Yearly Archives: 2010

APB Review: All Bulletins Point to Bad

APB Review: All Bulletins Point to Bad
By Tully Ackland (Kaxzane), OnRPG Editor in Chief

 

You may remember another game called APB; it was released over a decade ago and played vaguely like the first GTA. With the second incarnation of the name, developer Realtime Worlds has created an MMO which has been marketed to seem like a persistent world version of Grand Theft Auto 4. 

 

It wouldn’t be a shock to many that this is, in fact, far from the truth, and it ends up being so disappointing that you’ll be hard pressed to use up the 50 hours of added free game time. When reviewing games it is a requirement to give something a fair chance no matter how dreadful it may seem in order to give an informed opinion. Let me tell you, APB felt by far the longest and most unfulfilling 24 hours of play time I’ve spent in an online game. 

 

Gameplay

In All Points Bulletin you play a citizen in the dangerous city of San Paro, you are aligned with either Criminals or the newly legalized Enforcer vigilante group. Your choice of faction does not house many differences, the Criminals are causing violence and stealing things, and the Enforcers are chasing them down and making the arrest.

 

All Points Bulletin Gang 

 

In what must be a shocking oversight by Realtime Worlds, there is no story to progress through, no statistical levels to grind and only a dozen missions to repeat ad nausea. The only hook to keep you playing is completing tasks for NPC quest givers which will in turn unlock new equipment and new vehicles.

 

APB revolves entirely around player vs player interaction. Each mission a player picks up will attempt to match-make you with an enemy group of the opposing faction, you’ll not encounter AI controlled enemies at any time, and it’s either enemy players or nothing. Dying against the enemy on a mission yields no disadvantages (unless there is a frag limit) and you’ll re spawn 5 seconds later rearmed and ready to fight for the objective once again. If you are the kind of person who doesn’t like grouping with strangers, then you need to either ensure you have friends to play with or look away, if you attempt to solo the game will automatically group you up with others. Playing with friends can actually make APB rather enjoyable as long as you are cruising around in a police car chasing down the bad guys, but the fun, unfortunately, doesn’t last too long.

 

The lack of impact a player has on the game world is astonishing, there is no territory war where you can compete for regions of San Paro, and you can only interact with the opposing faction when they are on the opposite mission, to hunt you down while you are hunting them.

 

At points as an Enforcer you are tasked to raid a suspected enemy hideout, your character starts to smash on the door with a battering ram and you start to believe that the epic times are about to begin, that you will smash down the door run in and tazer anyone waiting on the inside. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen, and you end up being hugely disappointed once again when the meter reaches 100%, the door gets broken slightly and an item drops on the floor for you to pick up and take to the next objective.

 

Balance Issues

Perhaps if Realtime Worlds had improved the variety of missions and added an end goal campaign system then the faulty game mechanics could be overlooked. Even if you like repetitiveness or just look at the game as purely a open world third person shooter you will need to fight against an awkward combat system and balance issues with weaponry.

 

 All Points Bulletin Balance

 

Weapons and upgrades are purchased with in-game dollars that drastically shift the advantage you have over other players, skill counts for little in combat. If you have the dexterity to have the cross-hair over the enemy character the only real factor that comes in is how powerful your weapon is, and the guy with the NTEC-5 will likely be the victor. 

 

Of course that’s not the only money sink, you can spend currency on other things than guns: clothing and vehicles can be purchased as well and this is where APB shines the brightest. You’ll be hard matched to find a game that allows you to customize the look of your character as beautifully as APB. You can really give yourself a unique, awesome looking identity. If Realtime Worlds would have put half the amount of work they did in the character developer into the game mechanics, you would be looking at a blockbuster. 

 

All Points Bulletin Car

 

Environment

The city of San Paro itself suffers from a series of poor design choices, dead ends at too many turns and small walls that can’t be jumped over, which causes frustration when trying to chase down a criminal on the other side of a three foot wall. You will be forced to traverse 100 meters until you find a climb point to get over to the other side. The city seems abnormally small, with only two action districts slightly bigger than an average Battlefield 2 map. 

 

When players aren’t being frustrated by San Paro or insulted by its lovely residents, who like to refer to everyone they meet as female genitalia, you can kick back in the Social District, a zone in which not that much socializing is done but instead acts as a hub where you can buy new weapons and customize your character, give yourself that bandanna that everyone else is wearing, you know you want to! 

