tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20840526529481059862023-11-15T05:44:54.051-08:00MMORPG Game Adventuresmmorpg playerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355864196760761092noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-1901434880724049192015-09-04T20:59:00.003-07:002015-09-04T21:09:56.058-07:00Felspire Browser MMORPG Review<a href="http://mmos.com/review/felspire" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #b93434; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Felspire</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is a browser-based MMO that takes place in the magical world of Eremos where, like every MMO, it’s up to you to defeat evil. The story is bland and practically nonexistent, but not more so than you’d expect from a browser game. The gameplay is also just about as fun as you’d expect, with a nice bit of flair from PvP arenas, although the game is heavily detracted from by the intensive auto-questing. This is remarkably similar to other Chinese browser games such as<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://mmos.com/review/magerealm-rise-of-chaos" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #b93434; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Magerealm</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://mmos.com/review/siegelord" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #b93434; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Siegelord</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">After a relatively simple login the game presents a rather standard character customization system. While there isn’t a whole lot in terms of customization, you can choose between male and female characters and you can customize enough to stand out. The real impressive aspect here is the class system. The initial 3-class system expands to about 15 specializations once you level up.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">The gameplay itself works. It’s nothing really beyond pointing and clicking, but an impressive amount of armor and weaponry is present. PvP is a real surprise in a game of this scope, although not much skill is involved because of the simplicity of Felspire.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">However, the auto-complete system is out of hand. In the time that between creating my first character, switching tabs, and then switching back I had missed the entire intro and had leveled up. Many browser games, and even some MMOs, have automated systems. Most of these just include automated walking, but there are exceptions. Felspire on the other hand is the exception. Not only is walking automated, but so is combat and full-on questing. After starting the game I didn’t have to touch anything for a full 15 minutes, and my input was only required after arriving at the game’s hub. I understand some automated gameplay to pass over boring parts of the game, but these issues could be solved in other ways (i.e. not including stretches of the game that are known to be boring). At the very least this system needs to be toned down.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">I’m aware that being a browser game, Felspire is prone to issues that are caused by the browser of choice rather than the game itself. However, after testing the game on multiple browsers I still could not get the in-game map to work. There were a few loading issues here and there, but the issue with the map was the most prevalent. One positive aspect of Felspire, and other browser MMOs, is that they're Mac compatible. There aren't too many <a href="http://mmos.com/editorials/mac-mmorpgs">Mac MMORPGs</a> out there, so Mac users should be glad to see more and more browser games get released. This certainly applies to Linux users too. In fact there are probably less <a href="http://mmos.com/editorials/linux-mmorpgs">Linux MMORPGs</a> than Mac MMOs!</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Felspire is an average game all around. While it isn’t particularly bad, it’s not great either. It doesn't bring anything new to the <a href="http://mmos.com/review/browser-games/rpg">browser MMORPG</a> market, but the game does have technologically impressive 2D/3D graphics for a browser game, but the graphics still don’t look that great. Combine this with a bland story and a ridiculous amount of automatic gameplay and you get a pretty average title. At least they give you a kickass sword to start with. I'd much rather play a western developed browser game like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://mmos.com/review/aberoth" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #b93434; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Aberoth</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>or<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://mmos.com/review/adventurequest-worlds" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #b93434; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">AdventureQuest Worlds</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.7143px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">, but that's just my 2 cents.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-19403336911261729462015-05-22T22:15:00.001-07:002015-05-22T22:15:15.351-07:00S4 League Review - One Man's Look into this Sci-Fi Shooter<a href="http://mmos.com/review/s4-league">S4 league</a> is a brightly animated, anime-inspired 3rd person lobby-based MMO shooter from <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/aeria-games">AeriaGames</a>. The game was formerly published by <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/alaplaya">Alaplaya</a>, but Aeria acquired the game after a 2014 merger. Gameplay is extremely fast paced, players are able to select a wide variety of looks for their character, and there are numerous weapons available, ranging from conventional guns to a scythe. This game is available in North America, South America, Europe, and most of Asia through Aeria Games. There are no IP blocks so everyone can enjoy the game on the same service.<br />
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<strong>S4 League First Impressions:</strong><br />
The game opens with a very, very crisp looking logo and goes straight to a tutorial introducing the controls and various game modes. After completing the tutorial, the game has the player enter their ID. The actual story is almost completely irrelevant and isn't ever really addressed.<br />
Players can select from 7 different game types, not including a practice mode. The gameplay is unique in its own way, especially when the character is sprinting, and is reminiscent of Destiny (although this game predates Destiny by a half decade). In terms of a visual style, the characters and their texturing have an anime feel, but possess nostalgic <a href="http://mmos.com/review/final-fantasy-XIV">Final Fantasy</a>-like qualities as well. S4 League's art style is what really sets it apart from other <a href="http://mmos.com/review/shooter">MMO shooters</a>.<br />
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S4 League does what most games aspire to do in terms of character customization. Male and Female are the main selections, but after that, the options are nearly endless. Many players will go for straight Final Fantasy copies, with many characters emulating Lightning or Cloud, but others will go for entirely unique looks with brightly colored hair and eye catching outfits. These clothing and skin options also offer stat changes ( as well as a unique look. This aspect of the game continues to improve as the game updates because the game's creators offer little gifts with each update called “capsules”. These capsules have a variety of gifts in them from outfits to weapon skins. It can be something as simple as a new look for your character or it could be a substantial HP boost with a piece of clothing. They're also available when your team is victorious in certain game modes. This adds a new level of depth that most games simply don't have.<br />
<br />The maps are laid out appropriately for each game mode, but it's nothing special. With game modes like Touchdown, which is essentially a capture the flag game mode, larger maps keep things more balanced, while other modes like Deathmatch are much smaller and meant to keep the game fast paced and exciting. There's also a map series that the game designers have kept going through the duration of the game's existence, so it is nice that the game keeps in touch with its roots.<br />
The texturing and color is fantastic, but the game did experience problems in terms of changing framerate, causing it to lag and question the integrity of the players in the lobbies. Meaning that the players in that match are cheating and it's really obvious. Games that were free of players modding didn't have this problem. <br />
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Shadowing as a whole was ok, but slightly inconsistent. For example, if a player uses a larger melee weapon such as a sword and runs around the edge of a wall, it will poke through the walls and make some odd shapes on the ground; like a shadow that runs the opposite direction of where the light is coming from.<br />
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Lastly, the sound is spot on. I had just normal earbud headphones and found the sound to be very balanced and not too loud. The announcer at the beginning of each mode is a nice addition to the stellar editing and soundtrack that the game possesses.<br />
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<strong>Gameplay Summary:</strong><br />
S4 League is very fast and very intense, right from the get-go. From the time the announcer introduces the game mode, a player will no they're in for something crazy with the fast-paced, well-orchestrated music. New players may struggle initially, but the concept “thrown to the wolves” is very appropriate when discussing this game. Since the game requires characters to progress based on match experience or premium purchases, it may be a bit disheartening to a new player, but it is manageable. The fast paced action reminds me of <a href="http://mmos.com/review/gunz-2-the-second-duel">GunZ 2</a> or the original GunZ.<br />
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Another fun quality about this game is even though it's a sci-fi action shooter, players that prefer melee weapons can use things such as a shield breaker or an energy sword instead of a rifle or machine gun. Fortunately, with the ability to rapidly switch weapons, most players will find they prefer a hybrid style rather than just a brute or assassin-like style. This is most true when a player utilizes the sprint/slow time feature while playing. It's what propels most players toward a kill move and really separates who gets the kill and who is left waiting to spawn.<br />
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Practice mode is definitely recommended, especially if a player prefers a traditional gun, just to get used to the firing and targeting system. Another way to get accustomed to the controls would be play a less strenuous mode such as Touchdown, that way the player can gradually feel the game out without getting killed regularly as they would in a deathmatch.<br />
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<strong>Minor Details:</strong><br />
Although the majority of the players are honest and play normally, there are more than a few hackers out there who will make the gameplay experience quite frustrating.<br />
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Premium play isn't a requirement, but it certainly does seem to help a lot of players. These players act normal and play normally, they simply have better skins and weapons. Again, similarly to the hackers, this can be slightly discouraging to a new player. However, it will eventually balance out as a player gains experience and makes substantial upgrades to their characters and their abilities. Some things don't necessarily make sense, like a shirt carrying a weapon boost or If you're a new player, expect a wait when you're first joining a lobby. Some of the lobbies such as deathmatch or siege are full of clan players. Since this isn't the largest MMO community out there, it can take some time to get a match.<br />
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<strong>Conclusion:</strong><br />
S4 League is a good game that could be a great game with a few simple fixes to the community and player matching system. The game itself is wonderful and I experienced no problems until I actually started interacting in matchmaking.<br />
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The game needs a few more maps, that's a definitive answer. While game modes like Chaser and Deathmatch have a good selection, some other modes like Touchdown will get repetitive with the lack of variety. Still, S4 offers unique gameplay unlike traditional tactical shooters like <a href="http://mmos.com/review/alliance-of-valiant-arms">Alliance of Valiant Arms</a> and <a href="http://mmos.com/review/crossfire">CrossFire</a>.<br />
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Those looking to rank up quickly will have to be persistent. As the old saying goes, “practice, practice, practice.” That really is the best way to address the gap between seasoned players and veterans. Learning corners and being an intelligent player will reap its own rewards.<br />
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This is a good game, but some of the players are broken and it really is distracting. Whether it's through a boot option or a new reporting system, hackers and modders need to be taken out of this game. Players shouldn't affect a game that much, but the inability to even spawn safely in some modes completely took me out of the game. The game plays the way it is intended to and is good for consecutive hours of playing. In addition to a great soundtrack, the actual story is super intriguing and I highly suggest looking up some of the fan art and accompanying stories that have come to fruition because of this game.MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-42800619516489683972010-12-11T22:32:00.001-08:002015-09-04T20:49:06.417-07:00Best MMORPGs of 2010<div>
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MMORPGs offer the most in-depth gaming experiences, and the year 2010 has seen the release of some truly spectacular games. <a href="http://mmos.com/review/vindictus">Vindictus</a>, by <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a>, is a highly polished MMORPG that makes great use of instanced stages, and persistent world cities. The Celtic theme adds to the immersion, and the fluid gameplay and graphics, powered by the Source engine all add up to give Vindictus high production value all around.<br />
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Players looking for a more traditional MMORPG experience can look towards either <a href="http://mmos.com/review/legend-of-edda">Legend of Edda</a> or Iris Online. Both games are developed by the same Korean studio, buy published by different portals here in the US. Legend of Edda has a ‘chibi’ theme and is published by <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamescampus">GamesCampus</a>. Iris Online has a Gypsy theme and is published by gPotato. Both games have anime style graphics, and fairly traditional gameplay mechanics. Iris Online is a bit more original, and has a more complex class system. The game is also more fully 3D, allowing for more exploration. Legend of Edda is much simpler, and has a pretty linear progression path both in terms of class progression and world exploration. Play one, or try both since they’re free to play! Unfortunately Iris Online shut down, but Legend of Edda is still around through GamenGame.<br />
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Moving on, lets talk about Battle of the Immortals. It is published by <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment-arc-games">Perfect World Entertainment</a> and is perhaps their most original MMORPG. Many of their previous games look and play like one another, but Battle of the Immortals was built on a totally different engine. It plays more like an action RPG. It has an isometric camera angle, and point-and-click movement. The game is easy to get into, and great for casual players.<br />
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Another interesting MMORPG from 2010 is <a href="http://mmos.com/review/allods-online">Allods Online</a>. This game combines the familiar graphic style and interface found in the popular <a href="http://mmos.com/review/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a>, but adds plenty of new features. Like Neo Steam and ARGO, it has a steampunk MMO Theme. That means air ships, rifles, and other fancy technologies are present. Allods Online has a very steady pacing, similar to high quality MMORPGs rather than the grind based gameplay found in many Asian MMORPGs.<br />
