Monthly Archives: March 2013

OnRPG Shotgun News 3/4: Star Trek Online, GW2, and Star Conflict!

OnRPG Shotgun News 3/4: Star Trek Online, GW2, and Star Conflict!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

Guild Wars 2 Offers 31 Sales in 31 Days

For all of March Guild Wars 2 players will be able to get a new sale every day. Everything from boosters to town clothes will be on sale from 15-40%. Each deal runs from midnight PST to midnight PST. And every day Shotgun News is posted a short single line at the top of the article will be dedicated to the sale of the day. Today’s is the Aviator Cap which you can see in the image above modelled by the lovely, but insane Nylli.

 

Star Conflict on Steam

The free to play pvp space MMO Star Conflict has arrived on Steam. And though it is free to play there are three downloadable packs available to players which are currently on sale for 25% off.

 

Star Trek Online Teases

A new teaser image and countdown have appeared on the Star Trek Online website. Theories of a new Romulan playable race have already begun. I suppose the world will find out for sure with the timer runs out.

Super MNC Launches To GamersFirst.com & GamersFirst Live! Game Service

Super MNC Launches To GamersFirst.com & GamersFirst Live! Game Service

 

Super MNC

 

Reloaded Games®, a leading free2play®digital distribution services company and developer of massively multiplayer online games, revealed that Uber Entertainment’s over-the-top pro-sports themed third-person shooter multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) hybrid title Super MNC is now available on GamersFirst.com and the GamersFirst Live! game downloader. Adapted and expanded to PC from the popular Xbox LIVE Arcade title Monday Night Combat, Super MNC challenges players to in a unique mix of MOBA and shooter gameplay as they fight for fame and fortune in this humorous futuristic version of pro sports entertainment.
Gamers choose a pro to take the field as an Enforcer, Defender, Striker, Sharpshooter or Commando, each with a unique playstyle, as they assault the opposing team’s defenses while also defending their own goal. With vast amounts of sponsorship opportunities, power-ups, tactical products and on-field hazards, Super MNC delivers frantic, exciting hardcore gameplay.

 

 

“Bringing a creative, innovative and challenging free2play game like Super MNC onto the GamersFirst portal and G1Live! further strengthens our commitment to delivering hard-core gaming experiences to our community of 30 million players,” said Reloaded Games’ Chief Marketing Officer Rahul Sandil. “As the seventh game to join our ranks, we know that a game with such an irreverent attitude and solid game experience with be of interest to our players, and grow diversity of our games catalog to our player community.”

Early Access: Scarlet Blade Pt 2 – Customization and Lingerie that Matters!

Early Access: Scarlet Blade Pt 2 – Customization and Lingerie that Matters!

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

 

 

As I alluded to in part 1 of OnRPG’s Early Access to Scarlet Blade, if you’re looking to be one of the early adopters of this game, you’re probably a pretty identifiable type of gamer. As such the customization this game offers is going to be a big deal to you so I’m breaking that down in as much detail as possible.

 

 

Pre-Start Customization Options

Your first decision in making a character is an important one you’ll want to coordinate with any friends you plan to game with. You see there’s actually a story behind the tits n ass Scarlet Blade brings to the table and though you can read it all for yourself at their official site, the part you need to know during customization is that you are one of the final surviving humans and you must now choose your avatar from one of various bioengineered super warriors to fight on your behalf on the surface world against the Narek Alien Invasion. But not all is peaceful within the Arkana’s underground confinement as two branches of the controlling AI have arisen and view the other as a threat.

 

 

Thus you must choose to fight for the Royal Guards that uphold the original beliefs of the Ark’s creators and the Mother’s AI oversight, or the Free Knights that believe the original AI is outdated and oppressive and that Arkana should be granted their full freedom as soon as the Narek are defeated. But no worries, from a gameplay perspective you still will have access to all the classes so view it from nothing more than a roleplay perspective and not as a gameplay factor.

 

 

Once you choose sides you can choose your class that will align your character with a certain body type. Be it the tall and might Defender, the loli Sentinel, the voluptuous Punisher, or any other class, you will carry rather distinguishable and unchangeable traits and weapons that will allow you to be easily identifiable from a distance by your enemies. Sad news I know for those that were expecting a boob slider but that’s the current design decision.

