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Last week was an interesting one
around here at the Hammer. We gave away some Vindictus
head start open beta keys before they shut the doors on us to prepare
for open
beta, which kicked off Wednesday, head over to the official site to get
signed
up.  Another game
that has been pinging
hard on my radar recently is Jade
Dynasty: Vengeance, a quality offering from Nexon – make sure
to check back
with us next week as we sit down with the producers for an interview
and walk
through.

With the stellar reception that style="">EverQuest2 Extended has received in the
last couple weeks, it gets
easy to overlook another top notch title that recently made the switch
to
free-to-play, The Lord of the Rings
Online. We lucked out and scored a top notch writer recently
who is a
walking encyclopedia of LotRO knowledge – you can check out all of
Gunky’s
awesome guides and other content href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro">here. style="">  We haven’t seen the
definitive numbers yet
from SOE about the success of EQ2X, but Turbine just revealed that
their
revenue stream from LotRO href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/90531">doubled
since they took it free-to-play. Smart move, eh? I have a sneaking
suspicion
that EQ2X will have similar results.
   

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So we have been hitting LotRO and EQ2X pretty hard lately
here at the Hammer, and with good reason –both are phenomenal
games.  But what else is out there that is also worthy of
consideration? We do a lot of reviews around these parts, and as such
you may have missed one or two. With that in mind I bring you a recap
of some of our favorites that we have looked at this summer.

Land of Chaos Online

Land of Chaos Online,
or LOCO for short, is a hybrid package of Tower Defense, 3rd Person
Shooter and MMOG.  This highly addicting title features slick
anime-themed graphics and multiple battle modes. It uses a
microtransaction format where consumables and costumes make up the bulk
of the content.  We were treated to a day of developer
interviews and bloody combat this summer, and here is some of what we
found:



LOCO is
first and foremost a team based game where parties can assemble to
battle one another, or against the AI in early training matches, in
various scenario-based encounters. I recommend spending some time with
the tutorial unless you are a glutton for punishment or an amazingly
quick study, but even the most veteran of gamers will need a little bit
of acclimation time. There is no traditional character creation aspect
of LOCO, you start the game by selecting one of 12 unique heroes to
serve as your own personal squad leader, additional characters can be
added with the use of Hero Cards which come in either permanent or
temporary varieties.



Each hero has their own
strong suit and best use, even in the absence of a class system more
astute players will build their parties to capitalize upon these
nuances. For our gaming session I selected Minity Grey, a pixie of a
girl with long flowing locks and a penchant for dropping massive damage
on both opposing players and structures. We ran through a Battlefield
game which pits two teams against each other for ultimate control over
a contested map. The teams are split by faction and begin the battle in
their base, surrounded by defense towers, base structures and NPC
heroes that will help aide in its defense. All players start each match
at level 1 and quickly progress during the encounter to a maximum of
level 20. Skills are gained at intervals, with each character having
two paths to follow that is represented graphically by a talent circle
with eight standard and two major skills – making your initial regular
skill choice will lock you into a group of 4 skills which can be
purchased and upgraded as you level. Each minor skill can be upgraded a
maximum of 5 times and the major skill is trainable at level 6 and
passively gains power as you level. Impressive in its subtle
complexity, this system allows you to tailor your character to
compliment teammates and counter opponents on the fly and provides a
nice level of customization. New players will only have certain skills
available at inception and will need to permanently unlock them by the
use of skill scrolls which are earned by completing tasks and
achievements over the course of several matches.



You can read our entire preview here, or head to the official site and
download the client to check out this Unreal engine powered dynamo for
yourself.

Battle of the Immortals

Perfect World Entertainment continues to add depth to their available
content and their most recent addition, style="font-style: italic;">Battle of the Immortals,
may be their strongest to date. Eschewing the traditional grind
oriented nature that is so common in Asian-based games, BOI is fast
paced and engaging. Set in a fantasy world against a backdrop of
multiple mythologies, BOI has several innovative features with a pet
system that is among the most robust ever seen in an MMOG. We did a
complete review on the game this summer; here is a peek at what we found



The central theme of
BOI is much like any other game, to kill monsters and take their stuff.
At higher levels the prized loot is known as Soul Gear, class-based
tiered armor sets that are uber powerful and increase in power as you
gain levels. Even though this is a PvP game, the only way to get these
sets is by completing dungeon runs, making BOI a very strong PvE title
as well. I was impressed by the number and types of dungeons available,
which included both instanced and open world varieties. There are also
some quest-based dungeons throughout the game that offer sizeable
rewards themselves. It is easy to tell that none of the core gameplay
features were an afterthought (a problem that often plagues
free-to-plays and AAA games as well.)



