Monthly Archives: March 2017

Warfare Online First Impressions: An Accessible Real Time Strategy Game

By Mohammad Abubakr

 

A few years ago, a lot of my time was spent playing Starcraft II. The real-time strategy genre was big and dominated the E-Sports scene. However, this has been changing over time. Real time strategy (RTS) games have slowly been consumed by MOBA/ARTS (Action RTS) games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. While they may not be completely gone from the gaming world, we do not hear about many RTS games these days. When I was introduced to a strategy war game, I was looking forward to trying it out. Read on to learn more about Warfare Online!

Warfare Online is an action strategy game featuring simplified real time strategy elements. This simplified strategy game advertises itself as being more accessible than others. Hardcore real time strategy games can be daunting for new players and even be very tiring for experts. I can still remember my fingers needing some rest after mashing away at keys playing Starcraft II. Warfare still offers elements of strategy but in a more relaxing form.

 

I did not expect to find a well-done tutorial in the early access

 

The game pits you against one other player as you both work towards destroying each other’s base. Using your custom-made platoon, you deploy troops to the field as they become available. Being a simplified RTS game, the only commands available for each team of units is to advance and cancel action (leave cover). Units will continue to march forwards unless a cover spot is marked at which point they will camp there.

While this system may seem maybe too simple, it leads to action packed games that only last a few minutes. Without being able to retreat, you are forced to always be in the action until your units die. You cannot fall back and build up a large army, like many players like to do in other RTS games. The best comparison I can make for the units is that to creeps or minions from ARTS games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. They mindlessly march towards the enemy base until they die or you order them to take cover.

 

Maps are made up of single lanes

 

Additional support assets are also available allowing you to assist your army as they march towards the enemy base. Assets such as mortar strikes and draw fire help to add in some additional complexity to the game. However, the game still maintains its accessible real time strategy nature.

After playing a few matches, I have found that there is some strategy involved but, likely due to my low level, it does not go as deep as other games. You will mostly be deciding in which order to send out your units and reacting against enemy units. It kind of feels like a game of Rock Paper Scissors where certain units are better against others. For example, I could keep sending Machine Gunners out to mow down enemy infantry but if I encounter a tank, I’m forced to send out Anti-Vehicle units.

 

Units can only be commanded to advance and take cover

 

Moving on from the gameplay, as a beta game, I was very impressed with the polish found in the game. The developers have done a great job to certain aspects of the game where even fully released games are lacking. The user interface, graphics, and sound are all very well done. I was very impressed with the sound the units make – they sound great! The controls however, can use some work. The game is very easy to pick up and play but little things like not being able to click on the cover markers to go into or leave cover are annoying – why do I have to click on the cover itself? Shouldn’t clicking on the marked cover area be good enough? Maybe I’m just being picky here though.

 

State of the Beta: Fun but for how long?

I enjoyed the time I spent playing Warfare Online. At first I was turned off by the simple nature of the game but quickly understood why this decision was made: the game is guaranteed to be fast and action-packed. However, there is also the drawback of having a low skill cap and quickly running out of things to do. Once I’ve spent hours upon hours on the game, what is going to make me want to come back for more?

The game feels more like a mobile game to me than a fully-fledged PC game. It’s something I can see myself playing from time to time but nothing I can commit too. The game gets very repetitive over time and there is not much calling me back after playing a few rounds. The reason I can invest thousands of hours into games such as Dota 2 and Counter Strike is that they bring out the competitive nature in all of us. They are fun for all but also feature an insanely high skill cap and unlimited possibilities. There is always something you can do and every game teaches you something new. I do not see this happening in a simplified RTS game.

 


You better have some anti-vehicle units for tanks

 

Let’s not dismiss games just because they feel like mobile games though. Look at what has happened lately with games such as Clash of Clans and Clash Royale attracting millions of players and even offering competitive E-Sports tournaments. In its current state, I do not see the same happening for Warfare Online but it is one of the better early access games I have played in a long time. This shows great potential for the game. Simple additions such as competitive modes with proper rankings and ladders can help spice up the game. The simple need to improve and reach the top can often be enough to keep players coming back for more.

The game is free to play and available on Steam; don’t take my word for it, check it out!

First Impressions: Solstice Chronicles: MIA

Solstice Chronicles Editorial

Twin-Stick shooters are a blast if you’ll pardon the expression. They’re almost universally challenging, you’ll face hordes of enemies, and they’ve been around since the 70s/80s. You tend to get lots of really cool guns, powerups, grenades, and things to wipe the field because, damnit, you’re gonna need them. You get some of those in the game I’ve been taking look at in Solstice Chronicles: MIA. It’s a twin-stick in Alpha Testing over on Steam, and I have to say, for an alpha, it’s damn fun. Challenging as Hell, gritty, dark [literally], but terribly fun. You play as a Space Marine, I believe, who sounds suspiciously like Batman from the Animated Series. At some points he does, anyway. You start off with just you, a pistol, and a snarky little robot that helps you through the tutorial phase. You learn about ammo drops, picking up new guns, and the various functions your little buddy can do to help [and also simultaneously hinder, because why should anything be easy?] on your quest to destroy these aliens or mutants. These hideous creatures have to be exploded into bits, and you will have the tools for the job. That’s the tale behind Solstice Chronicles: MIA; you have to stop this alien menace, and it’s going to take every bullet in the world to do it. It’s a follow-up to the game The Red Solstice, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam. I think Solstice Chronicles: MIA will do the same.

