Yearly Archives: 2009

NeoSteam Shattered Continent Review: Steampunk Fun

By Bryan King (Bryan), OnRPG Journalist

The Steampunk genre has mostly kept to the basic forms of art. However, times have changed and Atlus Online brings a steampunk game to the MMO market named Neosteam: The Shattered Continent. The game promises exciting PvP, a charming and unusual story, and extensive customization, among other things. But there’s one question involved in the slew of promised features… does it deliver?

Storyline

The storyline of the game is summarized and given to new users in a brief but basic cutscene before creating a character. Here is some bits and pieces from the story from the Neosteam home page.

“Before the shattering of the land, the citizens of Chrysalis learned to harness Neo Steam. This gaseous resource became an integral part of society, giving life to all manner of machinery, from small hand tools to giant vehicles and factories. It reshaped the world and brought civilization into an era of peace and prosperity.”

“Therefore, the ancient Maestros devised a network of receivers and transmitters to safely transfer Neo Steam from one location to another.”

“When the King banished the Maestros, fearing they would become too powerful and overthrow him, the rest of civilization continued harvesting Neo Steam at an alarming rate. Without the Maestros there to oversee Neo Steam consumption, the balance of the world began to teeter, until one day, the very land itself was torn apart in a massive earthquake.”

“Centuries passed, and as the fledgling nations of Elerd and Rogwel began to rise, and both nations began harvesting Energy Stones once more. In time, blood was shed, and the two nations realized they could no longer harvest Energy Stones in peace. In a bitter irony, the same resource that helped shatter the land is now the fuel for a war that threatens to destroy civilization once and for all..”

The story brings a main intriguing point before the game even starts. It raises the question for gamers… how will I defend my nation? How will we work together to gain Neosteam? All of these questions are answered within the game.

NeoSteam Balloon Travel

Gameplay

OOF!

That’s the sound you hear when you’ll emit when you land on your face as a beginner. That shouldn’t be taken literally, but Neosteam really just puts you in the game with tutorial quest as every other game does. Your pet (which can be later evolved to give you even more special abilities) helps you along the way by throwing you some decent tips, but the beginner portions of the game doesn’t do much to impress players from the start. Unfortunately, this is true of almost all quests in the game. Quests relate back to the global story, but it all feels broken. It didn’t really click together like it should for such an impressive story.

However, the game does include a geographical quest marker that puts a flag where your quest item/mob/etc. is located. This pits well as opposed to games where you have to spend endless amounts of time asking, searching, and browsing areas all over the map looking for something.

Neosteam is plagued by a severe amount of bugs and glitches. Atlus Online took an dated version of Neosteam from a previous publisher and brushed it up, and honestly did add new features to the game such as renaming the towns, classes, and skills, among other things. But it seems as if the controls were overlooked. The WASD system is extremely clunky and it’s hard to control your character without the camera shifting in another direction. If Neosteam: The Shattered Continent wants to compete in the controls department with other games, they’re going to need to renovate the controls system even further.

Neosteam provides a bundle of classes, some of which are very unique, such as the Elerd Paladin, a holy warrior who can summon both a ranged summon or a melee summon. Another unique job tree is the Craftor, who specializes in building weapons, armor, and for wars can create siege vehicles. This feature puts Neosteam’s gameplay over most other free games.

In Neosteam: The Shattered Continent, skills can be learned at a certain character level with Skill Points, and later be leveled with Training Points. One skill point is earned per level. Early in the game, TP is easy to come by due to such low requirements for skills, but later in the game, TP becomes painstakingly hard to earn. Yes, there is a TP system in the game that allows you to gain TP while away for being inside an engine, but this isn’t enough either.

People who buy premium membership earn higher rates of TP, EXP, and gold, which may substantially drive MMO gamers away due to such an objectively seen ‘unfair advantage’ for people who regularly use the cash shop. On the other hand, this system may be perfect for the hardcore gamer who likes a challenge and would be willing to earn TP from completing quests or defeating monsters. Stat points are automatically distributed depending on race and class. Each race (Human, Elf, Pom Luife, or Taroon) has special racial skills that give them perks, and their stat builds separate races for being better for certain classes. A racial skill for a Luife (that has the appearance of a werewolf) is increased run speed and higher HP recovery. These skills do bring some sort of new immersion levels to the game, easing players into whatever they play.

