Yearly Archives: 2009

Does WoW Really Deserve To Be Compared To Cocaine?

Does WoW Really Deserve To Be Compared To Cocaine?
Rick Charbs (Jammart), OnRPG Journalist

 

The computer game market has skyrocketed in popularity during the past few years. Quite specifically, the Blizzard Entertainment MMORPG: World of Warcraft, or more commonly known as WoW, has introduced millions to the MMORPG concept of computer gaming. Recent studies in Sweden promptly conclude WoW as the most addictive computer game on the market, and make remarks such as: “There is not a single case of game addiction that we have worked with in which World of Warcraft has not played a part,” (Sven Rollenhagen at the foundation to the newspaper Metro), and “The problem with computer game addiction is large in Sweden although there is currently no medical diagnosis of the condition” (Swedish National Institute of Public Health). Is World of Warcraft really an internet drug?

 

This may likely be true, but the concrete proof as of which we have been exposed to does not seem genuine enough— to me, the real issue lies in every individual player’s will and, ultimately, their ability to resist temptation towards this fabled MMORPG.

 

Online game addiction has been an ever-growing issue ever since the first large-scaled MMORPGS were released to the public dated to just about twelve years ago (for instance, Everquest, Ultima Online, Tibia, etc.). Looking over this scaling problem of game addiction, is WoW the true cause of this, or is it simply its mass population that augments the amount of MMORPG addicts?

 

Personally, I think the ratio of addicted gamers has been affected, but only a slight amount. This is due to the fact many additional features WoW has to offer are a real time-consumer on the player’s part. Otherwise, the sheer amount of players in WoW is the main factor in this addiction craze.

 

It is also known that this game reaches out to wide audiences, including some pretty young players new to the MMORPG scene: “The Local reported in November 2008 that a boy in Laholm, southern Sweden had been admitted to hospital after collapsing following a 20-hour World of Warcraft binge.” With this in mind, can we really blame a child for being addicted to a game? Where are his/her parents? Parents or guardians also take on an important role in this situation. Young teenagers, tweens, and children generally have a difficult time prioritizing. As an adult, controlling their gameplay time is the only sure way to limit their obsession towards the game, or at least keep it under strict control.

 

All in all, it all comes down to the way you deal with your free time, as well as your ability to prioritize. I strongly believe World of Warcraft is not the source of this sudden “game addiction era”. It is most definitely not “internet cocaine”. There have been many cases of game addiction before even the concept of this title was released. The only reason people are led to believe such things are because of the bold fact World of Warcraft is just so popular. There are many ways to prevent such an addiction—control yourselves!

 

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Guild Wars Review: Factions

By Jeffrey Kerkdijk (Hyarume), Onrpg writer

Guild Wars Factions is an MMORPG developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft. It is the second game in the Guild Wars series. Factions introduces the Asian-styled continent of “Cantha” where two warring factions, the Luxons and the Kurzicks, are locked in a fierce war. Players are able to join in this conflict, assisting their chosen faction in claiming towns in the game world.

A new land, a new story

For those who are not familiar with Guild Wars:

Guild Wars is a different kind of MMORPG, most of the game is instanced which means that you get your own copy of the map and only you and your party members can play in. Only towns and outposts are non-instanced, online like the normal MMORPG.

That said, Guild Wars offers gameplay more like a normal RPG instead of grinding to level up to the max level you follow a storyline. The storyline has several Co-op missions that you have to face in order to progress.

PvP is on several maps and on several modes capture the flag for one example.

Cantha, a Asian styled land with its own story

During character creation you have two options to choose a ”Role-playing character” or “PvP character”. The first one lets you access the storyline and all of the PvE content within the game. The second option lets you create a PvP character one that is Instant the max level which in Guild Wars is twenty and with a few skills. There are eight classes in Guild wars Factions in total. First, there are six from the original Guild Wars and in the Factions campaign, two classes were added:

First there is the Warrior. Instead of the normal warrior, serving a role as a tank. Warriors in Guild Wars focus on dealing damage. The Ranger is a long-range combat specialist, they can have pets too. Next, Monk is a spell casting profession, which focuses on healing, and defensive spells. Elementalist allows you to cast spells, and focuses on the elements for their attacks. A Necromancer casts spells which are specialized in bringing the dead back to life. Finally, the Mesmer has the power to bring illusion and trickery to their enemies.

