Monthly Archives: November 2010

The Two Towers MUD

The Two Towers MUD is a free Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game set entirely within Tolkien’s world of Middle-Earth. We have extensively re-created the lands of Middle-Earth in a rich text environment, from Mithlond to Mordor and the lands of Harad beyond. With over 100,000 rooms and always growing, The Two Towers is a richly developed and highly interactive world. There are hundreds of quests, with rewards great and small, for you to discover.

The Two Towers has an active community of players from around the world who come together to play online. Players join together to create guilds, raid enemy lands, and more.

Online continuously since 1994, The Two Towers is one of the longest running Multiplayer games on the internet and is maintained by a staff of hardworking volunteers who love Tolkien and multiplayer gaming.

 

The Red vs Blue Competition in Myth Angels Online!

The Red vs Blue Competition in Myth Angels Online!

 

Earlier today, USERJOY Technology announced that a new system of Myth Angels Online, a LARGE SCALE PvP event called the Red-Blue Competition will be launched soon. The first round of Red-Blue Competition will be available on November 5th 3:00AM~4:00AM and on November 6th 13:00PM~14:00PM (PDT). Have you been waiting too long for a real fight? Want to prove you are the ONE? The answers are in the Red-Blue Competition!

 

 

Red-Blue Competition is a 250 V.S. 250 large scale PVP event in Myth Angels Online. Gamers take part as champions in ancient Greek Mythology whom are divided into two teams by Prometheus to retrieve and exterminate an evil power, the Essence of Disaster, which is released from Pandora’s Box. Besides the plenty of experience rewards to the attendees of Red-Blue Competition, the TOP 3 players on both teams will receive EXTRA rewards from the system. Intrigued? Find out at HERE

 

Former players who had joined the Closed Beta Test of Myth Angels Online, should go back to create a character before Nov. 9th 21:00 (PDT), you will receive a CB Souvenir Hat and 100 bottles of Regular Red and Blue Potion. On top of that you will also have the chance to win $5000 Cash by logging into the game daily.

 

Don’t miss your chance to win big!

Review: Windslayer Relies on PVP

Review: Windslayer Relies on PVP
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Wind Slayer is a side scrolling 2d MMORPG that shares many of the same features as LaTale and Maple Story. Although the game is good and has much to offer, it was often dismissed as a carbon copy of other 2D side-scrollers. That, by the way, is not a valid claim as it is the same as hating a certain game for belonging in a certain Genre. It really can’t be a side-scroller if it doesn’t walk on a side scrolling screen right? Anyway, the game is pretty amazing and is far from being the random clone I’ve heard about.

 

The Basics

Character creation is a breeze in Wind Slayer; perhaps one of the simplest forms of character creation in my MMO career including browser games. You’ll first be prompted to name you character, after which you’ll be choosing from an array of preset hairdos, faces, and upper and lower wardrobe. After attaining a character worthy of your stature, you’ll be assigning points to further define your character’s efficiency in whatever he’s destined for through a simple stat system that consists of 4 stats (STR, INT, DEX, and SPR). After satisfying the character requirements, you’re up and ready to go.

 

Char

 

Character classes are enabled after your character reaches a certain level, he must then pick the last option that will eventually lead him to what he’s destined to be. There are six classes overall: Warrior, Archer, Rogue, Mage, Monk, and Priest. In my opinion, the stat system doesn’t do much as far as character archetypes are concerned due to the stereotypical builds each class promotes. There will always be an ideal stat that you must spend on in order to make your character less noobish, and failure to comply will only make your character weaker than your counterparts (well done being unique… you suck).

 

The general gameplay

As I have said, Wind Slayer belongs in the 2d side-scrolling category, meaning players will be embarking on stages (or levels) that only go left and right (unless there are platforms where you can jump on). The gameplay is fairly easy and can be played by gamers of all ages. There have been some complaints regarding the character controls, which most gamers found awkward. I myself had no problems with the button layout but I guess it’s all about preferences. Much like any other MMORPG, you’ll be venturing into certain areas to kill monsters. The game is very easy especially for long ranged characters who can just kill without having to take damage (depending on their damage output, of course). Your skills are easily accessible through the number keys on your keyboard and allow you to random bolts the same way you would in most MMOs.