Player vs. Player

The Player vs. Player system in Neosteam is probably Neosteam’s shining star in terms of gameplay. There is an amazing Realm vs. Realm battlefield that brings a substantial bonus to whomever may capture one of the eight castles in the War Field. In order for Elerd or Rogwel to capture a castle, they must work their way inside a castle and destroy a Steam Core in the middle. Capturing a castle gives a nation:

+3% Increased experience

+5% gold gain

+1500 Neo Steam

-3% on Renovation item cost

Energy stones are items that are mined throughout exploring through the game, finding them after raiding a strong boss, or trading them with an NPC. These energy stones can be used to build a personal weapon, siege weapon, blocks, or pylons. Each of these weapons can be used to attack castles, players, defend key points, cut-off a maneuver, or whatever you want to do with them. It all just goes to show how intricate Neosteam’s war system is, and fortunately, it is not the only PvP feature.

NeoSteam Combat

There are neutral maps (the first of which you encounter after choosing your advanced class and going to Riall). The first being Jarit’s Garden, an area where players up to level 30 can level at an accelerated rate, but risk being killed by players of the opposite faction. This adds an exhilaration factor for players who do love PvP, but may have some dislikes by players who don’t.

Battlefields are for players level 41 and up, and divided into level tiers from there. For 20 minutes, players of opposite factions compete by capturing five steam cores throughout the entire field, and possibly having the discomfort of fending off from a very strong boss that can spawn in the middle of the havoc. In conclusion, the player vs. player system of the game has many functions that will be enjoyed by both casual and hardcore PvPers alike.

Graphics & Sound:

Neosteam doesn’t have the best graphics ever, but the bloom effect, steampunk atmosphere, character weapon design, and building models make the game stand out from the rest of the crowd. Unlike the typical medieval background you see, this game does have a retro-futuristic background that makes it unique to the naked eye.

NeoSteam Characters

As for sound, Neosteam has appropriate sound for each skill and action, no more, and no less. Sadly, this audio ends up being subpar in the end of it all. The same basic ‘boom boom’ sound for regular hits gets recycled easily, and some skills share the same casting sound which sounds like a ‘whoosh’.

And the judgement is…:

Neosteam features a lackluster quest system, but it is made up for by the ease it does have. It contains unique classes, and a dynamic skill system which may be found pesky or great by players of various tastes. There are a slew of races, each of which has unique traits. The game is plagued by glitches and the controls are clunky. You simply cannot go wrong with the Player vs. Player features in Neosteam. The graphics are new, following a retro-steampunk following, but unfortunately, the sound is repetitive.

Pros:
– Storyline is detailed
– Quest marking makes the game simpler
– Slew of unique classes & races
– PvP is a definite highlight for Neosteam.

Cons:
-Lackluster quest system
-Training points system may be annoying
-Large amount of glitches
-Clunky controls
-Repetitive Sound.

Ninja Trick Review: A simple game with limitless potential

By Rickee Charbonneau (Jammart), OnRPG Journalist

A F…acebook Game?

Ninja Trick is a fairly new online game developed by CyberAgentAmerica. It was introduced early on as a game available on Facebook, one of the extremely popular user-networking websites on the internet. That’s right! Ninja Trick is a pretty simple online game that is completely playable through Facebook so long as you acquire the application. However, the fact is that Ninja Trick is not just your average Facebook game; it is much more. Ninja Trick is already a very elaborate game in its early beta stages, but there are also some proficient updates planned for the future-neat stuff that is sure to tingle your casual gaming instincts! 

Create your Ninja

Ninja Trick offers a pretty decent amount of customization as you first create your ninja at the character selection screen. The process is very simple and should only take a few moments to complete. Upon creation you have the choice between various hairstyles, a few hair color choices, facial features, and some outfits to choose from. The unique part about ninja creation is that you get to choose an element for your ninja to follow. Players have the choice between fire, ice, wind, and lightning. Fire is a melee type ninja, ice is offensive magic ninja, wind is ranged ninja, and lightning is a more buff oriented ninja. This adds a pretty interesting aspect to the game, as you will only be able to use the jutsu (spells/skills) from the specific element that you allocated your particular ninja. There are three character spots available should you want to try a different element!