And the two new classes included in factions are the Assassin, a fast dagger wielding assassination specialist, good in stealth assassinations and able to do various combo’s; and the Ritualist, a living conduit to the spirit world, who can summon spirits to protect allies or attack enemies. They can summon ghost weapons for their allies to wield and connect with the power of their ancestors by doing rituals with ashes and urns.

Roleplaying in Cantha

About the PvE content of the game.

When you start with your role-playing character you start off with a short tutorial just to learn how to play the game, after that you can access the first town, there you can start quests and learn more about the story. You get to find out that the plague is spreading over Cantha and you learn about the history of that land and so you will get yourself in a rather interesting story. That will progress more during the co-op missions.

Quests are different from most MMORPG’s because outside the towns where everything is instanced, an NPC will often accompany you, or guide you through the quest. I haven’t noticed any real “grinding” quests. Sometimes you are supposed to collect a certain item, but you get them in just a few kills.

Co-op missions, in these missions you have to complete several tasks and objectives that are part of the storyline. These are repeatable at any time.

In town you can equip your skills eight being the maximum that you can equip, and get a party or some henchman(NPCs that you can party with). You can also learn skills, buy equipment, craft equipment in town like most MMORPGs.

Combat is done nicely, it is fun to play. I really like the combat in Guild Wars. Move with WASD or with the mouse the choice is up to you. Further most of the mechanics are like your normal MMORPG.

Player versus Player

PVP in Guild Wars is fun, but it feels more like you’re playing a room based game than a real MMORPG. Several maps and several modes are available. It works out great, its balanced and its fun.

The Looks and Sound of Guild Wars Factions

The graphics are good, overall the game runs great. Skills have nice animations and everything looks all right. Only thing that I don’t like is that cut scene’s look a lot worse than the game itself The music is good and really fits the style of Cantha. Cut scene’s have very poor voice acting, other than that the sound is fine.

Conclusion

Guild Wars factions is a nice addition to the Guild Wars family, the game plays pretty good and is more story driven than most MMORPGs out there. The game is almost fully instanced, Co-op missions are fun to do and quests are different from most other MMORPGs. The PvP is good but feels more like you are playing a room based game rather than an MMORPG. Several maps and several modes are available. I liked it at first but after a while playing it, I found it to be just a bit boring.

Pros

– Feels like a normal RPG

– Has nice variations of quests

– Co-op missions

– Runs smooth

– Nice variation of classes

Cons

– Feels like a normal RPG (too instanced)

– Cut scene’s look a lot worse than the rest of the game

– Poor voice acting

Age of Conan trailer

Age Of Conan is a P2P MMORPG based on the dark Hyboria universe created by the great fantasy writer Robert E. Howard. Are you ready for some PvP action? Then watch the video and enter this fantasy world!

DDO: celebrating the third anniversary

Dungeons & Dragons Online is three years old! And is preparing to celebrate the event properly! Read this update from Codemasters:

Since yesterday we are celebrating the third anniversary of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE®: Stormreach!

Actually DDO has three anniversaries in Europe, as the German and French version were launched at the 23rd and 24th of March respectively. This is reason enough for us to have a big celebration! Starting from yesterday we have planned lots of little surprises, competitions and events, which will reach their peak towards the end of March when we invite all former players to return to Stormreach for a welcome back week and join our celebrations!

Dragonica: introducing the Warrior and the Magician

Dragonica is the brand new free arcade-style 3D side-scrolling MMORPG. It will be available to download across Europe this Spring from the www.gpotato.eu gaming portal. As the gPotato team prepares for the game’s launch in Europe, we are proud to release information on the dynamic combo-based combat system and take a look at the Warrior and Magician special moves.

