Yearly Archives: 2008

S4 League

S4 League is a free-to-play, online third-person shooter with international popularity since its 2008 release. The game features eight different game modes, from team based deathmatch to conquest. Go on weekly missions, practice, and develop your skills in several suggested offensive and defensive roles that will prove key to tactical survival in battle. If you need an edge up, take a break from the battlefield to enchant your gear, and make sure to log in daily for monthly bonuses.

Features:

Anime visuals: Enjoy the strong, futuristic visuals inspired by Neo Tokyo.

Customization: individualize your own character with loads of items. Express your personal taste with different weapons, outfits and jewelry.

Team-based game modes: Enjoy American Football style gameplay in Touchdown mode, or player with several teammates against one superpowered player in Chaser mode.

Mix and match: Select from a variety of shotguns, pistols, rifles, cannons, swords and more to complement your playstyle.

Asda Story Review

Asda Story Review

By Joshua Temblett, OnRPG Journalist

 

I haven’t played a point and click free MMORPG in a long time, so I was more than happy to preview this very attractive looking online world. ASDA Story has a very comforting feel about it, what with the cartoon characters having giant feet and with a distinct anime style that echoes throughout its universe. Also with the list of “jaw dropping” features that this game boasts, I became very interested in whether or not this game will be a revolution to the genre.

 

But first how about we get this out of the way, ASDA Story is a grinding game. At the beginning of this story, you will be given short and fun quests, however shortly after level ten, you will begin to see just how amazingly repetitive this title is. It’s also incredibly addicting. You’ll spend your whole time, killing monsters, levelling up, completing quests and then repeating those three chores, however there is always new equipment and armour to be found or bought and this is where the addictive side comes in. You see the weapons and armour always make your character look super shiny and cool, and you’ll always want that set of gloves that give your persona just that little bit more defence and style. Your little avatar will also gain points every level in which you can put into your skills, increasing their power and enabling you to learn more skills. ASDA Story does however increase your stats as you level up automatically, which is useful for those of us who hate the whole “class build” concept, however if you’re one of those players who enjoys choosing how fast/strong your character is, you may not enjoy the lack of customisation available.

 

There is no real back story to the world of ASDA Story to begin with; however as the game progresses on you will be treated to more and more snippets of information regarding the lore of the world. Whilst the game may not have a compelling storyline, it does sport several short stories, which are played out through doing quests. However you’ll quickly find out that these brief tales are nothing more than an excuse to exercise your patience in doing repetitive tasks.

 

So whilst the story and gameplay are nothing to write home about, the graphics are very fresh and certainly the characters you create look and feel like Disney characters. There are however a few game bugs to still be fixed in the environment, one such game bug is that you can walk through huge boulders and bushes (which you get the general feeling the designers wanted to be solid). Whilst we can walk through bushes in real life, sure we may get a few scratches and scars, I have yet to see any human being walk into a humongous rock and come out the other side. Indeed the game doesn’t push awe filled “Wow!”s with its graphic but it does have its very own sense of manner and tone.

 

The features that stand out among this title and try to make it seem different from the rest are interesting. The game has a Soul-Mate System, whereby you can make someone your soul partner and share exp, among other things, with them. You can even play as your Soul Mate’s character! Another system is the “Sowel System”, whereby your weapon of choice/amour needs to be equipped with a special jewel in order for it to work. You can also update these “Sowels”, making your items stronger. I would not say that these features are revolutionary and will really make you (the gamer) want to play this game more than any other, however for a bonus (which is what they more or less amount to), they make nice little touches.

 

To be honest I really don’t want to lie about ASDA Story, it is an average free to play MMORPG, and to be honest it will probably remain that way. The title does have a nice system going on though, as you’ll always want to earn that new weapon or piece of amour, which in turn brings you back for more plus playing in a party, is definitely incredibly fun. If the developers can make the game less of a grind though and focus more on providing more weapons, more instants and other items, I can definitely see this game becoming close to the king of free to play, point and click MMORPGs.

 

ASDA Story has a very comforting feel about it, what with the cartoon characters having giant feet and with a distinct anime style that echoes throughout its universe. Also with the list of “jaw dropping” features that this game boasts, I became very interested in whether or not this game will be a revolution to the genre.

