GunZ 2 - EU CBT Impressions

At long last, MAIET Entertainment is finally giving the English speaking world a taste of their long-awaited TPS title: GunZ: The Second Duel (GunZ TSD). "ProSiebenSat.1 Games", the same publishers that host Alaplaya, has recently launched their second closed beta test back in Novemeber, and this time with very little signs of IP blockage. While I could have waited for the upcoming Steam version that’s set to be released this December, I rushed for the nearest beta key I could get and hopped in, because as some of you know, I’m a complete and total GunZ fanatic.

For those that have been living under a rock: GunZ: The Second Duel, sequel to the original GunZ: The Duel, is a third-person shooter that’s all about doing things with style. While it may look like just your average third-person shooter, GunZ TSD throws in a bunch of its own unique mechanics that will make you feel like acrobatic action hero, such as being able to climb and run along walls, knock enemies into the air and then gun ‘em down all Devil May Cry-style, and plenty of other neat tricks that come straight out of a Hollywood popcorn flick.

One of the biggest changes to GunZ: The Second Duel compared to its predecessor, however, is the removal of K-Style: A popular playstyle that significantly changed the overall flow of gameplay by allowing players to jump, dash, block and shoot all at the same time. While this made the gameplay a lot more intense and exciting, it also brought weapon imbalance, made latency issues more apparent and even brought about health concerns from prolonged performance of K-style techniques, such as Carpal Tunnel.

MAIET thought long and hard about wanting to bring K-style back for the release of GunZ TSD, as shown in the game’s alpha footage: Players were able to perform moves including shotslashes (rather than slashshots), light steps and more. But in the end, MAIET came to the conclusion that it was too much of a hassle to bring it all back if they were going to achieve a more balanced shooting game.

So now, GunZ TSD lives on as a game that’s (literally) sticking to its guns to provide a TPS experience that’s fast and accessible to all gamers, but will it be fast enough for hardcore fans of the original?

NYCC 2013 - Wildstar Interview w/ David Bass

So as last bit of NYCC 2013 action was an interview with the community team for Carbine Studios last Friday. I got to have full-on interview with David "Scooter" Bass to talk about Wildstar. Most of the questions were gathered by forum members of the OnRPG community, as well. (Thanks for your questions, guys!)

Oh, and don't mind the little bits of me being awkward. I was kinda anxious to play Wildstar myself!

Seal Online: Blade of Destiny - Review

Seal Online. The name of this MMORPG means a lot to me, as I've had many fond memories playing this on my under-powered Pentium Celeron PC during my younger years. For its time, it was a game that paved the way for many different possibilities in MMORPGs. Since the game’s initial English release in 2007, the game has had a re-launch called Seal Online: Eternal Destiny, which featured a new monster survival mode and a new hunter class. They also decided that it would be a good idea to wipe the ENTIRE player database clean for this re-launch, which I’m sure a lot of veteran players were not happy about.

Now in 2013, the game has had a second re-launch called Seal Online: Blades of Destiny, which retains all the features from the previous Seal Online while throwing in a new Black Dragon Raid and Battle Pets. It doesn't sound like much that would make new and old veterans interested in playing, and to be perfectly honest: It really isn't. This is because Seal Online is a game that has been past its prime for years now. Just about everything in Seal Online has been done in other MMORPGs and has been done better.

Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep - Preview

The Lord of the Rings universe is about to go in deep… Helm’s deep, that is. The newest expansion for LOTRO is planned to be release very soon, with many new features and additions, including new landscapes across Western Rohan, a new level cap of 95, new skills, class specs, and of course, the battle for Helm’s Deep which is centered around a huge conflict straight from the Lord of the Rings novels and movies.

To give players a glimpse into the future expansion, staff from Turbine studios invited members of the press to show off a preview of the game during its early alpha stages, and when I mean early, I mean REALLY early, as many of the new areas were still being worked on.

