Yearly Archives: 2013

Nitto 1320 Legends

Being the successor to an old favorite can be a difficult thing. Nitto 1320 Legends has taken up the challenge of providing a more advanced and fun experience than it’s already very fun predecessor, Nitto 1320 Challenge. Nitto 1320 is known for allowing virtual racers the ability to change and customize their cars with the same amount of freedom as you would expect to have in real life. The single greatest improvement that came with Legends, it might be argued, is the ability to race head-to-head unlike the turn-based Challenge.

 

Features

Real Physics: Every inch of customization will take its toll on your vehicle. Learn the way your parts impact your car or you’ll never become a master.

Real-Time Racing: Improving on its predecessor, players can take part in live tournaments or spectate other drivers. Or join with fellow players to create an official racing team.

Pre-Race Tactics: Whether you want a running start or want to inch to the very tip of the starting line, players can use different tactics along with different vehicle specs to maximize their performance.

Own the Town: Purchase and upgrade your digs to house more cars and gain access to higher tier racing regions. Only the best of the best will be allowed to show their skill in the top zone.

Nitto 1320 Legends Review – A Legend Reborn

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Being the successor to an old favorite can be a difficult thing. Nitto 1320 Legends has taken up the challenge of providing a more advanced and fun experience than it’s already very fun predecessor, Nitto 1320 Challenge. Nitto 1320 is known for allowing virtual racers the ability to change and customize their cars with the same amount of freedom as you would expect to have in real life. The single greatest improvement that came with Legends, it might be argued, is the ability to race head-to-head unlike the turn-based Challenge. I remember Nitto 1320 Challenge being very addicting when I was younger, so I can’t wait to see how things have changed with 1320 Legends.

 

Customization

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Nitto 1320 Legends is known for giving its players the ability to customize their cars with almost the same amount of realism as you could in the real world. Purchasing parts and fine turning the tiniest details about your car is a big part of making sure you win. Unlike the original, you won’t be able to just buy the fastest car and the best parts and win; you will now need to make sure you have the ideal parts combinations for your car, while tuning each to shave off milliseconds from your time when racing. It is the realism offered by Legends’ improved physics engine that will interest car racing fans.

 

Nitto 1320 Car Customization

 

 

Graphics

The graphics in Nitto 1320 Legends are a massive step-up from what was available in Challenge. That being said, the graphics still aren’t very impressive. But then again, I can understand and accept this and still have fun with the game because I know that it isn’t the focus of the game at all. Unfortunately, I fear that some people will not be able to cope without action-packed 3D graphics blowing their minds. For those that can, though, a lot of good is waiting for you.

 

Nitto 1320 Main Map

 

 

Controls

The control scheme used in Nitto 1320 Legends is pretty easy to get used to. You use your mouse for the gas and break. For gear changing, you will either use the up and down arrow keys or W and S keys. I kind of wished that the gas wasn’t done by dragging the mouse, as I found it not to be the most efficient way to do it. However, I did get used to it rather quick. And I admit, using the mouse allows for a lot more control over your speed which can come in handy, especially at the start of a race.

 

 

Community

Nitto 1320 Legends has a lot of young fans, just as its predecessor did. It also has a lot of older players, though. And while some formally young fans may now be the older fans, one thing as stayed the same: the scamming. Yes, the Nitto community is infested with scammers, even to this day. Although, now it feels like they are dealt with much faster than in the past. You’re almost as likely to have a hardcore discussion on cars and drag racing as you are to have a stranger ask you for your username and password so that he can give you the best cars and unlimited money.

 

Another thing I noticed is that the community, in size, is but a shell of what I saw when I played Challenge years and years ago. And a lot of the players do not speak English – which isn’t a bad thing, it just makes it hard for an English speaker like me to make friends and enjoy the game to its fullest. And considering that Legends has a lot more emphasis on player versus player challenges, this really makes for a difficult time trying to have fun. You ask questions and all you get is a lot of, “jajajajaja” and words that you think might be insults but aren’t sure. This sucks because Nitto 1320 is one of those games that basically requires that you rely on other players to teach you secrets, tricks and techniques.

