January 12th, 2010
Professions:
Close beta testers are granted the access to play four professions: Warrior, Archer, Cleric and Sorceress. Players can go through each profession and pick one they like most to play.
Warrior
Gender: Male
Profile: always wanted in closed combats and will attempt a combo when plunged into a war. Comparing with Archers, Warriors have high attack power but bad defense. They will draw their weapons on enemies and dispatch them as quickly as possible from a distance through speedy movement and a combination of critical hits.
Archer
Gender: Female
Profile: deal ranged damage with their weapons. With an attack roll, Archers will shoot an arrow at one target. They have high proficiency in skills used to hold up enemies in ranged combats and skills for ranged attack. Archers will use feet to kick enemies when enemies come close. Although they have low stamina, they will reduce their chances of receiving damage through various dodging skills.
Sorceress
Gender: Female
Profile: a good ranged combat and melee fighter. Sorceresses wield magic to provide lethal damage. Their ranged attacks lend themselves easily to attack multi targets in ranged combats. The have the ability to find opponents’ weakness and bring them down.
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January 11th, 2010
In a recent interview with UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s Senior Managing Director and EAD General Manager responded to whether the prospect of Super Mario MMORPG was considered, and why did Shigeru Miyamoto want to create it for 15 years, which may probably be a new time record in MMORPG development history.
ONM: Recently, you said that you’ve wanted to create a multiplayer Mario game for 15 years. Why did it take so long to come to fruition?
Shigeru Miyamoto: We’ve been experimenting with many different approaches over the years. As a result, through trial and error, we realized we finally had the know-how to create a multiplayer mode. But the biggest change was the availability of the technology within the Wiki hardware.
Before then, it was not actually possible. It’s quite a technical thing you are talking about – to enable multiplayer mode in one fixed screen like in Super Mario Bros – and we really had a great many challenges to overcome. For example, when there are multiple players appearing on one screen, if somebody is late to catch up, then naturally without zooming out the total visible area of the screen, then that player might get left out. They would be off the screen and would not be able to play. And because each character is moving with their AI, it required a great deal of processing power and that was provided by the Wii.
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January 10th, 2010
After three days of hardcore testing Dragon Nest Online I have quite a bit to say about the game. Dragon Nest Online maybe a new type of game but it feels like you have been there and done that if you have played games similar to it. My closed beta experience did however, leave me very satisfied compared to my previous other CBT games that I have tested in the previous months. No pictures just videos in this review!
Controls
The controls are as good as they get in my opinion. W A S D to move around, TAB key to switch between battle mode stance, 1-0 for your hotkey bar, left click mouse for primary attack, right click for secondary, and spacebar to jump. Takes like a minute to get used to the controls, then you should be all set. You can tap any of the directional keys twice to dash/teleport to that direction, which can be very useful in large scale battles. When you aren’t in battle mode stance your character runs faster so most people usually stow their weapon away if they are running great distances. If you have a lot of mana to spare you can just spam dash to your desired location which is a little bit faster than running with your weapon sheathed.
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January 10th, 2010
Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your perspective. FInal Fantasy XIII, released Dec. 17 in Japan, is nominally a videogame. But the big draw is that it features the most lavish, jaw-dropping and just plain expensive-looking cinematic cut scenes I’ve ever seen. Much like Square Enix’s films, the storytelling isn’t exactly Shakespeare — but the visuals are exquisite.
All this cinematic beauty came at great cost: A lavish trailer for FInal Fantasy XIII was shown at E3 Expo in May 2006, and at that time no one would have guessed it would take nearly four years of development between the announcement and the real thing’s U.S. release, scheduled for March 9, 2010.
But besides the giant pile of cash that’s clearly been spent on its development, XIII”s filmlike grandiosity has also taken a toll on the gameplay. FInal Fantasy games, while generally a bit more linear than other RPGs, have historically given players an assortment of ways to approach their role-playing adventure. In sharp contrast, XIII’s gameplay is as narrow and streamlined as the cut scenes are extravagant and detailed.
