Monthly Archives: May 2010

Fantasy Online

Fantasy Online is a game unlike any other. Well, it’s kind of like many others, but that’s what makes it so great…

Without naming names, players have likened it to the adventures of a certain bow-wielding adventurer, wandering through trees inspired by a certain monster-collecting RPG, in the style of a certain monthly-fee MMO. What they didn’t expect is the refreashing tongue-in-cheek humour in which they experience said gameplay.

(Oh, and if you think that you need to install some crazy software, don’t worry… it’s a Flash-based game that you can access from anywhere-even Facebook-and especially at work!)

So whether you’re being rewarded with adult diapers for killing domesticated ogres, collecting myriad skulls for seemingly no reason, or gaining experience for collecting crab goo, there’s something for everyone in Fantasy Online!

Neverland Online Review: An Undercover MMO

Neverland Online Review: An Undercover MMO
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

Browser based games are definitely taking it to the next level. From text-based adventures, to interactive Diner Dash remakes, the line between application games and browser based ones is starting to vanish. Neverland Online is perhaps the most impressive Browser based MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) I’ve ever seen. Maybe cause’ it plays exactly like an actual application game which used to be an unreachable goal for last gen’s browser games. Much like your average MMO, you log in, take quests, adventure and meet people in a persistent fantasy world. Believe me when I say that I have never seen anything like this in my mundane life. What we have right here serves as a fine example of what browser based games may achieve in the future. Not convinced? Let’s dive in and see! OFF TO NEVERLAND!

 

Starting Up

Like most MMORPGs, the game lets you pick between a series of archetype character classes whom you will groom through the game. One factor that is absolutely terrific is that the game gives you a nice selection to choose from. They don’t really play differently since the game is turnbased, but they do give different effects and have different ways of strengthening up as they level further.

 

Character classes: Warrior, Mage, Assassin, Priest

 

Neverland Class Selection
Character class selection

 

Funny enough, for a game that features archetypes, the class’ roles are divided like your average Final Fantasy game. This means that regardless of what your character’s class is, everyone is still his or her own tank. You’re able to fix your character’s build to ensure his survival rate, not the rest of your team’s (unless you’re a healer of course).

 

Definitely an MMO Undercover

Yes, the game has almost every MMO feature except for combat, giving you a very awesome persistent theme through its browser based goodness. You can form parties, use items, and even level up as you play further. Another MMO-ish feature found in this game is the ever-enjoyable quest system. Much like your average everyday quests, you’ll be asked to perform a series of tasks from which you will benefit after fulfilling their conditions. There are tons of quests in the game so do watch out for them. Quests are presented by NPCs who have scrolls over their heads. Quests really pay well and give a gratuitous amount of money and experience, so it’d be wise not to skip them during your early levels.

 

Neverland Online Quest System
The quest system

 

Stats?!

Stats used to be the traditional way of character customization. Quite enjoyable but it does push players into creating a stereotypical build for each archetype. The stats system isn’t really that good here, especially since messing with the stats like giving mages some strength wont really give them an advantage in any way. The stats system is useless, basically just a feature that lets the game show people how big of a noob they are for not picking the right stat, making them redo the whole thing after realizing that they actually needed Vitality and Strength instead of Agility and Intelligence. It would have been a lot easier if the game just removed the whole stat thing since everyone’s bound to have the same character in the end.

 

Combat

Combat is entirely turn based. Upon picking your skills and placing them on your hotkey bar (yes, the game has this), you’ll be pressing the attack or command then picking your target once you take the initiative. Pretty basic really, much like single player RPGs. The only difference is that you’re bound to get annoyed when people take 30 seconds to decide what to press or attack.

 

Neverland Aesthetics 
The aesthetic atmosphere of Neverland

 

Raids

Perhaps the most unique feature found in a browser game. Aside from partying up, you can form a raid group with people to take on harderencounters, and of course, find the rare loot. A very awesome feature in my opinion since never before have we seen a browser game that uses such interactive mechanics. This game is definitely on the right track. It’s not at all special in the application MMO world, but probably a god in its respective genre.

 

The Graphics and Sounds

It’s the best among its kind! Need I say more? FINE! From the looks of things, Neverland online uses a HUGE jpeg image that players scroll over. The game runs on an isometric birds eye view so it’s like Ragnarok Online only the camera cannot be adjusted left or right. The interface is presented exquisitely and the aesthetics are themed just right, allowing them to blend naturally as an application game’s elements would (it actually looks better than some). Areas are separated into zones, kind of like how a single player RPG screen tends to turn black when you go a certain part of the map to reveal the next area. Loading the map may take some time for slow internet connections, leaving you a big pile of pixilated colors until the stage fully loads up. The character detail is pretty cool as well, almost as if it was taken right out of a Playstation 1 RPG. There are no ways to customize your character’s looks unfortunately, but the main thought that they managed to come up with a browser game that can play like any other application game is quite superb.

 

Neverland Giant Map
Big pile of colors and text

 

The game does have a series of BGMs but vanishes after a certain period of time. In my opinion, this is the only thing the game has to improve to further reach its perfect state.

 

The Verdict

A browser game that has persistent elements? Partying up? Raiding? What more could a browser gamer ask for? Here you have a game that doesn’t require any installation whatsoever. I would definitely be surprised if another browser based game comes up and beats this one, cause’ Neverland Online is just GOD right now.

