School

Been busy with the school week before spring break, didn't have time to test many games between homework and studying for tests. I'll be posting a bunch of reviews up over the next couple of days, sorry for the lack of content over the past few days.

New Custom T-Shirts Site

So I recently started my own custom T-shirt site. I'll be putting out quite a few new designs in the upcoming days, but what I currently have available is on the right. I know some of you internet nerds might be interested in some of these!

Loong

Loong is a free-to-play game hosted by gamigo. This is a high-budget martial-arts style game from China. This game has a lot of features which make it quite fun to play, especially if you're into oriental games.

The graphics in this game are excellent for a free-to-play game. You'll notice the budget was high when developing this game as soon as you start playing. The animations and combat are both fluid, something seemingly rare among most games these days. The quests are pretty easy and straight forward, but this is made bearable due to the fact that there is an automatic navigation system. You can click on the names of quest givers or quest targets and your character will automatically move to the destination you require. This is a feature in many newer MMORPGs and I think it is a godsend. You also have a list of available quests for your level, so you never miss anything.

Other than this, the game is very similar to the other oriental MMORPGs. It isn't a bad game, it's just another clone again. If you haven't already played too many of these types of games and are looking to get into one, this would probably the best choice at the moment. If you've had your fill and have played a hundred of these games already, this one will be no different.

Graphics - 7/10
Gameplay - 6/10

Overall - 6.5/10

Divine Souls

Divine Souls is a free-to-play action MMORPG. They call it an action MMORPG because the combat system is quite a bit different than what most of us are used to dealing with. The best way to describe the combat in this game would be to compare it to some old-school arcade fighter games. The only difference being that you keep your character, gain levels, have equipment, level your skills up etc.

At first the combat in this game is very exciting. It's different, it's fresh. When you're used to clicking on a few number keys and moving with WASD, it's fun to fight in a different manner. At first. After about 2-3 hours of spamming left clicks and having to morph your fingers around the WASD to press your hot-keys, both your arms will begin to hurt. Luckily I have a wireless remote to play with, which made the game far more bearable. To those who have a remote to play with, try this game out, it's quite a bit of fun. Otherwise you might quickly develop carpel-tunnel.

The game itself is divided into zones, which as you may know, I hate. You zone out of the city into a mini zone where there are several dungeons. When you zone into the dungeon, you must pick which PART of the dungeon to zone into. Once you're in this specific part of the dungeon, there are several rooms you must move through by killing monsters. You guessed it, these rooms are all zoned. All this zoning causes for a LOT of loading screens and a LOT of waiting time. This really kills the immersion and the fun-factor for this game.

If you can get passed the zoning and the controls, you will love this game. There is a lot of content and the combat system is very satisfying. It is somewhat repetitive, but then again most MMORPGs are. If you can enjoy the combat system, then you won't get bored of it. The graphics are really nice, but not amazing. There is very little going against this game.

Graphics - 7/10
Gameplay - 7/10

Overall - 7/10

RIFT - Verdict

RIFT is an excellent game. Quite possibly the best MMORPG I've played other than World of Warcraft. The graphics are fantastic and the gameplay is very solid. The only issue I have is the fact that it is just another WoW clone. Everything in the game is excellent and well made, but there is nothing groundbreaking. Nothing that will make people want to stop playing WoW and pick up RIFT. The game is great, almost as good as WoW, but unless it is better it will never take away a significant portion of the player-base away.

The PvP in this game is a lot of fun, but there are balance issues between the four classes. Healers, as it stands, are unbelievably overpowered. A higher level, better geared DPS class cannot hope to kill a healer alone, period. Because there is no proper matchmaking when it comes to solo queuing, you sometimes have lopsided teams where one team has 3-4 healers and the other team has 1 or even none. When you are in a PvP match with this sort of team build, you might as well give up if you have less healers.

The instance that I did was okay, nothing special. The gear was good, but people just don't have the grasp on their roles yet which makes it painful especially when your healer is crap. The dungeons are good to level in and gear up, but they just feel slow and do not feel satisfying. This does not mean much though, because Blizzard has not achieved fun 5-man dungeons either.

All in all, this game still manages to be a lot of fun. The only issue I have is the fact that it just tries to repeat the same thing that Blizzard has done in WoW. If anyone ever wants to take a chunk out of their playerbase, it won't happen by trying to emulate the game. Developers, you're already behind and trust me, you're not going to catch up. Realistically, the only way WoW will die is if developers attempt to fulfill niche markets, such as an MMORPG directed at raiders, another aimed at PvPers. Once the market is divided, maybe one game that manages to bring all the genres together could manage to surpass WoW. But as the current market stands nobody will ever beat WoW by simply copying it.

That being said, if I were not currently playing WoW and enjoying raiding, I would definitely buy this game. I would also suggest it to anyone new to MMORPGs, but not to those jaded with the WoW formula.

