Yearly Archives: 2009

Lunia Online: Character Rundown PART 2

By Rickee Charbs (Jammart), OnRPG Journalist

Lunia has gone through some pretty hefty content additions since its release under Ijji, a wonderful company that really keeps their games up to date. They usually release new characters to the game soon after KLunia (Korean Lunia Online) does, which is a great feat as every character needs to be heavily translated. Anyway, the previous article on Lunia characters regards some new-esque characters, but this one will present the characters fresh from KLunia. The real “new” characters, if you will.

These very recent character additions to the game are extremely popular, and continue to grow in popularity due to their unique abilities and overall appeal. These two characters are Ryan, the bounty hunter, and Kali the demon dark bard from another dimension. As much as Ryan and Kali have been hyped, hype for a very new character is taking the lead. That’s right, this article will also feature Asuka, the dual claymore wielding school girl! Now, you may be very impatient to try this character out, but she is currently only available in KLunia. Your eagerness will have to be put on hold, but she will be ready soon for English players if ijji keeps up its steady speed. Plans of a tamer and a blacksmith character have been revealed to Lunia fans everywhere, but they are too far under developed for me to give you any information of, let alone an introduction. Now, let us start character rundown number two!


Ryan Hunt [Bounty Hunter]

It is pretty obvious that this character was developed to please gunner-class fans. Ryan has no use in the game’s storyline, as he fails to make an appearance anywhere in the game (much like most of the new character added in the game). His background states that he only became a bounty hunter so that he could take advantage of his earnings to fine-tune his guns.

He is physically described as one of the tallest characters of the game, wearing a fairly large trench coat, stylish white hair, and two huge pieces of weaponry. Wielding a mini gun in his right hand and a shotgun on the left, Ryan seems to be quite the intimidating character. What amazes me is that he can wield and use both of those guns together with little effort. Apparently he’s too brutal for physics. Some people think he clashes with the theme of the game, but I think the gunner profession fits in just fine with a fantasy setting.

Lunia: Ryan HuntRyan’s attacks are almost purely ranged, even less than his ranged counterpart Arien. However, his attacks pack a serious punch. He deals the highest amount of AoE damage, so that makes him ideal to take out large clusters of enemies. I also noticed that Ryan’s extremely flashy skills have a downfall: the animations are so long that they delay your skill a little, which can be a little annoying at times. Not to mention of his skills consume a great amount of MP, so levelling his MP related skills are a must. He can be an amazing damage dealer with skills at disposal, but without MP he loses a ton of his strength. People who use Ryan have to learn to be very conservative with their MP. I found him really fun to play, but my hype for the gunner class died down very fast. He is definitely an interesting character in the game but maybe not as unique as he seems. I also found it silly that Ryan has a very ironic last name considering his profession.


Kali Eschenbach
[Dark Bard]

Kali is one of the [if not the] most interesting characters I have played in Lunia. Do not let her adorably cute name fool you; she’s actually a demon. That’s right, Kali takes the appearance of an innocent 16 year old girl, but she actually comes from another dimension as a fierce demon. Not much is known of her true daemon form, though, as she tries to hide her origins and her true care-free personality. Kali uses her magical lute to help others, or to defeat enemies using the melody of Pandemonium (remnants of her demon self).

Lunia: Dark BardWhat sets Kali apart from the other characters of the game is her ability to heal her and other player’s MP through song. With this ability she has a near limitless mana pool, which really comes in handy when using her MP heavy darkness skills. She has a few really powerful skills (maybe slightly overpowered) that send damaging musical notes to her enemies. She can stun monsters or make them fall asleep, as well. That being said, Kali is extremely versatile as an offensive and supportive character alike. There is one more thing though: Kali can transform into her demon self! This demon looks really cool and is very deadly on the battlefield, with its own set of melee attacks. She also carries some other fun skills such as the ability to transform other players into skeletons that run fast and heal quickly. The few downsides to Kali are her low defence, HP, and her highly MP consuming skills.

Seeing how Kali is so unusual, it is extremely rare to not see a ton of them lingering around in-game. Do not let this discourage you though. The dark bard is a really fun class and I urge you to try it out if you have the means to! She is obtainable via the item mall or a tedious quest offered by Lynette in town, like all other character card quests.


