Yearly Archives: 2011

League of Legends Championship Today!

League of Legends Season 1 Finals Today!

 

 

The League of Legends Season One Championship continues today, live from Dreamhack in Sweden. After dozens of amazing battles over the weekend, we’re down to the final match at 3:00 PM PDT today, Monday, June 20th. For once in Esports, the asian teams have not dominated the field, and the tournament is winding down to three remaining teams. Representing the United States, Team Solo Mid continues to trudge on against the French team aAa. Awaiting the winner of this battle is the EU team FnaticMSI.

 

 

For any remote fan of League of Legends, this is an exciting day. Not only will one of the most epic clashes in LoL history occur today at 3pm PDT, but a near era of League of Legends will ring in starting next week with the release of Yorick the Gravedigger. I expect great things from Season 2 of League of Legends!

 

 

I will be skipping work to tune in for the finals today at 3pm, and I suggest you do so as well. Check out this link to get access to the live stream for League of Legends’ Championship match!

Empire & State Review: One to Rule Them All

Empire & State: One to Rule Them All

by Chris Mcgraw, OnRPG Guest Writer

 

 

 

Empire and State is an ambitious java-based browser MMO that takes the free-to-play Mafia Wars format and throws in a dash of Risk (or Axis & Allies, if you know your board games).  While it’s still in early beta and many features and bug fixes are forthcoming, the promise of an addictive and engrossing strategy game is already evident.

 

 

You begin the game as a newly arrived immigrant to the colony planet Altea, which is represented as a colorfully rendered hex-grid in the tradition of classic war games.  As a broke, lowly wretch with a chip on his shoulder (in my case, looking a bit like Mal Reynolds from Firefly) you set out to look for work in the various cities and slums that populate the otherwise untamed landscape.  Taking on jobs and advancing your character should be familiar to anyone who’s played Mafia Wars or one of its numerous clones, but don’t let the dull introduction turn you away just yet.

 

 

After a few levels and some aimless wandering you will acquire a cargo truck and the ability to pledge allegiance to one of the various factions vying for control of the world.  A quick flight over to your new nation’s capitol city, and the game starts to get interesting.  We have all read in our history books about brave immigrants traveling to American shores with nothing but a penny in their pocket and the shoes on their feet, and by the sweat of their brow forging mighty industrial empires, but they didn’t try it in Altea!  A few mouse clicks later and I was the proud owner of two factories and an iron mine.  How’s that for self-reliance?

 

 

Sadly, you’re initially limited in the number of resources you can control, which includes vehicles and structures.  Expanding your managerial finesse to handling greater than four properties at any given time requires you to purchase points for real world cash.  Game developer Novel sells points for upgrades, in-game credits and stamina refills, which leads to the inevitable frustration many newcomers to F2P games experience: unless you are willing to commit massive amounts of time to playing the game, the players with deeper wallets will always have an edge.

 

 

Nations battle each other for control of resources and cities on the map, and the resources you control can be used to produce vehicles and other items that you and your fellow citizens will use to conquer and dominate adjacent lands.  If you’re lucky you could find yourself elected as leader of your people, after which you can issue executive orders and attempt to subjugate and oppress your citizens like any good dictator would.  If you find yourself consistently out-voted, you can even attempt a rebellion to found your own empire.

 

 

While many features are still being added, the innovative strategic and social aspects of the meta-game already stand out amongst a crowded field of F2P contenders.  This game is one to watch in the coming weeks and months, and if you feel that your megalomaniac tendencies toward global domination aren’t being completely fulfilled in real-life, you should start playing today to achieve decisive advantages over the many other players that are sure to come.

Tribal Wars

Tribal Wars: Strategy RPG or Bubonic Plague?

by Scott Braquet (SimpleAnatomy), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

History has proven that true power lies in the land a rule keeps and the armies that defend it. The Middle Ages stand testament to that fact: this was an era where small, unknown villages were forged into historic empires by vast amounts of blood and steel. Epic battles raged for months on end, armies vying for the honor of becoming historical legends. Tribal Wars, a 2D browser based strategy RPG, steps on to the battlefield bearing more resemblance to a squire than a knight.

