Yearly Archives: 2011

Metal Assault Preview: Blood and Babes

Metal Assault Preview: Blood and Babes

by Nic van’t Schip (Nilax), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Be sure to check out our video preview!

 

At first sight Metal Assault looks like the wet dream of any Metal Slug fanboi and fangurl. The game is wholly unapologetic about being a multiplayer version of the original arcade shooter. I know Metal Slug itself was multiplayer as well but hey, you couldn’t play with 20 of your buddies at the same time could you?

 

Metal Assault Preview

Our friends at Aeria Games are bringing this game to us and frankly it was about time we saw something new from them. They didn’t really have a side scrolling game yet so this will round out their impressive portfolio nicely.

 

The game is currently in beta still and we were not able to test the item mall. Everything else seems to work just fine however so let’s get to the testing!

 

Character Creation

Metal Assault gives you the choice between four distinctly different characters and even lets you customize them a bit, but more on that later.

 

Carl is your standard “in the middle” kind of character. He doesn’t rule at anything but he also doesn’t suck at anything. Many gamers will argue that this means he sucks at everything and rules at nothing but that’s merely a matter of perspective.

 

Metal Assault Preview

Burton is the tanky type character. He reminds me a lot of Barrett (FF7 but I didn’t have to tell you that right?) because he’s a big guy with a big gun and a black beard. Lots of people seem to play him like the Heavy in Team Fortress 2. To me it seems like he takes a serious hit in all his stats compared to Carl for a small increase in hitpoints. In fact if we count the number of little blocks on both characters we’ll see that Carl has 57 and Burton only has 51… What an interesting concept of balance huh?

 

Metal Assault Preview

Marie seems to take the cake though in the “Box Counting Competition” with a whopping 65. She’s the sniper of the team and according to her bio on the Metal Assault website she goes by the name of “Lil ‘Miss Headshot”. I can imagine that with stats like hers headshots should be quite easy. She trades about a 3rd of her hitpoints for a massive advantage in stats.

 

Metal Assault Preview

Ai is our fourth and last choice and rather than whine about her stats I want to in stead quote her background story from the Metal Assault website:

Ai’s childhood was a struggle against her perfect sister, Maii, to gain their parents’ attention. Unlike Ai, Maii excelled at everything she tried, from gymnastics to ballet to sharpshooting. Maii later became a war hero in the R.O.C. Ai’s love and jealousy grew until an incurable illness struck Maii down behind enemy lines.

 

Metal Assault Preview

Hoping to both surpass her sister’s memory and alleviate her own guilt, Ai became determined to join the R.O.C. herself. She strives to both follow in Maii’s footsteps and outperform her at every opportunity. Quick and nimble, Ai complements the team well as a forward scout.

 

Holy heavy back stories Batman, where did that curveball come from? But I guess a bit of family intrigue, guilt and a healthy inferiority complex has never hurt a game’s lore. I could mention FF7 again here but you get my point.

Gameplay

Getting Metal Assault to run and play perfectly can be a bit of a hassle. I know LOTS of people who had no problem what so ever but the OnRPG team was unlucky I guess. Some of the other writers were unable to get it to run at all and I had to mess about with the sound settings to get it to behave well. We could have simply had some bad luck and the game IS still in beta so we hope these issues won’t plague the game when it releases.

 

Once in the game you are asked if you want to take part in a Tutorial which I accepted. While being extremely basic and perhaps a tad slowly paced this part of the game does do a good job of showing that Metal Assault has character and a real sense of humor. The drill instructor type dude that is guiding us through the exercises cracks a joke or two and does a pretty effective job of teaching me how to run, jump, crouch, shoot and grenade my way through the game.

The first quest he sends me on my way with is obviously designed to teach me how the shop and item system works in the game. For a side scrolling shooter the quest system seems fairly sturdy and the “Town” is nice and busy with lots of players… or is it?

 

Metal Assault Preview

Most of the people in this screenshot seem to be bots, people that logged off with a certain message clogging up the town interface. It does a good job of populating the town I guess so let’s not fret on this too much.

