Omg Edition 1

ja n ua ry 1 0 | W e b z i n e is s u e 1

onlinE MAssivE gAMEs

special preview

world of warcraft:
Cataclysm
Many Men role playing girl
game Reviews:
Interviews: > Age Conan
The SecreT World – chatting with > Aion
F u n c o m P r o d u c e r D i r e c t o r R a g n a r Tø r n q u i s t
> Empire Craft
Star Trek Online – Craig Zinkievich, > Free Realms
game producer tells us about the mixing > Hello Kitty
aspects to create a brilliant game. > Junk Battles

The origins of Sandbox

our 1st edition
This is our first encounter with OMG – Online Massi/v/e Luca “Venom” Braj is our specialist in
Games. This is a new kind of experience for both our team Theme Park MMORPGs and strategic or
sport Browser Games. Since his strong
(born on a normal website dedicated to MMOrpGs), and point is that of great altruism, he’s the one
for you as well, I hope, because this is the first WebZine fully that is regularly in charge of reviewing the
focused on massive videogaming. less promising MMORPGs or the more
obvious Browser games. So, if you always
see low ratings in his reviews don’t think
he’s a bad guy, it’s not his fault.
Why did we choose a WebZine? The first plays them anyway, believing that they
real reason is because there are already are quality products, varied products, Alessio “Grig” Zappalorti is our Hardcore
too many MMORPG and Browser Games often perfect products, ignoring the real Specialist. He plays everything, even
websites out there, but also because, capability of MMORPGs and Browser though he prefers sandbox MMORPGs.
as we realized in the making of our first games. The trend is slowly changing, Nevertheless, he plays hard with whatever
issue, with this format it will be much more but we, in our own small way, want to game he plays, like only real men can
simple to highlight the valuable contents, accelerate the changes, also because we do. Forged by years of Ultima Online, he
such as in-depth reviews or exclusive are fed up with giving low ratings. lives for pking, pvp and Drama-Bombs on
interviews, which in other websites would forums.
normally tend to end up in the dark after a Let me present myself and my team, since Niccolo’ Bondi is our Free To Play
short time. this magazine gives me the chance to do it. Specialist. He play most Coags and Grind-
My name is Simone Robutti, Editor in Chief Based MMORPGs, working hard due to
However, we won’t just make a difference of OMG and of Gamesource.it, an Italian the long times they require to be tested
with the form, but we will do so above website of which I control the MMORPG deeply.
all with the quality of the contents. Being and Browser Games section. Together
able to focus our attention on a few with Luca Braj, Alessandro Zappalorti and Simone “Chobeat” Robutti, that’s me,
assignments, we will aim to make them Niccolo’ Bondi we took upon ourselves is an ignorant fanatic who spends whole
the non plus ultra, still trying to be clear to the responsibility and the honor to create days flaming on forums when he should
newcomers, but also achieving works that this magazine of which we have great be writing or playing. Between one flame
are full of opinions and significant ideas, as expectations. Our team will definitely grow and another he dedicates himself to F2P
required by the users that have hung out in during the release of the issues, involving MMORPGs, Browser Games and various
this sector for a long time. new journalists both foreign and Italian. hybrid Mmos. Our advice is to have
nothing to do with him. Besides reviewing,
Above all, ideas are the added value that In every issue you will find a mini-file card he also directs and oversees the works for
we want to bring to the magazine: don’t be for each one of our staff members, and OMG.
shocked if, while reading a review you will possibly the presentation of our new ones.
find a rating that is definitely far from the As I said, ideas are fundamental when We hope that you’ll enjoy the magazine.
common opinion. We evaluate games for discussing videogaming, a concept that for We heartily invite you to send your ideas,
what they are, without distortions, without many of you is not obvious. Therefore, if criticisms and comments to the Email you’ll
being influenced by hype and above all ideas are important, whoever thinks about find on our website, or else, go directly
from the publisher’s money. We appreciate them or writes them is also important. to the forums where you can discuss our
innovation, gameplay deepness, the This is why we will try to keep our team various articles. And now, let’s roll...
originality both in the form and in the the smallest and most compact possible,
contents for games that are orientated to give our readers the chance to know Simone “Chobeat” Robutti,
towards a mature videogaming user base, the various editors well. So, let’s briefly Editor in Chief
and we appreciate the intuitiveness, introduce our members.
immediacy of the fun factor and variety for
kid or casual-oriented games.

If a game is linear, repetitive, dull, obvious,
old, just don’t let us see it or we won’t have
mercy on it. Hundreds of instances, dozens
of classes, last gen graphics, these are all
useless things if the game comes down to
being only grind and farm. The MMORPG
market is in a crisis period, because of a
twisted mechanism that pushes developers
to create always more dull, repetitive,
obvious games. A part of the user base

d here
We are gathere l your beliefs on
wellcome

to destroy Mes. We are the neW
al
ga
Massive We are here to stay.
Wave and

We
are here because the Web Of course, we will talk about everything
is full of people too old that people look like a massive online
to talk about MMOs and game: from the casual sports coags the
we believe that there is need for change, a sandbox level hardcore MMORPG from
big change. We believe that MMOs are not Korean MMORPG theme park based on
just about video games because we feel the PvP grind in MMORPGs and most
that whatever they are something more, Western theme park based on the quest-
something more transcendental than just grind and PvE, the strategic management
a level playing field with which they were of addictive BG Mmorts to complex,
created. There is something beyond the from the extreme repetitiveness
gameplay, as well as the polygons and of the RPG via the browser
textures, the levels and classes. immersive worlds BG. But we will
MMOs, especially MMORPGs Browser not talk to muvee, we are not nerd enough.
Games, and some try to play a portion of MMORPGs in particular have
reality in a manner different from classic deserved, in our opinion, a very
videogames. I'm not just talking about special way of synthesizing these thoughts,
livellaggio, take new skills and grind these features are things that simply can
points in PvP. Only by going beyond not be described in a review. Would take findingS on inTeracTion: This is
these things we can understand what it too long to explain every feeling, every what I mentioned earlier. Summarizes all
really is a Massive is the power of the situation, every interaction had. For this we interactions, gaming experiences, thoughts
Demiurge, the mere fact that you can play have designed a voting system to explain caused in the reviewer, but also the degree
in a parallel world full of real people, their it to you, our readers, what is the value of freedom, the complexity and variety of
thoughts, their emotions, their needs and of a MMORPG being a MMORPG is not a tools the game provides to interact with
their ideals. These are the foundations on traditional video game. other players. This includes PvP, trading,
which rests a Massive game, the gameplay systems of guilds, and social and political
it is only a consequence. And pergiunta Technical raTing: This reassume aspects.
continues to evolve, trying to engage all that is related to the implementation
of the game: graphics, sound, stability findingS of The World: in the end,
people in a better way than before, but
and interface. This includes the support, this is the opinion that we use for the
people are always the same.
cross-media content, events in-game or IRL coherence of the world within the game,
events. how it embeds itself in the background and
logic that govern the context in which the
There are online Findings of Lore: This opinion is related to game is set. If players still have the feeling
gameS Where They the quality of the story (if there was one) that there is something odd every time I
and the background. Prize for originality, turn the corner, the vote will therefore be
forgeT The goal consistency and homogeneity with the less.
game.
and inSTead purSue Obviously there will be an overall
findingS on groWTh: This opinion evaluation, but do not see it as a yardstick
dreamS of eaSy refers to both the quality of growth of the for how the game is good, but because
money, ignoring The character that the depth of detail for its they really deserve to be played. You can
customization. For what concerns the first play more games for consoles at the same
people, . . . offering point, we reward quality livellaggio, the time but you can not do the same for a
variety of ways that you can choose to do MMORPG. Therefore if you purchased a
only levelS, arid so and punish the grind, the farm and all bad game you could just stop playing As
SkillS, many monSTerS that is repetitive, unless there are games soon becomes tedious, but you could not
specifically for lovers the grind. For the do the same for a MMORPG, as it would
and Too many areaS second point, we estimate the number mean to lose weeks or even months. A
of classes, races, skills, equipment, or
To be compleTed To anything that you can use to customize
MMORPG should last for a long period of
time, perhaps even years, so you should
conTinue. Well iT'S your character and the level of overall try to decide what you would spend well
balance. in your time. Our judgments are trying to
STill juST a game and suggest the order in which you should try
We are here To Talk the various games that reviews to find just
what is right for you.
abouT SomeThing very
differenT.

Many Men role playing Girl
eDIToRIAl

Author: Simone “Chobeat” Robutti

l
et’s now talk about MMORPG The “Frustrated Lamer”
cross-dressing, a really common
The unstoppable annoying activity of
practice since the beginning of
Lamers has been strengthened by this
massive videogaming. This phenomenon
subtle weapon since ages ago, and it’s
has developed in a pretty simple way,
something that could easily trick the less
but the reasons behind it could be many
experienced users. It may have occurred
and complex. It’s a matter of fact that lots
to you as well (especially playing a game
of men, for one reason or another, can
that is crowded with many young users),
decide to create a female character, even
to be contacted by fake girls that want to
sometimes acting and pretending to be
play with you, or maybe even give you their
girl in real life. Now let’s see some of the
number. Even though it’s simple to spot
typical stereotypes of this phenomenon.
these guys because they are dressed up
in the most vulgar way, their most typical
approach is via whisper/pm: “Hi, who are
u? My name is Samantah, do u wanna xp
with me? I feel very hot right now, I even
have the cam, do u wanna add me on
msn?” I want to believe that anyone with
the base IQ to start a computer can avoid
The “Lazy-bum frustrated Lamer”
this kind of approach. Remember: “There
are no Women on the internet” (Cit.) This is the Next level of the Lamer, he
uses the same strategies used by his kind
to gain in-game advantages. He often
uses the gallantry of other male players
(maybe we must say arousal) to his benefit
managing to obtain presents, power
leveling and other various favors. This kind
is definitely more subtle because they act
in a very believable way, in fact, they never
rush the time and often succeed in tricking
even the most veteran players. Once, a
long time ago, I also helped a girl in a
The “nice ass”
game by giving her a lot of stuff. The only
This is usually a pretty frustrated kind thing was that her real name was John…
of guy, who chooses to play a female The “role player”
character only for aesthetic purposes. The “Tomboy”
This sinister, rather rare figure, usually
Many times I heard people saying: “Since
creates female characters to increase the As a consequence of what I just said,
I have to play these many ours with my
difficulty of role playing to consequently the inverse phenomenon could also take
character, she should have at least a fine
improve his interpretative ability. To place, but this time with girls pretending
buttocks”. It’s a pretty frequent remark,
investigate the reasons why such people to be boys. They do such a thing because
especially between the most casual and
exist would mean to dig into the deepest they aim to elude the boys with the
less experienced players. The natural
roots of professional nerding, a world impersonation of male characters, with the
tendency is that to find this choice kind
which sincerely speaking is not my field goal being that of evading the sentence
of frivolous, even though it is sometimes
of expertise. Usually, when they are “You’re not a real woman I know it!,
due to a real sexual frustration or maybe
questioned regarding this, they state that you’re only a fake/troll/lamer”. In this
repressed desires at the unconscious level.
they are men in real life. But remember to way they can finally play relaxed without
specify that you are in “RPG mode OFF” discrimination. This phenomenon is
ore they will never understand what you particularly common in more competitive,
mean by “real”. less frequented by girls kind of games: on
Dofus or Hello Kitty Online they will hardly
ever have to resort to such means.

