suggested builds per character, thus giving players an idea of what build their character should take. There is a fourth customize option where the more independent minded players could allocate stat points to make their own path for their character.
Players then decide what race their character would be from. There are five races available to choose from, namely: the Humans, the Elves, the Halflings, the Dwarves and the Warforged. There is a sixth race, the drow elf, but there is a fame requirement that players need to obtain before having access to it.
If thats not enough, players can also customize their characters appearance. Players are given the usual freedom to decide the color of the hair and skin of their character, which is extended to also being able to choose how the eyes , nose and mouth look. Players can also include facial hair and facial markings if they are looking for the more weathered look.
DDO gives a whole new meaning to the term character customization. Players are given great freedom when it comes to their character; each style has its own class and each class has its own paths to choose from, while the character race determines their characters effectiveness as a solo dungeon runner or a party member.
The immense choices for the character may overwhelm new players. Those who are trying this game out the first time may find themselves spending a great deal of time on creating their characters. This may either be good or bad depending on the preference of the player.
Storyline
Because of the long history of Dungeons & Dragons, being the first fantasy tabletop game with an extensive fantasy world, I expected that this MMO should be in fact story driven. Thankfully Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach doesnt fail in aspect.
After creating your character, you would be transported into the D&D world as a shipwrecked stranger. You were on your way to Stormreach when a white dragon attacked your ship and left you for dead at the shores of Korthos village. From there you meet people who ask for your help in exchange for information on how the game is played.
The shipwreck arc is the new addition included in the Module 8 update of DDO. Players eventually need to slay the ice breathing dragon that is terrorizing the whole village of Korthos before you can finally get to Stormreach. The storyline angle before the arrival to Stormreach is a nice way of tying-in the add-on change that was included just recently to the game. It neither destroyed the whole concept of DDO nor did it include too much info so that new players can still grasp their overall idea of the game.
DDO has well thought-of quest system; every quest you do is part of the whole story telling experience of the game. The quests in the game translate well to the whole story the player is trying to make in DDO.
The audio narration that is often heard while you are in a dungeon, is one of the elements that makes DDO such a great story telling experience. Not only does it give a player tips, it adds to the whole you-are-part-of-this-story feel that other MMOs fail to do.
Graphics and Sounds
DDOs graphics and sounds are on par with other Pay-to-play MMOs, the weather effects add to the D&D feel of the game, giving the sense that you are in fact in Korthos or wherever you are in-game.
The graphics and sounds really help you immerse yourself into the world of D&D, making sure that you are in fact part of the whole community itself. There are instances where you can actually see people just lounging around or helping others out. Turbine has made sure that the NPCs are not static and that they actually do something rather than just stand like dolls.
Gameplay
Of course we must not forget that in any MMO the most important thing is not just the storyline, graphics and sounds but also the whole gameplay itself. Though the game does make a player immerse itself into the game, DDO has a few gameplay flaws.
One example is the awkward in-game controls, because as MMO players are used to just point-and-clicking, in DDO you can only use the keyboard for character movement while your mouse handles the interaction with the NPC and the like.
This could be unnerving to some. The controls get in the way sometimes, for example when you are fighting monsters. You may find yourself at times wasting more time in trying to determine on how to control your character to kill the monster rather than killing the monster itself. This could be very irritating when youre soloing and your quest is a multi-level one.
Another thing is the camera angles. Sometimes the scenery would obstruct your line of sight even if you already fixed the angle of your view. This can be very irritating when you are in a middle of a fight and you need to make your character face your enemy before you can attack it. This can be quite frustrating, especially when you are in a very tight spot and taking down monsters spells either death or survival for your character.
Conclusion
With this said, I must conclude that DDO is not just for any casual MMO player out there. The first point is that there are too many choices during character creation. I think its great that it gives the player more freedom to choose their character preference but there are some who would rather get the default character type and spend more time getting to know the game.
Also, the free flow of the quest can be bothersome to those who are not used to quests like these. Some may be even overwhelmed on the vast amount of quests that are available for them.
The game controls are also hard to get used to, players would need to be patient and take their time adjusting to the controls. DDO is not just your typical MMO, it actually feels more like an RPG. The RPG-ish feel of DDO is of course expected, this is in fact Dungeons & Dragons, a table-top RPG. DDO is unlike other MMOs where you fall in love with it the first time. You would actually need to spend time before it grows on you. The question is, is the player willing to do it?
Pros:
* Immense choices in character creation
* Engaging story and narration
Cons:
* Awkward game controls
* Camera views can be irritating
* Players would need to spend time to actually have fun in game
Voyage Century: Using Provisions Wisely
Imagine you are sailing smoothly to London from Athens to meet a very important friend, all of a sudden the speed of your ship starts drops sharply, eventually ending up becalmed on the wide ocean. Now imagine you are chasing a loathsome pirate, and your ship begins dropping back as your speed decreases and you watch that brigand sail away, how does that make you feel? If you never want these embarrassing moments to happen to you, learn how to use provisions wisely now!
Provision consumption is closely connected with the number of sailors aboard your ship. Basically, the more sailors you have, the more they eat (and drink), so your provisions will be consumed faster. One easy way to save provisions is to simply reduce the number of sailors on board. Less mouths to feed, means less consumption. However, if there are too few sailors, sailing speed will be reduced by a lack of crew to man the ship. Remember, unless your are heading into battle, balancing crew, provisions and speed is essential.
Provision consumption is also affected by ship sail durability. The higher your ship sail durability is, the more provisions will be consumed, and faster. So turning down the ship sail durability to save provision is a no brainer.
If your ship is lower than level 4, you can team up with higher level ships to sail and save on provisions. If the ship with the highest speed tops up its ship sail durability, the rest of the ships can all decrease theirs. Dont forget to choose Union Mode before doing this though.
Apart from the methods mentioned above, you can also buy Compressing Provision Boxes to avoid stockpiling too many provision at ports too often so that you can reach your destination fast.
May the wind be always at your back! Safe voyage!