Want to know what is happening in the online world? Join us in our MMORPG adventures as we fight, level up, unlock new areas in free and subscription based online games.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Archlord: A Killing Under The Moon
I have just starting playing Archlord, a brilliant MMOG by Codemasters. The game is free to play, but lets you convert real money into in-game money that you can spend to improve your character faster. Speaking of characters, mine is a sorcerer. Not your usual tagging behind the party kind, but a real badass that can quickly show you where he can stick that wooden +1 staff which I plundered in the first few minutes inside the game.
That the game world is HUGE is an understatement, with a vast land offering a lot to explore. However at this point it is better to stay in the village and try to get some quests. As usual, the elders start by showing you around the place to give you a general feeling of what you can expect. There are a lot of people in the marketplace right now, no doubt equipping themselves for their various quests.
The village of Galundo hosts some quirky inhabitants, not least of them Zion, the merchant whom I meet first and just as quickly gets me in an unpleasant situation where I have to find the weapons he had stolen earlier from merchant Mecante. Then there's the guards that well, guard the entrances to the village. You sure get a feeling of security knowing that they are doing their job well. Keep it up guys!
Stepping outside the village, you can meet a lot of ugly spiders that will surely come in handy for levelling up a bit. After getting to level 2, I could wear some armour to better challenge some bigger beasts and keep on going until I meet Rockbole, a boss spider through which I reach level 5.
Finally before taking a rest, I go to kill some goblins. However their skin is hard and so it's very difficult to beat them with a wooden stick. So I'll just pick up this hammer staff that is lying on the floor here and next time will try to see how these goblins like it.
One last comment; as you will have noticed the graphics in Archlord are great, especially that moon. Oh, the moon, I have to go back and watch it rise again...
Upshift StrikeRacer, which comes in a 350Mb package, is an online racing challenge of sorts. Violence has never been so much fun. Violence in a good way, as in pure arcade racing action with up to eight players in a single race who beat up each other by means of the arsenal at their disposal.
The game is currently in open beta, everyone starting recently with the Snubby, which is the entry level car. There's a quick tutorial that teaches you how to accelerate, brake, select and fire your weapons, whilst not forgetting the very useful drift action.
There's a racing mode where players can compete without weapons, where racers can count only on their car handling skills to arrive first to the finish line. Even in this mode the adrenalin starts pumping as cars can still be thrown off the road and crashes happen frequently.
Each car has access to a turbo boost, which injects a good dose of speed when the player presses the Shift button. Turbos take time to reload, so they need to be used sparingly at the right moment. However the game ingeniously recharges the lagging players' turbo faster than those in front, effectively matching the difference that arises between starters and leveled up players with faster cars and equipment. The game is always fun, and I could win some races even at the start of my career.
The Strike Racing mode gives the player three weapons, a short range machine gun to be used when closely tailing someone, a rocket launcher, for hitting other cars from a distance, and the land mine, which can be dropped down to blow up the followers behind you. Apart from stopping the enemy by sending their burning cars flying around the place, the racing hitmen can try to win the race by navigating through the breaking scenery where confusion abounds.
All in all, Upshift StrikeRacer is a great game, even more as the open beta status makes us wonder about other nice things to come. I got rewarded gifts everytime that I leveled up, amongst them a Nightwing car and some neat equipment to make the car go faster. You should try the game right away, I will try not to laugh while I whizz by beside you into the horizon.
Unfortunately, I am now starting to believe that I am tied in a position where I cannot complete my quests until I become more powerful. So fighting the sharks on the beach is the option that makes most sense right now. Maybe I'm still too young to fight bigger opponents.
I did manage to settle an argument between Bhen Neddal and Rocco Fidelio and came out of it with a handful of peeled potatoes. That’s the kind of quest that I can achieve.
What does seem impossible to achieve is the quests that Walt Apain and master Amayiro give me. Walt Apain wants to sample a number of beers, which seems innocent enough before knowing that one of the beers is from the heart of Brakmar itself. For a level 27 Bontarian, that beer is not easily accessible. But anyway, I decide to try the long walk to Brakmar, as Amayiro also wants me to explore this dark fortress.