HeroesGo - Review

ESTGames, the publisher and developers behind the classic hack n’ slash MMORPG “Cabal Online” has recently brought over a not-so-new MORPG to the F2P market. The name of this MORPG was recently known as “Howling Sword” in South Korea. With bright visuals, anime inspired characters and an arcade style approach, Howling Sword provided a more authentic hack n’ slash experience. Unfortunately, Howling Sword was not very well received in South Korea, and was then taken offline within a few short years.
After some re-structuring, ESTGames decided to give Howling Sword another shot for US and EU territories, but with a new name: HeroesGo. However, with so many MORPGs already offering similar gameplay, visuals and features, does HeroesGo deserve a second chance?

GoD Factory: Wingmen - First Look

Slowly emerging from the dark depths of the galaxy, the space combat genre is slowly making a comeback, and a new indie development group named Nine Dots Canada is looking to create a revolutionary space combat game for the modern age, and they call it “GoD Factory: Wingmen”: a 4 vs 4 competitive space combat game in which the goal is to destroy the enemy's carrier ship while defending your own.  Through the power of the Unity engine, the game features ships from four difference races, fast paced action and hardcore gameplay that are solely made for fans of the genre.

Favorite game - Aces Wild

This game. This freaking game. It's only been a whole day since I first got this game, but it's quite easily the best beat 'em up I've played in a long while, second only to Dragon's Crown on the PS3.
I saw this game being posted on a certain message board the other day, and decided to watch the release trailer for it. I was instantly blown away by how crazy it looked, and so I decided to give the demo version a try.

After one small session with the game's demo, I instantly fell in love with it and bought a copy. Aces Wild is the result of what happens when you mix Dragonball Z, Battletoads and any bullet-hell Shump you can think of. The gameplay is easy to learn, hard to master, is fast-paced as hell and will make your hands screams in agony, but you'll enjoy every second of it. Unlike most beat 'em ups, Aces Wild is more vertical and has a very free-form battle system where you can dash all over the screen, knock and juggle enemies into the air, perform two different kinds of counter attacks to negate all sorts of damage and other gameplay elements that make the game highly unique and entertaining. It also has a risk vs. reward system where defeating enemies while taking minimal hits will increase your damage rank and score multiplier, but as your rank increases, so the the amount of damage you take from enemies but you also take more damage, so you need to stay on your toes whenever you're playing well.

In the later levels, the game really gets intense when you have to pay close attention to your positioning on the screen, as enemies will spring traps and limit your area of movement. Not to mention that enemies can also perform the same moves that you as a player are capable of, including counters, dodges and dashes. This game will have no problem handing your ass back to you on a silver platter and you may get frustrated a bit, but it's a great feeling when you really start to pick up on enemy attack patterns and nail that final blow on an enemy which sends them flying halfway across the planet.

If you're a fan of Dragonball Z, bullet-hell Shumps or just Beat 'em Up games in general, you owe it to yourself to buy this game, or at least try out the demo on the game's website. I can't wait to see how this game will expand in the future, possibly with game modes, characters and the promise of netplay co-op.

This game is easily the best $10 I've spent all year.

Rigde Racer: Driftopia - Impressions

Namco Bandai, a legendary game developer and publisher, known for such titles including Tekken, Ace Combat and Pacman, are now breaking into the F2P scene. With their recent outing of turning the Tekken series into a F2P-viable game, they’re now looking to give their Ridge Racer series the same treatment with Ridge Racer: Driftopia, a F2P version of last year’s previous title: Ridge Racer: Unbounded. While the idea sounds good on paper, after several hours of play, I have come to the awful conclusion that this game, in is current state, is quite possibly the worst example of how to structure a F2P game ever.

ChronoBlade - Beta Review

Facebook gaming is about to get a little brutal with this recent title created by developer and publisher group “nWay”. ChronoBlade is a 2.5D multiplayer online beat ‘em up that features fast-paced, arcade style action, mixed with multiplayer co-op mayhem, all made possible through the power of Adobe Flash 3D.

Now multiplayer beat ‘em ups are very rare in this day and age, and even rarer are the ones that can be played online. With the recent departure of Nexon’s Dungeon Fighter Online for North America, the itch of combo heavy combat started to linger on me. With a quick glance at what ChronoBlade had to offer, I was hoping it could scratch that itch.

Onigiri - Alpha Test Impressions

From the land of the rising sun comes a brand new F2P title that’s all about the land of the rising sun. Onigiri is an ancient Japanese themed MMORPG where players can battle against creatures based on Japanese myth and folklore, all while pulling in a diverse cast of characters to partner up with.

