S4 League Review - One Man's Look into this Sci-Fi Shooter

S4 league is a brightly animated, anime-inspired 3rd person lobby-based MMO shooter from AeriaGames. The game was formerly published by Alaplaya, 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.

S4 League First Impressions:
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.
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 Final Fantasy-like qualities as well. S4 League's art style is what really sets it apart from other MMO shooters.

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

Gameplay Summary:
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 GunZ 2 or the original GunZ.

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.

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.

Minor Details:
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.

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.

Conclusion:
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.

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 Alliance of Valiant Arms and CrossFire.

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.

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.

They Should Make a Harvest Moon MMO

How awesome would a Harvest Moon MMORPG be? Forget games like Farmville and Farm Town 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.

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 farming MMORPG. 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.

What I find really crazy is that there are SO many fantasy MMORPGs, Racing MMOs, Sports MMOs, Sci fi MMORPGs, Turn Based MMORPGs and such, but there are no farming games. Heck, there’s even a golfing MMO called Pangya, 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.

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 Digimon Battle which is by WeMade Entertainment – 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 World of Warcraft or MapleStory! 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 Pets in MMORPGs, so a Pokemon MMO would work really well.

What do you guys think? Wouldn’t a real client-based farming MMO be awesome?

Florensia is Awesome

I downloaded and installed Florensia from Alaplaya yesterday and have been playing it nonstop. The game’s graphics are great and the game is set during the Victorian era. I mean, the game is set in a pretty generic fantasy environment, but the Victorian era architecture and character models make the game look at least a bit different than other fantasy MMORPGs. The game only has a handful of classes, but where the game really shines is its unique sea-based gameplay. The game has both a land and sea component to it. On land, Florensia plays a lot like Shaiya and every other fantasy MMORPG, but when players enter the game’s seas, they start at level 1. It doesn’t matter what level they are on land, the game’s sea based component is basically another game in and of itself. So players can experience an entirely new game on Sea. This is really original, because most MMORPGs never let you experience sea based gameplay.

Newer games like Tales of Pirates 2 from IGG and Kingdom Heroes from Aeria Games have sea based components as well, but all of these games copied Florensia. Florensia was the first game that really had an expansive sea based aspect. Another thing worth saying is that the sea based aspect of Florensia is actually really in depth. It’s basically a whole second game rather than just a feature. Players literally have a separate set of skills, experience and items for the sea component. Both the sea and land aspects of Florensia are top notch. The experience rate is a bit slow, but once you get used to its okay. In one day of casual playing, I reached level 14 or so. I know it’s not high, but the experience rate is low.

The only thing I’d like to see added to Florensia is more classes. As is the game only has like 5 playable classes, which is terrible. I dunno about you guys, but when I play an MMORPG, I prefer it to have a lot of classes – so if I ever get bored of my character, I can just try another class. I remember I played Dark Age of Camelot for years because it had like 30+ playable classes.

If you’ve never played Florensia before it’s worth trying. The guys behind the game do a great job keeping it up to date. It seems like every few months they add a boat load more areas to the game, so there’s no way anyone can really “finish” it. Like Requiem from Gravity, the game has plenty of quests too, so you’ll never have to outright grind. Instead you just quest your way to experience, which is always more fun than outright grinding.

Anime MMORPG Graphics

Is it just me or do anime MMORPGs just look nicer than realistic 3D MMORPGs. I’ve never been a fan of anime, but I find MMORPGs that have sleek anime graphics to be visually satisfying. Games like Cloud Nine (Netgame) and S4 League (Alaplaya) for example look really awesome. The graphics aren’t at all realistic, but the art style is gorgeous. Not all anime MMORPGs look nice though. MMOs like Grand Chase from Ntreev and Fly For Fun from gPotato don’t look nearly as awesome. I guess its because the graphics in these games are a bit more jagged and low quality. No fault of the publishers of course, as both of these games are quite old now. I can safely say though I prefer Cloud Nine style anime graphics over Runes of Magic style Western cartoony graphics. I don’t think Cloud Nine is a better game than Runes of Magic, but I like the art style much better.

One interesting thing about this issue is that realistic 3D MMORPGs like Karos Online from NHN and Last Chaos from Aeria Games will age much faster. In 5 years these games will look terrible in comparison to the new 3D games, while anime inspired MMORPGs like S4 League will still look good. Obviously newer games will always look better, but my argument is that anime inspired games age better as its much harder to improve anime style graphics than realistic 3D graphics. Here’s some interesting proof. MapleStory which is a 7 year old game now still looks good visually while an older 3D game like Rappelz is beginning to show its age.

