Yearly Archives: 2012

Bless Online

Purchased from Aeria games by Neowiz studios, Bless Online is an MMORPG.

Business Model: Free to Play

Microtransactions: Yes – Cosmetics such as costumes, and convenience items such as XP and gathering rate boosters.

Key Features:

Races: The currently available races are:

Hieron: Habichts, Sylvan Elf, Lupus

Union: Amistad, Aqua Elf, Pantera

Neutral/Either: Mascu

Additional races may be introduced early 2019.

Classes: Berserker, Guardian, Ranger, Mage, Paladin, Assassin are currently implemented. Plans for 2 more classes, Mystic and Warlock, have been announced.

Crafting: From Alchemy to Weaponsmithing, Bless Online offers a wide variety of useful craft skills.

Taming: Over 660 unique tamable species can be turned into useful allies.

RVR: Choose a side in an epic war between the Hieron and Union factions in up to 100v100 battles.

Pockie Pirates – Nautical Tactics beyond Expectations

Pockie Pirates – Nautical Tactics beyond Expectations

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

This free-to-play sidescroller browser game comes along the same vein of its sister game Pockie Ninja, but with a focus on One Piece instead of Bleach and Naruto. Pirates or Ninjas, is an endless discussion that has been forever on the internets. Those siding with pirates can now rejoice that One Piece is getting its chance to shine. However if you immediately assume that Pockie Pirates is just a reskin, you’d be wrong. Pockie Pirates’ gameplay is unique and quite a change-up.

 

 

When creating your first character you get the choice between four different classes. The first option is the Great Swordsman; just as the name would most likely tell you he is very skillful with the use of swords. The Sniper offers ranged damage with heavy guns. The Navigator brings in the magical ranged damage for those not fond of heavy weaponry. Last but not least the Doctor offers healing and support skills to round out any balanced group. After making the simple choice of which class to play and which gender you prefer, you’re thrown into an extended tutorial. Through a small story I learned the responsibility that comes with being a pirate. The tutorial explains the mission system, how to equip items as well as the basic crafting system. And after clearing every mission I had the choice to choose between five different cards. These cards all had one unique item that I could win, but since you can only choose one you will have to be lucky to win the item you want the most.

 

[page]

 

When you are done with this advanced and fairly long tutorial you are given your own war ship. Together with your crew you will set sail to a new island and begin a new quest. Once you get to the second island you will be learn the ropes of managing a crew. You are able to hire new crewmembers, level them and use them in different formations. This will help you set up a strategy to counter-play  your foes with; classes and positioning proved to be key in overcoming the tougher opponents in Pockie Pirates.

 

 

When killing time between missions you are also able to train your crewmembers to boost their stats and skills. This of course applies to your personal character as well. Pockie Pirates boosts numerous daily events from dailies to challenges to team battles and even legion battles for the ultimate Pockie Pirate experience.

 

 

Conclusion

Pockie Pirates is something completely different than I had expected based on the NGames series. Tactics seem much more important and varied compared to Pockie Ninja and the in-depth story was a definite plus. I found the progression of my crew to be quite engaging for a browser title, and my decisions seemed to hold a much larger sway in the outcome of battles as compared to Pockie Ninja. Overall I really enjoyed playing this game… even though it is about pirates. NINJAS YEAH!

On E-sports – MLG Dallas

On E-sports – MLG Dallas

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 


Last weekend it was time for yet another Major League Gaming event and this time the event was held in Dallas! Previous events hosted in Dallas always had a rough time of starting up with many technical difficulties, and to keep the spirits up the event was yet again delayed for only a small time. The curse that exists in the Dallas region for Major League Gaming seems to fade away a little each year, and with Sandy slamming the East Coast it was expected some of the competitors would be unable to make it. Not to be deterred MLG ensured ground transportation to get every competitor to the arena on schedule.

 

 

As an e-sports fan, I had my bag of chips and energy drink ready to watch all the sweet games that were waiting for me. As a fan of both League of Legends and Starcraft 2 I was prepared for amazing games and boy did we have it lucky; this weekend was full of surprises and nail biters that created an overwhelming amount of energy from the fans both at home and in attendance. Let’s kick things off with a recap of the popular real time strategy game Starcraft 2!