To give me a little bit of additional courage, I encounter a group of gobbals along the way and after the encounter I manage to obtain a pair of warm gobboots. Apart from making the trip more comfortable on the feet, this footwear adds 14 additional health points to the wearer as well as increasing his attack damage. On we go!
I tried to knock up a few levels for my pink robot today. Again, in Acclaim's BOTS!!, there's no story to tell, although one could argue that you can still talk about how you trashed that particular boss robot, or how you were the best player on that particular level. I'm sure time will answer this for us all.
What I wanted to test instead, is if it is better to play the first few levels alone or by teaming up with other people. The initial maps are easy enough for a newbie to fight alone, so you don't need other people's help there. The experience payoff is almost equal in both cases, so that's another vote to go solo.
The solo player can also claim all the bonuses that fall down from the beaten enemy viruses, whereas in 8-player mode one can hardly see what is happening around. The one advantage for team play though, is that the best players have a bigger monetary bonus at the end of a fight.
What one must admit, is that this game achieves a lot technically, regardless of playability. When the screen is full of players and enemy robots, the game hardly slows down. And seeing the arcade nature of the game, with data flowing between the server and the eight players, this is truly astounding.
In the end I decided to go alone. I am now trying not to just increase my experience, but also to collect spare parts that will make my pink robot (now with a red body) look meaner.
Oh how times have changed! I remember when I was younger, when I used to go to the beach with my family, enjoying the sun and the sea. Now, I just log into my computer and at most stroll around the virtual beach near Astrub village. All is not lost however, as within these new found beaches I found an enemy that can give me experience points quickly and thus solve my mid-level crisis. The sharks (walking around on dry land) are my solution to leveling up a lot faster. But where's the ice cream van?
But that's not the only reason that I visited the world of Dofus today. I also succeeded to finally solve a good number of old quests. I started by exterminating the sick grossewer milirats lurking under Astrub village to gain 2000 experience points and 150 kamas. I also had the opportunity to find a dofawa (a dofus egg which gives its bearer +1 vitality), get a Gobtubby pet (thanks to my renewed subscription) and visit Allistair's castle. Finally, by improving my lumberjack trade skills, I can now cut down walnut trees!
To finish off this eventful day, I decided to visit Pandala. I never had a chance to really explore this island in the past, and seeing that it's not far away from the beach I might as well go to find its mysteries.
I am immediately greeted by a merchant named Narber, who asks me to pay the Pandrista tax as soon as I set foot on Pandala. This involves buying a hat from his souvenir stand. These pandawas come up with all sorts of excuses in an attempt to make me part from my money. The worst thing is that the hat makes me sick with the pandrista fever, which basically makes you want to shit.
Fortunately, not all pandawas are like this. Some of them are always willing to help the tourists. Surivitna the shaman for example cures my illness and sets me on a quest for the honour of the great Grandapan, who in turn sends me to pray to the drunken Pandala goddess.
I want to end today's entry by thanking another player, Schliemo, who has helped me get 14 thousand experience points in one go by skillfully fighting againt six rogues in the forest of Pandala. That's a very good idea for leveling up. Much appreciated!
For sure, Algernon is a damned huge place. Too many creepy passageways, and the room layout changes each time I set foot inside. Sure there are monsters to kill, it's even fun for a while. But it does get repetitive especially when trying to find your way on levels that were supposedly already mapped, and on the rare occasion when I meet someone friendly I end up with another nearly identical quest. These folks are probably just bored themselves and are looking for the opportunity to find someone else to finish their own quests.
However there are certain goals to look forward to. Like the venom spitting enemies in Kog's Gearbox, or the stirring Orok Outpost, or the beastly heroes that always leave behind a hefty bounty when killed. Yeah, it just keeps you going.
As usual, there is a lot of inventory to pick up, surely to entice players to become full members. There's no argument though that the stuff you pick up isn't cool. All of them have cooler sounding names to boot. For example, I just obtained a couple of Heavenly Rusty Ornate Gauntlets of the Sheltered Tigon that require level 7 and a membership to equip and come in nice a golden finish.
This is all in a hero's day's work after all. There's a lot of grinding work to do, with an equal amount of warping to and fro to sell the found items in the Townston marketplace. But there are always interesting new places and enemies to look forward to and the bounty payoff is very sweet indeed. On with the slaying!