 

But now I’m eager to get to the real shooting. Via a lobby system we can join or start games. When I was online two maps in particular seemed extremely popular; Cursed Forest and Great Escape. Cursed Forest is a static map in which you have to defend your base camp against a constant onslaught of Zombies and Great Escape is a basement which, the name says it, you have to escape from.

 

Metal Assault Preview

As you can see in our game play video, the tactic of spawn camping in Cursed Forest is both extremely popular as well as ridiculously effective. The zombies simply aren’t powerful or numerous enough until the last couple of rounds of each game to really endanger the players and this is a bit of a shame. This results in 80% of a game being a basic grinding exercise with only the last couple of rounds turning into the hectic and epic shooting and running that we expect from this game.

 

Again, as this is only the beta of the game I really hope that Aeria gets the developer to tweak this a bit. Two or three easy rounds at the beginning of a game would be nice as a warm-up but the majority of a game should feel like a challenge and not just the last two rounds.

 

PvP is extremely hectic and if it’s your kind of thing I can imagine it’ll be good for a lot of fun!
It will be interesting to see what the item mall will have in store (puns always intended) for this game and a couple of weeks after the game launched officially we’ll be back with a full on review!

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta Starts Tonight

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta Starts Tonight

 

Chronicles of Merlin, Koramgame’s newest browser game combines the best of the strategy and RPG genres. Tonight at 21:00 (EST), Merlin’s rift in time will open and players will find themselves thrust into battle with the greatest heroes of all time.

 

Merlin will bring you to the magical land of Westmore, his flawed attempt at recreating ancient Europe, where only the strong survive. In the chaotic and war-torn Westmore, you’ll need friends and allies. As you adventure through Merlin’s alternate reality, you’ll meet heroes and villains like Robin Hood, Dracula, and Genghis Khan, among others, who you can recruit to join your army.

 

Features of Chronicles of Merlin:

 

I. Battle Formations
“Every battle is won before it is ever fought.”

Over the course of the campaign’s 10 chapters, you’ll face hundreds of enemy heroes, each one commanding an army more dastardly than the last. Aside from traditional Infantry, Archer, and Cavalry troops you’ll also have Warlocks, Mages, and Siege Ballista to contend with. Fortunately, you will have a powerful tool in your arsenal to use against the dynamic foes in your path: Formations.

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

Aside from letting you control hero position on the battlefield, each formation also gives a specific bonus to your heroes, from increasing magic or physical damage to increasing tactical defense. A keen understanding of how to choose formations and position your heroes will become one of your most powerful weapons on your adventures through Westmore.

 

 

II. Heroes

Heroes are the core of your military and serve as the most critical factor of your overall strategy. Each hero commands their own group of loyal soldiers, so they are permanently linked with a specific soldier type. You’ll want to consider both the soldier type and any special gambits each hero has when recruiting. Heroes all have differently roles; some can tank astounding amounts of damage, some deal critical damage to a single target, others can damage all enemy targets, a select few can even act as healers. The strategic possibilities are endless!

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

Any boss in the campaign can eventually be recruited as a hero in your army, but most of the heroes of Westmore are fiercely independent and won’t join you without a fight. The stubborn ones may require a few beatings before recognizing your superiority. Just keep defeating these bosses until you receive the hero tokens required to recruit them.

 

 

III. Mercenaries and Alliances

A special challenge awaits players at the end of each chapter in the form of a boss legion. These large scale battles require cooperation between multiple players to complete, but give extra battle points and rewards for the extra trouble. If you can’t find players to join you, you can hire a few Mercenaries which have been especially trained to help lone wolves take on the legion battles in the campaign.

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

However, the adage that strength lies in numbers holds true in Chronicles of Merlin. With a strong alliance, you won’t have to shell out for mercenaries during campaign legion battles. Additionally, you’ll gain some allies in your constant struggle to defend farms and silver mines. The strongest alliances will be able to seize control of coveted plantations and provide daily grain bonuses to all their members. With the potential for epic alliance battles with up to 500 heroes with up to 1 million soldiers, you’ll want to sign up for a strong alliance right away to get a piece of the action.