 

 

So what options do you have? Scarlet Blade offers a slightly above average number of customization choices ranging from face to eyes to lip color, to hair style and so on. With the limited and rather unimportant default lingerie option as the only exception, everything on the list is focused on giving your character a unique enough face to tell yourself apart from others of your class. Though I give the game props for offering a full spectrum of color choices for hair, eyes, and lips that’s inexplicably missing in many F2P MMORPGs out these days.

 

 

I will complain (and this is more a personal gripe than actual issue) that I can’t stand when customization systems put the ‘random’ button at the bottom of the list. Those excited to quickly jump through the options like myself will usually accidently click this button and there is no way to revert all your previous decisions once the random button is triggered. Please Aeria do us a favor and tell the developers to move the button up next to the pre-built area to save players the frustration at launch.

 

 

Post-Creation Customization

One of the strengths of Scarlet Blade has to be the sheer number of options available for distinguishing yourself and customizing your character’s strengths once in-game. Characters can acquire plenty of visible equipment including helms, chest pieces, underwear, gloves, leggings, shoes, wrist-guards, and weapons, along with other not so visible accessories like earrings, rings, and so on. And for the record, yes your lingerie gives stats so be sure to go for the overpriced table at Victoria’s Secret cause the granny panties aren’t going to cut it in PvP. Beyond this there are huge numbers of fashion slots available to give your character the perfect sexy look of your dreams.

 

I like tall well-endowed women dressed in bunny girl outfits. The fact Aeria knew this and gave me a Defender Playboy Bunny for my GM character was a bit scary.

 

 

Are you more into the hot vampire in the snow fantasy? Hentai-Bot 6,000 is!

 

Kill Bill fans as well as Asian Racing Queen lovers can unite in their love of this hot outfit. Cash Shop weapon skin preview included!

 

Shrink Ray Malfunction? Good work Hentai-Bot!

 

Ever thought European puffy pants from the Middle Ages were hot? Yea… so did the Scarlet Blade designers. Forever Alone no longer!

 

 

Skill Customization is also open for players to experiment with, though by end-game you’ll have most if not all your skills fully unlocked. Just be cautious if you’re one of the first to play as we were testing level 39 characters but the early beta events will only allow you to reach level 29. As you level you gain points to unlock both active skills broken down by various tree branches and passive skills unique to each class. You will also be able to acquire unique skills related to your PvP exoskeleton and Mech but more on that in part 3 of our write-up.

 

 

Stats

For those that have to know everything, here’s a quick stat breakdown based on the game in its current state. Your three primary bars include HP, CP (used for summoning and maintaining exoskeleton suits and mechs), and Skill Points (akin to a mana bar or MP in most MMORPGs).

 

 

The physical attack based stats are strength, accuracy, defense, evasion, crit rate, crit attack (multiplier of how hard your crits hit), and crit-evade (lowers chance of crits hitting you).

 

 

Magic in this game is classified as Chakra and broken down into gravity, plasma, voltage, atomic, and particle Chakra, though I don’t know exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of each are currently. Your Void stat and Void-Crit determine the relative strength of your Chakra skills which is further broken down into Chakra Attack, Chakra Accuracy, and Chakra Evade, making magical strikes act more akin to the way physical attacks do in the usual MMORPG.

 

 

Whew sorry if I got a little long winded on stats there! I’ll conclude OnRPG’s Scarlet Blade write-up tomorrow with my thoughts on gameplay, features, and my overall first impression and critique of the game.

Early Access: Scarlet Blade Pt 1 – Choose your Fetish.. er Class!

Early Access: Scarlet Blade Pt 1 – Choose your Fetish.. er Class!

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

 

 

It’s been nearly a year since I dropped in to see what’s going on at Aeria Games’ office in San Francisco for a look at Lime Odyssey. So other than mergers with IJJI and Gamepot as well as the sudden rise of their mobile gaming line, I’ve been quite curious what this company has been doing with all that income from Eden Eternal and the various other titles that round out their portfolio. With 2 titles from Xlegend currently under their belt and a history of FPS and Anime styled titles, I was expecting perhaps an Anime Styled FPS Hybrid. So when they announced Scarlet Blade (formerly known as Queen’s Blade, I wasn’t caught completely off-guard or off the mark on my prediction. What did catch me off-guard was that there was a decent crisp controlling MMORPG under the M-rated hood of this title.