 

 

The boys are back in town! – Starcraft 2

Unfortunately I never really had any connection with Starcraft Brood War at all, but I did hear the legends of the many Korean pro’s that played these amazing games up to date and are crowned kings and gods in the land of E-sports. Waiting for this event I was curious to see what the results would be for these legendary players. Since this was actually the first real event where they were familiar with the game I couldn’t wait to see these legendary old school players picking a fight with the ‘new generation’ that have played Starcraft 2 since the beta. Almost every noticeable player in the Starcraft scene came to this event in Dallas in the hopes of taking some prize money home. Unfortunately yet again the Korean scene shows the outside world why they are the dominating nationality in the Starcraft 2 scene. But of all the competitors, all eyes were focused on Flash, a master of Brood War who has taken like a duck to water adapting to the changes in Starcraft 2. Would he hold things down as expected against such stiff competition?

 

 

As the weekend progressed the scene became dismal for any competitor not trained in the Korean scene. In the top 16 only one foreigner made it in, Naniwa, who ironically has spent the last year training in Korea. Though making a name for himself in GSL, he has been in a long slump and hasn’t been heard from much recently as he went into a hermit-style journey to find his roots. After he ‘relearned’ the game, people were curious to see this new Naniwa play. Boy were we given a show in his triumphant return as he not only blazed into the top 16 but gave Flash a run for his money in multiple matches. The King of the North showed some us how he earned his title and restored some faith to the foreign community.

 

 

However Naniwa was a definite exception to the rule. The unusual number of Korean legends attending MLG came hard and crushed the hopes of foreign competitors one after another. Many fan favorites unfortunately fell in the open bracket and only a few names made it into the championship bracket to fall after only a few rounds. Names like MajOr, Grubby, Ret, Huk, Suppy, Scarlett, Thorzain, mOOnGLaDe, IdrA and BabyKnight all got into the championship bracket but failed to win any prize money at all. The rest of the brackets were filled with the many Koreans the foreign community had to face, but unfortunately they were no match for the gods of the east. And it was no real surprise at all that the previous GSL winner ‘Life’ got ahead of everyone and even slayed the God of Starcraft 2 to crown himself the winner of the 2012 MLG Fall Championship, earning $25,000. Closely followed by Leenock who showed a great fight against Life but he unfortunately lost the game with only one map win difference who took home $15,000. The God of Broodwar got a shared third place with Bomber, another legendary player that we have seen win many events before. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on Flash in the future as his ability to place third with only half a year of practice marks him as a true prodigy of the growing Starcraft 2 scene.

 

 

League of Legends

With many team transfers, ‘benches’ and drama, MLG Dallas is timed perfectly to see what’s going on behind the scenes with various teams in the off-season. MLG Dallas would witness some prominent rematches between the best of NA and EU coming to reclaim some lost glory against the Korean teams that dominated the championships.

 

 

We saw some really unexpected results during these tournaments due to last minute changes in line-ups. HotShotGG, the team captain of CLG Prime, benched Voyboy only a week before the event, and took in Locodoco the experienced AD Carry to take their new available support role just a week before the event which was a big surprise for many fans. Their sister team CLG.EU decided to take a break after the championships and Krepo, the team support, was still on holiday during this important event. Many of the other team players also took their holiday and even snoopeh, the team’s jungler, admitted to having not touched the game for a few weeks. To their favor Krepo’s fill-in demonstrated his skill beyond expectations. I’m of course talking about JREE, a Swedish player at 2500 ELO that contacted the team via their site’s forums. Meanwhile NA favorite Team SoloMid had a rough time adjusting to the rigid desk stations after having spent many recent weeks playing on couches with laptops due to a recent relocation to San Francisco. With these major shake-ups fans eagerly anticipated an unpredictable tournament.

 

 

Since the League of Legends composition is a little different than Starcraft 2, only eight teams battled it out on the main stage between each other. This smaller tournament makes a one bracket system more favorable. Unfortunately, League of Legends is suffering from some of the growing pains Starcraft 2 experienced a few years ago. Because of poor planning and scheduling only half of the games were casted, and we didn’t see many of the first round games that were looking very promising. With only half of the games shown to the public, there was already a big surprise that many of us missed. CLG.EU had already dropped to the lower bracket of the competition with a loss against Dignitas. Apparently, Dignitas was looking very strong as they practiced really hard after their poor showing at the championship and came to Dallas with vengeance on their minds and a spirit to prove their value as real contenders.