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Now lets get to some of the previously pay to play MMORPGs that required a monthly subscription that have been converted to free to play this year. Let’s start with <a href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest">EverQuest</a> 2. It is a very well known game by Sony Online Entertainment. SOE got their feet wet in this f2p market with Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures, both of which were aimed at a younger audience. Now that they’ve learned a bit about free to play, they’ve released <a href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest-2">EverQuest 2</a>: Extended. Its free to play with several restrictions. Players can purchase access to additional races and classes via a cash shop. SOE also converted Pirates of the Burning Sea to f2p this year. Pirates of the Burning Sea is now perhaps the most in depth free to play game available. It has deep economic features that make it ideal for players looking for a game they can spend months or even years with.<br />
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There they are, some of the best MMORPGs of 2010. There were plenty of others but this should be enough to keep you busy over the holiday break!</div>
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MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-28962845076072346162010-12-03T17:46:00.000-08:002015-09-04T20:49:37.765-07:00APB Reloaded MMO. A look at Pay to Play Games as F2P Games<div class="entry">
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This news is a tad bit old now – but<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamersfirst" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamersfirst">GamersFirst</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>announced last month that they would be re-launching APB as a free to play game called “<a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/apb-reloaded" href="http://mmos.com/review/apb-reloaded">APB Reloaded</a>”. Firstly, It’s cool to see a dead MMO like APB, which cost some $50 million to develop relaunching as a free to play title. Secondly, It’s awesome that GamersFirst is bringing back a dead game. The fact is, Real Time Worlds, the bankrupt studio behind APB, launched an incomplete game that was doomed to failure. Instead of their work being “wasted”, the game is revived as free to play. I suspect in the future, less and less pay to play MMORPGs will actually “shut down”. Instead, they’ll re-launch as free to play games just to see if the game will catch on.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online">Lord of the Rings Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/turbine" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/turbine">Turbine</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>were smashing hits as free to play games. In fact, both of these games made MUCH more revenues as free to play games than as pay to play ones. I would have loved to see<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/ncsoft" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/ncsoft">NCSoft</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>relaunch<a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/tabula-rasa" href="http://mmos.com/review/tabula-rasa">Tabula Rasa</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>as a free to play MMO instead of shutting the game down outright. I’d of course like to see games like Final Fantasy 11 and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/age-of-conan" href="http://mmos.com/review/age-of-conan">Age of Conan</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to eventually become free to play too – but seeing games become free to play instead of shutting down will prove to game publishers and developers that free to play really works.</div>
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Unfortunately, even with the success that Turbine has had with their free to play games, most game developers aren’t convinced that free to play is a viable business model for triple-A high budget titles. In reality, it is. Just look at the success<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/nexon" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>has been having in North America.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/maplestory" href="http://mmos.com/review/maplestory">MapleStory</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/dungeon-fighter-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/dungeon-fighter-online">Dungeon Fighter Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/vindictus" href="http://mmos.com/review/vindictus">Vindictus</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>have proven to be super popular (and profitable) for Nexon. Vindictus is easily a triple A action MMORPG with graphics that rival that of any “pay to play” game. Sony Online Entertainment is experimenting with free to play as well. They recently made Pirates of the Burning Sea free to play, and since doing so, the playerbase in the game has increased significantly. Back when the game had a free trial, I logged in to check it out and each of the game’s three servers had “ight” population. They now have “heavy” and “very heavy” population. It’s too early to say whether Pirates of the Burning Sea will do well or not as an F2P title, as the game became free to play a few days ago on November 29. I don’t think Sony Online Entertainment saw the success they expected when they made<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest" href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest">EverQuest</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>2 free to play 2-3 months ago. I think the reason<a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest-2" href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest-2">EverQuest 2</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>didn’t do that “great” as a free to play game is because it’s way too restrictive. Free to play users have shown that they dislike Mmos that are too “cash dependent”. MMORPG Cash Shops are a delicate thing and can’t be too overpowered. Gpotato learned the hard way with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/allods-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/allods-online">Allods Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>that trying to milk their playerbase for every last dime they have is not a good way to keep their playerbase happy. Luckily, Pirates of the Burning Sea is much more “free” than EverQuest 2 – as there are only a handful of restrictions for free to play users. Those who end up subscribing at $15 a month receive some nice benefits, but nothing game-breaking.</div>
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I remember back when<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/electronic-arts" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/electronic-arts">Electronic Arts</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>released<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/need-for-speed-world" href="http://mmos.com/review/need-for-speed-world">Need for Speed World</a>, the game had some absurd level 10 cap for free to play users, and had the balls to call itself a free to play racing game. How can a game with such a level cap call itself free? It’s more like a free trial than anything else. Several months after release, EA removed the level 10 cap for free members due to player outrage. So I think any pay to play game that went free to play will eventually become more and more “free” as companies realize that they can make more money pleasing their users than angering them. Hopefully the new Battlefield MMOFPS game isn’t too restrictive, the same way Need for Speed World was when it launched. I think EA has a decent grasp on the whole F2P concept though, as they already have numerous F2P games including Battleforge, FIFA Online, Lord of Ultima and a bunch of other games.</div>
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MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-15167211734132459752010-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:002015-09-04T20:50:12.413-07:00ZOMG More New MMORPGs<div class="entry">
November has been a pretty exciting month for free to play MMORPGs so far. Iris Online (finally) launched into Open beta on Nov 23 and Legend of Martial Arts began its closed beta testing on Nov 24. Iris Online is a game that I’ve been extremely fascinated with ever since gPotato launched the closed beta in October. The game looks and feels like a very modern MMORPG, and I say that because the gameplay is very fluid and the graphics are sharp and easy on the eyes. Even though <a href="http://mmos.com/review/flyff-fly-for-fun">Fly For Fun</a> and <a href="http://mmos.com/review/rappelz">Rappelz</a> remain some of the most popular free MMORPGs gPotato publishes, I think Iris Online has the potential to become their most successful title. Legend of Martial Arts also finally began a more public closed beta testing phase. The game is by <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment-arc-games">Perfect World Entertainment</a> and used to be known as Kung Foo a while ago. The name changed and the game was apparently re-developed into Legend of Martial Arts.<br />
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In Other news – War of Angels began its OPEN beta testing on November 24. I first played the game on<a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamigo">Gamigo</a> months ago, but after learning about the North American IP block, I quickly became frustrated. Right after that IP block was announced, Neowiz – the Korean MMO developer behind <a href="http://mmos.com/review/s4-league">S4 League</a> announced that they themselves would release War of Angels globally through their own website. Those in Europe would still have to play on the Gamigo version though. Everyone else gets to play on one global service. I’m surprised that War of Angels was EU only on Gamigo, as Gamigo has several games available in both EU and North America including King of Kings 3 as well as their browser based title Cultures Online. They also have Martial Empires and <a href="http://mmos.com/review/fiesta-online">Fiesta Online</a> for Europe only. Luckily Fiesta Online is available in the U.S. Too, but Martial Empires isn’t. I’m wondering when CR-Space will get around to releasing a U.S. Version of Martial Empires…..<br />
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Another game that I should mention is Myth <a href="http://mmos.com/review/angels-online">Angels Online</a> from UserJoy. The game looks and plays like Angels Online from <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/igg-i-got-games">IGG</a>, but apparently this version is supposed to be bigger and better. Those who disliked Angels Online shouldn’t even give this new Myth Angels Online a try though, as the graphics and gameplay are nearly identical. In FPS news, <a href="http://mmos.com/review/mission-against-terror">Mission Against Terror</a> added several new game modes and Genesis A.D launched into open beta. Dynasty Warriors Online and Zentia also launched into full release – exiting their open beta phases, which means both games also received a bunch of updates.<br />
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November so far is looking great, but what I’m really looking forward to is the new games <a href="http://mmos.com/publishers/webzen">Webzen</a> unveiled – Continent of the Ninth, Battery Online and R2: Reign of Revolution.</div>
MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-36726094561854171442010-11-23T11:14:00.001-08:002015-09-04T20:51:17.261-07:00FreeStyle Street Basketball MMO Rocks<div class="post" id="post-15451">
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Why is it that the few very awesome free to play MMOs out there don’t get the attention they deserve? Everytime I log onto FreeStyle Street Basketball on GameKiss, I’m upset to see so few people online. I’ve played a lot of sports MMOs from FIFA Online to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/pangya" href="http://mmos.com/review/pangya">Pangya</a>. I’ve even played tons of racing MMOs like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/need-for-speed-world" href="http://mmos.com/review/need-for-speed-world">Need for Speed World</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and Heat Online, but none of these games are nearly as fun as FreeStyle Street Basketball. Why on Earth am I praising this game so much? Well, because it’s both simple and fun. I think the best MMORPGs out there aren’t the most graphically advanced or complicated. The most fun titles are DEFINITELY the easiest to pick up and play. Games like WonderKing and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/runes-of-magic" href="http://mmos.com/review/runes-of-magic">Runes of Magic</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for example are successful because they’re so easy to pick up and play. Other titles like NEO Online from PlayOMG and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/world-of-tanks" href="http://mmos.com/review/world-of-tanks">World of Tanks</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for example are a bit more difficult to learn. I never managed to “get into”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/eve-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/eve-online">Eve Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>because it’s such a hard game to learn. I tried playing the MMO Free Trial FOUR times, and not once could I stick with the game. Black Prophecy from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamigo" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamigo">Gamigo</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>does look fascinating though and aims to be more “fun” than Eve Online. While Eve is more tactical and strategy oriented, Black Prophecy aims to be more hands on actiony – something Eve Online severely lacks.</div>
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Anyway, I’m getting a bit distracted. FreeStyle is fun, because you can hop on, play one or two matches (5 minutes each) and be done with it. No large time commitment nothing. I guess one of the reasons I like most MMOFPS games is because of this same reason – small time commitment. The thing about FreeStyle is that I don’t even like Basketball. I never watch it on TV or know anything about it, but I can still launch the game and have a ton of fun. I do wish the game offered more variety in terms of gameplay modes, because as is there aren’t many ways to vary up the game. Unlike Zone4: Fight District or<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/lost-saga" href="http://mmos.com/review/lost-saga">Lost Saga</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/ogplanet" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/ogplanet">OGPlanet</a>, FreeStyle has like 3 game modes and that’s it. Either way, you can still play the game for fun here and there. The game’s story isn’t exactly updated often, but it’s still good enough for me.</div>
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What sucks is that the game has a low playerbase. And as we all know – games with low playerbases eventually end up in the MMO Graveyard. I think games like Runes of Magic and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/perfect-world" href="http://mmos.com/review/perfect-world">Perfect World</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>will likely be around for a long while. As will other successful MMORPGs like The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online">Lord of the Rings Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/fiesta-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/fiesta-online">Fiesta Online</a>, but FreeStyle is a game that I suspect won’t last another full year, as the game never had a big playerbase, and the community isn’t growing either. Plus GameKiss announced that they would shut down Valkyrie Sky last week. When a company shuts one game down, it means the company is having financial problems. That could eventually spill over into GhostX (Another game by the same company. A scifi MMORPG) and eventually into <a href="http://mmos.com/review/freestyle-2-street-basketball">FreeStyle Street Basketball. Time will tell though.</a></div>
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MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-77560569278015274602010-11-17T12:37:00.000-08:002015-09-04T20:52:08.119-07:00APB Free to Play<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