 

Conclusion

The concept of APB is a superb one, but Realtime Worlds were unable to execute it properly. With no goal, poor world design and subpar combat mechanics the only thing the game has going for it is the player customization to make you look as cool as possible in this static matchmaking world.

Pros: 
– Character Customization
– Vehicle customization
– Subscription model of pay for hours.

Cons:
– Combat mechanics
– World Design
– Mission Design
– Lack of purpose. 

Gunz: The Duel Interview: Getting Better With Time

Gunz: The Duel Interview: Getting Better With Time
Questions by Chen Fo Po (cinderboy), OnRPG Journalist
Answers by Ricardo Mendoza, Project Manager

 

Gunz The Duel Online Logo

 

If you are into online shooting games, you have probably heard of the game GunZ: The Duel, published by renowned MMO portal, Ijji. The game took the English MMO industry by storm when it was first launched back in 2006. With its fast paced shooting action and ability to perform several gravity defying moves, GunZ has certainly earned a place as one of the most exciting MMO titles developed. What has since changed in the last 4 years? Let’s find out.

 

OnRPG: Hello, I am Fo Po (cinderboy) from OnRPG. Can you please introduce yourself?

Hello Fo Po, my name is Ricardo Mendoza, and I am the Project Manager for GunZ: The Duel.

 

OnRPG: It has been almost 4years since Ijji started GunZ’s Open Beta in November 2006. In a sentence, describe the ride so far for the title.

It has been an action packed ride with a few bumps in the road, but an open highway ahead of us.

 

OnRPG: Why did Ijji decide to publish GunZ back then?

Back then there wasn’t really another game like it, and that is true almost 4 years later.  I think that is a testament to the original game design and idea.  To this day, it is a unique game that is really fun to play.

 

Gunz The Duel Portal
Gunz Online Gameplay

 

OnRPG: In these 4years, what were some of the most difficult problems the GunZ team has faced?

I think the most difficult problem is balancing the PvE with PvP.  We have some members of the community that only prefer one or the other.  Keeping them both happy can be trying sometimes.  Coming up with events and content that will make them both happy is one of the toughest challenges we face.

 

OnRPG: What is the most important change so far do you think that has been made to the game?

We recently added a Duel Tournament mode.  Previously, the game was focused on clan battles, and there was no real way to determine who is the best individual player.  Now with the new Duel Tournament mode we can settle it in the game as it should be.

 

Gunz Online Result Duel
Gunz Online Tournament

 

OnRPG: Is there anything still which makes GunZ unique compared to other new online shooters?

There still isn’t any other game out there like GunZ.  The moves and way you can play still hasn’t been reproduced in another shooter game.  The combination of moves these players pull off in a matter of seconds can be dizzying to the eye.  As far as skill set goes, I think Gunz is one of the top games out there still.

 

OnRPG: To refresh some details, can you tell us what are some of the different modes players can choose to play in the game?

Well, we separate them into PvP and PvE.  For PvP modes you have Deathmatch where it’s every man for himself.  Team Deathmatch is where you have to eliminate the other team.  Gladiator and Team Gladiator are the same as the Deathmatch modes except that you cannot use any guns; it is sword only.  There is also the Clan War mode where clans face each other and are ranked each month.

 

As for PvE, we added a Quest mode a few years ago, and it was a big success.  In this mode, up to four people can join forces and defeat different stages of NPC’s until finally facing the boss.  Killing him gives a chance at unique items only available from questing.  We also recently expanded on Quest Mode by adding Survival Mode.  Here you face wave after wave of NPC’s.  We keep track of rankings to see which people have survived the most waves.

 

OnRPG: What is the learning curve like for players who are new to this game?

GunZ is definitely not for the faint of heart.  Learning to K-style (term used for unique combos of moves) takes a little time, but once you master it, it makes going back to standard shooters seem slow and boring.

 

Gunz The Duel

 

OnRPG: Being an MMO where lag and ping matter, are there still niggling complaints from players about them?

Yes, there will always be complaints since even within the US not everyone has the top speed connections.  We have brought this to Maiet’s attention, and they listened.  They are looking at ways to optimize the game and reduce the requirements; so this should reduce the lag complaints.

 

OnRPG: Online shooters have always been the targets for hackers. Is this still plaguing GunZ?

