Monthly Archives: May 2013

Command and Conquer Online

Command and Conquer, originally termed Command and Conquer: Generals 2, is a new umbrella series of games in the Command and Conquer series that will be free-to-play online. Featuring all the classic strategy gameplay of the Command and Conquer series, players can expect to battle in old ways and new as Frostbite 2 technology is introduced. The focus is now on multi-player combat, so be prepared!

 

Features

Dynamic Destruction: Using the Frostbite 2 technology, building and unit construction and destruction has never been more real with mind-blowing physics.

Generals: Utilize powerful General unique abilities to surprise and overwhelm your enemies.

Continuous Content Updates: Enjoy constant balance changes and new content additions without ever needing to spend a dime.

 

Neverwinter Releases Cryptic Message

Neverwinter Moon Teaser

A strange new page has appeared on Perfect World Entertainment’s Neverwinter site. Why would Cryptic Studios be so… cryptic about new content immediately after launch. Will we even know what the meaning of this is any time soon for that matter? Only time will tell, but theories abound from the playerbase. I think the solution is pretty clear personally…

Neverwinter Aliens Meme

Starlight Story Review – Star Light, Star Fight

By John Shadle (Sephorus), OnRPG Journalist

Starlight Story Review

Starlight Story is a free-to-play anime-styled browser-based MMORPG title published by Aeria Games.  Billed as a “dreamy browser MMORPG” with “devoted companions, powerful transformations, frenzied PvP, and a vibrant world”, I set out to find out if the newest addition to Aeria’s portfolio was worth playing – and you know what?  Even as just a casual game, it kind of is.

 

Starlight Story’s, erhm… story is simple enough – at first.  A demon is threatening to conquer the entire world, and you’re the only one who’s all-around awesome enough to foil her nefarious plot, thanks to your ability to transform into a Superstar (*coughPowerRangerscough*) when the need arises.  The less-than-simple part comes in with the ensuing wackiness of roosters with trumpets for mouths, homages to Iron Man, and demon children with severe sweet tooths; apparently, there’s also time travel involved, as you’re from the future.  It elicited a head-scratch or two from my grown-up self upon trying to make sense of everything, but I imagine that younger kids giving this game a whirl might agree with my inner six-year-old’s professional assessment of, “This is AWESOME!  Either way, it’s a quirky story with even quirkier characters – which could be part of the charm, if that’s your thing.

 Starlight Story's Story

Getting started is amazingly simple, as there’s not a whole lot to character creation.  You’ve got your choice of one of five classes – Apprentice, Duelist, Magus, Rogue, or Squire – gender, name, and… that’s it, actually.  There’s no customization available of any kind beyond this, which is a bit jarring in today’s age of “sliders for everything”, but it makes the game that much easier to get into and start playing.  With ease of accessibility treated as a key benefit for browser-based gaming, it’s a feature that may have intentionally been left out, so I couldn’t complain too much here.  What’s left is pretty straight-forward, with few options to get people (like myself!) sidetracked, getting their look ‘just right’ and a combination of nicely-drawn class portraits and concise descriptions as a snapshot of what each class is like.

 

Once you’re in-game, there’s a brief tutorial segment on the basics – moving around, attacking things, equipping items, and utilizing your amazingly awesome Superstar transformation ability – before you’re sent off to chase down the forces of evil through time itself.  The NPC dialogue is… okay at best – it conveys the information you need to know, but can never quite decide if it’s actually quirky or if it’s trying too hard to be quirky and ends up landing in full-blown strange territory.  Quests themselves are similarly okay, as there’s plenty of the Go-Talk-To-X or Kill-So-Many-Of-X variety; I’m not sure if it’s more of a casual or uninspired thing here, as it could probably be seen either way.  However, your quest log has a handy auto-pathing feature, so you can choose to complete these quests as manually or as automatically as you want.  There’s some boss battles thrown in as well, which were actually (given the medium, anyway) pretty well done – and a good excuse to leverage Morphin’ Ti-… I mean, Superstardom!

Starlight Story Combat

Starlight Story keeps pretty close to its self-proclaimed anime style.  While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the game gorgeous, that’s primarily because I’m used to more fully-fledged titles.  For a title that plays in a browser tab, it looks pretty good and runs well enough.  The musical score, while simple, has enough of a whimsicality to it to add to the overall charm.  Sound effects – things like smacking foes with a sword or slamming down with the force of a small comet – are hit-and-miss overall, but are generally good and can at least be construed as “close enough”.

 

There are also a bevy of additional features and systems designed to give you a ton of extra things to play with and have multiple avenues for you to become ridiculously powerful.  You’ll have a pet fighting alongside you right from the beginning, which can be leveled alongside you, trained in a variety of skills, turned into more powerful versions, or trained to provide passive benefits to you and it.  Equipment can be forged to become more and more powerful with each successful attempt.  Magic crystals can be collected and harnessed to improve your overall statistics.  You can tend a small garden to grow either money or experience – don’t ask how it works.  Your Superstar roster can be powered up to access better and better versions.  Eventually, you can turn into one of two improved versions of your base class, and even gain levels in new classes entirely.  You can even – hold on to your hats, folks – summon and harness celestial bodies to bolster you, your pets, or your superstars.  That’s right – the Big Dipper can now turn you into a walking pile of awesome.

