The saying that you never get a second chance to make a first
impression is rarely more accurate than when it pertains to online
gaming. Indeed, most MMOGs that struggle through a poor launch,
especially one that is problematic and bug filled, never get an
opportunity to turn things around. However, style="font-style: italic;">Alganon hopes to
break that mold with a planned re-launching of their game later this
month. The game, which has already gone through one re-invention
process with an earlier name change, is the product of North American
developer Quest Online , who recently href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/82000" target="_blank">announced
a major shakeup in the leadership of the project.



The new leader of the Alganon
team, Derek Smart, has come out firing with both guns loaded in href="http://www.alganon.com/forums/index.php?/topic/4607-quest-online-announces-leadership-change/page__p__39830&#entry39830"
target="_blank">response to issues that have
plagued the game since its December of 2009 launch, a launch he
categorized as something that “should never have happened”
and  ”a mistake that has not only cost the company money but
has also cost people their jobs and put an otherwise exceptional
product at risk.” While the bug-fixes have been numerous to date, even
more are planned; Alganon
is getting a fairly extensive overhaul of its underpinnings and systems
to bring them up to the standards the developer feels they should have
achieved at launch.



While many current players are concerned that these changes may be akin
to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, the newly opened lines of
communication with the team from Quest Online have been quick to assure
the playerbase that the April re-launch will have no negative effects
on their current characters, items or progress. The current crop of
players, however, isn’t nearly enough to keep the game above water, so
what does the future of Alganon
hold for new players? Will the changes be enough to
stabilize the game and allow a bolstering of the ranks? While it’s too
early to tell for sure there are some signs of hope for the long term
prospects of the game.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/67170"> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/67170"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 250px; height: 156px;">

Alganon,
for those not familiar with the title, is a fantasy based, PvE-centric
MMOG that allows players to choose between two races, with each race
being the principal race in its faction. There are four classes to
choose from – Magus, Ranger, Healer and Soldier, with a dual class
system to allow for greater role flexibility. The game features two
continents with the standard world map fog-of-war system that is common
in many games. Alganon’s
UI is, much to the chagrin of Mr. Smart, a near carbon copy of style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft’s;
in fact a good portion of the game is very WoW-like and this has been
one of its biggest detractors. With the original subscription model, a
monthly fee following a fairly steep box cost, the game was doomed to
low numbers as most players who wanted a WoW-like experience would
simply go with the more popular title.



While the art team is busy working on a new look for the game’s website
and UI to help get some distance from the WoW comparisons, the fact is
that this game will never be able to completely shake the label because
it is very much a dyed in the wool clone of Blizzard’s juggernaut. But
that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since the game is now free-to-play
with purchase of the client, a relative bargain at fewer than 20
dollars. Additionally, of the features that make style="font-style: italic;">Alganon similar to
WoW, most are positives:

• Quest
  Experience Trumps Kill Experience - Staying true to the
  North American ethos of heavy quest rewards keeps the game focused and
  moving at a great pace.

• Easily
  Navigated Menus and UI – While the art style may be too
  similar to the look of WoW for the Alganon
  team, the overall functionality and ease of use is perfect for new
  players and veterans alike.

• Three Branch
  Talent Tree – Another easy to understand and utilize
  feature that makes personalizing and upgrading your character feel like
  second nature.
  

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/67169"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 270px; height: 163px;"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/67169" alt="">

This new subscriptionless model also gives the game a near style="font-style: italic;">Borderlands like
feel that allows players to jump in for some quick solo action or
gather up friends and hammer out some more in-depth content. Leveling
in Alganon
is done with nearly no curve as the pace stays steady throughout the
process with quest rewards going up proportionally with the amount of
experience needed to level. If leveling in style="font-style: italic;">Alganon were a road
trip it would be a one tank of fuel affair with the speed limit
increasing steadily even as the distance between each town increases.



Even with many similarities to other games, this isn’t simply a copy
and paste job by any means. Several features of the game give it a
fresh perspective and its own identity:

• Built-in
  Database – Alganon
  players don’t need to alt-tab out of the game to look up info on any
  facet of the game; it’s all built in to the Library system.

• Dual Role
  System – As early as level 10 players can select talents that give their a secondary role, for example a Magus can select talents that allow them to heal their party.

• Offline Skill
  Training – Similar to the system in EVE Online, style="font-style: italic;">Alganon allows
  players to advance their skills while not actively playing the game.
  Using a queue system players are able to prioritize which skills they
  level first with learning taking place while offline or in the
  background as you play.

Whether you are a disenfranchised player of another MMOG, just looking
to get into the genre, or a compulsive gamer looking for something new
to sink your teeth into, Alganon
is shaping up to be a solid choice. The new revamp and re-launch are
slated to roll out in the next week or so and with them the future of
the game itself. Here’s hoping that style="font-style: italic;">Alganon can find a
new and successful lease on life.