What Do the Cards Fortell?

Alright! Argo Online finally came out! I finally get to play the greatest hybrid MMORPG the world has ever seen!

...What? Oh you thought I was gonna do a review for Argo? Well YOU’RE WRONG the games graphics are too epic for my laptop and I can’t even play the game. TEE HEE!

On a more serious note; assuming you’re still reading this, I started playing Iris Online, another game that recently came into Open Beta. It’s a “Gypsy MMO” involving Tarot Cards. The Minor Arcana cards are used to upgrade your weapons and armor while the Major Arcana served as “keys” which allow you to access specially designed dungeons. You’re one of many heroes who apparently gave his/her life defending this land in a war that happened a long time ago, but the monsters are back so the populace did the logical thing, and brought you back to life.

The game was made by the same people who made Luna Online, and if you remember what that game was about you know what to expect here: Anime graphics, too cute to kill monsters, and Characters that are so cute that getting a pantyshot from an elf is an instant…well guys know what I’m talking about.

They'll never know it was me thanks to this brilliant disguise
: D

The gameplay is great and entertaining; the quests are the usual kill a certain number of these things or get a certain number of items from an enemy. I would normally have a problem with the gathering quests since so many MMOs have managed to turn them into grind fests, but Iris actually found a good balance so I’m willing to look past it. Sure the item drop rate ranges from 1/4 of the time to 1/3, but the thing is you only need 3-4 items to appease the sexy girl in a skimpy outfit that sent you out to get them in the first place. Also the game has no restrictions on weapons or armor, outside of the fact that each class has skills specific to certain weapons, but besides that you can use any weapon you feel like.

If I have any complaints about the game it’s the following: 1) If you enter the battle fields and you find yourself up against a team and they have less people than yours, the game fills the void by adding in a number AIs until the teams are even. These AIs are the definition of OVER POWERED; if the other team has so much as 4 of these suckers they can kick back and relax because your team is skarude, and 2) The Invisible Walls in this game work TOO well. Sure I’m grateful you blocked me from walking over a cliff into a dark abyss below, but what’s the point of having a jump key if you can’t jump over anything?

Selfish complains aside Iris is a great game that anyone (and everyone) should try. It gets an 7 out of 10 because although the game is good it’s not perfect and it just hasn’t gotten to where it needs to be for an 8 or a 9

A Dream Turned Into a Hall of Mirrors

Before anyone says anything; YES I remember what I said in my last review; that being said I wanted to give Aeria Games one last try to impress me before I swear off their titles for good. Since this game was recommended to me by a friend of mine I thought I’d try it out. I don’t regret the decision, but I should probably stick to finding my own games.

Dream of Mirror Online, otherwise known as DOMO

is an Anime-ish adventure game that takes place in a mystical land accessible through mirrors. The plots original but the gameplay is anything but, you’ll find yourself spending 85% of your time on DOMO grinding, which I guess for some isn’t bad but honestly you might as well play World of Warcraft, sure you’re still grinding there but at least there’s never a shortage of quests, where as with DOMO the quests are VERY few and VERY far between.

One of the good things about DOMO is mounts are introduced to you very early; around lvl 15 or so. Not only that but every mount (minus a select few) can fly, and get this: Your very first mount is your weapon. That’s right you fly on your weapon to get around the (relatively small) world map, but with every good thing there is also a bad thing.

What I cannot stand the most about this game is how durability works. Every so often you have to repair your items just like most other MMOs, but unlike other MMOs, each time you repair a weapon or armor its max durability is decreased; to the point it can ultimately become “damaged beyond repair” and brake in your hands. This can put players in a false state of panic making them worry about getting large amounts of money just to have enough to replace your stuff. Speaking of money; DOMO has one of the most annoying ways to get it. Your only source of income is farming, killing a ridiculous amount of creatures in order to sell tons of items some of which you might need later.

I also can’t stand how the leveling in the game is played out. Your player level will actually vary from class to class, you can be a level 60 as a Thief, but if you decide to try out mage you’re sent back all the way to level 10 (the minimal level for having a class other than the starting class which is commoner). Really all in all the game isn’t BAD per say, it’s just not good, I mean I don’t care for it to much, but I always find myself returning to the game, probably cause it’s got such a wonderful community and always throws daily events at you with fun rewards. Regardless don’t start this game unless you’re ready to dedicate A LOT of time to it.