One final consideration: Men pretend to be
women, women pretend to be men, kids
are ill-mannered and parents don’t control
them enough, you can’t figure out anymore
who’s who and ambiguity reigns sovereign.
And just think, some people still say that
virtual worlds don’t have anything to do
with reality…

Sandbox
eDIToRIAl

Sandbox, a word that we hear often nowadays, but of which many ingore
its true significance and origins. Therefore, let’s try to clear things up and
define more precisely what a sandbox is in the videogaming scene and
particularly in MMorpgs.
by Chobeat

The Origins The last step was to start developing games
with an open startup, free from plots and
This word was originally used to refer to the
constrictions, already existent in the past,
classic fenced-in area filled with sand where
but that is now becoming little by little
kids play with their mud pies and buckets.
even more aware and predominant. A
Initially, in the computer field, a test sandbox game is one that doesn’t just give
enviroment was defined as a sandbox, you only the opportunity to choose from
where it could be possible to rapidly one or two choices like normal games do,
experiment all the different characteristics instead, it gives you the freedom to create
for an application, without having to pass them from scratch. This is how, with time,
through all of the interfaces and limitations all of the games of this kind started to be
imposed on the final users. identified with the name “sandbox games”
and to develop new ones with this mentality
This working method existed also in the
clear in mind. We must say though that
development of videogames, with free test
they almost always resulted to be titles for Sandbox in MMOrpg games
environments in which the tester could
connoisseurs, with the exception of rare
imaginatively experiment and try different In MMORPG games, the sandbox concept
cases such as the recently released Little Big
interactions of the character with the things is undoubtedly more complex, but at least
Planet or Scribblenauts.
that surround it, so as to check for possible its boundaries and features can be well
problems. It was decided to include these defined, therefore it appears to be quite a
special areas in the final game, just as it vast subject. So, let’s try to underline the
worked for map editors. The objective was most important points and to give you a
to add some more longevity to the game clear idea of what we are talking about.
and to give the player the opportunity
First of all we must say that for many
to experiment things that otherwise
people, including myself, the idea of
would have been complicated to try out
MMORPG is related to the idea of
in a normal game session. The possible
sandbox. This genre is in fact made of
examples are many but let’s remember
pure interaction, and MMORPGs should
the sandbox level of Black and White, the
be created this way. Unfortunately, that’s
Training sessions of many beat ‘em up
not the way it is. To try to understand this
games, or even special circuits for racing
name assignment conflict we must go back
games, snowboard games, skate games
to the beginning of online rpg history and
etc., etc.
try to learn why these two different types of
products were called like this.

Without going too much into details, so as
not to re-awaken nostalgic feelings in the
more elderly ones among you, we can say
that between 1996 and 2000 a circumstance
began to arise in which two types of games
very different from each other claimed the
title of MMORPG, even if they really didn’t
have almost anything in common. Presently,
these two “branches” are called Sandbox
MMORPG and Theme Park MMORPG and
even if in reality their structural differences
are many, in theory their distinction is
traceable to one point only: the Sandbox
ones aim at giving the players the right
tools to interact with each other and with
the world that surrounds them, while the
Theme Park ones, as suggested by their
name, want the game to lead the player
carefully from start to finish, thus letting
him see everything that the developers
prepared for him along the way.

Sandbox characteristics

Just in theory, the supreme idea of sandbox
in a MMORPG would be the one of MuVe,
such as Second Life, There, Whirled or
Metaplace, where everyone can simply do
everything and the only restriction is one’s
intellectual capability and knowledge. But
it’s a shame that the many typical aspects
of an online role playing game would be
missing this way, especially those that are
able to give us an immersive and coherent
gaming experience.

In reality though, the few brave developers
that choose the sandbox path have
conceived many schemes to hit their
objective of giving the players a complete
interaction in a continuously better
The sandbox today
way, filled with a good dose of healthy
amusement. Let’s take a look at which are Although before 2004-2005 the games in
the minimal requirements that define a production seemed balanced between
sandbox type of MMORPG. Sandbox and Theme Park, with the release
of WoW the efforts of the developers Today, whoever wants to play a Sandbox
started pointing in a completely different title, what should he choose? Apart from an
direction, and games that could have given essential: “Wait”, our best advice is: Ultima
interaction freedom: There’s no freedom of action, hope in this kind of way, have been greatly Online, evergreen for this category, Eve
if we can’t do what we want. To slay, rob, stun,
kiss, take in your arms or crush other players is a modified for commercial. Online, unique in its own way, Shadowbane,
fundamental thing to give life to the interactive as soon as the legal emulator goes live,
chain reactions that render this MMorpg genre so
loved by players. or Saga of Ryzom if you have already tried
out the former ones. For those who want a
game that is not actually a sandbox one, but
Territory control: it can be put into practice in
many ways, more or less controlled by the game still has got lots of interaction and freedom:
enviroment. It also concerns sieges, management Atlantica Online, Goonzu/Luminary or
mechanics and construction, bonuses and social
structures. Mabinogi, Haven and Hearth if you want
something more “indie”.
The crafting: it’s important to create your own
items, but to customize them is even more What about the present and the future?
important. The climax of this can be reached in Actually, the only recent sandbox title
those games in which you can customize items that is Darkfall: I don’t want to waste time
also change in their appearance, by choosing the
right materials to make them and having the need to explaining why you shouldn’t play it, I think
experiment in order to discover new combinations. it’s obvious. You should wait for Love, from
Eskil Steenberg, a really cool game actually
Personal belongings or Housing: The possibility to under Alpha Testing. You can wait also for
occupy a part of the game’s territory with something
that is ours is priceless, it may be a house, a Mortal Online, Earthrise or Black Prophecy:
plantation, a shop or even a skyscraper, it doesn’t these games are surely promising but they
matter, the most important thing is to leave your
mark. are still far from the release date.

Free builds/skill based builds: The chance to
customize our character in every way is vital to
be effective and to differentiate each other. The
structure based on classes usually is not suited to
belong in this category, unless you have a really
vast choice to select from, that will make you forget
about the structural limitations.

PrevieW: WoRld oF WARCRAFt

name World of WarcrafT: caTaclySm
developer blizzard
releaSe daTe Q2/Q3/2010
by Niccolo’ Bondi

as accurate as a Swiss watch, the next With regards to this, all the quests will be
expansion of World of Warcraft, called now reworked and some of the areas that
cataclysm, was presented at blizzcon were inaccessible before because of the
2009 (the annual event made in blizzard high level request will now be decreased
that is used by this californian company (for example Azshara will be 10-20), and
to promote their products). let’s find this because the old continent will not
out the interesting new changes that fully utilize the phase system that has been
this expansion will bring. introduced with “Lich King”, in fact it will
be deeply changed, so all the new players
that will start in the post-Cataclysm era will
It’s just the same old story… never be able to see what the continents
looked like in the first place and will live
Stay in the same continent, and the same
their adventure directly in these newly
areas so there are no unpleasant surprises.
revised continents (even though it’s not
Yeah this is because, in contrast with its
other expansions (The Burning Crusade
for the Outlands and Wrath of the Lich
King for Northrend), Cataclysm won’t add
any extra continent to those that already
exist, but there will simply be a complete
re-visitation of Azeroth which will be totally
transformed by this imminent cataclysm.
The plot is simple: Deathwing, real name
Neltharion, has woken up more irate than
ever after that he was harbouring his hate
and anger towards the world for thousands
of years, and his power mixed with all the
rage has a negative repercussion on the
poor inhabitants of Kalimdor and those
of the Eastern Kingdom as well, who can
only watch powerlessly as their homeland
is being overturned by the fury of the
elements of nature.

In this way, Kalimdor will be soon split
in two and our loved Barrens will be
disarrayed, destroyed with cracks in the
ground and lava everywhere, Ashenvale
will undergo deforestation by the
forces of the horde, Ogrimmar will be
destroyed, Darkshore will be ruined and
semi-submerged by the wrath of the sea,
Stonetalon will be invaded by volcanoes
and rivers of magma, and all this will affect
every area of the two continents, with the
consequence that they will be totally re- totally clear yet if they will change for will not be that easy: the Goblins will find
made from scratch. everyone or if it will be enough to stay with themselves in some unknown islands after
Vanilla installed on our pc to enjoy the a shipwreck, these islands being controlled
“old” areas). In this apocalyptic scenario by humans who aren’t very friendly with
though, the horde and the alliance will castaways, with the consequence that
have the opportunity to trust in new allies. the humans will mass murder them. The
only thing that will save them from an
Wolf Is money, my frIend announced annihilation will be the The
Horde, that in this way, will bring a new
This cataclysm created by Deathwing will
precious ally for the struggle against the
not affect only the two continents that
Alliance and against the evils of the world:
we know well, but lots of little islands
more precisely Goblins.
scattered in the Great Ocean as well,
which consequently to the earthquakes In the meanwhile in the Eastern Kingdoms,
and volcanic eruptions forced their Goblin in the human nation of Gilneas, the
inhabitants to flee and try to find shelter Forsaken have announced an attack
beyond the sea to evade certain death. on Graymane Wall, the portal that has
Unfortunately for them though, their trip maintained peace for centuries within

the human territories. And if the invasion
of zombies wasn’t enough, the poor
inhabitants of Gilneas are also struggling
against their personal problems. In fact,
when the full moon rises, they have an
awful habit of transforming themselves into
blood thirsty werewolves. The night Elves
though will try to help them, succeding in
bringing the bestial Worgen to the side of
the alliance. The addition of these two new
races will not only bring aesthetic changes,
but will also force the programmers to
create new starting areas, this is why
Gilneas and the Lost Isles are born, which
will be part of the new 7 areas of the game,
including Mount Hijal, Uldum, Isle of
Kezan, The Sunken City of Vashj’ir and the
Twilight Highlands.

