 |
Category: Games
I'm only doing this here because I really need a new mousepad and I'm too cheap to go buy one. Plus nowhere else let me post this so bleah, anyway...
For the past six years, I have embraced my gaming passion. A large part of my gaming repetoir involves RPG's and their online brethren. Everything from 2D sprites and environments to the full 3D experience, platforms ranging from handheld to console and of course, PC. When someone mentions the word MMORPG, people immediately think of the words "World of Warcraft", or "Lineage II". They also think of the money involved to fund their obsession with these titles. Many people would ask, why spend so much money on a game that only requires you to run around and whack stuff and involves little strategy? Well with Atlantica Online, that question is completely irrelevant.
Whilst most games would have you duking it out 1 v 1 with an enemy whilst mashing random skills, this little diamond matches you up in combat with up to 9 fighters on either side that take it in turns to apply their specific skills to turn the tide of combat in their teams favour.
The world of Atlantica mimics that of a mid-1930's Northern Hemisphere, allowing you to travel across the Asian/European continent demonstrating great geographical accuracy. Important cities, landmarks and environments are all based closely around that of the real world, whilst mixing in fiction and fantasy to give the vast panorama of Atlantica its appeal. The game simulates an enjoyable mix of combat, economics, society and politics which very few other games, let alone MMO's are able to do.
Despite it's turn based combat system, this game is anything but slow. Forcing the player to choose which target to attack with which character and deciding which order will prove the most effective all in a matter of seconds, the days of the repetitive, one-click combat are over. But the strategic challenge does not really show itself too much in your average battle. Instead, you are allowed to enjoy yourself without worrying too much about making a mistake until you reach the bosses at the end of each quest arc, and you'll be forced to make every move count.
The world itself looks amazing for a free-to-play game. Generated in full 3D, you will truly enjoy the scenery and character models as you travel across the continents. With the added abilities of lowering quality drastically, even those with older systems can enjoy this. The major drawback people will notice is that you are generally restricted to the roads and fields that are populated by NPCs and monsters. You aren't really able to climb the hills or explore the forests as you are in other games. The audio for each area of the world has been created to suit its environment. String and wind for India, Oriental for China and ambience to match. The combat music that has so far been included creates a mood that gets you pumped and prepared to wipe the floor with your opponents. Ranging from fast and heavy to slow, deep orchestral driven rock, I always find myself nodding to the beat rather than concentrating.
The giant multitude of quests continue to teach you throughout a large portion of the game. While you are helping various people with their seemingly endless problems, they will in return teach you about various aspects of gameplay. Players learn to hunt effectively, maintain their equipment and shop on the market. While most of the quests in the game are linear, you will have the occasional series of quests that while entirely optional, provide you with useful items that you will later be thankful that you spent the time to get. Items that can be used for strengthening your current mercenaries, or even to gain access to new ones. Generally however these quests will require you to team up with people sharing a common goal as you will usually be swarmed by enemies who will make short work of you otherwise.
At first glance the class system may look very typical, but the recruitment system is not. While you are limited in the amount of characters you can control, you are given a large amount of freedom to create the team that you prefer. Sure, some classes are restricted to one per character which may get you down a little, especially because these classes are incredibly useful. Classes such as the Beast Trainer who can ravage front lines or the Oracle who can keep your teams life intact are priceless allies who some will wish could be duplicated. What is quite unique however, is that you can even find mercenaries wandering the wilderness to recruit! They may not be fun to recruit initially, but there is always potential to find yourself a powerful ally. As your teammates level, they become more powerful until they reach a specific level and are able to advance to the next stage of their training. You may find yourself scrounging around the markets for the items you need to do so, keep that in mind.
Shopping at the market is a mix of highs and lows. Because it is run almost completely by other players, you have the potential for great bargains or inflated prices depending on the demand for the item. It also means that the item you need won't always be for sale. Frustrating? That's the way things work in the real world. But we don't live in the real world, do we? Which is why the developers decided to include the basic commodities, equipment and medicines with unlimited quantities at fixed costs for your satisfaction. For those rarer and more expensive items, you might want to coax your girlfriend into helping you go bargain hunting... online. And the longer you spend playing, the longer you'll find yourself scouring the markets for materials to make your new equipment.
You may find as you get deeper into this online experience that your mercenaries are becoming more and more expensive to maintain. Potions, weapons and armour all become harder to come by. This is when you will turn to crafting. You will find artisans of all forms positioned around the world who will give you basic training in various fields. Once these stationary artisans have taught you all they know, you will find masters of craft travelling the world. But to further the social interaction that players will experience, those that have mastered much of a craft are able to pass their skills on to other Atlanticans.
Many people complain about other games making progress too slow. That it takes forever to make any noticeable progress. However, incorporating a stamina system that increases both experience levels and item rates, players are able to level at a comfortable rate without too much worry of never getting anywhere. When your stamina runs out, you are left with two options: continue at a slower rate, or find something else to do. A smart inclusion, allowing everyone to take a break and relax rather than spending all their time fighting. You can choose to partake in any of the games other features such as crafting, mentoring or playing the market.
With the declining status of video games over the years, it is rare to find something new that pulls you in and doesn't let go. Addictive gameplay, an involving storyline and many added features are more commonly found in action or shooter genres. But with the release of this game, the MMO community now has another comrade to bolster itself. Although there are a few fairly noticeable flaws, I'm certain that these will be remedied with time, after all you can't expect things to be perfect in Beta. With a battle style revolutionary for an online game, a player driven community and involving social interaction system Atlantica Online is a must try for all online gaming enthusiasts.
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Longevity: 9.5/10
Graphics: 8/10
Audio: 9/10
Social: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
10:24 AM
(User has disabled new comments)
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|