 

That said, there are a few minor gripes I can point to with Starlight Story as a whole.  For starters, a few of the ongoing tutorials for each of these new systems are downright pitiful.  While I’ve seen enough forging/upgrading in other games to know how it goes here, the planet-summoning system’s tutorial amounted to “Well… here it is!”, and it wasn’t until I jumped on the forums before I figured out just what I was looking at.  Secondly, while none of the systems are entirely gated behind a VIP/subscriber wall and you can earn everything in-game – even allowing for sale of cash shop currency for in-game currency and vice versa – it’s clear that dropping a few dollars is going to get you pretty powerful pretty quickly, which has the potential to grate on some nerves.  Thirdly, the game is plagued with system-wide messages whenever someone on the server does something epic, like surviving a certain number of floors in a dungeon or achieving a certain overall Superstar rank.  It at least added to the same quirky tone as the rest of the dialogue, with people being “totes jelly” instead of “totally jealous” that So-And-So made it as far as they did, and it might be good for a laugh or two if it wasn’t so… frequent.

Starlight Story Jellyfish

Having said all of that, though, Starlight Story has a lot of things going for it that are sure to get it some attention in the casual game scene.  Its art style and accessibility will probably draw in a younger crowd, but there’s enough meat here to appeal to a relatively wide audience.  Some people might balk a little at the anime theme, and I doubt that many gamers would turn a browser title into their main go-to over whatever else they’re playing… which is a shame, because underneath the appearance is a game that’s quite a bit of fun to play.

 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my inner six-year-old demands that we go save the world LIKE RIGHT NOW.

New Special Events Launch in Aion and Lineage II

 

NCSoft has introduced new updates to both Aion and Lineage II this week as part of their regular maintenance.

 

In Aion, a new RvR event, “Guardian General Showdown,” has begun. The event will run until May 22, and challenges each race to defeat the champions of the other races first! Players can join in at Jotun Square of Silentera Canyon, and must be part of a league to earn rewards. Here are more details:

  • The guardian generals will spawn 12 hours after they are defeated and after maintenance.
  • The guardian generals will spawn support mobs every 30 seconds that attack enemy PC’s.
  • The following rewards will be given to the League who contributes the most to defeating the other faction’s guardian general first:  A “Guardian General’s Treasure Chest” that provides 1 mithril medal (will show up in special cube), 1 Special Manastone Box II, 1 Major Ancient Crown.
  • Since the respawn time is 12 hours, this means players who participate each time have a chance to receive the above items twice a day during the duration of the event (depends on who wins)
  • Once one of the guardian generals is defeated, all relevant NPC’s despawn, including the other faction’s guardian general

 

 

In Lineage 2, the new Dragon Rising event is under way to help prepare for the Lindvior update on May 29. The event activities include:

 

Hero Power Weapons: Players will be able to purchase and use R-grade Hero weapons with boosted stats during the entire duration of the three-week event. The players can buy temporary hero weapons from the L2 Store. These temporary weapons are very powerful and will aid players in every kind of XP adventure.

Vitality MAX: Vitality MAX removes the vitality item use limit for players, giving them the opportunity to use a limitless amount of vitality potions while hunting. This activity will also include an increase to the vitality XP boost from the 200% it is currently to 300%.

1-85 Level Boost: The 1-85 level boost activity gives players a faster way to reach level 85 by putting one XP Rune I (1-85) 100% Pack 1-hour in the L2 Galleria per day for the price of 1 NCoin. This event also has no XP loss upon death and free teleportation.

Inactive User Promotion: Inactive users will receive a Dragon Revival Pack that includes many useful items to help level up quickly just in time for the Lindvior update, which include:

  • Returning Hero’s Support Box: Returning Hero’s T-Shirt (3 P. Def, 1+ STR, 1+ INT), Returning Hero’s Belt (Weight Gauge +5000), 15-day Returning Hero’s Wonderous Cubic (30 minute vitality potions, PC Coupon 7,000, Heavenly Cocktails, Scroll of Escape Box: Villages, and Blessed Scroll of Escape
  • Returning Hero’s Potion Pack: Returning Hero’s Vitality Replenishing Juice 3-unit Pack, Returning Hero’s Health Potion x30 (equivalent to Draco HP pot), Heavenly Cocktail x6 (level 2)

 

 

OnRPG Shotgun News 5/9: WoW, Runescape 3, The Aurora World, and more!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG News Wrench

World of Warcraft Down 1.3 Million Subscribers

Blizzard has announced that since the last quarterly update subscription numbers to World of Warcraft have droped 1.3 million worldwide. Most of which have been from the Eastern market. This brings them down to 8 million, which still leaves them in the number one spot. Just not the number oneist one ever.

 

RuneScape 3 Global Reveal

As part of the new regular weekly reveal videos for RuneScape 3 a new video has been released showing how the world’s press got to learn about the upcoming game. I’m sure my invitation just got lost in the mail. Have a look at the awesome scenery and excitement in the video below.

