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Overview

Review: Atlantica Online

Lately I have been playing Atlantica Online. Atlantica is an MMORPG with a very compelling plot and features turn based combat very similar to Final Fantasy or even Pokemon.

Controls

Controls are very simple. If you've ever played World of Warcraft or any other MMORPG, its the same basic thing. The setup is very WoW esque and some might say that without the combat, it is World of Warcraft. The only thing thats a bit buggy is the camera. Since 50% of the time your in cramped dungeons, the camera has a tendency to hide behind the wall, making your screen black. However, this isnt as big of an issue as one might think.

Grade: 8/10

Graphics

Graphics are good. Nothing incredible, but good. Its hard for me to really grade it because I've only played 3-4 3D MMO's. I like to play on low settings since it reduces lag so I guess I can't e much of a critic. Its getting to this point in day and age where a new game can only have such good visuals. The game does graphics nicely however.

Grade: 7.5/10

Audio

The music is decent. Each town has a set music, boss "rooms" have music, but other than that its the same music. 1 traveling/walking track and 1 battle track. The music although limited, his good and adds very nicely to the gameplay.

Grade: 7/10

Gameplay

Ahh, now the gameplay, or in other words, pretty much the summary of the game. There's a lot to talk about here so I'm just going to put it into short paragraphs.

First, the leveling system. The max level in the North Amercian version is 120 (although it was just recently increased to 130 in the Asian version). You do quests and fight monsters to increase the level of you and your mercinaries (who I'll talk about in the next paragraph). The leveling system is pretty balanced. It not like some MMO's where the difference between level 1 and 2 is like 75% more exp. Its pretty easy to level. I got my main character to level 66 in 10 days (how long I've beenplaying)

The next thing is the mercinaries. If you have ever played Final Fantasy you should know what I mean without even reading this, but for those of you who havent layed such games, allow me to explain. You start off with the basic mercinaries: Axe, spear, sword, gun, archer, and shamen (healer). Every 10 levels or so you unlock a series a quests you can do to unlock a new mercinary. For example, at level 44 you unlock the quests to unlock the Beast Tamer (an axe woman who rides on a tiger and can summon monsters to attack enemies). These quests however, are very long, which kind of make them worth it to get the mercs. Most will take about 4-6 hours of gameplay to finish them all. Although, as you unlock the extremely high level mercinaries (level 100+) the quests can take up to 24 hours of gameplay. Also, when you unlock the mercinaries, before you get them, they are in the form of the marble or casket which allows you to sell them for an added bonus.

Next, there are the quests, if you have ever played World of Warcraft the quests are EXACTLY the same. Usually there is a patern:

Talk to someone
Kill something
Talk to a few people
Get them an item
Kill something
Talk to people
Kill a boss

Repeat

They're not that creative but it still adds positivley to the gameplay. Also, one thing I have notices and I think is a GREAT addition is the kindness they force upon you. Nearing your level 30-60's a decent numer of quests are like "Give an item to a new player", or "answer a new players question". I think this is great as it almost forces people to be nice. I remember when I first started I had fond memories of recieving countless random gifts that definatly helped me out.

Lastly, the crafting system and the economy. Pretty much every item is attained from drops or crafting. The only problem is the economy. Equips are waaay to cheap and random items used for crafting are too expensive. There are no items you can craft and actually make money off of which kind of defeats the purpose of it.

Grade: 8.5/10

Overall

Overall this game is really fun, the combat system is very fun and the inclusion of guilds makes multiplayer a great option. I would defiantly reccomend trying this game out. And ifya do, don't forget to put "Womp" as your referer and then send me a message so we can chat.

Overall Grade: 8/10

This is my review for Fable II. I am going to review it on the following:

First Impressions
Graphics
Audio
Gameplay
Overall

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First Impressions

When you first start, you are thrown into your life as child. You and your sister are trying to get enough money for a "magic box". Basically for the first hour of the game you just walk around doing quite honestly boring quests. The story is a bit compelling and draws you in so I guess that forgives it but quite frankly it just seemed like an unnecessary chapter in the game. It was decent though because since you were not thrown directly into combat, the game gave you some time to get used to the controls.

Grade: 6/10

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Graphics



The graphics were sadly, one of the only great things about this game. They were absolutely stunning. The colors were very vibrant, and the environment was constantly updating with time of day which added a little flair. I don't know what else to say about the graphics, I'll post a couple of screenshots so you can get a basic idea.

Grade: 8.5/10

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Audio

Usually a game has very unique audio (or at least new games). This game however, seemed sub-par. I music was decent, but it seemed like the developers just googled: "Adventure Music". It was good and not distracting, but it didn't seem to add to the gameplay.

6/10

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Gameplay

I guess this is the main part of the review. The gameplay can be divided into a few different sub-catagories. First, the controls, the controls were very basic and easy to use, the camera was a bit buggy at times ut for the most part, it knew what you wanted to do. The game basically consists of you doing quests to unite three heroes, all while increasing the stats of your main character. This is where the game is flawed. The combat system was very, very unbalanced. Guns, your only form of range asically required no skill. There was no ammo and all you had to do was smack your little trigger happy fingers against the trigger on the controller and your enemy should fall down eventually. Melee is not far from the same. Its basically button mashing with very few combos that aren't even worth unlocking. And then there's magic. Magic basically consists of standing still, defenceless, charging your spell while the 30+ enemies run up to butt fuck you. However, you may think this makes magic useless right? WRONG! After charging your spell to max (about 10 seconds) you litterally obliterate anything and everything on your screen. This is including bosses which with a decent magic spell, can be slayn within 30 seconds. Having the ability to gain max magic before even half the game is over really makes it too easy and not as fun.

Lastly, on a sidenote, after you beat this game, there is very little replay value. You supposed to "go through and conquor the land" but quite frankly, the moment I beat it, I couldnt help myself from turning it off only to sell it to my friend for $20 the next day.

Grade: 6/10

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Overall


Basically, this game is a decent game. I was let down a lot just because of all of the hype. Then again, not playing Fable 1 might have seperated me from the fanboys. Truth is, this game is decent. There are no ground breaking features. Currently you can get this game for about 30 bucks used. I think that's a decent price if you are nterested in this type of game.

Overall grade: 6.5/10