Ragnarok Online 2: Massively Missing Online?

First announced back in November 2004, Ragnarok Online 2 aimed to capitalize on the success of its acclaimed predecessor. Over 4 years, 3 Closed Beta's, 1 Open beta and a formidable marketing drive later, the game has instead performed a vanishing act, plunging into the depths of development hell.

Is this the final curtain call - or can Korean based Developers 'Gravity' pull the rabbit out of the hat, yet?

Western gamers following RO2's progress would be forgiven for wondering whether the game has finished before it even got started. With the Open Beta caught in a seemingly perpetual time loop, and a wall of PR silence acting as Gravity's bulwark against the dubious times, things are looking bleak for the motionless MMO, the MMMO if you will.

One has to wonder just what is happening at Gravity HQ? I remember playing the Korean Open Beta in '08, and while it is an unwritten rule that MMO's are never finished - especially when first launched, the game world was a myriad of troubled landscapes, displaying all the hallmarks of an early closed beta.

Falling through the world, skills that did nothing, two playable races missing and classes that were literally useless, it was all pretty troubling stuff. All this, and yet Gravity's launch HQ was pushing forward, planning grand opening events, featuring music from the games soundtrack and acclaimed composer Yoko Kanno. Thankfully the soundtrack was a little more polished than the game was at this stage, so we werent treated to sympony de'la ear-gouge as we /noclip'd through the worlds (admittedly quite pretty) floor.

So what happened? Days turned to weeks, and it became increasingly apparent that a timely release was little more than a pipe dream.

That was then, no doubt the development has progressed, but by how much, lets look at what we have now.

Though sizeable chunks of the promised launch content is still awol (I hear a screenshot of one of the missing playable races - the Dimago - would make you quite a wealthy man), signs of life have been reported at Gravity HQ.

March 26th (2008) saw a large-scale update, complete with new dungeons, quests and a revamped User-Interface among other things. The last status update was put out back in January 2008 claiming that Gravity were aiming for a '08 release in the Philippines. Another missed deadline for a game with so much promise. (especially considering the success of its predecessor) It seems that RO2's execution up to this point has brought nothing but dissappointment and false hope, its a crying shame.

Despite its shortcomings, RO2 (beta) does have some great features welling up beneath its dusty surface. The animations and textures are superb - if you're into the anime style - and no MMO to date can compete with the incredibly detailed and varied emotes available - there's even a co-op emote that lets male characters have their head stroked by female characters while laying in their lap. A little creepy to some? maybe, but it is this finite attention to customisation and detail that wins people over. As it stands, the game - to me - is like a hollow malteser, aesthetically pleasing on the outside, but lacking in the honeycombed euphoria (content) on the inside.

The fact is - Gravity have already made a great game in RO1, and if they could bring RO2 up to that same standard, they would be poised to fill a gap in the Western market which is currently saturated with wannabe WoW's, there are many western gamers, myself included, who vastly prefer the eastern approach to gaming. This is a void RO2 might just be able to fill, if it could exploit the hooks that made RO1 one of the most succesful MMO's in the Eastern block.

Unfortunately, with no release date on the horizon for the East, let alone the rest of the world, the question is 'if?' rather than 'when?'


-Ari Read more!

A Tale of Two Genres - Vesperia Breaking J-RPG Mold?

He clutched the controller, its adornments now clammy to the touch. The incessant whirring of mechanisms were reaching their crescendo - an ululation that could shake the very foundations of even the most ardent resolves.



His sweaty brow quivered before adopting a steely and austere resolve. With a terminal burst of light from the TV set, the words came into clear view; 'Tales of Vesperia' - There was no going back now.

And thats exactly how my first time playing Tales of Vesperia went. Honest.

But seriously, I'm starting to approach double digit play-hours now, and TOV is offering up some surprising new...surprises.

First and foremost, for newcomers to the tales series. ToV (Tales of Vesperia) is the latest in the long line of J-RPG's from TECMO. Players assume the form of 'Yuri Lowell' our male protagonist and former Imperial Knight with an apathetic nature towards the Imperial Empire - a powerful presence in the worlds many continents.

The biggest surprise to note:

Yuri is actually kind of cool, for your average J-RPG lead. Sure, the character design has an androgynous influence, which may even seem alien to those who have yet to penetrate the Japanese Manga/Anime culture, but for a J-RPG vet such as myself, this goes largely unnoticed, its what we signed up for. What splits Yuri from the pack is his personality, it makes for a welcome and refreshing change from the archetypical Fanboy hero. He's a go-getter, sure-of-himself badass with an attunement to the wellbeing of others, which delightfully, doesnt come across as overly-vivacious, as is the tendency for your Johnny Average shounen male (I'm looking at you, Naruto).