 

Directions

 

PVP

PVP actually plays a huge role in this game as it allows players to gather an ingame currency used to purchase certain items that are stronger than the rest. You can say that the care bears (PVP Haters) of the MMO industry will have a bit of a problem gearing up unless they pick up a pair of balls to go PVP. The PVP system is actually pretty cool. Players are assigned to a specific team and must duel with another team in a side scrolling non turn-based death match. Some modes also allow you to tweak your character’s strength and abilities to match your opponents’ level (BIG WTF on my side). If you loved doing PVE, then I guarantee that the game’s PVP feature is sure to make you happy.

 

Quests and dungeons

Yeah, what would an MMO be without these two mutha fluffers? First of all, yes the game does have quests which are also easier to satisfy as you’re not running around in a 3d world without a compass. Quests allow you to level faster, and with the grinding involved makes you level a lot faster (at least until you go near the end game levels). For PVE lovers out there, the game also has dungeons/caves (or whatever you call them) complete with bosses. There’s no doubt that bosses make MMOs rock as nothing beats the justice of having to emerge victorious after 15 minutes of “GRAAAAAH!” and “SWOOOSH!”. The game does have an array of upcoming features so it’s best not to judge it so quickly.

 

Face

 

Graphics and sounds

The graphics are… well… 2D. A bit like Maple Story and LaTale but what else can you expect from a 2d game? If you’re going to say that this is just a clone then let’s all sue all the MMOs for being so much like pen and paper RPGs. The characters are okay but definitely need a few more frames of animation. The background is steady and does look nice aside from the repetitive layouts but what we have here is an inferior 2D layout compared to its predecessors. They look extremely raw and can be “out-framerated” by most flash games. The ingame music is conservatively cute, ideal for a game that features cutesy characters whacking monsters across the map. No epic orchestral background music here folks, cause’ that’s just out of place.

 

The verdict

Wind Slayer is a nice game overall. I’m not saying its extremely good or anything as it has so little to offer that’s that different from its counterparts. Still… it’s quite harsh to consider it as a clone for being another 2D side-scroller. The PVE experience was normal, as expected from another MMO. You’ll be killing monsters, doing quests, and buying items much like its MMO brethren. The PVP mode however is exceptional. If you’ve played Warhammer Online, then you’ll understand why PVP is such a big factor in this game. People may actually grind PVP more than the game’s PVE features. I mean, who could blame them? It’s like having a casual game inside a not so casual game. The visuals could use a bit of tweaking, but it’s not like we can do anything about it now. One thing though, if you like 2D side-scrolling then you better go ahead and try this one. It’s free so what have you got to lose?

 

The good:
– Community
– PVP!!!
– Easy to get used to.

 

The bad:
– Repetitive gameplay (gets tiring)
– Visuals aren’t that good for a 2d game
– Lag.

Vindictus Review: Painfully Awesome

Vindictus Review: Painfully Awesome
By Michael Sagoe (mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

Vindictus, Nexon’s newest action title, is here and in full swing, and unlike Nexon’s current lineup, this one plans to be the most painful MMO you’ll ever play.  This isn’t your little cousin’s MMO with cute monsters and such. Vindictus contains destructive beasts; deadly environments and balls-to-the-wall action that will make you squirm with joy.

 

Starting out

Right from the starting gate, there’s a bit of both joy and disappointment. The character selection is currently only limited to three different heroes: Lann, Fiona and Evie, each with different playstyles. Lann is a offensive dual wielding fighter that sacrifices defense for quick strikes that can rack up the high DPS, Fiona is the tank characters that has slow but powerful strikes with a sword and shield, and Evie is a master magician that can mix between close and long ranged magic attacks. Nexon and DevCat plan to add in more heroes later on, but the pickings sure are slim.

