TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

by Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor

Popular media is full of violence, gore, and brutality. If you happen to be flipping through the channels on your television, you might happen upon a random murder, suicide attempt or decapitation in the first five minutes or your surfing. Video games are really no different, with titles like Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt taking the spotlight for their heaping helpings of gratuitous violence. Yet the massively multiplayer gaming space has yet to really experience a fully realized title that embraces the violence and inherent darkness that lives within many of us. While there are titles that are flying towards their release dates (Age of Conan) the marketplace is still relatively empty.

The Beast Possession system in Requiem allows you to change into an enemy crushing entity.

The barren market has attracted quite a bit of attention, from both Western and Eastern developers alike, and one of the first MMOGs to come from the Asian shores has finally begun to emerge in the North American frontier. Although the title of the game, Requiem: Bloodymare, may be a bit difficult to roll of the tongue, rest assured that the developers at Gravity Interactive have really attempted to break new ground on this post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer game.

Set in a world that has been devastated by scientific and magical misuse, Requiem finds the players taking on the roles of a super-human set of champions known as Temperions. According to Mario Fernandez Jr., Requiem's community manager, the Temperions are split into three different sub-races and are the “heroes” of the current age that wage a constant war against the nightmarish forces that patrol the landscape. “Each of the three races has two class options to choose from,” Fernandez said.  “And once each of those races reaches a certain point in their progression, they will be allowed to specialize into one of two other classes, giving the players twelve total classes to choose from between the three races. Of course, the developers didn’t want to give players the simple ‘cookie-cutter’ choices, so there will be different skill sets available along with the overarching DNA system.”

According to Joon Yoon (marketing and public relations coordinator for L5/Gravity), the DNA system is one of three major features that make Requiem stand out from other games. “The DNA, Beast Possession, and Nightmare systems will keep players pulled into the game,” Yoon said. To begin, he chose to discuss the DNA system and how that was going to work. “Since the Temperions are genetically engineered, you can actually play with your DNA,” he continued. “In the game you have a five slot system where you can insert different pieces of DNA that you find in different combinations. It’ll modify your abilities, but it won’t modify your look.” From what Yoon described, the DNA system looks to be another way to specialize or modify your character to enhance the way it operates. While there is the base five slot system, a sixth DNA slot does appear when the right DNA combination is achieved, and players will probably spend a great deal of time looking up the best combinations for their character.

Moving on from there, Fernandez went on to describe the Nightmare system. Unlike the DNA or Beast Possession systems, the Nightmare mode in Requiem simply refers to the 15-minute window that occurs every two hours when the world shifts and the Nightmare begins. “The world gets distorted, and it looks darker,” Fernandez explained. “But the biggest change is the new monsters that emerge to fight with you. An area that you may have been safe in earlier will become extremely perilous, and this concept will keep players aware of their surroundings and on their toes.” Despite the harder monsters and dangerous atmosphere, this time of day isn’t without rewards. With the bigger monsters comes more experience and higher loot values, so intrepid players can certainly grab some tasty bits if they’re interested in hunting in the Nightmare.

The Kruxena are one of three races to choose from in Requiem.

Finally, the Beast Possession system rounds out the last of the three major features in Requiem. To explain a bit, Fernandez explained that Beast Possession isn’t about charming or “possessing” beasts around you, it’s more of a transformation into a creature that you’ve encountered in the past. “Through your adventures you’ll be able to pick up various monster templates that you can choose to transform into,” Fernandez mentioned. “You’ll have three different slots for three different monsters that are totally independent of your character class and level.” With this system, players can briefly switch into different modes of play on the fly as long as their “hardcore bar” is filled. This “hardcore bar” refers to a slowly filling timer that eventually enables you to transform into Beast mode and lay waste to your surrounding enemies.

Once Fernandez and Yoon were finished giving us the background of the game and its major systems, we actually sat down with the client and were given a brief demonstration of the many nuances and intricacies behind the game. From the outset of our demo, it was apparent that there were some very fascinating design choices that were made early on in Requiem’s development.

For starters, Requiem certainly looks like it will be filling out that “Mature” placeholder that it wants to step into. Unlike other MMORPGs that feature one or two NPC death animations, Requiem looks to have several for each of their NPCs walking around the world. Each death animation is a view into the brutal world of Requiem; limbs fly off, bodies explode, and heads roll down hills as they are hacked from their bodies.

Indeed, you read that final descriptor right – heads will actually roll down hills. Rather than use their own means to come up with a physics system, Gravity Interactive licensed the Havok engine (of Half-Life 2 fame) to power all the rag doll type effects in the world. This means that your destructive rampages won’t just kill monsters; it’ll make them flop on the ground like a dying fish.

Concerning gameplay, the action in Requiem seems to be driven in a very similar method to what we’ve seen in other modern MMORPGs: by using hotkeys to attack and defend, the character on the screen will react accordingly. However, it seems that with the DNA and skill set systems already in place for the game, you may have more options at your disposal than in any mere clone of World of Warcraft or Lineage II.

The Havok engine allows the developers to create flying body parts and ragdoll physics.

The Beast Possession system, when seen in a live-action mode, is actually fairly impressive. As we watched Eric Sexton, VP of Game Design for Gravity’s US studio, drive his character through the monsters, he got into a tough spot and activated his beast possession. His character threw his head back, roaring, and he transformed into this hulking beast immediately. It was fairly fascinating to watch, especially when he started mowing down his enemies.

To me, the most exciting part of the whole demonstration was how localized the game already seemed to be. Over the past few years, many MMORPG fans have been treated to poorly translated or localized gameplay from a variety of imported Korean titles. However, it seems like that particular trend has finally begun to shift, and U.S. studios are finally beginning to clean up the games that they import to the states. The fact that Gravity is taking it upon themselves to import the game is a fantastic step in the right direction for localizing a game, and perhaps Requiem will be the first truly localized imported title.

The future of Requiem: Bloodymare seems to be the polar opposite of the game’s setting. Rather than a dark, bloody existence for the upcoming MMORPG, I believe that Requiem will draw a large number of fans looking for an adult game. While much has yet to be determined for this title – the extent of the localization, the actual enjoyment of playing the game, and more – the current steps look to be the right ones, and I believe Gravity Interactive and L5 Games are dedicated to finally bringing a solid imported title to the MMORPG marketplace.

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