Yearly Archives: 2011

Maplestory Ascend Expansion Coming Soon

Maplestory Ascend Expansion Coming Soon

 

 

In the wake of learning that 75 percent of MapleStory weddings eventually end in heartbreak, Nexon’s 2D side-scrolling massively multiplayer online game is getting a whole new dose of content this month with Ascension, an update that includes a complete wedding system revamp.

 

Last year in North America, 26,982 in-game marriages were performed and of those marriages, 20,344, or 75 percent, have since been annulled at the players’ request. With the Ascension update, Nexon hopes to create a more harmonious environment for Maplers in love’s grip with a restructuring of the wedding system. Once players make their vows, they can team up and battle through Ascension’s brand new party quests, which have been balanced for more efficient leveling.

 

 

Hot on the heels of Chaos’ rampage through MapleStory, which introduced PVP, Ice Knight battle mode, a personality trait system and more, Ascension will also ramp up party quests for players itching to level up with their guild mates.  Monster Park, which is owned and operated by the friendly and ambitious Speigelmann, swarms with monsters both familiar and new. Players who progress through the story will learn that Speigelmann has ties to some of the most powerful monsters in the game, and the park may be more precarious than initially believed.

 

Be sure to check out the new trailer released showcasing some scenes from the upcoming PQs!

Luvinia Online Enters Commercial Release

Luvinia Online Enters Commercial Release

 

 

Outspark is proud to announce that Luvinia Online, it’s new fantasy MMORPG, has finished its open beta with the opening of the Item Store to players as it launches into commercial service.

 

With the opening of the Item Store, players will have access to a variety of premium items that are used to upgrade their gear, dress up in outrageously awesome costumes, reign in some eye-catching mounts, and level up even faster.  These items are all available in the new Store and can be bought using Outspark’s special currency, SparkCash.  These premium items also come in a variety of durations and price points in order to cater to different players’ tastes.

 

 

“We had a great open beta and everything is coming along as expected for this exceptional MMORPG,” gushed Philip Yun, CEO of Outspark. “We thank all of the players that helped out with the closed and open betas and are happy that we can finally bring the full experience of Luvinia Online to our large and eager player base.”

 

All characters, items and equipment from open beta will be kept and rolled over to the commercial launch of the game.  Winners from open beta events will be announced and awarded with top honors.

 

 

The race is still on to see who can reach the maximum level (78) first, where players can continue to experience the end game dungeons, quests, and loot to raise in stature.  Players in the open beta have already been praising all the content in the game, and Luvinia Online is poised to continue delivering the same quality entertainment with plans in motion to raise the level cap in the near future.  This level cap raise will also open up the second-level subclasses to players, making over 20 classes available in the game.

Eden Eternal: Polished, Pretty, and Priceless

Eden Eternal: Polished, Pretty, and Priceless

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Eden Eternal is a completely free to play anime styled MMOPRG developed by X-legend and published by Aeria Games. This is a social game with a persistent world, encouraging you to team up with other players to achieve your goals and have fun!

 

First Impressions

When you start up Eden Eternal you can select multiple servers with a lot of different channels to choose from. This makes the servers not too full and alleviates the issues of massive KS wars in the starter zones. When you have selected the server you want to play on it is time to create your character. Now the character customization is very basic but does its job, the features you can customize about your character are race, gender, face, hair, hair color, skin and eyes. The races in Eden Eternal at the time this review was written were the Human and the Zumi, although the Anuran has since been released. The Zumi is a class that looks like a mice and might be one of the most unique looking races I have seen in a game. The Anuran look like lanky toad people and have a feel of warrior pride to them.

 

When you have created your character it is time to get into the new continent in the world of Eden Eternal. Since I have a really good computer I decided to play this game on maximum settings with everything turned on. Now this was a big mistake, usually I am a big fan of a little blur in the game. In Eden Eternal however this is not a wise choice, as the blur effect put a major strain on my eyes overtime.