Oh Man. All Points Bulletin, commonly called APB for short, is re-releasing as a free to play MMO shooter and will be publisher by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamersfirst" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/gamersfirst">GamersFirst</a>. The game will relaunch as<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/apb-reloaded" href="http://mmos.com/review/apb-reloaded">APB Reloaded</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The F2P game publisher bought up the APB assets from the now defunkt developer real-time worlds for a paltry sum. The game took some $50 million to develop, but GamersFirst bought up the rights to the game for less than $2.5 million. GamersFirst is best known for a handful of successful free to play games – their two most popular games are War Rock and<a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/knight-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/knight-online">Knight Online</a>. Both games are fairly old now, but they still remain popular. APB isn’t the first “dead” game that GamersFirst bought up. They actually bought the license for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/9dragons" href="http://mmos.com/review/9dragons">9Dragons</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>once Acclaim Games shut down. The entire Acclaim Games story is quite funny – as they were bought by Playdom, but Playdom shut their entire website down within a month of buying the company. Needless to say, they got burnt.</div>
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According to the new APB Reloaded website – the game will be officially launching sometime in the first half of 2010. I think the entire APB concept was really neat. The idea of combing open world Grand Theft Auto environments with persistent world MMO / RPG elements sounds incredibly fun. APB is a game I never got a chance to play, as it was one of the few MMOs that didn’t have free trials. Nowadays, I play mostly free to play games, so I never actually bought APB. Even if I wanted to buy it, I had a small window to do it, as the game shut down within 2 months of launching. I think it’s one of the biggest flops in history. APB won’t be the first failed pay to play game going free to play though, Archlord used to be pay to play for its first year of release, but eventually became free to play </div>
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through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/webzen" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/webzen">Webzen</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and still remains F2P to date.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/rf-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/rf-online">RF Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>went through the same release schedule. It launched as a pay to play game, but failed to attract a sizeable audience, so it went F2P. Even though both games aren’t huge successes, they are both still around today – they survived for years. So the whole F2P business model actually works. I think when The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online">Lord of the Rings Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest" href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest">EverQuest</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>2 announced that they will be going free to play, I knew F2P was for sure here to stay. Before that, I was merely speculating. Maybe<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/final-fantasy-XIV" href="http://mmos.com/review/final-fantasy-XIV">Final Fantasy 14</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>will go Free to Play soon too.</div>
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Those who also like the APB concept, but don’t want to wait until APB releases could try that new browser based GTA style MMO – PoisonVille. The whole “Ville” bit reminds of FarmVille, PetVille, FrontierVille and all those other social games. I should mention – PoisonVille is by BigPoint and it most certainly is not a silly facebook game. The graphics are decent for a browser based game and it has some neat open world gameplay. In terms of content though, it’s quite disappointing. I’d actually hold off until APB relaunches as an F2P title, as PoisonVille has been a big disappointment. If you really want to try it though, I think you can use your SeaFight and Deepolis accounts to access it, as it’s by the same company – BigPoint.</div>
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Anyway – I’m waiting until APB releases. Anyone else pumped?</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-57353891532725676612010-11-12T19:33:00.000-08:002010-11-12T19:37:53.908-08:00Where are all the Turn Based MMORPGs?<div class="entry"><p>Turn based RPGs on the Playstation 2 were big business. Single player RPGs like Tales of Vesperia and Final Fantasy 13 on the Xbox 360 were fairly big games too. As an avid MMORPG gamer, I’m a bit disappointed that there are so few <a title="Turn Based MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-turn-based-mmorpgs">turn based MMORPGs</a> available. I’ve looked for quite a while and I’ve only found a handful of decent ones. I think <a title="Atlantica Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/atlantica-online">Atlantica Online</a> from <a title="Ndoors" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ndoors">Ndoors</a> is probably the best one. The game has great 3D visuals and a ton of playable characters. Like <a title="Sword 2" href="http://mmohut.com/review/sword-2">Sword 2</a> from <a title="GamersFirst" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamers-first">GamersFirst</a>, you can also control 3+ characters at once, which gives the game some unique dynamics. The only other remotely popular turn based MMORPG is <a title="Wonderland Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wonderland-online">Wonderland Online</a> from <a title="IGG" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/igg">IGG</a>. It’s a <a title="2D MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/top-10-2d-mmorpgs">2D MMORPG</a> with awful graphics. I actually like the 2D graphics in <a title="WonderKing" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wonderking">WonderKing</a> and <a title="Grand Chase" href="http://mmohut.com/review/grand-chase">Grand Chase</a>, but the visuals in Wonderland Online are bleh at best. Graphics are important, but its not a deal breaker for me. After all, one of the <a title="Best Free MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/the-best-free-mmorpg">best MMORPGs</a> if you ask me is <a title="Ragnarok Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ragnarok-online">Ragnarok Online</a> from <a title="Gravity Interactive" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gravity">Gravity Interactive</a>, and it doesn’t have very good graphics, especially compared to newer games like <a title="Iris Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/iris-online">Iris Online</a> from <a title="gPotato" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gpotato">gPotato</a>.</p><p>If you’ve never played either Atlantica Online or Wonderland Online do yourself a favor and play Atlantica Online. Of if you want to lower your exceptions before playing either, try <a title="Myth War 2 Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/myth-war-2-online">Myth War 2 Online</a> or <a title="Zodiac Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zodiac-online">Zodiac Online</a>. Those are both pretty low tier turn based MMORPGs. <a title="WeMade Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/wemade-entertainment">WeMade Entertainment</a> has Digimon Battle – which is also a pretty bad game. The only reason Digimon Battle is bad is its a really old MMORPG. The game is like 6+ years old. But if you were to only play ONE turn based MMORPG definitely make it Atlantica Online. I think Ndoors did a phenomenal job with it the game. It has some 10+ playable classes, top notch 3D graphics and a huge game world. I can’t imagine why there aren’t more games like it. Ndoors has proven that turn based MMORPGs can be successful – so why are so many game developers still releasing very generic 3D <a title="anime mmorpgs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-anime-mmorpgs">anime MMORPGs</a>? Iris Online for example from gPotato is a really sleek game, but it brings nothing new to the table. The same thing applies to <a title="Zentia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zentia">Zentia</a> from <a title="ChangYou" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/changyou">ChangYou</a>. It’s a fairly solid title, but it brings nothing new to the table either. I had a chance to play <a title="Loong: The Power of the Dragon" href="http://mmohut.com/review/loong">Loong: The Power of the Dragon</a> from <a title="Gamigo" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamigo">Gamigo</a> the other day and I was really surprised by the game’s visuals. Too bad even though the gameplay is fluid, there aren’t really any special gameplay mechanics which would make the game unique.</p><p>One thing I can’t quite figure out is why game developers keep churning out <a href="http://mmohut.com/">MMOFPS games</a>. <a title="Ijji" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ijji">Ijji</a> just released <a title="Genesis A.D" href="http://mmohut.com/review/genesis-ad">Genesis A.D</a> last week on Nov 8 and plans on releasing their World War 2 themed <a title="Karma: Operation Barbarossa" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/karma-operation-barbarossa">Karma: Operation Barbarossa</a> later in the year. I think aside from <a title="Fantasy MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-fantasy-mmorpgs">fantasy MMORPGs</a> the second most popular genre is MMOFPS games. <a title="Sci-fi MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-sci-fi-mmorpgs-mmos">Sci-fi MMORPGs</a> are probably less popular than turn based MMORPGs, as the only sci-fi MMORPGs I can think of are <a title="RF Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/rf-online">RF Online</a> and <a title="Megaten" href="http://mmohut.com/review/megaten">Megaten</a>. That’s it.</p><p>Anyway guys, I know I got super side tracked with this one, but I’d like to see more turn based MMOs out there. More specifically, more games like Atlantica.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-8284000282840280402010-11-08T13:44:00.001-08:002010-11-08T13:45:41.229-08:00Best MMO Cash Shops<div class="entry"><p>Cash shops in <a title="MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPGs</a> should be focused on one thing and one thing only – convenience. With the growth of free to play MMOs and MMORPGs and dozens of new games launching every year, I feel I should write something dedicated to cash shops and how they should be run. <a title="MMO Publishers" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorpg-publishers-developers-and-ip-blocks">MMO publishers</a> aren’t in the business of charity. They’re looking to turn a profit, so they want to sell things in their cash shops that people find useful and will want to buy. But if the cash shop items are too imbalanced or required to play, gamers will get angry and leave the game. So game publishers need to find a perfect balance. I think <a title="Allods Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/allods-online">Allods Online</a> from <a title="gPotato" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gpotato">gPotato</a> is a good example of a game that failed because of its <a title="Cash Shop Woes" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/cash-shop-woes">cash shop woes</a>. The game was incredibly fun, albeit a <a title="Wow Clones" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-free-wow-clones">WoW clone</a>. In fact, It was easily on par with <a title="Runes of Magic" href="http://mmohut.com/review/runes-of-magic">Runes of Magic</a> from Frogster, which was one of the highest rated free to play games ever. I remember the first day of the open beta for Allods. The game was mind-blowingly packed. The starting city was enormous, but it was FILLED with players. Every quest NPC was surrounded by players eagerly talking to and handing in quests. Some time later, gPotato added “Fear of death” to the game, which added a harsh death penalty, which could only be removed by either waiting 2 hours for it to go away on its own or through a cash shop item called “perfume”. One thing led to another and the cash shop because worse and worse. The game became too cash shop dependent. I think gPotato made a good deal of money early on, but in the long run, gPotato angered their players, and many of them quit.</p><a href="http://mmohut.com/wp-content/gallery/allods-online-overview/allods-online-chief-of-orcs.jpg" title="" class="shutterset_singlepic22481"> </a><a href="http://mmohut.com/review/allods-online"><img class="ngg-singlepic ngg-center" src="http://mmohut.com/index.php?callback=image&pid=22481&width=37406&height=310&mode=" alt="allods-online-chief-of-orcs" title="allods-online-chief-of-orcs" /></a><a href="http://mmohut.com/wp-content/gallery/allods-online-overview/allods-online-chief-of-orcs.jpg" title="" class="shutterset_singlepic22481"> </a><p>The trick is to create a cash shop which doesn’t break the game. A cash shop should offer players convenience, without making it mandatory. <a title="Changyou" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/changyou">Changyou</a> for example promised that their new MMORPG <a title="Zentia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zentia">Zentia</a> could be played to max level without ever buying anything from the cash shop. Most MMORPGs today can be enjoyed without having to spend money in the cash shop, but some games can’t. Those games, unfortunately, are shooting themselves in the foot. Games like <a title="Shaiya" href="http://mmohut.com/review/shaiya">Shaiya</a> from <a title="Aeria Games" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/aeria-games">Aeria Games</a> and <a title="Browser Games" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games">browser games</a> like <a title="Caesary" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/caesary">Caesary</a> and <a title="Lord of Ultima" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/lord-of-ultima">Lord of Ultima</a> are incredibly cash shop dependent. Practically every browser based strategy game from <a title="Grepolis" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/grepolis">Grepolis</a> to <a title="Travian" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/travian">Travian</a> are absurdly cash shop dependent. So much so, that if you DON’T spend money in the cash shop, you have no chance of doing well. I think <a title="MapleStory" href="http://mmohut.com/review/maplestory">MapleStory</a> from <a title="Nexon" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a> has one of the best cash shops ever. Why? Because the only items for sale are experience enhancement items and clothing for your avatar. Nothing is game-breaking and it’s all largely used for convenience. I think it’s easier for MapleStory to have a balanced cash shop over games like <a title="War of Angels" href="http://mmohut.com/review/war-of-angels">War of Angels</a> and <a title="King of Kings 3" href="http://mmohut.com/review/king-of-kings-3">King of Kings 3</a>, as MapleStory doesn’t have PvP while these other games do. Any <a title="PvP MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-free-pvp-mmorpgs">PvP MMORPG</a> has to make sure items sold in the cash shop aren’t imbalanced. <a title="EverQuest 2" href="http://mmohut.com/review/everquest-2">EverQuest 2</a> for example, from <a title="Sony Online Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/sony-online-entertainment">Sony Online Entertainment</a>, sells armor and weapons in its cash shop. Luckily, the items for sale are only mediocre – the best gear in the game can ONLY be obtained by actually playing the game and earning the gear.</p><a href="http://mmohut.com/wp-content/gallery/caesary-overview/caesary-region.jpg" title="" class="shutterset_singlepic27015"> </a><a href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/caesary"><img class="ngg-singlepic ngg-center" src="http://mmohut.com/index.php?callback=image&pid=27015&width=37406&height=310&mode=" alt="caesary-region" title="caesary-region" /></a><a href="http://mmohut.com/wp-content/gallery/caesary-overview/caesary-region.jpg" title="" class="shutterset_singlepic27015"> </a><p>So the <a title="MMO Cash Shop" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/the-ideal-mmo-cash-shop">ideal MMO cash shop</a> should only sell things like clothing and convenience items. Convenience items being increased XP scrolls and teleportation scrolls. When a game like <a title="Grand Chase" href="http://mmohut.com/review/grand-chase">Grand Chase</a> from <a title="Ntreev" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ntreev">Ntreev</a> or <a title="Legend of Edda" href="http://mmohut.com/review/legend-of-edda">Legend of Edda</a> from <a title="GamesCampus" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamescampus">GamesCampus</a> sells items to its players that increase their XP rate, it doesn’t affect anyone in a negative way. I mean, who cares if some random player is gaining XP at a faster than than I am? The only time a cash shop can really annoy players is when players are REQUIRED to use it in order to get ahead, or if it sells an item that can imbalance PvP. Most MMOs these days, including the new <a title="Genesis A.D" href="http://mmohut.com/review/genesis-ad">Genesis A.D</a> and <a title="League of Legends" href="http://mmohut.com/review/league-of-legends">League of Legends</a> don’t sell anything in their stores which would imbalance the game.