 

 

Presentation:  4

Tribal Wars features a homepage that provides the user with an overview of their village. The overview is surrounded by menus essential to a strategy based RPG; showing the production/limits of each resource, size of your army, and amount of villagers. The overview works well enough, showing the little village busy cultivating resources as it prepares itself for future wars. Tribal Wars also features an in game task bar for easy access to other gaming essentials such as mail and the game forums.

 

 

The overall presentation is bland and unoriginal; the Middle Ages were the birthplace of unique music, language, and artwork that could have been incorporated to enhance the gaming experience. The inability to zoom in on your village takes away from the overview display; the distance keeps the user disconnected from his army. With a lot of unused space on both sides of the screen; integrating the ability to either increase the menu size or provide users the ability to adjust the menus would allow for a much more customized experience and would greatly benefit the user interface.

 

Gameplay:  3

Strategy based RPGs have been around just as long as the material they cover and provide stiff competition against Tribal Wars by offering so much more. Not only do Risk, Warcraft, and Civilization all have much more depth in terms of both units and buildings, but they also provide an easier learning curve. Beginners are at a disadvantage due to inadequate tutorials and the inability to play without making huge mistakes.

 

Establishing seasons would allow players to make mistakes knowing that mistakes made now will be reset in the future, as well as increase the overall speed of the game. In addition, story driven quests would break up the one dimensional gameplay and help users conduct their tribe in a more neutral way. Users who choose to pay will experience a laundry list of upgrades that completely change the way the game can be played.

 

 

If faced with the option to continue playing or meet my doom at the hands of the Black Death I have a feeling I would take my chances with the plague.

 

Community:  5

The games community is built on establishing tribes, forging or breaking alliances with other tribes in an attempt to climb the leaderboards. Tribal Wars earns an accolade for the social interaction within and between tribes.

 

Unfortunately, the forums are dull and boring, as the staff is keen on censorship. Clans are either closed to recruiting new members or require enough gaming experience to prompt an invite. Finally, with most accounts being run by two people to maintain a competitive edge, players are too engaged in their tactics to socialize outside of their respective tribes.

 

Conclusion:  4

Providing a lackluster presentation paired with gaudy gameplay mechanics, Tribal Wars surrounds itself with peasantry. Newcomers beware as the game leaves you with very little to go off of outside of the help section; add to that the fact that most clans disregard the task of teaching new players the ropes. There is a rough road ahead for any new player to attempt to break into the Tribal War’s society. After seeing what Tribal Wars has to offer it is easy to understand where the Dark Ages originated from.

Lucent Heart Enters Open Beta on June 21st

Lucent Heart Enters Open Beta on June 21st!

 

 

 

Gamania Digital Entertainment has announced that Lucent Heart, its highly anticipated zodiac-inspired social MMORPG, will begin its Open Beta in North America on June 21. Opening its doors to both old and new players for a final round of testing, Gamania invites everyone to join the numerous events that will be running, meet its friendly community and GMs, and get a feel for its uniquely social gameplay. This will be a “no wipe” beta, meaning players will get to keep their account and characters.

 

 

“We are very excited to be stepping into the final phase of testing for Lucent Heart ,” said David Wong, COO of Gamania. “The community has been extremely active so far; we have noticed they seem to enjoy hanging out together with our GMs as much as questing and raiding dungeons. It’s turning out to be a very unique game in that respect, we can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”

 

 

Lucent Heart’s beloved “Official Desserts” (GMs) are awaiting players in-game and will be running tons of events and competitions for players to participate in throughout the beta, with many prizes to be won.

 

 

  • Q&A with the Staff/GMs – Fans can meet the Staff and GMs in Thereall’s Peace Tower. They’ll be standing near Cupid, ready to answer players’ questions or just to chat.

 

  • Community Competitions – From Grand Prix races crowning the fastest in Acadia to hilarious “Battle of the Sexes” competitions, the GMs will be running community events that everyone can enjoy (with prizes).

 

  • Stories of Stickers – Fans can win a Lucent Heart E3 sticker from Lucent Heart Star Vanessa by using the in-game manga maker to create a manga page featuring the player with Vanessa.

 

  • Fighting off Invasions – Players can join in to protect Thereall from numerous invasions, like fighting off Goddess Cadena’s minions before they can take over!