Graphics - 10/10
Gameplay - 8/10

Overall - 9/10

RIFT - First Impressions

RIFT is the latest in a long line of supposed contenders over the stranglehold that World of Warcraft currently holds over the MMORPG market. This is a pay-to-play game, meaning you have to buy the box and pay a monthly fee.

RIFT does many things similar to World of Warcraft, but has also improved on quite a few facets. The first thing you'll notice is the absolutely STUNNING graphics. The engine is newer and you can play either with the extreme graphics, or the mediocre graphics if your rig is crap. Either way, the game simply looks prettier than World of Warcraft.

RIFT has also made it possible to fully customize your UI without having to go through the hassle of downloading a thousand addons. You can move everything and change it to your liking and it's built into the game.

When it comes to skills and talent trees, in RIFT you have what are called souls. You get to choose among 8 souls for each class and create your own distinct class with three talent trees to choose from. It's a lot of fun to be able to create your own custom class with whatever skills you would like or feel are needed. Some levels, you gain 2 points to put in these trees and because they're limited by your level, you need to put these extra points into your secondary tree.

At first, I wasn't very impressed by the gameplay. The linear questing with the same old objectives over and over again were apparent from the start. Once I got through the starter area and entered the world at large, I was introduced to a very fun aspect of the game which was surprisingly fun.

In RIFT, there are intermittently appearing portals to other realms that tear open, from which otherworldly denizens pour out and attempt to destroy the towns in your world. It is the job of the players to defeat these demons and to seal these rifts. The rifts operate similarly to public quests in Warhammer Online. You all work together towards a large and difficult goal and are ranked on performance. You receive rewards according to how well you did in these quests. These rifts help to alleviate from the monotony of incessant questing and grinding. They are fun and the rewards you reap are extremely worthy of your time.

I haven't had enough time to level up to the point where I can do instances with others or PvP, so I will write up another review when I have progressed further. So far excellent game and seeing as it is in Open Beta until monday, I would suggest for anyone who is interested to go out and try it!

Dreamlords

Dreamlords is an MMORTS hosted by Paradox. This is an older game which has been revived recently. It mixes RTS elements with some browser strategy town building. You can work on your town either in the RTS engine or from a browser, which is nice because you don't have to let your civilization rot while at work or at school.

In Dreamlords, you are a Dreamlord who helps one of three warring races. You start on a patria, a floating island. You start on a small corner and can then spread out further and further as you clear portions of your patria. The combat is RTS based, you get to fight as your Dreamlord and choose your support team from the race you have chosen.

The RTS engine is quite simple. working like most other RTS games. Based on how many stages you clear in the RTS, you gain more and more followers which allows you to increase the workers in your town. This lets you research faster, gain more soldiers in your army, build more equipment and many other things. The city manager is well made and works very well with the RTS engine.

This game is very different than any other MMORPG  you've ever played. The game company went in a completely unique direction. This is what the industry needs, something fresh and new. We're tired of the same old crap being rehashed and poured down our throats. Although this game is excellent, it is still missing a few elements to draw in other possible players. Levelling your Dreamlord is very slow and doesn't really have a sense of achievement involved. The future of MMORPGs is new and original content, not the same old thing presented in a different way.

Graphics - 6/10
Gameplay - 8/10

Overall - 7/10

Cardmon Hero

Cardmon Hero is a free-to-play MMORPG hosted by t3fun. This game has some interesting new ways to do the same old thing. It's not a bad game, but it isn't a great game either. There are some interesting features which may pique the interest of some gamers, but if you're already jaded by the asian MMORPG market, you most probably won't find this one any different.

The graphics in this game were not bad, considering the art style of the game. The first thing you notice in this game is the fact that the game designers decided to insert inane cinematic sequences into the game. If you are going to do this, at least give us the option to instantly avoid them. The controls were a bit wonky, using a mixture of WASD and click-to-move. If you turn your camera with the right mouse, your character doesn't follow you which is confusing at first but isn't so bad. Your character also moves around some objects if you walk into them, which could be nice if you're lazy or annoying if you're really used to self-correcting. The whole game is set up in little zones which you move through one at a time completing quests, which kind of ruins the immersion.

The combat is where Cardmon changes it up a bit. All skills and consumable items in this game are based on cards that you receive from quests or drops. These can be leveled up. Some of them can be used only once and some can be used as much as you like. You can use certain cards to summon monsters to help you, which can be very powerful but are limited by "summon slots" as well as certain reagents to summon them with. Once you look past the fact that these are cards and can be leveled, you are left with the realization that it's just the same old combat system as always.