 

 

When I got into the world and got my first quest I was a little bit surprised, normally you get a really advanced tutorial. However in Eden Eternal I unfortunately didn’t get any tutorial so it was a bit of a learning process to figure out all the features hidden within this game.

 

I must say the world map in this game is really well made and there is an auto walk option if you click on anywhere in the map. I decided to play as a magician as I usually do and I really liked the class, and even if I didn’t I was not bound to this class and could have changed to any of the five archetypes by about level 15. Each class is unlocked upon reaching certain achievements, with the basic class for each archetype being simple level requirements while more advanced classes put you through intense challenges.

 

Story

Now the story is pretty basic and simple but gives a lot of openings for other races and thus for more game content. Races from all over the world decided to abandon their homes and set sail to the horizon. Each race eventually arrived at untouched land in the center of the world. On this new continent all the races decided to live together and build their homes. After a while all the different races had their own vision of building a perfect Utopia.

 

As you can guess they were too stubborn and tension rose as arguments turned into fights and a war started. Because of the conflict the land shattered and ripped the new world apart. The apocalypse was only prevented by a group of mysterious humans born from blue crystals who restored order and sealed the monsters away. However history seems to be repeating and it’s up to you to take up the role of a hero of your people to solve the mysteries of this impending doom and fulfill the role of the crystal people once again.

 

Gameplay

The controls in Eden Eternal feel marvelous and might be one of the smoothest movements I have experienced in a MMORPG. You are able to move your character with the WASD keys or you can point to click your character. The skills are activated by pressing the hotkeys in the bottom of your user interface; these skills cannot be used when you click on them however so if you are a clicker you might have to learn to use your keyboard. The skills are really well made and the effects are beautiful with each unique spell you use. Concepts such as slash versus blunt damage and a triangle of power between elements add further strategic value to skill use. I never felt like I was just button smashing mindlessly to kill monsters in this game.

 

 

One issue with movement though is this game has a fetish for invisible walls. Every object tends to have a much larger collision detection radius than the actual object leads you to believe. For example I saw a bench in the starting town, I went over to it to sit or jump on it I got blocked off by an invisible wall. This makes the game feel like a closed environment, and unfortunately I am a big supporter with an open world where you can basically jump on everything. Nonetheless this is just a minor setback of the game engine and the actual combat more than makes up for it.

 

The dungeons are the real selling point of this game. The graphics might be chibi but the challenges are intense. When ColbyCheeze tried jumping straight into the game on DizzyPW’s tank, his party spent 5 hours wiping on a level 3x dungeon because he didn’t fully understand the intricacies of all his interrupt and agro management skills. I can attest that playing the game from level 1 up is vital in the learning process to make sure you are well prepared for the challenges and random monster ambushes awaiting in the end-game dungeons. DoubleDoor and his school of witchcraft and wizardry made me rage the whole way through but was so satisfying seeing that old man face down on the floor!

 

 

Graphics

The graphics in this game are really stunning and really advanced for a free to play game. To play this game you would need to have a Intel Pentium 4 processor or something equivalent, along with 1 gigabyte of ram and at least a Geforce nVidia GeForce FX 5200 or ATI Radeon 9600 video card. The recommend system requirements are a little higher than normal but should run on most modern machines. This game is a really good looking game with a well-polished and optimized engine. Hopefully other companies realize what Eden Eternal has accomplished and use it as a bar to aim for in the free to play anime-styled market.

 

 

PVP

In Eden Eternal there are several ways to play PvP (Player versus Player). You are able to duel other players in the game to test your skills as a friendly match. Recently the Territory War has been announced, in the Territory War the system puts guilds in a free for all brawl. This will push the limits of teamwork, forcing players to work in a timely manner to either claim or defend the various territories. To win the Territory War you have to capture several places and monsters on the map. After you have done this you are able to destroy the Sand Crystal in the Sand Fortress. There are several different battlegrounds and you can find the dates and times these are available in your event schedule.

