Stuff Smashing,
Presented by the Local Orchestra

The audio in Rohan
is a bit bewildering because the music is fantastic while the sound
effects are a mixed bag. The music suits each location
perfectly, and an ancient forest might have a haunting melody played
out on
a flute while a cave will feature the deep tones of a brass instrument.
In that ancient forest, players might hear a bird chirping or a brook
babbling nearby, but starkly juxtaposed would be the complete lack of
sound
effects in the cave. No howling wind, growling animals, or rumbling
mining cars; it's just you and the background music. It was a minor
thing that
turned into a big complaint for me, as I found it broke my immersion
faster than someone calling out "Where are the Cheetos?" during a
D&D session (see href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zng5kRle4FA">Summoner
Geeks).

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style="font-style: italic;">"So, this spider rolls up on me,
and I'm, totally, like, Hadouken!" style="font-style: italic;">

Likewise, combat sounds can be frustrating. Arrows fly out
from your bow with a satisfying "fwip!" But the same arrow strikes the
target with a "tsh!" It sounds a bit like a punch landing in target="_blank"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qAPbXNq0dc"> style="font-style: italic;">Street Fighter II.
To the best of my knowledge, arrows do not sound like that, but then,
I've never fought giant spiders with a bow and arrow. I'm a noob like
that.

You Say Tomato

This is the hardest part of a Rohan
review--the fun factor. The first 20 levels of the game are very solid.
Engaging storylines, varied locales, and fun gameplay features make the
game one of the best around, F2P or otherwise. By the end of the 20s,
and definitely in the thirties, leveling begins to feel a bit like href="http://www.highseasugar.com/wp-content/uploads/molasses.jpg"
target="_blank">stirring molasses. The story
tapers off, and players are encouraged to PvP or engage in Township
battles.
Whether or not you'll find the game worth playing at that point depends
on how much the bells and whistles appeal to you. Those bells and
whistles include gear alteration, M Kill, Township battles, and the Hit
List.

Players can perform a sort of href="http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/appdev/story/0,10801,65532,00.html"
target="_blank">reverse engineering to alter gear
they cannot wear to be able to equip it. It's a system balanced on risk
and reward in theory. If you looted a cool sword that requires level 32
when you're only level 28, you can attempt to reduce its level
requirement. Succeed, and you get to wear a powerful item early. Fail
and the item requirements could go up to level 36.

M Kill is a system that gives you bonus experience for every
20th kill. This means a lot in the early levels since you can kill 19
easy monsters and one hard one and possibly get a level. The system
breaks down at higher levels and in groups. First, the experience curve
gets brutal, making M Kills the only way to get noticeable progress
toward the next level. Secondly, you need to get everyone in the group
on the same kill number to take full advantage of M Kill. That way the
group can pick on the really strong enemies at the right time to
maximize XP.

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style="font-style: italic;">Township battles afford players
the chance to participate in massive PvP battles. style="font-style: italic;">

Township battles (mentioned several times already) are large
scale PvP battles for large guilds of players level 30+. Almost a game
unto itself, a coordinated guild can make Township battles fun. Poor
leadership can leave you feeling like the stormtroopers who lost the
outpost to href="http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/4/48/Ewoks.jpg"
target="_blank">the Ewoks on the forest moon of
Endor.

Since Rohan
depends on PvP so much, the Hit List is a handy feature. It tracks who
kills you so you know who to get when it's payback time. To add to the
PvP frenzy, though, a pair of races (Dekan and Dhan) can avoid being on
your Hit List by entering Assassination Mode. In this mode, the
player's name is not visible--only his race. Again, this reward carries
a risk. A character who gets PKed in Assassination Mode loses more XP
than normal and runs a higher risk of losing gear.

Parting Thoughts

My frustration with Rohan
comes from the dichotomy between the beginning of the game and the rest
of the game. YNK does not disguise the fact that style="font-style: italic;">Rohan is based on
player interaction and PvP, so that's not the problem. It just seems
like the first half has a lot more polish. If you are a PvP fan and the
features I have described appeal to you, add one hammer to my final
review score. If PvP is not your bag, you'll love the beginning of the
game and have fun rolling alts to see new story lines. The last half of
the game will be murder.

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(3 / 5
Hammers)