Recently, CyberStep hosted an alpha test that was solely focused on testing out the game’s party mode and latency issues. With only a few days to give the game a try, I jumped in on it from day one.

TERA: Rising – Alliance Update Interview

Just a few days ago, En Masse Entertainment has released their biggest update for TERA: Rising yet. Known as the “Alliance” update, TERA players can now participate in faction-based PvPvE scenarios in order to gain power, fame and a new mysterious crystal energy known as “noctenium”. The new alliance system also introduces new PvP gear, new jewelry and plenty more.

While the update has been met with much praise, it has also been met with many concerns from the community. With that in mind, I felt it would be best to get some of their questions answered regarding this new update.

Ballistic - Beta Impressions

Oh boy, it’s time for yet another military FPS game! Aren't you excited, kids?! I sure am, as we certainly do not have enough of these in the market today. But wait a second…

This isn't just any military FPS game. It’s a military FPS game that you can play… in your internet browser?!

[/sarcasm]

Okay, so sarcasm aside, a development group named Rumble Entertainment is prompting their newest browser-based title on Facebook called “Ballistic”, and its set to make FPS action quick and accessible for anyone with a modern PC. Sounds interesting enough, but browser-based FPS shooters have already been done before, so how much is this game really bringing to the table?

Just an update - 8/14/2013

So here I am, procrastinating on work, as usual! But I still have a bit of time on my hands to post an update on my current personal status and my upcoming projects for OnRPG. One thing I'd like to talk (or rant) about is the newest update for TERA: Rising which is the Alliance system.  I've been looking forward to this new system for years, as I had many different plans in mind for it, including an RP-PvP based guild. Sadly, my plans fell through the roof due to many different reasons. The most prominent reason was the lack of interest from the community overall, as I was looking for a very specific kind of player to join my guild. Sadly, I wasn't able to rope in enough qualified members, so I decided to put my plans to rest and instead just focus on enjoying the Alliance update on my own.

The update finally came out on Tuesday the 13th (yesterday). I was kind of excited to give it a go.

I gave it a try and got a big surprise: It wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be.

Alliance PvP is basically TERA's version of "World vs. World vs. World" mode" from Guild Wars 2, but it's nowhere near as engaging, since participating in Alliance PvE is just more of the same crap were used to: Kill the same rehashed BAMs, gather the same resource nodes, fight the same trash mobs, etc. What irks me the most about Alliance PvE is that it's the most effective way to earn contribution points. Which is silly, because I thought this was supposed to be a PvP focused update.

Oh, but there is PvP in there, no doubt. And it IS generally enjoyable when players are spread out all across the alliance maps, however, when attacking and defending alliance bases, it turns into "Fraywind Canyon 2: Electric Boogaloo" except now with twice the lag and three times the zerging. It also doesn't help that alliances are heavily unbalanced right now due to the amount of players in each faction, and there's no sign that the community will even things out, as all of the PvP tryhards have piled into Kaiator, the mass PvE guilds in Allemanthia, and everyone else in Velika (including me). Velika stands no chance against the other two alliances due to their sheer numbers, and there's absolutely no incentive for players to even think about joining a weaker faction, so Velika is going to be nothing but a punching bag for weeks or even months to come. And I'm not alone in this, either. If you check on the official forums, many people are speaking up over it, and the story is the same on almost every server, including Mount Tryanus, Ascension Valley, Tempest Reach and Celestial Hills. Here's a link to just one of the major topics on the subject of player imbalances: http://tera-forums.enmasse.com/forums/general-discussion/topics/Great-Job-Community-you-killed-PvP

All alliances not being able to have a fighting chance is going to end in disaster. As soon as either Kaiator or Allemantheia gets a foothold on the other faction, and Velika not being able to keep the other two factions on their toes, only one faction will forever stay on top. In fact: This is exactly what happened to Alliances in K-TERA, where everyone is just piled into one whole faction while the other two rot. At that point, one would simply ask: "Why bother having a faction system in the first place" if things are going to be THIS imbalanced?

'll try and stay optimistic, hoping that the community will sort things out by the end of the week, but so far, I'm doubting it.