 

 

While so many games try to continue pushing the envelope with features and graphics, it’s refreshing to see an MMO going in a different route and trying to do what OnRPG believes MMOs were originally intending to do, help people around the world meet up and play together. OnRPG has a first look at Lucent Heart coming up next week, just in time for the beginning of beta. Be sure to check it out and try Lucent Heart in open beta on June 21st!

Runes of Magic Chapter IV is Here

Runes of Magic Chapter IV: Lands of Despair is Live

 

The anticipated fourth chapter of the successful online role playing game, Runes of Magic, launched this week. Amongst a range of other new additions, ‘Lands of Despair’ introduces four fantastic new regions featuring never-before-seen opponents and dungeons to challenge players both old and new.

 

Accompanying the release of ‘Chapter IV – Lands of Despair’ is a new trailer, shedding more light on the impending doom threatening Taborea. Demon Sismond, a mysterious new force of evil in the land, has wrought pestilence and disease upon the citizens of Taborea and only by uncovering Sismond’s true motives will the land be freed from imminent destruction.

 

Starting today, players can also take part in an exciting community event – participants in the “Sightseeing Contest” have a chance to win valuable prizes including Logitech gaming mice and item packages!

 

What’s New in Chapter IV:

• Free choice of third class
• 4 expansive new regions
• Level cap raised to 67
• Over 300 challenging new quests
• Additional storage capacity for mounts and pets
• 2 demanding new instances
• Server-wide battlefields
• New Runes    
• New Public Encounter

 

 

Be sure to check out our Runes of Magic Game Profile Page for more information!

Scarlet Legacy Reveals Class Overview

Scarlet Legacy Reveals Class Overview

 

 

Games Campus revealed today the details behind the unique four hero classes in its upcoming MMORPG, Scarlet Legacy.  The classes include a powerful Warrior, the element-yielding Assassin, the attacking or healing Monk and the magical and musical Mystic.  These intriguing character classes are part of the upcoming fantasy MMORPG, based on a vibrant journey to save Princess Scarlet.  

“No matter which class players choose, they will be instantly impressed with the unique talents and skills each will bring to their gameplay experience,” said Uyen Uyen Ton Nu, head of marketing at Games Campus. “Whether a player is out to cause heavy damage with armor, martial arts and combo attacks or prefers to use spells, magic and haunting melodies to bring down an opponent, Scarlet Legacy’s characters offer it all.”

 

The Warrior is able to wear heavy armor, stands in the front-lines and is bold and direct. The Warrior’s specialty is to use inhibit enemies with intense martial arts combos, making warriors a very difficult class to ignore in combat. Even when exhausted, the Warrior can unleash endless aggression to defeat their enemies. Weapon types for the Warrior include the Spear, Mace and Hammer. Acting as a vanguard, the Warrior can help other team members by blocking enemies and absorbing damage. Their heavy armor hinders their abilities though, and as such their offensive side lacks compared to other classes.

 

The Assassin is skilled at concealed combat and relentless combos. Using water, flame, wind and thunder elementals, they can cause heavy and varied damage. Additionally, they can attack with explosions and cause all kind of effects depending on the enemy’s status. The Assassin’s weapons include the Sword, Dual-Welding Swords and Two-handed Swords. Assassins are close combat killers, and they possess skills that are not only powerful but require little time to unleash.

 

Although they are unable to wear heavy armor, Monks have the highest HP among all the character classes. They can apply spells that cause armor penetrating damage using their fist, palm, and finger. These spells not only cause heavy damage, but can also heal by stimulating the acupuncture points on the body. Their weapons include the Claw, Fist Weapons and Bracers. There are two types of Monks – Attack and Healing Monks.

 

 

The Mystic specializes in a profession that mixes magic and the tune of music.  With hidden magic, even a calm melody can kill enemies across great distances on the battlefield. The ever-changing melodies can sometimes make people highly motivated, but it can also make them feel anxious and even cause weary foes to lose their mind. It can also launch a powerful and strong assault from far-away, providing a type of artillery class. The weapons of a Mystic include the Flute, Lute and Zither. Mystics can assist to change the tides of battle. At the same time, they also deal heavy amounts of damage.

 

Be sure to take a look at all these classes in action in the Scarlet Legacy teaser trailer.