 

Earlier I mentioned the well thought out skills and in PvP this really comes into play. Nearly every skill has a side effect beyond just pure damage and a relatively long cool-down compared to most MMO’s that give every class one spammable skill. This forces players to get creative, stun-lock enemies, use skills in specific orders, and save interrupts to block ultimates in clutch maneuvers. If you’re going in as a healing archetype or tank, expect a rough time because every skill you use is vital to your team’s success.

 

 

Conclusion

Eden Eternal is a really fun game to play. The graphics are beautiful and the gameplay along with the controls feel really smooth. The game might feel a little grindy even though there are quite a few of quests to pick up. I really enjoyed playing this game and I will definitely play it more and see what the future brings. Eden Eternal feels like it is the top student in its class and has set a new bar in the anime-MMO genre. I would recommend everyone play this game because it takes a bunch of features that work in its genre, and perfects each of them to a whole new level of polish.

Digimon Masters Prepares for Open Beta

Digimon Masters Prepares for Open Beta

 

 

Joymax announced today that it will unleash the official Open Beta Test for Digimon Masters Tuesday, September 27th. Leap once more into the fantastic universe where our world and the Digital World are closer than anyone would have imagined – and unless stopped could collide and destroy both sides. Players can register on the Joymax portal to be part of the game’s exciting beginning.  To help players in selecting their initial Digital Data Squad member, here’s a short breakdown of each human and their starting partner.

Marcus is a hotheaded but very strong minded youth. When Marcus was just a young boy he was forced to take the lead role in the family after his father had left for the Digital World to never return. He bonded quickly with his partner, Agumon, who deeply trusts Marcus and thinks of him as a “Soul Brother.” This is the trainer with the most strength, so choose him if you want to see big damage numbers.

 

Thomas is a young genius, having already graduated university before returning to join the DATS team at the age of fourteen; he and Marcus often argue.  His partner Gaomon serves as a voice of caution and the two make an excellent pair.  Thomas’ biggest strength is his agility in the game, so this partnership will appeal to those who wish to dodge incoming attacks and abilities before launching counter-attacks.

 

Yoshino is the oldest member of the trio, and she often becomes frustrated with the behavior of the younger boys.  Her low self-esteem can be crippling, but the journey to accept herself as she simply is has been a long one and is still ongoing. Yoshino’s partner, Lalamon who uses the “Nuts Shoot” skill, keeps a very strong relationship with Yoshino and often keeps the peace between Agumon and Gaomon, much like her human counterpart.  Yoshino’s MP is the highest of the three tamers due to her extended training, so players looking to launch multiple special attacks should select this young lady as their character.

Hundreds of Digimon stretching from the first 5 anime series will be available for capture, including PawnChessmon (White), Gabumon, Veemon, Guilmon, and Biyomon alongside many others. Each Digimon will benefit from their DATS member’s strengths and weaknesses, so a Digimon trained by Marcus will differ from one raised by Yoshino.

 

A game for all players and all ages, Digimon Masters provides a simple interface coupled with an intuitive control scheme that is completely hassle-free.  With more than 1,000 characters featured from seasons 1 through 5 of the Digimon anime, not only is it faithful to the series’ art design, Digimon Masters closely follows a story that will satisfy both loyal fans of the series as well as welcoming new gamers to the Digital World.  Digimon Masters’ faithful recreation of the Digimon universe, as featured in the anime series Digimon Data Squad, is now being brought to the global market by Joymax.

 

Be sure to give us your thoughts on the OnRPG Boards in our Digimon OB Thread.

Digimon Masters

Digimon Masters follows the story of the digital world created through a network of computers tied to the master computer known as Yggdrasil. You play as a human who has entered this world in order to capture and train Digimon to unleash the full potential of their power.

Features

Choose a Human: Players can select from one of three human players, each with varying starting stats that influence Digimon combat.

Choose a Partner: One of three Digimon partners are available to choose at the beginning of the game. These Digimon are extremely powerful if trained well and can reach the ultimate Digi form with enough patience and training. Digimon are classified as either ranged or melee and each learn unique skills that separate them for other Digimon.

Detailed Storyline: Follow the various quests through the game as an intricate story about DATS unfolds.