Asuka [Dual Wield]

Asuka has just recently been released in KLunia. She wields two claymores and takes on the appearance of a school girl mixed with a feudal samurai. Asuka is an all-round speedy character. Her melee attacks are extremely fast, and so are her skills. She is mainly focused at 1-1 combat like Sieg. Some of her skills look great too! Cherry blossom petals float around her during most of her skills, and she even has an area effect skill in which those petals fall from the sky. I will admit she does not look like anything we haven’t seen, but is much rather a blend of Tia and Sieg together. Nevertheless, she seems like an interesting addition to the Lunia character roster, and I look forward to playing as her. Hope you do too! Happy gaming!

Lunia Asuka

Dofus 2 to release this December

Nothing to do this winter? Worry not as Ankama has released that Dofus 2 is scheduled to go live on December 2nd 2009!

Since its release in September 2004, DOFUS has undergone numerous updates that have contributed to its international success. Today, DOFUS is available in 7 languages and is one of the top 5 online games in the world. The code of DOFUS has been completely rewritten in Action Script 3 so the Flash MMO will prove even faster and more responsive, while over 2,000 animations and 10,000 maps are being entirely redrawn.

With this complete revision, the game will be much more fluid, attractive and fun while keeping the same minimum system requirements, gameplay and features that have made it a worldwide success through the years.

Communication with the servers has been revised and optimised by the development team to deliver better performance and to allow future expansions to evolve more freely.

Version 2.0 will be the most significant upgrade the game has ever known. The graphic engine, server and client code have been completely rewritten to offer a wealth of detail and an unparalleled gaming experience.

Following this update, Ankama plans to offer boxed distribution of its flagship title worldwide during 2010

 

Dofus 2 - Release Date Set for December 2009

 

La Tale: Special Event for Beginners

Many games offer in-game events aimed at long time players. La Aeria Games has now announced that they will add events specifically aimed at newbies!
 
Upon starting the game, you create your own personal character, who will accompany you on your journey through the world of LaTale.
 
Thrilling tasks, mighty opponents, beautiful regions and a vast amount of items await you! You’ll be impressed by the sheer number of different dungeons.
Be pitted against powerful bosses in life and death struggles!
Accept their challenge and be rewarded with rare and mighty items.
 
Explore the continent of Giendia, alone or with a party of friends.  It’s up to you!
Make your way through the virtual world of the Kingdom of Elias!
On your journey you might also find different valuable or powerful items.
Let it be weapons, armors, clothing or other collectables; the variety of items in LaTale is unrivaled!
 
LaTale offers you action, excitement, fun and new adventures with like-minded players and friends.
 
To get started you simply have to register and download the client afterwards.
 
To make it easier, especially on new players, we have planned out an event that will help you to raise your character faster than usual, so you can get right into the heart of the game.

La Tale Event Schedule
For more information you can visit La Tale’s forum.

Jade Dynasty: New PVP server opens!

Jade Dynasty, The Martial Arts MMORPG, will open a PVP Server to meet the growing player demands
 
Based on the popular internet novel “Zhu Xian,” Jade Dynasty features a unique martial arts style game play in a constantly evolving game world that players can access completely free of charge.
 
To accommodate the overflowing populations of both the European and East Coast USA servers and community feedback, Jade Dynasty will add an additional server located in the U.S. East Coast. The new server titled “Wildlands” will also be exclusively PvP, with no PvE only zones. The current servers will remain unchanged.
 
Jade Dynasty is the English-based version of Zhu Xian, one of China’s most popular online games. With its unique game play features and system, it offers an immersive game play experience not common to other free-to-play MMORPGs. Once in the stunning game world, players will begin their quest to achieve the secrets of immortality. Players will delve into a system where the choice between good and evil will shape their game play experience in terms of different skills, items and even a story unique to every player.

Jade Dynasty - New PVP Server Opens

Alliance of Valiant Arms

Alliance of Valiant Arms (A.V.A) provides heart-pumping fragging action in an Unreal Engine 3-based game.  The modern warfare experience promises multi-player online gaming and twitch-based fast action first-person shooter (FPS) action, resulting in visceral, intense combat unlike any other.