Any of the game’ s five classes can have a combat pet, which is hardly
a new concept on the surface, but digging deeper we find a whole new
level of customization. Instead of taming their pets in a traditional
manner, players obtain them by killing certain mob types until a
version spawns that they may attempt to capture. The method of
acquiring pets initially isn’t all that unique, but the system really
shows its teeth through the methods used to create new ones. Advanced
players can partake in a form of twisted animal husbandry and breed
entirely new species of pets with unique and often very formidable
powers



Mounts in BOI are also fairly unique. Many mounts are communal and can
hold up to 6 players--anything that adds to socialization is a huge
bonus in my book. Speaking of bonuses, mounts not only grant you the
boon of increased movement speed, but can also grant you statistical
buffs that last well after they have been dismissed. Not that most
players need any other reason than going fast and looking cool, but you
definitely will not want to be without a mount in BOI.



Gameplay is probably the strongest element of Battle of the Immortals
and it really gives it a leg up on a lot of the games in the segment. I
spoke earlier of my fondness for socialization, and here is an area
where BOI takes it to a whole other level. Players friendship is
quantified here: the more time you spend in a party with your friends
the more evolved your damage bonus will be when near each other. If the
friendship is of a romantic nature, there is even an in game mechanic
that allows players to become married – and this isn’t your typical RP
wedding done by players, it is a full blown process accomplished
through various goals that ends with an elaborate ceremony.



The only downside this isometric game got at time of our review was a
slap on the wrist for having an out of balance item shop. The folks at
PWE have been working diligently on bringing even more balance to this
localization, their continuing efforts are commended. Read our full
review and then head over to the Perfect World portal to snag a copy of
the game for yourself.

Mabinogi

Rounding out our look back at some of the more interesting titles of
the summer is Mabinogi,
a Korean important with a Celtic name. style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi is the
precursor to the highly anticipated game style="font-style: italic;">Vindictus, and
while it lacks the new game’s slick graphics and innovative combat
style, it has a very unique look and feel. Featuring a character system
that starts players in their youth and ages them as they advance, style="font-style: italic;">Mabinogi’s aging
and rebirth mechanic is among its many hallmarks. We put the game under
the Microcosm’s microscope a couple months back and here is a bit of
what we found:



It may sound like complete hyperbole to say that I have never played a
game as unique in its offerings and playstyle as Mabinogi, but it
really is the truth – if there is anything else on the market like
this, I haven’t run across it. The first distinction from traditional
MMOGs is that there are no classes here, and characters advance in
levels, age and progress through a myriad of skills.



Players in Mabinogi select a starting age for their character of
anywhere between 10 and 17 years old. Older characters start with more
skill points, but younger characters will gain a greater amount of
skill over time. To facilitate aging the game employs a system of
static time measurement that ages characters one year every week, and
at age 20 you get the option to “rebirth” your character for free. The
rebirth system of Mabinogi is perhaps the most unique feature of this
eclectic game; it allows players to reset their age and skill points
while retaining any skills they have already learned. The most
dedicated of players typically choose to start at 17 so that they can
get a free reset every 3 weeks.Aside from the main quest lines, which
guide you through the chapters in a semi-linear fashion, you can also
engage in tradeskills, skills, creating your own music and even
part-time jobs that you can take on.



Combat is another area where the game varies from just about anything
else you may have played. Using an almost mini-game like system,
opponents will flash one of a few basic symbols over their head and you
have a small window of opportunity to trigger one of your abilities to
counter or exploit it. Learning the basics of combat is a quick and
easy process, but perfecting it, especially at higher levels, can be a
complex affair.



For those with a high interest level in style="font-style: italic;">Vindictus, having a
familiarity with Mabinogi
isn’t a requirement, but it can certainly help advance your knowledge
of the game’s lore and history.  You can explore our review of
this anime styled adventure here and then head over to the official
site and get started on your own adventure.



There has never been a better time than now to check out free-to-play
games but with new titles being released almost every week, keep
checking back with Microcosms for the latest info and reviews.

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