Enter the Battlefield

As I have mentioned previously in this article, the gameplay of Ninja Trick is fairly simple. It consists of a room based style that can be currently played in teams or the free-for-all mode. The goal of this game is to collect a majority of the seven gems scattered through the map that will be placed on (currently the map placing is random). These gems are hidden in objects in the various rooms of the map. In order to move, you just have to click a certain tile with your mouse. The very same control applies to searching objects for gems-you simply have to click on the object.

Ninja Battle

Clearly, you will encounter a few opponents here and there on your search for gems. To use your traps or skills, you simply have to click on them, and then the tile, player, or object you wish to target afterwards. The very same applies to melee attacking. However, jutsu heavily drain your jutsu points reserve (jutsu points are a similar concept to mana). You must also be weary of your own Hit Points, as death will make you lose all of your collected gems. Those gems are then placed in objects that were near you at your time of death. Do not fret though, as you will respawn soon after so you can plot your revenge.

Your goal as a ninja is to keep those gems in your possession until the end of the game. So long as you or your team have 4 or more gems, you will be in for the prize. Once the timer runs up, the game will end and you will earn coins and rating points if you have won, or lose rating points if you have had the misery of losing.

Shopping for Shuriken

Shopping in Ninja Trick is a necessity in order to build your character. You will need to purchase your latest skills and new clothing, to make your ninjas look wicked, at the few shops of the game. In order to purchase items, you will have to earn coins from battle or purchase Ninja Gold, which is a form of item mall currency that may be bought via PayPal or a few other easy methods.

There are currently two shops you can visit and purchase items from, being the jutsu store and the fashion store. The fashion store is very straightforward, and a neat little feature in the shop allows you to preview any item before actually purchasing it, so that you do not have to make any regrettable purchases. I would have to say that some of the items are a little overpriced though. The jutsu store offers all sorts of skills for each element and some skills that are usable by everyone. In addition to these skills, there are three different types of trap skills that may be bought.

Lightning Trap 

The first kind of trap is the door traps. These traps are placed on doors and are activated as soon as any player, including your very own ninja, enters that specific door.

The second kind of trap is the floor trap. These are placed on the ground and take up one tile space. Simply said, if you step on that tile, something bad will happen to you. Players have learned to strategically place these traps so that they are not visible to the opponent.

The third and final kind of trap is the object traps. These are placed on the various objects you need to search for gems in, and as they are clicked the trap will spring. However, objects and doors that are trapped are tinted with a visibly red glow, so by all means avoid them.

Rating System

Earlier, I quickly mentioned the rating system. It is currently way underdeveloped, but there are plans for it in the near future once a levelling system is implemented. Rating points are gained or lost depending on your win/loss ratio. Every ninja starts out with a rating of 1500 (the average rating). The higher your rating is the more players will wish to challenge you in order to move up on the competitive ladder. This serves useful for players who compete for bragging rights… you know the internet.

A Final Note 

I would like to thank Benjamin Karl and CyberAgentAmerica for the in-game tour I was offered. He showed me how this game is more fun than it is put out to be, and that it has a really bright future ahead. Do not go ahead and judge this game too hastily. It is really fun, and despite its early stage of development, it is definitely something I recommend you look into for some casual gaming.

The future of this game is bound to be an interesting one. A few features that are planned for release are: an interactive 3D lobby to replace the current “text based” one that is currently implemented in the game, some great music to take place of the current placeholder midis in the game, a levelling system, and of course a ton of more in-game content such as items, maps, and features. I am sure some of you were wondering, right off the bat, why I had decided to write an article on a game that was hosted on Facebook, and I sincerely hope that you have discovered why by now. Arigato! Happy gaming! 

Hero Online: Gives Players Something Different

By Kei Beneza (Dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

Remember those Chinese variety shows where warriors take each other down with Kung fu kicking action? Yeah, this game is pretty much like that. Hero Online is a MMORPG that not only uses Chinese mythology but carries a bit of its history as well. The interface alone would remind you of Ancient China. If you’re an avid MMO player then I guarantee that you’re in for a big surprise. Not only does this game cater unique weapons, but also the chance to pick and master specific ones as well. Though the game was based on Chinese tales, characters in the game still fight like your typical (by that I mean exaggeratedly stunning) Japanese Anime characters.