 

 

IV. Turf Wars

Every inch of land in Westmore is bought with the sweat and blood of thousands of soldiers. However, the vast resources to be reaped from silver mines, farms, and plantations across the land, makes the cost seem a small price to pay. Even if you try to develop peacefully in your own city and avoid attacking others, your enemies aren’t likely to afford you the same courtesy. You’ll need to get out there and stake a claim on at least one silver mine and a farm to stay strong.

 

Chronicles of Merlin Closed Beta

 

All key resources can be plundered through battle, including grain, silver, battle points, and prestige. The struggle to control the limited resources of Europe spares no man, and inspires one-on-one PvP clashes, alliance battles, and even kingdom warfare. Remember, only the strong survive in Westmore.

 

Stayed tuned as OnRPG will defiitely be getting our hands on this game soon for a full featured review.

 

Chronicles of Merlin

Merlin is up to his magical mischief again, and this time he’s created a catastrophic rift in time. In Chronicles of Merlin, players are caught in the rift and transported back to Merlin’s alternate reality alongside the greatest heroes and villains of all history. In a land called Westmore where the strong rule with an iron fist over the weak, you’ll need to rally heroes to your side and quickly make some allies to survive.

 

Chronicles of Merlin exists as a real-time strategy browser based MMORPG. You build an army through detailed formation selection (that works similarly to selecting plays in football games) and the development of your powerful Hero characters.

 

The game offers you plenty of pve situations to hone your skills and acquire the basic resources required to go toe-to-toe with other players. Each quest consists of multiple missions culminating in a ‘legion boss’ that will require you to join forces with multiple other players to overcome a dastardly titan or great military force.

 

All of this though is just training for the meat and potatos of Chronicles of Merlin, the pvp. Land across Europe can be captured and reaped for resources. Though it is possible to own and protect your own small plot of land, to gain true wealth you will need to team up with a clan and attempt to conquer all the lands of Europe. Fighting is fierce and only the most honed and tatically minded leaders will come out on top. Will you be among them?

Grand Epic Online Enters Closed Beta

Grand Epic Online Enters Closed Beta

 

Grand Epic Online(GEO), an innovative 2.5D browser MMORPG presented by Run Up Information Technology Corp, is to launch its CB today, April 27th! This innovative MMORPG with real-time group action fighting has received great initial reviews from users in last week’s trial run.

 

Grand Epic Online Preview

 

Originally, the limit of players allowed in the trial test was set at 500. However the queue to enter this test went beyond the expectations of the developers. As such they have increased their servers bandwidth and will be more prepared to cater to the large number of players entering the closed beta test.

 

OnRPG has taken an initial look into this game and was surprised by the sheer amount of depth they have managed to offer with no client download. Besides incorporating a pet/mount system, GEO seems to be delivering a complex character development system, with a number of oriental philosophic concepts being used to provide various ways to enhance the character’s power. A few examples of this involve reincarnation, dual immortal practice, and the path of enlightenment, each offering a specific way of self-strengthening.

 

Grand Epic Online Preview

 

OnRPG will be taking a closer look next month to see just how well these features pan out and work together to build into a total game package. In the meantime check out our game profile for more information on GEO’s many features. I am skeptical myself but if GEO manages to incorporate all it has promised, it could be a surprise hit of 2011.

Spiral Knights: Nostalgia Made New

Spiral Knights: Nostalgia Made New

By Michael Sagoe (mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

The Clockworks are in full rotation as Three Ring Design (with some help from Sega) released a brand new multiplayer adventure called Spiral Knights. Through the power of JAVA based programming, Spiral Knights mixes classic dungeon crawling with tons of MMO goodness, all working within your internet browser!

 

Spiral Knights Review

Crash landing on a strange planet, you and a bunch of other knights must explore the world that waits below them in order to build a new ship and make it back home (or wherever they were going…)

 

 

For starters: Creating your knights gives you a small but adequate amount of choices, along with different color schemes that will stick with you depending on the different armors you will be equipping later on.

