In most games that feature two factions in a PvP environment, there's plenty of room to debate whether or not one side or the other is evil or just misunderstood. Not so in the upcoming Faxion Online, however -- one side is evil. One side is irrevocably and entirely evil. But then again, when you're part of the forces of Hell, you kind of accept that as a given.
Aiming for a beta later this year, the game is taking its setting as the eternal struggle between Heaven and Hell, with players taking sides as both factions seek territory. While a somewhat tongue-in-cheek approach to the subject is certainly welcome, most gamers are going to be looking for a little more from the title. It's slated to deliver on that front, with a PvP-focused game that heavily weighs on the aforementioned control of territory.
The game also promises to remove some of the tedious level grind, a promise which is frequently made but not quite so easy to carry out. We'll have to see how Faxion Online fares in that regard as it moves through development -- but at least we won't be discussing which faction is really evil.
Reader Comments (17)
Posted: May 25th 2010 10:26PM Enikuo said
That is so funny! I love it!
Posted: May 25th 2010 10:38PM (Unverified) said
Not much information to go on yet, but I certainly like the idea of a true Heaven VS Hell mmo. Hopefully they get the balance right between humor and seriousness but that's a pretty tall order considering the subject can be a little touchy for some. They can't make it TOO heavy, but something along the lines of a Free Realms style would be way too light (at least for my tastes).
The little devils in that pic seems like they may be erring on the side of "too light-hearted".
The little devils in that pic seems like they may be erring on the side of "too light-hearted".
Posted: May 25th 2010 10:51PM (Unverified) said
Definitely looks interesting. That it's PvP-heavy sounds great too, I'll be looking forward to this one.
As a side note, how come when I click the picture in the article it sends me to the game's website?
That keeps happening on massively. I see a picture, click it thinking I'll get a bigger version, but instead it sends me elsewhere. And there's already a link to the game's site in the article itself...
anyways... /endrant
As a side note, how come when I click the picture in the article it sends me to the game's website?
That keeps happening on massively. I see a picture, click it thinking I'll get a bigger version, but instead it sends me elsewhere. And there's already a link to the game's site in the article itself...
anyways... /endrant
Posted: May 25th 2010 11:34PM (Unverified) said
We always make sure to source our images when grabbing them from anywhere, but sometimes they come to us straight from PR as part of a press release. In those cases, we link back to the game's website.
Reply
Posted: May 26th 2010 12:56AM Vlo said
Aw no third faction to destroy both heaven and hell?
Posted: May 25th 2010 11:46PM Wild Colors said
The first reaction I had was "ooo...a heaven 'n hell mmo in the spirit of team fortress!"
...which, I think, would be great.
...which, I think, would be great.
Posted: May 26th 2010 12:20AM (Unverified) said
I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Dueling factions are a bad idea for a PVP game. They stifle the real reasons that people fight, and substitute artificial racism. Not to mention that it's old, boring, and smells of wow cloning.
Give people real reasons to fight and you get wars. Give them artificial reasons and you get ganking.
Give people real reasons to fight and you get wars. Give them artificial reasons and you get ganking.
Posted: May 26th 2010 7:08AM (Unverified) said
I think there needs to be a mix of faction and non-faction PvP games.
In a non-faction game, you can create meaningful content to drive PvP wars (control of territory, player-created alliances, etc). This requires a lot of thought and refinement, and the reasons for PvPing in the first place form the drive of the game. You wind up with something like EVE, with heavy emphasis on PvP but a PvE game that's slower and less apparent.
In a faction game, you have easy on-demand PvP because your allies and foes are sorted out for you. Devs don't need to spend time creating reasons for PvP, players will do it because of the simple rewards for killing 'enemy' players. They can focus heavily on creating fun sandbox environments or adding themepark elements to keep players invested when they're not in the mood for senseless violence against other players. Not to mention, it's an easy way to ensure balance of power by limiting how many players from each faction can play in a given area.
Both game designs present different strengths and weaknesses. Neither is inherently superior to the other.
... but yeah, more non-faction based PvP type games would be nice.
-SirNiko
Reply
In a non-faction game, you can create meaningful content to drive PvP wars (control of territory, player-created alliances, etc). This requires a lot of thought and refinement, and the reasons for PvPing in the first place form the drive of the game. You wind up with something like EVE, with heavy emphasis on PvP but a PvE game that's slower and less apparent.
In a faction game, you have easy on-demand PvP because your allies and foes are sorted out for you. Devs don't need to spend time creating reasons for PvP, players will do it because of the simple rewards for killing 'enemy' players. They can focus heavily on creating fun sandbox environments or adding themepark elements to keep players invested when they're not in the mood for senseless violence against other players. Not to mention, it's an easy way to ensure balance of power by limiting how many players from each faction can play in a given area.
Both game designs present different strengths and weaknesses. Neither is inherently superior to the other.
... but yeah, more non-faction based PvP type games would be nice.
-SirNiko
Posted: May 26th 2010 1:08AM Rika said
I hadn't really heard anything about this game to excite me. And nothing I read in the article made me say "Oh yeah, I totally want that game!" But then I looked at the pictures, and it suddenly became really appealing. I just hope they have well done voice over work to go with it.
Posted: May 26th 2010 4:44AM (Unverified) said
If it's the same tone as Dungeon Keeper, I'm sold :)
Posted: May 26th 2010 9:30AM (Unverified) said
Thats fun because when I saw this article and read the words "PVP", "Heaven and Hell" and "control of territory", I just thought:"Yes!!! Someone to grab the ball dropped by WAR!". Then I checked who are those guys and its the UTV True Games, the same guys strugling to make Mytheon works ( 5 months that alot of beta teste cant even leave the started without a crash/game freez). I won't hold my breath for that one.
Posted: May 27th 2010 12:46AM (Unverified) said
That is a well thought out reply.
The only point I will take with it is "it's an easy way to ensure balance of power by limiting how many players from each faction can play in a given area."
The factions in these systems tend to be unbalanced. In this particular game I'll bet you dollars to donuts that the Hell side is overpopulated. If a game is PVP oriented and the best rewards are to be had by sieges or whatever, you can limit the number of people from one faction, but you can't magically create members of the other. As members of the weaker faction tire of being squashed and transfer to the other faction or servers where their faction is dominant, the developers have to come up with more solutions to balance that out, effectively adding development time in another position.
If factions must be had, I personally like there to be 3 factions. However, WOW has two factions and who can blame developers from sticking to a tried and true formula, even if it's stale?
Thanks for the reply.
The only point I will take with it is "it's an easy way to ensure balance of power by limiting how many players from each faction can play in a given area."
The factions in these systems tend to be unbalanced. In this particular game I'll bet you dollars to donuts that the Hell side is overpopulated. If a game is PVP oriented and the best rewards are to be had by sieges or whatever, you can limit the number of people from one faction, but you can't magically create members of the other. As members of the weaker faction tire of being squashed and transfer to the other faction or servers where their faction is dominant, the developers have to come up with more solutions to balance that out, effectively adding development time in another position.
If factions must be had, I personally like there to be 3 factions. However, WOW has two factions and who can blame developers from sticking to a tried and true formula, even if it's stale?
Thanks for the reply.