</p><p>So which game do you think has the most unfair cash shop? Which has the best? Let me know in the comments!</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-82798496897083366172010-11-03T09:43:00.000-07:002010-11-03T09:47:06.781-07:00Side Scrolling MMORPGs 4TW<div class="entry"><p>Why is it that just about every <a title="Side Scrolling MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-side-scrolling-mmorpgs">side scrolling MMORPG</a> has been very successful? For a long while <a title="MapleStory" href="http://mmohut.com/review/maplestory">MapleStory</a> from <a title="Nexon" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a> was the only side scrolling MMORPG on the block – at least until <a title="Ndoors" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ndoors">Ndoors</a> decided to embrace the sub genre with their <a title="WonderKing" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wonderking">WonderKing</a> game. Ndoors is probably best known for the <a title="Turn based MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-turn-based-mmorpgs">turn based MMORPG</a><strong> </strong><a title="Atlantica Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/atlantica-online">Atlantica Online</a>, and that’s it. I think a few months after Ndoors released WonderKing, Nexon actually bought the entire company. I think it’s because Nexon saw WonderKing as a thread to MapleStory’s dominance. It’s safe to say that after <a title="Runescape" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/runescape">Runescape</a> from <a title="Jagex" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/jagex">Jagex</a>, MapleStory is the most profitable and <a title="Most popular free to play MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/most-popular-free-mmorpgs">most popular free to play MMORPG</a> on the market. WonderKing isn’t nearly as big of a success as MapleStory has been, but the game definitely carved out its own slice of the <a title="2D MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/top-10-2d-mmorpgs">2D MMORPG</a> market.</p><p>WonderKing isn’t the only new side scrolling MMORPG to release chasing after MapleStory’s success. <a title="Fists of Fu" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fists-of-fu">Fists of Fu</a> from <a title="OutSpark" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/outspark">OutSpark</a> is a 2D action MMORPG that’s trying to mix MapleStory and <a title="Dragon Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragonica-online">Dragon Saga</a> style gameplay. Whether it’ll be successful or not remains unknown – as the game launched into open beta recently. I doubt it’ll be as successful as Outspark’s flagship <a title="Anime MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-anime-mmorpgs">anime MMORPG</a> Fiesta Online. For those that didn’t know Fiesta Online is by far the most successful game OutSpark has. I think <a title="Secret of the Solstice" href="http://mmohut.com/review/secret-of-the-solstice">Secret of the Solstice</a> (The <a title="Ragnarok Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ragnarok-online">Ragnarok Online</a> clone they have) is their second most popular, but Fiesta is leaps and bounds ahead of Secret of the Solstice. They pretty much abandoned their other MMORPGs – <a title="Project Powder" href="http://mmohut.com/review/project-powder">Project Powder</a> and <a title="Wind Slayer" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wind-slayer">Wind Slayer</a>. They for sure abandoned <a title="Dance Groove Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/dance-groove-online">Dance Groove Online</a> and Blackshot. Hopefully these two games launch through another publisher.</p><p>Aside from the growth of side scrolling MMORPGs, games like <a title="Forsaken World" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/forsaken-world">Forsaken World</a> from <a title="Perfect World Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment">Perfect World Entertainment</a> and <a title="War of Angels" href="http://mmohut.com/review/war-of-angels">War of Angels</a> from Neowiz have attracted quite a bit of attention. Many Perfect World, <a title="Battle of the Immortals" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battle-of-the-immortals">Battle of the Immortals</a> and <a title="Jade Dynasty" href="http://mmohut.com/review/jade-dynasty">Jade Dynasty</a> fans have been flocking to try Forsaken World. Too bad the game is still in phase 1 closed beta, with full release being severla years in the future. <a title="Suba Games" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/suba-games">Suba Games</a> has been pushing <a title="Mission Against Terror" href="http://mmohut.com/review/mission-against-terror">Mission Against Terror</a> quite hard lately. I just wish they’d get around to releasing <a title="Priston Tale" href="http://mmohut.com/review/priston-tale">Priston Tale</a> 2 sometime soon, as that game has been on hiatus forever. The worst thing about it is that it’s already released in Europe through Gamerkraft, who also publishes <a title="FreeJack" href="http://mmohut.com/review/freejack">FreeJack</a>. I’m also waiting for <a title="Netmarble" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/netmarble">Netmarble</a> to release <a title="Koongya Adventure" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/koongya-adventure">Koongya Adventure</a> in the U.S. Instead of releasing it, they recently launched <a title="Uncharted Waters Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/uncharted-waters-online">Uncharted Waters Online</a> instead. It’s not a terrible game, but it’s too much like <a title="Voyage Century" href="http://mmohut.com/review/voyage-century">Voyage Century</a> for my taste. On the positive side, Uncharted Waters Online is one of the only Japanese MMORPGs out there. Yeah, it’s developed in Japan. I think <a title="Lucent Heart" href="http://mmohut.com/review/lucent-heart">Lucent Heart</a> (<a title="Beanfun" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/beanfun">Beanfun</a>) and <a title="Dynasty Warriors Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dynasty-warriors-online">Dynasty Warriors Online</a> (<a title="Aeria Games" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/aeria-games">Aeria Games</a>) are some of the only other <a title="Japanese MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs">Japanese MMORPGs</a>.</p><p>Anyway, I’m getting side tracked here. I think it’s clear that side scrolling <a title="MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPGs</a> are incredibly popular. I suspect that both WonderKing and Fists of Fu will prove to be a success in the near future.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-9552056002976426272010-10-30T04:30:00.000-07:002010-10-30T04:34:30.726-07:00MMORPGs Launching Quickly in North America<div class="entry"><p><a title="New MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/">New MMORPGs</a> and MMOs that launched in South Korea and China are making their way fastest to the West than ever before. Just recently <a title="Perfect World Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment">Perfect World Entertainment</a> launched their newest game – <a title="Forsaken World" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/forsaken-world">Forsaken World</a> into closed beta here in the West. The game is STILL in <a title="Closed beta" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/what-does-closed-beta-mean">closed beta</a> testing over in China. So the game was localized and launched in BOTH regions at around the same time. I say “around the same time” because it was out in China first, but not by much. <a title="Nexon" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a>, the company best known for <a title="MapleStory" href="http://mmohut.com/review/maplestory">MapleStory</a> and <a title="Dungeon Fighter Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dungeon-fighter-online">Dungeon Fighter Online</a>, launched <a title="Vindictus" href="http://mmohut.com/review/vindictus">Vindictus</a> in North America within 6 months or so of launching it in South Korea. The time it takes for an Eastern game to reach Western shores have been decreasing steadily for quite a few years now. <a title="Loong: The Power of the Dragon" href="http://mmohut.com/review/loong">Loong: The Power of the Dragon</a> from <a title="Gamigo" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamigo">Gamigo</a> is yet another example. Unfortunately, things haven’t always been this way.</p><p><a title="Digimon Battle" href="http://mmohut.com/review/digimon-battle">Digimon Battle</a> from <a title="WeMade Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/wemade-entertainment">WeMade Entertainment</a> for example, launched in North America some 5+ years after it launched in South Korea and China. <a title="Darkeden" href="http://mmohut.com/review/darkeden">Darkeden</a> from <a title="JoyMax" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/joymax">JoyMax</a> launched in the States nearly 8 years after it originally debuted in Korea. Just recently PWE launched <a title="Heroes of Three Kingdoms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/heroes-of-three-kingdoms">Heroes of Three Kingdoms</a> in North America, but it had been available in South East Asia as “Redcliff” for numerous years. It’s only recently that games have begun launching in different regions at “around” the same time. <a title="Black Prophecy" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/black-prophecy">Black Prophecy</a>, an <a title="upcoming MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/preview">upcoming MMORPG</a> from Gamigo is scheduled to launch in both North America and Europe at around the same time too.</p><p>Unfortunately, there are still hundreds of games available only in South Korea and China which haven’t launched in the West yet. Luckily, some of these games – <a title="JX2 Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/jx2-online">JX2 Online</a>, <a title="Battle of Destiny" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battle-of-destiny">Battle of Destiny</a>, Super <a title="Dance Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dance-online">Dance Online</a> and <a title="Hot Dance Party" href="http://mmohut.com/review/hot-dance-party-steps">Hot Dance Party</a> (Steps) are all playable from North America, even though they are published in South East Asia. Most games not released in America have IP restrictions preventing foreign users from logging in. <a title="Beanfun" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/beanfun">Beanfun</a> for example has half a dozen games available in Taiwan that aren’t yet available in the West. Luckily, they’re bringing the Japanese MMORPG <a title="Lucent Heart" href="http://mmohut.com/review/lucent-heart">Lucent Heart</a> to North America real soon. But there are so many other games available in Asia that have yet to be announced in North America.</p><p>Even though the gap between new MMORPGs announced in Korea and coming to the West is decreasing, I feel that a lot of the older games are never going to make it to Western shores. It’s unfortunate because many of them would probably be really successful here. I mean just look at games like <a title="Silkroad Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/silkroad-online">Silkroad Online</a> from JoyMax and <a title="Conquer Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/conquer-online">Conquer Online</a> from <a title="TQ Digital" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/tq-digital">TQ Digital</a> – both of these Eastern games are huge hits in the West. <a title="Legend of Edda" href="http://mmohut.com/review/legend-of-edda">Legend of Edda</a>, <a title="FreeJack" href="http://mmohut.com/review/freejack">FreeJack</a> and <a title="Zentia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zentia">Zentia</a> for example are all really popular here in the West. These titles are new, but even older games “relaunched” here are big. Just look at <a title="Fantasy Earth Zero" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fantasy-earth-zero">Fantasy Earth Zero</a> from <a title="GamePot USA" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamepot-usa">GamePot USA</a>. It’s an older <a title="Japanese MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs">Japanese MMORPG</a> but it’s a big hit!</p><p>Bring some older <a title="Chinese MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/chinese-mmorpgs">Chinese MMORPGs</a> and <a title="Korean MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/most-popular-korean-mmorpgs">Korean MMORPGs</a> to North America! After all, <a title="American MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/american-mmorpgs">American MMORPGs</a> like <a title="World of Warcraft" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a> and <a title="Dungeons and Dragons Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a> are available all over Asia already!</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-76982655920493855422010-10-25T02:51:00.000-07:002015-09-04T20:54:00.972-07:00MMORPG File Sizes<div class="entry">
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One thing I’ve noticed is as MMOs get more complicated and their file sizes seem to keep getting bigger and bigger. This is most certainly a big problem, as some MMORPGs are just so big that no one has the patience to download them. Well, not “no one” but I think games like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/runes-of-magic" href="http://mmos.com/review/runes-of-magic">Runes of Magic</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from Frogster and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/age-of-conan" href="http://mmos.com/review/age-of-conan">Age of Conan</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/funcom" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/funcom">Funcom</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>are screwing themselves over because of their file size. Runes of Magic is 6+GB big, so installing and patching the game can take 3+ hours – and that’s on a FAST internet connection. Anyone on DSL will probably end up giving up well before the game even finishes downloading. The same thing applies to Age of Conan – that game is a MONTER. It’s 20GB big – which means on a fast internet connection the game will take almost 12 hours to fully install and patch. If the patch servers are busy, it could take even longer. I think the “sweet spot” for games is 1.2GB or less. Anything above 2 is really pushing it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is a whopping 4GB on “High res” mode, but at least the game lets players download a normal version which is 2.8GB – a cool 25% smaller in size. Games like Star Citizen will be pushing 100+GB too. <a href="http://mmos.com/editorials/mmo-file-sizes">MMORPG File sizes</a> are just getting way too big.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/perfect-world" href="http://mmos.com/review/perfect-world">Perfect World</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/jade-dynasty" href="http://mmos.com/review/jade-dynasty">Jade Dynasty</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>are both under 2GB, yet they both look great. Dungeons and Dragons Online which is TWICE as big isn’t twice as good. Heck, many of the more successful games are LESS than 1GB. Look at Eudemons Online and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/conquer-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/conquer-online">Conquer Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from TQ Digital. Both games have a crazy big population, but the games are under 800MB. The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/lord-of-the-rings-online">Lord of the Rings Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>on the other hand is a top notch game, but it’s a WHOPPING 10GB big. What on Earth is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/turbine" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/turbine">Turbine</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>thinking? I think one easy solution to these huge file sizes is to download only portions of the game. For example, let’s say when I download Fists of Fu or<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/fiesta-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/fiesta-online">Fiesta Online</a> from Gamigo – instead of downloading the ENTIRE game’s content, I should only have to download the first 10 dungeons in the game. That’s it. As I make my way to dungeon #7 or 8, the game can begin download the next 10 dungeons in the background. That way, everything is done uninterrupted, and if I decide that Fists of Fu isn’t for me, I wouldn’t have had to wait until I downloaded the entire game!</div>