Explosions, fast paced spell casting and elegant fighting skills are just some of the things that you’ll encounter upon playing this game. You’ll see spinning fans, yari spears and other oriental weapons as you venture into the world of Hero Online.

At the Start

Once you log in, you’ll have to start creating your character. At first I was surprised as to how small the customization feature was. You start by picking one of the five characters (originally four) namely: The Ruthless Blade, Elegant Mystic, Majestic Muse, Piercing Eyes and Overseer of the Sky. Know that this only lets you pick whatever weapons you’ll be using and will not be your actual class. Character creation is as easy as choosing a character and picking a name. This may crush any player’s hope for a decent character creation system since you’ll end up looking like most of the players in the game. Fortunately Hero Online gives you a wide variety of armor that will surely make up for the lack of character customization.

You can only pick your actual class after reaching 1 Dan (which means level 10). Hero Online has a bunch of unique terminologies for some stuff that would be best left untouched. A good example would have to be the Dan and Kyu part which mainly resembles your current level. Now I know that a game needs its own gimmick to stand out but that one was a bit too much.

Picking your first job (or first class) will give you better skills than can further compliment your character’s fighting style. Since there are tons of combinations in the game, it’s quite unlikely for gamers to stop playing this game after maximizing their first character. The game also has the second job system so I guess we’ll finally have something to look forward to.

Must Touch Pretty Flower

The interface looks a lot like RF online, with the red bar to indicate your life and the blue bar for your Chi (mana). The hotkey actionbar sits comfortably at the bottom of your screen, making it less troublesome to scroll your eyes around the imprinted skills. The graphics remind me of Dynasty Warriors for the PS2 (you cant blame me, they all dress the same way). The skills look pretty dazzling when executed. It’s not everyday that you see an MMO with character models that blend well with their skill’s lighting effects. The background is rather stale and could use a bit of work. Everything looks pretty hollow and the buildings don’t seem to have that much texture. If I must cite an example, then I’d have to say that it looks a bit like GuildWars with less texture.

Pretty Spells

Seriously?

We all know that hacking has been a big issue among most of the MMOs today. This game however, managed to create a system that can end the line of hacking forever. The process is quite simple but rather insulting. In order to ‘Seal’ an item, one must first buy a sealing tool and apply it on a certain item. This makes it password protected and cannot be taken away without proper authorization. Once you’re tired of your item however, you have to buy an ‘Unsealing tool’ to be able to make the item free for other players. The price is rather steep and is probably a waste of time. Unless you’re a really paranoid player, this option wouldn’t be much help and would only rip you off as time progresses.

Enough chit-chat! Where’s the war?

Hero Online’s combat is rather flashy compared to its MMO brethren. Cool skills like spinning blades, casting meteor storms and cleaving gigantic swords are all rendered perfectly to your delight. Everything is fast paced and the fonts used for hit confirmation is quite appealing. It always helps to let players feel how hard they can hit regardless of the sound effects.

Hero Online Warrior

As for you PVP-lovers, the game has a decent arena system that lets you plunge into an all out war that would remind you of Dynasty Warriors. Winning in the battlegrounds is quite rewarding since players can get good items upon victory. Some persistent territories also contain PK settings. This means that once you enter that zone, you’re most likely to get killed (or is it the other way around?). In my opinion,  persistent PK zones are quite good since it boosts a player’s ingame paranoia. This means that the player will most likely be more alert, thus creating a fine link between the player and the game. Nothing makes you get into the game better than PVP (or the desire for vengeance hehe).

The game also features a Capture the Flag scenario, where players battle it out for each other’s flags. The faction with the most captured flags at the end of the round will be declared the winner.

The verdict

I honestly think that this is a very decent game. The graphics are pretty good and the skills look dazzling. Could use a bit of work especially with the character creation part. I guess they were focused on making the characters feel different and not look different from the others. The character selection screen doesn’t look so MMO-ish at all which is rather appealing. I guess they did more than just Dans and Kyus. I think this game was trying to make players feel like they’re playing a totally different form of MMO. Don’t get me wrong, it is quite different from the others. Though some of the things that made it different only served as nuisances. Definitely worth a shot.