 

 

CLG NA showed their lack of preparation as well, being obliterated by the ruthless aggressive playstyle of NaJin Swords made famous during the Season 2 championships. In the second round, the other two North American teams were also shown their place and unfortunately fell to the Lower Bracket to face their friends and big competitors. Unfortunately TSM’s spirit seemed broken by their initial loss, falling out of the tournament without putting up much of a fight against CLG.EU. CLG NA also recovered by defeating Dignitas, who despite making a strong showing in day 1 fell a game short of taking the win in round 2. Next up, both the CLG teams had to duke it out in front of the big crowd at the League of Legends main stage. The EU team was heavily favored in this match-up, leaving the crowd speechless when NA CLG held nothing back, pulling a crushing victory in game 1. CLG.EU was unphased and  adjusted their tactics to pull a 2 to 1 victory over their sister team when the dust settled. I highly recommend checking out game 3 of this match-up as one of the most exciting matches in the entire weekend of events.

 

 

Unfortunately this weak showing against their NA sister team should have been seen as a sign of weakness as the arrival of Azubu Blaze in the Lower Bracket spelt doom for CLG’s run. Azubu Blaze returned to grace against NaJin Sword delivered their prior loss. The crowd watched anxiously as Azubu Blaze took to the main stage in their rematch with NaJin Sword. Would NaJin’s unstoppable aggressive style go unopposed in MLG Dallas?

 

 

After showing some very strong plays, Azubu Blaze struck back and forced NaJin into the extended series. Victory after victory landed in Azubu Blaze’s lap as they sealed their title with an emphatic pentakill to end the final match, winning 4 to 1 and taking home $16,000 in prize money!

Stalker Online – Enter the Zone

Stalker Online – Enter the Zone

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Stalker Online is a MMORPG set in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe that we have come to love thanks to games such as Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Skies. The game is a third-person shooter with many RPG elements that help bring the Zone to life. Developed by Cybertime Systems, a team of young and talented Russians. This is a game that must be played if you have ever played any of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

 

 

The Story

In Stalker Online, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster acted as the catalyst to the creation of the Zone. The Zone is an area surrounding the accident site where the laws of physics and reality no longer rule. Within the zone, mutants are as common as the animals we know from the real world. Anomalies with the ability to kill a man in an instant are found everywhere. And within the Zone, the greatest treasure known to man – Artifacts – are born.

 

 

Anomalies and Artifacts play a large role in Stalker Online. Anomalies are found everywhere within the Zone. Chances are you will not walk for longer than a minute before coming across one or more. The anomalies in the zone have a chance to give birth to artifacts. Artifacts are items that have been imbued with special properties that will often benefit those that possess it.

 

 

This is where you come in. You come in to the world as a Stalker. Stalker is the name given to the artifact hunters that sneak in to the Zone. Labeled as outlaws and thieves, the Stalkers are on their own within the Zone. This has given rise to a special kind of law that exists within the Zone, similar to that which existed in the Old West of the United States. It is every man for himself in the Zone.

 

 

Life in the Zone

Life in the Zone is rough. It takes a special kind of person to withstand the hardships that are constantly thrown at you. From the constant onslaught of anomalies, to worrying about being murdered by your fellow Stalkers and the never ending threat of being attacked by vicious mutants, you will rarely have a break.

 

 

Stalker Online stays true to the world we became familiar with in the original single player games. The maps are big and fun to explore. The world tells a story with its inspiring landscapes. There are plenty of possibilities that make for a rich experience not easily forgotten. I usually do not role play, but I often found myself getting in to character whenever I came across another player and they were happy to oblige, doing the same.

 

 

It is possible to buy Golden Rubles with real money that you can then use to buy items from the cash shop. The cash shop features powerful weapons and a large selection of cosmetic items. There are also scopes and flashlights. The good news is you can get just about every gun from the cash shop via the in-game shops as well. By going to the special artifact trader located in bases, you can buy weapons and armor on par with that of the cash shop. These items require artifacts to buy, which are not hard to farm. It may take you a week if you do it lazily. Maybe two days if you do it actively.