New alpha wave for Kickster started

Berlin, Sept. 5th 2008 – Frogster has opened the virtual soccer pitches of Kickster – Online Street Soccer for 1.500 new players. This current wave of the private alpha is by far the biggest enlargement so far. Because the closed beta is scheduled to start soon, Frogster is going to activate even more registered accounts for the alpha version within the next few days. Although a German beta client is almost ready, the closed beta will be open only at certain weekends during the first beta phase. Thus, a quick registration for the alpha assures the opportunity to play Kickster non-stop for a while.



Kickster – Online Street Soccer

Stale football simulations are a thing of the past – on the comic inspired online grounds of Kickster, only those players who control the most individual character and master the coolest special moves will rule. Two vs. two or three vs. three: with their team of real buddies online, players stir up international tournaments and leagues. With dashing moves, impressive tricks and absolute ball control, PC kickers gain respect from the ball addicted online community. Only those who have the coolest special skills will climb up in the player rankings.



Kickster offers various scenarios in authentic street style. Backyards, parking lots or factory premises – a fast match can kick off anywhere. Thanks to the dynamic motion system, ball artists sweep their opponents from the court with impressively animated dribbling, tackling, tricks and straddles. But only players with the best skills receive respect from the streets. As soon as they reach expert level, Kickster offers even more strategic gameplay and lots of new powerful moves. A tutorial is available to get you started and will help new players increase their skill level to make them ready for human opponents. The dynamic and elaborate tournament and league system of Kickster will see the best players unveiled and glory claimed. “Easy to download” and “free to play” – Kickster offers fun football without complications or any payment liabilities. The original online game can be quickly installed and runs smoothly on any average PC. Currently Kickster – Online Street Soccer is in the private alpha stage. After the following closed and open beta phases have ended, the whistle will blow this autumn: Kick off in the backyards!



Features Kickster – Online Street Soccer




  • Free2Play: free game client, no subscription fees

  • Team based multiplayer online game (no single player, no AI opponents)

  • Getting started easily: comprehensive tutorial with 13 game missions, hints and
    rewards for completed missions

  • Intuitive controls, but profound gameplay

  • Ingame chat and community tools

  • Compact game client of about 300 MB and moderate system requirements

  • Customization of player character in large-scale item shop: trendy outfits from
    head to toe and special moves available for micropayment

  • Level based game system: advanced skills learnable with progress

  • Strategic team play and tactical moves in expert level

  • Elaborate league system with promotion and relegation

  • Ample tournament system

  • Formation of clubs and club ranking available in the future

Wizard 101 Preview

By Joshua Temblett

When I first started downloading Wizard 101, I was very excited. Wizard 101 seemed to be brimming with style and charm as this MMORPG looked very different from all of the other titles on the market. Admittedly though, I was also very scared as when I first signed up for the beta I really didn’t know what to expect. No screenshots or video footage were around at the time, and I feared for the worse that Wizard 101 would just be a bland point and click game, with bad controls uninspiring gameplay and with the school life being a total grind. This turned out to be not the case at all.

When I first entered the fantastic world of Wizard 101 I was surprised. The world was filled with colour and was incredibly appealing. I was also greeted with some very user-friendly keyboard controls and a wonderful music score to boot. Not only was the world beautifully coloured, but the world of Wizard 101 was easy to jump into, with a very fast download time for the game as the rest of the data (such as better textures etc) was downloaded in the background as I began to play. This MMO had already ticked one box and that box was that this game was easily accessible.

A host of cute animals welcomed me into their universe, each one with its own very special personality, who taught me the ropes of the game, during which I got to see the battle system. One of the bright, cuddly critters pointed me to a tower whereby I would have my first fight. “This is it; it’s time to find out if this game lives up to expectations set before it or indeed falls flat on them”, I thought to myself. I slowly opened the door to the tower, I was worried at this point as to what would meet me and shake my hand on the other side. Would the battle system be a lacklustre and uncreative? Or would it be something different? I pushed the door ever so slightly…and peeked in. Inside I saw one lone wood like puppet. It stood there waiting for something. I was told to walk up towards it, so I did just that. I approached the doll, and then all of a sudden, a circle shone on the floor and my character ran into position in the room. My character was on one side of the dark quarters and the enemy on the other. Oh yes, this battle system is turned based, and my god is it a good battle system. You see not only is it turned based but the battle system is card based which means that you use spell cards picked up on your journey throughout your adventure to summon creatures or just use simple wand magic to defeat your foes, creating a “gotta catch them all” collection scenario.