Having played the first 17 hours of the game, I know it can sometimes be fun. But I’m shocked at just how radically the developers have redesigned FInal Fantasy, usually not for the better.
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January 10th, 2010
aion kinah With precious few exceptions, the first 17 hours go like this: battle, movie, repeat. There are almost no towns, nonplayable characters to chat up, extra side missions, hidden sequences, fancy equipment to save up for and buy, or reasons to run around and grind enemies for extra level-ups. Heck, there’s no need to even wonder what to do next.
When I referred to previous FInal Fantasy games as being “linear,” I was at least speaking metaphorically. FInal Fantasy XIII is a straight line. Every level is one long Hallway of Death, and you run down its interminable length, never moving left or right, always running forward. There is always only one thing to do next, and it is always either fight a short battle or watch a long movie.
These never-ending fight-tubes are the single most ridiculous part of XIII’s design. “Monotonous” is the word for it, sometimes excruciatingly so. But it’s how the game corrals you into fighting its scripted battle sequences in exactly the order it wants you to.
It is quite important that you fight all of FInal Fantasy XIII”s battles in order. The first half of the game feels very much like an extended tutorial about how to play FInal Fantasy XIII. The Death Star doesn’t go fully operational until halfway through, because the system is so fast, convoluted and just plain unique that you wouldn’t know what on earth to do with it without starting at the basics.
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January 8th, 2010
The nuts and bolts, as we saw in the XIII demo version earlier this year, aren’t that different from previous games: You pick a variety of commands (fight, magic, special techniques) from a menu, then watch your character go to town on the enemy. In XIII, you string together three or four different techniques at a time, and then launch them all separately.
At least that’s how it worked in the demo — but it’s not how you play the real thing. First off, although you could string together a custom list of actions from the menu, this takes a couple of seconds, and these battles go far too fast for you to spend time thinking. So what you do is select the all-purpose Auto-Battle command at the top of the menu, and the game automatically strings together a queue of the best commands for your given situation.
This is why the fact that the rest of your party is computer-controlled doesn’t make that much of a difference, because you’re just relying on the computer to pick your attacks anyway. Only difference is that you, the clunky, meat-based human, just have to press the X button to get your character’s part accomplished.
I’ve got half the game to go, and I’ll definitely be finding out what’s next. So far, Square Enix seems to have accomplished some interesting things, but not nearly enough to make up for what’s been jettisoned wholesale.
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January 8th, 2010
You’re not really controlling an individual character. You’re using the Paradigm Shift system.FInal Fantasy XIII’s playable characters can all be assigned to different Roles, which, like the Job systems in previous games, give the character a specialty. There are six:
Attacker: Fight with weapons.
Blaster: Cast offensive magic.
Healer: Cast curative magic.
Defender: Attract enemies’ attacks and guard against them.
Enhancer: Cast strength buffs.
Jammer: Cast debuffs on enemies.
The game lets you arrange sets of these abilities, which you can flip between at a moment’s notice. To name a simple example that’ll take you through a great deal of the game, you might use Attacker-Blaster to take down enemies until they’ve dealt you too much damage, at which point you’d flip over to Healer-Defender to absorb the blows while you get back up to full strength.
That may sound like very simple gameplay, and for a great deal of the game’s first half, it is. Most of my time in FInal Fantasy XIII spent not watching movies was just jamming on the ol’ X button for hours on end, occasionally shifting Paradigms, confident that the automated battle system wouldn’t let me down.
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January 8th, 2010
Whether or not you love aion kinah Final Fantasy’s story will depend largely on whether you like the sort of passionate Japanese melodrama where what you say doesn’t matter nearly as much as how loud you yell it. I have at least some leftover fondness for this, which is why I don’t mind so much that FInal Fantasy XIII’s story of lovable rogues caught up in a senseless war is less about plot twists and human emotions than it is about dressing up in runway-model clothing and using impossibly ornate weapons.
Square Enix just doesn’t want to give up on its dream of making movies. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were as much money and manpower invested into the purely non-interactive sequences of FInal Fantasy XIII as there was with the theatrical release of Final Fantasy: Spirits Within. Certainly the scenes are as beautiful — and there’s a hell of a lot more than 90 minutes of them.