Hackers are definitely a challenge for most shooters.  We still get our share of them, but we are stepping up our efforts against them.  The company as a whole is taking a more aggressive stance towards the hackers.  We should start to see our efforts pay off soon.

 

OnRPG: How does GunZ promote team play?

The Clan mode is a mode that requires the most team play.  The clans with the best teamwork are the ones that are consistently earning the top spots in the rankings.

 

OnRPG: Ijji has always been organizing player tournaments for the game, including the recent international World Cup. Why the decision to host frequent tournaments?

The tournaments are very popular.  As in any online game, there is always bragging about whom is the best, and the tournaments allow us to settle it.  The cash prizes are also an added incentive.  With the addition of the Bracket Pick’ems we do for each tournament, it allows those not participating to still be involved and win prizes too.

 

OnRPG: What are some of the updates planned players can look forward to?

As I mentioned before about Maiet optimizing the game, I think that will be the biggest update as it will make the game run faster and reduce the effects of ping and lag.

 

Gunz Face Off Duel

 

OnRPG: GunZ 2 is said to be ready by the end of this year in Korea. Your thoughts?

This one comes up frequently.  It is one of the most common questions we get.  Maiet is being very protective as far as information goes; so I don’t know much myself.  There is definitely quite a bit of anticipation to see what they have changed.  All I can do is focus on the game I have right now and work to make it better.  When GunZ 2 finally comes up, I hope that ijji will get the rights to it so we can keep the GunZ and GunZ 2 community one and the same.

 

OnRPG: Are there any events planned in the near future to celebrate the game’s anniversary?

We are still in the process of finalizing it, but we are for sure going to do something.

 

OnRPG: Any final words for the readers out there, especially to those who stuck with the game all these years and gamers who have yet to try the game?

Yes, obviously, thank you for playing and sticking with us!  With the recent addition of GM Dexter to the team, we are planning many fun things and improvements for the future, and we hope that you will stick around with us even longer.

 

OnRPG: Thanks for your time!

ChangYou (US) Announces Zentia Closed Beta

ChangYou (US) Announces Zentia Closed Beta

 

Gamers Invited to Take a First Look at a Twisted FairyTale!

 

ChangYou.com (US) Inc., proudly announced the Closed Beta for their flagship game, Zentia, today. Zentia is a new 3D free-to-play fairytale MMORPG with a delightfully twisted sense of humor. The Zentia Closed Beta begins today, July 15th at 4pm (PDT) and lasts through the beginning of August 2010.

 

Zentia Forest
Hey ho, hey ho!

 

“I’m very excited about Zentia entering Closed Beta today and am looking forward to everyone getting a chance to get in on all the fun,”says Zentia’s Community Manager, Katie Simpson. “The community, too, awaits the date with great anticipation – we have all been ‘camping out’ at the Zentia forum campsites and sharing our anticipation of what is soon to come.”

 

 Zentia Combat Mount
Zentia combat mount

 

Developed by Pixel Soft, Zentia is full of unique features, countless treasures to unlock and hours of captivating gameplay. Players can choose from twenty-two character archetypes and try out any of eight class systems.  A unique feature of Zentia is the ability for characters to enter battle with combat mounts that can hold up to 10 passengers in both PVE (Player vs Environment) and PVP (Player vs Player). The game’s extensive pet-capture system and in depth social level features promise to provide a deliciously distinctive game play experience. 

 

Zentia Closed Beta keys are available from a variety of partner sites that can be found on the Zentia official site at: ZentiaTheGame.com. Zentia is available in English worldwide.

 

Zentia Battle

Archlord New Expansion: The Grand Cross Is Coming

Archlord New Expansion: The Grand Cross Is Coming

 

WEBZEN is pleased to announce an overhaul of its popular MMORPG Archlord, in the shape of the all-new, FREE Expansion Episode 5: The Grand Cross. Due to go live in the coming weeks, Episode 5: The Grand Cross will add a new battle system called The Battle Ground into the existing PvP system in Archlord.

 

Based on the game scenario, the new content patch will deliver a new race-versus-race Battle Ground, capable of supporting every Archlord players to provide unique and interesting PvP challenges in the never-end conflict between the three races Human, Orc and Moonelf.

 

 Archlord Poster

 

Race vs race

Unlike the other PvP content such as The Siege Warfare, The Battle Ground includes a new race-versus-race style, massive war content which will be held on every Thursday and Sunday. You will be needed to be a part of an army of your race, regardless of which guild you are in or the level of your character.

