Yearly Archives: 2011

Elsword: Manga Platforming Perfection

Elsword: Manga Platforming Perfection

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 



Elsword Online is a free-to-play, two dimensional side scrolling MMORPG. Elsword is a very popular Asian game developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. It has now come to the US and I will be giving this game a fair shot to look how this game makes itself unique compared to other side scrolling MMORPGs. This manga oriented MMORPG is a popular franchise currently running in Asia and its taking the next step of releasing in Europe and America. This game is all about the fast paced stylish combat so let’s get to the details!

 

First Impressions

The first impression when I got into the game is the cute music in the background that is extremely relaxing. Beyond this, the anime style this game uses is quite eye catching. When you first start up the game you can select a server, currently there is only one to pick from right now. There are several different channels; these channels have different level requirements so it is easily divided for everyone. After picking the corresponding channel it is time to create your character.  There are currently four classes to pick from, each of these classes have different abilities and weapons that they are using. If you prefer melee types you can choose between Raven and Elsword. If you prefer range over melee you can pick between Aisha and Rena. The characters based off of their manga counterparts, which explains the odd class naming. I went with Rena as she has a good mix of range and melee combat options so I would get the best of both worlds.

 

 

Classes

The current classes that are in the game are Aisha, Elsword, Raven and Rena. All the characters have different stories from the past and follow one main story that starts off with defending the El.

 

Aisha

Aisha is the mage class currently available in Elsword. She is equipped with a staff and possesses the abilities of magic and great sorcery. At the young age of 12, she traveled with her Grandfather to discover ancient magic ruins. He was an old wise man and taught her all his secret magical arts as they journeyed together. At the peak of her power, she discovered an ancient ring that deviously absorbed and transferred her magical powers to someone else. In order to retrieve her powers back, she sets off on a journey to find the person who swindled her of her strength.

 

Elsword

The Elsword is a melee class that uses the Great Sword as weapon. He was trained to use the Great Sword at a young age and excelled above all. Elsword’s sister was the leader of the Red Knights. Since childhood, she rigorously trained him to become one of the Red Knights. However, she soon left Elsword to pursue a greater mission for the Red Knights. Elsword wanted his sister to recognize him as a strong warrior and soon joined the Kingdom’s El Search Party. Even so his sister still did not acknowledge him to be strong enough. Elsword has now set out on a journey to become the leader of the strongest El Search party in order to gain his sister’s trust.

 

Raven

The Raven is a class that uses a Nasod Arm along with a Blade to fight against his enemy. Raven, a commoner from the Kingdom of Velder worked hard to become the Head Captain of the Crow Mercenary Knights. Being a commoner in such a high ranking position caused jealousy to arise from the nobles and they decided to bring false accusations against him. Although he was rescued by his followers, Velder’s soldiers surrounded him, his fiancée, and his friends in the forest and slaughtered them. Raven however survived the incident and awoke with devices attached all over his body in a Nasod capsule. Reborn with a Nasod arm and a blade on the right hand, he fought unconsciously to destroy the kingdom he once protected. That is until he is shown the weakness of seeking revenge by Elsword and joins forces to find the El Shards and atone for his sins.

 

Rena

Rena is a range class that uses the Bow along with body techniques to defeat her enemies. She provides long range attacks using a bow and the ability to double jump. Rena is a fairy living in the forest’s outskirts. One day she mysteriously lost her sense to commune with the spirits. She soon discovers that the weakening power of El is to blame for causing a split in the mortal and spiritual world. This news causes Rena to drop her peaceful ways as she begins a violent crusade to restore the spiritual link created with El. Rena felt the resonance of the El from the Tree of Light and soon sets out on a journey to find it. She believes that the Tree of Light will help her find the missing magic of El.

 

 

Gameplay

Elsword can be played alone and with a party, follow the quest line to get to various different dungeons along with several different end bosses. Elsword is a really fun side scrolling MMORPG that uses a rather unique gameplay style. Every class has its unique style of play and I had fun with both melee and range. After a while I decided I preferred melee over range. Although its not nearly as safe playing Rena at melee range, the action is much more intense and overall more fun.