The Good:
-The Armors look pretty good
-Wide variety of skills that would make your MMO-ish mouth water
-Interesting interface
-A different approach to something quite normal (more like skinning an MMO and calling it something else).

The Bad:
-Lack of character creation
-Unnecessary changes
-Some of the features seem like rip-offs rather than blessings.

Trickster Online: New Poppuri Event

Ntreev USA, Inc. announced that its Poppuri Event: D is for Drilling for popular MMORPG, Trickster Online: A New Discovery will begin today and continue for the next two weeks, through August 19. The special promotion will provide players the opportunity to win all types of custom prizes from Ntreev. Trickster players are encouraged to gather in a worldwide event to drill for hidden Poppuri boxes in order to earn Trickster prizes.

During the course of seven stages of the event, players must work together to excavate a designated number of boxes. The event challenges players to go around the world of Trickster drilling for boxes which will count towards the worldwide box count requirement for each stage.

As each of the seven stages is fulfilled, Tricksters will be rewarded with very unique prizes.  In order to be eligible to participate in the event, players must be over level 30, and have contributed at least 100 Poppuri Boxes. When the worldwide box count reaches the first tier of 500,000, rewards will be distributed to all the players who contributed. Ntreev will also provide prizes for the Top 10 Drillers. And the top three will receive an exciting new GM Pet and also a custom-made Trickster T-shirt.  The winners who fall in the top 4-10 spots will earn a Trickster T-shirt, along with a Trickster Doll.

Players who have collected more than 500 Poppuri Boxes will receive a Surprise Poppuri Skill Card, Poppuricia Pet Swimsuit Version and a Shadow Poppuricia Disguise Kit.

“We are thrilled to bring this event to our loyal Trickster Online: A New Discovery fans,” said Chris Lee, CEO of Ntreev USA. “This is an excellent way for players to interact with each other and work towards a joint cause, while also getting the chance to win some great prizes.”

Conquer Online: Twin City Carnival: You Design, We Implement

To celebrate the release of the Raiding Clans expansion, the TQ team has prepared the CO 2009 Carnival for all players in Conquer Online! In this exciting carnival, players can perform CO dances, draw their cherished mounts, recruit friends and much more! Now, the carnival is coming to the vibrant and bustling Twin City! Adventurers, get yourselves ready for the celebration of a lifetime!

From August 7 to August 26, players can take part in the Twin City Carnival in-game. The carnival contains 7 events, most of which were designed according to the inspirations from CO’s talented community. In these events, you will be able to experience dramatic quests, win valuable prizes or just watch the splendid fireworks!

Let’s have a look at the brief intro of each event below!

Orchid Crown
Requirement: Level 40 or above
Time: August 7th – August 11th
Rewards: Phoenix Badge
Brief Intro: Help a resident of Twin City find and retrieve the lost Orchid Crown. In return, you will receive a precious Phoenix Badge, which will grant you extra bonuses during the carnival.

Carnival Mask
Requirement: Level 40 or above
Time: August 12th – August 26th
Rewards: 3 Advanced Joy Coins
Put on the Mask to transform!
Brief Intro: A mask is essential for the carnival ceremony. Derek in Twin City is the master of mask-making. Pay a visit to him to learn how to make yourself a magical mask for the carnival!

Fabulous Quiz
Requirement: Level 40 or above
Time: August 12th – August 26th
Rewards: Joy Coins
Brief Intro: Jason in Twin City has prepared lots of questions for you! And you will be able to win Joy Coins! Hurry up, it’s quiz time!

Joy Coin
Requirement: Level 40 or above
Time: August 12th to August 26th
Rewards: Depending on your performance, you can receive up to 3 Advanced Joy Coins.
Brief Intro: A merchant from a faraway land is bringing their magic lottery to Twin City! Pay him a visit to learn more about it.

Cake Baking
Requirement: level 40 or above
Time: August 12th to August 26th
Rewards: Joy Coins, EXP
Brief Intro: The Cake Baker in Twin City is anxious to find the best apprentice chef to make him some delicious cakes. He will sell his cake recipes to the chosen one for an amazingly low price.

Carnival Lottery
Requirement: Level 40 or above
Time: August 12th to August 26th
Rewards: All kinds of good items (Depends on your luck)
Brief Intro: Carnival Boxes are filled with joy and happiness! 4 boxes, 4 kinds of surprises! Each will get you high on life and past cloud nine! Find Miss Liu (360,328) for more details.