 

The good:
– It’s an MMO locked inside a browser game, almost hard to believe
– Awesome graphics
– Character classes
– Party up with friends and take on massive challenges
– Questing is great

 

The bad:
– Lack of sounds
– Pixelated bgs when loading (they could’ve just added it on the loading screen)
– Stats <__<
– Technical factor I suppose.

The Great Merchant Preview: Don’t Think You Can’t Own The World

The Great Merchant Preview: Don’t Think You Can’t Own The World
By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist

 

The Great Merchant is a 2D MMORPG that centers on commerce and battle as its primary game play. The game is set in an East Asian scenario where you get to travel to various countries such as Japan, Taiwan, China and Korea. The adventure system is similar to Atlantica online in this regard where the game maps are based on real geographical locations.

 

Characters

The game provides eight characters for you to choose from and each character is a job class on its own, making it gender locked. To further emphasize the game as a merchant and fighter’s game, each character is part trader and part fighter both in character stature and character story. I noticed that the character’s back stories remind me of those characters on dramas you watch on the television. Each character is a representation of one clichéd character that you often see on such things making a good roleplay centerpiece if you are into those kinds of things.

 

The Great Merchant Screenshot Login

 

Weapons

The Great Merchant’s weapons library has a lot of added weapon classes that you would not find in most MMORPGs. In my experience playing different MMOs I never once found a game that uses beads, marbles, boomerangs and brushes as part of a general weapon tree. The unique weapons in The Great Merchant can in fact rival that of those in Oversoul, where the Chinese string instrument being used by the Necromancer class is the most prominent unique weapon class I have experienced.

 

Battles

Another unique game feature in Great Merchant is its battle system. Unlike in usual MMORPGs, battles in Great Merchant take place in separate instances called battle maps. These maps are basically one-staged areas where you can go around and eliminate your enemies. The other unique feature in the game’s battle system is that you get to choose the type and the amount of enemies you face in the battle map. Plus, the enemies you face in the game come in droves, and there are moments when you will be overwhelmed by the amount of enemies you are up against. It’s because of this battle system that the other unique feature of the game shines through which is the mercenary and pet system.

 

Mercenary and Pets

The mercenary and pet system is The Great Merchants way of helping you out. You can hire mercenaries and pets that fight with you against the scores of baddies you face in the battle map. With this game system in play you can be sure to have huge battles on one map, thus, making fights more interesting than usual.

 

The Great Merchant Tutorial
If you get lost there area plenty tutorials

 

Looks

With those two game systems in play I think, it is fitting that the game took a 2D isometric perspective approach. If the game were to be in 3D or something that needs a higher spec pc there is a high chance that it would crash more than usual, and I have not included the traffic load your internet connection will take once you battle in enemy riddled maps. However, the problem with taking the 2d isometric path is that the game graphics looks very dated. For a game to come out in a market that has a lot of MMORPGS that look good, this does not bode well for The Great Merchant regardless of the uniqueness of the gameplay.

 

Interface

The toned down graphics of the game are  even seen in the game’s interface as you don’t necessarily travel in towns you visit. What you get on-screen are just clickable images that open another window for you to browse. The game’s interface is so streamlined that the only travel you get is through the battle maps and the world map. Though I think that’s the whole point of the game, giving more emphasis on the battles and a faster and more convenient way of going through NPCs so that you can concentrate on the more important aspects of the game.

 

Great Merchant Combat

 

The problem with this is that the game makes you feel like that it was made on a very low budget and was done in a hurry. There are better ways to work around graphic issues however it seems that this was the best system they could come up with.

 

Map

In fairness to The Great Merchant, the game has a very extensive global map. Plus, it has a lot of cities that you can visit and do business. For a game that centers on both commerce and battles this is a good thing because it means that you get to travel a lot and that provides more replayability because you are not just given a small number of cities to visit. Of course the other side of this is that it takes longer for you familiarize yourself with the inner workings between cities, plus, it is more laborious for you as a player to go from one point to another. You can’t just wander around the game if you want to maximize your profit.

 

Business

Speaking of profit, the game allows you to own certain structures which provide you with money. You can also invest in cities hereby providing you not only with income but also some bonuses as well. The fact that there are a lot of cities in the game can be a plus because you won’t be competing on a very limited amount of cities to invest in. However, once the game population grows, then this is where things can really get dicey.

 

The Great Merchant Character
An overview of the different characters you can choose

 

Latecomers

Normally, it’s not a big issue when a player starts a game months, or even years after it opens. However, with the economic and gameplay system in The Great Merchant, there is a possibility that new players will find a hard time doing business especially if there are big players already in the game.

 

Conclusion

Overall, The Great Merchant has a lot of unique game systems, however, the dated graphics and the language issues may be the biggest hurdles this game has. Typical to Asian MMOs, there is a problem in terms of the English language translation and it may cause confusion for players. So that is another thing that you have to consider if you want to try the game. For me though, the game has yet to prove its worth and with the things I’ve seen I cannot give my full recommendation. There are  a ton of improvements that this game needs to make. For what it’s worth, The Great Merchant has a good sense of how the game should run.