 

Once you complete dungeons you unlock the privilege of replaying them on a harder difficulty, though you might want to team up with friends for this. Luckily the community is quite active and outgoing so finding groups to run dungeons with was never a challenge. And even if it was, the amount of fun I had playing this game grew exponentially when playing in a party compared to solo play.

 

Beyond running dungeons, there is a lot of ways players can coordinate as a community in this game. There is a great crafting system in place and the PvP modes are always popular. Town shops similar to old school games like Ragnarok and Maplestory also add a feeling of community not always found in modern games.

 

 

Graphics

The Graphics are really beautiful for a side scrolling game while putting minimum strain on PCs to play it. As long as you have a dedicated video card your computer should be more than able to handle them. At minimum its recommended to have a GeForce FX5700/Ati Radeon 9600 Radeon video card along with a Pentium 4 processor. These video cards are at least 10 years old so even an ancient computer made out of twigs and stones should be able to run this game just fine.

 

As I mentioned before, this game plays as if you were running through slides of a Manga. The overall graphics are wonderful and the combat is stylized to the point that you really feel each attack you deal is cinematic and epic. The real fireworks begin when you unleash combo attacks with your team against a boss monster. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on all the action because of the sheer amount of detail put into the background of each match. Heck sometimes the background will launch attacks at you so I guess that isn’t a bad thing!

 

Conclusion

Elsword is a really beautiful and fun side scrolling MMORPG. You can easily play solo or grab a few friends as you progress through the story and dungeon crawl to collect crafting items. Something that really set this game apart from most MMOs is the storyline is intriguing and worth reading. Each character has a unique personality that helps draw you in and make you feel connected to the gaming world. Unfortunately the voice overs are still in their native language but that isn’t always a bad thing. This game is very casual friendly and a great pick up and play action game for people that don’t have large amounts of time to invest in an MMO. I recommend that all platformer gamers try this game out!

 

ColbyCheeze also recently did a playthrough for Elsword. Be sure to check out his impressions video coming later today!

League of Legends Sustain Nerf Looms

League of Legends Sustain Nerf Patch Looms

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

 

This week marks a momentous time in League of Legends history. The patch coming later this week is set to change the current meta game while laying the groundwork for their upcoming map and mode, Dominion. Oh and a sick looking fella by the name of Talon will be joining the League as well!

 

For those not in the know, League of Legend’s Dominion mode is set to change the entire way the game is played. In Dominion mode matches will no longer be fought among 2 or 3 lanes with creeps coming in predictable waves and towers waiting to be crushed on the way to ultimate victory at the enemy’s nexus. Instead a more dynamic donut shaped map has been created with 5 control points and a capture the flag style victory condition. The result? Chaos.

 

 

Players will find themselves clashing without the interference of minions at level 1 as they attempt to control various control points among the map for minion support and points that lead towards ultimate victory. Gold and leveling speed has also been amped up to ensure these action packed arena matches only last around 20 minutes (I’m doubtful the average player’s heart could handle much more). Although the mode won’t be released this week, the initial coding is being inserted into the patch laying the framework and instilling players with the faith that Dominion will be here much sooner than soontm. In fact OnRPG will go hands on with Dominion at PAX Convention this weekend and return with a detailed review!

 

For those with a short attention span that only care about the present, the nerfs coming to the sustain meta are a big freaking deal in the here and now. As it currently stands, the most effective way to ensure victory was to send a beefy bruiser to solo top lane, an agile and often AP based carry to feed in mid, a jungler to protect to AP carry and cover for the bruiser, and a dedicated 0 gold earning healer on bottom to babysit an AD character who farmed minions until rich and powerful. This often led to boring games of tag lasting 20+ minutes before any real action could take place. Riot’s solution? Beat those supports ugly with a nerf bat!

