Nexon’s new MMO Beta

edited by: Laura Karahalis 8/13/11

Dragon Nest is a fantasy MMORPG that recently entered open beta. The game was developed by Nexon, a company best known for its popular Maple Story side-scroller MMORPG. In a similar spirit as Maple Story, the game promises to be an engaging experience that is available free of charge.

Characters: The game engages players from the start by throwing you right into the thicket of action while a helpful tutorial demonstrates how to control your character. Going through the various levels of attack mid-battle you learn the full extent of your character’s abilities as well as become familiar with the keyboard controls.

Unfortunately the game is missing the option to change genders of the different classes. That’s right, if you choose an archer or a sorceress you are most certainly creating a female ‘toon’. Likewise, if you want a female warrior or cleric, you are also out of luck. This may seem similar to Rusty Hearts, for those of you with a closed beta account, but the concept of Dragon Nest would suggest openness for character customization, but it sadly comes up short.

Story and Gameplay: Nit-picking aside, the game’s story does draw you in. It makes use of the popular trend in games right now that plops you instantly into your first battle. Depending on which place you pick as your starting area, the story line changes giving you more chances for a unique gaming experience. This is a great feature to have in a game as complicated as an MMORPG. If you are a seasoned MMORPG’er then it may seem like a waste of time but if it is your first time testing this gem out, give it a chance and enjoy Nexon’s storytelling.

Quests and Leveling: Quests are well marked and a quest helper not only lists your objectives, but also points you in the right direction using an arrow and distance indicator, aiming you towards those quest objectives. Making questing this easy allows for the user to completely disregard the story if desired. If you are looking to have fun with this game, it is worth it to at least skim through the story text dialogues. Without the supporting dialogue it can be very boring and unless there is a group of you hacking and slashing together, the game will likely turn stagnant. Again, the idea is fun, so if reading the story text isn’t fun, perhaps an MMORPG isn’t the game for you.

That being said, questing and battling aren’t the only ways one can advance their character’s stats. Hardcore MMO’ers will find the usual experience point/leveling system that unlocks more advanced abilities for their character. While it isn’t terribly descriptive about how to use the trainers, there are videos to show you an example of the ability before you add it. No tutorials here, just a new set of “fool-proof” World Of Warcraft Talents to work through…

The Verdict: Definitely give Dragon Nest a try. It is still in Open Beta so there will be the obvious imperfections one should expect with a game that isn’t quite done cooking and the graphics aren’t bleeding edge but Dragon Nest is a great way to kill time for free solo or with friends. Minimum requirements are a Windows PC with a Pentium 4 or faster (Sorry Mac fans it won’t work in Wine or Crossover, if you want to play you’ll need Boot Camp).

(Before you get on me about the graphics, the screenshots seen on this blog are taken with the in-game graphics options on their highest level. If you use a higher end ATI card you may be able to decrease the aliasing slightly by tweaking settings in theCatalyst Control Center; however, for the purposes of this review we did not.)

A new type of MMO – PWE’s Rusty Hearts

edited by: Laura Karahalis 8/27/11

A little over a week ago now, Perfect World Entertainment (PWE) along with Stairway (a Korea based development upstart) released a “Closed-Beta” version of a game that redefines the typical MMO genre. Rusty Hearts.

MMO’s: For those of you unfamiliar with the term MMO, it stands for Massively Multiplayer Online [Game]. The most common MMO’s have been fantasy or science fiction RPG’s (Role Playing Games), most notably Blizzard’s World of Warcraft series.

Due to Blizzard’s success, many game companies have flocked to the thriving new scene in online entertainment and produced many “free-to-play” MMO’s that follow a general format that is reminiscent of World of Warcraft.

The Game: In Rusty Hearts you along with millions of others select from several predefined characters, similar to selecting a class or a job in a traditional RPG. Once in the game, however, there is a fusion of elements used from action side-scrolling games. There are quests, consumable items, and gear sets that change attributes and help develop your character.

Gameplay: The battle system is similar to Nexon’s Dragon Nest (now in open beta), but the darker-gothic-anime-art styling is really superb and makes Rusty Hearts rise above the competition. In dungeons there is fun combination of 3D action along with a side scroller-slasher reminiscent of Castlevania.

The action is fast paced and though the difficulty at the time of this post is a little bit on the easy side, PWE assures us it does get harder. Dungeon difficulty can be decreased or increased depending on the party size or preference. More advanced areas are not available until the player unlocks the easier ones. While this game can be played solo, like most MMO’s, it’s a lot more fun with friends.

Verdict: With lots of undead and cool boss fights this game is sure to be an excellent time for casual and hardcore gamers. I haven’t had a chance to play out PVP (player versus player) just yet (the option is un-lockable at level 10), but this game has exciting possibilities beyond the usual team battles MMO players are used to. Although there are a few PVP games available, like CTF (capture the flag), death-match, and tag, Rusty Hearts is still a nice blend of sci-fi fantasy, action-RPG, and Halo.

Give it a shot! http://rustyhearts.perfectworld.com