Anyone else with me on this? I find it weird that I think this way because I don’t really like anime, but I love anime graphics and characters. Unfortunately there aren’t enough good anime inspired MMORPGs out there. All the best MMORPGs are 3D and more realistic. Think Dungeons and Dragons Online and Allods Online.

A Break from 3D MMORPGs

Last week I took a break from the two 3D MMORPGs I was playing, Battle of the Immortals and Runes of Magic, to play a few browser games. I don’t normally play browser MMORPGs, as they aren’t nearly as in depth as client based games, but I decided to give a few games a chance. The first game I played was Deepolis which is a submarine themed MMORPG published by BigPoint. BigPoint is easily one of the biggest players in the browser game space, as they publish Seafight, Dark Orbit, War of Titans and numerous other games. Now, all of their games are remarkably similar, but for some reason I really liked Deepolis. I guess I liked it because of its simplicity. Also, the fact that players can compete for a chance to win cash Is pretty awesome.

The second browser MMO I played was Heroes of Gaia, which is actually a fairly new game. Heroes of Gaia is published by gPotato, the same dudes behind Allods Online, Aika, Luna Online and Fly For Fun. Heroes of Gaia plays a lot like other strategy MMORPGs, but with a slight twist. Players can control their heroes and fight enemies outside of their ‘towns’. I recommend the game to anyone who likes real time strategy games. In fact, the game plays a bit like the old school Heroes of Might and Magic games.

After playing both Deepolis and Heroes of Gaia for a full week, I definitely learned to appreciate these browser games a bit more. Sure, they aren’t nearly as in depth as most client based games, but their simplicity and accessibility makes them great games. If I’m ever at a friend’s house, I could always hop onto their PC and check up on my town in Heroes of Gaia. That would be impossible in Runes of Magic, as its a 4+GB download.

Anyone else here play Deepolis? Or any other browser game? What do you guys think about them vs client games?

Chat Room MMORPGs

Just the other day I found a new MMORPG – Oz World. Now, Oz World isn’t exactly a new MMORPG, but it’s new to me, as I’ve never played it before. After downloading it and playing it for five minutes, I was quite disgusted. Apparently, the entire game is just a 3D chat room. So it’s basically a social MMORPG. Now, this wouldn’t exactly be a bad thing if the game had some decent visuals and smooth gameplay, but that isn’t the case. The graphics are quite bad, worse than Priston Tale, which came out in 2001. I probably would have played the game a bit longer than five minutes, if I had seen other people in the game, but I only saw like four or five people in the entire game, and they were afk somewhere fishing.

Now, It’s not that I don’t like social MMORPGs, but I want something a ‘bit more’ from my games, as I tend to like action MMORPGs. One example of a social game with a little something ‘extra’ is 5Street, as it’s a dancing game with a large social component to it. Neopets and Gaia Online are more examples of social games that offer more than just a social experience. Both Neopets and Gaia have minigames in them to keep things fresh. The concept of a 3D chatroom is pretty lame, if that’s all it is, as there’s nothing wrong with regular chatrooms.

Oz World was made by a company called OnGamePort, they also publish another terrible game called Deicide Online. One company, two bad games. I actually played Deicide before, and should have known any game published by the same dudes that made Deicide would be bad.

What do you guys think? Are chat room MMORPGs fun? Bad? Let me know!

Action MMORPGs Are The Best

Out of all the free to play MMORPGs out there, my favorite kind of game is an action oriented MMORPG. It’s not that I dislike traditional fantasy MMORPGs like Dragon Oath or Esteria Mythos, but rather I enjoy playing action MMORPGs more. I guess it’s because simply left clicking my opponent and waiting for the battle to end can get boring. I like it when a game keeps me on my toes and has be fully engaged. A few of my favorite action MMORPGs are Dragonica Online, GhostX and Dungeon Fighter Online. Dragonica online is actually one of the few MMORPGs I still play regularly. It's a side scrolling MMORPG well worth checking out.