 

 

Soraka, Sona, Taric and Nidalee are all receiving hefty cuts to the effectiveness of their passive styled heals in exchange for more dedicated tools of destruction. While Kayle’s heals were already nerfed a couple patches ago, she is also receiving similar treatment with a buff to her AD capabilities.

 

What does this mean? Well theoretically, it means Soraka is now a silence bot that only serves as a healer when it comes to vital tower dives, Sona is useful for canceling ulti damage with a buff giving double defensive point heal auras, Taric must now built attack speed to be viable, and Nidalee has been altered from backline support to backline artillery. While the community is up in arms fighting this nerf, my guild members and I have already planned out our offensive support troll team to capitalize on the changes.

 

Tank: Taric; Offtank: Sona; AD Carry: Kayle; AP Carry: Nidalee; Aura Support: Soraka

 

 

We’ll show Riot just how hard we ‘sustain’ now.

 

 

What will this mean for the meta (and normal people)? Well that remains to be seen and our own MOBA reporter Jason Harper will be bringing us a more indepth look at the impact and repercussions along with his review of Talon later this month! Never tried League of Legends? Now is the time to Get Practicing if you want to be ready to handle the competition come Dominion’s release!

Dungeon Fighter Online Act XII Set for Wednesday Launch

Dungeon Fighter Online Act XII: New Blood Coming on Wednesday

 

 

Three new dungeons are opening up their doors in Dungeon Fighter Online, the side-scrolling MMO brawler from Nexon, along with a monster metamorphosis event. The update, dubbed Act XII: New Blood, is due on August 24th.

 

Dungeon Fighters will soon be able to traverse all new areas opening up in Hill Vale and Antwer Canyon. Southern Dale, which will be open to players of all skill levels, will introduce Bahol Callow, a new NPC that used to be the most respected commander of the de Ios Empire.  Along with Callow’s guidance, dungeon fighters will battle through Southern Dale to face its three Boss Monsters, Bogut the Giant, Warlock Firan and York the Nightmare.

 

 

It is here in Southern Dale that players will be able to participate in the Metamorphosis event. By picking up Cryptid Elements and participating in specific quests, players can morph into one of several monsters for 90 seconds, including a Goblin Shooter, Dorniar RTX-1 and Mecha Tau.

 

Players level 59 and above will face new enemies in the North Ghent Gate and Ghent Battlefield dungeons. Players will need to band together in an effort to defeat Field Commander Babylon, the mechanically adept commander of the Kartel Army in Empyrean, and Machine-Arm Warjack, a feared and diabolical general – part man, part machine.

 

 

Additionally, the new update will introduce changes to DFO’s Guild system with an updated UI, guild level expansion and other new functions. Players will soon be able to apply to the guild of their choice, and the Guild Master – along with his or her designees – can pick and choose which Dungeon Fighter to invite among their ranks. Furthermore, new guild functions such as the “Featured Guild Member” will grant more benefits for guild members when they party up. The max guild level will also be raised from 10 to 17, meaning more stat and EXP boosts will be generously awarded.  A Guild Safe will also be introduced, wherein a portion of the communally amassed gold will be deposited for future guild-related actions, such as leveling up. Finally, bonus EXP will be awarded to guilds who promote stellar attendance and dungeon participation.

 

Act XII: New Blood will feature the Friend Referral System, which awards unique prizes for those who recruit new friends into the world of Dungeon Fighter Online. Both the Dungeon Fighter Recruiter and their friends will benefit from the system with HP and MP multipliers, valuable items and more.

 

Be sure to check out the Teaser Trailer and Screenshots for this patch.

Sevencore Online

Sevencore is a mount focused PvP combat game. It features 3 races (Zion, Brutus, and Nuuk) at war over territory, whether that territory is on land, in the air, or at sea. The mount system is unique in that various mounts exist to aid you in battle no matter what terrain you may find your quests lead you.