Cardmon Hero has changed the paint on an old car. The game is not terrible, there seems to be a decently sized community playing the game, but it does not have anything fresh to bring to the table. The card system is somewhat interesting and this game could be fun for younger players or people who are newer to the genre, but anyone who has played an asian-style MMORPG will be bored with this one.

Graphics - 5/10
Gameplay - 4/10

Overall - 4.5/10

Bloodline Champions

The first MMORPG I ever played was World of Warcraft at the age of 15. Afterwards, I jumped from game to game until I landed upon an older game which wasn't even an MMORPG. I decided to try DotA because of the many videos I had seen and the hype I had heard about it. The first time I tried the game, I was terrible. I could not do anything without being killed by the other team. DotA is a game where there are two bases on opposite sides of the map controlled by the computer, protected by towers and waves of minions. These bases are also protected by 5 player-controled characters. The players start at level every game and must kill the waves of minions and towers for experience and money to become stronger, in order to kill the opposing players and to destroy their base.

After playing the game for almost three years, I stopped. I had become an excellent player, but I was getting bored of the game due to one reason. Killing the other players with my team mates was very fun, especially when it was all five of us against all five of them. The period of time where you start at level 1 and have to kill minions for 15-20 minutes every game had gotten old and stale. Bloodline Champions is a game in the same vein as DotA which addresses this issue.

Bloodline Champions is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) where everyone starts of equal and there is no more need to kill the minions or destroy the bases. All you do is fight either 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 3 against another team of players. No more time spent grinding at the beginning of the game, just the exciting team fights. This concept is quite original and although I was skeptical at first, the game is actually extremely entertaining. MOBA players know that if you do not have a solid hour to sink into the game, you shouldn't play or should be prepared to piss other players off (leaving a game leaves your team weakened and is frowned upon by the community).

Bloodline features a very nice waiting room which will remind players of League of Legends. You start the game with 4 available characters to play and these 4 are changed every week. You gather coins by playing games and with these coins you can buy characters, so theyre always unlocked, skins and portraits, and weapons. There is an excellent stat tracking system, tutorial and chat rooms. The support in this game is live and extremely quick and helpful.

Bloodline Champions has not redefined the genre completely, but they have innovated and they are headed in the right direction. The game is very quick paced and a lot of fun, and does not require you to set aside an hour to play. I had a lot of fun playing this game and would suggest it to anyone who enjoys MOBA games or even PvP MMORPGs.

Graphics - 8/10
Gameplay - 9/10

Overall - 8.5/10

Faxion Online - Verdict

Faxion Online is a good game, but is missing some key features which would make it far more enjoyable. First and foremost, there are features in the game which make purchasing cash shop incentives important for anyone who would play the game seriously, but at the moment it is impossible to purchase any cash shop coins, therefore making the game very slow for those who would otherwise be buying some coins.

The quests all follow the same old formula and are extremely repetitive seeing as most of them can be done over and over. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that you have no quest markers on your map, making searching for certain objectives extremely tedious. It is also annoying that you cannot activate a form of sticky targeting, which means that when you left click off something you are attacking, you will stop attacking.

The itemization in this game is well done, making leveling up an exciting occurrence. You can equip items based on stats and since you decide how to allocate your stats, you can therefor equip some items before other people would normally be wearing them. You can focus on equipping weapons, armor or trinkets or you can go for a balanced approach. Scrolls are items which give you short term buffs and add another dimension to the game. They can be very useful against certain elite monsters which would normally give you trouble.

My biggest issue throughout all of this is the fact that the graphics are mediocre, but somehow manage to hog CPU and lower FPS even at the lowest settings.

This game is still in Closed Beta and is actually being worked on actively by a strong team of developers. For Closed Beta phase 1, I am quite impressed with the current state of the game. In the future, this game could very easily find a large player-base. This game is in early development and actually has potential, so I will return in the future to update my review.

Graphics - 6/10
Gameplay - 7/10

Overall - 6.5/10

Faxion Online - First Impressions

Faxion Online is an MMORPG created by UTV True Games which is currently in Closed Beta. It will be a F2P title with a cash shop system. It has a heaven versus hell theme and is very similar to World of Warcraft.


You get to choose between Hell or Heaven, each of which have 3 archetypal classes of healer, tank and caster. The art style is similar to World of Warcraft, in that they are cartoony yet still manage to be pleasant. The quests are the same as in every game, it's a shame to see that nobody can come up with some new ideas for quests. It also sucks that there are no markers on the maps for quest objectives, making it a little bit annoying to find some quest objectives.

This game, like World of Warcraft, does not take itself too seriously. There are many funny little easter-eggs such as haircuts named "Emo Kid", "The Bro" and "The Sagan". I actually laughed before ever entering the game, which is a good thing. One of the first things I noticed in the game was the fact that Faxion Online utilized an EvE style skill system, where you buy the skill and then can level them up over the course of a few hours and can do so while logged off.