That new Diablo 2 type game – Battle of the Immortals is also quite fun. I actually find it quite fascinating that there are so many World of Warcraft clones, but so few Diablo clones. Diablo 2, in my opinion, is easily one of the best video games ever. I’ve spent countless hours on that game and have ‘went back’ to it more times than I’d care to admit. As is though, there really aren’t too many Diablo 2 clones. The best one I can think of off the top of my head is Battle of the Immortals, so if you’re looking for something like Diablo, definitely give that game a try.

Another reason why action MMORPGs are fun is that they’re more interactive. I never get ‘bored’ or ’sleepy’, as i’m constantly pushing buttons. Action games also tend to be more skill oriented, which I find interesting. Point and click style MMOs like Secret of the Solstice are fun, but there’s no real skill involved. Just having to move around and attack manually adds a layer of skill to the game.

So, what are YOUR favorite action MMORPGs? Do you like the genre? or do you like point and click more? Post your comments below!

Asian MMORPGs Starting to Copy Western Graphics

One interesting thing that I noticed is that more and more Asian MMORPGs are copying Western art style / graphics. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise, as World of Warcraft is currently the most successful MMORPG of all time, but I found it interesting because for a long time, MMORPGs from Korea and China were anime inspired. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with anime MMORPGs, and in fact, I prefer ‘anime’ style graphics over realistic, but there are so many WoW clones out there now, it’s pretty ridiculous.

Eastern games like Neo Online, Gates of Andaron and Runes of Magic for example are examples of how Eastern game developers are copying the art style of World of Warcraft. Even Chinese MMORPGs like Perfect World and Battle of the Immortals look a bit like World of Warcraft.

I’m not a big fan of this trend as I prefer sleek anime inspired graphics over ‘Western Style’ cartoony graphics. Brightly themed free MMORPGs like Cloud Nine and Bright Shadow look gorgeous in my opinion and are much more ‘pleasing’ to look at than Realistic games or even Western style cartoony games. Even MMO Shooters like K.O.S. Secret Operations and Alliance of Valiant Arms are starting to look and play like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Anyone else see this trend? Or is it just me?

Global MMORPGs Are The Best

The most ridiculous thing for an MMORPG to do is to place IP bans in place. There is absolutely no reason for a game publisher to restrict access to their game for some users. It only aggravates players and cuts down on potential revenue for publishers. Just yesterday – gPotato banned ALL European IP addresses from accessing their newest game – Aika. I’m pretty sure Europeans can still play Fly For Fun, Upshift StrikeRacer, Luna Online and gPotato’s other games, but not Aika. The worst part of all of this, is that there were no IP Bans last month. That means, many European players have already committed hundreds of hours into their characters, only to have the game taken away from them. That’s just plain wrong.

As a gamer in North America, the IP Bans don’t really affect me, at least in the Aika example, but it sucks that so many people won’t be able to play Aika anymore because of this IP Ban. As a gamer, I want the game I’m playing to have a healthy playerbase – as MMORPGs need big communities to thrive. I’m sure most gamers will agree with me here, empty games tend to suck. Another reason I’m no fan of IP blocks is because I’d love to play a few European Fantasy MMORPGs like Priston Tale 2 and Y’s Online, but I can’t due IP Blocks. One thing I did notice is that browser games don’t tend to be IP blocked. Only client based games do – which is interesting.

So what’s the solution? Simple. Global MMORPGs. Games that have their doors open to every country. I know Netmarble – the guys behind Mini Fighter Online, Prius Online and Koongya Adventure, has all of their games available worldwide. I also believe that Nexon offers their games all over the world, meaning anyone anywhere can play MapleStory, Mabinogi, Dungeon Fighter Online and Combat Arms. I feel that not only will Nexon make more money by offering their games worldwide, they’ll also appease their players. After all, the more the merrier right?

Anime MMORPGs Look Great

I don’t know about you guys, but for some reason I really like MMORPGs with anime inspired graphics. I’m not wapanese or anything, but I find brightly themed games to be easier on the eyes. Heck, I don’t even watch anime, but I still like the visuals in anime MMORPGs. Games like Cloud Nine and Lunia look absolutely gorgeous. Sure, these games don’t look nearly as ‘impressive’ as 3D MMORPGs with realistic graphics (ie.. Atlantica Online and Karos Online), but they’re just overall more pleasant to look at. Don’t get me wrong, both Atlantica Online and Karos Online are top notch games, but I just prefer the visuals in Cloud Nine over any 3D other 3D game.