level Cap, pve and of Shadowfang Keep and Deadmines.
other Changes Deathwing will also appear without a
doubt, as it is his fault if all this uproar
One other substantial change is the
happened and he will pay for it somehow.
increase of the level cap, not consisting
anymore only in the increase of 10 points Another interesting change regarding the
as it already happened, but instead in half progression of our characters is the Path
the points, now bringing the level cap to of the Titans, even though it’s not yet clear
85. From the PvE aspect of the game we on how it works: it should be a sort of
can say that there will not be substantial progression of the char connected to his
changes as seen since now, but maybe just in-game success, with a sort of subordinate
because great news is not yet confirmed: talent tree, but at the time being it’s
one thing that is sure is that there will be something that is not very clear on how
the usual presence of raids connected to it should really work. The Battleground
the lore of the game, an almost certain Rated will finally be implemented thanks
presence of Azshara the Elf queen in the to the many fan requests, levels and
period of time regarding the explosion achievements for the guild, flying mounts
of Kalimdor and the consequent creation in Azeroth and also a new secondary
of the Maelstrom, the great return of profession: Archeology. All in all there are
Ragnaros (this time around he will not many new aspects of the game, the new
be at Molten Core, but instead in a new ideas seem nice, we will just have to wait
instance that takes place in the elemental to see if Blizzard will maintain or not a high
plane of fire), Uldum, the heroic versions standard for all of its products.

Review: EMpiRE CRAFt

genre fanTaSy
developer oak pacific inTeracTive
official SiTe http://www.hithere.com/

by Simone “Chobeat” robutti

The chinese market of browser games
is something that is disproportionate
and incomprehensible for us Western
observers. a boundless mass of players
in which dozens of developers and
publishers operate. it is, however, a
closed market and the browser games
that come to us from china are very few.
One of these is Empire Craft, a game of
unparalleled quality and proportions, if
compared with its Western competitors.
Empire Craft (EC hereafter) combines
the mechanics of classic strategic-
management games to the most typical
characteristics of role playing games
(though, still keeping their main flaws). The be able to recruit the usual troops. So far drawbacks that are very well known to all
blending is undoubtedly successful and the nothing new. Let’s start off right from the players of this genre. Both the heroes and
characteristics of the two genres are mixed troops to speak of the many innovations individual units will have levels. If these
together in a homogenous and almost introduced by Empire Craft. The units will unit levels will be decided at the moment
natural way. be many and varied for each race, which of the creation of the troops (by increasing
will have lots of marked differences. The their cost, but also their quality), our hero
races will be: Humans, Dwarves and Orcs, will then progress over time, leveling up
Walclaft thlee each one having its unique units that will through battles, raids, quests and more.
not be simple conversions of the ones Moreover, the hero could be equipped
The setting, the heroes, the races, the from the other races, but totally exclusive with items that will give him bonuses in
units and the story of the in-game world and balanced. The units will be divided battles, or even in duels and arenas. The
will remind us a little too much about the into: Infantry, Cavalry, and siege machines. item pieces will really be numerous, also,
asset of Warcraft 3, in defiance of any law Every unit will have its own personal as will be numerous the potions and other
on copyright and intellectual properties. characteristics and stats, bonus and malus items, which we will be able to obtain and
Even its advertisements, found on many against other types of units and often entrust to our Hero.
sites, don’t even vaguely try to hide the special effects in very specific contexts.
references to Blizzard’s game, which is still The Heroes System is very well studied and
very famous, particularly in the Orient. For It will be possible to send the units to varied: this is undoubtedly the foundation
this reason, this title seems to start off on battle only under the supervision of a Hero, stone on which the quality of EC stands.
the wrong foot and seems to need devious a true fighter general under your control. Each hero will have to be recruited in a
ploys to attract users to the game. It would You will be able to have many heroes, and, Tavern that is to be built in a city, will have
appear therefore natural to approach this consequently, many fleets, but these will an engagement cost and abilities of his
title with serious doubts and little hope, still be in a limited number for each hero, own. In the tavern there could happen
surprisingly, just to find out that this game thus placing a cap limit of total units you to be many types of heroes and a list of
really is not the usual low budget crap can have. This limit is very important for new ones will be updated every day. To
designed to emulate the success of its the gameplay, because it eliminates many randomly choose one of them will hardly
predecessors, but that it’s a true gigantic
work if compared to games of this genre.

To embroider on a cotton cloth
Undoubtedly, Empire Craft has got one
merit: to raise the gameplay of strategic-
management games to a level where they
have never arrived before, not even with
its best representatives such as: FreeSky,
Lords of Evil, nor The Pentacore. So,
starting off from a substrate of components
that are already well known to the average
player, it manages to introduce new
elements to enrich its gameplay and it
does so in order to introduce quality and
not simply by watering down the contents
just to stretch out the game.
We will, therefore, have our classic city
with our classic buildings to construct by
following the classic Build Tree and we will

ever be a good choice, while knowing
how to wait will have its benefits. Every
hero will also have a “class”, as in any well
respected Rpg. The classes will correspond
to the various racial ones and our Hero
will then take on the characteristics of
that class in an amplified way. Therefore,
a Human Squire Hero will have much
defense, as it happens for the ordinary
Human Squires which you can recruit in
your buildings.

Ten wolfskins
We’re closing the Empire Craft news review
by talking about the Quest System and
the Event System. There will be a myriad
of quests that you will able to face with
all your troops, only with your hero, by
building in your capital or with your entire
Union. You will start off with a long series
of tutorial quests that will show you basic
functions of the game and of the item
shop. Then, you will have the possibility to
choose which quest to complete first, and
in which field to devote more attention.
The quests will be a great diversion from
the repetitiveness of the game, because
they will give you several ways of earning,
in addition to the classic Accumulate-Build-
Pillage kind of thing that most of these
games fall into after a while.

outside the city Then, there will also be many events of
Obviously, you will also find other players various types that will mark the passing
Another definitely polished aspect of on the world map. The map will always of the week and of the day. Some special
Empire Craft is the in-game world map. be densely populated, in any area you quests, events, bonuses or complementary
Obviously, it will be visual, and with many will begin to play, and it won’t be difficult activities will be available in some
interesting things spread out to find someone that will beat the heck particular days or times; they range from
out of you. Besides the Wild Mines, it will a simple wheel of fortune to very difficult
here and there. First of all, we have cities be possible to attack and occupy other quests for your hero to overcome.
of races controlled by the computer. This player’s cities. By pillaging them you will
will be a good way to practice your hero get bonus resources, while trying to occupy
and test the power of your troops. The them you will be able to gain control of
further from your city, the more they will In conclusion, we have no problems in
them, but only in the case that it isn’t a saying that Empire Craft is one of the
oppose resistance, but at the same time, if player’s capital city. Of course, this will
we win against NPC troops they will grant best titles in its genre, if not the best. It
require several attacks and to occupy an fails to totally eliminate problems such as
us higher earnings. This way, you will find enemy’s city will always be a long and hard
many rare rewards and sometimes even repetitiveness and the need to constantly
job. stay in front of your pc to reach higher
equipment.
You could also make deals with other levels, but it focuses greatly on the
You will also find the Wild Mines, that is, players and form in-game alliances called enhancement of other features. This is a
resources scattered on the in-game map Unions. Through the Unions you could game we would never have bet on, but
that could be occupied and defended coordinate yourself with other players, that has proved to be a real pearl. It’s worth
militarily. Once they are under your control, unlock additional quests or strengthen trying.
you will obtain a large amount of resources the Union itself, that may, in turn, occupy
and could spend your wealth to strengthen the crystal producing Wild Mines. These FiNal raTiNg 8.1
them, but beware: if you’ll lose control mines are essential for some technology prOS:
of the mine, your upgrades will then be and other activities, and without the Union 1. Introduces many new things
under your opponent’s control. However, you could not get them in any other way.
you could control a limited number of 2. Less repetitive than its competitors
Also, by strengthening your Union you will 3. Excellent strategic and management elements
Wild Mines, although it will be difficult to strengthen the Union Shop as well, a store
succeed in controlling many of them at the where you could buy equipment according CONS:
same time, since they are highly desired to the help that you gave to the alliance. 1. Most of the features seem to have
by every player. There will be no limit This store will always have new things to already been seen
level, nor protection to prevent the most sell, little by little, as you upgrade the 2. Copies Warcraft 3 a little too much
powerful players to do what they want with Union.
these mines.