 

To win the battle

Players must work to dominate the most advantageous position in the Battle Ground, infiltrate the enemy base and kill their opponents as well as their enemy heroes in their fortress. The first faction to destroy the other races’ hero before the time expires will win the battle.

 

Heroes, resurrected

Once you enter the Battle Ground, you will be inside a fort. You will find on your first arrival that the well-known great heroes from the Archlord ancient history are placed at the fortress to lead their own kind. Masterfully depicted from the CG movies, the great heroes of Archlord; Zian, Ugdrasil and Gracia will be stood there waiting for players to join them. You must protect the hero of your kind while destroying your opponent heroes to win the battle.

 

Victory and rewards

The three races will contend for a victory, which will be basically the ultimate goal of the Battle Ground. Winning the battle will not only make your race famous for being the most powerful race in the Chantra continent, but also you will gain a special race spirit ability, absorbed from the defeated race, which will make you and the other members of your race stronger.

 

Additionally, Charisma Points which are obtained by killing opposing side players or monsters can be used as a currency to earn both honor and exclusive realm items at the Charisma Gate.

 

New Features of Archlord Episode 5: The Grand Cross Include:
New battle ground, the race-vs-race war zone
– New realm monsters and raid bosses
– New collectible armor sets with unique stats
– New Character Ability: The Charisma Point
– More feature information is available at its preview page.

Tales of Pirates II: Migration Project Kicks off

Tales of Pirates II: Migration Project Kicks off

 

Participants in the closed beta of 3D MMORPG Tales of Pirates II are enjoying a splashing good time. This phase of testing has gone so well that the ToP team has decided to expand access to the new game by migrating all ToP player data to new ToP II servers. Veteran pirates will now get the chance to experience a treasure trove of exhilarating adventures available in this new, uncharted world.

 

Players from the Sacred Sea server will be the first to get a glimpse of this ambitious project. The data from the ToP Sacred Sea server have been copied over to a new ToP II Sacred Sea server. Players can access their original character data on the new server without any loss in level, items or equipment. If the trial on Sacred Sea proves successful, the other servers will soon follow.

 

Tales of Pirates 2 

 

Here are some of the exciting features players will find in ToP II: 

  • A new PVP Arena puts pirates’ wits and strength to the ultimate test.
  • Fascinating Rear Fairy skills give characters a unique boost.
  • The lovely Phyllis Crusader provides players with a new playable character.
  • The mystical Augury system predicts the future with some wacky side-effects.
  • An improved Auto-Trace feature makes navigation a breeze.
  • Enhanced UI designs helps players focus on the action unfolding before them while giving them full control over their adventures.

 

These additions and improvements are just the tip of the iceberg in the intriguing world of ToP II. Join in the fun now and discover the joy of being a pirate!

 

Tales of Pirates 2

Big Announcements! Exclusive Talk With Guild Wars 2 Designers

Big Announcements! Exclusive Talk With Guild Wars 2 Designers

 

Interview by Jonathan “Ardua” Doyle, OnRPG Journalist.
Questions answered by Lead Game Designer Eric Flannun and Game Designer Jon Peters
NCSoft released some snacky information about the Ranger Profession. OnRPG journalist Jonathan Doyle had a chance to talk to Lead Game Designer Eric Flannun who previously worked on titles such as Warcraft 2, Diablo, Starcraft and Bard’s Tale, and Game Designer Jon Peters about this and other Guild Wars 2 topics!

The 19 minute long conversation revealed a couple of very interesting tidbits! You can see and hear the full interview in the video section on OnRPG!

Waypoint System
The interview starts by discussing the waypoint system. Which Eric explains is a teleport system comparable to the system in Guild Wars 1. You unlock teleport locations when you reach them the first time and after that you can freely teleport to them.

Ranger Downed Skill: Lick Wounds
Very quickly after the first real scoop of the interview surfaces! One of the as of yet unannounced Ranger abilities will be called “Lick Wounds”. Jon Peters describes it like this:

“One of the Ranger’s Downed Skills that we haven’t talked about yet is a skill where you can tell your pet to come to come up to you and revive you, it’s currently called “Lick Wounds”. He goes on to emphasize that “One of the most effective ways of reviving when you are downed is having your ranger pet alive.”

