Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

While I don’t claim to have nearly as much experience with free-to-play games as our resident guru Ralsu, I’ve always been open to trying out new MMOGs regardless of the business model employed. So long as any micro-transactions don’t overstep their bounds and infringe on my ability to enjoy the experience, I’ve adopted a “live and let others worry about item malls” attitude. With that in mind, I decided to try on Lunia for size to see if walking a few virtual miles through the cartoon-inspired landscapes of Rodesia was worth the price of admission.

Developed by Allm and brought to the US via NHN USA’s ijji.com games portal, Lunia draws much of it’s inspiration from action arcade games while still providing players with elements of character advancement you’d expect from a more traditional fantasy-based MMOG. Lunia is squarely aimed at attracting a more casual gamer, yet still offers a certain degree of depth if you can overlook some of the quirkiness, button mashing and annoying boss fights.

They may sound exciting, but you'll want to avoid the exploding ostriches.

Lions, Tigers and… Exploding Ostriches? Oh My!

Getting started in Lunia is a pretty simple affair. After a relatively painless client download and install process, you’ll be able to launch the game directly from the ijji.com game portal, which also provides access to general info about your characters, PvP rankings, and the requisite item mall.  
From there character creation is fairly basic, as the offered classes are all based on specific characters from Lunia’s main storyline. So if you have your heart set on playing a thief for example, hopefully you won’t mind being limited to a female avatar. The class selection is also pretty standard for a fantasy setting, but through the course of gameplay you’ll be able to unlock new characters and classes that help round out the initial offerings.  Personally, I can’t wait to unlock Lime the Combat Slime, but that’s just me.

With my freshly minted carbon copy thief good to go, it was time to set foot into the great, wide open world of Rodesia.  Unfortunately, Rodesia isn’t exactly what you’d call “wide open”. And as far as great goes... that comes down to a matter of perspective.

Combat in Lunia blends arcade action with MMOG elements.

Pleased to Meet the Top of Your Head

Though I’ve been gaming for much longer than I care to admit (*hides his Pac-Man Fever shirt in the back of the closet*), I’ve always been pretty vocal about specific things in games that drive me bonkers. Most of that is personal preference, but I felt the need to add in a brief disclaimer before diving into Lunia’s primary gameplay mechanics.  

One such area would be fixed, overhead cameras. Call it what you will, but isometric perspectives in RPGs inevitably lead to a feeling of complete detachment. Considering that the camera will pan in to give a closer view of your character when you open your inventory, it’s a shame Lunia doesn’t allow players the option to do so more freely. While this might be a non-issue for some, it tends to hinder immersion now that I’ve been spoiled by modern 3D MMOGs.

Lunia’s saving grace comes in the form of a series of cleverly crafted cutscenes. These come into play at the beginning or end of each chapter in a longer series of repeatable missions that you can play through either solo or with small groups. You’ll access mission instances from main social hubs, and have the option to set up a private room that only those players you allow can enter.

Missions themselves tend to be fairly quick, and bring the arcade-style combat to the forefront. Though the control scheme can be a bit wonky, once you’ve gotten used to it and added a few skills to your hotbar, combat can be an extremely satisfying experience. Well, most of the time anyway.

Lunia throws plenty of boss battles your way.

If there’s one thing I loathe more than poor camera controls, it would be the dreaded Boss Fight. While I’ve come to accept the fact that raids in modern MMOGs are simply a bigger version of a boss fight dressed in pretty clothing, the concept still seems about as dated as that Pac-Man shirt I refuse to admit I own.

Though I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of Lunia’s overall storyline, every mission I’ve completed so far is marred by a boss battle at the end.  While combat throughout a given mission might pit you against large swarms of enemies that require the use of various tactics, the bosses in Lunia are true to form in the sense that combat is reduced to alternating between attacking and running in circles. Did I mention that bosses have special attacks that can kill you in one hit?  Not my cup of tea, but to each their own!

Who Put Bacon in the Soap?

While my experience with Lunia so far has been fairly brief, I certainly look forward to spending more time with the game. That may sound contradictory to some of the things mentioned above, but plenty of unique areas easily make up for Lunia’s shortcomings. Somewhere between the comical cutscenes, cartoon graphics and Exploding Ostriches I’ve found myself genuinely wanting to play more each time I log out.  Considering how much I despise Boss Fights, that’s saying quite a bit.