In A.V.A, war has broken out in modern Europe between the European Union (EU) and the Neo Russian Federation (NRF).  As countries across the globe declare sides, the United States and China are locked in a politically fueled stalemate.  When China folds and joins the ranks of the NRF, the US comes to the aid of the sieged EU.  Tensions run high as the two factions square up for unprecedented blood-and-guts urban warfare.

Are your senses keen and your trigger finger primed and ready to take on your enemy in a dense and dirty urban jungle?  Create a character, connect with your friends and clan online and jump into the heat of modern warfare in Alliance of Valiant Arms!

Product Features:
Fast-paced FPS Action Online. Alliance of Valiant Arms carries on ijji.com’s signature triple-A gaming style, offering players a robust, quick-fragging Unreal Engine 3-based FPS game.   This time the battle takes place in a dilapidated cityscape where around any corner a bloody clash could be waiting.

– Numerous Game Modes. From adrenaline-pumping Team death match to the exacting tactics of an explosive demolition mode, Alliance of Valiant Arms offers a diverse range of intense combat scenarios.  Battle for EU or NRF victory in the Escort Mission where players attempt to shepherd a tank across enemy lines calling for flawless strategy and teamwork.

– A Sundry of Maps. Engage in fervent skirmishes or strategic battles across dozens of maps spanning the European continent.  Game developers scoured Europe taking photographs in order to accurately depict maps of actual cities throughout the continent. With no two missions the same, every action-packed location calls for a specific variation of game play tactics.

Wide Variety of Awesome Weapons and Creative Customization. A.V.A offers thousands of devastating weapon variations for players to slice, shoot, blast and obliterate the enemy.  From the barrel to the trigger and everything in between, heinous unique weapons can also be created and optimized to each player’s preferences.  With every upgrade and customization a player’s stats are enhanced as they prepare to wind through city streets, stalking their adversarial prey.

Stop Blinking – The Game Really Looks That Good.  With the polished Unreal Engine 3 technology, A.V.A provides crisp detail and stunning cityscapes as players progress through the war-torn realistic and unforgiving urban landscape of the game’s battlegrounds.  Crumbling corner stores and foreboding dark skyscrapers provide cover for relentless enemies as players seek to fulfill their ominous missions.

Ninja Wars Review: I Am Ninja – Are You?

By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist

If you have the itch on becoming the mysterious ninja but can’t seem to find a game that can fill that starving need immediately, you might find Ninja Wars a ninja-based game something you might sink your teeth into.

You want to become a ninja, boy?

Ninja Wars puts you in the suit of a ninja, the almost mystical shadow warriors. You get to choose to become one of the various colored ninjas found in the game. The color dictates the skills your ninja will have for the rest of your stay in the game.

The good thing in Ninja wars is that you do not spend most of the time trying to figure out the details your ninja will have. Once you get create an account and choose the type of ninja you will get you are then whisked away into the world of people killing each other.

Ninja Wars strips down the whole ninja concept into something simpler and less complex. What you have is a character that has a set permanent set of skills and you must use your wits and cunning to make it past through the others who are also aiming for the top.

Too Simple For Its Own Good

The game’s simplicity is in turn the best and the worst aspect of the game. Its simplicity is good because you would not have to go through a lot of things just to get yourself a text-based ninja. Also, the simplicity streamlines how the game’s battle is progressing thus making battles fun.

However, the game is much too simple for a game that centers on the ninja. This would not be too much of a problem if the game has more items, more skills and more goals that you can attain. The shop has only five items on sale.

The only authentic ‘ninja’ item that you can buy in the game’s shop is the famous ninja shuriken. Aside from that you get different scrolls and that’s that. You have nothing else to use your money on.

The sad thing about the whole thing is that earning gold and leveling up are the only two things your ninja can earn. You don’t get to buy armors or other weapons that are supposed to be part of a ninja’s arsenal. So what’s the point of the shop’s items when you can just spend turns killing other ninjas instead of wasting your gold on scrolls and shurikens that do not really do the job.

Battle System

The game’s battle system is the only thing that has an advantage when in the overall simple design of the whole game. Everything happens fast and almost in real-time as it should be. You get to use your ninja skills on other people and even decide on what how you would like to kill your enemy.

