Rise and Shiny

As with many of the games I choose for this column, I am a bit lost as to how long the game has been in existence, what sort of time has passed since the game first began to allow players into its world, and what the exact state of the game currently is. With PlaneShift, a game that seems to have existed since I was 12 years old and has remained in some sort of testing or beta phase since then, I am even more unclear. Really, it shouldn't matter, but I can see the importance of knowing whether the game you are about to play is in testing or has even been released yet.

Without those key words, a player can become confused. Is this quest broken, missing parts, or just poorly designed? Is the game world empty because it's midnight or because the testing crowd is on at different times? I've heard from developers who keep their games in a beta state for years and years, and it usually means that they simply want a sort of explanation as to why the game feels incomplete. I say release it already and perhaps you'd attract more players anyway.

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I would like to start off by saying that Urban Rivals, a multiplayer collectible card game, is not an MMO. While I always try to play MMOs for this column, occasionally my "grab a random MMO, one that was recommended by a reader a while ago, and write about it" method needs some tweaking. I don't always get a chance to vet a game mainly because I want to go through the very first stages of play while streaming live on Mondays, so sometimes less-than-Massive games squeeze through. File this under Not So Massively.

Other than that, I found some neat design in the game. I didn't find anything that would just blow us away as gamers, but it has some cool ideas and artwork all the same. There's also the mobile version of the game to consider -- a universal app for the iPhone or iPad that allows for gaming anywhere.

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I love my MMORTS games, for sure. I've had to work on my ability to look at them with the freshest eyes that I can possibly muster, mainly because I see so many of them. It really is a genre of details. The gameplay in different titles is often almost exactly the same, but little details will set them apart. Thirst of Night, a new MMORTS by Kabam, tries hard to set itself apart from the pack, but does it do enough?

I also have to consider that, for many players, these experiences I go through every week are brand-new experiences. For a good number of people, the games I cover are their first or second ones. While it is hard for me to fathom, I have to keep that in mind. So while I saw a game this week that was lacking and tired in some areas, I know that those same areas would be pretty exciting to a new gamer.

Like I said, I'm working on it.

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In June, I drove down to Austin, Texas, to once again participate in GDC Online. I do it every year if I can, and I love it. It's a smaller event when compared to the larger E3s and other conventions, but it is more personal and up-close. My favorite speaker at this last event had to be David Calvo from Ankama Games. When he first came out barefoot, I was honestly worried that the chat would be all about goofy, "deep" design techniques that had no real use in practice. In the end, his talk was deep but was really just asking developers to have fun and try new things. Yes, I know: new things. Crazy, huh?

If Wakfu is any proof, those design theories are put to practice every day at Ankama. Wakfu, for me, is a breath of fresh air in so many ways. Even though I am somewhat used to the design and art style, thanks in large part to playing the previous title Dofus, I still find myself loving how simply complex much of Wakfu is.

There are issues that come with complexity, however.

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The Kingdom of Loathing is no new kid on the block. The hand-drawn indie hit has been around for nine years now. There are fansites and 24-hour radio stations dedicated to the game, and there are even conventions hosted in its honor! Needless to say, the game has a following. I knew that I would be stepping into a huge puddle of "snark" when I decided to take a look at the game this week. I knew darn well that I would be tested, that my limits as someone who cannot stand to chat with anyone who answers everything with the equivalent of "your mom" would be pushed and pushed hard. I had a feeling.

Surprisingly, I found some really charming aspects to the game. Unfortunately, the game didn't seem to share my enthusiasm for its quaint design. Because it's existed for nine years, I expected to find some fine-tuned stick figure gameplay, but the game seemed content with sort of rehashing the same stuff over and over. Of course, since this column is all about playing a game enough to form only a first impression, I did not reach the higher levels and might have missed something. I just wish the game would have been more confident in its delivery.

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1100 AD is a new browser-based MMORTS that is published by Aeria Games. It's new to me, at least, even though I find a lot of the design and ideas behind the title to be pretty familiar. The truth is that the MMORTS genre is about as repetitive and ordinary as the standard MMO model. Players will come across the same concepts as they have seen in a score of other titles. It's sort of the quandry of the massively multiplayer player: You have to play a lot of games to find that one true gem.

Where does 1100 AD fall in the grand line of copycat MMORTS games? Well, it's hard to say within a week, especially since I have not experienced much of what the game might have to offer like massive wars, alliances or world-changing events. But I can comment on what I found so far in this short week of playing.

Click past the cut and I'll tell you!

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I'm glad that over the last week I found the time to finally get me some Dungeon Fighter Online by Nexon. I knew that it has quite the following, and I knew that it's supposed to be a blast, sort of like an 8bit Vindictus, but I was still surprised at a few things while I played. The game isn't what I thought it would be in several ways. NPCs have voices and hand out actual quests, the world is more open than I thought it would be, and the graphics feel snappy and fluid despite their primitive nature.

Don't get me wrong -- there is plenty that needs to be tweaked or fixed before the game smells of anything near perfection. Much of it is beyond the ability of the developers, but many of the problems with the game could be fixed relatively easy.

Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I thought during my time fighting in dungeons... online!