Attribute and Element System: Each digimon has one of 5 attributes (neutral, data, vaccine, virus, and unidentified) as well as their attacks having one of 10 elements (fire, water, ice, wind, earth, wood, iron, thunder, darkness, light). Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each attribute and element is vital to obtaining victory in any battle.

Prius Online Opens PvE Server, Preps New Content

Prius Online Introduces PvE Server, New Content

 

 

Major changes are coming to Prius Online. The gPotato team has listened to the community and created a new server dedicated exclusively to PvE so players can explore the world of Prius at their own pace. Meanwhile, PvP players will be able to find opponents much more easily on the newly merged PvP server. Both servers are now live!

Numerous events will welcome these updates and players on each server will get their own set of special contests to enjoy. PvP players will battle for notoriety in a free-for-all headhunting challenge, with the most bloodthirsty villains claiming coveted items and the never-before-seen Pink Celero. Players with an eye on greater glory can compete in the Grand Tournament, a team vs. team battle whose greatest matches will be filmed and placed on the Prius Youtube channel for all to see.

 

On the other server, PvE players will race for mastery of beasts, dungeons, and more. One player will earn the name of Pero Whisperer by taming 11 of the wild beasts while their opponents struggle to master a single one. Only this player will be worthy of the Special Event Pero they will receive. Brave souls can also seize the Crest of the Conqueror from one of the many dungeons in Prius. Those who finish first will receive a special prize for their bravery and speed.

Prius players have even more to look forward to in the near future! Building on player feedback, the gPotato team has secured the next content update over a month ahead of schedule. Even better, it’s the biggest update yet! Coming in October, the new content will increase the level cap and add new skills, new items, new regions, and new dungeons to expand the player experience.

Mabinogi Review: A Fantasy Life Worth Living?

Mabinogi Review: A Fantasy Life Worth Living?

By Michael Sagoe (mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Released back in 2008 for North America, a developer company named DevCat created a new kind of MMO that takes life, anime and a teeny bit of Irish mythology to create a truly original MMORPG experience called Mabinogi. This little gem is one of Nexon’s oldest titles, featuring unique combat, a freeform skill system, tons of story content and many other features to create a world with lots to see and do.

 

Since its release, the game has received several expansions called “Generations” that include new areas, new features and advancements to the game’s story content. I got to play this way back during the first couple of generations and have returned to see that a lot has changed… for better or for worse, that is. So is this “Fantasy Life” still worth living? Let’s take a look.

 

 

Customization

The initial character customization has very little to offer, but at the same time it features many different options. This is all due to the game’s character card system: There are two types of character cards, Basic and Premium, among three main playable races: Human, Elf and Giant. Basic only gives you access to a handful of eye, hair, mouth and color options while Premium gives you a ton. You only get one basic human card whenever you create a new account, and unless you want to play as any race with a nicer look, you’re going to have to cough up $9.50 for another card.

 

 

With initial character creation, you’ll also have to choose your character’s age; A very unique feature that must be taken into consideration since it determines your starting initial stats, how fast you can rank up your skills and how soon you can rebirth your character (more on this later.)

 

Customization outside of character creation is fairly deep, allowing lots of different outfits to be worn for battle and fashion. All weapons, armors and outfits can be enchanted and upgraded with special effects and stats and all that typical MMO stuff.

 

 

Controls

It took a while for this game to catch up to the modern age, but Mabinogi now uses WSAD controls (WHOA!) and it seems to work pretty well, but mouse control for movement is still recommended, since using WSAD will give you frustrating lag issues from time to time that will make your character look like it’s trying to hump a wall or something. Using the mouse to perform basic attacks is simple and intuitive, while using skills set to your hotkeys (F1-F12) has delays and queues, so you have to think carefully regarding your next move. As it is, Mabinogi remains a game for those with a bit of patience.