Thats not to say the game escapes stereotypes of the genre. The Voice Acting itself isnt bad, but suffers under the tendrils of the script - a force known to reach Saturday Morning Cartoon levels of cringe'worthy. This is intentional of course, Tecmo probably believes there just isnt a market for a more mature take on J-RPGs in the West, and so treats the world they've crafted with kid gloves, but the experience doesnt suffer terribly from this. To be sure, the story loses some of its Dire-ness, but the quality of the actors themselves help remedy this to some degree, there's life in the voices - and they fit the characters more or less. They're cliché, but its cliché at its finest.

The next nugget of the unexpected was the difficulty, Goldilocks knows when something is just right, and apparently she works at TECMO. Newcomers and grizzled vets alike are catered for, battle difficulty can be changed at any time during the game at your convenience. The various settings do just what they say on the tin; Easy Mode - so paltry your mum could clock it, Normal Mode - a modest offering, and Hard Mode, a crucible so impenetrable it makes insurance on your gamepads an essential purchase. I am speaking from experience.

Of course, being only 10 or so hours in, we cant be dealing with certainty's here. The shell has been breached, and brave men scale its inner core. The experience could be all downhill from here, or perhaps, J-RPG Nirvana lies in wait.

We'll have to see.

-Ari Read more!

Stranger in a Foreign Land

With the news that Aion wont be permeating Western MMO shores till Q3/Q4 2009, I figured it was time to break my MMO fasting with something a little casual, albeit transient - which, in a nutshell, describes my experiences with the behemoth that is WoW.

The idea of the 'same old same old' (MMO starved as I am) seemed unbearable though. In order to inject some freshness into the experience, I've decided to resub an old 'Recruit a Friend' account from days of yore and see what WOW life is like on the other side of the pond. So far? not a huge difference from what I've seen - but its early days.

My Dude of choice so far has been my 50 Hunter, and the gods seem on board with this - blessing him with not one, two or three, but four world drops within a couple of hours, monetary issues he aint got. At best though I can see him being my conduit for DeathKnight'dom - just 5 more levels to whack out till I'll be beating up kids and taking their lunch money, all in the name of The Lich King of course.

Here's to the road... yeehaw

rite?

- Ari.

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Dealio: Persona 4 at Personable Price

Play.com UK is listing Persona 4 on PS2 at £9.99 - Free Delivery

If only I had waited a week, then I might not be having such a hard time sustaining myself while playing it - QQ -

Hit up the headline for link. Read more!

Hands on : Dawn Of War 2 (PC)

After overcoming the belief that Relic had ruined one of my favourite RTS franchises, I decided I would chin-up and give it a chance...

And I am glad I did, while the new Dawn of war is vastly different to the original (and its 6 million expansions) the game still has its own charms, while base building and the large number of units have been removed, the RPG elements and use of cover add a new angle to the game.

Pros:

Ability to make use of cover - The ability to make use of cover allows you to plan your defense, it also means a bit more thought is required when attacking a stationary enemy that is in cover.

RPG element - The RPG element of the game allows users to customise their squads with different weapons, armour and a variety of special abilities, this means different players can approach the game with different tactics. The fact that I seem to be the only person using the scout leads me to believe that I may just be playing the game the hard way.

Fast multi player - I find multi player much faster paced than the previous Dawn Of War, i believe this is largely due to the lack of HQ's. Resources are still based around capturing points, but with a limited number of units defending them it can be a lot more difficult, the player must constantly move their defensive squads in order to repel the enemy.

Cons:

Lack of base building - I suppose this is more of a personal preference, but I enjoy building a base, and personally think this has been the biggest blow to fans of the game. You are unable to build more units, but are able to resurrect your named characters instead. This changeup removes a large amount of challenge from the game as all that is required to revive them is to have another named unit stand next to them for a few seconds (or in the case of a leveled up scout, instantly).

Lower number of units - As you can only have 4 squads I find it is almost always necessary to keep them all together, this removes the ability to distract an enemy while destroying an objective elsewhere.

Overall I do not think players of the original Dawn Of War should be put off by the changes, they do make it a very different game in its own right. Players will either love it or hate it depending on which style of RTS they prefer. Read more!

Survival Loller - The Decline Of Scary Games

Its 1996, you’re trapped in a mansion. You approach a dude who slowly turns his attention towards you. He has a mouth full of flesh. Hes chowing down on some man guts. (Your scared because you were a juvenile crybaby when you saw this scene but also because it was genuinely scary)


This was the chilling introduction Capcom gave the public in their hit game, Resident Evil, now regarded as a survival horror classic but what has happened to this once mighty genre!?

Despite laughable acting, cheap voice over’s and clunky controls the game maintained the suspense of a horror film throughout. Its huge success spawned a series of sequels and prequels (not to mention films) as well as paving the way to other survival horror games such as Dino Crisis and Silent Hill (both released in 1999).