Sevencore also features a unique system that does away with unique classes and only limits players on ranged or physical archetypes. From there the sky is the limit in terms of how you want to utilize your given specialty.

iRacing: Pole Position in Every Aspect

iRacing – Pole Position in Every Aspect

By Neil Kewn (Murxidon) – OnRPG journalist

 

 

My neck hurts, my palms are sweaty and my feet ache. Having just finished second in a twenty lap race at Lakeville’s Lime Rock Park, I’m filled with both joy and disappointment. What if I had taken the outside line on that first corner? Surely If I stayed in his slipstream for just a few more seconds I could have passed him on the straight? It was an intense race that ended in disaster, as we both span off the track on the first corner of the final lap. I knew whoever recovered first from this last lap twist would come out with the win. Shifting into first I quickly edged back onto the racing line, managing to get ahead of the eventual victor by inches. Yes – despite my fast recovery the damage sustained to my Mazda MX-5 Roadster was too severe, I bowed out of the race just a few corners before the chequered flag with smoke billowing from my engine.

 

Conceding victory was painful, but that’s just a part of racing – and “professional online driving simulator” iRacing.

 

 

Racing videogames haven’t always been kind to simulation fanatics. Franchises like Need for Speed and DiRT have traditionally featured gameplay that appealed more to the Tom Cruise of gaming, rather than the Michael Schumacher. Arcade handling and blistering speeds capable from indestructible cars with a permanent shine, those who demand realism in every aspect from their virtual driving shun the mass-market yearly entries in favour of more refined titles like Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo and more increasingly, iRacing. The goal? To provide the most immersive, realistic motorsport experience possible in the comfort of your own home.

 

And boy does it succeed. Starting off with a rookie licence, new subscribers have two racing disciplines to choose from. Traditional road racing on real-world tracks or the NASCAR-like oval competitions, these two distinct styles of racing are fully realized in iRacing. Official licenced series are available for each, including a world championship sanctioned and recognized by NASCAR itself. Naturally you start off at the bottom of the racing ladder, but with good results and safe driving you can advance through the licence tiers unlocking more prestigious series and championships – making a name for yourself in the process. Rookie drivers have four series to compete in, but only two are available with just an initial “bare” subscription.

 

Fans of iRacing tend to avoid labelling it as a “video game”. I can see why, it’s more like a virtual motorsport organization with rules and sanctions and directors and penalties. A 39 page Sporting Code is enforced at all times, and you are expected to read it. To be accepted into the community, you need to be a clean, safe, cautious and respectful competitor. A safety record is assigned to every subscriber – a score printed on their licence representing just how well they avoid incidents out on track. A higher safety record, the more experienced (or careful) a driver is.

 

 

This is clear out on the track. Safety is paramount and risks taken are always calculated. Slower backmarkers will pull off the racing line and let you pass – it’s all very clean and courteous, the kind of driving you would only ever see on television.

 

The driving itself in iRacing is faultless. It’s a true to life simulation of real world racing and as such, twenty three of the world’s most recognizable licenced vehicles are available. Perfectly remodelled in both design and performance, iRacing is the closest most people are ever going to get to driving a Williams FW31 Formula 1 car. Out on the track cars have weight and handle as you would expect them to in the real world. You won’t be blistering around tracks using barriers as a secondary brake, nor will you be ramming your opponents into the gravel (not unless you want to spin out).  Driving is a test of mental skill and accuracy. Find that turn in point on a corner, hit the apex and get the most speed on the out.

 

It goes without saying, but you need a steering wheel and pedal set to experience iRacing in any capacity. Controllers are supported, but nothing beats a solid steering set to give you the edge out on the laser-scanned real-world tracks. My Thrustmaster Ferrari GT wheel was detected straight away, and the in-built calibration system insured it was accurate to the last degree.