It doesn’t stop there though as not only are the battles in Wizard 101 innovative and different for an MMO, they are unbelievably engaging and incredibly fun. I have never had this much fun in an online RPG before in my life for you see the fighting system is incredibly enjoyable to unspeakable extents and it also has a remarkable amount of depth in it to. So whether you are a casual or hardcore gamer, there is a lot to be delighted about here.

The storyline of Wizard 101 is played through simple yet entertaining quests, and it gives you enough leeway so that you can go off and do your own thing if you want to, but at the same time it gives you a definitive path to follow, which is good for those of you who want more direction on how to further advance in the storyline and your character. Whilst the quests and areas do repeat themselves to the extent that some gamers may be disappointed, I personally found that despite this negative point, the game still managed to retain its fun aspect.

An aspect that usually fails in most MMORPGs is (surprisingly) the community, however this game’s neighbourhood is not too bad in this wizard world. With the game being aimed at the tween and family friendly demographic, the chat system employed is a “safe chat” system, whereby players under the age 12 must use the safe chat system (unless their parents approve them for use of the normal chat system used by everyone else). This creates a good community as the game isn’t saturated with “l33t” speak and nonsense spouting children who beg for equipment. Wizard 101 is also backed up with some the most amazing admins ever. The admins/game makers keep the players fully updated and you can tell there is a strong bond between player and maker, which potentially means a dream game could be made with player’s requests being fulfilled and bugs being easily tracked down and destroyed. Also admin activity is friendly and generally fun and it is also nice to find a group of game makers who seem to have a wonderful taste in humour.

Regarding where this game is going, no one can really comprehend. How the game makers intend to make money is unknown at this point with the various ways to get money being considered at this point in time. I for one would not like to see this game as a pay to play game, as it is obvious with the games target demographic that the game will not generate enough money with p2p and flop. I would suggest to the developers though about providing a cash shop with clothes and accessories and making the whole game available to everyone, as this method has been proved to earn more money on average than a monthly fee. It is suspected however that Wizard 101 will follow the Runescape model of payment, whereby around 40% of the game is available for free and that to access the rest of the game you have to pay. Whilst this method has been proved by Jagex as successful I think that due to Wizard 101 vast impending tween popularity the game is better off selling appearance changing (not stat changing) clothes as if a really cool piece of clothing was on sale for your teen mage, who in the world would not buy it?

Like I was when I first started playing, I’m incredibly scared at where this game is going to end up. Wizard 101 has a lot of potential and I truly believe that this MMORPG will live up to the hype generated and that KingsIsle’s first title will blow minds, however how the developers intend to make money off this game is worrying as it could mean making the game inaccessible to a whole lot of players, which would be disgraceful considering that this MMO is set to be one of the best in the genre yet.

A True Gaming Disaster.

The title says it all, really. As I started the game and went to create my character, the first thing I noticed was the pitiful excuse for customization. You aren’t able to choose your gender, the point-click is is as laggy as it is poorly maneuverable, and the only customization offered is preset hair and face modules of dull quality. I will say they did well with the class choices, though. Nonetheless, I wasn’t going to let that deter me from playing.

I entered the world as an Orc Berserker, and the surroundings didn’t seem bad. The graphics were acceptable, late 90’s style, so I had a little hope for the game; until, that is, I actually decided to move around. The movement in this game lags horribly. As you try to rotate your view while running, it takes almost 2 seconds before the character moves to catch up.

Of course, despite this little glitch, I decided to try my hand at a quest. The quest system seems fairly descent, although there was still the not-so-descent point and click. So I then set out to check out the combat in this, and I’ll say that the melee attack was smooth, however the player HP is reduced much too fast – I died 4 times killing six newbie-level spiders.