Ninja Wars Koi Fish Background

Your ninja skills are another thing of beauty because the damage it inflicts is the same regardless of the level of your enemy. Though the game’s battle system may be fast paced and easily the most noteworthy aspect of the game, the game’s simplicity problem has also reached its battle system.

First and foremost, the rewards of the game are not really something that you look forward to. To level up you would have to kill a certain amount of ‘ninjas’ to advance, the problem is, the only thing that changes when you level up is an increase in life and a different number beside your name in the rankings that show your ninjas level.

Second, the issue about the skill’s damage is also another factor. Though at first it may be cool that you get to kill ninjas that are thousands of level above you with your skill, you won’t really have any drive to do further your ninja because there is no goal that you need to achieve.

Your Kung-Fu Is Weak

Ninja Wars is a game that, as far as ninja-themed games are concerned, shows a lot of promise, but it seems that the game lacks any drive for the player to do more and stay online just to play a game where you don’t have anything to do except kill, kill and kill.

Another thing about the game is that you do not forget to include something that resembles a goal for players to achieve. If the game is as easy as this who would want to even spend their time on something that has no aim.

Even though players like to take things easy it is that goal on achieving something that they consider important is the driving force of why they stick on the game. This is one of the things Ninja Wars has forgotten to include. While winning easily is something we all want, but if everyone can do it where’s the fun on that?

Ninja Wars seems to be a game that is hastily built just so they can say ‘hey! Here’s a ninja game! You want to play?’, as I said, the game has a lot of potential but it seems it is wasted because the game lacks a lot of everything that makes any game a decent game.

If you are one of those people who just want their ninja cravings succumbed regardless of the quality of the game I can suggest Ninja Wars. Though I cannot say how long the game will be able to satisfy your cravings for some ninja-fu. The game is decent enough to at least give you some fast ninja-themed fun.

Pros:
– The battle is fast paced and the statistics gets update after every move you do
– You can get to kill higher level ninjas even if you are level 1
– The game has a chat window where you can talk to other active players in real time.

Cons:
– You only have a limited set of items you can use
– You do not learn skills and stay stuck with your preferred ninja class
– The game gets boring in the long run.

Phoenix Dynasty Interview: Beautiful 2.5D Game

Questions by Alex Beck, OnRPG Journalist
Answered by Danny Project Manager of Phoenix Dynasty Online

Phoenix Dynasty Online (PDO) is a bright and flashy oriental-themed MMORPG. The game is blessed with a remarkable set of spells and effects, not to mention in game action unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. We interviewed Danny, Project Manager at Phoenix Dynasty Online and asked him some questions about the game.

Onrpg: While hosting multiple games, do you find it hard to deliver content to all of them?
We have set up different teams for each game, so all staff can focus on their game and their specific duty. Although we are a new company, most of the our staff members have been in this industry for a couple of years, by which I am not going to say we are very experienced, but we do have accumulated some experience in running all the games and we are progressing toward a mature game publisher and trying to present our games to a much wider player base.

Onrpg: What sets Phoenix Dynasty Online apart from other 2.5D online games?
Phoenix Dynasty Online claims itself to be the most beautiful 2D MMORPG. And it lives up to the hype with its artistic graphics and unique water-and-ink appeal. Aside from the graphics, its in-depth content, especially the embrace of the mystic 5-element system, brings unique experience for crafting and PvP.

PDO Combat

Onrpg: What sorts of classes can a player expect to play as?
There are four classes available. Paladins deal melee damage with high attack and defense; wizards cast powerful offensive spells but are physically weakened; assassins attack from distant with arrows and set traps; and priests have healing and summoning ability.

Onrpg: Can players purchase the same items with in-game cash that players using micro transactions can?
They cannot directly make the purchase, whereas they can trade the in-game gold for Phoenix Points (in-game currency) with other players and then buy the cash items. Actually most of the cash items, such as mounts and gems, can be obtained by pure grinding, which makes micro transaction totally optional.

Onrpg: Are game masters apparent while in game?
Well, game masters basically are normal characters, but have access to GM rights. Usually they will appear in game for running live GM events and interacting with players. They wear insane gears, ride gorgeous mounts and are titled GM before their character names. Players can’t be missing them with a mere look of the fabulous appearances. Yes, they are made jealous, lol. GMs also speak in a distinctive white color that differs from those colors set for players’ chat options. Generally, GMs in PDO are visible characters, which make it easier for players to interact with them.