Update: I recently got approved to do an interview with EME regarding the Alliance update. I already have a few questions prepared, but I'm trying to get a few community focused questions available, such as their concerns on the player imbalance and spawn camping. I started a thread on the official forums, with which players can leave a question and decide which questions should be answered the most.

http://tera-forums.enmasse.com/forums/general-discussion/topics/Tell-me-what-to-ask-EME-regarding-the-Alliance-update

Just a thought - EverQuest Next

Hello again, random browsers and all five of you rabid followers. Today's a new day for some talk about the MMO industry. I've been pretty giddy all of last week since Sony Online Entertainment revealed details on their upcoming sandbox MMORPG: EverQuest Next, which is set to be (pre-)released by the end of this year. First off, I was instantly taken in by the new visual style of the game, which had a much more cartoon look to it. This is excellent because in all honesty, I really can't stand the "realistic" style that almost every single western fantasy MMORPG goes with these days. With a more cartoon style, the game comes off with a more lively tone. It certainly worked for Wildstar by Carbine Studios, because along with that game, Everquest Next is the second western MMORPG I've ever been interested in play. And personally, I can't wait to play as a Kerran, a lion race that looks suspiciously like Chester Cheetah...

...Umm... yeah.

Oh, and the gameplay features sound pretty cool, too. The whole "world destruction based on voxels" thing is a bit iffy to me, however, because if the entire world can be destroyed, then what's going to keep players from leveling out the world as soon as the servers open up? Because if there's two things that a good handful of gamers love to do in an online game, it's grieving and destroying.

On the OTHER hand, however, while I was discussing EverQuest Next with a few random people, an anonymous user brought up a very interesting possibility with the game's world destruction: With the entire world decimated by the players, no longer will EverQuest Next be about exploring a vast open world, but instead the game will be about surviving in the ruins of a vast open world, which sounded pretty freaking awesome to me. But still, would SOE even allow such events to unfold in their game? I mean sure, it IS supposed to be a sandbox MMO, after all, but the developers still have a general vision in their mind for how the game world should play out, especially with all those AI features they're bringing along, which I'm not so sure would work well with messed up, player made terrain. But who knows? I don't.

As mentioned before, EverQuest Next is being pre-released by the end of the year with the upcoming Landmark creation tools, where players will be able to create their own towns, dungeons and more, just as long as they appropriately fit the environments setting, and most of everything that will get to stay in the final version will be by SOE's discretion, so sadly there will be no dick castles to service as monuments for the glorious nation of Dickstonia. One thing I'd like to mention is that there's some buzz here and there about the whole Landmark problem, where some people suggest the whole process is in place so that SOE doesn't have to waste time making the world of EverQuest Next themselves. "We're too lazy to make the world, so make it for us!" Personally, I think this is actually a grand idea. Judging by Landmark creation tool footage, it will be very similar to how creation works in Minecraft, where players can assemble their creations block by block. However, unlike Minecraft, players will be able to shape and curve out their blocks into any shape. So yes, you'll be able to make dick statues that ACTUALLY look like dicks!

Ok... So dick jokes aside, though, with the players being able to create highly detailed environments, along with the possibly of garnering the more creative bunch of the Minecraft community, mixed in with veteran EverQuest players to give players guidance on how the world of EverQuest should look, I'm certain that the world of EverQuest Next will be shaped into something that will resonate with worlds of old EverQuest 1 & 2. Plus, I'm fairly sure that SOE has their plenty of their own environments that will appear in the final game, so not everything will have to be created by the players.

Overall, EverQuest Next is looking might spiffy. I didn't feel like talking about the combat in this blog post, but it looks like it will be similar to combat in Guild Wars 2 or Wildstar. There wasn't a lot of footage of the combat for me to make a decent analysis, but I liked what I say so far.

For more info on EverQuest Next, you can check out some posts over at Cinderboy's blog: http://www.mmoculture.com/tag/everquest-next/

Soldier Front 2 - Interview

It’s time to return to the front… The soldier front, that is.

Released back in 2004 and 2006, Korean game developer ‘Dragonfly’ released a military style FPS title called “Soldier Front” (which is better known as “Special Force” in eastern territories). While the game strikes much resemblance to another popular military shooter at the time (Valve’s “Counter-Strike”), it contained unique features including character customization, unique weapons and more. Years later, they released a highly anticipated sequel for South Korea in 2011. Using Unreal Engine 3 technology, the game boasted impressive graphics, high quality audio and faster paced gameplay over its predecessor.

