Soul Master is an Interesting MMORPG

Yeah, I’m dedicating this entire post to an MMORPG called Soul Master from GamesCampus. Why you ask? Simple. It’s one of the most creative / original free to play MMORPGs I’ve ever played. It’s in closed beta as I write this, but I’m very impressed by it. It’s a unique mix between an Action MMORPG, a strategy MMORPG and Pikmin. It may sound a bit weird, but it all works together really nicely. Progression is a bit linear, much like Lunia from ijji and Fists of Fu from Outspark, The progression is actually EXACTLY like Fists of Fu / Dragonica Online, as players need to complete a stage before being able to advance to another one. Come to think of it, it’s just like Dungeon Fighter Online as well. Each level can be played in numerous different difficulty settings. The toughest a level, the more rewarding it is.

I also like the graphics in Soul Master too. They’re anime inspired and bright. I don’t know why, but I have a thing for brightly themed games. I guess it’s why I enjoyed Bright Shadow from GamePot USA and Cloud Nine from Netgame. I also tend to like anime MMORPGs for some reason. It’s weird, because I don’t even watch anime in real life. The fast paced gameplay in Soul Master is actually a lot of fun too. They actually a lot like GhostX from GameKiss, as players can rack up combos with each attack. Come to think of it, I’ve grown very fond of action games lately. I guess the slow paced combat systems in other MMORPGs bores me after playing so many action MMORPGs lately.

Even though Soul Master is in closed beta, I recommend MMORPG Players give the game a try. Even though it’s yet another 3D MMORPG set in a fantasy setting, it’s quite original. You actually have to micro-manage your individual units as well as your character to do well. It’s the only game that mixes action MMORPG elements with strategy. The PvP is really neat too, because it takes an enormous amount of skill. PvP MMORPGs like Aika Online are fun too, but they don’t take a lot of skill. It usually comes down to whoever has the best gear wins, but in Soul Master that isn’t always the case. Sure, better gear helps, but whoever micro-manages better ends up winning. If you already have an Asda Story account, you can use that to log in to Soul Master, as it’s by the same publisher. Anyway, props to the developers behind the game for making something unique.

Sci-fi MMORPGs – The Untapped Genre

There are a ton of great fantasy MMORPGs. Games like Allods Online, Aika Online and Twelve Sky 2 just to name a few. There are so many great fantasy MMORPGs out there, both 3D and 2D. The problem is though, there are very few other types of MMORPGs. Fantasy games seem to be the standard amongst free to play MMORPGs. I’d actually love to see more sci-fi themed games, as I’m a huge fan of Sci-fi in general. Some of my favorite television shows include FireFly, Star Trek, Babylon 5 and so on. I know Cyrptic has Star Trek Online, but from what I’ve heard it stinks. I know there are a few other random Sci-fi MMORPGs like RF Online and Megaten, but both games leave me wanting more.

RF Online used to be a pay to play game but it went free to play. After it went free to play, the game sorta went no where. A lot of pay to play games that went free to play became super successful, especially Dungeons and Dragons Online, but other games like Archlord (Webzen) and FusionFall (Cartoon Network) have done decently as well. RF Online is sort of a joke now, because when you first create your character, you start off with some of the best weapons in the game, so you can 1 shot everything and anything near the newbie areas. In fact, I found myself 1 shotting enemies significantly higher level than my character. Starting off with absurdly powerful gear is pretty stupid, because it ruins progression in the game. I remember completing a quest that gave me a new weapon that did 100-120 damage, but my started weapon did 2350-3205. Seriously. What’s the point? The leveling is really fast too, because of your absurdly powerful weapon. It felt a bit like Tantra Online, as that game also has really fast experience.

There are a few decent sci-fi themed MMORPGs like GhostX from GameKiss and Anarchy Online from Funcom, but unfortunately no real triple A titles. There are a bunch of low quality 2D sci-fi MMORPGs as well. Games like 2029 Online and Galaxy Online from IGG. These game’s aren’t terrible, but they’re low quality, and it shows. I don’t think anything is as bad as Age of Armor from Snail Games or Project of Planets. Is there future of MMORPGs really more fantasy games? I really think the sci-fi genre is the most untapped in the MMORPG space. There’s only so much you can do with the fantasy theme (Orcs. Goblins, Warriors, Mages…). With Sci-fi developers can do so much more. You could call Eve Online a triple-A title, but it’s a pay to play game. I’d like to see a triple-A free to play sci-fi MMORPG!

Downloading Eve Online.. Again

I’m going to give Eve Online another chance. I just created my 14 day MMO free trial account and I’m downloading the game right now. I’m downloading at a cool 3MB/s so my client should be done in 13 minutes. Eve Online is a gave I’ve always wanted to get into, but for some reason never could. Twice I quit the game before finishing its tutorial. Yeah, the game is that intimidating. I’ve read a lot about it on MMORPG review sites and aside from Ultima Onlineback in 1999 it is by far the most ‘open” and PvP heavy pay to play MMORPG ever. Players can kill each other just about anywhere in the universe. Neat huh? Unfortunately even though Eve Online sounds really cool it has one of the steepest learning curves ever.

One aspect of the game I dislike is that older accounts are ALWAYS more powerful than newer one. The skill progression system is pretty random. Players gain skill all the time, even when they’re logged off with no max skill cap. With the amount of skills in the game, it’s impossible for anyone to master them all, so players tend to specialize. I mean, you could master them all, but it would take like 20+ years. Older accounts have ultimately more learned skills than newer ones – no matter what. Most MMORPGs including free to play ones like Gates of Andaron from GameForge,Neo Steam from Atlus Online and even Magic World Online from EnjoyMMO are built so no player late game is more powerful than others. The whole older accounts have more skills thing is pretty silly in my opinion. Luckily though, there are so many skill trees, it doesn’t make sense for anyone to even TRY learning everything. EVERYONE specializes, so a 1 month old player could have more skill in one type of skill than a player who has been playing for years.

Eve Online has so many interesting aspects that I really want to dive into. The game supposedly has one of the coolest in game economies ever. Even more so than Luminary: Rise of the Goonzufrom ijji, which had a stellar in game economy. Heck, I remember reading a big Eve Online bank scandal in The New York Times. How many other big in game scams get published in such a reputable paper? None. Eve Online also has a massive Corporation vs Corporation PvP system. Players can band together and form Corps which are guilds in game. These Corps can band together to form alliances, and alliances can control various outposts and territory in space. It’s not uncommon for thousands of ships to be in one area at once to battle it out. Yeah, Thousands of players. The only other game with that kind of massive PvP is Aika Online from gPotato, which boasts 1000 vs 1000 PvP.

Anyway folks. I’m almost done with my free trial download. I’ll make sure to let you know if I get passed the free trial this time!