Onrpg: What age group is phoenix dynasty intended for?
With PDO players aged 14 to 60, I’d say our game is intended for all age group, as long as the players are or they want to be “thinking gamers”, for the in-depth content will hold them thinking even if they are not playing. And they will find it enjoyable both in the process of thinking and in the achievement their active thinking results in.  

Onrpg: What does the “Artifact System” have to offer?
In the new expansion pack, “Artifact System” offers 6 distinctive “General Artifacts” that can be equipped side by side with the gears. They apply to all class and are free to obtain. You can get as many artifacts as you want by completing a quest repeatedly, but only one artifact is allowed to equip at one time. The artifacts boost players’ stats on attack power, defense, hitting rate, dodge, HP and MP. By receiving experience from killing mobs, the Artifacts also can be upgraded and synthesized with a mixture of above bonus. There are also artifact skills that can be activated when they are grown to certain state. Other types of artifact such as Class Artifacts”, “Reputation Artifacts”, and “Special Artifacts” are planned to release in future updates.

PDO Players

Onrpg: What types of enemies can players face?
Players have to face a variety of enemies. However, they can be roughly broke down into 2 types: the humanoid monsters and non-humanoid monsters. Both of them are born with distinct skills and combat abilities. And players will get totally different loot from respective category. For example, they will get gold and gears from humanoid monsters, while gain crafting materials and skill books from non-humanoid monsters.

Onrpg: Is there a player vs player system? If so how does it work?
We have a PvP element that encourages fair duels and punishes evil killers. In PDO, all characters are set to 3 different modes that they can switch among: Peace Mode, Compete Mode and PK Mode. Each mode has its different indication. Under Peace Mode and Compete Mode players will not be PKed in safe areas. While in dangerous areas the PKer who kills them will get many Wickedness Points, when accumulated to certain amount, they will be announced criminal and sentenced to the short term imprisonment. Duels can be held at no penalty when both players turn on Compete Mode. PDO maintains a very friendly community and the fair duels are the most popular among players.

Onrpg: Are there any problems with players using illegal programs, and how do you punish these players?
Up to now we still haven’t been informed of any case with illegal programs. But as stated in terms of user agreement, those illegal programs are prohibited, and any violation will lead to account suspension or even a permanent account ban.

PDO Platforms

Onrpg: Is there anything else you would like to say?
In the modern game industry that is filled with 3D graphics, we may need a break and alienate ourselves from the high-tech fest, to recall our old time memories and exercise our imagination. Offering artistic visuals and in-depth game play, Phoenix Dynasty Online is perhaps your best option within 2D MMO category.

We have also got 24 hours support team to serve our players. Have a try on the game when you want relax! 

Tales of Pirates: Introducing the Twitter Tool

The Tales of Pirates team takes pride in the strength of the game’s community of dedicated players, and encourages them to take an active part in making the game more fun by adding programs like the Player Cops and Journalists to the game. Their latest project is a new plug-in, the Twitter Tool, which allows players to post messages directly to twitter and stay up-to-date on the latest ToP announcements in-game.

 
According to one of the developers, the ToP team had noticed a trend where exciting things were happening in the game, but players weren’t hearing about them quickly enough. For instance, when players scored the first Abaddon boss kill on September 6th, even the ToP team didn’t find out right away. With the advent of Twitter as a worldwide source of instant communication, the ToP team thought they’d found the perfect platform for instant communication about in game activities and events. A Twitter plug-in seemed to be the next logical step. After installing Twitter there would be an additional Twitter interface generated in-game. Having their Twitter account bound, players can enter their messages in the in-game Twitter interface and they’ll be posted directly to Twitter. With the new plug-in, players will be able to post their accomplishments or find out about what’s going on in the game without experiencing any annoying time delays.
ToP officials are also looking for more ways to improve communication among the community.
 