 

 

The (Sexy) Elephant in the Room

Now before I can get into features I have to get this disclaimer out of the way. This game isn’t rated mature by the ESRB as some gimmicky marketing campaign by Aeria Games to get attention. They are indeed using gimmicky marketing because of their mature rating, there’s no doubt about that. But the mature rating stands for partially nudity, violence, alcohol use, and various sexual off-humor jokes, each of which I intend to get into at some point in my write-up. Consider yourself warned though if you’re reading this at work or in your mom’s basement. There will be boobs and this game is NSFW.

 

 

Classes

Scarlet Blade doesn’t just offer classes, they offer the holy trinity delivered via a fetish filled fantasy line-up. From power lifting goddesses to barely legal lolis, to assault rifle wielding beauties and even a whip wielding dominatrix, if you’re the type of person this game is targeted towards, they’ll likely have your dish of choice on display.

 

 

The Supports –

 

Defender – I’m overcompensating for my Commander

Since I spent the majority of my time playing this class and only have 3rd party accounts to discuss the others, I’ll go ahead and lay out my thoughts on this class first. The defender is tall, determined, and can whip an oversized two-handed sword around with enough ease to make League of Legend’s Garen proud. This class is a jack-of-all trades though as not only can they absorb huge amounts of damage and push forward with superior personal healing skills, they can also take out their foes’ top dps with a ranged stun, gap closers, and various disabling skills that make even the Whipper’s bite feeling no worse than a mechanical kitten.

 

Furthermore, if you choose to ignore the Defender and take the fight to her party, she can throw defense to the sidelines and unleash an offensive flurry that will force you to recognize her for the threat she is. Just be careful how you play with this fire as a smart opponent can send you packing once you choose to go all-in for this assault. And when in doubt, spin to win in the middle of the enemy’s backline to turn any fight to your team’s favor.

 

 

Medic – I stole Space Channel 5’s fashion but you’re probably too young to know that! (I won’t tell 😉 )

To call the medic a healbot would be an accurate description. After all she’s practically a bioengineered robot and can heal. But to say that’s all she brings to the table in a fight would be a misconception. Medics have a ton of long duration buffs to keep their team strong even if they themselves fall in battle. They also have plenty of AoE heals, self-heals, and CC removal to make them a nuisance in any engagement. And should you corner one be on guard. They can do some limited but very nasty burst that can take a low HP target out of the fight before they know what hit them. Should your foe survive that though, best look cute and spam your skills into cooldown as you’re going to need back-up to put up a fight.

 

 

Melee DPS –

 

Shadow Walker – I actually wear armor. I’m also one of the squishiest classes. Physics!

I honestly can’t say much about this class. It took keen eyes to even realize they existed on the battlefield. Still the final score tallies told the tale of their subtle effective work of systematically picking off weakened targets across the battlefield and then just as quickly disappearing into the shadows. They have the potential to unleash the higher burst damage in the game at the expense of having low durability. But if you have the skills to handle her curves, your foes will soon question the “Walker” in your name as this roguish assassin is fast as hell and hard to catch if they make the first move on you!

 

 

The Whipper – Your MMORPG isn’t man enough to include me as a class

It’s ok if this is the class you’ve been waiting for. I’m not here to judge. The Whipper is rather unique from the typical MMORPG class archetypes and if anything, would be labeled as an off-tank. They can take a beating and unleash a barrage of AoE focused melee to mid-range strikes that offer one of the best counters to team’s turtling around a Medic’s AoE heals. Their damage is rather unpredictable and can be used to lull opponent’s into a false sense of security prior to blowing them apart as they realize far too late that you’ve already woven a deceitful web around them. Though coordinating your assault with a Defender or Shadow Walker seems ideal for ensuring your dance of death captures a kill.