 

The game gets you up to speed with a control scheme that is incredibly simple. So simple, in fact, that you can play the game with one hand: Hold left mouse button in a general direction to move, press left mouse button to attack and use the scroll wheel to switch weapons.
You can also use keyboard for more options such as blocking and using vials. Controls for keyboard & mouse work great, but the lack of gamepad support is fairly disappointing considering the game could easily pass as a console title.

 

 

The amount of weapon types at your disposal is small, but the variations between each one is vast. Each sword, gun and bomb type work differently and have different attributes, such as Cutters that can perform lighting fast attacks or the slow and powerful hatchets that can cause a stun effects with heavy blows. This will give players a small amount of strategy before heading into dungeons, but you’ll most likely find one or two weapon and armor sets that will work best for you depending on which tier you’ve reached.

 

 

My personal favorite was the Autogun because it looks suspiciously like a Nerf Maverick.

 

Spiral Knights Review

 

Spiral Knights Review

Awesome.

 

 

The overall presentation of Spiral Knights screams “nostalgia” at every turn. The visual style and level designs look like they came straight out of a Legend of Zelda game. There is also some pleasant and epic music with a 16-bit vibe.

 

 

The difficulty curve for each dungeon seems to be nice and appropriate: Tier 1 dungeons are a cakewalk, Tier 2 dungeons get a little more complicated and Tier 3 dungeons requires some serious skill, patience and teamwork. Venturing through each dungeon is as simple as defeating a couple of enemies in one area, moving on to the next area, fight some more enemies, find some treasures and head for the exit. It’s nice and simple, just like a dungeon crawler should be.

 

 

Most of the monsters you will do battle against are fairly predictable to take down, but when you have to deal with huge mobs of them, battles tend to get fairly frustrating at times.

 

 

One common mistake that most action/adventure games have when setting difficulty curves is when they simply give enemies higher HP and higher attack power instead of making them smarter, but enemies in Spiral Knights do indeed get smarter at higher difficulties. This is especially true of gremlins that will dodge bullets like crazy and run away to heal themselves when they are low on health.

 

Spiral Knights Review

As fun as adventuring into the Clockworks can be, the biggest issue with Spiral Knights is a lack of content and the energy system.

 

 

While you are essentially not required to buy anything with real money, the energy system in Spiral Knights serves as an elevator key, a crafting substance and a pseudo-fatigue system. Energy is used for just about everything, and you will need to keep your energy up by either buying some with real money or by exchanging your hard earned crowns (in-game currency) for some.

 

For anyone that’s willing to drop in a few bucks from time to time, having a constant supply of energy will be no problem, but for anyone that doesn’t want to pay will have two problems: When all their mist energy (free rechargeable energy) is gone, they’ll have to exchange their crowns for crystal energy to continue venturing the dungeons while potentially missing out on being able to purchase new equipment and recipes for a while, or they will simply have to wait up to 22 hours for their mist energy to refill back to 100.

 

 

Of course, there is somewhat of a solution to the first problem, and that’s heading back to the surface and selling your stuff, but it will usually be stuff that you’ll need to craft your own equipment to continue on, so the dirty cycle continues. The current energy system only gives free players around two hours of play time, and that’s only if they don’t they don’t screw up and die constantly, forcing them to spend more energy to revive themselves or hope that other players are willing to use their energy to revive them.

 

Spiral Knights Review

 

Not to mention: Energy costs for reviving double each time.

 

 

If you’re looking for a casual experience, Spiral Knights will be perfect for you. However, there isn’t enough content here to keep a power player busy, especially with the lack of content stemming from the lack of different stages to explore. The Clockworks promises to have tons of new stages to explore, but in truth, many stages you visit are simply re-tooled with different monsters to fight against.

 

Spiral Knights Review

Did you enjoy playing that fire themed stage over and over again? Well good, because now you get to play an incredibly similar stage with an ice theme!