According to an insider, players may soon be able to upload instant screenshots into the game as well.
Tales of Pirates Twittertool

Nanovor Review: Newest Addiction For 12-Year Olds

By Shahrin Chowdhury (Sahat), OnRPG Journalist 

Nintendo is really missing out on not making a Pokemon mmorpg game. If they don’t act soon, the pet -based-fighting-game market will go to Nanovor. Not that I’m not perfectly happy with it. This game is amazingly addictive after the first few hours of playing. Although the market for the game is for young boys, it still holds value for older players due to its strategically complex gameplay and the age old fun of collecting items and creatures.

What is a Nanovor?

Well it is pretty much what it sounds like, a tiny viral like creature that lives in electronics and around technology.  They come in three different species or factions, a variety of forms and have personalities to match. Their looks range from the adorably cute to the acutely insane.

Factions

Hexite:
Kraken

Hexites are the fast hitting, moderately damaging, and extremely sneaky type. They also have some of the most awkward looking creatures, prime example : The Battle Kraken.

If a four-legged squid isn’t awkward looking enough, its attack consists of launching itself at opponent and strangling it with its tentacles. Hexites pride themselves in hitting first with their extreme speeds and leaving a lasting impression on their opponents. Their attacks range from deleting overrides to amassing dangerously high amounts of energy for heavily damaging attacks.


Magnamod:
Nanovor Tank Walker

Slow, bulky, and insanely powerful are the perfect words to describe Magnamods. They require little to no thinking to use. Just send them in and let them bash away at the opposing nanovor till it becomes goo. Prime example of a magnamod: Tank Walker.

His name pretty much sums it all up. He is a walking tank that will absorb anything and everything thrown in his path.  His attacks are just straight forward tackling for heavy damage. At least one magnamod is recommended in every team just because of how hard they hit. They don’t require much strategy to use and their simplicity is their selling point. Why make a complex plan when a few simple tackles will settle the job?


Velocitrons:
Nanovor Megadoom

Velocitrons get the best of all three worlds; they are fast, their attacks hurt in more ways then one, and they don’t look overly bulky or just plain strange. Prime example of a velocitron would be one of my favorites: the Megadoom.

 

Look at this guy; he just exerts an aura of awesomeness that cannot be matched by others.  He’s cool, he’s intelligent, and he knows how to tear you limb from limb with those laser sharp arms of his. Now if that wasn’t enough, his attacks also contain surprises ranging from crippling the opposing nanovor to trapping him in the battlefield unable to switch out. Velocitrons do more indirect, status affecting damage with their attacks than they do direct damage. Instead of blasting away at the enemy, they will cripple their speed, strength, and make their armor completely useless, truly a faction for those who want to make their opponents cry in frustration.

Battle System

No game is complete without an interesting and intricate battle system and Nanovor is no exception. The game starts off by letting the players choose how many swarm points they’re playing for, probably 1000 because the other options are not in just yet. Swarm points restrict how many nanovors each player can have in their team or swarm. Stronger nanovors cost more swarm points, weaker ones cost less.

After choosing the swarm points and nanovors accordingly, the battle begins. Both players send out their nanovors and let them duke it out until one of them is squished, decimated, incinerated, etc etc. You get the idea. Whoever loses all of their nanovors, concedes the battle to the other and the winner gets ranking points called NMP. Overly simple and not interesting or intricate at all, right?

Wrong. Sure the basic point of the game is to take out all the nanvors of the other guy but there’s more to the fighting than just bashing each other’s guts out with magnamods. At the end of each attack, players can switch out the active nanovor for another one with different abilities, which may change the tides of battles completely. This switching is called a Swap. To counter this, many nanovors, most notably velocitrons, have attacks that stop nanovors from swapping. Hence, the Swap Block. Megadoom mentioned above has a very powerful swap block ability as does the Battle Kraken to a lesser extent. Certain magnamods also strut swap block attacks.

Swap blocks are not the only stunts pulled in the game. Many low level nanovors have attacks called a Spike Attack. The Spike Attacks are kind of like power-ups to a few high level nanovors. Spike Attacks can do everything from double damage, to boosting speed and strength, and swap blocking the enemy. They don’t go and disappitate when you use another attack that does not need a spike.