Review: HEllo Kitty Free to play

genre fanTaSy
developer Typhoon gameS
official SiTe eu: www.hellokittyonline.eu uSa: http://hko.aeriagames.com/


more detail.
Upon entering, we will be catapulted to
the Sanrio Harbor, an area that is almost
like a tutorial, where we can put to good
use the basics that will be taught to us.
Since HKO is a game that aims at a totally
inexperienced and often very young user
base, its tutorials will often result to be too
many and sometimes also redundant. A
series of flash animations will be present on
the website and in the game patcher, which
will allow us to practice the mechanics of
the game while we wait for the download
to be finished. By giving us detailed
explanations, we will have the chance to
practice them, since these flash animations
will reconstruct the game client. So, if your
8 year old daughter want to try out the
game, be sure that she will encounter no
difficulties at all.
Regarding the extreme simplicity of the
game (which doesn’t mean lack of depth),
there will be a series of gimmicks that will
create a totally casual-friendly gaming
experience suited for the youngest players,
since the world of Hello Kitty is not suited
for bloody massacres or any kind of ugly
stuff. For example, we will never be able

o
to kill a monster, but only to temporarily
ften, when reviewing a MMORPG chopping down a tree or by crafting you
stun him in order to obtain items; also,
you can hear talk about WoW- will obtain experience both for the ability
by dying we will be given no penalties,
Killer, about who will snatch you used and also to level up the overall
except for being sent back to the closest
the throne of WoW and other similar level. At the moment the skills are 8:
city available, not forgetting, of course,
nonsense, since 99% of the times they Mining, Woodcutting, Gathering, Planting,
that the Player Versus Player is not present
are erroneous statements and 100% of Cooking, Carpentry, Tailoring and Forging.
and probably will never be, thus reducing
the times they are stated inappropriately. Obviously, every one of these is quite self-
For once though, it is my turn to say it, explanatory; but we’ll discuss them later in
since the title I am going to talk about has
the potential to become one of the most
played MMORPGs in the world, thanks
to an immensely more relevant brand, if
compared to the obvious Warcraft. Most of
all, it has a gameplay which is very different
from other Kawaii games (where “Kawaii”
is an extremely technical terminology used
to refer to those games that drastically
increase the level of glucose in your blood
stream).

ultima kitty online
Basically, HKO is a 2D sandbox MMORPG
with strong casual and social components.
The growth is skill-oriented, that is,
because both levels and skills (crafting
and harvesting) are present, and will
grow together. Let me explain better:
your level could increase by killing
normal monsters such as it happens in all
other MMORPG games, for example, by

often require the collaboration of more
than one player to complete it within an
acceptable amount of time.
There will be a fairly simplified guild system
that will allow us to keep in touch with our
buddies and to organize ourselves in order
to cooperate better. A shared farm will be
present and in the future there will be guild
quests as well, but they’re not available at
the moment.
Let’s end by dedicating some words to the
combat, which even if it’s a marginal aspect
of the game, will still occupy a good part
of the gaming sessions. You will not be
able to kill monsters, but only to stun them
temporarily, as expected from a game of
this type, and the same thing will apply to
you if you’ll be defeated, since you will be
sent back to the nearest city without losses
of any kind. You will not fight with violent
weapons such as swords or spears, but with
more kawaii ones, such as umbrellas, magic
wands and lollipops. Instead of armors we
could use definitely outlandish clothes and
various kinds of accessories.
At the moment the PvE aspect is scant,
the interaction among players to pure is present in the crafting of other games, or but there will still be some bosses that are
cooperation. at least not in the beginning. fairly difficult to kill by yourself and thus will
require the cooperation of many players.
What makes HKO really special is, in fact, Let’s talk about farming now: when we
PvE instances are expected as well, but
the series of complementary activities enter our farm we will be able to dedicate
they lack at the moment also, even if no
designed to adapt to the typical Hello Kitty ourselves to cultivating a large quantity of
one misses them.
fan, rather than its mild and quite marginal plants and trees with a very simple sowing
combat system. It will indeed be possible system, waiting period and harvesting. In When fighting the various monsters, it may
to manage you own field by cultivating it, some ways it could remind us of the system happen to obtain a card that is associated
besides the already mentioned collecting used in Harvest Moon, but definitely in a with that same monster which will permit
and crafting activities. We will be able faster and more simplified way. This activity, us to evoke a pet of the same race that
to build our home, decorate it and if compared to the other harvesting ones, will start to follow us around. We will have
personalize it. We can also play some mini- will result to be definitely more boring to take care of him and feed him: we will
games with a group of other people to fill and repetitive, as well as with a lack of obtain various bonuses in exchange. Some
up the downtime, as well as a dedicated originality and variety. Luckily though, the pets will expand our inventory, some others
lobby and a room system. materials that these activities will give us as will boost our stats and other ones will be
a reward will be less useful if compared, for useful for harvesting activities. At higher
example, to wood or minerals. levels we could have up to 3 pets at the
besides the loveliness, the Sandbox same time.
There will be different types of farms,
Now, let’s go on by looking more carefully which will be unlocked as the game goes
at the individual features that will make on. Each one will give us more instanced
cultivable space and different options, it’s a matter of style
up the most part of the gameplay of HKO.
So, let’s start by talking about crafting in addition to the possibility/obligation I wanted to emphasize the gameplay to
and harvesting, one of the first things we to build a new home that cannot be make you understand that HKO is not
will deal with when we enter the game. transferred from the former land. There is just another game with the label of some
As already mentioned, there will be many also a guild farm that will work in a similar famous brand stuck on it and without
abilities related to the production of way to the personal one, but precisely, will a soul. It’s a game well studied to be
items, and each one of these will go on be free and belonging to the community. perfectly suitable for casuals, kids and most
independently from the others. However, Planting and Gathering are two distinct of all for members of the female gender,
we will not be able to max all of our skills, skills, so if a player will not be able to plant by bringing a wave of innovation to this
since we will have to choose from a primary a certain type of plantation he could still genre and proposing a sandbox gameplay,
one and a secondary one for both groups. help his guild by gathering fruits, thanks to which is quite free if compared to the
his Gathering skill. classic, linear and repetitive theme park. It
Therefore, the selected skills will grow
We have mentioned housing, that is, certainly has huge deficiencies, since it will
faster and we could reach higher levels
the possibility to build your own house. never attract a veteran of this genre, but if
and thus, be more effective in harvesting
Within the farm space we will have the I had to choose a game for my daughter,
or building. This is a device created to
chance to build our residence by means I would prefer Hello Kitty Online to Free
expand social interaction, since the players
of a certificate, purchaseable from an Realms or even to inferior products.
will be forced to trade with each other
in order to obtain the various types of NPC or obtainable with a quest, which The user, either very young or adult, is
resources. More in general, the growth will will allow us to start building. We will encouraged to interact, dialogue and
not be that fast, but it will not force us to need to accumulate a certain quantity of think about how to optimize his activities
stay too long on the same kind of material resources to construct the various pieces and improve cooperation. Obviously, this
or crafting item either. Resources and and this will require a lot of time that will must be seen from the point of view of
recipes are, in fact, very numerous and we be added to the time needed for the actual an inexperienced user, which could have
will not feel the typical repetitiveness that construction. The building of a house is trouble if faced with more complex games.
neither a fast, nor trivial activity and it will Therefore, HKO is a great step to introduce

maybe a little too limited at the moment,
if we consider the nature and the target of
the game.

Technical raTing
It looks good, even if many animations are
poorly developed. The side features on the
game’s site are excellent, for example the game
blog and other extras typical of social networks.
Worth mentioning is the constant presence of
gMs in game chats.

lore raTing
It’s Hello Kitty, that’s all we can say. All hail the
Queen.

groWTh raTing
It’s a system which is simple and not obvious at
the same time, at least in this context. It could
surely have been less repetitive, but for this
type of game it’s not such a big flaw.

inTeracTion raTing

you girlfriend or daughter to the world of criticized, although, the judgment of a If in one respect it completely lacks any form of
sandbox MMORPGs. HelloKittologist could surely be more competition, with the exception of mini-games,
analytic than mine. on the other hand there are forms of cooperation
which are simple but immersive and intuitive.
Apart from this, let’s now talk about what
makes HKO the game with the great in conclusion World raTing
potential that I mentioned before. If it had
Hello Kitty Online is a game that is surely The world completely traces the pace of the
been a “Lovely Kittens Online” or a “Cute
suggested to all the fans of the most world in which the general story is set. The
Little Characters Online” it would probably
famous kitten in the world, but can also instanced farms and houses are a negative
have fallen into oblivion, but instead, the
be a very useful way to introduce little factor, but as for the rest, it’s the world of Hello
Hello Kitty brand is something huge, if
and big girls to the world of MMORPGs. Kitty, for better or for worse.
compared to what has been proposed in
It’s certainly not without flaws, first of all,
MMORPG games so far. Maybe only The
the repetitiveness that could cause it to feaTureS:
Lord of the Rings could remotely come
be unplayable for us long-time players,
near to the amount of people that can be Lore 10
but also, for example the lack of particular
motivated by the Hello Kitty brand name.
protections for the younger ones. One InteractIon 7
An immense army of colored kittens,
aspect is that the lack of these protections
doggies and birdies capable of slaying Growth 7
will help to avoid many problems, such as
elves, dwarves, orcs and any other thing
some limitations present in games like Free tec. compartment 8
that crosses their path.
Realms, but on the other hand, a game worLd 7
So, now let’s take a look at how the with this kind of background cannot allow
universe of Hello Kitty was transposed into itself to ignore certain types of problems. If proS:
this videogame. I must say that I’m not you wanted to find young girls on internet, 1. It’s Hello Kitty
a great Hello Kitty fan (even though, for would you choose Age of Conan or Hello
2. It has a lot to say, for a casual game
years I carried around a gashapon of Hello Kitty Online? The jokes about this subject
3. Striking settings and NpCs
Kitty dressed as a piggy hanging from my are frequent in the forums, but this could
cell phone)and thus, I’m not really familiar be a real problem when the game will conS:
with this world and the characters that give grow. 1. Many repetitive activities
life to it. Anyway, I can understand that 2. The animation of the characters is poorly
To conclude, let’s dedicate some words
the job of transposition has been done in developed
to the item mall. We could purchase
an excellent way, by developing all of its 3. It could sometimes stimulate homicidal
many unique clothes, special pets and
historical characters that will appear as instincts in the user
other equipment here. You certainly
NPCs and the corresponding environments
can’t say that it’s balanced though, since
as well. SySTem reQuiremenTS
the advantages for the paying players
Looking at it this way, the only race which are evident, even if this unbalancing will oS wIndowS Xp
you can belong to, at least in this first probably leave you indifferent due to the proceSSor pentIum IV 1.5 Ghz
version of the game, will be the human almost total absence of competitive spirit
ram 512 mb
race and of course you will not be able to within the game.
portray the most famous characters that dIrectXopenGL dIrectX 8.0
Otherwise the title appears to be varied,
remain unique. Besides the characters hard drIVe Space 2 Gb
long-lived and most of all open to wide
of the series, we will encounter a
evolution possibilities, mainly in terms
large amount of more or less peculiar final raTing 7.5
of quantity of items and skills which are
creatures and most importantly original
locations, everything in a style that more
than once made me exclaim from the
heart “Ohhowcute”. According to me,
from this point of view, HKO cannot be

Review: Aion pay to play

developer ncSofT
official SiTe http://aiononline.com
monThly fee 14.95€/$

by luca “Venom” Braj

a company in deep crisis, only one
last game to bet on, to have a chance
to rise or fall. ncSoft has chosen to
put all her hope of twelve years of
life in the videogaming industry in the
hands of this title, and it’s now clear
to everybody that they made the right
choice. With its asian release, aion has
restored the once lost stability of this
korean company and is now available
in the West as well, the strong points
being its hype and good technical
sector. unfortunately though, not all
that glitters is gold. let’s find out why.