Now in 2013, Aeria Games is hosting an English version of Soldier Front 2, which has now gone into closed beta. While the game may be a huge leap forward from the original, a lot has changed within those years, with the gaming market now knee deep in military-style FPS titles. Does Soldier Front 2 have something that will make it stand out from the pack? I sought out the lead producer of the game to find out more.

Soldier Front 2 - First Look

Another year, another military FPS title hits the F2P market this week. But this is not just any military FPS… it’s a sequel to Dragonfly’s 2007 title: Solider Front! Now being backed by the ever popular Unreal 3 Engine, Solider Front 2 is looking to take everything you know about military shooters of the past and turn them on their sides.

Of course, with so many shooters already on the market, most of which play virtually the same from each, my initial reaction was “Do we REALLY need ANOTHER one?!”

After a two-day long preview event with some of the game masters, my final reaction was complete and total: “Sure, why not.”

TERA: Rising - Corsairs' Stronghold Demo

Hey everyone. Just quick one for the week: I was very reclutant to post footage of this new update for TERA: Rising because of an NDA agreement that was told to me by a PR manager for En Masse, but I then found out that there was no NDA at all, and then En Masse decided to release the new update a day before its intended release. Kinda bums me out a little that most other sites got their previews up before I even had a clue... Blah.

But anyway, the new 20 vs. 20 mode for TERA: Rising is out now, and it's a pretty sweet take on the 15 vs 15 " Zergrounds, except with all the lag issues that it comes with. With my time spent playing, it was fun, but if you had lag issues before in regular battlegrounds, your PC is going to cringe even more.

Anyway, check out the video for my experience with the new mode:

TERA: Rising - Review

It’s always been in the minds of gamers for years regarding whether it would be possible to create an MMORPG with satisfying combat similar to hack n’ slash action games. Titles such as Phantasy Star Online, Vindictus, Monster Hunter and many others have dabbled with this concept, but have always had a single flaw: Combat that was locked away in room-based instances and had restricted player limits.

Now the dream of a hack & slash MMORPG was realized with the release of TERA (The Exiled Realm of Aborea.) Recently, the game has gone through some hefty changes, with the most notable change being the transition from a P2P to a F2P business model. Bluehole Studios, En Masse Entertainment and Gameforge have made some bold claims with TERA’s gameplay, such as “True skilled based combat” and “Victory is determined by skill, not levels or gear.”, as if the game was made for action gamers in mind, rather than typical MMORPG players.

Just how true are these claims? Is TERA a true hack & slash MMO? After eight months of playtime, I can answer this question by saying:

“Yes and no.”

Warframe - CBT Impressions

A unique F2P title is coming at us this year, and its being brought by some long running pros in the industry. Digital Extremes, developers by behind the original “Unreal” series is now working on a new third person shooter called ‘Warframe’. In this game, you play as ancient galaxy warriors called Tenno, which have been re-awaked to take down several different factions that have been wreaking havoc all over solar system. With katanas and alien firearms, you’ll invade several enemy ships and complete several different objectives as quickly and/or as silently as possible.

In simpler terms: You’re a freaking space ninja and will do whatever a space ninja can to save the day.

Arctic Combat - Review

With FPS titles running very rampant in the F2P market, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to find a unique one that stands out for the rest. Many of these titles claim to be unique in one form or fashion, but ultimately end up feeling like nothing more than a rehash of titles that inspired them.

Take Artic Combat (AC) by Webzen for example: On the outside: It looks a lot like a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare clone with some slight tweaks, but on the inside:

  

…It’s a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare clone with some slight tweaks. AC feels and plays like CoD: MW and it certainly does not try to hide it.

Previously: I got to try AC out during some early closed beta impressions, and I was surprised by how much the game kept a pacing similar to CoD: Modern Warfare games while keeping the tactical tension of Counter-Strike, but with my extended time playing in the Open Beta, the tactical tension started to wear thin, and AC revealed itself to be nothing more than an another imitator, rather than an innovator.