If you look at all the MMORPGs out there, the most successful ones seem to be either ‘western cartoony’ or anime inspired. Games that try to have realistic graphics (ie.. Age of Conan and EverQuest 2) aren’t doing so hot. To be fair though, there are boatloads of free to play games with anime inspired graphics that are also doing rather poorly, but my point is some of the most successful games have brightly themed cartoony graphics. A few examples off the top of my head are MapleStory, Runes of Magic, Allods Online and even World of Warcraft. MapleStory is easily one of the most successful free to play MMORPGs on the entire market. Its a very simple 2D MMORPG with side scrolling gameplay.

One reason why ‘cartoony’ games tend to do well is that they age better than realistic games. EverQuest for example looked great when it was originally released back in ~2000, but the game looks terrible today. MapleStory on the other hand, looked fine when it was released in 2003 and still looks fine even today. Since release the game’s graphics haven’t changed one bit. Heck, they don’t need to change because ‘cartoony’ graphics, especially 2D graphics don’t seem to age as fast as realistic 3D MMORPGs.

What do you guys think? Which do you prefer Anime / Cartoony graphics or realistic 3D graphics?

Where are all the Sci-fi MMORPGs?

As a big fan of Scifi I’m a bit disappointed that there are so few free to play scifi MMORPGs out there. With well over 120+ fantasy MMORPGs, you’d think that one or two game developers would decide to put out a sci-fi game, but nope. That never seems to happen. MMORPG Devs seem to think fantasy is the way to go. As of now (March 13, 2010), the only free to play scifi themed MMORPGs are Megaten, RF Online, Zero Online, Project of Planets, GhostX, Anarchy Online and 2029 Online. Unfortunately every single one of these games are at least 2+ years old. There hasn’t been any new scifi themed MMORPGs in ages. Luckily, Black Prophecy may change that. For those of ya that haven’t heard of Black Prophecy, it’s a 3D Sci-fi MMORPG that aims to compete with Eve Online.

You’d think with the enormous popularity of Star Wars and Star Trek, there would be more similarly themed MMORPGs out there, but that isn’t the case. I guess you could argue that there are a few pay to play scifi themed MMORPGs, but I’m not a fan of paying for the MMORPGs I play =). Besides, I hear Star Trek Online is a total flop anyway. And that’s sad to hear. Atari and Cryptic could have done so much more with Star Trek Online.

One of the main reasons why I’m shocked to see so few scifi MMORPGs is that with so many fantasy games out there, you’d imagine game developers would try something new. I mean, what’s the point in competing with 100+ GOOD fantasy MMORPGs, when you could release a scifi game and only compete with 10 or so mediocre MMORPGs. I guess we Scifi fans have to wait until Black Prophecy to have our day.

More Story Less Grind - The Big MMORPG Complaint

Most free to play MMORPGs have two things in common – and that’s a lack of story and a whole lot of grind. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if 99% of MMORPGs didn’t suffer from this exact same problem. After playing through Bioware’s dark fantasy epic RPG – Dragon Age: Origins I realized how much depth a good plot can add to a game. Obviously – these low budget free to play games can’t come close to matching anything Bioware can churn out – but it would be a welcomed change to see an MMORPG really ‘try’ to have a story. I know pay to play MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online do have a lot of story – but those are premium high budget games. I’ve yet to see a free to play MMORPG with a solid story. At least us cheap gamers can still play some of these pay to play MMORPGs – as most of them have free trials.

Don’t even get me started about browser games though. As not a single browser game I’ve played has even remotely tried to weave a story. At least free to play MMORPGs make crude, poorly translated attempts. Even more high budget browser MMORPGs like Earth Eternal, Runescape and Adventure Quest Worlds have fairly pathetic in game stories. Even though these games lack a story though – they sure as heck have a lot of one thing – and that’s grind! At least our beloved MMORPG developers have never let us down on that front.

It’s sort of sad to associate the word ‘RPG’ with the term ‘MMORPG’ as traditional single player RPGs are usually rich with story while Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games aren’t. I guess regular ol’ MMO games can be forgiven – as they’re not role playing games. I mean – it makes sense for MMOs like Rumble Fighter, Nanovor and BattleForge to lack in depth stories – as they’re not RPGs. Anyway, that’s enough ranting for now, I guess I’ll have to hope more Western game developers get into the free to play MMORPG business – as Western game companies tend to make ‘higher’ quality games – at least in my opinion.