characters for all tastes
The will to impress at first glance seems
like one of the key elements on which Aion
has based its commercial strategy. One of
the most important points regarding this
is without a doubt the character’s editor.
It’s a very powerful tool used to model and
personalize the appearance of our main
character in all the ways we see fit, and this
is something very fresh in the MMORPG
industry.
In contrast with what you may think by
watching the images, it will be possible to
create very strange, funny characters, even
super-small in size (with its consequent
advantages in PvP). We will be able to play
around with body proportions creating
really comical creatures, and we will also
have the possibility to simulate many
aspects typical of the most classic fantasy
races, such as dwarves or elves.
In the case in which we have repented
about the choices we made when we
created our character we could easily
rework his physical traits at another time
just by talking to an NPC situated in the
main city, but only if you have the proper
ticket. The physical differences between
Elyos and Asmodians aren’t that many:
the Asmodians have a bluish and purplish
Welcome to atreia We don’t want to spoil too much of the
skin coloring, claws on their feet and a
plot by talking excessively about the lore,
strange fuzz on their back, while the Elyos Being a “theme park” kind of MMORPG,
but it’s good enough to know that the plot
look much more similar to normal human there will be a very well defined base
will be composed of intervals in which our
beings. storyline besides the background, even
main character will talk and interact like a
though it will not be fundamental to go
Once we shaped the physical traits of our true protagonist.
through it in order to go on with the
hero, we can choose his class, on the basis
main game. We will start our adventure A very noticeable aspect comes from the
of which we can define his characteristics
by awakening in an unknown grassland, extra content which forms a frame around
in a more specific way. In the beginning
without any memories from our past. the in-game events, in full Ncsoft style.
the selectable classes will be four and will
Only by going through the game and First of all, the comic book that will be
consist of the usual archetypes: Warrior,
completing the main quests we will released in the near future, followed by
Scout, Mage and Priest. This choice will
discover to be a not-so-ordinary person various texts with the intent of creating
not be able to be changed in the future,
and that we really belong to the Daeva cast hype or to deepen some of the storyline
unless you don’t want to recreate one from
of semi-divine creatures, with the ability to events of the world of Aion.
scratch, so try to choose wisely.
fly and do lots of other cool stuff.

let’s put on a pair of wings
Once we have finished our long tutorial,
we must choose a specialization for our
class and then obtain the so-desired
wings. Every character will then have
two sub-classes to choose from, also
being able to select from a range of
more specific skills and abilities. We
will decide our preferences by picking:
Gladiator (DPS) and Templar (Tank) for
the warrior class, Assassin (the usual
invisible harassing pest) and
Ranger (Bow) for the scout class,
Sorcerer (the most classic mage)
and Spirit Master (Summoner)
for the Mage class, Cleric
(Healer) and Enchanter(healer &
buffer)for the Priest class.
One thing we should say
about the characters of Aion,
besides the physical looks, is
that they turn out to be rather
repetitive. In fact, we will not
have the opportunity to directly
differentiate our stats or modify
our talents, but we will still be
able to improve our equipment
by the usage of Manastones and
Now let’s talk about one of the most waited
also our abilities via the Stigma
for elements of Aion, I’m talking about the
System, which we will discuss
ability to fly, it’s one skill that could be used
later. The personalization of the
freely only in certain areas and in PvP or
build system is kind of limited,
also to glide softly in any PvE area of the
as for now, and it doesn’t excel for its
them with better ones, we will simply have world. By playing around a little bit with
originality.
to go to the Manastone remover. The our keyboard and dropping down from the
As I said before, it will be possible to boost Enchantments Stones instead, will have right spots, we will be able to increase the
our weapons and armors with the use of to be removed with Extraction Tools from duration of our glide and consequently
Manastones and Enchantment Stones: the our old equipment, just to be used later speeding up our moves. Still, we must not
first ones are items that can be dropped to strengthen the new ones. Both of them forget that our flight time is limited: we
by the enemies we kill and can be set into will be used to boost various aspects of our could then find ourselves falling all of a
the right slots of our main equipment. equipment or more directly to boost our sudden and maybe dying from the fall. So,
In the case that we would like to replace stats such as HP, MP, Dodge Rate etc.. except for the gliding mechanics, the flight

system will remind many of you of the one Plus, the quests will not always be so
used in Perfect World, a famous Chinese obvious. In fact, we’ll have to read them
game that Aion probably used as a start- carefully and click on the key words, which
off, and not only for this element. will supply us with extra info regarding
the data of the item and the character to
Paradoxically, in the world of Aion we will
search for, and will give us a more detailed
not be able to swim; we will sink quickly in
overview, sometimes even pointing out
the deepest of lakes and will start losing
to us its location on the map. Therefore,
life, even if the majority of the depths of
Aion doesn’t excel for the originality of
the bodies of water won’t even come up
its questing mechanism,to the contrary
to their knees. The lack of this ability is
it appears to be antiquated. But, thanks
probably due to the fact that the water is
to the interludes and a wide variety of
definitely a scarce element in this game,
objectives, it succeeds in maintaining an
indeed something normal in the NCSoft
adequate standard for its setting.
tradition. This has already been seen in
Lineage as well which didn’t give this The PvE is composed of a pretty linear
opportunity when it first came out either. structure; as a matter of fact, we will have
the feeling of moving on pre-established
tracks, without having that many alternative
Quests locations to explore. Sometimes there will
be particularly interesting spots where
The leveling aspect in Aion is based on we could grind, but anyhow there will be
the continuous interchanging of quests few of them. The majority of the quests
and grinding to level up. Actually, quests can be handled alone, even though some
should be enough to level up in the little help by other players is anything but
majority of cases, but to find them or finish
them alone will not always be a simple
task. In addition, sometimes it may happen
that quests will finish and you will be forced
to look for spots where you can mob grind
in peace.
We will happen to have many tasks: some
of them will be simple, such as talking
to an NPC, delivering an item, defeating
a certain number of enemies or maybe
confronting a boss, others instead will
be more complex, such as infiltrating
in aggressive mob outposts, activating
devices, stealing items or talking to an
NPC that pops up all of a sudden. This
last type of quest has often resulted to be
rather annoying: in fact the NPC or the
item dropped from the mob is only one
and for this reason it’s almost impossible
to avoid player camping, so whoever
doesn’t click fast enough will have to
wait quite a long time before the process
could be repeated. This flaw is surely
not that relevant, but we must say that it
could render the playing experience quite
frustrating. The only thing we can do now
is to hope in a future patch release that
would improve the management of this
kind of quests.

regrettable, while a well assorted party will fights The Stigmas will be obtainable by fighting
be compulsory for group quests where we against high level enemies, by completing
The skills of Aion are based on a chain
will find elite enemies that will be very hard some quests or by buying them at very
system that we have already seen in many
to defeat. high prices from NPCs or from other
MMORPG games, we are talking about
players. By going to the Stigma Master
There will also be many instances, 23 at the skill chain: activating a skill we could
we will be able to set one in our weapon,
the moment, in which we will venture with enable the use of other ones, thus creating
obtaining in this way a new skill to use
our party to complete specific quests or to a combo. In a dedicated menu just for
in battle. To use the Stigmas it will be
hope to get unique drops. The structure chains it will be possible to select which
required to own a certain number of
of these instances doesn’t shine for its skill sub-group we would like to chain to
Stigma Shards (only earnable from the
originality, but it is undoubtedly solid. On the other, in the case in which there are
Abyss mobs); it will still be possible to
top of that they will be well defined and more than one. The various possibilities
remove or swap them at any time. The
different from each other, with different offered will be predetermined, but we
maximum number of Stigmas we could
bosses for each one of them. One could create a macro system to associate
have simultaneously will increase with
remarkable thing is the use of the video more than one action to one key if desired.
the growth of our level, up to a maximum
interlude parts that will give us a break
Even chain skills aren’t a real innovation; capacity of five.
from the exploration phases. We don’t
we already saw them in Vanguard and
feel like giving further judgements at the Thanks to this system we will have slightly
other minor games, but they still are a
moment, since it’s quite a complex system more customized characters, but what will
pleasant feature that give a more dynamic
and we will be able to evaluate this PvE happen if, while time passes we will earn
cut to the fights. Another element that will
aspect properly only on the long run, to them all? Another small element that will
give us liveliness is the possibility to affect
better understand if it’s really valuable or influence our parameters will be the Title,
damage, defense and evasion with our
not. which will be acquirable after completing
movements: we will have bonus damage if
certain quests. We will have the possibility
we walk forward, bonus defense if we walk
to only have one of them at a time; it will
backwards and bonus evasion if we walk
The abyss modify some of our stats, just as it happens
sideways.
in many other MMORPG games. We will be
AION’s PvP will give the opportunity to able to unlock a total of 50 titles, but we
If we lose a PvE fight and as a result we
the Asmodian and Elyos sides to face trust that others will be added.
die (this is something we must avoid
each other in an arena called The Abyss.
at all costs here in Aion) we will lose
Without wanting to spoil too much of
experience points as well. We will only
the lore we can simply say that the world
be able to regain these exp points by economy and crafting
of Aion is literally split in half: the bright
paying a certain amount of money that will
side called Elysea and the dark one called Buying and selling in Aion can be done
increase accordingly with the growth of
Asmodae. The two factions are involved through the usual little markets set up by
our level. Another drawback: a small part
in an open war and they often fight each characters, in our opinion this characteristic
of experience anyway, will be lost forever.
other in the center of the planetary shift is something a little old right now and
It will be reasonably easy to resuscitate
in this area that is in fact called the Abyss: it will soon leave the market to Brokers,
your comrade only if you fight in a party:
this will be the place where we will be or more precisely, to the Auction House
the only thing you’ll need is a gem in your
protagonists of epic battles among winged system of Aion. This way it will be much
pocket to be able to raise him from the
beings and mass sieges. easier to find the items we are looking for:
dead without resorting to the aid of a
it will be enough to enter the name and
In this area we will be free to use our flying Cleric.
see who’s got the best price. In general,
skill and will now have the chance to give
we can say that the economy doesn’t seem
a third dimension to PvP fights. The Abyss
very balanced, even if it seems more vital
will be available from level 25 onwards; The Stigmas
if compared to the total failure of some
once we are there we could fight to earn
Although, as we already said, the recent games, at least for now. Anyway, the
big prizes for us and for our Legion (the
customization of our character will be simple model on which Aion’s economy is
guilds of Aion). It will then be possible
rather narrow, the Stigma System will founded is justified, since it is not a title
to dispute for nine fortresses divided by
improve things a bit, giving to our hero focused on commerce.
levels: they are by default in the hands of a
a certain predisposition, although still
third NPC race called the Balaur, which we
leaving us without a great variety of
will have to defeat before obtaining control
choices.
of the towers: this is why we are talking
about PvPvE.
During fights, we could get some help
by gaining control over the Artifacts: 31
of them exist and can be acquired by
defeating the patrolling Balaurs.
Once we conquered the first fortress our
faction must continue to fight in order to
defend it and to hope to expand to the
remaining ones. The most valuable players
will be acknowledged in the Top ten of PvP.
Besides the Abyss, the possibility to go
through portals called Rifts that will take
us to areas of the opposing faction is also
possible. One strange thing is that we
won’t have any kind of advantage by killing
the enemy players, on the contrary we
will encounter possible penalties, without
being able to access the Abyss for a certain
period of time. This option will then be
useful only to test your combat skills.