That is when I decided to take my leave. All in all, I believe that if the developers would have put a little more time and professional effort into designing this game, it could have been somewhat good. But seeing as that wasn’t the case, this game is so terrible that it had to be reduced to “100% Free” status in hope that someone might just play it for 5 minutes.

Saga

Play the world’s first persistent online real-time strategy game. Featuring Online Chat, Quests, Auction House, Guild Wars, Espionage, Raiding, PvP, and much more MMO excitement.

Collect over 100 troop types and over 50 different spells. Customize your units with weapons and armor won in Quests.
Join with friends in Cooperative Mode or Battle Solo on over a thousand Quests online. Unlock over 50 Nation Upgrades. Fight Boss Monsters for Epic Loot Rewards.

Fly For Fun new version release!

Sunnyvale, Califorinia – August 29th, 2008 – Gala-Net Inc. will release the next chapter to its most renowned MMORPG game, Flyff: Fly for Fun later this fall.



Flyff, Version 12 (V12) will be saturated with new content changes that Flyff users have been eagerly anticipating. Among the many updates in this new version is the Lord System, which allows users to vote for a “Lord” in each cluster. The honor of becoming a “Lord” comes with the ability to start EXP or item drop events, boost a player’s Attack or Defense Power by 10%, and much more. In addition to the Lord System, V12 will captivate users with the Forsaken Tower and its Secret Rooms. Located deep in the south of Flaris lies the Forsaken Tower where the most horrendous creatures dwell. This tower will entice users to explore the Secret Rooms, where they will face off against new monsters, and gain abundant experience points for leveling up one’s character. V12 also features Rangda, the soul of a cursed witch that lies in the deep forest of Darkon. The four incarnations of Rangdas: Rangda, Horrible Rangda, Uncanny Rangda, and Dreadful Rangda – each drop unique items. Rangda will drop up to three special items and appear in various places on the map. V12 brings a wide variety of exciting updates to this next chapter of Flyff. Users will notice the many changes and improvements to the gameplay of Flyff, designed to streamline customization and enhance the user’s experience altogether.



As Flyff continues to grow worldwide, Gala-Net strives to elevate the experience of its dedicated fans while also attracting new players to its virtual world. “Gala-Net Inc. and Aeonsoft have undoubtedly worked very hard to bring V12 to life,” says Senior Producer Keehwan Her. “Each update and change was made with the user in mind. We know that V12 will be welcomed by the Flyff community.”

Ryzom is open to test to everyone for FREE !!!

We are very happy to let you know that starting right now we have reopened account creation! As well as this, you can also test all of our MMORPG Ryzom with no restrictions for FREE at www.ryzom.com!

If you don’t already have a copy of Ryzom hurry up and download it for free on our web page : http://www.ryzom.com/en/download_game.html, and you can also easily create a free Ryzom account on this page : http://secure.nevrax.com/signup/?language=en (no Credit Card required). Hurry up as this will only be possible for a short time because there’s a limited number of accounts available across all three communities!

All accounts created during this stage will be able to access the entire Ryzom game totally free. Enjoy ;-)…

World of Kung Fu Extends Popular “Summer of Love” Event Until September 7th

Popular “Summer of Love” in-game marriage event will be extended to September 7th, with winners and prizes to be awarded on September 14th.

Shanghai, Sep 4th, 2008 – World of Kung Fu, the free-to-play 3D martial arts MMORPG from VestGame Entertainment, is extending its popular “Summer of Love” in-game event due to player demand. This event allows groups of players get married amid a plethora fantastic decorations, balloons, flower bouquets, fireworks, and other mall items given out for free by the generous GMs. Wedding pictures of the new couples will be posted on the World of Kung Fu Website, with winners to be chosen by the community of World of Kung Fu Players.

One Grand Prize will be awarded on each server to the couple with the best photo. In addition to having their picture up on the World of Kung Fu website, the winning couple will receive 2 Xian Wu mounts and 2 Wish Rings. All entrants will receive a prize for their participation, such as the legendary Sky Pearl, a rare item useful for refining equipment.