The warrior is agile and fearless, and can quickly slash in a variety of directions as he circles around his opponents. Warriors can knock over multiple opponents, slash upwards sending them skyward, jump up and combo them in the air before smashing them into the ground. When a warrior needs a bit of space, they can throw their sword to stop an enemy advance, or catch multiple enemies in a whirlwind of sword hits. Is your enemy down but not out? Pull out one of three giant hammers to finish them off. As Warriors progress, they can develop into a Gladiator or a Knight.

Gladiators throw away their shield and focus on large, two-handed swords. Smash your sword against the ground and enemies tumble as the ground is shaken underneath, put on a bears head to boost your strength or focus on improving your sword mastery. A yellow kung fu fighter can help deal with pesky enemies in a variety of ways. Knights use a one handed sword but have the benefit of a shield. They can unleash a brand new range of attacks including aerial smackdowns, hammer hits in the air and dropping 1000 ton weights to squash their enemies. Pulling out a broomstick, they can quickly take out the toughest of enemies. Both can also use a variety of skills to temporary boost their damage and defensive skills.

The Magician is a ranged fighter who can handle themselves in a close combat fight. A Magician can summon a meteor to deal massive damage to multiple enemies, or launch a devastating ground explosion throwing opponents into the air. They can flip fallen foes into the air before frying them in a bolt of lightning. For larger enemies, they can pull out a cannon and fire a huge projectile into a group of opponents. Magicians are also healers, able to heal their party and their own health while in combat, making them an essential part of any team. As Magicians progress, they can choose to be a Monk or a Battlemage.

Monks have continued developing their skills as healers. They can summon a nurse to heal your party or themselves and resurrect fallen comrades. They have a host of new tricks up their sleeves with flaming orbs protecting them, a spell to turn multiple opponents into frogs, and a defensive shield that party members can recover in. Battlemages really like dealing damage, so they are a welcome addition to any party in Dragonica. They can summon a fireball to slowly move through a crowd of enemies unleashing damage, call a tornado to suck them off their feet, and unleash a blizzard on them. They can also release a poisonous cloud or rain destruction on their foes with ten missiles.

Angels Online: New Instance Guide

The Gulp Room is different from other instances in Angels Online. It really challenges players’ cooperation and concentration. Even if they defeat all the small monsters and the powerful BOSSes, they can’t move on to the next step unless they can find the switch. Today, the official team of Angels Online is giving a brief introduction to the Gulp Room for all players so that they can get through this instance smoothly.

Players will be teleported to a square after they enter the instance. They will find an NPC called Scientist Boni on the right side of the square, who will give each player a “Devil Feast” quest.


Step One

In the dim lighting, the Gulp Room is a mysterious and horrible instance full of rotten mummies. Players have to defeat all the mummies before they can turn on the “torch” switch that opens the sanctum. After they’ve entered the sanctum, the 6 stone statues inside will become monsters at random. Players have to defeat them in order to move on to the next step.

The correct order is Barft on the right, the Headless Knight on the left, the Wolf King on the left, the Gebuer Leader on the right, the Headless Knight on the right, the Gebuer Leader on the left, Barft on the left and the Wolf King on the right. Got it? Good.


Step Two

Players will meet the Lion Dragon at this stage. It should not be difficult for them to defeat this BOSS if they can cooperate well with teammates. It is recommended that players carry enough HP and SP potions to last the long battle. During the battle, all DPS players’ damage is useless on the Lion Dragon.

The main tank should attract the BOSS to the upper right corner of the map so that a large group of Powder Pails will be born by the system at random. All DPS players should attack those Powder Pails together. After the Powder Pail blasts, the BOSS will lose a certain amount of HP as well. Pay attention! The Lion Dragon has a lot of HP and it is destined to be a long battle.