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The thing is, games like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/grand-chase" href="http://mmos.com/review/grand-chase">Grand Chase</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/lost-saga" href="http://mmos.com/review/lost-saga">Lost Saga</a>, FreeJack and Zentia don’t really need to worry about this little issue as these games aren’t exactly huge to begin with. I think only games that are over 2GB in size should bother doing this. Though I’m sure other games would benefit too. Imagine being able to download and install an MMORPG like Battle of the Immortals, Heroes of Three Kingdoms or Metin 2 in a few minutes? This could easily be achievable if players could download the first few zones in the game, and have the game automatically download and install more zones in the background while you play. I think Guild Wars from <a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/ncsoft" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/ncsoft">NCSoft</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>actually does this, and if I remember correctly the MMORPG free trial for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/world-of-warcraft" href="http://mmos.com/review/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>does it too. I don’t think ANY free to play MMORPGs do it though.</div>
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The problem really isn’t a game’s size, as most modern hard drives today have 250+GB with new hard drives having over a TB. The problem is the annoyingly long time it takes to fully download and patch a modern day MMORPG. So breaking the game down into pieces and having the game download more content AS you play would mean people can jump into games easier. There’s no reason newer MMORPGs like Kitsu Saga and<a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/legend-of-edda" href="http://mmos.com/review/legend-of-edda">Legend of Edda</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>don’t have this built in. I can see why really old games don’t have it, but new ones should. What are your thoughts on this? I think I’d be willing to download and play more games if I didn’t have to wait so dang long to download them!</div>
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MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-62626644901931598652010-10-19T22:23:00.000-07:002010-10-19T22:26:49.468-07:00CosmicBreak and GetAmped 2 Never going to Release<div class="entry"><p>Two games that seem like they’re never going to fully launch are <a title="CosmicBreak" href="http://mmohut.com/review/cosmicbreak">CosmicBreak</a> and <a title="GetAmped 2" href="http://mmohut.com/review/getamped-2">GetAmped 2</a>. Both are published and developed by the <a title="Japanese MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs">Japanese MMORPG</a> company <a title="CyberStep" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/cyberstep">CyberStep</a>. I’m convinced that these guys have no idea what they’re doing, because both GetAmped 2 and CosmicBreak began their open beta testing phases nearly a year ago, but NEITHER game is fully released yet. Why? After open beta isn’t full release supposed to begin? Apparently not if you ask CyberStep, as both games have since went through additional beta testing phases – all of which have been followed by wipes. CosmicBreak is set to be released by December, 2010 – another three months of waiting. I think anyone who wanted to play CosmicBreak by now gave up on the game and moved onto something else. No one wants to wait this long to play a game – especially when it was playable 6+ months ago. I think <a title="Vindictus" href="http://mmohut.com/review/vindictus">Vindictus</a> made the same mistake of taking forever to launch, which allowed other <a title="Action MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-action-mmorpgs">action MMORPGs</a> like Divine Souls from <a title="OutSpark" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/outspark">OutSpark</a> and <a title="Soul Master" href="http://mmohut.com/review/soul-master">Soul Master</a> from <a title="GamesCampus" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamescampus">GamesCampus</a> to dip their toes into action MMO market. <a title="Fists of Fu" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fists-of-fu">Fists of Fu</a> from Outspark also took quite a while to launch, but at least it did launch!</p><p>Other <a title="Delayed MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/delayed-mmorpgs-mmos-in-deep-freeze">delayed MMORPGs</a> which seem to be taking forever to launch are <a title="Huxley: The Dystopia" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/huxley-the-dystopia">Huxley: The Dystopia</a> and <a title="Priston Tale 2" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/priston-tale-2">Priston Tale 2</a>. <a title="ijji" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ijji">ijji</a> was supposed to publish Huxley like a year ago, but they recently announced that <a title="Webzen" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/webzen">Webzen</a> will continue development for the game. Even so, Huxley seems like it’s never going to actually come out. The same thing applies to <a title="Priston Tale" href="http://mmohut.com/review/priston-tale">Priston Tale</a> 2 which actually released recently in Europe (through GamerKraft who also makes <a title="FreeJack" href="http://mmohut.com/review/freejack">FreeJack</a>), but the game is still nowhere near release in North America. That’s because <a title="Suba Games" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/suba-games">Suba Games</a> has no idea what they’re doing. They show the Priston Tale 2 page as “coming soon”, but it’s been “coming soon” for over 1 full year. I’m convinced that Priston Tale 2 will never come out in North America. On the positive side, the Malaysian version of the game will be available to AsiaSoft soon and they said they wouldn’t be blocking North American Ips. They also publish <a title="Battle of Destiny" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battle-of-destiny">Battle of Destiny</a> and <a title="Warriors of the Three Kingdoms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/warriors-of-the-three-kingdoms">Warriors of the Three Kingdoms</a>, which are available to North American users. Unfortunately, games available in Malaysia and Singpaore are extremely laggy for gamers in Europe and North America. I tried playing <a title="Counter Strike Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/counter-strike-online">Counter Strike Online</a> recently, but my pings were in excess of 250, making the game unplayable.</p><p>Other delayed <a title="MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPGs</a> that will likely never release are <a title="Dance Groove Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/dance-groove-online">Dance Groove Online</a>, Kart Rider and <a title="Dreamland Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/dreamland-online">Dreamland Online</a>. Dance Groove Online is a dancing game that looks a bit like <a title="Audition Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/audition-online">Audition Online</a> and <a title="ShowUp" href="http://mmohut.com/review/showup">ShowUp</a>. It was announced a year or so ago on Outspark’s site, but about 6 months ago, OutSpark took the game off their homepage, which pretty much confirmed the game was never going to release. Kart Rider did a large open beta test in North America in 2008 or so, but after that, the game vanished. Dreamland Online was announced by <a title="IGG" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/igg">IGG</a> ages ago, but it has been delayed indefinitely. The game was supposed to closely resemble <a title="Dragon Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragonica-online">Dragon Saga</a>, <a title="LaTale" href="http://mmohut.com/review/latale">LaTale</a>, <a title="WonderKing" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wonderking">WonderKing</a> and other <a title="Side Scrolling MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-side-scrolling-mmorpgs">side scrolling MMORPGs</a>. Too bad there’s no definitive release date on it.</p><p>Do you guys know any other games that have been delayed over and over again? If so, name them in the comments!</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-21335169871675047372010-10-14T22:56:00.000-07:002010-10-14T22:57:29.466-07:00Lord of the Rings Online Free to Play a Big Success<div class="entry"><p>Since going free to play <a title="The Lord of the Rings Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/the-lord-of-the-rings-online">The Lord of the Rings Online</a> has enjoyed a 400% increase in active playerbase and a 200% increase in monthly revenues. <a title="Turbine" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/turbine">Turbine</a> also announced that the game now generates more money in optional monthly subscriptions than it did back when it was pay to play. I don’t think the game enjoyed the same level of success that <a title="Dungeons and Dragons Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a> did upon re-launching as a <a title="Free to play game" href="http://mmohut.com/">free to play game</a>, but that’s mostly because The Lord of the Rings Online was already successful and profitable to begin with whereas Dungeons and Dragons Online had a tiny playerbase that was slowly dwindling away. Needless to say though, Turbine has once again <a title="free to play DDO" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/ddo-reaffirms-f2p-model">proven that the free to play business model</a> is a viable one. Not everyone is ignoring Turbine’s success with free to play.</p><p><a title="Sony Online Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/sony-online-entertainment">Sony Online Entertainment</a> recently made their flagship MMORPG <a title="EverQuest 2" href="http://mmohut.com/review/everquest-2">EverQuest 2</a> free to play. But that’s old news that I’ve talked about in the past. What’s more interesting is that <a title="Pirates of the Burning Sea" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/pirates-of-the-burning-sea">Pirates of the Burning Sea</a> will also be relaunching as a free to play title in the coming months. And yes, it’s official. The company announced that they will be shifting to a free to play game when their latest expansion goes live. Since Turbine made Dungeons and Dragons Online free to play, <a title="Electronic Arts" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/electronic-arts">Electronic Arts</a> has tried their luck in free to play too. Over the last few years EA has released <a title="Battlefield Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battlefield-heroes">Battlefield Heroes</a>, <a title="Lord of Ultima" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/lord-of-ultima">Lord of Ultima</a>, <a title="FIFA Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fifa-online">FIFA Online</a> and <a title="Tiger Woods Online" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/tiger-woods-online">Tiger Woods Online</a> as free to play titles, but has been hesitant to convert any of their current pay to play titles such as <a title="Dark Age of Camelot" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/dark-age-of-camelot">Dark Age of Camelot</a> of <a title="Warhammer Online" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/warhammer-online">Warhammer Online</a> to free to play, which I think they should seriously consider doing. Both Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online aren’t very popular and are in clear decline. Dark Age of Camelot used to have 30+ servers but has 3 today. Warhammer Online launched with some 35+ servers but its down to 4. They need to do something to revitalize these games and going free to play could work. <a title="Free trials" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials">Free trials</a> for those MMOs just isn’t cutting it.</p><p>With Dungeons and Dragons Online, The Lord of the Rings Online and EverQuest 2 now free to play, I think there’s a lot of pressure on <a title="Funcom" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/funcom">Funcom</a> to make <a title="Age of Conan" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/age-of-conan">Age of Conan</a> Free to Play and on <a title="NCSoft" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ncsoft">NCSoft</a> to make <a title="City of Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/city-of-heroes">City of Heroes</a> and <a title="Lineage 2" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/lineage-2">Lineage 2</a> free to play. As more and more pay to play games become free to play, game companies will realize that demanding a monthly fee to access a game is going to get harder and harder. I don’t think <a title="World of Warcraft" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a> really has to worry, as they’re still the market leader in the space, but smaller less successful MMORPGs like <a title="Champions Online" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/champions-online">Champions Online</a> and even <a title="Star Trek Online" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/star-trek-online">Star Trek Online</a> will need to eventually begin embracing free to play, as pay to play has been on a decline since Turbine made Dungeons and Dragons Online free to play. Plus, high quality free to play games like <a title="Runes of Magic" href="http://mmohut.com/review/runes-of-magic">Runes of Magic</a>, <a title="Fists of Fu" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fists-of-fu">Fists of Fu</a> and <a title="Heroes of Three Kingdoms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/heroes-of-three-kingdoms">Heroes of Three Kingdoms</a> are also putting pressure on pay to play games to re-consider their business models.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-29947797637036325922010-10-07T17:53:00.000-07:002010-10-07T17:57:35.807-07:00The Lord of the Rings Online is Worth Checking Out<div class="entry"><p>In case you didn’t hear – <a title="The Lord of the Rings Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/the-lord-of-the-rings-online">The Lord of the Rings Online</a> from <a title="Turbine" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/turbine">Turbine</a> relaunched as a <a title="free to play MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/">free to play MMORPG</a>. This happened about a month ago and anyone can go ahead and download the game today and play it for free. Turbine has had a great of success with free to play, as their other MMORPG – <a title="Dungeons and Dragons Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a> made a ton of money as a free to play MMORPG. In fact, Dungeons and Dragons Online was a failing MMO, as it had very few subscribers and was bleeding red ink for Turbine. Only after making the game free to play did Turbine turn a profit out of Dungeons and Dragons Online. The Lord of the Rings Online going free to play is a bit more interesting in my opinion. Pay to play MMORPGs have gone free to play in the past – think <a title="Archlord" href="http://mmohut.com/review/archlord">Archlord</a>, <a title="RF Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/rf-online">RF Online</a> and FusionFall with newer MMORPGs like <a title="Pirates of the Burning Sea" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/pirates-of-the-burning-sea">Pirates of the Burning Sea</a> from <a title="Sony Online Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/sony-online-entertainment">Sony Online Entertainment</a> going free to play soon. Pirates of the Burning Sea announced it would drop its subscription in the near future back in August. I suspect other pay to play MMOs will release <a title="MMO News" href="http://mmohut.com/news">MMO news</a> saying they’ll go free to play in the future.</p><p>Okay, enough talking about other MMORPGs though. What makes Lord of the Rings Online unique as a <a title="Pay to play gone free to play" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/pay-to-play-gone-free-to-play">pay to play MMORPG gone free to play</a> is that Lord of the Rings Online was a success. The game was making plenty of money for Turbine and the company didn’t make it free to play in a desperate move – the same way they did for Dungeons and Dragons Online. Archlord and RF Online went free to play because they were utter failures as pay to play games with no subscribers. Lord of the Rings Online was plenty profitable for years. Turbine made it free to play because they think that they can make more profit as a free to play game than as a pay to play one. Now this is interesting. In the past only failed games went free to play, so with Turbine’s latest move with Lord of the Rings Online, hopefully other game publishers and developers will do the same thing. Maybe <a title="NCSoft" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ncsoft">NCSoft</a> could make <a title="City of Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/city-of-heroes">City of Heroes</a> and <a title="Lineage 2" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/lineage-2">Lineage 2</a> free to play? Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if <a title="Electronic Arts" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/electronic-arts">Electronic Arts</a> made <a title="Warhammer Online" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/warhammer-online">Warhammer Online</a> free to play – as they’ve already launched NUMEROUS free to play games in the last year. They developed and launched <a title="Battlefield Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battlefield-heroes">Battlefield Heroes</a>, FIFA Online, <a title="Tiger Woods Online" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/tiger-woods-online">Tiger Woods Online</a> AND <a title="Need for Speed World" href="http://mmohut.com/review/need-for-speed-world">Need for Speed World</a> as free to play MMOs. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to ANYONE if EA made <a title="Warhammer Online free to play" href="http://mmohut.com/.../warhammer-online-will-likely-go-free-to-play">Warhammer Online free to play</a>.</p><p>Since Lord of the Rings Online went free to play in August, the game’s playerbase has spiked. We haven’t heard too many official announcements from Turbine yet about LOTRO, so we won’t know if the game is a success yet or not. I’ve personally played LOTRO and I absolutely love it. Why? Because it has that certain pay to play feel to it. The visuals are great, the quests are in perfect English, the <a title="MMO Plots" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/questing-and-storylines-mmorpgs">MMO plot</a> makes sense and the <a title="MMO Music" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmo-music">MMO music</a> is great too. All of these little details add up to make The Lord of the Rings Online of the best free to play MMORPGs available. Obviously top tier f2p games like <a title="Runes of Magic" href="http://mmohut.com/review/runes-of-magic">Runes of Magic</a> and <a title="Fiesta Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fiesta-online">Fiesta Online</a> shouldn’t be ignored either, but I think Lord of the Rings Online is raising the bar for free to play.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-80576108068827265942010-10-03T02:46:00.000-07:002010-10-03T02:48:20.047-07:00GamesCampus MMO Publisher is Growing Fast!<div class="entry"><p><a title="GamesCampus" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamescampus">GamesCampus</a> – the free to play <a title="MMO Publisher" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorpg-publishers-developers-and-ip-blocks">MMO publisher</a> which launched back in 2006 with one MMO (<a title="Shot Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/shot-online">Shot Online</a>) has been growing rapidly over the years. They now publish at least half a dozen games with plans to launch numerous new games in the future. I’ve written about other MMORPG publishers in the past, but I wanted to talk about GamesCampus today because they recently announced that they would be publishing Drift City in North America. Yep – you heard me correctly. GamesCampus will be publishing Drift City soon. After October 28 to be precise. So what’s going to have to the <a title="ijji" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ijji">ijji</a> version of the game? It’s going to shut down. Don’t worry though – players can transfer their characters to the GamesCampus version after the game closes its doors. Unfortunately cash shop items bought on the ijji version and Gcoins acquired will not be transferable. Players can spend their Gcoins on some other MMORPGs that ijji publishes though like <a title="HolyBeast Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/holybeast-online">HolyBeast Online</a>, <a title="Rohan Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/rohan-online">Rohan Online</a>, <a title="Genesis A.D" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/genesis-ad">Genesis A.D</a>, <a title="Lunia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/lunia">Lunia</a>, <a title="Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu" href="http://mmohut.com/review/luminary-rise-of-the-goonzu">Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu</a>, and numerous other titles.</p><p>Besides Drift City, GamesCampus launched a new <a title="Anime MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-anime-mmorpgs">anime MMORPG</a> into closed beta this week – <a title="Legend of Edda" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/fantasy-mmorpgs-is-it-time-for-a-change">Legend of Edda</a>. The game actually entered into closed beta on September 30, 2010 and is a <a title="Cute MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/cute-themed-mmorpgs-everywhere">cute MMORPG</a> with chibi style graphics. After playing the game for a while I was surprised to learn that <a title="Legend of Edda" href="http://mmohut.com/review/legend-of-edda">Legend of Edda</a> is actually a PvP intensive game. The game features large scale faction battles like <a title="Aika Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/aika">Aika Online</a> from <a title="gPotato" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gpotato">gPotato</a> and <a title="Fantasy Earth Zero" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fantasy-earth-zero">Fantasy Earth Zero</a> from <a title="GamePot USA" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamepot-usa">GamePot USA</a>. On a side note I think gPotato has been doing really swell lately too. They continue to update their older games like <a title="Rappelz" href="http://mmohut.com/review/rappelz">Rappelz</a> and <a title="Fly For Fun" href="http://mmohut.com/review/flyff-fly-for-fun">Fly For Fun</a>. Even <a title="Tales Runner" href="http://mmohut.com/review/tales-runner">Tales Runner</a> remains updated too. Too bad <a title="FreeJack" href="http://mmohut.com/review/freejack">FreeJack</a> launched recently, it’ll be competing with Tales Runner, as it’s the only other parkour style foot racing MMO. GamesCampus is also working on launching a tank themed MMO called Tank Ace, which will compete with <a title="World of Tanks" href="http://mmohut.com/review/world-of-tanks">World of Tanks</a>. Too bad there’s no definitive release on Tank Ace, as the game looks neat. I thought World of Tanks was neat, but the game was super annoying, as higher level players and tanks 1 shotted lower level tanks. It’s realistic and all, but bleh. It played too much like NavyField.</p><p>Over the last few months GamesCampus also launched two games into full release. <a title="Soul Master" href="http://mmohut.com/review/soul-master">Soul Master</a> being the more interesting one and <a title="Heroes in the Sky" href="http://mmohut.com/review/heroes-in-the-sky">Heroes in the Sky</a> being the other. I like Soul Master because it’s a unique with strategy elements. It plays like <a title="Dragonica Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragonica-online">Dragonica Online</a> from <a title="Gravity Interactive" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gravity">Gravity Interactive</a>, except with some unique strategy aspects. Heroes in the Sky is cool too because it’s one of the only dog fighting MMOs – except for perhaps Ace Online from Suba Games. The game is also set during World War 2 and has plenty of real life airplanes in it. So World War 2 buffs or airplane aficionados will find something to love in the game.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-34107884324758260932010-09-28T19:03:00.000-07:002010-09-28T19:07:23.388-07:00Gamigo is Launching tons of new MMORPGs!<div class="entry"><p>The German <a title="MMO" href="http://mmohut.com/">free to play MMO</a> and MMORPG game publisher <a title="Gamigo" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamigo">Gamigo</a> has been on a roll lately. Their newest game <a title="King of Kings 3" href="http://mmohut.com/review/king-of-kings-3">King of Kings 3</a> launched on September 27 right after it finished closed beta testing. No second closed beta testing or open beta testing – straight to full release after closed beta. How awesome is that? For those of you who haven’t heard of King of Kings 3, it’s a 3D <a title="PvP MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-free-pvp-mmorpgs">PvP MMORPG</a> that plays a bit like <a title="Aika Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/aika">Aika Online</a>. PvP is definitely the game’s main focus as it has a really in depth tiered guild system and faction wars system. Like Mu Online and <a title="Silkroad Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/silkroad-online">Silkroad Online</a> – King of Kings 3 has a really high level cap too – something like 90+. Any game with a level cap higher than 80 is considered high in my book. Graphically though, King of Kings 3 isn’t anything special, but on the graphics department Gamigo has an awesome sci-fi theme MMO launching soon.</p><p>That awesome <a title="Sci-fi themed MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-sci-fi-mmorpgs-mmos">sci-fi themed MMORPG</a> is <a title="Black Prophecy" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/black-prophecy">Black Prophecy</a>. It’s supposed to play a lot like <a title="Eve Online" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/eve-online">Eve Online</a>, except with a much stronger emphasis on action rather than just slow paced tactics. It’ll mop the floor with other space themed MMORPGs like <a title="Pirate Galaxy" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/pirate-galaxy">Pirate Galaxy</a> and <a title="Outer Galaxies" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/outer-galaxies">Outer Galaxies</a> – even though they’re <a title="browser games" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games">browser games</a>. Black Prophecy has some of the best graphics of any free to play MMORPG. Hopefully the music is good too, because MMORPG music is really important in my opinion – as it helps set the mood. I think games like <a title="Ragnarok Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ragnarok-online">Ragnarok Online</a>, <a title="Sword 2" href="http://mmohut.com/review/sword-2">Sword 2</a> and S4 League are remembered so fondly, because of their excellent musical scores. Black Prophecy is currently in closed beta though, so I haven’t had a chance to play it. The MMO videos I’ve seen so far though make it looks really epic.</p><p>Another <a title="upcoming MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/preview">upcoming MMORPG</a> from Gamigo that look really neat is <a title="Loong: The Power of the Dragon" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/loong-the-power-of-the-dragon">Loong: The Power of the Dragon</a> – a 3D Fantasy themed action MMORPG set in Ancient China. Graphically – the game looks quite awesome, but graphics aren’t everything – I actually enjoyed playing <a title="Fantasy Earth Zero" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fantasy-earth-zero">Fantasy Earth Zero</a> from <a title="GamePot USA" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamepot-usa">GamePot USA</a> and <a title="Zentia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zentia">Zentia</a> from <a title="ChangYou" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/changyou">ChangYou</a> – even though they have less then great graphics. To be fair, Zentia has decent graphics. But <a title="Cabal Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/cabal-online">Cabal Online</a> and Diablo 2 are great MMORPGs even though they don’t have the best graphics. Unfortunately Loong: The Power of the Dragon has no set release date, and I fear it may be another 6 months before it actually releases.</p><p>Yet another upcoming MMO from Gamigo is <a title="War of Angels" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/war-of-angels">War of Angels</a>. The game looks awesome because players can purchase wings in the game which lets players fly around. I think the only games that support flying mounts / wings are <a title="Perfect World" href="http://mmohut.com/review/perfect-world">Perfect World</a>, <a title="Fly For Fun" href="http://mmohut.com/review/flyff-fly-for-fun">Fly For Fun</a> and <a title="Jade Dynasty" href="http://mmohut.com/review/jade-dynasty">Jade Dynasty</a>. I’d like to see more games add flying mounts – but what I like about War of Angels is that the graphics are good, but not so good that my computer can’t run it.</p><p>So what do you guys think about Gamigo? I think they publish some of the <a title="best mmorpgs" href="http://mmohut.com/">best MMORPGs</a> out. The only thing they’re lacking is some browser MMOs in my opinion. Games like Caesary, <a title="War of Legends" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/war-of-legends">War of Legends</a> and <a title="Dark Orbit" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/dark-orbit">Dark Orbit</a> for example. If they had some browser MMOs they’d be one of the most varied publishers out.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-37658837582362240162010-09-23T21:13:00.000-07:002010-09-23T21:14:12.597-07:00MMOFPS Games are all the Same!<div class="entry"><p>I remember back when <a title="Sudden Attack" href="http://mmohut.com/review/sudden-attack">Sudden Attack</a>, from <a title="GameHi" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamehi">GameHi</a>, and <a title="Combat Arms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/combat-arms">Combat Arms</a>, from <a title="Nexon" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a>, first launched in the U.S. I thought there would be some sort of new dawn in the field of free to play MMOFPS games. I figured in a few years time, no one would be buying console shooters like Modern Warefare 2 and would instead play free to play MMO shooters. Boy was I wrong. Both Sudden Attack and Combat Arms were GOOD games, but newer free to play <a title="MMO" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMO</a> shooters like <a title="K.O.S. Secret Operations" href="http://mmohut.com/review/k-o-s-secret-operations">K.O.S. Secret Operations</a>, <a title="WolfTeam" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wolfteam">WolfTeam</a>, <a title="Soldier Front" href="http://mmohut.com/review/soldier-front">Soldier Front</a>, <a title="Operation 7" href="http://mmohut.com/review/operation-7">Operation 7</a> and <a title="Cross Fire" href="http://mmohut.com/review/cross-fire">Cross Fire</a> are ALL the exact same! Well, not the exact same, but they’re all tactical shooters where your opponents die in 2-3 hits. Graphically, each of these games are a bit different, but in terms of core gameplay, they’re nearly identical.</p><p>In terms of playable game modes, each and every one of these MMO shooters have a Counter-Strike style “planet the bomb – defuse the bomb” game mode, a team deathmatch and a free for all mode. Once Combat Arms launched its own Zombie mode – every new tactical MMO copied it! Practically every single one of these shooters have their own “zombie” modes now. Even the brand new <a title="Mission Against Terror" href="http://mmohut.com/review/mission-against-terror">Mission Against Terror</a> MMO shooter from <a title="Suba Games" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/suba-games">Suba Games</a>, which launched into open beta on September, 2010 – has a zombie mode. Oh, and it has the exact same game modes that every other MMO shooter has!</p><p>There is hope though. <a title="MicroVolts" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/microvolts">MicroVolts</a> from RockHippo productions is a third person MMO shooter which is launching into open beta in October. It looks and plays a lot like Valve’s Team Fortress 2. S4 League is another third person shooter. It’s by <a title="Alaplaya" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/alaplaya">Alaplaya</a> and has fast paced gameplay and awesome <a title="MMO Music" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmo-music">MMO music</a>. <a title="Battlefield Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battlefield-heroes">Battlefield Heroes</a> is third person too – and is the first free to play MMO shooter from DICE. It plays much like other Battlefield games, except with a distinct cartoony look. The game’s RPG elements give it a nice touch and helps the game stand out. <a title="Alien Swarm" href="http://mmohut.com/review/alien-swarm">Alien Swarm</a> from Valve and <a title="Robo Smasher" href="http://mmohut.com/review/robo-smasher">Robo Smasher</a> from <a title="KRU Interactive" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/kru-interactive">KRU Interactive</a> are original too – so props to those games for actually making something unique.