One of the most effective ways of reviving when you are downed is having your ranger pet alive

Professions
Eric explains that Guild Wars 2 professions will be a nice mix between what Guild Wars 1 fans already know and some new professions. All the professions will seem and feel very powerful and the two are glad to hear that the Ranger does sound like a strong class in Jonathan’s ears.

Byebye Grinding!
The second big announcement from the interview is that the design team is trying to keep Guild Wars 2 away from a grindfest.

When Jonathan asks how easy GW2 will be to get into Eric answers:
“We don’t want people to feel like they are grinding. We want you to always feel like you are making some sort of progress.” Eric seems to throw a little punch at World of Warcraft when he goes on to say there will be no: “Raiding, and going through 20 dungeons looking for that one rare drop that you have to fight with other players over. You know, spending hours and hours and hours grinding to get gear to make you competitive with people your level. We want a reasonable amount of playtime to make you competitive.” oh snap!

Pet Shark!
When talking about pets it becomes clear that you can have pet Sharks in Guild Wars! How cool is that! The aquatic areas  seems to be quite important in the game and as such there will be several aquatic pets next to terrestrial and Amphibian creatures divided in 12 families of tamable pets.

The days of launching a half finishes MMO are over? Haleluja!
The next big announcement that Eric and Peter make is that they believe the days of launching an MMO with lots of bugs and lack of polish and then patching it up afterwards are over:

“The days of, you know, releasing an MMO sort of broken and then patching it up are sort of gone.” They go on to say “We don’t think that’s an option for us. We think we’ve got to get this game right at launch.”

The days of launching a half finished MMO are over? Haleluja!
Great to see that they are so confident!

Hear the rest of this exclusive and revealing interview in the video section right here on OnRPG!

10 BG Stories used in MMOs – The Gods are to Blame for Our Anguish

10 BG Stories used in MMOs – The Gods are to Blame for Our Anguish
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Have you ever been curious and asked where we all came from? I bet kids in the MMO world have the same questions. Aside from generic gameplay, renamed classes and recycled features, I managed to find out that some MMOs also share the same origins (in terms of story). You’d think some had already lost their originality in terms of game play, but storylines as well? Geez, it’s like they’re all connected somehow really.

 

1. The Old Gods

Most MMOs branch out from this main idea regarding Old Gods being at war with each other. It would seem that MMO Gods are quite hostile can’t grasp the true meaning of peace. There will always be a party pooper though as these warring gods will always be forced to separate the land and its inhabitants to create an army of their own. After being Gods for centuries, you’d think they would’ve had a less childish sense of reason, but nope, these deities really love to fight and argue over the smallest things. Sub-categories such as “The Great War” and “Holy Wars” often branch out from the Old Gods, which is why I have concluded that MMO Gods are no better than humans. In some cases, there are Alpha Gods who stop the war by imprisoning the hostile Gods, creating a new utopia for our characters to live in. Quite the party pooper, but at least someone is being reasonable. <_<.

 

Backgrounds Old Gods
The Old Gods

 

2. Great Annihilation/Wipeout

Another abused storyline is the “Great Annihilation” where some great God (Yes, Gods again) or Dragon ends up destroying the world by mistake. Since new life can always grow from the foulest of lands, the world ends up being reborn and repopulated, creating another war story no different from their ancestors. In this scenario, the object of the story is to rebuild the once beautiful paradise that the Dragon (or God) hath destroyed; despite their noble efforts however, the new inhabitants always seem to disagree and end up firing off  a war instead.

 

MMO backgrounds wipeout
It was all over before it began.

 

3. Pre-wipeout

While some concentrate on the results of death and decay, other MMOs simply try to prevent it. Some MMOs take place right before the end of the world (or rather, before the Gods lose their cool). Since it’s a given fact that these gods are going to start zapping people fairly soon, characters are forced to counter their godly ways, thus the start of the Great War (see above).

 

4. Good and Evil

Though the whole idea of Good vs Evil has been spammed all throughout the gaming world, some MMOs can twist this idea into something new like “Light vs Dark”. Once again, this bloodshed is the work of (you guessed it!) two Gods (Light and Dark) who happen to hate each other enough to actually get their followers to kill one another.

 

MMO Backgrounds Good Evil
One is good, one is bad. Can YOU guess?