 

 

Ranged DPS –

 

Punisher – My weapon is made of more material than my outfit and it shows

So are you one of those guys (or girls!) that did a double take when you first visited Vegas and saw the ads of hot bikini girls flaunting assault rifles? The Punisher has you covered. She isn’t ideal for 1 on 1 confrontations as she’s middle of the road in durability and lacks in sustained damage, but with a coordinated team at her back, the Punisher is a serious threat in any battle. These maidens of artillery can and will litter the field with a glorious rain of death that will wrack up more total damage than any other class out there, especially against foes with poor combat formations or those who choose to fight in narrow corridors.

 

 

Sentinel – I’m 18… really!

So you’re that guy that has figurines of Anime girls decorating their desk at work? Have your favorite Moe Line-Up on your desktop’s wallpaper rotation? Never fear, Aeria Games has your back and offers one of the most entertaining classes on the roster to fit your taste. This tiny but mighty class compensates for her diminutive size with devastating ranged spike damage. Just make sure your friends keep that nasty ogre of a woman, the Defender, off your back, as her sword will split you in two if she can catch you off-guard for a minute. Positioning and battlefield awareness are necessary to the Sentinel and I imagine this being the class that will have many noobs and a few godly masters forcing you to second guess your approach against one never knowing which you might be facing.

 

 

While the classes each fill a role in the overdone MMORPG Holy Trinity, Scarlet Blade seems to offer enough solo skills to help players get by when a party isn’t readily available. In our limited time testing the various roles in group PvP, there didn’t seem to be many imbalances between classes. Though be aware that this was based on characters at level 39 and there may be more noticeable imbalances earlier in the game when characters haven’t acquired their full kit of skills, particularly for support characters that must choose whether to learn their support or damage skills first.

 

 

Medics could usually hold off a single Defender on their own and dish out nasty support damage if left alone so they were useful most of the time. If anything they just didn’t have enough options to keep players actively participating at all times.

 

 

Defenders offered enough utility and more than enough survivability (especially with proper timing of potions) to make up for lacking the raw damage of the Shadow Walker and Whipper.

 

 

The Whipper’s AoE attacks were large enough to not punish them too badly for not spiking as hard as the Shadow Walker. The Shadow Walkers also exploded like glass when unable to make clean escapes.

 

 

Unfortunately I didn’t get to face a Sentinel to see just how harsh their spike damage hits but the Punisher hit with enough force that I can only imagine how nasty those little pipsqueaks will be. The Punisher makes kiting a pipe dream for low hp foes and are vital for both softening targets prior to full engagement with poke damage as well as procuring kills on those targets that usually get away on a wing and a prayer.

 

 

Anyone familiar with my Early Access write-ups know I don’t like talking about a title until I’ve clearly laid out how the classes function in detail. With that out of the way I’ll be jumping into the rest of the features and ambiance of the first mature rated MMORPG I’ve personally reviewed.

 

 

Don’t miss part 2 when I go over customization, factions, gear and fashion, and of course stats!

Early Access: The Aurora World

Early Access: The Aurora World

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

 

 

Earlier this week I had a chance to jump onto GBE Game’s private server for The Aurora World to check this heavily Asian influenced fantasy MMORPG out prior to next week’s closed beta test. And while the title looks similar to other Chinese developed MMORPGs on the market, I decided I’d better do my due diligence and dig deeper to see what it offers to separate itself from its peers.

 

 

 

Character Customization and Classes

Aurora World presents the usual customization in a clean simplistic way. You have four archetypes to choose from with each offering one of two variants of it to further differentiate yourself.

 

 

The Warrior

Surprisingly the only core melee archetype of the four available, the warrior is your one stop shop for tanking as well as party support. Those looking to shutdown their foes with CC while applying heavy dps pressure will like the Warlord while the more party-oriented commanders will like the party buffs of the Gladiator.

 

 

The Mage

Those seeking raw spike damage will be right at home with the mage archetype. Archmages take spike damage to the max but are glass cannons. Those looking to hold off the enemy to better support their allies will be more comfortable with the Sorcerer.

 

 

 

The Alchemist

Support minded players will want to look at this archetype. Bishops offer the standard heal, protection, buff and resurrection skills you’d expect from a support while the Apothecary is more of a survivalist that can delay an enemy’s assault with shields and life sap skills.