 

 

Just to give you a general idea about how much content we are dealing with here: Some players have already been spotted with 5-star equipment, which is supposedly endgame equipment and the game has only been out for a couple of weeks…

 

 

One thing I really got to say, though: The community in Spiral Knights is probably one of the nicest online communities I have ever played with. Everyone playing acts like a total bro, always there to lend a hand and everyone is always doing their best to conquer dungeons with you. I have never come across one rude player. Not one! But then again, the game is centered on PvE, so the community has no reason to be full of elitists or anything like that

 

 

Overall: Spiral Knights is a great game to those looking for a casual pacing and a bit of nostalgic gaming. Those that are looking for a much more extensive experience will probably have to wait awhile for more content to roll in, and judging by the constant amount of updates being churned out by Three Ring Design, that shouldn’t be too far off.

 

 

Pros:

Zelda style dungeon crawler
Browser game; can be played on almost any PC
Clean visuals
Nostalgic 16-bit music

 

Cons:

No official gamepad support
Lack of content
Energy system needs a bit of retooling

 

PlayStation Network and Qriocity Compromised

Playstation Network and Qriocity Compromised

 

Although it is outside our normal realm of coverage at OnRPG, we needed to get the word out. If you are a user of the Playstation Network or Qriocity, your account information including passwords, birthdate, billing address, and other provided information has likely been accessed by a skilled hacker that broke through the Playstation security protocols between April 17 and April 19th.

 

Playstation is pulling out all stops in securing their network and they have hired a third party security firm to figure out how this crime was committed and who was behind it. Playstation and Qriocity services will be down in the meantime until security is confirmed.

 

To our readers, please take the time to check with your financial institutions and be sure that no unusual activity has taken place on your card. Although it is not certain how much information the hacker was able to acquire, it never hurts to error on the side of caution!

 

 

GEO: Grand Epic Online

Grand Epic Online is one of the most detail oriented browser based Fantasy MMORPGs on the market. The game plays like an old school 2.5D dungeon crawler but in beautiful traditional asian themed graphics that almost seem too good to be completely hosted within a browser. All the action is face-paced and cut throat. You had better use your 9 hot keys well, as danger lurks around every turn.

 

The game offers great character customization with a huge number of character attributes you can strengthen to build the ultimate fighting machine. These stats can be increased in the typical grinding and questing method, however you can also use the various unique systems to gain power such as reincarnation, dual immortal practice, and a journey of Enlightenment. Powerful titles can also be obtained as a result of these side missions, unlocking your character’s full power. All this must be mastered and utilized if you wish to rise the ranks as one of the top player killers around.

 

Grand Epic Online features wonderful record keeping, allowing you to keep track of the total number of monsters and players you have slain in your adventures. You can even see how many times you have died, what your total elemental affinity is, and what your prestige rests at, all in the click of a button. It’s surprising that a browser game has gotten this right while so many client based MMORPGS still lack the same features!

 

Grand Epic Online even features a full blown crafting system for those who tire of meditation and battle!

 

 

LEGO Universe Goes Big, Major Updates!

LEGO Universe Goes Big, Major Updates

 

LEGO Universe is rolling out a huge round of content updates next week, with major expansions to explore and new features to inspire. On May 3, players must band together to tackle a cooperative building challenge; a month-long mission to complete the construction of the Nexus Tower. LEGO Universe will also add a fiery hot racetrack, exclusive racing vehicles and bigger Property worlds, with new capabilities – like placing pets on your personal property and bringing them to life! All of this, plus tons of new models, missions, rewards and more, are headed to LEGO Universe next week.

 

It takes a village… to raise a Nexus Tower

An upcoming community building mission will have all minifigures in the LEGO Universe working together to help assemble the greatest in-game creation yet – Nexus Tower! Currently under construction, the Nexus Tower will protect the Nexus of Imagination from Maelstrom enemy forces upon completion.

 

LEGO Universe Nexus

 

To finish the Tower, the heroic Nexus Force needs help. Well, actually, they need more bricks! An urgent donation drive begins next week, and players will have one month to complete the task. Only a truly collaborative effort will make Nexus Tower a reality, to serve as a beacon of light and hope to minifigures across the LEGO Universe! The cause is nobler than ever, and the Nexus Force is calling on players to contribute bricks as soon as possible, before the Maelstrom snuffs out Imagination forever.