</p><p>I’ve actually played every single tactical MMO shooter out there and it’s shameful how similar they are to each other. Seriously. If you’ve played Cross Fire, you might as well have played every other “tactical” MMO shooter as they all run on the same exact engine. It seems like all <a title="MMOFPS Games Same" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/has-mmofps-lost-its-touch">MMOFPS games are the same</a>. I think there’s only one original tactical MMO shooter – and that’s <a title="Alliance of Valiant Arms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/alliance-of-valiant-arms">Alliance of Valiant Arms</a> from <a title="ijji" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ijji">ijji</a>. It actually looks and plays different than all the other copy cat games. It actually plays a bit like Call of Duty 4, but that’s just my opinion. It’s also one of the <a title="MMOFPS Shooters" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/top-10-mmofps-shooters">best MMO shooters</a> because of its originality.</p><p>What do you guys think about all of these MMO shooters copying each other? At least we can look forward to <a title="Genesis A.D" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/genesis-ad">Genesis A.D</a> From ijji in the coming months.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-79712190921466803272010-09-19T12:46:00.000-07:002010-09-19T12:51:25.422-07:00So Many Foreign MMORPGs<div class="entry"><p>You’d think that 200+ free to play client based <a title="MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPGs</a> available in North America is a lot, but in reality its nothing compared to the number of free to play games available in China and Korea. This is because “free to play” is the ‘norm’ in these countries. Paying monthly to play an MMORPG is unheard of in the East. Games like <a title="Age of Conan" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/age-of-conan">Age of Conan</a> from <a title="Funcom" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/funcom">Funcom</a> and <a title="World of Warcraft" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a> from Blizzard Entertainment are still available in Asia, just with a different business model. <a title="Lineage 2" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/lineage-2">Lineage 2</a> and Age of Conan for example are both free to play with cash shops in South Korea. In terms of variety, North America is lacking compared to Korea. Obviously the mega popular MMOs like <a title="MapleStory" href="http://mmohut.com/review/maplestory">MapleStory</a>, <a title="Runes of Magic" href="http://mmohut.com/review/runes-of-magic">Runes of Magic</a> and <a title="Vindictus" href="http://mmohut.com/review/vindictus">Vindictus</a> are available in both the East and West. Other smaller MMOs like <a title="Prius Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/prius-online">Prius Online</a> and <a title="Koongya adventure" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/koongya-adventure">Koongya adventure</a> from <a title="Netmarble" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/netmarble">Netmarble</a> aren’t yet available in the U.S or Europe.</p><p>In fact, there are so many smaller free to play MMORPGs in South Korea and Japan that <a title="MMORPG players" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorpg-players">MMORPG players</a> over there have much more variety. Even with <a title="free to play mmorpgs" href="http://mmohut.com/gamelist">200+ free to play MMORPGs</a> in the U.S. Variety Is lacking – especially since most free to play MMORPGs in the West are the same old <a title="Fantasy MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-fantasy-mmorpgs">fantasy MMORPGs</a> rehashed. <a title="Best Anime MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-anime-mmorpgs">Anime MMORPGs</a> like <a title="Luna Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/luna-online">Luna Online</a> and <a title="Fly For Fun" href="http://mmohut.com/review/flyff-fly-for-fun">Fly For Fun</a> look neat, but there are so many similar games. Heck, if you’ve played Luna Online, you might as well have played every other anime MMORPG from Adsa Story to <a title="Zu Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zu-online">Zu Online</a> – as they’re all very similar. I’m sure a lot of games are clones of each other in Korea and Japan too, but with more games means more variety.</p><p>I know Korea is big in MMO development, but Japan isn’t. There are only a handful of MMOs actually developed in Japan. I think <a title="Ran Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ran-online">Ran Online</a> and <a title="Pandora Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/review/pandora-saga">Pandora Saga</a> are some of the only two. I’m talking free to play MMORPGs, not pay to play ones, so I’m excluding games like Final Fantasy 11 & 14. Oh, and there’s <a title="Florensia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/florensia">Florensia</a> as well as <a title="CosmicBreak" href="http://mmohut.com/review/cosmicbreak">CosmicBreak</a>. Korean MMORPGs seem to be more popular than <a title="Japanese MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs">Japanese MMORPGs</a>, as <a title="Nexon" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a> is one of the biggest MMO companies in the world, and they specialize in free to play games. <a title="Perfect World Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment">Perfect World Entertainment</a> – the company behind <a title="Battle of the Immortals" href="http://mmohut.com/review/battle-of-the-immortals">Battle of the Immortals</a>, <a title="Perfect World" href="http://mmohut.com/review/perfect-world">Perfect World</a>, <a title="Forsaken World" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/forsaken-world">Forsaken World</a> and <a title="Jade Dynasty" href="http://mmohut.com/review/jade-dynasty">Jade Dynasty</a> is also very big on free to play MMOs. I think Perfect World Entertainment and Nexon are the two biggest MMORPG companies in the World. There aren’t too many Western MMO developers, yet, so most of the free to play titles in the U.S. Are imported and licensed from Korean developers. Firefall from Red5 Studios is supposed to be free to play and <a title="League of Legends" href="http://mmohut.com/review/league-of-legends">League of Legends</a> is f2p. So aside from these there are very few new western developed f2p MMOs, though big companies here are starting to realize the potential of free to play. I think <a title="Electronic Arts" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/electronic-arts">Electronic Arts</a> has been doing a good job embracing the genre. They should make their upcoming Star Wars MMO “The Old Republic” free to play too. That would be awesome.</p><p>Anyway, I’m done with this long random rant =).</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-66006809017343867792010-09-14T11:28:00.000-07:002010-09-14T11:29:24.104-07:00MMOs You can Play 5 Minutes a Day<div class="entry"><p>When people hear the term “<a title="MMO" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMO</a>” or “MMORPG” they instantly think the game is ridiculously time consuming. There’s also a stereotype out there that <a title="MMORPG Players" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorpg-players">MMORPG Players</a> have no lives. Both of these statements are false. Not every single MMORPG consumes a person’s life. There are countless casual and social games which can be played for a few minutes each day. <a title="Browser based MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games">Browser based MMORPGs</a> especially are designed to be played in short intervals. Games like <a title="War of Legends" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/war-of-legends">War of Legends</a>, Caesary and <a title="Heroes of Gaia" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/heroes-of-gaia">Heroes of Gaia</a> are a few examples of some MMOs that can be played 10 minutes a day. A lot of “hard core” client based MMORPGs like <a title="Dungeons and Dragons Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dungeons-and-dragons-online">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a> and <a title="Grand Fantasia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/grand-fantasia">Grand Fantasia</a> can certainly eat up a person’s entire day, as these games are BUILT to consume a lot of time. As I mentioned earlier though, there are plenty of games designed for casual players.</p><p><a title="Facebook Games" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games">Facebook Games</a> such as <a title="Farmville" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/farmville">Farmville</a>, <a title="Ninja Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/ninja-saga">Ninja Saga</a> and <a title="Nightclub City" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/nightclub-city">Nightclub City</a> for example are also designed to be played in short bursts. It doesn’t even make sense to play these games for hours at a time, as these games involve lots of waiting. Personally, I know a lot of non-gamers who play <a title="Happy Aquarium" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/happy-aquarium">Happy Aquarium</a>, <a title="Pet Society" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/pet-society">Pet Society</a> and <a title="Restaurant City" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/restaurant-city">Restaurant City</a>. These Facebook Games are actually a rapidly growing market. I think they’re so successful because they attract both gamers and non-gamers. Plus, these games don’t involve any actual skill; players only need to click around every few hours to progress in these kinds of games, while actual in depth MMOs like <a title="Ace Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ace-online">Ace Online</a> and <a title="Dragon Oath" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragon-oath">Dragon Oath</a> actaully take some sort of skill and understanding of game mechanics.</p><p>There are also a few browser based chat MMOs like <a title="IMVU" href="http://mmohut.com/review/imvu">IMVU</a>, <a title="WoozWorld" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/woozworld">WoozWorld</a> and <a title="Gaia Online" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/gaia-online">Gaia Online</a> which are designed for those looking for more of a social experience than a gaming one. Players in these kinds of games don’t have to play for hours at a time, but can instead play in short 30 minute bursts. The purpose of these games is to make friends and meet new people online – not slay monsters and complete quests. There are client based MMOs like <a title="Lost Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/review/lost-saga">Lost Saga</a>, <a title="Audition Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/audition-online">Audition Online</a> and <a title="ShowUp" href="http://mmohut.com/review/showup">ShowUp</a> which can also be played in short bursts. The reasons these games don’t take up too much time is because each individual round only takes 10 minutes or so in these MMOs. “Rounds” in <a title="League of Legends" href="http://mmohut.com/review/league-of-legends">League of Legends</a> on the other hand, can take upwards of an hour – sometimes much longer.</p><p>So enough with these stereotypes. There are MMOs out there that can be played in short bursts. Not every MMORPG player is a bum who plays games all day.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-22925290129695207272010-09-11T13:14:00.000-07:002015-09-04T20:55:43.605-07:00Where Are all the Japanese MMORPGs?<div class="entry">
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Japan has always been big on both video games and anime, but they’ve been very weak in MMORPGs. Japanese game developers like Square Enix and Konami are world renowned for their triple A games, but it seems like Japan is well behind countries like South Korea and China in the MMORPG space. Sure Square Enix has Final Fantasy 11 and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/final-fantasy-XIV" href="http://mmos.com/review/final-fantasy-XIV">Final Fantasy 14</a>, but it seems like out of the 200+ free to play MMORPGs available in the U.S. Only a handful of them are Japanese developed. Games like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/uncharted-waters-online" href="http://mmos.com/review/uncharted-waters-online">Uncharted Waters Online</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from <a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/netmarble-games-corp" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/netmarble-games-corp">NetMarble</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and GetAmped2 from Cyber Step are Japanese developed, but for every <a href="http://mmos.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs">Japanese developed MMORPG</a> I can name a dozen Korean ones. The video game industry in Japan is big. And by big, I mean HUGE. Two of the biggest video game companies are based in Japan – Nintendo and Sony. To be fair, Sony Online Entertainment does have several MMORPGs in North America – Like Vanguard, Pirates of the Burning Seas, <a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest" href="http://mmos.com/review/everquest">EverQuest</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>2 and numerous other titles – but none of these games were actually developed in Japan. So it wouldn’t be fair to call them<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs" href="http://mmos.com/editorials/japanese-mmorpgs">Japanese MMORPGs</a>.</div>
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So why isn’t Japan big on MMORPGs? I think it’s because they’re not great at developing these kinds of games. Don’t get me wrong – I love Japanese console games, but I’ve tried playing Uncharted Waters Online and strongly disliked it. Mostly because the interface sucked. Fantasy Earth Zero, which is published by GamePot USA is also one of the few Japanese developed MMOs in the U.S. The game isn’t bad, but it’s really old. The graphics just look ridiculously out dated. CosmicBreak unfortunately suffers from the same problem. The game is decent, but it just looks REALLY old.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/pandora-saga" href="http://mmos.com/review/pandora-saga">Pandora Saga</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>looks a bit nicer, but it’s not at all popular in the U.S. – but that’s because it’s being published in Malaysia. U.S. Users can still access it though, because there aren’t any IP blocks in place.</div>
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The problem with Japanese MMORPGs is that they’re all incredibly old. Final Fantasy 14 and Dynasty Warriors Online are the newest MMORPGs developed in Japan. The rest of the titles available in North America are just really old games re-launching in North America. I actually had a chance to play the Final Fantasy 14 beta, and I was very disappointed. The game suffers from the same problem Uncharted Waters Online has – a terrible interface. Aside from the clunky interface, there’s a ton of lag while navigating the menus, that it’s just frustrating to play FF14. Hopefully Square Enix fixes these issues before launch. I Can’t say the same thing about Chinese MMORPGs. I mean, sure some Chinese developers like EnjoyMMO and TQ Digital make low quality games, but<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment-arc-games" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/perfect-world-entertainment-arc-games">Perfect World Entertainment</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/publishers/changyou" href="http://mmos.com/publishers/changyou">ChangYou</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>are well known for their very high quality titles.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/forsaken-world" href="http://mmos.com/review/forsaken-world">Forsaken World</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for example looks absolutely incredible – and I have no doubt that the game will be successful, as the company’s other games have been a big hit – See<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/perfect-world" href="http://mmos.com/review/perfect-world">Perfect World</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://mmos.com/review/jade-dynasty" href="http://mmos.com/review/jade-dynasty">Jade Dynasty</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and Battle of the Immortals.</div>
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Anyway. Hopefully we can see some more Japanese MMORPGs here in the West.</div>
