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One of my many interests as a gamer are the Online Roleplaying Games, particularly those that I can simply download for free and play for all good and lovely reasons (legally and without the full use of a torrent.) MMOs became a part of my life and I ended up getting full opportunity to tell you stories and review about them in this new segment I call: MMO Shenanigans.
(Okay, I don’t have any decent 3DS Games as of yet and the next System Update will be at the start of June. Happy now?)
But I do have a strange love for Free MMORPGs. Once in a while we get diamonds in the rough that attempt to support themselves through free donations and Item Malls, but make up its free status with excellent gameplay, community, music, graphics, and an intriguing theme that just makes you keep on going and grinding. While the rest of these games have a ridiculous premise to the point that I would tell the tales of suckiness to my friends and say, “Yeah, I used to play <so and so game>, and I hate it.â€
This new segment will be composed of 3 mini reviews and/or experience stories of various MMORPGs that I have played during the course of the… many years that I did so. Also, some updates will consist of a certain theme (Sci-Fi, Asian, Superheroes and whatnot) that makes an MMORPG a diverse group that can be played for all ages and people.
So without further ado, here is MMO Shenanigans.
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Silkroad Online
Country of Origin: Korea
Genre: Historical MMORPG
Company of Origin: Joymax
Distributors: Joymax (International), Level-Up Games (Philippines)
Current Gameplay Status: Dropped
Silkroad Online is a pretty old MMORPG game that tells and relives on the development of the elusive Silk Road trade that happened in 7th Century AD. The game starts off with choosing one of the two countries that were highly involved with the Silk Road trade: China and Europe. And depending on the country you started in, you get different skills and attributes (China focuses on Charged Elemental weaponry, while Europe focuses on a Job-like system that look a bit like Ragnarok Online’s own.) You then get to choose one out of the many preset characters with additional customization of armor and weapons as well as height and weight. One of the many things I remembered about this game was its captivating P2P system that involves the player into various jobs that were unique in their own way: traders that transport various items from town to town, hunters who protect traders from thieves, and thieves who attempt to steal the Traders’ items before reaching its destination.
[singlepic id=2251 w=250 h=250 float=center]Back in the day, Silkroad used to have very serious typos that were not addressed until a few years later. Till then, forum members consider the weapon above as a “glavie,” glaive’s more enthusiastic variation.
This game had an interesting history back in my high school days because this was the first MMORPG that I played with an Oriental/Asian theme that I liked so much. With this as my starting point I expected the same in my other future MMOs. The problem I did have in this game was that as time flew by and updates go on, the bot player population increased dramatically to the point where every town and server I went to, there will always be a million advertisement scams that try to convey your real world cash with Silkroad’s Item Mall Currency (thus, many of the Main website’s constant updates of banned bots and emergency server inspections.) There was also a time where Silkroad doesn’t even let their players pass the log-in screen due to the high bot infestation that ended up clogging the server population limit.
[singlepic id=2253 w= h= float=center]I wasted the my whole summer vacation with this log-in screen in my final years of Silkroading. I have cursed the bots ever since.
So yeah, Silkroad was also the first MMO I knew that had me learn the MMORPG-local term known as “nerfing.†But that does not stop me from attempting to redownload this game and checking if things there got better or worse.
Update: Well… at least some problems were fixed… The bot infestation still continues rampantly, and I have yet to see the upcoming Arabian/Islam country update the Korean Silkroad was about to show everyone. When the new episode will include the Islam episodes, please tell me.
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FORSAKEN WORLD
Country of Origin: China
Genre: Fantasy MMORPG
Company of Origin: Beijing Perfect World
Distributors: Perfect World Entertainment
Current Gameplay Status: Still Playing
Forsaken World tells a tale of the hero from one of many races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Kindreds, and Stonemen, with their various adventures fighting against the Strom Legion and their King and gain godly powers or something. While kicking monster butt and finishing main quests, you also gain access to various jobs that gain an edge in future battles to come.
The problems I had with this game were obvious when I first saw it: The game is pretty much Perfect World of Warcraft. In other word, the setting is based on a more Westernized mythology with dwarves, elves, vampiric kindreds, and a Western Zodiac sign system (as Perfect World was known for its more Chinese-based MMORPGs) while the content is what you expect in a Perfect World game. In other words, if you have played Forsaken world once, you’ve probably played all of the MMORPG’s Perfect World International offers you in one download.
[singlepic id=2256 w= h= float=center]The green lettering in the Quest Info serves as an auto-tracker, making this game a lot easier. Thanks, Perfect World!
Another thing that bugged me with the game was on how ridiculously easy the game was with the tracker system attached to the quest lists and the many EASY, short quests and little rewards that is served to you in a pinch. Just click on the green highlighted name on your quest list details and away you go! I got to about level 20 in at least 3 hours of playing.
Though I am slightly relieved that Toni Gonzaga didn’t attempt to sing any cover song here… so it’s good. I haven’t played Perfect World in forever, and the graphics and concept designs are pretty nice for a game made by Perfect World so it’s not a total, complete loss.
[singlepic id=2259 w= h= float=center]And as long as the Vampire Class ain’t sparkling, it’ll be alright.
WAKFU
Country of Origin: France
Genre: Turn-based MMORPG
Company of Origin: Ankama Studio
Distributors: Ankama Studio (Global), Square Enix (America)
Current Gameplay Status: On Hold
Wakfu, the free-to-play sequel to the game Dofus (which is Pay-to-play), brings us to the old days of Final Fantasy Tactics where you (along with a party member or two) take turns fighting against monsters with the power of strategy while giving access to many professions that can give the game a lot of possiblities. This game has brought pride to European (particularly French) players to the point that it made its own television show based on it.
[singlepic id=2258 w=496 h=280 float=center]Pretty much a mix of Runescape and FFT, only with a cute, cartoony disposition.
Set a thousand years after Dofus, it tells of heroes of many races (mostly elven and anthro), abilities and skills who rise above the ruins to repair and cure the now divided World of Twelve… with (as the site’s plot says) “Llve and a good sense of humorâ€, while mastering the powerful energy of the game’s universe known as “Wakfuâ€.
I do enjoy the cartoony feel of the game and it takes a lot of skill (and balls) for a French company to make a game this refreshing to look at, yet in times with the lack of a quest system that one may feel confused on where you will go or how far the player can progress.  And since this is the Open Beta version and is currently in development, a handful of bugs and lack of facilities there of can make this game both questionable yet still reasonable due to the game’s initial stages. Also, the players in the game’s server I played on speak and/or are French, so in other words, I am totally out of place the moment I have played this game and joined my first party.
[singlepic id=2257 w= h= float=center]Sacre Bleu, Le Kung-Fu Panda!
So here ends the first MMO Shenanigans. Tune in next week where I will give short reviews of Wuxia (Martial Arts)-Based MMOS!