 

 

This all comes at a price though. In addition to a $12 monthly subscription extra tracks and vehicles need to be purchased. With only six cars and ten tracks included with your rookie licence, getting extra content is an investment that a lot of players won’t be able to justify. New tracks can cost as much as $15, additional cars an extra $12 on top of your monthly sub. Content purchased is not lost if you choose not to re-subscribe, but the cost of acquiring new tracks and vehicles can run into hundreds of dollars. As you progress through the licence brackets it’s likely that you will have to purchase new tracks just to compete in an official race. Disappointing.

 

It’s a difficult price to justify if you aren’t a serious motorsport fan. iRacing caters towards the hardcore, the ruthless and the devoted. As a result, it is truly peerless in its detail and execution. The game is completely involved and unquestionably serious about what it stands for, so much so that there are even live television streams of races with professional commentary.

 

 

iRacing is the pinnacle of multiplayer motorsport, a franchise with a loyal community and competition that is as wide as it is intense. It’s an expensive indulgence. Casual fans need not apply, nor should the faint of heart, but for those with a passion for motorsports, iRacing is a true-to-life realization of modern racing – a premier multiplayer competition experience that they will never forget.


Graphics – 3
Controls – 5
Features – 5
Customization – 5
Community – 5

IRacing Online

IRacing is the ultimate in MMO racing simulations. Train for your racing license, get behind the wheel, and compete against players from around the world in circuits catered to your skill level.

 

Features:

 

Realism: This isn’t your typical turtle shell shooting chaotic racing game. IRacing is methodical and your vehicle handles just as the real thing would on the track. Don’t expect to crash your car and get reset back into the race.

 

League System: IRacing is all about competition and they prove it with their dedicated Leagues. Whether joining sanctioned GM controlled leagues or fan leagues, there is always a competitive race waiting for you to hop into.

 

Dozens of Race Tracks: IRacing features tons of options to race on, and all their tracks are simulations of real world courses. From Daytona to Darlington there are bound to be some courses you will recognize.


Insane Car Customization: Choose from hundreds of real world vehicles and upgrade them to your hearts’ content.

Starcraft 2: Journey to Diamond League Wk7

My Journey to Diamond League

By Mohammad Abubakr, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

If you missed any of the previous weeks in my journey to diamond league, check out the Starcraft II review section. (http://www.onrpg.com/MMO/Starcraft-II/reviews)

 

 

Week 7

Games played: 10

Initial Rank: Silver – 34

Final Rank: Silver – 42

Win/Loss: 4/6

 

 

The first game of week seven took me by surprise. Being in Silver league I did not expect opponents with good decision making. A normal ladder game in Silver consists of a player choosing one build and using that for the whole game.

 

My first opponent, a Protoss, decided to pressure my workers with void rays. Since he decided to do a forge fast expand, his Starport was hidden behind photon cannons at his natural expansion. An overlord sent into the main base was not able to find a Starport. This meant that I was unprepared for an attack.

 

Luckily I scouted the void rays on the way and was able to setup spore crawlers in time but not in the best positions. There were some openings and my opponent put them to good use which continuously forced me to fight back with queens. By the time I had proper defenses out my opponent stopped with the void rays.

 

Voids ray make me miss macro.


At that point I thought I could win because all his money was invested into void rays. I was wrong because my opponent was wise to continue and warp in a ground army and no more void rays. His army was too large to defend and I was forced to concede. If this was an average silver player, they would have had nothing but void rays at that point and I would have been able to win.

 

The following three matches were also against Protoss players. While these players were not as skilled as my previous opponent, I still lost.

 

For the first game I was experimenting with the zergling, baneling and mutalisks build because most Zerg players at the GSL were using it. My opponent did a four gate all in build and pushed with a lot of zealots. I was too focused on trying out the build that I did not switch to roaches; Zerglings are not very good against zealots. If I had roaches or earlier mutalisks I might have stood a chance but unfortunately I was forced to concede.

 

The next two games were both void ray rushes. This really is not a good week. I hate when people rush their opponents. I know it is part of the game so I do not complain or call out my opponents but these types of players are not very fun to play against.