 

The Aurora World Invites You to be King

A new election system has been introduced to The Aurora World which will allow players to campaign for votes in the hopes of becoming King for the month, and getting some sweet loot. Each month the top 40 players within each nation will be given the opportunity, one by one they will be eliminated until only the King remains.

 

Legend of Edda: Vengeance Open Beta Incoming

Edda Veng

Fans of the RvR Fantasy MMORPG Legend of Edda need wait only a little longer for the completely revamped version to enter open beta. GamesCampus has announced Open Beta would begin on May 16th with some awesome giveaways with over $10,000 in prizes. This won’t be the only event going on during open beta though so keep an eye out on facebook for more details.

Alpha Beta Soup 5/9

Starting today OnRPG is bringing your Alpha and Beta list to you on Thursdays so you can prepare for the weekend early. This week we got exciting news from Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn that closed beta would begin in June. DC’s upcoming MOBA Infinite Crisis entered Closed Beta. While several games entered Open Beta.
As ever you can find all the changes and updates to the list below are in orange for you to find easily.

 

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.

Everlight Open Beta Privilige Pack Giveaway
Loadout Closed Beta Key Giveaway
World of Warplanes Closed Beta Key Giveaway
Yitien Open Beta Pack Giveaway

 

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.

Arcane Saga (Formerly known as Prius Online) Closed Beta May 7
City of Steam Open Beta May 10
Legend of Edda Vengeance Open Beta May 16
Ballistic Closed Beta Spring 2013
Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn Closed Beta June
Firefall Open Beta July 9
Age of Wulin EU Closed Beta 2013

 

Alpha:

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

Gloria Victis Pre-Alpha
Lunaria Story
Onigiri Alpha (Japanese) Between Phases
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
Anno Online
Ascension: Arenas of War Current Status Unknown
Black Prophecy Tactics: Nexus Conflict Current Status Unknown, Website No Longer Exsists
Born To Fire
Bounty Hounds Online Beta Testing Complete. No Launch Date Announced
ChronoBlade
Dragon’s Prophet
Eldevin
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Infinite Crisis
JollyGrim
Kartuga
Loadout
MechWarrior Tactics
March of War
Marvel Heroes
Patterns
Prime World
Strategoria
Transformers Universe Now accepting applications.
Warface
Wildstar
World of Warplanes

 

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

City of Steam Starts May 10
DK Online Servers Closed Temporarily
Dominatron
Dragona Online Russian
Dragon Pals
Dragons and Titans
Dust 514
Ecol Tactics
End of Nations Open Beta delayed until further notice, refunds have been issued.
Everlight
Firefall
FoxLi Rush
Gunswords(English and Russian)
HeroDex
Heroes & Generals
Neverwinter
Origins of Malu
Oversoul
Path of Exile
Raceroom Racing
Real World Racing
Samurai Taisen
Scarlet Blade
SmashMuck Champions
Tales of Laputa
The Aurora World
The Lost Titans
UFO Online
Universal Monsters Online
Warface South Korea
War Thunder
WorldAlpha
Yitien

Arcane Saga Dragon Peros Pack Giveaway

OnRPG is partnering with Net Marble to give out shiny Dragon Peros Packs in celebration of the launch of Arcane Saga!

Arcane Saga Dragon Peros

Arcane Saga is set on Prius, a planet cursed by Rashard, the king of all gods, for its creator’s defiance. Prius now awaits a foretold hero, the Xenor, to rise and free the world from Rashard’s grip. To become the Xenor, players will have to jump into the game and prove themselves worthy. Arcane Saga offers an unrivaled, fast and fun MMO experience in which players can utilize ruthless combo attacks, learn numerous jobs, challenge their fellow players in PvP (both siege and arena), and a new and improved Anima system.

To get your key you have to follow these instructions:

  • If you are not a member of OnRPG Please sign-up here.
  • Enter your OnRPG username and password below to get your key
  • The key will appear at the bottom of the page. Copy & paste it to a safe place as you may not be able to retrieve it once you close your browser!

 

To Redeem your key:

  • Visit the official Arcane Saga website
  • Download the game, create a character, and log-in
  • Go look for the Turtle NPC in each village.
  • Enter your code when prompted. Be careful as the spaces matter
  • If entered properly your Dragon Peros will appear in your inventory!

La Tale Reveals Long Awaited Season 2: Storm Update

LaTale Storm Screen

OGPlanet, a publisher of Free-to-Play, multiplayer, online games, reveals the long awaited Season 2: Storm update to La Tale, the longstanding fantasy MMORPG with massive customization and a reputation for the friendliest community on the F2P net. Fans of La Tale following its progress on Asian servers have been frantic with excitement over Storm’s Western release for quite some time. But for those unfamiliar with what all Storm brings, check the graphic below.

LaTale STORM Fact Sheet

“We’re thrilled to be finally rolling out Storm for our North American players,” said Jason H. Lee, Executive Director of OGPlanet. “The La Tale community is incredibly enthusiastic and they bring so much to the online play experience. We’re very happy to have such a supportive group of players.”

Be sure to stay up-to-date on the progress of the patch at http://latale.ogplanet.com.