Solstice Chronicles Editorial 2

You’re going to run out of ammo though, and grenades. A lot. That’s gonna happen. Like I said above though, you do have a bit of help.  Your drone can do a few tasks like start a bomb [that grows in radius, and can also kill you], set up a drop zone for much-needed items [the longer you stand in it and get items, the higher the threat meter goes], or taunt the aliens. I haven’t found a use for that one yet, because every time I do, I get overwhelmed unless I have enough grenades and bullets. You can also set up a force field! It keeps out weaker aliens, but the bigger ones can get through, albeit with a slow. Use it too long, and a Boss will spawn, though! Any help in this game that the drone can offer comes at a very high price, so only use it sparingly. I think that’s why it’s like that. Twin-stick shooters are never easy, even on the Easy setting. That’s one of the things I like about this game. It gives a tiny bit of hand-holding, but then when you do it, they slap your hand on the stove to teach you a lesson: There’s no such thing as a free meal! Or … ammo drop. You can also turn on auto-aim if you’re having issues with the twin-stick/there are simply too many things around, but when the bar for it goes down, you have to wait before doing it again.

Solstice Chronicles Editorial 3

You can upgrade your guns, learn abilities/gain skills, and swap out your kit in bits and pieces. You can change your flare [one of the only ways to really see in the darkness] into a variety of grenades, you can set up a turret with a limited amount of ammo to help you fight bosses and waves of grass, exploding aliens. and choose your two guns you start with for each stage. So far I’ve seen a shotgun, SMG, pistol, and assault rifle, but I’m sure there are more than that. Each gun has its own range/width to the fire, and I highly recommend you don’t piss bullets away on the SMG by firing before they’re decently close. But all guns use the same ammo. I hate/like this. Hate it, because I can’t swap guns and get back to killing. Love it, because I pretty much can always get ammo for any gun. And with lots of gun options, simplifying it is really the best option. I also really love that I can fire a rocket that explodes, especially when there’s a horde waiting and several cans of conveniently flammable liquid around. BOOM! goes the thunderous sound, as bodies squelch and dissipate into a fine mist within flickering flames. If you die, and you will definitely die, you can respawn a few times, and anything near you is likely to explode. You do have a limited amount of lives, though, and no continues. You get a game over. . .It happened a lot, but I’m not the best action gamer, no matter how much I love them.

Hype Train Verdict: It’s chugging along! 

Solstice Chronicles Editorial 4

This is in the alpha phase, so I hesitate to give it a rating, but it’s definitely fun. This is a game I’d like to play multiplayer in, 2, maybe 4 people. It’s a style of game I want to see come back: top-down/isometric, twin-stick action. Tons of enemies, tons of difficulty, requiring tactical thinking and decision making with edge-of-your-seat action. This is not a game I forsee people just sitting down and beating in one sitting. There also appears to be a Survival mode, and if your character survives, your stats go with you, probably to the main game, which would be awesome. You need all the help you can get in Solstice Chronicles: MIA. The pace is deliberately slow, the visuals are purposefully dark [but flares can help, as can explosions], and the difficulty is intentionally ramped up. That’s the way games were when I was a younger man, and I’m glad to see them come back. Things I’d like to see fixed up though: The Marine’s run speed, the speed of his auto-attack, maybe a continue system? That last one I don’t suppose is necessary, but it sure would be nice. This build only featured the first three levels, so I guess it all makes sense that I’d have to start over.  All in all, Solstice Chronicles: MIA is fun, and it’s only going to get better as time marches on!

It’s also almost completely funded on Fig! 98% there! Want to help or take a look? Click this link!

AdventureQuest 3D GDC Blade Giveaway

OnRPG has partnered with Artix to celebrate their presence at the recent GDC convention in SF with a special GDC Blade giveaway for Adventure Quest 3D (AQ3D)!

AdventureQuest 3D is an MMO role-playing adventure game. The original AdventureQuest was a single-player Flash game created in 2002 and has had a major content update every single week since its launch. The game has had 65+ million players and still remains extremely active. Artix Entertainment is an innovative and fun independent video game studio which has been developing and publishing RPG and MMORPG games to its audience of 200+ million registered players since 2002. Popular titles include AdventureQuest Worlds, AdventureQuest, DragonFable, Epicduel, BattleGems, and the recently released BioBeasts. Visit www.Artix.com for more information.

GDC-Blade

To Redeem your Key:

  • Go to www.AQ3D.com
  • Click Account and login.
  • Choose “Redeem Code” and enjoy!

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