 

 

Not everything in the Zone is great. The biggest issue I came across was the poor translations that make it very hard to understand some quests. At times this gets to the point of being completely incomprehensible. There are even parts of the game that have not been translated at all and are still in Russian. Despite this, it’s still an amazing experience.

 

[page]

 

Customization

Right now, there is not much customization while making your character. I believe you are limited to just choosing between two skin colors. Outside of that, there are lots of clothes and armors for you to wear to give your character its own personality.

 

 

Stalker Online is skill based, and you are given a lot of freedom in your choices. The skills are split into three trees: Combat, Survival and Support. Combat is pretty self-explanatory. Survival ranges from giving your character more damage resistance and health, to making him better at spotting anomalies. Support is for increasing your ability to repair items or craft new ones, making you better able to carry stuff, and making you better at using medkits. And if you decide you want to change things up, you can do it easily. Every few days, you have the ability to reset your skills for free.

 

 

 

The World

The world is beautiful with very few flaws. The landscapes were very nice and leave most players in awe. Combined with the atmospheric effects, such as fog and rain, this made for a very pleasant experience exploring the land. There are a few bugged textures, though. And the occasional tear in the world.

 

 

The user interface, while not perfect, is not hard on the eye. It works well and is designed to fit with the game’s theme. Not a thing I can think of to change, really. Maybe the ability to re-arrange it more freely?

 

 

All-in-all, the world in Stalker Online is one of the best I have seen. It may not have graphics on par with Skyrim, though it definitely has its own charm. They get the job done while providing the proper mood for a game focused on survival.

 

 

The Controls

Stalker Online has your traditional RPG stuff. There are keys to open up your equipment, inventory, skills and quest. The 1-9 keys can be used as hotkeys to use items. Nothing new there. However, due to the uniqueness of the game, there are a few new things. An example being the ability to throw stones with the Q key to test for anomalies, which can sometimes be invisible until it is too late. Everything is pretty simple and easy to understand without requiring much tutorial.

 

 

The over-the-shoulder aiming works well and is quite smooth. Combined with the fluid movement and easy transition to scope view, this makes for superb combat. Not a bad thing to say about this game in the area of controls. It did everything well and there is nothing to complain about.

 

 

Your Fellow Stalkers

It is a dangerous place, the Zone. There are very few places where you will find safety. Most places are full, open PvP areas. You are more likely to stop and exchange greetings with your fellow Stalkers, rather than start shooting. There is an unspoken code between the players that you do not kill each other unless you have to. Of course, there are some bad apples. Fortunately these are few and far between.

 

 

There is a lot of content that will encourage you and your friends to work together. Such as the awesome beasts that populate portions of the map. You won’t feel like a true Stalker until you and five of your friends get together to hunt down a massive bear.

 

 

There were a few areas that had me scratching my head, though. Such as allowing Game Masters to play as regular players. The Senior Game Master for the English server runs a clan that is at odds with most everyone else, including newbie clans. There are even claims of players being banned for no apparent reason, other than the Game Master not liking them.

 

 

Another thing I was confused about was the forums rules. You are not allowed to post new threads unless you send an administrator a personal message beforehand and get an OK. If you do not get permission, you will be banned for a day without warning. I could not understand why this rule exists.

 

 

It does appear that the developers do not care much for the English community. This is most likely due to the language barrier, as all the developers are native Russian speakers and very few of them appear to speak English. This is bad because anyone in a position of power seems to use google translate to communicate with the players. This means it is very hard for players to relate problems to the developers.

 

[page]

 

Death is Not the End

When you are killed in Stalker Online, you get two options. You can choose to revive or you can rest. Reviving will instantly teleport you to the last fire you visited, with the chance of having one of the items in your inventory drop on to the ground. Resting will make you wait for a period of time and then bring you back to life where you fell. During this time, players can come up to you and use a medkit to instantly bring you back, or they can murder you. Murdering a player, much like using the revive options, has a chance of them dropping one of their items.