 

 

 

The Witch

Those looking to use a hybrid of spells and summons will like the diversity of the Witch archetype. They offer a nice mix of support and dps making them valuable in just about any situation though take a bit more micromanagement than any of the other classes. The Warlock in particular can unleash intense destructive power without putting themselves directly in harm’s way while the Shaman can disable enemies while supporting allies and still maintain decent damage with their summon.

 

 

 

In terms of customization you can expect the average number of options with 8 hairstyles, 9 hair colors, 6 faces, and 8 facial decorations (i.e. tattoos) for each gender. None of the classes are gender locked either so no worries about getting pigeonholed in that area. My only real complaint is that only 3 skin colors were available and they were basically just variants on pale. The hair colors and styles on the other hand had as much variation as you would expect in an anime or jrpg.

 

 

Nations and PvP

The final choice players will make on character creation is joining a nation. This doesn’t seem to have a huge impact on gameplay (the same classes and skills are available for the sake of balance) but it does impact your starting location on an incredibly large world map.

 

 

Now this game might seem familiar for fans of titles like Perfect World and I as a fan of said title had concerns for imbalance between factions. But Aurora Interactive seems to have taken steps to try to sway the tides towards even balance by not only including a 3 faction system but also offering bonuses like gift bags and bonus experience for players that join the weakest of the three options.

 

The world of Aurora is huge and getting around involves everything from flying ships to riding oversized parrots.

 

In terms of the actual PvP fans of open world battles and Clan grudges will feel right at home. Starting at level 30 every player is open game which I’m sure will bring plenty of additional challenge in the later stages when players are forced to venture outside of their kingdoms and into the Divine and Demon Worlds where every faction shares the same questing grounds. Those that prefer more organized PvP matches will enjoy massive Clan Wars to test each other’s superiority, but be warned you’ll need to grind to level 40 before you can join.

 

 

And those looking to show their national pride can rally behind each nation’s democratically elected king to go head to head in 300 player battles filled with teleport points and capture/hold relics that allow the King to activate buffs. Though the buffs are still a mystery to me outside of one that offers a 200% exp increase, I know there are 5 control points on the map so you get an idea that each is incredibly important and worth fighting to keep.

 

My best guess at why they chose the name Aurora World is highly refined gear shines brighter than the Northern Lights. A Gear Star Rating helps identify the relative strength of party members, which can be a good or bad thing depending on who you ask.

 

 

This title is obviously built around the success of the PvP as it’s balanced for players level 40+ as the main source of entertainment at end-game. Ideally they are looking to see some competitive tales unfold and the intrigue surrounding players jockeying to occupy the seven government positions of each nation should be enough to create some real tension between the sub-clans of each nation. Unfortunately this is all speculation that will have to wait until the game actually has an active community so I can’t offer any real opinion on it from my limited time on the test server.

 

 

The Majinn

If I had to point to a feature that really distinguishes The Aurora World, it’s the Majinn system. Mounts and combat pets alike, Aurora World is populated with over 100 of the little buggers ranging from cute pandas to ferocious dragons. These creatures can be fed consumable items to evolve them and can absorb slain monster’s souls to acquire more powerful skills and some offer unique bonuses such as being able to provide a mount for multiple players at a time. This might not seem like a huge deal but believe me when I say my girlfriend constantly complains when we play a title that doesn’t offer a way for me to carry her on my mount. The Majinn each offer a trump card skill as well in the form of a Chaos Trigger that allows you to really push your pet to their fullest for a limited amount of time.

 

 

The Majinn are also divided into one of five of the classic Chinese elements including fire (multi-target attack specialists), water (slow debuff masters), earth (regen and defense specialists), wood (recovery), and metal (single-target attack specialists). According to the company representative these elements also act as a type of advanced rock-paper-scissors mechanic though again I was unable to test out the PvP so this will need further looking into in OnRPG’s full review.

 

 

Reputation and Events

Besides the Majinn there are some pretty unique events that set this title apart. With 18 events total ranging from PvP escort missions to a unique Chinese spin on Mario Kart to randomly assisting new players, there’s plenty to keep players of all types busy when they’re tired of the grind. And a nice reputation system offers rewards for event participation vital as it can net you end-game skills and other must have items for crafting and such.