 

The first scenario you’ll be dropped into is with a bunch of mercenaries trying to stop a giant white spider from destroying an old church. This scenario serves as your tutorial and does an amazing of getting you pumped.

 

Spider
Blood for the blood god YAY.

 

The control schemes available options between keyboard, mouse and gamepads. Keyboard only controls nicely and so does gamepads, but ultimately, the keyboard and mouse combo is the best option letting you aim your more accurately.  So you’re fighting the big bad spider until it gets impaled with ballistae, some oracle woman cries her eyes out over it and then suddenly: character customization time!

 

Character customization is fairly standard, offering adequate hair, eye, skin and body size options. Only downside with the customization is that every particular Lann, Fiona and Evie will have the same exact face, no matter what.

 

Anyway, the game world is another one of those heavily instanced game worlds like Guild Wars (town serves as a lobby, have to join rooms with other players, you know the deal.) The town is also your quest center to walk you through the story and lore of the game. Speaking of which: The story of Vindictus is a precursor to Nexon’s other MMORPG title: Mabinogi, only set a century before it (how the story and lore went from grim & brutal to KAWAII DESU NE XD anime cuteness, I’ll never understand.)

 

Gameplay

Try to imagine this: Capcom’s Monster Hunter (MH) and Atlus’ Demon Souls (DS) had a baby together and they loved that baby very much, but then DS found out that MH did it with Valve’s source engine and DS wasn’t the baby’s daddy, so DS walked out them and MH couldn’t support the baby much longer, so the baby was placed in a foster home where it was later then adopted and raised by another family (DevCat)

 

Silly as it sounds, that’s the best way I can describe Vindictus in a nutshell. It plays just like Monster Hunter, but with more brutality. You can slam enemies into walls, perform backbreaking wrestling moves, shove enemies into steamrollers of pain and everything else in between. And the best part: just about anything in the area can be used as a weapon. See that pot over there? Go pick it up and throw at the troll you’re dealing with. See that big stone column you broke? Take a piece of it and smash it over your foe’s head.

 

One time when I was up against the Gnoll boss, I knocked its helmet off and used it to beat it to death (no joke!)

 

Overkill
Beatdown in progress

 

Most missions are primarily focused on running through the same environments and areas over and over again, usually ending off with a boss battle. Environments are littered with traps and enemies that will try and get in your way, but really, after a couple of runs they’ll become nothing more than an afterthought. The boss battles, on the other hand, are the major highlight of the game, shifting the focus over to teamwork to take them down (soloing is still very much an option, though.)

 

Boss battles won’t seem like such a highlight until you reach Gnoll Chieftain, which is basically the first brick wall that will teach players that spamming attacks is not the way to go.

 

Wolf
This baddie will break your button mashing ways.

 

Defeating the later monsters might seem tough at first, but it’s really all about learning how to not be greedy with your attacks and looking out for a couple of “tells” in their animations that will give you a clue to their next assault. Once you know all the “tells” in their attacks, that boss that was kicking your ass a week ago will be a pushover.

 

When playing co-op, you have a bit more options towards defeating bosses, such as chaining the monster’s legs down so your teammates can get some hits in. Employing strategies like this into combat was a nice idea, but team tactics end up resorting to making sure you and your team knows how to hit and run properly.

 

Outside of boss battles, you’ll spend your time re-running missions to collect materials and earn ability points for increasing skill ranks. A good chunk of equipment can only be earned through crafting and while it may be tedious, earning the gratification to strut your stuff in your new digs should be more than enough to keep you going.

 

Presentation

Vindictus is a game that will make your PS3 and Xbox 360 jealous, because it has a strong console game vibe to it. The visuals convey a nice medieval world to explore, made possible by the power of Valve’s Source Engine. (Finally, the source engine is being used for something other than shooting games!) Animations are all nicely done with anticipation of each attack you pull, so when you bash your foes in the head with that heavy object, you’re going to feel it too, but in a good way!