 

 

If you rest, you will get a special debuff that limits you to 1/3rd of your health until you visit a fire to rest. These debuffs will continue to stack until then, each one adding an extra ten seconds to the thirty second timer. So, if you have three stacks of the resting debuff, you will have to wait one minute to rest. It is not possible to get your health past 1/3rd with this debuff, even while using medkits.

 

 

Clans and Factions

Just like in the single player games, factions play a big role in the Zone. They control territory and offer benefits to their members. There are both NPC factions, and player-made clans.

 

 

A big part of the clan side of the game is bases. Bases are locations that can be controlled by player-made clans that offer special benefits to whoever owns it. These benefits are a place to respawn that is near good locations, a localized storage, and an NPC that offers special items that cannot be found elsewhere.

 

 

Base warfare happens every Saturday. For two hours, every base becomes vulnerable to attack and can be taken by enemy clans. Included are fortifications, smaller versions of bases that can only be taken if you already own a base. The fortifications are on a separate timer than bases, so they are vulnerable at different times. It is a planned feature to give clans the ability to develop and upgrade their bases and fortifications to offer further benefits.

 

 

The one gripe I have in this area is the completely overpowered NPC guards. These NPCs protect bases and must be killed if you want to capture them. The NPCs will always hit you as long as you are within range and line-of-sight. This can be very annoying and has been known to cause mass genocide of newbies.

 

 

Conclusion

Stalking Online is a game with a lot of potential. The biggest negative about it is the lack of communication between the developers and their English speaking players. I have been having a blast in this game ever since I downloaded it and I cannot wait to see how it develops in the future. Cybertime Systems has done a great job with this game so far; let’s hope they keep it up. I fully recommend that fans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, or anyone who enjoys a big open world, give it a try.

Cyber Monster Online

Cyber Monster is a turn-based MMORPG played in your browser. Choose between warrior, mage, cleric, or ranger for your class, and adventure across the colorful land as you seek to stop the evil of the Shadow Dragon. Along the way, you’ll collect mini-pets, mounts, and equipment that will help you challenge tougher monsters. If you’re short on time, you can also participate in a variety of daily events designed to give you an additional boost.

 

 

Features

Four Classes: Will you be a powerful warrior, a wily mage, a pious priest, or a ranger skilled with the bow? Each class has different function, skills, and equipment to choose from!

 

Guild Functions: Players in guilds have some benefits others do not. Put your lesser used pets in the farm, join a squad, and summon your guild’s spirit beast! Guild quests are also available exclusively to guild members.

 

Monsters, Pets, and Mounts: Unlock a variety of pets as you play, using them in combat, and training their abilities. You can also summon beasts you have defeated to assist you in battle, should you master them. Various mounts await your discovery too!

 

Activities and Rewards: Participate in daily events, and receive prizes just for logging in each day! You can participate no matter what, even if you’re not going to play for long!

Dragons Call II

Dragon’s Call 2 is the sequel to Dragon’s Call, and like it’s predecessor, it is an MMORPG with side-scrolling and turn-based systems. Set three years after the original, Dragon’s Call 2 sets players on a quest to discover the corruption of the magical Light of the world. The game features three classes — Warrior, Assassin, and Mage — and a variety of spells and abilities to overcome adversaries. Various equipment options are available as well. Guilds play a major part in the game play, as they provide additional benefits to players within them.

 

 

Features

Guild Events: Join your guild members as you embark on different missions designed to provide guild reputation. Additional benefits such as increased action points are also given to guild members.

 

Faction War: Players from opposing factions can face off against one another. Use honor to inspire your troops and weaken your opponent, and prove your force’s might!


World Bosses: When you have reached the appropriate level, you and your friends can face off against difficult bosses, spread throughout the world. Defeating them can give you plenty of gold, experience, and gear to face greater challenges.


Instances: Completing storyline quests will grant access to instances in that zone. Each zone has different instances to challenge, and once you’ve defeated the boss of the instance, heroic mode will unlock, for even greater challenge.

 

Gotham City Impostors

Gotham City Imposters is an FPS that pits people masquerading as Batman against a gang of would-be Jokers. The game offers a great deal of customization for an FPS title. Since there are no traditional character classes in the game, you’re free to pick and choose what you want as far as weapons and gadgets go. With a myriad of solo challenges, and a variety of multiplayer options, you have “1000 levels of player advancement” to help you build a character to your own imagination.