 

I lost both games due to poor spore crawler positioning and decision making. I decided to morph mutalisks but I feel hydralisks would have been much more effective against void rays.

 

At this point I was really scared to continue playing because I did not want all my losses to kick me out of Silver but I knew I had to continue playing to improve.

 

The next day I was finally matched against an opponent that was not Protoss. At first I was scared once again because my opponent was playing random; random players tend to cheese. It turned out my opponent was randomly selected to be a Zerg. My macro was a lot better and I managed to produce a large army very quickly and overran his base. It was quite annoying when he would hide expansions and not leave an already lost game. Eventually I killed off all his structures and won the game.

 

Why not just leave?


I am really getting tired of Protoss cheese. My sixth game was against yet another Protoss and he void ray rushed me. I was close to holding off the attack but was not successful. I really need to work out a counter to these rushes. At the moment I feel just playing to get more experience against it will help me but after so much cheese I really do not feel like playing.

 

I was very glad I got to see a Terran this week; TvZ is my best matchup. This was not really a hard game for me. While he did apply early pressure, I learned from watching some of the pros that you should not just attack his army. Keep your army behind until you have a good amount of units. I waited until I had plenty of Zerglings and took out his attacking army. Afterwards I continued to expand to the point where I had four bases while he was only on one. It would have been easy to overrun his base with such a high income but my opponent was wise to GG after scouting all my bases. I was just about to take a fifth which would have been my second gold base.

 

Don’t panic. Just wait for a decent sized army.


After realizing that I was going to fight another Protoss, I was not pleased. I had enough of their cheeses so I made sure I scouted well. Luckily my opponent did not wall in so I got a lot of information and was able to disrupt his mining with ease. Fortunately I spotted the DT production and was able to setup some defenses. Once I held off that attack I knew I would win so I continued to macro up until I had a big army. He left the game after seeing my army.

 

All of the games this week were played to practice a new play style. I have replaced my old roach infestor style with the standard zergling, baneling and mutalisks build. I did this because I felt that roaches were taking up too much supply. It costs two supply to build one roach while it only costs one supply to build two zerglings. My new army composition is not very hard to replace and can work well against almost any standard build. It might take me some time to get used to this build but I think it will help me become a better player.

 

I was happy that I had finally won some games but my rank dropped from my initial rank. Next week’s goal will be to have final rank higher than my initial rank.

 

If there are any suggestions or feedback about this series, please let me know on the OnRPG forums  (http://www.onrpg.com/boards/) @ Abubakr (http://www.onrpg.com/boards/member-abubakr.html). Alternatively you may message me in Starcraft II (Abubakr, 109).

Eudemons Online Asks What Makes a Good Holiday Festival?

Eudemons Online Asks What Makes a Good Holiday Festival?

 

 

 

For MMO game developers, festivals are great chances to add in new content and promote their games. MMO games release events almost every holiday, but a good holiday event needs more than just interesting quests and nice rewards, since it should represent the culture or the tradition of the festival, as well.

 

 

There are many traditional festivals in China, and most of them are celebrated according to the lunar calendar. You can find Chinese festival events in a lot of MMO games, although some of them may not be presented by Chinese developers. But looking into the details of the events, you might notice that most of them simply offer better drops during hunting, or extra EXP as the rewards of the event. Free items are always welcome, but without well designed quests, an event may seem a little dull and meaningless.

 

Eudemons Online has just brought up the Chinese Lantern Festival event. This festival is also known as the “Yuan Xiao” Festival, and is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month of each year. It’s all about lanterns, riddles, the moon-like delicacy `Yuan Xiao`, and family reunions. During the event in Eudemons Online, you can have fun with those magical lanterns, solve fun riddles on them, and learn to make the traditional holiday food, Yuan Xiao!

 

 

This game is a perfect combination of western and oriental features. With over 100 pets to assist you along your epic adventure and culture exploration! Whether it be Western or Eastern based, Eudemons Online is always coming up with creative ways to celebrate each holiday so don’t miss their Lantern Festival.