Step Three

Players can obtain a Devil Key to enter the next step after they’ve defeated the Lion Dragon.
The Hell Evil Eyes here have the highest rate of drops in the Gulp Room. Players will have the chance to obtain top weapons by defeating the Hell Evil Eyes. Meanwhile, by defeating the elves here, players can obtain a kind of Elf Bottle which will be helpful in defeating the BOSS in the next step.

After players have collected enough Elf Bottles, the main tank can click the pool to summon a BOSS called Glutton. The same strategy as in Step 2 will work here as well. The main tank should throw the Elf Bottles as quickly as possible. Each Elf Bottle will summon 3-4 Red Demons at random. After players kill all the Red Demons, the BOSS will lose HP as well.

It is more difficult for players to rush into the Gulp Room because it requires good cooperation among teammates. We recommend coming up with a good strategy and putting together a veteran team so that players can challenge the instance smoothly.

Ether Saga Online: Open beta and new event

Ether Saga will soon enter the Open Beta! And in the meantime a new event will be held during the Closed Beta. Here’s the official announcement:

Open Beta Announcement

We are pleased to announce the release date for Open Beta – 12:00 am (midnight) Pacific Time on March 17th. Players can expect the following to occur:

1. Closed beta servers will shut down at 10 am Pacific Time on March 16th.
2. All characters created in Closed Beta will be wiped. Clean slate for everyone. This will be our last character wipe.
3. The cash shop will be open for purchases with Zen when Open Beta launches.

I will discuss development plans for the next couple of weeks below, but first I wanted to announce something exciting: the closed beta contest!

Closed Beta contest

Our closed beta contest has two tiers, with prize criteria that can cater to everyone’s playstyle. Everyone has a chance to win!


First Tier

Everyone who has achieved level 40 or above will get 5 hours early access to the Open Beta. Eligible players will be able to start playing at 6:00 pm Pacific Time on March 16th. The early access will allow players to reserve their usernames, setup clans with their friends, and get a head start in the game. The early access will end at 11 pm on March 16th. All character information will be saved and be available when the servers relaunch.


Second Tier

The contest’s second tier prize is an exclusive pet: the Katsune Kid*. The Katsune Kid is a humanoid pet that resembles a white fox with a large tail. It cannot be tamable, and it currently even cannot be found in the wild. There are two ways you can win this one-of-a-kind pet:

-The first 25 people to achieve level 65
-An additional 75 players will be chosen at random. Players must have spent at least 10 hours in the game are eligible.
Winners will be contacted via emails on instructions how to receive their pet.

Zero Online: Extreme Simulation

Date:
March 7-8, 2009

Rewards
You can swap scored points for these prizes:
Hi-tech Repair, Dynamic Restore, Extreme OD Battery, EXP Hive, Extreme EXP Hive, Alliance Material, Winner’s Honor, Traveler Pack
Requires
Level 130 + Transformation skills
Location
Steel Warship and TK Hi-tech Base


NPCs

Lunare (Steel Warship 509,819)
Introduces the event, sends you to the TK Hi-tech Base, sells Joy Points, and offers the reward.
Paso ( TK Hi-tech Base 230,333)
Explains the objectives and sends you back to the Steel Warship.



Rules

1. Find Lunare to enter the TK Hi-tech Base.
2. Protect the Energy Tower. If it is not destroyed after 30 minutes, you win the battle and earn some score points.
3. Swap your scored points for your desired prizes with Lunare.


Storyline

Energy is the most important resource in the universe. That’s why the Othellonians make every effort to occupy every planet in the galaxy that they can get their hands on. Since training against these threats is so important, he Alliance requires all pilots with transformable units to take part in this Extreme Simulation. Your mission is to protect the Energy Tower from being destroyed by the enemy tanks.

Walkthrough
1. After you learn the rules and purchase Joy Points from Lunare, you are ready to enter the TK Hi-tech Base to take part in the Extreme Simulation training exercise.