Technical raTing
Finely developed and without smudges,
excellent graphics, even better sound and
music. one of the best MMorpgs if considered
in this point of view. A good support from
NCSoft, the presence of queues is negative, but
will eventually disappear with time.

lore raTing
Both the base storyline and the story of our
character are well done and narrated with
excellent interludes; you reach a point in which
you want to always learn more about this story,
which has even inspired a series of DC comic
books.

groWTh raTing
The questing system is something that has
already been seen many times but still delivers,
grinding is present but not so excessive. The
We will have the possibility to take up delivers a great job, but we still noticed customization of characters is limited but fairly
different crafting careers, without having some minor flaws which will be immediately good.
to exclude any of them. The only limit will recognizable by the most expert players,
be imposed by the time we will decide to such as the huge textures used to cover inTeracTion raTing
devote to the gathering of materials and to whole hillsides, the movement of some
the consequent creation of items, and this of the characters that looks like they are The fighting system is well developed. The Abyss
is something that will force us to mainly skating, or even the not so well designed will offer hours and hours of good pvp and the
focus on one or two skills. Looking at it this sky, accomplished with a low res Sky Box. tools that the game offers for interaction are
way, the innovation is practically inexistent: These defective elements together with many. The economy and production are not that
as a matter of fact the crafting will reduce other ones more linked to logic such as brilliant.
itself merely to the classic pile up of raw the sudden transition from night to day,
material and then to the creation of the will spoil a little of the graphics sector in World raTing
items in series. a game that otherwise would surely have
reached higher standards. Unfortunately Atreia, even if fascinating and majestic it
The gathering of the materials will seems a bit skimpy, with the exception of some
the rushing and incompetence have left an
be simple and linear as well: it will be areas; underwater exploration is missing.
undeniable mark that just can’t be ignored.
sufficient to get near a source, for example
little plants or veins of iron, and our feaTureS:
character will start the extraction with a
beautiful but with no soul Lore 8
simple gesture of his hand. Obviously, we
will not able to take advantage of every The feeling that Aion gave us is that of a InteractIon 8
resource from the beginning, or at least complete and well developed title, but at
not without putting enough skill points on
Growth 7
the same time it gives us a certain feeling
our extracting ability. It will be a separate of multiple dejavù. Almost all of the tec. compartment 8
matter regarding the Extraction Heather features have been taken and reworked worLd 6.5
to be used for floating materials at a high from other games (mostly WoW, Lineage
altitude. The extraction mechanics will 2 and Perfect World) and, in some cases proS:
still be identical to those already seen in even improved. This means that Aion is a
1. Excellent graphics and sound.
other theme park MMORPGs, besides good game for newcomers, it’s capable
the success percentage of the gathering 2. Well developed pvpvE system.
of offering a bit of everything (without
action. 3. Fighting can be done while flying
excelling in anything), but at the same
time this also means that it’s almost totally conS:
unattractive for veterans. 1. It’s not possible to swim.
Technical compartment 2. A little too grindy.
This game certainly has the credentials to
3. Some aspects of pvE should be improved.
The landscapes of AION are probably be a commercial success and the feedback
among the most majestic and wonderful that users are giving right now is already
SySTem reQuiremenTS
that can be offered by a massive game: a proof of this. It certainly has been a
lakes with beautiful aquatic plants, good gaming experience and thus, it’s oS wIndowS Xp Sp2 / VISta
enchanted forests and imposing fortresses recommended to all those who want to proceSSor 2,8Ghz cpu /
will be the main backgrounds for our take on the MMORPG genre for the first duaL core 2.0Ghz
adventures. The design results to be quite time, but not to those that have already
ram 1024 mb
original, thanks to a lore that provides experimented with other theme park
locations that are reasonably distant from MMORPGs. This title will surely be able VIdeo card nVIdIa 5900 uLtra 128mb /
most classic forests and caves typical of to innovate itself even more on the long atI radeon X700 128
fantasy. run, thus creating an attraction even for dIrectXopenGL dIrectX 9.0c
those who have had years of experience in
The audio component of the game is hard drIVe Space 15 Gb
the world of massive videogaming; at the
absolutely top-notch: we will sometimes
moment this is only a good starting base to
find ourselves just contemplating the final raTing 7.5
build a far more elaborate game.
landscape or listening to the audio track.
Despite its age, the Crytek Engine still

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Review: JunK BAttlEs

genre Tcg-rpg
background angic enTerTainmenT
developer ncSofT
official SiTe http://www.junkbattles.com/
by luca “Venom” Braj

else but a virtual currency obtainable
in a simple way,that is, by means of real
money or by tormenting our friends with
appropriate in-game links inviting them to
register: in this way we will be rewarded
for every new user that has registered on
Junk Battles. The Oil will permit the access
to the advantages of premium and to
acquire more substantial and interesting
booster packs, compared to the ones that
are purchasable with only the use of metal
(that will be obtainable by participating in
challenges against other players or against
the bots). The game seems to be fairly
benevolent with losers, even giving the
beaten players the opportunity to have a
little amount of metal.

Exciting battles.
The battles are carried out with a pretty
singular system: we will have the possibility
to align a certain number of actions
according to our vehicle’s weapons and
defenses. Once chosen, these will be
Thanks to Flash technology, browser games this quantity according to its importance. performed in the order of selection; we
are starting to increasingly become a less Therefore, it’s useless to say that more the will then see the name of our action slide
static genre. Junk Battles (developed by ex stats will be good, the greater the number through the action bar, until it reaches the
members of DICE, that now changed their of the TP required will be. point of execution where the damage or
name to ANTIC), is a very fun game that even missed attacks or malfunctions will
reminds us of a mix between a card game be calculated. Then, we should repeat
and a car race. The main objective will be these actions until one of the two vehicles
Oil and metal.
to challenge other players with racing cars will be destroyed. It’s surely an interesting
(or we should say pieces of junk) capable The game offers, as well, the possibility to system, if compared to the usual textual
of performing both defensive and offensive customize our avatar by several presets of BGs, where it’s enough to click on the
maneuvers, with which we must try to faces and clothing of every kind, some of challenge and then read the battle report
destroy the opponent’s vehicle. the accessories will be purchasable from a few seconds later. In Junk Battles, at the
the start without a fee, other ones will be end of every battle we will be rewarded,
acquirable only with Oil. This is nothing
let’s assemble pieces of junk
The game will welcome us with a clear
tutorial that will explain how to assemble
the pieces of our first vehicle step by
step. We will initially begin with a starter
pack containing all the essential pieces,
such as the chassis, and a choice of
the type of locomotion among wheels,
tracks, or hovercraft. Moreover, some
offensive additions are available, which
are divided into four categories: ballistic,
energy, elemental and melee. These
particular items will have just as many
types of consumption as well, respectively:
projectiles, a simple cool-down, HP and
energy. We will not be able to assemble a
destructive super car right away, because
we will need a certain amount of TP to
put together the various pieces; every
item assembled, in fact, will deduct from

not only with an amount of metal, but
also with experience points and once we
raise our level we will have access to new
abilities and will have more TP to improve
our vehicle’s performance.

in conclusion
Junk Battle has revealed itself to be partly
original and well studied, but altogether it
still remains to be an occasional pastime
where the main goal is to climb the charts,
even if, in a more interesting and fun
way than usual. Finally, we can suggest
a valuable alternative to Bitefight and
company.

FiNal raTiNg 7.4
prOS:
1. Well accomplished combat system.
2. Many parts to assemble.
3. original setting.
CONS:
1. It is, however, directed toward a
casual user base.
2. Tournaments and clan system are
missing (at the moment).

Review: AgE ConAn pay to play

developer funcom
official SiTe http://www.ageofconan.com/
monThly fee 14.95€/$


funcom is certainly not a newcomer in
the field of videogames. The longest
journey and its sequel, dreamfall, as
well as the futuristic anarchy online
where produced by their hands. from
the latter, this norwegian developer
has taken its foundations and has
skillfully strengthened them to develop
a game that goes all out. a year after its
release, we decided to review it again
to see if the initial difficulties have been
overcome.