 

5. The Power Source

In some cases, MMOs branch out from the Indiana Jones aspect, which focuses on a powerful artifact capable of destroying the entire World (they all seem to be hell bent on destruction if you ask me). Here, our heroes try their best to gain an artifact that does not even exist in the actual game. This idea can be the product of all the stories mentioned above, but can still work as a standalone storyline due to its diverse origins.

 

6. Racial Supremacy

While some concentrate on Gods and destruction, other games simply focus on the hatred projected by certain races towards other races. Aside from their beliefs, this storyline revolves on nothing more than their quest for world domination and racial supremacy. In most cases, this war is the work of Human and Orcs, who have battled many times in many different series (from books to games). It’s really hard to comprehend why these races can’t just get along, continuously gathering allies (other races) to overthrow the enemy. In some cases, racism can also spread out all over the galaxy, resulting in galactic racial warfare. It’s amazing how Orcs and Humans can branch out to so much isn’t it?

 

Racial Supremacy
Racial Supremacy: Oldest Tale in the Book

 

7. Minerals

For some reason, the world has become quite illiterate, with only mining as the last existing profession. Classes know how to fight, wield magic, and put up schools, but everything always goes down to minerals. I mean what exactly do their NPC children study? Mining school? If you’ve played these games, there seems to be enough minerals for everyone, as you can normally mine 24/7 without running out of ores to collect. I suppose it’s just galactic GREED talking.

 

MMO backgrounds Mining
Mine? Mine! Mine! Mine!

 

8. The Greater Evil

Races don’t really need to fight. At least some games don’t promote this bloodshed; instead, they divert it towards a single EVIL creature with horrendous abilities. Yep, we’re talking about the oh so common Dark Lord. The one who’s hell bent on destroying or enslaving the entire population (or turning them undead). All MMOs have Dark Lords, but not all games prioritize their role to such an extent. In some games, these evil bad guys are featured to prevent players from fighting each other, instead forcing them to unite for the greater good of mankind (or orc-kind).

 

9. Nerdzorz Story

While the whole idea of Galactic Federations doesn’t appeal to me that much, Sci-Fi storylines have made their way into the MMO world. A bit boring since the whole thing revolves around politics, alien senators and galactic pew pew wars, but these type of stories often have a greater depth. The Nerdzors storyline can also act as the origin of those mentioned above (of course taking place in the Galactic spectrum).  Gee thanks, but I’ve had enough politics and alien senators to deal with in real life, thank you.

 

MMO Backgrounds Nerdzors
Hail to the rebel within!

 

10. Peace

Finally, a non-violent storyline! This is another rendition of the aftermath brought about by the war of the Gods. Instead of fighting each other, players are forced to live their happy life in a monster-infested world (which somehow works to their advantage as these monsters tend to drop currency). There are no Dark lords here; however, the world is filled with bosses who disturb the peace. Since the entire world is bound to start a war again, YOU (the one reading this), as the Legendary Hero (my god, there are a lot of you) must do your best to bring peace all over the world. How? By simply killing monsters :D.

Battle of the Immortals review: The Rise of the Dragon Emperor

Battle of the Immortals review: The Rise of the Dragon Emperor
Written by Mohammed Afzal (MageMoa), OnRPG journalist

 

Love at first sight is definitely not the way I felt when I tried Battle of the Immortals on the Chinese servers. The website was pretty basic and the game seemed so effortless; the classes were common and there was hardly any customization when creating a character. It was definitely not something I would have expected from Perfect World Entertainment, the creators of Perfect World and the upcoming game Forsaken World.

 

Even when I created a character and entered the game I did not feel very enthusiastic. However, after finishing a few quests and leveling a few times, I noticed that I was actually enjoying the game. I looked forward to an English release, which arrived in the second quarter of 2010. Giving me pre-access to the game was a very generous gift of Perfect World Entertainment, which made it even easier for me to test the English version of the game for you!

 

Don’t let it scare you…

As I said before, the game seems very plain and shallow when you start. The game offers you only a few hairstyles, faces and player icons, which means that there isn’t much you can alter.  Furthermore, the game only offers five ‘generic’ classes: Berserker (the offensive warrior), Champion (the tank), Heretic (the cleric), Magus (the offensive mage) and Slayer (the rogue). Keep in mind that the classes are not gender-locked, which is a relief. These generic features scare off many new players. However, the game is much more diverse than many people think. The immense amount of features is amazing and there is hardly any grind for the first sixty levels. Additionally, there are many pets and mounts that you can upgrade and enhance. Being bored is practically impossible.

