downWorld: Puzzle Battles Meets MMO

No, that title was not a typo I was too lazy to correct, that’s how it really is. A little tucked away game in the corners of the world wide web my associate Aron bought to my attention so I thought why not give it a spin.

downWorld is an MMOPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Puzzle Game henceforth) merging together puzzle games and RPG elements. Before I go further I must stress that this game is currently in beta, but with what I have ran into so far I am compelled to write a review. Well, let’s get started.

Gameplay: Like I said it’s a Puzzle game with RPG elements. You can equip different gear to increase the damage you deal and reduce the damage you take from each color bubble. The gear and levels will also increase your HP. If you have played any puzzle games before of this caliber then there is nothing I can say about the basics (and in the time you spent reading this if you didn’t know how to play this kind of puzzle game you could have learned how to). The things to know is that the white crystals generate Flow (turns out this Flow is used in another game they run called ourWorld which predates this game). Think of Flow as Mana. Also, these bubbles do no damage, so you either get Flow or inflect pain. Flow’s used to preform special moves…yes this game has special moves which run the gambit from damage to protection. If you want to use them, just click on their symbols.

The black box pieces will strike out an entire column. The damage you deal with those depends on how many and what kind of bubbles you popped (think multi-elemental damage). If you manage to eliminate four or more of the same color bubble (connected to one another in a straight line) you get an extra turn (this counts those black boxes and Flow crystals).

Also, there is a multiplayer. You and some people can gang up on a creature, but beware of drop in’s. If you’re in the middle of a puzzle and have an opponent on the ropes all someone has to do is run into the monster too and its HP goes up. There is a stealth mode to prevent this from happening BUT I shouldn’t have to do this. Get on fixing it before the full launch, please!

Also, the enemies when they lose (unless they remove this once the Beta ends) explode into a bloody mess. I didn’t know puzzles could make you burst. When you lose, you become a skeleton. Lame.

Artwork: Usually, I don’t go near this segment, but since the art styles of ourWorld and downWorld were rather…unique I feel I have to touch on it. It’s horrible. Aron and I couldn’t bare to look at the games characters any longer than we had to. I was hoping that what I saw was just a place holder until the Beta ended…looking at ourWorld, I was sadly let down. To ourWorld’s credit the animation is more fluent than in downWorld…but this is not my chief complaint. The thing that bothered me the most was…

The In-Game Advertising: This…this would be the thing that made me want to eat the souls of the people who made this game. Each time you move to a new location you have to sit through this video promoting something…EVERY TIME YOU CHANGE LOCATIONS! They do this to try to encourage you to pay for Elite status where you get all kinds of perks (I wouldn’t know what they are or if they’re worth it, no money to see).

I know they need to make money but the way they “ask me” to give money for a month or three of no ads feels less like asking and more like bulling me into making the purchase. Imagine in real life going from point A to point B and between each point you’re slammed with an advertisement which you were FORCED to see through to the end, Could you imagine if you REALLY need to use the bathroom but this douche bag refuses to move till you hear his nonsense that you have no interest in? Me neither. They need to make the ads less intrusive. What’s wrong with having the ads appear every three map moves?

Judgment: I liked the idea of a combat puzzle game, but the horrible graphics and even more horrible ads getting in the way they pretty much guaranteed that I will not recommend this game to ANYONE! Who knows, they might shape up. I plan to post this in their forums and watch the fireworks. I feel like I gave this game far more attention than it deserved. As always I encourage you to try the game for yourself if you desire. If you enjoy it, that’s fine, good for you.

And now, for the obligatory YouTube video..

Musing: In Game Cash Shops

This seems to be a hot topic no matter what MMO you encounter. These things are a way to keep the game afloat, and last I checked it was a nice thing. How else is your favorite pay to play game going to REMAIN free to play without resorting to a monthly subscription? Yeah, I thought so. I hate subscription based play as well.

There are several variations of items in these things:

Vanity: Or as I know it the “for people with more money then sense” crowd. Okay, let’s be fair, for some cases these costumes are reasonably priced. It only goes into “for money than sense” territory when the items cost more than a few ($5 or less) dollars. Even more so if these items are temporary. Why anyone would buy something that does nothing for $20 and expires is beyond me.

I myself would never purchase something like this (unless DIRT CHEAP). Got your game stocked with these to the gills with these? Well, I pray this game has plenty of people who like shiny things (I hear Magpies LOVE them. It’s an untapped market) I mean the pet rock sold well, so you should do well (that alone says bad things about the human race).

Acceleration: These items speed up the rate you get things like Experience Points, game currency and Random drops. The Experience points acceleration only helps if the EXP rate is generous enough (and you’re not picking on uber weak mobs) otherwise you might as well have spent that money on a costume.

Storage Expansion: This is the one I’m actually mad about seeing because it means the games storage is piss poor by default. If an item mall has this you better get used to poor storage space on hand. In some games its bearable (like if they only take up a single slot). In others it makes you want to shoot the developers in front of their families (weight dependent or items taking up multiple slots, God help you if they want to be dicks and do both).

Some of you might be saying “shut it! Just put the excess in storage!” Some games really want to stick it to you by taking in game currency to deposit/withdraw stuff. Some have piss poor storage capacity and the really stupid ones hit you with both barrels at once. I don’t tend to stick around too long in these. Not because of the weak storage, but because I would have to keep buying to expand my storage (these are almost always temporary and I have yet to see a game where it’s Permanent), not to mention these games have the annoying habit of having random drops eat up space via crafting quests so I feel like I’m forced to buy these. Not cool game developers.

Mounts: Yeah, these are those things you ride on to get from point A to point B because you don’t feel like walking there (not that I would blame you, generally it takes too long in an MMO to get anywhere on foot). Item malls will love to sell you these to make things easier in this regard (especially for those timed quests).