 

The story that goes along with it is mandatory to participate in, but does a fairly good job of keeping you intrigued with narrative that doesn’t bog itself down with unnecessary dialog. Most of the time, however, the story is carried out by NPCs that are nothing more than still portraits.

 

Crazy
Quit staring, geez!

 

Cutscene moments that go with the story are few and far between, but strangely enough, I actually wish there was a bit more of them.  The voice acting with each cutscene wasn’t half bad, either.

 

The music made for Vindictus was slightly disappointing, especially compared to Mabinogi which had such wonderful tunes, but Vindictus the music is just… quiet… and almost non-existent. The only time you’ll hear music is in town, during boss battles and post battle results screens. That’s it.

 

My thoughts

 

The biggest gripe that players were having with Vindictus was with the token system that limits how many high level missions you can play through. Certain missions require silver and platinum tokens to be spent and you only get a handful of them. Once you’ve ran out of tokens, you’re pretty much done playing until your tokens are re-stocked on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, or until you purchase some from Nexon.  People that don’t have much free time on their hands will find this to be a blessing and others that want to play for long hours without spending money on NX will see this as a curse. The token system is supposed to keep power playing in check, because even with the tedious mission runs, players can hit the level cap in around a week and will be burned out that they won’t have anything to do since there isn’t a lot of content at the moment. Nexon made several changes to the token system in an attempt to make all players happy, but I was fine the way it was either way.

 

One gripe I had with Vindictus was how poorly optimized it was. My PC build is pretty solid with a quad core processor, 4GB ram and whatnot, but I couldn’t manage to get any more than 20 frames even with medium settings. People with similar builds have reported that the game runs flawlessly and others with more powerful PC builds have stated that it runs like crap. I don’t know how DevCat managed to screw up optimization for the Source engine so much, but they pulled it off fantastically.

 

Conclusion

 

Vindictus aims to please anyone that’s looking for a little more gruesome-ness to their MMO action. With the token system and lack of content being the only real turn offs here, Vindictus is easily my most recommended MMO of 2010.

 

Pros:
– Action MMO with brutal physics
– Interactive environments
– Simple but enjoyable co-op play
– Almost ANYTHING can be used as a weapon.

 

Cons:
– Not much content available at the moment
– Token system limits progression
– Game engine is not optimized. 

Warhammer Online Reveals the Classes of the Skaven

Warhammer Online Reveals the Classes of the Skaven


Players of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning were pleasantly excited earlier this year when it was first announced that the game would finally see playable Skaven, though it was made clear at the time there will be certain limitations and not leveled traditionally like the other featured races. Mythic has just released information with both the lore behind their arrival and also what classes are available.

 

 

Just as the other races, the Skaven will be compiled of four unique careers. Warlock Engineers who deploy support equipment while fielding powerful effects borne of Warp-Energy, Gutter Runners act as a espionage unit who is at home alone in the shadows , Pack Masters who support the nearby Rat Ogres and spur their allies forward and Rat Ogre himself who acts as the tank career.

 

For more information on these additions to the game check the Mythic notes here 


Final Fantasy XIV Updates Official Site with Player Guide

Final Fantasy XIV Updates Official Site with Player Guide

 

Players starting Final Fantasy XIV for the first time aren’t given a straight forward idea of where to begin after the initial steps of the game. Early adopters had to figure out what comes next as they go. Square-Enix caught on that in order to keep their new subscribers happy they will require more information. Square-Enix have put together a small primer for new players covering two of the essentials – interacting with objects and the specifics of acquiring guildleves and carrying out local leves. It is suspected that this is just the beginning of a fully-fledged new player guide.

 

Final Fantasy XIV

 

Most of the information within will be familiar to players who have been with the game since release but the guide still includes interesting facts for all players, such as a map of the NPC’s required for materials for specific local leves. Veterans of XIV will also appreciate the newly implemented History feature for individual characters, allowing them to track the progress of a character across the world of Eorzea.

 

New players to Final Fantasy XIV will still find that it’s not a walk in the park to learn the basics, but the addition of this guide should certainly help.