Yearly Archives: 2016

Hero’s Song Press Event Thoughts

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

 

Hero's Song Trailer

John Smedley, CEO of PixelMage Games showed us the latest on Hero’s Song, an upcoming game from his new indie studio. Some might know him from Sony Online Entertainment, and I met him at Pax West briefly this year to get a little sneak peek at said game. It was brief, but I got to see a lot more of it this year. I have to say, this is probably the most unique title I’ve had the pleasure to look at in a very long time. Sure, visually it’s got a sort of retro look, but that has nothing to do with why it’s special!! What makes it special? You control how the world is going to work to a large degree.

You don’t create your own character; your choices in world making determine what you can play! He showed us how you select a few Gods for your pantheon, and change how much influence they have on the world. This can affect stuff like topography, what races have what power on the world, and if the races even appear at all! So you can have an ocean-heavy world that is possibly heavily dominated by Dwarves if you really wanted I imagine. That’s a cool feature, making some sort of ridiculous pantheon of Gods. You also select a God of the Afterlife. This game features permadeath, but if you die, you go to the Underworld. Depending on what God rules there, it will change the trial you have to undergo to return to the world of the living. Failure will result in permadeath. So you have to be considerate in what you set up for your Gods.

Hero's Song Dialogue

These choices will also influence how many of the 21 classes will be available, and what sorts of histories your character will have. The character you pick will be someone who already has a tie to this world, and when you create it, the game will create 10,000 years worth of history. That’s a really awesome feature, and I cannot wait to see what kinds of worlds will spring up hosted by various players. They’re saying they want to have up to 200 players on a world, which is pretty huge. If your family per say has a history of being skilled blacksmiths, maybe you’ll start with a better sword or axe, or if they were wise, brave adventurers you could get a handy starting skill.

I’m really interested in seeing how it builds the worlds, and checking out the events that led you up to the point you are at now in your world. But what is your goal? There is no real “questing” system, so what do you do? Your ultimate goal is Godhood, and when you ascend to that final point in your life, one of the really interesting things happens. That character, depending on how they lived/what they did, will influence what kind of God they are. You can then add them to a new worlds’ pantheon and, from what I understand, will be able to share them with your friends to influence their worlds! There was also talk of opening up modding for players to really crack these worlds open.

Hero's Song Town

Our look at Hero’s Song was brief, and I have to say, I’m blown away at just how much can be done here. The possibilities are literally endless. Not every class/character/weapon/skill will be available either. It really depends on how the world is simulated/what choices you made in the initial creation of the world. What your characters can do is based on this simulation. It’s an action-RPG set in a series of created worlds, and no player’s experience will be the same. That’s one of the really solid goals here. It’s not very structured in that there is no main quest storyline to undergo, and while that’s normally a checkmark in the “negative” column for me, I really am more curious to see what kind of horrific hellscapes I can create and attempt to survive. Hero’s Song is really interesting, and you’d do well if you like action-RPGs that look a little retro and don’t hold your hand. It’s being updated all the time, and is really going to be mind-blowing when it finally goes live.

Clash of Ninja Closed Beta Rewards Pack Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with Joyfun to ring in testing of Clash of Ninja Online with a closed beta rewards pack giveaway!

Clash of Ninja mixes populate elements from various browser MMORPGs including empire building, squad construction, territorial wars, tech research, and RPG character evolution while keeping the setting within the Naruto universe. Battle alongside iconic characters of the naruto universe, unlock their true strength, ally with other ninja villages, and conquer the world of ninjas on a worldwide stage!

CDK Rewards:
Coupon x 50
Wood(5k) x 2
Grain(5k) x 2
Lottery Ticket x 10
Property Certificate x 1-

 

To Redeem Your Code:

  1. Visit the Joyfun landing page here.
  2. Enter the game and create your avatar.
  3. Click your avatar and click ‘Redeem Gift’ Button.
  4. Input your CD Key, and press the button [Redeem] to claim rewards.

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AdventureQuest 3D Open Beta Review

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor)

 

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AdventureQuest has always been this game that’s been around. While other MMOs went for flashier graphics and gimmickier gameplay, they stayed true to what won their huge fanbase over in the first place. Any old school gamer likely associates AQ with good memories you once had, and it always surprises you that the game is still around. Every year they have tons of updates and new content, and have their own niche of style that keeps players interested and around to play. I personally always go back when I hear about new content, and always stick around for a couple of months until I have my eyes set on something new. That’s the place AQ has always held in my gaming schedule, a fun game I play when I get bored, and where I know I will have a great time, but I never stick around for the long run, because it isn’t really about a daily grind. But now AdventureQuest has taken a different path, joining the rest of the genre in their own styled 3D game.

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On the 19th of October the open beta of AdventureQuest 3D went live to everyone out there, and being an AdventureQuest fan I personally couldn’t wait to get my hands on the game and try it out. How would their stylized niche fit in the 3D realm? They always excel in keeping a simplistic style of gameplay without necessarily feeling like the game is only made for a younger audience. This has a lot to do with their more adult storytelling and the older community built around the game. As I jumped into the game I was ready to hunt for this same experience, hoping I wouldn’t be disappointed.