I give DOMO a 4 out of 10 this game could have been so much better, it just missed a few grabs on the rock wall set up of a good MMO

Hittin' The Heavy Metal

Before we even start this review I'd like to point out that the only reason I'm playing this game is because it was recommended to me by a really good friend of mine. No offense to Aeria Games, but I'm tired of playing their stuff, and my last attempt at a 2-D game ended so badly I didn't even give it a review, (but to save everyone the trouble the game was Wind Slayer, it was horrible and I DO NOT recommend it to anyone), but on a more serious note I actually had a lot of fun playing Metal Assault, the biggest reason is that it had something no other 2D game had before it and that's BALANCE.

You get 4 characters to choose from a "jack of all trades" character, a tank, a sniper, and a saboteur; none of which are significantly overpowered. Each one specializes in a specific weapon but hey here's the cool part you DON'T have to follow that at all! In fact once you enter the game you actually have the pleasure of adjusting yourself however you want. From weapons to equips you can make your self as unique as you'd like, which is good because in terms of appearance creativity it's not as good as it could be.

PVP was nice, as I stated before the game has a wonderful amount of balance, unlike most of the shooter MMOs on the internet in this game you can't instantly become a pro by spending $30 on game cash to get bad ass weapons. Most of the weapons are bought with in game money, and you have to work your butt off for the higher level ones making getting them that much more rewarding, but the best part is that the starting weapons don't suck so you are in no rush to get the other weapons other than the fact they look so much cooler than your starting ones do. Another cool thing about PVP is that your given a combat shield and vehicles, giving it an almost Halo feeling.

The biggest problem with this game is its Co-Op mode AKA "zombie survival." This mode is literally 2D Left 4 Dead. The types of zombies are pulled right out of the game ranging from smokers to spitters, and even boomers. One of the maps (which i believe is called hallway) is literally fight your way past hordes of zombies and the occasional special zombies to get to a safe house then after a delay you do the same thing and go to the next safe house, ring a bell?

I would of given this game an 8 out of 10 but the coop mode is so obviously copyrighted I'm kicking it down to 7 (and that's being merciful)

DnD Meets Borderlands

Pandora Saga is a vast PvP heavy adventure MMO, there are many character races to choose from, each are easily recognizable, but at the same time completely unique, and there are tons of customization options available for them.

Pandora has something I like to call "Multiple-branch classes" Although there are preset classes starting with warrior, scout, and mage and then branching off to other classes, depending on what special abilities you spec your character in, it can play a wide variety of different roles. A scout can spec into either bows for long distance or a dagger for close range fighting, and as an interesting third option, later on in the game he can equip a shield and sword and use traps. Mages can choose to go flat out elemental damage, or they can become either a "Corrupter" or "Shadow Blade," who serve as 'mystic knight' classes. (Melee and magic hybrids)

The game has a low level cap and pvp is introduced very quickly, the game also requires a good amount of teamwork as a lot of enemies can deal heavy damage to a single person. You also gain xp ALOT faster in a group; gaining +20 exp per kill per member in your party (I heard it caps out at +100 but I never got around to confirming it.) The game also has no invisible walls which is actually quite amusing at some times, however you still can't get over things that are painfully obviously impossible to cross like the many towering walls of the games beautifully constructed towns.

Pandora Saga scores a 7 out of 10 good work you guys.

Where Have I Been? Floating On Cloud Nine!

I've been spending some Time on Cloud Nine, a fun little game hosted by Games Net. The graphics are a bit to cartoony for my taste but I'm sure there are people out there who enjoy the cookie, anime-like, little less than Warcraft style graphics.

Anyone who can stick with this game up to level 10 gets rewarded with not only a (rather funny looking) mount, but also a "sub-class," not only do you get "sub-class skills" to work with your current ones, but thanks to a fun ability known as Skill Revolver, you can 'tag out' your primary profession at almost any time. This game also allows for a completely different set of clothes and weapons for your other profession, most people would think this just translates to "great more money I have to spend" but one of the cool parts of this game is that everything seems to be relatively cheep.

The monsters are all completely original which I'm sure you can tell from this picture -->
unfortunately the quests...not so much, most of them are your average "hunt" quests with a few dungeons thrown in to keep things fresh.

PVP works like World of Warcraft, two nations battling it out whenever they find eachother, or in designated "Battle Grounds." Although I like the free roaming idea, I don't really enjoy being sniped off by a hunter while I'm farming creatures.

The last thing I should probably mention is that Cloud Nine has a unique, and some what complicated way of starting (more so if you use Firefox) Internet Explorer is recommended for this game if your not very techno-savy.

Cloud Nine gets a 4 out of 10 again, not really my thing, but there are plenty of players in game so I'm sure people will enjoy it.