Now, in 2009 Capcom have decided to give the world their 21st Resident Evil title, ironically titled Resident Evil 5. Silent Hill has released its sixth title in Silent Hill: Homecoming and Dino Crisis is long gone. So who does the title of Survival Horror king go to this year? The answer, in my opinion is no one. Both games have diversified so radically from their original formula that they now sit snugly in the Action category of gaming.

Resident Evil 5 may pick up from the same history banks, but that is the only commonality it holds with its predecessors. You now constantly have a partner to hold your hand throughout, which reduces any chance of feeling isolated. An impressive assortment of guns and a large supply of ammo means you are always ready to engage any enemy in your way. Conveniently placed explosive barrels and mounted guns help make light work of bosses. The blistering heat of Africa is preferred to the chilling air of the night. All these factors help detract from what a survival horror game should be. Something else fans of the old may miss is the puzzles; the few that appear could be beaten by a five year old.

Despite these shortcomings, the game still plays well and looks fantastic. In an action game the addition of a co-op partner changes everything - so if you can accept the change in genre the game is well worth a look.

Silent Hill disappoints in terms of living up to the Survival Horror tag. You play as a soldier returning home to search for his brother. Prior games had a normal civilian as the protagonist, helping to intensify the bond between the player and the character. Now you are somebody who has experience handling guns and has sufficient training in combat. This makes for an action orientated game and removes suspense and tension from the title. Making the transition from horror to action is fine but the developers employ cheap tactics to try and maintain a sense of fear. The main problem being a torch which wouldn’t help you navigate your way out of a shoe box let alone one of the expansive dark sections featured in the game.

The Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises are still going strong, but no longer have any appeal as Survival Horror games. Dino Crisis finished with its third game, largely because the third game was just plain awful. Fighting genetically engineered dinosaurs in space in the distant future was a bad design choice. The first two games had helped build a story following the main protagonist, Regina, and the third did not continue this.

So around 10 years ago the Survival Horror genre was saturated with engaging titles. In the present there is much greater potential to strike fear into gamers with the excellent graphics on offer but we are yet to see new generation titles achieve this. No game currently holds the title of Survival Horror king and there is a niche in the market which a smart developer needs to exploit. In the meantime if you are looking for a good survival horror game dust off one of the old consoles and play Resident Evil 1-3, Dino Crisis 1-2 or Silent Hill 1-2. Read more!

First Impressions: Persona 4 (Ps2)

Persona 4 - another digit-stacking addition to an already aging franchise, was released in the UK last Friday (13/03). How does the latest Atlus RPG contribution fare on its arguably outdated platform?

After my PS3 in all its next-gen glory spat the disc out in violent disgust, I was forced to retrieve my dated PS2 from the depths of the Console Purgatory that is my attic. Like Frankensteins monster I re-assembled the various components, following closely the advice written in the scriptures. Ok Ok, the game...

The first thing that struck me about Persona 4 was the setting, I had for one reason or another neglected the previous Shin Megami Tensai titles in the series, and I'm beginning to wish that I hadn't.

Persona 4 paints Japan with a degree of style, authenticity and attention to detail that is rarely seen in other J-RPG's. On top of that, the characterisation and art style grants the game a charm which makes it instantly engrossing. Interlaced throughout the *LENGTHY* introductory game period (The player has little or no affect on the proceedings of the game for about 2 hours of play-time) are high quality anime sequences with surprisingly decent dubbing.

The plot is fairly generic, fans of Shounen Anime will be instantly at home, for outsiders, the premise is this: You are an enigmatic, blank slate-esque kid with a secret power un-beknown even to you. You are staying with a relative in a new town and your about to have some adventures, so you may as well look forward to them.

The crux of the game is to solve a mysterious serial murder case that is dominating the local town of Inaba, you have one year, on a calender. Each day is broken down into periods in which various activities will be available to you and it is up to you to manage your time in the most productive way possible.

I realise this sounds incredibly boring ala "Lifestyle Manager 2009" but honestly, you will become immersed in the protagonists life quickly, planning activities days ahead of time. All things factor into what unfolds in your scenario, the weather is of crucial importance to the mystery as are the friends and duties you establish throughout your day-to-day life.

Combat in Persona 4 is fun and quite challenging at times, encounters are not strictly random but are infinite for those that like a grind, while being easily avoidable for those that don't. Character, or rather Persona customisation is deep and rewarding, and there are various difficulty modes.

Without a doubt the most engrossing aspect of the game so far (5 hours in) is the setting and plot line, but a highly developed battle system combined with a fantastic calender based time-scale makes for a driven and immersive game, watch this space.

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