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The game starts by making one of three available classes: rogue, warrior and mage. I personally went for the warrior because they have always been notorious for having kick ass looking swords, and who doesn’t want to look awesome while slashing away monsters? And right off the bat you are thrown into the world of chaos, special looking creatures and NPCs that will have fun with you. Your first encounter will right away show you what makes a game more fun and engaging – a small little creature who has decided that tutorials are boring explains to you that the game is not fit for this world. In the end the small creature will instead tell you how the game works, and slowly finds out the mistake he has made. A nice little touch of self-awareness as to how the industry is ran, and what people can find in games of today. The jabs at other games of the modern era keeps the dialogue interesting.

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The niche of AdventureQuest is unfortunately something I felt was missing right from the get go. The game usually is known for its special style, and obviously the simplistic gameplay. This new 3D version captures the feel of the world and simplistic controls fine, but that special feeling of playing AdventureQuest is not. The controls are really straight forward, almost the same as any other MMORPG, but it feels a bit clunkier. Looking around doesn’t work that well yet, and you can really tell that they’ve been scrambling around trying to make the game work on multiple devices. Yes that is right, you cannot only play this game on your computer but on your mobile devices as well. Therefore the game isn’t really the best looking game of this era either, it looks… well let’s just say simple. The effects aren’t worth talking about either, and in general feels a bit lacking as an actual PC game.

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Once done with the starting zone, you go to the next local hub where you will be able to talk with a few locals to obtain a series of quests. As usual in AdventureQuest games, you roll right back into another story and continue from there. The first thing I noticed was how little information there was available both on the screen and from some of the shops. I had to guess a few of the things, and I bought a few items from shop that I thought were of use to me, but instead ended up being the same as the items I was already equipped with. My precious saved coin turned into junk in the confusion. The game also lacks some sort of a map, so I really had no idea whatsoever what the world really looks like, and where I would have to go for quests, or other objectives. Rather than a feeling of mystery, this gave off the feeling of a shallow world.

 

Initiated quests all filter into your quest log for tracking. Here you can track all of your quests, and travel to each of the required zones to complete these quests. Unfortunately the traveling wasn’t working too well either; some quests had a working travel function, some of them not. When the auto-travel is busted you just have to use the context clues to figure your way there. Speaking of the travel, AdventureQuest is unlike other games that involve physically moving to a portal or some sort. You simply find out the zone you will have to head into, and usually there will be a travel function set in place to teleport you to the right area. This idea works well with the previous AdventureQuest, but again gives me a shallow feeling in this new 3D version. I personally prefer traveling through the actual world, discovering things and seeing how the world is shaped. Skipping the in-between to teleport right to the final destination is convenient, but it’s what a MMO in my eyes needs to get you intrigued in the world and the problems involving it.

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The combat in itself is nothing special either. It reminds me of simple mobile games where you will simply click on your target, or use your tab function, unlike some other games (I am looking at you Blizzard, you should really feel ashamed by the way). Once an enemy is targeted, you can cycle through the five buttons in your right hand corner to use your specials. As I mentioned earlier, the spells’ animations and effects aren’t really too flashy, but it gets the job done and probably makes the performance a little better when you are playing on a tablet or mobile phone.

 

Since you do not really have a map, or a minimap of the area, it is really hard to figure out what quests you can really do, and which ones are in a higher area or zone where the monsters are too strong for you to handle. Especially in the beginning I had some trouble staying in the right zone fighting monsters of my own level. I kept traveling to these other areas as quests directed me, only to find out the monsters were twice my level and could kill me in a few hits. The complete lack of tools to navigate your way through the world is unacceptable for an MMORPG designed today. With gamers running on limited time, we don’t want to waste our hours getting trashed by monsters because we don’t know the right place to go to in order to experience the game as it’s intended.

 

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State of the Beta: Fair

Right now I do not really feel the game is worth looking into if you are looking for an actual PC game MMO. The game feels a little empty, a little too simple, and a little unfinished around the edges. People these days have high (sometimes ridiculous) standards for their MMORPG, and will feel immediately disappointed that AQ3D doesn’t live up to them. As an actual mobile phone MMORPG I can definitely see the potential and fun. The game does feel like it definitely belongs there, but feels like it’s too much of a stretch to target the PC fans. If I want to play AdventureQuest, I prefer to play the current 2D version of the game instead of this beta.

Kakao Games teams with Bluehole for “Project-W”

Kakao

This just in:

Kakao Games, home of Black Desert Online, recently made a huge acquisition! They entered a strategic partnership with Bluehole, one of the premiere PC, creator of titles such as TERA and Devilian! We have absolutely no idea what this game will entail yet, but it’s a huge scoop, and there is a great deal of promise in this upcoming deal!  NCSoft’s former Chief Art Director, Hyung-Jun Kim. Now, I have not played Black Desert Online much, nor TERA, but I do think this is going to be a huge deal! Both games are gorgeous, and have unique approaches to their gameplay. I’m genuinely excited to see what kind of game springs from this partnership. Little to nothing is known about Project W though, and I’m hoping we get something exclusive on it soon. Kakao is one hell of a publisher, and their investment in Bluehole as well as their willingness to publish their title says a lot about the faith they have in Bluehole as well as this project. If Black Desert Online is any indicator, this is going to be a huge gamechanger for the MMO market. We’re going to keep our eyes on what this “Project W” is, and we hope to have something for you before too long!