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This week my job was a bit harder than it usually is. This week I had to revisit Pocket Legends and Star Legends, the entirety of the Spacetime Studios lineup, in order to catch the updates and differences since both games were recently adapted to play within the Chrome browser.

See, the device that you play an MMO on does make a difference. While I haven't found many players who have an issue with moving up to a finer machine with a larger screen, I almost always receive a few comments in any of my mobile MMO columns about the lack of fun involved with playing anything on a screen that will fit in your hand. While I understand the difficulty in downgrading your monitor size, the mobile market's reception of Pocket Legends surprised even the developer. People are playing it, for many hours, on screens that are very small.

But now we have the ability to play it in our browser. Does it make a difference in the experience? Click past the cut and I'll let you know.

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This week I decided to check out Fantasy Online, an extremely indie browser-based MMORPG by Pixelated Games. I've had my eye on it for a while but hadn't yet taken a chance on it. I liked the 8bit style of the game, but to be honest there are so many 8bit stylings going on right now (could it be more hip?) that it sort of all blends together into one pixelated mess. I have a buddy who makes 8bit music, t-shirts have featured 8bit designs for a while, and entire generations of gamers who never played the original games that the style is based on are diving head-first into the world of primitive graphics. Let's just say it's very popular.

What are the advantages of making a game that looks like it came from 1985? Someone once pointed out to me that an indie developer might have an easier time making a game that doesn't require state-of-the-art graphics. Good point. 8bit is sort of instant indie cred, as well. Just ask Notch of Minecraft fame.

Fantasy Online is more than just 8bit graphics, though, so allow me to fill you in on the details. Click past the cut!

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If you've kept up with my columns for a while, it should be no secret that I think Mabinogi is still one of the best games out there. While it does have its issues, the game simply presents more sandboxy goodness to players (while keeping those systems coming) than almost any game I can think of. In fact, the game has added so much since I started this column that a returning player can get confused. A new player might even become lost.

I like to officially dip my toes into old, familiar games once in a while. Checking back on these games from my past is a great way for me to get my gamer's bearings and see how my opinions might have changed. Mabinogi has been calling to me for a while because I haven't really jumped into it for that long over the past few months. I figured now is the time.

Click past the cut!

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Yes, you read the title correctly. This week I revisited Evony. But don't worry -- I tend to write about a game's gameplay and how it made me feel, not the politics surrounding it, especially during a time when people are talking more about an instance of poor taste in lieu of a discussion about how fun the game is. In other words, I will only speak about the infamous Evony ads at the end of this column. if you want more opinionated stuff, check out our Soapbox column!

I knew going in that the game had changed since I last played it. I also knew that it would not blow me away as far as gameplay is concerned, simply because I have played scores of MMORTS games over the last year. But what did I find? What was good and bad about the game? And what about those ads?

Click past the cut and we'll chat about it.

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This might sound silly, but my life is super rough. Well, OK, hardly rough at all, and I'm eternally thankful for that. But once in a while, a feeling of burn-out starts to creep into my everyday gaming life, and I need to take a vacation from the constant search for new titles and trolling through gaming forums to recharge my batteries. It might sound completely dorky, but I can understand how actors can seem so insane: They are. Sometimes you just need to play a good, juicy role to reset your creative self.

There are certain games that we can always go back to, games that will instantly provide a feeling of nostalgia for those of us who have played them before. Ultima Online is one of those games, and it might just be the perfect example of a game that we can use as comfort food for our restless gamer hearts.

So I spent an official week taking a look at the game (again) and found about what I'd expect. Click past the cut!

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It's unfortunate when my normal Rise and Shiny decision-making process bites me in the butt. I generally try to find games semi-randomly, but there really is no random choice for a guy who is pretty aware of almost any title coming out in the U.S., like I am. When I saw Warriors Saga splashed across the front page of Massively, I decided to take a chance and Rise and Shiny the heck out of it.

Well, nearly a week later and several hours into the game, I can tell you that there is so much that still needs to be done to the title that it is almost not fair to give you my first impressions. But alas, I have the super-seriously tough job of playing games for a living, so click past the cut and I'll tell you all about it.

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I tend to think of myself as a connoisseur of MMORTS games. If you are not familiar with the genre, imagine an MMO that plays like a city-building sim combined with open warfare and sometimes trade. There are a lot of these titles out there, maybe a lot more than in other genres, and the popularity of the MMORTS seems to be growing. Every week I read about a new one or try a new one out. They are usually browser-based, so it's very possible that this low barrier to production allows for such mass production.

Usually I play one and my love affair with it hardly gets off the ground. Generally I find much of the same design and gameplay I have found in dozens of titles. Sure, there are some subtle differences, but overall the gems in this category are few and far between.

This week I tasked myself with playing Golden Age, the new MMORTS published by Aeria Games. Was it the same as every other one I've played before? Click past the cut and find out.

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My job is to hunt down unique and hopefully exciting new games for my readers to try. Some actually try them, and others just enjoy reading about their choices and might try them later. Either way, I am proud to show off some of the gems I find, but I am a little sad when I have to say, "This game sucks."

And MagicDuel, an odd browser-based MUD sort of game, sucks. Of course I will need to explain this to you or I'll risk coming off of some sort of buffoon who does not know how to navigate a simple point-and-click adventure, so click past the cut and I will tell you why.

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