Spikes and swaps are nice but it would be pretty bland if that was all the surprises in the game. There are certain attacks called Overrides which can grant certain abilities or boost others to extreme ends. Spike Attacks are classified as Overrides but unlike other Overrides, they disappear after a Spike enhanced attack is used. Most Overrides last throughout the entire game unless they are replaced by a different one or deleted by abilities of the opponent nanovor. A certain Override to note is Dodge. Dodge is extremely powerful in that it can nullify all damage and turn the entire game on its head. Dodge has a pretty decent chance of occurring too, when I used it, it would work almost 3 times a game. If not more.

How do I evolve my Pok- err Nanovor?

There is a little trick to evolving nanovor. First you need Ems or Energy Modulators, little capsule thingies with different colored liquids in them. When you have the right ones, head over to the evolution lab, drag the nanovor that meets the requirements to evolve over to the nanovor that you want it to (hint, it looks like a silhouette of the one you want) and you get to play a little (and at times, quite annoying) matching game. Depending on what you want to evolve into what, you will get a different number of EMs and place holders to put the EMs in. Drag and drop them in a certain order and flip the switch, if you are right, a blue stream will go mix the fluids and inject them into the nanovor to make it evolve, if you are wrong, the EM capsules burst and you get to try again. You do not lose any from being wrong; you only lose them when you actually evolve the critter. There is a little circle with lights on the right side to show you how you are doing, if the light is green it means that one of the EMs were in the right place, if it is wrong, then it is in the wrong place. It is a pretty fun minigame if you enjoy such games but if you are evolving into a complex nanovor and there are multiples of the same EM then it gets quite frustrating.

Nanovor Strategy

How do I trade?

This was kind of annoying to figure out at first. To trade with other people, you have to friend them and make sure they are in your friend manager tab. Drag their name and icon into the trade tab and a new minigame-like thing begins. Now the thing with trading is, unlike traditional games where both players choose what they want, only the person who initiated the trade can choose what they want and what they want to give. Both players can view each other’s nanovors and EMs but only the initial trade starter can choose who and what they are going to trade. Of course both of the players must confirm for the trade to be completed. There is a little chat bar in the bottom right hand corner for trade disputes and haggling.

How do I actually acquire nanovor?

Well assuming you want more nanovor than the first 6 the game gives, you also get 400 nanocash, the currency of Nanovor, to head out to the store and buy new nanovors and/or EMs. There are packs to buy, the first booster pack contains 1 nanovor and 4 EMs. Something in there is rare, it may be a nanovor or it may be an EM. The second pack contains 7 EMs, one of them is rare. The third contains 7 nanovors, one of which is rare. I personally recommend the booster pack or the EM pack as most of the powerful nanovors can be created from the first 6 nanovors the game originally gives.

The only way to get more nanocash currently is to wait till Tuesday and hope that you get chosen by the GMs to get cash.

Writer’s Awesome Opinion (WAO)

I think Nanovor is a great game. Initially I was not into it much and thought it was pretty confusing and a tad boring. But I sucked up and gave it the time and determination and coffee that it deserves only to find out that it is indeed an awesome game. It took a bit experimenting and digging around Google to find any information on it but I did come across this site : http://hanoverhigh.com/nanolog/browse.php which contained information on every single nanovor released from their origins, their strengths and weaknesses, and even how to strategically employ them in the battlefield. I checked it often and noticed that there were evolutionary combinations on the website as well. The site helps a LOT. It’s also where I got the pictures.

What was really unique about the game (aside from the game itself, because it’s already unique on its own already) was the user interface the game used. It was very polished, very futuristic. Did not seem like I was actually playing on my computer, more like I was playing on a handheld device, a futuristic GameBoy if you will. That being said, there were times when the interface would glitch up. Certain screens would get pulled into the battle scenes and stay there, stuck, until I either forfeited the battle or just restarted the game.

While I am on the interface, the other feature that impressed me a ton were the animations. Unlike other pet-based-games (you know what they are) the animations in Nanovor were fluid and beautiful. Sure it may have been turn based but it sure did not feel that way. The nanovors would dance around the screen when they were not issuing attacks or do some other movement that would catch my eye. The attack animations were really fancy especially the killing blows. I was not kidding when I said that nanovors would get incinerated, some finishing blows did just that. Others would slice the nanovor’s head off or blow them completely off the screen. All in all, I loved the little buggers dying, as sick as it may sound. It was pretty refreshing, much more than just seeing them faint.

Nanovor Battle Mode