 

 

Throughout the month-long challenge, stop by Nimbus Station Race Place to drop off bricks at the Nexus Force donation machine. Generous donors will earn achievements and rare one-time-only rewards.

 

Hot new racetrack, cool new cars

Beginning next week, players can outrace the Maelstrom itself, on a fiery new racetrack – the most challenging yet in LEGO Universe! Players will venture deep within the dangerous, dragon-filled depths of Forbidden Valley to find the Dragonmaw Chasm racetrack, complete with a slew of new missions and some super-hot rewards. Skilled survivors can unlock new achievements, along with racecars like the Fire Brawl and Mach Lava.

 

LEGO Universe Nexus

 

Eight exclusive vehicles, coming to LEGO Universe next week, will give players a speedy new way to flaunt their Faction pride and get in the racing spirit this month! Designed in true Nexus Force fashion, the sleek new cars and rockets are representative of the four Factions found in LEGO Universe, including the powerful Sentinels, daring Venture League, creative Assembly and mysterious Paradox.

 

Property worlds: Bigger, Better, Fuzzier

Two highly-anticipated property updates are also major news this month, giving players more space to build and new ways to bring their creations – and pets – to life in LEGO Universe. A huge new property world was just discovered in Nimbus Station, and will be accessible when Nimbus Isle debuts next week. For players with Block Yards bursting at the brim, Nimbus Isle will offer the largest real estate yet, complete with remarkable LEGO ocean views.

 

LEGO Universe Nexus

 

And it gets better! Beginning next week, players will be able to place pets on their in-game properties and bring them alive with behaviors. There is no telling what amazing animal masterpieces the LEGO Universe will dream up, and players can draw even more inspiration from new Zoo and Safari-themed model sets, available next week from the model vendor in Nimbus Station.

 

Age of Empires Online First Look

Age of Empires Online First Look

By Michael Dunaway (Spunkify), OnRPG Forum Manager

 

Remember Age of Empires? Well if you consider yourself any sort of RTS buff you should. The Age of Empires series in the past has been one of the most successful RTS franchises (yes there have been other popular RTS franchises other then Starcraft). The originals have won countless awards and have solidified themselves in the RTS hall of fame.

 

Age of Empires Online Preview

 

Being an old Age of Empires fan myself, I was quite excited to hear that a new Age of Empires Online title was coming out, and better yet for free! I will admit I was a bit skeptical as to how well the new game would turn out, but after getting the chance to play around with it a bit in the open beta I am confident where it is headed.

 

 

Age of Empires Online combines a progressive MMO setting with a traditional RTS single player and Multiplayer. This is all accomplished with the introduction of the player’s home town. At the start of the game you are asked to choose a nation (currently only one nation is playable) and name your home town. This town serves as your base of operations as you take up quests offered up by different citizens in your town.

 

Age of Empires Online Preview

 

The quests themselves play out like your typical single player RTS campaign missions. They give you a few objectives and some starting resources and town folk to work with. Everything plays out just like it did in the original AoE titles but with an added layer of MMO sprinkled on top. Whereas the traditional Age of Empires introduced you to new unit types as you progressed. Age of Empires online allows you to complete missions to unlock new items and structures within your home town. On top of this your home town also levels up giving you access to the three skill trees to spend your skill points in. The skills range from opening up new unit types, to allowing your workers to build buildings faster or gather resources quicker. I can definitely see a huge potential for strategy here as players customize their home town to match their personal tactics.

 

Age of Empires Online Preview

 

I have yet to get a chance to test out the multiplayer components but I am curious to see how they play out. I do worry that because of the need to level up in order to gain access to new skill points and unlocks, newer players looking to play more than just the quests early on may be at a huge disadvantage. Still the game is being developed by some of the original creators of Age of Empires. So with any luck we will have a great free to play RTS with some awesome MMO elements mixed in! Be sure to check back in to OnRPG for new updates and a full review!