 

 

Features

Instantly Recognizable: Fight like the legendary Batman never would, or join the legions of his arch-nemesis The Joker as they seek to spread chaos across the city.

 

Massive Customization: Want to be a behemoth of a man prancing around on rollerskates, or a lithe vixen with a chip on her shoulder and a massive gun? Gotham City Imposters lets you decide how your character will look and play!

 

Player Advancement: Unlock various items for use by competing in solo challenges, and battling others online in a variety of over-the-top multiplayer modes. Play the game however you desire!

 

Multi-platform: Play the game on your PC, or pick it up for you XBox 360 or PS3. Pick what platform fits you best; there’s plenty of action to be had no matter where!

Stalker Online

Stalker Online is a survival based MMOFPS. Set in an apocalyptic future, players can explore and scavenge in the urban wasteland the game provides. Mutants run rampant in the various “Zones” in the game, and change randomly with time. You can develop both weapon skills, as well as abilities to help construction buildings and defenses. While exploration is richly rewarded, the constantly changing mutant landscape will punish those going in unprepared.

 

 

Features

Apocalyptic Setting: Focus on your own survival in this wasteland! Scavenge and hunt to find items necessary for life.

 

Brutal and Dangerous Mutants: From the well-armored Brutor to the simple mutant rat, face off against an army of ever changing mutants as you explore the forgotten wastes.

 

Artefacts: Designed for use in the Zones, artefacts are objects that can interact strongly with the world around you. From objects that reduce gravitational effects, to ones that significantly increase the rate of healing, these items will be vital to survive.

 

Anomalies: Zones have a variety of environmental hazards to deal with, not to mention biological. Each anomaly will have different effects, from Catapult launching you in a random direction, to the Betrayal causing panic and neurological misfires.

 

Customization: Skills in the game allow you to do many things. Learn combat skills to increase your ability to survive the wilds. Develop abilities to aid in construction of safe zones, and defend them with the appropriate technology.

 

Dalethaan

Dalethaan is a top-down, 2D browser-based MMORPG that features a card battling system. There are over 1,000 monsters to battle and items to collect in the game. You can build your skill deck however you’d like using a variety of cards to equip yourself. Crafting professions all have their unique spin, giving players plenty to do in the world.

 

 

Features

Card Based Combat: Engage your foes in real time, card-based combat. Develop your skill deck to suit your play style, and demolish any opponent who stands in your way!

 

Innovative Crafting: Not your run of the mill systems found in many MMORPGs, Dalethaan makes crafting engaging and worth doing. Six gathering skills, six crafting skills, and three enchanting skills await you!

 

Thousands of Monsters: Battle against foe after foe as you quest across the land. Find powerful pieces of equipment to grow even stronger.

 

Free-to-Play: Dalethaan is playable right in your browser, anywhere you are. Need to step away from your keyboard for an extended period? Dalethaan won’t log you out like many MMORPGs out there.

Origins of Malu

Origins of Malu is a story-driven sandbox MMORPG. The game features a classless leveling system, letting players specialize their characters however they see fit. Combat is dynamic and varied, with monsters and bosses learning your techniques over time. This means you must vary your combat style to suit each encounter. The entire world is influenced by player actions, from the economy, to the ecology, to the state of player-versus-player conflicts. Origins of Malu strives to be the top sandbox MMORPG on the market.

 

 

Features

Story-based Sandbox: Origins of Malu gives you the power to explore as you like, however, the world has a rich, dynamic history behind it, told through a powerful storyline.

 

Dynamic World: Your actions carry weight. Player actions matter in the long run, determining a variety of aspects. Players can build houses and towns, control various factions in game, and more.

 

Classless Leveling: To keep with the open theme, there are no classes in Origins of Malu. You are free to develop your character however you choose. Specializations also exist for those who want to play a traditional role, however!

 

Unique Crafting Systems: Crafters can also get in on the action, creating a variety of items used in housing, or tweaking magical spells for extra oomph or additional effects.

 

AI Controlled Quests: Quests are there to drive a story, and the AI in Origins of Malu is set to do just that. Quests are dynamic and varied, all of which delve into the history and anthology of the world you’re in.