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MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-55704786021493236732010-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:002010-09-08T07:50:31.231-07:00Why Are Some New MMOs Terrible?<div class="entry"><p>You’d think as time goes on and technology improves, <a title="New MMOs" href="http://mmohut.com/">newer MMOs</a> would be…. better? I’m not talking about gameplay, as whether a game is good in terms of gameplay is completely subjective. I’m talking about a game’s graphics and mechanics. Just look at <a title="Mission Against Terror" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/mission-against-terror">Mission Against Terror</a> from Subagames which just launched in North America in September 2010. I hate to say this, but the game is absolute trash. You may be thinking – sure it released in North America in 2010, but it could have been available in Asia for much longer, much like <a title="Digimon Battle" href="http://mmohut.com/review/digimon-battle">Digimon Battle</a> from <a title="WeMade Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/wemade-entertainment">WeMade Entertainment</a>, <a title="Monster Forest" href="http://mmohut.com/review/monster-forest">Monster Forest</a> from AsiaSoft, and <a title="Uncharted Waters Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/uncharted-waters-online">Uncharted Waters Online</a> from <a title="Netmarble" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/netmarble">Netmarble</a>. – but that’s not the case here. Mission Against Terror LAUNCHED in Asia in late 2009, making the game less than a year old.</p><p>That means Mission Against Terror is newer than <a title="Alliance of Valiant Arms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/alliance-of-valiant-arms">Alliance of Valiant Arms</a> from ijji, newer than <a title="Wolfteam" href="http://mmohut.com/review/wolfteam">Wolfteam</a> from <a title="Softnyx" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/softnyx">Softnyx</a>, newer than <a title="Combat Arms" href="http://mmohut.com/review/combat-arms">Combat Arms</a> from Nexon and much newer then <a title="S4 League" href="http://mmohut.com/review/s4-league">S4 League</a> from <a title="Alaplaya" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/alaplaya">Alaplaya</a>, but if you looked at the game you’d think it was at least 7 years old. Visually, the game stinks. Unfortunately, we like to pretend graphics don’t matter, but <a title="Graphics Do Matter" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorpg-graphics-matter">graphics do matter</a>. How about in terms of gameplay? Wolfteam and Combat Arms each have 25+ weapons available in their item stores, Mission Against Terror has like 8. In terms of level designs, the game fails even more. The game’s developer – Kingsoft just COPIED, literally copied, the famous De_Dust2 map from Counter-Strike. I’m not suggesting that the two maps are similar, I’m saying there are identical – because they are. What about the game’s music? Sure, I didn’t go into the game expecting a splendid musical score like the ones I found in <a title="Ragnarok Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ragnarok-online">Ragnarok Online</a> or <a title="Sword 2" href="http://mmohut.com/review/sword-2">Sword 2</a>, but I expected something. To my surprise, the game literally stole the Pirates of the Caribbean main theme. It plays in the background randomly while you’re gaming. How shameless can you get?</p><p>Mission Against Terror, sadly, isn’t the only new game to disappoint. <a title="Avalon Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/review/avalon-heroes">Avalon Heroes</a> from Alaplaya also sucked. <a title="Erebus Travia Reborn" href="http://mmohut.com/review/erebus-travia-reborn">Erebus Travia Reborn</a> and <a title="Fists of Fu" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/fists-of-fu">Fists of Fu</a> from <a title="Outspark" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/outspark">Outspark</a> were both bad games too. I say bad because there are better alternatives to all of these games. Fists of Fu isn’t a terrible game by itself, but compared to very similar games like <a title="Dragonica Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragonica-online">Dragonica Online</a> from <a title="Gravity" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gravity">Gravity</a>, Fists of Fu does suck. If Dragonica didn’t exist, Fists of Fu would be decent. I know this article was a bit negative and I’m not always so angry, but seriously – Mission Against Terror is such a bad game it hurts.</p><p>I’ll end this post with a bit more positive stuff. <a title="Company of Heroes Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/company-of-heroes-online">Company of Heroes Online</a> from THQ is a blast. I played the game during its beta and really enjoyed it. If you never heard of it, it’s basically Company of Heroes (The retail PC game), except with more features. Yeah, they made it completely free to play and added more features. <a title="Craft of Gods" href="http://mmohut.com/review/craft-of-gods">Craft of Gods</a> recently went free to play and it’s a decent game too. I would never consider paying for it, since it’s a <a title="Pay to play gone free to play" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/pay-to-play-gone-free-to-play">pay to play MMORPG gone free to play</a>, it’s decent.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-85670142745835771012010-09-03T01:13:00.000-07:002010-09-03T01:14:34.785-07:00They Should Make a Harvest Moon MMO<div class="entry"><p>How awesome would a Harvest Moon <a title="MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPG</a> be? Forget games like <a title="Farmville" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/farmville">Farmville</a> and <a title="Farm Town" href="http://mmohut.com/social-games/farm-town">Farm Town</a> or any other Facebook game. I’m talking about a fully fledged farming MMO with some depth. I’ve always been a fan of the series since I played my first Harvest Moon game on the Super Nintendo. My favorite of the series has to be Friends of Mineral town for the gamebody advance though. I’ve played that game for ages.</p><p>There’s definitely a market out there for a farming MMO. Why? Just look at Farmville and, Farm Town and other cheap farming games on facebook! There are so many of them and they’re all REALLY popular. So if so many people are playing these bad farming games, I’m sure many would play a real <a rel="nofollow" title="Farming MMORPG" href="http://http//mmohut.com/editorials/they-should-make-an-mmo-farming-sim">farming MMORPG</a>. Don’t give me the argument that farmville is a casual game, as most of the people I know who play it, spend HOURs a day on it – not 5 minutes here and there. I read somewhere that Zynga was making over hundred million a year from FarmVille alone. With a market that big, I’m surprised there are no actual client based farming games yet.</p><p>What I find really crazy is that there are SO many <a title="Fantasy MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-fantasy-mmorpgs">fantasy MMORPGs</a>, <a title="Racing MMOs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-mmo-racing-games">Racing MMOs</a>, <a title="Sports MMOs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-mmo-sports-games">Sports MMOs</a>, <a title="Sci Fi MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/more-sci-fi-mmorpgs-please">Sci fi MMORPGs</a>, <a title="Turn Based MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-turn-based-mmorpgs">Turn Based MMORPGs</a> and such, but there are no farming games. Heck, there’s even a golfing MMO called <a title="Pangya" href="http://mmohut.com/review/pangya">Pangya</a>, but no farming game. I think everyone should send emails to the developers over at Victor Interactive Software and ask for a Harvest Moon themed game. I mean, they keep releasing new games for 360, DS and PS3 but nothing online. Why? I’d gladly pay a monthly subscription to play a game like this.</p><p>I’d also really like to see a pokemon MMO. I think Nintendo is crazy for not releasing one. There’s a Digimon MMO called <a title="Digimon Battle" href="http://mmohut.com/review/digimon-battle">Digimon Battle</a> which is by <a title="WeMade Entertainment" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/wemade-entertainment">WeMade Entertainment</a> – and it’s surprisingly popular. I’m serious if an 8 year old Digimon MMO can be successful, a Pokemon MMO could be huge. Perhaps even bigger than <a title="World of Warcraft" href="http://mmohut.com/free-trials/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a> or <a title="MapleStory" href="http://mmohut.com/review/maplestory">MapleStory</a>! I know for a fact, MILLIONS of people would play. Nintendo wouldn’t have to do anything that creative either. Just use the same exact graphics as the Pokemon DS games, and make the world persistent, and bam you have an awesome Pokemon MMORPG. People like <a href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorpgs-and-pets">Pets in MMORPGs</a>, so a Pokemon MMO would work really well.</p><p>What do you guys think? Wouldn’t a real client-based farming MMO be awesome?</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-45873451247135817292010-08-27T16:03:00.001-07:002010-08-27T16:06:24.109-07:00New Wave of MMORTS Games<div class="entry"><p>The term <a title="MMORTS" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/mmorts-past-present-and-future">MMORTS</a> used to refer to cheesy empire building <a title="Evony" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/evony">Evony</a> like games. I say cheesy, because at the moment there are easily 100+ browser based empire building MMOs like <a title="Travian" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/travian">Travian</a>, <a title="Caesary" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/caesary">Caesary</a>,<a title="Tribal Wars" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/tribal-wars">Tribal Wars</a>, <a title="War of Legends" href="http://mmohut.com/browser-games/war-of-legends">War of Legends</a> and hundreds more. These games, for some reason, are absurdly popular. All of these games are browser-based as well. This is all about to change though.</p><p><a title="GamesCampus" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamescampus">GamesCampus</a> – the company behind <a title="MLB Dugout Heroes" href="http://mmohut.com/review/mlb-dugout-heroes">MLB Dugout Heroes</a>, <a title="Asda Story" href="http://mmohut.com/review/asda-story">Asda Story</a>, <a title="Shot Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/shot-online">Shot Online</a>, <a title="Legend of Edda" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/legend-of-edda">Legend of Edda</a> and numerous other games, launched a revolutionary new MMORTS called <a title="Soul Master" href="http://mmohut.com/review/soul-master">Soul Master</a>. I say revolutionary because it’s actually client based, and get this – fun. It mixes <a title="Action MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-action-mmorpgs">action MMORPG</a> elements with pikmin like strategy. The combat is fluid and well paced. The levels themselves feel a bit similar to <a title="Dragonica Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragonica-online">Dragonica Online</a> and <a title="Divine Souls" href="http://mmohut.com/review/divine-souls">Divine Souls</a> – as players can run through each level multiple times under different difficulties. For some odd reason, this particular system of progression has become really popular. <a title="Fists of Fu" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/fists-of-fu">Fists of Fu</a> from <a title="Outspark" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/outspark">Outspark</a> and even <a title="Vindictus" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/vindictus">Vindictus</a> from <a title="Nexon" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/nexon">Nexon</a> employ similar progression systems. I think <a title="Lunia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/lunia">Lunia</a> from <a title="ijji" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ijji">ijji</a> was the first game to have stage based linear gameplay. Each stage is instanced. Luckily, the main town area acts as a social hub where players can grab quests, buy items and interact with others.</p><p>Soul Master is definitely going to shake things up as it’s actually an original game. It feels a bit like Divine Souls, but with a twist. It’s not just a straight up action <a title="MMORPG" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPG</a>. Players have to utilize clever strategy if they expect to complete a level. Luckily, if a stage proves too difficult, players can party up with others to complete it. All of this should be very familiar to those who have played Dragonica Online or even <a title="GhostX" href="http://mmohut.com/review/ghostx">GhostX</a> from <a title="GameKiss" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamekiss">GameKiss</a> to a degree – as in its core Soul Master is very similar to these action MMORPGs. It only really differences itself by mixing RTS components with its gameplay, which actually work really well and are quite fun.</p><p>Have you played Soul Master yet? If not, definitely give it a chance! It’s a fun game.</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2084052652948105986.post-31345230150485922862010-08-22T13:25:00.001-07:002010-08-22T13:26:08.494-07:00More Anime MMORPGs Coming Soon<div class="entry"><p>A lot of new anime themed <a title="MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/">MMORPGs</a> are coming out in the next few months. Many of them have been announced already and many of them are just starting their closed beta. August, 2010 has been a great month for free to play anime games! <a title="Gpotato" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gpotato">Gpotato</a> announced <a title="Iris Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/iris-online">Iris Online</a>, which looks amazing. Looks like <a title="Bright Shadow" href="http://mmohut.com/review/bright-shadow">Bright Shadow</a> from <a title="GamePot USA" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamepot-usa">GamePot USA</a>, except much brighter and more colorful. I personally love anime graphics in video games for some reason, so I’m definitely excited about Iris. Prior to Iris Online, gPotato only had <a title="Fly For Fun" href="http://mmohut.com/review/flyff-fly-for-fun">Fly For Fun</a> as an <a title="anime themed MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/best-anime-mmorpgs">anime themed MMORPG</a> and it’s been getting old. I mean, it’s a great game, but it’s really old now. Another new anime inspired MMORPG from gPotato that was announced recently is <a title="Prius Online" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/prius-online">Prius Online</a>. <a title="Netmarble" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/netmarble">Netmarble</a> is the company that publishes it in South Korea, so I’m surprised they’re not publishing it on their global portal, and instead, are letting gPotato publish it. I never really heard much about Prius Online, but I recently read an article on a news site that a couple in South Korea were so addicted to the game that they had forgotten to feed their child. The game must be good!</p><p><a title="Kitsu Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/preview/kitsu-saga">Kitsu Saga</a> is another 3D anime MMORPG i’m looking forward to trying once it releases. The game is published by <a title="Aeria Games" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/aeria-games">Aeria Games</a> and was developed by the same company who also made <a title="Grand Fantasia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/grand-fantasia">Grand Fantasia</a> – one of my favorite MMORPGs. Like <a title="Zentia" href="http://mmohut.com/review/zentia">Zentia</a> and <a title="Dragon Oath" href="http://mmohut.com/review/dragon-oath">Dragon Oath</a>, Kitsu Saga is supposed to be martial arts themed. I’m not crazy about the whole martial arts thing, but so long as the game is fun – that’s all that matters. The game is actually called JS Online in South Korea and its supposed to launch in north America sometime in late 2010.</p><p>I’ve been playing <a title="Older MMORPGs" href="http://mmohut.com/editorials/oldest-mmorpgs">older MMORPGs</a> like <a title="Secret of the Solstice" href="http://mmohut.com/review/secret-of-the-solstice">Secret of the Solstice</a> and <a title="Fiesta Online" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fiesta-online">Fiesta Online</a> from <a title="Outspark" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/outspark">Outspark</a> for a while. So seeing all these new MMORPGs being announced is great. Both Fiesta and Secret of the Solstice are solid games, but i’m looking to try something else. Mostly because I’ve played these games to death. I tried <a title="Fantasy Earth Zero" href="http://mmohut.com/review/fantasy-earth-zero">Fantasy Earth Zero</a> from GamePot USA but couldn’t get into it. The same goes for <a title="Asda Story" href="http://mmohut.com/review/asda-story">Asda Story</a> from <a title="GamesCampus" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/gamescampus">GamesCampus</a>. I’m really looking forward to some of these newer games though. Until they come out, I’ll probably kill some time playing some <a title="Lost Saga" href="http://mmohut.com/review/lost-saga">Lost Saga</a> on <a title="OGPlanet" href="http://mmohut.com/publishers/ogplanet">OGPlanet</a> and <a title="Soul Master" href="http://mmohut.com/review/soul-master">Soul Master</a>. Both games are fairly new and incredibly fun. If you haven’t played them do give them a chance!</p></div>MMORPGPlayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557676228544520246noreply@blogger.com0