 

Battle of the Immortals Pet

 

Battles and monsters

The combat might be the biggest flaw of the game. The amount of skills is disappointing and upgrading your skills is very expensive. Skills can be learned at the following levels: 10, 25, 40, 55, 70, and 85. A Magus only has 15 skills at level 70, including some passives, buffs and a XP skill. This ‘XP skill’ is a special and powerful skill that can be used after filling your ‘XP bar’ by killing monsters and using skills. The XP bar automatically maxes when you level and it is able to deal massive damage to the mobs around your character. This is the perfect skill to use in order to quickly finish quests. The only downside is that it takes a while before you can actually use it, especially at higher levels. The combat is basically clicking on a monster and spamming skills, which might get on your nerves. The monsters do not deal a huge amount of damage either, which makes fighting them anything but challenging. However, the creatures you will find in game are all very diverse and unique and you will have a hard time finding the same monster graphic with just a different color and name (a common MMO technique).

 

Looking good, mister!

As a fan of games with amazing armor and weapons, such as the Monster Hunter series, I was slightly disappointed when I first entered Battle of the Immortals, but when my character progressed and became stronger and stronger I noticed a wide selection of clothing and weapons: Amazing costumes, detailed fashion and powerful weapons are examples of what I encountered in game. The equipment is all very appealing, even at lower levels, but that’s not everything! There are gorgeous wings, trendy capes and lovely dresses. Moreover, there are so many unique weapons including a pair of crab claws for the wacky Slayers!

There is a downside, however. Many good-looking sets will only be available in the Cash Shop. This is very disappointing for the players who would rather not spend money on the game. On the other hand, Battle of the Immortals offers its players the possibility to buy ZEN, the currency of the Cash Shop, with in-game money. In addition, players can trade Cash Shop items. This means that you do not have to worry about having to pay to play properly.

The graphics of the game made me have mixed feelings. When you zoom in the graphics are stunning and your character is very detailed, but when you zoom out it will look much more ‘pixelated’, which is a setback.

 

Battle of the Immortals

 

Catch, craft and enhance

It is time to tell you a bit about the most fascinating part of the game: Its features.

Let’s start off with the most impressive one. The pets and mounts that the game offers are as beautiful as the armor designs. You can catch all in game monsters, excluding the ones you find in dungeons, the bosses and the special quest monsters. Catching a creature does not require anything special either; you will only have to kill mobs in order to make a catchable one appear. Regular members will only be able to have three pets at once, which isn’t much, but you will only need one at a time anyway. Your pets improve by simply killing monsters and you will be able to strengthen them by melding them with another pet or by using certain items, such as a Pet Gem.

You will get your own free mount, which is class-based. You can upgrade yours by fortifying them with special crystals. When you successfully fortify your mount it will change its appearance and make it look badass. More mounts are available in the Cash Shop.

At level 35 you will be able to gather herbs, crystals, ores and materials. With these items you can craft various accessories and other useful items. The crafting feature is so simple, yet effective. I have never seen one similar to Battle of the Immortals’ Tech System. 

 

Caring, kind and helpful

Perfect World Entertainment managed to surprise me again after the Closed Beta of Battle of the Immortals. The game used to be a point and click game, there was no WASD and there were many bugs. PWE listened to their players and completely changed the original game. They implemented a WASD system, they fixed all known bugs and they improved their help system. It does not happen very often that a gaming company actually bothers to listen to its customers, so I was stunned when I heard about these amazing changes. Perfect World Entertainment has shown its players a lot of respect and they are going to do the same in the future. The company is currently working on new skills for all classes, new pets, new dungeons, new monsters and a lot of new features. Keep up the great work, PWE!

 

Simple, yet effective

That would be the best way to describe Battle of the Immortals. The mediocre battle system and the poor character customization in the beginning of the game are nothing compared to the caring company, the amazing features and the constant updates and events. This game has always had potential and it seems as if Perfect World Entertainment wants to keep it this way. Battle of the Immortals is a simple MMORPG with amazing features and a brilliant staff. That is all that can be said.

 

Pros:
– Amazing features
– Detailed equipment
– Simple game with barely any grind
– A caring developer and publisher
– WASD
– Updated frequently

 

Cons:
– Lack of skills
– Generic combat