All the current paths lead to Townston, so that is where I go next. I get greeted by Sir Voss who is very impressed that I killed Rattle Tooth. I knew that my tales of adventures would be welcomed here. I try to find the local drinking hole where I can tell the people about my other tales, but alas, there is no such place in Townston!
It's a nice little town however, with colourful people all around. And being a Flourishing Noobie Obsidian Mage does not make a difference to the inhabitants. On the contrary, they find a reason to give me a lot of quests so that I can get more experience and become a much better mage.
There is one Abel Tukahst here. "Who is he?", I hear you say. Well he is the mage trainer, and for some cash Abel can teach you new skills. The good thing is that mages do not have to learn mage skills only, but can also learn from other professions. In fact the first skill I acquire is from Gwen of the Tree Folk, the ranger trainer. She gives me a sort of farting killer move where I can now emit a large green cloud around me that can poison my enemies.
There's also Audrey The Alchemist in town. Alchemists are always a mage's greatest asset in these kind of adventures, although at the moment Audrey is more worried about her husband who is probably lost deep down in the caves of Algernon. At this point, the number of adventurers visiting Townston starts to get quite large, with a lot of them seeking quests to embark on in the name of plunder.
I finally get to meet the town commander, who congratulates me on my achievements so far, but doesn't hide the fact that Rattle Tooth's kinfolk will surely be seeking my head for revenge. His suggestion is that I go looking for them first and kill the family one by one before they can be any trouble. The rats should be on different levels in Algernon's underground cave complex.
Seeing as the Townston townfolk are obsessed with sending me questing inside the caves of Algernon, that is where I plan to spend the next few days of my life. See you there, and oh, remember to bring a torch!
The village of Galundo hosts some quirky inhabitants, not least of them Zion, the merchant whom I meet first and just as quickly gets me in an unpleasant situation where I have to find the weapons he had stolen earlier from merchant Mecante. Then there's the guards that well, guard the entrances to the village. You sure get a feeling of security knowing that they are doing their job well. Keep it up guys!
Finally before taking a rest, I go to kill some goblins. However their skin is hard and so it's very difficult to beat them with a wooden stick. So I'll just pick up this hammer staff that is lying on the floor here and next time will try to see how these goblins like it. 
racing action with up to eight players in a single race who beat up each other by means of the arsenal at their disposal.
distance, and the land mine, which can be dropped down to blow up the followers behind you. Apart from stopping the enemy by sending their burning cars flying around the place, the racing hitmen can try to win the race by navigating through the breaking scenery where confusion abounds.
decide to try the long walk to Brakmar, as Amayiro also wants me to explore this dark fortress.
I tried to knock up a few levels for my pink robot today. Again, in Acclaim's BOTS!!, there's no story to tell, although one could argue that you can still talk about how you trashed that particular boss robot, or how you were the best player on that particular level. I'm sure time will answer this for us all.
playability. When the screen is full of players and enemy robots, the game hardly slows down. And seeing the arcade nature of the game, with data flowing between the server and the eight players, this is truly astounding.
log into my computer and at most stroll around the virtual beach near Astrub village. All is not lost however, as within these new found beaches I found an enemy that can give me experience points quickly and thus solve my mid-level crisis. The sharks (walking around on dry land) are my solution to leveling up a lot faster. But where's the ice cream van?
points and 150 kamas. I also had the opportunity to find a dofawa (a dofus egg which gives its bearer +1 vitality), get a Gobtubby pet (thanks to my renewed subscription) and visit Allistair's castle. Finally, by improving my lumberjack trade skills, I can now cut down walnut trees!
from my money. The worst thing is that the hat makes me sick with the pandrista fever, which basically makes you want to shit.
quest for the honour of the great Grandapan, who in turn sends me to pray to the drunken Pandala goddess.
Heavenly Rusty Ornate Gauntlets of the Sheltered Tigon that require level 7 and a membership to equip and come in nice a golden finish.
there is no such place in Townston!
mages do not have to learn mage skills only, but can also learn from other professions. In fact the first skill I acquire is from Gwen of the Tree Folk, the ranger trainer. She gives me a sort of farting killer move where I can now emit a large green cloud around me that can poison my enemies.
Get MMODiaries Newsfeed