Firework Show
Requirement: All players
Time: 20:00-21:00 every night from August 12th – August 26th
Brief Intro: There will be a splendid Fireworks Show in Twin City every 10 minutes. Enjoy yourselves!

Runes of Magic sends player into the Savage Lands

Up high, hidden in the tree-tops of the rainforest, the Elves once erected their settlements in the ‘Savage Lands’. Now Frogster reveals the secrets of this new zone that will make its debut with the launch of ‘Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy’ of award-winning MMORPG Runes of Magic.

Situated north-west of the ‘Weeping Coast’ lies the bastion of the elves. The peaceful atmosphere of the thick forest might be deluding to hapless adventurers, making their way into the woods. But here they have to face the Apeman and worse of all the Naga, who broke through the defensive barriers in the west and started building defensive outposts to secure their supply lines.

Further away, adventurers will come across a small camp: The Fungus Village. Innocuous at the first glance, the Fungus-King and his guards will defend their lands ferociously against any intruder. Player will be able to explore the ‘Savage Lands’ during the final launch phase of the second chapter in September. With the raise of the level-cap in August, the adventure starts for all characters level 52 and above.

NeoSteam Reveals RvR Battle Mode

Let the epic battles begin! Atlus Online just revealed its first-ever realm versus realm (RvR) battle mode in its massively multiplayer role playing game (MMORPG), Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent. Fighting in full-scale combat with nations yearning for ownership and glory, players will experience an entirely new side to Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent.

Rush Fighters Announces Open Beta

 

Los Angeles, CA (August 5, 2009) – Acclaim Games is pleased to announce the start of Open Beta testing for Rush Fighters, a free to play cartoonish action fighting game where players battle against other fighters in intense online PvP combat.

 

Players will now have the opportunity to experience Rush Fighters after the successful internal closed beta testing.  To join Open Beta for Rush Fighters, players can activate their Acclaim accounts on the activation page located at: http://rushfighters.acclaim.com/.

As with all Acclaim games, Rush Fighters will be free to play and supported by micro-transactions.  All characters are fully customizable through the over 100,000 item combinations and players can even create their own custom skins.

This unique fighting game allows the players to take on up to 7 other friends in head to head combat or NPC’s in multiple maps. Combat is deep and flexible, as you may take on enemies in martial arts style, weapon-based combat, or with special magic powers. Players are able to engage in multiple game modes from free-for-all battles to casual, sports themed levels.

During the open beta testing period, all testers will be thanked for their help with a gift of a few special items after logging in. By receiving all the feedback possible from the players, the developers will be able to create a game that everybody will enjoy.

Download the game client: http://rushfighters.acclaim.com/download.html.

Zero Online: Sales Promotion Event-We pay for you to play!

We are happy to announce that the Sales Promotion Event will be held this weekend, from August 8th to 9th! There will be big discounts all over the game, and that means you have a chance to purchase items from ZP mall for free!

1. ZP Mall Discount

Most items in the ZP mall will be sold at a 20% discount, except Red Stars, Blue Stars, Dark Stars, Golden-Badges and Amethysts Packs. And the items which will be reclaimed by the lottery NPC will not be discounted as well.

2. New ZP(bound) Packs Discount

There will be new ZP(bound) packs sold, available in packs of 100/500/1000. You can exchange them with the ZPS you bought at the 20% discounted price! Take the ZP(bound) Packs 100 for an example, you can use 80 ZPs to buy it. At that time, there will be a quest NPC at Steel Warship(325,865) to make those packs available.

Zero Onlin

In order to express our thanks to all your wonderful support to the game, we will pick a lucky winner randomly from all the players who took the time to participate in this event when the event ends. We will return same amount of ZPs(bound) as he or she credited during this event, which means we pay for your buying! Does it sound too good to be true? Hurry up to join in and check it out! Good luck and have fun!

Tips: You can buy the ZP(bound) Packs at a 20% discount first, then you use them to buy the discount items. That means you can buy the items from ZP mall at a 35% discount. You can use the same price to buy more items. This event will only be held for 2 days, so take this great chance to buy the items you need. Now or never!