Oh prince, know that...
It’s a time of Gods and Demons, of men of
tempered steel and immortal sorcerers, of
heroism and depravity…
Your adventures begin with you in chains,
in a Stygian galley, and here, in the lands
created by R.E. Howard all your choices
will shape your future. There are three
races to choose from, and a good part of
fantasy lovers will be disappointed here…
because the available races, as in Howard’s
tales, are just variations of the human
race. No dwarves nor elves. So, to try to
satisfy your tastes there will be the barbaric
Cimmerians, the brave Aquilonians and
the terrible Stygians. The choice does count on the Assassin, elusive and deadly, Necromancer, lord of death, and the
not involve any kind of special bonus or the Ranger, lord of the long distances or Herald of Xotli, a battle mage, will do for
malus, but some classes will be precluded, the Barbarian, master of the brawls. Do you. Choose what best suits you, if you
depending on the decision you may take. you love to fight and to be useful to your love your class you will become a frightful
friends? Then you will go crazy for the Bear force in the game, no matter who you’re
The classes available are 12: 3 tank Shaman, brutal and efficient, the Tempest facing.
classes, 3 rogues, 3 healers and 3 casters. of Set, inviolable while surrounded by
Therefore, you could excite your lust The system for creating your avatar is quite
his thunderbolts, or the Priest of Mitra,
for war with: the Guardian, impregnable intuitive and detailed, there are many
protected from all evil, and the scourge
fortress, the Conqueror, a skilled warrior sliders that will give you the opportunity
of it, as well. If in the end you chose the
and excellent leader or the Dark Templar, to change your voice, facial and physical
path of dark magic, the Demonologist,
a bloody and obscure fighter. If you don’t traits, as well as distinguishing marks such
with his mastery of fire or lightning, the
like the Heavy Armor, then you could as tattoos or scars. However, some choices

to evade enemies’ attacks, by effectively
counterattacking or anticipating the moves
of the less skilled fighters.
Regarding the magic aspect, you will
not be disappointed! Despite the fact
that melee fights are very enthralling,
Funcom has provided the spell weavers
with powerful and intriguing skills. Playing
as a Necromancer, you will be able to
surround your enemies with your undead
servants, slowly taking away their lives. As
a Demonologist you will crush armies with
your infernal flames or lightning bolts from
the skies. Lastly, when playing as a Herald
of Xotli, you will invoke upon the power
of abyssal creatures to become battle
demons yourselves, giving you the chance
to enjoy close combat, even if you can’t
use armors. As a final touch, the masters

such as height or body fat don’t always
seem to correspond exactly: whether you’ll
want it or not, you’ll be tall and muscular
like almost all the other players. Once
you’ve decided a name, your destiny on
Hyboria will be revealed.

an heroic path
From the first moments spent in Tortage,
you will be able to admire the care and
attention devoted to the reproduction
of a tropical island. The graphics are
breathtaking. Crystal clear water, lush
forests, and realistic animals.
Every little thing helps you to immerse
deeply into this wonderful and brutal
world. Many patches have been released
to ensure that the system will be stable
for 95% of the time you will spend in the
game, and the scaling has been further
improved. Of course, for making the most
of this game it will require a powerful
machine, possibly with Vista or Windows
7 and a last gen graphics card in order to single player mode, group missions and
of magical arts will be able to enter a state
fully appreciate the Directx 10. actual raids. As regards to this, AoC indeed
called Spellweaving, a condition that will
places itself in the standards of PvE Theme
To welcome you after your shipwreck there increase their power beyond any limit,
Park MMORPGs, without especially positive
will be an old man, who reveals in poor until causing the death of their enemy… or
nor negative notes.
words that your destiny is tied to a symbol maybe just bringing them to their graves.
that you bear on your chest: a symbol of The fighting system is the real innovation
Furthermore, Age of Conan enhances team
slavery that has been woven on your skin of Age of Conan. A smooth, fast-paced,
play, and to emphasize this aspect, guilds
by a sorcerer of the lost Acheron. The exciting system! Static battles fought with
of a certain size can dedicate themselves
attempt to get rid of this mark will be the strings of abilities all tied to a single button
to constructing their own cities, which will
recurring subject that will follow you until mash are no more. Fights are close to a
be located in designated areas in one of
you reach the maximum level. Therefore, very realistic, yet epic battle here in Age
the three nations. The building process
the island of Tortage will work a bit like a of Conan. The basic attacks correspond to
requires no special engineering skills. On
tutorial, by slowly approaching the player the direction towards which your weapon
the ground, there are convenient “nodes”
to the innovations introduced by Funcom’s will move, and once you will activate
that once clicked on will let us build the
game. your combo, you will have to execute a
desired building. Different buildings will
particular sequence of hits to bring the
offer different bonuses and the city itself,
final blow! All of this is topped off by
once completed, will be elevated to the
Blood and dust a fighting system that is not based on
next step, until reaching the third “tier”.
enemy auto-targeting, but instead, on the
The progression of the character in Age Unfortunately, the cities will not offer a
real capability of the weapon to reach its
of Conan is very much linked to quests. real “housing system”, so the possibility
target. This is made possible by a perfectly
Many of these will require you to collect/ of enriching the environment or making
created player collision, which also means
kill/find a greater or lesser number of items it more diverse is denied. In general,
that you will not be able to pass through
or creatures of various kinds, and the NPCs this system is appreciable, if inserted in
other character’s bodies as if they were
that will give you these quests will have the many things to do in AoC, but can’t
ghosts or two-dimensional images. All of
an exclamation mark above their heads. be considered a driving force for the
this contributes to increase the already
Up to here there’s nothing new, including entertainment offered by the game.
high realism of the game. At higher
the fact that your quests will be divided in levels, expert warriors will move swiftly

appearance, but are also among the best
items in the game, with further possibility
of enhancement by adding the insertion
of two gems. The lucky owners of these
recipes will be rolling gold!

Blow the horns of battle, dogs!
Finally, when you will finally be tired of
searching for gold and ornaments, the time
when you will have to prove yourself in
battle will come, against opponents of your
same caliber and intelligence. Depending
on the server you will choose when
creating your character, you can decide
whether to have a free PvP or to limit it to
border areas, mini-games and sieges. In
the first case, the only areas where you will
be safe will be the three major cities. In
any other place, keep your weapons ready
and your senses sharp, since the enemies
are many, and all of them aspire to get
The golden Box in some cases you will be able to face them your head...and to get the experience
singularly and in others you will need to points that this implies! In fact, Funcom
Once you’ve passed Tortage, you will has implemented a level system related to
have a group, and in the end, you will need
finally be free to explore Hyboria. But is player versus player. So far, the obtainable
a raid (that is 24 persons) in higher level
there really all that freedom? levels are 10 and at the moment you
instances. And if the difficulty of an area
isn’t enough for you, you could enter it achieve any of these, it will be possible to
Unfortunately, the choice that Funcom has
in “epic mode” and try to survive against buy special equipment that will help a lot
made to split the world into instances has
creatures that are hundreds of times in combat.
proved to be unpopular. The attention
to details is certainly implausible, and the stronger. If you have chosen the security of a PvE
number of cameos that Funcom has taken server instead, you will still be able to vent
from the Hyberian Lore and has integrated your combat instincts with mini-games, that
in the game is incredible. On a downside, and then, Crom created steel will be accessible through a queue system
however, there is a constant feeling of that will instantly teleport you in one of
Once you’ll reach level forty, you will be
living inside boxes. Beautiful boxes, the 4 maps, in the 2 mini-game modes
able to choose two working careers. There
that is, but still boxes. The wider areas of available. In these mini-games you will
will be 5 at your disposal: Weaponsmith,
the game, like Conall’s valley, appear to have to reach particular goals and if you’ll
Armorsmith, Alchemist, Gemcutter and
be a few kilometers in size, surrounded win, you will earn points for your guild,
Architect. In Age of Conan crafting is not
everywhere sometimes by natural barriers which you’ll need to acquire the right to
particularly elaborated: once you have
and other times by invisible ones. And attack a fortress.
collected the materials you need, just buy
until our steps will move on the lands of
some basic items from the merchant and If, in fact, you’ll be lucky enough to be part
the Cimmerians, we will have a feeling of
select the recipe you want to follow. Up to of a fairly populated guild, there will be a
continuity between one area and another,
here, it all sounds obvious and because of chance to conquer one of the 8 fortresses
continuity that sadly is not perceived while
the large quantity of identical items, the available. Being able to raise your flag on
in other nations, such as Stygia, where the
in-game market has indeed become rather these grounds is the ultimate goal for a
transit from an area to another involves
stagnant. To revive the destinies of these guild that seeks a significant advantage
drastic changes in the landscape.
trades, Funcom has introduced hundreds in combat. In the case in which during a
Despite the small size of the world, you of new recipes in the game. Rare recipes, hard clash between 48 attackers against
will still have the feeling that you are hidden in the bodies of slain enemies. 48 defenders, the attackers should prevail,
walking a lot, and soon you will feel the To make them even juicier, there will be and succeed in keeping the fortress for a
need to speed up your travels in some the super rare Culture recipes related to month, the bonuses they will receive will
way. To meet this need, the main cities: the area in which these armors belong. fully reward their efforts. Not to mention
Old Tarantia, Khemi and Conarch will put These garments are not only special in that these epic battles are damn funny!
to your service NPCs that will transport
you instantaneously to different locations
of that nation. If this still isn’t enough, you
will be able to buy a horse from the local
stables. Funcom wanted to distinguish
itself from other fantasy Mmos, even in
the choice of the mounts, by remaining
faithful to the Howardian rules. No bizarre
creatures with particular abilities then, but
only simple horses, and with a high cost as
well.
The design of the dungeons is very well
done, and besides the more or less
complex encounters, there are traps and
particular strategies which can mean
the difference between a prosperous
expedition and a miserable death.
These areas are divided according to the
adventurers needed to accomplish them,

In my opinion, the only flaw in the PvP of
Age of Conan is the almost total lack of
consequences. Once dead, in fact, it will be
enough to press a button and you will be
revived in the nearest “awakening point”,
with the only loss of your pride. To seek
a remedy, the developers have recently
introduced the murder system, through
which those who enjoy slaughtering players
with a much inferior level will be reported
as criminals, and the most cruel ones as
assassins. This new system provides a
degree of safety for new players, but has
also led to a new series of problems, with
guards that murder with their axes players
that are not guilty of these crimes.