Weapons, Armor & Accessories: These are what I would go for in the item mall. Why wouldn’t anyone? We’re talking about stuff that affects your combat performance. If an item mall had to stock something to get me to spend, THIS would be worth my money (long as it wasn’t temporary, repair costs in game are enough as is). But this one is hotly debated because people see them as “unfair” and is viewed as such because they fear the game is or will become…

Pay to Win: In gaming communities this is a dreaded beast. It also goes by the name “Win Shop” in certain circles. Popular on Korean and Chinese MMO’s these shops have been known to “sell power” to those willing to buy it. One of the most infamous examples would be ZT Online which I read a rather jarring article on (HIGHLY recommend reading it, but its long so set aside some time for it) which shows how it can go TOO FAR. But does that mean a shop should never give stuff that gives stats? I believe not, on the grounds that it doesn’t COMPLETELY outclass the standard stuff in game. Some edge is fine but let’s not make it overwhelming (as in unable to progress the main game without investing into it).

The reason these, EXP and Drop increases are in stock is…well, for those who value their time over their money. I HATE grinding so these items would be quite attractive to me. My reasoning is thus. I can always get more money down the line. Time however is impossible to get back. If I can hop 60 levels for $30 I’d take it. Let that sucker grind for weeks on end.  I’m not going to waste time fighting the same mobs in frustration of either too little XP or too dangerous to kill and not have enough XP to be worth the hassle. Grinding Is Anti-Fun and I don’t want to wait till Level 50+ to get the cool skills and do cool stuff. Odds are if I do I’ll stick around till the 20’s, hit a wall, get frustrated and quit (to this day I cannot think of one MMORPG I have played that I have played passed level 20-24).

You don’t need grind, there are other ways to keep things challenging/fun without walling me with tedium. Life has too much of that shit happening as is. Isn’t it bad enough that we have to level grind in life to get to do anything like…

-          Get a promotion?

-          Make friends?

-          Learn a new skill?

-          Getting sex without paying for it/forcing/tricking someone?

-          Save for a house?

-          Cook a nice meal?

-          Advances in the field of medicine?

-          Powering through long enough to finish writing this article?

Point is, if I can barely tolerate it in life WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT TO DO IT IN VIDEO GAMES!? I play those things to ESCAPE the mundane, contrived, soul crushing beast we call reality, not play it in virtual form (Pokémon is bad enough thank you). Why should I be harassed by someone just because I decided to “buy in” just because I could? So I’m armed with the Infinity Plus One Sword of Awesomeness. You can buy it too! I got no patients doing raids for the chance I MIGHT get an awesome weapon (odds are I would have died a lot and it doesn’t work for me, or worse yet it’s not nearly worth the hassle of getting) and God help the development team has the gall to make it Level Locked Loot (If I went through Hell getting that, I better be able to equip it NOW)!

In the end its either time or money. I’d like to hear your take on it. Don’t be shy, long as it isn’t any attacks against anyone.

The Humble Indie Bundle: They Just Keep GIVING!

I got this in the mail a few hours ago. It reads

"Bundle in a bundle!

Humble Indie Bundle 3 now includes the five games from Humble Indie Bundle 2!

If you've already bought Humble Indie Bundle 3 before 10:30 AM PST this morning, just go to your download page and they will show up next to your other five games.

If you haven't picked up your bundle yet, be sure to pay what you'd like for a bundle of five awesome DRM-free games on Mac, Windows, and Linux: Crayon Physics Deluxe, Hammerfight, VVVVVV, And Yet It Moves, and Cogs. To get the five Humble Indie Bundle 2 games, you must choose a price that is somewhere above the average payment (more details on the site).

Choose to support the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Child's Play Charity at the same time.

Click here to pick up your Humble Indie Bundle 3 before time runs out!

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Rosen
Humble Bundle"

Ain't that something? Makes me even madder that smug bastards out their will just place in a penny (when they know they could put in at least a few dollars) to get five games. You all rock, I cannot stress that enough.

Well...That Was Stupid

It took me awhile, wondering why no comments were coming in, and I just realized yesterday that I failed to enable the ability for everyone to post. So, now people who aren't registered with Blogger can comment. Sorry about that.

Spiral Knights Now Has PvP: Bomberma- I Mean Blast Network!

See this bloated Frog here? His name is King Krogmo. He’s (supposedly) royalty. He’s so rich he’s got his own currency…Krogmo Coins! These coins can be traded in for prizes, but this isn’t about those things, this is about the PvP. As the title states, we get a little Bomberman rip off to play in, cept more chaotic. There’s Free For All, Random Teams and Guild Battles. When I thought of having PvP for this game, I wasn’t expecting this. I decided to try it out. Did it about 4 times before alerting you all to this (and before the thought came to record it).

You’ll have to pay a small amount of Crowns to play in each mode. Don’t worry about gear, all its stats are ignored for this. Everyone will be given Insta-Bombs for the duration of the round (no charge time needed). The bomb lay command did feel laggy to me, making a struggle even more daunting admits the chaos. Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself.

So, if you got some Crowns to burn, play Bomberman on Spiral Knights today! Now back to get myself blown up more.

The Humble Indie Bundle

Hey. This isn't a review. This is to bring attention to the Humble Bundle. I could explain it to you, but I feel this video they made says it best.

So I'm just spreading the word. Please, don't be a dick and just give a penny. I'll be making a contribution myself as soon as this is posted.

http://www.humblebundle.com/

Looking Out For...Card Hunter

I don't know how this slipped under my Radar...probably cause I don't frequent You Tube enough. But I'll be keeping my eyes open and do a First Look once the Open Beta begins:
http://www.cardhunter.com/