But here’s the problem. Movies abhor nonlinearity. Though FInal Fantasy is considered to be one of the game series that pushed the medium toward cinematic storytelling, the RPG genre is now one of the least amenable to a strictly linear storyline told with highly detailed graphics. Every bit of customization in an RPG — tweaking your characters, taking branching paths, completing side missions — restricts the designers’ ability to create a thrill-ride, action-packed movie of a game.
So Square dumped it all. Well, not all of it: The developers kept just barely enough that FInal Fantasy XIII qualifies as a videogame, not a movie. It’s got one gameplay mechanic: battles. It’s got Gil, shops, Chocobos and Potions, but all these things seem vestigial, there because they have to be, not because they serve any compelling purpose.
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January 7th, 2010
HD (high definition) standards are now being considered in entertainment. Shouldn’t be gaming far behind? One should design a graphic resolution with a minimum of 1920 x 1080 (or 720) pixel and 32-bit color. A totally awesome audio experience can have at least a 5.1 channel gaming design. To keep up the HD experience one must have a blu-ray storage media (BD) for higher capacity and delivers faster bandwidth. As a result, a crisp smooth images are being projected, as much appreciation to the eyes of the viewers. An amplified sound affects much to the delights of the gamers.
Now is the time to experience the real HD gaming? Sony Playstation is gearing up for a new horizon in its console gaming. The company is releasing DC Universe Online as its inaugural project in an MMO game genre. With its high definition specifications, Sony can lure most MMO game developers to make a platform switch and start producing visually stunning true to life images and sound surround cinematic audio effects without compromising hardware compatibility.
Players must first look at DC Universe Online. This action-packed MMORPG is still on development but Sony embarked the gaming world with awesome approach in HD. It is the pioneer of HD gaming as it features the standard in high definition specifications. Game developers should start designing games that are to be played in this standard so as to keep up with current and future technologies for gaming entertainment. Getting the advantages of advanced hardware designs the games can feature a lot of new and innovative perspectives with regards to players gaming experience such as controls, interactivity between players and whole new multimedia concepts that are vast being explored.
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January 7th, 2010
Another game in development is The Agency. It will also be available in Playstation platform. It promises to be an awesome MMOFPS type of game which incorporates the high definition (HD) specification that is found in all Playstation 3 games. This game will feature an odd first-person shooting (FPS) style of play and gun fighting. It has the ability to switch from the first person to third person view and vice-versa. Another cool thing that players can enjoy the spy-themed MMOFPS HD game is we will be able to drive cars and other vehicles. A reminiscence of Grand Theft Auto as I may say, customization is one of the features that can make the Agency stands out. Players can have an assault-type character. Where in gears and weapons are tailored for assaults. While others may have a stealth-type or a range type for shooting enemies afar, and minigames are also incorporated in the Agency. A casino game will make the players have leisure after intense battle of PvP. Players can interact with each other and can help finish missions that can be in solo or in party of three players. Exciting challenges are being planned to be in the game such as ground water and air with vehicle type of missions.
The fact of the matter is HD should not only be limited to audio and visual aspect of a game. The important thing is players can easily relate the HD qualities of the game. Where we can spot the difference at all time whether it is HD or not. Feel the excitement by the highest level of gaming experience being possibly offer. Let us further see what DC Universe Online has got to offer prior to its release. Its 3-D effects are smooth and the transitions between polygons are seamless. As if the movements are natural as in real-life. Furthermore Sony Playstation uses the Unreal 3D engine that makes the transition faster. It uses a state-of-the-art physics engine that turns the world into your weapon. Extreme make over allows players to create their own custom hero or villain. We played within the backdrop of awesome and stunning virtual place such as Gotham City, the Bat Cave and the Metropolis. We play along or against the likes of Superman, Batman or even Lex Luthor to be able to experience this fast-paced 3D high definition MMORPG. So once this game has hit the store shelves, be astonished of what in store for a savvy gaming enthusiast would crave for. It is a whole new virtual ballgame. Feel the rush of HD gaming.
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