Technical raTing The developers
of the game have to be praised for the great
work done on the graphics. Nevertheless, all
these graphic works took a toll on the Funcom
developers, who during the first few hellish
months had to work out continuous bugs and
in conclusion himself to an end-game raid, to an assault,
instability problems. Now, the game is in good
or to the development of a new character
health, there are no exasperating bugs and Age of Conan is not a simple game, the
(thanks to the 8 available slots). Therefore,
any problem can be resolved in a short time. combat requires a little practice, since it’s
it’s advisable to a wide range of users and
The gM system is quite diligent in answering, more similar to the structure of an FPS,
proves to be one of the best choices for
even though it seems that very few gM have the than to that of a common MMO and the
whoever wants to approach the world of
real power to help or inform. The organization lack of contents that keeps you glued to
mMORPGs for the first time. Moreover, if
of events by gM or its developers is another the monitor for hours discourages the
Funcom will do a good job by expanding
story, since the great majority of these events average player. Besides this, the product
the contents, the game will gain in
are organized by the community of players presents itself very well, and it has a high
longevity with the possibility to become a
that often demand the attention of the Funcom potential for improvement. Those who
reference point for the MMORPG scene.
staff. In conclusion, the sound compartment have played for about a year have by now
deserves all the commendations that have been found out which areas are fun for them,
expressed until now about Funcom, the quality and wherever the casual player enters he
feaTureS:
is superior even to that of a single player game, plays a mini-game or a quick dungeon,
or perhaps even to that of the soundtracks of while the tenacious player will dedicate Lore 9
some films. InteractIon 7.5
lore raTing A point in favor of Funcom. inTeracTion raTing Age of Conan
Growth 8
The game, in all of its aspects, is a faithful has been created in a way to make you feel a tec. compartment 8.5
reproduction of the Hyborian material which part of this fantastic world, the interaction with
is present in all of its forms…perhaps too
worLd 8.5
the various NpCs will make you feel like a hero.
many forms. In fact, the Howardian purists It’s a shame that not everybody wants to be a
proS:
turn up their noses regarding certain cameos hero in Hyboria. So, once you have reached level
1. Spectacular graphics
derived from post-Howardian films, comics or 80 with a character, repeating everything from
novels. The quest system is coherent with the the beginning will make you feel less and less 2. Violent pvp
world and besides the usual repetitive tasks, involved. Anyway, in FFA servers there is greater 3. remains true to the setting created by Howard
some “endeavours” appear well studied and interaction, thanks to the fact that you will be 4. Constant support on part of the programmer
elaborated. Fun as well! the one who makes the rules, that is, if you’re team
strong enough to do it! Do you desire that no conS:
groWTh raTing The vast selection of one should gallop with a horse in the streets of 1. Unplayable with a medium-low level pc
classes guarantees longevity to the game and Khopshef? Then you must kill all the ones that 2. Each area is separated by a loading screen
the possibility to create the character according try to do it and shout out your will loudly. Then
3. Balancing of the classes is far from being
to your own tastes, thanks to different features the other players will have to decide whether to
achieved
that allow two characters of the same class go along with it or not.
4. There are still many bugs
not to be necessarily similar. Stats and skills
have proved, until now, to represent a marginal World raTing There’s not much to SySTem reQuiremenTS
role in the capabilities of the character. The do about it, Age of Conan is true to itself
oS wIndowS Xp / VISta
development of the character is very rapid and this choice limits its appeal. To render it
for the first 40 levels, due to the abundance less consistent would cause it to be a game proceSSor pentIum IV 3 Ghz
of quests. The pace of the following levels is like many others. The ambient design is true ram 2048 mb
much slower, until the 70th, but is, however, to Howard’s novels and the only imaginary
VIdeo card Shader modeL 2.0 e 128mb
endurable because of the introduction of new creatures are actually infernal demons. The
ram: nVIdIa GeForce 5800 or
areas and quests, even though, the last 10 fact that weapons and armors “fall” from their
atI 9800
levels become an unbearable grind. Anyway, bodies is not a very realistic choice, but on the
many expert players take advantage of their other hand, it’s also too practical to be ignored. dIrectXopenGL dIrectX 9.0
inferior level to raise their pvp status, thanks The parallel instancing gives the setting a hard drIVe Space 30 Gb
to the increased experience points that are better credibility, but obviously destroys the
received by killing a character of superior level. idea of a “one game server”. final raTing 8

INTeRVIew

By Massimo “Nolvadex” Villa

The Secret World will introduce us to a dark and
obscure world, filled with demons and secrets, but also
o f p r o u d h e r o e s f i g h t i n g e v i l . o M G c h at t e d w i t h F u n c o m
P r o d u c e r d i r e c t o r r a g n a r T ø r n q u i s t a b o u t t h i s b at t l e . . .

The dark feeling of
real places, real cities
the game remind me to a
. . c o u l d y o u ta l k a b o u t
m i x be t w een M a r lo w e a n d
the setting of the ga me
h P l o v e c r a f t. c o u l d i t b e
and how the world will
correct?
be s t r u c t ur ed i n t er m s of
That’s not a bad comparison, although i n s ta n c e s a s c o n a n o r o p e n
it’s less pulp and more pop. There are zones.
investigations in the game, definitely, and We’re making the world as open as
there are opportunities to dig deeper into possible, while still keeping players
a very intriguing storyline, but players can directed and focused. I’m not a big fan
also pick up a shotgun and jump right into of instances in MMORPGs, although we’ll
the battle between good and evil. The have those, too - dungeons - where teams
Lovecraft inspiration is definitely palpable get a more scripted and linear experience.
throughout the game, both in terms of You can basically go anywhere you want
monsters and storyline. from day one, explore this large, open
world, although if you venture too far off
the beaten path too early, chances are
you’ll get your ass handed to you. By a
demon. With some kind of ass-handing
weapon.

No levels, no cl asses ...
w h at w i l l b e t h e b a l a n c e
be t w een s a n db ox a n d t h e m e
pa r k ?
More theme park than sandbox, I reckon,
though players can experiment freely
with various combinations of powers and
weapons. We have a world filled with
content, and players can choose how to
approach that content - and, to some
extent, in which order. Having said that,
we believe in direction, and there will be
a clear path for players to embark on - as
well as recommendations for character
development based on what the player
wants to achieve. The road is well lit,
but you’re free to wander off into the
darkness...

c o u l d y o u ta l k a b o u t S tat e o f t h e g a m e
t h e m a i n f e at u r e s o f t h e r i g h t n o w.
game?
Right now I can log into the game from
What, all of them? What we’ve revealed so anywhere in the world and play, but key
far is the combat, the PvP - which is going systems are still in development, like the
to be very interesting and very different - a RPG rule set and the combat.
little bit about missions, and the fact that
players get to be powerful heroes with
occult powers in a modern day setting. Our W h at k i n d o f
world, with monsters. Zombies, vampires, graphics engine will
demons, gods, mythological creatures and use TSW?
creepy shit from modern pop culture.
We’re using an upgraded version of the
Dreamworld engine, which powers Age of
Conan. It’s state of the art and the game is
G ui l d s w i l l be a s ort
going to look absolutely stunning.
o f s e c r e t a s s o c i at i o n s
o r t h i n g s l i k e t h at ?
Guilds are called cabals, and they’re W h at k i n d o f c o m b at
basically secret societies that are allied can we expect ?
with one of three factions: the Templars,
the Illuminati or the Dragon. Cabals battle Think third-person action games. There’s a
each other inside the Hollow Earth - a reticule. You have to aim. You have to keep
place called Agartha - for control over moving, strafing, backing up - you can’t
Anima, a precious resource, which is used point and click and sit back and eat chips.
for different kinds of buffs and upgrades. You’re in the action and while it’s still an
RPG - and your character’s stats are vitally
important - you also need fast reflexes.
There are firearms - from handguns to
assault rifles - dark magic and voodoo,
occult weapons like magical swords,
mythical sceptres... It’s both very different
from every other MMORPG on the market,
and instantly familiar to PC gamers who’ve
played action games before. We think it’s a
very solid and fun mix.

Missions in
T S W. W i l l t h e r e b e
something different
from the cl assic chain
progressions ?
Absolutely. Our missions are as far from
your standard ‘fetch me the hides of
eight black beavers’ as you can get in an
MMORPG. Players are heroes with amazing
powers, and they’re fighting a terrible evil
that rises from the dark places. Who has
time to collect rat tails? Screw that. Also,
there are no more text boxes with dry
descriptions of what you have to do - all
dialogue in this game is voiced. So yes, our
missions will definitely be different from
classic quests.

INTeRVIew

Star Trek Online will be the
next big thing for Cryptic
Studios. We had a brief chat with
Craig Zinkievich, game producer,
about a mix of aspects.
By Massimo “Nolvadex” Villa

How many degrees of quality will have
about items and materials?
Depending on the type of item – you can
have up to 6 different “qualities.”

Could you introduce to us how the items
will work in STO, in terms of statistics and Will we be able to enhance our ship only
gameplay influence? by crafting or also with components dropped
by enemies?
There are so many different items in the
game – and things that act sort of like Enemies definitely drop items for you, your
items! Bridge Officers and your ship.
in space: There are weapons, shield
emitters and impulse engines on your ships Items will be degradable?
– have a pretty drastic affect on how your Will there be the classic Auction Houses
ship acts. There are multiple console slots in Star Trek Online? The major ship items, Shield Emitters,
Weapons, Impulse Engines have durability
on your ships too – mostly passive changes There will be marketplaces (you can put an – they degrade as they get damaged
to how your ship behaves. item up for sale at a price, and buy items at during a battle. But they can be repaired
on ground: you have personal shields, a price) at launch. But not a true “auction” by going back to a Star Fleet space dock.
armour, weapons as well as your “kit” – – where you can bid on items.
which is a career limited item that gives
you 1-4 different powers on the ground. The Exploration in STO will give to
players some particular achievements? More
your ship: which could be considered
in general, there will be an achievements
an item; each different configuration has
system in STO?
different numbers of seats, weapon slots,
consoles and inherent attributes. There will be an accolade system in STO.
It’ll keep track of your achievements in
To some extent even your Bridge Officers
exploration content, PvP, normal PvE
could be considered items. Like I said –
gameplay – all sorts of different aspects of
lots of items.
the game can be bragged about. : )

Don't wait, Take to the track!
TECHNICAL VIEW
GAME NAME:: MotoManager
GAME GENRE: Managerial motorcycle racing
GAME TYPE: Online Game
PRICE: Free
LANGUAGE: Italian-English
ANNO DI NASCITA: 2005
SITO GIOCO: www.MotoManager.com

MotoManager is a free online game that changes the design of motorcycle games, presenting a true career mode, where you do not take
control of a single rider, but will play a Manager of a team racing that starts from zero and can savor the joys and pains of the results of their
team.
The player must attend to sign contracts with sponsors and suppliers, select the technical staff, find and hire the rivers on the marketplace,
organize workshops and tactics on the real race circuits of the MotoGP and Superbike

The goal is to finish as high as possible in the constructors' championship to earn a promotion to the higher category or winning the title of
absolute champion of MotoManager.
The climb to the summit will be long and full of unexpected, because the opponents are real people and not computer-controlled teams, and
when they reached the most prestigious category MotoGP and Superbike will not take anything for granted, because in case of bankruptcies
will recede into the categories below.
The game leaves ample room for a customization of your team, the choice of colors of the bike, the uniform of the pilots, the faces and names
of people on your team.

In addition to the races valid for the classification, there is a Category Cup where you can compare all the teams in group for win prizes and
bonuses for the game.
So don't wait, take to the track on www.MotoManager.com!

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