 

Nitto 1320 Not English

 

 

Gameplay

The gameplay in Nitto 1320 Legends is very similar to the original 1320 Challenge. As I’ve already mentioned, the biggest difference is a more realistic physics engine that makes fine-tuning your car all the more important. Another big difference is the addition of live racing, something that was absent from the previous Challenge. This means that live tournaments that allow for spectators are available. The downside to 1320 is that it is behind other games by a long shot, and so may not appeal to anyone but hardcore drag racing fans, or those with weaker computers.

 

Nitto 1320 Live Tournaments

 

There are a couple of ways to race. The Dial-In method, where you try to predetermine your time and do your best to get as close as you can to it without going over it. And then there is the head-to-head method, which is self-explanatory and my personal favorite. You can choose to wager on the race, or you can have it just be a friendly challenge. You enter a racing room – which is a glorified chat room – set up a challenge, choose who you are going to challenge and what the rules behind the race are and hope they accept.

 

Nitto 1320 Challenge

 

The actual racing is pretty interesting. You start several feet from the starting line and the first step to move your car into the start zone. Your placement in the starting zone has a lot to do with your strategy for that race. Starting further back might allow you to employ a technique that might, if you can keep tire traction, give you the ability to speed up faster than your opponent. On the opposite end of the spectrum, starting as close to the line as possible ups your chance of fouling, but might buy you that tenth of a second that makes all the difference. The same thought processes that go into real racing goes into preparing for a race in Legends, which is why people like the game.

 

Nitto 1320 Race

 

A lot of the game doesn’t center around the actual racing, but preparing for races. This means stuff such as car shopping, parts shopping, and tuning your vehicle parts for maximum speed output and efficiency. The game world is broken into several parts, and your goal is basically to start at the bottom with nothing and make it into the big leagues by buying property in other parts of the map. Only the best of the best are allowed access to the top zone on the map. You can even start or join a racing team, which provides a sort of clan-like community that you may know from other MMOs.

 

Nitto 1320 Property Map

 

 

Conclusion

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of racing games, so I don’t have much experience with them. So far, however, I feel that Nitto 1320 Legends is definitely doing things right. The fact that it uses 2D graphics is a massive downer for most people, but is also a plus for those that do not have a great computer. I feel the game would actually work incredibly well as a smartphone game, as it’s just not enough for most people on the computer. One thing I noticed that has me a bit afraid is that the developer’s last announcement was in December of 2012, over five months ago. If you are looking for a low-requirement racing game, go ahead and check out this one as it’s free and can be quite fun.

 

 

Features: 3/5 – A Decent number of features for a racing game.

Customization: 4/5 – A lot of car customization.

Graphics: 2/5 – Just not enough for a client-based computer game.

Controls: 3/5 – They work well but take times to master.

Community: 2.5/5 – It’s on the low side, and the small community that is there is not that great.

 

Overall: 3/5 – It’s worth a try if you need a low-requirement racing game.

Wargaming.net Celebrates Military Month with WoT Facebook Giveaway

World of Tanks Military Month Giveaway

It’s National Military Appreciation Month, and Wargaming.net is celebrating in style with a generous promotion for players of the popular World of Tanks. Nab a package containing a load of cool items and perks, just for visiting the official Facebook page and copying the code to use for your account! Here’s what you’ll get:

  •     1 Day of Premium
  •     5 Cases of Cola
  •     5 Chocolate
  •     5 Improved Combat Rations
  •     5 Pudding and Tea
  •     5 Strong Coffee
  •     5 Extra Combat Rations

This offer expires 16:59 PDT (19:59 EDT) on May 15, 2013, so don’t miss out!

World of Tanks is a  free-to-play armored warfare MMO by Wargaming.net with highly customizable and flexible gameplay.  Upgrade and develop authentic vehicles, and try tons of weapons.  Each unit type has strengths and weaknesses, and in the right hands can help to make or break team objectives.

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.