I finally found the opportunity to play Vindictus at home! What I mean is that I tried it out at E3 in June before it was released for Closed Beta. Not much seemed to have changed besides some extra content and some fixes to lag. For those who don't know what the game is about, just watch the video:
Source: Youtube Channel loadstart
Vindictus is an phenomenal MMOARPG that brings the fluidity and excitement of action games with the online, social aspect of an RPG. I've tracked the game since it was first announced in Korea years ago when it was still known as "Mabinogi: Heroes" (the name is still used in Asia), especially since I've been playing their other creation "Mabinogi: Fantasy Life" for years (though not religiously). As much as I love MMORPGs with its immerse environment and social aspects, it was refreshing to have a fast-paced action game in the online realm that boasts its combat system that requires more twitch skill rather than tactical planning.
Graphics: The game is developed on the source engine provided by Valve and is optimized incredibly well considering its detail and realism. I'm running on 1920 x 1200 resolution in-game and it barely has any graphics lag whatsoever. The style is much more violent and mature themed compared to its predecessor which fancied anime style themes with cel-shaded textures. The animations to certain gestures and actions do have some inconsistency and erratic movements, but is overlooked by every other astounding animation used in combat. Although a free game, Vindictus' graphics could rivals those of commercially sold games out in the market right now.
Audio: This factor is also very different from Mabinogi: Fantasy Life. Mabinogi is known for its whimsical themes with the sound effects somewhat cheesy and the music sort of retro-like with MIDI sounding instruments. But similar to it, the music is great. I loved a lot of the music composed for Mabinogi and was one of the reasons why I liked the game. I'm still not sure how I feel about the tunes for Vindictus yet, but I think the composition of real instruments and thundering power that it invokes does the game justice when fighting hordes of enemies.
Gameplay: The controls work similar to an action game with WASD keys as movement, mouse as camera angle, and the mouse buttons as attacks. Skills can be acquired and rise in level like in a RPG and its system is similar to Mabinogi in how levels corresponds to the actions and skills used in battle. Unlike many MMORPGs, Vindictus follows a distinct story that is told through cinematics and dialogue rather than having the player reading through all the quests given to try to piece the story themselves. Going into battle is similar to Phantasy Star Online or Dungeon Fighters Online in how players start out in town and can be instanced into a level through a portal or stage selection of some sort. Players can team up with 3 other players to fight in room to room dungeons like in Gunz: The Duel's quest mode. This means that the dungeon's rooms are linear and not free roaming. Objects are scattered around the levels and can be interacted as tools and weapons against enemies. The player can destroy crates and pick up a broken fragment to chuck at an enemy. Enemies' dead bodies can be picked up and thrown at live enemies as well, so that ability to interact with all sorts of objects changes the dynamics of battles when given the opportunity to utilize them. So far, there's only three characters to choose from. A fast attacking, dual wield swordsman; a balanced warrior wielding a sword and shield, and a mage who uses large weapons like scythes and mallets while casting powerful spells to deal damage. More should be on the way.
If you're not certain if the game will be to your liking, go ahead and try it, it's FREE! It's one of the more impressive MMOs out there that has depth, replay value, and innovative concepts. I encourage everyone to try it out, it could be a great game to play for those of you who are getting ready for winter break:
http://vindictus.nexon.net/
No comments:
Post a Comment