 

 

Closing Thoughts

The Aurora World doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it certainly puts some shiny new rims on it. Its gameplay isn’t groundbreaking but its features list certainly impresses and those that love the artstyle involving crazy glow effects on upgraded gear and oversized weapons will feel right at home. The controls function as well as expected minus a few places I disliked. For instance the game’s gravity made me feel like I was running on the moon and for some reason my character was unable to jump if I was running in a diagonal direction towards the camera. But this was an alpha test so they still have time to iron a few issues out. The UI is a bit intrusive by default but customizable enough to get it feeling just right.

 

 

In the end all the features in the world won’t matter if the game’s PvP falls flat so I look forward to the future when one of OnRPG’s content team takes a look at the more advanced gameplay. This title offers a huge world filled with danger from not only unforgiving dungeon monsters but also intense competitive amongst three factions both in and out of instances so I have hope for it. Honestly the game’s strength is offering what’s been successful in past titles in a clean and decently (though not perfectly) localized client so long as the cash shop is balanced, the game should do well. Those who can’t wait and want to see The Aurora World for themselves won’t have to wait long as closed beta testing begins March 7th!

AlphaBeta Soup 3/1: Scarlet Blade, Waren Story, Ecol Tactics, and More!

It was a big week for betas, but the future is looking a bit slow for a while. We have giveaways galore and an ever growing list of games to come. Check it out below, and as ever any new additions are highlighted below in orange.

OnRPG Giveaways

These are all the beta giveaways currently running on OnRPG. There’s no guarantee that we won’t run out so grab them quick.

Godsrule Open Beta Orb Pack
Everlight Open Beta Flame Wing Giveaway
Ecol Tactics Closed Beta Key
Waren Story Closed Beta Key

Dates Announced:

Below are the MMOs who have announced upcoming beta events that haven’t started yet or are currently in progress for a limited time.

Tactical Intervention Closed Beta March 4
The Aurora World: North American Closed Beta March 7
Ecol Tactics: Closed Beta March 7
Neverwinter Closed Beta March 8-10, 22-24
Scarlet Blade Closed Beta “Soon”
Navyfield 2 Closed Beta March 27-April 10
Origins of Malu Closed Beta March 30
Eldevin Closed Beta March
ArcheAge Chinese Beta starting May 2013
Age of Wulin: EU Closed Beta 2013

Alpha:

These games are currently in Alpha. Signups are available via the link.

Onigiri Alpha (Japanese)
The Repopulation
Xulu

Closed Beta:

MMOs which are in closed beta require application and often require approval before access can be gained.

Age of Wulin(EU, Asia) EU in Early 2013
Age of Wushu(US)
Ascension: Arenas of War 
Black Prophecy Tactics: Nexus Conflict
Born To Fire
Bounty Hounds Online Closed beta server closed until further notice.
Chrono Tales
City of Steam Currently between betas
Defiance
Dragon Nest EU
Dust 514
Everlight
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Grimlands Between Betas
HeroDex
JollyGrim
Kartuga
Legend of Edda Vengeance
MechWarrior Tactics
Marvel Heroes
NavyField 2
Patterns
RF Online EU
Salem
The Showdown Effect
SMITE
Starlight Story
Strategoria
Transformers Universe Now accepting applications.
UFO Online
The War Z
Warface
World of Warplanes

Open Beta:

Games in open beta require an application but often it is little more than signing up for an account.

Absolute Force Online
Auto Club Revolution (Russian)
Broken Realms
DK Online
Dominatron
Dust 514
End of Nations Open Beta delayed until further notice, refunds have been issued.
Firefall
Godsrule
GUNS and ROBOTS
Gunswords(English and Russian)
Hailan Rising
Hawken
Heroes & Generals
MechWarrior Online
Mutant Badlands(Formerly Radiated Wasteland)
Path of Exile
Oversoul
Raceroom Racing
Ragnarok 2
Real World Racing
Salem
SmashMuck Champions
Universal Monsters Online
War Thunder
WorldAlpha
World of Dragons (Russian)

Expansions:

These are the beta events for games which are already live and have beta events for new content. Access to these is most often limited to the current playerbase.

Allods Online Lords of Destiny Expansion