Marriages in World of Kung Fu are performed by the GMs after players get their marriage license from the Matchmaker NPC located in the cities of Liuhe, and Bizhou. In addition to a lifetime of marital bliss, married couples also get a 20% experience bonus (upgradable to 50%) on actions performed together. In future upgrades to the game, there will actually be a child rearing system that will allow children to inherit attributes from their parents! Stay tuned for more info on that when it becomes available. More information about this and other upcoming events can be found on the World of Kung Fu website.

Adventures far from the sun

Enthralling dungeons and instances are waiting in Runes of Magic

Berlin, Sept. 4th 2008:

The world of Runes of Magic consists not only of vast and varied regions, but there are literally dozens of caves and mines in Taborea, reaching deep down below the surface of the earth. In the dangerous dungeons of Frogster’s ambitious fantasy online role-playing game, you can not only find gremlins and goblins, but far more dangerous creatures and monsters.

Taborea is a continuous persistent world even extending below the surface of the earth. But Runes of Magic offers instanced dungeons also, where parties of brave adventurers meet to complete special tasks or just to discover exciting places. Once in the dungeon, the adventurers are on their own in their battle against fierce bosses and their henchmen. Now it will be decided if the quest party is tactically suitable assembled and harmonizes to complete their quests. Extreme caution is advised, if the boss-mob has no level number, but displays a small crown instead. Those special bosses are extremely dangerous and many a brave soul has already lost their life trying to defeat them.

Runes of Magic not only offers static dungeons, but players will find dynamically generated dungeons as well, where new monsters and treasures are randomly generated every time a player enters (so called tile-based dungeons). The dynamic cave systems regenerate by random every time players re-enter and therefore can be discovered anew again and again.< /br>
If the most dangerous group of monsters waited just behind the next corner during your last visit, they surely will be somewhere else next time and will carry different loot as well. So it always pays off to drop by more often without having to fear to be bored over time.

But not all of those dark places in Runes of Magic can be entered at all times. There are dungeons that are only accessible at certain times – or to persons with a certain fame or reputation. For some of the challenges waiting in those dungeons, even the toughest group of six adventurers won’t be enough, so there is only one way: form a raid! Dozens of player’s are needed to send powerful monsters that terrorize the lands and guard vast treasures back to their maker Ayvenas. But their dark retreats are huge and they command armies of powerful followers, so even reaching those bosses will be very dangerous.

According to developer Runewaker Entertainment, the game world of Runes of Magic will at release not only contain instanced raids, but there will be huge persistent dungeons with dozens of levels as well, that offer enough room for multiple groups of adventurers. In these, players can battle against monsters of their own strength and move on to new battlegrounds, as soon as they reach higher levels. And if the AI creatures of darkness aren’t challenging enough, players can battle other players in special PvP dungeons. Bold players can still register for the beta on the official website www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic – a world full of wizardry and adventure
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic prepares to redefine the standard of free-to-play MMO games. Right from the launch Runes of Magic will convey its absorbing story in over 600 quests embedded in an atmospheric world. Players can choose from six main classes. Combined with a secondary class they dispose of 36 individual character classes over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can
use mounts in the later stages of game play. A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual furnishing. Thanks
to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters, no wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has
developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a time frame of three years. The studio will provide new challenges for players every three to four months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic features


  • Free2play, no monthly fees, free download

  • Dual class system with switchable primary and secondary classes

  • Enthralling background story

  • Already over 600 quests and level comprehensive quest series on launch
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  • Instanced and persistent dungeons

  • Individually developed skills and spells

  • Armor sets with special bonuses

  • Dynamic item system: Upgrades with hundreds of runes

  • Activatable PvP system (Player vs. Player duels)

  • Epic crafting system with the possibility to improve existing items

  • Individual coloring of clothes and armor

  • Housing: personalization with individual furniture for players and guilds

  • Special zones for guild houses

  • Reputation system

  • Scalable user interface based on the users preference (development of your own
    add-ons possible)

  • In-game map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily

  • Auction house: auction and purchase items

  • Teleporting possibilities per runes

  • Different and unique mounts

  • Controlling with mouse (point & click) and keyboard (WASD or arrow keys) possible