 

 

Gameplay/Features

The world of Mabinogi is filled with choices. You can start up a homestead (which plays out like Farmville without all the evil), cook food, look for treasure, make clothing, go fishing, play music, go on many, many quests or just run around and kill stuff. The number of life skills, quests and activities you can perform here is staggering, so much that I can’t possibly cover each one in this single review, but I can say they’re all simple and done well enough to give you something new and interesting to try out every time you play.

 

 

One of my favorite aspects of Mabinogi has to be in its skill system – There are no literal character classes here, so you’re free to create your character in any way you want. Want to make your hero as a swordsman AND an archer? Go ahead. Want to create a wizard/alchemist hero that’s ALSO a spoony bard that knits clothing? Go for it, just as long as you have enough AP (Ability Points) to fit the bill.

 

It’s real freaking neat-o, but my favorite system is also a bit of a flawed system, because here’s the thing about earning AP: Since Mabinogi is more dependent on skill ranking instead of earning levels (Mabinogi has NO level cap, so you can level your character to 1000+ if you really have that much time on your hands.) Stats earned from leveling up are mostly insignificant, and the AP you earn from leveling up is only one point each, so ranking up your skills from leveling up alone can be a real drag, unless you decide to rebirth your character and earn AP easier from aging, but this means having to wait 3 to 10 weeks in order to rebirth for free at age 20, or buy another character card to rebirth after one week.

 

These options really bog down the experience if you plan to play without paying a cent, and all this just makes me wonder if they can really call it “free-to-play” when a game kind of tries to nickel-and-dime you at every turn (well I guess it’s still free-to-play in the sense that you can register, download and play it without monthly fees but… oh you know what I’m talking about, right?)

 

While Mabinogi’s core combat seems like a simple game of Rock Paper Scissors with some extra variables, it’s actually a lot more tactical than most MMOs. Combat is based on contextual inputs, meaning you’ll have to attack, block and counter instead of mashing hotkeys and chugging potions for five hours. Fighting like a warrior means getting up in your enemy’s face, using ranged skills means playing it safe with enemies from a distance, and rolling up wizard style means annoying the crap out of everyone with magic for stunning and one shot kills. Oh and there’s also alchemy that lets you do a little bit of everything.

 

 

Lag issues are still heavy around this game, and if you don’t have a decent net connection ranging around 40ms in ping, prepare for a few rage inducing battles. Since combat requires immediate reactions from players, any bit of lag will have your character perform actions too late, and I can’t tell you the countless amount of times I failed my RP quests because my connection started to lag at the worst possible moment (my ISP sucks, I know!)

 

While the core combat is nice and solid (when there’s no lag present), the pacing feels incredibly slow. Your character can only move at two speeds: Slow and turtle, which makes getting around somewhat tiring and traveling around the world on foot can be a nightmare unless you’re lucky enough to catch the next moon gate (think magic metro train) to your designated location. This also makes picking out a mountable pet from the cash shop almost mandatory ( You do get a free horse mount when your first start playing but you only get to keep it for seven days, so enjoy it while it lasts…)

 

 

Graphics/Presentation

Now this is mostly going to adhere to your own personal point of view on style/aesthetics, but for me, the visuals of Mabinogi still holds up. The anime style used here is nice and distinct, even though the textures look a bit old and dull. If you can force some Anti-Aliasing over this, everything will look right as rain. The clangs and clashes of combat all sound appropriate, but the music comes off as cheesy and generic. As for the voice acting with some of the Shakespeare generation scenes? Hit and miss.

 

 

Community

The community for Mabinogi is filled with many social players. You’re never too far from finding a player that’s willing to show you around or help you out with some of your quests. Of course, you will run into a couple of sour grapes, but don’t worry about them as for the most part, Mabinogi’s playerbase is pretty decent.

 

 

Overall

As a free-to-play experience, Mabinogi is filled with flaws and contradictions, but for those that decide to partake (and perhaps spend some money on it) you will find an interesting and enjoyable MMORPG experience here, because just about no other MMO out there can give this much variety, choice and freedom.

 

Customization – 3

Controls – 3

Gameplay/Features – 5

Graphics/Presentation -3

Community – 3