One problem I had with the game was the graphics. There are some graphical glitches and issues, as well as server lag, so I turned my graphics settings down to attempt to play the game without the choppiness and the transforming textures. This helped a lot and the game was far more enjoyable. Another issue I had was the extremely low bag-space. You start with one sixteen slot bag and one empty slot for another bag. You can buy some four or eight slot bags with regular money, or you can buy 28 or 32 slot bags for the cash shop money. Every extra bag slot you want costs just as much as a bag itself. Very annoying.

The combat system in this game is excellent. Any game that uses a combat system similar to World of Warcraft has done a good job in my mind. The combat is quick and fluid, you can move around while attacking and have many skills which you can use in quick succession. This is how combat should be.

All in all, great experience so far. I find the game to have many similarities with World of Warcraft, which is the norm these days. Hopefully I find some more original content in the game as I continue to level. I'll hold off on my final verdict until I can play this game a little bit more.

Pandora Saga - Verdict

After further consideration and having played this game for the better part of the day, I have come to the realization that Pandora Saga is in fact a terrible game.

The movement speed up until level 20 is way too slow and most of the game will be spent running from point A to point B. When the game is comprised of 75% walking, this does not make the game difficult or challenging or fun, especially without an auto-walking feature. This factor is far less obvious in the early stages of the game because as you progress the quests get further and further away and require ridiculous walk times.

The combat leaves much to be desired, as most of the time you will be sitting there and auto-attacking, sometimes for up to a minute. There are a few skills, which do barely any more damage than auto-attacking. These require a large chunk of your mana if you are not a caster and potions are so expensive that purchasing them is not an option. You are therefore forced into sitting around to regenerate some mana and life points.

All in all, this game is about waiting. Walk over to a certain spot, kill 1 monster, sit down (x10), walk back to hand in the quest. There's nothing exciting or new to this game and Atlus has even failed to make the grinding fun in this game! The little PVP I got to do did little to help me maintin my interest in this game and after being forced to go back to PVE, I exitted in disgust and uninstalled.

Do not play this game unless you are a masochist and are willing to waste untold hours grinding boring, repetitive quests before the game becomes remotely interesting. This is an example of very poor game design. You do not want to make a game boring at first and then fun after wasting 8 hours of your time, it must be fun the entire way through.

Graphics - 6/10
Gameplay - 2/10

Overall Score - 4/10

Pandora Saga - First Impressions

Pandora Saga is the newest MMORPG from Atlus Online. It is currently in Closed Beta and will have a F2P with cash shop system. This game has a few things going for it, but at first glance does not manage to avoid the same pitfalls most MMORPG fall into.



There are 6 races to choose from when you start, and 4 classes. The races are similar to many other MMORPGs, sticking to the same formula. The models, textures and effects in the game are quite nice, but not groundbreaking by any means.

The first thing you'll notice when you start the beginner quest is how annoying the cinematics are. They serve no purpose but to slow down your gameplay. They are entirely unimpressive and obnoxious. You'll also notice the same quest formula; go see all the merchants, walk around the town, etc. At least you can use both click-to-move and WASD at the same time. After these boring quests, you'll receive a quest to go kill X amount of monsters, again following the same MMORPG formula.

A real negative to this game which is obvious right away is the use of booths over an auction house system. This forces players to stay logged onto the server to sell items, and forces buyers to search among hundreds of booths to find what they might want. The only positive point I can make about this is the fact that there is a preview of 4 items visible before you even open the booth, so players can display their best items for all to see. Another huge problem is the constant loading, it completely destroys the immersion. Just to travel around the city, there are 4 distinct areas, each with a loading screen between them!

The combat in this game is somewhat awkward, the best way to auto-attack is to hit the F key. If this does not suit you, you can go into the options and use a diferent hotkey. There is a stat system point for levelling up, which is far more fun than a generic auto-stat system. Quest objectives show up on your map as a blue flag which is useful. There is a quest search function, to find any quests you may not have accepted, but there is no level requirement indicated, so you may end up finding the quest giver and not even be able to accept the quest. The user interface is entirely moveable, which is a plus because the default positions don't work for me.

So far, mediocre experience but the game is not terrible, so I will continue to test it because there is PVP content at higher levels and I will not place my final verdict on this game until I can test it some more. More to come in a bit.

Welcome!

Welcome to mmo-rpgames, I am Kerykeion and I will be discussing MMORPGs that I am currently testing, playing or have tested in the past. I am an avid gamer and my favorite games are MMOs.

I am a 20 year old college student from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I have long enjoyed playing and testing MMORPGs of all sorts and wish to begin sharing my experiences with others, so we can all play the good games together and avoid the shitty ones like the plague!

I currently raid three days a week in World of Warcraft and enjoy trying out other games in my free time. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't be shy!